#look Gwen another fic with the word magic in that you can get me with in future 😝

[rockitmans]

Person A burns their tongue on hot chocolate and Person B offers to kiss it better.

We get into a heated debate in class, and I honestly don’t really care that much, but I’m having too much fun watching you get all fired up

I was admiring a bird and wolf-whistled to get its attention but you walked directly in my path and thought I was whistling at you

They're all taken from the doc I sent you a while back with the many, many prompts that sometimes give me inspiration overload lol <3

This was meant to be a drabble but the thought got away from me, I can only apologise. Have a 1.6k word 4+1 style thing based on #1.

Hope you like it Gwen ❤️

Warnings: Mentions of blood, homophobia and bullying consistent with canon.

~~~~~~

Kind of Magic

one

When Blaine is five, he meets Kurt for the first time. He likes Kurt because Kurt is good at playing dress up and and draws really straight chalk lines when they play hopscotch. But mostly it's because he's kind of magic. 

Blaine learns this after a nasty fall leaves him with a split knee and bruised pride. The nice nurse bandages him up and gives him a sucker and tells him to be brave and Blaine tries, he really does. But it still hurts a lot and he feels a bit wobbly when he goes back to Kurt. 

"Did she not give it the magic kiss?" Kurt frowns, seeing the way Blaine is hobbling.

"Magic kiss?"

"Yeah," Kurt says, like this should be obvious. "When I fall down my mom always gives me a magic kiss to make it all better."

"Oh." Blaine thinks about this. It's not something his mom does, nor his nanny, but it seems reasonable. "She gave me a bandage but no kiss. Maybe that's why it still hurts." 

"Useless," Kurt declares with all the confidence of a wronged five year old. "Come here."

They sit on one of the benches and Blaine draws his knee to his chest, rolling up his pants leg to reveal the bandage. Kurt tuts, like the idiocy of adults can only continue to astound him. 

"I'm going to kiss it better," he announces grandly to no one in particular and then plants a swift kiss to Blaine's bandaged knee. He looks at Blaine expectantly. "Good?"

Blaine flexes his leg. He's sure it does feel a bit less sore. And his pride is virtually all the way back in tact. He feels practically buoyant. "Yeah!" he cries brightly. "Thanks, Kurt."

"It's all about the kiss," Kurt says seriously.

two

When Blaine is twelve, he and Kurt are racing up and down the block on their bikes when he manages to hit the sidewalk at the wrong angle and send himself sprawling. Kurt is by his side in a moment, gentle hands helping him sit and brow creased with concern. 

"Are you okay? The ground actually shook."

"It did not," Blaine protests, rubbing his elbow. "I'm fine. It's just this." He offers his elbow and Kurt hisses. Blaine cranes his neck and sees the smear of blood. He looks away again. 

"We're gonna need to wrap that," Kurt says and helps Blaine to his feet. "Come on."

"Will you kiss it for me?" Blaine teases, remembering countless childhood healing kisses. It's just a joke, one based in nostalgia of simpler times, but Kurt freezes. 

"We can't do that any more," he snaps but he doesn't look angry. He looks terrified. Blaine doesn't understand it at the time, though he grows to. Over years of whispers and locker shoves and dumpster throws. He understands that Kurt, even at twelve, was realising something that Blaine hadn't quite gotten to yet. 

"OK. It was just a joke, Kurt," he says mildly. 

"Those kisses won't help anymore," Kurt says firmly. "Kissing other boys will only hurt." 

"OK," Blaine repeats, bemused but following Kurt's lead. Just like he always does. 

three 

When Blaine is eighteen he finally fights back. It's hopeless of course. But something in him snaps. The years of harassment that he's suffered, and Kurt even worse than him, crystallises into a single misguided punch square against Azimo's jaw. 

It hurts. A lot. He splits the skin on his knuckles and is only lucky that Azimo is too stunned to instantly enact horrible retribution. He runs. And because it's what he always does, he goes to find Kurt. 

Kurt is heading to class but diverts the second he sees how rattled Blaine is. 

"Bathroom, come on," Kurt says, steering him to the quietest one by the art rooms. He gets Blaine to sit on the counter while he carefully dabs at his knuckles with damp toilet tissue. "What happened?"

"Punched Azimo," Blaine admits. 

"And you're still alive?"

"Clocked him right on the jaw. I think it surprised him enough for me to get away. Or he's concussed. It's probably wrong to hope that someone is concussed though."

"If that person is Azimo or one of his stupid gang, I think it's allowed. Pretty sure there's exemptions for wishing pain on homophobes. And punching them."

"Well thank God," Blaine sighs. "That's not going to save me later though."

"No," Kurt agrees quietly. He doesn't ask why Blaine did it. One of them was bound to snap eventually. Instead he looks into Blaine's face and smiles mischievously. "Want me to kiss it better?"

Blaine rolls his eyes. "Ha ha." 

"You think I won't?" Kurt says, eyes sparkling with the challenge.  He's incredibly gentle, twining their fingers to bring Blaine's hand to his mouth and skimming a light kiss over his knuckles. 

Blaine's heart jolts into his throat. He and Kurt have touched a thousand times a thousand ways. But there's something so shockingly intimate about the gesture that it steals his breath from him. 

"I thought we didn't do that anymore?" Blaine says because if he doesn't say something he'll literally combust. 

"They'll hate us anyway," Kurt says. "It doesn't matter what we do. They hate us anyway for what we are. So I'm going to kiss my best friends battle scars. Because it's all I fucking can do." 

"Kurt-"

"I'm sorry, you know?" Kurt interrupts. "If you weren't so close to me I think you could have flown under the radar. I think you could have been okay."

"That's ridiculous," Blaine says firmly. Because it is. For many reasons. "I never could have hidden who I am. I would have suffocated. And I would never want to go anywhere you can't go. Even under a radar."

Kurt flushes, pink and pleased. "You're ridiculous," he says softly. But his lips find Blaine's knuckles again. 

four

When Blaine is twenty he breaks up with his first serious boyfriend. Apparently Derek can't handle how much Blaine talks about Kurt. Or how much time he spends with Kurt. Or the fact that he lives with Kurt. Or… the kissing thing. 

"It's just a bit!" Blaine tries to explain. "Like kissing something better. Purely platonic."

"It doesn't feel platonic," Derek says. 

Clearly Derek is an idiot who has never experienced wonder or love or friendship. It doesn't matter how Blaine argues his case, Derek won't be swayed. 

"You should want me to kiss your hurts away," Derek tries later. Which is just ridiculous. Because Derek isn't magic the way that Kurt is.

Blaine knows it's over between them, then. Kurt is as much a part of Blaine as a limb at this point and any boyfriend of his is going to have to understand that. 

Kurt in fact, is the one that is there to pick up the pieces. With cuddles and ice cream and some well chosen insults towards Derek.

"Honestly, Blaine, he wore crocs. I'm so glad I don't have to bite my tongue about it anymore."

"You didn't bite your tongue," Blaine points out. "You insulted him to his face on the one occasion it happened and have basically complained about it non stop ever since."

"But I could have been so much more scathing," Kurt says. Which is probably true. 

Blaine sighs and snuggles into Kurt's chest. He feels hollow. He and Derek had been together over a year. And all that was for nothing now. A year of memories now tainted with the pain of Derek's ungrounded accusations. Tears spring to his eyes and he tenses, biting his lip against a sob. 

"Is there anything I can do?" Kurt asks, soft against the shell of Blaine's ear. 

"Just hold me," Blaine says shakily. "I don't think this is something you can kiss better."

"Maybe not," Kurt concedes. But he tries anyway, tucking Blaine closer against him and dropping comforting kisses into his curls. 

five

Blaine is twenty two when everything finally starts to make sense. Newly graduated and still living with Kurt and both making ends meet with odd jobs until The Job comes along. But they're happy, and that's all that matters. 

He's on his way home when Kurt calls him with the news of a good audition. 'Good' based on vibes only, he won't know about callbacks for days yet. But Blaine wants to celebrate the victory anyway because that's what roommates and best friends do. 

He picks them up a hot chocolate at the truck just down the block from their apartment. It's simple but they both always agree that it tastes the best and stays hot the longest. 

"Hey, sweetheart," Kurt greets him happily when Blaine steps through the door.  

"Hey, you. I bought us hot chocolate. To celebrate your success."

Kurt laughs, shaking his head slightly. "Amazing," he says, taking one and cradling it in his hands. "You're amazing."

"Oh, you," Blaine jokes, but it makes his stomach flip in a way that's happening a lot lately. He hides his uncertainty by taking way too big a sip of hot chocolate."Fuck!" he yelps as the scalding liquid hits his tongue and makes his eyes water. "Shit shit shit." 

"Are you okay?" Kurt says, clunking his own drink down in alarm.

"Yeah," Blaine sighs. "Just burnt my tongue like an idiot."

"Oh…" Kurt looks at him and the moment seems to stretch as their eyes meet. "Want me to kiss it better?"

Blaine is half a breath from making a joke of it. Rolling his eyes and dismissing it. But Kurt's gaze is steady. He's smiling, but not in a teasing way. In a hopeful way. He's completely radiant, the most insanely gorgeous person Blaine has even seen. 

Blaine is reminded about all the times Kurt has offered to soothe his hurts across nearly two decades. How Blaine has never even considered forging a path that would take him from Kurt's side. How their lives are irretrievably entwined and always will be, no matter what happens now. And he thinks oh. 

Blaine nods slowly and Kurt's hands find his jaw and there's a pause that seems to take less than a second and an entire lifetime all at once. And then Kurt's mouth meets his. And it is kind of magic. 

[ink4blotches]

Pav x spider reader who is from spider-punks world and is like a little sister to hobie but likes Pav cause I need more Pav fics 😭😭

I gotchu anon ;) I'll probably be asleep when this uploads but just so you know I was rolling around in my bed writing this simply because Hobie's British in this is so bad so please forgive that little...thing.

Synopsis/Feels: Reader is Hobie's little sis but not by blood but u can't rlly tell, bad British slang beware, clueless Pav, mentions of Tom Holland(TW), etc.

Word Ct.:667

Without further ado...

Spider-Who?(Pavitr Prabhakar x Reader)

"Woah, he's awesome..." I sigh in amazement as I watch Pav swoop through the streets of Mumbattan.

"Mumbattan has the worst traffic I tell ya...aye, wot er you lookin at, kid?" Hobie asks as he realizes I've got my eyes focused on the streets below.

"Just...stuff..." I dodge his question as I take a bite of my scone, courtesy of your 2nd favorite Brit. It's me, I'm the 1st favorite Brit of course.

"Too right...you ready to skedaddle back to our universe kid? I miss me guitar." Hobie shrugs, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"Er...yeh, I guess." I sigh, watching as Hobie opens a portal(idk how the portal thing works Sue me).

"Hey guys! Leaving so soon?" Pav suddenly lands next to us, looking flawlessly perfect despite fighting a whole villain just a second ago.

"Yeh, sorry mate but yer universe is borin...right kid?" Hobie asks me. I barely hear him and decide to disregard it in favor of staring at Pav.

"Kid? Hello? Yer brain get hit with a rock...?" Hobie asks, popping me in the back of my head.

"I'm good! I'm great. Sorry, were said what you?" I immediately realize my sentence makes no sense as Pav and Hobie both look at me in confusion.

Hobie locks eyes with me.

Don't look at Pav, don't look at Pav, don't look at Pav...

My eyes dart to Pav and quickly go back to Hobie's.

FUCK.

"Oh, I gotcha...lil bugger's got a crush. Ain't that a bitch...wild how he ain't even from your own universe." Hobie says casually.

"What? Is it someone from the Spider Society?! Miles? Or Gwen?" Pav starts throwing out random names of teenage Spider-Men from the society.

"Wait...don't tell me it's....Miguel?!" Pav looks at me in disgust for a second before I shoot a web at his mouth.

As I watch Pavitr try to pry the web off Hobie pulls me to the side.

"C'mon, you gotta pick another. Love Pav, but he's...y'know....Pav." Hobie trails off, assuming I understand him.

"Well yeh, but he's also...Pav, y'know?" I argue slightly.

"Right and I get that...but he's Pav." Hobie complains to me, his grip on my shoulder tightening.

"I'm not gonna have this conversation with you Hobart. Don't you have taxes to file?" I ask with an eye roll.

"Fine, fine!" Hobie holds both his hands up in surrender. "You gonna tell 'im soon? Might have to spell it out since he's...Pav." Hobie shrugs.

"You mean you don't care?" I ask with a raise of my eyebrow.

"Course not kid. He might be Pav, but 'e's also Pav." Hobie emphasizes his words like it'll magically make sense.

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?" Pav asks, finally joining us.

I give Hobie a silent plead.

"Nun much...I was bout to head back. Kid said she wants to stay awhile though." Hobie lies.

For reference I was thinking it but I didn't want to say it.

"Oh, great! I can show you my favorite street food stands and where the stray dogs are and where all the traffic is!"

"Oh. Where all the traffic is...great. Can't wait." I try to fake being excited.

"Catch you later, bugger. Try not to get pied off loser!" Hobie does a small salute before stepping through an open portal.

"Huh...? What does pied off mean?" Pav asks with an eyebrow raise.

"Nothing! Nothing at all...honestly it doesn't mean anything." I lie straight to Pav's face.

"...I don't believe you." Pav replies with suspicion in his eyes.

"Uhhhh....oh my god, is that Tom Holland?" I gasp loudly and point at the streets below us.

Pav's neck almost snaps as he looks.

"What?! Where?!"

Phew. Safe. Nailed it.

I watch as Pav swings down to the streets to find Tom Holland, who was never there in the first place.

I'll tell him. One day. But today is not the day.

•••••••••••

TAGLIST: @ihearthxh @sweetheartlizzie07 @the-vulcan

MASTERLIST

[2btheanswertothequestion]

Fic Masterlist

My writing | My AO3

EPIC: The Musical

Finished | Teen | 6k | Eurymene, Ctimene & Odysseus

arm-twisted appetite

Finished | Gen | 1.3k | Polites & Odysseus & Eurylochus

Summary: Odysseus' destructive tendencies continue; Polites and Eurylochus take it in stride.

(sequel to both ends burning)

Wedded Bliss; or, To Arrange a Marriage

Summary: Odysseus returned from Sparta a married man. Ever so generous, he decided Ctimene must share his bliss – it was time he chose a husband for her. It’s just unfortunate, for Ctimene, that she was already deeply in love with someone.

both ends burning

Finished | Gen | 1.5k | Eurylochus & Odysseus & Polites

Summary: “I tried convincing him to sleep, but he's stubborn tonight. I need you to come.”

Eurylochus frowned. “You think I can convince him when you failed?” he asked while tilting his head askew, as if Polites’ logic would reveal itself from another angle.

“No.” Polites smiled wryly. “But you can pick him up and carry him.”

Arcane

Paradisiac

Ongoing | Explicit | 5k | Timebomb

Summary: Jinx's visit gets slightly ruined when her suppressants stop working and her heat hits her like a truck. Looks like Ekko will be taking care of her, which he's happy to do! It's his duty as an alpha, after all. It just... would be a lot easier to deal with a half-naked, sweet-smelling Jinx if he hadn't been in love with her for over half his life.

oh cupid, don't be stupid

Finished | Teen | 7k | Timebomb

Summary: After a magical mishap (that was barely her fault), Jinx the professional cupid ends up shooting her target a few too many times. As a result, his overloved heart opens up to the wrong person… HER. Now she gotta gradually dose him with anti-love magic so he'll go back to normal and can fall in love with a human, like he's supposed to. But how will she get close enough to regularly feed him the anti-love?

Why, by dating him, of course.

Spiderverse

The Shape of Us

Hiatus | Teen | 4.4k | Punkflower

Summary: Miles ducked his head, unable to keep contact with those dark, shining eyes. "Whenever I get into my head, I think of you and... I get hopeful. That's what I mean-"

"Go out with me."

Miles recoiled a step, gaze snapping back up. His jaw slackened, mouth instantly drying. Did Hobie just... ?

Unraveled

Hiatus | Teen | 17k | Punkflower

Summary: In an alternate dimension, Hobie has Gwen's role in the Spider-Verse movies.

when you're near, my blood is redder (when you're here, I breathe better)

Finished | Gen | 700 words | Spiderband

Summary: Hobie is sprawled out on the couch behind them, fast asleep. His mouth is wide open, drool pooling in the folds of the throw pillow next to his cheek.

They share an amused look; Pavitr giggles and Gwen coos, only slightly condescendingly.

Stranger Things

your eyes on me (i think i'll cause a scene) (AO3)

Finished | Teen | 1.6k | Steddie

Summary: Chrissy drags Eddie to a basketball game, where they end up seated next to a hottie and his bored girlfriend.

Then the kiss cam settles on them, and things get interesting.

Delayed Reaction (AO3)

Finished | Gen | 500 words | Steddie, Hellfire

Summary: "... he picks you up by your breastplate straps and pushes you against the wall. He screams in your face; bits of spittle hit your chin."

"Can I flirt with him?"

Lesson/Plan (AO3)

Hiatus | Explicit | 4k | Steddie

Summary: Eddie's never been kissed, so Steve offers to teach him. And then he teaches him some more, and some more, and some m

this might mean something (AO3)

Finished | Teen | 3.8k | Steddie

Summary: Rockstar x roadie AU where Steve is Eddie's queer awakening, for once. Notfic.

November Groupie (AO3)

Finished | Explicit | 2.3k | Steddie

Summary: Eddie and Steve get frisky after a CC gig. Or they would, if Eddie could stop running his mouth.

November Paramedic (AO3)

Finished | Mature | 26k | Steddie, Lumax, Eddie & Gareth & Max

Summary: After becoming collateral damage in a bar fight, Eddie gets patched up by a hot paramedic. This would be fine, if said paramedic hadn't also been Eddie's favorite model in the "sexy men at work"-calendar he's used as jerk off material for the past two years.

(Or, Eddie is smitten and horny, Steve is a sweetheart, and Gareth & Max are determined to play matchmaker.)

Uniquely Mine (AO3)

Finished | Gen | 1.5k | Robin & Steve

Summary: When Robin finds out that two highly acclaimed gay films will be shown at her campus she immediately calls Steve and begs him to accompany her. There might be a 3-hour drive separating them, but that doesn't make them any less close.

Burning Sage (AO3)

Hiatus | Gen | 8k | Spicy Six, Jancy, Steddie

Summary: Steve and Argyle bond over survival techniques, Eddie tries and fails to befriend Jonathan, Nancy loses her mind over tent pegs and water jugs, and Robin does her best to ensure no one dies.

(Or, the Spicy Six go camping.)

she glows for everyone but herself (AO3)

Finished | Gen | 1.5k | Jonathan & Max

Summary: Having heard that Jonathan used to be a skateboarder, Max asks him to help her get back on the board.

[bitsandbobsofwriting]

The Magic Reveal fic we deserve, in which Merlin gets as angry as he deserves to get:

Part 2   Part 3   Part 4   Part 5

Don’t get me wrong I LOVE a magic reveal with a Merlin who feels bad about lying. I love a reveal with Arthur being furious and Merlin crying but then they talk it out and all is well. I think it's pretty in-character for Merlin to want to see Arthur come to his own conclusions about magic, without being influenced by Merlin’s opinions

BUT I also kinda wanna see Merlin get angry? Like, why should he feel bad about hiding himself in a kingdom where "himself" gets him nothing but a pyre?? Yeah, he and Arthur are close, but unless you've lived with a secret like that (one that will get you shunned, hated, or even killed) then, and I CAN'T STRESS THIS ENOUGH, it doesn't matter How Close you are with someone, how certain you are that they would never hurt you, or care either way, it will almost ALWAYS be scary to tell them. So like. Let Merlin get angry:

I'd say Arthur has been king for maybe a year at this point. He's still a new monarch, still a lot on his plate, BUT also still plenty of time for him to have repealed the ban on magic, or at least started working on it.

But he hasn't.

Granted he hasn't executed anyone in a while (banishments and prison time are the norm, executions are only used nowadays for high treason). BUT the law still remains, it's still technically punishable by death, to be a sorcerer.

Arthur and Merlin have little hunting trips, when Arthur is getting too stressed and losing too much sleep, when he trains the knights too hard and snaps at even Gaius, Merlin (or sometimes even Leon, if they're both being grumpy arseholes) insists that they leave the city for a day or more, to go hunting.

The council have been told it's so the King can keep up with his fitness, can keep familiar with his lands, and keep his skills sharp (he only has enough time to train with the knights a couple times a week nowadays, a far cry from the several hours he used to do every morning without fail), and that keeps them satisfied.

The Gang (the Knights, Gwen, Gaius, and Morgana (she's good in this because that's what I want let me have this)) know the truth, that sometimes the two of them just need a few days to goof off and be themselves, to finally get some time to relax. They'll grab a couple hares and maybe a stag on the way back if they can, so they can at least pretend that's what they've been doing the whole time.

These trips can last anywhere between a day, to two weeks, and Arthur leaves the same set of instructions with the council and the knights every time:

"The safety of Camelot’s people is your highest priority. I leave Sir Leon in charge of everything to do with the knights, patrol, and should any form of conflict arise. If there is an emergency, you are to consult the Inner Council (I don’t know if that's a thing but let's say it is; its The Gang), and send a squire on horseback to fetch me immediately. There's one boy in the troupe who always manages to track me the down the quickest, so make sure he's the one sent, Sir Leon knows who I speak of."

(He's improved over the years, but Arthur is still very... cagey, when it comes to compliments, and his trust. Leon will never mention it, but the fact that Arthur leaves the safety of the kingdom to him, without hesitation or worry, makes him feel greatly honoured. That is the highest form of trust Arthur is capable of giving.)

~

ANYWAY I feel like most of this has just been backstory so let's get into it:

Normally it's Merlin or Leon who demand that the trip needs to happen.

This time

It's Arthur.

Arthur has tried to ignore it (he's trying to get better but he's not great with emotions and stuff, the big dummy) but Merlin has been in a sour mood for weeks now. He's been quiet and withdrawn, snappy, and has been avoiding Arthur whenever possible.

At first it was easy to ignore, when it started a few months ago it was barely noticeable to anyone who didn't know the two of them Very Well, but in the last few weeks it's become a problem.

Arthur reckons a trip might do them some good. Merlin can relax, and will either get over whatever is bothering him, or be comfortable enough to talk to Arthur about it.

So they head out. Merlin doesn't seem too happy about the trip but he doesn’t complain.

(Odd in itself, if Merlin is unhappy about something he usually makes it known.)

The first couple of days are... odd, to say the least. It seems that every time Arthur notices Merlin relax, he quickly tightens up again. One short, joking conversation is followed by a few more hours of painful, awkward silence.

Arthur comes to the daunting realisation, that if he wants to help is friend (and the love of his life but like... baby blondie has hardly reached that conclusion himself, he might need a bit more time on that) is to confront it head on.

So they're settling down in the evening. The fire is roaring, the horses have been fed and watered, dinner has been eaten, and the two of them are sat at opposite ends of the fire (Very Odd, they're usually glued at the hip, especially when it's just the two of them).

Arthur looks at his friend properly for the first times in a while and he Does Not Like what he sees.

Merlin is visibly exhausted, big bags under his eyes, and his skin paler than normal, scowling ever so slightly into the fire. Shoulders tense, and hands gripping each other until the skin on his knuckles is white. And despite all that, Arthur thinks that Merlin looks more sad, than angry.

Maybe Merlin notices Arthur's staring, they hold eye contact for a little while before Merlin becomes sort of... resigned?? To the fact that he's gonna have to have this conversation whether he wants it or not? He goes to say something but before he can, Arthur interrupts him:

"So Merlin. How do you think I'm doing so far?"

(Which is a stupid thing to say, really. But Arthur is, as we've already established, extremely emotionally constipated, and he figures that finding out what's wrong with Merlin indirectly, and then subtly fixing it behind his back, is a far better idea than asking him to his face.)

