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In honor of us TRENDINGG, here are five fics 💯 worth your time:

1. My breath are run by your compass by @regulusrules [20k+] [post-camlann fix-it]

This fic has torn and mended my heart at the same time; it’s what we deserve, what you deserve — the Golden Age after Camlann with a stab (in the heart, pun intended). But golden it is, I promise.

Need I say that this author is the same mastermind behind my heart is readily yours?

2. The Phantom of Arthur Pendragon by @clockwrkpendrxgon [15k+] [dark!arthur]

This fic is going to make on you on the edge of your seat 24\7, GUARANTEED. A mind-blowing plot twist and a new, sinister side of Arthur post-camlann. But we fix him, don’t worry, and it ends happily, I swear. Enjoy the ride!

3. hold me closer by summertimeroses [1k+] [touch-starved]

When I tell you I’m a complete sucker for touch-starved fics, especially when it’s Arthur, I mean it 100%. Short, sweet and so heartfelt. Our love needs to be held more, doesn’t he?

4. Sanctuary by LittleGreenGirlxx [3k+][domestic fluff]

Fluff. That’s it— fluff for our weary hearts. Winding down merthur fics will always be a top need for this fandom. We know enough pain. Complete idiots in love and soft Arthur POV.

5. and love, I find, has no considered end by @schweetheart [690] [sharing a bed]

I will never get tired of these two sharing a bed, especially when it’s winter. The softness. The warmth. It is moments like these that make us swoon over them over and over again.

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So funny🤣❤️❤️

uther: fuck sorcerers

arthur: alrighty

#bbc merlin #arthur pendragon #uther pendragon #bradley james #king arthur #arthur

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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

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My headcanon about Arthur's mortality (or how I think he was able to survive before Merlin came to Camelot)

"(The griffin is a creature of magic.) It is born of magic, sire, and it can only be killed by magic." - Gaius, S1E5

Alright, since Merlin is trending again for no reason I'll share one of my lastest headcanons I came up with during my last Merlin rewatch.

There was something about this line from Gaius and the way the camera then directly pans out to Arthur that made me think of an interesting headcanon that would explain how Arthur managed to survive so long without Merlin.

You see, according to this logic, because he was born of magic, Arthur can only be killed by magic (or weapons forged by magic *winkwink*). So he could never really die from simple illnesses or battle wounds unless those were directly inflicted by magic. And, since Uther started the purge against magic right after Arthur was born, he probably wouldn't have had much contact with it in his early years (at least until he became a knight and started going out on quests, raids, etc).

That would explain why (much like Merlin) he seems able to endure so many injuries (broken ribs, poisoned arrows, etc) that other knights can't. (I mean, just the fact that this man didn't sustain some severe brain damage from all the times he's been knocked out is impressive lol)

What I'm saying is that being born of magic must have given him some sort of endurance that other mortals don't have, because by Gaius' logic the circumstances of his birth in itself made him a sort of creature of magic (just like Merlin).

It would also make for a good Canon divergence fic in which this was the reason that made Uther start the purge in the first place (to protect his son from the only thing that could kill him)...and it can get even more angsty if you add in the fact that Merlin is literally magic itself, but I digress.

Anyway, I'm probably reading way too much into this. I doubt the writers would've thought so far ahead as to put foreshadowing so early on in the series. But I just thought it was an interesting headcanon and just another fun parallel between Merlin and Arthur.

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arthur, to me, is the most tragic merlin character. he is betrayed by everyone he is close to. his whole family. uther was such a bad father to him, morgana went against him, agravaine was never with him. even merlin lied to him. all he tried to do was his best, yet he constantly felt like he was failing. he felt like he had to push people away, that he couldnt let them in. his life was cut short before he could show people who he was.

yes, merlin lost everyone, but he knew the whole time. he knew what was happening, he was able to try and stop it. arthur didnt know. he wasnt told a lot of things. people kept him out of their decisions.

#arthur pendragon #the poor boy #i love him #arthur #bradley james #king arthur #merlin bbc

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Beautiful 😍❤️ my once and future king❤️

MERLIN | 5.05 The Disir

#arthur pendragon #bradley james #bbc merlin #i love his commitment to arthur being a total bitch. he rolls his eyes so many times in this one scene

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Reblog if you’re 30 or older

This is an experiment to see if there really are as few of us as people think.You can also use this to freak out your followers who think you’re 25 or something. Yay!

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I think it's severely overlooked that Arthur was raised by UTHER.

Uther who burned children, Uther who kept Arthur under so much pressure since he was a kid. And despite everything Arthur became the man his father never was. Yes he is a prat, yes he is arrogant, but he is also loyal to a fault and compassionate. He makes mistakes but he tries his best to fix it, Arthur isn't afraid to admit that he'd done something wrong. Which is a huge deal for a king or crown prince.

i can only imagine how difficult his childhood was, because he was growing up without mother. And he is stating repeatedly himself that he was trained to kill since birth. I just love him so fucking much.

