Affection That Held Us Together

2025

BE A STUDENT OF WHAT YOU ADMIRE

DO IT BADLY RATHER THAN NOT AT ALL

TO DESPAIR IS TO CEDE VICTORY TO THOSE WHO DO NOT DESERVE IT

BROADEN YOUR CULTURAL HORIZONS

REVEL IN THE ANALOGUE

ACTION ABSORBS ANXIETY

GRIEF IS PRODUCTIVE; GUILT IS NOT

"You don't know me. I'm not the same person anymore."

"That's okay. I'll get to know you again."

Psalters: Not even once.

arthurian gothic

there is scratching in the woods. they tell you it is the questing beast. you’ve never seen the questing beast. you don’t even know what it is.

a knight introduces himself. he is a cousin of gawain. you have never heard of him, but no one thinks anything of it.

there is something wrong with the lake. everyone whispers that there is something wrong with the lake. no one will say what.

everyone keeps telling you the queen is the most beautiful woman in the world, but you can’t get past her eyes. they are dead.

there are footsteps in the hall. there are always footsteps in the hall. there are not always people.

you have never seen the king. some say he is the man in velvet. some say he is a war hero. some say he is a sad old man. he is a roman, someone tells you. another one insists angrily that he is a knight. a third says he is gone.

no one sits in one of the chairs at the round table. you ask if you can sit down. a knight crosses himself.

you are on a horse. you can’t remember how long you’ve been riding. “where are we going?” you ask. “on a quest.” it is always a quest.

the queen is no longer the most beautiful woman in the world. there is another girl, under the pavilion in the forest. her eyes are black.

the red coat of arms on the back of a chair has been removed. there is a different coat of arms, now, and a new knight sits. no one remembers the old one.

castle carbonek is beautiful, they tell you, but be careful. you see a door cracked open. the light that streams through blinds you.

you are speaking with a woman who insists she is elaine, but you know better. elaine was a different woman yesterday. all the women are elaine.

you see a telescope in the castle. you are confused. you have never seen anything like it, but they insist it has been here since the time of the romans.

one of the knights is missing. you ask what has happened, but all anyone will tell you is that it was a fit of madness. he is back the next day.

there is blood on the rose bushes outside the queen’s window. they are trampled.

everyone wears black in may. you ask why everyone is wearing black. no one answers.

The Fae that trapped you in a Groundhog Day-style time loop is extremely frustrated that you’re taking advantage of the situation to just sleep all day, every day.

Merlin Horror Month 2024!

Welcome, Tavern-goers, to our fourth quest: Merlin Horror Month!

With spooky season coming up, how about making a little something to give us all a scare with our Merlin Horror Month?

Is someone being haunted? Are there monsters and ghouls in Camelot? Is there a serial killer on the loose? It’s time to be brave and show us some fanwork entries that will strike fear into the hearts of other fans!

So, what is Merlin Horror Month?

For this quest, we invite you to join us and post a spooky, scary or in some way horrific Merlin fanwork. Maybe there’s something strange in the neighbourhood. Or has a dead body been found? Perhaps the dead have come back to life (again)…  It’s up to you!

We are here for the whole of the spooky month, so give us your entries at any point from 1-31 October!

Here are the rules of the quest:

All works should have a spooky/scary theme

Any pairings and types of fanwork are welcome. The minimum requirements are:

Fanfic: at least 500 words.

Fanart: at least 1 completed work.

Podfic: at least 5-10 minutes long (and please get the fic creator’s permission!).

Fanvids: at least 2-3 minutes long.

For other fanwork formats, please contact us so we can decide on a suitable minimum amount.

Please note: No AI generated or assisted works are allowed for this fest

The fest is self-posting and runs from 1 October to 31 October. No fanworks for the fest will be accepted before or after those dates.

How do I participate?

Post your fanwork wherever you like. If you would like to post your creation to our AO3 Collection specifically for this fest (tavernfest_quest4). 

Follow the instructions and submit your work to us here: https://tavernfest.tumblr.com/submit

Please make sure to use the #merlinhorrormonth tag in addition to #tavernfest!

That’s it. We'll promote it here on Tumblr and in our dedicated Discord channel.Thank you! We look forward to seeing what you come up with!

Camlann Pod is just a little over halfway to its goal! If you're looking for a fresh, queer Arthurian story this is for you. Check it out and donate to their Ko-Fi because you're going to want a season 2!

LIVESTREAM MARATHON - THIS SATURAY 30TH NOVEMBER!

Come help us raise money for season 2 of Camlann by tuning in to our twelve hour marathon on the @tincanaudio Twitch channel!

There'll be 27 prizes available, including the only Camlann merchandise currently in existence: 9 posters with our show art, and 9 custom campfire patches made by our very own Ross McFarlane, as well as 9 hardback copies of Ella's TTRPG Upriver, Downriver thanks to the generous support of @macguffinandco.

Plus! We're going to be joined by amazing guests from all across the podcast landscape, joining us to chat about folklore, mythology and much much more. These guests will include: Motzie from @hinaypod, @laurenshippen, Eira from @hangingslothcentral, Cat from The Call fo Cthulhu Mystery Programme, Gabriel and Sarah from Wolf 359, Marc from Archive 81, Steve from Old Gods of Appalachia, Joe from Midnight Burger, Richard from Visionaries, and Eleanor and Martin from the Three Ravens podcast!

And of course, the cast and crew will be there to chat and joke along as we relisten to series one of Camlann, with an episode on the hour every hour from 3pm GMT.

So please - come say hi, tell a friend, and consider donating to help us make season 2. We can't wait!

Keep the fires burning.