#kalina is riz without the bad kids

[radiocrypt-id]

The bad kids haven't really looked too closely at the Rat Grinders (meta wise I know it's a commentary on different play styles and how shitty xp farming is and how op players/parties can become by doing the bare minimum if they put in the time while everyone else plays the damn game) but I find the split perspective problems absolutely fascinating. I can't wait for the Bad Kids to look at the Rat Grinders with envy and anger that the Rat Grinders got to live a normal highschool life without all this insane danger and experience being a teenager without it being the end of the world for them. Right now they just hate the Rat Grinders energy and are matching it back (which is a very high school thing to do. To have beef with a whole other group of kids and not even know why but you'll die on this hill because they started shit first)

Because to the Rat Grinders, from a purely outside perspective, the Bad Kids are fucking monarchs of the school, right? They skipped classes, ran around town, fought people, got arrested, hung out with a big devil? Every new staff member came at their recommendation? One of them has both her dads working at the school?? The destroyed school property, got teachers killed, straight murdered the coach? These fucking kids run around and are apparently scott-free? because the principal liked their chaos enough to let it go and help them avoid the police? To the Rat Grinders, the Bad Kids are untouchable. They're exempt from the law. They're liars, cheats and need to be humbled. It's unfair. From everyone elses perspective, it really does look like the Bad Kids have been given crazy favourtism.

Meanwhile, all of the Bad Kids have died at least once. They've been irreparably changed and are in a constant state of fight or flight. They assume everything is dangerous and anyone might be an enemy because for two goddamn years that was the exact case! They couldn't trust any adult first year! Literally anyone could have been infected with Kalina second year! who knows what happened with the Night Yord but I fucking bet they had issues with Yorbies pretending to be helpful just to kill them! Everyone, for two years, has been out to get them! They can't even sleep! And now they have to grind so hard or they fail. Adaine has a seemingly full time job after school basically every day because she literally can't afford to live? Fabian has taken on the most physically strenuous classes and sport one dude could and has dreams of also being a social legend because he's fucking lonely in that big house and he just wants to fill it. If anyone in the party fails or dies Riz is shit out of luck and wont ever get into a university? He so desperately wants his friends with him so he's working over time and ignoring his limits to make up for his party members not caring about the future. Fig is going through the strangest arc I've ever seen in my life? she's hard avoidant and taking three classes, so a 250% work load, because she's desperate to fill her time so she can't think about all the other work she has to do that if she ignores too long could crush her under the debt of her band from her label, or how alone she feels without her girlfriend around. Gorgug is so desperate to prove himself that he's doing four years of school work in one, trying to play catch up and also prove himself at the same time, he's taking it all so seriously but also is so fucking tired. And Kristen. Mother fucking Kristen "hey girlie" applebees. Expected to dedicate her life to a god with no direction, with the weight of failure being her gods death, while also being in school and also at your friends insistence needing to run for student body president and getting your priorities so mixed up and being completely left behind by her peers who didn't have to rework their entire world view and understanding of life in the span of a few months every few months.

The Bad Kids are in a terrible place. They're suffering. I want them to just say it out loud, to stop pretending they have it handled and are fine. I want Riz and Adaine to yell at the party to get their shit together. I want Fabian to tell someone how alone and abandoned her feels. I want Kristen to scream at Cassandra that she agrees, that it's not fair, she's just a kid, how could she be enough all on her own with no help? It sucks a god can only rely on a child, for both the god and child! They're both suffering from this arrangement! Neither is happy! I want Gorgug to beat the shit out of Porter with his inventions and rage at the same time, to make the best shit and use it in the most stunning way anyone has ever seen. I want Fig to finally get some freaking help, to have her teachers and parents reach out in a meaningful way and stop telling her to figure it out alone because clearly the pressure is too much for her to handle and she's drowning. I want someone, anyone, to look at the Bad Kids and tell them to stop. To help them. But I know it wont be that easy. I know it'll be the Rat Grinders yelling at how unfair it is the Bad kids get everything while they're on the sidelines that'll get under the Bad Kids skin and they'll yell about how awesome they are and that they didn't ask for any of this shit to happen to them and to fuck off. I know it's gonna get so much worse before it gets better. I know they'll figure it out and that it'll be a painful road there.

[unsleepingtales]

FANTASY HIGH JUNIOR YEAR TRAILER CHARACTER ART BREAKDOWN

The character artist credited for this season on the FAQ is Cait May! Without further ado, let's get into it.

Each character card has the PC art, the PC's name, the player's name, and a couple extra details such as an NPC they're connected to and/or plot points from the previous seasons.

Here is Adaine's character card! Boggy gets pride of place of course, with his backpack and ESF (Emotional Support Frog) flag. The sword is possibly a step towards confirming the popular prediction that Adaine will multiclass as a Fighter this season. There's also a small sketch of Jawbone in the corner. Adaine's jacket has an owlbears patch on the sleeve!

Fabian's character card follows a similar formula. There's a small sketch of Bill Seacaster in the upper left corner (titled PA-PA), and there are many references to dancing. Fabian holds his sheet. In several places the words Toxic Masculinity have been crossed out! He dances now! One of Fabian's first defining lines is referenced: "I'm here to be great!"

It's not very clear what this ticket is for, but to me it looks like a ticket to a dance recital!

Kristen's character card is next! The many holy symbols she has previously believed in are seen, a sun has been crossed out, as well as "yes?". Cassandra appears in the upper right corner, while an ear of corn appears in the lower left, not crossed out!

Cassandra looks vaguely worried, which could be their natural state, or it could indicate that Kristen's questions of faith are still just as present as they have been previously.

Riz's character card is a lot more detailed than the previous ones. Trailer analysts far more intense than I will have a field day with this, I'm gonna give the sparknotes. Riz takes front and center, with his (un)license above his shoulder! Next to him is a sketch of Coach Daybreak. Several sticky notes with the words Night Yorb appear, as well as references Riz's previous cases. Drawings of Kalvaxus and a Corn Cutie are next to each other. The photo of Pok and Kalina is shown, as is a drawing of Baron. There's also a sticky note with "Jorjug" on it, which probably isn't as important but I certainly enjoy it.

