#mergwenthur

The Poly Ship of the Day is:

“So,” Arthur says. “This is a bit of a conundrum.”

“Is it?” Gwen asks.

“I think so,” he says, flicking ash off the end of his cigarette. “You see, both Merlin and I fancy you.”

“Arthur!” Merlin squawks, mortified.

“What? We do,” Arthur says, bemused.

Gwen cocks her head. She looks at Arthur, then at Merlin. “You do?” She asks. Merlin nods, quickly. Just once. No point denying it. “All right,” she says.

“Is it?” Merlin asks, entirely aware that he sounds pathetic.

“Well… I mean… yes,” Gwen says, stuttering slightly. “If it’s all right with you both, it’s all right with me.”

Or

Arthur and Merlin are doubles partners, playing their last match as juniors at Wimbledon. They meet Gwen Smith, tennis prodigy, and a different sort of game begins.

Or or

merlin's actions in this episode are extremely amusing, yes, but it also makes me think about possible interpretations to his abject misery on the prospect of arthur not marrying gwen.

there's the obvious one, he knows it is their destiny to marry, so if this notion is suddenly threatened, then who knows what else of their destiny won't go as planned? has he fucked up somehow, and should he do something about it? could he even do something about it?

this is already a very compelling angle to look at it from. how much of their destiny is truly in merlin's hands, and how much will have to come entirely from other people? this deserves plenty of analysis on it's own, it's such a fun narrative.

then there's the fact merlin and gwen are friends, and she's still banished, so of course he won't like the possibility that she might be gone for good from camelot, which would be cemented by arthur marrying another woman. so this is personal interest #1, as a good friend to gwen.

personal interest #2 is the fact that merlin and arthur are also friends, and he knows arthur is definitely not dealing well with how things ended between him and gwen and that arthur would not be happy with someone else right now, no matter how much he denies himself.

so, in the interest of seeing both of his friends happy, he also has reason to be against the wedding. this makes sense, and it's sweet, of course. but also, there's only so much you can do if two of your friends break up (...under normal circumstances).

to everyone else but gaius, who knows of merlin's worries about the prophecy, it must look as if merlin is simply strangely invested in gwen & arthur's relationship. like, there's being a good friend, there's being a loyal friend, and then there's how much sulking merlin is doing in this episode at seeing arthur with someone else. it's so blatant and must look so out of pocket to anyone else! even if everyone knows arthur is not over gwen, most have no reason to be against him trying to build a new relationship.

so this brings us to: would merlin still act like he does in the episode even if destiny was not apparently at stake here?

personally, i think he would. even as early as season 1, there was the scene where merlin asked gwen something along the lines of, "between lancelot and arthur, who would you choose?", and besides being obvious foreshadowing about arthurian legend, it's also an in-character moment where merlin, completely out of pocket, appears invested in this. and it's even funnier because in season 1 gwen had feelings for him, which he never acted on. and it appears as if he apparently never even realized she felt that way in the first place.

... or did he? see, this is where my personal headcanons start. first of all, i don't believe he didn't realize gwen's feelings for him. he's not an unobservant character, and gwen made it obvious when she kissed him that one time after his near death experience (also in season 1). but still, he never even acknowledges it. even worse, when lancelot asks, he is quick to state that they are just friends, despite the kiss. he appears like he wants gwen to find someone else.

why would merlin not want anything with gwen? could it be she's just not his type? well, that is one way to look at it (despite it being impossible because she's the prettiest woman ever in the show). but i think a much more interesting view of it would be: what reason would merlin have to not pursue gwen, even if he did like her back?

and there is only one answer i can think of: magic, of course. the only time merlin openly expresses attraction/romantic desire to another character in the show (so far that i've seen) is with freya. you know, another creature of magic. who also knew of his own magic. and accepted him.

huh! could it be that, he needs to be accepted for who he is in full in order to allow himself to be with someone else? if we look at it like that, it would explain why he never directly shows interest in any other character, gwen included.

