#merlin is tired

[agent-scotch]

Cont. @merlin-is-tired

Scotch's week went by like a blur once she had received the green light from Arthur the following morning. Each morning was a mad dash to the showers before anyone was there before grabbing a coffee for herself and placing one on Merlin's desk.

After that is was greeting the crew, the mechanic found herself with a phone in one ear typing away, raking her contacts to complete the Kingsman Inventory transfers and order. At one point she had the young German engineer on the phone with a someone in Switzerland while she called the Statesmen HQ. She wanted to prioritize what was needed for the next mission stated on the report Harry so lovingly placed on her desk. R&D also had some special requests to add to her mountain which she accepted with grace.

One of those days was lost when was she swept off her feet by the tailors, the only thing that made her weeks bearable. Instead of trousers she opted for a modest skirt that hugged her curves. They found her a flattering pair of heels to match and insisted on replacing her coveralls, she obliged but kept her old pair.

Friday evening of the second week, during her final fitting was when a ring came from the hanger traffic control. First of the transfers had come in. Boy were they in for a treat. Just in time for a meeting with the latest recruits.

Relief washed over her like a tsunami before she realized there wasn't anytime for her to step out of her new suit. She barely recognized herself in the mirror as she slipped on a pair of dark heels. Smirking at the way the skirt made her figure look, she grabbed her clipboard and made her way back HQ.

With fifteen minutes left to their meeting in the hanger, she gently knocked on the Quartermaster's door. She hadn't had much time to talk to him since their first day with the amount running around.

@merlin-is-tired

[ethan-acfan]

Merlin getting injured while saving Camelot again (getting stabbed or shot, etc). But he hides it so Arthur won't ask questions, and he has to just grin through the pain until one of his stitches gets undone and he doesn't realize and passes out in Arthur's room. So Arthur comes back from training to find Merlin crumpled into a ball shivering and covered in blood.

[gayeddie-saved-me]

can’t stop thinking about a post-canon arthur returns fic where instead of walking out of the lake, merlin stumbles upon arthur in the exact same way he did originally. arthur (who doesn’t remember his previous life at all at this point) is like 18, bullying a kid on the basketball court or something and merlin instinctively steps up to protect the kid. repeating the exact words without intending to, thousands of years later

“that’s enough. you’ve had your fun my friend.”

and arthur finally turns around, and says “do i know you?”

and merlin feels the entire world stop as he stares face to face with arthur pendragon again

[myoonmii]

He watches him like a ghost

[theroundbartable]

Sometimes, Merlin is incredibly busy. Arthur isn't bothered by it (he is). After all, he's the one assigning the tasks (whenever he's embarrassed.)

And hey, Arthur could sometimes need a break and isn't it convenient that barely anyone comes to Merlin's new chambers, which are always empty, because Merlin's always busy and no one would suspect Arthur here? And it smells nice, of leather and herbs (and a little like Merlin). And Arthur never sleeps better than here, on Merlin's bed with the nice and cozy bedsheets, between the candles and magic books.

Hold on....

Magic books?

[dcxdpdabbles]

DCxDP Fic Idea: The Contact, the Butler and the Sly Time Lord

Martha accidentally engaged Bruce to a higher being when he was two.

It sounds terrible, but she hadn't thought that the man wearing the Time ghost costume at her husband's Halloween Gala wasn't wearing a costume and was actually the physical embodiment of Time.

She just thought he took Halloween very seriously.

Mr. Clockwork was charming and didn't care that she had married from the lower level of first class. Her parents were rich, of course, but they weren't old money, and they certainly didn't have a lot of power to speak of.

Because of that, the elites of Gotham thought she wasn't good enough to be in a family such as the Waynes. It was so lovely not to be dragged into conversations that were thinly concealed insults.

Everyone else at the Gala thought Martha had no right to be there with them. Why was she just a few zeros off from being middle class, and wasn't it just so sad that Thomas would stain his family with her?

Secertly, Martha prayed Bruce would do something wild, like marry a girl from Crime Alley or even adopt kids in lower classes to make them all choke on their pearls.

