![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
My current theory is that our new house is located on the site where the altar to some pagan god once stood, and that we have displeased him/her/it/them, and a sacrifice needs to be made to get us back into his/her/its/their good/not-displeased graces.
(Said god does not yet realize that there will be many, many beers sacrificed on-site.)
I thought blowing the motherboard on my desktop would be enough excitement for one week. I did not factor in mild food poisoning, and I'm ready for that to be gone now, thanks.
And since I was miserable, I wrote myself some very, very fluffy Merlin fluff.
shetiger wrote Catalyse, and I followed it up with
Categorize
"How on earth did you end up all the way out there?"
The little thing is clearly miserable, a shaking ball of damp black fur with sad eyes on the balcony outside Arthur's window. Arthur sighs, and reaches for the kitten. "Come on, then."
The kitten hisses, fur making a pathetic attempt to stand up under the weight of the drizzling rain. Arthur pulls his hand back and returns the stare. "You really are just like your namesake, aren't you?"
The kitten, predictably, does not answer.
"Stubborn beast," Arthur says, turning from the window, an alternate tactic already in mind.
Merlin's back, standing by the table, a stack of towels in his arms. "His namesake?" he asks, meeting Arthur's eyes with a surprised smile. "You named him after me?"
Arthur drops his gaze, focusing on his objective. He tears a piece of chicken from the lunch he'd had interrupted by a piteous cry, and says, "I thought about it, but then there'd be two of you not coming when you were called." On returning to the window, he holds out the morsel and waits. When the kitten slinks in close enough to nibble, Arthur scoops it up, feeding it the rest in apology. "This is Peregrine."
Merlin narrows his eyes. "Very original."
"It came to me after I found him up on top of the canopy." Arthur carries Peregrine back over and gives Merlin a pointed look. "He does like to wander to places he shouldn't."
"He's an independent soul, then," Merlin says with approval.
Arthur rolls his eyes and nods at the towels Merlin still hasn't set down; Merlin fumbles most of them to the table, holding the last one out to help wrap up the sodden kitten.
Together, they manage to soak up the worst of the water as he squirms and fidgets. Arthur's about to give Peregrine another piece of chicken for his troubles, but he breaks away and shoots across the room to the basket by the hearth, where his mother and siblings are sensibly napping.
He gives both Merlin and Arthur a baleful glare, then starts grooming away the wild tufts of fur he's been left with.
Arthur watches Peregrine for a moment, then walks over to close the window. Though he'd swear it had been closed before. "You've another thing in common," he says to Merlin, folding his arms over his chest and leaning against the wall.
Merlin glances over at the kitten and then back at Arthur, raising his eyebrows. "Dashing good looks?"
Arthur doesn't dignify that with a response, because, really. What he does is watch Merlin with half-lidded eyes, and say, "I can't figure either of you out."
Merlin ducks his head and steals a scrap of bread from Arthur's plate, as if Arthur isn't right there. After a moment, he looks up at Arthur, a soft smile on his lips, and says, "We do like that you keep trying."
***
Oh, and the microfic meme, also Merlin-flavored, snagged from
lamardeuse. (I was all, yay! Short! I can write short! *g*) Some of them have more than one answer, 'cause I wanted to, dammit.
The Microfic Meme
Try to write different categories of fic (angst, fluff, UST, etc) in 10 words or less.
Angst
"They'll kill you!"
No time for pretending. "Don't let them."
AU
"Executive tech support," Merlin's arse. More like "Arthur's whipping boy."
Crack
"It's raining... men."
"Tiny, angry men." Merlin squinted. "In... dresses?"
Crossover
Arthur paused, sword ready. "'There can be only one' what?"
Death
"We will meet again," Merlin swore, softly, against Arthur's lips.
Episode Related
"That sword was forged for me."
Merlin nodded.
"...Thank you."
First time
Arthur had never been undressed so quickly.
Or so thoroughly.
Fluff
"The cook named them 'fairy cakes'," Merlin said, grinning hugely.
Humor
"It's just a flesh wound!"
They stared. "Your arm's off."
~
"I'm not wearing it."
"Morgana would."
"...Fine. Give it here."
Hurt/comfort
Merlin hated Arthur violently, wholeheartedly--until he found his pulse.
~
"Ugly as ever," Merlin said, bandaging Arthur's forehead.
Then, ducking.
Smut
Arthur gasped. More than just insolent, Merlin's tongue was wicked.
~
(courtesy of special guest
shetiger:
"Faster, Arthur, faster... why'd you stop?"
"I've heard that before.")
UST
Merlin, tying Arthur's cloak, was a breath away.
Arthur swallowed.
(Said god does not yet realize that there will be many, many beers sacrificed on-site.)
I thought blowing the motherboard on my desktop would be enough excitement for one week. I did not factor in mild food poisoning, and I'm ready for that to be gone now, thanks.
And since I was miserable, I wrote myself some very, very fluffy Merlin fluff.
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
Categorize
"How on earth did you end up all the way out there?"
The little thing is clearly miserable, a shaking ball of damp black fur with sad eyes on the balcony outside Arthur's window. Arthur sighs, and reaches for the kitten. "Come on, then."
The kitten hisses, fur making a pathetic attempt to stand up under the weight of the drizzling rain. Arthur pulls his hand back and returns the stare. "You really are just like your namesake, aren't you?"
The kitten, predictably, does not answer.
