#i..... apologize for fabian

[hi-intrepid-heroes]

if I had a nickel for every time lou rolled a nat1 on an acrobatics check to not fall out of the van id have two nickels which isnt a lot but its weird that it happened twice

[jq37]

Would it be possible for you to briefly outline the gist of the Bad Kid’s relationships to each other in terms of individual pairs (i.e. Fig and Kristen, Riz and Fabian, Adaine and Gorgug, etc)? And if that’s too much, maybe specifically the Fig ones (I’m trying to get a sense of her friendships because they are so important to her).

This is SOOOOO late but I didn't have the time to write it when you sent it and then I figured I might as well wait till the end of the season to get a full picture and give the best answer. Hope it was worth the wait!

-----------------

Fig and Fabian: Fig and Fabian are the two that most closely fit the classic "cool kid" archetype (though obviously we know Fig is mainly a big sweetheart and Fabian is a loser no matter how high he rolls). As far back as S1 they were playing the party faces and schmoozing Penelope together. I think their friendship now is exemplified by the fact that when Fabian wanted to threaten his banker, Fig was there as his first mate to help out, no questions asked and no payment required. They're each others, "I can count on you to do this bullshit with me," friends.

Fig and Riz: I think Fig knows she doesn't necessarily have as much in common with Riz naturally as she does with some of her other friends but she obviously respects and deeply cares for him. The main reason she started taking her classes seriously Junior Year is because the whole party passing together was really stressing him out and she spent some of her very limited downtime sending Riz a, "Thinking of you" not to lift his spirits (though she signed it from Gorgug because she can't help being chaotic). Similarly, I think Riz obviously cares a ton for Fig even though he finds 70% of what she does crazy. Think about him following behind her to clean things up as she pretended to be a doctor and had to do surgery in Freshman Year. But I think she's helped him lean into his chaotic side a bit more as well--I always think about their side mission to hell in Soph year and her going, "Hiss at her litigator!" And at the end of Junior Year, he comes to the conclusion of, "I gotta let her do her own thing and not pressure her to live by my standards." So lots of mutual respect.

Fig and Gorgug: Fig and Gorgug have been besties and bandmates since Freshman Year. I've always had the sense that Fig has some big sister style protective feelings towards Gorgug since he's often the gentle giant of the group and this season, she hyped him up a ton with his Barbificer stuff. I would argue that, besides his parents, Fig is Gorgug's biggest cheerleader.

Fig and Adaine: Fig ALSO has sister energy with Adaine but it's less "protective older sister" and more "odd couple playfully clashing". Think them burning spellslots to fight for the best rooms in Mordred in Soph year and Adaine foaming at the mouth to get info about her crush on Ayda. They're living under the same roof so we have to assume they have a lot more interactions that we don't see and I feel like Adaine probably really enjoys that she gets to have closer to a normal sibling relationship with Fig since her blood sister is Aelwyn and that relationship is intense and meaningful but nothing approaching normal. The teasing is there but so is the genuine love--remember how devastated Fig was when Adaine was taken to Falinel in Soph year despite their best efforts? And her long hug during the Baron fight this season even though they were VERY MUCH on the clock. And Fig was Wingwomaning hard (along with the rest of the Bad Kids) to help her notice Oisin. Also think about Fig having a whole crisis of self during The Last Stand and turning to Adaine for reassurance and Adaine just going, what? Girl, no you're awesome and painting an arcane bullseye on her target so she could smite like crazy. Despite the playful ribbing, they have very supportive sister energy. "Absolutely my king, whatever you want."

Fig and Kristen: I think Fig and Kristen have two big things is common. One is they're both very chaotic people and the other is they have both gone through kind of intense rebellious periods spurred by or resulting in family trauma. Because of that, I think they likely get each other a bit better than the others might (and we can see that Fig followed in Kristen's footsteps a ton this season god-wise). Fig also decided to take on the protective, German Shepherd role over Kristen this past season which I think is partially for the bit, partially about personal development, and partially about just how much she genuinely wants to help protect Kristen.

Fabian and Riz: Classic jock/nerd friendship. The original Bardy Boys. The kind of friendship that is made special by the absolute lack of obvious commonality between the two parties. "The Ball" is a friendly nickname now. Oh how the turns have tabled.

Fabian and Gorgug: Fabian started out the series by attacking Gorgug for no good reason while he was being gifted a tin flower and midway through this season he was like Gorgug, you're quitting Bloodrush? I'm gonna miss you :(((((( even though they're still fully in a party together and spend so much time together. The bro energy has completely solidified. It's also funny that Fabian texted Gorgug like, "Congrats on making it with Mary Ann!" and Gorgug was like, "You do know I've had sex before, right? I come from an extremely sex positive household and I had a steady girlfriend for two years who also came from an extremely sex positive household." Fabian has all the aesthetics of a cool kid but Gorgug is actually about that life, lol.

