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#also 'gorgug and riz in riz's office at night' and 'gorgug and riz in gorgug's van at night' feel like tropes for these two by now
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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.
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comrade-ellis · 6 months
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fantasy high junior year predictions/hopes
trackerbees breakup and kristen moves in with gilear
kristen discovers a disowned gay uncle and deals with the emotional fallout of having been kicked out of her family at 14 (can we please talk about THAT instead of more religion???)
her parents fucking die and through the power of friendship her gay uncle gets custody of her and her brothers
seriously can we please explore kristen's material familial relationships i think shes cool with god for now
gilear gets neutered
*gilear voice* i thought i was going to the doctor but it was the veterinarian fig. they took my balls.
ragh and aelwyn are friends and carpool to community college
aelwyn gets so much therapy and she gets super into zen and has a sand garden and picks up a multiclass in artificing
aelwyn and fabian retcon. they never banged and they actually do group therapy together. for some reason gilear is the receptionist at the therapists office he gets fired for breaking hippa
fabian is also in therapy. they all are
aelwyn gets super into welding. shes blue collar now baby
adaine starts sewing her own pants. i won't elaborate
fathrethriel comes back. don't know why this is in the adaine section. it is though.
adaine and ayda are friends more
adaine and ayda volunteer at the animal shelter together doing therapeutic readings to dogs
zane darkshadow is present :)
tracker transes their gender and kills a man any man is good maybe that like bird guy in the av club skrank
skrank
fig, fabian, gilear, and hallariel go to family counseling
sandra lynn goes on a scam therapy retreat but she gets really into the scam therapy. she doesn't get real therapy even though she should
jawbone + thistlesprings polycule. i dont want it and you dont want it but it could happen
gilear gets neutered
gilear successful yogurt enterprise foiled by sandra lynn's scam therapy
fig and ayda queerplatonic relationship
fig quits music. she starts doing slam poetry. it is unsuccessful and she experiences professional and creative disappointment
fabian engineered the gilear neutering
hallariel gets pregnant after gilear gets neutered and fabian obsesses over proving gilear is not the father. chungledown bim is the father. fabian obsesses over proving gilear is the father. fabian struggles with brotherhood. parallels to kristen's relationship with her brothers
cathilda gets a 2 bedroom and fabian moves in with her. new mom now. at strongtower luxury
fabian joins a competitive dance team à la dance moms
the night yorb is taken care of first combat
fabian is in a ballet class but because he started so much later than the other kids it's just a bunch of 6 year olds. there's a recital. this is related to the hallariel pregnancy story line
zelda and gorgug break up zelda is probably gay and gorgug is super supportive about it they're still friends they just weren't meant to be
gorgug and biological parents can we revisit this he met them last episode freshman year and didn't mention it sophomore year
gorgug decides to become a jazz musician and leaves fig and the sig figs
gorgug interns at tech start up. also elon musk is heavily implied to be the Big Bad. no one knows what gorgug does there
gorgug starts working at the ice cream place
gorgug fucking dies
gorgug and ragh accidentally get legally married and spend the season undoing that as a B plot
riz gukgak my beloved
riz and penny are penpals
riz and ayda are friends
riz considers getting his GED and leaving the group but is paralyzed by the notion of choice
riz laser tattoo removal arc
sklonda gets fired cuz her kid is a criminal and its a bad look for the PD
riz, sklonda, and gilear blow up elmville PD headquarters and seize control of dispatch to send every single cop to one address that's just a field so there's no cops in the city and the Bad Kids can break into gorgug's tech internship
arthur augefort dies of a congenital heart defect in the first seven minutes. garthy obrien new headmaster/principal
they build a new apartment building across the street from strongtower luxury called strongtower plaza. it's not relevant but it happens
torek railgrinder owns a sexy rat who is at the vet when gilear gets neutered
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allthecastlesonclouds · 6 months
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bulleted headcannons of fh dance studio 🫴
oh my GOSH okay yes!!
aguefort owns the studio. nobody knows how bc he does one (1) type of dance and it's fucking BALLROOM. he somehow keeps the studio running though so nobody stops him
ayda works the main office mostly. she danced at a studio that did the yearly nutcracker and then got tired of it and wanted to learn some other versions.
(she does a lot of contemporary now, especially to hip-hop music. it's cool as hell.)
kristen does modern and takes ballet. she tries so hard and she is so strong but she is. absolute shit at anything harder than a piqué. she likes modern bc cass lets her work in her ribbon dancer. she's also Really Good with choreo and technique!! she can spot the issue in Seconds
she helps out around the studio a lot too!! definitely not to see more of the girl with the pretty side cut who dances in the later hours :)
gorgug does hip hop bc he loves the community aspect of it! and ballet- he does a lot of the background/supporting work.
he's never had a solo. all the bad kids want him to ask for one because he's really fucking good how dare he. he tells them that aguefort doesn't like him.
(arthur doesn't like him. ayda would fight the world for him.)
fig is a jazz+tap girlie but she was Raised on ballet+tap so she's signed up for ballet too! she's been doing tap since she was So Little and it's genuinely just. her favorite thing ever.
she crashes the hip hop classes often. nobody stops her because she has the Energy Ever.
adaine, like fig, was put into ballet as a kid (along with aelwyn)
she met riz and he dragged her to a hip hop class and she simply. has not gone back. added contemporary onto her repertoire and a technique class and pointe. definitely the busiest out of everyone.
riz tried it for like. school. and fucking loved it. he thought it would be good networking, good resume filling, good exercise- and also he loved it. that comes last in the list of importance tho
that guy choreographs and performs the most complex ballet pieces known to man. kristen has tried one during an after-recital party and that video is used as blackmail to this day
he does ballet and jazz. he's tried every class at the studio and settled into those two. he's perfectly fine in his comfort zone thank you!
fabian started as a solely Jazz dancer. his dad died and he underwent a whole buncha self evaluation and then signed up for so many classes- he's taking no joke like 10.
jazz. ballet. tap. technique. modern. contemporary. hip hop. pointe. he's doing it all and having the Time Of His Life.
and now we get into the actual *studio*! whoaa it only took 17 bullet points!
their studio doesn't do a show performance, like the nutcracker, or competitions, but they do work a lot on choreography and do multiple performances throughout the year
you can request to do a solo/double/group piece that's multi-track! ayda Somehow fits it in the schedule. you get a teacher advisor (for the bad kids maybe jawbone?) who gives advice but the dance is mostly choreographed by you
these dances are the highlights of the recitals. fig wants to do one but is already doing a solo so she wants to work on a group piece! she and adaine have traumabonded in multiple classes so she asks her first
adaine goes. you're not gonna believe what i'm about to do. and snags riz. fig grabs gorgug. they're the initial four.
they spy fabian after a late-night rehearsal having a mental breakdown through dance and go huh. he was already becoming less stuck up. let's speed up the process.
kristen swings by later, sweeping and restocking toilet paper and shit and offhandedly offers some solutions to things they're struggling with
and lo and behold the bad kids are created! they have No Concept of time ever. but they're gonna choreograph a dance and by god it's going to look good!!
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swarmkeepers · 3 years
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riz & gorgug for #5! ✨
5. heard you tell the same story multiple times but doesn’t point it out to you when you excitedly bring it up to them again + riz & gorgug (prompts linked here)
(starting immediately post-fhsy, and a little more angsty than the other prompt fills so far because it deals with some of the aftermath of spring break. sometimes friendship is late nights and brownie recipes and old stories.)
There are forty minutes left until Elmville when Riz digs his claws into the headrest of the passenger’s seat and clambers over the seat backs to sit shotgun in the Hangvan. 
Everyone else is asleep, or as Riz suspects in Tracker’s case as she stays oddly still as a human pillow for Kristen in the backseat, at least pretending to. But Riz is quest-restless even though they’re heading home, and Gorgug’s awake because he’s driving, and both of their darkvision light up the street ahead for them. 
Gorgug doesn’t look surprised when Riz lands in the seat next to him. Of course. Because his whole party knows that Riz doesn’t sleep, or at least has to be told to, or has to know that there are hit points to be regenerated and a fight to be alert for the next day. 
Streetlights speed by and Gorgug brings the van to a smooth stop at a light, accelerating smoothly up afterwards to not jostle anyone in the backseat. He’s practiced, easy, calm. Meanwhile, Riz’s thoughts are a messy turbulent maelstrom. He can’t sleep, and after everything in the Nightmare Forest if he never saw a bed again it’d be too soon. But, forget sleep, his brain isn’t even letting him relax right now, and Riz is struggling to figure out the questions that are on the tip of his tongue. His fingers itch for a ball of red string, trying to figure out why he wanted to be up here with the passenger seat and the windshield and Gorgug.
