inmyriadbits | Entries tagged with merlin

The smack of sound as our newspaper hits the front step around this time of morning is always a little disconcerting. As is the fact that I've been awake at this time of night frequently enough that it's become a trend.

Anyway. I've read a few wonderful fics recently, so it's recs time:

The Wrong Avalon (Doctor Who/Merlin crossover; Amy/Rory, Merlin/Arthur)
This was SO MUCH FUN. The tones of these two shows mesh incredibly well, and the characterization was great -- you can practically hear Matt Smith saying the dialogue in this. Also, Amy is wonderful, Rory is sweet, Arthur is...Arthur, Merlin is extravagantly devoted, and the Doctor is cray-cray in the best and most expected of ways. I loved reading this.

Synergy (Inception/Criminal Minds crossover, pairing that I won't spoil)
This was SO GREAT. I mean, you take Inception and Criminal Minds and stick them together, I'm so there (because hey, people's minds are fascinating, and that's a double-whammy). But if you also deliver an actual plot, really excellent characterization across the board, and bonus Spencer Reid? I AM SO THERE. This was lots of fun -- an honest-to-god casefile fic; it's what my sister calls "gen-ish", i.e. gen in all of the non-romantic-plot-prominent ways. It doesn't avoid pairings entirely, but it's really not the focus. The real focus is Spencer Reid and Eames and Arthur and the rest of their teams being brilliant together, and that's always a good time. (Also, I giggled a LOT when Eames and Reid inevitably faced each other in a game of poker. HEE.)

Guerrilla (Vorkosigan series)
I am not the easiest of Bujold-fic readers on the best of days. However, this was AWESOME -- it's an AU from Diplomatic Immunity: Miles fails rsther thsn beating the odds, and the Cetagandans invade Barrayar. Of all people, Ivan Vorpatril ends up leading the rag-tag resistance planetside. This is so good -- Ivan remains essentially Ivan-ish even while growing up remarkably fast, and the action and characterization is uniformly awesome and genuinely thrilling. I can't recommend this enough. (Note: this story is a complete, resolved entity. However, the author is in the middle of a WIP sequel -- which is already awesome; she's already brought in Mia Maz the Vervani diplomat from Cetaganda back and stuck her in the same room as Cordelia Vorkosigan, so I'm really totally in favor from the start -- but fair warning if that sort of thing bothers you.)

First: did you guys know that Sports Night is streaming on Netflix? Time to go a-pimping, my fellow SN fans! And second -- man, how much fun was that ridiculous NCIS:LA episode this week? It had many of my favorite things -- Deeks showing cracks in that obnoxious/cheerful act he tries to pull off, lots of fun Kensi/Deeks interaction, undercover shenanigans, character backstory, and explosions. I was pretty well pleased. :D

I'm sitting around insomniac-ly being bored tonight, again. *sigh* Do you ever get into that mood where you want to re-read something, but what you really want is to be reading it again for the first time? Like you want to re-experience exactly how awesome it felt when you first read that story, not actually re-read it. I'm in that kind of mood right now.

So, recs! The top ~~five~~ seven things I wish I were re-reading (for the first time):

1. Look Here, Look Back, Look Ahead (Marvel Comics, Iron Man Noir) by

marinarusalka
So, I was looking back through my journal to find where I originally recced this so I could link to that post, and discovered to my horror that I'd never actually posted my rec for it. *facepalm* Which is just wrong, because this story is AWESOME. I am maybe a little biased because I helped beta it, but not really -- it's just really fucking awesome. See, Iron Man Noir is basically a canon AU where Tony Stark becomes Iron Man during WWII instead of modern day. And, well, you know, Steve Rogers was kind of around then, too...and Marina picks up that idea and runs with it. It's amazing, and even if you haven't read the comics, WHO CARES, because it's Captain America and Iron Man fighting the Nazis (FTW!), you really don't need to know much more. Marina is fantastic with plot and characterization, as always, and she just kicks ass with all the period stuff and the action shenanigans and EVERYTHING. I really love this fic. I might actually go re-read it now, in fact....

2. What You See Is What You Get (If You're Looking Hard Enough) (The Mentalist)
This came out of the most recent Yuletide, and it's excellent. It's a steampunk/fantasy AU of The Mentalist -- which is an extremely bizarre concept that seems like it would never work, right? But instead, it's pretty much exactly the same as the show, only slightly more magical -- which is a neat trick; the execution is just stellar. The Lisbon POV is absolute perfection and forms the steel-solid core of the fic, the rest of the team is spot-on, the plot is long and interesting, and this story is just so clever. I can't even tell you what a fun ride it is.

3. Aral Vorkosigan's Dog (Vorkosigan series) by

philomytha
Amazing, amazing story. I've never really read much Vorkosigan fic because it's so hard to find people who can mimic Bujold's style, and without that it just doesn't feel right to me. I also have no real desire to read fic about Miles -- his story is told perfectly to my satisfaction in the novels, so why would I want fic? Philomytha is the perfect answer -- she writes so eerily like Bujold that I sometimes am a little suspicious that she's actually LMB herself, and she writes entirely about the secondary characters and canon ships -- with special love and attention to Simon and Alys, who are clearly her favorites. This particular story is Epic and deserving of that capital -- it's Simon's story, a gen epic starting when he meets Aral after the events on Sergyar in Shards of Honor, and following him through the Escobaran War and some small way into the events of Barrayar (so mind the warnings, seriously). And oh my god, it's SO GOOD. Simon's characterization is superb, his developing relationship with Aral gripping, and the action sequences utterly thrilling. It's like the Simon-POV novel that Bujold never got around to writing, and it makes me really happy. *hearteyes* (The rest of Philomytha's fic is excellent as well, if you're looking for Vorkosigan stuff -- I particularly love Secrets and Lies, probably the best Byerly story out there, Vorkosigan's Day, The Hand That Rocks The Cradle, Dancing Lessons, and Five Conversations in Alys' Office)

4. Switch (Star Trek reboot)
I am normally not a Kirk/McCoy girl, for whatever reason -- but if they were all like this fic, I totally would be. Long, intense, slow-burn, Bones-POV set largely during their time at the Academy, but stretching through the movie and beyond. Friendship! Pining! Hurt/comfort! It's like everything I want in a fic. It's enormous, too -- 230k+ words, which makes for a really delicious read.

