#merlin prompts

[bennedict]

Omgggg I’m loving this!!!

Hello everyone! Thank you so much for all the love you gave my most recent au! Here's a continuation of the Disir au! Enjoy!

Merlin caught on quickly that there was something... different about Arthur after his return from the Disir's cave.

He was jumpy, constantly on edge, and clearly losing sleep over something. And, worst of all, he was hiding something from Merlin.

Or, more like trying to hide something from Merlin. Because Merlin knew that something had happened at the Disir's cave, and he knew that it had something to do with the old religion.

Really, Arthur should know better than to hide a wooden worship effigy of one of the gods of the old religion in his wardrobe. The very same wardrobe that Merlin digs through every morning to find some outfit to dress his royal pratness in.

But Arthur's laughable attempts at hiding anything from his manservant aside, the crudely carved effigy in Merlin's hands raised the rather uncomfortable question: what was Arthur doing hiding an object of worship tied to the old religion in his wardrobe? If he was trying to learn more about druid customs or attempting to gain some advantage over Morgana, why hide it from Merlin of all people?

And it did seem like Merlin was the only one he was hiding this from, if the knights' shifty behavior and the unusual amount of time Arthur spent with Mordred over the past few weeks was any indication.

Even Gwen was in on it! The queen had started carving out time in the evenings for Arthur to be alone in his study, doing... something. Gwen had not told him what Arthur was doing during that time, only telling him that no one, not even Merlin, was to disturb him.

It felt like the entire castle was conspiring against Merlin! And given that it was mostly likely connected to the Old Religion based off of the presence of the worship effigy, the entire situation set Merlin on edge.

(Plus, there was a strange tingling in the back of Merlin's mind that had started the night after Arthur had returned from the Disir's cave. The odd sensation came and went at seemingly random times, but it didn't hurt. No, it felt more like something inside his mind was trying to get his attention, as strange as that sounded. Merlin wasn't sure what it was or what to make of it.)

The first question that popped into his mind was "do they know?", but something seemed too strange about this entire situation for the explanation to be as simple as his magic having been discovered, as disastrous as that would be. No, if his magic was truly discovered, the reaction would be loud, explosive, like Arthur's temper. There would not be this shifty, sneaking around behind Merlin's back if that were really the case. If Arthur felt betrayed by Merlin, he would not turn to conspiracy. That wasn't who Arthur was.

So no, Merlin's magic hadn't been discovered. Merlin's next guess was that Mordred's magic had been discovered, but that too seemed unlikely, since the king's prophesized killer was still alive and meeting with the king frequently.

Perhaps Arthur was planning on brokering peace with the druids and wanted to keep it hidden from the council to avoid the protests from Uther's lords? It seemed like something Arthur would do, and the thought of it filled Merlin with hope. But still, if that was truly what Arthur was doing, he would have told Merlin by now!

So then what could it be?! What reason did Arthur possibly have for possessing a handmade worship talisman and hiding it from Merlin?!

Merlin even tried to glean some information based on which god of the Old Religion the worship effigy was dedicated to, but the face was carved so crudely that there were no identifying features, and the base was plain, devoid of any symbols of worship that could point to the identity of the god in question.

With all of his other options having been exhausted, Merlin turned to the one method of getting answers that had yet to fail him: eavesdropping.

(Gaius could admonish him all he liked for not being able to mind his own business, but the old physician couldn't deny that Merlin seeing and overhearing things that he shouldn't have had saved the kingdom at least a dozen times over.)

Fortunately for Merlin, Arthur's newfound alone-time was at around the same time every evening, right after he had finished his dinner, and Merlin knew every nook and cranny of the king's chambers better than anyone.

It was almost laughably easy to sneak into the antechambers off of Arthur's bedroom through a hidden and rarely-used servant's passageway. These chambers would normally be where the king's manservant lived, but since Merlin lived with Gaius, they were just used for storage now, with the door between the antechambers and the king's chambers remaining locked for security purposes.

