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Bbc Merlin - Blog Posts
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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.
I don’t know if i hallucinated this but i swear earlier seasons Bradley said something about hoping Arthur realises Merlin has magic on his own.
And i wish, i wish, that had been the case.
That Arthur, knocked out, bleeding, injured, awakes too early and sees Merlin, eyes golden and angry, bending the power of the earth in raw wrath and fury towards their enemy.
And Arthur is bloody fucking terrified. But Merlin screams ‘not him, never him, never Arthur’ and the earth shakes and… Arthur can’t even remember what poor soul or creature had thrown him from his horse, certainly not now their body is torn apart by Merlin’s words and his flaming gaze.
Of course Arthur is terrified. Is he hallucinating? Is this some malevolent vision? His head throbs and he can taste blood in his mouth and he can see Merlin, Merlin his incompetent and clumsy and funny and innocent and soft and gentle manservant who wakes Arthur with a brilliant smile and some drivel about lazy daisies, stood like a deep and dark and threatening shadow over what was left of a once-body.
Arthur’s breath comes in short gasps and tears prick his eyes. Panic. And Merlin turns to him as he clamps his eyes shut against the image of Merlin dripping with death and anger. But deep within his shattering mind a small voice whispers to him. The voice is soft and gentle, blonde curls and kind eyes and patient hands cupping his cheek. She reminds him of each time Merlin has looked at him with pure, unadulterated devotion - his eyes deep and blue, a tiny ring of gold-green swirling around his pupils. How each time Arthur’s lain on the brink of death, and Merlin has never left his side, tending to his wounds with such tenderness that Arthur has never felt before. How it was in Arthur’s name that Merlin’s magic, Merlin’s magic, raged.
Another voice, thick and real and worried, breaks through the soft whisper of Ygraine.
Arthur felt shaking hands - how could they be so gentle when moments before it was from them that such unbridled power was released - stroke his matted and sweat-soaked hair, wiping the blood Arthur felt trickle down his cheek away. Arthur forces open his eyes, meeting Merlin’s as the gold fades to the deep familiar ocean-blue.
Did Merlin know Arthur had seen? How much blood had soaked Merlin’s hands when Arthur had lain unconscious, how many victories has Merlin won in Arthur’s name?
And deep within Arthur’s heart he knows he is safe in this sorcerer’s hands. Knows in fact he’d choose these hands over anyone else’s.
But Arthur can’t say the words just yet. He can’t admit to himself that the man he loves is made from that which he hates. Hated. Has been taught to hate. A new wound has been torn in him, one not made of blood and flesh. Because if Merlin is magic, how can magic be evil.
So Arthur lets Merlin’s hands and Merlin’s words and Merlin’s soft smiles wash over him. He feigns ignorance of what he saw.
But he watches. His wounds sit quietly: clean and placid from Merlin’s assiduous care. His face is washed from blood and grime by Merlin, who had fussed and worried as he went. Now he watches. He notices the damp wood Merlin had collected whilst the rain has fallen burst into eager flames within seconds of Merlin’s attentive hands and wonders how he never noticed before.
When they return to Camelot, limping but alive, Arthur notices the stone-deep warmth that graces his chambers. Where his room should be chilled and still from his absence instead there’s a soft and humble feeling of life suffused throughout, and Arthur realises with a small, private smile it is the same feeling that radiates from Merlin.
The lessening part of him argues he should recoil. For why is he rejoicing at feeling the touch of a sorcerer all around him. But Arthur argues back. He’s felt the saccharin, sticky grip of dark, evil magic masquerading as sweet ladies or sycophantic servants. He remembered the groggy, aching return to his own mind after Sofia had dragged him under her spell. Merlin’s gentle, joyous presence is worlds away. His magic may be hidden from Arthur, but Merlin’s grinning insults and blatant disregard for any sort of protocol meant any fears for further hidden motive besides self preservation withered immediately.
Arthur keeps watching. He notices now the shine his armour has, beyond what weary hands and cloth could ever achieve. He notices, or rather feels, when Percival’s muscled arm brings down the practice sword and Arthur - his mind worlds away - notices too late, yet the ensuing bruise is not angry and mottled but timid and quickly fades, even though ordinary chainmail would never have warded off such a blow. He notices Merlin’s unbridled joy when the two of them leave Camelot for the forest. He notices the bird that lands on Merlin’s shoulder, the whispered smiles Merlin exchanges with the creature. He notices the grass grow a little taller beneath Merlin’s feet, the way the trees bend to him as if they’re greeting a long lost friend.
Slowly, magic - or at least Merlin’s magic - loses the rotten, sharp edge Uther had imposed. Arthur begins to yearn to see the flames of the fire burning in his room reflected once more in Merlin’s eye. Still he can’t quite bring the words lingering in his throat up to his lips. Guilt begins to fester. Arthur remembers the years of Uther’s reign, how the screams of burning sorcerers - some of them so young, so young - had echoed through the cold stones of Camelot. He remembers now Merlin’s pale face and wide eyes, ghosted with tears Arthur knew not what for. He knows now.
