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aydafigs · 21 days

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ooh I have so many thoughts on The Rat Grinders discourse okay

on the one hand, I think it's completely reasonable to be disappointed that there was no attempt from The Bad Kids to engage with TRG beyond just killing them as quickly and bloodily as possible, or no effort from Brennan to present that as an option. I agree that it sucks that these teenagers, who have been corrupted by rage crystals and are presumably being manipulated by authority figures, are being treated as irredeemably evil and therefore condemned to hell forever for their crimes - and I agree that it feels incongruent narratively, when a big arc this season involved 'redeeming' a corrupted goddess, and a key theme has been the power of utilising doubt to overcome rage. I also think it's a shame that Fig's past attempts to engage with Reuben were ultimately forgotten about and rendered useless (and I definitely got the impression that Emily herself was also frustrated about this).

however! I do also completely understand it from a gameplay, genre, and storytelling perspective.

firstly, mostly just as a sidenote, I think it's worth acknowledging that a lot of 'real-world' thinking and logic surrounding death and ‘redemption’ and the moral complexities of 'good vs evil' don't always work within Fantasy High or d&d. death is treated much more flippantly in a world where characters can and do regularly plane-shift to the very real and tangeable afterlives. it's harder to think of death as truly an end to someone's life when it is known for certain that those who die are actually continuing to live alternate lives on different planes of existence - and I think from a meta perspective this inevitably affects the way players think about killing NPCs within a story. no one is ever truly gone; they're just living somewhere else now.

additionally, in-universe, the prospect of dying or being killed is an accepted risk for those attending Aguefort. they're training to be adventurers, and as fucked up as it is, a key element of the universe and genre that this story takes place in is that people - including teenagers - die on adventures, and this risk is entirely normalised and considered unfortunate but necessary. it's one of those genre-specific tropes that you have to accept for the world to function. this is d&d, this is fantasy adventuring high school, teenagers have to save the world from other, villainous teenagers. it's every teen supernatural/fantasy drama. it's Teen Wolf. it's fucking Riverdale. as Brennan has put it before, "it's adventuring school. people die."

The Rat Grinders are not the heroes of this story - and what is so interesting about them, at least to me, is that they know that. there's a lot of excellent analysis of TRG as existing on a meta level even within the story; they're power gamers, they're XP farmers, they know they're NPCs; and this is the source of Kipperlilly's anger. Kipperlilly's rage stems from knowing that she is ordinary; that she doesn't have a tragic backstory, that she will never save the world, that she and her friends aren't a notorious adventuring party or 'found family' or anything other than regular. so she set out to become Not Ordinary by any means necessary - and if she and The Rat Grinders couldn't be the heroes, they had to become the villains. whether or not TRG 'deserved' to die or not is a moot point, I think. it's not about what they deserve. their story, and especially Kipperlilly's story, is a tragedy in this way; she was doomed by the narrative from the moment she started to write herself as the villain.

The Rat Grinders are, narratively, the Big Bads of the season; the Final Bosses of this game of d&d. this final battle is necessary to conclude the story in an exciting and climactic and satisfying way. it would simply not be as exciting, either for the players or the audience, if this season ended with The Bad Kids talking it out with The Rat Grinders and convincing them to switch sides. at the end of the day, this isn't a movie or a TV show. this is a game, being played in real time by real people who are improvising and having fun while collaboratively telling a story together. of course, the storytelling on this show is phenomenal - but it's never going to be able to do everything. they don't have a room of writers pitching ideas to write perfectly timed and paced scripts for character arcs and resolutions. they're a group of improv comedians playing a roleplay and combat-centric game together. they're playing d&d. they’re playing heroes fighting bad guys.

I do think there's a lot of valid criticism around rage and manipulation and who is considered worthy of 'redemption'. I just also think there's a middle ground somewhere between "The Bad Kids killing The Rat Grinders is awful and evil and bad storytelling and everyone involved should feel bad" and "haha suck it Rat Grinders fans, told you they were always evil". ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ idk. it's all love now. [smooch]

#MANY THOUGHTS HEAD FULL #fantasy high #fantasy high junior year #fantasy high spoilers #d20 #fhjy spoilers #the rat grinders #darcey.txt

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theology101 · 3 months

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Fabian and Adaine have me absolutely bewitched and its going to be everyone's problem

Im writing a fic for the two of them were they sorta do the awkward 'are we dating or just Good Friends who spend time together without other Friends' to 'fake date to fix her money problems' and then 'actually we were in love the entire time.' I'm not 100% on my order of events yet but I have a bunch of vignettes stuck in my head and its easier for my brain to expell them at an audience

Moggy the Doggy and the Hangman both go to the Spectral Dog park, Fabian and Adaine want to get Hangman comfortable in his hellhound form (although they respect that he prefers to be a bike)

For some reason whenever Adaine needs new clothes, she goes with Fabian? Something about the good vibes from the Jean Jacket means she thinks he's a lucky charm for clothes

While out in public Adaine has a panic attack, and Fabian swaddled her in the Battle Sheet. She initially thinks its patronizing before realizing - is this shit thread count seven billion?

After the Swaddle Incident, Fig and Kristen start VIOLENTLY shipping them, and that inspires the 'lets get engaged for tax purposes'

Fabian has an additional fund for his betrothed/spouse/SO, and KVX starts giving Adaine three thousand gold pieces a month

Jawbone, Gorthulax and Sandra Lynn are all pretty hype about this development - Sandra Lynn has her fucking eyes on him though. Adaine immediately feels guilty about lying

Hallariel flies home fucking immediately and forces Adaine to spend an entire Weekend with her. I'm talking Spa Day, Dress Fitting, Sword Dueling and a bunch of traditional elven activities

(and Adaine def doesn't cry because she's having the type of elven family experience with Hallariel that she wishes she had with Arianwen Abernant)

Turns out KVX has a similar system as the 'nemesis' system for spouses/signifgant others. Adaine would not be getting her three thousand gold a month unless she and Fabian genuinely did love each other

The reaction from that makes her vomit

The Bad Kids have to deal with Princess Nara being a BITCH. She's Fabian's cousin, wants her fucking sword back, thank you very much, and thinks that the Elven Oracle slumming it at High School and on adventures instead of leading a fucking nation like she's supposed to

Fabian and Adaine are backing each other up with so much passion and authority they kiss about it when they're done

And idk how we get here, but she's proposing herself with rings from the Jacket of Useful Things

I have more that are still half baked but if anyone else has any hit me dog. This shit is going to be 5k words+ a chapter when I'm done with her and I'm debating on 1-5 chapters rn

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dk-ghostmachines · 4 months

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i gotta talk about FourDogs

I really do. 'Cause I posted a lil' passive-aggressive hot take a few days ago, but this is Tumblr not TikTok. Here we can have our 60-second hot takes and eat our long essays too. Kipperlilly Copperkettle was introduced as a rival in episode 3, after which there were a number of posts criticizing The Bad Kids' response to her, labeling it disproportionately mean at best and bullying at worst. I think that's an unfair reading of that interaction and I'm gonna talk about why.

Now, I'll be the first to admit that it's parasocial as fuck over here and The Bad Kids are my personal best friends actually, so where necessary I'll do my best to separate the ((loyalist ride-or-die-bad-boys-for-lyfe emotional reactions)) from the actual points I'm trying to make.

((That being said, the fuck was FourDogs talking about? Y'know? Like what was she on about, for real?))

Here's what's true: over the course of their time at Aguefort, three adults directly related to The Bad Kids - Jawbone, Gorthalax, and Gilear - have been instated as faculty or staff. And if I'm a third-party, especially another student, then for sure. It's giving nepotism, it's giving cronyism, and I'm drinking my Haterade about it every morning. But favoritism is about treatment. It's about actions, rewards, benefits - and ma'am, if you're gonna levy a charge like that, I'm afraid you're gonna need receipts!

What actual benefits have The Bad Kids received from the school that is not available to other students? In freshman and sophomore year, The Bad Kids get detention like anybody else, they don't make it on the Bloodrush team, Gorgug in particular was always not doing great in Barbarian class, they take their midterms, they have to complete the big 60%-of-the-grade spring break project, etc. And now this year, Fig is getting punished for not going to class, Kristen is getting consequences specific to being a kid with ADHD who doesn't live at home anymore, Gorgug's still getting the literal opposite of favoritism from Porter, and Riz, Adaine, and Fabian are all getting the treatment from professors that is proportional for historically successful students in good academic standing.

((And someone else brought this up but, re:that 60%-of-the-grade project, miss ma'am, what were you doing in the Far Haven Woods?? In addition to saving the world again, The Bad Kids endured borderline psychological torture for their final grade, while the Buttcrushers got to step on bugs in the neutral zone??? But they're the privileged ones, no, for sure))

Whether or not saving the world is as big a deal in-universe as it would be in our real world is up for debate. Brennan said it was an outstanding feat in the scope of student adventuring at Aguefort to consistently complete Class B and C quests, but then, when TBK comes back from Hot Yorb Summer everyone acts like they went on a class trip to Six Flags. Either way, unearned success is the wiiiiiildest claim to lay at the feet of consistent world-savers.

Freshmen year it was the Helioic Fundamentalist Apocalypse and the Emperor of the Red Wastes. Sophomore year it was the Nightmare King and the Night Yorb. They've saved the whole school, they've saved specific students at the school. They My Little Pony-ed Ragh, one of the biggest actual bullies Aguefort had, and then Fabian killed toxic masculinity! Even if the favoritism was in the room with us, would it not be the natural result of all this hero shit??? Aguefort hasn't done The Bad Kids any favors he wouldn't do for the rest of the student body, but even if he had I'd get it because KRISTEN APPLEBEES SNUCK HIM INTO HEAVEN AND THEN BROUGHT HIS ASS BACK TO LIFE.

Again, maybe not remarkable in a world where Revivify is just a thing you can learn, but y'know! Shit!! Diamonds aren't free!!

Also FourDogs' whole tone of disdain for the "eccentricity" of Arthur Aguefort's administrative decisions truly boggles the mind, because we found out in freshmen year that he has some kind of mass Power Word over the government of Solace that allows the students of his school to do crimes, AND in sophomore year he has that auto-call-ex-machina that students can evoke when they're in danger overseas. His "eccentricity" is the reason the school can function at all, put some respect on man's name.