All Merlin had to climb over a few chests to get to the door and peer between a gap in the door's panels, and he now had a full view of the king's chambers without anyone even knowing that he was there.

... He probably should warn Arthur about this gap in his security at some point, since an assassin could easily make use of it, but that would have to come after Merlin had gotten the answers he needed.

Merlin sat and waited, watching Arthur's back as he stood up from his desk, stretched, and started sorting through his paperwork from the council meeting earlier that day. Merlin relaxed slightly at the sight, and as he watched Arthur do paperwork and other mundane tasks over the course of an hour, he began to wonder if he had gotten all of this wrong.

Maybe Arthur had started carving out time alone to fulfill his tasks as the king more independently? Arthur had done similar things in the past after all, pulling away from his friends and believing that he should shoulder all of his burdens by himself.

With his fears appeased by a familiar and plausible explanation for Arthur's strange behavior, Merlin considered leaving for the night, seeing as how nothing seemed to be amiss.

Well, Merlin was considering leaving for the night and dropping his suspicions there, up until Mordred silently snuck through the door and approached Arthur with a nervous smile. Merlin's body tensed at the sight, his anxiety skyrocketing at the sight of Mordred so close to Arthur with no one else present.

But Mordred didn't sneak up on Arthur with a weapon in hand, but instead greeted him warmly and led him over to the chairs in front of the fireplace. Arthur sat a bit stiffly, trying and failing to not let his discomfort show as Mordred ran around the room, gathering an odd assort of supplies from various hiding places around the room. Merlin narrowed his eyes at the sight, his jaw clenching with concern for Arthur and hatred for that little snake. What was Mordred doing to Arthur?

Merlin nearly threw stealth out the window and crashed through the door when he sensed the faint traces of magic on the supplies- ritual supplies, he finally recognized- that Mordred gathered. The only thing that made Merlin hesitate was the lack of magic on Arthur. If the king was already under some sort of spell or enchantment from that treacherous bane posing as a knight, Merlin would be able to sense it.

Then why was Arthur just sitting there and letting Mordred gather objects for a ritual?! Why would he-

"I'm glad that you're taking so well to the basics of the Old Religion, sire. I'm sure that the Disir would be pleased with your progress. Now that you've gotten the hang of the general worship rituals that druids perform to all the gods, we can start focusing more on the rituals and ceremonies specific to Emrys."

Merlin jumped at the mention of his druidic title, knocking over multiple pieces of furniture in his shock. It was only a quickly placed spell to dampen sound that saved him from revealing his presence.

What was Mordred thinking?! Why was he teaching Arthur about Emrys of all people?

Or... was he trying to sow a distrust of Emrys in Arthur? Yes, that was exactly what that nefarious puppet for Morgana was doing. Turning Arthur against his own protector would allow Mordred the opportunity to drive a wedge between them, leaving Arthur vulnerable and Merlin would not allow this!

Merlin called upon his power, the magic always swirling underneath his skin, and aimed it at that snake Mordred, ready to strike him down before his plans could come to fruition. But, before he could direct his magic to strike, Arthur finally spoke.

"Thank you, Mordred. I don't know how I'd do this without you. I cannot regret agreeing to the Disir's demands, of course, but never thought that the worship of the Old Religion was this complex."

Arthur's words made him pause, freezing in his cramped hiding place. So, it wasn't Mordred pushing Arthur into this?

Hm, shame. It looked like Arthur's prophesized killer was still waiting to play his hand. Merlin would smite him with all his might when Mordred finally revealed his true colors, but it seemed like that day was yet to come.

So, it was the Disir at fault for this? They were the ones responsible for this perversion of destiny's will?

Merlin's lips curled with disgust as he watched Mordred instruct Arthur on how to properly pray to Emrys using a talisman. His irritation only increased as that buzzing headache suddenly came back.

Because this?! This was never supposed to happen. Merlin- and by extension, Emrys- was made for Arthur, to guide and protect him as he fulfilled his destiny. The druids could worship him all they liked in the meanwhile, but Arthur was never supposed to kneel before Emrys, never meant to pray to him.

