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bitsandbobsofwriting · 3 years

Text

The aftermath of Merlin snapping, and yelling at Arthur in the middle of the forest;

Arthur pushes for change, the gang takes bets on when Merthur will happen, and someone, somewhere, is grumpy.

Part 2 of Merlin’s Angry Outburst.

Part 1 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Once Arthur has a first draft of the repeal, the first people he brings in on it (with Merlin’s approval, of course) are the 5 knights, Gwen, Gaius, and Morgana.

(Morgana, who later that evening comes back to Arthur's chamber in tears (Merlin is also there) to reveal her magic, and thank him for not being Uther.)

All of them enthusiastically agree, after only a little conversation.

Elyan and Leon are the most... dubious, but only because of the practical factor, they don't disagree with the actual repeal.

After months of the gang working in secret, they reveal their best draft to the council. At least half the council are new members that Arthur appointed, the rest are left over from Uther’s time.

They argue back and forth for a while, half vs half. A few of the older members, who were around before the purge, slowly start changing their minds.

In the end, it takes them maybe a month to get a majority, and Arthur overrules the remaining opposition. He is King after all, technically, he doesn’t even have to have a council.

Days after the agreement is reached, Arthur goes out personally to collect a few specific Druids, who had been waiting just outside the border for the go ahead.

It takes maybe another month to go through all the laws thoroughly, changing and editing and altering what needs to be altered. With the help of Arthur's close advisors on the political aspects, and the help of the Druids, Merlin, and Gaius, on the magical aspects (what should be allowed freely, what should be monitored, and what should remain fully banned).

The city celebrates when the announcement is made, they all loved the new King anyway, and had been overjoyed with the drop in executions, and deliberate ignoring of small instances of magic.

After a feast to celebrate the new found freedom among the people, the gang gathers once more, in private, and Merlin tells a shortened version of the story he'd told Arthur all those months ago.

None of them are that surprised (Gaius, Morgana, and Lancelot already knew, of course).

If they hadn't suspected Merlin of being a sorcerer before this whole thing started (Leon, Gwaine, and Gwen definitely suspected) , then they had certainly begun to in the last few months. They cheer when Merlin finishes telling them "just how often I've saved your oblivious arses" .

They cheer even louder when Arthur announces that he would be made court sorcerer, and it would be made official in a ceremony before the week ended.

There are no cheers when Morgana stands.

Curious eyes land on her, probably due to how terrified she looks, but the small encouraging nods and little smiles she gets from her brother (her Brother), Merlin, and Gwen, give her the strength she needs to tell everyone of her magic as well.

They see she is frightened, they imagine how difficult it must have been, being at first Uther’s ward, and then his daughter. They smile gently, and she receives hugs a plenty. Once all the congratulations are out of the way, she sits back down next to Gwen, still shaky and full of adrenaline, but happy.

She spends the remainder of the group’s quiet celebrations with her hand gripped in Gwen's under the table.

(Read this how you want, I personally envision it as the start of something)

So the days draw on, Merlin is announced Court Sorcerer, Arthur hires another manservant and gives Merlin a large set of chambers in the same hallways as Arthur's, complete with all the books on magic Arthur can find, and several of the magical artefacts that had previously been kept locked away (Merlin and Arthur are the only ones who are able to gain access to the room, something magicky I guess).

(No one mentions that that corridor is supposed to be for royalty only. Leon figures they're bound to realise that they're in love with each other any day now, and then Merlin will practically be royalty anyway so... might as well cut out the middle bit of having to shuffle chambers again later on).

The kingdom is prospering, and for months after the initial announcement, and implementations of the new laws, sorcerers and nobles from all over Albion, visit Camelot, to give congratulations to the King.

They give gifts and provide knowledge.

The Druids, however, are a slightly different story.

The ones who had been helping with the paperwork, had been... odd(?) around Merlin. But they respected his wish to keep all of that under wraps, or at least until it was announced publicly.

Arthur and Gaius know the whole Emrys story. Lancelot and Morgana know bits of it... but other than that... as far as anyone is concerned, the newly promoted Court Sorcerer is just another wizard.

The new Druids entering the kingdom are paying brief respects to the Forever King (I mean... at this point, he's still only King of Camelot... which is what he was before the magic ban repeal), before staring in reverence at the Court Sorcerer stood by his side.

They respect his wishes to keep the worshipping and gift giving to a minimum, though they still come to him for requests of miracles and ask him to perform druid ceremonies (blessings and name-givings and weddings and funerals (though they prefer to call them celebrations of life, rather than commiserations of death) and such).

Merlin can only brush off so many displays of such awe before the rest of The Gang demands to know what’s up, at which point he has to come clean about the whole... “Most Powerful Warlock To Ever Walk The Earth” thing.

Much to Merlin’s chagrin (and everyone else's amusement) the Druids still insist on calling him Emrys. The stubborn ones sometimes even go for "My Lord Emrys", which gets them a scowl from Merlin (and barely concealed laughter from everyone else).

Maybe... later on... when Morgana is more comfortable with her magic, after a few months practicing with Merlin (with a supportive Gwen Always at her side) , she is announced as the Court Seer.

Merlin had never had much luck with prophetic visions, but once Morgana’s fear died down, once she learned to let it flow, and breathe through it, the visions come easier, and kinder.

She stops seeing only visions of doom, and worst case scenarios, instead she has dreams of the many paths the future may take.

She does not panic when a path seems grim and dark, for she has a King and a Warlock and Gwen, by her side. Always. And they work through the future together.

So the ban has been repealed officially for around 6 months.

Arthur is a couple months away from completing his second year as King. And he and Merlin are still beating around the bush.

The betting pool for when they’ll finally get together has been growing bigger and bigger. Practically the whole castle is in on it now, with Gwen and Morgana as the ring leaders. Whoever wins... will be very lucky.

