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fleckficgirl · 1 year

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Arthur Under the Mistletoe 🎄

Summary: You throw a party on Christmas Eve that doesn’t go as planned...but in the very best of ways. Extremely fluffy oneshot and the title speaks for itself :)

Warnings: mental illness

Word Count: 2087

Notes: I was inspired by @jokerownsmysoul‘s recent post about who she’d kiss under the mistletoe. Obviously, I’m choosing Arthur Fleck as well! Be sure to listen along to the Christmas album hyperlinked in the story, too. Hope you enjoy ❤️❤️

“This is a disaster!” you wailed. “Why did I think anyone would ever come to my party?”

Your tear-filled eyes finally overflowed and you buried your face in your hands.

You realized what a sight you must be: young woman in a sparkly pink party dress and white heels, sitting in her own empty apartment, crying unconsolably...and on Christmas Eve, no less.

Throwing this party was an idea you’d discussed with your therapist a couple weeks prior. You hadn’t thrown a party since childhood, but the idea had sparked your imagination. Deciding you were going to be more outgoing and invite people over for the first time since you moved to Gotham six months ago had gotten your creative juices flowing.

You'd invited everyone on the eighth floor, including some of the neighbors downstairs you'd chatted with a couple of times. Now you laughed ruefully at yourself for having gotten so excited about decorating the apartment, planning a menu, music and games....only to be stood up by everyone at your own party.

This gathering was supposed to make you feel less alone. But now you felt more lonely than ever.

You glanced around your festive living room and kitchen. You’d decorated the walls with Christmas garland. A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra was playing on the record player. A full bowl of punch sat in a large, untouched crystal bowl on the coffee table, along with cookies, cake, chips and finger sandwiches.

And mistletoe. You’d bought mistletoe and placed it over the front door. You’d also gotten dressed up and put makeup on (which wasn’t the easiest thing to do when dealing with depression). But the party had been set to start at seven and it was now a quarter past eight. The writing was on the wall: no one was coming.

You stood up from the sofa, figuring it was time to start cleaning up. Dejectedly, you made your way over to the record player and turned it off, knowing the joyful, nostalgic tunes would only depress you further.

A small knock at the door made you jump out of your skin. You froze. Had you actually heard that, or was it your imagination? Afraid of what might be on the other side, you tiptoed to the door and peered through the peephole.

Was that....Arthur Fleck? From 8J down the hall?

You'd run into him a couple of times in the elevator, but only spoken once, during the garbage strike earlier that year. He was shy and sweet. And beautiful. So beautiful, in fact, that you’d gotten completely tongue tied around him...had found yourself blathering some incoherent nonsense about how pretending that the streets smelled like pine needles - your favorite scent - was the only thing keeping you sane through the strike.

Deep in the back of your mind you'd hoped he would show up tonight. You wiped the tears from your eyes - not wanting him to see you see you upset - and opened the door.

The sight of him now almost made your heart leap into your throat, and you had to remind yourself to breathe. Arthur was wearing a crisp blue cardigan, and his beautiful brown hair was combed back in loose curls. He’d dressed up for the party and looked even more handsome than you’d remembered.

“Hi, Arthur,” you squeaked.

“Merry Christmas, Y/N.” Arthur held up a small wrapped gift with a bow on it. “Sorry I’m late. I had a gig that ended at seven and raced back over here to change first.”

“Don’t be sorry,” you replied, letting him inside. “You’re...actually the only one who showed up.”

Arthur stepped into your living room and spun around, surprised. “I’m the only one here?”

“Yeah,” you nodded, trying not to break into tears again. “So if you don’t wanna stick around, I understand.”

“But everything looks so beautiful.” Arthur pointed at the garland on the walls. “And you look...especially nice tonight.” He stepped over to the record player. “I love this album. Do you mind if I put it on?”

You sniffed. “Wait...you mean...you wanna stay?”

“Only if you don’t mind having me.”

