#trying to please his father and trying to please Morgana

[thedollopheadofcamelot]

Ah I rambled a bit in the tags but

I think some of Arthur’s tragic flaws are:

His need to have faith in people (Uther, Morgana, Gwen, Agravaine, Merlin, etc.)

His loyalty in others (believing the loyalty mutual)

And he always relied on others morally (especially looking to Merlin and others to make the right decision) rather than believing in himself and deciding for himself what he should believe/how he should act (and this is definitely part of his fatal flaw as a king) (and his relationship to magic was always fluid- he could never fully decide for himself whether it was truly good/evil/neutral (part of that was due to his conditioning and his upbringing))

Good luck on your presentation!

(And you can present what you want to present

I’m just rambling about some of my opinions and like my quick analysis of the series/Arthur) (Trust your instincts/your concept is good)

Im doing a tragic hero presentation for english about arthur pendragon and for his tragic flaw I'm think of doing like. his loyalty to uther. how he sort of did things based on what he thought his father wanted regarding magic and that ultimately led to camlann + his death. but I feel like that might not make sense. so I need assistance...

[keitorin3]

Short: Leon (The Long Suffering)

Arthur: I'm gonna mess with this goofy eared kid.

Leon: *Internally thinking* Why do I feel like Arthur just met his match??

Arthur: He's absolutely terrible, the worst Manservant I've ever seen!

Leon: I'm sure with time he will improve, Sire. It's only been the first week.

Arthur: I've already sacked him, but then changed my mind and re-hired him back.

Leon: Ah... I see... Why?

Arthur:... *Internally thinking* Because I liked the way he looked at me when I won.

Arthur: It was difficult to find good help nowadays.

Leon: Right...

Arthur: Can you believe it, Merlin went and accused himself of being a sorcerer! In front of my father during the council meeting!

Leon: He what?! 😨

Arthur: I know! All because a girl gave him a flower. That idiot. I don't know where his head is at.

Leon: Hold on a second sire, he really said that in front of the King and didn't get executed?? 😧

Arthur: *Waves it off* Yeah, I had to explain that it was cause he had a crush on Gwen. *Mutters to himself* Maybe I should get him some flowers? 🤔

Leon: !? ⁉️❕❔

Arthur: My idiot Manservant got sick and I got him flowers so he'd feel better. 💐

Leon: Arthur, he drank poison for you and you went off to find the antidote. 😑

Arthur: So you think he liked it?

Leon: ... *Takes a deep breath* I'm sure he did Sire.

Arthur: 😁 See! I take care of my servants~

Arthur: *Breaks into Leon's room*

Leon: *Jumps in fright* ⁉️

Arthur: I can't believe him!

Leon: What is it? Is there an attack Sire? Something happened with the King?

Arthur: No! It's that insolent brat Merlin. He came back with some guy, singing him praises and wants me to make him a knight?!😤

Leon: *Thinking* Is this really worth barging into my chambers? 😮‍💨

Leon: Really, then what did you do? 😑

Arthur: Ha, had the guy cleaning the stables.

Leon: 🤦🏼‍♂️

Leon: *Watches as Arthur sits with goofy smile and practically hearts in his eyes*

Leon: Sire?

Arthur: Isn't it the loveliest day to go out for a picnic? 🥰

Leon: Yes Sire, it is indeed.

Arthur: *Nods* I had Merlin pack a picnic for me and the lady Sofia. Where gonna go later today.

Leon: *Confused and concerned* But don't you have a meeting with the King today?

Arthur: *Waves it off* It's fine, I have Merlin to cover for me!

Leon: *Thinking* Oh boy...

[LATER]

Merlin: *Coming back from the stocks* I'm gonna kill that cabbagehead! 😠💢

Arthur: *Walks in* Merlin~! 🥰💐🌈

Merlin: 🌩️🔪😠

Leon: *Makes a break for it*

Leon: *Walks by Morgana's room*

Morgana: Please Arthur he just a boy and he's sick! 🥺

Arthur: I'm sorry Morgana, but my father is looking for him and if he were to find out you harboured a druid, you'll not only get into trouble but so would Gwen and Merlin.

Morgana: *Angry* 😠

Merlin: *Steps in* Please Arthur, we can't let the King kill him. 🥺

Arthur: ... *Turns away* I saw nothing, heard nothing. I've got to look for the Druid boy because clearly he isn't here. *Leaves room without noticing Leon*

Morgana: Tsk, of course he'd listen to Merlin.

Gwen: *Giggles*

Merlin: Arthur has a good heart. Of course he'd help. *The face of loyalty and innocence*

Morgana: 😏 He followed his heart alright. I'll remember next time to have you around to convince him for some things.

Merlin: 🤨❔❔ What do you mean?

Leon: *Overhears and follows his princes lead and continues like nothing happened*

Leon: *Witnessed Merlin doing Sorcery, trying to burn the Black Knight and fails*

Leon: ... I saw nothing. Just tired eyes. Yup, nothing here. *Mutters* Not like Arthur would believe it, or even care.

Uther: Where is my son and ward?! 😠

Leon: They've decided on a friendly hunting trip, they'll be gone for several days.

Leon: *Internally* They went after Merlin to his home village to fight bandits alone. And I'm not gonna say anything because

1. You'll blame Merlin and send him away

2. Merlin's a sorcerer who you'll kill if you knew

3. If any of the above happens Arthur might likely kill you and that'll be a worse headache then his pinning.

Uther: Those brats!

Leon: *Thinking* I couldn't agree more.

[LATER]

Arthur: If I ever retire from royalty, I think I'd like to live as a farmer.

Leon: Ah, is that so?

Arthur: Yup. Of course, Merlin would be there to do the work.

Leon: 😓

Arthur: But I'll get him Cows and chickens, maybe even a horse. He has a soft spot for animals.

Arthur: Merlin's mad at me. He started talking politely to me Leon! Politely. As in using my titles instead of insults. Even avoids looking at me in the eyes. 😟

Leon: 😬 Oof, what did you do?

Arthur: He's angry at me after killing the Unicorn. 😟

Leon: ... That would do it.

Arthur: What do I do Leon!

Leon: Try giving him some space for now and maybe flowers, you've said Merlin likes those.

Arthur: Alright!

[LATER]

Arthur: Merlin's not avoiding me anymore. 😊

Leon: Great to hear, what happened?

Arthur: We faced off the sorcerer of the Unicorns and I drank fake poison before Merlin could.

Leon: ... What?! 😱

Arthur: It's fine. Merlin's still mad about that but now he insults me about my intellect being the size of a peanut. ☺️🌈✨

Leon: I'm almost inclined to agree with him Sire.

Leon: *Spots Merlin and follows him to the Isles*

Nimueh: For a life to be saved, another life must be forfeited.

Merlin: He's my friend. I'd gladly give my life for him.

Leon: *Thinking* God these two are cut by the same cloth. I'm gonna go fully grey by 30.

[LATER]

Arthur: 🥰 Merlin said the most weirdest thing. He said he'd serve me for the rest of his life. That he was happy to be with me. ❤️🥰

Leon: *Bore witness to Merlins power and dedication to his loved ones*

Leon: He cares for you Sire. Would hardly leave your side if he didn't need to help Gaius make your cure.

Arthur: ☺️ Don't tell Merlin this, but I think Merlin's my best friend.

Leon: *Internally swears on his honor as a knight to support Merlin however he could and potentially get his prince to be less of an idiot. Hopefully*

Merlin: *Sneezes*

Gaius: You alright my boy?

Merlin: *Sniffs and shurgs* I'm alright.

Gaius: Hmm, some say that when you sneezing abruptly, it's because someone is talking about you at the moment.

Merlin: Ugh, probably Arthur talking about all the chores he has in stored for me. 😮‍💨

[that-nerd-who-writes-fanfiction]

I wanna write a really mundane magic reveal.

This has definitely been done before (please send fic recs) but I’m procrastinating and really want to write it.

Literally nothing is happening, Arthur is having a bath, Merlin is tidying up in his chambers one night and everything is basically fine.

Arthur asks Merlin how he manages to always get the bath water perfect and Merlin jokingly says “must be magic” while he’s distracted, Arthur stops and starts thinking about all the fallen tree branches, how his armour is perfect and even if Merlin is late, his food is always hot.

So Arthur realises Merlin is a sorcerer, but not a very good one if all he can do is boring stuff with chores. And if he’s not using magic to defeat all the bandits, it must be because he can’t defeat all the bandits. Not that he’s trying not to die or anything. In fact, the thought of killing Merlin, or of Merlin being punished for his magic, never even crosses his mind.

Arthur shrugs, because Merlin made the joke before, it was just his fault for not noticing it, also his father is still king, so it’s probably for the best that Merlin never said anything, and he tells Merlin to be careful about his magic and to only use it if he’s locked the door.

Merlin’s too shocked by the easy acceptance to panic, so he’s just like: “you’re cool with it?”

And Arthur, oblivious but in love, is just like “well, at least you’re good at something.” Because, sure, Merlin isn’t powerful, but he’s not about to piss off the guy who gives him perfect baths. Then he’s like, “maybe figure out how to lie so my father doesn’t find out about you though. We can figure out the ban once I’m king”

I’m picturing this to be in early/mid season two. Morgana never turns evil, Merlin helps her with her magic because I said so.

So Merlin and Arthur have a while for Arthur getting used to Merlin magically lighting fires, sharpening his sword, adding protection charms to his armour, heating his baths, removing stains from his clothes and even putting them back to being like new if they lost buttons or anything.

Then they go to find the dragonlord, Balinor survives also because I said so.

Merlin tells Arthur Balinor is his father in the inn before they meet him. Arthur is a little worried for Merlin, but ultimately happy for his friend.

