#long live the abernant sisters

[feelingtheaster99]

I absolutely fucking love Brennan and Sibohan as catty British teen sisters like dishing on their enemies and playfully griping (and expressing honest sentiments of love and affection) at each other

[looseduke]

okay insane thought about names and the feelings i have about them as a transgender blended family kid. it requires a leap of logic where the fantasy high parent couples remain dating and get married or otherwise legally bind themselves together but follow me on this for a moment. also i don’t know or care if this follows canon im just deciding it does

gilear took sandra lynn’s last name

could not afford to change it after the divorce

gilear is just one of those ppl who really likes having the same last name as his life partners, doesn’t have to be his name, he just thinks it’s nice

(sandra lynn liked her name and though she has Many Issues and might have changed her name in an attempt at normalcy gilear’s name was definitely something outlandishly stupid and he suggested it first anyway so it worked out)

do u see where im going with this

gilear seacaster.

fabian is furious but this ain’t about him

something so funny about taking your (way funnier if they don’t even get married) girlfriend’s dead husband’s last name

he keeps faeth as a middle name bc it’s still a connection to fig that he values and wants to keep

anyway. jawbone hears about all of this. absolutely loves it. thinks it’s awesome

jawbone o’shaughnessy-faeth!

yes with the apostrophe and the hyphen. yes every time.

he likes the connection to gilear and fig as much as he does the one to sandra lynn <3

when consulted fig was SUPER enthusiastic about another dad. gilear was like sigh. that might as well happen. im already being dunked upon by my mean stepson. go ahead.

okay the grand finale. the reason i even made this fucking post

adaine kills her dad, gets adopted, and starts to wonder if she should change her name

adaine makes amends with her sister, and starts to wonder if she should keep it

jawbone lets her know right away that he’ll support her decision no matter what, but it takes a long time for her to decide

it takes watching gilear and fabian bicker over their shared last name, watching fig get sappy over gilear holding onto the name faeth, watching fig and jawbone get sappy over THEIR shared last name, watching sandra lynn hide a smile whenever it comes up, watching, watching, watching

watching her sister learn and grow and love her unconditionally

she makes her decision, and when her dad brings her home from the fantasy dmv, there’s a new name on her ID

adaine abernant-o’shaughnessy-faeth. yes all three names. yes with the apostrophe. yes with the hyphens. every time

it’s for her dad, yes, for the man who gave her a home, who helped her find her strength, who is always her safe space, but it’s for more then that too

it’s for her sister, who for better or worse is in all of her earliest memories. who never underestimated her. who’s trying, every day

it’s for her sister, who called her awesome on the first day of school. who’s always there for her. who wears her heart on her sleeve and teaches adaine it’s okay to be emotional. who’s her best friend

it’s for the man who took her in when he had next to nothing to offer, who shared his extra garlic knots and vending machine snacks, who hosted his daughters strange friends night after night without question or complaint

and it’s for the elven woman sitting across from her at the dinner table, who understands her greatest fear better then anyone else and has built a life for herself despite her mistakes. who protected her on their quest. who opened her house for about 6 teenagers to live there permanently and anywhere between 3 and 10 more to hang out as much as they want

adaine abernant-o’shaughnessy-faeth, the people’s oracle <3

[ghostlyeris]

three cheers for sweet revenge

read on ao3

She thinks about him all summer.

She doesn’t want to. If she had her way, Oisín Hakinvar would be nothing more than a ghost to her. But despite her best efforts, Adaine can’t wrangle her thoughts into forgetting him.

Aelwyn’s barreling down the highway, going 90 in a 65. She would be worried if she wasn’t so used to Fig’s driving. At least Aelwyn hasn’t lit the car on fire because “it would look sick”. All she’s trying to do it outpace the Honda Civic in front of them that Aelwyn has declared her nemesis.

“Why are you so miserable?”

Adaine startles, slamming her head against the car window. Aelwyn’s cackle cuts through the air as she settles back down, rubbing her forehead. “Huh?” “You’ve been moping the entire trip.” She doesn’t need to look to hear the eye roll in her voice. “Honestly, I expected you to be more excited about killing mother.”

“I am!” And she means it. Adaine really is looking forward to killing that bitch.

“Then what is–” Aelwyn vaguely waves her hand in Adaine direction. “–this?”

“It’s nothing.” It’s not going to work. She knows before she says it; Aelwyn hunts down emotional vulnerabilities like a bloodhound, tearing through them like tissue paper. But it’s the principal of the matter. Can’t make it too easy on her.

Aelwyn snorts. “Nothing is the reason you’ve been sulking all summer?”

“Sure is.” Adaine slinks down further in her seat. “What else would it be?”

“Well…” Aelwyn starts, and Adaine can already hear the teasing coming. “If I had to hazard a guess, I would say it has something to do with the dragon-born that showed up on Mordred’s steps at the beginning of the summer.”

Busted.

Adaine slouches even further, folding in on herself. She tucks her knees beneath her chin and stares out at the smooth expanse of the highway.

“Seriously, what’s happening there?”

Adaine just groans.

She wishes she could explain. A tight little bundle of neatly packaged thoughts to describe what Oisín had done to her. But that would be too easy.

“I don’t know,” she mumbles into her knees.

“Adaine Abernant, not knowing something? Now that’s a first.”

She whines, low and quiet in the back of her throat. Adaine’s used to being thrown off kilter. Despite anxiety spiraling through every worst-case scenario, she doesn’t react well to surprises, even ones she predicts. But they usually don’t linger with her this long.

“He’s nothing,” she settles on. “No one.”

At least that’s what he should be.

“Awfully lot of thought to be putting into no one.” It is. Too much thought, in fact. “You know, I did hear that little spat the two of you had. It was rather impressive how you turned an apology into a screaming match.”

Adaine chuckles humorlessly. “Worried I’m going to steal your brand?”

“Hardly.” Aelwyn sniffs, slamming on the gas. “No one can out-bitch me. But you were making a solid attempt.”

“He deserves it.”

“I’m sure he does.”

Aelwyn loses focus for a moment as she swerves across three lanes of traffic. A car behind them blares on their horn, and Aelwyn flips them off in response. Despite her moping, Adaine smiles. Her sister is the worst. She loves her so much.

“That Prius is about to discover what a fifth-level spell to the face feels like,” Aelwyn grumbles. “Anyway, do you want me to kill him for you?” Adaine sputters, kneeing herself in the chin as she flails. “What? No, What? Don’t do that!” “Honestly Adaine, you’re impossible to please. Considering the insults you were hurling at him, I thought you would be eager for the opportunity.” She’s got a point. Those insults were particularly viscous. But still…“I don’t want him dead.”

“Don’t you?”

She has to think about it as the question stops her in her tracks. Adaine wants it to be easy; a clear answer either way. She wants to say no, say that she’s moved on from the pain and can live her life without the specter of some boy haunting her mind. She wants to say yes, say that she deserves to make him feel even an iota of the humiliation he inflicted on her before she kills him for good this time.

But it’s never that simple.

“Maybe,” she finally settles on. “I don’t know. He just. He makes it so hard to think.”

Chuckling, Aelwyn cuts off another car. “Crushes often do that. Or so I’ve been told. I’ve never been foolish enough to develop one.”

Foolish. Yeah. That’s the word for it. Adaine’s a fool, developing feelings for such a fucking tool.