(It's Leon in the end, he pays attention, and he know what his boys are like. But he's a noble and has no need for the money, he pays for a few rounds of drinks and donates the rest to one of children's homes in the lower town).

But the war comes first.

Camelot has been prospering, and has many supporters throughout Albion, but one of the kingdoms, it doesn't matter which, you decide, does NOT like this.

Scouts and small patrols have been needling Camelot’s borders for months now, and Arthur and his Council (and Inner Council) have been making quiet preparations. They know that some sort of... something, is coming soon.

Especially when Morgana begins to dream of battles and blood and lightening.

They prepare for, and expect, a full scale war, but they hope for some negotiations and a peace treaty with the opposition.

Their hopes are dashed, when a messenger is escorted into the throne room, wearing The Opposition’s colours, with a letter.

Said letter is an angry rebuttal of everything Camelot stands for, full of accusations of abandoning tradition, and spitting in the face of great leaders, of which this soft boy-king should NOT be counted as.

At the end, there was an official declaration of war.

The messenger boy was obviously scared to death, and once Arthur read the P.S, which invited Arthur to torture and/or execute him to the whatever extent he wants, he understood why. Without any hesitation, he offers the boy a job in the stables, a new wardrobe of clothes, and a servant’s bed in the castle.

After the official council meeting on the matter, setting up war committees, laying out contingency plans, organising the distribution of emergency evacuation plans, and discussing potential aid that could be requested from allies, Arthur pulls the gang together, for their own meeting.

“We knew this was coming, and there is no need to panic yet. Our outer borders are well patrolled, and we’re still getting up to date reports. The city walls hold strong, but I want to send out patrols to warn the villages of what’s coming. Start closer to the border, and work our way in. Leon?”

“My Lord, I have teams prepared for exactly that already, I just need to give the word and they’ll go.”

“Good. Morgana, I need you to try and keep focusing your visions, if we have even a small idea of how they might try to initiate the first battle, it’ll be a huge advantage.”

“Me and Merlin have been practising some new techniques to control where and when I can see, we’ll write everything down, and ask the Druids if they’ve seen anything as well.”

Arthur holds in a smile at the confidence in her voice. He is unendingly proud of how far his sister had come, and made a mental note to tell her that when all this was over.

“Brilliant, keep me in the loop. Gwen, when we’re done here, go and let the forgery know, the Royal Household will pay them extra to push out as much long range ammunition as they can. Arrows and crossbow bolts, we need as many as they can produce.” Gwen nods, and Arthur finally looks towards Merlin:

“And Merlin, I need you to be ready. Don’t wear yourself out too much in the next few weeks, I need you in good condition, if we’re to win this with minimal casualties-”

He glances over at Morgana before he continues:

“If the two of you could also ask the Druids if they have any volunteer healers. Make sure they know they aren’t obligated to come, but any help in the infirmaries would be greatly appreciated.” Morgana nods once more, as does Merlin, before he speaks:

“There’s a camp a couple hours ride outside the city at the moment, we’ll head out at first light-” He pauses and closes his eyes for a second, tilting his head, before looking to Morgana:

“They’re expecting us.”

Arthur addresses the room again:

“Right. I think that’s all for now, anyone have anything to add?”

Gaius responds after a moment:

“My Lord, if I could make a request for a few servants to help me set up supplies for the infirmary? Extensive preparations will need to be made to ensure that I have all I’ll need. Preferably people with rough herbal knowledge, if at all possible.”

Arthur nods straight away, responding:

“Yes, of course, I’ll ask the Housekeeper and the Steward who they can spare this evening, and they’ll be ready for you in the morning. Anything else?” At the silence in the room, Arthur tells everyone to get to work.

Leon marches straight down to the training grounds (Lancelot, Gwaine, Percival, and Elyan following him) to ring the summoning bell and inform the knights of the developments, and their tasks.

Gwen heads straight to the forgery (her and Elyan still oversee work there, but they have employees (and a few trainees) to run it) to give the Kings order.

Gaius shuffles out, and makes his way back to his quarters, already making mental lists of ingredients needed, and work to be done.

Arthur, Morgana, and Merlin are left, the royal siblings thinking to themselves, and Merlin thinking to someone else. Arthur contemplates that the whole mental link thing he had going on with the Druids was extremely useful.

Both his and Morgana’s thoughts were interrupted by Merlin huffing, and clenching his fists as he opens his eyes, obviously unhappy with whatever was said:

“Merlin?” From Morgana has the Court Sorcerer looking up from scowling at the table. He replies after wiping the frown off his face:

“Oh, it’s fine. They just made a... stupid suggestion is all. Don’t worry about it.”

“Stupid? Doesn’t sound like the Druids. What was it?”

Merlin looks mildly uncomfortable at that, and replies slowly:

“It... doesn’t matter. I’ll tell you another time. It’s late, you should practice some meditation and head to sleep, no potions tonight. And remember to keep some parchment and a quill by your bed, so you can scribble down anything you see-”

Merlin stands abruptly and heads towards the door:

“-I’m going to check the wards on the outer wall, and push a little more energy into the wells. I’ll see you both bright an early.” With that, Merlin heads out the room swiftly.

Arthur looks to his sister questioningly, but she shrugs as she responds:

“Who knows. “I’ll tell you later” means he doesn’t want you to know, OR he’s hoping I’ll forget because he doesn’t want either of us to know. He’s right though, I should meditate for a while-”

Morgana stands at this:

“- hopefully I’ll see you before we head off, if not, I suppose it’ll be dinner in the evening. Good night, brother.” Morgana leaves the room gracefully, heading in the direction of her chambers.

Arthur thinks for only a moment, before rushing off, catching up with Merlin as he readied his horse, preparing for the journey to the outer walls:

“I’ll come with you. I find I quite enjoy watching you do magic, and to be perfectly honest, I could do with some fresh air to help me think.”

Arthur pretends to ignore the slight blush that dusts Merlin’s cheeks, and readies his own horse. The two of them ride out of the stables and make the journey down the cobbled roads in comfortable silence, side by side.

