Oof, two months down already, which means it's time for another one of these posts!
April/May Bonus Badge!
This time around, we're all about working together and taking inspiration from one another.
Maybe you want to co-write something with another participant (or non-participant, that's fine too). Maybe you and another artist want to do your own line work and then swap works for the colouring. Perhaps you could organise a round robin, or a writer-artist chain, or just work with a good friend to create a single work in whatever fashion takes your fancy!
Perhaps you're a podficcer and you've just found the perfect fic to read for us all! You could have seen a beautiful artwork and know exactly the story you want to accompany it, or have read a fic and seen a scene so clearly in your mind you can't help but put pen to paper! Maybe you're a translator, or a bookbinder, or a cosplayer, or any of a hundred other things!
We'd also like to take this opportunity to mention permission statements. This is just a quick line you can add to your profile or your works, letting people know where you stand on people creating works based on your own. Maybe you're fine with it in any circumstances, maybe you're okay with it as long as people ask first, or maybe you're never okay with it – whichever it is, it's always good to let people know and save them the terror of having to ask without knowing how it'll be received!
(Want to know how we're promoting our 'many birds one stone' philosophy this time? Think events like @bbcmerlin-reversebang, which is posting now! Think @camelotremix, which posts in June but I'm sure we can let you snag this bonus badge then anyway!)
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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fancy dress by count-pudding
Ship: Merlin/Arthur
Main Characters: Merlin, Arthur
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No archive warnings apply
Major tags:
Summary:
smoke and mirrors by theleftoveryou
Ship: No ships/gen
Main Characters: Gwen
Rating: General audiences
Warnings: No archive warnings apply
Major tags: Drabble, s05e03: The Death Song of Uther Pendragon
Summary: Smoke has entered her lungs—
untitled by aemelia
Ship: Merlin/Arthur
Main Characters: Merlin, Arthur
Rating: General audiences
Warnings: No archive warnings apply
Major tags:
Summary:
Where Wildflowers Grow by definitelynotzets (@thedragonlies) & SparrowRising by SparrowRising
Ship: Merlin/Arthur, Gwen/Morgana
Main Characters:
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No archive warnings apply
Major tags: Fae & Fairies, clumsy!Merlin, magic revealed, getting together
Summary: After seeing a sorcerer executed in the courtyard, Merlin squashes down his magic to keep it hidden. The only problem? Keeping so much focus on his unruly magic is making him stumble around worse than ever. Meanwhile, Arthur's saddled with a new manservant who can't seem to walk in a straight line—except for those rare moments when the klutz suddenly turns as graceful as a dancer. And what does that have to do with the weird trinkets appearing under Arthur's pillow?
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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is that a love potion in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me? by theleftoveryou
Ship: Merlin/Arthur
Main Characters: Merlin, Arthur, Gaius
Rating: Teen
Warnings: No archive warnings apply
Major tags: Love Potion/Spell, Getting Together
Summary: Gaius ought to have known something was amiss the moment that Prince Arthur marched into the physician’s chambers, looking for all the world perfectly hale, and announced grandly that he was ill.
Robert Frost // Hunger, Florence Welch // The Night There, translated Palestinian poem by Mahmoud Darwish // Olivia, Dorothy Bussy // unknown // Let Dead Dogs Lie, Silas Denver Melvin // Gnaw at the Heartbeat, Wenyi Xue // War of the Foxes, Richard Siken // Поэма Конца (Poem of the End), Марина Цветаева // Wild Geese, Mary Oliver // Tribute to Catherine O’Hara, Macaulay Culkin
untitled by aemelia
Ship: Merlin/Arthur
Main Characters: Merlin, Arthur
Rating: General audiences
Warnings: No archive warnings apply
Major tags:
Summary:
Threadbare by theleftoveryou
Ship: Merlin/Arthur, Gwen/Morgana
Main Characters: Merlin, Arthur, Gwen, Morgana, Uther
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No archive warnings apply
Major tags: Merlin's purple shirt, Good Morgana, Getting Together
Summary: Arthur’s come into possession of a certain length of purple cloth, and it's more trouble than it's worth.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Too Hot by thesongistheriver
Ship: Merlin/Arthur
Main Characters: Merlin, Arthur
Rating: General audiences
Warnings: No archive warnings apply
Major tags: drabble, modern AU, established relationship
Summary: A trip to the seaside goes a little off-course.
