#merthur hc

[tiredcowboyy]

I always find the posts/fics where leons just so over witnessing merthur pining so funny. Like that man really had to see them from the start and the tension between them grow and he just had to sit and watch. Like I imagine every time a new knight joined they all brought the weird vibes up and leon each time was more and more over it.

Like it stared w lance early on being like

Lance: hey leon, is it just me or are arthur and merlin lowkey pining for each other

Leon: oh thank god! Someone finally brought it up, yeah theyve been like this for a while-

But then ended up as

Percy talking to the knights as they watch merlin and arthur bicker (read: flirt): ok but, does it seem like theyre fli-

Gwaine, sounding exhausted: yeah theyve been like this for a while

Percy: really? And theyve still not done anything about it?

Leon the long suffering, whose now had to watch them for almost 10 years: *eye twitch* nope.

Edit: just gonna leave these screenshots here

[counting-stars-gayly]

Thinking about how, for Merlin, the events of the show happened so long ago that he can’t possibly remember much, and the memories he does still have are probably vague. So when Arthur returns, with everything far more fresh in his mind, he probably keeps referencing events that Merlin has forgotten or is confused about, and it breaks both their hearts.

[justaz]

*merlins magic gets exposed in front of the knights*

merlin, magic user: oh fuck

arthur, finally taking this opportunity to pretend as if he just found out merlin has magic after agonizing for the past month on how to bring it up: you have magic?

lancelot, merlin defender, already knew of merlin’s magic: no! i have magic

gwaine, merlin defender, already knew of merlin’s magic, lover of chaos, ride or die: no, i have magic!

mordred, desperate for his hero’s approval bc no matter what he’s done emrys just stares at him with distrust and the poor boy is tired and so close to tears: no…i have magic.

percival, raised by druids and bonded strongly with mordred over that and does Not agree with the persecution of magic in camelot, had an inkling that merlin had magic but no proof: no. i have magic.

*leon and elyan exchange a look, elyan, amused and leon, exhausted, elyan shrugs*

elyan, knows how much gwen adores merlin and completely understands her stance bc merlin…is merlin, down to clown and put on a show, really playing up the dramatics: no! i have magic.

leon, exhausted, has known of merlin’s magic since he stepped foot in camelot, knows of his feelings for arthur and arthur’s feelings for him, knows arthur knows of merlin’s magic and wouldn’t harm him, thinks everyone is being absolutely ridiculous:

*the knights stare hard at leon and even merlin looks slightly offended at leon not jumping to his defense with the rest of the knights, arthur hasn’t said anything and is staring at leon expectantly*

leon, sighing: …no. i have magic.

[roosterlasagne]

BBC Merlin writers really missed out the best friend energy with Gwen. She's the first friend Merlin meets in Camelot, what do you mean he didn't tell her of his magic?

I would love to have a few episodes of the Merlin, Gwen, Lancelot trio where Merlin is trying to discreetly-not-discreetly take care of the villain while Lancelot is trying his best to help him with the stealth and makes excuses for him while Gwen is the one with the braincell making sure it all doesn't go to shit.

Merlin would find out of the threat from Arthur or due to Arthur and he would then relay this to Lance and Gwen. They talk about how best to deal with it and they ALL go down to see Kilgarrah cos more people need to question his bullshit, it's extremely hard to do that when you're the only one confronted with it. And same with Gaius, although his is more caring but still detrimental at times.

Gwen will be the one to persuade Merlin to tell Morgana of his magic and help her. While both Gwen and Lancelot, and later also Morgana, make sure that Arthur learns that magic isn't so bad. And then Merlin would tell him of his magic and Morgana will feel safe to also come out with her magic.

And then for bonus points merthur

[inamagicalhallucination]

merlin but its just him sneaking out magic users to safety in ridiculous and obvious ways 

like it starts with him sneaking into the dungeons and leading them out the night before their execution but making sure he has an alibi for the night just in case (it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t tbh arthur will be there to explain how his dimwitted manservant could never pull this off)

then gradually he doesn’t even wait until it’s night (working for gaius and for arthur is hard and that doesn’t even account for his job as arthur’s secret protector - he has no time)

there’s a scene where some evil magic user tries to assassinate arthur but merlin finds out and

merlin: if i may ask, why are you trying to kill arthur

evil magic user: BECAUSE OF THE EVILS HIS FATHER HAS PLAGUED THIS LAND WITH

merlin: ah but you’re not killing his father, you’re killing arthur

evil magic user: I AM STOPPING UTHER’S BLOOD FROM CONTINUING TO POISON MORE AND MORE PEOPLE

merlin: well that’s not really fair to arthur, is it? your anger is understandable but arthur is not his father, it would be unfair to damn him for his father’s sins. instead if we show arthur that magic is not evil, he will know his father’s ways were wrong