“What’s being a barbarian like?” he asks quietly, and Gorgug doesn’t exactly startle but does tip his head to the side curiously. 
“Can I ask why?” 
“I’m—angry,” Riz says, surprising himself, but it feels true enough. “I killed Kalina, but she said she was with me my whole life. And I hate that.” He wants to hiss, to bare his teeth and make the hair on the back of his neck stand up, but it’s not Gorgug he’s mad at. “Sometimes I wonder if I should use that to. Hit things.” 
“Okay,” Gorgug says. 
“And you—you know about that. About being angry, and not being. As comfortable. Or at least you’ve said stuff like that.” Riz picks at his long fingernails, pretending to be nonchalant and not looking up to see if Gorgug’s insight is better than his shitty attempt at deception. 
“Tell me about why you wanted to be a rogue?” Gorgug asks instead, and Riz understands it’s not really a question. He trusts Gorgug. He thinks about it. 
“Um, my mom was always a detective, I guess. And my dad was a spy, but I guess I didn’t know that.” Riz spends a lot of his time thinking. He’s realizing he doesn’t spend a lot of time thinking about himself. Maybe he needs to make a new conspiracy board. “Uh. I guess the first time I ever saw Penny sneak attack someone was really cool, I definitely knew I wanted to do that.”
Gorgug makes a soft hm? noise that asks Riz to keep talking. “Because I was little and Penny’s little too, and we were at the mall and some asshole catcalled her? And oh, man, you should have seen her, Penny was probably an Aguefort freshman then? But she told me to hide behind this vending machine and—”
--
They’re all the way home, with the Mordred Manor crew taking their stuff out of the trunk while Gorgug and Riz keep talking. Riz finished his story hurriedly as they pulled into the driveway, ending with Penny teaching Riz to make brownie bars at Strongtower after the sneak attack incident and being so cool and badass and nonchalant about making that guy’s nose gush with blood. He’s talking fast and gesturing big like he doesn’t usually, caught up in a story that he can tell well and that he hadn’t thought of in a while. Him and his rogue friends are tiny badasses. 
“That was a good story,” Gorgug says. “Rogues seem pretty cool.” 
Riz grins, all his fangs out and happy in the driveway of the manor. “Thanks, dude.” 
“I think you can be angry and not a barbarian,” Gorgug says, gently. 
And “Okay,” Riz says, gentled. 
--
It’s the tail end of one of Fabian’s all-out summertime ragers. The Bad Kids are in a big cuddle pile that barely fits on the picnic blanket on the lawn of Seacaster Manor, and Gorgug’s at the very bottom. Riz is tipsy on half a beer (goblin metabolisms are not good and it’s not his fault) and he thinks Gorgug looks a little lonely, lying on his stomach and tapping at his crystal with all the wind knocked out of him from everyone lying on top. He scrambles down the pile of friend-bodies and sits on the grass by Gorgug. Riz racks his brain for something good to say. He doesn’t want Gorgug to be lonely, not when Riz is going to be up all night and Riz is usually the lonely one.
“Di’ I ever tell you about the first time I saw someone get sneak attacked,” Riz says, words big and bubbly and coming out too fast. He doesn’t care, he’s buzzed and happy and Gorgug looks like he could use a good story.
“I don’t remember, tell me,” Gorgug says, putting his crystal down face down so its glow goes dark. 
“Oh man, you’re going to love this story. It was, like, me ‘n Penny at the mall, and there was this real asshole of a dude, and I didn’t know Penny went to Aguefort but she took out this knife? And it was like she flew at him—”
At some point in the story Gorgug falls asleep, and Riz is more pleased than annoyed. He looks cozy. And not lonely. 
--
“What’s this, The Ball?” Fabian asks when Riz takes a fantasy tupperware of brownie bars out of his briefcase and puts it on the the table in the cafeteria.
“They’re sneak attack brownies,” Riz says. 
It evidently does not clear up any of Fabian’s questions. 
“Penny—Penny Luckstone?—they’re her recipe, she taught me how to make them the same day I ever saw her sneak attack a dude,” he explains. “She like, jumped out from behind one of those fake potted plants at the mall and slashed him so bad with a dagger and then she didn’t even get sneak attack on it but she also socked him in the nose and it was like the coolest thing I’d ever seen. And then she just went home and washed the blood off her fist and then we made brownies.” He puts a hand on his chest. “And I’ll never forget it.” 
“Okay, The Ball,” Fabian says, but he takes a brownie. 
Next to him, Gorgug’s already halfway into his second, nodding happily and energetically so his hair flops in front of his face. “I love that story!” he says. He’s all leaned in, listening to Riz’s story.
Riz lights up—he’s no Fabian, with expensive magical gifts, and he’s no Gorgug either with little artificed trinkets and sweeping big gestures. But he’d remembered the story and remembered the brownies and wanted to make some, and he’s just glad his friends like them as much as he does.
“Because the secret ingredient is sour cream,” Riz confides. Fabian fake-sputters, sending tiny brownie crumbs everywhere, and Gorgug swats at him. 
“You were eating it just fine before!” Gorgug says indignantly. “Respect the brownie, dude!”
“You’re right, Gorgug,” Fabian sighs. He takes another bite. “They’re not bad, The Ball.” 
--
Riz only dimly registers footsteps pounding up the stairs and also a greataxe brute forcing its way through the booby traps at his office door. His crystal is abandoned on the floor next to him, the last text he sent to Gorgug still on the screen. It’d been “Having a bad time. At my office. Can you come help? Thanks, Riz” and it’d been typed out with shaky fingers as his breaths started coming too fast, the way it does whenever he lets himself be alone in his own office for too long. Riz hates it but he needs help. He forgot the period on that text and it’s been staring at him for the past few minutes. 
His brain is whirring too fast—Shadow Cat, Kalina’s eyes in his own eyes, Baron in his mirror in his own office, darkness and danger and Fabian in churning waters, he died in that forest and so did Adaine and so could any of his friends, bullets dodged and bullets fired and it’s too much, too much. His breaths are coming too fast but also not fast enough. Riz feels suffocated. 
He’s wedged himself into his own briefcase of holding, the sides squeezing his arms in a way that’s grounding and comforting when nobody else is here in his office to help.
But Gorgug is. Gorgug is here to help now. He skids to a stop in front of Riz and sits on the floor and Riz only dimly registers it out of the corner of his eye where his head is curled into his chest trying to make himself small, make himself safe. 
“Riz, can I touch you?”
Riz does his best to nod and Gorgug just wraps long lanky boy arms around his torso, gently lifting Riz out of his own briefcase and settling him in Gorgug’s lap as they sit on the floor of the office. He doesn’t let go, just squeezes tighter. It’s so much help, and also— “Can you. Talk? Anything— Anything’s fine,” Riz says. 
“Um. Sure, Riz. I guess I can. I could list a recipe? My parents have been trying to teach me to cook more, for when we go to college in a couple of years. I’m sorry, I’m not like Adaine, I don’t have lots of interesting things memorized,” Gorgug says, apologetic. Riz wants to be able to tell him not to be, but he’s a little preoccupied trying to make his brain tell his lungs to breathe.
“Uh, so these are called sneak attack brownies?” Gorgug says hesitantly. Riz realizes what he’s doing and tries to laugh, the giggle interrupting the choked breath he was trying to take.
“They’re called sneak attack brownies because they’re my badass friend’s recipe. And he learned it from his badass friend. Um, I don’t know this super well, actually, but I really should by now and I’m just going to keep talking and if it’s wrong then I guess it’s wrong? I know that you need chocolate for a brownie. And eggs and sugar. You told me the secret ingredient is sour cream.”
Riz nods, thudding his head into Gorgug’s chest a little. He takes a deep breath. Gorgug’s hoodie is soft. And he’s a good listener.
“Right, uh. After sour cream. Flour. And butter?”
“The butter’s— the butter’s unsalted,” Riz manages to eke out, voice small and quiet and mostly talking to his own knees. 
“Got you. Unsalted butter,” Gorgug agrees, easy as anything. 
“Penny said— Penny said that dude she punched’s tears were salty enough, that’s how I remember it,” Riz tells him.
“Tell me more?” Gorgug asks, and he waits patiently as Riz lets his brain just focus on a recipe, an easy recipe and a badass story. It helps, to be given something focused to do. And Riz is just so, so glad he has friends who will give that to him, will listen over and over again when Riz needs to talk. 
