MerLyn
| Fan | |
|---|---|
| Name: | MerLyn |
| Alias(es): | Merlyn Miller, Cat Shannon[1] |
| Type: | fanwriter |
| Fandoms: | The Professionals, Alias Smith & Jones, Blade Runner, Miami Vice, Blake's 7, Houston Knights |
| Communities: | |
| Other: | MerLyn's Tales, Twinflight |
| URL: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
MerLyn is an English slash fanwriter for a variety of fandoms, active in the 1980s and 1990s. As part of her prolific output she has been published in a number of zines, as well as two collections of her own. She is also known for creating the Miami Vice/Psychic Vampire shared universe, initially posted in Dyad: The Vampire Stories and later showcased in the Hungry Hearts anthology series published by Mkashef Enterprises and edited by Dovya Blacque.
MerLyn also wrote under the name "Cat Shannon".
Notable Fanworks
As MerLyn
- The "Psychic Vampire" series
- Blinded by the Light (Miami Vice/Alien Nation) (1990) - Joey Hardin should have died of his wounds but Castillo couldn't stand to see Crockett give up everything important to him because of it... so the lieutenant breaks a few unusual rules.
- Runner in the Night (Miami Vice/Alien Nation) (1990) - Unable to stay and face the consequences of his actions, Castillo flees Miami and Crockett, only to be tracked down by the detective and forced to explain how Joey Hardin pulled through.
- Open to the Flame (Miami Vice/Houston Knights) (1990) - Felix Lawson sends Crockett and Castillo to Houston to give the locals some help with a serial killer...
- Cross Driving Rain (Miami Vice/The Equalizer) (1990) - Castillo and Hardin are stuck in Miami testifying in a case, so Crockett and Gilmore are sent to help Mickey Kostmayer and Harley Gage find the "vampire" who attacked Robert McCall...
- Sights of the Sun (Miami Vice/The Professionals) (1990) - In a drastic break from DYAD's usual policy, Bodie and Doyle make a visit to Miami Vice.
- Shadow of a Noose (Miami Vice) (1990) - Hardin and Gilmore head into the swamps on a case and come face-to-face with Gilmore's jealousy over Hardin's interest in Ray Doyle.
- Back From the Pit (co-written with Andy D.) (Miami Vice/Wiseguy) (1991) - Sonny Crockett can't help interfering in Vince Terranova's struggle with the entity known as Sonny Steelgrave.
- Lost in the Flood (Miami Vice/Tour of Duty) (1992) - Zeke Anderson attacked Castillo for a reason... but it will take the combined effort of all the psychic vampires to help Crockett and Castillo get to the bottom of the plot behind Anderson's strange behavior.
- Alien Distant Shore (Miami Vice/Sapphire and Steel) (1992) - While trying to pin down the mysterious "help" he and Castillo had received in their battle with Lao Li, Crockett runs into some very strange beings... "Elementals".
- Saint in the City (Miami Vice/Wiseguy) (1993) - Rico Tubbs, living in New York, working NYPD after having left Miami, is beaten up by some bad guys and left in a very bad part of town where he’s found by a mysterious man who answered to Tubbs’ moans of "Sonny". It turns out his rescuer is Sonny Steelgrave, ex-mobster and blood-sucking vampire!
- Luckless Joker (Miami Vice) (1993) - Valerie Gordon and two other members of Tubbs’ NYPD team are killed through the machinations of the traitor in their midst. Tubbs knows who the traitor is, where he’s gone, and has vowed revenge. He follows the traitor to Miami where he hooks up again with his old Vice squad mates —still resenting the presence of Ray Gilmore and still extremely antagonistic toward Castillo.
- The "Old Western" series (Miami Vice AU) [slash] - Framed with the massacre of his employer's family, rand hand Sonny Crockett runs for his life - only to find the enigmatic Martin Castillo on the same revenge trail. Joining forces, the two set out after the killer, but find much more than they bargained for along the way.
- Cold Courage and Southern Comfort (1991)
- Old Ties and Tequila (1991)
- Mad Memories and Mescal (1995)
As Cat Shannon
- The Kindred Spirits Series (Professionals/Escape from New York) [slash] - In a dreary future world, Doyle is a CI5 agent gone rogue. Brought back to CI5 in chains, he is a sullen, uncooperative prisoner. Given a choice of a suicide assignment to rescue trapped SI5 Murphy or death, Doyle chooses to free a man he once considered a friend. Caught and near-death on the assignment itself, Doyle confronts a reality which changes him -- and his life-- forever.
