#merthur bc i said so

[justaz]

a sorcerer who is tired of waiting for emrys to step into who he meant to be, tired of watching him simply protect the once and future king from the shadows, steps in and somehow makes it seem like they killed arthur - perhaps knocking his soul from his body so it seemed lifeless and merlin couldn’t sense him there anymore. merlin becoming enraged and going after the sorcerer, slowly burning away his mortality, burning away merlin, until all thats left is emrys. pure power crackles around him, his eyes pure gold, the world cracking with every step he takes, embers falling from his lips as dragon fire burns in his chest.

arthur waking up, dazed and confused. the knights don’t have time to catch him up as they all trip over themselves trying to follow after merlin. arthur seeing The Emrys towering over a beaten and bloodied sorcerer who is cheering him on, supporting the change they’ve instigated. arthur being the only one to step up and pull merlin back into his body, bringing back his humanity. the winds stop whirling, the earth is healing itself, the fire calms within him. the golden eyes are the last to go.

[seokjinite]

its just . harder and harder for my man to hide it

[worstqueerbaittournament]

Submission message for Stiles and Derek (Teen Wolf): Sterek! The showrunner even had fans vote in polls and promised to make Sterek happen if we won fandom awards! There were promo videos of the two actors cuddling on a ship...

Submission message for Dean: You said destiel was submitted, but can I submit Dean Winchester?

Additional propaganda: say what you want but im still not over the psychic damage of that mtv ad for teen wolf where they put stiles's actor in derek's actor's lap and had them cuddle and shit for votes. please if u have any mercy they will make it to the finals.

They baited us into voting for the MTV choise awards by having the actors literally cuddle on a boat! (Stiles' actor said "we are on a ship")! They promised us if we won, we would get more of the two actors "taking naps together"! Heavily baiting canon sterek if we vote!! AND WE DID!!! And nothing happened. I hate Jeff Davis so much JUST LOOK AT THIS

ik you're trying to run things without too much bias, but I think it's really a tragedy that we're gonna have to choose for slot 5. sterek because it was genuinely wild and is somewhat buried tumblr history (tumblr learned queerbait from sterek, destiel, johnlock, and merthur, you know?), and that tartorte one bc someone's propaganda really blew me out of the water. like, holy moly. I just want other people to know about it now lol

He [Dean] literally checks out other men multiple times, he gets flustered when men flirt with him, one of his biggest heroes are a hot male doctor from a soap opera and a wrestle star AND he "jokingly" hits on Cas multiple times!!!!

[queerofthedagger]

the 'i don't think there's anything I won't forgive you' always stuck with me from your merthur fics but I was wondering (probs bc I like to torture myself lol) what exactly Arthur won't be able to forgive Merlin?

Oh i LOVE this question because I have such thoughts on this and never quite got around to putting them on paper, so to speak, for however much this makes an appearance in my writing!

Because the thing is, realistically, there are absolutely things Arthur wouldn't be able to forgive Merlin. That doesn't necessarily mean he's lying, though, not even that he's deluding himself.

What he's really saying is kind of. More than he's actually saying, which is so terribly Arthur I love it a ridiculous amount (and use it. a lot). What he's saying, really, is "I don't think there is anything that you would do to me that I won't be able to forgive." It's saying, yes you do things that may hurt me, things I may have to forgive you for, but I trust that you will always have a reason, one that, ultimately, I'll be able to understand.

Whether that's the magic, or lying about Ygraine, or Morgana, or Uther's death - all things, even if done out of love, that Arthur had to grapple with - eventually, he at least understands why Merlin did them. He understands that, no matter how misguided and/or how poor the execution, Merlin did them out of love.

So, no matter the pain and betrayed trust, Arthur trusts, still, that he'll be able to forgive it, because he trusts that Merlin loves him enough that he won't do something that Arthur couldn't forgive.

