***

Title: the long night shall fall
Author: kat_lair 
Fandom:  Merlin
Characters: Morgana
Tags: Spooktober, Ficlet, Alternative Universe - Canon Divergence
Rating: T
Word count: 351

Summary: Camelot falls twice.

Author notes: Spooktober 2024, Day 7/31. Prompt/theme: Derelict.

the long night shall fall on AO3

( the long night shall fall )

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***

I have had three cups of coffee. I still feel sleepy. In fact, I've been tired a lot lately but I'm trying to combat this with Berocca and making sure I get out of the house at least once a day. Sitting in the garden counts, okay? I did that this morning but it wasn't that warm and the sun kept hiding. Now I'm back on the sofa and sun is out again making me feel guilty for just wanting to hide inside with the curtains drawn.


My cats are being particularly clingy at the moment. This may have something to do with the (finally) cooling weather as last night they actually slept inside. They are currently both on the sofa with me, Perdie next to my head and Tricks holding onto my toes. Aww.


Have finally uploaded more icons. I'm paying for the extra space but haven't really been taking advantage of that. I will also be making some icons today, yes sir.


I've been re-reading a lot of old SPN fics lately, rediscovering old favourites (like Birds on a Wire and The Epic Love Story of Sam and Dean and Mixing Light to Light and also of fuck Bitch and ahahaha Leader of the Pack and also Green and Gamboge and oh man I could go onnnn). Good times.


This has led me thinking about fic tropes again. Here are three tropes that I don't like despite fully acknowledging some people's ability to write them spectacularly:

1. Time-travel. Idk, I just don't like the idea of people missing each other in such a fundamental way as being in different sections of the time stream. I don't like characters receiving dire warnings or sage advice from their future self. I also don't like future self/present self sex. Yawn.


2. Apocalypse fic. I don't like the idea of world ending. Apocalypse was one of those things I was absolutely terrified as a child (growing up in 80s with constant talk of nuclear war and Tšernobyl happening relatively close with warnings of not to eat berries etc from the forests that summer and... yeah) so it's not a setting I want to read about. Though, like with many other darker fictional scenarios, I think I could actually write it quite happily. Lol it's like fictional switching that mirrors the other switching: I'll do things to others with glee that I will not have done to me *g* Double standards ftw!


3. Crossovers where a character gets it on with the actor playing them. Like Dean/Jensen or even stuff like Gerard/Poison. Similar thing to the time-travel cliché of having sex with yourself. Oh, see also: clones and mirror universes. I just... I'd rather read a good traditional masturbation pwp to be honest. Adding a second (third?) person to the mix doesn't really help. Say Merlin's spell goes wrong and he ends up with a double and then Arthur goes 'By the Grail, we must have a threesome!'... Yeah, not doing it for me. It lacks the kind of tension or spark you have between to different people. Honestly, if I met my future self or my mirror universe double, I wouldn't be interested in having sex with myself. For real, we'd probably just drink tea and try to get twice as much work/writing done and divide up responsibilities because we are inherently lazy.

From dislikes to likes. Remember that Working Hard for the Money meme I pimped a few days ago. Well, I left quite a few prompts there and one of them even got filled \o/ I thought I'd put them here too in case some of you are desperately wondering what to write me for Christmas... *g* Seriously though, eternal gratitude to anyone who might get inspired:

Bandom, Patrick/Pete
Early days, the band need money to tour. Patrick makes it by selling his... nope, not his body. His voice. Because turns out that it's not just good for singing, but it's also extremely good for talking dirty on the phone sex line. Pete finds out. Inevitable ensues. - Filled here: That Pretty Mouth Say Such Dirty Words by the wonderful synnerxx

Psych, Gus/Shawn
Someone is attacking the ladies and gentlemen of the night in Santa Barbara. Only way for Shawn to get a good 'psychic reading' of the attacker is to go undercover as a companion for hire. Cue Shawn hanging on street corners in tank top and torn jeans. He is... surprisingly good at the role. Better than his excellent acting skills alone could account for. Gus starts thinking about all those years Shawn spent away and just how he made ends meets... Angst, confrontation, jealousy, some creep touching Shawn in bad places, bonus for Gus decking the guy flat out, happy endings :D

Bandom, Ryan/Spencer
When Ryan's dad finally kicks him out, Ryan is too proud to go asking for help from his best friend. In retrospect, he should've maybe swallowed his pride.

Merlin, Gwen/Morgana
Modern AU, Morgana's uni mates drag her onto a pub crawl that ends in a strip bar. Morgana is shocked to see her project partner Gwen on stage. Shocked and... well, kind of... unable to take her eyes off her.

