#( but she hates chess. she hates having to count on people's instinct to come up with a plan )

[clochanamarch]

aisling and her insistence that she'll find a way. doesn't matter how fucked up the situation is, she'll figure a way out of it. even if the method is messy and ugly and comes at a cost, she'll make damn sure that everyone makes it out alive. aisling "i'll fix it" jones, taking it on herself to repair the damages because she needs to do it, she needs to make things right, and if that means she causes a diversion or she makes the sacrifice, so be it. aisling even going so far as to owe a favour to very dangerous people in order to guarantee a win in the present moment.

[wu-sisyphus-gang]

Motion Sickness 40

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Damn Jaune.

I thought.

And damn myself for getting comfortable.

It was a sad thought. One of valedictions rather than of true cursing.

But I started to like him…

It was a thought of denial, one born of protest.

I was saying goodbye to Ren and Nora. We cremated them and had a short ceremony. Long funerals were mostly frowned upon across Remnant for the negativity such things tended to gather.

It hurt, more than saying goodbye to my father ever had. These were my family. These were my friends and I'd never hear their voices again. Ren and Nora had no family for us to send messages too, though we would have. They had no ancestral homes to be buried at. They were orphans. All they had were Jaune and Pyrrha and they were gone now too.

I missed Nora's bubbly personality and Ren's stoicism. I missed sitting with them for meals. I missed watching them dance around the others' feelings. So obvious to the rest of us, they never had time to explore one another.

"Our time is fleeting," Ozpin officiated. "Time always seems short. Even to me." He gave an empty laugh. None of us echoed it.

He opened the cremation jar and emptied it into the wind. Jaune should have been here for it. Instead he was bringing the relic to Salem. He should be here to collect their weapons. Instead it was Ruby who held onto them during the ceremony.

Titania wasn't heavy but those weapons sure were. I didn't envy Ruby who seemed to want to carry them. Nora's hammer which Yang seemed content to hold on to for our travels was neatly folded up. She attached it to her belt and put it behind her. As the bruisers of our teams, Yang and Nora had been fairly close.

I received one half of Stormflower from Ruby. I wasn't sure what to do with it. I didn't need a gun but it felt wrong that they should never see use again.

It was wrong.

Jaune should be here to take it. He would know what to do with the weapons. Even if it was just to have them buried.

Amongst the mayhem and chaos Mistral represented Jaune had been like a rock. Sturdy and absolute. In every situation he'd known what to do. Real confidence had been in his heart rather than the false stuff he'd tried to show off freshman year. It was little wonder then, why Ruby lashed herself to him. And now it seemed Ruby was sinking and there was nothing I could do about it.

She was in love with Jaune, our problem child. As little as we knew what to do about Nora and Ren, we knew even less what to do about Jaune.

Ozpin was convinced Jaune was some kind of sleeper agent and not a full blown traitor which only seemed to make things more complicated. If he was a traitor I'd at least know how to classify him. Instead it didn't even seem to be his fault. Well it was and it wasn't. Ruby was fully in his camp but that was always going to be the case, dating or not. She believed in her friends. It was hard to find a fault in her for that.

So I didn't.

Instead I admired it. Arguably she should have been hurt the most, instead she seemed almost ready. Ready for what I wasn't sure. She was adamant that we'd run into Jaune again. It was hard to fault her instincts either. Not when they'd led her so far.

She also didn't want to be felt sorry for. I respected that, too. Lords only know that if it had been me, I'd be in pieces.

I packed Stormflower in my briefcase, carefully wrapping it in cloth. I clicked the briefcase shut over it and tried not to think about it.

"Hard to believe they're all gone." Blake leaned by the door of Yang and my room.  

"JNPR is over. Felt just like that." Yang snapped her fingers. "Could have been us."

I shivered. "It basically was us. But for a chess piece at initiation."

"I don't want to think about that," Blake confessed. "RWBY is still whole."

"The girl or the team 'cause my sister hasn't handled this the best."

"Right. Our team, I suppose," Blake elaborated. "But she traveled with them, right? She was close to them all. Not even counting Jaune."

"They called it Team RNJR or JNRR," I said.

"Sounds painful."

"Like when our team was fractured," Yang said pointedly.

"Right." Blake sounded sheepish. "Except we came back together."

"Did we?" Yang asked. Her eyes red, and not just from tears. There beat a rage filled drum in her voice and it showed in her eyes.

"Well…" Blake trailed off.

"Really? You want to do this now?" I asked.

"Why not now? Should I let the cuts heal only to peel off the scab again?"

"I suppose." I granted. I didn't particularly like it, though. Our friends were barely in the ground, so to speak.

"You left us Blake. You left me. I was as partner-less as Jaune! I thought I'd never see you again. And the worst part was it was your decision. You didn't want to be around me."

"I-"

"You didn't even ask me if I'd go with you!"

I felt like an intruder. On the outside looking in as I knelt by my bed. I wasn't of course. And I could almost feel both of them expecting me to take their side. Yang's aura flared, a bright light in the room where Blake's seemed to cowl in on itself. A darkness that layered over again.

"I needed space. I needed time! Sun-"

"So what? Sun's good enough and I'm not?!"

"For your information he followed me. He didn't ask for my permission, he just came with me. I almost stabbed him over it." Blake anxiously pushed some hair behind her ear. Her human ear. "What happened to you was my fault. Adam came for me."

"Your crazy ex you never told me about? I thought we were past not telling each other things."

"I was trying to keep you safe! To protect you!"

"It didn't work!" Yang waved her prosthesis in Blake's face. "Ignorance may be bliss but it's not safe."

Point Yang. I was in her camp for that one. I was certainly tired of other people deciding what was best for me. I was way past that. It's why I supported her when she demanded that Ozpin be open with us.

"I'm sorry! I just couldn't bear the thought of you looking at me with hatred in your heart." Blake was crying. "Over this or over anything."

"Blake…" Yang protested. "I'd never do that to you. I just thought we were at a point where we'd struggle together. Even through the Whitefang stuff. Your problems are my problems. The way Jaune and my sister did. The way Ruby and Weiss are."

"I thought you'd hate me."

"I'd never hate you, Blake. I couldn't pull it off." Yang's aura looked distinctly cooler. Blake rubbed one arm with the other and wouldn't meet Yang's eyes. Couldn't.

"Is everything alright in here?" It was Ruby at the door. She already had her duffle bag in hand. Aside from that she was wearing Jaune's old hoodie. I guess she's gone through his things now that he was gone and found something she liked.

"We were just talking about when Blake left us," Yang answered.

"Ah," Ruby mumbled. "And is it…"

"We're getting somewhere," Blake said. "Thank you Ruby."

Ruby hovered at the door a moment longer before she said, "well I should…"

"Of course." Blake murmured. "Whatever you need."

I watched her go before I picked up my things. "Weiss?" Yang asked.

"You fools," I muttered. I followed Ruby. She didn't want to be excluded. It was the opposite of what she needed right now.

"They didn't mean anything by it." I caught up to Ruby and took her by the hand.

"I know."

"With everything else that's going on they just don't want to bother you with it."

"I know."

"It wasn't anything besides that."

"I know." I didn't feel anything from Ruby other than a quiet patience. I didn't get the sense that she was annoyed or flustered. In fact, her aura seemed reserved too. I could still taste the cinnamon and roses.

"We're all just worried about you."

She nodded. "I know. I…" She was masking and I hated to see it. I missed her energy. Her aura barely extended beyond her skin. If I wasn't touching her I doubt I'd have been able to feel it. It was a silenced, withdrawn thing.

"Are you feeling better today?" I asked.

"Not really I'm -um…" she trailed off.

"You just miss them. I know," I breathed.

She nodded. "We all do."

"But you feel so much more than most. Don't be afraid to talk to me. Ever. Please," I begged.

She wiped her hand across her face and took some silvery tears. "Everyone's treating me like I'm made of glass. And I am… and I am, but…"

I nodded and waited for her to get a head on her emotions.

"I'm not any more than anyone else should be." She finished at length. "And they're fighting."

"Yang felt like she had to," I said.

"Maybe she did. She's a fighter. She…" Ruby trailed off again and wiped some more of her tears away. "I want to go to sleep. I just want to sleep this away." She mumbled miserably.

I kissed her forehead. The kiss was not quick but held no passion.

"That's depression."

"Is it?" She asked.

"Yes. Little energy. It can be a symptom."

"I guess if you look at it like a sickness…"

"It is a sickness."

"That's very Weiss of you." She gave me a giggle and I felt a tidal wave of relief. The noise was quiet and simple.

"Well thank you." I managed. She traced her hand over the skin of one of my arms and I shivered.

"You've got goosebumps," she murmured.

"Well-I…" I cleared my throat and mastered myself. "Have you finished packing?"

She nodded. "I'm all set."

"Then we're just waiting on Yang and Blake now."

"They'll be ready before it's time to leave." She mumbled again. "Weiss, about the plan..."

"Me going on ahead, you mean."

"Yeah. I really don't like it."

"Me neither," I whispered. "But it might be the only way to get through to Ironwood. And it's only assuming Ozpin can't pass a message on to him using code."

"But if communication was up and running, they could do it from here. You'll be the message bearer Weiss. And I don't want to be split up from you."

"I know. I know. I'll miss you too Ruby."

"I wish Jaune were here," she confessed. "He'd come up with a plan."

"I'm sure you do. I bet he would, too. He was cunning like that."

"Is. He's not dead."

"Of course, I only meant…"

"I know," She muttered again. I found myself touching her face. The tips of my fingers grazing her cheeks and I watched in a sort of sick fascination as she leaned into the touch. Eyes closed. "I'm worried about you, Weiss."

"I'll be with the greatest military force on Remnant."

"That doesn't make you safe."

"What does safety even mean? Salem has a long reach. We thought Jaune was safe. I promise I'll be as safe as I can be." She reached up and pressed my hand against her face at that.

"And you'll stay away from your father."

"And… yes. I'll avoid him at all costs."

"Your sister… is she nice to you?" Ruby asked. "I only saw a little back at Beacon. I wasn't sure what to make of it."

A difficult question. Winter was always distant but that didn't put her in the same category as my father or brother. Or even my mother.

"Yes, I think so."

"Stay with her, then."

"What if Ironwood only lets Oscar through, though?" I let an unbidden fear out into the wild. I wanted it to be dissuaded. "What if he keeps you all back?"

"He won't. He works with Qrow too. At which point…"

"Right. That makes sense." I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Plus if you talk about knowing about the relics..." She sighed into my touch. She let out a little humming sound and smiled for what felt like the first time in years, though it had only been days. "Everything will be okay."

I nodded. "Everything will be fine."

"Ladies." Qrow came in on mechanical legs. "I'm not interrupting something, am I?" His gait was too smooth, his strides too even. It belied his mechanical nature.

He seemed to be genuinely asking and I took a step away from Ruby as though caught in some act. "We were just…" I trailed off.

"We were just talking about the mission," Ruby said.

"Ah, the mission." It was Oscar. Or maybe Ozpin. Probably Ozpin. "There's always more to discuss, and if I may, more to discuss about Jaune."

"He has the relic," Ruby went on.

"That he does. And he is a cunning mind second to none. I'm sure, given enough time, he will learn to use the relic. Which, I confess, is a little terrifying. And he only seemed to be growing stronger from my perspective."

"When he was at Beacon he was so weak, by the time he turned he was the strongest of us. And you're right, it was like with each day he was getting better," I muttered. "Limit Breaker… it was aptly named. It seemed like he was pushing himself every single day."

"Yes. I'm afraid of what he will be in Salem's hands. You knew him best Ruby. I'd like a moment of your time to talk it over with you."

