#love a competent king

[thoumpingground]

Okay, obviously I get why Emma gets to be the resident Disaster Matchmaker TM, but really John Thorpe gives her several runs for her money. He beats her in numbers of matches, execution, and production value accidentaly. Emma only managed to get Harriet's heart broken - twice. Thorpe's got it down to the details: he got Cathy the guy and a swoon worthy proposal. Cause if left to his own devices, Henry would have put together something sweet and heartfelt but simple, and Cathy would have been very happy of course, but she clearly doesn't mind a little bit of ✨romance✨. Thanks to Thorpe, she gets to brag forever that her husband loved her so much he bore being disowned and rode 70 miles on a horse to propose against his father's will.

Thorpe might be shooting in the dark, and aiming for the complete opposite goal, but d-mn it, he gets results, and I think he deserves to be the Austen Extended Universe Hipercompetent Matchmaking Menace TM. Not the least because, unlike Emma and every other Austen romantic rival, he has nothing else going for him.

[keitorin3]

Short: It's Merlin

Random Knight: *Witnessed Merlin calling Arthur a prat* Sire, are you just going to just let him talk to you that way? 😤

Arthur: It's Merlin, what can you do. 🤷🏼

Noble: *Upset with Merlin's presence during court and used his now absences to complain* As King you should have more sense then to let some farm boy advise you in such delicate matters of court! 😤

Arthur: It's Merlin. He who takes care of the castle servants, who is the apprentice physician that sees to the people downtown off duty and who is well acquainted with the merchants by name. That Merlin. 🤨

Noble: ...

Arthur: Any other questions? Good, let's see about lunch. Someone call Merlin back from town, he knows how I like my sandwiches made. 🍞🥪

Princess: *Trying to be seductive and pretty* I hear your looking for a Queen? 😉

Arthur: *Not interested and wishing to strangle a court elder* Apparently... 😒

Princess: I could be your Queen~ *Tries to touch his arms sensually*😘👑

Arthur: *Disgusted and Panics* 😬 Sadly you don't meet my requirements.

Princess: Well, what are your requirements? I'm sure I can more then meet them~😘

Arthur: Black hair, large ears, calls me a prat and male.

Princess: *Flabbergasted*

Arthur: *runs*

Knight on the side: It's Merlin. Just so you know.

Gwaine: So is anyone gonna tell him or should I?

Leon: It's been over a Decade and sadly the King has yet to admit it.

Percival: It's just Merlin. The guy doesn't even hides how devoted he is to Arthur.

Leon: Unfortunate really. Arthur was never able to place a label on what he felt for Merlin. Anything that boy does is instantly just categorised as "Merlin".

Gwaine: He gets his own category? Where do we go under.

Leon: "Merlin's Knights" apparently. He said as much while drunk and wistfully talked about retiring into the countryside and buy a farm where he and Merlin can own a cow and some chickens. He especially wanted the chickens.

Gwaine: *Laughs*

Percival: Damn, he's got it bad. And I can't even deny it. We basically did come together thanks to Merlin. But why chickens?

Leon: Said it was a engagement present for Merlin.

Percival: ...

Gwaine: ... Called it.

Knight: *Sees magic near Merlin* Sorcerer! *Arrests him and goes to the King*

Arthur: What is this?

Knight: Sire! I witnessed this servant doing Sorcery! *Points to Merlin*

Arthur: It's Merlin.

Knight: Yes Sire. He was doing magic.

Merlin: Arthur I can explain-

Arthur: *Raises his hand up to pause his words* You sure of this?

Knight: *Says smugly* Yes Sire!

Arthur: Right then. *Proceeds to go to his desk and picks up something before signing them with his seal*

Arthur: Hand this to Geoffrey, from henceforth the Magic Ban has been lifted.

Knight: WHAT!? 😱

Merlin: WHAT!? 🤯

Knight: B-but- my King?! WHY!?

Arthur: *Casually shrugs* It's Merlin.

