#pendragon plants

[thependragonwritersguild]

Prompt #14273

"People don't pass through this town. Because it's not a town. It's an apocalyptic Venus flytrap."

[achillesuwu]

I don't see enough people giving pet turtel or parrot to our dear immortal characters and it's a shame because look, I get it dog & cat are wonderful but if I was immortal I think I would like to have a pet that live at least 60 to 100 years.

Give me Merlin that has 300 years old Mollusc, one turtle family and a parrot family that he names like they are royal (Steff the fifth is currently the oldest 😌) & Arthur and the Knights that are completely flabbergasted that Merlin think a "120 year old pet is quite young" and "30 years old is a baby tbh.... Yeah, yeah Arthur no sorry you are a baby too."

Give me Hob that goes see that old shark every once in a while and playfully call him Stranger of the sea & has that weird plant that die multiple time but also came back to life multiple time too (you know the one)

[the-artsy-plant]

CURRENTLY THINKING ABOUT HOW SAD PRINCE JUSTIN’S ARC IS IN HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE. HE AND SOPHIE ARE SOULMATES; HER KISS BROUGHT HIM BACK TO LIFE AND BROKE HIS CURSE, TRUE LOVE’S KISS. BUT BEFORE THEY COULDVE DISCOVERED THEY WERE SOULMATES, SHE FELL IN LOVE WITH HOWL. HE SACRIFICED HIMSELF TO SAVE HER. HE HELPED HER FIND HOWL’S CASTLE. HE BROUGHT HER A CANE.HE WAS SO SWEET TO HER EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. HOWL, THOUGH LOVELY AND HILARIOUS, WAS A FUCKING DICK. HE WAS SELFISH, RUDE, NARCISSISTIC, SELF-ABSORBED. BUT WITH TIME, HIS AND SOPHIE’S LOVE GREW, AND THERE WAS NO CHANCE FOR JUSTIN WHATSOEVER. THE RIGHT PERSON, WRONG TIME TROPE STINGS LIKE A FUCKING KNIFE 😭😭.

[thedevilsrain]

my top 3 rockstar child names

muffin zappa

hendrix halen michael roads wylde

lennon gallagher

[onceandfutureclotpoll]

Title: Green Thumb

Author: supercalvin

Rating: Teen and up Audiences

Summary: Arthur came into the nursery to look for some plants to liven up the house he had inherited. He had expected to look at some grass, leave, and then buy plants at a local store instead. What he hadn’t expected was a garden that made him feel like he entered a magical land, with a quaint run-down house and a clever green-thumbed owner.

[blackmarketfruitrollups]

Bad For Business (Howl Pendragon X Fem!Reader)

Warnings: None really, just a fluffy little drabble

Knock knock

"Who could that be?" Y/n muttered, setting aside the bread dough she'd been kneading and wiping her flour covered hands on her apron. She started making her way through her cottage towards the front door, dodging the drying herbs hanging from the ceiling and speaking quietly to herself. "I'm sure the sign out there says closed."

You see, Y/n worked at an apothecary, or more accurately lived in an apothecary. She lived in a small little cottage toward the edge of town, her property surrounded by a fence covered in rosebushes. Behind her home was the garden in which she grew the herbs and other medicinal plants for her customers, often being occupied by her grouchy cat Snips.

Speaking of which, here he came now, the old black cat hobbling towards the front door on his three remaining legs to see what the commotion was about.

Knock Knock

Once they both had arrived at the door Y/n unlocked and opened it to reveal two children, a boy and girl who looked to be around ten. They both seemed nervous, the girl hiding behind the boy as he shifted on his feet looking rather skittish.

Snips poked his head around Y/n's legs and yowled at the sight of unfamiliar guests, making both the children jump and look at him frightened.

"Can I help you two?" Y/n smiled, gently pushing Snips back into the house and out of view with her foot.

"Uh, well-" the girl started before the boy cut her off.

"We've come to see the Wizard-" he paused, looking her up and down before continuing. "Uh Witch Howl. I'm assuming that's you?"

Y/n rolled her eyes and smiled softly, shaking her head with a chuckle. "I'm afraid I'm not."