"The kid's smart but his options are limited. We weren't sure what his next move will be. Whether we should report him to the police or not." Qrow said.

"I'm… I'm not sure. I never thought he'd turn on us. Turn on me."

"Well, now that he did, we need to come up with a plan." Qrow grumbled. He took a swig of his flask. "Whether that's keeping a watch out for him ourselves or reporting him."

"Yes… the relic may already be in Salem's hands. You may be happy to hear the Malachite reported seeing him, acting and walking about. She gave up this information freely to us. She seemed afraid of him."

Ruby did seem happy to hear that. "Then we've confirmed he's alive? And Malachite is watching out for him?"

"Only smart of her. The kid was strong, and fast." Qrow muttered as an afterthought.

"Is. You all keep talking about him in the past tense." Ruby said with some heat.

"Of course, Ms. Rose. You still believe in his innocence, then?"

"You were the one who came up with the theory of him being a sleeper agent, weren't you?"

"Only as a plausible. It may be that he saw now with the relic as the opportune moment to strike at us." Ozpin said. "We had an interesting conversation before he left. On why I let him into my school. He claimed that I only let him in because I thought he was Salem's agent. It could merely have been mind games, but it was enough to make me doubt that he was acting of his own volition when he took the relic. His possible status as a victim in all this remains only that, a possibility. More importantly, however, if he were a sleeper agent that still makes him a threat to us. He is still allied against us."

"Jaune'll lay low. If he doesn't want us to find him then we won't. He's too smart for that," Ruby managed. I rubbed her back with one hand. Actually talking and being involved seemed to be doing her some real good. Who was I to shut it down? This was more energy than I'd seen from her in days.

"Then the relic is truly lost to us. We put out feelers just in case but…" Ozpin shrugged. "We'll have to manage to keep the remaining relics out of her hands. And an ear to the ground where Jaune is concerned. In the longest term, however, the relic of knowledge is perhaps the most dangerous relic she could have acquired first. And Jaune is very dangerous. As dangerous as any of Salem's other agents."

Ruby's fists tightened by her sides.

"A question, Ms. Rose?"

"I have questions for Jaune, not for you."

"My apologies, then."

"You need to face the facts kido. He killed two of his so-called friends."

"Qrow, now may not be the time…" Ozpin began.

"What is it you think you know about him that I don't?" Ruby demanded. "Why wasn't the opportune moment all the times we were alone together?"

"That's easy. He didn't have his hands on a relic, then." Qrow grunted. He seemed as angry as Ruby was. That he didn't catch Jaune before. That he was weaker now than he used to be.

Ruby bristled at her uncle. Fists clenching and unclenching by her sides.

"You think he saw he shot and just took it?" I asked. "That's what you think of him?"

"It's as I said, a plausibility. And being forgiving on him for it will do us no favors." Ozpin said. "Jaune is brutal."

"Jaune is kind!" Ruby almost shouted. "He is sweet!"

"You have another explanation for what happened then?" Ozpin asked.

"We don't. Not yet." I said. I was backing Ruby. Nobody deserved it quite like my partner did. She would have my back. She had Jaune's back even when the odds seemed stacked against him.

"Then I'm afraid we will have to operate as though he is our enemy. We can't afford the risk."

"I'll show you. I'll find what I need to to prove you wrong!"

"Ms. Rose I very much hope that you do."

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-WG

[painted-crow]

Submission time #19

so i’ve been spending the last little bit unburning my lion primary. now i’m sort of lost on secondary? i suspect i have bird in there somewhere but i’m having a hard time separating my natural secondary and a model that i really like and find helpful. (or maybe it’s the now-surprisingly-loud lion primary drive for authenticity coming through?) so if it’s okay with you, i’ll take a crack at some of the quiz questions and see if there’s anything of note? spacing might be weird—i’m on mobile :/

Sure thing!

When you succeed, how influential in that success were the people around you?

my answer to this one depends on the day. yes, they’re extremely influential; no, i don’t always like it. not because i don’t appreciate or need the help but because it got into my head in a funny way growing up. i’ve always been tremendously lucky to have people who love and want to help me, but like... it gets to the point where it feels like i’m nothing on my own. how much of this is a favour? what do i owe you? are you just trying to spare my feelings or because i’m related to someone else? i’m desperate to be able to say (and believe) that i’ve done something for myself on my own terms.

Ooh, okay. So, you've maybe got some caretaker Badgers around you, but that's not you--you don't really value this in yourself, even if it's how the community around you works. If you have any Badger secondary, it's anxious.

Do people consider you charismatic?

charisma is SUCH a concept. it gives off such an animal magnetism, face of the revolution vibe, which is not me at all. i have to work hard to be nice bc most people deserve the benefit of the doubt (as i repress the instinct to be judgy and mean LMAO) and also bc it just works better socially? flies and honey and all that. i also have very specific ways of being nice: “mom friend” and “hypercompetent rookie in line of succession” and “spicy and nonjudgmental confidante” which, granted, are already all parts of my personality just emphasized for clarity. i think of it like... personality colour correction, or... code-switching i guess.

You've literally just described Actor Bird. Also, you're not very nice when you describe yourself, are you?

people tend to like me more than i like me, though, and it catches me a little by surprise every time. maybe it’s just because i live in my own head and it’s a lot quieter and more anxious up here. it does suck a little, suddenly being worried that like “ooh ppl only like what u show them but that’s not how u rlly are”

Lions (primary or secondary) and Actor Bird can really clash... it sounds like you're discovering that your primary doesn't like this tactic as it unburns. Also, I think Bird masks just take a lot of energy if used long term. That might be me though.

so i’ll Sprinkle In Some Light Trauma to gauge the reaction (and regret it immediately). the truth is that not many people make it past the social utility part of friendship and so i don’t rlly... feel safe? putting down the masks which are designed to smooth interactions in any case. (so i guess YES but actually no i’m charismatic but also that’s a very different public facing side)

Yeah, this is all Actor Bird so far. Also, hugs.

Do you like going into situations with a plan?

mmm. i don’t think i plan so much as i attempt to see into the future and force my best outcome. i HATE going in blind—if i can a way around something, i will, but if i can’t it has to at least be a good and sensible attempt. most of the plans i usually put together have coping-mechanism, doodling while on a phone call energy: too granular to ever implement, just something to put order to the things you’re thinking.

This is still lots of Bird energy. Plans don't always look the same, you know? And some of us barely use 'em at all.

like, i do have all my degree requirements and preferred classes listed out, because that’s important and i should have that sorted out correctly before declaring my major. but the hour by hour daily schedule is more of a thing to make me feel in control and like i’ve put the work into considering it.

i’m also a stereotypical nerd: i have an english/history brain, i write a lot, i fall down personality inventory rabbit holes for fun, i pick up random things that end up relevant years later, nothing was as distressing as not being able to read for fun bc university was just Too Much—you know the drill.

I do, but not everyone is like this. You're probably a Bird, and I wonder if you're taking your secondary for granted because you feel like it's expected of you.

but for someone who plans as a coping mechanism, it’s also sometimes the best way to put me off. like i don’t know, being friends, which is the only thing in my life where traditional overthinking would RUIN it absolutely.

i know someone who semi-despairingly refers to herself as machiavellian because she interacts with people like it’s 4D chess.

Huh, so your friends don't talk about themselves very nicely either.

collects info, reshapes her entire personality into something designed to appeal to whoever she’s talking to. i tried not to get into motive bc socializing really is like That sometimes, but i couldn’t imagine pulling that off. i talk big game about acting a certain way, but only in ways that are already part of me yk? if i couldn’t believe i was being legit in some way i’m like 97% sure it would show through somehow and make it real weird.

You're still on Actor Bird. Your friend might have a Snake model? but you're an Actor Bird.

How do you feel about shortcuts?

work smart not hard, she says, working hard anyway bc she needs to see all the little things fall into place just to make sure that they do.

seriously though, that is for “important enough” things: i need to see it done to standard. i can rest only with a job well done kind of thing—due diligence so that any tomfoolery that goes down isn’t my fault and therefore no one can get mad at me.

This might be a Badger model, and I'm gonna take a shot in the dark and say you picked this up from your community because it's what they expect of you. You don't seem to take any joy in it, though; it seems like an anxious response.

also i have beef with the idea of being gullible, so i’m gonna see it with my OWN EYES. for less important things, it’s a heart says yes mind says no situation. i love the shortcut that saves time and effort but keeps the quality, which is plentiful when it’s like. pasta sauce, but not when it’s like. the Donner party heading to california. i would love to shorten that stuff, but the consequences of a poorly done shortcut are more painful than the slog.

Bird modeling Badger. Yep.

Do you feel the need to keep the peace?

(it didn’t come up on this run of the quiz but i’ve been mulling over for a while!)

Huh. This question doesn't always come up? I always get it. I have to assume it's the quiz checking for Badger.

i’ve got a fairly bad temper and a transparent face. so no—i’m not much for keeping the peace. i can do it properly if compelled, but it’s exhausting and irritating and only really makes me resentful of the emotional labour.

Whether you can keep the peace is kind of separate from whether you feel you should, but you also really dislike being in that role. You're modeling some Bookkeeper Badger, which doesn't actually make you happy, and you really don't seem to like using Courtier for anything.

does it bother me when people fight? yeah, like most people do when it’s a rift-causing argument in a group they care strongly about, but if i’m not more loyal to one side of the dispute i’m much more likely to take out all the parties and have done with it. i’ve been known to fight back or even start stuff if the cause is important enough, or i have spleen to vent, but i’m a very messy arguer so staying out of it and collecting receipts in the background is much more my style.

Wonder if you've got some Lion secondary hiding out in your Houses. You don't like going into things unprepared, but maybe there's a Lion model you could be nurturing that would make you happier than that Badger mess that's been pushed on you.

anyway. this was long. made me think harder about badger than i thought. lots of feelings, but def not as sad as the ones i typed up and deleted ages ago which i elect to count as progress. thanks for making it this far hahahah

Yay! Progress!

Yeah, I don't think you're a Badger. It really doesn't make you happy. You sound like a Bird to me: actor Bird, rapid fire Bird, but not Badger. Not Snake, either; if you're a rapid fire or actor Bird (or both) you might mis-Sort yourself into Snake, but I'm not getting that from you.

--Paint

[creative-type]

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire

Summary: Cora had never been very good at telling the truth AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25099165 Word Count: ~2300 AN: Written basically in one sitting, with minimal editing, and without referencing canon for accuracy. Basically, I thought it was a cool title for a Cora fic and needed to get the idea out of my system

.

“Are you happy here?”

Rosinante looked up at his father’s tired, defeated eyes. He heard Doffy screaming from the next room over, drowning out Mother’s desperate attempts to calm him as he demanded they return to Mariejois. Rosi didn’t think his brother would hit her like he sometimes hit him when he didn’t get his way, but he wasn’t sure, and that frightened him.

“Rosi?” Father prompted, reeling the boy’s wandering thoughts back to the question at hand.

Rosinante fidgeted, dropping his eyes so he wouldn’t have to look at his father’s earnest expression. There were things he did like about living in the North Blue. He didn’t have to wear a bubble when he was outside, or watch the other children laugh as they hurt their slaves, or hear the hateful words their parents hurled as his mother and father.

But this morning they’d had burnt eggs on burnt toast for breakfast, Mother laughing as she told the tale of how she nearly set the kitchen on fire trying to light the stove. Father’s moustache was crooked and there were bits of tissue paper stuck to his face where he’d cut himself shaving. Secretly Rosinante thought that his brother had a point, that their lives would be so much better if Father would let the family purchase a slave or two. Already his mother had ruined an attempt sewing a hole in his favorite stuffed animal, and Rosi had had to bear the indignity of doing household chores.