Fig's character card features her art for the season, a large Anarchy symbol, and her bass guitar. A small sketch of Gilear is shown, as well as a ticket to what's likely a Cig Figs concert, and a skateboard!

The toe of a combat boot is poking out from behind the paper with the skateboard on it. Burn Towns, Get Money is also written in the corner, which is the name of one of Fig and the Cig Figs' hit songs. The Sig Figs Collective put out a fan song version that slaps, which you can find here! (Tbh you should just check out their whole discography)

Gorgug and his greatest hits appear on this character card! The 'are you my dad' bit keeps on running. Keep Going is also written several times. The white streaks are still in his hair, headphones around his neck, and his axe gets the most movement we've seen in one of these cards.

(Gorgug gets a small animation in the transition to his character card!)

The word metal is shown, as well as a sketch of the metal flower from the very first episode.

There are also a couple of group shots!

Look at them go! The Bad Kids are back and I am so excited to see where they go this year.

[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

[rellsingsovern]

In my notes during this whole season I’ve kept track of loose ends and just other plot points I think could make for a great senior year (which now seems likely that we will get down the line in the future) and this finale gave me almost everything I wanted and more so here’s what I think we’re gonna see (plus things that I just rly want to see lol)

-first and foremost, BARON IS STILL IN RIZ’S BRIEFCASE!!! the spectral mordred manor probably is not there as that was a haven sent out by cassandra during all the divine interventions in falinell and the bad kids dove in as a last second decision, but baron is still definitely there. ‘I am somewhere always close to Riz Gukgak’ and while everyone’s journey with their sexuality happens on their own time and Riz shouldn’t have to come out if he doesn’t want to yet, now that he’s coming to terms that his friends might not always be together in the way he wants to I think it would be healing for him to fully confront and accept his aro aceness and have support with that and realize that even if they can’t be physically together his friends won’t leave him for other relationships

-Fabian is getting a new baby sibling, but that is not the only sibling he’s ever had. James Whitlaw made references to his half siblings from Bill that he killed and ate, I am POSITIVE that at least one is still out there and probably has it out for Fabian (as Bill married Hallariel, raised Fabian, and dragged his ship into solace to give him a new life) and an arc where Fabian has to defend himself against an older sibling while growing to love his younger would be amazing to see

-kalina, bakarath, bobby, and buddy ofc, I’ve been wondering where kalina has been this whole time, and I want to see more of bobby getting what he deserves. Cassandra’s been through a fucking lot this season but her familiar apparently might be a big bad along with arianwen again so sorry cass but the cat’s gotta go. she still directly got pok killed riz deserves to hunt her down and avenge him a second time

-speaking of, Arianwens been making moves in sylvaire! Adaine and aelwyn will surely kill her but from the looks of it even though she got her magic taken away she may have some sort of power. Cant wait for these sisters to be able to live immortal lives without their parents looming over them

-BUCKY APPLEBEES!! bucky, a paladin of cassandra, gathering the courage to ask Kristin for help getting bricker and cork out of the Applebees residence, maybe moving into mordred and everyone immediately being enamored with these cute little boys who honestly might turn out to be mumple instead of wanting to attend the adventuring academy and Kristin being so happy they aren’t being raised in a pressure cooker anymore and affected like she and bucky were affected, happy that they can be normal kids (and in being around Kristin’s other sisters, adaine and fig, Kristin ends up getting that sister she always wanted in bucky too)

-I’m so happy Fig is getting what she wants and realizing she doesn’t want to finish Aguefort, and it would be awesome if she got a new character and the bad kids took on a new party member for the year played by Emily so all the intrepid heroes are still together, but Fig could be hanging out between mordred and Seacaster and leviathan and Hell, writing music and helping Kristin spread word of the cassandra/Ankarna pantheon through it, and since in sophomore year we saw Penelope dayne daybreak and Johnny spells all kicking it in hell maybe Jace (who ik was a minion mostly but hey he could be evil on his own) is down there with some other bad kid nemeses

-more Galicea and Sol. Sol canonically was all for bringing Ankarna into the pantheon of himself, his sister galicea, his other sister cassandra, and his son helio. It was Sol’s followers who saw Ankarna brought in as another god of the sun and brought about the ruin and corruption of Ankarna alongside the house of sunstone in order to get more power for themselves with just the one solar deity existing. Both Sol and Galicea (and maybe helio) have been hardcore shaped by their followers, Galiceas wolfish side being repressed by the high elf state of falinell and being brought back through wolfsong, and Sol with the human clerics of highcourt scheming to make him the only god with a sun domain despite him officiating and welcoming Ankarna as his sister in law through the marriage. Plus if we get galicea arcs we defo get Kristin and tracker messy lesbians arcs

-Gorgug perfecting his new subclass he invented and Kristin enjoying being student body president! She deserves it, I hc that the only academic sort of thing Kristin cared about before this year was the lgbtq+ club and now she’s extending that energy into everything with the help of Riz, who cannot get off of coffee someone help this poor boy. And since Ragh and shellford have graduated I want more Torek Railgrinder, she’s so cool let’s flesh her out more. Gorgug thinking about how to teach other multiclass barbarian/artificers and perfecting all his awesome inventions (and dating both Unit and Mary Ann bc it’s what his poly ass deserves)

Basically the potential plot I see for senior year is almost a mirror of sophomore year: baron getting out and fighting Riz and the bad kids defeating him for good, the bad kids heading to leviathan after hearing rumors of a pirate calling themselves a child of Bill Seacaster looking for Fabian, heading to falinell to see what’s new with wolfsong and tracker and maybe seeing some changes in Galicea or Sol, heading to hell and meeting up with Fig for a portion (she doesn’t go to their school anymore! she ain’t gotta go on this senior year spring break quest!) who’s been hanging out in hell, tracking Jace and other enemies, establishing her power as an archdevil of the first layer of hell, writing awesome music, and finally back to sylvaire to figure out what the fuck is up with kalina and arianwen and this weird new god buddy has and they all graduate and head their separate ways but they still love each other and see each other all the time they’re family and they’re badass and they’re perfect

[sapphicmuppet]

unresolved things still in my brain post fhjy finale

okay hihi this is not me trying to nitpick I just have a lot of unresolved thoughts!! okay here we go

Buckys arc:

I don’t have a ton of stuff to say just generally his arc being unresolved, being counted as a follower of Cassandra but that never being formally gone over, him still living with Mac and Donna, him skipping class, the drama with his adventuring party etc.