"Stubborn beast," Arthur says, turning from the window, an alternate tactic already in mind.
Merlin's back, standing by the table, a stack of towels in his arms. "His namesake?" he asks, meeting Arthur's eyes with a surprised smile. "You named him after me?"
Arthur drops his gaze, focusing on his objective. He tears a piece of chicken from the lunch he'd had interrupted by a piteous cry, and says, "I thought about it, but then there'd be two of you not coming when you were called." On returning to the window, he holds out the morsel and waits. When the kitten slinks in close enough to nibble, Arthur scoops it up, feeding it the rest in apology. "This is Peregrine."
Merlin narrows his eyes. "Very original."
"It came to me after I found him up on top of the canopy." Arthur carries Peregrine back over and gives Merlin a pointed look. "He does like to wander to places he shouldn't."
"He's an independent soul, then," Merlin says with approval.
Arthur rolls his eyes and nods at the towels Merlin still hasn't set down; Merlin fumbles most of them to the table, holding the last one out to help wrap up the sodden kitten.
Together, they manage to soak up the worst of the water as he squirms and fidgets. Arthur's about to give Peregrine another piece of chicken for his troubles, but he breaks away and shoots across the room to the basket by the hearth, where his mother and siblings are sensibly napping.
He gives both Merlin and Arthur a baleful glare, then starts grooming away the wild tufts of fur he's been left with.
Arthur watches Peregrine for a moment, then walks over to close the window. Though he'd swear it had been closed before. "You've another thing in common," he says to Merlin, folding his arms over his chest and leaning against the wall.
Merlin glances over at the kitten and then back at Arthur, raising his eyebrows. "Dashing good looks?"
Arthur doesn't dignify that with a response, because, really. What he does is watch Merlin with half-lidded eyes, and say, "I can't figure either of you out."
Merlin ducks his head and steals a scrap of bread from Arthur's plate, as if Arthur isn't right there. After a moment, he looks up at Arthur, a soft smile on his lips, and says, "We do like that you keep trying."
***
Oh, and the microfic meme, also Merlin-flavored, snagged from
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
The Microfic Meme
Try to write different categories of fic (angst, fluff, UST, etc) in 10 words or less.
Angst
"They'll kill you!"
No time for pretending. "Don't let them."
AU
"Executive tech support," Merlin's arse. More like "Arthur's whipping boy."
Crack
"It's raining... men."
"Tiny, angry men." Merlin squinted. "In... dresses?"
Crossover
Arthur paused, sword ready. "'There can be only one' what?"
Death
"We will meet again," Merlin swore, softly, against Arthur's lips.
Episode Related
"That sword was forged for me."
Merlin nodded.
"...Thank you."
First time
Arthur had never been undressed so quickly.
Or so thoroughly.
Fluff
"The cook named them 'fairy cakes'," Merlin said, grinning hugely.
Humor
"It's just a flesh wound!"
They stared. "Your arm's off."
~
"I'm not wearing it."
"Morgana would."
"...Fine. Give it here."
Hurt/comfort
Merlin hated Arthur violently, wholeheartedly--until he found his pulse.
~
"Ugly as ever," Merlin said, bandaging Arthur's forehead.
Then, ducking.
Smut
Arthur gasped. More than just insolent, Merlin's tongue was wicked.
~
(courtesy of special guest
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
"Faster, Arthur, faster... why'd you stop?"
"I've heard that before.")
UST
Merlin, tying Arthur's cloak, was a breath away.
Arthur swallowed.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-09 03:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-09 04:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-09 04:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-09 04:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-09 04:03 am (UTC)*snugs you*
(I think I want a flirty/aw-shucks Merlin icon. Or Colin would do, too. Do you recall any like that anywhere?)
no subject
Date: 2009-01-09 04:49 am (UTC)*squeezes*
(I sent you some links--also, the newsletter collects icon posts.)
no subject
Date: 2009-01-09 04:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-09 04:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-09 04:31 am (UTC)(Perhaps your pagan god is just a fan of fluffy fics and thinks that misery is the best way to motivate you? In which case, T_T But, um... yay fluff? ^^;; I do hope you feel better!)
no subject
Date: 2009-01-09 05:08 am (UTC)(Thank you for the good thoughts--sickly is SO NOT FUN.)
no subject
Date: 2009-01-09 04:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-09 05:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-09 05:04 am (UTC)"Tiny, angry men." Merlin squinted. "In... dresses?"
*dies*
no subject
Date: 2009-01-09 05:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-09 05:52 am (UTC)I always say the world could do with fewer squirrels. If you're looking for a small animal sacrifice.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-09 08:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-09 05:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-09 09:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-09 02:07 pm (UTC)Hee, Peregrine! *g* It's absolutely adorable that Merlin thinks Arthur would name one of the kittens after him. You and shetiger are great!
no subject
Date: 2009-01-09 09:19 pm (UTC)And thank you! I'm just glad
no subject
Date: 2009-01-09 02:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-09 09:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-10 09:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-11 02:41 am (UTC)"Executive tech support," Merlin's arse. More like "Arthur's whipping boy."
Mmmm... *ponders on Merlin's arse*
Arthur paused, sword ready. "'There can be only one' what?"
I would love to see Methos teach Arthur a thing or two about wielding swords. :)
And OMG, kitten! You've killed me dead from all the adorableness. Thank you!