Mark Every Smile

I know I've been doing this a lot lately, but there's just so much good stuff in this fandom! However, this time around I seem to have gone out of my comfort zone a little with the bulk of the stories I'm recommending. More on that in a sec.

First of all, I was browsing AO3 for something short and sweet to read and found it in this awesome, lighthearted little romp by varoooom.

Invoke -- Merlin's magic, Arthur hates pop culture references, and sex happens.

This one made me smile all the way through because it's just such a cute look into an established Merlin and Arthur. Merlin's quirky, Arthur's long-sufferingly accepting, and the sex was lovely even if it did start with a Christina Aguilera reference XD.

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These next few are kind of unusual for me. Mainly because they're works that were posted for hs_merlin. Anyone who's been around me in fandom long enough knows that I really, really don't like high school 'fic. HS was hell for me in a lot of ways, and I usually don't enjoy seeing characters I love go through that.

BUT!

Every now and then one (or two or three) will come along that sucks me in, either because of the premise or because it's written by an author I trust not to make it an adolescent trainwreck.

These? Not trainwrecks. They may be authors I know, but we won't know that for a bit yet and if someone on my flist happened to write any of these, expect glompage as soon as we know.

So! In the order they were posted because doing it by preference is just impossible. XD

Warm Wind Blowing -- When Merlin first catches sight of the boy in the trees, he can’t believe his eyes. Could it be him after all these years? Could it be Arthur—the boy that broke Merlin’s heart, the boy he’d tried so hard to forget? It seems Merlin’s past has come back to haunt him, and try as he might, there’s no escaping it.

I felt so sorry for both boys in this one. The misunderstanding/hurt feelings are woven all throughout this work and the gamut of emotions Merlin runs through are very realistic and believable. The end was very sweet and resolved the angst very well.

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Vicarious Matchmaking -- Merlin is seventeen, in the upper sixth-form and has no boyfriend. He might want one. His best friend, Arthur, is equally seventeen, has been around, and wants to help Merlin with everything he’s got. Cue his matchmaking efforts. Except, being a teenager is more confusing than it seems.

This one has been recommended several times, I realize; but I just can't help but add my two cents worth to the throng. This 'fic is hilarious, as well as very sweet and a bit bittersweet, too. Arthur is a bit conniving in his attempts to get Merlin a boyfriend (LEON! OMG, poor Leon!), and I loved that his realizations about his relationship with Merlin were a slow build...and that he was a bit oblivious for a good while.

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When We Bleed We Bleed the Same -- It all would've been simple enough if Merlin had just hidden his magic for a few more months, and not...very publicly used it to save Arthur Pendragon's life. As it stands, things are definitely changing.

This one took on a very real issue in schools today, gave it a Merlin, magical twist, and managed to deal with it respectfully. I liked the duality in Merlin and Arthur's situations. How, while this one act starts to change Arthur's way of thinking and show him that not all magic users are evil, it makes Merlin a target and the changes his whole world.

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Post-it Note Romance -- Merlin has never had a secret admirer before so he’s fairly certain this one has the wrong guy.

Another that's been recced here and there since it was posted, but it's well worth the attention. Romantic and witty, Merlin's journey through disbelief to hope to crushed to actually getting everything he's hoped for is just lovely.

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Stop Watching -- Browbeaten and threatened into denying himself by a domineering father who refuses to be embarrassed by even a whisper that his son is gay, Arthur has given up everything that he's ever wanted in his life to keep the peace -- shaky as it is -- with Uther.

Arthur Pendragon, a former track and field Olympic medallist, is the well-liked and successful track coach of Camelot High, with a long list of former students making the national teams. For years, he's been courted to join the coaching staff at Ivy League universities, with the national team, for the Olympic team, but instead of jumping at the opportunities in front of him, Arthur keeps his head down and stays at Camelot out of a feeling responsibility for his students, duty to the school, and a tiny, little bit of fear.

It's the first day of school and a new runner joins Arthur's team -- a senior transfer from Ealdor High. Merlin Emrys is out, open, impossibly friendly, immediately popular, and impossibly persistent.

Merlin has two goals: the Olympics and Arthur.

This one was a bit more out of my comfort zone than normal. I have a real issue with age discrepancy, especially where it involves a student/teacher relationship. I think what made this one not so bad for me was the fact that Merlin was 18 and Arthur was trying very, very hard to discourage the whole thing. (I also had a bit of an issue with the reasoning that was used to explain why the relationship wouldn't be illegal. It didn't really hold for me.)

That being said, however, this was a very good story. I love an assertive, knows-what-he-wants-and-goes-for-it Merlin and this one was just perfect. I also loved that the author seemed to take Merlin's age into account and made his reactions and ideals very appropriate. In a lot of ways, he had some growing up to do; and it showed throughout the story.

Arthur's story was just a little bit heartbreaking, and I kind of liked that Merlin was the catalyst he needed to get out from under his father and start to stand on his own. In a lot of ways, Arthur had some growing up to do, too; and I liked that Merlin was able to help him do it.

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I think that's it for now. There was one other that wasn't from the fest that I wanted to toss out here, but I seem to have lost the link to it. I'll throw it up here as soon as I find it. HA! Found it! And it is from the fest. HowdidImissthat?! Anyway. Here is it (under the other cut):

Broken -- Merlin attends a new school after experiencing a vicious hate crime and meets Arthur Pendragon. Warnings! Please take them seriously -- Descriptions of rape through memories and nightmares; homophobia; potential triggers.

I was very surprised that I liked this one. Or, maybe not so much when you consider that it was filled with angst. This was another that took a very delicate situation and handled it with the respect it deserved. Merlin is very broken. After what has happened to him, though, that's not to be unexpected and his problems were well conveyed...even when he was trying hard to hide it all.

I loved Arthur in this one. He becomes very sweet and loving and is willing to help Merlin as much as he can all while retaining the characteristics that make us all love him in the show.

I also loved Will in this. He's very protective and wants what's best for his friend, and he hurts for Merlin. Of course, Will has his own issues in regards to what happened to Merlin; and this, too, is very believable for the situation.

All in all, I really enjoyed this 'fic, (although, I'm not quite sure "enjoyed" is the best word for it), and will most definitely being going back to it sometime very soon.