contemplating evil magic user: how can we put our trust on a chance

merlin: arthur’s a good man, my word may mean little, but i truly know him. would you like to come up for tea and we can discuss it thoroughly and also how you should spend your energy finding other magic users so you have a community and you can all plan for a better future together

not so evil magic user: ... yes please

//

magic users who don’t have anywhere to go all get sent to hunith’s house where she helps them find their footing and sometimes they stay in ealdor and sometimes they leave but they’re safe

everyone in ealdor side-eyes the random ass people hunith’s kid keeps on sending her but ultimately dont say shit because god knows uther would just kill all of them for assisting magic or some bs and their own king isnt better

//

there is a scene where merlin sneaks a magic user out and they thank him for risking his life and merlin says “nah don’t worry i do this all the time” and then makes a note to himself to tell arthur that the security at camelot is awful (after arthur becomes king of course)

//

sometimes when all else fails merlin pretends to know whatever person is on the run and makes a big show about missing them and no way could they have magic maybe he uses his magic to block theirs or if theyre a druid cover their druid marks and yeah

//

he pretends mordred is his younger brother and no one questions it

//

arthur knows what he’s doing and corners him like “ARE YOU STUPID?? YOU’RE SO OBVIOUS MY FATHER WILL FIND OUT”

and merlin’s like “no offense but your dad aint known for being smart babe”

and arthurs like thats treason but he helps cover up for merlin anyway

//

merlin helping someone sneak out but then bringing them to arthur’s room real quick because he forgot something there

//

merlin using the residents of the castle’s stupidity and obliviousness against them

//

leon knows whats going on and he brings it up to arthur before arthur figures it out but he does it vaguely and arthur thinks its about his crush on merlin and swears leon to secrecy and leons like “aight” and helps cover for merlin too

//

arthur still doesn’t know about merlin’s magic

//

leon does though and he thinks its another thing that him and arthur have sworn to secrecy about

//

there’s now a place near ealdor where magic users can go for safety if they don’t go to hunith directly like a magic hotel thing

yeah

//

merlin accidentally and kinda purposefully at times (but mostly on accident) helps unite the magic community and that causes less people to go evil

unfortunately, it also means that people who are too far gone in their desire for revenge or just in their own evilness are more organized but merlin is strong so its okay and he doesn’t have to deal with half assed attempts made by people who don’t think they have any other choice

//

the servants all know whats up but they don’t get paid enough to deal with this shit

//

yeah thats all ive got for now

[pandasaurio-espacial]

Even the most loyal of Arthur's people defending Merlin in a magic reveal scenario, not for Merlin's sake but Arthur's is so important to me

[nimrism]

Morgana would absolutely enjoy teasing Merlin and Arthur about their feelings 😎 Especially Arthur!

I WHOLEHEARTEDLY AGREE

morgana and arthur are literally siblings so the teasing never ceases so like we KNOW she's going to be insufferable about it as soon as she finds out he likes merlin. i can see her calling out arthur's favoritism and the fact that he takes merlin literally everywhere and tells him everything. imagine merlin casually talking about something arthur told him (about himself? about his mom maybe?) thinking that it's common knowledge or that at least morgana, as his sister, knows this, then morgana just narrows her eyes like wtf arthur never told me that he never talks about this 🤨 so she never lets it go and keeps bugging arthur about it forever

AS FOR MERLIN the degree of teasing would vary depending on what kind of friendship they have like if they'd remained friends and he'd never poisoned her then i genuinely think she would've been helping him the whole time (ie; making sure he gets alone time with arthur and/or hinting to arthur that he likes him etc.)

buuuuut i feel like if we're talking later on in the show (maybe morgana gets a redemption arc and eventually goes back to living in the castle) there'd be a lot (and i mean a LOT) of tension and bad blood between her and merlin so she wouldn't talk to him about it directly but maybe in an argument or something she'd off-handedly mention to arthur that his stupid manservant is head over heels in love with him and she's sick of having to see it every day cause she hates him (and he's literally emrys, but like that's a minor thing)

SO YEAH SHE RELISHES TEASING THEM ABOUT THEIR FEELINGS AND LOVES SEEING THEIR FACES GO RED EVERY TIME SHE POINTS OUT THE OBVIOUS (maybe she and merlin have a little bad blood but that doesn't stop her from poking fun at him and arthur's ridiculous pining)

ps: keep the questions/discussions coming :))

[nonunsnonunsnone]

- Uther, Merlin, and Arthur are trapped and alone somewhere (literally anywhere)

- Uther, upon closer inspection of merlin decides he’s sure merlin is a sorcerer. Like he has the time to examine him and connect the dots from the last several years. He doesn’t say anything until they’re out and on their way to Camelot again.

