La Fahyette ([info]fahye) wrote,
@ 2008-11-20 22:45:00
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Current mood: charmed
Current music:Merlin 1x04 - Arthur's Big Gay Quest. okay that's not the name. it should be.
Entry tags:merlin, picspam

the brighter half
Guys. Guys.

If you thought I was weirdly obsessed with Merlin BEFORE I'd seen any episodes...



OMG

It's SO MUCH FUN



It's the adventures of Merlin a.k.a. Warlock Boy a.k.a. I Found My Destiny But People Keep Trying To Kill Him...



...and his lord and master ARTHUR PENDRAGON.

Merlin has a cheeky smile and eyes that flash gold in a way that is really kind of amazingly hot whenever he does magic, a pathological incapacity for doing what he is told, and no survival instinct whatsoever. Arthur is a pissy princeling with a Type A personality, enormous daddy issues, and a penchant for ridiculous facial expressions.

Though I do really like that when there's trouble, Arthur is the pragmatic one who thinks about consequences, and Merlin is the one who charges in bravely and against all common sense. All the existing master-servant tropes decree that it should be the other way around.

The supporting cast includes Gwen, who is the world's biggest romantic spazz and therefore utterly adorable, Uther 'Bloodshed Turns Me On' Pendragon (skjhdhds Anthony Head), and Our Lady Of Hotness, Morgana.



<3333 Morgana and her wonderful wardrobe of flowy dresses and her transparent determination to train Arthur into a decent potential husband and king by bickering with him and talking earnestly about morality and sometimes manipulating him through cunning use of cleavage and eyeshadow.

I SHIP EVERYONE

EVERYONE

- Arthur and Morgana have awesome snarky mutual lust flimsily hidden by a tendency to make the other deteriorate into juvenile insults.

- Gwen's crush on Merlin is ADORKABLE.

- Morgana and Gwen are joined at the hip and Gwen brings her FLOWERS and Morgana clearly just wants to hold hands in public all the time and giggle.

- And then there's the fact that Arthur and Merlin are pretty much a married couple after TWO EPISODES and all of Merlin's authority figures keep giving him meaningful looks and talking about Destiny. (Oh yes, this is a show that really knows how to pronounce its capital letters.)

And the plots are actually quite engaging and charming (MAGIC PLAGUE!!!) and the architecture/clothes/everything is completely anachronistic but in that way where you don't actually CARE because it's so colourful and cheerful and blatant (see also: A Knight's Tale).

And there's a MAGIC SLASHER DRAGON and Nimueh lives in an ICICLE CAVE and wears SLEEVELESS DRESSES fkjhfkjahdskd it's all so ridiculous.

*waves hands*



So um yes. I'm kind of in love.


(30 comments) - (Post a new comment)


[info]lassiterfics
2008-11-20 12:51 pm UTC (link)
HEY
REMEMBER THE TIME WHEN HE WAS LIKE
"FASTER ARTHUR FASTERRRRRRRR"

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[info]fahye
2008-11-20 12:56 pm UTC (link)
DEAR MERLIN, NEXT TIME MAKE IT A GLOWY BALL OF LIGHT THAT CAN KILL SPIDERS, MAYBE.

keep up with the moaning though good job there

I -- I feel like I need to come up with some kind of personal handwave explanation for why nobody can HEAR Merlin when he does MAGIC HISSY TALK THAT MAKES A TORCH EXPLODE. And Nimueh practically had to bawl her spell into Arthur's ear before he turned around and asked her what she was doing. Nobody is that deaf.

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[info]lassiterfics
2008-11-20 01:00 pm UTC (link)
and why he needs to recite his spells now when in the first episode he didn't and it was instinctual!

and eeeeee everything done by the Face of Arthurrrrr
EEEEEEE HIS DADDY ISSUES AND RELATED KING ANGST, MY FAVORITE

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[info]fahye
2008-11-20 01:07 pm UTC (link)
I assumed that was because the act of speaking gave him better control -- he can do things on reflex, and he's obviously got the simple telekinesis stuff down, but actually learning and deliberately applying more specific & complex spells takes effort (like when it took him all day to bring the statue to life).

OH ARTHUR. I actually kind of miss his pratliness, he has been all noble and decent for an extended period of time and I'm sure it's tiring. Though he does retain his rigid jawline of Things Aren't Being Done Properly And This Makes Me Twitch With Anger, which I adore.

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[info]lassiterfics
2008-11-20 01:27 pm UTC (link)
FOR REAL. someone on my flist said it best when she was like, "usually in fic this kind of behavior is par for the course or OTT... but then i remember that IT IS CANON."

