#not to say i don't ship merthur

[princess-of-morkva]

i just had this vision of arthur constantly glaring at anyone who tries to flirt with merlin

and people assume he must be in love with him or whatever

but in reality merlin is aro and arthur is adorably supportive and doesn't want him to feel uncomfortable

[regulusrules]

Call me mad, call me looking for things that aren't there, but when Arthur was about to say something he had never said before, he inclined his head with genuine love and respect 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 Merlin had done when he was also revealing something he had never been able to say before.

[ladyofthelake]

The urge to add a merthur parallel to an arwen gifset but I am strong and have refrained

[victimsofyaoipoll]

Round 1

Propaganda Under Cut

Alana Bloom

she kissed will graham in s1 and dated hannibal in s2 so you can imagine how bad the fandom is to her. fun fact she's in a canon lesbian relationship now tho <3

The show literally does the yaoi treatment of victimisation for the benefit of the male leads to her. And then the fandom mistreats her

I'm not sure if this even counts but...Literally a victim of Yaoi along with several other characters in-series, but she got it almost the worst. The entire show is just people dying because the two male leads are OBSESSED with each other and can't be normal about anything. Alana Bloom, actual PhD of psychology and consultant to the FBI, got kissed by one guy, fucked and fed people-meant by the other, and pushed out a window by the murder husbands' forced-surrogate daughter. Like. Actual victim of several crimes caused by yaoi. She's probably one of the few examples of a Yaoi Victim overcoming and evolving past her yaoi-related trauma into a stronger person/character, though: She gets an entire character overhaul and a hot, millionairess for a wife. She kills a man with an eel. She becomes head of the BSHCI, effectively putting her in complete power over her jackass cannibal ex-bf. She does quite well. Unfortunately, the rest of her screen time is spent trying not to get killed in the ongoing fallout of Hannibal and Will's fucked up courtship, but hey. Can't have everything. I don't even know if I'm saying anything valid here: the fandom loves her, but I supposed her position outside of the Hannigram relationship relegates her to a non-subject in a lot of Hannigram-focused fanwork. She's an 'obstacle' to their relationship only in the sense that Will had a crush on her once that went nowhere and Hannibal started an actual relationship with her SPECIFICALLY to piss off Will. I guess she's also a more literal obstacle as Hannibal's jailer and Will's friend who's constantly pointing out to him that Morals exist and he should try having some of those, maybe.

Gwen

She stands in the way of Merthur, by far the most popular ship in the fandom. I haven’t seen it as much in recent years, but back in the days of fanfiction.net she got slut shamed so badly for having been romantically interested in three of the male characters over the course of the show, which is just... normal straight woman behavior, meanwhile Merlin crushed on pretty much every woman who even looked at him in the early seasons of the show and got no hate for that whatsoever. I barely even read Merthur fics (not because it’s m/m, just because certain aspects of their relationship don’t appeal to me) but the “Gwen is a slut” attitude was so pervasive across the fandom, even fics that weren’t explicitly anti-Gwen would “jokingly” call her a slut. I even saw a few fics demonizing her for having an affair with Lancelot despite the fact that SHE WAS ENCHANTED when that happened, and surprise surprise, Lancelot (who was also under the influence of magic) got none of that hate, and neither did Arthur, who got enchanted to fall in love with multiple women over the course of the show.

Canonically Arthur Pendragon's love interest and an important and interesting character in the show who's completely shoved aside and ignored in favour of the medieval bbc yaoi ship. At best they put her and Morgana in Lesbian Timeout (ie make them get together and then reduce them to wingwomen at best because god forbid we focus on the medieval bbc yuri). Justice for Gwen right now!

She is prince Arthur's love interest (eventually wife). Arthur is MADLY in love with her. He tells his tyrannical father he would give up his crown to be with her (she's a servant in the series). He forgives her cheating on him with Lancelot (!), which in the show is caused by an evil enchantment, but the characters never find out about it. He chooses her time and time again. His love for Gwen is literally never put into question. Many fans insist to this day that there was no chemistry between Gwen and Arthur compared to Arthur and Merlin. Arthur isn’t even particularly nice to Merlin most of the time! The funny thing is that Merlin himself ships these two so hard and does everything he can to help them get together!! Gwen & Arthur are adorable and too many fans were drunk on the yaoi fumes to see it. ARTHUR WAS A SIMP FOR GWEN.

