#merlin & arthur friendship

[ib3li3v3you]

The day i stop obsessing over non canon silly gay ships is the day the universe swallows itself whole. That day is not today.

#i love my silly homos #tell me its just heterosexual male friendship and ill bite you #merthur #bbc merlin #bbc sherlock #johnlock #hannibal nbc #hannigram #saltburn #cattonquick #barry keoghan #oliver quick #felix catton #jacob elordi #sherlock holmes #john watson #merlin emrys #arthur pendragon #will graham #hannibal lecter #lgbtqia

[diana-bookfairchild]

I love this scene so goddamn much.

Look at Arthur's face. Look at where he's looking. Not Aredian. Not Gaius.

But Merlin.

Expectantly. Tensely. He knows he's going to do something.

Look at how instantly he gets up when he sees Merlin charging forward - to him this is not surprising at all.

How well Arthur knows Merlin and how much he's willing to do for him isn't a blaring light in this episode - it's shown in small pieces like this, which is why I love this episode so much.

#merlin bbc #merlin #merlin and arthur #merthur friendship #merthur #platonic relationships #platonic love #merlin meta #character analysis #friendship/relationship analysis #friendship/love #underrated scene

[emrys-merlin]

There's a beloved headcanon that Gwaine always knew about Merlin’s magic, and damn, i want to believe it 😞 or at least suspected it.

He literally brought Merlin to the Valley of the Fallen Kings, to the Crystal Cave, in order to retrieve something Merlin claimed would keep him safe in the middle of bandit infested lands.

Gwaine asked no questions and returned to Arthur for the final battle. He either trusted Merlin was on his way to gather a immensely powerful item or had magic. Nothing else could possible make sense.

I don’t know, i just want to believe it because i’m so sad that Gwaine died without knowing it :(

Also, i admit it....i don't like this new fandom headcanon that if Gwaine ever found out about Merlin’s magic he would've betrayed him. Because his loyalty/duty to Arthur is > Merlin's friendship. Nope. This is not Gwaine.

Of course Gwaine is loyal to Arthur. Of course Gwaine cares for Arthur. He's his King. But his loyalty to Arthur wasn't greater than his precious friendship to Merlin. No idea why do people believe that.

It doesn’t matter what Gwaine think about magic and i don’t really care. Gwaine adored Merlin, he would never have done anything to hurt him. He would never have betrayed him.  Not even for the King. Exactly like Lancelot, another loyal knight. Gwaine choosing Merlin over Arthur is not a bad thing and it is not unfair to Arthur

They are bestie. Nothing can change my mind.

Btw, Eoin Macken once said that Gwaine had an “unrequited love” for Merlin ❤ I love this man.

#merlin #bbc merlin #merlin bbc #gwaine #sir gwaine #arthur pendragon #my post is not a competition between Arthur and Merlin #but i'm seeing a lot of people putting Gwaine's loyalty to Arthur above Merlin's friendship #as if Merlin was less worthy than Arthur #and this is so wrong

[repmet]

3x08 | 3x12 

Gwaine and Merlin: *see each other* :D

#bbc merlin #merlin #sir gwaine #merwaine #merlinedit #they're just #so happy to see each other #really wish more was done with their friendship #and gwaine's devotion to merlin over arthur #literally the ideal set up for reveal drama

[lavendersins]

Leon, visibly concerned: Is anyone going to check on Merlin?

Arthur, swinging around a mace, not paying attention: What for?

Leon: He's cleaning Excalibur...

Arthur, still not having a care in the world: So? That's his job.

Leon: It's dripping with blood...

Arthur: *stops* ...

Arthur: Are there any guts?

Leon, genuinely disturbed: ... No?

Arthur, happily unconcerned: *continues* Well, then everything's fine.

#incorrect quotes #incorrect merlin quotes #merlin #merlin bbc #merlin emrys #arthur pendragon #king arthur #sir leon #we deserved a merleon friendship

[ladyofthelake]

Never forget that Arthur found it fucking hilarious when Merlin disrespected him in the beginning 'you can't address me like that' said with a smile like the sun. I bet he thought fucking finally someone is being real with me.

