reinforce my clarity

The fifth series of Merlin started tonight and so I duly watched. Is it just me, though, or is the plotting getting repetitive? Stop me if this list sounds familiar...

Cryptic threat to Arthur: check
Merlin worries: check
Arthur dismisses Merlin's worries: check
Arthur and Merlin insult each other: check
Arthur is noble: check
Arthur and Merlin have a moment of affirming mutual loyalty at night: check
Merlin summons Dragon: check
Merlin is Arthur's only hope of safety: check
Knights get their shirts off: check
Morgana plots: check

I had an enormous sense of deja vu all through the episode. The traitor was obvious almost on first appearance, nothing got said in dialogue that I hadn't heard from the characters before (apart for the one exception of Gwen being brilliantly ruthless that was the only bit that felt like it wasn't a retread)... It feels like it's stuck in stasis, and nothing feels more like that than the relationship between Merlin and Arthur who have been dancing the same steps in it for about the last 3 series. I don't know - I feel like Uther dying last series should have been this huge game changer, but instead it's more like it just changed the details around the edges and the centre stayed exactly the same.

Come on, Merlin writers! Shake it up a bit - do something different! (And that does not mean fart jokes, you already did those.)

Rambling review of ramblingness ( under the cut )

Written for the merlin_flashfic Winter challenge - approx. 8000 words of winter, Arthur being intrepid and mild slashiness of the Merlin/Arthur variety. Thanks as usual to torakowalski for the beta work (one day I will put commas in the correct places, one day...)

Summary: The first snows of winter have fallen and Arthur has Merlin to find and a test to pass out in the cold, or neither of them will make it back to Camelot.

Winter's Trial

Okay, last week's episode was funtimes, but this week's?

( Wheeeeeeee! )

So it is just me, or ( is this series )

20,000 words down of the Merlin BigBang and I think I'm about halfway. Depends how much writing the rest of the plan is going to take, really.

I'm also starting to think I might be writing gen because I have no idea where Merlin and Arthur getting together would actually fit in! This is slightly bizarre. Maybe I can claim it's actually preslash? Or maybe they can get together right at the end, hmm...

Anyway. I have written the first big action-type bit and Nimueh just turned up so I am cautiously pleased with how it is going aside fom the mysteriously absent slashiness.

Written for the Transformation challenge:

In Turning We Come Around Right. 12990 words (hence the not-quite-flashfic), Merlin/Arthur, R. Arthur wakes up changed, and that changes everything else.

"Arthur?" Merlin said, closing the door and then setting the tray on the table and taking a few steps nearer. "Is everything –" he began and cut himself off as Arthur stood up and turned around. "Arthur?" he squeaked, suddenly very glad that he'd put the tray down.

Part One and Part Two at merlin_flashfic.

!

*falls over in shock*

I just saw the Merlin/Arthur fic award results, and, and, I won? No, seriously, I think I'm actually misreading that...

WOOOOOOOOOOO!

*giggles madly*

Best angst and best romance?

Why hello, yes, I am schizophrenic... (though at least it wasn't the same fic, that would be bizarre)

And I think I runnered-up in about 4 others!

!!!

I am honestly completely flabbergasted, and so, so happy and grateful and anyone at all who voted for those fics is an absolute angel and wonder of the world.

Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!

(I seriously can't believe I got best angst - since when am I an angst writer? I write happy!fic.)

I hope you had a wonderful day and that the next year is full of all good things (like Merlin/Arthur and Colin and Bradley).

Anyway, have a Merlin ficlet as a present. No beta, and it doesn't really go anywhere but the idea kept hanging around so I wrote it down. Spoilers for The Labyrinth of Gedref.


( Passing the Test )

I ♥ Uther. Now there's something I never thought I would say.

( more reactions )