Arthur/Merlin Rec

Arcane Asylum by new_kate [NC-17] (125k)
Summary: Modern AU. For the last twenty two years Uther Pendragon had been waging war on magic. Now his son Arthur has been framed for a magical crime and sent to the prison for magic users. Arthur is instantly targeted by the inmates, but mysterious top dog Merlin takes him under his wing. They form a bond, and Merlin decides to help Arthur clear his name.

This is Magical Modern AU with some pretty hefty warnings: non-con, dub-con, violence, deaths of minor characters. It's set in a prison and goes to some pretty dark places but I was never overwhelmed by the desolation of it all. Arthur is 'stuck' in a prison his father created, filled with magic users that his father put in there. They would all love a piece of Arthur's pretty arse but Merlin stands in their way. And oh… Merlin's such a BAMF. Still very much IC, but he's come into his power and everyone knows it. The real question is what should he do with it? What is for? All the moral questions that fit with the Merlin we know and love. This plot has many delicious villains and so many shades of grey for each of them. It's a wonderful journey for both Arthur and Merlin to find hope and life in the small world of the prison and in the society outside the prison walls that is full of fear and hate. A wonderfully done complex plot that the author manages to see through to a believable end.