#merlin gif thoughts

[pippin-katz]

Arthur’s Love Confession

The word choice for Arthur’s confession is really… interesting. As many people have pointed out, if you remove the pronouns from the conversation, everything Arthur says can be true for Merlin as much as Gwen.

Here’s the thing: I’m a writer. I’ve said this before, and I’ll keep saying it when it comes to posts like this.

If I was writing a love confession from one of my characters, I wouldn’t have what they say be so vague that it would be unclear who they were referring to when taken out of context.

If you showed this conversation to someone who had no idea who these characters were other than a knight and a servant, it would be completely believable that the knight is talking about the servant he’s with.

Hell, Merlin’s reaction to Arthur being unable to say he’s in love and how certain he is that nothing could happen seems a bit strong considering the conversation is about Gwen, not him. He’s her friend and would understandably try to convince Arthur that they could be together, but the dialogue does it in such a round about, vague way before they get to the point. There’s no reason for them to be vague. They both know full well who they’re talking about.

I suppose I have to say this is an opinion of the writing because I can’t claim that the writers did anything with underlying intentions. It’s just seems strange to me how perfectly the description aligns. Even the lines not here could easily have the pronouns swapped and still make sense.

“How can I admit that I think about her (him/you) all the time? Or that I care about her (him/you) more than anyone? How can I admit that I don’t know what I’ll do if any harm comes to her (him/you)?”

It still works. We can’t prove that Arthur thinks about Merlin all the time, but there’s a damn huge amount of evidence that he cares for him deeply and can’t handle him being hurt. Anyone wanting to argue with me on this, go watch The Poisoned Chalice again, which is the FOURTH EPISODE by the way.

Other than that iconic episode, there’s plenty of other things. He doesn’t let Merlin drink the “poison” during the test at the labyrinth. He denies any accusations of him having magic whenever they come up, which is because he genuinely doesn’t believe he has any, but it also has to do with the fact that he would be executed. He always protects him in dangerous situations and tells him to run when things get too dicey. We all know how he acted when Merlin was believed to be dead.

Like I said, it’s weird how well the lines match up. And Arthur looks at him like this before the conversation:

And like this after this conversation:

Maybe I’ve just never had a “true bestie” because I have never looked at someone or had someone look at me like that. Arthur looks so flirtatious in that second gif man.

But anyway! That’s just some thoughts I was having about the love confession!

[regulusrules]

You know what's so special about this scene aside from its destructive irony?

It's that Arthur is addressing Merlin as if he was his knight for real, acknowledging all the times Merlin stood by his side so fearlessly (something we rarely got: thanks bbc writers). At this point, Arthur began to see Merlin as his 𝘬𝘪𝘯 not just his servant, and for a prince who grew up never knowing how to express admiration, he could only voice it in terms of honour.

Which takes us to another point actually; why did Arthur never really knight him? In 3×12? Or when he became king?

At first I shrugged it as the writers' fault (as with everything) because they were always so inconsistent specifically with Arthur's characterization. But while writing to you I swear my solemn oaths, a different lense just popped in front of my eyes and nested in my soul and brain.

Arthur wanted to protect Merlin from himself.

Let's be real; these two had zero point zero self-saving instincts. They blatantly expressed how they would live and die for each other. They fought on who to do it literally every episode when Arthur was not robbed of making that choice. But elevating Merlin's status would've strained their relationship. How?

Because it labels their unwavering loyalty to each other. It solidifies that they were merely just master-servant, not the earthshaking combination they were. It threatens to erase how Arthur always viewed Merlin as his pillar of strength, because if he knights Merlin he could no longer favour him and his companionship over the rest.

Also, knighting Merlin would have required for Arthur to first accept the fact that it's Merlin's duty to be there with Arthur, not because Merlin wants that any longer. Being given everything on a silver platter from the start only for Merlin to be the only one who denied him this narrative and was real with him, this is something Arthur could never let go of.

Lastly, knighting Merlin would have involved Arthur making peace with the fact that Merlin is OBLIGATED to die for him, and I don't think he could've ever accepted that. Even if he always took Merlin with him everywhere, he did it because he always believed he had Merlin's back and that he'll be there to protect him. This reciprocation of loyalty is so important to Arthur that if he ever knighted Merlin it would completely overthrow their little status quo they created for the two of them only.

So there is no denying the fact that Arthur really always saw strength and bravery in Merlin that surpasses any knight, but he never acted on knighting Merlin because he never wanted to put him in that position.

[tansyuduri]

Let's talk about this a bit. I know A lot of queer people relate to it and to be clear as a queer person I totally agree (I was just lucky enough to have REALLY supportive parents) But thats not what I think about every time I see this. I think about that time in elementary school I Aynalized out I was different from everyone else before I knew much about autism. I remember how lonely that was. I remember the time my grandfather was dying and my grief told me to avoid him. I was completely numb (It wasn't until later I found out that's what he wanted and forgave myself) but I pretty quickly realized how that I was getting super upset about minor thigns because my brain was crossing wires due to neurodivergence and my grief was pouring out like that (It started a journey of emotional self discovery but it was hard)

I remember the time in my early 20s that My mental illnesses got so bad that I lost touch with reality and lashed out at the people I loved. Two hospital trips and a great deal of work to get that under control And I think about how I will never be self sufficient due to the same mental illnesses and level of autism and the endless struggle of self worth due to that I think there is a reason EVERY merlin fan I've encountered is either Neurodivergent or queer. The show speaks to those of us born different. Its characters reflect and often put into words our own experiences and fears. Merlin tells us we are worthwhile and worthy. It shows how people like us can struggle and still be loved and worthy of love. Also how life can be joyful and sad and how it's all mashed together!

