Of Merlin slash and writing in general
Oct. 21st, 2009 09:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wiseheartNow that German tv has started showing Merlin (the BBC series), I've brought forth my 1st season DVDs, courtesy of the most generous ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
the_wild_iris and re-watched the first couple of episoded to compare them with the dubbed version. I came to the conclusion that German dubbing actually isn't half bad this time. (Unlike in Torchwood where they successfully eliminated some of the really important half-comments, like Jack coming back for Ianto in the first place, and only additionally for all the others; or that he couldn't even *look* at Gwen after the horrors of CoE - but I digress).
I also realised again that Colin Morgan and Bradley James have great chemistry as Merlin and Arthur. So I started looking for some Arthur/Merlin slash. What can I say? I'm a dirty old lady and need my slash/smut fix to deal with the unpleasantries of Real Life. Shoot me.
I found a great deal of the stuff, naturally. Two pretty boys, lots of female hormones... need I say more? Unfortunately, in several days by now I haven't found a single story that I could have enjoyed without restrictions. Most of it was mediocre crap or worse, of course, but so is 99% of fanfic, which doesn't make the crap any less popular. (Yeah, I'm having a serious case of sour grapes here, so what? I'm entitled to it.)
I did find a few promising ones, started to feel happy, started to read - and then was really disappointed. Either they deteriorated to the "one finger, two fingers, three fingers, dick"-routine around the end, after the promising start, or the language couldn't make me really believe I was reading a semi-medieval fantasy story.
Yes, I know the series itself is anachronistic at best. It doesn't really bother me, because it's so much fun otherwise. I know I shouldn't expect the language of a Tolkienfic in a Merlin story. And I don't. Still, I think the original works so well because of the tongue-in-cheek medievalism, which isn't really authentic, but still has an authentic air about it. So, unless someone writes a modern-day AU - which, IMNSHO, is a contradiction itself, because, honestly, Arthur and Merlin in modern day kinda makes the whole point to write about them senseless - certain expressions just don't have any place in a Merlin fic.
When I write Tolkienfic, I consciously try to give it a somewhat older feel. For example, I don't use contractions and try to find old-fashioned words... as well as my limited English allows. When I write Cadfael fanfic, I do the same. When I tried my hand on Merlin fic (and I have, recently), I found that contractions actually went well enough with it, but I kept going for more old-fashioned expressions - although not to the extent I'd do when I wrote Tolkienfic.
And that's what I so sorely miss in the Merlin fic I've come across so far: that small amount of autenticity. Somehow I have the impression that Arthur and Merlin (despite the magic shoehorned into the story) could have been exchanged for any two pretty boys from any other TV-show - and that makes the story a disappointment for me. Even if it is, technically, well-written.
I'm sorry if I've hurt anyone's feelings. That wasn't my intention. But that's how I feel about the whole issue... and, at least, I don't pick on anyone by name. A courtesy other people not always show towards my work, I'd like to add.
the_wild_iris and re-watched the first couple of episoded to compare them with the dubbed version. I came to the conclusion that German dubbing actually isn't half bad this time. (Unlike in Torchwood where they successfully eliminated some of the really important half-comments, like Jack coming back for Ianto in the first place, and only additionally for all the others; or that he couldn't even *look* at Gwen after the horrors of CoE - but I digress).I also realised again that Colin Morgan and Bradley James have great chemistry as Merlin and Arthur. So I started looking for some Arthur/Merlin slash. What can I say? I'm a dirty old lady and need my slash/smut fix to deal with the unpleasantries of Real Life. Shoot me.
I found a great deal of the stuff, naturally. Two pretty boys, lots of female hormones... need I say more? Unfortunately, in several days by now I haven't found a single story that I could have enjoyed without restrictions. Most of it was mediocre crap or worse, of course, but so is 99% of fanfic, which doesn't make the crap any less popular. (Yeah, I'm having a serious case of sour grapes here, so what? I'm entitled to it.)
I did find a few promising ones, started to feel happy, started to read - and then was really disappointed. Either they deteriorated to the "one finger, two fingers, three fingers, dick"-routine around the end, after the promising start, or the language couldn't make me really believe I was reading a semi-medieval fantasy story.
Yes, I know the series itself is anachronistic at best. It doesn't really bother me, because it's so much fun otherwise. I know I shouldn't expect the language of a Tolkienfic in a Merlin story. And I don't. Still, I think the original works so well because of the tongue-in-cheek medievalism, which isn't really authentic, but still has an authentic air about it. So, unless someone writes a modern-day AU - which, IMNSHO, is a contradiction itself, because, honestly, Arthur and Merlin in modern day kinda makes the whole point to write about them senseless - certain expressions just don't have any place in a Merlin fic.
When I write Tolkienfic, I consciously try to give it a somewhat older feel. For example, I don't use contractions and try to find old-fashioned words... as well as my limited English allows. When I write Cadfael fanfic, I do the same. When I tried my hand on Merlin fic (and I have, recently), I found that contractions actually went well enough with it, but I kept going for more old-fashioned expressions - although not to the extent I'd do when I wrote Tolkienfic.
And that's what I so sorely miss in the Merlin fic I've come across so far: that small amount of autenticity. Somehow I have the impression that Arthur and Merlin (despite the magic shoehorned into the story) could have been exchanged for any two pretty boys from any other TV-show - and that makes the story a disappointment for me. Even if it is, technically, well-written.
I'm sorry if I've hurt anyone's feelings. That wasn't my intention. But that's how I feel about the whole issue... and, at least, I don't pick on anyone by name. A courtesy other people not always show towards my work, I'd like to add.