Fabian and Adaine: This is another pair that I think has serious sibling energy (and not just bc they both have posh high elf backgrounds). I'm thinking about Fabian yelling for Adaine's help during The Last Stand (even though she was like why am I the one you're calling for help right now???). I'm also thinking about Adaine being like Fabian hit me :( during the Baron encounter and Fabian being outraged at the thought that he would ever hit her. I think if you asked Fabian, he'd say his best friends are Riz and Adaine (which is really funny considering they're the nerds of the group).

Fabian and Kristen: Bad decision buddies with no game who are still somehow getting their kisses in.

Riz and Gorgug: I think that Riz was one of the Bad Kids who realized how smart Gorgug really is the fastest. He's always like, "Nice one Gorgug," when he offhandedly comes up with a connection that helps solve the mystery and I feel like they have to work on gear and gadgets together. I think the fact that Riz believed Fig's lie that Gorgug wrote him the encouraging note says a lot and the fact that Gorgug immediately made him a real present (the Medal of Wit) also says a lot.

Riz and Adaine: Party nerds, investigation buddies, voices of reason with specific things that get them unreasonably angry. They are the only ones who were excited that there was an academic portion of The Last Stand. Riz made Adaine a folder with nothing in it at the beginning of Junior Year to say, "I'm not worried about you but I want you to be included anyway." Adaine in a conversation to I don't remember who said that she knows that at the very least she and Riz are going to college together. When everyone was wasting questions questioning Bakur, Riz told everyone to shut up except for Adaine and himself. They are the braincells of the operation and they have party nerd solidarity.

Riz and Kristen: I think Riz has a similar relationship to Kristen that he does to Fig. This season he was her right hand man with campaign stuff but ended the season like hey, do you. I don't want to put pressure on you. And Kristen in turn I think appreciated his efforts a bit more by the end of the season. I feel like it's easy to feel like their relationship is unbalanced but I think Riz is a lot like his dad and he not only feels weird when he's not working but also shows his love by working so it's more symbiotic than it may seem at surface level.

Gorgug and Adaine: Gorgug and Adaine don't interact the most, but I feel in my heart that they have a lot of chill, lo-fi study time together. This is me extrapolating a bit but I think they kind of inherently balance each other out. Gorgug being mechanically big and full of rage but really sweet. Adaine being small and polite but full of so much rage. In-universe you know she spends a ton of time standing directly behind him and casting spells while he soaks damage. That's gotta give you a special kind of camaraderie.

Gorgug and Kristen: Whenever I think about Gorgug and Kristen, I always picture them in Sophomore Year, Going Through It with their girlfriends at the same time, lol.

Adaine and Kristen: I think Adaine and Kristen's whole relationship is best summed up by three actions. (1) Adaine casting Friends on her to make her go to school so she won't fail and then Kristen giving her the Help action to be charmed. (2) Kristen making the effort to be mean-nice to Aelwyn because presumably Adaine told her she likes that better. (3) K2 being sent way and Kristen being like, "I did enjoy having a sister" and Adaine immediately going, "I'm your sister." (Which, from her history, you know isn't something she'd say lightly). I think Adaine is often exasperated by the insane shit Kristen does (see eg: ribbon dancing) but she was also right there hyping her up and helping her cover during the "Passed the test to give me new spells" fiasco at the food trucks. At the end of the day, Kristen respects the hell out of Adaine and Adaine is ride or die for Kristen.

[lunnessey]

gorgug fucking thistlespring's leitmotif playing when he finally gets through to porter

[incorrectsibunaquotes]

Fabian: Are you going to be part of the problem, or part of the solu—

Alfie: Oh problem, definitely!

Fabian: That wasn't... It was a rhetorica—

Alfie: I have some ideas on how to make the problem even funnier than it is!

[frobisher-smythe]

alright first i don't know HOW i haven't followed you yet. second because i refuse to be alone in this. fabian would be a PERFECT osirion for nina. he already goes out of his was to protect her, the form this instant bond the moment she arrives do you see. my vision. eddie is great but the thematic element of "are we actually in love with each other or is this just another string of fate pulling us together" would be SO GOOD

😭😭 I've been intermittingly inactive for awhile

I LOVE thinking about how senkhara automatically thought it was fabian. fabian has always been naturally protective over nina, in season one we see that right from the jump when the others are questioning why nina left for school early and he says "it's probably to get away from us, we've hardly been very welcoming", then again when he protests against her 'initiation', and all throughout the first mystery: covering for her with the teachers, going after her when she was kidnapped by rufus, his reaction when she's threatened by rufus with the flies in the classroom in particular. it was never something that just jumped out during the senet task. he was the natural assumption for her osirian, he's gravitated towards her from her first day, put himself into the mystery despite having no personal connection, and has always, always protected her.

