#aelwyn abernant <3 she is Coming

[serenescribe]

I am so excited and intrigued by Aelwyn’s reaction to Oisin and Adaine being an item. Like of course due to habit and just the nature of their relationship as sisters Aelwyn will tease Adaine. Maybe go a little to hard sometimes, but is she worried, or just happy for her baby sister?

Most definitely she is protective of her baby sister after not being able to stand up and protect her like she knows she should have before. Does she give Oisin a shovel talk? Does she have to since he might know she worked with Kalvaxus? What does rage crystal Oisin think of this powerful wizard threatening him and taking up Adaine’s time even if she is her sister?

Just been pinging around my brain :)

weehehehehehe ohh i wish i could respond to this properly! alas, i must say very little, if only to avoid letting slip any spoilers... but trust me when i say that this ask has given me great glee. i am happy that you have been thinking about aelwyn. she is Coming, trust me.

[serialadoptersbracket]

Round 5, Match 7: Jawbone O’Shaughnessey vs. Abigail Pent and Magnus Quinn

Art for Abigail and Magnus here (done by @ancientannoyance)

Submitted kids:

Jawbone O’Shaughnessey: Tracker O'Shaughnessey, Adaine Abernant, Fig Faeth, Kristen Applebees

Abigail Pent and Magnus Quinn: Jeannemary Chatur, Isaac Tettares, They also end up as parental figures for Harrowhark Nonagesimus and Gideon Nav

Propaganda under the cut!

Jawbone O’Shaughnessey:

1. “A lot of the main characters of this story have shit parents, and Jawbone, formerly a drug dealer and bouncer turned high school counselor happily opened his home to all of them.”

2. “He's a former druggie that the intrepid heroes met at a club during an investigation. Instead of fighting him, they offered him a job as guidance counselor at their school. He took the job and, after a bit, began dating fig's mom. Kristen was dating his niece, who lived with him at the time. During the final battle with Kalvaxus, he helped Adaine work through a panic attack and gave her anxiety meds. Those meds have a mechanical advantage too, as she would roll for panic attacks. As mentioned in the notes for this post, he makes a pretty incredible speech. Anyways, Adaine's parents abandon her soon after and jawbone offers her a place to stay, along with Kristen (who moved in with tracker), Fig (who moved in with her mom), and the Barkrocks (who they're sharing the house with). Zayn Darkshadow also lives in the cemetery at Mordred Manor, and they took in Aelwyn before she got herself an apartment. So he does a lot.”

3. “Jawbone O'Shaunessy is the single best parental figure in those kids lives.

They rescued him from a bad spot, and time and time again he proved that he was willing to be the stable figure when nobody else was there for them.

Adaine, his officially adopted daughter, has panic attacks throughout the whole first season. During the big final battle, when she's inflicted with the dnd "fear" condition, causing a panic attack, he arrives just in time to help save her from running away fully. When Adaine's parents abandoned her and never gave her treatment for her condition, he's the one who really sees her. He says his famous line "You are not a coward- you have a goddamn medical condition, okay?" He's the first person to give her meds to help, and she's able to get back in the fight because of him. (If somebody else has the whole clip please reblog with it, it definately needs to be part of the propoganda).

He also says "You're easy to love, and anybody who couldn't figure it out is a real bozo." to Adaine in a different conversation”

Abigail Pent and Magnus Quinn:

1. “Okay so that may not look like many kids but the thing is that they arrive at this cursed ass house with their too adopted-ish kids, Isaac and Jeannemary. then Magnus meets Gideon, and is like the only person actually trying to talk to her and show her (it might not look like much mut it's the biggest anyone's ever done for Gideon). Sadly she and Gideon actually never gwt to talk because Gideon has a vow of silence. Anyways then they have a wedding anniversary (nice) which unfortunately ends with both of them being pushed down a fuckass long ladder and dying.

BUT they come back in the next book! AS GHOSTS INSIDE HARROW'S MIND and then they adopt her in there before dying again (also they solve a mystery and are good at it)

YEAH AND ABIGAIL CAN SUMMON GHOSTS

manifesting for them to come back again in the fourth book so they can adopt more kids and die again”

2. “Abigail seeing harrow, gideon, and the terrible teens: "I choose you!"”

[luvo27]

the rest of the Fantasy High x Very Important People fic that I'm not going to write: Very Complicated Women. story told through interview transcripts between Fig and other characters

episode 2: Fig's maternal grandmother. in which fig interviews her maternal grandmother, asking why she never knew her before, arguing about sandra lynn, fig defending her as a mother, fig having complicated feelings about sandra lynn, closes with fig threatening her maternal grandmother with extreme violence. in response, her maternal grandmother tells fig she's just like her mother and she's glad that they never had contact before

episode 3: Adaine Abernant. in which fig intends to interview her friends about being the elven oracle, but adaine ends up talking about weird customers she's served at basrar's. they end up chatting about people they've met (fig, people on tour, adaine, weird customers). closes with adaine giving a for real intense prophecy and they start yelling into their mics about it

episode 4: Kipperlily Copperkettle. half genuine interview about kipperlily's thoughts on ankarna, half petty teenage sniping, half genuine arguing. arguing about bringing about the ankarna apocalypse vs the night yorb (that was an accident! you did that on purpose!) probably ends in violence.

episode 5: Kristen Applebees. in which Kristen is invited to be interviewed about her faith in Cassandra, but she and Fig end up talking about Cassandra/Ankarna and their lesbian pantheon, and then they end up talking about being queer, and their long and complicated journey's towards realizing they were such, and then they end up talking about resources for queer kids in elmville.

episode 6: Aelwyn Abernant. in which aelwyn gives out too much criminal advice and also a lot of advice on raising cats.

episode 7: Sklonda Gukgak. in which Sklonda is mostly here to humor one of her son's friends but is genuinely impressed with the amount of work that Fig's put into her podcast. She talks about her time as a police officer, why she left her job, and offers legal advice, which Fig says will come in handy for anyone who listened to Aelwyn's criminal advice in the previous episode. ends on Sklonda starting to interrogate fig on what she means by that

episode 8: Dr. Keller/Detective Decker/Hilda Hilda/Wanda Childa. break in the format. all of fig's dialogue is still written in transcript format. the rest of the characters are written in prose as they interrogate fig on why she felt the need to disguise herself as other people so often, and why she's so uncomfortable in her own skin. this episode is a nightmare and ends with ankarna appearing and telling fig so

episode 9: Ankarna Figeuroth Faeth. written in prose, ankarna takes fig to her godly realm and asks what the heck that was all about. fig starts to explain about her podcast, asks if she can interview ankarna, ankarna agrees. switch back to transcript. fig asks a few questions, but the conversation eventually turns to be ankarna asking fig about why she became the archdevil of rebellion and why she ended up following ankarna. fig thinks about her journey as she's been growing up, and all the righteous rage she had felt, and how she shouldn't have had to feel it but she's glad she did. interview ends, back to prose. they hug

episode 10: Sandra Lynn Faeth. written entirely in prose, opens with fig waking up with a red crystal with an audio file clutched in her hand. she goes downstairs to see sandra lynn sitting at the kitchen counter, listening to an episode of fig's podcast. they talk about their relationship when fig was growing up, and during freshman year when it was more complicated, and how they've grown closer since then. sandra lynn talks about how sometimes it scares her how similar fig is to her growing up, and fig asks if that's a good thing or a bad thing, and sandra lynn says that it's not all bad because she's in a good place where she's happy with her life and she knows fig will get there too, but she wishes that fig wouldn't have to go through the struggles she did to get there. ends with them dragging out a photo album and going through it together. thus ends very complicated women

[teenagerebellion]

Pls share your abernant headcanons! I am unfortunately constantly thinking about them!

hii hello me too anon me too… this is another sort of appearance headcanon, but i think that adaine and aelwyn mirror and oppose each other in their appearances from freshman year to junior year in a way that’s beautiful and lovely but also tragic and heartbreaking..

freshman year:

aelwyn is thin, always dresses up, perfectly straight platinum blond hair down to her mid back and perfect makeup both to accentuate her appearance and also cover up any possible flaws. this is important both in an “abernant family” sense and also because of the work she’s doing for kalvaxus/kalina/the nightmare king - her persona needs to be irreproachable.

adaine, on the other hand, is chubby and freckly and covered in acne, her short dirty blond hair has unbecoming (to her family, anyway) streaks of brown in it, she has her big circle glasses and her ill-fitting hudol uniform. she’s awkward and nervous and childishly mean where aelwyn is polished and beautiful and wickedly cruel, at least until the house party fight and her arrest, when we see her frazzled (and see her roots coming in!)

sophomore year:

adaine is coming into her own! she has her own clothes, she has boggy, she wears her (still smudgy) glasses with more confidence. her hair is a bit longer, it curls a bit at the ends the way aelwyn’s never did. her acne is not so much clearing up as solidifying (i have a specific thing with adaine’s acne scars turning into a four-pointed star on her forehead at the end of fhfy lmk if you want to see it and i’ll doodle it!). she’s altogether more confident and more righteous and by the end of it she has a SWORD.

aelwyn, meanwhile, has been non-stop crawling in an orb for the better part of a year (<- ask me about this too i have Thoughts.). she has been unable to take care of herself. her hair is loooong, down to her waist and matted to hell. it’s only about 3/4ths blonde at this point as her roots grow out more and more. she’s exhausted, she’s unfocused, she’s unwell, she’s unhealthily thin from months of malnourishment. and even when that version of her is replaced, the physical effects of the orb still remain. i think while in the nightmare forest things get caught in her hair all the time and she just lets it - she’s completely given up on taking care of herself or maintaining her appearance at all.

and junior year:

aelwyn cuts her hair! goodbye, blonde. now she’s got brown or black hair and her brown eyes :) she still has permanent damage from sophomore year (i’m so serious ask me about this) but she’s healing as much as she can and learning to live around what injuries won’t heal. she’s stopped using as much makeup, so her acne actually shows! & to adaine, the mean curve of her mouth doesn’t seem cruel so much as affectionate, now. as she’s healing she gains weight, for now just up to where she was in freshman year but more in the future :)

adaine’s hair is longer than ever, at just past her shoulder blades, and as she settles into the role of oracle, it whitens more and more. her eyes get bluer and lighter, too, and her forehead acne scars and fades and fully appears as that four pointed star, glowing faintly whenever she uses divination magic. in contrast to aelwyn, she’s gotten taller and a bit thinner as the last of her baby fat fades.

so in the end we have an junior year adaine that looks similar to freshman year aelwyn, and a junior year aelwyn that’s similar to freshman year adaine. explodes into a million pieces

[remidyal]

Bad Ideas of the Day Part 8 - The Ocho

Part 8 of the series of my occasional roundup of my bad ideas of the day from the D20 Fanfic Discord, as always the link back to the prior one is available here and as always anyone who wants to do something with these ideas is moreeeee than welcome to do so, though I'd love to hear about it!