Her son would be one of the most powerful men in a few years, and she couldn't wait to see what kind of hell he would unleash upon them. She would never push, of course, but it would be a nice fantasy to have every time she had to face passive-aggressive comments from ladies told by their fathers they would be a far better Mrs. Wyane.

" Why, hello there. Aren't you the cutest little thing?" Mr. Clockwork coos, smiling down at Bruce. He clung to his mother's skirt, his matching cowboy costume a miniature version of what she was wearing.

The boy had wandered over in the middle of their conversation once he was bored of coloring at his table. Martha couldn't blame her poor baby. There really wasn't much to do for those his age here.

Thomas had stated that children were usually not brought along due to being loud and distracting.

Martha wouldn't hear any of it, insisting her son would be going with them at the party or there would be no party. The majority of the elites believed children should be seen, not heard, and that boiled her blood something fierce.

Thomas had thankfully known when to pick his battles, so he allowed his wife to drag him to a costume store for a family costume to wear. He currently chatting with a group of investors in all his cowboy glory somewhere on the other side of the gala.

"Say thank you, Bruce," She tells her boy, but he only hides his face more, causing the two adults to chuckle. "Do you have kids, Mr.Clockwork?"

"Yes. Two daughters and a son" The man chuckles "All three are a handleful but I love them dearly."

"Oh, how wonderful. Bruce is my only son, but I want to give him siblings," she tells him warmly. She can picture Bruce chasing after his younger siblings dressed up as the Grey Ghost he loves.

She knows Thomas was worried about their chances of having a second child. He was informed not too long ago that he may suffer from secondary infertility. She didn't mind. If they couldn't have a child of their own by blood they could easily adopt.

Martha worked long and hard to provide good orphanages to the city. Maybe one day, a child from there could be her own. She'll have to speak to her orphanage managers- those in charge of the kids- to see if they could help her find one.

They have successfully been getting kids into good homes (At least she thought the number of children constantly changed, and the kids were never seen again, meaning the families that adopted them loved them enough to never return!)

Mr. Clockwork hums "how about giving him a spouse instead? My girls or boy could be a good partner"

Laughing, she assumes he meant her work on bettering the lives of the gay community- in honor of her brother who passed during the AIDs epidemic. "I'm sure Bruce would be happy to hear Mommy found him a husband."

"Is that a yes?" Clockwork eyes' flashed with an emotion that was gone too quick for her to identify.

"Yes, of course. If that is what they both want, I wouldn't mind their marriage at all."

Mr. Clockworks red eyes - contacts? A medical condition?- gleam, and his voice takes on a strange rhythm. "Then so shall it be, my son Danny Fenton shall be married to Bruce Wayne per their Blood Mother and Core Father deal."

Huh. Maybe Mr. Clockwork is a nutcase. Suddenly, she thinks back to her father, who would often tell her that she lived in a delusion because he did not want her to see the horror that Gotham truly is.

Even when you think you're doing good, Gotham has a way of making your work into nightmares.

Was Mr. Clockwork one of those people he warned her about?

Thankfully, he leaves not long after that. He claims he must return to work before his co-workers notice him gone. She doesn't see him for the rest of the night and half wonders if she had been speaking to one of the wait staff they hired as extra help.

Not that she minded, but it made her think his name might not even be Clockwork.

She tells Thomas the story hours after Bruce is put to bed with a candy bucket and the last guests have all slipped home. Thomas is exhausted, having been playing host longer than her because Martha had left around eight to take Bruce trick and treating. Then she got home and put him down for his bedtime.

She got back to the party around eleven but it was a much-needed break from all the hostility that Thomas had been forced to face alone.

"WHAT!?" Thomas booms when she finishes the story. They had just crawled into bed, and Thomas had been rolling to his side for sleep before her words flung him back. "Clockwork!? You're sure you spoke to Clockwork!?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"What did he look like?"

"Um well he was in costume, but red eyes, blue skin, and he was wearing purple robes." She watches as the blood drains from her husband's face. "What is it darling? Who was he?"

