#as you might notice orion was named after his father -- just like the king's first son and orion's elder half-brother the first prince was | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

carewyncromwell · 4 years ago

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The next Cinderella AU part is here...and I am so thrilled about this part, because not only do we get a new character (who I’m quite sure you can identify from the sketch above -- only my second time drawing him ever, and I’m actually pretty happy with it!), but we’ll also get a nice serving of drama! Goodie!!

Robin Hood as a legendary figure first originated through the oral tradition, so its history is a little hard to plot out, but his first reference in writing is a ballad from the 15th century. Although our modern image of Robin Hood is that of a chaotic good heroic figure, his original incarnation was decidedly less saintly -- he was a bandit, and although he did refrain from stealing from women, he was rather violent, reckless, and hot-tempered, as well as flagrantly against both clerics and all nobility. Robin Hood’s backstory of being a disgraced nobleman who turned outlaw after losing his title and land and who remains loyal to the “good king” Richard while opposing the unlawful regent Prince John was added later, presumably to make him a bit more “approachable” to an Elizabethan audience who was more accustomed to hearing tales about nobility (just look at a lot of Shakespeare’s plays from that period -- many of them center around royalty or the upper class). Plays about or referencing Robin Hood then increased in popularity on the British Isles throughout the 16th and early 17th century, until the rise of Puritanism in the 1640′s put a halt to theatrical productions. (Bloody kill-joys.) For more information on the history of Robin Hood’s development, I strongly recommend this analysis done by Overly Sarcastic Productions (...actually, just watch everything on their channel, it’s all great XD).

Previous part is here -- whole tag is here -- Katriona “KC” Cassiopeia belongs to @kc-needs-coffee -- and I hope you enjoy!

x~x~x~x

Carewyn had a lot of trouble returning to her daily routine at the palace the following morning. Getting so close to the border with Orion and hearing about how much scarier it was likely to get on the battlefield made her all the more worried for Jacob’s well-being. Even if the spell Charles Cromwell had paid for nine years ago made it so that Jacob would stay alive as long as he willed it, Carewyn dreaded the thought of what harm, physical and emotional, that Jacob might face. If she only had some idea which battalion he was a part of and where on the front he’d be, then she could always just try to send a letter his way...maybe even ask Orion to drop it off to the camp for her, since his father was an officer. But Carewyn had combed every military roster she could get her hands on, but hadn’t been able to find a single record of Jacob anywhere.

‘He must be under another name,’ Carewyn told herself.

It wouldn’t be too unreasonable that Charles wouldn’t want Jacob to advance in the ranks on the back of their family name. And really, Carewyn knew full well how displeased her grandfather would be if he found out she was trying to reach out to her brother without his approval -- he could’ve even forced Jacob to take on another name, just to try to make it that bit harder for Carewyn to contact him without his approval...

Carewyn’s friends noticed a rather abrupt shift in her mood. She was singing as always, but her choices were a bit less upbeat and her voice sounded oddly distracted and nostalgic. At one point, Andre mentioned offhandedly that he’d been designing themed outfits for his friends to wear to his mother’s New Year Eve’s Masque Ball, but Carewyn had trouble putting much attention on it.

“I’ve already finished some ‘owl wings’ on a cape for KC and a fur-trimmed wolf mask and gown for Erika...I was thinking perhaps a stag for Bill, a dragon for Charlie, and a lioness for Ginny? I considered a horse at first, but I think a pale gold would make her just glow, don’t you think? Yours I’m most excited for, though...I’m hoping to actually make your newest pair of shoes with fabric on the inside for comfort and diamond on the outside for sturdiness, if I can manage it!”

“Mm...that sounds great,” said Carewyn absently.

Her gaze was drawn out the nearest window, as far out as she could.

“...Andre,” she said slowly, “I realize this is very last minute, but...may I have this afternoon off, to go see my family?”

Andre blinked. “Is something the matter?”

“Oh no, no,” Carewyn lied with as pretty and reassuring of a smile as she could. “It’s just...well, it’s nearly Tristan’s birthday. My uncle keeps him very close to home, compared to my other cousins...I merely thought I might stop by and bake him a little something, as a surprise.”

Andre frowned slightly. “You...get along better with your uncle and his son than with Iris, then?”

“No, but Tristan is only a boy. It’s hard to hold any bad behavior against him. And well, maybe if he and the others don’t know I made it, he’ll enjoy it better.”

Carewyn could see Andre still looked confused and a little dismayed, so she quickly added, “I’ll be back by tomorrow morning, in time for my rounds. I won’t allow it to interrupt my duties.”

Andre offered a hesitant smile. “Well, all right...if it really means that much to you.”

Carewyn’s eyes softened. “Thank you, Andre -- I really appreciate it.”

Fortunately for Carewyn, Andre wasn’t the best at picking up on other people’s pretenses. Unfortunately for Carewyn, two of his most regular confidantes were his cousin KC and fencing instructor Erika, and they did pick up on Carewyn’s odd behavior.

“She said she wanted to surprise her cousin with something for his birthday?” asked KC, frowning deeply.

“Well, yeah,” said Andre. “I admit, it seemed a little weird to do something so nice without even wanting credit, but Carewyn is an awfully selfless sort. From the way she made it sound, she just wanted to do something nice for him.”

“And you believed her?” said Erika rather coldly.

She whacked Andre’s practice sword out of his hand with her own, making the Crown Prince hiss in pain.

“I’ve told you before, Prince Henri -- you all may think Carewyn Cromwell’s nothing like her family, but that’s absolute bunk. She might be more pleasant than them, but she’s not stupid and she’s not honest. Or did you not notice that that weird guy she hangs out with keeps calling her ‘his lady,’ as if she weren’t the penniless orphan of a deadbeat merchant?”

Erika picked up Andre’s sword and tossed it back to him with ease.

“Then of course that guy himself is shady as all get out.”

Andre frowned. “You mean Orion? Come on, Erika, he isn’t that bad -- I thought he seemed quite amiable, myself. Don’t you agree, KC?”

“He is,” said KC fairly. “But Erika isn’t completely off-base. There is a lot about Orion that we don’t know -- that even Carewyn herself doesn’t know. She admitted as much to me, after I first met him. That being said,” she raised her own sword and got into position to attack Andre, “I don’t think Orion’s a threat. You would think anyone with the ability to sneak over the palace walls not once but twice would’ve tried to make some move to attack you by now, but he’s only ever come looking for Carewyn. And although I don’t completely understand the reason behind why she’s acting like a lady around him,” she shot Erika a faintly reproachful look as she and Andre traded blows, “I’m pretty sure it has more to do with her own insecurities than because she’s a terrible person -- ow! Damn it!”

Andre had successfully disarmed KC.

“Insecurities?” he said, his eyebrows furrowing in concern. “What is there for her to be insecure about? I mean, yes, she has no dowry, and taking Orion’s wardrobe into account, I’d suppose he has to come from a family with modest wealth -- but Orion seemed to enjoy the Weasleys’ company quite well, and their family is poor. I think they’d make a lovely match, really,” he added with a rather smug grin. “They even matched at the Festival, without realizing it.”

KC massaged her wrist, frowning a bit sourly. “Yes...but Carewyn is solely under Lord Cromwell’s charge. He’s the one who sent her here. He’s the only guardian she really has. And I think it’s quite clear how much influence he has over his family -- even his daughters who married into other esteemed families still live at his estate with their husbands and children, rather than moving out onto their own estates. And in Carewyn’s case, she doesn’t even have a parent to help shield her from Lord Cromwell’s will. She doesn’t have a penny to her name. So that means, in effect, she’s chained to him, and in those circumstances...well...”

She hesitated.

"Well what?” Andre prompted her.

KC looked incredibly uncomfortable.

“I didn’t want to say anything before without knowing for sure...but I think someone’s been looking at our military ledgers, documenting troop placements. Everything’s neatly put away the way they should be, but there are more fingerprints on them than before. And usually I’m the only one who has much use to look those up, whenever I’m ready to suggest a new war strategy...”

Erika’s eyes narrowed very sharply and she got right up into KC’s space. “And you’re only just saying this now?! That information could be critical to Royaume’s enemies! What if that guy Orion sneaked in not just to see Cromwell, but to get his hands on those? Or what if it was Cromwell herself, working in collusion with him?”

“Impossible,” Andre said forcefully. “Carewyn would never be a spy for the enemy -- it’s not in her character.”

“And I don’t think Orion would know where those documents would be, even if he did sneak in,” said KC.

Erika, however, looked unconvinced as she made for the door. “You can coddle those two all you want, but I plan to tell the King and Queen -- they’ll want to interrogate Cromwell and this ‘Orion Freeman’...”

“Erika, belay that!” Andre said in a suddenly much sharper and more authoritative voice. “That’s an order.”

Once Erika had stopped walking and turned back around, the Crown Prince exhaled heavily and crossed his arms in a business-like manner.

“I’ll get to the bottom of this,” he said firmly. “If Carewyn is heading to the Cromwell estate, she’ll have to take the road through town, correct? I’ll simply take a horse and follow the road after her.”

Erika and KC looked startled.

“Uh, Andre,” said KC, “you haven’t forgotten that you’re not allowed to leave the palace, have you?”

Andre smirked. “No. I’m just sneaking out.”

Before Erika and KC could articulate an argument, he added in a much sassier voice, “Look, I’m doing it whether you come with me or not. I’d appreciate the company if you want to come along -- all I expect is that you’ll dress appropriately. I hear linens and cottons are fashionable for those who don’t wish to attract attention.”

And so Andre, KC, and Erika made preparations to follow Carewyn...completely unaware that a half-hour earlier, Bill and Charlie Weasley had -- after having a similar, but much more concerned conversation with Badeea Ali about Carewyn clearly lying to Andre’s face -- decided to take their horses and tail their friend themselves. And sure enough, the two eldest Weasleys soon enough found themselves following Carewyn on the road heading northeast, avoiding the Cromwell estate all together.

At the very same time, in Florence, Orion had finalized his plan. Today was the day he was going to request a formal audience with Prince Henri, as Prince Cosimo VII. As Carewyn had said, he’d need to act fast if he was going to stop his father from finding a way to complete his own ruthless strategy -- the battlefield itself would be a difficult place for Orion to make his case, with so many distractions, but he knew a more balanced, peaceful setting wouldn’t be. And so he wrote a long letter to the King, explaining everything that he had learned from Royaume and its people as well as Florence’s own, so as to make a case for peace. He then had the court magician Severus Snape deliver it to the Florentine camp in his stead, while he dressed in his finest and prepared to leave for Royaume.

When he made as if to take his own horse, however, Orion found Skye and McNully waiting for him, a black coach already prepared.

“If you’re planning on going to meet Prince Henri, you really should arrive in style,” said McNully with a wry smile. “A good first impression to the King and Queen would help your case by a good 45%.”

“And you have to know there’s no way in Hell we’re going to let you go out and expose your true identity to the enemy without back-up,” Skye added, her arms crossed over her chest. “

Orion’s black eyes softened. “...Thank you.”

As he climbed into the carriage, both McNully and Skye’s faces nonetheless betrayed some hesitation.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” McNully asked. “There’s a 74% chance they’ll respond badly to it -- I reckon there’s a 39.5% chance they’ll try to arrest you on the spot and hold you as a prisoner of war...”

“I carry no weapons with me, and I come with the explicit purpose of diplomacy,” said Orion levelly. “Therefore I’m not an enemy combatant. As long as I follow their direction while under their roof, then any harm they might do me would be violating the conventions of war...and the Royaumanians, for all of their flaws, do have honor.”

“One could make a case for you having been involved in espionage, though,” McNully pointed out, but Orion ignored him and settled down in the carriage, crossing his legs offhandedly.

“What about Lady Cromwell?” said Skye, her voice a bit lower and more concerned. “She’ll find out you’re a Florentine. And not just any Florentine, the Prince of Florence.”

Something sad flickered through Orion’s confident, unflappable expression.

“She was going to learn the truth sooner or later,” he murmured. “If our time together has come to an end...then at least I may have the memories to hold onto...and the knowledge that by ending this War peacefully, I may have spared her of more heartache.”

He closed his eyes and began to meditate, clearly having said his piece on the matter. Skye and McNully, however, couldn’t help but exchange a look that was both anxious and very sad.

As long as they’d known Orion, he’d always been a little reckless, but he was also passive and avoided direct confrontation. This plan to directly appeal to Royaume’s royal family, however, required a lot of guts -- far more than either of them had thought Orion possessed. And they knew such courage could only have been encouraged by one person...the very same person who Orion loved so much that he would choose to follow her example and protect what she loved, even if it meant destroying their relationship forever.

Orion meditated during most of the journey to the Royaumanian palace. It was merely fortunate that, as they approached, McNully broke him out of his trance by tapping him on the shoulder and pointing out the window. If he hadn’t, then Orion would not have seen a rather familiar trio of riders on horseback, riding through town past them -- a short, stocky lady with dark red hair and freckles; a very tall blonde with a square jaw and sharp eyes; and a very handsome dark-skinned man dressed in a purple tunic, emerald green pants, and gold-buckled black boots.

“Stop the carriage!” said Orion, his soft, level voice nonetheless very firm despite not rising in volume.

He barely waited for the carriage to completely stop before slamming the door open and jumping out.

“Andre! KC!”

Andre, KC, and Erika all stopped their horses in an abrupt halt and turned around as Orion dashed up to them.

“Orion?” said Andre, startled.

KC looked from the rather finely dressed Orion to the expensive-looking black coach behind him and back. Erika’s eyes narrowed critically upon Orion as he came to a stop in front of them, his hands clasping in front of him.

“I...had not expected to see you out and about,” said Orion, trying to put on his most pleasant, calm expression.

Andre glanced over his shoulder up the road, frowning deeply. “Yes, well...some business has come up.”

“Orion, have you seen Carewyn?” KC asked him, her face very serious.

Orion blinked.

“Not since last night,” he said. He could feel his heart starting to beat faster. “Why? Is something wrong?”

“Never you mind,” barked Erika, as she turned back to the road. “Come on, we don’t want to lose the trail -- ”

“Erika,” reproached Andre, before he turned back to Orion, his face visibly concerned. “...Carewyn asked for the afternoon off to go see her family, but it was very last minute, which isn’t like her. And according to what we’ve heard in town, there’s been no traffic down the road toward the Cromwell estate in the last four hours...”

“So Carewyn had to have been lying about where she was going,” finished KC, her face much more stoic but her voice no less tense. “We need to find her and figure out why.”

Orion’s eyebrows had furrowed over his widening black eyes. His heartbeat was slamming in his ears as the memory of Carewyn in the woods returned to him -- looking northward, toward the army camps, as if longing to run toward them --

“I know where she’s gone,” he said at once.

He rushed back to the coach, grabbing onto the window frame and standing on the boot of the carriage.

“To the northern border,” he urged Skye, who sat in the driver’s seat. “Quickly!”

“The border?” repeated Skye as a sharp whisper. “But Orion, your meeting with the Prince -- ”

“Can come later,” Orion told her very firmly under his breath. “Both he and I must get to the war front.”

He shot a significant look over his shoulder in Andre’s direction. McNully, putting two-and-two together, nodded and inched himself up to the window of the carriage.

“If you tie one or more of your horses to the carriage, we should decrease our travel time by a good 21% per horse,” he told Erika, KC, and Andre. “If Carewyn left an hour ago, then with one horse, we should be able to overtake her within an half-hour -- two, within twenty minutes, and three, within ten. Though with Orion on the boot, there’s a 12% chance he’ll fall off if we ride at full speed, so we might have to go at 95% instead -- ”

KC fixed the blond-haired man with an incredulous look as she leapt off her horse.

“Are you really calculating all that on the fly,” she asked, looking as if she wasn’t sure whether to be impressed or amused, “or are you just pulling those numbers out of fat air?”

McNully couldn’t help but grin. “Excellent! Now I can officially say that I’ve been asked that question over a hundred times before.”

Still looking faintly bewildered, KC moved to help Andre, who’d quickly started attaching his, Erika’s, and her horse’s to the front of the carriage with the two black ones already pulling it, ignoring Erika’s incredibly sour and distrustful expression. There was no time to lose.

From the boot of the carriage, Orion directed Skye down the same road he’d taken with Carewyn the previous night, Andre, Erika, and KC riding with McNully inside the coach. Once they’d reached the forest, Orion caught sight of a familiar-looking golden eagle with a bandaged wing -- at the sight of the Florentine prince, the eagle gave a loud shriek and flew down into the trees, and Orion urged Skye to pursue him into the woods. The road took them deep into the trees, until at last the eagle landed on a branch over the heads of two familiar-looking ginger-haired men, who were bound with thick rope to a tree.

Bill and Charlie were stunned at the sight of such an elegant coach, but were absolutely beside themselves with relief at the sight of Andre, KC, and Erika. Erika immediately yanked a knife out of her ankle boot and set about sawing off their bindings -- once she’d cut Charlie free, he immediately rushed forward and grabbed Andre’s shoulders.

“We’ve got to hurry!” he said anxiously. “They’ve got Carey!”

“‘They?’” said Andre, very startled. “They who?”

“This band of Florentine bandits,” said Bill, his voice very low and urgent. He kept maneuvering his bindings as Erika cut them to try to sever them faster. “They cornered us so they could try to rob us -- they were willing to let Carey go since she was a lady, but she bartered with the leader, saying that they could take her so long as they left us alone. Claimed that they could probably get more money from holding her hostage than us, given her family...”

Both Skye and McNully glanced at Orion. The Prince’s face had lost most of its color -- he’d turned his face away and closed his eyes, breathing in and out slowly as he tried to stabilize his emotions.

“The bandits in these woods are Florentines, so I doubt they will harm you,” Baroness McGonagall’s words returned to his mind, “but I cannot be sure how they would respond to a Royaumanian, especially one related to one of their wealthiest noblemen.”