You shook your head. You were still reeling with disappointment - this wasn’t at all the party you’d imagined - but you were grateful that at least one person had showed up. Even more grateful that that person was Arthur.

“Please stay,” you responded, a small smile spreading over your face. “I’d love it if you stayed.”

Arthur beamed and turned the record player back on.

“Can I get you some punch?” you offered, moving towards the coffee table.

“Sure!” His eyes lit up, almost glittering. “Except, if it has alcohol in it I really shouldn't mix that with my medications...”

“Nope, alcohol-free,” you smiled as you poured him a glass. “And feel free to help yourself to any of the snacks.”

Arthur took the glass from you and sat next to you on the sofa. “What made you want to throw a Christmas party?”

“Well,” you mulled the question over. “I've been feeling kinda down...kinda lonely. I have some...problems with depression.”

“I know what that feels like,” Arthur said. “To feel lonely, I mean. And sad.”

“I can get extra sad around the holidays,” you continued. “And I couldn’t fly home to see my family this year. So I thought...maybe I could invite people over. Maybe I’m not the only one who has a hard time at Christmas.”

"Well I’m glad you threw the party. And I'm really glad you invited me,” Arthur smiled, shyly placing his hand over yours. "When I got your invitation, I knew there was no way I'd miss it.”

“Well, I’m sorry it’s not much of a party,” you lamented. “I guess it's official: all my neighbors hate me. Except you.”

“They don't hate you,” Arthur countered. “They probably just had other plans.”

You paused, taking a thoughtful sip of punch. “You're right,” you nodded. “That's black and white thinking. My therapist tells me I tend to do that. Just because they didn't show up tonight doesn't mean they hate me.”

“You see a therapist?” Arthur cocked his head to one side. “So do I. But all she ever asks me is if I’ve been having any negative thoughts.”

“All I have are negative thoughts!” you joked. Arthur laughed.

“Do you want to open your gift?” he asked. “You don’t have to,” he added quickly. “I read in an etiquette book I got from the library that you're not supposed to open gifts in front of other guests at a party.”

“Well, seeing as how there are no other guests!” you quipped before pausing to raise a sly eyebrow at him. “You checked an etiquette book out from the library?”

“Yeah,” Arthur smoothed back his hair self-consciously. “Well...a party etiquette book. The truth is, I've never been invited to a Christmas party before. Or any parties, really. I wanted to make sure I didn't mess anything up.”

Giddy at the thought of him sweetly taking the time to research how to behave at your party, you pulled his small gift off the coffee table and held it in both hands. The wrapping was a candy cane pattern and the bow was a simple green shiny ribbon. In that moment you felt that you'd never seen anything so beautiful in your life.

“You wrapped this yourself?”

“Yeah,” he replied sheepishly. “I’m not that good at wrapping, but...I hope you like it.”

“I love it!” you blurted.

“You don’t even know what it is yet!” Arthur laughed.

Carefully, you peeled away the scotch tape on the side and tore back the wrapping to reveal a small, green candle. Snow-Covered Pines, the label read.

“I remembered that one time you and I talked in the elevator. You said you liked the scent. Anyway, I saw it at the drugstore and...I thought of you.”

“You remembered that?” Your heart fluttered, feeling embarrassed by the memory all over again, but also touched. “Thank you, Arthur. I love it so much.”

Arthur was an extremely easy person to talk to. Conversation with others wasn’t something that always came naturally to you, but with him it felt effortless. The next time you glanced back up at the clock, you were shocked to see it was almost ten.

“Should I put on another record?” Arthur offered as the last song on the Frank Sinatra album spun to an end.

“Sure!”

Arthur stood up. “You have all the greats here,” he hummed as he mused over your record collection. He selected Nat King Cole’s Christmas album, carefully placing the record onto the turntable before sliding Frank's back into its sleeve.

“This is my favorite Christmas song!” you clasped your hand to your chest as the familiar notes of the first song poured over your ears.

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...

“Mine too,” Arthur paused, looking shy.

“We have a lot in common, Arthur,” you beamed.

