ACBB 2023 MASTERPOST
Thank you to all our wonderful writers, artists, beta readers and hype readers who participated in this years After Camlann Big Bang! We hope you will consider participating again this year!
Below is the final masterlist for After Camlann 2023:
***
Title: This Remarkable Season
Author: s0mmerspr0ssen
Artist: PapySanzo89
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon, side: Leon/Morgana, Gwen/Lancelot, Gwaine/Percival, (temporary) Cenred/Merlin, surprise/minor pairings
Rating: Explicit
Word count: 79,313
Summary: Arthur Pendragon, Crown Prince of Camelot, must marry. King Uther expects him to choose a high-ranking noble, preferably a lady, from amongst the Camelot ton. But as fate would have it, the Prince finds himself drawn to Mr Merlin Emrys, an obscure gentleman from the countryside. Merlin, impoverished and desperate to save his family from complete ruin, must marry, too. Feelings are secondary, for the match must be an advantageous one. Soon, both Arthur and Merlin are caught between the pressure of expectations and what their hearts truly desire…
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: The Chough's Call
Author: Aro_Tarot
Artist: Winnett
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon, Mordred/Daegal
Rating: Teen and Up
Word count: 85,861
Summary: When Arthur went back to his hometown to find his missing sister, he wasn’t sure what he would find. He simply hoped that there would be some clue that would lead him to her. A clue, he did find, but instead of pointing him in a direction, it led to him being knocked out and waking up in a different world, one with magic.
Taken, rescued, and now staying in a refugee sanctuary, Arthur was now not just searching for his sister but also the figure known in history and legend as the Once and Future King. As he works as an assistant to a sorcerer named Merlin, befriends a group of knights, and is accompanied with his childhood figurine turned living chough, Arthur starts to question if he would want to go home after all of this is over. Of course, that is only if the others and him can survive the prophecy, the return of the ancient evil known as the Ivory, and if Emrys can fulfill his part by finding the Once and Future King.
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: I hear that deserts heal your history
Author: Celaenos
Artist: gramnel
Pairings/Characters: Morgana & Arthur, Merlin/Morgana, Arthur/Merlin
Rating: Mature
Word count: 68,355
Summary: Morgana pushes herself up slowly, looking around. She is in the backseat of a car, in what looks like a vast and empty desert, pulled off against the side of a highway. No cars, no people anywhere that she can see. A blonde woman is sleeping in the front passenger seat. Morgana stares at her, confusion overwhelming, even as the dawning horror builds the longer that Morgana studies her features. The sharp edges are there: the tilt of her chin, the shape of her nose, the way that her mouth opens just slightly-it’s all there plain as day, and Morgana feels faint. Furious. Terrified. Why now, after all this time?
She crawls over, flinging open the backseat and vomits down into the dirt.
In the front seat of the Cadillac, the reincarnation of her brother wakes with a start.
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: Flicker Of A Candlelight, Heat Of An Inferno
Author: lavender_spice
Artist: MerlinLikeTheBird
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon, Gwen/Morgana
Rating: Teen and Up
Word count: 93,168
Summary:
When Merlin gets injured on a hunting trip, Arthur is forced to face his true feelings for his stubbornly loyal manservant. Merlin is everything he should not want, and yet Arthur struggles to keep his feelings at bay.
On top of all this, after learning of his father's lies and hypocrisy, Arthur hatches a plan to put an end to his people's suffering once and for all, finding unlikely allies along the way.
Can the two boys intertwined by destiny navigate their relationship amongst betrayal, secrecy, and a near-impossible mission?
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: Charlatans and Ruffians
Author: thenerdyindividual
Artist: kairennart
Pairings/Characters: Arthur/Gwaine/Merlin
Rating: Mature
Word count: 84,980
Summary: Merlin and Gwaine spend their days bopping around kingdoms, performing for the masses in exchange for petty coin. Sometimes they perform for room and board. When they perform at a tavern, the tavern owner gives Merlin a ring for payment, everything changes. Turns out the ring was haunted by the ghost of Queen Ygraine Pendragon. Now Ygraine is threatening to haunt Merlin for the rest of his life if he doesn't travel to Camelot to protect her son Arthur.
He goes to Camelot, and it turns out that Arthur is a huge pain in the ass. But he's also kind and does his best for his people, and that has Merlin and Gwaine falling for him.
If only Merlin didn't have to contend with a genocidal king and political plot involving the Kingdom of Magic.
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: till our souls catch us up
Author: EachPeachPearPlum
Artist: griffonskies
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin (Merlin), Morgana (Merlin), Gwaine (Merlin), Lancelot (Merlin), Percival (Merlin), Leon (Merlin), Elyan (Merlin), Gwen (Merlin), Mordred (Merlin), Freya (Merlin), Uther Pendragon (Merlin), Morgause (Merlin), Nimueh (Merlin)
Rating: Mature
Word count: 47,641
Summary: "Everyone but Uther Pendragon will be allowed to live," the voice says, echoing through Arthur's bones, the raw power of it terrifying beyond anything he’s ever felt, and he knows that even if the owner of the voice can be trusted to spare his citizens, the offer of sanctuary does not extend to him.