“They took all three of our horses and tied us to the tree so that we wouldn’t follow them,” growled Charlie. “They left us a knife so that we’d be able to cut ourselves free, but it’s so dull I reckon it would’ve taken us hours to do it ourselves...”

Bill succeeded in snapping the weakened ropes in half and leapt back to his feet, massaging his wrists.

“They must have taken her to a camp of theirs,” said KC, her dark blue eyes narrowing. “Even bandits need some base of operation.”

McNully nodded, resting his arms on the edge of the coach’s window. “The lady is right. Given where we are, I’d say the odds are fairer that it’s southeast of here.”

“Closer to the Florentine side of the border, you mean,” presumed KC, and McNully nodded again.

“They were heading south through the woods,” said Bill. “But we won’t want to bring the coach. They stopped us because they wanted money -- if they have any reason to think any of you have it, they’ll no doubt want to imprison you too...”

“On the contrary,” said Orion in a very low voice, “this carriage may be just the thing we need, to ensure that they don’t imprison us.”

Everyone looked at Orion, their faces all a mixture of incredulity and revulsion, but he seemed disinterested in explaining himself.

“We must be quick, McNully,” said Orion, and although his voice and face were as level and unreadable as ever, they both betrayed a slight edge. “Time is not on our side.”

With Bill now sitting with the driver’s seat next to Skye and Charlie hanging off the boot with Orion, the black coach set off again. Overhead Orion caught sight of the wounded eagle again, which shrieked at them warningly -- the Prince thought it must mean they were close, but did not respond fast enough to the trap set out in front of them.

The coach rode right through a certain cluster of vines, and within seconds, they had magically sprung to life, lashing themselves around the limbs of the five horses pulling the coach. The steeds reared back, panicked -- Skye immediately yanked out a sword from her belt and began hacking away at them, and Erika and Andre both leapt from the carriage with their own swords to help, but it was no use. The vines only lashed onto them, binding all three of them fast and making it impossible for them to move. And when things seemed like they couldn’t be any worse, without warning, a group of green-dressed men and women had swung down from more vines attached to the nearby trees, surrounding them in a tight noose-like circle and pointing their arrow-decked bows at them.

They were trapped.

“Well, well,” said a voice from the trees above, “we don’t often see coaches that ritzy out here.”

The voice’s owner leapt down to the ground. Unlike his companions, his hooded tunic was yellow instead of green. When he lifted his head enough that they could see his face, it was the host of a mischievous smirk.

“Especially ones crafted in Florence,” the dark-haired and eyed bandit said breezily.

Andre, KC, Erika, and the Weasleys all stiffened.

“Florence?” breathed Bill.

They all as a unit whirled on Orion. His face was remarkably calm and solemn as he stepped off the coach and in front of the others and faced the bandits’ leader, his hands clasped in front of him.

“We do not come seeking trouble,” he said. “We merely come to retrieve a lady who surrendered herself to you. Frame like a robin’s. Hair the color of a red sunset. Eyes the color of the sky.”

The bandit’s leader raised his eyebrows curiously. “The maid called Cromwell?”

“That is her.”

“And what reason would you desire her in your custody?” challenged one of the green-dressed bandits with a cocked eyebrow, a dashing man with tanned skin and dark brown hair.

“Wants to ransom her off himself, no doubt,” sneered another woman with messy brown hair and cold magenta eyes. “He probably works for Lord Malfoy -- we all know he’s the sort to make money off illicit enterprises and keep it all to himself, rather than give it to anyone who actually needs it...”

Two of the other bandits -- a pair of women with long red and short pink hair, respectively -- exchanged a sour look.

“We have nothing to do with Lord Malfoy,” spat Skye, vainly tugging against the vines binding her. “We wouldn’t collaborate with that rat if you paid us -- !”

“Skye,” said Orion in a quelling voice.

The last bandit, a very strong-looking man with dark red hair and emerald green eyes, frowned deeply at the leader, who considered Orion carefully.

“I know your face,” he murmured.

Orion inclined his head, his black eyes boring into the other man’s face. “I’m sure you do.”

The leader’s thin-lidded eyes narrowed critically -- then they widened, realizing.

“Bring out Lady Cromwell at once,” he said abruptly.

The others all whirled on him.

“What?!” cried all three women and the dashing man.

“Jae, are you mad?!” said the woman with the magenta eyes.

“Do it,” said the leader called Jae firmly, without flinching.

The strong bandit -- the only one who hadn’t questioned the leader’s direction -- grabbed a vine, which immediately retracted back up above them.

Jae glanced at the magenta-eyed woman. “Merula, have the vines set them loose.”

Merula looked rather scandalized. “What? Oh come on, you know how much of a pain it is, to have to recast a spell after it’s broken -- ”

“Better that we do it now than wait around for the spell to expire on its own,” Jae said dryly.

Still looking very reluctant, Merula nonetheless did as she was told, holding up her hand, which glowed with light green.

“The terms are now invalid,” she muttered sourly at the plants.

The plants sparkled with a similar green flare before falling limply off of the horses, Andre, Erika, and Skye. KC and Bill moved to detangle the now harmless plants from their companions and around the horses’ legs, and Charlie moved to soothe the frightened steeds.

Within a minute, the strong bandit was back, holding onto the vine easily with one hand and holding Carewyn under his opposite arm. She had her ginger hair tied back in a loose bun and was dressed in the green peasant dress she’d worn to the Festival and her slightly oversized brown shoes -- no doubt because it was the most comfortable dress for travel she had. Orion was also beyond relieved to see that she was perfectly unharmed -- not a single cut or bruise.

“CAREWYN!” cried KC, Andre, Bill and Charlie in relief.

All three of the men immediately dashed right over to her and threw their arms around her in a group hug.

“It’s all right,” Carewyn reassured them with a small smile. “I’m all right.”

“They didn’t hurt you?” Bill interrogated her.

“You must have been terrified -- ” said Andre.

“Where are the horses?” asked Charlie.

“Tied up in a makeshift stable over there,” said the pink-haired bandit with a wry grin and a vague hand gesture.

“A bit tricky to lug them up into treehouses,” added the red-haired one cheekily. “And no, for the record, we did not hurt Carewyn Cromwell. She may be a stick in the mud, but she’s a decent sort.”

“And brave too!” said the muscled man, beaming. “She wasn’t scared at all, not even when Merula stuck a knife in her face!”

“I was only getting fed up with her smart remarks,” huffed the magenta-eyed bandit called Merula. “You’d think she was the Queen of Sheba, with how she acts...”

“She is a proper lady, to be sure,” said the dashing bandit, shooting Carewyn a rather Casanova-like smile.

Carewyn tried to stifle a snort of laughter behind her hand as Jae approached her.

“Seems you’ll have an escort after all, Carewyn,” he said, lowering his bow with a slightly more serious look. “I don’t think I can convince you to reconsider, but under the circumstances...well, just make sure you’re careful. I’d hate to hear of Royaume losing one of its only honorable citizens due to their own stupidity.”

Carewyn inclined her head to him, her blue eyes very solemn. “I’m far from Royaume’s most honorable citizen, Jae, nor from any other country, I daresay. But thank you.”

Jae nodded. He then looked up at Orion.

“By your leave then, your Highness,” he said with an abbreviated bow.

He then nodded to the other bandits, and one by one, they all disappeared back up into the trees.

None of the people on the ground, however, gave them much mind. All of them had turned back around to face Orion -- Carewyn felt like her heart had stopped still as she stared, taking in his neat ponytail and finely tailored black doublet and hose and boots.

“...‘Your Highness?’ ” repeated Charlie, shocked.

Andre’s eyes widened. “Then...then you’re...?”

Orion swallowed, but somehow managed to keep his composure as he nodded. His eyes were locked on Carewyn’s face, never shifting and as turbulent as a black ocean.

“King Cosimo’s new heir,” KC breathed, her face flooding with fresh understanding around her amazement. “Cosimo VII.”

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ambersky0319 · 5 years ago

Text

You’re Something Else

Part One // Part Two // Part Three // Part Four // Part Five // Part Six

I totally didn’t get distracted watching youtube videos and almost didn’t post this- Also! Dunno if I’ll have the next part done by tomorrow; if I don’t post it tomorrow it’ll be posted on Saturday!

Prompt: Medieval Demus fanfic? Remus and Roman are both princes and with Roman set to inherit the throne their parents desperately want to see Remus married off, however Remus has the tendency to be picky with potential suitors and has turned them all down thus far. That is until Remus’ newest suitor turns out to be Prince Janus. At first Remus is difficult with him as he is with all his suitors but than Janus starts winning him over slowly. Janus also knows sorcery in this.

Overall Story Warnings: Blood and injuries(varies throughout story, might not be in every chapter but will be tagged in each chapter anyway), kind of a terrible father, lmk if I need to add anything else!

Masterpost

———————–

The morning went by a lot quicker than Remus had expected it to go. He and Janus packed a few last minute things before Declan and Edith took the remaining belongings to the ship. Remus doesn't remember much of breakfast, just that Roman had asked him right before to go to Roman's room afterwards. Remus had agreed. He thinks he remembers Janus and Roman talking about the limits of sorcery before Orion shushed them.

Walking to Roman's room feels weird now. Remus used to only do it when he was much younger, after a nightmare. Or to prank Roman. He hadn't done that in a long while, though. Roman had a lot of responsibilities, learning how to rule and going on his own little adventures in the village to see the kingdom's resident seamster Virgil.

Roman's door was, surprisingly, open. Remus walked inside without knocking because of it, and Roman turned around when he heard his brother's boots clinking against the polished floor. Roman grinned at him, and Remus smiled back, a bit confused.

"I wanted to give you something!" Roman exclaimed. "But it couldn't be in front of everyone else."

"Why not?"

"Father would kill me if he knew I was giving it to you."

"Ah..." Remus hummed, nodding in understanding. "Yeah, that makes sense."

Roman's smile never faltered as he strode over to his large vanity, picking up a jewelry box Evelyn had given him. Remus had one as well, packed safely in one of Remus's more valuable boxes. He pulled something out of it but Remus couldn't quite see what it was just yet.

"Close your eyes!"

Remus huffed in fake annoyance, but did as Roman said. Roman guided Remus over to something and told him to stand still. Then, there was suddenly something around his neck and falling to his chest. Whatever it was, Roman adjusted it, made some sort of happy noise and practically bounced behind Remus.

"Open!"

Remus did, and he struggled to breathe for a moment as he took in the new accessory.

"Roman, I can't-"

"You can and will." Roman stated, gripping Remus's shoulders tightly. Roman's excitement faded a bit and he took a deep breath. "I'm really sorry for how things were here, Rem. I'm happy you're going somewhere where you have a chance to be happy."

Remus frowned. "How'd you know I wasn't happy here?"

"Twin sense." Roman hummed. He adjusted the necklace one last time. "Besides, it's clear in your eyes. There's a shine there that wasn't there before."

Roman hugged Remus from behind as he spoke, resting his head on Remus's shoulder. Remus relaxed into his arms. He wouldn't argue with Roman. There wasn't much reason to anyway. "Thank you," Remus ended up saying. Roman smiled, hugging Remus tighter.

"Tuck it into your shirt until you're onboard the ship." Roman advised as he pulled away. Remus nodded, already doing just that. He'd have far more time to admire the necklace on the ship.

They were left in a comfortable silence until one of the guards poked their head in, telling Remus that he should take Roman and the rest of his family to the ship to meet the crew. Remus nodded at him and the guard disappeared.

"It's going to be weird, not having you around." Roman huffed softly as they exited the prince's room.

"How do you think I feel? At least you're staying here. I'm going to a completely different kingdom, practically across the world."

Roman hummed. "Fair enough. But still, who else is going to help me steal snacks from the kitchen?"

Remus smiled, shoulders relaxing as they walked down the staircase together. "Oh, whatever will you do without your snacks. Because you're too scared you'll be caught to steal some alone."

Roman punched his arm lightly, and Remus laughed, folding his arms over his chest. They returned to their comfortable silence until they reached the castle entrance where Janus and Remus's parents were waiting. Remus noticed the eager glint in Janus's eyes, and a thought suddenly hit Remus. Had Janus been homesick for most of his visit?

He must have been. Maybe that's why he was so willing to tell Remus about it, it allowed him to imagine his homeland.

Would Remus feel homesick in the new kingdom?

He hoped not. He had heard plenty about homesickness and it sounded absolutely dreadful. And not the good dreadful either.

He barely registered that Janus was addressing them all, blinking in surprise when he made eye-contact with Janus. "Once you've all explored the ship and met the entire crew, Captain Patton will let you know when we need to leave."

"Captain Patton?" Remus whispered, brows furrowing at the rhyme. Janus didn't clarify, just rolled his eyes lightly when Evelyn and Orion weren't looking. Roman snickered slightly, earning a light glare from Remus but nothing more was said.

Suddenly, Ethan was standing behind Janus. Janus was already fairly tall(as were Roman and Remus), but Ethan was a good foot taller, towering over the three of them as well as the King and Queen. Unlike Declan and Edith, Ethan didn't wear a helmet to cover up the scars along his face and neck. They were far more faded than the ones Janus and the other two guards had, though. Maybe that was why he didn't feel the need to wear a helmet to cover the scars up.

"I hate to interrupt," Ethan began. Remus was startled by how soft his voice was. It was the softest voice he had ever heard. "But if you all wish to spend some time for goodbyes on the ship, I suggest we leave to the ship now."

"Thank you for the reminder, Ethan." Janus said, and Ethan turned on his heel. Janus smiled politely at the rest of the royal family before also turning to follow. Roman nudged Remus forward and next to Janus, and Remus nearly tripped but managed to keep up with Janus. "Oh, uh... As a mild warning, Patton's a bit..." Janus chuckled lightly, his voice soft. "He's a bit eccentric. And touchy."

Remus frowned slightly. "How touchy?"

Janus hummed. "Extremely. He especially loves giving people hugs. And he calls most others 'Kiddo' so if that bothers you, let him know early on." Remus nodded at Janus's words.

"Do the rest of them know?" Janus smirked a bit, and Remus laughed to himself. "Of course."

"What, you're telling me you don't want to see your father squirm because of a literal ball of sunshine?"

Remus scrunched his nose. "That sounds insufferable, even to me."

"He's not as bad as you may think." Janus said, a hint of a genuine smile breaking through the practiced porcelain smile he usually wore. "Besides, he knows the sea better than anyone I've ever met." Remus opened his mouth to say how that might not be too good of news, and then the dock came into view.

Remus's words got caught in his throat as he eyed the massive ship, the vessel far larger than any of the other ships docked. The other ships were all fishing ships, but this was something Remus had never seen. He had never seen a ship so big, and he wondered how it navigated any waters well.

Behind them, Remus heard the rest of his family's various reactions. A sharp intake from Orion, a small squeal of excitement from Evelyn, and a gasp from Roman. Remus couldn't blame them- none of his family had ever really visited the docs or been on a ship before, aside from maybe a fishing boat. But those were clearly nothing compared to this.

Ethan escorted them over the docks to the ship, and Remus heard the wood of the old docks creak under his feet. He briefly imagined how much someone would have to weigh for them to break under their feet and plummet to the deepening water below.

The air was different here than at the castle, too. Much saltier, and colder. Despite the brief chill Remus felt, he also felt refreshed by the air, and he watched the small waves roll in and hit the cliffs off to the sides of the docks lightly. Remus couldn't imagine what they would look like in a storm, couldn't figure how something so calming could turn deadly. Of course he knew they could, but it still wasn't fun to imagine.

"Ah, my prince! Finally!"

Remus's gaze snapped away from the water as he stopped beside Janus at the base of a wooden ramp. Remus blinked in surprise as the man at the top of the ramp almost hopped off the ship, holding his hand out for Janus. Janus let him take it, and the man pressed a quick kiss to Janus's knuckles.

"And Prince Remus! It's a pleasure to finally meet ya, Edith and Declan had said you knew of some interestin' stories. I'll be happy to hear you tell them!"

Remus blinked as he tried to keep up with the man's quick words, glancing at Janus. Janus shrugged with only one of his shoulders.

Confused at the silence, the man seemed to realize something, and he laughed to himself. "Oh, my bad! I didn't introduce myself!" The man smiled warmly at Remus and the rest of Remus's family, practically glowing in the afternoon sun. "My name is Patton, I'll be ensuring a safe trip back to the kingdom of Sunscales!"

Patton still didn't receive much of a response, but that didn't seem to phase him. "Kiddo," he said, turning to Janus, "you should show Prince Remus to his cabin while I give his folks the grand tour! Help him settle in, and maybe make sure he'll be okay for the trip."

"Of course Captain," Janus's smile wasn't that practiced one anymore. It was warmer. Janus looked to Remus and held out his hand. "Shall we?"

Remus swallowed the ball of nerves that tried to escape his throat and, not trusting his voice, he nodded, taking Janus's hand. Patton stepped out of the way and approached the King and Queen, delving into an explanation about what route they would be taking and any troubles they may have at sea, but Remus only heard that much- the introduction. He was out of earshot pretty quickly, following Janus onto the deck.

The boat was rocking under their feet slightly from the waves, and Remus squeezed Janus's hand. "It's alright, Remus." Janus mumbled, and Remus relaxed his grip on Janus's hand but he didn't pull away. "Come on, I'll show you to your cabin and then I can introduce you to the rest of the crew."

"Okay. I'm guessing the reason we're not with the rest of my family is because you don't want me hearing the things that can go wrong?"

Janus frowned slightly, letting out a low hum that was lost to the breeze. He tugged Remus towards a door, and when he opened it, Remus was greeted with some stairs down into a corridor with more doors lining the walls.

"Which would you rather have, a relatively pleasant trip enjoying the ocean and getting to know each other, or a trip where you're worrying the entire week back to Sunscales?"

Remus laughed lightly, cheeks warming. "You make a good point."