Then Merlin uses magic infront of Balinor and Arthur after Merlin told Balinor that he’s his son. Balinor shoves Merlin behind him protectively and Arthur is confused, “why would anyone assume he’d hurt Merlin? It’s Merlin. If anything, he’s more useful as a servant and more honest as a friend since he found out about the magic.”

Balinor is floored by it, and starts treating Arthur a lot better. Arthur gets to ask about pre purge stuff, Balinor tells him a bit about his mother from when her parents visited his when they were kids, then about Ygraine visiting the dragons and how she, Balinor and others in court at the time were friends.

They take him to Ealdor after the dragon is defeated/banished and Arthur looks over at Merlin and realises “oh my god, you summoned the wind.”

And Merlin is like, “yeah? No big deal.”

So Arthur is left wondering why Merlin is downplaying what he thinks is the strongest bit of magic he’s ever done. He comes to the conclusion that Merlin is embarrassed that it was a fluke, he tries to reassure Merlin that he can always practice and learn to do stronger magic like that. Merlin is confused because the wind wasn’t strong magic?

Balinor realises what’s happening and decides he wants nothing to do with it so he stays quiet. (He’s already sensed a lot of power from Merlin, so he knows he’s strong.)

Anyway, they keep going to Ealdor. Merlin still hasn’t caught onto the fact that Arthur thinks he’s a weak sorcerer, Arthur hasn’t caught on to Merlin being strong and just thinks he’s a little bit embarrassed about not being that strong of a sorcerer.

Then they get to Ealdor, everything is great for about two days until it starts down-pouring. Enough rain to flood the village and everyone is worried because Cenred or Lot(?)(I don’t remember when Cenred dies in canon) isn’t going to do anything because he just doesn’t care so their fields will flood and they’ll starve and not be able to afford taxes.

Arthur tries to reassure Merlin that it’s okay, but Merlin just hums. He asks Arthur if they can still lie and say they were on a hunting trip if he does something about the rain, Arthur tells him he shouldn’t push himself or anything, but Merlin says he won’t and Arthur trusts him so it’s fine. Merlin then goes outside and casually stops the rain, clearing the clouds and moving the rainwater into the river.

Arthur is shook.

Then he’s got to realise that Merlin is powerful, but again he never lied about it so he can’t really get mad, so he decides it’s better to just be shocked and carry on as usual until he gets used to the idea that Merlin is stronger than he looks.

There’s also a little bit of a bi panic in there somewhere because Arthur definitely has a thing for competency. We all saw his crushes on Gwen, Merlin, Lancelot, Mithian if she wasn’t just the wrong person for him, I’m pretty sure Percival too. There’s definitely others I haven’t noticed or forgot about. You get the idea though.

He sees Merlin being good at Magic and is suddenly very confused by the feelings he’s too emotionally stunted to recognise. Even if it’s just small things, Merlin is good at something and ‘what the hell happened to the bumbling idiot who forgot to hand him his sword the first day? What? Huh?’

Then after he accepts Merlin is really good at magic, he decides: “great! He can train with me now! :D” and he drags Merlin out of Camelot to spar which is basically just Merlin teaching Arthur how to defend himself against magical attacks. Arthur thinks he’s helping Merlin to protect himself because ‘if all he can do is wind that’s hardly an offensive attack so he needs more help mastering that. And considering no one else knows, it’s my responsibility to make sure he’s safe if he ever needs it.’

Merlin is just glad to be accepted and that Arthur is willing to learn how to protect himself against the numerous magical attacks every week so he lets Arthur think whatever he wants about why they’re sparring.

But yeah, there’s minimal trauma, it’s not a big deal and they get the happily ever after they deserved.

[ramblings-of-a-chaotic-neutral]

Another Merlin au prompt! This time featuring Morgana, because I haven't been giving her enough love recently!

EDIT: You can find part two of this au here!

In a season 4 au, the Cailleach never tells Morgana that Emrys is her destiny and her doom. Instead, she merely tells Morgana that Emrys is her destiny. So, instead of fearing Emrys, Morgana believes that Emrys is the key to achieving her destiny and conquering Camelot. Thus, she starts her hunt to try and find an ally in Emrys.

Through the Druids and the Catha, Morgana learns that Emrys is the Old Religion's god of magic and is destined to come to the mortal plane in the form of a human to bring magic back to the land after a great tragedy. Morgana hadn't heard of Emrys before since Morgause (in her hubris) did not focus on educating Morgana in the gods and goddesses that they were supposed to worship, instead focusing on teaching her powerful, dark magic and battle strategies against their enemies.

So, Morgana spends most of seasons 4 trying to find Emrys and ally herself to him. Morgana eventually learns from a druid that defected to her cause that Emrys has already taken his human form and lives in Camelot, working in secret to bring about magic's return to the land. Morgana was shocked by this, since it was possible that Emrys had been in Camelot even before she knew of her magic, but also pleased, as having Emrys already established inside Camelot would make a takeover much easier!

Morgana, from there, starts attributing her every victory and defeat to Emrys in some way. She succeeds in killing Uther through the enchanted necklace? Emrys must have been in on her plans and delivered the final blow while Arthur trusted him to try to heal his father! Her plan to drive Arthur and Gwen apart through shade Lancelot succeeds? Because Emrys ensured that no one suspected the shade before he did his job, of course! Her magic fails during her takeover of Camelot? Emrys must be angry with her for trying to conquer Camelot without him! She makes it out of Camelot alive even without her magic? Praise Emrys!

Morgana's beliefs are further solidified when Aithusa heals her. She asks Aithusa who she is, how is there another dragon? Aithusa is too young to speak, but she instead shares images and ideas with Morgana. In Aithusa's memories, Morgana couldn't quite see the face of the dragonlord who hatched Aithusa, but she knew how that magical power felt! It must have been Emrys, as the druids also told her that he was the last dragonlord! He must have sent this young dragon, his own kin, to heal Morgana and keep her safe before their destinies came to fruition!

When they're captured by Sarrum, Aithusa called out for her dragonlord, and after a couple hours in that damned well, a golden light filled the entire space, and their magic-binding chains were removed, allowing them to climb out of the pit and escape. There was no doubt in Morgana's mind that Emrys was the one who saved him, but to her disappointment, he was not there when they escaped.

(Merlin, back in Camelot, performed a ritual to send his magic to aid Aithusa, wherever she was. He could sense her cries and her fear, but he couldn't pin down her location, so this was his only way of sending help.)

By season 5, Morgana's patience was growing thin. She knew that Emrys probably had some grand, years-long plan for how they were going to conquer Camelot and let magic reign, but she wanted the throne that was rightfully hers! But to do that, she needed Emrys. So, she sought out the Diamiar to ask how she could find Emrys. Unfortunately, she never found the Diamiar and was forced to retreat.

Fast forward to Kara being captured and Mordred begging for her life and getting locked up with her. In this au, Merlin helps break Mordred and Kara out of the dungeon and helps them leave Camelot safely, leading to Mordred not growing bitter against Merlin, but still holding animosity towards Arthur for not being merciful towards Kara.

Kara takes advantage of Mordred's newfound anger towards Arthur and convinces him to join Morgana's forces. Morgana welcomes Mordred with open arms, but he's hesitant to tell her Emrys's true identity after Merlin saved him and Kara. However, after Morgana tells him that the only way that they can defeat Arthur is with Emrys fighting alongside them, Mordred reluctantly tells Morgana Emrys's true name: Merlin.

Morgana is absolutely shook by this news. How could her ultimate ally, the key to her victory, be one of her worst enemies?! He was Arthur's most loyal lacky! He saved Arthur's life repeatedly, keeping her from the throne! He had poisoned her!

Morgana was in absolute denial over this news, until she started thinking over it. When she had first told Merlin about her magic, he had tried to help her and led her to the druids. Yes, he had poisoned her, but that was the last push she needed to join Morgause. Perhaps that was his plan from the beginning? To ensure that she joined her sister and fulfilled her destiny in becoming a high priestess?

And his position as Arthur's closest confidant and servant gave him the anonymity to not be noticed by the nobility and the perfect place to manipulate Arthur, weakening him and his kingdom from within! Emrys truly was a mastermind with a plan to take down Camelot! And to think, she had fallen for his disguise as a cowardly servant as well! He was effortlessly playing all of Camelot for fools!

And oh, Morgana could see his vision! Emrys- Merlin- would crush Arthur's heart, his very soul, by revealing his power and his glorious destiny of returning magic to the land. All Merlin would have to do was pull the rug out from underneath Arthur, and Arthur would be so heartbroken and weakened by the betrayal that Camelot would be ripe for the taking!

Perhaps Merlin would revel in Arthur's humiliation? Wrap obedience spells around the king's mind and make Arthur his servant? What glorious justice that would be!

The most powerful sorcerer in history, magic incarnate, living in Camelot and having the absolute trust of the king! Everything was poised so perfectly! Morgana had to give Emrys credit for this, he had set everything up, from Morgana's rise to her true power to surrounding Arthur with commoner knights who owed more to Merlin than they did to the king, so that Arthur's end and magic's rise was inevitable. She did wish he would have told her about his plans sooner though. They could have been working together all this time!

Still, this meant that all of the pieces for magic's takeover of Camelot were in place! All she had to do was reach out to Emrys and let him know that she was ready, and they could conquer Camelot!

Mordred tries to warn her that Merlin is trying to fulfill the prophecy is a different, more peaceful way than what she has in mind, but Morgana brushes that aside. Emrys was her destiny, the key to her success!

However, after luring Merlin into the crystal cave and finally offering an alliance with him so they could take over Camelot, Morgana was shocked to be vehemently rejected by Merlin, with Merlin telling her that there was no way that he would ever betray Arthur, Emrys or not.

