Would that this hoodie were a time hoodie!

The 30 Day Meme
Day 14 → A non-fictional book



This book is both fascinating and utterly hilarious, and the bits about the family dinners/get-togethers remind me of the early days of my childhood quite a bit.

( days )

In the mood for some hot, dirty manloving? Read:

Over Qualified by miakun (Uther/Merlin, modern AU, NC-17)

Merlin is Uther's assistant. He is still mighty clumsy and Uther is still very perplexed by him. Uther is all temperamental and Merlin is silently challenging. I freaking love the power dynamics in this fic. I think I just really love the idea of Uther being at the mercy of someone else because his love or passion for them is so consuming that he just gives up the power, but the other person willingly submits themselves to him, and this trend is big with Uther/Morgana and Uther/Merlin, so, I think that's why I dig those ships so much. Anyway, I really enjoyed this highly porny fic.

On a slightly unrelated note, I will be utterly shocked if no one writes an Avatar!Merlin fic. Perhaps this is just my weird habit of watching any movie and contemplating how it would fit into the Merlin world, but seriously, Avatar? That movie so needs to be Merlin ficced. Arthur = Jake, obviously. Morgana is Grace, Merlin is Neytiri, Will is Tsu'tey, Uther is Parker (and yes, I was majorly shipping Grace/Parker, but I think I was the only one. Everyone else seems to have been shipping Jake/Grace), the Witchfinder is that insane Colonel guy, Gwen is Trudy, Lancelot is Norm (maybe?). Not sure how Gaius would fit into it. And I suppose Balinor and Hunith would be the parents. But anyway, instead of blue cat people acting like Native Americans, it would be a world of druids. Or something. I don't know, but... surely someone somewhere is constructing a Merlin/Arthur fic modeled after the Jake/Neytiri love story, right? It's just begging for it. I didn't even like Avatar all that much and this is going through my head.

Also, one of the greatest things to ever receive in my email inbox? This:

thank you for making me believe in office fanfiction again.

:DDDDDDDDDDDD

So, tonight's Merlin was just so-so for me. Obviously I am doomed to have the exact opposite reaction to episodes as the rest of the fandom (or... my f-list, specifically). I don't know, this ep just didn't do it for me. I mean, the dialog was actually unusually witty and quite clever, but the episode just didn't delight me the way that Merlin usually does. The only scene where I got that giddy thrill was the one where an exasperated Uther turns to Merlin for an explanation about Arthur's behavior. Uther/Merlin will never not delight me (unless, you know, Uther threatens to kill Merlin for real, but hopefully that won't happen anytime soon).

I didn't even get excited about Uther and Morgana sitting super close to each other during the tournament scenes. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? I just... miss them actually talking to each other. You know, sharing words and looking at each other with much smolder. And next week just spells doom and gloom and vicious destruction for them, so, I am kind of sad that their relationship hasn't been played up lately (it all happened in the beginning of the season and then for about 6 episodes straight we get absolutely nothing, so, won't that kind of take away some of the punch of the Uther/Morgana breakup? If they do indeed part ways, that is. No idea if the show will even properly focus on their relationship next week, but it would seem a waste not to).

Anyway, I am kind of tired and my ears hurt and they are so plugged that I can barely hear anything, so perhaps I was just not in the mood for my weekly dose of cracky goodness. I also found the Secrets and Magic ep and the Real Merlin and Arthur documentary terribly boring, so... yeah, I just wasn't in the mood tonight, I guess.

Okay, that episode was wicked awesome, but it left me terribly confused and a little angry on Uther's behalf. They kind of butchered him by disregarding EVERYTHING that we've learned about his inner turmoil prior to this episode.

( Spoilers )

Ahahahaha, somehow even my thinky thoughts devolve into convoluted reasons for why Uther and Morgana are epic.

Wow. That was... different. But not a bad different.

( Merlin - 2x02 - The Once and Future Queen )

HOLY HOLY HOLY CRAP! OMG, I FREAKING LOVE MERLIN! It was hilarious and wonderful and squee-worthy and OMG UTHER! UTHER!!!!!! I don't think there was a moment where I wasn't smiling. The Merlin/Arthur was AMAZING, the Gwen/Arthur made me go "Awwwwww!" with my hand to my heart, and Morgana was beautiful, AND DID I MENTION THAT UTHER WAS SEXY? BECAUSE I KIND OF LOVE HIM. This show makes me so ridiculously happy.