(It takes some effort to quiet the part of her mind that whispers about her being the same style of jackass.)

“Yes, you’ve always been the superior one,” she sarcastically replies.

“I certainly am.”

Adaine rolls her eyes before falling back into silence. Aelwyn’s feeling polite enough to let her have the few moments.

“I want to want him dead,” she slowly starts to form the words. “I want to be mad at what he did I want to be mad at the flirting and the magic and the misdirect. I want to be mad because what he did was wrong.” Her voice cracks just a bit. “But I’m not. I’m just mad he did it to me.”

And that’s the crux of it all, wasn’t it? Behind all her intellect and morality that came up with her logical explanations to stay seething, her ego had been bruised. Wounded, even. And months later she still has not recovered.

Aelwyn nods absentmindedly, shifting the gear to pull off a move that is almost certainly illegal. “It’s awful when they’re clever, isn’t it. Hard to appreciate a good plan when it’s being enacted against you.”

Her sister’s perfectly manicured nails tap against the wheel. “So how are you going to humiliate him back?” Adaine blinks. “What?”

“He humiliated you, yes?” Aelwyn draws out the question like she’s speaking to a particularly slow middle-schooler. “And now he’s apologized so you can’t beat him up, but you’re still hurt. So humiliate him back.”

“I don’t want to humiliate him,” Adaine interjects.

Aelwyn raises one perfectly plucked eyebrow. “Don’t you?” “…Maybe.”

Aelwyn lets out a long-suffering sigh. “How about this? We’ll spend the rest of this drive brainstorming so I don’t vaporize the Ford Fiat that’s currently begging for it, and if we get back home and you don’t want to do it anymore, that’s also fine I suppose.”

She shoots Adaine a sadistic look. “So? What’s it going to be? Social assassination? Public humiliation? Magical misery? I’m always partial to a good old-fashioned public party failure, but I doubt you have the skills to pull that one off.”

Adaine freezes midway through forming a reply.

She means to tell Aelwyn off. Tell her to quit concocting cruel plans. But her brain’s stuck on something. Something magical.

In between all the anger and the awe as Fabian’s house started to rise, Adaine had looked. Really looked at the spell crafted into all those ping-pong balls. Not just at what it did, but how it did it, how Oisín gad rewritten the language of magic itself to cast the way he needed it to.

Adaine has always been good at languages.

Humiliation, huh? “Yeah. I think I have a few ideas.”

Oisín had stolen her pride. Let’s see how much he likes it when she steals his spell.

[hyperfixations-ahoy]

Fantasy High Divergent AU??

Disclaimer, this is based on the BOOKS, not the movies. Much like The Promised Neverland Season 2, we pretend that the books are the only content that exists. (Although I did kind of like the first movie, please don’t burn me at the stake).

In this AU, they are all Divergent, and all decide to transfer/continue with Dauntless. Why? Because A) it’s the coolest and B) it’s the one the books talk about the most.

ADAINE ABERNANT // Erudite -> Dauntless The second-born daughter of the dual faction leaders (because Erudite chooses its leaders based on IQ, both Angwyn and Arianwen are in charge). On the day of the Choosing Ceremony, Alewyn warns her sister that Erudite initiation consists of rigorous tests to prove qualification for the faction. Believing that being Divergent will result in her failing the tests and becoming factionless, Adaine makes an impulsive decision to transfer to Dauntless.

KRISTEN APPLEBEES // Abnegation -> Dauntless Though not city leaders, Kristen’s parents are well-respected in her faction - however, their good deeds are not out of selflessness but in servitude to a strange cult’s plan following what they believe is the will of god. Knowing she would be used as a pawn if found out, her aptitude evaluator told her to flee her faction. Kristen decided to choose Dauntless, so she could be free of the stifling rules of her parents’ religion.

FIG FAETH // Candor -> Dauntless When Fig found out that she was Divergent, she immediately went home and told her family. What followed were intense arguments with Sandra Lynn and Gilear, born out of fear that she would turn out the same way as her biological father (Dauntless-born, revealed to be Divergent, and disappeared). While they begged her to hide her true nature, Fig defied them and transferred to Dauntless, hoping to find some clues as to the real nature of Gorthalax’s disappearance.

RIZ GUKGAK // Candor -> Dauntless A childhood friend of Fig’s, both his father and his cousin Penny Luckstone disappeared in the same manner Gorthalax did. When he tells his mother that he’s Divergent, she reveals it is the common denominator behind the three disappearances. Determined to not let it happen again, he follows Fig to Dauntless while hoping to get some answers of his own.

FABIAN SEACASTER // Dauntless -> Dauntless The son of two great Dauntless heroes-turned-leaders, Fabian is hellbent on surpassing the expectations of him that keep climbing higher. He hides the fact that he’s Divergent, believing it a failure that would strike him and his family down from grace. However, after hearing his father discuss plans for the Divergent with the Abernant parents, he realizes how much danger he and his friends are in. Revealing his Divergence to them, his goal changes - no longer to live up to the Seacaster legacy, but to survive with everyone long enough to leave one at all.

GORGUG THISTLESPRING // Amity -> Dauntless A child abandoned to the factionless, he was taken into Amity out of an act of kindness. When Gorgug found out he was Divergent, the Thistlesprings were forced to tell him that they knew the identity of his parents - both Dauntless, both Divergent, both disappeared. Much like Fig and Riz (god these kids have some daddy issues), he’s trying to find some answers but in a more bumbling, awkward kind of way.

Other fun facts:

Fig, Riz, and Gorgug OF COURSE form an Only Murders in the Building-style squad where they’re trying to solve the disappearance of their dads, except they’re not as good and not as hot as Mabel, Charles, and Oliver

Alewyn is Divergent as well, but hides it from her sister (Adaine is furious when she finds out)

While being the one to hide it for the longest, Fabian has the highest levels of Divergence

Basic role swaps: Pok Gukgak = Natalie Prior; Abernant parents = Jeanine Matthews; Bill Seacaster = both Max and Eric; Gorthalax = Evelyn but NOT an asshole

[voxmilia]

Tell me about Adaine :D

Send me a character and I'll ramble

Ily, thank you for indulging my hyperfixations! 🥰

Also tagging @ghostlyeris and @shackld bc they also sent in Adaine jhdalshd loving Adaine is my brand ig (it's an excellent brand)

Under the cut bc I rambled so goddamn much

My first impression: "oh...oh wait help her voice is so soft, oh she had a panic attack at her entrance exam? Oh baby 🥺"

My impression now: "that's my GIRL, that's my GIRL, she's got a gun and a magical punching spell and she's gonna kill everyone who hurts her or her friends"

Favorite thing about that character: She's so endlessly caring. She's been put through the absolutely wringer and yes, she's guarded about it. But she's so, so kind. She has downtime and she offers to clean her friend's closet or throw an ice cream party. She uses her jacket that can produce anything (under 10 gold) and 90% of the time uses it to get stuff for her friends. She's three for three on helping redeem wizard antagonists, she's amazing

Least favorite thing: It's more least favorite in that I love her so much, I want her to have nice things? But narratively, it makes sense. She's so guarded and independent because she's had to be. And so that means now she struggles to accept help and open herself up especially to parental affection. And it just breaks my heart, seeing how far she's come but how far she has to go to let herself be loved the way she deserves.

