We Are Stardust by fuzzytomato02 (NC-17)
This is my final Merlin rec for the month and it's another excellent offering from last year's paperlegends (and today is also the last day to sign up to participate this year if anyone is interested!).
Fandom: MERLIN
Pairing: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon
Length: 43,097
Author on LJ: fuzzytomato02
Author Website: AO3
Why this must be read:
For the brilliant world-building.
Summary: "The crew of the merchant ship Avalon are a good lot if a little odd. The captain, Morgana, has weird dreams. The first mate, Arthur, is an unpleasant ex-lieutenant of the Phoenix Guard. The ship itself is falling apart. When they take on a new engineer named Merlin at Tintagel drift to help with repairs, they not only get a genius, they get much more than they bargained for."
I love space operas and I love non-canon Merlin AUs that still have magical elements. This fic is a perfect blend of the two. It's sometimes difficult to fuse two vastly different genres together, even more so to adapt characters from a particular setting into another, but fuzzytomato02 deftly weaves an epic world-building tale that does an amazing job of blending the two. The result is a quick-paced, vividly imagined story with a great plot and rich characterizations and with a style that comes away feeling less like Star Trek and something more akin to Cowboy Bebop or Firefly. I particularly loved how magic was translated into this universe, while Merlin doesn't have magic per say, he has a similar ability that is similarly regarded. The back-story for all the characters is interesting, but particularly Arthur's. And Arthur's growth as a character as he slowly opens up to Merlin is wonderful. I also really enjoyed Morgana and Arthur's sibling dynamic.
While there are a few places I wished we had more details, the plot keeps the story moving along firmly. And the only major drawback is that I wish this fic was at least another 50k words longer.
Also, please go see (and comment!) amphigory's artwork for this (it's embedded within the fic, but can be also seen here)---it's fantastic and fits this fic like a glove.
Excerpt:
Arthur sighed, stepped forward, and pounded his fist against the console.
There was a surprised shout, followed by a thud and then a curse. The legs flailed, dangerously close to kicking Arthur in the shin, before the body slid out.
Arthur was confronted with a young, skinny, dark-haired idiot with large ears and blue eyes and a red mark on his forehead from where he had clocked himself.
“Oi!” he shouted. “What are you doing? I was under there, you know.”
“I don’t think anyone could have missed you with the racket you were making.”
“Right. Who are you then? Beside the ship’s arse?”
Arthur bristled, straightened his spine and looked down his nose at the ridiculous man on the floor. “I’m Arthur Pendragon.”
Merlin blinked. “Is that supposed to mean something to me?”
Morgana was watching the exchange with a bemused expression, hand over her mouth trying to hide her smile, no doubt.
Merlin looked over Arthur’s shoulder at her, and Arthur prickled at the dismissal.
“Who is this, Captain?”
“He calls you Captain?” Arthur asked, looking at his sister, incredulous. “No wonder you like him.”
Morgana ignored him. “Merlin, this is Arthur, my brother. He’s my second.”
Merlin’s eyes widened and he scrambled to his feet. He looked even more awkward and ungainly standing, in Arthur’s opinion, in his overlarge coveralls and a toolbelt cinched tight around his waist. He looked Merlin over, to the tips of his red ears, probably due to embarrassment, down to where his coveralls were tucked into his messily laced boots.
“You’re an odd one, aren’t you?” Arthur said.
Merlin frowned, jaw thrust forward. “And you’re still an arse no matter your rank.”
Arthur laughed, in spite of himself. “You’re either very brave or very stupid. I haven’t decided yet.”
We Are Stardust
Fandom: MERLIN
Pairing: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon
Length: 43,097
Author on LJ: fuzzytomato02
Author Website: AO3
Why this must be read:
For the brilliant world-building.
Summary: "The crew of the merchant ship Avalon are a good lot if a little odd. The captain, Morgana, has weird dreams. The first mate, Arthur, is an unpleasant ex-lieutenant of the Phoenix Guard. The ship itself is falling apart. When they take on a new engineer named Merlin at Tintagel drift to help with repairs, they not only get a genius, they get much more than they bargained for."
I love space operas and I love non-canon Merlin AUs that still have magical elements. This fic is a perfect blend of the two. It's sometimes difficult to fuse two vastly different genres together, even more so to adapt characters from a particular setting into another, but fuzzytomato02 deftly weaves an epic world-building tale that does an amazing job of blending the two. The result is a quick-paced, vividly imagined story with a great plot and rich characterizations and with a style that comes away feeling less like Star Trek and something more akin to Cowboy Bebop or Firefly. I particularly loved how magic was translated into this universe, while Merlin doesn't have magic per say, he has a similar ability that is similarly regarded. The back-story for all the characters is interesting, but particularly Arthur's. And Arthur's growth as a character as he slowly opens up to Merlin is wonderful. I also really enjoyed Morgana and Arthur's sibling dynamic.
While there are a few places I wished we had more details, the plot keeps the story moving along firmly. And the only major drawback is that I wish this fic was at least another 50k words longer.
Also, please go see (and comment!) amphigory's artwork for this (it's embedded within the fic, but can be also seen here)---it's fantastic and fits this fic like a glove.
Excerpt:
Arthur sighed, stepped forward, and pounded his fist against the console.
There was a surprised shout, followed by a thud and then a curse. The legs flailed, dangerously close to kicking Arthur in the shin, before the body slid out.
Arthur was confronted with a young, skinny, dark-haired idiot with large ears and blue eyes and a red mark on his forehead from where he had clocked himself.
“Oi!” he shouted. “What are you doing? I was under there, you know.”
“I don’t think anyone could have missed you with the racket you were making.”
“Right. Who are you then? Beside the ship’s arse?”
Arthur bristled, straightened his spine and looked down his nose at the ridiculous man on the floor. “I’m Arthur Pendragon.”
Merlin blinked. “Is that supposed to mean something to me?”
Morgana was watching the exchange with a bemused expression, hand over her mouth trying to hide her smile, no doubt.
Merlin looked over Arthur’s shoulder at her, and Arthur prickled at the dismissal.
“Who is this, Captain?”
“He calls you Captain?” Arthur asked, looking at his sister, incredulous. “No wonder you like him.”
Morgana ignored him. “Merlin, this is Arthur, my brother. He’s my second.”
Merlin’s eyes widened and he scrambled to his feet. He looked even more awkward and ungainly standing, in Arthur’s opinion, in his overlarge coveralls and a toolbelt cinched tight around his waist. He looked Merlin over, to the tips of his red ears, probably due to embarrassment, down to where his coveralls were tucked into his messily laced boots.
“You’re an odd one, aren’t you?” Arthur said.
Merlin frowned, jaw thrust forward. “And you’re still an arse no matter your rank.”
Arthur laughed, in spite of himself. “You’re either very brave or very stupid. I haven’t decided yet.”
We Are Stardust