- Kindred Spirits (1991)
- Blazing Shadows (1994)
- Wilder Justice (1994)
- After the Fire (The Professionals AU) [slash] (1991) - After the horrors of the Third World War, agents Bodie and Doyle must somehow piece together the remnants of CI5 and their lives.
LOC Thoughts on Slash, Fanfic, Etc.
I know you're new, Floria, but I'm tired of WHY slash. I've read a lot of theories recently and some hold true for me, things like seeing the warmth of it as an antidote to miserable childhoods, and the atmosphere one is raised in. Or just a quest for the perfect relationship in which the couple are equals. I think you answered your own question with the doubts you raise over the validity of slash claims -- all the wishful thinking, of course. If I can't have him, neither can Ann Holly, but Bodie can because he's a bloke, and therefore, not competition. There are as many theories as there are fen to pose them. Half the actors are reputedly gay or bi, but of course the actors aren't the characters. And I beg to differ that the mainstream tv would have made the characters gay if they wanted them to be. You've got to be kidding! Gay men on tv are NOT the law and order enforcer/hero figures of an on-going series More basically, I read and write slash because I only it the same way I like Marlboro cigarettes, smarmy tv, sci fi novels, milk chocolate, and vodka. I get a kick out of it. I'll grant that why 'slash' is a fascinating topic, but is this the place for it????[2]
Interesting theory about gay/bi writers vs straight, Susan Douglass. For a straight gal, who's very much into men, the lure is plain. The lust, the erotic descriptions of men in heat, the lovely detailed images of passion at full throttle. Two for the price of one and all that. I've always understood why men want each other in preference to females, all that strength and raw animal beauty.[3]
Okay, Floria, you wanna know what deep-seated psychological reason drives me to read and write slash? I honestly don't know, and I got real tired of trying to figure It out. I Just DO. I used to be as curious as anybody about the reasons for this, but nobody seems to have any solid answers and there are as many theories as there are fen. As far as I'm concerned slash Is far more than just a dirty story. Okay, it's often explicit sex. It's also the lure of the forbidden and the risk they take to be together (forsaking all others?) and the price they'll have to pay in the end to stay together. Its heavy male bonding taken to extreme, its agony and ecstasy, comfort without the hurt, kissing and holding and hugging and fiercely passionate friendships. It's dying for each other, dying without each other, it's taking it all to the limit and risking the loss of everything but each other. Blood and brotherhood and bonding and hunger and need and the spice of danger. Mutual respect and trust and animal lust and LOVE, I suppose.... And before anyone says I can have most of that without sex, smarm drives me crazy. Its a tease. It dances around the edge of slash and never quite allows them to get right down to brass tacks. It twists the characters in other directions and claims feasibility on the grounds that there's no sex. ... Smarm lacks more than just sex, there Isn't that frisson of knowing that the pair are everything to each other, comrade, partner AND forbidden lover (or the eggs all in one basket syndrome. If you like). I freely admit I enjoy a good explicit romp on occasion, though as Stew pointed out, too much of any one thing leads to overload. Slash Isn't 'one thing' to me. It comes In many colours, from 300 page discussion of morals and motivations to short sweet 'rocks off porn....I like slash because the best of it is beautiful imagery, word pictures that stir the soul and luscious art to boot. It's not just a dirty story, Its a heavy commitment, a passionately bonded relationship between two equals, an ideal, or a struggle to attain that ideal by men with a myriad of faults and hang ups who love each other regardless. Excuse me If I wax lyrical, but you did ask.