[beforeastorm]

The entertainment industry is not my area of expertise so I could be completely wrong... But I really do feel like Tim saying "[fanfic writers] don't have network notes. You don't have studio notes", then in the next paragraph saying "I don't really plan out endgame so much" and in the next article acknowledging "Eddie also has very complicated feelings...about his place in the world" when asked about Buddie, has a pretty straightforward (pun intended) interpretation when you splice them together:

Buck's storyline in 7x04 may be a Buddie audition or test run for the studio/network execs. (narratively and societally Buck's coming out arc is so much more than that but from the lens of the C suite? However much they say they care about messaging and inclusion we live in a capitalist hellscape: they're looking at the dollar$.)

More under the cut.

I just - I don't see the value in my fellow buddie stans venting their spleen via rage-bombing IMDb ratings or stating that they're not going to watch the show any more. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face. Ultimately, it's everyone's individual choice on how they choose to react, but I have serious doubts that Network execs are going to look at a ratings/ranking/other metrics dip and go 'oh, clearly the issue is that Buck is with the wrong dude lets give him a different one.' They're more likely to say 'Tim pulled an Icarus and we need to rein it back in.' Which is bad for queer rep in general, and not just this one ship.

You want Tim to be able to march into his boss's office and sell them on Buddie? For continued focus on queer narratives? Give him the numbers to back it up - and we know the homophobes are peacing out so let's not compound it? Please?

Anyway, you don't even need to move mountains or do something wild but here's what I'm doing: - Texted all my Destiel and Merthur friends. <3 They walked so we could run, or something. - Convinced my sister to watch/stream the show (even if it's just on in the background as she does other stuff. Shout out to the best sis ever). - Leave kind (but fair) IMDb rating on the episodes, especially queer forward ones. Seriously - I see posts on Tumblr all the time with more notes than an episode has ratings. You can even write a review (and include your continued hope for Buddie) if you're feeling frisky.

[theroundbartable]

I don't really like when people frame Arthur's and Gwen's first date as this whole:' Arthur only loves Merlin and would run away and he didn't even invite Gwen to his fantasy world' take.

While you're absolutely free to see it that way, it's also the very same episode that Arthur is willing to actively throw away his title to be by Gwen's side, just after their affair has been discovered by Uther. Arthur. Throws. Away. His. Claims. To. The. Throne. For. Her. Leading to Uther believing the accusation against Gwen that she had enchanted Arthur.

I think this scene proves that his love for Gwen and Merlin is equally strong in his mind at this point. One on his subconscious, the other plain to see. The difference is that Merlin would follow Arthur anywhere, whereas Arthur would follow Gwen. And I think that is their dynamic throughout the show until 'a servant of two masters', where we see Arthur chasing after Merlin. And then again in the episode where Arthur sends Gwen away and is waiting for her to return.

I think Merlin and Gwen are both integral to Arthur's life. And their betrayals (Gwen allegedgly cheating on him with Lancelot, as well as enchanted Gwen, in addition to Merlin coming out as a sorcerer in the final episode) cut him deeper than any other betrayal ever could. Just like their support means more to him than even his father's or Morgana's used to. Were it not them, I don't think Arthur would have been able to forgive either of them.

It's stupid to nag about this, but I love the way Arthur loves Gwen. I love that it's build on respect and mutual goals and morale and ideas for the kingdom. I love that it's chaste and not over the top like it would have been in any other show. And I love that it has room for others in it. It has room for Arthur loving Merlin and it has room for Gwen taking care of her brother. We don't get to see that often in relationships and I love how it's slowly build up and makes sense.

I say this as someone who mainly ships Merthur.

[the-lokal-homo]

I wish we could be about queer ships the same way we are about straight ships. I wish we could just watch a show and think, "Oh yeah, that's a slow burn, that's like Scully and Mulder," but no, we don't have that kind of shows, that kind of ships. We are getting stressed if there isn't a love confession in the first season bc of the implications, bc it's what we are used to. Queerbaiting.

The worst thing is, I could say it's overreacting, but we aren't. How often did we get queerbaited? Johnlock? Destiel? Merthur? It kind of is a defense mechanism. Expect the worst so you won't be disappointed.

This is actually the reason why I hope we get buddie, bc if they go canon, it's gonna break this thing. It's a slow burn, slow build. I personally would get hope from it the hope that I lost while watching all these other shows. Why can't queer relationships be handled the same why as straight ones?