And Gorgug waits. And Riz tells him. 
from the prompt list linked here! i’m closing prompts from this particular list simply because i have so many excellent ones to get through
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aelwynrights · 3 years
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if you’re still doing the reverse ask meme, thoughts on bad kids and how they feel about aelwyn post sophomore year?? also LOVE ur aelwyn meta always fun to read!!
i am always doing all ask memes emotionally also thank you i adore doing aelwyn meta
the bad kids..... rvs.... okay in order:
kristen applebees likes aelwyn because they are both lesbians sparkleheart and they both have shit parents so they bond over that. occasionally they will try to make dinner as a surprise for jawbone and sandra lynn together (the surprise is the smoke alarm going off and them having to order takeout because god neither of these girls can cook)
riz thinks aelwyn is still a little scary partly because she did almost kill him and mostly because once she dropped by his office to pick up adaine, took one glance at his latest conspiracy board, and said “huh, don’t you think you should look more into the trucks coming in from bastion city to find out if they’re a part of the issue?” and she was RIGHT and it fixed everything and cracked it wide open he’s never admitted it to her and is terrified one day she’ll find out (she already knows). they have study sessions where they sit in opposite corners of the room and do not speak to each other and get SO much done.
fig doesn’t super trust aelwyn still but aelwyn has such older sister energy that she can’t HELP going to her with her relationship “issues” (they’re literally never that serious) also she does like it when aelwyn teases the boys so she can stay (and also she and aelwyn have a weird overlap of fashion sense so there’s like three items that become shared closet items between the two of them). fig and aelwyn will run errands together because they both appreciate being Efficient and not Dawdling, Kristen,
fabian seacaster and aelwyn abernant are both gay and rich and rude and that’s it (brennan lee mulligan don’t get any ideas) they love to hang and insult people and laugh about when they were repressed together. literally the most dynamic duo. i do think fabian deserves to teach aelwyn how to swordfight.
gorgug has never spoken to aelwyn properly in his life and i doubt he ever will. they are civil and consider each other friends but just. what would they talk about what would they DO actually i do want to see them like. the only two free on a thursday evening and desperate for socialisation and they’re like we’re friends we can hang! and it doesn’t go badly it’s just not a night either of them expected to have.
adaine. hoo boy. that’s her older sister!! i can’t get into sister emotions right now i simply cannot but. that’s her older sister and they do fight about adaine getting up too early and making too much noise (aelwyn is the lightest sleeper in the world) but that’s her Older Sister!!
aelwyn and the hangman can hang. end of post.
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floralprintshark · 3 years
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Prompt fill #10 for @dimension20alphabet:
Jitters / Joy
One of the most important lessons Gorgug has learned from his parents is to always talk about his feelings—not necessarily with his parents, but with someone, maybe even anyone, especially if it was something that makes him feel bad.
 Gorgug learned that his parents are usually right about stuff like this when he simply gave up on talking about his rage issues—simply because his parents were never angry in their life and it had been frustrating to try and explain it to them. Instead of just going away, like Gorgug had hoped, his anger had become worse.
 Now he has Zelda and Ragh to talk to when his anger feels overwhelming or shameful or scary. And his parents were right.
 Talking about his feelings helps.
 Or, in this special case, freaking out with either one of those two or both of them was really good to keep his anger in check in the long run.
 Sometimes finding the right person to talk to about a specific problem is a challenge. He has tried to breach his recent conundrum with Fig, but she only stared at him with blank eyes and seemed so confused that Gorgug decided that she wasn’t the right person for the job. To be fair, maybe she was still scarred from that whole debacle with her mom and Garthy. Or maybe she is just so in love with Ayda that she can’t imagine being in his position at all.
 Finally, Gorgug decides on Jawbone.
 Jawbone is great to talk to for a big variety of topics, although sometimes Gorgug just prefers talking to someone his own age. But in this case it seems unlikely to find someone and Jawbone is perfect simply because Gorgug knows that Jawbone has experience with the topic that’s keeping Gorgug up at night.
 That topic being polyamory.
 When he first heard about it in relation to Jawbone he hadn’t really known what it meant, so he asked Adaine about it. Adaine who—in Gorgug’s book knows about almost everything—didn’t disappoint and explained that some people are in a relationship with more than one person.
 Gorgug still remembers the feeling in his stomach that reminded him of missing a step on one of the stairs at school or the first few seconds of an elevator moving down. He identified the emotion as excitement, which then led to guilt towards Zelda.
 Feelings are really complicated.
 He walks around in front of Jawbone’s office for what feels like an eternity and his nervousness gets worse the longer he walks, so finally he just rips the door open and forgets to knock.
 Jawbone is eating a salad and chokes on a lettuce leaf when Gorgug nearly pulls the door off its hinges before quickly entering.
 “Um—sorry”, he says sheepishly and scratches the back of his neck.
 “Hey there, Gorgug. I would say come in, but...”, Jawbone chuckles and motions to one of the cozy armchairs standing in front of his desk. Gorgug sits down and tries not to accidentally break anything while his fingers nervously try to find something to occupy themselves with.
 “What’s up, kiddo?”, Jawbone asks gently and puts his salad bowl aside.
 “I guess I wanted to talk to you... about—um. About you being poly?”, Gorgug says, his voice a little higher than normal. He tries to calm his breathing but his stomach feels a little bit like someone dropped one of Fig’s bathbombs in there.
 “About me being poly? Or about you possible being poly?”, Jawbone asks and Gorgug feels a flush on his cheeks.
 “Yeah. I mean. About me, I guess.”
 “Okay, that’s cool. So, tell me a little bit about that”, Jawbone says encouragingly and smiles at him, pushes his glasses up and leans back in his chair.
 “Uh—well. I’m—hm. So, Zelda is my girlfriend. And I—I—uh. Iloveher. And. And it’s really good being with her and I don’t want to break up or anything. But—um. But I also like someone else? If that makes sense.”
 “Yeah, that makes total sense to me, kiddo. So, have you talked to Zelda about liking someone else?”
 “No. I’m scared to hurt her. Like, what if she thinks I don’t like her anymore because I like another person? Or if she thinks she’s not good enough as a girlfriend. She’s, like. Really awesome. I don’t want to make her feel bad. And—and I don’t know if that—if that other person... Um. If h—if they like me back at all.”
 Jawbone is listening to him patiently and nodding along, like he knows exactly what Gorgug is talking about. It makes him feel a little less nervous and he finally manages to loosen his grip on the armrests of the chair.
 “So, the most important things about polyamory are communication and consent, right? Truth being told, that’s the most important thing in any relationship, but if you’re potentially juggling more than one partner, then it becomes even more essential. And if you and Zelda trust each other, there should be no problem in expressing your feelings, right? Liking another person doesn’t have to take away from you liking Zelda. Just like you liking Riz doesn’t take away from you liking Fabian or Fig or Kristen or Adaine. And hey, maybe she will be a little shocked, or maybe she will say that she’s not poly, or doesn’t want to try. And it might end up staying a closed relationship, right? That’s entirely possible. But if she’s open for it and trusts you, then maybe you two can talk about it and you can think about telling that other person about your feelings too. It’s just important that everyone is open about their feelings and everyone knows about what’s going on, you know?”
 Gorgug nods.
 Being open about feelings is something he’s been working on anyway, and something he’s been taught since he was small. He thinks about what Jawbone said and it makes sense, that just because he has five friends, that doesn’t mean his love for them is diminished by liking other people too.
 Now that he thinks about it, romance seems to be the only thing that has this pressure of being an exclusive thing. Parents are supposed to love all their children equally. Siblings might like some more than others, but Gorgug assumes that this doesn’t have anything to do with the number of siblings. He loves both of his dads, too.
 It makes sense.
 “I can give you some stuff to read, if you’re interested”, Jawbone says, watching him attentively as if to see if Gorgug is upset. But Gorgug, now that he has entangled his worries into words and said them out loud, and after thinking about what Jawbone said, feels an inexplicable sense of joy about his new understanding of things.
 He’s not sure he would have gotten here on his own, but he’s learned that he doesn’t have to.
 And the thought about having two partners is such a happy potential unfolding in front of him that he feels a smile spreading over his face.
 “Yeah. Yeah, I think I would like that”, he says. “Thanks a lot, Jawbone. I’ll—uh. I’ll talk to Zelda. And. And um—maybe then I’ll talk to... Ragh. Depending on how it goes with Zelda.”
 Jawbone’s face breaks into a big smile and he reaches over the desk to clasp his clawed hand on Gorgug’s shoulder.
 “I’ll have my fingers crossed for you, kiddo. Ragh is a good kid. And so are you and Zelda. I’ll lend you that book when you come over next time, okay?”
 “Yeah. Yeah, okay. I feel like I might be over again soon”, Gorgug says and scratches the back of his neck as Jawbone chuckles.
 “Well, I’m glad I could help you out, Gorgug. If you have any more questions, my door’s always open.”
 “Thanks, Jawbone.”
 “No problem, kiddo. And by the way? Welcome to the community.”