All that said, Merlin would probably have to start killing puppies or something to hit Arthur's limits (and also all the above is true vice versa they're stupidly codependent like that <3)

[earlgreyinpajamas]

merthur fic recs: jealous!arthur

1. Our Drunken Misunderstanding by InkThroughHerVeins       

Arthur and Merlin awake after a night of heavy drinking, jealousy and fun, but they don’t remember a thing including why Merlin’s wearing Arthur’s ring.

~~~

the whole thing lowkey starts bc of arthur’s jealousy, so i think it counts

2. Our Breach of Etiquette by InkThroughHerVeins               

“Are we married?” Merlin asked as he burst through the door of Arthur’s chambers.

Arthur looked up from his parchment. “What?”

“Are. We. Married?”

~~~

the sequel to the fic above, where man really went “ah yes, let me marry my fiance without his knowledge to mark my claim”

3. Charting Stars On A Stained Glass Ceiling by mornmeril (@mornmeril​)

Merlin leads a relatively content life - or as content as is possible under the rule of a magic-hating King. When the arrogant son of said magic-hating King starts becoming a regular at his coffee shop, Merlin is a little puzzled. When said Prince prat then proceeds to ingest a love potion on Merlin's watch that results in him having to move into the Royal Palace as Prince Arthur's (fake) boyfriend, Merlin wonders which deity he has angered. Things only get more complicated from there.