( Oh, how I've missed doing these picspams of ridiculousness )

I FORGOT TO SUBMIT MY NOMINATIONS FOR THE excalibur_award. FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK! WHY DO I PROCRASTINATE FOR EVERYTHING? ARRRRGH! This was my chance to get some Uther/Morgana fics noticed, and I completely FAILED YOU ALL. Damn it. I even have them all categorized for pete's sake. It was the sending the noms in as an email that made me put it off forever. If it had just been an LJ comment, I would have done it the day the entry was posted. ARGH BLAH URGH! WHY DID I DO THAT? Bummer. Well, guess what, these fics get the firthgal award, okay?

Fic Link: http://shantirosa.livejournal.com/44165.html
Fic Title: In a Lonely Place
Fic Author: shantirosa
Genre/Pairing: Uther/Gwen, Gwen/Morgana, Uther/Morgana
Category: Best Overall fic, Best Characterisation for [Gwen], Best Angst fic, This Fic Made Me Love [Uther/Gwen]

Fic Link: http://caffyolay.livejournal.com/139394.html
Fic Title: Mauled By a Tiger
Fic Author: caffyolay
Genre/Pairing: Uther/Merlin
Category: Best Fluff fic, This Fic Made Me Love [Uther/Merlin]

Fic Link: http://shantirosa.livejournal.com/39710.html
Fic Title: The Last Beautiful Thing
Fic Author: shantirosa
Genre/Pairing: Uther/Morgana
Category: Best Overall fic, Best Characterisation for [Uther], Best Epic fic, Best Alternate Universe fic, Best Dark fic, Best Drama fic

Fic Link: http://oltha-heri.livejournal.com/81472.html
Fic Title: The Mermaids are Singing
Fic Author: oltha_heri
Genre/Pairing: Uther/Morgana
Category: Best smut

Fic Link: http://www.livejournal.com/tools/memories.bml?user=firthgal&keyword=Seeing&filter=all
Fic Title: Seeing
Fic Author: 4thderevko
Genre/Pairing: Uther/Morgana
Category: Best Episode Coda, Best Smut fic

Fic Link: http://otempora42.livejournal.com/49586.html
Fic Title: Loathsome
Fic Author: otempora42
Genre/Pairing: Uther/Morgana
Category: Best Pre-Ship fic

An artice about The Office (link shamelessly stolen from jesshelga)

So, am I the only person in the universe who actually likes Jim and Pam better together than when they were whiny pinies? Seriously. I could not stand them in seasons 1-3, but in season 4 I started to warm up to them, and now I actually enjoy their scenes (not to a shipper's level, but still, I can actually appreciate them now). Am I just some freak of nature who must always disagree with fandom? I don't know what's up with me. I'm always the opposite of popular opinions. Anyhow, I do sort of agree with that writer guy on some level about Michael (about him becoming too normal), but on the other hand, if Michael was the same Michael from season 2, he'd be a static character, and I'd probably be more displeased with that than Michael becoming too mature. But, come on, Michael is still a lovable a-hole, as was demonstrated in last week's episode. The only times when I've been truly "uuuugh, I miss the Michael I fell in love with" are the times when he is angsting over Holly, or else being a normal human being because Holly is next to him. I just don't dig Michael/Holly. If this was the last season, then I'd be all over it. But it's not, therefore they brought Holly in way too soon. Not only that, but they completely rushed that storyline and made their love so contrived that I couldn't stand it, and it took so much time away from the characters that were actually being entertaining. That was my biggest beef with season 5. I did love Holly as a character (female version of Michael, kind of hard not to love her), but I HATED Michael/Holly because it just threw the show off terribly simply because it ate up so much screentime, whereas Michael's other love escapades mostly happened off screen, even Michael/Jan was mostly off screen. So, you know, with Michael/Holly and Jim/Pam and Ryan/Kelly and Dwight/Angela/Andy The Office became a ridiculous soap opera instead of a show about miserable people working together. But then most of the couples disintegrated and I really felt like the show picked up and started going back to its ensemble roots, especially after the Dwight/Angela/Andy nonsense was taken care of. And, okay, I'll admit it, Andy/Oscar really reignited my love.

Anyway, NSFW: UTHER/MERLIN FANART! (the second pic) AND IT IS ABSOLUTE PERFECTION! Gah, Uther's hands and his wrist thingies and Merlin tugging on his sleeve and that look on Merlin's face and that tender yet aggressive hold that Uther has him in. OMG! I have never been that turned on by fanart in my life. And it's just a pic of hands and Merlin's head. Seriously. Hands. Hands turned me on. And the wrist thingies. And it doesn't hurt that Merlin looks like he is shameful yet enjoying it.

