#any time fabian and riz interact

[mccoyquialisms]

lou and murph team ups are so special. no matter how chaotic lou gets, murph never fails to "yes, and" him, even if he's cringing or gritting his teeth the entire time

#thinking about gunnie and barry in the casino #pinocchio and gerard on toy island #any time fabian and riz interact #much like zac is brennan's special favorite who can do no wrong I feel like lou is murph's lmao #side note: this is all a joke. I am joking. pls do not take this post too seriously #I just love their friendship <3 #dimension 20 #dropout #my musings

[villadiodatis]

Fantasy High Junior Year: level 10

As psyched as I am for the jokes and character moments we'll get with FHJY, I am a mechanics nerd at heart, so! Here is a preview of what awaits the Bad Kids when they hit Level 10. This assumes no one multiclasses into a new class.

Adaine

Adaine's level up is relatively simple: as a level 10 Divination wizard, she gets an ability called The Third Eye. Once per long rest, she can use her action to gain darkvision (not useful, since she already has it as an elf), see into the Ethereal Plane, read any language, or see invisible creatures/objects within 10 feet. This lasts until she is incapacitated or takes a short/long rest.

She will also learn an additional cantrip and get another 5th level spell slot, and she can add two new wizard spells of level 1-5 to her spellbook.

Fabian

Fabian could hit level 7 in fighter or level 4 in bard. At level 7, Battlemaster Fighters get an additional maneuver and superiority die, plus a feature called Know Your Enemy, which allows him to determine if other creatures he interacts with outside of combat are his equal, superior, or inferior in terms of ability scores, AC, level, and HP.

If he takes another level in bard (remember, he dances now!), he'll get a new cantrip, another 2nd-level spell slot, a new 1st or 2nd level spell, and an ability score improvement or feat. There are a million directions he could go with an ASI or feat, so I won't speculate here.

Fig

Fig will be either level 9 in bard or level 2 in warlock. As a 9th-level bard, she gets an additional 4th level spell slot, her Song of Rest goes from a d6 to a d8, and the big one: she gets a 5th-level spell slot. There are a few options here, but some that I think Emily could be absolutely devastating with are Dominate Person, Geas, Mislead, Scrying, Seeming, or one that I've seen make a lot of trouble in other actual plays, Modify Memory.

If she takes another level in warlock, she gets an additional warlock (1st-level) spell slot, another 1st-level warlock spell, and two Eldritch Invocations. There are also some that would be incredible for Fig--some that do things like strengthen her Eldritch Blast, but particularly Mask of Many Faces, which lets her cast Disguise Self without using a spell slot, or Misty Visions, which lets her cast Silent Image without using a spell slot. Fig may be getting more comfortable being herself, but she's still gonna find a way to cause trouble.

Gorgug

Gorgug could hit level 9 in barbarian or level 2 in artificer. If he goes with barbarian, he gains Brutal Critical, which means he gets to roll an extra damage die (d12 with his Heavy Metal Axe) whenever he scores a critical hit. Additionally, his Rage Damage bonus increases to +3.

If he goes with artificer, things get more complicated, and very fun. Level 2 artificers get Infuse Item--basically, he can create magic items. He'll be able to pick 4 infusions off of the table, and can have 2 infused items at a time. Some options that catch my eye: Enhanced Arcane Focus, Enhanced Defense or Weapon, Homunculus Servant, or Replicate Magic Item, which would let him make items like a bag of holding or rope of climbing.

Kristen

In addition to a second 5th level spell slot and a new cantrip, Kristen Applebees will get access to an incredibly exciting feature that I would bet money on Ally using in an insane, perfect story moment: Divine Intervention. By rolling a d100 and getting your cleric level or lower (so 1-10 for Kristen, a 10% chance) (D20 has done this as hitting a 19 or 20 on a d20), Kristen can ask Cassandra to intervene on her behalf in a way that Brennan decides. If you've seen The Seven, you may remember Ostentatia's successful Divine Intervention, when Logren shattered the aspect of fire, put a vein of mithral under Elmville, and ended Charity Blythe's Greater Invisibility. I am very eager to see what happens with it.

Riz

Riz's next level is very simple, but brings a lot of options. At level 10, rogues get an ability score improvement or feat. There are a lot of useful feats for rogues, and ASIs are always helpful, so frankly I won't even begin to speculate.

And of course, they may go in an entirely new direction, whether with homebrew, multiclass, or something I haven't thought of! I'm so excited to see where this goes, and I can't wait to see where the players bring these characters.

#d20 #dimension20 #dimension 20 #fantasy high #fantasy high junior year #fhjy #fig faeth #adaine abernant #kristen applebees #riz gukgak #gorgug thistlespring #fabian seacaster #please let me know if i've gotten anything wrong here or if you have mechanics thoughts!! #zoe does stuff #i'll probably do another one of these when it airs for future levels cause this was. very fun #shoutout to everyone who does these for critical role

[kipperlillyclerickiller]

Exploring Unconventional Bad Kid/Ratgrinder Parallels

Obviously, when Brennan introduced the Ratgrinders in FHJY, some clear parallels in class composition popped up. Every member of the Bad Kids has a corresponding Ratgrinder who shares their general build/role in the party and (presumably) some of their psychological issues as well. But when I was rotating the characters in my mind, as one does, I realized that there were some other interesting character foils to be pointed out. I've listed them below under the read more, along with more detailed thoughts on what aspects of the characters are highlighted with each comparison.

