+ Chess is a Gentle-Queen's Game +

[vitaelamorte]

Who: Everyone in Wonderland!
Where: The chessboard hills
When: Monday, July 15, all day starting at 10:00 AM
Rating: PG-13 (probably)
Summary: The Red Queen has accepted a challenge from the Queen of Hearts.
The Story:
♥ ICly, characters who will act as pieces were chosen by either queen. The Queen of Hearts announced her choices to her Mirrors very directly, with an order to show up at 10:00 AM on the chessboard, ready to fight. The Red Queen announced her choices more politely, but just as firmly, with a text message sent out over the network listing her chosen pieces and requesting their assistance to protect their fellow Real things. Characters were not ICly able to respond to this message, but the Red Queen will be available after the event for questions/demands/angry rants.

♥ Those pieces who choose to obey the summons will have time to gather any items or weapons they might want to have with them, within reason. Those who don't heed the fliers will find themselves suddenly and instantly transported to their square on the chessboard when 10:00 AM rolls around. They will arrive with anything that was on their person at the time, as well as one weapon (whatever it would be normal for them to use).

♥ Each player sports an armband (since mirrors do tend to look so like their counterparts ♥), black for the Mirrors and white for the Real things, with the shape of their assigned chess piece printed in the opposite color.

♥ Pieces will find that they can't leave their assigned spots until they're told what square to move to by either the Queen of Hearts or the Red QUeen. And if they refuse to move, after a couple of moments, an unseen force will scoot them along to their new space.

♥ When threading moves on the board, please find the appropriate thread under which to comment! It might be helpful to label your thread with which moves/encounter you're playing out.

♥ Players on the board can not communicate with those in the stands and vice versa (other than by jumping around and flailing, I guess). However, players on the board can communicate directly with those in squares adjacent to them or with any challenger who enters their respective squares. Since some pieces have a lot of down time, feel free to have them chat with others on the board while they're waiting around.

♥ Directions from the Queens can be assumed. Go ahead and play out moves without them being officially announced.

♥ The plotting and info post for this log is here.

♥ For your convenience, here are links to the thread headers:
The Game - Moves 1-22
The Game - Moves 23-40
The Game - Moves 41-55
The Game - Moves 56-71
The Game - Moves 72-83
The Game - Moves 84-98
The Game - Moves 99-114
The Holding Area
The Stands

Have fun!

Comments

[notsogryffindor]

[His eyebrows narrow at that comment, but he remains steady. He does not step back when he approaches.]

My abilities are my own. And it is because of my abilities that I was chosen to be Her Majesty's representative on the board. [By "representative" he means his position as Queen, of course. She chose him to be Queen, above everyone else.] The Queen is a powerhouse, able to move in any direction and vital for capturing weaker pieces. She would not give the role to someone incapable of destroying their opponent.

[It is a sign of trust, and that is enough for him to appreciate each kill. Each move is an invitation for him to show her what he can do, and he feels he's more than proven himself today.]

My skill led her to place me here. So I would hold your tongue, if I were you. I would have thought you would have learned that from watching Blake fall.

[If he hadn't been so cocky, and so ridiculously confident that he could actually beat James in a fairer fight, then he wouldn't have cruciated him. He would have just killed him and moved on.]

[selfrespecting]

[That's his argument, then? Perhaps there's some truth to it. It could be Martha was given the role of pawn because the Red Queen sees her as indispensable, but Blake shouldn't have received that treatment, should he?

Martha's tired at this point, sick of watching her friends being cut down in front of her, but she hates that it has to end this way. That she's forced to submit to James' double as if she's some spineless coward. It's why she won't waver under his gaze, and why she won't let his words cut as deep as he might want them to.]

You serve her because you have no other purpose to serve. [It's true that Blake's death has left her shaken, and the last thing that Martha wants is to be tortured in that same way. She's inviting it if she challenges him too much, but she won't simply stand by and let him do as he pleases without a word, either.]