Both the children looked dreadfully confused, tilting their heads at her.

"We were told to come down this street, they said it would be obvious were the wizard lived." The boy stated.

"We came here because we assumed the wizard would live in a scary looking cottage." The girl piped up.

"A scary looking cottage?" Y/n laughed again. "Well what's so scary about it?"

"You have gargoyles out front." The boy deadpanned.

"I saw bats in those trees." The girl pointed towards one of the trees in her front yard.

"Oh that's just Frank and his family." The woman said, waving it off.

"You have a black cat roaming around screaming." The boy stared pointedly behind her legs at Snips.

"Your shutters are painted black-" the girl started again.

"Alright, alright I get your point." Y/n stopped them. "Would you believe this is the eighth time this has happened this week?" She sighed, then smiled softly.

"The Wizard Howl lives across the street."

"You mean in that place covered in lights and flowers and pinwheels an-" the boy started listing.

"Yes that would be the one." Y/n laughed. "There you will find the great Wizard Howl. And please, tell him he needs to put up a sign. I run an apothecary, people already assume I'm a witch and this isn't really helping."

She waved to the children as the walked back down her front path and out the gate. Shutting and locking the door she turned and looked to Snips who was laying lazily in a windowsill with one eye half open.

"I tell you that man is bad for business. Well, I suppose incase those kids forget I'll tell him to put up a sign myself over supper. Well c'mon Snippy, I've got food to finish."

[sg-l]

👏🏻 Curse!Gojo 👏🏻 Curse!Gojo 👏🏻 Curse!Gojo 👏🏻

What's his way of showing you affection in this new cursed form? We talked about how he'd be a lap dog but like....is he just laying on top of you from time to time bc he loves you and needs to see your face??

Elaborate for the peeps in the back ☺️

- 🦦

・curse!Satoru Gojo Headcanons・

a/n・I'm so bad at formulating headcanons you know this?? also how did you find an otter emoji?? Fandom・Jujutsu Kaisen Character(s)・Satoru Gojo Tags・sloppy headcanons, curse!Gojo AU, fluff, unedited

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

curse!Gojo is...enormous

lets just get the physical implications of cursing the strongest jujutsu sorcerer in the world because curse!Gojo is...a lot

both in personality as well as sheer size and monstrous appearance

think...cursed Howl Pendragon, meets gluttonous No Face's limbs, owlbeast Eda Clawthorn shape with owlbeast Lilth Clawthron color palette and retractable neck

and I fully headcanon him as having no physical appearance of eyes/nose etc but a black banding around where his eyes should be and the rest of his faceless head is a very large un-hingable jaw with the rest of his face being "splashed" in white before transitioning to the bulk of his dark body

ok ok ok enough about the way the curse looks; and more about the way he acts!

like most cursed souls curse!Gojo is dangerously obsessed with you

you are his only purpose in life as well as the only thing tying him to a physical "life" and his animal instinct will not let that bond be broken no matter the cost

curse!Gojo basically feels no pain and it's scarier to see in action than it is to just think he's a stubborn fighter

he is insanely affectionate; to the point it's smothering

ideally he'd be sealed away in a cursed object but nothing can hold all of him (to no one's surprise)

so that being said curse!Gojo does at time have the annoying nuances of a shikigami or a familiar but make it 1000x worse

giant lap dog 🤝 pissy cat 🤝 needy brat

curse!Gojo likes to show his affection by planting himself right behind you and more times than not laying a part of his grotesques form on you

no idea about his actual size nor would he care if you tried to explain it to him because he just won't listen

curse!Gojo wants to be touching you at some point all the time or else he does get practically...antsy

not a good idea for him to be restless, it's in everyone's best interest for curse!Gojo to remain calm as long as possible

brings you dead curses and to no one surprise, likes to play with them! he will make it a point to have you watch him disembody things.

