Merlin Big Bang Challenge

Merlin Big Bang - 2010!

2010-05-02T23:10:25Z

Hey all! boxofmagic will not be running this year, but the_muppet has opened up a new Merlin Big Bang challenge over at paperlegends.

Their rules and information post is right here (writer sign-ups close May 10th), and I'd say that if you're an artist, they REALLY WANT YOU. :D

Site is back up!

2010-02-13T02:52:38Z

Well, estioe and I were staring down the domain issues when I decided, eh, let's try clicking on the chat support button in Dreamhost's web panel, and the tech fixed it in a minute.

Site's up again - enjoy!

Website is down for mysterious Dreamhost related reasons!

2010-02-12T04:45:53Z

Hey all - thanks for the comments that the website is down. sgabigbang's archive is down too, and I think I've found the problem. How to fix it is an entirely different matter! EITHER WAY, estioe is on the case, and it will get figured out. Or I will flee fandom and come back as a totally transparent sockpuppet. *hands*

And because I'm curious as to what kind of interest there would be in a boxofmagic 2.0 (and no, we would not do the writing tiers, it would be 25,000 word minimum stories)...pls to check the appropriate boxes.

View Poll: #1524493

Notes!

2009-08-28T05:36:17Z

A couple of things:

1) You may have noticed that a piece of art disappeared off the archive a couple weeks ago - that would be because the artist plagiarized it from another artist in the fandom. To be honest, I wasn't really certain if it was a case of plagiarism in the beginning, but enough things added up to make me uneasy enough to take it off the archive. Then the artist who was plagiarized e-mailed me with a much dumbed down comparison that I appreciated, and it was clear enough that I wished I'd been a lot meaner to the person who plagiarized.

In summation: don't plagiarize. Take some pride in your OWN work. What's even the point of posting something that's not yours - the adulation and accolades aren't rightfully yours either, you know? And I'm a big believer in posting for a few accolades here and there, yo.

2) On a much lighter note! A couple of you have asked when you can repost your stories/artwork in your own journals...and, well, the answer is NOW. Go wild, kids. We'll have a DVD commentary celebration once Series Two starts, and I'll post some more details on that - there will be opportunities for artists and authors to discuss their work and it should be a lot of fun. ;)

It's still August 5th somewhere!

2009-08-06T06:32:07Z

Site Info

Welcome to the 2009 Merlin Big Bang Challenge at boxofmagic! Some helpful information (and please read before you check out all the amazing stories and artwork on this site!)

What is the Merlin Big Bang Challenge?

Originally, we decided to try out a tiered Big Bang, something your faithful mod had never seen done. Tiered, wot, you say? Why, tiered in the sense that there'd be four different word count ranges for writers to go for, and artists would get assigned based on whether one made it to that ultimate goal of 35,000 words, to ensure that we'd have enough artists.

However, we wound up having a wonderful amount of artists sign up, so we opened up all the word count ranges to art, with one artist assignment for the original first two sections of the challenge, and two artists assigned to the writers who reached the Pinnacle Word Count of Merlin Big Bang. We had 23 writers complete this challenge - seven with stories ranging from 15,000 words - 30,000 words, and the sixteen remaining who wrote over 35,000 words. (And some overachieved. Some overachieved by a *lot.*)

Then artists selected a story that piqued their interest by picking from the various story summaries. We also wanted to be as all-encompassing artistically as possible, so vids, manipulations, drawings and essentially any art form was permitted; all of our stories have at least one art submission.

The Stats

127 writers initially signed up for this challenge. 23 of them finished. We had 72 pieces of art submitted to this challenge.

The Final Word

Final wordcount: 945,736. If you're a little overwhelmed by all the choices, we invite you to take a look at the story previews many of our authors provided on our LiveJournal community.

How to Navigate the Site

You can change the layout of the site by selecting one of the skins listed in the skins menu in the upper right corner. Check out our gorgeous banners, made by glockgal, lizardspots (skin 1), elli (skin 2) and beeej (skin 3)! \o/

The easiest way to find something in the site is probably to look through the participants section, the titles section or better yet, the categories section. You can also check out the feedback posts to get direct links to everyone's work. Please note that in some cases, a single thumbnail on a feedback post might link to multiple pieces of art - we don't want you to miss anything!

All of the artwork is in a series (under Artwork on the navigation bar), based on what author the artist was assigned, so you'll be able to see everything for a given story by looking through the series links.

Contact Information

You will find a link at the bottom of every submission to a livejournal entry where you can leave your comments on any of the stories and artwork. A personal plea: Please feedback. Don't keep the magic secret, in this instance! We have a lot of stories and art going live at once, and we're really hoping stories and art don't get lost in the shuffle. This is an extremely difficult challenge, and we'd really like to encourage the efforts of those who have managed to pull this off.

Any questions or comments, please feel free to comment in this post, or e-mail me at svmadelyn@yahoo.com.

The Final Word (For Real This Time): Acknowledgments

Thanks to the artists, writers, beta readers, cheerleaders and site team - there obviously wouldn't be a challenge without all of your efforts. HUGE HUGE thanks goes to estioe (Chris) - without her, there literally would not be a site. She's been completely amazing, and I'm so glad she took this project on. This is the girl who, after coding the whole night, was all, "I think I'm going to take a nap before I finish the rest!" Thanks also to blue_meridian, stellastars and galanthus for their help with the website, and of course the ever-fabulous elli for heeding the call of a desperate mod in the twilight hours of her challenge.

Thanks to all the people who stepped in to help with feedback posts and asking generally "hey, what needs doing?" in recent days - you all have my gratitude.

IN CONCLUSION: IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO MAKE A MERLIN BIG BANG CHALLENGE.

~ svmadelyn

CLICK HERE TO ENJOY THE SITE!

PS: Make sure you check out the fantastic image cloud on the site index page. PRETTY.

Puhreview: Accidental Memory in the Case of Death by derryere

2009-08-04T19:55:10Z

:DDD HI.

Title: Accidental Memory in the Case of Death
Author: derryere
Pairing: Something about an, errrm, Arthur and a--what was it again, Mervin? Merlane? IDEK.
Rating NC1746353754.
Warnings: Uhm. Uhm. Okay. Well, porn. That should be a warning. A lot of that. Bit of dubious con, dubious reincarnation, dubious--oh, just about everything. Also a bit (hah) of angst, character death, language, boys being all rough 'n tough, or maybe just generally stupid, and word count. Yes. You saw that right. Word count gets its own warning.
Word Count: 75.5K, BBS.
Summary: Tony O does not befriend losers. Tony O is not gay, not crazy, he is not particularly nice and he is most definitely not royalty. Destiny disagrees.

Basically, this fic is the kind of madness you get whet you mix reincarnation with denial, doubt, ust, the stupidity of awkward boys and the past in general. And trains! A lot of trains :D Now that you know that, here, have an excerpt:

(an excerpt)

any second

Last A/N: shdkfjh TOMORROW IS TOMORROW. AM EXPLODING WITH EXCITEMENT. Also, a small sidenote that isn't that important but hey, here you go anyway: the title was taken from a piece by Eluvium. It was just so much better than any title I could come up with, and WAY too fitting to pass up. And, incidentally, seeing as the song itself is pretty amazing—just about the entire plot came to be with that baby playing in the background. So, if you're interested or just want a new addition to your playlist, DOWNLOAD AWAY!

