#loaded march is still the best series I've ever read | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

1shadowhole · 3 years ago

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This fic has to be one of the best-written fics I've ever read. Like, yeah, The Book of Merthur deserves the spot as the longest in the fandom. And I get there are longer overall fics, like Loaded March (and... Come one, it's Loaded March. If I remember correctly, with the extras it's like 1.6Million words.) and that now-deleted Master And... Series, (which is a shame it got deleted, because it was wacky as shit, but aside from the wackiness it had a level of world-building that was just amazing. I still ironically love that fic, wackiness included) but those are divided into different works that add up into one continuous story.

The Book of Merthur is built different, man. One whole fic of wonderful writing style, flawless characterization, and at some point Merlin and Arthur are running around desperate and walk in on poor Lance and Gwen trying to get it on and shout: "THAT'S NOT HER" and hightailed it out of there without so much as a hello. (or something like that, I can't remember the actual sentence. Maybe it was 'she's not here' I'm SORRY I FAILED THE QUOTE TEST)

This work deserves to be the number one Merthur work and I'm here for it. (I don't remember which one was the longest before it. I think the third part of Falconry? It was over 300k words so I assume it was. But I'm not sure. Also, I have been trying to finish that work in 2 years but I'm too scared :'( and my 'Protect Arthur at all costs' side is terrified)

I actually think that in the Merlin (not Merthur) fandom there was a even longer fic... I think it was a self-insert??? But it was not Merthur, and since I have a one-track mind I have no further info on that.

Still, like, you dropped a 400k (at the time) words long bombshell on me without warning and I am extremely grateful for that.

This comment has become more of a 'long Merthur fics' appreciation post, but honestly, with how good they are, they deserve the praise. And so, I absolutely will praise them from time to time. Historically, and from those I read, they are all so good. Again, with all its peculiarities, even the Master and... Series was awesome. It took a concept that could have been mundane and created this intricate story. I actually had to read it twice to catch more details and just HOW MUCH thought and foreshadowing there was. (I really like that series. Again, wacky, and SELF INDULGENT BUT GOD I LOVED IT SO MUCH)

And, given the length, they all have these incredible adventures and intricate developments and roller coasters. And there is never a moment of filler as well. Loaded March, Falconry, You Only Live Twice, the Master And... They are all just so filled to the brim with events, stories, and characters evolving. Even though they are so long, words are never wasted. That's incredible, and I am so proud of this fandom. The Book of Merthur is just as amazing, and I can't begin to express how good it is.

I went on so many tangents... I know, I'm sorry, it was supposed to be shorter and just about the Book of Merthur, but this fandom has such gems... And now we have THIS PARTICULAR gem. And it's wonderful. I love it.

@aemelia really out here recommending a fic to innocents, and not mentioning that it’s over 500,000 words and counting.

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