"Oh, this isn't good....Alfred! Alfred!" Thomas frantically calls as if the devil had appeared in their bedroom.

Their servant and sometimes lover comes racing into the room, carrying a loaded shotgun. Ever since Thomas had met him overseas when he hired the British man as a personal bodyguard, he fell hard and fast for Alfred but he still deeply loved Martha.

He had sent Martha a letter detailing his feelings for his guard, and only after she had given him permission did he pursue the butler. Alfred had insisted on meeting Thomas' wife to prove that she was okay with him having a lover, so he had followed Wayne back home.

Then he simply never left.

Maybe because he was the best butler Wayne ever had, with his regal training and service in her royal highness' army, but she thinks that her own developed feelings for Alfred convince him to remain.

Alfred insisted that he was only a servant and thus could not be added to their marriage besides a bed partner occasionally. Still, Martha hoped one day they could convince him otherwise.

Bruce already saw him as a second father.

He looks at the pair, dressed in their nightwear in a rather enticing position (Thomas had grabbed Martha by her shoulder, to look into her eyes but that left them rather entangled on the bed) with no visible threat, and raises one brow.

Before he can say anything Thomas is all but rolling out of bed in a frantic leap. He tangles up in the blankets, falling gracelessly over the edge in failing limbs "Martha made a deal with Clockwork!"

At once, Alfred's handsome face drains of blood. "Oh dear, Martha darling, you made a grave mistake."

She can only blink at the men in confusion. "Who is Clockwork?"

"He has many names, but I knew him as Merlin," Alfred informed her evenly. He took her hand in his, the tremble in his fingers revealing his unease. " He had shown interest in Master Thomas before and was the one I protected him from. I barely fought him off and only due to outsmarting him. I would not be able to do it again a second time."

What?

"He is also known as a Fae or incubus in some circles. The kind that steals you away for fun." Thomas babbled from where he was pacing next to the bed, eyes franticly glancing about as if the bogggie man was about to leap out at him from the shadows.

For a moment, Martha wondered why her husband, a man of science and medicine who had never been superstitious, believed this Clockwork was some...some creature of myths.

"Martha, love, what did he ask of you?" Alfred questioned, bringing her hand to his lips as though kissing them would confirm she was safe before him.

"He asked for Bruce to marry his son."

"Oh, gods!" Thomas fretted, speeding up, his long strides becoming far more frantic. "Please say you didn't say yes."

"I-thought it was a joke, I didn't see anything wrong with it, I- said yes."

Alfred closed his eyes, looking like a man who had just been informed his death sentence had been signed by the Queen. "Then all we can do now is pray."

Years later, as Alfred is dusting the portrait of his deceased loves. He allowed his hand to trace the cover of Martha's painted smile and Thomas' strong jaw, mind filled with stolen kisses and sweet nothings that were ripped away that fateful night.

He is still struck by their loss. Every now and then, the knowledge of their death creeps in during his most mundane activities. It's like a kick to the chest every time.

Oh, how he misses them.

Ding Dong

The front doorbell jolts him out of his memories so violently it takes the aged Butler a moment or two to get a hold of his senses. He puts down the duster, climbs down the latter, and quickly makes his way to the door.

Stopping to fix his suit coat, he throws it open with a prepared smile. He expects extra help from the catering company Master Bruce hired for Wayne's annual Halloween Gala.

He was not expecting the two men, one looking nervous around Master Bruce's age and the other sly. His age is hard to gauge, but it may be due to time not affecting him as it did mortals.

Alfred's blood freezes at the sight of those cunning red eyes and smirk. "Merlin."

"Alfred Pennyworth." The demon chuckles. "I prefer Clockwork, as you know, but it's good to see you remember me. Most humans are prone to forgetting in their limited age."

"What are you doing here?"

"Why I came to fulfill the deal between Martha Wayne nee Kane and I"

"Martha is dead. Your contact is void."

Clockwork chuckles again, the sound as deadly as poison. "The contact lives as long as all those involved in it live. You know this."