#merthur #merlin #and tbh from that moment he had no idea what to do with Merlin xD #his affection for him and all that #because Arthur had never truly had anyone like Merlin in his life #even in the books it said how servants were jjust part of the background #but Merlin always made an effort to be truthful and challenge Arthur and SEE him #and their begrudging friendship that developed so beautifully into somehting unameable and so real #was absolute magic (pun intended) to behold

[deadpools-left-arm]

just a funny lil thing on pinterest today

#merlin bbc #merlin 2008 #merlin x arthur #bbc merlin #merthur #love how all my merlin tags just show up now always and forever🥰🥰🥰 #for clarification i'm specifically talking about “that is not friendship” #you tell em

[mytragedyperson]

Wait help. So a while back I read merlin fanfic in ao3. It was part of a series and was the second part and it focused on mordred and Merlins friendship, and at some point, during knights training, they play some sort of capture the flag type game and tell mordred, since he's the newest Knight he can pick his team. So he picks merlin and all the knights are kinda questioning and low key making fun of this choice and then merlin and mordred absolutely whip the floor of them. It was multi-chapter fic I belive and this was around chapter 3 I believe. If anyone has even a vague idea of what this fic could be please help. It wasn't finished last time I read it and, last time I tried to find it, I couldn't. So please help.

#bbc merlin #merlin bbc #sir mordred #merlin emrys #merlin #arthur and merlin #knights of the round table #knights of the dumbass table #mordred and merlin friendship

[onceandfuturewarlqck]

leon wonders when merlin had started to become friend, family, more than servant, more than arthur's, but his (theirs, gwaine's smiles said, was screamed by gwen's hugs, lancelot's quiet hushes. theirs.)

leon had grown up with morgana and arthur, and being a few years older than them he had taken on the role as the older brother.

it had been easy.

it was leon morgana arthur, never separated, holding each other's hands and backs.

thick as thieves, always together, and leon took the role of protecting arthur, and then he became a knight and he swore an oath to uther but mostly to the prince.

he looked at his friend brother prince king and he swore.

because leon would protect arthur no matter what.

and life goes on, in a way, and people grow, like they're supposed to do, and things change, and leon's days are filled with patrols and trainings and aching limbs and orders to follow.

it leavea him aching.

then.

then this boy comes in, all limbs and no muscles and even less brain cause he has to be at the very least a fool to pick a fight with arthur, of all people.

and leon watches, because he is a knight, no matter that the prince is being an asshole and a bully.

(which he wasn't as a kid. he was sweet and nice and shy and kind, and leon would always remember the way he used to shake when there were thunders, hiding himself under the covers; he would never forget the soft smiles he would give him, the time he had cried because morgana had fallen down and scraped his knees, the concentrated look when he wanted to comfort her but didnt know how to actually do it. arthur had been a sweet child, but he also was uther's son, and he wanted to make him proud.)

(and then the raid happened and arthur spiraled and closed himself and not even leon can reach for him anymore.

you're too far away, he wants to cry.

he offers his arm, but arthur turns around everytime.)

(leon nowdays wonders if arthur the kid is forever dead, sacrificed to arthur the son. it shouldn't sadden him, but it does. he thinks, leon morgana arthur, but now it's leon, and morgana, and arthur, with all those empty spaces, all looking at different walls.)

the gangly boy is lost and gone within the day.

until he saves arthur's life and becomes his manservant, that's it, and now leon has to spend all the time watching as this boy, merlin, keeps threatening the prince, calling him a prat, insulting him?

leon thinks he hit the head and he is in some other alternative universe because there is no way that this servant can act like that, without any sense of proprierty, almost friendly, with the crown prince without facing some punishment.

but arthur doesn't send him away. he talks back, jokes with him, and something slowly begins to melt in his prince. something blooms into spring again, weak and tentative, but it's there.

