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

[fly_to_dawn]

Oh god, I can't - oh Amy, what have you done to me. ALL THE TEARS.

brb when I have stopped sobbing

[such_heights]

<3333 My apologies, but thanks so much!

[rhivolution]

Oh goddddddd. [wibbles so much] Lovely work.

[such_heights]

Thanks very much!

[netgirl_y2k]

I am kind of in awe of how you have managed to do better by their relationship in four and a half minutes than the show managed in thirteen episodes, and this why you are amazing.

[such_heights]

Thanks so much - mission accomplished! Mind you, they didn't set a terribly high standard, unfortunately.

[were_duck]

Amy, this vid was even more gorgeous at the party! I so wish you could have been here <333 there was a collective sigh at the end. Beautiful beautiful heartbreaking work.

[such_heights]

Awww, that's wonderful, thanks so much for letting me know! :D

[lorax]

Oh so pretty but so heartbreaking. Honestly, I think the way Gwen and Morgana's friendship was thrown aside so callously in the show was the thing that made me the saddest. This was a lovely look at them.

[such_heights]

Thanks so much! It's been a serious source of sadness for me too, but making this made it a little better.

[trouble]

:( I haven't watched Merlin past the first season so as far as I'm concerned Gwen & Morgana get married and are happily ruling Camelot. *sticks fingers in ears*

Seriously, this vid is beautiful and really evokes a lot of emotion. It's a lovely tale of their relationship, and I can see all the cracks in it. It makes me want to watch more so I can watch them.

[such_heights]

I like your brand of denial! But thanks so much, I'm glad it was emotional for you. I -- would be hesitant to recommend later seasons especially in terms of their relationship, although there are some episodes that are pretty great.

[glass_icarus]

OW. &hearts I still haven't been able to watch past S2 (or even to finish S2 >.>), but oh, girls. ;_______________;

[such_heights]

<3333 Thank you! GIRLS, AUGH.

[revolutionaryjo]

Oh, my heart! This is excellent, well done.

[such_heights]

Thanks very much!

[gorgeousnerd]

Good thing I didn't need that heart for anything. *wibble* It was so pretty!

[such_heights]

Mwahaha. Um, I mean. Thanks! :D

[beccatoria]

Lovely. I don't get as much of the story as I'd like, since I stopped watching the show, but it's tragic, and you make their faaaaaces so compelling. It makes me want to save them both and also makes me feel like it's too late for either.

[such_heights]

Thank you, I'm very glad it worked for you in any case! And yeah, their faces, right? Far too good for this stupid show, sigh.

[miarrow]

The moment where Morgana looks at the mirror and the song goes: "I couldn't be what you'd need" Oh god TEARS! This is beautiful and way too awesome and sad and I wish the show hand't ruined so many things for me with these two. BECAUSE GOD WHY THEY WERE SO PERFECT! They deserved better. This vid is fantastic though.

[such_heights]

Aw, thank you so much! DAMN YOU, SHOW.

[tehlime]

HERE, HAVE ALL OF MY TEARS. This is beautiful, Vienna is such a perfect fit for Merlin, and specifically for these two. You did a gorgeous job illustrating their relationship, giving it all the depth the show ignored. Thank you thank you thank you!

[such_heights]

Thank you so much! I'm so pleased it worked for you.

[darlulu]

Oh wow. This is amazing. It broke my heart all over again.

[such_heights]

Thanks a lot, and my apologies!

[la_esmeralda]

oh girls. This song is perfect, and you made my heart ache PIECES during that final segment, and why can't the show focus on this as sharply as your vid does, my goodness.

[such_heights]

Thank you so much! <3

[fitz_y]

omfg. that was so lovely and heartbreaking. oh, girls, they totally break my heart. i especially love how you ended it. what gorgeous, gorgeous work!

[such_heights]

Thank you very much! They break my heart too. :(

[tardis_stowaway]

Oh goodness, that was wonderful. This song was already associated with Morgana to me due to a fanmix I DL'ed, and you've done a gorgeous job of using it to tell the story of these two women. This is going in my bookmarks for sure.

The way the show destroyed the bond between Gwen and Morgana broke my heart. Your vid is heartbreaking too, but in a much better way. The show heedlessly stomped on my heart with a boot on its way to somewhere else, but this vid broke it cleanly, like with a sharp sword. Their story becomes a tragedy, complete with potential for catharsis for the viewer.

[such_heights]

Thanks so much! That's cool people have used it for fanmixes, it really is appropriate. And the fact you had a sense of catharsis is lovely to hear, that was my primary motivation for myself in making this.

[sophinisba]

Oh Amy, oh them. *cries and cries and cries* Beautiful job.

[such_heights]

Thanks so much! *clings, cries also*

[chaila]

Oh this is really nicely done. I don't watch the show but I love the song, and I know enough from fannish osmosis to know how much more depth you've given this relationship. There's a strong sense of them being on opposite sides, but each having their own reasons and perspective, and neither being wrong. There's sympathy for them both here, which is nicely conveyed.

[such_heights]

Thanks so much! <3 I'm glad you gave it a shot, and especially the fact the differing but valid perspectives came across. I'm so angry at the show for how badly they dropped the ball on that, it's all the right. Sigh!

[kaydeefalls]

Oh. This song has always been about this show, to me, and to see you expand upon Morgana and Gwen's relationship in particular...oh, girls. They break my heart.

[such_heights]

Thank you so much!

[essie007.livejournal.com]

Oh. Wow. That is just. This is incredible. I have no words. I'm going to go watch it a million more times. Maybe I'll have some words then.

[such_heights]

Thank you, I'm so pleased it worked for you!

[tieleen]

This is so gorgeous, and so evocative, even though I'm missing 80% of the context.

[such_heights]

Thank you, that's lovely to hear!

[nixwilliams]

beautiful.

[such_heights]

Thanks very much!

[stardust_rain]

hnnnngg. So, so breathtakingly gorgeous. I love this so much, even if it just crushes me.

(I haven't watched past S2, so right now I'm sticking my fingers in my ears and applying Vienna Teng's "Recessional" to the girls.)

(Also, I love that you're vidding Vienna. She needs so much more love.)

[such_heights]

Thanks so much! Recessional was on my potential Gwen/Morgana vid list for ages, but then they just got more and more tragic and I couldn't any more. :(

[jinian]

This one had me crying at the vid party, and I don't even watch the show (though, as someone said above, I have experienced the fannish osmosis). It's one of my very favorite songs, and you made a perfect visual for it. You may be glad to know that the sound at the party was great, too; I could hear Alex's vocal way better than I can on the computer I normally listen to the song on!

[such_heights]

Oh wow, thanks so much! That's really great to hear it worked well at the show.

[januar]

Oh, oh, oh. Oh, girls.

This is just lovely.

[such_heights]

Thanks so much!