Now, let's get word-perfect.

That's the American Psychological Association.

And that's StopBullying.gov, which is managed by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Here's what's true. At moment 00:00 of their relationship, Kristen said something pretty freakin' mean to Kipperlilly for an audience of her friends with like, no provocation.

Kipperlily then revealed that she has based her entire campaign around addressing the perceived privilege that "some students" have under Arthur Aguefort's rules. And THEN, Jawbone revealed that Kipperlilly had been snooping around asking questions about Kristen's relationships with her god and trying to get general dirt on The Bad Kids. BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE, in the preview for episode 6, we get Murph's line of "Kipperlilly's team is trying to get us kicked out of school".

Does that excuse the thing Kristen said ((yes it was hilarious)), no. Not at all. She didn't know that stuff, Kipperlilly just failed a vibe check. In the moment though, that's all it was. The Bad Kids met someone they didn't like and perceived as a threat, and Kipperlilly had something mean said to her by people she already didn't like and already wants to see brought down. While she was not threatening them in that moment, Kipperlilly is a threat. She's not a victim, she is an equal with opposing goals. And now that Ruben has the song of the summer, The Buttcrushers are probably just as popular as The Bad Kids. There is no greater imbalance, they're just adversaries.

Ultimately, Kipperlilly's got them fucked up. But she's a kid. Kids are allowed to get shit fucked up and misdirect their anger at systemic unfairness. TBK are also kids and well within their rights to feel what they felt when Four Dogs walked up with self-righteous vibes and started yappin about academic privilege in what is already the most academically stressful year of their lives.

As the audience, we not only know all the shit TBK has gone through that Kipperlilly does not, we also are aware of how Brennan is introducing her in the story. As soon as he brings her into the scene, you know what's up. The voice he gives her, the tone, the actual things he's saying - if you watch everyone's face after the line about favoritism gets dropped it's the culmination of the whole interaction. Oh, she's our enemy, like our specific enemy and her team is coming for us, specifically.

So what do we gain from ignoring all that? From ignoring the JUICE of this rivalry and flattening it into "the bad kids were mean :/". I actually love Kipperlilly, the rivalry is giving and I love feeling big emotions and getting to use angry, feral, fandom language. FourDogs, can't wait to see you next week, and I can't wait to read the 40k word, FourDogsxKristen, enemies-to-lovers fics. And y'know, shout out to all the people who kin her because she found the rogue teacher, it's pretty goated, I won't lie.

But also. Bad Kids Supremacy. Buttcrushers, stay mad.

#d20 #dimension 20 #kipperlilly copperkettle #four dogs #fhjy spoilers #fhjy #in this essay i will #free my kids they did nothing wrong #i support bad kids rights #i support bad kids wrongs #fantasy high junior year

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ladykailitha · 1 year

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The Subtleties of Steve Harrington Part 2

This is one is bit longer than the rest because there wasn’t a clear spot to break it up without splitting up one of the parts.

Part 1

One Month Before

The Corroded Coffin boys were on a mission. And that was to tell the Buckley girl to call off her dog. Because they sure as hell weren’t going to let Steve Harrington break Eddie Munson’s heart.

They walked into Family Video on a day they knew Steve would be off. How did they know he wouldn’t be there? Because it’s all Eddie was talking about all that week, that him and Steve were going up to Indy to Eddie’s favorite gaming store and get him a new fig to replace the one that been warped to hell in Eddie’s bag because he forgot about it.

“Welcome to Family Video!” Robin greeted cheerily.

“Buckley,” Jeff said, “we’d like a word.”

Her face turned calculating. “You know, all three of you ganging up on a girl at her work place where she can’t escape is preeeeetttty pervy behavior, yes?”

They all looked at each other in shock. They hadn’t thought what it would look like to her. To any outsider really. They whispered for a few moments before Jeff and Gareth turned to leave.

She watched them go with a raised eyebrow. “So how did you get picked as representative of the Corroded Coffin boys?” she asked him.

Brian shrugged. “Gareth is too hot headed and Jeff stammers when he gets nervous.”

“And I make him nervous?” Robin asked with a smile.

“You did just scare the two of them off, so...yeah?”

She grinned. “So what can I do for you Corroded Coffin boys today?”

Brian sighed. “Look, Steve is great guy and all. Saved Eddie’s ass when everyone thought he was dead. And we’re grateful. We are it’s just...” He ran his fingers over his face. “We don’t want Eddie to get hurt. He’s fallen for straight boys before and it’s hurt him bad.”

Robin’s eyes got wider and wider the more Brian went on until they were practically bulging out of her head. “Okay, okay. Slow down. Are you saying that you want me to tell Steve to what exactly? Stop seeing Eddie all together? Not be alone with Eddie? Not be friendly with Eddie? Because that’s pretty fucked up.”

Brian huffed out a sigh of annoyance. “It’s not like that. He’s flirting with Eddie. We’ve all seen the Harrington charm in action. And Steve’s turned it up to eleven around Eddie. Like take today. Would you go to Indy which is a two hour drive to go to a store for one item that cost two bucks max? The gas alone is gonna cost more than that.”

Robin licked her lips. “For Steve absolutely. But you’re right, that’s not a normal friendship thing. It’s best friend or boyfriend move.”

Brian nodded. “You have to see why we’re concerned. Steve is going to make Eddie fall in love with him and then get his heart broken when the next Nancy Wheeler walks by.”

She took a deep breath. “Okay. I know you are going to go running to the other two the second you walk out of this store. But if anyone else finds out and this includes Eddie I will hunt all three of you for sport. Do you understand?”

Brian gulped but nodded.

“Steve isn’t straight.”

He frowned. “He isn’t?”

She shook her head. “It’s a bit of a shock to the system, no lie. But Steve likes both.”

Brian cocked his head to the side. “So he’s actively flirting with Eddie? As in to try and woo him and shit?”

“Yup!” Robin said popping the P.

“Does Eddie know Steve isn’t straight?”

She raised her eyebrows. “I know I said not to tell him, but Steve is actively flirting with him, so he should.”

Brian shook his head. “I mean we wouldn’t have guessed Steve wasn’t straight, so...”

“So, does the former super super senior know that the boy who’s flirting with him isn’t straight?” Robin asked.

He huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, that.”

“I don’t know,” she groused. “Hell, you guys know him better than I do.”

Brian nodded. “I think he suspects but doesn’t want to be wrong.”

Robin nodded. “That’s fair.”

Brian shifted from side to side. “Thanks. I guess I should get back to the guys.”

She nodded.

Brian stepped outside and Gareth and Jeff were on him in a hot second.

“You get her to call him off?” Gareth asked.

Brian shook his head. “Nothing to call off.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jeff growled. “Of course there is. Straight boy hitting on gay boy needs to back the fuck off.”

“Bisexual boy is making moves on gay boy he has genuine feelings for,” Brian explained.

Jeff and Gareth looked at each other in confusion.

“Steve’s not straight?” Gareth asked.

Brian shook his head. “Nope.”

Jeff frowned. “I mean, we all know New Steve isn’t the kind to deliberately hurt anyone. Old Steve might have. But not New Steve. Why were we so sure Steve was out to hurt Eddie?”

Gareth shifted uncomfortably. “Because we assumed Eddie was the only gay guy in Hawkins.”

The trio fell silent. They knew that there must be other gay people in Hawkins. The town wasn’t that small.

“What do we tell Eddie?” Jeff asked.

“Nothing,” Brian said firmly. Before it was from threat of violence from Buckley, but now. He absolutely agreed with her.

“Nothing?” Gareth asked. “Doesn’t Eddie deserve to know?”

“From Steve?” Brian asked. “Oh absolutely. From us? Absolutely fucking not.”

Gareth and Jeff grumbled but reluctantly agreed.

Two weeks ago

Dustin was the hardest to convince. Which was annoying. And if Steve was being honest, hurt. A lot.

“For the last time, Dusty,” Steve said, digging his palms into his eyes, “I’m not going to date Robin. She is best friend and I am not her type.”

“Well what is her type?” Dustin asked. “You think she would go for Eddie then? Oh, maybe Argyle.”

Robin came bouncing into the room and skidded to a stop when she saw the looks on both Steve and Dustin’s faces.

“What’s up?” she asked slowly.

“Please explain to this butthead that I am not your type,” Steve said through gritted teeth.

“Hey, man,” Dustin said. “I just want you to be happy.”

Robin grinned. “You know, for such a genius you do have a bit of blind spot regarding matchmaking.”

Dustin frowned. “No I don’t.”

Robin laughed. “Yeah you do. You aren’t taking into consideration the fact that not everyone likes the opposite gender.”

Dustin rolled his eyes. “I know about gay people. I just don’t know any.”

Steve and Robin shared a glance.

“I only like girls,” Robin said, smugly.

Dustin looked back and forth between them. “Is that what you meant by not being her type?”

“Yup!” Steve said. “She likes boobies. Personally, I like boobies and dicks. Though not on the same person.” He paused for a second. “No. I take that back. That does sound hot.”

Dustin scoffed. “I’m willing to believe she’s a lesbian.” He pointed at Robin “But there is no way in hell that you like dudes. You’re the ladies man. The original.”

Steve laughed. “I think Harrison Ford or Tom Cruise might disagree with you there.”

Dustin rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean. How many girls have you dated?”

Steve tried counting but the number kept changing. “I guess it depends on what you consider to be dating. Two or more dates? Probably in the range of six or seven. If you include just one offs where either her or I didn’t pursue the relationship past the first date it would be closer to eleven or twelve.” He wasn’t going to bring up one night stands. He didn’t want to break the kid.

Dustin nodded as if he had been proven right. “And how many dates have you gone on with dudes?”

Steve boggled. “You do realize that dating one’s gender is frowned on and there is an epidemic going on where it’s hitting almost exclusively gay men? It was hard to find gay boys before that shit and now the pool has shrunk by a lot.”

Dustin just shrugged. “All I’m hearing is that you’ve never dated a man. So how do you know you like them?”

Steve put his hands on his hips and rolled his eyes skyward. This kid.

“Just because I haven’t dated a boy doesn’t mean I haven’t kissed them, Dustin.”

Both Robin and Dustin turned to him in shock.

“You have?” Robin asked.

“Yes,” Steve hissed. “And no, I’m not telling you who. I don’t kiss and tell.”