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lillaskiten · 4 years
Text
Ok so fantasy high is definitely a new obsession because i even wrote fanfic about it. First time posting any of my writing so like, be gentle. anyway this happened because i think The Ball is a stupid nickname but the potential for drama is delicious. Also fabriz is good. The “The Ball” Thing Summary: Riz stands up for himself after it’s all over. Not everyone is thrilled. Important conversations get interjected with important shenanigans.
Despite everything, The Bad Kids were in good spirits when they stepped out of Principal Agueforts office. It had been a harrowing spring break. Between evil shadow clones, demons and beings of pure nightmare it was sure to leave its mark. Jawbone really had his work cut out for him. Adaine still wasn’t over dying for the first time. Fig also died for the first time. She’s good though.
But now they were back in Elmville, heroes once again despite multiple murders, thefts and property damages. It’s familiar and invigorating.
Gorgug took Zelda on a date as soon as they got back. It wasn’t gonna heal over night, but they were working it out. Fig planned an actual vacation for her and Gilear who, gods know how, actually made it back. Adaine, Kristen and Tracker held a celebratory welcome home party at Mordred manor to actually try to get acquainted with their new home. Riz and Fabian immediately met up with their respective mothers to barrage them with the tales of their adventure.
It was good. They were home.
Walking out of the school they couldn’t help but notice Riz walking especially upright. He smiled like he did when on the verge of a breakthrough. Stepping out into the school parking lot he stopped them with certainty that was almost certainly unfounded.
“I would like all of you to follow me to my office,” he said with a glint in his eyes.
“Uh, sure... Why?” Adaine was first to question.
“Please just come along, I happen to have an announcement!” the triumph in his voice was unmistakable.
“That you can’t tell us in the parking lot?” Kristen said.
“Of course not!” though everyone could see how he barely held whatever it was in. “It needs to be official.”
Well, it was Riz. Whatever it was it was probably important. They all shrugged and followed him down to the old office building. Wondering quietly, and in Fabian and Fig’s case; very loudly, what this announcement was about.
~
The office was cleaned and rearranged from the scuffle at the beginning of their adventure. The four who had been subjected to said scuffle walked in carefully. Fabian especially. He shuddered just thinking about nightmare-Riz.
Boggy croaked happily and Fabian felt a little better.
Real-life-Riz must’ve come here as soon as they got back. The space was impeccably clean and so clearly lived in at the same time. It looked like an IKEA display room for deranged detectives. The conspiracy board already had a new case starting to form on it and beside an old coffee cup on the desk lay the Nightmare King file, now with a big red CLOSED scribbled on top.
The Bad Kids tumbled in and filled the space in both spirit and person. At Riz’s indication they all got situated on the floor, each seemingly trying to out-weird the others in their sitting position. Well, Adaine sat prim and proper with boggy in her lap, silently confused over her friends antics. Riz stood, king of his castle, behind the desk. He filled them each a cup of black sludge that was almost coffee. Everyone but Kristen pulled a face when handed their cup.
“The Ball, will this put hair on my chest or make it fall out?” Fabian grimaced.
“Uhh, Both?” Riz waved him off. “But! That does bring me to my announcement…”
Everyone leaned forward in mild anticipation. Was it a new case? Whatever was happening on the conspiracy board? Was he and Sklonda moving? Was he an honorary detective? Was his father actually alive and in hiding and now needed their help on his most dangerous mission yet? (That last one was Figs suggestion.)
“I…” He took a deep breath.
“Wait is he like… coming out?” Kristen whispered to Adaine.
“Didn’t he already? And you think every announcement is someone coming out!” Adaine whispered back.
“Well, she’s right like 50% of the time you know?” Fig squeezed in and plopped a piece of popcorn in her mouth. at least it wasn’t a clove.
Riz paused.
“Did you bring snacks to my heartfelt moment of vulnerability?”
“Oh shit it’s gonna be heartfelt?” Fig exclaimed. “Dang, we are seriously unprepared.”
She quickly conjured a bowl of popcorn for the whole room. They descended on it like a pack of wolves.
After Adaine had broken up the coming fight and divvied the popcorn so that everyone got exactly as many as they wanted in comparison to the others (with any excess given to Boggy) Riz stood there with popcorn in his hand and a little less triumph in his voice.
“So what I was trying to say was…” He paused and looked around the room for any possible interjection. Fig looked like she still had something on her mind but a look shot her down. He coughed and tried to regain that triumphant feeling he’d been carrying all day.
This was his moment. Time to bring his character development to a head!
Boggy croaked happily. Yes, he could absolutely do this!
“I hereby relinquish my status as The Ball,” He said with grandeur, looking each of his friends in the eyes (or eye in Fabians case). “I formerly ask you all to stop calling me by that name.”
“Of course,” Gorgug and Kristen said in unison.
“That’s it?” Adaine said.
“Oh I never really liked The Ball either,” Fig said, chewing popcorn.
“WHAT?” Fabian was aghast. He had stood up and slammed his hands on the desk. “But. You. Are. The Ball.”
“Yeah well I never actually liked that nickname,” Riz said. He looked at the others behind Fabian. “I thought now, with all we’ve been through, I could tell you and still keep you as friends.”
“Of course you’re still our friend, you really thought something like that could get rid of us?” Adaine smiled softly like only she does. “It’s a stupid name anyway, the only one who actually cares is Fabian and maybe Ragh.”
“We should tell Ragh right?” Gorgug said, already on his chrystal. “I’m gonna tell Ragh.”
“Hey shh! I think we’re getting to the good part!” Fig elbowed him, pointing out Fabians red face. Then she shoved a fistful of popcorn into her mouth.
It seemed that Fig was conjuring more and more popcorn for every passing second.
Fabian was sputtering before he finally got the words out:
“But… but it’s our thing! We’re Fabian Aramais Seacaster, son of Bill Seacaster and captain of the bloodrush team, and The Ball!” he gestured wildly at himelf, then at Riz, then himself again. “What? Is the captain of the bloodrush team supposed to be best friends with some… just… not The Ball?”
The rest of the Bad Kids had quieted down, all impressed at Riz for actually hearing Fabian call him his best friend without crying. It was the fifteenth time by the way. Not that they kept count.
“Can’t our thing just be that we’re... Riz and Fabian?” Riz answered. Mostly weirded out by this harsh response.
“NO!”
“Why are you making such a big deal out of this?”
“Because… well…” Fabians mouth tried desperately to form any words to his own liking.
“What?”
And Fabian did something the others had barely ever seen before. He was quiet and thought out his next words.
For a while no one said a thing.
“Hey Fabian did Riz tell you he’s gay?” Kristen interjected into the silence.
“What?” (Fabian)
“WHAT!?” (Riz)
Riz threw daggers at her. Like a literal dagger. It struck the floorboards just short of her.
Boggy croaked happily and her heartrate lowered.
Adaine turned and elbowed her.
“What did we say about outing people for drama, Kristen?” she hissed.
“Even though it is fun it’s still very uncool,” she sighed. “But you know, this is a safe space. And like, I have a plan.”
Adaine rolled her eyes and held Boggy closer. Kristen was lovely but sometimes her impulsiveness really got the better of her. By the desk Fabian was staring at Riz, then back at Kristen, then back at Riz.
“You told Kristen but not me?” he looked actually, genuinely hurt. Which for Fabian still looked a tad like an overreaction.
He could see Riz look away. Everyone else turned awkwardly and drank their almost-coffee. The only one who seemed somewhat comfortable was Gorgug.
“Oh, uh… He told all of us actually,” Gorgug said, thinking he helped clarify the situation.
Four sets of eyes turned to glare at him with various levels of “stop talking.”
“Oh don’t you remember?” he pointed at Kristen. “You me and Adaine were talking about Asexuality, and then Fig came in and you” he pointed at Riz, whose ears were turning red under the green skin, “told us, just super casually, that you were gay and then told us to… to not… tell… uh… uh…… Traacker?” He realized his mistake too late.
Everyone looked at Fabian in horror.
“While I don’t really get why you wouldn’t want Tracker to know,” Thankfully Fabian was still thick when it counted. “I’m still hurt you didn’t tell me, I’m your Best Friend!”
“Well to be completely fair” Riz said. “I told Ragh before I told anyone here.”
Fabian looked almost as wounded as Kristen.
“He is actually very sensitive.”
Fabian looked around the room. A place of traitors. Even Ragh was a traitor and he wasn’t even here.  He didn’t feel so bad about not wanting to stop calling The Ball “The Ball” though. That was nothing important compared to this revelation.
“I’m sensitive, The Ball…” Fabian smiled. “I’m the most sensitive.”
“Ok…” Riz fixed him with a glare. “Then be sensitive to my feelings and call me Riz! It’s not that hard, you’ve done it before.”
“Well, not intentionally! And… just… you know what!” He turned dramatically. “Kristen, WHY did you decide to out my Best Friend in the middle of this, frankly inconsequential, conversation?”
