Busy weekend, j_apollo visited me (yay) but now I have a lot to do at work today since I've got a grand jury duty summons tomorrow (all together now: BOOOOOOO). Also I'm tired and everyone else has Columbus Day off and there's a run in my stockings and my soul is basically like THIS.

BUT. LOOK WHAT APPEARED ON MY FLIST TO MAKE MY MONDAY BETTER:

The Little Vulcan by ayalesca (Gen: Spock with Kirk and McCoy, G)

Yes. It's the Trek/Little Prince fusion fic that seems so necessary and obvious in retrospect. ayalesca perfectly blends the two stories, and oh my heart you will absolutely love Spock in this story. I also adored how she did Bones. And if that wasn't enough, the story is accompanied by three completely goregous watercolor illustrations by mangotrills. I am going to go back and hug this charming and lovely fic to my chest as further protection against Mondays.

With September coming to a close so is my month reccing Merlin fic over at the crack_van. Some of these have been recced in my lj before, some haven't, but I thought I'd put all the links up here in one post for my own reference. All twelve are worth a read (or a re-read) by the way!

Crack Van Recs

♥ Millions of Peaches by dsudis (Arthur/Merlin, PGish) recced here.

♥ On Swefnum, Incuthra Eorthan by srin (Gwen/Morgana, PGish) recced here.

♥ Amour Courtois by shetiger (Uther/Morgana, NC-17) recced here.

♥ Three Castles by rageprufrock (Arthur/Merlin, PG-13) recced here.

♥ Sometimes I Forget I'm Still Awake by paperclipbitch (Arthur/Gwen, PG) recced here.

♥ Be Resigned by franticsga (Arthur/Merlin, NC-17) recced here.

♥ Don't Be Sorry by sparky77 (OT4, PG) recced here.

♥ In Time of Trial by shinetheway (Arthur/Merlin, NC-17) recced here.

♥ Easy There by syllic (Arthur/Merlin, NC-17) recced here.

♥ in omne tempus by giddygeek (Gwen/Morgana, R) recced here.

♥ A Little Knowledge by bluflamingo (Morgana-centric, PG) recced here.

♥ Beltane by astolat (Gen, PG) recced here.

Lots of reccing this morning!

*I started my month driving the crack_van for Merlin. My first rec is here if you want to take a peek. I kicked things off with dsudis's Millions of Peaches, which is worth a look (or another look if you've already read and enjoyed) for sure. :)



*ALSO leupagus posted ANOTHER CHAPTER OF THE VULCAN DETECTIVE FIC, which is still rich and compelling and awesome, even though the ending of this chapter will justifiably make you hate her for leaving it there.



*Lastly, lillianloop has posted the most amazing piece of ridiculous brilliance I have read in an AGE. It's a Merlin/Harry Potter fusion fic. (YES YOU READ THAT RIGHT.) And Merlin is like some unholy cross between Neville Longbottom and Bridget Jones. But it's awesome. I'm cackling to myself even as I'm writing this. Ahaha. GO NOW.

Merlin Emyrs and the Totally Gay Triwizard Tournament by lillianloop (Merlin/Arthur, other background pairings, PG-13ish)

He takes a moment to wonder how his life came to this pass, and he can pretty much nail it down to when he turned eleven years old and came downstairs to find Gaius having tea with his mother.

"You're a wizard, Merlin," Gaius had said.

Merlin thinks he was pretty much buggered from that point on, because all he had thought in that instant between "Well, that explains a lot," and his mother hugging him, was "I am going to get made fun of so much at wizard school."

\o/

I've been all over the place this week, but in case you didn't already hear, puckling's got Week 2 of the Gwen/Morgana Thingathon going on! I wrote two snippet things for it last week, slightly inspired by Imagine Me & You, shocker. If my weekend's not too crazy I'm going to try to write some more for this week.

Gwen/Morgana Thingathon Week 2

Come play!