People, curses, animals...the only thing curse!Gojo will not touch is young individuals

that's a post for later

his ideal way to have your attention is to absolutely maul your target into a pulp right in front of you and frankly there's no other way for him to kill besides over the top right in front of you

on a less gruesome note, yes, he insists on sleeping with you

curse!Gojo thankfully has very little intention of suffocating you so he's happy to have you lay on top of him or curls up around you as the biggest spoon in the world

regretfully curse!Gojo does lick and drool when overtly excited and talks in the fastest string of broken sentences any being could

you get real good at understanding the gibberish don't worry

curse!Gojo loves "self care" and by that it means he loves having you hold his face, pick things out of his teeth, booping his non existent nose and giving him forehead kisses

exceptionally fond of carrying you and pouts when you don't let him hold you 24/7

and the most horrifying thing curse!Gojo loves to show his affection is...play wrestling

don't worry he basically just wants to engulf you in a hug and roll around with you but it can be off putting to those who are not familiar with either of you two yet

[hopelessromantic5]

I feel bad for not having posted any merthur in a while.

Here’s a small, Cinderella-esque AU snippet from my drafts. 🫶

Apollo didn’t even snicker in discomfort at the boys approach, in fact, he almost preened.

“He’s beautiful.” The boy murmured, putting his palm flat to the horses snout. Apollo loved it, which was strange.

“He never lets anyone touch him, aside from me.” Arthur says, mostly to himself.

“Tell them to be gentle. And approach with respect.” The boys, startlingly blue eyes flick up to Arthur then back down to the horse.

“What do they call you?” He asked before he could think better of it.

“Never mind what they call me.” He patted the snout once more and moved two paces back, finally taking in Arthur’s full form.

“What is someone like you doing in the forrest alone?”

“Is my identity that obvious?”

“I’m afraid so, sire.” A small smirk finds its way onto his face. “It was your cloak…and your posture, that gave you away.”

Arthur laughed despite himself.

“Well, now we are unbalanced. You know my name and I do not know yours.”

Merlin did not respond but the small smile didn’t leave his face as he turned to look out into the forest.

“Your knights will be here soon, Prince Arthur.”

The prince snapped his neck in that direction and held his breath, listening for sounds of movement. He heard none.

“How do you know?”

That got him a small shrug.

“I have my ways.” The raven haired boy began gathering his bag full of plants.

“I fancy keeping my head, sire, so I’ll be taking my leave. You will be safe with them.”

“Why would they take your head?” Arthur couldn’t help but question gently.

The boy shook his head and said nothing.

His blue eyes found Arthur again, which caused little bubbles of nerves in his stomach.

“Please, be careful. These woods are not always kind and surely will not show a Pendragon any mercy.”

“If that is the case, how are you surviving without a weapon?”

“Who said I didn’t have a weapon?”

The sound of hooves and clanking armor distracted his eyes, and when he looked back to the spot the boy had been standing, he was gone.

Vanished into thin air, or into the trees. But Arthur never heard a rustle, never a footstep.

He was disappointed to see him go but glad that he was gone before the knights broke through the tree line. If Arthur’s suspensions were correct, he didn’t want the boy interrogated by them either, even if a handful of them were as noble as they come.

Arthur didn’t really want to take that chance.

[llamagirl28]

let me just start by appreciating the hard work you do for this IF. this is genuinely one of the few IFs that have given me brainrot (/pos), and im so excited to see how it goes! your writing is amazing and the characters are so entertaining! im not very good with compliments, but i just wanted to give some appreciation with your work <3

anyway, what are the family symbols/crests of the ROs (or anyone)? we know that the Pendragon's is dragons and red, Le Fay's is serpents and green, and Leudonus's is bears and moss green. and follow-up question, are there any symbolism to why you chose that particular symbol, or was it already predetermined in Arthurian legend?

Thank you so much! 💕

No, it's not predetermined from Arthurian legends, I honestly took a lot of liberty with the myths in general - Boc is inspired by them but very much its own thing haha.

Alright, so the crests!

Pendragon - gold dragon, red background. All the dragon bloods chose their crests based upon the dragons that gave them their powers. They all went with a gilded dragon in various poses, and the background came from the color of the scales. Fun fact, the posture of the dragon on the Pendragon crest was changed when they first came to sit on the throne - it was less threatening as it is now, rearing, claws ready to strike, maw open.

Le Fay is not actually green! It's serpent and azure blue, the color being reminiscent of the sea. In-story explanation: their fae ancestor first showed themselves to their human ancestor in the shape of a snake. As to why I chose it, I really like serpent imagery and symbolism and how it can be use in the game.