He stopped when Janus did, and Janus opened the door for him. The door looked exactly like all the others, the only thing Remus remembered to know which was his was how far from the last door it was- three doors down.

"It's not much," Janus stated, gesturing to the small room. Remus laughed slightly. It was much smaller than any room Remus had ever been in, but looked quite cozy anyway. He walked in to see some of his boxes placed carefully under the bed. Personal belongings Remus would want to keep with him.

"Roman would die if he had to stay in one of these," Remus mused, settling onto the bed. It was fairly stiff, but the pillow and blanket were extremely soft. Janus tilted his head, watching Remus from the doorway as Remus took in the room.

"Any you?"

"I'll live! Besides, I've slept in a cold damp cave before." Remus scrunched his nose at the memory. It was awful, the cave, cold and he couldn't sleep at all and he was sore all over from sleeping on rocks. "This is nothing."

Janus raised one of his eyebrows, an amused smile gracing his face. "If you say so. I'll let you get settled, then." Janus turned to leave, possibly go back upstairs. Something seemed to click in his mind, and he spun back around. "Right! My room is closer to the end of the hall, second to last on this side." He pointed to the doors on the other side of the hallway, and Remus nodded. "If you don't come onto the deck by the time we should be leaving, I'll come get you so you can say goodbye, yeah?"

Remus nodded again and watched as Janus left, the door creaking as it shut behind him. Remus looked around the room again, biting the inside of his cheek as he thought of what he wanted to do.

Unpacking might break some of his things, he didn't want to do that. Not yet at least. He could probably take out a few of the books he had put in some of the boxes. There was a small desk in one corner of the room, opposite of the bed, and Remus made a mental note to look inside the drawer connected to it.

His eyes lit up as he rubbed the back of his neck and his fingers grazed a small chain. He pulled the necklace out from under his shirt and stared down at the jewel which was previously resting against his chest. He ran his fingers over the carefully carved stone. It was from the treasury. Remus knew because he had tried to take it one time but got caught and his father had been furious. A strange jewel adorned the necklace, green and red swirling around each other under the polished surface, flecks of gold and black staring up at him.

Remus couldn't believe Roman had given it to Remus in the first place, more surprised Roman had taken it anyway. The only way he could have was either by bribing the guards, which was difficult (and no fun) to do, or to steal it (it was a challenge even getting in there, harder to get out unseen). He couldn't see even the guards falling for Roman's charm; he was the favorite prince, yes, but not even he could persuade them with his delightful words. Which meant...

Roman stole the necklace.

Remus laughed to himself at the thought of Roman breaking any of their parents' rules. But he had to have done it. He flopped back onto the stiff mattress and closed his eyes, gripping the jewel on the thin silver chain tightly, feeling it warm up under his touch. Remus grinned at nothing in particular as he let his mind wander until he inevitably drifted off.

———————–

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themuffinbee · 4 years ago

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Lore Olympus Novelized, Chapter 3

First Chapter - Previous Chapter

This chapter was a challenge for me since we see Persephone wake up three different times in chapters 4, 5, and 6. So, to keep at least some form of chronological sense, I'm taking parts of the chapter 6 scene and splicing them into chapters 4 and 5. Otherwise, the events would have been all out of order. Hope you all still enjoy it!

Again, this is merely an unofficial fan-adaptation. All plot and dialogue belong to the talented Rachel Smythe :)

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“I need to talk to her,” Hades announced as he straightened his cufflinks. However, his confidence faltered just as quickly as it had appeared. There was one problem with that plan. "But, she's with Artemis--"

"Who passionately hates you!" Poseidon laughed, clapping Hades on the back.

Hades glared at his brother. "Wow! Really, Poseidon? I hadn't noticed!"

Looking back into the crowd, he found the Goddesses of Spring and the Moon laughing and dancing out of time with the music. Somehow, Persephone looked even more radiant when she smiled, the sight of it almost enough for him to feel slightly less sour towards her surly companion. Almost. Two hundred years of Artemis' unjustified grudge had cemented his poor opinion of the Huntress. After all, the whole Orion thing wasn't his fault, he was just doing his job. If she wanted someone to blame, she should look to that asshole brother of hers. Of course, she hadn't taken it too well when he had raised that very valid point.

Yeah, she was going to be a problem.

"Okay, okay, okay.” Zeus sent a smirk in his direction. “I've got a plan."

Hades kept his eyes on the rosy goddess. "Hit me."

"I'll distract Artemis. While I'm doing that, you go talk to Persephone."

"Perfect."

Oh, that was right. There was a reason why he put up with his youngest brother. It was for times like these when Hades required a more…crafty...solution.

"What do I do?" Poseidon asked, pointing at himself.

Hades cast an uneasy glance at Zeus. Poseidon tended to have good intentions most of the time, but his help was often anything but helpful.

"Errrr…stay here and drink a beer?" Zeus suggested.

"I'm on it."

Oh, thank the gods.

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"... And so I punched him in the face, and that was that!" Artemis finished her story with a proud grin and Persephone hid a laugh behind her hand.

It had taken a while, but she was beginning to feel a little more at ease among the crowd. She was just another face in a massive swarm of people, which wasn't so bad. Back when she had that accident earlier with the guy and the drink and all that, no one had pointed or stared. Hardly anybody had even spared a glance at her. Everyone here was too focused on having a good time to take note of her, which, you know, made total sense at a party. It had been a relief at the time, but being invisible to everyone around her wasn't great either.

"Hello, Artemis. You're looking splendid, as always," said a voice smoother than silk.

Persephone looked up to see Zeus, King of the Gods, standing behind her friend with a hand on her shoulder and a smug smile on his face. Persephone nearly choked on her drink, she hadn’t expected to see him so soon.

Artemis smiled. "Hey, Zeus. Great party!"

'Zeus?' She called her father by his name? It wouldn't be entirely out of the ordinary with Artemis' personality, but Persephone wondered if it had more to do with Zeus' preferences over those of her friend.

Weird.

Zeus' smile became an irritating smirk. "Word on the street is your marksmanship is excellent, but your brother's is second to none."

"Says who?!" Artemis' eye twitched and she jabbed her father in the chest. "I want to settle this right now!"

Wow, Persephone had known the Goddess of the Hunt was competitive, but she had never seen her so fired up. Still, this didn't seem like a good venue for an archery competition. Persephone would just have to wait for Artemis to calm down and then...go back to not talking to anyone else, she guessed.

Just then, she felt a hand on her own shoulder as a voice said close to her ear, "Hey, kiddo. Wanna have some real fun?"

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Hades stalked back to the glassed-in suite, fingers fidgeting like mad with the scrap of paper in his pocket. He should have known. He should have known. The Fates must had decided this would be a shitty night no matter what he did, and for him to have tried to change it was a stupid move on his part.

What was even more stupid was how angry he felt about the whole damn thing. The red hue gathering around the edges of his vision and the bluish glow of his reflection told him his control was starting to slip. All those crystal-clear windows were liable to start cracking from here to Tartarus if he didn't get his shit together.

"Yeesh, that's a mood," Poseidon said as Hades pushed through the door. "Strike out already?"

Hades crossed his arms and glared down at his brother. "Worse! I couldn't even find her, it's as if she vanished into thin air!"

He had looked among the throngs of people for a good ten minutes for a glimpse of pink hair or skin, but she was nowhere to be found. The universe could have at least given him the chance to screw things up on his own. Then he would know what her voice sounded like, or if she were as stunning close up as she had been at a distance. Maybe he could have even found out how, in that one moment, she had managed to look even more miserable than him when she had been surrounded by so much merriment.

And now he might never know. The chances of running into the Goddess of Spring in the Underworld were below zero, and it wasn't like Artemis or Demeter would let him anywhere near her when he was topside on Olympus or in the mortal realm.

Gods, he needed a drink. Where had he put that scotch?

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Persephone's head felt…heavy. She leaned against the back of the couch, her empty champagne glass rolling out of her hand and onto the cushion. The darkened room seemed to spin around her, the music from the dance floor now somehow muffled, yet still pounding against the inside of her skull.

Where did Artemis go?

Persephone wasn't sure if she had said the words aloud…or even if she had meant to? Wait. Artemis…she had been with Zeus...and he had said something about…archery? And Artemis' brother? And then that was how she ended up here, with…with Eros. Because he was an archer too…and he was telling her about all the couples he had hooked up while she waited for Artemis. But it had been a while, wouldn't Artemis have finished whatever she was doing by now?

I guess I don't want to be clingy…

"Another drink?" Eros asked with a smile, holding up a glass. His hand seemed to shift from side to side without ever moving.

"I feel…I feel awful." Oh, she heard her voice that time, a dragging sound that was too rounded at the edges. That meant she had said something…right?

Parties were supposed to be fun, but this…this wasn't fun. Eros had seemed nice at first, but now Persephone wasn't so sure she liked him. She wasn't sure if she liked any of this. The crowds, the noise, getting ditched by her only friend...she had thought meeting new people and dancing and drinking would make her feel happier, but now…

Now she felt lonelier than ever.

Persephone shifted deeper into the couch, her foot knocking over one of the several glasses littering the floor. Maybe...maybe if she propped her head on the cushion and closed her eyes, the room would stop spinning. Better yet, maybe she could just take a nap until Artemis was ready to go home.

Home...

I want to go home.

But which one? The one on Olympus she had only lived in for two days? Or...or did she mean the one in the Mortal Realm? The one that was so safe it was suffocating?

She felt a gentle pressure behind her back and under her legs, and soon she was moving. Like, actually moving, which was even worse than sitting still and only feeling like she was moving. She was too nauseous to speak, too tired to open her eyes, too dizzy to--

"I'm very sorry about all of this," she heard Eros say into her ear, yet he sounded so far away. "But, as far as I'm concerned, Aphrodite's word is law."

After that, there was only blessed, lonely darkness.

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Petals sprang from Persephone’s hands as she splashed botanical colors across the hillsides. Roses, crocuses, narcissus, larkspur, lilies, all scattered in a beautiful, chaotic collage through endless fields of green.

“Persephone!” a familiar voice called. “Sweetheart, come here!”

“I’m just finishing up, Mama!” The last of the petals floated away on the wind, and Persephone wondered what would happen if she followed after them. Could she travel through the air like dandelion seeds, bury herself under the dark earth, and spring back up in a cluster of wildflowers? Over and over again? Drifting further away from everything she knew?

Persephone turned away from the hillsides and ran to her mother, a puffy laurel of dandelions forming on her head.

Demeter, tall and stately in her immaculate chiton, cupped Persephone’s cheeks and bestowed a warm smile on her daughter. “You’ve been working very hard, so I got you a present.”

“R-really?!” As strict and disciplined as her mother was, presents were a rare thing indeed.

Demeter put a hand on Persephone’s shoulder and turned her towards their home. “It’s this way.”

“Oh my!” Persephone brought her hands up to the sides of her face. Sitting next to their house was a massive, domed structure of curling wrought iron, whitewashed columns, and panels of gleaming glass. “Is this greenhouse really for me?”

“Absolutely, you’ve earned it.” Her mother leaned towards her with another smile, lilac strands of hair falling in elegant streams over her shoulders. “Don’t just stare at it. Have a look inside!”

Persephone giggled, unable to contain her overflowing joy, and ran through the doors. It was just as lovely on the inside with sunlight filtering into patterns on the ground and the familiar scent of damp earth filling her nose. She breathed in deep to savor the smell, then flung her hands up over her head in one swift motion. Vines of roses climbed up the carved columns, trees sprouted from carefully lined plots and pushed up against the inside of the dome, and blooming shrubs grew in every other free space in a crowd of colors.

Arms crossed in front of her chest, she cast an admiring eye over her work. There was nothing left to do, no more space for her plants to grow. She smiled. “I think I’m ready to leave now.”

She turned on her heel back towards the entrance and froze before she could even take a step. No…that couldn’t be right. Persephone glanced around as her joy transformed into dread. “There’s no door!”

A hot wind ripped through the greenhouse, bringing with it the smell of decay as the cheery, dappled sunlight turned crimson. Her mother stood at one of the windows, green skin bathed in scarlet, wringing her hands while dark shadows pooled under her eyes. She spoke, her tone coddling yet detached, “I took the doors away.”

“Mama, no!” Persephone ran to the window, fingers grappling for any catch or gap along the sill. She looked back to her mother, only to find she had grown to a titanous size, one giant eye peering in through the glass. Tears began running down Persephone’s cheeks as her knees buckled under her, hands going slack against the windowpane. “You don’t have to do this.”

“Persephone, I know this may seem cruel,” Demeter pressed her gargantuan finger opposite of her daughter’s hand, “but it’s for the best.”

“Don’t make me stay in here, I promise to be good!” Persephone’s plea ended in a strangled squeak as her mother’s irises turned dark, melding with her pupils in molten, shifting pools of black. Persephone took a step back, her hand clasped around her mouth so tight that it pushed int her teeth.

“When you’re in here…” Demeter’s voice came from everywhere and nowhere all at once as it echoed off of the greenhouse walls, reverberated through the dirt, beat from beneath Persephone’s ribcage. Oozing blackness spread to cover the entirety of her mother’s eyes, save for bright, glowing pinpricks of ruby light at their centers, “...no one can hurt you.”

The blackness snapped into vertical slits as her mother’s voice exploded through Persephone’s brain, “NO ONE!”

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A low noise droned in her ears, and it took a moment for Persephone to realize it was coming from her own throat. With another groan, this time intentional, she pulled the covers over her head. Gods, what a horrible dream. But that’s all it was, a dream. Just a dream. She wasn’t trapped in some inescapable greenhouse, her mother wasn’t a giantess, and she was safe and sound in her bed on Mt. Olympus. Everything was fine.

She curled her knees up to her chest and froze. No, everything was not, in fact, fine. Wrapped around her were not the comfy, worn covers she’d had for years, but sheets so smooth that they felt unused. She was also still wearing Artemis’ dress from the night before and not her soft cotton nightshirt. Afraid of what she might see, she peeked out underneath the blankets.

Oh no.

Persephone pushed herself upright and looked around with wild eyes. Shadows clung to every corner of the room, filled with dark, angular furniture and the occasional traditional jar or tapestry. The air smelled sharp and crisp like a clear winter’s morning, and the temperature felt almost as cold on her exposed skin.

She drew the covers up to her chest. “W-Where am I?!”

Next Chapter

#my fics #Lore Olympus #Lore Olympus Novelized #Persephone #Hades

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honeyopinion · 4 years ago

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20/20 Albums of the Year

Circles by Mac Miller | Hip-Hop, Soul, Funk Released: January 17, 2020

Best Album For... Pouring One Out for Mac

I wrote a few different drafts of this album summary, and none of them felt like they really fit the impossibly large bill of accurately describing the posthumous importance or brilliance of this album. If you are a fan of hip-hop or soul music of any kind, try to give this piece of work a chance. I for one, used to judge Mac based on his early frat rap days in the late 2000s. But a decade later he came to leave the world with one of the most surprising and frankly impressive artistic evolutions that I’ve been able to witness in real time. RIP Mac.

Spotify Apple Music YouTube Pandora

Start With: “Circles” or “Everybody”

Marigold by Pinegrove | Alternative Country and Folk Rock Released: January 17, 2020

Best Album For… Passing Through a Small Town on a Cloudy Winter Day

Pinegrove was one of the last great concerts I got to experience before the pandemic. And it was my favorite performance of theirs from the last 6 years of seeing them play live. Is this my favorite album of theirs? Honestly, it’s not. But I still find it extremely enjoyable, and the memory of seeing these songs performed live, along with some of their classics, was enough for me to include it on this list. This is an album that marks Pinegrove’s exit from their pop punk roots. It’s still sentimental, but much more country and folk rock focused vs. anything trying to be associated with emo or punk.

Spotify Apple Music YouTube Pandora Start With: “The Alarmist” or “No Drugs”

Watch This Liquid Pour Itself by Okay Kaya | Synth Pop, Art Rock, Folk Released: January 24, 2020

Best Album For… Crywanking at 3am, Bathed in The Dull Light of Your Overheating Laptop

What if Feist and Father John Misty had a secret love child? They might sound something like Okay Kaya. Self proclaimed “Singer ~ Crywanker,” Okay Kaya brings serious BDE to weirdo art pop that she seems like she could be a plant from the mind of Nathan Fielder. Kaya delivers with such deadpan precision as she rolls out line after line of sarcastic joy, staring blankly at our dystopian reality. “Here I am, the whole world is my daddy,” “Netflix and yeast infection,” “Sex with me is mediocre,” “I just want us to do well like Jon Bon Jovi’s Rosê,” and, “My parasite and I are blushing / In the zero interaction ramen bar,” are just a few examples of some of her memorable and biting lyrics. The entire album is both a critique and nihilistic fondness for the absurdity of our lonely technological society, not quite sure how to deal with taboos like repressed female sexuality, depression, and codependency.

Spotify Apple Music YouTube Pandora

Start With: “Baby Little Tween” or “Asexual Wellbeing”

UNLOCKED by Denzel Curry and Kenny Beats | Hip-Hop Released: February 7, 2020

Best Album For... Nodding Your Damn Head To, Feeling Cooler Than You Actually Are

I had to double check that this was an album. Clocking in under 20 minutes, this collection of songs feels more like an EP, especially with the track titles that purposefully look like file names and placeholders. But for a short album, Denzel wastes no time, furiously zigging and zagging effortlessly over Kenny Beats’ 90s New York-indebted production (ad libs and all). Kenny pulls out samples of an array of pop culture references made by Denzel (like quotes from movies and weapon sound effects like a lightsaber) — as he rotates his flow between admirable impressions of DMX, Nas, and Joey Bada$$.

