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#i was NOT EXPECTING it to be fabian and aelwyn until it was on the page but here we are
heliza24 · 2 months
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Wow, so much happened and got set up in that episode! I really liked how layers and stakes were added to each PC’s conflict, in a way that made them more complicated than we could have predicted after last week’s ep. There was really an unexpected twist for each character. Adaine’s economic conflict (and by extension, conflict around whether she trusts Aelwyn or Jawbone or neither to help) now has huge consequences for her grades, which she values highly and seemed like a thing that would never be in question. Fig now has an artistic rival, who is challenging her cool kid status and confidence. We knew she had academic trouble, but her standing as a rockstar didn’t seem in doubt— but now it is. We anticipated that Fabian would be dealing with some degree of neglect, but that he would take advantage of his empty house to party (and to maybe get some kisses in, his new crush is so cute) until his teacher specifically tells him that won’t be allowed. We anticipated Gorgug having difficulty balancing his majors, but we didn’t expect him to be barred from multiclassing at all, and possibly being forced to pick between the class gifted to him by his biological versus adopted parents. We knew Riz was going to be stressed about keeping the group together, but we didn’t know he was going to be handed a whole rival adventuring party in the form of the Rat Grinders, and that conversation with Jawbone once again highlighted how much he is refusing to be vulnerable about how difficult this year is really going to be. We knew that Kristen needed to get her academics and relationship with Cassandra sorted, but we (or at least I!) didn’t expect to see her parents and to have her brother back in her orbit at school. (I really loved that scene.)
And of course the biggest surprise, for us and the PCs I would imagine— Kalina is back! I am *fascinated* by this choice. I think it’s another example of Brennan bucking the traditional adventure story format- once you defeat a villain they’re supposed to stay dead. So I’m really interested in how he’s going to weave her in to this story. What’s her purpose when she’s no longer a big bad?
I do really like how all of the conflicts connect both the PC’s home life and school life, and raise questions about their blood and chosen families. I think the most challenging thing about this season— especially if no big bad, driving quest emerges— will be making the whole thing feel thematically cohesive. Even if each of the bad kids are on their own arc, I want to feel like their stories complement and illuminate each other. That feels like a pretty big challenge with all that’s being set up, but I think they can definitely pull it off. I’m excited to see what unfolds next!
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creacherkeeper · 3 years
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tunnel vision
fantasy high sophomore year spoilers
fabian and aelwyn brotp. light angst & h/c. barbarian!aelwyn. 3k
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The ferocity in Aelwyn’s attack came as more of a surprise than it should’ve. Things got heated sometimes. ‘Friendly dueling’ turned into something closer to ‘competitive distractions via inappropriate comments while trying way too hard to get a leg up’. This was, of course, milder when Cathilda or Hallariel was training them. But Fabian and Aelwyn were nothing if not prideful (were nothing if not trying to hide the fact that something much softer and more fragile had taken root where their pride used to be) so a slash that was a little too quick or a jab that was a little too fierce shouldn’t have been anything of a surprise.
This, however, was different.
Afterwards, Fabian would think on how Aelwyn’s face went cold. How her expression hardened, eyes glazed in overwhelming focus. The playful comments were lost in favor of sharp, too-quick breathing.
His senses—his fighter senses, which he had almost lost only months ago—told him that something was wrong. Unfortunately for the both of them, that tended to happen a lot. When Jawbone would talk to him, sitting in the overstuffed thrifted chairs in the counselor’s office at school, he’d say words like hypervigilance, trigger, PTSD, and Fabian would nod along until the sweet ring of the bell would pull him away, back to the noise and the chaos of the rest of his life like a great ship in the choppy sea. He felt, in many ways, calmer in the storm. When someone would pull him onto the steady land, he could feel the tilt and roil of his senses.
It was a delicate balance, picking when to listen. Sometimes his fighter senses would say danger right now danger danger and it was merely because someone at the table behind him had brought sushi for lunch. Sometimes, like right then, with the sharp blades singing between them, it was because his brain recognized someone on a rampage and knew that it was no longer just a playful duel between friends (exes? his brain asked. friends, he said back).
“Aelwyn.”
read on ao3
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guyramsayfieri · 3 years
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Fantasy High School Musical AU? Obviously Fabian is the sports kid who trips into singing and acting in musicals. There’s little conflict with Bill, who supports his son in everything, it’s simply Fabian thinking those expectations are there. Fig vibes most with Kelsey, I think. She’s got the music in the shows arranged and orchestrated to fit the crew she has. Penelope is Sharpay but Ragh is Ryan, who works against Penelope in the sequels, when the Bad Kids help him come out. Gorgug is the Chad character, wondering why in the hell his captain is changing his thing, but willing to vibe with it once he has a chance to play with Fig in the orchestra. Kristen and Riz fall into being their own characters: Kristen and Fig and Ragh discover their sexualities together, while Riz is an ear for Adaine to have on her side. They’ve both got solos during “stick to the status quo” and are either on the stage crew or in the orchestra.
And I think Adaine is the obvious Gabriela, the nerd who has panic attacks right before she gets on stage but leaps over that hurdle once she has people she trusts around her. Aelwyn is actually the Monique - the Abernants were a split family for a bit, until Adaine and her mom moved to be with Aelwyn and her dad - Aelwyn knows the kind of pressure put on Adaine to be an intelligent scientist (just like mom and dad) and is willing to sabotage her sisters musical ‘career’ to protect her from the fallout.
Whether it’s romantic or not, I think Adaine and Fabian would have a great dynamic discovering their chemistry and unpacking their family’s expectations for and pressures on them.
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rubyofhouserocks · 4 years
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sundays, starlight, and other small magics (4/?)
Fic Summary: At age two, Aelwyn learned how to say the incantation required to cast the Light cantrip. At two and a half, she learned how to say her little sister’s name. At seventeen, she’s still learning how to say she’s sorry.
part i is here || ao3 link here
part iv
It’s about a month into her stay at the manor, now, and Aelwyn makes a habit of disappearing into the background. She’s trying her damnedest to become just another spectre haunting the winding halls of the house, to be another ghost lingering imperceptibly near the dominion of the living. If she treads lightly enough, she hopes, then maybe she won’t kick up the light film of dust that’s starting to settle on her history.
Tracker doesn’t even look at her twice anymore, eyes settling on Aelwyn only long enough to register her presence and then sliding away, back to Kristen or Jawbone or someone else who actually deserves her attention. It helps Aelwyn breathe a little more easily, but she’s miles away from any kind of sense of belonging; she’s pretty sure her presence is an acceptable inconvenience at best. She knows that her feeling of displacement is only exacerbated by her inability (unwillingness) to connect with her housemates, her conversations with them largely limited to pleasant banalities. Rectifying that problem seems a herculean task, however, when Aelwyn knows how off-putting most people find her genuine personality. It’s safer, she thinks, if she sticks to discussing the weather over the dinner table.