- Adventure Happens. They are all freed. Uther, upon arrival at the court, immediately orders Merlin’s arrest and puts him to death row for sorcery.

- Arthur goes ballistic. Where is this coming from??? Cmon it’s Merlin !

- Uther recalls the many, many times merlin was conveniently somewhere where magic was used.

- Arthur, dumb of fuck, lovesick of heart, looks back at Merlin with a panicked and betrayed look. He realises his father is right.

- Arthur saying that Merlin is not a sorcerer. That he himself is one. He was also there at every one of the examples Uther gave for Merlin’s usage of magic. He could never tell Uther but it’s not something he can control - it came out of nowhere but it’s been growing stronger and he can’t live without magic. (I should’ve gone to sleep an hour ago is the Merlin is magic metaphor thick enough in this paragraph?)

- Arthur, being the one and true prince and future king, cannot be killed by his father for using magic. Arthur, who will be the person who will rule Camelot cannot be swayed away from legalising sorcery. Uther will die, and there is nothing he can do about it.

- Uther vowing to only release Merlin if Arthur swears to adhere to his magic ban, after his death, as well.

- Arthur swears by the crown. Merlin is devastated.

- Merlin and Arthur have a huge fight - “how could you not tell me about this??” “how could you doom all sorcerers in Camelot for as long as you live??? Doom me???”

- Arthur says he’s not going to keep the laws of his father. Merlin doesn’t believe him. He swears to Merlin by his mother’s sigil and gives it to him. He asks for Merlin to trust him on this.

- Merlin and Arthur practice magic in the woods, Arthur is in awe and in love and they sneak outside of Camelot’s borders often, because Arthur loves seeing Merlin show him so many different things, from moving twigs and making trees disappear to slowing down time.

- Uther dies (rest in disgrace) - Arthur orders for the crown to be broken, scrapped and replaced. Camelot is filled with magic :”) Merlin teaches Arthur magic and I sob in the corner as Merlin is appointed court sorcerer :”))))

[theroundbartable]

When Arthur figures out how phones work, he's completely and batshit abusing it.

He can call Merlin? From anywhere? At any time? Heck yeah. So he phones Merlin all day. If he's in class, at work, in the Car, cooking right next to him in the very same room, Arthur calls. When he doesn't, then he texts. Sometimes it's just letters. Often emojis. Rarely it's coherent sentences.

Merlin could block him, but he doesn't. He's sworn he'll never leave Arthur out of sight, since Arthur's life span is so much shorter than his own. Merlin always answers the call. He doesn't have the heart to waste their time fighting. When they are in the same room, he puts the pan aside, looks Arthur in the eye and answers the Phone.

It's silent for a second.

Then:

Arthur: MERlin

Merlin: yes, Arthur

Arthur: what... What are you doing?

Merlin: i'm in the shower

Arthur:...

Arthur: I can see you.

Merlin: how very kinky of you

[dykesynthezoid]

Being a gay Arthur & bi Merlin headcanoner in a sea of bi Arthur & gay Merlin fanon is soooo difficult actually. We r gods strongest soldiers

[soni-dragon]

Todays mood is crying over merlin deleted scenes

[tiredcowboyy]

my favourite merlin hc of mine is that arthur will only return when merlin gives up on the idea of him doing so. That when merlin gives up on him coming back, his magic starts to fade with his hope and that the danger albion faces that requires the king to return isnt world wars or global pandemics, its when the world loses its magic.

Basically merlin is albions greatest need

Edit: if arthur did come back bc of this, him and merlin would reunite and then I imagine Merlin would be so stressed and on edge for months he would just constantly be in a state of ???? Looking at the world confused on what catastrophe was finally so bad that arthur returned (not knowing it was him who was the catastrophe) he would probably only realise later when Arthur cracked a joke about how bad merlin looked when arthur first got there.

[thepolomonkey]

Merlin Fic Recs - Corporal Punishment

For h/c bingo this year, I chose to do some fic recs for one of my best loved tropes - Merlin or Arthur getting whipped and then getting some sweet sweet comfort. Here's ten of my faves:

Correctives by misanagi

Being sent to the dungeons wasn't the only punishment Arthur received for getting the flower to save Merlin.

Delicious series one whump with Arthur being so brave and lovely and noble

Leon and the Servant by Smcstrav

As he watches Merlin go through a difficult time, Leon is forced to question everything he knows about duty and responsibility and the places of servants and nobles in society.

Again series one, again delicious whump with poor Merlin being beaten by the steward amongst many other things

Treason by wangler

Arthur tries to take his frustrations out on Merlin. His timing isn't great.