Dustin bit his lip. “You really like dudes?”

Steve threw his arms in the air. “Yes!”

Dustin rubbed his hands together. “That just opens up the possibilities for dates!”

Steve just groaned.

One Week Before

Steve was doing his least favorite favorite chore. He hated taking the brats to Hellfire because they were little shits. Because he loved it because it meant that he got to see Eddie.

Dustin was sitting behind the driver’s seat kicking Steve in the back. “You know Eddie’s gay, right?”

Steve sighed and glared at him through the rearview mirror. “We don’t out other people without their permission, dude. Not ever.”

Dustin rolled his eyes. “I’m just saying...”

“I know exactly what you’re saying,” Steve growled, “and I’m saying we don’t out people until they’re ready to come out.” He fought really hard not to look at the boy in the front passenger seat, to avoid doing what he just told Dustin not to do.

“I’m gay...” Will whispered.

Steve sighed. Looks like they were going to be a little late to D&D today. He pulled into a parking lot and parked.

“Thanks for saying something,” Steve said softly. “But you didn’t have to.”

“I’ve known for awhile,” Mike said softly.

Lucas nodded. “I might have not have known for sure, but yeah. That makes sense.”

Dustin frowned. “How the hell did I miss that?”

Steve turned around in the seat. “Because you’ve got a blind spot where anyone outside of the norm is concerned. Which let’s be honest, isn’t a good look for a scientist.”

Dustin pouted.

Lucas frowned. “Who else did you miss?”

Steve turned to Will with a grin. “Go ahead, tell them.”

“Steve,” Will said softly.

Lucas and Mike started shouting protestations and Steve just waited them out.

“How did you know, Will?” Steve asked after they had calmed down enough to be heard over.

Will blushed. “I saw the way you acted around Jonathan and I suspected. But then I saw how you acted around Eddie and I knew.”

“It’s a problem I have to be sure,” Steve said. “Crushing on both sides of a couple. Not...as a...not like that.”

“Not as a threesome?” Lucas clarified.

Steve nodded, deeply embarrassed. “But separately. So yeah. I had a crush on Tommy H and Carol. Nancy and Jonathan. But I wouldn’t want to get in the middle of all that. I don’t have crushes on any of them anymore.”

Mike folded his arms and pouted but Lucas looked thought for a minute.

“Yeah, I think that makes sense,” he said. “I can see it.”

Steve smiled at him and mouthed ‘thank you’. “All right, now that we’ve survived both of those bombshells, let’s get you to your nerd game.”

The kids had almost gotten to the door when Dustin stopped. He said something to the others before he came dashing back to the car.

“Will said Eddie!” he cried gleefully. “You have a crush on Eddie!”

Steve rolled down the window and hissed, “Shut up or he’ll hear you!”

Dustin jumped up and down. “It would be sooo cool if both of my dads start dating each other.”

Steve shook his head. “We’re just good friends, don’t meddle with that. If I think I’ve got a chance, you know I’ll go for it. But until then you stay out of it.”

Dustin nodded, grinning from ear to ear.

Part 3 Part 4

Tag List: @awkwardgravity1 @maya-custodios-dionach @spectrum-spectre

#My writing #stranger things #steddie #coming out #ladykailtiha writes

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hogwartslegacyreactions2 · 16 days

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Hii I just thought of this so no plan just fun, what are the professor's reactions to meeting MC for the first time and seeing a dog with them, somehow by some (alot) of luck survived the dragon attack and the first goblin attack in the bank.

Low key just an excuse to show off my brat girl who gets anxious like me so she's my best friend and I couldn't imagine going away for school from her lol

A/N: you have such a pretty doggo ❤️ I think I'll base her off of D&D familiars

HL PROFESSORS REACT TO MC'S FAMILIAR

The dog that followed MC around everywhere they went was more than just an ordinary pet, she's MC's familiar. This means she's sentient with human-like intelligence (and stubbornness), she could disappear and reappear on command (or at will), they had a special telepathic connection, they could sense each other's emotional state, and MC could see through her eyes at will.

ELEAZAR FIG: He loves her! He bent over backwards convincing the headmaster and deputy headmistress to allow MC to have their familiar around school. He also talks to her as if she'd talk back to him, even though she is strictly connected to MC.

MATILDA WEASLEY: She's very unsure. Familiars are beasts not of this world and can be unpredictable. She's only convinced by Fig getting MC to swear that their familiar will disappear during classes and not to tell anyone else what the dog really is. Now, if they cause trouble of any kind, MC is on thin ice.

CHIYO KOGAWA: She's a little surprised a dog was allowed at Hogwarts, but she doesn't care much. Thinks the dog's cute.

AESOP SHARP: He doesn't allow any pets in his classroom for obvious reasons, but if he sees the dog while out and about, he'll toss her a dried piece of toad meat. He had a dog once upon a time, so he's a bit nostalgic.

ABRAHAM RONEN: He losses his mind every time he sees her. Willing to break the "no dog in class" rule. He must love on and pet her every chance he gets. He showers her with presents; from treats to toys to hats.

MIRABEL GARLICK: She's allergic to dogs. Not too much, but her eyes water when MC's dog is near. She still gives her a pat. Every dog deserves pets.

MUDIWA ONAI: She knew what MC's dog was as soon as she saw her. She gives MC special crystals and herbs. "For meditation. Bonding with your 'dog' is very important, and these will help." She winks.

BAI HOWIN: Dogs are a fairly rare sight in the wizarding world, something is off but she can't quite put her finger on it. She's suspicious of the dog's true nature.

DINAH HECAT: She's glad to see more than just cats running around Hogwarts. Makes the day more interesting. She gives the dog a little pat when she sees her.

CUTHBERT BINNS: Doesn't even notice the dog's existence. Just keeps doing his thing.

SATYAVATI SHAH: She appreciates how well behaved the dog is. She never sees it chasing any of the school cats. Doesn't pay her any mind otherwise.

PHINEAS NIGELLUS BLACK: He's not a dog person. They're smelly, dirty, loud and obnoxiously needy. He was only convinced by Fig convincing him that the dog was necessary for MC's emotional well-being and denying them the dog "would look bad".

#hogwarts legacy #hogwarts legacy reactions #hogwarts legacy professors #eleazar fig #aesop sharp

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jq37 · 4 months

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The Report Card – Fantasy High Junior Year Ep 6

Post Shrimp Jump Conspiracy Board Special

Hey y’all! Welcome back to Seacaster Manor where the shrimp party is still raging and the Bad Kids are balancing being cooler than ever with some serious sleuthing. We get a lot of new information this episode so I wanted to try out a new format for this week. I often talk in a metaphorical way about putting items up on a Conspiracy Board but I want to actually try that now that we’re a little over a quarter of the way in and have multiple overarching things happening. This is going to be a lot less linear than usual but bear with me. Gotta shake things up a little so I don’t get burnt out! There’s still fourteen more episodes to go!

The Rat Grinders

The Bad Kids’ de facto rival party got a lot of screen time in this episode, which makes sense: Adaine declared the party their nemeses over Goldenhoard or anyone else they’ve fought, which is saying a lot. Before this point, we knew the following facts about them:

1) They got their name because the only enemies they’re recorded as killing are low level ones (including rats) that they grind in the woods behind the school, showing a willingness to follow the letter but not spirit of the rules but also an impressive amount of dedication.

2) Their leader seems to be rogue, Kipperlily Copperkettle who is type A as hell and has a LOT of free time to kill having found the rogue professor (or at least having the rogue professor find her). She’s running for class president on a platform based around “fairness” which is a theme that’s come up more than once this season.

3) Also on the team are emo Bard Reuben (who seems to be related to the new Artificing teacher and who shares an agent with Fig) and nonplussed Barbarian Mary Ann (who is buffing herself magically somehow).

4) Kipperlily specifically asked about where Kristen was able to create a new god. Now how, where. An odd question.

This episode, we learned a lot more, so let's throw them on the board and make some connections!

5) The Rat Grinders have a new cleric named Buddy Dawn (something Kristen’s brother mentioned two episodes ago). He’s from Highcourt and moved with his grandparents. He’s got super Mormon+Southern “Bless Your Heart” energy and Kristen doesn’t like how familiar it feels. His vibes are clocked as well meaning but kinda judgey.

6) Buddy Dawn was *specifically requested* by the party. Of course, requesting a cleric isn’t weird–why wouldn’t you want one? And Helioism seems a pretty common religion in the region so odds are good that if you get a cleric is would be a Helioic one. But, paired with KP’s question about Kristen, it makes you wonder if the plan is to recruit a Kristen expy and try to get lightning to strike twice.

7) At the beer pong table, we meet the RG’s archer who is an elf named Ivy Embra. She’s got some flirty, catty energy (which we see when she interacts with Fabian and Mazey respectively).

8) We also meet the party wizard, Oisin Hakinvar, who is a Conjuration specialist with a focus in summoning. He’s a blue dragonborn which means that he has a great great great (etc) blue dragon ancestor he can ping when he needs barrels of diamonds, no problem. He has so many in fact that when Adaine lies badly that she’s also swimming in diamonds, he kindly offers to let her borrow some of his “extras”. But she turns them down, calls him great, and then panics and runs away to commiserate with Fabian who is also panicking about a flirty moment with Ivy. Oisin, for his part, seems driven to distraction and can’t make a single other shot all night. Cute! But–

9) As much as I want to wholeheartedly love Oisin (and honestly do and will until I am given direct evidence to change my mind) I have to point out that KVX, known evil bank, did change its logo from red (Goldenhoard’s color) to blue (Oisin’s Ancestor’s color) and there is a shot in the trailer of the party fighting a blue dragon. Connected? Maybe.

10) From investigating some yearbooks, the party also learns that the Rat Grinders have existed since Freshman Year but, at the time, they were called the High Five Heroes. They all look a lot more smiley and a lot less intense–Rebuen’s not even emo. It was the lineup from above, minus Buddy and plus a frost Genasi cleric named Lucy Frostblade. They learn that she supposedly died in their Sophomore year but specifically during a period near the end of the year where grades are locked and it wouldn’t affect their party comp which is…convenient.

11) Fig tries to investigate this by disguising herself as Lucy and seeing how Ivy and Oisin react. Only Ivy sees her but she doesn’t seem shocked at all to see her allegedly dead party member She just raises an eyebrow and ditches the game to talk to her. Fig bails (and rolls only a 12 to stealth away) so we don’t get any extra info but just the fact that Ivy reacted that way is pretty juicy info as is.