Spotify Apple Music YouTube Pandora

Start With: “So.Incredible.pkg” or “DIET_”

Cardboard City by Zack Villere | Pop, Electronic, R&B Released: February 14, 2020

Best Album For… Pal-ing Around With Your Friends From High School, Maybe Quoting Superbad At The Same Time

The first time I watched a music video from Zack Villere, I noticed the top comment said: “how did frank ocean get trapped in mark zuckerberg.” And while that definitely gets at the heart of how Zack Villere presents himself, he is not a phenomenal singer like Frank Ocean is, nor does he come off as an asshole like Mark Zuckerberg does. I would say that he is just a slightly awkward nerdy white guy who loves hip-hop production and R&B melodies. So the better question is really, “how did drake get trapped in michael cera?” This premise should not work at all, but somehow it does. This is only Villere’s second album, but he shows some serious production and songwriting chops, plus a commitment to his delivery that comes across as genuine, charming, and unique.

Spotify Apple Music YouTube Pandora

Start With: “Grateful” or “Superhero Strength”

The Slow Rush by Tame Impala | Psych Rock, Synth Pop, Disco Released: February 14, 2020

Best Album For... Throwing a Silent Disco For One

Tame Impala continues on their now 10 year streak of psych rock dominance. Along the way we’ve seen Kevin Parker master and stretch the boundaries of psychedelic production. This has resulted in his music coming as close to sounding like the best aspects of The Beatles, while also expanding into hip hop drums, R&B hooks, plus more and more electronic elements. This is an album that I was not super impressed with when it initially came out, but as we entered the pandemic and were tasked with finding small joys in staying at home all the time, I found myself going back to this album and appreciating the themes of solitude and self reflection that Parker has drawn from throughout his career.

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Start With: “Posthumous Forgiveness” or “One More Hour”

1988 by Knxwledge | Hip-Hop Released: March 27, 2020

Best Album For... Pumping Your Brakes and Driving Slow, Uh *Homie* Although this album is named after a year in the 80s, the sound here is a perfect portal back to 90s golden era hip-hop, with all the gospel, soul samples, and the kind of deep bass you want to feel in your chest. This is the rare, largely instrumental hip-hop album that I find myself going back to, other than works from the legendary J Dilla and MF Doom. Knxwledge is good friends and a frequent collaborator with Anderson .Paak (in the form of NxWorries). Here we get Anderson to grace us with his presence on the track “itkanbe[sonice]”, and of course it sounds just like an authentic vintage soul sample. When I hear this collection of songs it makes me wish I still had a car, so I could inevitably damage my speakers listening to this.

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Start With: “dont be afraid” or “thats allwekando.”

Future Nostalgia by Dua Lipa | Pop, R&B, Funk, Disco Released: March 27, 2020 Best Album For... Alarming Your Pet With Your Enthusiastic Lip Syncing

This album is a pure sugar rush. Like Bruno Mars with the help of Mark Ronson, or Calvin Harris a few years ago, Dua has harnessed a nostalgia (it’s even in the title, wink) for disco, funk and R&B, and is instantly a sexy, catchy, not-so-guilty pleasure. It’s sad that the majority of these songs are all bonafide club hits that didn’t have a proper home this year … except for my living room. And hopefully yours.

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Start With: “Pretty Please” or “Future Nostalgia”

Hold Space For Me by Orion Sun | Alternative R&B and Hip-Hop Released: March 27, 2020

Best Album For... Wishing Frank Ocean Was Your Dad

“Alternative R&B” is a contentious term, but what else would you call one of a few R&B singers cool enough to make it onto (NYC indie darlings) Mom+Pop Records?? On one hand, she brings the vulnerable and introverted lyrics of an indie singer songwriter like Tracey Chapman, crossed with the raw presence and sweet melodic delivery of a true R&B star like Aaliyah. I’d even go far enough to refer to her as the musical stepchild of Frank Ocean and SZA.

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Start With: “Ne Me Quitte Pass (Don’t Leave Me)” or “Lightning”

You and Your Friends by Peach Pit | Indie Rock and Dream Pop Released: April 3, 2020

Best Album For... Going Back To Your College Town To Crash A Party

Peach Pit seem like they would be cool dudes to hang out with. You have no problem picturing them as the band playing a house show in an indie movie about college kids. And that’s because there’s a familiarity to the scenes that their songs portray, of stumbling through your 20s, either being too dumb or having too much fun to notice. It’s funny to refer to this as “Indie” rock since this is Peach Pit’s major label debut with Columbia Records. But It has all the trappings of Indie; sticky melodies, gentle reverb, an “I’m not trying that hard” vibe, and lyrics that are oddly specific enough to be interesting, but still vague enough to be relatable.

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Start With: “Feelin’ Low (Fuckboy Blues)” or “Shampoo Bottles”

Heaven To a Tortured Mind by Yves Tumor | Psych Rock, Indie Pop, Post-Punk, Alternative R&B, Experimental Electronic Released: April 3, 2020

Best Album For... Tearing Up The Fucking Dance Floor With Your Hot Robot Girlfriend

If Tyler the Creator, Alex G, King Krule, and Blood Orange all got into the studio together and dropped a shit ton of acid on Halloween, their recording session might sound something like Heaven To a Tortured Mind… And even then, you still might have trouble putting your finger on exactly what you’re hearing. “Dream Palette” is a good reference track for Tumor’s most wild and mesmerizing qualities. The biggest styles of the past half century of music have been loaded into this gleefully effective genre blender, with blades of dissonance slicing everything up, creating a surrealist sonic smoothie.

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Start With: “Super Stars” or “Dream Palette”

The New Abnormal by The Strokes | Indie Rock, Dirtbag Disco, Synth Pop Released: April 10, 2020

Best Album For... Mixing Yourself Another Drink This Saturday Night

Back from the dead, The Strokes return with their first album in 7 years to turn some heads and settle back into some old habits. The charming messy haired garage rock of the early 2000s still pops up here and there, but this is really a record where the group is mature enough to show you that they actually are trying, and are unafraid to take joyous swings for the fences. Julian Casablancas pushes his scratchy alley cat yelp of a voice into something more vulnerable, sunny, and sweet, like he asked for a piña colada (you know, with one of those little umbrellas) instead of a double shot of scotch before hopping up on stage… Or maybe he did both. But these days, everyone is looking for some sort of break from our groundhog day lives any way that we can. Sometimes that sounds like selling out, or depending on how you look at it, stepping up. This album is the result of a group of old friends who got together to make music they simply want to make for themselves. Now far removed from the 2000s New York scene where their younger selves were acting too cool and disaffected to care about having fun.

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Start With: “Eternal Summer” or “The Adults Are Talking”

The Loves of Your Life by Hamilton Leithauser | Indie Rock and Alternative Country Released: April 10, 2020

Best Album For... Drinking Down At The Docks, Watching The Sun Set

While I am a fan of The Walkmen, I have no idea what their frontman Hamilton Leithauser looks like or how he dresses. But hearing these songs off of his latest solo, I imagine the following: a member of Mumford and Sons if they were edgy and cooler, giving off a “cowboy rocker meets depression-era dock worker” aesthetic. That’s exactly how his music comes off to me. It’s a convincing blend of blues rock, Americana, and old timey country music. All expertly narrated by dusty country guitars and standup bass, tarnished horns and flutes, and what I imagine to be a restored saloon piano. The Loves of Your Life originally started as a collection of short stories, each about characters based on both people he knew and strangers. Leithauser then wrote the music separately, and finally came to mix and match their parts together in a surprisingly convincing fashion to create the album.

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Start With: “Wack Jack” or “Cross-Sound Ferry (Walk-On Ticket)”

What Kinda Music by Tom Misch and Yussef Dayes | Neo-Soul, Electronic, Hip-Hop

Released: April 24, 2020

Best Album For... Cooking For Someone You’re In Love With

Exactly what kind of music do Tom Misch and Yussef Dayes make? It’s orchestral, it’s jazz-infused, it’s hip-hop beats joined with gentle soul. It’s a little sexy, it’s a little mysterious, and you’re going to want to listen to it a whole lot. That’s it. That’s what kind of music it is! Send tweet.

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Start With: “What Kinda Music” or “Storm Before The Calm”

Petals For Armor by Hayley Williams | Electronic Pop and Art Rock Released: May 8, 2020

Best Album For... Browsing Depop for Your Next 80s Normcore ‘Fit

Hayley, Hayley, Hayley. You are too good for this wretched world!! After exploring more adventurous sounds and genre hopping over the last few Paramore records, Hayley decided to go out on her own. This really frees herself from the expectations that come along with being the face and heart of a wildly popular band for the last 15+ years. Thom Yorke fans rejoice, because Hayley Williams has a clear admiration for Radiohead’s haunting indie electronic vibe, while emoting some pain and darkness atop her love for 80s pop and art rock (think Genesis, Devo, The Talking Heads). This is a promising new avenue for Hayley to explore herself and process her pain and desire completely on her own. I see this new project of hers only blooming further from here.

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Start With: “Simmer” or “Sudden Desire”

Set My Heart On Fire Immediately by Perfume Genius | Indie Pop and Art Rock Released: May 15, 2020

Best Album For... Daydreaming That You Were Somewhere Else

For his 5th studio album, Perfume Genius enlists production wizard and guitar god Blake Mills, along with Grammy Award-winning arranger and multi-instrumentalist Rob Moose to create a beautiful swirling mosaic of 80s pastel pop that also packs serious classic rock grandeur. Bass guitar dances between satin smooth lines on one song to churning distorted currents on the next. Sparkling string arrangements and organs bleed together to expose a fading sunset that you’ll want to try and hold in your hands to keep it in sight. Perfume Genius is unafraid to challenge traditional masculinity, packing a 21st century queer machismo into both the quiet moments and jubilant explosions.

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Start With: “Without You” or “Describe”

græ by Moses Sumney | Indie Pop, Art Rock, Neo-Soul, Psychic Folk Released: May 15, 2020

Best Album For... Astral Projection 101

I mean this in the best way possible, but I think that Moses Sumney is a witch. Or maybe a wizard? There’s no other reasonable explanation for the level of creativity and wonder that he summons. This album feels like a private concert by a waterfall (similar to one on the cover), with ethereal pleas, and heavy ideas—like meditating on what lies beyond the constraints of the physical self and reconsidering how well we can actually trust memory and the mind. Sumney layers his voice to create the effect of a ghostly choir, accented by a stark intimidating falsetto that reverberates through the ruins of an abandoned temple where Sumney is the only one in attendance.

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Start With: “Cut Me” or “Polly”

WILL THIS MAKE ME GOOD by Nick Hakim | Psychedelic Neo-Soul Released: May 15, 2020

Best Album For... Playing Pool in a Hazy Dive Bar

Nick Hakim is a silky smooth smokey crooner who paints with warbly piano loops, dreamy reverb-heavy guitar, boom bap beats—not to mention a falsetto that would make Smokey Robinson jealous. Clearly a fan of Motown and 60s jazz, Hakim could be considered a peer of Thunder Cat and Anderson .Paak’s to a degree. I remember seeing him perform at Music Hall of Williamsburg a few years ago. The performance ended with him falling down on stage (presumably from being under the influence of multiple substances). But while the song continued he popped back up and belted an impressive high note like it was nothing, drink in hand. And it’s that kind of messy beauty that also makes this album so engrossing. Like watching the eye of the storm get closer and closer, but unable to look away from the sheer magnetism that nature can wield.

Spotify Apple Music YouTube Pandora Start With: “All THESE CHANGES” or “ALL THESE INSTRUMENTS”

RTJ4 by Run The Jewels | Hip-Hop Released: June 3, 2020

Best Album For... Making Your Next Protest Sign

Run The Jewels’ fourth outing might be the most unapologetically angry rap album in the “fuck this” year of 2020. And it reminded me that I should absolutely still be furious about everything that happened during this groundbreaking yet terrifyingly familiar year: country wide protests over the continued murder of innocent black people at the hands of the police, government drone strikes and detaining kids in cages, the state of our environment worsening—and that’s not even addressing the pandemic or election. Killer Mike and El-P are here to scream from the rooftops that our current system of cutthroat capitalism and white supremacy is killing the planet and its inhabitants, and I’m glad that they’re using their platform to continue to sound the alarm.

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Start With: “out of sight” or “ooh la la”

Your Hero Is Not Dead by Westerman | New Wave Revival and Indie Pop Released: June 5, 2020 Best Album For... Wanting Your Old School MTV

The cover of Westerman’s first proper album is mostly black and white, except for the title, which is scrawled out in lettering which spans the Crayola color spectrum. It’s an album that on the surface is cold and buttoned up, but when these choruses open up, the maximalist 80s power pop bursts like the bulbs of a neon sign. There’s a level of even-keeled cool and confidence in small moments on display here that makes this relatively new artist seem well beyond his years. Having seen him play at Rough Trade a few years ago (opening up for the stellar Puma Blue), the songwriting growth on display on this record is impressive. I’m only sad that there wasn’t an opportunity to have seen him play these new songs live.

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Start With: “Easy Money” or “Confirmation (SSBD)”

Punisher by Phoebe Bridgers | Indie Rock and Alternative Country Released: June 18, 2020

Best Album For... Burning Incense and Breaking Out a Ouija Board to Talk to The Ghost of Your Former Self

This is without a doubt, a career defining release for Phoebe. Taking everything she’s learned from writing, performing, and touring with the likes of Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker (in boygenius), and Conor Oberst (in Better Oblivion Community Center), Bridgers levels up to become the truly prolific singer-songwriter she’s been telling us she would always be. Bridgers has explained her personal definition of “a punisher” as a well meaning person who’s, “just talking to you and they don’t realize that your eyes are glazed over and you’re trying to escape.” Vital to understanding this album and its central message is that Phoebe finds herself caught between the contradiction of falling victim to this phenomenon while also doing it herself, especially if she ever met her musical idol, Elliott Smith. Punisher serves as a warning to her audience that if you focus too much on trying to find yourself through other people (via escaping through fandom, drugs, toxic relationships), you’ll always feel lost and dissatisfied, without the proper self awareness to ever quite know why.

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Start With: “Garden Song” or “ICU”

Women In Music Pt. III by HAIM | Rock, Pop, Folk, R&B Released: June 26, 2020

Best Album For... Preparing For A Better 2021, lol

With this album, HAIM skyrocketed to the #1 position of family bands that start with an “H.” Sorry, Hanson! But seriously, HAIM has outdone themselves on this one. If there was one album from this list that I would dub my personal AOTY, this would be it. You might wince at any tracklist longer than 10-12 songs these days (I know I usually do), but almost every song proves itself worthy, pulling at a different thread of my heart until there’s nothing left. Sunshine State Beach Pop? Check. Blues Tinged Dad Rock? Yup! Dive Bar Country? Mmhmm! No, wait, what’s that you say, Glitched-Out R&B? Yes, yes, and yes. You can have it all, sister! ‘Cause when you’re Haim, you’re family! ;) And these three “women in music” continue to prove that they are just about the best Assorted Pop Rocks(™) act in the world right now.

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Start With: “I’ve Been Down” or “Don’t Wanna”

Lianne La Havas by Lianne La Havas | Neo-Soul and Indie Pop Released: July 17, 2020

Best Album For... Sipping Coffee and Journaling on a Weekend Morning

This album exudes a warm vulnerability, like a comforting hug we all needed this year. On her third album, Lianne La Havas makes the risky decision to self title it, a move that artists make when they believe that it is the piece of work that they most want most directly associated with their name. It’s one thing to name your first album after yourself if you can’t think of anything else at the time, but to make a self titled album in the middle of your career, it means that you are sure about having captured who you really are and who you want people to remember you as. “If I love myself, I know I can't be no one else,” La Havas admits on the standout track, “Paper Thin.” She knows that she will meet her destiny and reach self actualization, but only through self love. And finally, I cannot overstate how breathtaking La Havas’s voice comes across on this album. The strength and control on display in her vocal tone and vibrato is quite a spectacle.

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Start With: “Paper Thin” or “Sour Flower”

Limbo by Aminé | Hip-Hop and R&B Released: August 7, 2020

Best Album For... Trying and Get Over Kanye With

On Limbo, Aminé establishes himself as one of the torchbearers of soul-sampling, lyrics-driven hip-hop that still cares about storytelling, skits, and presenting vocals clearly. Kanye West, Drake, and J. Cole all paved the way for someone from the next generation like Aminé to keep the dream alive and avoid succumbing to the “feel good, don’t think” form of passive listening that mumble rap has made the standard for mainstream hip-hop.

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Start With: “Pressure In My Palms” or “My Reality”

Shore by Fleet Foxes | Folk and Indie Rock Released: September 22, 2020

Best Album For... Running Along The Beach With Your Arms Stretched Out

It was really kind of Robin Pecknold and co. to have released an album this triumphant, calming, and awe-inspiring during the year of our Lorde 2020. On behalf of myself and anyone else who suffers from Seasonal Affective Disorder, the SAD people of the world really needed this, man. And to anyone who is quick to judge these beard-o’s of being boring, you’re simply not using your ears properly. Yeah, you know those two things on either side of your head? Get the gunk out of them! That way you’ll hear the choir of angels with acoustic guitars who are here to guide us through quarantine and beyond.

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Start With: “Can I Believe You” or “A Long Way Past The Past”

Listen to all of these albums together in our playlist.

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hollowedrpg · 6 years ago

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CONGRATULATIONS, WREN! — You’ve been accepted for the role of Sirius Black. Not only do you fully understand Sirius as character, but the added section of your app where you talk about Sirius’ relationship with other people really showed me you understand how he fits into this group. I also loved how you included how Sirius reacted at the vigil. It was a nice little addition that showed you’re excited and ready to plot within this group (and a giant punch to the gut omg.)