[cortex-rampage]

I find the way that BBC Merlin set up Merlin's powers in the first episode to be quite funny. I mean, we see this sort of lanky guy and it is established that he is Merlin and (according to our own common knowledge) therefore he is the most powerful warlock ever. Okay, cool. One might assume that he has come to Gaius to develop his powers, that maybe he's only in the beginning of his magical journey. But instead the exposition shows Merlin, in the pilot episode of this 5 series show, stop time and employ levitation to save someone's life with magic, and then it is announced that prince Arthur is essentially his soulmate, and their joint power will create the most glorious age Camelot has ever seen. Quite an exciting set-up. And then for the rest of the entire show this man who we know possesses TIME-ALTERING POWERS mostly uses them on-screen to do common chores and annoy and prank THAT SAME Arthur. Like that one post said, "All of it's destiny and all of it's his fault." :p

[jonsnowunemploymentera]

In the whole “what would the Starks do if Jon’s parentage ever came to light” debate, the most interesting figure to me is Robb Stark. Ned is already caught between a rock and a hard place: duty and love to both his king and his sister’s son, though he already committed treason once to save Lyanna’s boy. Catelyn the embodiment of the Tully words, “family, duty, honor”, is fiercely loyal to her husband and children - but not to Jon. So if she was ever put in a position to choose, it’s obvious what she would do. Then there’s Robb. He’s his father’s heir, his mother’s pride. He’s named after Robert Baratheon, the ruling king of the seven kingdoms, as a testament to his father’s upbringing and love for his friend. But Jon is his brother; his best friend; his greatest companion. Where Ned’s choice would leave him conflicted, Robb doesn’t share the same loyalty to the king. So when forced to fight for the crown or his brother’s life, he’d obviously choose his brother. Which would be an interesting twist of fate. Ned and Robert rebelled for their lives many years prior. How interesting it would be for the boy who bears Robert’s name and the boy who bears Ned’s face to rise in rebellion again.

[theofficialpresidentoftheusa]

I love one man/overlord of hell/depressed cringefail dad

[elvhendis]

Can't relate to the Astarion lockpicking jokes my Astarion has like +18 on lockpicking or something

[penelope-kat]

What hurts most about everyone in Fionna and Cake saying how Ice King was so much better and cooler and more awesome than Simon is that nobody liked Ice King when he was Ice King.

Ice King was seen as annoying and unpleasant at best, and a genuine danger and creep at worst. And for the few that knew about Simon, he was just a shell of his former self that could be really upsetting to be around at times because of how awful he had become and how tragic the whole situation was.

Now everyone who wasn't forced to deal with the IK's bs directly and only know an idealized version of him are telling Simon that he should go back to being insane and unhinged because to them, how he is now is "too boring and depressing". And yeah, I guess it's not really their faults because they don't realize how their words affect Simon, but because of them he is teetering on the edge of what is essentially another dangerous, prolonged manic episode.

I bet the little girl that kept harassing Simon would hate Ice King if she had to deal with him flying into the human town, stealing women and freezing people on a whim and destroying stuff, regularly.

This is not to say I hate Ice King btw, he's actually one of my favorite characters in the show even when separated from Simon, but in-universe this is all true. Almost all the characters that started being nicer to him did so only because they were told about Simon or because they were fans of his Fionna and Cake stories. I mean hell, most of his fellow wizards didn't even like him, only some of the low-level guys were his buddies. Lady Island is an outlier because IK managed to keep it in his pants that whole episode, miraculously.

[crazy-queen-winx]

The Cuphead Show would be hundred times better if King Dice was The Devil's right hand man/assistant and not a minor character.

[shannonsketches]

I'm sure it's been discussed at length already but I think it's easy to assume saiyans are strong so their genes are dominant but I (like to) think it's the opposite. It's interesting to think that the ecological nature of a saiyan is stealthy and invasive, and according to Jaco a saiyan invasion was going to be extra dangerous to earth because they look like earthlings (and a lot of other human-like races in the db universe) and one baby saiyan will easily go completely undetected until it starts the extermination process.

so it actually makes a lot of sense to me that a saiyan hybrid would take more physical traits from a local species, while maintaining the potential to house a saiyan's strength and inborn power over ki (which I think due to the story following a group of people who use it is a thing we often forgotten is a super rare and dangerous ability in that universe, and inborn/instinctive to a select few very powerful races). Could also be a fun way to explain why their tails can detach and grow back, since that may be the only real Tell.

because like yeah gohan and goten look like goku but they also look like chichi ykwim? trunks and bulla look like bulma. pan looks like videl. thoughts i chew on.

I also just find parasitism a real good meaty horror concept to put in my little 'this is why everyone's afraid of saiyans' headcanon file along with 'can see in the dark, biologically strategic energy consumption, can go long periods without food or rest' and of course the canonical 'surprise monkey werewolf kaiju'

[khuuxu]

He's so bbygirl here 💕

[mango-sideburns]

My fav thing about TAZ is that any aspect out of context sounds fucking bonkers.