(and maybe leon is jealous, because when was the last time that he and arthur had joked like that? they used to run across the castle, hiding from maids. morgana would convince arthur to pull pranks, and arthur would drag leon along, and the three of them would laugh and play all day.

they used to spend nights huddled together, talking about everything, dreaming about the future. arthur would talk about slaying monsters and being a hero, and morgana would roll her eyes and say that leon was way more hero-like. leon would blush and say that he would defend them both from evil. he would later trip on the sheets and arthur would laugh at him while helping him up, before softly asking him if he was alright, corcern painting his eyes, and morgana would call him "my knight" with a cheeky smile, but they were happy.)

(now they talk less and leon calls arthur "sire" and "my prince" and all these titles, and he has forgotten how arthur's name tastes like in his mouth. and here he is, merlin, a servant, calling arthur a prat, a clotpole,  a dollophead, calling him arthur.)

leon doesn't know how to deal with merlin.

then merlin follows arthur into danger.

and again.

and again.

merlin is dead set onto going with arthur everywhere. merlin drinks poison for arthur. merlin jumps in front of bandits for arthur. merlin will do everything for arthur.

and once, leon tells him he shouldnt do this, he is just a servant, it is not his job to protect the prince.

and merlin gives him this long weird look and he purses his lips and leon doesnt know how to interpret all this, and says, you're right, its not a servant's job, and leaves it at it.

and he goes with them to the next quest anyway, which confuses leon even more.

it's not until one day merlin pushes leon out of a bandit's way, almost getting skewered by a blade, that he finally understands.

arthur fusses over merlin, pretending not to care, but his eyes lingers too much, and his hands are shaky, and merlin laughs at him and calls him a mother hen, which makes the prince pout. then the prince looks at leon and asks him if he is okay, and the concern is still there, it has never aged away, and leon is breathless and can only nod, and stare at merlin.

merlin stares back.

merlin was right, it's not a servant's job to risk their own life like this.

but merlin is not just a servant. he is their friend.

and leon thanks him, and merlin just shrugs him off, but there's a blush on his cheeks. then arthur calls for merlin, the moment broken and so many unsaid words piling in leon's mouth. merlin goes to aid the prince, leaving with an apologetic smile. he watches them as they joke around together and he watches as arthur's touch seems to hover on merlin's shoulder.

and leon understands.

(he thinks about how he has really failed. not as a knight, but as a friend. because leon had sworn to protect arthur but he had forgotten that, sometimes, what one needs protection from are not sorcerers or bandits or gigantic beasts. sometimes people need protection from themselves. and sometimes you don't protect someone with a sword, sometimes you do that with a kind word, a pulled prank or a gentle hand.)

merlin is always at arthur's side, at their side. and leon swears a second oath, one night, when the younger boy is lying too still on the ground, pained gasps rattling out of his lips as the fever rises together with infection.

arthur is asleep, next to him, he hasn't left merlin, and there is a furrow on his forehead he wishes to smother.

(arthur, sweet loving arthur, with scratches on his hands, and dirt on his cheeks, always full of love and nowhere to place it. looking for a father to give it, for someone to treasure it.

arthur and his bleeding heart.

merlin had stumbled his way in, with all his stubborness and loud loyalty and blinding affection, and without knowing it, arthur had placed that same heart in merlin's caring hands.

and merlin will die before any harm comes to it.)

(he does a good job at that, leon muses. merlin is too good for them all.)

you protect us all, he thinks, taking in the shaky figure, the flimsy blanket hiding the scar covered chest, but those scars are burnt on leon's mind and he doesn't need to see them to know they are there.

because merlin was never supposed to have scars.

friendship, a voice sighs in his mind.

you protect us all, but who protects you?

and leon kneels, in the middle of the night, between trees and sleeping knights, with merlin's shudders and the rustling of the wind, he kneels for the second time in his life, and he swears.

"to merlin of ealdor," he promises.

to merlin of camelot.

servant friend and brother.

