put down the world, soldier mine. your body is strong, i know, but you are not granite. your shoulders were not made to bend so steep. your knees were not made to buckle so low. your bones were not made to hold so much. Atlas was a condemnation, not a guidebook on how to bear the weight of the world.

rest your wings, soldier mine. you were made to fly, i know, but not like this. the sun above is not meant to be your seduction. the ocean below is not meant to be your enemy. the jetstream is not meant to be your companion. Icarus was a warning, not a challenge to see how high you can soar.

lay down your weapons, soldier mine. you fight so well, i know, but not every battle is yours. your fists are not damned to be perpetual weapons. your scars are not damned to mark you in disgrace. your blood is not damned to spill upon a sword. Achilles was a cautionary tale, not an instruction manual on how to fight to your death.

soldier mine, you are not Atlas nor Icarus nor Achilles.

you are only you, soldier mine, and i am only yours, and we are only this here now.

- by sylvie (j.p.)

GUINEVERE PENDRAGON + overlays

Gwen is the most kind, loyal person you would ever meet and she has been more than a friend to all of us.

no, it's actually crazy to me that, arthur, ARTHUR, mr Very Weird about feelings, mr gets real wobbly when talking about them (see: calling merlin wise in 03x02 for reference), yeah, that same arthur said "if i need a servant in my next life..." to merlin's face in 02x12, as he was about to fight some very much unkillable dudes. he didn't give his usual lines, such as "take care of those i love" as a sign of complete trust, no. instead, he decided to stand smack in the middle of the point - the point being "i wish to see you again, (and again and again) even if it won't be for some time", point being - one lifetime isn't enough. maybe it was the sleepiness getting to him, maybe it was the pretty certain death scenario, but i just think that was a little crazy of him.

once again, i am thinking about how they're literally the funniest people alive:

in the face of serious situations, what do they have? JOKES

bbc merlin - 03x06 The Changeling

only just about a singular braincell between them and it's mostly used for comedy (not that i'm complaining)

Arthur: *tapping on the table during a council meeting*

Merlin: *tapping back while rolling his eyes*

Councillor: What are they doing?

Leon: Morse code. We needed some way to get through these meetings without one of them getting mad and yelling at the other.

Councillor: Isn’t that one just a servant?

Leon: *about to put his head through a table*

Arthur: *stops mid tap and glares* You take that back you fossilised fuck! Actually, stand up, you’re off the council. Merlin, sit down. Even your idiocy doesn’t come close to his.

Leon: You and Merlin still need to argue in morse code, even if he’s got a seat.

Merlin: Yes, Leon.

Arthur: Yes, Leon.

the thing i feel people don't really take enough into account when it comes to arthur's supposed obliviousness regarding merlin's magic is that merlin is the absolute opposite of what arthur has been raised to believe sorcerers to be. merlin is clumsy and kind and - in the earlier seasons - like walking sunshine. he so obviously has negative desire for actual power, nor any respect for it, and while arthur absolutely knows that merlin isn't stupid, he 100% is an idiot.

and it's not stupid or ignorant on his part! people just do this, whenever they are taught someone who does or believes a certain thing is inherently evil! it's never the friendly guy next door who snacks half of your breakfast and then just grins when you complain, obviously not! arthur trusts merlin even early on, and beyond belief later on. of course merlin can basically do magic in front of him, because there is no part of arthur that actually thinks someone like merlin could have magic. you don't see what you're 100% convinced can't be there. if he ever got there, his already brittle construct of indoctrination and supposed repeated confirmation of said construct would crumble immediately! as it does in dotd after like, a day. it only doesn't in regards to morgana because as far as arthur is concerned, the moment she started using magic she became the cold and ruthless enemy he still couldn't bring himself to actually pursue! like.

it's very easy to think it's startingly oblivious, but one thing i really wish people would keep in mind a little more is that the viewer watches from a different point of view, and operates with a whole other set of information. that arthur operates under a certain worldview in an environment that does not teach to question it at all, and gives little opportunity to do so. it's actually wild arthur questions uther's teachings as often as he does, and considering that every time he does, they, to his knowledge, just get confirmed again (nimueh, morgause, morgana, uther's death, and so on and so forth), it's even wilder that he keeps doing it

+ bonus

arthur’s having a bit of a hard time adapting to modern life

Colin Morgan as Merlin

1x07 The Gates Of Avalon

Reblog the writers’ fortune cookie for luck!

5.11 ⋄ The Drawing of the Dark

the inevitable tragedy of the hero (stay hidden)

F. Scott Fitzgerald / Madeline Miller / @crazyw3irdo / @pencap / Christa Wolf trans. Jan van Heurck / Florence + the Machine / Regina Spektor

Merwaine Fest 2023 Day Seven: Free day - Protecting each other

more merlin as textposts

Grocery shopping

Welcome to my usual metas where we hyperfixate over Arthur Pendragon’s love for Merlin. Today’s episode features this scene right here:

To remind you of the context, it was s03e12 when Camelot was besieged and Arthur just ordered Gaius, Gwaine, and Elyan to go find shelter in the woods. A second later, he looks at Merlin, diverts his eyes, and tells him, “Merlin, you should go with them.”

Which btw translates, in Arthur Pendragon's dictionary, to: Merlin, I want you safe, I want you away from harm’s way, but Merlin, Oh Merlin, don’t leave me. I really don’t want you to leave me. I sustain my strength from you. You’re the bravest man I have ever met. I keep going because I know you’re there. Don’t go and leave me. I am urging you to go, but please don’t believe me.

I really just can’t. Because you guys, Arthur isn’t scared to go fight an entire army of the dead. He’s not scared that he is limping and injured and definitely won’t make it. He’s just scared to do it without Merlin.

And when Merlin looks at him and says, “Nah, I’ve seen the woods already”, Arthur knows Merlin had heard it all, and chose the kindest response possible that doesn’t spot on his worry and fear.

Those fucking two.

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