Bro is my fav character

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Cuteness overload. This is so great

An unexpected heir to the throne Even though Merlin is the dragonlord, the dragons always seem to have some strange kind of bond to Arthur Pendragon. (Merlin bringing home a crowd of baby dragons requested by @chronichufflepuff​)

#merthur fanart #arthur pendragon #last dragonlord #dragon daddies for real #sir leon will be uncle #merthur comic

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🤣🤣 brilliant

Merlin and Arthur have another chat

#merlin #comic #funny #king arthur #merthur

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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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arthur's shirts need near constant mending. it's the perils of the job, he supposes-- training sessions, hunts, patrols, and even nights at the tavern lend themselves to small rips and tears in his tunics. and arthur is often loathe to just get a brand new one when his perfectly incapable manservant is far faster at just mending the damn thing.

he doesn't notice it, at first. it's extremely subtle, and arthur doesn't go about looking at the stitches in his clothing often. he's not a girl, and besides, merlin does a good enough job somehow managing to patch even the widest holes of fabric without making them look a total mess.

so really, it shouldn't be something he notices.

except he does.

one day, when inspecting the shirt he had just received back from its mending, it catches his eye. at the end of a long seam of red, there's a stitch-- maybe two-- of blue thread.

"merlin," he frowns, pointing at where the hole once was, "my shirt is red."

"oh, good, you can identify colours." and arthur is too busy chasing that shit eating grin off merlin's face to continue the discussion.

the next time percival's blade or a stray tree branch or whatever tears a hole in his shoulder, though, he notices it again. a long, thick line of red thread, marred at the end by a spattering of blue stitches.

"can you identify colours?" he asks merlin, pointing out the stitching.

"we ran out of red thread," merlin says with an insolent little shrug. "no one is going to notice a couple stitches, arthur."

so he drops it, and for the next few times, the repairing is done to his liking. so that's the end of that.

it's not.

"you're doing it on purpose," arthur huffs as he waves the shirt in front of merlin's face. "you're-- you're trying to drive me up the wall, somehow. it won't work."

"won't it?" merlin snorts, and takes the shirt from him. there's three blue stitches right over the curve of his sleeve. "besides, we haven't got time to argue over this."

merlin's right. the tournament is about to start. arthur lets merlin pull the tunic over his head, and leans back against the table with a sigh as merlin starts gathering his armour.

"besides," merlin says, and it's so quiet that arthur can barely hear him over the bustle of people in the tents surrounding them, "it's not like you can be seen wearing my favour."

arthur whips his head around, eyes wide and heart suddenly pounding. merlin catches his gaze, flicks his eyes down to the three blue stitches, now suddenly all the more stark against the red of his tunic. they'll be covered by armour in a matter of seconds.

and it's not like the other scarves, kerchiefs, or patches of fabric brightly tied around the other knights' arms. it's just three tiny, tiny blue stitches in a hole that will likely be ripped open again by the week's end.

he should say don't be such a girl, merlin. he should say i don't need a servant's favour, we aren't courting. he should say--

he doesn't know what he should say.

he swallows, and realizes he's been idly rubbing his fingertips over the raised thread for a few seconds, now.

"i will wear it with pride," he says instead. it's the closest to the truth they've ever gotten.

for @m-rachlan, who requested merlin subtly flirting

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“Here comes the airplane”

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How to Outline: For Beginners to Writing Veterans

Let me start out by defining a few things:

Pantsers

These types of writers generally plan out very little before diving into their novels. They might have some ideas, maybe a small outline, but they feel free to take their story in any direction they please. The lack of outlining and planning lends itself to untethered creativity.

Plotters

These types of writers usually have some sort of outline that they follow while writing their novel. They spend some time planning and rewriting their outlines and know what’s going to happen (to an extent). Usually the novel is planned out before they begin writing it, which cuts out the element of surprise for the writer and tends to reduce writer’s block.

There’s no right way to be, but personally I’m a plotter. I probably plot too much. If you’re a pantser and it’s working for you, keep doing it! More power to ya!

However, if you’re looking to experiment with plotting or you just want to learn how to do it, check out these tips below:

Where to Begin:

Skeleton Outline

If you’re looking for a little bit of direction, but don’t feel like/find it necessary to build a huge outline, this is probably what you’re going for. Create an outline that focuses around the main points of your story.

Detailed Outline

A detailed outline usually builds on what you did for the skeleton outline. This adds more detail to the structure of your story and helps focus on fleshing out what’s going to happen throughout the novel. I usually add in some sections about my characters and any sort of world building I might do.

Chapter-by-Chapter Outline

This is literally when you plan out each chapter of your novel. Some might find it unnecessary to get that detailed, but if you have pacing problems or want to cut down on extensive editing, this might work best for you.

How to:

Skeleton Outline

This is essentially the “road map” of your story. Figure out what the conflict is and focus on the beginning, middle, and sometimes the end (a lot of writers aren’t completely sure what their ending will be, but sometimes it helps to have to planned out so you can effectively lead up to it in the story. It could also help with tone issues. Example—if you ending is dark, you might want to set up the audience for that).

