weekly round-up 41
I apologize for the lateness! Real life. You know what I'm talking about.
Trend of the week: META AND CODAS. Kind of a continuation off last week's trend of "AND THEN...", fandom sure has been reflective lately! Lots of discussion and thinky posts going around, and it's fun place to poke around if you're into that sort of thing.
Weekly Round-Up
Titles in bold are extra-recommended ♥
Merlin recs
Ideas of Love by vampyreofdeath (PG, 2k)
Summary: Arthur/Merlin, coda to 2x04. Arthur is not in love with Gwen; he is in love with the idea of her.
Notes: I am always up for explanations as to why canon!Arthur is being such a dickweed this season :O This one is pleasantly believable with the added bonus of Arthur being mildly cognizant of his being in love with Merlin <3
Loaded Gun Complex by congest (PG-13, ~3k)
Summary: Arthur/Merlin, modern!AU. Arthur is an agent in a special government team responsible for investigating magic-related crimes. Merlin is the genius criminal and magic user that is released into Arthur's custody in order to "work off his debt to society" by helping out with investigations.
Notes: The writing here is meaty and dense--decades of untold backstory are barely contained beneath the veneer of simple scenes and simple interactions. Consequently, the entire fic is brimming with tension between our favorite leads. Arthur, especially, drops in and out of angst. He obsesses over his prisoner in a very Crime Show or FBI Manhunt kind of way, and it's thrilling to watch him work through the emotions.
Do the Contracts of Traditional Curses Allow for These Kinds of Exceptions? by conclusivelead (R, 4k)
Summary: Arthur/Merlin, modern!AU, crack. Arthur is a Frog Prince. Before that, he was Merlin's annoying (and besotted) neighbor.
Notes: Cracktastic and cute, this fic is but a sweet, fluffy fairytale of a morsel to sample :)
Through the Looking Glass by b_b_banana (NC-17, 2k)
Summary: Arthur/Merlin, canon!AU, dubcon, power play. Arthur is king and Merlin is a commoner who comes to Camelot to plead a case. Arthur, however, has other things in mind for him.
Notes: Hotness. I love Merlin as a virginal waif, because he IS just that pretty!
kissing sketch on deviantart by woshibbdou (art)
Summary: Arthur/Merlin, PG. Linked from yorkshirewench's original rec.
Notes: Yes, this is a rec of a rec. So sue me. The art is REALLY pretty, so better you accidentally see it twice than not at all!
Merlin 2x04 (Lancelot & Guinevere AKA Thunderdome meets The Princess Bride) MASSIVE Episode Reaction/Picspam by ifyouweremine (recap)
Summary: Arthur/Merlin, recap of 2x04, crack.
Notes: A sample caption to one of the many sizzling screencaps of our favorite boys: *I would hit this like the hand of an angry god. HA HA HA
Oh man, ifyouweremine is a comedic genius. I want her to recap every episode this season, AND THEN I WILL REC THEM ALL.
Other Recs
The Female Gaze and Male Gays:
Exploring Slash Fanfiction in Online Communities and Feminist Contexts by shaxophile (meta)
Summary: An essay discussing the history of slash fanfiction (citing Merlin in several instances).
Notes: Dense, academic, and delish. I've often wondered why I'm so addicted to slash; all the knee-jerk reasons weren't quite enough. Sure, "two hot guys are better than one" is true, but it's not enough to explain an entire subculture. Then there are reasonings like "fangirls feel threatened by sexuality in their real lives and thus need to escape via non-threatening, homoerotic romance", which just make me uncomfortable.
This essay introduces a new take on the attraction of slash to straight women in terms I can totally get behind. Basically, one of the main arguments she brings up is how media culture almost always lacks a strong, female character or viewpoint and so we're forced to assume the role of the male lead in our deeper explorations of the shows, since they're the only characters with anything truly relatable or redeemable. They author says:
Female characters are invisible, or else superwomen that female fans find difficult to dovetail into normal life.
So true.
A cited quote: [The slash relationship] is not tainted with sexism, with expectations of a given role, because the one is female and the other is male. It is equality...They are attracted to each other’s personalities.
This totally supports my Arthur/Gwen meta, but with actual smart words and stuff :O
Anyway, give this a go if you've been a longtime slasher and are interested in the psychological/cultural/sociological workings behind our subculture. It's pretty fascinating if you've got the attention span.
Looking for previous recs? Check the tag. For FAQ and list of all bolded titles, check the primer.
