Sophinisba Solis (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sophinisba) wrote2009-09-07 10:32 pm
sophinisba) wrote2009-09-07 10:32 pm
Entry tags:
Merlin links and three ficlets
I had a really good time hanging out at the party at ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
camelot_fleet this weekend. It was a really fun, multishippy atmosphere and I felt way more comfortable there than I'd expected, seeing as how I didn't know most of the people.
Highlights for me as a reader were Dwell in Possibility by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
glimmergirl, which is just the kind of Merlin/Gwen fic I've been longing for, and miarrow's Merlin/Battlestar Galactica fusion Allegro, which was something I had no idea I wanted, but man. (My favorite part was Starbuck!Morgana harassing nugget!Merlin while fantasizing about knuckle-dragger!Gwen omg.) Those links go to reposts but if you feel like braving comments at the post you might want to start with the recap here.
I also wrote two serious drabbles and a slightly longer attempt at humor, all originally posted on this thread. Thanks to the lovely people who prompted me and commented there. :) I'm feeling more confident now about finishing up with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
thefuturequeen's challenge and heading into camelotsolstice.
Title: Safe As Houses
Characters/Pairing: Gwen/Arthur
Rating: PG
Warnings: Spoilers for 1x12
Words: 100
Notes: Forslightlytookish's prompt: Gwen, Tom, home
"Your job is safe, and your home is yours for life," he'd said, and though on that day she could only feel grief, she looks back on it now as the moment she started to trust him, to know she could always speak the truth when he needed to hear it. His word has kept her safe as castle walls in all the years since. Still, there are days she wishes she'd never known him, when all she wants is to go back to the warmth of the little room behind the smithy and the comfort of her father's arms.
Title: And Give a Taste to Me
Characters/Pairing: Morgana and Merlin
Rating: PG
Warnings: none
Words: 100
Notes: Formiarrow's prompt: Morgana, Merlin, apples; title taken from a 10,000 Maniacs song.
She couldn't understand at first why he should be different from any other servant boy, why being in his presence felt like slipping at the edge of sleep, not clinging to Gwen's calm comfort but letting go, sinking deep. And for the first time she wants to go down, to meet the woman from her dreams with her eyes open, her mind answering and aware. She looks at Merlin now and her mouth waters, like looking at the one tree in the garden where she's not allowed to eat. He looks at her like she's a serpent ready to strike.
Title: Hiatus
Characters/Pairing: Merlin and Gaius, implied Merlin/Arthur
Rating: PG
Warnings: spoilers for 1x13
Words: 535
Notes: Forcharrybina's prompt: Arthur, Merlin, summer; also inspired by the new season 2 trailer (but not spoilery).
And then, after all those months when it seemed that every week there was some new sorcerer or monster trying to kill Arthur or get Merlin to reveal his magic, suddenly there was nothing. Which Merlin thought was all right, since Arthur needed time to recover after the Questing Beast, and Merlin wasn't about to complain that he finally had time to keep up with all the work Arthur and Gaius expected of him, that he could even get by without using magic most of the time, that he wasn't in fear for his life on a daily basis, or that he hadn't been to the dungeon in nearly three months (not even to visit!).
He'd earned some peace and quiet, after all. In fact, he was probably responsible for it, what with his having heroically defeated the evil sorceress and dismissed the dragon and all. He rested. He relaxed.
He got bored.
Because it was all very good, labelling herbs and delivering medicines and polishing armour that wasn't even being used, except that one summer day was as long and hot as the next, and life at the castle was increasingly dull, much like the weapons he'd stopped bothering to sharpen. Besides that, it had been ages (or at least weeks) since Arthur had clung to Merlin's hand like the lifeline it was, or had declared to his father that he would do anything to protect his friend, or had even, really, taken any notice of Merlin at all.
He wasn't about to complain. But he might, possibly, have started to sulk a little.
Then one day in September Gaius said, "It will be starting again soon."
"What?" Merlin said intelligently.
"The dark magic, the attacks…and the retributions."
"I thought we were done with that now. Since I…since Nimueh isn't around anymore."
Gaius seemed to shake with scornful laughter more than to actually laugh. "You are not 'done' with your destiny, Merlin."
"I am. I saved him. I restored peace to the kingdom."
"This hasn't been a peaceful kingdom since before Arthur was born," Gaius said, shaking his head. "No, all you did was to survive your first year in Camelot, and made sure Arthur did as well."
Merlin could have said, And Gwen, and Morgana, and Uther, and my mother, and you, but he kept quiet.
"The summer has been calm," Gaius continued, "but every summer is. Surely you realise that it was only a retreat, a breath...a hiatus, if you will."
"You're not serious," said Merlin.
"Dark wizards need a chance to stop and rest, and to mourn for their dead, as much as we do. But every autumn since the purge, they've come back stronger. I fear their anger at the loss of Nimueh, and the interference with the balance of life and death, will make this year the most dangerous yet." He paused. "And Arthur will need you. Will you be ready?"