Star Trek Reboot, Kirk/McCoy
Modern AU, BDSM, Kirk is good at going to his knees and begging and making his clients believe he means it. In truth he despises every guy who thinks himself a "Master Leather God" or some such nonsense, thinks himself to be a Dom and a real man for smacking him around. And yet... they're paying for it because they clearly can't get anyone to do it voluntarily. If he had a choice, Kirk wouldn't sub for any of these guys. Truth be told, he's not sure he'd sub for anyone... although sometimes he thinks maybe, with a right guy, it could be... sort of okay. Maybe with a guy like Dr McCoy, the sarcastic, grumpy ER doctor who's looked after Kirk on more than one occasion after the extras he charged his clients for were a little too much after all. My undying gratitude for anyone who would write this, seriously.

Sherlock, John/Sherlock
AUish, world where contracting yourself out as a sex slave for a pre-determined period of time is an accepted if not that respected way of making money. After John saves the lives of men in his regimen, they pass the hat around and buy him one hell of a thank you present: Sherlock Holmes at his exclusive service for six months. John appreciates the gesture, he really does. Sherlock is scary smart, funny (often unintentionally though) and seriously, seriously hot. And he can apparently suck cock really, really well. Better than John's ever had. Or so he tells him. Because, well, John kind of has... moral objections for actually having sex with anyone who's been paid to do it. It's going to be long six months. And at the end of it... well, who knows.


Right, enough rambling for today. I'm going to go wash dishes and put rubbish/recycling out now because these are the things that need doing. Then after that I'm going to sit down and do some icons, dammit.

***

Bandom

Clandestine Boys (Have Nothing to Hide) - Patrick/Pete, AU. To save his business, Patrick decides to embark on a new career... as a pornstar. The 'Clandestine Boys' studio isn't at all what he expected... Oh this was such an entertaining ensemble AU where everyone basically works in a porn industry. Sweet and funny and with some awesome background pairings.

Disaster Boy - Gabe/Pete. As a rule, when this pairing is written with a d/s dynamic I tend to prefer it the other way around to what it is here. However, this completely sold Gabe as a top struggling with his sadism to me. Realistic, painful and funny in all the right places. Bonus points for excellent Ryland in a supporting role. Mind the warnings, the 'scene gone wrong' part was gut wrenching.

I 4 U & U 4 Me - Patrick/Pete. Ah, I do so love 'pretend boyfriends' cliché and this fic gives a wholly enjoyable romp around it.

run for ur life & take all that u can. xo. - Patrick/Pete, AU. FOB is a hard core band! Werewolves! Mate bonds! And just a rolling, roaring, sweaty, ride of a fic. The Pete voice in this is excellent.

Untitled - Frank/Mikey, other background pairings, AU. Don't let the 'comment fic' status fool you because this is a completely charming take on the 'from bffs/room mates to lovers' cliche you all know I adore madly. Bonus on them both being grad students and an excellent use of background characters. Short but sketches out the whole 'verse in vivid detail.




Merlin

But It's a Good Refrain - Arthur/Merlin, AU. This fandom has some excellent modern day AUs and this and the fic below are by an author who writes some of the best ones. Here, Merlin is a radio host offering relationship advice for listeners, and Arthur has some opinions about the validity of said advice. Funny, engaging, smart and with a wonderful ensemble cast.

Every Story is a Love Story - Arthur/Merlin, AU. All the excellent qualities as above, except this time everyone works in a publishing industry. Arthur is launching a gay romance line and Merlin is his star author. Semi autobiographical novels follow... Wonderful.




Octopus steals my video camera and swims off with it while it's recording (it's a fandom okay)

Texts From Cephalopods - so uh, everyone in the internet has already read this, right? Like even those people not in the fandom. Even the octopus. But. Just in case you haven't yet, you should do so. Immediately. Because "It is a well-established fact in marine biology that the octopus is the drunk texter of the cephalopod family." Hilarious, be sure to check all the youtube links.




Supernatural

Sin City - Dean/Sam. A very interesting twist to the episode 'Sin City'. Well-executed, dark, sad, and entirely believable.

Your Heart On My Skin - Dean/Sam. Uneraged wincest (Sam is 16), boys go undercover in prep school to investigate some mysterious and increasingly violent events, and end up having to pretend to be boyfriends in order to sell the cover. The relationship development is sensuous whilst staying in character for the ages and the case itself is an interesting one. Extra bonus points for feeding deliciously into my 'painting/writing on body' kink.

Hello darlings,

RL update maybe like tomorrow. For now  fandom things.

eosrose made a Podfic Anthology of Merlin drabbles and ficlets, including two of mine (Standpoint and that's how the light gets in) - you should go check that out, it's most awesome.

Patrick's new song. I am charmed and amused in equal measure. I mean, in addition to the usual fdjklkfadkfadsguuuuuhhhhhhPatrick reaction.

Apparently, Pete is writing a book. This gives me many, many feeeeeeeeeeeelings, oh god.