Or: When Camelot falls to an army of sorcerers, Arthur expects to follow his father to the pyre. Instead, he’s surprised when the new king spares his life, although he’s not entirely sure death wouldn’t have been better than spending the rest of his days locked in his room, waiting for Emrys to get bored of having him around.
What follows is a tale of murder attempts, evil schemes, and a mysterious prophecy.
And destiny, of course.
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: In A Land Of Snarky Dragons
Author & Artist:BGN846 (bgn_846)
Pairings/Characters: Merlin & Arthur
Rating: Teen and Up
Word count: Word Count: 48,369
Summary: Merlin is living the best life, learning how to raise dragons from his dragonlord father, Balinor, on their farm. This teenager has not a care in the world (magic is legal) until the local druids pay a visit. Merlin is not happy to discover he has a destiny featuring another person he’s never met. Once and future king his arse, not on his farm. Ignoring the prophecy with the mystery no named future king, Merlin tries to pretend everything is fine.
However, one giant, scaled, slightly bored troublemaker named, Kilgharrah, decides that this prophecy of destiny and kings is the perfect adventure to get his blood pumping. So the great dragon does what he does best, and proceeds to stir the proverbial pot.
Cue, kidnappings, rescues, attempted coups, and a fair amount of dragons all to keep destiny on track.
Story and Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: it’s a fated thing
Author: fabledfrog
Artist: a_star_is_here
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon - Arthur Pendragon, Merlin, Gwen, Morgana Pendragon, the Knights of the Roundtable, OCs
Rating: Teen and Up
Word count: 34,848
Summary: Merlin has a good life. He sleeps in the royal bed, sits on the king's right, uses magic out in the open, free and never again hidden.
He likes the first bit, is tired of the second, and is still awed by the last.
When he first told Arthur, he hadn't expected them to work together to destroy the destinies that had been written since the dawn of time; he hadn't thought that they would be able to change their path so drastically that everything would be different.
He hadn't even realised it, when all had been said and done. He'd only learned the truth of what they had done when he had gone to the Crystal Caves and they had shown him what his life could have been.
He'd thought they were safe from it; the cruel fate that had awaited them was averted.
Only, not everyone was happy with that.
-
In which Merlin's magic is used to create problems for the future. Or the past. All time in general.
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: We Are Made for Flying
Author: remaymber
Artist: CaughtInTheRa1n
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur, side: Morgana/Leon, Gwen/Lance, Percival/Gwaine, Freya, Hunith, Uther
Rating: Mature
Word count: 62,114
Summary: When Arthur sees Merlin for the first time at Camelot circus, he knows he is doomed. What makes his fate even worse is that Merlin seems dead set on hating him. But as destiny wants it, they find they need each other to solve the mystery that is Uther Pendragon to protect Camelot. As time passes and slowly the questions asked turn into answers with grave consequences, the final question remains: Do opposites attract, or will their differences be insurmountable after all?
Story is here | Art is here here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)
Author: salamandair
Artist: Stelle
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur
Rating: Mature
Word count: 30,490
Summary: Seven years ago, Merlin and Arthur were engaged to be married. They were happy, in love and had plans to create a better future
Seven years ago, Arthur’s world was turned upside down and the lovers broke off their engagement.
Seven years later, Arthur Pendragon is now Albion’s youngest Prime Minister in history and hates anything to do with magic.
Seven Years later, Merlin Wyvern is now the leader of a rights group fighting for equal rights for magic users.
Now, their separate worlds collide as a decades-long fight finally comes to a head to change Albion forever.
Story is here | Art is here here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: Nerdboy and the Incredible Prat
Author: bad_peppermint
Artist: paintedpigeon
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon
Rating: Teen and Up
Word count: 34,828
Summary: The guy Merlin keeps running into at Comic-Con, wearing matching cosplay, just might be his soulmate. Too bad he’s kind of an asshole.
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: The Reluctant Prince
Author: Cookie
Artist: Schweet_heart
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur
Rating: Mature
Word count: 33,900
Summary: Arthur has never really wanted to be a prince, and the thought of being king in the future fills him with dread. But that is his destiny and not even falling in love with a stage magician called Merlin can change that.
