so, this is honestly one of my favorite Merlin fics of all time. it's hard to find good gen fics, especially fics that convey the appropriate depth and complexity to each character, but you've done it so, so well, and i'm amazed. i was never really drawn to Arthur's character while the series was airing, and i didn't give Morgana's betrayal that much thought - sure, it was painful; sure, i wish she never turned on them and went over to the dark side - but after reading this, the weight of her betrayal began to sink in, and viewing Morgana through Arthur's eyes was such an eye-opening experience.

there is so much between them that cannot even begin to be expressed, but you have. this fic is so nuanced in its details - Arthur's assured conviction that Morgana couldn't kill him and Uther because they're family now; Morgana's goading and her disgusted, "You don't have a thought of your own in your head, do you?" (i love the way you portray Morgana so much! that disdain and undercurrent of anger even from such a young age is so true to her character); the way Arthur reasoned that Morgana cannot have magic because that would shatter the dividing lines of his (somewhat) black and white view of justice and morality; and their whole exchange about Arthur having Uther at swordpoint ("She flinches, as if he had accused her of something shameful. 'I wouldn't,' she admits. 'But the difference between us is that you think it is a good thing.'" THIS LINE IS AMAZING).

k so this review doesn't really have much of a purpose other than to let you know that i adore this fic and this character-study, and i love your prose and the way you write these characters so much. i've reread this fic too many times to count tbh, and i don't know if you'll see this review, but just: thank you. thank you so much for this.

I like what Gwen says about not thinking any of them are real to Morgana anymore. That is how she treats Arthur and Gwen, as though they've ceased to be people.

You wrote a wonderful complexity for both Arthur and Morgana that their characters deserved.

Beautiful and sad.

I absolutely adore this. How is it that all of your characterizations are so good and so deep? They add more depth to the characters, believably.

This whole piece is amazing, and I truly loved it. I love the fact that you use the line from Hamlet "more than kin, but less than kind" to describe them, because it fits their relationship really well. The story itself was beautifully written, and you captured Arthur's emotions perfectly along with the dark aspect of Morgana which was always there. I've always loved them in a romantic aspect (please don't give me grief), but I love this in the sibling relationship. There were so many strong lines in here that I loved, but mostly what I loved was how you had Morgana have all these lines showing who she would become (like wanting to have a throne and a realm to rule; kill him if he and Uther had killed her father), and how oblivious Arthur is to it all. His biggest fault by far is just like the bit you had Morgana say about him lying to himself. And it was nice how you had Gwen come and be the one who helps Arthur, since she did have such a strong relationship with her in season 1 and 2. The scene you had of Morgana walking in after Arthur nearly killed Uther and telling him she wouldn't have killed Uther, but that she would have regretted it was so spot on! I could imagine that happening perfectly in the show, and I really wish it had been there. My favorite bit of the story though, is how you've kept Morgana dark and considering thoughts of killing from the beginning. Even though she was a "good guy" for season 1 and 2, you didn't just make her all sweet and kind. You kept the bitterness and coldness that takes over her so much in the later seasons. I love Morgana, and I can defend her actions for hours and how she isn't the villain - but you did a wonderful job of showing how she isn't sweet and innocent as well.

A story too wonderful for words. I think the characters are spot-on and your language is just flawless. Love it!

Every once in a while you read an absolute gem of a story like this one. It's brilliantly written and I really liked that you didn't make excuses for Morgana. The characterisation was spot on and it flowed smoothly and was well paced. Really, really great work :)

Wonderful. Makes me want to watch the show, but it can't be this good.

kiragecko

This is amazing.

It imbues at least some sense into the wrangled mess that is the BBC canon. I think this works so well with seasons 2-4 (of course, being an ArMor shipper and a Morgana fanatic, I'm stuck in season one where they established her character only to completely twist it) and it makes an absolutely unrealistic characterization of Morgana justified.

Thank you!

WOW.

WOW.

This blew me away. I am absolutely astounded by the depth of your characterizations. Your writing is phenomenal. :D Thank you for sharing this! It really brightened my day. Again, just fantastic. I think I'm going to go re-read all of your stories now. xD

This was absolutely amazing, absolutely beautiful. I wish I could be more specific about why, but I think you honestly covered everything and I loved every line. Arthur and Morgana have been shipped together several times, but pieces like this are the reasons I think they shouldn't be. As siblings, they're so much more compelling and fascinating and heartbreaking.

I loved your Gwen, I hate how much the show leaves out her relationship with Morgana. The section about Morgause, and what she left Arthur with, almost made me cry as well, with how he had to choose between Merlin's word and hers, love and hate.

I loved all of the actual conversations you wrote between Arthur and Morgana themselves. Bringing up the Druid attack was heartwrenching, and her contempt for his excuses was brilliant, I could see Katie McGrath playing it perfectly in my head. Her "I dreamed you had Uther at swordpoint...I'd have done it," lines made my jaw drop. It was as if you filled in the gaps in that episode exactly the way the characters would have lived it out on their own.

I could honestly ramble on and on forever about how much I loved this. I'll stop now, though, and just say Well. Done.

Excellent. If only the BBC series could have captured some of these inner feelings, and complexity of emotions. Morgana's transformation makes much more sense when you put it this way. This is also so nicely written! Lovely work.