Also I spent way too much time working on this, so I'm including a DNI banner on here (made by @kipperlillyforpresident, who also graciously let me bounce ideas off in the DMs)

Kipperlilly Copperkettle/Gorgug Thistlespring: the first parallel that i came up with. they both have issues around rage that are belied by their physical appearance, with klck being a tiny halfling who experiences an excessive amount of rage that doesn't "benefit" her adventuring-wise as she's a rogue, while on the hand, gorgug is a half-orc who started out as a barbarian in part because it is what he's physically predisposed to be, despite actually having an extremely gentle personality, only transitioning to artificer in his junior year. both have relatively normal middle-class backgrounds but still have issues; klck's anger issues regarding not having a tragic backstory are well-documented, but gorgug also has baggage that made him minimize his presence at the beginning of his high school career, stemming from growing up in a household where rage wasn't really considered at all bc it's an emotion so antithetical to the thistlesprings' way of existence (to be clear, i think the thistlesprings are great parents; it's just that they didn't really know how to address this aspect of gorgug's development)

Ruben Hopclap/Fabian Seacaster: black boys showing off the sensitive side of masculinity. last episode established that the ratgrinders are living in ruben's mansion, which he presumably bought with his rockstar money and lives in without any parental figures, meaning that he and fabian have similar living situations and probably similar issues with trying to avoid loneliness that result in attention-seeking behavior (ruben's music career and fabian's max legend status). finally, the turncoat potential: fabian has admitted to listening to ruben's music and beefed with gertie bladeshield against the rest of the bad kids. meanwhile, ruben's experiencing some sort of guilt/reluctance with the ratgrinders' plan as expressed through his interactions w/ wanda childa. i believe they can bridge the bad kid/ratgrinder divide and i want them to be friends sooo bad

Ivy Embra/Fig Faeth: most straightforward similarity is their sylvan elf heritage, but i think that the similarity that matters the most would be their image/self-portrayal, with ivy being a sort of mean girl with an edge, similar to the type of person that fig wanted to portray herself as in freshman year (even though fig is actually much more soft-hearted/sentimental). this comparison is honestly more of a what-could-be scenario that sheds light on potential alternate facets of fig's story bc 1) ivy being an elven ranger is pretty similar to sandra lynn but has the edgy persona fig only took on after she found out about her tiefling heritage and 2) we have literally no idea what's going on with ivy's emotional landscape. still, this comparison compels me, especially in light of finding out how porter and jace groomed the ratgrinders, and the way that sandra lynn got used by bobby dawn when he was an adventurer. it's like a dark mirror of what could have happened to fig if the circumstances were worse (and the fact that bobby dawn is a teacher in aguefort rn and was also collaborating with porter to an extent.... the cycles are cycling!!)

Mary-Ann Skuttle/Riz Gukgak: just little guys. specifically smaller races often stereotyped as villainous and acting in the service of the party rather than for themselves, though while we see that riz acts for the party out of genuine passion, mary-ann seems to be more apathetic. both are disconnected from regular teenage social norms, generally unbothered/unaware of looking "uncool", and more focused on their personal interests, as mary-ann has her plushies and riz has his mysteries (and his business cards from freshman year lol). even when riz joined all the school clubs this year, he did it for the sake of kristen's campaign/getting scholarship money to help his mom more than for his own reputation. another prominent similarity is a heavy compartmentalization of emotion: we don't really know what's going on with mary-ann but she hasn't shown any emotion even when trying out for bloodrush and seems remarkably unbothered for someone who's been presumably been shatter-starred. riz, in contrast, has a lot of emotions/anxieties but channels them into mystery solving and other activities, an approach encapsulated by the baron quote from fhsy: "You love the truth. You seek it so much that you cut your hands upon the inside of crystals. But, you use deception to protect yourself from something you fear." riz also isn't very forthcoming with his emotional state, evading questions from his mom and Jawbone, as well as his friends. His initial drive to solve mysteries stemmed from the emotion from his father's death, but iirc he didn't even tell the bad kids about how pok died until sophomore. And now, he's grinding in school/extracurriculars for scholarships to avoid considering the possibility of the bad kids splitting up

Buddy Dawn/Adaine Abernant: catty and blonde. (jk) both of them feel anger prominently and express it in their spellcasting (versus a more martial class), but in very different ways. adaine's whole arc throughout freshman and sophomore year has been about accepting that she has the right to be angry about the way that her parents abused her, and that her anger can be a source of power in her spellcasting; contrast the way she brained doreen with the ladle in the first battle with the corn cutie bc she didn't know what to do versus later battles in sophomore and junior year when she's learned adaine's furious fist. on the other hand, buddy uses his cleric spellcasting as a healer in order to sublimate discomforting feelings and avoid dealing with the idea of agency and consequences of emotions like anger. his whole conversation with kristen is basically him going "i don't feel anger because i repress it so deeply and i don't engage in violence, just help other people kill because that is helio's will. my hands are clean tho :)" (he is so funny) additionally, adaine has found a support system in her adventuring party, as well as jawbone and ayda, while buddy is the odd one out in the ratgrinders as lucy's replacement, isolated from preexisting support systems as he has just moved from highcourt and subsequently becoming so very vulnerable to getting shatterstarred

Oisin Hakinvar/Kristen Applebees: idk these are the only guys i have left. ok my original idea was they both have plot-relevance related to adaine's summons, with oisin hijacking adaine's dust mephits to tamper with the cloud rider engine and whatever the fuck is gonna go on with K2 in the next episodes. also have a narrative presence defined in part by the women they're crushing on, with kristen dealing with her attraction to tracker/gertie/women in general throughout all the campaigns and oisin being introduced as seemingly flustered by adaine's attention. but honestly i think the strongest parallel is that they're both haters (kristen calling klck "4dogs" and oisin calling buddy dawn "hayseed", fight!)

and of course, how could I forget...

Lucy Frostblade/Gilear Faeth: the Chosen Ones. both have plot relevance and relation to Ankarna through their ancestry. both just have a melancholy vibe. ppl from mountainous cultures often live off dairy products... i'm gonna extrapolate and assume that lucy loved blueberry yogurt

#fhjy #fhjy spoilers #ratgrinders #kipperlilly copperkettle #ruben hopclap #ivy embra #mary ann skuttle #buddy dawn #oisin hakinvar #lucy frostblade #actually tagged all their names bc i spent so long working on this lol

[dk-ghostmachines]

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

[teenagerebellion]

In canon we have a good idea of what Aelwyn thinks about Adaine and also Fabian, so let me ask you, what do you think Aelwyn thinks of the other bad kids?

oh this is such a good question…! i think they’re very peripheral to her, important pretty much only in that they’re important to adaine, for a while, especially because she doesn’t really interact with any of them until junior year.

i think she’s a little freaked out by riz honestly 😭 from what i can remember her primary memory of him is him trying to steal the bottle of poison from her during the house party in freshman year, and it’s a hard cut from that little goblin boy to the tattooed, somehow more intense, gun wielding, avenging agent of heaven riz that she’s confronted with at the end of sophomore year. she mostly stays out of his way, doesn’t speak to him directly, and does her best to ignore how his eyes are following her whenever they’re in a room together.