Leudonus have the moss green and bear because I wanted something you'd think of as big and strong and fearsome. The origin of it in game is not set yet.

Beauregard - swan and blue. Swan because the first of their family to sit on the throne is said to have arrived at the castle in a swan-drawn boat to dethrone the one who wanted the crown, seeing them as unfit to rule. This is loosely based on the tale of the Swan Knight/Knight of the Swan. Also swans because they're beautiful birds and they have plenty in Astolat.

Meier (Isac's family) have a stag and dark green as their symbol. They are descendants of the fae known as the Deer King, hence the stag, and their magic affinity is plant-based, hence green.

Hendrik (Guinevere's family) - Red tulip and black. Tulip because of the family business, back before they even got on the throne.

Allard family, after they stopped using the Le Fay serpent - the Royal Eagle, (what we know as golden eagle). It's supposed to be a symbol to evoke power, strength and determination.

Laurent family (the family of Elena aka Galahad's mother) - a bundle of lavender against bronze background.

Du Lac - apple tree with red fruit, light green background. Inspired by the association of Avalon with appletrees within Arthurian legends. Initially it was mentioned as a symbol of Avalon in the game but I later changed it. In my story, Avalon is based on Mediterranean islands so if there's any fruit emblematic to it, it should be something more citrusy.

These are the most defined at the moment.

[thenerdyalien]

Hey, I just dropped the first chapter of a new fluffy merthur fic I've been working on. It features soft Arthur, oblivious Merlin and time travel shenanigans... I had a lot of fun writing this one, hope you enjoy!

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Merlin (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Relationships: Merlin/Arthur, Ygraine & Arthur Pendragon, Hunith & Merlin, Balinor & Merlin, Gaius & Merlin Aditional tags: Alternate Timelines, Time Travel, Ygraine Lives, Uther dies instead of her, Uther Pendragon Never Banned Magic, Arthur Pendragon Knows About Merlin's Magic, Oblivious Merlin, Soft Arthur Pendragon, Caring Arthur Pendragon, Smitten Arthur Pendragon, Prince Merlin, Established Relationship, is it established if one of the people involved doesn't know about it?

Summary:

“Good evening, my love! What kept you so long?” Arthur greeted him warmly as soon as he walked into the room. “Your what now?!” Merlin blurted out wide-eyed. Surely he couldn't have heard that right. But Arthur was unfazed by his apparent confusion and promptly planted a kiss on his lips as if it was the most natural thing in the world for him to do.

Merlin accidentally stumbles into a timeline where Arthur seems to think he is his lover, and a very affectionate one at that. Now he just has to figure out how he got there, how can he get back to his own time and why Arthur keeps thinking about poetry.

Or: Arthur is not emotionally constipated and Merlin doesn’t know how to deal with that.

[thependragonwritersguild]

Prompt #14338

"Apples from the Dream Realm taste like nostalgia."

[defectivefanboy]

Howl J. Pendragon x Gn!Reader

this is pure self indulgence. No I am not apologizing. No I am not sorry and yes I am a glutton for punishment.

Overall Notes: Stories written on this blog are GN until specified. While this story uses they/them pronouns, and I don't mind female readers on my blog, I do not write for y'all, and if you are a fetishizer fuck off????????????????? ew.

C/W: Angst no comfort. Howl being a low-key asshole, and a man whore. Self deprecation.

Notes: I have been rewatching this movie like a psychopath

Steps to loving a fool...

People will tell you all the ways they fell for a fool and how they loved a fool.

How they whisked them away off their feet with such carefree nature.

But they also recall how it hurt to let them go at the end.

They always say a bird does not belong in a cage

Because there are many steps to loving a fool, but there are only a few key steps you need to keep in mind.

While the enjoyment and wonder of it is exciting at first a person can only take so much before they finally collapse in on themselves like a star.

Step 1: A fool is as free as the wind.

For as long as you could remember he's always moved as if he was the wind himself.

Maybe it was because he could fly and walk? on air

Being with him was like you were floating

God, to be above the clouds with him once again

To feel as free as he does every day of his life

But you've never seen him settle down, even within his own home.