Bobby Dawn:

another self explanatory one, Sandra Lynn never finding out he was teaching at school, him escaping scot free, the drama in the sol pantheon, him never finding buddy etc. Just a lot of unanswered questions

Mazey Graduating:

for having a finale that has a lot of emphasis on the Fabian/Mazey relationship I wish they went over that Mazey IS a senior and graduated at the end of the year and is presumably going to college in the fall, and just the logistics of her being a college student still dating someone in highschool, just interesting having them get together when they’re already going in separate paths. I wish they went over it!! because now in my brain I have to justify it as a summer thing because they’re actively going to be doing other stuff the next school year.

Kipperlilly (and Jace):

okay so. Kipperlily was never rage starred or she willing took on the ragestar whatever I NEED TO KNOW MORE. Ik the point is that the ratgrinders suck and are inexperienced heroes but the realization that she essentially took all of The Ratgrinders down with her and gave them up to Porter, wasn’t being controlled by him in the way the rest of them were, had an even more direct hand in Lucy’s death, but also was still being manipulated by Porter for years?? I need it to get gone over. Also Kipperlily staying dead? to be clear it shouldn’t be The Bad Kids’ jobs to have to deal with the moral question on if the ratgrinders deserve being revived but there’s so much unsaid about Kipperlily and so much she didn’t get to do ugh. And in her final moments her absolute hatred towards Riz just being justified? In her eyes. Idk. Lots of thoughts. AND JACE!! Porter ADMITS to killing Jace himself and shatterstarring him and says he will do it again, but also Jace is clearly under Porter’s control to a degree and wasn’t revived too. I wish we knew more about him because as of what we know right now it seems crazy to keep him dead without questioning him and with him being Porters partner in this whole thing he could fully reveal everything Porter and The Ratgrinders had been doing the past three years.

Bakur:

idk just minor stuff with Bakur. He never regained his elf status which was interesting? We never saw the resolution of his fight with Lydia etc

Kalina:

Okay the acknowledgment in the finale that Kalina seems to genuinely have her own free will and moral compass outside of Cassandra is making me crazy because I just assumed she was tied to Cassandra so when she was good Kalina was too by default but there’s so much not cleared up about her. She DID lure Cassandra to the synod where she was weak and fostered the rage in Cassandra about Kristen’s treatment of her. She killed herself and was trying to communicate to Riz about Porter. Ankarna has NEVER trusted her. She had the spies tongue with Porter. She’s escaping with Buddy at the end. WHATS HAPPENING WHAT IS SHE DOING AGGHHHHH

[77brainrots]

you know, while it still would be extremely satisfying for Gorgug to land the killing blow on Porter, I think it might be even more so if he's not the one to do it. Like, yeah, showing Porter that Gorgug's way of Raging isn't wrong would be cool, but one of the gripes Porter had with it was that it was protective; he said protective Rage would not be as effective as an aggressive one. The other Bad Kids don't have the (capital r) Rage - but they sure as hell are protective of each other, and would rather go down themselves than let the others (examples: Kristen going up to the ship despite her shit Dex to make sure Gorgug stays up, Fabian constantly baiting enemies to attack him, Riz compelling Kalina to duel etc.); and try to tell me that seeing Gorgug, who's been regularly taking so much damage to for them, whose Rage has been nothing but protective, who's been fucking manipulated by Porter, his fucking teacher, to stray away from that, held unconscious (and on the verge of death, let's be fucking honest) in said teachers fist would not send that protectiveness into overdrive. And then the battle isn't just Protective Rage vs Aggressive Rage; no, it's now also Rage without Protectiveness vs Protectiveness without Rage. And in the end, Protectiveness will win, if only for the fact that it makes determination that much stronger; to quote a fanfic "Love can be even more terrifying than fear itself" because yeah, some of them are under the frightened condition from Porter; but they all love each other more than they are afraid of him. And I think that would be beautiful (and also still squash Porters theory that protectiveness isn't powerful)

[bloodyshadow1]

Looking back, this last episode makes Kalvaxus' life so much funnier in retrospect. He is a powerful dragon that is supposed to bring about the end of the world and he gets stopped minutes after his plan comes together. Yet the people he worked with and are around him are so much more evil than he is.

Kalina was the familiar of a dead goddess and was planning on bringing the Nightmare King back no matter who it hurt.

And now Porter and Jace are revealed to be evil all along and it's like a barbarian and sorcerer are better at being evil than you dude? Kalvaxus' plan was just to be a dragon again and be rich. Porter's plan is to depose his god and take her place as a god of war.

Kalvaxus had to rely on the likes of Johnny Spells and coach daybreak, along with Dayne and Penelope as his stooges. And to a lesser extend Aelwyn but she was working for Kalina so it doesn't matter.

Porter and Jace have taken a whole party of adventurers, power leved them to a high level party, corrupted them with rage and pointed them like a missile to the biggest threat to their plan. They also while not allied with the Church of Sol, they are in cahoots with them and murdered a potential ally of the bad kids without anyone being the wiser. I'm going to assume that they're the ones who messed with Grix and sent him after Ruben so the Bad Kids dealt with the Last Failsafe Arthur Aguefort left behind that might have stood in their way.

Not to mention weakening the Bad Kids, like they're a higher level than they were at the start, but given the amount of Stress Gorgug had to take and Riz had to take for Kristen and the others, it was a good plan. Gorgug and Fig actually came around to his way of thinking even if they didn't like him, they appreciated what they thought he did for them while running themselves ragged.