Still, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t efforts to include her.
“We’re about to watch a movie,” Jawbone says, standing in her doorway. Aelwyn already knew this information—it’s Sunday, and movie night is a Sunday tradition in Mordred Manor. Everyone usually piles onto the couch at first, but slowly they devolve into a giggling, squirming pile of entangled limbs on the floor that somewhat resembles a gibbering mouther. Rarely does the movie actually get watched. Aelwyn never comes to movie night, but Jawbone always takes care to invite her, looking so sincere that Aelwyn feels a pang in her chest. “We’d really like it if you’d join us.”
She’s about to respond, her mouth open to tell him I’m okay, or I’m a little busy reading, but maybe next time, or please just stop trying, when Jawbone cuts her off.
“It would mean a lot to Adaine,” and, well, Aelwyn is barely treading water through her guilt as it is. She just swallows and nods mutely, silently following Jawbone down the winding hallways to the living room like a woman walking toward her own execution. It’s going to be miserable—she knows it is—but she owes it to Adaine to try to be the sister Adaine asked her to be.
When she actually reaches the living room, however, it’s so much worse than Aelwyn imagined. Her heart rockets up to her throat, panic tightening her chest in a way more characteristic of Adaine than herself, because she is looking at a minefield of volatile seating possibilities.
Adaine is already sandwiched between Riz and Ragh on the couch, because all of the Bad Kids and their assorted sidekicks are here. All of the Bad Kids who Aelwyn either tried to kill personally, or otherwise almost killed through her actions.
Fuck.
She’s weighing the merits of sitting next to Fabian (who doesn’t hate her, but. Well.) against the more appealing option of just bolting out of the room when Adaine nudges Fig, who is already sitting on the floor in front of her, with her foot. Fig scoots over, and there is suddenly space on the nest of blankets directly in front of Adaine’s spot on the couch.
“Sit here,” Adaine says, eyes hard and determined like she fully expects Aelwyn to say no. Like she hasn’t—not to be dramatic—just saved Aelwyn’s life by making the decision for her.
“Sure,” Aelwyn says, and folds her legs delicately under herself on the duvet. She rests her back against the couch and tries to take deep breaths without anyone else noticing, mouth barely open as she tries to gulp in air to calm herself down.
Jawbone, meanwhile, beams at the full house and curls up in the cozy armchair he’s sharing with Sandra Lynn (despite it being far too small for two people). He pulls up Fantasy Netflix and selects something, probably a movie that the group chose earlier that Aelwyn lost her opportunity to vote on. She resigns herself to two hours of being unable to pay attention to the movie. Really, she doubts she will be able to pay attention to anything other than her own body. She feels too big for the space she’s in, feels gangly and awkward when her elbow brushes against Fig’s, or when Adaine’s bouncing right leg brushes against her shoulder.
She’s wondering how long she has to wait until a bathroom break would be a believable excuse to escape for a minute, or how many times she can get up for a drink or a snack without arousing suspicion. Oh God, what if this is the kind of movie where she’s expected to make fun of it, and she’ll have nothing to say, and—
and Aelwyn feels hands in her hair. She jumps out of her skin at the contact, trying to pull away until she hears Adaine say, “calm down, dude, I’m just gonna braid it.”
The hands continue moving in her hair and Aelwyn forces herself to sit still, even though she’s sure Adaine can feel the way tension is knotting up her shoulders. It’s a nice gesture, after all. A sisterly gesture. Aelwyn owes it to Adaine to be patient and accept this for what it is, however ill at ease she may be.
Soon enough, though, Aelwyn feels herself relax at the sensation of blunt nails running over her scalp. It’s tender in a way she isn’t used to, and that alone makes her uncomfortable, but it’s also…nice, in a strange way. No one has ever done this for her before, and there’s something in the repetitive motion that feels like being cared for. Once Adaine reaches the ends of Aelwyn’s hair (which took a while, Aelwyn guesses, but it didn’t seem like it), she takes the hair tie that’s holding her own ponytail up and uses it to secure her work.
“Can you pause it?” Adaine asks to the group at large as she smooths her hands down the sides of Aelwyn’s head. “I have to use the bathroom.”
“Of course!” Jawbone says, grinning the way he always does, “I could use a snack break myself.”
When she comes back, Adaine says, “let’s switch places, and you can do my hair.”
Adaine moves to sit on the floor, and Aelwyn’s hands shake a little as she realizes that she’s only ever braided her own hair, that she isn’t quite sure how to replicate the motions on another person’s scalp. But she isn’t going to deny Adaine this moment, so she nestles herself on the couch between Riz and Ragh. She carefully angles her body so as to minimize any contact with them and tries her best to do to Adaine what she does to her own hair.
“Ouch!” Adaine yelps immediately, leaning forward out of Aelwyn’s reach. “Pull a little harder, why don’t you?”
“Sorry,” Aelwyn says, but she has to smother a snort at Adaine’s indignation. She must not do a great job, because Adaine slaps her leg lightly.
“Whatever, just make me beautiful without the sadism, please.” Aelwyn can’t see Adaine roll her eyes, but she knows it must be happening as Adaine relaxes back against the couch.
“Aye, aye, captain.”
It doesn’t go great, but she does, technically, braid Adaine’s hair. She’s much more careful with the force she uses, trying her best to be gentle with her sister’s head. It leads to a loose, messy final product, which isn’t particularly stylish and probably is not the look that Adaine was hoping for. In any case, though, she doesn’t complain about Aelwyn’s too-harsh hands a second time, and the room is dark enough that Aelwyn’s handiwork isn’t really visible to anyone but Aelwyn.
“All right, thank you,” Adaine says as Aelwyn takes a hair tie from her wrist to hold the braid. Then, she looks sternly up at Aelwyn. “Now gimme my spot back.”
“You think I’m going back to the hardwood? As if,” Aelwyn scoffs as she relaxes into the cushions. Something in her chest unwinds when she realizes that it came out the way it was supposed to, light and teasing and silly. She realizes, too, that at some point she stopped being so aware of her limbs in relation to the boys on either side of her, her knee now casually resting against Ragh’s thigh.