Always adding a new room, or waking up in a new place with new doors.

That amazement you feel when you hear the click of the door and then the new location or sight before you

Oh is that a new book? What does that trinket do?

The fascinated look on his face always captured your attention more then the trinket did most days

His magic never failed to excite you, only brought you more wonder in what he was capable off

Every time he came through the door he always brought something new

Always something new, something that brought change within the castle

Something was always changing.

Step 2: A fool changes like the seasons

Never get too comfortable and never get used to anything.

As cozy as the house was, he was changing it to how he liked at that moment.

It would become a maze of new rooms and halls.

All the more room for him to make a mess.

Sometimes even a new explosion, opening a new window in the castle.

Yet, you can never develop a habit. Can never maintain a routine

Never able to get a schedule down

Never able to understand what he was doing

Never able to even assume what he's doing

Never able to assume you know what he's thinking.

It's only a matter of time before he changes his interest.

Last month it was simple Science

Today? making a plant into a horse

Tomorrow? Only he knows.

Markl, while a good kid, was on the back burner of the wizards mind sometimes

maybe even a lot of the times, but he always made it up to him with long lessons and studies with the boy.

Guess you weren't even on his mind now a days

You can't blame him though

it's not like you had an altitude for magic or anything.

You didn't have any knowledge from a great beyond

You honestly should've known

The first few months were bliss was him

then it became every few days, every few weeks... every few months... every few y-

Step 3: A fool is never shackled down

When was the last time you made a proper friend?

Calcifer and Markl were both a lovely chat.

But, you could only talk about so much within an ever moving home.

Sure, you've made a few acquaintanceships, but never more than that.

You didn't have enough time to make friends anyways

Didn't stay long ever to keep them either

You would leave town as fast as you came in.

Appearing one night then disappearing the next.

And the excitement of it disappeared just as quick.

Realization only hit quicker.

Watching fling after fling after fling after fling after-

What was it that made them different?

Maybe thats why he's always running away

Being around too long would make too much of an attachment

That means commitment

It means it's no longer just him

A fool carries their own burdens, they don't need the burdens of other as well

He already has his own worries

what made you think he would care for yours?

At first he was attentive, the soft grazing touches he gave felt as if he was treating you as fragile glass

Any force and you would shatter

When did you shatter?

Do you remember when you did?

Did he even realize that you did?

Step 4: A fool won't listen to anyone, but themselves

The house was a mess

Covered in waste from failed potions and experiments.

Molded food and trash everywhere, no matter how much it got cleaned

You had told him that witch wasn't good news

You said she was hiding something from him. From everyone.

Everyone could see he was gonna end up hurt

Yet, you were the wrong one

He's was in love couldn't you see

You wanted this to happen, didn't you?

For him to settle down?

You always said to slow down

Why was it an issue now?

If you don't like it why do you care about it?

You shouldn't be here anymore then

"Why do you always incise on being a nuisance?!"

You have over stayed your welcome.

Silence lingered in the room

The ever so witty fire demon was at a lost for words even

All he could do was watch as you turned away from him and walked to your room.

He watched the ground as you walked away and slammed the door.

He was about to let out a sigh before a second slam followed again.

This time a few steps away

"porthaven door..."

He watched the door in surprise, the dial clicking into place.

sighing finally he turned to the stairs

"Calcifer, warm up a bath"

Step 5: A fool only learns after they have lost themselves

He was sure you would be back the next morning

You always came back, even when he was clearly in the wrong

Even when he would spew hateful words at you for the littlest of thing

You always came back

But when morning came, the castle was as still as it was left the night before.

He realized it’s gone too far

The soft cracks in the glass finally broke

that prideful wizard finally began to break

ode to the boy who shallowed a star in exchange for his heart…

who had lost the only thing that filled the space…

[justsomeoneintoomanyfandoms]

Hi, it's Lyn. I really liked the fanfics you wrote me! Um, if it's okay, can I request a fic with Howl X female reader, where the female reader has a breakdown because her family is falling apart (parents won't talk to each other/emotionally divorced, father is distant, mother is unkind and angry, sister is always aggressive) and Howl comforts her? Things are really tough for me right now so I kinda need some comfort like that, if it's okay?

