A More Glorious Dawn Awaits

Yuletide Letter Placeholder

unbidden_truth — Mon, 26 Oct 2015 23:37:50 GMT

jyd

I'll Love You Long After You're Gone

unbidden_truth — Sun, 23 Nov 2014 17:28:45 GMT

First set of Merlin Recs that I've promised I would post (sorry for the belatedness! asya_ana)

(not going to lie, these are of course for the most part the usual suspects :)

Streaking, Two Boys by malu_3 (M/A, 754, NC-17, modern!AU)
"Sunlight stings Merlin's eyes, washes over Arthur. Golden head, pale muscled back-bottom-thighs, tan calves, the flashing pink soles of his feet – Arthur stings Merlin's eyes. He's the stark, impossible answer to questions asked earlier. 'Who's the prettiest, do you reckon? Anyone you fancy?'"
This was one of my favorite entries to come out of pthon this year. Beautiful prose, imagery you can taste, and as always scorching hot, all tossed to in a jar to make this incredibly sweet fic. I'm still hung up over the playfulness and sweetness of this fic that captures youth, summer days, pining, and a little bit of happy ending.

Kiss My Name by emjayelle (M/A, 1050, NC-17, modern!AU)
“Hi,” Merlin says as he looks in the mirror—stretches his lips until his cheeks hurt, his teeth show—until he has as convincing a smile as he can make it. “Hi, my name’s Michael Emerson.”
Another one of my favorites out of pthon. The writing conveys so much (there's so much implicit backstory) with so few words. So many great details, brilliant world-building, and the belief that the reader is smart enough to fill in the blanks. It's heartbreaking, but maybe a little bit hopeful as well.

Have I found you flightless bird or lost you? by incoherenttruth (M/A, ~1300, PG-13, canon!AU)
"Have I found you flightless bird (grounded, bleeding) or lost you?"
First off, thank you merlin_hotrecs for reccing this! Also, this just might be the first Merlin fic I read on tumblr. Written for deheerkonijn 's lovely (well heart-breaking is probably more accurate), this little fic is wonderfully angsty depicting the scenario if Merlin got injured for Arthur instead and is dying. I love angst so this is right up my alley, but it felt surprisingly in character for me. Merlin's sacrifice and Arthur's unwillingness to believe that Merlin's about to be gone rang true. Won't spoil the ending, but definitely worth a read!

Duck-Apple by malu_3 (M/A, ~5200, NC-17, canon!AU)
"Come Samhain, the remaining High Priestesses of the Old Religion conspire to see that Emrys and the High King of Albion finally get their due. (Or, the one where Arthur bobs for ~~cock~~apples..."
This was posted at tavern_tales (which I admit I haven't kept up with at all but there's so much great fanwork being posted there). But this fic! It's naughty and awkward, sweet and steadfast like any great M/A story. The idea is a bit crazy, but the execution and storytelling is so lovely and even with the more naughtier side is full of so much of heart. I loved how well Malu captured both Merlin and Arthur's insecurities, but also both the depth of their love and the playfulness of their relationship. I think it's sometimes hard to balance those aspects, but Malu does a great job because these boys, I want all the happy things for them :)

I probably will have another post of recs soonish...I hope anyways. Have you all been reading Merlin as of late? Anything catch your eye?

Dear Yuletide Letter

unbidden_truth — Sun, 26 Oct 2014 11:36:59 GMT

Dear Yuletide Writer,

First of all major apologizes for posting this so late and at this point this might not even be as helpful. But the most important part is that thank you! Thank you so much for writing for me, I'm so happy and thrilled and so looking forward to your story. Whatever you choose to wrote, I know it will be amazing and I honestly am happy that you took the time and energy to write something for me.

Hopefully my prompts/info on the actual AO3 form provided enough information or that my letter from last year was somewhat helpful. But if for some chance you do decide to look over here for last minute edit or such, here is my letter :)

Let me just preface this and say that at the end of the day, please write a story that makes you happy, because it'll make me happy. The following are just general ideas and outside of a few that are generally not my cup of tea, I'm very easy to please :)

General likes: banter, humor, world-building, magic, ladies being awesome, close women friendships, smart science, space!AUs, lots of UST, pining, loyalty/fidelity--characters who would do anything for each other, history, references to language/poetry/arts/literature (or just interesting language structure if that's something of interest), slice of life, characters dealing with societal repercussions, canon AUs where laws/societal structures are different, the use of time in interesting ways (ie, non-linear stories/comparing multi-verses/time-traveling/etc), soulbonds, first times, second chances, friends to lovers, mysteries, optimism (though when the situation calls for it bittersweet endings), journey/adventure, hurt/comfort, magical realism...

I would be equally happy with a gen fic as I would with a ship fic. If you do want to write porn, go for it! I'm sort of picky with kinks and for the most part generally veer on the tamer side. Also I tend to prefer to read about the emotional impact more so than the actual act itself. But if it strikes your fancy, I'm totally cool with that. Though no non-con please ( I'm okay with referring to when it comes to the character's past histories such as with Kate Bishop). Also infidelity is something I'd rather not read though if you do write about it in terms of dealing with Joseon era in SKKS, I would be willing to give it a pass.

General dislikes: The two main things I ask you to not write is explicit non-con and graphic child abuse.

Requests (as always I will be equally thrilled to receive a story in any of these fandoms :)

Fandom: Sungkyunkwan Scandal

I would love a fic focusing on Jae Shin and Yong Ha. Anything with those two interacting would make me happy. Either scenes from their past or potential scenes that might happen afterwards. Whether Yong Ha has always had feelings for Jae Shin. Dealing with "potential" attraction or just even their friendship. I would love to read Jae Shin slowly realizing his feelings for Yong Ha (even in a friendship context if you're more comfortable with that). There is so much territory to explore with these two. Whether it's on some adventure together or their times as students to when they were young. Gen or slash would all be great. (I didn't include Yoon Hee and Sun Joon for characters but please feel free to include them in the in the story as well)

The above pretty much sums of my feelings on SKKS (which while I do have issues with how the political/historical aspects were dealt with in terms of the ending) I really love Yong Ha and Jae Shin's friendship. I think I might've posted more of my feelings on my letter last year, but happy fic of any kind would be great :)

Fandom: The Eagle | The Eagle of the Ninth

I've seen both the movie and read the book so feel free to incorporate things from both or whichever one you feel the most comfortable with. I love Marcus/Esca, but I'm also happy with getting a gen piece focusing on their friendship. Slice of life, adventures post retrieving the golden eagle, possible working for the Romans on possible espionage missions (there must've been spies back then right?) Anything involving them really together and having to work together. I'm also a huge fan of pining and slow burn but again, I'm pretty open to anything really.

I love the tension in the film but I like the easier build of their friendship in the novel. This is one fandom where I love both post-canon fics as well as canon-AUs so have fun with this. What happens after the book/film ends? How could they have met differently? How would that affect their acceptance of one another? How do they navigate their initial relationship of master/servant and how does people reaction to their friendship affect them? There are so many possibilities and really it's whatever strikes your fancy.

Fandom: Hawkeye (comics)

Kate Bishop is one of my favorite characters in all of Marvel!verse so really any fic involving her will make me happy. I would love to see gen fic with her working on a solo mission much like the Hawkeye annual or just a slice of life fic. And having Lucky involved would be fun. I've read the earlier YA run and am reading the current YA run so any crossover with characters from either series would be great as well. Pairings are great too if that's something of interest.

I have very strong Kate feelings. She's one of my favorite YA along with America (and probably Kid Loki) and she makes Hawkeye both the comic and Clint Barton so much better. I would love to read adventures stories, about her everyday life, about her past---her hopes and fears. Maybe about a mission where she an particular Young Avenger or really any character from Marvelverse. Maybe about her superhero life clashing with her day to day life. Anything featuring Kate would be fabulous!

If you want to do a Lucky-centric fic---him and Kate on missions!-- instead that would equally be amazing (I loved the Pizza Dog issue :)

So in closing, I just want to reiterate that please feel free to ignore everything I said above if there's an idea you really want to write. Please feel free to do so, wherever your muse takes you as long as you have fun writing it. And thank you again so much!

Quietness All Abound...

unbidden_truth — Sun, 24 Aug 2014 22:51:15 GMT

I haven't done a signal boost post in awhile and there's been a few things I've wanted to boost, so here it is :)

startrekbigbang is back and signups as well as rough drafts are due Nov 1st.

aftercamlann is posting, which I"m super excited about :) I can't wait to have some downtime so I can go read all the awesome stories!

summerpornathon is in it's final week! Go read this week's entries here and maybe vote/comment if there's something you love.

The Crazy in Love Ficathon (hockey rpf) going on here.

Also, the amazing beyondtheclouds, who is behind kanenumbers on tumblr did a post on Favorite Sites for Hockey Numbers.

Speaking of hockey, I've gotta say, I'm super pleased with the Boston Bruins with starting the whole ALS Ice Bucket challenge---I had been trying to figure out why 1) why hockey players were doing it long before everyone else ie the Pens showing up all on my dashboard weeks ago 2)why so many hockey players----and now it makes sense. I'm now just waiting for Oshie to do it.

(Also I was watching Jonathan Toews do the challenge and seriously, it gave off the whole "I'm sexy and I know it"---because that vid? definitely has that vibe---though to be fair, he definitely "works out")

And nominations for yuletide are right around the corner (already?! where did this year go?)

When All Else Fades (Merlin/Arthur, PG-13) Part III

unbidden_truth — Thu, 01 May 2014 21:12:22 GMT

Part I | Part II

Later when he finally made it up to his chambers, Arthur almost stumbled when he noticed Merlin half-dozing and slumped at the table with a flagon of wine next to him.

He tried to be quiet, but accidentally kicked a bucket as he made his across the room.

“What took you so long? I’ve been waiting for ages,” Merlin said sitting up, rubbing his face.

“Weren’t you going to the tavern?” Arthur asked walking over, crossing his arms self-consciously.

Merlin stretched, and with a sharp intake of breath, Arthur realized that he wasn’t wearing his neckcloth. He hurriedly dragged his eyes away from the long curve of Merlin's neck.

“It’s never been my thing, yeah? Mostly was going because Gwaine said we should have a belated celebration of everything being back to normal.”

“Everything back to normal? Things haven’t been normal since you arrived to Camelot” said Arthur amusedly as he pulled out a chair.

“You would’ve been bored if they had been normal,” Merlin retorted as he pushed the flagon towards Arthur.

Arthur gratefully took a swallow of wine, the bittersweet taste heavy on his tongue, before passing it back to Merlin.

Grinning back at him, eyes half-lidded as he tilted his head back Merlin drank. Arthur felt his eyes drawn to the way Merlin’s adam’s apple jumped as he swallowed noisily and the way his lips stained red with wine.

This will be enough, Arthur thought as he leaned back in his chair listening to Merlin chat about the gossip he heard down in the kitchen. If I can only have just this, it’ll be okay.

::::

For the most part, it was enough even if his heart ached whenever he watched Merlin smile at one of the kitchen maids or whenever Merlin was upset about another conservative decision on a magical case.

“I’m trying my best,” Arthur said softly watching as Merlin mutter angrily beside him after another case earlier that day, “but even if my opinion has changed about magic, it’s going to take some time to make reforms.”

Merlin sighed, shoulders slumping as he turned to look at Arthur, “I know. But--”

“At least, he’ll get a fair trial. That’s a start at least.”

“Yeah. ”

It was taking more and more effort for Arthur not to reach across and comfort Merlin. But if Arthur could credit at least one thing to his father, it was his stubbornness and unflinching resolve. Even if he found himself stumbling at times.

“I’m not disappointed with you, you know,” Merlin said suddenly.

“Hmm?”

“I know that this has been hard on you too.”

“Merlin---”

“No, wait---listen to me,” Merlin talked over him impatiently.

Arthur tilted his head looking at Merlin in askance, barely holding back, When have I not listened to you?

“You are a great king, Arthur. And I’m happy to serve you as long as I live. And that you are doing this is more than I ever expected,” Merlin said, his eyes steady and certain.

Arthur felt the weight of Merlin’s words, of his loyalty and it was a bittersweet kind of pain. But he had told himself that this was okay as long as Merlin was close.

Awkwardly, Arthur reached to clasp Merlin’s arm, “Thank you.”

They walked quietly for a few minutes, before Arthur said, “Cheer up, I know you’re not up to serving at the fest tonight but I promise to leave as early as I can.”

Merlin gave him a sidelong glance, biting his bottom lip as he considered Arthur.

Feeling self-conscious, Arthur nervously eyed their surroundings “What is it?”

“I--” Merlin started and to his surprise turned red, “It’s nothing,” he mumbled, “We’re going to be late if you keep on dawdling.”

“I wasn’t the one who insisted on changing my tunic three times.”

If it were possible, Merlin flushed darker, “It’s an important fest.”

Arthur shook his head, amused.

::::

The fest, to celebrate the particularly bountiful harvest that year was in full swing when Arthur rose to make his excuses. Nodding his thanks and giving his excuses, he gestured to Merlin as he started to make his way out of the room.

With a thud, Arthur found himself pushed onto the ground, Merlin sprawled over him, gold eyes staring out into the crowd searching.

“What--” Arthur started.

“There’s an assassin,” Merlin said as Leon and the knights surrounded them. Leon nodded to Galahad and three others to go find the assassin as rest of the chamber broke out in pandemonium.

“Merlin, your eyes,” Arthur hissed, pulling himself up, needing to look over at Merlin.

Merlin blinked and the gold faded, he looked over at Arthur worriedly, “Are you okay?”

“Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that,” Arthur said, fingers forcefully steady as he carefully started to look Merlin over.

“I’m fine, I’m not hurt.”

Merlin tried to struggle, but stopped once he saw the look on Arthur’s face.

He stayed patiently still as Arthur searched him to see whether he was injured. Arthur slumped, half-trembling when he realized the knife had completely missed Merlin.

“Arthur, hey, hey I’m okay,” Merlin said, his hands resting on Arthur’s arms as Arthur struggled to rein in his panic and anger.

“Sire,” Leon said interrupting them, “we found the culprit.”

“Put him in the dungeons under guard,” Arthur said, his voice angry. Leon looked between Arthur and Merlin and took a half step back.

Getting up, Arthur walked furiously back to his room, Merlin right on his heels.

“Arthur, what’s the matter---” Merlin started once they entered Arthur’s chambers.

“Don’t ever do that again,” Arthur said, angry as he turned grabbing Merlin.

“What are you talking about? If it’s about the magic, I’m sorry. But I only saw him from the corner of my eyes and it was the first thing---”

“Don’t,” Arthur said softer this time, shoulders slumping as he turned away, “I don’t need you to protect me Merlin.”

“It’s my duty to protect---” Merlin.

“No it’s not!” Arthur said, whirling back on Merlin angrily.

“Arthur.”

“I can’t bear it. The thought of you dying---”

“Arthur---”

“No, just for once listen to me. If something ever happened to you,” Arthur said voice breaking, fingers digging into Merlin’s arms.

“My life isn’t important as yours.”

“Don’t say that,” Arthur replied furiously, pressing Merlin against the wall, “not to me. Your life is not less important than mine. It’s more important! Without you, I couldn’t---”

“I don’t understand,” Merlin said looking back at Arthur in confusion, mouth turned down in a frown.

It was too easy, the fear and panic at the thought of losing Merlin, too easy to lean in and press his lips against Merlin. The need to feel Merlin alive and breathing against him, the need to swallow every exhale and the feel the thrum of the fast-beating pulse at the curve of his neck.

It takes a moment for Arthur to realize what he was doing, of what he had done. And another beat to realize that Merlin was standing stock still against him. With the the sharp ache that he just lost everything after-all, Arthur started to pull back. But insistent hands reached up to grab his shoulders to pull him back and with a sharp exhale, Merlin’s kissing him back.

Minutes later, still leaning close, Arthur looked at Merlin who despite the red cheeks was grinning back at him.

“I--” Arthur started.

“It’s alway been you. Just took me longer to figure it out, that’s all,” Merlin said.

“Yeah, you’ve always been slow on the uptake,” Arthur mused in agreement.

“Yeah, well you should be flattered that someone is willing to put up with your prattish ways.”

“Shouldn’t it be that you should be flattered that the King of Camelot---” Arthur paused, “has look upon you in favor.”

“Is that what this is?” Merlin said quietly.

“No,” Arthur reached up to cup Merlin’s face, “No---I was serious. If something were to happen to you--”

“And this?”

“This is whatever you want it to be. Whatever we want it to be.”

“Merlin and Arthur?”

“Yeah.”

“The High King and his Sorcerer?”

Or something more, Arthur thought as he leaned in again, whispering the yes against Merlin’s lips. He didn’t have to hold back this time because they had time. All the time in the world to figure it out.

::::

Part I | Part II

When All Else Fades (Merlin/Arthur, PG-13) Part II

unbidden_truth — Thu, 01 May 2014 21:09:55 GMT

Part I | Part III

::::

A week, then another passed but Merlin showed no signs of improving. Arthur found himself pacing near the corridor of Gaius’s rooms whenever he had time away from his duty. Early evenings were spent slumped on the chair by Merlin’s side.

Perhaps more disconcerting than finding George opening his curtains when he blinked his eyes against the streaming morning light that first morning, was the quiet. After Gwen had left, it had seemed Merlin was determined to fill her absence with clatter about the daily goings around the castle and in the lower city. The first few days, Arthur found himself pausing as if waiting for Merlin to find him, his ears waiting to hear Merlin’s voice. Despite his anger, which was slowly waning as days past, he missed Merlin. He missed Merlin’’s grumbling behind his back at council meetings and the loud clatter that greeted him whenever he found Merlin waiting for him. Arthur even missed the late breakfast and the messy disarray his rooms were more often than not when Merlin was around.

A little over three weeks later, Gaius brought the news that Merlin had awaken, but the sharp look the elder physician gave Arthur when he delivered the news confirmed the suspicions Arthur had-- that Gaius had always known about Merlin’s magic.

Arthur didn’t rush immediately to check on Merlin, even though he still found himself pacing in the corridor near Gaius’s chambers. Instead he questioned Gaius about everything he knew about magic. Adding the other pieces of all the incidents that happened in the past. Days passed, a week then another, and still Arthur found himself making excuses. Excuses that were falling flat with rest of the knights, who didn’t understand why Arthur refused to check up on Merlin. Gwaine constantly harassed him and even Leon was starting to give him disapproving looks. Each day he would tell himself that he would check. That today would be the day. But every time, he would talk himself out of going to see Merlin. It was as if things would shatter and it was easier to pretend this way.

::::

It was only because Arthur found himself pacing in the corridor that he saw Merlin, pale and thin-looking, a small knapsack slung over his shoulders.

The idea of Merlin leaving. Fear made him stand still, made it difficult for him to breath before he moved frantically blocking Merlin’s way.