“Did you...did you want to dance?” he asked in a soft voice. “With me?”

You felt your heart start to pound again. “Yes...” you answered. “Except I’m really bad at it. I might step on your feet.”

“Well,” Arthur said. “There’s no one here to see you be bad at it. Except me.”

He extended his hand and helped you up off the sofa, pulling you in close as you moved around your living room together.

“Wow, Arthur,” you murmured after a moment, surprised at the grace in his movements. “You’re a really good dancer.”

“I know,” he said with mock overconfidence. You laughed and swatted his shoulder. He dipped you. The song ended, but he didn’t let you go. You never wanted him to, wishing this night - the same evening you’d been so eager to forget just a couple hours earlier - would never come to an end.

“Hey,” Arthur hummed softly after you’d danced a few more songs. “I'm having a great time...but I should really get back to my mother. I’ve gotta help her get ready for bed.”

You paused, disappointed to see him go, but more than happy that things had turned out exactly as they had tonight.

“I had a really wonderful evening, Y/N. I'm glad I got the chance to talk to you.”

“Me too,” you replied. “If everyone else had shown up, I don't know if you and I would have gotten to talk as much as we did.”

You walked Arthur to the front door. He stopped and turned to face you once more. You paused before moving to open the door for him.

“Hey, Arthur,” you said in a small voice. “It looks like we're standing under the mistletoe.”

Arthur blinked and looked up. "Oh," he swallowed, a blush spreading across his face.

“Did your book say what people are supposed to do when they’re under the mistletoe together?”

Arthur nodded, throwing his eyes to the floor. “Yeah," he said, “they’re supposed to kiss each other.”

“Are you gonna kiss me, Arthur?”

“I'd like to...” he hummed. “But only...only if you want me to.”

“I want you to."

He was shy at first, trembling slightly as he brought his lips to yours. But once you were united in the embrace, the both of you seemed to relax. His arms wrapped around you, his hand moving to delicately cup the side of your face. Arthur’s lips were even softer than you had fantasized. His skin was warm, his cologne flooded your senses.

“Merry Christmas, Arthur,” you blushed as the two of you came apart. Your mind was spinning and you felt weak in the knees.

“Merry Christmas, Y/N.” His eyes were closed, slowly fluttering open as he took your hands into his.

"Maybe....maybe after your mom goes to bed, you could come back and...we could watch The Murray Franklin Show on TV together."

Arthur stared back at you. “You watch the Murray Franklin show?” he asked, eyes wide and incredulous. “I’ve been watching him for years.”

“So have I. It's his Christmas special tonight, you know.”

“I’d love to watch the holiday special with you.” Arthur’s eyes sparkled. "I'll come back after I finish up at home and we can watch it together.”

You opened the door for him, lingering in the doorway as he stepped into the hall.

"Oh, and...Arthur?"

"Yes?" he paused, turning to face you.

“Thank you.”

Arthur smiled. "What for?"

"For making my Christmas so special."

Notes: Wishing you a safe & happy holiday season. Thanks so much for reading ❤️❤️

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fluffypotatey · 2 years

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God, watched "Sins of the Father" last night and I. Just. Love. How the writers were like, "Ah, yes, let's finish out this episode with the most violent upheaval of Arthur's relationship with Uther. There is no need to mention this again."

Like, yeah, I get it, Merlin lied and stopped Arthur from killing King Cunt, but STILL. It happened. Arthur and Uther have had disagreements before, but those were small potatoes. Arthur challenged his father, the King, to a fight to the death. He was actively trying to kill his father. And that....had no effect on him? Or Uther?

Arthur doesn't always agree with Uther, and he does disobey him when he has to, but I don't think he ever would imagine himself capable of hurting his father, let alone killing him.

And Uther, being the manipulative, abusive piece of shit he is, was probably 100% certain Arthur would never turn on him, the same way any abusive parent is confident in their power over their victim.

But it happened.