12) The other Rat Grinders don’t seem to be at the party but the members are skeptical about that. On the other hand, when Ivy leaves, it’s because Oisin pulls her aside and says, “Kipperlilly’s calling”. So it’s possible there was a Team A and a Team B for whatever the Rat Grinders were doing that night?

13) And speaking of what they're doing, we do have a theory. When Fabian checks some damage in the basement where Max and some other kids were smoking "gorgenfern" he sees that something called a cloud rider engine was smashed up pretty bad and in a suspicious way–gorgenfern doesn’t make you rowdy. Fabian checks the security tapes he obviously has and sees that some ice mephits came in and riled people up to the point of crashing into the engine. Adaine conjured some earlier in the party and as far as her arcana check can tell, they’re here, but there’s suspicion that Oisin–a conjuration wizard–could have done it. It’s certainly within his skillset. A cloud rider engine allows a vehicle to fly on clouds and it’s not clear if it was simply smashed or if something was stolen from it.

14) Max isn’t a Rat Grinder but he did ask them all if they wanted to smoke with him and Ivy offered Fabian snuff so Riz is suspicious that the RG’s are trying to get them kicked out of school for drug use now that they have a non-Aguefort principal who presumably cares about silly rules like that at the murder school.

That’s basically what we know about the Rat Grinders! So, to sum it up, I’d say the conspiracy board bullet points are:

Supposedly dead cleric Lucy Frostblade: What actually happened to her and why isn’t Ivy surprised to see “her”?

New cleric Buddy Dawn: Why was he specifically requested?

The High Five Heroes: What caused them to turn into the Rat Grinders? And, as they seem like they were more gung ho their first year, why did they never pivot to fighting things other than low level monsters?

Do they actually have beef with the Bad Kids specifically or are their vibes just terrible? Were they trying to sabotage them by offering drugs? Did they break the engine on purpose and, if so, why?

Oisin: Is he chill or is he working an angle? That question technically goes to Ivy as well but I’m almost certain she’s fully working an angle, lol. I’m getting straight up Aelwyn vibes from her.

Class President: What is KP’s angle re: running for class president? This seems like something she’d want to do either way with her personality but her policy of fairness dovetails too neatly with Grix’s appearance and Cassandra’s inability to say the phrase, “It’s not fair,” last episode.

How did KP find the rogue professor and is that relevant?

And finally, why did KP want to know about where Kristen created her Freshman year god? Well, that question may be partially answered in our next section.

God Stuff

There is a lot going on this season with celestial shenanigans between Cassandra and Galicaea and even Yes! So let’s mark out what we know.

1) Cassandra was possessed by some kind of rage entity via crystal shards that were expelled from her body. Her status is kind of up in the air right now as the party was shunted away to safety by Connor Counterspell (RIP) and all Kristen has left of Cass are some glowing, purple shards.

2) Earlier in the fight, while lucid, Cassandra said, “I thought you were dead” about some unseen entity. Later, Kristen heard from a creepy voice that said, “She is at my side once more”. It then threatened her and slid out the rotting corpse of Yes! as a sick joke. Likely that these are the same person or at least connected.

3) Gorgug identified that the rage stars are similar to what’s going on with Ragh’s mom, Lydia so it was put on the docket to get in touch with her about that–especially because Kalina specifically told them to track down Ragh with her last lucid words.

4) Tracker’s Galicaea rebrand is going really well. Her social media is really popping and the endless night probably didn’t hurt.

5) Kristen on the other hand, hasn’t been doing so hot. Due to a bunch of negligence based in lack of time management and personal uncertainty, she hasn’t been evangelizing much which means only she and Craig stand between Cass and her permanent destruction.

6) Kristen can’t contact Cass telepathically and says she can’t use her magic which is Not Great if you're as danger prone as the Bad Kids.

Alright, that’s all the old business so let’s move to the new business.

7) When Kristen talked to her parents, we learned that Helio doesn’t have a chosen one since she left but we learn that it’s more serious than that. Helio also can’t choose a new chosen one. He only gets one. With Kristen gone, the whole religion is without a chosen one.

8) At a certain point, Tracker finally gets a hold of Kristen and says some harsh but true things about Kristen but, more relevant to the conspiracy board, she talks about her girlfriend Nara and Adaine, as a fellow high elf, clocks her as coming from a family of moon goddess clerics in Falinel. That raises the question: is this run of the mill teenage rebellion a la the theme song, or is she some kind of plant? We’ll hopefully get some more info from Aelwyn since Adaine texted her about it.

9) The real juicy stuff happens when we talk to Ragh’s mom. The fiend in Lydia's gem is called Bakur. Her having him in there doesn't make her rage--she's raging to keep him trapped but that's it. Her personality is the same.

10) Bakur was a pit fiend and the right hand guy of a dead god whose name we don't know (hmm, another dead and nameless god). Bakur can't even say the god's name. It's like, weird god rules and Lydia explains in a weird vague way: gods not being able to use loopholes and saying names being powerful and rules changing for non-mortals when gods die.

11) The one very concrete info we get is that a god can only come back in a place where they were born or created. The reason Bakur’s plan failed is that he tried to bring back the nameless god in the Red Waste and not where they were created.

12) Rana (Lydia’s party cleric) is away and Cormyr (the party sorcerer) is dead but Lydia offers to put the party in touch with Rana and Cormyr’s family because they have more stuff related to this and they were the ones who knew more about this than her.

Following? Good. So let’s distill this down to bullets again:

Holy Helio. The corn god doesn’t have a chosen one anymore because Kristen up and left. What does that mean in a concrete sense? What can a chosen one do that a normal cleric can’t? Is Helio gonna ask Kristen to do anything this season now that we know that this is a special position that only one person can fill? Is it until she dies (or at least dies for real)? Would a fanatical Helioic person try and kill Kristen to open up that slot?

KP specifically asking WHERE Cassandra was created seems clearly tied to the info Lydia gave about only being able to resurrect a god where it was created. But what does that mean exactly? Is she trying to resurrect the same god as Bakur? Did she just assume that wherever Kristen made her god is probably where most gods are made and, thus, her best bet? What’s her angle? Is this an evil plan for just a “this will get me a good grade” plan?

Where in the world is Cassandra right now? She is MIA right now which means Kristen’s powers are too. Though I wonder if she can draw on those shards to cast spells.

We obviously can’t be sure but it seems like the voice Kristen heard and the person that Cass thought was dead is likely that unnamed god. What’s his deal? I’m sure we’ll have more info for this bullet soon.

Is Tracker’s new girlfriend Nara, much like Ecaf, a turncoat?

With Helio, Cass, and Galicaea all being in the mix, is there any kind of family angle being played. It doesn’t come up a ton but they are very much related.

MISC

This is a section for a few points that don’t yet fit under the main two headings of the season but still need to go up on the board.

Why would Aguefort program a robot that acts like Grix? Is he supposed to be like or is he hacked? If he is hacked, who would be able to do that? The new artificing teacher? The old one?

We learn that Aguefort has made a lot of contradicting proclamations and all of them are canon, so you’re able to pick and choose what you want to cite (I feel like I’m in law school again). Lots of room for loopholes which could be useful later.

Adaine, while very drunk, had an oracle vision of Kristen at a birthday party, giving a victory speech to a bunch of teens on election night as a crescent moon hangs in the sky. The Crescent moon potentially gives them a time frame if they look into it (and it specifically being mentioned makes me think of Galicaea even though not every moon thing has to be connected to her). And we know Gorgug’s birthday is near the Frosty Folk festival so maybe that’s why the hats.

Speaking of, we know there’s a connection between Riz’s mom defending someone for money crimes re: that Festival and Gorgug’s parents hosting it so that’s something to remember.

This isn’t something for the pin board per se but this season introduces a stress token system for downtime! I’m sure I’ll talk about it more when we use it for the first time next ep but, for now, gotta say he’s really ramping up the pressure on our kids! And, to that point, let’s do a quick check in with everyone and see what they’re up against!

Character Board

Adaine

-Adaine is still facing major money troubles. After last episode, not only is her job terminated, but she actually owes 2.5 gold for her uniform.

-It looks like she might be developing a bit of a crush on the cute dragonborn (yay) but he’s a Rat Grinder (nooooo). I will say though, cross party romance could be a lot of fun and also my favorite NPC in this show is Aelwyn whose top 2 traits are famously Criminal and Loves Adaine so I am honestly fine with this either way lol.

-Speaking of Aelwyn, I’ll put the sister stuff together: When Adaine calls her to ask for dirt on Nara she says, “Working, will call in five.” And when Adaine questions the fact that it's 5am on a Saturday, Adaine just gets a winky face emoji back. Suspicious!

Fabian

-Fabian has to juggle the new 150% course load (bard/fighter) as well as his new party house reputation.

-He has a lack of adult supervision which also means a lack of adult care and it seems to be affecting him more than he’s willing to let on.

-But honestly his biggest obstacle is probably himself right now, lol. He made himself a new nemesis in Gertie Bladshield and I am not confident he can handle this honey trap mission with Ivy without the tables being turned on him.

Riz

-Riz is also facing money troubles, but for him that’s kind of business as usual unfortunately.

-He has a TON of extracurriculars to keep track of but he so far seems to be handling it pretty well and is picking up some interesting allies (that double as votes for Kristen’s campaign–campaign manager is also an extracurricular he’s taken up): the aforementioned Gertie Bladeshield (Apiary Club), Sprak LeFevre (Aviation Club), and Molman Holden (Soil Club). Always good to have new allies and Aviation Club seems like it could be really useful later! I can see him making some luck checks to successfully say, “I know a guy” in a tight spot based on how many clubs he’s joined.

-He also has the Reliable Talent ability now which means he’s incapable of rolling lower than a 21 on things he’s proficient in which includes Investigation. We’re about to be getting some INSANE lore dumps.

Gorgug

-Gorgug has his insane 400% courseload happening and I didn’t notice this until it was pointed out to me but Zac actually leveled Gorgug DOWN in Barbarian to take an extra level of Artificer! That’s commitment. But I can’t imagine Porter, who already has a problem with him, is gonna like that.