Trend of the week: META AND CODAS. Kind of a continuation off last week's trend of "AND THEN...", fandom sure has been reflective lately! Lots of discussion and thinky posts going around, and it's fun place to poke around if you're into that sort of thing.
Weekly Round-Up
Titles in bold are extra-recommended ♥
Merlin recs
Ideas of Love by vampyreofdeath (PG, 2k)
Summary: Arthur/Merlin, coda to 2x04. Arthur is not in love with Gwen; he is in love with the idea of her.
Notes: I am always up for explanations as to why canon!Arthur is being such a dickweed this season :O This one is pleasantly believable with the added bonus of Arthur being mildly cognizant of his being in love with Merlin <3
Loaded Gun Complex by congest (PG-13, ~3k)
Summary: Arthur/Merlin, modern!AU. Arthur is an agent in a special government team responsible for investigating magic-related crimes. Merlin is the genius criminal and magic user that is released into Arthur's custody in order to "work off his debt to society" by helping out with investigations.
Notes: The writing here is meaty and dense--decades of untold backstory are barely contained beneath the veneer of simple scenes and simple interactions. Consequently, the entire fic is brimming with tension between our favorite leads. Arthur, especially, drops in and out of angst. He obsesses over his prisoner in a very Crime Show or FBI Manhunt kind of way, and it's thrilling to watch him work through the emotions.
Do the Contracts of Traditional Curses Allow for These Kinds of Exceptions? by conclusivelead (R, 4k)
Summary: Arthur/Merlin, modern!AU, crack. Arthur is a Frog Prince. Before that, he was Merlin's annoying (and besotted) neighbor.
Notes: Cracktastic and cute, this fic is but a sweet, fluffy fairytale of a morsel to sample :)
Through the Looking Glass by b_b_banana (NC-17, 2k)
Summary: Arthur/Merlin, canon!AU, dubcon, power play. Arthur is king and Merlin is a commoner who comes to Camelot to plead a case. Arthur, however, has other things in mind for him.
Notes: Hotness. I love Merlin as a virginal waif, because he IS just that pretty!
kissing sketch on deviantart by woshibbdou (art)
Summary: Arthur/Merlin, PG. Linked from yorkshirewench's original rec.
Notes: Yes, this is a rec of a rec. So sue me. The art is REALLY pretty, so better you accidentally see it twice than not at all!
Merlin 2x04 (Lancelot & Guinevere AKA Thunderdome meets The Princess Bride) MASSIVE Episode Reaction/Picspam by ifyouweremine (recap)
Summary: Arthur/Merlin, recap of 2x04, crack.
Notes: A sample caption to one of the many sizzling screencaps of our favorite boys: *I would hit this like the hand of an angry god. HA HA HA
Oh man, ifyouweremine is a comedic genius. I want her to recap every episode this season, AND THEN I WILL REC THEM ALL.
Other Recs
The Female Gaze and Male Gays:
Exploring Slash Fanfiction in Online Communities and Feminist Contexts by shaxophile (meta)
Summary: An essay discussing the history of slash fanfiction (citing Merlin in several instances).
Notes: Dense, academic, and delish. I've often wondered why I'm so addicted to slash; all the knee-jerk reasons weren't quite enough. Sure, "two hot guys are better than one" is true, but it's not enough to explain an entire subculture. Then there are reasonings like "fangirls feel threatened by sexuality in their real lives and thus need to escape via non-threatening, homoerotic romance", which just make me uncomfortable.
This essay introduces a new take on the attraction of slash to straight women in terms I can totally get behind. Basically, one of the main arguments she brings up is how media culture almost always lacks a strong, female character or viewpoint and so we're forced to assume the role of the male lead in our deeper explorations of the shows, since they're the only characters with anything truly relatable or redeemable. They author says:
Female characters are invisible, or else superwomen that female fans find difficult to dovetail into normal life.
So true.
A cited quote: [The slash relationship] is not tainted with sexism, with expectations of a given role, because the one is female and the other is male. It is equality...They are attracted to each other’s personalities.
This totally supports my Arthur/Gwen meta, but with actual smart words and stuff :O
Anyway, give this a go if you've been a longtime slasher and are interested in the psychological/cultural/sociological workings behind our subculture. It's pretty fascinating if you've got the attention span.
Looking for previous recs? Check the tag. For FAQ and list of all bolded titles, check the primer.