Reviews For The Exile
Title: Part 1 Chapter 2 On the Road

Thanks for a great update.

Reviewer: Divsionred Signed starstarstarstarstar [Report This]
Date: June 23 2012 03:56 pm

Title: Part 1,Chapter 1 The Departure

Great start to the story.  I haven't watched this series. But your story makes me want to watch it.  Thanks



Author's Response:

I'm glad you liked it. I enjoy Merlin. I find I really like the characters and some of their relationships. I'm always looking for more fans to enjoy the show with. However my story is AU from the episode that inspired it going forward so you'll find the program very different with the focus being more on its male leads.

Reviewer: Divsionred Signed starstarstarstarstar [Report This]
Date: June 23 2012 02:32 pm

Title: Chapter 9, In the Mourning

My dear, this chapter is so fantastic I don't know where to start. First of all, Kilgarrah the single parent!!!!! That was so cute and endearing, and of course the truth bombs he was dropping for Merlin were just perfect sassy Kilgarrah.

And now...Arthur. You've really really outdone yourself here. My heartstrings are all askew, that's how much the Arthur sections tugged them. Strawberry jam, and the bracelet he bought her cos he was jealous...T-T...really I just...very few fics actually furnish Arthur's POV during the exile in a manner that evokes my empathy or sorrow, and you've managed it masterfully. The way he loves and desires Guinevere, as well as the remorse he feels, came through clear as sunlight on a spring day. I just...I have no words for this glorious update. **hugs**



Author's Response:

Thank you.I really had fun with Kilgarrah he's a little like fandom's voice to the series but with a ridiculously energetic toddler-aged dragon for a sidekick. :)

 

*hugs back* writing Arthur throughout this is both hard and easy.

Reviewer: Anastasia_G Signed [Report This]
Date: June 15 2012 02:55 am

Title: The Exile, Part II, Chapter VII: The Air In Camelot

We're on the same schedule again! :) I'm so happy with what you're doing with Elyan. Now here's an Elyan I can genuinely root for. Tilda's story was terribly sad, but I'm glad she shared it with Gwaine and Elyan. I almost did a fist-bump in the air when Elyan offered his resignation.
I also like how you're dealing with the bracelet plot...can't wait for the enchantment to be revealed.

Keep up the great work!



Author's Response:

Thanks dear.

Now here's an Elyan I can genuinely root for.

This was my goal. :)

Tilda needs some hugs and to get away from her husband poor thing.

Reviewer: Anastasia_G Signed [Report This]
Date: April 22 2012 07:29 pm

Title: Chapter 6: A New Life

I liked this chapter, as I do all of them, but I have some questions:

Where is this story going? Will Guinevere and Arthur cross paths again? I'm perfectly content reading about Gwen, but I don't have a sense of where you're going with the story. Do you intend for them to eventually reunite? Or is this tale to provide nuances (never shown on the show) to the aftermath of Gwen's banishment without necessarily a reconciliation between Arthur and Gwen? Will Gwen's enchantment and Morgana's role in it be addressed?

I don't need to see Arthur and Gwen reconcile since we already know how the story ends, so to speak.  And while you've done a fantastic job of showing Gwen's lingering impact on the kingdom in her absence, it almost feels like two different stories, or perhaps journeys is a better description.  I assume they will converge?



Author's Response:

First thanks for reading and reviewing. You've raised some good questions. I will say that this is an AU story. Arthur and Guinevere are on seperate journeys, one of my goals is to explore things often left-out or overlooked in the cannon, but also to have fun and give Gwen a really fleshed-out story. As for the enchantment, Morgana and whether or no A&G will be reunited...I'll just have to ask that you keep reading to find out. Thanks again. :)

Reviewer: ribboninthesky Signed starstarstarstarhalf-star [Report This]
Date: April 13 2012 04:10 am

Title: Chapter 6: A New Life

I forgot to add: I love the flashback with Morgana. I despise how the show handled their relationship. Despite the steep difference in power and privilege between them, I think a skilful writer could explore the mutual affection and nuance of their friendship: much like you've done here. There's something incredibly poignant for me about how their friendship was torn apart: in a male-centric show, it would have been nice to have a well-developed, albelt conflicted/complicated, woman/woman friendship. Anyway, this is another reason I'm grateful we have fanfic, and fanfic writers like you :)



Author's Response:

That flashback was one of those ideas that comes out of nowhere and hits you like a thunderbolt.I wrote so many versions of this chapter and this was the last one. When I wrote that flashback I knew it had to go into the story.

Anyway, this is another reason I'm grateful we have fanfic, and fanfic writers like you :)

Thank you.