Morgana was not really expecting that and was forced to revise her plans. She needed Merlin to be on her side if she was going to have any chance at taking the throne from her undeserving brother, but Merlin, despite all of his power and destiny, was reluctant to join her and take his rightful place of power.

It was rather confusing for Morgana. Why would Emrys truly want Arthur on the throne? Was Arthur already his thrall, and he didn't want to lose his puppet king? No, if Emrys had Arthur under his power, magic would already be returned to the land.

Perhaps it was some sort of odd affection that Merlin had towards Arthur? That must be it! Merlin had been forced to tolerate Arthur for so long that some sort of forced feelings of connection towards Arthur had wormed their way into Emrys's heart!

So, Morgana goes on a campaign to win Merlin's loyalty over to her by 1) trying to undermine Arthur's rule and make his look like a fool and 2) make herself look like the better option. She has dozens of spies in Camelot and has sorcerers who can scry for her, so she knows when Arthur treats Merlin like a fool and dismisses his thoughts like an arrogant prat, and she chooses those days to send Merlin gifts, like spell books filled with useful curses, enchanted jewelry to make him more powerful, and the severed head of an assassin who managed to land a cut on Merlin while he was trying to kill Arthur (on Morgana's orders, but that's just semantics).

Morgana also sees how Merlin's living situation with Gaius isn't great, so she sends him things like new luxurious clothes and rich foods, which are things that she supposes that he'll have to get used to after he takes his rightful place as the conqueror of Camelot.

Merlin, however, remains suspicious of these gifts and knows that Morgana is trying to tempt him to her side, so he ignores them for the most part. Eventually, Arthur finds out about Morgana trying to bribe his manservant with extravagant gifts and loses his mind over it. He knows that Merlin would never betray Camelot to the likes of Morgana, but the fact that Morgana has set her sights on Merlin puts him very ill at ease.

And this, of course, devolves into a tense game of tug-of-war between the Pendragon siblings. Both of them are tripping over themselves trying to prove themselves to be more deserving of Merlin's loyalty, while Merlin just wants to go back to sleep.

Let me know if you'd like to see a continuation of this prompt! I think that seeing a high-stakes sibling rivalry between Arthur and Morgana over Merlin would be pretty funny!

EDIT: You can find part two of this au here!

Also, please let me know if there are any other Merlin characters you'd like me to feature! I'm working on some Gwen-focused and Lancelot-focused prompts, but let me know if there are any others you'd like to see!

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

[larluce]

Arthur and Merlin travel back in time without knowing the other is from the future too AU

Tagging @stalesaltinecracker cause he asked for more, and @an-entity-i-think since she made a valid question

ENLACES A LAS OTRAS PARTES DE ESTE AU AQUÍ: PARTE 1 , PARTE 2 , PARTE 3 , PARTE 4 (estás aquí), PARTE 5

In "Valiant"

Arthur: (Impacient and worried cause Merlin hasn't told him about Valiant's echanted shield yet) Is there something you want to tell me?

Merlin: (who decided to not tell Arthur about the shield this time around so he won't embarrased him again) No.

Arthur: I know something is bothering you.

Merlin: Nothing is bothering me.

Arthur: (hurt) Don't you trust me? (thinking) Have I not been worth of your trust again?

Merlin: Of course I trust you! Arthur, I trust you with my life!

Arthur: Then tell me what's wrong! Why were you sneaking out of Valiant's chambers yesterday?

Merlin:(cursing internally that this Arthur somehow is more observant, but still says nothing)...

Arthur: Merlin, please.

Merlin: (puzzled and touched Arthur is saying "please" to him and he finally sighs, giving up cause he always hated lying to Arthur anyway) Valiant's been cheating, he has a magic shield.

Arthur: (hiding his relief Merlin finally told him) Why do you think that?

Merlin: I saw it. The snakes coming out of his shield. Gaius thinks Valiant used them to posioned Sir Ewan. But I don't have any proof, I get if you don't believ-

Arthur: I believe you.

Merlin: ... really? But I'm just a servant, I'm not-

Arthur: (fondly, holding Merlin's hands) Don't ever say that again. You're more than a servant to me. Always.

Merlin: (getting lost into his eyes, blushing)

Merlin: (snapping out of it) Ahmm... Then what will you do?

Arthur: There's not point in bothering my father with this without proof. Now that I know what I'm getting into, I'll know what to look out for.

Merlin: (smiling confident, cause he has the spell to expose Valiant prepared) I'm sure you'll beat him up easily.

In "The Mark of Nimueh"

Merlin: (going to the cavern alone to fight the Afanc himself, a torch in hand) Arthur?

Arthur: (doing the very same thing, a torch in hand as well) Merlin?

Merlin: What are you doing here?

Arthur: I was... strolling.

Merlin: In the vaults underneath the castle?

Arthur: It's my castle. What are YOU doing here?

Merlin: I was... taking samples.

Arthur: Taking samples.

Merlin: Yeah, apparently the sickness is spreading through water. So I was taking samples to find out with Gaius what's causing it.

Arthur: The well is several meters behind, Merlin.

Merlin: Ah... I got lost.

Arthur: (rolling his eyes) Only you, Merlin. (taking Merlin by the wrist) It's not safe for you here. I'm getting you out. (starts walking)

Merlin: (trying to free from his grip) What? No! I need to-

The Afanc roars, making its appareance.

Arthur and Merlin: Shit...

In "The Gates of Avalon"

Both Morgana and Merlin looking Sophia from afar.

Morgana: Who is that?

Merlin: (kind of mad he couldn't prevent the sidhes from entering the castle again, but hiding his discontent) Sophia Tirmawr. Arthur rescued her in the woods.

Morgana: She can't stay here.

Merlin: Well, she and her father are guests in the castle now.(seeing his chance) You had a nightmare about her?

Morgana: (surprised) How do you know about my nightmares?!

Merlin: Gaius.

Morgana: Right... (sighs) You must think I'm crazy.

Merlin: I don't. I also have a bad feeling about her.

Morgana: Really?

Merlin: It just seems pretty convenient. Escaping from raiders in Tír-Mòr? A kingdom too far away to corroborate any of that story? I don't believe she is who she claims to be.

Morgana: (opening up, feeling safe and understood by Merlin) In my dream she drowned Arthur in a lake. I'm scared, Merlin. My nightmares always come true. Always!

Merlin: I already warned Arthur about her. He gave her the chambers far away from his. But I think you should talk to him about this.

Morgana: (laughs dryly) No, he won't believe me. He'll laugh at my face for sure. (thinking) And he's been too cold to me lately for some reason.

Merlin: There's no harm in trying. He might surprised you. (thinking) If this Arthur is nicer to me, he'll defenitely be nicer to her.

Morgana: Alright, I'll try.

...

Morgana: Arthur, I need to speak with you. It's about Sophia.

Arthur: (Who spied on her when she threatened Sophia in the hallway and still doesn't know how to feel about it) You're starting to sound like Merlin. Do you have a bad feeling about her too?

Morgana: She isn't what she seems.

Arthur: Why? What makes you say that?

Morgana: I just... have a feeling. It's difficult to describe.

Arthur: Try me.

Morgana: I had a dream. A nightmare. She drowned you in a lake. She killed you, Arthur.

Arthur: And why would that be a bad thing?

Morgana: (confused)... what?

Arthur: Don't you want me dead, Morgana?

Morgana: (horrified) No! Of course not! Why would you say that?

Arthur: (shakes his head) Nothing. Forget I said anything.

Morgana: (firmly) No. Arthur, listen to me. (holds his face and Arthur forces himself not to flinch) I don't know what's happening in that head of yours, but let me get this straight. I love you and I care for you. You're like a brother to me. I would cut all my limbs before letting anything happen to you!

Arthur: (with teary eyes, but forcing himself not to cry) You're just saying that.

Morgana: It's the truth.

Arthur: (his voice almost breaking) So you don't hate me?

Morgana: What made you think-(opens her eyes wide in fury) It was her, wasn't she? She put that idea in your head! (starts stomping out of the chambers)

Arthur: (stops her) Hey! Where are you going?

Morgana: I'm going to kill her! No, first I'm going to drag her by the hair through all the castle to let her know what happens when you mess with people's minds!

Arthur: (Shocked for a second at Morgana's thirst for blood and revenge not being drawn at him, but for him. And then he laughs, laughs and laughs)

Morgana: Why are you laughing? (starts to question his sanity, worried) Are you Okay?

Arthur: (stops laughing and smiles) Yes, I am now. Thank you.

[chipinabag]

What would have happened of hunith did talk about balinor to merlin growing up?

I don't know if someone has made this a fic, if so please comment or something. It doesn't even have to be merthur.

Would merlin grow to be hateful and want to seek revenge on the pendragons? And how will that go when he finds out he is destined to protect the son of the man who caused his father to leave them? Would it take longer to become friends with arthur? Would he get made Arthur's manservant, and not go?

Arthur is already curious of merlin, the man who sassed him even after he found out who he was, and basically tries to become merlin's friend. Like he doesn't know why he wants to become merlin's friend but he tries everything. Merlin is a stubborn person so he will put a mask of hating arthur but secretly wants to see how far arthur is willing to go to be his friend. All while he is saving Arthur's life... but like on accident. Like he stubbles on the bad guys plans and is like, well I'm already here.

I also would find it funny, even if it was out of character If uther sees his son trying to become merlin's friend and merlin is not having it. He's curious now and watches, "why doesn't gaius' nephew not want my son's friend?" "Gaius is my friend, gaius says his nephew is nice and has already become friends with morgana and her maid. Why not my son? Why does he look at me like that? He kinda looks at me like how morgana looks at me when she's mad at me... they look alike. Did I sleep with gaius' sister? No, I'm 100% sure of it. Why does he look familiar?"