So, give us buddie, show us that it IS possible to have hope, to have a slow burn like Scully and Mulder, like Bones and Booth.

Show us that it doesn't have to be this way

[mysticwolfshadows]

Of all the ships I have in my WIPs folder, none has a stranglehold on the gigabytes like Merthur. So many WIPs.

A fair portion of them are Royal!Merlin fics. Most fics that I've read either have Arthur and Merlin switch roles, or have them both be royals and doing the whole enemies to lovers or aranged marriage tropes. No, the Royal!Merlin WIPs I have were HIDDEN royal.

The basics were all the same. Balinor is a king, and because of the threat from Camelot, keeps Merlin hidden from any kind of public eye. Citizens don't immediately recognize Merlin as the crown prince, and most knights, unless serving directly under Balinor, don't know Merlin is prince unless presented with Merlin's seal. So no one in Camelot (Uther, Arthur, even Gaius) have no idea Merlin is royalty.

How Merlin ends up in Camelot was always a toss up. Sometimes, Hunith and Balinor were separated due to Hunith's discomfort in court. Merlin would either go visit her, being encouraged to take the months he had free to adventure, or lied to say he was going to visit his mother. In these, Merlin's true identity is usually revealed when they go to stop Kanan.

There's a few were Merlin sneaks out, leaving someone (usually Will) with potions to make them look like Merlin and act in his place. One of these had ended in a battle confrontation, where Camelot and Balinors kingdom go to war, Arthur not aware that Balinor things Arthur has kidnapped Merlin. The outline ended with Merlin holding Arthur back from a one on one duel to decide the war, and walking out himself, asking if any dare to face him.

There's some where, after decades of war, Arthur becomes king and offers Balinor a treaty. A couple of these over lapped with Merlin having snuck out when Balinor isn't looking. A few had Arthur reaching out to Balinor, asking for someone to come to Camelot to discuss magic to change Camelot's law, only for Balinor (thinking Merlin is either in the capital or at his mothers) to send Merlin. These had Kilgarah with Balinor rather than under Camelot, so Balinor knew that Arthur and Merlin were meant to change the world.

I think my favorite WIP was where Camelot and Balinor had a peace treaty and Balinor sent Merlin to Camelot on purpose, with Merlin's personal knight, Gwaine. Because of an accident, everyone (Arthur, Uther, all of Canelot) thinks that Gwaine is the prince, and Merlin is his servant. Merlin, having been under preasure to be the best prince, greedily takes the opportunity to relax and gets "permission" from Gwaine to become Gaius apprentice. The last scene I had planned out had been for Balinor to come to Camelot, only to nearly loose it when he realized Gwaine had been pretending to be prince (even though it made a lot of letters from Uther about tavern brawls make more sense), and that Uther had NO IDEA where the real prince was.

[queerofthedagger]

not to stir the pot but i’ve seen some really shitty takes recently about arthur being gay and completely erasing gwen’s importance to him. what are your thoughts?

oof well that is in fact a loaded question but I genuinely feel your frustration so let's give this a shot lmao

the short of it, to quote a friend of mine: 2012 tumblr called and wants its shitty shipping discourse back (derogatory)

the slightly longer of it.... to start this off, no one has to ship anything. no one's saying that anyone has to ship anything, or headcanon characters a certain way, or that you're not "allowed" to say that you don't ship certain ships. that's just . not a thing that's happening, and I do wanna reiterate strongly that you don't have to ship anything.

that said, well. maybe if you find yourself with the urge to nail your 'why i don't ship this canon interracial couple' against the proverbial church doors, you should ask yourself.... why is it always the black characters you find "badly written." why is it always the black and the white character who have "no chemistry." why is it always the black character you find unrelatable, that you think would be soo much better suited dating another character of color, etc. etc. These things do not happen in a vacuum, and you don't need to hate or even dislike that character to play into tropes, stereotypes, and issues that very many people have very extensively explained to be less than stellar, to put it mildly.