This list contains spoilers for FHJY through current as of writing (episode 10) as many of the ideas on this edition involve events from this season; I've put it below the read more for that reason. Some of the ideas mark where spoilers are contained up through.

Bad Idea of the Day, Trust Issues Edition, FHJY spoilers through episode four: Fabian, wanting to cash out but not wanting to give Chungledown Bim 18 million gold pieces, tries to find a convincing nemesis who the bank will believe and who will use the money they get in a way that won't bother him, such as to further shitting in his mouth. He finds someone who both has a history that often leads to nemesis-dom and is willing to commit major financial crimes for money: His ex-girlfriend, Aelwyn Abernant. Now, they just need to stage a public enough fight to get her on the list before he cashes out…

Bad idea of the day, Total Party Kill edition: The bad kids and Aelwyn cut a little TOO loose during the fight at Ostentatia's, and instead of nobody getting THAT hurt during the timestop they actually collapse the house on top of all the hudol kids inside, landing all of them in a world of trouble BEFORE they can meet up with Biz…

Bad idea of the day, 'fake' dating edition: Kristen decides that she can maybe make her parents okay with her being a lesbian if she starts off with the worst possible partner for her parents and then backs down to just a normal girl like Tracker. So she asks her friendly local tiefling to come with her to a family dinner as her girlfriend…

Bad idea of the day, the beauty of nature edition: On a trip to the far haven woods to spy on the ratgrinders, Adaine is alarmed to discover that as she grows up the Oracle becomes imbibed with full disney princess powers, and it is very difficult to go about one's business sneakily when all the trees and wildlife are constantly singing to her as she goes

Bad Idea of the Day, spoilers through JY episode 5 edition: In the middle of a fight of gods at the mall, one man whose soul truly represents the very worst the mall has to offer appears, immune to the rage from the stars, wielding a comically large sword and looking like a reject from the Armour Zombie and Lich catalogue: One Cody Walsh.

Bad idea of the day part two, I can't believe I forgot about this detail from the Seven edition: The Ministry of Adventure, in a timeline where their shit isn't pushed in by the Seven, send one of their honeytrap agents to try to ensnare one of the brightest up and coming adventurers in all of Solace. Then, when that one fails, they send another, and another. How is eligible bachelor detective Riz Gukgak seeing through all of their schemes, they wonder?

Bad idea of the day, reclassification edition, JY spoilers through six: In a determination to make certain Kristen can stay in school even without a god, the Bad Kids look for another class to fit Kristen into. Can she try out for Rogue or Fighter or anything else without stabbing herself with her -3 dex?

Bad idea of the day, backup escape routes edition, spoilers through episode 5 of Junior Year: Instead of being bailed out by Connor Counterspell, the Bad Kids are forced to take a different exit from the Mall of the Synod of Spyre through the only obvious portal: The one into the strudel dimension in Oodles of Strudels. There, they find themselves in not just a strudel dimension, but in fact an entire plane of pastry, including a giant octopus-esque monster who is very angry with Adaine in particular as the strudel she has been chopping has been one of its tendrils. Can they survive long enough for Adaine to hit level 13 and get Plane Shift, or will they fall to the forces of the Pop-Tart King?

Bad idea of the day, impractical bard forms edition: Encouraged towards something that is 'respectable' and in which her 'lack of wizardly talent' won't be as much of an impediment, Adaine ends up a bard of visual arts. Specifically, oil paintings. Can she be a useful party member with a form of bardic work in which even a simple spell takes an hour, just because it's the sort of thing that's okay in Fallinel's high society?

Bad idea of the day, soulmates edition: Every pirate gets a birthmark that appears within the first few years of their life indicating the highest rank they'll ever hold on a crew. Bill Seacaster's heart is crushed when his darling boy Fabian's birthmark appears and indicates that he'll never be higher than a First Mate.

Bad idea of the day, courtesy of tumblr edition: Adaine, party wizard, has a sister with crazy drug dealing stories and a dad with crazy drug dealing stories and a need for cash. Who could have seen, when she started drug dealing at parties, that it would end in crazy stories and pain?

Bad idea of the day, Fantasy High edition, spoilers through episode 7 JY: The bad kids do, in fact, do drugs at the party, and there's a fight to the death with Grix during the assembly instead of happening later. Can they rally the other students to not be cowards for once?

Bad idea of the day, stop spreading the news edition: Pete and Maddy lead a strike force against the evil wizard who is running the New York Times and using it to spread all sorts of hate and propaganda, especially on a personal level to them the transphobia.

Bad idea of the day, Aguefort didn't know what he was doing REALLY edition: After the murder-suicide in the cafeteria, left with nobody but the corpses of three staff members and some other confused freshmen, Gorgug Thistlespring and Kristen Applebees are brought back from the dead… Shame their souls went into the wrong bodies, isn't it?

Bad idea of the day, wizard tomes editions: Less a plot idea and more just a general notion, we need more cursed items, and in particular here I'm thinking cursed spellbooks. Give Adaine a book that seers knowledge out of her brain, or reverses portent rolls to be the opposite of what she thinks she's doing, maybe (Though actually on that latter note - it would be EXTREMELY on the nose, should Adaine ever become a follower of Cassandra, if her portents stopped working as she became only able to see the worst that was to come but not prevent it.)

Bad idea of the day, keep your friends close and your frenemies closer edition: In the time in between The Unsleeping City 1 and 2, an insurance investigator comes knocking about a very suspicious house fire. Sofia thinks she'll be fine… until she realizes that the investigator is also going to ask Ricky, as the heroic firefighter who first responded to the scene. Can she train Ricky into convincingly lying, or will she be visiting that famous New York prison of Riker's Island?

Bad idea of the day, class swap secret santa edition: Following a decree from Arthur Aguefort that students are too reluctant to try new things and they should dabble more, every student at the Adventuring Academy is required to try out a class they have not previously attended for two weeks that the rest of their party secretly votes on without consulting each other. What will each Bad Kid be stuck doing, and can everyone else figure out a class they're certain Fig has never snuck into?

Bad idea of the day, stunning strike edition: Realizing that they're being exploited by a system that risks their lives and pays them only with grades, not money, for saving the world, the students of Aguefort go on strike. Can they remain united in the face of the Ministry of Adventure and their union-busting assassination squads?

Bad idea of the day, dirty laundry edition, spoilers through jy 10: Taking Adaine's offer to come over and do her laundry while under the invisibility spell so she can avoid people other than Adaine caring for her, Aelwyn unfortunately triggers an investigation from Fig, Kristen, and Sandra Lynn into why their washing machine is suddenly haunted and running on its own. Can she remain unnoticed without causing a problem, or will Kristen banishing her clothing to the Elemental Plane of Detergent?

Bad idea of the day, with grating power comes grating responsibility edition: Adaine never manages to become much of a wizard, but instead manages to tap into something even more core to her personality than the anxiety: Being a petty insulting brat, and finding herself a Lore Bard on the strength of study + cutting words combined. How does her family handle it when the bickering at the table becomes much more deadly?

[adaines-furious-feast]

you knew i was gonna be up in here immediately after reading the finale lol

but that ending!!! jace finally getting what he wants, getting to have the goddess he'd worked so hard for. and it may not be easy, it may not work out anymore, but he's there, with arianwen in sylvaire.

it is bittersweet in a way. jace got what he wants, but i don't see it lasting. especially if the abernant siblings actually go off and attempt to kill arianwen. we'll just have to wait and see what senior year brings and ill have to imagine that jace is there w/ arianwen even tho canon doesn't know about jace's true motivation <3

i knew the ending was coming and it's better than i thought it would be. jace got something good after the almost 75k words of torture (and the out of universe breakdowns of jace). i'm glad that there's a world where he's out and happy bc canon not reviving him was so fucked up after learning he didn't do this willingly.

anyways, don't think that just bc you're done w/ this fic that you're done with me lol. jace stardiamond will forever haunt me <3

Thank you so much, I'm still crying.

We need to write to Brennan and let him know what's been happening with his characters. Because this is canon, he just doesn't know it yet.

Jace deserves good things. It just feels so sad that he never got anything. I feel like it almost takes something away from "Kipperlilly was condemned because no scar on her chest means she did this willingly" if you then just also say "this guy didn't do it willingly but he's over the age of 18 so fuck him".

But of course, it's not going to last if Adaine and Aelwyn come after their mom. How long would it last even before that?

Arianwen has spent a year with no magic, having to survive in the forest of Sylvaire and (possibly, hopefully?) reflecting on her treatment of her children. Expectations without love and all that. She will be fundamentally different to the person Jace knew, and Jace is different to the person Arianwen knew because he did have a full mental break down over the course of the past year. There's only so much one therapy session with a god can do.

Maybe this would be a better version of Arianwen though. I think she's taken some levels of ranger since she was in the forest. I think she's still "magic is the best", and that might become druid now she has her magic back, but she's not "wizards are the only people that are worthy of respect".

I can see Jace working on being a cleric. I don't think he's deliberately antagonistic towards Kristen, but I can see him connecting with wood elves returning to Sylvaire and talking to them about the version of this god that their grandparents/whoever worshipped and gradually shifting Cassandra a little.