I've written about the "are we actually in love or is it fate" in the context of eddie/nina before but it works for any chosen one/osirian hc, feeling a natural pull towards each other and questioning whether it's because of some ancient fated responsibility or because you genuinely care for the other, bringing out eros. it's such an interesting dynamic that I think brings a lot of confusion for those involved and lets you have this really beautiful slow-burn type of love.

[drbarty]

<:3)~ 💨 *Zoom!*

…ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ🖋️ 📃 I am writing a call-out post about Lord Fabian because they are a meanie ):<

🪧🔨 <:3)~ And I am nailing it to the nearest local announcement board

ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ💢 They have to apologize for being a meanie, or else I will make them sad by pouting really, really hard and then they'll have to feel bad because they made a little mouse sad and that's mean. I will sit in the corner all forelornly for extra dramatic effect. ;^;

Local necromancer enjoys attention being given to their crimes and wonders how much more they will get if they don't apologize.

[mrfoox]

Uuh, I acted very cold and... Harsh today and I didn't mean to and now idk how to apologize /:

[tamby-teeze]

Okay, so I know a solid 40% of the new Fantasy High was about Tracker "There's still deep attraction here" O'Shaughnessy, but HERE ME OUT

Gertie Bladeshield is the perfect woman for Kristen Applebees.

Cause, like, look, there was a lot of talk in episode 11 about impulsivity and chaos as an aspect of Kristen's character, mainly in how it's mirrored in Princess "Kristen if she had money" Naradriel, but it's also been a general focus this season, especially in how she often uses it to guard her emotions. Think back to "That's what you think", an incredible improv moment, but if you look at the big picture, Kristen's estranged parents make an incredibly inflammatory statement about her religion right after actively bullying her little brother, and instead of honoring any of the actual negative emotions she's being filled with in that moment, she pirouettes away. It's brought up in the adventuring party after this exact episode how Kristen is a cleric, a high-wisdom class that is naturally insightful, but uses these silly deflections to hold other people back from being insightful into her (hence Mac & Donna's lifetime insight disadvantage)

This isn't just limited to small moments, too. To take a broader look at the season so far, Kristen's chaotic, shrimp-jumping, wrangler-wearing, salsa-dipping, middle-school-campaigning, steel-workers-union-supporting bid for class president is often shown explicitly as a distraction from her existentially important job as the only cleric of Cassandra. Even when trying to earnestly apologize to Cassandra and prove to them that she's gonna prioritize her over class presidency, the only way she can articulate it is "You're the meat, mama." Her emotions are always guarded by some amount of chaos and impulsivity.

Now, how does that relate to Gertie "I've had a crush on you for a really long time" Bladeshield?

In both of the two scenes we've gotten of The Best D20 NPC (/j (but I do really like her)), Gertie has shown a pretty similar propensity for making bold, chaotic decisions in the heat of the moment. However, in my observation, these decisions do NOT come from a place of emotional suppression. Quite the opposite, actually.

Think back to her Grand Entrance into the narrative. Gertie, being one of the last people awake at Fabian's party, gifts her longtime-crush a jar of honey, something that connects directly to her passion/special-interest of beekeeping, in a homemade container designed as a pun on Kristen's last name. (in hindsight, the crush was very obvious) Then, in the middle of her infodumping to her about honey, Kristen's rich friend makes an incredibly dismissive remark about her good-natured gift. This obviously pisses her off, but unlike Kristen "That's what you think" Applebees, Gertie "I don't give a shit who's kid you are" Bladeshield lets herself feel those emotions very loudly, immediately starts a duel with possibly one of the most accomplished sword-fighters in the history of Aguefort, and declares him a life-long nemesis. She acts very brashly and impulsively, but in a way that doesn't hide her emotions, instead expressing them.

(I know there's a lot of talk about outbursts of anger being tied to Ankarna, but not only does the scene not really seem like foreshadowing to me, it's more interesting to see it through the lens of being Gertie's actual actions)

This trend continues with the 12th most noteworthy thing to have happened in episode 11 (which incredibly high acclaim), where after being explicitly asked to talk about bees by her crush, and being placed inches away from her face, kisses her on the lips. Now, excusing the albeit upsetting lack of consent, it once again shows Gertie acting very impulsively in a way that exposes her feelings to the people she likes. With these two instances of characterization being literally the only two scenes we get with her, it poses her as a very interesting parallel to Kristen, someone who shares in her willingness to make impulsive decisions, but differs wildly from her in the way she uses them to react to strong emotions.