And while you're at it, merihn wrote some awesome porn and sophieisgod wrote something even more inspired by Imagine Me & You off of my modly prompt for this week!! Eeee! You should all GO READ IT and squee about it with us because IM&Y and Gwen/Morgana are two great tastes that taste great together. \o/ And then go read and write and comment on other stuff. Whee! Happy Friday!


(HOLY SHIT I'M SO LATE FOR WORK. AH. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?)

Yes, ladies and germs, it's that spate of recs that comes with me settling into a new fandom. K/S again this time. (Weirdly, because I am perverse, I have come to the inevitable Kirk/Spock ship by way of Chekov/Sulu, Girl!Kirk/Uhura, Kirk/McCoy, Girl!Kirk/McCoy, and finally Spock/McCoy. No, don't ask me. I'm either going to end up a Kirk/Spock/McCoy OT3 girl or start reading only fic where Kirk is tragic because he loves everyone but not quite enough so Spock and McCoy get together and have angsty hate-sexing that turns into something more and Kirk ends up with no one but his ship and the far horizon or something and certain people I know go slit their wrists.)

ANYWAY. This one is stolen from circa_eve, but she totally hung up on me on gchat today so I don't feel bad at all:


The Seasons Change by le_culdesac (Kirk/Spock, PG-13)

This is a nice understated piece that shows Kirk settling into his role as Captain. I like that it doesn't automatically handwave the antagonism from the movie that Kirk and Spock have, nor does it conflate their relationship with that of their TOS counterparts. Instead this shows them growing into each other. It totally worked for me. *happy sigh*

So it's taken me way, way too long, but I finally feel as though I'm delving in to Trek fandom. Which means it's time for a fic rec!


Only Good for Legends by leupagus (WIP, Spock/Uhura, Kirk/Spock pre-slash though I have been reliably informed that the porn is coming, people. DON'T WORRY.)

Yes, it's a WIP! Which means the fact that I'm reccing it must prove how awesome it is. The premise is simple, a step-to-the-left AU from the movie wherein Kirk and Spock meet in Iowa under...slightly different circumstances. I don't want to spoil things, but let's just say I was grinning like an idiot through all of it. The world building and characterization are spot-on and awesome and I can't wait for more.

So go read, settle into this story like the old rocking chair on Kirk's porch, and then tell leupagus how awesome she is. I'll wait.

cherrybina wrote some really hot Arthur/Merlin porn.

...

WELL, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GO READ IT.

1.SGA rec stolen from sheafrotherdon. So. This cinches it that no one will ever beat SGA fandom in terms of sheer crack.

Zygote by kassrachel (John/Rodney, Rish maybe? IDK it works on many level, k?)

Look at the title and think about it. And remember that it's SGA, so it goes there. It's like high school health class. Only hotter and strangely endearing in a way that all the best crack is.


2. THIS MEME. I HARDLY EVER DO MEMES BUT lovestories MENTIONED MORGANA AND HBICS IN THE SAME POST:

MORGANA LE FAY is the ultimate HBIC

EVERYONE SHOULD GO VOTE FOR MORGANA. PROOF:

I wasn't kidding about the random restless posting! (work:slow :: flist:spammed)

Ah, Harry Potter. You were my first real fandom. The only one I ever wrote for. In fact, if you're super bored as I am today, find me on ff.net (the shame is too great for me to link directly, sorry), and then spork your eyes out over the Percy/Oliver fanfiction I wrote mostly in high school. (Okay, fine, here's the one that made it on to lj when I first got one. Enjoy. It might not even suck that much, but I have no idea because I physically cannot re-read it.)


Anyway, stumbling across the Harry Potter fic below was awesome for many reasons, largely nostalgic. It took me back, man:

1. The age requirements to find the porn! (It's like being carded at a bar! Only it's on the internet! And they serve NC-17 fic instead of alcohol! And the bar would probably have a name like It's Five O'Clock Somewhere IN MY PANTS.)