So now uther asked arthur about his mission on becoming merlin's friend, and uses "he is gaius' nephew and his apprentice, he's going to be your physician if something where to happen to giaus. You must be friendly to the person who is handing your health.", as an excuse to know more about merlin.

At somepoint I feel like merlin learns that arthur is not his father and learns to tolerate him. But like if arthur brings up his father in any conversation, he just turns slightly treasonous. And when he has to be in the same room as uther he just ignores him and exclusively speaks to arthur. Uther gets slightly angry at this, and it has landed him a night in the dungeons a couple of times.

(Oh and like lancelot learns why merlin hates uther and also doesn't speak to uther. Idk what broken timeline im thinking of but i love this idea. The most friendly knight hating on one person.)

I don't where else this can go but if someone where to do something with this or something similar that would be cool. Tag me or something my ao3 is in my bio.

[captainkirkk]

🦇🎃 WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP 🎃🦇

All the fics I’ve read and really enjoyed in the past week-ish. Reminder: This list features any and all ratings and themes. Please look at tags and warnings on ao3 before reading.

Merlin

The Hunt for Red Emrys by darkbluedark

King Arthur sets out to keep his promise to the spirit of the Druid boy by repealing his father's ban on magic. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done, for reasons including but not limited to the following:

(1) He can't change the law until he understands magic better, but no sorcerer is willing to explain magic to him until he changes the law;

(2) The sorcerers all have some strange obsession with Merlin, which is awakening all sorts of feelings in Arthur that he really doesn't fancy examining too closely;

(3) He is starting to feel like the butt of some Druid-population-wide inside joke involving the mysterious phenomenon called Emrys; and

(4) Oh yeah, Morgana is still trying to kill him.

Thus he embarks on a journey of discovery, diplomacy, accountability, and self-improvement, and maybe even falls in love along the way.

Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-Kun

Kalego-sensei is...dead? by IcyPheonix

The Misfits come to school one day to discover that they have, a substitute teacher. They decide that this can only mean one thing; Kalego-sensei, has died.

He hasn't but that's not gonna stop them from pretending he has of course.

SVSSS

The Moon's Beloved Shadow by mofumofu

Shen Qingqiu is a man who hides his twin brother from the world with the ferocity of a phoenix-eyed mother crane.

Shen Yuan is a helpless transmigrator who wishes Airplane-bro had given even a single bit of backstory for this side character he's inhabiting!

Luo Binghe isn't doomed to face the Endless Abyss, but he is forced to confront something infinitely more frustrating: an overly protective brother.

Natsume Yuujinchou

What Colors Do You See In This Monochrome World by mermorgie.

Natori's voice brought him back to the present. "You alright there, Natsume?" The look the exorcist was giving him was warm and a tad concerned. Natsume gave him a small, but earnest smile. "I'm fine, Natori-san. Just a bit nervous." This was the truth. He had no idea why the head of the Matoba Clan invited him this time, but he was sure that the man was up to no good.

Or: Natsume gets invited to an exorcist meeting. He is not too happy about it, but at least the view is great.

Harry Potter

Three's Family by darkbluedark

It’s May 1979 and the Order has just apprehended a pair of mysterious wizards who look remarkably like a Potter and a Malfoy. Naturally, James Potter and Sirius Black are called in to identify the strangely familiar strangers and determine their backgrounds and loyalties.

(This would be a lot easier if their captives weren’t convinced everyone they talk to is dead. It would also be easier if they didn’t spend half their bloody time bickering.)

-

“Just ask them questions only they would know the answer to,” Malfoy suggests.

“There’s not a single thing that I know about either of them from the first war that any old Death Eater couldn’t find out.”

“How is that possible?” Malfoy huffs. “He’s your father!”

“Am I or am I not famously an orphan?” Potter snarls.

Once More Unto The Boggart by darkbluedark

Professor Lupin let out his breath very slowly. “So this is why you think you’ve been struggling to make progress with the Patronus charm? Because a part of you wants to let the dementor close, in a way, in order to hear your parents?”

Harry nodded again, though more guiltily this time. “I want to let the boggart out, just once, and, er, not cast the charm."

Those Who Have Seen by darkbluedark

Only those who have seen death can see thestrals.

It turns out, thestrals look different for those who have seen Death.

[thefollow-spot]

Feinting

|| Morgana & Arthur ● G ● WC: 500 ● No Warnings ||

Summary: She hates him; it infuriates her that he looks sad: as if this isn’t his fault. // Written for @merlinmicrofic, for the prompt, 'You wouldn't'.

---

It’s inevitable: Arthur will always seem a boy king; Morgana’s memories of his ungainly youth are too vivid. Years pile on them both—it doesn’t help. As he sits across from her cell, his robes bunch around him like a bleeding carnation, and he seems small.

“What if I set you free?” he says, at last. Morgana scoffs, then sees he’s not joking.

“…You wouldn’t be so foolish.”

“I might be,” Arthur says.

Today, he speaks to the space between his heels, bows his neck like he’s the one chained. Why he’s still trying is beyond her. Perhaps he’s just out of his depth—each time he makes this descent it becomes clearer. Chipped stone; stale air; Morgana loses track of the weeks.

“Don’t tell me you’ve already run out of inane conditions,” she says.

“Well, you won’t agree to any conditions, will you?”

Yes, she’s proud of that.

They meet eyes: he’s like sun-dappled leaves, like rich cloth. She can only imagine herself in his eyes: festering and deathlike. She hates him; it infuriates her that he looks sad: as if this isn’t his fault.

She spits, “I’m not Merlin.”

His face puckers. “What the hell does that mean, Morgana?”  

She’s uninterested in being kept. Merlin: Arthur’s decorated hunting hound, whom she hasn’t seen since her capture—pleased to be a pet.

“With my freedom,” she says, glowering, “I would snap your neck and slaughter your queen in the courtyard.” Theatrical? Perhaps. But it’s the rhetoric she wants.

Arthur straightens like she’s tossed a gauntlet. They’re sparring in front of his father, and he’s got everything to prove. His face is flushed, trying hard to predict her flawless feints. Finally, he takes a gamble so smug that she wants to strike him across the face:

“You wouldn’t.”

“Don’t presume to know what I would or wouldn’t do.”

“It’s Guinevere.”

They stare at each other through bars, but he’s caught her. Gwen, perhaps, is the only one Morgana is certain she would spare. Down here: silence and cold. Once, rain leaked in and put her wrist-deep in water. Gwen stayed with her all evening. Waterlogged skirts, wrinkled fingertips. Of course, for her, Morgana’s resolve is an atrophied thing.

“I don’t understand,” Arthur’s voice is strange. “Don’t you want to come home?”

Last night, she wept for the first time in a year.

She keeps having this dream: where Gwen has kept her chambers all this time. They wait ready for her, with the sheets fresh and made. She won’t give Arthur the satisfaction of hearing this.

“What would you say?” A challenge. “The council won’t allow it. The people would riot.”

She remembers Arthur just before he matured, in the years when he and his insufferable friends would traipse around shouting, jumping to touch the tops of castle archways: impetuous, entitled. Absurd, and easy to love.

She thinks, What fool put a kingdom in that boy’s hands?

“I don’t know, Morgana,” Arthur says. “I don’t know what I would say.”

---

Part 3 of No Verdict

Heyyy do y'all remember those two drabbles where Morgana is in the dungeons, and Gwen is visiting her? It's a series now 😎

[tristansfreezingtheirbrain]

Thought Id share some quotes for my merlin OC’s, with the main characters

Andred- royal Gardner ( unpaid therapist )

Andrea- female knight, lotta lore here but I won’t go into it.

Fabron- blacksmith, employed after Gwen’s father died.

Lynn- Fabrons little sister.

Arthur: You're really campaigning for asshole of the year, aren't you?

Morgana: As defending champion, you nervous?

Merlin: *leans over to whisper to Andred* is there a flower for that?

Andred: *whispering as well* Hyacinth. Want me to make a bouquet?

Merlin: Yup.

Arthur: I can excuse mass genocide. But I draw the line at homophobia.

Andrea: you can excuse mass genocide?!

Merlin: *whistles and looks anywhere but at the group*

Andred: *sees someone crying* *brings flowers*

Fabron: flowers can’t solve everything, Andred….

Andred: *throws flowers* *gives them a croissant*

Uther: You’ve all proven yourselves as allies in the fight against magi-

Fabron: *profuse sweating*

Merlin: *trying not to laugh*

Andred: pffft-

Andrea: *knows about it too* *talks over Andred wheezing* yeah… very good allies…

Uther: don't use magic. *under his breath* or you'll get pregnant and die..

Arthur:.. wait what-?

Merlin: *looks down at his stomach, panicked* *looks to Gaius*

Gaius: oh hush merlin your not gonna get pregnant.

Fabron: *does the same thing and looks at Andred*

Andred, who saw: I hope the baby’s ginger.

Fabron: YOURE GINGER THOUGH-

Arthur: your ears are huge.

Merlin: so is your ego.

Andred and Andrea: so is the crush you have on each other.

Arthur:….

Merlin:…

Andred and Andrea: *fist bump*

Gwen: just be yourself! Be nice!

Morgana: we’ll which one is it, Gwen? I can’t be both.

Andrea: please be mean to me.

Morgana: …..

Gwen: …. Seek help Andy.

Gaius: If you're looking for someone to save you, look in the mirror.

Andrea: Bloody Mary finally coming in clutch.

Fabron: Andrea no-

Andred: y’know there’s a flower for that.

