MERLIN & ARTHUR PENDRAGON ↳ Merlin ✗ 5x02 - Arthur’s Bane: Part 2

tbh I'm pretty upset about Rosie being the owner of Alastor's soul. Like, they had the potential to have a beautiful cannibal friendship and Viv just fucking ruined it. Also them being besties would have fixed one of the main problems in Alastor's ace rep. Viv has implied that the reason Al is aroace is bc he only truly loves and cares about himself (which is a horrible stereotype of aroace people). Al having a close friendship with Rosie and ACTUALLY CARING ABOUT HER would have rectified that but noooo mean lady gotta bully the pwecious bean

When that scene officially shows, Radiorose fans are going to be in SHAMBLES. I feel so bad for them but at the same time I can’t wait for them to potentially argue with Vivziepop on bluesky. Oh, so Alastor is basically a narcissist (wait, can I say that?). That explains why his merch says “love yourself” it’s not him practicing self love but him caring about himself. 💀

Forever wishing there would have been a seasonal gimmick where someone from Merlin’s past comes to Camelot and spills some tea.

Like, just some rando comes by and drops the wildest lore that not even the audience knows to the knights super casually and leaves.

I.e.

Will (if he had lived): I’m glad Merlin found a place here. I thought for sure he’d end up banished again (: Arthur: He got banished from Ealdor? Will: What? No. Camelot wasn't Hunith’s first choice. Merlin just kept pissing people off in other kingdoms so she had to send him to Gaius because nobody else had a chance of controlling him. Arthur: Are you-? Actually, no. This tracks.

Or

Random Girl: Hi, I'm looking for my brother? He lives in the palace, I think. Elyan: And who might your brother be? Random Girl: Oh, sorry. I'm Ganieda! Merlin's sister. Gwaine: No fucking way

I'm just saying, there is no way Merlin stayed out of trouble his entire childhood. Consider:

Some Guy: Is Merlin here? Leon: You're not related to him, are you? Some Guy: No, I cannot say I am. Years ago we had a brief tryst while on an adventure together before parting ways. I heard he was in Camelot so I thought- Arthur: He's not here. Some Guy: Oh, but- Arthur: He actually died yesterday and, completely unrelated, I'm going to have to banish you. Goodbye. Don't return.

Passed down like folk songs, our love last so long.

Because it’s still Arthur and Merlin, after all these years. Together. Intertwined in countless tales interwoven with the history of these lands. Arthur and Merlin still fall together from people’s lips as they teach the next generation of the once and future great king and his sorcerer. Their names are still written in ink alongside the other on the page of yet another Arthuriana. Inextricable and integral. Together.

look i know i've talked about it before but it was more from the angle of analyzing how this plotline could have been about persephone legitimately overthrowing hades, and not from the angle of how this one scene completely undermines all of rachel's manufactured attempts to "create a dialogue" about sexual assault and consent

and i'm specifically referring to THIS SCENE.

honestly hades is a toxic piece of shit himself who deserves jail for life but like. the tonal whiplash of this comic often has me feeling torn between "persephone is a victim of grooming who became what she once despised" and "persephone was actually always a deeply insecure and manipulative person and that's why she and hades get along so well" 💀😭 regardless of whichever conclusion you come to, neither of them are exactly indicative of a writer who really understands consent or healthy relationships, because despite whichever scenario makes the most sense, rachel still tried (and in many ways, succeeded) to convince her audience of girls and women alike that these two are healthy couple goals and that her extremely limited 10th grade understanding of consent and sexual health was "helping people"

and yes this further cements persephone as rachel's self-insert

because while she's gone on record to say she's never been sexually assaulted, she has admitted in interviews and social media posts to being in similar situations where her autonomy was being invaded upon

including a literal REAL LIFE STALKING SITUATION

like. that is an incredibly shitty and horrifying situation to be in. and i wanna make it clear, i'm not trying to use this against her in any way. this is something she didn't deserve to go through and reversely, does deserve to move on from.

i bring it up though precisely because it's incredibly telling that she, as a writer who claims she wants to use her platform as a means to "help people", is not capable of actually practicing what she preaches, and thus her characters aren't capable of doing that either. she's still exhibiting and glorifying behaviors and traits that align with the people who have harmed her, because HADES LITERALLY FUCKING STALKS PERSEPHONE AND IT'S PLAYED UP FOR COMEDY-

THIS SHIT WAS IN THE PILOT VERSION OF THE COMIC TOO, BEFORE IT WAS EVER AN ORIGINALS SERIES. HADES HAS ALWAYS BEEN WRITTEN LIKE THIS AND IT'S ALWAYS BEEN ROMANTICIZED AND PLAYED UP FOR GAGS.

