Hey hey! I'm Michelle (she/her/hers). I am super obsessed with Star Wars, Merlin, Arthurian legend, the Witcher, Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Sailor Moon, and video games in general. I also love to read, sew, costume, hike, and travel and want to make the world a better place.
Latest piece. Still learning the program and brushes but safe to say I have found something I really enjoy 😌 it's a good feeling.
This is Arthur and Merlin from latest chapter of Dragon's Dawn by @the-pen-pot. Dragon Merlin and scruffy Arthur, you couldn't ask for more. If you aren't one of her patreons then what are you doing?
This scene really sparked my imagination. Thank you!
Finally got a graphics tablet and I LOVE it. No more drawing with a mouse. So I decided to deepen my obsession with BBC Merlin. I imagine this is Arthur mid-battle after someone threatens his manservant 😝
Hello friends in my phone!
I finally have a tentative date for top surgery, and I'm told this is one of those situations where you're supposed to allow your community to rally around you. The cost of surgery itself and the medication is already taken care of, but if anyone would like to help with things I need post-surgery (zero pressure), I made a wishlist for that.
“spicy pillow” jokes aside, I think @flowerkrone’s tags deserve a serious reply:
#my old phone looks like this on my shelf lmao #im too scared to touch it to throw it away #idk what trash this even goes into when its at this point
The pillow-shaped object here used to be the phone’s battery. It’s not a battery anymore. Now it’s a balloon full of corrosive, pyrophoric chemicals and hydrogen gas and it’s one puncture away from burning your house down. I am 100% serious. You should be scared to touch it.
But you gotta touch it, because you gotta get it out of your house before the pressure builds up to the point where the balloon pops. This isn’t going to happen soon – there is no need to panic – but it will happen eventually.
And, indeed, it doesn’t go in the ordinary trash. You put this in the ordinary trash and you’re gonna set the garbage truck on fire. Don’t do that to the garbage collectors, their job is hard enough already.
The first thing you need to do is get a fireproof container. The most common household item that qualifies as a fireproof container is a cast-iron cookpot with a cast-iron lid – often sold as a “Dutch oven.” Any other cooking container that’s unreactive, has a very high melting point, and has a lid made of the same materials will also work: enameled or stainless steel, Pyrex with glass lid, etc.
However: Do not use a pot with a PTFE-based non-stick coating. If the battery does explode, the fire will probably be hot enough to degrade a PTFE coating, producing toxic smoke. (Not that you should breathe the smoke from the battery fire either, but PTFE breakdown products are worse.) Do not use a pot made of aluminium or copper. The fire might even get hot enough to melt those.
Whatever container you use, you might have to throw away along with the phone, so don’t use your good Dutch oven for this. Go to a thrift store and buy a cheap one.
Once you have the fireproof container:
Gently pick up the phone and put it in the fireproof container. If possible, gently tape the phone to the bottom of the container to prevent it from bouncing around. Don’t put any padding in there, that’ll just make a fire worse if it does happen. Put the lid on and tape it shut.
Put a label on the container, something like “DEFECTIVE LI-ION BATTERY – FIRE HAZARD”.
It is now reasonably safe to move the container around. However, if the battery does explode, the container is very likely to leak smoke and get hot, so keep it in a well-ventilated area and away from things that will be damaged by heat. Don’t leave it exposed to the weather, either.
You need to find either a hazardous waste disposal site, or an e-waste recycler that will accept defective Li-ion batteries. I can’t help with that because I have no idea where you live.
However, your local fire department, if you have one, will probably be happy to help. Call their non-emergency number. Nothing is on fire yet, so this isn’t an emergency, but things that can easily start a fire are still within the fire department’s responsibilities. Tell them you have a phone with a bulging lithium-ion battery, you put it in a fireproof container, and you want to know how to dispose of it safely.
If the fire department tries to tell you this isn’t dangerous or it’s okay to throw it out in the regular trash (with or without fireproof container), hang up on them and write a cranky letter to your local government representatives, then keep looking for a proper disposal site.
When you do find a a hazardous waste disposal site or an e-waste recycler, call them and make sure they will take defective Li-ion batteries, before showing up. That’s also a good time to ask if they will let you have the fireproof container back.
For @merthurmicrofic | Prompt: Kneel | Word Count: 1334
Arthur hated losing.
This was a truth as old as Camelot itself, a truth woven into the stone of the castle and the very shape of his smile. Arthur lost badly, with wounded dignity and endless complaints. He accused people of cheating. He demanded rematches. He insisted that the rules had somehow changed halfway through the game.
Which was why Merlin treasured every victory like a dragon hoarding gold.
The wager had begun over breakfast.