“Fine,” Adaine shrugs. “If that’s how you want to play it,” and she proceeds to lie down on top of Riz, Aelwyn, and Ragh. Riz squawks and almost fumbles the bowl of popcorn he’s holding; Ragh just laughs and starts petting Adaine’s head. Aelwyn goes silent with shock, initially, but at Ragh’s cue, she starts laughing too.
It’s not particularly comfortable, but Aelwyn finds herself enjoying the second half of the film. After the credits roll and the yawning teenagers stumble off to find places to sleep, she finds herself thinking, maybe I could do this again.
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jq37 · 4 years
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The Report Card – Fantasy High Sophomore Year Ep 19
The Ties That Bind
The penultimate Fantasy High: Sophomore Year episode is upon us and not a moment too soon. Seems a little counter-intuitive to seek comfort from these objectively wild current events we’re experiencing from a fictional Nightmare Forest but we know what we’re about so let’s jump back in and start with the death of a beloved main character.
Yay.
Rewinding back to two episodes ago, last we saw Kristen, she got stabbed through by a skeletal unicorn and died. We pick back up there and, as she’s dying, she feels a sense of pain, betrayal, and anger--very similar emotions to what Brennan told her the goddess was feeling with her Nat 20 Religion Check. Kristen gets a vision of the goddess being destroyed in cracks of lightning by her own followers--the same vision Fig saw in the dream scrying pool when she scry-ed on Kristen last week--and then she wakes up on the chapel floor.
She’s not...dead exactly. But she’s not super alive either. She’s bleeding, but more oozing blood than the normal mechanical way of bleeding out because her heart isn’t beating. There’s a hole in her chest and, within it, her heart is crushed. Her skin is pale because the blood isn’t pumping through it properly anymore. Her breathing isn’t regular. And a piece of her finger tip (the piece taken by her friends for a possible Revivify) is missing.
She sees evidence of her friends having been in the room--footprints and the smashed wall--and to place this in the timeline, she can’t remember Fabian right now. When she checks her crystal, she sees it’s been 90 minutes since they walked into the forest. She does Cure Wounds on herself to stop the blood from dripping. Then she heads out towards the forest, passing the Oracular Pool Fig used in the last episode as she goes. She stops as she sees it and something in her heart glows with golden light. When she looks into the pool, she sees the sun reflected in the pool (and also Fig’s boot prints leading up to it). That’s weird because it is super not a Sol/Helio aligned Chapel/Area they’re in. She also sees the moon reflected and she feels like she’s being called in. It doesn’t necessarily feel safe but it feels like she might get some answers and also she already died today so how much worse can it get? She dives in and come up and when she does, she’s suddenly in the outer planes. Specifically, she’s in Elysium which is like the Neutral Good heaven. She hears a voice that she mistakes for her dad’s because of the major dad energy she’s getting from it: You can come home.
As she walks, she finds herself--as Kristen weirdly often does for some reason--in the presence of gods. Specifically, Sol (god of the Sun) and Galakaya (goddess of the Moon and his sister as we find out). Helio is also there, like the screw-up son of a CEO, hanging out in his office. Both of them are good gods but not neutral good so Kristen gets the sense that they brought her here to have a neutral place to talk to her. 
Kristen is hilariously nonplussed by being personally Uber-d to heaven by arguably the biggest gods in the pantheon and when she is asked to take a walk with Helio so she can get some important information, she’s like, “Nooooo, can literally anyone else do it?” Galakaya agrees to do it instead. 
They take a lap and she asks about Tracker. Galakaya says that Tracker isn’t dead but she’s in major danger. Then, she changes the subject. Has Kristen ever wondered where her spells have been coming from when she’s been between gods? Because, as Galakaya says, doubt is nothing. She reveals that even though Kristen rejected him, Helio has been providing Kristen spells this entire time. He sent the philosophers and the grad students to be her spirit guardians. Kristen rejected him but not the light. Galakaya likens it to a child running away from home to the front yard. Kristen isn’t too far gone. She can still come back to the fold. And, if she doesn’t want to be Helio’s champion, she can be hers instead and become a Moon Cleric, which would still be keeping it in the family. But that’s the problem Kristen has with it. Helio to Galakaya? It seems like more of the same--especially the way she’s been acting, like she would fit right in at a brunch table with Arianwyn and Anguin. Except, when Tracker comes up, Kristen notices she gets a little snarly, almost like a tic she’s trying to keep under control. 
Kristen asks for her pitch, and it’s basically the same deal she was getting with Helio but with different window dressing. The Moon, sisterhood, and unquestioning obedience. Galakaya can’t see into Sylvere to check on Tracker like Kristen asks but if she had a Champion, say Kristen, she could send her all kitted up with new powers. She says she wants the Nightmare King dead more than anyone seeing as the Nightmare King killed her baby sister (the Mystery Goddess). She calls her baby sister sweet and sometimes confused, seeing as she thought destroying her name would make her more powerful. But Kristen knows that’s not what happened. It was her followers who destroyed her name as she desperately warned them not to. Some chicanery is going on.
She says she will take the job as Galakaya’s champion and when she makes like she’s going to pray to her to seal the deal, she instead reaches out to the mystery goddess again. The golden light in her chest disappears and is replaced with cool shadow. She feels shock from the goddess, that Kristen would still choose to reach out to her after she died at her hand. The goddess says, emotionally, “I’m sorry, I’m just so scar--” But, before she can finish the word, Galakaya grabs Kristen by the shoulder and snaps her out of it, face snarling and wolfed out. After a second, she composes herself and seems almost embarrassed that Kristen saw that, which makes Kristen realize what’s going on with her. Tracker is a cleric of Galakaya, but knowing Tracker, she wouldn’t worship someone so reeking of high elven prim and proper-ness. And she also knows what the number one rule of godhood is: As above, so below. Galakaya has basically been claimed as a high elven goddess. Which means that the vast majority of her followers aren’t like Tracker. They’re snooty high elves. Which means so is she and her wolf part is still there, but it’s buried and distasteful to her now. 
Which, coincidentally, is how Kristen feels about this entire godly family. She “respectfully declines” both of their offers. And by “respectfully declines” I mean she socks Helio in the face and makes a run for it. Sol, full of rage, says, “I told you that kid was trash! Now get her!” The philosophers on Sol’s payroll look at each other and instead mob him (why is the literal sun god so easy to 1v1?) and help Kristen escape. As she does, Helio calls out after Kristen something she kind of already sensed upon arriving in Elysium. Most people are a soul in a body. But Kristen, at the moment, is a soul *as* a body. If she dies again, with no god to intercede for her, she’s dead-dead. No afterlife. But that’s not enough to make her stay. She keeps running and makes it to the pool. For the first time, she feels herself fully cut off from her spells. 