And so when his knights bring him talk of a druid camp away to the south, Arthur stands tall, facing the court, and tells them to leave it be. That there will be no more raids (not that he had issued any since his ascension to the throne, but no formal proclamation had thus far been made). He tells himself privately he will end the ban on magic. He will forge a Camelot where Merlin will not live in fear, in a half life. The faces staring back are curious, some wary. But the one meeting Arthur’s steady gaze, wide-eyed with a shocked, gentle, proud, smile and slightly trembling hands gripping the wind jug, is that which Arthur cares about. He gives a slight nod. Too subtle for anyone else to notice, but as obvious and clear to Merlin as it ever could be, the two of them long since having needed words to communicate.
Merlin has a lot of questions. Naturally. They tumble from him as Arthur undresses behind the screen. And Arthur knows now that he’s ready. Merlin has magic. Merlin is magic. And Merlin is good. Deeply good. The words don’t quiver and cower in his throat.
And I wish Arthur had then told him. Had taken a deep breath and met Merlin’s gaze and told him he knew. That he had been scared. But he had trusted. Trusts. Loves.
We deserved Merlin fighting beside Arthur, raw devotion and power and fierce, fierce love.
So here is a strange idea I had,
So Merlin is Immortal, he can't stay dead, but he does get killed throughout the show in his bid to protect Arthur.
Here's my AU idea:
Every time Merlin dies, a piece of his memories dies with him.
This doesn't affect him much, as he doesn't die often in the beginning, but as time goes on and he gets more desperate to protect Arthur, he becomes more reckless, not realising his lucky escapes after being knocked out was due to him being dead and the perpetrators leaving his corpse.
After all, dead men tell no tales, usually.
With each death, he loses a memory and he wouldn't have noticed, but Arthur does.
Arthur would mention at one point or another about this or that and Merlin wouldn't be able to recall it.
It at first annoys him and makes him point out about Merlin's low intelligence. But as time goes on, he gets concerned when Merlin can't remember certain people or events.
He brings up the time Merlin cried for the Dragonlord.
Merlin: Who?
Arthur: The last Dragonlord? Balinor? You cried over him when he died protecting you?
Merlin: Huh... I don't remember him, but if he did save my life, then I'm grateful, but why did I cry? Did I know him well?
Arthur: ... No, but you helped to convince him to help Camelot. He was a good man in the end.
Merlin: I see. Well, it's strange how I don't remember that.
Arthur: *Concerned*
It happens occasionally as time goes on and Arthur starts to consult Gaius about Merlin's memories.
Then I can see Merlin being outed as a sorcerer to Uther when Arthur is gone on some diplomatic mission. Uther wouldn't think twice before sentencing Merlin to death. Only he won't die.
He dies and dies in many different ways. Uther desperate to get rid of Merlin who he sees as the embodiment of his fears (if only he knew 😅).
Merlins deaths happen so many times, that by the time Arthur returns 2 weeks later, and storms the dungeons angry and confused, he was met with a sight he'll never forget.
Arthur: Merlin! *Rushes to the jail bars and demands answers to his questions*
Merlin: *Stares blankly*
Arthur: 😠 Merlin! Answer me!
Merlin: Do I know you?
It hits him harder than any fist or magic ever could.
And that's all I've got. Tell me what you think, what happens next?
Till next time fellow dreamers~! ✨
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
YES THANK YOU
also the way so many fics make arthur the possessive and jealous one like why do sooo many people get the dynamic sooo wrong like i think arthur does get a little possessive like they’re both clearly so obsessed with each other but let’s be serious for a minute PLEASE merlin is such a toxic possessive jealous little freak!!!!!! like please open ur hearts to the TRUTH!!!!!!!!!
weird way to look at ur employee tbh…somebody call hr…..
hate a “they’re supposed to be like twins” ass bitch like shut up that doesn’t make any fucking sense merthur are not twins they are two men deeply in love with each other…I’ll kill u dead…..
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."
i love this so much
truly it is poetic justice that not only are both of uther’s kids gay as fuck for their servants, but one of them has awesome scary lesbian magic powers and the other one is in love with the magic twink..so awesome…
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.
Merthur has a farm life dream and Mitski wrote it…
“It's beautiful out today, I wish you could take me upstate”
I’m envisioning Arthur by his desk but sat facing the window and Merlin stood next to him. It’s a slightly warm, yet still breezy summer day. It feels like a full day rather than the miserable winter ones that drag because it’s so dark. The day’s refreshing, the sun is bright and they’re looking out the window.