And that's just........not important?

bestie.....are you sure you want the open that can of worms with me

------

NO BECAUSE LISTEN I HAVE TOO MANY THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS ABOUT THIS

imma holler @nextstopparis because they have bombass posts and meta about exactly this

anyway

yes bestie so true, we have seen in s1 and s2 that arthur is capable of having a little rebellious streak but not enough to truly slight his father because (despite his shitty and abusive uther is) arthur still loves him. arthur has craved uther's approval since day one. all he gets from uther is stunted shoulder pats and "you're my son" kind of affection. which, you know, explains SO MUCH about why arthur is emotionally constipated, compensates his emotions into hyper-masculinity, and a grade A jock.

we know arthur seeks uther's approval and just wants uther to be proud of him. motherfucker (uther) literally in episode 2 of s1 "stops by Arthur on his way to the stands and speaks to him in a low voice" about he "trust [Arthur] will make [him] proud" like bitch???? way to stress out your child.

tips on how to emotionally abuse/keep your child wanting you love

always makes sure you pressure them into making you proud

place conditions on your love (trust = love = pride for son = no longer disappointed = no longer sees arthur as the cause of ygraine's death oop did i type that)

move them away and speak in a low threatening voice because self image matters and your child would never risk that

undermine your child's worth to exterior factors, aka things your child never had a say in (being a captain/high ranking knight at 15, being the son of your dead wife, telling them to grow up when they literally are acting their age)

enforcing patriarcal ideals such as only encouraging stoicism for arthur because feelings are for weaklings and dismissing morgana's opinions for 'outbursts'

howdy folks! welcome to the uther sucks club and why the hell did bbc just ignore arthur's very understandable anger towards uther in s2 ep8

we will not touch arthur's self loathing blame for his mother's death because i will derail from this post

what happened in s2 ep8???? i'm so glad you asked

it is revealed that uther pendragon's reason for committing genocide for over 20 years boils down to a highly dangerous spell that he forced the high priestess nimueh to cast on his wife (who wasn't aware of the spell in the first place) so she could become pregnant and grant him an heir.

uther, the caricature of the british empire himself, caused the death of his queen then turned around and blamed a whole community of innocent people because "magic is evil and shouldn't be trusted" and "when you know one sorcerer, you know them all"

arthur, daddy issues galore, is understandably pissed and enraged. why, you ask? because for years he believed it was his birth that led to his mother's death

ARTHUR I'm so sorry. YGRAINE You have nothing to be sorry for. ARTHUR It was my birth that caused you to die.

ok so we are actually gonna discuss this

FOR 20 YEARS THIS MAN BELIEVED HIS FATHER'S GRIEF WAS HIS FAULT

AND YOU KNOW WHAT

UTHER NEVER CORRECTED HIM! UTHER NEVER SAID ANYTHING TO CONTRADICT ARTHUR'S INTERNAL STRUGGLE!

WHY YOU ASK????

BECAUSE THEN ARTHUR WOULD STAY LOYAL TO HIM, BECAUSE THEN ARTHUR WOULD DO EVERYTHING IN HIS POWER TO PROVE THAT HE COULD 'right this old wrong' EVEN THO IT WAS NEVER HIS FAULT!

ahem

and then arthur learns the truth. arthur learns that ygraine's death was never his fault. ygraine's death was all because uther pendragon "was so desperate for an heir". that was all uther cared about.

ARTHUR This is what fuels your hatred for those who practice magic. Rather than blame yourself for what you did, you blame them.

ARTHUR How many hundreds have you condemned to death to ease your guilt?