Like, in the balance finale there's a scene in which Garfield (who is very specifically never described visually bc most people imagine him as like. The Lasagna Cat. Who in this universe is the most powerful warlock in the realm and also has a hobby of cloning people, which is great for the one character that got forced into haunting a mannequin) is summoned by an alien spaceship that runs on the power of friendship so he could beat up some flashing balls. In D&D.

And that was just. Such a normal scene in the narrative. No one blinked an eye. I would like to bow down to Griffins clear unmatched talent for making me feel such big emotions over ridiculous shit like a goddamned umbrella or a regular ass pair of jeans or the idea of a taco recipe.

[keitorin3]

Short: Finding Merlin

Arthur: What do you mean you can't find Merlin?

Leon: I mean we can't find him, Sire. We've asked all the servants and before you ask, yes we've checked the Tavern.

Arthur: *Paces* Then search the forests I want him found understood!?

Leon: Yes Sire. *Walks out the door but hears the King mutter*

Arthur: *mutters* Idiot thinks he can escape this marriage... Ha just wait until I show him his wedding robes, he'll look like a noble and absolutely hate it. 👰🏻‍♂️

Leon: *suffers and leaves quickly*

Gwaine: So what did the princess do this time?

Leon: Apparently he gave Merlin his mother's sigil awhile back and Merlin only just found out, thanks to Gwen, what a noble offering a sigil means to their intended.

Gwaine: No way! The princess proposed marriage to Merlin without even telling him?!

Leon the long suffering: Indeed. Merlin is a commoner and while he has improved since he first arrived here, he still doesn't know all the intricacies of nobility.

Gwaine: So Merlin got mad and went off to who knows where?

Leon: It would seem.

Gwaine: How long do we have before his royalness starts going off to find Merlin himself?

Random Servant: *Shouts* The King is gone!

Gwaine: ... 😅

Leon: ... 😭

Merlin: *Returns dragging an unconscious and dirty Arthur on horseback*

Gwen: Oh, what happened? Did you get attacked? Are you both OK? Where have you been Merlin? Everyone has been looking for you.

Merlin: I'm ok Gwen, I went to talk about something important. Nothing bad happened, I left a note with Gaius on where I went.

Elyan: Ah, he got called on an emergency birth with one of the down town ladies, hasn't been back yet.

Merlin: *Huffs* And so that was reason for this idiot to go off and start a kingdom wide hunt for me? The Dollphead...

Gwen: *sigh* We did try to tell him he was being a bit paranoid. But he thought after your argument on the sigil he might have scared you off... *Looks to the unconscious King resting on the horse* What happened to him?

Merlin: Pfft, *smirks* the King fainted.

Elyan: He... Fainted...

Merlin: Yup. I found the idiot riding like a madman and when he finally calmed down enough to actually listen to me I told him I just went off to talk with Kilgharrah and Aithusa.

Gwen: Ok, that explains where you went, but then what happened to make Arthur faint?

Merlin: Aha, well... 😅

[BEFORE, IN THE FOREST]

Arthur: So what was it that you need to talk to dragons for? Did you get your answers? *Trying and failing not to stare at Merlin while walking beside him*

Merlin: Hmm I did *Reaches out to grasp Arthur's hand and paused their walking*

Arthur: Merlin?

Merlin: *Breathes deeply before taking something from his pocket and into Arthur's hand*

Arthur's heart dropped when he felt a round shape of a coin and it showed in his eyes what he believes this to be.

Merlin: *Noticed Arthur's sudden sad mood, rolled his eyes* Dollphead, opened your hand before jumping to conclusions! 🙄

Arthur: *Opens hand* Wait, is this...

Merlin: *Squirms and fidgets* I wanted to ask Kilgharrah about Dragon Lord Courting triditions. And well, he wasn't too informed in that but knew of Dragon Lords giving a Dragon scale as gifts and I asked Aithusa for one of hers, being her Dragon Lord after all... And well he said I could shape it, so I used my magic to carve it and well, being a dragon lord and you a Pendragon I thought why not Twin dragons?

In Arthurs hand was a white-silver sigil that shines faintly with Twin dragons circling each other and behind them he recognises the druids triskel symbol.

Arthur: *In Awe and too speechless for words*

Merlin: It also is embedded with my magic and acts like a... Connection between us. I'll be to find you as long as you have it and you'll be able to find me. My magic would guide you. Maybe then you won't have to go on a kingdom wide search for me. *Laughs*

Arthur: *Smiles* Heh, so a Merlin Finder? About time, do you know how hard it is to find idiot warlocks lately?

