Week 3 Prompts

[yourlibrarian]

Having always had an interest in Arthurian stories, when I heard about BBC's Merlin I checked it out. And I was so disappointed in it that I didn't try again for several years.

One work that made me think I should was the vid "Red" by obsessive24. It's striking to watch, even if one doesn't know the canon (and, as is the case with quite a few Merlin vids, makes it look much better and more coherent than it is). It was likely because of Red that I ended up trying out Steam by new_kate, "Renaissance-era Steampunk reincarnation AU featuring brilliant engineer Prince Arthur, his savant mechanic Merlin, a robot bird, and an evil mecha."

I don't even recall how I came across it now, but I'm guessing it was someone's rec, and it sounded intriguing enough that I gave it a go. I enjoyed the fic and decided to try the series again before going after more fanworks.

I still think it is a deeply flawed canon, but after a bit I grasped why the fandom had latched on to it so tightly. That would be a separate essay, but without fanworks I would surely never have watched the show nor continue to read in it regularly.

In terms of minor characters, the first one that popped into my head was J.A.R.V.I.S. He adds a lot to many a story, but I recall one in particular focused on him -- The Son Of Man by copperbadge. "JARVIS did not want to be a real boy. He was quite happy being a building." It was particularly nice that it was a long fic as well!

I don't tend to read much under 5000 words much less 1000, but I did have one item in my bookmarks, also, as it turns out, featuring J.A.R.V.I.S.: Verb: Buttling by redsrule1.

Comments

[impala_chick]

Thanks for the Red recc! It's such a well done video. Also, I really like your icon <3 I knew next to nothing about Arthurian legend (besides the Disney movie) before watching Merlin, so it was something I instantly liked.

PS If you ever wanted to write that essay about Merlin, I'm here for it.

[yourlibrarian]

Thanks! And yes, it's a wonderfully done video which I think would stand out for anyone (as many of obsessive24's vids do). I think that it worked so well for me for two reasons. The first is that I had not heard the song before seeing the vid so I had no other associations for it, and there's little doubt the fit is great. And secondly it's a S1 vid, in fact not even the whole of S1 had passed when it was made. So what the show was yet to be might have been inferred at that point, but it wasn't certain.

It's difficult to be precise about what the Arthurian legend actually is because there are so many bits and pieces that have accrued over time, not even counting all the 20th century interpretations. But one thing that tends to be consistent about them is that it's a story of hope that proceeds to achievement, and then tragedy. So all that foreshadowing that obsessive24 did is really powerful even though the series itself handled it pretty erratically.

I have written about Merlin a bit, most generally in the Red Rain and the Sacral King essay. But since we're reccing things here, I'll also suggest The Triumph of Uther Pendragon by Araeph which I think does a great job of examining the series, (and which is unfortunately one of only a few Merlin meta pieces I've come across.)

[impala_chick]

I was wondering if the vid had only been made with s1 clips on purpose or if it had actually been made early on.

Oh yes, I did like that essay by you! Thanks for the link to that other essay, too.