Thank you so much for applying. Please create your account and send in the link, track the right tags, and follow everyone on the follow list. Welcome to Hollowed Souls!

ooc.

name: wren

age: twenty three years old

preferred pronouns: they/them

timezone: gmt

activity: i should be fairly active! I usually come on fairly regularly, at least every 2 days. I do work a full time job and can sometimes get a bit exhausted, but i try to do my replies often to keep things going. I would put myself at a 6-7/10.

are you applying for more than one character?: nope, just sirius!

how do you feel about your character dying?: my kingdom for an honourable death, honestly. i would be perfectly fine with sirius dying.

anything else?: thank you so much for suggesting that I apply again! I love this roleplay so much and I think it looks magnificent, so i’m thankful for the second chance to be a part of it.

ic details.

full name: sirius orion black

date of birth: 3rd of November, 1960.

former hogwarts house: gryffindor.

sexuality: gay.

gender/pronouns: nonbinary, he/him pronouns,

face claim change: n/a

more.

how do you interpret this character’s personality? how will you play them? include two weaknesses & two strengths. i am become a blade. sirius is burdened with a shift in his own nature, a deep change in him obvious for all to see. once, he was the brightest thing in the room. once, his one wish was to make everyone happy and to make everyone laugh. he was a boy who was always running away from something, from the truth of his own existence. he’s stopped running now, and he’s full now of a dark and desperate energy, and it makes him dangerously reckless. always leaping head first into danger, always acting before he can really think it through. he can’t stand to be still anymore, he can’t stand to watch while he could be doing. there’s a constant hint of the macabre to him since the massacre, a nature that he’s long pushed away coming to the surface. he wants blood and retribution, and the Black family has never failed at getting what they want. like a vengeful god, he’s ready to do whatever it takes. despite a drastic shift in attitude compared to his school days and the early days of the war, sirius still maintains the traits that made him an attractive friend. love still wins out in his heart, when the right people are involved. loyalty is a habit that’s hard to break, after all. despite his reckless energy, he can occasionally be seen as something dependable. he will, at the very least, follow each and every action through to the end in one way or another. strengths: + dedicated: when you tell sirius to do something, he’ll commit himself to it with an all consuming energy. he tries his best to do what he’s told, to do anything that will help the war effort. + honest: he doesn’t fuck around with things anymore. if he’s angry, he lets you know. if he loves you, he’ll tell you. no matter how annoying and how reckless he might be, at least you can trust him to tell the truth about it. weaknesses: – reckless: call it a death wish, the way he throws himself head first into every situation. he throws himself onto train tracks and into the line of fire, and almost messes everything up for all the others while he’s at it. – obsessive: it’s all consuming, the intimate and unflagging way he fixates on what he wants. love, revenge, to bring someone back from the dead. once he gets on a certain path, he finds it difficult to step off again.

how has the war affected this character, emotionally and otherwise? he spent his whole childhood being raised to be a weapon, being raised as something brutal and dark. a child made for war, the heir to a nobel and most ancient house. it would have been shameful for a Black to be ill equipped for a coming fight, if a Black couldn’t defened the honour and glory of the house. they were like the kings and queens of society, after all. in their minds, the closest thing you could get to royalty. old blood and old magic and a sense of superiority, and they were all crafted to be intense smouldering bombs waiting to go off. they possessed the divine right to do whatever they wanted, creatures of chaos with starlight in their veins. he spent his whole young-adulthood rebelling against that. sirius was the kind of person who always smiled, who tried with frantic energy to soften the sharpness that had been forged into his very being. he didn’t want to be brutal, he didn’t want to be half-mad and filled with an intense kind of cruelty. aunt elladora hung house-elf heads in the hallways, his parents tried to beat the old ways into him in any way they could, cousin bellatrix married a monster and he watched her turn into something he didn’t recognise. the Black family, and their legacy as burning comets. they burned hot and if they hit you at the right time with enough momentum, they could wipe out all life on the planet. he didn’t want to be a weapon, a child raised for war, so he became something soft. sirius was the kind of person who always smiled, always laughed, always told a joke. a lover, not a fighter, no matter how useful his talent at duelling might have been during a war. james had wanted him to fight, sirius had always known it. he’d done what he could, helped in little ways. but he didn’t join the order, and he wasn’t a soldier. he kept his sword by his side. he was a boy raised to be a killing thing, raised to be a monarch who ruled over all with an iron fist. sirius thought he would be good at war, that he would be talented at it in a way he never had been at anything before. but he couldn’t stomach it, the fear always present that if he started to hurt people, he would find out that he liked it too much. like aunt elladora, he might decide it was a good idea to start sticking heads on spikes. it’s james’ death that changes all of that. it turns his self hatred in on itself in ways sirius never could have imagined. he feels useless. he feels like a failure. he feels like he let his best friend die when he could have been helping. james is dead. marlene is dead. so many of his friends are gone now, and he blames himself for it. he might as well have killed them himself. happiness and joy used to be his weapons, the things that shielded him from the world, pushed away whatever darkness resided in his soul. james died, and his armor shattered like so many blades of glass, leaving sharp and jagged edges in the place of warmth and love. he doesn’t know how to think of anything other than fighting now, doesn’t know how to keep denying his own nature. he’s a comet, he has stardust in his veins, and he’s ready to wipe out all life in his path to get what he wants.

where does this character currently stand? with those who wish to hide in godric’s hollow until the war ends, with those who wish to rebuild the order and continue fighting the war, or on neither side? why? he joined the Order the very first second he could. before they’d even buried james, he was dedicating himself to a new life. he had spent so long hiding, before that moment. playing hapless fool, the jester at the back of the class. he’d passed messages, he’d offered refuge once or twice, but now he was ready to pick up his sword and be useful, a good little soldier. there’s a tiny part of him, somewhere deep inside, that wants to take remus lupin’s hand and steal him away. he wants to install him somewhere safe, wrap him in blankets and protective wards, and make sure that he doesn’t die. it’s just the two of them left now: the marauders, an endangered species. twin suns, quickly burning out. there’s a small part of him that wants to hide forever and wait this out. there’s nothing he hates more than that part of himself. a coward. a fool. hopeless. hiding got his friends killed, hiding ruined the world around him. he’s a shadow now, and there are no safe places left for him. he can’t stop until the war is over, can’t stop until he’s given each and every atom of himself to the order, until goodness has won out over the dark. there’s nothing he hates more than himself, but the fact that the order is playing with this idea of hiding away forever is a close runner up in that competition. he wants to move. he wants to act. he doesn’t want their life to be lived in secret, surrounded by graves.

Since joining the Order after Lily and James’ deaths, what’s something reckless Sirius has done that’s made people question whether they should remain a part of the Order? the rumour comes to light like this: a whisper from a valued contact, an implication that the Malfoy family is trying to keep security as tightly wound as possible. only a hand-full of people know how to get and get back out again. an implication, also, that the Lestrange’s are going to be the lead torturers of all those captured souls who may be alive in there. Sirius has always hated the Lestrange family. Rodolphus in particular was a symbol of everything that Sirius hated. even before Rodolphus married Bellatrix, he had proven himself to be a terrifying man. so cruel, so charismatic, so volcanic in his rage and his hatred. the perfect suitor for a daughter of the house of Black. ( “Such a perfect match,” his mother sighed dreamily. “An acceptably pure man.” His father agreed.) once Bellatrix and Rodolphus married, he noticed a change in her that his young mind could only blame on her husband. she had always been the perfect Black, but it seemed like she had decided she could strip away everything but the darkness and still be a person. she horrified him as a child, and he blamed that terrible man for it. Sirius hated him with a fury he could never move past. the rumour is this: that Rodolphus Lestraneg has all the information they might need to stage another attack on Malfoy Manor and reclaim the lost. Sirius wants to move against him the second he hears it, begs and pleads with the order’s leaders to let him. they say no, the rumour is baseless and could put all of their lives at stake, could result in even more losses that they can’t afford at this moment in time. and Sirius means to listen to them, he really does. he means to follow orders and be a good little soldier boy. but impulse control has never been his strong point. under a heavy disillusionment charm, attempting to gather much needed potions supplies for the order, he sees the man and acts before he thinks. his attack his brutal, not even using his wand half the time. beating Rodolphus with bloody fists and burning hatred. it’s quickly apparent that he won’t capture the man, that this will not go to plan, not that he had much of one in the first place. at some point, Rodolphus knocked his wand out of his grasp, and Sirius got a little taste of what it meant to be one of the darkest and most powerful men alive. but he could endure a little crucio, it was nothing really compared to all the pain he held inside already. he was bloody, and aching, and almost wishing for death. but he doesn’t die, and neither does Rodolphus Lestrange. an order member finds them before that can happen, and with a competent stunning spell and a quick apparition and brought them both to safety. the recklessness is this: Sirius went against orders, broke the rules. Sirius could have died, could have been captured. Sirius could have ruined every future plan they might have formed if he’d let himself have information tortured out of him. he argues that he’d die before he gave anything up, but it doesn’t change the frustration everyone in the world seems to feel toward him now.

extra.

insp tag

insp quotes: –– “And here was Ronan, like a heart attack that never stopped.” –– “[He] was angry – every one of his emotions that wasn’t happiness was anger.” –– ““It was the gnawing suspicion that you were leavable, that you were too much trouble, that you were better off dead. It was the shame of wanting something you shouldn’t; it was the ugly thrill of nearly being dead. It was all those things, all at once.” –– ““In a way fighting was just like using magic. You said the words, and they altered the universe. By merely speaking you could create damage and pain, cause tears to fall, drive people away, make yourself feel better, make your life worse.” –– “Being brave was easy when you would rather die than give up.” –– “He is a weapon, a killer. Do not forget it. You can use a spear as a walking stick, but that will not change its nature.” –– “This was not a rattlesnake hidden in the grass, but a deadly coral snake striped with warning colors. Everything about him was a warning: If this snake bit you, you had no one to blame but yourself.” –– “And if i asked you to name all the things you loved, how long would it take you to name yourself?”

headcanons: –– Sirius is a smoker, and the worst kind. He can easily go through a pack a day, and gets very antsy when he goes too long without one. Even when he’s not actively smoking, he can often be found holding one, tucking it behind his ear, or fiddling with his lighter. –– Sirius has covered himself in tattoos. Some are professionally done, and others are stick and pokes he gave himself over the years. –– While Sirius knows nearly every Pureblood Custom that there is like the back of his hand, (save perhaps for any that are used exclusively by Light wizarding families such as the Potters) the Black Family has some of their own traditions and quirks that can set them aside from their other wizarding counterparts. The family places the upmost importance in the stars. They consult the cosmos for guidance throughout their lives, listening to what the shifting of the planets and stars can tell them about the future to come. In their eyes, they are beings that were born of moonshine and starlight, the dust of the universe flowing in their veins and imbuing them with even more grace and power than anyone else. This is why the Black Family has always followed the tradition of naming their children after celestial bodies. They are also cremated after their deaths in a special ritual, which secures the passage of their souls into the heavens so that they may become starlight and moonshine once again. As much as Sirius loathes his family, he does retain a love for the stars. –– Sirius learned to play piano as he grew up, and was quite adept at it. However, he hasn’t played in years. Sometimes he misses making music, but he associates it too much with his family and the responsibilities forced on him. –– At school, If Remus was ever particularly excited or interested about a magical topic, Sirius would “borrow” (here meaning steal) a book about it from the Black Family Library. They were often very old and valuable, but he always shrugged it off. –– Sirius never played Quidditch at school. Sure, it would have added to his appeal, but the fact is that he didn’t have the attention span or the dedication at the time. However, he was a remarkably hilarious commentator on the sport in his Sixth and Seventh years, when the boy who had been doing it before him graduated and he managed to convince the teachers to let him do it. He was a good flyer, so whenever someone asked him why he didn’t play, he said that he was too pretty to risk getting whacked in the face with a bludger. He would humour James by playing with him during the summers or on random nights throughout the year. –– Patronus: Sirius hasn’t formed a fully corporal patronus yet, but if he very does, it would take the form of a very large black dog. Not exactly the same as his animagus form, but slightly more wolfish. –– Boggart: Sirius’ boggart is all of his friends dead, and people blaming him for it.

relationships: –– james potter: ( “They had been a two-headed creature for so long…” ) songs: iscariot –– walk the moon // outer scorpion squadron –– the mountain goats If he ever had a soulmate, it was James Potter. From the very moment they met, Sirius felt like he was a new person. Complete, somehow. Pleasantly won over. James made him believe that he wasn’t a creature built only to hurt things. With James, he could be funny. With James, he could smile and it lit up the world. With James, he was the kind of king that you told legends about, not the kind of king that the hero was supposed to dethrone at the end of the story. they were joined at the hip, twins in everything but blood. everyone knew that Sirius loved nothing more than he loved that boy. things had been getting tense, a little bit, before James died. not enough to cause any kind of rift between them, just the old litany of things James said to Sirius, brought to life with new meaning in the face of the war. “You can be more than this,” James had said. “You can do more than what people expect of you.” Voice tinged with wanting, with expectation. Sirius had failed him them, he doesn’t intend to fail him in death too. –– peter pettigrew: ( “I finally let go and learned to live without you…” ) songs: me and lazarus –– iron and wine // amy aka spent gladiator 1 –– the mountain goats Peter was the kind of unexpected thing you don’t realise you love until its gone. Sirius always took him for granted, though he’s ashamed to admit it. it wasn’t that he underestimated Peter, it was just that he never felt for him with the same intensity that he did for James or for Remus. they were best friends, but Sirius didn’t feel like they were soulmates. Partners in crime, a friendship full of laughter, and Sirius would have died for him a quickly as he would have died for any of the rest of them. It was just…something less, something he didn’t put as much thought into. It makes sense then, that he reacts so differently to Peter’s death than to James’. he wept for hours when peter died. he cried his heart out, punched the walls and punched a mirror and dropped tears and blood onto broken glass. he mourned openly and harshly, but he didn’t let it change him down to his marrow. he missed Peter, but he didn’t change for Peter. after a week, Sirius was starting to pull himself together. Life goes on, after all. –– remus lupin: ( i am coming home to you with my own blood in my mouth… ) songs: no children –– the mountain goats // say something –– a great big world he always loved Remus. he didn’t always know it. it choked him up inside to think of when he was young. remus Lupin, in all his glory, too beautiful and so full of expectations. Sirius wanted to impress him, wanted to make him give up on Sirius. but it never worked. no matter what Sirius did, Remus always seemed to forgive him, so in the end, he stopped trying to make him see that Sirius wasn’t worthy of it. he’s angry at Remus know, though he doesn’t mean to be. he’s angry at everything that isn’t the people they lost, and Remus unfortunately fits into that category. he just wishes that they could go back to the way things were before this, the old motto of theirs: “together?” / “i think so.”, words uttered a hundred thousand times over the years. he doesn’t feel like they’re working together anymore. Remus is the keeper of a secret that Sirius hates, a symbol of safety he doesn’t feel like they should be playing along with. he’s angry, but he isn’t really showing it. the desperation to hang on and keep Remus safe outweighs that. if he lost Remus now, he would really lose everything worth living for. –– marlene mckinnon: ( “I know we’re best when we’re a team…” ) songs: take me to the riot –– stars // ghosting –– mother mother she was like a sister. she was like a train wreck. she was his mirror. like if you’d shaped him into something tiny and beautiful and fierce. he loved her so much, loved her with a whole heart, and if his dick could have been persuaded to want to fuck her he would have happily spent the rest of his life with her. she wouldn’t have been the one he wanted most, but he would have been happy. as it was, they were good the way they were. partners in crime, drinking buddies, full of sharp laughter and tactless words. losing her is another punch to the gut, another thing he hasn’t fully processed. he keeps looking for her, keeps moving to lean on her and finding only empty space where she should be.

event 001 –– the candlelit vigil. he didn’t speak during the vigil. he didn’t stand up and share any stories, couldn’t summon forward the words that were worthy of the people they’d lost. the thing was that if he talked about his grief, he might start crying. the thing was, if he started crying now he would never stop. the feelings would swallow him up, and he’d weep until he died. he lingers near the edges of the crowd, stands silent and stoic in the masses if people. he isn’t ready to process all of this. he isn’t ready to feel the feelings everyone else seems to be embracing. but he isn’t rushing away either. there’s a crushing loneliness in his heart, and it feels like theres frosted glass between him and everybody else, but he can’t bring himself to ditch it. in the end, he’s glad he lingers. glenda’s voice is like a punch to the gut, her words leaving him breathless and feeling something he’s been numb to for weeks. there’s more than one safe place. all of her words make him want to spring into action, make him want to move and do and act before its too late, make him want to find every soul in this world and gather them together so that they can work to change things. it isn’t hope blooming in his chest, but perhaps a sense of purpose. the implication that not all those they’ve lost will be lost forever, knocking the breath out of him, and making him want to find out for sure…

#hp rp #rp #rpg #marauders rp #lsrpg #accepted

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matrixaffiliate · 6 years ago

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Like the Storybooks

Co-written with @hufflepuffmarlenemckinnon

FFN and AO3

Chapter 19

Marlene lay in bed having lost the battle to stay her despair as silent tears slipped down her cheeks. She lost that battle often now, mourning her broken heart. The moon hung high in the sky and she knew the hour was quite late, she ought to sleep, but her heart ached at all she had lost and sleep would not come.

James had told her not to lose hope, that he'd do all he could to help her, except grant her the one request that allowed her to be with Sirius. What on Earth could he do? It wasn't as though Sirius could change anything about their situation. James would know that, but James also knew who Sirius really was.

It occurred to Marlene that she hadn’t put very much thought into Sirius’ identity. She’d been utterly distraught about her initial suitors and then the attack on her life and then finding herself madly in love with the Knight, that she’d almost started believing the tale spun around him. But she knew he was not a cousin to James, she’d known that at the outset. It had taken the distraction of her would be suitors and her still blossoming friendship with the Queen to not laugh out loud at the thought of it.

She sat up in her bed and pulled a pillow into her arms as she bit her bottom lip and tried to piece the puzzle together. Sirius and James squired together, that much she was sure of. They’re interactions reminded her very much of her father and uncle. When she thought of it like that, it made sense that James would do all in his power to help Sirius. She had originally assumed that Sirius was a simple low-born knight, and the story around his birth had been created to give him the position he held. But that hadn't really been necessary, it made appearances certainly, but James was the King after all, he didn't really need any other excuse for Sirius to lead his armies than the fact that Sirius was the best swordsman in the country. The question remained, why create a false identity in the first place? There had to be more to this story. There had to be reason for him to masquerade this way. Who was Sirius, really? And why couldn't she know? Why was he keeping her in the dark?