she’s unhappily impressed by fig. fig is just such a cool girl in a way that would have been threatening to an earlier aelwyn - if she had known fig better in fhfy, she definitely would have been snobby/talked down to her bc of that threatened feeling. but getting to know her in junior year, all aelwyn can see is how genuinely sincere fig is, and how that her coolness isn’t a persona she puts on but something born of her kindness and loyalty. and that realization rocks aelwyn to her core a little bit -> so antithetical to how she was raised. so the main outcome there is begrudgingly impressed - i think she and fig are friendly, but fig’s still a bit suspicious of her and aelwyn’s unwilling to be any measure of vulnerable with someone who isn’t adaine.

i don’t think aelwyn thinks anything of gorgug at all LOL. there’s nothing there that would cause her to take a huge interest. i think at first she might think of him as a “ragh 2.0” in that he seems dumb and easy to manipulate, but being around him a bit more rids her of that idea. she just knows him as quiet and doesn’t think there’s too much under the surface beyond that - she’s not close enough to him to see the angry, witty, incredibly smart gorgug that the bad kids see.

and kristen! kristen confuses aelwyn more than anything. her impulsiveness and silliness and bluntness and deep devotion would all normally make aelwyn look down on her, and sometimes she still does in the moment. but the first time aelwyn properly interacted with kristen, in fhsy, kristen had literally just come back from the dead and then uncorrupted the nightmare king to cassandra. like aelwyn’s first true impression of kristen is that she’s an incredibly powerful cleric, and then every impression after that is of a bumbling silly girl who makes the wildest decisions ever. so it’s a mixed bag there 😭 at a baseline aelwyn respects kristen’s abilities but on a much more daily basis she thinks kristen’s unsophisticated and a bit of an idiot. but in a fun way! i really liked them trading banter in one of the more recent junior year episodes & i think that’s how their relationship would progress. i think aelwyn would try the most to form an actual relationship with kristen, because she appreciates her trying to meet her halfway.

#.txt #.ask #thanks for the ask! this one got a bit long too 😭 #fhjy #fantasy high junior year #d20 fhjy #aelwyn abernant #riz gukgak #kristen applebees #fig faeth #gorgug thistlespring

[jq37]

The Report Card – Fantasy High Junior Year Ep 5

Attack of the Rage Mages

Welcome back to the Report Card where the Bad Kids are ready to fucking fight dude! Even the battle episodes this season are super beefy and I am having a crazy busy week so I’m going to do my best to try and strike a balance between giving y’all all the key details and being efficient. 

To remind you guys of the setup: The Bad Kids have just been portaled to the Synod Mall by Adaine who was working there when Cassandra (there with Kalina to pamphlet) suddenly cried out in pain and started expelling crystal shards that are turning the mages that interact with them into beefy rage monsters who are attacking indiscriminately.

Also, a detail I didn’t mention last recap but is relevant in this one, hanging from the ceiling, kinda looking like the one in Grand Central Station, is a shifting interdimensional clock (since people visit the Synod from lots of places/dimensions and need to know their specific time). 

OK, that’s everything you need to know! I’m gonna do this fight in bullets and focus on just the key points, and then jump into the things that matter more in the thoughts section. Onward!

Adaine clocks the crystals as being from the school of Enchantment. She uses Dimension Door to get Kristen right next to Cass who is getting bigger and more pissed. She’s even MORE pissed when Adaine asks Kristen if she should hit her with her sword. 

Cass tries to cast Hold Monster on Kristen (ow) and Fig dispels it. Cass is also not happy about that and her skull flashes to her Nightmare King form for a moment. 

Fabian clocks that things are about to get real and then does a TON of very cool, very impressive combo fighter/bard stuff. Everyone is playing really mechanically smart this episode but I have to say, he especially impressed me. 

Riz checks the clock and sees that even though it’s only been a few seconds in the Synod, it’s been like 40 minutes in Spyre. Fabian checks in with the Hangman telepathically so he can do damage control and Fig wonders if they can use the clock to go back in time and not be late for the party. 

Kalina goes invisible but Adaine can see her with her Divination powers and can see that her eyes are slitted and narrow and her tail is twitching. 

Several of the red crystals have infected mages at this point and after Riz goes, using Tasha’s Hideous Laughter to distract one of the mages, the crystals whisper Cass’s name and the mages who aren’t distracted go for her. 

Fabian attacks one (an attack of opportunity I believe) and Brennan notes as he slices them that they seem to have way more blood than usual under a lot of pressure, which is odd enough that I wanted to note it. 

One of the mages does a whirlwind attack that hits Kristen, Adaine, Kalina and Cass. Cass and Kristen have at least this in common: they both fail the save and take the full 30 points. Cass yells for the mages to stop attacking and the red within her glows brighter.

Fig uses Suggestion to recruit one of the uninfected mages to help by Counterspelling anything harmful cast on Kristen. Luckily, Conor Counterpsell happened to be at the mall that day and is now at her service! She also hits Cass with a bardic saying that they’re there for her and that she doesn’t think she’s scared so much as pissed which is totally valid. Very rock and roll. 

Cass commands everyone to get back and does a wave of necrotic damage to everyone around her. It seems a bit indiscriminate–even Kalina is hit which she wouldn’t usually do on purpose even as the NK. 

Gorgug asks for an insight check to know if the crystals here are in any way related to the crystal in Lydia Barkrock’s chest that is keeping some evil at bay with her constant rage. Brennan gives a surprised but pleased Cheshire Cat grin. No roll necessary: they’re def related in some way. These pulse and move much more rapidly though. Hers pulses like a heartbeat. 

On Kristen’s turn, she gives Cass a heartfelt apology about dropping the ball in general and missing this meeting specifically. She says she didn’t realize she was supposed to be here this time and she understands Cass being upset. Because this is season 3, I don’t even need to tell you what Ally rolls on this Persuasion check. But I will, because that’s what a recap is. 