They take their time on the journey, and the 15 minutes of companionable silence is finally broken by Arthur, who looks at Merlin curiously, as he says:

“So what did they suggest?”

Merlin looks up sharply at that, broken from his deep train of thought as he dumbly replies “What?”

“The Druids. What was the stupid suggestion?” Merlin’s eyes widen at that, and he blushes once more as he looks determinedly forward:

“Oh. That. I told you, it doesn’t-”

“Merlin...”

“Oh fine! They suggested that I... that I forge a mental link with you. Like the one I have with them.” The sorcerer purses his lips at that, and continues to avoid Arthur’s gaze:

“You can do that? Well... would it be such a bad idea? I mean we aren’t going to be able to meet and discuss things as often as I’d like through this whole ordeal. AND you’re basically the Kingdom’s powerhouse, I’m sort of relying on your magical know-how here. Surely it wouldn’t be a bad thing? For us to be able to converse across the battle fields?”

Arthur, in an effort to not be hurt, reminds himself that he doesn’t know all that much about magic, and it very well could be a stupid suggestion, instead of one that Merlin is just personally opposed to.

Merlin, in response, looks to Arthur in great shock, before sighing and looking down to his horses mane:

“It.... is possible. And fairly easy, technically. But it would be painful, AND permanent. I wouldn’t be able to undo it after we won. And a temporary connection takes far too much energy to maintain, even for a short time. I just figured you wouldn’t want me in your head for the rest of our lives.” He tries to inject a little humour into his words, but it falls flat, and he just seems sad.

Arthur pretends he doesn’t notice however, and responds quickly:

“How painful are we talking? I mean I’ve been hurt pretty badly before. And... how exactly does it work? Would we be able to read each other’s mind constantly, without the other knowing? Or what?”

Merlin raises his eyebrows in shock at that, and his answer comes out slowly as he looks at Arthur:

“Like... a really bad headache? Imagine the hardest you’ve ever been hit, without passing out. It would last for a few minutes after the connection is initially forged, but would fade slowly over the next day or so. And no. Once the connection is established we wouldn’t be in each other’s head all the time, we would just be able to sort of... project our voices to one another. Other thoughts would be safe, even if you were thinking about me, I wouldn’t hear it unless you were thinking to me... if that makes sense.”

By the end of his explanation, he’s looking nervously at the King, who is deep in thought:

“Hmm. Ok. I... only if you agree but... it might not be a bad idea. Even after the war is over. There have definitely been times where I’ve needed your opinion on something but you’ve been elsewhere, or we’ve been in the presence of someone else. Of course we’ve been fine so far, if you don’t want to, but-”

Merlin interrupts him, speaking quickly:

“I’m fine with it. I agree, it would be useful. So... I can bring what we need back from the camp tomorrow?”

Arthur nods firmly:

“Yes. The sooner the better, we can do it tomorrow evening, if that’s enough time for you?” Merlin once again looks shocked at this, as Arthur stares at him:

“Oh! Yeah, Yes. That’s fine. Like I said, it’s not particularly difficult, and I can ask Gaius to prepare us something for the pain during the day. Are you... are you sure? It is Permanent.”

Arthur rolls his eyes and huffs:

“Yes, you said that already Merlin. Are you sure?”

Merlin nodded his head decidedly, and spoke confidently:

“Yes. You’re right, it’s not a bad idea. Come on, if we hurry, we’ll make it to the walls, and then to the main well, and then back to the castle, before dark.”

The pair of them hurry their horses, and after another 10 minutes of comfortable silence, they finally reach the City Gates.

The guards give a quick bow, and The King and The Court Sorcerer jump off their horses before handing the reigns to one of the Gate stablehands.

Arthur (and the guards) watch in barely concealed wonder as Merlin presses his hands against the rock of the wall, and closes his eyes.

The golden glow can still be seen from below his eyelids, and he hums slightly as he frowns in concentration, seeming to push into the wall.

Arthur sees a short of... sheen, ripple across the rock, and extend into the sky. Merlin steps back and nods, admiring his handy work:

“They’re holding strong, I’ve extended the height as well. Kilgharrah and Aithusa should be the only ones able to get over it without alerting me now, from the air at least-”

Merlin heads to retake his horse, Arthur following him, before he continues:

“Though I still want to check the tunnels again at some point in the next few days.”

“Of course. Relax Merlin, it’s barely begun, and the borders still hold strong. We’ve plenty of time before things kick off in any way.” He makes sure to speak quietly. A public announcement hasn’t been made yet, and it would be bad if rumours started spreading before The King had time to put together a proper disclosure.

Merlin nods distractedly, and urges his horse to go faster as he heads towards the main well, in the town square. It’s late, not long until sunset, so there shouldn’t be many, if any, people there. Arthur speaks again:

“Why are we visiting the well? I wasn’t aware of any problems?”

“There aren’t any, but once the announcement is made, and once the outer villages are told what’s happening, we’ll have hundreds, probably thousands, of people flock to the city for safety. I just want to make sure we’re prepared for such an influx, and boost our water levels a little.”

Arthur nods at his response, but doesn’t say anything. He chooses instead to admire the man Merlin had become. He held himself differently, more strong, confident in who he was. Just like he had back when he was still a manservant, he served Arthur, and his people, above and beyond his job description. Merlin took upon himself, not only the politics he was supposed to oversee, but the personal safety of both the King, and every Camelot citizen, and he did it all with an alarming amount of grace.

Arthur sometimes catches himself thinking that it was almost as if Merlin was built to be a king. He may not like the spotlight, but he was a protector, and leader, unlike anything Arthur had ever seen before.