Eluvium – An Accidental Memory in the Case of Death

Preview: In The Shadows Of My Heart by christinchen

2009-08-04T12:26:44Z

Title: In The Shadows Of My Heart
Author: christinchen
Pairing/Characters: Arthur / Merlin
Rating/Category: NC - 17 /Alternate Universe
Warnings: AU, angst, hurt/comfort, public sex
Summary: When the cure to magic is found, Uther Pendragon makes it his personal goal to treat every last sorcerer. But then his son Arthur gets captured by sorcerers trying to fight for their freedom with questionable methods. One of them is Merlin, who first turns Arthur's world upside down and then the rest of the world against them.

In The Shadows Of My Heart

Excerpt:
Arthur blinked, slowly opening his eyes. Bright sunlight filtered through a window, barely lighting the room but enough to cause Arthur to groan in pain and close his eyes again.
He tried carefully to move, first his arms, then his legs; but when he tried to turn around, he felt a heavy pain all over the right side of his body. His head hurt and he was having trouble breathing.
When he was able to take better stock of his surroundings, he found that he was lying on his back on something that was not the floor but not a whole lot more comfortable.

"Fuck" Arthur flung an arm over his face, trying to block the brightness completely in the hopes of lessening the pounding headache that was beginning to build.

On his first attempt to sit up, he felt a wave of dizziness and nausea hit him, forcing him to lie down again. He took a few deep, calming breaths before he tried again, this time more successfully.
When he had slowly struggled into a sitting position, he discovered a makeshift bandage all the way around his chest, spotting blood strains where he had felt the pain in his side earlier.

Arthur took a look around him, trying to figure out where he could be. The room he was in was small, it seemed to be part of a cottage, maybe. The wallpaper was hanging off the walls for the most part and the brown paint was starting to peel off on the small wooden windows close to the ceiling, and on the low doorway.
The room was empty but for the narrow bed he was sitting on, with a thin, worn out mattress and an itchy pillow and blanket. He was dressed down to his boxers and after a quick search, he discovered the rest of his clothes neatly folded on a chair nearby.

He had no hope that his gun would still be inside the coat he had been wearing, let alone the small vial with the Cure.

The Cure was his only chance against a sorcerer; one injection was enough for a sorcerer to loose his abilities forever. Over the last few years Gaius had perfected this Cure, after he had found the DNA mutation causing the sorcerer's special abilities. His first attempts had managed to block the use of magic for a few hours but this was a new formula. It could permanently destroy the chromosome necessary to access magic, and most importantly, it was irreversible.

He and his father had been working with Governments all over Europe to find every last sorcerer and have them cured.
In the beginning most people, magical and not alike, had been relieved to have the remedy and treated the Cure as what it was: a remedy for society's problems. A way to live without magical discrimination and a chance for everyone to live a normal life. Most magical people were relieved to be free of their abnormality, only the insane world domination craving types had ever wanted to keep their abilities. And everyone had quickly agreed that it was better if they didn't.
Only in the last few years that some voices had gotten loud and claimed that by using the Cure, they were violating human rights.
Didn't they see that it was for their own good?

Just as it was for the good of everyone, that Arthur got out of whatever room he was being held in and did his job in securing and injecting these sorcerers.

Arthur took a deep breath, steeling himself for the pain to come and pushed his body up. Pain ripped through his body, taking his breath. Arthur took a few wobbly steps in the general direction of the door. If there was a way out he had to find it before his captors came back.
He suddenly heard a rattle on the door and it opened only a few moments later. Arthur turned around quickly to see who was entering and if necessary defend himself. The movement was too quick for his injuries, making his head feel woozy. He only saw a flash of dark hair before his legs gave out and he went down.

Read the Story here

Feedback posts

2009-08-04T02:51:49Z

Anyone around super bored who wants to help code some feedback posts? *g* Basically, it's just a lot of cutting and pasting.

ETA: ALL SET. Thanks, kids!

Big Bang Preview- The Course of True Love by Puckling

2009-08-03T20:53:41Z

Title:The Course of True Love
Author: puckling
Pairing: Merlin/Arthur
Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: All of season one, especially 1.13
Warnings: Genderfuck, the Old Religion made them do it
Summary:After Nimueh's death Albion needs a High Priestess, but what it's got is Merlin. Fortunately he'll serve after a few...modifications. Unfortunately for Merlin, being turned into a woman would be enough of a shock even without becoming the High Priestess. As is, it's his duty to sleep with the king or doom all of Albion.
Word Count: ~45.4K

I started this fic months ago with two vague ideas: 1) The Old Religion would need a High Priestess after Nimueh's death and 2) Merlin with boobs would be hysterical. I then put it aside until the Box of Magic challenge gave me the resolve to finish it. 45K words later, as I post my first ever piece of fanfic, I can definitely say that writing, just like the course of true love, is a lot rockier than one would expect.

Gaius put a quill and inkwell next to the stack of parchment and then sat down across from Merlin, an expectant look on his face.

“I still doubt that any other sorcerers are going to be turned into women by the Old Religion to fulfill the kingship ceremony,” Merlin said. He pushed the parchment towards Gaius.

“I told you,” Gaius said, pushing it back, “it's not for people in your exact situation, it's for posterity. And science. Now write.”

Merlin picked up the quill and dipped it in the inkwell. What it is like to be a woman he wrote. He tried to put it in the centre of the page, but the words slanted downwards and were a bit farther right than he had planned. He stared at it a bit, before adding when one isn't normally a woman, but a man, but for some reason (probably sadistic), the Old Religion has decided to give you breasts and take away other, very important, parts. He tapped the quill against the inkwell for a few seconds then wrote, and no one knows that you're a woman except for three other people, none of whom really care all that much.

“You're sure that Uther won't find out about this?” Merlin asked again. “I don't want to have survived all that only to get my head chopped off because of something I wrote.”

“Positive,” Gaius replied. He had begun brewing up another foul smelling potion and was critically examining the flame underneath his glass flask. “The last time Uther read something that wasn't field reports or tax summaries was before you were born.”

“All right, all right,” Merlin grumbled. He dipped the quill in the inkwell again and brushed the end back and forth across his chin. He winced as a few drops of ink splattered on the parchment. Áfeorsian he said, and the drops of ink glowed gold before disappearing.

Merlin was once again confronted with blank space that needed filling. He couldn't really talk about how other people had reacted, because very few people had known, and they had all be more worried about what it meant to the fate of Albion rather what it meant to Merlin personally. For that matter, Merlin, for the most part, had been more concerned about Albion than anything going on in his body. Maybe he would talk about the differences in... No, Merlin decided, inappropriate. Besides, no one now really needed to know what he did the privy, much less people in the future, and anyway, it wasn't that interesting.. Or perhaps... but no, those feelings weren't at all different. His heart felt more than a little funny when Arthur looked at him no matter what body he was in. He supposed that everyone would want to know... But dear gods, Gaius would probably have his mother read this. No, certainly not.

It was pretty much the same, Merlin finally wrote, except gravity was a bit awkward. Make sure to figure out bindings before you try to shrug. He put the quill down and walked towards the door.

“Done already?” Gaius asked.

“Yeah,” Merlin said. “I've got to get Arthur's back-up horse reshod. He wants it ready for the tournament next week. Then we're going to have Charles to give us some tarts from the kitchen before dinner. Bye Gaius!” Merlin ducked out quickly, almost slamming the door behind him.

Gaius read the single sheet of parchment and shook his head. “Boys.”