The Bad Kids don't even learn of their plan until a few days before their plan comes to fruition. Brennan had to lock the Bad Kids up for a couple of months just to let Kalvaxus' plan come together.

I hate them, but you can't deny they were villains hidden in plain sight with style this whole season and all the previous seasons of Fantasy High. I think they're going to regret teaching Fig how to be a paladin and pushing Gorgug to tap into his rage. But still as evil doers they're impressive

[a-cat-in-toffee]

bad kids avatar and victim headcanons lets go 🔥🔥

fig - obvious answer is avatar of the desolation (paladin of ankarna) but i feel like the stranger could also play into her impersonations of people tbh. (she would also make a pretty good slaughter avatar, music flavored obviously.) ON THE INVERSE my girl would absolutely be a stranger victim as well esp because of how afraid she is that everyone likes her for her facade and not how she actually is. I could totally see her being a victim turned avatar

gorgug - i think my first instinct would be either hunt/slaughter because barbarian. rage. duh. but i think hes got real buried vibes HEAR ME OUT it is CONSTANTLY talked about how gorgug is too large for places + he had to crawl through a small and enclosed space in the forest of the nightmare king

adaine - you would THINKK she would be the eye because she's an oracle but you'd be WRONGGG my girl is SOO lonely/vast coded absolutely. someone who felt isolated at every turn, never had friends,w as never enough for her parents, small and insignificant, she is SO vast/lonely

fabian - junior year fabian was super lonely victim but i think there's something about living up to bill's legacy that is inherently slaughetr yknow i think slaughter avatar and lonely or hunt victim

kristen - desolation. the church of helio. need i say more. okay i probably need say more but i htink it kind of speaks for itself. being the chosen one for the literal Sun God. fire without flame. on the exact inverse shes also very avatar of the dark coded, rejecting her "destiny" and embracing cassandra, a goddess of night and doubt, that plays well into darkness and the obscuration of facts.

riz - i think riz is the easiest, he's an avatar of the eye and a victim of the lonely. honestly if i were to make a magnus archives fantasy high au he would be the archivist probably. i feel like he's also web touched because of kalina

bonus content

tracker is an avatar/victim of the hunt, kalina is an avatar of the web, chungledown bim is an avatar of the hunt, and baron is an avatar of the lonely.

[ominous-horse-noises]

final finale thoughts!!

things i loved about the finale

QUEER GODDESS PATHEON YEAAAAAAH!!! i thought it was such a good way to find a happy medium between kristen committing to a worldview that felt authentic and nuanced without being catholic™ about it

everything to do with the scene of Ankarna trying to offer retribution to each of the bad kids, and each of them making peace with past wrongs instead of continuing to stew in it. i love growth!!!

FIG AND KRISTEN MIRRORING ANKARNA AND CASSANDRA

everything to do with mazey and fabian. of all the fantasy high couples aside from fidayda, these two feel the most like they make sense together- they have similar interests, they have similar values, fabian had a crush on her even when she was being 'uncool' (eg. twister) and how mazey actually picked up on that and appreciated the way he used his perceived coolness to extend it to others who might be picked on otherwise. this is the couple i most hope go the distance even post aguefort adventuring academy (again, aside from figayda ofc but i literally cannot imagine those girls breaking up over anything)

fabian's fetus sibling outnemesising him despite fabian building an animosity towards them the whole season before they were even conceived. peak fantasy high insanity

controversial but i thought the maryann/gorgug being introduced and canonised in all of 15 minutes was hilarious. it was very teen of them in a way that felt authentic. my ideal scenario for them is an end of year fling that becomes amicable exes bc they truly have nothing in common beyond thinking the other is hot (real of them) but i dont have a strong opinion on whether they should break up or not

also maybe controversial but i like that kalina is straight up bloodthirsty. she felt like an equal opposite to bakur- rather than being a devoted servant who became corrupted by proxy, she was trying to corrupt her deity into a form she preferred. thematically it extends to the complementary opposites thing ankarna and cassandra have going on (though i get it might be a reach).

"... thats a four. you know what it's for we don't have to talk about it"

squeem

riz coming in clutch with the character arc right at the last moment. i joked ab his neuroticism being part of his natural swag, but im glad murph not only made sure riz FINALLY addressed the way he was burning himself out, but also that by extension, he was burning out both fig and kristen bc riz has a very calculated idea of 'success' and while he had the best intentions, those two dont fit neatly into it

THE HOLD PERSON OVER THE LAVA??? RIZ'S 'very good on paper, but no practical application."??? i screamed

a second blimey-related divine intervention roll by K2 leading her to getting pinnochioed into a real straight british girl, in real non-dnd britain, is the best thing thats ever happened in fantasy high. a simulacrum was so powerful brennan had to do the dnd equivalent of sending her to a barn upstate.

adaine and aelwyn talking about killing their mother over icecream can be something that is so personal...

siobhan's incredible play with the earworm??? phenomenal, i gasped out loud

fig maybe moving into fabian's house even after she drops out so fabian won't be alone again... what if i threw up blood actually

i liked kipperlilly copperkettle being confirmed to be rotten to the core. 'the ritual looks very different when one accepts rage willingly' GOOD!!! i like evil ambitious teenage girls who try to burn the world down to get what they want. i get why they didnt bring her back, that detail definitely cemented her as in the zayne/penelope category of 'past villains who could possibly be redeemed'

