#lancelot cannot have gwen. merlin cannot have arthur

[eliounora]

arthur and the knights are going on a dangerous quest where he plans to sacrifice himself for the greater good. previous scene, gwen asks lancelot to look after arthur. after that, merlin says it's his duty to protect arthur. lancelot says he understands that "very well". with all these parallels here, my judgement of this is.... gay

[july-19th-club]

ive realized that the only one i’m even remotely comfortable killing off in a fic is leon. not because i don’t like him i do. but if you said to me you’re allowed to revoke all major character deaths on the bbc fantasy show merlin but you HAVE to keep one in reserve and give it to someone to balance all the deaths you undid. then it would have to be leon that’s all

[echoesofcamelot]

Do you ever stop and think about the absolute merthur bliss that Merlin season 1 is?

Seriously. Consider:

First we have the gayest first meeting in history with lines like 'Do you know how to walk on your knees?' and 'I could take you apart with one blow - I could take you apart with less than that.’ We end the first episode with Gaius referring to Arthur as Merlin's destiny: 'Your destiny is calling. You'd better find out what HE wants.'

Then in the second episode a dragon calls Arthur Merlin's other half: 'A half cannot truly hate that which makes it whole.' Soulmates alert!

3rd episode and the dragon calls them two sides of the same coin. Also Arthur says he can’t imagine giving up his life for someone because he hasn't found the right person to love. Which makes the events of episode 4 even more significant.

4th episode and they both try to die for each other. More than once. Also they are so soulmates that Merlin can see what Arthur is doing while he lays unconscious and sends a light to guide him while MOANING HIS NAME.

5th episode and Arthur is jealous of Lancelot because Merlin seems so enamoured with him but then he develops a crush on Lancelot too and tells him he needs him???? Merlin casually asks Gwen who she'd choose between Arthur and Lancelot like he has that very same dilemma.

Episode 7. Arthur shows some interest in a girl for the first time but only because he is under a spell. Merlin literally kills his love interest and then dives into a lake to save Arthur from drowning and holds him like he is the most precious thing in the world.

Episode 8. Merlin ponders leaving a child to die because he might kill Arthur when he grows up. He says that the boy dying would be bad, but the alternative (Arthur dying) is UNTHINKABLE.

Episode 9. Uther fucking Pendragon gives Merlin his blessing. 'There is a bond between us.' 'I'm glad. Look after him.' (They were so insane for this actually)

Episode 10. Arthur follows Merlin to his village and sleeps on the floor with him and asks questions about his childhood in the quiet of the dark. Merlin overhears Morgana telling Gwen about how much Arthur cares about Merlin. Merlin's mum tells him how obvious it is that Arthur likes him and tells him she has seen how much they need each other. So yeah she basically gives Arthur her blessing too :,)

Episode 11. They try to die for each other again. They literally argue about who is going to die for whom. Arthur wins and a curse is lifted thanks to the love he has in his heart. His love for Merlin saves the day!!!!

Episode 13. Surprise! Merlin tries to give his life for Arthur once more. 'His life is worth a hundred of mine.' He cradles Arthur's head in his lap while Gaius gives him the magic cure and then smiles and laughs filled with relief when he finds out Arthur will live even though that means he will die in his place. When Arthur recovers he says he has this feeling that someone is always watching over him and Uther tells him that he must have a guardian angel. Yes you've heard right they call MERLIN ARTHUR'S GUARDIAN ANGEL.

First season has no subtext it has bold underlined text and I love it SO MUCH.

[justaz]

merlin convincing morgana to remain in camelot and bonding over magic. uther dies and arthur becomes king and merlin and morgana are eager for arthur to repeal the ban but it never happens. then arthur and gwen are courting and morgana and merlin are a bit upset but are happy for them (sorta) but mainly they’re waiting for the ban to be repealed. it never happens. then gwen and arthur get married and morgana and gwen (+ lancelot) are devastated but hanging on by a thread for the magic ban to be repealed. it never happens. morgana is growing angrier and angrier while merlin is growing more and more reckless. morgana picks fights with arthur while merlin sticks to the shadows and protects arthur from unseen threats like always but he stops putting up much of a fight. he keeps coming back beaten black and blue, bloodied, on the brink of death.

morgana finally snaps at merlin and is like “i’ve been waiting for the ban to be lifted like you promised it would be and nothings changed. i cannot stay in this kingdom and watch the love of my life be happy with my brother while hiding myself away! you can be fine with the lying and hiding but i’m done! i’ll make my own damn happy ending” and storms off to flee camelot. lancelot finds merlin and they talk about it and lancelot is like “honestly, she has a point. i’m in love with gwen and that’ll never change. it pains me to see them so happy even though i wish nothing but the best for them. the only reason i’m still in camelot is you, merlin. if you want to stay, i’ll stay with you. if you want to go, then we’ll go.” merlin unsure and lance goes “it was you and me in the beginning, it can be you and me again” and merlin tears up but is still unsure and lance compromises with “we don’t have to leave forever. just a month or two, a year or five. however long you need.”

merlin finally agrees and lancelot goes to pack while merlin finds gwaine and tells him his plan bc if he doesn’t tell gwaine then the man will hunt him down like a bloodhound. gwaine ofc immediately agrees to go with him and they all pack their things. merlin shuffles into arthur’s chambers and turns in his resignation from his service and arthur starts freaking out like “wait what?? what’s wrong?? what happened??? let me fix it. was it a nobleman? a knight? was it me?? please tell me it wasn’t me. what happened??” and merlin can’t handle it so he just restates that he’s resigning, bows and says it was somewhat of an honor, and then turns and leaves. he finds lance and gwaine in gaius’s chambers with mordred. merlin rolls his eyes but is also kinda grateful for his friends. arthur storms in and finds three of his knights also packed at they’re like “oh shoot we were gonna tell you in the morning but since you’re here, we’re resigning too”

now arthur is faced with three less knights and one less manservant than an hour ago (he has yet to find out about his sister’s fleeing). he questions them again and the room gives merlin and arthur some privacy for merlin to tell arthur that nothing is wrong but that they just need some time away. it probably won’t be permanent but they have to leave. arthur isn’t begging because kings don’t beg but he’s doing a damn good impression and merlin is on the verge of tears again and is begging arthur not to make things harder than it needs to be. arthur grows angrier now and is like “then tell me why. why are you leaving? why are my knights leaving? tell me.” and merlin can’t think of an excuse bc he doesn’t want to push his troubles of unreciprocated love onto arthur so he just stands there and arthur is like “i thought you were one of the bravest men i ever met. turns our you’re nothing more than a coward.” anyways they split on bad terms.