However, does this really make Gertie the Autism to her ADHD?

(idk if Gertie really shows autistic traits, I just wanted to say that) Well, part of what Tracker a good companion for Kristen was that, as a fellow cleric, she naturally had very high wisdom, meaning she had enough insight to look past the layers of shrimp and salsa and engage with her on a deep level. However, clerics aren't the only class that cast spells with wisdom, so do rangers, including swarm-keeper rangers, which is a subclass that both has a good few abilities focused on spell-casting and was confirmed to be Gertie's subclass in an adventuring party. While her highest stat still could be dex (which, come to think of it, is a hilarious contrast to Kristen), there's no doubt that Gertie has a higher chance than most at being able to look past Kristen's barriers and see the complex hive of sweet, buzzing emotions underneath.

Hell, maybe that's where Gertie's crush comes from in the first place. Maybe, seeing this popular, proudly sapphic cleric be incredibly playful and chaotic on school grounds, she not only saw a bit of herself, but a little more. Perhaps, the type of mind that dedicates itself to allowing small, harmless critters to prosper even when no-one cares to join her club, is also the type of mind able to recognize when someone isn't allowing their truest emotions to prosper, making her wonder if they might have something to gain from sharing some of that chaos, using it not to hide, but to be free.

Or maybe it's just cause her last name has "bees" in it, idk.

[operationslipperypuppet]

Fantasy High: Junior Year predictions that aren’t as much based in things I think will logically happen, but ones that either should happen or would be very fun/funny

Loose Duke reminiscent perception checks from Lou, constantly looking for Chungledown Bim.

Related, the return of Chungledown Bim, but they successfully escape him yet again.

Either a wedding between Hallariel and Gilear, or them having a kid. I just think Fig and Fabian would make great older siblings but also that they’d have a real hard time handling it.

Garthy O’Brien is at Mordred and it’s immediately clear that there’s something poly happening between them and Jawbone and Sandra Lynn.

Riz has some serious beef with another young licensed PI. This beef is mostly shown through Riz hissing at someone on the street, and they don’t meet this other person until episode 15. They’re pretty normal and the beef does not make sense.

A reveal that Porter is not evil or plotting something but that he was a member of Sandra Lynn’s adventuring party that she got kicked out of. Bonus if he was a deciding vote or the one who pushed her to leave. This would be fun to justify Fig’s paranoia a bit, but her reasoning was completely wrong. The best way for this reveal to happen would be for him to apologize (sincerely) to Sandra Lynn.

Adaine actually tries to include Alewyn in a lot of things, and they actually learn some important lore from Alewyn and she doesn’t put it forward in a condescending way.

Gorgug rolls up to Riz’s office, drags him out, and they go throw rocks at the river (like Riz wanted in Boys’ Night).

Another crab party live stream. That’s actually how the season opens. Kristen is crowned Crab King.

Someone suggests they go to a Drisden party. The boys scream “no” at the proposal.

Kristen succeeds in her first ever divine intervention roll (#BeardsleyBlessed)

Aguefort says something to Gorgug in the first episode about how difficult he finds him.

Gorgug changes his subclass. We had a lot of subclass changes at the end of fhsy and I think him focusing on artificing a bit more may cause him to refocus and not be as lost in rage as berserker works. The I’m going into a worry helps me think this lol

they start at level 11, there were talks of them double leveling post nightmare king forest but that wasn’t what happened with the one shots (which logistically makes a lot of sense to me). I also just think Adaine should get 6th level spells.

And finally, Brennan homebrews the spell Ice Feast, but only Adaine can cast it.

[rolanslide]

Thinking about Fabian and Gorgug on their first day. Fabian attacks Gorgug for no reason, and gets hit back twice as hard. They both get detention, and even though Fabian refuses to apologize, Gorgug offers him a flower and an apology. They get into combat in the cafeteria, and a severely injured Gorgug goes out of his way to save Fabian before falling down dead. Gorgug wouldn't have even been there if it weren't for Fabian. Gorgug wouldn't have died at 14 on the cafeteria floor if Fabian hadn't hit him. Fabian thinks about that every day I think.