Lancelot: i will die for merlin

Percival : no i will die for merlin

Gwaine : absolutely not it will be me who dies for merlin

Leon : as the oldest, it should be me who dies for merlin

Elyan : he saved my life it will be me who dies for merlin

Arthur : as king it is my right to die for merlin

Merlin: guys i'm right here, i'm fine. Why are you pointing swords at eacn other?

Andred: because they’re idiots.

Andrea: I can concur

Lynn: CONQUUEEERRE

Fabron: we need to stop letting her hang out with Morgana.

[spacecadet-ticklesinspace]

Tickletober Day 29: Magic

Fandom: Merlin

Pairing: Merlin and Arthur (platonic)

Summary: Arthur is being a royal pain. Merlin uses magic to get him back.

"Merlin you clotpole, watch where you're going!"

The younger manservant righted himself. "Sorry."

Arthur rubbed his toes. "Do you purposefully go out of your way to ruin my hunting trips?"

Merlin shrugged. "Not particularly. Sort of an added bonus working with you."

Arthur straightened and gave him a shove. "Let's see how much of an added bonus it is when you're cleaning armor for the next month."

"All because I stepped on your toes?"

"No, because you're a useless manservant."

Merlin glared at the future king as he headed further into the woods, forcing the magician to follow. In a perfect world, he would be able to use his magic to mess with the prince. Yet, this wasn't a perfect world and Merlin wasn't allowed to use his magic.

Well, wasn't supposed to. That rule hadn't stopped him from using it before.

In fact, he had used it just this morning to fix Arthur's saddle. Now he just wished he had let the prince tumble.

"The deer are usually more visible this time of year," Arthur grumbled.

"Maybe your attitude is driving them all away," Merlin shot back.

"Or maybe your loud feet are driving them away."

"My feet are not loud."

"You sound like a horse clomping through the woods."

"Think that's the marbles clashing around in your head."

Arthur gave him another shove before stepping around a bush. "Or the elephants in yours."

"Why are you so bent on taking everything out on me?" Merlin hurried back to Arthur's side. "Did something happen with your father in court yesterday?"

Arthur turned. "No Merlin, nothing happened in court! Now would you kindly shut your mouth and stop yapping all the time."

The future king turned on his heel and started storming away again.

Merlin was forced to follow the royal pain through the thick underbrush. It wasn't like Arthur to be this upset over nothing. Something must have happened to make him so upset, Merlin just wasn't sure what.

And Arthur's temper wasn't getting any better the deeper they went on this hunting trip.

The hidden sorcerer tried to keep his mouth shut, but his curiosity pulled more out of his mouth. "If it wasn't the meeting, did something happen during training?"

"Nothing happened in training."

"Gwen?"

"No."

"Morgana?"

Arthur turned. "Merlin! Shut your yap."

"Oo, that's a violent reaction to Morgana."

The future king huffed before stomping away.

"What did she do to make you so mad?"

"Be her annoying self. What else is new?"

"But what did she do?"

At first, Arthur didn't want to say anything, but he finally did open up. "She's throwing a feast."

"That doesn't---."

"With a prince I've been a rivals with since birth."

Merlin sucked in a breath.

"Exactly. So please shut up will you?"

The young manservant really did try, but he didn't want to leave Arthur in a bad mood all day. That could lead to problems for others later on.

As he tried to think of a way to distract the irritating prince, a sneaky idea came to mind that Arthur had used against him just under a week ago.

Merlin let Arthur pull ahead so he wasn't in ear shot. He then trained his eyes on some nearby vines before whispering. His eyes flashed from blue to gold and the vines shot across the forest floor.

The vines caused Arthur to trip and stumble to the ground. Then another set of vines seemed to become "tangled" around his wrists, pinning the prince in place. "Merlin!"

The young manservant pretended to stand, acting "surprised" at the situation. "Sorry I missed thahat."

Arthur growled. "Get me out of this!"

"Alright, alright." Merlin smirked as he dropped his load.

As the future king struggled against the vines, he missed the smirk completely.

Meanwhile, the hidden sorcerer knelt beside the stuck prince. "Before I do, I think I'm owed some revenge."

Arthur didn't get the chance to ask what he meant before two sets of fingers wriggled into his exposed armpits, making him jump and grunt.

"Come on, let go of that stick up---."

"Merlin!" The future king managed to ground out.

"Don't want the whole world to know you're as ticklish as a girl?" Merlin replied, quoting exactly what Arthur had said to him when he had been in a similar situation.

To his credit, Arthur managed to hold back his laughter and only let out a few grunts or squeaks from the different attacks.

Merlin frowned as he tried to think of another place to try. It didn't help that Arthur got to wear armor and he hadn't.

However, his neck and ears were still exposed.

"Hm, wonder if these are ticklish," Merlin commented as he spidered behind the prince's ears.

Arthur let out a genuine squeal.

"Well, well, well, looks like the future king of Camelot has ticklish ears."

The prince buried his face into arms to try to save his dignity. However, Merlin could still hear the high pitched giggles escaping his mouth.

"Come on now Arthur." The young manservant traced the tops of his ears. "Squealing like a girl over something like tickling?"

"Shut uhup!"

"Can't. It's just too adorable."

Arthur desperately tried to get away while still keeping his face buried in his arms. He even pulled on his legs in the hopes he could kick off the annoying manservant attacking him. "Knock ihit ohoff!"

"Nope." Merlin attacked the prince's neck next. "I don't think I will."

The future king turtled deeply, his face becoming partially revealed in the process.

"Now I can hear your laughter much more clearly."

"Yohou clotpohole!"

As Arthur continued trying to get away, Merlin muttered under his breath. His eyes flashed from gold to blue and a feather appeared at his side. The young manservant picked it up. "What luck. A feather."

The prince's eyes snapped open. "Don't you dare!"

"I mean, it's already here."

"And you can leave it there or you will be in the stocks for a week!"

Merlin shrugged. "Not like I haven't been there before."

Arthur erupted into more high pitched laughter from one stupid feather. "Noho! Merlihin!"

"Hard to understand you with all that laughing."

"Ehenohugh!"

The young manservant took that as his cue to stop. He wanted to help Arthur get in a better mood by blowing off some steam, not annoy him even further. Another moment later and Merlin had the vines cut off of the prince. "Ahalrihight. Thehe vines are gone."

Arthur dramatically lay on the ground to catch his breath and energy while Merlin stepped back to recover the bags. "Look, you got to blow off some steam after everything and now, we can go hunting again."

Arthur gave no reply.

"Arthur?" Merlin turned. "Ar-oof!"

The prince tackled his manservant to the ground, smashing his face into the ground as he pinned him to the ground.

"Arthur, what are you doing!" The hidden sorcerer demanded as he tried to get out of the grip.

"You really think I'm going to let you embarrass me like that without getting any revenge?"

Merlin's eyes widened. "You got me last week!"

"And now I know exactly where to begin," Arthur replied as he dug into his manservant's sides.

Once again, the woods were filled with the sounds of laughter.

[nuwanda24]

You do not get to hurt me just because I asked you once if you were alright

So I've seen a lot of time-travel fix-it stories and most of them involve either not all of the main cast remembering the events of the five seasons or them not talking to each other about it. And I always thought that, in case he remembered, Arthur wouldn't want to make his gravest mistake again - to not talk about things. He never talked, actually talked, to Merlin about all the times he went missing for a few days, about all the strange things that happened around him, he never talked to Morgana about her nightmares, about her fears, he never talked to Gwen about what they both want from their relationship, about Lancelot, her (enchanted) betrayal. He never talked to his knights or anyone for that matter in a way that would leave him emotionally vulnerable. Talking about things makes them real, and I always got the impression that Arthur isn't half as dense or unobservant as we think, but simply refuses to think deeper about certain matters because he knows that it might change things or that it might lead to him discovering truths that might force him to lose those he loves. Not talking and knowing makes things easier for the moment, but it's what ultimately lead to his death. So I thought that if he were sent back in time and remembered, he would talk to people about it, both about the years they've lived and lost, and about all the things he never addressed when he was still alive. And I think the most important thing to change the future is not talking to Merlin and letting him help and knowing what's going on so that Arthur can help him, but it is clearing the air with Morgana, rebuilding their broken bond and getting her back. And that first conversation between the two siblings just jumped me on a trainride a vew days back and I had to flesh it out, and here it is.

The Set-up of my little headcanon-AU is that Arthur wakes up in his room after he died, and things are off in his chambers. Things that he added after he ascended the throne are missing, things from his days as crown prince that he knows are broken are here again, the table is in the wrong corner, etc. And the cherry on top is that instead of Merlin, Morris comes in to wake him and tells him his schedule for the day, which include an inspection as head knight, the arrival of Lady Helen, a fitting for the celebration that it's been 20 years since the Great Dragon was captured, and a dinner with his father and Morgana. Confused, Arthur fakes to be ill and spends the rest of the day brooding, working out the time-travel thing and generally brooding about Merlin. He slowly realises all the times that man has saved his life, as well as some of the points in his life where he made the wrong choice and things turned out for the worse, especially in regards to Morgana. In the evening, he forces himself downstairs to the family dinner, where Morgana behaves very odd, making him suspect that she, too, remembers (Uther doesn't, or at least doesn't show anything). Desperately needing to have the talk with his sister that was years in the making, Arthur again feigns an illness to get out of the dinner and compose himself, before he heads over to Morgana's quarters. That's were this fic starts.

In case this attracts the attention of anyone who'd be interested in fleshing out this AU, please do so! I would love to write more, but I know that I'm not very good at staying on the ball and finishing long stories.

