#opal aroiis

[radiantroseofice]

I was inspired by @isabeth-apologist to share one of my old fics as well! It's sad that ao3 hasn't been able to archive the old aroiis forums, I remember a lot of good fics from back then :(

I already submitted it to @icerosesummerbracket a bit ago, but why not post it to ao3 to make it more official? And maybe I'll write a new fic to help really ring in this fandom revival!

[icerosesummerbracket]

Sunrise and Sunset lore established so far: They're minor villains throughout book 4, before getting redeemed and being allies in book 5. During their time as villains, their gimmick is that both twins pretend to be one single person, thus confusing people as to how they're able to do so much in such an efficient way. However, after pretending to be one person so long, their character arcs following that are about trying to figure out how to live as their own, separate, selves.

Opal lore established so far: To start with, more of a fun fact than anything, they were the first character made up on this blog! They're a canonically nonbinary shape-shifter, and though they do seem to have importance in an arc early on, after that they sort of "retire" from the plot and exist as a background character in Madame Spiceberry's inn.

Please note that lore can still be added for either as long as it doesn't contradict anything previously established as canon

[aroseofice]

@icerosesummerbracket I love all the scenes and the couple extra chapters that these 2 get but the ramen scene was by far my favorite. They are so sillay it's unreal

[bombusfragrans]

Hey just so you know if we don't get Opal in the bracket i WILL be really disappointed in the whole fandom

[icerosesummerbracket]

Um, 30 and Opal, maybe ?

30. Sleeping habits

They used to have to wake up early all the time because "that's just the way things are" but after staying with Madame Spiceberry they let themself start to sleep in more

[aroseofice]

@icerosesummerbracket Finished! The them <3

Alt background \/

[icerosesummerbracket]

no because the Carter Opal and Madame Spiceberry subplot is so cute… Madame brings home a traumatized teenager and Carter says “oh wow is anyone gonna be their sibling” AND DOES NOT WAIT FOR AN ANSWER!! champ and i love her

"I'm your fun older cousin now. No takebacks." /j

[icerosesummerbracket]

Spiceberry, Carter, and Opal best found family for real! Opal definitely deserved to relax with the only chill characters for the rest of the story after all the crap Radiance did to them. And I was so glad when (spoilers!) book 5’s attack on the inn turned out to be a diversion and not a real attack at all

it's so "The inn is safe. Calm" "WAIT, IF IT WAS A DISTRACTION, WHAT IS RADIANCE ACTUALLY DOING, PANIC-"

[icerosesummerbracket]

Haven't read the book Opal appeared in in a while but aren't they canonically Non-Binary? Or was that just a popular headcannon?

In the original print they weren't, but then in the 2010 complete edition box set of the series, there were a bunch of minor edits made and one of them was giving Opal they/them pronouns.

The reasoning the author gave was that the editors wouldn't allow it in the original, but when having the chance to make minor edits to fix other mistakes for the complete edition, the change was made because it was more in line with the author's original vision.

Of course, Opal is still a minor character and all, but it's nice that it was done anyway

[icerosesummerbracket]

Honestly I love Madam Spiceberry so much, she's just the wholesome inn-owning aunt that we all need in our lives and it's so cute that she practically adopted Opal! I totally headcanon Spice just taking care of them like a mom, I read this adorable one-shot fanfic that was just them baking cookies together and it's one of my favorite fanfics!

were they sugar and spice cookies? /j (also aw that fic sounds adorable <3 I wonder if anyone could find it or if it's been too long...)

[icerosesummerbracket]

Of course people like opal! Character was great and disappeared, then mentioned only ONE time in a later book!! it’s like the author forgot opal even existed 😫

I mean, I feel like their arc was complete even if it was small, and I'm happier that they more like retired from the story than got killed off

[icerosesummerbracket]

I hope that Madame Spiceberry at least makes it to the semifinals! Her simultaneous girlboss and girlflop energy won me over the second she appeared and she just kept getting better. I keep submitting her to polls on here and trying to recommend her in conversations about lesbian/lesbian coded characters but unfortunately a lot of people still don't know about her.

Also I know their dynamic is a super minor thing because of how little Opal appears, but I almost hope that she and Opal never need to go against each other because their little background dynamic is so sweet

we love a simultaneous girlboss/girlflop!

and Yeah, I know some people lament that Opal was only around for so little, but honestly I'm happy that after they finished their little background story arc, instead of being killed off they ended up staying with Madame Spiceberry.

[icerosesummerbracket]

I love plus-size shapeshifters so much 💗

(Yes this is about Opal)

[Out of character] well since I referenced this before I'll just post it instead of worrying about queuing it. I don't really have a snappy comment in character, so instead you get a "good idea!" sticker and i'm smacking my mod gavel and making it canon

[icerosesummerbracket]

OOC - I need design ideas for Opal so I can make fanart

in an ask I haven't gotten to answering yet, someone suggested that they're a plus-size shapeshifter, so there's one detail,

You could also take inspiration from their name and give them eyes that are like opals

Other than that, they're a background character, so their design probably isn't too crazy.

[icerosesummerbracket]

HOLY SHIT SOMEONE ELSE LIKES OPAL HERE!? AORIIS IS ALREADY NICHE ENOUGH SO FINDING FANCONTENT ABOUT OPAL WAS BASICALLY IMPOSSIBLE, FINALLY SOME LOVE FOR THEM <3

It's surprising, guess they must have really left an impact!

[icerosesummerbracket]

Does Opal have enough submissions, probably not considering they play a small role in the story but I love them sm 💗

(OOC - Holy shit I was scrambling for name ideas lmao)

[In character] They do have one submission so far, so we'll see!

[Out of character] I'll probably use that name for one of the last characters since the lore has now been established that they play a small role. Also don't worry about scrambling for name ideas it's okay! That's my job asjdkflsjadk