Preview of To You I Pledge by Beren

2009-08-03T13:29:12Z

Title: To You I Pledge
Author: beren_writes
Pairing: Merlin/Arthur
Rating: NC17/18
Warnings/Spoilers: general for season 1, explicit sex
Summary: Merlin lays his life on the line to save Arthur yet again, only this time there are witnesses, lots of them. Only Arthur prevents him going to the headman's axe straight away, but Arthur alone cannot save him. That is up to both of them.
Word Count: ~45,160

This story is fundamentally a reveal fic where Arthur and Camelot find out about Merlin's magical abilities. I am a total sucker for reveal fics, so when the Merlin Big Bang came up I knew exactly what I had to write.

If this story was a Fighting Fantasy book by Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson and you were Arthur it would go something like this:

Page 1) You see Merlin's eyes glowing and him doing magical things in front of the whole court, do you:
a. Leap in to destroy this terrible danger to Camelot - go to page 7
b. Stand there amazed as he saves your life - go to page 2
~~~
Page 2) Uther opens his mouth to condemn Merlin do you
a. Allow Merlin to be dragged away, after all he's just a servant and a sorcerer to boot - go to page 7
b. Challenge Uther to stop Merlin being taken and risk being thrown into the dungeon yourself, he's your friend - go to page 3
~~~
Page 3) Uther starts to tell you how dangerous Merlin is and everything like that, do you:
a. Back down and allow Merlin to be dragged away - go to page 7
b. Refuse to give up and point out how Merlin just saved all your lives - go to page 4
~~~
Page 4) Uther demands Merlin be locked up somewhere safe do you:
a. Allow Merlin to be taken away - go to page 5
b. Agree, but go with Merlin - go to page 6
~~~
Page 5) One of the knights decides Merlin is too dangerous and since the king wants him dead that that would be best. He contrives to run him through, claiming he was about to do magic to escape - go to page 7
~~~
Page 6) Etc. etc. etc... trying to get to page 8
~~~
Page 7) Merlin dies, a big magical beastie comes along and, with Merlin not there to stop it, eats Camelot. THE END
~~~
Page 8) Everyone lives happily ever after. THE END

At each page turn Merlin's fate hangs in the balance and what doesn't help is that Merlin has his own book with his own set of choices which could all end up at Page 7 as well. Page 8 seems to be a very, very difficult page to find, if, indeed it exists at all.

To find out if Page 8 is real or mythical and if Arthur and Merlin are gallant and brave (and possibly foolish) enough to find it, click on "To You I Pledge" when it is published in the Big Bang on the 5th (please ... I'm willing to beg :)).

Exceprt
There were no signs of life in the body sprawled on the floor, no discernable movement, nothing to indicate that Merlin was not as dead as his foes. Only as Arthur's fingers touched the cold skin of Merlin's face did he feel the slightest breath on his hand and it was as if some of his own heat leeched into Merlin from the point of contact.

"Gaius," he said loudly, ignoring everything else and looking to the court physician for his help.

The way Gaius met his eyes told him all he needed to know as to whether Gaius had known of Merlin's abilities or not. There was fear in Gaius' expression, but it was not of Merlin, it was for Merlin. Arthur stood out of the way as Gaius sunk to his knees beside Merlin's still form and he waited until Gaius gave him one look. Only then did he turn to his father, knowing that he had to forestall the headsman's axe, no matter what else he did.

Preview: Flesh and Blood Dance

2009-08-03T04:09:24Z

Title: Flesh and Blood Dance
Creators: Words by lilithilien, art by chosenfire28 and mamoru22
Rating/Word Count: R / 58,458 words
Pairings: Merlin/Arthur, Merlin/Tony, Bradley/Colin, Nimueh/Morgana
Summary: The 21st century is still a land of myth and a time of magic. The spells and enchantments that Uther banished are gone, but myths and magic live on, conjured on screens large and small with scripts and CGI. But one day, inspired by boredom and not a little mischief, an entertainment mogul (who just happens to be an ex-evil sorceress) decides it might be a lark to tell the Arthurian legend—as it really happened. It's just a little BBC series, just something to amuse herself (and annoy Merlin, of course). But when they awaken the Old Ways, not even the greatest Seer of all can foretell what awaits them. This is a story of destiny and choices, about what happens when sorcerers and kings collide with actors and beasts, and just how bad morning breath would be after a 1500-year sleep.

An Excerpt

"You're getting younger?"

A girlish laugh answered him, Morgana's teasing scoff taking him back in time with her. "I've been here for two weeks and you've only just noticed? Honestly, if I didn't know you better, I'd be insulted."

Merlin shook his head. "It can't be. The magic died with Camelot—we can do little things, but this…" But he knew the words were false. He could feel it, in the ease with which he'd cast his seeking spells, in the unconscious surge of energy that had rolled back time, in just how naturally his blood warmed when he sparred with Nimueh. Like a saddle left unused too long, his power felt cracked and dry; with care and use, though, he knew it would return.

"You know that's not true. Magic just went underground, like we did." She smoothed her hands down the sides of her trim linen jacket. It was the same brilliant green she'd favoured long ago, the shade brightening her eyes, bringing them to life like her machinations once had. She had twisted kings around her little finger; now she wore the same expression as she added, "Or maybe it was asleep, like Arthur. Will you ever wake him?"

Merlin blinked, startled by this sudden shift in the conversation. "What?"

"Nimueh believes that if you wake Arthur, our powers will grow. Something about realigning the balance of the world; you know how she is."

Merlin knew all too well, which is why he answered, "All the more reason not to do it."

A Missing Scene

Dropping out of Big Bang made sarcasticchick ripe for guilting. I exploited that to cajole her into writing this tremendous little piece about the chaos erupting elsewhere...

Somewhere, tucked away and forgotten within the Ural Mountains, a giant stirred.

Limbs thick-skinned with age twitched to the rhythm of an ancient hymn only the oldest of stones could recall and deities repeat. But it was there, floating familiar down a rigid spine, muscle and sinew contracting and releasing as they remembered what it meant to move against the currents of fate and time as they beckoned with fingers gnarled and entwined.

In the dark of the cavern, a golden light flared, sparking off wet rock before settling quietly into a warm glow that sent blind and frightened insects scurrying deeper into the recesses of the mountains. Tumbling pebbles peppered the following void, chaos heard in the slow, whispered rustle of air dancing with stretched skin like sails.

Then all stilled and the Earth held her breath, waiting, waiting while time paused and fate begged on bent knees for the return of their kin.

And with that, the Great Dragon of yesteryear reared back his mighty head and roared.

Stone crashed as the reverberating cry tangled with threads long left untouched, unwatched by the passing of ages, and the cave which had for centuries provided shelter gave way while the Earth released the dragon from her protection. Sunlight streamed through the chasm formed metres above and the Dragon's eyes closed, demure in reverence to a power long missed before opening once more.

In glee not felt since he'd been but a hatchling, the Dragon laughed as the glimmering lines of fate grew thick before his eyes and spun like golden coins thrown by a careless hand. Coins, flipping so fast the faces blurred, two sides becoming one before blending with others until even the Great Dragon could no longer separate the twisted paths.

He had never before seen this, never before had witnessed such disarray and confusion, not in his long lifetime.

Legs crouched for a moment before the Dragon leapt from his perch, wings lazily pushing great arcs as he bellowed a welcoming challenge to the heavens above him.

Destiny had been reborn, according to the Old Ways long lost to the passing ages.

And the Great Dragon anticipated how it would play this second time.

Music to Read By

Out of words, so view playlist here (image included in zip file); songs are uploaded individually and as a complete zipped album at Mediafire and Megaupload.