Arthur had stood before Morgana’s door, hand raised to know, for what felt like eternity. What was he even doing here? The last time they had seen each other he had been nearly dead and unable to response, and then he had watched as Merlin had run her through with Excalibur. What do you say to the sister you once loved, before she turned on you? Before you spent years trying to kill each other, and succeeded? And yet, he couldn’t walk away. He had to talk to her, no matter how painful the conversation might turn out to be. He wouldn’t risk losing her a second time. He didn’t think he’d be able to survive that kind of heartbreak. He hesitantly brought his hand down on the door, knocking softly. Once, twice.

“Come in.”

Arthur gently opened the door, only to remain close to it. Surprise hushed over Morgana’s face, followed by grief. She quickly turned around, evading his prodding gaze.

“What do you want, Arthur? I thought you were ill.”

“I came to talk.“

Her shoulders tensed, but she didn’t speak.

“You were… different, this evening.”

“Different? You’re as eloquent as always, Arthur.”

She strode toward the window, getting as much space between them as her rooms allowed. Arthur pressed on.

“You were distant, reserved. You refused to meet my eye, still do. And if you did look at me - if I didn’t know better, I’d say it might have been grief in your eyes, and guilt.”

Morgana’s shoulders tensed further, yet she remained silent, gaze directed outside on the courtyard, while not registering anything at all.

“You know, I always thought of you as a sister. I know I wasn’t great in showing my affections, but I always hoped I’d be someone you could confide in. Someone you could trust. I certainly trusted you.”

Still, Morgana refused to face him or break her silence, or correct his past tense. It was confirmation enough for him. She remembered. So he decided to press on, to get those thoughts off his chest that had plagued him for the last years and refused to let him sleep.

“I know I failed in showing you that. I failed to protect you from father, I didn’t nearly stand up enough to Uther even when I knew he was wrong. I left you alone, frightened, facing fears and dangers I can’t ever imagine. In that, I betrayed your trust. You were battling with demons I can’t begin to comprehend, had to life in fear of the pyres for no other crime but simply existing.

But was it enough to justify what you did? Did my failures justify the death of hundreds of innocents, the safety and freedom of Camelot? Your quarrel was with me, and Uther, what gave you the right to pull our kingdom into it? Where did I fail so spectacularly that you’d rather turn to a woman you didn’t know, who only abused you for her own revenge, than to confide in me when you realised you had magic? What happened to the woman who scolded me for going hunting and trying to mend a broken heart with killing, that she was willing to do the very same?”

“She died the moment Merlin tried to kill me.” Morgana’s voice was full of pain and anger, of restricted hurt. Her eyes showed the same emotions as she finally turned around and met his gaze.

“I was scared, alone with my powers and no clue how to control them, and one of the only people I thought I could trust, who knew about my magic, who had promised to help me and to protect me, chose to poison me. I was innocent, back then. And yet he decided to kill me, instead of trying to find another way, or tell me what was wrong. I had trusted him, had trusted you, and you betrayed me, when I hadn’t even given you a reason for that. Morgause might have used me, but she was the only one who saw me as who I truly am, and didn’t back away. She still loved me, with all my failings. She was my sister, and Merlin killed her. And then he killed me.”

“And I am your brother and yet you tried to kill me. And in the end you succeeded. I died, Morgana, we both did. We died in a stupid war of our own making, that had cost us everything we ever loved or believed in. And Merlin did what he thought was right. You really think he’d have poisoned you if there had been another way, however slim the chance of success, to undo the curse? If you do you don’t know him at all. You were his friend as well as mine, as well as Gwen’s, and your betrayal hurt him as much as me. I can’t fault you for things out of your control, for your magic and for turning to the only person you felt save around, it’s true. But you can’t fault him for what he did to protect Camelot, to protect me.”

“You always defend him, don’t you? No matter what he has done, no matter how he lied to you. No matter that he killed me. He betrayed you as well as me.”

It took Arthur a moment to answer. She had struck a nerve. But he had come to terms with Merlin’s magic, in his last few days, in today’s brooding.

“I know about him now. And I can’t fault him for hiding that from me, either. All he ever did was for Camelot, and for me. I only hope that I get a chance to thank him, and to apologise. To repair the trust that was broken.”

They both knew he wasn’t only talking about Merlin.

“And if his actions towards you left you unable to ever trust him again, you are in your right. But I still want to try. I want to get the sister back I lost before I ever realised that I even had her.”

His words hung heavy between them. When Morgana spoke again, her voice was quiet and thick with tears.

“Why are we here again, Arthur? Is this some sort of cosmic joke, is this the goddess’ way of punishing us for our mistake, by forcing me to face every single one I ever hurt? By forcing me to live with my guilt? Didn’t we pay enough with dying?”

It was heartbreaking to see her like this. To realise that her face only mirrored his soul. They were both marred by their choices. They couldn’t go back to the young nobles they used to be in this time. But Arthur would be damned if he didn’t do his best to mend what was broken between them.

“Maybe this is a second chance. A gift, rather than a curse, to allow us to set things right. To find a way out of this never-ending war. I certainly hope so. And I know that I can’t achieve that on my own.”

“Why are you so calm? The Arthur I knew would have screamed, shouted, thrown goblets and insults, and me in the dungeons. If you remember as well as me, why do you ask me for help? Why do you even bother talking to me, why don’t you just go to Uther and tell him about my magic and get this over with? If you want to change the future, just let him kill me and you’ll stop everything I did from repeating itself!”

“Because you are my sister, Morgana, and I love you! Do you really think I would kill you? That I would let you burn? The Arthur you knew died as well as the Morgana I grew up with. And I died full of regrets, and the biggest one was that I failed to be a king that my friends felt like they could trust. Both you and Merlin were too afraid of me to tell me about your magic, to tell me about anything that was going on. And I think this is why everything went to hell in the first place. And now that I know, I want to be let in. I want to help you figure things out, to prevent you from turning, again. I missed you every single day, Morgana. Yes, there were times where I hated you for what you did. I don’t think I can ever fully forgive you for what you’ve done to Camelot. But I can’t live through losing you a second time, I simply can’t! Not when we have a chance to change things.”

He was crying now. To hell with Uther and all his comments that real men didn’t cry. He needed her to see the extent of his feelings, the sincerity of his request. Morgana’s resolve crumbled as well. She sunk down on the windowsill, staring into the night and letting the tears flow freely. For a long time neither of them spoke.

“I don’t know if I’m ready for that.” The words were a whisper, barely audible over the still unspoken, screaming words between them. “I want to change, I want to undo all that I’ve done, but how? We both killed, and lied, and died. We fucking died, Arthur! In more ways than one, and I don’t even know if I still know how to live. If I even want to live. If I’m not already a monster, unable to crawl back to the light. How could I change the course of history when I can’t even look at myself in the mirror? When I don’t have it in me right now to trust you?”

“If you are a monster, then so am I. And relearning to live with ourselves will take time. If you want, we can start with a truce. No more secrets, no more lying. Trust takes time to build, but I want to be able to trust you again, For you to trust in me. If you are ready and willing to talk, come to me and I will be there. That is all I ask.”

His shoulders sagged at Morgana’s small answering nod. That was more than he could have hoped for. He sent her a small smile in return. “Good night, ‘Gana.” He left his sister’s chambers too fast to see the freshly dwelling tears at the old nick name, yet still slow enough to catch her feather soft “Good night, Arthur.”

[zelda-cooper]

Is Morgwing (Darkwing and Morgana) a toxic couple?

This is an opinion blog and about something I thought about these days, you can have a completely different opinion and share it here in the comments or reblogs. But I just ask that you read it until the end, think about it and, PLEASE, no toxic comments or threats! Having said that, let's continue...

These days I was doing my activities while listening to my podcast "Saint Canarian Files: A Darkwing Duck Podcast" (By the way, a very good podcast that I recommend! They're basically on EVERY social network that has podcasts!) and I ended up getting to the episodes of "Monsters R Us" and "My Valentine Ghoul"... I'm not a fan of these episodes, but I wanted to watch them because I like to hear other people's opinions about something I don't like. Then they started talking about the couple's interactions, so I was kind of doing my thing and my brain tuned into the audio... Then I paused and thought ".... Wait, what?", then I went back and listened more carefully... Then it went to the episode about Morgana's family and I was just in complete shock... Because it was right in front of me and I didn't see it. You know that I'm a person who defends Morgwing A LOT and this is my favorite shipp, but listening to this podcast and watching the episodes MORE CAREFULLY... My view started to change a lot about this couple. And not in a good way...

And now I'm here, writing about whether or not Darkwing Duck/Drake Mallard and Morgana Mawcaber are a toxic couple (the world goes round...). And just to clarify...

THIS BLOG IS NOT FOR HATE ON DARKWING OR MORGANA, MUCH LESS ON THEIR FANS!!!

But it's to try to analyze the couple's dynamics and see if there's any salvation or not. I'm NOT a couples psychologist either, much less have I dated in my life so far, but I'm guiding myself by some behaviors and experience in narratives. Having said that... Let's start by talking about the beginning of the couple.

It all started in Morgana's debut episode, "Fungus Amongus" (I know, lol...), where the future couple met... And right away we felt a slight tension between the two... Not slight... A LOT OF TENSION... Okay, just kidding... Right away, we see that they really like each other a lot and feel comfortable talking to each other, even with Morgana's family being against it, the two got along really well in the beginning. This extended to "Ghoul of My Dreams", where it is shown that Morgana really likes Darkwing, because if she didn't like it, it wouldn't make sense for her to dream about them getting married or for Drake to dream about Morgana kissing him, they really fell in love with each other... But there's a small problem... In these meetings, Drake ONLY appeared as Darkwing Duck, not in his civil form (this will change later on, but keep it in mind).