It's fun to imagine the Court of Stars contacting Adaine to go after Arianwen, not because she's actually doing anything wrong (for once) but because her boyfriend has been undoing everything the Fallinel government did with Cassandra. When it's just Kristen and Craig, that's fine, but elves worshipping this goddess again? No, that needs to change.

Thank you again for all your comments and messages while writing this. I continue to look forward to rambling about our piece of wet cardboard with you

[roleplayfinder]

Ahoy-hoy! 25, she/her, looking to do some roleplays based in various fandoms. I’m an advanced-lit writer who writes 4 paragraphs at the minimum (and very often maxes out the word limit on discord rip) looking for a writing partner with a similar writing length!! (And one who has the same obsession with hurt/comfort as I do aaah) Looking for long-term roleplays with writers who are 21+. I love plotting, coming up with headcanons, sharing edits and art and music that relates to our muses and just gushing over our characters and threads. I prefer to write on discord and will make us servers to write, plot, etc! Here’s the dynamics I’d like to write (italicized names are the characters I prefer playing!) I am also totally down to roleplay OC based plot lines and things in any of these fandoms as well! However I don’t double. If interested please like this and I’ll reach out!

x = romantic dynamics

& = platonic, friends / family dynamics

Critical Role:

Imogen Temult x Laudna , Campaign 3

Imogen Temult & Fearne Calloway, Campaign 3

Fearne Calloway & Orym, Campaign 3

Laudna & Ylfa Snorglesson (Dimension 20 crossover AU!!)

Imogen Temult & Ylfa Snorglesson (Dimension 20 crossover AU!!)

Keyleth & Imogen Temult (AU idea!!)

Vex’ahlia & Laudna (AU idea!!)

The Legend Of Vox Machina:

Keyleth x Vax’ildan

Keyleth x Vex’ahlia,

Vax’ildan & Vex’ahlia

Dimension 20:

Aelwyn Abernant & Adaine Abernant, Fantasy High

Figueroth Faeth & Adaine Abernant, Fantasy High

Ayda Aguefort x Figueroth Faeth, Fantasy High

Ylfa Snorglesson & Princess Rosamund du Prix, Neverafter

Timothy Goose & Ylfa Snorglesson, Neverafter

Ruby Rocks & Jet Rocks, A Crown of Candy

Scream:

Sam & Tara

Sam & Billy

Sam x Danny

The Haunting Anthology:

Dani Clayton x Jamie Taylor

Eleanor Crain & Theo Crain

Pokémon, New Horizons:

Liko & Amethio

Dot x Liko

Liko & Friede

OC & OC

OC x OC

The Walten Files:

Sophie Walten x Jenny Letterson

.

[paladinbaby]

not all that angry anymore

[riz pov, chronic pain and abernant family lore, 2k]

It’s easy from accept Aelwyn as just another part of the landscape of his life. It’s almost too easy for her to fit in, like she was always there and they’ve all only just noticed it. She’s not even the only person he’s regularly in contact with that’s previously attempted to kill him. That doesn’t mean they really ever talk, just that they acknowledge that this is what life is now and really is there any point in fighting it.

Which is why it’s surprising even to him when she comes into his dark office towards the end of his junior year and passes him a small metal tin of sweet smelling salve from a pocket on her chair.

“For your hands.” It’s too late to hide from her the way he’s clenching and unclenching the hand by his side but he tries to keep it steady as he reaches for the tin. It’s been raining all month, and the ache between his knuckles is starting to get to him. He tries not to think about his hands too much, his wrists either, but they make it difficult. When at their worst he’s aware of the space between each of the twenty seven bones that make them up, mostly because they feel like they’re pulling apart and his skin isn’t much better itchy with mirror shard scars.

read here <3

[jq37]

Do you think Aelwyn had any hobbies or interests from when she was younger that she always wanted to try but didn't get to because it wouldn't have been proper? Not like cool kid rebellious stuff but something dorky and/or just not becoming of the ambassador's daughter that she was too scared/shy to attempt.

Ask and ye shall receive. Here is my short list of Things Aelwyn Is Into Secretly But Would Deny To The Nine Hells And Back:

(1) Dancing: Not like graceful traditional elven dancing or ballet (both of which she is proficient in, of course) or even "I'm A Hot Bitch At A Party" dancing (which she is also proficient at from what we saw in the party episode of freshman year). I mean like, being a dumb teenager with your dumb teenager friends and bopping along to pop music with little coordination. Like, picture the scene in Turning Red when Mei's friends are making her go through "The Gauntlet" and they're singing and dancing literally on a sidewalk.

Aelwyn watching that, externally: What a vulgar display. Aelwyn watching that, internally:

(2) The Babysitter's Horse: One time, Katja came over the Abernant house along with her dad because he was having a Rich Person to Rich Person conversation with Anguin, and they left the girls alone to talk to each other because they assumed they'd have something in common cause they're both rich pre-teens (spoiler alert: they didn't). Katja info-dumped about The Babysitter's Horse series for about 40 minutes and Aelwyn started off making dismissive remarks but actually got kind of into it, in spite of herself--even though she kept up a cool facade. Katja left the first book in case she wanted to read it and she like it so much she stayed up late to finish it but she neglected to hide it well enough and when her dad asked about it, she said Katja must have left her juvenile horse book during her visit because she wouldn't be caught dead reading something like that.

(Aelwyn refused to allow herself to read any further into the series until post-Sophomore year and she still checks the books out under a false library card, an extremely dorky thing to have.)

(3) Cosplay: Aelwyn canonically cosplays as a popular girl at nerd parties, costume and all. Are you telling me this bitch wouldn't get a thrill out of being on a con floor in an elaborate costume, enhanced with magical effects, total center of attention? Come on, of course she would. I would also like to add, under this umbrella, she could have been a good theater kid. She has big theater kid vibes and it would be a better use of her energy. And to that point, bonus list of roles from high school musicals I've seen productions of I think Aelwyn would do well in:

Marcy Park (Spelling Bee)

Fem!Squip (Be More Chill)

Heather Chandler (obv; Heathers--also she could do Regina George if that was licensed for High School obv)

Ocean (Ride the Cyclone)

[punkbarbarian]

[image id: a two-image digital black and white comic with lyrics from "garden song" by phoebe bridgers.

first image: two panels, one vertical and one horizonal, overlap each other. in the vertical panel there is a close-up of a doorframe with two lines in the sides. one line is labeled 'aelwyn' and the other is labeled 'adaine. the second panel is of a mansion with orange flames coming from the windows and from behind. the lyrics "I grew up here til it all went up in flames / except the notches in the doorframe" are written beside the panels.

second image: three panels, two horizonal and one vertical. the first horizonal panel is a drawing adaine abernant, a high elf. she has short curly hair and bangs and is wearing round glasses. she has freckles and dark circles under her eyes. she is wearing a fur-lined jacket over a t-shirt. she is standing in front of two trees. the second horizonal panel is a close-up drawing of half of aelwyn abernant's face. she is a high elf with long curly hair and freckles. there is mascara running down her face from her eyes. the background is light blue and the whole image is blurred like the surface of water. the vertical panel is another close-up of a doorframe, with six lines in it. from top to bottom, the lines are labeled 'ragh,' 'aelwyn,' 'adaine,' 'tracker,' 'kristen,' and 'fig.' the lyrics "I don't know when you got taller / see our reflection in the water" are written beside the panels. end id]

remember my post about how garden song was an aelwyn song? it's also an abernant sisters song <3

[swarmkeepers]

3 & 4 for the abernant sisters? 👀 (my sister and i have been trading food we don't like that we know the other likes our whole lives and thinking of the abernants learning that kind of thoughtless intimacy between sisters... listen to me sola i know i'm predictable but listen)

3 & 4. quietly picks out the things you don’t like to eat on your plate and transfer it to theirs without you needing to ask them to & quietly gives you the things you like to eat from their own plate + adaine & aelwyn  (prompts linked here)

(post-sophomore year, in the chaos that is a mordred manor dinnertime. at lydia and ragh’s dinner table there will be rice and there will be lumpia because my diasporic half-orc agenda continues (and also if family style asian home cooking isn’t the epitome of saying i love you through food i don’t know what is, the prompt made me do it!). thank you ket i hope i did your favorite elven sisters justice)

In the house that no longer exists, Aelwyn sat at their father’s right hand, across the table from her sister. 

In this house that Aelwyn sometimes cannot really believe exists, she sits next to Adaine, sliding next to her sister on the bench they have claimed for their own because Kristen and Fig cannot be trusted to sit on a bench for fear that they will stand on it to make proclamations, or try to vault spectacularly over it instead of sliding into their seats. 

When Adaine was little she used to kick her feet under the table, restless and reckless and making it her own fault when she stubbed her toe on the table legs or banged into Aelwyn’s feet. 

Aelwyn has forgotten many things about her own life (She has lived so little of her lifespan. She wonders if what she has already forgotten will fade away, just a few months in a sea of other forgotten memories as she ages, or if she will remember their absence forever). 

But these little annoyances from childhood remain—annoying and endearing and just so, so Adaine—clear as day from when she was little too, still petty enough to remember those slights clearly. (Aelwyn wonders what memories Adaine has that she might call just so, so Aelwyn. She can’t think of anything worth remembering.)

Now Adaine doesn’t kick her sock feet but just pulls them up on the bench to tuck them under her as she sits. Something in the back part of Aelwyn’s mind reminds her that this is bad manners, but most of her honestly agrees that this is necessary at this dinner table, where the extra few inches of reach let Adaine beat Fig to the last of Lydia Barkrock’s excellent eggrolls. Aelwyn is learning things every day, lessons that come much harder to her than the effortlessness of abjurative spellwork or dragonfire conspiracies or how to flirt and act at Hudol parties. Now Aelwyn is learning to sit next to her baby sister at dinner without commenting on her feet on the chair; to dodge Ragh Barkrock as he carries a giant steaming pot of rice out to the table; to silently flick up a little arcane ward between Fig’s hand and the plate of eggrolls just in time for Fig to be distracted by Adaine starting to reach for the last one; to not be surprised when Fig starts half-jokingly hollering at Adaine for it. 