[cottoncandybitchfuck]

Riz Gukgak, a little rogue from a single-parent household. A natural detective, going nights without sleeping and worrying his mother to death. He was looking for his babysitter who had gone missing, he didn’t care about friends. He was the briefcase kid, he was used to getting bullied. He gets thrown into a trash can and called “The Ball.” He stole a teabag in the name of getting clues and got detention. He brought a gun to his first day of school. He killed a monster, making the worst but smartest choice of jumping into the corn monster. He joined the A.V. club with some gross people just to solve a mystery. He started taking care of a random rat just because he could. He used his suitcase as a skateboard during combat. He shot Coach Daybreak when he was unconscious just to make sure he was dead. He knew they weren’t done yet despite the cops having the palimpsest. He took 7 damage to try to save someone from a palimpsest. He shot 2 of his classmate’s fingers off to get him to answer their questions. He holds the sword of shadows. He kills a dragon and then eats him. “Fury of the Ball” He becomes a licensed investigator. He lied about having a partner, and it manifested and kidnapped him. He comes clean immediately. He gave up a secret only to save his friend he never thought he would have. He tried to help Fabian feel better after the fight at the Row and the Ruction. He helped save Adaine, helping take down a Plyon. He found record of the coin from the Nightmare King in Kalvaxus’ Horde. He was also the first to find out about the Shadow Cat.  He represented Fig in a legal trial in Hell. He met his dad and almost thought he was bad. He became part of the Lower Planar Reconnaissance Task Force. His biggest fear was getting left by his friends getting in relationships. He came up with the way to destroy Kalina. He used magic to be able to drive. He ran over Fabian. He joined every club he could and became a campaign manager so that he could go to college since his mom couldn’t afford it. *His principal cast Hold Monster on him…  He didn’t hesitate to protect Fig from the moon by throwing her into his briefcase and jumping in after her. His nightmare followed him, it attacked his friends. He got away again. He learned to talk shit. He hid so well and helped with the Last Stand so much. He found the rogue teacher, he solved so many points of the mystery. He killed another dragon! He is so protective of his friends, and he hated what the rat grinders stood for. “Make sure to cut his head off so he can’t be revived.” He submerged in lava just to throw Kipperlilly off.  “Very good on paper but… no practical application.” He apologized to Fig and Kristen for pushing them to do school when they didn’t want to, as well as made sure Kristen actually wanted to be president. He is Riz Gukgak, The Ball, and he is a huge part of the bad kids despite being so small. And the one thing Porter was right about? Riz is a “Little Shadow” and he is good at it too. 

It took me three hours to write this because I had to condense and cut so much. It’s 1am (12:14) in a warehouse in the middle of the sea (a dorm room) and I am finally done with this style of post. At least 4 more Bad Kids posts are coming, and then I’ll be normal again (posting about other fandoms and dnd shows)

*I said this was important! He used dominate person on Ruben, so that was a choice Grix made, there are no mechanical reasons for monster to work vs person

[interstellarlyinlove]

First Kiss (May 6th)

word count: 502

@wolfstarmicrofic

“Who was your first kiss?” Sirius asks, whispering. Remus drops the vial of crushed moonstone he was holding and it shatters everywhere. He apologizes to Slughorn and glares at Sirius. 

“You startled me,” Remus whispers. “And now we don’t have any moonstone.”

“You’re moonstone,” Sirius says, grinning. He waves his right hand in the air obnoxiously and the broken vial of moonstone repairs itself and lands on the table to Remus’ right. “We don’t even need moonstone for this potion.”

“Huh?” Remus asks. He’s not really using any part of his brain because Sirius doing wandless magic is so incredibly hot. 

“Crushed moonstone isn’t a Felix Felicies ingredient.”

Remus blinks. “Yes, it is. Look–” Remus holds up their Potions textbook to show Sirius and only then does he realize he’s looking at the ingredients of another potion entirely. “Oh.”

Sirius laughs. “It’s okay. It’s almost done, anyway. Who was your first kiss?”

“What is up with you today?”

“It’s not a weird thing to ask!” Sirius says rather loudly. Slughorn glares at them and they apologize together. Sirius clears his throat. “I know James’ first kiss.”

“Who was James’ first kiss?”

“Lily.”

“Awe.”

“You know my first kiss.”

Remus raises an eyebrow. “Only because you spoke of nothing else for ten entire days.” And Remus still doesn’t like Fabian Prewett all that much. Which is silly because Sirius is his friend and he can kiss whomever he wants. 

Right.

“If you know mine then I have to know yours.”

“Yeah?”

Sirius smiles. “I only follow the rules, Re.”

“You can’t get mad, okay?”

Sirius furrows his eyebrows. “Why would I get mad?”

“Actually, you know what, I’ve never kissed anyone. You got me. How embarrassing. Let’s just–”

Sirius stares at Remus funny for a few moments then his eyes widen. “No way.”

“I guess he already told you when–”

“Regulus?” Sirius all but screams. 

“Mr. Black!” Slughorn calls out, scandalized. “Is there a problem?”

Sirius says no. He turns back to face Remus. “I thought that was a joke!”

“It wasn’t a joke. It was mostly for practice before his date with–”

“Practice?” Sirius whisper-yells. 