echoes of the future ringing in the present by SlantedKnitting
Ship: Freya/Morgana
Main Characters: Morgana, Freya
Rating: Teen
Warnings: No archive warnings apply
Major tags: modern AU, jewellery, kissing, fluff
Summary: On their sixth date, Morgana brings Freya to her flat for the first time. Freya tries on some of Morgana's jewellery.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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what the darkness does by theleftoveryou
Ship: No ships/gen
Main Characters: Gwen, Morgana, Morgause
Rating: General audiences
Warnings: No archive warnings apply
Major tags: Morgana & Morgause, Morgana & Gwen, Bean Sídhe (Banshee) - Celtic Mythology
Summary: Do they know that it is she who has borne the screaming home?
To be loved is to be seen by KeeperOfDragons
Ship: Merlin/Arthur/Gwen
Main Characters: Merlin, Arthur, Gwen
Rating: General audiences
Warnings: No archive warnings apply
Major tags: Nonbinary Merlin, Golden Age, Magic Ban Lifted, Soft Arthur Pendragon, Soft Gwen
Summary: Arthur loved to tease Merlin always proclaiming him to be such a girl, well perhaps he wasn't as far off as he thought? Or Merlin Bingo fill M2: Trans Character
Alliance with Nemeth by argentasterdisaster
Ship: Morgana/Mithian
Main Characters: Morgana, Mithian
Rating: General audiences
Warnings: No archive warnings apply
Major tags: Morgana Princess Mithian Wlw Fanart
Summary: AU where Mithian gets together with Morgana instead of accepting Arthur's hand in marriage
for @morgwenmicrofic prompt « is this true? » | and @merlinbingo « Morgana’s rooms » | ~1150 words
Gwen balances the laundry basket on her hip and pushes the door to Morgana’s room open.
"Gwen!" Morgana's smile soon fades as she takes in her maidservant's troubled expression. "Gwen, whatever's the matter?"
"Oh, it's nothing, my Lady," Gwen says, placing the laundry basket on the floor and taking out a dress to hang in the wardrobe. "It's just been a bit of a busy day."
They stay in silence for a few minutes, Gwen hanging up Morgana's clean dresses, and Morgana reading through the latest court report she's pilfered off Arthur. Well, it's not really stealing as he knows she's taking them, and he's even started leaving the manuscripts in the top drawer of her desk once he's finished with them. It's very kind of him, really, and she'd never tell him to his face, but she's grateful for his help. Uther has always disapproved of her interest in court politics, but over the past few months he's grown even more critical of her involvement. A good wife should not interfere with the affairs of men, he says. If anything, his words make her even more determined to keep up with the comings and goings of the court.
"Gwen, dearest," Morgana says, putting the half-read report back in the drawer, "you know you can tell me if something's wrong."
"It really is nothing, my Lady," Gwen insists, but she knows Morgana sees right through her lies.
She sighs softly, and turns to face Morgana. "The most bizarre rumours have been going round today," she says. "Marta told me that she'd overheard some noble or other say that you were to be married to Lord Oswald of Mercia, which is ridiculous, I know, as Uther's always planned for you to marry Arthur, but I just can't get it out of my head. I couldn't live with it, if you were to go away somewhere like that. It's a silly worry, I know, because you're not going anywhere, but…"
Morgana's expected reassurances do not come. Gwen trails off as she notices Morgana's oddly blank expression.
"Is this true?" Her words are a quiet whisper. "Are you to marry Lord Oswald?"
The silence pools around them. Gwen fiddles nervously with the sleeve of her dress, whilst Morgana just stares back at her, eyes brimming with tears.
"I wanted to tell you," Morgana says after an eternity. "Believe me, Gwen, I did. But I couldn't bear to hurt you like that. And– and if I told you, well, that would make it more real. I wouldn't be able to pretend like this wasn't happening anymore."
Morgana reaches out to take Gwen's hand. "It will be okay, Gwen. Oswald is a good man. He will treat me well. It could be a lot worse. I– I will never love him, but I will be safe."
The words she dare not say lie unspoken between them. I can never love him like I love you.
"Gwen, I'm so sorry. I wish it didn't have to be this way." A tear drips down Morgana's cheek. "Please, Gwen, say something."
