marguerite_26 | Merlin Big Bang Rec (Reply)

dayari Merlin/Arthur, Gwaine [NC-17] (251k)
Summary: [Post-S3 crossover with Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle.] Merlin couldn't have picked a worse time to finally tell Arthur about his magic. In the wake of the battle against the immortal army, a strange visitor disrupts the court, calling himself the Green Knight and proposing a test of the court's integrity. Although Uther turns him away, several of Camelot's northern allies end up mysteriously beheaded over the next few months, and Arthur, Merlin and the knights set out to investigate. They encounter more than they'd bargained for on the way—a reckless young boy, a lady in search of a husband, a centuries-old fairytale that holds more than a grain of truth... and a challenge that ends up being more than just a game.

First – I don’t know the tale of the Green Knight, and I think the fic reads very well with very little knowledge of that story. Second – as a lover of word economy, it's very rare for me to ever attempt to read a fic this long and even more rare for me to finish it. The author was very clever at keeping the story interesting, the characters' relationships deliciously engaging without giving in too easily or so much push-pull in the UST that the reader goes crazy from the lack of payoff. Speaking of UST – The Arthur/Merlin dynamic in this really spot on. Their entire relationship in this fic is basically a reveal fall out and it’s wonderfully done with lots of tension and emotions and both of them wanting things to be back the way they were but not able to find the way. Oh! And the sex (and there is some, eventually) is brilliantly hot. Outside of the M/A I adored the characterisation of each knight and the OC's. Gwaine and Leon especially really came alive in this fic for me. Great storytelling all around.