merlin, lancelot, gwaine, and mordred leave camelot and have their own little adventures and run into morgana again and they form their own little band of travelers. arthur, gwen, leon, elyan, and percival are still in camelot with gwen and arthur completely in the dark while the rest of the knights Know. it’s like a few months after merlin and them left and arthur and them are drunk and he brings merlin and them up and asks what happened. the knights are quiet and gwen sits up and asks elyan and her voice is desperate enough that elyan breaks and goes “morgana and lancelot were in love with you” and they all just stare at each other and elyan rushes to fill the silence with stuff like how they wanted gwen to be happy but couldn’t bear watching gwen and arthur be so in love all the time, he explains that morgana left on her own but lancelot followed merlin. arthur asks if merlin was in love with gwen too and the knights shift before percival goes “no, he was in love with you” and leon sighs before explaining the rest.

“morgana and lancelot were in love with gwen while merlin was in love with arthur. morgana left on her own and merlin was influenced by her choice to leave and lancelot and gwaine followed him. mordred followed both morgana and merlin, i’m not sure what he would’ve done had merlin stayed and morgana left. gwaine followed merlin bc he’s in love with him.” he rubs his eye bc he can’t believe the mess things are even though it’s been this way for years “morgana couldn’t stand it. lancelot was loyal to merlin. gwaine was loyal to merlin. mordred was loyal to merlin and morgana. and merlin…merlin has been protecting you for years, arthur. he’s charged into battle against the threats you can’t see, the ones in the shadows. i’ve kept an eye on him since he got here but he’s had it handled. but recently, after your wedding, he grew reckless. he came back from every fight beaten like a pulp. he stopped trying. not to let you die, but to let them get the upper hand over him. he was dancing with death. it wasn’t healthy for any of them. that’s why they left.”

the knights leave arthur and gwen in their chambers to stew in silence, drunk and guilty and missing their friends and wondering how they could’ve missed the signs. merlin and them on the other hand are traveling from town to town, village to village, kingdom to kingdom and protecting villages from raiders, protecting druids from raids, stepping in on executions and freeing sorcerers.

[sexy-sapphic-sorcerer]

1: Magic is a Metaphor < 2: Morgana is a Lesbian < 3: Merlin is Gay > 4: Arthur is Bi

Again with the whole metaphor thing, Merlin's entire character is about having to hide his identity and wishing that he could be free to be himself so that he wouldn't have to lie about how much Arthur means to him. So that's all very gay, but he's also just very queer-coded generally. There are so many jokes about him being more effeminate or wearing women's clothing, most notably in this episode where he dresses in full drag and then takes the opportunity to shamelessly flirt with Arthur. Unhinged.

Basically every other character seems to just assume that he's gay, at least towards the end, because Gaius and Arthur are in utter disbelief that Merlin would be 'seeing a girl'. And of course he isn't, he's actually sneaking around with that druid guy, leading Arthur to question how courting a girl would leave him 'walking with a limp.'

I also think it's very interesting how often Merlin has to pretend to be attracted to women to avoid people discovering his secret, like with Gwen in Series 1 or Morgana in Series 2. Or this scene, where Gwen and Merlin are the only people not affected by the Lamia's seduction charm and they're trying to figure out why. And Merlin says, 'it doesn't affect you because you're a woman'. And firstly, Gwen is like, 'so what?' So, bisexual queen. And then Merlin says, "it only affects men," and Gwen says, "so then why haven't you fallen under her spell?" And Merlin is just like, 'oh shit, I don't know. I can't think of any reason why I wouldn't be seduced by a woman.'

Now, you might be saying, "but Merlin is attracted to women! what about that one female love interest he had for literally one episode who immediately died?" Oh, you mean:

I'm sorry to all of the Freylin shippers out there, but this was so clearly just the writers' last-ditch attempt to make Merlin straight. If you think about it, Freya also 'has magic' if you catch my drift, and that is the only thing that she and Merlin have in common, and the only thing that they talk about. And if you look at their dialogue out of context, it really doesn't seem like it's magic that they're talking about. It's just gay/lesbian solidarity. Also, never forget when Colin Morgan accidentally referred to Merlin's potential love interests as "him or her." So who else could he have been thinking of?

Merlin definitely had a crush on Lancelot. From the moment that they first meet, he just keeps going on about, 'omg, isn't Lancelot so strong and brave and chivalrous? God, I hope he becomes a knight, he would look so good in a suit of armour.' And then he says to Gwen, completely unprompted, "so just for the sake of argument– Arthur or Lancelot?" Why are you thinking about that Merlin? Then that scene ends with Merlin and Lancelot getting drunk and stumbling home together and waking up the next morning having shared Merlin's single bed. So take from that what you will. I don't necessarily think that anything happened between them, not because I think Lancelot is straight, don't get it twisted, just because I think he's a fucking virgin.

But certified pansexual manwhore Gwaine on the other hand, oh they definitely fucked. And it's a very similar situation to Lancelot, Merlin's only flirting technique is just to find some buff guy who's just saved his life and be like, 'oh my god what can I possibly do to repay you? Maybe you could come back to my place and I could tend to your wounds and then we could go down to the tavern, have a few drinks'.