On Kristen’s Nat 20 (this is why she keeps getting gods despite her track record), Cassandra is instantly calmed and brought down to her regular size. She expels 7 more of those shatter star crystals and she’s bleeding and scared. She clearly internalized what Fig told her though because she also says that she’s pissed. All she wanted was to help! The red in her pulses as she says, “It isn’t f–” She doesn’t seem to be able to get out the word “fair”. And she sees that she’s freaking out Kristen with the red pulse so she tries to calm down. 

Round 2 (Breaking This Up Because Tumblr Hates Big Text Blocks)

Adaine summons a mall cop but even a wizard mall cap is still a mall cop and thus, useless. Adaine offers to Dimension Door Cass away but Cass wants to stay and fight. “How are they back here?” Cass says about the stars. “I thought you were dead.” (On an Insight check, Kirsten doesn’t think that this is NK related).  

Adaine has her coolest moment of the episode here (imo) where she casts True Strike and Steel Wind strike and then attacks again and again and again with her Sword of SIght doing 41 damage each to 4 of the stars. Brennan narrates it as the hits being foretold by her divination. It’s very cool and I’m glad Adaine can do melee attacks now. 

Kalina turns back visible as it looks like the battle is turning in their favor. She shoots Riz  a low, playful , “Hey Riz,” because of course she does. 

It’s now Cass’s turn. She’s back to herself, she’s a goddess, it looks like she’s about to end this fight super early into the runtime. But then…

OK, things go bonkers for a sec. Stick with me. 

Cass thanks Fig for the advice–seemingly utilizing her Bardic. She’s about to do some kind of Mass Dispelling. But then Fig starts to feel all weird and hot and her stomach gurgles. A fire elemental who I assume is on autopilot offers Fig a sample of shrimp and, for SOME REASON, despite her stomach feeling weird and them being in PITCHED COMBAT (Ally’s words lol), Fig takes a shrimp. The plate flips which starts a series of Rube Goldberg ass events that end with Cass choking on a piece of shrimp/having an allergic reaction (a thing that can apparently happen to a god) and going unconscious. At the table, the Intrepid Heroes are baffled except for Emily who is laughing hysterically. 

Riz notices a drip of tartar sauce on Fig's shirt and finally realizes that she’s exhibiting some real Gilear behavior. He puts together that the effect that Cass didn’t save from (hmmm) was somehow connected to Fig giving her Bardic. 

Fig quickly explains what happened with her unlocking something to help with the Night Yorb fight in ep 1 (she calls it an ancestral curse which is funny bc she’s not blood related to Gilear. Diversity win! This ancestral curse recognizes that non-traditional family structures are still just as valid!). Conor Counterspell is like Y’ALL there is a FIGHT happening to try and get them back on task. Before she does though, Fig (and Adaine) see a vision of the gleaming, golden Pride armor from the Bottomless Pit that Gilear wore back in SY. A voice says, “It was not yours to take” Ominous! Adaine’s vision has a fun Oracle bonus: Fig in the Pride armor, years in the future, causing Gilear-esque bullshit to happen on an apocalyptic scale. Goofy yet still ominous! 

Adaine almost gets all raged up by a shatter star but she saves. Conor gets hit (much to Emily’s dismay) but he doesn’t turn on them. Put a pin in that. 

Kalina yells for her mistress as she goes down but then also gets hit with a shatter star. Before the rage overtakes her she struggles to get out last words to Riz, “Ragh Barkrock.” And then she doesn’t grow, but she becomes very still. 

Fabian is still VERY shrimp party focused and wants to try and use the clock to turn back time or something similar. He climbs up and sees a vision of an old version of himself lamenting the fact that he never got to be a maximum legend. Now he’s even MORE party focused. He tries to get the wizards to fight on the premise that they finally have the chance to beat up some jocks but they refrain because they know the rage mage’s are possessed and not true jocks. Welp, worth a shot! 

Kalina gets the shrimp out of Cass’s throat to bring her back up which is enough time for Cass to give a hazy, “Kalina,” before her familiar says, “I liked you better as the Nightmare King” and slits her throat. Cass drops to zero. 

Riz casts Compelled Duel on Kalina and Adaine uses a portent roll to make Kalina fail her save. He then hides. Some attacks happen, Kalina vanishes–away from Adaine’s 10 feet of vision but still within range of Riz because of the Compelled Duel. 

The mages attack, dropping Kristen. Cass does a TON of saves and only fails one with a Nat 1. But that’s enough to trigger her partial transformation. She comes to, once again getting huge and riddled with red light through her veins. 

Fig brings up Kristen. Cass gets even bigger and redder. She’s furious, but not at them anymore. She looks like she wants to murder Kalina. Kristen, with decent Insight, sees that the Rage is giving her power but it’s making her unstable. This isn’t like healthy embracing of valid emotions, this needs to be stopped. 

She jumps on Cass’s back and says, “There's plenty of time to be angry! We can definitely talk this through, and your anger is not scary to me. I totally understand.” She casts Dispel Magic with her Staff of Doubt. A DC 23 is needed and she rolls with advantage. She missed by ONE. Brennan lets her roll again with advantage. Even worse rolls. She gets two more chances with Advantage. Nope. She rolls AGAIN, with an added d4. STILL NO. By my account that’s NINE rolls, none of them successes. Adaine tries as well and just misses. The dice REALLY don’t want this to happen it seems. 

Cass prepares to cast a 9th Level Circle of Death (14d6 necrotic or half on a save). Fig and Adaine both try to Counterspell it and Fig tells Conor to do it as well. He says he has bigger fish to fry. She doesn’t see how that can be possible, but they’re OK because Adaine succeeds. 

Conor then throws his staff at the clocks and shatters it, sending them through a trippy Labyrinth-esque (think Sarah falling out of the World Falls Down ball) scene that lands them back at Seacaster manor, ten seconds before they left. As they leave, Cass is getting bigger and bigger and she throws some kind of twilight energy spell at Kristen that follows them out. It seems like Conor saved them from something major that was about to go down. 

But now, they’re back at the manor, watching themselves about to walk into the Synod fight. They yell some advice and their doubles disappear. Fig rolls a Nat 20 to understand time loops. She’s been a secret honor student this whole time is what I’m getting from this season.  

Riz questions whether they won or not but this feels like a situation where if you have to ask, the answer is no. 