A massive picspam of The Like.  I've no idea of their music, but the girls are pretty (thought not really doing much for me personally). However, the main reason I'm linking this is the amazing photographs in it. I really love composition and the 'art photographs' and just... sigh, lovely.



Bandom TFLN (texts from last night) tumblr has been my happy place for a couple of days now.

***

I've purposefully skipped like the last five love memes that have circulated around the flist, so I thought I'd do this one. For variety.


THIS IS WHY YOU'RE GREAT!
my thread

I know I promised more fic rec posts, but 2-5 min fanvids are the extent of my non-thesis attention span right now. Plus there are some real gems here that I can't bear to deprive you of any more.


Vid Recs!


Alone With You (the shared madness) - Bandom, Patrick/Pete. Oh goddddddddd. Remember back in the day when Patrick/Pete was the pairing in the bandom? Remember all the angsty fic where Pere was a mess and Patrick was... the anchor and the leaking liferaft or maybe nothing but a phantom on Pete's fucked-up psyche? Yeah, you remember that? Well, this is all that in a 3-minute video. Set to a song by Brand New (I know for a fact that this is a selling point to at least one of you). What the fuck are you still doing here and not watching this vid?


Strange Days - Being Human, ensemble (canon pairings). I know I ramble about song choices a lot, but these are my recs so I can. This is song I used in a Wincest fanmix eons ago, and a long-time favourite of mine and so perfect for this. Oh show. This is a gorgeous, bittersweet vid with a wonderful use of the supporting characters. Definite tissue-warning for this.


Distance - Glee, Finn/Kurt (could be friendship). Okay, if anyone was going to sell this pairing to me it would be Fabella. The song is one I always associate with one of my favourite Ianto/Jack vids, but damn it's poignant here too. The hazy overlay (idk, there's probably a technical vidder term for it) lends this perfect dreamy quality. Use of colour (and lack of it), the subtle effects... but beyond that, the emotional impact is immense. This vid makes the point the show laboured at, and makes it far better.


White Blank Page (d/l link amidst the comments, ask the vidder) - Glee, Brittany/Santana. Okay so I thought the show itself twisted the knife in my heart with the storyline of these two. But that was like a pin prick compared to the this. Jesus Christ. If you do not choke up from watching you have no soul and I don't think we can hang out any longer. The bleached colours, the overlaid clips, the clear storytelling, the editing that brings to focus the frankly excellent acting... I don't care if you hate Glee, this is beautiful, go watch it now.


Cupid's Chokehold - Hawaii Five-0, Danny/Steve. Man, I love it when fandoms collide. Here Steve and Danny's meet-cute to the infectious tune of that Gym Class Heroes song you can't get out of your head for five hours after listening (mmm Travie and Patrick). Anyway. This is Nel's vid so quality is guaranteed. This is sweet and light-hearted, perfect antidote for all the angst. (Smile moar, Danny! *gazes*)


Harbors of Our Own - Hawaii Five-0, Danny/Steve. Ah, oldie but goodie (...does a fandom this new even have 'oldies' yet?) Anyway, possibly everyone has seen this already but since I haven't recced it yet... Basically, this is a vid about how inconvenient love can be. It won't ask for permission or schedules or whether or not you'd prefer your working hours explosion free or your pizza without fruit. Such is love. Danny is learning it the hard way. Lovely vid with strong storytelling.


Trouble - Hawaii Five-0, Danny/Steve. . :DDD Pink is one the very few celebrity women I wouldn't mind a little personal playtime with. Um, that wasn't relevant to the vid per se, was it? Anyway. Steve is trouble. Danny pretends to mind. Awesome action vid, uncomplicated fun. Everyone needs some of that.


Ego - Merlin, Arthur/Merlin. Aaaaahahahahaaaahahahaha. Merlin is Beyoncé. Of course he is. It makes perfect sense. Anyway, so okay, here's the thing, Merlin has a big sword cock ego. And he can back it up. And then some. A vid full of phallic symbolism (just like the show!) and a dramatic slash dragon (also, like the show!). You owe yourself to watch this.


Animal (youtube, no d/l link that I could find) - Sherlock, John/Sherlock. Okay, I admit it: I clicked on this vid because I had some hazy hope it was made to NIN's Closer (...seriously, where is the Sherlock vid to that? I need it in my life.) It wasn't. But it was a sill an awesome little lovestory of a vid. There's something oddly romantic and kind of... soft? about this vid that appeals to me. The colouring is gorgeous.


Sherlock: The Musical - Sherlock, some implied John/Sherlock and Moriarty/Sherlock scenes. Okay, so this does what it says in the tin; a medley of songs and clips. This is hilarious, often in a slightly wrong way. Ahahaha, the Mycroft part is maybe my favourite. No, John's theme song. No, everything about Moriarty (Lady Gaga! perfect!). No, maybe... You get the idea.