And Imma come out and say this: fandom is not activism, you don't need to be a loud, outspoken activist and/or turn this into anything more than a hobby. if, even amongst the discussions had in the last years, you have never once stopped to ask yourself how you might deal with the internalized racism that we're all dealing with, how it might affect people in the spaces you share while doing your hobby, then, frankly, you gotta do better. fandom is not activism, but we all have some basic responsibility of not causing more harm than there already is going around. this should not be a controversial statement either.

you can ship merthur without invalidating and trampling all over the frankly brilliant fact that this show went and casted a black woman as queen guinevere. you can ship merthur without taking away scenes that are not about them - god knows there are enough. you can acknowledge that 75% of your shipping takes are subjective, that merthur isn't, wasn't, and was never going to be canon, and literally none of this takes away from the two generic white dudes whose faces you'd like to smash together. this entire fandom is and has been majorly about those two generic white guys, for well over a decade, and i'm saying all this as a white merthur shipper. like, this is the bare minimum. and yet, here we fucking are.

as for the arthur being gay thing - again, you don't need to headcanon anyone a certain way, but whenever i do see this specific headcanon it "somehow" always comes with an incredibly weird (to put this mildly also) understanding of sexuality, top/bottom discourse, and - you guessed it - takes on arwen, that are maybe something people might want to uhh. examine also.

this isn't a callout, or a call for a witchhunt, or or or. personally i block and move on, and I wouldn't have said anything more on this than a vague shitpost on my sideblog, but god knows i can never shut up and even less so when asked, and I do think that while, again, fandom is not activism and I'll stand by this, people should... try and aim to make some basic attempts at not causing harm. it's not even hard (although that should not be your measure but like, again. bare minimum). it really is as easy as not constantly invalidating and side-lining ships and/or characters, by doing basic research in how not to whitewash characters, why not to compare skintone to food when writing, etc.

On that note, none of these are things that I've come up with. A lot of people, especially fans of colour, have done a great deal of work to provide resources and education that are... incredibly easy to find if you can be fucked to make some effort. Imma link a bunch beneath too but like. Yeah I guess that's my take. You can ship whatever you want, genuinely, from the bottom of my heart. But 1. maybe sometimes take some time to consider what you're saying, 2. maybe take some time to do some basic self-education on some issues in general, and 3. writing posts on why you don't ship whatever ship has never accomplished anything beyond getting people who agree with you to stroke your ego, and step on the toes of people who don't. at best.

But also, last but not least, the block button is your friend and all that

Resources by people much better equipped to talk on these things than me:

How to stan the white guy with minimal contribution to fandom's racism problem

The racism in the Merlin fandom and towards Gwen specifically

Educating Merlin - a blog that's specifically tackling racism in this fandom

Fanlore on Fandom's Racism Problem(s) (use to find many links leading you to further discussions on it)

More Fanlore with further links

When white people talk about racism in fandom

Writing with Color - Resource blog for writing specifically, but honestly also covers so many topics that it's incredibly useful for doing some self-examination too

I'm not saying you need to agree with everything said in all of these sources, but also if your constant reaction to these discussions as a white person is to get defensive, to dismiss it, etc., I'm saying this in the nicest way possible: maybe sit with that for a bit. Ask yourself why requests like not constantly making fun of a ship gets you in such a huff. Etc. etc.

Lastly: if people would like to add onto this with more resources, that's highly welcome. That said, anyone clowning/harassing/being a bitch on this post will be blocked.

[nimrism]

1

2

3

And

4

*rubbing my hands together in glee* ONTO THE QUESTIONS

1. Favorite canon ship?

will the fandom hate me if i say i wasn't a fan of ANY of the canon ships,,,,, i just feel like there was hardly any chemistry whenever they decided to give a character a love interest on this show,,, it's like they tried so hard to make it as straight as possible so it backfired and turned gay sjdjdk. i'm also not a fan of love triangles (when they involve men) so the arthur/gwen/lancelot thing just made me uncomfy but SEPARATELY arwen and gwencelot make sense i guess! merlin and freya were also sweet but i never quite read it as romantic or at least i wasn't entirely convinced to ship it idk idk (can you tell i don't like straight people)

2. Favorite non-canon ship?

MORGWEN MORGWEN MORGWEN I'M SOOOOO NORMAL ABOUT THEM TRUST ME *eye twitching* in all seriousness though i love morgwen so so much it's probably unhealthy. i'll gloss over the entire plot of the show and pick out the morgwen scenes i like cause i'm SO sane. aside from morgwen i adore merthur, and i'm also very intrigued whenever someone mentions morgana/mithian there's a lot of potential there i feel.