“I don’t think I ever thanked you, Merlin. It feels like years ago now, that you yelled at me in a forest.” He says it with a grin, but Merlin flinches. He continues before The Sorcerer interrupts him though:

“Really Merlin. Thank you. You were right, I would’ve got there in the end, but it wasn’t fair for people to suffer in the mean time, and you took the fall in their place. You’re a hero to your people... and to me. You should be proud of your accomplishments, I know I am.”

Arthur resists the urge to duck his head as Merlin looks at him in bewilderment, a definite flush on his cheeks as he replies:

“I... thank you, Arthur. I always had faith in you-” Merlin begins to grin before he continues:

“-and besides, someone had to knock you down a peg. Perhaps you should hire someone to take you into the forest and yell at you every once in a while.”

Arthur laughs at that, and Merlin tries to push down the blush as Arthur responds:

“Now Merlin, why on earth would I hire someone for such a job, when I already have you?”

Merlin chuckles as he answers:

“Yeah, and don’t you forget it, My Lord. Hold the horses, I’ll just be a minute.” With that, Arthur realises they’ve made it to the well, and dismounts as Merlin has, holding both of the horses reigns as he watches Merlin approach the well.

The Sorcerer crouches down, and once again closes his eyes in concentration as he presses his hands into the stone of the well. The glow is a little less bright this time, but Arthur admires it nonetheless.

Merlin finishes quickly, and gathers his horse from Arthur once more, nodding towards the castle.

Arthur follows as Merlin hurries towards the looming building. He wasn’t sure why he was in such a rush, but he only begins questions it when Merlin hurriedly hands the horses of to a stablehand, and continues to run up the castle steps.

Arthur can only just keep up with Merlin, not having the breath to ask him what’s wrong, before Merlin suddenly comes to a stop, catching his breath for a moment to go through a door leading to the highest balcony on the West of the castle:

“Merlin... what.... what are you-”

Merlin wordlessly interrupts The King as he points to the skyline, the sun only a few minutes away from touching the horizon.

There’s not a cloud in sight, and the sky is painted in oranges and pinks in front of them, bleeding into deep purples and blues behind the castle.

Merlin finally mutters, not looking away from the sunset:

“Call me a girl all you want Arthur, but nothing compares to this. It’s beautiful, I come to watch it whenever I’ve got the time.”

Arthur had only glanced briefly at the sunset before looking back at Merlin in wonder, a fond smile on his face (not that Merlin would notice).

He stares at the side of Merlin’s face, the orange sky making the gold in his eyes look even brighter, and the glare of the fading sun making his hair shine. A gentle breeze has Merlin shiver slightly, and Arthur’s smile widens as he responds, so quietly he’s not even sure if Merlin hears him:

“Hmm. Beautiful.” He doesn’t look away.

THIS IS COMPLETED! All 5 parts have been posted:)

If y’all want my thoughts on anything specific let me know✌️

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fishoutofcamelot · 3 years

Note

Will 🤝 Gwaine

Hating nobility because their father died fighting for a king who wouldn’t help their family

Loving Merlin

Shenanigans (especially with Merlin)

Think Merlin is too good for Arthur

Reluctantly end up fighting with Arthur, ending up getting injured

I don’t know what it all means, but I’ve been thinking about this for days. Where are my fics where people wonder why Merlin gets along so well with Gwaine until Will comes to visit? Where are my fics where Hunith meets Gwaine and goes “oh my god I can’t believe you found another one”? Where are my fics where Will, Gwaine, and Merlin team up to make fun of Arthur or pull pranks or complain about Uther? Or Will and Gwaine egging Merlin on to use his magic for silly/bizarre/should-be-impossible things? Damn if fandom doesn’t make you want more content of two characters who never met, or were even in the same season.

My first instinct is to say that Merlin just has his oddly specific type down on lock, but please consider the following instead:

So Will died, right? But like. He’s in love with Merlin and doesn’t want to leave the bae behind, and also the idea of dying for Arthur Pendragon makes him want to vomit, so he strikes up a deal with a dubious magical spirit to bring him back.

Technically he’s not coming back to life. He’s still dead. The definitely-evil spirit - for the sake of simplicity, we’ll call him Carl - didn’t resurrect him in the traditional sense. Will’s soul is still dead, but now it’s inhabiting an empty human puppet that Carl created. Hence why Will now has fancy hair and a smooth voice and a beard.

And, since Carl is a bastard and knows that Will is agreeing to this so he can reunited with his lover, he comes up with this Fun Little CatchTM: the moment Merlin finds out his true identity, the resurrection magic will finalize and he’ll be brought back 100% - but since magic operates on equivalent exchange, Merlin’s soul will be given up as payment. Essentially, Merlin can never know his real identity. If anyone tells him, if he even finds out all on his own, then Carl will have total ownership of Merlin’s soul.

(Naturally, this has all been a needlessly convoluted long con on Carl’s part to try and get his grubby little hands on the soul of Emrys. But Will doesn’t know this yet)

But wait, that’s not the full extent of Carl’s bastard-ness! Without telling Will, he steals all of Will’s memories of Merlin upon putting his soul inside the meat puppet. So he knows the basic gist of his life, and he knows all the rules and conditions of his and Carl’s deal, but he can’t remember Merlin. The very person he started all this for.

He knows that his loved one is out there somewhere, possibly in danger, and he sold his soul to a probably-nefarious higher power in order to track down said loved one and keep them safe - but he recalls nothing about them. There are a lot of details about his past life that he struggles to remember, actually, besides just the basics.

From the fragmented, vague recollections of his memories he pieces together a new identity for himself. He calls himself Gwaine, says his father was a knight who died for an ungrateful king, and engages in all sorts of shenanigans.

He wanders Albion in search of this lover he can no longer remember, and maybe the reason why he joins that barfight is because the sight of Merlin (and to a lesser extent, Arthur) jolts a strange sense of familiarity inside him. Desperate for any connection to his past life and possibly his missing lover, Gwaine throws himself into the fray.

