Arthur Pendragon - Blog Posts

The only valid ship dynamic:

Person A: HOHOHOHOHO TIME TO DO SOME DUMB SHIT

Person B: DO A FLIP!

*later, when the dumb shit went horribly, horribly wrong*

Person B: you fucking idiot, what the hell is wrong with you. That was so incredibly stupid, I cannot believe your dumbass really thought that was gonna fucking work out, I TOLD you it would go bad!

Person A: *in a full body cast* worth it

My absolute favourite trope in Merlin fanfic is when they all find out about Merlin’s magic and Arthur is brooding or feigning annoyance but truly doesn’t care, Elyan and Gwaine are asking so many questions because they’re so intrigued and need to know absolutely everything and somehow aren’t surprised in the slightest, Leon is weary but slowly indulges in the conversation, eyeing Arthur every so often because he’s nervous to display such behaviours about magic in front of his King but he still knows Arthur would never touch Merlin even if he was afraid and Percival is just so confused because he thought everyone already knew and just refused to speak about it

Merlin: It’s not that big of a deal. we don’t have to speak about it.

Elyan: Oh, no we absolutely do!

Gwaine: Yeah, c’mon Merlin, show us something cool, like money falling from the sky, or a pint in my hand, right now, come on.

Elyan: Can you really do that?

Merlin: *Sarcastically* If it’ll get Gwaine to shut up.

Arthur: Oh, so you can pour Gwaine a pint in the middle of the woods but you can’t clean my chambers?

It goes silent for a few moments, Merlin wonders if now is the right time for a joke but Arthur’s brow is furrowed and through the light of the fire he can see the firm press of lips on his face, he decides now is not the time. Gwaine rolls his eyes from across the flame before them.

Gwaine: He’s just saved all our arses, can you be grateful for two minutes?

Leon: Gwaine-

Merlin: He has every right to be upset-

Arthur: Do not address me as if i’m not even here, you owe me that at least.

There’s a tense silence as Merlin’s hand stills where it pokes at the fire with a stick, Leon eyes the King cautiously and Percival fiddles, wide eyed, with the frayed edges of his tunic. Merlin sighs and focuses again on the fire, it’s the only heat he can find.

Gwaine: What kind of things can you do?

Merlin is hesitant to answer but Elyan looks at him expectantly and even Leon has turned his attention to him now, seemingly awaiting either an answer from the servant or an order from his King.

Merlin: I- I can do small things like move stuff around, tell a broom to sweep or a rag to clean.

He thinks that’s enough but by the excited look in Gwaine and Elyan’s eyes it isn’t.

Merlin: I can light fires, fell trees, sense a nearby threat, anything… really.

Gwaine: That’s so cool

Arthur: So you could’ve been useful this entire time and you chose not to be.

There’s another lull as Arthur picks apart leaves and tosses them into the fire but as Leon speaks up even Arthur turns his gaze.

Leon: How long have you been able to do all this?

It’s hardly an innocent question but Leon’s tone is honest and Merlin cannot feel cornered by his words.

Merlin: Since birth.

Arthur: Lies.

Elyan: Is that possible?

Gwaine: What?

Leon: Is that all you can do? Move things? Will them to your command?

Now that question is loaded even if Leon means no ill will. Merlin swallows, he nods.

Merlin: Yes

Leon: What else can you command?

Merlin: The seas

Arthur: A mermaid are you, now?

Merlin: The trees and the ground.

Arthur: A nymph perhaps?

Merlin: The skies

Arthur: Now you’re just being absurd-

Merlin: Lighting.

Merlin cuts in quickly. He was never proud of it, bringing the bolt down so harshly and eradicating the sorceress to nothing but a pile of smouldering ash but Arthur will find out one way or another. Banishment or pyre he will make sure Arthur hears of his crimes before he goes.

Merlin: Nimue. I killed her. A bolt straight through her body. There was nothing left.

The group maintains their silence for a few moments and Arthur finally turns to look at Merlin for the first time since they’d stopped to make camp

Arthur: Prove it.

Merlin: Sire-

Arthur: Don’t call me that and prove it.

