she says i need not to need

[kaydeefalls]

She doesn't realize it, but this vid is kind of fiercynn's fault. I made a Gwen vid to this other song, and she commented saying that she'd always thought "The Tower" was the Vienna Teng song for Gwen. I listened to it a few times on repeat and decided, actually, it was Morgana's.

I'm a bit behind schedule, but happy belated birthday, fiercynn!


The Tower
edited by kaydee falls
fandom: Merlin
characters: Morgana + everyone (Gwen, Merlin, Arthur, Morgause, Mordred...)
music: "The Tower" by Vienna Teng
summary:she's seeing too clearly what she can't be. A Morgana vid.
watch: embed below the cut, or on Vimeo
download: mediafire (.mov, 55 MB)
disclaimer: not mine, no profit, don't sue.
notes: spoilers through all of S2. Companion to Harbor (Gwen) and Augustine (Merlin).

The Tower from kaydee falls on Vimeo.

Password: morgana


LYRICS:

The one who survives by making the lives
Of others worthwhile
She's coming apart
Right before my eyes
The one who depends on the services she renders
To those who come knocking
She's seeing too clearly what she can't be
What understanding defies

She says I need not to need
Or else a love with intuition
Someone who reaches out to my weakness
And won't let go
I need not to need
I've always been the tower
But now I feel like I'm the flower trying to bloom in snow

She turns out the light
Anticipating night falling tenderly around her
Watches the dusk
The words won't come
She carries the act so convincingly
The fact is sometimes she believes it
She can be happy with the way things are
Be happy with the things she's done

And yet I need not to need
Or else a love with intuition
Someone who reaches out to my weakness
And won't let go
I need not to need
I've always been the tower
But now I feel like I'm the flower trying to bloom in snow

Reach out, hold back
Where is safety
Reach out and hold back
Where is the one who can change me
Where is the one
The one

Reach out, hold back
Where is safety
Reach out and hold back
Where is the one who can save me
Where is the one
The one

I need not to need
Or else a love with intuition
Someone who reaches out to my weakness
And won't let go
I need not to need
I've always been the tower
But now I feel like I'm the flower trying to bloom in snow

I feel like I'm the flower trying to bloom in the snow
The danger and the power
The friend and the foe

Comments

[andrealyn]

Oh this is BEAUTIFUL! I adore Vienna Teng AND Morgana. PERFECT MIX.

I must ask, what program do you use to vid?

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much!

I use MPEG Steamclip to clip, and iMovie HD for the vid itself.

[hmsharmony.livejournal.com]

Another FANTASTIC character study video! You perfectly conveyed Morgana's confusion over whom she should trust and how everything seems to be out of her control. This was gorgeous. <3

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I'm glad it all worked for you. :)

[dollsome.livejournal.com]

Oh, gosh, this was amazing, and such a poignant counterpart to how sweet and optimistic your Gwen vid to "Harbor" was. The way you depicted Morgana slipping away from all her Camelot buddies and over to the Druids and Morgause was so, so well-done. That last shot of her looking in the mirror with "the friend and the foe" -- gah, chills! Wonderful job.

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I definitely intended this to be a sort of dark mirror to the Gwen vid, so I'm very glad that worked for you.

[netgirl-y2k.livejournal.com]

Oh, this is the perfect song for a Morgana vid. And the vid itself was gorgeous.

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much!

[visionsbeyond.livejournal.com]

Wow the song went beautifully with the video and gorgeous editing :D

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[danse-amore.livejournal.com]

Ohhh, I love this song so very much. Vienna Teng is love.

This also makes me think about how perfectly Morgana works as The Tower in terms of Tarot. "Downfall ----- Ruin ----- Ego blow ----- Explosive transformation", remind you of anyone? Also "a revelation that closely-held beliefs are false, a catastrophe".

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I wasn't familiar with the Tarot meaning, but you're absolutely right, it suits Morgana a little too well.

[sophieisgod.livejournal.com]

Ohhh, I love this so much. It's a gorgeous counterpoint to "Harbor", which felt so much about Gwen being at the centre of them all, whereas this is about Morgana moving away. GAH, MY HEART.