And it works. Merlin literally used his job as apprentice physician to the Knights of the Round Table as his own personal Grindr, and i love that for him. But, of course, these are just side hoes to Merlin's main bitch, Arthur.

You can deny everything else that I've said, but you cannot deny that Merlin was in love with Arthur. And don't even try to say, 'but it's just because it was his destiny'. Because, yeah, like that's any less gay. They're two sides of the same coin, destined to be together, Merlin 'uses magic only for Arthur'. Come on.

Also, it's pretty clear that Merlin cares about Arthur more than he cares about his destiny, throughout the entire show. But it culminates in this scene in series five where, because of very contrived plot reasons, Arthur has to choose between legalizing magic and saving the life of Mordred. And Merlin convinces Arthur not to legalise magic so that he will let Mordred die. He literally enables the genocide of his own people and condemns himself to a lifetime of suffering just on the off chance that he can spend a bit more time with Arthur.

And if that isn't heartbreaking enough, of course, every action that Merlin makes only confirms Arthur's fate. And after he very platonically dies in Merlin's arms, as dudebros do, what does Merlin do? does he go back to Camelot and live a full happy heterosexual life? Of course not. No, he spends the next one and a half thousand years just waiting at Arthur's resting place, waiting for the day that Arthur will be resurrected and they can be together again. What the fuck kind of Greek tragedy, Achilles and Patroclus level shit is that? That is fucking gay.

[victimsofyaoipoll]

Round 4

Gwen

She stands in the way of Merthur, by far the most popular ship in the fandom. I haven’t seen it as much in recent years, but back in the days of fanfiction.net she got slut shamed so badly for having been romantically interested in three of the male characters over the course of the show, which is just... normal straight woman behavior, meanwhile Merlin crushed on pretty much every woman who even looked at him in the early seasons of the show and got no hate for that whatsoever. I barely even read Merthur fics (not because it’s m/m, just because certain aspects of their relationship don’t appeal to me) but the “Gwen is a slut” attitude was so pervasive across the fandom, even fics that weren’t explicitly anti-Gwen would “jokingly” call her a slut. I even saw a few fics demonizing her for having an affair with Lancelot despite the fact that SHE WAS ENCHANTED when that happened, and surprise surprise, Lancelot (who was also under the influence of magic) got none of that hate, and neither did Arthur, who got enchanted to fall in love with multiple women over the course of the show.

Canonically Arthur Pendragon's love interest and an important and interesting character in the show who's completely shoved aside and ignored in favour of the medieval bbc yaoi ship. At best they put her and Morgana in Lesbian Timeout (ie make them get together and then reduce them to wingwomen at best because god forbid we focus on the medieval bbc yuri). Justice for Gwen right now!

She is prince Arthur's love interest (eventually wife). Arthur is MADLY in love with her. He tells his tyrannical father he would give up his crown to be with her (she's a servant in the series). He forgives her cheating on him with Lancelot (!), which in the show is caused by an evil enchantment, but the characters never find out about it. He chooses her time and time again. His love for Gwen is literally never put into question. Many fans insist to this day that there was no chemistry between Gwen and Arthur compared to Arthur and Merlin. Arthur isn’t even particularly nice to Merlin most of the time! The funny thing is that Merlin himself ships these two so hard and does everything he can to help them get together!! Gwen & Arthur are adorable and too many fans were drunk on the yaoi fumes to see it. ARTHUR WAS A SIMP FOR GWEN

Every Supernatural Woman

Supernatural is so mean to women and committed to queerbaiting but it still gives Sam and Dean lovers to kill. The writers kill and villainize them and the fans get the few that remain

wincest and destiel shippers cannot handle the idea of their blorbos having a Woman THREATENING their SHIPS god FORBID

It literally used to be a running joke that if a female character got introduced you knew she was going to die soon because fans would react so negatively to her "stealing" one of the boys away from the big ship, whether it be destiel or wincest

[pendragonsclotpole]

something i really appreciate about merlin the series is how easily shippable all the characters are and also how some of the ships just fit so well with the characters that i cannot conceive of having any ship wars.

i’m a diehard gwen stan, so i really value the different lenses you can watch the show with and then get different pairings. my girl just deserves better! even as a diehard gwen/lancelot, i also enjoy the ships of gwen/gwaine, gwen/morgana, gwen/arthur, and gwen/leon. i would add merlin to the list of gwen ships, but after season one, they’re strong friendship and sibling-like relationship wins out for me.

and it’s the same for all of the other characters. like do i mostly read merthur fics, yes, but canon-wise when rewatching the show, does gwen/arthur have me in a chokehold? 100% yes.

also merlin with just about everyone. merlin/arthur, merlin/lancelot, merlin/gwaine, merlin/morgana, merlin/freya, merlin/leon. i respect it. i love it. we need more shows like this.

[cynthia39100]

Merlin rewatch -- S2E4: Lancelot and Guinevere

riverbank scene

I never realised how indulgent Arthur looked at the end of this scene.

After the little talk about Gwen and love and what can and cannot be, Arthur warned Merlin of leaking the conversation and Merlin retorted “ More (of a living hell) than you already have?” And it was like Arthur couldn't help but smile at it and failed to maintain a proper threatening face. Love it.

('the threatening face' for reference)

***

Another small moment I like in the scene was the flustered face Arthur made when outside of the camera's focus when Merlin relentlessly teased him about Gwen.

It's adorable. And Merlin was just so happy that Arthur had a new crush! Like in Sophia ep. He definitely didn't expect a full-on love confession from Arthur.

I like that he changed his tone instantly after that and encouraged Arthur not to give up his desire. Such a lovely friendship moment.

***

Lastly, I already mentioned in another post but I love this shot so much!! Merlin was rambling about how Arthur risked their life and Arthur just grinned like a dork. So precious!