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[info]ineptshieldmaid
2008-11-20 01:30 pm UTC (link)
what, that's an ACTUAL LINE?

that explains why all the fic has faster faster jokes in it.

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[info]spikeyboots
2008-11-20 01:12 pm UTC (link)
Anthony Stewart Head? FILTH.

I can't say I am invested in Merlin. (Too many other pretties occupying my time at the moment, but I did watch the first episode and giggled endlessly at Merlin/Arthur).

Honestly - after Robin Hood, which was another SLASHFEST aimed at children, I do wonder if the BBC is beginning to understand who their real audience is!

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[info]fahye
2008-11-20 01:13 pm UTC (link)
Every second line out of his mouth is MAGIC IS EVIL and you kind of stare at him thinking GilesGilesGiles on autopilot and the subsequent cognitive dissonance is astounding :D

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[info]rowanberries
2008-11-20 01:13 pm UTC (link)
GAYER THAN TORCHWOOD. SOMEHOW.

*Beams fondly at it* It's just... so stress-free! I love it.

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[info]fahye
2008-11-20 01:16 pm UTC (link)
IT IS. I like the random life-saving and UST and joyous arguments more than I like angsting onscreen kisses.

Plus, Merlin comes with bonus het chemistry AS WELL, which Torchwood only pulled off occasionally. I love multishipping! Muchos potential for fic.

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[info]rowanberries
2008-11-20 01:18 pm UTC (link)
I knoooow. It is so not serious, which makes everything work better, and there's even surprise Merlin/Morgana and Uther/Morgana subtext, and fandom is going to run out of possible ridiculous pairings because they're all plausible!

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[info]fahye
2008-11-20 01:22 pm UTC (link)
Funnily enough the only pairing they seem to NOT be pushing is...Arthur/Gwen.

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[info]rowanberries
2008-11-20 01:27 pm UTC (link)
*Snickers* Yeah. I do wonder where they'll go with that, since they already had Lancelot show up. Oh, show and your screwy timeline.

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[info]lo0o0ony_lauren
2008-11-20 01:38 pm UTC (link)
YES. This post is everything about Merlin that I love - which, by the way, is EVERYTHING ABOUT MERLIN.

It just makes me so happy. ♥

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[info]fahye
2008-11-20 01:41 pm UTC (link)
I was seriously expecting to only enjoy the cracky premise and the inappropriate touching but I REALLY LIKE IT AS A SHOW. It is undemanding entertainment with bonus twisty mythos and characters that I really like!

And there is a lot of eyecandy. Like, a LOT. Arthur/Morgana/me, hello.

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[info]blackboggart
2008-11-20 02:27 pm UTC (link)
YES. HI. I AGREE WITH YOU COMPLETELY. EVERYONE IS HOT. AND AWESOME. AND AND AND, I DON'T KNOW HOW THIS SHOW TOOK OVER MY BRAIN. BUT IT DID. DD:

Also, offtopic but. I know everyone is freakishly, freakishly busy, but I'm having my graduating art exhibition on the 5th of December, and by any chance are you free--and in Canberra at that time? If you could make it, that would be AWESOME but if not, I understand.

I AM going to be emailing Mel details this weekend, BUT I'm not sure if she can make it either. But uhm. IT WOULD BE GREAT TO SEE YOU BEFORE YOU GALLIVANT OFF TO EUROPE OKAY. :D? :D?

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[info]fahye
2008-11-20 08:56 pm UTC (link)
Wow, graduation show! No chance I could wheedle you into doing Merlin-based art for my birthday then :D

That is two days before Mel & I fly out of Australia, but...I am sure we could spare a couple of hours? It would be good to see you! And your exhibition.

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[info]blackboggart
2008-11-21 06:47 am UTC (link)
I've sent the relevant info to Mel and asked her to forward it to you, because for some strange reason I don't have your email. D:

It would be really awesome if you guys could make it. I would gleeface at you so much. :DDD

Also. I would love to draw you something Merlin-based, but unfortunately right now I am so burnt out artwise. DDD: In the holidays, once I've calmed down from all the crazy, I'll see if I can whip something up. BUT YOU'LL BE OUT OF THE COUNTRY SO I DON'T KNOW IF IT'LL MATTER ANYWAY. HMMPH. But you can check it out when you get home from all the GALLIVANTING :D?

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[info]fahye
2008-11-21 06:54 am UTC (link)
*nods* I will put it in my diary RIGHT NOW and then other stuff will be planned around it.