The longer Gwaine spends with Merlin, the more memories of his past life begin to resurface. After a while he can remember that he used to be named Will, and that he used to live in Ealdor, and that he and Merlin grew up together, and that he died to save Arthur. Merlin is the missing lover he’s been searching for all this time, the lover he sold his soul to reunite with and protect. The lover whose soul Carl will steal if they ever find out Gwaine’s real identity.

So Gwaine can’t tell Merlin. Even though he remembers who he is, remembers all the times they shared together, remembers how deeply he loved Merlin...he can’t say a word. He hasn’t told Merlin that he knows about his magic, simply because he only know about that because he used to be Will and he’s understandably very nervous about anything that has to do with his true identity.

Sometimes, Merlin will talk about his childhood friend Will. He’ll have wet eyes and a tremble in his voice and the saddest smile Gwaine has ever seen, as he reminisces on one of the best friends he’s ever had. In the worst possible way, Gwaine finds out how Merlin felt about him, how deeply Merlin loved him. (And maybe Gwaine confesses his love to Merlin, but Merlin turns him down saying that he’s still in love with his dead childhood friend, and Gwaine just screams because dammit Merlin I AM your dead childhood friend).

Gwaine sits and listens quietly as Merlin tearfully tells stories that Gwaine already knows, because he was there when they happened, and he longs to comfort Merlin. To tell him that it’s okay, Will isn’t gone, he’s right here, I’m right here Merlin. But he can’t.

Merlin misses Will. Gwaine would give anything to tell him that Will misses him too.

Thanks for the ask! <3

#so little is known about will and gwaine that you technically cant even say im wrong #this could be canon for all we know #its just like time traveler!percy #canon is a hole and im filling it in #with all the innuendo that implies #bbc merlin #merlin #merlin bbc #bbcm #ask #fish post

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lystsyn-blog · 6 years

Note

peacock blue, cadmium yellow, anise

colorful headcanons. || accepting !!

peacock blue: is your muse honest? what sorts of lies do they tell, if not?

vira isn’t a… chronic liar, but she’s also definitely not the most honest woman on the planet. she attacks any given task with a sort of single-minded determination; if she’s forced to fib or spin outright total fantasies to achieve her goals, she won’t hesitate to do so. having been schooled into a position of leadership at the head of an academy with ties all over the skydom to countless opposing groups, dishonesty was hammered into her skillset at a very young age. she learned to tell lies and she learned to tell them well, and use her outward appearance and demeanor to divert attention from her intentions.

( it is partially for this reason that rosetta in particular… unnerves her. to be so quickly picked out as someone who is not only familiar but ready to tell complete lies was a rattling experience, and for good reason. up until the crew arrived at albion, vira was absolutely secure in her perception of herself as above all others – even later on admitting that she had never allowed herself to view anyone as an equal. to be so accurately analyzed and then held accountable wasn’t something that was respectable, at that point, but a blatant threat to her and her way of thinking.

now, she treats rosetta with a quiet respect tempered with a good bit of wariness. )

cadmium yellow: what subjects or topics does your muse avoid, because they bring up harmful / painful memories?

vira doesn’t enjoy talking or thinking about albion, especially since she still feels a sort of obligation to the place. sure, it contributed a lot to problems in her life she was forced to iron out later, but in the end the root of those problems was her father, not the academy. she used to hold her memories there in a very favorable light, but after coming to terms with the extent of her personal projection onto katalina, she realized how lonely she was – and that even without katalina’s departure, she would have only felt more isolated as time went on.

as the ‘former’ lord ( technically, she might still hold authority, but for all intents and purposes she has fully signed over her rights to the throne to the current regent ) she is bound by a sense of personal obligation to oversee large events, if only as a figurehead. vira adheres to no code except her own, but she sticks firmly to her own.

does she appreciate what albion allowed her to experience? yes, and that’s the only reason she still bothers to assist them from time to time. does she appreciate what it symbolizes as a part of her life?

…no.

anise: when it comes to self-care, what does your muse do to take care of themselves? do they take care to spend time on it, or do they feel they don’t deserve it?

she wanders, mostly. wanders and indulges in stuff, like buying pastries at a shop she didn’t know about or watching a play at a theater she’d never been to.

vira is absolutely entranced with the concept of her own freedom, and in fact vanishes from the grandcypher fairly often ( though she always comes back. ) the concept of being able to do whatever she wants as long as she’s personally able to do so, without boundaries, is an entirely new experience for her, especially after being physically bound to an island.

actually, the first couple of times, she disappeared into an unfamiliar town without telling anyone, just because it didn’t really occur to her to do so, since when she’d lived for so long among people who knew she couldn’t run away.

she tells people when she’s going out now.

self-care for her is being able to spend time with those she loves without having to think about a set-in-stone departure date and being able to experience whatever she wants. at first it was a frantic undertaking, but over time she adjusted to her new life -- and stopped being utterly consumed with the nagging fear that it would all disappear in an instant.

she used to think it wasn’t important, or that she didn’t deserve it, or that it was impossible for her. it’s been quite a journey for vira to be herself, and do things for herself, and no other.

@lombredhier

#lombredhier #answered #diary.#major.#thats LONG lmao i hope thats fine

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bebethsas · 7 years

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New Albion Thoughts, Part 4, Or, ‘and Here’s Where Beth goes really Out There’

And finally, the symbolism and underlying messages sprinkled throughout of the entire arc of Albums set within or nearby New Albion (or the part where I get the most Meta, I believe).

And another thing I thought of:

it seems that this entire thing is built on continuous, infinite, repeating cycles:

"circles never stop themselves"

that comment from Raven and the Floozy about how it just goes around and around

in ‘The Fallen’ the Angel herself touches on it as she laments about the Carnival she’s trapped within: “round and round it all goes, all the mad circus shows; the carousel creaks, the sane are the freaks, and the show will not clooooooose!!” in other words, the show goes on and on, an unending loop of chaos and pleasure and stimulation in a night that never seems to end.