OK, phew. That was a lot, but we still have a bit more to go. 

Kristen tries to check in with Cass and she gets this ominous message: “She is at my side once more.” The Bad Kids try to parse that but don’t come up with a clear answer. The voice asks Kristen if she wishes for divinity and says they’ll give her the master she deserves. A portal opens and a slimy, rotted, Yes! slides out like a sick joke. Kristen dispels it and when the voice says, “I am coming for you. And when I find you, I will break you in a way that none who loved you will recognize the ruin I have wrought. Lean your soul in closer, that I might give you more than words,” she breaks the connection. 

She also gets some images of the shattered mall, the dead mages floating in Astral Space, and she puts together that the Astral Realm is both where the mall is (*was) and where dead gods go. 

Ragh shows up all buttered (sure) to tell them that the ramp is buttered (sure) and though Riz wants to question him right away (both because of Gorgug’s epiphany and Kalina’s last words), this party is HAPPENING so it’s gonna have to wait. They decide to go with the Fig Disguised As Kristen plan for the shrimp jump because Kristen is, very understandably, having an existential crisis. Riz makes her invisible and Fig goes to do the jump (much to the Hangman’s delight who likes her much better than Kristen). 

Everyone gives Fig buffs but she does need it as she rolls a NAT 20. She uses her leftover spell slots to do some flashy pyrotechnics and leaves the tartar sauce filled pooled “like Daenerys”. The crow is in tearful awe. They cheer, they cry, they declare Fabian a minimum legend. They know for a fact that this is gonna be a killer year. 

Honor Roll

Gorgug for Some Serious Sleuthing 

At least once per season Zac has a genuine Jimmy Neutron Brain Blast about a plot thing and this was it for Junior Year. What a pull. He def beat me to it by a WIDE margin. And it ties in super neatly to things Gorgug would notice and have a sense about since he knows Lydia and knows rage. I don’t care what any of his teachers say; he’s smart in all the ways that count. 

Detention 

Adaine for Poor Timing

Adaine I love you so much but mayhaps, “Your God is dying again, you’re gonna fail junior year” isn’t the most helpful thing to say in the middle of a traumatic life event that is also a life or death battle. 

Random Thoughts

Unironically the biggest W of this combat? Adaine losing her job. That was gonna cause more issues than it solved and she CAN get a better one. Or, you know, road trip with Aelwyn for some light matricide. Either would be better than her leaving school to work an 8 hour graveyard shift. 

I wonder if Brennan meant for that clock to have time traveling properties and the party just clocked it (ha) before it came up or if they said it and then he used it to snatch them out of the fight that it didn’t seem like he wanted them to auto fail because he gave them so many rolls to try and save Cass! I really badly wanna know what he was hoping for out of this fight. 

OK so I’m Pepe Silvia-ing a bit. In the previous episodes, there have been at least two moments where Brennan describes a character getting kinda hot under the collar. One is when Kristen is confronting her parents and the other is when Riz is mad about the Rat Grinders. And in the Kristen instance, she then got advantage on her next roll but Brennan didn’t say why. It struck me as odd both times and now I’m wondering if it’s related to whatever these shatter stars are.

Speaking of, we get a lot of tidbits about them but no real info. Cass saying, “I thought you were dead,” and also there’s a moment that didn’t make the recap where the stars almost go for something but then don’t because it wouldn’t be tactically the smartest and that feels like a level of active sentence, right? Plus the fact that they literally said Cass’s name to get the wizards to attack her. I wonder what a Detect Thoughts would have gleaned. 

Lmao at Brennan making Emily profile the minis. 

“By the laws of this ancient mall.” Bruh, it JUST opened! 

Shocked that when Brennan described the crystals moving like a flock of birds, he resisted the opportunity to use the word “murmuration”. 

Cass doesn’t seem able to get the word “Fair” out. She’s struggling like there’s a geas spell on her or something else compelling her. The obvious thing to jump to is KP’s campaign which emphasized “fairness under the rules” but it’s hard to see how those things are connected yet. Just throwing some stuff up on the conspiracy board for later.

Also, while pseudo-connections are being made, I wonder if Gorgug’s rage storyline is going to intertwine with whatever is happening with these rage stars.  There was mention of like rage that is helpful vs rage that makes you unstable and that reminded me of Porter talking about how Gorgug only really rages to protect his friends. I dunno. We’ll see if it ends up going further than just the parallels. 

My favorite moment of the ep didn’t make the recap but I wanted to highlight it here. When Adaine is targeted by the rage star, she saves but Brennan asks her what the world would look like if she was consumed by rage and she said Falinel would be destroyed as revenge and Sylvaire would be destroyed–not on purpose but as collateral damage in the quest to hunt her mother. I think questions like that for flavor and character insight are so fun! 

The Hangman’s adoration of Fig is so cute. He was lamenting his shrimp costume that he of course had to wear for the shrimp jump (shoutout Torek) but when Fig said she thought it was cute he got all blushy. I love him. 

I have to mention that Riz cast Tasha’s Hideous Laughter by flossing (like the dance). Who taught that goblin how to floss? Is Riz on Fantasy TikTok?

Lmao at Kristen suddenly being like, Shh, don’t mention the arty-Pay in from of ass-Cay in this fight as if she hasn’t been putting her foot in her mouth for the past four eps. Took 5 eps but her tact finally arrived. 

“Your anger isn’t scary to me,” is a genuinely sweet sentiment in this context. 

When the Bad Kids are speculating about what the hell happened after the fight, someone asks Kristen if Cass has a dad or something she can talk to. Idk if she has a dad exactly but closest would be that Sol and Galicaea are her older siblings, right? (I thiiink that’s right. Def about Gal. Taking the wiki's word for it re Sol). I’m more and more suspicious about this turning into a family affair. And it would make sense for them to get involved right? It parallels Kristen’s relationship with her family coming back to the forefront. And Tracker is still in the mix as Gal’s cleric. I dunno, it feels like it’s gonna be important. 

It’s likely that Kalina prob met whatever fate Cass did but we’ve seen that Kalina can operate kinda separated from Cass (like she did in SY) and Brennan said that Cass can’t truly die unless Kristen and Craig do so I guess we’ll see where that goes. 