Gwen simply stands there, words refusing to exit her mouth. She thought they had more time. Gods, how she wished they had more time. She knew that Morgana would never completely be hers, that one day she would have to take a husband, but she had always assumed that that husband would be Arthur. She had contented herself with that particular fate — Morgana would remain in Camelot, with Gwen, and Gwen would stay by her side as her maidservant. Morgana would make a lovely Queen, and it would be an honour for Gwen to serve her. Perhaps, if they were lucky, Arthur would understand their situation, and let Morgana keep Gwen as her lover. Merlin wouldn't admit it to her, but she knew that there was something similar going on between him and Arthur, so why wouldn't Arthur allow his future wife the same pleasures?
Gwen had lived inside this fantasy during many a happy daydream. She would picture herself tending to Queen Morgana, placing a glittering crown on her head before feasts, standing faithfully by her side as she listened to the problems of the citizens of Camelot, perhaps even sharing the royal bed with her when Arthur was away fighting wars. She blanks at imagining a future without Morgana. She would only ever serve her Lady; her life would have no purpose ravaged by the gaping hole that Morgana's departure would surely leave in her.
She only realises she is crying when Morgana's hand brushes a tear off her cheek.
"I'm sorry, my Lady, I don't know what's come over me," she stutters, reaching down for another dress to hang up.
Morgana grasps her hand. "Enough of this, Gwen. I can't stand this pretending any longer." Their eyes meet, and Gwen feels as though Morgana can see right through her.
"We can run away together," Morgana says, not quite succeeding in keeping the sadness out of her voice. "We'll go to a little village on the border. We'll have some chickens, and a garden full of wildflowers for you to pick. It'll be perfect. We needn't take much with us. We can leave tonight. It'll be just us."
Gwen allows herself to lean into the fantasy for a moment. It wouldn't be an easy life – two unmarried women living together in a small village would certainly attract some gossip – but they would have each other. It would be enough. Gods, it would be more than enough for her.
But it wouldn't be enough for Morgana. That woman was born to be Queen, not raise chickens in the countryside. Even if Morgana may no longer have the chance to become Queen of Camelot, Gwen cannot let her sacrifice her life as a noble like that. She cannot let Morgana give up everything for her. She doesn't deserve it.
"We can't," Gwen breathes, taking her hand away. "Please, Morgana, don't be silly. I can't make you do that for me. Besides, they'll think you've been kidnapped. Uther won't stop until he finds you. He'll find someone to blame. It'll be war."
She's not exaggerating. Gwen knows that Morgana's marriage to Oswald would unite Mercia and Camelot once and for all. There would be no more conflict between the two kingdoms. She can't put all those lives at stake just to selfishly be with her Lady. Her Love.
"Gwen–" Morgana starts again, but Gwen won't have it.
"No, my Lady. I am not worth this. You can't give up your future for a peasant girl like me!"
Morgana licks her lips. "What if I want to?"
Her question echoes across the room. Morgana's gaze is hypnotic, and try as she might, Gwen cannot pull away.
They make love all the more passionately that night, knowing that it may well be their last night together
Morgana’s rooms by girasoligialli
Ship: Gwen/Morgana
Main Characters: Gwen, Morgana
Rating: Teen
Warnings: No archive warnings apply
Major tags:
Summary:
Still bound to you, I'm bound to fall by KeeperOfDragons
Ship: Merlin/Arthur
Main Characters: Merlin, Arthur
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence
Major tags: Merlin whump, Arthur Loves Merlin, Merlin Loves Arthur, Cold Iron, Magical Bindings
Summary: Neither Merlin, nor Arthur knew that this would be where they'd end up. But Arthur knew he had to protect Merlin, even if that meant protecting him from himself, from magic. Merlin would do anything for Arthur, but so would Arthur, and through that love and devotion, many lines would be crossed. Lines that leave you wondering whether you can ever come back from? Or Merlin Bingo adopted prompt: Abuse
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
Kiss of Life by argentasterdisaster
Ship: Morgana/Mithian
Main Characters: Morgana, Mithian
Rating: General audiences
Warnings: Major character death
Major tags: Morgana/Mithian Alternate ending Necromancer Resurrection Gouache
Summary: Even death won't come between Mithian and her beloved Morgana
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
la mort de morgause by theleftoveryou
Ship: Morgana/Morgause
Main Characters: Morgana, Morgause
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major character death, Incest
Major tags:
Summary: The first time they meet in the woods, Morgause holds a knife to her heart and tells her, “I am to die a hundred little deaths by your hand. And one great one.”