Her mind replayed everything she could think of from the moment she'd met Sirius. Surely there would be a clue in their interactions. She racked her brain and kept coming back to the haunted look in Sirius' eyes when he'd returned to her in Lady McGonagall's office. Lady McGonagall had been about to tell her of a young person who also refused to be Riddle's puppet...

Sirius. He'd stopped Lady McGonagall from explaining. Marlene had been utterly distracted by the love of his adoring stare, but he had been the one to stop the story. And Lady McGonagall had seemed displeased with him for it. Had the dear Lady been trying to give her the clues to piece it together herself? She had said she was confident that Marlene would decipher most of it on her own with time. Sirius had to be the youth Lady McGonagall had been referring to. Marlene was sure of it!

Marlene turned to stare at her door. Riddle had obviously wanted to use Sirius in some way. But how? Sirius had lived here with James since he was fifteen...

And then the math fell into place. Sirius would have come to live with His Majesty soon after Riddle arrived at Semprapuria. Queen Lily said that the heir had refused to bend the knee, but expressed some suspicion about the story that he’d been killed for it. Indeed it seemed that Lady McGonagall referred to this heir in vague terms as well. The Black family had buried their Duke, but they had lost their heir.

Semprapuria had revolted just after James had returned from his time with Lord Dumbledore. The math fell into place. Marlene's eyes widened and she moved from her bed to her door. Slowly she opened it up and looked out to the cot where Sirius lay sleeping, hand hovering above his sword. She was sure of her suspicions. It was the only explanation for James being confident that he could help her without the sacrifice of her standing.

Sirius was the rightful Duke of Semprapuria.

Nothing else could fully explain his circumstances, nor account for how he held himself like the old nobility and not a landless knight. There was no other fitting explanation as to why she’d never once heard of Sirius while growing up with James. This was the reason why all of his stories with James started at their time as squires. It had to be.

But she had to be certain.

Quietly, she slipped up to his cot and knelt beside him, careful to take his sword hand in both of hers.

"Sirius," she whispered and placed a kiss on his cheek.

Sirius stirred and his grip on her hands was momentarily crushing before he opened his eyes and realized it was her.

"Your Grace," he pushed up and kissed her hands, "forgive my years of training."

She smiled, "I much prefer a moment of experiencing your strength to the accident of you pulling your sword."

He chuckled and ran a gentle hand over her face. "What troubles you, Your Grace?"

Marlene took a breath to muster the courage she worried she lacked. "Sirius," she bit her bottom lip. "Sirius, who are you?"

His eyes became haunted again, barely visible in the dim light of the moon that poured into her sitting room.

"I am yours," he evaded the question and moved to sitting, pulling her up from her kneeled position.

She smiled and squeezed his hand as she sat next to him on his cot. "And I am yours, but Sirius, you are not the nephew of our beloved late Queen. I am sure of it."

Sirius stiffened, "Who is filling your head with tales?"

Marlene took a moment's offense to his comment, "No one! I am not some dull-witted wench! I grew up with their Majesties. James was my closest friend as a child. Barely a moon went by where I did not see him until we were nearly eleven, you were never mentioned! Your stories all start with your time as squires together! Can you, on your honor Sir Knight, tell me that you knew James personally before you were ten years of age?"

She knew her voice had become sharp, but she resented his implications that she was one to blindly follow gossip, her mother had raised her better than that. She was the crafter of gossip, not the victim!

"Your Grace..." He looked away.

"Your Grace," she stared him down. She had meant to lead into it, to give him the chance to tell her himself, but she'd lost her temper.

He stiffened, "That title is not mine."

"Tell me why," she pleaded, taking his face in her hands and turning him to look at her.

Gently he brushed her golden locks from her face, his eyes still haunted. "It is a long story, my heart."

"We have time, love," she reached forward and kissed his lips.

Sirius took a moment to simply kiss her, and in that moment it was just the two of them. It was a young couple in love without the concerns of station. But for the first time since he kissed her in this very room, Marlene was the one to pull away.

"Who are you, Sirius?" Her eyes held his and Sirius sighed, holding her cheek in his hand.

"You must understand, I now am exactly who I say. I am an unlanded knight with no title and no standing."

"But you weren't always," Marlene pressed him.

Sirius turned to look out the window. "No, I was not always."

He paused a moment as if trying to decide where to begin. "I was, for the first fifteen years of my life, the eldest son of Their Graces, Orion and Walburga Black, heir to the Duchy of Semprapuria." His voice snarled their names, and for the first time Marlene saw real anger in his eyes. It was terrifying, and without thinking she shrank back.

Sirius must have noticed because his look softened as he gently took her in his arms and kissed the top of her head.

“I returned home after my time with Lord Dumbledore, having made the best of friends with James, only to find my family, while I had never been overly fond of them, nor they of me, had began traitorous plans to rebel against the King. Having just become close friends with the heir, I'm sure you can imagine my feelings on the matter, and so I denounced them. I turned my back on them and fled to the one person I felt was more family than anyone else. I came here, to find James.”

Sirius grew quiet a moment and Marlene reached a hand over his arms wrapped around her to grab hold of his hand. She squeezed it reassuringly.

“If your parents were anything like their late Majesties, you were blessed beyond all measure I assure you. Their Majesties took me in as one of their own and helped me create the identity I now hold. I have been James’ companion at arms, the illegitimate son of Queen Euphemia's dead brother, a landless knight who was only meant to serve his King and Country, for the last seven winters. I never thought I'd want more than that. I never thought I'd find anyone who could so quickly steal my heart before I had even realized it.” He turned and looked down into her face. “I never thought I'd find you.”

A single tear escaped down Marlene's cheek as she looked into the face of the man she loved. He had given away everything for King and Country. Sirius had sacrificed it all, to swear fealty to her uncle and cousin, to her sovereign Kings, to his best friend, to the man who thought he could help their tragic tale.

“Did James tell you?” She asked, pulling Sirius from his thoughts. “Did he tell you what I asked of him.”

Sirius chuckled and ran a hand through her golden waves, “Shouted might be more accurate.”

“It wasn't my intention for the King to chastise you. I beseeched him as his cousin, not his subject.” Marlene's face dropped to look down at her hands.

Sirius brought a hand to her chin and guided her eyes back to his. “You are not to blame for my weaknesses, Marlene, though I feel unworthy of the sacrifice you were willing to make.” He kissed her cheek briefly before smiling. “And he entreated me as your cousin, not your Monarch. You have a way of wrapping people around your finger, you know?”

Marlene laughed, “Why, Sirius! What a thing to suggest!”

“Come now,” he laughed, “you never correct him when he calls you 'little Marly’ and I’m not confident you wouldn't stab me if I tried it.” Sirius laughed at her and Marlene playfully smacked his arm.

“There are a great many things I wouldn't stab you for, Sirius.” She slid her hand along his arm as though she hadn't just smacked him.

“You're proving my point, Marly,” Sirius brought his lips just inches to hers.

“There, see,” Marlene brought her arms around his neck, trying to hide how her childhood nickname on his lips made her breath catch and her head spin, “I didn't stab you.”

“Only because your knife is under your pillow,” he closed the distance between them and brought his lips to hers.

Marlene returned his kiss without reservation. She saw hope, there was a world in which they could be together, there was a chance at a lifetime of happiness.

His lips moved to her neck and she sighed, pulling him down to his cot with her.

He chuckled against her skin and pushed up on his elbows to look down at her. Marlene's breath caught in her chest with how his eyes bore into hers. “Just because I once was equal to your standing does not mean I am now.”

“But you'll have your damned title back,” Marlene tugged on his shirt. “You lead armies, you once told me. You're preparing them to crush out this rebellion and to regain your birthright.”

“Marly,” Sirius sighed and shook his head. It took every ounce of self-control Marlene had not to physically swoon has he looked down at her. But she could hear his resolve crumbling and she had to keep her momentum.

“Sirius, I promise not to stay. I promise to return to my bed. I promise,” she smiled slyly up at him, “if you tell me I'm correct in my assumptions. Tell me you're going to reclaim your birthright, tell me you will assume your role as Duke of Semprapuria, tell me we have a future together where Lord Lockhart has to bow to you.” She delivered her final line and as Sirius broke into laughter she gave a sharp tug on his shirt and he fell onto her.

Then his lips had returned to hers and her hands were in his hair as his fingers gripped her side and Marlene was sure the room was spinning in the best possible way. After what seemed like an eternity of blissful oblivion, Sirius slowed their pace and Marlene attempted to catch any semblance of breath.

Sirius brought a hand to her hair and gently kissed her brow, “With all my heart, Princess.”

Marlene's smile was evident in the way he looked down at her. In an instant she pulled his lips back to hers. Sirius’ kisses were slow, and Marlene knew he was trying to maintain the propriety that she was more than willing to sink in the sea. He was waiting for her to keep her promise to return to her own bed, but Marlene was having none of it.

Finally she pulled away in frustration.

“You’ll have me then?” her eyes bore into his. “When you come back with your ridiculous title and lands, you’ll have me officially?”

“If James consents I’ll pledge everything to you, My Princess.” Sirius returned to kiss her lips but Marlene sat up.

“Did James give you any indication that he wouldn’t?” Marlene grabbed Sirius hand and pulled them both to standing.

“Well, no,” Sirius looked like a confused puppy and Marlene couldn’t help but laugh.

“Has it occurred to you then, Sir, that you might return to my bed in my company as my husband?” Marlene wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly.

“Marlene,” Sirius spoke against her lips.

“I’m certain, Sirius,” Marlene began backing them towards her door. “I will not be sending you to war without first knowing you are mine and I yours. We’ll tell James in the morning. We can even go to a priest tomorrow if you’d like. When you return victorious we can make it known to the public. But I am yours tonight.”

Marlene almost broke out in laughter at the light in Sirius’s eyes as the connecting thoughts sorted themselves out. He was still a puppy, but now not quite as confused and doubly excited.

“I Sirius, do take thee Marlene, to my wedded wife and unto thee I pledge my troth.” His smile was perhaps the most genuine that Marlene had seen from him in the entirety of her time at court.

She took a deep breath and repeated the pledge that precontracted their marriage, after these words had been uttered they would be legally man and wife. They could be fussed with making it public in a church later. For that moment, as she promised her future to the man in front of her, she could feel only joy. “I Marlene, take thee Sirius, to my wedded husband and unto thee I pledge my troth.”

Sirius’ smile crashed into hers, sealing their vows as he kissed her with a happiness she'd never felt from him. That moment, and all the feelings captured in their kiss, seemed to transcend everything that she understood about the world. She hadn’t expected she’d ever feel real joy after the loss of her family, and perhaps it wasn’t the same to go into this new chapter of her life without them. But now she was sure that she was moving forward, the feeling of bliss was real. She was beaming as Sirius pulled back and swept her into his arms, carrying her into their room, the moonlight bathing his face in its soft glow.

“To bed, wife.”

#blackinnon #blackinnon fanfiction #sirius x marlene #sirius black x marlene mckinnon #sirius black #marlene mckinnon #medieval au #medieval fantasy AU #fake relationship au

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wits-writing · 7 years ago

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Mister Miracle (2017) #8 (comic review)

Balancing work life and a new baby is never simple, especially when the parents are leading an intergalactic army. In the latest issue from Tom King and Mitch Gerads’ Mister Miracle, Scott Free realizes the hardest opponent to face might just be his son right before naptime.

But this is still Tom King and Mitch Gerads’ Mister Miracle, so it’s not even as simple as that.

[Full Review Under the Cut]

Symmetry of life and death didn’t register with me as a motif between the first issue and issue seven until sitting down to write this. Put simply, the first issue was Barda worried about Scott’s health after his suicide attempt while gods of New Genesis kept butting into their lives, portrayed as an unwelcome nuisance on the eve of war. Issue seven was Scott worried about Barda’s health while she’s giving birth as gods of Apokolips kept butting into their lives, portrayed as an unexpected blessing during a respite from war. Its apparentness has grown as this issue carries it on into a mirror of issue two. That issue was about Scott as a soldier constantly being called into battle as a soldier for New Genesis, confused but at least in Barda’s company and dealing a powerful blow against the enemy when Barda killed Granny Goodness. Yet Scott was left confused by where being a soldier brought him. This time, we see him constantly called back to battle as High Father, leader of New Genesis, separate from Barda most of the issue as they switch off in the duty of looking after their infant son and losing a key battle with Kanto, greatest assassin on Apokolips. Yet Scott is left content with his new family life.

Scott’s contentment has left me feeling more uneasy than his confusion after his confrontation with Granny Goodness did. I’ll admit that part of that is due to partly filtering my reading through my theory that I mentioned last time, but there’s also plenty of it in how the events of the issue get presented. How the panel glitching that’s been going on throughout this series pops up as Scott sings the “if that looking glass gets broke” part of “Hush Little Baby” to Jacob is feels like a visual from Gerads keying in on whatever else might be going on. Little things like that keep piling on through dialogue sticks the language of entrapment into both the family and war aspects of Mister Miracle’s life.

He shouts about how there’s “no escape” from a battle that ends up going poorly. A neighbor seeing him look after his son remarks that “You get stuck in these things. It’s so hard to get out.” As the issue closes out he tells Barda, referring to their new roles as parents and leaders of New Genesis, “We could be free.” That thought gets brushed aside as he says he’d miss Jacob if they just left him with Funky Flashman as their nanny all day. There’s a sense of wholesomeness to this domestic image, but the way both halves of Scott’s life in the issue play out in parallel, contrasted by black panel borders for Apokolips scenes and white for Earth, it feels off. Routines, for good or ill, often set in without someone being consciously aware of what’s happening. This issue is a look into how long it takes for Scott to become accustomed to his new roles.

There’s no exact timeframe for what’s happening, but it’s at least long enough for little Jacob to go from newborn to taking his first steps. During that time, horrors of war never weigh too heavy on his mind as a peaceful family life (well, as peaceful as life taking care of a new baby gets) on Earth is always there for him. We see Scott’s face beaten bloody, him carrying bodies of his soldiers into mass graves, sniping enemy generals from a distance, slicing enemies to bits on the battlefield with his aero-discs and none of it stays in his mind long enough that he’s not also occupied communicating with Barda about their child’s health. It’s not wrong that he’s worried about that, any sensible parent should be, but there’s something absent compared to the last time he was being constantly called back to the battlefield, the uncertainty. As a soldier in issue two, being called into the battlefield may have been a vicious cycle Scott was deeply unsettled by, but he still had questions and defiance within himself. He looked down at his hands covered in his enemies’ blood and wondered if he’d ever be clean, called Orion by his name rather than title and nearly jeopardized a mission to get answers out of Granny Goodness.

Uncertainty and questions have not disappeared from his life, he’s still a new parent navigating the right way to handle everything. When it comes to war, he demonstrates an eerie willingness to trudge along with its terrible nature if it gets him out alive to be there for Jacob. There’s so much to account for in his life and he’s left without the time to think about any of it. A signifier of where this has brought him comes in when Lightray questions Scott’s strategies by saying “Orion wouldn’t--”, Scott replies with “Orion isn’t. And Darkseid is.”, uttering the phrase that hangs over this entire series with casual certainty to justify digging a ditch for a mass grave, so they don’t waste time having to bring soldier’s bodies home. It also comes into play with the “Darkseid is.” panel of the issue shows up right before Scott uses hearing his son say “dada” for the first time as justification to get up after collapsing in battle.

Plenty of other touches in this issue don’t necessarily feed back into this theme of Scott falling into routine, but still help build the contrast between the two aspects of his life. Lightray’s face has been repaired with cybernetic implants after what happened in issue six. Gerads replaces his golden helm with a grey one to signify this shows how the encounter with Barda knocked him down a peg. Funky helping with Jacob while Scott and Barda are still adjusting is amusing as the Stan Lee analogue refers to the baby as “Genius Jack.” The special lettering for Funky’s dialogue, which I hadn’t noticed before, makes the way he always speaks in declarations stand out among everyone else’s dialogue even more. Scott’s superhero logo shirts he’s been wearing throughout the series, featuring the Watchmen smiley, Electric Blue Superman, Nightwing and Booster Gold in this issue, are a good small signifier for how time passes over the course of the issue.

Maybe Tom King and Mitch Gerads have something up their sleeves sometime in the next four issues to make me rethink how I’m interpreting the events of this one by the time everything wraps up. Right now, what I’m seeing is Scott potentially falling into a trap without even realizing it’s already too late for him.

#Mister Miracle #Tom King #Mitch Gerads #Comic Book Review #Wit's Writing #DC Comics #Scott Free #Big Barda #Barda Free #Funky Flashman #New Gods #The Fourth World #comics #comic books

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furederiko · 7 years ago

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"Those times when it hurts... is when you most need to believe in your own fortune." In Kyuranger episode 37, Lucky receives an emotional closure to his personal arc... Also, it pains me to say this, but the show's FINAL quarter officially begins here. The countdown counter is now activated, and our starting number is 12. Including this one, that's the number of episodes left!!! Aaaaw... (-_-).