Quietly, shamefully, Rosi wasn’t sure he wanted to be a human anymore. He squeezed his eyes closed as Father put his hands on his shoulders and lowered himself down to his knees. A Dragon never knelt, and at that moment Rosi felt like screaming, too.

Instead he was forced to face his father. He saw his hopeful smile, strained to the point of breaking, and the bright shine of tears in his eyes. The grip on Rosinante’s shoulders tightened, fingers digging into tender flesh hard enough to bruise.

“Please, Rosi,” his father begged. “Tell me that you’re happy.”

Rosinante swallowed, and somehow managed to smile in return even as Doffy’s tantrum echoed through the mansion’s empty halls. He knew what he had to say, even if it wasn’t true.

“I am.”

Xxx

“Are you sure about this, Rosinante?”

Rosi swallowed hard. He loved Sengoku like a father, but there were times he hated being in the same room as him. People called him the Buddah, but there was no kindness in his expression now, only sharp lines and steep crevices that displayed both his worry and his displeasure. He had reservations about Rosinante’s mission, that much was obvious. What was less clear was why . Did he not trust his adopted son to do what needed to be done? Was he worried that Doflamingo would appeal to the Celestial blood that ran in his veins? Rosinante tapped his fingers in a sharp staccato beat against the arm of his chair. Or was he simply concerned about his safety?

No, that wasn’t it. Rosi had survived from hell and back. There was no pain, no weapon, that could compare to the terror of his childhood. Under Sengoku’s watchful eye he’d grown strong and clever. Clever enough to match wits with his brother, who was already amassing terrible power out of the North Blue.

Cipher Pol had tried and failed to infiltrate his crew. Mariejois had sent their strongest knights, only for them to return in body bags. Vice Admiral Tsuru had made it her personal mission to wipe the scourge of the Heavenly Demon from the seas, and yet not only did Doflamingo live, but thrive.  

Rosinante had known since Father died that he would be the one to end his brother’s madness.

“I have to do this.”

“He’s your brother,” Sengoku said.

Rosi’s grip on his chair tightened. “He’s a monster.”

Doflamingo, the boy who would kill his own father in cold blood. Doflamingo, the boy who swore his revenge on all the world. Doflamingo, who even before their banishment was cruel and hateful to anyone he considered lesser than himself.

Doffy, the boy who had yellow hair that burned like gold in the sunlight and a laugh colder than the glacial waters of the northern sea. Doffy, the boy with the charisma to draw people to him like flies to honey, only to pluck their wings and destroy their dreams with the crushing weight of his own ambition.

Doffy, his brother, who had kept Rosinante alive with nothing but spite and sheer force of will, who had always insisted on dragging him to greater and greater heights, whether Rosi wanted to accompany him or not.

Sengoku’s eyes narrowed, cold and calculating. He was a man used to making hard and difficult choices. But this was his hardest and most difficult yet, and Rosi wasn’t sure if it was because of any genuine attachment or if he was afraid of losing too valuable a chess piece in a rapidly changing world.

“If all goes well, you’ll be in a position to put an end to Doflamingo permanently. When that time comes, are you sure you’ll be able to pull the trigger?”

Rosinante didn’t hesitate. “Yes, sir.”

Xxx

There was no doubting that Doflamingo had greatness in him. It cloaked him alike an aura, some vestige of his celestial halo, inspiring  those around him. A threadbear, overstuffed seat became a throne if Doflamingo sat in it, his pink-feathered coat his royal vestments. Though he mingled with the small people of the world, the dirty and the downtrodden, he could never be mistaken for an ordinary person. The blood of kings ran in his veins, and the insatiable desire of his ambition would not be satisfied until he ruled the heavens and used the earth as his footstool.

Rosi wondered sometimes what would have happened if Sengoku had found Doffy instead. He wasn’t sure the wildness of his brother’s spirit could ever be tamed, but thought, maybe, that it could have been directed toward a noble purpose. The world needed good rulers just as much as it needed good soldiers, but as the years went on it became increasingly clear that neither Donquixte brother was able to adequately fulfill the role they’d been given.

“Corazón,” Doffy said, savoring the taste of the word as it rolled off his tongue. He loved using the name he’d trapped Rosi with, the title that told all the world who it was he belonged to. “How are the plans coming along?”

Rosi pointed to the map he had laid out in front of him as Doffy edged closer. His brother brushed away bits of cigarette ash, chuckling, “You’ll burn my plans to nothing if you aren’t careful.”

Cold sweat beaded at Rosi’s forehead, but he kept each breath even and controlled. It was just a turn of the phrase, nothing to get worked up about. There was no way he could suspect that he’d already alerted Tsuru of their position.

Doflamingo traced his finger over the map, mad grin growing madder. “I want you to look after Law.” He lifted a hand as Rosi stiffened. “I know, I know, you don’t like the kids, but this one’s different. He’s already proven he’s going to stick around, and he doesn’t have time to waste hanging in the background with Baby 5 and Buffalo. He needs to get his hands dirty.”

Rosi tilted his head in silent question.

“More dirty,” Doffy allowed. He tapped a knuckle against the map, where their newest mark was circled in blood-red ink. “Do you feel it, Rosi? His potential?”

It was rare for Doflamingo to ask his insight like this. As much as he was able to decipher Rosi’s looks and quirks with uncanny accuracy, they never had much to say to one another. There was too big a gulf between them to ever be bridged.

Doffy trusted him, else he wouldn’t have made him his right hand man. But he didn’t understand Rosi anymore than Rosinante understood the fury and madness that made his brother want to set the world on fire.

Or maybe they understood too well, while standing on different sides.

But Law...Law’s vision matched Doflamingo’s perfectly. His brother saw that, and wanted to steal the boy’s hate and use it to fuel his own ambition.

“Keep him safe, alright?” Doffy said. “I’m gonna need him around when he gets older.”

Even if he dared speak, Rosinante’s mouth went suddenly dry, constricting his throat and strangling what little air he had out of his lungs. He’d suspected already that Doffy was looking for a way around Law’s time limit, and if he succeeded…

Law was smart and he was fearless and he was angry. Oh, so very angry. Rosi saw the same fire burning in his eyes that shone in Doflamingo’s when they hung on the city wall. Once Doffy sunk his hooks into him he would never let go. Already the boy cared for nothing but the next person he could hurt. If his brother was able to channel those destructive instincts on his enemies then he might just succeed in bringing the world to his knees.

Rosi left Doffy to his maps, pausing only to clasp his hand on his brother’s shoulder. Doflamingo’s smile grew. “I knew I could trust you.”

Of course Rosinante couldn’t answer, so he left in search of Law. The knife wound in his side throbbed with every step. He couldn’t let Doffy have the boy; there was too much at stake. But neither had he succeeded in chasing him away. Doflamingo offered Law the one thing he craved, and like an addict looking for his next fix, Law would jump through any hoops to stay by his side. To learn, to grow, to destroy.

Sengoku would have said it was worth doing the hard thing if it meant keeping the world safe. History said his mentor and father-figure had put those words into practice often enough. But Rosi wasn’t sure he was strong enough to do the hard thing, the right thing. There had to be another option.

Except that was a lie. It was always a lie, and not even Rosi could convince himself it was true.

Xxx

“I finally found it! The Op-Op Fruit!”

Even in the cold, spots of fever bloomed on milk-white skin. Between panting breaths, Law rasped, “The building’s on fire...I heard gunshots, I thought...I thought something happened.”

Black stars danced behind Cora’s eyes. The pain of countless wounds needled the edge of his temper. “Knock it off, this is the fruit that’s going to save your life!”

“Even if I eat it, doesn’t mean it’s gonna save me.”

There wasn’t time to argue, for him or for Law. Cora forced the fruit down Law’s throat before the strength left his legs completely. Blood trickled down his cheek and stained the white snow red. He didn’t care. They’d won, it was over. He could take Law...and run...and be free of Doflamingo forever…

Cora almost laughed. He’d always been a liar, but even so. He usually he stuck to stories that were believable. His pulse thundered impossibly loud in his ears, almost drowning out Law’s hysterics at the sight of his wounds.

But Law...Law needed help. He needed someone to show him there was another way, that he didn’t have to fall into Doffy’s madness. And to do that Cora needed to survive, and his brother needed to be taken somewhere far away where his poison could never hurt anyone every again.

It was ironic, in a way, that just as Cora resolved himself to live that Law unwittingly sealed his doom. Perhaps it was inevitable. After all, People of D were God’s natural enemy. The same blood in Doffy’s veins ran in his, just as terrible, just as evil. Though he’d renounced his title long ago, there was a time that Cora had lived as a god. Delayed as it was, his punishment was just.

For some reason, Cora was okay with that.

“What’s going to happen to you?” Law asked. He settled down into the empty treasure chest, naked fear in his eyes. Cora didn’t think he’d have the strength to stop him if he did something foolish, so he smiled.

“Doffy wants you and the fruit. I’m his blood brother. He might be furious, but he won’t kill me.”

It was worth it to see the hopeful grin spread across his face. For all that he’d suffered, there was still an innocence in Law. He believed what Cora said, because it’s what he wanted to believe, even if it wasn’t true.

“I’m sorry for lying.”

There was a certain magic in those words, a panacea stronger than anything the Op-Op Fruit had to offer. For just a moment every hard line on Law’s face softened, and he looked like a boy again instead of the sick, angry man Doflamingo wanted him to become.

“I didn’t want you to hate me.”

Cora felt Law’s fists pounding against the rough wooden box. He had to hang on just a little bit longer now, and it would all be over. The sting of regret hurt more than the bullet wounds, guilt crushing him more than the blows of the Doflamingo Family. He was a good for nothing, sorry klutz of a man who made a disaster out of everything he touched. Even now, with everything all on the line, he couldn’t bring himself to pull the trigger.

“I didn’t want you to hate me.”

The darkness was coming in, enveloping him like the sable feathers of his cloak. His arms too cold and heavy to even lift his gun, but still he hung on. For Law’s sake, he would stave off Death for as long as he could.  

His breathing slowed, eyes too heavy to keep open. Time was running out. He’d told so many lies, he could only hope that Law would believe him when for once he spoke the truth.

“I love you.”

[permian-tropos]

In response to the "fic you wish I'd write" post: Snoke backstory, main characters Rae Sloane & Gallius Rax (they meet him and all interact somehow. Snoke is more than a creepy old raisin. Rae worries that they're in over their heads...)

And I wish I had a more detailed Snoke backstory at this point.

I know I used to be really interested in him, but it was really interest in a character like him, and the way he’s defeated in TLJ makes me want to give him a different sort of role in the story. I’m not sure if I want him to be an ancient evil awakened in the Unknown Regions or a plutocrat who learned the Force but isn’t only powerful for his Force ability, he’s also secretly the CEO of big space oil or something. It depends on what story I’d tell.

Anyway here’s a loose rambling fic description

-

In this version of things, Rax is neither alive nor dead because his soul is trapped in the holocron he tossed into the Jakku borehole. Jakku spat that thing out when it stopped having its planetary indigestion. The lingering wisps of life energy emanating from the core of the planet stole the last breath from Rax’s body and sucked it into this new vessel.

Rax doesn’t find his existence as a cursed object too different from his old life, where he mostly lurked behind the scenes and played with people’s desires and instincts so they’d enact the dramatic scenes he wanted to see. He entices a stray stormtrooper to the Observatory to get himself picked up off the floor, and lures a junk trader to fight this trooper over the beautiful glowing red artifact, and so on, until he’s traveling into the Unknown Regions on the desk of a particularly boorish Imperial captain who wants a piece of the Sith legacy as a trophy.