Remus is suddenly having so much fun. He grins.

“No more kissing Regulus.” Sirius fake-gags. “Oh, Godric, I need to go tell Regulus to stop kissing you.”

Remus snorts. “Regulus isn’t kissing me. It was one–”

“I’m totally a better kisser,” Sirius says. His eyes widen. Remus chokes on nothing and starts to cough. Sirius hits him on the back a few times until he stops.

“I mean–”

“What does–”

“Enough, the two of you!” Slughorn suddenly says. Remus and Sirius both jump. Remus knocks down the moonstone vial and it shatters again. 

All of this is suddenly the funniest thing in the world. Remus has to stifle his laughter as Slughorn makes Sirius change partners for the rest of the class. Sirius is looking at Remus as he picks up his stuff and his smile is blinding. Potions is now Remus’ favorite subject ever. 

[remidyal]

Outstanding antagonists after Junior Year

This post is as much for myself for fanfic purposes as it is for any speculation regarding a Senior Year that may never happen and even if it does would be I think at an absolute minimum three years and more likely 4-5 down the road, but I wanted to round up the known potential antagonists remaining out in the world, roughly ranked in order of known hostility:

Chungledown Bim. Certainly the MOST hostile of opponents, we know he's not dead post-Boy's Night (whenever Boy's Night is supposed to fit into the Quangle) because he's on Fabian's nemesis alert.

Arianwen Abernant. Evidently she has recovered her magic, probably while Cassandra was corrupted into a more Nightmare King-ish state. She was pretty pissed at Aelwyn and Adaine the last time we saw her over the whole death of Angwyn thing; I somehow don't think being chased around Sylvaire by the vand will have improved her mood.

Bobby Dawn. The full extent of his involvement in the Junior Year plot is uncertain, but he sure as hell wasn't helping things. Also some real potential hate between him and the party over the Sandra Lynn thing; while Fig might be gone in a Senior Year I'm going to ignore that for these rankings and in any case Sandra Lynn still lives with Kristen and Adaine regardless, so I think that conflict would be born out. I also think there's a strong case for a clash of pantheons style story going on in the background, and Bobby here would be front and center on the Sol-Helio-maybe Galicaea side.

Kalina. I don't necessarily think Kalina actually IS a traitor to Cassandra the way that Kristen thinks and Ankarna thinks; I almost believe that her turning up at the end of Junior Year was a reaction to them deciding to hunt her, in fact. That being said, while I think Kalina is fully team Cassandra, I also think (and even understand!) that she is most definitely NOT team Kristen, who did let Cassandra kind-of-die and now is splitting her attention. So what's Kalina's play now? I think she's going to try to push for Bobby Dawn to add Cassandra back to the Sol-Helio-Galicaea pantheon, which would be to her a much more stable foundation to keep Cassandra alive on than Kristen.

The Automatons that are going to be hunting Fig. Yes, these are self-evidently a way to excuse that Fig won't be around to help out if there's a senior year and Emily chooses to not play Fig. They're also kind of hilarious, especially since they open up all kinds of questions like 'wait did Sandra Lynn spend her first year of adventuring fighting off killer statues of Arthur Aguefort?' They'd be higher except they're only hostile to 1/6th of the Bad Kids.

Gertie Bladeshield. Also only hostile to 1/6th of the Bad Kids at present, though Cassandra knows if any of them speak up in Kristen's defense she'll probably swear a vow of emnity to them too. Could probably be made up with via a sincere apology, or at least by setting her up with someone.

The Court of Stars and Princess Nara. Now we're into the dubiously hostile territory, because this might not lead to actual conflict, but if there IS a clash of pantheons between the Sol one and the Ankarna-Cass one then the most obvious fight other than Cassandra is over where Galicaea ends up. The members of the Court of Stars we met this season seemed much more, um, I'll use the word chilled out than Angwyn and Kir of last year, but it still feels like a mercurial thing.

Arthur Aguefort. I've been saying for a very long time that the only boss fight that makes sense for a Senior Year IS to have to fight Arthur Aguefort himself; it doesn't even necessarily have to be a 'he's evil' sort of thing, but could just be a 'you're the best party we've had in centuries and I wanna throw down'. He dropped some hints at it in the finale, of course, too!

[lulublack90]

Prompt 18 - Sock

@jegulus-microfic April 18, Word count 971

Previous part First part

“Well, darling, he sounds lovely.” Effie beamed at her son as they tucked into their meal. Monty had his mouth full. So he nodded in agreement. 

“You’ll have to see if he wants to join us for dinner before we leave. Invite his brother as well. We don’t want to leave him out.” Monty told James between mouthfuls. James couldn’t keep the happy grin off his face. 

