Seven Deadly Sins (Merlin drabbles, 7 X 100 words)
May. 4th, 2009 | 09:12 pm
From:: lilian_cho
Sloth & Pride are companion drabbles. Everything else stands on its own. I'm not cool enough to make all seven drabbles related, sadly.
I want to do another sins set in the future (with different characters & prefferrably an interconnected storyline) because these ones come across as sympathetic & rather tame.
*******
"Gluttony" - Gaius, G
This was by no means Gaius' first experience of a food shortage. Before he came to Camelot, Gaius grew up in a small village where going hungry during lean winters was a fact of life.
Camelot—with her abundant granary, overflowing wine and unending, extravagant feasts—was like paradise.
His first Yule feast, Gaius ate so much sweetmeats and golden honey pastries that he ended the night with throwing up all over a minor noble.
These days, he no longer indulged in the gluttony of youth. Still he sneaked an extra pastry or two at the end of every feast.
*******
"Wrath" - Uther, Igraine, G
Nobody could accuse Uther Pendragon of being kind. When his Igraine was still alive, he would grant her requests, out of love for her and not kindness.
Given time, perhaps his queen could have tempered his iron grip, and he would have become a fair, benevolent ruler. But time was the one thing Igraine did not have.
The day he gained an heir and lost a queen, coldness gripped his heart. Two decades of magic users condemned to pyres did nothing to his cold burning anger.
Sometimes, he dreamt of her. In the morning, he woke up to cold sheets.
*******
"Envy" - Morgana, PG
Morgana had always possessed steady nerves. When your nightmares bled into your waking moments, you could either stay calm or break apart.
She suspected that what she saw with eyes closed were not mortal dreams; still she downed the draughts Gaius prepared without a word.
These days, not even draughts could keep her visions at bay. She saw magic users—past and present—rail at the iron bars that caged them. A little peasant girl, scarcely older than the druid boy, screamed as the pyre underneath her caught flame.
If only she could trade her visions for some magical power.
*******
"Sloth" - Merlin, Arthur, G
He should have listened to Gaius.
"Merlin! Have you been doing magic again?"
If he had been less lazy and had polished Arthur's armour by hand, this wouldn't have happened.
"Merlin, I thought I told you to get my armour ready—"
Arthur wouldn't have looked so betrayed. He wouldn't have ordered Merlin out of his sight on pains of hanging.
Merlin wouldn't be hiding in his room, feeling equally terrified and determined.
"The half cannot hate that which makes it whole."
Sometimes Merlin wanted to skewer the unhelpful lizard.
But maybe, just maybe—
"Arthur? May—may I come in?"
*******
"Pride" - Arthur, Merlin, G
Arthur had always prided himself of his judgment. No matter what pretty words a man presented at court, he could always unravel their true motivation.
It was therefore a nasty shock when he discovered that Merlin had blindsided him for so long.
All this time, the fierce protectiveness he felt for a man he called 'friend'– was it all sorcery and lies?
His father must have thought him a fool.
"Arthur—may I come in?"
He should call the guards. He shouldn't be fooled by the naked hope in that voice.
He opened the door and met unwavering blue eyes.
*******
"Lust" - Lancelot/Gwen, Arthur, PG-13
The first time it happened, they were young and carefree in love.
The second time--there should never have been a second time. No longer a maidservant, she was a queen in her own right.
Lancelot had won a decisive battle for Camelot, and in the flush of victory wine and mead had flowed freely. The king's eyes on him had held such a shine, which made him humbled and exultant in equal measures.
When he lifted his chalice up at his queen and looked for several heartbeats too long, he told himself the warmth in his blood was wine.
*******
"Greed" - Mordred, Arthur, G
"Why won’t you come out and defend him, Emrys?" Mordred shouted, the druid markings on his cheek livid against his pale skin. "Your precious prince, now grown old to be a pitiful king." He spat out the last two words.
Arthur's chest rattled with every painful breath he took.
"His best knight and his queen, both exiled from the kingdom. With no heir to the throne and your king dead, did you think Camelot would be left standing?"
Heart heavy, Arthur closed tired eyes.
"Emrys! Come out and show yourself, Emrys!" Mordred's clear voice rang across the now silent battlefield.
*******
ETA 07/06/10:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dreaming_athena podficced my Seven Deadly Sins drabble series here =DDD [ @ Audiofic Archive
1. Is there a Merlin LDWS comm. somewhere? We have Merlin tweetfic comm., there should be a Merlin LDWS, yeah?
LJ, IJ, DW, doesn't matter.
2. Also, LDWS comm.s, why the high upper limit? 499-word = flopsy, not a drabble. And 1K words = ficlet, not a drabble.
This is what modding a drabble community get you, you turn into a purist without realizing it =P
3. You know what Merlin pastiche hasn't been done yet? Merlin/FMA. So, Merlin characters in an FMA-like world.
Consider this: magic ~ balance // alchemy ~ equivalent exchange.
Merlin saves Arthur's life but Something Goes Horribly Wrong. Arthur comes back to life, but now he's caught in a never-ending loop of Saving the Day and Dying a Bloody, Tragic Death at a Terribly Young Age.
After the however many times Merlin had Arthur dying in his arms, Merlin swears to break the circle. But what does Merlin have left to offer up in exchange (and not having Arthur die on him again?)
