Weekly Round-Up Primer

[aeroport_art]

Who
Me :P Just your run-of-the-mill fangirl, I dabble in writing/graphics/drawing for the fandom. And boy, do I read a lot of fic.
What
A weekly rec list of recent Arthur/Merlin and Bradley/Colin fic. Each list gets a "Trend of the Week" (ie PWP or EPIC IS AS EPIC DOES), which refers to themes that keep popping up that week.
When
Between December 2008 and January 2010, the Round-Up was posted on a weekly basis.
Why
When the volume of Merlin fic shot up overnight, I started to have trouble keeping up. Figured others did too, so started posting recommendations. Alternately, I wanted people new to the fandom to find both the classics as well as the most recent fic in one tidy place.
How
I relied a great deal on bbc_merlin_news, clicking on every slash fic over 1k words long to skim. I read through the intriguing stories and eventually bookmarked ones I wanna rec for the following weekend. Other communities I combed through were merlinxarthur and merlinrpf.

Personal biases
Like anyone, I have my favorite fandom cliches.

Likes: First time, jealous!Arthur, awkward!Merlin, stupid!boys. Romance and Crack. Genderswap (magically-induced), snarky dialogue. Soft spot for stories involving kids or fuzzy animals (whether Merlin's adopted them or transformed into one), UST and angst (but happy endings required!). On the other end of the spectrum, porny shit like comeplay, watersports, dub-con, underage. Secret love: Merlin/Morgana as a plot device for Arthur/Merlin.
Indifferent: AUs, PWPs, Fluff, mpreg, future!fic. Kinks like bondage, blood-play, toys.
Dislikes: Arthur/Gwen, plotty fic, established relationship. Genderswap (girl!Arthur or girl!Merlin), threesomes. Pet peeve: the boys being overly emo.

I prefer honest and transparent reviews so you guys can make up your own minds :)

In the end, I just wanna revel in awesome Merlin fic and art with fellow fangirls :D If it ever seems like I missed something or am totally WRONGZORS about a story, let me know! I love talking shop and seeing what other people dig <3

And without further ado:



BOLDED (aka READ MEEE)

Round-Up 50: The Falling out of Love Potion on camelotsolstice (A/M, NC-17, crack)
Round-Up 50: Even the Best of Friends on camelotsolstice (A/M, NC-17, highschool!AU)
Round-Up 48: There Are Legends by ras_elased (A/M, NC-17, vid)
Round-Up 46: In Want of a Wife by syllic (A/M, NC-17, 43k, epic)
Round-Up 44: Paraphrase by rageprufrock (A/M, NC-17, 3k, business!AU)
Round-Up 43: Something Fragile (When You Hold Your Breath) by ras_elased (A/M, NC-17, ~5k, stripper!AU)
Round-Up 42: If We Sleep Together (Will You Be My Friend Forever) and Love Made Visible by chibirhm (B/C, R, ~24k, romance)
Round-Up 42: Merlin 2x05 Episode Reaction/Picspam by ifyouweremine (A/M, NC-17, recap)
Round-Up 42: My Fair Arty by batgurl88 (A/M, PG-13, 52k, Anastasia!AU)
Round-Up 40: Everyday by phantomjam (A/M, PG, 1k, fluff)
Round-Up 39: Every Time We Say Goodbye by toestastegood (A/M, R, 4k, epic)
Round-Up 39: you couldn't have loved me better by thisissirius (A/M, PG, ~1k, UST)
Round-Up 39: Practice Date by miakun (A/M, PG, 2k, modern!AU)
Round-Up 37: For Better or For Worse by anna_zee (A/M, PG-13, 21k, modern!AU)
Round-Up 35: Five Times Colin Fell in Love with Bradley (the Bradley James version) by adelagia (B/C, PG-13, 7k, future!fic)
Round-Up 34: Habit by epictimesthree (A/M, PG, vid)
Round-Up 32: Something Beautiful by cherrybina (A/M, NC-17, 5k, underage)
Round-Up 28: I'm Yours by ashdoode (B/C, G, vid)
Round-Up 25: Ink and Dragons and Ink and Symbols by anevivi (A/M, NC-17, 17k, tattoo!AU)
Round-Up 25: Collective Bed of Sin by tierfal (A/M, R, 6k, college!AU)
Round-Up 24: at least it would seem that we don't by derryere (A/M, NC-17, 16k, brothers!AU)
Round-Up 23: Rain Wakes Me and Let me be the street by spiny (B/C, NC-17, ~3k, UST)
Round-Up 22: Surrender by newkidfan (A/M, M/Will, G, vid)
Round-Up 21: Romcom, With Sheep by allothi (A/M, PG, 3k, Crack)
Round-Up 15: Two Weeks Notice by ras_elased (A/M, NC-17, 38k, business!AU)
Round-Up 15: A Kind of Balance by derryere (A/M, PG-13, 6k, genderswap)
Round-Up 14: Pavlov Penis by derryere (A/M, R, 7k, Crack)
Round-Up 14: Untitled neck!porn by derryere (A/M, PG-13, ~2k, Crack)
Round-Up 13: Marwnat by ignipes (A/M, PG-13, 8k, future!fic)
Round-Up 13: Protector by solar_cat (A/M, PG-13, 2k, jealous!Arthur)
Round-Up 13: A Smile is its Sword by nahara (A/M, PG-13, 4k, jealous!Arthur)
Round-Up 10: Woods for the Trees by hackthis (A/M, NC-17, 6k, modern!AU)
Round-Up 10: Modern Mystery fanmix by derryere (A/M, mix)
Round-Up 10: Love is Noise by theyscreamofyou (A/M, R, ~2k, Angst)
Round-Up 9: The Walk by sarashina_nikki (A/M, PG, vid)
Round-Up 7: Backfire by oxoniensis (A/M, NC-17, 8k, First Time)
Round-Up 7: OTP Meme by oteap (A/M, PG, art)
Round-Up 5: To Be Known by sometimesophie (A/M, PG, ~3k, Arthur Finds Out)
Round-Up 4: The Accidental Seduction by ras_elased (A/M, NC-17, 9k, Crack)
Round-Up 3: You're So Damn Hot by loweryourwand (A/M, PG, vid)
Round-Up 1: Quickening Days by mercurial_wit (A/M, R, 22k, Epic)
Round-Up 1: August by rageprufrock (A/M, NC-17, ~9k, First Time)
Round-Up 1: Bookends by lo0o0ony_lauren (A/M, G, ~1k, Arthur POV)
Round-Up 1: MERLIN by moonythestrals (A/M, R, 12k, modern!AU)

Comments

[rane-ab.livejournal.com]

Hi! :D Just FYI, To Be Known can now be found here (http://sometimesophie.livejournal.com/57604.html). (I nearly had a heart-attack when I found it gone, so I thought I'd share that info, as someone did with me.)

[aeroport_art.livejournal.com]

Eeek, you are amazing for letting me know about the dead link!!

[rane-ab.livejournal.com]

I just noticed she's on your flist, so I guess you already knew! ;p