Merlin stared at him shock and then fear, and Arthur wanted to step back and pull away, the ache in his chest sharpening.

“Where are you going?” Arthur demanded instead, grabbing onto Merlin's arm.

“I don't know, back to Ealdor maybe,” Merlin replied, his voice a low rumble and his eyes downcast.

“Who says you can leave Merlin?”

“You know.”

Arthur pushed Merlin against the wall, “Yes, I know. But who said you can leave?” Arthur asked again, angry as he leaned in half wanting to drag Merlin back to his chambers. After a moment, Merlin finally glanced up at him.

“You want to bring me to the stake,” Merlin said resigned, the surety of that statement made Arthur flinch back as if he had been slapped.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“The law, it's why I never---”Merlin started but stopped, shrugging his shoulders.

“You didn't trust me,” Arthur countered.

Merlin shook his head, “No that wasn't it. I didn't want you to have to pick---”

“It would have been my choice Merlin. I don't need you to decide--”

“But it's my duty to protect you and---”

Arthur pulled away, “And what of my duty to protect you?”

Merlin looked away, “It doesn't matter now does it? I broke the law.”

“And I'm the king.”

It takes Merlin a moment or two to understand what Arthur is implying.

“But,” he said, his eyes darting across Arthur's face searchingly, “You aren't mad?”

“Of course, I'm mad Merlin. Expect double stable mucking duties for the foreseeable future.”

“What about---”

Arthur rubbed his forehead as he interrupted Merlin, “For how long?”

“What?”

“How long have you been practicing?”

“I was born with it.”

“You were born with it?” Arthur asked, eyes widening with disbelief.

Merlin frowned at him, “Is that so hard to believe? You can ask Gaius.”

“Yeah, I probably should. I still can’t believe that he was hiding a sorcerer in plain sight.”

Arthur was taken aback by the panic-stricken look that broke across Merlin’s face and the way Merlin’s hands shot out grabbing a hold of his tunic, “He only it did it to protect me Arthur. It’s all my fault he lied.”

Arthur sighed as he looked at Merlin, “I’ve already talked to Gaius.” Not being able to resist the urge to comfort Merlin. “He’s not in trouble. Though he knows better than to do it again.”

“But--” Merlin started, face scrunching as if ready to leap into an argument, and something in Arthur’s heart eased at the sight.

“But nothing. There won’t be a need for him to do so in the future. It has been brought to my attention that there might be certain laws that are in need of thorough revision.”

“Certain laws?” Merlin asked, blue eyes widening, voice faltering, “You don’t mean---”

“There’s a lot we need to talk about Merlin,” Arthur said instead, not waiting for Merlin to follow him.

Merlin followed Arthur into his chambers quietly for once. When Merlin took a sit at the table, Arthur paused at the wave of relief at the sight.

As he looked at Merlin’s expectant face, he could feel some of the tension from the past few months, the past year slowly easing from his shoulders.

“Start from the beginning.”

::::

After that conversation and the many others that followed in the late evenings in the privacy of Arthur's rooms, things started to get back to normal. The wound on Merlin’s side had healed completely before turning into a pale scar in the months that followed. As spring faded into summer, Arthur found himself laughing more with the knights despite how heavy the crown sat against his brow. There were still times, when melancholy would strike him, whenever he thought of his father or Morgan. Or Gwen, but it was Merlin more often than not that brought him back from the darker edges of his thoughts. It was almost like before Morgana had changed...and Gwen had left, he sometimes wondered. And yet, it was much more different.

Between the fire the roared to life with a twitch of Merlin's fingers after Arthur had impatiently shouted at Merlin to get on with it and the tension that slowly faded from Merlin's eyes as the gold always did, Merlin seemed to settle back into their old routine with ease. The odd distance that had always existed between them, the truth about Merlin’s magic was no longer there. But it had left Arthur feeling slightly off-kilter.

At first, he thought it was just the fear of losing someone else close to him. Sometimes there would be dreams of Merlin dying and it took all his willpower not to get up and check on Merlin. Instead he lay in bed, willing his heartbeat to calm down, fist clenching as he tried not to think of Merlin's pale face when he had carried him, almost half dead. The rest of the night was spent half asleep, half-waiting for the clumsy clatter that arrived each morning as Merlin stumbled in to wake him.

But the closer he looked, the more he realized that there were pieces of Merlin that he didn't know or perhaps he hadn't paid close attention to know. Did he always love blackberry tarts? Arthur wondered as he pushed his plate away pretending to be finished, saying Merlin could have the rest of his meal. The bright grin Merlin shot him as he munched happily seemed to warm Arthur better than the fire did.

There were times when Arthur's breathe would catch. Were his eyes always that blue? Or is it that tunic that makes them so?

Times for no reason at all, he wanted to shout at Gwaine and challenge him to a joust, whenever he would find him and Merlin laughing over a shared joke sprawled out on the practice field, Merlin's dimple flashing as he tossed his head back.

His eyes would seek out Merlin more often than not and it would be disquieting when he was sent on errands for days on end. Finding Merlin had almost become a second-nature. Something Arthur never thought about until Leon made an off-handed comment about it one day in the practice field. Leon had managed to nearly score a point when Arthur had paused mid-defense surprised. Had he always been able to find Merlin that easily out of a crowd? I don’t know when that happened.

There had been nothing special about that day. During a particularly tiresome evening spent with the council discussing the new grain tax, the suddenly off-kilter world finally made sense.

He and Merlin had shared several commiserating looks when Lord Caradoc kept droning on about every individual tax collected from his holdings. One comment that came across more as an innuendo made Arthur hide his amusement behind some papers. He chanced a sidelong glance to Merlin only to see that Merlin was having trouble hiding a similar grin. Arthur’s grin softened from one of amusement to one of contentment. The rays of light from the sun hit Merlin’s face at the perfect angle to catch the sparkle of mirth and mischief in his eyes. His smile---the smile that Arthur had learned in the past few weeks was for him alone, widened with the hint of a dimple breaking out when Merlin caught Arthur’s gaze.

Oh, Arthur thought, smile faltering.

Merlin frowned at him and Arthur shook his head, heart sinking. He turned to look down at his papers, studiously ignoring Merlin for remainder of the council meeting.

Arthur was the first one out the door at the end of the meeting. One of the council members attempted conversation as he walked by him but Arthur quickly made excuses before the man could get a word edgewise. He focused all his energy on getting out of the enclosed space, not even pausing to risk a glance back to see how much distance he had put between himself and Merlin.

He kept walking until he turned a corner, after which he flat out broke into a sprint to get out of the castle.

Shit Shit Shit. Arthur repeated the mantra until he entered the woods behind the castle

When he got to a small clearing he fell onto the ground in a boneless heap. This could not be happening.

“Is something wrong?”

Arthur sat up in a crazed panic and stared with dread at the last person he wanted to see at that moment.

“How…” he shook his head. Magic. Right. “I’m fine. Just need to think.”

Merlin tilted his head with a look that clearly said that he wasn’t buying it.

“Did something happen?”

Arthur sighed. He stood up slowly, looking everywhere except at Merlin.

“Is it me?” Merlin asked, hesitantly.

Arthur finally looked up at Merlin to see his concerned and worried face. The damn rays of sunlight had followed him here again at just the right angle to give Merlin a soft, ethereal glow.

Arthur studied Merlin’s face, searching for anything that would disprove his sudden revelation. Merlin merely stared back, curiously. Arthur’s shoulders slumped down in disappointment. There was nothing he could do. He must just resign himself to his fate.

Arthur licked his lips, preparing himself. “I…” He started, his voice coming out strangled. Merlin’s brows drew together in concentration. He moved closer to Arthur to better hear him which only caused Arthur to tense up. Merlin place a hand on his arm to reassure him, “What is it, Arthur?”

It took every ounce of willpower that Arthur had to not jerk away from the contact, “Well, I, uh…”

Merlin only leaned closer, his concerned face looming so near that Arthur was afraid Merlin would hear his rapid heartbeat.

“Hey Merlin,” Gwaine called out and Arthur sagged with relief as Merlin turned to look at Gwaine. Gwaine had changed out of his armour and behind him, Percival and Galahad stood waiting, both of them also dressed in common clothes.

“Of course, you’re with the King.” Gwaine said amusedly, almost too soft for Arthur to hear.

“Sire,” Gwaine said giving Arthur a nod before turning back to Merlin, arm casually slung across Merlin’s shoulders. Arthur’s fingers twitched as he watched them and it was a close thing that Arthur didn’t pull Merlin away. But when Gwaine looked at him, his eyes considering before giving Arthur a knowing smile, Arthur looked away.

Gwaine said, Arthur noting the amusement in his voice, “You said you wanted to go to the t---”

Merlin stumbled into Gwaine, stepping onto his foot, and Gwaine staggered back, cursing under his breath.

Arthur eyed Merlin sharply, but Merlin avoided his eyes as he pushed Gwaine along, “I never said that. Off you go.”

“But---”

“Delusions, I think you’re having delusions. You might want to see Gaius for that.” Merlin said loudly as he turned back to Arthur.

“You were planning to go to the tavern, weren’t you?” Arthur asked shrewdly.

“I don’t go to the tavern as much as you think I do.”

“I know, you already told me.”

Merlin fidgeted and Arthur wanted to reach out and steady him. To make him stand still or pull him close, he wasn’t sure.

“You should go,” Arthur replied staring moodily at where the knights had been a moment before.

“But---”

“As long as you’re not being stupid, which I know for you is kind of difficult,” Arthur said, grinning at Merlin’s loud, “Hey!”

“You want to come?”

"No," he needed time to think.

“Are you sure you’re okay though?”

“I’m fine Merlin.”

“It’s not about Gwen, is it?” Merlin asked, his fingers hovering near Arthur’s elbow.

“No.” The pain and bitterness that once was there whenever he thought about Gwen had faded, healed over like a scar, “ I regret the way things ended, but I don’t regret that I loved her once.”

“I see,” Merlin said nodding, “Wait, don’t you mean--”

“Merlin” Arthur said impatiently as he stood up, “Don’t you have a tavern to go to? Besides don’t expect me to allow this in the future.”

Merlin looked up at him, eyes thoughtful as he studied Arthur.

After a moment, he murmured “Yes Sire,” as he stood up as well.

Heart heavy, Arthur watched as Merlin go and catch up with Gwaine and the others.

::::

Part I | Part III

[Fic] When All Else Fades (Merlin/Arthur, PG-13) Part I

unbidden_truth — Thu, 01 May 2014 18:57:12 GMT

Fic Title: When All Else Fades
Author: unbidden_truth
Artist: clotpolelis
Characters/Pairings: Merlin/Arthur, references to past Arthur/Gwen
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 7000
Warnings: none
Summary: "Arthur didn't think there was more he could lose after banishing Gwen. But revelations are tricky things and the truth that was important at first glance wasn't the one that mattered in the end." Ambiguously set in early S4. Written for merlinreversebb
Author's Note: Thank you to my lovely artist, clotpolelis for bearing with all my procrastination and being wonderfully supportive. I had a wonderful time working with you! Also thank you, thank you to chosenfire28 for running such a fantastic fest and for the extra amnesty! Also thank you to my dear P, who gave this a quick glance through even if she's never seen the show. This fic was at times difficult, is way more trope-y, schmoopy than I wanted---I still am not sure how I feel about Arthur's POV--- but it was an interesting ride. Should also note I kind of played fast and loose on the timeline and events in early S4.
Art link: Art Masterlist
Fic Link: AO3

“We're lost, aren't we?”

“We’re not lost Merlin. We’re going in the right direction,” Arthur said exasperatedly as he paused to survey his surroundings, “We just have to keep walking down this path.”

The leaves crunched loudly beneath their feet as they slowly walked down a half-beaten trail. Every few seconds, Arthur heard Merlin languorously breathing behind him and the worry he might have been hurt from the fight earlier made him itch to check up on Merlin. Trying not to be obvious, Arthur shifted to glance back but stumbled as Merlin nearly walked into him.

“That tree, didn’t we pass that earlier?”

Arthur turned, needing to duck to avoid hitting his head on a low-hanging branch. It was familiar. He swore under his breath when he saw the familiar mark etched onto the bark. One that he had marked earlier with a knife in hopes that the knights would see it.

“I think we went past this way already,” Merlin continued, as he leaned down, hands clutching at his side. Again the worry reared it’s head, but Arthur wasn’t sure if Merlin would tell him the truth even if he did ask.

"Are you okay?"

"I already told you, I'm fine. Besides you should worry about the fact that we're lost ."

Glancing back at the tree and as much as he didn’t want to agree, Merlin was right. This was maybe the third or fourth time they had walked past that oak tree. Arthur wasn’t too sure---he had lost count awhile back.

“We aren't lost,” Arthur repeated irritably as he resisted the urge to look back at Merlin as he continued up the trail past the tree. Even without looking, Arthur knew the expression that was on Merlin’s face.

They've been wandering on the trail for the past three hours. And by now they should have come across rest of the knights. Somehow they had become separated from everyone when the bandits had waylaid them. The skirmish had forced them to move away from the group. Arthur had ended up chasing down one of the men further away from the fight. Merlin, who had been told several times to stay back followed him. The bandit had been a better tracker than Arthur and within the hour they had lost track of him. But by that time they had managed to lose everyone else as well.

It was supposed to have been just a routine hunt. Merlin had been pestering him for months and Arthur had finally, albeit grudgingly, agreed when Merlin said he was acting like a lovelorn fool. The hunt had seemed like a good idea. Arthur couldn't remember the last time, he was happy to be out in the sun, being with the knights, and listening to Merlin's grumbling. Since before Guinevere had left.

Gwen- Arthur frowned. Thinking of Gwen reminded him of things he didn't want to think about even as the sharp ache of loss that seemed to have been lodged somewhere in his chest ever since he had exiled Gwen flared.

It had been almost a year---nine months and three days, his mind helpfully supplied since that day he let her go. And still the pain was as sharp as it was then.

Shaking his head, he waited for Merlin, who had been suddenly quiet the past half an hour, to catch up. Uneasily Arthur shifted as he surreptitiously glanced at Merlin . One of the men had managed to swipe a hit at Merlin before Arthur could take him down. When he had tried to look at the cut Merlin had waved him off.

The sun was setting low beyond the forest and the temperature was starting to drop quickly. Arthur shivered as another gust of wind blew, his armor doing little to protect him from the bitter cold.

Glancing back towards Merlin, hunched over miserably, right hand pressed to his left side, Arthur paused, “How are you holding up?”

“Fine,” came the terse reply.

“We'll see if we can find a cave or at least an overhanging rock so we can rest for the night. At the least it'll protect us from the wind.”

Merlin didn't respond and Arthur glanced back again, brows furrowed, just in time to see Merlin stumble.

Grabbing him before he fell down, Arthur steadied him as Merlin winced. Arthur frowned as he stepped back, shocked as he stared down at his hands sticky with blood

Looking sharply at Merlin, he crouched low, “Idiot, you said you were fine.”

“It's only a small scratch.”

“A little scratch! The right side of your tunic is completely soaked in blood.”

Merlin let out a hiss of pain as Arthur tried to gently look over the wound, “It's not as bad as it looks.”

“Merlin, you're barely able to walk much less stand,” Arthur said, angry as he stood up, “We should probably break for camp anyway. And this,” he continued gesturing to the the clump of trees, “should be good for the night.”

While Merlin staggered down to sit on on a fallen log, Arthur managed to get the fire going before tearing several strips of fabric from his cape. They had little water, the flagon nearly empty and the best Arthur could do was bandage the wound.

“If it was daytime, I would make you pick some herbs,” Merlin mused as he compliantly let Arthur bandage him.

Arthur was ready to snap back, but paused. Merlin was too pale even in the growing dark, his forehead beading with sweat with what Arthur was beginning to think was fever despite the cold.

“You would enjoy that, wouldn't you,” he said instead, taking off his cloak to wrap around Merlin, “Figures you would like to order people around.”

Merlin sputtered indignantly, “Says the King prat himself.”

“Hey!” but Arthur didn't press further, because if only for a minute some color had come back to Merlin's cheeks.

After a few minutes, Merlin shifted, “I'm glad, you know.”

“You're glad?” Arthur asked incredulously.

“Well not the whole getting lost and stabbed part. But this. I didn't think I would miss hunting with you, but I did.”

He gaped at him for a minute before recovering.

“You know what that means, right?” Arthur asked amused.

“I know,” Merlin said, resignation evident in his voice even as his lips curved up.

It was strange. Arthur couldn't remember the last time he and Merlin had teased back and forth. The past year had been a blur of kingly duties and trying to avoid marriage alliances the council kept throwing at him. But being here in the woods, huddled against the fire, perhaps a little cold and worried (but when did Merlin not worry him?) was something Arthur didn't know he missed, until now.

::::

The sudden quietness of early morning bird song was what woke Arthur to the intruders. The voices sounded familiar and with a growing sense of alarm, he woke Merlin.

Covering Merlin's mouth before he could say anything, he said quietly, “The bandits.”

He nodded his head in understanding and Arthur pulled away his hand. “Stay behind me. And if you see a break, run for it.”

Merlin frowned and leaned in close to argue. Before he could a word in edgewise Arthur covered his mouth again.

“You’re injured,” Arthur said angrily, pitching his voice low, “For once, can’t you not listen to me?.”

Merlin glared at him but when it looked like he wouldn't argue with him, Arthur moved, pulling his sword free.

The first bandit dropped like a fly when Arthur came up behind him, the second fell with a loud scream. Then it was mad chaos. Much to Arthur's chagrin, a minute later Merlin was no longer behind him. There were too many of them, and for a moment Arthur thought that this was it. That maybe Death had caught up to him after all.

There was a loud whoosh, and suddenly one of the men slammed against a tree while another tumbled.

In midst of it all, Merlin stood, hands poised in the air, his face resolute.

Idiot, just what does he think he's doing? Arthur tried to fight his way to Merlin's side, but there were too many of them.

Between the trees, Arthur stared as Merlin's eyes turned gold. As strange words fell from Merlin's lips, the bandits flew across the air, hitting branches before falling to the ground knocked unconscious.

He has---magic, Arthur recoiled. He lied. All this time. And I thought I could trust him. Merlin glanced at him, and Arthur was taken aback by the fear and sadness he saw in those unnaturally gold eyes.

Too stunned to move, Arthur watched as Merlin took care of rest of the bandits quickly with the strange harsh words and hands moving.

He finally found his voice as he watched in horror as one of the bandits snuck up behind Merlin, “Merlin! Watch out!”

For a second he thought Merlin had avoided the attack. Merlin had ducked and again with strange words the bandit had flown back, slamming against a tree before dropping with a loud thud.

Merlin turned again, his eyes wide with terror as he stared at Arthur before falling.

Arthur blamed it on instinct that he managed to reach Merlin before he hit his head on something.