Back in the cave in Sylvere, Kristen chats with the Philosophers. They tell her they were working for Sol so they couldn’t tell her what the deal was but they were always rooting for her. One of the philosophers quotes her own words back to her: Doubt can’t be a belief but it can be a practice. And as she says this, she turns Kristen’s Shepherd's Crook cool and metallic and turns it into a question mark. She can’t hold doubt in her heart but she can hold it in her hand (stats for the Staff of Doubt below; also what a sick line from Brennan).
She knows that to get to the center of the forest where she needs to be, she has to follow her fear, so she goes in the direction she doesn’t expect to find Tracker. 
Shifting gears, we find Gorgug and Fabian at the mouth of the cave (and no longer high on duskmoss) in their floating rock island surrounded by the others. They see that there are other openings and decide to check them to see if they can find any of their friends. They spend a good two hours, tied together and climbing this rock face which is some extremely solid male bonding. When they reach the cave they were aiming for, they find Baxter, riddled with arrows they know to be Sandra-Lynn’s. He’s dying but not dead. I am outraged at Brennan until I learn a fact that I don’t think has come up until now: Artificers get spell slots. Which means that Gorgug has Cure Wounds. He only cures him for 3 points but that’s enough to stabilize him at least so we can all stop sharpening the pitchforks. However, Baxter is clearly dejected and confused. He has no idea why Sandra-Lynn would suddenly turn on him. So maybe the pitchforks are still called for.
They want to leave Baxter in the cave so he can rest up but, on a 1 Animal Handling, Baxter absolutely demands to follow them. It’s faster than climbing at least. They do so.
And we switch again, this time to the Abernants. 
Adaine is still trapped in a prison orb and barred from doing most of her spells. She can, however, do the Message cantrip and Aelwyn is still in the room along with Anguin. She Messages Aelwyn and asks, What’s going on? Why is she working with their parents still? Aelwyn replies that she doesn’t like her parents but she does love them. Doesn’t Adaine? “They don’t love me,” Adaine shoots back. Aelwyn parrots back ideology that she’s clearly learned from her parents: Love has to be earned. What value does something that hasn’t been earned have? Adaine, fresh off of therapy and with full knowledge of Aelwyn’s broken psyche, fully calls her out. She is so closed off to love, to everything that abjuration is her school of magic. Aelwyn tries to wave her off but Adaine, very seriously, says, “I don’t love our parents but despite the fact that you have not earned it, I do love you.” Aelwyn fully dissociates (and I’m not far behind). 
Adaine notices that Anguin is readying some kind of Sending spell and that he’s wearing a sword that he usually doesn’t have. He tells Aelwyn to ransack her sister’s brain for the info they need from her while he prepares her punishment. Aelwyn, clearly in a slight panic, tries to (not at all) casually persuade Anguin to just leave Adaine in the orb, unharmed, when they are done with her. She tries to do it in a, “This isn’t worth our time,” kind of way but betrays herself when she blurts out, “She’s a baby!” Anguin raises a hand at her and she flinches, apologetically casting Detect Thoughts on Adaine who has already (via Message) said she’d support her no matter what she did. 
Enter, Adaine’s Mindscape: A series of interconnected rooms--and her Aelwyn’s rooms--repeated over and over. Adaine has her surface thoughts be all of her memories of Aelwyn *almost* being nice to her and then pulling back at the last second for fear of her parents. Aelwyn doesn’t press deeper than these thoughts and says that if Adaine’s goal was to humiliate her then she’s done so. But that’s not what Adaine wants. She wants to rebuild their relationship. They’re gonna be sisters for the rest of their quasi-immortal lives. These memories suck but they can make new ones.
And then, through a window, Aelwyn sees another memory. The memory of herself in the hot-tub post Calethriel Tower rescue mission. She doesn’t remember this because of the events in the memory itself. Adaine went into her mind and, at her written instructions, reboot her memory and personality. They’re able to Inception themselves into Adaine’s memory of Aelwyn’s mind and they walk through it. Aelwyn is confronted with the knowledge that this is how she is and that Adaine knows this. Siobhan, from her sniper perch, gets the kill order from Brennan to take the shot directly into my chest.
“Would you be my big sister? I would really, really love to have you as a big sister.”
So now it’s both Kristen and me who have crushed hearts this episode. 
Aelwyn fully loses concentration on the spell and snaps out of it. When Anguin asks for the information, she, on full glassy-eyed autopilot, says she didn’t find it. Anguin decides to go for the nuclear option, readying a bolt of magic to throw at Adaine. “Prepare to be better, dear, sweet daughter.”
The magic races at her, ready to do something Stepford-ian to her mind I’m sure, but, suddenly, Aelwyn steps forward, still out of it but following her true, deeply buried but natural protective instincts. Protective magic covers Adaine and the spell is Counterspelled. 
Adaine quickly dispels her orb but then it’s Anguin’s turn and he goes for Aelwyn. Adaine attempts to return the favor she has just been given and Counterspells but Anguin Counterspells her Counterspell and Lightning Bolts Aelwyn. The second before she’s hit, Aelwyn looks at Adaine and says, “I’m sorry”. She goes down. 
Adaine’s turn.
And, if you recall, Adaine just received two boons: A bonus to her Strength score and a little spell called Adaine’s Furious Fists. 
And, my dude, if Adaine has ever been furious in her life, it’s now. 
5th Level. And it’s a strength saving throw but, just to be certain of her success, Adaine gives her undoubtedly weak father her 4 Portent roll. That’s 10d10 damage.
77 points of damage.
She charges forward at Anguin.
“Guess what bitch? I’m strong now.”     
And she full Dragon Ball Z energy punches her dad, dealing more than double his max HP. You know what that means? Ding Dong the bitch is FULLY DEAD. 
Deed done, she rushes to Aelwyn’s side and gives her her 11 portent roll for her first death save (super clutch use of a mediocre portent). Then, on an 18 Medicine check, stabilizes her without the need for any more checks. Aelwyn is immediately weepy about how she doesn’t deserve the kindness she’s being shown. Adaine, again, gently says that love isn’t about deserving or not deserving, though she definitely doesn’t deserve the crappy situation she’s in right now. And, maybe when this is over, she can exchange her bed for a bunk bed and Aelwyn can move in? If Aelwyn wasn’t crying before, she super is now, and spilling her guts. She’s the one who sank she ship the previous elven oracle was on, she worked for Kalvaxus and Kalina--things Adaine is willing to attribute to being under the thumb of evil, abusive people but that Aelwyn seems desperate to atone for. She gives Adaine an important piece of information for their mission: In the past, heroes going after the Nightmare King have failed because they failed to undo all five curses. They need to make sure they do that.