Are Fig’s Bardics now a game of Russian Roulette? If so, uh-oh! We don’t have a ton to go on for the exact mechanics of what’s going on yet, but it seems certain that a trip to hell is gonna be necessary to start getting this sorted (which she really needs to do anyway being an archdevil with responsibilities and all). 

These have been getting too long for Tumblr to handle lately so I’ll end on these last two bullets. In the AP, Ally said that Kristen really does want to be a cleric to Cass, she’s just suffering for lack of organization. And at least to me, that’s not how it’s come across so far, but taking that into account puts her actions in a different light. It’s still all irresponsible of course but if it’s supposed to be more just genuinely scattered than callous/indifferent then this feels more like a storyline about looking for middle ground than finding yet another new path whole cloth. She was for sure more in serious mode this ep than she has been the last four eps so we’ll see if this side of her sticks around.

I ended the last recap by saying I was worried for Cass and, guess what? Still am! Galicaea, help your sister!  

#Dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #d20 #d20 spoilers #fantasy high #fantasy high spoilers #fhjy #fhjy spoilers #spoilers #the report card

[scalpho]

saw that ask about tbk fighting and ive been thinking.... itd be so interesting to see. i think its easy to overestimate how well tbk communicate (esp bc of the players' irl dynamics). but ingame, most of their lives have been separate, downtime rolls almost all spent on individual interests/arcs, and no relationship rolls within the group. they're all having these stresses (fabian being basically abandoned, riz overworking himself, fig's identity issues, adaine's independence at the expense of wellbeing, gorgug's struggle w multiclassing & others' expectations, kristen loudly ignoring her personal issues via class president, etc). and what brings them together most of the time this year is common goals + the fact that they're together in a 4 yr long group project -- i think it was even mentioned (by brennan or maybe murph?) that they've been growing apart jy bc of each of their respective committments.

and i think there's a lot of potential for how this could seep into their group interactions/how the various arcs and stresses they're going thru could clash btwn characters or be a source of common ground -- bc while there are a lot of complex pc-npc relationships that discuss these things i'd just love to see this extra texture added to pc-pc/group dynamics. like... people particularly teens lash out when theyre stressed! and they especially will lash out toward whoever's around, including ppl they're close to (and who, due to lack of full transparency, might seem to be doing better than them or to have something theyre sorely lacking) and while tbk are largely keeping it together for now, itd be interesting to see. like, in this slow-pressure-cooker of a season what would give?

lol sorry for the insanely long ask lol this just intrigued me

this is such a good overview of the situation! i honestly struggle to think what to add on top of this because yeah you've said it. jy is deliberately isolating - it lacks the same level of pc-pc interaction found in fy/sy because tbk simply don't have the time for it! unfortunately i think this lack of focus means we'll have to wait to see any potential pay-off for the building pressure, but also means more time for pressure to build so. we shall see. i really do hope we get some intra-party conflict this season because. they're teens and so stressed out and have a history of maybe not handling each other's issues in the most delicate manner (because again. they're teens and constantly so stressed out) and under the extreme pressure and burn-out of this season it would feel crazy for the fuse not to blow. but yeah you've already said pretty much everything worth saying

#and no need to apologise i loved reading this #ask tag

[creacherkeeper]

hey same anon from before!! and yeah i meant general headcanons/ aelwyn + the bad kids dynamics/ honestly whatever fh headcanons you have so lmao you’re good. if you have any more know i would LOVE to read them but no pressure of course!!

oh okay dope ^^ thank you for clarifying. but ...... while we’re here ...... MIGHT AS WELL TALK ABOUT SOME ND HEADCANONS EHH??

of course disclaimer that these are just my own reading and everyone is entitled to read it differently, but i’ll try to back up my takes as much as i can

-

adaine (autism & panic disorder) - detail-oriented problem solver, thrives under the structure of school but doesnt do well with overwhelm, organized, seems sensitive to noises (like if the bad kids are being loud or rowdy), extremely earnest and forward even in situations where its inappropriate and doesnt always understand when its actually hurting her goals (see: every time an npc has to go “whats your deal? can i help you?” to adaine), tends to fumble some spontaneous speech (come backs in fights or like. the WHOLE thing with the innkeeper), very knowledgeable and skilled in a specific area of interest (divination magic), thrives with an emotional support animal, possibly ace (for sure not all autistic people are but we tend to be in much higher numbers), vibes with ayda almost immediately (by like. just straight up asking if she wants to be friends), very direct when talking, strong sense of justice and morality and gets very frustrated when things dont work how she thinks they should

riz (autistic) - hyperfixates on cases (both in the ‘losing track of time’ and ‘has trouble thinking of other things while out and about’ way), odd sense of fashion, has trouble making friends and understanding relationship dynamics (him thinking he was friends with the popular kids in ep1, being obsessed with finding penny who was his babysitter but then they dont really hang out after, being very verbal about fabian being his best friend even though fabian is embarrassed), ace, detail-oriented problem solver, sleeping issues, CAN lie but tends to be very direct to the point of being rude and abrasive at times, very defined moral code and strong sense of justice, easily frustrated in certain situations, intimidated by social interactions (especially with people he doesnt know), struggles with self-care and self-maintenance, i dont know exactly how to categorize the hissing but im throwing that in here too, doesnt always have “average” emotional reactions (like being really excited about the video of his dad instead of upset), very mature interests for his age

gorgug (autistic) - trouble with communication (putting his thoughts into words, tends to speak very slowly with a lot of pauses, doesnt always know what to say or what the average person in his situation would say), has a hard time making friends, struggles with emotional regulation (you can read barbarian rage as this in general but im also thinking of him getting mad at the high elves and just having to run around to calm down), very emotionally intelligent but doesnt always come across that way because of communication struggles, understands the value of having things explained in a simple and accessible way and does so without judgement or embarrassment if others need him to, thinks in a different way and comes to conclusions others dont seem to (sometimes he’s completely correct and other times .... dad!?), uses sensory input to regulate emotions (mostly music/drumming), screams when overwhelmed, doesn’t always ‘get the point’, is a very good friend but is so with great intention and care