... Well, you already know what to do now. What are you waiting for? [She stares him down even now, prepared as she'll ever be for whatever it is he has planned for her.]

[notsogryffindor]

[That snaps something in Mirror James, and suddenly his wand is under her chin. It's as if the Killing Curse wouldn't be enough. The Cruciatus Curse wouldn't be enough, no, he wants to blow her head right off her shoulders and send it flying.

But, he restrains himself. He simply holds her at wand point, his voice low and dark.]

I have more purpose than you'll ever know. Don't presume you know anything about me or my life!

[It's actually broken the calm on his face, and it weirdly makes him look more like a person. A dangerous, unstable person, but still a person with emotions and feelings, which is more than he's been all game. He's angry, and defensive. Insecure. There's something about her that reminds him of that other Remus. His words echo.

You don't have to do this, you know that, don't you?

But...what would they know about it?]

You don't know anything!

[selfrespecting]

[The wand jabs up under her chin, dangerously close to her throat and jugular vein. Martha closes her eyes for a brief moment, gathering her composure. It may not be quite as bad as being held at gunpoint, but she's already seen what that wand can do. More than that, she's read about it. She never would have imagined that those spells she learned about in a series of children's books would become very real and very terrifying for her.

Maybe he's right, and she doesn't know a thing about him. She knows about James -- that he's a good person who wants to do the right thing, and that he pays the price for his goodness. She has no idea what his mirror is, except for a ruthless killer.

But there's some satisfaction in realizing that she got through to him in some way, forcing him to lower that emotionless mask. Even if it's put her in danger, he's the one that's shouting and flying off the handle, not her. Though her death is imminent, Martha fights to stay calm.]

And you don't know anything about mine. [She holds her ground, lifting her head up just slightly so that his wand isn't pressing into her throat.] Yet you'll still kill me, just because you're asked to. [How is there anything right in that?]

[notsogryffindor]

[He shuts his eyes for a moment and breathes. It is not a risk he would normally take in a battle, but Martha has dropped her weapon and is entirely at his mercy. There's still some sad bit of life in his eyes when he opens them, but his tone is even once more.]

You can't understand.

[Not "you don't understand", no. She cannot possibly, as a Real Thing, understand. There is a heavy prejudice in the way of empathy, one that is admittedly deserved, but she does not have to spend every minute of every day proving that she deserves to exist. No one is going to decide that Martha isn't worth the trouble and take her apart piece by piece until there's nothing left of the person she was.

It's a cruel life, and one that James' Mirror has adapted to. He does not wallow; he simply does what needs to be done to survive, to advance, to keep himself from being erased from existence. And this chess match is a sign his hard work is paying off - his Queen trusted him to be her queen.

And he will not disappoint her, no matter how Martha tries to guilt him otherwise. He may not know anything about her life, but that will not stop him. She is a Real and she is in his way and that should be enough to justify it. He makes the motion beneath her chin.]

Avada Kevadra!

[There's a violent flash of green that envelopes both of them - the Killing Curse is not something typically cast at close range, though it can be done. He's not in danger of being cursed himself, but casting the spell seems to actually affect him this time. Wincing and letting out a hiss of pain, he brings his hand to his heart. But it's gone as quickly as it came.]

[selfrespecting]

[Those words, said the way that James' mirror says them, are haunting. You can't understand. He may be right, because all in all, this is the most exposure she's had to mirrors since she came here. Most of them seem to be like James, carrying out their tasks with little remorse. It's easier to view them as mindless evil forces, and this game hasn't exactly changed that opinion, but--

When the curse hits her, it's an instantaneous thing, the green light bursting forth and illuminating her eyes and skin. At first it isn't even painful. Her heart just stops, but there's this split second where Martha sees the pained look on James' face before she falls to the ground dead. It's an image that imprints itself in her mind as the last thing she laid eyes on before the life was sucked out of her, before her soul was forcibly yanked out.

It isn't a victory, not for either of them, but the game must go on. After another second, her body vanishes.]