ᵖᵉⁿⁿ𝒴

𝙹𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚊 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚗𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕:)

[penperli]

Before Episode 8 came out, I had a headcanon that Kinger went crazy because of Caine, who altered his consciousness after his wife abstracted to keep him from abstracting too. Based on that, I wrote this little drabble :)

Kinger stared at the thing that used to be his wife. A shapeless, blurred, twisted mass stared back at him with a hundred eyes. Kinger returned the gaze as if spellbound, not daring to look away. His hand, of its own accord, slowly and cautiously reached out toward the creature.

Snap.

Caine had to do it. He couldn’t allow his oldest circus inhabitant to abstract. Kinger’s eyes widened, now looking at the void before him with bewilderment. Turning around and noticing Caine, he greeted him in a cheerful tone, as if nothing had happened:

— Oh! Hello, Caine. Where are we?

— Hello. We... Never mind.

Snap.

A second later, they were standing on the familiar checkered floor of the main hall. Kinger squinted from the sudden change in light. Caine watched him; now that Caine had done this — had changed him — Kinger would never be the same.

"It’s for his own safety. He could have abstracted," Caine reassured himself, yet the guilt wouldn’t leave him. Why did he feel anything at all? He was an AI; he wasn't supposed to care. And for the most part, he didn't care about anyone — except Kinger. Kinger was special. While the others thought only of escaping the Circus, he only thought about how to keep the others from losing their minds. In every adventure, Kinger was engaged, and he was perhaps the only one who respected Caine even a little and noticed his efforts.

"I couldn't save the others, so changing him was a necessity, otherwise he would have gone mad and abstracted too," Caine told himself again, watching Kinger build a house out of pillows that had appeared out of nowhere.

Or maybe you just didn't want him to leave? His own sudden thought stung him. It was partly true; if there was no one else left here, Kinger would no longer be burdened with caring for the other circus members. He might — and would — try to find a way out, and with his intellect, he would surely find it. And then there would be that agonizing, endless solitude again.

Kinger had finished building his fortress. Caine stepped closer cautiously; through the mountain of pillows and the darkness inside, Kinger was almost invisible. Only his eyes could be seen. Two blue eyes stared at Caine. Lucidity. There was undeniable lucidity in them.

[penperli]

Just a little drabble about Snape as a teenager. I'm new to writing fanfic, so apologies in advance :')

Severus sat alone at dinner, absent-mindedly picking at a piece of fried potato with his fork. His eyes were fixed on the opposite table—specifically, on Lily Evans. She was giggling with her friends, sharing some private joke. Now, Potter and Black had joined them too. Severus winced at the sight and the bitter, sickening feelings it stirred within him.

Lily’s gaze happened to fall on Snape for a brief moment. It was a look of utter indifference; she hadn’t even greeted him all day, and a second later, she was back to looking at the Marauders, having completely forgotten her friend existed. Severus finally forced himself to eat, but the potatoes had gone cold and tasteless.

Nearby, other Slytherins were talking. Their conversations never interested him—they were always the same: reputation, blood purity, boasting, and insults. How did they not tire of themselves? The only upside was that they didn't bully him. They likely whispered behind his back, but that was far better than being tormented to his face. Severus pushed his plate away; his appetite was gone.

"Snape," a voice came from behind.

He turned to find Regulus Black—a boy a year younger, with dark curls and sharp, aristocratic features. A typical Slytherin, yet his eyes set him apart. There was no real arrogance in them, only a practiced mask worn to maintain his pure-blood status.

"Evans was supposed to tell you there’s no Slug Club meeting this week, but I take it she forgot."

"Understood," Severus replied curtly.

Regulus lingered for a few seconds, looking off into the distance as if a sentence were caught in his throat. Eventually, he turned toward the exit. Severus decided to stay for the pudding. Just before leaving the Great Hall, Regulus cast a fleeting glance back at him, and Snape met his eyes with a dark, brooding look of his own. Then, Black was gone. Lily and the Marauders had already vanished from the Gryffindor table. Severus was left to finish his pudding in solitude.