Favorite line/scene: Her and Aelwyn in sophomore year is imprinted on my brain forever. In Fallinel wizard jail, holding the broken shell of her big sister in Kei Lumenura, the confrontation in the nightmare forest. "I do not love our parents and though you have not earned it? I do love you." TEARS. EVERY TIME.

Runner up goes to any scene with her and Jawbone - the iconic "You're not a coward, Adaine, you're just sick, you need medicine!" and the equally iconic "You're easy to love. And anyone who couldn't figure that out is a real bozo."

Third place goes to the ping pong table scenes, both of them. The amount of times I quote "ONE GUY OFFERED ME DIAMONDS AND I RAN AWAY" in dms is so funny

Also obviously "MAGIC IS REAL AND SO IS MY FROG!!!!!!!"

Favorite interaction that character has with another: beyond the above examples with her and Aelwyn, her and Jawbone, and her and Oisin? It's so silly but I'll always have a soft spot for her and Zayn in the opening to sophomore year. "You may absolutely tread upon my sanctum santorum!"

Also ofc any interaction with her and Ayda so I'm SO glad we got that moment in junior year where they were shading each other. Their friendship means the fucking world to me. They made each other spells, I'm forever tender about that

A character that I wish that character would interact with more: After junior year, I have to say Sandra Lynn! Their scene was incredibly sweet!! She's her dad's girlfriend and the closest thing to a mother figure she has, they deserve to have a moment! Also in a similar vein, Tracker! Tracker is not only her adoptive cousin but also her former roommate - she lived with Tracker nearly as long as she's lived with Kristen and about as long as she's lived with Fig, I'm so curious about their dynamic.

Another character from another fandom that reminds me of that character: it's not at all a one to one but my immediate thought was Annette Dominic. Just? Idk something about incredibly studious girls who don't know how to relax and just be kids, who had to grow knowing they were abandoned or neglected by their parents and had to find the love they deserve in a group of school friends? Idk!! I think they'd be friends. Adaine would offer to kill Gilbert

A headcanon about that character: Though it's her legal name, Adaine doesn't really refer to herself as an O'Shaughnessy, mostly out of habit. At her college graduation ceremony, she insists on being announced as Adaine Abernant-O'Shaughnessy. Jawbone cries.

A song that reminds of that character: So I haven't started her playlist and didn't wanna just pull something from mine and Nick's ship playlist for her and Oisin, so I just looked on Spotify and 🥺 Someone gave her Waiting on a Miracle from Encanto and that breaks my heart, so I have to say that one.

An unpopular opinion about that character: I'm ambivalent on the glasses. I like her with or without them. I know most folks seem to think that's just canon but personally I'm way more team "Riz definitely has a tail" than "Adaine definitely has glasses"

Favorite picture: HOW DO I CHOOSE, let me highlight a few of my faves:

the absolutely iconic princess mononoke moment with oisin,

this heartbreaking art of adaine and aelwyn while aelwyn is still imprisoned in sophomore year

this gorgeous bad kids group shot that I use currently as my tupperbox icon for adaine

this stunning and tragic parallel with adaine and the previous elven oracle

[remidyal]

Wip ask game: broken

Ooh, this one hits on the piece I'm actually working on now, my Halloween fic:

"How long has it been since you went to sleep?"

It was a question Riz was used to hearing - from his mom, from his party, from Penny and other friends - but to hear it from Aelwyn Abernant was a little bit more concerning.

Adaine constantly worried, in the form of complaining, that her sister never seemed to trance and rest as much as she needed to, having become something of a living ghost inhabiting Mordred Manor almost as much as Zayn in the time since spring break, and looking at her now it was obvious that that was true. Aelwyn looked, not to put it too bluntly, like shit. Her eyes had bags under them still, now permanent features seemingly; her movement was always stiff, and her hair was stringy and even tangled now.

He hadn't really expected her to talk to him. Adaine hadn't come down yet, at least, and it was quite early for most of the others who lived here when he'd (as usual) broken in through the kitchen window. He'd made coffee, the rest of the pot ready for the others whenever they came out of their rooms.

"A couple days." He admitted. Lied, really; it was closer to four now. "It's fine, I've just been working on a case. I'll be okay."

[rileywritesnovellas]

On top of my 50k word romance novella on Amazon, Sword Fighting in the Garden, I have several fan-fics published on AO3 as well. Almost all of these are Fantasy High fics written before the recent premiere of Junior Year, and the rest are Star Ocean the Divine Force fics. I figured a post to share all of them could be fun, though I will separate them into categories so you can browse more easily.

I have not watched any of FHJY yet, and anything in here that is a spoiler was not made with malice or the intent to spoil, but rather a blind coincidence

Category One: Slice of Life Fantasy High Fics

The Making of Adaine O'Shaughnessy: A slice of life fic showing Adaine contemplating a name change to better fit who her real guardian is!

What it's Like to Trance: An examination of Figs life growing up, my head cannon for how Trancing works in the FH universe, and some sweet moments between Fig & Gilear and Fig & Ayda

Random Encounters Volume 1: a collection of 300+ word short ficlets that I couldn't get over 1k. This one includes Fig Driving Safe, Riz learning to sword fight, a sisterly moment, and a look at Gorgug making things.

Spell Bound: a fic about Fig doodling after finding a page in Ayda's spell book set aside for doodles of Fig.

Random Encounters Volume 2: another collection of those short stories, this one includes Gorgug calming his gf down, an examination of Kristin's love for Tye Dye, the wizard girls sharing a moment, and Fabian spending quality time with his bike.

In Concert: Fig and Ayda steal a moment after The Cig Figs perform, and Fig recognizes the stability Ayda brings to her life

Random Encounters Volume 3: this one features A look at what makes Riz tick, a sequel to 'In Concert' following Gorgug and Zelda, Aelwyn getting some new clothes, and Jawbone having a long night

A Very Long Night (Extended): Jawbone spends some time pondering his two not-quite-daughters and how he came across them, an extension of the fourth story in REV3

Trio of Transitively Best Friends: Adaine finds herself as the go to girl for both of her two best friends in the world, Ayda & Fig, as they start dating.

Becoming Sisters Again: Adaine and Aelwyn share some vulnerable moments as they relive a brief and almost forgotten moment of bonding from their past.

Random Encounters Volume 4: this one includes Fig and Jawbone deciding he isn't dad number 3 for her, Boggy spotting an intruder, Riz telling his dad about the little things, and Ayda seeking immortality

Flying Away: Fig mentions marriage and Ayda has too many feelings about that, so she flies away only to get stuck in a rainstorm.

Pockets: Ayda decides to accessorize to make her flying dates with Fig a little easier.

The Smell of Fire in the Morning: Fig and Ayda are separated for a period of time, leaving Fig missing the small things about her

Overthinking It: Ayda is worried that Fig will get bored, so asks Adaine for some advice.

Movie Night: Fig has Ayda over for a sleep over

Category Two: The B.A.D. Kids, A Fantasy High Spy AU

Quick note for my convenience, this category will be in Chronological Order of events, because that's the order they are in the series on AO3.

The Abernant Sisters have a B.A.D. Time: After realizing her father is going to do something horrible to her little sister, the two run away together to Solace, where they join the Bureau of Advanced Detectives to hide from their powerful family.