FIG AND AYDA MY LOVES!!! sorry but not even the lesbian goddesses are doing it like these two. brennan put his whole pussy into creating ayda aguefort and my life has been changed forever

zac once again dming K2's alternate universe campaign

things i hated

ik it was payoff to the running bit and it made me cackle when it was revealed, but the implications of hallariel and gilear having a baby are so bad to me. fig talks up gilear a lot, and sure, he came around to being a good dad to her, but gilear has objectively been a shit stepdad to fabian and hallariel... is hallariel. its got to sting was watch your mom be basically catatonic for your entire life, and then suddenly prove that she was capable of being an present mother the whole time- just not for you. im hopeful that senior year will address this though!! lou has always been so good giving his characters' weighty emotional arcs that feel satisfying

i dont like the implication of trackerbees getting back together. i never thought bladebees was good beyond a realistic rebound, but trackerbees was SO codependent together, i dont think its a coincidence that kristen had her best emotional intelligence moments when forced to think things through on her own. tracker always struck me as kind of a 'fixer' type, like she feels most comfortable with someone she can act caretaker-y to (hence bouncing off kristen to another girl who had similar issues). i really reaaaally hope they dont regress back into their s2 dynamic

ruben's memory wipe. i thiiink the implication is that those who were the most willing to follow through on porter's orders maintained more of their memories bc they were in control of themselves and those who didn't were compelled into obedience (which might be why ivy and oisin remember more), but it wouldve been nice to actually see the lucy/ruben close friendship brennan said they had with him sobbing and apologising to her

it felt very weird that kristen didnt get some kind of resolution to her yearlong gentle prodding at bucky?? i think ally got sidetracked with the possibility of kristen getting back together with her ex that it kind of slipped from their mind (maybe bc to them the ankarna vision of her upbringing was kristen resolving her feelings towards her family but still), but considering all of elmville was coming apart, i feel like bucky's faith could've been swaying into doubt pretty easily. idk maybe bc ive become a trackerbees hater over the season but it felt annoying that that was what ally focused in on and not their character's more meaningful relationship with her little brother

[deconstructthesoup]

Some miscellaneous stuff for the Fantasy High Leverage AU:

After getting kicked out, Kristen got taken in by Ankarna and Cassandra, who are living their best country-lesbian vibes out on a farm together---a farm which eventually gets in financial trouble and almost gets shut down by a corporation, which is how the crew learn about Kristen's past before she was a hitter. The farm winds up doubling as a safehouse. (Also, Ankarna wears flannels and has a shotgun, and Cassandra does tarot readings at their stall at the farmer's market on weekends. They also have a little black cat, with no relation to Kalina.)

Despite all the rumors swirling around, the way Fig and Fabian met is surprisingly mundane: when Gilear moved from Portland back to London after he and Sandralynn divorced, Fig went with him, and she got enrolled in the same school that Fabian was attending. The two of them became fast and immediate friends, wound up becoming the most popular kids there due to their combined chaos and the fact that they were kind to those who needed it, and were pretty much inseparable from that point forward. And when Fig introduced Gilear to Fabian's mom, who'd been widowed for a while and was looking for someone stable... well, as much as Fabian complained, it meant that he and Fig were officially siblings. (They learned how to grift from Hallariel, who was a very well-renowned thief in her day. It's how she met Bill, after all.)

Fig is the sibling who's the "bad actor in a theater setting, good actor when she's breaking the law" type, though it's a bit more complex than that. She's amazing at coming up with a character on the spot, building off of the questions that people ask her, and remembering details so none of the information contradicts what she's already said, but she finds scripts "boring and restrictive," and always tries to put her own spin on things... which doesn't always fit well. She does get a little better at following a script of sorts when she's on the crew---at least, she learns to follow the plan.

Kristen hasn't gone by "Kristen Applebees" since she was fifteen---instead, the criminal underworld knows her by "Kristen Justice-Forester," referencing her adoptive moms. Mostly because that sounds generally more badass, but also because she really wants to forget about her old life as the church girl next door.

Gorgug's legal name is "Gavin Thistlespring," but he's been going by Gorgug since he was twelve---it was the name of his first ever D&D character, and it eventually became his hacker handle. (This is really because I just needed an explanation as to why a perfectly normal human in a world that's basically ours would be named "Gorgug." I do something similar for Fig in a lot of my AUs---her name's either just "Fig," or she's named after a character from a fantasy series that Sandralynn likes.)

Someone suggested that Kalina is the Sterling equivalent, and I liked it so much that I decided to make it canon---but instead of being Riz's former partner, she's his dad's old partner and mentor who was forced to help cover up Pok's death. She's not necessarily bad, but she does have a very black-and-white view of morality, and she's not a fan of Riz's new, less-than-legal idea of justice.

Adaine still has the Parker rep of being "crazy," but in a very different light. Rather than being a thrill-seeking ball of chaos who's an unpredictable wildcard in every way when the story begins, she's unsettlingly quiet, perceptive to the point where she can predict things minutes in advance, and acts seemingly without morality and with her own skewed logic. As she spends more time with the crew and warms up to them, however, everyone starts to see that Adaine is unflinchingly and unfailingly kind---and that once she actually warms up to you, she will talk nonstop about anything she's invested in, whether it be obscure history facts, thieving tips, or whatever show, book, or video game that one of the others has gotten her hooked on. She's just closed off as a defense mechanism.

Fabian is the sibling with a deep and personal bond with Riz---not that Fig isn't close to him, but Fabian and Riz shot each other when they first met, and you can't beat that. And while Fabian used to have a thing for Riz, he eventually realized that Riz wasn't interested in any kind of relationship, though neither of them fully had the words for it (because, y'know, this story still starts in 2008). Still, though, he considers Riz his best friend and vice versa, and once he's on the crew, he never dates anyone without introducing them to Riz first. And his affections tend to bounce back and forth between Gorgug and Ragh. Or both. Let's just say that Fabian's got the most romantic drama out of any of them.

Riz is still close with his mom, despite the fact that, as a lawyer and former cop, he knows that she probably wouldn't approve of what he does. He just tells her that he runs a private detective agency, which isn't too far from the truth---hell, it's their cover story, after all.

Fabian's father was the greatest thief in the world when he was alive, but that came with a lot of enemies, and that's not something that Fabian wants to deal with---not to mention, he's always been adamant about making a name for himself, and to not just skate by on the Seacaster name. If that means that he has to refer to himself as "Fabian Faeth," well... so be it. He reasons that it's Fig's last name. Not Gilear's.

Fig has never met her bio-dad before the story begins... but she does meet him eventually. There's a whole thing there.