Reviewer: Anastasia_G Signed [Report This]
Date: April 12 2012 09:18 pm

Title: Chapter 6: A New Life

Oooooh so exciting! The travels of Guinevere nee Jenafere. Can I just say, I absolutely love how this story has developed. Not only are you developing and complexifying Guinevere's relationships with the men of Camelot, but you're also (very skillfully, I might add) using her experience as a map for exploring societies and strcutures outside of the white patriarchal Euro-centric norm that Camelot often embodies. Simply brilliant. If this were a book, I would buy it so hard.  Wyeledon is extremely well-realized: I honestly wanted to take a stroll through the market and have tea with Ms.Alfonsa. I love how cosmopolitan it is.

Anyway, you already know this, but I love love love Guinevere's journey :)



Author's Response:

Thank you for reading and commenting.

"but you're also (very skillfully, I might add) using her experience as a map for exploring societies and strcutures outside of the white patriarchal Euro-centric norm that Camelot often embodies"

 

I'm glad you noticed this especially. :)

Reviewer: Anastasia_G Signed [Report This]
Date: April 12 2012 08:52 pm

Title: Part 2, Chapter 5, Class Warfare

Loved this chapter! The cresendo of tension in the council chambers was palpable.  And the end was a nice little cliffhanger for the next chapter!

I liked Elyan, and agree with you that the show did him a disservice.  I never understood the point of introducing him as Gwen's brother, only for that relationship to be all but forgotten save for a couple of scenes.  I, for one, wasn't that upset with Elyan's reaction, particularly since he knew nothing of the enchantment.  All he knew was his sister making a grave mistake, and (potentially) ruining their family name.  

I've read various forums, blogs, and message boards, and I think many viewers are looking at 4X09 and the fallout through the prism of modern feminism.  I realize the show is fantasy, but it's also set in a historical past where women didn't enjoy the freedoms we have today.  The show is feminist enough as is, given the time period in which it is presumably set.   

Anyway, it's nice to read fanfic that explores the nuances of the fallout - lord knows the show completely botched it up.  Thank goodness for the cast - the writing leaves much to be desired.  For me, anyway.

Looking forward to more!  



Author's Response:

First thanks for reading and reviewing.

What bothered me most about the way the events of 4x9 played out was not so much what happened, but that characters like Elyan were never shown as having any conflict or confusion about what happened, never expressed any doubt that this was the right thing to do. Even in the legends written in 1300's where Gwen does actually have the affair Gwaine speaks out against punishing her.So for all of the knights to side unequivocally with Arthur, for there to be no one on her side is a bit difficult to watch especially for a character as deserving as Guinevere...

I've had a lot of fun setting this up and there is more to come with the fall out.

 

btw- When naming this chapter it was between Class Warfare and Fall-Out. Fall-out was too modern sounding.

Reviewer: ribboninthesky Signed starstarstarstarstar [Report This]
Date: April 06 2012 04:20 am

Title: Part 1,Chapter 1 The Departure

Reviewing again because I have more to say after reading your response :) The way you've woven a sociopolitical consciousness throughout this story is just wonderful; my favourite type of Arwen/Gwen-centric fic is the type that really pushes us to consider the sociopolitical realities of Camelot (in ways that the show isnt able to or chooses not to do). So the council scene and the nobility using Gwen's actions to solidify their power and erase her influence rings so true to my reading of these characters, and really does justice to the fictional universe of Camelot.

I can't stand fic that writes Gwen as a Bella Swan-esque figure whose primary goal is romance. I swear I read a fic where the kingdom was crumbling around them and Gwen was literally like 'I don't care. All I care about is getting back together with Arthur'. I stopped reading then. I tried to have my own story focus exclusively on the ARWEN romance but as soon as I started writing I knew that the ARWEN romance is a product of its context, shaped by the obligations, loyalities and destinies of Arthur and Gwen and the people they love. Anyway, what I'm trying to get to in a really roundabout way, is that your story resonates with a real socoipolitical consciousness that honors the spirit of these characters and I lok forward to watching your story unfold :)



Author's Response:

I sent you an email response :)

 

Reviewer: Anastasia_G Signed [Report This]
Date: April 02 2012 07:31 pm

Title: Part 2, Chapter 5, Class Warfare

Yay you updated! I really like that you're giving us more of Elyan (I'll never forgive the Merlin writers for the travesty of his characterisation in 4x09). Can I also say I think the class warfare piece is brilliant, absolutely brilliant. Not only are you showing us Guinevere's potential as a great queen, but also the implications of her queenship for the nobility and the lesser-fortunate subjects. I love when fanfic explores Gwen's capability as a policy maker, and you've done it wonderfully. Keep at it!



