weekly round-up 25

[aeroport_art]

I know, I know. I SKIPPED A WEEK. *hangs head* I only had a few recs last week so figured I could just combine it in one post. And there's also the part where I got kind of busy too...

*ahem* Anyway. I'm back. It's been a busy! Had a friend from CA stay over and it's been hectic at work. But I don't need to get into that.

Trend of the week: SHINY-ASS AUs. Seriously, these are ALL AUs. Is there something about hiatus that makes our minds wander? Well, if they're all going to be this good I ain't gonna complain ;)


Weekly Round-Up
Titles in bold are extra-recommended ♥


Merlin recs

Collective Bed of Sin by tierfal (R, 6k)
Summary: Arthur/Merlin, college!AU. Sequel to Inevitability, but stands alone. The quest: to rope Lancelot into a threesome -- possibly literally.
Notes: This story is full of awesome, stupid!boys miscommunication, and Merlin's characterization is especially shiny. His bandannas! Then there's this one section where Arthur muses about Merlin and how he's too cool for Arthur, and it's adorable. There's something about the writing here that's so refreshingly simple and direct, yet full of personality. And don't fret about the summary, Lancelot isn't threatening to our OTP here. He's just a tool for another great jealousy plotline XD

Ink and Dragons by anevivi (NC-17, 7k)
Summary: Arthur/Merlin, modern!AU. Arthur wants a tattoo. He wants one from Merlin, no matter how many times he gets thrown out of the shop.
Notes: I don't even have a tattoo kink, and still this was one of the hottest things I've read! The plot and characterizations are solidly constructed, but what really pushes this fic to the next level is--not to be predictable--the smut. The inking scene is hot and jittery and overflowing with sexual tension. It doesn't hurt that the author goes about it so leisurely, it makes the best foreplay EVER. And I love her Merlin, all confident and mad skilled but with a big fat crush on Arthur nonetheless. In short, this story is charming and positively erotic.

Fame and Fortune by melusinahp (NC-17, ~42k)
Summary: Arthur/Merlin, Merlin/Will, Hollywood!AU. Actor!Arthur is a total party boy who needs someone to keep him out of the tabloids, and that someone is personal assistant!Merlin.
Notes: This is one dense, meaty story. Pace yourself! I won't say it's thrilling every step of the way, but it's epically constructed. The interactions between all the characters--Arthur, Merlin, Morgana, Gwen, and Will--are lovely to see, and the romance is slow and strong. There's nothing to dislike about this story! Curl up with it on a free evening and a mug of tea. My only real annoyance: what the hell is a VP? Merlin gets promoted to Arthur's VP midway through, but I had no idea actors needed "vice presidents" or "valuable players" :P I am a firm believer in spelling out acronyms at least once in a story.


RPS recs

Home Truths by lamardeuse (PG-13, 1k)
Summary: Bradley/Colin. This is what happens after the Soccer Six games back at the hotel.
Notes: This is cuteness incarnate, and the best follow-up to the whole Soccer Six event after the London Expo.

Looking for previous recs? Check the tag. For FAQ and list of all bolded titles, check the primer.

Comments

[adelagia.livejournal.com]

Somehow I managed to miss all of these when they were posted, so thank you once again for your invaluable services! And for making it clear about the Lancelot thing in the first one; these things are very important to know. :)

[aeroport_art.livejournal.com]

Hey hon! How've you been?

And for making it clear about the Lancelot thing
This IS very important to know! I know I wouldn't have clicked on this story unless I was doing it for the round-up.

And now you have three long fics to read over the weekend, unless you have some crazy plans you want to tell me about :O I hope you like the fic, anyway!

[adelagia.livejournal.com]

As I am an old biddy at heart, my weekend plans are always sensible and involve going to bed at a reasonable hour. So, pretty much, yay long fics! :)

[staraflur.livejournal.com]

And don't fret about the summary, Lancelot isn't threatening to our OTP here.
hahahah how did you know why I didn't read it before...

[aeroport_art.livejournal.com]

Because I wouldn't have read it either unless I wasn't doing it for the round-up XDXDXD Great (lazy?) minds think alike.

Hi bunny hi hi hi I LOVE YOUR ICON, BTW. That red is SO HOT RIGHT NOW. It's insane how much I'm seeing it on the streets and in stores (and at work for upcoming seasons), and I love it! It's totally the 2009 version of the 80's hot pink. EVERYWHERE, and while it'll be mildly embarrassing in a few years, it's SO SO HOT RIGHT NOW.

[staraflur.livejournal.com]

This really makes me miss the north SADTIEMS

[aeroport_art.livejournal.com]

You do realize I'm doing this on purpose to lure you here. Right? *dangles bait*

[staraflur.livejournal.com]

I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN

IT IS WORKING

[aeroport_art.livejournal.com]

MUAHAHA. WIN. You got my number, you!

[aeroport_art.livejournal.com]

That was supposed to be "you got my number, yo". But I'm a little drunk, just got back from a bbq in Park Slope and now I'm back in Williamsburg working on some graphics to the fine tunes of Michael Hurley and his bluesy folk.

*DANGLEDANGLE*

[staraflur.livejournal.com]

212 867 5309?

(someone tried to sell that on ebay a few years ago, it was u to 80k before ebay yanked it)

[aeroport_art.livejournal.com]

AWESOME. Except for the part where eBay yanked it. Whyyyy????

[staraflur.livejournal.com]

IDEK.