Merlin clenches his jaw and looks away it this, his reply and his body language clearly sending different messages:

"You know what I think. You're going to be a great king."

Arthur thinks : "(Going to be? I've been king for a year, there's been no war and far fewer attempts on my life than when I was a prince. There's been a good harvest, all diplomatic meetings have gone well, and more peace treaties, and trade agreements, have been signed in the last twelve months, than in the ten years before it. I know I can still do better but... does Merlin not think I'm good?")

Arthur says : "Going to be? I think I'm a pretty great King already if I do say so myself."

"Then why ask? Besides. There are a few things you haven't done."

Merlin's tone is biting, even though he tries to force it out casually. Arthur notices. ”There are a few things you haven't done”... that means something specific.

"Hmm. I suppose. What things did you have in mind then, Merlin?"

Arthur also tries to sound casual, but the question comes out very pointed

Merlin desperately doesn't want to say it out loud, in fear of revealing too much of himself, so he goes with the vague answer of:

"Promises were made. I guess I just figured you weren't the type to break them, that's all. I'm sure you'll get there in time."

Merlin sounds sort of hopeful there. But the sort of hope that he's been living with for years, the sort of hope that has a layer of sadness and resignation laying over the the top like a tablecloth.

Arthur notices:

"Promises?" He doesn’t want to talk too much or too loudly, in fear that Merlin realises that he's speaking openly and clams up again.

Arthur has realised, over the last year or two, that despite their closeness, despite the endless conversations they seem to have, he doesn't really know all that much about Merlin. He knows he doesn’t spend as much time picking herbs, or in the tavern, as he and Gaius would claim. He doesn't know his favourite colour, or season, or holiday. He doesn't know when abouts his birthday is, or what he likes eating. He doesn't know much about his childhood, he's never mentioned his father.

(Despite all this, he's still in love with the idiot, but again, a revelation for another time.)

Merlin responds "To the druids. You promised they would be welcomed, that magic would return. I know your opinions on magic-"

(The manservant visibly shuffles at this, uncomfortable.)

"-but I figured a promise is a promise. Keeping your word had always seemed so important to you. Before."

Arthur notices the past tense. Like Merlin doesn’t believe that Arthur holds importance to his word anymore:

"I'm not my father Merlin. There have been no executions just for the sake of it since I took the crown."

Merlin’s reply comes quickly, in a harsh tone:

"Yes I know that. But your fathers law still remains. It's technically still punishable by execution just to exist as a sorcerer in your kingdom."

(Arthur notices the thinly veiled disgust in Merlin's voice when he mentions Uther. Arthur knew that Merlin disliked the previous king, but he didn’t think he hated him that much.)

Merlin is getting more and more visibly frustrated at this point. Both at Arthur, and the topic of conversation, but also at himself, for letting himself become so worked up over something he'd sworn to keep Arthur away from.

"You really didn't like my Father did you Merlin?" He says it with a chuckle, trying to keep the conversation light and casual.

(This is NOT a conversation that should be light and casual, his friend is in pain, and revealing more of himself than he ever had before, this should be serious. But Arthur isn't quite sure how to do that, so inappropriately light and casual is what he goes for.)

Merlin responds with a quiet, but forceful:

"I hated him. I still do. He's your father, I know that you're not him, and I know you can't help your heritage. But I'll never forgive Uther for what he did. And I'm not angry that he's...gone."

Arthur's very much taken aback at that. He knows everyone has... strong opinions on Uther, but they've never voiced it in front of him.

"Why?? I mean I know he put you in the stocks a couple of times, but so have I to be fair. Why do you hate him so much?"

(This is the point Merlin gets angry. Or angrier. This is when he stops trying to hide it, stops trying to hold it in. Arthur hadn't gotten angry at Merlin for talking about Uther in such a way, he was just curious. Merlin had been planning on telling him the truth at some point anyway, so he might as well do it now, with no one else around, and Arthur in a goodish mood.)

Merlin jumps up, clenching his fists and staring Arthur in the eye for the first time since the start of the conversation, breathing deeply.

Arthur is taken even further aback at Merlin's sudden unwillingness to hide his true reaction to the topic at hand, but he doesn't say anything, and just waits for Merlin’s response

"Why?? Why do I hate him? Maybe because he was blinded fear and selfish hatred."

Merlin stops and looks away, but doesn't sit down, still tense.

I imagine he's waiting for Arthur to say something, but he doesn’t, opting to wait for Merlin to carry on himself, unwilling to remind Merlin exactly who he was talking to, and about what.

After a few moments of silence, Merlin continues, getting angrier with each word as he paces:

"Your father, the Great King Uther, murdered thousands of people. He committed genocide, because he insisted on blaming other people for his own mistakes. He didn't pay attention to the fine print, and killed his own wife and in return, he executes THOUSANDS of MY people. Just for daring to exist. He was so full of hatred, but he, of course, was infallible so it MUST have been someone else's fault. He was incapable of admitting his own mistakes and the injustice that went unpunished is indescribable, he was a tyrant, and a murderer, and I'll never forgive him."

(Arthur knows the truth about what happened to his Ma in this story, I don’t know how, he just does. And it's a topic of conversation he avoids like the plague.)

At the end of his little outburst, Merlin stills. He is shaking as he glares at the floor, and is more furious than Arthur has ever seen him before.

The King notices the little slip up.

"Your people?" He says, so quietly it's a wonder Merlin hears it.

Merlin freezes at this, at the realisation that there's no real way he can play this off. He was planning on telling him at some point anyway. They're miles away from the city in the middle of a large, barely tamed forest. If he needs to run for his life, he could get away easily enough.

"Yes Arthur. My people. You really should've let me speak first."

Arthur is reminded of the fact that Merlin had opened his mouth to say something, before he'd interrupted him at the beginning of the conversation. It felt like it was hours ago now, but it was really only a few minutes.

The King isn’t nearly as shocked as he thinks he should be. He knew there was something odd and secretive about Merlin, and he'd considered that he might have magic in the early days, but that hadn't been a genuine consideration for years.

He wants to be angry, and selfish, and furious at Merlin for lying to him all this time. But after hearing Merlin’s little speech, does he really have any right to? 

Yes, Arthur hadn't executed any sorcerers, but he also hadn't changed the law. He hadn't stood up to his father and he certainly hadn't tried to stop the executions before he was King himself. Can he really blame Merlin? For being scared? For being angry?

"You're a sorcerer." It's not a question. It's a statement. In his mind he knows the truth, but it needs to be confirmed, out loud, by Merlin himself, before they can move the conversation on.

"Yes."

And that's all he says. Arthur waits. And when he's tired of waiting, when he realises that Merlin isn't just gonna carry on talking this time, he speaks up:

"And?"

"And what, Arthur? What do you want me to say? That I'm sorry I lied? Yes, I feel bad for lying to you, but I'll never apologise for protecting myself in a kingdom that would see me burn. And I would do it again in a heartbeat"

Arthur nods. He's tense, but he notices that he isn't scared and he wonders why, after all, as far as he was aware magic had only (almost only) caused him pain and fear. 

(In the back of his mind he knows why he's not scared. Merlin doesn't have an evil bone in his body, and he's met the druids, he knows that some magic users are peaceful.)

He looks up at Merlin to see him staring at him, a sort of challenging look on his face, like he was daring Arthur to prove him right. Daring him to be selfish, and angry, and just like his father.

But when Arthur looks deeper. Really Looks at Merlin. He sees the fear, Arthur has no doubt in his mind that Merlin could escape, or even fight him off, now, if he needed to. But Merlin is scared.

If that wasn't enough to break Arthur's heart, the quick glance that Merlin throws to the space a few feet from Arthur's side, is.

Arthur looks over slowly, eyebrows furrowed, to see what Merlin glanced at so fearfully. His heart shatters when he realises what it is. Arthurs sword, sat underneath his bag, just out of his reach. Merlin thinks Arthur is going to kill him. Merlin is scared. Of Arthur.

Arthur looks back at Merlin, disbelief and gut wrenching sadness on his face. He resists the urge to jump up (knowing it would just panic Merlin) as he speaks, trying to keep his tone calming, but it comes out rushed and desperate anyway:

"I'm not going to hurt you Merlin, I swear. I'm...sorry, if my actions and words have led you to believe that I would EVER see any harm come to you."

It's over the last minute, the anger and fear from Merlin, that forces Arthur to realise the legacy he's dealing with. That Uther had done so much damage, had struck so much fear into Merlin, that it didn't matter how close they were. Any subtle, deliberate ignorance of the law wasn’t enough. Any small compliments, or defence of Merlin, wasn't enough.

As long as the law remained, as long as Arthur left his fathers legacy intact, with not even a small attempt to dismantle it, Merlin would be scared of him.

Merlin relaxes only slightly at Arthur's words, gulps, and glances once more at the sword before sitting down again. He’s still tense as he stares into the fire once more.

"All these years you've been putting your life at risk, to stay at my side. You could've quit at any time. You could've stayed in the relative safety of Ealdor, but you didn't. Why? I want to know everything Merlin. You... you mean a great deal to me, and it pains me to see you in fear. And I know it's no one’s fault but my own, and I want to fix it. So the whole story, from the beginning, I want to know."

It's Merlin’s turn to be taken aback now. In his mind, everything he's said and done in the last few minutes should be making Arthur angry. The disrespect of Uther, the tone of voice he had taken, the shouting. All of that even before the admittance of his greatest secret. But still Arthur wasn't angry, he was confused, and maybe hadn't quite processed it yet, but mostly he was just sad, sad that Merlin had to be angry on his own. Sad that Merlin had to be fearful on his own.

So he does. He starts at the beginning. His mother sending him to Camelot so Gaius could train him. Saving Arthurs life that first banquet. Saving his life again a few days later. And again. And again. And again

He talks about all the small insignificant magicks he did: cheating at dice games and keeping Arthur's bath water warm and making sure the fire stays lit through the night and helping the knights sleep when they're out and about.

He talks about all the big magicks he did: killing Nimueh and being the last Dragon-Lord and Balinor being his father, and all the great battles he had won and all the times he'd saved Arthur when Arthur hadn't even realised he'd been in danger.

He talks about everything in between. About every lucky fallen branch and every lucky rockslide and every lucky solution that wouldn't have worked without Merlin... nudging it in the right direction.

He talks and talks and talks until his throat is sore. And Arthur stays silent, unwilling to interrupt, listening intently and saving any questions and queries until the end.

After an hour or so, Merlin hesitates, but Arthur can tell that there's something else. Something he's not saying. Something that in Merlin's mind, is the scariest truth of all. So he stays silent, and waits for Merlin to continue:

"The old man that you think killed your father. Dragoon, the sorcerer who kept popping up but was never in the same room as me? That was me, in disguise."

He looks nervous at this and looks up at Arthur. Before, he'd been explaining everything with a blank but resolute look on his face, still staring into the fire (that hadn't been fed in well over an hour, but was still going strong).

Arthur just looks surprised, he'd never considered that Dragoon had been anyone but himself.

"I tried Arthur. I may have hated your father but I tried to save him. But the pendant around his neck stopped it from working and healing magic has never been my strong point anyway. I really did try."

Arthur nods at this. He figured there had been no reason for the old sorcerer to kill his father, and after consulting Gaius and realising the truth about the pendant, he didn't blame him. Though he never told anyone, not even Merlin, why would he? His manservant had never even met the guy.

"I know. I'm sorry, it can’t have been easy, thinking I blamed you for his death all these months. I'm sorry Merlin."

Merlin looks surprised but quietly grateful. Over the course of the last hour of explanation he had slowly become more and more relaxed, realising that Arthur really meant it when he said he wasn't going to hurt him, and just wanted the truth.

Merlin was still scared, and a big part of him still believed he'd probably be banished at the least at the end of this conversation. But it still felt good to get it off his chest.

"But you still haven't answered my question. Why? We didn't know each all that well those first few weeks. Months even. We practically hated each other at the beginning. But you stayed anyway. Despite hating me and despite being in constant danger. Why?"

Merlin once again hesitates at this. He tried his best but even after all these years, he's not quite sure how to navigate conversations about destiny, especially his own, and especially how it's tied so intrinsically with Arthur’s.

Instead he says:

"What do you know about Emrys?" He really needs a starting reference for this part of the conversation, and at this point, the best way to get it is to ask directly.

Arthur goes to question why, but Merlin has been nothing but honest and straight forward with him, so he trusts that it’s important, and answers truthfully:

"Not much. A few Druids have mentioned him to me before. Apparently they've been seeing him in prophetic dreams for centuries, the Druids have quite a few "seers" in their ranks. He's meant to be some great sorcerer, whose destiny it is to bring Magic and peace to Albion, with some King or other at his side. I never payed much attention to it, I hardly believe in visions of the future."

Merlin nods at that:

"You've got most of it. Emrys is meant to be the most powerful Warlock to ever walk the earth, past, present, and future. When Uther started culling sorcerers, an astronomical amount of magic was poured back into the earth all at once. The Triple Goddess took that magic and put it all in one place, in one unborn baby, in the hope that said baby would grow into his power, and restore balance and compassion to the world. The Druids call him Emrys but it's just a title, like King, or Sir, not his real name. He, and the Once and Future King, are meant to rule with the support of one another, uniting all of Albion under the King’s rule, and bringing magic back into the land. Emrys and the Forever King, two sides of the same coin, their destinies interwoven."

Merlin goes silent at that, and Arthur thinks he knows where this is going, but he Needs the confirmation:

"What's that got to do with anything?" is quietly muttered.

"You're the Forever King Arthur. And I am Emrys. Though it's weird enough when the druids call me that so just... let's stick with Merlin alright?"

"All those times you said I would be a great King, all those times you had unfailing faith in me, was because of destiny?"

Arthur tries not so sound hurt, but he’s never cared for, or believed, in destiny. Up until now he'd thought Merlin had had faith in him as Arthur, his friend, not as some prophetic Once and Future King that Arthur was afraid he would never be.

"At first, sure. I was angry, that my destiny had been decided for me. That I couldn't just ignore it because if I did then the world would never know peace. I never asked for that responsibility I just wanted... I just wanted to keep my mother safe. I wanted to learn how to be a physician and use my magic to help and entertain and brighten the world. Just a little bit. And suddenly I had this big important role to play. I hated it. But I did it anyway, kept you safe. And then I got to know you as a person and you weren't your father. You Love Camelot, you Love your people, you're a good man who does everything in his power to help those around him, even if they don't deserve it sometimes. And suddenly, having my destiny be to help you to greatness... well, it didn't seem so bad anymore. Maybe it was your destiny to be that Great King from prophecy, because you were already a good man."

Arthur is speechless at that. Tears gather in his eyes but neither of them mention it and he doesn't let them fall. Merlin had been almost as nice as that in the past, but never so fully, and with the weight of the truth behind it, it seemed much more meaningful.

Merlin gives him a sad smile before he continues:

"I'm your servant until the day I die Arthur. I have faith that one day, you'll do the right thing."

Arthur suddenly remember the whole point of this conversation. That Merlin was upset and angry that he hadn't repealed the ban on magic yet, that Merlin was still waiting on him. Waiting on him to do the right thing. Waiting on him to fulfil his destiny.

~

Maybe they head straight home? Merlin walks into Arthur's chambers the next morning to find him already up and pacing, making a start on the repeal?

Maybe Arthur demands they go to the closest Druid settlement so he can consult them on how he should go about it? Merlin’s knowledge of magic is great and all, but neither of them were alive before the purge, neither know how it would work practically.

All I know, is whenever Merlin first comes across Arthur working on the repeal, determination in his eyes, he cries a little. That everything he sacrificed is finally paying off.

I also know, that the first time Arthur timidly asks Merlin to show him something magical (maybe that's straight after this tiring conversation, or maybe its days later, back in the safety of Arthur's locked chambers) Merlin cries even harder, Arthur is still scared of magic, how could he not be. But he loves and trusts Merlin more than anything in this world, and he wants to learn to not be scared anymore.

~

THIS IS COMPLETED!!

All 5 parts have been posted:)

If y’all want my thoughts on anything specific, let me know✌

[queerofthedagger]

Merlin Bingo Masterlist

So I did actually manage to finish off my whole card for the @merlinbingo, which is just insanely amazing to me.

I want to thank the mod(s) for running this - I had such a blast, this gave me so many ideas that I might've not come up with, and really forced me to stretch my short-fic muscles. I'm super excited for the next round; you're amazing! ❤️

Now without further ado, my masterlist of 22 fics, 2 rec lists, and one photoset! ✨ (Beneath the cut, cause oof.)

Square: M1 - Prison

Title: Change Your Mind and Nothing Changes

Ship(s): Merlin/Arthur, Gwen/Morgana

Rating: Mature | Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence | Word count: 15,000

Tags: Episode - The Witchfinder & The Sins of the Father, Magic Revealed, Truth Spells, Angst with a Happy Ending

Summary:

In another life, Arthur might’ve hesitated. In another life, the fear—actual, real fear—in the eyes of the man who he has once considered his father might’ve stalled his hand. But where his mother’s pleas to not let this knowledge change him might’ve made him hesitate, the sheer betrayal burning in Merlin’s eyes after Arthur was forced to reveal his secrets wrenches any hesitation right out of him. * After Arthur found out about Merlin's magic, things are still tense between them. It's the worst possible time for the Witchfinder to arrive at court, but for all his worries, Arthur still could've never foreseen just how horribly it would go. He could've never foreseen all the things it would set in motion, and while there's the silver lining of how it brings him and Morgana closer, the chances of ever overcoming his guilt, of ever salvaging his and Merlin's relationship, seem almost non-existent. Almost.

Square: M2 - Campfires

Title: let it break ('cause you and I remain the same)

Ship(s): Merlin/Arthur

Rating: Teen and Up | Warnings: None | Word count: 1,800

Tags: Canon Divergence, Post Magic Reveal, Love Confessions, First Kiss, Fluff

Summary:

This is what should be remembered, what people should speak of in a decade, a century, a millennium; the story of a king and his sorcerer, of two men who were never meant to love each other—not like this, never like this—and who never once cared to listen to the odds. * Or, the magic was revealed, the shouting and explanations were done, and yet there remains one secret, one confession to be made. They always were easiest to declare in the light of a fire and only the forest bearing witness.

Square: M3 - Hunith

Title: you make a fool of death (you in all your vibrant youth)

Ship(s): Hunith & Ygraine, Merlin/Arthur

Rating: Teen and Up | Warnings: None | Word count: 6,000

Tags: Pre-Canon, Female Friendship, BAMF Ygraine, Fluff & Angst

Summary:

“Kilgharrah, it’s good to see you. The Queen would like to meet you.” “Is that so?” the dragon—Kilgharrah, and apparently it has a name—asks, turning to look at them. His eyes are gold, too, more burnished than his scales, and Hunith swears they can see right through her. “Ygraine and Hunith,” he says, tilting his head. “I am not surprised to see you together. Your destinies are entwined—less so than your sons, but nonetheless. I am glad that I get to meet you like this.” * Five times Hunith keeps a secret for Ygraine, and one time she keeps a promise.

Square: M4 - Arthur Waits (+ Bonus badge "One off items")

Title: I'm begging you (to keep on haunting me)

Ship(s): Merlin/Arthur

Rating: Teen and Up | Warnings: None | Word count: 6,500

Tags: Post-Canon, Horn of Cathbhadh, Soul Bond, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending

Summary:

“I don’t know why I keep coming back here,” Merlin murmurs, the words so quiet that Arthur almost misses them. “I know you’re not here, but—” “I am,” Arthur says, knowing how pointless it is. “I am, but you should stop coming all the same. You should stop grieving me, Merlin, it’s not worth—” “Sometimes, it almost feels as if you were. Here, I mean. Listening to me—but then, that’s a terrifying prospect because I’ve said a lot of things I didn’t mean for you to hear.” You could tell me anything, Arthur thinks, his chest aching. You could curse my name a hundred times, and I would still want to see you. * After Arthur's death, Merlin uses the Horn of Cathbhadh to speak to him just one more time. But Arthur isn't dead; while he can hear and see Merlin, he cannot answer. For some reason, Merlin keeps coming back anyway. Until he doesn't.

Square: M5 - There Was Only One Bed

Title: Liar, Liar, Tell Me You Want Me

Ship(s): Merlin/Arthur, Morgana/Gwen, Elyan/Gwaine

Rating: Mature | Warnings: None | Word count: 5,000

Tags: Modern AU, Sharing a Bed, Friends with Benefits to Lovers, Mutual Pining, Angst with a Happy Ending

Summary:

Arthur bites back another sigh. Gwen already told them, smiling and unknowing, that they would have to share a room because the hotel was so booked already, and they wouldn’t mind, would they, after they had shared a room and a flat for so long at university? He’d survive, somehow. They had shared a room and later a flat, after all. Maybe he hadn’t been a pathetic, pining mess back then, but there’d still be two beds, and it was only three nights. * Three weeks ago, Arthur ended their friends with benefits arrangement because he'd done what everyone tells you not to do and caught feelings. And alright, maybe he didn't exactly go about it in the best of ways, but he thinks having to share a bed with Merlin for three nights is a rather harsh punishment, even for karma's proportions.

Square: A1 - Street Racing AU

Title: The Only One Who Ever Cared to Save Me

Ship(s): Merlin/Arthur

Rating: Gen | Warnings: None | Word count: 600

Tags: Modern with Magic, Street Racing, Established Relationship, Fluff

Summary:

So Arthur takes the pieces Uther is willing to give, fancy car and too much money and a blind eye when it comes to Merlin, and turns them against him. Takes them and races them down rain-wet streets, the engine humming beneath them, Merlin’s hand touching, always reaching out.

Square: A2 - Empathy

Title: my hands no longer an afterthought

Ship(s): Merlin/Arthur

Rating: Gen | Warnings: None | Word count: 650

Tags: Canon Divergence, Magic Revealed, Soft Arthur, Getting Together, Prose Poem

Summary:

“Weren’t you terrified? Why would you stay?” he asks, voice hoarse and desperate. His fingers close around Merlin’s wrist until the pulse thrumming there is a tangible thing against Arthur’s skin.

Square: A3 - Unrequited Love