Holocron Rax has vague aims, he wants some sort of body and he wants to find her again, his equal, his rival, his fellow outcast. He isn’t sure he wants to rule. He lost that game. Time to play a new one.

Sloane finds out Rax is back, but she knows he’s back before her knowledge, as philosophers might say, is both true and justified. She guesses, on instinct, because of the fingerprint he seems to leave on the cosmos.

Leading the Order has been bitterly oppressive, she’s sure everyone hates her, she first thinks it’s because they blame her for Rax’s constant betrayals of the remaining fleet, but it’s not that at all. They seem to hate her because they think she’s overstepping her station, that she’s high-minded and looks down on everyone else, but she knows it’s a double standard because they look down on everyone else too (including her).

And she tries over and over to prove that she’s strong and capable and dutiful. But she never got along with the upper echelons of Imperial command. She always pissed them off with her high-mindedness, too self-motivated, too determined, not groveling at their feet enough, and she’s been burning with humiliation from that -- and, in fact, a sick desire to please someone for once, they’re never happy with her, maybe that’s why she fell for Rax for so much longer than she should have; for a time he seemed to be endlessly pleased by her, even when he knew she was plotting against him. I’ll be good this time, she keeps promising herself, but how is this good? Why do they get to tell her what good means when they’re sneering at her for being merciful or patient?

And it makes her want to be cruel and ruthless. And she is. Just to impress them, she realizes. They’re never impressed.

And she runs away, but not all at once. Bits of her run away where they can.

Sometimes she makes fake identities and takes a few days off to visit planets that wouldn’t be happy to see her if they knew who she was. Sometimes she spends hours playing games for cadets against a computer and when her good sense returns she erases the evidence of this foolishness. Sometimes she runs by staying asleep and dreaming. Sometimes she runs away to research, losing herself in narratives of ancient history.

Anxiously, at her lowest, most depressed point, she visits the Imperialis and finds opera. Watching the holotapes is an exercise in self-flagellation, because of how tense they make her. She never even sits down, because that would make her feel vulnerable to attack from the shadows in the private theater hall. But it wakes her up, because it feels like a fight, and fighting these imaginary demons is easier than putting up with the constant scorn of her supposed colleagues. She sometimes pauses the recordings just to pace.

So this is where they both are when they meet each other again. Sloane hears about a Curséd Artefact that’s been causing a miasma of strange behavior aboard a ship, and that strange behavior includes hearing strains of faint music as if carried on the wind (and there’s no wind in pressurized starship corridors), and that’s when she knows-but-doesn’t-know it’s Rax. He’s being dramatic again.

It’s such a perverse relief to lay her hands on that red crystalline pyramid. It is definitely accursed, though; it hums with evil energies (or maybe it’s buzzing with pleasure at her touch).

Sloane promises herself she won’t fall prey to the Wiles again. She keeps the holocron locked in a vault but the ghost tiptoes up through the ship to visit her dreams.

The place where they meet is an enormous astral chessboard. (Sloane calls it chess, Rax calls it shah-tezh). Fine sand is strewn in patches across its huge carved tiles, as if someone has cracked their turn-counting hourglass over it like an egg. Sloane can’t see the edge of the board, but she sees scattered ruins marring the smooth plane. If the board was the tiled floor of a temple as big perhaps as the entire Imperial Palace, the ruins could be what’s left when it collapsed and eroded.

Neither of them have particularly ornate clothing. They’re both dressed up as what Sloane recognizes to be the Outcast piece, her in white rags, him in black.

He’s very cryptic and avoidant, but this time, Sloane sees through it at last. He hasn’t got a plan for her, he just wants to talk. At the same time she realizes she wants to use him to maintain her power. He’s something special that no one else has access to — and she might be jealous if that turned out not to be true. She’s troubled by these dark temptations, and tries to distance herself from them.

Rax discovers, as dream Sloane is not as good at hiding feelings, that Sloane has fallen into a deep depression.

It’s very uncomfortable to consider because he would have to admit she’s weak enough to be inferior, according to what Palpatine taught him. He rationally considers if this is the case, if she’s too much like him to be worthy, but his gut feeling is that he can’t dislike her, so he wants to consider other options first. He starts to find evidence for her being psychically attacked by a powerful entity in the Unknown Regions who is trying to usurp her.

Sloane is skeptical but when Rax gets her looking for patterns, she sees them everywhere too, they begin to seem inescapably real. Her dreams of this chessboard become a dream of a game played against a mysterious opponent. Rax becomes her ally and fellow strategist.

And then, what you might expect happens: Snoke manifests. He reminds Sloane a lot of Rax, but more hideous and openly contemptuous. Sometimes, Sloane is energized by knowing her emotional state is caused by a real enemy. Sometimes, it makes her feel less in control.

Snoke announces that the Order will belong to him soon.

Holocron Rax eventually gets a corporeal body in the form of a reprogrammed Sentinel droid, the ones with Palpatine’s face for holograms but of course, replaced with Rax. It’s a secret project that Sloane is willing to undertake once the threat of Snoke seems close at hand.

And does it turn out that Snoke is a being that becomes more real the more he is believed in? Maybe, but maybe not. After all, depression is real whether you believe in it or not, and so is a structural problem in your society. Maybe it would be interesting if it turned out Snokestuff was real, emanating from the Dark Side, and is copying Sloane’s underlying problems and using them as a template. Snoke comes across like an amalgam of everyone Sloane has been trying to impress, all the smug rich old white men.

She finally confronts Rax about this. She doesn’t want his admiration. She doesn’t think anything she’s done is admirable. She wants to fail in his eyes, because at least that’s honest. Snoke targeted her because she was on the verge of breaking down anyway.

And Rax? Has to face facts about whether he cares about Sloane as a great figure of history or just as a friend.

They’re both left to wonder what makes a possible friendship or love between them meaningful if they’re not part of a grand triumphant narrative. In the end, close interpersonal connection turns out to be more mundane than they realized, and the mundanity of it is what matters.

[hufflepuffmarlenemckinnon]

Of the Essence 9/22

A Marauder’s Era Fanfic

Pairings: Blackinnon, Jily

Rating: Teen-Mature for language and sexual themes. I will warn for the two later chapters that get a little steamy.

Word Count: 22k+

Summary: Sirius and James semi-inadvertently invent a new potion. It’s consequences to Sirius’s personal life are anything but straightforward.

A/N: I am a complete failboat at using Tumblr as a platform for my fic, but I am giving it a go and moving my current WIP over from here.

Ch. 1 Ch. 2 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7 Ch.8

Chapter 9; The Sunflower

Marlene,

I wanted to send you this flower because it looks like you. Sunflowers are both stronger and prettier than roses, I think. Additionally, it’s almost certainly a Hufflepuff. Look at it. You know it’s a Hufflepuff. I hope you like it. Maybe you’ll reconsider letting me take you on a date?

-Sirius

Marlene folded up the parchment that the letter had been written on. She didn’t even want her sister to see it. It was embarrassing.

She felt like such a coward. She’d snuck away and avoided him because talking about the strange thing that has developed between them would have been hard. Even just thinking about it was uncomfortable. How could she talk to him about it when she didn’t even know what she wanted? She couldn’t reconcile the feelings bubbling underneath the surface with the image she wanted to portray. She was supposed to be sure of herself. Steady. Persistent. An exemplary Hufflepuff.

She’d tried to tell herself it was all just confusion brought on by the intense physical chemistry they had. He was probably still a giant wanker and she’d just imagined the sweetness and sincerity. That line of self-delusion didn’t hold up to this flower.

“You have an admirer.” Sandra Cresswell, a fellow 6th year Hufflepuff noted from across the breakfast table.

“I dunno. It’s just a flower. Nothing really.”

“Who sends people sunflowers? That’s not very romantic. Aren’t roses the done thing?”

Marlene shrugged. Despite herself she felt defensive of her sunflower. He’d sent it because he thought it looked like her. That was more personal… and more romantic… but she wouldn’t say that out loud that would make it seem like she approved. Which she didn’t.

“Did it come signed?”

“No. I guess it’ll have to be a mystery sunflower then.” She lied.

“Well, I guess it’s nice that someone’s thinking of you.”

Was it? She’d almost prefer to forget about the whole thing. She’d certainly rather not talk to Sandra about it.

She managed to shut that conversation down but she wasn’t as lucky when her brother and sister dragged her to the corner table of the Hufflepuff common room. The twins were two sides to one coin. They were an unstoppable force together when working against her. She found the whole twin arrangement unfair. She’d taken the issue to her mum more than once.

“You’re not getting out of this baby sister. Where is it?” Grace asked with the utmost authority.

“Where’s what?”

“The love letter you received this morning. Word gets round.”

Lucan was such a gossip. It was near impossible to keep anything from him. She hoped he didn’t actually have sources who could see through walls or he might know way more than she was comfortable admitting to anyone.

“It was just a flower. No love letter. It’s nothing.”

Marlene felt sure that Helga Hufflepuff was rolling and restless in her grave. Lying to family… Pushing someone away for the sake of pride… Had the hat even made the right decision?

“Right and I’m the Queen of England.”

“All hail her Majesty, Queen Lucan.”

“You’ve been acting very strangely, baby sister. It’s almost like you’re… happy… or something. Don’t think we haven’t noticed.” Grace sounded like she was making an accusation.

“Am I generally morose?”

“No, of course not, but this is different. I catch you smiling for no reason.”

“Well maybe I’d been reading a good novel or something. Can I have some peace, now?”

“Why? So you can day dream about whoever sent you the love letter which you very clearly got?” Grace was quite confident in her assertion.

“No! I will do no such daydreaming! I don’t even like him actually…”

“So you admit there was a letter and you know who it was from! Ha! Caught you.”

“Oh Lucan! I’ll bet it was Sirius Black. He asked after our dearest baby sister a while back, after our herbology class with Gryffindor. And you know she turned him down prior to that…”

“I still can’t believe you turned down Sirius Black…” Lucan looked horrified.

Marlene shrugged. She didn’t want to talk about it. It was weird. Sirius Black was weird. People weren’t generally so confusing. Why couldn’t he have been like other people?

“Marlene do you even know who he is? I’d think you’d probably be a bit impressed if you did.”

“He’s some Gryffindor who knocked into me in the hall and gave me some line about being pretty when I’m mad? I dunno. Is he some sort of wizard chess champion or something? What’s so great about him?”

She deliberately failed to include the subsequent encounters she’d had with him. She hadn’t told a soul about it, and would have preferred to keep it that way. Her brother and sister and Merlin only knew who else knew she’d told him to bugger off. It wouldn’t cast her in a very flattering light if they knew she had gotten overly fond of kissing him and then spent the night in his arms wondering if her whole concept of him was a mistake…

“His brother is in your year. Regulus Black. He’s a right bigoted wanker, no? And from what I hear, Sirius was disowned over a year ago. He comes from a family of the very worst sort of blood supremacists. But he refused to be like them. He wouldn’t back down or pretend. So I guess that he hasn’t lived at home since before his 16th birthday. That’s… well… he might have given you a cheesy line… but you can’t deny the guts that must have taken.”

Marlene stared off into space. She hadn’t expected that. She thought he had just been some arrogant tosser who was used to getting whatever he wanted.

But now her own family was trying to convince her that the Gryffindor who had held her and made her laugh despite herself was some kind of brave principled aristocrat who’d been disowned by his own family?

