Art- Paperlegends BigBang 2011 - Men For All Seasons
Title: Art for "Men For All Seasons"
Artist: amphigoury
Pairings/characters: Arthur, Gwaine, Merlin
Rating (if applicable): PG
Warnings: Violence, comedic nudity
Summary: Art for new_kate's Men for all Seasons: a reincarnation story set in 1940. In Albion's hour of need Arthur is brought back from his rest in Avalon. He learns that the world is at war, and that the enemies have dark magic at their disposal. With the help of the mysterious Vril society the invaders are about to gain air superiority and become unstoppable. Only Merlin could fight the new magical threat, but Merlin has been missing for a long time...
Artist's notes: Pinch-hit for new_kate, who was an absolute wonder to draw for. Originally just the comic, it grew to a cover, banners of some sort, a fleet of animated gifs, and a little something extra at the end - heh.
Disclaimer: Fan-created content, no profit is made.
The Cover
There is a joining theme in the story of Arthur waking up and looking at the sky. I thought it would be an appropriate subject for the cover:
---
Arthur felt solid ground beneath his back and opened his eyes.
The sky never changed. Everything else did - the people, the buildings, the fields and the forests; even the mountains seemed to grow or shrink as the centuries rolled by. But Albion's sky was always the same, overcast and low, readying for a rain or recovering from it, stormy blue and familiar like the eyes of an old beloved friend.
"Hello again," he said, trying out his voice, and pressed his palms to the cold earth.
He always woke up here, in the place where he'd fallen.
Next time Arthur opened his eyes they were in a different place. The sky above them was high and clear, the kind of blue that was too blue to exist in reality.
The Comic
A bit of a dramatic piece with Arthur showing Merlin the advances of weaponry and Merlin having a bit of a tantrum and unleashing his magic on Gwaine's native soil. The tree was fun to destroy - and the hardest part was coming up with a tree-exploding sound: "KKRAAAKOOOMM!!"
--------
The shot fired; Merlin's whole body jerked against Arthur's hold, and he dropped the weapon.
"It hurts," he said, rubbing his hand. "And I think it went wide. It's not that easy."
"You'll be better after a few days of practice. Everyone we face will have had more. You have to remember that."
"Well, this is going to be a fun trip for you without any weapons training," said Gwaine worriedly. "I'd kind of assumed you knew what you were doing..."
"I don't need weapons, Gwaine," said Merlin. "I am a weapon."
"Merlin..." Arthur started, and Merlin shook his head, baring his teeth in a stubborn grimace.
"No. I won't hide and lie again. Not now. I have magic, Gwaine."
"Magic? Like in a circus, or like the spiritual-"
"Like this," said Merlin and whipped his hand toward the oak, and the old tree shuddered, shedding the last of dead leaves, and split along the middle with a loud groan. The mutilated trunk swayed, sagging under its own weight; a few branches snapped off and fell down, onto the twisted roots.
"Guns can't do that," muttered Merlin, and Arthur decided to stand back and let him work through his anger, and to explain about cannons at a better time. Merlin aimed his right palm at another tree, hissing out his favourite fire spell, and stuttered mid-word when Gwaine caught him by both wrists and gave him a gentle shake.
"Don't," Gwaine said. "Stop destroying the French countryside, it's suffered enough."
Merlin stared at him, huffing angry breaths through flaring nostrils, and his eyes were yellow with magic, thoughtless and wild.
"You're not a weapon," Gwaine said. "You're a man. Merlin, my friend, you're a man."
"You don't know," said Merlin. "You've no idea what's going on. There are sorcerers in Berlin, people like me; they would fight. They would put all their magic behind those... guns, and machines, and they'll march with the invading army, to burn our kingdom down. And I have to stop them. I have to stop them."
"I know what's happening to you," said Gwaine softly. "It's happening to my men, too. Fighting changes you, of course it does, it has to. But if we forget we're human, the war will never end."
Merlin laughed harshly, rocked forward and pressed his forehead to Gwaine's shoulder.
---
Animated Headers
new_kate said she wanted the story to have an Indiana Jones vibe and I figured what better way to get that across than with animated Jones-style maps to commemorate the journey!
Camlann to London via car
London to Dover via Train
Dover to French country-side via Stuka
Calais to Paris via Train
Paris to Berlin via Train
Calais to Antarctica via Stuka
My favorite bit on this leg was the "striped horses" and "the ugliest unicorns I've ever seen", so I had to include them, heh heh.
Misc
These are too big to be banners, I reckon - but I couldn't help but draw Merlin and the penguin.
One More Thing:
"Oh, shut up, Arthur," Merlin said, defiantly gulping down more. "I can hold my drink just fine. If you recall, no matter how much I drank I never ran out on a balcony bollock naked yelling 'I'm the king of all I survey!'"
-----
That's it folks - my first Big Bang year all wrapped up! I'm already looking
forward to next year, and all the fests in-between!