Fig

-Fig would hate it if I didn’t start this list by saying that she hella misses Ayda and that’s her biggest problem.

-But she also has her album to worry about and we actually get the bombshell during a conversation with Mazey that she’s not even sure that she still wants to be a bard.

-On top of that, she’s taking Barb and Warlock classes along with the Bard classes she’s finally going to.

-She has her gnarly Gilear curse happening that’s seemingly connected to whoever the boss who owns the pride armor is.

-She has beef with Rebuen and is living her double life as Wanda Childa to try and learn whatever she can about him/the Rat Grinders.

-Both she and Wanda are wanted by the Solace FBI.

-On a positive note, she really endeared herself to Mazey by sweetly sticking up for her when Ivy was being catty. If Fig wasn’t so devoted to Ayda I could have read their interaction at the end of the ep as flirty. Regardless, nice moment and great ally.

Kristen

-Welp, her god is, if not dead, MIA which is arguably the biggest deal of anything on any of these lists, especially since it’s tied to her magic AND her grade.

-Next of course is the potato to her meat on her plate: her campaign. But that’s actually going really well, especially after this party. Her biggest issue is whether or not she can get Fetty Wap to homecoming and, lbr, in a pinch Fig can just disguise herself as him. When has that ever not worked?

-She also has this unnamed god (or whoever it is) taunting her and threatening her specifically which isn’t ideal.

-But I honestly think she was more fucked up by the conversation which Tracker where her ex basically outlined everything she needs to get together in her life and then posted a pre-written pic with her new girlfriend. That’s gotta sting.

And that’s it! I wanted to focus on the specific nuggets of info we got this episode and start to connect them with what we knew so far. Different format, I know, but I’m feeling experimental this season and I might switch it up a few more times as Junior Year goes on. I love covering Fantasy High but, like I said at the top, I have to keep it fresh so I don’t burn out. See you next time when Brennan makes the stress we’re all feeling an actual game mechanic! Fun!

#Dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #d20 #d20 spoilers #fantasy high #fantasy high spoilers #fhjy #fhjy spoilers #spoilers #the report card #when I started doing these no one was doing proper recaps #now other outlets are and I'm thinking pivoting to commentary rather than straight recaps might be more fun #but I'll see how I feel

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balioc · 5 months

Text

Holiday Engineering: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I wasn't actually planning to make a dedicated post about Christmas. In most ways, it isn't a helpful reference point for a would-be holiday engineer. The things that make Christmas really noteworthy, and most of the things that make it really good, are not things that are within your power to replicate.

But, judging by the notes on my last Holiday Engineering post, it seems clear that my take on Christmas is a thing that is worth discussing and explaining. And, moreover, this is probably a fine pretext for some discussion of what it means for a holiday to be good or bad.

To start with: no holiday is for everyone. No thing is for everyone. No matter what kind of festival you make, a lot of people are going to be annoyed by it, and a lot more people are going to be pretty indifferent.

That basic truth has a number of ramifications. One of them is that -- as with any other kind of design -- when you're thinking about holiday design in abstract conceptual terms, it behooves you to distance yourself from your own preferences and passions at least a little bit. The best thing for you isn't necessarily the best thing in general, and vice versa. It's important to be able to understand when your own idiosyncrasies are pulling you away from good craftsmanship.

I have a strong antipathy towards Halloween, for Reasons. But I have enough perspective to be aware that those Reasons aren't going to be relevant to most other people, no matter how important they seem to me; and, in fact, I believe that Halloween is generally a very well-constructed festival in an "objective" sense.

Whatever else you want to say: there are definitely a lot of people who really don't like Christmas. And it's worth talking about why that is, because some of those reasons are widespread, and they matter. But that, in itself, is not an indication of bad design or low-quality content.

So, without further ado: I believe that the modern Western instantiation of Christmas is probably the greatest holiday of all time.

The core of the holiday's excellence is its theme. The short and simple version of that theme is peace on earth and goodwill towards men, which is -- pretty much the best possible theme that a holiday can have, A+, no notes. It is a high ideal of human living, so obvious that anyone short of a Spartiate can appreciate its value, rendered so straightforward that a tiny child can understand it. But in fact the situation is more complex than that, because Christmas is a complicated holiday, and it's worth digging a bit deeper.

Christmas is, in theory, God's birthday. Which is to say, it is a festival celebrating the entrance of the sacred into a profane world. It is something more than the commemoration of a mystery or a miracle; it is a commemoration of the fact that we get to have mysteries and miracles. And so the essential nature of the holiday is a fully-general "this is the special-time and the sacred-time," but that thing isn't just a bare assertion, it's fully rooted in the myth. The holiday spirit of Christmas is the spirit of everything that humans really think a holiday ought to be, put in a blender. Which tends to work out to something like, well, light and love and joy, letting our worldly strivings and animosities fade away in the face of the celebration, peace on earth and goodwill towards men. Christmas truces can develop spontaneously because Christmas is the festival, the moment at which it becomes powerfully obvious that there is something more powerful and more profound than whatever-you're-fighting-over-this-week.

And, crucially, this is framed in a deeply universal way. At its deepest roots, Christmas is all about Jesus, which just by itself raises a lot of hackles in certain quarters...but who is the Jesus of Christmas? He's not arguing with Pharisees or cursing fig trees or talking about how he came to bring the sword. He's not even tending to the poor, or dying horribly for your sins. He is a baby. The cult figure of the festival has no agenda, no politics or judgments, only wonder and potential and promise. The miracle of the season is often described as "a child is born," which is the most universal kind of celebratory event known to humanity.

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At this stage of its development, Christmas-as-she-is-practiced is really three almost-distinct holidays, each with its own vibe and its own canon of traditions.

Christmas A is the religious festival celebrating the birth of Christ, the one with the angels and the magi and the Latin. Christmas B is the not-necessarily-godly-but-solemn-and-sacred festival of peace and togetherness -- the Christmas of A Christmas Carol and "Good King Wenceslaus," the Christmas of fetishized family dinners. Christmas C is the tinsel-y consumerist holiday, the one that's all about how winter is fun and magical, with "Frosty the Snowman" for the kids and "Santa Baby" for the grownups and big holiday-sales displays for everyone.

(Crucially: Christmas C is still a real holiday, even just taken on its own terms, and has its own sacred narratives etc. Often these are weirdly romantic, but, well, at least in America, courtship is more sacred than pretty much anything else. See: appx. one hojillion Hallmark Channel movies.)

(There are also some more-minor quasi-independent holidays kicking around in there, like the remnant pagan stuff that you see in "The Holly and the Ivy." These are outside the scope of this discussion, but, y'know, they're interesting.)

This weird structure gives Christmas a lot of flexibility, because these three pseudo-holidays are capable of functioning more-or-less independently, but each of them is strongly connected to the others and therefore capable of providing reinforcement. If you don't want Christmas to be about Jesus, then fine, forget about him, there's still a practically-infinite amount of Christmas in which you can participate. But if you do want Christmas to be about Jesus, then your celebration of the nativity borrows sparkle and mojo from both Charles Dickens and the Coca-Cola Corporation. I myself have a strong dislike for the tinsel-y kind of celebration, for "Jingle Bells" and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" etc. -- but not only am I capable of enjoying Christmas A and Christmas B, I am capable of enjoying a world made Christmassy in large part by people who are doing the Christmas C thing, and their celebrations are constantly shading into the things that I like more.

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Relatedly: Christmas is one of the vanishingly-few modern holidays that is capable of feeling like a festival in the old sense, in a more-than-tiny-and-localized context. By which I mean that it consumes and alters the entire world. It's not just a thing you might choose to do, it is a thing that is happening around you, it is a season of the world. It feels real, to me and to many, in a way that most lesser holidays don't, because it pervades.

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...and we haven't even yet touched on the actual-factual nature of Christmas's power, which is just pure snowball effect: because Christmas is what it is, because it is the biggest and most important holiday, it is constantly becoming more that thing as ever more people add to it.

I said in my last Holiday Engineering post that Chanukah had two decent songs. You could possibly talk me into raising that number to five, maybe even ten if you're willing to accept some real deep cuts. Christmas has amazing songs, and it has so fucking many of them, because "writing new Christmas bangers" is a thing that medieval monks did and it's a thing that top-shelf musical geniuses are still doing today. You can fill days' worth of soundtrack with excellent Christmas music even if all you like is sacred stuff in Latin, and the same thing is true if you hate sacred stuff in Latin but you love Mariah Carey and Taylor Swift.

"Classic Christmas movie" is a genre, and not a small one. Practically every noteworthy long-running TV show made in the West has done a Christmas thing at some point, and many of them have done Christmas things every season.

Christmas is not particularly a sweets holiday, but nonetheless there are a million Christmas candies and Christmas cookies etc., because 'tis the season and it's worth randomly doing that thing, in a way that it is not worth randomly doing that thing for any lesser festival.

Even myths and rituals accrue in this way. Eight flying reindeer with cutesy names? Awesome, that poem was cool, let's make that canon. A ninth reindeer with a light-up red nose? The kids will love it. Krampus? Sure, why not, let's (twist the Alpine tradition a bit and) give Santa an evil opponent in the form of a goat demon with a taste for kidnapping.

And all of these things provide foundation for future ones.

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(I am not going to spend a lot of time listing high-quality Christmas foods and drinks, explaining why Santa Claus is a punchy and compelling bit of myth, etc. I think you can probably construct those points on your own.)

(...I suppose I will take the time to point out, briefly, that in additional to everything else, Christmas has so many good and distinctive symbols. The manger scene, the magi on their camels, the Christmas tree, Santa in his sleigh, the wreath, the wrapped gift box, the colors red and green...)

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It is true, of course, that Christmas is a family holiday. And that alone is enough to ensure that many people, especially around these parts, despise it.

There is, of course, a version of Christmas suitable for wholly-independent adults. Which matters. You can have a very Christmassy Christmas, full of lights and festival music and gifts and myth, celebrated entirely in the company of your peers. But, yeah, the world kinda expects you to Go Home (if your family celebrates Christmas) and you'll have to deal with various kinds of trouble if you choose not to do that.

I refuse to deduct points for that. It is not inherently bad to be a family holiday; in the end, holidays are probably more important for kids than for anyone else; if for some diabolical reason I had to choose between having only family holidays and having only independent-adult holidays, I'd choose the former, even though I personally enjoy the latter more most of the time. The fact that you don't like spending time with your family is not a knock on the holiday, any more than your being allergic to cheese is a knock on cheese.