Merlin: Why? Hoping i’ll mess it all up and strike myself down? Save you the trouble of building the pyre?

Arthur: If I wanted you dead you wouldn’t be speaking so stop moping, get off your arse and prove. It.

Merlin doesn’t need to get up because the second Arthur stops talking Merlin’s eyes are sparking gold and the sky erupts in a violent flash of colour. tendrils of brilliant white crack the darkness apart, coating the forest in a momentary burst of day before the light fades and in its wake leaves behind the fading outline of the Pendragon crest in the forks of dying white.

The group remains still, staring upwards at the now pitch black sky before Elyan is laughing out loud and Gwaine is excitedly smacking Leon beside him.

Gwaine: Oh my god, we could do so much. We could strike Lord Harold down and he wouldn’t even know what hit him-

Arthur: shut up, Gwaine

Arthur is still staring at the sky and Leon speaks from beside him.

Leon: Forgive me for asking, ignore me next time

The Knight is almost blushing in his place and Merlin manages a small huff of laughter at that before he resumes poking at the fire but his moment of silence is inturpeted

Arthur: Sir Percival, you’ve been unusually quiet. Please, what are your opinions on all of this.

Arthur seems pissed off, but not in an angry way, more of an i’ve been outvoted and i’m not happy about it way. Percival shrugs, picking away at the skin of nails like he has no idea what this conversation could possibly be about.

Arthur: Percival?

Percy: Mhh hmm.

Arthur raises an eyebrow. Percival stares back at him.

Percy: Yes, Sire?

Arthur: Don’t play dumb with me.

Percy: I don’t know what you mean, sire.

There’s a moment , a beat, barely a second.

Gwaine: You knew?!?!!!?!???!?

Elyan: You sly bastard!

Leon: oh lord-

Percy: I didn’t, I swear-

Arthur: Percival-

Merlin: How-

Percy: I THOUGHT WE ALL KNEW-

Gwaine: WHY WOULD YOU THINK THAT-

Elyan: HOW WOULD WE HAVE KNOWN-

Leon: Kill me.

Percy: IT WAS SO OBVIOUS-

Merlin: HANG ON-

GWAINE: WHY WOULD’NT YOU TELL ME?

Elyan: Gwen’s going to be so pissed off she missed this

Gwaine: I THOUGHT WE WE’RE FRIENDS-

Merlin: HOW WAS IT OBVIOUS-

Percy: WE ARE, I JUST THOUGHT WE WEREN’T ALLOWED TO TALK ABOUT IT

Leon: please lord,

ELYAN: WHY WOULD’NT WE BE ALLOWED TO- Oh, no, wait, yeah got it, continue.

Percy: I THOUGHT YOU WERE ALL AWARE AND JUST NEVER MENTIONED IT CAUSE IT WAS SUCH A CASUAL THING THATS WHY I WOULD ALWAYS GIVE YOU A CLAP ON THE BACK AFTER AN AMBUSH OR-

Merlin: I THOUGH IT WAS CAUSE I DIDN’T DIE

Leon: Finish me off

Percy: YEAH, CAUSE YOU SAVED US. WITH MAGIC

Leon: I beg of you

ELyan: Holy shit-

Gwaine: Have we really been that blind?

Percival shrugs and Merlin still looks at him like he’s just betrayed his entire blood line.

Leon: Please, it would be the kind thing to do

Elyan: What?

Leon: What?

Gwaine: Did you tell him?

Merlin: Why would i tell him?

Percy: ouch.

Arthur: Percival.

Everyone pauses, Leon stops praying to a deity he does not believe in and Merlin stops looking so offended but Gwaine and Elyan still hold that child like wonder in their eyes.

Arthur: I’m not entirely sure what to threaten you with right now but I will think of something and trust me you’re going to wish you were never born.

Gwaine: Fair do’s, that

Percy: So Merlin gets away scot free but not me?

Merlin: OI-

Arthur: Oh, i’m not even started with you.

Gwaine: Oh, c’mon princess, don’t act like you didn’t have even the slightest hunch.