Title: Letting Go (I Want You Closer)

Ship(s): Morgana/Gwen

Rating: Teen and Up | Warnings: None | Word count: 2,400

Tags: Canon Divergence, Swordfighting, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Not Actually Unrequited Love, First Kiss

Summary:

Morgana swallows. Tells herself that the sudden shortness of air is nothing but the exertion after a long winter and tries to find the right words. Tries to find the sentences to relieve Gwen of her worry without interfering, without letting her own damned feelings get in the way of Gwen’s happiness. “Morgana,” Gwen says, soft and pleading, even as her blow is strong enough to reverberate up Morgana’s arm. * Gwen has been spending more time with Arthur, and it's fine. Really, it is. Morgana stays silent, and gives Gwen space, and tells herself that seeing Gwen happy is more than enough. Gwen's not ready to let her go so easily though, and a sparring match might bring more than one secret to light.

Square: A4 - Loss of Hearing

Title: Every Story Must Grow Old

Ship(s): Merlin/Arthur

Rating: Gen | Warnings: None | Word count: 1,000

Tags: Modern AU, Growing Old Together, Disabled Character, Domestic Fluff

Summary:

Merlin leaves him notes around the house—titbits of his day or some useless fact he found somewhere. Arthur keeps them, pins them to the fridge and to the cabinets and into his calendar, taking them out whenever he feels like it. He writes back, too, and after months, sticky notes can be found in the most absurd places of their house. It makes Arthur smile so often, he fears his face might become stuck like that, after all. * With age, supposedly, comes wisdom. Arthur still needs the occasional reminder that Merlin makes everything more bearable.

Square: A5 - Marriage (+ Bonus badge "Recs + Gifts")

Title: Marriage Rec List

Ship(s): Merlin/Arthur, Morgana/Vivian, Leon/Merlin

Rating: Teen to Mature | Warnings: none

Summary:

A rec list for fics that involve marriage in one way or another.

Square: G1 - Long Distance

Title: I'm still standing in the same place (where you left me standing)

Ship(s): Merlin/Arthur

Rating: Mature | Warnings: None | Word count: 4,400

Tags: Modern AU, Friends with Benefits to Lovers, Long Distance, Mutual Pining, Fluff

Summary:

London is dreary and rainy and drenched in the misery of January, but Merlin is bright and laughing and full of warmth, and it has nothing to do with the fact that he’s on the other side of the earth and currently caught up in the throes of summer. Arthur's so, so fucked. * You're not supposed to miss your friend with benefits. Or well, at least you're not supposed to miss them as more than a friend. Arthur fails rather miserably at the task, but then, Merlin has been more than a friend for a long time. And it was rather rude of him to piss off all the way to New Zealand. For a whole year. Or, Merlin learns to be patient, and Arthur learns to be spontaneous.

Square: G2 - Mind Control

Title: With Eyes Wide Open (A Tragedy in Three Acts)

Ship(s): Morgana/Gwen

Rating: Mature | Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings | Word count: 18,200

Tags: Season 5 AU, Gwen-centric, Gwen has Magic, Enemies to Lovers, Unreliable Narrator, Grief/Mourning, Trauma, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Ambiguous/Unhappy Ending, Angst

Summary:

Everyone has a breaking point, and Morgana has always known all too well how to find each and every one of Gwen's. The enchantment Morgana tries to weave in the dark tower does not work as intended, not entirely. It's in the aftermath, though, that Gwen has to make a row of hard choices; where she has to decide for herself what she wants and what she needs. It's not easy, and they might not end up being the right decisions, but for once they are all hers and maybe that's all that matters. A story of grief, rage, (the absence of) forgiveness, and loving someone who is still alive but does not exist anymore. Of maybe taking a wrong turn that leads to the right destination.

Square: G3 - Free Space

Title: a victory all in itself

Ship(s): Merlin/Arthur

Rating: Gen | Warnings: None | Word count: 330

Tags: Post-Canon, Stream of Consciousness, Prose Poem

Summary:

There’s a golden prince and a warlock, and everyone thinks they know how this story ends.

Square: G4 - They Were Roommates

Title: No Undisturbed Place

Ship(s): Merlin/Arthur

Rating: Teen and Up | Warnings: None | Word count: 7,000

Tags: Modern AU, College/University, Mutual Pining, Closeted Character, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Getting Together, Light Angst, Fluff

Summary:

“I won’t,” Arthur finally chokes out, his grip still too tight on Merlin’s waist. “I know you have no reason to believe me, I know you haven’t for months, but I’ll prove it to you. I don’t care how long it takes, I don’t care what my father or anyone else has to say about it. I won’t—I can’t give this up. I can’t, and you don’t have to believe me now, but at least give me a chance to prove it.” * Or, five times Merlin wants to kiss his roommate but doesn't, and one time his roommate kisses him.

Square: G5 - Food (+ Bonus badge "Food/Autumn")

Title: Red as Autumn, Sweet as Home

Ship(s): Merlin/Arthur

Rating: Explicit | Warnings: None | Word count: 4,000

Tags: Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, Birthday Fluff

Summary:

As Arthur cuts the fruit, Merlin explains what they are. The peaches are soft, their yellow-orange flesh rich with juice that runs down Arthur’s wrist. Merlin follows its path with his eyes until Arthur offers him a piece, smiling to himself. When he bites into his own, sweetness bursts across his tongue and his eyes flutter close, staying there when Merlin’s lips brush against his. * Arthur has never been too fond of his birthday, not even after leaving Camelot and his kingship behind. He probably should've expected that Merlin would do something about it.

Square: I1 - Magic Reveal

Title: Turning the Page

Ship(s): Merlin/Arthur

Rating: Mature | Warnings: None | Word count: 19,050

Tags: Episode: The Secret Sharer, Magic Revealed, Epistolary Elements, Angry Merlin, Friends to Lovers, Angst with a Happy Ending

Summary:

Arthur feels like he’s standing on a precipice without knowing how he got here. He swallows. “He—” “—damned himself. So you’ve said.” They stare at each other, and the distance between them seems to be growing in leaps and bounds. Arthur can’t remember the last time he felt so estranged from Merlin, not during the whole disaster with Caerleon, or when Merlin disappeared. Not even when— “Then I’ve damned myself as well.” * Without intending to, Arthur pushes Merlin just one step too far. Now he's left without his manservant but a hundred questions, a world of hurt, and guilt that clings to him like a shadow. Well, and a notebook filled with drawings because apparently, Merlin can draw on top of being a sorcerer. No matter how often Arthur tells himself that he just wants to forget, he can't help but come back to the collection of sketches and notes, a chronicle of all that Merlin has done. Maybe their story isn't quite over yet.

Square: I2 - Asexuality (+ Bonus badge "Pride")

Title: A Sea of Colours

Ship(s): Merlin/Arthur, Morgana/Gwen

Rating: Gen | Warnings: None | Word count: 600

Tags: Modern AU, POV Outsider, Ace & Bi Arthur, Bi Merlin, Brief Mention of Acephobia, Protective Siblings

Summary:

Morgana’s eyes stray to the pair in front of her once more. Beyond making her brother happy, Merlin also brought Gwen into her life, and while she still knows exactly where she would hide his body if he ever hurt Arthur, she no longer thinks she’ll need it.

Square: I3 - Harm to Children

Title: Truth Like Blood Underneath Your Fingernails

Ship(s): Merlin/Arthur

Rating: Teen | Warnings: None | Word count: 2,800

Tags: Canon Divergence, Magic Revealed, Non-explicit Past Child Abuse, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending

Summary:

After Arthur found out about his magic, Merlin had given up on the belief that there weren’t any secrets left to unearth about Arthur. He likes the idea, likes how it allows him to keep paying attention, how Arthur can still surprise him. Some things, though, he wishes he did not have to discover if only for Arthur not having to bear them in the first place. * Five times Merlin learns something about Arthur that no one else knows, and one time Arthur proves that he has been watching Merlin just as closely.

Square: I4 - Phone Sex

Title: Like Real Couples Do

Ship(s): Merlin/Arthur

Rating: Mature | Warnings: None | Word count: 1,000

Tags: Modern AU, Established Relationship, Long Distance, Attempts at Phone Sex, Fluff

Summary:

Arthur hums, and he can picture Merlin now, curled up in his bed and his smile mischievous and uncertain both. “Maybe. We never really were like other couples though, were we?” “No,” Merlin agrees, still so very soft. “I don’t think we were. So…” * Forced into a long distance relationship, Merlin and Arthur decide to try something new. It doesn't go exactly as planned.

Square: I5 - Taliesin

Title: for you, I would ruin myself (a million little times)

Ship(s): Merlin/Arthur

Rating: Teen and Up | Warnings: none | Word count: 2,700

Tags: Post-Canon, Angry Merlin, Arthur Returns, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Hopeful Ending

Summary:

Merlin does not stop. He doesn’t stop until there is nothing left of the tower but dust, nothing left of the island but sand. He doesn’t stop until the sky is black and the earth is scorched, and the rage in the centre of his chest has simmered down to a low flame. He takes in the destruction, takes in the changed landscape that has not been changed since he laid Arthur to rest here. It’s not peace that he feels, but it’s the closest he has got in a long time. * Over a thousand years of waiting, and one split-second of slipped control. Merlin destroys the centre of the Sidhe's power, but destiny has never been this easy to fend off.

Square: C1 - Secret Siblings, Especially Evil Twins

Title: I Could Recognise Him by Touch Alone

Ship(s): Merlin/Arthur

Rating: Teen and Up | Warnings: None | Word count: 8,000

Tags: Canon Divergence, Magic Revealed, BAMF Merlin, Getting Together, Angst with a Happy Ending

Summary:

Arthur always thought that no matter the secrets Merlin so clearly kept, Arthur knew him. And maybe he’s a fool; maybe he’s as naïve and unsuspecting as his father and Morgana both liked to claim him to be, but in that second—in that second where he stares into cold, unfamiliar eyes that have nothing on Merlin, he finds that he still believes it. * In theory, it's the perfect plan. Who better to impersonate to get close to the newly crowned king than the King's personal manservant, the court physician's apprentice—Emrys himself? In reality, though—in reality, Arthur knows Merlin far better than anyone would've expected, down to the fact that Merlin is keeping secrets. Neither Merlin nor Arthur thought they would be revealed like this, but when all is said and done, it's probably the best outcome of an assassination attempt anyone could ask for.

Square: C2 - BAMF Morgana

Title: And I'll lure you like a landslide, I'll show you lovely things

Rating: Gen | Warnings: None

Summary:

A Morgana photoset

Square: C3 - Hurt/Comfort

Title: No Hands Had Ever Been So Gentle, Nor So Deadly

Ship(s): Merlin/Arthur

Rating: Teen and Up | Warnings: None | Word count: 3,400

Tags: Canon Divergence, Post Magic Reveal, Hurt/Comfort, BAMF Merlin, Aftermath of Torture, First Kiss, Angst with a Happy Ending

Summary:

“You really came. It wasn’t a dream,” Arthur eventually whispers, and he sounds so, so fragile. Merlin has a hard time breathing, and it’s not because of Arthur’s weight; the thought that none of this would’ve happened if not for him hasn’t left him alone all night. It’s all the more tangible with Arthur clinging to the shreds of his composure. “I’m sorry,” he says, his voice cracking with how much he means it. * Arthur's kidnapped. Of course, Merlin comes to find him, but getting Arthur out might've been the easiest part.

Square: C4 - Taking Care of Somebody

Title: Battered and Wrecked, I Come to You First

Ship(s): Merlin/Arthur

Rating: Teen and Up | Warnings: None | Word count: 10,000

Tags: Modern AU, Established Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Caring Arthur, Protective Merlin, Domestic Fluff, Light Angst

Summary:

Life has a habit of throwing challenges at anyone. Some are almost mundane, like surviving finals or breaking your wrist in a bike crash. Others are much harder, like standing up to your father and making your own path. All of them, though, are easier to bear if you have someone who sticks with you through hell or highwater. Or—five times Arthur shows in his own way that he's there when Merlin needs him, and one time Merlin does the same for him. A study in love languages.

Square: C5 - Rule 63

Title: Rule 63 - Queer Version

Ship(s): Merlin/Arthur, Merlin/Elyan

Rating: Gen to Explicit | Warnings: None

Summary:

A rec list for fics with genderqueer characters.

[thesleepy1]

My King Shall Have Everything

A/N: A fuck load of people seemed to like my last Merthur fic. I even got a request for a sequel from @antobcq who wanted a 5+1 fic where Arthur couldn’t get anything done without Merlin on his lap. I haven’t done one of these fics in ages but I’m down with this prompt. I also love the headcanon where Merlin is a better court member and adviser than Arthur and completely leaves Arthur in the dust during diplomatic meetings. Unbeta’d as always, we die like Arthur.

Extra note, this turned out much longer than I expected it to. This might be my longest fic yet. I didn’t mean for it to be like this but I spent too much time on it to just leave it alone. And much to my surprise, it’s a linear storyline as well. I hope you all enjoy it and feel free to give me some feedback. Do you prefer the linear storylines or short snippets of scenes? Also, kind of sorry for the slight angst. My bad. It got worse towards the end, I was getting really tired and wasn’t completely sure how to end it. It’s not on the highest note is all I’ll say.

Pairings: Merlin x Arthur, slight Gwen x Morgana

Summary: Five times Arthur couldn’t get anything done without Merlin on his lap and one time where Merlin couldn’t get anything done without Arthur on his lap.

Word count: 10,485

Warnings: Lap sitting, fluff, physical touch, sexual content, grinding, angst, wounds, violence, character death, more warnings to be added, more tags to be added, proceed with caution, breeding kink, impregnation kink, mentions of dub/con, possessive behavior, obsessive behavior, eugenics, blood, gore, hurt/comfort, angst/comfort, whump, injuries, begging, character death, mentions of public executions, long fic, foul language, asphyxiation, strangulation, choking,

Arthur was good at many things, but being on time was not one of them. Especially, when at the end of the hall he had to attend a council meeting with some of the most stuck up people he had ever met, and that was saying something considering he had to spend the last winter with his extended family. His advisers had been up his ass all week about the new rising kingdom beyond the continent. A kingdom so far away, he had just heard of it several months prior. It was like the kingdom had appeared overnight, suddenly a new ink blotch taking over the lower side of the map.

Personally, he didn’t believe it was real in the first place, having a squadron of knights and hired mercenaries sail over to investigate this so-called Kingdom of Le Lubrique. Much to his disbelief, they didn’t come back empty handed and instead returned with a message. A greeting, as his advisers and Merlin had called it.

To Arthur, it was merely stiff aristocrats getting together in too large a room to talk about dull nonsense. Something he had enough of in his own kingdom. Every other month he was already forced to put on a brave face and converse with the other ruling kings and queens of the continent; he didn’t need another to add on to the mix. He already loathed the balls he was required to host.

“You’re late,” Merlin hissed at him as he entered through a side door so as to not alert the others of his presence.

“That’s kind of the point of me coming here long after the time I was supposed to, Merlin,” Arthur rolled his eyes, sneaking behind the other advisers present to his seat. Merlin begrudgingly followed right on his tail.

“This is serious Arthur, you should have been here ten minutes ago!” Merlin nagged a tad too loudly.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the great king of Camelot himself. I’m delighted to see you have graced us with the honor of your belated attendance,” said an adviser from the guest kingdom with a tone that made Arthur want to stab him, wars be damned.

“I hope you could excuse my tardiness just this once,” Arthur began, trying to come up with a plausible excuse. He looked over to Merlin for help, but the warlock looked clueless as usual. “It...was just that I was caught up with...making sure my...uh...husband’s family were making themselves at home. The in-laws are visiting, you see. You know how hard it can be to keep them happy.”

Merlin looked like he wanted to hang Arthur with his own entrails at the king’s quick thinking. Camelot’s advisers seemed to be considering throwing themselves from the window. And the guest advisers seemed content with Arthur’s answer; though not pleased.

“Oh, believe me,” one of them began, a tall woman with high cheekbones and piercing brown eyes, “I know exactly how tiring in-laws can be.” She let out a high pitched laugh like the sound of dying blue jays; the sound made Arthur want to join his advisers as they inched towards the open windows.

“Well, yes, hahaha, they can be quite a hassle. Especially people that are related to my husband here,” Arthur clapped his hands, smiling at Merlin as he took his seat at the head of the table, “Shall we properly begin then?”

Arthur truly and wholeheartedly regretted agreeing to the whole thing. It was hour after hour of mindless words with little to no meaning. They just went on and on about things that meant little to nothing. He tried to tune out their voices but the tall woman’s laugh was like the crack of a whip, bringing him back to reality each time someone made a vaguely funny comment.

“Are you alright, Arthur?” Merlin said in a hushed tone next to his side. Concern had brought his dark eyebrows together. Arthur was tempted to take his fingers and smooth out Merlin’s worry, but perhaps that was too intimate an act for a meeting. Then again, when did Arthur care about what other people thought of him and his husband.

“I’m fine, Merlin,” Arthur sighed, “Just so bored with all of this.”

“How could you be bored? Have you been listening to half of what they’ve been saying? For a kingdom so small they have so much potential. Their farmlands double ours, as well as their ores, and their medicine is even on par to Gaius’s.” Merlin continued on with such a light in his eyes that Arthur was distracted like a moth to a glowing flame.

“Arthur, have you been listening to what I’ve been saying?”

The king shook his head softly, slightly ashamed for not paying attention to his husband. “I’m sorry. I’m just so distracted. I need something to ground me if I’m going to survive another dreadful hour of this,” he groaned, thinking over if the fall from the window would kill him or lethally wound him. Either way, he’d be away from this horror with Merlin at his bedside playing nurse. At the private thought, an idea crossed his mind that had him delighted.

“You know what would help me?” Arthur began, a smirk tugging at his lips.

“What?” Merlin gave him a suspicious look, having seen the grin on the king many times before.

“It’ll really help if you were on my lap.” Merlin gave him an incredulous glare, ready to smack him across the back of the head for such a suggestion during such a crucial conference. “Please, Merlin? You really do help me focus.”

The warlock seemed to be thinking over Arthur’s request, a frown twisting his face. He looked like he was going to say no, but the pleading look on Arthur’s face made him change his mind. “Just this once. I don’t want to make a habit of this, Arthur,” Merlin warned in a hurried voice.

“Just this once,” Arthur lied through his teeth.

The second king of Camelot sat himself on the first, his side pressed against Arthur’s chest. Arthur wound his arm around Merlin and held him tightly. The action seemed to have garnered the attention of the visitors who looked at the pair strangely. And for some odd reason, the visiting ladies of the guest kingdom seemed to be glaring intently at Merlin.

“We are ever so sorry to be boring you, your majesty, but there is still much to discuss,” a visiting high lord coughed, glaring at the pair. “I apologize that our talk of declining population, racial biases against commoners and sorcerers, and ever so low birth rates have made you tired, but considering it may be the undoing of Le Lubrique, I deem it vital,” he practically snarled.

Arthur’s grip on Merlin tightened, his other hand palming Merlin’s thighs. The warlock couldn’t hide the grin that was stretched across his beautiful face at the touch. The king absolutely loved that grin. Arthur glared right back at those who dared question his behavior, for him showing his love for his king. He sounded in a stern voice that left no room for argument, “No apologies needed. Please, continue.”

“Don’t let us disturb you,” Merlin added with a more snarky tone, commanding the same amount of respect. “You have our full attention.”

-----

“Must I attend? You’ll be there, is that not enough?” Arthur whined as Merlin buttoned up his shirt.

“We are hosting a party in the Kingdom of Le Lubrique’s honor. Their queen has traveled all the way here to properly meet us,” Merlin pressed a kiss to Arthur’s cheek for the effort. “Must I continue?”

“Only if you wish, my dear,” Arthur pointed to his other cheek, waiting for the same treatment as the other.

Merlin rolled his eyes, pressing another kiss to Arthur. “I’m serious, Arthur, this could mean an all out war or the strongest of ally ship. I mean, have you read the reports of what their kingdom is like? It sounds, and excuse for my word choice but there really is no other way to describe it; magical. I would love to visit the country myself. If we make a good impression they might invite us for a stay,” he continued, tying a red handkerchief with Camelot’s crest around his own neck.

“And that’s why the second king of Camelot would be in attendance.”

Merlin left Arthur in their room after that, knowing that Arthur would follow him. “Are you really going to make me sit there and listen to them go on and on about their plan to repopulate their country, or over tax their people for the food that’s in abundance? Come on, Merlin, we could have our council handle it.” Arthur stepped in front of Merlin to block his way. “Why don’t we head back to our room and make this a more entertaining night?” he wiggled his eyebrows to make sure Merlin got his point.

Merlin heard him loud and clear and rightfully ignored Arthur’s attempt to get into his pants. He sidestepped the man to continue on his path, turning a corner to the ballroom. “Do you hear yourself? What kind of impression would that give Le Lubrique if you just suddenly disappeared?!” Arthur turned to run back to their room just to prove Merlin’s point, but the warlock quickly magicked him back to his side. “You’re coming with me whether you like it or not.”

And that was how Arthur ended up sitting on his throne, bored out of his mind and unwilling to be civil or sociable when he could have spent the entire evening snuggled inside Merlin. He could have been in bed by now, having Merlin moaning his name underneath him, but instead Arthur watched as the guest and court mingled and danced. The instrumentalists bobbed their heads in tune to their upbeat song.

Despite refusing to speak to anyone besides Morgana, and Merlin, and occasionally Gwen when she could spare a moment from dancing; he had learned quite a bit about their guests. The fact that although they had a vast amount of farmlands, they had little people to work in them. Which came as a shock to Arthur because he had learned earlier on that Le Lubrique consisted of mostly sorcerers.

Le Lubrique’s queen was the tall woman with a voice that made Arthur’s ears bleed. Her lady in waiting seemed to be a distant relative from their shared trait of high cheekbones, drowning brown eyes, and dark hair. The two were glued at the hip, her lady in waiting obsessively trailing behind her like a newborn duckling wherever they went. They were both strong magic users if Merlin’s gushing was anything to go by. And also very beautiful with fancy perfume that complimented each other so nicely that they smelt like heaven, from Merlin’s words of course, not his. If Arthur didn’t know any better, he would think Merlin fancied them; the queen and her lady in waiting.

Even when the queen was dancing with a number of council members, the servant would be right next to her. It was quite amusing to watch them struggle to sway in time with the music. Arthur had already made bets with Gwen on the number of times party guests would refuse dances with the pair because they refused to separate. So far Arthur was winning.

That was until the queen smugly asked Merlin for a dance. Her lady in waiting immediately stepped away like someone had called for her assistance, leaving the queen alone with Merlin. Much to Arthur’s disappointment, Merlin happily accepted the dance. He took the queen’s hand and off they went, twirling around as if they were the only ones in the room. His hands on her shoulder and waist, her hands virtually tearing his clothes from his chest.