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It is also true that Christmas is kind of inescapable. As I said above, it pervades. Which means that, if you don't like it, you still have to deal with it quite a lot, and that's probably going to make you like it even less.

I don't blame anyone for feeling that way. But, like, that is inherently an outgrowth of the holiday's success and popularity.

Being popular doesn't necessarily mean that something is good. You can even be legitimately annoyed that something is over-popular or overhyped. In the end, however, anything is going to cater to the people who love it and not to the people who hate it, especially if catering to the people who hate it primarily means "existing less." This is double-plus true for a holiday, where (as discussed above), being really widespread and close-to-universally-adopted provides a power and a value all its own.

#holiday analysis

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elvendorx · 10 months

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The Remus and Sirius height discourse has become so loaded. Today I saw a post claiming that viewing Sirius as taller than Remus means that one supports jkr? (What?)

Canonically, Sirius is taller than Remus. That's just a fact. And I understand that some people don't care about canon, and that's cool!! But even if you don't give a flying fig about canon, that does not make the view that Remus is taller than Sirius any more valid than the reverse, and you can't go around telling other people that they are wrong, or worse, bad people for not agreeing with a version of the character that exists in your head?

Look I get that it would be annoying to have people inject an "ahem actually..." on posts that are clearly based on headcanons. I get that. But that is the natural consequence of taking the names/tags of characters from popular fandoms and using them for your own OCs, and the fact that these fans jump to "they must be horrible people!" as opposed to "they might be confused about my relationship with canon" is... something.

As someone who is neurodivergent, I find that the fandom that claims to love diversity has very little tolerance for people who don't understand the unwritten rules about when canon is and isn't allowed to be used as a reference point. (Somehow, we still hate Snape because canon, but all other canon is garbage?) Sorry for the rant, I'm just tired and confused.

don't be sorry at all, i think this kind of thing needs to be talked about because at its worst, this rhetoric is an attempt at emotional manipulation and censorship. nobody is ever going to 100% agree even with the exact same words on a page - this is the entire literary criticism field, most of the time variation in readings are a good thing but this isn't even a "reading", because it has no bearing on the characters, they just are or aren't a certain height, so it becomes a tool for personal agendas - "if you think sirius was tall, you're a fascist". even though those two facts are not connected, because sirius' height is never anything more than a physical description of him. and it's glaringly obvious that the people who fixate on this aren't interested in sirius as a character, just as a vehicle for their own fantasies/validation.

this is the problem that comes from people trying to put dynamics & personalities that they want to see onto characters who don't fit those moulds. the height thing doesn't actually matter, it doesn't change anything in the narrative, but it summarises the attitude towards canon which for me summarises critical reading & reading comprehension as a whole within hp fandom. i don't think canon is perfect and i don't think it's sacred but i don't understand why you would engage with something that you have to twist out of recognition in order to enjoy it.

part of the fun of fandom, for me, is finding the limits and boundaries while maintaining recognition. at the very least, even if you change everything else, character has to be consistent. you have to recognise who you're working with otherwise what are you doing here? other authors are writing and have written exactly what you want, so why do you need this character with a history and motivations and a distinctive personality to be the ideal version of you/the partner you want (because lbr, that's it!). i'm not saying that people can't use their imaginations and bend things, i do it, and people can do that by bending characters out of recognition if they want. i don't get any enjoyment out of that or see the point in it but i'm not going to try and stop people. it's the flagrant dismissal of logic and evidence that i think is a more dangerous stance when applied more widely.

it's ALWAYS the people who want remus to be taller and sirius to be tiny who have 10 million personal reasons why they need it to be that way around despite it being clear that sirius is specifically tall, and remus is of such average and nondescript height that it's never mentioned. it's nobody else's responsibility to validate anyone's projections onto a fictional character, and your personal reasons for wanting a character to behave in a way that they wouldn't isn't anybody's responsibility. i don't think these kind of people see the irony in how they're trying to force their view on everyone else even though there's direct contradiction to it, yet are claiming that people who go with that feature from the text are violent fanaticists or something.

when you question why it makes such a difference to the "big strong remus and baby boi sirius" people, it comes down to "it's cuter" or "it allows me to simplify m/m relationships into tough and cute and use physical attributes as symbols rather than thinking complexly about personality traits and dynamics." the height thing is basically one step away from top/bottom discourse and just because someone identifies as queer or relates to a character doesn't make it unproblematic. if you need to see a character who represents your specific circumstances, find one or make an original one, imo. it's not an entire fandom's job to validate individuals and it's manipulative to suggest that someone else seeing a character according to the way that character is explicitly described is an act of hatred or violence or something.

apologies if this turned into a rant of its own - i don't CARE that sirius is tall but the attitude towards minor, basic facts is wild to me. it makes no difference to me but idk why you would take being taller than snape away from sirius bc he clearly enjoys being able to tower over him. if i did want to argue that sirius' height makes a difference in the text, i'd say that sirius is tall because padfoot is also a large creature and there seems to be some kind of reflection of the human in animagus forms, whereas the whole werewolf thing is something inflicted externally rather than something that comes from within the person so remus' human height isn't reflected by his lycanthropy. but that's a whole other question i would have to research more.

#txtpst #fandom discourse #sirius black #remus lupin #height discourse #idk i will thank short sirius/tall remus ppl to just leave this alone ty :)

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archiveikemen · 1 year

Text

Ikemen Villains Love Letter Replies: Part 3

– Elbert, Alfons, Jude

I do not own any of the Ikemen Series content being uploaded on this blog, everything belongs to CYBIRD. Please support them by playing their games and buying stories. Not 100% accurate, expect mistakes.

read this before interacting with my posts

Elbert Greetia

Q. Who do you usually dine with, and what do you eat?

I realized this after Al pointed it out to me.

I only eat bitter food like parsley, lemon peels, and herbal tea.

When Roger treated me to meat, I was chided for unconsciously eating only the charred parts.

Elis buys delicious bread from the bakery, so we eat it together, I guess.

Q. What are your dislikes? And why do you hate drinking milk?

My dislikes...

I don't like crowded places.

I can't move around easily in crowded places because I'm afraid of stepping onto someone's shadow. It's too bothersome.

As for why I hate milk... I can't stand the sweet taste and smell of milk.

And... oh.

Roger took me boxing a while back, and... it wasn't my thing.

... It was too painful.

Q. How do you spend your time on rainy days? Does the sound of rain wake you up?

I sometimes get woken up by the sound of rain, but... even the tiniest of noises from people can wake me up.

Perhaps I'm not so sensitive to the sound of rain.

I often go out to town when it rains.

Umbrellas make people stand further apart from one another... it's easier for me to walk.

Maybe we can go on a walk together sometime.

I'm sure that... we can find something beautiful.

Alfons Sylvatica

Q. Besides Roger, is there anything else you dislike?

Ahaha!

A very interesting question.

I don't particularly dislike Roger, you know?

I'm not picky about people.

Something I dislike would be... cats.

No, no, I'm not lying.

I hate lies.

I also dislike delicious food, soft beds, the touch of a human, and ghosts.

Q. What kind of perfumes do the guys use?

I go for scents that are more musky.

The perfume ends up being mixed with various scents, so it's like it becomes a different scent every day.

Examples of what the other guys smell like:

• Bewitching rose.

• Refreshing mint.

• Sweet vanilla.

• Odorless.

• The smell of after the rain.

• Smoky sandalwood.

• Fresh laundry.

• The smell of a silent night.

Now, which smell belongs to who?

Q. What should I do to have sweet dreams?

Are you talking about the dreams I show you?

I can guarantee that you'll have lots of "fun" if you fully surrender yourself to me.

If you're talking about actual dreams...

I recommend imagining things like where you to want to go, dreams you want to come true, and sweet words you want to hear, before going to sleep.

It's okay to be shameless.

You won't be punished for having good things happen in your dreams.

Jude Jazza

Q. What fruits do you especially like?

What, are you planning to get me a gift?

... It's not like that? Why do you have to treat me?

I usually eat pears, peaches, and figs.

I have a sweet tooth?

By "sweet tooth", you mean like Harrison?

I don't have a liking for treats that are too sweet.

And also... the raspberries Elis occasionally gets me aren't bad as well.

Q. How can I get a job at your trading company?

You're a remarkably diligent worker, I'm impressed.

... Alright, you're hired once you sign the employment contract. Required qualifications? There are none.

A manager's job is to think of ways to make even the most incompetent staff useful, don't you agree?

I'm going to make you work directly under the president for the time being, so you'd better do a good job working for me.

... I'm looking forward to seeing what you're capable of, Princess.

Q. I heard that you got yourself into an entanglement with a stray cat. How did that happen?

You mean the one Ellis brought back with him?

I was doing my paperwork, but it kept wrapping itself around my leg, climbing onto my lap and shoulders, and licking and nibbling on my fingers. It kept coming back even though I tried to get it away from me. It was annoying.

At last, that weirdo who's also the Queen's aide and Alfons wanted to look after the cat...

The next time that guy comes back with a stray cat, I'm giving him a pay cut.

#ikemen villains #ikemen series #cybird ikemen #cybird otome #otome #ikevil misc #elbert greetia #jude jazza #alfons sylvatica #niki translates

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a-very-tired-jew · 3 months

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Dropout has an Antisemitism Problem (Cont)

I did not think I would be doing a write up so soon after my first one regarding Dropout’s Antisemitism problem, but here we…

(Note: all screen caps are from this week Feb 18th - Feb 24th, 2024)

For the past week, and some change, the members of a specific channel on the Dropout TV official Discord have been calling for Sam Reich’s “pound of flesh”. I talked about it previously, but to rehash it: they want Sam to openly denounce Israel and Zionism. Considering who Sam is and who his family is…that’s not likely going to happen. It’s also antisemitic to demand a Jewish person renounce a part of their identity to fit your own ideals. Regardless, this has been going on for some time. Someone got tired of the hypocrisy and antisemitism in the channel and posted the following.