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: Out of the Dark (Into the Light)
Author: MyKingdomComeUndone
Artist: Profiad
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur, Morgana, Gaius, Gwen, Lancelot, Mordred, Will, Sophia, Edwin, Valiant, Anhora
Rating: Explicit
Word count: 40,894
Summary: Instead of participating in a deadly drinking game by the sea to save Camelot from unicorn-related famine, Arthur finds himself in a cave, along with a bunch of total strangers. The catch? The only thing each of them remembers is their own name. Before panic can truly set in, an old man with a staff appears out of thin air to tell them it’s all part of a test: only the first of them to reach the exit will be permitted to leave. The others won’t be so lucky…
The quest sounds straightforward enough, but on the way, Arthur and his fellow amnesiacs are faced with wicked traps, dangerous creatures, and some threats that may even come from within their group. And as if that’s not enough trouble to face without his memories to guide him, Arthur also has to deal with his increasingly distracting feelings for a certain dark-haired sorcerer among their group, going by the name of ‘Merlin’…
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: A Smooth Sea Never Made A Skilled Pirate
Author: Pearl09
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon, Merlin, Arthur, Leon, Gwaine, Lancelot, Uther
Rating: Teen and Up
Word count: 41,752
Summary: Arthur grew up in Camelot, next to the sea. However, he was never allowed out on the water. As the one thing out of his reach, it was the one place he yearned to be-even just to briefly experience the open ocean. When he finally decides to take his life in his own hands and hears rumors of a pirate ship nearby that might let him on board and out of the city, he has no idea what is really in store for him.
Story is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: Chase the Sun
Author: MerlinLikeTheBird
Artist: wortvermis
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur, Morgana, Gwen, Gwaine, Leon, Freya
Rating: Teen and Up
Word count: 27,572
Summary:“We lived together before and we both survived, didn’t we?” Arthur doesn’t take the bait.
“Barely,” Merlin answers, picturing their uni days. The first taste of living with anyone other than his mother or sleepovers with Will. It all made for strange, dreamlike memories, for all that it has only been a few years past.
He feels like a very old twenty five most times. He shouldn’t be this age and so tired.
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: Take Me Up (cast me away)
Author: sacredraisincakes
Artist: Athena
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur
Rating: Explicit
Word count: 58,975
Summary: In an effort to ease tensions between the kingdoms of Albion, Arthur plans a summit to bring together each of the monarchs to create a treaty between them. But schemes from within his own kingdom force him to change his plans ever so slightly.
"No one will believe us."
"They will... We'll start now, and over the next few weeks make it more and more obvious, until the moment we announce our engagement... Then once our visitors are gone, we simply end the betrothal. Everything goes back to the way it was."Edits for the main houses of sparringett's epic Merlin/GoT crossover fic (to be posted later, hopefully).
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: I Don't Know How to Start
Author: thetreeofwillow
Artist: Shadow_Hole
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur. Other characters: Gwen, Gaius, Morgana
Rating: Mature
Word count: 38,605
Summary: When Merlin collapses in a long forgotten hallway, Arthur has to fight for his life.
With Camelot still sitting on the edge of destruction following the dragon’s attack, Arthur should be preoccupied with reconstruction and resource management. Instead, Merlin has taken ill, and for some reason, Arthur can’t keep his mind off him.
What is Arthur to do with his kingdom in tatters, his whole world view shifting and his closest relationships rocking closely held beliefs? How is he to handle this while being drawn ever closer to Merlin? Merlin, whose condition is worsening by the day.
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: Sacrificing All Within Me, To Save Us
Author: LadyDanielle
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon
Rating: Explicit
Word count: 55,286
Summary: In his second year as King of Camelot, Arthur has legalized magic and prospered the kingdom with Merlin's guidance. But rumors spread that Arthur is just a puppet under Merlin's control. Arthur begins to doubt himself - maybe he’s depending too much on Merlin's ideas instead of his own judgment. How can he push past expectations to rule as he chooses, including taking Merlin as his consort openly if he can’t rely on his own decisions.
To prove himself, Arthur makes a risky choice that could be the fall of Camelot. He decides to find out the hard way.
Story is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: Fate has made you so
Author: slantedknitting
Artist: LFB72
Pairings/Characters: Arthur/Merlin, Arthur/Elena
Rating: Explicit
Word count: 29,351
Summary: It’s 1953, and Arthur is a young, up-and-coming architect working on rebuilding London. All he wants is to be successful and live his life in peace and quiet. All his boss wants is to find a good match for his daughter Elena, and he thinks he’s found that match in Arthur. Arthur agrees to go out with her to get ahead at the firm, but the person he’s really interested in is her friend Merlin, and it turns out Elena has her own purposes for being with Arthur.
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: Contact High
Author: Leandra
Artist: Papysanzo
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur
Rating: Explicit
Word count: 84,292
Summary: After a toxic relationship, Arthur is afraid of getting hurt again, but then he meets Gwen, a scriptwriter he collaborates with in one of his film classes. To win her heart, he plans to cook her the best vegan food she has ever had. The idea would be brilliant, but Arthur is neither vegan, nor can he cook. In a desperate move, he enlists the help of Merlin, the obnoxious barista who works at his favourite coffee shop by day, and is a vegan food vlogger by night.
With his past as a young offender, and a history of addiction, Merlin can’t find a job as a chef, and his dream of opening his own restaurant someday seems unreachable. He pours all his passion into his food videos, but while his recipes and personality have what it takes, his video making skills are subpar at best.