Merlin nodded slowly and then stretched his fingers, and a thrilling current rushed through them, even without any spell or purpose to give it direction. Gaius frowned at him but Merlin couldn't help grin, bouncing on his heels in anticipation. "Oh yes," he said, "I'm ready right now."
camelot_fleet this weekend. It was a really fun, multishippy atmosphere and I felt way more comfortable there than I'd expected, seeing as how I didn't know most of the people. Highlights for me as a reader were Dwell in Possibility by
glimmergirl, which is just the kind of Merlin/Gwen fic I've been longing for, and miarrow's Merlin/Battlestar Galactica fusion Allegro, which was something I had no idea I wanted, but man. (My favorite part was Starbuck!Morgana harassing nugget!Merlin while fantasizing about knuckle-dragger!Gwen omg.) Those links go to reposts but if you feel like braving comments at the post you might want to start with the recap here.I also wrote two serious drabbles and a slightly longer attempt at humor, all originally posted on this thread. Thanks to the lovely people who prompted me and commented there. :) I'm feeling more confident now about finishing up with
thefuturequeen's challenge and heading into camelotsolstice.Title: Safe As Houses
Characters/Pairing: Gwen/Arthur
Rating: PG
Warnings: Spoilers for 1x12
Words: 100
Notes: For
slightlytookish's prompt: Gwen, Tom, home"Your job is safe, and your home is yours for life," he'd said, and though on that day she could only feel grief, she looks back on it now as the moment she started to trust him, to know she could always speak the truth when he needed to hear it. His word has kept her safe as castle walls in all the years since. Still, there are days she wishes she'd never known him, when all she wants is to go back to the warmth of the little room behind the smithy and the comfort of her father's arms.
Title: And Give a Taste to Me
Characters/Pairing: Morgana and Merlin
Rating: PG
Warnings: none
Words: 100
Notes: For
miarrow's prompt: Morgana, Merlin, apples; title taken from a 10,000 Maniacs song.She couldn't understand at first why he should be different from any other servant boy, why being in his presence felt like slipping at the edge of sleep, not clinging to Gwen's calm comfort but letting go, sinking deep. And for the first time she wants to go down, to meet the woman from her dreams with her eyes open, her mind answering and aware. She looks at Merlin now and her mouth waters, like looking at the one tree in the garden where she's not allowed to eat. He looks at her like she's a serpent ready to strike.
Title: Hiatus
Characters/Pairing: Merlin and Gaius, implied Merlin/Arthur
Rating: PG
Warnings: spoilers for 1x13
Words: 535
Notes: For
charrybina's prompt: Arthur, Merlin, summer; also inspired by the new season 2 trailer (but not spoilery).And then, after all those months when it seemed that every week there was some new sorcerer or monster trying to kill Arthur or get Merlin to reveal his magic, suddenly there was nothing. Which Merlin thought was all right, since Arthur needed time to recover after the Questing Beast, and Merlin wasn't about to complain that he finally had time to keep up with all the work Arthur and Gaius expected of him, that he could even get by without using magic most of the time, that he wasn't in fear for his life on a daily basis, or that he hadn't been to the dungeon in nearly three months (not even to visit!).
He'd earned some peace and quiet, after all. In fact, he was probably responsible for it, what with his having heroically defeated the evil sorceress and dismissed the dragon and all. He rested. He relaxed.
He got bored.
Because it was all very good, labelling herbs and delivering medicines and polishing armour that wasn't even being used, except that one summer day was as long and hot as the next, and life at the castle was increasingly dull, much like the weapons he'd stopped bothering to sharpen. Besides that, it had been ages (or at least weeks) since Arthur had clung to Merlin's hand like the lifeline it was, or had declared to his father that he would do anything to protect his friend, or had even, really, taken any notice of Merlin at all.
He wasn't about to complain. But he might, possibly, have started to sulk a little.
Then one day in September Gaius said, "It will be starting again soon."
"What?" Merlin said intelligently.
"The dark magic, the attacks…and the retributions."
"I thought we were done with that now. Since I…since Nimueh isn't around anymore."
Gaius seemed to shake with scornful laughter more than to actually laugh. "You are not 'done' with your destiny, Merlin."
"I am. I saved him. I restored peace to the kingdom."
"This hasn't been a peaceful kingdom since before Arthur was born," Gaius said, shaking his head. "No, all you did was to survive your first year in Camelot, and made sure Arthur did as well."
Merlin could have said, And Gwen, and Morgana, and Uther, and my mother, and you, but he kept quiet.
"The summer has been calm," Gaius continued, "but every summer is. Surely you realise that it was only a retreat, a breath...a hiatus, if you will."
"You're not serious," said Merlin.
"Dark wizards need a chance to stop and rest, and to mourn for their dead, as much as we do. But every autumn since the purge, they've come back stronger. I fear their anger at the loss of Nimueh, and the interference with the balance of life and death, will make this year the most dangerous yet." He paused. "And Arthur will need you. Will you be ready?"
Merlin nodded slowly and then stretched his fingers, and a thrilling current rushed through them, even without any spell or purpose to give it direction. Gaius frowned at him but Merlin couldn't help grin, bouncing on his heels in anticipation. "Oh yes," he said, "I'm ready right now."