I HAVE A THEORY THAT IT WAS CAUSE IT WASN'T A THING YOU KNOW? IT WOULD BE V HARD TO TRACK AND IDEK. I JUST DON'T KNOW. EBAY GETS WEIRD ABOUT THINGS SOMETIMES.

[staraflur.livejournal.com]

uh sorry for the all caps i was doing pornathon things

[aeroport_art.livejournal.com]

hahahah no bigs. PORNATHON IS CAPSLOCK-WORTHY.

[staraflur.livejournal.com]

I KNOW I CAPSLOCKED HALF THE NIGHT.

[neptuneskisses.livejournal.com]

God I love AUs! And RPS. And i can't ever keep up with fandom, so you're my total saviour (as always) with these recs *smooch*

[aeroport_art.livejournal.com]

Hey sweetie!! Gosh, keeping up with fandom is a task for sure!! And enjoyable one though, and it always feels worth it when people find stuff they missed <3

[kelene.livejournal.com]

Ah, haven't read Merlin fic for a while, so thank you for this!

[aeroport_art.livejournal.com]

Yeah, of course! Hope you find something you like :D

[kathyh]

Lancelot isn't threatening to our OTP here

Aha. Thank you for that. I knew there was a reason I'd hesitated over reading this one.

Many thanks for the great recs. I always appreciate them even if I don't always (or ever *g*) comment.

[aeroport_art.livejournal.com]

I knew there was a reason I'd hesitated over reading this one.

Ahahaha you and me both, honey. I only clicked on it for the round-up and then was pleasantly surprised. Glad to share the love <3

[christycorr]

I wondered about the VP thing a lot, too! Thank you! I felt so stupid for not getting it when I first read the fic—I figured maybe it was one of those acronyms native speakers get instinctively. Yay, so apparently not!

I just read Ink and Dragons yesterday, and—wow.

[aeroport_art.livejournal.com]

Hahah I know, the VP thing! Seriously confused. Good story, but that one thing wouldn't stop bugging me!

And omg Ink and Dragons. EPIC HOTNESS.

[meewunk.livejournal.com]

Yay! Specifically, for Fame and Fortune, I believe Arthur is making Merlin VP (vice president) of his little production company that he has on the side. At least, that what it seems like to me. :)

[aeroport_art.livejournal.com]

I...wasn't aware Arthur had a production company in that story :O I thought he was just a hotshot actor!

Love your icon, btw. Colin = ADORABLEWHAT

[meewunk.livejournal.com]

Yus, in chapter 4:

"Mighty Pen, Arthur's own little production company, was located in a sun-drenched bungalow towards the back of the Fox lot."

:D Mystery solved! And yeah, it's Colin during his appearance as Jethro in a Doctor Who episode called Midnight. He was a gothy/emo dork and made that face. I knew I had to have it as an icon :D

(And it seems the author answered that question anyway :p)

[melusinahp.livejournal.com]

lol! It means Vice President, which is the title for "Not my assistant, but the person who networks and seeks out projects for me while I'm busy doing my acting stuff." It's a title that gives the bearer a sense of authority so they can deal with agents/studio folk, but doesn't make it seem as if they are actually superior or equal to the actual company owner, i.e. Arthur in this case.

These semantic delicacies are important in the film industry. ;)

And thank you for the rec! XXX

[aeroport_art.livejournal.com]

Hey, thanks for clearing that up! I probably should've just asked you when I commented, but I was too busy being in happy fic afterglow :D

[anevivi.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for the rec! And I hadn't read the others, so I spent a VERY happy Saturday. :DDDD

♥!

[aeroport_art.livejournal.com]

Awesome!! A whole day reading fic sounds like a great day to me :D And dude, I should be thanking YOU for the ridiculously good fic.

[epictimesthree.livejournal.com]

Ah, thanks so much for these recs. Especially "Fame and Fortune" - I started reading it while it was still a WIP and was searching madly for it until now.

I also want to thank you for keeping this up. Your round-ups are quickly becoming my most trusted and consistent source for M/A recs. A lot of my other sources have switched over to Spock/Kirk, which I TOTALLY believe and adore, but I still have an enduring place in my heart for prat princes and idiot sorcerers. And you always find some excellent pieces to feed that need.

[aeroport_art.livejournal.com]

I'm really glad you're finding the round-up useful! I know there are tons of other recs out there but above all, I was hoping to provide a steady source of them. When you mention it specifically like that, it makes me feel all fuzzy inside XD

I totally wanna check out some Spock/Kirk but I have my hands full with Merlin! I figure I'll get around to it...at some point :O

[http://users.livejournal.com/_pinkchocolate/]

This was one of my favourite rec posts of yours :) I have to say I disagree about "Fame and Fortune," however. Perhaps it's because I'm involved in the film industry myself, but I thought Melusina hit everything spot on. I've been feeling disillusioned with Merlin fan fiction lately, but her fic reminded me why I love it so much. The story kept my attention the whole time, and nothing about it felt cliched/overdone.

I agree about the VP though, lol. I've never heard of an individual having a VP.

[aeroport_art.livejournal.com]

I'm actually glad we disagree on "Fame and Fortune" :D I love it when people take time to share their own opinions of the fics I've linked, whether their opinions are similar or different than mine. Especially since there are all sorts of stories and all sorts of readers. Sometimes I feel like I'm shouting into a megaphone about the stories I like, but I don't want to be slighting other fics at all D:

This was one of my favourite rec posts of yours
I didn't know there could be more or less preferred recs posts! Maybe I should start being critical all the time...(totally kidding.)