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All in all, Arthur was one of those men about whom it could be said that their heart was in the right place, although he did take great pains to hide it. Still, the core of decency made Merlin endure the thick layers of arrogance (and their thin crispy crust of arseholery) with more patience than he’d ever thought possible. There was indeed a promise of greatness about Arthur that Merlin was willing to believe in.
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Merlin learns to live and work by Arthur's side. And vice versa.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 51,312
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 106
- Kudos:
- 505
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- 155
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- 7,661
Bookmarked by LBJ
28 Nov 2025
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“It has its roots in a legend from the east, sire. I believe it’s called the red string of fate.”
“Fate?” Arthur said incredulously. “What, is he going to be the one to kill me?”
“Getting more likely by the minute,” Merlin supplied.
“Shut up, Merlin.”
Gaius held up a weary hand. “Legend has it that the string connects people to the person with whom they are most compatible.” There was a beat of silence.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 9,971
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 5
- Comments:
- 271
- Kudos:
- 4,350
- Bookmarks:
- 666
- Hits:
- 34,892
Bookmarked by LBJ
25 Nov 2025
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A whore is not someone you attempt to woo or charm. A whore is not someone you should strive to impress. A whore is someone whose opinion matters very little. Someone you rent for a bit of fun and release. You just put money on the table and they get to say yes or no – and for the record, they seldom say no. So a whore is no one to pine for. Which is just as well, because Arthur isn’t pining for anyone.
And certainly not anyone who’ll disappear off with any random knight for the right amount.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 27,480
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 2
- Comments:
- 122
- Kudos:
- 487
- Bookmarks:
- 95
- Hits:
- 3,833
Bookmarked by LBJ
30 Oct 2025
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Clean, Blue Air by carnationqueen for aka-faded (screamingincolour)
Fandoms: Supernatural (TV 2005)
28 Jul 2025
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The air is just the right amount of morning cool that Dean can sit on the slightly wobbly stool on his cabin’s back porch in his sleep shirt and boxers, with a cup of joe and be perfectly comfortable, while still enjoying the warmth seeping into his palms from the cup. He’s dead, and it’s awesome.
*
He’s not awesome, and this is terrible. Heaven is broken and someone needs to let Jack know, stat, except he’s not answering prayers or the phone
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 15,172
- Chapters:
- 5/5
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 45
- Kudos:
- 138
- Bookmarks:
- 26
- Hits:
- 1,128
Bookmarked by LBJ
25 Oct 2025
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When it's all over, Merlin goes back to Ealdor. It's not, exactly, a plan, but he doesn't have anywhere else to go. Not really, not anymore.
When he knocks on the door, his mother just - looks at him. For a minute, two. He swallows. His hands are trembling. They never used to do that, not really. From fear, adrenaline, maybe - but not like this.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 3,535
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 62
- Kudos:
- 826
- Bookmarks:
- 138
- Hits:
- 4,469
Bookmarked by LBJ
20 Oct 2025
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“Get out of my sight, and don’t come back until you can prove to me why I should allow you to remain in my service.”
Merlin stares at Arthur, confused. His tone was ominous, and it certainly sounded like a threat, but Merlin can’t quite work out what part is supposed to have him shaking in his boots. He’s halfway back to Gauis’ chambers when it dawns on him: Arthur actually thinks this stupid, degrading job is something he would be willing to fight for - as though Merlin’s life wouldn’t be complete without the honor of scrubbing the sheets Arthur manages to soil on a disturbingly regular basis.
In which it takes Merlin a bit longer to warm up to Arthur than it does in canon, but he gets there in the end.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 13,438
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 2
- Comments:
- 155
- Kudos:
- 2,228
- Bookmarks:
- 719
- Hits:
- 15,084
Bookmarked by LBJ
20 Oct 2025
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“Fine,” said Merlin. “It's the sixtieth year of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, is that better? And I know that, because Kylie Minogue played the jubilee.”
Bookmarked by LBJ
19 Oct 2025
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Arthur would have starved that first winter, if it weren’t for Hunith and her son.
When Arthur is disinherited, he finds himself farming in Ealdor.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 7,476
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 4
- Comments:
- 143
- Kudos:
- 7,029
- Bookmarks:
- 1,478
- Hits:
- 56,367
Bookmarked by LBJ
19 Oct 2025
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Of Course Falling in Love is Awful. Why Else Would They Call It a Crush? by watchriverdale
Fandoms: Merlin (TV)
19 Nov 2023
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Merlin turned and rattled about with the crockery, reaching up high on his tiptoes while Arthur thought lurid and filthy thoughts about him, such as Merlin sitting next to him on Arthur’s favourite windowsill and telling Arthur he was his friend.
