[Recs] MERLIN!!!!
All right, I'm on a Merlin high this Saturday as I spent a good half of it reading such a lovely piece of fiction and the other half insanely waiting for a WIP to be finished, and now it is and OH MY GOD I HAVE TO SHARE MY SQUEE OR I WILL EXPLODE. So I'm really not expecting coherency or actual recs and more of incoherent rambling and general aal;jfaskfjaj!!!!!
The Student Prince by pandarus [~150k words] (linked in AO3 as one full work but can be read in her journal as well)
Summary: A Modern day Merlin AU set at the University of St Andrews, featuring teetotal kickboxers, secret wizards, magnificent bodyguards of various genders, irate fairies, imprisoned dragons, crumbling gothic architecture, arrogant princes, adorable engineering students, stolen gold, magical doorways, attempted assassination, drunken students, shaving foam fights, embarrassing mornings after, The Hammer Dance, duty, responsibility, friendship and true love...
Notes: OH. MY. GOD. The LOVE I have for this right now knows no bounds. You see, I've been following this WIP religiously for a month as it posts a chapter everyday (how can I resist Arthur as Prince of Wales and set in Uni???) and now it's finished and I don't know whether to be happy or sad that it's all done but damn, it sure is one hell of a ride. I'm sure it has been recced far and wide but I just have to share because this nearly made me cry and made me so happy all at the same time, made me jump up and down and clap my hands and scream into my pillow all in one month. It made me want to tear my hair out in frustration because of the UST and bang my head on the table and just smish them together and that's not even mentioning the rest of the characters because... I could really go on, but never mind, because I can go all day. The summary has it all, and oh so much more. I realized that's not much of a rec and just fangirl squeeing, BUT it really is worth it.
(That is my try at coherencey, but what I really want to say is ;AKJFADFADKFJA;KJFADFJA;KDFA!!!! OMG, IT'S FINISHED! I heart you, pandarus.)
The Piano by fishwrites [~43k words]
Summary:In which Merlin is a mute pianist.
When Freya dies from fever, unable to fulfill a promise of marriage, Merlin and his daughter Morgana are sent far away to the lonely shores of New Zealand where everything Merlin owns becomes the property of one Stewart Valiant. Silent, with only music for company, Merlin tries desperately to save his piano when Valiant refuses to take it with them and abandons it on the beach. When Valiant sells the piano to Arthur Pendragon, Merlin is forced to make a choice. And so begins a love affair, a journey with irrevocable consequences.
Notes: This is a reel_merlin based on inspired by the film, but I'm glad to have read this without knowing or having an idea what could happen. This is such a beautiful love story and it captured me from the very start. My heart just goes out to Merlin--his despair all throughout just makes my heart ache and caused my eyes to nearly tear up more than once. His relationship with Arthur is subtle and gradual and again, it is very much a love story that made me despair because the whole thing is just so raw and bleak and yet hopeful at the same time because you just feel that those moments with Arthur are Merlin's lifeline and he clutches at it so desperately that I, as a reader, can't help but do the same. And his silence really is heartbreaking. This fic made me cry inside, up to the last part, but the coda made it all better, and that very last word was PERFECT. It speaks so much of what has been unspoken all throughout and my heart can be at peace with this, with the ending, knowing everything is finally okay. Just beautiful. ♥
So these two actually remind me of another reel_merlin and modern royalty fic I've read a few weeks back:
It's not the end of the world (but you can see it from here) by corilannam [~33k words]
Summary: Arthur, Prince of Wales, finds it hard to accept that he and Merlin have no future. Then he finds out that neither does anyone else.