Emrys is Arthur's servant, not the other way around.

This had to stop. Now.

And that's all for now! I hope you all enjoyed this continuation! I'll probably do a part 3, since I have some ideas on where this will go next!

And, as always, thank you for reading through my ramblings! :D

A big thank you to everyone who requested this continuation! I'll try to tag you all here, my apologies if I missed anyone!

@rocks-d-xerxes, @lolazoel, @griffonskies, @error-username-not-available, @thesuperstitiousoldelf

@cute1penny, @naniyo, @bogslob, @mortalmab, @celestella5

@thenerdycupcake, @fangirl553, @kintsugikid-moonysversion, @myjeandoe, @tercais

@rem-the-moth, @chaosofbelievers, @clearancecreedwatersurvival, @caraspud, @princess-of-morkva

@veryroadpartystatesman-blog, @a-line-drawn, @elliesalien, @mentallyblurrychild, @musichooman

@parker-the-archer, @scuttlingsleipnir, @sallygodessjackson, @linotheghost, @herstarlight

@larluce, @rosesareredjaybirdsareblue, @neptunesyellowsands, @that-birdy-chick, @roadsidefury

@merthurogies, @tescont, @rainbowsmagicandshit, @dreamsofapiratelife, @annoyingyaoishipper

@thedragonlies, @achillesuwu, @maeryuu, @bombshell-garden, @isaidno

@collectionoftherest, @auldsusie, @justaz, @icurlybooks, @smileytrinity

[amirmeavid]

hc that merlin did one day actually teach arthur poetry, specifically the oral tradition of ealdor, because Arthur may be extremely well-read, but he's been deprived of genuine connection most of his life so he'd hardly know the basics of folklore, let alone orally spoken poems which were never written down.

Arthur reciprocates this by teaching Merlin the poetry he does know, patiently explaining each word or phrase which merlin doesn't really understand because traditional poetry can be hard.

Leon spots them curled up together in bed Merlin's head in arthur's lap, Arthur holding a book of poetry. He smiles and leaves them alone.

[cinnabon-sweetroll-tiramisu]

Need a fic where Arthur has to get married before he is crowned King, so he's invited countless noblewomen and royal princesses to a competition for his hand in marriage. He doesn't want to however he cannot ignore the traditions set by his ancestors.

Merlin is of course jealous but also amused. He wants to see Arthur happy and if it means helping Arthur find a suitable bride and hiding his feelings of love deeper than before so be it; that is until Arthur pulls Merlin to the side and asks for his help.

Merlin nods, he probably shouldn't have nodded, he should have ran when Arthur began grinning mischievously.

Oh no...I'm not going to like this one bit. Merlin thought.

The Crown Prince tugs Merlin along the corridor towards his sister's chambers where Morgana and Gwen were waiting for their arrival.

Morgana has a sly smirk watching him with eager eyes as Gwen stands beside her with a helpless smile as all three told Merlin, in great detail, what his mission was to be should he choose to accept it. Or should they say the illusion of accepting...they had already decided Merlin was perfect for it.

"You want me to enter the competition as the only male—in a dress might I add—to marry Arthur!?"

Morgana's smirk widens her gaze gleeful as Gwen sends him an encouraging smile, dear friend that Merlin adores but is currently in cahoots with Morgana and Arthur, is now an enemy in his watery eyes. He totally won't make blueberry muffins for her ever again! And don't even get him started on Arthur, that prat. Can't believe he felt sorry for him and wishing him happiness.

Oooohhh I'm so mad! No doubt the dress is Arthur's idea! It was one time, ONE TIME, and he thinks I wear dresses!?

"First off, I'm not a noble. There. End of story. Now if you would excuse me—" Merlin turns around to leave but Arthur quickly grabs him and throws the lad over his shoulder.

"Don't worry ladies I'll convince my—" Arthur fondly pats Merlin's bottom, "—future queen of his role and what he needs to do to win."