Then we get to the other two... "My Valentine Ghoul" and "Monsters R Us"... And here we already see the couple's problems... In the first one mentioned, we see that Drake is once again as Darkwing Duck and not Drake Mallard (which is already strange, considering that they are dating...), but also... He acts like an idiot with Morgana's feelings, belittling them and such... And the witch reacts angrily and throws magic at him, and, even at the end of the episode, with him saving Morgana, their behavior didn't change... In the second episode mentioned, we have another problem... And I'm not just talking about Drake...

In the episode, we meet the Addams Family - I MEAN, the Mawcaber Family! But especially Morgana's father... And he's the one who causes the biggest fight with Darkwing in the episode... And there's also a simple phrase that the Darkwing Duck Podcast people mentioned too... Where Morgana's father says that her daughter deserves happiness, but Darkwing counters by saying that she doesn't want happiness, she only wants him... Just that simple phrase already kind of shocked me... Where did I see that phrase? Oh, yes... In MANY abusive relationships! :D

And let's mention another episode, "Malice's Restaurant", where Drake also doesn't really support Morgana's dream and her food (ok, in the episode they really drew the food in a way that is disgusting, but you'd be surprised by the animals that are edible IN REAL LIFE...). I'm not going to mention "Hot Spells" because that episode is much more about Gosalyn and neither are the other episodes where Morgana appears with the Justice Ducks. I'm also not considering the Boom or Dynamite comics... Because I haven't exactly read them... IN MY DEFENSE, THEY DON'T EXIST IN THE COUNTRY WHERE I LIVE!!! And buying imported comic is also not an option because I don't have the money... So, uh... Basically that...

But having said all these points... I want to talk, now, about the characters' mistakes... Starting with Drake Mallard/Darkwing Duck...

•Take a deep breath....•

Can we start by talking about how much his personality doesn't help? He's very... VERY arrogant and problematic with many of his relationships... Even with LP, you think they're good friends, but in "Jailbird" and "Quack of Age" Darkwing is also extremely rude to him! And that also applies to his relationship with Morgana...

Let's go back to the two episodes I mentioned before, Drake never let Morgana talk and never cared much about her feelings and that's a red flag for Morgana that she tried to ignore... But there's also the fact that, at no point, he really trusted her... Because, if you notice... In all the dates we saw, Drake ALWAYS kept the disguise of Darkwing Duck, as his heroic persona! He never went on a date with her in the series being himself, and I suspect he DIDN'T WANT to reveal his secret identity to her. But then you remember "But in 'Malice's Restaurant' she appears with him in civilian clothes and also in the comics", yes... I also commented this with my friend Annie and she said it could be a coherence error because it was never explained how, but me... I have my Headcanon that he DIDN'T TELL, she was the one who found out ALONE (and let's be honest that's not hard, because even Negaduck found out because of the Launchpad-).

In this, we have two pillars of a bad relationship: Lack of trust and problematic personality. But there is another factor, which is how much Darkwing DOES NOT accept listening to Morgana, not even when it comes to her feelings. The biggest example is when he says that Morgana DOES NOT want happiness, she wants HIM. Which, let's face it, is not a healthy way to say it! And he also does not accept that she makes "disgusting food" in his eyes, even though he sees that his family and the Muddlefoots liked it. Now you can understand why Morgana's father did NOT want her to date Darkwing... But Morgana doesn't get away with it either... She also made a lot of mistakes...

This will have things from the series, but there will also be a lot of speculation... Because we know NOTHING about Morgana's past, but there are dots that we can try to connect. And let's start with... She didn't have the best of temperaments... And, let's go back to the two fateful ones... In "My Valentine Ghoul", we see how badly Morgana reacts when something goes wrong in her relationship. She gets angry, possessive and basically casts magic on her own boyfriend (even though he deserved it, the reaction was way too exaggerated...). But where did all this temper come from? Eh... I guess it was her father's fault. Let me explain...

Again in "Monsters R Us", we see that her father also did not accept listening to his daughter's opinion, she wanted him to give humans a chance, but he refused until the end. And, apparently, this WASN'T the first time he refused to listen to Morgana and, also, it seems that he was not angry that Morgana had a boyfriend, but rather, that this boyfriend is a HUMAN. And let's go to the theories and speculations... Why does Morgana's father HATE humans? Well... We saw most of Morgana's family in the series, EXCEPT HER MOTHER. There could be many reasons for this, she could be traveling or she could have gotten divorced, but the most likely thing for me is that her mother DIED. And here I'm going to pick a movie that has a similar story... "Hotel Transylvania".

In the first film, Dracula was completely overprotective of Mavis, because of the death of his wife, who died because of humans, going to EXTREME EXTREME measures to keep his daughter from leaving the Hotel. Nothing stops us from thinking that this also happened in the Mawcaber family and that this is what made the family patriarch hate humans so much that he doesn't want to listen to his daughter for ANYTHING. And the fact that she is always silenced, whether by Darkwing or by her own father, ends up generating these violent reactions in her. She ALWAYS has to scream and use her magic to be heard. This is even shown in a scene in the comics (I don't have the scene now, but it happened in a frame I saw randomly). Again, I'm not a psychologist, but having an upbringing where you can't have an opinion and where you can't even really feel the loss of grief MAY end up affecting your personality a lot... This may also have affected her self-esteem and made her very insecure...

BUT I STILL DON'T PUT HER UP!!!

She ALSO never worked on this issue in her life, never tried to deal with her temper or her insecurities. And remember how I said that her father was mad because Darkwing was HUMAN, not because she had a boyfriend? So... Like some other fans, I also think that Drake IS NOT Morgana's first love. She is clearly older than Drake (I'm guessing at least 100 years older, because monsters - We don't even know if they have the same limits as normal humans), so she really must have lived a long time! And these various relationships may have been a kind of escapism for Morgana, and I'll give another example... Rose Quartz from Steven Universe.

It has been said many times in the Steven Universe series that Rose had dated MANY humans during her "life"/existence (....?), it is both shown on screen and said by Pearl to Greg. Even if Rose didn't know what dating was, she only found out with Greg. And here it is the same thing with Morgana (in this case, she knew what dating was-), she used these "passing" relationships to try to escape her problems somehow. Until, at a certain point, she decided to go to Saint Canarian and follow her dream of having a restaurant, and the rest we already know...

But not to say that their relationship was terrible, toxic and horrible from start to finish... There are indeed points that are very good to highlight in their relationship.

Both characters were very loyal in their relationship from beginning to end and in the love they felt for each other, so much so that when one was in danger, the other went to save him. In "My Valentine Ghoul" (so attacked on this blog) this is proven, when Morgana was kidnapped by Negaduck, Darkwing ran to save her (he failed, but at least he tried -) and this goes for other episodes. And also, like it or not... They really LOVED each other and never wanted to harm their partner. In "Fungus Amongus" (sus) and "Ghoul of My Dreams", Morgana NEVER wanted Darkwing to get hurt and also wanted him to stay out of it. They truly loved each other and it was the first time that Morgana wanted a serious relationship... But even with that... I have to say... Their relationship is not good... For either side...

And we arrive at the fateful resolution... Is the relationship toxic?... Yes. But can the relationship be saved?... Maybe, but we don't know if it will last long...

Unfortunately... I don't know if their relationship will be saved... In the current comics, apparently from what I've seen, everything is fine now... But still, I'm very afraid of what their relationship might be like in the future.

Drake can still continue to be a jerk and arrogant who doesn't respect Morgana's feelings... And Morgana will be a temperamental and insecure person who can't control herself emotionally... But would it be possible for them to change? I don't know... Maybe... But they, perhaps, need to break up to see if they can really change their behavior... Even if they truly love each other, the relationship will only hurt both sides... Maybe... It's better for them to let go...

But... What do you think? If you want to comment or reblog, feel free... Thanks for reading this far and bye...

Art by @anniesilverl2

[ellllsia]

What is really ironic is that the episode "Lancelot du Lac" is one I just can't get myself to watch, even though one of my most adored characters is coming back from dead. But the episode where the insufferable Uther comes back brings me actual joy.

They really brought Lance back to paint as this dishonourable homewrecker who would kiss the knigdom's soon to be queen literally the night before the wedding, ruining his reputation forever. They also made Gwen appear as a cheater who would betray her soon to be husband literally the night before her wedding day. The scene in which her and Arthur fight in the courtroom broke my heart. They don't explain that the monster was sent by Morgana as a shade version of our beloved Lancelot or even that Gwen was drawn to him because of the enchanted bracelet. Also, the fact that Melrin had to say goodbye to his friend again. The way I sobbed when Merlin performed the spell to free Lancelot from Morgana's control. The way Lance said "Thank you" broke my heart for he at least got to die as himself, next to his friend and peacefully.

Now for when Uther comes back, I just really like the fact that Arthur finally realises that his father has always been and will always be an abusive piece of $h!t, as well as a murderer. Arthur gets to let go of those expectations he had set for himself thinking that he could get his father's approval, that he would finally make him proud. He decides to set his own path, as he himself says "You've had your turn. Now it's mine.". Camelot is his to rule now and to command as he sees fit. He knows he can't please his father and has to be true to himself. What is also great is Merlin ,later on, says that Uther did what he thought was best for the kingdom (which i believe in his own twisted mind could be true) mainly trying to appease his friend, but Arthur just deadpans "It doesn't mean he was right." And I believe it stuck with me because it felt like the first time Arthur truly acknowledges his father's faults, especially in front of another person. I truly loved it. This episode is also so precious because of the poetry scene iykyk lol.

[kessilover]

I have an idea for a Mergana fic

I have this Mergana Fic idea that I probably would never write because I am lazy, but I want to share it in case someone might want to write it.

