It's One of Those Days
tavern_tales has opened and you can participate/go read/comment/squee for this month's theme here.
It's Femslash February! And alsohalfamoon is officially open :)
Plus you can rec your favorite Merlin femslash here over at untold_legends
Which reminds me rarewomen fic exchange is taking nominations through Feb 8th. Signups for the fic exchanges is from Feb 16th through March 2nd. FAQ post is here.
The Valentine Day Game is being done again by svmadelyn. Information and details are explained at the link---sending anonymous messages to people who make fandom amazing, interesting and such a wonderful experience is always a great thing. (via destina)
If anybody is interested, it's posting time over at ksvalentine (which generally is low stress with posting in the two weeks leading up to Valentine's day Kirk/Spock fest). On a side note, I feel kind of strange that I'm not as emamoured with them (well the reboot ship, I still love TOS) as I used to be?
Porn Battle XV has started--and there are some great prompts.
And one of my favorite non-fandom specific BigBangs is doing signups at scifibigbang.
One last thing, and one that I probably really should/need to sign up for: crack_the_wip has signups going on until Feb 8th. A writing challenge for people in the WIP limbo---you can sign up to be a writer/cheerleader/buddy and more information is here.
Recs!
Revealed by destina (M/A, 2198, R, canon/canon!AU)
Truth spell trope fic set in canon by destina----what more do I need to say?! Boys being overprotective and madly in love with each other---great writing, wonderful characterizations, all the feelings of "the epic love" and pretty much trope fic at it's very best. It's also wonderfully sweet and really I know my bias is showing because I think I love every single Merlin fic of hers---go read :)
Three glomp_fest recs:
The Language of You by planejane (M/A, 5469, R, canon/canon!AU)
Awkward boys, pining!Arthur, and a badly planned trip though by no fault of his own. This was full of wonderful canon details and I particularly loved Arthur's voice here. From the way he plans out the trip to convincing his father to not wanting to push Merlin, I really loved his maturity but at the same time, loved all the pining and the awkward moments of someone who was still kind of fumbling his way around his feelings. I also loved the cuddling scene, something about Merlin draping his leg over Arthur's got to me.
All the Way Back (Where I Belong) by emjayelle (M/A, 4347, PG-13, modern!AU)
Was so happy when I saw this when I got home. This fic pretty much contained all of my favorite things when it comes to modern AUs, Merlin with magic, Arthur and Merlin being friends since they were little, Hunith, and friends to something more. The vivid imagery and just the wonderfully poetic---evocative words all laced with warmth and sweetness that is MJ's usual style elevates this into more than the usual fluffy fic. There is so much love and warmth in this fic and I could sense Arthur's love and sense/memory association with the Emry's home ( and really it's Arthur's too). The relationship between Arthur and Hunith was absolutely wonderful. And the banter between Merlin and Arthur was reminiscent of canon but also of two best friends who knew each other perhaps better than they knew themselves :)
Invidia by agirlnamedtruth (Morgana/Gwen, 6596, PG-13, canon/canon!AU)
Lovely, lovely Gwen POV from a S1 perspective. I loved all the doubts and insecurities and thought the author did a great job of describing her fears as well as highlighting all of Gwen's best qualities. I particularly loved her friendship with Merlin (the scene where she wants to comfort him even though she felt jealous was well done), and especially the inner conflict and dealing with expectations---particularly in respect to her and Morgana's future. And I thought the connection and moments between her and Morgana were poignant.
One camelot_drabble holiday exhange rec:
To Yield by simpleact (M/A, 2378, PG-13, canon/canon!AU)
Protective!Merlin is always wonderful but an Arthur equally turned on by a protective!Merlin is even better. I loved how steadfastly loyal Merlin is and Arthur's POV and his inner conflict in this was really compelling for me. And I really loved that the author discussed the aftermath of the magic reveal in somewhat of a non-linear way (seriously one of my favorite things). One of the best aspects was how fragile things became between Arthur and Merlin and while things got somewhat back to normal, it wasn't quite the same. One of my favorite stories to come out of the fic exchange. (I did mention that part where Arthur is super turned on by a protective!Merlin right?)