Arthur and Merlin put their animosity aside and strike a deal: Merlin will cook for Gwen, and Arthur will claim he made the food, while in exchange, Arthur will help Merlin make better food videos. It seems the perfect way to meet everyone's needs …
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: Where Gods Go
Artist: mirayladraws
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur
Rating: Mature
Word count: N/A - Art
Summary: When Arthur Pendragon gets read in on the Animus project, the last thing he expects is to fall in love and get pulled into a war between Assassins and Templars.
Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: Dave
Author: Camelittle
Artist: LFB72
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur, side Gwen/Lancelot, side Morgana/Gwaine/Leon, early Merlin/Will, Various UK Panel Show Hosts, OCs,
Rating: Teen and Up
Word count: 60,342
Summary: Merlin - lover of crunchy fried snacks and secret admirer of his straight flat mate, Arthur - never expected to have a career in comedy. But after trying stand-up on a successful open mic night at university, he finds himself hooked. He and Arthur run a successful late night talk radio for a show for a while, but Arthur’s father intervenes. After a misunderstanding forces them into conflict, Merlin vows never to see Arthur again, to protect his own soft, pathetic, pining heart. Which would be fine, if the UK comedy circuit weren’t so small. But for some reason, they keep bumping into one another - at comedy festivals, and on radio and TV panel shows - and despite everything, the chemistry that made their radio show so popular in the distant past grows stronger than ever.
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: Reluctantly in Love
Author: chaosgenes
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon, minor Lancelot/Guinevere
Rating: Explicit
Word count: 29,923
Summary: Arthur has waited for Naming Day all his life, but could not be more disappointed when he finds out who the Soul Stone names for him. It isn’t the prisoner he meets in the dungeons, but his heart aches for him anyway.
Merlin has never thought about soulmates until they come knocking at his door in Ealdor. Convinced that there’s something wrong with the Soul Stone, he travels to magic-banned Camelot to end its influence. He never thought that he would be enraptured by the crown prince who comes to interrogate him.
Story and Art are here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: Of Oaths Made and Broken
Author: Zorbo_Jorks
Artist: aueth
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur, Gwaine/Mithian, Elena/Vivian, ft. The Knights, Gwen, Uther, and Morgause
Rating: Teen and Up
Word count: 48,323
Summary: Kilgwan just smiled- a gleeful presentation of far too many jagged teeth. He leaned forward on his throne and sang, “When the five of you I last did see, five promises you made to me! Three promises are broken now- one yet to test and one still sound.”
Arthur growled, and Morgana made a similar noise beside him.
“Are you serious?” she asked, “That was years ago!”
“A word given is a word to keep,” the creature sang back, ignoring the table’s shouts of dismay, “You sow lost words- dark gifts you reap.”
--------------
As children, Arthur, Morgana, Gwen, Elyan, and Leon made vows to a creature named Kilgwan in the catacombs of Camelot.
Years later, on the even of Arthur's prospective betrothal, they are whisked away to make ammends for breaking them. Merlin and Gwaine must make up for the prince's sudden absence by disguising the latter as Arthur to court Princesses Mithian, Vivian, and Elena in his place, all while Merlin tries to find Arthur and his friends before any ill befalls them.
Amid this, Morgause schemes to kill the Pendragons and Merlin pines for his prince, convinced his love cannot be.
It takes very little for the delicate web of problems to fall into chaos.
Story and Art are here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: All Winding Paths Lead Back
Author: Imagined
Artist: feuxx
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur
Rating: Teen and Up
Word count: 76,250
Summary: “You’ll give me magical training?” Merlin asks.
Arthur smiles. “Yes, and training in courtly etiquette. I imagine Ealdor doesn’t have nobles?”
“We don’t have nobles, but we do have pigs. And chickens,” Merlin says. When Arthur raises his eyebrows at him, Merlin flushes heavily with embarrassment. “Oh, shut up. My lord.”
“Don’t talk to your king like that,” Arthur says, but he doesn’t actually seem very upset about it, even though Merlin sort of wants to hit himself in the face. “Welcome to Camelot, sorcerer-apprentice Merlin of Ealdor.”
Or: Merlin is sixteen when he comes to Camelot, vying for the new position of court sorcerer that has opened under King Arthur-a noble king, golden and lionhearted, who is trying to legalise magic in all of Albion. Of course, Merlin doesn't expect to be chosen.
But he is.
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: And All the Bells Were Ringing (ARTWORK)
Artist: SerpentineWizard12
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur
Rating: Explicit
Word count: N/A - Art
Summary: “When he grew tired of swimming, Arthur waded out onto the bank and flung himself down without self-consciousness, lying back on his elbows between the roots of the nearest tree. Merlin lingered in the water for some minutes longer, watching the prince’s movements out of the corner of his eye, the way the water collected in the dips and hollows of his body and threatened to run all the way down. There was something unguarded about Arthur when he was like this; Merlin could think of only a handful of moments in which he had seen the prince without his veneer of distance and authority, and each one stood out in his memory like keys to a puzzle box, unravelling the complexity of Arthur’s personality one layer at a time.