“Welcome to The Drip and Grind, what can I get for you?" “The same thing I always have,” Prince Arthur says, sounding vaguely disdainful and unbearably posh. “One would think you’d remember my order by now." Merlin scowls. He remembers His Haughtiness’ order perfectly well, but sees no reason to inflate an already unbearably large ego. “You’re not my only customer,” Merlin keeps his voice coolly polite; barely. “You realise that’s not the proper way to address me?” And is that a smirk at the corner of the stupid prat’s, stupidly gorgeous mouth? “Apologies, your High-and-Mightiness. Now do you think you can tell me your order or must I divine it from my crystal ball?”

~~~

gahhh the mutual pining!11!11!!! jealousy plays a massive role in a scene to get the plot moving forward, which is just what i like

[casualbluebirdmentality]

Leon's immortality predates the Cup of Life, y'all. he's just Like That

I'm assuming people have probably talked abt this already but if they have, I haven't seen it (i'm relatively new here), so I'm bringing it up myself lol.

(It's important to note here that in the end credits starting from s2e2, Rupert Young has always been referred to as playing Sir Leon, so it is the same character.)

Remember s2e13 The Last Dragonlord, when Arthur asks his knights who among them are willing to ride out with him to fight this big-ass dragon, and Leon is the first to volunteer? And they then show Leon, with Arthur and the others, as they ride out to fight Kilgharrah in that weird-ass square field?

...And then Kilgharrah one-shots literally everyone except for Arthur & Merlin???? And when the two return, they're just like, "yeah all the other knights died valiantly defending the kingdom, very sad" ???????

Personally, I believe this only leaves us with two (2) options:

The writers just straight up Forgot (or maybe ignored) that Leon was one of the knights that died, and just kept writing him in bc he was a well-liked character,

Or,

2. They're therefore implying that, canonically, when Arthur&Merlin got back to Camelot and said that all the knights were dead, they were just straight-up wrong. Which means that Leon had to just... find his own way home, I guess, after having been freshly charbroiled by a fucking dragon.

Merthur: None of the other knights made it, even Leon :(

Leon, covered in burns, wheezing on the ground in that big-ass field: QUIT TELLING PEOPLE I'M DEAD

Merthur: sometimes we can still hear his voice :(

The wiki says that "many believed he'd been killed" when he "was injured by the great dragon," but that "this was ultimately disproven by his return in Series 3"...

...which I believe falls squarely into #2 listed above lmao. He wasn't dead, just injured. They just fucking left him there.

TL;DR: yes, he's immortal, but it's not even from the cup. he's just Built Different

[a-canceled-stamp]

20 Questions for Writers

Thank you @motleyfam, @crows-murder and @selkienight60 for the tags! ^.^

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

22

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

157,488

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mostly DC, but Star Wars, Marvel, Malevolent (Podcast), Good Omens, and MHA make appearances too.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Long Way Down (To The Bottom Of The River)

Then Came the Morning

A Leap of Faith

Talk To Me

There Are Softer Oak Trees

5. Do you respond to comments?

I used to respond to every comment fairly quickly but recently I just haven't had the time :(( I appreciate every single comment though, they bring me such joy 🥹

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

That would be cardboard box - the first (sort of) hurt no comfort I've written >:D

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Probably There Are Softer Oak Trees :)))

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not yet

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do!!!! Or...I'm giving it a shot at least. Not for DC, but for Malevolent. Might post something real soon :3

10. Do you write crossovers?

Nope!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I didn't even know this was a thing before today. That being said, I don't think so??

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, but I would love to collab sometime :3

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

I cannot pick one because I don't really have A favorite. But Stucky (Marvel), DinLuke (Star Wars), Merthur (Merlin), SuperBat (DC), TimKon (DC) and Science Girlfriends (Orphan Black) are all ships I enjoy.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

Dying Is Easy, Living Is Harder. I have many ideas for it but unfortunately, I'm not obsessed enough about the characters to fulfill them lmao. Also An Unexpected Visit bc similar to the previous one I have a lot of ideas, but I just don't think I am talented enough to actually write those ideas.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I've rewritten this answer 10 times, but no version felt right. At one point, I decided I was just gonna skip it. BUT NO. I'm gonna stop worrying about other peepz opinions and just say what I actually believe. And here it is.

I know how to make my writing more immersive with various details like sounds, smells, sensations etc. (and I LOVE doing this. The only issue is I sometimes do it either too much or too little ahdjkhsd)

I am VERY nitpicky. This can seem more like a flaw (and it is), but it has also helped me grow and understand what I like and dislike about my writing. It also means I spend a lot of time editing which makes posting SO much more satisfying (tho sometimes I gotta get those shorter fics out there for the instant serotonin boost lol)