2. The gleefully juvenile portmanteau ship names! (I feel like Harry Potter was patient zero for this fandom phenomena, though I could be wrong?) FYI Albus Severus Potter/Scorpius Malfoy is apparently also known as ASS.

3. The complex fics built around minor characters that were in one scene together and have no canon relationship! Complete with fanon characterization metastasizing into every single fic none the less!

4. Everyone's gay!! Because with HP you can have 5 different slash OTPs and have them all in the same story, no problem.

5. Sex + Magic = LOL

NEVER CHANGE, HP FANDOM. DONCHA DO IT. <3


On to the rec:

Basically I stole this from faynia's Compilation Post of ASS recs.

So by the time Book 7 came out- and more specifically, by the time I'd stayed up all night to reach the last chapter- I was in a weary, fevered state of soul-scraping exhaustion.

Anywhoozle, I don't remember the epilogue so well. The impression I have is that sunshine and rainbows beamed down on Platform 9 3/4 and everyone loved everyone else predictably and then the train was pulled away by a team of unicorns while a fairy skipped around and waved her magic wand and then it faded to black and the last word was "scar." (Right?)

What I'm trying to say is that was the only lingering canon knowledge I took into the fic below was that Harry and Draco had kids with stupid names.

THAT SAID, this fic is really good, just what I was in the mood for. Albus and Scorpius (and I'm clearly going to have to get over the names thing if I'm going to keep reading this stuff) have very distinct personalities. They're not just Harry/Draco 2.0, as I originally feared. It's set eight years after their time at Hogwarts in a not-quite-so-rosy future, a generation after the original series. The author does a great job of creating a palpable sense of *history* between everyone without shoving it down your throat.

So if you're worried that this is a cracky teeth-rotting Harry Potter fic, no worries, this one is definitely adult, and kind of...screwed up. In a deliciously dysfunctional way that skirts the line of being gratuitous and over-dramatic (which, let's be honest, are some of my favorite things) without quite crossing it. Recommended, yo:


A Wizard’s Guide to Pocket Dwelling by hollycomb (Albus/Scorpius, NC-17)
Summary: Eight years after Hogwarts, Albus and Scorpius are flatmates in London. Albus is a bit of a disaster. Scorpius is in love with him, but remains an innocent bystander until he has a not so brilliant idea.

I am so bad at keeping up with vids. This is mostly due to the fact that I can’t watch anything at work and my internet at home was, for the very longest time, so crappy that I could barely stream anything. It's much better now so I can watch whatever I want and lookit!

Exit Music (For A Witch) by heyiya

I watched this three times this morning and it only gets more and more awesome. One of my favorite Merlin vids of all time at the moment. I don't want to spoil it, but it's half AU, half commentary, all awesome.

Basically this: Morgana. Nimueh. Magic. And a revolution. GO WATCH.

This is probably pointless but astolat wrote fic and it's grand and sweeping and brilliant and it hits practically every one of my buttons all at once and I also got a raise today so life FTMFW. Go read now and collapse in a puddle of happy goo like yours truly:

Onfindan by astolat (Arthur/Merlin, ME/THIS STORY, R/NC-17)

I feel like I'm spamming everyone lately, but it's been a while since I've done Merlin recs. (These two have been shamelessly stolen from nicolasechs.)

So you know how Christmas and the holidays were last week? WRONG. It turns out they forgot something and had to turn the car around and they’ve decided to stay longer and go get smashed with New Year’s Eve tomorrow.


What I’m saying is this:

astolat AND merryish WROTE MERLIN FIC.

I am flailing so hard right now I almost put my own eye out a moment ago.


Beltane by astolat (Merlin, Gen, PG)

This is such an awesome idea for Merlin's backstory, and very neatly told. Like most of astolat's stories, it's something that OF COURSE must have happened, why didn't I think of that before?? This is my personal canon now, k? GO READ IT BEFORE I FLAIL YOU TO DEATH.


