#modern merwaincelot

[lit-in-thy-heart]

catch me thinking about the size of merlin's wardrobe after 1500 years and the sheer delight on his face as lance and gwaine claim clothes that haven't been touched for centuries and manage to forge the pieces of merlin crafted in loneliness into a whole new shape

[purplesuitsyou]

haven’t gotten anywhere near finishing mergana besties fic (i hate dialogue i can’t get it right or natural ://) and already i’m planning modern with magic merwaincelot ft former figure skater merlin

[merwaincelotweek]

[ID: a gif of Camelot castle and the Lower Town, edited with a blue and orange sky and purple Lower Town. Three circles run vertically down the gif with smaller black and white gifs. The first circle is Lancelot from 4x01, smiling at Merlin in the firelight. The second is Merlin laughing as he stirs in a cell from 5x07. The third is Gwaine grinning as he greets Merlin in 3x04. The text on the gif reads 'Merwaincelot Week 2022'. End ID.]

Mark up your calendars: Merwaincelot Week is returning from August 29 to September 4, 2022!

The prompts for this year are as follows:

DAY 1: MAGIC

DAY 2: CHANGE

DAY 3: FATE

DAY 4: WHUMP

DAY 5: BELONGING

DAY 6: PERIOD AU (to clarify, any period - including modern - that isn't the canon era)

DAY 7: FREE DAY

You're free to interpret them however you wish and if you have any questions or concerns then feel free to send us an ask (anon is on). Happy creating!

(For further info, check out our FAQs and tagging guidelines.)

[mumble-muse]

modern/fresh-out-the-lake!merwaincelot my beloveds 

inspired by @donttouchtheneednoggle‘s post 💜 | merlin fashion series

[donttouchtheneednoggle]

💖, 😈, 📊, 💻, 💭 for the fanfic asks? <33

💖 What do you like most about your own writing?

it's just a way for me to ramble project and scream to my heart's content :') and writing aspec trans and adhd perspectives especially and ofc making rarepair content for anyone who may enjoy it :'))

😈 Is there anything you enjoy doing that you think your readers hate?

not hate but i know a lot of people would rather i just did stuff like ADHD Gwaine (it's not abandoned i promise most of the next one is done!) and more merwaine and mercelot but i usually much more enjoy the rarer pairs so i'm mostly gonna do that even though it gets way less notes :')

📊 Current number of WIPs

...86

💻 Do you do research for your fics? What’s the deepest dive you’ve done?

ndsjkfkgkh i do like. the barest minimum of research 🙈 i do more if i'm writing any kind of minority i am not a part of but in terms of historical accuracy etc i just wing it most of the time 🤣

💭 What is a headcanon you have about your own work?

like a specific work? hmmm in the six days au percival has got it on with two thirds of merwaincelot at various points back in the day, most of my early perelyaine fics where elyaine are more qpr can be read as in the same series which is not really a happy thing, and merlin diiid kiinda actually use necromancy to get them back in modern polycule chaos bc he got tired of waiting 😳😬 read the shirt people!🤪

thanks for the ask! 💕

send me fic asks!

[lit-in-thy-heart]

gwaine: *walks through what seemed like a shallow puddle, only for water to soak his foot and ankle*

gwaine: f u c k

lancelot, voice muffled from his hood: see, this is why you cuff your jeans

gwaine, raising his leg in the air: i did cuff my jeans, just because you decide to have your calves constantly out--

merlin, knowing full well that he could dry gwaine but electing to be a little shit instead: or you could do what i do and just wear shorts all the time

gwaine and lancelot: *turn towards merlin*

lancelot, voice still muffled: merlin, it's raining and it's windy and it feels like six degrees. it may be may but it's also fucking cold, how are you not freezing to death?

merlin: immortality babe ;)

gwaine: i can see you've got goosebumps

merlin:

gwaine:

lancelot:

merlin: shut up

[lit-in-thy-heart]

The first thing Gwaine registered when he walked through the door was the potent smell of something burning. Wrinkling his nose, he set down the bag of groceries on the kitchen counter and followed the scent into the living room, where both Lancelot and Merlin were occupying themselves.

'I'd ask if one of you decided to set fire to my socks but that is definitely a better smell than my socks,' he stated, not bothering with a conventional greeting.