Adaine does not kill Angwyn in her backstory. However, she does get to do that eventually, and it's cathartic as fuck.

[fangirlingpuggle]

Half asleep fantasy high time travel AU idea where bad kids are still adventuring team as adults a big bad they’ve fought manages to get away and decides to take an Arthur Aguefort approach and use chronomancy to fix their problems taking on the bad kids while they’re still kids before they start the Aguefort adventuring academy or more accurately on their first day.

So, as the bad kids are arriving, they all suddenly get attacked and are of course freaking out (Golden horde is also freaking out because this is not his plan)

However, before they can hurt any of them cur future bad kids showing up and wrecking shit all the first episode before detention bad kids seeing their badass older adult selves and then either

A.

Bad kids have to stay in past to catch bad guy and protect younger selves as this chronomancy has gone multiverse theory and they only have a one-way trip back so cant lave til bad guy is caught.

Adaine: So we’re definitely in separate time line right?

Kristen: I mean Aguefort’s exact words we’re ‘no consequences you can go apeshit’

Adaine: Awesome *Instantly starts kicking shit out of her parents after wrapping her younger self and Alewyn in a blanket passing them Boggy*

Riz totally shots Goldenhoard, while him and Kristen are yelling out ‘HEY KALINA YOU BITCH SHOW YOURSELF’ Kristen having Cassandra’s power and kinda just going and speed running whole Nightmare king thing. Also her picking up her younger self and siblings up while her goddess appears just to flip off her parents.

Fabian’s younger self not being a fan of his older self being a bard… until Fabian kicks his ass while on his way to go get his bike for this timeline.

Younger Fig being so confused by the fact older Fig is Gilear's biggest fan and Gilear also super confused and trying not to cry because his daughter clearly isn’t going to hate him forever and he was sure she would. Fig also going to younger self like ‘Hey please stop with the transforming self you don’t need to it’s all good… hey maybe check out Leviathan for no reason’ she totally teasing her younger self because I have the best girlfriend ever.

Gorgug setting his homunculus on coach daybreak and also porter also sending a van after them to run them over.

Or

B.

They need to keep younger selves safe so scoop them up and throw them in the hangvan and take them to the future with them to keep them safe.

Cue all the freshman bad kids seeing how their lives are

Adaine seeing she has a family that loves her, Jawbone giving his daughter the biggest hug emotional to see her as she was when she was younger and Alewyn just uber protective over her baby baby sister and Adaine not believing she’s so loved.

Fabian shocked to see his older self as a bard (And he may have tried to sneak in and sue the weird elven sheet his older self has used not that he will ever admit it) but also his mother is sober… and a total badass. He also

Fig seeing herself with a good relationship with all her parents (also for some reason all her and her friends love Gilear) also she has a paramour whose a fucking amazing phoenix who younger Fig keeps tripping over herself to flirt with (disguising herself as her older self) Ayda thinks this is humorous older Fig is amused but also Hey get your own paramour.

Riz meeting his older self who is a badass with tattoos and so many friends. Also he works with angels. He is totally awestruck.

Kristen being shocked by how different her older self is and having a lot of realizations about herself. Also, her new goddess is the coolest and really happy to talk things through with her (Cassandra wants to keep her in this timeline, and is trying to figure out a way to break the timelines so she can get her as her prophet in the other timeline to without all the nightmare king stuff she’s the goodness of mystery she’s sure she can do it)

Gorgug meeting his older self whose a barbarian and an artificer and super smart and has a homunculus called Chloe and is so confident and smart.

[dullgecko]

Some Gukgak headcanons ^^

1) Riz has near-daily headaches from hitting the cliff stairway at the end of Sping Break.

2) He likes to hide in the Bad Kids' lockers occasionally and will attempt to jumpscare them when they open the door.

-on occasion he falls asleep in them, much like he does when he's in their backpacks.

-he also rigged Fabain's once to spray him in glitter. Instead of being mad, Fabian made no intention of cleaning up and waltzed around coated in pink and gold glitter for the rest of the day.

-he accidentally jumpscared a young student who mixed up her and Adaine's lockers, leading most of the freshman to be absolutely terrified of the resident Oracle and the goblin that they presume is just paid to live in her locker and protect her stuff.

3) While he isn't the best at cooking, he did it a lot when Sklonda had irregular shifts and couldn't be home for dinner. One day in middle school he learned that his mom's favorite comfort food was mac-and-cheese, so he mastered the recipe and makes the arguably best mac-and-cheese in Elmville. (After the end freshman year, he began to add a "mystery meat" to his recipe. No one except the Bad Kids and Sklonda seem to know what kind it is.)

4) Despite being traumatized from Kalina, Riz LOVES cats. A lot of strays hang out near Strongtower, so he often goes out to feed them.

5) He draws backgrounds. Like, a lot. From the school campus to Farhaven Woods to the little dining area of Basrar's. He isn't even passionate about art, it's just a passtime. Fig and Gorgug, who love to draw but can't draw backgrounds to save their lives, are constantly pestering him about it, but Riz always denies that he draws well, or tries to teach them and fails spectacularly.

That's all I got. Sorry if it's a lot XD

He doesnt mention the headaches to anyone, just takes painkillers and tries to move on with his day. Adaine is the one who notices that he has a bottle of headache tablets in his locker and another in his office and that its a new one practically every other week and gets concerned. She convinces him to go to the school nurse to get it checked out because he's been healed several times between when it first started and now and obviously that didnt fix the problem.

2)

Riz gets extra credit in his rogue classes for breaking into places without being detected. Lockers are a good way to meet the requirement because he has to relock them somehow from the inside for no one to notice he's in there. Trap setting is also an extra credit so sometimes he does both at once.

He'll purposefully take a nap in one if he knows his friends arent carrying a bag big enough for him to hide in that day. He knows they'll have to swing past his locker eventually and will wake him up for his next class.

3)

Mmmm, delicious dragon meat mac and cheese. Sadly, despite how good it was, the mystery meat leftovers only lasted a few weeks.