The Feast of Sticks by merryish (Arthur/Merlin pre-slash, G)

I pretty much had a grin on my face from the first sentence on. merryish just nails both of them and the dynamics of their relationship. The dialogue practically sparkles and Arthur is just awesome and so is Merlin and if I don't stop myself I'm going to gush on for pages.

Still sorting through Yuletide (SO MANY OPEN TABS D:), but I wanted to take a moment to rec an awesome piece of GENIUS from linabean.

For those in SGA fandom who have ever trolled through sgastoryfinders- and everyone has had at least one WTF moment at that comm- this one's for you.

linabean has put together a totally awesome poem (a poem!) pieced together from search posts there. It's weird, hilarious, and basically a giant love letter to that community and SGA fandom as a whole. Go read and praise her genius. NOW.


Found by sgastoryfinders posters, arranged by linabean


(Also, speaking of SGA related recs, if anyone hasn't read the SGA/Temeraire crossover fic of BRILLIANCE over at sga_santa yet, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR?)

I have always loved franticsga's SGA fic, and now's she's writing in Merlin! *happy dance*

Not in the Room by franticsga (Arthur/Merlin, G)

Short but utterly adorable piece with a brilliant Arthur voice. As for the rest, I'll let the summary speak for itself: He was Prince Arthur of Camelot, not Prince Arthur, Despoiler of Shite Manservants. (He should also be Prince Arthur of a River in Egypt.) Go, read, and let's hope she writes more!

Hmm, now must go find my tap shoes for class after work...

Hope everyone had a good American Thanksgiving if they celebrate it. I've been sleeping a lot and eating a lot of food. (The joy of having divorced parents means you get two ridiculous meals but you also have to listen to them bitch about splitting the cost of flying your sister home because what, they can't afford it? Oh wait, no, they're both just incredibly petty about money.)

ALSO, lillianloop and wordweaver06 are coming over today and circa_eve and I are pimping them into Merlin!!

So far, since we don't have time to watch the whole series, we're thinking 1.01, 1.04, 1.07, and 1.10 in terms of the essentials. (And maaaybe 1.08 if we have time mostly because Morgana is awesome in it and everyone needs to share in my ridiculous crush on her.)

Any other recommendations? We'll possibly show them the DVD extras as well, because Meg and I need someone else in RL to understand why we're saying "Je suis LOSER" all the time now.



ALSO ALSO, more Merlin fic recs, most of which y'all have probably read already, BUT:

Anniversary by thehoyden (Arthur/Merlin, PG)

Such a charming little story, and it perfectly captures Arthur's emotionally stunted way of expressing affection. Great Arthur voice all around.


August by rageprufrock (Arthur/Merlin, NC-17)

More Pru fic, wherein Arthur and Merlin go back to Merlin's village for a visit. There's a lot of amazing things going on here. Pru writes a great Hunith, and those flashes of King Arthur and the Camelot to come that make me wibbly without fail. Also, naturally, she does a great job with the boys' relationship. Basically I wanted to curl up inside this fic and fall asleep. Definitely a must-read.


Lastly (but not least!), moonythrestrals WROTE MORE FRATBOY!AU. Just as wonderful and delightfully cracked out as the first (WITH A SURPRISE PAIRING NEAR THE END THAT IS AWESOME). I am making dolphin noises here! Go read it!

Again super busy this weekend, so I missed most of the Merlin 1.10 massive squee/flail-athon. (I have nothing to add but EEE.)

What was I doing? I saw Twilight on Friday, finally checked out the New Museum, saw some pretty decent one-act plays, and spent almost all day Sunday volunteering to set up/attending the GLAAD OutAuction. Fun times, though I'm pretty exhausted and the only thing that's keeping me going right now is the thought that it's a half week at work thanks to Thanksgiving.