Merpin: *Smiles fondly* Prat.

Merlin: *Looks serious* That's not all either. Arthur, your a prat and a dollop head. I know I tell you you're always a bit thick in the head but I never knew how much until I realised the significance of your mother's sigil. You had to go about proposing to me in the most infuriating way without even telling me.

Merlin: But I know more then anyone how good of a man you are, how much you work to be fair to your people. And the thought of you having those kind of feelings for me was too good to be true. Because I would have said yes. Always I'd say yes. I feel like I was born to love you Arthur. Prophecys and destiny may play a part, but I would always chose you.

Arthur: *Dumbfounded*

Merlin: *Rolls his eyes* I'm proposing cabbagehead. I'll marry you. ❤️💍

Arthur: ... 😳🤯💞 *Faints and falls into a puddle*

Merlin: ...

[END OF FLASHBACK]

Merlin: *Blushes with a laugh* I accepted his proposal. He ended up going into shock after and fell over into a small puddle.

Gwen: Oh! 😃 Merlin I'm so happy for you!

Elyan: Yeah, cheers mate. *Mutters to himself* Thank god all the pining is over.

Arthur: *Wakes up* I had the most fantastic dream! Merlin gave me a sigil and accepted my proposal~!

Merlin: *Speaks from the fireplace* It wasn't a dream Arthur!

Arthur: 😍 You love me! 💖

Merlin: 🙄❤️ *Walks up and kisses Arthur* Yes I do.

Arthur: 💘🥴💕 Merlin Loves me~! Merlin will marry me~

Merlin: *Fond and in love* 🥰

The (Merlin's) Knights: FINALLY!

Castle Servants: FINALLY!

All of Camelot: FINALLY!

Kilgharrah: The two halves have finally become one.

Aithusa: *Chirps*

[bisclavret]

i haven't been able to stop thinking about how these two are parallel variations of the guinevere archetype that complement and contrast each other so, so perfectly: tashi is a woman who above all else wants to be a champion. fate cruelly takes her dream away from her, so she opts to marry and live vicariously through the (blond) man who loves her (named arthur). she molds him in her image and helps him rise to greatness in her stead but it's not enough, he's never good enough. gwen is a woman who never truly expects to have power but it is thrust upon her through the (blond) man she marries for love (named arthur). she, too, uses her wisdom and leadership to mold her husband and help him rise to greatness. she believes in him, but fate and the world outside their bubble do not. he is not good enough for them. fate wants her. both women and their husbands set aside their desires to focus on the bigger picture (said desires partially exemplified by brunettes who may be exceptional but don't quite fit into the high-stakes social structure), and yet, despite everything they've sacrificed, despite navigating their lives with the utmost grace and caution, in the end both women lose the things they worked hardest for. but they do, however, gain the things they've needed the most: gwen loses her soulmates/family but gains immeasurable independence and the power to use her wisdom and talent on an enormous scale (the sort of thing tashi would've killed for). tashi loses her dream and her claim to power but she gains a family of two soulmates who adore each other and her (the sort of family unit gwen would surely have preferred more than anything). HOWEVER. crucially. although they'd never admit it and the story never quite spells it out. their respective fates align perfectly with who they truly are, deep down.

[frogaroundandfindout]

Dick Grayson receives news from Oracle that something is going down in Gotham involving Batman and Wonder woman. Dick goes to get Donna’s help but finds her running away from a villain with her eyes covered. Dick calls out Donna’s name in confusion and upon hearing his voice Donna tells dick to aim for her attackers head. Dick does so without hesitation and beheads the villain with a wingding. Dick freaks out about what he did, so Donna reveals it was a Greek monster called a gorgon that dick killed, not a human. Donna later asks dick to pick up the bag with the gogons head in it and hold her hand. Dick agrees and Donna says that she loves him for this. Dick says the feeling is mutual and steps toward the window where Donna opens a portal (Wonder Woman #165)

[vivitalks]

this has definitely been said before but derek in 3b saying "i didn't think stiles was smart enough to frame us for murder" is such a lie. if any of the characters on this show could successfully frame someone for murder i think stiles is top of that list. literally the very first thing we learn about stiles is that he eavesdrops on police communications and has zero qualms using that information for his own benefit. his dad is the sheriff for fuck's sake. name one person better equipped to frame someone for murder than the 17 year old sheriff's son with a penchant for sticking his nose where it doesn't belong and lying his ass off with aplomb

[larsnicklas]

240227 // jt miller, power play kill merchant