This poll is a celebration of fandom and fandom history; we're aware that there are certain issues with many of the listed pairings and sources, but they are a part of that history. Please do not take this as an endorsement, and refrain from harassment.
Do you guys ever imagine what the night after Arthur met Merlin was like for Arthur?
Like, I imagine him going through the normal motions of his night, but constantly thinking about this random guy that dared to insult the prince. And yeah, now that guys in the stocks because he should be… right?
But ever since that encounter Arthur can’t stop thinking about it and it’s not because he hated it. He feels different. It felt different being around him. Why? Why does he feel a small ember of excitement at the idea of seeing him again?
He’s frustrated by all of this. What happened shouldn’t be affecting him this much. It doesn’t matter. And yet it feels like he just met someone he didn’t know he was waiting for.
“There’s something about you, Merlin… I can’t quite put my finger on it”
Obsessed with the idea of sorcerer's eyes turning gold as means of scaring off predators, similar to how poisonous frogs are generally brightly colored to warn away birds, or how certain butterflies use startle coloration to temporarily shock their predators with a sudden color change. The golden eyes act, essentially, as a glaring warning to the opposition that a sorcerer's insides are far more threatening than they may appear on the outside. Or, at the very least, as a means of temporarily startling the enemy while the sorcerer makes a quick escape.
Also consider - frog/butterfly coded!Merlin. This man is pure amphibian/insect just look at him! Truly a creature.
Au where Arthur comes back to life but Merlin has a work event he cannot miss so he sets up Arthur with a YouTube video, a packet of cookies and some coffee then leaves.
He returns to Arthur watching kids YouTuber videos
Okay so a lot of people write Arthur as being emotional constipated in a way that strongly implies that his emotional intelligence is close to a box of wet and soggy bread’s ability to read and understand feelings. And that’s valid! With mister troll shagger as a father, I get that it would be a likely outcome of his childhood. BUT what I love much more (and I’m not projecting at all, shush!) is Arthur knowing damn well what he feels but never truly feeling safe in any of his core emotions, because he has had to suppress them since he was a child. That he feels guilty and uncomfortable when he enjoys something. That he hides what he likes in fear of somebody using it to hurt him, and that he hides what he dislikes in fear of somebody using it to hurt him.
sorry for not posting much yummy art, i'm working very hard on my portfolio, so have a little merlin and arthur animatic wip i worked on a few weeks ago or so :]]
ARTHUR FINALLY GETS A HUG (and merlin one that he'll remember)
(hopefully i'll be able to finish this one day)