fabian (adhd + dyslexia) - doesnt enjoy school, has some Very Bad Rolls when it comes to books and reading, doesnt think he’s as smart as his friends, struggles with a disconnect of identity (how he sees himself and his family vs how other people see him), very physical and physically active, tends to default to loud and “rowdy” (as adaine put it), struggles with emotional regulation, very sensitive but would NOT admit that, doesn’t always understand social cues or when he’s being rude, struggles with impulse control

fig (adhd + autism) - sensory seeking (especially music & the physical element of playing music which can be read as stimming, as well as smoking cloves), disconnect between how she sees herself (mysterious closed book) and how others see her (incredibly open and earnest), feels like a social chameleon and slips into roles very easily but has trouble feeling like and understanding herself; very excitable, engaged, reactive, and verbal; runs away when she feels uncomfortable or overwhelmed, tends to wander from the group a lot, admits several times that she wasn’t paying attention or doesnt remember key info about the plot, builds an identity around deviation from societal norms, big emotions, lots of energy, cares very deeply but actively works on understanding boundaries, doesnt always pick up on social cues

kristen (cptsd) - discussed in this post but can be summed up as issues with affect and emotional regulation, cognitive/executive functioning issues, difficulty with boundaries, struggles with impulse control, goes from VERY self-restrictive to VERY loose with sexual activity, drugs, alcohol, tattoos, etc; struggles with self-concept, doubt, and trust issues; possibly has dissociative and/or depersonalization tendencies with her cleric abilities 

so 8))))) yeah. bad kids neurodivergence headcanons ahoy

#fantasy high #dimension 20 #adaine abernant #fabian seacaster #fig faeth #kristen applebees #riz gukgak #gorgug thistlespring #nd headcanons #autism headcanon #adhd headcanon #happy to hear other takes!!! #i was coming into this going 'fig is adhd' and left with 'fig is adhd AND autistic it all makes sense now' #Anonymous

[transgorthalax]

late night ramblings again but this time it’s an au that i made as a joke but now it lives in my head. (if this has been done before lmk because [mind meld] lmaoo).

anyways basically:

riz never tells the other bad kids about his dad being a secret agent and so they are just.. never made aware of that whole side of the government and everything

cut to like 5 years after graduation and riz is running missions for both the foreign service and heaven and it’s really impacted his relationship with the bad kids. like they’re still friends after everything they’ve been through but riz is kinda distant and reserved as a result of his job

the bad kids just think he’s grown apart from them and it sucks but like.. they try to include him where they can he’s just really withdrawn and he travels so much. which is kinda weird because he’s just.. like an accountant.

like even fabian, who’s out doing pirate business and stuff for like.. at least a third of the year keeps in contact better than riz does.

at one point the bad kids are all in bastion city at the same time and theyre like “hey riz! we should totally meet up at your apartment while we’re all here!! we’re actually outside right now. please let us in. five minutes and we arent asking permission to enter anymore.” and riz is like. oh shit oh god. because he’s neck deep in an undercover mission and he was planning on having time to hide any incriminating shit before he had to meet up with the rest of the bad kids so he’s just texts back a solid. “k”

and then the bad kids b&e and bust into his apartment to find some like.... mildly incriminating gang stuff in there and theyre like... oh man did riz get caught up with the mafia?? and he didnt tell us?????? that’s gonna get him killed!1!! (because they know riz can take care of himself but also....... he’s their little shrimp... their best friend.......... they gotta help him)

so all of them head off to “rescue” riz, meanwhile riz is in the middle of his job, losing his mind because he knows the bad kids are going to find something weird and get all suspicious about it. [cut to the bad kids busting in and being like “riz we’re here to rescue you!” and riz is just sitting there like. man i adore these people but i also kind of want to strangle them right now.]

cue a series of cartoonishly absurd interactions in which the bad kids try to figure out what’s up with riz by investigating him and they keep accidentally ruining his missions and riz is just slowly getting more and more exasperated with them while trying to hide the whole secret agent thing. and riz’s superiors have reached a point of... “riz this can’t keep happening we give you permission to tell them. it’s okay” and he’s like “no i cant tell them they’ll be so mad. i’ve been hiding this side of the world from them since freshman year of high school”

anyways it all comes to a head when riz is on a huge world-ending dangerous mission and the bad kids figure it out and insert themselves into it at the exact time to see riz doing secret agent shit and they’re like. “oh wow that explains so much” and riz is like “so you arent mad?” and then they have a period of emotional turmoil and reconciliation while getting into riz’s convoluted mission of saving the world and reconnecting.

and then after it’s all over the bad kids are like “we’re so glad youre a cool-ass secret agent. we thought you being an accountant was really lame” and riz is going through the stages of grief

#riz gukgak #fantasy high #dimension 20 #the bad kids #kain.txt #more of my innane spouts of words #i have so many thoughts about this au actually PLEASE ask me for more #shoot me an ask or smth

[etanunu]

if any of the bad kids were to be elected student council president, who do you think would be and why?

Oh man, this is one of those questions you didn’t know you were hoping/waiting for until you see it. Hope you don’t mind a long answer and thank you so much for the headcanon ask! 💕

From least likely to most:

Riz. Look I love Riz, he’s the best. But we all remember what happened the last time he tried to take on a leadership role, the rest of the Bad Kids immediately dunked on him so hard they collectively decided they were a democracy.

Fabian. Could he get the nomination? Probably. Would he win? Absolutely not. No matter how “cool” Fabian pretends or says he is we all know he’s a disaster when it comes to social interactions. Season 1 is proof of that but Boys Night reminded us that none of the boys are capable of getting any cool points outside of adventuring.

Kristen. I see this going one of two ways. 1) Kristen gets nominated and is super enthusiastic but loses because she starts questioning things so much she talks everyone including herself out of it. 2) Kristen rocks the vote, wins by a landslide, but steps down after realizing she’d much rather prioritize her relationships or the new church of Cassandra. But she goes down in a blaze of glory.

Fig. There’s no doubt in my mind that if Fig wanted to win she would win but on a platform based entirely around disrupting all school policies and turning the whole system upside down. Anarchy, baby! Hell even Aguefort is backing her election, seen gleefully clapping and cheering on the sidelines as Fig makes the most hardcore speeches ever and burns a pentagram into the cafeteria tables, floor, and walls when she goes full archdevil persuasion on Aguefort Academy. Everything goes well for her until she takes it just a bit too far, even for her, and Aguefort calls the whole thing.