Enter The B.A.D. Kids: Fig is recruited into the Bureau of Advanced Detectives, and is assigned to a team of spies, analysts, and soldiers who are all working on one goal, dismantling a covert criminal organization seemingly founded by Kalima, a former B.A.D. Agent.

Silent Strikes, Born of Shadows: A Kalina POV one shot following her setting a trap for the B.A.D. Agents on her tail.

The Analysts: Adaine and Ayda discuss their lives as they take a short break from work.

In B.A.D. Taste: With Fig sidelined, Fabian is put in the hot seat to track down notorious criminal mastermind Kalina as she flies the country and sets sail for Leviathan

B.A.D. Luck: a WIP follow up to 'In B.A.D. Taste' following Ragh as the battle against this shadowy criminal cabal becomes less about subtle machinations and more about open conflict.

Category Three: Star Ocean Fics

Another Author's note here, I understand most of you are here for Fantasy High stuff, but please check this fic out. If you like women who like women, you might like this!

I'll also only list one fic despite writing several. Why? Because the one fic is actually a remastering of the others, where each fic is a chapter, and each one was fixed up and edited for a better reading experience.

The Princess and Her Doctor (Remastered Collection): Follow the on going adventure of Princess Laeticia Aucerius and her doctor Nina Deforges after the events of Star Ocean: The Divine Force. The two developed a close relationship over the course of the game, and it only continues to grow more romantic as the two travel together to spread the cure for Helgar's Disease

[jq37]

I'm out of town without my laptop for the long weekend so I probably won't have the next FH recap finished until later than usual but I have to at least make a quick post after All Of That because, like. The artistry? The delicious tragedy of it all? Of Aelwyn's natural protective instincts being cruelly turned in on themselves? The way Brennan let us have our cake and eat it too by giving us the soft, sisterly bonding and then ripping it away so we also get the full, proper redemprion arc? Like our free trial to the Abernant Sister Reconciliation expired? I'm not over it. I might never be over it.

[titanias-stolen-shoes]

Alright I’m off work let’s do this.

Something we’re all aware of is that while Adaine is the one we tend to focus on, Aelwen is also a victim of abuse. Growing up in a hostile environment where she could either be The Golden Child or Nothing, she fought tooth and nail to be The Golden Child. Given how atrociously incompetent and abusive Anguin (and Elianwyn for the mere fact that she stood there and let it happen) were, it was clear that she had to look out for herself. I did a deeper look at Adaine and Aelwen’s relationship and how their abuse shaped it on a different post, but here I want to focus on Aelwen.

In this last episode, she managed to get back to herself. At least, the version of herself we all know best. This is merely a guess, but I think that she hid that specific version of herself for Adaine to find, because it’s what she perceives to be the strongest part of her.

Looking at her life linearly, she was likely two of three when Adaine was born. (Despite everything she’s still a high school student thus only a few years older than Adaine.) By that time, I’m sure it was already ingrained in her that she had to be the absolute best and nothing else would fly. But as the only child at the time, it was only her there whether the abuse. And then Adaine was born and Aelwen instinctively wanted to look after and protect her—something I think she might have tried for a while. This, while purely speculation, I think is why she went into the school of abjuration: it blocks, banishes, and most importantly protects.

However, I’m sure Aelwen learned quickly that if Adaine was the one to mess up, she got treated better and that her abjuration skills could also be served to protect herself and that’s what she did.

Fast forward to more recent cannon, Aelwen is deeply traumatized from the abuse and refuses to acknowledge it. Because if she did acknowledge it, she’d have to admit how she abandoned Adaine to their parents and left her to fend for herself in a household that looks of disgust to comfort. She’d have to admit she was complicit in that abuse and she’d have to admit how much self-loathing and grief she wrestles with on a daily. So, she doesn’t. Instead, she does what all good teenagers do: she rebels and acts out. She breaks the rules and goes to parties to be loud and obnoxious and rambunctious. She makes out with the hottest guy there because she can and no one is there to stop her. She helps Kalvaxis for shits and giggles because why not.

When she gets caught, I’m sure that despite her attitude, she was aware of the type of damage that the elves of Fallinel could do, or at least realized quickly, and she prepared for it. She took what she perceived to be the best and strongest of herself—the part of herself that managed to get her through growing up in the Abernant House and come out the other side—into a box, tied it with a bow, and shoved it to some far corner of her mind for only the cleverest person she knows to find.

All of that being said, while she doesn’t seem to remember what happened to her while her mind was broken, Aelwen, while maybe lacking common sense, is too smart to have not taken into account Adaine seeing her mind for what it truly is: her fortress broken and the core of herself shown. She must have, at some level, trusted and believed in Adaine to get her out of that jail and back to herself—otherwise there was no point to that note on the little box: let it be knows, despite all the torment, there was only one person clever enough to find this. She must have understood that Adaine would know her for who she really is instead of who she pretends to be and understood that Adaine, her kind and compassionate and aggressively honorable sister would see her and know her and love her.

Aelwen’s a bitch again, and while that’s going to be a lot to deal with, Adaine can see through her now and I think that’s exactly what Aelwen wanted.

I’m very much looking forward to how their relationship will change and grow after this.

[zzzugzwanggg]

I saw @paladinbaby‘s Aelwen fanart like three months ago where Aelwyn was in a wheelchair and I have no recollection of that being cannon (maybe it is and this is just me being redundant) but in my heart of hearts I know it fucking is. Aelwen Abernant is a wheelchair user.

I’m thinking about the cartilage in her knees and ankles and how that would have worn away as constant use and pressure on her joints continued as she walked and walked and walked in that hamster wheel. Shin splints and strange muscle development and possible broken bones from weeks of constant and repetitive impact. She probably lives in chronic pain that fluctuates with the weather and the food she eats and what she did yesterday and how/where she slept. Her hips probably grind in their sockets too because your body isn’t meant to walk for so long.

Her bones are probably fragile from the lack of food too and she might be more prone to breaking them if she falls. She can probably walk with or without mobility aids some or even most days and maybe the wheelchair and canes and crutches were something she had a hard time coping with at first but then her new family helped her to realize that they were something she needed and something that made her life less painful and gave her more freedom and more time in the day that she didn’t need to spend bedridden and in pain. Maybe she even loves her mobility aids now and she decorates her cane with stickers and puts lights on her wheels and her sister’s friends think it looks so fucking cool that she couldn’t think it was dumb if she wanted to.

I think she probably has a hard time with food too. Sensitivities to things she was perfectly fine with before because it’s just Too Much for her body now after having been kept in the bubble. Maybe she even had an ng tube after she got home and realized she couldn’t physically eat enough to sustain her recovery. Maybe Jawbone replaced the tape on her cheek with a butterfly sticker that is made for kids and it might’ve been a little too soon for him to have made such a fatherly gesture and she tore it off her face and yelled at him to leave her alone but then he left her the box with the rest of the stickers and she realized he was just trying to be nice to her and maybe he really isn’t so bad.

Maybe Jawbone and Adaine go to all of Aelwen’s doctors appointments and make sure that she’s keeping up with her physical therapy and they drink all the weird calorie dense protein shakes her nutritionist makes her try and maybe she takes the bad kids clothes shopping with her to help her find outfits that look cute but don’t have weird gaps in the chest when you’re standing above her and she’s in her wheelchair.