In which the sorceress never takes Lady Helen’s form, and Merlin doesn’t save Arthur at the banquet.
Bookmarked by LBJ
17 Oct 2025
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In which Arthur inadvertently triggers an ancient magic, but he does not face the consequences alone.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 42,380
- Chapters:
- 11/11
- Comments:
- 326
- Kudos:
- 5,232
- Bookmarks:
- 1,017
- Hits:
- 104,411
Bookmarked by LBJ
17 Oct 2025
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"Did you know, Merlin, that you have the most distracting mouth in all the five kingdoms?"
A clatter sounds through the room—Arthur's half-polished hauberk falling to the stone floor—and Merlin squawks, "I have what?"
"And not just because of the nonstop prattle that's always coming out of it," Arthur grouses. "It's just too goddamn pretty. Incompetent manservants are not supposed to have pretty mouths, I'm quite sure there's a rule against it."
Bookmarked by LBJ
17 Oct 2025
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Arthur’s treehouse was the same as Merlin remembered it, all of it was. Maybe a little smaller, but then everything was, now.
And then there was Arthur himself; and it wasn't so much that a lot had changed about him, not really, it was only that everything had lengthened and broadened and become more.
Series
- Part 19 of The Write Stuff
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 38,956
- Chapters:
- 4/4
- Comments:
- 481
- Kudos:
- 3,226
- Bookmarks:
- 908
- Hits:
- 90,594
Bookmarked by LBJ
10 Oct 2025
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Thou shalt not fuck your best mate’s dad.
And to Merlin’s credit, he doesn’t just bend Gwaine’s dad over the nearest surface and go at it with him the minute his son sets foot on the train bound for Edinburgh.
That would be far too simple, too easy to dismiss or write off as temporary madness, scratching a decades-long itch.
It’s more complicated than that.
. .
Bookmarked by LBJ
09 Oct 2025
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Summary
In many ways, things are the same as ever.
It’s only… Well, back when Merlin still had things like secrets, or privacy, or self-respect, he would have thought that of the secrets, the magic would have been the one to truly catch Arthur’s interest.
But no. It’s the other secret that Arthur picks and plucks at.
Bookmarked by LBJ
12 Sep 2025
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“Merlin, what is in your hair?” Gaius asks - rather judgmentally, Merlin thinks. It’s not as though Gaius can turn into a bird, making his opinion irrelevant. Everyone’s opinions shall now be irrelevant to him unless they can turn into birds, he decides. He puts a hand to his hair and feels a leaf.
(So this is a very canon-inaccurate sort of re-telling, with some big divergences, minus a dragon or prophecy or two)
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 145,262
- Chapters:
- 32/32
- Comments:
- 1,584
- Kudos:
- 4,518
- Bookmarks:
- 1,351
- Hits:
- 120,366
Bookmarked by LBJ
12 Sep 2025
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“You’re the Prince?” Merlin says, eyeing him. He hesitates, then adds, defiant, “The Mad Prince of Camelot.”
Arthur doesn’t move. There’s quiet for a long time, then he says it. “I am.”
“You don’t seem mad,” he says.
The smile wells up from somewhere deep, and very sad. “Well, Merlin,” he says, “give me time.”Series
- Part 1 of Magical Bloody Sex Assassin
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 76,831
- Chapters:
- 28/28
- Collections:
- 2
- Comments:
- 1,190
- Kudos:
- 11,438
- Bookmarks:
- 3,331
- Hits:
- 316,663
Bookmarked by LBJ
01 Sep 2025
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Even were they not outnumbered - Arthur's experience is in managing skirmishes. In war, he has facilitated the strategies of more senior commanders, if one is being generous. He has not led campaigns.
The faces Merlin sees around him are appropriately grey. Or perhaps it is only that the fog is veiling them, steaming off the water to spread over the banks of the river and under the feet of the men.
A love story in twelve battles, or The Historia Brittonum, but with more sex.Bookmarked by LBJ
26 Aug 2025
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*Secrets* are a castle's currency.
Or, Merlin joins the Camelot sewing circle.
Bookmarked by LBJ
22 Aug 2025
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“See, Merlin?” Arthur says, holding up his empty hands. “Nothing to worry about.”
It’s never nothing, Merlin thinks very loudly, but does not say.
Bookmarked by LBJ
22 Aug 2025
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The next time Arthur doesn’t say thank you, Gwaine puts his hand on Merlin’s back, stroking down the long length of it, from the short curls of hair at the nape of his neck to the neat cinch of his waist.
“Thanks,” he praises, throwing a wink to an agape Arthur as he does. It’s wonderful.
So wonderful, in fact, that for the next fortnight, for every brusque word that spills from Arthur’s lips, Gwaine spills three sweet ones.
Bookmarked by LBJ
09 Aug 2025