“Okay, I’ll invite them.” He said as he stabbed a roast potato and popped it into his mouth.

They sat quietly as they finished off their meals. Effie ordered coffee for everyone, and they chatted about their day. 

“Mum, Dad. Would it be alright if I went back up to see Regulus for a bit before bed?” James asked, hoping his parents wouldn’t be annoyed with him for not spending enough time with them. 

“James, dear. You’re a grown man. You don’t need to ask us permission. If you want to go see him, go.” Effie chuckled and leaned over to muss up his hair. He felt himself reddening. 

“I know that, Mum. I just wanted to check.”

“I’m sure your mother and I can entertain ourselves.” Monty winked at him. 

“Eww, gross, Dad.” James pulled a face, jumped up from his chair, and kissed his parents on their cheeks before darting out of the restaurant and heading towards the lifts. 

The lift doors pinged open, and James was shocked by what he saw. 

Sirius was sitting on a man, pinning his arms behind his back. The man screamed bloody murder at Sirius as he tried to buck him off.

“Ah, James, just the person I wanted to see. Could you help me with this sack of rubbish, please? He’s outstayed his welcome.” Sirius said nonchalantly as if what he was doing was perfectly normal.

“Er, yeah, sure. Who is he?” James asked, still trying to get his head around the situation. 

“This delightful cockroach is Bartemius Crouch Junior. Reggie’s ex.” Sirius clarified. James’s eyes widened as everything clicked together. 

James helped haul Barty to his feet and dragged him to the front desk. He watched as Sirius put on an extremely dazzling smile and charmed the front desk clerk. “This man got into mine and my brother’s room just now. We didn’t invite him.” The clerk gasped in horror and picked up her phone.

“I am incredibly sorry, Mr Black. Please accept my apologies on behalf of the hotel.” She paused to speak into the phone. “Yes, security to the front desk, please.” She turned her attention back to Sirius and James. “I will personally ensure this man never sets foot in our hotel again. Can I send a gift basket to your room as an apology?” 

“I’ve never said no to a gift basket,” Sirius leaned his elbow on the desk and rested his head in his hand, still grinning at the blushing clerk. 

Two identical burly red-haired men appeared out of a side door. 

“Ah, Fabian, Gideon. Please would you escort this young man off the premises and spread it around that he is banned and not to let him in. 

“Our pleasure, Molly.” One of the twins affirmed and grabbed James by the arm. “Come on, sunshine, time to go.”

“Gid, Gid! Not that one, that one!” She pointed at Barty. 

“Oops, sorry,” Gideon immediately let go of James’s arm and took ahold of Barty. He and his brother disappeared out of the lobby. 

“You coming up?” Sirius asked James, completely unaffected by everything that had just happened. 

“Yeah, sure.” James nodded. He waved goodbye to Molly and followed Sirius back to the lifts. 

When they got back to their room, Sirius clapped his hands together.

“Well, that’s that taken care of. He won’t be back.” He proclaimed. James noticed Dr Lupin sitting beside Regulus with a glass of whisky in his hand but thought nothing of it. It had been a weird day. 

“Sirius, come look at this on Reg’s phone,” Remus said, making room for Sirius to sit down. 

“That dirty, rotten little,” Sirius glared at the device. He took a few screenshots and started tapping the screen. 

“What is it?” James asked Regulus. Regulus jumped. He hadn’t realised James had come in with Sirius. 

“Erm, Barty was tracking my phone. That’s how he knew where we were.” Regulus explained, coming over to where James stood. 

“Shit,” James exclaimed and wrapped Regulus protectively into his arms. “I’m glad you’re safe.” 

“Thanks,” Regulus replied, his voice a bit thick. “James? Why are you only wearing one sock?” James pulled away from Regulus and looked down at his feet, confused. He’d slipped his shoes off when he walked through the door and had one bare foot. 

“I swear I put both on.” He checked his shoes, but there was no sock. 

“Check under the other sock,” Sirius called from the sofa, where he was still going through Regulus’s phone. He now had Remus’s arm around his shoulders. James blinked, bent down and pulled his sock away from his leg. Underneath it was another sock. 

“Oh my god!” He shook his head, pulled the extra sock off his foot and put it on the correct one. “How did you know it was there?” He asked Sirius. 

“Been there, done that,” Sirius snorted. “Nearly finished with your phone, Reggie. Then you two can go canoodle to your heart’s content.”

“Sirius, why?!” Regulus groaned at his brother’s words. 

“What? I like this one. He’s 100% better than the last one. There, I’m done. I’ve gone through everything I can think of, and he shouldn’t be able to get in again. You might want to change your password, though, just in case.” Sirius tossed the phone at Regulus. Regulus caught it and pulled James into his bedroom to the sounds of his brother’s guffaws.   