Story is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
Below is the final masterlist for After Camlann 2023:
***
Title: This Remarkable Season
Author: s0mmerspr0ssen
Artist: PapySanzo89
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon, side: Leon/Morgana, Gwen/Lancelot, Gwaine/Percival, (temporary) Cenred/Merlin, surprise/minor pairings
Rating: Explicit
Word count: 79,313
Summary: Arthur Pendragon, Crown Prince of Camelot, must marry. King Uther expects him to choose a high-ranking noble, preferably a lady, from amongst the Camelot ton. But as fate would have it, the Prince finds himself drawn to Mr Merlin Emrys, an obscure gentleman from the countryside. Merlin, impoverished and desperate to save his family from complete ruin, must marry, too. Feelings are secondary, for the match must be an advantageous one. Soon, both Arthur and Merlin are caught between the pressure of expectations and what their hearts truly desire…
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: The Chough's Call
Author: Aro_Tarot
Artist: Winnett
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon, Mordred/Daegal
Rating: Teen and Up
Word count: 85,861
Summary: When Arthur went back to his hometown to find his missing sister, he wasn’t sure what he would find. He simply hoped that there would be some clue that would lead him to her. A clue, he did find, but instead of pointing him in a direction, it led to him being knocked out and waking up in a different world, one with magic.
Taken, rescued, and now staying in a refugee sanctuary, Arthur was now not just searching for his sister but also the figure known in history and legend as the Once and Future King. As he works as an assistant to a sorcerer named Merlin, befriends a group of knights, and is accompanied with his childhood figurine turned living chough, Arthur starts to question if he would want to go home after all of this is over. Of course, that is only if the others and him can survive the prophecy, the return of the ancient evil known as the Ivory, and if Emrys can fulfill his part by finding the Once and Future King.
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: I hear that deserts heal your history
Author: Celaenos
Artist: gramnel
Pairings/Characters: Morgana & Arthur, Merlin/Morgana, Arthur/Merlin
Rating: Mature
Word count: 68,355
Summary: Morgana pushes herself up slowly, looking around. She is in the backseat of a car, in what looks like a vast and empty desert, pulled off against the side of a highway. No cars, no people anywhere that she can see. A blonde woman is sleeping in the front passenger seat. Morgana stares at her, confusion overwhelming, even as the dawning horror builds the longer that Morgana studies her features. The sharp edges are there: the tilt of her chin, the shape of her nose, the way that her mouth opens just slightly-it’s all there plain as day, and Morgana feels faint. Furious. Terrified. Why now, after all this time?
She crawls over, flinging open the backseat and vomits down into the dirt.
In the front seat of the Cadillac, the reincarnation of her brother wakes with a start.
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: Flicker Of A Candlelight, Heat Of An Inferno
Author: lavender_spice
Artist: MerlinLikeTheBird
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon, Gwen/Morgana
Rating: Teen and Up
Word count: 93,168
Summary:
When Merlin gets injured on a hunting trip, Arthur is forced to face his true feelings for his stubbornly loyal manservant. Merlin is everything he should not want, and yet Arthur struggles to keep his feelings at bay.
On top of all this, after learning of his father's lies and hypocrisy, Arthur hatches a plan to put an end to his people's suffering once and for all, finding unlikely allies along the way.
Can the two boys intertwined by destiny navigate their relationship amongst betrayal, secrecy, and a near-impossible mission?
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: Charlatans and Ruffians
Author: thenerdyindividual
Artist: kairennart
Pairings/Characters: Arthur/Gwaine/Merlin
Rating: Mature
Word count: 84,980
Summary: Merlin and Gwaine spend their days bopping around kingdoms, performing for the masses in exchange for petty coin. Sometimes they perform for room and board. When they perform at a tavern, the tavern owner gives Merlin a ring for payment, everything changes. Turns out the ring was haunted by the ghost of Queen Ygraine Pendragon. Now Ygraine is threatening to haunt Merlin for the rest of his life if he doesn't travel to Camelot to protect her son Arthur.
He goes to Camelot, and it turns out that Arthur is a huge pain in the ass. But he's also kind and does his best for his people, and that has Merlin and Gwaine falling for him.
If only Merlin didn't have to contend with a genocidal king and political plot involving the Kingdom of Magic.
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: till our souls catch us up
Author: EachPeachPearPlum
Artist: griffonskies
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin (Merlin), Morgana (Merlin), Gwaine (Merlin), Lancelot (Merlin), Percival (Merlin), Leon (Merlin), Elyan (Merlin), Gwen (Merlin), Mordred (Merlin), Freya (Merlin), Uther Pendragon (Merlin), Morgause (Merlin), Nimueh (Merlin)
Rating: Mature
Word count: 47,641
Summary: "Everyone but Uther Pendragon will be allowed to live," the voice says, echoing through Arthur's bones, the raw power of it terrifying beyond anything he’s ever felt, and he knows that even if the owner of the voice can be trusted to spare his citizens, the offer of sanctuary does not extend to him.