Also, um, I don't go by Lyn anymore, I go by Aoife/Angel (yeah, I'm pretty indecisive when coming up with a name)

Hi Aofie! Thank you for your request! This was actually really therapeutic to write since I've been going through a bit of a rough period as well. I hope this helps you get through this tough time. I hope you like the fic!

Fandom: Howl's Moving Castle

Characters: Howl Pendragon x gn! Reader

Word Count: 0.6k (684 words)

You sat in your room, feet hanging off the side of your bed as you tried not to cry.

You could feel the heat behind your eyes and any hopes you had of distracting yourself from your rising emotions was dashed by the fact that you could no longer see properly through the wave of tears that was just being held back.

You’d had enough.

You curled in on yourself, almost tipping off the bed in the process. Squeezing your eyes shut, you let the tears fall freely as you took great gasping intakes of breath between sobs.

You hoped crying would make you feel better but at the moment, you felt pretty awful, both mentally, physically, and emotionally.

You were so caught up in your own roiling thoughts that you didn’t hear the footsteps until the bed sunk down next to you and there was a hand rubbing your back in comforting circles.

You sniffed and, through everything, you caught the distinctive smell of Howl’s cologne. You turned to him, keeping your face lowered and planted your face in his lap, wrapping your arms weakly around his waist.

Howl brought his other hand to your head, scratching slowly at your scalp while maintaining the circles on your back with his other hand.

You weren’t sure how long you lay there, letting all of your emotions out. All you knew was that when you finally couldn’t cry anymore, there was a wet patch where your face had been resting.

Howl must have felt you stir because his hands paused and he leaned down so his mouth was closer to your ear.

“Feeling any better?” He kept his voice low and gentle.

You sniffed in response, not sure yet whether you felt any different.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

There was a long period of silence and you considered this. Just as you heard Howl take a breath as if to speak, you broke the silence.

“My family’s falling apart. My mum and dad aren’t talking to each other. My mum’s angry all the time. My dad’s distant. My sister’s aggressive.” You couldn’t stop talking now that you had opened the floodgates, “I can’t take it anymore. I can’t do this. I don’t want to do this.” With a shuddering breath, you fell back into Howl’s lap, fresh tears flowing from your eyes.

Howl resumed rubbing circles on your back. He remained quiet but you could almost hear him thinking about the right way to respond to everything you had just told him.

After another long silence, he spoke. “I’m glad you told me. My relationship with my family is quite different to yours so I won’t claim to know how you feel. But I can imagine something that I hope is close to how you’re feeling.”

Another pause. Then he leant down and pressed a kiss to your head. Keeping his lips close, he lowered his voice to a whisper. “I’m here if you need anything. Want to talk? Want to scream and cry? Want me to distract you? Anything. I’m here for you. Things will get better.”

You had stopped crying and, at Howl’s words, felt a weak smile tug at your mouth. You were grateful you had such a supportive boyfriend.

He patted your back. “Come on. Up you hop. Let me see your lovely face.”

You hesitated, almost laughing. “I’ve just been crying. I certainly don’t have a lovely face at the moment.”

“Nonsense.” Howl lifted you from his lap and, holding you by the shoulders, examined your face with loving care, “You always have a lovely face.”

Your weak smile was back, this time a bit stronger than before.

“How about we go and wash your face and I’ll make a snack for you. Then you’ll feel like a brand new person.”

You nodded, feeling how raw your face and eyes were. “That sounds nice. Thank you.”

Howl smiled, getting to his feet and holding out a hand for you. “Think nothing of it sweetheart. It’s the least I can do for the person who holds my heart.”

