The Ivy Crown (Merlin story by dayari)
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| Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Ivy Crown |
| Author(s): | dayari |
| Date(s): | 30 August 2011 |
| Length: | 252,245 words |
| Genre(s): | slash |
| Fandom(s): | Merlin |
| Relationship(s): | |
| External Links: | The Ivy Crown (AO3) The Ivy Crown (LiveJournal)  masterpost art by dayari |
Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Ivy Crown is an epic Merlin/Arthur novel by dayari. It was written for Paperlegends 2011.
Summary: "[Post-S3 crossover with Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle.] Merlin couldn't have picked a worse time to finally tell Arthur about his magic. In the wake of the battle against the immortal army, a strange visitor disrupts the court, calling himself the Green Knight and proposing a test of the court's integrity. Although Uther turns him away, several of Camelot's northern allies end up mysteriously beheaded over the next few months, and Arthur, Merlin and the knights set out to investigate. They encounter more than they'd bargained for on the way—a reckless young boy, a lady in search of a husband, a centuries-old fairytale that holds more than a grain of truth... and a challenge that ends up being more than just a game."
Comments and Reviews
"Ever since 3x13 and all the promo shots, I've been dying for knightly interaction with Merlin along for the ride. [...] The group's journey was incredibly well-described; I loved that you took your time to describe each village, each person they met, and finished all their storylines in one way or another. Arthur shone in this story. It must be incredibly hard to find the perfect balance of honor, arrogance, prattishness, loyalty, determination and princeliness, but you pulled it off brilliantly, portraying him exactly as I see him [...]; you offered me a look at the kind of man he is at the very core. Arthur's relationship with Merlin was... guh. Are there even words? I think you used them all when you wrote about them."[1]
- "The way you showed Merlin's Gwaine changing into the Sir Gawain of the Green Knight story was done seamlessly and I believed every bit of it, despite how different they are in personality. Then there's the Arthur-Merlin relationship. I am just thrilled at how you handled it. You took your time developing it, letting them work through all of their issues and taking absolutely no shortcuts. They had a long way to go, just like they said, but they got there in the end. The slow, consistent buildup throughout the entire fic just made the end result that much more wonderful to see. What I also loved was the way you handled the dynamics between the rest of the knights (and the knights with Arthur and Merlin), as well."[2]
"I spent the better part of today reading your story and still can't shake that feeling of being totally blown away by your writing style. Detailed and concise and encompassing everything and despite the length, I never tired of it nor found I any of your scenes superfluous, instead, I gobbled up every word and wished the story would never ever stop."[3]
- "Wow, talk about an epic. dayari does an amazing job weaving the show's canon and the legends together in this story, drawing on multiple and varied sources. The story is written in a manner that more than one character grows over the course of it, and this is especially true with Gwaine. He too has his own tale within the story, brought from the legends and translated to fit with the character that has come to us from the show's canon. The real center of the story, though, is Merlin and Arthur. For anyone who is interested in seeing the two of them really go through the ringer over the revelation of Merlin's magic, this is definitely the story for you. Arthur and Merlin really suffer for the truth, and it makes you wonder if this is the way Arthur will one day react."[4]
"First – I don’t know the tale of the Green Knight, and I think the fic reads very well with very little knowledge of that story. Second – as a lover of word economy, it's very rare for me to ever attempt to read a fic this long and even more rare for me to finish it. The author was very clever at keeping the story interesting, the characters' relationships deliciously engaging without giving in too easily or so much push-pull in the UST that the reader goes crazy from the lack of payoff. Speaking of UST – The Arthur/Merlin dynamic in this really spot on. Their entire relationship in this fic is basically a reveal fall out and it’s wonderfully done with lots of tension and emotions and both of them wanting things to be back the way they were but not able to find the way. Oh! And the sex (and there is some, eventually) is brilliantly hot. Outside of the M/A I adored the characterisation of each knight and the OC's. Gwaine and Leon especially really came alive in this fic for me. Great storytelling all around."[5]
References
- ^ jammeke. Comment, 31 August 2011. (Accessed 03 September 2011)
- ^ aliquoten. Comment, 01 September 2011. (Accessed 03 September 2011)
- ^ ninamalfoy. Comment, 02 September 2011. (Accessed 03 September 2011)
- ^ angelqueen04. 2011 Paperlegends Fic Recs, 07 September 2011. (Accessed 08 September 2011)
- ^ marguerite_26. Merlin Big Bang Rec, 23 September 2011. (Accessed 27 September 2011)