The Saviour Soul is reincarnated through time in any direction, going back to save people over and over again but always suffering a great loss in the process and suffered a tragic life because of this:

Priscilla died young sacrificing herself for her friend, Constance had her heart broken and lost what was left of her family all in one night, Rachel was orphaned, used by a politician and tossed to the side and locked up in a mental institution for daring to refuse to have an abortion, and suffered for at least 2 years being ‘treated’ for her ‘madness’; Alice suffered through 4 years of endless tunneling and constant work, building the underground room for the AIs, permanently cut off from her family, her friends, and her *home,* while day by day tirelessly toiling as her mind and body disintegrated, and by the time she finally finds love--as well as someone who will help her finish her task--she’s so exhausted and worn out that the ending is left ambiguous to us and one of the possibilities is that she died not long after listening to the ‘Angel’s‘ last message; the Gambler died just before he was finally about to win.

(and on that note HOLY SHIT it just occurred to me that the Mascot3000 could just be yet another reincarnation of the Monk, like Soldier 7285, Thomas, and Alex; New Albion began when the Monk and the Gambler began a “long trek through the open prairies of the north,” which led to their debate, which led to their never-ending card game (yet another thing that goes on and on, a never-ending cycle that not even death or *time* manages to break, since the souls manage to find each other in each reincarnation), which of course led to the construction of New Albion itself. Now Rachel leaves the crumbling world of New Albion and ventures forth into Elysium with the Mascot3000; she’s the only living human allowed there since technically she *shouldn’t* be alive (she’d died so many times), and the Atompunk Opera ends with Rachel and the Mascot3000 traveling through Elysium, alone.

Sound familiar?)

(But anyway)

the ‘neverending’ theme echoes in the history of New Albion too:

a relatively peaceful, innocent, exploratory Steampunk era, the war and chaos of the Diesel punk era, the Golden Age of the early Atompunk followed by the listless boredom once the Voodoopunks disappeared,

now in Cyberpunk it's a war again

I wonder between whom? The humans and the AIs? The humans and the 'post humans'? Are there cyborgs (cyperpunk would probably involve people becoming cyborgs to some degree--I can almost hear the narrator's pitch: "if you're dissatisfied with yourself, your nose is too long, your arms too thin or too short, your muscles too weak, well then never fear! Cyber Corp is here! With our patented technology we can replace your imperfect parts and give you the body you want! The body you deserve! You deserve to be your best You!!" (lol I can imagine that last line being their slogan/ motto)

There are only 30 AIs how could they possibly hold their own in a WAR? And yet they're powerful and strong enough to enslave a bunch of minds—a la Matrix style—into their system and brainwash them, so I suppose they could hold their own just fine (hey, when alive they did spend 20 years constantly fighting against monsters).

XD comparing this to the matrix makes that line "please exit the bunker, take the red pill, and report for active duty" from the Dieselpunk Opera have even more meaning now.

(And here Grimmalkerie suggested that the AIs are fighting their past, human selves, and my reaction was merely: “?! how the-- yes I know the AIs technically have access to time travel, but WHAT THE--?!?!?!?”)

And now more meta:

What's interesting is the emphasis on 'fire' and 'burning' in all these stories.

For crying out loud, one whole album is called 'Shadows and FLAMES' (in which there's a song called '*anvils*', and the last song is called 'Ashes.'

also "burn in the fiiiiiire, in the fire...in the fiiiiiiiiiireee, in the FI-iire"

"the Coal that sings 'Hosanna' in the fire!...

"Hosana HosannaaaaAAAAaaaaain the basemnts far beneath them, the furnace where you'll burn away!"

and of course, "OOOOOOOOnne DAY, YOU WILL LEARN, AND YOU WILL *BURN* LIKE MY HEART *BURNS*!!"

The dolls aren't hacked to pieces (like Jasper was originally, by Annabel) they're *burned*; "...in 6 hours if we do not return, a war begins, belowground *burns*"

lol, also "in the wastelaaaannd, where the *ashes, ashes all fall down*"

so much emphasis on 'fire' and 'burning' and 'ashes' in all of these

(except in Lost Hollow, which is interesting...)

but it got me thinking...we have Raven, Paul mentioned toying with the idea of Madeleine Magpie...and then I wondered if the Saviour Soul is a phoenix/ firebird?

think about it; they age, catch themselves on fire (for a human, that would be more of a *sacrifice* than anything, don't you agree?), and are *reborn from the ashes*

all the constant reincarnation

what if the Gambler/ Savior Soul was a metaphorical Phoenix of sorts in the story??

(also what i said about it going around in circles--steampunk through atompunk are ordered linearly, yet 'The Room Beneath New Albion' links the first and third together, like it's the link that ties the beginning and the end together, transforming the whole story into a *circle*--lol it also helps that the cover art for each part joins together into a circle ;) )

Aaaaaaaand that’s all I’ve got for now (lol but give me time--I rarely stop thinking about these stories and characters and ‘Uncle Raven’ left me with far more questions than answers).

Let me know what you guys thought of this, and please reblog and comment your own thoughts/ responses below, I’d love to hear corresponding/ differing thoughts on this :)

And Paul Shapera, if you read any of this...honestly, I’m flattered :D

Anyway, until next time: the future, as always, is now on its way...

#new albion #beth gets meta #man diving down the rabbithole is fun ;)#paul shapera #uncle raven's super happy funtime carnival #this summer marks the 2 year anniversary of me discovering the steampunk opera and everything spiraling outwards from there

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yorkshiremariners · 6 years

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An Away Day At Home...

At last the day I've been waiting for since 20th January!!!

Ossett Albion had tweeted my dad after the media guy Gary Wigglesworth spotted one of my blogs and showed Director of football Phil Smith. He asked if I would like to be the South Shields mascot when we visited later in the season, "do kids eat sweets" oh yes, get in.

This is an away day for the lads but technically a home game for me, just 2.4 miles from my front door to the turnstiles.... now you all know the journey I make each week back to Mariners Park.