Hope you've enjoyed these teasers—come back in OMG TWO DAYS for lots more!!

Preview: Long Shadow by Valderys

2009-08-02T21:38:26Z

Title: Long Shadow
Author: valderys
Rating: R
Pairing: Merlin/Arthur
Warnings: temporary character death, dark themes
Word Count: 17,455
Summary: Merlin thought he had problems when he was only Arthur's manservant, and trying to hide his magic. Now he doesn't have to hide any more, but as King by right of conquest he wishes things were that easy. Rulership is a lonely business, and it actually hurts more to imagine what Arthur might have done in his place - but Merlin does it anyway. They had a destiny. Merlin refuses to let it go.

And then Arthur died.

Such a stupid thing, such a petty insignificant end that Merlin still wants to scream, to rage. Because it was all his fault. It's not as though Gaius hadn't warned him enough times, but he'd been young, and headstrong, and thought he knew everything. Merlin wants to shout at his younger self to wake up, to stop being so mindlessly, needlessly arrogant. To realise what it is he is about to lose.

Merlin had been caught. A petty use of magic while grooming Arthur's spare mount - what was its name? Sable, that's it - and Merlin can still hear the clatter of the brushes as they fall to the ground; the gasp of horror from Sir Anselm, one of Uther's knights, not Arthur's; the tramp of his boots as he went to tell the King.

Merlin can still feel the dry throat as he'd waited, head down, for them to come. He'd contemplated running - of course, he could have got himself away, with careful misdirection - but then he'd thought of the open road, and his mother's agonised face. He'd thought of exile forever, and most importantly, he'd thought of Arthur.

Merlin had thought Arthur would be able to help, would be able to persuade Uther to relent, would be able to save him, like they had so often done for each other in the past. He'd believed it, even as he'd had been taken to the deepest dungeon and heard the heavy key turn in the lock. Even as Uther came to visit him, with hatred in his eyes, and venom on his lips, Merlin had believed in Arthur.

Preview: Born of Magic

2009-08-02T18:28:08Z

Title: Born of Magic
Author: gnimaerd
Rating: R
Word Count: 45,420
Pairings: ~~If it could possibly have slept with Morgana, it's probably in here.~~ OT4, and various permutations therein.

Summary: Set ten years after the first series. When a small, terrified young girl claiming to be Morgana's daughter arrives in Camelot begging for help, Arthur, Gwen and Merlin's peaceful existance as king, queen and royal advisor respectively is turned upside down as a frantic manhunt is launched to retrieve the woman who disappeared from Camelot eight years previously. But finding Morgana proves to be only the first in a series of events that could tear Camelot's court apart, as something far worse is hot on her heals and thirsty for blood.

Excerpt:

If you had told Gwen, ten years previously, of her current life, she would have called you a wonderful story teller and then suggested that you cease drinking quite so heavily.

She would never, for a start, have realistically envisioned children.

Not that she didn’t want them – she did. She liked children. She had sometimes thought, distantly, of what it would be like to cradle little sleeping bundles, and chase little feet around a small, comfortable home and dress little arms and legs in little shirts and breeches. Comb little heads of hair – sooth little nightmares. But children required a husband, and Gwen was so entirely married to Morgana that such a situation seemed far beyond her grasp.

What time was there to find a nice, decent man willing to settle down in a nice, decent home to have three (four? Five?) babies with, when she had her mistress to attend to?

The more realistic option lay with the idea that Morgana would marry, and Morgana would have children, and Gwen would get to raise those ones. Morgana herself, though she liked children well enough, had not expressed much interest in actually having any. Gwen knew the woman would be at a loss as to what to do with a fussy, needy little infant, for all she would certainly love her own offspring. But Morgana, being a noblewoman and a valuable asset to Uther, would eventually have to marry – and children were an inevitable bi-product of such situations.

When that happened, Gwen would be with her, and she would help Morgana care for them, and they would call her ‘Auntie Gwen’ and that would be all well and good.

So there were still days when Gwen cradled her youngest son to her breast and felt total shock that she should be able to do such a thing. That she was holding in her arms an infant who was not only her own flesh and blood – healthy and strong and beautiful – but a prince; a little boy who stood to become the second most influential man in the entire of Camelot upon the advent of his maturity.

The boy who stood to become the most influential man in Camelot was currently face down and fast asleep in her and Arthur’s bed, soft toy duck (laboriously constructed by Merlin out of the blanket he’d been wrapped in as a baby) firmly sandwiched between his cheek and the pillow. He, too, was Gwen’s son – her only-just-four year old – and he too still shocked her by his very existence.

Maidservants and blacksmith’s daughters were just not meant to be the wives of kings and the mothers of princes. They were certainly not meant to be queens.

And yet, here Gwen was, crowned queen of Camelot; beloved wife of King Arthur Pendragon; celebrated mother of two royal heirs. She had servants – lady’s maids for her and nurses for her children. She had duties and responsibilities far beyond what state Morgana’s hair was in or whether or not her bed sheets needed turning down. She had a kingdom to run alongside her husband. She had foreign dignitaries to entertain and banquets that she was expected to make run smoothly.

And she did not have Morgana.

Of all the things that Gwen could not have envisaged – from marrying Arthur Pendragon to baring two sons – the fact that Morgana was no longer a part of her life was probably the most wildly unpredictable. Never, ever in a million years could she have envisioned a future that did not contain her mistress – her closest friend – in some shape or form.

But Morgana was gone. Had been gone for nearly eight years now.

Uther had given her a choice, upon discovering her practising magic in her room late one night – get out of Camelot or face execution the following day.

Morgana had left, without warning or protest, the same night she had been discovered.

Preview: While His Name is Still Spoken

2009-08-02T17:42:14Z

Title: While His Name is Still Spoken
Author: mariana_oconnor
Pairings: Arthur/Merlin, Background Uther/Ygraine and Gwen/Lancelot
Rating: R
Warnings: Character death - a lot of character death. Although... to be honest, that doesn't really slow them down. Corrupted mythology and legend.
Summary: Orpheus and Eurydice, Merlin/Arthur style. When Arthur dies, Merlin refuses to accept that this is how it was supposed to end. He is determined to bring him back no matter where he must go, who he must talk to, or what the cost may be. Meanwhile, in an unknown afterlife, Arthur is struggling to return to the land of the living, but the gods aren't that keen on the idea. He has the aid of Morgana, but she might not be entirely on his side. After all - he did kill her.

It is always difficult to know where to start writing. While His Name is Still Spoken begins with an end because it’s not the story of how things come to be; it’s the story of what happens after everything has happened and what happens to the people left behind. It’s a story about dealing with the consequences.

But if there were ever a real beginning, the beginning of the beginning so to speak, then it is here, on an unremarkable hill in an unremarkable part of what one day will be Albion and later Britain, where a group of people - who are not so much people - are talking:

“It’s not right,” said the man dressed in full Roman armour. His voice had the roar of war behind it. “There can be no exception to the laws of nature.” He spoke in English, but anyone listening – if anyone were able to eavesdrop on this conversation – would recognise the accent and exaggerated correctness of someone who was uncertain of the language.

“Calm down,” drawled the wiry young man on his left. He shifted where he stood, ready to run at the slightest provocation. “Don’t be so stuck in your ways.”