Even as anger, betrayal and fear (from Merlin? for Merlin?) made him feel lightheaded. Arthur clutched Merlin close as he noticed that Merlin had not been lucky: the bandit had gotten him across the shoulder. While the cut wasn't deep, Arthur didn't think any more blood loss would help. Merlin's shallow breathing only confirmed Arthur's fears.

Merlin looked up at him, blinking at him confusedly, “Are you okay? You're not hurt are you?”

Arthur's heart twisted at the concern.

“Dammit, Merlin! I told you not to get involved in the fights.”

“I had to protect you. I promised I would.”

“I can protect myself,” Arthur retorted angrily as he pulled Merlin closer. He was worried despite telling himself that he should be angry at how cold Merlin felt to touch.

“No you can't.” But before he could say anything, Merlin reached up, hand stilling when Arthur flinched back.

Voice defeated, “You saw.” And for some inexplicable reason, despite his anger and fear, it made Arthur want to reach down and reassure Merlin.

“Who wouldn’t see the hands waving around, people flying into trees and the fact that your eyes turned gold,” Arthur muttered, fingers clenching against Merlin’s thin tunic as he remembered the sight.

“I wanted to tell you. I always did but---,” Merlin said, his voice ragged, breaking.

When Arthur didn't reply, he continued, “I wanted to tell you but I was too scared. But it was all for you, Arthur. All for you. I would've done anything to protect you. I know this won't excuse anything. Just remember--,” Merlin voice cracked, “that I would've never used it against you or Camelot.”

“You lied Merlin. All these years, you lied to me. And you're a sorcerer.” Arthur said bitterly, closing his eyes briefly as if perhaps he could pretend that this was a dream. That he had imagined all of this. He felt hollowed out, as if everything inside of him had been scraped out leaving him bleeding. He looked away from Merlin in anger, trying to make sense of his newfound knowledge.

After a few minutes of thought, he asked softly and with a tinge of hurt, “How do you expect me to believe you? All these years. You never trusted me.”

When there was no response and Arthur glanced down only to see that Merlin was paler still and barely conscious He had lost so much blood, hidden mostly by his dark clothing.

“Merlin!”

Arthur cursed as he shifted Merlin panicking.

It took him a few minutes before he could find a shallow pulse, heart beating rapidly he sighed in relief.

“You better not die before I deal with you.”

His father’s voice about evil sorcerers echoed in his ears, but Arthur ignored it as he wrapped his cloak more firmly around Merlin. The words his father used to paint sorcerers was so starkly different from the man he held. It was hard to equate the stories he had heard about terrible sorcerers with Merlin, who looked fragile and breakable in his arms. Arthur couldn’t imagine Merlin doing the things his father said, but Merlin had lied to him. Worse, he wasn’t sure if he felt more angry at the betrayal or hurt because Merlin hadn’t trusted him.

Even if Merlin was a sorcerer. Even if there was the chance that he had betrayed Arthur. That all could wait until they were back in Camelot.

Shifting, Arthur lifted Merlin up easily.

Taking a painful swallow at how lightweight Merlin felt, he continued, “What have I told you about being properly fed to be a King's manservant.”

In the past Arthur had ended up sharing his meal with Merlin or at least Merlin would’ve grabbed food from his plate, insisting it was because Arthur was gaining weight. But thinking back in the past year, he couldn’t remember the last time he and Merlin had eaten together.

“It’s not my job to make sure you eat. You should know better than that.”

Slowly as he walked carefully through the woods, the minutes had faded into hours and the hours faded into the late afternoon. Arthur lost all sense of time.

The sun was beating down on him as he staggered each step, holding Merlin close. Merlin's wounds had reopened and had left a brown residue against Arthur's armour as if a second layer of protection. That was how the rest of the knights found him. If Arthur hadn’t been distracted, he probably would’ve found amusement on the look of horror on his men’s faces.

As Leon and Gwaine rushed forward to take Merlin, Arthur flinched back. The men shared an uneasy look but stepped back.

With a few terse comments to help him onto a horse and make haste, it was only the thought of Merlin dying that kept him moving. Even after the steady objections of rest of the knights to let one of them ride with Merlin, Arthur refused. He cradled Merlin against his chest as he tried to steady his horse, not sure whether he was protecting Merlin from them or the knights from Merlin.

::::

Riding back to the castle was a quiet, urgent affair. He and the knights had pushed their horses to near exhaustion to make it back before nightfall.

Once at the castle and allowing Percival and Gwaine to carry Merlin up to Gaius and issuing orders as he staggered down from his horse been almost a whirlwind affair. But despite the exhaustion, Arthur managed to check up on Merlin.

“How is he?”

Gaius’s voice was strained as he finished bandaging Merlin, the worry causing the wrinkles on his skin to deepen, “I’m worried, Sire. I’m not sure if he’ll make it.”

With a sharp exhale, Arthur leaned heavily against the table, anger and fear making him stagger, “Do all that you can Gaius.”

“Of course, Sire. But it will do us no good if you passed out here as well,” Gaius said kindly and it took all of Arthur’s last resolve, not to yell at him. Fingers clenching, Arthur looked at Merlin. And if it were even possible, but Merlin looked even more fragile than when they were running the horses ragged to get back to Camelot. It reminded him too much of the time Merlin had nearly died to save him. How many times has he saved me without me knowing it?

Nodding to Gaius, Arthur walked slowly back to his chambers. The anger, but mostly the overwhelming sense of fear and guilt finally caught up to him as he fell onto his bed exhausted and into a fitful sleep.

::::

The next morning Arthur leaned against the door of Gaius' work chambers, torn between checking up on Merlin and not wanting to know how he was doing.

As he turned to walk into the room, Gwaine's voice stopped him.

“How is he doing?”

“The wound is severe, but that's not what I'm worried about.”

Arthur tensed as he heard the worry in Gaius' voice.

“What do you mean?”

“After Guinevere left---” Gaius paused and Arthur pushed aside the wave of grief that washed upon him as he heard her name.

“You know how the King has been… Merlin's run himself ragged looking after the King for the past few months... I'm not sure if he is strong enough now to heal quickly. And the longer it takes the wound to heal, the greater the chance that he'll get an infection.”

“That would be Merlin,” Gwaine said, voice fond, “Sometimes I don't even understand him. If Arthur only knew how much Merlin cared for---”

Gaius sighed, “I hope that one day he will.”

“He will Gaius.”

“Bring me that bucket of hot water will you Gwaine, I need to make more poultice before the day’s up.”

Arthur slumped against the door. It had always been Merlin, hadn't it? Arthur wondered, guilt prickling past the feelings of betrayal and anger. Again he thought about past incidents and wondered when else Merlin had played a role in changing things in his favor.

After overhearing Gaius’s and Gwaine’s conversation, it took Arthur several hours, past supper time before he had the courage to go see Merlin. Gaius had stepped out for the moment and Percival had nodded to Arthur, clasping him in the arm as he left him alone with Merlin.

Unsure what to do, Arthur pulled up a chair from Gaius’s workroom over.

In the hours that he had seen Merlin last, Merlin's skin was even more flushed, cover with a sheen of sweat from the fever. Arthur hesitantly grabbed a washcloth from the table, dipping it into the water basin before bringing it to wipe Merlin's brow.

“You idiot, why didn't you tell me?” His fingers shook, and he couldn't tell whether it was from anger or from worry.

“You didn't think I would---” He closed his eyes against the image of fear in Merlin's eyes. He still could hear the cries of sorcerers being burned at the stake, the acrid taste of burnt flesh and smoke still too familiar on his tongue. Things had changed in the past year, but the memories of past burnings were still too vivid.

The image of Merlin dying on the very stakes that countless other sorcerers had died--bile rose thick and burning up his throat. Taking a deep breath, Arthur tried not to think of what could’ve happened if things had been different. Would I have done the right thing if he had told me the truth from the beginning?

He never thought anything would hurt as much as his father dying or banishing Gwen. But Merlin had always been the exception.

“What the hell are you doing here Merlin? You could've died if someone had found out.”

“I'm not my father,” Arthur said haltingly, “I've learned that in the past year that not everything he did was right. And I'm still learning that there's more to everything than I once thought.”

“You of all people should know that,” he said softly, his fingers reaching up to brush Merlin's hair to the side.

He sat for another hour in the dark once the candle sputtered out, watching carefully as Merlin’s chest rose and fell with every breath. Each one calming his fears.

::::

::::

Part II

Now I See the Light: The Winter Soldier

unbidden_truth — Sat, 12 Apr 2014 20:11:13 GMT

I think I'm slightly late on the reaction bandwagon and wasn't planning on doing an actual post---

The thing is, a week later and this movie is still in my head and all I want to do is see it again---so here's me flailing---

Because can I just say damn--this movie was great on so many levels? It's not a perfect movie and while it lacks the grandeur of The Avengers--I enjoyed it more because of how grounded it felt for a superhero movie. I think I might even love it more too---it's a close call and this is coming from a comic fan who is more vested in The Avengers/expanded Marvel Verse than anything really to do with Captain America. And at the very least, this is the best sequel out of the whole franchise, IMHO.

I was a fan of Sebastian Stan before, but really he shines even with such little dialogue. I need to find a copy of Kings to watch ASAP. And funny thing, Chris Evans actually sold me on Captain America this time around---and I finally see Cap's appeal. And it seems like he felt more comfortable in his character? Anthony Mackie was wonderful and his scenes were among the best. And Scarlett Johansson was her amazing self as Black Widow---her characterization was great in The Avengers and this takes it a solid step further.

There is so much I want to flail and talk about: 1) Sebastian Stan as Bucky and his acting and just all the scenes especially the part where he goes "But I knew him" 2) Steve adjusting to the modern world with almost an easy stride (also I love, love sarcastic!Steve) 2) "To your left" and the fact that Sam was set up pretty much as the cute "interest" 3) the fact that Natasha was pretty much the second lead and in many ways a foil for Steve---and just all the little details you learn about her and the choices she makes 4)Maria Hill---thank you MCU for doing such an amazing job with her characterization and Colbie Smulders for the great portrayal (her depiction in the comics haven't always been so great) 5) All the nods to the comics and/or the larger MCU---because I'm a dork I like seeing all the easter eggs 5) Steve and Nat brOTP (like I could see and like the possible sexual tension but I like the brOTP better---kind of like Steve and Carol?)

There's a lot of great meta and reviews all over the place, and I haven't looked too deeply yet, but this post pretty much sums up a lot of my thoughts.

And EEEEE!!!!- Piotr and Wanda, so excited about this! (they really can't be called mutants? seriously?) But Carol, I want Carol to be introduced to MCU.

I never thought I would be interested in reading Steve/Bucky but you all were right. (EEEE! Does anybody read them? Or heck any of the pairings in the movie Steve/Nat, Steve/Sam, Steve/Nat/Bucky, OT4---rec me your favorites, point me in a direction to where I can start reading because it's a cliff and I'm scared to jump :P But seriously---)

General thoughts on MCU: I love the comics (and to be fair I'm super new to Marvel and my views are heavily skewed by the current roster of writers), but there are definitely warts and I love how MCU is conscious of that and is trying for a broader appeal. And I love that fandom for the most part has embraced that vibe. I also kind of love how the MCU, for the how much a superhero franchise can be, is mostly trying to be grounded in our reality and is sort of bringing an interesting perspective on our world view---again in a much limited and potentially problematic capacity---but still I appreciate it.

Also, I'm probably in the super minority here---but I'm super stoked for Guardians of the Galaxy. At first when I saw the trailer I wasn't sure, but now I think it could be brilliant if they handle it well. Though I don't expect it to be as solid as The Avengers or Captain America: The Winter Soldier has been (but that's mostly me trying not to get my hopes up).

I have words to write so I'll be in my corner thinking of Merlin (and trying not be distracted by all the Bucky feels)

On the Fence, All the Time

unbidden_truth — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 17:07:07 GMT

I may have eaten three (!) vanilla cupcakes yesterday and I was feeling guilty but you know what, it's been one of those weeks and I'm going to the gym today anyway...(at least that's what I tell myself). Also I've started watching Breaking Bad---I have thoughts---they just aren't coherent yet.

EEEE! I get to see Captain America 2 today! Funny thing was, I wasn't excited until I was? Mostly because I'm going to go see it for everyone else 'cept the titular character? So I've been avoiding tumblr all week to avoid spoilers.

Randomly, I've been thinking about archival redundancy a lot recently and whether or not it's problematic that fandom as a whole has/is starting to put all it's eggs in one basket, namely AO3.   Skyehawke was down for a couple of days and there was a mention of shifting things to AO3, which comes up a lot in fandom archival conversation lately--- and I know a lot of older archives have been shifted to AO3 and I'm happy that they are being archived, especially to a place with a great interface and the ability to ebook. It's just that fandom seems a hundred percent sure AO3 will never have any issues. And that I think will be interesting to see how it all pans out in the long run I guess. I mean it seems no one archives outside of AO3 as much these days---'cept maybe over at FFN? Maybe I'm wrong about this? And I'm just being rebellious with(out) a cause....and I'm probably being way too paranoid about not having backup contingency plans I know...

Also, I've been feeling antsy lately and while some writing has been done---I've been reading a lot of non-Merlin fic lately.   I really want to read some Loki fic---comics preferred but I'm open to MCU as well---please rec me your favorites!

ETA: I've been meaning to rec this for a while:

Bond of Honor by Meri (Éomer/Haldir, 24494, NC-17, Lord of the Rings)
Two of my favorite characters in the trilogy using one of my favorite tropes, soulbond---how could I not love this story? Éomer out of compassion saves Haldir's life by a healing bond performed by Aragorn with unintended consequences. I really liked the style and just how things develop between them. The author manages to capture Haldir and Éomer's ages, as well as the difficulties navigating the bond wonderfully.   And this line "No one else shall have what should rightfully be yours"---it made my greedy possessive heart happy okay?

And afterwards I started imagining a fic where Merlin inadvertently uses his magic that forms a healing bond between him and Arthur---as ever I'm a hopeless case...

The Years Slipped Past, Time Fast Forwarded, Moments of You Faded

unbidden_truth — Tue, 04 Mar 2014 21:49:09 GMT

Yay for safely hydroplaning on icy roads! Also is it me, or has connection to LJ been wonky lately? And I can't wait for Friday because---day off! Which hopefully equates to finishing a couple things--lots of housework and some writing.

There seems to be an upswing on post 5.13 Merlin fics yeah?

Round and Round We Go Again Tripping Across the Stars by giselleslash (Merlin/Arthur, 3710, R, scif!AU)
What a powerful and gut-wrenchingly beautiful story about grieving and not being able to let go--about what we would be driven to do for that love (this fic also really cements my belief in how versatile giselleslash is as a writer, especially when you look at her writing this past year and the various different themes tackled). There are so many amazing things about this fic---there's a strong element of co-dependency that despite this being a scifi!AU rang true to me as canon. And the details and just the poignant lines---it's powerfully moving and completely heartbreaking. I have always loved the way she writes Merlin/Arthur and this story is a great example of why. For a moment I forgot he wasn't "real"---but then again what is real anyway? Please note the warnings on this, or like me forget to read the warnings so the last part is even more heartbreaking.

Breaking the Circle by riventhorn (Merlin/Arthur, 16076, R, canon/post 5.13)
This is a great look at how Arthur's death and all the years of waiting for Arthur has affected Merlin---you can feel the sharp anger and despair that cloaks around Merlin as seen through Arthur's eyes. There is a feeling that Merlin might snap if Arthur pushes too hard---an interesting take on Merlin's immortality and it's toll on Merlin. But also this fic does a great job of detailing how Arthur would navigate waking in the lake and adapting to the modern world. The ending is beautifully bittersweet and hopeful--yet that's oddly fitting---but bring tissues because the lead up is pretty angsty.

I Imagine the Gods Saying, We'll Make it up to You by hells_half_acre (Merlin/Arthur, 22841, NC-17, canon/post 5.13)
I really enjoyed this, especially Arthur's characterization and his grief of his past life and coming to terms to this new alien world. But more so I loved how the author explored the idea of whether Arthur returning was a good thing, for either Merlin or Arthur and the idea of destiny being both a blessing and a burden---which is so rare in post 5.13 stories. Arthur's grieving process as well as him adapting to this new world and navigating his relationship with Merlin---whatever it may be is melancholic and painful at times but rings true. And I really loved the nods to Arthurian myth, particularly to Merlin's fate in the legends.

The Ivory Tunic of Copulation by sorrylatenew (Merlin/Arthur, 944, NC-17, canon/canon!AU)
Ever since the white shirt showed up on a comment fest for a prompt, I've wanted a fic about it. And this is everything I wanted and more. Scorching hot and just some amazing imagery and details--and this line "he is not the only possessive one in this pairing"--yeah that definitely pressed all my buttons. Also I really liked the characterizations---both Merlin's voice and Arthur seen through Merlin's eyes. Seriously, the title tells you everything you need to know :)

These Small Hours by sorrylatenew (gen: Merlin & Hunith, 629, G, canon)
Lovely, lovely glance at Merlin as a young child with Hunith---all the mother and son feelings abound. This is just lovely with wonderful details and just there needs to be more fic like this in fandom okay?

Hold the Circle

unbidden_truth — Sun, 23 Feb 2014 19:29:16 GMT

Woke up super early, finished writing a fic for most of the morning, did the dishes, ate strawberries (which are never good as the ones from the summer ::sigh::) while catching up on email, sent said fic off to be betaed, started a load of laundry, and read a couple of short fics before making lunch---somewhat of a productive morning :)

I mentioned this in an earlier post, but again thank you to the wonderful anon for the lovely Valentine sent in for the Valentine Game. I would highly rec checking it out, whether you might've gotten some love from a wonderful anon or just to read all the kind messages that were sent :)

There's a few things I want to signal boost:

The Merlin Writers Friending Meme which is still going on and hey, there all the lovely people :)

I have a confession: If there was anything I could be able to do in fandom and do it well, it would be as a vidder. All other transformative media (which are all wonderful) aside, I find myself amazed at the way people can take the visual canon that we know and transformed it to something else. And the sheer amount of ways from being in your face to completely subtle. One of these days I would like to go and soak in all the amazingness that I know it will be as just a viewer, but alas not this year. But all you vidders, ViVidCon is currently open and taking registration for the convention in August.

In other news, (the multifandom) Remix Redux is coming back! Some of the most amazing fics I've read have come out of Remix Redux and I'm super stoked that it's coming back :) (I won't lie, there might have been a lot of jumping around and excited yelling of "Holy shit" in my little corner)

Which leads me to Merlin fandom's very own:

Camelot Remix is back!camelotremix
LJ | DW
Signups: Feb 21st to March 1st at noon
Posting begins April 20th

(so Porn Battle ended last weekend---there were some fabulous fics, will get to recs if I have time---but someone left some great prompts for The Eagle. Ones that made me want to write for a fandom I didn't think I would. So I started writing something but didn't have time to finish before PB ended. Anyways, I was wondering and this is a shot in the dark but anybody willing to discuss/beta a Marcus/Esca fic? One where it's Marcus going on a trip and Esca's the one waiting. And there's pining and kissing in the rain?)