It was so unguarded. They just passed through a dangerous situation so his demeanor already loosened up. And he was just happy that while complaining all the way through, Merlin was still with him and he knew Merlin would always choose to go with him. That soft and open grin contained so much of Arthur’s adoration of Merlin.

[S2E4] [other episodes]

[amidnightjen]

It strikes him in the dead of night and he lurches awake with the uncomfortable realisation that he’s the heir to the throne of Camelot - Crown Prince Arthur Pendragon.

Anyone observing this moment might consider him an idiot and for once he would not disagree. He has been an idiot but an idiot in love and that he supposes, many would forgive. But just because he’s come to a rather uncomfortable truth doesn’t make it hurt any less now that he knows what he must do.

Courting Guinevere cannot continue.

Not because he loves her any less or because, as many would see it, she is a servant beneath his notice, but rather he has come to realise that the opposite is true. He cannot continue to court Gwen because he will some day be king and while he can - and has - allowed Gwen’s status as a servant to mean nothing in his endeavour to love and court her, he’s had the horrifying realisation that his status as future king means something to her.

He dwells then, on memories of their every interaction, on the stolen moments between them and how their courtship began.

He allows himself to consider Lancelot.

Lancelot who is far too noble to compete with a prince, too noble to turn away Gwen’s chance at the kind of future marrying Arthur could provide.

Lancelot who has Gwen’s heart.

Even as she makes promises to Arthur - that she means for Arthur knows Gwen could never betray him with lies even as she betrays herself. He may not understand Gwen as well as he would like, for their time is limited together, but he does understand her enough to know that she thinks of him and Camelot before she thinks of her own heart and Lancelot’s.

But Arthur is - and can be - selfish in this. He can want a love that is solely his own and in seeking it he can allow Gwen to seek one of her own, one that is distinctly separate from his.

By the time the Merlin bursts into his chambers in the morning, Arthur has made his decision.

He will marry one day for love, as he always intended, but he will not marry Guinevere. They both deserve better.

Years later, he will reflect on that moment and be glad for the choices he made as he watches Lancelot joyfully swinging around his young son.

He’ll look back at that restless night of painful truths and he’ll be glad the figure by his side is Merlin. As it should always have been.

[sneakyboymerlin]

I’m tired of the escalation and growing frequency of this fandom trend where people believe that any unique loyalty that Merlin earns from, say, Gwaine or Lancelot, is somehow an offense to Arthur, or taking from him the loyalty and companionship he is ~entitled~ to. He is not actually entitled to anyone’s friendship because he might be “lonely” or jealous or what-have-you.

Posts like this also stress that Arthur would be put out by his knights choosing Merlin over him in the case of a magic reveal, which I find ridiculous since they’ve lowered the stakes from Arthur is committing a genocide against Merlin’s people down to… Arthur will be sad if their companions pick Merlin over him. Regardless, Merlin earned the friendship and loyalty of these people through his own kindness and understanding. Arthur is not entitled to the same just because it feels ~unfair~ that Merlin might have more friends.

More recently, I found a post that, intentionally or not, specifically downplays Gwaine’s friendship to Merlin in favor of casting his loyalty to Arthur as greater than it is in reality. I understand that it’s easy to see a post like that and, without knowing the proper context, conclude that it must be accurate, but most posts on here are working backwards through confirmation bias to prove a point, and therefore will disregard any context that does not fit the argument being made.

Because people believe that the king is entitled to an equal amount of love from Gwaine as his servant is (I wonder what subconscious bias that idea comes from…), they will look at the series through whichever lens fits their objective. But this is the crux of the argument: no one is entitled to anyone else’s feelings, in friendship or romance or sex or duty or any other relationship type.

In truth, Gwaine gains a begrudging respect for Arthur towards the climax of his introductory episode, not a friendship. While he considers Arthur to be a “brat,” he recognizes that Arthur does not apparently base a person’s worth on their background. By Gwaine’s standards, this makes him an exception among nobles.

Despite this, he does not become close with Arthur as far as canon proves, and he still explicitly regards Merlin above Arthur, both in words and in actions, consistently so even after he is knighted. Again, his sense of duty to Arthur does not automatically make them friends, nor does it necessarily conflict with his loyalty to Merlin. Most importantly, there is nothing wrong with Gwaine placing Merlin above Arthur.

Overall, Gwaine does have a sense of loyalty towards Arthur. Is he shown to actually be friends with him, though? In short, no. Although Gwaine already shows four episodes prior to the events of 3x08 that he is willing to die to defend Arthur based on his sense of morality, he explicitly does not consider Arthur a friend (to Merlin: “You’re the only friend I’ve got.”). Rather, he feels duty-bound because he believes that Arthur is decent (for a noble) and actually worthy of his title. In truth, Gwaine is closer to Gwen than he is to Arthur, despite their shaky start.

Arthur is someone who Gwaine has deemed good enough for his position as a leader, but it is Merlin who he is utmost loyal to. This is imperative to understanding Gwaine as a character, and it is ultimately an overarching motif that defines who he is—someone who defies classist expectations, who sticks to his own sense of right vs. wrong, and who is deeply loyal to those who he believes deserve that loyalty. But there is no such thing as “deserving” someone’s love. Gwaine offers that to Merlin freely, and it’s never a conscious choice to feel that way. Arthur cannot be “owed” the same. Gwaine feeling duty-bound to Arthur does not mean that they have the same emotional connection or depth between them that Merlin and Gwaine have. It doesn’t have to mean that.