“Everyone must die,” the first man insisted, his words the harsh bark of an order.

“To everything there is a season,” agreed a figure dressed all in white. Their gender was difficult to distinguish, the features feminine in softness, but with no other outward sign either way. The figure glowed with unearthly light and, out of the corner of the eye, huge, white, wings could almost be seen, spreading out to catch the rays of the sun.

“Rules are made to be broken, angel,” the young man said. But the final word was not an endearment.

“You would say that,” snapped the man in armour. “You’re nothing but a cheat and a thief.” The young man’s only response was a deep, mocking bow.

“To live forever is something that lies only in the realm of The Divine and Almighty,” the angel insisted again, regarding the young man with disdain. He just laughed.

“There is another,” said an elderly man who had not yet spoken. He looked off to where the pale grey sky anticipated the sunrise. His companions started when he spoke, as though they had forgotten he was there.

“A hero like any other,” the man in armour told him without concern, the angel shrugged in agreement.

“Perhaps,” the older man said.

“Heroes come and heroes go,” the angel said, flicking its hand dismissively. “We are here to discuss the birth of he that cannot die.”

“You should have looked more carefully into the future,” the old man said, pulling himself upright with the aid of the gnarled wooden stick he held. He finally turned to look at the others and fixed them with one bright eye, the other eyelid puckered over an empty socket. “They are connected. The young prince is marked for reincarnation.”

Silence reigned for long moments, dragging out between them as the figures exchanged glances. Only the young man and the old man were calm, surveying the scene with faint amusement.

“The laws must be kept,” the angel said thoughtfully, “but if destiny is already decided, then we must make certain that those chosen are worthy of the honour given to them.” A look crossed its face that almost could be called a smile.

“Yes,” the armoured man said with a satisfied smirk, “they will be tested – both of them.” He rested his hand lightly on his sword. “Destiny can be cruel.”

“Yes,” agreed the angel calmly. “It can.”

Seconds later and there were only two figures remaining on the hillside.

The young man gave a devil-may-care grin before disappearing in a blur of movement, leaving the grey-haired old man alone.

A huge, black, bird cried above him, sweeping down to settle on the top of his staff. They stared at each other for a second before the man reached up to run a fingertip over its head.

“No. Quite right, my friend; we must not forget free will.”

Moments later, as the first rays of sunlight edged over the horizon, the hillside was empty.

Big Bang Preview: Deluge

2009-08-01T16:57:05Z

Title: Deluge
Author: suaine
Rating: R
Pairings/Characters: Arthur, Arthur/Merlin, background Gwen/Morgana
Wordcount: 50637

It begins with rain.

It begins with the voice of the dragon and three secrets.

It begins with a bargain and the debt that has to be repaid for a life.

Excerpt

Morgana casts her gaze onto the board, a graceful finger coming to rest on top of her king. The white of the piece looks exactly like the white of her skin. "Not all men die because of what I have done."

Arthur raises an eyebrow but waits for her to make a move before speaking. Her fingers glide over the pieces, rocking them on their wooden squares. She chooses a knight and takes his queen, a move that puts Arthur's king in check. He's been waiting for this and brings his bishop up front, taking the knight in a move that leaves both king and bishop protecting each other, standing apart from the rest.

"What have you seen?" He doesn't really want to know. It's one thing to know he'll die in battle, quite another to know the time and date and the man whose sword will do the deed.

The sharp laugh she gives at his words makes his stomach clench. "What haven't I seen? In the future, science will be as powerful as magic, more so, even, and people will be as cattle to some." Arthur holds his tongue, despite the urge to point out that tyrants who put little value on a human life are apparently timeless. "I've seen it all, and it's so very, very dark. I can't remember most of the details, unfortunately."

She stills for a moment, a frown of concentration marring her brow. It makes her look younger, somehow, like the girl who held her own against him with sticks when they weren't allowed swords, tongue peeking out between her lips even though he'd told her time and again not to do it or one day she'd bite it off.

"The boy," she says, moving a bishop of her own. "The druid boy we rescued, he's the key to your downfall, but not for a long time."

"Mordred," Arthur says, trying the name on his lips. It doesn't taste like anything, not ashes, not destiny. It's just a name. He's just a boy.

Morgana nods. "I'm truly sorry," she says, "If I'd known-"

Arthur ponders the bishop for a moment, coming at his weakest point, and without his queen there is little he can do. He's got a handful of moves left, all merely prolonging the inevitable, and he's not going to sacrifice the bishop for his king if there is no chance. When he tumbles the heavy piece onto the board, it gives him a small chill, but he's made the right decision. It's an honourable loss.

"I would have done the same thing," Arthur says, "if I'd known."

Morgana stares down at the board for a long time, her head bent so Arthur can't see her face. She's chewing her lip in a very unladylike manner. "I know what your problem is," she says. "You play chess like it's not a game at all."

Soundtrack

01. November Rain - Guns N Roses
02. Perfect (acoustic) - Alanis Morrisette
03. Hurricanes and Butterflies - Muse
04. Es lebe der König - Rosenstolz
05. Any Other World - Mika
06. All Along The Watchtower - BSG Soundtrack
07. Feel - Jamie Anderson
08. Brothers in Arms - Dire Straits
09. Sunny Day - Sunrise Avenue
10. Rebellen der Sonne - Christina Stürmer
11. Perfekte Welle - Scala
12. Faith of the Heart - Diane Warren ft. Russell Watson

-

Full album as .rar archive
Mirror 1
Mirror 2

The Butcher of Camelot | Criminal Minds Xover | Merlin/Arthur | NC17

2009-08-01T16:56:53Z

Title: The Butcher of Camelot
Author: Lady Angel
Fandom: Merlin (BBC) & Criminal Minds
Genre: Crossover, Slash, a tiny bit of Het, Action/Mystery
Pairings: Merlin/Arthur, Hotchner/Reid
Rating: NC17

“Merlin, you have to stop him!” Morgana begged, beautiful face pale with determination and fear.

“Stop who, my lady?” Voice pitched low and soothing, Merlin was taking her far more seriously than warranted by just a night terror.

“The murderer. The one taking the hands.” Her voice was hushed with terror, eyes wide and pleading.

Arthur nearly scoffed. What the hell could a skinny, untrained servant do that he and his knights couldn’t? They had searched everywhere, questioned everyone, in Camelot. Not a trace of the murderer could be found. Merlin said as much, wincing when Morgana sank her nails into his lily white skin. He jumped as he heard his name.

“Arthur--” Morgana broke off, gasping as if in pain. “He will kill Arthur.”

Dreadful stillness enveloped the room. Arthur wanted to laugh at that impossibility but Morgana’s haunted eyes, the brutality of the murders, the sheer number of strong men slaughtered stayed his tongue.

“He will kill Arthur.” Morgana’s voice was ghastly soft, eyes far away. “Uther will die from anguish and heartache. The lords will war; the most brutal will rule Camelot.” She reached out to take one of Gwen’s hands, gaze filled with sorrow, apology. She turned those terrible, pale blue eyes back to Gaius and Merlin. “Gaius will be murdered in his sleep. Gwen will be called to the new king’s bed.”

Gaius sat heavily, his old frame crumpling in as if he believed every word from Morgana’s mouth. Gwen paled beneath her chocolate skin. Tears ran down Morgana’s cheeks.

“After he is done with her, she will take her own life, rather than be raped again.”

Gwen bit her own hand, horrified by her lady’s words. Arthur clenched his fists. Why the hell was Morgana saying such hideous things? His father’s death. The kingdom falling. Gaius’ murder. Gwen’s death and assault. He wanted her to stop this very instant.

Morgana was far from done.

