frequently asked questions
Title: Frequently Asked Questions
Rating: PG
Pairing: Arthur Pendragon/Merlin
Disclaimer: Fiction. Comics are based on A Softer World.
Summary: In which Merlin is a web comic artist, and Arthur keeps checking his FAQ page.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How did you come up with the idea to create an Arthurian web comic series? Where do you get the inspiration for each strip?
2. Who is your Arthur based on? You paint him so vividly and with such details, he seems like a real person.
and
He's so handsome! Is there a real Arthur, a mate? Will you give me his number? Will you paint me into one of your comics?
3. Will other characters from Arthurian legend show up? May I request __________?
4. In nearly all of your comic strips, someone else is present, the narrator, whom we never actually see. Who is this person? Why do we only see Arthur from his or her eyes?
5. Tell me a secret!
---
How did you come up with the idea to create an Arthurian web comic series? Where do you get the inspiration for each strip?
My mum named me Merlin, so I have always had a connection with the legends - I guess I was born with it. My earliest memories are dreams of castles, knights, magic, and all that. Arthur has always been with me as I grow up and older. He is a figure very close to my heart and it felt natural for him to be the subject of my art.
Inspiration...yeah, I would say the dreams. I still have them frequently, some clearer than others.
Who is your Arthur based on? You paint him so vividly and with such details, he seems like a real person.
and
He's so handsome! Is there a real Arthur, a mate? Will you give me his number? Will you paint me into one of your comics?
The image of Arthur himself in my dreams is never definite, and I wouldn't share him even if it were - too personal, you see. The Arthur I paint is partly imaginary, partly recollected from a boy I met years ago. We bumped into each other on the street, and in apology for spilling his coffee on me, he gave me a one pound coin from 1995 - the one with the Welsh dragon on it? - that he picked up right off the ground. For better luck, he said, sorry. I still have it.
There was something about him that stuck with me - the way the light made his hair glow golden or something (and now I know you're going to X-out of this page because that was cheesy and horrible), so yeah, I suppose, in a way, there's a real Arthur. Good luck with finding him and his number.
And, no, sorry, I will not paint you into A Simpler World. If you would like to commission me for other work, however, please click here.
Will other characters from Arthurian legend show up? May I request __________?
Maybe. Try me.
In nearly all of your comic strips, someone else is present, the narrator, whom we never actually see. Who is this person? Why do we only see Arthur from his or her eyes?
Don't we like ambiguity? Very well. I think he (or she, implied hereon) is someone who cares about Arthur very much, but can't or won't let him know just how much - possibly because he doesn't even understand why. Or maybe he always has to hide some part of himself from Arthur, or maybe he thinks he has to, or maybe he wants to. Maybe secret admiration is sweeter somehow; indeed, simpler. I think that is how the story goes.
Tell me a secret!
You tell me one first.
---
To: merlin@asimplerworld.co.uk
From: ap1983@gmail.com
Subject: My Secret
I have been looking for you too.
-A.
Rating: PG
Pairing: Arthur Pendragon/Merlin
Disclaimer: Fiction. Comics are based on A Softer World.
Summary: In which Merlin is a web comic artist, and Arthur keeps checking his FAQ page.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How did you come up with the idea to create an Arthurian web comic series? Where do you get the inspiration for each strip?
2. Who is your Arthur based on? You paint him so vividly and with such details, he seems like a real person.
and
He's so handsome! Is there a real Arthur, a mate? Will you give me his number? Will you paint me into one of your comics?
3. Will other characters from Arthurian legend show up? May I request __________?
4. In nearly all of your comic strips, someone else is present, the narrator, whom we never actually see. Who is this person? Why do we only see Arthur from his or her eyes?
5. Tell me a secret!
---
How did you come up with the idea to create an Arthurian web comic series? Where do you get the inspiration for each strip?
My mum named me Merlin, so I have always had a connection with the legends - I guess I was born with it. My earliest memories are dreams of castles, knights, magic, and all that. Arthur has always been with me as I grow up and older. He is a figure very close to my heart and it felt natural for him to be the subject of my art.
Inspiration...yeah, I would say the dreams. I still have them frequently, some clearer than others.
Who is your Arthur based on? You paint him so vividly and with such details, he seems like a real person.
and
He's so handsome! Is there a real Arthur, a mate? Will you give me his number? Will you paint me into one of your comics?
The image of Arthur himself in my dreams is never definite, and I wouldn't share him even if it were - too personal, you see. The Arthur I paint is partly imaginary, partly recollected from a boy I met years ago. We bumped into each other on the street, and in apology for spilling his coffee on me, he gave me a one pound coin from 1995 - the one with the Welsh dragon on it? - that he picked up right off the ground. For better luck, he said, sorry. I still have it.
There was something about him that stuck with me - the way the light made his hair glow golden or something (and now I know you're going to X-out of this page because that was cheesy and horrible), so yeah, I suppose, in a way, there's a real Arthur. Good luck with finding him and his number.
And, no, sorry, I will not paint you into A Simpler World. If you would like to commission me for other work, however, please click here.
Will other characters from Arthurian legend show up? May I request __________?
Maybe. Try me.
In nearly all of your comic strips, someone else is present, the narrator, whom we never actually see. Who is this person? Why do we only see Arthur from his or her eyes?
Don't we like ambiguity? Very well. I think he (or she, implied hereon) is someone who cares about Arthur very much, but can't or won't let him know just how much - possibly because he doesn't even understand why. Or maybe he always has to hide some part of himself from Arthur, or maybe he thinks he has to, or maybe he wants to. Maybe secret admiration is sweeter somehow; indeed, simpler. I think that is how the story goes.
Tell me a secret!
You tell me one first.
---
To: merlin@asimplerworld.co.uk
From: ap1983@gmail.com
Subject: My Secret
I have been looking for you too.
-A.