Adaine gives Aelwyn the tincture she has on her, freeing her from Kalina’s influence, and then Aelwyn gives her one more piece of information before she slips into unconsciousness. Before Aelwyn had the previous Oracle killed, she was sure that Adaine was going to be the next Oracle and she told Kalvaxus that. Why was she sure? Because the elf that becomes the next Oracle is always the most skilled Diviner alive at the time.
“I love you too,” Adaine replies.
Then she nicks the dope sword (and 30 gp) off her dad’s corpse, leaves Aelwyn there to rest, and goes to find her friends.
And, speaking of, let’s pop over to see how Riz and Fig are doing.   
In a word, bad.
They’re still tied up and cornered by the skeletal unicorn who says they’re captured and soon their friends will be too. Nightmare Fig shows up with Baby (who is shortly tied up as well) and reveals herself to actually be this many-armed, snake-woman demon. A whole army of demons show up, ready to start wrecking house as soon as they’re ordered to. 
Fig wants to try and use her lighter to set her bonds on fire and Riz wants to use his spy-watch to laser her bonds off. They both fail but Riz notices they’re not being stopped from trying. It’s like the demons want them to escape so they have an excuse to chase and kill them. He also notices a jiggling from his briefcase.
At the same time, Fig gets a Sending from Bill saying he just hawked all of Gorthalx’s stuff, including the six suits of magic armor. But, wait a minute. There were seven suits. On a Nat 1, she thinks Bill is screwing her over.
But then.
All of a sudden. 
Riz’s briefcase of holding springs open and out pops a figure in gleaming gold Pride Armor. The armored figure, holding a brilliantly gold halberd, cleaves through some demons and the raises his visor showing that it’s none other than the chosen one himself--GILEAR! You see, the Deadly Sin armor feeds on its respective sin in the user and consumes them, but, as Gilear puts it, he has no pride. 
He absolutely wrecks house, killing demon after demon. Riz records it on his tie-camera for posterity. Gorgug and Fabian on Baxter see the commotion and fly down, seeing the tail end of the fight. Gilear kills the last of the demons then gets spit out of the armor like it’s an Iron Man suit, fully dead. Again. He may have had no pride when he put the armor on but watching himself kick ass have him just enough to be fatal.
Fig gets free from her bindings and, on a 27 with Bardic from Fabian, beats the 25 DC she needs to make an illusory diamond (which turns into a real one) of high enough quality to cast Revivify. She does so, after a heartfelt statement about being proud to be like him and a sick lick on her bass.
Gilear comes back up and we learn that he’d been hiding in RIz’s briefcase with the armor since they sent him away because it was the only way he could think of to be useful to them and protect Fig. Fabian and Riz (along with the audience) also unfortunately learn that Gilear is hung like a horse when they fail their saves to look away quickly enough. 
Adaine rushes in with her new sword and the information that she killed her dad which everyone congratulates her for. She then ritual casts Identify on the sword. Aelwyn told her earlier that it’s the sword that belongs to whoever the current Oracle is and she also learns it’s called the Sword of Sight, it can be used as an arcane focus, and was made by Fabian’s Grandad (full stats below). 
Riz gets the footage from his tie onto his crystal and posts it on Fig’s account which has got to be the wildest social media account on Magic Facebook.
The Bad Kids are mainly reunited, but let’s get back to the final missing member. 
Kristen, alone in the woods, starts using her blood to draw a picture of the Mystery goddess. She hears a creepy voice say, “Be careful what you give a face,” and some other ominous stuff. But Kristen ignores it as she lies prostrate in front of her drawing because she understands something extremely important. 
As above, so below.
Galakaya is worshiped primarily by stuck up high elves, so she has become that.
If Kristen is now the only follower of the Mystery goddess and she says that she’s real and she’s good then as above, so below. The math checks out.
The bloody image changes to a beautiful woman’s face. The Mystery goddess. She says she only ever wanted to comfort her followers and tell them that the night itself was nothing to fear. Kristen sees flashes of the chained Court of Elders--the representatives of the five races who worshiped the Mystery Goddess and were convinced to destroy her name (ignoring her warnings not to). Among them are the unicorn and the decaying elf Adaine saw in her Scry. 
Fear of the NK breaks her out of the vision and she finds herself surrounded by Twilight (that she’s generating) with Tracker in front of her, fully wolfed out with a bloody muzzle. Tracker is going feral, all, “You’re so selfish, everything is always about you.” Something is going wrong with her. Now, good news/bad news:
Good News: Kristen is fully committed to this Mystery Goddess so she gets her spells back and she is now a Twilight Domain Cleric.
Bad News: She goes Invisible (eliciting a, “Why are you running? I knew you would leave me. Why won’t you accept me like I am?” from Tracker) and tries to cast Greater Restoration but all she needs is a 4 and she rolls a 3. Tragic. 
She finds that she is insubstantial still and is whisked away from a snarling and lamenting Tracker. As she is traveling, she sees the face of the Nightmare King who asks why she would follow a dead goddess whose path is just going to make her life harder. Kristen feels a pang of doubt and fear that she has just done exactly what her religious upbringing warned her against and put herself and her friends in grave danger for no reason by straying from the path, but then she has another classic Kristen-ism: Everyone is basic and wrong. She’d rather follow a goddess who is like, “Hey y’all, I also don’t have it all figured out but I will for sure do all I can to help you navigate it,” than a god who demands unquestioning faith and loyalty. And with that, she finds herself floating above her friends.
She feels the pull of her missing finger bone in Adaine’s pocket and she feels like it might be impossible for her to fully, properly, come back but on the other hand, she’s died like three times at this point. What does impossible even mean? She gets the sense that she can cast Raise Dead on herself and she does so. 
Welcome back to the Bad Kids, St. Kristen Applebees of [REDACTED], halo aglow, newly reattached finger shedding a bit of light.
(“That’s hot for being gay,” Ally says about Kristen’s new glow.)
Everyone hugs everyone and catches up everyone on everything. Kristen heals up Baxter for 20 HP and gets a +2 bump on her Intelligence mod for her ordeals in the forest. They all make a plan to get everyone in one place so Kristen can put some of her new AoE healing spells to use. Fig wants to go on Baxter to get Ayda. Adaine, bringing us full circle, invites Fabian on a rescue mission to get her sister. 
And we take a break. 
Deep breath y’all. 