ARTHUR You speak of honour and nobility! You're nothing but a hypocrite and a liar!

do you think....after arthur learned the truth, he remembered all of morgana's old arguments that went ignored by uther? he could hear her voice, filled with self-righteousness and selfless anger about how uther always placed the blame on others, projected fear and hatred to those who were innocent. do you wonder if arthur thought of morgana as he spewed those words to uther?

and then he is told that morgause lied to him. that the ygraine he saw was actually an illusion meant to divide camelot. arthur is told that the ygraine he saw who told him that holding him was "the most precious" moments of her life was nothing more than a lie.

so, what does mean for arthur? does that mean that it truly was his fault that ygraine died? does he go back to blaming himself?

is there still that doubt of his father's ruling that lays restless inside of him? does he watch his father more closely and how he reacts to magic crimes compared to non-magical? does he begin to confide in morgana more because she, too, understand this kind of anger he feels nestled inside of him?

but we don't get that

what we get after this is a week or maybe more of a time skip where gwen is kidnapped and the show tries to further the arwencelot love triangle (and i mean, i'm not against the love triangle, it's just...timing my dude)

it just goes ignored by the show like it wasn't a big deal that arthur was ready to commit regicide (unlike morgana), like it wasn't a big deal that merlin lied to arthur like that and didn't feel conflicted, like it wasn't a big deal that uther's Purge began because of misplaced anger.

no, instead, arthur is back as his snarky and uptight self who never again thinks back to what happened when some big plot is heading his way. and so the show never dives back into that. mentions of arthur's mother don't come back until s4 but that's with agravaine and i do not have the time for that man.

this episode really seemed like it was supposed to lead to a shift in arthur's character, and yet it didn't. it was just...never touched on again and i will never forgive them for that

#long post #excuse me while i go off #i brought receipts (transcipts)#bbc merlin #arthur pendragon #uther pendragon #anti uther #we do not stan that man in this household #not to mention that this is the ep where arthur doubts his father's views on magic bc morgause is granting him this chance to see his mom #he has already doubted his father's views on class (lancelot) & duty (going to help merlin even if his presence could cause war w/ Essetir)#and then he learns that his father LIED #uther lied about magic users for 20 fucking years and didn't care #all he cared about was that the spell didn't work the way he wanted and decided that a whole community of ppl deserved to be wiped out #arthur is devasted bc you know what that means??????#that means that when arthur raided that druid camp all those years ago as a young captain of the knights its purpose was never moral #arthur aided his father and his father LIED ABOUT IT #the sins of the father #s2 ep8 #2.08 #i'm not sorry but also i am sorry that the post is a little long #merlin meta

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smooth-noob · 6 months

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Jonathan: mina can't go to that horrible place. you have never felt the vampire's lips upon your neck! perhaps it is better to die than to go through this trouble.

Mina: thank GOD my friends are rich

#she's so smart i love her #she deserves to spend the fortunes of rich men #but that small bit of jonathan breaking down to scream about how van helsing doesnt understand what hes leading mina into??#was SO GOOD #ben galpin and the background music at that part (25:15 yeah i made a note of the time)#my hand FLEW to my mouth #he has SEEN THE HORRORS #mina has SEEN THE HORRORS #arthur had to KILL HIS FIANCE #ONE MORE WEEK AND THEN WHAT???#WHAT AM I GONNA DO WHEN I CANT LISTEN TO MORE OF THESE VICTORIAN VAMPIRE HUNTERS #anyway this episode was incredible as always #love you re: dracula team kissing you #dracula daily #re: dracula

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iamfuckincrazybutiamfree · 2 years

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Does anyone remember how arthur looked at merlin when merlin said his word didn't matter in s1 ep2??????

Merlin's word always mattered to arthur from the beginning idc

#canon #merlin x arthur #merthur #im rewatching merlin if you didnt know #i love them #im going to die alone #they deserve better #And this was EPISODE 2????#we do not talk about this enough #bbc merlin #merlin #lovers #i want what they have

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sherlockruiningmylife · 10 months

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I will read heavy merthur angst without batting an eye. But give me some sweet domestic fluff, especially immortal merthur domesticity, and I'll be on the floor in tears.