Sherlock Audio Fun - Sherlock, some implied John/Sherloc, Moriarty/Sherlock, Anderson/Sherlock (no, really) and Sherlock/Mrs. Hudson (ahaha, genius) scenes. So this is done in the same vein as above (medley of songs) but also uses a variety of dialogue clips from other sources. Also moar musicals (Sherlock = Belle, trufax). And Glee (Sherlock does not want to go to rehab!) This vid actually makes me kind of buy both Anderson/Sherlock and Moriarty/Sherlock and even find them, sort of, um hot? My favourite is probably still John asking Sherlock not to turn him on...


Sherlock'd In His Pants - Sherlock, John/Sherlock. So you know the Supernatural vid to this song, right? Right?! Good, so you know what to expect. Ahahaha, what wonders clever editing can do. Many, many hilarious lyric-clip combos, will possibly ruin (improve?) Sherlock's latex gloves for you forever but totally worth it. *dries tears of mirth*


I Wanna Do Bad Things With You (youtube, no d/l link that I could find) - Sherlock, John/Sherlock. Nghgkldsguhhh. Um yeah, it is indeed set to the John Everett song made famous by True Blood and damn but it fits well. I loved the darker edge of this and how predatory Sherlock is portrayed as. Good use of dialogue, which can be a hit and miss, but works well here.


Brokeback Baker Street (youtube, no d/l link that I could find) - Sherlock, John/Sherlock. Ahahaha, so I am a sucker for these reimaginings. By the same vidder as above, this is Sherlock done like the Brokeback Mountain trailer and I am unashamedly emotional over it. C'mon, who wouldn't watch this movie?


Lucky Ones (vidder's LJ is flocked and I've no idea if there is a d/l link somewhere) - Star Wars Prequels (with a couple clips from the Original Trilogy), Obi-Wan/Qui-Gon. Fine, fine, so I've been on Obi/Qui fic binge over the last two weeks, what of it? It's the power difference thing. Think about it, the whole Jedi order is only one sideways step away from institutionalised bdsm what with all the Masters and training bonds and suggestive weaponry, what was George Lucas thinking?. I cannot resist that shit even when the ratio of purple prose, soul bonds, and release of sexual energy into the ~Living Force~ is alarmingly high. I also cannot resist watching and rewatching this vid and maybe having some serious heartache because of the EPIC AND TRAGIC LOVE. This is not fandom I've seen many decent vids for so to find one is awesome. Sepia-coloured angst that manages to convey the larger than life feel of the Star Wars universe. Well drawn parallels between the Obi/Qui and Anakin/Padme storylines as well.


Runs in the Family - Stargate Atlantis, Gen ensemble, John pov. I would like to nominate this vid for the 'ingenious song choice' award. The frantic, brassy, bitter anger of the Amanda Palmer song is perfect for John and this fucked-up family of his. Love the Teyla sequence and overall use of the Wraith in the first half, and then, gah, it gets even more twisted and... yeah. Awesome.

Yesterday I managed tiny bit of thesis work, finished all of student feedback and had moth2fic and her husband over for tea and chat and removing of water tanks and piping. Respectively.

Today I'm therefore going to drink this giant pot of vanilla coffee I made, listen to love songs on Radio 2, maybe write something, and read all the Hot Fuzz fic in the world (no, really, I saw the movie for the first time yesterday and it was adorable and hilarious).

I also have an insane amount of recs for you guys. I'm not even going to give them all at once, but here are some fics I've enjoyed lately and hope you do too. Organised by fandom.


American Idol

through the storm we reach the shore Kris/Adam (with Kris/Katy, Kris/OMC, Adam/OMC). I loved all the original characters here; Kris' and Adam's other partners are realistic and likeable, and the central relationship develops organically, over time. Long and hugely enjoyable.

here is the deepest secret nobody knows Kris/Adam. Future fic. Adam follows Kris on a tour. Nnnguh, hits so many of my happy buttons, mainly the one for slow, organic relationship development. The UST builds and builds and just... Also features Adam being a possessive bastard, which, yeah. Guh.



Bandom

It's All Over My Face Frank/Mikey. Set in 2003 when the boys were legit roommates (I want to say flatmates, but that's because I live in England). Des' is brilliant at writing boys as such boys omg; dialogue, humour, description - all spot on and hilarious. The sex scene is realistic and sneaks in some d/s vibes that make me happy in my pants.

Can Never Wrong This Right Frank/Gerard. In 1949 Professor Way, an arheologist, and Frank, his pining research assistant set out to South America to find the legendary Blood Stone. And end up accidentally soul-bonded. As you do. Cracky premise that turns into something quite intense and even dark at times. Lovely little period touches as well.