#listen #leon morgana and arthur were definitely best friends and siblings #morgana was the chaotic kid who could charm everyone with a kind smile #arthur was the softest and sweetest kid i dont make the rules he was the shy kid who brings flowers to their teachers #and leon was this quiet and a bit clumsy kid with big eyes and morgana would always get him into trouble #i love them so much #leon adopting merlin yes #leon watching merlin making arthur happy and thinking welp now youre my little brother #leon and merlin friendship warms my heart #theyre so important to me #merlin #merlin bbc #merthur #arthur pendragon #merlin and arthur #bbc merlin #i wrote this #leon #knights of the round table #merlin fanfiction #merlin fic #merthur fic #merlin and leon #merlin and the knights #arthur and leon #merleon

[carinims01]

I’m just imaging a modern day reincarnation fic where Merlin just says continuously unhinged things around Arthur and the knights. Mostly based on ABC’s Forever. Examples include:

• after some scary happening - “this is nothing like falling off a dragon’s back mid-flight.”

• “Please, I’d rather be stabbed in the kidneys. And that’s speaking from experience.”

• “I could list the worst ways to die, in my personal experience.”

Please feel free to add more.

#merlin #friendship #bromance #bbc merlin #arthur pendragon #gwaine #percival #elyan #Leon #modern au

[an-entity-i-think]

Merlin & Gwen Bestfriends

"Uh.... no."

Arthur watches as Merlin's nose wrinkles in confusion before falling into complete confidence regardless of the fact that it's one of the most backwards, stupid responses he has ever given Arthur in their years of friendship.

Which is saying a lot.

Eye twitching, Arthur almost seething, "What the hell do you mean 'um no'," he ends mockingly.

Merlin rolls his eyes before looking back at him with an 'isn't this obvious?' kind of look.

"Gwen tells me everything. And by everything, I mean everything."

Arthur makes a face as if he's not sure what that entails and not sure if he wants to.

"I do the same of course. She knows things about me that you'd only dream about knowing-"

Arthur's face intensifies on what that means and if he wants to know what that means, and also if he should be upset by what that means, and also also by the fact he isn't upset by what that may mean and what that may mean.

Merlin gives him a brief look of pity and amusement, before continuing.

"I heard all the juicy details about Lancelot when they were almost a thing way back. And I've heard all the more juicy details about you."

Arthur's eye twitches. He pretends it isn't from a mix of embarrassment and wild curiosity.

Giving him a fonder, softer look, Merlin finishes with a smile, "I've also heard about how excited she was to marry you for hours into the night. Just last night in fact. So, no. I bet if you asked her right now, she's probably crying or something in immense guilt and will probably say something like 'I don't know what happened, Arthur, I was suddenly there and it was just suddenly happening and I'm so sorry'," Merlin ends in a mystically good impression of Guinevere.

Arthur stares blankly.

Merlin blinks and then looks at him deadpan, "Because she was obviously enchanted. Probably from the bracelet she's wearing that I've never seen before. Probably from the fake Lance that was 'suddenly' revived that doesn't act anything like him. And also you should probably trust your betrothed more instead of thinking the worst of her."

Arthur just blinks for a moment before scowling, "And why didn't you day something half an hour ago?"

Merlin rolls his eyes, "Because Agravaine was there. And as soon as I say something he would have been like 'No, Arthur. Don't you see your manservant is trying to manipulate you? Never trust anyone blah blah blah except me of course. I may have abandoned you for years and only shown up right when you were most vulnerable but trust me! Unlike the others who actually love you of course...'"

Again in a weirdly good impression,

Merlin huffs exasperated as he grabs the rest of the clothes, putting them into a laundry basket, as Arthur just looks at him with eyebrows slowly rising, "And then! You would have been such a prat and started prattling on about you can't trust Gwen even though you've been together for years and know full well that she loves you and would never cheat and- ugh did you seriously stuff your socks under the sofa padding? What's wrong with you?"

Arthur watches as Merlin pulls out a sock from the sofa that's been there for who knows how long in disgust before flinging it into the basket.

Merlin looks up at him and blinks, "Wait what was I talking about?"

