Title: Reversal of Fortune
Fandom: Merlin
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Categories: Romance, Role Reversal, Modern AU
Length: Medium (~7,500 words)
Warnings: None

Author on LJ:  mad_poetics
Author Website:  n/a

Author's Summary:
Wherein Arthur is not the rich boss, and Merlin is not the assistant. (Modern au.)

Review:  
It’s common, of course, for Arthur to be cast in the role of rich boss to Merlin’s poor (or at least not wealthy) assistant. It’s one of the closer analogues to their canon relationship one can find in the modern world, and has been done (and done successfully), many times. Nevertheless, it’s refreshing to see the other side of things once in awhile. This story would be well worth reading for this alone, but it’s so much more than that.

Arthur’s character is very well developed. His quiet loneliness, his inability to connect with others on more than a superficial level despite his fervent desire to do so — these are very authentic and believable. He still has just a little bit of a prat in him, for all that he’s had a very different upbringing than we are accustomed to seeing for him, and sparks fly when he first meets Merlin in a fun re-interpretation of something I’ve seen quite a few times — Merlin inadvertently introducing himself to Arthur by way of spilt coffee. Merlin himself is exactly as I would imagine him with a more privileged background — still Merlin, still down to earth, with humility and kindness right alongside his confidence and good humor. They’re a perfect pair, and the relationship is a slow build with a satisfying conclusion.

The swap of Gaius and Uther as father figures is a nice little detail, and the background relationship between Morgana and Gwen is sweet, particularly with the way they show their concern for Arthur, looking at him with sad eyes.

Reversal of Fortune is one of those stories that I can read over and over again, that I keep coming back to time after time. It never fails to make me smile.

Reversal of Fortune