Kristen almost choked on the coffee.
“Mm… You see it’s all part of my Master Plan!” She had a smug smile plastered on her face. “Our adventure is done, over, and through it, all of us have sort of grown and had revelations and just MAJOR character development. Just look at Riz! He realized he was gay and got comfortable enough to stop chasing our approval all the time…”
“I didn’t chase after your app-“
“You did.” Kristen said matter of factly. “Now he’s finally decided he’s not The Ball, he’s an adult! A man! and it’s not just him. I’m secure in Yes? now, Adaine is stepping into her role as the elven oracle and like everyone has had a sexuality and gender chat with me except you. And I want to have one really bad because I think there’s a lot that might be going on here.”
Fig paused her popcorn massacre to play the bassline for Fig and the Sig Figs newest hit “F*ck The Man And Also Being A Man Or A Woman”. It was massively popular.
“And with you…” Kristen hesitated. “Well basically you just got rejected by Aelwynn and after that got progressively sadder?”
“Wait, so your master plan is to get Fabian to talk about his feelings?” Adaine raised an eyebrow.
Kristen shrugged.
“OK!” Fabian decided to put a stop to this. “Why is THAT something we’re working through? Right. Now?”
“Because I am so sure it has something to do with the The Ball thing,” Kristen said, looking a little too excited.
“Ok, oookay,” Fabian said again. “There is no ‘ The Ball thing’.”
Which made everyone around murmur that Yes, there was clearly a “The Ball thing” and it was very weird. Fabian looked around for any ally in the room.
Boggy croaked happily.
“Why do you insist on calling me The Ball, Fabian?” Riz was done playing games. He stared down Fabian who almost shrunk under the force of it.
Fig shoved in another fistful of popcorn.
“Well maybe…” Fabian said, mentally unhinging his jaw to let it say whatever it was going to say. “Maybe it’s true that it’s our thing! And maybe I like that, and thought you liked it too. Maybe it represents our friendship? Maybe it feels like you’re taking away our whole dynamic, you know? Maybe… Maybe I can’t handle Riz?... Maybe Riz is just too close?”
Riz stood dumfounded. Everyone else shoved more popcorn in their mouths.
“Maybe I love you Riz!” He concluded, like he just figured it out himself. “Maybe I’m in love with you, maybe that’s it.”
There was a painful few seconds when Riz just stood quiet. Fabian stood still. A man who was unarmed and naked against a man with every knife sharper than his last.
Then Riz leaned in and kissed him. A quick peck on the lips while their audience erupted into giggles and celebratory shouts.
“Fabian,” Riz looked into his eyes and laughed. “I cry when you call me your best friend. Of course I’m in love with you! I’ve had a weird, sad crush on you since freshman year!”
“I can’t believe not one of the Bad Kids is cishet!” Kristen laughed. Then she shouted: “IS THIS WHAT TRUE BELONGING FEELS LIKE?”
Boggy croaked happily.
Adaine patted Riz on the back while Gorgug quietly started giving Fabian tips for their first date (which, of course, everyone else was going to hijack). Fig was already writing up lyrics for a song about them. Was “The Pirates Ball” a good title? She’d have to workshop it. Kristen felt like it was only right to commemorate this LGBT miracle by once again kissing every other Bad Kid on the mouth.
“Ok that’s it! Out! Everyone out!” Fabian started shoving the rest of them towards the door. Kristen first.
“Hey what gives this is great news!” Fig protested. “Also I’m gonna need the whole story of pining and realization and stuff to make this song really POP!”
“Nope, you’re going out!” He dragged her out by the bass.
“But whyyyy?” Fig groaned while holding on to the doorframe.
Fabian smiled like he hadn’t in weeks.
“I’m gonna get my kisses in.”
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jq37 · 4 years
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The Report Card – Fantasy High Sophomore Year Ep 2
Boggy the Froggy!
Welcome back, ya’ll! We jump back in with our Bad Kids (or 4/6 of them anyway) the very next day. Fabian sends Gilear out on a coffee run on the threat of bodily harm. His mom–who, if you remember is low-key a total badass–tells Fabian that if Gilear doesn’t come back from the quest alive, she’s going to duel him to the death on top of the house. Yikes. At Chez Thistlespring, Gorgug’s parents give him another very detailed sex talk and then remind him that he lives in a world where magic is very real so any and all dreams he remembers should be treated as omens. 
At the haunted house, Adaine wakes up having had portentous dreams like everyone else which is doubly concerning I have to imagine considering (1) she is the eleven oracle and (2) as a full elf she’s supposed to trance, not sleep and dream. Luckily for her nerves, she cast Find Familiar the night before and summoned an emotional support familiar which she gave the amazing name Bogariel Frogariel aka: Boggy the Froggy. 
Meanwhile (and I needed to switch paragraphs because Kristen is doing the D&D equivalent of playing Twister while everyone else is playing Checkers as she is wont to do) Kristen is talking to Tracker about changing Yes? again because she is filled with doubt about her god of doubt but the one thing she clearly doesn’t have doubt about is her relationship with Tracker because it’s been less than a year and she already sees wedding bells in their future. Wild. She also invites Tracker on the quest, rectifying what I thought was a wild oversight last week. 
Everyone meets up and they realize Fig and Riz are missing. They (specifically Fabian) can’t get Riz on the phone (which has never happened before) and all of Fig’s stuff is missing. They head over to Riz’s office to see if they can find him but, before that, Tracker cancels the church of Yes? because, sure. 
There are signs of a struggle at Riz’s office, but no blood. They find a picture of Riz’s super-spy dad (Pok) with his arm around someone who appears invisible to them (though the spot is circled in red). They also find claw marks going up to a mirror. Adaine stops Gorgug from touching the mirror which would have driven him insane and had him attack the group. She sees a twisted version of Riz in the mirror which no one else can see until she describes it (suspicious). Then, she dispels magic and the Riz appears in the room…and attacks them (roll for initiative baybee)!
Fabian is flipped the F out. Kristen decides to chill out and drink Riz’s coffee–much to the incredulousness of everyone else (she’s on those chill existential dread vibes). Adaine and Gorgug are stricken by fear but they’re able to snap out of it quickly. Once they’re sure it’s not Riz (the doppelganger is going full creepy horror movie monster with the head twisting and biting and junk), they start going full throttle but Kristen gets a clutch roll and lands a banishment on Nightmare Riz (who was invisible at the time). Also, Adaine finds a gun but no one is down with her packing heat without proper firearms training so she reluctantly puts it back. They confer with Sandra-Lynn and they find out Fig has, for some reason, gone to Bastion City (the capital) and Gorthalax is missing. Also, because Emily is Emily whether she’s present or not, they find out that Fig has decided to multiclass and she is now a bard/warlock with her demon dad as her patron. Those might be connected because, as her patron, Gorthalax can now find Fig at all times.  
Sklonda, in the meantime, has been investigating a robbery at the mall. They end up there too because Gilear (who is back from his coffee run) said he saw Fig’s bus in the area. They tell Ragh to meet them there and then head over (Gorgug in the old family car which he buys from them for 30 gold (the cost of a pony)–the amount Adaine suggests after the Thistlesprings reject his insane offer of 1000 gold). Also, Kristen leaves her brothers some gold secretly which is sad and also I think not the best way to handle that, but the intention is good. The robbery was of a gem–non-magical I believe–called the Devil’s Heart. [Edit: And apparently Fig’s doing.] Fabian shows up, tries to be helpful, and then eats glass. Normal stuff. 
The group tries to figure out what’s going on with Fig by calling the hotel she’s at and basically doing a straight improv comedy routine, each passing the phone around with a bad story until Adaine just hangs the phone up. Then, they find out from Sklonda that Pok’s partner is a tabaxi (cat person) named Kalina and she is in the empty space in the photo. Sklonda and Sandra-Lynn can see it even though the Bad Kids can’t. 
With that information gathered, the group leaves Elmville for the first time on the way to the Hotel Cavalier in Bastion City and, hopefully, Fig. 
Detention
Fabian for Intern Abuse
Poor Gilear. Fabian solicits increasingly complicated coffee orders from his friends to make Gilear’s job harder and tries to get them to threaten Gilear on their behalf. Even Sandra-Lynn was like, bro. Lay off the guy. Bad form, sir. (Hilarious, but bad). 
Honor Roll
Adaine for Rocking Her Portent Rolls
Adaine had a 19 and a 4 for her portent rolls this session and she used them very judiciously. The first was her 19 which she gave to Gorgug who was about to fail his saving throw and touch the mirror which would have led to him attacking everyone (she has a vision of his beheading her in a rage–sidenote love that Brennan makes her portent rolls actual visions instead of just having the mechanical effect of changing the roll happen). The second was a 4 which she gave to Brennan who was rolling for concentration on Nightmare Riz’s fear spell. What a power move to stare your DM in the face and say, “You roll a 4.” Amazing. Portent rolls are so good you guys. Also, bonus points for coming up with the name Bogariel Frogariel. 