"NO LET ME GOOOO—"

[vandalyssm]

Merlin Prompt #2: Immortal Merlin

Merlin: "I shouldn't fall in love with you. I musn't."

Arthur: "Why?"

Merlin: "There'll be a day where you leave and I'll never be the same again."

[Arthur shakes his head.]

Arthur: "Just let yourself love me now," (Arthur's breath brushes against Merlin's lips.) "And never forget how it felt."

[Arthur's tongue licks the roof of his mouth, and Merlin mourns for a day that hasn't yet come.]

[pigfacedbitch]

How Morgana got Arthur to indirectly confess his feelings to Merlin...

Merlin & Morgana : [ hiding in Arthur's bedroom as he sleeps ]

Merlin: Are you sure this will work?

Morgana: Trust me, it will. [ throws a pillow on Arthur's face ] Wake up!

Arthur: [ jolts awake ] What the- Who's there?!

Morgana: [ uses magic to alter her voice ] Arthur Pendragon, Albion is in danger. People in Camelot will perish and the dark forces will destroy everything you hold dear.

Arthur: [ terrified ] Oh my God...

Morgana: You are our greatest hope, the one who can save us all. We are counting on you to help us.

Arthur: Okay?

Morgana: All we need to know is...

Arthur: Yes?

Morgana: The truth. Do you love Merlin?

Arthur: What? No!

Morgana: Don't lie, boy! Even a blind man can see it! Now speak!

Arthur: F-Fine. I love Merlin, so much. For a long time now, but I don't think he feels the same.

Merlin: (๏_๏)

Morgana: YES! Err, I mean thank you. You may sleep again. [ discreetly leaves with Merlin ]

Arthur: That's it? [ waits for a reply but no one answers ] Hey, did I save the world or not?!

Morgana: Arthur's an idiot. [ nudges Merlin ] He's YOUR idiot, though.

Merlin: (｡･ω･｡)

more incorrect quotes here!

[merlinemrys]

remind me to write a mergwenthur fic where merlin and gwen have to pretend to be nobles who are courting for ~some reason~ idk idc but arwen’s together and arthur begrudgingly agreed bc merlin is the only man both he and gwen are okay with doing this façade and arthur has zero belief that this scheme will work bc he’s never really seen merlin court anyone and gwen—while she did have a crush on that awkward country boy when he first arrived at camelot—doesn’t know how merlin would fair in stuff like dancing and romance bc she also hasn’t seen much of him be romantic!

cut to a dance scene where merlin blatantly flirts with gwen and gwen’s all flustered and giggly and wide-eyed bc oh dear gods he’s so attractive and he’s so charming and you have arthur in the corner or whatever swallowing his tongue bc he has never seen merlin act with so much confidence, like he was born to charm his way into people’s lives and he realised he can’t even feel a single ounce of jealousy bc he wonders what it’d feel like to be the object of merlin’s affections.

and when arthur and gwen are alone, gwen admits, her hand coming up to the base of her neck where merlin’s touch lingered, “i didn’t think he’d be so good at courting.” and then she fumbles, continuing, “not that i thought he’d be bad at courting—it’s just that i rarely ever saw him—oh goodness. you know what i mean.”

and arthur laughs and tucks a lock of her hair behind her ear before tipping her chin up. he thinks of merlin and gwen on the dance floor, twirling beautifully and capturing the attention of everyone around them while they only had eyes for each other. “merlin’s full of surprises.”

annddddddd idk i never thought of anything other than this ngl

[multifandombullshitbabes]

21

24

27

And

30

LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

thank you so much, I shall answer these prompts NEOW

21: Fics you wish you could find more of?

Oooohhh more fics involving Gwen, that's for sure. When she's written right she's one of the strongest, most relatable characters imo, 'cause all she wants is for the world to be right and just and kind and everything wants to prove her wrong, but she won't back down from her views. I would also adore more Elyan, just in general. And complete rewrites of the show 'cause the one I'm reading right now is so good I might do one as well. Also modern au's where they're all like secret badass spies or smth, 'cause those are so fucking cool (i am accepting fic recs for ALL of this, please feed me y'all)

24: Everyone knows that fandom doesn’t like uther but what are your feelings about gaius?