Merlin, lying upside-down on an armchair with a book in their hands, looked up. 'What?'

'Something's burning.'

'Something has burnt,' Merlin clarified, eyes moving back towards the page.

Gwaine recaptured his attention with a quick kiss on the forehead. 'What is it?'

'It's not burnt,' mumbled Lancelot, mouth covered by the rim of a bowl.

'It so is,' Merlin argued. Shaking their head as Lancelot raised a spoonful of what looked like crumbled flapjack to his lips, they turned to Gwaine. 'You know the cookie dough Lance ordered the other day? He decided to heat the rest of it up but put it in the microwave for too long and the creme egg on top has become burnt caramel. It's inedible.'

Stifling the urge to make a remark about him not being the disaster for once, Gwaine frowned. 'So why is Lance eating it?'

'Because of his principles.'

'Listen,' Lancelot cut in, mouth full, 'I paid good money for this and I'll be damned if I waste three twenty-five or whatever on this half because it's slightly overbaked.'

Gwaine snorted. 'You sound like you're on Bake Off.'

'And you sound--Oh, shut up and leave me with my c--'

'Incinerated mess.'

'You're an incinerated mess, Merlin,' replied Lancelot, glaring at him as he shovelled yet more of the damaged dish into his mouth.

Quickly realising that the only way to settle the matter would be by exposing his own mouth to the remains of the cookie dough, Gwaine walked over to Lancelot and motioned for him to pass the spoon. Lancelot handed both spoon and bowl to him and Gwaine dug into it, raising it to his mouth. There was a decided crystallised sweetness to it, significantly harder than it should have been and, when he bit down on it, Merlin winced from across the room.

'That is a health and safety hazard,' they declared.

Chewing thoughtfully, Gwaine handed the bowl back to Lancelot. 'I've definitely had worse. It's not inedible though. Unpleasant, sure, but not inedible.'

Merlin stared at them, open-mouthed, for several seconds before shaking his head and returning to the book. 'You’re both absolutely absurd,' they muttered. 'Absolutely absurd.'

As Lancelot offered Gwaine the bowl again, Gwaine threw himself down on the sofa and picked up a particularly tough chunk with his hand, crunching happily on it. Definitely could be worse.

[lit-in-thy-heart]

Merlin: Gwaine, why are you grinning?

Lancelot, looking in the rear view mirror: because he's looking at you, of course

Gwaine: no, I'm grinning because the road sign frames, traffic cone bases and sandbags are all bright pink

Merlin:

Lancelot:

Gwaine:

Merlin: yeah okay that is pretty cool

Lancelot: hang on I'll pull over, I want to see

[lit-in-thy-heart]

merwaincelot and dumb things

merlin: pulls an umbrella cover over an umbrella and starts laughing

gwaine: gets temporarily trapped in the bathroom at half twelve at night and immediately begins to feel claustrophobic despite it being a reasonably sized bathroom

lancelot: grazes palm when trying to open a small bottle of apple juice

[lit-in-thy-heart]

Gwaine: I made the mistake of watching Midsomer Murders in an empty house and didn’t want to go upstairs to sleep

Gwaine: so I just sat downstairs for half an hour and listened to the dishwasher instead

Gwaine: until that stopped and made my ears weird because of the silence

Gwaine: don't ask me how I ever coped living on my own

Merlin, on the other end of the phone: Gwaine, Lance and I are only at the pub, we can come home if you want

Gwaine:

Merlin:

Gwaine: can you bring me back a packet of crisps?

[lit-in-thy-heart]

The pole had been an impulse buy on Gwaine’s part. Granted, he hadn’t quite comprehended its exact function, presuming it to be a lance with a stand, but he'd bought it anyway, intending to surprise Merlin and Lancelot with it when he returned home.

And surprise them he did.

Merlin was quietly reading, his legs thrown over one arm of the chair in the corner of the living room, drifting in and out of listening to the reassuring sounds of Lancelot making his signature cinnamon hot chocolate in the kitchen. The familiar racket of swearing and raspberries signalled that Gwaine had arrived home and was caught in his usual struggle with the lock on the front door and he kicked off his shoes before making a pointed entrance by very loudly setting down the immense case that the presumed lance was stowed away in. Merlin, having been absorbed entirely by their book, said nothing, only regarding their partner over the top of his book, glasses sliding down their nose, with the mild interest that always accompanied any of Gwaine’s actions.