Notes: Writing a Merlin fic based on the film prompt of 2012 shouldn't really be possible. But, I'm in no position to talk considering I haven't watched the movie yet. But anyway, since I've read this a while back, it's not as fresh in my mind as the other two. Still, this is a wonderfully crafted love story between the Prince of Wales and Dr. Merlin Emrys against the backdrop of the world's destruction, and that really sounds cheesy, but it's not, because really, it's more. I think that it is, at the heart of it, Arthur's story, and how he grows into who he is supposed to be. Also, I love Uther and Morgana in this, and a special note in my delicious bookmarks says: has heartbreaking and flail-inducing moments the entire time. :) <333333
♥♥♥
The Student Prince by pandarus [~150k words] (linked in AO3 as one full work but can be read in her journal as well)
Summary: A Modern day Merlin AU set at the University of St Andrews, featuring teetotal kickboxers, secret wizards, magnificent bodyguards of various genders, irate fairies, imprisoned dragons, crumbling gothic architecture, arrogant princes, adorable engineering students, stolen gold, magical doorways, attempted assassination, drunken students, shaving foam fights, embarrassing mornings after, The Hammer Dance, duty, responsibility, friendship and true love...
Notes: OH. MY. GOD. The LOVE I have for this right now knows no bounds. You see, I've been following this WIP religiously for a month as it posts a chapter everyday (how can I resist Arthur as Prince of Wales and set in Uni???) and now it's finished and I don't know whether to be happy or sad that it's all done but damn, it sure is one hell of a ride. I'm sure it has been recced far and wide but I just have to share because this nearly made me cry and made me so happy all at the same time, made me jump up and down and clap my hands and scream into my pillow all in one month. It made me want to tear my hair out in frustration because of the UST and bang my head on the table and just smish them together and that's not even mentioning the rest of the characters because... I could really go on, but never mind, because I can go all day. The summary has it all, and oh so much more. I realized that's not much of a rec and just fangirl squeeing, BUT it really is worth it.
(That is my try at coherencey, but what I really want to say is ;AKJFADFADKFJA;KJFADFJA;KDFA!!!! OMG, IT'S FINISHED! I heart you, pandarus.)
The Piano by fishwrites [~43k words]
Summary:In which Merlin is a mute pianist.
When Freya dies from fever, unable to fulfill a promise of marriage, Merlin and his daughter Morgana are sent far away to the lonely shores of New Zealand where everything Merlin owns becomes the property of one Stewart Valiant. Silent, with only music for company, Merlin tries desperately to save his piano when Valiant refuses to take it with them and abandons it on the beach. When Valiant sells the piano to Arthur Pendragon, Merlin is forced to make a choice. And so begins a love affair, a journey with irrevocable consequences.
Notes: This is a reel_merlin based on inspired by the film, but I'm glad to have read this without knowing or having an idea what could happen. This is such a beautiful love story and it captured me from the very start. My heart just goes out to Merlin--his despair all throughout just makes my heart ache and caused my eyes to nearly tear up more than once. His relationship with Arthur is subtle and gradual and again, it is very much a love story that made me despair because the whole thing is just so raw and bleak and yet hopeful at the same time because you just feel that those moments with Arthur are Merlin's lifeline and he clutches at it so desperately that I, as a reader, can't help but do the same. And his silence really is heartbreaking. This fic made me cry inside, up to the last part, but the coda made it all better, and that very last word was PERFECT. It speaks so much of what has been unspoken all throughout and my heart can be at peace with this, with the ending, knowing everything is finally okay. Just beautiful. ♥
So these two actually remind me of another reel_merlin and modern royalty fic I've read a few weeks back:
It's not the end of the world (but you can see it from here) by corilannam [~33k words]
Summary: Arthur, Prince of Wales, finds it hard to accept that he and Merlin have no future. Then he finds out that neither does anyone else.
Notes: Writing a Merlin fic based on the film prompt of 2012 shouldn't really be possible. But, I'm in no position to talk considering I haven't watched the movie yet. But anyway, since I've read this a while back, it's not as fresh in my mind as the other two. Still, this is a wonderfully crafted love story between the Prince of Wales and Dr. Merlin Emrys against the backdrop of the world's destruction, and that really sounds cheesy, but it's not, because really, it's more. I think that it is, at the heart of it, Arthur's story, and how he grows into who he is supposed to be. Also, I love Uther and Morgana in this, and a special note in my delicious bookmarks says: has heartbreaking and flail-inducing moments the entire time. :) <333333
♥♥♥