- After liberating Luth, everyone is aboard the Battle Orion Ship. Including Gramps, and Caesar who is gleefully playing with balls. By balls, I mean Kyu Globes of course, because let's face it, unlike previous mascots who had actual playmates, this poor thing is the only sentient mechanical animal of the series. I believe this is the third (or fourth, if we count pre-UrsaMinor Kotarou) time the team allowed outsiders inside their bridge. - Retainers? Silly Gramps, I see what you're doing here... but Lucky is not Takeru Shiba. At the very least, it's a reverse-scenario to Shinken Red's situation... if you know what I mean *wink*. Gotta love Tsurugi's fun upmanship attitude though, the older Red simply can't take a joke. Spada's body-language response sums it up nicely. LOL. - Quick update on their next mission, Planet Southern Cross is heavily guarded by barriers. Thus, with the help of Balance and Naga, Tsurugi proposes that the team replicates the ability of 4 Sages from 4 Constellation Systems (in alphabetical order): Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, and Perseus. Kyu Energy of their Kyu Globes will be able to break the barrier, so they need to locate three of them since the first one is present and has been used before (special thanks to Spada for his informative little reminder). It may not be the way I've always wanted, but I'm glad these figures are utilized for something big and important. Trivia: These four Constellations are mythologically connected to one another. King Cepheus is the ruler of Phoenicia, Aethiopia. Queen Cassiopeia is his wife, infamous for boasting about her and her daughter's beauty that easily enrages the God of Sea Poseidon (seriously, what is wrong with Greek royalties?! they keep pissing off the Gods...). Princess Andromeda is obviously said daughter, who has to take the fall by being chained as human sacrifice, to be consumed by a giant sea monster. Perseus, is of course the Pegasus-riding hero who rescues her, and eventually becomes her husband. Remember that Hollywood movie "Clash of the Titans"? It was roughly based on this story. One more thing, I just learned that the first Super Sentai series "Himitsu Sentai Gorenger" received their powers from the Cassiopeia constellation. Will we somehow get a nod to this fun fact in the next episodes? We'll see. - Of course, that's the story for another day. For now, their primary focus is to clear out the circumstances with Lucky's father King Aslan in Planet Cayenne. For some reason, Lucky can't believe that his father has turned evil, and wishes to know the truth. The all-male double-Red double-Blue (and double-Yellow, if we group Gold and Yellow in the same color chart) Away Team arrives, and witnesses with their own eyes that Aslan's 'approval rating' is... VERY poor. The massive amount of extras, I mean citizen clearly despises this lying treacherous King who only cares about himself. Hmmm... I wonder why this sounds... *cough-FakeNews-cough* familiar? - Problem is, newly revived Kukuruga and Menaster of the Leo System Jyumottz have also figured out about Lucky's lineage, so they have prepared a trap through the King's public speech. This is obviously arranged to lure out the Kyurangers, and it works. Lucky tends to act on a whim, so naturally he exposes himself to the open as he tries to defend his father. - Kukuruga was the one who conquered and laid waste to the Leo System. Meaning, he's the one who forced Aslan to send his son away to Luth, and seemingly the reason why the King became a Jark Matter conspirator. We have seen the chivalry between him and Lucky before, but now things have become more personal! And Lucky demonstrates his true heroism, by taking Kukuruga's numerous hit and gets captured to protect the citizen's safety. This is remarkable. Because prioritizing his people's life and safety before him? THAT is the sign of a true leader. Dang it... the chills when Lucky practically begs his father to actually DO something. - At the same time, Tsurugi also proves he's a smarter and more perceptive Red (hence why he's sharing the ending dance with Lucky... but in a switched position). During the battle, he notices something is amiss when Jyumottz and his Tsuyo-Indavers suspiciously freak out to the sight of a raincloud. Gramps' statement about Aslan's change of 'personality' helps him deduce, that this Aslan might NOT be the real thing. An imposter, just like those Tsuyo-Indavers who were created by Jyumottz. The challenge now, is how to let the public know about this. - Lucky's public execution serves as the right stage. Kukuruga is about to use Lucky as an example to spread more fear to the people, as well as to show that Aslan is a devotee to Jark Matter's rule. Thankfully, the plan backfires almost immediately. Not just because Tsurugi's plan comes to play, but because Lucky himself openly exposes to everyone, that the King who's about to execute him is nothing more than... FAKE. - Lucky might be loud, relies on luck, and act first without thinking. But he's also smart enough to know when something isn't right. And this time, his own heartbroken tears help him realize the truth. But where's the real King Aslan, then? Turns out, in an unexpected surprise, Kukuruga has already killed him many years ago. That memory of when Aslan gave him Caesar, was also the father and son's final moment together. Aaaaw... the FEELS!!! Dang it Kyuranger, you always know how to push the right button when it comes to emotional shockers. - Tsurugi's plan further confirms this reality. Stinger, Champ, and Raptor respectively use the Aquarius, #37 Cetus, and #17 Antlia Kyu Globe's water-induced power to expose Fake-Aslan's identity. They doused the imposter with his weakness, turning him back into sand in front of his people. Aslan's reputation and good name has been cleared! He's worthy of his name after all... - Having been freed by Hammy, Lucky gets to do the first major thing in the name of his late father: avenge his death, and liberate the Leo System! Doing so in one fantastic action sequence too, because as we all know, Leo Red Orion is always a delight to see in battle. Kukuruga, Jyumottz, and his Consumarz are all defeated by Kyuren-Oh, Orion Battler, and Gigant Phoenix. Caesar even gets his share of revenge too. But is this really the last time we're going to see the Vice-Shogun? I kind of doubt it, since these higher Jark Matter figures seem to be coming back again and again. Let's worry about that later... - Lucky has proven his worth and compassion for his people, so he is more than just deserving of the throne. It's a royal legacy that he has earned. It might not be grand or massive in scale (or production design... no throne at all LOL), but the Rebellion conducts a special ceremony to celebrate this. Lucky gets to wear a cool-looking (seriously, WHERE can I get one?!) white Leo System Coat, specially hand-made by Stinger under Tsurugi's direction. Naga uses the #30 Corona Borealis Kyu Globe, so Hammy can officially crown him in front of the people. A small celebration, but a sweet and heartwarming one. You can easily tell how the Kyurangers resemble one big family. NOTE: One might argue that Gramps should have been the one to crown Lucky, but considering this has a much stronger feel, I personally don't mind. Don't forget, Hammy initially saw Lucky as a rival and resented him, but things have come along way between them, and among the whole team in general. It might feel simple, but this is character development too! By the way, I wonder if he is the first Red in Super Sentai who actually becomes a King... - With that, Lucky's personal arc has come to a satisfying close. The previous episode might not be as good, but the pay off in this one certainly is. I might not get the Darth-Vader twist I've always wanted, but this outcome is wonderful nonetheless. Lucky might not receive the long awaited reunion with his father Aslan, which was the primary reason of how he ended up becoming a Kyuranger. But he still discovered a home, his place in the universe, his royal legacy, while the memory of a benevolent father remains as uncorrupted as it has been. I can already see that the Leo System will serve as the second base for the Rebellion now, but that's not the most important thing. What truly matter is, from zero to hero, from wandering traveler to real royalty, the Lion of Rebellion has officially become... the Lion King.

Overall: Kyuranger has once again proven why it's an excellent series. Want to know why? Because it always succeeds in flipping audience's expectation. I personally came to this episode with the sole assumption that King Aslan is an evil traitor. That Kyuranger is merely going the same route to previous series. Turns out, that WAS indeed the case, but NOT they way I presumed it would be! Just like the Hoshi Minato twist, we did NOT get the actual truth about Aslan spoiled ahead of time. Even the episode's preview deliberately kept this as secret (looking at you and your repeated flaw, oh "Kamen Rider Build"). Thus the reveal was not only effective, it was genuinely unexpected, and also powerfully moving. This show keeps on surprising and exciting audience in ways they didn't see coming. That's more than just impressive, it's absolutely amazing! It's unfortunate that many audience seems to have dismissed Lucky early on, and refused to see what a worthy Red he has progressed to become. Actor Takumi Kizu has also proven over time that he too had the acting chop to rival the more popular Yousuke Kishi. This episode's emotional moments among previous others as good examples. And speaking of being a Prince and/or a King, this episode also tackled the lesson of true leadership. It's about a leader who would do anything for their people, and not a hypocrite who only thinks of themselves. To be honest, as a country Japan might not desperately need this kind of figure right now. Yet this issue easily becomes far more relatable in an international point of view, since lately many other countries seem to have suffered with the absence of one. The metaphor is current and relevant, as if the show is telling us that this is the kind of leader the world currently and desperately needs. This is why this episode shines, and why I couldn't help but shower it with praise! Next week: Abs-crunching Tsurugi? Sushi-making Garu? Bathing Hammy & Raptor? Space wuxia Xiao? It's a FAN-SERVICE FEST!

Episode 37 Score: 8,2 out of 10

Visit THIS LINK to view a continuously updated listing of the Kyutama / Kyu Globes. Last Updated: November 15th, 2017 - Version 3.05. (WARNING: It might contain spoilers for future episodes)

All images are screencaptured from the series, provided by the FanSubber Over-Time. "Uchu Sentai Kyuranger" is produced by TOEI, and airs every Sunday on TV-Asahi. Credits and copyrights belong to their respective owners.

#tokusatsu #SuperSentai #kyuranger #uchu sentai kyuranger #uchuu sentai kyuranger #review #melancholymoments #awesome

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slytherinspired · 8 years ago

Text

Tell me about the one who loved him - A Sirius Black Imagine

It was just Harry and Professor Lupin now at the Burrow. A heavy silence hung over every patch of Harry’s skin, as if all the questions he had were now making their way out of his being. The young wizard went to join his former teacher in the kitchen. The latter seemed lost in thought. Sitting at the table, his escaped gaze was adrift in the confines of his consciousness and a veil rose on the surface of his pupils. Harry walked subtly towards him.

‘Professor Lupin?’ he asked.

The teacher turned at the young boy, and his expression changed immediately. How it was weird for him to see Harry. His heart would always burst when he faced him; each day Harry grew was a day he looked increasingly like his late father.

‘Yes, Harry?’ replied he.

With a concerned expression, the young wizard sat at the table to face his former professor.

‘Earlier, when we were at Grimmauld Place – ‘he began quietly. He had to be careful, a misstep and Professor Lupin would avoid his questions. ‘I overheard Sirius talking about someone he wished to see. Someone he hadn’t seen in a long time. Do you reckon who would that be?’

Professor Lupin’s expression changed, and a flash of concern crossed his face. This could only mean one thing.

‘I will take that as a yes, then,’ sighed Harry.

But the professor tried to brush it all away and feigned a reassuring smile.

‘Who was he talking about?’ continued the young boy.

‘It’s no one, Harry.’

‘Well, it must be someone, I heard you both arguing. You said it would be dangerous!’

‘Yes, it could be. But I won’t let him go.’

‘But what if he does anyway?’

Professor Lupin smiled at the idea. Yes, Sirius would probably go anyway.

‘Then,’ replied he calmly, ‘you have to trust your godfather, Harry. She won’t put him in danger, I am certain.’

Instantly, the professor realized he had just stuck his foot in his mouth.

‘She?’ shouted Harry in surprise.

Professor Lupin observed the young wizard with a little bit of precaution and sighed.

‘Did he have a wife?’ added Harry, unsure he knew his godfather at all anymore. The professor scoffed, and shook his head.

‘No, no, nothing like that. Sirius was never married.’

‘Then who are we talking about exactly?’

Harry felt angry. He was no longer a child. Everyone kept so many secrets from him; he could not take it anymore. He demanded that Lupin continued his story.

‘Her name was Y/N. She was his first love.’

‘Y/N?’

‘Yes,’ continued the professor with a calm voice. ‘Her family was a well-established line of Pure-blood wizards, mostly all descending from Italy.’

‘How come nobody ever mentioned her?’

There was a pause. Professor Lupin had to choose his next words carefully.

‘It never occurred, Harry. Some stories are better not be told.’

‘Tell me about them. Tell me about Y/N and Sirius then. I want to know.’

The professor chuckled lightly.

‘Of course, you do. But I shouldn’t be the one telling it. It belongs to them, and to them only.’

But Harry would not accept this answer. He begged his former teacher.

Professor Lupin sighed lengthily and gave up. ‘Why not?’ thought he.

‘As I mentioned before, Y/N came from an old powerful and rich family. She was born in a small village in Italy and studied there until her father was called at the Ministry here in England with the arrival of the threat hanging over us. The whole family moved away and she came to Hogwarts for her sixth year. Everybody was curious about her, you know, the new girl with the different accent.’

Harry smiled vaguely.

‘She was not only very smart but she was beautiful in a breathtaking way, I have to admit. All eyes were on her and she didn’t even seem to realize how much attention she was suddenly given. Of course, people were wondering how many days it would take for your godfather to strut in the halls next to her. However, the first time Padfoot set eyes on her, he was not taken away by her beauty, no. He just noticed the colour of the tie she was wearing, the colour of her Hogwarts house, and that was it.’

The young wizard raised his eyebrows.

‘There was simply no way Sirius Orion Black would ever get involved with a Slytherin, however beautiful she could be.’

‘A Slytherin?’ exclaimed Harry.

Professor Lupin nodded, lost in his tale.

‘It didn’t take long, Sirius was not fond of Potions class I you can believe me, and she was excellent. They were paired together to our great misfortune. They would fight all the time as if both had dedicated their existence in his regard. But deep down I sensed it, I observed how he looked at her like this unattainable treasure. The one person he resented because it would be against his principles to fancy someone like her.’

Lupin paused again.

‘You would think your godfather used to hang with a lot of girls but in fact he was way too shy to get to know someone. He would grow bored of them and leave them after a short while. I think Sirius wanted to fall in love, but didn’t know how. After all, he had craved love all his life.’

Harry nodded. He knew how Sirius grew up with a family that despised him.

‘He stayed at Hogwarts for the Christmas break and so did she. At one point, Professor Swoopstikes suggested they work on their partnership by brewing a potion together. I learnt it way after it happened but Sirius had kissed her. She shut herself off and for the rest of the year she avoided him. They didn’t fight anymore, they would just get on with their tasks and that was it. It was odd, but a relief.’

‘So, she rejected him,’ whispered Harry, feeling empathic for Sirius.

‘Yes. But you know him, he’s a very proud man. He played it along; he didn’t want her or anybody else to truly know how he felt about her. He’d mislead hate for love and call her names behind her back. But I saw the way he was clenching his fists when he saw her flirting with other boys.’

‘The school year ended and not long after he came home, he had this big fight with his mother.’

‘The day he ran away,’ murmured Harry.

‘Yes. The Potters – your grandparents – they took him home. He came to live with your father that summer. I don’t know if it was the fact that he now lived in a peaceful household, Harry, but when he came back to Hogwarts, he was different.’

‘How?’ asked the young wizard.

‘It is hard to say. On the surface he was still himself; messing up and pranking everyone. But he looked and spoke differently. I would say he was less impulsive, more laid-back.’

‘What happened then?’

Professor Lupin smiled.

‘A couple of weeks after the first term of our last year started…’ he hesitated.

‘You would not be surprised if I told you your godfather liked to be the centre of attention, would you?’

The young boy shook his head. It wouldn’t be surprising at all.

‘One morning, as we were all eating breakfast in the Great Hall, Y/N entered the hall, shortly followed by Sirius. As she was heading to the table, he grabbed her by the waist and as we thought they were about to have their first fight of the year, he bent and smacked his lips on her in front of everybody. James almost choked on his toast!’

Harry burst into laughing.

‘Everybody stared at them, the students, the professors, everybody, waiting for Y/N’s reaction. We were expecting her to slap him in the face! She raised her hand only to press it on his cheek and kiss him back! It was all very awkward to watch, really. We later learnt that he had talked to her on the first day we arrived and that it had been going on in secret until that day.’

‘How was he?’ giggled Harry. ‘I can’t picture Sirius with someone, he’s so grumpy…’

Professor Lupin rolled his eyes.

‘Oh, he was a pain in the ass. They were always together, king and queen of their year, walking arms around each other in the halls, laughing out loud, Sirius holding her on his shoulders in the corridors… sneaking out at night and ask your dad for his invisibility cloak an abusing amount of time. But he was in love! He was smiling. He was head over heels for her.’

Harry suddenly felt sad.

‘I didn’t know that…’

Remus’ smile faded away, and he cleared his throat.

‘Her family didn’t want her to date him. They thought she wasn’t meant to date a boy who had turned his back from his very own blood. Y/N could do better than a disowned son. Shortly after Hogwarts, Sirius wanted her to go and live with him but her parents objected. She was closed to them and didn’t want to fight. She would sneak away every time she could. Sirius felt a little bit empty. When your dad married your mother, Harry, Sirius felt lonelier than ever. Of course, he was happy for them, but he wished he had the same with Y/N. War was approaching and he wanted to have her in sight at all time.’

‘But…’ interjected Harry.

‘But you know the rest of the story. Everything happened overnight.’

Professor Lupin’s eyes became watery.

‘I was the one telling her the news. I was the one to inform her that the man she loved was accused of betraying his friends and that he had been thrown in Azkaban. I will always remember the look on her face. I can’t forget it. She told me she didn’t believe he could have done those things, Harry, but I didn’t listen to her. I was grieving and enraged. A few months later, she disappeared. Rumour was she had left to live back in Italy with her grandparents.’

Harry’s eyes widened.

‘Wait a minute, Sirius doesn’t think about going there, is he?’

‘No. She came back a few years ago. She’s currently in London, working for her father.’

‘I don’t understand,’ opposed the young wizard. ‘If they loved each other, would it be bad if he saw her? It might cheer him up a bit…’

Professor Lupin sighed and shook his head.

‘Things have changed in thirteen years, Harry. Y/N is not the woman she was before. And her parents, the Y/L/N, they’re – ‘

‘Y/L/N?’ interrupted Harry quickly.

The professor sighed and closed his eyes. He had made the second mistake of the night.

‘I know one Y/L/N at school. She’s a third year, I think…’

Harry looked right at Lupin.

‘You would have to say, it is not a very common name here.’

‘Harry…’ sighed Professor Lupin with a hesitant tone.

‘You said Y/N came back a few years ago, didn’t she?’

The professor stayed silent. He could see Harry’s ideas jostling in his head. It was too late.