It had started, as most of Camelot's disasters did, with Arthur being unbearably smug.
"You couldn't beat me if your life depended on it," Arthur said.
Merlin looked up from his porridge.
"I beat you all the time," Merlin replied.
"You beat me once," Arthur argued.
"Three times," Merlin corrected.
"Once, Arthur insisted.
"Three," Merlin said.
"One," Arthur shot back.
"Gaius counted," Merlin said.
"Gaius is old," Arthur replied.
"Gwaine counted," Merlin added.
"Gwaine can't count," Arthur said.
And somehow, because neither of them possessed even the smallest instinct for self-preservation, this had spiralled into a competition involving archery, sword drills, horse racing, strategy games, and a final deciding round of dice that attracted half the knights and most of the servants as spectators.
The terms were simple:
If Arthur won, Merlin would do anything he asked.
If Merlin won, Arthur would do anything he asked.
The certainty in Arthur's face had been almost painful to witness. Merlin had nearly felt bad for him.
Hours later, standing in the middle of the courtyard surrounded by cheering knights, Merlin was trying extremely hard not to grin. Arthur was trying extremely hard not to look as though his entire worldview had collapsed.
"You cheated," Arthur accused.
"I didn't," Merlin said.
"You definitely cheated," Arthur said.
"I definitely didn't," Merlin replied.
Arthur pointed accusingly at the dice as though they had personally betrayed him.
"They're crooked," Arthur declared.
Leon picked them up.
"They're normal," Leon said.
Arthur pointed at Merlin.
"He's crooked," Arthur said.
"Thank you," Merlin said.
"That wasn't a compliment," Arthur replied.
The knights were laughing now.
Even Lance.
Even Percival.
Even Elyan, who was usually wise enough to stay out of arguments involving Arthur's pride.
Arthur crossed his arms. The posture was meant to look kingly. Unfortunately, it mostly looked like a sulking child refusing vegetables.
"Fine," he said.
Merlin brightened immediately. "Fine?"
"Fine," Arthur repeated. The word sounded physically painful.
"You won," Arthur admitted.
"I did," Merlin agreed.
Arthur glared. Merlin smiled wider. Arthur glared harder. Merlin somehow smiled even wider.
The courtyard collectively leaned closer.
Everyone wanted to know what Merlin would ask for.
Arthur was expecting something dreadful.
Perhaps weeks of chores. Maybe public humiliation. Possibly an entire speech about how wonderful Merlin was.
The possibilities were endless and horrifying.
Merlin pretended to think. He tapped his chin. He paced in a slow circle around Arthur. Arthur narrowed his eyes.
The knights were practically vibrating with anticipation.
Finally, Merlin stopped.
"Oh," Merlin said.
His face lit up.
The expression alone made Arthur suspicious.
"Oh no," Arthur said.
"Oh yes," Merlin replied.
"No," Arthur said.
Merlin's grin became absolutely unbearable.
"Arthur"
"Merlin"
"I know what I want," Merlin said.
Arthur sighed the sigh of a man approaching his own execution.
"What?" Arthur asked.
Merlin folded his arms.
Then, very carefully, very deliberately, he said:
"Kneel"
The courtyard exploded. Gwaine nearly fell over. Elyan doubled over laughing. Several servants made noises that suggested they might never recover.
Arthur stared. Merlin stared back.
The silence stretched.
"Kneel," Merlin ordered.
Arthur looked genuinely offended.
"I am the king," Arthur said.
"You're the loser," Merlin replied.
More laughter.
Arthur looked ready to outlaw joy itself.
"You cannot be serious," Arthur said.
"I am entirely serious," Merlin answered.
Arthur looked around desperately for support. He found none. Traitors. Every single one of them. Leon was visibly trying not to smile. Lance was failing. Even Gwen had appeared on a balcony and was covering her mouth with one hand.
Arthur looked back at Merlin. Merlin was standing there with sunlight caught in his dark hair, eyes bright with triumph, trying so hard to look authoritative and failing because there was laughter dancing at the corners of his mouth.
Arthur felt something in his chest soften. It happened often around Merlin. Far too often.
The thing was, Merlin wasn't asking for power. Everyone else might have. Many people would have used a victory like this to make a point. To prove something. To embarrass a king.
But Merlin looked delighted in exactly the way he had when they were younger, when they were both idiots and Arthur was still learning that the strange servant who followed him everywhere had somehow become the centre of his world.
Merlin simply wanted to win. Wanted proof that he had. Wanted this story. Wanted to spend the next decade reminding Arthur about it. Arthur could already hear it.
Remember that time I made the king kneel?
Remember that time everyone saw?
Remember that time you looked so miserable?
