The Big Book Of Merthur

Oneshot: The Imitation Game AU

AN: HAPPY NEW YEAR GUYSSSS!!!!!! So for this oneshot I decided to try something different. Have any of you seen the movie The Imitation Game? If you haven't, YOU HAVE TO WATCH IT (if ur allowed to watch M-rated movies) CAUSE ITS REALLY GOOD (and the protagonist is played by Benedict Cumberbach so thats a bonus). So this oneshot is based off Alan Turing (the protagonist)'s childhood. The oneshot's gonna have a lil more depth and meaning if you've actually seen the movie, but you'll understand it just fine even if you haven't. Nothing much to say here, so lets get to it.
PS: Shoutout to SsuMmMmerR , she's written a superb Merthur fanfiction (Arthur's Return) that you NEED to check out if you haven't already, and flowerspetalsroses , who's currently writing a book (Fighting The Temptest) that I highly recommend you read as well.

Setting: The year is 1928. Merlin is a child prodigy in the area of mathematics, and attends Sherborne School, which is an all boys boarding school. Whenever there's italics, imagine that Merlin is older (in his mid-twenties), and is retelling his experiences at school to someone else. Whenever there's bold writing, its a Cryptograph or a translation from a cryptograph. For reference, Cryptography in this chapter is when you substitute letters in the alphabet for different ones, and write messages using this new alphabet. Eg: if I swap the letters H,E,L, and O with J,T,F, and D, I would write the word 'HELLO' as 'JTFFD'. Just incase anyone gets confused.

The Imitation Game AU.

The problem began, of course, with the carrots.

My hands feverishly manoeuvred my knife and fork across the plate, pushing the carrots and peas to opposite sides of my plate, as far away from each other as possible. The other boys at my table were giving me peculiar looks, but I payed no heed. I was more than used to it.

Carrots are orange. And peas are green. They musn't touch.

The last pea was forced into the pile of green on my plate, separated from the orange carrots. I was finally satisfied. Picking up my fork, I was about to dig in, when abruptly, a shower of carrots and peas cascaded down onto my uniform, hair... and my plate. There was orange and green all over it. Touching.

Raucous laughter echoed through the Dining Hall as I hurriedly brushed vegetable chunks off my uniform. I recognised Valiant Mercia as the one who poured the carrots and peas over me, but could not spare any attention to him, because there was green and orange on my plate, green and orange that weren't separated. Laboured breathing rasped out of my throat as I proceeded to sort out the vegetables. Again.

                                                                          ***

Do you know why people like violence?

My body hit the ageing wood below the classroom floorboards with a loud thud, arousing dust particles around me. I tried to pull myself back up, but the firm hands of one of the boys pushed me back down with merciless force.

It's because it feels... good.

The laughter and taunting only increased, as another boy lifted the floorboards in his burly hands. He replaced the wood next to the other floorboards, enclosing me under the floor completely.

Humans find violence deeply satisfying.

The unmistakable sound of nails being hammered added to my strained ears, already burdened by the bullies' sneers and the sound of my piercing screams of protest. They were sealing me in, eliminating any chance my weak figure had of escaping from under the classroom floor.

But remove the satisfaction...

As the last nail was forced into the floorboards, my screams subsided into heavy breathing. I was disconnected from my body, too consumed by the ocean of panic I was drowning in.