thinking about Arthur and Merlin and their paradoxical power dynamic again
from the outside, Arthur is the king, and Merlin is his servant, so one might think that Arthur is the one with the power in the relationship, but anyone who knows them knows that Merlin never does as he's told and constantly talks back to Arthur, and Merlin is the only person who can tell Arthur what to do, but Arthur also never listens to him because he's an idiot but also they're both so hopelessly in love and devoted to each other that they would do anything for each other but also they're constantly arguing and Arthur is the only person who can tell Merin what to do but Merlin is the only person who doesn't listen to the King or respect his authority but also he respects Arthur so much and he's the only king he would ever serve and Merlins happy to serve him until the day he dies (and hes never going to die, so thats literally forever) and Arthur's the best king to ever live but also he's a prat and an idiot and he has a good heart but he never listens to it and Merlin IS his heart
and yeah, Arthur's the king, and not just the king of Camelot but the High King of Albion (or he's destined to be anyway). he's the Once and Future King. he's the most powerful man in Camelot, if not all of Albion. but Merlin is the most powerful sorcerer to ever live and, depending on who you ask, an actual god. he's mastered the power of life and death itself. he can command dragons. he can take down an entire army with a wae of his hand. he ca do anything except save the people he loves
physically, Arthur is stronger than Merlin and could overpower him easily except Merlin could easily stop him using his magic but he can't use magic because Arthur would kill him but Arthur couldn't kill him because he's immortal but Merlin gave him the one weapon that probably could kill him because he trusts him so goddamn much but he doesn't trust him enough to tell him his secret because he's terrified even though he knows that Arthur is a good man who's destined to bring magic back but merlin's had to watch him kill so many of his people and he's been fearing the pyre his whole life (he's already been killed by fire once by nimueh. he's probably terrified of it. but fire is also one of the things he uses his magic most to make and he's literally part dragon and maybe fire couldn't even hurt him anymore now that he's a dragonlord but he still wakes up in the middle of the night choking on imaginary smoke with the image of Arthur looking down at him through the flames burned into the back of his eyelids)
Arthur could take Merin apart with one blow, but Merlin could take Arthur apart with less than that, but neither of them ever would because they love each other so goddamn much
these are the two most powerful men in Albion, but they're both bound by their fate, their destiny out of their control. their lives have already been decided for them, and there's nothing they can do to change it, but they're going to try anyway but no man can change his destiny
they're two halves of one whole but they're also both so much more than any one man but they're also nothing without each other
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