The way the queen of Le Lubrique looked at Merlin made a sick feeling build up from the pit of Arthur’s stomach. She was undressing him with her eyes, the brown in her gaze turning an almost pitch black from lust. The woman said something that made Merlin taken aback, something about dragons and druids, but it was hard to hear from the chatter of the room. For all Arthur knew, it could have very well been a spell.

Merlin recovered quickly with a grin and laugh that had Arthur’s heart skipping a beat. Then the two of them had the audacity to continue dancing as if nothing had happened, the queen still shamelessly pulling at Merlin’s fine clothes that only Arthur was allowed to rip away.

Arthur didn’t know why Merlin didn’t stop the queen when she pulled his handkerchief from his neck. The king was almost killed for even playing with Merlin’s handkerchief and now this woman was doing the same without losing an arm and a leg? Completely unfair. That was proof in itself, she had casted a spell on Merlin.

“Merlin,” Arthur called out to his husband sternly only to be ignored once more. “Merlin,” Arthur stepped away from his throne, making his way towards his husband and the queen.

“I think you should go to bed before things get ugly,” Morgana gently warned Gwen, gesturing towards Arthur’s outburst. “It could either go well or we’ll die of secondhand embarrassment.”

“Thank you for your concern, my love,” Gwen replied with a smirk, “But I want to see how this unfolds.”

Morgana laughed at that, glancing between Arthur and Merlin. “Suit yourself.”

The two high ladies watched as Arthur pulled Merlin away from the queen of Le Lubrique, dragging him away from the woman as she stared on in horror. To Gwen's and Morgana’s surprise, the queen tried to pull Merlin back into her arms. Merlin seemed to be in a daze throughout the whole skirmish. His eyes glazed over, even from afar.

“Should we step in?” Gwen asked with concern, ready to intervene.

“Arthur can handle it, probably.”

The queen called her lady in waiting to help her. Three heads tugged at poor Merlin like he was flax rope at a kingdom fair. The lady in waiting tried to block Arthur from getting a good grip on Merlin while the queen tried to take more of Merlin’s clothes off. A crowd was forming and Morgana distinctively noticed coins being passed around in bets.

“Are you sure, my love?”

“Oh, It's just getting good,” Morgana grinned like a Cheshire cat. “How much are you willing to bet, my beloved?”

Finally, as the crowd began cheering, Arthur twisted out of the lady in waiting’s grip and grabbed hold of Merlin’s waist. The king lifted the warlock up in a bridal carry and turned on his heel for his throne, the crowd parting in heckles and laughs. Arthur blatantly ignored them, sitting down on his throne with Merlin in his lap. Unfortunately, he was unable to retrieve Merlin’s handkerchief, a matter he will surely not hear the end of for quite some time. But between a measly piece of fabric and Merlin’s life, Arthur would choose Merlin time and time again, his own life be damned.

Taking a moment to throw a sneer at Gwen and Morgana who were snickering, Arthur tried to shake Merlin out of the haze. “Are you alright, Merlin?” He stroked Merlin’s arms gently, trying to bring him back to the present. His blue gray eyes were a stormy glaze, seemingly out of it. It made an ugly feeling swirl around in Arthur’s head, the fact that some queen had touched his Merlin in such a way made Arthur sick.

Merlin shuddered in Arthur’s hold, looking down at himself and then at the ballroom floor where others had returned to dancing. Confusion crossed his face, “Of course, I’m alright,” he furrowed his eyebrows, “How did I get here?” Merlin rubbed at his temple, trying to soothe the ache that had formed there.

“Arthur carried you like the jealous brute he is,” Morgana explained, passing Gwen a handful of coins.

“Jealous brute?” Merlin questioned, looking at the trio for a real explanation.

Arthur was about to defend himself when a member of Le Lubrique’s court approached them. “Haha, I couldn’t help but notice the spectacle that you put on there, sire,” the man addressed Merlin.

“I’m sorry, I don’t quite follow.”

The man laughed again, mirth in his eyes. “I guess you wouldn’t,” he said vaguely, “The queen does have a way with words.”

“What do you mean by that?” Arthur butted in, holding Merlin a tad too tight. Merlin squirmed in Arthur’s lap but Arthur seemed to hardly notice.

“Well, you are a warlock, aren’t you, sire?” the man addressed Merlin once more. Merlin nodded despite himself. “A warlock as well as a dragonlord under the queen’s attention is bound to feel the efforts of her magic. And her special attention for that matter, hahaha.”

“Sorry,” Merlin began, more confused than before. “What do you mean by that expactly?”

“Our queen is a lovely dragon tamer. Her family is the last of their kind. Although taming a dragon is much easier when you have someone who can speak to the creatures,” the man laughed as if telling a joke only he knew the punchline to and walked away as if nothing had happened.

Least to say, the rest of the night Arthur didn’t let Merlin out of his sight. He had no idea what a dragon tamer was and Merlin seemed as lost as he was, but he wasn’t taking any chances. No one was going to “tame” his lover. Whatever that meant. Morgana and Gwen could laugh and call him jealous all they want, Arthur only had Merlin’s best interest at heart.

“I doubt having me be a lap warmer is in my best interest.”

-----

It had been weeks and Arthur naively thought they were done interacting with the kingdom of Le Lubrique. He had hoped to be finished with the rising kingdom, to leave them alone as long as they left him be.

He was rarely fortunate these days. Never even.

Apparently, Merlin was not deterred by almost being kidnapped by the queen and her lady in waiting. Merlin even said he enjoyed their company and their attention to his every breathing word. Arthur loved the man, but sometimes he could be quite an idiot.

Merlin, without Arthur’s knowledge, had invited a member of Le Lubrique’s court to stay at the castle. Who else to volunteer to come to Camelot but the queen’s lady in waiting. She was only supposed to be in the kingdom for a couple of weeks, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. That couple of weeks turned into a couple of months and eventually the woman practically lived there. She had made herself at home on day one, much to Arthur’s dismay. He couldn’t really kick her out without making a bad impression towards her kingdom, despite what her queen had already done.

He was a king. Much to his reluctance, he had to act like it. And that meant acting like you liked people that you hated to the core.

“And these are our forests,” Arthur gestured to the thick wall of trees that signified the beginning of the woods. “I typically take neighboring kings hunting here. If you’re interested, we can go if you’d like.”

Sylvy, the lady in waiting, sat on her horse with her head held high. For someone with a position like her’s, she acted like she was queen herself. Arthur had spent the whole day trying to show her around for the utmost time. She was never satisfied with what he showed her, as if she were looking for a break in the walls of the kingdom.

Every morning she demanded to be taken around on a tour and every afternoon she was left with a deep frown on her face. Nothing made her happy it seemed, and Arthur had truly tried to make her feel at the very least, welcomed. It was just so difficult to do so with the knowledge of what she had done to Merlin. Had enchanted him, put him in a daze of some sort.

If Camelot still had the ban on magic, she would’ve been dead the moment she laid a hand on Merlin. On the crown’s orders, she would have been hung or burned, some form of public execution. Her dark hair would go up in flames as the fire burned higher and higher, her head would hang low as the bucket was kicked out underneath her. Arthur was still considering having her prisoned for what she did and simply explained to her queen that there had been a freak accident. If he were a lesser man, a lesser king, he would’ve done so and let it be a warning.

“I despise hunting as a sport, it’s just mindlessly cruel,” she snarled, her lips curling as a show of disdain. She held the reins to her horse like a vice, afraid that she’d be ripped from the saddle and forced to participate in such barbaric practices. At least, that was what Arthur thought was swimming through her mind.

“Yes, yes, but some like the adrenaline rush of a good hunt,” Arthur explained without real passion, merely a form of continuing the dry conversation. Sylvy had woken him up so early that morning he barely had a chance to give Merlin a goodbye kiss. “Some have to do it to survive.”

“There are other ways to live,” Sylvy began, urging her horse to turn by towards the main part of the kingdom, seeing as they were on the outskirts. “Le Lubrique for one replies solely on farmlands. We have no need for meat or the slaughtering of innocent animals. Everyone can live without such a horrible act; people and sorcerers alike. Meat is simply murder.”

Arthur half heartedly nodded, trailing behind her while trying not to fall off his horse. “I can’t argue with you there.” He didn’t want to argue with about anything her to be truthful, he had had enough of that already.

They traveled at a moderate trot in silence before she spoke up again. “Why haven't you invited me to a council meeting? I’ve been here for ages. Surely you have these sorts of things at least once a month.” She tried to act nonchalantly, but Arthur could see right through her. “I mean, there must be all sorts of things to discuss. An heir to the throne for one, seeing as neither you nor king Merlin can bear children.”

“We just haven’t had any council meetings, nothing interesting to report that couldn’t be done with a quill and parchment is all,” Arthur lied with a fake smile she could not see. “And an heir doesn’t need to be of blood. They just need to be taught how to properly command a kingdom like a fair and just ruler. To know what’s best for a kingdom, who to trust and who to leave behind in the woods.”

A look of abhorrence lingered on Sylvy’s face at Arthur’s words, bothered that he would even say such a thing. But Arthur was right, it didn’t matter if his heir was not his child as long as they were just and fair to all that passed them. Arthur could only imagine what Le Lubrique was like if all their subjects thought the same way Sylvy did. It must be all out war for them if a bastard appeared in court one day; though in reality royal bastards were a dime a dozen.

Sylvy went quiet for a moment, calculating her words while mulling over what Arthur had said. “With a kingdom as large as yours, surely there’s action all around? Suitable women all around. Something worthwhile must have happened during my stay,” her voice took on a tone that Arthur didn’t like, a light flush painting her cheeks like some teenage girl with a crush, “What about king Merlin?”

“What about my husband?”

“What has he been up to?” Sylvy asked indifferently, trying to hide her curiosity from Arthur. If only she would try to hide that damn blush. Merlin was physically attractive, Arthur knew this as an undeniable fact, but to be so unabashed while in front of the man’s husband? What was he? The first king of Camelot reduced to chop liver. Unbelievable!

“Well, he’s the second king of Camelot. A king’s job is never done. There is always more work than one man can handle. I should know, I used to be the one doing all the work.”

They reached town just as Sylvy took on an accusatory tone, “Then what are you doing here?”

Arthur resisted the urge to strangle her in front of so many people. His fists clenched around his reins so hard his knuckles turned ivory. “I’m showing you around, just as you had requested,” Arthur gritted through his teeth, trying so very hard not to glare at her.

“And here I was, hoping to attend a meeting with the second king.”

“Really now?” Arthur could feel the mare under him shuffle on her hooves at his fury. “You know what? There might be one later today.” What he had planned was so unbelievably petty and a tad childish, but at this point, he didn’t give a damn. Sylvy was getting on his last nerve. “I’ll have a servant call you when it’s time. For now, why don’t you explore our lovely town by yourself? Walk around without a king hovering over you and all. That way, I could get back to doing my job.”

Sylvy brightened up in spite of Arthur’s words. A smile was forming on her face, her high cheekbones pushed up even farther. Her brown eyes crinkled at the notion that she’ll be able to see Merlin. “I can’t wait,” she said, unsaddling and handing the reins to her horse to Arthur. “I must get ready,” she said to herself loud enough for Arthur to hear.

“Take all the time you need.”

Arthur would regret those words later that night when he sat among his advisers. Sylvy, their honored guest was over half an hour late and the others were beginning to feel on edge. Many of them were not planned for a meeting so soon after the one they had earlier that week. It was an unprompted get together for the lady in waiting’s sake, Arthur had explained to them.

On days like these Arthur was glad he was king and that there’d be grave consequences if he were murdered by one of his advisers. They would be in the right to do so, kill him that is; but he was hoping to live long enough to raise a couple of children with Merlin.

“Why are we doing this, Arthur?” Merlin asked, hiding a yawn with his hand. While Arthur was riding around the kingdom with Le Lubrique’s queen’s lady in waiting, Merlin was left to run the kingdom by himself. The haunted task of commanding and keeping an eye on so many people was taking its toll on the sorcerer. Merlin hadn’t properly slept in days, too busy keeping the kingdom in one piece.

“Sylvy wanted to be present for a council meeting. As a member of Le Lubrique’s court, we have to answer to her call until her stay is up.” Merlin gave him a look that called Arthur out on his poorly constructed plan. “And I may or may not want her to know that you’re taken.”

Merlin rolled his eyes along with most of the present court. They should all be used to Arthur’s antics at this point. What were they expecting? An honest to god meeting to discuss important topics with their visitor from foreign lands? Never. A fake meeting just so Arthur could flaunt the fact that Merlin loved him and not some conceited queen and her lady in waiting? That was more like it.

“Sometimes I can’t believe I asked you to marry me,” Merlin yawned again, giving Arthur a tired look in more ways than one.

“Feels just like a dream, doesn’t it?”

“More like a nightmare.”

“You love me,” Arthur opened up his arms so Merlin could take his place on the king’s lap. Merlin shook his head at the gesture, so incredibly done with Arthur. “Come on, Merlin. You know you like it here.” He teasingly patted his lap. “You can rest until our guest arrives.”

“Fine,” Merlin said begrudgingly after a moment of hesitation, his mind clouded by the want for sleep. “But you better wake me up when she comes.”

“Of course,” Arthur assured, inviting Merlin over once more. This time Merlin made himself home on Arthur’s lap, his head going to rest on Arthur’s chest. He curled in Arthur’s lap like second nature, having done this so many times over the years. Arthur wrapped his arms around the younger man, making sure he was supported and comfortable. Merlin fit perfectly nonetheless. Within moments, a soft snoring sound could be heard from the man on Arthur’s lap, content in where he sat. The second king finally got the rest he deserved. “I wouldn’t wake you for the world,” Arthur whispered, rubbing soothing circles on Merlin’s arm and leg.

Another half an hour passed achingly slowly without the esteemed lady in waiting’s presence. Arthur was about to call off the whole thing and make his way to his bedchamber when at last, the doors to the room opened to reveal Sylvy. She was no longer dressed in her usual servant attire with its cream apron and blue gray dress. Instead she had ransacked the queen’s wardrobe, wearing something befitting a ball.

The dress was elegant and detailed with silk and satin; a deep shade of bourbon that brought out her brown eyes. Her hand was even done up in cascading dark curls that perfectly fell from the knot atop her head. A glittering wine hair piece sat nestled against her hair, matching perfectly with the studs in her ears. She was beautiful even without the time spent enhancing what was already there, but now she stood ready to rule a kingdom.

Sylvy took her seat across from where Merlin would have sat. “Where is king Merlin?” she asked, not noticing that the man in question was currently sleeping on Arthur’s lap.

“I’m sorry for how unprepared we were, but I can relate to your troubles of not having enough hands to run a kingdom. My husband had taken the task of ruling all alone while I tended to your needs.” Arthur pressed a kiss to Merlin’s hair when he stirred in his sleep, continuing on his over sweetened words. “He’s beyond exhausted, but still wanted to take part in our meeting. Please understand that he really did try his best to stay awake.”

The emotions that crossed Sylvy’s face came in a blur; she was unreadable. But one thing was for sure, Arthur had won this small battle. He had shoved Merlin’s unquestionable favor for him in the lady in waiting’s face. Merlin was his and his alone. For good measure Arthur pressed a deep kiss onto Merlin’s lips, the sorcerer smiling in his sleep.

His advisers on the other hand felt cheated. If the death glares shot his way were anything to go by. Though there was one from Sylvy as well. A lot of people wanted him dead at the moment. But he was perfectly happy. They could string him up after the meeting for all he cared, the unintelligible look on Sylvy’s face was worth it. She was utterly speechless.

“I’m ever so sorry we were late to start, but would you like to commence this meeting?” Arthur asked like a gentleman with a cocky grin, making sure to stare right at Le Lubrique’s envoy.

-----

When Sylvy left Arthur rejoiced. She was finally out of his hair. Things could go back to normal and he could go back to spending his free time with Merlin instead of on horseback through a bare orchard. No matter how many times Arthur explained to Sylvy that their crops were not aided by magic like Le Lubrique’s, Sylvy insisted on seeing their “mortal” development.

Everything was put back into its rightful place. He couldn’t wait to put everything about Le Lubrique behind him and move on.

He was back on the throne with Merlin, leading the kingdom just as they were before the whole ordeal with Le Lubrique. Their advisers especially liked the fact that Arthur was back with Merlin; it meant less work for them. The moment that Sylvy left their grounds, Camelot’s advisers piled parchment after novel after demands on his table.

Those selfish bastards.

The so-called requests were so thick that Merlin didn’t even make a sarcastic comment comparing it to Arthur’s ass, and, or his thick skull; the warlock simply went to work. If Arthur himself wasn’t already terrified of the workload, he would have shocked himself to the grave at Merlin’s willingness to submit to their advisers. The two kings of Camelot knew when they met their match.

What felt like weeks passed where Arthur and Merlin did nothing but what their advisers ordered. They were slaves to their own court. The two didn’t leave their room for anything, not food, not training, not even a breath of fresh air. Their knights would occasionally knock on their door to make sure they were both still alive, but once the knights of the round table had been turned down a couple dozen times, they stopped caring. Merlin and Arthur shut off the world. They were practically locked in there, all because of their own doing.

Well, mostly Merlin’s doing. He was the one who invited the envoy over and wanted to make peace with the new kingdom. Arthur had nothing to do with that prolonged visit from the devil, he was only paying the price. His hands ached like it had been shorn off at the wrists, his back screaming for him to rest. He didn’t remember the last time he touched his bed, the neatly tucked in linens calling him to slumber. But he couldn’t, neither of them could until their work was done. Their kingdom depended on it and their kingdom came first, Arthur and Merlin’s comfort second. They both knew what they had signed up for when they decided to wed.

“A-Arthur,” Merlin groaned late one night, the sun mere minutes from the horizon.

Arthur immediately looked up from his book, putting his full attention on Merlin who was on the other side of the room. Neither of them had talked in days besides the few grunts they exchanged while passing over important text. The fact that Merlin was straining his voice now meant something serious was going on.

“What’s wrong?” Arthur coughed, his throat parched and dry as a desert.

“I-I-” Merlin began, rubbing harshly at his hurt eyes, “I think that’s the last one.” The sorcerer signed one more parchment with a flick of his wrist, setting it aside to dry along with the rest.

And the thing was, Merlin was right. There was no more work to go through, to tirelessly read; everything was finally done. “I’m so tired I don’t think I can see straight, b-but that was it!”

“What?”

“We’re finished, you clophole," Merlin smiled, taking Arthur’s breath away.

Arthur leapt out of his seat, pure joy masking the aches and pains as he rushed over to Merlin’s side. The king pulled the sorcerer from his chair, lifting the man into the air, Arthur kissed Merlin like it was their wedding day. Deep and full of all the longing he had for the man, grasping at him as if he could protect Merlin from the world.

He only pulled back for air, inhaling lungfuls before pressing his lips back against Merlin’s. Arthur missed his husband so damn much despite having worked across the room for each other. He hadn’t touched the other man in ages, it was heaven to feel his heartbeat beneath his pained fingers. To kiss down Merlin’s pale neck and mark him until the whole castle knew exactly what they had been up to. To pull at Merlin’s clothes, ripping his tunic right off of his chest, the buttons flying across the room.

“Arthur,” Merlin moaned, gently pushing Arthur back so he could speak. “I liked that shirt.”

Arthur thumbed at Merlin’s trousers, holding his hips tight enough to leave marks that Merlin would feel for days to come. “I’ll get you a new one.”

“But my mother made me that one,” Merlin complained, wrapping his arms around Arthur’s neck. His strong hand went to cup Arthur’s cheek, making the king look at him. Forcing the king to calm down and evaluate things. “We have to get something to eat too, dear,” Merlin told Arthur in a loving tone. “We’re both too exhausted for this.”

“I’m never too tired for you,” Arthur bit back, leaning into Merlin’s hand. He may have been putting his weight on Merlin’s desk so as to not fall over, but Merlin didn’t need to know that. Arthur could most definitely ravage Merlin while on the brink of death.

Merlin pulled Arthur close to kiss him softly, “If we go to bed now, then we can spend all of next day together,” Merlin tried to bargain, eyes teary from lack of any sort of sleep. “You’re going to hurt yourself, you ass,” he chuckled with a small smile that made his eyes crinkle with mirth.

“I don’t want to,” Arthur whined, “I’ve worked for weeks on end. Now I want my reward for behaving.” Arthur sat back on Merlin’s desk, pulling the man on top of him. The desk groaned under their combined weight, but Arthur hardly cared when he had Merlin on his lap and straddling his thighs. “You’re all I want.” He embraced Merlin, the warlock half naked and moaning as Arthur kissed along his arm. His mouth sucked at Merlin’s skin, teeth leaving markings on pale skin claiming Merlin as his. Arthur worshiped Merlin until his stormy eyes were hazy with unabated lust.

“Just you….”

Arthur slumped forward, out like a dying candle before he even knew it. Merlin had to stifle a laugh, though he doubted anything would wake Arthur then. The king was out cold, snoring like there was no tomorrow. Too bad Merlin had to carry his fat ass over to their bed. The warlock was beginning to rethink their plans for tomorrow. Sometimes he wished Arthur wasn’t such a stubborn ass and listened to him. It would save them both the trouble, Merlin was right most of the time after all.

“Get some rest, you oaf,” Merlin said to the asleep man, tucking him into their bed. Arthur’s blonde hair was like a halo against their stark white pillow, the dark bags underneath his eyes a contrast with the paleness of his skin. His old tunic was a dull red from overuse, the buttons holding onto the fabric for dear life. Merlin stripped Arthur of his boats and stuffy tunic leaving both men in their trousers. A much better way to sleep if anyone asked.

“Good night, Arthur,” Merlin whispered into Arthur’s ear, snuggling up against the king. He threw the blankets over himself and laid on Arthur’s chest. The pull of sleep had Merlin out just as quickly, the moment he allowed his breath to even out, there was nothing that would stop him from getting the well earned sleep that he so needed.

“Rest well, Merlin,” Arthur answered in a murmur, pulling Merlin in close. “Sweet dreams, you idiot.”

-----

“Arthur, calm down and try to see reason!” Merlin all but yelled at the king without his crown. The man in question was in his knight gear, armor and chainmail strapped tightly to his body for protection. His sword hung to his side, within reach at all times. Arthur could feel something ominous looming on the horizon, it was Merlin who was still seeing the world with rose colored glasses.