Arthur is not entitled to Gwaine’s friendship or loyalty, and it would not make sense for Gwaine to place Arthur above Merlin to begin with, for all of the aforementioned reasons and more. If Gwaine chose Merlin over Arthur in the case of a magic reveal, this would not be “unfair” to Arthur, and it wouldn’t matter if it made Arthur feel “lonely,” because in this scenario, Gwaine is doing what he believes is right, rather than standing by Arthur based on a sense of duty—one that is dependent on his belief that Arthur judges people based on their actions instead of their birth circumstances. And if Gwaine was forced to choose between Merlin and Arthur, at the end of the day, the answer to that is fairly obvious:

[tansyuduri]

Merlin Loregasm Rewatch S1E10

Hi Everyone! Welcome to my rewatch of Merlin focusing on the lore. I am a giant nerd so pretty excited about this. We’re on THE MOMENT OF TRUTH

LETS GO! This one doesnt have the most lore so I am finding little things to cover too. So goosekeeping. In Roman Britain keeping goose domestically was not a big thing. However, by early medieval times, it had very much increased. Merlin stands between these. So keeping geese makes sense. Geese also naturally fatten themselves for winter if left to do so. So are a good choice for a village that doesn't have much to spare in the way of cultivated food.

Now in Feudalism one of the things that was a lord's responsability was basically making sure raiders did not come and do this. Of course, this was done with various degrees of success. Ealdor is a border region and from what we learn. While it is in Cenred's kingdom it does not seem to have a lesser noble of the kingdom ruling over it. It also must be far from Cenred's court. This would leave it far from any protection. Cenred would have more of an interest protecting villages that actually provided him food. (Thus kept up their side of the feudalism deal.) This is later reinforced when it is said they appealed to Cenred (And that their safety is his responsibility) but he cares little for the outlying regions.

Merlin doesn't actually show any lesser nobility that does not live in capital cities. It does however imply they exist. (See Lancelot for more on this) What I find interesting is that Ealdor was not raided before in recent memory. Or at least that it's not mentioned. I wonder if Merlin had anything to do with this.

Funfact "gealdor" in old English means spell or charm or incantation while Ealdor itself means chief, leader, head of family. Prince or king, or Orgin or source. (The last one seems most likely as it is Merlin's place of origin. I cannot find anything about Aecitir Also while Uther is right sending an army over the border would be an act of war. He could VERY likely get away with sending some men as Arthur suggests. ESPECIALLY since there is little likelihood of any of Cenred's soldiers being in the area to know. Its possible if this audience was granted in private he might have risked doing so. And he could have said no and then sent soldiors secretly later BUT this is Uther we are talking about sooooo.

*Screams in not as poor as most commoners Gwen family theory* I feel like I'm kicking a dead horse here but BEING ABLE TO GIVE PEOPLE WEAPONS AND ARMOR IS A BIG DEAL

Morgana: Bring back memories of when I used to beat you

Arthur: That never happened.

So Morgana lost her father at age 10 I have no idea what age Arthur would have been but I'm inclined to believe Morgana and that Arthur made excuses or something. NOW Morgana knows how to fight so I think we need to ask how she was trained? Did Arthur practice with her? Or was she actually trained? From what we see in the show most noblewomen do not know how to fight with swords. So it is not a traditional part of their training in the Merlin world. (The only other noble woman we see using a weapon is Mithian with a crossbow on the hunt and her loving hunting is a rarity by Arthur's reaction.) Medieval woman often used bows on the hunt so this is "normal" There are examples of medieval woman warriors but they are fairly rare. I think Morgana got actual lessons in sword craft from knights and that is was an indulgence of her wanting to learn it by Uther.

OKAY! So they keep chickens too! I'm guessing that they mostly keep them for eggs and perhaps meat very occasionally. Eggs would be a HUGELY valuable source of protein, Along with milk (Merlin mentions there being cows even if we do not see them in this episode) So from what we see, Merlin's diet growing up would have been milk, grains, eggs, and likely some fruits and vegetables as we saw those taken earlier. Perhaps every once in a while some meat.

Confirmation most of the village did not know about Merlin's Secret. I gotta wonder what they thought when Hunith up and sent him seemingly defenseless on the same road we see so many bandits on. Actually Hunith makes her way to Camalot twice on her own though. So Bandaits just ignore peasants if they don't look like they have anything of value on them but if knights and rich people are around attack? I think that's the only explanation for how safe roads in Merlin seem to be for peasants without valuables and how dangerous for LITTERALY everyone else.

Will: why did you Leave?

Merlin: It wasn't what I wanted. My mother was worried. When she found out you knew she was so angry.

Will: I wouldn't have told anyone.

We also know Hunnith said Merlin was at odds with people and Merlin later says you cannot always trust people. (There is also nearly dropping a tree on old man simons with magic.) This entire thing is interesting because Cenred does not hate magic like Uther does. He was fine with Morgouse. So it's quite possible magic is not illegal, or if those rules were in place once Cenred ignored him. Personally I think Hunith was afraid of Cenred taking Merlin and using him as a weapon. Perhaps there would have been a large reward for anyone who discovered a powerful magic user and brought the news to Cenred. This is just a theory of course. She also might have been afraid of someone putting together him being Balinor's son and that information getting out.

Let's take a moment to look at the status of women in the Merlin world. Casual sexism is a thing ("You are such a girl's pedicoat , losing to a girl being bad, Arthur not wanting the woman to fight. ETC) but we sometimes see common women owning land and businesses (Mary's tavern that appears in the Gwaine episode. Alice being a healer.) And the old religion VERY much revered women. However, Female Knights don't seem to be a thing. In fact, As we addressed earlier girls being skilled in battle seems unusual (Though we it in a magic outlaw group once and Isolde. As well as Morgana and Morgouse) and killing them in battle is seen as particularly bad. However, like real medieval woman, they can participate in hunting ETC. They also CAN rule (Gwen, Morgana, Annis) Chastity does not seem as big a deal. Woman can be alone with men without bad comments. And they go where they want without escort. Olaf's behavior toward Vivian is viewed as excessive as well. However, I don't think most noble women have sex before marriage. (Talking about Arthurs's intentions being honorable Uther not trying to bed Katrina until their wedding knight.) While perhaps doing it is not such a big deal (Vivian talking about previous men being chased with knives, Uther urging Arthur to have fun while he can with Sofia) Unsure about commoners. Also I would guess Men inheriting before women is not a thing based on how Morgana is seen as a viable heir to the throne. Also by the size of families we see birth control is readily available. SO A huge improvement on the real middle ages. But casual sexism is still a thing.