Or: When Camelot falls to an army of sorcerers, Arthur expects to follow his father to the pyre. Instead, he’s surprised when the new king spares his life, although he’s not entirely sure death wouldn’t have been better than spending the rest of his days locked in his room, waiting for Emrys to get bored of having him around.
What follows is a tale of murder attempts, evil schemes, and a mysterious prophecy.
And destiny, of course.
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: In A Land Of Snarky Dragons
Author & Artist:BGN846 (bgn_846)
Pairings/Characters: Merlin & Arthur
Rating: Teen and Up
Word count: Word Count: 48,369
Summary: Merlin is living the best life, learning how to raise dragons from his dragonlord father, Balinor, on their farm. This teenager has not a care in the world (magic is legal) until the local druids pay a visit. Merlin is not happy to discover he has a destiny featuring another person he’s never met. Once and future king his arse, not on his farm. Ignoring the prophecy with the mystery no named future king, Merlin tries to pretend everything is fine.
However, one giant, scaled, slightly bored troublemaker named, Kilgharrah, decides that this prophecy of destiny and kings is the perfect adventure to get his blood pumping. So the great dragon does what he does best, and proceeds to stir the proverbial pot.
Cue, kidnappings, rescues, attempted coups, and a fair amount of dragons all to keep destiny on track.
Story and Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: it’s a fated thing
Author: fabledfrog
Artist: a_star_is_here
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon - Arthur Pendragon, Merlin, Gwen, Morgana Pendragon, the Knights of the Roundtable, OCs
Rating: Teen and Up
Word count: 34,848
Summary: Merlin has a good life. He sleeps in the royal bed, sits on the king's right, uses magic out in the open, free and never again hidden.
He likes the first bit, is tired of the second, and is still awed by the last.
When he first told Arthur, he hadn't expected them to work together to destroy the destinies that had been written since the dawn of time; he hadn't thought that they would be able to change their path so drastically that everything would be different.
He hadn't even realised it, when all had been said and done. He'd only learned the truth of what they had done when he had gone to the Crystal Caves and they had shown him what his life could have been.
He'd thought they were safe from it; the cruel fate that had awaited them was averted.
Only, not everyone was happy with that.
-
In which Merlin's magic is used to create problems for the future. Or the past. All time in general.
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: We Are Made for Flying
Author: remaymber
Artist: CaughtInTheRa1n
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur, side: Morgana/Leon, Gwen/Lance, Percival/Gwaine, Freya, Hunith, Uther
Rating: Mature
Word count: 62,114
Summary: When Arthur sees Merlin for the first time at Camelot circus, he knows he is doomed. What makes his fate even worse is that Merlin seems dead set on hating him. But as destiny wants it, they find they need each other to solve the mystery that is Uther Pendragon to protect Camelot. As time passes and slowly the questions asked turn into answers with grave consequences, the final question remains: Do opposites attract, or will their differences be insurmountable after all?
Story is here | Art is here here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)
Author: salamandair
Artist: Stelle
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur
Rating: Mature
Word count: 30,490
Summary: Seven years ago, Merlin and Arthur were engaged to be married. They were happy, in love and had plans to create a better future
Seven years ago, Arthur’s world was turned upside down and the lovers broke off their engagement.
Seven years later, Arthur Pendragon is now Albion’s youngest Prime Minister in history and hates anything to do with magic.
Seven Years later, Merlin Wyvern is now the leader of a rights group fighting for equal rights for magic users.
Now, their separate worlds collide as a decades-long fight finally comes to a head to change Albion forever.
Story is here | Art is here here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: Nerdboy and the Incredible Prat
Author: bad_peppermint
Artist: paintedpigeon
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon
Rating: Teen and Up
Word count: 34,828
Summary: The guy Merlin keeps running into at Comic-Con, wearing matching cosplay, just might be his soulmate. Too bad he’s kind of an asshole.
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: The Reluctant Prince
Author: Cookie
Artist: Schweet_heart
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur
Rating: Mature
Word count: 33,900
Summary: Arthur has never really wanted to be a prince, and the thought of being king in the future fills him with dread. But that is his destiny and not even falling in love with a stage magician called Merlin can change that.
