Three Tasks
| Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Three Tasks |
| Author(s): | syllic |
| Date(s): | 12 December 2008 - 19 December 2008 |
| Length: | 30,869 words; 2:38:38 hours |
| Genre: | slash fanfiction |
| Fandom: | Merlin |
| External Links: | Three Tasks (LiveJournal) Three Tasks (AO3) Three Tasks (podbook) Three Tasks (Ebook Library) |
Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Three Tasks is a Merlin/Arthur story by syllic (30,869 words). The story was a winner in the Merlin/Arthur Fanfic Awards Spring 2009 in the categories Best Overall Fic, Best Chapter Fic and Best Arthur Characterisation and a runner-up in the categories Best Fluff Fic and Best Romance Fic. It's also a Merlin Slash Awards Spring 2010 winner in the categories Best Characterisation of Arthur and Best Romance.
Summary: Arthur is the Royal Arbiter for Suitable Suitors' Disputes. He (and his trusty companion, the golden-dragon-tasselled hat) alone can determine who is fit to woo royal servants and other assorted courtiers in Uther's court. (In light of the preceding sentence, the following may not appear to be a truthful statement, but: not as cracky as that makes it sound. Really.)
pennyplainknits podficced the story[1] and Cybel turned it into an audiobook. It is available at the Audiofic Archive. Podfic summary: "In which Arthur is the Royal Arbitor for Suitable Suitors Disputes, Merlin is the subject of said dispute, and Arthur is resplendant in lilac."
cellophane_ria made a cute illustration that shows Arthur wearing his lilac robes and Merlin carrying a small wooden chest.[2]
Recs and Reviews
It sounds like it might be crack at first, what with the lilac robes and all (that Uther has reluctantly handed over to Arthur, along with the responsibilities of being 'Royal Arbiter for Suitable Suitors’ Disputes'. It is laugh out loud funny, but also shows a maturing Arthur and a sweet development of the relationship between Arthur & Merlin. In fact, I have this very strong urge to go and read it again.[3]
One of Arthur's duties is to decide who gets to court servants in the royal household, and he does this while wearing hilarious lilac robes and adminstering tests to the suitors. That's all well and good, until Merlin is the object of several suitors' attentions, and then the story takes a turn into lovely and subtle and adorable and perfect, with some lines that made me laugh out loud, and we get a healthy dose of Arthur as a wise prince who just happens to love Merlin a lot. In his own subtle way. Fantastic. (I pretty much recommend all of syllic's stories.)[4]
The premise is utter crack (but in the very best way): Arthur is in charge of deciding who may court someone in Camelot when there is more than one suitor vying for the same person’s affections. This involves assigning three tasks, judging the competitors, and of course, wearing the official Arbiter’s robes that Arthur will never admit to liking as much as he does (they're lilac!).I'm sure you can see where this is going from a mile away. Basically, Merlin, in his cluelessness, manages to become the object of four, yes, four suitors’ affections – and Arthur must arbitrate. Could you ask for a better recipe for a Harlequin set-up?
Now you may not believe me, but despite the absurdly crack-y set-up, the story is actually not as crack-y as it first appears. The premise is, true, but the execution is surprisingly thoughtful and sweet, and Arthur in particular is downright adorable.
Funny, fluffy (even Uther manages to not be a bastard), and just gosh-darned sweet. It’s how I like my Harlequin best.[5]
The summary, and the beginning of the fic sound a lot crackier than it actually is. Arthur’s ~feelings~ are very transparent (to everyone except Merlin of course). It’s actually a very sweet fic, and penny, as always, does a lovely job of bringing the characters and the story to life.[6]
Read this one a year or two ago! Was expecting it to be total crack, but it was surprisingly not cracky. Cute and lovely and sweet :) Definitely worth a reread.[7]
References
- ^ pennyplainknits. Three Tasks, by Syllic, 12 April 2009. (Accessed 27 January 2011)
- ^ Three Tasks: Master Post, 07 August 2009. (Accessed 27 January 2011)
- ^ ravenclaw_harpy. Merlin Recs, 10 January 2009. (Accessed 10 April 2011)
- ^ Destina. Merlin recs (yes again!), 30 October 2011. (Accessed 31 October 2011)
- ^ "Post by caduceus03 at epic_recs". Archived from the original on 2023-03-06.
- ^ "Post at Merlin Out Loud". Archived from the original on 2023-03-06.
- ^ "rec me a merthur canon era fic!". Archived from the original on 2023-03-06.