Fic: Wake Up Camelot
Title: Wake Up Camelot
Author: Tari_Sue
Artist: LFB72
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur, Merlin, Arthur, Gwen, Elyan, Lance, Gwaine, Percy, George, Hunith, Will, Vivian, Elena, Mithian, Agravaine, Uther, Valiant, Edwin
Rating: PG13
Word Count: 84,689
Warnings: too much sugar is very bad for your teeth.
Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin, he is very much his own man and does not belong to anyone, except maybe Arthur, but don’t tell Arthur that because it will go to his head and he will boss poor Merlin about even more. I also don’t own and didn’t invent the concept of the Merlin TV Show, because if I did I'd be a lot richer, that belongs to the BBC and Shine. I will make no money from this, unless you want to pay me to take it down in which case bidding starts at £1000.
Author's notes: I have no idea how a real TV station operates, this is all entirely fictional, although some of the stories are loosely based on real news reports.
Although dates in this fic say ‘2020’, this is an alternate 2020 with none of the world events that actually happened - so no Covid 19 or anything else, just general fluff. Oh, and the London Marathon happened in April, like it was meant to.
Most of the chapter titles are taken from UK Children's Saturday Morning TV of the 70s, 80s and 90s, just because I wanted to - let's pretend they are what inspired Merlin, Arthur, Gwen et al to become breakfast TV presenters.
Thanks to Nympha_Alba for the beta, this was such a monster to go through and I was about ready to throw the baby out with the bathwater when you came to my rescue!
Thank you to Clea2011 for having a final check through for me even though she was trying to finish her own fic - I’ve had the privilege of reading some of that amazing fic and it's brilliant!
Thanks to Camelittle for also reading through and fixing all my last-minute errors. And for the jokes about brass - George would not have been the same without you, and neither would my commas. Also, my Brass Band Guru informs me that Sousaphones are American and not really part of a traditional English Brass Band, but it’s a strange big instrument for a strange little man and I didn’t want to change it to a tuba, so that inaccuracy is on me.
And last but definitely not least, thank you so much to the brilliant LFB72 for not only putting up with me again but for all the wonderful art, endless patience and just generally being a lovely person to know, and for being an absolute hero during the real 2020, but also for all of the good ideas in the fic - the bad ideas were mine!
Thank you to the mods for running my favourite fest once again, long may it continue!
And thank you to anyone who actually bothers to read this.
Artist's notes:
I have had the pleasure of working with Tari_Sue previously and was delighted to have the opportunity to do so again! Not only is she a fabulous friend but a fantastic writer and it was a real privilege to see this story unfold and develop before my eyes. It's such a fun ride in such testing times and I've really enjoyed working on this and depicting our heroes in challenging circumstances. I had fun making up the images for Camelot's waking dragon but all credit should go to Tari_Sue for bringing her to life through animation. The story is packed with scenes that cry out to be illustrated and it would have been easy to go on. Many thanks to Mattie le Fay for being my art beta and for the mods who continue to run this glorious fest!
Summary:
To escape a toxic relationship, Merlin applies for a chance of a lifetime job in London working for Wake Up Camelot, the BBC’s flagship breakfast TV show. New city, new country, new job, new friends, new loves, new enemies - life is a rollercoaster…
Art link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25955284
Story link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26010598