They wouldn’t lie, of course. So it must have been true. But… that…why would he…

She felt so confused. Even more confused than she had before, which was no small amount.

“I hate to admit it Marls, but Lucy is right.”

“Will I ever convince you lot to stop calling me Lucy at school?”

“Nope. Sorry, Lucy. But you were right about Black. He’s got principles. He’s not a bad bloke. Just annoyingly popular.”

Marlene let out an exasperated groan. She couldn’t process all this.

“It’s ok Marls. You don’t have to… accept his weird flower offerings or whatever, but just know he probably means well. It’s entirely possible he’s never had to pursue anyone before.”

“Well that’ll be it then. I’m a challenge. That’s all. I’m sure he’ll get over the novelty of it.”

She was sure that if he was really all that fantastic then he wouldn’t keep wasting his time on her, anyway. He’d find someone better.

Later that night, with her curtain pulled around her bed Marlene got out her sunflower, which she’d charmed to stay fresh, and looked at it.

This was really sweet. No one had done anything like this for her before.

She wished she remembered what exactly was so awful about him, the first time she’d met him. All she could remember was the feeling. The impression of revulsion stuck with her, rather than any sort of actual behavior that had been really awful. She put a lot of pride into her instincts being good when it came to judging a person’s character. How could she be that far off base? What had it been?

She could think of several things that were not awful in the least…

The memory of his hands all over her sent a shiver up her spine.

She wished he hadn’t gone and done that. It was better when she didn’t remember what he looked like. That was only the first hurdle, but it had been hard to reconcile the undeniable fact of being physically attracted to him, with the fact she’d wanted him to leave her alone. She had rejected him several times already and it would be embarrassing to swallow her pride like that. It would have been easier if he just left her alone and moved on with his life after the first time.

It would have been easier but she couldn’t quite put her heart behind wishing it hadn’t happened. Worse than that, she kept hoping he’d find her again. If Marlene had the map, she was sure she wouldn’t have been able to stay away from him. She was going to have to admit to herself that somewhere along the line she’d grown fond of the irritating git. But she didn’t really want to draw attention to the whole bizarre ordeal and she wouldn’t go confront him in front of people.

Besides, what would she even say? ‘I still don't know what to make of you as a person, but I do know that you’re absurdly hot so please come sneak into my bed again’? That would be unfathomably rude, especially after he’d sent the flower… She couldn’t be so callous to someone who liked her enough to find a flower that actually did resemble her quite a bit. He was right. It was a Hufflepuff.  

Maybe Sirius Black wasn’t so bad.

[somekind0fmagic]

Chapter 6. Happy New Year

I do not own Harry Potter or the characters created by Rowling

So, I know in the first chapter I said that Anneliese has black hair, I actually meant to change that before I posted it, but I can be really forgetful. She actually had her hair dyed a reddish brown and by the beginning of Christmas break her hair was down to her shoulders and flipped out, kinda like Tracy’s hair from Hairspray (the 2007 version), and the hair dye had faded out into her natural light brown hair.

Plus, I wanted there to be a little bit of stuff from others POV, I was mostly doing a 3rd person with Albus, but I’m throwing some other people in there. It will be important for later dates

( Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14 )

Chapter 6. Happy New Year

Albus sat on the couch in the living room. It was the 31st and he was waiting for Scorpius and Anneliese to arrive. He sighed as he flipped through the pages of the comic his aunt had gotten him. She tried to talk to him about Rose when she gave it to him, but he got out of the talk by claiming he was needed somewhere else. 

He heard the roar of the fireplace and he looked up, he saw the dirty blonde hair of his friend appear. Albus sat the book down and stood up, “Hey Scorp!”

Scorpius smiled and stepped out of the fire, “Hey Al, how’re you doing?”

“Good, you?”

“Same, so are we just waiting for A?”

“No, no you are not.”

“Oh my god.” Albus gaped at Anneliese. “Your hair!”

Her hand instinctively raised up to her hair. “Oh, yeah, asked my aunt to cut and dye it. You don’t like it do you?” The smile on her face fell slowly.

“No, I like it, it’s cute. It’s...you!” She smiled again, “Honestly, not many people can rock half shaved hair, but you look good with it.”

Scorpius nodded, “He’s right, it suits you.”

“Good because I like it.” She looked around, “What room are we in?”

“Our living room, c’mon, let me show you my room.” They followed Albus out of the room and up the stairs. He stopped when he reached the door. “So, my sister, Lily, will be home in, maybe an hour or two. That’s her room, she said that you can stay in there if you feel more comfortable, mum also said you guys can stay in the extra rooms as well.” He opened the door and let them in, “It’s not much, but it’s comfortable.”

“I like it, but it’s just so….” Scorpius started, but he couldn’t seem to find the right word.

“Gryffindor.” Anneliese stated easily, “So not you.”

Albus shrugged, “It’s been like this my whole life, I never really noticed or cared. Maybe I'll ask mum and dad if I can repaint it over the summer”

“It's up to you, and I'm not surprised that you never noticed, you never notice anything.” She walked over to his desk and picked up the radio, “I have one of these.” She turned back to Albus, “My mum always has been interested in Muggle things, anything that can play music she has fallen in love with. I have one in my room.”

Albus nodded, “There’s more muggle technology downstairs if you’d like to see.” They walked out of his room and back down the stairs. \

----------------------------------------

“I don’t understand muggle sports.”

“I don’t understand sports in general so I beat you. Well, that is unless you count dancing, gymnastics, ice skating, or ice skating a sport, then I understand it.”

Albus shook his head at his two friends, “Of course that’s all you understand L.”

She shrugged, “They’re less dangerous and make more sense then Quidditch, Futball, Soccer, Tennis, and other sports.”

Everyone jumped when they heard the front door slam. “Lily?! Is it you?!”

Soon later Lily came into the room, her face was red from running in the cold, tear marks stained her face. She ran over to Albus and he instinctively wrapped his arms around her. “I hate her.”

“Who Lils?”

“Maria.”

“What happened?”

She sniffed, “She made fun of the fact that you and James go to Hogwarts, but since she believes it’s just a fancy private school, she said that it’s probably a centre for troubled youth and called you strange and then called me weird!”

“Oh Lily,” He murmured.

“Then she told me I look horrible and then said things about daddy’s scar and I wanted to tell her why he had it but she wouldn’t stop talking and making fun of me!”

“Lily, I’m so sorry that she did that to you...well, if it’ll make you feel any better, you can hang out with me and my friends. I’m sure they’ll be okay with it,” He looked over at his two friends, “Won’t you?”

Scorpius just nodded and Anneliese spoke, “Of course! Now I won’t feel alone as being a female!” Making everyone laugh, she walked over to Lily, “Us girls gotta stick together,” She held her hand out to Lily, “I’m Anneliese.”

Lily smiled, “I’m Lily!”

“What a pretty name.”

“I was named after my grandmother! Hey, do you know the muggle movie Barbie: Princess and the Pauper?”

“Of course! I babysit some of the little kids in the town near where I live and I’ve seen it about a dozen times! Wanna hear something cool?” Lily nodded, “My middle name is Erika. The movie came out the year before I was born and my mom has joked about saying that was why she named me that when in actuality she named me after her grandmother, my great-grandmother, and her brother, my uncle, his name was Erik.”

“Wow! That’s so cool!”

She nodded softly, Scorpius walked over to Lily, “I’m Scorpius.”

Lily shyly smiled, the blush that came to her face was only noticed by Anneliese. “Hi.”

Anneliese smirked and held back a small laugh. Little Lily had a crush and it was painfully obvious to the elder girl.

----------------------------------------

Everyone was getting their pajamas on before they were walking downstairs to watch the countdown for the next year. Albus and Scorpius were sharing Albus’s room while Lily and Anneliese were sharing Lily’s room (mostly because Lily begged for Anneliese to be with her). Anneliese was slipping a shirt on while Lily was reading a magazine. “Anneliese?” The other girl looked at her, “How...how is Albus doing?”

“What do you mean?”

She shrugged, “I don’t know, I just overheard my family talking on Christmas Eve night. Uncle Ron was saying things about Al being in Slytherin. I don’t get why he hates them so much, what did they do wrong?”

The black haired girl sat across from the small redhead. “How much do you know about the Wizarding Wars?”

“I know that many died and that it was a terrible event, why is that important?”

“Just wait, do you know what Voldemort’s followers were called?”

She nodded and Anneliese motioned for her to say, “Death Eaters.”

“Good, well, the majority of them were from Slytherin house. It’s a stereotype that all Slytherins are evil. I bet he’s upset because Al befriended a Malfoy, the Malfoy’s were big Voldemort supporters. Lucius Malfoy went to jail because of it. Draco Malfoy was tasked to kill Dumbledore, but he didn’t. But, Narcissa Malfoy, she saved your dads’ life. She lied to Voldemort and said he was dead, just because he told her that her son, Draco, was alive and okay.”

“But just because they were like that then doesn’t mean they still are.”

“I know, but some people can’t see past that.”

She sighed, “I’m happy that Al met you two, he seems happier than he was before he left.” 

Anneliese smiled softly, “I know, even on the train, he seemed miserable.” Then she sighed, “Has he always had a bad relationship with James?”

She nodded, “Yeah, they always fought. Never did it physical like it does now though. When mum and dad were talking about it when they started to happen-”

“Wait, physically? I just knew of their verbal fights, never did I know they got physical.”

Lily nodded, “Yeah, a few weeks ago James broke Albus’s nose even, apparently, according to James, that was because Albus ‘attacked’ Rose. I know she attacked him first, he was only defending himself.”

Anneliese let out a breath, “Huh, I never knew, Al just said that he ran into a wall in the dungeons, which isn’t surprising because well, it’s Al.”

Lily laughed, “Omg, we have a treehouse in the backyard and when we were little he fell out of it while trying to climb out and broke his arm. He also broke his leg from falling down the stairs.”

Anneliese began to laugh, “Why can I see that happening?”

Lily just shrugged her shoulders and died her laughing down. “What time is it?”

Looking at her watch she immediately bolted up, “11:58!”

Lily’s eyes widened and they both ran out of her room. They ran down the stairs, almost tripping on the way down. Making it into the room just as the 30 second countdown started. “You guys almost missed it.”

They rolled their eyes and Anneliese swatted at Albus’ arm. The 10 second countdown started and they all counted down. 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1, Harry and Ginny shared a kissed, along with Victoire and Teddy, who decided to come over a few hours back. “A year closer to going to Hogwarts.” Anneliese heard Lily say softly while she heard Albus and Scorpius mutter, “A year closer to graduating.” She just rolled her eyes and the boys and gave Lily a side hug.

----------------------------------------

It was the next morning. Albus was laying in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Reflecting on his last year. Getting accepted into Hogwarts, meeting the two best people, being put in Slytherin, his family hating him just because of his house. Sure, not all of it was fun, but the majority of it was.

There was a knock at his door and then it opened, “Albus? Are you and Scorpius up?” He sat up when Ginny asked the question, “Okay, well, if Scorpius isn’t up, then maybe wake him up in about 30 minutes. I’m making breakfast. Lily and Anneliese are downstairs playing Wizards Chess and James left about an hour ago.”

“What time is it?”

“It’s 10 am sweetheart.” Albus nodded and she left the room. He crawled over his bed and shook Scorpius’ shoulder.

“Dude, wake up, moms making breakfast.”

Scorpius shot up, “Food?”

Albus laughed at his friend. His dirty blonde hair was sticking out everywhere. “Yes, food. It’s 10 am. Apparently James left and the girls are downstairs.”

Scorpius scratched the back of his head, “We probably should get down there then, should we?”