Fig. 1. User comes in and asks people to stop making assumptions of the company, corrects their own mistakes, and then addresses the inherent antisemitism in the anti-Zionist positions in the channel (albeit with harsh language). The second user immediately calls for a moderator (this second user is the person who exclusively posts pro-Hamas propaganda from AJ and MEE). This person was immediately banned and the active members immediately told people not to engage with them. However, it did open the door to a discussion regarding what Zionism actually is, which in turn led other members to ask what definition was being used. You can see in the questions that are being asked regarding the definition the inherent bias of the channel and its members. They do not allow for other definitions of the term beyond their own.

Fig. 2. Top user asks if they’re correct in thinking that a 2SS is at odds with Zionism. Middle user provides the simple definition of Zionism. Bottom user is the moderator calling user and emphasizes not to engage.

Fig. 3. Moderator comes in and tell people that this space is anti-Zionist. While they state there is no defending the ideology, their actions reveal that they don’t want any one coming in and challenging their ideals. After this more questions revolved around the definition of Zionism. The Top User from Fig. 2. asks for more clarification as there are Zionists that don’t fit the extremist definition that the channel is using. In particular they are referring to Sam’s father Robert Reich who is a Zionists but is often lauded as a champion of Leftist causes and has a history that is hard to besmirch. Again, another definition is then provided in the channel that is basic (Fig. 4.) and an article summarizing the I/P history from Vox (which is relatively good).

Fig. 4. Top User has asked for more information regarding Zionism as it seems contradictory. Bottom user provides a definition and link. However, as is standard in this channel…the accepted common definition does not fit the biased narrative. After the above definitions were given, multiple members started posting their own definitions that were/are entirely antisemitic in nature. One of the most egregious definitions is below in Fig. 5. This user clearly states that Zionism is a genocidal ideology. This means that belief and support for a Jewish state in the Jewish homeland is therefore genocidal and anyone with that ideology is therefore a genocidal colonial settler. In turn, this means that any Jew who holds Zionist beliefs, regardless of anything else, is therefore bad. Guess what? That’s antisemitic as it equates wanting a Jewish homeland with genocide. No other minority group that is a diaspora outside of their home country, who want to return to that land or believe they should have their own nation is treated the same way.

Fig. 5. User defines Zionism as settler colonialism against Palestinians, that a 2SS is actually intended to genocide Palestinians, and Israel is a country bent on committing this genocide. They then try to justify this position with saying Zionism does not equal Jews. The User who asked for definitions does appear to see the writing on the wall regarding how vehemently biased the channel is and quickly backtracks to stay present on the server (remember, they will ban you from the entire thing for questioning them). The act of banning people and making users so afraid to ask questions that they backtrack to stay present in a space is not good behavior. It maintains an echo chamber that leads to more and more radicalization until you’re holding positions like “terrorism is justified”… oh wait, they already hold that position (see my previous Dropout post).

Fig. 6. Top User is the one asking for definitions. They clearly backtrack a bit after user in Fig. 5. responds. The bottom user then provides an ahistorical account of Zionism and the I/P conflict (the article in Fig. 4. actually talks about leftist Zionism in the 70s).

Several users then present ahistorical accounts regarding Zionism and the creation of Israel. One of the common refrains from the right wing in Israel is that Palestine cannot be recognized because it would be rewarding Hamas for the 10/7 attacks. This is a problematic position that I don’t agree with as official recognition would entail more diplomatic relations, sanctions, etc… However, one user posits that Israel was rewarded its statehood for the Nakba, this disregards the Israeli War for Independence (aka the Palestine War, aka the Arab – Israeli War). This is not a surprising act though as throughout the channel there has only every been one narrative and this is “Israel (the Jews) is bad and has always been the aggressor.” In fact, they have explicitly stated within the channel that the space is only for marginalized people and that they don’t consider Zionist (Jews) to be marginalized, thereby justifying their banning of people who question them.

Fig. 7. User providing an ahistorical account of the Arab-Israeli War.

All of this culminates in a post by another frequent member of the channel about Zionism being an inherently bad ideology. They state that ethnostates have always been problematic. This disregards almost every country in the world except for the immigrant made ones like the USA and Australia, which is ironic because this channel has talked about indigenous rights and the right of indigenous people to have their own country (which would be an ethnostate). Many of the countries people in the server talk about supporting the channel’s cause are themselves ethnostates. Citizens of those countries do express nationalism as well. There’s only one difference…they’re not a Jewish country. The user then goes on to tell people not to engage with anyone who is a Zionist, and implies that anyone attempting to challenge the ideals of the channel are even worse and should not be engaged with at all.

Fig. 8. Frequent User posts an antisemitic definition of Zionism and tells people not to engage with Zionists.

The channel repeatedly misrepresents Zionism and has its own definition that stands at odds to the common accepted definition. The accepted definition is the one used by the Jewish community for a Jewish ideology regarding the Jewish homeland. Zionism is Jewish nationalism. That’s it. There are some flavors to this regarding whether or not the individual believes this for secular or religious reasons, but it all boils down to Jews believing in, wanting, and supporting a Jewish country in their ancestral home. People all around the world engage in nationalist behavior, some more than others (looking at you USA), but it appears that only Jews get told what their ideals, terms, and beliefs “actually” mean. Jews are told that their country is inherently evil and have their history inverted and used against them. It’s almost like we’re not welcome in any space, which is ironic because we’re being marginalized by marginalized people. And that, my friends, is antisemitic.

#antisemitism #judaism #activism #jew #leftist #dropout tv #sam reich #leftist antisemitism

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kipperlillyforpresident · 7 days

Note

Legally you are required to tell me your thoughts on oisin/kipperlilly and lucy/ivy

OKAY SO. oisin x kipperlilly is a really funny story, actually.

i've been rotating around different ship ideas with @ivyembracertifiedbitch , and we landed on thinking that buddy x ivy is really fun. in that ivy is constantly ""tempting him into sin"" (literally just like. Kissing Him.) and the idea that well, buddy doesnt kill people, Helio kills people and sometimes acts through buddy. and if buddy doesnt do anything and just lets ivy kiss him then he's not really doing anything it's just happening To him. and so its acceptable.

and then we were talking about oisin making fun of ivy for this. and i said ivy might say "well, at least IM kissing MY uptight blond, unlike you lmao".

and when i said this, i was meaning adaine. but he replied "oh do you want to share your kipperlilly x oisin thoughts?" and i was like... well i didnt mean that. but now let me Cook.

Basically, here's my main thoughts:

We canonically know that Kipperlilly had a strong instinct to 'protect Oisin', as seen in the Aelwyn convo.

Oisin is the only other Rat Grinder we see actively Enacting plots - teleportation at last stand, pingponggate, etc.

Although Kipperlilly definitely WANTS to be the leader, there's a good case to be made that Oisin is the one who is actually SEEN as the leader among TRG - he's the one who helped get the name changed, after all.

We know that Oisin's type is 'academic blond girl who has 100 mental illnesses.'

So I think this combination of facts can be used in some very fun ways!

Kipperlilly, who hates that Oisin is doing so much better then her, getting to lead the adventuring party, who has a stupid fucking Special Backstory with his grandma. And yet. And yet.

She sees first hand how hard he works, and she has to respect that. It makes her want to work even harder. Nobody else seems to be taking this seriously, but Oisin IS.

An alternative and funny scenario is the idea of them fake dating to try and make Lucy/Kristen/Ivy/Whoever you please as a crush for Kipperlilly & Adaine jealous. And then it just works out a little too well...?

Ivy x Lucy I don't have as much of an insane ramble for. But it's mainly built on these things:

Ivy was the one who saw Fake Lucy at the party. That feels like symbols and motifs, right...? Ivy seeing Fig's disguise and immediately knowing it's not Lucy. She would know.

I want Lucy to be weirder and not Dead Wife Montage and i think dating a mean girl would be an excellent way to achieve this.

#kipperlilly copperkettle #oisin hakinvar #ivy embra #lucy frostblade #hakinkettle #embrafrost #<< my proposed ship names

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superconductivebean · 19 days

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#991: poppy sweeting headcanon post - 4

Imelda Reyes: >>>1 || >>>2 (nsfw) || >>>3 || >>>4 || >>>5 || >>>6 Poppy Sweeting: >>>1 || >>>2 || >>>3 Imelda x Poppy headcanons: >>>1 || >>>2 || >>>3 || >>>4

Once again raising my head from the Brainrot fog to share some character headcanons with the world. Brainrot is a fic I’m working on.

Tags: @thriftstorebabayaga @endeavour12345 @celestial--sapphic @caramel-hufflepuff @catohphm @adalinda-selwyn

In light of the recent discovery; Poppy knows how to navigate the Deeper woods of the Forbidden Forest. Her travel journal has all she needs to know: the symbols and their assumed meanings, landmarks, hand-drawn maps, points of danger/interest. To her, the Forest isn't a danger or imminent death but its own world, it has to be treated with respect;

Highwing often tags along;

Brainrot: the Forbidden Forest is hostile to the outsiders. It is a dangerous place; Ashwinders had to stick to depressions of the land and decrepit brick masses of long-abandoned dwellings to escape being snatched. However, the Forest welcomes anyone who has proven to be a friend or a worthy contender to its force;

Brainrot: d̷̪̃ò̷̙n̸̺͠'̵̬̏t̶͉̾ ̸̼͊s̵̼͆p̵͈̄ĭ̵͈l̶̼̆l̶͙̿ ̵̹̐b̴̪͌l̸͍̅o̷̫͊ȯ̷̻ḍ̵̒ ̵̟̊į̴̈́n̴̟͆ ̸͕̊t̶̟͛h̶̥̊e̷͎͑ ̸͈̿w̷̥̌ȏ̶̜o̷̤͌d̶̬̍s̶̰̅;

Brainrot: Poppy believes in fairies. The Forbidden Forest is said to house a few fae beings but Hogwarts library has only so much accounts of people encountering them -- if these could be even considered accounts. People used to write ambiguously, often referring to things by lucid and surreal names; some of the books Poppy had found that had anything on the matter were hidden in the part of the Restricted Section marked as 'insufficient drivel';

Gran doesn't support her ventures. Poppy is alone in there -- first. Her adventures there are enviable -- second;

Professor Howin suspects something but is yet to catch Poppy off the student limits;

Professor Sharp, the library dweller, noticed certain piles of books moved or changed shape. He told Eleazar. Eleazar said it might've been him or Miriam, why hold the student's name at the tip of the pen if multiple people are frequenting the library at the late hours of day each day every day for many years. Then he told Matilda. Matilda said, mister Sallow. It didn't sound plausible, given the caliber of Sallow's interests but Agnes seemed to agree with Matilda on this;

Sebastian had no idea some of his detentions were on Poppy;

Professor Garlick doesn't know much about beasts, only about those found in the gardens, greenhouses or wilderness. She also believes in fairies and allows Poppy to stare at thistles from time to time. Professor Fig was also curious but his observations were usually lukewarm, unlike those of Miriam. Poppy hadn't gotten to know Mrs Fig well but what she did manage to hear amazed her;

When Poppy's little obsession became known, that nickname, 'Peculiar', stuck. Poppy expected to hear that even from her friends but the Sallows didn't mind it at all, Ominis was mildly interested because he'd once heard merfolk was tied to fae somehow, Garreth was convinced he lost half of his socks because of these creatures, and Imelda, the one Poppy felt fearful of, was strangely quiet and would never elaborate on her interest, calling her mockers stupid instead; Poppy later learnt Orcadians were vary of the fae folk;

Brainrot: After Poppy learnt Julia was able to understand Fig's musings about some kinds of old and strange magic, she urged to inquiry Julia on fairies. Julia was convinced she was talking about the beasts from the assigned CotMC textbook but these creatures were something else*.