I'm not a huge fan of characters who say/do things that don't make sense considering the genre/plot. Spending more time on this is challenging since I both dislike and SUCK at writing dialogue (why is English so HARD??), but it is also a lot of fun bc I think I am getting better at it.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Well, that part about being nitpicky is obviously a lie bc I didn't realize question 17 was gone ahdjshdkj. But I was the one who noticed it first among my friends so...maybe? Nope lol

English grammar. I have to double check every time I write a message to online friends to make sure what I've written is actually a sentence that makes sense.The thing is - I think I'm pretty good, but I actually suck. One time, I wrote mold wine instead of mulled wine in a fic. Never living that down. This is I think why it takes me so long to edit lmao.

Being too harsh on myself and not allowing myself to feel proud about my accomplishments/comparing my writing to other people. Yes, compared to other fantastic writers I suck, and it will always be like that. It's something I'm still struggling to accept, but I'm getting there!

Writing quickly. Like shutting off my brain and just writing doesn't work for me. I have to be there and edit every single sentence that I don't like, and I think this is why it takes so long for me to finish the first draft. Def gotta work on this!

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Hmm. Instinctively, I think it makes more sense to write something like, "Person A said something in a language I didn't understand" than to write in that language. It's more fun that way. And if both the pov character and I don't understand what Person A saying it makes me sympathize with the pov character more.

That being said, if I ever see someone writing in Swedish in a fic, I will be immensely happy (and horrified)

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Rise of the Guardians on ffn. The fic is still there and is still hot garbage, but I did have a lot of fun writing it.

20. Favourite fic you've written?

I know what my LEAST favorite one is hjkahdsjk. Nah but for real, I love all my fics for very specific reasons. Like I have a sort of emotional connection with all of them depending on where I was in life, how I was feeling emotionally at the time, etc.

My top 3 would probably be Long Way Down (To The Bottom Of The River) bc it was the first fic I put a lot of thought and effort into, There Are Softer Oak Trees bc it makes me soft and fuzzy when I think about it, and cardboard box bc the comments made me fkn cackle.

It feels impossible to tag people who haven't been tagged yet but imma go with @miles2g0, @lurkinglurkerwholurks, @they-reap-what-we-sow, @liverobinreaction, and @bonesbuckleup. No pressure ofc!

[brawngp2009]

please... i can't stop thinking about them... any spare shovson spirk thoughts 🎤

like what is there even to say, really.. i had this Vision a while ago and i shared it with a friend and we talked about how this dynamic is always compelling! i love it, literlly one of my most favourites. the captain and the first officer is a kind of thing that always slaps! some of my other favourite examples besides star trek are "the master and commander" i haven't read the books but from what i've gathered it's basically jack aubrey and dr. maturin slow burn, and another one is "the terror" s1 -- whatever transpired between captain crozier and fitzjames. 10/10 no notes. (also should i add merthur of BBC merlin fame? it kind of fits the narrative in my opinion, and generally like... the knight and some guy who's always with him??? is this anything??)

whenever i see this dynamic im like a dog that has found some garbage on the sidewalk, i grab it and i don't let it go no matter what. and circling back to spirk -- it's one of the pairings i ALWAYS come back to. star trek is just SO deeply ingrained into my brain and into my life (im literally learning klingon for fucks sake and all my friends are aware of that bc i cant shut up! Qapla!) and my legacy on this site (if you've ever seen edits with star trek characters and van gogh painting 'twas i! my doing).

so it was only natural that i took shovson and run with it basically. there are no thoughts, really (you've probably realised that at this point if you are still reading). 've never had one of those. unfamiliar with the concept of thought. BUT there are association, there are vibes, there are similarities, the dots were connecting too well to resist. basically these two fuckers matched my freak EVERYTHING. literally everything. the flirty one and the reserved one? check! the courageous one and the logical one? check! the fighter and the thinker? check! even the damn hair colour thing??? check! bitches are colour-coded, you gotta connect the dots!!!

now i don't know how well shovson could be translated into an actual star trek AU because in my opinion you can't just copy-paste it, you have to sort of warp both universes together or around each other to fit the narrative of your choice. SO NO TAURUS IV. NO TRAUMA. OR AT LEAST NOT THAT MUCH. and like they should remain human, but yes to the kobayashi maru test. jenson would've definitely tried to win or cheat, there's no doubt about it. he seems like the type.

IN CONCLUSION (as if i said anything that makes sense and can be concluded in any way) there is SOMETHING and i'm glad that i'm not the only one who sees that! i shall contemplate about it and maybe, when i familiarize myself with the concept of thought well enough, i will come back here with actual things to say. and not. whatever this is (rambling, straight up mad woman speaking nonsense on the streets about apocalypse).

[chappellcastiel]

whats your favorite arthur ship that isnt merthur or arwen….

