My mind is blown.

I can't believe Alexander Vlahos only has ONE season in Merlin. I weep at the unfairness of it all. The 5th season hasn't even been here yet and it's all over now! *wails*

In a scene that has him with Merlin, my eyes keep drifting to his face. My loyalty to Merlin has been compromised. Nobody has ever managed to steal my attention away from Merlin when he's on-screen before, not even Arthur.

Bradley James has said that even if there would be a Merlin movie, most likely he won't be in it, for whatever reason. I think the crazy fans put a pause in his enthusiasm for being further involved in the show (he deleted his twitter account).

British actors are different than American ones, folks. Don't expect them to deal with the same shiz you throw at actors living in your backyards with the same aplomb and hunger for more attention. They're quite reserved about their private lives and usually treat acting as a job. One that they're passionate about, but it's still just a JOB. You know...as in: "Being an actor is my job, it's not who I am" sort of thing? So stop with the buggering of their private lives stuff. I know this advice would fall on deaf ears but I thought I should give it a try anyway. Meh.

Anyway, here's the official version from them on why Merlin should not be continued for the 6th season or for any movie: Merlin series 5 confirmed to be its last

I'm sad that Merlin is over, but am also quite excited to see what their (Bradley James & Colin Morgan) future projects are. However, if they do more theatre works, I'm afraid I'll be out of the loop as there is no way I can go to where they are to watch the plays. And I'm usually the type of fan who will be done with a show once the show is done.

Am still making my sad face at arse o'clock in the morning. I should just go to sleep and stop mourning. Life goes on after all for everyone, even for little old me.

Season 5 is THE END for Merlin!

I wonder why there have not been many sad posts on this news. Or maybe I haven't been an active participant in Merlin forums so have missed the collective wailing that went up when it was announced on Nov 26th.

Am sad. See my sad face.

But Colin was all smiles, as usual. I wanna kiss his 'old Morgan' face! I wonder what his next project will be.

How Bradley James (Merlin TV) got his thumb ring.

Watch it fast before someone takes the video down~

[Investigation File] Repeat versions

Case File 1

Remember the episode (A Remedy to Cure All Ills) in Merlin where Merlin has to kill the sorcerer who puts a bug in Morgana's ear and then tries to put one in Uther's? Well, I just watched the exact same story, i.e. bug entering a person's ear and nearly causing his death, in an episode (Strategic Planning) of the "Royal Pain". So, I googled about it and found a medical blog connected to the series that talked about that particular story by Dr. Irving Danesh:

While Hank knows that the more common Tick acquired disease is Lyme Disease, there are others including Tick paralysis. Hank decides to investigate this further. Ticks feed on blood. After a tick attaches itself to a host, the female tick feeds for several days to be able to produce her eggs. During this process her salivary glands produce a nerve poison (neurotoxin) that causes the paralysis. This neurotoxin gets picked up in the host's blood stream and causes the ascending paralysis. The trick was to find the tick. After reviewing the game footage, Hank found that Kendrick had landed on the grass ear side down, just a place a tick would love to hide. 70% of ticks are located in the scalp and neck area, but the ears, nose and genital area are also high on the list. Hank removes the tick by first placing mineral oil in the ear canal. This keeps the tick from moving while he is trying to grab it with a tweezer. A moving insect in the ear is quite uncomfortable. Once the tick is removed, Kendrick quickly gets back to doing what he loves, football. Hank has solved another interesting case.

Interesting. So, maybe Merlin writers took a leaf out of a real-life case and turned it into fiction? But the truth is more deadly coz the tick doesn't even need to be magically activated to enable it to cause mayhem. It can do that fine all on its own.


Case File 2

I just watched an episode (Nevermore) in the Warehouse 13 series where Myka's dad gets 'infected' by the ink from an Edgar Allan Poe book he has in his possession. I'm not gonna talk much about the story, just want to highlight how similar the scene where the black inked-words travel across and around her dad's skin with the one in Mushi-Shi concerning the girl that he helps regularly, Tanyuu (starting at 4:27).

There's something mystically intense about blank ink crawling across pale skin. On a girl, it's kinda sexy...but on an old man though, mmmm not so good. I'd like to petition for it to happen on screen to a gorgeous bloke so I can feel less weird about ogling.

[Fandom] Yep, still in Merlinland

I'm sorry for flinging this post onto little children. Anyone below 15, please avert your eyes.

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I do believe that if I go on like this, it is quite possible that I'll flunk my study. Or maybe I'm halfway there.

But all my reading has strengthened my resolve to write. And the ideas in my head have nothing to do with subjects remotely academic. Unless I'm studying anatomy. Which I'm not.

It's rare to actually find myself learning when I'm reading fanfictions, but apparently there's a vast difference... as deep as an abyss (which I have never stared down into, so forgive me if the analogy is unsuitable)... when you're in a jrock or jpop fandom and when you're in a European one. Or in this case, Brit.

Words just flow without the restraint of not knowing much of the culture, the people, the language. Authors are not writing in English about non-English people having impossibly complicated English conversations in a completely non-English setting while drinking something that's made in a country entirely populated by mostly non-English speaking people.... and I relish the freedom.

Also, since I studied in the UK (though I didn't have enough money to travel to Ireland, to my everlasting regret) for a bit and watched hours and hours of British telly in defiance of my busy undergraduate schedule, I do get a bit of the jokes... although not most. But enough to make me howl with laughter and splutter saliva all over my laptop monitor.

However, I have to say that after more than a week of intense reading, I have yet to find a single bondage fic... much less S&M, or any plot that doesn't involve fluffy romance and happy ever after. I was so used to at least finding a story with one of the characters dying. And that's RPS, mind you... not even AU. Hmmm, what does that say about jrock/jpop fandom... IDEK.