There are so many quiet things to learn and Aelwyn thinks maybe she needs to start a new spellbook to remember them all. There are so many quiet things to learn between her and Adaine, and there are so many loud things to learn about living in Mordred Manor in the bunk under her baby sister’s. On any given day Aelwyn doesn’t have nearly enough of them prepared, or maybe it’s that she doesn’t have enough slots to do all of them yet, but she wants to have them all to hand in a spellbook to try again and again and again until they come cantrip-easy. 

Next to her, Adaine is crowing gleefully with her eggroll in hand as Fig rolls her eyes and settles back in her seat. Aelwyn snaps back into focus (little things. One thing at a time) to find Ragh piling far too much rice on her plate, and she hurriedly shakes her head in a “no thank you that’s enough” because Ragh always says “tell me when to stop” and doesn’t pay attention to whether you’ve heard him. He just grins and tries to give her an elbow-bumping RVS secret handshake while also holding a very heavy pot of rice with the other arm, and Aelwyn will never have his dex but she does try to elbow bump him back. Adaine just leans over and scrapes half of Aelwyn’s rice onto her own plate, and Aelwyn’s fingers twitch to cast the same little ward to stop her. “What in the world are you doing?”

Adaine just puts Aelwyn’s plate back down, half her rice gone. “Stealing your rice!” she says as if it’s simple as anything. “Ragh gave you too much and I know you never eat more than one scoop, so I’m taking it.” She picks up a clump of rice she’d dropped on the table in the transfer—Aelwyn had noticed, and it was bothering her—and just reaches for the sauce bowl, pouring sweet chili into a little pool on her own plate and then adding a glob to Aelwyn’s own plate without even asking.

A year ago in their father’s house that no longer exists, Adaine wouldn’t have dared. Here and now in the manor, Aelwyn’s just confused. 

“Adaine!”

Her annoying, endearing little baby sister just shrugs at her. “Aren’t you going to want it for your eggroll?” 

Aelwyn looks down at her plate to see, sure enough, half of Adaine’s prized spoils of her little war with Fig on her own plate next to the rice, an eggroll broken in half with crispy skin and juicy filling. 

“You’re welcome,” Adaine says smugly, in the exact same tone that she uses to loudly declare victory over Fig in little dinner table skirmishes.

It’s good food, Lydia’s cooking unquestionably the best in the house, and eggrolls secretly are Aelwyn’s favorite of the non-waybread foods she’s started eating more of ever since moving into the Manor. Aelwyn knows more manners than to not take it. And knows better than to not say thank you.

“Thanks,” she mumbles, and Adaine just shuffles over on the bench a little to rest her head on Aelwyn’s shoulder as she munches on her own half. 

Aelwyn is learning many things but she thinks she knows what to do here, just leaning her head over on top of Adaine’s and smooshing her cheek into the top of Adaine’s hair. Adaine can probably hear her chewing and it’s probably horrifically bad manners but Aelwyn doesn’t care to remember that right now.

Here, in this house that Aelwyn pinches herself a little to remember actually exists, her baby sister is pressed into Aelwyn’s side, picking food off her plate and trading back Aelwyn’s favorites in turn. Aelwyn dips her eggroll in sweet spicy sauce and lets herself not care about manners and thinks that for once she’s sure that this moment is worth remembering. 

from the prompt list linked here! i’m closing prompts from this particular list simply because i have so many excellent ones to get through

[serenescribe]

can’t help but feel like glaciers dragon madnessed adaine is riz and aelwyn’s worst nightmare…

with riz, all of his fears of his friend abandoning him to be with their romantic partner is literally coming true not even a year after the nightmare forest stuff

and aelwyn still feels like she doesn’t deserve adaine’s love and redemption after everything she’s done, and now adaine’s changed her mind on loving her and they’re “enemies” again :( and they’re almost back at square 1 of their relationship, antagonistic and assuming the worst.

At least they were both pretty suspicious of some kind of memory / coercion spells going on, even when they didn’t have hard proof before going through adaine’s replica of oisin’s spellbook… but even that feels like a frantic belief to cling to when you don’t even want to entertain the possibility that maybe she really did leave them of her own volition. Luckily they were right this time!

The most terrifying part of how you’ve written oisin and adaine’s relationship is that there’s the possibility that it could have happened exactly the same way even without all the magical memory nonsense because it’s still a portrayl of a realistic abusive toxic relationship. The isolating, the “us versus them” mindset, the fact that adaine always felt like she needed to support oisin more because it was always all the other bad kids vs 1 oisin, the way adaine who knew nothing but abuse from the abernants could have been such an easy target for manipulators anyways

love the way you and tangerine blast have written adaine dealing with abusive relationships and the way it’s so believable that even the stubborn and rage filled adaine could fall for the sweet nothings and lovebombing because she never felt valued / treasured by the abernants before

oh yeah, absolutely. dragon madnessed adaine is i think everyone's worst nightmare, tbh. part of what makes adaine, well, adaine is just how headstrong and stubborn she is. there's a reason why i often rank her up there with riz in the "most likely to Kill" ranking of bad kids; she punched her dad to death, after all.

riz did get a whole chapter of his pov, but unfortunately, i did not get to dive into aelwyn. but you are right there with your judgement, anon — they had what, two months together after the spring break quest? then the night yorb happened, then aelwyn moved out, and then adaine got into a relationship with her long-time wizard friend, except after digging, aelwyn quickly realised how bad things were going to get. is it any wonder, then, that she gets as involved as she does?

as for oisin and adaine's relationship... yeah! yeah. i've gotten comments from people who have admitted how much this relationship has reminded them of relationships they've seen or even experienced, and honestly? it's a brutal relationship. it's toxic, it's unhealthy, it's isolating, and while i do think adaine would have kept her senses more if she didn't have dragon madness... i think she'd also try to trust oisin. things probably wouldn't have gotten as bullshit as they actually did in glaciers canon (dragon madness, enchantments, memory bs, etc) but well— you know. they were friends first.

obligatory @20dimensionsoftangerine — pst, you got mentioned here! the tang-ell overlap is real <3 but yeah, i think a massive factor in glaciers' case is that for everything that eventually happens later on... they were friends first. and that was why adaine allowed herself to lower her guard and accept all these nice things.

[creacherkeeper]

AAAAA SAME ANON AND I LOVE UR THOUGHTS ON THIS AU SO MUCH!!!! hskdhdkdbd PLEASE ignore this if u don’t want to talk about this au of course, but honestly i only have more !!!!! about it with every piece of info. like the line about fabian and riz’s jaeger being “unstoppable. almost.” and about how adaine joins the fray specifically bc they’re down and adaine and aelwyn are the only ppl who can fill in their place right now. also how kristen is drift compatible with everyone im!!

NO NO NO IM SO HAPPY TO TALK ABOUT IT!!!! like pacific rim really blessed us by not only being an AMAZING movie but also the best au fodder of all time??? god pacific rim au my beloved <3

some additional stuff because i cant stop:

i think ayda and adaine are totally drift compatible, but never tested together, as ayda only joined the program to pilot with fig

penelope, dayne, and ragh actually triple piloted until fig signed up. everyone thought it was better to separate penelope and dayne because they were ... not always team players when together. but after it came out everything that had been happening between dayne and ragh, that decision was heavily regretted. ragh got ... a lot of counseling after dayne was kicked out. when he was moved to combat trainer, he got a lot happier and became good friends with tracker, who'd been on base long enough to see everything go down

ayda and aelwyn actually knew each other in undergrad. aelwyn became friends with her mostly for strategic purposes, because she was the daughter of the head of the jaeger program and aelwyn wanted to build jaegers. ayda became friends with her because they were both the youngest in the STEM program and she was desperate for someone she could relate to, at least a little. they got along okay but didn't really keep in touch after graduation. they didn't start getting closer until aelwyn became a pilot, because then they COULD actually relate to each other, as scientists-turned-fighters

ayda still found out she was autistic through jawbone, once she finished school and came to base to study kaiju. she opened up to him about how hard it was to relate to her peers, and he was like kiddo youre probably autistic?? like over half of the scientists here are?? and she was like. OH. after everythings over and fig goes back to being a musician, she donates a lot of her touring profits to autistic-led advocacy groups because like. she's literally felt what it's like to live with an autistic brain, and it makes her the biggest ally of all time (and ayda being a very prominent autistic scientist AND pilot actually does like. SO MUCH for autism acceptance. she frequently gives lectures on fig's touring routes)

after they close the breach, fabian gets into a huge blowout fight with bill. cause bill makes his money by selling kaiju parts, so without the kaiju, he doesn't have a job. and by that point fabian has had enough distance and experience that he's like. i would have died for you but i fucking made a name for myself that was better than anything you've ever tried to do, now i get to live for me. and even though he wasn't expecting it, bill actually completely accepts and supports that

yeah so pok actually died cause he got eaten by a kaiju after drifting with one using the pons system he invented. its extremely difficult to hear but riz is also like. that is the most badass thing ive ever fucking heard oh my god (they name the neuroscience program at riz's college after pok. sklonda starts law school there the year after they close the breach)

kristen literally proposes to tracker the day after they close it, barely conscious, with a giant hole in her chest, from her hospital bed. everyone is like. my dude. tracker thinks its extremely romantic

(they end up adopting a bunch of kids who were orphaned because of kaiju attacks)

gorgug goes to college and becomes a high school social studies teacher. zelda runs a local gym. they have an extremely quiet life and are happy to, most of the time, not be noticed or bothered. every once in a while an extremely nerdy kid will recognize gorgug's PARENTS as jaeger mechanics and completely ignore gorgug and zelda thinks its hilarious

after they close the breach, the abernant parents reach out to BOTH aelwyn and adaine to ask them to come back home to visit and be celebrated. and theyre like. mmmm fuck that actually?? but adaine does have a BIT of an existential crisis cause shes like OKAY WHAT THE FUCK DO I DO WITH MY LIFE NOW?? they actually end up getting a little apartment together somewhere and aelwyn pays the bills as an engineer making advanced prosthetics. she encourages adaine to just try out as much as possible, and she takes a ton of classes at the community college, the community center, and at various local businesses. but its actually jawbone who inspires her to go back for another degree and become a psych researcher. she makes waves in the trauma and ptsd field

theyre all pretty happy that kalvaxis, category iv, and nightmare, category v, got blown to hell at the bottom of the ocean

[koalaaquabear]

The 5 hour finale live stream just concluded and y’all, it was crazy. It has been a wonderful several months with all you guys and I am so excited for April 8th and Junior Year. 