Maybe Aelwyn Abernant is disabled. Maybe she feels guilty claiming the label because yesterday she didn’t even use her cane at all and her knees barely hurt. Maybe the preppy cheerleader Aelwyn Abernant who didn’t know what the word disability meant before facing it herself had a really fucking hard time learning to accept herself as a disabled adult with a dead dad and a sister who should hate her. Maybe Aelwyn cries herself to sleep because she feels bad that she’s mad that her body doesn’t work the way it used to because she’s learned to be proud of her disability and she feels like a hypocrite wishing she wasn’t in pain every fucking day.

Maybe Aelwyn Abernant has deeply complex emotions and really cool AT and a loving family and a huge group of supporters and maybe she even has an online blog where she talks about it all

[creacherkeeper]

IM AWARE ITS A LOWBALLER BUT “Just look at me. Forget everything else.” ABERNANT SISTERS

The TV droned at the edges of Adaine's hearing. She puttered around the kitchen, not paying it much mind. It sounded like the news, which she knew, as the Oracle, she should probably watch, but having grown up in a 'news only' media household, she never did. It was probably Sandra Lynn, catching up on the state of Solace before she left on her next work trip. Jawbone never liked her to have it on when the kids were around, but the bickering they did about was, for the most part, mild. Adaine gathered her little fruit slices and toasted bread for her late-night snack, starting to feel the fuzziness of sleep herself.

In the living room, a cup shattered.

Adaine was in the doorway in an instant, a counterspell buzzing at her fingers. Her heart pounded, but even with darkvision, she didn't see any sort of threat. The room was quiet besides the TV, and empty besides her sister. Aelwyn's mug sat in three pieces on the ground, tea leaking across the floorboards. Her hands were over her mouth as she stared at the screen.

"Aelwyn?"

In the silence, her focus shifted.

"Scouting trips into the former forest of the Nightmare King continue, with yesterday's team making yet another shocking discovery. Former Fallinel ambassador Angwyn Abernant's body was recovered by the team, still preserved but seemingly dead for some time. The cause of death appears to be a serious skull fracture, perhaps attained by--"

Adaine raised the remote and hit the power. Silence rang through the room.

She swallowed. "You shouldn't be watching that."

Her sister did not respond, nor move, nor breathe.

Adaine shifted the large shards of mug away with her shoe and crouched down in front of her. Hands still over her mouth, Aelwyn's eyes looked glassy and far away.

"Aelwyn?" she asked quietly. When her sister didn't respond, she tentatively put a hand on her knee.

Aelwyn flinched. Her eyes closed as tears began to pour from them.

"Hey," Adaine said, "it's okay."

"It's not," she responded, muffled.

"It is. He's dead, and he doesn't matter anymore."

With a gaspy breath, Aelwyn dropped her hands, and Adaine took them. She didn't look at her, just stared off into a corner of the room.

"Is it--" Her face pinched. "Is it stupid I'm still afraid of him? I always have been, but I'm still ..."

"It's not stupid. He was a scary man."

"You were never scared of him. But I- I was always so frightened. I always knew I should say something, do something, but--" Her eyes began to look far away again. "The first time I was brave enough to, he nearly- I knew he would kill me. I knew I was dead. And I would have been, if you hadn't--"

"Aelwyn."

Aelwyn stopped.

Adaine squeezed her hands. "Look at me. Forget everything else, just look at me."

Slowly, her sister's eyes slid over.

"Our father," Adaine said, "was a bad man. And now he can't hurt either of us ever again. He never should've in the first place, but now he can't, because he's gone, and he isn't coming back. We're together, and we're safe, and from here on out we have each other's backs. Nothing's gonna touch us as long as we have each other. That's all that matters now. Okay?"

Aelwyn stared at her. She nodded. "Okay."

"Good." Adaine sighed, a little release of tension. "Now, I'm gonna clean this up, and then we can go make some more tea, alright?"

"Adaine?"

"Hm?"

There was a beat of stillness. Then Aelwyn pulled her into a hug.

"Thank you," Aelwyn said, "for saving me. You know from here on, I'm going to do the same."

Adaine hugged her fiercely back.

"Always."

[beetlethebug]

The Bad Kids but They’re All Paladins Because I Said So

hey what if all the bad kids multiclassed into paladin huh. what if they did that. like. god. i can already imagine all their oaths. like. ahhh!! (read more under the cut it’s so long i’m sorry)

Fabian: Honestly Oath of Glory came to mind first. “My name is Fabian Aramais Seacaster and I am here to be great!” And well! He made friends and is now learning to help and support his teammates into being the greatest crew that’s ever walked in Aguefort’s halls. This is definitely a pre-Leviathan Fabian. Post-Leviathan Fabian is Oath of the Open Seas. “I believe in you, Spring Break!” The need to be known because of surpassing his father is gone. He is finally free to become his own person. There is so much Fabian has suppressed and now his life is open and vast like the ocean. He wants to be known, he wants his friends to be known, to support his friends who have supported him--who have always supported him-- and he will lead the way for the Bad Kids’ names to become legends.

Fig: Oath of the Ancients. It surprised her at first, to be honest. She’s clawed her way to finding herself, the people she loves. For a while she devoted herself to Vengeance. She was angry, at herself, her parents, the world. They wanted a demon? Fine. She’ll become the greatest demon the world had ever seen. She’ll be Daddy’s Little Demon, his right hand, just as soon as she found him. But the more she learns about people, about the world, about herself, she finds herself going back to her Elvish roots. The world is shit, life is hard, but there are some things truly worth living for. She found so much light in the world--through music, through Ayda, through her friends, through Sandra Lynn and Gortholax and Gilear--that she wants to spread it to every corner of Solace. She wants to help other people find their light.

Riz: Oath of the Watchers. Post Sophomore year, for sure. Riz is working not only on the Material Plane but also for the Celestial Plane. He’s here to make sure shit doesn’t get too fucking crazy and (though his father said it softly, like he was afraid Riz would be upset,) make sure that Fig doesn’t start the apocalypse with her new Archdevil status. Riz is hiding in the shadows, diligent and hard-working (too hard, honestly!) to make sure the planes remain balanced. His mom is just grateful that he’s not a warlock (she might have ascended to fight Pok herself if he had started enabling Riz more than he already is). He, on accident (and maybe on purpose) has accidentally abjured Fig to Hell. Riz is never going to be the type to be in the front, like Gorgug or Fabian, but he’s very good at making sure all of his friend’s backs are protected. It’s the least he can do for his friends, who all watch over him, too. Work is love, and no one works harder than Riz Gukgak. 

Adaine: Oath of Vengeance. Please imagine Adaine’s Furious Fist plus Divine Smite. Adaine Abernant is a girl on a mission. She’s going to right the wrongs against her and she’s going to do it with magic and her fists, thank you very much! She has spent so long feeling weak, feeling powerless, and she’s not going to take anything from anyone anymore. No one is going to hurt her or her family. Adaine is the Oracle of the people, and there have been many people wronged in the world. She has the strength of her friends, of her sister, of Jawbone (her dad!!!!) at her disposal. And she will right the wrongs the Elves have done against the world one furious fist at a time. 