By the Scent of the Moon Patrick/Mikey, Bob/Gerard. AU. Interesting world-building with rules of the werewolf society subtly interwoven into the story. Sold me on a pairing I haven't much considered before. Also hot (mmm hierarchical power structures and rules of behaviour, my kinks scratched).

a scent and a sound Frank/Mikey. More werewolf fic, this time with werewolves as a discriminated minority - a premise that adds an interesting and a more serious dimension to otherwise simple (but well done) 'getting together' story. Good use of sensory description. Imperfect and realistic characters.

I'm Gonna Tell It Like a John Locke Story Ryan/Spencer. I'm usually leery of amnesia fics, but the premise works really well here as an opportunity to start again and to remember the good things anew.

Amateur Cartography Brendon/Spencer. Hands down one the best, most realistic bdsm fics I've read. The relationship development here is outstanding; the uncertainty and confusion, getting things wrong, getting them right, the mix of physical and mental, the emotions you can't keep separate no matter how much you try. The wax-play scene in particular is just... yeah, yeah, just like that. Fuck. Go read it now.



Being Human

Sheep in Wolf's Clothing George/Mitchell. This fandom is lamentably small so finding good long fic is like winning a lottery. It's the apocalypse and the only person who can stop it is... George? There is some really fascinating mythology building here and my only gripe is that I would have wanted to see MOAR of it and would happily read tens of thousands of words about the Old Ones and history of vampirism. Great read.



The Fast and the Furious

The Kind That Talk The Loudest Brian/Dom. Guh. I mean, guhhhhhhhhh. Smouldering. But also really good character piece about meaning of family.



Hawaii Five-0 (2010)

The Turning of the Tide Danny/Steve. There's a short prequel to this here, but I'm mainly reccing this part alone. There is something very sensual about this fic. Boys playing in the water.

Hoahanau Chin/Kono. In which 'cousin' is a term of enderment and closeness, rather than indicating actual blood ties. Okay, so, confession: I would read so much het incest fic about these two because... I mean, have you seen them? Sex on a stick. Or, on a surf board and motorcycle. But whatever. This is your chance to indulge in the pairing without feeling skeeved by the incest-factor if that's what usually bothers you. Wonderful Kono pov. Maps the relationship from childhood to present day. Excellent context setting in terms of the the culture and community Chin and Kono are part of. Hot het sex.

I Have a History of Taking Off My Shirt Danny/Steve. Nobody likes a cock-tease and there's no such thing as harmless flirting. Angsty and hot like burning.

hoʻomanawanui i ka ʻono Danny/Steve. Mortal danger leaves to revelations! Ngl, I love it when Steve angsts. Also, Danny's rants are hilarious and I can hear the character voices.

High, High, Very High Danny/Steve. Reads like an episode (the plot is similarly cracky) with additional slash, of course. Steve does not adjust well to being put on compulsory convalescent leave. He does, however, manage babysitting Grace with only a few grey hairs to Danny. Funny, long, entertaining.

Spoken in a Whisper Danny/Steve. This author does kink so very, very well, and never ignores the psychological side of things. One of the best spanking fics I've read. Raw and realistic.

Lonely People Do Stupid Things Danny/Steve. Christmas fluff with 'meeting the parents' and first-time goodness thrown in. Happy-making in the best of ways.

bright shining as the sun Danny/Steve. My 'competency/unexpected skill kink' meets my 'drawing/writing on skin' kink with delightful results. Oh god, I want Danny's past turn out to be canon so bad. Guh.

Mr Rosso Goes to Hawaii Danny/Steve. Undercover as gay! Man, I love that trope. And this fic. Just an incredibly entertaining read.

put your mind at ease Danny/Steve. So, DADT got repelled. Doesn't mean that the change is easy to deal with. Fuck, this one hurt like a healing wound. Outstanding.



Lewis

Four Days in October Lewis/Hathaway. Link goes to the last part which has previous chapters linked. Interesting case fic with good original characters. Feels like an episode with added bonus of Robbie and Jim finally getting their act together.



Merlin

Pairing Pendragon/Merlin Arthur/Merlin. AU. In which "Arthur is a BNF and Merlin is his prized beta reader". Oh. My. God. IT'S FUNNY 'COS IT'S TRUE, OKAY! This should be required reading to everyone in any fandom. Delicious Mete served with a generous helping of hilarity. Go laugh at your(our)selves.



NCIS

Cold Hands, Warm Heart Tim/Tony. Hypothermia fic! The author is like 95% responsible for me getting into this show and this pairing and her writing keeps me coming back. This is a hugely enjoyable handling of the old trope and lovely first time fic.

More Like Magic Tim/Tony. Undercover as gay! One of my all time favourite fic clichés, done great justice here. Deliciously angsty at times. Comfort reading, at least for me.



Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Scott Pilgrim vs. the Unspoken History Wallace/Scott, Ramona/Scott. (Yes, this is another film I've only just seen - I'm chronically behind on movie-based fandoms, so sue me). Character voices are spot-on. A break-up fic that still left me smiling.