Detention
Brennan for Cursing us With Knowledge About Gilear’s Penis
@allsevenmaidens put this very reasonable request in and I have to concur because what’s the alternative? Giving Anguin this spot AGAIN? Like, I don’t even want to give him the satisfaction of being the best of the worst. Adaine gave him the death penalty which is what he deserves and all he’s gonna get. 
So, Brennan gets this spot for forcing me to hear the words “Gilear” and “hung like a horse” in the same sentence.  
Honor Roll
Gilear for Kicking SERIOUS Ass
Listen, SO many Honor Roll-worthy moments happened this episode. Kristen’s Amazing As Above, So Below moment. Aelwyn finally stepping up to protect Adaine. Adaine absolutely obliterating Anguin in a single punch. 
But, at the end of the day, I have to give it to Gilear “Just a Guy” Faeth for cramming himself and a suit of cursed armor into a mostly airless briefcase out of desperate need to do whatever he could to help protect his daughter and her friends who are basically demigods. He truly is the Anti-Anguin and I’m so glad Riz got that on tape for posterity. Way to go man. 
Random Thoughts
I already wrote so many words and we have a five hour finale tomorrow so I’m going to try and keep this section brief. 
We’re staring down the barrel of the last episode (coming Friday at 8PM EST) and I want to say this now rather than later: thanks for reading these and leaving nice comments in the tags and stuff like that. I’m not always the most confident person and the support really means a lot.
We’re also staring down the barrel of a global crisis right now so, you know, be nice to yourself and escape through fiction when you need to, reach out to people, and eat a vegetable if you can. Read a 5000 word recap of an episode you presumably already watched. Whatever you need to do.
The Staff of Doubt has ten charges and can cast the following spells at the cost of the amount of charges listed: Detect Magic (1), Lesser Restoration (2), Dispel Magic (3), Banishment (4), Greater Restoration (5).
The Sword of Sight gives +1 to attack and damage rolls. It gives a base 12 AC which bumps Adaine’s to 15. It lets her cast Divination cantrips as bonus actions. She gets to take the Dodge action when she casts a Divination spell. And she gets no disadvantage on attacks on Invisible creatures (seems very useful against Kalina possibly).   
EDIT: I forgot to say! Gorgug saying very sincerely to Kristen, “I’m sorry I wasn’t there,” “there” being, “at her most recent death” broke me. 
Where in the World is Ragh Backrock? We have at least an approximate idea of where the rest of the hirelings are but nothing on Ragh. I’m concerned. His vision was asking Gorgug if he was his dad. Maybe it has something to do with that?
Very curious about what the mechanics of the final confrontation will be. What Aelwyn said seems like it could be setting up for some shenanigans. Plus, there are still all the hirelings to worry about.  
Another question, I feel like we still have almost no idea what’s going on with the NK. Half of me is almost expecting some kind of Te Fiti/Te Ka situation. On another day I might try to speculate and play detective but that’s not where I’m at today so I’m just gonna leave it at that.
I feel like Kristen is always negging deities to their faces. Like, girl. Her Axe/Dove metaphor was *chef’s kiss* though. Anyway, when (hopefully) Tracker is back to normal, I hope Kristen has a take that’s different than, “I met your goddess and she sucked.”
Kristen makes me feel bad for Helio. He’s just a surfer dude who likes corn, OK. He never did anything to her except give her magic! 
Didn’t have a good place to mention this earlier but Fig alerted Bill to their situation and location so if there’s a Bill Ex-Machina next ep, it’s not out of nowhere. 
(Also, just a small point of order, Gorgug did say he had a bone from Kristen last ep but so did Adaine. Doesn’t really matter but just wanted to explain the mismatch with my last recap). 
Making everyone roll a save to not see Gilear’s dick is so funny. As was Zac invoking danger sense to roll with advantage. 
“I cast Spare the Dying on Gilear’s Penis.”
“I am no man,” from LOTR but instead it’s Gilear saying, “I have no pride.”
“Drink deeply Gilear.”
Why is Kalina working for the NK? She’s supposed to be the Mystery Goddess’s familiar, right? Just another thing that doesn’t add up. Where’s that puzzle piece we’re missing?
The thought of Baxter being so confused and dejected and fatally injured, not understanding what he did so wrong to have his mistress riddle him with arrows makes me wanna throw down with Brennan IRL. Also, I’m Concerned about Sandra-Lynn.  
I need to say this on the record. Ally Beadsley does some bonkers things in D&D that I could not even begin to understand but that As Above So Below Gambit was Galaxy Brained. 
You knew this was coming. Abernant Time Bay-Bee (the abridged version because I need to get this out before Friday)!
First off, I am very happy to say that basically exactly what I predicted/hoped for in my last recap for this scene is what happened, with Anguin making Aelwyn cast Detect Thoughts on Adaine. And basically EVERYTHING I had on my Abernant Sisters Reconciliation checklist was checked. The Detect Thoughts. The pointing out that they’re gonna live for a long time and do they want to do it at each other's throats? Aelwyn finally stepping up to the plate and leaning into her Abjurative Instincts in a positive way and shielding Adaine from their father. And then the stuff that I wanted so bad but didn’t know it. The bunk beds moment? The “I love you too” moment. “She’s a baby!” I mean, “Will you be my big sister?” F off Siobhan. That was beautiful. 
A little concerned about Adaine having left Aelwyn unconscious so close to where their mom is but I am glad she remembered to cure her of Kalina. 
When Brennan said, “In Aelwyn’s last moment,” for a second I thought he meant she was about to be perma-dead and my heart legit stopped. 
I was up until about 2 AM last night, popping bottles with @camwritery (my Abernant Sisters confidant) about Brennan and Siobhan giving us everything we wanted and I’m going to get yelled at by her if I don’t mention something I said while we were talking. Last week, during the fireside chat, all of the players talked about what future lives/jobs they’d want for their characters. I posited the same question for Aelwyn and offered my answer--CPS Case Worker. Because, like, think about it. She is an extremely protective person. She wants to atone for what she did and failed to do for Adaine. When she gets all the therapy she needs, she’s going to be equipped with deep, personal knowledge of what abuse looks like/what it can do to a child and an extremely long lifespan. Can’t you see an adult Aelwyn, in the living room of a well appointed house, speaking cordially to some high class A-hole with his terrified kid sitting next to him, trying not to say anything or do anything that will get them punished and Aelwyn does a surface level Detect Thoughts at the same time so she can mentally kneel before the kid and tell them, “I’m on your side. You can be honest with me. I’m here to protect you. I promise. Don’t be scared.” This is all I want for her.   
This episode Fig rolled one Nat 1 and Gorgug rolled two but one was cancelled with advantage. No Nat 20s were rolled.    