I think 1) we need more concrete info about how he was when he was younger, but 2) i think he is severely complicated and wanted what was best of merlin and morgana, but failed the two while also giving them a ton of love. With morgana, he just didnt want her to pursue her power lest she become uther's next victim, cuz gaius cares for the pendragon siblings like his own. With merlin, he was just trying his best with his overpowered nephew, who alos has a destiny regarding his people's genocide's son, and he just doesn't know what to do half the time, kinda like merlin. I didnt like how he lied to merlin n morgana, how he gaslit her and how he made merlin hide and become so anxious abt his magic (and we see what that looks like season 5), but i get it. I really get it. I dont know what i wouldve done if one wrong move could mean the death of two kids he considers his own. I bet he was scared all the time and hated himself for it.

27: Modern Merlin headcanons, if any?

OH BOY. OHHHH BOY. So many. It really depends on what au i have for modern merlin, but I'll give you a few generals:

he's a teacher of sorts; i like the idea that he's kinda collecting magical anomalies and teaching them how to understand their powers and being, since he knows what its like to be afraid of urself, so he's a personal magic teacher. I also rly like my magic elementary school au, since its merlin teaching magic to a bunch of kids, which is adorable

he has officially one cat, a black one called Midnight, that accidentally became immortal along the way and now hes severally attached. I say officially since hes also friends with any other animal that he might come across and they recognise him if he passes them again. disney princess fr

he's figured out his gender and he can turn into a woman if he wants; she looks exactly like merlin, same height, same weight n muscles, the hair is longer cuz merlin likes it that way and her voice is deep and gorgeous

his favourite weapon is a staff or any long distance fighting weapon of the sort; also he looks cool as fuck fighting with it, but thats just a bonus

I'll stop here but i have SO MANY MORE

30: Side character death that makes you the maddest?

Elyan. There was, quite literally, no need for it. I was gonna say Lancelot, since we did not get enough of him, but his death made sense for his character. Elyan? What the fuck was that? It was just for pain and nothing else. What did it add to the story if not just a sad funeral scene and thats it? It just felt like they wanted him gone n found a way, and that pisses me off. I feel like him saving gwen and living would've given such a complex situation when she turns evil, 'cause what if she "confides" more n more in her brother, creating a rift between arthur n elyan, which then creates a rift between arthur n the knights, which would just isolate him further n make him suffer, which is what morgana wanted!! we couldve had protective brother elyan! I think i just wanted more knights in general.

Thank you so much for this ask, I yapped a fuck ton but it was funn

[raviraaa]

#9 of random merlin prompts:

s04e09: Lancelot du Lac AU

Morgana/Gwen or… Morgana/Gwen/Lancelot

When Morgana resurrects Lancelot, things don‘t go according to plan. The plan was to have Lancelot seduce Gwen. The plan she is currently adjusting to is seducing Gwen herself while trapped in Lancelots body. Added bonus is the sufferingly noble knight plaguing her with his thoughts and feelings for Gwen and trying to stop her plan while battling for control over his/their(?) body. It would be much easier if he wasn’t as privy to Morgana‘s thoughts, feelings and deepest desires as she was to his.

[sinivalkoista]

Original idea by @clotpolesanddollopheads.

...

Prince Avor. Hire Merlin. When he left Camelot. Arthur thought the ruddy well not.

[akelafang]

Golden Age King Arthur accidentally gets sent back in time to the beginning of his reign. While making his way to Camelot hoping to find Merlin and figure out how to get back to his own time he runs into Agravaine making his own way to Camelot for the first time. Knowing he was a traitor working for Morgana in his own timeline, Arthur kills him and decides to take his place. No one had seen Agravaine since Ygraine's death, there were no portraits of him in the castle, and Arthur's premature greying hair has to be good for something other than Merlin calling him a silver fox. He can pass as his own uncle and be the caring advisor that young him deserved damn it!