✨Merwenthur✨

nah I’m jk i don’t ship Merlin and Gwen so i don’t see that one.

Real answer? Probably arwaine I would have said arlance but they don’t have enough scenes or fics to take arwaines spot. Also like 1/3 of my love for arwaine comes from spite just bc people think they didn’t like each other. And then gwaine died trying to protect Arthur which gives them extra points.

but I also haven’t had enough content of other Arthur ships that aren’t Merthur and Arwen so I can’t really think of anything else😭

if there’s more ships lmk maybe I’ll change me mind☝🏽

[existentialcrisisallthetime]

Some Random Merthur aus I've read over the years

I've seen a lot of people asking for fic recs lately, so I've been going through my history and realized that I've read A LOT of random, non canon-related merthur aus, some of which became some of my favorite fics, so I just wanted to share for anyone interested.

i found you amidst the waves by TheDragon: I'm an absolute sucker for any sort of pirate/merfolk aus and this one absolutely delivered on what I was looking for. So basically, merman!Merlin gets captured by Arthur's crew, and the story covers how their relationship changes on their way to the mainland. It's got angst, and enemies to lovers, and some pretty cool art embedded too.

Tributes by TheAvalonian: Ok, so this is a Hunger Games au. Honestly, I was a bit nervous to read it at first (bc, yk, Hunger Games), but I actually really enjoyed it. It was one of those fics where you end up staying up through 4am bc you NEED to know how it ends. Obviously, warnings for character death and ANGST (so, so much angst), but it's absolutely worth the pain in my opinion.

To Be a Hero by fancyh: On this list, this one's probably my ABSOLUTE favorite, and I haven't found anything quite like it since. So, it's a superhero/vigilante au with detective!arthur thrown in for spice. HIGHLY recommend for anyone that likes all the drama that comes from hiding a secret identity, misunderstandings, Bamf Merlin, that sort of thing. And pining. There's a LOT of pining.

Merlin's Stagnant Cottage by lovelyal: Howl's Moving Castle au. 'nuff said. It's a fun read, and I fell down a rabbit hole of steampunk aus after this (which are really interesting in their own right, so if you're curious you should check out that tag too).

A.S.S. (Agents of Secret Stuff) by supercalvin: This one's a lot lighter than the ones above and is also a series of one-shots in the same universe, so you could theoretically read them out of order if you wanted to. Some are a bit cracky, but that just makes them funnier to me.

I have a lot more than this, so maybe I'll compile a part 2 later. And if anyone has any more recs, let me know!

[booksandpaperss]

so i have a post that got rlly popular in the merthur fandom but it’s not bc of anything I said it’s bc of the essay long reblog thread disagreeing with me 💀💀

[justaz]

the staff in the castle keep a running scoreboard over every argument the king and queen has. the staff is split pretty 50/50 on who they’re rooting for. when merthur get in an argument, literally everybody in the castle starts watching them like it’s a tournament. the staff are biased in their actions and then once either merlin or arthur cave the servants turn and shout out “another point for the king/queen!!” and a cacophony of cheers and groans sound out around the castle.

once arthur got so sucked into work that merlin got annoyed at having to go to sleep and wake up in a cold bed that he stopped visiting/talking with arthur and arthur noticed bc ofc he did and sent gifts to merlin thru the servants and merlin accepted it bc ofc he did but tells the servants to tell arthur that he threw it away bc like hell is he gonna let arthur apologize thru others. he wants arthur to face him like a man and apologize. groveling on his knees is also acceptable. the servants who are on merlin’s side tell the king that merlin does not accept the gifts and seems even more irate with each one, the guards that are on arthur’s side tell him that the servants are lying and that merlin appreciates each gift. arthur gets told that merlin is tearing up his clothes which means arthur has to pay for new ones and he shoots up from his desk and charges towards merlin to get him to stop and that means merlin won their argument. the moment their chamber doors slam shut the servants shout out the queen won

once merlin had to travel to a foreign kingdom and was told to take knights and guards and servants and he was very put out bc he doesn’t need protection nor help, he IS the protection and he can care for himself as he always had. arthur was very insistent he took them. he was very stubborn and said no. with our resident emotionally constipated dollophead, a fight ensued and they spent a couple of nights in separate chambers. lancelot went to merlin and was like “i know you are powerful enough to protect yourself, you know you are powerful enough to protect yourself, and arthur knows you’re powerful enough to protect yourself, but he still wants you to be protected” and merlin is like “if he knows i’m powerful enough to protect myself, he should just let me go on my own. he’s so overbearing and doesn’t really believe i’m capable of anything other than being a clumsy idiot” and lancelot cuts him off and is like “no. remember that one time you took an arrow for him and almost died?” and merlin flushes and is like “that was one time” and lancelot waves him off before continuing “arthur just about died with you. he loves and adores you with his entire being. if you died, so would he. maybe not physically but emotionally and mentally he wouldn’t be arthur anymore. he can’t stand you being injured so he’s sending knights to protect you. if you won’t accept the knights for yourself, at least accept them for arthur” and merlin grumbles but complies and a point gets added to the king’s side of the board

