fiction and recs for merlin

In nearly a decade (a decade! This year!) of fanfic writing, there's one very important lesson that I have to remind myself of on an hourly basis--once the story goes to beta, do not touch it. You would think this would be easier than it is, but it's just not. Every time, it's just freakishly stressing not to open it and start editing it in very unproductive ways. This is how a person gives themselves an aneurysm. Or like, takes up recreational coffee addiction or other less savory pursuits.

It is in beta. Correcting page thirty-five sentence ten right now will lead to correcting sentence 21 and a new paragraph, and since I sent to beta, I've added like, half a page of uselessness.

It's also because a story is in beta, I can't work on something new. No, really. I can snippet--hey, anyone want to see the horror that is a short, terrible Lex Luthor/Arthur Pendragon?--but I can't write or I'll be making corrections to the beta story in the new story. Yes, it's possible. It's freaky, but it's possible.

Merlin

Blood by lazy_neutrino, gen - this is almost entirely action and interestingly formed as well. I wish I could explain the visceral power, because the author's style played it down, but it's a good view of post-Roman Britain's daily dangers, and the way people have to live their lives around those dangers.

The Night, The Light, and the Half-Light by the_moonmoth, preslash, Merlin/Arthur - this was a small and brilliant piece of art. The style is beautiful, and the changes between present time and dreams are pitch-perfect. It's one of the best, if not the best revelation fic I have ever read, and it read like a revelation--powerful and world-shaking and wonderful. For both style and content, this is going to the top of the list, and let me add, please stay with us, the_moonmoth. Maybe we should institute retention bonuses for good authors.

Ceremony of Innocence by snarkydame, Merlin/Arthur - the only complaint I could possibly have was I wish this were longer and a novel, but as a short story, it does not disappoint. History changing, and why, and the price of fixing it.

Soar by transtempts, Merlin/Arthur - Wingfic! And funny wingfic! I had fun reading this in progress and perhaps nagged for it a while. This is a great read.

Merlin RPS

Teaching the Indie Kids to Joust Again by bookshop, Colin/Bradley RPS - okay, here's the thing. I am not really into RPS, not for any particular reason except time management and interest. If a fandom has a ton of fic, I go that way. However, a dark and terrible couple of weeks ago, there was no new fic and when I checked delicious.com/tag/merlin, I needed something to read and what do you know, there was RPS. And there you have it. Speaking of, I need to do a rec set for that.

But that aside--I loved this. I mean, it was an incredible read. And honestly? It's not like Aja is not fairly well-known as a writer, but we never shared a fandom and I was curious. And so I went in, a bit wary, a bit hopeful, and came out dazed and startled and re-reading it three more times. I should feedback that sometime, but I'm afraid it would be something rather unreadable. I like the beginning, I like how this never really slows down or speeds up but changes beats instead, going from four to three to cut-time, and the slow growth of something happening that's terrible and wonderful and inevitable, too.

Oh, for convenience--I tag my recs recs: merlin if you are looking for earlier recs. I haven't added that to my main page sidebar due to laziness and because I really do think I'm going to convert to S2, but I get wary of change and I kind of just want someone to like, I don't know, do it for me or something. I've been saying that for years. I don't know. I never promised logic.

Note to self: no, do not open Word. Go listen to So Long, Goodbye by Ten Year and get melancholy instead. Or something.

Comments

[frostfire-17.livejournal.com]

Hahahaha, okay, SORRY I AM NOT DONE YET. Possibly an unfortunate characteristic of me as a beta is that I generally take at least a few days. Oops? Anyway, um--tomorrow! Or...Saturday. I would have it done tonight, but I sort of have to write an essay applying theories about oral traditions in Greece to Old Hittite literature. Um. TOMORROW OR SATURDAY.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

*G*

[beadattitude.livejournal.com]

See I have a terrible habit of not sending things to beta because I can't bear to part with it for a long while without tinkering. Also, I keep tinkering once the damn thing is posted, finding errors and in the case of the other day, rewriting a scene for more emotional emoting nearly a month after the fact. :;sigh:: I should be better about this.

But you! You're using betas! This is good! And you're giving us recs! This is also good!

Maybe I'll distract you by asking for a prompt or two? I'll do my best. ::bats eyes::

Or go on YouTube and listen to the Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain. Don't you think it's a band that Merlin would adore with big goofy grins?

[seperis.livejournal.com]

...Ukelele Orchestra? Really?

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

Snippet, please. Since, as we all know, they're the same series.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

...this is like, the epitome of drawerfic. I am not even kidding, the document name is "i hate myself so much.doc". This is fic that lowered my IQ while writing.

Granted, I could say that about many PWPs, but this isn't even a PWP. Sadly enough. *depressed about that*

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

Ah, well.

It would be pretty overload anyway.

[transtempts.livejournal.com]

Thank you, and you only nagged in helpful ways. :)

And you KNOW I would love to see Lex Luthor/Arthur. *perks up* Is Arthur being vaguely impressionable and Lex doing his 'hey this kid has POTENTIAL' thing? *very interested*

[seperis.livejournal.com]

I emailed the horror to you!

