When Merlin moves to Camelot with his mum, he does his best to blend in and make friends. He doesnāt expect to fall in with his mumās choreography clients, the figure skating pairs team of Arthur and Morgana. Theyāre preparing for the debut on the senior level, and Merlin keeps getting roped into filming them practising a new lift. Arthur keeps offering to film Merlin skating, too, but Merlin absolutely cannot let that happen if he doesnāt want to reveal his secret. Besides, shouldnāt Arthur be focused on his pairs partner?
Title: you fill up my senses like a night in a forest
By: SlantedKnitting
Gift for: Violetcarson
Rating: Teen and Up
Word Count: 8,921 words
Warning(s): canon-typical violence & minor injuries, kidnapping
Summary: When the Knights of the Round Table go missing, one by one, Merlin and Arthur are determined to find them. Merlinās magic, on the other hand, is determined to pull him into nature.
AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/64373557
Follow me. by SlantedKnitting
Ship: Gwen/Morgana
Main Characters: Gwen, Morgana
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No archive warnings apply
Major tags: Victorian AU, Reunions, Infidelity, Language of the Fan, Bittersweet Ending
Summary: Five years after Gwenās sudden disappearance, she turns up at Morganaās husbandās evening party. Morganaās feelings for her former maid come rushing back, but she knows they can never truly be together.
I am participating in the Fandom Trumps Hate auction once more! The FTH auction is an opportunity for fans to donate to some pre-chosen charities, and then to receive a custom fanwork in return as thanks! You can bid on specific creators - including me! - to get your thank-you fanwork from!
I have two (2) offerings up this year: HERE (minimum of a 5k fic) and HERE (minimum of a 10k fic)!
I primarily write Merlin/Arthur, but I also love Gwen/Morgana and am open to other pairings, either as the endgame/OTP pairing or any side pairings, previous pairings, etc. Totally open to writing rare pairs as well as any of the heavy hitters.
Check out the offering links for full details and to bid if you're interested in working with me on a custom fanfic for you!
If you want to see what kinds of stuff I write before committing to a bid, you can check out my Merlin works on AO3 HERE!
til the landslide brought me down by SlantedKnitting
Ship: Merlin/Percival
Main Characters: Merlin, Percival
Rating: General audiences
Warnings: No archive warnings apply
Major tags: Percival POV, Magic Reveal, Angst with a Happy Ending
Summary: Trapped by a cave-in, the Knights of the Round Table are in a dire situation. They have little water, less food, and no hope. Magic is their only way out.
The 2025 Fandom Trumps Hate sign-ups are OPEN for digital creations (fic, art, podfic, fanvid, etc), fan labor (such as betaing) and physical creations (anything you can make) in the crafts bazaar!
Sign up HERE (digital & fan labor) or HERE (physical). Sign ups will close on Sunday, February 2nd!
If you're not familiar with FTH, it's an opportunity for folks to make donations to charity, and then to receive a custom fanwork or fan labor as a thanks for the donation. You can participate with literally any and all fandoms, including, of course, our own favorite Merlin!
After sign-ups close, there will be a browsing period and then a bidding period. Anyone interested in donating and receiving a fanwork as thanks will get to bid on specific creator's offerings. You'll bid the amount you're willing & able to donate. Once bidding is over, the highest bid wins and, after providing proof of the donation, they will be put in touch with the creator. Fanworks will be due by the end of 2025.
I've participated in 2 previous years (as SlantedKnitting) and will be offering up my services again this year! I'm also acting as a fandom ambassador, specifically for Merlin, so please reach out if you have ANY questions or want some encouragement to sign up!
Title: Learning to Stay
AO3 username: SlantedKnitting | @slantedknitting
Rating: Mature
Warnings: none
Medium/Word Count: 5.5k
Pairing/main characters: Elyan/Gwaine
Up to 10 tags: canon era, Elyan has magic
Summary:
Elyan has always had a hard time staying in one place. Thoughts of leaving always tempt him, even when heās settled in Camelot as a knight. It doesnāt help that he always has to hide who he is and hide his magic. Then he and Gwaine grow close, too close, and maybe Elyan has a reason to stay put this time. Until Gwaine discovers his secret, and all Elyan wants to do is leave. Again.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
like diamonds we are cut with our own dust by SlantedKnitting
Ship: Elyan/Merlin
Main Characters: Merlin, Elyan
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No archive warnings apply
Major tags: canon era, Merlinās magic is horny
Summary: Merlinās magic has always been sensitive to iron. When he moves to Camelot, iron becomes harder to avoid. Especially when the local blacksmith is the most beautiful man Merlin has ever seen.