I mean, this all kills me, because Morgana's arc in S2 kind of breaks my heart and brain a little bit, but some awesome specifics:
+ I love the transition of Gwen caring for Morgana to Morgana caring for Mordred, because a) OH GWEN YOUR LOVELINESS IS CONTAGIOUS and b) OH MY HEART SHE'S PULLING AWAY.
+ The intercutting of her smiling at the dinner table with the keys, public and private, regal figure and magical subversive - OH MORGANA (and then this duality again in the last shot of her in the mirror)
+ The first "reach out/hold back" pretty much gutted me, with her trying to reach out to Arthur and Merlin and repeatedly being pushed away/silenced. OH SHOW, WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS?
+ And then Morgause shows up, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
+ And then the second lot of "reach out/hold back", and it's the magical community reaching out to her - I love the inclusion of Alvarr and Aglain, making it more about identity and connection than a shippy thing (although I will willingly ship Morgana any which way until the cows come home)

So, in conclusion: GAH MY HEART. I'm so glad "Harbor" exists so I can soothe my emotional wounds with it :)

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for the lovely, detailed feedback! I really appreciate it, and I'm glad you enjoyed it.

I very much intended for this to be a sort of dark mirror to the Gwen vid, so I'm particularly glad that worked for you. :)

[westwitchling.livejournal.com]

I love it :)

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[aimsleydale.livejournal.com]

Beautiful song, beautiful video. I love the sense of movement throughout the video, the use of colour. Lovely, well done :D

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[someplacetobe.livejournal.com]

This was really lovely; this song suited Morgana perfectly.

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :)

[elphie-uk.livejournal.com]

SO gorgeous! You've now made me desperate to rewatch the entire 2 series for all of the Morgana loveliness!
Really well made & emotive =)

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Series 2 is hard to watch from Morgana's perspective -- she just can't catch a break.

[srin.livejournal.com]

Mmm, that's lovely. Poor Morgana...

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[emei.livejournal.com]

Harbor is my favorite Merlin vid and this is such a fanastic companion to it. The song really does fit Morgana (that last verse... shiver-inducing), and you use it to tell Morgana's story so well, how she comes into her power and the fear and confusion of it. Just lovely.

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I'm glad both pieces worked for you. :)

[bionic.livejournal.com]

Wow, that was gorgeous and gave me chills! Really wonderful vid, perfect clip choice, perfect song. It makes me want to watch the show all over again.

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[revolos55.livejournal.com]

*sniff* Morgana is so tragic. She's my absolute favorite character and I almost don't want season 3 to come because things will get so much worse for her, I know it :(

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

I know. Collecting the episode clips for this vid kind of broke my heart.

[devvieish.livejournal.com]

I love this! It's so beautiful, just on the visual level - I love a lot of your transitions, especially the joined bits of of segment with the swords and with the flames.... I don't know entirely what to make of the meaning yet, it feels like there's a lot of stuff under the surface here. I love, though, your pivots on the two chorus lines "I've always been the tower/ now I feel like I'm the flower," in how it very clearly juxtaposes Morgana's former strength and confidence and her new weakness and fear, without denying either.

In conclusion: <3. And it works beautifully as a complement to 'Harbor,' too. :)

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I'm very glad it all worked for you. :)

[weltea.livejournal.com]

WOW just wow :)

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[huntress1013.livejournal.com]

I love Morgana and Vienna Teng, so very little could go wrong from there ;-) Your editing is sensible and fitting to the song and you did a good job with your clip choice. Well done =)

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)

[redbrickrose.livejournal.com]

This gorgeous - and so perfect for Morgana.

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much!

[goobalicious.livejournal.com]

This is wonderful. This is so perfect to Morgana and her relationships with the rest of the cast. What a awesome and well thought out look at her character. Gorgeous gorgeous work.

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

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

[pathstotread.livejournal.com]

So so lovely. I'm a huge fan of your Harbor vid (I recced it here (http://pathstotread.livejournal.com/564119.html)), and this worked beautifully as a counterpoint to that.

Does this mean we get Arthur and Merlin Vienna videos too? Because I have some song ideas...:P (Kidding. Mostly.)

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed this, and thanks for the rec. :)

Does this mean we get Arthur and Merlin Vienna videos too?
*facepalm* I'm...not going to pretend I'm not already considering it, though no particular song has jumped out at me for either of them yet. Except maybe "Augustine" for Merlin. It's possible they sound more like Rufus Wainwright to me than Vienna...

[fiercynn.livejournal.com]

OH MY FUCKING GOD WHY HAVEN'T I BEEN CHECKING MY FLIST.

*GOES TO WATCH*

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

:D

[tearful-eye.livejournal.com]

She carries the act so convincingly
The fact is sometimes she believes it

*sniffles* i love this.
it's really really beautiful, ♥

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much!

[starry-laa.livejournal.com]

This is a wonderful companion piece to the Gwen vid! Heartbreaking and full of emotion, I think Morgana was portrayed wonderfully here!

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much!

[anjali-organna.livejournal.com]

I LOVE your videos! This is another fantastic one! Great job!

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it.