“I tried to see reason. I tried to play nice. And this is what I get in return,” Arthur gestured to the pile of charred wood on the round table. Wood that was once the homes of innocent farmers who played no part in the altercations of royals. People that Arthur was supposed to protect, their livelihoods and homes included. “We were nothing but good to them and this is what happened. Dozens of houses burned to nothing overnight!”

“We have to act now, Merlin.”

“Going in there with your swords raised in offence isn’t going to do anything but start an all out war,” Merlin insisted, urging Arthur to reel himself in, to not lash out at the closest thing. If it were anyone else Merlin would have already smacked them over the head for raising their voice at him. Unfortunately, Merlin was sleeping with the man and didn’t want to be smothered in his sleep. “That’s what Le Lubrique wants; a reason to fight. We can’t give them that.”

“Then what exactly do you expect us to do, Merlin?” Gwen piped in across the table from Merlin. Morgana stood to her side, eyes darting between all the speakers in a frenzy. “They attacked first. It’s only right that we return what they have given us.” Gwen picked up a piece of wood, charcoal rubbing off on her hands as she turned it over. “Arthur is right, we just can’t sit idle.”

Merlin stared at Gwen, hoping that she would be on his side on this. She solemnly shook her head, denying her friend’s offer. Gwen wanted to go on the offence just as much as Arthur, her friends were harmed when Le Lubrique’s soldiers set fire to a section of the kingdom. They burned down acres of farmland, dozens of homes with children and elderly. Luckily, nobody was killed in the process but many were harmed. Gwen wanted vengeance for them. She was a loyal ruler, loyal to her people.

“And we won’t,” Merlin bargained, “We won’t let them gain any more than they already have. No one here knows exactly what they want from us, but we do know that they’re willing to play dirty to get it,” he went on, talking with his hands to release some of the tension. “Let me be a spy and-”

“Absolutely not.”

“You didn’t let me finish.”

“No,” Arthur said firmly, daring Merlin to argue. “You stay right here with me. I will not have you risking your life for measly information.”

“It's not measly information, Arthur. It could be the difference between thousands dead and a simple treaty. We don’t know what Le Lubrique wants, but if we do, we could try to bargain with them. No blood needs to be shed,” Merlin tried, laying a hand on Arthur’s shoulder, forcing the man to look at him. “The queen wants me. She made that very clear. She won’t hurt me if she thinks I’m on her side.”

Arthur stared at Merlin, watching the sorcerer for any sign of hesitation. When he saw nothing of the sort Arthur sat down in his chair with a huff. Merlin really wanted to do this. Spy work is equal to a as rushing in with their flag flying and swords shining; both could end with Merlin buried six feet under. Even the implication had Arthur feeling like hell.

“How am I supposed to get anything done with you gone?” Arthur questioned genuinely, much to the snickers of the knights and ladies. “I can’t function without you,” this was whispered softly to Merlin, just for Merlin.

The anger and stress dissipated from Merlin’s eyes, his shoulders slacked in resignation. Realization slowly but surely dawned on the sorcerer. Arthur was simply afraid. The first king of Camelot was worried, on the brink of tears from it if anyone looked close enough. Merlin rolled his eyes, even after all these years Arthur was still undoubtedly the same.

Without a care for the other people in the room, Merlin sat down on Arthur’s lap, hands on the other’s chest to stabilize himself. Merlin leaned in close and pressed a kiss to Arthur’s lips, cradling his jaw like it was something breakable. “Everything will be alright, Arthur. I can protect myself just fine,” Merlin reassured in a careful voice, stroking Arthur’s cheek. “You won’t even notice I’m gone.”

“I always feel empty without you, Merlin." Arthur pulled Merlin in for another kiss, this one deeper than the last. The two only pulled away for air and even then they went back for more. They couldn’t have enough of the other, constantly needing to feel the other person. A give and take only the other could provide. “What am I supposed to do if you don’t return?” Arthur asked quietly, resting his forehead on Merlin’s. “How am I supposed to live?”

“I promise to you, you’ll never have to find out. You’re stuck with me," Merlin smirked, running his fingers through Arthur’s hair. "Till death do us part, darling.”

Arthur wished he could believe Merlin’s promise. He swore on his mother’s grave that if Merlin fulfilled his promise that he’ll listen to everything Merlin has to say. He’ll never question Merlin again, never talk back to the warlock, shove his stubbornness down and never speak of it again. Arthur would have done anything for Merlin, only the man asked.

Not a month later Arthur received news in the form of a messenger. Le Lubrique had declared war on any who dared try to take the last living dragonlord from them. Merlin was theirs, they stated, the dragonlord belonged to dragon tamers. The two are vital for the continuation of dragons in the old religion. One to gain their trust, the other to keep the creatures in chains where they belong. Any and all who tried to take away their dragonlord would be faced with lethal consequences.

At that Arthur sent the messenger to be put into the stocks. Lethal consequences. Arthur will show them just how deadly he could be. Le Lubrique will pay, a month without Merlin was torture but if they dared to lay a hand on Merlin they would all burn. Gwen was absolutely right, Arthur required vengeance, he wanted them all to feel just what angering Camelot will do, what angering him will do.

And after making such a claim over Merlin’s life, Arthur will show them no mercy. Le Lubrique had declared war on Camelot and Arthur would answer tenfold.

------

It took around two weeks for Arthur to prepare for battle against a kingdom full of sorcerers. Another week was spent traveling with his soldiers over land and sea. Through it all he couldn’t help but be eaten alive by the nagging feeling that he was too late. That he would arrive only to find ash; bones if he was lucky. Day and night he was slowly being killed by the fact that he could very well be walking into his husband’s grave.

“He’s going to be okay,” Morgana reassured him one day as he leaned against the railing of their ship. They were perhaps an hour if not less from shore and Arthur hadn’t slept a wink. He could feel exhaustion mixing with the worry brewing in his mind, ready to overflow at a single inconvenience. His sword was once again at his side, the memory making everything so much worse. “Merlin will be teasing you for worrying so much if he were here.”

“But he isn’t, is he, Morgana?” Arthur said more harshly than he intended. “He could already be dead for all we know.” And it would be all Arthur’s fault, though he kept that notion to himself. By the look on Morgana’s face, she must have been thinking the same thing.

“It's not your fault, Arthur. Merlin chose to go on his own free will.”

“But I was the one who allowed it,” Arthur bit back, standing straight on his feet. “I sent him to his death.”

“You don’t know that,” Morgana crossed her arms. She should be used to Arthur’s self destructive behavior but even this was getting too much for her. “If what that messenger said was true, Merlin’s probably being pampered to death.”

That seemed to be the wrong thing to have said because Arthur’s despair did not lighten. It seemed to have gotten worse. “What if he likes it better with Le Lubrique’s court? I’m no warlock, I can’t compete with their magic!”

“Arthur, you’re overthinking this,” Morgana was done with Arthur’s antics. She was ready to gag him and throw him in the ship’s makeshift prison cell until they had properly docked. “Merlin will run right into your arms the moment he sees you. I’m willing to bet on it, just you wait and see. Merlin loves-”

At Morgana’s silence, Arthur looked over to the direction of her gaze. Their ship was making speed but Arthur suddenly wished they had stopped right where they were and sink. The sight took Arthur’s breath away, making his blood go cold. Le Lubrique was burning and it looked like it had been burning for a very long time. There was no shoreside to speak of, just endless flickering flames. Where the castle should have been standing tall like a beacon was nothing but flames, ruble, and ash.

“Merlin!” Arthur yelled even though his voice would not carry that far. “Merlin!” he called again, his heart sinking to his stomach. He wanted to drown at sea. He never wanted to reach the shore, to be lost in the ocean and never have to face what he already knew was there. The absence of what he knew should’ve been. “Merlin!” he shouted even though it was futile.

“Arthur, please!” Morgana struggled to pull him back from the side, afraid he’ll jump and swim the rest of the way himself. Or worse. “Just an hour, please. That’s all you have to wait for. You- you don’t know for sure.” Even Morgana was not so sure of her words, the picture in front of them was hard to paint as lies.

“I sent him to his death….” Arthur whimpered, “I killed him. I killed my husband.” The king sank to his knees, kneeling next to Morgana. The woman could barely hide the tears in her eyes at the sight. Everything she wanted to say, every reassurance died on her tongue. Whatever she said could very well be a lie and nothing more.

“We will make them pay, Arthur. We will make them pay for what they’ve done,” Morgana decided instead, pulling Arthur to his feet. “They won’t get away with this,” she stated sternly, much like their father when he had set his mind to something.

Less than an hour passed where the tension was so thick, one could slice through it with an unsharpened sword. All on board prepared for battle, despite the fact that the fires never stopped burning. Regardless of the fact that they might be too late to be of much good. The fighting had already begun long before they docked, a civil war where the same flag was flying on opposite sides.

“Go search for what is left, we’ll handle everything else,” Gwen informed Arthur when they stepped foot on the raging battlefield. She was dressed in chainmail armor just like everyone else, Camelot’s colors making her blend in with the searing fires. Her helmet was covering most of her face, giving her the appearance of a frightening soldier ready to take lives at a moment's notice. If Arthur was in a better mood, he would have been sorry for the folks who would come face to face with Gwen, the quick footed soldier instead of Gwen, the gentle, kind hearted high lady. At the moment he was on the verge of breaking and was ever so glad that Gwen was as cut throat as she was.

“Thank you,” Arthur told her from the bottom of his heart, “We should have listened to you from the start.”

“You followed your husband’s request, I can’t fault you for that.” She pulled Arthur in for a hug before sending him off. “Go find our king.”

Gwen didn’t have to tell Arthur twice, he was off before she finished speaking. The only thing is his mind was finding and holding Merlin. Nothing else mattered. Not the war thriving around him, swords clashing, arrows flying, Camelot’s red against the duality of Le Lubrique’s purples; nothing. The sorcerer was all that was worth living for and Arthur had a guess as to where Merlin would be.

The castle with Le Lubrique’s flag flapping against the blistering wind was as good as any place to start. Arthur climbed the hill that the palace stood on with lead in his stomach. It felt like every step he took he was merely walking into a trap. The castle should not still be in one piece, the battles around the structure should have made it no more than debris. However, it still stood on weak support.

Going against the nagging voice in the back of his head Arthur called out for his husband, “Merlin!” He walked closer to what would have been the courtyard. Around the perimeter were burning shrubbery that must have been a sight to behold at one point in time. Now there were nothing more than flares and the source of black smoke. The cobblestone center was stained with a drying red that Arthur did not want to face the source of. “Merlin!” Arthur sounded out in the courtyard.

“Arthur,” a hoarse voice groaned weakly. Arthur ran in the direction it came from, his sense of self preservation be damned. Merlin’s life could be on the line.

“Merlin, stay with me. Keep talking!”

“I-I’m over here,” Merlin hissed out helpfully, not informing Arthur where, “here” exactly was. Why did Arthur have to marry such a buffoon? Sure, no one could compare to Merlin, but at the very least he could have courted a smarter man.

“I’m coming, just stay where you are,” Arthur said hastily, rushing through the crumbling courtyard. “Don’t you dare die on me, I’ll kill you myself if you do!” he threatened, searching every nook and cranny for the warlock.

“That’s my line, you ass,” Merlin moaned in complaint, his eyes rolling to the back of his head. “Come up with your own catchphrases.”

Sometimes Arthur couldn’t believe his choice in a partner. Merlin was really making banter with him while possibly on the brink of death. He was definitely going to kill Merlin for this. “Make me, you bastard,” Arthur cursed, rounding a sharp corner that fell apart as he passed it. His breath was taken away for the second time that day when he saw Merlin on the ground.

They were in what must have been a parlor, the stained glass windows shattered on the ground as a number of the fine furniture burned to cinder. Arthur could imagine the room as something beautiful if he were to be invited over for tea. Now he just saw it as a smoking mess, something that he was glad was going up in flames. Though, without him or Merlin in it would be nice.

“There you are!” Arthur exclaimed, rushing over and kneeling on the floor next to Merlin’s frame. The sorcerer was half naked with sharp nail marks littered across his pale skin. Merlin’s neck was a raring red as if a hand had been wrapped around his throat which didn’t let up until he passed out from the lack of air. His form was covered in a thin sheen of sweat and tears, his rib cage stuck out in unpleasant angles. It looked like he hadn’t been fed in days. The sight made Arthur furious, but Le Lubrique’s court could wait. Arthur had to get Merlin to safety first.

“Took you long enough, you oaf,” Merlin hissed through his teeth, his lips chapped from dehydration. The corner of his mouth was bleeding as if he had been back handed across the face. Arthur reached out a hand to touch it, to make sure Merlin was real and not just some illusion made by a sick sorcerer. “Stop that, it already hurts to talk,” Merlin coughed, his eyes hazy.

“What happened?” Arthur couldn’t help but ask, shrugging off his cape to throw over Merlin’s bare chest. It didn’t offer much coverage but it was protection against the flying embers. As a bonus it covered the markings that made Arthur’s skin crawl.

“I arrived under the guise of an envoy, just as we had planned. Everything seemed to be going fine, but they found out I was a spy early on. It was like they could read my mind, and I don’t doubt that they have the knowledge just for the spell,” Merlin explained, pulling Arthur’s cape close, the soft fabric offering a sense of shelter. “But they didn’t seem to care that I was there under ulterior motives. They were only glad to have me, mind and body,” Merlin shivered at the thought. “Le Lubrique’s queen wanted me to father her children.”

Merlin paused to let the thought sink in. He watched Arthur for his reaction. Arthur’s face twisted in a disgusted sneer, baring his teeth at the implication. The king clenched his fists until his nails dug deep enough into his palm to drag blood. Arthur wanted to feel the pain, something to ground him farther so he didn’t march off to kill someone who might already be dead.

“Le Lubrique wanted dragons as slaves, no king would be dumb enough to go to war with a kingdom with dragons on their side; no matter its size,” Merlin went on, his eyes glowing yellow at the notion. “They needed me as a stud.”

Arthur was repulsed at the notion that Le Lubrique would even conceive of such a thing. He must have looked ready to vomit because Merlin quickly added, “Le Lubrique’s queen even tried to make herself appealing to me when I denied her advances.” Arthur could only imagine what the woman did. Sylvy’s antics immediately came to mind. “She magicked her hair blonde and made her eyes your shade of blue.”

Arthur couldn’t help but darkly chuckle at that. Of all the ways to make Merlin fall for someone, blonde hair and blue eyes weren’t it. “Did she really think looking like me would get you to bed her?”

“No,” Merlin began again with a pained yelp that he tried to hide. “What she said was what made me comply.”

“What did she say?” Arthur growled, his earlier fury seeping back into his bloodstream. “What did that harlot say?”

“She threatened your life, Arthur. Your honor, your dignity, and reign as king. Everything,” Merlin got teary eyed at the memory. “The way she took her pleasure from me was painful, but it was nothing compared to the thought of what she said she would have done to you.”

Arthur was shaking with rage, his whole body trembled with the urge to tear Le Lubrique’s queen apart, limb by limb by his own bare hands. His hand hovered over his sword subconsciously. He wanted to kill her, needed to destroy her for what she’s done. For the fear she incited into Merlin. Arthur was bloodthirsty; he hoped that Gwen was just as demanding of blood.

“I wanted to kill her.” Merlin’s quivering voice brought Arthur back to the present. “Let me kill her, Arthur,” Merlin begged his husband, his lip beginning to bleed.

“Of course,” Arthur wiped Merlin’s tears away with his thumb, his hand caressing Merlin’s cheek gently. “Anything you want, I’ll give it to you in a heartbeat.”

“Now, Arthur. I want to kill her now.” Merlin tried to sit up but the cry of pain had him falling right back to where he was. “She deserves to suffer.” His eyes lit up in a gold light, trying to magic his way upright but failed and fell down once more. The warlock’s body was in a worse state than he appeared, he shook in a cold sweat like an infection induced fever.

When Merlin began coughing fistfuls of blood at the strain Arthur was forced to act quickly. The king straddled Merlin’s legs, sitting down on his lap to keep Merlin on the ground. “Shhh, I’m here, Merlin. I’m safe, I’m alive,” Arthur barricaded Merlin with his arms. “I’ll bring you her head, I swear.”

“Let me do it, Arthur. I can kill her myself,” Merlin barked, another fit of coughs had him squeezing his eyes shut.

“I’ll bring her to you, alive. You can do anything you want with her court,” Arthur tried a different approach, tears forming in his eyes at the sight of Merlin in this state. “You can make her pay for what she’s done, make her feel the same pain. But please, Merlin,” Arthur begged, stroking Merlin’s face as tears fell on the man’s face. “Stay with me. Keep talking.”

Merlin opened his eyes at Arthur’s request, pain painting them a disorientating blue. “It hurts, Arthur. She did so, so many horrible things,” Merlin admitted in the burning parlor room. He reached out angry scarred arms to wrap around Arthur, pulling the king flush against his chest. “Everything aches, it feels like I’m being burned alive.” Merlin had Arthur in a death grip, there was barely enough room for either of them to breathe. It felt like home.

“They will pay, this I swear,” Arthur made an oath, kissing Merlin to make it true. “By the end of this day their bodies will be put on display for all to see.” He kissed down Merlin’s neck, burying Le Lubrique’s queen’s markings with his own. “Do you want her kingdom as well, Merlin? Say the word and it's yours.”

“I want you. I want her gone. I want her kingdom. I want it all,” Merlin’s mind was spinning with searing fever, screaming pain, and the constant pleasure of Arthur licking at his throat. He squeezed Arthur’s neck with his shaking arms. “Give me everything.”

In a burning parlor of a dying country with a queen and court that abandoned it, the first king of Camelot made a vow to the second king; an apology and a promise. Everything the licking fire was eating, everything destroyed by its own queen; the country, and the sea that surrounded it. The never ending farmlands, the people that survived, and the bones that would be buried by ash of its own making. The entire kingdom; dead, dying, or thriving. All of it would be Merlin’s.

All of it is Merlin’s.

“My king shall have everything.”

[tedturneriscrazy]

Another Saturday, another episode! Let's take a look at Keeping Up A-fear-ances!

(Good lord I'm starting to make myself sound like some sort of content creator)

Oh, okay, we're just starting at that level of intensity, huh?

Chest gem origins

Gwendolyn not being satisfied with managing the curse and determined to cure it? I'm sure this won't be a real world allegory in the slightest.

Oh, so Eda literally just stumbles upon the portal? I could call that contrived, but honestly it's not dissimilar to how Dipper found Journal 3. For that matter, the entirety of Lord of the Rings is predicated on an accidental discovery like this and nobody gave Tolkien shit about it.

Was the eye on the portal cracked in previous episodes? I don't remember.

Seems like Gwen is the "well-meaning but ultimately misguided" flavor of mom.

As an aside, I am now quite curious about how Eda's first trip to the human realm went. Maybe a future episode will cover it? At any rate, I smell a new favorite fic prompt.

The screaming alarms in the Demon Realm will never not be funny to me.

Also, that is a worrying number of hearts. Eda is straight up murdering these poor creatures.

For some reason the gold fang being removable never occurred to me as a possibility, and now I feel like a kid who's discovered that Santa isn't real.

Oh hey, the new outfit! I'm also impressed how close to symmetrical that tearing was.

I need to get a screencap of Luz sleeping on that stack of books because she is adorable.

Also, staying up all night researching? This season seems determined to completely eradicate the notion of Luz being dumb, and I am here for it.

I have a feeling the Hexside mug will be making its way to The Mystery Shack in the near future.

Lilith's first experience with transformation and she seems understandably horrified.

The curse acting stronger when stressed? That seems...important.

Ah, so the dismemberment is from the curse! A surprisingly useful side effect from what we've seen so far.

Can I just say that I appreciate how Eda's reaction to Lilith's first taste of transformation is immediate remedy, explanation, and reassurance? And doesn't make any snarky comments along the lines of "now you know what it's like?" Whatever happened in that week and a half must have been cathartic as hell.

"Always. Always curious." Luz is the TOH fandom.

(Also, Eda, you know she is, considering how much she went on about your "mysterious past" at the Covention)

"Magic bird tornado?!" Luz has a way with words that's just *chef's kiss*.

"Gwendolyn." Eda is already just fucking done.

"MOM?!?!" Jeez, Lilith, you're just now hearing all this?

I was charmed by how motherly Gwen was acting toward Eda, but then she kinda just...dismissed Lilith, and now I'm somehwat less charmed.

(Sweet flea as a term of endearment is kinda cute, though might have some unfortunate implications depending on how you want to interpret it)

"Who knows what they put in those nasty concoctions?" OH WE GOING FOR THE ANTI-VAXXERS NOW YESSSS

Luz and Lilith's reaction to that whole exchange is priceless.

Everyone's perspective here makes perfect sense for who they are and what they've been through.

Poor Lilith. Her cursing Eda is beginning to make more sense.

Ah, thus begins the collaboration.

"We'll be consulting someone very special." Why does that seem so...ominous?

Is there anyone who watched this episode for the first time whose bullshit detector didn't go off immediately when Gwen mentioned finding someone who promised a cure?

Heh, Palm Stings.

Nonbelievers will be blinded by the power of the tome? I'm sure they will be, Wartlop.

I must say, as something of a scientist myself (okay that's not true, I'm a QA tech for a food manufacturer, but I do have a chemistry degree), I am 100% here for the swings being taken at faith healing/"miracle" cures/anti-vaxxers in this episode

Oh, we Wile E. Coyote now, huh?

Also, interesting how much apple blood is being played up in this episode.

Lilith please you're projecting your mommy issues on a literal child

OH WE REALLY JUST WILE E. COYOTE HUH?

You're right, Luz, Gwen's bicep game is goals.

(Somewhat disappointed the scars are from questing and not beastkeeping, but eh)

Why do I get the feeling there's gonna be a future episode where everybody stages an intervention for Eda's apple blood problem?

"Those feathers mean we're driving the beast out" Gwen no

Hooty is holding the brain cell? Oh no...

If that ice cream came from the Night Market it would explain why Lilith sounds drunk.

(Side note: I can't be the only one getting flashbacks to Mermista's ice cream binge, right? Different context, but still)

"Abomi-berry" "Franken fruit" "Key slime pie" These are A+ flavor names.

Oh, there's the transformation...

I must say that whole segment kinda rubbed me the wrong way. The way King's opinion on his dad was changed seemed...I don't know how to describe it. I get that they needed a trigger for Lilith's transformation, but honestly if any part of the episode is contrived it's this.