Sherlock

Bound John/Sherlock. This is a sequel to Crossed, which was the 'cropping with switching fic' I recced previously. This fic... it's hot yeah, but more than that I find it interesting. You don't see switching much in the bdsm fics, and while I'm not personally keen on it mid-scene, I find the interplay between John and Sherlock here absolutely fascinating. I just want to point at this fic and go 'yes, this, just so'.

Ridiculous John/Sherlock. AU where John is an army retrieval expert and Sherlock gets kidnapped... Hello, my competency kink is very happy to read about John being a BAMF and Sherlock not exactly conforming to the 'damsel in distress' stereotype either. Left me grinning delightedly.

Decency John/Sherlock. Humiliation kink done really well. Filthy, filthy porn.


 

So I wake up deciding to definitely, maybe, sort of, have a proper sick day. Three hours later I've: washed the dishes, done some hand-washing, cleaned and changed cats' litter day, checked flist and left/answered comments, done a tiny little bit of thesis work and drank two mugs of coffee. Um. I should maybe also eat something? And like, find the cold meds? (For those of you interested, my voice is slowly returning, today I can actually make some sounds, though they are not particularly melodious).

Anyway, there was point to this post and it was RECS!

***

Here is another extremely mixed bag of recs of the 'I've read/watched these recently and enjoyed them' variety. I made some attempt to group them by fandom, but that's about it. Old and new stuff both.

Fics:

After the Nile (LJ link), Due South, Fraser/RayK. Every now and then I return to this fandom to wallow in the epic fic it produces. This takes the typical 'post-canon quest for Franklin's hand' premise, but makes it something almost lyrical, but in the funny, gritty, foul-mouthed pov of Ray Kowalski. Hugely enjoyable.

Flowers Can Grow Between the Cracks in the Sidewalk, The Fast and The Furious, Mia/Letty. Here's a fandom not especially known for its femmeslash, but this fic does an excellent job at correcting that in a very believable way. As usual, it's the women who are left to clean up and get on with things after the dust settles.

The History of Two Conversations (On Paper). Merlin, Arthur/Merlin. I have such a soft spot for epistolary fics; here Arthur and Merlin scribble notes on the margins of a spell book. Adorable.

Distraction and its sequel My Object All Sublime, Sherlock, John/Sherlock. Sherlock wears a collar, but it doesn't mean anything if he puts it on himself. Good thing John is there to take over that bit. Oh god, oh godddddddd. This, this is how you do collar and discipline kink. So, so hot, and not really about sex at all (except in the ways it sort of is). Highly recced.

The Death and Resurrection of the English Language, Sherlock, John/Sherlock. This is the way I like my Sherlock; twisted but so very aware of it; knowing what is Fine and what is Not Fine to want, but wanting it anyway, and working out the way to get it. And by 'it' he of course means John Watson. All of him. In every way possible. Forever. This is a fascinating trip inside Sherlock's head; dark and intense and full of absolutes. A raw, visceral, scorchingly hot fic. Can't recommend it enough.

The Shape I Found You In, Sherlock, John/Sherlock. Sherlock goes to Stockholm on a case. He and John exchanges texts and emails and talk about some things it's high time they talked about. This is the epistolary fic of my heart. Have read it a couple of times now and it makes me melt into a puddle of happy goo every single time. Highly recced.

In Which We Change, Star Trek Reboot, Kirk/McCoy, AU. An interesting take on werewolves. I was left wanting more, though I can also appreciate why the author finished where they did.

Unwritten, Star Trek Reboot, Kirk/McCoy, AU. Jim is YA author who also works for a publishing house. Leonard McCoy is a recluse author who is about to be rediscovered whether he likes it or not (spoiler: he doesn't). I came for the pairing, but stayed for the excellent meta on writing.

Office Hours, Star Trek Reboot RPS, Pine/Quinto. College AU. Zach is young adjunct professer. Chris is his student. Kat enjoys this fic probably way more than she should. Nnggaaaah, such a guilty pleasure fic but oh god, could not put it down. Hot. Hot hot hot.

hit it hard enough and even skin will tear, Bandom, Patrick/Pete. Nnngghhh. One of my all time d/s favourites for this pairing. Filthy in the best of ways.

Nightingale (And Not the Lark), Bandom, Patrick/Pete, background Brendon/Ryan and Jon/Spencer. CSI AU. There is something both very unnerving and yet beautiful about the way the author writes Pete and Patrick here. I was equal amounts fascinated and uncomfortable, and not sure whether to be relieved or disappointed when the fic didn't go to the dark place I was fully expecting it to end up in.

Overheard ("Less Talk, More Rock"), Bandom, Patrick/Pete, some others. Omg how have I not recced this before? This 35,000 words of dirty talk and it never gets boring, not once. Pete tells the world that Patrick has no game. Pete, it turns out, is very, very wrong. Unf unf unffffff.

