Two Merlin recs
I've read a couple of Merlin fics lately that I enjoyed very much, and I thought I'd share them. I saw these recced at http://cabbageheadrecs.tumblr.com, which is an excellent resource, and decided to give them a boost.
Faded Epitaphs (Marching Onwards) by
patria_mori, found here on AO3. Approximately 37k.
Author's Summary: Immortality was never something Arthur Pendragon had wanted. Merlin didn't give him that choice. As the rest of the world reincarnates, blissfully oblivious, Arthur continues, waiting for the one man who never came back.
Why I am reccing it: This had an unusual plot twist (Arthur is the immortal one instead of Merlin) and was beautifully written. You can feel Arthur's frustration as he sees others reincarnate but never Merlin. And unlike the others he knew in Camelot, Arthur is tied to Great Britain and can't go overseas.
It has a nice take-off on Bradley's Inspector Lewis episode, too, since Arthur takes up bare-knuckled boxing at Oxford to keep his boredom at bay. In this story, Arthur can be badly injured and even die, but he always regenerates.
Morgana, in the guise of a middle-aged professor, is a central character as Arthur's mentor at the university. And then the plot takes a twist, and Arthur is tantalizingly close to something that he wants desperately.
The writing is gorgeous, a real pleasure to read. And the plot is compelling.
Excerpt: On those nights, he would make himself forget that he could never go back. Forget Merlin wasn't there to catch him when he stumbled down alleyways when sane men were abed. Forget he had never said a word to Merlin about maybe thinking they might have been good, and forget that the body pressed to Arthur's didn't know a damn thing about cleaning armour. Blind drunk made it easier to forget he was alone because of a man who once had a bad habit of trading his life for Arthur's.
Arthur had been around enough women - and men - to know when they were starting to get ideas; when they were starting to look at him in that speculative way, and started bolstering their courage or edging on their friends. He knew by the end of the next week two of the girls he tutored for Maureen's Latin course would begin their overtures. Arthur gave the young ginger lad until the end of term. That boy was waiting to see the results of the others before he took the risk; he was a strategist and a little bit conniving for Arthur's taste.
He knew without a doubt he wouldn't pick up with any of them.
Should My Sword Fall From My Hand by Nympha_Alba found here on AO3. Approximately 30k.
Author's Summary:When King Arthur is hit by a vicious curse, the only one who can save him is Merlin - at the cost of revealing his magic. In London in 2012, Merlin - who has repressed his magic all his life - is called in to help when his workmate Arthur is in a coma. The two worlds are not as separate as they seem, and one lifetime might not be enough for Arthur and Merlin to find just how closely entwined their destinies were meant to be.
Why I am reccing it: Very well- written, with a focus on Arthur's character. A witch curses Arthur to relive his most painful memories, until a sense of failure causes him to open a psychic door and choose death. Merlin saves him in Camelot, but it's not clear if he can do it in modern-day London, especially since he doesn't know Arthur that well. Merlin has to enter Arthur's mind in order to save him. It has an interesting plot and a sweet love story, and tv canon incidents are blended into the story.
Excerpt: Falling into Arthur's mind, Merlin would have expected to end up somewhere a little more dramatic than the tiny kitchen at the back of Gaius's shop. But that is where he finds himself now, in this memory of Arthur's.
He is not sure what he had expected things to be like, what Arthur's memories and dreams would look like - perhaps that he would see them literally through Arthur's eyes, be in Arthur's head inside his head, as it were, but apparently that is not how this works. Instead the memory is sort of played before him like a scene where he is a spectator, although he can sense Arthur's emotions very clearly. And right now he is also watching himself, because Merlin is in this memory, too; another actor on this unusual stage.
It is the strangest thing on earth to watch himself through an Arthur filter. When Merlin looks at himself in the mirror or at a photo of himself, all he can see is his imperfections - the messy hair and the slightly-too-long nose, his bony shoulders and the asymmetric smile, as if the corners of his mouth are trying to do different things. But seen through the filter of Arthur's perception, Merlin looks... beautiful.