[ramblings-of-a-chaotic-neutral]

An idea that just came to me: an au where Merlin, by virtue of his status as Emrys and a dragonlord, is part fae.

However, he wasn't always fae, so his new powers come as a shock to him when they start appearing soon after he banished Kilgharrah. Still, Merlin starts reading all he can on the fae and their powers, trying to know what to expect, but there aren't many books on the fae available to him in Camelot, so his knowledge is very limited.

So, the next time Arthur took Merlin out for an overnight hunt, Merlin prepared a stew dinner for the both of them, which was nothing out of the ordinary. But, when Arthur ate the stew, something happened, Merlin could feel it. It was like his magic had suddenly grown an extra connection to Arthur, and it was very strange.

What was even stranger was the fact that every time Arthur or one of the knights ate food that he had prepared, Merlin's strange magical connection to them got stronger, like strings of wool being woven together to form a stronger fiber.

By the time Merlin learned about the rules surrounding fae food, it was already far too late. Merlin freaked for a very long time over the fact that he apparently owned all of his friends' souls, and now there was no way to undo it!

However, as time went on and things continued on as they usually did, with all of his friends acting normally towards him and not like they were under any sort of magical compulsion, Merlin slowly relaxed.

Eventually, after a disastrous encounter with a Sidhe in disguise who was trying to trick Arthur into selling his soul, Merlin decided that this might be a good thing. No one else could take his friends' souls if he already owned them.

Besides, he loved all of them! He'd take very good care of their souls, treating all of them with the respect and kindness they deserved.

(Some part of Merlin, buried deep below, cried out in horror at the notion of owning any person's soul, let alone his loved ones', but it was quickly silenced by a new instinct, some foreign logic that now took over his mind. This was his nature, after all.)

And perhaps, one day, Merlin would be correct in that him owning his friends' souls was a blessing instead of a burden. When, one fateful day, Merlin stood at the shores of Avalon holding his king's dying body, he refused to give up Arthur's soul.

Avalon could take Arthur's body if it wanted it that badly; Merlin could always create a new one for his king with his magic alone. But Arthur's soul belonged to Merlin.

Forever.

(And whether this is a good or terrible ending for Arthur is up to you!)

[rainbowsmagicandshit]

Headcanon that when Merlin started working for Arthur, he didn’t know what over half the names of things were—not only the parts of armor, but also just things around the castle and noble/city life—so he’d just make up names for them. When Arthur would ask for something, he’d have to describe what it was he wanted if Merlin didn’t recognize what the thing was by name, and then Merlin would go “oh, you mean the (weird name he came up with)!” and go get it. It always frustrates and annoys Arthur, and he tries to correct Merlin every time. Merlin eventually does learn the names of most of the stuff but still calls everything by the names he came up with because he knows how it annoys Arthur. Arthur still tries to correct him sometimes, but after a few years has accepted that Merlin’s not gonna stop and is doing it on purpose. Arthur will sometimes ask for something and Merlin will “correct” him with “you mean the (wacky name he came up with for it)” and Arthur rolls his eyes throwing something at him or cuffing him over the head as Merlin ducks away with a grin to get what he asked for. Eventually it gets to the point that Arthur adopts Merlin’s names for things without really realizing it. It just saves time. It gets to the point that Arthur will be talking to his knights or some noble or royal and he’ll end up using Merlin weird name for something. No one will know what he’s talking about and ask him to repeat himself. He does and they still look at him confused. He goes to explain what he’s talking about because he’s used to doing so with Merlin, and halfway through his explanation he realizes he called it Merlin’s stupid name and clears his throat and calls it by it’s proper name, a slight blush on his cheeks. No one calls him out on it or says anything to his face because he the prince and then the king, but Arthur stil complains to Merlin about what happened and “this is all your fault!!” while Merlin is grinning and laughing until Arthur has enough and throws something at him.

