VID: Antebellum (Merlin, Gwen/Morgana)

[such_heights]

Antebellum
edited by such_heights
fandom: Merlin
ship: Gwen/Morgana
music: Antebellum (live) - Vienna Teng & Alex Wong
content notes: none
summary: I know our antebellum innocence was never meant to see the light of our armistice day.
notes: Premiered last night at the wiscon_vidparty - thanks to skud and were_duck for hosting it, and to woldy for the beta. Spoilers through all three seasons.
download: here (36MB .avi direct download) | subtitle .srt

additional notes: oh, girls. They really broke my heart. This vid is partly me metaphorically rending my garments and going 'whyyy? they were so beautiful!', but also an attempt to present a more sympathetic and complicated story of these two intelligent, powerful women who find themselves on opposing sides than we really saw in the show itself.

stream with subtitles

stream without subtitles:

password: antebellum

Untitled from such heights on Vimeo.

lyrics:

In the fall
We circle through the leaves
And talk about the little ones
And we smile, but never say too much
The moment always vanishing
One by one the neighbors' lights come on
Our October day is almost gone

I know the border lines we drew between us
Keep the weapons down
Keep the wounded safe
I know our antebellum innocence
Was never meant to see the light of our armistice day

In the spring
We climbed the rolling hills
And talked about our budding plans.
And we smiled
Our faces like a mirror
Showing us our secret sides
But then the fights
The sharp words splintering the night
How I couldn't be what you'd need
But oh how I could make you bleed

I know the border lines we drew between us
Keep the weapons down
Keep the wounded safe
I know our antebellum innocence
Was never meant to see the light of our armistice
But how much would I give to have it back again
How much did we lose
To live this way

You'll go home
I'll stay here
Seasons keep on marching
I'll stay here
You'll go home
With only strangers watching

Comments

[thingswithwings]

This made me cry over a show I don't even watch anymore, and a plot arc I don't even understand. It was so full of longing and impossibility and love and loss, all tangled up and overlapping, and that's so upsetting. Your POV on the show comes through really clearly, I think. I really liked the split-screen technique on the harmony, too; it was really effective and helped you do a lot with limited footage.

[such_heights]

Oh, thanks so much! I'm really glad it worked for you without having all the context. And yeah, I think this was quite a personal vid to make in a lot of ways, so I'm not surprised it came across. Ah, flawed canon and the way we sometimes get attached anyway.

[alias_sqbr]

I pretty much only watch Merlin in the form of Gwen/Morgana vids, and this was still really clear and affecting and beautiful.

[such_heights]

Thanks so much, that's lovely to hear!

[briar_pipe]

I've watched this ten times today. Kaifu watched it twice, and she doesn't even like Merlin.

You are brilliant.

[such_heights]

<3333 Thank you so much! I'm really glad it stands up to multiple viewings.

[autumnal]

oh, this is gorgeous ♥

[such_heights]

Thanks so much!

[nonisland]

I haven't seen much of anything except occasional clips past the end of s1, because I'm busily engaged in pretending the rest of the show never happened, and this vid still made me crumple up and cry because it was so poignant and evocative and rich. Thank you for making it. ♥

[such_heights]

Aw, thank you so much! I feel that your strategy is an excellent one.

[tearful-eye.livejournal.com]

*cries* they break my heart.
absolutely stunning vid though <3

[such_heights]

I knowww. :( Thanks so much!

[dancewithoutyou]

That was so so so beautiful.

[happydork]

http://nooooooooooooooo.com/