I thought I could resist...

[aleathiel]

Five weeks ago the BBC started showing a new family-friendly TV drama in the Dr Who Saturday evening slot. This programme is called Merlin.

It's a deliberately unconventional version of the Arthurian legends with Merlin, Arthur (*points to icon*) et al as young adults.

I was not going to write in this new fandom. I really wasn't.

But then, four episodes in, Merlin started writhing around on the bed in fevered dreams calling out, "Arthur.. Arthur!... Faster, go faster!"

Any ability to not write them was gone.

And so, because this is a baby fandom of just four episodes (five is on Saturday) and there are many people on my flist who haven't seen it (Go download! It won't take long to catch up!) I present you with a bit of background with caps ready for the likely influx of porn fics:






This is Merlin. He is slightly funny looking but ever so cute when he grins.



See?

You may have seen him before. He was Jethro in the Dr Who episode Midnight. At the time I thought they should give him his own show. Look, they did.

In ep 1 he arrives in Camelot to be the assistant to the court physician, Gaius. This is Gaius:



He's a generally caring father-ish figure who wants the best for Merlin. Unfortunately, this is going to be a challenge because Merlin, as you might have suspected, is able to do magic.

This causes a challenge because magic has been banned in Camelot. *gasp* Sorcerers (or warlocks, as Merlin refers to himself) are executed. This is by order of the king, Uther Pendragon, who appears to have had some nasty run-ins with magic in his past.

This is Giles Uther:



Check out that kingly frown.

He's a cruel, heartless mean king. But, conveniently for Merlin, and everyone watching, his also has a hot princely son.

This is Arthur:



And again...



He is the king of smirks and eyebrow acting.

When Merlin meets him he is an arrogant prat and they argue at once (don't all the best love stories start with bickering?) The dragon that Uther keeps in the cave under the castle (keep up!) tells Merlin that he is destined to save Arthur and help him become the greatest king there ever was. Merlin is not impressed.

But Merlin still ends up saving Arthur's life and as a reward he is assigned to be the prince's manservant (don't snigger). Neither of them are impressed with this idea, but they seem to get over it pretty quickly.



Many flirty looks and sword innuendo ensue.

Oh yes, plot stuff. There seem to be many evil magic-doers out to get at Uther and Merlin seems to be getting quite adept at sorting things out for the best, without revealing that he too can do magic. The multi-episode "baddie" who has some sort of history with Uther is Nimueh (I don't have a cap of her, sorry :P)

Other important characters are:

Morgana, Uther's ward. Presumably supposed to be Arthur's love interest.



Here she is flirting with Arthur.

Her maid is Gwen (Guinevere) which I suspect the programme makers consider to be very clever. She is, in a very cunning twist, clearly meant to be Merlin's love interest.



Here she is chatting up Merlin while he is bound in the stocks.

As you can see the cast is multi-ethnic. They also are surprisingly kempt and clean. Camelot has great plumbing (actually I suspect there may be fic in there somewhere). And a good hairdresser and a good dentist.

But wait, you say, is that not a pseudo-15th century castle that they live in? And what period of history are those costumes supposed to be? Doesn't Camelot, if it exists at all, exist in the dark ages? And don't they speak in surprisingly modern English?

So yes, it's terribly silly. And the monsters are ridiculous. And the script makes you wince.

But:



The beauty of this programme is the two young men who play Merlin and Arthur and the interactions between them. They sizzle together and it's beautiful.

And, as the trailer for the show so helpful put it, Merlin and Arthur are destined to be together. So there.

Caps are by suki_blue. Many thanks.

Still not convinced?

Let me pimp some other people's pretty fanvids so that you can check out the boys flirting:

http://community.livejournal.com/merlinxarthur/26015.html

http://community.livejournal.com/merlinxarthur/27316.html

Comments

[londinensa.livejournal.com]

*snickers*

Not slashing the kiddies and not into the fandom but it is my guilty pleasure tv. Also you'll be pleased to know even RTD sees the slash and was mumbling about QAF crossovers *lol*

Can't get the 2nd video to work but the 1st one was really good ;)

[aleathiel.livejournal.com]

"guilty pleasure" sums it up exactly.

And how much would I laugh at a QAF crossover? That would be brilliant!

I am so weak. Pretty boys flirting and yup, I'll be in the fandom :P

[angiepen.livejournal.com]

Merlin started writhing around on the bed in fevered dreams calling out, "Arthur.. Arthur!... Faster, go faster!"



Obviously you Brits have a very different definition of "family friendly" than we conservative, repressed Yanks do. [snicker]

But yes, the boys are very pretty and would go nicely together. I'll definitely read if you slash them. :D

Angie, still snickering

[aleathiel.livejournal.com]

Hehe. Technically they had another explanation for what was going on. But really?

Have been ill today, so instead of working on my essay I just splurged out 2k of fic. Much more satisfying.