#i think its because the show itself is angst #at least season 5 is #so you know #it isn't too dissimilar to canon #but immortal merthur #thats exactly the opposite of canon #and what i crave so so much #its what merlin deserves #but not what he got #and knowing that makes me heart break #merlin #bbc merlin #merthur #arthur pendragon #immortal merthur

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queerofthedagger · 2 months

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was scrolling through an inactive blog looking for a specific post (that i didn't find ofc) and man. 2020 merlin tumblr really was something else we were all stuck at home with too much time on our hands and not using it to touch grass and it showed, and i mean this both exactly as (affectionate) and (derogatory) as it deserves. lord

#*mine #mona rambles #the meta! the edits!! i miss those days #but also. the arthur discourse ohhhhh my god hahahaha #the ''is magic actually a metaphor for queerness and are you homophobic if you disagree'' discourse #(it isn't and you're not. btw <3)#people got so mad over harmless fucking takes they wrote 20 pages over it and expected a serious reply #it was so funny actually peace and love #but also genuinely some of the meta discussions were SO GOOD. man #the edits. the VIDEOS. analysis beyond ''boohoo the writers boohoo we deserved x y z'' it was a dream (sometimes. lol)#what a time nothing has ever even come close and i have never blocked more people god bless

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fuckingfandomfreak · 10 months

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Maybe it’s just me but i really need to talk about the ‘I guess I was wrong’ line in 5x12 bc I feel like the only person who thought yeah it was a shitty thing to say but Merlin kinda deserved it. Bc Arthur doesn’t say that to Merlin bc Merlin refused to go to war with him, it’s bc Merlin refused and then lied to Arthur about why.

Arthur is calling Merlin a coward bc Merlin is leaving him and then lying about it. Arthur feels like the least he deserves is honesty if Merlin is gonna leave him. That’s why Merlin feels guilty and tries to apologize. Even if Merlin couldn’t tell him the truth, the least Arthur deserved wasn’t a half-baked bullshit lie about collecting supplies for Gaius.

Merlin is too scared to tell him the truth and so Arthur snipes at his bravery.

#I guess I just always felt like #you can’t lie to Arthur and then get mad when he comes to inaccurate conclusions #bc Arthur’s version of reality is so far from the truth honestly #and even then #after 10 years arthur did deserve some honesty #from a man who was always OFFENDED when arthur wasn’t honest with him #(Merlin fr had me pissed during 4x11)#merlin #arthur pendragon #merthur #merlin meta #my thoughts ugh #I just needed to get my thoughts out for my own sanity #arthur also values courage above all else #so of course that’s what would nick at him

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sparksetfire · 10 months

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okay but the difference in polly saying no one ever knows her birthday in s2 compared to them all gathered round casually toasting to her for her birthday in s5 as though they've clearly been celebrating it happily every year after that. add on the fact that also aberama is completely removed from this event and has other pretty terrible life-changing things going on himself but the moment he sees the roses in her car he immediately knows it's her birthday??

i just.. she spent the war basically alone without her nephews, she spent so long without her kids, she lost her husband and so on. but just from that you see how she now gets to know how much she's loved by them all when she didn't see it for so long. and she deserves it so much!!

#peaky blinders #polly gray #tommy shelby #arthur shelby #aberama gold #parallels #?#cillian murphy #michael gray #john shelby #say what you like about tommy #he worked so hard to make her happy and see how much they all cared for her #random little ramble but #she deserves the world

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strrwbrrryjam · 6 months

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man if i could draw, i would love to draw arthur morgan dressed in a pink cowgirl outfit carrying pokemon asking for "seven tickets to barbie" while abigail, karen, sadie, marybeth, tilly and molly are all just gossiping between themselves

#also its gotta be a what margo robbie wore in the movie. no exceptions.#hosea is looking after jack and john because the last time they were left alone john almost lit the house on fire #molly deserves a girls night fuck you.#rdr2 #red dead redemption 2 #rdr2 arthur morgan #arthur morgan #rdr2 tilly jackson #tilly jackson #rdr2 abigail roberts #abigail roberts #rdr2 karen jones #karen jones #rdr2 sadie adler #sadie adler #rdr2 molly o'shea #molly o'shea #strawberry speaks

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ajokeformur-ray · 1 year

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Okay, I got a question for all the psych-y people out there;

how do I go from thinking about watching something but not watching it and watching random shit I don't care about instead of watching what I want to

to going 'oh hey I wanna watch this thing' and then just... watching it???