It's One of Those Days

unbidden_truth — Mon, 03 Feb 2014 20:56:47 GMT

tavern_tales has opened and you can participate/go read/comment/squee for this month's theme here.

It's Femslash February! And also halfamoon is officially open :)

Plus you can rec your favorite Merlin femslash here over at untold_legends

Which reminds me rarewomen fic exchange is taking nominations through Feb 8th. Signups for the fic exchanges is from Feb 16th through March 2nd. FAQ post is here.

The Valentine Day Game is being done again by svmadelyn. Information and details are explained at the link---sending anonymous messages to people who make fandom amazing, interesting and such a wonderful experience is always a great thing. (via destina)

If anybody is interested, it's posting time over at ksvalentine (which generally is low stress with posting in the two weeks leading up to Valentine's day Kirk/Spock fest). On a side note, I feel kind of strange that I'm not as emamoured with them (well the reboot ship, I still love TOS) as I used to be?

Porn Battle XV has started--and there are some great prompts.

And one of my favorite non-fandom specific BigBangs is doing signups at scifibigbang.

One last thing, and one that I probably really should/need to sign up for: crack_the_wip has signups going on until Feb 8th. A writing challenge for people in the WIP limbo---you can sign up to be a writer/cheerleader/buddy and more information is here.

Recs!

Revealed by destina (M/A, 2198, R, canon/canon!AU)
Truth spell trope fic set in canon by destina----what more do I need to say?! Boys being overprotective and madly in love with each other---great writing, wonderful characterizations, all the feelings of "the epic love" and pretty much trope fic at it's very best. It's also wonderfully sweet and really I know my bias is showing because I think I love every single Merlin fic of hers---go read :)

Three glomp_fest recs:

The Language of You by planejane (M/A, 5469, R, canon/canon!AU)
Awkward boys, pining!Arthur, and a badly planned trip though by no fault of his own. This was full of wonderful canon details and I particularly loved Arthur's voice here. From the way he plans out the trip to convincing his father to not wanting to push Merlin, I really loved his maturity but at the same time, loved all the pining and the awkward moments of someone who was still kind of fumbling his way around his feelings. I also loved the cuddling scene, something about Merlin draping his leg over Arthur's got to me.

All the Way Back (Where I Belong) by emjayelle (M/A, 4347, PG-13, modern!AU)
Was so happy when I saw this when I got home. This fic pretty much contained all of my favorite things when it comes to modern AUs, Merlin with magic, Arthur and Merlin being friends since they were little, Hunith, and friends to something more. The vivid imagery and just the wonderfully poetic---evocative words all laced with warmth and sweetness that is MJ's usual style elevates this into more than the usual fluffy fic. There is so much love and warmth in this fic and I could sense Arthur's love and sense/memory association with the Emry's home ( and really it's Arthur's too). The relationship between Arthur and Hunith was absolutely wonderful. And the banter between Merlin and Arthur was reminiscent of canon but also of two best friends who knew each other perhaps better than they knew themselves :)

Invidia by agirlnamedtruth (Morgana/Gwen, 6596, PG-13, canon/canon!AU)
Lovely, lovely Gwen POV from a S1 perspective. I loved all the doubts and insecurities and thought the author did a great job of describing her fears as well as highlighting all of Gwen's best qualities. I particularly loved her friendship with Merlin (the scene where she wants to comfort him even though she felt jealous was well done), and especially the inner conflict and dealing with expectations---particularly in respect to her and Morgana's future. And I thought the connection and moments between her and Morgana were poignant.

One camelot_drabble holiday exhange rec:

To Yield by simpleact (M/A, 2378, PG-13, canon/canon!AU)
Protective!Merlin is always wonderful but an Arthur equally turned on by a protective!Merlin is even better. I loved how steadfastly loyal Merlin is and Arthur's POV and his inner conflict in this was really compelling for me. And I really loved that the author discussed the aftermath of the magic reveal in somewhat of a non-linear way (seriously one of my favorite things). One of the best aspects was how fragile things became between Arthur and Merlin and while things got somewhat back to normal, it wasn't quite the same. One of my favorite stories to come out of the fic exchange. (I did mention that part where Arthur is super turned on by a protective!Merlin right?)

The Quick Footed Passage of Time

unbidden_truth — Sat, 25 Jan 2014 16:20:14 GMT

Food poisoning---and the usual craziness at work---who else is looking forward to the weekend? (And I totally meant to post this yesterday morning)

I wanted to signal boost a whole bunch of things---upcoming fests/challenges signups:

Beyond Panels: A Comics Fanwork Exchange
fic & art | all comics welcome
nominations Jan 10 | sign-ups Jan 23 till Feb 2
A03 | LJ | DW

I am so so excited about this Comics Exchange. *Heart in Eyes*

Porn Battle XV: The Ides of Porn
Prompting: Jan 21- Jan 26
Battle: Feb 2- Feb 13th
Main Site | AO3
Prompt on LJ | DW

I'm hoping for scorching hot PG-13 fics in the mix (because they do exist right? I know it's Porn Battle and all, but I want all the sexy fic without the explicitness--and well with it too ;)

Merlin Art Fest 2014: Round Two
Prompting Just Ended
Claiming: Today! Jan 25th 730pm GMT
LJ

I for one am excited for all the amazing artwork :) *cheers*

Untold Legends: Merlin Rarepair Fest
Prompt List and Revised Schedule Here
FAQ and Rules Here
Posting Date Claim: March 29th
Posting Begins: April 6th
LJ | AO3 | Tumblr

I am super excited about writing for this one---I only hope I have time to work on it. I have an interesting idea for a historical!AU with Elena/Mithian or a possible canon!AU with Gwaine/Percival--but we shall see...

After Camlann: Merlin Big Bang
aftercamlann presents a new Big Bang challenge for 2014.
Sharpen your pencils, wet your brushes and adjust your seats as we are bringing you to a wholly new adventure!
Sign ups starting on February 1st.
LJ | Tumblr

*Cheers on all the people doing this from the sidelines*

Stares cross-eyed at computer---there are a couple more things I want to signal boost but I'll save it for this weekend yeah?

So I've been debating on how I wanted to rec in the foreseeable future...tumblr is a strong possibility but I was hoping to do something on LJ as well--something a bit silly---"Pocketful of Recs Friday." It might just be one rec or a whole bunch and at the moment at least it'll mostly be Merlin though I'll try to throw out recs from other fandoms as well. I'm going to try to make it a weekly thing but we all know how I am with deadlines...

Some glomp_fest recs :

Mapping the Distance by emjayelle (M/A, 4500, NC-17, modern!AU)
There's a lot I could say about MJ's writing (amazing characterization, a deft hand with poetic details, fantastic at creating mood and setting, how effortlessly real her fics are yet always with a touch of sweetness) and there's a lot I want to say about this fic (the vivid imagery, always amazing details, the lovely moments). The fact that Arthur is an art historian, that Merlin's a musician (cellist!)---that there's an age difference between them. But it's more than that, it's about falling for someone you're not sure you're quite suppose to, the moments of quietness that fills with achy desire, where one loves in music and one sees loves---the details in that picture. And really it's about growing up and allowing yourself to fall and that maybe it was never about age but something else. It's a wonderful fic---on a side note, I love when writers take consideration of the mood and pacing, both which I thought were super effective here :)

The Coming of Spring by ingberry/xfortytwo (M/A, 9746, NC-17, canon/canon!AU--divergent S4)
I love pining fics, especially when it's a pining!Arthur whose a bit possessive. But besides the lovely characterizations there are some great lines and wonderful description in this fic. Some of the scenes where Arthur is thinking about a drunk Merlin (I loved how possessive Arthur was of the time he had when it was just him and Merlin sitting in his room drinking from the wineskin---some really lovely lines) to Arthur having to deal with the tournament as a king versus what he was used to are well-written and just so vivid. Also Arthur struggling to figure out in general what it means to be king was great because the show really didn't go into detail. And that part where Arthur realizes he loves Merlin was absolutely perfect---just the sheer intensity of what Arthur feels for Merlin is kind of breathtaking. Also CANON FIC FTW :)

For Starters by Grainne/malu_3 (M/A, 15723, PG-13, modern!AU)
So I've never read anything by malu_3 until their fantastic fills for alby_mangroves' Arthurversary Comment Fest (which I still want to do a fill and if you haven't checked it out, there are awesome fills :) And while I was hesitant about a certain tag (age difference where a really young Merlin crushes on an older Arthur), I really enjoyed their writing so took the leap. Don't let the tag scare you, because it's a sweet childhood crush for Merlin and Arthur only sees Merlin like a kid brother until they meet again when they are both adults. And it was a wonderful read, with a great Merlin voice. As I told the author, the way memories of each other lingered for both of them in different ways so lovely and realistic. And I absolutely adore stories about first loves and second chances which is a huge part of this story. Also---even though it's from Merlin's POV, Arthur's conflict about being interested in Merlin and his own sexuality comes across without being blatantly told and that is always I think difficult as an author to do and one that is done so well here. (Now I just need to go read everything else they've written :)

For Every Hand is Lunatic by lostlenore/tu_es_mi_amour (M/A, 22 notes, PG, modern!magical AU)
This was a super adorable and very much a creative read. I was really impressed at how much of the story was conveyed with so few words. And how well both Merlin and Arthur's voices were captured. Just really sweet and cute and now I really am craving a fic for this 'verse :)

More recs coming soon---after I get some sleep and maybe catchup on the flist and things :)

Year In Review Meme 2013

unbidden_truth — Sun, 05 Jan 2014 14:47:56 GMT

So instead of doing errands and getting some writing done, I spent the day miserable in the icky phase of having a severe cold. But am feeling much better with some hot lemon tea with honey. Anyways onward to the Year in Review Meme :)

(taken from yalumesse):

1. What was your main fandom this year?
Merlin. In terms of writing and participating in fandom this year it was pretty much Merlin all year. Which is a bit surprising because the show ended Dec 2012, and a year later I still feel pretty heavily invested? I still haven't gotten over that finale--which is probably what the BBC wanted, those damn bastards ::sniffles::

2. What was your favorite film of the year?
Pacific Rim. I've read the meta (which really is impossible to avoid) and yes the film has it's flaws like not enough ladies--- but I like Del Toro as a director, I love Rinko Kikuchi as an actress. There's Idris Elba. And then you throw in mecha-monster scifi film that has something dealing with a fusion of mind-meld/soulbond/telepathy/what have you--how can I not love it? if only because it gives fandom as a whole AU possibilities with all that drift compatibility running amok. (Also, I would like to point out that people generally seem to be more critical of Pacific Rim than other movies summer scifi action blockbusters...and I'm still trying to figure out why? The movie was aimed for young kids so they also fall in love with the whole mecha-kaiju Godzilla thing of the 60s/70s. It's like an ode or love song to Eva--and that is another can of worms, Neon Genesis Evangelion is complicated to say the least---and Godzilla all mixed in one aimed for a younger generation.)

3. What was your favorite book of the year?
Um---this is terrible...I think I may have read a total of like 5 books this year? How is this possible?! Reading more needs to be a new year resolution. But I started reading the Rivers of London series which has been fun for the most part. And for nonfiction, I thought The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks was excellent. But this is depressing---I used to read so much.

4. What was your favorite album or song(s) to listen to this year?
Bad Blood (album)- Bastille. Though if I have to pick a favorite song it would be Pompeii though I'm also partial to Laughter Lines for reasons, both I've listened to in a continuous loop. And the acoustic version of Pompeii? Is the best thing. Seriously. I heard them first on 8track mix for Merlin (Laughter Lines), immediately went to listen to them on youtube to hear rest of their music, and wasn't able to buy their album because it wasn't sold in the US for another month. Also hearing Pompeii on the radio is a happy thing.

5. What was your favorite TV show of the year?
Elementary. Though I'm constantly behind. While in terms of cases/plot the show has been kind of so-so, the character arcs and the relationships are handled so well. Some of the best well-written characters on TV. Also I have a thing when shows are kind of representative of reality in terms of diversity and lifestyles and not some pseudo-norm. Also Lucy Liu? She's a role model in all the best ways.

6. What was your favorite online fandom community of the year?
crack_van definitely. I'm heartbroken to see it go. epic_recs and merlin_writers are also among favorites. Oh and PL chat whenever I could get on. It was pretty fabulous.

7. What was your best new fandom discovery of the year?
Well I've been reading comics technically before this past year but actually getting physical copies and setting up a pull list and getting into the rest of Marvel-verse that wasn't limited to The Avengers was pretty great. Also, getting into Welcome to Night Vale--I haven't reached the point that I've joined the fandom, but I do love the podcast. Oh and The Eagle of the Ninth and to an extent Sword at Sunset--but that's all a bit new.

8. What was your biggest fandom disappointment of the year?
Star Trek: Into Darkness. I'm still confused why they decided to reboot The Wrath of Khan. Like why? Let's be honest for a minute, if I didn't love the Trek franchise as a whole and if it wasn't such a huge part of my childhood, this movie would've shut the lid for me on any future Trek fannishness. I love reboots in general and the first film brought me back to Trek in a big way. And I don't think creators should or need to cater to their fans. My issue with this film and the reboot of Trek in general? Is that I wish that they were at least true to the ethos of Trek. And that's not to put the original Trek on a pedestal because it was flawed and there were so many wrong things with it. But at least, try to be better than that? And stop trying to compare yourself and set the standard to what the show set in the 1960s was doing---the past 50 years of history should count for something. But I will give them this---John Cho had some badass scenes, and I loved the nod they gave to him on becoming a captain in the future (of the USS Excelsior--yes my Trekkieness is showing). Also Uhura and the Klingons was also pretty awesome.

9. What was your biggest squee moment of the year?
I may have totally squeed out loud in the theater when Pacific Rim mentioned drift compatibility. Oh, oh and when I found out Ian Mckellan and Derek Jacobi were going to do a TV show (Vicious) together (which I still haven't gotten around to watching yet). And when I found out Coriolanus with Tom Hiddleston was going to be part of NTLive, so I'll be able to go see it next month on big screen. (I really wish Mojo gets filmed so I can somehow see it sometime outside of actually flying out to London in the next month). And possibly meeting Kelly Sue.

10. Which of your old fandoms do you miss the most?
Harry Potter in weird abstract way. Outside of the Tortall series it was my first introduction to fandom. And I joined it in those glorious years between the fourth and fifth books. I'm just being nostalgic, but there was so much excitement and fervor and so much fannish activity--I really miss that.

11. Which fandom do you want to try that you haven't yet?
I would love to get more involved in The Eagle fandom. Maybe actually getting around to writing Captain Marvel or Young Avengers stories...

12. What are biggest fan anticipations for the New Year?
::sigh:: I don't know. I'm looking forward to Turn, the AMC show starring Jamie Bell that airs sometime in the spring. The new Black Widow comic series (if only for the artwork b/c Phil Noto is amazing). Guardians of the Galaxy because I have a mad crush on the character of Peter Quill (which I'm still trying to figure out) and I'm curious to see how it turns out on screen. The second season of House of Cards. But nothing at the moment that's making me super excited.

ETA: Though if that Marvel/Netflix partnership does work out, then yes, Jessica Jones miniseries would be AMAZING (please don't screw it up, please don't screw it up ::ahem::) Also, I am looking forward to the new Cosmos (I wonder if this will end up on the Yuletide list this coming year).

Someone please make a diverse, historical sci-fi/fantasy tv show with lady assassins (or scientists) kicking some butt and having some amazing sex while on the run or some epic star cross (b)romance that avoids queer-baiting and actually ends up with an open ending, leaving it up to the viewers whether the characters end up together or not with the added bonus of take your pick of soulbond/mindmelds/telepathy

New Year's and Yuletide

unbidden_truth — Fri, 03 Jan 2014 01:01:09 GMT

First of all Happy (belated) New Year! I've been meaning to post for awhile but have been distracted with RL. I spent most of the day sleeping and battling a cold (::cough::and possibly crying over Merlin fanvids ::cough::)

I haven't had a chance to post my awesome yuletide gift:

In Orbit by fjalamoth
Fandom: Sungkyunkwan Scandal
Pairing: Gu Yong-Ha/Moon Jae-Shin
Length: 2898
Rating: PG
Summary: Gu Yong Ha never expected to fall in love with his best friend.

While SKKS is/was a huge fandom in Korea, it's only a small one in English. So just the fact that I have a fic that I can actually read is amazing. I'm guessing most of you probably haven't heard of it, but it pretty much depicts a young girl who disguises herself as a boy and takes the entrance exams and ends up going to the Korea's first university during the Joeson era (the story I think in this case is set somewhere b/t 1750 to 1800). My favorite two characters are actually supporting characters and they have the most fabulous friendship ever....Gu Yong-Ha is a son of a merchant, flamboyant and a flirt and Moon Jae-Shin is a son of the upper class elite but who pretty much is a vigilante during the night fights against injustice. And those two have been friends since they were young. And this fic was just lovely and all my feelings! It's about two friends who over time realize that there is something more between them and it's just unbelievably sweet. Just such a great read :)

ETA: I should clarify and say that it's a 20 episode Korean television series and if anybody is interested in watching it, you can watch it here with decent English subs.

And here's my Yuletide fic that I wrote:

Parallel
Fandom: Jab We Met
Characters: Anshuman, Geet Dhillon, Aditya Kashyup, Geet's Cousins
Length: 2263
Rating: R
Summary: This was how it happened

It's a great Indian rom-com and I couldn't even tell you how many times I've seen it. It has many flaws, but the characters are pretty likeable :) I had a tough time writing this mostly because it was hard to pin down the character voice. I had hoped to write something light-hearted and somehow it ended up kind of angsty...O_o

But at the end of the day, there were parts that I really enjoyed writing and parts I wished I had better writing abilities to pull off. All in all, compared to last year---I think as a writer I'm gotten a little bit better at getting emotions across the page---but definitely there's a lot of room for improvement.

I've been meaning to do a Merlin Holiday's Fest Rec post and possibly a Sherlock 3x1 reaction post. And then there's the awesome snowflake_challenge that I've been meaning to do the past two years and am planning on doing it this year even if it's a little belated.

Also, yay for flist being super active! I'm way way behind on catching up, but hoping I'll get around to reading most of the posts and commenting :)

This entry was originally posted at http://unbidden-truth.dreamwidth.org/2115.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

December Merlin Fests

unbidden_truth — Tue, 03 Dec 2013 20:30:56 GMT

Originally posted by merlin_hot_mod at December Merlin Fests

We'd like to invite you to rec on merlin_hotrecs your favorites from recent fests, or to let us know about recs you've posted elsewhere.