As Gwaine assembled the platform, Merlin’s brow furrowed and they closed the book, thumb forming a makeshift bookmark, as he struggled to work out what exactly Gwaine had purchased. They could always ask, but when Gwaine became focused on something it was very hard to draw out a coherent response to anything outside of the task at hand. Then the pole was put together and the penny dropped.

Lancelot rushed in, armed with a whisk, as Merlin burst into a fit of hysterical laughter and fell off the armchair and loudly into the fireplace. Reassured that Merlin was not dying -- at least not imminently -- Lancelot’s gaze swivelled to the pole and to Gwaine, who was looking at the warlock in confusion.

'What in the name of sweet Albion is that?'

Gwaine was now frowning at him. 'It's a lance. With a fancy stand.'

'That's not a lance,' Merlin choked out, wiping tears from his eyes.

'Course it is, what else would it be? Long stick equals lance.' Gwaine winked at Lancelot, gaze dropping to the lower half of his body. 'As you should both also know.'

Lancelot threw the whisk at his head. 'That’s the third pun of that ilk you've made today, could you please come up with something a bit more original?'

'Gwaine, this is one of those rare occasions where something is exactly as it seems,' Merlin said, hauling themselves up and pushing his glasses on top of their head, retrieving the book from the floor. 'That is a pole. And it's meant to stay in the stand.'

'Why?'

'You dance on it.'

Now Lancelot was frowning. 'How? You might be able to walk through the air, Merlin, but not all of us are capable of such feats.'

'From what I've seen before, you just manipulate your body around it.' Walking up to Gwaine, Merlin took the pole from him and shoved it into the centre of the platform. 'It requires a lot of core strength, which I do not have.'

'I do,' Gwaine said, approaching it and wrapping his legs around it as his hands gripped it tightly. He looked over his shoulder. 'Like this?'

'Merlin said dance, not look like you're trying to escape a wolf,' Lancelot interjected, folding his arms. 'I think you need a bit more movement, my love.'

Gwaine scowled at him, letting go and falling to the floor with a decisive thud. 'You try then.'

Shaking his head, Lancelot put one hand on the pole and looked across at Merlin, who gave him an encouraging nod. Slowly, he wrapped a leg around the pole and tilted his body so it was upside down, trying to recall the various acrobatic tricks he and his sister had experimented with as children. Tensing his core muscles, Lancelot spread himself out along the pole and, ignoring the blood rushing to his cheeks, moved his eyes to his partners.

From what he could make out, they both appeared impressed. Gwaine had moved closer to Merlin and they were both regarding Lancelot with folded arms and expressions of professional judges. A smirk was playing on Gwaine's lips and Lancelot knew exactly what was coming next.

'You're finding this kind of hot, too, Merl, right?'

'Oh, yeah, absolutely,' grinned the warlock.

Lancelot sighed. 'There's no way I can convince you to return this, is there?'

The reply was simultaneous and shaped with identically wicked smirks. 'Absolutely not.'

[lit-in-thy-heart]

‘I did go before we left. But Merlin decided to stop at that Costa drive-thru and you know I’m a slut for their gingerbread lattes.’

[lit-in-thy-heart]

It was a sunny day and Lancelot was fighting the urge to hurl himself into the lake.

A walk to the nearby park, that was meant to have lasted no longer than twenty minutes, had quickly transformed into a completely unnecessary rescue mission and Lancelot was watching with growing despair as Gwaine waded into the water. Despite being told that the ducklings would be able to get up onto the grass by themselves, Gwaine had complained about the bad parenting from the two ducks serenely looking on as their offspring drifted aimlessly along an invisible path and had promptly decided to intervene himself. Merlin had gone to get coffee, so was no help whatsoever, and Gwaine was attracting stares that were not the usual stunned and admiring ones always shot his way.

Struggling in silence for several moments more, Lancelot took a breath and, casting a glance towards the coats they'd left strewn across the bench, advanced towards Gwaine. When Lancelot approached, Gwaine turned around, his hair obscuring one eye but not quite concealing his grin. In his palms was a duckling and Lancelot felt his internal tension melting away at the beauty of the image before him, fingers itching for something to sketch with. Instead, he fumbled with his phone and captured Gwaine with his camera just as a flower of blossom stumbled down from an overhead branch and dusted Gwaine's hair. It adorned his head like a statue of a deity from antiquity and Lancelot lowered his phone, soft smile flickering on the corners of his mouth.