“The people will wither and die. The kingdom will be fractured.” She laughed mercilessly. “And I . . . I will receive the new king’s generous offer of marriage.” Her eyes disconnected from them all, far away, a place with horrors seen only by her eyes. “When I decline, when I resist, he will throw me to his favored lords and knights to do as they will.” The room stank of revulsion and denial even as Morgana shuddered back into her own body. Her stare turned back to Merlin. “Please,” she begged, “please.”

Merlin nodded as if he knew that these terrors would come to be.

Arthur could not stay silent anymore. “Morgana,” he drawled lazily, voice far from the tension infusing his body, “what do you expect Merlin to do about your nightmares that Gaius can’t?” He was gratified to see all of them jump. All except Merlin, that is. His manservant merely turned. Arthur nearly flinched from the foreboding in those deep blue eyes.

“Arthur!”
“Sire!”
“Your highness--”

Arthur ignored them all, focusing his attention on his father’s ward, surprised at Merlin’s silence.

Morgana jumped to her feet, anger finally giving her color, more like the pseudo-sister he had always known. Chin lifted, noble bearing, and womanly outrage highlighted her magnificent beauty. “They are not nightmares,” she hissed. “They are visions.” Her chin lifted even higher, daring him. “I’m a seer. These horrors will come to pass, Arthur.”

“My lady--” Gaius’ warning tone alerted Arthur to the older man’s fear. Fear for Morgana’s life as she admitted to being a magic user in a kingdom where magic meant death by the hand of the crown.

Arthur narrowed his eyes, hand resting on the pommel of his sword. “Are you confessing to using magic?”

Her laughter was bitter to his ears. “Use? Arthur, I don’t know how to use magic! It uses me. Visions as nightmares, nightmares as truth.” Her eyes were wild now, flashing with terrible truth. “I was born to be driven mad by magic.”

Hoped you enjoyed this little preview and that it whets your appetite for the whole story. Check out the archive with all of its wonderful fic and fabulous artwork when it goes live on August 5th!

Big Bang Preview Post

2009-07-31T16:42:03Z

Title: Communications in Binary
Author name: justthismorning
Pairings: Arthur/Merlin, Gwen/Lancelot (background
Warnings: NONE! lol
Word count: 35,900
Summary: university AU. Merlin came whirling into Arthur's life and left everything in shambles on the floor - literally. They couldn't be less alike - Merlin with his computers and his easy, goofy grin, Arthur with his breeding and his need for everything to be in it's place. They have nothing in common besides a key to the same room, but as the academic year progresses and Arthur finds himself wearing tiaras and critiquing Westlife and having picnics on his living room floor, Arthur comes to learn things about himself he didn't even know he didn't know.

Big Bang Preview - The Mirror, The Sword and The Shield

2009-07-31T13:31:49Z

Title: The Mirror, The Sword and The Shield
Author: aelora
Word Count: 63,000
Rating: NC-17
Warnings/Spoilers: NC-17 (Spoilers through season one)
Summary: Fate is a fickle mistress – or rather, the Fates are. When the Wyrd Sisters offer Nimueh a second chance to fulfill her destiny, she takes the opportunity to seek revenge on Merlin. When Uther enters the equation, Nimueh's victory seems certain. Loyalties and allegiances are tested, making Merlin question the lengths that Arthur will go to in order to protect him. Through daring escapes, attempted coups, and fierce battles, Merlin and Arthur discover that the twisting threads of fate are not easily understood, and that the webs they spin cannot be readily escaped.

Review of "The Mirror, The Sword and The Shield" from one of my beloved betas, the incomparable lilithilien:

The Great Dragon might rattle on about destiny, but like everything else he declares, the true meaning of the word always stays half-hidden. If Merlin and Arthur are different sides of the same coin, does that make them merely heads or tails in some great cosmic coin toss? Or is there more to this game? Might the fortunes of those both great and small really be some Grand Design at work, spinning threads of providence for some higher purpose? And, if it is, can mere mortals ever hope for even a glimmer of understanding?

These questions form the backdrop of "The Mirror, The Sword and The Shield," where destiny is spoken in very different voices than the ones we've come to expect. Here the world of Camelot comes alive, with magic and mythical creatures that feel more vibrant than anything created by CGI. aelora's action scenes are a thing of wonder; as you immerse yourself in her world, you'll swear you can hear the clash of swords and the howls of charging beasts.

Even more impressive are the characters she coaxes to life. Merlin and Arthur take centre stage, and as usual aelora climbs right inside their heads and makes herself at home. The boys are joined here by wonderfully vivid depictions of the rest of the cast. Uther is especially delightful, trying to clutch at wisps of vanishing smoke as the world he's created and controlled starts to crumble.

And there are knights! aelora casts a bright light on the shadowed faces around the Round Table, taking great delight in unveiling this too often neglected side of the kingdom. If you've ever been curious about the men who stand beside Arthur in battle, then this is the story you've been waiting for. You won't soon forget the wise Sir Gawain, the lighthearted Dagonet, or the dashing Sir Kay.

Through the testing of loyalties and the unfolding of truths, through small comforts and grand gestures, aelora gives us a deeper look at Camelot and the characters we love. "The Mirror, The Sword and the Shield" is an epic tale about the forces that shaped Merlin Emrys and Arthur Pendragon, about the push and pull of both mortal and immortal hands, and about the chains of an inescapable but oh so glorious destiny.

The Sisters....

They gather within the circle of stone, the Sisters Three, enshrouded and purposeful. Forming a triangle, they chant in the words of the Old Religion. It is Wrencan who steps forward, hands rising to the sky, beseeching the very elements that begin to swirl about them. Wind and rain rages through and around the triangle.

“Wé ácíege ðu, Nimueh! Eftcyme fram díegol ond æfnest úre géosceaft! Onwæcan, Nimueh! Eftcyme æt þý hwearft ond befylgest þý síþfæt ácorena be sé Burgrún! Onwæcan, Nimueh! Onwæcan!”

Gewiss and Wefan pick up the chant. “Onwæcan! Onwæcan! Onwæcan!”

Wrencan bends down, a bag clutched between her thin fingers. The bag is overturned, its contents scattering about the ground – bits of cloth, strands of hair, and pieces of bone. The wind picks up, the remnants of the bag eddying within its grasp, twisting and spiralling upwards as lightning cracks through the sky.

Stepping back, she returns to complete the triangle and their chant continues to build.

“Onwæcan, Nimueh! Onwæcan!”

The air grows heavy and the Sisters grow still, voices fading as a bolt of lightning descends toward the centre of the stones.

Silence follows until a sharp note of high-pitched laughter fills the void.

"The Mirror, The Sword and The Shield" coming to a Big Bang near you August 5th!

Preview Post: Defenders of the Realm by lamardeuse

2009-07-31T13:31:37Z

Title: Defenders of the Realm
Author: lamardeuse
Word Count: c. 58,000
Rating: NC-17
Warnings (none for the excerpt; warnings are for the whole story and may contain spoilers): explicit sex, violence, death of original character and minor character, brief mention of a successfully prosecuted sexual crime

Note: This is a modern AU set in London, in which Arthur, Morgana and Gwen are Metropolitan police officers and Merlin is a graduate student at Imperial College studying healing plants of Ancient Britain under Gaius – or at least that's what he tells everyone.

Thanks: to expectprism, kassrachel, sheafrotherdon, sihayab, and miscellanny for awesome betaing and encouragement during the writing of this monster. A special added thanks to miscellanny for Britpicking above and beyond the call of duty. Any remaining errors are mine.

Excerpt:

“I see you finally saw fit to answer my summons, young warlock.”

“Right,” Merlin said, “yes. Oh, so that was you calling me that first day.”

The dragon inclined its head. “You had just awakened me from my slumber.”

“Right.” Merlin wasn't sure if an apology was called for in this situation, but then, he'd never engaged a mythical animal in conversation before, so he could perhaps be forgiven for not knowing the proper etiquette. “How long had you been – slumbering?”