3. Villain you think deserved a second chance?

does morgana count as a villain? i guess? she deserves all the chances cause i can't even see her mistakes in fact i'm blind in my left eye. other than morgana i think morgause and nimueh should've been given a chance to declare their cause and let ME decide if they're bad or not (they're not) since the show makes them so cartoonishly evil, leaving no room for the audience to think for themselves.

4. Villain you think should be burned at the pyre?

agravaine and edwin. full stop. no further discussion needed. both are CREEPS and edwin is just a weirdo for making a beetle climb into morgana's ear like what is bro doing. and yeah agravaine is self-explanatory like that man needed to be executed long before he died on the show even his FACE makes me uncomfortable. i'm sure there are other villains who deserve burning at the stake too but these are my least favorite ones.

[thenerdyindividual]

Is the other s-tier ship Arwen? O.o I could see it because they're just so adorable, even if Merthur will always have my heart and soul

Arwen my beloved!!!!

God they're just so good. The pining!! The forbidden romance that never feels hacky or unjustified! We witnessed an entire season of Uther behaving like a shit head, and know exactly why Arwen wouldn't work with him in power, before we ever got arwen!

The chemistry is unparalleled! The way Arthur looks like a kicked puppy whenever he has to walk away from Gwen. His willingness to endanger himself to protect her. He was willing to give up his place on the throne to be with her! And normally that would make me roll my eyes, but because the writers gave us two seasons of longing looks and glancing touches before Arthur reached that point, it feels real and raw and desperate.

They are so good for each other too! It's obvious the ways Gwen's influence changes Arthur from stuck up and arrogant, with a hidden heart of gold, to primarily a heart of gold with the thinnest veneer of prat. But! Arthur is good for Gwen too! She gains so much confidence in herself from being with Arthur! She goes from someone who quavers before the king and begs for her life while sobbing, to someone who stares the king down and says "I don't expect someone like you to understand" !! How can you be normal after that!

How can you be normal about the way they look at each other? That moment in season four where Arthur cups her chin and reminds her of the first time he kissed her, just to get her to smile one last time before he goes off to certain doom! Agh!

I am merthur shipper, and write primarily merthur fic. However! I think arwen was the perfect choice for canon! Whenever I watch them interact, I literally clasp my hand to my heart because I am overwhelmed by the romance of it all.

Congratulations, you have discovered the only other ship ranked:

S-Tier

Send me a Merlin Ship and I’ll rank it on a tier list. Note: This is a subjective ranking and a low ranking in no way means that I am shaming you for your taste in ships.

[lxvenderjewel]

song/ship analyses part 6: merthur and "call it what you want" by taylor swift

this one was inspired by a video i saw on yt: merlin & arthur || call it what you want [CC] go check it out after this!!

“My castle crumbled overnight” i mean in both s4 and s5 arthur loses control of his kingdom so like

“They took the crown, but it's alright” i know arthur’s like. magic-high during the s4 finale but if the shoe fits

“All the liars are calling me one” being a king he’s probably been called a liar a lot, even by his own father he’s been called a liar (which is like. hypocrite much??)

“Nobody's heard from me for months” during the entire s4 finale no one knows where arthur is except merlin

“Walkin' with his head down, I'm the one he's walkin' to” merlin’s arthur’s servant, so of course he’s walking with his head down towards him (well maybe not with his head down he doesn’t have that kind of respect for arthur 💀)

“High above the whole scene, loves me like I'm brand new” merlin never seems to be swayed by public opinion, he always has complete trust in arthur

“So call it what you want, yeah, call it what you want to” can you imagine how many rumors swirl around merlin and arthur? this lyric is so perfect be real

“Windows boarded up after the storm

He built a fire just to keep me warm” whenever arthur goes through hardship merlin’s always right there. when uther dies merlin sleeps right outside to offer arthur comfort as soon as he needs it

“All the jokers dressin' up as kings” morgana

“They fade to nothin' when I look at him” i think arthur has a lot of faith in merlin. like as in merlin is part of what motivates him to be a better king for his people

“And I know I make the same mistakes every time

Bridges burn, I never learn, at least I did one thing right” he often fumbles romantically, and when he finally thinks he has gwen, he ultimately loses her to lancelot, but merlin stays with his unwavering loyalty to arthur