I just really want these two to have a language together. We get them having “prat,” “dollophead,” “cabbagehead,” etc. but I want it to extend to random objects too. Arthur adopts Merlin’s insults in canon and throws them back at Merlin occasionally, so I wanna see them do it with other stuff also. I think it’s be so funny and cute. Showing that Merlin really has a big impact on Arthur even down to the vocabulary he uses—changed irrevocably forever after. No longer the arrogant prince but the king Merlin made him, using vocabulary from the people rather than just the nobles and royals, setting him apart from his predecessors.

[cinnabon-sweetroll-tiramisu]

Need a story where Arthur is a ghost who follows Merlin around all day and only in dreams can he communicate and touch Merlin. But to Merlin, he thinks it's not real that he's imagining the Arthur in his mind because no way would Arthur, his golden King would ever call him precious or beautiful, it's just wishful thinking on his part.

So Merlin lives a long life without knowing Arthur is there with him, this time it's Arthur's turn to watch and protect Merlin from the shadows as the warlock once did when Arthur was alive.

Arthur could've stayed in Avalon til he was needed yet the urge to return to Merlin is powerful, although he entrusted the care of Camelot into the hands of Guinevere and Leon he could not do the same of Merlin, and only upon his death did he finally realise why.

He was in love with his best friend. Always had been.

And so it is with great stubbornness and a helpful hand from Freya, whom he just found out was Merlin's first love, he frees himself from Avalon and returns as a spirit that guards Merlin's dreams from nightmares and fights off evil creatures that want Merlin's magic or wish to claim Merlin for themselves...and if some of those creatures happen to be humans who wanted to court Merlin well, he's not going to make it easy on them, on his knight's honour he will protect Merlin's virtue!

[onceandfuturelesbian]

(this is a screenshot from instagram)

I NEED THIS AS A MERTHUR FIC !!!!!!

[zazrichor]

a reminder of you (and me)

[merlinemrys]

NOOOO i'm thinking about a post-camlann au with romantic merwen turned romantic mergwenthur 😭🥺 because merlin comes back to camelot after arthur dies and he and gwen struggle with their grief together. they get closer than ever before and navigate this new relationship, but they both automatically leave a space for arthur as if he were there. they both love him dearly and they love each other too and there's a moment when gwen says, "i feel like i'm betraying him." the again, goes unsaid, even though merlin told her that she was enchanted when she kissed lancelot's shade. she still feels like it was her fault. so then merlin takes her hands in his and kisses them tenderly and says, "the thing arthur wanted most in the world was for you to be happy, gwen. are you happy?" and it takes a long, long moment for gwen to answer. she reaches up and traces' merlin's features. "i am." they both miss arthur so much it's like a lost limb, but they love each other enough to make it through the ache of arthur's absence.

BUT THEN. ~magic~ beyond merlin's capabilities brings arthur back to life earlier than planned. but the twist is that while he's dead and in avalon, he watches merlin and gwen get together and he's surprised that he doesn't feel jealousy. just this... undefinable pang in his heart. because merlin's right. he wants gwen to be happy, but the thing merlin missed is that he wants merlin to be happy as well. and if the two people closest to him find comfort between themselves, he gives them his blessing. the only thing he really feels is loss. because he loves them—both of them—and he can so easily see himself slot in the spaces they left.

and then BAM! arthur's back in the living world (don't ask me i'm just here for the drama i can't do logic rn) and then he comes back to camelot and after merlin's various tests on his person, he's home. there's this tension amongst all of them because arthur knows that merlin and gwen are together but neither of them know that arthur knows, so they're trying to keep it a secret or fully stop their relationship which then makes them depressed because they do love each other. and then arthur finally snaps and says, "i watched you two get together in avalon! merlin, if you want to kiss her so badly, do it." and merlin and gwen look at him in shock and merlin's like, "she's your WIFE!" and arthur just rolls his eyes and pulls merlin by his tunic and kisses him. then he lets merlin go and says, "she is. and she loves you and, gods help me, i do too." and gwen comes up and links her hands with both of them and !!! happy polyamorous golden age <3