Gorgug: Oath of Devotion. This one was a hard one, and I’m not entirely sure it fits, but. Gorgug loves his friends. Loves his family. There is so much quiet, powerful devotion to his friends that it makes my heart hurt. He has the “dumb paladin” going for him, but Gorgug isn’t stupid. He knows so much! He has been touched by so many people in so many ways, and he let’s their influence shine through his actions. He’s so brave. And so, so kind. He pushes his friends to keep going, inspires them with his own quiet strength. Gorgug might be the one to deal the final blow to an enemy, but he’s also the first to extend his hand to help him up. 

Kristen: Oath of Redemption. Another post-Sophomore year. It’s a complicated mess of redeeming Cassandra and her years as the Nightmare King, and her own quest to redeem herself for her previous Helioc actions. It’s learning to express herself and all the parts of her--good and bad. Learning to seek truth, to talk about each issue from every side and find a peaceful middle ground (or reject it entirely, when learning what utter bullshit it is). But taking the time to help others understand what was wrong with their thinking, with their beliefs, kind and open and always, always questioning. Because doubt is perfectly normal! They live in a world full of magic and time fuckery and her vice principle tried to kill her freshman year, so. Doubt is often warranted. But Kristen Applebees will meet all doubt with a warm smile and an open heart, because the road to redemption is never easy, especially in sandals, but the journey is well-worth it. 

[supercantaloupe]

on Aelwyn Abernant, the Reformed Villain Squad, and redeeming teenage antagonists

an analysis on antagonist character development in Fantasy High. spoilers through sophomore year and (mildly so) the most recent roll20 oneshot. essay under the cut bc i am very long winded

the turnaround with Aelwyn in s2 is handled so well  i cant get over it. she was such a major antagonist in the first season and just. despicable. she had no pathos. we hated this bitchy older sister who tried to kill Adaine and her friends and raise an evil dragon, and when she gets knocked on her ass and thrown in jail, we cheer.

and then s2 fucking starts saying “hey she’s in jail still if you’d like to look into that” and pursuing that thread ends up being almost as comedic an idea as it is a reluctant one; it’s also quickly shunted to the background as soon as more pressing leads present themselves, to the point where we almost forget about her until Adaine is kidnapped and then the first time you see her it’s just. viscerally upsetting.

she’s bad. she did evil. she got what she deserved.

but she already got what she deserved. last season.

she got her ass handed to her by a bunch of 14 year olds including her little sister (how embarrassing!). her plans were thwarted. she got punched in the face and made fun of. she already got her punishment.

it just……immediately registers as over-the-top Wrong to be told “hey, remember that antagonist you beat last season? she’s still being punished for that, except it’s way worse than just going to mumple.”

and there’s that reminder that like…this is a teenager. a child. who has been manipulated and abused. which is a really fascinating look at this character we used to see pretty much unilaterally as a one dimensional bitchy villain.

i mean we got a more in depth look at Penelope’s and Biz’s motivations in s1 (Penelope being the popular rich girl sorceress obviously hungry for power and the alllure of the high school clout that is being prom queen, but also we know that her having to turn on her best friend Sam Nightingale as part of the scheme was something she was reluctant and not happy to do; and Biz being that predatory incel creeper type dude besides just a nerd with computers and a lack of social graces). and they were as much willingly active in the plot as Aelwyn was. yet in s1 they really never do bother to explore Aelwyn’s motivations. i remember after watching s1 but before s2 that was one of my biggest lingering questions: why tf was Aelwyn involved?

well. she was manipulated and abused. her terrible parents raised her in an awful environment that conditioned her to Listen and Obey and Behave and Be Perfect, and then Kalina helped cinch the noose around her neck with threats and coersion into the KVS Kaper and the NMK crown debacle. she doesn’t freely choose any of it; she’s coerced, manipulated, abused.

and she already got justifiably punished for her bad actions in s1. the torture is almost literal overkill. it’s just……there’s this immediate turnaround in sympathy and view of the character. on first watch, it’s viscerally upsetting to see her getting so brutally punished for actions she already faced consequences for, and on rewatch, it makes your skin crawl to know she’s being tortured for terrible things she had little choice in carrying out. and tortured by some of the very same people who coerced her to behave terribly in the first place, to add insult to injury.

and it’s still fucking frustrating when they rescue her and her memory gets reset and she goes back to her parents because it’s like “well shit, she’s evil again, and we just wasted all that effort for nothing” but it’s also sad cause we know she’s running back to her abusers and she isn’t happy about it but doesn’t feel like she has a choice. and it’s sadder still that what eventually inevitably gets her to turn to good for good (i.e. away from her parents) is just. a full dissociative mental breakdown.

(but then she survives and it’s gonna be good!!! until Adaine dies in her fucking arms. which is. almost funny. she’s been through so much shit and that isn’t something that Brennan would have just. preplanned. like a written in plot point. no, that was just an unpredictable consequence of the battle. what a juicy fucking moment. she’s been through All That Shit™️ and has finally turned to fight for good and her sister just fully dies in front of her. yeowch)

and she turns out okay in the end. she comes out the other side alive and whole and supported by her sister and her friends, with the hope of a future and recovery. there is an acknowledgement that A) she can and will grow from her mistakes and damage, B) it’s going to be really hard, and C) the post-s2 one shots both prove that she’s doing okay now. hell, she has a whole squad now of other former-teenage-villains-turned-good-guys. she has friends now, Ragh and Zayn, with common ground, and a secret handshake and everything. they’ve all grown from the mistakes of their past into better, happier, healthier people

and about Zayn and Ragh. we’ve seen a lot of characters, protagonist and antagonist, teenage and adult, PC and NPC do some really fucked up shit and get punished for it. but why do they get happy endings? why are Aelwyn, Ragh, and Zayn the only members of the RVS and not someone else like Biz or Penelope or Dayne? 

well, the latter two are dead by then; but then again, Biz and Ragh were also killed by the Bad Kids in s1, and subsequently resurrected. (Zayn died too, but was neither killed nor revived at the Bad Kids’ hands, so i’ll get to him in a sec.) and there are plenty of adult antagonists the Bad Kids face who are killed and left that way by the Bad Kids without second thought: Johnny Spells, Coach Daybreak, Captain Wicklaw, the Abernant parents (presuming Arianwen doesn’t survive in the forest for very long, which i doubt). why do some characters get second chances while others don’t?

in the case of Zayn, his death was pretty much out of the Bad Kids’ hands, and they later found out he was manipulated by Daybreak into being bad anyway because of his sad living situation. he was a pretty minor antagonist in the scheme of things, and when we re-meet him as a ghost in the s1 epilogue, he’s pretty obviously remorseful for his actions. and dying seems like a steep enough punishment to me for the shit he did to contribute to the KVX caper; returning as a ghost, free from the trappings of his unfortunate living life, he now has the room and freedom to grow into a better person.

in the cases of Daybreak, Spells, Wicklaw, and the Abernant parents: these are bad people who should know better. these are fully grown adults who actively choose to do evil. whether they think it’s the right thing to do or not (in Daybreak’s case), whether they think it will benefit them and don’t care about anyone else (in the Abernants’ case), or whether they don’t care much at all and are just doing shit because they feel like it (in the cases of Spells and Wicklaw), these are all adults who consciously make the decision to do terrible things and hurt other people. of course Johnny Spells, who is generally a punk thief and thug, is not on the same level of bad as Angwyn, who kidnaps and tortures his own daughters for political gain, but the point remains. these fuckers should know better. they’re grown ups. they had their chances to be good and they chose not to heed them. their minds are set on bad actions and they are a continued danger to other people as long as they are alive. when they die, the Bad Kids do their damndest to make sure it stays that way.