"¡It really is that good!" So that's what an accent slip in written form looks like. (The upside down exclamation point is used in Spanish, in case anyone didn't know)

I keep half expecting Eda to say "Beep! Beep!" at this point.

Luz is finally asking questions. Took long enough.

Ah, the classic "moving the goal posts to extract more money from a desparate family member" technique.

Luz channeling Scorpion, we love to see it.

There is an exquisite irony in Eda's mom being scammed, I must say.

Ah, so that's where the elixirs went. Dammit, Gwen.

Luz is definitely thinking "Are you fucking kidding me right now?!"

Beast!Lilith is massive.

"Sweet flea?" Gwen just realized she done goofed.

"I can see you still need a little time." God Luz is so fucking smart.

The con revealed.

OH DAMN SCARY MAMA

(Also I am terrified of bees/wasps, so extra scary mama in my book)

The scam is revealed, goblins, getting back into the Wartlop disguise is kinda pointless.

She joined the Beast Keeping coven entirely to cure the curse? That's dedication. A shame you couldn't have spared some of that for Lilith.

Still, I do like badass scary mama Gwen. I'd be down to see more of that.

Owl Beast fight!

I am slayed by the fact that the portraits are now officially a recurring gag 😂

Aw, here's The Moment™️

"My turn to drive" Does this imply cars are a thing on the Boiling Isles after all?

Lilith crying almost immediately💔 She was holding onto a lot of pain.

Yes, King, she was trying to do her best. I mean, road to hell or whatever, but at least Gwen got there in the end.

WHAT?! YOU'RE BREAKING UP LULU AND HOOTCIFER?!?!?!?

Terrace, that's just cruel. (Worthless brownie points for whoever understands that reference)

No, seriously, you can't just give me my favorite inter-character relationship in the series after Lumity and just...take it away like that, come on! 😭😭😭😭😭😭

I know I should remark on how Lilith told Gwen about the circumstances of the curse, how Gwen rightfully accepted responsibility for the whole situation, and how Luz finds the big hair aspirational, but...NOOOO DON'T END THE ADVENTURES OF LULU AND HOOTCIFER WHYYYYYYYYY💔😭💔😭💔😭

"BUT I CAN'T HOLD A PEN!"

I will never emotionally recover from this.

Okay, I think I got that out of my system. Anyway...

Not the only human, huh? Cue the "Belos is a human" theorists going into maximum overdrive.

That said, a tantalizing lore dump.

We certainly do have a lot of garbage. Some of it even holds office. HEY-O!

Setting up the next episode, too. Continuity!

Camp's over, huh? That means it's been three months.

Way to misdirect with Camila, guys. That said, we have now seen Camila cry and I HATE it. (In the right way, I think)

WHAT THE FUCK

HOLY SHIT

CREEPY LUZ IS REAL WHAT

OWJEIWHQGIWWOPQ

(It's hard to keysmash on a phone, even with autocorrect off)

That wraps it up! The flaws in this episode seem more pronounced than any others in the season so far, but the good stuff was really good! Overall a solid episode! I know everybody's looking forward to library Lumity in the next one (so am I), but I'm personally eager to see what they do with Gus. His part is the A plot, after all.

Anyway, I'll be back at this next week! Still hard to believe this is a thing, but that's life, I guess.

[gryphonablaze]

heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey who wants a one shot fic that I wrote for daughter of the lilies by the awesome meg syv, aka bludragongal who I’m not gonna actually tag here bc I’ve tagged her in half a billion posts already ,, 

the fic is titled ‘saving face’ because I love me some puns

‘Eugh, snow… I hate it, I hate it I hate it I hate being cold…’ Lyra was sitting as close to the fire Thistle had started as she could without being burned. 

‘Hey, are snowstorms a thing? Like magic storms, but snow?’ Thistle asked. Everyone was quiet for a while. 

‘Don’t know. Probably, but hope not. Anyway, cave is goot place to trap heat. Glad ve found. Also glad Thistle can make voodless fire. But vhy only now bring up?’

‘Beceause most places we camp chalk won’t stay on the ground, so it wouldn’t work anyway. It’s complicated, too. I don’t remember half the runes. And you can’t write ‘em down without setting the paper on fire.’

‘Then… how did you get it to work?’ Brent asked.

‘Muscle memory. I couldn’t teach someone how to do it, but I could draw it out with my eyes closed if I needed to. When I was a kid, every fireplace in the house used these. The kitchen, too.’ 

‘You vere raised by mage? Is that vhy you not go to magic school?’ 

… Oops.

‘Er… yeah.’

‘Hrm. Explains vhy you so goot.’ 

‘Ooooooh, backstory!!!!’ Lyra teased. ‘You’ve said your dad didn’t like animals, and apparently he’s a mage. What else do we know? I need to start taking notes.’

‘Hey, cut it out.’ Brent ‘gently’ punched her in the shoulder. Didn’t seem like he meant it, though. 

There was a noise like the clattering of a rock. 

The fire went out. 

Something whistled in the air. Thistle leaped to her feet at the same time that everyone else dropped like flies. 

‘What the--’

Behind her were five cave elves.

Her teammates were unconscious, and there was some sort of antimagic that put out the fire… and rendered her defenseless. 

Claws cut through the air. The cave elves expressed confusion when she dodged the blow. Thistle went for Brent’s discarded sword. 

They clearly hadn’t been expecting for her to be able to see in the dark. 

They seemed to get over that surprise quickly. 

One of them said something, and the others backed away. Did he want a one-on-one fight? 

Apparently.

Despite not knowing how to use it, Thistle was at an advantage with a weapon. Even so, she was still on the defensive. She dodged more than a few attempts at disarming her. 

Did cave elves have some sort of honor-duel system? Was that a thing? Would they be left alone if she won this fight? Was it to the death? Not like she could ask, between the language barrier and being preoccupied with combat. 

Out of the corner of her eye she saw one of the other four standing over Lyra, a fist raised, ready to concuss her.

Oh, so this was a distraction. 

She flipped like a switch.

‘rrrrRRRRAAAAAAAGGHH!!!!!’ Thistle took a powerful, haphazard swing at the dueling elf. His surprise earned him a shallow slash on his leg. 

You don’t get killed by being careful, she heard Gwen scold her. You get killed by being reckless. 

Yeah, well, she had no magic and was outnumbered five to one. No amount of careful could save someone from that. Might as well do something. 

With another roar she rushed at the other one, who immediately jumped back so as to avoid being skewered. 

A phwt! through the air and something stung her in the neck. She picked it out. It was a dart. Paralytic poison, by the feel of it. Would put someone out of commission just long enough to knock them unconscious. Good thing it wouldn’t affect her. 

Thistle chased another elf away from Brent and turned toward two that had just now stopped arguing over how to handle Orrig. She stepped forward. Something swept her feet out from under her. 

‘GAH!’ 

In an effort not to land on the blade, she tossed it aside with both hands. Which meant she could not catch her fall. Thistle hit the ground face-first. She tasted blood.

It was hard to get any air without inhaling blood. But Thistle was saved from the effort of trying. She choked as one of the cave elves pulled her up from the ground by her hood. 

And then dropped her. She landed hard on her knees, and fell into a coughing fit trying to catch her breath. She barely heard the cave elves panicking amongst themselves and running away. 

~~POV switch~~

The fire went out.

He couldn’t move. 

‘What the--’ 

Foreign chatter, the swing of steel, the sounds of struggle. Something was here, and Thistle was fighting it, alone, not using magic. If he had to guess, the talking sounded almost like the two cave elves that took a bite out of his arm a few months ago. 

He heard Thistle let out a scream of pure fury. Damn. He’d seen her angry before, but he was very glad that this wasn’t directed at him. 

He was starting to regain movement when he heard a yelp, followed immediately by a sickening crunch. Brent managed to remove the poison dart from his shoulder. Gods, this was like the cave elf job. Thistle was hurt, and he couldn’t do shit to help her. He could barely reach out an arm in futile desperation. 

A gasp. Distressed conversation. Something had started wailing like a child. He heard footsteps running away. Just like the cave elf job… 

As the assailants grew more distant, the fire relit itself and began to grow from a flame barely the size of a candle. Thistle noticed the light and pulled her hood up. There was just enough for Brent to see the outline of long, pointed ears and short fluffy hair. Ears like Lyra’s. So she was an elf? Huh.

No, right now was not the time for wondering what she was hiding. He could see blood on the ground and all down the front of her vest.

‘Are you guys alright?’ 

‘You’re asking us if we’re alright?’ Lyra’s words were slightly slurred. ‘You look like… I can’t even think of something witty. You’re covered in blood, and you’re asking if we’re alright?’ 

‘Yeah, well, poison is usually more dangerous than a nosebleed. If it isn’t wearing off by now, then it’s a different type than I thought, and that could make for some serious problems. But you’re talking, so that’s a good sign. Brent? Orrig?’

‘Vill be fine.’ 

‘Yeah, I’m okay.’ 

‘Good.’ Stiffly, Thistle got up and went over to her bag and dug out some gauze to hold against her face. ‘Now that the antimagic is gone,’ Her voice was nasally, ‘I’m gonna set some wards. I should’ve done that first thing.’  she started grumbling. ‘It even crossed my mind, but I chose not to, I almost got us all kidnapped or killed…’ 

‘Did you know there vere things in cave?’ Orrig asked sternly.

‘Well… no, but I still--’

‘Then is not your fault.’ 

[lilyclawthorne]

Keeping Up A-fear-ance's Thoughts

I finished writing this shortly after 3 am after watching the new episode like three times because I simply had too much energy about it and I have so many thoughts because I simply live for clawthornes and also I tried to break it up with more photos this time sorry not sorry if it's a lot ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

YOUNG EDA!! let me just say I am quite a fan of opening with a flashback like we've done here and the last episode

"we have never seen a curse like this before" Lilith you had shit luck picking out curses huh

"cut it out if we have to" goddamn Gwen let'a calm the fuck down a bit.

anyways we've only really seen young Eda as a wild and confident and happy little child so I appreciate seeing this side of her with the anxiety and fear she's feeling here. I love seeing what the curse stuff was like for her as a kid

Gwen: I raised a perfectly fine kid

Me: no you didn't look at her she's got anxiety

I'm guessing this is their backyard or just some woods behind their house?? wonder if the portal was placed there by another elder family member.

lmao I can't even begin to imagine what small Eda experiencing the human realm was like for the first time

Gwens giving me "I can't accept that my child is disabled/chronically ill/etc." here. y’know the kinda parent that'll put their kid through hell over something they probably will find a way to learn to live with (which Eda did do)

ok that's it I humbly request to know the story behind the fang now (also the noise she made when she put it in was freaking cute)

new dress! new boots! new dress! new boots!

..yikes that fridge is empty

"calm down the curse acts stronger when you're stressed" Eda do you know who you're talking to here

confirmation losing limbs is in fact a side effect of the curse!! (y'know since Eda originally said it just happens when you get older)

please I love these sisters they're so sweet and make me wanna go 🥺

"suddenly curious about my past" "always. always curious" Luz says exactly what we all think

witchlet?? sweet flea?? she's got pet names for them 🥺 (although idk how much I'd like to be referred to as any kind of flea sorry Lilith)

ok Gwen is very much not close to what I expected and I'm kinda grateful for that

she's more like super caring but still managed to royally fuck up which was my original head canon for clawthorne parents so uh that's cool. but literally, look at their body language, Eda's pissed, Lilith's sad and making herself small. she's clearly messed up with her parenting on both of them along the way.

"who knows what they put in those nasty concoctions?" mama clawthorne would be a fucking anti-vaxxer wouldn't she

ok I side with Eda here more than Luz and Lilith. just because Luz misses her mother, or Lilith hasn’t seen their mom in so long doesn’t mean Eda has to feel all grateful for the presence of Gwen, especially if the woman has caused her a lot of trouble over the years

I feel like the fact that its actually both Lilith and Gwendolyn have spent their whole lives dedicated to trying to find a cure could probably have held some kind of weight on Eda at some point. Even though she shouldn't feel guilty or responsible for that, I still feel like it's gotta suck knowing these people have spent so much time on something you know is likely never gonna happen, all for you.

Lilith 😞 her mother really just didn't pay attention to her all these years

hey if this guy does some next level healing magic then why isn't he more well-known, huh? why’d it take so long to come across him?? Gwen do you know what the fuck you're doing cause I think you don't

Lilith just because you're depressed about your mom doesn't mean you have to bring king down too 😠

SUPER irrelevant but is anyone else just bothered by the way Lilith is holding her spoon?? that doesn't seem like a comfortable way to hold a spoon. also is she left handed??

"knife season came early" EDA WHAT DOES THAT MEAN. is this a boiling isles things or is this a it’s common for people to throw knives at you thing

also I want to be surprised Eda fell for the apple blood signs but I am not 😔 

Luz please trust you're gut on this one and not mama clawthorne

ok now I need to know why the fridge was empty but they had 18 cartons of ice cream this is why you guys don't have food you're wasting it all on ice cream.

wow never thought I'd see the day hooty became the voice of reason

also, night market ice cream?? are they implying this ice cream is like, edibles of some sort?? Lilith does seem kinda high here ngl. idk man but at least she wants to stand up for herself so good for her.

PLEASE kings just offering her ice cream while she transforms

"first in a series" Gwen honey oh no. you've been duped. I think we can see where Lilith got her naïveté from huh.

Also, nice snatch Luz 😊

anyways love how this show is basically making fun of moms who refuse to give their kids proper medical treatment or listen to medical professionals here

EXCUSE ME why do we know Gwen's palisman's name before we know Lilith's?????

"I am a mother who'll do anything for her daughter" you're mom who's suffocating obsession with one daughter has left the other neglected and is currently causing her to turn into a full on beast ya dummy

Eda DOES have a right to be upset. it sucks that her own valid emotions that she should get to feel will cause her while body to betray her.

PLEASE I’M SO GLAD LILITH’S BEAST DESIGN LOOKS LIKE HER AND IS NOT THE THING FROM THE TRAILER THAT IS ACTUALLY IN EDA"S HEAD WHEN SHE’S TRANSFORMED

but also why is she SO massive?? also anyone concerned that this is her first transformation and the light glyph trick wouldn't even work??

Gwen look at what you've done, you've fostered feelings of inferiority in one daughter causing her to feel the need for sibling rivalry that the pure instincts of the raven beast cannot suppress no matter how much their sisterly relationship had improved.

HOW COULD YOUR OTHER DAUGHTER ALSO BEING CURSED BE A PART OF THE PROCESS GWEN??

"after Eda was cursed, I joined the beast keeping coven" woah woah WOAH. you're telling me you only joined because of trying to help Eda. that covens existed, before Eda got cursed, and you very much weren't a part of one. combine that with "some words for belos" she has and do I smell wild witch theory still plausible???

anyways at least mama clawthorne is getting some sense into her head here

Morton c'mon help a girl out, that's some dang good art too what the heck dude

ok fine mama clawthorne to the rescue

no pls not raven beast Lilith crying im crying now

Gwen: I raised a fine and self-sufficient child

Me: no you didn't look at her. she's got, SO MUCH.

GODDAMN THATS SOME POWER. ngl this only adds fuel to the fire in my head that there was some kinda reasoning these sisters were torn apart, that someone felt they'd be too powerful together (and they were probably right)

"I heard you but I couldn't stop myself, I couldn't do anything" may be just because she's not used to the curse but again part of me is concerned that because she couldn't pull herself out of it even a little bit like Eda did that there's something wrong there. but she also could've been stressed beyond reasonably calming herself down too.

ok but this is sweet

NOOO im so sad Lilith's leaving :( I literally cried ok

"you lived here?" fine OKAY king that was hilarious even if im sad about this

"reconnect with dad" excuse me where the fuck has this man been in the middle of all of this. curse shit is going DOWN and he's just chilling at home.

I am curious about people's thoughts regarding the whole Lilith regression thing and the fact that she's literally going to be living with her parents again. I feel like it could help nurture that inner child she's been reverting back to and help her out a LOT. but I could also be concerned about it feeding into the regression and making it worse?? idk and this show probably ain't getting that actually deep into psych anyways

"some day my hair is gonna be big enough to do that too" Luz I cannot wait for the day. also mood, I wish I could do that too.

alright who's holding the fucking pen for hooty we need a volunteer RIGHT NOW so we can remain in contact with Lulu

NOT THE ONLY HUMAN? my bets on the real azura rip never mind she said he

Titan’s Blood?? interesting. If the blood of the titan is around I wonder what that means regarding the titans existence, and how long its been since the titan fell.

AHH BABY LUZ PHOTO

ALSO WHO THE FUCK IS THAT?? They're really gonna spring that on us like this??? Camila's gotta notice somethings wrong right??? Unless any differences she just chalks up to the camp?? oh god :(

well, anyways lumity shippers come get yo juice next weekend

anyways im gonna need to add a NOT canon compliant tag on that one Gwendolyn fic I wrote because it definitely do not comply anymore

[little-ligi]

you have SIX PLANNED FICS OF CAGE FIGHTING GWAINCELOT???!!!

*unholy screaming*

and i will be checking out that published one later today 😌

it is such a good trope and you can get the ✨ angst ✨ in there too, it's wonderful

😁😁😁 I do indeed...! (you know what we were saying the other day about having two cakes?!! Well yeah..... HAVE SIX!!)

(Eee!! I hope you like Blindfolded, it is one of my favourite things I've written!)

Ok, so, since I love talking about my wips and I adore screaming about Gwaincelot, please allow me to prattle on self indulgently for a while...

I’m going to put this under a cut because it is kinda long and has some little snippets!! 😉

1. So first, one that is pretty much exactly like that post, set in episode 3x13. When Lancelot and Percival arrive, Gwaine takes one look at Lancelot and goes, ‘I know you’. And then immediately punches him in the face. The other soon-to-be knights split them up and Merlin has to try and reassure them that they are all friends (at which point they basically have a ‘Merlin is MY best friend! No, he’s MY best friend!’ kind of fight 😂) Equal parts angst and humour!

“Come and meet everyone,” Merlin said, leading Lancelot and Percival over to where the others were sitting.

“Good to see you again, Lancelot,” Gaius said gladly, a smile breaking over his tired face.

“Hang on,” Gwaine suddenly blurted, a frown tugging his eyebrows low over his eyes. “I know you.”

He stormed over until he was right up in Lancelot’s face, scrutinising him with disdain. Then, without warning, he drew his fist back and punched Lancelot solidly in the mouth. Lancelot staggered backwards, stunned and cradling his face. Percival caught him before he fell and practically growled at Gwaine.

“Whoa, whoa!” Leon cried, putting a hand on Gwaine’s chest and pulling him back. “What was that for?!”

2. This one is after they have become knights, and they can’t work out why the other seems so familiar, until Arthur pits them against each other in training and Gwaine does his cool disarming and catching the sword then fighting two handed thing and BOOM... ✨angsty flashbacks!✨

Lancelot’s fingers are bent backwards as the sword is twisted out of his grip. It jars his wrist painfully and he dodges back, suddenly defenceless. Gwaine catches Lancelot’s sword as it arcs out of his hand, bringing the tip down to point at Lancelot’s chest with an easy grin.

Lancelot falters. Only once before has he ever had someone disarm him in such a way; years ago, in a slaver’s fighting cage. He blinks, staring at Gwaine. He imagines him without his chainmail, his face covered in dirt and bruises, his beard longer, his hair tied into a ragged knot at the back of his head.

He stumbles backwards and falls to the ground. It was Gwaine. It was Gwaine fighting in that cage.

3. Another is basically episode 2x04, except Gwaine is there too. It’s Gwaine that does the first fight and sees Gwen (and because he hasn’t been to Camelot yet, he believes she is Morgana) After the fight he tells Lancelot about Hengist having kidnapped Morgana. Lancelot being the noble knight-wannabe he is, obviously wants to rescue Morgana, goes to her cell and finds Gwen instead. (This one is actually more Gwencelot 💕 than Gwaincelot really.)

“Hengist has captured a princess. He’s holding her for ransom.”

“This is no place for a princess,” Lancelot said darkly, his gaze fixed on the dank corner of the room, the echoing sounds of fighting coming from the main hall.

“Particularly not one as beautiful as the Lady Morgana,” Gwaine said. He shook his head sadly.

Lancelot sprang to his feet, hand on the hilt of his sword. “The Lady…? Did you say the Lady Morgana?” Gwaine nodded. “We have to rescue her,” Lancelot said firmly, his voice brooking no argument.

Gwaine considered him for a moment; he knew Lancelot had a twisted loyalty to Camelot despite the way the king had treated him, but this seemed a little crazy. Although…

“Rescuing princesses?” He ran a hand through is hair and grinned. “Sounds like just my kind of thing.”

4. This one they are prisoners and after a fight they are shoved in a cell together and start talking. Lancelot mentions Camelot and being friends with the prince’s manservant and how he was banished, and Gwaine turns around and spouts basically the entire plot of episode 5 (minus the magic bits of course 😂) Lancelot is slightly freaked out and asks how the hell Gwaine knows his whole story. And Gwaine tells him how Merlin and Arthur and Gwen all talked about Lancelot constantly the whole time Gwaine was in Camelot. Basically everyone loves Lancelot, including Gwaine before he even met him!

“You’re Lancelot!” Gwaine cried suddenly, making the other man flinch back. His jaw clenched and alarm flared in his deep dark eyes.

“How do you know my name?” he asked warily. Gwaine didn’t miss the way his hand crept to his waist to draw a dagger.

“Merlin never shuts up about you; his friend who wants to be a knight but isn’t noble.” He grinned. “You killed a griffin.”

“No…” Lancelot shook his head uncomfortably, ducking his eyes away from Gwaine’s. “I… didn’t –”

“Don’t be modest!” Gwaine crowed, slapping him on the back. “Even Arthur mentioned how brave and honourable you are.”

5. A darker whumpy one, where they are really fighting for their lives, fighting to kill each other. They are both pretty badly hurt and are just left for dead by the bandits that were keeping them. They end up grudgingly helping each other. While delirious with pain, Gwaine starts talking about Merlin and Lancelot decides they need to try and get to Camelot (screw their banishments, they need Merlin!) Lots and lots of angst!

6. And lastly, they are both in the fighting ring and have beaten everyone else so their captor keeps pitting them against each other hoping to name one of them as his champion. They are pretty much equal and there is lots of juicy 🔥rivalry🔥(my favourite thing 😉) They start betting each other, but they have nothing to bet with except their life stories so it becomes a case of every time one of them gets a good hit in the fight the other has to tell him a secret about his life. They become really close and eventually fall in love! 💗

Unfortunately you can’t have snippets from these two because neither of them actually have any words yet, just very long rambly plot plans and notes! 🙈🙈

So there we go! Ligi is finshed shamelessly talking about her wips!! (for now 😉😉) I will try and finish all of these at some point... but you know, I say that about all of my wips and then rather than doing it I create new wips instead! My wip count is now up to 84.................. 😑

While writing this post I have actually had two more ideas for new cage fighting gwaincelot fics as well.... 😂🙈😅

[devotedwaywardangel1]

Of Treaties and Nervous Rekindling

Leon x Male!Reader

Fandom: BBC Merlin

Word count: 1667

Warnings: Nightmares

A/N: This is a third try of writing this as they kept turning to multi chapter stories, if I turn the original into a multi chapter fic I’ll post it on AO3. See if you can find the small film reference.

Tagged: @fandom-star​