Alfred presses the panic button on his wristwatch, knowing it sends a message to everyone in the manor to evacuate immediately. He will not live through this battle, but hopefully, it will give Master Bruce time to escape. "You will not lay a hand on Master Bruce."

"Come now, Alfred. We are to be in-laws. Our sons are joining in holy matrimony. Why the hostility-"

"Excuse me what?" The other man-demon? Ghost? Higher-being? cuts in, looking at Clockwork with brows knitted into a frown. "What did you mean holy matrimony?"

"Danny, you're getting married," Clockwork says with a cheerful wave.

"The hell I am!" The man barks, flushing red with anger. Alfred can hardly believe he just yelled at the monster. "I am not marrying some random guy!"

"It is the way things must go for the good of mankind-"

"Oh, go suck on a lemon! We both know that whole "this is fate" is bull!"

"You are embarrassing me in front of our new in-laws, younn man" Clockwork actually waves a finger at the fully grown human. "This is my one chance to marry you off to a good man. We both know that you can't attract a mate on your own."

"What!? Yes, I can! I've had girlfriends and boyfriends before!"

"And yet, no spouse! No wedding! Not even a ring!"

"Moby Dick, I knew this bonding fishing trip was a lie! You can't make me get married because of some contact you made when I was three!"

"It's not permanent! Martha Wayne said If that is what they both want, I wouldn't mind their marriage at all. This means you both must want to be together after one year of marriage. See if you like it, and if you don't, I can always find you a new husband."

"This isn't returning a jacket to a store! I can't just see if I like being married Clockwork!" The man hissed running a hand through his hair. "We're going home. I'm so sorry for bothering you today Mr. Alfred."

Alfred blinks at the young man's sheepish smile, wondering if ti's a trick. "No bother at all."

"Danny, if you leave without marriage, Bruce Wayne will die in an hour due to breaking our contract," Clockwork says, crossing his arms. "Honestly, your sisters were far more mature regarding their marriages."

Danny punches him in the face with a glowing hand. The higher being falls like a sack of bricks.

"Right, I'm going to drop this one off at a nursing home, and then I'll return to marry Bruce. Only so the contact doesn't kill him, and I swear I'll only visit every once in a while until our year is up." Throwing- Merlin, holy shit- over his shoulder as if though he weighed nothing, Danny waves at Alfred and scurries away, vanishing into a green portal.

Alfred is left standing at the doorway, utterly flabbergasted. Distantly, he wonders if the hollowing wind is actually Martha laughing herself silly in the afterlife.

Carefully, he reaches up for his com, switching it on to the sound of his family's frantic bickering. They were all worried about him since he sent the alarm and were fighting about following policy or saving him.

"Master Bruce," He says faintly silencing the coms "Please come to have your suit fitted as soon as you can."

"What for?" His son asks, likely looking for a coded message, but Alfred doesn't have the mental capacity to make one.

"Your wedding, sir. It's tonight, courtesy of your mother."

The coms explode into chaos.

[godmerlin]

Merlin 3x08 The Eye of the Phoenix

[maddybthorne]

I love fics where everyone (but mostly Arthur) realizes how important Merlin is to Camelot.

Like I’m not only talking about Magic reveal fics where they find out how badass he is and how many times he’s saved their asses (though I love those) but specifically about the times they realize he basically Runs the Castle.

I’m fairly sure I read a fic or a head canon somewhere that Merlin leaves to visit his mother for a week and Camelot falls apart because this boy was doing everything to keep that Castle in order. And Arthur kept firing servants cuz “they weren’t up to standard” (aka they weren’t Merlin)

And these fics could be gen or Merthur (though I do love the latter ngl)

But yeah I just love it when my boy gets the recognition and respect he deserves.

(Bonus if Leon is losing his mind the entire time. He’s done with their bullshit. He’s seen too much. He’s tired. #LetLeonRest2024)

[bluismie]

self-sacrificing idiots 🤏

[escespace]

Leon: Ok. What's going on?

Merlin: What do you mean?

Leon: What's the matter? What's wrong with you?