[star-rie]

when your servant is a little shite

-----------------------

Then Merlin looks at Gaius, who’s sitting there, eyeing him as if he knows what Merlin is going to do.

‘Merlin, no’

‘Merlin yes’

or

Merlin tests the limits of Arthur’s patience.

-----------------------

alternatively, ao3 link

original prompt

PART 1, PART 2, PART 3 (you're here), PART 4, PART 5, PART 6

-----------------------

Merlin is bored, he’s so bored listening to the on-and-off debate about taxes, the exchange rate, and other things that he doesn’t understand.

They rarely hold meetings to discuss the economy; Merlin understands that it’s boring. But Camelot’s Royal Court has a tradition of holding a conference about it at least every year. They had it twice this year.

Merlin tries to ogle at the blond King to get rid of his sleepiness. But even looking at Arthur isn’t getting rid of his boredom. He looks so plain, sitting in his chair, nodding to whatever the court says.

So Merlin observes the court instead. Merlin watches as the noble who gossiped about him a few days ago, Sir Lunacracy something, passionately explains how Cendred’s economy runs. Pointing wildly at the paper in front of him. Merlin didn’t understand any of it.

He looks at the noble beside him, yes, Merlin recognizes him. It was his friend, also the same person from a few days ago. Who’s name Merlin cannot remember.

And then he thought about George’s reason for not being here, getting lost on what he should do next to make him suffer and the whole conversation about that day replayed in his mind.

He thinks of all the things Arthur let him get away with. And the whole breakfast set-up that started happening recently. Messing with Arthur, he finds, is quite enjoyable. He wishes he can mess with him more.

And then he’s not so sleepy anymore. Wait, that's not a bad idea.

It’s just this year’s second economics conference, right…it’s not like it’s actually that important. Just look at Arthur! He’s about to fall off his chair!

So as they passionately debate whether to implement Cendred’s economics into their system or not, Merlin devises his evil plan.

He can set the court on fire, but that’ll be too much work for him and everyone involved. And that’s way out of the question. People can get hurt.

Or should he mess up the room with an indoor tornado instead? It’ll be funny to see the royals picking up their papers scattered across the room. But they're royalty, they're going to make Merlin do it instead.

Merlin frowns, it has to be eye-catchy but not disastrous enough that Merlin has to do extra work. Then Merlin looks at Gaius, who’s sitting there, eyeing him as if he knows what Merlin is going to do.

‘Merlin, no’

‘Merlin yes’

So he slides beside Arthur. “Excuse me,” he says as he jumps on the table to sit on it. The nobles stopped talking.

Gaius palmed his face. Leon is confused. Gwaine is still sleeping. Percival and Elyan are looking at each other. Lancelot and Gwen raised an eyebrow at him. Sir Lendun and his friend are stiff, probably stopping themselves from looking at each other to scream, ‘See! I knew he was a lunatic!” and George is nowhere to be seen.

Oh, there’s also Mordred, but Merlin doesn’t care about him.

“Merlin, what are you doing?” Arthur half-whispered behind him, very loudly in the room.

“I’m tired, my lord. I need to sit,” he whispered back before turning to face the entire court, smiling at them.

Gaius is raising a disapproving eyebrow at him, and Percival is shaking Gwaine to wake now.

“Go on then,” he told them. “Don’t let me stop you.” He crosses his leg, not wanting to knock off ink, he’ll have to clean that up if he does. When he tries to read the parchment in front of him, Sir Lundanger immediately snatches it from him, standing in fury.

“This is madness!”

“You are disrespecting the royal court of Camelot!” The other royals are following him.

“King Arthur, do something!”

Even under Gaius' disappointed stare, Merlin is proud of himself. This is way more amusing than Cendred’s economics or something about the exchange rate.

Okay, yes, maybe people think he’s crazy, but it’s not like they think he’s sane in the first place either. Merlin turns to Arthur, not in the slightest bit apologetic. Arthur, on the other hand, looks like he’s trying not to murder him there and then.

But he saw how Arthur calms himself and stands. He tightly grips Merlin’s shoulders and addresses the court: “I am very sorry, my lords. My servant here has a bit of a mental affliction. He’s a bit messed up in the head. Isn’t that right, Gaius?”

Gaius immediately answers, “Of course, I’m surprised he managed to get through life, even today.”

Merlin was about to say, 'No, I’m not’ but stops when Arthur tightens his grip.

“Very ill,” he grits through his teeth, and after a while, Arthur sighs, “But he is tired, and he shall sit.”

And then he lifts Merlin up, and Merlin has to hold Arthur very tightly to stop himself from flying. He involuntarily yelps, staring into Arthur’s eyes and then back at the court and back at Arthur’s face, and suddenly he felt very self-conscious.

Arthur viciously grins at him before putting him in his chair. Then Arthur asks, “Happy Merlin?”

Merlin nods, embarrassment slowly catching up to him. Oh my god, he thought, Arthur just carries him like a girl!

“Now! Where were we, something about Cendred and economics?”

Merlin wallows in his own embarrassment for a solid 10 minutes before he realizes: Arthur has just given up his seat for him.

He looks at Arthur from across the room, looking at the plans Sir Lusenberg is holding.

Arthur gave his seat to him. Arthur gave his seat—

And then Merlin blushes deep red, sinking into Arthur’s chair. Later that night, Gaius gave him a stern talking-to. The knights patted him when they met in the halls. Royalty scowls if they cross-path with Merlin.

When the next meeting rolled around, Arthur made sure to give the council an extra pair of chairs, exactly at his side, and forced Merlin to sit beside him.