Fests Posting in December
Merlin Holidays: Posting from Dec. 2.
Merlin RPF Fest: Posting from Dec. 19.
Camelot Drabble Holiday Gift Exchange: Posting from Dec. 28.

Other fests that have posted recently include
Merlin Sex Stars
Reel Merlin
Merlin Horror
Paperlegends

Sign Up to Review

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Want to let us know about a rec you gave, or a rec your fic/art received? Tell us here.

If you often rec Merlin fanworks and would like to be added to our watchlist, leave us a comment here. (comments are screened)

*Hey amazing flist, if you are involved in Merlin fandom and have things to rec whether it's art, fanvid, fic and/or any transformative work please consider doing so!

It's always a battlefield...even when you thought it could get better

unbidden_truth — Thu, 24 Oct 2013 16:31:35 GMT

So I'm back officially. At least emotionally ready to be back. If you'll have me that is...

I've made a bit of blunder with fandom things---but hopefully some of it will be resolved within the next 24 hours.

On The Pentagram Sacrifices---gimme 24 72 hours? I can't look at that fic and the formatting issues (and the terrible sex scene) without anxiety issues--okay it's not quite that bad, but it's close. But I'm openly admitting---I'm a terrible person and I need to realize that my RL is never going to slow down so I need to plan for things better and need to plan for RL catastrophes too...I'm seriously sorry to all of you who have been waiting---I should've planned for this better and done a better job with this. I'll try harder to make sure it doesn't happen again. But I will reply to you as soon as I get the links up.

But month long messages that I've been neglecting---gimme the next 24 hours to about this weekend? I have a feeling most people are going to be confused to receive a message from me after all this time.

I pulled down the last (friend-locked) post b/c 1) I didn't mean to get too personal 2) it's way too depressing and 3) things are much brighter and seem to be looking up in the foreseeable future--knock on wood

Can y'all believe it? I haven't read a Merlin/Arthur fic in almost three months. Three months of no M/A fic and about a month and half of no fic reading of any kind. It's so weird and I feel like I'm running around with no clothes on or something. All the PL fics I had downloaded and the Reel fics that I didn't have a chance to sit down and read---I think I need to change that sometime today at least.

So don't be alarm if you see like a massive swarm of activity in the next week or so!

Also, yuletide!

BTW, thank you for the bday wishes :) I will give a shout out to everyone's whose I missed once I go through my inbox!

Yuletide Letter 2013

unbidden_truth — Mon, 14 Oct 2013 21:00:09 GMT

Dear Yuletide Writer,

First of all, thank you! I am so happy and thrilled that you're writing a story for me!

Let me just preface this and say that at the end of the day, please write a story that makes you happy, because it'll make me happy. The following are just general ideas and outside of a few triggery things, I'm very easy to please :)

General likes: banter, humor, world-building, magic, ladies being awesome, close women friendships, smart science, space!AUs, lots of UST, pining, loyalty/fidelity--characters who would do anything for each other, history, references to language/poetry/arts/literature (or just interesting language structure if that's something of interest), slice of life, characters dealing with societal repercussions, canon AUs where laws/societal structures are different, the use of time in interesting ways (ie, non-linear stories/comparing multi-verses/time-traveling/etc), soulbonds, first times, second chances, friends to lovers, mysteries, optimism (though when the situation calls for it bittersweet endings), journey/adventure, hurt/comfort, magical realism...

I would be equally happy with a gen fic as I would with a ship fic. If you do want to write porn, go for it! I'm sort of picky with kinks and for the most part generally veer on the tamer side. Also I tend to prefer to read about the emotional impact more so than the actual act itself. But if it strikes your fancy, I'm totally cool with that. Though no non-con please ( I'm okay with referring to when it comes to the character's past histories such as with Kate Bishop). Also infidelity is something I'd rather not read though if you do write about it in terms of dealing with Joseon era in SKKS, I would be willing to give it a pass.

General dislikes: The two main things I ask you to not write is explicit non-con and graphic child abuse.

Requests (as always I will be equally thrilled to receive a story in any of these fandoms :)

Fandom: Vicious RPF

Anything, I honestly would be happy with anything. Meeting in Oxford in the 1950s or just musing about the direction their lives have gone or angsting over missed chances or dealing with regrets. I love pining!fics and bittersweet endings are lovely here. Gen or slash either would be fantastic.

The one RPF ship I apparently ship and the one no one else really does...and I've been shipping them before they ended up doing Vicious together. But any fic with them would honestly make me happy....first time seeing each other at Oxford in the 1950s, dealing with not coming out in the time period, the difference between the film and theater worlds, meeting throughout the years---happy fic, bittersweet fic, dark fic---everything and anything would be amazing. I don't really care too much about their private lives (it's a little too invasive and I respect both greatly) but I find their story of two gay men meeting in drama club at Oxford in the 1950s and that both of them had at one point had crushed and/or pined for the other just so compelling.

Fandom: Sungkyunkwan Scandal

I have so many conflicting feelings about this drama, but my two favorite things are Jae Shin and Yong Ha. Anything with those two interacting would make me happy. Either scenes from their past or potential scenes that might happen afterwards. Whether Yong Ha has always had feelings for Jae Shin. Dealing with "potential" attraction or just even their friendship. Both of them being happy farmers in the outskirts of Hanyang/Seoul would be lovely. Gen or slash would all be great.

Can I just say I flat out love Moon Jae Shin and Gu Yong Ha together...seriously they were the only reason why I made it through the drama (that and Song Joong-ki, who I adore and Yoo Ah-in were seriously amazing in it.)--I have major issues with the overlying plot of the drama especially since I think there are much better dramas like 2008's Conspiracy in the Court that have captured the political atmosphere and reforms Jeongjo was trying to make. Um, so I'm fairly well versed in Jeongjo-era history and generally Joseon-era, but I would actually prefer a fic that focused more on the relationship between Jae Shin and and Yong Ha rather than the reforms Jeongjo was trying to make or the general political climate--unless it's something you absolutely want to do, because that would also make me super happy--but if history and politics aren't your cup of tea, really no pressure. I do massively ship them together, but if non-canon relationships such as slash in this case are something you don't tend to write, I would be as thrilled to receive a gen fic. Anything from friends to lovers or just a look back on their years of friendship would be lovely :) (side note: if you do write a shippy fic please consider that Jae Shin definitely was crushing on and/or was in love with Yoon-hee during the course of the drama)

Fandom: Hawkeye (comics)

Kate Bishop is one of my favorite characters in all of Marvel!verse so really any fic involving her will make me happy. I would love to see gen fic with her working on a solo mission much like the Hawkeye annual or just a slice of life fic. And having Lucky involved would be fun. I've read the earlier YA run and am reading the current YA run so any crossover with characters from either series would be great as well. Pairings are great too if that's something of interest.

I love Kate...I think she's absolutely amazing. She's such a steady hand, someone that's blossoming into an amazing woman and does a fantastic job navigating between running with the Young Avengers and working with Clint. And the best part is that she's making mistakes and has flaws, but she learns and is growing. I would be happy with any fic you write, with any other Marvel!verse character you wish to pick---whether it's with Clint or Lucky to even Jessica Drew to Bobbi Morse to Natasha and/or the main Avengers team...to her fellow Young Avengers like Noh-Varr or even past YA like Eli.

If you want to do a Lucky-centric fic---him and Kate on missions!-- instead that would equally be amazing (I loved the Pizza Dog issue :)

Fandom: Young Avengers (comics)

Anything with America would be lovely, especially exploring her past and what motivated her to join the YA. Or having America deal with Kid Loki or America and Leah bonding over dealing with Kid Loki would all be great.

With David anything that explores his past, his sexuality, his attraction for Teddy. I'm a little behind but, I would be happy to read about Teddy's feelings after that kiss and his relationship with Billy. While I'm very much Billy/Teddy, I would love to see the potential love triangle and the angst of first love be explored more. Again with all these characters, gen or any pairings would be great either way.

I love this title...I love the youthful vibe, the way the characters seem to grow, how they struggle and try to figure out how to bridge that gap between adolescent and adulthood. Mostly because a lot of it feels so familiar personally. I really love all the characters, especially Kate as you read earlier, but damn America Chavez is amazingly awesome. I love her no-nonsense---punch first, ask questions later attitude. In many ways I sometimes think she's the moral compass of the YA in the most literal sense (kind of like Billy and Teddy are the heart of YA in many ways for many different reasons). But I would love to learn her back story or what she does in her down-time or what her parent's relationship with her is like or what her dreams and hopes for the future. The same is true really for any of the YA characters. From David to Noh-Varr to Kid Loki. For this fandom especially, really write what you really want. I have a soft spot for all of YA and any fic you'd write would make me super happy :)

In closing, I hope you have a fun time writing and please feel free to disregard any of the suggestions if you have a prompt you're itching to write. I want you to have fun and enjoy writing this :) Also for any reason you want to know a little bit more about me, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (which hasn't been updated in almost two months..yikes!)---it's a little comics--mostly Captain Marvel heavy.

And again thank you so much!

[Fic] Every Beginning Is A Sequel...After All [Part Four]

unbidden_truth — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 06:02:07 GMT

Part Three

~*~

And that's when the text messages give way to phone calls late at night.

The first time was just as Merlin was about to crawl into bed.

“Having trouble sleeping?” he asks recognizing the phone number.

“Yeah.”

“It doesn’t get easier?” Merlin asks as he half sprawls across his bed, mobile tucked into his shoulder.

“It hasn’t for me atleast,” Arthur confesses, “You feel the same way?”

Merlin stares at the empty half of his bed that Gwaine once used to share, “No, I don’t miss him if that’s what you’re asking. But yeah, I do miss having someone here.”

Without him noticing Arthur slowly seeps into various part of his life. Somehow the phone conversations become a nightly thing. There are days when they’ll turn on BBC 1 or ITV watching dramas together, Arthur’s breathing always in the background as Merlin cradles his phone by his ear.

There are days, when Arthur will send a text, sometimes it’s a quote, other times some random observation. Sometimes it’s a joke that Merlin shares with his colleagues. Each one sends a buzz of elation, a sharp twist of longing that Merlin pretends he doesn’t feel.

~*~

The first time Arthur invites him for dinner, Merlin is hesitant. He knows Arthur’s only asking as friends but for some reason Merlin’s never been able to friendzone Arthur.

He goes to dinner and it’s everything Merlin expected it to be.

Arthur’s earnest when he says, “We’re too young to be eating takeaway by ourselves.”

There are other dinners and lunches that follow. To the small Italian place where he knows Arthur will always order the seafood linguine and to the Indian takeaway place that always know to have two orders of curry ready whenever he stops by on the way to Arthur’s place. But more often than not, he finds himself at the grocery watching Arthur shop before being dragged back to his flat so Arthur can cook.

“Don’t you have work?” Merlin asks suddenly one day watching Arthur chop tomatoes.

“This is more important,” Arthur says as glances up to look at Merlin.

Merlin doesn’t know what to say to that.

It stops being surprising when Arthur drops by Sunday morning with pastries from his favorite bakery or knows when to call him so he doesn’t miss going early to set up his experiment. Somehow it feels like this was how it had been all along.

Only later when one night, Arthur looks across from the dining table, his blue eyes pinning Merlin’s, “Do you think that maybe we should start dating again?”

~*~

“You're with a bloke,” Merlin says, blue eyes wide, staring at shock looking over at Owain. It had been two weeks since Arthur had said they should date again. And here at another one of Freya’s dinner potlucks, they both had brought someone.

Merlin just never expected Arthur to bring a bloke.

“Yes and your point is?” Arthur shifts a bit, his lips presses down forming a frown, his eyes following Mordred.

“But you---” Merlin falters and he thinks back to that kiss, the one he hasn't forgotten after all these years. He had always known really if he thought about it. But somehow it's still a surprise.

“He's too young,” Merlin finishes lamely, feeling strangely hot all of a sudden. His heart is pounding rather loudly in his ears and he feels the urge to flee so he can deal with the fact that Arthur apparently dates men.

“And Mordred isn't?”

“I'm not sleeping with him.”

“Not yet,” there’s a sharpness to Arthur’s voice.

“Arthur.”

“What?”

“Just shut up.”

“You can do better,” Arthur says instead.

Merlin grins despite himself,”I didn’t know you thought so highly of me.”

“Of course I do,” but before he can say anymore, Lance is pulling him to play charades.

Throughout the night, Merlin can't help but feel his eyes wander to where Arthur's leaning into Owain's space. He turns away, picking up another glass of wine.

Mordred takes him home because he's too drunk to make it on his own. And Merlin, he almost lets Mordred in even he’s not interested. Merlin remembers the tense look Arthur had given him before he had left and makes apologies instead.

~*~

Two days later, when he finds out Gwaine is getting married and that to the beautiful, clumsy sweet Elena, the first person his fingers type out on his mobile is Arthur.

“Gwaine is getting married,” he says, his voice breaking.

“Oh Merlin,” Arthur says, his voice gentle, “I’ll be right there.”

By the time Arthur gets there, Merlin’s half drunk on the floor, his back against the sofa, his eyes puffy and red as he chugs down another shot of whiskey. It burns down his throat and he chokes, coughing.

Arthur sighs as he sits besides him on the floor and pulls the bottle away.

“I think you’ve had enough Merlin.”

Merlin doesn’t argue, instead he eyes his now empty glass, fingers chasing patterns across it’s surface.

Arthur sits quietly, almost as if he isn’t there. But Merlin can feel him, all warm and comforting pressed against his side distracting him from his thoughts of loss.

“I’m over him so I don’t know why I’m upset,” Merlin finally says, slumping against Arthur.

Arthur wraps an arm around him and Merlin buries his face against Arthur’s neck. He can smell the soft scent of the detergent mixed in with Arthur’s scent, a blend of sweat and pine and something musky Merlin can’t place.

Merlin, his breath puffing against Arthur’s collarbones, says words tumbling against the other “He said he never wanted to settle. But it was only me he didn’t want to settle with.”

“You deserve so much better than him,” Arthur murmurs, his hand rubbing comfortingly against Merlin’s back.

“I just wish someone would want me for me,” Merlin half-whispers against Arthur’s shoulder.

“There are people out there who do, you just have to find them,”Arthur replies, his voice a low rumble.

Merlin tilts his head to look at Arthur, his heart starting to beat loudly as he realizes that Arthur’s face is so close. Close enough to kiss, he thinks. And he wonders whether kissing Arthur would be like how he remembered it to be.

He wants to blame the alcohol when he reaches across the space to kiss Arthur, his lips firmly pressed Arthur’s still ones.

Arthur pulls away, concern warring with what Merlin recognizes as desire, “I don’t think-”

But Merlin doesn’t let him finish his thought. And after a brief moment, Arthur returns the kiss just as fiercely.

It’s a blur of clothes shifting and naked skin pressed against naked skin as they figure around gangly limbs and moving to the bedroom. Merlin pushes Arthur onto his bed, his boxers failing somewhere along the wayside. His breath catches as he sees the way Arthur looks at him, his gaze scorching a path across his skin.

Everything else fades away as Arthur reaches up to pull Merlin against him, his mouth claiming his.

Later there is split lube and awkward laughing as Merlin wraps his hand around the both of them, setting a brutal pace. He memorizes Arthur’s moans, the way his neck strains to hold back, his frustrated, “Fuck Merlin--”

And then there’s blinding pleasure that comes with each thrust, hipbones sliding against hipbone as he arches and spills over Arthur and Arthur does the same..

~*~

The next morning, Merlin wakes up warm, a naked body-Arthur’s pressed against his side and Arthur’s arm slung over his waist. For a moment he’s not sure where he is before he remembers last night, finding out about Gwaine engagement and kissing Arthur. He turns, his eyes pausing to watch Arthur still sleeping. The light from the early morning spilling across his face makes him look younger.

He looks just like when we first met, Merlin thinks. But that wasn’t exactly true. He could see the laughter lines at the corners of Arthur’s face and is taken aback by the sudden sadness that he missed so much of Arthur’s life despite knowing Arthur for all this years.

He gives into the urge to brush a strand of hair off Arthur’s forehead, his fingers lingering before he pulls away the enormity of last night hitting him.

He just slept with his best mate. But that wasn’t the worst part as he finally places the happy achy feeling he feels whenever he’s around Arthur.

As he stumbles away from the bed, I’m in love with Arthur clang heavily over the hangover he’s starting to feel. Grabbing his clothes, he ducks into the kitchen, feet pausing as he sees the paracetamol and the glass of water.

His heart clenches as he takes the pills and drinks the water before he heads out.

Twenty minutes later, he gets a call from Arthur.

“Hello.”

“Hey,” Arthur sounds breathless, “Where are you? When I woke this morning, you had disappeared.”

Merlin stares at Freya from where he’s sitting in her kitchen, “I’m at Freya’s. She had locked herself out of her apartment.”

Freya shots him a look over her mug and Merlin ignores her.

“Oh,” and Merlin knows that Arthur sees through the lie.

There’s an awkward silence and Merlin can’t remember the last time that has ever happened. Already last night has changed everything.

“Okay, well give me a call later. I need to run to the office but I’ll be free later this evening.”

“Alright,” Merlin says awkwardly before hanging up.

“You slept with him.” Freya says guessing correctly as Merlin blinked at her.

“Took you two long enough.”

“What?” Merlin sputters out after a few seconds.

“We had a pool going on when you and Arthur would finally shag.”

As Merlin stares at her speechlessly, Freya sighs, “You’ve always had feelings for him. And Morgana thinks Arthur’s been in love with you since Scotland.”

“There’s no way Arthur’s in love with me.”

Freya opens her mouth before closing it, “You shouldn’t avoid him either way.”

“I’m in love with him.”

“I know,” Freya says patting his arm and shoving a cup of tea at him.

“I don’t know what to say to him.”

“Well you need to figure it out soon, yeah? Because you can’t avoid him forever.”

Merlin stares at her, laughing almost bitterly, “That is one thing I do know.”

~*~

Merlin ignores Arthur’s calls during the following week, but somehow Arthur manages to catch him at Lance and Gwen’s dinner party.

He shots Gwen an irritated look for lying to him about whether Arthur was coming, but she mouths “You need to talk to him” as she hurries to grab the roast.

There are dark circles under Arthur’s eyes, his clothes are rumpled as if he had hastily thrown them on. He looks wary as he approaches Merlin, almost as if he thinks Merlin’s going to run on him.

Merlin entertains that thought briefly before slumping against the table knowing that he can’t avoid this conversation any longer.

“You’ve been avoiding me. Did I do something?”

Merlin could see the agitation written across his face, tripping in between the silence between them.

“I can’t do this anymore Arthur,” Merlin says, his hands twisting frantically, “I can’t be your friend.”