MERLIN | 2.09 The Lady of the Lake

[sexy-sapphic-sorcerer]

Colin's reaction to Arthur being described as 'a hunky killing machine' vs Merlin's reaction to Arthur being a hunky killing machine

[vandalyssm]

I don't understand how anyone can be intimidated by Arthur. Like what exactly are you going to do with those beautiful blue eyes, baby boy? Make me kiss you?

[gummi-ships]

Kingdom Hearts 3 - Radiant Garden

[pippin-katz]

Don’t anyone ever try to tell me that Arthur didn’t care about Merlin. This is one of the sweetest moments in the show.

Arthur really did not have to come. He was basically told not to go by Uther. He is the fucking Crown Prince of Camelot and Ealdor isn’t even in his kingdom.

But Arthur said, “you know what? I’m gonna go help him anyway” because he cares about him.

He won’t quite admit it, but he doesn’t deny it either. Actions speak louder than words.

“Thank you. I know you didn’t have to come.”

[pippin-katz]

I have discovered that I don't like when fanfics have Arthur react badly to a magic reveal and then continue to have him be insensitive/rude/mean/discriminatory towards Merlin afterwards.

Of course, Arthur canonically reacts negatively to Merlin's magic reveal, but he comes around fairly quickly and the real issue was the deception rather than the magic.

Sometimes I'll read a fic and Arthur will be incredibly stubborn about magic being bad to the point where it's out of character. He had lost his mother to magic, but he still wanted to see the good in it when Uther was dying. Even after Uther died, he wanted to see the good in magic to save Mordred. He's always tried to consider the alternative.

Season 2, Episode 08 - "The Sins of the Father" "What if my father's attitude towards magic is wrong? Perhaps it's not as simple as he would have us believe. Surely not everyone who practices magic can be evil."

Season 5, Episode 05- "The Disir" "Perhaps my father was wrong, perhaps the old ways aren't as evil as we thought."

If it was the magic that bothered him in canon, he would've reacted far different. For example:

Arthur just watched Merlin (possibly) kill those two men. He watched his best friend and the person he trusted most use magic for violence; this is what magic is falsely associated with, but Merlin potentially confirms it in front of Arthur.

If the problem was the magic, he probably would've said something more along the lines of Merlin being a bad person or a monster. Instead he's far more focused on the fact that Merlin lied to him.

I don't mind if characters in fanfics are out of character sometimes, but I guess in this case, since it leads to Arthur being horrible to Merlin, it bothers me. It's an added reason to make him be cruel to him when there's plenty of reason there for a negative reaction already.

Maybe I'm just a snob or overly sensitive, but I guess an inaccurate portrayal of Arthur in magic reveal situations gets under my skin for some reason.

[godmerlin]

[cynthia39100]

[Merlin 3x06 Arthur Pendragon - Horse Riding]

[pippin-katz]

I imagine that Merlin was probably a bit surprised by Arthur’s determination in this scene. He’s not pro-magic but here, he draws his sword on an unarmed civilian in order to prevent him from lighting the pyre. That’s a very bold move. I doubt Merlin was expecting him to “care” enough to do something like that.

BBC MERLIN 5.03 ✽ The Death Song of Uther Pendragon

[bisclavret]

this was crazy. can we all agree that this was crazy

[mossmx]

While Merlin is trending I want to thank the whole Merlin fandom

people who have been with us since 2008 and people who have just started watching, people who have left us too soon but will be forever in our hearts and people who switched fandoms but are still amazing

whereter you create, lurk, cheer or just cry in the corner (most of us have been there lol) every part of the Merlin fandom is always part of our family

even if we have no reason to trend we will always have a reason to celebrate :D

[poisonedfate]

bbc merlin - 04x07 The Secret Sharer

they, somewhat unfortunately, get each other on such a level it's a little sickening

[pippin-katz]

I hope Merlin knew deep down that it wasn’t truly his fault. Kilgharrah essentially blackmailed him into setting him free, and he’s not to blame for Kilgharrah’s actions. That oversized lizard was a bastard for attacking Camelot; his beef with Uther was justified, but he had no business taking it out on the citizens of Camelot and nearly killing Arthur. I will write an essay on how ridiculously stupid that is at some point, but I’m not gonna get into to that here.

“Before I do this, you promise me that you will not harm Camelot.” “I think there have been enough bargains, don’t you?”

BBC MERLIN ↪ 2x13 // 2x12

[wolfiery]

The taste in the mouths of the starving crowds Oh, pulling at the leaves, pulling off to me In feet first the savage dust Don't leave me be, leave me be