It's Femslash February! And alsohalfamoon is officially open :)
Plus you can rec your favorite Merlin femslash here over at untold_legends
Which reminds me rarewomen fic exchange is taking nominations through Feb 8th. Signups for the fic exchanges is from Feb 16th through March 2nd. FAQ post is here.
The Valentine Day Game is being done again by svmadelyn. Information and details are explained at the link---sending anonymous messages to people who make fandom amazing, interesting and such a wonderful experience is always a great thing. (via destina)
If anybody is interested, it's posting time over at ksvalentine (which generally is low stress with posting in the two weeks leading up to Valentine's day Kirk/Spock fest). On a side note, I feel kind of strange that I'm not as emamoured with them (well the reboot ship, I still love TOS) as I used to be?
Porn Battle XV has started--and there are some great prompts.
And one of my favorite non-fandom specific BigBangs is doing signups at scifibigbang.
One last thing, and one that I probably really should/need to sign up for: crack_the_wip has signups going on until Feb 8th. A writing challenge for people in the WIP limbo---you can sign up to be a writer/cheerleader/buddy and more information is here.
Recs!
Revealed by destina (M/A, 2198, R, canon/canon!AU)
Truth spell trope fic set in canon by destina----what more do I need to say?! Boys being overprotective and madly in love with each other---great writing, wonderful characterizations, all the feelings of "the epic love" and pretty much trope fic at it's very best. It's also wonderfully sweet and really I know my bias is showing because I think I love every single Merlin fic of hers---go read :)
Three glomp_fest recs:
The Language of You by planejane (M/A, 5469, R, canon/canon!AU)
Awkward boys, pining!Arthur, and a badly planned trip though by no fault of his own. This was full of wonderful canon details and I particularly loved Arthur's voice here. From the way he plans out the trip to convincing his father to not wanting to push Merlin, I really loved his maturity but at the same time, loved all the pining and the awkward moments of someone who was still kind of fumbling his way around his feelings. I also loved the cuddling scene, something about Merlin draping his leg over Arthur's got to me.
All the Way Back (Where I Belong) by emjayelle (M/A, 4347, PG-13, modern!AU)
Was so happy when I saw this when I got home. This fic pretty much contained all of my favorite things when it comes to modern AUs, Merlin with magic, Arthur and Merlin being friends since they were little, Hunith, and friends to something more. The vivid imagery and just the wonderfully poetic---evocative words all laced with warmth and sweetness that is MJ's usual style elevates this into more than the usual fluffy fic. There is so much love and warmth in this fic and I could sense Arthur's love and sense/memory association with the Emry's home ( and really it's Arthur's too). The relationship between Arthur and Hunith was absolutely wonderful. And the banter between Merlin and Arthur was reminiscent of canon but also of two best friends who knew each other perhaps better than they knew themselves :)
Invidia by agirlnamedtruth (Morgana/Gwen, 6596, PG-13, canon/canon!AU)
Lovely, lovely Gwen POV from a S1 perspective. I loved all the doubts and insecurities and thought the author did a great job of describing her fears as well as highlighting all of Gwen's best qualities. I particularly loved her friendship with Merlin (the scene where she wants to comfort him even though she felt jealous was well done), and especially the inner conflict and dealing with expectations---particularly in respect to her and Morgana's future. And I thought the connection and moments between her and Morgana were poignant.
One camelot_drabble holiday exhange rec:
To Yield by simpleact (M/A, 2378, PG-13, canon/canon!AU)
Protective!Merlin is always wonderful but an Arthur equally turned on by a protective!Merlin is even better. I loved how steadfastly loyal Merlin is and Arthur's POV and his inner conflict in this was really compelling for me. And I really loved that the author discussed the aftermath of the magic reveal in somewhat of a non-linear way (seriously one of my favorite things). One of the best aspects was how fragile things became between Arthur and Merlin and while things got somewhat back to normal, it wasn't quite the same. One of my favorite stories to come out of the fic exchange. (I did mention that part where Arthur is super turned on by a protective!Merlin right?)