Merlin: Listen, I know myself so you have to be a little more specific if you want a short answer.

[agent-scotch]

Sora gave one last look at herself in the mirror before her flat door rang. Her champagne gown shimmered in the foyer light as she opened the door.

It was New Years Eve and unfortunately the senior staff had to attend a rather stuffy party at Manor. A shortage is taxis ment she would be sharing one with her closest Kingsman collègue.

@merlin-is-tired

[bellamyblakru]

why do we continue to love bbc merlin over a decade after it's finale?

for the lovely @aemelia who made me giggle, and for @eddiediaaz, a very belated birthday gift because my writing is absolutely garbage and you deserve only the fuckin best of me. i love you, and i hope the next year of your life is nothing but beautiful and fun and everything good--you deserve the world, i'm sorry i can only give you this lil thing.

[justaz]

whats so funny to me is how merthur deal with jealousy and the knights’ knowledge of it. like arthur? he is so obvious. SO obvious to literally everyone but merlin. he’s pouty and then aggressive. the knights know this. as touched as they are by merlin’s compliments, they desperately want him to stfu bc every word of praise he gives them, is one more level of how enthusiastic arthur will be when he demands they spar with him.

merlin is literally the same but the knights never really see him get jealous. arthur is obsessed with merlin so there nothing really for merlin to get jealous of. until theres a repeat of cedric where arthur is annoyed by how often merlin has been shirking his duties and takes a new servant just to mess with him. and then merlin is glaring at the new serving boy when neither he nor arthur is looking at him, he is “super clumsy” around the new servant and “trips” on his way out of the stables after mucking them out and “accidentally” covers the servant in horse dung, and sets up scenes for the new servant to fail and thin arthur’s patience until he fires them. then he turns to merlin and is like “i need this done” and the knights expect merlin to act like arthur and jump at the chance to attach himself to arthur’s side, but merlin just smiles politely and says “oh im sure george/gwen/any other servant in camelot would be honored to do that for you, sire” and walks away

anyway i would love to see the knights who have to constantly suffer a jealous arthur sit back and watch a jealous merlin fight his foe in his own way. then watch the slight difference between jealous!merthur as where arthur would drag merlin with him everywhere, merlin can’t seem to get away from arthur fast enough. now arthur is chasing merlin around like a love sick puppy. the knights are in awe. the newer knights who weren’t aware before, now have to confront the fact that this insolent servant has the king of camelot wrapped around his little finger.

[tiredcowboyy]

S4/5 merlin being so done with everyone and everything is so funny. Like he may aswell have covered arthurs ears and said “yes I have magic get over it. Oh hi, youre new here? Cool- leave, because i cant be bothered to figure out how you screw me over but you probably will. Please nobody even think about arthur today because my back hurts and I just want ONE MINUTE OF PEACE. If you’re here to kill arthur or me please come back next week i just polished his armour and i wont hesitate to snap your neck if it gets dirty again because it took me all morning.”

[cinnabon-sweetroll-tiramisu]

I think we all need to conjure the image of Merlin sitting on Arthur's lap whenever a princess/noblewomen comes along to woo Arthur. The mighty warrior, killer of bandit losers, sword twirly hand gesture guy, Crown Prince of Camelot just straight up panics and his natural reaction is to pull Merlin onto his lap and say he's gay for his manservant or throws Merlin over his shoulder and runs away, far away from the beautiful women.

My boi Merlin however wonders why Arthur doesn't just court someone already and stop trying to get him in trouble with Uther or his Uncle Gaius who keeps his fluffy caterpillar eyebrow in constant doom mode; Merlin is not in the mood to deal Arthur's romantic inability nonsense and people thinking he and Arthur are together when they're obviously not.

Seriously they're not together...they both protest loudly as Arthur holds a pantless manservant wearing a loose and very familiar red tunic whilst the prince himself is shirtless and the laces on his breeches are untied.

Definitely not fucking together.

[theroundbartable]

Arthur: I'm tired

Merlin, who hasn't slept in 72 hours and has his fifteenth coffee intus: maybe you should go to bed