For a skeleton outline it helps to focus on story arcs. For example,

·         Stasis

·         Trigger

·         The Quest

·         Surprise

·         Critical Choice

·         Climax

·         Reversal

·         Resolution

Learn more about story arcs here: http://www.dailywritingtips.com/how-to-structure-a-story-the-eight-point-arc/

Filling out those story points will help you build a more detailed outline if you choose to do so and will help you focus your story, so it’s not all over the place. If you want to have a clear idea where you’re headed, but don’t want to bog yourself down with the details, a skeleton outline might be best for you.

Detailed Outline

For a detailed outline, you basically just take your skeleton outline and flesh it out. Add to each section of the story arc and drop in more detail. Focus on what scenes will help you get across each main story point.

For example:

Stasis – Amy lives with her mother and her sister in a house that’s nearly falling apart. She’s unhappy with her life and her family doesn’t treat her well.

This is Amy’s everyday life, but you can do more to plan it out before jumping into writing. What’s Amy’s home life like? What does her family do to treat her poorly? What scenes will you explore to show the audience what’s going on.

Maybe Amy’s sister teases her or makes her do all the chores. Maybe Amy’s mom often doesn’t come home or doesn’t take care of her children. Explore these ideas and use them to flesh out your outline. Then, you’ll have some idea what to write when the time comes, instead of just something vague. This could also help you cut down on telling instead of showing.

Chapter-by-Chapter Outline

This takes a lot of time, but from experience, it does help cut down on the editing process, AND it helps you write a synopsis and query letter when or if the time comes. I spent around a month writing my last chapter-by-chapter outline, so I know exactly what I’m going to do when I start writing. I prefer this because I know I won’t get stuck and I’ll be able to get through the draft quickly. If you like to write fast, which I do because I like to keep my excitement for my project up when I’m writing, a chapter-by-chapter outline might work for you.

A chapter-by-chapter outline might be difficult for your first time writing a novel because you might not know how long it should be or what your strengths and weaknesses are as a writer. There’s no right answer for how long a chapter-by-chapter outline should be because only you know how long your chapters usually are or if you have any problems with word count (Is your novel usually too long? Too short?).

Anyway, if you feel like you want to do a chapter-by-chapter outline, I usually do something like this for each chapter:

Chapter 1:

Paragraph or more about what’s happening in the chapter. Think about each chapter as its own tiny story. Each chapter should have a beginning, middle, and end, and should lend itself to the overall story. Think about what the purpose is for each chapter and what information you want to convey to the reader.

Conflict (I tend to write a sentence about what the conflict is in each chapter. If I can’t find any, I know that’s a sign I need to rewrite that section of the outline. There should always be conflict! There should always be something driving the plot forward!)

I also suggest letting your chapter-by-chapter outline sit for a week or so and editing it. I know that sounds like a lot of work, but that will help your catch any plotting, pacing, or conflict problems BEFORE you start writing. If you’re a planner, this will help tremendously.

Additional Notes:

Obviously, some people like editing. They feel that’s when their story really comes together and they love that aspect of it. They like tearing their story apart, starting over, and building something new. That’s perfectly okay! You don’t need to have a detailed outline if that doesn’t work for you.

The reason I focus on planning is because I can look at the bigger picture before I start the draft. I have a clear focus and I know what’s coming next.

Also, there are plenty of ways to write an outline. How I do it isn’t necessarily right, it just works for me. Experiment with it until you find something that makes you feel comfortable.

What I’m really saying is:

There are no rules for writing. Whatever feels right or whatever makes you happy is what you should focus on. If you don’t want an outline, don’t write one. If you’ve been having trouble with writer’s block or the editing process, maybe try it out! Figure out what’s right for you!

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Just thinking about Arthur's love language again.

We often talk about how Merlin is the one who can do physical touch. He's used to hugging his mom, probably Will. It's a give and take, relatively balanced, there are certain people he's not allowed to touch or has to stay away from out of fear for his life. Because he's not allowed to be close to people who would want to hurt him.

And then there is Arthur. Who is used to receive touches but never touching back. Servants do his hair, see him wash up, measure his clothes, knights clap his shoulder in passing. It's always brief, none of it is meaningful, really, except for him because it's the way Uther tells him he's done well. And then he has rarely people he's allowed to touch at all. When Arthur is punished, he's being locked away, and all on his own, back turned to him and not even the barest of touch in sight.

It's almost natural the way they gravitate towards each other. Merlin reaching out and prolonging unnecessary touches because it gives him comfort, while Arthur let's him because it affirms him.

Arthur letting him touch means: you're save.

Merlin touching Arthur means: you're doing well.

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Absolutely. Bradley James forever MY once and future king

The actual King Arthur could be resurrected and I'd still say 'not my Arthur' before pointing at Bradley James

#the man is arthur pendragon #arthur pendragon #bradley james #bbc merlin #prince arthur #arthur

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“Here comes the airplane”