Depressing plotbunny is depressing.
[ LJ | IJ | DW ]
I want to do another sins set in the future (with different characters & prefferrably an interconnected storyline) because these ones come across as sympathetic & rather tame.
*******
"Gluttony" - Gaius, G
This was by no means Gaius' first experience of a food shortage. Before he came to Camelot, Gaius grew up in a small village where going hungry during lean winters was a fact of life.
Camelot—with her abundant granary, overflowing wine and unending, extravagant feasts—was like paradise.
His first Yule feast, Gaius ate so much sweetmeats and golden honey pastries that he ended the night with throwing up all over a minor noble.
These days, he no longer indulged in the gluttony of youth. Still he sneaked an extra pastry or two at the end of every feast.
*******
"Wrath" - Uther, Igraine, G
Nobody could accuse Uther Pendragon of being kind. When his Igraine was still alive, he would grant her requests, out of love for her and not kindness.
Given time, perhaps his queen could have tempered his iron grip, and he would have become a fair, benevolent ruler. But time was the one thing Igraine did not have.
The day he gained an heir and lost a queen, coldness gripped his heart. Two decades of magic users condemned to pyres did nothing to his cold burning anger.
Sometimes, he dreamt of her. In the morning, he woke up to cold sheets.
*******
"Envy" - Morgana, PG
Morgana had always possessed steady nerves. When your nightmares bled into your waking moments, you could either stay calm or break apart.
She suspected that what she saw with eyes closed were not mortal dreams; still she downed the draughts Gaius prepared without a word.
These days, not even draughts could keep her visions at bay. She saw magic users—past and present—rail at the iron bars that caged them. A little peasant girl, scarcely older than the druid boy, screamed as the pyre underneath her caught flame.
If only she could trade her visions for some magical power.
*******
"Sloth" - Merlin, Arthur, G
He should have listened to Gaius.
"Merlin! Have you been doing magic again?"
If he had been less lazy and had polished Arthur's armour by hand, this wouldn't have happened.
"Merlin, I thought I told you to get my armour ready—"
Arthur wouldn't have looked so betrayed. He wouldn't have ordered Merlin out of his sight on pains of hanging.
Merlin wouldn't be hiding in his room, feeling equally terrified and determined.
"The half cannot hate that which makes it whole."
Sometimes Merlin wanted to skewer the unhelpful lizard.
But maybe, just maybe—
"Arthur? May—may I come in?"
*******
"Pride" - Arthur, Merlin, G
Arthur had always prided himself of his judgment. No matter what pretty words a man presented at court, he could always unravel their true motivation.
It was therefore a nasty shock when he discovered that Merlin had blindsided him for so long.
All this time, the fierce protectiveness he felt for a man he called 'friend'– was it all sorcery and lies?
His father must have thought him a fool.
"Arthur—may I come in?"
He should call the guards. He shouldn't be fooled by the naked hope in that voice.
He opened the door and met unwavering blue eyes.
*******
"Lust" - Lancelot/Gwen, Arthur, PG-13
The first time it happened, they were young and carefree in love.
The second time--there should never have been a second time. No longer a maidservant, she was a queen in her own right.
Lancelot had won a decisive battle for Camelot, and in the flush of victory wine and mead had flowed freely. The king's eyes on him had held such a shine, which made him humbled and exultant in equal measures.
When he lifted his chalice up at his queen and looked for several heartbeats too long, he told himself the warmth in his blood was wine.
*******
"Greed" - Mordred, Arthur, G
"Why won’t you come out and defend him, Emrys?" Mordred shouted, the druid markings on his cheek livid against his pale skin. "Your precious prince, now grown old to be a pitiful king." He spat out the last two words.
Arthur's chest rattled with every painful breath he took.
"His best knight and his queen, both exiled from the kingdom. With no heir to the throne and your king dead, did you think Camelot would be left standing?"
Heart heavy, Arthur closed tired eyes.
"Emrys! Come out and show yourself, Emrys!" Mordred's clear voice rang across the now silent battlefield.
*******
ETA 07/06/10:
dreaming_athena podficced my Seven Deadly Sins drabble series here =DDD [ @ Audiofic Archive1. Is there a Merlin LDWS comm. somewhere? We have Merlin tweetfic comm., there should be a Merlin LDWS, yeah?
LJ, IJ, DW, doesn't matter.
2. Also, LDWS comm.s, why the high upper limit? 499-word = flopsy, not a drabble. And 1K words = ficlet, not a drabble.
This is what modding a drabble community get you, you turn into a purist without realizing it =P
3. You know what Merlin pastiche hasn't been done yet? Merlin/FMA. So, Merlin characters in an FMA-like world.
Consider this: magic ~ balance // alchemy ~ equivalent exchange.
Merlin saves Arthur's life but Something Goes Horribly Wrong. Arthur comes back to life, but now he's caught in a never-ending loop of Saving the Day and Dying a Bloody, Tragic Death at a Terribly Young Age.
After the however many times Merlin had Arthur dying in his arms, Merlin swears to break the circle. But what does Merlin have left to offer up in exchange (and not having Arthur die on him again?)
Depressing plotbunny is depressing.
[ LJ | IJ | DW ]