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“I’m the king,” Arthur says grumpily, swallowing around the stone that has settled in his throat, “I can wear what I want.”
“What about what I want?”
“I’m the king,” Arthur repeats slowly, since Merlin is being particularly thick, “and so you can also wear what I want.”
Or, Arthur dresses Merlin, which goes about as well as you would expect.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 16,232
- Chapters:
- 2/2
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 420
- Kudos:
- 5,132
- Bookmarks:
- 1,295
- Hits:
- 49,163
Bookmarked by Calixtus
27 Jan 2026
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Summary
No one understands Arthur and Merlin's relationship, least of all Arthur and Merlin. Limping home after Camlann they have time to figure it out.Now if only people would stop trying to give Merlin a promotion.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 47,823
- Chapters:
- 16/16
- Comments:
- 1,144
- Kudos:
- 4,516
- Bookmarks:
- 1,295
- Hits:
- 64,862
Bookmarked by Calixtus
07 Jan 2026
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Summary
“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:
- 1,606
- Kudos:
- 4,802
- Bookmarks:
- 1,466
- Hits:
- 132,412
Bookmarked by Calixtus
15 Dec 2025
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the pale morning sings of forgotten things by habituallywastingtime
Fandoms: Merlin (TV)
19 Dec 2025
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Summary
It’s a daily battle, reigning in his magic.
But there is something wrong with his magic and there is something wrong with Merlin.
As Merlin finishes working the buckles on Arthur’s armor, he feels a creaking in his bones.
The moment Balinor’s pulse finally stilled on the forest floor, Merlin’s magic changed. No longer is his magic a flower waiting to bloom in his cupped palms, it’s an animal backed into a corner waiting to sink its teeth into the ones who put it there. The mutt at his feet has lost its patience.
There’s a flint being struck under his skin, generating sparks, seeking dry brush to ignite and swallow in flame.
Merlin is terrified.
He isn’t a seer, never mastered the art of scrying, but even he knows something is looming over the horizon.
or Merlin’s Dragonlord powers let him shift into a dragon, things go to shit, and then there are more dragons.
Series
- Part 1 of the dragon's roar
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 124,411
- Chapters:
- 16/16
- Comments:
- 278
- Kudos:
- 598
- Bookmarks:
- 180
- Hits:
- 18,126
Bookmarked by Calixtus
28 Nov 2025
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Arthur could see his father glaring down - face red and eyes narrowed as he looked at Merlin with clear distaste.
"Once this over, sorcerer...I’ll burn you."
"You’ve already tried that," Merlin’s voice answered and Arthur had to bite his fist to keep from making any noise. “You need to accept you can’t kill me… Hand me that blanket, please.”
“I’m sure there must be some method… Beheading?”
“No, we tried that.”
“Hanging?”
“I just sort of... Swung there, remember?”
There was another pause.
“I should have made you keep that dragon below the castle so I could feed you to it.”
“Kilgharrah? He won’t eat me, but if you want to torture me than making me listen to his nonsense for an hour might do it.” Merlin said and there was a soft sigh from the other end of the room. “I’m glad you agreed to help me though. Usually I have to do the grunt work of saving Arthur myself.”
“I can’t wait to kill you.”
Or
Uther finds out about Merlin’s magic, but can’t seem to kill him. Merlin is just trying to protect Arthur. They become a begrudgingly effective duo. Arthur doesn't understand why they think he isn't noticing this.
Series
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 18,728
- Chapters:
- 2/2
- Comments:
- 700
- Kudos:
- 23,908
- Bookmarks:
- 5,076
- Hits:
- 217,819
Bookmarked by Calixtus
09 Nov 2025
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"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.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 47,652
- Chapters:
- 16/16
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 79
- Kudos:
- 737
- Bookmarks:
- 200
- Hits:
- 10,884
Bookmarked by Calixtus
07 Oct 2025
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Summary
What Arthur knows: Merlin, his clumsy and foolish servant, is actually quite smart. He’s also loyal, and brave, and in many ways the reason Arthur has so many good people in his life.
The goal: Make Merlin realize how important he is to Arthur, no matter how stubborn he's clearly chosing to be about it.