“That would depend on what year we are in now,” the dragon said, its tone as dry as deserts.

“Yeah, I don't imagine they deliver the Times down here, do they? It's 2009.”

“Then it would be sixty-four years since I was last awake. After the danger was past, and there was no more need of me.”

“The danger...” Merlin gaped at him. “You fought in the war?”

“In a manner of speaking. Winston was always grateful for my counsel. And I did help protect the city on several occasions when the RAF was otherwise engaged.” The dragon sighed. “Do close your mouth, boy; pop-eyed and drooling is a very unbecoming look for you.”

“I'm not –” Merlin protested, then decided that arguing with a dragon was probably not terribly intelligent.

“Fate has drawn us together, just as it is drawing you toward your destiny.”

Merlin carefully kept his expression neutral. “My destiny. Sure.”

The dragon fixed him with a baleful eye. “I see you are a skeptic. There has been a depressing increase in the breed over the centuries. Tell me, have you yet met a young man named Pendragon?”

Merlin frowned. “Yes? How could you possibly –”

“He is a vital part of your future. Your paths are intertwined so intimately that it is impossible to separate the one from the other.”

Merlin coughed. “Well. He's really not my type.”

The dragon glared at him. “I was speaking more of great and noble deeds that will go down in history, and less of your sordid Human mating rituals.”

“Oh,” Merlin said, feeling foolish. “But hang on, I'm not exactly following. What great and noble deeds are you talking about?”

“Their exact shape remains to be seen,” the dragon said archly. “However, I can see that darkness and death lie ahead for many if you do not ally yourself with the young Pendragon. You and he are destined to help defend the realm against a terrible enemy.”

“I don't suppose you could give me an idea of how we're to stop this 'terrible enemy,' could you?”

“If I told you all, it might upset the balance of things,” the dragon said solemnly.

“Well, we mustn't have that,” Merlin said. “Maybe just a tiny hint? What he – or she – looks like?”

“He wears many faces,” the dragon told him.

“Marvelous,” Merlin muttered.

“You are powerful, but you lack control. If you do not learn to rein in your magic, he will find you before you are prepared to face him. Already I can feel him laying traps to warn him of rivals.”

Merlin's head throbbed in time with the pulsing glow he'd seen a few hours earlier. “And – speaking hypothetically, of course – if I were to come near one of those traps...”

“You would alert him to your presence as surely as a fly struggling in a web alerts the spider.”

“Right, then,” Merlin said brightly, feeling his stomach plunge for the abyss below, “that's brilliant advice, thanks. I'll watch for that.”

“Train yourself, boy,” the dragon commanded, “and forge an alliance with young Pendragon. He is the key to your success in the trials to come.”

“Cheers,” Merlin said, fighting a sudden wave of nausea. “Glad I popped down for a visit.” He turned to go, but before he'd climbed the first few steps, a terrific growling noise filled the cavern, stopping him in his tracks. Turning back, he saw the dragon looking at him with an expression that could only be called sheepish.

“I don't suppose that next time you come, you could bring me a goat or two?” the dragon enquired. “Lamb will do as nicely, if you haven't any goat. There's a good lad.”

preview post - camelot: a romance with rollercoasters

2009-07-31T01:04:09Z

Title: Camelot: A Romance With Rollercoasters
Author: glitterdash
Rating: NC-17

... Or, as it's called in my head, theme park AU of DOOM.

The entire inspiration for this story was that I grew up on regular trips to a real life Camelot Theme Park, which, I only discovered when I started writing, has sadly now closed down. Nevertheless, I couldn't let an opportunity like that pass, and the characters kind of fell into place, and so the story was born.

Preview: Arthur's first day of work

"Hi, I'm Merlin. I think you're working with me this morning."

Pendragon looked up at him, then rolled his eyes. "I'm not one of the children," he said, voice filled with contempt, "you can stop pretending you're a magical wizard and tell me your real name."

"That is my real name," Merlin said, irritated.

"You can't be serious. Your name is Merlin, and you work at Camelot theme park?"

"I know, I know, I've heard it all before. They almost refused my job application because they thought it was a prank."

"Well, you can't really blame them," Arthur seemed to be considering him. "I'm sorry, I just can't call you Merlin. It's too ridiculous. Don't you have some sort of inventive nickname that you go by?"

"No, I don't." He was getting quite annoyed. "Is yours 'prat', by any chance?"

Pendragon looked offended. "No, it's Arthur. Also, you can't call me a prat, I could get you fired in five minutes."

Merlin chose to ignore the vague threats. "Arthur? Kind of pot calling the kettle black, don't you think?"

Arthur scowled. "Yes, well. It just so happened that the day I was born coincided with the day my father did the grand opening for this place. Apparently, the whole Camelot theme inspired him."

Merlin thought this was pretty hilarious, but did his best to keep from laughing in Arthur's face. Apparently, he didn't do a very good job, because Arthur's scowl deepened.

"It's still not as bad as Merlin."

"Maybe, but at least I wasn't named after a theme park."

Arthur opened his mouth to reply, but then closed it. Merlin felt oddly satisfied. "Do you ever do any work around here, or do you just go around insulting people more important than you?" Arthur asked eventually.

"Well, seeing how I actually need to earn money, as opposed to living off Daddy's millions, I'm mostly forced to do real work." Arthur, interestingly, started going red with fury. "Why don't we head off to the ride," Merlin said hastily, because as fun as this was, he was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to take Arthur in an actual fist fight. Arthur was pretty tall and had decent muscles. Not that Merlin was looking at them.

Arthur huffed and followed him to the caterpillar, where children were already queued up hopefully. Merlin waved Arthur into the operating booth.

"This button," he said, gesturing to a green button with START over the top, "starts the ride. This one -" a yellow button labelled REPEAT "- makes the ride go round again once it's finished a circuit. This one here makes it stop -" (labelled, unsurprisingly, STOP) "- and here's the emergency stop." He pointed to the huge red button with EMERGENCY STOP - USE ONLY IN EMERGENCIES. "Only use it in emergencies," he said for good measure.

"How enlightening." It was amazing how much disdain Arthur managed to convey in two words. "You must have had years of training to become such an expert."

Big Bang Preview - What Happened When The World Fell Apart by iambickilometer

2009-07-30T03:48:41Z

Title: What Happened When The World Fall Apart
Author: iambickilometer
Word Count: 20,063
Rating: R
Warnings/Spoilers: Consent issues, confusing plotlines, general mindfuck. Allusions to canon events, but this is pretty extreme AU, so no real spoilers.
Summary: After magically-actualised devices brought about mutually-assured destruction, a man self-styled Uther Pendragon builds a city called Camelot. A sorcerer named Merlin finds his way there, and unwittingly begins to pull everything apart.

What Happened When The World Fall Apart

…is a post-apocalyptic look at the denizens of Camelot and how they too might deconstruct, given the wrong circumstances. Told in narrative and quotes from an account written years later, the story is by no means complete – but it is the best possible account of what did happen when the world fell apart.

PR managed to arrange an interview with the man behind the myth – Merlin Emrys.

iambickilometer: Thank you for taking the time to speak with us, Mr Emrys.

Merlin: Oh – please, it's just Merlin. You're welcome.

IK: Let's dive right in then, shall we? How did you come to be involved with this production?

Merlin: Funny story, that… I had no choice. I didn't mean to!

IK: No, but really.

Merlin: Well, it seemed like a good opportunity to explore something that would never actually happen. I mean, magical apocalypse? Uther condoning magic at all? Never going to happen. But – it's interesting, to see what things would be like, if that could happen.

IK: Funny answer, coming from a sorcerer living in a fictional realm.

Merlin: Don't say that so loudly! Wait – you're not publishing this, are you?