[angiepen.livejournal.com]

I figured it was referring to something else, but seriously, how could anyone over the age of, like, eleven, watch a scene like that and not get porny thoughts? :D

Fic is always good. Depending on when your essay is due, of course. [grin] Feel better soon, hon! [hugz]

Angie

[aleathiel.livejournal.com]

Well yes, exactly. Especially the way the boys have been dancing around each other and so obviously flirting. If it were het it would be to obvious to bear. I just got the giggles in the writhing-moaning scene. I wonder how many takes that took!

Have posted fic. It's not porny, but that will defitely come. Am also tempted to do something more in line with Arthurian legend, see how messed up it gets.

[angiepen.livejournal.com]

I saw your new fic and have been trying to read it, but e-mail keeps popping up and I can never resist e-mail, especially when I've just posted something. [laugh/flail] Off to read! :D

Angie

[aleathiel.livejournal.com]

Hehe, I haven't read yours yet, so really I'm quite rubbish. But, like you, I keep getting comments.

And I'm ill and want to go to bed *moans* But I want a shower and there's a bunch of guys I don't know talking in the corridor and I don't really fancy going past them in my dressing gown. Yay for college accomodation.

[angiepen.livejournal.com]

Hey, I got through the first two scenes this time! [beam]

And one thing I don't regret about not going to college the same way most other folks did is "missing out" on dormitory life. :P

Angie

[aleathiel.livejournal.com]

I'm just going to keep interrupting until these guys go away...

I never had a problem as an undergrad because I always got along just fine with the people I lived with. Walking around in dressing gowns was fine, even though I always lived on mixed corridors.

This though, is people I don't know. So I'm much less comfortable.

[angiepen.livejournal.com]

My problem is I've always been a bit of a hermit. :/ It's not so much a matter of liking or disliking people (although of course I wouldn't want to live with people I disliked) but rather the fact that if I don't get a certain amount of time absolutely By Myself on a very regular basis, I start getting grumpy and depressed and unreasonable and bitchy. I was sort of worried about it when I got married, to be honest, but with Jim at work most of the day, five days a week, it's worked out well. A dorm, though... I don't think so. I was ready to try when I was a teenager and was planning to go straight to college, but I had less experience of myself at the time. :P

Angie

[aleathiel.livejournal.com]

Ahh, you'd be okay over here. British universities rarely make students share rooms. Certainly not with the frequency that it happens over there. You would never have to share in your first year, and then only in your second or third as an option and with someone you had picked.

My room is important to me, even if it's tiny.

[angiepen.livejournal.com]

Really?? Wow. Yeah, over here it's pretty much standard that everyone in student housing has a roommate. If you want to be by yourself, and can afford it [hysterical laughter] you have to rent your own apartment off campus.

Angie

[aleathiel.livejournal.com]

I think that's horrifically terrifying. Having my own room and being able to shut the door is very important to me! I couldn't have coped with sharing, especially with a randomly assigned stranger.

[angiepen.livejournal.com]

I agree that it's pretty icky, but it's a money thing. You can pack more students into the same size building if you make the rooms a little bit bigger and make everyone share. :/

If someone you know (like someone from your high school) is going to the same college and you want to sign up to share, you can do that. My husband did that when he went to UCLA; he said some other kid from his HS was going there too, and although they were barely acquainted all through HS, they suddenly looked at each other like life-long bestest friends when it was just them on a campus with 30K or however many other strangers. :)

But yeah, otherwise they just assign you someone. Although they have questionnaires and all, and I've heard the matching procedure isn't too bad. Still, yuck. :(

Angie

[aleathiel.livejournal.com]

Ack! There is a Merlin secret Santa community. I am so weak. I really shouldn't...

[angiepen.livejournal.com]

Oh, no! LOL!

Yeah, the holiday fic fest posts are starting to go up, and I'm having my usual fight with myself. I do not want to do more than one because I can't trust myself to hit two deadlines close together like that. But there are a bunch of fests I'd love to do, so.... [headdesk]

Angie

[aleathiel.livejournal.com]

I could do this one. It's plenty of time. I've got work to do, but it shouldn't get in the way. I'm doing one fic a week for Taming, but not having any trouble with that at all at the moment.

Which ones are you looking at?

[angiepen.livejournal.com]

I've done Slashababy the last couple of years, and I like that. It's sort of thick on Hobbit folks :/ but there've been enough Men-and-Elves folks to deal with so I've never had a hard time getting paired up with someone whose requests I can write and have fun with. Then there's that Viggorli one Jenlynn's doing; that was my first chunk of fanfic fandom and I know I'd enjoy doing it. And I think there's a Orlando/Bean one starting up soon. And I've thought Yuletide looked like great fun for a few years now, but it's pretty huge and intimidating. And I think I remember one or two others which have tempted me in years past. :)

I just have to exercise some will power. O_O

Angie

[aleathiel.livejournal.com]

I saw the Viggorli one, and it did cross my mind to do that. But I don't know if the muse is still there. Maybe.