What Arthur does not know, yet: Merlin has magic. Also they're very slightly a little bit in love.
It's going to take them a while to figure it all out. Meanwhile the knights have known for ages, Gwen figures it out pretty quick, and pretty much all of Camelot has also known ever since that weird peasant stumbled through the gates and challenged the Prince all those years ago.
OR
"How to win over your manservant one argument at a time and convince him it was all his idea."
- a1madora on chapter 3- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 35,056
- Chapters:
- 5/5
- Collections:
- 4
- Comments:
- 297
- Kudos:
- 3,765
- Bookmarks:
- 989
- Hits:
- 49,774
Bookmarked by Calixtus
02 Oct 2025
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Summary
“I’m leaving.” Merlin says, because this situation already cost him his Duolingo streak, and he’s too tired to deal with Arthur when the food Gaius is serving him looks like it belongs on a list of war crimes committed by the Canadian soldiers.
“Where to?” His mentor asks, and Merlin shrugs, before going to his room and packing his bag.
“India. Gaius, I have decided I don’t give a damn, especially not when having to eat that bland food. I’ll be back in three months, make sure Arthur doesn’t die when I’m out.”
“Merlin!” And maybe, if he was younger and didn’t travel back to the past last month, he would’ve actually cared about the ‘eyebrow of disapproval’.
Or, a 1500yo Merlin gets zapped to the past during his vacation to Cuba. You’d think he’s happy to see Arthur again. He’s not.
(Qpr Merthur people, read the tags)
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 182,178
- Chapters:
- 24/24
- Comments:
- 1,083
- Kudos:
- 4,220
- Bookmarks:
- 1,331
- Hits:
- 112,442
Bookmarked by Calixtus
25 Aug 2025
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Summary
With his father unfit to rule and Camelot decimated, Arthur must assume the role of King. But the truths he discovers shake the foundation of all he holds dear.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 12,132
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Comments:
- 118
- Kudos:
- 6,339
- Bookmarks:
- 1,431
- Hits:
- 68,269
Bookmarked by Calixtus
14 Aug 2025
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Summary
Next time Merlin said he needed to be elsewhere, Arthur vowed to listen to him. If he had, maybe there wouldn't be a foreign king with a mutilated hand in the council chambers.
Series
- Part 2 of The Life and Times of Merlin Emrys
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 4,390
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 9
- Comments:
- 247
- Kudos:
- 6,927
- Bookmarks:
- 856
- Hits:
- 43,746
Bookmarked by Calixtus
08 Aug 2025
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Summary
The day Arthur gets kidnapped is the luckiest day of his life - he just doesn't know it yet.
An AU in which Balinor finds a lost child and takes him home, and Arthur gets to do some growing up without Uther.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 216,894
- Chapters:
- 39/42
- Comments:
- 2,085
- Kudos:
- 2,432
- Bookmarks:
- 674
- Hits:
- 78,998
Bookmarked by Calixtus
01 Aug 2025
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Summary
“You-” Ygraine said, stepping up to point a finger in Uther’s face. “You are a liar and a murderer. The fact you think someone as sweet and caring as Vivienne is destined to marry you is a tragedy in itself, but if you expect me to hand over my brother’s rightful claim to Camelot’s throne-”
“My claim to Camelot’s throne,” Uther threw back, face growing more red as Arthur looked between his parents in utter bewilderment. Merlin didn’t blame him. He had envisioned Uther and Ygraine’s love story to be more… well, less based in war and battles.
Ygraine’s eyes narrowed as she grabbed a goblet of wine and threw it in Uther’s face. A few of the guards shifted, but Uther only raised a hand to pause them, spitting out the wine with furious eyes.
“You,” Ygraine said coldly. “Are unworthy to sit upon a stool, let alone a throne.”
From a few feet away, Balinor scoffed as he sipped from his own goblet. “I kind of like having her as a hostage, Uther. She livens up the place.”