[princess-of-morkva]

i've seen multiple times people complain about how unnatural morgana's behaviour is in season 3 and onwards, how bbc turned her into a "smirking villain.

i wanna talk about it. the smirking.

first of all, i absolutely love the smirking, but that just may be myself.

what i really wanna talk about is morgana's development.

let's try to see things from her s3 perspective:

she discovered that she has magic, which led to constant fear and anxiety (not good for mental health); she had one single person to whom she could talk about it; this person betrays her and for seemingly no reason (do you actually believe morgause told her the truth? i very much doubt it), poisons her;

she gets rescued by her newfound sister who is also magical;

she lives with her for an entire year (which gives morgause a lot of time and space to plant and nourish any thoughts abd ideas; she's clearly manipulative - this much was pretty obvious even in the series - i absolutely believe she used the tactic "we are alone against the world, morgana, i am the only one who actually cares for you, i know better" and probably a lot of guilt tripping about how she was raised by pendragons any time morgana had doubts about her methods (i should write about it separately, there's a lot of things i want to mention)

and now about smirking.

personally, i believe she is doing it to reassure herself. every time she begins to doubt, she would need to remind herself "you are in the right, it's justified". and smiling for personal reassurance is a very common, unconscious reaction.

remember how she walks out of the throne room in s3e1, giving her first evil smirk in camera? right after she and uther embraced. you can't tell me it did not remind her of other good moments with him, of the warm feelings she held for him. of that time when she planned his death and then decided against it in s1.

and of course she needs to remind herself of how now it's different. she is planning to overthrow him and she will - there is no need for this feelings and memories, uther is a bloody tyrant, she has her sister now.

and i can write such explanations for every single time. (maybe i will)

generally, i think she is lying to herself a lot, forsing down feelings and memories, more and more with every line she crosses - summoning undead army, where she causes direct harm to camelot's citizens for the first time; giving arthur the phoenix eye - where she finally extends uther's guilt on arthur fully in her mind; staging the discovery gwen's relationship with arthur - where she causes direct harm to gwen, her friend and wholly innocent person. and so on. she doesn't allow herself to doubt, to reflect on her actions, pushing everything down, lest she drowns in regret.

it would drive any person mad.

(i will do another post for s4 and s5 especially)

[cbk1000]

Anyway, here's some more of the sequel to the vet fic, because the world is hard and mean, and one overly long fic about two gays driving around the countryside helping sick animals wasn't enough:

The wedding was at Ripley Castle near Harrogate, and featured a cousin with whom Arthur was just close enough not to blow off the ceremony; though he wouldn’t have minded simply popping in for the vows, and the requisite after-vow pleasantries. But he had seen the opportunity to pry Merlin away for a holiday, on an estate large enough to avoid most of his family; and so Saturday they had put their rucksacks, their suits, and themselves, into the car, and were now going at a decent clip down the B6265, though Merlin thought it was codgerly.

“Does Gaius know to put the wet food on top of the dry food for Tessa, and not to mix it all together?”

“Yes, you mentioned it in the instructions we left.”

“And that Mixer can only go into the outdoor pens with George? And if he can’t find Cian, to check under the sofa?”

“Arthur, we are not leaving our infant child for the first time whilst we take our first holiday since we became new dads, we are leaving our four adult cats to be checked in on by a veterinarian who’s been practising about as long as either of us has been alive. I think he can handle feeding a finicky arshole.”

“I’m not sure if I remembered to mention George’s eye drops, though. Will you text Gaius?”

“You wrote six fucking pages on how to care for four cats for two days. You mentioned it.”

“Just text him, you knob.”

“Uncle Gaius,” Merlin sounded out obnoxiously as he typed. “Arthur thinks you are a helpless, blind old useless bat, and would like to reiterate how to feed a cat and administer eye drops.”

Arthur swiped blindly at his head with one hand, whilst the other he left planted on the wheel. “Should I text Morgana too, and have her check in on Gaius checking in on the cats?”

“Piss off.”

“Too bad she was too sick to come; I’d love to see Gwaine mixing it up with your relatives. Nobody would even notice you’re gay if Morgana had brought him.”

“Yes, I’m sure that would have gone well for everyone.”