[transtempts.livejournal.com]

*GLEES*


*eyes inbox...*

[swordage]

hey, anyone want to see the horror that is a short, terrible Lex Luthor/Arthur Pendragon?

WHY YES. Yes I do. :D I never did watch Smallville, but oh man do I enjoy Smallville/Superman fics. And, you know, this Merlin stuff is awfully nice. :3 With the epic kingship and all. And stuff. I cannot be coherent right now, I just attempted to climb a rock wall in front of 20 other people while shaking from fear of heights, but basically my gist is: LEX GOOD. ARTHUR GOOD. YES PLZ.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

DRAWERFIC. It's like--okay, it's not a Mary Sue? But it should be in that category of horror.

[swordage]

I don't even know what drawerfic is but if it is as bad as you say, I am still interested! XD Hey, I just wrote John McClane asleep with kittens yesterday because yesterday sucked, so I am totally appreciative that sometimes you just need to write a romance novel. <3

[puckling.livejournal.com]

I might, you know, be a bit interested in the Lex/Arthur, if by a bit, you mean, very very much, which one does.

Also *whips out icon*, I see you've joined the Darkside, and you've already found some cookies. Have you run into lassiterfic's epic Bradley/Merlin masterpiece (http://lassiterfics.livejournal.com/83009.html#cutid1)? No, no you didn't read that pairing wrong, and if you haven't already, you should totally read it.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

I've been watching that one warily. It's on my list. I'm just not sure of the crossover. I did like Ami and trinity's SGA/RPS one, but that took me forever to read.

[green-grrl.livejournal.com]

I loved both the SGA one and Lassiter's Merlin fic. I will say Lassiter's feels slightly unfinished to me, as I like everything wrapped up in a bow--I sort of have a "5 ways this ends" in my head. But it is good stuff!

[thearchpoet.livejournal.com]

Yay recs!

<3.

Thank you for posting! (Especially the RPS. I don't usually read those and end up missing them.)

[seperis.livejournal.com]

Yeah, me either, but bookshop's on my flist, so I felt obligated to at least try, evne if I ran away in terror. BUT LO, it was awesome.

[green-grrl.livejournal.com]

Wot? You mean you haven't been reading the RPS I have at the bottom of this post (http://green-grrl.livejournal.com/73597.html)? This fandom seems on track to rival LOTR and SPN for awesome RPS output, for reals. (Except strangely, so far it's been all Bradley/Colin actors and not AUs--people are writing the AUs with Arthur/Merlin. Maybe when there are more canon (interviews, etc.) it'll pick up? IDK.)

[seperis.livejournal.com]

The only time I did RPS was in Queer as Folk, because fic output was superlow, and my favorite authors were bitextual and did both types. And okay, I had a transitional popslash phase between QAF/Smallville/SGA. So it's new to me again. *G*

[green-grrl.livejournal.com]

OMG is there Gale Harold/Hal Sparks slash? Because I would read that liek woah! I was never in the QAF fandm, and have only randomly read fics. Didn't know there was RPS!

Have you not read SV RPS? Because that's (http://green-grrl.livejournal.com/43060.html) hot, too, though I haven't found nearly enough.

(I got into LJ on Lotrips. :-)

[shinetheway.livejournal.com]

I'm working on it! [points to open Word document] Sorry, time didn't fly past so much as it turned on the transwarp and zoomed away from me. But I'm about a third done, which I consider to be pretty good under the circumstances (especially as I only did about half as much of the official Paid Work I was *supposed* to be doing [facepalm]). I plan to finish it tomorrow and get it back to you. Sorry, honey. I *hate* taking this long for a beta, because I hate waiting for my own--I feel the urge to tinker too, and so I feel your pain every so acutely. Mea culpa.

[the-moonmoth.livejournal.com]

Er, with blatant disregard for anything such as politesse, may I just say that I would totally be open to a retention bonus!

Thanks for the rec :)

[azdaja-dafema.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the recs, I've not read some of those. This is the only fandom I've really enjoyed the RPS: it used to squick me like woah. Actually, I think this fandom got rid of most of my squicks with its all-pervading brilliant writing. Good luck not tinkering.

[cplberen.livejournal.com]

So, I'm sitting at my computer enjoying a lovely mug of brandy-laced cocoa (don't judge) when I stumble over this post. And since all the stories you've recc'd have been, well, lovely, my eye sort of... lingers on the rps story. I then have a conversation with myself that goes something like,

(shocked voice): RPS!! No!!
(me): but, seperis said...
(shocked voice): No!! That leads to the Special Hell!!
(me): Oh, shut up!

I have to tell you, the fact that I didn't do a spit-take all over my shiny new keyboard is nothing short of a miracle. (The beanstalk... ::flails::)
So, now I have a Special Hell folder. And I'm totally blaming you. And looking for more stories. facepalm.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

I feel your pain. I fell by complete accident in Queer as Folk, because the regular fic output was low, low, low, and the authors I read for that also crossed over. So you see how that goes.

And this one was so good. *glee*