MASSIVE SPOILERS UNDER THE FOLD IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED THE STREAM YET. Here is my clusterfuck of a commentary. Enjoy!

Fantasy High: Sophomore Year Live Reaction -HOOT GROWL BABY it's time. I didn't react to part one but wOW that one was crazy. Get ready for EMOTIONS :'(( -SIG FIG RESCUE MISSION lol #ontour -well ok brennan that canopy shit is scary as fuck -murph is still looking like riz -Zaphriel and Ayda!!!!!!! -"HOLD ME BACK GORGUG" i love u emily -Brennan I stg -Ayda is Gorgug's dad lol -oh shIT they're totally in the cottage -heLL YEAH AYDA!! -oh GOD figayda kiss? exceptional. -if ayda dies i WILL throw dice at Brennan -ok brennan make me cry then -GET THE VAN GORGUG -gorgug truly is the greatest wizard of this age -#hugeblueguy -aww zac oyama i love you -"semi-fallen" oH dEar -gorgug texts zelda IMMEDIATELY i love him -amaZING thank you zelda -"ew, creepy, hate that" -zaphriel is the best character you guys, what a homie -i keep forgetting ayda can fly. like she has wings. i know that. -AELWYN! -nOPE someone is coming through the forest and if it's arianwen i will kill cry -HANGMAN???? -HANGMAN!!!! HIS DOG!!!!! -HANGMAN NO I LOVE YOU YOU'RE THE CUTEST DOGGY -adaine i love you baby -"the weak yogurt man" -what high ranking devil??? -fabian you're adorable -aww fabian has a puppy!! (i get that the hangman is eight feet long don't @ me) -that's the first "the ball" -lou can never have the highest roll -BARDY BOYS -oop kristen and riz time -tracker? i barely even know her -chills, brennan. chills -someone in the chat just said "so did skrank fuck zelda?" -intense muSIC -nononononononono -ragh, tracker, and sandralynn better be all right -ooo a sTICK -HELL YEAH RETURN OF THE RIBBON DANCE -"riz weeps" holy shit i love him -"something bad always happens when we go off together" -#RIZTEN -awwoOOOOOOO -ayda can fly too! -absolutely FUCK this bridge ABOUT 30 MINUTES -poor ayda -please say they're ok brennan -"put your tongue baCK in your mouth" -sANDRA LYNN NO -"what kind of arrows" "you know what kind" fuCK OFF BRENNAN -if baxter dies i will cry -wait faerie fire is a cleric spell..? absolutely fuck me -ok aelwyn let's fuck shit up -calling the bank in the middle of this nightmare forest lol -heLL YEAH ZAPHRIEL -luck check luck check luck check -"y'all are going to turn into dragons" -fabian straight up cries? what a fucking rich kid -NO WAY HE HAD T H E COIN??? -REMOVE CURSE BABY -"nnOOO!" lmao -ally and brennan are in the chat -kristen's religion is REALLY coming in handy -the name was turned into the night yorb lol -"how's that axe feeling?" "..pretty light ;)" i love him -ayda can lift the axe??? exceptional -FIG IS KALINA? ABSOLUTELY RAD -brennan has created a place where illusions are real and emily is holding him TO IT -"do you have a dongle?" incredible -EMILY I LOVE YOU! KALINA IS A YOUTUBER BABY -wretchrot is baCK baby -aelwyn i love that -"i am a low quality child" "yeah ayda you're a bad kid" -"hey bitch" emily axford is a goddess -im sorry cOURT OF ELDERS? -NO I WILL CRY -ROLL INITIATIVE TIME -go OFF hangman -ooo some high initiatives babyyy -zac oyama is my favorite ever -"trackerrr" -brian as soon as emily was threatened said "how dare you" -brennan you FUCK "i'm awake for all of this" FUCK YOU -fig and her mommy issues: an album -absolutely FUCK THE TREE GUY -kick that wood elf BITCH ABOUT ONE HOUR -fuck him UP fabian, shit in his gODDAMN mOUTh -"SPRING BREAK YOU STUPID MOTHERFUCKER" -pleASE BRENNAN LET HIM SHOOT HER WITH THE TINCTURE -spRING break this is for the corn god -okay nevermind riz is holding his action -i love the intrepid heroes they're adorable -"ice feast" fucking love them so much -yES the ball thank GOD -brennan..? -"her rage ends" tracker = barbarian -FIRST NAT 20 BABY -"IT 100% WORKS BUT IT 50% WORKED" -that's the second "the ball" -bOOOOOOO BRENNAN -mad plans for the tree guy -sorry, is his name crAFTME ROOTDRINKER? -oh ok it's aelwyn we're fine -cone of cOLD baby i love aelwyn what a babe -you absolutely hate to see it -ragh my baby i love you -SPRING BREAK -tracker nO PLEASE -TRACKER JUST CRIT OH NO -brennan is really good at acting this btw -wait 14 on a crit??? i mean oH NO kRISTEN, bOO -disPEL MAGIC BABY -ALLY BEARDSLEY YOU ABSOLUTE GOD -aww kristennn is babyyy -tracker nooo don't cryyyy -you've sAVED your GIRLFRIEND -"some of us have already done that today" fig the sHADE -ally simply musT get new dex -absolutely fuck that brennan i don't need that vampire pixie -FUCK IT UP AYDA -FIGHT ME IN THE SKY! -"does a 29 hit?" daMN zac that absolute SHADE -53 DAMAGE?? CHEJ IS SO FUCKING STRONG -"goddamn paper lantern" -absolutely fuck you brennan -nevermind gorgug and adaine both passed the con saving throw -"i don't like you" lou really gets personally upset about this and i love that -nO NO NONONONO aelwyn and tracker are down -FUCK IT UP ADAINE -gdi brennan don't do this to us -ABSOLUTELY FUCK THE TREE -fig is straight up gonna kill her mom -this is scary as fuck -HANGMAN HAS A BREATH WEAPON AND YOU DIDN'T SAY SHIT??? CHOKE ON GRAPES BRENNAN -FUCK EM UP HANGMAN ABOUT 1 HOUR AND A HALF -wood elf is DOWN baby hoot growl -kristen thinks the elf is gak lol -23 DAMAGE??? AC OF 25??? ABSOLUTELY FUCK IT UP FABIAN -SHENANIGANS TIME FOR MURPH -HELL SECRET AGENT TIME -27??? RIZ YOU'RE THE HOTTEST -third the ball -imagine the ball is secretly SO HOT without the hat -YES BRENNAN GOT A NAT 1 EAT YOUR GODDAMN DICE -sweEET -fourth the ball (they've all been Lou cuz of course) -incredible turn murph -kalina is SO GOOD at skateboarding -#bloodphoto -KALINA HAS 23 WISDOM? absolutely fuck me -oh hELL YEAH FIG COUNTER THE COUNTER -emily is doing some SHIT right now you guys (fear spell) -DAMMIT that high as fuck wisdom -sorry WHAT she rips open sPACE??? -BABY BETTER SAVE THE GODDAMN DAY -let's go BABY -"mMMHHHHnnN leET ME tOUCh ItT" baby is fucking weird -"baby vs mommy" i love you siobhan -aelwyn better not DIE brennan -riz baby let's get it -trACKEr -nAT 1??? kristen is unCONSCIOUS?? -HUMAN DETERMINATION!!! THE GRIT BABY] -wait aura of life is badass!! they can't lose damage?? -okay scrap that we're gonna TURN UNDEAD and then MASS HEALING WORD? absolutely incredible -gorgug has so much goddamn health -FUCK THIS TREE DUDE -KILL IT AYDA LET'S GO -"her girl's side" *in lou voice* okAY bRENNNAn -second nat 1 but both of them re-rolled -GEM!!!! -LET'S GET GORTHALAX BABYYYY -"BIG DADDY" -ayda is so turned on lol -KILL IT CHEJ OKAYYYY -fuck this centaur -i'm so nervous -puT THOSE DICE DOWN BRENNAN -"you're gonna drop." shuT UP -riz is fULLY DEAD???? -i hate this. i hate this. i hate this. i hate this. i hate this. i hate this. -sHUT UP BRENNAN -baby is DEAD oh my GOD you absolutely hate to see it ABOUT 2 HOURS -nO NO NO NO NO NO NO PUT THAT CROWN AWAY BITCH -absolutely fuck me, the nightmare king is totally fucking back i hate myself -aww fabian is baby -hELL YEAH FABIAN SPRING BREAK -"i've lost one friend, that's too many" fabian is adorable -"that's a full ass miss, my guy" -sandra lynn just crit on chej :(((((( -14 damage is not very spring break of her (she did 28 but it was halved because gorgug is such a strong boyyy) -LET'S GO LOU -almost all of them are spellcasters wtf (only one who isn't is riz but he has a daily misty step) -fuck em up hangman -fUCK EM UP HANGMAN! d8 + 2d6 +8 i think -figaroth the unfaethable baby -THOSE ARE SOME SHENANIGANS FIG I LOVE IT (she's shattering the rubies to get a revivify diamond) -casts teleport??? aelwyn came here to FUCK -"i would love to teach you this spell" aww the abernant sisters liking each other is my new aesthetic -fuck em up adaine -you can hit the tree on a 12 babyyyyy -heLL YEAH 44 DAMAGE ADAINE IS STRONG NOW -kalina is not even that cool she just said "that's enough of that" in the most uncool way -2 down 3 to go! -omg wait it would be so badass if they could just remove curse on kalina -"Mr. The Insatiable" -ayda is such a sweetheart "i don't care if you want me to date your daughter but i do hope you love me" -"I LOVE THIS SONG" yes siobhan me too -on a DC 20 she got a 31!!!! consider my jeans creamed -SHRED BABY GIRL!!! -KILLIAN IS DEAD! RIZ IS ALIVE! -ayda is so turned on AHHH -I LOVE RIZ SO MUCH "am i interrupting something???" -fuck him UP chej! 3 