Slightly dark but also so tender and sexy

Making Apologies by margeurite_26

When Arthur returns from a impromptu hunting trip to find the stocks empty, he’s surprised by Uther’s leniency. But Merlin doesn’t get away with making Arthur’s excuses so easily this time.

Arthur learns a hard lesson in this one, which excellently features PissedOff!Gaius

Cruel punishment by Ace_Teagirl

Uther finds out about Arthur and Merlin's relationship. He sentences Merlin to be whipped while Arthur is forced to watch.

The note of defiance this one ends on is just perfect!

A Good King to his People by Sita_Z

Arthur thinks that getting Merlin in trouble is a laugh. But it really isn’t.

A total whumpy classic, and Morgana makes an excellent supporting appearance

Two loves I have, of comfort and despair. by rufflefeather

Merlin defies Uther and is sentenced to receive a lashing. Arthur must give it.

The aaaangsssttt! But also some lovely tender comfort too

Salt by archaeologist_d

Uther was having none of Merlin calling his son names in public. There were consequences.

Short and sad but a hopeful ending!

Struck From Behind by KiyoYoon

Arthur sees something quite worrying on Merlins back and begins to question him about it.

Set after those mean tournament guys hurt Merlin in the armoury, a lovely bit of comfort

The Magic You So Despise by AngelQueen

In a world where Ygraine Pendragon lives, all is not golden. In a world where Arthur Pendragon grows up with two parents, life is not easier. In a world where Morgana of Cornwall grows up never fearing Uther Pendragon, her life is still a lonely one. In a world where magic is not banned, there is still the prejudice and suspicions of kings to contend with. In a world where Merlin Emrys is born the second son of Camelot, the weight of destiny is no less debilitating. There are no easy answers, no simple, well-traveled paths to walk. A pre-series AU.

And finally, something a bit different - an Ygraine!Lives au in which Merlin and Arthur are brothers but Uther is abusive to both, especially Merlin. It's a hard read but very beautifully written.

[justaz]

omg omg omg

arthur gives merlin his mothers sigil thinking that hes going to die and wants to finally tell merlin how he feels and what better way of conveying the intensity of his emotions and how serious he is other than marriage? merlin accepts the sigil which means theyre married!! yay!! only. they both survive and arthur QUICKLY realizes that merlin has no idea the significance of the sigil. he has no idea theyre married. and arthur has no idea how to tell him bc then hell have to explain WHY he gave him the sigil aka WHY HE PROPOSED and now that hes not staring death in the face. he just. cant.

blah blah blah time skip to happy ending

the druids invite arthur and merlin to a celebration of the unification of emrys and the once and future king and the fruition of their destinies. merlin and arthur are excited bc finally peace is here and magic is returning and this can be the next big show of trust and reconciliation between camelot and the druids and so theyre there in the druid camp having fun when theyre approached and asked to participate in the ceremony. theres a huge buzzing crowd watching as the elder druid ties their hands together and goes on and on about the magnificence of two men standing before them and their great destinies and how the two sides of the same coin are joined finally as the prophecy said all those years ago. merlin doesnt realize it was a handfasting ceremony until hes talking to a few of the druids later on

anyway. merthur accidental wedding(s). now they both know theyre married but they dont know the other knows theyre married bc different ceremonies and traditions and all that. arthur is all awkward about it bc hes emotionally constipated. merlin is convincing himself he doesnt have to bring it up to arthur bc its not like the DRUID marriage ceremony is legally binding in camelot. they didnt sign any papers or anything. theyre not really married in camelot so arthur doesnt have to know. and then merlin can selfishly keep this truth close to his heart. even if its not reciprocated.

married life shenanigans ensue. merlin and arthur both have to physically stop themselves from calling the other their husband. jealous spats when out in the tavern or when visiting royals/nobles stop on by. leon knows all and is this close to snapping. extra protective idiots. and idk someone catches merlin holding the sigil and explains the significance of it or a druid asks arthur where his husband emrys is and my boy is STRESSED about being caught but then the druid brings up the handfasting ceremony. stupid idiot x stupid idiot.

you see my vision, right?

[oatusily]

Hunith was probably constantly worried about Merlin. She did all she could and she new Camelot was dangerous but she didn’t know where else to send her son. Her only child she had to send directly into the line of fire.

Do you think she waited for a letter from Giaus saying he got caught? Constantly worried she would lose her only son.

Then when she finally gets to see him again I bet she was so relieved because he looked okay. Sure things were hard being the princes manservant and all but he was loved and she knew that. Even after see just how much Arthur cared about Merlin she just waited for that letter.

[sirleonatyourservice]

Sometimes i forget my headcanons are not canon and i get sad