Random Thoughts
Fabian’s response to his mom’s ultimatum that she will fight him if Gilear doesn’t return alive? “Damn, guess I have to fight my mom.”
“MAGIC IS REAL AND SO IS MY FROG.”
Brennan describes Boggy as just the most archetypal looking, round, squishy frog and I want a plush of his yesterday. Or a stress ball! It would go with his whole emotional support thing in game. I love that Siobhan picked not the potentially “useful” or “cool” animal. She went full Marie Kondo and was like, “What’s gonna spark some joy?” Boggy also can give her the help action, which is great!
The episode was great even 2 cast members down, but they were missed. On more than one occasion, I was like, “This is more quiet than usual. I wonder why–ah Emily.” We better get her reaction to Boggy as soon as she’s back.  
Kristen brings up the concept of patenting a god which is wild. We also get an answer to the question I had last week about Tracker’s cleric status–she still is a cleric of the moon goddess. The moon goddess is just chill with her followers not being exclusive. 
Fabian sans Riz is a hilarious mess. For anyone who likes them together as friends and/or romantically there was a lot of Content. Fabian being like, “Idk about Fig but something is def wrong with the Ball because he always answers on the first ring when I call  him.” Him canonically forgetting that he has a name other than The Ball (that’s the name in his phone, obv). And, the coup de grace, him investigating RIz’s office, but only for signs of his name. Him trying to Investigate like Riz, rolling a nat 1, and literally eating glass (“I thought I could taste fingerprints!”). 
“Coffee’s ordered, is the Ball dead?”
Adaine as everyone is clowning on Fabian for possibly making out with the Hangman: The Hangman is much more human than my bitch sister. 
Nightmare Riz, who they still think is actual Riz at this point, pops out of the mirror and Fabian and Adaine’s reactions respectively are, “You can’t do these things!” and, “It’s like 60% of our grade.”
The idea of Gorgug going from a terrified scream into a barbarian rage scream is very funny. Where are the animatics people?
Oh, speaking of people, Fantasy High was trending on tumblr the morning after this stream. Nice job, guys! 
The talk that Gorgug’s parents give him about all dreams being significant is something I always say in movies/books/shows like this. You have protagonists who *know* they live in a magic world and they have weird dreams and it’s not until 2/3rds of the way into the story that they’re like, “Wait. My dreams…mean something?” Bitch, what?
Gorgug’s initial coffee order is Hot Chocolate with a shot of decaf.
Everyone is very chill with Tracker coming onto the quest. Adaine just has one rule: No sex in the tent while they’re also in the tent. Kristen asks like she’s offended Adaine would feel the need to say that but like…come on. 
At first, I thought the invisibility in the photo was similar to the non-Adaine bad kids not being able to see Nightmare Riz until she described him but they still couldn’t see the woman in the photo after Sklonda described her so not sure what was going on with the mirror. 
I went back to the episode where Riz finds the photo of his dad (First Kisses and Last Words at around 1 hour, 27 mins in) and in that photo it’s of his dad and his mom. So either (1) it’s a different photo, (2) Brennan forgot/retconned something, or (3) something seriously screwy is going on. I will also note two observations here. Sklonda mentioned that Kalina doesn’t drink but was holding up her hand in a toast like she was drinking in the photo. That seems too specific a detail to not mean anything. And the second thing is, last ep, we did learn about a servant of the Nightmare King called the Shadow Cat and Kalina (if that is her real name) is a tabaxi so that’s something to think about. 
With all the complicated coffee orders flying around, Adaine just changes hers to a black coffee to try and make Gilear’s life a little easier (her original order was a Peppermint Mocha–sans the threat of violence to Gilear Fabian was offering). I do really love that Adaine seems genuinely concerned about the guy. SOMEONE should be. And it’s consistent with her characterization of just being generally well mannered and empathetic. 
Kristen getting the banishment on Nightmare Riz is something she did after Ally asked for it and Brennan was like, “lol, sure on a 19 or 20.” Boom. Rolled a 19. Just like in the prom fight. So the lesson here folks is don’t give your players a conditional yes and then expect the dice to bail you out. 
Kristen’s existential crisis is so crazy to me because she’s having, like, a prototypical Crisis of Faith™ (and pretty realistically) except, unlike in real life, she has certain knowledge about the existence of gods, life after death, and the means to communicate with those deities in the present day like…I feel like you’re crisis-ing wrong, girl. She’s crisis-ing like she just deconverted from Christianity when I feel like what actually happened is closer to, like, quitting a sorority or realizing you hate your major or changing political parties.  
the nature of humanity is just that every so often someone accidentally invents homestuck helioism again
Ragh had a dream matching up with Gorgug’s (but he didn’t realize it was Gorgug in his dream) which means something and I’m sure we’ll figure out what soon enough. 
The Fabian eating glass scene is another one where you truly need to see it to understand how great it is. Lou is equally game to have Fabian be the coolest person who ever lived or a huge baby and Fabian running away crying because he has glass shards in his tongue is incredible. Hilariously, he runs into Ragh in the food court who has also eaten glass in the past (“Glass is literally invisible.”) and they bro bond over it so hard (“That’s my boy!”) that Tracker and Kristen are like…are they a thing?
The other crazy scene is the gang passing around the phone trying to convince the hotel receptionist to give them info about Fig. Kristen comes up with the name Teddy Guyger (and Zac and I at the same time are like, “Did you get the name Teddy because you have a teddy bear in your inventory rn?”). Fabian tries to drop his dad’s name. Their first move for some reason isn’t to give the phone to Gorgug who is also a part of the band. Adaine just hangs up the phone like Peppa Pig. Exquisite comic timing. 
“I cast bane on Gilear.”
I love the running joke of Adaine having visions throughout the day of her friends in the process of doing dumb BS.
Nightmare Riz going after Fabian’s good eye was big gross. Thanks Brennan, I hate it.  
I wonder if what’s going on with Fig is completely different than what’s going on with Riz. Just because they’re gone for the same reason irl, doesn’t mean they’re gone for the same reason in game. Nightmare Fig could be a fun fight though.
As someone whose fave thing in D&D is not combat, I thought the fight in this episode was great. Interesting concept, good chance for in-character reactions, not too long . 
Ragh upon meeting Tracker: Check it out: I’m gay. (Tracker: Tight.)
Fabian, who has known Cathilda his entire life: Do maids dream?
In this ep, Kristen and Adaine rolled 2 nat 20s each (Kristen rolled one for initiative also but it was lowered by her modifier), and Gorgug and Fabian each rolled 1. Fabian also rolled a nat 1 (which, again, led to him Eating Glass).  
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jq37 · 4 years
Text
The Report Card – Fantasy High Sophomore Year Ep 3
 Thanks, I Hate It!
This week, we move forward by first jumping backwards. Last episode, the Bad Kids found that Riz and Fig were missing. Now, we get to see what happened in the meantime. Riz was in his office, trying to put together anything new on the Nightmare King. We’re reminded that his sword--the Sword of Shadows which he got from the arcade and lets him misty step (also, which he used to kill Kalvaxus)--was made by Tabaxi ninjas (seemingly relevant considering the whole Shadowcat thing). He notices that, in his photo, Kalina’s image doesn’t look as time-worn as the rest of it, as if only the part where she appears was protected. He hears a noise and goes to investigate. What he finds, is a creepy-ass nightmare skeleton person in the mirror claiming to be Baron, from the Baronees (the person he on the fly lied--poorly--that he was dating in ep 1). Respecting the fact that Murph never clarified whether Baron was a guy or a girl, Brennan has Baron exclusively refer to themselves as Riz’s R̵̪̹̄o̸̱͝m̸͔͔̂̽a̴͕̾̈́n̵͙̬͒c̸̣̏͠ḙ̸̃̓ ̶̞̇̕P̸̞͚̈́a̸͉͒͝r̴̛͈͈t̷͓͇̋͒n̸̬͛̈́e̴̮̒r̴̝̃̓ in this mega-cursed, fake Swedish(?) accent.
Thanks, I hate it. 
Riz, faced with his lie brought to life, is pretty freaked and tries to shoot it but he’s quickly subdued and dragged into the mirror. Luckily, he’s able to leave the photo for his friends to find. 
Meanwhile, Fig spent the night in a weird fugue state--almost like an enjoyable nightmare. Most of her focus is on this feeling of isolation, fame, and power--but in a good way. In the background, she’s doing some unimportant stuff. You know, packing her stuff, stealing a gem, trapping Gorthalax in it, and going to Bastion City. No big deal. Anyway, that brings us back to the present with the rest of our party.