“I'm laughin' with my lover, makin' forts under covers

Trust him like a brother, yeah, you know I did one thing right” arthur and merlin antics, like that one pillow fight scene in an episode i can’t recall, and “trust him like a brother” of course he does. a term that comes to mind for merthur is “t’hy’la” from star trek, which roughly translates to “friend, brother, lover”

“Starry eyes sparkin' up my darkest night” merlin’s eyes when he does magic

“I want to wear his initial

On a chain 'round my neck, chain 'round my neck” this line reminds me of the deleted scene where arthur gives merlin his sigil (which i think is in the video as well)

“Not because he owns me

But 'cause he really knows me

Which is more than they can say, I” many people look at arthur like a kind of god, considering he’s king, and even his knights, who he’s closest with, still look at him with some sort of reverence, but merlin treats him like just another person, which must be so refreshing, to not have any expectations on your head and to be just known as you are without and preconceived notions

“I recall late November

Holdin' my breath, slowly I said

"You don't need to save me

But would you run away with me?"” he never actually says it to merlin but this line reminds me of when arthur is with gwen and he tells her he dreams of living in some village with merlin and just being a farmer, and living a calm, soft life

once again go watch the video!! it’s very well made and the person who made it is awfully talented

[akaashism]

So I found this around, can I ask for Merthur & Kagehina?

♥ Send a ship and I'll give you who:

- Gives nose/forehead kisses

- Gets jealous the most

- Picks the other up from the bar when they’re too drunk to drive

- Takes care of on sick days

- Drags the other person out into the water on beach day

- Gives unprompted massages

- Drives/rides shotgun

- Brings the other lunch at work

- Has the better parental relationship

- Tries to start role-playing in bed

- Embarrassingly drunk dancer

- Still cries watching Titanic

- Firmly believes in couples costumes

- Breaks the expensive gift rule during Christmas

- Makes the other eat breakfast

- Remembers anniversaries

- Brings up having kids

Ohhh this is gonna be so fun to answer, thank you for this wonderful ask!! ❤️❤️

1. Gives nose/forehead kisses

Kagehina: Both, for sure! Kageyama is at the perfect height to give Hinata forehead kisses and Hinata kisses Kageyama's forehead because he's baby.

Merthur: Arthur!!! He's just the type, yknow?

2. Gets jealous the most

Kagehina: Hinata. No contest. His jealousy is canon too.

Merthur: Merlin. Again, very canon.

3. Picks the other up from the bar when they're too drunk to drive

Kagehina: Kageyama. I don't think he'd like drinking that much so he rarely ever gets drunk, whereas Hinata seems like the kind of person who loves partying.

Merthur: I can imagine this for both :')

4. Takes care of on sick days

Kagehina: Both both BOTH!!

Merthur: Once again both, but Merlin is better at it.

5. Drags the other person out into the water on beach day

Kagehina: Hinata!! He's a beach boy! And also Kageyama not being able to swim and being scared of water is a cute thought.

Merthur: Arthur! (Not to make any Avalon Lake jokes here heheh). Anyway, Arthur just seems a bit more athletic and outgoing, while Merlin probably wants to chill under a beach umbrella with a nice book.

6. Gives unprompted massages

Kagehina: Both. They're both professional athletes so the chances of their bodies being sore and needing a nice massage are high, and they're both good at it too! :)

Merthur: Merlin, which is probably canon since he's Arthur's manservant and Arthur is a knight sooooo

7. Drives/rides shotgun

Kagehina: Hinata driving is An Important Concept for me, so yes, he's the one who drives and Kageyama rides shotgun trying not let his competence kink get activated (and failing).

Merthur: Arthur drives, and I know he loves it too. Him being rich in most AUs means that I can see him being really into high-end racecars too. Merlin probably never learned how to drive and prefers a bicycle or something instead.

8. Brings the other lunch at work

Kagehina: Neither? Their definition of work is very different lmao

Merthur: Merlin if we're going the canon route xD

9. Has the better parental relationship

Kagehina: Hinata :') We never even see Kageyama's parents and it makes me so curious about his family life.

Merthur: Merlin, of course! Hunith is the best mom <3 and let's not even talk about Arthur's relationship with Uther.

10. Tries to start role-playing in bed

Kagehina: Hinata, but it fails BADLY. I've actually read the most hilarious fic about this.