Put Down Your Weapons, Bandom, Patrick/Pete. Patrick stops talking, because it's just easier like that. Lovely.

Chiaroscuro, Bandom, Patrick/Pete. Art school AU. Utterly delightful. Pete is an idiot but he gets the clue eventually. Loved the photography details and cameos of everyone.

Walk The Line, Bandom, Spencer/Ryan. Oh the the other BFF pairing of my heart. Boys feeling their way from 'experimenting with a friend' to 'boyfriends'. Slow and gorgeous.

this year’s love, Bandom, Spencer/Ryan. Mmmm ust. Plays beautifully for that 'suddenly seeing someone in a new light' cliche that I'm very fond of. Also, Spencer is devious.

planes mistaken for stars, Bandom, Brendon/Shane. Achy and realistic. Sometimes wanting to be with someone isn't enough.

Conversational Japanese, Plus Frogs, Torchwood, Jack/Ianto, but really this is about the friendship between Ianto and Tosh. Absolutely delightful, great character study of both Ianto and Tosh, funny and touching in equal measure.

The Assist, Torchwood, Rhys/Ianto/Gwen. Author summarises this as: "Three adorable Welsh people have sex." which is exactly what happens. And 'lo it is indeed adorable and hot.

Eight Crazy Pilots Serenity Didn't Keep, Multi (Firefly, Farscape, SGA, SG1, Star Wars, BSG). Title says it all. Funny, heartbreaking and absolutely brilliant.

Ten Song Drabbles, Supernatural, Bandom, Stargate Universe. I'm pretty sure the author didn't bother pimping these anywhere *glares at her*, which is a crying shame as they are all excellent and well worth checking out.



Vids:

Rock Star, (download link) NCIS, ensemble. Rock on, the NCIS team! I've grown unexpectedly fond of this show and the vid is just relentless and action-packed.

Rabbit Hearted Girl, Supernatural, the Harvelle women. Strength, sacrifice, love. All the meta you ever wanted about how the show treated Ellen and Jo, in a 4 minute video that will make you bawl your eyes out.

Ki- ki- kiss me, Supernatural, Castiel/Dean. I'm fairly neutral about this pairing, but I can really get behind by the 'teetering on violent' tension this vid creates. Hot.

This is the Picture, Whedonverse multi. Very, very clever vid. Works better if you're familiar with most of source material as the parallels are pulled forth and laid bare. Harrowing and human.

Alone, Merlin, Arthur/Merlin. Arthur has ~feelings~ that can only be expressed through an 80's power ballad. Genius. I laughed so hard I almost peed myself, for reals. Bonus points for the best use of the slash-dragon ever.

The Tower, Merlin, Morgana character study (from before she got a personality transplant). Gorgeous, the song choice is just perfect. I want this Morgana full of ambiguity, not the one the show insists on giving me.

Brickhouse, (Link goes to vidder's homepage as requested, go to vids, scroll down to miscellaneous fandoms), Multi-source, Gina Torres. A worthy tribute of a smoking hot lady. Unf.

Black Velvet, Glee, Kurt. Inspired song choice. Also, I love Kurt, I really do, and this brings all the sublime tragedy to the fore.

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REMEMBER TO LEAVE FEEDBACK TO THE AUTHORS AND VIDDERS!

Happy Saturday Flist!

Yesterday's conference presentation went well and my paper garnered compliments and expressions of interest. Also, so did my glasses. IDEK, but it was nice. Better than all that was that my supervisor called my presentations slides "impressive" which made me preen like a freshly groomed labra-doodle.

To celebrate this, I'm going to spend the weekend doing other things (read: non-uni-related things). I have lots of stuff on my Epic To Do List that needs crossing off. But I also want to write some fic and mess about in fireworks today and pretend I know what to do with graphics (ahahaha, but um, I have fun?). I have Amaretto coffee (wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!) and plan on staying in bed until such time as Merlin starts and I have to drag ass to the lounge where the TV lives.

Speaking of Merlin, did you know that Colin and Bradley write songs together. Where is my band AU, that's all I want to know.



***

Have a couple of recs. Because I'm awesome like that.

Fics:
Speech, Star Trek: Reboot, gen. Uhura and language, breath-takingly gorgeous.
Drowning Man (+ sequels), Sherlock, John/Sherlock. Eeeeeveryone's probably read it already, but in case you haven't you should get on that. Commended for keeping my attention even after it moved into established relationship (notoriously difficult to do with me), characterisation is A+ all around.
An Act of Charity, Sherlock, John/Sherlock. Another one that has been recced all over but justifiably, Sherlock has two lists. Dark and sharp is how I tend to like my Sherlock and this delivers.
Sauntering Vaguely Downwards, CWRPS, J2. Boys are geeks who end up and roomies at Dragon*Con. Pure mind candy, schmoopy as hell but very entertaining. Also: Jensen cos-playing Crowley from Good Omens. Why yes, just imagining it makes me happy in my pants.