Albus shrugged, “It’s up to you man.”

He got up and off the blow-up mattress, “Then let’s go.”

----------------------------------------

It had been two hours since his friends left. He and Lily were playing a muggle game called Go Fish. That was until James’ voice appeared, “Are you done investing the house with snakes?”

Albus rolled his eyes, “Are you done being a dumbass?”

“Y’know, mum and dad are fighting with our family because of you. Did you know that? I overheard mum and Aunt Hermione complaining about dad and Uncle Ron fighting over your house.”

“Well at least I don’t pick fights with people who don’t do anything. 3s?”

“Go fish. 7s?”

“Are you just going to ignore me?”

“Actually, I’m being factual, something you don’t understand. Here.”

Before James could continue Ginny walked in, “Is everything alright?” She looked at Lily, “Lily?”

“Oh, James was just saying some stuff to Albus, but yeah, everything's fine.” Ginny nodded and left the room. “Y’know James, would it hurt you to be nice for once in your life?”

“Would it hurt you to take my side for once?”

“I take the side of those who are right and don’t deserve to get shit said to them.” Instead of continuing to argue, he stormed out of the room. “Baby.” Lily looked up at Albus, “You okay?”

He nodded, scared to use his words. Scared that if he did, he would cry.

[northelypark]

For the ask #22 and Amelia and Clive (as much as I hate to admit I can't help thinking they'd make a nice couple ;P)

I once read somewhere that chess is a fairy-tale of 1,001 blunders. One of those droll aphorisms you don’t think much of until you find yourself in the exact situation implied and all that pithy cleverness comes back to haunt you. 

Was it really only 1,001? I felt as if I had blundered my way quite past that number. Perhaps against an ordinary player my mistakes wouldn’t have seemed so pronounced, but against someone who knew how to exploit them they stood out like blood spots on snow, easily seen, easily counted, a trail leading back to my mangled ego. A ghastly metaphor, but with that expression she couldn’t be out for anything less than blood. 

“Checkmate.”

She practically owned the word for as little as I ever got to say it, but I wasn’t the type to sulk. Not when I still had a chance at winning a verbal sparring match.

“What a surprise,” I said in a voice that suggested I was suppressing a yawn, “You know, I beginning to think you might cheat.”

“Cheat?”

Amelia’s satisfied smile at having won for the umpteenth time bent into a fierce frown. “How would I cheat?”

I smirked.

“I don’t know. Maybe you turned the board round when I wasn’t looking?”

“Turned the board? Really, Clive.  As if I’d want your five poorly positioned pawns instead of all mine. Not to mention I think you’d notice if all your pieces suddenly turned white.”

I laughed dryly. No one could utterly murder a joke with straight-laced logic like she could. 

“Poorly positioned pawns? Is that supposed to be a tongue twister?”She looked ready to slap me and I wondered if I’d gone too far, when her expression suddenly softened to a small smile.

“It can’t be good for you,” she said, fingering one of her plaits. With those ribbons in her hair she looked rather delicate, but I had long since learned that when it came to any sort of mental challenge she was made of steel.

“What?”

“To lose all the time. Granddad says it creates a mental block. So why don’t we play something you’re good at for a change? I feel like I should give you a chance to redeem yourself.”

I chuckled.

“How generous. And what if I’m not good at anything?”

“Er…but don’t you like playing cards?

It was true. I played often with Cogg and Shipley at home and I seemed to have developed a knack for it.

“I don’t think they’d appreciate us playing poker or blackjack in the library.”

“I don’t know how to play either of those, anyway. Something simpler?”

“Hmm.” I thought a moment. It would be a bit of payback if I could win at something less cerebral, perhaps something that required a different kind of skill. My mind immediately alighted on a slightly ridiculous party game that could still be managed with only two people, “How about Spoons?”

“Spoons?”

“It’s simple, really.” I said, taking out the deck of cards I’d started carrying with me (I was currently working on a code using the deck, a way for the four of us to communicate in secret, but I hadn’t gotten very far).

“All players are dealt four cards at the start. The dealer continues to pass cards from the rest of the deck during the round. The goal is to get four of a kind. Once you do you, you grab one of the spoons set in the middle of the table,” I paused, “That is, unless you see someone else going for one first. Then, even if you don’t have four of a kind you can try and grab one. Since there’s only two of us we’ll only use one spoon. The person who grabs it first wins.”

“We haven’t any spoons, though,” Amelia said.

“We can use a pencil,” I replied, “Do you want to try it?”

She appeared to think a moment.

“Alright. Let’s give it a go.”

She put away the chessboard and set a pencil in the middle of the table while I shuffled the cards. 

“Ready?” I said after I’d dealt.

“Ready.”

I flipped over the first card in the deck, glanced at it, and passed it on to her from across the table.  Before she had even turned it over, I’d passed another and another until finally I had four eights in my hand. I snatched up the pencil.

Amelia looked up, blinking from sorting through an enormous pile of cards.

“What?”

“I won.”

“Already?”

“It’s quite fast-paced.”

She frowned.

“You dealt. You got to see all the cards first. It was an unfair advantage.”

“I hardly agree, but I’ll let you deal this time if you’d like.”

“Alright.”

I shuffled, she dealt. Several minutes later her hand shot out for the pencil, but I got it first.

“Maybe you should stick to chess.” I said, jokingly, “I’m not sure if your reflexes are quick enough.

“Deal again.” she said, pushing her cards over to me.

Her expression had hardened. I knew that look. She was going to get this or die trying. And here I had thought her competitiveness extended only to chess.

As I began to pass cards to her this time, I noticed her eyes weren’t on her hand for more then a second. She had decided to switch strategies and was simply waiting for me to reach for the pencil so she could snatch it first. 

Deciding to try a little bluff, I suddenly jerked towards the pencil as if I was about to grab it.

Eyes flashing wide, Amelia lunged forward in her chair. With one hand, she knocked my own out of the way and with the other reached for the pencil, which was now rolling towards the edge of the round table.

“Wait–”

“I’ve got it!”

Amelia dove for the pencil across the table just as it dropped off the edge. She probably would have tumbled after it, if I hadn’t caught her waist in a flurry of cards, her arms instinctively wrapping around my neck.

For a moment we balanced precariously on our chairs over the table top, breathless. She was so close I could feel her heart thumping which, for some reason, only made mine beat faster.

“Well, that was close,” I managed.

Amelia loosened one of her arms and pulled back a bit so we were looking at one another with only a finger-span between us. Her cheeks were flushed and her blond hair was in her eyes with the sun glancing off of it and she was wearing that rather serious, determined expression with her brow knit that would have looked severe on anyone else but looked rather lovely on her.

“Clive?”

“W-what?”

I felt like someone had tossed me in an oven. It was impossible to breath and my face was hardening bread dough and there was some sort of silent scream roaring in my head that threatened to split my skull.

Then Amelia held up the pencil she had somehow managed to catch right in front of my face and smiled a triumphant battle-worn smile.

 "I win.”

[mischiefandspirits]

Scales and Arpeggios

Part of the Cat of a Different Color series

While Allura’s resting from the Balmeran ceremony, the paladins go on a training mission. Meanwhile, the cats run into an old friend and see an enemy.

Part 4: Mind Over Meow-tter

Pidge undergoes the sphinx's tests while the cats catch up with an old... friend?

<Ugh! We’ve been flying forever! How much farther?>

<Don’t you mean, are we there yet?>

<Are we there yet? Are we there yet?>

<Merla, Chip, enough. Blue, don’t encourage them.>

<Yes, dad.>

<Gross, could you imagine Ryou being our dad!>

<That’d make Blue our aunt and you’d be->

<Yes, Chip, thank you for that.>

<Knock it off you two.>

<Oh, come on, Ryou. They’re just keeping busy. The last thing we need is those two getting bored.>

<Might I remind you the last time I got bored, it resulted in all of us figuring out how to separate from our metallic forms? I’d say me getting bored is very profitable!>

<Merla, love, that is literally one moderately good instance tucked within millions of terrible ones.>

<Kiss a kwaila!>

<We’re flying right now, I can’t kiss you.>

<BURN!>

<I’m going to kick your->

<I’m surrounded by children. Honestly, can we have five minutes of quiet. Just five.>

…

“Anyone else tired?”

<Ha! Pua’s human spoke first!>

<Hunk didn’t count. Besides, it wasn’t a competition.>

“No.”

<Keith, I’m tired! Tell them I’m tired!>

<No, you’re not.>

“Okay, just asking. It’s been a while since we’ve, you know, not been fighting or adventuring or anything.”

<Point.>

<Better point, the three of us got blasted out of the sky an hour or so ago. I think we’re due for a nap.>

“You think we have it bad? At least our life force wasn’t sucked out to fuel an entire planet. Princess Allura still hasn’t fully healed.”

<Listen to your paladin, Merla.>

<A good mother listens to her children, but that doesn’t mean she has to obey!>

“Speaking of Princesses, didn’t Malocoti say we’d find this zigg-a-whatever here?”

“Ziggurat. It’s a step pyramid.”

“Then why don’t they call it a pyramid?”

<Probably because most people think of the Egyptian pyramids when you just say pyramid. Ziggurat’s look much diff- Oh! Pidge!>

“Just keep looking. Wait, I’m getting a reading! There!”

The lions landed and everyone walked out towards the ziggurat.

“It’s massive! So inside is where we’ll find this sphinx guy that’ll tell us where the pearl is?”

<Not exactly.>

The paladins jumped back with a shout as the ziggurat came apart, rearranging itself into the shape of a creature with the four-legged lower body of a feline and the upper body of a winged humanoid.

<HI ZYLIN!!!> Chip chirped.

<Chip, flirt with your soul-bound later,> Pua huffed.

<He is not my soul-bound anymore!>

<Hello, Great Pride. It is good to see you all again after so long,> the sphinx hummed before announcing, “I am the Great Universal Sphinx! Why have you disturbed me?”

<Why is your soul-bound always so dramatic?>

<PUA!>

“Wow!”

“We’re looking for the Yalexian Pearl. We were told you could help us find it. We need it to rescue our friend.”

<Can you just tell them instead of being your usual difficult self?> Ryou asked.

<No, My King. There are rules and traditions that must be followed, even by you and yours,> he answered. “I am a repository for great research. I have been analyzing life throughout the cosmos for over a million years. Of course I know where the pearl is; however, I do not know whether you are worthy of the information. Tell me, who is the most knowledgeable amongst you?”

“Her.”

<Chip.>

“The green one.”

<Her.>

“The short one.”

<Pidge.>

“That’s Pidge.”

<Chip.>

“Me.”

<Me.>

<Six, four, in favor of the human.>

Chip shot her sister a glare, which was met with a completely unrepentant look.

“It is decided. Your body, mind, and spirit shall be tested. Enter to prove yourself… and save your friend.”

Zylin collapsed back into Ziggurat form.

<Nice going, Merla,> Pua huffed.

<What?>

<We would have been better off allowing Chip to face the trials,> Ryou growled as the group began heading inside.

<Psh, Pidge will be fine.>

“Why’d he ask for the smartest person if there’s going to be a test of the body?”

<You were saying?>

<Come on, am I the only one that has faith in Chip’s palain?>

“You’re the smart one. Shouldn’t you know that?”

<I have all the faith in her. That doesn’t change the fact that we would have had much higher odds if I’d been the one selected.>

“Commence test of body.”

Suddenly mushrooms jumped off the walls and attached themselves to the male paladins. Their cats shivered as they felt the connections between them become clouded.

“What are you doing!?”

“The spores control your friends.”