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: Out of the Dark (Into the Light)
Author: MyKingdomComeUndone
Artist: Profiad
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur, Morgana, Gaius, Gwen, Lancelot, Mordred, Will, Sophia, Edwin, Valiant, Anhora
Rating: Explicit
Word count: 40,894
Summary: Instead of participating in a deadly drinking game by the sea to save Camelot from unicorn-related famine, Arthur finds himself in a cave, along with a bunch of total strangers. The catch? The only thing each of them remembers is their own name. Before panic can truly set in, an old man with a staff appears out of thin air to tell them it’s all part of a test: only the first of them to reach the exit will be permitted to leave. The others won’t be so lucky…
The quest sounds straightforward enough, but on the way, Arthur and his fellow amnesiacs are faced with wicked traps, dangerous creatures, and some threats that may even come from within their group. And as if that’s not enough trouble to face without his memories to guide him, Arthur also has to deal with his increasingly distracting feelings for a certain dark-haired sorcerer among their group, going by the name of ‘Merlin’…
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: A Smooth Sea Never Made A Skilled Pirate
Author: Pearl09
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon, Merlin, Arthur, Leon, Gwaine, Lancelot, Uther
Rating: Teen and Up
Word count: 41,752
Summary: Arthur grew up in Camelot, next to the sea. However, he was never allowed out on the water. As the one thing out of his reach, it was the one place he yearned to be-even just to briefly experience the open ocean. When he finally decides to take his life in his own hands and hears rumors of a pirate ship nearby that might let him on board and out of the city, he has no idea what is really in store for him.
Story is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: Chase the Sun
Author: MerlinLikeTheBird
Artist: wortvermis
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur, Morgana, Gwen, Gwaine, Leon, Freya
Rating: Teen and Up
Word count: 27,572
Summary:“We lived together before and we both survived, didn’t we?” Arthur doesn’t take the bait.
“Barely,” Merlin answers, picturing their uni days. The first taste of living with anyone other than his mother or sleepovers with Will. It all made for strange, dreamlike memories, for all that it has only been a few years past.
He feels like a very old twenty five most times. He shouldn’t be this age and so tired.
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: Take Me Up (cast me away)
Author: sacredraisincakes
Artist: Athena
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur
Rating: Explicit
Word count: 58,975
Summary: In an effort to ease tensions between the kingdoms of Albion, Arthur plans a summit to bring together each of the monarchs to create a treaty between them. But schemes from within his own kingdom force him to change his plans ever so slightly.
"No one will believe us."
"They will... We'll start now, and over the next few weeks make it more and more obvious, until the moment we announce our engagement... Then once our visitors are gone, we simply end the betrothal. Everything goes back to the way it was."Edits for the main houses of sparringett's epic Merlin/GoT crossover fic (to be posted later, hopefully).
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: I Don't Know How to Start
Author: thetreeofwillow
Artist: Shadow_Hole
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur. Other characters: Gwen, Gaius, Morgana
Rating: Mature
Word count: 38,605
Summary: When Merlin collapses in a long forgotten hallway, Arthur has to fight for his life.
With Camelot still sitting on the edge of destruction following the dragon’s attack, Arthur should be preoccupied with reconstruction and resource management. Instead, Merlin has taken ill, and for some reason, Arthur can’t keep his mind off him.
What is Arthur to do with his kingdom in tatters, his whole world view shifting and his closest relationships rocking closely held beliefs? How is he to handle this while being drawn ever closer to Merlin? Merlin, whose condition is worsening by the day.
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: Sacrificing All Within Me, To Save Us
Author: LadyDanielle
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon
Rating: Explicit
Word count: 55,286
Summary: In his second year as King of Camelot, Arthur has legalized magic and prospered the kingdom with Merlin's guidance. But rumors spread that Arthur is just a puppet under Merlin's control. Arthur begins to doubt himself - maybe he’s depending too much on Merlin's ideas instead of his own judgment. How can he push past expectations to rule as he chooses, including taking Merlin as his consort openly if he can’t rely on his own decisions.
To prove himself, Arthur makes a risky choice that could be the fall of Camelot. He decides to find out the hard way.
Story is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: Fate has made you so
Author: slantedknitting
Artist: LFB72
Pairings/Characters: Arthur/Merlin, Arthur/Elena
Rating: Explicit
Word count: 29,351
Summary: It’s 1953, and Arthur is a young, up-and-coming architect working on rebuilding London. All he wants is to be successful and live his life in peace and quiet. All his boss wants is to find a good match for his daughter Elena, and he thinks he’s found that match in Arthur. Arthur agrees to go out with her to get ahead at the firm, but the person he’s really interested in is her friend Merlin, and it turns out Elena has her own purposes for being with Arthur.
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: Contact High
Author: Leandra
Artist: Papysanzo
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur
Rating: Explicit
Word count: 84,292
Summary: After a toxic relationship, Arthur is afraid of getting hurt again, but then he meets Gwen, a scriptwriter he collaborates with in one of his film classes. To win her heart, he plans to cook her the best vegan food she has ever had. The idea would be brilliant, but Arthur is neither vegan, nor can he cook. In a desperate move, he enlists the help of Merlin, the obnoxious barista who works at his favourite coffee shop by day, and is a vegan food vlogger by night.
With his past as a young offender, and a history of addiction, Merlin can’t find a job as a chef, and his dream of opening his own restaurant someday seems unreachable. He pours all his passion into his food videos, but while his recipes and personality have what it takes, his video making skills are subpar at best.