Title: like diamonds we are cut with our own dust
AO3 username: SlantedKnitting | @slantedknitting
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: none
Medium/Word Count: 5,068 words
Pairing/main characters: Merlin/Elyan
Up to 10 tags: canon era, Merlinās magic is horny
Summary:
Merlinās magic has always been sensitive to iron. When he moves to Camelot, iron becomes harder to avoid. Especially when the local blacksmith is the most beautiful man Merlin has ever seen.
Summary: Freya gets promoted to Soloist at the Avalon Ballet Company, and it's everything she's ever dreamed of.
The only problem is that Morgana, one of the company's teachers, won't stop watching Freya during class. Morgana is beautiful and all the attention makes Freya warm--too warm. Warm enough that her curse begins to activate, but she can't have that happen, not at work and especially not in front of Morgana.
When Freya gets cast in a ballet that Morgana is staging, the watching and the warmth only get worse. How can she dance this part if she's at risk of transforming right in front of everyone? Freya has always assumed the curse is permanent, but maybe there's some way to undo it and save her career.
Pairings: Freya/Morgana, implied Merlin/Arthur
Content Tags: Modern AU with Magic, Ballet AU, half-dragon Freya, animal/monster transformation, curses, angst
When Arthur buys a new flat, it should mean that everything in his life is slotting into place. Instead, he canāt stop going on bad dates, his sister wonāt get off his back about mental health, and the cupboard doors keep mysteriously falling open.
When the ghost who haunts the flat reveals himself, Arthur decides to help him finish whatever unresolved business he has thatās keeping him from properly passing on. Once Arthur gets rid of this ghostly Merlin figure, he can go back to getting his own life in order.
Of course Merlin has a poor memory, and as Arthur tries to dig into Merlinās life, he gets used to having a ghost around his home.
Summary: Merlin, a fierce dragon, is captured and held prisoner in a deep cave under a castle. He believes he will perish, miserable and aloneā¦ until a second prisoner arrives. The man is small and annoying at first, but gradually they get to know each other, and soon enough the cave is almost tolerable.
Then the man escapes, and Merlin realises his whole world has been changed.
Why MyKingdomComeUndone recommends this ACBB: I mean, need I say more than "dragon!merlin"? But seriously, I love the unusual way our two boys meet, and then meet again under very different circumstances. The fairy tale elements go so well with the story, and I adore the evolution of Merlin and Arthur's relationship. And the art is so vibrant and beautiful!!!
Thereās still time for you to rec an ACBB fic yourself that you feel deserves some love. So feel free to send us your rec through ourĀ 10th Anniversary Rec form!
Title: Fate Has Made You So
Writer: Slanted_Knitting
Artist: LFB72
Ship(s): Merlin/Arthur
Rating: Explicit
Word Count: 29,351
Summary: Itās 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 heās found that match in Arthur. Arthur agrees to go out with her to get ahead at the firm, but the person heās really interested in is her friend Merlin, and it turns out Elena has her own purposes for being with Arthur.
Why Wasp recommends this ACBB: Slanted Knitting is an author who never lets you down ā Iāve never read one of their fics that I havenāt loved! This one is a beautifully rendered 1950s AU with all the restrictions of the era that entails. Itās basically just a really good fic.Ā
Thereās still time for you to rec an ACBB fic yourself that you feel deserves some more love? So feel free to send us your rec through ourĀ 10th Anniversary Rec form!
ACBB 10th Anniversary Recs:Ā Let Life Be Like Music
Today's ACBB has been recced by thesongistheriver and ravenwilds:
Title: Let Life Be Like Music
Writer: Slanted Knitting
Artist: feuxx
Ship(s): Merlin/Arthur Pendragon, Mithian/Arthur Pendragon
Rating: Explicit
Word Count: 29,262
Summary: Arthur works in finance, but his real passion is music. He plays his piano every chance he gets, pretending that he is on stage in front of an audience and living his best life as a successful musician, even though that can never become a reality.
Shortly after moving into a new flat, he receives a note under his door requesting he play a specific piece of music. When he complies, Arthur is shocked to hear his neighbour joining in on the music with their violin. Soon enough, Arthur and his mysterious neighbour are routinely playing their strange duets through the walls of their flats.
Why thesongistheriver recommends this ACBB: Is there a musician!Merlin fic I haven't read? I don't think so ... but this is the one that got me hooked. I also love an insecure/browbeaten Arthur, because that is so true to his character in canon, where he's all bluster and bravado to hide it. The depictions of anxiety and finding solace in music--and in another person--are heartbreaking and achingly beautiful. An absolute must-read.
Why ravenwilds recommends this ACBB: Honestly I could recommend all of Sknits Big Bang fics - in this one the music is so vividly written and the characters are complex and believable. It is one that felt fresh and different but still very much 'them'. feuxx's monochrome art is stunning and catches the mood of the fic perfectly.