Arthur’s head spins at a pace that’s frankly alarming to look over at Gwaine. He narrow his eyes like he was lining up his next arrow for loosening. There’s another beat before Gwaine’s eyes widen

Gwaine: OH MY GOD YOU DID-

Then Arthur is launching forward, over the fire and it takes the four others an hour to get Arthur to release the impossible grip he has on Gwaine’s hair and another two to get Gwaine to apologise for the black eye now blooming on the King’s face.

maybe I'm dumb that it took me this long to realize but when Arthur tells Gwen he has a dream to run away and be a farmer his only frame of reference for how farmers actually live is that one time that he was in Ealdor with Merlin sleeping on his cold floor and eating porridge and he hated it, my god, did he hate it but he was also with Merlin and it's the only time he didn't have to be Prince Arthur he could just be Arthur and he remembered that feeling of being just Arthur and Merlin and he coveted it so deeply that it became his dream?????

I don't think we as a fandom talk enough about how arthur actually desperately didn't want to be a prince

I have an idea for a Merlin fic but life is chaos so I cannot write it:

So for whatever reason Arthur is away (probably visiting some Lord or Nobel House) and Merlin stays behind (who knows why).

Uthers manservant is ill so he requests Merlin (after all he’s the crown prince’s manservant he should be good enough for the king).

Merlin is now stuck as Uthers servant for a week and I really want to see Merlin try to wake the King up with “rise and shine!! :D”

He talks too much and is entirely too familiar with the King, taking liberties and speaking out of turn, mentioning Arthur by name and not title, is always late with lunch but somehow…

Uther finds him fascinating. He knows Merlin is completely loyal to Arthur (he said so himself in the show). He understands Merlin hears castle gossip like most staff, but he is actually able to understand the significance behind the rumours. Merlin is also trusted by the knights and has insight into the lords and ladies of the court. He sees things, he hears things. Uther can use this

As a physician in training, he is able to treat Uthers old knee injury, and he is clearly learned. He can read and write better than some of the noblemen he’s met. One day Uther enters his chambers and finds Merlin bent over the desk looking over the grain reports “did you notice Lord Chester had been underreporting his grain storage for three years and is selling it under the table to a foreign king?”

Merlin is a terrible manservant…but Uthers clothing had never been cleaner, his armour so polished, his bathwater so hot and his notes so organised. Merlin is continuously late and covered in mud or moss, but somehow Uther finds he doesn’t mind as long as Merlin keeps feeding him important castle gossip.

Arthur gets Merlin back at the end of the week, and Merlin can finally breathe (he’s been a nervous wreck for the last seven days). Uthers servant recovers and the King has a functional servant again as is befitting his station.

But Uther is now willing to overlook some of Merlin’s …ridiculousness and familiarity with Arthur…after all, he’s realised Merlin does have some uses, even though he’s always late with breakfast.

Scenes like this:

“You’re the clumsiest excuse for a servant I’ve ever met!”

“Yes, Arthur says I have the elegance of a newborn lamb”

“Why is there a twig in your hair? It’s unbefitting of your station as servant of the King”

“I fell asleep in a ditch, anyways have you heard Lady Carteret has been seen buying hemlock at the apothecary? I’m sure Lord Carteret is soon to be missing, poor sod”

“Can you never bring me my breakfast on time?!”

“Sorry Sire, the poison tester died this morning after drinking your tea, so I had to brew it myself, and we’re in need of a new poison tester. And in totally unrelated news Lord Milder was seen fleeing the castle”

“Rise and shine!! The sun is up and you should be too!”

“Is this really how you wake your King? And where the hell is my breakfast!”

“Well Arthur usually throws a pillow at me even though it’s my job to wake him in the morning - that lazy arse!”

Arthur: There's no way he likes me back.

Leon: Merlin would throw himself in front of a moving car for you.

Arthur: Merlin would throw himself in front of a moving car for fun.

I absolutely love the idea of Arthur writing letters to Merlin saying all those things he couldn't say out loud. He would compose the most heartbreaking breathtaking well-written confessions of longing. But he would hide them in a chest that once belonged to his mother, careful Merlin wouldn't find them should he ever decide to do something outlandish like cleaning the kings chambers.