now, in the cases of Penelope and Dayne: these are teenagers who actively chose to participate in an evil plot. Penelope, Dayne, and Biz were all fully cognizant of what they were doing trying to raise KVX back to his former power. why? well, to some extent, we can only speculate. i suspect Penelope was just one of those Regina George bitches who is rich and popular and powerful and obsessed with power and popularity within high school as if that’s the end-all-be-all of existence (which, like, when you’re currently in high school, is a somewhat understandable worldview i think). Dayne being her boyfriend and a musclehead jock probably falls into a similar line of thinking. they are actively and willingly trying to cause harm, and teenager or not, must be stopped. they’re killed, anyway, during the Climactic Battle™️ anyhow; it’s not like the Bad Kids were going to gain anything at that point by keeping them alive.

now, Biz: Biz is the creepy Nice Guy incel type, sees woman as a prize he deserves to win, yadda yadda. he does, like Penelope and Dayne, actively choose to help KVX. there might be something to be said about his motivation the Bad Kids discover after the arcade battle by detecting his thoughts (that being to upload the captured maidens from the palimpsests to “call the shots” himself) is an altered memory; whether this was his original motivation from the start or not, i’m not sure. but the Bad Kids do kill him – and then resurrect him for important, time-sensitive information. and they beat it out of him – he gets two of his fucking fingers blown off. and Riz reattaches them once they have their info, and they realize his memory is altered. of course, the Bad Kids don’t know at this point that the altered memory was something he, Penelope, and Aelwyn had planned and agreed on and done to themselves, but this points to something important in my opinion: the Bad Kids, and the narrative/show as a whole by extension, acknowledge that external manipulation affects how guilty someone is in a crime.

which brings us to Ragh. Ragh, introduced from episode 1 as the meathead jock. Ragh the archetypical one-dimensional high school bully. Ragh who works with the harvestmen in effort to (ostensibly) end the world/provoke international war. Ragh, whose low intelligence but high loyalty and internalized homophobia led him to be fully swayed and blindly led by his coach and captain, who have actively chosen to do evil. Ragh who is killed in combat by the Bad Kids and resurrected for information, not Daybreak. Ragh, who the Bad Kids realize was probably not aware of exactly what he was being made to do and how bad it really was. Ragh, who by their kindness in sparing his life and directing him on a better path, becomes a well-rounded character and an active ally to the Bad Kids during and after prom, an invaluable companion during their quest in sophomore year, and overall a really good friend and person. 

(it might also be worth considering the case of Jawbone here, too, who started out a very minor antagonist in a fight but ended up becoming a major NPC because the Bad Kids talked to him, found out he came from an unfortunate situation and set of circumstances, and showed him kindness in offering the school guidance counselor position, a kindness that isn’t really owed but given anyway and ends up changing his entire life for good.)

and then, Aelwyn, whose case is already discussed above. so, why is the RVS what it is, why them but not others?

if you’re familiar with Avatar: the Last Airbender, you’re probably familiar with Zuko’s character arc, and how it’s often lauded as a masterful example of developing a villain into a hero over the course of a narrative. what makes Zuko’s arc so well done and exceptional is that he starts out as a kid in a bad situation under the influence of bad adults seeking to do bad deeds, but he later realizes the error of those ways, actively removes himself from that situation despite the difficulty and danger in doing so, goes through a lot of shit and reflects on his past mistakes and learns from them, and then actively chooses to fight for good in the end with the help of close, trusted friends, found family. 

this, i believe, is the same in the case of Fantasy High and its treatment of the RVS. its members, like Zuko, are all teenagers who came from shitty situations and were manipulated by evil adults to do bad. they are punished for their bad actions, and they learn from their errors and mistakes. with the kindness and help of good people, friends and chosen family, they are able to escape their abusers and bad situations and grow into their own people. and they actively choose to improve themselves with that help and fight for good.

Fantasy High, through the arcs of Jawbone, Zayn, Ragh, and especially Aelwyn, asserts that it is not your fault if you come from a bad situation and are forced to behave badly as a result. it does not pretend that you are absolved of any responsibility for those actions; quite the opposite, as even though they were externally manipulated into their evil actions, all of those mentioned characters face tangible consequences for their actions and later express remorse for their mistakes. but Fantasy High also asserts that even if you have made great mistakes in your past, even if you came from a bad situation beyond your control, even if you were manipulated and abused, with care and love and support and a hell of a lot of work and effort, you can improve your situation and find good, happiness, peace, you can thrive. evil adults who should know better don’t get redeemed. teenagers who aren’t coerced but actively choose evil don’t get redeemed. but abused kids deserve another shot at happiness. with enough work, and some love and help along the way, they can get there, even from the lowest imaginable point, from rock fucking buttom. it’s possible. 

[masculinepeacock]

O: Ocean for @dimension20alphabet

Sklonda hadn’t been to the beach since Pok died. She had spent so long thinking that Pok had died either close to, or on the ocean. That may have still been true but at least now she knew who exactly did it. And the dragon who did it was dead. 

Now she was standing and facing the ocean, Riz racing off with his friends. Riz had friends. She remembered what it felt like to finally be able to tell that to Pok. For the first time in a while it felt like she wasn’t totally fucking up their kid without Pok being there to help her. Sandra Lynn walked up beside Sklonda, “You doing okay?”

“Yeah,” Sklonda took a deep breath and stepped closer to the ocean, keeping up with Sandra Lynn and Jawbone who were carrying the typical beach bags, full of things for their own children. Sklonda couldn’t imagine living in Mordred Manor, it was pure chaos, but the people who lived there seemed to like it. 

Most of the adults were setting up camp in the sand, setting up towels and things like that. Aelwyn was helping thing, but was eyeing the other kids, almost like she wanted to join them but didn’t know if she was allowed. 

Sklonda walked over to her after she set up her own chair, making sure she was loud enough to be seen before she began talking, “You know, I think they’d like it if you joined them in the water.”

Aelwyn was quiet for a moment, “I’m not sure about that.” Sklonda could tell that she had more to say and was willing to wait it out. As expected, Aelwyn continued, quietly, “The ocean is...big.”

“Yeah,” Sklonda nodded, “it is. I was scared of the ocean for a long time.”

“Really?” Aelwyn looked up at her, then raised her chin. “I’m not necessarily, scared, of it.”

“That’s good. But even if you’re not scared it can a little intimidating.”

“Yes, intimidating is a good word.”

“If I go in will you go in with me?” Sklonda knew that Aelwyn just needed someone to take care of her. She remembered her interactions with the Abernants, and she also remembered her interactions with Aelwyn. She may have arrested her but she felt bad about that now, clearly the kid just needed help. “It’s fine if you don’t.”

“Maybe later,” Aelwyn said, still squinting at the ocean.

“Okay, sounds good to me.” Sklonda turned away for a moment before turning around, “I’m sorry for arresting you. I haven’t had the chance to apologize to you yet. At the time I didn’t know that you needed help but it’s fucked up of me that I didn’t dig deeper.”