Artist: amphigoury
Pairings/characters: Arthur, Gwaine, Merlin
Rating (if applicable): PG
Warnings: Violence, comedic nudity
Summary: Art for new_kate's Men for all Seasons: a reincarnation story set in 1940. In Albion's hour of need Arthur is brought back from his rest in Avalon. He learns that the world is at war, and that the enemies have dark magic at their disposal. With the help of the mysterious Vril society the invaders are about to gain air superiority and become unstoppable. Only Merlin could fight the new magical threat, but Merlin has been missing for a long time...
Artist's notes: Pinch-hit for new_kate, who was an absolute wonder to draw for. Originally just the comic, it grew to a cover, banners of some sort, a fleet of animated gifs, and a little something extra at the end - heh.
Disclaimer: Fan-created content, no profit is made.
The Cover
There is a joining theme in the story of Arthur waking up and looking at the sky. I thought it would be an appropriate subject for the cover:
---
Arthur felt solid ground beneath his back and opened his eyes.
The sky never changed. Everything else did - the people, the buildings, the fields and the forests; even the mountains seemed to grow or shrink as the centuries rolled by. But Albion's sky was always the same, overcast and low, readying for a rain or recovering from it, stormy blue and familiar like the eyes of an old beloved friend.
"Hello again," he said, trying out his voice, and pressed his palms to the cold earth.
He always woke up here, in the place where he'd fallen.
Next time Arthur opened his eyes they were in a different place. The sky above them was high and clear, the kind of blue that was too blue to exist in reality.
The Comic
A bit of a dramatic piece with Arthur showing Merlin the advances of weaponry and Merlin having a bit of a tantrum and unleashing his magic on Gwaine's native soil. The tree was fun to destroy - and the hardest part was coming up with a tree-exploding sound: "KKRAAAKOOOMM!!"
--------
The shot fired; Merlin's whole body jerked against Arthur's hold, and he dropped the weapon.
"It hurts," he said, rubbing his hand. "And I think it went wide. It's not that easy."
"You'll be better after a few days of practice. Everyone we face will have had more. You have to remember that."
"Well, this is going to be a fun trip for you without any weapons training," said Gwaine worriedly. "I'd kind of assumed you knew what you were doing..."
"I don't need weapons, Gwaine," said Merlin. "I am a weapon."
"Merlin..." Arthur started, and Merlin shook his head, baring his teeth in a stubborn grimace.
"No. I won't hide and lie again. Not now. I have magic, Gwaine."
"Magic? Like in a circus, or like the spiritual-"
"Like this," said Merlin and whipped his hand toward the oak, and the old tree shuddered, shedding the last of dead leaves, and split along the middle with a loud groan. The mutilated trunk swayed, sagging under its own weight; a few branches snapped off and fell down, onto the twisted roots.
"Guns can't do that," muttered Merlin, and Arthur decided to stand back and let him work through his anger, and to explain about cannons at a better time. Merlin aimed his right palm at another tree, hissing out his favourite fire spell, and stuttered mid-word when Gwaine caught him by both wrists and gave him a gentle shake.
"Don't," Gwaine said. "Stop destroying the French countryside, it's suffered enough."
Merlin stared at him, huffing angry breaths through flaring nostrils, and his eyes were yellow with magic, thoughtless and wild.
"You're not a weapon," Gwaine said. "You're a man. Merlin, my friend, you're a man."
"You don't know," said Merlin. "You've no idea what's going on. There are sorcerers in Berlin, people like me; they would fight. They would put all their magic behind those... guns, and machines, and they'll march with the invading army, to burn our kingdom down. And I have to stop them. I have to stop them."
"I know what's happening to you," said Gwaine softly. "It's happening to my men, too. Fighting changes you, of course it does, it has to. But if we forget we're human, the war will never end."
Merlin laughed harshly, rocked forward and pressed his forehead to Gwaine's shoulder.
---
Animated Headers
new_kate said she wanted the story to have an Indiana Jones vibe and I figured what better way to get that across than with animated Jones-style maps to commemorate the journey!
Camlann to London via car
London to Dover via Train
Dover to French country-side via Stuka
Calais to Paris via Train
Paris to Berlin via Train
Calais to Antarctica via Stuka
My favorite bit on this leg was the "striped horses" and "the ugliest unicorns I've ever seen", so I had to include them, heh heh.
Misc
These are too big to be banners, I reckon - but I couldn't help but draw Merlin and the penguin.
One More Thing:
"Oh, shut up, Arthur," Merlin said, defiantly gulping down more. "I can hold my drink just fine. If you recall, no matter how much I drank I never ran out on a balcony bollock naked yelling 'I'm the king of all I survey!'"
-----
That's it folks - my first Big Bang year all wrapped up! I'm already looking
forward to next year, and all the fests in-between!