[angelynmoon]

Merlin and Lancelot emerge from their self imposed isolation after three days, Merlin with a skip in their step and Lancelot with a smile that Gwaine called smug.

Hunith handed Theron over with little fuss and no comment on Merlin's change, Effie and Ellie also don't comment except to start calling Merlin mum rather than daddy.

Merlin does refuse to turn the handful of people who ignored their warning back into humans, stating that they needed to learn their lessons about interrupting their time with Lancelot, though Merlin assured Arthur later that the effects would wear off within the week.

Lancelot, while always protective of Merlin, takes it to a new level now that they are carrying a child, he stands guard for Merlin and Gwen both as they talk about what is to come for their pregnancies with Freya, Merlin insists that Hunith stay, they refuse to intertain the idea of someone else delivering their child, and Hunith has assisted in many births, their villiage was very small.

Gaius checks in on Merlin and Gwen, but he has other duties and both are more comfortable speaking with Hunith about woman's problems that crop up.

Arthur is suddenly glad he'd thought to invite Hunith to Camelot, she gave the Castle a softer touch and it was good for Gwen and Merlin to have a mother around, plus all the children adored Grandmum Hunith, even Morgana would only sit still for lessons if Hunith was the one teaching them.

Lancelot is not the only Knight to get more protective over Merlin and Gwen, Arthur knows he has, insisting that Merlin sit whenever possible, and there may be a squire whose only job is to follow his wife with a padded chair for if she needs rest.

Both Merlin and Gwen roll their eyes at him when he offers them chairs, but neither stop him and he's glad for that.

He's worried, more than he thought he'd be, about both pregnancies, his mother died in childbirth, and though no one speaks of it, Uther tried for a spare heir many times, only Morgana survived of his siblings and none of their mothers left the birthing bed alive.

So, Arthur worries and he tries to make life as stress free for his wife and his best friend as he can, he keeps Lancelot in the Castle when he'd normally send him on missions hexd trust to no one else, Gwaine and Percival have taken over those missions, Elyan kept close for Gwen.

But sometimes he dreams, they are not happy dreams, he dreams of blood soaked sheets, of hands pushing a screaming babe at him and of sorrow filled eyes as news of his wife's death are dilivered, the person dead in the birthing bed switches between Merlin and Gwen with no rhyme or reason.

On those nights Arthur cannot bring himself to stay in his marriage bed, it's the bed that would bring his wife's death on those nights and he can't stay there.

The guards make no comment as he leaves his chambers, both of them remaining at the doors as Arthur goes for a midnight walk.

Hunith finds him in his mother's garden, she does not speak, only sits next to him on the bench and pulls him into a hug that he sinks into, he can't help it, it's a mother's hug, something he never got until Merlin came into his life and stayed there.

"Merlin won't let anything happen to Gwen, and neither will Freya." Hunith told him.

"I can't stop dreaming about it, my mother..." Arthur said quietly.

"Your mother's circumstances were quite different, as were all the others." Hunith stopped him, "Your Father banned Magic, you cannot commit the atrosities that he did without consequence, that it came at the expense of other's lives was his own selfishness because he did not stop at the first woman."

"How can I stop dreaming of them dying?" Arthur asked, "I can't stop seeing them die, I can't..., I don't want to have a child at Gwen's expense, and I don't want Merlin to die either."

Hunith looked at him and hummed, "I can give you a draught for the dreams, but it doesn't relieve the cause of them, only a successful birth can do that. But Merlin and Gwen are strong, they have good odds, especially with a Goddess on their side." Hunith motioned to the pond that Freya often lounged in, though she appeared absent tonight,nfir which Arthur was glad.

"It's alright to be frightened, Arthur, I was scared when I realised I was going to have Merlin, I was alone, unwed, and Merlin showed signed of Magic long before I gave birth, it's normal, things will turn out right, you'll see. Now, come on, I'll make you a snack and some warm milk before you head off to bed." Hunith said as she got up.

Arthur followed her, anxieties soothed over for the moment, he was sure to continue his protectiveness but no one was blaming him for that, even Lancelot seemed to understand Arthur's overprotectiveness when it came to the man's Mate and shared the sentiment with Gwen.

Come to think of it Gwaine was extreemly protective of Gwen and Merlin as well, perhaps it was a Dragon thing, either way, Arthur was glad that so many people were looking after his wife and his best friend, even if he still worried.

--

A/n: So, I figured that Arthur might have some anxieties about Gwen and Merlin's pregnancies and this chapter came along to explore them.

[justaz]

s1ep10 will says “oh so you told arthur your secret then?…face it merlin, you’re living a lie” and i desperately need someone to say that to him again in front of arthur and the knights. shiiit au where will survives and visits merlin in camelot years later when arthur is king and they have the same argument. will turns to the peanut gallery where arthur staring at him with a raised brow and goes “how many years have you lived here merlin? and you still haven’t told him. you haven’t told any of them. you may surround yourself with people you call friends, but you are completely alone here.” and storms off.

merlin who also storms off after standing still in shock for a moment, fighting back tears bc will is right. it’s been so draining for merlin to live a life built on lies, to hide himself from his friends, to pretend to be something he’s not. all he wants is to be loved and appreciated for what he is. everyone in camelot loves the merlin he’s carefully crafted, not the merlin he is. lancelot follows after him and is his shoulder to cry on after that whole show.

the other knights are sitting around going “wtf just happened” and theorizing on this secret will mentioned. there’s also a quieter, secret conversation going on where unnamed knights plan out will’s murder for making merlin cry. anyways, lancelot tells them to drop it after they prod him for answers and call him out for being the only one of the knights to know merlin’s secret.