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creacherkeeper · 3 years
Note
read ur pacific rim fh au and am LOSING it!! like the implications!! if you’re still doing the headcanon thing and okay w this, can i ask for more headcanons about that au? specifically are fig and kristen piloting together or doing other non combat roles? also jawbone piloting HELLO!! and god just. everything you said about the sisters.
OH I AM MORE THAN HAPPY TO OBLIGE
so jawbone was actually one of the original pilots, and the only one still in commission. he's definitely getting too old for it but he trusts in his abilities and overall wants to keep his niece, tracker, as safe as he can. also he doesn't want to leave the base because he thinks of all of the young pilots as his kids and they frequently come to him when they're having problems. the moonlit werewolf is the only mark-3 still fighting
among the other original pilots was sandra lynn. she and gorthalax piloted the demon ranger. fig was much closer to her (as she found out later) step father gilear (who acted as a government liaison for the jaeger program) than she was to sandra lynn growing up, due to her always being based elsewhere or out on missions. fig's world got shaken in her high school years when it came out that sandra lynn was having a long-time affair with her co-pilot, and she and gilear divorced. sandra lynn and gorthalax were benched. sandra lynn was kept on base as a consultant, but gorthalax ended up traveling to where fig was to try and explain himself and repair their relationship. while on a music tour several years later, mostly running away from her problems more than anything else, fig witnessed first hand a kaiju attack. she realized how important the job of pilot was, and applied to the program. aguefort accepted her right away
pok was one of the original minds behind the jaeger program. together with aguefort, he created the pons system that linked pilot's minds. people speculated that pok 'disappearing' was because of this. that either his research killed him, or someone else did because of it. riz only ever wanted to figure out his father's disappearance. becoming a pilot was just the easiest way to do it (at least in his eyes). he really didn't mean to start caring about all these people along the way
aguefort was the first jaeger pilot. it was said he had a partner, but no one knows who it could've been. there are rumors he piloted the chronophoenix all by himself. but those are just rumors. his daughter, ayda, won't speak on any of them. she doesn't really like talking about her father in general. though she certainly grew up with a knowledge of combat, knowledge of tactics, knowledge of jaegers and how to pilot them, she only ever meant to be a scholar. she studied kaiju and how they worked. she studied the oceans they came from. she studied the earth and how it changed. she was a scientist. she didn't count on meeting fig
fig's relationship with sandra lynn was incredibly strained when fig first got accepted as a pilot. sandra lynn never meant for fig to follow in her footsteps. the years of combat had gotten her fucked in the head enough, she didn't need to worry about her daughter too. when fig came back injured from her very first mission, her partner, penelope everpetal, dead before their medics could reach her, two things changed:
one: sandra lynn realized her daughter wouldn't be dissuaded, and that if she couldn't be a mom, she could be a teacher
two: ayda realized there were some things worth fighting for (fig was one of them. the biggest one she could think of)
fabian piloted like he had something to prove, because he did. his papa had made a name for himself. fabian would too. and if that meant killing kaiju for his father to harvest and sell on the black market, that's what he would do. he thought he'd be paired up with a guy like gorgug, maybe ragh, not some scrawny little nerd who knew more about the mechanics of the brain than how to throw a proper punch. the first time they drifted, he got it. he got why riz was there. and riz understood him, too. that was the thing about the drift. no secrets. they vowed to keep each others. when ragh threw riz into a trashcan their first day of practice, fabian broke his nose. the two of them were pretty close after that. and they eventually got chummy with ragh, too, after dayne was expelled from the program. ragh was moved to combat trainer. fabian and riz eventually came to pilot the gilded spyglass. it took time to master the balance between grace and force, strength and dexterity, damage and speed. but they found it. and they were unstoppable. almost.
gorgug never wanted to be a pilot. his parents were mechanics. that was the whole thing, really. you grow up around jaegers, you understand them, and you're good at it. even if you don't want to be. even if you wished you could have the brains and not the brawn. or be a medic, like kristen. kristen actually helped people. gorgug was big enough to throw a mean punch. some things changed when zelda came. she needed a co-pilot. the world needed heroes. gorgug never thought of himself as one, but he knew how to fight. and he knew he wanted to protect zelda. not that she needed it. but he wanted to. he wanted to if she would let him. the enormity of his decision didn't really hit him until they were facing their first kaiju. he understood jaegers. he didn't really want to understand monsters, too
kristen wasn't a pilot, and that was fine. she patched people up. when fabian and riz came back with electrical burns, she patched them up. when metal frenzy got a building to the face and gorgug and zelda both had concussions, she patched them up. when tracker came to the clinic with yet another random, minor, 'accidental' injury, kristen patched her up
when the storm oracle was pulled to the bottom of the ocean, and both adaine and aelwyn nearly drowned, kristen sat by their bedsides and did not leave for three days
it was what she did
and that was fine, for a while. but the kaiju kept coming. and people kept getting hurt. and kristen thought, for the first time, that maybe she was very tired of cleaning up messes. maybe she wanted to go out and make some of her own
the thing was that kristen was charismatic, in that awkward, foot-in-the-mouth, guard-down-around-them kind of a way. she talked to people. and she knew things. she got along with almost everyone, except for the people that she didn't. it was just ... no one expected her to be drift compatible
no one expected her to be drift compatible with ... literally everyone
she chose tracker, though. of course she chose tracker. who else? and jawbone deserved some rest, after all this time, even if he did refuse to leave the base. leave all his kids. they gave him a trauma counselor position, and he got ... close with sandra lynn. it was a little weird at first. it made sense, though. everyone admitted it made sense. and the de facto parents of the base didn't ruin everyone's fun too much. when there was fun to have, at least
and there wasn't always. there wasn't at the end. not with how many kaiju were coming through the breach
moonlit werewolf could close it. it was mark-3, after all. nuclear. no one thought kristen should be the one to do it. she was so new. she was a medic, for whoever the fuck's sake people were praying to now. but, it was kristen. she'd make the sacrifice play, if she had to. every time
gilded spyglass, metal frenzy, storm oracle, wizard's paramour, and moonlit werewolf touched down at the breach
and kristen, with a hole in her chest, was the last one to surface
they save her, though. of course they do. this is a happy story. and because it's a happy story, eventually there are no jaeger pilots. there are no jaegers. there are scientists and medics and teachers and musicians, and there are the bad kids, which they all say ironically, because they don't really feel like they ever got to be kids at all
there's time, after. there's a lot to rebuild. to fix. to figure out, in the aftermath. but they have time
for the first time in a long, good while, for most of their short and fragile lives, they feel like they have time
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creacherkeeper · 3 years
Note
ooh 16 or 19 (hand-holding) for fig and aelwyn?
only linking the pinkies together, not ready to let go completely
-
The backyard swing had been put up by Jawbone and Gorthalax the week prior. No one had spent less than an hour on it, swinging and laughing and spinning until the chains were tangled, like maybe the group of adventure-roughened teens that hung around Mordred Manor were no more than children delighting in a shiny new playground. Fig had gone the highest, much to Fabian’s dismay, who confidently deemed he could go higher—and did. He didn’t laugh so much after Ayda caught him mid-air, halfway across the yard to the treeline. The rest of them did. Adaine had been content to merely sway back and forth, a book in her lap, but a smile permanently etched on her face as she pretended to tune out the rest of their boisterous laughter.