I've never done slashababy and the Orlando/Sean one is less tempting than the Viggorli, although it is a pair I've written.

I kind of want to do something new.

Yuletide does look extremely fun, but I am slightly scared by it. It is definitely in the running though.

[angiepen.livejournal.com]

I sort of feel loyal to Slashababy, if that makes sense. And heck, if I left that'd make it that much harder on the few other Men-and-Elves writers they've got. [wry smile] But yeah, something new would be nice. If November weren't NaNo I might pick up a second fest, but not with that huge, writerly hole right in the middle of the holidays.

Angie

[aleathiel.livejournal.com]

I'm still on the fence about nano. I want to do it, but realistically there's no way I could write 1667 words a day while doing this course. I guess I'll just have to stop kidding myself.

That said, I have no idea what I would write, if I were to sign up.

[angiepen.livejournal.com]

I forget if I told you, but I asked my regional-whatsit and she said I could work on my last-year's novel, if I started a new file and sequestered the wordcount. :)

And I mentioned it to someone else, and they said, "Oh, yeah, the Zokutou Clause." And I said, "Huh?" and they linked me. Nice to see it's sort of official. [grin] And the reasoning does make sense.

Angie

[aleathiel.livejournal.com]

That's really good! Both because starting a new thing is annoying when you have all these unfinished ones, and becauseI want to read more of last-years :P

I'm sorry I won't be writing along side you this year. But I promise to read and encourage.

[angiepen.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was kind of afraid that if I started Yet Another New Novel for NaNo this year, the people who've been reading along the previous two years would track me down and spork me to death. :P Or worse, just wander away and not read this year's, and I'd hate to be doing this with no feedback or encouragement. [grin/duck]

Angie

[aleathiel.livejournal.com]

*spork*

But yes, you will definitely have feedback and encouragment. Every single day.

[angiepen.livejournal.com]

Thanks, hon. All joking around aside, it really does help. {{{}}}

Angie

[aleathiel.livejournal.com]

I know. I wouldn't have done as well for the last two years if it hadn't been for your hand holding. :)

And while we might say we write for ourselves, it's always more fun to write when someone is reading.

[angiepen.livejournal.com]

Someone has to. [nod] I mean, yes, I shape my stories the way I want, and I won't change something just because a reader, or even a lot of readers, say they think it should happen thus-and-so. But at the same time, writing, and all art, is primarily communication. If no one's reading -- watching, listening, tasting, whatever -- then there's no point.

Angie

[aleathiel.livejournal.com]

Indeed.

Right, I'm going to bed to nurse my miserable cold. I still haven't read your fic. I'm sorry :( Write lots more and then I can do a catch up :P

[angiepen.livejournal.com]

Take care of yourself, definitely. [hugz] It'll still be here when you get back. :)

Angie

[etanol.livejournal.com]

i was wondering when merlin fic would show up on lj.

now i'm just waiting for crack!fic/bad!fic with sword/sheath puns a plenty.

[aleathiel.livejournal.com]

Hehe. I'm sure it took only a few minutes after the first episode...

And I haven't seen too many sword/sheath puns yet other than on icons.

[etanol.livejournal.com]

I wonder what BBC's thinking. But then again, it's their fault for casting too much pretty.

[aleathiel.livejournal.com]

Hehe, yup. They really should have seen it coming. I mean Arthur and Merlin spend whole episodes flirting :P

[abbyleaf101.livejournal.com]

I watched the first eppisode and the bunnies attacked. Poisened Chalice killed me and I had to write a fanfiction.
Arthur hash eyebrow!smex to rival David Tennent, srsly. AND THAT SMIRK! I laughed while reading this. And I am sad enough to go back and read your past Journals. 'Cause I phail.

[aleathiel.livejournal.com]

Yup, I know the feeling!

And yes, he actually does have eyebrows to rival David Tennant I'm going to see his Hamlet in two weeks. Excited? Me? Not at all! and I never thought I'd say that!

And you are absolutely welcome to go back and read my past journal. I'm not convinced it's all that interesting, hehe. I had a long spell of not posting, but if you are interested in stuff (read: fics) from before that then they are in the link at the top of the page all archived by fandom. I've written some pretty odd stuff...

[(Anonymous)]

All he needs is the sideburns and the poofy hair. *grin*
*planes to assassinate you and steal your ticket*

Odd stuff ish aweshumness. I just live on human (read: Cyber) communication.

[aleathiel.livejournal.com]

Don't assassinate me! Then I'd miss the play!
*imagines the sideburns and poofy hair* HMMMM....


I just went and looked at my list - there's stuff there I barely remember writing at all! And WOW I've written some odd pairings, hehe.