from then on the knights keep at least a quarter of their attention on merlin when he’s near. they watch him as if he’ll slip and say whatever his secret is out loud. gwaine keeps the most attention on merlin and is the first one to find out. he follows merlin out of the room and lowers his voice and goes “you know, i would commit regicide for you if you asked. if you came into my chambers and were like ‘gods arthur is so annoying, lets kill him’ i’d do it in a heartbeat.” he then leans in closer and whispers “and if you had magic, i wouldn’t tell. i’d probably just convince you to use it for pranks.” elyan finds them hugging in the hall, merlin crying into gwaine’s shoulder and gwaine holding back his own tears.

the other knights are slow on the uptake but all eventually get there in the end, except arthur. the king cannot for the life of him sniff out this secret the other knights found out. whats infuriating is that they had banded together in determination to figure out the secret and said they’d help guide one another to the truth once they did or just outright tell each other. instead, every time one of them figured it out and the others asked them about it, they’d just get all sullen and serious and say “it’s not my secret to tell” so arthur really has no idea

merlin has to work up the courage to face arthur and tell him himself. it takes a while. like a WHILE. like A WHILEEEE. merlin makes up with will and the other knights find out about his magic one at a time and express their support and love and apologies for all the inconsiderate and harmful things they’ve said in the past. slowly, merlin’s resolve and confidence strengthens. yet he stalls and stalls and stalls and eventually gwen and audrey the cook and even george figure him out before he can tell arthur.

he’s so nervous he ends up just letting the words fall out of his mouth, “tomorrow you have to be up bright and early for a meeting about queen annis’s visit next week also i have magic” arthur just stares at him from his bed. he’s miffed bc he was SO CLOSE to figuring it out, he knew it!! if merlin had just waited like another week or two he would’ve got there eventually. probably. also he’s been lied to but that takes back burner rn bc merlin just spoiled all the progress he made in figuring out what he’s been hiding. he throws a pillow at him and complains about it.

[multifandombullshitbabes]

10

11

12

13

And

14

let's fucking go round two

10: Favorite character.

this is quite literally one of the hardest questions for me, 'cuz whenever i choose one, another one pops in my head and makes a good case for themselves. hmm. I might have to say, except for the main 4, freya!! i love her, theres so much potential there. Freylin is one of my otps, right after merthur, etc.

11: Random Knights Headcanon.

Without them ever meaning to, late nights at the tavern always turn grim and deep. It always starts loud and happy and chaotic, but then they get emotional or wistful or what have you. They're both so emotionally repressed (men) but also closer than any brother any of them may or may not have.

12: Random Merlin Headcanon.

He is deeply scared of the idea of being stuck in a cave filled with water, even if the water is just shin deep. He got a really bad scare once when he was a kid and it never left him, even when he knows he can save himself. It always freezes him up to the point where it becomes dangerous.

13: Random Servant Headcanon.

There's a few people that the servants consistently thirst for, and they do sometimes move their duties around so that one of them might have some more time with their crush. This crush list consists of: Merlin, Gwen, Elyan, Leon, Morgana, Lancelot, Percival. Gwaine isn't on this list much since he's actually a lot cornier than ppl think, and also cuz he will wingman you himself to his buddies, so theres no point. Arthur isnt here since a lot of the servants know him for too long and cannot feel nothing of the sort for him; also, everyone knows that hes terribly spoken for (gwen and merlin).

14: Favorite oc of yours?

Ngl, my Freylin kids LMAOOO. They're twins and so cute!! I'm still trying to choose names, but it's a boy and a girl. Also Freya bet on twins while merlin bet on just 1 bby, so he nows owes her money.

[earlgreyinpajamas]

hi! sorry to bother, but i’ve been searching for this one specific fic literally all morning and it’s been driving me insane, so i’d thought i’d at least give this a go

it’s a merthur fic on ao3, set in modern times. defintiely longer than a couple thousand but i’m not really sure of the exact length and i can’t remember how well tagged it was (which is very annoying i know, sorry!)

the whole premise is that gwen and lancelot just started dating (or got engaged??) and basically merged merlin and arthur’s friend groups together. however, when merlin and arthur meet, they already know each other because they used to date in high school before they had a big falling out. they keep their history hidden from their friends and pretend they just met. gwaine and merlin move in together and have a house warming party and arthur’s gift to merlin is a giraffe figurine wearing a football jersey with a football glued to its foot, which is an old inside joke between them. gwen and morgana try to do a lot of meddling to get the pair together, like inviting them for coffee and then leaving them alone. arthur eventually blows up on them at some point saying how they need to back off because they don’t know everything. eventually merlin and arthur manage to get back together.

the whole reason their high school relationship went down was because arthur didn’t want to come out and merlin either did or was already out. uther was a big reason arthur didn’t come out i think. they also played on the same football team together in high school but they were really bad and lost pretty much always including to a team of girls like the town over that were younger than them. arthur used to call merlin a giraffe, hence the whole housewarming gift thing. they have a good conversation when they’re older about how they were both wrong, how arthur shouldn’t have expected merlin to stay hidden for him but also about how merlin shouldn’t have expected arthur to put himself at risk for him or soenthing along those lines.

i forget what arthur does, but merlin’s like a young children art teacher. there’s a short scene where merlin’s in his class and causes trouble. after merlin and arthur get back together, merlin is like. scared to be alone with arthur and makes up fake plans that he was planning on going to dinner at lancelot and gwen’s place after arthur showed up and asked if he wanted to go on a date. so then there’s this awkward dinner and gwen’s with the four of them and arthur realizes merlin never went to the college they both planned on going to together because arthur wasn’t there. i also think that gwen like offers support to arthur because he was trying to leave since he realized merlin made up plans in order to not be alone with him

it eventually ends happily with them together, but i can’t really remember the specifics of the end

sorry this is extremely long, i remember a good bit of the fic but just cannot find it for the life of me, if you can help i’d appreciate it but no worries if you can’t!

ahhh you've described it so well but unfortunately i don't know it either but i really want to read it now. anyone? TT