Merthur: Merlin, and once again, it fails BADLY. If we're talking canon, he probably tries to reverse their roles and Arthur has to play the manservant ;)

11. Embarrassingly drunk dancer

Kagehina: HINATAAAAA

Merthur: MERLINNNN

12. Still cries watching Titanic

Kagehina: Both. (Kageyama's a secret softie)

Merthur: Arthur. (He's a hopeless romantic)

13. Firmly believes in couples costumes

Kagehina: Hinata, probably xD Kageyama does not care about stuff like this.

Merthur: Nah, neither.

14. Breaks the expensive gift rule during Christmas

Kagehina: Neither, because they don't want to lose to the other by breaking a rule in the gift-giving competition.

Merthur: I shouldn't even have to say this but Arthur.

15. Makes the other eat breakfast

Kagehina: Neither of them needs to be made to eat, let's be real. They're healthy boys!

Merthur: Arthur, because Merlin always forgets to eat proper meals and take care of himself.

16. Remembers anniversaries

Kagehina: Hmm, I can see both for this? Hinata is sentimental like that, but Kageyama is so organised that I think he'd have reminders for all important events while Hinata's a bit careless.

Merthur: BOTH!!

17. Brings up having kids

Kagehina: Oh, I have so many thoughts about this, but let me just say Hinata for now. (Kageyama takes a little convincing.)

Merthur: Arthur. I know he yearns for a family :((

[theroundbartable]

I sometimes find these fics where the characters around the main ship don't believe character A has a boyfriend.

I need this for Merthur. But not the predictable: my boyfriend is a Prince/ son of the president (Arthur) version. I want the other way around.

Most things he says are outrageous but true. Like "Merlin helps me write my speeches and stuff" while everyone knows he's not allowed to have someone help him with those. "He's good at medicine, he's basically healed my fathers broken bones. (My father doesn't know we're a thing, please don't call on me.)" Stuff like that.

People don't believe Arthur has a boyfriend, because he keeps telling them things that make no sense/ aren't true, because Merlin still is a lying lier.

Arthur: he's an idiot, totally clumsy, but he could drink Gwaine under the table, with how often he's at the tavern.

Gwaine: i'm there every night, I've never met a Merlin.

Arthur: also, he crossdresses in secret

The few people who know a Merlin, unaware it's THE Merlin: can't be our Merlin

Arthur: there is no way my boyfriend is a magician (his father hates those fakers, that's why this came up, it's a non magic au)

Merlin: *pulls rabbit from his shoe* tadaaaa

It's absolutely emberassing when he learns the truth.

Edit: actually, now that I think about it, the crossdressing part might be the one that gives it away. Because Gwen 100% buys it after that

[like-sands-of-time]

So when Arthur's prince it's "oh one day you'll be king and Gwen will wait for you (never mind that she quite liked lance and he just up and left her TWICE, the second because he just immediately gave up when he saw Arthur was hurt even though he gave her up)

And then he just KEEPS pushing her away but wanting her to stay, they're in this sort of open secret relationship that doesn't actually involve any dates, just the occasional moment where she's in a scene to remind us they're passionately in love and destined to be together?? What is it about shows giving us so little reason to ship m/f pairings sometimes honestly. (And don't get me started on how they showed us so much gwencelot potential and then erased it because look! Shiny arwen instead.

Lancelot was able (of the same station as her) to pursue her, and had actual feelings for her that didn't revolve around any kind of duty to anyone else. Was willing to sacrifice himself not only for Arthur because she asks (which, idk I have mixed feelings on but I'll allow it) but also at the end of the day for Merlin bc Merlin will always save Arthur.

Arthur likes her because she was a woman who stood up to him..? Literally what's the difference between her and Merlin as people at that point considering that was Merlin's big thing in season one, only to have every moment rewritten as Gwen making Arthur this better man, she straight up ends up saying some of the same things and having some of the same plots (low-key did they just realize these things worked but made merthur look romantic because it genuinely doesn't make sense, I never even knew people shipped Merlin and Arthur before this show. They have so much chemistry)

just say you don't actually love her you just love the idea of her because she's a strong (when they remember to write her as such) woman and she knows the people of Camelot so will therefore make the perfect queen??? poor Gwen deserved to find some happiness fuck the source material at this point lol it's not like this show stuck to it

[fluffypotatey]

Hello! Sorry to send you this without any art, but I am curious to know something. You know of the quote "it's rotten work" and it's variations, right? May I introduce you to mine: "It's rotten work. Especially if it's me. Especially to you. But dear god, I'll fucking do it."