By the by, I think pornography is a term generally accepted to mean something offensive, rather than anything explicitly erotic.[4]
So, why fanflc? A story based on characters I already care about gives It more depth and moves me on a greater level than the cast of an original novel. I've read a bunch of gay male/male novels, looking for something that comprises all of the slash elements listed above, and while some of them have charm and/or good plots, I've yet to find many that are comparable with the best of slash fan fic. Very few of them, in my admittedly limited experience, have any explicit sex. Most even lack intensive smarm, and a lot are crowded with sweet boys and swish queens, neither of which interests me in the least. Maybe wanting characters I already know makes me a lazy reader/wrIter. But expanding on a familiar cast is what fandom is about. This is a part time hobby and I do it for fun. I'm not aspiring to write a thesis or compete in the professional writing field.[5]
Reactions and Reviews
Did someone hear me say there would be no more installments in MerLyn’s "psychic vampire" series? No? Good! Because there’s another installment in this issue! Though I think this probably is the final one. I want to take this opportunity to thank MerLyn for the series. I know how much I loved it and, from the response I received in the form of LOCs, my readers seemed to enjoy it, too.Dovya Blacque - Editorial - Dyad Issue #8
Okay, I admit it; I was wrong. I know I said there would be no more installments to MerLyn's "psychic vampire" series. I know I made an exception to that statement in DYAD #8. Well, I'm making an exception again as there is another installment in this issue. Now, I have no idea when any more installments will be seen, but I have a very strong feeling there will be more. For which I, personally, am grateful as I adore the series and hope it never ends!Dovya Blacque - Editorial - Dyad Issue #10
The second breaking of restrictions, though a much less well known one, is the inclusion of MerLyn’s GARRISON’S GORILLAS story, Doublecross And Counteraction. One of the unspoken rules for the past twelve issues of DYAD was that the stories concentrate on the physical relationship between two people. In this story of MerLyn's, we have the somewhat unique situation of a "/" story- involving 5 (yes, five) men.Furthermore, I know how a lot of you tend to skip over fandoms you don't know or haven’t enjoyed in the past. I truly hope you will trust me enough to take my word that reading Doublecross And Counteraction will be well worth your time. In my opinion, this is not only one of MerLyn's best crafted stories, it’s also a very emotionally involving story... not to mention damned sexy! Trust me!
Dovya Blacque - Editorial - Dyad Issue #13
Archives/Zines/Collections
Archives
As Contributor
Zines
| Issue Year | Zine Name | Contribution |
|---|---|---|
| 1989-1995 | Dyad | Issue #1 - "Nexus Anew" (Bladerunner)
Issue #2 - "When the Game Ends" Miami Vice (Crockett/Castillo); "Better Together" [Miami Vice - Crockett/Castillo] Issue #3 - "Texas-Style Comfort" (Houston Knights); "Blinded by the Light" (Miami Vice/Alien Nation); "Runner in the Night" (Miami Vice/Alien Nation) Issue #4 - "Runner in the Night" (Miami Vice/Alien Nation) - reprinted in #4 after a scene was left out by accident in #3; "Open to the Flame" (Miami Vice/Houston Knights); "Cross Driving Rain" (Miami Vice/The Equalizer); "3:05 A.M. on Sunday Morning" (Houston Knights); "Lonely Knights (Wiseguy]) Issue #5 - "Sights of the Sun" (Miami Vice/The Professionals); "Shadow of a Noose" (Miami Vice) Issue #6 - "Working Without a Net" (Miami Vice) Issue #7 - "Fire and Ice" (Riptide/Miami Vice) Issue #8 - "Back From the Pit" (co-written with Andy D.) (Miami Vice/Wiseguy) Issue #9 - "Practical Experience" (V) Issue #10 - "Lost in the Flood" (Miami Vice/Tour of Duty) Issue #11 - "Walking the Razor's Edge" (Miami Vice/Midnight Caller) Issue #12 - "Alien Distant Shore" (Miami Vice/Sapphire and Steel) Issue #13 - "Doublecross and Counteraction" (Garrison's Gorillas); "Tequila, Tears and a New Sunrise" (Tequila Sunrise) Issue #14 - "Welcome Home" (48 Hrs); "Retreat, Regroup & Redemption" (Garrison's Gorillas) - sequel to "Doublecross and Counteraction" in Issue #13 Issue #15 - "Three-Time Loser" (Blake's 7) Issue #16 - "Beautiful Stranger" (The Professionals AU) |
