The Lonely King
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| Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Lonely King |
| Author(s): | Cori Lannam |
| Date(s): | 16 August 2012 |
| Length: | 56,779 words |
| Genre: | slash fanfiction, AU |
| Fandom: | Merlin |
| External Links: | The Lonely King (AO3) |
Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Lonely King is a Merlin/Arthur Modern Royal Family AU by corilannam. It was written for Paperlegends 2012.
Summary: The Prince of Wales at his school. Merlin was sure it was all just a very bad joke. A modern royalty AU.
Ambelie made an illustration based on the story.[1]
Recs and Reviews
I loved this so much you have no idea. LOVED. IT. It was compelling from the first paragraph. I laughed out loud several times, and found myself giddy with excitement at certain parts. Every time it felt like it would veer towards certain clichés, it eschewed them. It never fell into the angst that would have been easy to create, or the drama, but was heartfelt and relatable and fun and touching and good. It was also nice to see that it was Merlin that was a bit more closeted than Arthur, even though Arthur is royalty, and they were both so normal and adorable together. And I just…ugh…just read it, okay?[2]
Summary==instant click. It wasn’t what I was expecting though! Not Merlin and Prince Arthur go to uni together, but actually Merlin is a teacher whose school is being eco-friendly remodelled through a Prince of Wales ‘vanity project’ … which is clearly an awesome start. While Merlin is anti-monarchy, Arthur is really a pretty nice guy and poor Merlin’s stone heart is destined to soften as Arthur time and again surprises him by being a decent human being. Add on to that classic romcom trope both characters struggling with being in the closet for each their own reasons. The complications and life decisions that need to be made when Arthur unexpectedly needs to take his father’s throne. This fic is charming and romantic and unexpected in all the nicest of ways. The writing makes this such an easy read and impossible to put down.[3]
Prince Arthur has studied architecture at university and his pet project is to re-model a primary school in Ealdor in complete environmental sustainability and energy self-sufficiency. Merlin is a teacher at the Avalon Primary School and chosen as the liason between the school and the prince. But then Arthur’s father dies and he becomes King. Uther’s death gives him the freedom to come out as a gay man. And he continues his work in Ealdor! This was so good! I loved it very much! It’s what I expect from modern AU with Arthur as a prince/king. I liked how Arthur had the courage to come out and that Merlin was not out and about gay. Merlin is bisexual, though he’s only had a long-term relationship with his ex-girlfriend Freya. Arthur is his first and he’s Arthur’s first! They are so adorable together! Also, I liked how Morgana was worked into the story. Her portrayal was different than from most modern AU fanfics. Liked that also very much![4]
This fic is a joy to read all the way through. Merlin as a closeted teacher, Will as an anti-monarchist blogger and Arthur as the prince who just wants to be an architect. He's brave and human and hardly prattish at all and the romance between him and Merlin is sweet and convincing. There's plenty of humour in here too.[5]
I love the characterization of Arthur in this story -- he has this heart-meltingly sweet vulnerability beneath the strong exterior that is really lovely. It was a nice change of pace to see a sort of role-reversal in this story; often we see Arthur as closeted and conflicted about coming out, but in this case he has chosen to become a different kind of king in so many ways, including the sharing of his sexual orientation in a brilliant coming out moment. Merlin has just the right amount of cheek and humor to be very engaging and charming, and the chemistry between Arthur and Merlin is apparent from their very first moment together. They start out with a sort of good-natured animosity that quickly develops into friendship, and ultimately a beautifully passionate romance. In most modern AUs, it seems like Merlin is generally portrayed as being very comfortable with with being openly gay, so in The Lonely King it is interesting to see Merlin working through his feelings about coming out and dealing with the implications of being involved with such a widely known public figure.[6]
References
- ^ ambelie. Big Bang Art Post, 16 August 2012. (Accessed 26 August 2011)
- ^ dirtybookshelves. The Lonely King, 18 August 2012. (Accessed 26 August 2012)
- ^ marguerite_26. Merlin recs - Paperlegends, 21 August 2012. (Accessed 26 August 2012)
- ^ yasisfanficrecs. The Lonely King (Merthur), 06 September 2012. (Accessed 08 September 2012)
- ^ xthursdaynextx. Paperlegends Recs, 02 September 2012. (Accessed 23 September 2012)
- ^ ekishou in epic_recs. The Lonely King by Cori Lannam (NC-17), 03 September 2013. (Accessed 28 September 2013)