On the morning of the game I woke up really early asked dad if we could go to the match but it wasn't even 8 o'clock, I was chomping at the bit.

Grandad was on his way down, He eventually arrived at my house and this is when I knew the time to head off was near. We went in Grandad's car so my dad could have a pint!

We arrive and the car park is packed as there is a kids footy competition going on. Then as if by magic "The Fawcetts" appear.

As we walk towards the ground Grandad stops at the last pitch and shouts to the kids playing in red and white stripes "Ha’way Sunderland”

As we were early the turnstiles are closed but an old man said he was expecting us and told dad and grandad about the history of Ossett Albion.

The turnstile man turned up and It was free as part of the day to get in but not for Grandad he wasn't on my guest list, dad had forgot about him, nothing new there then. We walked in and nobody took his money anyway "Get in, more pocket money for Mia, result"

We met Gary the media guy for Ossett who sorted everything out for me, I received a goody bag and a ball from Ross Hardaker who plays for Ossett Albion and works with my dad, we got introduced to director of football Phil Smith who had read one of my previous blogs.

They let me run about on the pitch, it was fab!!!

I went into the board room and was invited to meet the Osset Albion players in the dressing room, I just peeped through the door though.

Then the Shields team arrived and we went into the changing room and everyone signed my shirt.

I headed back out onto the pitch and met the Ossett Albion manager former sunderland player Andy Welsh as well as our management team Fenton and Picton..... I tried to tell them my line up.

It was soon time to lead the team out, the lads followed me onto the pitch, this was the proudest day of my young life.

The game finished 2 all with Shields coming back from 2 nil down. At the final whistle I ran as fast as I could to get on a photo with the Sima Branch. I never miss a photo opportunity me, you ask Kev the photographer.

Until the next blog

Love Mia x

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endenogatai · 5 years

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A Q&A with Multiple, the quiet agency behind many a startup’s success story

When Multiple first started in 2015 the concept of an agency specifically geared to the strategic branding and culture of startups was definitely not new, but the fact that it was starting in Europe definitely was. At the time, I remember startups in Silicon Valley having access to, literally, multiple ways of scaling up their concept, from growth hacking partners to branding agencies, to many different types of assistance. Plenty of those mountains of VC cash wasn’t employed by the startups only internally, but also externally, on helpful agencies. In London and Europe the attitude was different: “Don’t spend it on agencies, spend it on building the product”! But as soon as Multiple appeared, I realized this was a sign that the European ecosystem was in fact maturing to be able to support this more sophisticated approach.

Part of the reason Silicon Valley has become so powerful is that it supports a wide variety of these wider ecosystem players, and doesn’t just dole out cash to raw entrepreneurs who often are pretty experienced in company and brand building. Europe, it seemed, was finally growing up.

Four years on and, I decided it was time to find out from Multiple co-founder Katy Turner, as a former entrepreneur and VC herself, to discuss what she and her cofounder Gabbi Cahane have learned form dealing day in and day out with high-growth startups. After all, here at least it an organization that has seen it all in terms of company building…

The timing is opportune. After several years in the market it’s also launching it’s “Scale Partners network”: A crack team of experienced players from the UK and European tech ecosystem to extend its capabilities and help their client companies grow faster.

The network includes names such as Laurence Bret-Stern (former CRO at Pipedrive); Tracy Doree (founder at Kindred Capital); Dhiraj Mukerjee (co-founder, Shazam); Alicia Navarro (President, former CEO and founder at Skimlinks); and Rabin Yaghoubi (former CCO at Babylon Health, Director of Strategic Partnerships for Google EMEA, Doubleclick); among others.

Mike Butcher: How did Multiple start?

Katy Turner: Gabbi and I originally met each other through the network of Seedcamp mentors. We had a lot in common, having been investors, operators and (in Gabbi’s case) founders, and we recognized that having access to experienced external expertise is really valuable. We’d also been non-technical people working in and around tech companies and understood the power of brand, culture and growth when it comes to company building. Multiple originated from these conversations and we founded the business in 2015.

MB: Multiple isn’t just an agency is it? You look at a startup pretty holistically. Can you explain that?

KT: We try to supercharge a startup’s progress through both brand and culture. We support progressive companies to build the capabilities, culture and communications that will enable them to take out the competition, take a big exit or, in the classic phrase, take over the world. We’ve worked alongside the founders of companies such as Pipedrive, WeTransfer, Unbabel, Kalo, Aire, beryl (formerly Blaze), Verve, Drover, Favro and Trouva; and the Partners of funds such as Kindred, Connect, Whitestar and Albion. Often founders need help with clarifying their purpose, shaping their vision, positioning, strategy, you name it. That’s what we’re good at.

MB: What are the biggest lessons you’re learned from advising startups?

KT: We’ve found there’s huge value in being fully aligned around a clear purpose, mission and vision. These are the strategic foundations which provide the platform for success. Purpose is ‘the why’, the mission is ‘the what’ and vision is ‘the where’. Codifying these drives the fundamental alignment of the startup which then goes on to supercharge their progress.

MB: Is there such a thing as a founder who is beyond help? Do they personally need something special?

KT: It’s hard to help a founder if they don’t want help. Ideally, founders are coachable and willing to learn, versus having a fixed mindset. In our team, we’ve been founders, operators and investors —so we always remember how it feels in those everyday scenarios, stresses and situations that founders may face. It’s easier to empathize when you’ve done it yourself!

MB: When should startup founders bring inexperienced “operators”, if they don’t have any, or can they grow into the role? When do find that you guys get asked into the picture?

KT: We find we get asked to come in at the point at which real scale is needed with experienced heads – either inside or outside the business. This can, obviously, be extremely valuable. However we absolutely believe that founders can grow into the role of CEO, and we often see it as part of our job to help them do that.