The duckling had started to make noises and Gwaine tore his eyes away from Lancelot to address the small creature, bringing his hands closer to his face. 'What is it that you want, buddy? Because if it's love that you're after, I can give you endless supplies. I'm sure Lance and Merl won't mind me drawing some stores from theirs because you are absolutely adorable.'

'They probably want to be put down, Gwaine,' Merlin chipped in, picking his way through the grass with his eyes fixed on three levitating cups. 'Poor things haven't learnt how to fly yet; this is probably the most terrifying experience that they've had.'

Taking the closest coffee cup to him, Lancelot removed the lid, took a sniff, and hastily put it back on again. 'I believe that's yours, Merlin,' he said, holding it out to them.

Merlin, dropping the spell and catching the other two cups in their hands, delicately frowned as he snatched a sample of the scents issuing from the slots in the remaining cups. Then, deciphering the caffeinated code, they passed one drink to Lancelot and accepted the one that Lancelot had been so offended by. 'What is Gwaine doing?' asked Merlin lowly, taking a sip of his black coffee.

'Rescue mission. Ducklings couldn't get up onto the bank and Gwaine thought they were going to drown.' Lancelot ignored the burning sensation in his mouth -- it would be the perfect injury for Merlin and Gwaine to kiss better later -- and pulled an impressed face. 'This isn't half bad. Though what syrup did you get?'

'Take a guess.'

Wrinkling his nose, Lancelot took another sip. Then, for good measure, he pressed a kiss to Merlin’s skin with a frown, pulling away. 'Well, it's not cinnamon.' He took another sip. 'Vani--No, caramel?'

With a grin, Merlin nodded. 'Soft and sweet, like you.'

'And what did Gwaine get?'

'Gwaine got a mocha with two espresso shots.'

Thinking for a moment, Lancelot smiled. 'Richly warm and sweet with a bit of a kick? Perfect.' Then he glanced over at Gwaine, who now seemed to be berating the two ducks who were doing absolutely nothing. 'I mean, proof right there.'

Laughter sharply reverberating through the air, Merlin raised their own cup to his lips. 'So what does that make me, then?'

Gently, Lancelot wrapped an arm around Merlin to draw them close, kissing the nose that wrinkled at him. 'That makes you a shot of pure energy and undiluted strength. Now, are you going to help me entice Gwaine away from the ducks?'

'As long as I don't have to get in the water,' murmured Merlin. 'This skirt is vintage, I'll have you know.'

As Lancelot caught part of the material between his fingers, tracing the flowers printed across Merlin's legs, he smiled again. 'I won't make you get in the water, my light, don't worry. I might make you take my coffee again, though.'

'That raises no qualms with me,' Merlin said, eyes transforming into the familiar shade of gold Lancelot was accustomed to as he took the third cup and retreated to the bench that had been abandoned with a muttered: 'Good luck'.

Watching them pick a path through the dying daffodils, Lancelot turned around to observe his second significant other. 'Gwaine. Gwaine.'

Gwaine, who had moved onto lecturing about the importance of families staying together and had seemingly forgotten the alleged fact he'd recited earlier about ducks only being able to count to four, spun around at the call of his name. 'Yeah?'

'Merlin has coffee.'

Gwaine's eyes momentarily lit up. 'Are they going to bring it here then?'

'Not when you're stood in the middle of a lake--'

'I'm not in the middle, I'm right by the bank--'

'Gwaine, the fate of your coffee is in my hands. You do not want to argue with me,' threatened Lancelot. 'Now put the duckling down and carefully get out.'

Holding Lancelot’s gaze for several moments, Gwaine blew the hair out of his face and twisted back towards the ducks. Gently setting the duckling down on the bank, he made an aggressive motion towards the parents that made it clear he would be watching them and began to wade across to meet Lancelot. As he approached the bank, he stretched out a hand and Lancelot took it to help haul him up.

Gwaine, however, was not hauled up. Lancelot was dragged down.