LIKE I'M SORRY, IS THE "DECONSTRUCTION" HERE JUST SUPPOSED TO BE RACHEL TURNING HER OWN TRAUMA INTO COMEDY INSTEAD OF GOING TO THERAPY ???

FUCK.

I love "Merlin crossdressing for plot reasons" fics lmao

Merlin is on bed rest and unavailable to work so George has to step in for a few weeks

“George, where are my socks?”

“They’re in the sockdrawer sire, next to your smallclothes — here, i’ll grab them for you”

“But why are they there??”

“Because…that’s where the socks belong?”

“But Merlin always kept my socks in the basket next to the wardrobe”

“Why would he do that? that makes no sense?”

“Huh…no idea… but I prefer it that way, so dump the socks into the basket and leave the drawer empty”

🧺🧺🧺🧺🧺🧺

“Your breakfast is on the table sire, i’ve pressed your formal robe so it’s ready for petitions in the afternoon, and your ceremonial circlet is polished for you”

“Why are you standing over there? aren’t you gonna drag me out of the bed feet first?”

“Your majesty!? why on earth would I do such a thing?!”

“It’s just…that’s usually how merlin wakes me up — nevermind, hand me that apple”

🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏🍏

“I’ve packed your saddlebags for the hunting trip, my lord”

“Good, It’s going to be a great day for fishing”

“Fishing sire? I’m afraid I haven’t packed anything for a fishing trip, forgive me sire, I had no idea your plans had changed”

“Oh right, you wouldn’t know. Merlin hates hunting, so we always fish, but we still call it a hunting trip so that others won’t ask any questions”

“I see, sire (he didn’t) but are you still going fishing now that Merlin is on bedrest and unable to join?”

“Ah…I hadn’t thought of that. Perhaps you would join me?”

“I …thank you sire, but my chores…”

“Of course, you’re right. I’ll ask Sir Percival if he will join me instead”

🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟

“My lord, might I help you with — that?”

“Ah no thanks George, I’ve got it”

“Right of course sire. Might I ask, no forgive me, its not my place to question his majesty”

“No no, go ahead, just ask”

“What…or I guess, why are you…dusting under the bed?”

“Merlin gets terribly sneezy when it’s dusty, so I always make sure it doesn’t get too dusty in here, otherwise I’ll never hear the end of it, ahaha”

“But why isn’t Merlin, your manservant, dusting under the bed himself?”

“Oh he hates dusting”

🧹🧹🧹🧹🧹🧹🧹

I recently browsed the Hazbin Hotel subreddit (seriously, don’t go there—it’s a minefield of die-hard defenders), and I stumbled upon a post responding to a critical take about Vivziepop’s apparent lack of attention to the broader LGBTQ+ community. The critical post raised some valid points, but the reaction from the posters was… interesting, to say the least. Here’s what they shared along with their response to it:

Critic: “Hey, maybe we should include more representation in the show since you claim to love diversity and call it a queer show! :D”

Hazbin hotel Reddit: “They’re forcing Vivzie to slap random labels on characters! It’s unrealistic to develop every character’s identity!”

Somehow, though, they conveniently overlook the fact that characters like Barbie Wire (who appeared in just one episode), Octavia (who had only two), Vassago, Mammon (who had a single episode at the time of this post), Beelzebub (one episode), and Chaz (who appeared in just one episode before presumably meeting their end) all had little to no development prior to their respective Pride Month reveals—and yet, they all had their sexualities confirmed out of the blue. In fact, Vassago’s sexuality was even revealed before his debut, all the way back when the trailer for Season 2 first dropped.