Gwen told Merlin about how on her date with Arthur she was taken aback because Arthur said he practically wanted to run away with Merlin. Get a bit of farmland and take Merlin with him. It shows how Arthur craves the freedom and lack of duty.
Merlin brought it up afterwards in a teasing manner and Arthur gets flustered and tells him to shut up. Merlin turns soft, yet serious for a moment and says he thinks it’s beautiful and he’d love to do something like that. Then starts the teasing manner again suddenly and says something stupid about responsibility and chores.
“To the little place you would tell me about, when you'd sense that I want to escape”
Ever since then, when Merlin can tell Arthur is tense or stressed or feeling insecure about not being enough or feeling insecure and thinking that he’s not being good enough for his people, Merlin will reassure him.
He’ll say what he usually says about being the greatest king Albion has ever known but he also brings up the farm and it evolves into a dream of a little house with a pond as well and other things.
Today is the kind of beautiful, warming day they imagine their haven would feel like every day. They’re both silently thinking of it in unison without saying anything.
“Texas is a landlocked state, it's a little bit far away from the water from the home that I've wanted to make”
Arthur suddenly speaks up and points a small area on the map on his desk. His ring is glinting and sun is filtering through his hair. Merlin thinks he looks so majestic.
Obviously it’s not actually Texas, but it’d be a small quiet area in the middle of nowhere. The water is referring to the pond in their shared daydream which is ‘the home’ Arthur has ‘wanted to make’.
“It's somehow in the city”
I imagine Arthur always wanted to know what it would be like to grow up around other people and be allowed to have friends and people who have things in common around him. I’d like to think he enjoys hearing stories of Ealdor and Merlin and Will growing up.
I don’t think it’d be a city. I think it’d be slightly isolated but within travel distance of a small town with few people.
“You make it there and you make it anywhere, anywhere”
Merlin’s devoted and undivided loyalty to Arthur. It shows how no matter where Arthur goes he believes Merlin would follow.
“But I've been anywhere and it's not what I want and I wanna be still with you”
Arthur believes it doesn’t matter actually matter where he goes because wherever he ends up the only thing that matters is Merlin by his side.
He knows he wouldn’t enjoy a peasant life long after growing with everything he could ever want,minus love and companionship which is why being with Merlin is so important to him. Because Merlin helps him experience what he didn’t have growing up.
“You keep your socks on in bed, keep our hearth warm”
I guess this is the domestic bliss of them living together, away from the rest of the world. It shows how Merlin cares for Arthur. It shows how Merlin is a warm person and protects Arthur from the cold.
“See the tree shadows lie in black the pools in the lawns”
It has a deeper meaning in the actual song. It’s describing life through poetry but in this case I’d like to think of it as Merlin and Arthur, yet again, envisioned their life away from reality.
“You're the breeze in my Austin nights”
It juxtaposes the “keep our hearth warm” line, yet it’s so beautiful. I think Austin is warm (i wouldn’t know, I’ve never been but I assume it is.) and it shows that Merlin in a refresher for Arthur when he’s caught up in the heat and responsibilities of life. Merlin is Arthur’s cold breeze in the blistering heat.
I’m thinking of writing this as a oneshot rather than an analysis. The song is called “Texas Reznikoff” By Mitski. 🫶🏼🫶🏼
And if I said that Merlin would deny his magic for Arthur, and Arthur would deny his kingdom for Merlin, thereby giving up the part of themself that is the core of who they are?
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.
King Arthur and The Sassy Servant in Shining Armor
Arthur: to discuss the legalisation of magic I have invited every powerful sorcerer that I know of to a meeting
Arthur: Merlin, send invitations to Dragoon, the Dolma, Emrys and, if you can track him down, the last dragonlord
Edit: for everyone asking for a fic, the lovely @myfairkatiecat wrote one, just look in the replies or reblogs or go to their blog
i’ve never posted anything, ever. but i have a headcanon so…
OKAY this might have already been written in the vestiges and nooks of the never-dying, long-suffering BBC’s Merlin fandom. And it has definitely been thought but
Arthur heals a lot faster than others - whether it’s from sickness or minor wounds and injuries. Merlin canonically SUCKS at healing spells but tries to do what he can when he sees Arthur wounded and he’s like helping him change and stuff or putting gauze on it.
Also im a strong believer in the fact that Merlin is Emrys and has an insane, unlimited supply of magic so he could definitely learn healing spells. I’d think at some point he’d start learning them to heal Arthur faster but in a way that it wasn’t suspicious, not like “oh i had a massive scar cut into my arm and now it’s suddenly gone” but more like “huh that healed quicker than i thought it would”
Also I’d like to think Leon notices that Arthur heals quicker but doesn’t comment on it.
happy arthursdeathmas to all who celebrate!!
Merthur's first meeting in a nutshell:
Merlin: be a buddy, not a bully bro
Arthur: I AM NOT YOUR BRO now get down on your knees for me~