A lifetime of torment. Arthur was doomed. And somehow, looking at Merlin's face, he found that he didn't particularly mind. Because Merlin was laughing. Because he was happy. Because that expression was worth more than Arthur's dignity had ever been.
The realization settled over him with surprising ease.
There were very few things Arthur would not give Merlin: his loyalty, his trust, his life, his kingdom, if it came to it.
A bruised ego was hardly worth mentioning.
The courtyard had gone quiet again.
Everyone was waiting.
Arthur looked at Merlin.
Merlin lifted one eyebrow.
Arthur sighed dramatically.
Then he dropped to one knee. The reaction was immediate.
Cheers erupted from every corner of the courtyard. Someone actually whooped. Gwaine was definitely crying from laughter.
Arthur ignored them all.
Because Merlin had suddenly gone still. The grin remained. But something softer had slipped underneath it.
Arthur looked up.
And there it was.
The moment he always found himself chasing.
Merlin's surprise.
Merlin never expected things from him. Not really. Even now. Even after all these years. Even after countless battles and promises and impossible acts of faith. Some part of Merlin always seemed startled whenever Arthur chose him. Whenever Arthur stepped willingly toward him. Whenever Arthur gave him something without being forced.
Arthur looked at him from where he knelt.
The position should have felt ridiculous. Instead, it felt oddly natural. Because it was Merlin. Because if Merlin asked, Arthur would always answer.
Not because of the wager. Not because of the crowd. Not because he was trapped.
Simply because it was Merlin.
The devotion sat openly in Arthur's eyes, unhidden and unashamed.
And Merlin saw it. Arthur knew he saw it.
The laughter around them faded. Not literally. The knights were still making enough noise to wake dragons. But suddenly the world felt smaller.
Merlin swallowed. For one brief second, he looked completely undone.
As though Arthur had somehow turned the joke around. As though the victory had become something else entirely.
Arthur smiled, a small smile. Soft around the edges.
Merlin's expression immediately became suspicious.
"What?" Merlin asked.
Arthur's smile widened.
"What, what?" Arthur asked.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Merlin asked.
"Like what?" Arthur replied.
"That," Merlin said.
Arthur considered.
Then, with absolute sincerity, said:
"You won."
Merlin's ears turned red.
"Oh, shut up," Merlin muttered.
Arthur laughed.
The sound was warm and bright and impossible to regret. And when Merlin finally offered him a hand to help him up, Arthur took it immediately. As though there had never been any question. As though there never would be.
The courtyard remembered the day as the day Merlin made the king kneel.
Arthur remembered it differently. Arthur remembered Merlin's triumphant smile. The way the sunlight caught in his hair. The startled softness that appeared when Arthur willingly gave him what he wanted. And most of all, Arthur remembered looking up from one knee and finding that the easiest thing in the world was loving him.
I haven't done one of these in a while, but since there is a whole lot of fic writing going on behind the scenes, I thought I'd post something so my Merthur peeps can see the lay of the land. Full details below the cut!
(As always, all the stuff on Patreon ends up on AO3 eventually!) People are paying for advanced access/polls etc. Not the fics themselves.)
Currently updating on AO3
(Advanced chapters & Drafts also on Patreon.)
King & Court (Currently on chapter 86 of probably 115)
Loneliness is an insidious thing. When Merlin looks at Arthur, he sees not just a prince waiting for his time to rule, but a young man struggling to find his place in the world, with little help from anyone else.
The truth is, Arthur needs more than the friendship Merlin can offer. He needs people he can trust: men and women who will become his court and his confidants, and if he is going to survive to take the throne and lead Camelot into its golden age, he needs them sooner rather than later.
Finding loopholes in Uther’s laws is no easy feat. Court life is a dangerous game, but it’s one Merlin has every intention of winning so that Arthur can have knights of his choosing by his side.
And then there is the matter of his magic…
Currently Updating on Patreon /Coming 2026 to AO3
Dragon's Dawn (On chapter eleven of twenty-four)
When a sorcerer steals Arthur away from Camelot, he finds himself struggling to survive a long, cold imprisonment, sustained only by the promise of rescue. Yet finding his freedom is only the beginning. Can Merlin learn to control the new magic of his heritage, or has his power finally grown too big to contain?
(A sequel to A Hint of Legacy on AO3)
In progress fics (current posting schedule not known)
Without Breath: A creepy Merthur horror fic
Body Swap Fic: Arthur gets first-hand experience of just how powerful Merlin's magic is.
Time travel Magic Reveal: In a fit of panic during a crisis, Merlin swaps places with his older self. He gets to see Camelot's golden age, and Arthur gets to see the truth about Merlin.