“It’s okay. I had just tried to kill my sister and your son. So, most people would consider that an arrestable offense.”

“Well, thank you. And not looking into cases like that is part of why I’m not an officer anymore.”

“You’re in law school now aren’t you? I think Adaine mentioned it.”

“Yeah I am.”

“Could I...ask you about that?”

“I’d like that.”

The next day Sklonda got to tell Pok all about how at the ocean she got to counsel one of the newest members of Mordred Manor about law school and managed to spend an entire day at the ocean, surrounded by people she was learning to let in.

Pok smiled on the other side the entire time.

A/N: lawyer!aelwyn inspired by @supercantaloupe!! 

[tinygalaxykid]

Bad Kids!ACOC AU

Ok so if you haven't seen my recent ACOC!Riz sketch, go check it out. My hope is that I’ll be able to draw all of the bad kids before the finale but we’ll see. This is long bc it’s my general setup for this AU but I’ll be making small posts about backstories, magic items, etc. Feel free to jump on this HC, just tag me.

This definitely takes place post-acoc but maybe in an alt timeline just because I don’t know what the political and religious situation of the post-campaign will be.

Riz is made out of sweet & sour hard candy. He has sugar freckles and is sour-apple flavored. He’s still a rouge, having learned his tricks being a poor villager in a crime-filled village of Southern Candia. His mom, Skolanda is jolly-rancher like candy and Pok was actually a fructerian apple person. After being turned away from the Candian military for his small stature he decides to clean up his crime-ridden village, fancying himself a detective and a vigilante. His non-offical tagline is “Sour, sweet, then gone.”

Fabian Aramais Seacaster is made of tiramisu as his father Bill Seacaster, an infamous, curdled pirate of the Dairy Sea, met and married Hillariel from a small peninsula of Fructera where everyone is made of creamed coffee. They settled down in Port Syrup and live very comfortably. 

Kristen is actually Fructerian and living in a religious city just past the border of Candia. She’s made of honey roasted apple pie (apple-bees?) and is in Candia as a bulbian missionary hoping to spread the faith to these non-believers. It’s her first time out of her home and she is READY to spread the gospel!

Adiane is made of icing and whipped cream. She’s from a highborn family close to Ceresia and her parents happen to be close to one Lord and Lady Cruller. While still being shitty, awful, usurping people, her family still practices magic from a private library of historical Candian tomes they refuse to share with the public. 

Gorgug, adopted by two candy heart parents in Dulcington, is a vegetainan pumpkin boy! Somedays he’s not sure what sets him apart more, him being over 6 ft tall or the fact that he’s the first plant-based person most of the townfolk have ever seen. He works as a stable-boy (for meeps!) in Castle Candy.

Fig (not actually a fig, I know), is red-hot tamale candy! After realizing that her yogurt father, Gilear, may not be her real dad, she is trying to break away from her Mother, Sandralynn, who works under the Queen’s Guard, Sir Amanda Maylard, so that she can go find her real family in the great stone candy mountains.

They all meet during the official post-war coronation of Queen Saccharina Frostwhip of House Rocks. Riz goes there searching for the legendary Sir Amanda Maylard whose expertise in tracking have proven her invaluable to Candia. Seeking to become her apprentice, he sneaks his way into the coronation to find a moment to talk with her.

Fabian is there with both his parents (officially invited as his father had a few friendly encounters with one Amethar Rocks during the Ravening War) and sits with their family friend, Manta-Ray Jack.

Kristen in there with a few other bulb officials. They’re not technically invited but they were hoping that their presence could steer some of the Candian heathens in the right direction.

Seeing as no one can prove the the Abernants involvement with Lord Cruller’s coup (even if they were exceptionally compliant with his reign), the whole family attends with young Adiane in tow who is feeling EXTREMELY uncomfortable attending the festivals and parties being thrown in the queen’s honor.

Gorgug and his parents take place in the festivities as does the rest of Dulcington and somehow gets lost and sort of makes his way into the castle?

Lastly, Fig is there because her boring-ass mom has to attend the coronation and so she going to drag fig over there in a stupid dress and a stupid hairdo even though Fig told her a thousand times that she didn’t want to go. Honestly, Fig is just hoping she can steal a meep from the stables and make her way towards the candy mountains.

They all meet after the coronation when the Seacasters and the Abernants are receiving tours of Castle Candy. Fabian peer pressures Adiane into sneaking away so that they can explore the Castle on their own (Adine only agreed because Aelwyn was being particularly unbearable and Fabian only asked so her as recon for flirting with her sister). It’s just when they stumble upon the training grounds when they find one Sir Amanda Maylard escorting a (small?) trespasser out of the grounds. Riz is trying to explain his value as a squire and apprentice but to no avail. As luck would have it, Sir Amanda doesn’t finish escorting him out of the grounds because all havoc breaks loose when some candian villager breaks into the stables to steal a meep and some vegetainian boy has to wrestle her off of it???

Fig, Adaine, Fabian, Gorgug, and Riz meet when they are all adequately being punished for their respective crimes. While Sir Amanda holds them, waiting for their parents to give them even more berating, Kristen Applebees tries to make her introduction, hoping that her good influence can show them the light of the bulb.

Even MORE shenanigans ensue thanks to Fabian’s peer pressuring as they all escape Sir Amanda Maylard and manage to make it out of the castle with some fancy new magic relics retrieved from the Ice Cream temple by Queen Saccharina just months ago.

The all quickly become great friends after running into a man who claims himself to an arch-mage of the sweetening path and a lover to Joren Rocks, a man named Arthur Augefort. He tells them of untold fortunes that lie in the Great Stone Candy mountains and seeing as they all have vested interests in magic, escaping their shitty family, adventure, and Gorgug just kinda agreeing, they head north on the Sucrosi Road.

The go on adventures, blah, blah, blah. After discovering new magics  in north Candia, the bad kids sail across the dairy sea to a pirate island called Leviathan, somehow make into the Meatlands where they meet some friendly people named Jawbone and Tracker, then they head to Vegetainia where they fight off an extremist group of Bulbians callled the Harvestmen, and somewhere along the way kill Adiane’s dad.

[gideonthefirst]

It Wasn’t Paradise

Aelwyn Abernant ballet study, 2k, read here

Aelwyn Abernant is mostly fine, these days. She lives in Mordred Manor, with her younger sister and Jawbone and a hundred other people, it feels like, sometimes, and she talks about her feelings when she absolutely has to and she doesn’t go to school and she even sleeps through the night, on good days. Mostly fine.

So, she says yes when Jawbone offers to go with her to the old Abernant home to collect any of the things she misses and can’t replace. Jawbone doesn’t ask what those things could be, and, if she were honest with him, which she sometimes is, these days, she doesn’t know. She asks him to stay outside, and she doesn’t know what she’s looking for as she climbs the empty stairs and walks down the empty hall and opens the door to her empty room.

It’s exactly as she left it, she thinks. She’s not quite sure. Memories are fuzzy. But the bed is made and the desk is clean, a stack of textbooks on one side and a smaller stack of paper on the other. She doesn’t need any of that. Her magic has been stronger than what was in her books for a long, long time, and she never wrote anything important down if she could help it. Used to be, she could just remember anything she needed to remember.

Inspired partially by @sofhtie‘s comic, I forgot the Abernant house burned down until 2/3 of the way through leave me alone, finish reading here