On a more serious note, if you believe that representation only “counts” when characters explicitly state their queer, trans, or otherwise marginalized identities, here’s something to consider: a character’s sexuality or gender identity doesn’t always need to be the focus of the story nor does it need to be justified. By that logic, why is Blitzo pansexual? Why is Angel gay? Why are Loona and Charlie bisexual? Why is Mammon asexual? Why is Vaggie a lesbian? These identities are just part of who they are and they don’t need to define their entire narrative. In most cases they might only be mentioned in passing or through jokes. Visibility doesn’t always require a spotlight or a deep narrative explanation, sometimes, it’s enough for it to simply exist.

It’s the fact that when enchanted!Merlin calls Gwaine filthy, instead of a hands-out, “What the hell, man?” he just turns into a kicked puppy.

…Or perhaps, more accurately, a pangolin.

Empty my plate, fill my heart

It started small, with a sausage, a bit of egg, a few berries missing from Arthur's plate. He wouldn’t have noticed had Merlin not had traces of his thievery left on his lips.

Not that Arthur paid attention to Merlin's lips. Never. He wouldn’t.

Instead he requested the kitchen staff in person to increase his portions. It wasn’t by much but enough so Merlin could get his tribute and Arthur had enough energy for training with the knights.

Slowly the portions increased further, not that Arthur ate more, while the prince watched his manservant fill out his clothes, his face becoming softer although his cheek bones still stood out.

Now, if asked Arthur would deny it even under threat of death, but he was less scared for Merlin when he couldn't feel his vertebrae through at least two layers of clothing, or count his ribs whenever his tunic clung to his body.

With finally enough food Merlin built up muscle, the gangly boy turning into a handsome man. And Arthur knew he shouldn't look but there Merlin was, shouldering open his door while sneaking a raspberry into his mouth, the pink juice glistening on his lips. "Rise and shine, it's a beautiful day!"

Arthur rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Beautiful day and yet you have half your breakfast smeared over your face." His hand held Merlin's chin as the other gently wiped away the traces of fruit.

Arthur licked his thumb clean.

"The harvest was good this summer. I hope the fall has similar results." He humms in content.

Merlin stands and stares at him like a startled deer, his face slowly reddening in a blush and Arthur wonders how far it extends.

"My clothes for the day, Merlin. We have a lot to do," he reminds the servant as he begins his meal.

Merlin huffs and turns, barely missing the satisfied smile on Arthur's face.

Merthur au/fic idea! So when gewn is crowned queen regnant. Merlin realized he wasn't exactly needed anymore. So he decided to just travel for a bit and then settle down. But in doing this, merlin lost some contact with his surviving friends. The only one he truly stayed in contact with was gewn.

In this au, gewn died without an heir, so on her deathbed, she declared that merlin would take the throne if he chooses to do so.

Merlin, despite not wanting the throne, decides to take it as a way to honor his last friend wishes.

Now, more time has passed, the kingdom is thriving, people are united, and they are happy. While Merlin is just colder.....each day, he becomes more cold, distant, and discomfort as he face with wearing the crown.

Merlin hates being king, but he knows that he is technically the only one left. And he hates that, he hates the reminders. He just wants to move on with life. But being king is tied to the place full of memories, and merlin doesn't want to be a reminded of those memories.

Soon, merlin came up with a plan. He will find a successor to teach. Then, after the successor is older and ready, he gives up his crown and finally can move on with his life.

The problem is that the choices of successors to take in and teach are either childish or immature, or they are only doing it for selfish reasons.

But then a magical twins orpans get his attention by doing some powerful magic while being so young. But the consequence of that's is they have magical outbreaks. When their powers start to break out, they can't stop themselves

The only person who can help them, though, is merlin. He is able to calm them down, but lately, it has become too much to keep up. So merlin has been trying everything to help them out with her powers, but it seems like nothing has work. Merlin has been losing more sleep and becoming more cold trying to find the answer.

Then, Merlin held a party to all kingdom and magical beings on the anniversary of the kingdom. But then, merlin is stabbed by someone. As he is slowly dying, the twins can't watch the man they thinks of as a father slowly died. Especially knowing they can do something.

So they decided to do something to help merlin. They found a spell to try to send them back in the past to a couple of days before the accident to try and stop it.

But the start of the spell gets out of control. Causing them and Merlin back to the start of season 1.