Merlin’s is taken aback by the sheer grief in Arthur’s eyes, the gutted look that flickers across his face.

“Why?”

“Because,” Merlin says taking a step back, “I can’t just be your friend anymore. I want more and I know you don’t.”

Arthur stares at him wordlessly as he reads between the lines.

“You’re an idiot,” Arthur says suddenly, moving forward, reaching for Merlin, his fingers digging into Merlin’s hipbone, “an idiot.”

“If you’re just going to be mean--” Merlin starts but Arthur’s lips press against him before he can finish.

The kiss is firm and demanding and turns filthy and slick once Arthur’s tongue is there. Furious, Merlin presses back. He’s tired of being scared. Of constantly wanting this. For always have been wanting this somewhere in the back of his mind for as long as he had known Arthur.

He twists so Arthur’s back is against the wall, a thigh pressed between Arthur’s. .

When Merlin finally pulls away, he exhales loudly as he takes in Arthur’s disheveled appearance and swollen lips.

The pain from where Arthur is tightly grabbing his hipbones pales in comparison to the onslaught of want and loss that tug at Merlin.

“I can’t do this anymore,” Merlin says repeating what he had said earlier trying to pull away.

But Arthur doesn’t let him go, “You’re an idiot.”

“You already told me that,” he retorts, face flushing in anger

“God, you’re beautiful when you’re angry.”

That completely derails Merlin from what he was going to say.

“What?”

“I love you. I think I’ve always been half in love with you,” Arthur says pulling Merlin close, his eyes earnest.

“Arthur, please don’t lie. I don’t need your pity.”

“How am I lying that when you’re not there, it’s like I’m missing a part of me. You’re the last thing I want to see when I go to sleep every night and the first when I wake. I love how you know all the little facts about Doctor Who and that you wear those ridiculous neck scarves. I love how you can’t really cook, but you always get my tea perfectly right. And whenever I have another argument with my father, you know the right words to say every single time. I love you Merlin and it’s not because I pity you. It’s because the thought of not having you in my life is the worst thing I can imagine.”

With each word, Merlin finds himself melting against Arthur, his arms tightly wrapped around Arthur’s waist.

Arthur is blushing when he’s done, but his eyes stay steady on Merlin’s and Merlin can’t help but fall a little more.

“I feel--the same way. I love you I think---actually I can’t remember a time when I didn’t,” Merlin says, a grin breaking across his face as he looks at Arthur.

“I know,” Arthur replies smug but his eyes were tender .

Merlin mutters, "Prat," before leaning forward and proceeds to kiss that smug look off Arthur’s face.

[Fic] Every Beginning Is A Sequel...After All [Part Three]

unbidden_truth — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 05:38:11 GMT

Part 2

2012

When he sees Arthur at Gwen and Lance's wedding it takes him only a few seconds to connect the dots.

“Wait, Gwen was married to Arthur Pendragon?” Merlin asks as he stands besides Lance.

“Yeah, why do you know him?”

Merlin ignores the question, instead asking, “Why is he here then?”

“Their split up was amicable. And they stayed as friends.”

“Who stays friends with their exes,” Merlin grumps as he watches Arthur from the corner of his eyes.

He's too thin, Merlin thinks as he studies him. His eyes were still the ever sky blue highlighted by his dark suit. They've always remind Merlin of the color of the sky the morning they had first met, but they look much older. Tired, Merlin thinks.

But Arthur smiles brightly as Gwen walks down the aisle. Merlin can't breath for a moment and he turns away, instead concentrating on the besotted look on Lance's face.

When Arthur makes his way to his side after the ceremony, Merlin nerves are half-expectant, half-anxious.

“I didn't know you knew Lance.”

“I didn't know Gwen was your ex-wife.” And immediately Merlin regrets his words, “I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that.”

Arthur winces, smiling ruefully, “It's okay. I know how it looks.”

“Are you all right then?”

“Yeah. It was something I had known. We had been already drifting apart the last time I saw you.”

“This must be weird then?”

“It could be worse, but Lance is a good friend and at least they both waited after the divorce so really I can’t complain,” But Merlin notes the way Arthur’s lips twist downward and how his shoulders slump.

“Arthur…”

“It’ll take time. And I already had a year to come to terms with it.”

They stand in companionable silence, Arthur slowly sipping his champagne as Merlin picked at the strange caviar hor d'oeuvre on his plate.

“I'm surprised Gwaine isn't here with you,” Arthur asks after a beat.

“We broke up a few months ago,” Merlin says as if it's nothing.

“I'm sorry.”

“No, no. I'm over it. I'm totally fine.”

Merlin shifts uncomfortably as Arthur scrutinizes him, “Well that's good then. Even though Gwen and I had been growing apart for over a year, it took me awhile to get over that. So you're pretty strong.”

Merlin shrugged his shoulders. He had been numb the first week after the breakup, but it had been easy to push all his feelings aside. Much like Gwen and Arthur, he and Gwaine had started drifting apart as well but Merlin wasn’t sure when it happened. Only that one day, suddenly the things he wanted weren’t the same things Gwaine wanted.

They make small talk for a few more minutes before Arthur has to leave, “Duty calls,” he says amused, “One of these days we’ll need to stop running into each other like this.”

Lance is gesturing for Merlin, and Merlin shares a quick smile with Arthur before he’s pulled away to join the rest of the wedding party for pictures.

~*~

The next time he runs into Arthur three months later he’s not even surprised. But what’s unsettling is the frisson of anticipation that sparks up his spine and the way his lips twitch wanting to smile.

Arthur looks better than he did at Gwen and Lance’s wedding, his blond hair growing a little too long, his eyes still catching Merlin’s with the same intensity as they did ten years ago.

“You know we passed the stage of chance and coincidence a good while ago. If I didn’t know better, I would say you’re stalking me,” Merlin said greeting Arthur as he walked up.

“What can I say, maybe it’s destiny?” Arthur replied grinning.

Merlin grins back, “I didn’t think you knew what a bookstore was.”

“I’ll have you know I received first-class honors when I was at uni.”

“That still doesn’t mean you actually read.”

“Do I need to quote something?” Arthur asks, his head tilted challenging Merlin.

“You can actually quote things?”

“I have travell’d a long way merely to look on you to touch you. For I could not die till I once look’d on you. For I fear’d I might afterward lose you.”

Merlin suppresses a shiver as Arthur’s voice dipped low, the words sparking along his skin.

“Poetry?” Merlin guesses.

Arthur blushes and Merlin stares at him in surprising, watching the tint of red spread across his cheeks.

“My mother loved poetry. It was the only thing I had left of hers.”

He rests a hand on Arthur’s shoulder and Arthur smiles sadly, “It was a long time ago.”

Somehow Arthur convinces him to grab coffee at the adjoining cafe and much like it had been on the flight back to London, the time flies.

~*~

He isn’t sure how the text messages started. Only that after seeing him at the bookstore and exchanging phone numbers, a couple of weeks later Arthur texts him while he’s at work.

Do you remember that time we met at the airport?

Yeah.

I knew it was you before I even saw Gwaine.

What made you go down memory lane?

I’m at JFK waiting for my flight.

I didn’t know you were on the other side of the pond.

For a conference.

You were in the States for one last time too.

You remembered. I think I might be flattered.

It was more along the lines of ‘why is this prat on the same flight as me.’

Don’t lie Merlin.

~*~

The texting comes easy. Arthur has always been flirty but over the weeks Merlin starts to see the humor and intelligence behind the bad jokes and teasing insults and he’s not sure how his emotions became a tangled mess. Despite everything, Merlin knows better than to fall for a straight bloke. But with each text, his heart skips a beat and Merlin pushes aside all his doubts. He knows Arthur is just a friend but that doesn’t mean he can’t enjoy this.

It was even more surprising when he found himself waiting for Arthur at the airport after another one of his trips out of the country. Arthur looks pleased to see, blue eyes shining as he rolls his carry-on behind him.

“Do you need to travel so much?”

“No, but it fills up the time, you know?”

Merlin does know, it was why he spent long hours at the lab.

“But,” Arthur says looking at Merlin fondly, “I think I might take a break from all the traveling. Maybe build some roots again.”

“What are you? Some sort of tree?” Merlin teases him as they leave the airport.

~*~

[Fic] Every Beginning Is A Sequel...After All [Part Two]

unbidden_truth — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 03:37:49 GMT

Part One

2006

Term papers handed in and his belongings packed, Merlin was ready to head to London to stay with his uncle for the summer. He was planning on beginning his graduate studies in Chemistry at Imperial sometime in the fall.

Somehow Freya had convinced him to drive down with Sophia's boyfriend who was visiting. She had argued it was cheaper to spend the money for paying for half the petrol than taking the train, especially since the boyfriend was driving down to London as well.

As he pulls his suitcase down the stairs and out by sidewalk, his eyes widen as he recognizes the bloke Sophia is swapping saliva with. His face is half hidden, but the blond hair and that chiseled jaw that had been shamefully prominent in his wank fantasies after that camping trip were instantly recognizable. Merlin still could feel the lingering first kiss that Arthur Pendragon gave him four years ago. The warm fingers and chapped lips, the hesitant slip of tongue that had turned confident as it had battle his own.

Irritated by his own memories and ready to change his mind about carpooling, Merlin turns to leave.

“Is this him then?” Arthur asks, his voice sending Merlin’s nerves buzzing.

“Oh hey Merlin,” Sophia calls out. Jaw-clenching Merlin turns trying to talk himself out of it.

But he probably won't be able to get a ticket for London until tomorrow this late and he would only be stuck with Arthur for eight hours.

“This is Arthur Pendragon, my boyfriend.”

“Arthur, this is Merlin Emrys, a friend of a friend.” Arthur's eyes narrow but he doesn't say anything. And Merlin breathes a sigh of relief.

The ride is mostly quiet with Arthur’s ipod playing Muse in the background. They take a detour when Arthur's stomach rumbles and Merlin's follows suit. They share an awkward smile, before Merlin remembers himself.

“Hey,” Arthur says smiling widely at the waitress serving them. He’s outrageously flirting and Merlin’s equally turned on and off.

“What are you doing?” he says, his voice low when the waitress walks away.

Arthur gives him an amused look, “What?”

“You’re flirting.”

“Your point being?”

“You’re dating Sophia.”

“So what? That doesn’t mean I can’t flirt.”

“She slipped you her phone number.”

“You think I’m going to call her?”

“Yes.”

Arthur grins, “I’m hurt. I can’t believe you think so badly of me.”

“Are you going to call her?”

“No, it would be too much of a drive back from London.”

Merlin’s not sure whether Arthur’s being serious or not, but ends up scowling at him as he finishes up his fish and chips.

Arthur smirks and flirts even more when the waitress comes back. Merlin tries hard not to kick Arthur in the shins, but it’s a close thing.

~*~

When they finally reach London, Arthur drops him off at Paddington where his uncle is waiting for him.

“I thought you would've grown into those big ears of yours by now.” Arthur says as he's leaving the car. Arthur’s voice is too fond and Merlin finds himself more exasperated than angry.

He pauses looking back, grinning despite himself as he retorts, “And I thought you would've grown to be less of a prat,” before grabbing suitcase and shutting the car door behind him.

2010

He kisses Gwaine slowly, before pulling away. He's returning to London after spending a year doing a fellowship at Columbia.

“I'll be back in London before you know it.”

Merlin gives him a smile, “I know.”

“Gwaine Callaghan is that you?” a voice interrupts.

Merlin stills as he recognizes that voice. Blue eyes, an insolent smirk, the musky bergamot come rushing back at him.

Gwaine shots him a concern look before turning to greet the stranger with a grin, “Arthur Pendragon, what are you doing here?”

“I was attending a conference.”

“Oh, how is the career move going for you?”

Merlin peers curiously at Arthur.

“Best decision I made.”

“Has your father forgiven you yet?”

Arthur grimaces, “Not yet.”

“Oh, Merlin this is Arthur, we went to uni together. And Arthur, this is my boyfriend Merlin.”

There is no recognition again on Arthur's face as he greets Merlin. But as Arthur nods to Gwaine and says to call him up in London whenever he's there next and turns to Merlin, saying it was nice to meet him, Merlin can't help the wave of disappointment that seems to flicker somewhere in his chest as Arthur walks away. Irritatedly, he pushes it firmly away as he looks back at Gwaine.

“Thank god, he didn't recognize me,” Merlin says, irritated more by his own reaction to Arthur not remembering him.

“What?” Gwaine asks confused.

“I had to spend an eight hour ride from St. Andrews down to London with him five years ago,” Merlin choosing not to tell Gwaine about his first encounter with Arthur.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, he was an arrogant, smug arsehole. That and he hit on anything that moved while he was dating a friend of Freya’s.”

“Well Arthur can be arrogant and smug,” Gwaine concedes with amusement. “Though I think a lot of that has to do with his upbringing.”

“I thought you disliked old money,” Merlin says.

“I do, but can't dislike someone who always paid for drinks whenever we went out. And besides if anybody had a father like Uther, they would all be arrogant, proud bastards.”

“And besides, he's probably a bit different now that he's married.”

“He's married?” Merlin asks unable to hid the shock from his voice..

Gwaine peers at Merlin, “Why are you so interested in him anyways? Should I be worried?”

“What? No. And why would you be worried? It's not like he's gay or I don’t go for slags.”

Gwaine doesn't say anything in response and Merlin wonders at the words that stay unspoken.

On the plane, he’s half torn between irritation and elation as he finds Arthur sitting a row behind him. As the other passengers are settling, he hears, “Didn't think I would run into you again Merlin.”

Something warm skitters past his ribcage and wraps around his heart. Arthur Pendragon did remember him. And then Merlin shakes his head as he pushes the feeling aside.

Leaning back in the seat to look at Arthur, “Trust me, I had hoped the same thing.”

“I didn't say I hoped that.”

“Do you two know each other?,” the dark skinned man sitting beside Merlin asks with a smile.

“Yes.”

“No.”

Merlin shots Arthur an annoyed look.

Turning to look at Arthur, the man asks, “You want my seat? We can trade.”

“Yes, thank you,” Arthur says as he slides in next to Merlin.

“So tell me what were you doing on this side of the pond?”

“A fellowship in chemistry.”

There is a moment of silence and then Merlin asks even though he told himself he wouldn't, “I heard you're married.”

There's a fond smile on Arthur's face when he answers, “Yeah for one year now.”

“I never thought you would be the type to settle down.”

“Yeah,” Arthur says ruefully, “I didn’t think I would either.”

Merlin is surprised at how easy it’s to fall into conversation with Arthur. He was working for an architectural firm.

“I thought you would be doing something in business.’

“Why?”

“Just the way---you carry yourself.

“Are you stereotyping me Merlin? And nice save there.”

“I didn’t mean--”

“It’s fine. And you were right, I was working for my dad even though I didn’t study business much to his great displeasure. He isn’t too happy with me at the moment for leaving the company.”

“I’m sorry.”

Arthur gives him a slow smile, somewhere between fond and something like a shared secret, “Sometimes you have to find your own way.”

“So do you keep in touch with your old girlfriend.”

“No. What was her name again? Sabrina? Samantha.”

“Sophia.” Merlin tries not to think about the fact that Arthur remembered him, “I can’t believe you forgot her name.”

“We only dated for three months.”

Hours later, the flight seemed too short and as they're disembarking, Arthur reaches out to shake his hand, “It was good seeing you Merlin.”

His hand is warm against Merlin's, more solid, less hesitant. There are callouses where Merlin had remembered none.

“Take care Arthur.”

They step away, both going in opposite directions and Merlin resists the urge to look back and watch Arthur disappear in the crowd. He ignores the brief pinprick of loss and the strange feeling of nostalgia as he hurries to baggage claim.

Part Three

[Fic] Every Beginning Is A Sequel...After All [Part One]

unbidden_truth — Mon, 07 Oct 2013 03:09:50 GMT

Title: Every Beginning Is A Sequel...After All
Author: unbidden_truth
Film Prompt: When Harry Met Sally
Pairing: Merlin/Arthur background Gwen/Lance; brief Arthur/Vivian, Arthur/Sophia, Arthur/Gwen, Arthur/Owain, Merlin/Gwaine, and Merlin/Mordred
Rating: R
Warnings: language
Summary: The first time Merlin met Arthur was somewhere up in the rugged wilderness of northern Scotland. Predictably Merlin, half-lost and blinded by the fog had stumbled into him and predictably, Arthur had been a bit of a prat. It hadn’t been exactly the most auspicious beginning to a love story. When Harry Met Sally AU. Written for reel_merlin 2013.

A/N: Title's from "Love At First Sight" by Wislawa Szymborska. A couple of lines from Walt Whitman's "Out of the Rolling Ocean the Crowd' is quoted. There's also a nod to Bastille's "Laughter Lines." This is more inspired per say then a direct adaptation of When Harry Met Sally, however there are a couple of scenes that hark back to the original film. Also there's a bit more pining and schmoop.

You can also read this on AO3 (which is what I'd advise, the formatting on LJ is kind of all over the place)

~*~

Whenever anyone would ask them how they had first met, Merlin and Arthur would share a rueful smile. Arthur would say it was love at first sight. And Merlin would reply that it was more falling in love each time they met over the years. Their friends who had known them since the very beginning would say that wasn’t exactly true. That the two of them had hated each other at the beginning and somewhere between when Gwen married Lance and Gwaine had married Elena that had changed.

The truth was probably closer to a mix of all three.

2002

Merlin mutters a curse as he half-stumbles on yet another rock. Freya and Will had left him when he was trying to tie his trainers, and now more than an hour later he still can't find them. And the dense fog wasn't helping. He barely could see more than half a meter in front of him and he wasn't exactly sure if he still was on the hiking trail. And of course, his mobile doesn’t get a signal up here. Between the fog and his rather weak sense of direction, Merlin was lost.

When Will had suggested that they go camping as their last holiday before starting uni, it had seemed like a great idea. They all were going their separate ways with Will staying in Wales, Freya moving to London and Merlin off to St. Andrews. It was their last hurrah before they went off to become adults as Merlin’s mum would say as she washed dishes looking at him fondly.

And for the most part, the road trip up to Scotland, the pub crawling and taking pictures around the base of Ben Nevis had been wonderful. Until Will suggested they should hike part of the Great Glen Way before camping for the night.

As Merlin strains his eyes to see in front of him, he wonders irritably at his own idiocy. He knows he was rather rubbish with the whole camping thing and he doesn’t know why he agreed to it in the first place.

So when he stumbles into someone a few minutes later, he's relieved. He’s steadies himself against the warm-solid-arm, the person’s muscles tensing under the palm of his hand.

The relief is short-lived as whoever he's run into says, irritation evident in their voice, “Watch where you're going.”

It takes a few seconds for Merlin to make out his face. The bloke he's run into is attractive with blond hair and blue eyes. But his features are marred by the scowl he’s giving Merlin.

