ceebee

Title: With Bloodstained Hands (Justice is Done)
Author: beccadearie 
Rating: NC-17
Pairings: Merlin/Arthur, Gwen/Lancelot
Summary: This time Arthur's secret is bigger than Merlin's. No need to let the whole world in on it. At least that's the plan. But plans don't always work out the way you want them to.

Thoughts: Okay, so I have quite a big thing for serial killer AUs and oh wow. It's the first part in a series (a short missing scene was actually posted today \o/) and written for a Merlin Horror Fest prompt, involving one of the boys being a serial killer and the other one finding out and joining in, hehe. At first I was hoping Merlin would be the original murderer (IDK why I have preferences for this kind of thing, I just thought it suited Merlin better tbh XD) but I came round pretty quickly. It's dark and a bit twisted, but very interesting imo. Merlin and Arthur aren't evil--they just sort of see themselves above the law. It's pretty hot with 'Dom/sub overtones', and there's a significant age-difference between Merlin and Arthur.

I'm not going to say that this is a fic that everyone will love, but I certainly enjoyed it :3 Make you sure you read the warnings and stuff (there are a few). Also, though, the Gwen/Lancelot is pretty lovely. They are the 'good guys', and it's actually a little hard to decide whether you WANT Merlin and Arthur to be caught...ultimately, you don't. It got to the point where I was trying to justify them with 'THEY CAN KILL IF IT MAKES THEM HAPPY THEY ONLY WANT TO BE HAPPY'.

Idk, it's an odd read, but I am highly recommending it.

Title: The Shoemaker
Author: Anonymous (to be revealed...)
Rating: NC-17
Pairings: Gwen/Freya, Merlin/Arthur
Summary: Historical magical AU. In turn-of-the-century Glastonbury, Freya Lake heads up an orphanage for magical children. And despite all of the seers’ dire warnings, Freya is happy; her infatuation with the shoemaker’s apprentice—who may or may not be a girl underneath his shirt and trousers—is slowly coming to a head. But then a woman claiming to be Morgana le Fay shows up on the orphanage steps, demanding to see Emrys, and Freya is forced to rearrange her priorities.

Thoughts: I still need to leave a review, but AO3 literally JUST went down for maintenance, so I thought I'd make a rec here in the meantime. OH MY GOODNESS, I loved it :3 Really, really adored every sentence. The OCs were particularly awesome, and the setting/magic sort of reminded me a bit of Terry Pratchett XD Idk, there was just something about it. The idea was awesome, and Gwen as a shoemaker/in guy's clothing was *flaps* really quite hot. Freya was lovely too...it must have been fun to write her, because I guess you can really make her your own. I think she was sort of quietly BAMF in this, heheh. 

Another thing that was lovely about it, was the reincarnation aspect...humm, I don't want to give away the plot, but some of my favourite moments involved characters being reunited. 

Merlin in this was endearingly eccentric, and the ending made me melt. Completely. I am currently a puddle, left only with fingers to type with. 

So, I went to see Skyfall last weekend and I loved it--seriously, if you haven't seen it yet and you get the opportunity you should definitely go. The shippy aspect was just an added bonus tbh--I've always liked Daniel Craig's Bond, and this was the best film I've seen in ages. By the time Adele's song started (and that was after the OPENING scene) I felt like I'd had an adrenaline rush, and all I was doing was sitting there and watching.

Anyway! James Bond/Q is an awesome ship (but ugh, the pain because what if THEY GET A NEW BOND AND THERE'S NO MORE 00Q MATERIAL ARGH)

Good thing there's already a tonne of fanfic that's been/is being written *happy sigh*

If you read any of these two recs PLEASE read the warnings from the authors--they're both pretty dark (as in, graphic torture and some non-con dark) but incredibly written. Also, they're series! One is a WIP, but the first part (which is 10 chapters) is amazing. Really, I can't rec either of them enough. They're the first two that I've read so far (admittedly, I haven't read very many yet) that have blown me away by how in character Q is. I'm a bit in awe of the authors' intelligence, because it just comes through in the dialogue and I love it.

I'm gonna be on the prowl for Skyfall/Sherlock crossovers next, because a friend of mine said she'd read a few and they were all sorts of perfect :')

"the hand beneath your head" series (explicit)
Author: skylights
Summary: Q remembers New Orleans as a dark room and a red haze, a burning in the back of his throat and heroin in his veins. Bond remembers New Orleans as sixty hours without sleep and the sick satisfaction of killing because he wants to. (Or, what happens in New Orleans, on the way there and after. A hurt/comfort series.)

"But Now I've Got You" series (mature, WIP: Part 1 complete)
Author: raven_aorla
Summary: Post-Skyfall. When Bond rescues Q from the hands of some particularly nasty captors, it is only the beginning. 

And now I gotta go downstairs and watch some Game of Thrones with my dad :')