Buffy/Giles Fic Recs

Changes, Past and Present by Gibberish

Time traveling! Ripper becoming a better man because of Buffy's love! An undeniable emotional bond between them no matter what age Giles is! Buffy loving the man that he was, but loving the man that he is even more! Oooooh, you guys, I adored this fic so very much. The author gives Ripper this Gilesy depth that is so beautiful, but at the same time, he's still that jerkwad from Band Candy, only... older and slightly wiser. And I adore how the author changes the course of Giles' history and makes his love for Buffy even more epic while still staying within the confines of canon. I don't know, I can't explain it. Just trust me, that fic was very, very satisfying and exactly what I've been looking for. Ripper/Buffy fic is damn near non-existant, and that saddens me greatly.

A Mile in His Moccasins by Gileswench

A Freaky Friday fic that had me laughing like crazy, especially the first two pages. The dialog is so fantastic that I wish SO HARD that I could have seen this play out on the show, especially the scene where Buffy is trying to figure out how to go to the bathroom without seeing Giles' manbits. ASH would have had a ball playing Buffy trapped in Giles' body. GIRLY GILES! SO FREAKING ADORABLE! I will admit that I stopped reading once they got past the love confessions because I am a freak who is not big on Buffy/Giles getting their happy on, but I will go back to it soon, especially since I am sure I will be highly amused by the sex scene with them still in the wrong bodies.

SERIOUSLY! THIS MAKES ME WANT TO WRITE UTHER/MERLIN FIC THAT WOULD BE SO SWEET IT WOULD MAKE ALL OF YOUR TEETH FALL OUT! AND YOUR HAIR! Oh god. I don't know why I'm just NOW seeing that pic, but aren't you glad I did? I was tempted to crop it into a heart shape, but my laziness saved you all from having to see that. Arthur was both Uther and Merlin's best man, by the way, and he's secretly in love with Merlin and very angsty over the fact that Merlin fell in love with his father instead of him. Trufax.

So, apparently, the only eps of House that I don't find horribly boring are the ones with copious amounts of Cameron (or PI Guy). I know my f-list hates her, but you know what? I'm fairly certain that she's the reason I fell in love with the show in the first place. I mean, I love House himself, but I love him SO MUCH MORE when he's interacting with Cameron. I've missed the last 7 or so episodes, but I was informed that last week's ep had quite a bit of House/Cameron banter, so I had to watch it. I HAD to. And, having missed so many eps really didn't affect anything at all. Except that I thought that House and Cuddy had started dating, but apparently not? I stopped watching after the ep where House and Cuddy kissed (not because of that, just because the show in general was boring me to tears). Anyway, Big Baby, I LOVED THIS EPISODE SO FREAKING MUCH! GAH! SO MUCH HOUSE/CAMERON BATTLING OF WILLS! IT WAS GLORIOUS!

( Spoilers for Big Baby, even though everyone has already seen it )

On a completely unrelated note, I rewatched the Merlin ep Excalibur today during lunch, and I forgot how utterly beautiful the Uther/Arthur scene at the end was. It actually made me tear up a little bit, even though I've watched it at least a dozen times. Oooooh, Uther. Oooooh, Arthur. Also, this ep contained that super hot Uther/Merlin scene. You know the one. And, I feel the need to post this:



*dreamy sigh*

Title: Wrong Place, Wrong Time
Fandom: Merlin
Pairing: Uther/Merlin, implied Arthur/Merlin
Rating: NC-17
Words: 1,022
Summary: Merlin has the immense misfortune of happening upon a very drunk Uther at the worst possible time that one could ever imagine. Well... that Merlin could ever imagine. I, for one, have imagined it numerous times with great joy.
Warnings: Asphyxiation, slight non-con but kind of dubious consent, leather gloves, corny jokes
Author's Note: Written for the Merlin Kink Meme a couple weeks ago, prompt was: Uther/Merlin - Drunk Uther tries to force himself on Merlin. Uther can get as far as you like (inappropriate touching, attempted non-con, or full out non-con), but Merlin has to struggle not to use his magic on the King to save himself. Bonus points if Arthur rescues Merlin.

( Merlin wasn't quite sure how he had found himself in this situation. One minute he was on a mission from Gaius to deliver a sleeping draft to the king, and the next he was pressed against a wall with the king's gloved hand around his throat and his sweaty, alcohol-laden breath violating Merlin's nostrils (among other things). )