Author's Response:

Initially I was so frustrated with Elyan that I wanted to pretend he didn't exist. Then I decided to find a way to empathize with him. Now that I have done that I can actually write reams of back story on him, his worsening relationship with his elder sister, not to mention his parents, his feelings about the country of his birth, etc...I'm not so keen on what the writers have done or haven't done with Elyan, but their failure leaves me with lots to do. :)

Thanks for your wonderful and encouraging words.I was a little uncertain about delving into politics and such, but I think that doing so puts all of the character's actions and choices into better perspective. I read about half of the Children of Avalon this morning, I'll  read the rest this evening.

 

Reviewer: Anastasia_G Signed [Report This]
Date: April 02 2012 04:31 pm

Title: Chapter 4 The Bear, the Bird and the Bandit

Love it!!

Reviewer: Sandra Anonymous starstarstarstarstar [Report This]
Date: February 07 2012 07:38 am

Title: Chapter 4 The Bear, the Bird and the Bandit

Love it! You're doing a great job with sharing Gwen's sense of isolation, yet inner resilience.  It's like you left off where the show itself didn't bother to go, and still in perfect step with what we know of her character from the show.  Even more so, really, since Gwen doesn't get a ton a screentime in general.  Keep writing! 



Author's Response:

When I heard spoilers about Gwen being banished I knew it was an opportunity that Merlin's producers would squander. I actually had the idea for this story before the episode even aired.Its shame that she doesn't get more screentime...Angel Coulby is one of their best actress and she does a great job I really hope she gets to feature in more stuff.

Reviewer: ribboninthesky Signed starstarstarstarstar [Report This]
Date: February 07 2012 05:16 am

Title: Chapter 4 The Bear, the Bird and the Bandit

I watched the entire season. 4 on YouTube so I can follow this great story. Your story is well written and I'm lovin it!! I'll be waiting for more!

Author's Response:

Thank you,I'm glad you're enjoying it. Hopefully I'll be able to get my next update done soon.

Reviewer: vmck Signed starstarstarstarhalf-star [Report This]
Date: February 06 2012 07:44 pm

Title: Chapter 4 The Bear, the Bird and the Bandit

Wow. You sure made things tough for Gwen! Attacked by a bird, a bear and a rapist! Good thing she is made of strong stuff.



Author's Response:

Our girl's gotta be strong if she's gonna be Queen some day.:)

Reviewer: Candace Anonymous [Report This]
Date: February 06 2012 05:58 pm

Title: Part 1 Chapter 2 On the Road

I really liked Tilda's solidarity with Gwen, due to her own sister being an adulteress. I hated how the 'Merlin' writers dealt (or didn't deal. cowards) with the sexist implications of Gwen's banishment. I love that you have her going on a journey, both a phsyical one and a figurative one of self-discovery. Keep writing!



Author's Response:

Thank you for the review. Arthurian legend is IMHO rather sexist anyway so I wasn't suprised  that Merlin would also be sexist. In some ways though the enchantment and banishment are less sexist than the legend has been in the past. With Guinevere and Lancelot's affair over and done with for the first time in about 700 years Guinevere will not be responsible for the fall of Camelot. While I know some viewers are disappointed by the enchantment not being revealed I think it was important for Arthur to realize he wanted to be with Gwen in spite of the supposed affair, many men can never forgive a woman for that. I wish some things had been handled differently thats why I'm writing this fic. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy and I do agree some aspects of this storyline were definitely cowardly.

Reviewer: Anastasia_G Signed [Report This]
Date: February 01 2012 04:23 am

Title: Part 1 Chapter 3 Breakdown

I like this story! Gwen was definitely the highlight of the show for me, and I enjoyed the Arthur and Gwen pairing.  Nevertheless, Gwen didn't get much screentime or development, so it's nice to read this interpretation. Gwen's inner strength and quiet resilience is a large part of what makes her my favorite character, and you're doing a good job with displaying that in the story.

I also enjoy the details you share - the bread, the leather thong, the milk, the emotions of the characters.  Really makes me feel as though I'm there, and I love being drawn into the story like that.

I hope you can update soon! Keep writing.   



Author's Response:

Thank you for this review, I'm glad you're enjoying the story and that you've taken the time to comment. I plan to update on Sunday (fingers crossed) and I hope that you continue to enjoy it.

Reviewer: ribboninthesky Signed starstarstarstarstar [Report This]
Date: January 27 2012 12:56 am



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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.