Now imagine Arthur gets poisoned and falls into a coma, so while Merlin searches everything to determine what happened he finds a spell to see what objects someone touched recently.

So he finds the chest and opens it, staring at dozens of letters addressed to him.

Naturally he would read them and find out about Arthur's love but still he had no clue how to wake him. That's when Morgana shows up telling Merlin she dreamed about the cure and she was fairly sure she could make it with Gaius help

A few hours later the potion was ready and given to the sleeping king, who woke to a sobbing Merlin with those letters in his hands

I want to send this to my partner but he’s never seen Merlin and he just WON’t get it 🤣

"Hi there mortal. So, I was in a pretty bad mood when I gave you that punishment, so I might have overreacted."

"I’ve been here for 2,000 years!" "Bad moods can last a while when you’re a god."

AU where Arthur doesn't die at Camlann and doesn't find out about Merlin's magic.

It's a few years after Camlann. Gwen and Arthur have two kids, a prince and a princess. It's not quite a golden age, but damn is it close.

Merlin loves and cares for those kids like there his own. He finds himself even more protective of them than he is of Arthur, something Gwaine never fails to rag on him about.

Merlins noticed their nurse acting strange. He's suspicious by nature of course and decides she's definitely hiding something. Something to do with the princess.

So Merlin investigates, finds nothing. Until one day he enters the nursery unexpectedly. A toy unicorn hovers in the air, the princess eyes shining gold, and the nurses face floods with panic.

She begs Merlin not to say anything. "Please don't blame the princess she can't control it, if someone must be punished please Sir punish me she's just a girl she doesn't know"

The nurse babbles on, terrified by Merlins shocked expression.

"This must be what my mother felt like' Merlin thinks, 'Terrified for a babe who doesn't yet understand the world they were born into'

He glances at the princess, she looks shocked and scared. Her little hands clutch the unicorn like a lifeline. Merlin had carved it for her as a 3rd birthday gift.

And he loves her, oh he loves her. To see his own childhood confusion and terror reflected on her face breaks his heart.

He had been scared his whole life. It was normal to him now, to be terrified of the people he loves finding out his true self.

But he wasn't scared now, as the overwhelming clarity of what he had to do settled over him.

'I won't make the same mistakes again' he thinks 'This girl will not grow up in fear. I won't allow it'

Destiny it seems, has finally forced his hand.

ive made this post before but do u get it? he left him no choice but to stay here forever!!!!!!!!

Headcannon - When Arthur was a kid he used to sneak into Uther’s room to steal shirts and wear them as nightwear.

He thought that a piece of clothing he wore to sleep, that smelled slightly like his father, is what a hug from Uther would feel like.

He never really found out if that was true because he had never experienced a real hug from the King.

Maybe, when he’s older and Arthur and Merlin are friends, but have obliviously feelings for each other, he steals Merlin’s neckerchief somehow. He doesn’t think or know to ask Merlin for a hug because he subconsciously thinks he’ll be rejected instantly.

So instead, he steals Merlin’s neckerchief and hides it under his pillow until night and while he’s sleeping he kind of just holds close it next to him.

Sometimes when Merlin is trending without a reason, I think it is just Merlin checking if Arthur is back.

Since Tumblr would be the first to know if the Once and Future King is back.

Imagine you’re a scary bad person and you have this big plot to kill the king only to be stopped by this little guy

Can we talk about the fact that the heavily overworked Merlin cared so deeply about Arthur that in episode 4x01, he spent all night writing Arthur's speech.. voluntarily and unasked? THAT'S NOT IN YOUR JOB DESCRIPTION, SIR! Aren't servants supposed to be illiterate?

the feathered hat solidifies it for them 💔💔

Had the idea that when visiting nobles meet Merlin for the first time they assume Merlin is the court jester. They hear this little peasent boy call the Prince/King "a useless clotpole with a waist bigger than his brain" and when no one does anything for the treason they just assume he's their buffoon.