<Keith!> Merla shouted, running for her cub, but a cyclone of sand rose up around the cats before solidifying into a glass dome.

The paladins rose up, glaring at Pidge with eyes covered by a white film.

“You must defeat your allies in combat. Without the assistance of the Great Pride.”

Shiro’s hand lit up with energy and he charged Pidge.

“They will fight exactly as your friends fight.”

Pidge brought up her shield, but the blow was still strong enough that she was knocked back into Keith’s arms.

“Let’s see if you’re smart enough to defeat them.”

Pidge kicked off Shiro’s chest, launching herself and Keith into a pillar. Taking the brunt of the impact, the Red Paladin released her on instinct. Freed, Pidge darted to the side, only to receive a kick to the side from Shiro that knocked her to the ground at the other paladins’ feet.

<Pidge!> Chip yowled.

<That’s it!> Merla hissed. She faded into quintessence and shot forwards.

The glass held her back just the same.

There was a thundercrack and she lit up with a wave of blazing blue flames that rolled across the dome.

<Merla!> Ryou roared as the four ducked under the assaulting heat.

The flames died back into quintessence and Merla collapsed into her cheetah form, panting and shaking with anger as she glared up at the unaffected glass.

<Zylin, let us out!> Blue growled.

<I apologize, Princess Salia, but I cannot. The rules must be followed. I will not control you out of respect, but you cannot be allowed to interfere.>

The five refocused on the fight, just in time to see Pidge bring a boulder down on Keith.

<I'm going to kill him,> Merla groaned.

Pidge scrambled out of the way as Shiro appeared behind her. She shuffled backwards as she brought up a holoscreen on her gauntlet.

<What’s she doing?> Blue asked.

<Using her brain,> Chip said.

<I thought this was a test of body,> Merla sighed.

<Well, the brain is a part of the body.>

<I thought Chip was supposed to be the know-it-all, Pua.>

Shiro stood over Pidge and bought back his fist. Suddenly his arm locked up and the glow died away. The shock even snapped Shiro free of the mind control for half a second.

Pidge used the pause to slip forwards and-

<By the Anodites! Did she seriously just deck Shiro!? You go Pidge!>

Pidge dropped to her knees, panting. “Sorry I had to hack your hand, Shiro, but I’ll turn it back on.”

The glass dome collapsed into sand as Zylin said, “Impressive. You will rise to the next level.”

<Keith!> Merla called, shakily rising to her feet before she and the others rushed over to their paladins. She froze as she saw the skin around his eyes slowly fading from lavender back to normal.

“Hey girl,” Keith said, reaching up to pat her on the head.

She flinched and focused in in time to see the last of the film disappearing from his yellow eyes.

“You okay?”

<Fine. You?>

“A little sore, but alright,” he groaned, sitting up. Merla helped him to his feet as the lavender faded from his skin and his eyes began to shift back to purple.

“Sorry, Pidge. We couldn’t control ourselves,” Hunk told the girl as she and Pua helped him to his feet.

“How’d you beat us all, anyway?” Keith asked, rubbing his side.

“I keep running files on all of your weaknesses. I exploited those weaknesses.”

Everyone except Chip stared at the girl.

“Our weaknesses?” Hunk asked incredulously as the group started heading up the stairs to the next room of the ziggurat. “How could you keep a running tab of our weaknesses?”

“Yeah, that’s messed up,” Lance agreed.

“Smart if you ask me.”

<Hate to say it, but me too,> Pua chuffed. <It would help us better cover the team’s weaknesses.>

“It worked, but if that information were ever to fall into the wrong hands…”

“Look, I’m sorry. I know it’s weird to do, to keep all that information on you all, my friends, but it’s just how I am. It’s my nature.”

Chip growled softly and nuzzled her side.

The group reached the top of the stairs to discover… a giant chessboard?

“The second challenge will be a game of chess.”

“Chess, huh? How do we both know about chess?”

“This is not the first time your species was tested. They failed, but remembered the game.”

<Seriously?>

“Wait, what!?”

<You’re kidding?>

“I visited Earth long ago. The game remained with your kind. Even though they got it wrong for a while, trying to make the king the most powerful piece, but eventually your society corrected itself.”

<Oh my- that explains so much!>

“That’s crazy!”

<How long were you there? How many humans did you interact with? When->

“Can we get back to the test. Please?”

<But->

<Chip.>

“Fine.”

“A draw will be considered a loss for you.”

“Doesn’t sound too hard. Who am I playing?

“Yourself.” Another mushroom hopped out of the shadows and latched onto Pidge before jumping across the room.

“Pidge! Are you okay?” Shiro asked, stepping forward to help support the girl.

“Yeah, but I feel like I stayed up all night not studying.”

“The spore has absorbed your mind. It will use your skills against you. And to be certain there’s no interfering…”

Holes opened up beneath the cats.

<Not again,> Merla hissed as they fell down. The sand of the tunnel swirled around them before shooting them out onto the chessboard.

Ryou landed in the spot of the white king, with Blue next to him as a bishop and Pua next to her as a knight. On his other side, past the Queen, Chip and Merla were also a bishop and knight respectively.

“You will have thirty ticks for each move. Begin!”

<Yeah, I’m not doing this.>

<Don’t move.> Chip snapped at her sister’s paw before it could leave her square.

<Why?>

<Have you never seen Harry Potter?>

<Harry what?>

<By the Anodites! Just stay on your square unless Pidge tells you to move.>

<Great.>

<Remind me again why I can’t just kill the king? It’s right there.>

<Once again, that’s not how knights move,> Chip sighed from off to the side where she and Blue were lounging after having been taken out.

<But if I have this chance why shouldn’t I just take it?>

<Because you’re a knight, not an assassin.>

<Not in this game, at least,> Blue snickered, rolling back to her feet and yawning. <Give her a break, Chip. She is the one in the room with the most experience attempting to kill a king.>

<Thank you, love, that’s very helpful.>

<She’s also the one with the most failed attempts at killing a king.>

“Checkmate!”

<Thank the Anodites!> Merla chirped, running over to the stairs that were rising up to allow the cats to reach their paladins. <Are we almost done with this nerd stuff?>

“Now to the most difficult challenge of all…”

The moment all the cats had made it onto the platform, it shot upwards. It carried them up to the top of the temple before knocking them down the side. Once they’d reached the ground, Zylin reformed into a sphinx.

“What can be totally broken apart and yet reform stronger than ever?”

“Oh, I actually know it!”

“What is it?”

“It’s Voltron!”

“Incorrect! You have failed!”

“What? Then what is it?”

“Hope. The correct answer was hope.”

“But Voltron is applicable! And very relevant!”

“I’m sorry, but the answer was hope. And now I will never tell you where the pearl is!”

<Are you kidding me!>

<ZYLIN!>

“I mean, like a lot of things could have been the answer if you think about it. Like love.”

<A kingdom can be stronger once it’s brought back together,> Ryou offered.

“I’ve heard of people breaking swords and then smelting them even stronger.”

<Bones. Bones are stronger after you break them!> Merla hissed.

“My heart is stronger than ever, despite it being broken many times.”

“Isn’t that love, like Hunk said?”

“Oh be quiet before I break you and see if you reform stronger.”

“I think Pidge’s answer should be honored,” Shiro said, stepping between the two fighting boys.

“Well that’s not how it works! I make the rules! And I’m not helping you at all!”

<Zylin!> Ryou roared.

<I’m sorry, My King, but the rules say the test of spirit is mine to set and this is the one I’ve chosen. The human has failed,> Zylin growled. “Now get in the lions and leave!”

“I’ve always hated riddles,” Keith growled as they all returned to the lions.

As Pidge passed the Red Lion, she turned back and pointed up at Zylin. “You know what? You want to test my spirit? Try standing between me saving my friend. You’re gonna have hoped that you hadn’t!” She jumped inside Chip and grabbed her controls in a white-knuckle grip. “Mind if I say it, Shiro?”

“Go for it.”

“Form Voltron!”

Pidge relaxed as images flickered past her eyes, her mind linking up with Voltron’s system. Meadows, forests, cliffs, hills, wrenches, whisks, storms, thrones, charts, shields, volcanoes, wildfires, swords, stars, glaciers, rivers, paintings, and sweaters all flashed through to leave her feeling connected.

“Tell us where the pearl is!”

“You are more foolish than I thought! I will crush you!”

The sphinx hit them right in the jaw.

<Ow! Zylin! Dim!>

They crouched down and Pidge called out, “Keith, help me stabilize. Hunk, lock it up. Lance, do your thing!”

“Oh yeah! Finally! Voltron Leg Swipe!” the Blue Paladin cheered as they spun about, swinging their leg out.

The sphinx lifted into the air before the could hit.

<Whoops.>

“Oh come on!”

They shot into the air, then body slammed him to the ground.

<YIELD!>

“Okay! Okay! I’ll tell you, ” he groaned and they got off him. As he stood, he said, “ I’m sorry. I know it was a horrible riddle. I just do that so people can’t answer correctly. I do it to make myself feel superior.”

<Never changes… Not my soul-bound anymore!>

“It’s pathetic really.”

“I’ll say,” Lance snorted.

“Hey, I saw in your mind. Do we really want to get into who’s more pa- ” he cut off with a flinch. He knelt down and ducked his head. “ Apologies, Blue Paladin.”

<Go Blue!>

“Uh, what just happened?” Hunk asked.

“I think Blue just told him off,” Lance said, sounding awed.

“She did. I spoke hastily and without thought -”

<The usual.>

“- and should not have said what I did. From your response, I can see that you all have come far in such a short time. I can tell you will do great things as the Great Pride’s chosen knights.”

“Great Pride?” Pidge questioned.

“The pearl is in the Evershadow or our moon. But it is a dangerous place and darkness lurks below.” He stood up and began to collapse back into a ziggurat. <Take care, Great Pride. And farewell sweet Dansa. Until we meet again.>

<Shut up.>

“So… that’s it then?” Hunk asked.

“Apparently.”

“I think Blue still wants to kick the pyramid.”

“I know Merla wants her to.”

“Alright, let’s head out. Looks like we’re heading up to the darkside of the moon.”

“Do you think they’ll have cookies?”

“Cookies?”

<Merla!>

“I’ll explain on the way,” Lance sighed.

[lostamxngstars]

God’s Game

Siblings thrown away from civilization in order to live, has now become the elusive, top-ranking player called 『　　』.

And after a tournament and a simple chess game, a new game comes.

『No Game No Life x Heroes of Olympus Crossover AU』

AO3 | WP

In the beginning was a world war.

In that world war were half-bloods: young and old, able and crippled, men and women. They scrambled day and night to protect the camps, the mortals, and themselves against the half-bloods standing at the other side of their gun. This war didn't touch the di Angelos, who'd been living and moving away from the worst sectors of the worldwide chaos. They would always find themselves in a hotel, waiting for where they will move next according to Hades. They were neither sad nor happy with the choice, however. It was unfortunate that they were akin to prisoners but one step outside would make them shorter by a head.

Until Zeus finally had enough, and brought down the entire hotel over their heads out of anger. For Hades had been deliberately ignoring his will, and only the Fates know how long could one's patience can go. Even for gods.

Only Nico survived that encounter, if not for Hades who blinked to existence right next to him. But he was all too late to save his mortal wife and his half-blood daughter. His memories were left intact, and he sorely wanted no more of that life. Of hiding. But what could a seven-year-old boy do? His father sent him to the Lotus Hotel and Casino with nothing but his clothes, then, vowing two things before leaving: to get in touch with him.

The other was obvious. I'll protect you from any god who might hurt you.