Or
In a desperate attempt to save Arthur at Camlann, Merlin tries to reverse time. It works perhaps a tad too well.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 116,977
- Chapters:
- 20/20
- Comments:
- 1,295
- Kudos:
- 4,592
- Bookmarks:
- 1,259
- Hits:
- 80,420
Bookmarked by Calixtus
24 Jul 2025
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Summary
"I saw mage Merlin, whose vast wit
And hundred winters are but as the hands
Of loyal vassals toiling for their liege."Alfred, Lord Tennyson
"Idylls of the King"- Words:
- 1,005,752
- Works:
- 5
- Bookmarks:
- 515
Bookmarked by Calixtus
24 Mar 2025
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Merlin ducks forward, grabbing Arthur’s hands. His are cool and soft, and Arthur is surprised by the feel of Merlin’s palm over his own rough knuckles. “Arthur,” he says pointedly. “I know my duty, and I don’t need you to remind me. Are you always like this?”
“Like what?”
“Annoying,” Merlin says, and leans back, appraising him more thoughtfully than his tone suggests. “So concerned with your honour.”
Or: Arthur must marry Lord Emrys for a year to create an alliance between their people. Except it isn't Emrys who comes to marry him, but the young druid Merlin, who soon turns all of Camelot upside down—and Arthur with it.
Series
- Part 2 of Liz's Merlin Bingo 2023
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 16,400
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 140
- Kudos:
- 2,979
- Bookmarks:
- 660
- Hits:
- 22,062
Bookmarked by Calixtus
16 Mar 2025
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Summary
After encountering a powerful witch, Arthur is turned into a dragon – only to be rescued by the last of the dragonlords. Who happens to be his manservant. Which is only the first of the unfathomable and upsetting facts that Arthur is learning about Merlin’s life, about dragons, and about his own heart.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 16,218
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Comments:
- 180
- Kudos:
- 3,811
- Bookmarks:
- 876
- Hits:
- 21,158
Bookmarked by Calixtus
27 Feb 2025
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- Words:
- 55,945
- Works:
- 2
- Bookmarks:
- 473
Bookmarked by Calixtus
22 Feb 2025
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Summary
Merlin takes a curse meant for Arthur, with the effect that he loses all memory of the prince and their adventures together. There seems to be no cure, and Arthur must try to come to terms with the loss.
Meanwhile, Merlin is annoyed that everyone keeps giving him such pitying looks: Arthur’s a prat and he can’t imagine ever being friends with him. And if only the dragon would quit knocking on about destiny…- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 11,193
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 76
- Kudos:
- 869
- Bookmarks:
- 157
- Hits:
- 5,851
Bookmarked by Calixtus
17 Feb 2025
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Summary
“You know how I was born using magic, right?” Arthur starts, going directly to the core, he ignores Merlin’s sharp breath and powers on, “There must have been some magic mixup, because … sometimes I’m magically sent to the past.”
or
The one where every time Arthur dies magic sends him back in time.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 9,039
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 52
- Kudos:
- 510
- Bookmarks:
- 125
- Hits:
- 2,896
Bookmarked by Calixtus
31 Jan 2025
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Summary
“You’re horrible,” Morgana hisses at him quietly enough than only he and Gwen will hear, tugging at his cloak until it sits better across his shoulders. Her face never changes from her pleasant smile. Terrifying. “Straighten your back, you will not slouch! Gwen, tell him not to slouch!”
“Your Majesty,” Gwen says sweetly, “please do not slouch.”
“I highly doubt he’ll be looking at me,” Arthur drawls, “when he’s come all this way to marry you.”
(Arthur loses his father's trust, but he gains something better.)
Series
- Part 2 of Dyed in the Wool
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 18,102
- Chapters:
- 3/3
- Comments:
- 253
- Kudos:
- 2,691
- Bookmarks:
- 322
- Hits:
- 22,416
Bookmarked by Calixtus
28 Dec 2024
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Summary
Under the guidance of the mysterious Lady of the Lake, Arthur spends the many years between his death and his revival in the realm of Avalon. There’s plenty of deals to make with the Sidhe, prophecies about magic to unravel, and mostly—there’s Merlin to watch, on the other side, always waiting for Arthur.
A tale spanning centuries, as Arthur finally returns magic to Albion.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 57,808
- Chapters:
- 12/12
- Comments:
- 222
- Kudos:
- 1,004
- Bookmarks:
- 292
- Hits:
- 14,751
Bookmarked by Calixtus
30 Jul 2024