[forsakenmissives]

I know nothing about football but I'd still like to hear about the au :3

see bc i complain and then i don't even know where to start LOL

ok so ig i'll start with the title From the Sidelines and a little description i have, to pique interest heh

Arthur is Camelot FC's star striker and captain. Merlin is the kitman. Life is hardly ever fair.

anyway . i suppose that's. a little misleading. that being said i think this grew into something waaaaay larger than i originally planned @.@ like it was supposed to be a fun little addition to the surprisingly small amt of footballer arthur fics we have but now this fic has double daddy issues (balinor my beloved...), coming out, sports injuries, shitty coaches (aredick die by my sword) and never making the national team. HUH??? i just wanted merthur to fuck on the pitch... (joke) (just in time for fuck him on the field friday)

also there's side stories. like one is when the players get handcuffed tgt for 24hrs but they've got an uneven amt for it and merlin gets roped in

and then there's the valentine's day arwen special that i somehow accidentally made into a statement about arthur's attitude toward his sexuality?? and feelings for merlin??? through his anxiety about his date with gwen????

“All good?” Merlin asks. “Never better,” Arthur replies, then pivots and walks directly into his closet. He stares at his barren shoe rack before he feels hands on his shoulders, and Merlin is turning him around and guiding him back out. “Wrong way,” he hears him say. “Right.” This time, Arthur marches out his room then down the hall to the front door. “I’ll be back.”

i'm allowed to give this info bc i don't know if i'll ever actually post the extras. i dont' even know when i'm gonna finish the main story sjkdfhgjkf

oh yeah another side story takes place in 2007 (that might be the title for it idk) and it's about uther buying camelot fc for arthur's tenth birthday LOL dont question the legaltiy of arthur playing for his father's club. i dont know and i dont care. this is fiction SIMILARLY dont say shit abt arthur being a striker and captain. it's happened before. it's literally fine. dont even worry about it

there's like. ik i rly only talked about the side stories but u have to realize just how much has already gone into this fic and i wouldn't even say i'm halfway done. i don't think i've written out a single match which is also funny bc i've been keeping up with the prem and actually think i can do it now. i just keep dragging my feet abt it lol

i think the hardest part for me is when im gonna have to seriously injure arthur. i didnt want to but i think it's an important way for his and merlin's relationship to progress and also would explain merlin's attitude toward him in january. its less abt injuring him and more abt him having to sit out of games not for like. lineup stats/compatibility reasons

oh my god typing this all out made me realize we haven't met like. half of the guys on the team yet. i was sitting here like "i need to rewatch eps with all the knights bc i dont trust myself to write percy and elyan accurately" but now i just realized i dont even know if mordred is on the like. squad yet or if he's still with the u18s (after a brief check with my info page he is. i'm gonna be sick)

like i said there is a LOT of info on this . sorry this was so long i just needed to ramble a bit and it also made me realize some info i still need to include so yayyy :3 thank you nonny if u have anything u wanna know in specific like fr anything PLEASE ask. i'd love it so much if u asked. u saved my life <3

[worstqueerbaittournament]

Submission message for Sylvie: Sylvie from loki?

Submission message for Sterek: Sterek! The showrunner even had fans vote in polls and promised to make Sterek happen if we won fandom awards! There were promo videos of the two actors cuddling on a ship...

Additional propaganda: say what you want but im still not over the psychic damage of that mtv ad for teen wolf where they put stiles's actor in derek's actor's lap and had them cuddle and shit for votes. please if u have any mercy they will make it to the finals.

They baited us into voting for the MTV choise awards by having the actors literally cuddle on a boat! (Stiles' actor said "we are on a ship")! They promised us if we won, we would get more of the two actors "taking naps together"! Heavily baiting canon sterek if we vote!! AND WE DID!!! And nothing happened. I hate Jeff Davis so much JUST LOOK AT THIS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyV5QziOvYw

ik you're trying to run things without too much bias, but I think it's really a tragedy that we're gonna have to choose for slot 5. sterek because it was genuinely wild and is somewhat buried tumblr history (tumblr learned queerbait from sterek, destiel, johnlock, and merthur, you know?), and that tartorte one bc someone's propaganda really blew me out of the water. like, holy moly. I just want other people to know about it now lol

[inutaffy]

it's starting to look like popular consensus is that merthur isn't actually sun and moon which is so funny bc when I said that I was just trying to piss you off I didn't know I'd be right

leave me alone

[sonny-d]

i am sick and tired of the lack of good accurate smut in the merthur enjoyer community istg the fucking can literally be so important to their dynamic instead of just being inappropriate if u do it right its supposed to be like green eyes said youd be okay first tour sex the pain away bc they grieve different and i havent lowered myself to writing smut yet but istg if smth doesnt change around here i will