SRSLY? YAY. I might even commission something, because I really need decoration for the walls of my college room next year, and I have a vague idea for a Merlin-thing that I would REALLY LOVE (especially in your collage-y style).

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[info]blackboggart
2008-11-21 07:09 am UTC (link)
:DDDDD

SHARE THIS IDEA WITH ME. And if you have the cash, feel free to commission something from me, but if you don't JUST WRITE ME SOMETHING MERLIN BASED AND WE'LL CALL IT EVEN OKAY.

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[info]fahye
2008-11-21 07:21 am UTC (link)
ART-FIC EXCHANGE SOUNDS PRETTY DAMN GOOD TO ME. What would you like?

Um! I wanted something that plays with the idea of Once & Future, and Linked Destinies, and all those grand-sounding things. Two linked pictures (one Arthur and one Merlin) that show them as they are now, surrounded by a whole lot of symbols and pretty things (kind of like a stained-glass collage...thing?) related to the Arthurian mythology and where they're going to end up. Paths of destiny weaving in and out of each other.

Wow. For a writer, I did a shit-poor job at translating that image into words.

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[info]blackboggart
2008-11-21 07:30 am UTC (link)
:DDDDDDDD. But, I have no idea what I'd like. My brain is going around in fuzzy little school-related circles, so uh, I'll get back to you?

That sounds like something I can do, and something I'd do just for fun SO YES, YES A MILLION TIMES OVER. But kind of embarrassing to admit, but I'm not all that well-versed on Arthurian mythology. OBVIOUSLY THIS SHOW IS MADE FOR ME (I know everything possible about fae and mythical beasts....but that is all). So is there any particular symbolism you want? Or should I just run with what they're giving out on the show?

And yeeeah, now I have to tell myself that I cannot start this project until after the exhibition. >:( Damn school stuff.

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[info]fahye
2008-11-21 07:45 am UTC (link)
Oh! Well obviously there's Excalibur, the Grail, the dragon symbol for Pendragon, the king's crown, the Round Table...and for Merlin you could just play around with runes and shades of gold and the four elements, all the things that the show itself plays around with. And for basic motifs you could go with Celtic symbols, like Mordred's swirly Druid tattoo.

Does that help?

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[info]blackboggart
2008-11-21 08:19 am UTC (link)
That helps! Ty, bb. :DDD

And now to convince myself that yes, I really do have to do schoolwork. :( But, I'll probably start this in a couple of weeks. Not sure when, but I'm excited. :DDD

When I get an idea of what I want you to write, I'll email you. AND OH. YOUR EMAIL. I needs it. :D?

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[info]fahye
2008-11-21 08:24 am UTC (link)
fahye dot diablo, at gmail!

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[info]ariastar
2008-11-20 02:58 pm UTC (link)
I UH THIS ENTIRE POST + COMMENTS IS MAKING ME GRIN THIS HUUUUGE GRIN.

Also: it has occurred to me in the last ... week, maybe? that I was defaulting to the assumption that Merlin was fun but silly because that is What The Internets Told Me, but it is actually quite good. By which I mean it does not have a lot of the issues that skeeve me about Doctor Who, and the remixing of the mythos is not as weird and haphazard as I originally thought, and for the last few episodes (especially 8 and 9, omg) I have been seriously overinvested in the plot because I CARE about these people now. <3

PS on a rewatch EVERYONE IS EVEN HOTTER. Eventually my monitor is just going to burst into flames.

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[info]fahye
2008-11-20 08:57 pm UTC (link)
I am ALREADY seriously overinvested in the characters. Except Nimueh, who (whom? uh) I am having trouble taking seriously on account of her dress sense.

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[info]minna
2008-11-20 09:31 pm UTC (link)
I watched an episodce, which involved a shield with snakes that come to life! It was fun, and rather a bit gay! I spent the whole episode going WAIT ISN'T SHE HIS SISTER AND ALSO WASN'T ARTHUR *RAISED* BY MERLIN OUT IN BUMFUCK AND WASN'T HIS MUM SOMEBODY ELSE'S WIFE WHO UTHER SLEAZED ONTO WITH MAGIC AND ALSO WHAT THE HELL until I realised it's a completely different story! And they just all have the same names for some unexplained reason! and it was okay.

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[info]fahye
2008-11-20 09:33 pm UTC (link)
So far the only constants seem to be 'Arthur is destined to be the Greatest King Ever', and Lancelot Has Chemistry With Just About Everyone.

IT'S AWESOME

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[info]moonythestrals
2008-11-21 06:33 pm UTC (link)
:DDDDD

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