4)

He likes cats a lot. They're soft and cute and aren't freaked out by his claws. Plus they purr just like him when you scratch the right spot between their ears. Dogs he's a little wary of though, especially the bigger ones. They dont seem to like goblins very much.

5)

Riz taught himself to draw backgrounds just in case he ever saw a crime scene and wasnt able to pull out a camera without getting stopped. He's really good at sketching them out quickly and can hold onto the small details for a fairly long time in order to add them in later.

[tree-fence]

kristen multi classing as a paladin? no. kristen multiclassing as a barbarian, RIZ multiclassing as a paladin. i know riz don't TECHNICALLY qualify, and maybe it "doesn't make sense" for kristen, but HEAR ME OUT!!!!

for kristen's whole life, all she was allowed to be was "the chosen one" or "that helioc girl", religion was the crux of her identity. her being a cleric AND a paladin (both religion based classes) is shoving her back into that same box that she's only very recently escaped. her being a barbarian, however, is a healthy outlet for her pent up rage. i really just want her to have a martial based class (bc butch kristen is IMPORTANT TO ME!!!), and i feel like being a barbarian could work so well for her character arc. barbarians are typically stereotyped as stupid (despite that being proven otherwise a lot (gorgug and ragh)) and destructive, and kristen, not only being a healer but also getting dumbed down A LOT despite being very smart fits well with the narrative.

riz gukgak, on the other hand, has always had a very innate love of mystery. he seems to treat his cases almost reverently, even tattooing his clues on his body (even though he was coked out of his gourd). he said he felt like he couldn't feel connected to his friends without a case to crack. you know what brings people together? GOD. let him be a paladin for the mystery goddexx and let him never feel lonely again. it also works with him being an undercover angel, because not only would he better understand what it means to work with heaven but he'd also have cool paladin abilities, which if you look into what they are, are really fucking rad, and could help him with his detective work. not to mention riz's unique connection to cassandra through kalina, who has been with him SINCE BIRTH. name a character better suited for the job.

also more rizten shenanigans (they are my favorite duo). they even eachother out completely, it's beautiful. riz is one of the most uptight serious bad kids, who's main thing is being dexterous, and brian murphy is a comically bad roller. kristen is the silliest goober of the bad kids, who is so laughably undexterous, and she has ally beardsley, the dice god, as a player. kristen brings out the best in riz, and vice versa.

they are best friends. they are perfect. kristen should get to rage.

[jq37]

Little bittersweet that this might be Fig's swan song. There's like this "six seasons and a movie" mentality that makes me feel like Senior Year is the finish line, so just stick it out for one more. But, if creatively Emily doesn't feel like she can get any more out of the character, then that's that. It's best to move on rather than force it. Or not. It's the end of her time at Aguefort, doesn't mean it's the end of her time with the Bad Kids. The school part of these characters being high schoolers only really came into play this season, so let's wait and see. Emily considered retiring Fig at the start of this season and changed her mind. It could happen again.

On to the fun stuff:

-Gorgug didn't get a last hit on Porter, but he did get a clutch assist in with a narratively satisfying move that uses his Artificer class instead of his Barbarian class, helping drive the last nail in on Porters coffin. *chefs kiss* Going out of Rage while doing it was a perfect way to twist the knife.

-Riz's kill line on KP was stone cold.

-Everyone else's contributions were valuable but none more so than the newest Bad Kid, The Lava. Taking out five major threats during the battle. What a trooper and a strong candidate for Honor Roll.

-I came around on Mary Anne too. I get why some of the Intrepid Heroes were so obsessed with flipping her allegiances.

There's a lot this season that gives a strong finale vibe, but besides that hook at the end there's another thing that keeps going unresolved. Sol and his church keep fucking around and it's about damn time they find out. I don't think Senior Year will be a full-on religious crusade, but it doesn't feel like that plot point should be off the table. And what the fuck is Kalinas deal? So she was never loyal to Cass?

I hope we don't have to wait another 4 years for the next chapter of Fantasy High to get an answer to those questions.

Fig honestly would prob go to school more if she wasn't required to so it's absolutely an Emily decision more than it is a story decision. It's hard to picture FH without her but I'm sure she'll come up with something fun if she's still feeling like retiring Fig whenever they get around to Senior Year.

I think it's arguably MORE fitting that Gorgug didn't get the last hit in and instead got him with a gadget that didn't even do damage. It's like, he got Porter and not even in a way that Porter would respect because it wasn't rageful and violent. That's gotta suck more than if Gorgug had just punched him hard and KO'd him.

The lava was just so so good. It's like when you're a warlock and technically you could do other stuff but spamming Eldritch Blast just gets you the most bang for your buck so you keep doing it. Once they figured out the lava strat, they basically had to keep using it. Lava MVP for sure.

Mary Ann being so checked out for the whole evil plot even while participating in it is so funny. Honestly, queen shit.

I really think that if Kalina is actually bad then that's a retcon from Brennan because that's never been how familiars work and Kalina did try to help them consistently throughout the season with the Spy's Tongue Curse clue. She only attacked them when she got hit with a rage crystal and that was godly interference.

I agree that there are a lot of loose ends re: The Church of Sol (Buddy, Bobby and Sandra Lynn, Helio's lack of a chosen one, Bucky's whole deal, the Helioic pantheon shakeup--how crazy is it that Cass never talks to any of her celestial sibs?). I hope that if we explore that we get to see more about the actual people of the church rather than just the gods because there was a huge god focus in back to back seasons and, as I've mentioned before, if Spyre rules mean that gods are a reflection of their followers, their followers are honestly more interesting. I can't really be mad at Sol for being what he is when his chill level is determined by Bobby Dawn and co, you know? He has limited agency as an entity. Cut out the middle man and let's chase down Bobby directly.

[sixthsensewulf]

A fucking small thing that no one is pointing out. Murph helping Ally do math with the short rest as well all of them going "are we all good? Who needs healing."

Like both the bards offering to do Song of Rest to get Gorgug up to full. They care about each other.

But the camera swapping over to the Lou, Ally and Murph side of the table, Ally rolling dice and Murph counting is very sweet.

