also sometimes i remember that “just hold me, please” is an actual canon line said by the most emotionally stunted man on the planet. like i forget it’s not from a fanfic or something. he actually said that. that was arthur pendragon’s dying wish. get fucked, bbc merlin writers. and thank you.
Happy one year closer to the reincarnation of our lord Arthur Pendragon to all those who celebrate <3
i want that slut covered in blood and traumatized by his actions
Arthur in My heart is readily yours
in fanfiction we must sometimes ask ourselves not if he would do that but under what conditions would he would do that
to all who doubted arthur in my breaths are run by your compass
bbc merlin 04x10 - A Herald of the New Age
what gets me is that no matter how many times they've been in this position, arthur is always taken by surprise
Brain rotting because yes, every single time arthur had to go to a life-threatening situation and merlin followed him, arthur was surprised. he never felt like he was worth such great loyalty and sacrifice from merlin. he never took him for granted. and at last, when arthur started believing that maybe he doesn’t have to side-guess merlin, that merlin can be his only constant, merlin tells him “everything for your journey to camlann” and arthur’s heart malfunctioned because “merlin, what do you mean my journey?”
*thinks about my favourite character getting fucked over by canon* this is unacceptable *goes off to write fic where I fuck them over in my own, superior way*
Arthur dies in canon? Np. Let me revive him real quick and kill him AGAIN but this time ✨DIFFERENTLY✨
1. arthur’s journey back to camelot carrying merlin in his arms for days. only the prophecy’s destructive weight was keeping him company.
2. merlin teaching galahad magic while arthur looks at them in utter contentment. they take turns in jinxing arthur afterwards.
3. gwen and lance’s wedding. the entirety of camelot showed up to it. lancelot cried approximately 15 times. every time merlin tried to calm him down, he would look at how beautiful gwen looked and start crying next to lancelot.
4. galahad’s childhood.
5. arthur and iseldir’s conversation before merlin’s coronation. almost made it to the final edit.
6. arthur breaking down all alone in the end of act II after he heard “you’re hurting me in every way, arthur.”
7. the full conversation between arthur and the knights and gwen after the ides.
8. merlin and arthur going once more to the triple goddesses just to tell them fuck you in big letters.
9. did i mention galahad’s childhood?
MERLIN
The Lady in the Lake | Arthur’s Bane Part One
the way how, along the way, arthur just knows. without knowing about the magic, without knowing anything, he just really knows merlin. he doesn’t wonder; he can see merlin just as much as merlin can see him
I don't think we as a fandom talk enough about how arthur actually desperately didn't want to be a prince
Sometimes I feel there is a quote from MBARBYC for every tumblr post about arthur pendragon
one of my favorite minor "disposable villains" in Merlin who tried to kill Uther is Edwin from 1s6e.
seriously, he was so good, I was rooting for him the whole episode. if it wasn't for his rush at the end, one slip up with gwen and trying to kill not only Uther but also gaius and merlin, (trying to kill merlin I honestly didn't understand. I'm sure he would have succeeded and could have gotten away with it. it was a very clever plan, you can't give him credit for it.
him being a Horrible Dark Sorcerer is not what I'm focusing on at all, because there are so many scenes in this episode that just…. kill me.
the way merlin is happy to use magic for everyday things and what a relief it is for him to share it with someone other than gaius. someone who tells him that his magic can be good and supports him (what a devastation it was to find out everything afterward)
how after edwin said "you watched my parents burn at the stake" gaius replied "they practiced black magic, and now you're practicing it too!" because it's such a convenient excuse - even though they were his friends, even though he watched thousands of innocents die who had nothing to do with black magic, and he knows it, knows he's to blame, but it's so much easier to redirect his anger at someone else than to face his mistakes.
the way the return of gaius is not happy at all, because really edwin is right, and gaius is too old and blind, and in the last scene one old blind man swears allegiance to another blind man, washing himself in blood
it's scary
You should definitely read A More Worthy King by @remuscariad then. It’s an AU of Arthur becoming king right from this episode partly because of this great introspection. Trust me, you wouldn’t want to miss out on it!
Okay I know this is just a gif but guys this shot practically sums up s5 entirely.
Most of the season, we don’t see Merlin truly being himself: he’s always making decisions he hates (the disir), decisions that are out of his kind and loving characterization (insistence on killing mordred when he did nothing s5e2), and altogether bitterness consuming him by the whole end of it. So this stoic posture of him looking ahead is just.. magnifique. He’s giving us audience, who grew up with him, his back, (Gaius: what happened to the boy I knew? Merlin: he grew up.) and he’s holding himself like a burden he doesn’t know which way to carry. In here, all you could do is wonder what horrors can he see ahead that are coming.
And on the other side, Arthur, who was actually stoic and poised his whole upbringing, is now the one walking in ease. And not just that: he is the one approaching Merlin even if the whole kingdom approaches Arthur. This is genuinely insane. Arthur asks him at that moment what are you doing, and Merlin, having just talked with Mordred and promised him to keep his secret safe (Kara), still hides from Arthur behind the façade of bickering (I’m like a swan!).
And like, consider the timing guys. This is s5e11. The final episode before Diamond of the Fucking Day. They foreshadowed the ending with just a simple scene. They told us that Arthur will be the one who reaches out, because Merlin will be so far away. They told us to prepare, but we didn’t bring enough tissues. It’s so cinematically wonderful and perfectly reflective of their characterizations ahhhhh
I can’t about those two sometimes
