one of these is NOT AU! *gasp*

[osaraba]

I'm a little swamped at work, but I wanted to do rec a few things I've read recently.

yanethyrael's Only in the Storms, written for i_reversebang and fae_boleyn's art. I had the pleasure of betaing for the lovely yanethyrael and totally got caught up in the off-the-grid lives of Ariadne, Arthur and Eames. It's mostly gen, though there are hints of interest. Most significantly, I'm not really a fan of Ariadne in canon or fanon, but this Ariadne is pretty darn cool -- I actually like her. All three of them are interesting characters and my only complaint is that there isn't more! It feels like the start of a story, and I'm shamelessly demanding some sequel ficlets! Go forth and read, and don't forget to comment!

ION, I'm relatively new to the Merlin fandom so for the last month I've been feverishly reading ALL THE FIC. (There is no end in sight, just yet.) There have been SO MANY great, epic fic and I haven't been keeping track of them as well as I should be, but since I've got a moment just now, I'm reccing a few (all Arthur/Merlin):

1. ardent's Break Like Time: The Fifth Column. JESUS FUCK. This is an epically and amazingly plotted canon-era AU which re-appropriates the events of the show and turns it all on its side while keeping the main themes and relationship dynamics intact. This reads like an epic fantasy, rife with secrets, betrayal, split loyalties, hidden plots, and well-timed revelations -- I don't even think the author would have to change names in order to get this published because it's just another take on the Arthurian legends (though clearly taking inspiration from the BBC show). 30k words AND YET IT IS ONLY THE FIRST ARC! I'm desperately hoping the author continues because reading this was satisfying in ways so much of the canon-era fic out there are not.
   
   
2. seperis's Privileges of Rank (but really basically ALL of her Merlin fanfic) because her Arthur is my headcanon!Arthur. All the interaction he has with other characters is SO in character with the canon, and yet we get to see how he tries to hide his compassion and dedication to justice, and god, how much he cares. And the dialogue! Dialogue can be SO difficult to write -- it's absolutely the bane of my own attempts -- but she nails it. So basically, go read everything she's written. PoR in particular, though, has a touch of dark to it -- a nod to the power dynamics in the show; in a completely self-indulgent way, I wish there had been more, but what was included REALLY worked for the story itself.
   
   
3. riventhorn's Knights of the Air, a ridiculously well-written, well-researched story about Arthur and Merlin as RAF pilots during World War II. The atmosphere of this was SO well done, I felt like I was watching a WWII movie. This was heartbreakingly lovely.
   
   ETA:
   
4. Just read everything by syllic.

PLEASE, don't hesitate to rec some more Merlin fics to me -- I've been on a spree and I still can't get enough. I feel vaguely guilty as there are some Inception fic (WIPs and others) that I haven't kept up with, but I know I'll get back to them soon. Oddly enough I've gone back to listening to my Inception-related playlist full of french music from the 60s and random emo-rock (yeah, don't ask).

Comments

[lovelyracketeer.livejournal.com]

Merlin fandom has to be one of the most talented out there (along with the Inception folks). :D There is so much awesome stuff to read! I went through a huge chunk of it last summer and still don't think I found even most of the good stuff. This rec list was a godsend sorting through it all, though. One of my favorites is In Want of a Wife by syllic. IDK why that one resonated with me so much, but it really did. In Time of Trial by shinetheway is also a good one. Interesting plot idea.

I'm going to stop before I list a million things, but yeah. xD

[osaraba]

YES OMG EVERYTHING THAT syllic WRITES IS GOLD. AALSDJFALSJFALSFJALSDFJL. There's actually not much more I can say about that. =D I LOVED IWoaW, as well as her crew!AU, Easy There.

BUT ALSO OH GOD, thanks for that rec list!!!! I've read a good portion of what's on there, and I kind of figured a lot of it has been recced before so I didn't mention them. As I said, I'm not doing a great job of keeping track of everything -- that first blush of love in a fandom is always the worst because I just drown myself in fic and neglect to bookmark or rec links and then I have to go back and rediscover them later. Which, I suppose, isn't the worst thing in the world. =D

[shiroi-ten.livejournal.com]

\0/ Merlin fic! I love rereading things and finding new fic. :)

Have you read A Year and a Day? Its by linaerys and I just loved the fantastical, dreamy quality.

[osaraba]

No, I haven't read that one -- I'm not sure I've read any of her Merlin fics, so I'm going to check that out ASAP, thanks!!! \o/

[shiroi-ten.livejournal.com]

:) np and fun reading!

[chaneen.livejournal.com]

Ooh, thanks for the Inception rec! I've been wanting to get into reading more fic in the fandom again, so I appreciate any and all recs. :) And I have actually not read one of those Merlin fics, so thanks for that, too!

And for you: some must read Merlin fics from my delicious. I have definitely enjoyed a bunch of other stuff that's not in my delicious (and there's my general Merlin tag as well), but those are my favorites of what I read during various productive delicious adding times.

[osaraba]

Oh yes, I'm glad this Inception fic might work for you, as I think I remember that you're more into A/A than A/E, right? Like I said, I'm not a huge fan of Ariadne, but I'll read the occasional A/A or A/A/E.... I'll probably never read a proper Ariadne/Eames, though.

And yay! I'm glad I could rec a Merlin fic you haven't read! Thanks for the links -- I started off a week or two ago on your delicious by checking out all the modern AU Merlin fic! =D I'll get to your favorites and then the canon era stuff next. =D

[chaneen.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the thing I really want to read in Inception fandom is a lot of team gen, and backstory fic, but if I ship anyone it's probably Arthur/Ariadne, Arthur/Ariadne/Eames, Cobb/Saito, and the occasional Arthur/Eames (mostly only occasional because I got frustrated with the characterization of both of them in a lot of fic when I was reading it last summer/fall). And I love the universe, so I generally prefer not to read AUs, but sometimes they just look so interesting that I have to give them a try!

I'm glad my delicious has been helpful! I'm hoping to get back into reading more Merlin fic in the next couple of weeks, so there should be more new (and old, because I'm on a mission to re-read and properly rec the stuff in my 'to rec' folder in my bookmarks) stuff for you to read soon! :D