---------------------------

It takes place during Servant of Two Masters (S4xE06), just before Morgana inserts the  Fomorroh into Merlin's neck.

A young man (maybe 17 or 18) barges inside. He looks like a young version of Merlin except he has green eyes. Before anyone says anything, this man collapses instantly.

There is an awkward silence between Merlin and Morgana for a few moments before she is like, "is he your brother?" and Merlin is like, "I don't see any resemblance" but inside he is screaming, did my father have another son?

Then, she tries to wake the young man and soon came to the realization that he is drained magically, and they need to wait for him to regain consciousness on his own before asking any questions.

"Maybe he is a distant relative?" Merlin mumbles to no one, and Morgana, whose plan is momentarily put on hold, tells Merlin that she knows a way that can help unravel the mystery.

Despite Merlin's objection, Morgana performs the spell (requires a drop of blood from each man) and the result is "Parent". (There is a whole color palette that can help identify the link between two people.) But the spell doesn't specify who is the parent and who is the offspring.

Since it was not possible, Morgana decides to do the spell using her own blood, and she gets the same result as Merlin: "Parent".

"Maybe I did something wrong." She says, and they leave it at that.

Hours later, the mysterious man wakes up and he takes one look at the chained Merlin, "Is it a sexual thing?" he says, startling both Merlin and Morgana.

Morgana quickly unchains him and Merlin supplies without really thinking, "We're making sure the chains are robust."

The young man's name is William, and he was attacked and used magic to escape. He came across the hovel and was looking for a place to hide.

He claims that he has never seen Merlin before, and the latter is dying to ask if he knows Balinor. 

William tells them his life story, that his parents died and that he was raised by his uncle.

Another person bursts in shortly after. The boy's uncle.

Here is the twist.

The uncle is actually Mordred, who kidnapped William (named after his father's childhood best friend) when he was an infant and killed his mother. He was raised not knowing who his real parents were and to hate Camelot and its king and his advisor Merlin because they were the reason behind William's parents' deaths.)

Chaos erupts when it turns out the danger William was trying to evade was Mordred, and his plan was to go back in time to save his mother after learning the actual truth. But the spell was too powerful and it left him weak.

William is like, "You killed my parents." and Mordred shouts back, "Your parents are dead because of you."

Here is another twist.

William recently killed Merlin (Furture version), thinking he was avenging his parents. But in reality, the boy's mother died trying to save her son from being kidnapped, and his father, on the other hand, died at the hands of the son that he spent years searching for.

Surprise!!

The kid is acually the son of Merlin and Morgana!!

"You killed your father?" Morgana asks William, who is too crestfallen to meet her gaze.

"Like mother like son." Mordred says with a snide. 

More chaos. 

"You lied to us?" Merlin accuses, while Morgana is too stunned to speak. 

Once again, Mordred smirks and adds "Just like his father,  isn't that right, Emrys?"

Even more chaos.

-----------

Please if you like the concept, write it, I really really want to read it.

[batchilla]

Hi, hello. I just read your fic with Dick being the reader's partner as detectives and then the reader figuring out he's Nightwing, and I just want to scream about it in the best way.

A long, long time ago (back when I was 10 and under), I had the biggest crush on Dick Grayson, but also I just admired who he was. (And Starfire, but that is not the point.) I mean, my twin and I would play out any of the scenes from the few comics we had, and it was the only time I was fine with being a guy (since I was taller, she made me be the guy whenever we played), because it meant getting to be Nightwing. That crush has definitely waned over the years, especially since Marvel took over with their movies.

I want to say that around February of this year, I got back into DC. I'd always liked it, don't get me wrong. But if my interests were in a car, DC comics were forced to sit in the trunk. Anyway. I got super into Jason Todd, followed a bunch of writers on here who wrote for him. And then one of them reblogged your fic (it was Sunnie).

And suddenly, on this Monday evening, I'm back to being nine or ten. I'm reading what few comics I had, and I'm writing stories in my head, and I have a fluttery feeling in my stomach whenever I think about Nightwing. You reignited something in me, something I didn't know I missed. I practically absorbed your fic two times and then had to take a third time to read it because I just needed to.

Because it wasn't just me reading this, it was younger me reading too. It was the version of me who didn't know what fanfiction was, who didn't know anyone besides her sister or father who read DC comics. You made me come to life again, you let me steal some happiness that was so abundant in my childhood. I'm forever grateful for what you've done.

Anyway. That fic is killing me, I love it. Dick Grayson with his peep popcorn (what an atrocity, but I know he would eat that), with his sunshine smile that could probably melt a chilling gaze, with his dislike for stakeouts. He's there, he's just how I remembered him, and I couldn't ask for anything more. Thank you. I know this is so long and rambly, and I apologize for that. But thank you for writing this.

Well, I am legitimately misting up over here. thank you so much, this was so incredibly sweet and a lovely notification to wake up to. Healing (or nourishing) the inner child is one of the best parts of writing so the fact that I could do that for someone? it makes me very happy. everyone say thank you to @interwebseriesfan24 because this ask has given me so much writing motivation that I am fully intending to go add at least 1500 words to chapter two. You're all getting it a week earlier then planned and you have this ask to thank. Fata Morgana (knight Jason x Princess reader) lovers worry not, you will still be getting an update this week. Please, never apologize for sending asks like this, because they make me so incredibly happy. I am legit trying not to cry. interaction and conversation is my main source of motivation to write and this is brilliant. You've made my entire day. If not my week. Also, a little head canon I couldn't organically fit in, is that part of how he developed a taste for Peeps popcorn is because 1) it feels like the kind of snack he may have had as a small child growing up in a circus 2) between Robin and being a highly energetic child and school, he needed a source of energy. Tim has energy drinks / coffee, Bruce 'microsleeps' and in my opinion, Dick consumes an ungodly amount of sugar. thank you for reading.

[larluce]

Arthur and Merlin travel back in time without knowing the other is from the future too AU

LINKS TO THE OTHER PARTS OF THIS AU HERE: PARTE 1 , PARTE 2 , PARTE 3, PARTE 4 , PART5 (you're here) , PARTE 6

In "The Beginning of the End"

Morgana: Merlin! I need your help.

Merlin: (worried) What is it?

Morgana: Just come with me (brings Merlin to her chambers and shows him Mordred behind the screen)

Merlin: (Who's been ignoring Mordred's calls for help in his mind on purpose and still hates him to guts for what he did to Arthur in his timeline, trying to remain compose) That's... That's the druid boy.

Morgana: (Who did hear Mordred calls for help and helped him instead) He's injured. If we don't give him medical attention he'll die.

Merlin: (almost histerical) If Uther finds out you've been hiding the druid boy in your chambers you'll die! We'll all die! What were you thinking?!

Morgana: I couldn't just leave him! He's just a child! He's innocent!

Merlin: To Uther he's guilty.

Morgana: And to you he is? He has done no harm. His only crime is having magic. Do you think he deserves to be executed for that?

Merlin: ... No. Of course not.

Morgana: Then help me. Just tend his wound. Please. (puppy eyes)

Merlin: (Still full of resentment to Arthur's future murderer, but loving Morgana too much to deny her anything. Sighs) Alright.

...

Morgana: Arthur. To what do I owe this pleasure?

Arthur: (enters her chambers) Where is him?

Morgana: Who?

Arthur: I know you're hiding him Morgana.

Morgana: I don't know what you're talking about.

Arthur: Well, I need to search your chambers, kings orders. (starts searching)

Morgana: You will not do such a thing! Stop messing up my things!

Arthur: (opens the screen where Merlin and Mordred are hiding) So this is where you've been lazing around.

Merlin: Sorry 😅

Arthur: (To Morgana) You drag him into this, I can't believe you! Do you know the risk you're putting yourself in?

Morgana: Arthur, please! (putting herself between Arthur and Mordred) Don't turn him in. I beg you, he's just a child.

Arthur: (who resents Mordred, not really because he tried to kill him, that part just hurt him, but because Merlin had to make the deal with the sidhes and was turned into a tree due to what Mordred did in his timeline) I'm sorry I have no choice. I can hide your involvement in this. No harm will come to you or Merlin. Now step aside. (Morgana doesn't move) Morgana.

Morgana: You'll have to go throught me first!

Arthur: I'm trying to protect you.

Morgana: If you hand him over, I'll never forgive you.

Arthur: (Conflicted cause he still have mixed feelings about Mordred but doesn't want Morgana to hate him again. Looks at Merlin for answers, but Merlin's avoiding his eyes at all cost)...

Morgana: We can take him out of Camelot, back to his people. He'll be safe there and Uther will stop searching for him eventually.

Arthur: This is treason. If my father finds out-

Morgana: He won't. Not if you help us. Arthur, please. (puppy eyes)

Arthur: (sighs, giving up) We'll have to be careful. And I'm not doing this again, you hear me?

Morgana: (jumps happily and hugs him) Thank you, thank you, thank you! You're going to be a great king one day. I know it!

Arthur: Yeah, yeah whatever 🙄(but he smiles and hugs back)

Merlin: (touched by the scene and very proud of Arthur despite his feelings towards Mordred) I agree. You'll be the greatest king of all.

Arthur: (separating from Morgana's hug and extending his arms at Merlin to which Merlin just looks at him confused) So?

Merlin: So?

Arthur: Where's my gratitude hug?

Merlin: (shocked)... what? 😳

Morgana: (Who already knows something is going on) Oh, don't be shy (pushes Merlin towards Arthur)

Merlin: (wraps his arms around Arthur hesitantly, but Arthur presses Merlin to him instanly and Merlin melts in the hug)

Morgana: (thinking) Awww. Next time I'll just have Merlin seduce him into doing stuff. It'll work faster.