It is in beta. Correcting page thirty-five sentence ten right now will lead to correcting sentence 21 and a new paragraph, and since I sent to beta, I've added like, half a page of uselessness.
It's also because a story is in beta, I can't work on something new. No, really. I can snippet--hey, anyone want to see the horror that is a short, terrible Lex Luthor/Arthur Pendragon?--but I can't write or I'll be making corrections to the beta story in the new story. Yes, it's possible. It's freaky, but it's possible.
Merlin
Blood by
lazy_neutrino, gen - this is almost entirely action and interestingly formed as well. I wish I could explain the visceral power, because the author's style played it down, but it's a good view of post-Roman Britain's daily dangers, and the way people have to live their lives around those dangers.The Night, The Light, and the Half-Light by
the_moonmoth, preslash, Merlin/Arthur - this was a small and brilliant piece of art. The style is beautiful, and the changes between present time and dreams are pitch-perfect. It's one of the best, if not the best revelation fic I have ever read, and it read like a revelation--powerful and world-shaking and wonderful. For both style and content, this is going to the top of the list, and let me add, please stay with us, the_moonmoth. Maybe we should institute retention bonuses for good authors.Ceremony of Innocence by
snarkydame, Merlin/Arthur - the only complaint I could possibly have was I wish this were longer and a novel, but as a short story, it does not disappoint. History changing, and why, and the price of fixing it. Soar by
transtempts, Merlin/Arthur - Wingfic! And funny wingfic! I had fun reading this in progress and perhaps nagged for it a while. This is a great read.Merlin RPS
Teaching the Indie Kids to Joust Again by
bookshop, Colin/Bradley RPS - okay, here's the thing. I am not really into RPS, not for any particular reason except time management and interest. If a fandom has a ton of fic, I go that way. However, a dark and terrible couple of weeks ago, there was no new fic and when I checked delicious.com/tag/merlin, I needed something to read and what do you know, there was RPS. And there you have it. Speaking of, I need to do a rec set for that.But that aside--I loved this. I mean, it was an incredible read. And honestly? It's not like Aja is not fairly well-known as a writer, but we never shared a fandom and I was curious. And so I went in, a bit wary, a bit hopeful, and came out dazed and startled and re-reading it three more times. I should feedback that sometime, but I'm afraid it would be something rather unreadable. I like the beginning, I like how this never really slows down or speeds up but changes beats instead, going from four to three to cut-time, and the slow growth of something happening that's terrible and wonderful and inevitable, too.
Oh, for convenience--I tag my recs recs: merlin if you are looking for earlier recs. I haven't added that to my main page sidebar due to laziness and because I really do think I'm going to convert to S2, but I get wary of change and I kind of just want someone to like, I don't know, do it for me or something. I've been saying that for years. I don't know. I never promised logic.
Note to self: no, do not open Word. Go listen to So Long, Goodbye by Ten Year and get melancholy instead. Or something.