5. Drastically Redefining Protocol (Merlin) by rageprufrock
I may be thinking about this one because of the Royal Wedding, SO SUE ME. :D I'm pretty sure everyone in the world has read this, because, come on. Pru's always good, and this story is certainly no exception.

6. The Student Prince (Merlin)
So, I was going to leave it at 5, but DRP always makes me think of the other epic Merlin modern!AU that I adore. I may even love TSP a little bit more, actually, because I prefer slow-burn romance over love-at-first-sight every time, and their friendship in this is so lovely. The atmosphere of the school setting is wonderful and heart-soothing in the way that only stories about school can be (god knows actual school was never like that). This one's another monster -- 145k words, FTW.

7. Next of Kin (The Losers)
I feel obligated to rec at least one non-novel-length fic here. So here's this one: an AU where Jensen never joins the Losers, and Max kidnaps his sister and niece to force Jensen to work for him. I LOVE this trope so so so much, and it's done terribly well here. ♥

For some reason, at one point I seem to have amassed a bunch of links related to the Victorian Era and/or Sherlock Holmes. Let me now post them in one big chunk. You're welcome.

1. Merlin fic rec: Drawn To Any Good (Merlin/Arthur)
This story is actually somewhat ridiculously romantic. I would call it over-the-top, if not for the fact that it actually works for me for once, because it totally matches the Victorian sensibilities the POV character (Arthur) would have. It's also set very early in the Victorian Era (one line refers to the "new queen"; Victoria was crowned in 1837), so there are touches of Regency romance in there as well -- best of both worlds! There is courting, okay. And wooing, and waltzing, and flowers, and writing letters. It's incredibly endearing and I very much enjoyed it. I was a bit uncertain about it at first, because I find that most fic where a mutual declaration comes early (as it quickly is clear that it will in this one) rapidly devolve into rambling pointlessness without the trusty romantic plot to fall back on, but this one manages to avoid that pitfall. I may be a somewhat biased, though, as there is an entire chapter comprised only of letters, and I am the world's biggest sucker for epistolary romance. The salutations alone were enough to win me over. :D

2. Poetry about Sherlock Holmes: 221B, by Vincent Starrett. It is always 1895. ♥

3. It is hard to read Sherlock Holmes (or watch Sherlock) without running into a London cab or fourteen, whether the modern version or the kind featuring horsepower in the literal sense. Reading on their history, and on The Knowledge (the incredibly rigorous tests that London cabbies have had to pass ever since 1851, to prove they know London streets inside and out, something which I find fascinating as an American and former New Yorker):
- BBC article "The History of the London Black Taxi Trade"
- article on The Knowledge
- PBS article
- Wikipedia article
- Official PDF for The Knowledge applicants
- Excerpt from book on Victorian and Edwardian horse cabs
- List of principles of policing held by various commissioners of the Metropolitan Police (including Sir Richard Mayne, who instituted The Knowledge, and thus tangentially relevant)
- A Handy Book of the Law of London Cabs and Omnibuses from 1867. Thank you, Google Books. :)

4. The Language of Flowers, sortable by flower or by meaning. I've mostly heard about this Victorian practice in context of the romantic meanings, like red roses mean "I love you". I find the platonic ones much more interesting – like "ambition of a scholar" (hollyhock) or "I mourn your absence" (zinnia; I would be lying if I said this didn't make me think of Holmes and Watson during the Great Hiatus). It's loads of fun in the same way that astrology is fun. The site is additionally interesting for the way it uses several different Victorian-era sources and shows the slight changes in meanings over time.

5. Poverty Map of London, 1898-99. This map is so cool. It depicts color-coded levels of poverty in different areas of London just before the turn of the century. *nerds*

6. A Study In Motherfucking Scarlet. AHAHAHAHA.

katieupsidedown linked me to this ages ago, and I practically busted a rib laughing. It basically takes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's A Study In Scarlet and paraphrases/modernizes it. Plus vigorous cursing. And acknowledgment of how much of a motherfucking badass John Watson is (I concur!). And completely overturning the politeness of the Victorian prose/subtext in favor of contemporary bluntness. Plus art. I giggle madly. :D

7. Not a link, but...I wonder sometimes about 221*A* Baker Street. I mean, who the hell lives there? What do they think of Holmes and Watson? Do they get people mistakenly knocking at their door all the time, making them wonder why the heck is up with the weirdos in London? Are they friends with Mrs. Hudson? Anyway. I'm just curious.

This is what happens when I start catching up on Hawaii Five-0, Castle, and Lie To Me all at the same time, and start thinking about how endearing all their prominent father-daughter relationships are.

( the qualifications )

[Poll #1677238]

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there will be a fish

señorita bits

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recs galore!

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