Merlin, yay!

[sally_maria]

emily_shore's post prompted me to realise that at least one of her flist hadn't posted about their love of Merlin. :-)

I didn't always get to see it when it was on - even Doctor Who hasn't always got me into the habit of TV at Saturday tea-time and I was often away. Since I discovered the fandom, though, I've been eagerly catching up. Finally, a show that plays on the fact that in the final analysis I'll take dragons and swords over spaceships and ray-guns any time. (It's not that I don't like sci-fi but heroic fantasy will always have my heart.)

Yes, they're young, probably the first time I've actually been slashing characters younger than me but in the end, this is the war leader of Camelot and his servant, not a pair of students. I love the way we've seen Arthur growing up before our eyes this season - I've always had a soft spot for the apparently arrogant prat who is actually competent and learns to show his better side (it's not just Rodney ;-D). Merlin is just adorable, kind and brave and cleverer than he thinks.

I have to admit though, one of the main attractions is the fandom. Any fandom that attracts writers of the calibre of astolat is going to produce stories that are well worth reading. Try her gen flashfiction story, Beltane, about a magical child or her tale of what happens when Uther discovers that Merlin is a warlock, That Shall Achieve The Sword and Arthur shows just what kind of man he is.

Then of course you have the classic slash dynamic, the Warrior and the Scientist (okay, so he's a wizard, think Clarke's Third Law). This has already led to quite a number of stories that compare well with my previous favourites but one in particular really caught my attention. And None But We Can Be Such Kings has everything I love about slash - the humour, the caring (without being too gushy), the obliviousness and the hotness. If you wanted to know exactly what I wanted out of slash story, you couldn't go far wrong with this one.

Picspam coming in later post. :-)

Comments

[romancinger.livejournal.com]

I'm glad many people like Merlin. I've been enjoying it, and think it has a lot to reccommend it.

I can understand the desire for slash - though personally I wouldn't write, or want to read, a story about Uther finding out about Merlin; because surely this is something that is going to happen, at some point, in the series itself. Just picky, I guess.

[sally_maria]

...though personally I wouldn't write, or want to read, a story about Uther finding out about Merlin; because surely this is something that is going to happen, at some point, in the series itself. Just picky, I guess.

That's a very interesting way of looking at it.

I must admit it hadn't even occurred to me to think of it that way - coming up with your own version of future events is a very strong part of the fanfic impulse and though I'm not a writer I've been steeped in that way of responding to canon for a long time. At some point most fanfic will be "Jossed" (term from Buffy fandom for being contradicted by future events in canon) but most fanfic writers would still rather address some of the most dramatic future events.

You just get used to holding multiple versions of how things happen in your head, some you find more plausible than others, but you accept them for the course of the story.

There's no reason it has to be of interest to everyone though, I hope we can all enjoy the show in our own ways. :-)

[mal119119.livejournal.com]

I did not like Merlin at first. To me the 1st ep was not that good. But as it developed i've grown to see past the errors and started to enjoy the story.

On saying all that I dont see any slash dynamic. i see two young men who are close, platonic friends who are prepared to die for each other if need be.

I've never read slash and dont want to. I just dont see the attraction in it.