‘I mean, she could be anybody’s daughter,’ Harry grinned. ‘But you’d have to say, it is pretty weird that she’s a second year and that she has her mother’s last name.’

The young boy was now staring into Lupin’s eyes.

‘Does he know?’ he tried.

Professor Lupin didn’t move.

‘I see her now. I remember she had this familiar stare, these silver eyes…’ he hesitated. ‘Tell me, does Sirius know he has a daughter?’

‘Harry…’

‘How could you hide such a big thing from him?’

‘It is complicated – ‘

‘No, it’s not! If Sirius has a daughter, if he has a child of his own, doesn’t he have the right to know?’ shouted the young wizard.

‘That is not for us to tell him!’ replied Professor Lupin, panicked.

How he regretted the conversation he just had.

‘But he needs to know!’ Harry cried back.

‘No, he doesn’t!’ shouted Lupin. ‘Do you know what it would do to him? Knowing he missed thirteen years of his daughter’s life? How it would destroy him? Knowing that in a matter of seconds, he went to your house only to discover the horrible thing that happened to your parents and lost everything because he’s a selfish prick who couldn’t wait for the Ministry? That night, Harry, that horrible night, your godfather only thought about himself, about his rage, about his anger!’

‘He wanted to avenge my parents!’ yelled the young boy.

‘Yes, he wanted to! To which price? He lost everything! He would feel so torn, Harry, if he came to know. He would not forgive himself, and did you see him? He’s already in such a state… Maybe when he recovers, maybe when he finds peace again, if this day ever comes. He really cared about Y/N, and to know that he let her down like that, to learn that she was pregnant with their child when everything happened, I don’t think he’s strong enough for that. Not yet.’

#harry potter #harry potter fanfiction #sirius black fanfiction #sirius black x reader #marauders #hogwarts #young sirius black #sirius x reader #sirius black imagine #hp #sirius black #remus lupin #Imagines

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jaxonprcteus · 7 years ago

Note

:-)

- ̗̀ FRATERNAL TWINS: ROGUE & ORION PROTEUS ̖́-

“— here’s to the CRAZY ones.

the misfits.

the REBELS.

the trouble makers…”

- ̗̀ ROGUE ALEXANDER PROTEUS ̖́-

“—mortal kings are ruling castles welcome to my world of FUN liars settle into sockets flip the s w i t c h and watch them RUN…”

NAME

「ROGUE」— english origin, means “dishonest, savage or unpredictable”

「ALEXANDER」— greek origin, means “defender of the people”

「PROTEUS」— derived from greek, usually means “first”. also the name of a prophetic god of the sea.

BIRTHDATE

「♏ SCORPIO, NOVEMBER 18」— scorpios are very deep, intense people, there is always more than meets the eye. they present a cool, detached and unemotional air to the world yet lying underneath is tremendous power, extreme strength, intense passion and a strong will and a persistent drive. scorpios have a very penetrative mind, do not be surprised if they ask questions, they are trying to delve deeper and figure things out and survey the situation. scorpios tend to dominate and control anyone that lets them, or anyone that they find weak. the person that a scorpio respects and holds close to them is treated with amazing kindness, loyalty and generosity. on the outside, a scorpio has great secretiveness and mystery. this magnetically draws people to them. they are known to be controlling and too ambitious but only because they need control for this makes them feel safe.

GENDER & SEXUALITY

「GENDER」 — non-binary, prefers he/him pronouns.

「SEXUALITY」 — bisexual, demiromantic.

APPEARANCE

「HAIR」— deep black hair color, longer at the top than on the sides with a bit of a disheveled look to it. has been the same since he was fifteen. goes reguarly to the hairdresser to keep it this way because he doesn’t like to change it.

「EYES」— grey (like jaxon’s) with inner blue/green rings.

「HEIGHT」— five feet eight inches.

PERSONALITY

「+」— loyal, determined, independent, clever & practical.

「–」— blunt, ominous, manipulative, reckless & secretive.

some people might think that his personality doesn’t really fit his name, while others would say that there’s the possibility to find a picture of him right next to the word ‘rogue’ on the dictionary… the way he acts towards someone, solely depends on whether he likes them or not, and that’s pretty much all you need to know about him. if by any chance you encounter him on a good day and he takes a liking of you, then congratulations! consider yourself lucky, you have found an extremely loyal, adventurous, fun-loving friend. one word of advice, try to not do something that would offend him, it’s a known fact that those that try to wrong him have it even worse than those he doesn’t like at first because at least for those there might be hope to turn things around.

if you’re one of the unlucky ones that had something he didn’t quite like, then my advice to you would be to find a way to make him like you. otherwise the rest of your life, as long as he’s around, will be filled with nothing but confusion and despair…. don’t worry though, at least you’re not one of the few stupid ones that tried to take advantage of him. those poor souls don’t know what’s coming from them and they’ll most likely never see it coming. my advice for them would be run because he won’t be the only one trying to do everything he can to make your life miserable, his brother will be right behind and despite how he looks like he is the one you should be scared of.

SPECIAL TALENTS

「MIND CONTROL」— for someone as manipulative as he is, the ability to control the mind of others came pretty much like a blessing. this power is without a doubt his favorite and you better believe he trains extremely hard to achieve the full extent of it. mind control is his main tool against those that simply do not clic with him or are against him. besides the actual manipulation of the mind his second favorite application would be truth inducement, it’s not only useful to find out someone’s true intentions but also as intel in many of his brother’s amazing plans.

「SHIFTING」— the ability to allow two or more people to teleport objects between themselves, teleport to each other, and/or merge into one being. a power shared with his brother. luckily (for everyone else) it’s still something they can’t really control. the amount of energy it takes for them to merge into one person is far too much and they’ve only lasted around 30 minutes, but you bet those were the most exciting thirty minutes of their lifes. they’re still training though and once they have it under control… hell might break loose.

WHO THEY LIKE BETTER

he loves his parents to pieces, but carmen is truly the one that understand him best, from his personality to his thirst for fun and manipulating others. she’s the best one for tips and advices whenever he wants to get back at someone. jaxon supports him most of the time and they have a good relationship, but they’re too different. rogue doesn’t really understand how his father can be so kind and only see the good in people either, there was a time in which he wanted to be just like him but now he knows it’s simply not in his nature. he’s more of a riddle than a proteus.

WHO THEY TAKE AFTER MORE

carmen is the one he takes after more, he could easily be the male version of her. he does have a few traits from jaxon but they’re not as noticeable. his love for music would be one, and they often bond over it.

FACE CLAIM

Song Mino (aka Winner’s Mino)

- ̗̀ORION KAIROS PROTEUS ̖́-

“— ALL the other kids with the pumped up kicks

you better run

better run

FASTER than my bullet…”

NAME

「ORION」 — greek origin, means “dweller on the mountains”, a hunter in greek mythlofy. also the name of a constellation of stars.

「KAIROS」 — greek origin, means “right or opportune moment.”

「PROTEUS�� — derived from greek, usually means “first”. also the name of a prophetic god of the sea.

BIRTHDATE

GENDER & SEXUALITY

「GENDER」 — cis male.

「SEXUALITY」 — demisexual, aromantic.

APPEARANCE

「HAIR」— it’s naturally wavy and black, he used to keep it a bit longer than his brother’s; with bangs that covered his eyes and parted at the middle. also with a disheveled style. but since he dyed his hair for the first time, he nevers keeps the same color or style for more than two months. he likes to experiment and change his image a lot.

「EYES」— naturally, grey (like jaxon’s) with inner blue/green rings. but he usually wears colored contacts to complement his look of the day.

「HEIGHT」— five feet eight inches.

PERSONALITY

「+」— strategic, loyal, honest, dedicated & determined.

「–」— dramatic, cynical, manipulative, sadistic & short-tempered.

at first sight you might think he’s the quiet and defenseless one, but don’t be fooled and don’t underestimate him or you’ll be in for a world of terror. he is quiet and introverted in nature, but it only means he has enough time to observe and truly analyze people until he finds their weak spots. orion doesn’t really act unless provoked, the problem is that it’s extremely easy to do it, so being around him is like walking on eggshells, one wrong move… and you’ve got yourself a free one-way ticket to your worst nightmare.

orion is definitely the brain of the group. not only is he brilliant at coming up with plans in times of boredom, the theatrics, the details and everything else make it so that his schemes are perfect in every single aspect you could possibly imagine. this only means bad news for anyone gullible enough to believe they can get advantage of him. it might take a while for payback to come, but it’s only because he pays attention to every single detail and likes to have enough information (coming from his brother or by his own means) to destroy you in the worst way possible and make you regret judging a book by its cover.

SPECIAL TALENTS

「NIGHTMARE EMBODIMENT」— the ability to become the physical manifestation of nightmares. truly, the best power he could ever ask for. not only are his victims completely defenseless in their dreams, he’s nearly omnipotent. which is, if you ask him, the way it’s supposed to be.

WHO THEY LIKE BETTER

it might come as a shocker but despite loving both of his parents. he prefers spending time with jaxon. the thing is that, both him and his mother have a bad temper and not enough patience so they often clash and at least with his family. orion doesn’t want to have any sort of confrontation. his dad is way easier to get along with, his kind, calm and amiable persona is like a breath of fresh air for someone that rejoices in solitude. besides, they both have a deep pasion for music, theater and space so they can’t help but bond over it.

WHO THEY TAKE AFTER MORE

just like his brother, it’s carmen he takes after more. but he has a bit more of jaxon in him than rogue; definitely still more of a riddle than a proteus though.

FACE CLAIM

Kwon Jiyong (aka G-Dragon)

HEADCANONS

no one really knows how carmen and jaxon came to be together. literally no one, not even them. all they can remember is a bar, and carmen challenging jaxon to outdrink her and next thing they know they woke up naked on a bed together.

it took jaxon a while to find out that the drunk night they spent together wouldn’t go away that easily. with the news of pregnancy he promised he’d take full resposability for his actions, and that’s exactly what he did.

they’re not really a couple, they’re not married and they both agreed they can see other people if they wish as long as they still come back home and take care of their kids.

having twins came as a surprise, but upon finding out they agreed that each one would name one of their kids.which one named each is pretty obvious.

at first they thought living together as a family, wouldn’t really work. considering how different jaxon and carmen are but after a rocky period they could finally work with their differences and it’s surprisingly a happy household.

living together managed to bring them closer. it’s true they don’t have romantic feelings for the other, and it’s not what any of them dreamed of. but it works, and they do care for one another in different ways. they support eachother as much as they possibly can. and they’re truly happy with how things turned out.

with the twins growing up and displaying more similarities with carmen than jaxon. all he could do was gather as much strength as he could, because he was going in for a wild ride.

they go to family trips together from time to time, alternating between wonderland and montressor. jaxon has been in carmen’s hometown more than ten times already and he’s managed to get lost and be absolutely terrified every single one of them. on the other hand, whenever they go to montressor is carmen the one out of her element and he’s the one having the time of his life. the twins are just there to have a good time. they both like each of their parent’s hometowns for different reasons.

#tricksnriddles #answered #kid hc #me: i'm not going to be Extra with this #also me: gives them twins & makes them weird af #i can't help it #can u believe i had the most muse for them #this is kinda ooc i know but still i lOVE THEM #also before anyone comes for my head i know the fcs are full korean oK #but it's hard to find half korean ppl that also work so i hAD TO SIN FORGIVE ME

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the-marauders-journals · 7 years ago

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The Marauders: life's a joy

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters and settings are the propriety of J.K Rowling and Warner Brothers Pictures. This story may feature some original characters that I have made up, but it will be stated if and when this changes.

Summary: This started out as a nanowrimo story, it is still in the process of being written. we all know the story of harry potter, but what do we really know about the marauders adventures? join moony, wormtail, padfoot and prongs in their adventures. war can bring out the worst in people, but it can also lead to life long friendships, as four unwilling teenagers are about to find out. when you live in a society were it is hard to be accepted for what makes you different, it is hard to believe that you could find anyone to be your true shining light at the end of the tunnel. but in these tough times hard decisions must be made, even if they could end up destroying the world in the process, nothing is easy. but our friendships can survive even the worst of blows, or can it. this magic filled adventure shines a light on what can happen when friendships and magic are tested.

Chapter 1: Remus

*side note: all entries from first and second year are told in flashback, while from third year on everything is happening in the present.*

Remus could hear voices coming from the kitchen, he knew that he shouldn't be eavesdropping, but what his parents didn't know, wouldn't hurt them. Besides they had been acting weird for days now, it had started because of that stupid letter. He couldn't believe that Hogwarts actually wanted him, even though he was a werewolf. "The moon is so pretty tonight, but "the problem" won't happen again until Tuesday, I'm really worried it's getting worse Lyall." "I know Hope, but we mustn't let Remus feel like he's a burden on anyone. He is unhappy enough as it is, I had to tell him that he wouldn't be able to go to Hogwarts, he was really upset about it." "Lyall, he's our son, not our burden. But his condition is getting worse, I'm afraid of what he might do." I shouldn't be here, I'm just a burden to them and I always will be. I should leave, let them be alone, they can have more children, they don't need a son like me. Something had overtaken him, the thoughts had already taken root, maybe it was crazy or maybe it was for the best. Remus in his dazed sense of justice, stumbled into the telephone table in the hallway. The sound attracted the attention of his parents and startled him even more. "Remus! What exactly did you hear?!" Hope covered her mouth as she noticed her son lying on the ground. "I heard enough to know when I'm not wanted. I'll leave now, so you won't have to see me again." "Why would you ever think that, we love you as you are. It isn't your fault that you are the way you are, if anything, I'm the one to blame, I caused this mess. If I hadn't insulted Fenrir Greyback, then we wouldn't have to give up our lives and you would be safe." Lyall said as he pulled his son into a hug. "Never think like that. You are the best thing in my life." "Now, I think it time for bed. It will be a long day tomorrow, we are going to London." Hope said as she took hold of her son's hand. "London? But dad said that London was too dangerous." "Well we thought you deserved a treat, caru." It had been years since Hope had called him "caru", in fact it had been years since she'd spoken Welsh, that made him think that there was something wrong. "wait, why exactly are we going to London?" He stopped in his tracks, as his mother tried to pull him forward. "Don't worry son, it's nothing to be afraid of."

Remus had trouble sleeping that night, he felt nervous with excitement. He had never been to London before, or at least he didn't think that he had. They left the house straight after breakfast and took a train to London's King's cross station. From there Lyall had ordered a taxi to take them to Charing Cross Road. Remus was surprised at how wonderful London was, of course he'd seen pictures of it in books and magazines, but they did nothing to show it's real beauty. "Dad, can we go see the Tower of London or Westminster?" "We'll see, Remus, we'll see." "Are you serious? You called your son Remus? I'm sure you get made fun of for such a strange name." The taxi driver said as Remus blushed. "Our son's name does not cause any problems. Mug-I mean most strangers who don't know us find the name strange. But we are great fans of the classics." Lyall said as a vein in his temple bulged. This was one of the most common conversations that Lyall, had with many Taxi drivers in the past. Many wizarding families had strange names, it was just normal for Remus by now, he had once met a witch called Artemis (like the Greek goddess), she had been one of his father's great aunts or something. "Lyall, this isn't helping anything. No one cares about our strange obsession." Remus stared at his mother, sure dad had made mistakes in his own life, the first time they met was an extremely good example of this, Hope had been attacked by a boggart, Lyall had broken the statute of secrecy and soon afterwards they got married.

The taxi pulled up in front of a small, rather old looking pub. Lyall hurried the two of them out of the car, before turning to the driver and handing over way too much muggle money. Hope normally dealt with muggle money, because her husband was known for giving too much money. Remus stared towards the old pub and noticed a dark haired boy in fancy clothes staring at him; he looked down at his own frayed and battered jumper, he felt uncomfortable, he hated being stared at and this boy was really unnerving. "Remus, don't wander off, stay close by at all times. What are you staring at caru?" "Nothing. I thought I saw something." "I don't see anything." Hope said as she stared off in the other direction. "This way then. There is a series of charms covering the Leaky Cauldron from muggle eyes, which is why you don't see anything dear." Lyall said as he held out his hand for his wife. But Remus couldn't take his mind off the boy and why was he staring, some people were just strange. Remus wasn't used to other children, he hadn't had friends his own age, since he was five and he never would have any. "Right so we're heading to Flourish and Blott's first, I promised to meet the head of my department there." Lyall said as he dragged his family into the pub. Remus knew that his father's work with the ministry was the only thing that was keeping them alive, his mother had given up her job, after he'd been attacked, sure Lyall did other things too, but they didn't earn as much profit, but it kept them going. "if you smell anything rotten my dear, it is because a blood traitor has just walked in." "Oh, dear, why do they let such filth in here? Sirius, dear, do you see them? These people are filth, destroying our civilization." "Walburga, Orion, what a pleasure to see you here." Remus could see that all the colour had drained from his father's face, and when he looked over at the other family, he saw the boy he had seen earlier, only this time he looked a lot paler. "Aunt Walburga, Uncle Orion, I don't think it's right to insult people for..." A young witch with brown hair and kind eyes, tried to say as the woman interrupted her. "Andromeda Black, this is the survival of the pure-blood line that we are talking about. Anymore of your thoughts and I will personally lock you in Kreacher's den!" Remus could feel the boy's eyes on him. This was a weird situation to be in, Lyall had always tried to keep him away from these kinds of things. Remus found, a hand on his shoulder, as Hope gripped it too tightly, on the last full moon he had dislocated his shoulder, and even though Lyall had healed it, too much pressure caused pain. "WALBURGA! ORION! I WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF YOU DIDN'T INSULT MY WIFE AND SON!" Lyall shouted, as Remus felt his mother's draw breath. Lyall hardly ever got mad, and when he did, there was no telling what he would say or do, it had always scared Remus whenever his father got mad.

#harry potter series #harry potter fanfiction #lyall lupin #hope lupin #remus lupin #sirius black #walburga black #andromeda tonks #regulus black #orion black

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