Because I'd get so much more joy out of life if I let myself have the things which make me happy...

#me sat here on my bed surrounded by work thinking of watching joker and actually watching random youtube videos while daydreaming #about joker and not actually watching it????#like brain why??? why hurt yourself like this when you know the work will become easier when your reason is on screen???#i feel like i dont deserve to be happy and that's why i sabotage at every damn turn... thanks trauma :))) love you too :)))#i dont even wanna know what arthur would think of me and yet... i do #if you're thinking he'd be sick of me then your thoughts are in line with mine

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fluffypotatey · 1 year

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Okay, but like...what if in "Queen of Hearts," Arthur followed through on his threat before Morgana did her sorcery frame-up, and he and Gwen just dipped (with Merlin, obviously)? Like, he leaves an Official Statement of Resignation on his desk with his signet ring, renouncing his claim to the throne and all that? The three of them are halfway to Essetir before anyone notices they're gone.

And on the way, they just happen to chance across some smugglers? Logic dictates that Tristan and Isolde started their hustle during Uther's reign for them to be as good as they are in S4 when Arthur had only been king a few months tops. They're still initially suspicious, ofc, but they warm up a lot faster considering the situation, and they're always down with someone who says "fuck the king" with their whole chest. The trio takes up with them bc they're always on the move and make a living on not being found, which is exactly what they need rn because Uther will be looking for them.

But if they want to stay, they gotta contribute. House rules.

Now, insofar, Tristan and Isolde are strictly transport. They're more or less fences. They don't do the actual theft part. But the trio can. Arthur can blend right in with the rich people they rip off, and he's bougie enough to pick out the Good Shit and pass on the knockoffs. Merlin and Gwen can blend right in with the servants to case the joint and swipe the goods, not to mention Gwen's knowledge of metalworking means being able to dismantle jewelry pieces without damaging them and making them untraceable, and Merlin can cover their tracks with magic (he'd have told them after they left) and create distractions as needed.

Arthur does have a small crisis when he realises he makes a better grifter than a prince, but then it's just really funny. He is now the Once and Future King of Thieves. Tristan and Isolde are the envy of the black market scene bc of their "secret weapons."

Bonus points if this is how they meet the rest of the squad bc legit the only knight that isn't a confirmed criminal is Percival, but he's also besties with Lancelot, so it's implied he might be.

Knights of the Criminal Enterprise.

you could have just kissed me on the spot you know

#god i'm in love with this concept #never thought i'd find a canon divergent merwenthur au where they're the top dogs of Albion's criminal empire #s5 is them realizing that camelot is in deep shit bc morgana took up the throne after they left and arthur still loves his kingdom #he's conflicted about going back bc 1) that's his home and it deserves better 2) he likes his life rn 3) he's in denial about morgana's #corruption arc no matter how many times he hears about ('that's not gana merlin those people don't know her like i do' and merlin doesn't #have the heart to tell arthur about her plots to kill both him and uther and gwen) it's not until leon arrives that arthur has to accept it #also elyan introduces merwenthur to tristan & isolde bc obvi he left with the gang (he promised her that he'd always be there and he intend #to keep that promise!)#lancelot when he meets the gang during a heist and he's their target's bodyguard ('...fancy meeting you here' 'literally what the fuck')#the tristan adoption process happens faster in this au bc tristan isn't aware that arthur (affectionately called wart) is the prince #gwen putting her smithing skills to good use and having them be acknowledged????? well mark me down as a swooning damsel #her and elyan being a dynamic duo when it comes to smelting or forging a quarter master's keys #bbc merlin #merwenthur #once and future king of thieves #or Albion's Oceans 11 #arthur pendragon #gwen #merlin emrys #tristan and isolde #headcanons

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