~~~~~~~

Being in the great hall has got to be the stupidest thing that you have ever done and there is a long list. If Constantine, your idiotic King, got us killed out of good intentions you swear to Furies that you’ll kill him in the after life. A black domino mask covers your face as you kneel at King Arthur’s fury. He is yet to know who you all are yet and boy he is going to have a heart attack, fun times. Sloane has her raven black hair covering her face as she is shoved to her knees, making you growl at the cocky knight who thought he could be boastful. Zathrian’s auburn hair has been un-neatened by an almost comically large man. King Arthur’s voice booms across the hall. “Who are you and what is your business in Camelot?”

“I am Constantine, King of Dumnonia.” He speaks in an authoritative tone. 

“What?” The King seems shocked

“A letter was sent informing you of our arrival a month ago, we are here to simply renew a treaty.” 

“Merlin! Get the documents on my desk now.” He growls.

A scrawny servant runs from the King’s side past you. Minutes later he and other knights enter and you see Leon. It had been over a decade since you last saw him and damn he grew up, probably taller than you now, hair hasn’t changed one bit. You’re now thankful for the mask you were wearing otherwise he would have known it’s you straight away. The serving boy hands the king the letter and you can see the embarrassment on his face as it proves your innocence.

“I apologise for the misunderstanding, we thought-” The King started 

“That we were here to kill you, don’t flatter yourself.” Sloane snaps.

“Slo, play nice.” Constantine tells her sternly before standing up.

You follow suit. “It was an honest mistake, do you want to try again on the first impressions.” Constantine rensures.

The King looks shocked, but having Uther as a parent would make him think he was going to be punished for a mistake such as this. You brush yourself off, in an attempt to be somewhat presentable. “That would be appreciated, your Majesty.” Arthur nods.

They made their introductions but you were busy scowling at the now apologetic looking knight, Gwaine, who shoved Slo on the ground. Until she elbows you in the ribs causing you to grunt and childishly stick your tongue at her. She flicks your nose and laughs as it scrunches up. Zathrian is smiling. “Behave.” Constantine turns around after shaking the King’s hand to scold us. 

“But…” Zath tries.

“No buts or ifs. My apologies, they are children I swear.”

“What are your names?” Gwen asks, you didn’t even sense her coming in the room.

“Zathrian, m'lady.” He bows down respectfully.

“Sloane.” She nods.

“Ulrich Von Liechtenstein.” you smile coyly, why you said that you don’t know.

Zath and Slo double over laughing and Constantine gives you a glare but you just shrug it off. “That’s not his name, he just thinks he’s funny.” 

“(Y/n), at your service sir and on the contrary I’m hilarious.” You smile, removing your mask stuffing it into a trouser pocket.

You look at Leon and he is smiling, oh gods that smile it felt like everything good in this world smacks you in the face. You smile back. “(Y/n)? Your name sounds familiar.” Arthur asks.

“It should, your father did torture me after all.” I raise my eyebrow, where is my damn filter you think. All traces of happiness dissipate from your face with all fairness. You do look scary when you appear monotonous. 

“What do you mean?” He asks, you turn to get Constantine’s approval he nods.

“I used magic to save a child’s life.” 

“You have magic.” He looks at you with anger and disgust.

“Yes, sire.” You remain stoic with your jaw tensing.

The knights of Camelot tense up, Leon eyes them before looking at you. That's when you know he doesn’t hate you. He’s worried. You shake it off and bow down at the King’s feet and mercy. If he were to kill you a war may start but it would be against a dishonorable man, if he shows mercy and a willingness to learn there is hope for Albion yet. “Rise, I wish to understand not to do harm.”

“Oh thank Clementia, really I thought I was going to die.” Shit that was out loud.

“One condition, it's not to be used to harm any one.” He adds.

“I can't, my magic lies in the art of healing, transformation and a few other things.” You explain.

“What do you mean?” The king asks 

“Everyone’s magic is different, I can’t use spells that purposely inflict harm unless threatened.” You shrug.

“Good to know.” He seems to relax.

“That’s why I stab people instead.” You smile.

“(Y/n)! Stop trying to be funny. It will get you killed!” Constantine nearly shouts.

The knight with shoulder length hair starts to laugh hysterically. You just smile and look down holding in your laugh, looking at Leon he’s smiling. Constantine looks ready to cry, out of frustration probably. The King is unable to respond. Zath grabs my shoulder and pulls you out. “Us two are leaving before the wanna be Menander kills himself.” He drags you out without another word.

You sigh in relief as the doors of the great hall close behind you. “Thanks I couldn’t stop.” You rub that back of your neck awkwardly.

“No problem, tavern?” He suggests.

“Are we allowed to go without Slo?” You ask seriously.

“It gives an opportunity for Constaloane to happen.” Zath justifies.