Aelwyn hadn’t touched them. Everyone noticed, but no one mentioned it. They figured they’d give her time, give her space, and if she wanted to use them, she would. It wasn’t like it was important. They were just swings. Freeing and childlike.
Now, Fig watched her behind the sliding glass door. It was late, but the moon was lighting the yard and garden in a blanket of cool blue. Her pupils expanded in the soft reflection as her darkvision took over, drinking in the dim light.
Aelwyn kept a good distance away from the swings—a few yards, at least—with her body angled like she wasn’t really looking at them. A more casual observer might think she was looking at the woods. But her arms were crossed so tight, ears pinned backwards in displeasure. So, Fig knew. They’d spent enough time together in the long months since returning home. She knew what was troubling the older girl, and why.
The door squeaked as it slid open, and Aelwyn’s ear flicked even from across the yard. Crisping leaves crunched under Fig’s feet as she approached, taking note of her stiffening posture and straightened back.
“Hey,” Fig said, voice feeling too loud in the quiet night. “It’s cold out. I brought your cardigan.”
Peeking over her shoulder, Aelwyn stared at her. Light eyes flicked down to the thick, blue cardigan draped over Fig’s arm.
“I’m fine,” she said shortly.
“There’s goosebumps on your arms.”
“I was about to come inside anyway.”
Fig’s lips twisted. It was always a game with Aelwyn—like coaxing a puppy with treats when it knew it was going to the vet. You could tempt it all you wanted, the thing still had teeth. Fig, both metaphorically and any time she had dealt with an animal in her life, preferred getting bit to not trying.
“Well, I think I’m gonna swing a little bit, if you want to keep me company.”
Not bothering to watch Aelwyn’s expression, she turned away and walked to the far swing, leaving the closer one open for the other girl. She sat down with a huff of contentment and started pushing herself back and forth with her toes.
Aelwyn sighed. It was a short, angry sigh. An, “I’ll bite, don’t make me, I will” kind of sigh. Fig tilted her head up to the clouds and pretended not to notice.
When the silence stretched, and it was obvious Fig was not going to rise to the bait, Aelwyn spoke up.
“They’re stupid.”
“Hm?”
“The swings.”
Fig looked at her, continuing to rock back and forth with her hands wrapped around the chains. She shrugged, glancing around at the structure. “I like them. They did a good job. I thought there would be a lot more blood, to be honest. Had a healing spell prepped the whole time.”
Blue eyes glanced away—out at the woods, down at the ground. A frustrated expression had settled over her face.
“They’re for children.”
And there was the heart of it, Fig thought. She’d had a hunch. Pretending to be different people, you had to get good at understanding motivations. If she was playing a character like Aelwyn, she’d feel the same way. It’s childish, it’s frivolous, it’s foolish. I’m so far above them that it makes me angry you’d even dare to have fun, I’m certainly not secretly pining that I could get off my high horse and have fun as well.
Beginning to wind her way in circles, getting the chains nice and twisted, Fig said, “So what?”
“So …”
In the middle of each circling, Fig could see her furrowed brows and pinned ears.
“So- ugh, Fig, you know my point.”
“No. I don’t.” She stopped as the chains got so tight that she could barely reach the ground. “Watch how fast I can go. Riz did this and almost threw up.”
She lifted her legs and began to spin. The world raced by in blurs of faded color—trees and garden plants and the house and smudgy moonlight. She laughed, a bubble of excitement in her chest.
Hands gripped the chains. She jerked to a stop.
“You’re going to make yourself sick,” Aelwyn said harshly, her face spinning as Fig’s head caught up with the sudden lack of movement.
“Spoilsport. Fine.”
Fig let her feet find the ground again as Aelwyn let go, slowly working her way backwards, little tiptoeing steps as the chains unwound.
“This is what I mean. You’re too old for this.”
“I’m not. And what would it matter if I was, anyway? Why’s everyone in such a hurry to grow up? If I want to swing, I’m gonna swing. If I want to watch cartoons, I will. If someone wants to collect action figures or fingerpaint or sleep with a stuffed animal, then let them. Literally who cares?”
“I do.”
“No, you don’t. Your parents did.” The chains unlinked, and Fig came to still in front of Aelwyn. She looked up at the older girl, who stared down at her with a pinch to her face. “Their expectations of you were unreasonable. You should’ve been allowed to be a kid. Pretending you’re not and never were doesn’t actually solve anything or help anyone, especially you. No one cares if you want to have fun, Aelwyn. We want you to have fun. We’re not here to judge you, so you don’t have to be so defensive all the time, you know?”
Throughout the yard, little bugs chirped and chattered, and a breeze blew through the leaves in the woods. Aelwyn stared down at her and did not speak.
“Please swing with me? Just for a little while.”
After a moment, silently, Aelwyn sat in the other swing. Her hands were clasped firmly in her lap, and she didn’t move, just sat there and stared out into the dark ahead of her.
“Okay, well that’s- you’re halfway there.”
“I don’t know how.”
“What?”
“I’ve never been allowed to use the swings before.”
Something in Fig’s chest cracked. She lifted a hand and held it out between them. “Come on, I’ll show you. Like this.”
Cautiously, Aelwyn reached out, and let their pinkies link together. Fig tiptoed back and forth, their joined hands tugging the other girl forward until they were both swaying softly in the night. They got a little higher, a little faster, as Fig ducked and pushed her legs forward and back. She didn’t let them go too fast, or too high. But, after a while, a little smile creased one edge of Aelwyn’s mouth.
“It’s not awful, I suppose.”
“See? It’s nice, right?”
In the chilled air, Fig’s hand—barely linked, but linked—warmed Aelwyn’s cold one. The devil in her soul was good for more things than one, she mused, as they swung in time.
“Fig?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
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creacherkeeper · 3 years
Note
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
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