They make it to Bastion City and, more importantly, the hotel where Fig is supposed to be. On the way, Adaine tries to detect magic on Sandra-Lynn to try and figure out why she can see the photograph but nothing comes up. At the hotel, they unsuccessfully try to get the concierge to tell them where Fig’s room is. Adaine detects that the receptionist has some kind of transmutation on them and her first thought is, “Magic plastic surgery.” She dispels it. Not magic plastic surgery. The concierge is a demon--which is different and worse than devils who are at least lawful and, like, part of the bureaucracy of punishing people who deserve it.
Anyway, fight time! A lot happens during this fight so I’m going to try and highlight the most important parts:
All the employees in the immediate area turn into various demons to fight the party.
Adaine and Kristen catch sight of Fig’s room number (downstairs penthouse) right before the fight starts and, at the top of the initiative, Adaine goes invisible and runs for the elevator. 
Fabian vaults of Gilear’s face--unnecessarily--and rolls a nat 20.
Gilear (who has FIVE hit points) ducks and covers because of course he does. That doesn’t stop him from being completely obliterated by one punch from one of the huge gorilla demons. He freaking DIES. Thanks, I hate it.
Downstairs, Adaine finds a bunch more demons who are with Fig who is clearly being mind controlled. They have Riz strapped to a table and Fig’s about to stab him with a ritualistic knife. Adaine goes for a dispel magic and gets advantage because of Boggy which leads to her rolling *two nat 20s* and snapping her out of it immediately. 
In a very boss move, Fig immediately grabs Riz and dimension doors him out of his restraints and them both to the coat check where she left the ruby with Gorthalax. Before they poof out, Riz sees yellow eyes in the shadows. Familiar tabaxi eyes. Seemed like she was calling shots. 
Riz gets in a very cool kill with the line, “Tell Daybreak I said hi.”
Fig finds out Gilear is dead and grabs his soul. Kristen heals him up.
Fabian vaults off of Gilear a second time and rolls a nat 1, sending him back into death saves. 
Kristen tosses a spare the dying at Gilear and then kisses full wolfed out Tracker because time isn’t of the essence or anything.
Fig grabs the ruby Gorthalax is in and sees that it’s cloudy--cursed somehow to keep them from breaking him out. Not good. She also finds a bunch of other gems which she also grabs.
We meet Kristen’s new spirit guardians which are now hipster Post-Grad philosophy students in a full spectral coffee shop. She finds them insufferable but is also kind of into it. 
They clean up the rest of the demons and then Fabian does donuts on the Hangman. And we are out of combat.
Fig is a little distraught about having almost killed Riz and brought them all into this dangerous situation which literally killed Gilear--even though no one else blames her even a little. Gilear has a bit of a breakdown which is fair. The man died. They try to send him home--Fig wants to give him 10k gold and send him on vacation--but he is determined to stay and experience things and be useful. Also, Fabian has it in his (and Gorgug’s) head that Gilear must be some kind of chosen one since one of the demons in the fight chose to attack Gilear over him. 
Fig looks through the other gems she got and only one--a Celestial Sapphire--is similar to size to Gorthalax’s. When they bring it out, a slot in Gorgug’s van pops open. They slot the Sapphire in and, through the radio, an Angelic voice speaks to them. He sounds like Owen Wilson and he doesn’t remember his name. The Hangman hates him immediately. Fig pretends to be a cop to get info from the cops that arrive on the scene, doesn’t find out anything useful, but does roll a nat 20 on her deception (come on) and briefly turns the game into the sister, cop-drama show set in the same universe as the Grey’s Anatomy sham-life she’s living, kissing another full adult man. Incredible. 
They regroup at a posh restaurant/cafe called The Swan’s Little Parade. Sklonda calls and, after she and Sandra-Lynn do the mom-catch up thing, she has a quick talk with Riz where we find out a few things about Kalina:
She only worked with Pok on missions between Falinel and Solace.
She was great at going invisible and other infiltration things.
(Note: We actually learned this earlier but I wanted to keep this info together)She looks more like a traditional housecat than a big cat like some other tabaxi.
It’s extremely hard to scry on her. 
She didn’t attend Pok’s funeral.
The last time Sklonda heard from her was 12ish years ago.
Riz only encountered her a few times as a kid. 
Last Sklonda remembers, she reached out to Pok it was something to do with the ship the Oracle sank on. 
They pass around the picture to see who can see it and not only does it appear that Ragh can see her (oh, kinda implied this before but Riz can too) he also seemed really bugged out. Tracker says she can use her cleric mojo to put up some wards to (1) keep them from getting mind whammied like Fig did overnight and (2) maybe make Ragh feel safe enough to talk. She also suggests they all sleep in a huge dog pile for safety which I think is great and someone should draw that.
Gorgug gets a text. It’s Zelda. She can’t believe he left without saying goodbye.
Thanks, I hate it. 
Detention
Fabian for Using Gilear as a Launch Pad Two (2) Times
This was a top contender for this spot, even before Fabian did this a second time and screwed up so bad (nat 1!) that Gilear dropped to zero again and had to make death saving throws.    
Honor Roll
Adaine for Freeing Fig 
Listen, I will freely admit that I have a clear bias towards Adaine. You got me. She’s my favorite. HOWEVER, you cannot tell me that going invisible, rushing straight to the elevator, then rolling double nat 20s (a 1/400 chance) to release Fig from domination right before she plunged a knife into Riz’s heart wasn’t the sickest series of events that happened during this ep. What could possibly compete? 
Random Thoughts
I’ve been trying to figure out the rhyme or reason to who can see the full photo but I haven’t figured out a pattern yet. It’s not that only people who have seen her before can see her because Sandra-Lynn can see it and she said she’s never met her--although I guess it’s possible that she has and she didn’t recognize her since she’s a super spy. And it’s not a blanket thing on the Bad Kids specifically because Riz can see her. I was hoping they’d show it to more people so we could get a better idea of the rules. Maybe it’s based entirely on if she wants to be seen by that specific person? But then why wouldn’t it default to the blank image. It seems (from our limited POV) that most people can see her. Maybe for most people a blank space would be more suspicious than a random tabaxi? Idk.  
Riz forcibly installing himself as Fabian’s best friend and it working is low key the funniest relationship development in FH. I’m so glad Murph and Lou ran with that. Also, the fact that he’s basically accepted that Riz is his best friend but the Hangman hasn’t at all is so good. 
Brennan really just shot Zac in the head at point blank range at the end of the episode, huh? He really just did that to our boy. What’s also funny is that, unlike--say--CR where there’s usually at least a good minute of decompression and goodbyes, Brennan just goes for the kill shot and then peaces out immediately. What a power move. 
Also, poor Zelda! She’s already so insecure, this isn’t gonna be good for her self esteem. Arguably, there were extenuating circumstances Gorgug can claim but you know that’s only gonna help so much since he def could have at least called/texted her to let her know he had to leave in a hurry because Fig/Riz were missing. I wonder if there’s a section of the binder on this. 
For reference, the demons they fight in the hotel lobby are a Cambion, and then several barlgura and skeksis.
“He’s just a guy!” He certainly is. Check out his stats. Hilarious but also, I can’t act like my stats would look that much different. 
I truly, truly cannot believe that Emily pulled the exact same hospital stunt again and it resolved in exactly the same way. This is like when I played blackjack with my brother when I was a teenager to teach him that the house always wins and he hit 21 twice in a row. 
Also on the topic of Fig, her coming down from her mind control was my favorite part of this episode, for a couple of reasons. I love how sincerely Emily played the immediate shock and horror at what she almost did (closed book my ass). I love how every other person was so happy to get her back. I love that none of them even entertained the thought that she might be dangerous or untrustworthy now. Relationships at the intersection of constant bullying and ride or die are my favorite. 
While we’re on the topic of emotional scenes, Gilear full breaking down in the van post-fight was very funny but you also genuinely felt for the guy. It’s been a really long day for the guy and he died like one and a half times. His, “I haven’t experienced anything before this moment,” line really hit me hard. And I think it’s very wild that Brennan set the DC for convincing him to go home at 25 (which Fig did not pass with a 21). It’s very interesting that Gilear’s reaction to this series of events was to double down and be like, I *need* to be here. Seems like this could be a set up for some interesting Gilear development. 
The amount of times I have almost typed Balnor is unreal. My brain stores all the middle aged men hanging out with people too young for him to be hanging out with in the same folder.  
I can’t believe Adaine just went for that dispel except that I can because she did the exact thing with Iris’ wig at the NY live show and I couldn’t believe that either! I really did not think (1) that was a good move or (2) gonna lead to combat (except for the kind that gets you banned from a hotel). I completely misread that situation. Like, it’s a world full of magic. It’s not that weird that a random person would have a spell on them. Anyway, this is why she’s the oracle and I’m not. 