hits, no crits -hell yeah mr. march!! oh sorry wrong series -a gROUP PROJECT i'm DEAD -someone in the chat called him "snac oyama" and you're rigHT -siobhan's straight fucking this tree UP -the spellcasters are like all out of spells at this point -fuck OFF arianwen. KILL YOUR MOM -"where's your father, aelwyn?" "last i saw, adaine killed him so *shrug*" i lOVE HER -FUCK THEM UP GORTHALAX -abolutely fuck the nightmare king -waIT GORTHALAX IS GONNA KILL THE NIGHTMARE KING -sidenote: fig calls gorthalax pops -dO IT BRENNAN kILL YOUR OWN BIG BAD -this treeant has GOT to be dead -NAT 1 on that attack?? SPRING BREAK BABY -no we haven't seen kalina in action brennan, and we do not want to -OH SHIT THE TIE! YOu just got FUCKed bRENnan eaT youR DICE -yeS AYDA ROAST HER -"GOTTEM!" -i'm sorry i just hallucinated, did you say 6 ATTACKS? -time to go VIRAL BABY -19 intelligence, 23 wisdom, 20 charisma for kalina? absolutely fuck me -riz just got kICKed! you absolutely hate to see it -GODDAMMIT -KALINA IS HOMOPHOBIC CONFIRMED ABOUT 2 AND A HALF HOURS -brennan be like "im about to kill this bird" -absolutely fuck me i hate this -let's go FIG -time to caTCH the bALL -murph has the same thinking face as riz and it's adorable -this is not very spring break brennan -DC 25 acrobatics check? c'mon faBIAN -29????? -fifth the ball (from the hangman) -"there's just something endearing about him" fabian loving his friends is adorable -absolutely fuck me that fire elemental is adorable -absolutely swaddle the ball -well hot take but fuck the nightmare king you guys -absolutely NOT brennan do NOT kill adaine you PSYCHO BITCH -PLEASE ADAINE LIVE -STRAIGHT DEAD? FULLY DEAD? FUCK OFF WITH THIS INSTAKILL SHIT BRENNAN -hell yeah ayda is back and kristen has the revivify diamond -aelwyn FULLY banished that unicorn -it's good to know ragh really doesn't want them to die -YES RAGH IS BACK BABY -fuck em up kristen -s/o to DND Beyond btw absolutely banger website -hell yeah mass healing word is awesome -clerics are GOOD you guys i should play more clerics -FUCK IT UP AYDA -SANDRA LYNN IS BACK BABY -skater chej is my favorite thing -aBSOLUTEly fuck the tree -i have no idea wHAT is happening ABOUT 3 HOURS -fuCK YOU nightmare king -i absolutely hate this battle but at least gorthalax is still standing -gorgug better split this gd tree -"what if we just kill kalina?" yeah zac it's that goddamn easy -brennan almost just fucked everyone -"does she want to borrow my teddy bear?" the SHADE -"MAKEOVERRR" i love you siobhan -this tree SUCKS -battlemaster is cool as fUCK SPRING BREAK -BARDY BOYS also i think that was a nat 20 -i can't imagine the thistlesprings watching the battle livestream and like worrying if gorgug is going to die -FUCK HER UP THE BALL -ABSOLUTE SHENANIGANS FROM MURPH! -with ADVANTAGE BABY -"has anyone seen my hat!?" keep it off baby you're HOT now -"mirrors negate mirrors" "i think oscar wilde said that" i love them -#hotrizweek? -holy shit fig is FUCKING THIS BATTLE UP -HELL YEAH KALINA ROLLS A NATURAL 2!!!! -hell yeah adaine is back and SO MUCH is happening that i'm like forgetting to write down my reactions -kill this woody motherfucker baby -the music is too lOUD -ok it's normal now -fuck em up gorgug -i'm sorry the chat is saying he did 90 DAMAGE?!?!?!? -KILL IT CHEJ ILY -fuck off brennan, absolutely fuck off -ABSOLUTELY FUCK OFF BRENNAN -gorthalax is FULLY DEAD? absolUTELY FUCK YOU -SAINT KRISTEN APPLEBEES -adaine has SOLVED THIS SHIT -god all the abernant names are confusing -fuck you kalina ABOUT 3 AND A HALF HOURS -BRENNAN I STG IF RAGH ENDS UP DEAD -hellish rebuke that bitch -c'MON faBIAN HIT that BITCH -wait is kalina a rogue and a druid? absolutely incredible -FUCK IT UP FABIAN -OMG THE HANGMAN BETTER FUCK THIS UP -YES THE BALL 31 DAMAGE -so the stream just ended. i'll say it again: absolutely fuck me -ok so we're back and kalina got fucked up -WHAT THE FUCK A NAT 20???????? YOU ABSOLUTELY LOVE TO SEE IT -ALLY WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH THIS -I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS AND NEITHER CAN BRENNAN -MAGIC IS REAL AND SO IS MY ALLY -i can't believe this. eat your GOD damn DICE brennan! -OMG ARE THE NIGHTMARE KING AND THE GODDESS ONE AND THE SAME? -THEY ARE! THE NIGHTMARE KING IS THE NIGHTMARE QUEEN -brennan is CRAZY AHHHHH -brennan absolutely stop this tension -28 insight. brennan is fucked -GO TOWARDS HIM KRISTEN -YES!!!! PLEASE SAY THIS IS A GOOD THING -ALLY GOT A NAT 20 THEY BETTER BE RIGHT -fear. is. not. real. -this is just like the ending of moana -NO WAY BRENNAN I LOVE YOU (you wouldn't believe it from what i have said but it's true) -this is intense i'm about to cry -you're meeting god and you say "is it too early for this?" -LMAO 5'9" -Moral of the story: IDK and that's OK -ok ally make me cRy -HELL YEAH NEW SHIRT BABY -i'm so emotional -"well oBVIouslY cASsAndRa" i wish every deity had names as normal and human as cassandra -fuck them UP cassie -i love that tracker's just like "uh... babe?" -love having god in your corner -no more hangman puppy :((( -RIZTEN are the CUTEST i love them "i love all of them, riz the most, we know this" -"we still need the crown for our grade" FABIAN I LOVE YOU -"counselo- former counsel- i'm an assistant :(" why do y'all think this man is hot -KILL ARIANWEN -"she tried to hurt me in my shattered state?" "that's her MO" aww adaine my baby -HOLY SHIT PLEASE GIVE GILEAR ALL OF ARIANWEN'S MAGIC -GORGUG YOU SWEETHEART I LOVE YOU -cassandra throwing SHADE -ThE vANdS -aelwyn throwing SHADE -AWW RAGH I LOVE YOU BABY brennan lives another day -"a big bug gave me a riddle" that is NOT what happened -aww the hirelings are all crying and i DO NOT stan -hell YEAH cassandra OH I STOPPED KEEPING TRACK OF TIME IT'S BEEN OVER 4 HOURS -hELL YES HANGVAN -i love you fabian -nO IS CHUNGLE DOWN BIM REAL? -maybe the real chungle down bim is the friends we made along the way -GARTHY i love them -arthuR aGUEFORT - absolutely wild -ayda and arthur is crazy -"snOGGING THE HEADMASTER'S DAUGHTER ARE WE?" -awww that is so smooth fig "you don't need to make me the most magnificent creature because it seems you already have" -ARTHUR PULLS THROUGH -garthy is a cutie i love how they care so much for ayda -oH FUCK ME garthy is ayda's child from her previous life -"your girlfriend's daughter fucked your mom!" goddammit siobhan i can't handle this -if they fail i will cry -CHRONOMANCY!? absolutely fuck me -"professor principal headmaster aguefort" -hell yeah arthur you're killing it -faelwyn? absolutely can't handle it -aww kristen is baby -jawbone and sandra lynn are ok? amazing -jawbone is the best character -"our parents are great" kill me why don't you siobhan -AWWW FUCKING STOP BRENNAN WITH THESE GIFTS -i just cried he wants to adopt her -"you're easy to love" jawbone is fUCKING me up -LYDIA BARKROCK what a badass i love her already -"a pheonix whom everyone she touches is reborn better" fuck off emily -gorgug is a cutie <3 <3 -ABSOLUTELY KICK SKRANKS BIRD ASS -GORGUG CONFIRMED FUCKS -riz is a dork i love him -who knew "you're so much like your father" could make me feel like that -GILEAR IS MOVING THE FUCK IN BABY -GILEAR WITH SELF CONFIDENCE IS MY AESTHETIC -aww jawbone gave ayda autism books? jawbone is the sweetest to ayda cuz OF COURSE HE IS -AYDA GETS HER SPELL!!! -Ayda's Comprehend Subtext is the cutest spell ever -adaine and fig's friendship is too cute -craig has always been down for everything. i don't know craig but i love him -YES HOOT GROWL HOOT GROWL I'M SO PROUD OF RAGH -"BAD KIDS FOR LIFE" RAGH IS A CUTIE -NO FAELWYN IS REALLY HAPPENING I CAN'T -fabian's laugh is so cute -i love how nervous fabian is -WAIT FABIAN AND AELWYN ABSOLUTELY WILL FUCK? -fabian's gonna get his KISSES IN -aww i get how hyped figayda is but they are truly so adorable -weLL EMILY AXFORD I WILL LET YOU HURT ME LIKE THAT -they said i love you :((( -tracker only deserves the best -TRACKER'S GOING TO FALLINEL? I LOVE HER -ragh is going too? gay road trip! -that's adorable -ABSOLUTELY NOT BRENNAN FUCK OFF DO NOT SAY THE NIGHT YORB IS GONNA BE THE NEXT VILLAIN -BRENNAN NO YOU BITCH I HATE YOU THE NIGHT YORB IS THE VILLAIN OF JUNIOR YEAR? -that was crazy. i cried, i laughed. i am fuCKING HYPED FOR CROWN OF CANDY AND JUNIOR YEAR GANG!