Vids:
A Study in Time, Doctor Who/Sherlock, trailer. I need this show in my life desperately. BBC should get on that pronto.
A mock season six promo, Supernatural. Completely amazing fan-made season six promo, literally made me clutch my heart.
Unnatural Selection, Multi. Post-apocalyptic. Chilling.

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Oh, and My Chem discover colour! I approve and cannot decide whether I want to molest them or pinch their cheeks for being so adorkable. MAYBE BOTH.

In conclusion: MOAR COFFEE!

So hey, Adam Lambert and Jake Shears made out. I approve both of Adam's choice of make-out partners and his hand-on-the-throat move and now want to write epic amounts of breathplay fic where Adam holds Kris/Tommy/random twink in place by the throat while he does wicked, wicked things to him. Um.

In other news, Matt Smith causes spontaneous pregnancy across the globe. I think the expression 'I ovulated so hard, the neighbour's dog went blind' just about covers it.

Not to be overdone, David Tennant and Benedict Cumberbatch rubbed their hips together for the fans' enjoyment. It looks like a bony sandwich that I'd be more than happy to cushion by being the filling. What? Like you weren't thinking the same thing!

Maybe this will interest some of you. Glee season 2 photoshoot vid.

Did you see this awesome picspam of Bandom boys and body hair. While you're at it, check desfinado's other picspams, they're all hilarious.

There's also a multi-fandom recommendation meme going on that you may want to participate in. I would but I'm honestly too lazy and disorganised to actually have links for the fics I liked. Usually I just save best stuff on to my laptop.

I'll give you guys some recs though. This is just what I've been enjoying over the last week or so.  You already knew I was a fandom slut so expect variety. Maybe I'll just link to this at the meme... hmm...


Fics:

Thief, Transformers, Sam/Bumblebee.  Look, I know but hear me out. I... saw the movie for the first time the other night. And then, well, I kind of just wanted fic about the two hot marines in it and I went surfing for some recs, and while I didn't find fic about the marines, I found a whole lot of things like robot/robot non-con sex and I had to see how it was done ('beg me and I will make you overload!') It was like a car crash (um, occasionally quite literally) and I could not not click. And it was kind of hilarious and traumatizing and proved to me that robots really aren't my kink. But anyway, this is not that fic. And even though the pairing is human/robot, it's not explicit and you can totally choose to read it as friendship like I did. But this is a short, sad and very evocative piece that you can read it five minutes and it's a five minutes you should spend.

Have to Drive, NCIS, Tim/Tony. Still reading this one, but it's hitting my h/c kink hard and giving me slow relationship development. Mind the warnings.

Unless it's lies or it's love, AI, Adam/Kris. Uncomplicated happy making kid fic.

Crossed, Sherlock, John/Sherlock. Cropping. Do I need to say more? Okay, cropping with switching. Why the fuck are you still here?

Hey, did you know that The Professionals Big Bang is currently posting at ci5_boxoftricks? Well, now you do. So go thee and roll around in new long Pros fic. I've only read two so far and the other one isn't posted yet so can't rec it now. But start with Run Through the Jungle, Bodie/Doyle. Engaging and thoroughly research case file, great original characters.

Cloud Nine, Stargate Atlantis, McKay/Sheppard. They work at the Weather Station. Hugely entertaining AU.

Be Yourself and Five Other Clichés, Glee, Kurt/Mike a.k.a. 'the other Asian'. Unexpectedly, this works and it works really well.

MODE: Final Issue, Ugly Betty, Betty/Daniel, various other pairings. Spoilery for the last season. I know, het right. Still, this is kind of my id pairing in a way and I totally ship it. Long, gives happy but not uncomplicated endings.


Vids:

Vroom, Multi. Hot women in hot cars and other things that go fast. Exhilarating and awesome.

Tightrope, Adam Lambert. He's had a quite a journey and it's only beginning. Amazing, spot on song and editing.

Blaze of Glory, Supernatural. This is the reason the word 'epic' was invented. Winchesters and Bon Jovi. Fuck yeah!

Pumpkin Soup, Sherlock. Adorable, delightful, made me happy in the heart region.

Tik Tok, Life on Mars. Made me actually almost like that fucking song. The vid is hard-hitting yet humorous, and made me yearn for the show again.

Handlebars, Merlin. Yeah, so everyone's seen the Doctor Who vid to this song, right? (If you haven't you better hit me up for a link because there is something missing in your life and you don't even know it). But here it's done for Merlin. And by god it's chilling. Can't wait for the new season though I doubt it'll manage to live up to this vid.


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Theeeeeeeeeere you go. Don't say I never give you anything.