#rated a

Arthur/Merlin Modern AU. In which Merlin is an adorable nerd and Arthur becomes a bit of an internet stalker. And everyone is on tumblr.

Modern AU Rating: PG-13 Author: SecretForKeeps Wordcount: 17,879

Merlin paints the end.

Modern AU

Rating: NC-17 Author: Frantic Wordcount: 3,262

This little fic is a sequel to "Arthur and the Real Boy", inspired by the Series Finale. If you haven't seen/read either, you SHOULD. If you haven't read the fic, it is still adorable. There weren't that many reincarnation-ideas on the first fic, but the second makes a deep use of them, and it is good it does, because, let's face it: we're needing it. Not only that, it's also set on Christmas, which may also fix your holiday feels that might have been crushed by the finale, on a bittersweet note.

Rating: A

~ Diana Prallon

“Sch-tick” reads the cover of the Fall’s 1985 release, This Nation’s Saving Grace, and it shouldn't take long to realize why. Most post-punk bands were a somber bunch. The rest were smiling, brainy quirks. The Fall, on the other hand, were pissed off and funny as hell. Unfailingly rude, incalculably hip, and undeniably intellectual, Mark E. Smith may be England’s greatest post-modern poet. Where Morrissey fancies himself the reincarnation of a sassy Oscar Wilde, Smith channels a firebrand Thoreau, or an unromantic Kerouac, or maybe just himself. His commanding presence has something to do with his uncanny ability to sell himself as the sanest person in any room. Thanks in no small part to his manic consistency, there is no Fall album that doesn’t sound like a Fall album.  That being said, This Nation’s Saving Grace was a fairly controversial release. While it’s often cited as their best and most appealing album, some long-time fans consider it a dud; the first step in the fall of the Fall. To these true believers, Brix Smith was the Yoko Ono of the post-punk underground. Brix quite literally married in to the Fall in 1983, and she brought pop-craft in with her. The band had long been making songs, some (“The Classical” from Hex Enduction Hour) more song-like than others (“Hip Priest” from the same), but Brixy decided it was time to get some more Rock & Roll focus. The first record on which she featured, 1983’s Perverted By Language, was a bit of a brick wall, difficult to dissemble, but surprisingly structured. Grace is the product of a careful pairing down of the ideas explored on Language, particularly the analysis of these things called “riffs” which, at the time, were a completely newfangled concept for the group. It’s not that they’re necessarily excited to have us on board. There’s plenty here to scare the feeble-eared on back to their Joy Division. Cinderblock-barrage riffs on tracks like “Barmy” and “Spoilt Victorian Child” are intertwined with curdling washes of rip-tide guitar haze that feel like audio fever. “I Am Damo Suzuki” juxtaposes cat-screech chords with proudly off-tempo rumble, all punctuated by Mark E’s possessed mumble-shouts. More than just a sharpening of their sound, Grace stands as a major cultural statement; a sort of British Daydream Nation. It casts loners and losers and psychopaths in leading roles, and wrestles with the dim prospects of defining oneself as an individual in a world that shuns its outliers. The settings are bleak at best, neon-plastic dystopias sold as wonderlands. “L.A.” evokes its subject’s paper-thin character perfectly behind a wall of bouncing New Order synths and trendy guitar twists. On “My New House” and “What You Need”, Smith discusses the sterility of massive consumption and its implications on the human condition. It all comes to a head on “Paintwork”, a stunning anthem constructed from tape samples recorded in Mark’s lonely hotel room. The song is singular, unimposing, beautiful, and vulnerable, unlike anything to come out of Smith’s head before. What starts as a diary entry transfigures itself into a plea for understanding from a true genius enigma. The beat fades from a pitter-patter of tongue clicks to a thump of impersonal drum machine kicks. Guitars sweet and soft and natural become fuzz laced and charged in the blink of an eye. “People say, ‘Hey Mark, you’re spoiling all the paintwork’.”  The album’s title is a bit of a blatant joke, but ends up not being too far off. Whether they meant to or not, the Fall managed to create something truly special with “This Nation’s Saving Grace”. They had left their stylistic mark long before, but what chance would Stephen Malkmus have had to dig up Live at the Witch Trials if a few tracks from here hadn’t become college radio hits? Age old arguments about “selling out” aside, this is still an incredibly challenging album. It hands out as many frustrations as rewards. The most wonderful part is when the frustrations start to grow on you, and suddenly Mark E. Smith becomes your best friend.

Merlin is a med student, with all the workload and stress that degree comes with. Arthur is a law student, with his own hefty workload. Can the two of them fit a relationship into their lives?

Modern AU

University AU Rating:  Author: blue_eyed Wordcount: 5,862

Relationships aren't simple - not when you are a grown up and has crazy hours. Arthur and Merlin are not quite that grown yet, but they are already learning that if you don't -make time-, things will never fall on their laps. Lovely reading, some sweet angst and loads of fluff.

Rating: A

~ Diana Prallon

On a Very Important Quest, Arthur and Merlin share clothes, beds, bathwater and secrets.

(Originally posted anon for merlin_holidays.)

Canon AU

Magic Reveal Rating: NC-17 Author: Hope Wordcount: 24,506

This is another perfect winter fic; and it is truly adorable. Once again, I shall thank Nik for reminding me it's name, because, clearly, I've been reading way too many fics to remember the names afterwards. It's pre-S4, and it shows, but you just *can't* not adore it, for it is heart-melting. Not, I should say, the only thing that it melts. Rating: A

~ Diana Prallon

Merlin’s been in love with Lance for years, but he hasn’t had much experience dating and he wants to figure out the ins and outs of dating before Lance comes back into his life. Cue Arthur and his manwhoring ways, ready and willing to show Merlin the ropes.

Modern AU Rating: NC-17 Author: giselleslash Wordcount: 24,495

I've been trying to find this fic again for AGES. I'm so glad I did (thanks, Nik!), because it was one of my favorites. I love how Arthur and Merlin totally have a relationship and do know face it, pretending that it is all a game and make believe; pretending you can turn off you emotions - as Ted Mosby said years ago, you can't do such thing. It's achey and charming, and really, really, really a delicious thing to read.

Rating: A+

~ Diana Prallon