Whenever arthur gets a new bethrothed

Merlin: Gaius she's evil

Gaius: you cant say that about every woman arthur tries to marry merlin, at this point you might as well marry him yourself if none of his suitors are to your standard

Merlin already making the plague rats sew together his wedding dress like cinderella: im prepared to make that sacrifice

Gwaine: look, it'll all stay between us mates.

Arthur: that's not as reassuring as you think it is

Gwaine: you offend me!!!! Look. I'm your drink-mate, Leon's your brain-mate, Lancelot's your honor-mate, Percival's you brawn-mate, Elyan's your bro-mate, Merlin's your soulmate and Gwen's your heart, mate. Let's drink to that

Arthur: hold on, Merlin's my what now?

Merlin: Man, these tournaments are so boring, it’s just knights swinging their stupid swords around

Arthur: Did you see that? Did you see how brave and strong I was? Are you impressed? Do you wanna kiss me?

Headcannon - When Arthur was a kid he used to sneak into Uther’s room to steal shirts and wear them as nightwear.

He thought that a piece of clothing he wore to sleep, that smelled slightly like his father, is what a hug from Uther would feel like.

He never really found out if that was true because he had never experienced a real hug from the King.

Maybe, when he’s older and Arthur and Merlin are friends, but have obliviously feelings for each other, he steals Merlin’s neckerchief somehow. He doesn’t think or know to ask Merlin for a hug because he subconsciously thinks he’ll be rejected instantly.

So instead, he steals Merlin’s neckerchief and hides it under his pillow until night and while he’s sleeping he kind of just holds close it next to him.

Bro if uther bitch ass don’t hurry up and kick the bucket, I’m so tired of him. Like Merlin, please let this man die already so that Camelot can be better

weird way to look at ur employee tbh…somebody call hr…..

my favorite genre of merthur photos r the ones of them that look like paintings

how i look at bro when im not deeply in love with him..

he’s so evil

"I thank you, hero, for saving our kingdom from the demon queen. However, may I ask how you defeated her?" "Oh, I married her."

Post- Magic reveal Merthur angst oneshot (as “We hug now” by Sydney Rose)

“I have a feeling you got everything you wanted.”

The smell of mold and dust chokes up the back of his throat, strewn over the floor of a musty, wooden shack he discovered while aimlessly walking in the middle of nowhere. Only 4 days ago, he had pushed the boat into the lake, watching it drift away as his mind was now.

His eyes burned with fiery tears, the tracks engraving into his skin with molten magic - the loss never to be forgotten, embedded into his cheeks. Merlin hiccuped for breaths whenever the full feeling in his nose returned. Oh how he prayed for Arthur’s return.

Even though his bleeding body had been returned to Avalon after being struck, Merlin somewhat knew he’d done good - even without lifting the ban on magic. Merlin knew he was a good king - having achieved and done much more than his predecessors ever did for the people of Camelot.

He had a feeling Arthur did what he could and he knew he would return when Albion’s need was greatest. At least he got the life he wanted as King, portrayed as a savior and a strong ruler - a glorious battle leading to his demise.

He lived a magnificent life.

“You’re not wasting time, stuck here like me.”

At least Arthur was frozen in time rather than being stuck on an earth that would keep turning whether Merlin moves on or not. He knew the world would go on without him. Without him.

How could he ever be part of an existence without Arthur? What would be the point in living? What would his purpose be? How could he have failed? What was there left to do? He was a nobody with no political power.

Why couldn’t they have taken Merlin instead? Arthur would be able to accomplish much more than Merlin ever could in the time he’d have to wait for his other half’s return. But it wasn’t like that.

He was stuck here - without hope, without meaning and without Arthur.

“You’re just thinking it’s a small thing that happened.”

Merlin revealing his magic was insignificant compared to Arthur’s death. If he had done it much sooner, yes - there was the risk of dying, but it was a risk he should’ve taken rather than left so late.

Merlin wasn’t sure if Arthur would have ordered his execution on the spot if hadn’t been in such a vulnerable position. He wasn’t sure if he would have burst out in a fit of rage and attacked him.