“Fair lets go.” You agree.

~~~~

Both of you came back after a couple of tankards and Zath is drunk off his ass, lightweight. While you’re a little fuzzy. You spot the serving boy from the hall. “Kid!” You catch his attention.

He turns around smiling as he walks up to you. “Hi can I help you, Sirs.” He asks.

“Don’t worry about titles, but could you show us to our rooms if we have them.” 

“Of course, follow me.” He whispers seeing Zath close to asleep on you.

You drag Zath to his room, and put him on the bed. “Thank you…”

“Merlin, Sir (Y/n).” He smiles and nods.

“Thank you Merlin.” You return the smile.

You enter the guest room and collapse onto the bed and sleep overcomes you in a matter of seconds.

A crack of a whip resonates through a dark cell a pained groan follows, another crack and another. Chains rattle as a boy pulls on them in an attempt to break free. High pitch whistling signaled trouble brewing under the surface. The boy’s skin started to crack golden light seeping from the cracks turning pure black. (E/c) eyes started to well up with tears as he felt himself being torn apart. Screams erupt from his throat and the boy is replaced with a mass of hissing black smoke.

You bolt up sweating and panting. You groan and stretch, the sun is peeking over the horizon so you decide to change into your armour and head over to the training field that you had spotted the previous day. There is a training dummy already set up, you draw your sword and begin hacking into it aggressively and it takes mere minutes for you to destroy it, yet you feel no better. You look around desperately for something to take out your rage, fear and sorrow on. You hear a cough, your head snaps at the direction of the noise. It's Leon. He walks up to you slowly as if you were a scared animal. “(Y/n), we didn’t get a chance to talk yesterday.”

“Sorry.” You look to your feet.

He backtracks quickly “No it’s not an issue, obviously you were nervous being back here.”

“Eh you know, son of Uther kinda scary.”

“Arthur has grown.”

“I know.”

“But I’m not here to talk about Arthur.”

You smile and shake your head. “I suppose not.”

“You left without me, why?”

Well that escalated from a trot to a full on gallop. But you manage to get words out. “I couldn’t uproot you from your home and family.”

“That should have been my choice to make.”

“You know what, I don’t feel bad if that’s what you want. I was tortured, I got literally torn apart. You would have got killed, and that would have been on me!” You defend.

He looks taken aback. “What?” 

“Slave traders, I suppressed my magic then boom… a lot of people died.”

He touches your face and you want to lean into the touch but you can’t seem to. So he initiates the hug instead keeping you in a tight hold, you hesitate to return it seeing it has been a while since you’ve been held. You both stay like that for a while, before Leon breaks the hug with a heartbroken expression. You dread what he is about to say. ”Do you think we could ever be possible?”

“I don’t know… I’m not the same man you loved all those years ago.” 

“Then let’s get to know each other again, let me fall for you all over again.”

“Sounds like you already started.”

“I started as soon as I saw you smile.”

You smile up at him. But inside you are conflicted, if this were to work out how will it work. You love your new life, Constantine is more than just your King he is your friend he gave you a chance when no one else would. Sloane was the one who pulled you out of rubble after you exploded. Zathrian forge your nobility papers to get your foot through the door of knighthood. But you guess you’ll cross that bridge later and pray it goes well for the both of you. 

“Come on we have a treaty to deal with.” You start walking.

[supercalvin]

Hey! First I want to tell you how much I adore the things you write! You’re honestly so talented and I love your Merthur fics sooo much!! And now for the prompt thing, it’s kind of basic but if you could write something about merthur running away to live in a farm (On canon era)? Thank you! Stay safe

I had a bigger idea for this that I might expand into a longer fic one day. But who knows if that will ever happen. So here is this instead!

Prompts + Ficlets

Edit: now with a PART TWO

***

Merlin woke in a cold sweat, gasping as if he had been drowning. This was the third dream in as many days. First, he had dreamt of Gaius, sitting by a fire in a small house on the outskirts of the lower town. Merlin hadn’t thought much of it. Then next night he had dreamt of Lancelot, seeing him in Camelot’s red and gold, with Gwen by his side. The dream had made him sad, but nothing too worrisome. Tonight, Merlin had dreamt of Morgana. She was sitting on Camelot’s throne, Camelot’s knights at her feet, and Excalibur in her hand.

Gaius scolded Merlin for not telling him about the dreams sooner. Merlin defended himself, saying he hadn’t thought they were visions of the future. He wasn’t a Seer after all. Perhaps they were visions of a possible future.

“But Lancelot…” Merlin said, his voice trailing off and his heart sinking. “It must have been Gwen’s dream…”

Gaius shook his head, “I will try to find some explanation today. Now off you go before Arthur comes looking for you.”

Merlin thought about mentioning the dreams to Arthur. It had been a year since Merlin had told Arthur of his magic. Although Arthur had come to understand Merlin’s decisions, Merlin feared these visions would be too similar to Morgana’s nightmares for Arthur to trust them.

That night, Merlin went to sleep and almost as soon as he closed his eyes, he was opening them again. Except this time he wasn’t in his room, but in an open field. He blinked at the bright sky above him. Where was he? He wandered down the rows of wheat until he came across a small cottage. Merlin squinted and he could see a small village down the lane.

“There you are. Where have you been?”

Merlin turned around and was surprised to see Arthur. This far out in the country he had thought he might see Gwaine or Percival. He looked around, trying to see who Arthur was talking to, but no one else was around.

“What are you looking at? Close your mouth, you look like a startled stoat. Come on,” Arthur wrapped an arm around Merlin’s shoulders and tugged him along.

In his three previous dreams, no one had ever acknowledged him. He could walk around and speak, but it was like he wasn’t there at all. Merlin stumbled along, trying to piece together what was different. All his other visions were of places he had been before, but this place was completely unfamiliar. It must have been something of Arthur’s memories.

Arthur led Merlin to the cottage, but instead of going inside, Merlin was dragged around the side to where there were even rows of vegetables and herbs. Clucking and pecking between the plants was about a dozen chickens. Merlin blinked at the scene before him. It reminded him of Ealdor.

Arthur’s hand slipped to Merlin’s neck and playfully ran over Merlin’s hair.

“Look!” He said with the sort of smile Merlin so rarely saw. It wasn’t like the polite smile Arthur used with his counselors, or the comforting smile he used with while holding court, or even the roguish smile he used with his knights. It was a barely-there tilt of his lips with his eyes almost closed with mirth.

Merlin was so distracted that he didn’t see what Arthur was pointing at.

Arthur rolled his eyes and turned Merlin’s head to the back of the cottage, towards a lavender bush. Only one or two of the flower bundles had popped open to reveal the light purple blooms, but Merlin could tell it would be in full bloom in a few days.

“Lavender?” Merlin asked, looking at the plant. It had obviously been well kept, trimmed and watered.

Arthur stared at him as if he had grown two heads. “Aren’t you happy?”

“Uh,” Merlin gave a wary smile, “It’s very nice…?”

“Nice? You’ve been yammering about your stupid bush for weeks, waiting for it to bloom so you can dry it and use it in poultices, and now that it is, it’s just nice?”

Merlin opened his mouth, about to say that this couldn’t possibly be a vision. Merlin must have eaten something off before falling asleep. This couldn’t be Arthur’s vision for the future.

“This is my lavender bush?”

“Yes, of course it is. Did you think I dug up yours and put in a new one?”

Merlin looked down at Arthur, just now taking in the fact that Arthur wasn’t in chainmail. He wasn’t in his usual well-crafted clothes either. He was in a loose-fitting white shirt that was unlaced at the chest, exposing tanned skin. His boots were scuffed and his hands were dirty, as if he had just been working in the garden behind the house.

“I was feeding the girls when I saw the new blooms. I’ve been trying to find you for ages. Were you off in the woods practicing your magic?”

There was too much in that sentence to digest. All Merlin said in response was, “The girls?”

Arthur gestured to the chickens, as if that was the sane thing to do.

“Are you alright? You seem... off.” Arthur asked, before shaking his head, “No matter. Let’s go inside and we can have some of that rabbit stew you promised me.”

Arthur walked into the cottage, which must have been Merlin’s. Merlin looked at the lavender bush and the small cottage. Did Arthur… Did Arthur want Merlin to leave Camelot? Was his dream for Merlin to practice his magic where Arthur didn’t have to see it?

Merlin stepped into the cottage cautiously. The first room was a large space with a large pot hanging over a fire. There were shelves of food with a table that was cluttered with bottles and dried herbs. There was another smaller table off to the side which was obviously meant for eating. So far, it looked like a nice home. Merlin wouldn’t mind living in, if the dreaded feeling that Arthur wanted him gone wasn’t overwhelming him.

While Arthur went to look at the stew, Merlin quickly took at glance at the only other room. There was a bed, larger than Merlin had ever had. In the corner was a wardrobe and what made Merlin pause was the chest in the corner. It looked identical to the chest that sat in Arthur’s chambers. Then his eye caught on the table next to the bed. Excalibur was leaning against the bedside table.

“Merlin?”

Merlin turned on his heel to see Arthur leaning in the doorway.

“Looking for something?” He was smiling, his brows raising, almost as if to imply…

Merlin blinked at Arthur, his mind connecting the clues but not wanting to allow himself to believe it.

“The food will get cold if you dawdle any longer,” Arthur said, but he didn’t seem in a rush. No, in fact he seemed happy to take his time.

Happy. That was the feeling Arthur seemed to be radiating. Not the pride of Morgana’s vision, the love of Gwen’s, or the peace of Gaius’. He was so inexplicably happy, and Merlin had never seen him like this before. So at ease in his own skin.

Merlin opened his mouth, his throat closing with emotion.

“What is it, love?”

Merlin closed his eyes at the endearment that rolled off Arthur’s tongue so easily. So natural that Merlin’ heart ached at the sound. Merlin could feel himself shake. He tried to calm himself, knowing that too much emotion would likely wake him. He couldn’t risk that, not when he was so close to understanding.

“Merlin,” Arthur stepped up in front of Merlin so that they were eye to eye. “Is something wrong? You seem upset.”

Merlin opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Arthur’s dream was to be a farmer. A dirty farmer on the edge of some kingdom, with his knight’s armor piled in the corner, as if a forgotten past. Arthur’s impossible dream was to be here, in some unnamed village, with rabbit stew, and chickens, and…Merlin.

Merlin tried to keep an even expression, but he could feel his lips tremble, and Arthur began to blur as Merlin’s eyes watered.

A king could never be truly happy. It was a fact that both Merlin and Arthur had come to understand a long time ago. Merlin knew that Arthur would have to make choices that would weigh on him. Arthur had already lost so much through this war, and it was only the first step to a united Albion. They both had a weight on their shoulders that they could never escape.

Arthur reached out, his hand resting on Merlin’s neck, his fingers skimming into his hair. “Do you want to lie down?” Arthur asked, his voice so sweet that Merlin felt like he was about to choke on his own tears. “I’ll take the stew off the fire and we can lie down for a bit.”

Arthur turned to leave, but Merlin could not let him. He grabbed Arthur’s tunic, his fingers clenched in the thin white fabric, holding him in place.

“Don’t go,” Merlin whispered, ashamed at how desperate he sounded.

“Oh, love. What happened?” Then Merlin was being wrapped in Arthur’s arms. He could barely feel those strong arms wrap around him, his face being pressed to Arthur’s neck, before his eyes opened and he felt his own small bed underneath him.

He choked out and raised his hand to his face to find that he had started crying in his sleep.

“Merlin?” Gaius rushed into the room and when he saw Merlin, he sighed. He sat on the edge of the bed, “Oh, my boy.” Merlin let Gaius wrap an arm around him, feeling ashamed at his tears. Only the night before he had dreamt of Morgana taking the throne and that hadn’t thrown him into a fit. But a single lavender bush and an uninhibited smile from Arthur, and he was trying to keep himself from falling apart entirely.

“It’ll be alright, it was only a dream.”

If only Gaius knew that Merlin wished it wasn’t.

***

PART TWO

Prompts + Ficlets

[bitsandbobsofwriting]

Do you have any fic where Uther hits Arthur, in a cell Merlin applies salve to his bruise, really pissed, Morgana comes in and yells UTHER'S A BASTARD- I cant remember where I read it but I feel like it was one of your fics. On that note, would you write a fic abt Arthur's abuse? He surely has C-PTSD. Maybe 5+1 where Merlin notices signs- Arthur flinches when Uther claps his back/signs he was used to being locked up/has a flashback while training/gets triggered-hurts someone? +1 is breakdown :)

That sounds like Part 2 of Big Brother Merlin!! Arthur challenges Uther when he sentences someone to death for sorcery, and gets locked in his chambers (after Uther smacks him around a little). Merlin treats his injuries, Morgana storms in with Mordred and yells about Uther being an arsehole!

TW: LOTS OF CHILD ABUSE BELOW!!

AND YES!!! When I update The List, I'll definitely add a 5+1 of Merlin realising that Arthur's childhood wasn't all that cushy in the father-son relationship department, I love this idea. It'll be fairly angsty but with a happyish/hopeful ending me thinks :D

My head is literally filling with ideas, and I love yours as well, so far I'm thinking 1)Uther claps Arthur on the back and he flinches, Merlin is confused because Arthur is usually so desperate for The King's approval, but he can see how freaked out he is, how desperate he is to leave, makes up an excuse, but doesn't ask or push. 2)Arthur is claustrophobic, like severely claustrophobic, struggles to be in a room smaller than ten foot square, especially if the door is shut, and is probably similarly uncomfortable in the dark, Merlin always makes sure candles/fires are lit through the night, and never makes Arthur stay in the physician's chamber with the door/windows shut if he can help it because the place is so tiny. 3)Arthur rarely practices hand to hand combat, though makes the knights do it. Maybe he gets goaded, or maybe he just decides to be brave, but he practices with Lance and it's going fine for a while until all of a sudden all he can see is the short brown hair and the Camelot red and the fist swinging at him. Cue freezing and getting punched in the face and flashback-ing a little bit until Merlin can talk him out of his head. 4)Maybe some visiting arsehole says Arthur looks like his father?? Later that evening, Arthur spirals and starts worrying about turning into Uther, struggling to reconcile the fact that... he loved his father, being unable to admit that he was a bad father (he knows he was a bad man, but he can't seem to admit he was a bad father), with the fact that... he knows he would never treat any future kids the way Uther treated him, how he's desperate to NOT be Uther, in more ways than just the anti-magic shit. Merlin had noticed his growing panic over the day and makes a passing comment about how he looks way more like his mother, in fact, Merlin can't see any Uther in him at all. 5)Maybe Merlin says something that Uther used to say/does something that Uther used to do?? Arthur's already tired and not really concentrating so his brain takes those words/that action and runs away with them and he fully dissociates for like... a worrying amount of time. Merlin finally gets him present again and asks Gaius about it vaguely later. Finally puts it all together, he had suspected before but he wasn't 100% sure. +1)I'm thinking maybe Arthur sees another visiting Noble Arsehole hitting his kid? And he just freaks, absolutely goes off on one in the middle of a hallway and Merlin has to both talk him down from killing this guy right on the spot, and also magically compelling the noble to want to leave the kid in the care of Morgana and Gwen or something (because Merlin would NEVER leave a kid in an abusive family). Once everything's calmed down, and Merlin has erased the memory from everyone's mind, Arthur has a little breakdown in his chambers and Merlin is finally able to talk about it, because he didn't want to bring it up first/force it, he wanted Arthur to come to him.

WHEW.

Ok so I love this and I might just have to write it regardless of my list lol. THANK YOU⭐️!! I LOVE THIS AND I LOVE YOU!!

[queerofthedagger]

I haven't done any of my usual weekly recs in ages, so all the more reason to let myself be tempted by the @merlinbingo bonus badge for this month and spread some love! And what better theme for that than marriage?

That being said, some of these fics stretch the trope the tiniest bit. They do all have a wedding, a proposal, or a intended proposal though. Apart from picking my faves, I tried to vary it a bit, so only three out of these five are merthur.

This Dance of Days by kianspo

Pairing: Arthur/Merlin

Rating: Mature || Warnings: none || Word count: 8,090

Tags: Modern AU, Romance, Marriage Proposal, Established Relationship, flangst

Summary:

In which people get married, Arthur is confused a lot, Uther gives relationship advice, and Merlin isn’t scared, except when he is, but only a little bit. Also Merlin steals things, and Gwaine is up to no good.

Why I rec this: I love this fic so much because while Merlin and Arthur are, indeed, in an established relationship and clearly very much in love, there's still so much pining on both sides. There's such a well-handled undercurrent of realistic insecurity and hesitance to it, and it makes the eventual resolution so, so satisfying. I also just love how both Arthur and Merlin, as well as the rest of the cast, are handled, and the writing is absolutely fantastic.

A Happy Mistake by Polomonkey

Pairing: Morgana/Vivian

Rating: Teen || Warnings: none || Word count: 2,812

Tags: Modern AU, Humor, Weddings, Sharing a Bed, Banter, Enemies to Lovers

Summary:

“I don’t suppose you've considered the possibility of ceasing this farce and attending Gwen’s wedding alone like a mature, self-actualised adult?” “Shut up, Arthur,” Morgana and Merlin said in sync, which was a party trick they’d been perfecting for a while. Morgana absolutely refuses to show up without a date to her ex's wedding. Surely taking Vivian can't be so bad?

Why I rec this: I have such a soft spot for this pairing, even though I can't for the life of me remember how I got into it. This fic encapsulates perfectly why I love it; both Morgana and Vivian are their awesome, snarky selves, the tension is off the charts, and I laughed through half the fic. The wedding isn't Morgana's and Vivians, yes, but it's what gets them together and also, Gwen and Elena get married which is also pretty awesome.

Coffee and Cherries by FutureAlien

Pairing: Merlin/Arthur

Rating: Teen || Warnings: Chose not to use Archive Warnings || Word count: 4,542

Tags: Modern AU, Established Relationship, Banter, Fluff, Marriage Proposal

Summary:

Arthur knows for a fact, in that tiny kitchen at a quarter to three, after who knows how many cups of coffee, that he will never love another human so much as this.

Why I rec this: In fact, I've recced this fic before, but I cannot make a marriage (proposal) rec list and not put this on it. It might just be my favourite proposal fic ever; it's so, so tender from start to finish, the atmosphere is beautiful, Merlin and Arthur's banter and characters are spot on, and it never fails to put a huge, sappy grin on my face. I've re-read it so many times and it's fantastic every single time.

Like This by Monbanart

Pairing: Leon/Merlin

Rating: Mature || Warnings: none || Word count: 2,090

Tags: Immortal Merlin, Immortal Leon, Marriage Proposal, Fluff, Sexual Content

Summary:

No magic before coffee. Unless it's super duper important.

Why I rec this: Listen. I have such a huge, huge soft spot for this pairing, even if there exist like, 30 fics of them on ao3. And this one? This one is so, so soft (also, pretty hot tbh, especially the other parts of the series it belongs to.) I just utterly adore the idea of Merlin and Leon spending their immortality together, not to mention that this fic does brush upon Arthur too. They're just... so damn soft, and both idiots, and there's a small, brilliant twist to it to top it off.

After The Fire by Clea2011

Pairing: Arthur/Merlin

Rating: Teen || Warnings: none || Word count: 21,660

Tags: Modern with Magic AU, Breaking Up & Making Up, False Accusations, Apparent Infidelity, Mutual Pining, Angst with a Happy Ending, Sex Tapes

Summary:

“Well,” Arthur said as he stood at the end of the aisle beside Merlin. “Look at this. Never thought we’d be here.” Merlin didn’t answer. It was too hard to stop himself from saying that he’d always thought that they would. Be there. In a church, in front of a minister. Together. Just not like this. In which Arthur and Merlin have a horrible break up. A year later they're best man and man of honour respectively at Lance and Gwen's wedding. And they can deal with that, they really can.

Why I rec this: Okay yes, yes I know this one seems to be a bit out of place on this list, but also, it's not. Marriage is a central theme and overall vital to the story, and not only Lance's and Gwen's, and I just love this fic to pieces. The angst is delicious, the pining is off the charts, the resolution super satisfying, and it all ends happily. The angst tag is serious though, so if you've come to this marriage rec list looking for heaps of fluff and nothing else (which... yeah. One would expect, I'm aware, but I'm a sucker for angst I don't know what you expected) then maybe this isn't the right fic. If you like to see them work for it though, it absolutely is. Just don't forget the tissues.

[simp-for-spencer-reid]

Favors- George Weasley fic

I may delete this from this blog bc it’s my criminal minds blog. but for now, here’s my latest writing idea if anyone’s interested :)

the title of the fic and the chapter title are a work in progress and subject to change

Chapter 1: Be My Alibi

A puff of smoke swirled around the library common area. Essie was shifting her focus between her Care of Magical Creatures essay and her upcoming Potions exam. Her eyes were growing heavy as she read her Advanced Potion Making textbook. A few groups of students who were also in the library had gotten up and made their way to the hallway. Essie briefly glanced at the commotion, but brought her attention back to her work. Two snickering red-haired boys were calmly following the crowd. 

The Weasley twins. 

Their reputation preceded them: notorious for their pranks they’d been pulling since the end of their second year. Before that, they had received some of the top grades in Gryffindor house. Now, just beginning their sixth year at Hogwarts, their main focus was on their pranks.

One of them had accidentally knocked into Essie’s table, sending her ink for her quill toppling over, a stream of black trickling over her hard work. 

The laughter between them came to a halt- one kept walking, he hadn’t bumped her table and was oblivious to the ink. The other; however, paused, noticing the Hufflepuff girl gaping over her destroyed essay. 

“Oh, sorry!” He muttered a quick incantation to soak up the excess ink, but it left the words that had been written before a bit faded. Essie gave him a shy smile, before gathering her work. It would probably do her better to finish up in her common room, less commotion and a certain pair of twins wouldn’t be up to their tricks. 

“It’s okay, thanks for clearing that up,” Essie turned on her heel and hauled out of the library towards the kitchens. 

“Wait! Let me make it up to you,” he had a grip on her upper arm, keeping her in place, yet it was still gentle. His twin was long gone down the hall now, not noticing yet that his other half was not following him. 

“Oh, erm, don’t worry about it. I can fix the rest,” Essie shook her head, tucking a loose strand of her golden hair behind her ear. 

“Please, I owe you one. It’s the least I could do.” He realized his hand was still on her arm and dropped it back to his side- then shoving it in the pockets of his pants. “Just think about it.” he shrugged.

“Uh, okay.” Essie agreed, wanting this interaction to end so she could finish her studying in her room. She turned away from him, walking as fast as she could back to her dorms. 

Just as she had gotten out of the grasp of one of the Weasley twins, Gabriel Truman- a fellow Hufflepuff and Head Boy, was coming into step beside her. She was trapped between the wall and Gabriel as they walked toward the Hufflepuff common room.

“Hey,” he started cooly, “Bit late for you out here isn’t it?” Gabriel asked, but it was more of a statement. 

“Gabriel,” Essie said dryly, “I could say the same about you.” Gabriel had been trying to convince her to go on a date since the start of their fifth year. Essie, didn’t have time for dating. She was busy with her studies and trying to get the best grades possible to set herself up for a promising future as a magical creature professional. She had a lot of pressure on her shoulders now that she had made Prefect her sixth year..

The magic in Essie’s family had skipped a generation. Her mother was a squib who married a muggle man, much to the disdain of Essie’s maternal grandmother. Her grandmother was famous Wizarding author, Dria Finkle. Dria was known for her stories of her travels- voyaging across Europe and writing about her affairs with politicians and diplomats and other famous wizard-folk. 

Essie kept her grades up to make her parents proud. Her father wasn’t sure about the whole wizard thing, but Essie sweet-talked him into allowing her to board at Hogwarts and showing him that magic wasn’t as unbelievable as it sounds. 

“What do you say: you, me, and a couple of butterbeers down at the Three Brooksticks next Hogsmeade weekend?” Gabriel put an arm out to stop her in her tracks, caging her in between his body and the stone wall. 

“Tempting, but I already have plans,” she moved to escape under his arm, but he shifted his arm down, blocking her. 

“Oh, yeah? Doing what?” He tested her. 

“I’m working on the Care of Magical Creatures essay.” she raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips, and pushed her way through his arm to continue walking. 

“That’s not due until the end of the year!” Gabriel called after her. She was thankful for his temporary defeat as he had stopped following her. 

Essie shook her head,now just wanting to retreat under the covers of her bed. She made her way down a flight of stairs to the basement. The smell of comfort food and the warmth of the ovens getting stronger as she got closer to the entrance of the basement. She stopped by a stack of wooden barrels, tapping the correct one to reveal the circular door to the common room. 

Copper lanterns provided a dim light, the main light source coming from the fireplace now that it was nightfall. Many plants hung from the ceilings or sat on shelves. Essie’s favorite plant was some sort of ivy whose tendrils swayed in its own dance and it whispered if you listened closely. It hung from a basket made of twine over one of the desks, and Essie talked to it sometimes while she did homework. 

A few students were gathered in the common room, and Essie politely informed them of curfew and that they needed to get to their dormitories. With some groans and sighs, they cleared out. 

Essie walked through the door that led to the dorm for the Prefects. She shared the room with the two other Hufflepuff Prefect girls, Cleo and Gwen. They were already in bed, as Essie could tell from Gwen’s snoring. Through the light of the lanterns, Essie placed her study materials on her designated nightstand and quickly changed into some sleep shorts and a tank top. Once she was nestled under her covers, Essie quickly fell asleep. 

This year at Hogwarts, the castle was hosting the Triwizard Tournament, as Professor Dumbledore had announced at the first feast. Hogwarts students were accompanied by two other schools: Durmstrang and Beauxbaton. Only students who were 17 could participate. In this dangerous tournament. 

They were given a night for students to put their name in the goblet of fire. Essie would never partake in something so dangerous, not to mention the attention that came with being chosen. She knew that her friend Cedric had put his name in: tempted by the thousand galleon prize and eternal glory. 

The night after Professor Dumbledore’s announcement, Essie was walking  the corridors of the castle, thinking of her schoolwork and making a mental to-do list as she took the long way to the Hufflepuff common room past the stairway to the dungeons.

She could hear footsteps coming from ahead of her. Fred and George Weasley were running down the hall. One of them beelined down a smaller branch off the hallway, while the other’s face brightened as he saw Essie. Slowing down, he stepped into place beside her.

“Never caught your name the other night in the library,” he looked over his shoulder, breathing heavily from running down the hall. “I’m George,” he smiled. They rounded a corner. 

“Estelle, but you can just call me Essie.” she also looked in the direction where George was glancing. She saw Filch, angrily hobbling after them, yelling about his cat. When Filch caught up to them, he continued his shouting.

“Weasley! I know it was you. You and your brother did that to Mrs. Norris, I just know it!” 

“Ah, but you see, Filch, I have been with Essie all evening. It couldn’t have been me that dyed Mrs. Norris pink,” George feigned politeness, going as far to throw an arm over Essie’s shoulders. Filch looked to Essie, and when he saw her Prefect badge upon her school robes, George and Essie could see the battle in his head of whether to trust this story. George lightly elbowed Essie to prompt her to speak.

“Yes, Mr. Filch. George and I were just on our way back from discussing tutoring sessions for Potions class-” George elbowed her again to get her to stop talking.

“You might consider asking my brother Fred about his whereabouts. I believe he went that way,” George pointed back in the direction of where Filch had chased them down. 

Ultimately, Filch grumbled about the twins and their mischief and he hobbled off in search of George’s twin. 

“You ought to learn to keep your lies short and sweet.” George told Essie, “Easier to keep straight.” She lightly shrugged his arm off as they continued walking in the direction Essie was headed.

“There’s nothing to keep straight if you just told the truth. Pretty soon they have the snowball effect.” Essie rolled her eyes at the ginger boy. Gabriel Truman was walking towards them, looking to strike up another conversation with Essie. She halted in her tracks, and grabbed George’s arm to wrap over her shoulders again. 

“What are you-?” George was cut off by Gabriel as he approached.

“Essie, did you give anymore thought to my Hogsmeade preposition?” Gabriel hadn’t noticed George’s arm around her.

“Actually, Gabriel, I can’t.” Essie shrugged, holding onto George’s hand to keep his arm over her. “George has just asked me to be exclusive, so I can’t.” George’s eyebrows shot up when he heard the words come out of Essie’s mouth. The twins were just as famous for their flirtatious mannerisms as they were for their pranks. Gabriel looked between George and Essie suspiciously. 

“That’s right, Gabe,” George held Essie closer, sliding his arm from her shoulders to her waist. Essie blushed profusely at the contact. “Essie and I are what you would call a ‘thing’ now.” George’s chest puffed out, proud of his words. 

“Well, I didn’t realize you two had been seeing each other.” Gabe said, still wary of the two of them. “Enjoy your night,” he said as he walked off, “Don’t stay out past curfew.” Essie and George watched him walk away, waiting until he was out of eyesight. 

“What was that you said? Something about telling the truth?” George mocked a thinking face. Essie scoffed, stepping out of his arm.

“Shut up,” she rolled her eyes, “Didn’t you owe me one from ruining my essay?” Essie countered. “Consider us even.” Essie began walking again towards her common room.

“Essie Essie Essie,” George tutted as he watched her walk away. “You don’t know what you started.”

[merlinholidays]

Guide: Creating Prompts

Sign ups are going up soon and that means it’s time to fill in your likes and make your prompts. For some of us, the idea of making those prompts is a daunting thing, and maybe it’s sometimes tempting to just leave it blank.

But prompts are important for your gifter! So they can:

Understand you better

Find inspiration

Create something for you that you will enjoy

Even if it doesn’t matter to you what you receive, remember that a good set of prompts will give your gifter inspiration and drive to create! Think of it as a gift of sorts to the person who is paired with you!

For this reason, we’ve made a little guide to remind you of different types of prompts you can use. We hope it might give you some inspiration! We have split it into writing prompts and art prompts, since the two can be quite different.

Writing Prompts

There are many ways you can create writing prompts, and different writers like different things, but we have collected some tips/ideas for you:

Keep it short-ish:

Some people find it difficult to work with very long and detailed prompts. If the prompt outlines the whole story, it often feels very restrictive and allows no room for creativity. It’s more inspiring if your prompt leaves room for the writer to mix their own ideas with yours to interpret your prompt in a creative way. Try to create a prompt that acts as a guide rather than a complete story outline.

The One Word Prompt:

A simple solution, but a classic: the one word prompt. It’s simple and sometimes very effective and the gifter can easily combine it with another prompt if they want to. It can be:

Something sensory (like a color, a smell, etc)

Time-related (a season, a weekday, a certain time)

Interesting and uncommon words, or words from foreign languages

One thing to avoid can be extremely general words like “Christmas”. Instead, pick something about Christmas that invokes a more specific response, such as “mistletoe”, or “carolling” or “candles”.

The Poetry or Song Lyric Prompt:

Include a passage from your favorite poem or song lyric as an inspiration for a prompt, or link to the whole poem/song!

The Image Prompt:

One that we don’t see used as much anymore but image prompts are a great way to add variation to your prompts, and for many, the visual aspect triggers ideas. Maybe you can find an image that represents a mood you would enjoy, for example.

The Scenario Prompt:

Give a scenario that says something about a setting, a possible conflict, character traits, etc. How much info you include is obviously up to you.

Example:

Arthur and Merlin meet in the elevator at a hotel. When they exit it, everything has changed.

Morgana is tired of her city life and moves to a cabin in the woods to write a book. Enter Gwen.

The Trope Prompt:

Another tried and true staple is the trope prompt! Giving a trope or collection of tropes you like is a great jumping off point. Fake relationship with a side of hurt/comfort? Slow burn enemies to lovers? Was there only one bed?

Combine with a scenario to create a more specific prompt!

Variations:

Sometimes listing variations or further examples can spark more ideas. If you want a fic about dragons, you could include different versions of what that fic might look like.

Example:

I would love a fic about dragons! Maybe pet dragons are common. Or dragons suddenly return to the modern world after having been gone for hundreds of years. Maybe dragons are an extension of the magic user like daemons in His Dark Materials.

Art Prompts

Artists are unsurprisingly visual creatures, but sometimes it’s difficult to come up with prompts that are aimed specifically at inspiring an artist. Art is often a single image that captures a moment, and a lot of writing prompts that outline a story idea make it hard for an artist to pinpoint that moment. Here are some ideas for writing inspiring art prompts for those of you who are nominating art as a gift you would enjoy receiving. 

The one word prompt works for art as well, just look at Inktober! Something as simple as “mermaids” or “wings” works well for art when used in concert with your favourite character, ship and preferred rating.

A strong visual idea is always good when you would love to receive a specific image, especially when paired with some context. Your artist can easily work with a prompt such as your favourite pair cuddling on Christmas morning, a feeling of happiness, forehead kisses and opened gifts, whereas an open non-specific prompt like “Christmas morning” doesn’t give your artist much to go on.

Open but contextual prompts are great for art when you don’t have a specific idea. Telling your artist that you would prefer art in a modern AU setting always helps to set the scene. If you add “meet-cute” to a flower-shop AU, your artist has a moment or a scene to work with. If you say that you want to see a missing scene from your favourite episode, your artist could come up with a canon-age visual you’ve been craving. Or perhaps you’ve always wanted to see your faves in a certain movie AU? Your artist could transform their appearance for your Yule treat.

Giving your artist the option to illustrate for one of your fics could also be a great way to inspire a piece of art. It should be a fic they can easily access and that isn’t too long, which they can read and get on with making a piece of art for you. It shouldn’t be anything that has already received fanart or that has been a part of a big bang or collaboration with an artist, so your gifter doesn’t feel like they’re competing with anyone. You could specify which stories you’d like to see art for, or give your artist free rein to explore your works and find something they’d be interested in illustrating.

Tropey prompts can also work well but it’s good to give your artist some guidance or context. Prompts such as “hurt/comfort” or “angst” are too open by themselves, but can work very well to inspire art of an intense moment when paired with some keywords like “animal/creature attack” or “post-battle bathing”, “being carried” or “huddling for warmth”. Prompts such as “fluff” or “first time” are also ambiguous, but paired with keywords like “ugly Christmas sweaters” or “teaching to ice-skate”,  “frantic kisses” or “sex by the fireplace” can make all the difference to an artist searching for a visual flavor you would enjoy.

Poems and song-lyrics can work for artists, but can also be very open to interpretation and aimed at conveying a feeling rather than an image. Instead, you could write a short piece of prose or dialogue to inspire your artist.

Example:

“Sleep. I’ll keep you safe,” - conveys the visual of someone standing guard over their sleeping or injured companion.

“There are leaves in your hair, let me get those for you,” - conveys a fluffy moment or hair touching and blushy, shy smiles.

Mix it up:

This year we’re asking you to write at least 5 prompts to give your gifter plenty to work with and to choose from. As mentioned, different creators like different things so our best tip is to mix up different types of prompts. That way, it’s more likely that something will jump out at your gifter!