Then Merlin changed the radio station, and they had a friendly dust-up, most of the remaining drive to Ripley, over the other’s objectively inferior taste in music; so that when they pulled up at The Boar’s Head where they would be staying, Arthur had almost forgot he was inevitably to see his father. Now the courtyard full of Pendragons brought it surging down on him, and he felt suddenly as overwhelmed as if they had converged on instead of glancingly glanced at the car. His whole body tightened; and the dread clash was in his chest, that brutal striving for life which in a fit man at an elevation the same as his native seems to herald the onset of death. He felt in the car in the middle of the day with no threat present but the threat of unpleasantness that he was carrying his doom. It was in his chest, where his breath had shortened, and quickened; all those impulses of the lizard brain which kept the cave dweller from being no more than some leftovers in his loincloth now were telling him that he would need to flee some pensioners in some church wear. His father was nowhere amongst them; but the possibility of him, the infinite possibility of if, was all round the car and beyond the car, where anything might happen to his heart.

And then Merlin said in the same voice he used with the animals, “Tell me five things you can see right now.”

“The steering wheel. My hand on the steering wheel. The door handle. The chip in the windshield. Your knee.”

“Five things you can feel?”

“The steering wheel under my hand. The seat under my legs. The air from the vents. The seat against my back. The steering wheel under my hand.”

“Five things you can hear?”

“Your breathing, your abysmal taste in music, the car engine, faint music outside the car, talking outside the car.”

“Four things you can see?”

And he walked him through the exercise like that, till they had got down to one item for each, and Arthur’s breathing was calmer. He flexed his stiff fingers on the steering wheel.

“It’ll be ok, Arthur. And if it’s not, I’ll headbutt some people, and we’ll leave.”

“Ok.” Arthur wiped his palms on his jeans.

Then they were out of the car, and Merlin said to the few friendly guests who found their arrival more interesting than their breakfast, “Hey; nice to meet you. Merlin. Really sorry, we’ll be down in a few minutes, yeah, I just need the loo really badly. Down from Emberford, yeah,” ushering Arthur through the crowd and into the Inn as deftly as he had ever done anything requiring motor skills. He had got the suits and the rucksacks out of the backseat, and kept himself now with their luggage between Arthur and any intrusives, using his dimples to plough a kind of furrow through to reception, so that everyone in his wake felt that they had been charmed instead of slighted. 

In their room he threw down the suits and bags on the bed, and said, “It’s nice. Not very castle-y, though. Do you want me to make you some tea?”

“No. We should probably go back down and mingle for a bit before we need to change.”

“Do you want me to blow you?”

“That’s--” Arthur paused. He did not know what part of ‘go down and mingle’ Merlin had confused for a sex act; but now that he had Arthur’s brain had got just as muddled. He separated out, after a moment, what he wanted to say, from what his penis wanted him to say. “What part of ‘I probably shouldn’t pause long enough for tea’ suggested to you that I thought we had time for sex before going back down to visit with the other wedding guests?”

[nivellesart]

Gwaine and Lancelot on a date that does not go well. First, Gwaine not only almost set his kitchen on fire while cooking, but the tomato sauce explodes all over the place, forcing them to go out to have dinner. When they come back, the electricity is gone and they have to rely on candles for light.

For the @merlinbingo​ prompt I2 - Gwaine/Lancelot

I spent so much time on the background, so here are some details:

The bookshelf in the background, containing mostly travel related books as well as a mostly dead plant. The “Perilous Quests” book is a hiking trails/geocaching tour guide and was a birthday gift from Leon. So far, they have completed seven of them mostly uninjured (except when Gwaine got stung by bees).

The candles were partially stolen from restaurants, taken from family celebrations, and a lot of them were gifts from Gwaine’s sister. She gives him candles whenever she needs to gift him something. Most of them smell really strongly, which is why they are stored in a box labeled “Don’t open”. For this emergency, they have chosen the least intense candles.

One of the candles is the Yankee Candle Mountain Lodge candle. You know, the one that allegedly smells like Chris Evans. (Yes, I will reference my other fandoms when I’ve got the chance. On that note, you will a reference to Die drei ??? in the book title “Rocky Beach Tours” and also “Persuasion” by Jane Austen, which is one of my favourite books despite me apparently being unable to spell it correctly, as I just realised.)

On the fridge are magnets in the shape of apples, a piece of cake, a Pendragon dragon, a ghost, and a knight. They hold up two flyers from Gwaine’s favourites, one is called “Pizza & More”, and a picture of Merlin having fallen asleep over a book.