Next part

[deconstructthesoup]

Been rewatching the roleplay episodes of Fantasy High season 1 for fic research, and I got to the scene where everyone finds gifts in their locker, and...

Yeah. Okay. I'm crying a little again.

Now that I know that Fabian got everyone the gifts, it hits so much deeper. He just put some motorbike wax in his locker so he wouldn't seem suspicious, because he's cool and aloof and he only hangs out with these people because he has to, but... he cares about them. He notices what they need.

He gets Fig a new ruby guitar pick, with her dad's name on it, to celebrate the fact that she reunited with him. He gets Gorgug an axe holster with a tin flower on it, remembering how they met---maybe even his way of apologizing. He gets Adaine the gift card to the clothing store, because he heard how much she hated her uniforms, and that turns out to become something incredibly useful, as she uses it to get her Jacket of Useful Things. He gets Kristen a book on world religions, because he was listening to her struggles, and even though he couldn't relate, he gave her something to help. And he gave Riz something that is so perfectly tailored to his interests and needs that I kinda get why people ship them (personally, I'm a Fabragh fan, and I think that FHSY all but spelled out to us that Riz is aro as well as ace, but I appreciate it nonetheless).

Fabian falls so perfectly into that wonderful archetype of characters who say they don't care but they care so much and it sends me

(Also, the fact that Fabian's love language at this point is gift giving because he's a rich kid? Excellent character choices)

[voxmilia]

Do you have any HCs with inkblade and Ivy

YOU MEAN OISIN AND HIS TWO FAVORITE GIRLS? THREE OF MY FAVORITE KIDDOS? ONLY ALWAYS

I latched on so hard to "mean girl with the Garthy O'Brien accent" so I've adopted Ivy, she's one of my favorites, I literally write her on my rp blog, I have a character/timeline study for her in the works so I have many headcanons. Some of these are, as usual, created in conjunction with my friend Nick @starlingcity !!

I've had to cut this down like 3 times because I have so many thoughts about all three of them so literally ask me for more anytime!

Ivy was born in Leviathan. She doesn't remember it much; she and her bio mother (her mama, bc Fabian parallel) emigrated to Solace when Ivy was around 2 or 3. Her accent is sort of a mix of Leviathan and Fallinel, as her second mother (her mum) is a high elf.

She meets Oisin at Oakshield Middle School. He's sitting by himself, reading a spellbook and Ivy, who even before the rage never really knew how to express herself right the first time, tells him it's "too sad" to watch him all alone and insists she has to join him from now on. She does. They're inseparable from then on.

They develop minor separation anxiety after their first death in the Mountains of Chaos; it's tenfold by their revivication in junior year. Jawbone helps them both and also helps them find accredited private therapists.

Oisin has a panic attack for the first time ever during his first appointment with Jawbone, because Ivy isn't there and he's terrified she'll be dead when he comes out.

He has another one when Lucy's out for a summer trip, reconnecting with her family after a year dead, and he hasn't heard back from her in almost a day. Adaine finds him, knees tucked to his chest, arms and tail wrapped around them, just outside of Jawbone's office. It's their first real conversation beyond his initial apology to her.

He laments that he should be stronger than this, should know better. Adaine still doesn't trust him but she understands so she huffs and assures him that anxiety doesn't mean he isn't strong. She has anxiety and she's been in so many battles., defeated so many foes

"I punched a dragon in the face and I have anxiety!" (It makes him laugh. She hates that she likes the sound of it.)

Ivy, as bad as she is with words, is the first to apologize of all the Rat Grinders. Mazey is kind, too kind. Ivy sort of rambles. She isn't even sure why was she so unkind in the first place; she apologizes, says Mazey deserved better. They're not friends but they've buried the hatchet at least. (Years later, they run into each other at a Fig and the Cig Figs concert and smile at each other but say nothing.)

Oisin and Ivy kissed exactly once, at 14, the summer before their freshman year. They were two confused, curious kids who wondered if the warmth in their chests when they were together was meant to be romance. They hated it immediately and never attempted it again. Ruben is still convinced they're exes, though.

Oisin, Adaine, and Ivy end up in the first Bad Kid/Rat Grinder mixed group chat, beyond their initial mega chat with both parties. Oisin kept sharing memes Ivy sent him to Adaine, who would tell him to send Ivy one from Adaine in turn. He got tired of being the middle man eventually and makes them a group thread.

Ivy texts the chat one night that she feels sorry for Adaine, because Oisin is an awful kisser. Adaine tells Ivy to speak for herself. Oisin is too embarrassed to reply for almost an hour, to Ivy's joy