ANYWAY, that said, have some (surprise) Merlin recs for your Monday morning!

Treason to Us by janne_d (Arthur/Merlin, PG-13)

This is THE best take on Arthur finding out about Merlin's magic I've read yet. This story is also like a clean brutal kick to the chest, and I mean that in the best way possible. It's a brilliant Arthur POV, quite deftly restrained and all the more powerful for it. (Also, it's fairly close to how I see this playing out in the show. *wibble*) Highly recommended. If you haven't read this already, GO. NOW.

Then, after that, to make yourself feel better there's ras_elased's Five Secrets Merlin Knows About Arthur (Arthur/Merlin, NC-17). Charming, delightful and very cute.

Both of these are from merlin_flashfic, which clearly I need to start paying more attention to.

Or, why yes I am reccing fairly incesty het porn. (WTF Self I thought this day would never come. :)

I know, I know- BUT. It's by shetiger and it captures both Uther and Morgana wonderfully, as well as- best of all- the strange dynamics of their relationship. And it's pretty hot. If you're in anyway inclined to like Uther/Morgana (which hey, anyone who's watched the show has probably had at least one head-tilting moment of "Huh" with them, don't lie) I completely recommend it.

Amour Courtois by shetiger (Uther/Morgana, R-NC-17ish)

On the chance that some people on the flist are either a) wondering WTF is with this Merlin show I keep blathering on about, or b) already watching Merlin but haven't read this yet, I give you:

sarahtales's REVIEW OF MERLIN SO FAR (Vague but hilarious spoilers through 1.08)

It's hysterical and cracky and so very, very spot on. For example:

MERLIN: So, Guinevere. Arthur or Lancelot?
GUINEVERE: Why on earth would I ever have to answer that question? Besides they’re not my type.
MERLIN: Oh Guinevere, you wouldn’t know your type if it was standing right next to you, blithering about other men, wearing a ridiculous neckerchief and being beakily and unconventionally good-looking!
GUINEVERE: Bet you one million dollars?

Anyway, go read! And thanks to lillianloop for the pointer even though she SWEARS SHE'S NOT IN THE FANDOM. (Suuuuure.)

Probably all of you have read this already, but she posted the second part last night, so it's finished now!

Three Castles- Part 1 and Part 2 by rageprufrock (PG-13)

Pru has written Merlin fic! (Do I need to say anything else?) Hilarious and touching and cracky all at once, as all of Pru's best stuff is. Go read. Now! (YES THIS MEANS YOU, lillianloop.)


Also, a vid rec!

Everything You Want by anime_fangirl_3, (Merlin/Arthur)

I have an 90s, 90s, Oh the 90s love for this song anyway, but besides that, this is one of my favorite fanvids to come out of this fandom so far. The editing is excellent, but more importantly, I really like how the story here is not a saccharine or schmoopy. It's Merlin and Arthur still trying to figure out their Epic Gay DESTINY what they are to each other. Loved it.


(Also, krazykipper, we still need to hash out things! If you want to email me, I'm at merelyn25 (@) gmail.com.)

Hi, new Merlin friends! *waves* Welcome, have a rec, pointed the way by ras_elased.

Guys. GUYS. moonythestrals has written what is, to my knowledge, the first CRACK AU in Merlin fandom. This is so exciting. It's like when rageprufrock's Hindsight came out in SGA, and it was the first major AU, like an oasis of crack in a desert of normal stories- and then three years later Girl Scout Cookie/Rainbow/Unicorn crack AUs were the norm. I have high hopes for Merlin as well.

FRATBOY!ARTHUR AU by moonythestrals

As an English+Business double major/gay ex-sorority girl, I spent most of this story being YES. EXACTLY. (BECAUSE COLLEGE IS REALLY LIKE THIS, K?)


Also, I was on a bus last night and haven't seen Grey's yet. I'm sure I will have something to say about it later.