[darlingwhump]

Whumpy Media: D&D

WHUMPMAS IN JULY  ☼  DAY 4

I could go for a typical TV show or movie, but like the rest of my account, I’m gonna turn to D&D. Specifically, whumpy character backstories in actual play shows that I like! I’ll also put a few specific episodes bc by nature these shows are...very long. So you can skip right to those whumpy moments. And I couldn’t pick one character’s backstory so here’s 3! I had a lot of fun compiling this list so enjoy!

WARNING: Huge spoilers for Critical Role Campaigns 1 & 2, as well as both seasons of Fantasy High.

CW: minor whumpees, long-term captivity, experimentation, magic whump, mind control, vampire whumper, family trauma, insanity, implied parental abuse, burns, blood

Cassandra de Rolo (Critical Role C1)

Cassandra is only an NPC in the first campaign of Critical Role, but her backstory is traumatizing and very memorable. She’s the sister of one of the player characters, Percy de Rolo, who for the longest time believed her to be dead. When she and Percy were only children, the Briarwoods (a rly hot couple including a vampire and necromancer) slaughtered their entire family and took over Whitestone, the city they ruled. Percy managed to escape after being experimented on by one of the Briarwoods’ lackeys: Anna Ripley, but Cassandra, who had been in hiding, was later caught by the Briarwoods. She spent her teenagedom as their “personal slave” and as a symbol to the Whitestone citizens that the Briarwoods were more powerful than the de Rolos. She managed to sneak some information to the rebellion, but not without the resulting trauma.

When Percy & Vox Machina find her, her former professor slits her throat to distract the adventurers, but the party manages to save her. She helps the party travel deeper into the Briarwoods’ lair beneath the castle, but ends up betraying them due to her stockholm syndrome and mind control on Lord Briarwood (the vampire)’s part. Eventually she comes back to herself and even deals the final blow to Lady Briarwood.

Clips (goes right to timestamp of the scene): Cassandra’s throat slitting (LOVM), “[Anders] wanted me to draw you in” & Cassandra’s side of the story (live show), Cassandra Betrays Percy (LOVM)

Aelwyn & Adaine Abernant (Fantasy High)

You want family trauma and villain whump? Look no further than the Abernant sisters! Adaine Abernant is a player character and Aelwyn is her popular, snooty older sister. In season 1 of Fantasy High, Aelwyn is working with the main villain and is a bully to her younger sister. In season 2, it is revealed that she was sent to an elven prison as punishment for her crimes, where she has been stuck in a tiny orb for months on end. She has effectively gone insane by the time the Bad Kids (fantasy high adventuring party) find her. Adaine gets captured as well, and realizes that her sister is a victim of their parents’ abuse as well. 

Adaine isn’t able to escape with Aelwyn, but in the final episode of season 2, when the Abernant parents trap Adaine to prevent her from interfering with their plans, Aelwyn steps in to save her. Lots of emotional sister bonding and parental trauma. Plus the aspect of a former villain being so broken that their redemption arc is almost a given. I just love the Abernant sisters so much I will always gush about them.

Whumpy clips: Adaine finds Aelwyn, “Nobody deserves this”, “For once, it’s better to just do what [our parents] ask”, & “As much as I would love to see Adaine suffer...she’s just a baby!” (<-- this entire scene made me sob)

Caleb Widogast (Critical Role C2)

Caleb’s backstory in Campaign 2 (Mighty Nein) of Critical Role was so whumpy that it convinced me to watch the show. He was basically a prodigy taken in by this very cruel professor. Said professor did experiments on his students and trained them to be magical assassins without emotion. The final part of their training involves killing their parents, who the students believe betrayed their nation due to memory modification. Caleb went insane after killing his parents and was put in an asylum for 13-ish years so the professor could keep him in reserves. 

Liam O’Brien (Caleb’s player and creator) has also mentioned other torturous methods the blumentrio (Caleb and his canonically poly lovers) and other students went through. Including being locked in a freezing tower overnight where the three teenagers had to huddle for warmth and the professor embedding crystals in their skin. In the beginning of the campaign, Caleb wears bandages on his arms to hide the scars from the crystals. Later on, once he tells the party about his past, he stops wearing them. When the Mighty Nein meet the evil professor towards the end of the campaign, he even goes so far to say that even though Caleb went insane and escaped, that the professor had still been “successful.” And that he was proud of Caleb. Super creepy dude.

Whumpy Clips: "I am going to tell you the story of how I murdered my mother and father” & “How did I get to the sanatorium?”

@whumpmasinjuly

Honorable Mentions: Nott the Brave/Veth Brenatto, Laudna, the entirety of A Crown of Candy, all of EXU Calamity

[paperback-peasant]

Chapter 3: Confections and Confessions

Basrar’s was in full swing, with all the Elmville teens crowding around the gleaming counter or chattering at the jukebox. Most of the small tables were occupied by young families and couples. Aelwyn paused at the door, scanning the crowd to see if Adaine and her friends were there—thankfully it seemed they had better places to be right now. She led Lucretia to an empty booth far away from the noise of the jukebox. As they took their seats, she could see Lucretia looking around for something.

“Is there...a menu?”

“Oh, no, not really. You can order whatever you like. As long as it’s got ice cream in it.”

“What do you—oh!” The older woman jumped as Basrar snapped into the material plane beside their table.

“Hello and welcome friend,” the djinn said to Lucretia with a kind smile. He had turned himself carefully away from Aelwyn, as though she were not there. “You are quite new here, I believe—I have never seen you around.”

“I’ve come here on business. But it is quite lovely. A little strange, but lovely.” Lucretia smiled politely, but her eyes shone with questions. “May I ask—are you a—”

“I am a djin, yes.”

“But—”

“I am a rarity, one who can create ice, yes.”

“And you—”

“I am no longer bound to service, but I enjoy my work here, so I maintain this business.”

“Oh. Thank you.” Lucretia fiddled with the napkin dispenser on the table for a second, apparently embarrassed.

“Do you need some more time to order, ma’am?”

“I—well, I can get anything?”

“Yes, any kind of ice cream.”

She thought for a few moments before nodding decisively.

“Can you do...almond and elderberry?”

“Of course!” He clapped his hands, and a bowl with three perfect scoops of a purplish ice cream appeared before her. Basrar bowed and began to float away. Aelwyn sighed and called after him.

“Mr. Basrar, surely you haven’t forgotten me again?”

The djinn stopped and turned his head to look at her with a withering gaze.

“What do you want, Aelwyn Abernant?”

“Chocolate with corn chips mixed in. Please.” She gave him a bright smile. He pointed to the table, and when Aelwyn looked in front of her, there was a melting glob of the ice cream she’d asked for in a cracked dish.

“Thank you, Basrar.” She pulled the spoon out of the ice cream and stuck it in her mouth, watching as the djinn floated away.

“He doesn’t like you very much,” Lucretia noted as she took a careful spoonful of her own ice cream.

“Well...he likes my sister quite a lot. She helped him out of the whole...bondage thing, or whatever a couple years ago. And I suppose that little...well, I suppose she told him certain things about me while she did it.”

“Ah.” The older woman turned her attention to study the various patrons of the soda shop. As she did, she noticed that, one by one, the various groups of teens seemed to notice their presence and began either staring openly at them or pointedly ignoring them.

“We seem to be popular here,” she observed, raising an eyebrow at Aelwyn, who gave a humorless chuckle.

“Don’t get it twisted. You’re new, and so they’re curious. And they all hate me. Well, a few might admire me in a fucked-up sort of way.” She stuck a large spoonful of ice cream in her mouth, scrunching her face up with the brain-freeze that overcame her. It felt horrible, and that seemed like a type of justice.

Lucretia plucked off a sprig of elderflower used as garnish on her ice cream and twirled it between her fingers as she watched Aelwyn. The young woman still had her spoon in her mouth, sucking on it and staring down each hostile gaze aimed toward her. It struck her suddenly how much of Aelwyn’s appearance seemed to have been chiseled with a precision that master sculptors would be impressed with. Her blonde hair was cut in a perfect straight line both at her shoulders and just above her eyebrows. Her clothes fit against her body with a tailored snugness, even though she was only wearing jeans and a cotton blouse. But she slouched forward in her seat and pushed around her ice cream in its dish, not seeming to care how it dripped onto the table. In fact, she seemed to find something enjoyable in the mess.

It made Lucretia think of a day, over a hundred years ago, when she caught a glimpse of herself in a mirror. The crew was talking over a hot, sweet drink native to the world they’d found themselves in. In that moment, she realized how different she had become—she was smiling, relaxed; she was leaning casually against Magnus’ broad shoulder, with her legs tucked underneath herself. No pen in hand. Not even a scrap of paper in her pocket. She had been living in that moment alone for once. And what a relief it was.

Aelwyn seemed like she was in the middle of loosening her own strings, trying to unravel herself into a comfortable life. Lucretia carefully placed the flower to the side and leaned forward with what she hoped was an encouraging smile.

“This is perhaps forward of me to ask, but it does pertain to our work. Why do they—why do you think they all hate you?”

“Because…they should.” Aelwyn dropped her spoon into her dish with a clatter. “Look, if you need to find someone else to do this, I understand. As long as I get paid for the work I did do, which was quite technical.” She paused and cocked her head slightly. “Unless you think I can draw on negative relationships to power this bond magic. Then I’d be perfect for that.” Her face seemed like it was trying to twist into a smile, but couldn’t quite get started.

“Well, previous experiments with the use of negative bonds have not yielded the kind of results that we want here. I could seek someone else to finish this, but I’d rather have someone with a good deal of arcane knowledge. Preferably abjuration, of course. Someone who can easily channel it into the spellwork we’ve already laid out. I can probably scrounge someone up, but the work won’t be done for a few days. And then I’ll have to redo a good deal of it anyway.” Lucretia entwined her fingers together and propped her chin on them. “I’m sorry, I’m not trying to pressure you. If you agree to this, I know that this is going to require you to leave yourself open emotionally. And if you’re not ready for this, or comfortable with it, then we can shake hands and part ways. No hard feelings. And I’ll make sure you get paid most of the promised amount.”