Despite all the posting about the Rat Grinders and the disappointment... They are literally all comedians and Best/close friends making a fucking show together. . As well as filming about 3-4 ~2h30 episodes in about the space of 2-3 days plus their ~30 minutes APs. .this doesn't include their breaks for food, checking in with each other, and changing outfits. .

Like this season could have been pushed into intense filming mode because of the writers strike last year.

But to say that the IH don't care about the story or the Bad Kids are acting harsh towards the Rat Grinders and not look for redemption. . .

They fucking tried throughout Junior Year right.. if the Rat Grinders used strategy and had Buddy as well as Ruben heal their party at this point. . But also the Bad Kids are in a "here we go again" situation. .all their time at school has been LETS SAVE THE FUCKING WORLD. it's a kill or be killed situation. The situation that they are used to.

Like come on. . The Freshmen Year one fell into their laps because Riz wanted to find out what happened. Gorgug and Kristen died in the first fight.... They got curious and were only taught how to use the battle strategy by Bill Seacaster. .

Sophomore year was a spring break task given to them by the principal. . That was their assignment....

The night Yorb was their fault. .well mainly Riz's fault but it was the Bad Kids fault to investigate the name Night Yorb right... But they fixed it, they owned up to their mistakes.

This year? Yeah I'm still in the mindset that they would have figured out some of the plan without the Rat Grinders being the Rat Grinders right. . like they might find Lucy. . The Vulture dimension shit could have still happened... The Rat Grinders could have been in the background but TBK could have been aware of them.

Like they found out about the rage crystals BECAUSE OF LYDIA. they found out about Ankarna because of a mixture of Bakur and Lydia as well as what was happening with Cassandra.

Like Buddy Dawn information was found out via Kristen's brother.

The Frosty Fair was at Gorgug's house and Riz's mother was researching it. Just so happened Ruben was there as well as Grix.

The chances of them going to the temple in the mountains, them finding out about Ankarna, Fig becoming the champion are all very high as well. Like come on. . Kalina mentioned Ragh because she was using a way around a spell/curse. .the mystery is dangling for the Bad Kids. Like it's a mystery of why is an unnamed god causing rage etc.. it's what the bad kids do.

If they had arrived at the gym post election party. . They could have had the dragons from Oisin anyway... The fight wouldn't have changed.

This fight wouldn't have changed. Like there are 6 students actively HELPING TWO TEACHERS END THE FUCKING WORLD. Even if they are not manipulated into doing so. . The Rat Grinders actively hate the Bad Kids. . The Bad Kids are naturally going to take out the support so they can do what they do best. . .

Sorry for the rant when talking about something sweet that the 7 IH do for each other. .

Like if you are that annoyed, take a break. Or just find something else. If you don't come back thats also fine. . .

[fallingdown98]

FHJY Called Shot

Mostly making this post so if this is right i can say I called it. Obviously, thanks to the preview we know that the Bad Kids are gonna have to do the "Last Stand" exam. I'm aware that on a meta level, this was always going to happen because of how production works but I think this may also relate to some of the Teachers being in on the conspiracy w/ the RatGrinders + Ankarna. In on the conspiracy in this case, does not necessarily mean bad guy though because I have an inkling based on absolutely nothing that this conflict may involve more than just one conspiring group. Might even be willing to think the teachers may be the ones putting the RG up to the shit theyve been doing. Specifics under the read more because i have a lot of thoughts. Listed in most sus to least sus but worth noting

Porter - First to mention the Last Stand, Warhammer = Akarna’s Scales theory, Rage, his Giant lineage (Through Earth Genasi), Ancestral Paladin relates to prior point, Steering Fig away from Cass, “Barbarian” healed Ragh post prom before he was able to see Kalina (Also, didn’t use Lay on Hands which we now know he would have had access to), Paired with Jace Stardiamond (AKA another sus mf), unsurprised at the carnage on the first day of Freshman year

Jace - Current VP so has power even if he keeps claiming he doesn’t want it, Seen most w/ Porter (See above), Ragh saw him talking to Arianwen (And Kalina) post prom (Aka I think Spy’s tongue curse will lead to this), first to inspect the hellmouth magic FY and recognized both the divine and Nightmare King stuff, Yolanda specifically said she would go to Jace over Grix with the Lucy Info, Speculation: Divine Soul Sorcerer, Of Note: Would have had most contact with FY Villain Penelope Everpetal as she was also a sorc, Also also I DO NOT trust the fact that he put Riz on the faculty we still need to check those school Bylaws

Henry HopClap - Not on OG FY Faculty Roster, Grix’s hard drive, His connection with Ruben, Could have encouraged Gorgug w/ the intention/assumption he’d fail and thus would have to take The Last Stand, Frosty Faire Fest had some clearly evil artificing with the wires thing and would have the most knowledge in this regard

Zara Sool - Also not on OG FY Faculty Roster, Showed up at Mordred during Baron’s Game (I know they said in AP that it was a riff on Horror Movie Monsters but she was still the only one without a direct connection to the Manor), Lover of Celestial (Could be either pro or anti Ankarna), Also seen with Sus Porter, Agreed w/ Porter against Cass

Rogue Teacher - Sometimes the simplest answer is the correct one, Maybe the Rogue teacher has put KLCK up to some amount of her plot or assisted in some way leading to Teach finding Student rather than Vice-Versa. 

Bobby Dawn - This mf is last just cuz we already know he’s up to some shady shit and I can’t wait for the Bad Kids to murder his pompous ass, Probably the one to expel Kristin which gives him both satisfaction but also leads to Last Stand

TLDR: I think there’s a conspiracy within the Faculty and that it’s possible Porter, Jace, Henry, Zara, and/or the Rogue Teacher are all working together. If they are pressuring the RatGrinders, that would give added motivation to fuck over the Bad Kids for a good grade. Also think something catastrophic will happen at the Last Stand and that it was part of the plan since day 1 (Im aware on a meta scale this may just be me overthinking and we just needed to give a reason to use the cool battleset)