The world blurred as he plunged into the water, Merlin's laughter becoming muffled as Lancelot struggled to find his feet. Spluttering, he emerged from the depths and stumbled slightly before standing upright, completely drenched. Heart in his mouth, his hand jumped to his back pocket. 'My phone. I had my phone in my pocket--'

As Lancelot ducked beneath the water's surface, Gwaine glanced over at Merlin, who had started to stand in concern, having realised that Lancelot was panicked. Gwaine’s hand fumbled for Lancelot’s arm and he pulled him up, pushing the hair from his face with one hand as the other displayed the artist's phone.

'You absolute bastard, Gwaine.'

'Hey, now, would you prefer that I did actually put it in the water?' asked Gwaine, adjusting his grip so the device dangled precariously from his fingers.

Lancelot moved closer. 'If you fucking dare--'

'And I think I'd better take that,' Merlin interrupted, the phone bobbing from Gwaine's grip to his own. 'I was going to ask how on earth you managed to get it so smoothly from Lance's back pocket, Gwaine, but then I remembered that you know Lancelot’s buttocks like the back of your hand and that you are very good at being subtle with your hands when it comes to that region.'

Gwaine threw the warlock a wink. 'I know your buttocks like the back of my hand as well.'

'Oh, yes, I am very much aware,' smirked Merlin. 'Are you actually going to get out this time, or am I going to have to drink three coffees and bounce off the walls for the rest of the day?'

Sparing Gwaine a glare, Lancelot extracted himself from the lake and gave Merlin a gentle smile as they threw a spell in his direction and began to tease the water from his clothing. With a leap, Gwaine followed, taking his drink and scuffing the ground with his feet. 'I'm sorry if I upset you, Lance,' he mumbled. 'It was just too much of a good opportunity to miss.'

Jaw setting, Lancelot faced Gwaine, saying nothing for several seconds, and swept his legs out from underneath him, one hand expertly catching the liberated coffee as Gwaine collapsed to the ground. 'Now we're even,' he announced, taking a sip of his latte, as Gwaine groaned.

'I'll say.' Struggling to sit up, Gwaine groped the air with his hands. 'Pass me my coffee, would you?'

Not wanting to take any chances, Lancelot carefully sat down beside him and passed over the cup, sparing a second to kiss the corner of Gwaine’s mouth. 'It might have been a nasty shock for me, but it made Merlin laugh, so I'm not that mad.'

Grinning, Gwaine returned to Lancelot’s mouth with his lips. 'You taste of lake.'

'And whose fault is that?' remarked Lancelot as Merlin settled between their outstretched legs.

Summoning the coats, Merlin set his coffee down amidst the grass and draped all three of the garments over Lancelot’s shoulders. 'Honestly, I don't understand why either of you are complaining. You spent 1500 years in a lake, you'd think it would be your natural habitat by now.'

'No,' Lancelot said, glancing towards Gwaine, who completed the sentiment.

'Our natural habitat is with you.'

Beaming, Merlin knocked their ankles against the knights' thighs and the rest of the day melted into skittish touches and tentative sunshine.

[lit-in-thy-heart]

I think it was you who wrote the merwaincelot fic (if not disregard) where lance goes "what do you have" and gwaine says "a knife." And lance goes "no!" And i want you to know i think about that every day

yes, that was me, it's from forget-me-nots! 🗡

and thank you, anon, have a great day 💜

[lit-in-thy-heart]

[lit-in-thy-heart]

10 and 14 for the fanfic asks! 💖

thank you!! 💕💕

10: Do you ever put any of your own traits or personality into any of your characters? Which?

aaahhhhh...right off the bat with exposing myself 😄 i think every writer puts pieces of themselves in the characters that they write, definitely, and i can safely say that i've probably put some of my own traits/personality into my characters. especially with leon in out of distractions. the trying not to think about something but it coming through anyway? and the constant nervousness when friends are being rowdy in public is something that i felt a lot in my teens...

there are probably many other examples but i can't pick them out at this moment in time, doubtless they'll come to me when i'm supposed to be doing something else 😅

14: Which of your fics would you like to see turned into a movie the most?

i'm just going to alter this question to which one would i like to see as an episode of merlin and i think it would actually be my waves meet your shore. just because it's got that link to the series 3 finale and how gwaine and lance end up where they end up, and it's not that long either...