The Barlgura needed a 3 or higher to hit Gilear. He got a 19. Yikes.
“I had to ask.”/ “No you didn’t.” (The crew explodes into laughter.)
Riz tells the whole gang about the Baron thing and tells everyone that they need to stop lying in case all their lies are gonna pop out and attack them. Gorgug admits that he’s kissed the Hangman. Kristen confesses to a group of her closest friends and girlfriend that she is gay. Tracker is like, “Babe, what?” Tracker (and the Bad Kids but in a different way) must really love Kristen because she is just so much all the time. 
Fabian: Who are you seeing then?/Riz:...................No one. 
Ally Middle Name Beardsly wtf is a paranoia check? 
The comedic rhythm of Fabian vaulting off of Gilear’s face with a nat 20, him dying, being resurrected, and the Fabian trying to do it again with a nat 1 and knocking him near death is so perfect that it’s wild that it was totally random. This is the kind of thing that makes you get superstitious about dice. 
We’re introduced to Boggy’s second mood this ep which is Boggy’s mood which is a slightly squinted, “Hmm...I don’t know about this.” Thanks, I love it. 
In addition to considering Gilear might be the chosen one (by who? Of what? They don’t know and neither do I) the half of the group entertaining this theory also considers Gilear might be the Nightmare King (”If you are you have to tell me. I’m your daughter.”). I don’t know if the NK does possession but please have the NK possess Gilear at some point. If the theme of this season is carefully filing away random off the cuff gags and making them plot relevant, please let this be one of them. Also, lol at Murph trying to roll high enough so that Riz has the knowledge to stop the shenanigans before it derails the whole campaign.  
The group bestows upon Gilear the positions of Tour Manager, Social Media Manager, and Honorary Bad Kid (listed last of course).
Fig grabbed a lanyard of out Adaine’s jacket and I remembered, oh yeah, she has a very magical jacket that is only ever used for shenanigans, if at all. Imagine being so magic that you have a magic jacket that you’re always wearing that can summon anything (w/i reason) and you just kinda...forget about it most of the time. 
Curious about why Fig specifically was called in to do the sacrifice and why Riz was the one who had to be sacrificed. 
I hope Adaine just continues to loan out Boggy to anyone having a bad day. I love that.
“Maybe this is one of those massages that hurt.”
Really wanted Hilariel to Skype in and ask about Gilear. Her take on everything is always so funny. She is as crazy as everyone else in her family but in such a low key way.  
Lol at the party being like, “Yeah, Tracker healed me just fine without any 69-ing,” which is truly an incomprehensible sentence without context and still mostly incomprehensible with context. 
Don’t wanna overlook the coolness of Fig rolling double 17s (disadvantaged) to command the barlguras. Not magically, just convincing them she was still in charge of them. Very clutch.
Fabian is so much chiller about letting people on his motorbike these days. He let Gilear ride it. He let Riz ride it. He gave a blanket invitation for anyone in the area to hop on before he did donuts. I love Sophomore Fabian. 
Gilear gets a nat 20 for his first roll! Riz and Kristen got two nat 20s. Fig got one, Gorgug got one (he rolled a second one that was lost with disadvantage), and Adaine rolled two but they really only count as one since it was with advantage. Fabian rolled one of each. That’s a lot of 20s for one ep!
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jq37 · 5 years
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Ok for that Adaine/Gorgug office thread what about Adaine giving a presentation or something and the stage is attacked and Adine and Gorgug go full Bad Kids on a room full of suits a la Hudol nerds
Adaine will readily admit that she enjoys all the little perks that come along with being the elven oracle, but the job itself can be annoying sometimes. I mean, every few weeks, without warning, she dips into a trance and starts spouting out important gibberish that has nothing to do with her.
“Hey Adaine, do you wanna see a movie this weekend?”
“Sure. But if this project runs late fire and brimstone will rain in Solace.”
“Remind me to never get put on a project with you.”
(Also, as she finds out much later, it’s actually “fire and brimstone will reign in Solace.” Very strange election cycle.)
Anyway, she’s brushing her teeth one night and she feels the whole oracle thing turning on. Usually she doesn’t get to look at herself when it’s happening but, with the mirror, she can see her eyes glow blue and her hair go all halo-y. It’s an impressive effect but she just wants to brush her teeth and go to bed.
Usually she just writes the prophecy down and emails it to whoever is in charge to keeping this stuff straight so she can get on with her life but, as the words are spilling out of her mouth, she realizes this isn’t a, “Someone else’s problem,” kind of thing:
When the Oracle’s reached new heights
And her companion’s fired
The stage will be set
And time will be short
And, of course, what she gets from that is, “Is Gorgug getting fired?”
Not on her watch. She busts into her boss’s office the next day.
“You’re not firing Gorgug.”
This completely baffled middle manager whose mouth of full of more bagel and cream cheese than it can comfortably hold is like, “Mhm?” He swallows, with difficulty. “Of course I’m not firing Gorgug. He’s one of the best accountants we have. And that gnomic work ethic.”
She narrows her eyes at him. At this point, her trust in authority figures is like a total toss up. “You better not. Or something bad is gonna happen.”
“Is that a threat or a prophecy?” 
She is about to explain it but says instead, “Interpret it in whichever way is more intimidating.”
She doesn’t tell Gorgug because she doesn’t want to stress him out (Gorgug really likes his job. He went to adventuring school and all but he likes having a 9-5 and work friends and someone to go home to. That’s The Dream for him). So, instead, she calls Kristen and is all, “I don’t know what to do about this.”
Kristen looks over the prophecy and see it mentions time. She lets Adaine borrow the stopwatch Aguefort let her keep. If time is short, then a time stopping watch might be handy, right?
This bothers Adaine for a solid two weeks and it’s really bad timing because she needs to give a big presentation soon and she can’t fully concentrate. Gorgug is super sweet about it and hangs out when she has late nights and tells her she’s gonna do great but it’s just making her more stressed out. 
Gorgug comes with her to the business meeting as always. They have to take a plane (or whatever the FH equivalent is). It’s actually Adaine’s first time flying for work since all of her work trips so far have been driving or train distance. This is a really major trip and she’s sure she’s gonna screw it up and Gorgug is getting fired oh my God that guy was lying to her, he’s gonna fire him and he’s going to have to tell his parents and Zelda and–
Gorgug snaps her out of it and is like, “You packed your Xanax, right?”
She did.
Anyway, they get to the conference center and it’s a full house of major nerds, ready to hear her talk about, idk bro, crystal coin futures and their sustainability in the global market. She gets on stage to set up her notes and adjust the mic stand and all that stuff and as she gets everything right as she wants it she hears Gorgug yell, “Adaine, duck!”
She drops without thinking. Pure Aguefort forged instinct.
Blam. Gorgug fires off a shot from the arcubus he pulled from his inside jacket pocket (a present from Riz when he found out about Gorgug’s bodyguard duty). The shot sails over Adaine’s head and hits the assailant behind her who was invisible until half a second before. 
Everything clicks in her head. 
When the Oracle’s reached new heights
And her companion’s fired
Not, “When her companion has been fired.” 
“When her companion has fired his gun.”
Which means time is short. She grabs the time stop watch from her pocket and clicks the button, meaning to get her and Gorgug some time to figure out what’s happening but it’s not run of the mill thugs who have crashed the meeting. These are magic powered terrorists who came for her specifically. They came prepared and they’re totally able to join them in the time stop.
But they completely underestimated how much she learned at school and also how many weapons Gorgug keeps on his person at all times (hammer space business suit w/ love from his parents). They make total mincemeat of the terrorists and once it’s done Adaine is like, “You’re not getting fired!”
“Great! Wait, was I getting fired?”
“Long story. I’ll tell you later. I think I can do this presentation now.”
“Cool. You’re gonna do awesome.”
Click. Time restarts. Everyone at the conference sees the entire fight compressed into a couple of seconds: Gorgug braining some dude with a briefcase, Adaine ray of frosting two dudes’ shoes to the floor and then chain lightning through both of them, both of them watching each others’ backs and intercepting attacks meant for the other.
And then Gorgug just goes back to his seat and Adaine goes back on stage and restarts time and starts giving her speech like nothing happened. 
Which is a lot to process for all the business nerds in the audience. She’s able to get through the whole presentation without anyone saying anything because they’re just so shocked (“Did they just kill several people?”) and, when she’s done, everyone bursts into applause. Like, 70% because of the killing people but it was also a pretty good speech. 
After that, whenever Adaine has to give a speech or a presentation, the place is absolutely packed on the off chance something that dope happens again. Like, it probably won’t but could you forgive yourself if you missed that?
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