Thereās still time for you to rec an ACBB fic yourself that you feel deserves some more love? So feel free to send us your rec through ourĀ 10th Anniversary Rec form!
Had a very productive 4-day long weekend! Got about halfway through my @ficreadingchallenge bingo card. 13 fics below, mostly Merlin & Merthur fics.
new (to me) pairing: people weād be together by lyryk
BBC Merlin | featuring Freya/Gwaine | Mature
Summary: names of poisons, names of handguns, names of places weāve been together, names of people weād be together
lyric title: Feel It In My Fists by thesongistheriver
BBC Merlin | Merlin/Arthur | Explicit
Summary: Merlin felt strong arms lift him. He wanted to protest, to stay and hear what else Gaius might say, but the knights were already carrying him off the training field, and he sank into oblivion. ~*~ An assassination attempt on Arthur leaves Merlin seriously injured. In fact, he shouldn't survive ... but he does. And that brings a lot of other questions to the fore.
BFFs: The Best Thing by lancelitttle
BBC Merlin | featuring Merlin & Gwen | General Audiences
Summary: The castle servants have a secret that they won't share with Merlin.
fix-it fic: And Tomorrow by pumpkabitch
BBC Merlin | Merlin/Arthur | Teen +
Summary: After he dies, Arthur wakes up ten years in the past
future AU: Telekinesis by cassan_astaroth
BBC Merlin | Merlin & Arthur | General Audiences
Summary: Arthur wasnāt sure what he had expected when he finally met Merlin again, but watching him destroy a whole solar system of planets in a bout of anger certainly wasnāt it. -- In which Arthur gets reincarnated only a few moments before Earth is swallowed by the sun, and has to adjust to a new life in space. He is sure everyone he knew is gone, but are they really?
rarepair: In the Cave by paintedpigeon
BBC Merlin | Merlin/Leon | General Audiences
Summary: Merlin and Leon cuddle for warmth in a cave full of Uther's knights, and Leon has something he wants to share.
inspired by another fanwork: I will show you how to dance by (currently anon)
BBC Merlin | Merlin/Lance | Teen +
Summary: For a few weeks now, Merlin had been attracted to a human home. At first, he had strayed in this direction accidentally, following the wind and sounds, only coming close to the property. Then, he had realised to whom this house had once belonged to.
oldest fic in the fandom: Compass by missdeviant
Raven Cycle | Gansey/Blue, Adam/Ronan | Mature
Summary: It was one thing to see the women of 300 Fox Way bare-breasted in a pagan rite. It was something else entirely to do the same with boys.
authorās oldest fic: Secret Release by fifty_fifty
BBC Merlin | solo Merlin | Mature
Summary: He didnāt often do this, in truth he tried to do it as little as possible. But sometimes, sometimesā¦ he just had to. He was only human after all. A sheepish smile crossed his lips as he remembered with embarrassment the first and only time heād attempted it at home in Ealdor. His mother was out at a neighbourās for the evening. He shook his head, no never inside again. The broken crockery, the carpet of grass, the newly grown tree in the house... Only outside from now on, as far as away as possible from others and only when he was desperate and he had to admit after a day like today, he was desperate.
time travel: Finding the Right Time by Diamond_Raven
BBC Merlin | Merlin/Arthur | Mature
Summary: Following a hostile takeover of the time travel agency, Agent Arthur Pendragon is left stranded with Agent Merlin Emrys in the distant past. While waiting to be rescued, he and Merlin have to figure out how to live as flatmates in the 20th century and cope with the thought that theyāll never get home again, all while figuring out what the word home really means.
newest fic in the tag of your choice: Day 2 ā Heat by EmptyBucketOfFucks
BBC Merlin | Merlin/Arthur | Mature (tag of my choice was āwet dreamā)
Summary: Summer is approaching, and the heat gets to everyone.
small fandom (<1k fics): Lazy Mornings by Geekygirl24
Shades of Magic | Rhy/Alucard | Teen +
Summary: Rhy sighed fondly, shaking off the lethargy, reaching over to brush a thumb across his loverās cheek, easing him awake.
unhappy/bittersweet ending: Fly away, my Merlin by raimosorsa
BBC Merlin | Merlin/Arthur | Not Rated
Summary: "Fly away, but remember to always come back home."
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Friends Forever by SlantedKnitting
Ship: Gwen/Morgana
Main Characters: Gwen, Morgana
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No archive warnings apply
Major tags: Soulbonds, Magic, Modern AU
Summary: At the age of 10, Morgana casts a spell over her and Gwen, ensuring theyāll be friends forever. 15 years later, she realises the spell was about so much more than friendship.
slantedknitting fic only blog @slantedknitting-fics - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