Arthur and Merlin put their animosity aside and strike a deal: Merlin will cook for Gwen, and Arthur will claim he made the food, while in exchange, Arthur will help Merlin make better food videos. It seems the perfect way to meet everyone's needs …
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: Where Gods Go
Artist: mirayladraws
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur
Rating: Mature
Word count: N/A - Art
Summary: When Arthur Pendragon gets read in on the Animus project, the last thing he expects is to fall in love and get pulled into a war between Assassins and Templars.
Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: Dave
Author: Camelittle
Artist: LFB72
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur, side Gwen/Lancelot, side Morgana/Gwaine/Leon, early Merlin/Will, Various UK Panel Show Hosts, OCs,
Rating: Teen and Up
Word count: 60,342
Summary: Merlin - lover of crunchy fried snacks and secret admirer of his straight flat mate, Arthur - never expected to have a career in comedy. But after trying stand-up on a successful open mic night at university, he finds himself hooked. He and Arthur run a successful late night talk radio for a show for a while, but Arthur’s father intervenes. After a misunderstanding forces them into conflict, Merlin vows never to see Arthur again, to protect his own soft, pathetic, pining heart. Which would be fine, if the UK comedy circuit weren’t so small. But for some reason, they keep bumping into one another - at comedy festivals, and on radio and TV panel shows - and despite everything, the chemistry that made their radio show so popular in the distant past grows stronger than ever.
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: Reluctantly in Love
Author: chaosgenes
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon, minor Lancelot/Guinevere
Rating: Explicit
Word count: 29,923
Summary: Arthur has waited for Naming Day all his life, but could not be more disappointed when he finds out who the Soul Stone names for him. It isn’t the prisoner he meets in the dungeons, but his heart aches for him anyway.
Merlin has never thought about soulmates until they come knocking at his door in Ealdor. Convinced that there’s something wrong with the Soul Stone, he travels to magic-banned Camelot to end its influence. He never thought that he would be enraptured by the crown prince who comes to interrogate him.
Story and Art are here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: Of Oaths Made and Broken
Author: Zorbo_Jorks
Artist: aueth
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur, Gwaine/Mithian, Elena/Vivian, ft. The Knights, Gwen, Uther, and Morgause
Rating: Teen and Up
Word count: 48,323
Summary: Kilgwan just smiled- a gleeful presentation of far too many jagged teeth. He leaned forward on his throne and sang, “When the five of you I last did see, five promises you made to me! Three promises are broken now- one yet to test and one still sound.”
Arthur growled, and Morgana made a similar noise beside him.
“Are you serious?” she asked, “That was years ago!”
“A word given is a word to keep,” the creature sang back, ignoring the table’s shouts of dismay, “You sow lost words- dark gifts you reap.”
--------------
As children, Arthur, Morgana, Gwen, Elyan, and Leon made vows to a creature named Kilgwan in the catacombs of Camelot.
Years later, on the even of Arthur's prospective betrothal, they are whisked away to make ammends for breaking them. Merlin and Gwaine must make up for the prince's sudden absence by disguising the latter as Arthur to court Princesses Mithian, Vivian, and Elena in his place, all while Merlin tries to find Arthur and his friends before any ill befalls them.
Amid this, Morgause schemes to kill the Pendragons and Merlin pines for his prince, convinced his love cannot be.
It takes very little for the delicate web of problems to fall into chaos.
Story and Art are here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: All Winding Paths Lead Back
Author: Imagined
Artist: feuxx
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur
Rating: Teen and Up
Word count: 76,250
Summary: “You’ll give me magical training?” Merlin asks.
Arthur smiles. “Yes, and training in courtly etiquette. I imagine Ealdor doesn’t have nobles?”
“We don’t have nobles, but we do have pigs. And chickens,” Merlin says. When Arthur raises his eyebrows at him, Merlin flushes heavily with embarrassment. “Oh, shut up. My lord.”
“Don’t talk to your king like that,” Arthur says, but he doesn’t actually seem very upset about it, even though Merlin sort of wants to hit himself in the face. “Welcome to Camelot, sorcerer-apprentice Merlin of Ealdor.”
Or: Merlin is sixteen when he comes to Camelot, vying for the new position of court sorcerer that has opened under King Arthur-a noble king, golden and lionhearted, who is trying to legalise magic in all of Albion. Of course, Merlin doesn't expect to be chosen.
But he is.
Story is here | Art is here | Reblog on Tumblr here
***
Title: And All the Bells Were Ringing (ARTWORK)
Artist: SerpentineWizard12
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur
Rating: Explicit
Word count: N/A - Art
Summary: “When he grew tired of swimming, Arthur waded out onto the bank and flung himself down without self-consciousness, lying back on his elbows between the roots of the nearest tree. Merlin lingered in the water for some minutes longer, watching the prince’s movements out of the corner of his eye, the way the water collected in the dips and hollows of his body and threatened to run all the way down. There was something unguarded about Arthur when he was like this; Merlin could think of only a handful of moments in which he had seen the prince without his veneer of distance and authority, and each one stood out in his memory like keys to a puzzle box, unravelling the complexity of Arthur’s personality one layer at a time.
Story is here | Reblog on Tumblr here