“Sorry, it was an accident.”

“Right. Well next time watch where you're going.”

As he starts to walking away, Merlin panics, “Wait! I’m lost.”

The boy turns to look at him, “And you want me to what? Guide you back to camp?”

His voice is condescending and Merlin half-wants to punch him in the face for being a prat. But he has no other choice. Merlin’s trying to figure out what to say that won’t be offensive, but the boy huffs loudly, before sharply gesturing, “Fine, but you better keep up.”

As Merlin follows him, the boy keeps glancing back at him, and Merlin wonders at his frown. He couldn’t tell whether he was checking to see if Merlin was still following him or was seeing if he had finally lost Merlin somewhere along the trail.

~*~

Freya pulls him into a fierce hug when they reach the camp site. “I thought we had lost you. Will was about to call the park ranger's office to see if we need to send a search party for you.”

Will shuffles around a bit, looking shameful,”We really thought you were behind us.”

Merlin looks at the two distressed faces peering back at him and sighs, “It’s okay. I got lost but I managed to find you two in one piece so that's what matters right?”

Somehow Will has met the boy’s--Arthur's friends, who are camping for the same reasons as they are and they all decide that they should combine their camping party. The rest of Arthur's friends are great. Leon and Percy are laidback and then there's Morgana, his sister and Mithian. And then there's his girlfriend, something with a V.

Somebody, and Merlin wants to blame Will, decides that they should play spin the bottle. “Come on Merls, it’ll be fun.”

Merlin doesn't want to but Will blackmails him into playing. He knew he shouldn’t have skipped school that one day.

Merlin looks around the circle, palms sweaty. He hasn’t come out to anyone outside of his mum, Will and Freya and briefly he worries if somehow rest of the group will guess.. But even more so He doesn't want to lose his first kiss this way. Though if he were more honest, he would admit he doesn't want to start uni without any experience either.

To his horror, when it's his turn it lands on Arthur. He expects Arthur to refuse and his own lips start forming the words “no” when he sees the challenging smirk on Arthur's face.

Irritated, Merlin smirks back even though he's panicking. He could feel the nervous butterflies dancing in his stomach, his palms getting sweaty and weakly, Merlin wonders if he was going to puke. The smirk on Arthur's face falls for a moment as uncertainty and something else flashes across his face. If Merlin had been crazy, he would have said Arthur had looked vulnerable for a second, before he's reaching across the circle amongst the catcalls as he pulls Merlin towards him.

Their faces smash awkwardly, Arthur's lips catching against his cheeks, his stubble leaving a burn in its wake before he finds Merlin's mouth to press a kiss. Merlin mind blanks as he feels Arthur’s lips against his own before he starts pulling away. But Arthur tugs him back, causing Merlin to half sprawl against him. This time his hand cradling Merlin's face carefully, fingertips warm, before pressing his lips against Merlin's more firmly. And then there's a wet pressure against his lips. Tongue, Merlin thinks with a sharp inhale, his lips giving away to Arthur's tongue.

It’s hesitant as it runs along Merlin’s, but after the shock wears off, Merlin grasps onto the thin cotton of Arthur’s shirt, fisting it in his hands as he runs his tongue against Arthur, inexperience giving way to heat and the low curl of want in his belly. Arthur matches him with each lick, sucking on Merlin’s lower lip before slipping his tongue again.

It’s not until his lungs are burning that they pull apart. Arthur’s lips are swollen and he’s breathing heavily as he eyes Merlin in a shock realization.

Merlin averts his eyes, his lips ached but it was a pleasant sort of ache. He feels too tight in his skin as he sits back down beside Freya.

The kiss is all he thinks about for rest of the night as he carefully avoids Arthur.

The next day as they part ways, Merlin feels his eyes draw to Arthur, but Arthur is busy with Veronica?Victoria? Vivian? Whatever her name was that Merlin hadn’t paid attention was wrapped to his side. But as he turns to leave, he catches Arthur's eyes who seem to consider him before he's pulled away. As they head back to the car, Merlin's angry at himself for still remembering how that kiss felt.

Part Two

[Fic] The Pentagram Sacrifices Masterpost

unbidden_truth — Sat, 31 Aug 2013 16:26:18 GMT

Title: The Pentagram Sacrifices
Author: unbidden_truth
Artist: sandrainthesun
Pairings/characters: Merlin/Arthur; Leon, Lance, Gaius, Kilgharrah, Morgana, Gwaine, Gwen, Percival, a few minor OCs and with minor pairings of Gwen/Lance and Morgana/Leon.
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 32K
Warnings: Descriptions of graphic violence and death, minor homophobia, and depictions of Neo-paganism/Neo-Druidic movement in a negative light. Major artistic liberties have been taken with both the depiction and organization of The Metropolitan Police as well as places in London.
Summary: Modern AU. When murders with strange Celtic symbols start showing up around London, DI Arthur Pendragon is forced to work with a Professor Merlin Emrys, recently arrived to London and a leading expert on early Welsh writings. As they try to find the serial killer and navigate their growing attraction for one another, Merlin realizes there is more to the case than meets the eye and Arthur comes to terms to finally letting go of his past.

Author's notes: This fic has been a very difficult ride mostly due to RL and majorly unforeseen time constraints. I have no idea what I was thinking when I decided to try a mystery set in a city I've never been to with characters I haven't really written before with one character having a job I only had a general idea about. My original idea had to be shelved since I didn't have much time and I realize that there are some lose ends that probably should've been tied up better. Nonetheless, I've learned a lot, made plenty of mistakes and will try to do much better in the future. One of these days I will finally learn how to show instead of tell.

This fic wouldn't even exist if it were not for the following amazing people:

P, who despite having board exams humored me, pushed me, and believed in me when I almost gave up--she looked over the various drafts, beta'ed a whole bunch, cheerleaded when I didn't think I could do it....thank you dudette! This fic would never have made it without you. Any and all mistakes are mine.

sandrainthesun, my fantastic artist, deserves all the gratitude in the world, who despite the fact that I was generally MIA with RL stuck by me and was understanding. And her art is absolutely gorgeous! Seriously amazing, even if you don't read this fic, please please go give her fabulous artwork all the love it deserves! It was and is a constant source of inspiration.

I also want to thank my cheerleaders, dylan_mx and fuckyeah, who were super supportive and helpful in the very beginning. Thank you both! And apologies for being so MIA.

To the PL chat gang, who were always amazingly supportive whenever I dropped by and my flist for the support over the past six months.

And most of all the_muppet, who gave me more chances than I deserve and just making paperlegends such a fantastic experience for a newbie. While I'm sad this is the last one, thank you so much for all your work these past four years.

Also I should note that many things were a source of inspiration (and you may notice definite nods to some of these) including but not limited to: Lewis, Rivers of London, various Agatha Christie novels, Sherlock Holmes in it's various manifestations, really just British crime dramas in general, Welsh and Celtic mythology, and various Arthurian interpretations. Rhuddlan is an actual town in Northern Wales, home to some early Roman ruins as well as many medieval ruins dating back to the 8th and 13th centuries---I made up the part about early Druid ruins--based on quick research though I don't believe reading anything about early Druid ruins located in the general location.

Disclaimer: Merlin belongs to the BBC and Shine.

Art Link and Artist's notes can be found HERE.

[Fic] The Pentagram Sacrifices [Part 1]

unbidden_truth — Sat, 31 Aug 2013 16:24:57 GMT

| Masterpost | Part Two |

:::::

She wobbles as she makes her way, slowly down the street, her black three inch stilettos a hard clack against the pavement. Dusk is slowly spilling into night, the wind ruffling her hair as she makes her way back to her flat. Eddie had insisted that she join them at the pub. Sophia had complained she never saw her anymore. So she had relented and had gone to the pub with them. Now though, she wonders whether she should have drank that last gin and tonic considering that she still needed to finish an essay by tomorrow evening.

She doesn't register the first punch. It glances off her shoulder before she is pulled and slammed against the side wall of a brick building. She gasps, staring up at the stranger, pain blooming across her shoulders and down her back. They throws something--dust--powder at her face. It's chalky against her tongue. Tasting bitter, causes her mouth to pucker as she coughs, eyes watering.

Blinking furiously, she looks at them, a dark ski mask and the coming night covering their features. They-he tilts his head, streetlight briefly catches his face in an odd glow. It illuminates his mouth twisting into a sneer, the dull red sheen of his eyes stare back at her. It's instinctive, she steps back as she hits the wall, wincing at the pain. Her heart is beating rapidly, a pumped up staccato against her ribcage. Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump. She feels sharply sober against the onslaught of adrenaline.

“What do you want?”

She tries to reach in, pull the steady power that always lurked beneath her skin, spell ready to cast. But the words, “Wáce--” falter against her lips as her magic slips away from as if it wasn't there at all. She tries again, face twisting, “Wáce--” but again there is nothing. It's as if her magic had disappeared.

“What did you do?” she asked, eyes widening, fear creeping up her spine as she tried to push past him.

He doesn't answer. He grabs her again, pushing her forcefully against the wall. Cages her body with his, as one of his forearms slams against her chest as they pull out a blade.

Staring at the knife in shock, she desperately pushes against him, trying to claw him off, but he sharply jabs his elbow against her gut painfully, completely immobilizing her as she wheezes trying to breathe.

She knew that this could happen as a Protector. It had been drilled into her head during training. Something the Council repeatedly said could happen. But she never expected it to happen to her. The last time a Protector had died was from old age. There hadn't been any threats to the city in years.

Swallowing, forcing air past the bile that had risen up her throat, tears falling, she manages to croak out, “Why are you doing this? What do you want?”

She tries to knee him in the crotch, tries to scrabble against his chest to hit in the solar plexus but he fends off her moves.

“They will stop you. Don't think they will let this go.”

His breath against her ear makes her skin crawl and waves of nausea causes her to tremble against him. His voice is low and to her abject shock is recognizable. She can’t remember the face, but she knows that she had heard the voice before. She stills as she tried frantically to remember, “I'm counting on it.”

She starts to remember his face just as the blade moves. Sharp pain explodes as the blade plunged into her gut and was pulled sharply up. She feels light-headed, slowly sinking to the ground as he releases her. She couldn't focus, his face is blurry in her mind and fading fast. And then everything fades.

:::::

When Arthur had gotten the call that there had been a murder in the East End of Chelsea, he was expecting something more run of the mill, a jealous lover getting too carried away in a fight or maybe a bad robbery gone wrong. The Chief Inspector had stopped him for a meeting about his latest case that was leading nowhere. By the time they were finished, thirty minutes had passed since he told Leon to meet him at the scene. Then of course, the A4 had more traffic than usual due to an accident somewhere along the motorway. Arthur glanced at his watch again, grimacing as he read the time. 3:15PM. Forty-five minutes late. Leon was probably already wrapping up at the crime scene.

The closer he got to the scene, the houses started getting bigger with luxury brand name cars parked on the street. It was strange to drive through the familiar neighborhood, close to where his father’s old law firm once had been

He slowed down as he approached the scene where a large crowd had gathered. It took him another fifteen minutes to crawl through the traffic to make it to the actual location. Parking illegally, he quickly strode past the milling crowd, many with their smartphones out recording every detail of the unfolding investigation.

Giving a nod at the uniformed constable standing closest to the yellow police tape, “Sergeant," stood attention with a quick ‘sir,’ he ducked under and look around. He scanned the area, noting the scene but also trying to see whether the forensic pathologist had already finished with his examination. Noticing, the sergeant added, “ Dr. Dulac is finishing up his examination behind those bins up ahead.”

“Thanks," Arthur said, his eyes already striving to see past the two blue rubbish bins.

Bloody hell, his eyes widened. The coppery tang of blood infiltrated his noise and briefly he battled the bile raising up his throat. There was an altar made with five black candles burned low. The dried wax flaking against the pavement with what appeared to be a disemboweled body a few meters away. A pentagram drawn up in chalk was etched next to it. Arthur squinted, the writing was blurry as if rubbed away.

Even though years on the force had made him more resilient than most, the scene before him was something else. There was a pool of blood next to the victim that looked like some sort of slick crimson colored oil spill. Perhaps worse was the long bloody entrails, the victim’s intestines, crudely arranged a few meters away placed in the middle of the altar. The smell of vomit lingering in the air with the stench of blood told him all he needed to know on how some of the officers had fared when they first came up on the scene.

What kind of sick bastard would do something like this?

Arthur wanted to start up on asking questions, but with his fingers drumming restlessly against his thigh he waited for the forensic examination to be over. He watched Lance tilt the dead victim's head to the side, his brown eyes carefully studying the body before dictating his findings to a tech standing by with a notepad. Rigor mortis had set in and there was no bruising around the neck that he could see from this distance.

It would have been easy to be clinical and pretend that the body wasn’t a real person. Easy to have ignored the straw-colored hair or the way the buttoned-down, collared shirt that must have been white had turned a burnt brown. The man's white trainers were a sharp contrast to the dark slacks he had on. His eyes lingered on the trainers, they were well worn but comfortable. He must have worn them all the time.

“Any thoughts on how the victim was killed?” Arthur asked finally stepping closer as Lance stood up, removing his gloves. His eyes wandered over the blood splattered that radiated outward as he edged around the body carefully to stand beside Lance.

“Sharp blow to the left side of the head, but I don't think that was what killed him.”

“You mean he was alive when he was disemboweled?” Arthur's eyes widened, his mind skittering away from the image as he surveyed the mess of guts spread out, the stench of blood and the already rotting flesh heavy in the air.

“I'm not sure until I get back to the lab, but I would say yeah, he was alive,” Lance replied, lips twisteddown, eyebrows drawn. “My guess from the blood loss from the deep stab wound that cut right across his abodmen. He probably lost unconsciousness from the pain before he bled to death.”

“Have we been able to ID him?”

“There was no picture ID on him, but his credit cards were left behind and several large pound notes as well. His phone is password protected. I think Owain said IT is working on it to get it cracked," Lance paused, drawing a sharp breath. Arthur waited for him.

"The credit cards had the name Keenan Gordon, but I won't be able to verify it until we get back to the lab.”

Arthur motioned Lance to continue as he crouched down near the victim, pulling on latex gloves.

“But he was in his mid-twenties I would say and in relatively good health at first glance. And based on the decomposition, it appears he's been dead between eight to twelve hours. Not after midnight if I were to guess though.”

“Who found him?”

“Leon said that some random kids taking a shortcut through the alley did.”

“And no one noticed a dead body back here in all that time?” Arthur asked incredulously eyes glancing up to the busy street half a couple of hundred meters away. Despite the crowd that had gathered at the scene, there were plenty of cars going by or pedestrians passing through beyond the taped off scene.

“Leon said the area had been blocked off because of the construction around the building up the street.”

“Where is Leon anyway?” Arthur asked scanning the scene for his fellow inspector. “Or Owain for the matter? I thought they were called as well.”

“Don’t tell me Sergeant Calloway didn’t work out?” Referring to Arthur’s sergeant.

Arthur ignored the amusement in Lance’s voice.

“He was more suited for paperwork than solving murders”

Lance glanced him, not saying anything. But Arthur could pretty much guess what he was thinking. It was the third sergeant that Arthur had gone through just this year.

“It wasn’t my fault this time,” he said defensively.

Gaius had not been happy that Calloway had decided to leave the CID to work in Traffic. Looking at Arthur for a long moment before sighing, the chief inspector had told Arthur to work with Leon again for the time being. Arthur had felt guilty at the disappointed look on Gaius's face. But working with Leon and his sergeant, Owain was easier, at least he trusted them.

“Don’t you think that it’s time to stop thinking everyone is going to be like Valiant,” Lance asked gently, voice cautious. His brown eyes sympathetic as he referred to Arthur’s last sergeant from two years ago that lasted more than few months on the job.

Arthur glared at Lance, “Do I really need to tell you to bugger off?” He didn’t want to discuss whatever issues Lance thought he had right now. Or preferably ever.

“Fine,” Lance said choosing to drop the subject, but Arthur could tell that this conversation was far from over.

“Leon’s still talking to the kids who found him,” Lance replied after a beat, motioning to the front of the alleyway.

Arthur nodded, distracted as he continued to survey the dead victim. He frowned, noticing an odd shape on the man's chest.

“Lance what is that?” Arthur asked pulling away the blood soaked shirt, pointing to two strange symbols carved on the upper right hand corner of the man's chest near his shoulder. The marks were raised almost as if they had been branded into the skin.

“I noted it on my report, but I'm not sure what they are. Judging from the cauterization, I would say it happened after the vic was already dead.”

“Hmm, the markings look familiar," Arthur leaned closer, carefully running his fingers over the marks.

“Familiar?”

“Yeah.”

“Lance,” a voice interrupted them.

Lance greeted Leon as he strode up to them, “You finished up with the lads then?”

“Yeah. Those poor kids won’t be forgetting this anytime soon.”

“I would say. I don’t know if I’ll be forgetting this anytime soon. You would think working in Crimes you’ve seen everything and then this happens.”

“The poor bloke,” Leon said agreed, frowning down at the body. “Arthur?”

As he concentrated on the strange characters carved into the man's chest, Arthur gestured down to him, , “There's something carved into his chest. I think it's Celtic?”

Brows furrowed, Arthur stood as Leon peered down at the body, “Celtic? How can you tell?”

“I’m pretty sure. They look something like runes.”

Was he trying to mark his victims? Or was this something the victim already had before?

"Lance how recent would you say these marks were?"

"I would say within the past day."

Arthur stared at the markings longer.

Gut instinct told him that they were important to the case.

“But,” he said grudgingly as he stood up, “We probably should follow up on it to be sure.”

Out of the various murders in the past year, this was the second body to show up like some sort of ritual sacrifice. The last victim, a young woman in her late twenties had also been found disemboweled with a strange pentagram symbol drawn next to her. But her neck had been snapped before she had died according to the post mortem. The forensics team had followed up on it on the drawn pentagram. However, the inspector on the case made the final call saying it wasn’t relevant. There was nothing to tie the pentagram to the murder and the inspector, DI Muirden had decided it was just random graffiti rather than evidence related to the case.

From what he remembered, the young woman had been a local uni student who was living with her aunt and had been murdered on her way home from the pub. Arthur tried to remember whether there was anything in the reports about markings but drew up blank. She was wearing a unique necklace with a pendant and the fact that she still had her wallet and the necklace had ruled out robbery. But the way the body had been positioned and the pentagram, he remembered were similar to this murder.

“That body they found six months ago...the young woman? She had a pendant that looked like it was Celtic in origin.”

Leon and Lance both stared at Arthur.

“You think that case might be related to this one?” Lance asked slowly drawing out the question. Arthur could practically hear the skepticism.

“Maybe. We need to consider every possibility.”

“You don’t even know the markings are Celtic. It could be just chicken scratch for all we know,” Leon said cautiously.