What do you think it says to you?

Also, do you think that upon reflection from the mountain screaming match, whenever Macaque actually makes SWK actually, truly angry in an argument, instead of screaming back, he just shuts his mouth and goes quiet instead, giving Macaque the silent treatment by avoiding him and avoiding talking to him, not to punish him, but so that he wouldn't accidentally say anything to start a worse fight? Like, "I'm super pissed at you (and also about something else) but I don't want to take it out on you so I'm just not going to acknowledge you until I cool down enough". He won't obviously leave the room if Macaque's around, he just won't respond to him. How do you think Macaque is gonna react to that new response? Might be OOC for SWK, but please indulge me in this anyway.

Have a good month! Might start doing sketches of Júhua again soon.

hey! dw it’s totally fine for you to send me asks whenever or whatever, art or not, I love receiving asks anyways 🥰

“It's rotten work. Especially if it's me. Especially to you. But dear god, I'll fucking do it."

ngl this is one of my favorite variations of the original quote simply because it fits a lot of my favorite ship dynamics 😂 mostly because to me, it means “I love you. I want to cherish you as you deserve, but dear lord will it take some work! But if it’s for you, I’ll do it.” (this is why I love merthur, thiam, and shadowpeach)

[long answer under the cut]

in the context of shadowpeach, I can see this quote working for both Sun Wukong and Macaroni post-s4 where they are willing to try and rekindle something from their past. to me, the past seasons were mostly the two of them not giving at all: Marconi was upset and bitter and vengeful while Wukong viewed Macaroon as a hinderance and just another past friend who wants his head and chose projecting his issues onto MK as a nice alternative (I’m sure Wukong was deeply hurt by Mac’s desire to kill or harm him, but ngl Monkey King’s gif a hard shell to crack, so outward appearance is simply annoyance and distain. which is ironic given that it’s Mac is the most stand-offish compared to Wukong’s friendliness but we aren’t here to talk about that and I need to stay on track)

but then we get to the s4 special, and it’s at this point where swk had (most likely) been running through his past memories and being met with all his past regrets and mistakes. he is literally being forced to face through issues this monkey has spent over centuries burying, trying to forget, and trying to forgive himself for. funny how in his attempt to escape death (which he succeeded. 7 times over), Wukong found a new thing to run from :3 ahaha, how hilarious 🫠

meanwhile, we got Macadoo, newly reformed and possible 2nd mentor to MK post-s3. given what was shown in the show in s3 finale and 4x09, Mac has kept to himself. it’s possible he’s been freeloading off of FFM without Sun Wukong’s knowledge (would not be surprised lol) and keeping a safe distance from danger whilst staying close enough to be there if needed (which is funny bc tho Mac acts like he doesn’t want to help or be there, it’s very clear he stayed to be like a last resort for MK)

however, reformed he may be, Macky still finds it in himself to take a stab at Wukong. though we didn’t see him do it to swk at the s4 finale, i wouldn’t put it past him doing the same thing in later episodes. by the end of s4, it is clear that both monkeys want to try and have some kind of truce, but both are still hurt by the other. unfortunately, while Wukong had plenty of centuries to process his pain and move on, Mac hasn’t (because death, then revenge post-resurrection as you do). frankly, i have a feeling that Macackle’s “processing phase” (for some reason idk what else to call it) began post-s3 bc he had time in his hands now. time to really sit down and think.

that being said, Mac only had about a year or so of time to really process his anger and broken relationship with Wukong (and other traumatic shit like LBD and dying and no longer being dead), so he might still find it in himself to lash out or poke the beat that is Wukong since them no longer being at odds is weird and scary and too dangerous for him.

meanwhile, you have Wukong who wants to try and rekindle the old friendship or be able to forgive himself for how his past self treated their old relationship. he has already gone through a journey on how to better control his anger and grudges. not to mention he spent 500 years isolated from everybody, so his past reaction to retaliate is more subdued. also, he did promise MK that he would be a better mentor: be more honest, be more present, be supportive of MK & who he is friends with (aka, Macncheese)

so, yeah, I can see Wukong being the one to hold back from lashing back at Marconi if the guy did try and push his buttons. and I absolutely see how he fits as the speaker for that quote in the coming season with the potential of him repeating it like a mantra while Mackerel is macscheming ways to infuriate him further in an episode