IK: Don't worry, Merlin, your secret's safe with me. Next question – what was the best or the worst part of being a part of all this?

Merlin: All the revisions, and the way scenes jumped around. I would be just getting used to the bit we were at – and then suddenly we're months in the future, or back at the beginning. It got quite difficult to remember how I was supposed to behave toward the others at each point in time.

IK: So would you say your relationships with the other cast members were more or less the same as they are back where you come from, or different?

Merlin: Completely different. For one thing no one had me thrown in the stocks. [laughter] But really, it was – it was odd, having so much more power. Being closest to Morgana – she's usually the one I'm least familiar with, and it seemed like we were in and out of each other's heads nonstop here, even though we didn't interact as much later in the story.

IK: What would you say the main differences were between this Morgana and the Morgana you're used to?

Merlin: I'm not sure I can explain it. She was – harder, maybe. I think both she and Arthur were less attached to Uther than usual, and Morgana – she was more about business.

IK: I'd say the whole production was more serious business than you're used to; would you agree?

Merlin: Yes, definitely.

IK: What about you? Did you find your actions in keeping with the way you usually perceive yourself?

Merlin: Sort of – sort of. I like to think that I wouldn't do a lot of the things I did later on, but I suppose I can't really know for sure. But the thing I did in the end – the one that gets implied – I would never do that.

IK: You think that was out of character of you? Even though you didn't mean to?

Merlin: Yes. I spend most of my life making sure that kind of thing doesn't happen. I would never do it myself.

IK: Interesting. Any last words about the production, the other characters, or the writer?

Merlin: I really have to wonder if the writer was sober during any point of the writing process.

IK: Don't we all, Merlin! Well, thank you for joining us tonight!

Merlin: Thanks for having me.

IK: And that's all for your preview of What Happened When The World Fell Apart! Rejoin us on August 5th to read the story – and many others.

Big Bang preview -- They Howl in Dreams of Winter by snarkydame

2009-07-30T03:16:12Z

Title: They Howl in Dreams of Winter
Author: snarkydame
Word Count: 20917
Rating: Hard R
Warnings/Spoilers: Spoilers through season 1; adult themes
Summary: An enemy sorcerer invades Merlin's dreams, seeking to foment betrayal and ruin a great destiny.

And for my preview: a prologue, of sorts.

* * * * *

Nimueh was dead.

Had been, for a while now. Bledri considered this, as his wolves gleaned more information from the tiny scattered dreams of hares and the bright, malicious thoughts of crows.

Rumor came in pieces from such sources. News came slow.

He sent his wolves through the frozen forest like smoke. Like wind. Trees creaked and groaned at their passing, but they left no tracks. They scoured the empty land, but the small creatures that survived there had no more to show him in their dreams than they already had.

His wolves came back to gather at his feet. Great beasts, tall and lean and hungry. Their flat, vicious eyes held ice, and their voices spoke of cold, cold winds. They were his children.

He buried his hands in their frigid fur, and considered.

Nimueh had been powerful. But Nimueh was dead.

He had had a truce, of sorts, with Nimueh. She had not bothered him, in his forests, and he had never touched her dreams.

She had been, it was true, more powerful than him. But he was older. Far older. He knew things. And she may have been simply . . . careless.

Or there could be a new threat in the warm lands of men.

The wolves stood, intent, as he came to a decision. He gathered the dark slow dreams of trees – of trees that never felt summer, of trees that his wolves passed through – and wore them like a cloak. Under it, he was a wolf himself, the colour of smoke. He led his pack south, and the forest went still as they passed. Even the crows were silent.

* * * *

The lands of men were dense with dreams. The wolves grew fat, hunting through them. Bledri chivvied them onwards. He hunted.

For all the colour and drama of the dreams in this land, magic was scarce. What surfaced was small and timid. What hid was old, crippled. No one who would dream such magic would best Nimueh.

At last, in a land all splashed with red and gold, arrogant in its security, he caught the heady scent of powerful magic. It was rich with the scent of life and death, and the remnants of Nimueh's power trailed away from it in shredded streams.

This magic – it was frightening, in its power. Dreadful, in its ease. He hungered for it, to strain it through the dream and keep it for himself. He could feel his lips peeling away from his fangs, but he kept a cautious distance.

He was old. He had not grown old by leaping into things.

He skulked closer, as unnoticed as breath of wind, and listened.

. . . I promise . . . he heard. A young voice, trembling. I promise. I would never hurt you. Everything I am – all that I am, is yours. An aching hope threaded through the words, stark and defenseless. It offended him, that such power should be offered up so willingly. He resented it, fiercely, and he snarled in silence.

The youth, the stripling, was kneeling in his dream. His hands were open at his side, the lines of his wrists vulnerable. Open.

A princely form stood over him; a young man, all red and gold and fire. He held a sword, a long line of white hot steel, at the throat of the kneeling youth. The youth never flinched. The bare devotion in his gold-glowing eyes never wavered.

In the dream, the prince breathed out a name – Merlin -- and the sword dropped to the floor. It rang on the stone like a tolling bell, and the dream shivered with the sound into a new shape, all bare skin and bare souls and the single pulse of two bared hearts.

Bledri sat back on his haunches, tongue lolling in a wolfish grin.

Nimueh was bested by a child. A foolish, ignorant boy, throwing himself wholeheartedly after his heart. All that power, undisciplined. As vulnerable as the unguarded veins in his wrists.

Still. Nimueh was dead.

She had been careless. The boy was not yet a threat.

Before he could be, he would be dealt with.

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Coming to a monitor near you!

2009-07-28T01:30:50Z

23 stories and some fantastic art and vids are going to be coming to a page near you next week, so we thought it would be fun to have our authors give everyone a little preview of what people are in for. This way, hopefully you'll find your interest piqued by an author you're perhaps not familiar with, or get even more excited about one of your favorite authors' participation. I've been a cruel mod and limited participants to 700 words worth of preview action.

18 of our 23 authors have signed up to give a preview of their stories over the next 7 days.

Our preview schedule is as follows:

Tuesday July 28 - iambickilometer
29 - snarkydame
30 - pennyplainknits, glitterdash
31 - aelora, justthismorning, lamardeuse

August 1 - suaine, dameange
2 - mariana_oconnor, gnimaerd, valderys
3 - puckling, lilithilien, beren_writes
4 - derryere, christinchen, staraflur

August 5 - ARCHIVE GOES LIVE!

Art Check-In!

2009-07-16T02:39:40Z

Hello lovely artists! Since we're about mid-way through your section of the challenge, I thought we should have a check-in, like the writers had.

This is your one and only (totally optional!) check-in. How's that ARTWORK COMING?

Choose any two or three of the following five questions to answer:

1) What would you say is the mood of your piece?

2) How happy are you with what you're doing so far?

3) Describe the art you're creating in three words.

4) How close are you to being finished?

5) Give us a few sentences about what kind of art you're creating/what tools you're working with.

And remember - art is due Sunday, June 26th! I'll see you back here next week with a link to the art upload form and your upload instructions.

ETA: Unlocking this, as I did not mean to lock it in the first place. *g*

Syllic?

2009-07-11T22:31:13Z

Did anyone here by any chance beta syllic's story? Or read along with any part of it? If you've ever SEEN her story and still have parts (all? dare I hope) of it, please comment.

This is totally the weirdest post I've had to make for awhile, but I have my reasons.