Arthur gives him a head ruffle and pretends he doesn't miss the softness of Merlins hair immediately after and walks towards the door, "I'm going to talk to Guinevere now. Bye."

Merlin absently responds in similar and the last thing Arthur sees before closing the door is his manservants face in disgust once again as he finds the other sock.

Well. Maybe he should talk to Guinevere first, after all. And maybe talk to her about some other things, too.

#merlin #bbc merlin #merthur #bbc arwen #arwen #mergwenthur #mergwen #pre-mergwenthur #well at least thats my intention #entity writes merlin #i love merlin and gwen #i wish their friendship stayed strong #instead of whatever tf happened at the end of the show #theyre all each others best friends #i love that for them #fake lanceleot sucks #guinevere #arthur pendragon #king arthur

[arthurpendragonssassydaggers]

As likely and angsty Arthur not having any true friends since Merlin is I’ve decided that is no longer the case.

maybe all the old nobles and council members sucked and uther was definitely an ass.

The knights however were not. At least not all of them some can be idiots but the knights were Arthur’s family growing up amen 🙏🏽 .

and I’m not even crazy really he says multiple times the knights are like family and that he grew up with some so yeah.

All this to say I need to see more Arthur with knights in fics and not the main few (besides Leon) because most of the fandom decided to give them to Merlin.

you know what would be a good idea if someone wrote a fic where it was one of those god awful(not judging if that’s your thing though to each their own) typical magic reveals but instead of no one being on Arthur’s side there’s a group of knights that grew up with him that stand up for Arthur and claim that he’d never hurt Merlin.

Including Leon bc I will say this a hundred times he would not threaten arthur.

#bbc merlin #arthur pendragon #merlin #knights of the round table #speaking my truth #sir leon #i have a obsession with leon and Arthur’s friendship if you couldn’t tell #Can y’all tell I’m still upset about the trope #One day I’ll get over it #not today tho #ok imma shut up now

[verityblack]

I NEED EVERYONE TO GO APPRECIATE THIS SERIES IMMEDIATELY I JUST FINISHED IT AND OH MY GODS ITS SO GOOD, THE MORDRED AND MERLIN FRIENDSHIPS, THE HURT COMFORT, THE FLUFFY JOY, THE SHENANIGANS, THE EVERYTHING - GO GO READ IT RIGHT NOW

#merlin #bbc merlin #mordred #mordred and merlin friendship #ao3 #ao3 fanfic #ao3 link #fanfic rec #merlin fic rec #fic rec #merlin fic #merlin fanfiction #bbc merlin fanfic #merlin is a little shit and we love him #magic reveal #arthur pendragon

[fluffyspaceball]

Drunk !Gwaine:Merlin is my best friend!

Lancelot: uh I believe you have misspoken my friend. For Merlin is obviously MY best friend

Arthur: Actually you both have misspoken. Merlin is MY manservant therefore he is MY property therefore he is My best friend .

Gwaine : Well I know him the best

Arthur: Well I knew him first

Lancelot : but l was his friend first

Gwaine : because of identity fraud mate

*All of them arguing*

Gwen talking to Merlin : Im your best friend right ?

Merlin : Obviously

#bbc merlin #gwaine #arthur pendragon #lancelot #i swear more people need to talk about Merlin and gwens friendship #like they are bff #fuck destiny

[nextstopparis]

i think we overlook the fact that arthur TOLD morgana that merlin managed to knock him out in the sophia ep. like all those threats he made to gaius and merlin abt never telling another living soul or whatever all the while he was probably complaining and groaning all abt it to a giggling morgana and gwen when they went to visit him

#obsessed with morgana gwen and arthurs friendship pre canon/in s1 #like its sososososo important to me #bbc merlin #arthur pendragon #morgana #pendragon siblings

[hurts4maya]

After the Barbie film

Gwaine: Arthur is Ken and Merlin is a horse

Leon: Help me

#quotes from my friendship whatsapp group #incorrect quotes #leon #leon merlin #gwaine #merlin #merthur #arthur