| 1990-1991 | Other Times and Places - as Cat Shannon | Issue #1 - "Green Eyes" (The Professionals/Robin of Sherwood)
Issue #2 - "After the Fire" (The Professionals AU) |
| 1990 | Short Circuit- as Cat Shannon | Issue #1 - "Five Little Words"; "Metamorphisis" (poem); "Even the Losers Win" (poem) (The Professionals)
Issue #2 - "One Too Many Questions" - fiction Issue #5 - Letter of Comment |
| 1990-1995 | Uncharted Waters | Issue #2 - "Tears in the Rain" (Bladerunner - Batty/Deckard); "All The Reasons Why" (Alias Smith & Jones - Hannibal Heyes/Kid Curry)
Issue #3 - "Helping the Gods" (Miami Vice - Crockett/Castillo) Issue #5 - "Miami Ice" (Miami Vice AU); "Melting Ice" (Saracen); "April Showers" (Bergerac) Issue #6 - "Samurai Fire" (Miami Vice) Issue #7 - "Head and Heart" (The Professionals); "Black Velvet" (Miami Vice); Issue #8 - "Working It Out" (Miami Vice - incorrectly credited to "Merlin" Issue #12 - "The Best of Reasons" (Freejack); "A Long Way from Home" (Thunderheart/Wolfen/Dances With Wolves) Issue #13 - "Blood Price" (Thunderheart] (sequel to "A Long Way Home") Issue #14 - "Badlands" (Thunderheart/The Professionals) (sequel to "Blood Price") |
| 1991 | Beguiled - as Cat Shannon | Kindred Spirits |
| 1991 | Miami Spice | Issue #1 - "Here You are Again" [poem]; "Belief in the Promised Land"; "Shadow Man" [poem]; "Burning Heart";
"Cold Courage, Southern Comfort" (Old Western series) Issue #2 - "Heart of Stone"; "Old Ties and Tequila" (Old Western series) |
| 1991 | Lone Star Knights | Issue #2 - "Lonesome Child"; "Sharing Secrets" |
| 1992 | Resistance | Issue #6 - "Ship's Soul" (A/B, with implied non-emotional B/T); "Bitter Prize" (A/B, prequel to "Ship's Soul"); "End Game" (A/B, sequel to "Bitter Prize") |
| 1993 | Hungry Hearts ["Psychic Vampire" anthology] | Issue #1 - "Saint in the City" (Miami Vice/Wiseguy) - "Luckless Joker" (Miami Vice) |
| 1991 | Be Gentle With Us - as Cat Shannon | Issue #1 - "Nightmare"
Issue #34 - "Words for Blake", poem (Blake's 7); "Razor's Edge", poem (Blake's 7); "Liberator Crew", poem (Blake's 7) |
| 1994-1995 | Airwaves | Issue #30 - "Three Time Loser" (B7 AU/BladeRunner crossover) - gen version; "Doublecross and Counteraction" (Garrison's Gorillas) - gen version
Airwaves Blake's 7 Special 3 - "Three Time Loser" (B7 AU/BladeRunner crossover) |
| 1996 | Cross-Currents | "Twist in Time" (Miami Vice/Blake's 7; "A Long Way From Home" (Thunderheart/Wolfen/Dances With Wolves) - reprinted from Uncharted Waters #12 |
| 1992 | Twinflight | "Tears in the Rain" (reprinted from Uncharted Waters #2); "Thrice Dead"; "New Alliance"; "Catalyst " |
| 1992-1995 | MerLyn's Tales | Issue #1 - Prisoner Transport Vessel London series (Blake's 7): "Burning for Love", "Shot Through The Heart", "Living On A Prayer"; Kindred Spirits series: Kindred Spirits, Blazing Shadows; Old Western series: Cold Courage and Southern Comfort, Old Ties and Tequila.
Issue #2 - Ravenscar (The Professionals/Robin of Sherwood crossover); Fool or King? (Robin of Sherwood; Strangers Touch (UFO A/U); Private Lessons, Secret Places (Robin of Sherwood); Gift From The Gods (Houston Knights); Within The Castle Keep (Robin of Sherwood); In The Beginning (Saracen); Second Step (Saracen); Green Eyes (Robin of Sherwood); Kindred Spirits series: Wilder Justice Issue #3 - Vampire Blake Trilogy: Bitter Prize (Blake's 7) (reprinted from Resistance #6); Ship's Soul (Blake's 7) (reprinted from Resistance #6); End Game (Blake's 7). reprinted from Resistance #6); After The Fire (The Professionals A/U); Stranger Still (UFO A/U); Strangers No More (UFO A/U); Three Time Loser (Blake's 7) (also in Dyad #15, a gen version is in an issue of Airwaves). Old Western series: Mad Memories and Mescal |
References
- ^ connection made in this thread
- ^ Short Circuit Issue #3 (as Cat Shannon)
- ^ Short Circuit Issue #3 (as Cat Shannon)
- ^ Short Circuit Issue #5
- ^ Short Circuit Issue #5