At that time he was seven, and a seven-year-old needed an education. But there was no way they could bring a mortal teacher inside. The hotel sucked the life out of every mortal to enter and never left. No, Nico didn't want to have a brain-dead, poker-ravished teacher. So he had to make do with what was available. 

The games. 

Often he would hear people discussing about cheap tricks done by those who shuffle cards, some patterns they'd seen when they played and watched the players and how they would make use of it. Nico took them to heart, wanting to learn all of it. It was still education, just informal. Uncommon. Strategies were important. And if people only looked deeper, they would realize that these games can be manipulated with statistics and probability. For the latter he needed to sharpen his wits. Enough to see through the game. Enough to outsmart his opponents.

But of course, kids weren't allowed to play with the adults in the casino. So when a certain lawyer came to tend Nico's needs, he always asked him to take him there and play in his stead. At first they lost. That was okay. Nico studied the way his opponents think, studied the field, study, apply, learn from the loses, rinse and repeat. In a few months they started winning in bigger bets, beat the adults who looked like they literally lived seventy years in the casino. The prizes were almost bigger than his own allowances coming from the god of riches and the Underworld, and that was something.

By the time he was eight, he met his half-sister. A little furtive thing, almost naive. Yet Hazel Levesque knew how to read people like a book. Her eyes were soft and gold, unsuspecting but beneath that was a girl who did not trust anyone, not even the father who saved her.

So he really couldn't hide his surprise when he showed her how to play cards those golden eyes lit up in excitement.

Soon, they played together with the lawyer still being their representative. Win, win, win. That was all they did every hour and every day. The mortals always fought against them even when they kept on losing their coins by the thousands. Two years later it got boring. No one really put up a fight against them. And in the pit of despair they stayed. They didn't want to fight anyone in the thrice-damned hotel anymore. They wanted a taste of fresh air.

Their restlessness reached their father and so he stepped up the game. Games from the mortal world. Every year there would be new consoles, new game disks, new gadgets, faster internet installations laced with the strongest defense magic. Their world which was once the whole of Lotus Hotel shrunk to their penthouse suite, filled with every game imagined. They spent unholy amount of hours fighting in virtual worlds and beating the odds. They collected books in digital format to read about the outside world which, to them, almost felt as far as Nico standing at one end of the Milky Way's arm and Hazel at the other.

Living in that hotel made it so easy for Nico to forget that he was supposed to avenge his dead mom and sister.

Playing games everyday made it so easy for Hazel to forget how she had suffered in the hands of her cruel mom and the crueler Earth Mother.

And yet.

They wanted to make this moment, the magic of gaming, last forever.

The outside world didn't matter. Not anymore.

"Neeks."

"Yeah?"

"I'm dying."

Nico instinctively looked at the HP bar of Hazel's characters, (one on 95% and another on 94%) then realized she meant it in real time. "This is why I told you to get protein bars."

"But the chocolate. The new ones. I heard they were good."

"I know. And I wouldn't have asked for three bars if I didn't want to try it out myself. But to take half the box for our stock? We've got a long and bloody tournament."

"I really thought I brought the right one. I was so sure..."

Nico made quick work of the minions. They were sprinting once more to the deeper parts of the dungeon. "Nectar? Ambrosia?"

"Nein."

"Then what else do we have?"

"Cheetos."

Nico snorted. "Good taste."

They were heading towards the Grand Master, an angelic figure with four wings, four or five or ten HP bars (it depended on who you asked), armed with god-level spells and other things that beta testers have predicted. No one agreed on how powerful the Grand Master is, only on what it does after you lose to it. Your characters, its throwaway identities, and the game itself will be deleted from your PC. Some reported losing memories of the game or forgetting the game's name until they ventured outside and saw an ad... All sorts of strange stories.

Knowing the why behind those reports were beyond the 『      』's pay grade, though.

They were a small party of four played by two, last one standing and armed with god-level spells as well. At the moment they rushed through the dungeons, decimating the minions trying to ambush them. The siblings had one advantage: they were not as limited as a virtual character controlled by machines. And they never had a black spot on their standings. Ever.

On one of Hazel's phones, the screen showed a forum playing their game-play through live-stream. The nets buzzed with their title. Four million hits and counting. Thousands of comments and rising. Idolized. Hated. Loved. Mocked. It didn't matter. They were not regular players anyway.

Playing for almost two days with only a few minute breaks had been known to break down gaming mortals. But they were not just gaming mortals. They were demigods and they had a bit of nectar and ambrosia. But without those and the protein bars, they were as good as screwed. Nico wanted his characters to hide for a while in one of the catacombs, just enough to stretch and gloat at a Cheetos before devouring a bag. But the whole tournament was time-sensitive even their breaks were determined in system time.

There would be no breaks until they defeat the Grand Master.

"Needs HP," Nico grumbled.

"Look ahead for enemies. I'll feed you."

Nico smiled. After a quick three-sixty, he reported the two-hundred-and-fifty-meters area around them as clean. Hazel layered their characters in defensive spells, sent a few minions to set traps, and then grabbed a bag of Cheetos nearby. The area outside the boss room was pretty empty, which was probably part of a common strategy: gather everything at the key point of conflict. So much the better.

They ate and gulped down water as fast as they can, careful not to let a drop fall on their equipment. Nico wiped himself clean with the back of his hand. "I'm taking charge of the food starting tomorrow."

"My chocolates—"

"Will be safe," he assured her. "Have you checked the time?"

"I've eaten seven bars. Three every day. This is the second day...?"

"Unsure?"

"No."

"We'll discuss it la—god's cur!"

A horde raced out of the darkness. Thanks to Hazel's efforts earlier, the front-line shredded itself so bad it affected the little minions at their tails. Chaos everywhere, NPCs dying a little noisier than one would think. Their characters didn't have to move to inflict death but magic was not inexhaustible. Already, Hazel's characters chugged as many HP potions as they can at the side to fill their losses.

"Let's end this," Nico declared, moving his characters through the mob. Hazel followed suit.

They stayed awake for the next two days, eating Cheetos in a haste while their feet took the job of their hands on the mice. It was especially hard for Nico who doesn't have to use his feet very often and in this position. He was basically leaning far away

"Neeks..."

Oh, no, the loving brother thought. "We've gone through worse, Hazel. You can do this."

Worse as in hunted by foes. Worse as in kept awake by nightmares. Nightmares woven by gods, by magic, by the stink of this hotel — a lot of things. So many things.

She knew it. Yet. "We're almost... Done... I..."

"And then you can rest," Nico promised, "all day long and until the next day, and you'll wake with chocolates at your side, I swear it."

"...if you say... So..."

The last HP bar, Nico muttered as he moved his character around, dodging the spells thrown at him. Even if IRL Hazel was lagging her characters didn't reflect it. Impressive sweet sister. He took out his trump card and set out the most powerful spell he knows against the damned boss.

Die already!

A great light filled their screens as his spell and the Grand Master met, and then the victory spiel and banners flying everywhere.

Nico and Hazel slumped against their chairs, exhausted. Pings filled their phones. Of course, these were only throwaway IDs and emails, quickly filling with news about 『      』's victory.

"They've got... something... to talk... About."

"Let them talk, little sister. Remember Snow?"

"Know... Nothing..."

"Precisely."

A special mail ringtone played on another phone. It announced any email coming from somewhere not listed among their saved addresses. Nico looked around for it for a while until he found it on one of the Cheetos boxes.

The subject was addressed to...

"Hazel..."

"Mmm."

"Hazel, look."

"...Why...?" Hazel was already rising, though.

"Come on. It's a mail. For us."

She started falling back on the floor with her frown. "What's so... different..."

Nico showed it to her but she shielded her eyes. "Too bright!"

"Ah, sorry. Sorry." He set down the brightness a little lower, and showed it again. "Read the subject."

"'To the siblings, 『      』.' Wait—" she stared at Nico with wide eyes. "No one knows we are!"

"She woke." Hazel stuck out her tongue. "You're right. No one knows that about us. So this person, whoever he is..."

"...Knows something."

They read the email's body together.

【Have you siblings ever felt that you guys were born into the wrong world?】

"Great. He knows our hearts."

"At least it's not another cheap invitation."

"Too true."

Attached below it was a simple link. It didn't look anything special, and seem to lead to... probably some game. Nico wasn't particularly worried with viruses; though of course, it would mean that he did not safeguard his computer with several firewalls. Which he did, and checked it as often as he could. He sat on his chair and let Hazel sit on the desk, switching the screen to show that email and clicked on the link.

It showed a plain online chess game.

Hazel squinted. "Really?"

"Really."

Though looking quite dead, Hazel managed a smile and blew a few strands of curly hair out of her faces. "Think you can...?"

"I beat Grand Masters for breakfast."

It was a record. A record he couldn't take for real. One step outside still costs them a head. Nico made his first move, Hazel watching intently. Nico knew what she was doing, reading through every move, calculating in advance. He also knew that she should be the one playing, knew that Hazel knew she should be the one playing.

But for Hazel to keep up this renewed energy, she needed a break. This, allowing herself to only calculate at the side, suggest a move or stop one, was an a-okay substitute. Somewhere in the hours they switched. Somewhere in the hours Nico started feeding Cheetos to Hazel, piece by piece. If Nico's eyes talked they'd be complaining.

They finally won after seven hours.

Hazel fell on the desk, loud. She didn't even say any "Ouch!" or "It hurts..." She's really tired. Nico pursed his lips and stroked her hair. "You won, dear sister."

"We... did... 『      』..."

It was a joke, their title. 『      』. Children of darkness, of emptiness. The void. Nothing. Nothing. Blank. Nothing. But no one wanted to die knowing nothing. No one wanted to leave knowing they did nothing to change their lives. So did Nico. That's why he learned how to play the game, the safer game, why he wanted Hazel to learn with him, why they strive to be on top without any black spots. It was hard work—they weren't children of the Wise Goddess—but it was fun. They smiled and laughed after a long time, and Persephone knows how much it made Hades happy.

So happy that he willfully drowned them in games, reported they were dead somewhere, the bastards like that all too well. And thanks to the gods unchanging rules no one could properly monitor them on the webs. No. That was too risky even for a god. The god of Death couldn't even Skype them for more than five minutes without hiding somewhere safe. They heard that the only thing the Wine God played these days was a PacMan machine.

A new email popped up on the screen. Same sender from earlier.

【As expected, 『      』. You really are good. It's a waste that such talents... are left in the darkness.】

They exchanged glances.

Was it possible that their father could somehow see this in the palace? He gave them this PC set laced with magic. What would he make of this?

"Trying to provoke us," Hazel pointed out.

Nico typed in a reply, heedless.

【This is the only way we can enjoy the cursed life we have. Why do you care anyway?】

Shortly after sending it came another email.

【What do you guys think about this world? Is it interesting? Is it a place worth spending your life in?】

"He must be joking," Nico decided. He was about to turn off the PC when another email came through.

【What if a world where everything was decided by games truly existed? The whole world above a game board, where the objectives and rules were clear. What do you think?】

They exchanged looks again. And together they typed in a response.

【Then we'd rather be there. Right now.】

As soon as they hit Send, static took over every screen. Strange points of light seeped through the walls. More appeared every second, breaking the walls.

"Impossible..." Nico whispered.

They could hear thundering cracks coming everywhere.

"Earthquake?" Hazel asked, clutching his arm. He squeezed her hands. They were cold with fear.

"I don't—we would've—"

The floor gave way and they started falling...

But not towards a hotel room right beneath them, like what they expected.

But towards the wide, pastel-like sky adorned with gigantic chess pieces, leaving the stars and the planets and the galaxies and a disintegrating box which was their old life behind them.