But he knew Arthur had been heart broken - the trust between them was a taut thread with a blade pressed against it. Nothing could ever compare to the feeling of relief when Arthur talked to him again - when Arthur let Merlin care for him again.

“Why are you doing this?” he said, voice slurring and thick with emotion. “Why are you still acting like a servant?”

But he had never been acting. Arthur was everything to him. He would move planets and destroy galaxies to see Arthur safe, or happy. He was born to serve Arthur and he’d stand by that until the world falls to nothing.

“The world ended when it happened to me.”

When he threw up the words “I have magic.”, hoarsely whispering “I only use it for you, Arthur.”, he feared for his life. He knew Arthur was weak and vulnerable and would have to rely on Merlin if he wanted to survive. But he knew if his King ordered his execution he’d comply.

All the years of living in fear - spent watching sorcerers fight for their families and die. All the years he lived in Camelot - spent chasing after destiny. All the years he stood by Arthur’s side - spent protecting him. It all felt worthless. His life and its purpose felt meaningless.

Uther had ordered Gaius’s execution after Gaius had been a trusted member in the council for decades. After Gaius had publicly turned against his own kind to stand by Uther’s side. Would Arthur do that to him even after showing and proving he had the utmost loyalty toward him?

Merlin knew for a fact that his fear of losing Arthur and being unable to serve him by his side overpowered the notion of dying.

“I have a feeling you got everything you wanted.”

Arthur was glad his last moments were spent with his best friend - a man he cares for and loves. He was glad it was by his side that his life left his body. He was glad he didn’t have to die alone.

He somewhat knew Merlin had never trusted him. He knew Merlin didn’t love him the way Arthur loved him because if he did why would he never tell Arthur about his magic. Did he really think Arthur would kill him? After all they’ve been through together?

Arthur understood Merlin did what he had to. He understood Merlin was the only person there was for him. He understood Merlin would never want to hate or hurt him. He understood magic was a part of Merlin that would never leave him and he’d accept him as he was.

Merlin was a good man. He’d done so much for Arthur and there was no way he could ever repay him - not now as the last words lingered in his last breath.

“Thank you.”

There was a small guilty feeling swirling in the back of his throat. Maybe Merlin was even happy that Arthur had died; there was no King to persecute him. That would be everything he wanted, right? To be free.

“You’re not wasting time, stuck here like me.”

Merlin was out there living while Arthur’s carcass had been left to rot on a brittle boat in the middle of a cursed lake. He would get to do things. He would get to see his family and his friends and Arthur would be stuck here - trapped in the visceral bounds of time; choking him.

“You’re just thinking it’s a small thing that happened.”

Arthur’s death must have meant nothing to Merlin. He was a powerful warlock - the most powerful sorcerer to ever walk the earth and Arthur just felt like some lousy king who accomplished nothing. He saved nobody.

He had blindly followed along his father’s ruling and assisted in the persecution of so many all of his life - carpet cleaning an entire community and race of people. It was only in his last days that he realised just how wrong he was.

Arthur was really the useless one between the duo - between the two men who couldn’t be more opposite. This moment must be so insignificant to Merlin who would live forever. There was definitely more important battles he fought and more important people in his life.

People more important that he cared more for than Arthur. Arthur’s death was a blip of his life that he would forget as if it never happened.

“The world ended when it happened to me.”

He had felt the life being torn out of his lungs as death scraped its claws down his throat, piercing his last words in its sharp nails.

Everything he was meant nothing.

None of his life mattered because he had never been the king he should have been - a king who helped and freed people. He didn’t even get to help Merlin. And now he’d never be able to see him again, never be able to beg for forgiveness again, never be able to thank him again - never be able to voice how much he loves him.

He wasn’t sure if his world ended when blood stopped circulating around his body or when he stopped feeling Merlin by his side.

I love that Arthur and Merlin are part of this huge prophecy. They are two halves of a whole, two sides of the same coin.

And then there is Gwaine who somehow managed to wiggle himself into this elite circle in the sluttiest way possible and rebranded them as strength, magic and courage

I love how we can just write “Merlin.” and we all know who’s saying it. and the tone he’s saying it in. no descriptions needed. we just Know. and i love that.