“But the body was arranged similarly even if the method was somewhat different,” Arthur said trying to remember the details of the report, “and there was a pentagram drawn as well.

“Which was said to be irrelevant.”

Arthur scoffed, “This is DI Muirden we are talking about.”

“Point taken,” Leon said and then grimaced, “the Commissioner is not going to be happy about this.”

“I know,” Arthur replied grimacing in kind as he thought about how the Chief Commissioner Kilgharrah was going to react to the potential chance of a serial murder on the loose “And try to keep that it might be a serial killing from the press as long as possible. People will start to panic.”

Sighing, Leon nodded, “Not sure how long we'll be able to, but I'll see what I can do once we wrap up here. And maybe see if we can give a press release without giving too many details away.”

Arthur turned toward Lance, “Well once you’re ready, tell the SOCOs to finish gathering and send this all back to Scotland Yard..”

Lance nodded to them as he walked back, hands already gesturing to the techs to bring the body bag to get the body ready to be moved to the Westminister morgue.

“What did the kids you interviewed say?” Arthur asked as he peered up and down the alleyway, noting the buildings, the different angles of the scene trying to see whether there was anything they had missed.

There was nothing of particularly notable about the location. The alley led to several back end doors for a couple of the shops before curving into another street that was somewhat blocked off by orange "under construction" signs, but there was a small pathway through it. Most of the buildings looked fairly old and were several stories with what seemed to be office space. The chances of anybody seeing anything strange were slim.

“Nothing much, just that they use take this shortcut to get to school.”

“The killer must have known that,” Arthur said, “they wanted this body to be found but only after a certain time.”

Leon “hmms,” in agreement as he followed Arthur out of the alley.

“All of the buildings are mostly office space? No flats?”

“Yeah, no flats and pretty much either shops or small offices. We’re hoping we can find someone who might’ve seen something, but most of the shops have been closing fairly early due to the construction.”

As they move away from the crime scene and turned a corner to get out onto the main road, Arthur turns to Leon, “Any ideas?”

“What do we know so far?”

Arthur surmised, “So two murders in six months with both of them having similar, possibly Celtic, symbols carved onto their bodies.” Arthur paused and then added remembering the photos he had seen from the first murder., “And a lot of blood.”

“Do we even know why that young woman was killed?”

“Hmm, it happened in Islington right?”

“Yeah, she lived with her aunt while she was at uni. I remember reading that she had been out with her mates coming home from the pub.”

“That’s what so weird about it,” Arthur said, “It was barely dark, I think not even eight and no one noticed anything strange.”

“Didn’t she have a boyfriend?”

“She had a thing with a bloke from the shop she worked at but he had a solid alibi.”

“Could be a sociopath,” Leon said as they both ducked under the yellow tape. The sergeant standing, different from when Arthur had arrived at the scene gave them a strange look but they both ignored him.

“Could be the workings of some sort of cult.”

“Do any of the other recent murders have any connection to these two, assuming that these two are connected?”

Arthur sighed, “I think it’s a safe bet that the murders with the symbols are connected, we just don’t know how or why yet.”

Leon rubbed his forehead, “Well, if it’s a cult then we have multiple perpetrators to worry about.”

Arthur could feel a headache coming on. This was just what he needed. A group of crazies killing for some mad belief.

Leon glanced at Arthur and noticed his disgruntled face, “Maybe we should think more broadly… like robbery or something.”

Arthur gave him an annoyed look.

“Hey,” Leon said, throwing his hands up defensively, “I’m just throwing out ideas here. No need to get your knickers in a twist.”

Arthur rolled his eyes.

“Nothing was stolen from any of the victims unless you count their ID, which I don’t by the way, so robbery is completely out of the question. And Morgana is starting to rub off on you,” Arthur said referring to his sister and Leon’s wife. Half of the time Arthur thought that was the reason why he and Leon got along so well because they were able to commiserate together.

“Besides, why go through the process of disemboweling and carving symbols, much less kill just to steal something?”

“You just asked for ideas, you didn’t say they had to be good,” Leon responded, almost petulantly.

Arthur and Leon walked in silence for awhile, the crowd was finally starting to disperse and then Leon perked up, “Maybe the robber didn’t mean to kill the man and was doing some sort of penance ritual?”

“Nothing was stolen.”

“That we know of,” Leon said, this time there was definitely a petulant note in his voice.

“It also seems too staged… these murders were planned.”

“Jealous lover?”

Arthur gave Leon a blank look, “Now you’re just trying to annoy me. One, a jealous lover would usually indicates passion and it seems more likely that this murder was premeditated. Though, I'll concede there are jealous lovers who plan out killing their victims," Arthur said after a pause. "Two, we don’t know if the first crime was done out of passion. Bloody hell, can you imagine a jealous lover easily disemboweling or snapping the neck of not just one of their ex-lovers, but two of them?”

“Yes. You just don’t think outside of the box like I do and besides, I was thinking about just this murder individually.”

Arthur contemplated that for a moment and then shook his head, “No, I really think these murders are connected… especially because of the symbols.”

“There’s always the possibility that the second killer -if there’s more than one- heard about the first murder and copied the first killer’s methods to make it look like the murders are connected.”

Arthur opened his mouth to rebuke him but then just sighed, that idea was actually very plausible and so he said instead, “Well, we can’t make any concrete conclusions about how the victims died until the autopsy report.”

“Ok, so let’s say the killer didn’t know the victims personally, but then does that mean they were chosen randomly?”

“So now you think they are connected too?”

“Well, experience has taught me to believe whatever you think is right, so I’m just going to go with it.”

“Don’t do that, even if you have inane ideas, there may be some elements of truth in them.”

Leon raised an eyebrow, “Thanks, I think.”

“Ok, so they could be chosen at random but we don’t know enough about the victims personally to know for sure. Let’s just think about this murder. Why would he be down here? There would be no reason for him to take a shortcut right?”

“Possibly, but we don’t know where he was headed. I’ll have somebody ask around the neighborhood to see if they had seen the vic before. And see if the he shows up on any of the CCTVs,” Leon said thoughtfully, “And maybe have the IT team check every single one within a single mile radius within the couple of hours before and after of when the vic was killed.”

“That’s a good idea. Tell them that it should have priority before everything else.”

“Ok.” Leon replied as he pulled out his mobile to make the call, Arthur waited, brows furrowed as he gave the crime scene one last look.

“Do you remember what the report said about the pentagram? Was there anything written with it?"

“I don’t remember, but maybe there is somebody we can contact who knows more about this? Like a consultant?”

“Yeah, and find someone who can read those markings. We probably should try the local colleges. Gaius might know someone since he used to teach law at some uni several years ago.”

But whether it was a sixth sense or not, Arthur couldn’t shake the feeling they weren’t going to find much of anything.

:::::

| Masterpost | Part Two |

[Fic] The Pentagram Sacrifices [Part 2]

unbidden_truth — Sat, 31 Aug 2013 16:24:23 GMT

| Masterpost | Part One | Part Three |

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“Final call for Cardiff Central,” the announcer stated. Merlin felt a sudden wave of homesickness as he headed out for the escalators. A part of him almost wanted to turn back and leave London with it's uncertainties all together.

London had always been different, half the time a strange land full of wonder during the times he came to visit his uncle. It had been a sharp contrast to the small village of Ealdor where he had grown up with it's long rolling hills and miles of small farms. Later, when he was older it had been the quickness of life, the frantic pace that made him feel anchor-less amongst the vast sea of people. The discordant sights and smells always took Merlin by heady surprise.

Cardiff, where he had lived since after uni was so much more different. Had been so different, he thought as he tried to get his bearings. Less hectic and less congested, the pace of everything seemed much slower in Cardiff. Perhaps it was because Cardiff had become his home after the seven years he had lived there. Maybe it had been because of the people, because of Will and Freya and the rest of his friends. Of the Welsh that he could hear in the background that used to remind him of Ealdor and his mum.

Maybe because he had never been a Londoner. He had really only been to the city the few times he had came to visit his uncle. And that one time he had gone through his initiation process to become a full warlock before the Druid Council. But he had always felt awkward, amidst the bustle of everything around him.

He wasn't sure how he let everyone convince him this was a good idea as he headed for the exit.

He had taken the 8 o'clock from Cardiff Central. Most of his belongings had been sent with the movers earlier in the week and currently stored at his uncle's awaiting his arrival. Having forgotten to eat breakfast in his rush to reach the train station, he had ordered food in the dining car in a desperate attempt to quell his hunger pains. The breakfast sandwich had been terrible, the eggs runny, the cheese overcooked. What he wouldn't do to have some of his Mum's breakfast fry-up right about now.

He clenched his coat tighter around him with numb fingers and pulled along his rather huge suitcase, his rucksack hitting his hip with awkward familiarity.

Perhaps, he mused as he stepped out of the entrance of Paddington Station and walked down the street, pulling his unwieldy gray suitcase behind him, maybe this time around things will be different. Or he was just being sentimental for having to leave after he had finally settled in Cardiff.

He hadn't wanted to leave Wales, especially since he had also gotten an offer for tenureship at Aberystwyth University. It would have been much closer to Ealdor as well. It wasn't that he hadn't been really away from Wales, having attended Oxford for uni. But London had never really been part of any of the plans he had. That had changed when he had gotten the fellowship with a generous stipend to do research while teaching early Welsh literature at City University.

The fellowship was for one year and it had taken convincing from all sides before Merlin finally agreed to accept and move to London.

Merlin hailed a cabbie, glancing down at his mobile noting the time. The train had arrived about twenty minutes earlier than the usual three or so hours it normally took. He wasn't sure if Uncle Gaius would be home and briefly wondered whether he should grab some takeaway before making it over to the flat.

As he reached to open the door, Lady Gaga's “Bad Romance” started blaring loudly. Ignoring the amused look the cabbie and some of the passersby were giving him, he handed off his suitcase to the cabbie to be placed in the boot of the cab, while Merlin juggled his belongings to answer his mobile.

“You bloody wanker,” Will's strong Welsh accent filled Merlin's ear as he listened to him grouse, “You could've woke me up so I could've taken you to the bloody train station.”

“I tried, but I would've had better luck reviving someone in a coma than you when you're pissed drunk off your arse.”

“And whose fault is that?”

“I wasn't the one who forced those last five shots of whiskey on you,” Merlin said as he tried to find a comfortable position in the backseat.

“Yeah, but it was your last day in Cardiff farewell party.”

“Which would make more sense if I had gotten more pissed than you since it was my party.”

He listened in amusement as Will stumbled around looking for his clothes, “You found the paracetamol?”

“Yeah, you know--thanks for that,” Will said despondently.

“I'm only three hours away.”

“That doesn't matter. How can you leave your best mate with an unknown stranger? Who’s going to take care of me if I get pissed drunk next time?” Will demanded. Merlin could hear him shuffling around their—his old flat, putting on the kettle and the clink of the toaster as Will switched it on.

“You were the one who thought this was a great opportunity for me. Go see the real world you said, as if London was some strange land.”

“It is,” Will grumbled.

He didn't think Will really realized that meant he would actually have to move from Cardiff to London until a couple of weeks ago. And that he might need to find another flatmate.

“What if he snores loudly or doesn't do the dishes and lets mold grow over everything.”

“He seemed like a decent bloke Will.”

“You could've commuted,” Will said instead, eating his toast noisily.

“Only if I didn't want a social life. And no don't answer that you wanker.”

Merlin grinned at Will's choked off retort of “But you don't!”

“And really? You changed your ringtone to Lady Gaga? ”

“Something to remember me by.”

They fall in a silence. Merlin listened to Will finish his toast as he stared out the window of the cab idly wondering if London had changed so much in just a few years or maybe it was just him.

“Bloody hell Emrys you know I'm gonna miss you,” Will finally said.

“I'm not going off to some war mate.” But Merlin understood the sentiment. Will and him had been thick as thieves since they had been five and close as brothers. Will had been the first to know about his magic outside of his immediate family. The first to punch a bully who had been harassing Merlin. The first to hold Merlin head over the toilet the first time he had gotten piss drunk. Merlin had been there when Will's Ma had died from a long battle with cancer. And when his first serious girlfriend had broken up with him, Merlin had been there to make sure Will didn't do anything crazy.

Even in uni they had been together. Will had somehow managed scrape good enough grades to follow him to Oxford of all places.

“Well there will be space on the couch always open for you.” Merlin added after a beat.

“Thanks mate. Anyways, I promised I would show up to work for at least the afternoon so I've gotta run.”

“Yeah, talk to you soon.”

Not even a second after ending his phone call with Will, Merlin’s mobile rang again.

“Uncle Gaius,” Merlin said as he tilted his mobile closer to his ear.

Gaius as Merlin knew him, his much beloved uncle and only sibling of his mum’s, was better known to everyone else as the formidable Chief Inspector in charge of the CID for East London (and unofficially the rest of London as well or at least that had been the rumor).

“Are you here in London yet? Do you need me to come pick you up at the station?”

“No, it's fine. I'm actually not too far from your flat. Do you want me to grab some takeaway?”

“No need, I'm working from the flat this afternoon and grabbed some curry on the way home.”

“Sounds good,” Merlin said suddenly feeling very hungry, the breakfast sandwich and the weak tea early this morning were a long distant memory.

There was a hesitant pause, which made Merlin curious as he listened waiting for Gaius to continue. His uncle was rarely hesitant with anything.

“I believe I have something of a favor to ask you Merlin,” Gaius started before pausing again.

"A favor," Merlin asked, intrigued.

"But perhaps it's better if I tell you more about it once you get here.”

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Three days later Leon walked into the familiar sight of Arthur poring over the various files from the case. He surveyed the mess: the trash full of empty takeaway cartons, papers scattered in piles around Arthur’s desk, empty mugs with teabags glued to the bottom, the whiteboard covered in notes.

“When was the last time you went home?” Leon asked in lieu of a greeting.

Arthur shrugged as he finished jotting down something.

“You've been on this case for the past three days and I know from experience that couch isn't comfortable.”

“There's got to be a connection, right?” Arthur asked instead, rubbing a hand wearily across his face, “The markings and pentagrams couldn't have been a coincidence. And the bodies were definitely arranged the same way.”

“I'll go through the evidence again to check. But seriously Arthur, you need to go home and get some sleep. Have you seen yourself in the mirror recently?”

Arthur knew he looked worse for wear. His tie was crumpled somewhere on the floor, his shirt was beyond ironing by now. He was sure he had circles under his eyes and he had switched to drinking foul-tasting coffee.

“I will. It’s just these bloody markings. I can’t make head nor tail of them. I’ve looked on the internet. I even called up some of the local scholars and the most I got were vague answers.”

“Arthur,” Leon said mildly.

“Fine, I know Gaius is working on it. But time is running out and we don’t know when the next killing might be.”

“We’ll get them.”

Arthur glanced away, hands running through his hair frustatedly.

Glancing through the file in front of him, he asked instead, “Have you been able to reach the victim's parents yet?”

“Yes and the parents said they had talked to their son about a week ago. But there was nothing out of the ordinary. The sergeant in charge said if we have any more questions to forward it to their office.”

“Were there any connections between the two vics or any connection between the two families?”

“Nothing that came up. The girl was a second year student at King’s College and was living with her aunt near Islington. Her parents live in Manchester and she would go home during the summers. The lad's from Ayr up in Scotland, working at a law firm in Brent for the past three years. We haven’t been able to reach his flatmate yet but they live in Chelsea which is why the he was found there. And Owain is seeing to interviewing their friends, maybe there might be some overlap.”

“Right,” Arthur replied sighing. “I'm starting to think that both vics were randomly chosen if both cases are somehow related.”

“I agree, but I'll see if I can find any similarity between the two victims by cross referencing their friends just to be sure.”

“That's good,” Arthur replied, yawning as he took another sip of the tepid coffee.

“You seriously should get some sleep,” Leon repeated, “at the rate you're going, you're going to burn yourself out.”

“Morganna’s definitely rubbing off on you,” Arthur grumbled, “you’ve started mother henning more than she does.”

“Fine. I’ll stop nit-picking. So what have you got so far?”

“Not much. There is no connection between the vics. If I can just figure out why the killer picked them or at least where the killer is going to strike next...” Arthur trailed off, yawning.

“You won't be any help to us if you can't even see straight much less hold a gun steady to capture him.”

Arthur scowled, “I thought you said you would stop nitpicking,” But before Leon could reply, “Fine. I’ll go if it makes you feel better.”

Getting up, he picked up several of the files, ignoring Leon's “It's still work if you're taking it home with you.”

But before he can really head out of his office, one of the sergeants, Percival Hathaway stopped them, “Sir, the Chief wanted me to let you know that he found someone who can help with the symbols and altars.”

“A profiler?” Arthur asked as he shifted the folders to his other arm, handing off several to the Lamorak, the IT guy to go through the victims phone messages.

“He said a professor I believe, from City University. He didn’t say much beyond that they found someone and they should be coming in tomorrow, sir.”

Arthur frowned at him, “An academic?”

“An Arthurian scholar according to the Chief,” Percy replied his lips twitching.

Leon glanced amusedly at Arthur.

“An Arthurian scholar,” Arthur echoed. The lads were going to have a field day with that. He could hear the comments now and he mentally winced as he thought about the innuendos Gwaine was most likely going to throw his way. If he was lucky, the Irish DI will be distracted by work.

“Yes, sir.”

Arthur stopped at the elevator turning to the two men, “If you could do me a favor Perce,” he starts.

“Sir.”

“Could you possibly not tell Gwaine about this?”

“Of what, sir?” Percy asked, his face carefully blank.

“He already knows doesn’t he.” Arthur said already knowing the answer.

“He may have overheard the Chief telling Commissioner Kilgharrah, sir.”

Leon patted Arthur’s shoulder but based on the grin, Arthur knew he was just as amused as Percy. Gwaine had been Arthur’s sergeant, his first in fact and Arthur had been Gwaine’s last DI before he had been promoted. While they were around the same age, Gwaine had been late to join the force and Arthur had moved up rapidly in the ranks despite his age.

They had met for the first at a bar that had resulted in rather drunken shag. It had come rather as a shock when they both were introduced to each other by Chief Inspector Davies as DI and DS respectively. Shock might have been an understatement, but while the shagging never happened again, drunk or otherwise, they had gotten along well. And over the years, Arthur had considered Gwaine to be a close mate much like Leon. But working with Gwaine was trying, especially since it came with a heavy dose of teasing.

“Of course he did.” Arthur replied with resignation, knowing that until this case was solved was he would have to deal with a whole lot of teasing and not just from Gwaine in the foreseeable future.

“I hope this consultant is worth it,” Arthur added frowning.

“If he can just translate the markings we can figure out the rest,” Leon said.

Arthur wondered whether that was too much to hope for, that they would be able to actually find someone who could make sense of this puzzle.

| Masterpost | Part One | Part Three |