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Fandom Snowflake: Day Nine
Jan. 12th, 2014 03:24 pmDoing the fandom snowflake thing!
Day 9: In your own space, rec at least 3 fanworks you thought you wouldn't like (because they weren't your fandom or they pushed against your boundaries or you thought you just wouldn't be interested) but you ended up loving.
Thistledown by Violette_Royale. Merlin, Merlin/Arthur, Historical AU, E rated, 91k.
I don't read a lot of Merlin fic in the first place, and "Historical AU in which Merlin is always-a-girl" isn't the sort of summary to inspire me to give something a try. But I'm so glad I did, because this story is absolutely wonderful. It's beautifully written, the setting is a (mostly) non-magical Europe in which the 12th century is actually accurately portrayed (ie, nothing like the show), the sex scenes are very hot, and the relationship is complex and difficult and real. Also, there's an actual plot, which involves traveling from England to Jerusalem, and I love the descriptions of the places they pass along the way. But the best part really is the writing, which is just so gorgeous:
"I will miss the food, I think," Merlin says later, as they feast on fried fish from a vendor.
And of course Arthur takes that as some sort of challenge. While she is still licking the last of the fat from her fingers, he is dragging her towards the marketplace again, and buys her a pomegranate. It is a beautiful fruit, but with its hard outer shell, it does not look edible.
They find their way out of the city, down to the sea, before he pulls out his dagger and opens it for her. It is the most amazing spectacle she has ever seen, not only the fruit itself, but the way his hands work the sharp blade to cut into the peel of the thing before gently breaking the fruit in four parts.
The inside looks like clusters of garnets. When she breaks the little nibbles off and holds them against the afternoon sun, they shine deep red. Lovely, edible gems.
"Can you really eat them?" she asks, because they have none of the appearance of fruit.
Arthur smiles as he watches her. As if she, rather than the fruit, is the spectacle. He takes her raised hand, brings it to his own mouth. His lips are full and soft as he nuzzles her cupped palm, sucks the crimson arils into his mouth.
Just a random example, because I could pull nearly any scene out of this story, and it would have some lovely image or turn of phrase.
and i'm trying not to fall by surexit. Original fic, m/m, E rated, 27k.
I don't read much original fic either, but this story is perfect and wonderful and everyone should read it immediately. It's a romance between two teenage boys in modern Britain, and is an absolutely stunning take on class and race and sexuality. It's a serious look at those things- there's so much tension and awkwardness and people fucking up despite trying hard not to- and yet it's not a dark or depressing story at all. The main characters are adorable and lovely, and I just want so much for them to understand each other, and all of the side-characters are wonderful and real and complex. The dialogue is excellent and often funny, and things are hard but ultimately good. It's just a really, really amazing story, and I would read so much more of it.
There are also a few short sequels, but I recommend reading the long story first.
But Not the Song by ignipes and emilyray. Bandom RPF, slave AU, E rated, 200k.
First of all, I don't read much RPF (I actually don't even know who most of the characters in this fic are, and just read it as an original fic). Secondly, I am very iffy about most slavefic, and it's not a genre I enjoy as a whole. And yet I really liked this story! It's about the characters in slavery surviving, escaping, joining with an abolitionist movement, and trying to heal, and not at all about the sexiness of slaves and masters. There's a huge cast, an exciting plot, and lots and lots of h/c; there's characters on various ranges of "broken" to "unaffected", as well as "understanding" to "total dicks"; there's people trying to make the best choices they can given the circumstances; there's poly relationships and interesting female characters (though the main relationships are nearly all m/m) and no healing cock. It's just a great (and very long!) story.
Day 9: In your own space, rec at least 3 fanworks you thought you wouldn't like (because they weren't your fandom or they pushed against your boundaries or you thought you just wouldn't be interested) but you ended up loving.
Thistledown by Violette_Royale. Merlin, Merlin/Arthur, Historical AU, E rated, 91k.
I don't read a lot of Merlin fic in the first place, and "Historical AU in which Merlin is always-a-girl" isn't the sort of summary to inspire me to give something a try. But I'm so glad I did, because this story is absolutely wonderful. It's beautifully written, the setting is a (mostly) non-magical Europe in which the 12th century is actually accurately portrayed (ie, nothing like the show), the sex scenes are very hot, and the relationship is complex and difficult and real. Also, there's an actual plot, which involves traveling from England to Jerusalem, and I love the descriptions of the places they pass along the way. But the best part really is the writing, which is just so gorgeous:
"I will miss the food, I think," Merlin says later, as they feast on fried fish from a vendor.
And of course Arthur takes that as some sort of challenge. While she is still licking the last of the fat from her fingers, he is dragging her towards the marketplace again, and buys her a pomegranate. It is a beautiful fruit, but with its hard outer shell, it does not look edible.
They find their way out of the city, down to the sea, before he pulls out his dagger and opens it for her. It is the most amazing spectacle she has ever seen, not only the fruit itself, but the way his hands work the sharp blade to cut into the peel of the thing before gently breaking the fruit in four parts.
The inside looks like clusters of garnets. When she breaks the little nibbles off and holds them against the afternoon sun, they shine deep red. Lovely, edible gems.
"Can you really eat them?" she asks, because they have none of the appearance of fruit.
Arthur smiles as he watches her. As if she, rather than the fruit, is the spectacle. He takes her raised hand, brings it to his own mouth. His lips are full and soft as he nuzzles her cupped palm, sucks the crimson arils into his mouth.
Just a random example, because I could pull nearly any scene out of this story, and it would have some lovely image or turn of phrase.
and i'm trying not to fall by surexit. Original fic, m/m, E rated, 27k.
I don't read much original fic either, but this story is perfect and wonderful and everyone should read it immediately. It's a romance between two teenage boys in modern Britain, and is an absolutely stunning take on class and race and sexuality. It's a serious look at those things- there's so much tension and awkwardness and people fucking up despite trying hard not to- and yet it's not a dark or depressing story at all. The main characters are adorable and lovely, and I just want so much for them to understand each other, and all of the side-characters are wonderful and real and complex. The dialogue is excellent and often funny, and things are hard but ultimately good. It's just a really, really amazing story, and I would read so much more of it.
There are also a few short sequels, but I recommend reading the long story first.
But Not the Song by ignipes and emilyray. Bandom RPF, slave AU, E rated, 200k.
First of all, I don't read much RPF (I actually don't even know who most of the characters in this fic are, and just read it as an original fic). Secondly, I am very iffy about most slavefic, and it's not a genre I enjoy as a whole. And yet I really liked this story! It's about the characters in slavery surviving, escaping, joining with an abolitionist movement, and trying to heal, and not at all about the sexiness of slaves and masters. There's a huge cast, an exciting plot, and lots and lots of h/c; there's characters on various ranges of "broken" to "unaffected", as well as "understanding" to "total dicks"; there's people trying to make the best choices they can given the circumstances; there's poly relationships and interesting female characters (though the main relationships are nearly all m/m) and no healing cock. It's just a great (and very long!) story.