We typically get involved at key inflection points in the lifecycle of the business. For example, when you need to lift your head up from building the product and start to build the company. Or perhaps it might be during a significant fundraise; international expansion; a rebrand; a desire to codify and refine the culture ahead of a key hiring spree etc. It’s about achieving the next stage of progress as effectively as possible. Everyone goes through that, as I guess we have the advantage of having been on that journey many times with many different kinds of founders at all sorts of stages.

MB: Everyone always says ‘leadership is key’ but what have you found are the best kinds of leadership?

KT: Obviously, different leadership styles are appropriate for different companies depending on the culture you want build and steer. But we’ve found there’s no singular leadership style that is ‘right’, really. Leaders can have styles that are charismatic, transactional, situational or participative. They can all work, depending on the context.

In a startup and scaleup context, we’ve experienced that ‘transformational leadership’ and ‘servant leadership’ styles can produce highly-effective organizations.

MB: What do you mean by those terms?

KT: A transformational leader is the visionary who leads their team with enthusiasm and energy, whereas a servant leader is driven by the need to have a deep impact and to help others.

In both cases, these leaders create highly collaborative, innovative and autonomous cultures, through their ultimate desire to facilitate the success of others.

MB: What have been the worst kinds of leadership?

KT: We’ve seen a few examples in our time, given we deal so closely with entrepreneurs, but for the worst I’d say “transactional”. It’s just very non-motivating to feel that someone who is in charge is only ever dealing with their team on a transactional basis, as in “did you do this?” Or “you must do this in order for this to happen” etc. The other one is “situational”. Dealing with things on a situation-by-situation basis, where there’s just no obvious, overall strategy, shows a lack of consistency and will ultimately undermine the confidence of the team in their leadership.

MB: How much can you plan ahead in high growth companies?

This is highly stage-dependent. The earlier the company, the shorter the time horizon for forward planning. Having clarity over your mission is critical to the planning process. The mission is the master ‘OKR’ (Objectives and Key Results) https://ift.tt/1Jszcfe

in the business. It has to be trackable and measurable. For a high growth company, a 3-5 year mission makes sense. Then you can build shorter-term plans which act as staging posts along the way – so for example what’s the plan for the next 12 months if our 5 year mission is to become the market leader in our category or enable a billion people to access education?

MB: What are the organizational structures you’ve seen which work best with tech startups?

KT: To paraphrase Ben Horowitz, “the first rule of organizational design is that all organizational design is imperfect”. Structures that allow for small, multidisciplinary, cross-functional teams delivering against clearly defined objectives work extremely well. The use of DRIs (directly responsible individuals) and OKRs help to keep the team on track, enabling clear ownership and priorities so that individuals can do their best work.

MB: Is there such as thing as transitioning from startup to “scaleup” or is that just another funding round?

KT: In our experience, the moment of transition comes when a product has established validation and traction in its market. And when the organization requires the systems and processes to enable it to retain and grow its customer base. In essence, it comes after product-market fit, where you need to deliver the product and revenue in a measurable and repeatable manner. We’ve found that from a funding round perspective, Series B is when the journey towards real scale is being tackled.

MB: What are the best ways to establish Product/Market Fit?

KT: The route to product-market fit is highly dependent on the kind of product you are building for the market you are serving. Product market fit needs to happen repeatedly at every stage. At early stage, people are willing to pay for your product even when its imperfect, because it’s the best or only way to address the problem they have. And what constitutes product-market fit at Series A might change as you scale beyond Series B. Product market fit = solid and sustainable unit economics and a product that your customers can’t live without. At every stage, ongoing customer development, obsession and experimentation are critical.

MB: Have you assisted in fund-raising? What are the lessons learned? Especially in the UK.

KT: The short answer answer is yes. We’ve contributed to our companies’ fundraising at every key investment stage from seed to Series C. What we’ve learned is that like all human beings, investors respond positively to powerful stories that illustrate the ambition of the organization and the ‘ ent’ it wants to make in the universe. The fundraising narrative must also be shot through with the personality of the organization. Investment decks that don’t reflect the brand will not cut the mustard. Investors in the UK are like investors anywhere else – they want to believe in a team with a strong sense of purpose and a big vision.

MB: What is some of the hiring advice you give?

KT: We find it’s best to ensure you have enshrined values and practices that are imperative or directive, that can be used as a guide to hire against. Then build out a hiring process that tests whether the individual’s personal goals and ambitions marry with those of the organization.

MB: When should startups think about branding?

KT: Branding is often thought of far too narrowly. We believe that brand is everything you make, say, do and provide. Your tech, your code, your pricing, and of course your positioning and personality are all elements of your brand. So even if an organisation hasn’t been intentional about building out their brand, they will have one anyway. The earlier you can be intentional, the greater chance you have of being consistent and coherent in your execution.

MB: Can you fix a bad tech brand?

KT: Yes. However, it takes an investment of time, resource, capital and desire to ensure that it’s fit for purpose. We always go back to the foundation stones of purpose, mission and vision as the starting point for this work. Everything builds from these strategic assets that direct the why, what and where.

MB: Is a relaunch the kiss of death?

KT: If it’s done badly and built on weak foundations then yes. However, if you are thoughtful and intentional about why you are doing it, then it can be successful. Are you simply painting the hallways, or are you rebuilding the house from the ground up i.e. infusing the brand with clarity around its positioning and personality that expresses genuine meaning and benefits which add value to the team, the business and your customers?

MB: Should you build a company culture or a cult?

KT: You should build a culture. Cultures adapt and evolve, survive and thrive. Cults ultimately self-immolate, let’s face it…

MB: Here’s a list of 18 startup mistakes from legendary startup guru and investor Paul Graham. What would be your 19th?

KT: Number 19: The inability to sell. Selling is existential – in the broadest sense. You always need to be selling whether bringing on board a co-founder, selling a story to the market, convincing a customer or raising funding. We sometimes joke: “I sell, therefore I am…”

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