The strange thing is, all the stories in the Merlin fandom I found... and I do mean ALL!... were so well-written that I'm not even missing those intense, dark, OTT-menacingly-whispered-professions-of-love-while-being-tortured-with-black-candles, nearly suicidal relationships I was so used to bump into while maneuvering the messy j-ent fanfiction corridors.

Obviously I've been missing on a lot of things. I have Colin/Merlin and Bradley/Arthur to thank for this massive discovery. I've yet to move to Season Two because I'm still determined to explore Season One for a second time. And this time I'm to take my sweet time about it... while reading fanfics, watching interviews, looking up making of clips... taking in everything.

O yeah, this mission must be accomplished while churning out technical papers for supervisors and bosses on time. Tricky, that.

[Fanvid] Merlin/Arthur

This fanvid reminds me of that fic. It's most awesomely done. Actually, they both are.

[Fandom] Merlin

Secrets & Magic [1]: Merlin Time

....and the rest of the S&M episode.

It feels weird... and kind of special... to fangirl over an actor who is not Asian in this blog. I think Colin Morgan is only the 3rd western crush I pimp here. The 1st being Lee Williams, and the 2nd is the ever evolving Colin Firth (Oscar!!!FTW).

I did catch Merlin when it was first aired in Malaysia...what, a year ago? But at that time, I was all... meh, what's this story about? And why is the title character so thin and bony?? Obviously I had no clue of what and who I was talking about coz a few weeks ago, upon watching this one episode of which I no longer remember what it's all about, suddenly a lightbulb went off in my brain and I went... this show is so gay! LOL. Yeah, I'm a slow learner... ^^;;

The show is full of layers and ...mmmm, layers *cough* ...and what with Merlin / Arthur forever looking at Arthur / Merlin like he's the most delectable dish the guy's ever come across while Arthur / Merlin is always looking back at the other dude (I'm not choosy really, whoever's staring hungrily at whoever is good enuff for me) with this pseudo what, what expression... I'm in BL haven... and for once, it's not coming from a japanese / korean / taiwan / hindi source. Loving it.

(note: They do this off-set too. Don't believe me? Watch that roadtrip video, or the S&M video, or their interview videos... or any videos that have CM and BJ together. Or if you're impatient... just watch this~)

After watching a few incomplete episodes (I promise I'll download the whole seasons later, mkay) I concluded that the Brits do BL waaaaaay better than the Americans can ever hope to do. Is it because of their stronger European connection? I was ready to generalize about the whole western cinema not having a clue about subtlety when it comes to boyxboy content before this drama came along.

I mean, seriously... look at Heroes and weep over the loss of having so many hot-looking guys running around and not giving each other suggestive stares even once! At least not that I'm aware of, and sometimes I can be rather dim about these things. But only sometimes! Anyway, I don't watch Supernatural (have a fear of horror) or Prison Break (don't like convict/war/violent stories much), so can't comment about those. But look at Smallville and imagine how much better it would be for us if Clark and Lex have a more super-charged, electrifying bond.. eh? Clark just keeps on chasing after Lex, and Lex can't get enough of doing bad stuff that will keep Clark eternally chasing after him. And all those gorgeous super heroes and super villains and kryptonite-mutants who can come in and play havoc with their love life. Right, I want to cry now.

It's pretty hilarious how Hollywood gets to be morally upright in TV shows that it makes me roll my eyes every friggin' time like... come on people, we already know, ok?

I found these cast videos. Colin Morgan ish so cute!!! Freaks me out when I got to know that he's 25 years old, though. Why? Because I seem to have a harem of boys born in 1986 (hyung, Kame... and now CM). Furthermore, they're all in the lust/love-at-first-sight category so it's not as if I planned any of this. Am I psychic?? Or is the universe trying hard to tell me something????! (But what?)

ETA: I apologize to everyone who got eye burn after staring at so many bolded words. IDEK what happened. Blame it on the crappy modem connection, but I have to check out of this hotel now (hubby's getting antsy.. any minute now and he's gonna confiscate my laptop) so can't go on an edit spree. And once I'm home, it's a different universe so I doubt I'll ever get around to edit it then. But hey, just think of it as squee-ing with bold rather than CAPS... kthxbye~

[Fanfic] Accidental Memory In The Case Of Death by derryere [NC-17]

Tell me I did not just flunk almost one whole day of work coz of this fic. And an entire night too. It's all Merlin's fault, really. Well, Arthur too... but mostly it's that guy. Merlin, Merlin, Merlin... why now?? Why when I'm having the mother of all deadlines, which I'm ignoring rather nicely right now.

But seriously, how can a guy look ugly one moment and breathtakingly gorgeous the next. Drives me crazy. I don't even bother knowing his real name... I wonder if this is just temporary?



Is it just me or does Arthur remind you of Jensen Ackles??

Anyway. About that fic "the size of a house". It's so cool and epic and made me go, "Man, I could never write like this. Ever. Not in a million years.." Btw, I've bookmarked the Merlin tag in her LJ... (lol)

I hope she doesn't mind me linking it here in blinking neons. Or maybe bolded and in red font.

SLASHY MERLIN/ARTHUR GOODNESS. ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK.

...and this just gives more fuel to imagination:

I swear Colin Morgan looks more and more beautiful the longer I watch him smiling in those breeches.

I should go to work and fill up that compulsory 4-hour a day thingy. Absolutely not feeling guilty about this coz.. hey! Long weekday hours and occasional weekends! They'll make up for the hours I'm flunking right now.. *ish in denial*

Happy reading, and welcome to my new obsession! (am planning to scour torrent for past episodes) ...oh! And they're continuing the season! After that scare about Season 3 being the final season. Are they actively trying to give me a heart attack??

I really should go now.