now this is all fun and games, but what does that have to do with "the hunter's heart"? well, here's my biased, room-temperature take: merlin is invested in gwen & arthur's relationship, not only because of the prophecy, but also because they are his two closest friends whom he very much likes but absolutely would never allow himself to pursue. so he needs to see to it that they are both happy, and what best way than if they date each other?

very much in a wish-fullfilment, living through the other kinda way, he personally wants them to be together. which would explain why he could be personally upset at the idea of them breaking things off.

now, i will concede that in my own analysis, i've only made arguments for gwen's side of it and how merlin wouldn't allow himself to be with her despite the chance being there, and that nothing i've mentioned would suggest he feels that way about arthur as well but. that's a whooole other can of worms that I'm not gonna open right now LOL just check the merthur tag on ao3, i'm sure people have made plenty of extensive and compelling arguments for these two.

the heart, body and soul of camelot

For @merlinbingo Fill: Trans Character M2

It was a perfect summer evening, warm, the sun softly setting with a light breeze in the air.

It was the midsummer Litha Festival, and Arthur was excited because he had gotten to spend it with his loves.

His beloved Guinevere and Merlin, together and free with magic returned, he and his wife had finally managed to get the courage to confess their long lived love for their Merlin.

Everything truly felt perfect.

So here as he and his beloveds sat around a fire, Arthur watched as Merlin finished creating a flower crown with Gwen exchanging the two and placing it on each other's heads, he smiled.

"Such a girl, you are Merlin," Arthur teased and Guinevere swatted him playfully.

"Oh hush you Merlin is perfectly masculine and wonderful, in fact you could learn a thing or two from him," she said with a grin, placing a kiss on Merlin's cheek.

"Merlin knows I don't mean anything by it, it's only a joke," he said with an eye roll and Merlin looked away.

"You do know that don't you Merlin?" Arthur asked concerned.

"I know you mean it as a joke, but…" Merlin trailed off looking nervous.

"If it upsets you I'll stop, it isn't meant to hurt you," he said rubbing Merlin's shoulder kindly.

"No, I know you mean it as a joke, but, sometimes I do feel more… It's hard to explain, but I don't mind you saying it because my gender, my experience is different and I'm not exactly just a man. I feel beyond the experience of just male and female," Merlin explained quietly.

"You mean, like with some of the druids who experience feminine, and masculine and in-between energy?" Asked Gwen clearly recalling the history that was explained to them by Merlin a few weeks prior.

It didn't seem terribly strange or out of place, if Arthur was honest it made a lot of sense that Merlin would feel that way.

It didn't bother him either, it just felt like a part of Merlin was opening up to them, and Arthur didn't mind it at all.

Merlin was his Merlin, he, or she however they wished to identify is Arthur, and Gwen's and that's what matter to him.

"Does that… Does it disgust you? I- I am magic, I am nature in a way and gender it just never came into it in a way. I can shift my form, be whatever I desire or feel is right for me. I hope you'll see that… I hope you won't find me strange and wrong for who I am," Merlin said softly to them both, shrinking in slightly.

Arthur smiled, and pulled Merlin into a warm embrace, Gwen joining a moment later placing a kiss on Merlin's forehead, as they are held one another.

"No, Not one bit, it's just you, you're our Merlin, our love, our most special and wonderful person. We don't care what you say you are, as long as you're ours," Gwen said softly.

"I couldn't have said it better myself, we love you Merlin all of you, and I'm so grateful to call you and Guinevere mine," he said so warmly.

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Merlin (TV) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Gwen/Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Gwen/Merlin (Merlin), Gwen/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin) Characters: Merlin (Merlin), Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Gwen (Merlin) Additional Tags: Polyamory, Established Relationship, Idiots in Love, Everyone Knows About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Smitten Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Soft Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Angst, Fluff and Angst, Fluff, Oblivious Merlin (Merlin), Happy Ending, Fic ends when smut starts, Insecure Merlin (Merlin), Queen Gwen (Merlin), Possessive Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), mergwenthur Summary:

When Arthur and Gwen asked Merlin to join their relationship it was unfortunate timing. The changes of laws and attitude towards certain things kept the king busy and therefore allowed doubt to sneak its way into Merlin's mind and heart. Did Arthur really want this or was it all too good to be true?