Faded Epitaphs (Marching Onwards) by
patria_mori, found here on AO3. Approximately 37k.
Author's Summary: Immortality was never something Arthur Pendragon had wanted. Merlin didn't give him that choice. As the rest of the world reincarnates, blissfully oblivious, Arthur continues, waiting for the one man who never came back.
Why I am reccing it: This had an unusual plot twist (Arthur is the immortal one instead of Merlin) and was beautifully written. You can feel Arthur's frustration as he sees others reincarnate but never Merlin. And unlike the others he knew in Camelot, Arthur is tied to Great Britain and can't go overseas.
It has a nice take-off on Bradley's Inspector Lewis episode, too, since Arthur takes up bare-knuckled boxing at Oxford to keep his boredom at bay. In this story, Arthur can be badly injured and even die, but he always regenerates.
Morgana, in the guise of a middle-aged professor, is a central character as Arthur's mentor at the university. And then the plot takes a twist, and Arthur is tantalizingly close to something that he wants desperately.
The writing is gorgeous, a real pleasure to read. And the plot is compelling.
Excerpt: On those nights, he would make himself forget that he could never go back. Forget Merlin wasn't there to catch him when he stumbled down alleyways when sane men were abed. Forget he had never said a word to Merlin about maybe thinking they might have been good, and forget that the body pressed to Arthur's didn't know a damn thing about cleaning armour. Blind drunk made it easier to forget he was alone because of a man who once had a bad habit of trading his life for Arthur's.
Arthur had been around enough women - and men - to know when they were starting to get ideas; when they were starting to look at him in that speculative way, and started bolstering their courage or edging on their friends. He knew by the end of the next week two of the girls he tutored for Maureen's Latin course would begin their overtures. Arthur gave the young ginger lad until the end of term. That boy was waiting to see the results of the others before he took the risk; he was a strategist and a little bit conniving for Arthur's taste.
He knew without a doubt he wouldn't pick up with any of them.
Should My Sword Fall From My Hand by Nympha_Alba found here on AO3. Approximately 30k.
Author's Summary:When King Arthur is hit by a vicious curse, the only one who can save him is Merlin - at the cost of revealing his magic. In London in 2012, Merlin - who has repressed his magic all his life - is called in to help when his workmate Arthur is in a coma. The two worlds are not as separate as they seem, and one lifetime might not be enough for Arthur and Merlin to find just how closely entwined their destinies were meant to be.
Why I am reccing it: Very well- written, with a focus on Arthur's character. A witch curses Arthur to relive his most painful memories, until a sense of failure causes him to open a psychic door and choose death. Merlin saves him in Camelot, but it's not clear if he can do it in modern-day London, especially since he doesn't know Arthur that well. Merlin has to enter Arthur's mind in order to save him. It has an interesting plot and a sweet love story, and tv canon incidents are blended into the story.
Excerpt: Falling into Arthur's mind, Merlin would have expected to end up somewhere a little more dramatic than the tiny kitchen at the back of Gaius's shop. But that is where he finds himself now, in this memory of Arthur's.
He is not sure what he had expected things to be like, what Arthur's memories and dreams would look like - perhaps that he would see them literally through Arthur's eyes, be in Arthur's head inside his head, as it were, but apparently that is not how this works. Instead the memory is sort of played before him like a scene where he is a spectator, although he can sense Arthur's emotions very clearly. And right now he is also watching himself, because Merlin is in this memory, too; another actor on this unusual stage.
It is the strangest thing on earth to watch himself through an Arthur filter. When Merlin looks at himself in the mirror or at a photo of himself, all he can see is his imperfections - the messy hair and the slightly-too-long nose, his bony shoulders and the asymmetric smile, as if the corners of his mouth are trying to do different things. But seen through the filter of Arthur's perception, Merlin looks... beautiful.