Aelwyn stared into her ice cream. She thought of her stash of gold—still several hundred short of being able to move out into a place somewhere in Elmville. If she wanted to go to Bastion City, she’d need much more. Sixty or seventy gold for one afternoon’s work would be a real boon. A hundred would be even better. For a moment, she remembered the bags of coin she would get from dealing dragon spice and throwing parties for those Hudol losers. It was all gone now—melted into the slag of their former home. She’d been saving to get out of Elmville then, too. If she could get back into business like that…no. Jawbone would be the first to know she was dealing. He wouldn’t judge her for it or anything, but then—well, once he knew, it wouldn’t be long before Adaine would know.

So she needed the money. But besides that—it felt so good to be casting again. More than drumming up an unseen servant to bus tables, or casting Silence on Ragh when he got too worked up over the bloodrush game. Not only was this work in her wheelhouse, it was expanding her knowledge of it. It was different from learning at school, too. No cramming needed, no reflective essay to write at the end of it, no teacher to suck up to. There would be no dire consequences for failure. Just a few dozen gold less. It was a little dizzying, to be honest. The ability to earn money for her casting that didn’t involve a hangover in the morning. She wanted more of it. All she’d have to do was…what, think of some good memories with people she loved? Almost anyone could do that.

“Well, I am good at what I do,” Aelwyn said finally, “I’m willing to give this another shot. I just have to…think. Right? I’ll just have to sit and think about a nice, warm, fuzzy memory right? And channel its energy into the spell?”

“Something like that, yes,” Lucretia answered. “I’d like to help you if I can. Which is why I want to know why you think everyone ought to hate you. It would help to have some background here.”

Aelwyn pushed her ice cream aside and adjusted herself in her seat. Her shoulders straightened. She cleared away the spilled ice cream with a snap of her fingers, then clasped her hands together on the table. The precise sculpture had returned fully.

“I hope this doesn’t change your view of me, but—well, if you’d had the chance to run a background check before hiring me, then you probably wouldn’t have wanted me near you.” She took a deep breath, holding it in her lungs until it felt like they were going to burst before continuing. “A few years ago, I committed the crimes of abduction, illicit memory modification, property damage, distribution of restricted substances to minors…” Aelwyn closed her eyes briefly, remembering the night she had chanted over the replica of a boat. “And murder.”

Lucretia’s eyes had widened, but she nodded slowly.

“That is…quite the list, Aelwyn. May I ask—if everyone knows this, why aren’t you imprisoned?”

“I was, for some time.” Her fingers twisted together on the table. “The elven government of Fallinel took me from the Solesian authorities—illegally. I spent months in their prison. Really, it was just the cleanest torture chamber in existence. When I returned to Solace, Professor Aguefort helped the courts to see that I had served most of my sentence in Fallinel. But I am still on probation for the next three years. If I leave Solace during that time, I am no longer welcome back. And Adaine, my sister, is here, so…for her, I’ll stay. At least until she graduates.”

“So, everybody hates you except your sister?”

“My sister…no, she doesn’t hate me. Not anymore. She did for a long time, though.” Aelwyn sighed—a short puff of air. “It’s actually annoyingly ironic. When she did hate me, everyone else in the world seemed to love me. But now they all know how awful I really am, and they’re gone, while she’s…she’s here. She’s still here, and actually wants to be here, and wants me to be here with her. And she’s known how awful I’ve been the whole damned time.”

“Why didn’t you think of her earlier, when you were trying to start the spell?” There was nothing accusatory or exasperated in Lucretia’s voice. Just bald curiosity.

“It’s…complicated, still. You wanted me to think of a good memory. I don’t have many of those with her. We’ve been…mending things. And I guess I thought it would be easier. But it’s…gods, it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. Every time I try to be nice to her, I feel like I’m taking two steps back instead. Do you know what I mean?”

“I know exactly how you feel, actually,” Lucretia sighed. She pushed her ice cream aside and leaned her chin on her fist. “My friends—I am fortunate to still call them that. I did something to them that betrayed their trust in me. I thought I was doing the right thing, but…I don’t know if that’s a good excuse anymore. And we have been drifting apart, steadily. Drifting away from me, I should say.”

Aelwyn slouched back again in her seat, drawing one of her feet up so that her shin rested against the table. Her eyes studied Lucretia with a sharpness that seemed to cut through the air between them.

“You know, you have me at a disadvantage. I gave you a whole laundry list. Or dirty laundry list as it may be. But I have no idea what you’ve done that’s so bad. As far as I know, you took the last slice of cheesecake and everyone got really tetchy about it.”

“Oh, well…it’s a bit complicated.”

“I’m familiar with complicated,” Aelwyn said, flipping her hair behind a pointed ear. Lucretia fell silent for a moment, but her furrowed brow suggested that she was thinking.

“Well, to get to the heart of the matter at hand…I modified my friends’ memories. Severely. I took away decades of their lives. I made them forget one another. Me. Their families. Davenport…he had nothing left. I had to take his entire life from his memory.”

There was a short silence after Lucretia finished speaking. Aelwyn broke it with an unexpected bark of laughter.

“Wow. I’ve done some pretty heavy memory work, but that is…impressive? Sorry, that’s probably insensitive of me to say.” Aelwyn wrapped her arms around her knee. “How was that supposed to help them, anyway?”

“It was not meant to help them, exactly.” Lucretia turned her attention out of the smudged window next to them, as though the view of a concrete parking lot was more interesting than the current conversation. “It was meant to help the world. There was a war—my friends and I had been instrumental in how it started. I thought, if I could erase the memory of the war from the world, then it would stop. And it did.”

“You…wait, you erased the whole world’s memories?”

“We’d found a creature who could do that. Eat information out of the world.” Lucretia turned her attention back to Aelwyn, sadness etched in the lines between her eyes. “They got their memories back, though. Everyone did. So, once they found out what I’d done to them…I wouldn’t have blamed them for anything they’d done to me.”

“And they still hate you for it?”

“Not all of them. Some of them forgave me immediately.” Lucretia remembered Lup’s ghostly smile. Then, she recalled the grim terror that had laced through her blood as Taako and Magnus leveled their weapons at her. “Others took more time. Davenport, though…I think I am forever out of grace with him.” Her shoulders sagged suddenly, and Aelwyn saw a woman swimming in grief. It was only a moment, though, before Lucretia regained her composure. “I still try to reach out to all of them. But there’s this professionalism to it, oftentimes. I think that I’m starting to prefer it that way, all things considered. Although I miss how it used to be.”

“Well, it’s nice, isn’t it? To have a reason to talk to them, instead of just saying ‘I want to be a part of this. I want to be a part of your life.’ Far too mushy, that.” Aelwyn thought about how she’d go home again to drift around a house full of people she was certain were only hiding how much they hated her. “It’s so much better to just be…transactional with people. They use you, you use them. It feels more equal, in the end.”

“What? No, that’s not—” Lucretia’s mouth was open in surprise, but she was also thinking of the sour truth that rang in the elf’s words. She drew her brows together and frowned. “It’s not better, I think. It’s just easier.”

They studied each other in silence for a while. Finally, Aelwyn sighed and let her leg slink back under the table.

“You’re right. It’s yet another form of cowardice in my heart, I suspect. I shrink away from the hard thing to do, and take the path of least resistance. It’s how I got into such a bad situation with my sister to begin with. After all, I learned abjuration to cower behind my own shields.” She shrugged, as though she could banish the tightness in her chest with nonchalance. “Do your friends—does it mean anything to them that you were trying to protect people?”

“Some of them, yes. I think it’s the only reason any of them forgave me.”

“Because it’s too much, right? Because there’s a point, for everyone—there’s some point where loving someone for themselves isn’t enough to forgive them.” Aelwyn realized she had chewed the inside of her cheek until it bled. “And we’ve passed it. So they’re just putting up with us until we do the responsible thing and leave them alone.”

She didn’t pull away when Lucretia reached across the table to place a gentle hand over hers. The older woman’s face didn’t have a trace of pity on it; rather, she seemed to be rapt with a mixture of shock and dawning realization.

“Oh, Aelwyn! No, of course that’s not—but…” Lucretia’s face screwed up. She ran her free hand over her face and pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers. After a moment, she laughed humorlessly as her eyes opened. “This is embarrassing. For me, of course. I just…gods, it’s like I’m hearing myself for the first time when I listen to you. There are deep parts of my heart that feel that I should have been cast out for trespassing so terribly on the autonomy of so many people. I doubt every smile, every kindness offered to me, because those parts of me feel like I don’t deserve it. That everyone would be better off without me.” She sighed, her head dipping down. On an impulse she could never explain, Aelwyn turned her hand over to clasp Lucretia’s. This provoked a small smile as the woman continued.

“But all of the parts of me that have wisdom and logic and experience…they say that that’s wrong. That, when someone really loves you, knows how awful you can be and still loves you…that forgiveness comes from that. From knowing that, even if the good never quite outweighs the bad, that you are worth it anyway. I think that I should start listening to that more. And I hope that you do, as well.”

Aelwyn nodded slowly.

“Lucretia…thank you. I wasn’t expecting to have this conversation with anyone today, much less someone I’d just met, but I needed it. And I don’t think…well, I don’t think that I actually could have had this conversation with anyone else. No one else in my life quite understands where I’m at.”

“I’m also glad to have met you today, Aelwyn. You’ve opened my eyes, even if you weren’t trying to.”

They shared a smile across the table, their hands still clasped together. Aelwyn suddenly tilted her head slightly, a look of contemplation overcoming her.

“You know, Lucretia…I don’t know if I’ve got everything calculated out right, but—well, if this thing works like I think it will, we can get the spell to work tonight.”

Protective

Canon/Fandoms: Fantasy High (Dimension 20) and The Adventure Zone: Balance

Content/Trigger Warnings: Implied/Referenced Child Abuse

Rating: Teen

Chapters: ?

AO3 Link