*do I lore-drop that I believe MC to be a fae creature or am I leaving it for a later date.

#днявочка #eng tag #днявочка: hlegacy #utlitd brainrot #poppy sweeting #imelda reyes #hogwarts legacy #днявочка: фандомное

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jtl-fics · 11 months

Note

Brain science anon here

As an apology consider twinyards fluff...

Aaron learning about this is in class (Like I just did) and finally understanding Andrew a little better. Do you think he’d share this tidbit with Andrew? Would it be a conversation where Andrew decides to give a truth about his past to Aaron, telling him what happened? Would Aaron share it with the rest of the foxes (with Andrew’s blessing aka “do whatever you want” type answer when asked if it was okay) when someone starts to rag on Andrew about it, in defense of his brother? Just think of all the internal growth Aaron goes through when he realizes it’s not his fault. What else does he start to rethink and relearn about Andrew? How much closer do you think they get when Aaron realizes it's not out of animosity that Andrew acts the way he does.

I now only accept apologies by way of sweet Twinyard HCs.

Maybe Aaron finds this out and maybe he finds himself watching his brother more. Maybe he starts noticing how sometimes when Andrew is sat with Josten Andrew's eyes are warm and bright and content.

Maybe he listens to what Andrew says and sees what Andrew does more than the way Andrew says it.

I think Aaron would hold onto the information for a while. Maybe just a little bit because he doesn't know how Andrew will react to him going 'you're actually brain damaged not an asshole', maybe it's shame that he had thought his brother a monster, and maybe...maybe it's Aaron wanting to hold onto something only he knows about his brother (eat it Josten).

Then he hears Matt shit talking how Andrew will never make Neil feel loved with the way he talks.

Aaron's been watching, he is DEEPLY aware of his brother's feelings towards Josten, and has unfortunately seen his brother make those feelings quite clear even if his voice never gave anything more than 'phone book read' energy. Josten never needed to know about Andrew's brain damage to understand what Andrew means and realizing that makes him hoarding the information feel stupid (fuck off Josten).

He wants to say something but he did just take that whole 'patient-client confidentiality' ethics bit so he thinks twice. He stands up and goes to see Andrew.

Andrew and Josten are on the couch. Josten's asleep on Andrew's lap, it's domestic in a way that he's learning Andrew can be, and Andrew gives him a look.

Aaron knows if he wakes Josten up this conversation will go worse, "I took a course on brain injuries. I think you damaged your Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area and that's why your voice is like that." he says and Andrew blinks, "Did you ever...did any of them ever...hit your head really hard. Especially on the right side?" and Andrew's silent stare gives no clues but the way his hand curls in Josten's hair like he's the asshole is a preferred teddy bear. "When people bitch about how you can't emote in your speech can I tell them to shut the fuck up?" he asks.

"Do what you want." Andrew says with a shrug.

Aaron pauses before he leaves, "I...I don't think there's anything to fix-"

"I don't need to be fixed." Andrew returns and Aaron sees as Andrew traces his fingers along Josten's burn scar.

Aaron gets the impression that the only person Andrew needs to understand his emotions already does.

It doesn't bother him as much as it would have before he had started watching.

He shuts the door quietly and returns to his own dorm room to slam the door open. He points at Matt who is trying to to choke on the fig newton he'd been in the middle of chewing, "FIRST OF ALL-"

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verosvault · 3 months

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🚨SPOILERS FOR FANTASY HIGH JUNIOR YEAR EPISODE 6🚨

Dimension20 "Fantasy High Junior Year"

Episode 6 "Party Politics"

Timestamp: 1:41:19

Video Length: 4min. & 56sec.

Riz's Pass-Fail theory gets debunked + Ragh reminding everyone about dinner with his mom + Fig saying she might not wanna be a bard anymore

Riz: "I also think we have to be really careful going forward, because Kipperlilly's team is trying to get us kicked out of school or get us to flunk. I think we need to find out what happened to Lucy Frostblade, if Lucy actually died. But I do know that you switch to pass-fail if somebody from your team dies."

Kristen: "Right, did they need to switch to pass-fail?"

Riz: "But if Kipperlilly were to-"

Adaine: "But it's only for the year, right?"

Riz: "-become class president, maybe she could change that rule. Maybe they just need good grades to get into whatever school that they're trying to get into."

Kristen: "Why does she want to be president? Yeah."

Riz: "That would be, that's why they need-"

Emily: "But, Ivy didn't act like...I mean, yes, it's possible that she saw, but she would have to be able to... It's not like I rolled a bad Deception."

Riz: "Either way, even if Lucy left the party, if your party is incomplete, you switch to pass-fail. So if any of them can't afford to go to school or something, they can't get scholarships now."

Brennan asks Riz for a history or investigation check and he gets a 28! 😁

Brennan: "As you're speaking, you remember that slip in the yearbook and you know that yearbooks come in time for graduation. But you suddenly remember that there's usually about a week or two weeks in between when your final exams are."

Murph: "Right."

Brennan: "And there's no more things that affect your grade after that. Having done all that research beforehand, the majority of the pie chart of when Lucy could've 'disappeared' that they wouldn't have been able to include it in the yearbook is actually in a period of time where there wouldn't have been grading. It would've been after finals."

Murph: "So if you start a new year, you can have a different adventuring party?"

Brennan: "Yes, basically you can't swap in ringers in the middle of your school year."

Lou: "But it makes sense that they would want to bring in a ringer like our not bad baby, Buddy, who is the backup team chosen one of Helio. They see a chance to bring him in, you kill Lucy."

Emily: "'Cause Lucy Frostblade, I'm almost like, was she not healing-focused enough?"

Brennan: "It's not listed in the yearbook, but finding out what domain she was associated with-"

Emily: "Me, I'm thinking war domain when I hear Frostblade."

Siobhan: "Right, and if he's Helio, he's a light domain cleric. Right?"

Lou: "We shouldn't be prejudiced like that."

Brennan: "Yolanda would've taught Lucy, so your cleric teacher-"

Ally: "Okay, great."

Brennan: "Your cleric teacher would've taught Lucy."

The bad kids have their egg slurry! 😭😭💀💀

Brennan: "And then Ragh wanders out, and you can see that he's scraping butter and sweat off his body that's been there all night."

Ragh: "Um."

Gorgug: "Were you supposed to take a shower a while ago?"

Ragh: "I did." 😭😭😭

Gorgug: "Really?" 😭💀

Adaine: "Wow, did you use soap?"

Ragh: *rolls eyes* "****!" *turns around*

Fabian: "Which shower did you use?" 😭😭😭

Brennan: "He[Ragh] turns around. 20 minutes later, he comes back out" 😭

Ragh: "Mom's making lunch."

Everyone remembers 😂🤣💀

Riz: "Okay, yeah, we're gonna go have lunch with your mom. Let's go do it."

Kristen: "Before we go, does anyone else have any big 💩 weighing on their hearts and minds?"

Fig: "Um, I think I don't wanna be a bard anymore."

Kristen: "Really?"

Fig: "I went to warlock class, and it just clicked."

Kristen: "Dang, okay."

Fig: "It clicked."

Fabian & Riz: "That's cool."

Adaine: "For warlock class, did you have to buy like 10 barrels of diamonds?"

Fig: "No, we just talked about the power of relationships, and I just feel like that's my 💩."

Adaine: "That's so interesting to me."

Zac: "But we now are locked in our classes, right?"

Brennan: "It's already been the first week of classes, yeah."

Zac: "This sucks."

Brennan: "But! There are offices. The vice principal's office is there. If you guys wanted to switch classes mid-year or do other stuff, you can submit that. It was due on the 1st of the year, but you've seen there's a lot of loopholes and interesting things. Arthur Aguefort, over hundreds of years of running this school, has said a lot of contradictory stuff, and one of his rules is that anything he verbally said became school canon."

Emily: "So we can pick and choose quotes of his."

Brennan: "Yeah, exactly, so there's a lot of wiggle room if you wanna switch a class, right?"

Riz: "Maybe if Kristen becomes school president, maybe we make some of this stuff a little simpler. I feel like we've been doing a lot of stuff, some practical application of our classes, and I feel like we haven't gotten credit for like half the stuff we're doing. We're having to destroy ourselves to pass these classes."

Gorgug: "This is a good platform."

Kristen: "Okay, yeah, right."

Riz: "And this works for everybody."

Kristen: "Can you write a little speech about this?"

Riz: "Of course."

Adaine: "World saving should count more than rat *******."

Kristen: "That is perfectly put."

Brennan: "You head to Mordred Manor. As you do so-"

The dome turns REALLY BRIGHT! 😂😂💀💀 Big color change! 😂🤣💀

Ally: "OMG!"

Brennan: "It's so bright!"

The amazing caption team: "(Zac croaking)"

Ally: "I'm wearing two pairs of sunglasses."

Murph: "Yeah, Riz is also wearing sunglasses."

Adaine tries to cast "Dispel Magic" at the sun! 😭😭✋✋

Brennan and Ally's laughter! 😂😂 Dispel Magic at the sun was funny fr! 😂🤣💀

26 notes · View notes