Frequently asked questions
Are there any minimum requirements?
What are the themes and how do I know if what I created fits the theme?
Any restrictions on content?
I’m a fanfiction writer, can I add my work to a collection?
I’m a fanfiction writer, does my WIP count as a contribution?
Do I have to post something for each theme?
Can I post more than one contribution for a theme?
Can I cross-post works for other events?
Where can I find other people’s contributions?
What if I don’t want you to reblog my posts?
Why do these faqs seem familiar?
What’s with the floral icon?
I still have a question that hasn’t been answered, what should I do?
Anyone and everyone! If this is your first time hearing about the chaos that is Merwaincelot and you want to explore it further then welcome! If you’ve known about this ship for a while because you too have been dragged into rarepair hell then enjoy! If you’ve only seen one episode of the show and aren’t really sure who Gwaine or Lancelot is (or perhaps even both) but you are suddenly intrigued, then step right in! No sign-ups are required and all content creators are welcome: be it writers, artists, giffers, video editors, poets, playlist creators, meta makers or anybody else with an idea haunting them.
Are there any minimum requirements?
There are no minimum (or maximum) requirements for this event: you are equally welcome to bash out something that could rival War and Peace, or to write a fic in five words, the choice is yours! The same goes for visual content creators, too.
However, please do not share work from someone else without their permission and do tag any NSFW content, as well as anything else that you see fit to tag as warnings.
What are the themes and how do I know if what I created fits that theme?
The themes for the fest are as follows:
DAY 1 (15 Sep): Secret Relationship/Hands/Green
DAY 2 (16 Sep): Prophecy/Sword/Gold
DAY 3 (17 Sep): Rescue Mission Gone Wrong/Window/Yellow
DAY 4 (18 Sep): Trapped/Greyhound/Black
DAY 5 (19 Sep): Awkward Injury/Shield/Red
DAY 6 (20 Sep): Knight Errant/Ship/Purple
DAY 7 (21 Sep): Mistaken Identity/Lake/Blue
Basically, as long as your content falls into these categories and you’ve got Merlin, Gwaine, and Lancelot featured then you’re probably good to go! Moreover, these prompts are not restricted to Merwaincelot exclusively; if you think they are just the tip of the polycule iceberg, we will gladly accept other poly ships featuring them (so if you are seized by the urge to increase the number of Percelyaincelotlin works on AO3, go right ahead). We’ve tried to make them relatively broad so you can interpret them however you wish to, but if you are still unsure then feel free to shoot an ask.
The prompts post can be found here for further information.
Any restrictions on content?
We will not be reblogging any content that promotes discrimination, homophobia, incest or racism. Additionally, we ask that you do use the tag #nsfw if posting e- and m-rated fics that you feel fall under that tag. Tags for potential trigger warnings and other elements of the work, such as graphic violence, are to be used at the creator’s discretion. We will retain any warning tags in our reblogs so if there’s anything you don’t want to see when browsing our blog, please filter out certain tags.
You can see the post on tagging guidelines here.
Of course! Just don’t forget to tag the other creators when you post the work and make sure you’ve received their consent to do so.
I’m a fanfiction writer, can I add my work to a collection?
You absolutely can! There is an AO3 collection for Merwaincelot Week here and it is open and unmoderated, though we do ask that you wait until the event starts before adding your works. The collection, however, will remain open so you can continue adding works even after the week is over if you are still inspired!
This is a event primarily held on Tumblr, though, so if you do want people to see your wonderful work (including us) then tag your post with #merwaincelotweek2025 (you can tag our blog in the post as well, just in case) so we are able to reblog it!
I’m a fanfiction writer, does my published WIP count as a contribution?
If it is an already published WIP, it does not, unfortunately; we’re after content that has been created specifically for the event. However, if you added a new chapter to your WIP that overlapped with one of the themes and focused on Merwaincelot then you can submit that chapter to the event for that day’s prompt. And you are more than welcome to write something belonging in the same universe as one of your WIPs for this event, as long as it also focuses on Merwaincelot, fits with the prompt, and can also work as a stand-alone. If you have an unpublished Merwaincelot WIP that does fit with one of the themes and you have been inspired by this year's fest to finish it, then feel free to do so and post it to our collection!
Do I have to post something for each theme?
You are under no obligation to post something for each theme and, with so many different fests going on this summer, we understand that a lot of people might not have the time to create something for each day. And you shouldn’t feel under pressure to spread yourself too thinly in order to produce something for each theme, even if Merwaincelot is your ride-or-die ship.
Whilst the event itself is only for a week, some of the mods will still be keeping an eye on the tag until 11:59pm (BST) on Wednesday 15 October and can reblog later entries until then, so if you wanted to post something but were unable to do so in the period from 15 to 22 September, we will still be accepting submissions (though it might take a bit longer to see them). And, as mentioned above, the AO3 collection will remain open.
If you do post something for each theme, though, then by all means make a master post with links to all of your submissions and we will happily reblog that as well! Again, feel free to tag us in the post and tag the post with #merwaincelotweek2025completionist
Can I post more than one contribution for a theme?
You can make us jump for joy in the process! Yes, if you have multiple works up your sleeve, you don’t have to decide on just one! You can post as many contributions as you like and earn a metaphorical medal for beefing up the Merwaincelot content out there!
Can I cross-post works for other events?
As long as the other events are fine with cross-posting and the work fits the theme you’re posting it for, then cross-posting is more than welcome!
Where can I find other people’s contributions?
You can find all contributions tagged with #merwaincelotweek2025 and posted between 15 September and 15 October on our blog. If you’ve posted something and we still haven’t reblogged after a day or so then drop us an ask because it’s probably just slipped through the net and we haven’t realised. However, reblogs after 22 September might be a little slow, so if you are submitting works a little later then please keep that in mind.
What if I don’t want you to reblog my posts?
If you don’t want us to reblog your posts, then you don’t need to tag us in them or use the tag #merwaincelotweek2025. We would, of course, love to see your work and share it but if that’s not for you, then that’s completely fine. You can still add work to the AO3 collection, as we’ll only reblog Tumblr posts, rather than creating our own posts with links to AO3.
Why do these faqs seem familiar?
Probably because they have been adapted from the clear ones written by @shut-up-merlin for @camelove
I still have a question that hasn’t been answered, what should I do?
Send us an ask! We don’t bite and anon is turned on if you’d rather ask that way!