Adaine. She could, would, and might become class president at some point. It feels very in character especially now that Adaine has overcome a lot of her anxieties. However, it would be a background thing that hardly comes up just like the AV Club.

Gorgug. Listen, listen, I know I said that Boys Night was proof none of the boys have cool points and yes Gorgug is still the kid who stole backpacks but, BUT he has Fig and the rest of the Bad Kids. If Gorgug was nominated or, even better, if he decided to run don’t tell me his friends wouldn’t do everything to help him win. Fig would be his campaign manager. Riz would investigate public opinion and dig up dirt on Gorgug’s opponents (under contract with Fig). Kristen would campaign so hard, and she and Fig would try to coach Gorgug like they did when he first asked out Zelda. Fabian would hype Gorgug up like crazy and have it as a given that the entire Bloodrush Team is voting for his boy. He might get a little aggressive with people who say they’re voting for someone else. Adaine would do everything she could to help while being calm and respectful to what Gorgug wants and is saying. She’s the one usually reigning Fig’s overzealous antics in. My point is if there’s even a tiny chance Gorgug could become class president he would do it. After all, he’s the greatest wizard of this age.

Thank you again for this headcanon ask it was a blast to answer!

#dimension 20 headcanons #dimension20 #fantasy high #riz gukgak #fabian aramais seacaster #kristen applebees #fig faeth #adaine abernant #gorgug thistlespring #eta answers

[dm-in-training1]

My second animatic!! Yay!! Fabian wearily explaining his stupid adventure alone to his (arguably unsympathetic) friends is freaking hilarious. I mean, I love Kristen, but she is crazy intense here and kinda mean? Like jeez. 

 Also, as far as Riz and Fabian's interactions go, I mostly had Riz interact with Fabian so much since he was completely silent pretty much the whole time. It would've been weird if he was just standing there. You can view their interactions as romantic or platonic, it doesn't matter. I just don't want to make the players uncomfortable so, I'm not going to claim it as anything. 

(Also, I want to make either a crown of candy animatic next or a bloodkeep one. Any suggestions?) 

 I don't have a twitter, so if you see this there it's stolen. 

#dimension 20 #fantasy high softmore year #fantasy high #fabian aramais seacaster #riz gukgak #kristen applebees #adaine abernant #fig faeth #gilear faeth #gorgug thistlespring #tracker #my animatics #animatic #oh man #I'm really nervous about this one for some reason???

[supercantaloupe]

did anybody ask for my girl kristen yet? if not, i'd love to see her for the ask meme! if yes, what about gorgug?

i think i’ve gotten more mileage out of this one ask meme than any other at this point, which is incredible. anyway no one’s asked for either yet so i’ll hit you with both!

kristen:

What I love about them: the queer religious journey is REAL  What I hate about them: can you stop talking about/looking at/making out with your gf for five minutes please we’re trying to have family dinner jawbone made pulled pork. Favorite Moment/Quote: “what is your name, you who i praise?,” gay spit doing psychic damage to known homophobe coach daybreak, and attempting to leap from a 10 story tower with nothing but a dance ribbon and -3 dex What I would like to see more focus on: the moments when kristen is helping her friends talk out or work through their own issues are i think some of the sweetest and most touching moments of the character and the series. more big sister/best friend kristen!!  What I would like to see less focus on: trackerbees is very cute and good don’t get me wrong but it’s just a Little Much for me at times Favorite pairing with: tracker, obv! Favorite friendship: kristen and gorgug have a really really lovely relationship to me  NOTP:  uh...kristen and...men? do people ship that? she’s gay dude lol Favorite headcanon: surprisingly good at hands-on, dirty, and/or physical labor. knows her way around powertools and plywood. helps jawbone build a shed out behind the manor over the summer.

gorgug:

What I love about them: can you ASK for a sweeter boy possible? the answer is no What I hate about them: nothing!! i can’t hate this boy!! Favorite Moment/Quote: okay zac/gorgug actually has some of THE funniest throwaway lines of the show imo. “stop it you dumb asshole” and “i hope i don’t get punched!” and “and he flies off the other side” and all those underrated bits What I would like to see more focus on: i would love to see more scenes between him and the other bad kids, one-on-one or in other small and personal groups. they all have such different but very very good vibes to their interactions and relationships with one another What I would like to see less focus on: n/a love this boy Favorite pairing with: zelda! Favorite friendship: kristen, ragh, and fabian & riz! NOTP: i literally don’t know who else to ship this boy with besides zelda Favorite headcanon: puts his artificing to good use helping to build/adjust equipment for sig figs concerts like amps, mics, speakers, loop pedals, instrument repair, etc. 

[ask meme]

#sasha answers #ask meme #anon #ty for asking! #fantasy high #fantasy high sophomore year #dimension 20 live #dimension 20 #kristen applebees #gorgug thistlespring #zac oyama #ally beardsley #truly i did Not expect to get so many of these asks/prompts but im havin fun with it

[collectoroflovelythings]

Fantasy High Dynamics I Want to See More Of:

I see so much talk about everyone’s favorite character dynamics, but I want to talk about the duos that haven’t gotten much screen time

Fabian & Adaine: a duo I’m surprised we haven’t seen more of since they’re both different and alike in very interesting ways. They both grew up rich and have messy relationships with their parents but while Fabian is very loud and flamboyant, Adaine is more reserved and cynical. I feel like their brain cells would balance each other out (for better or worse)

Kristen & Gorgug: I just really want to see Kristen’s chaotic dumbassery with Gorgug’s more subdued. I just want Gorgug to be the nice himbo friend who goes along with Kristen’s shenanigans while also making sure she’s okay. This is the real dumb of ass pure of heart + lesbian duo.

Kristen & Fig: It’s not like we’ve gotten none, I just want more. Two chaotic WLW who are known for having the wildest ideas. Dangerous combo. Would get both smarter and dumber paired together. No one could stop them

Adaine & Gorgug: Really this would just be Adaine trying to steal away the Thistlesprings but I feel like the most toned down and calm (realitively) of the group would do well together. Also wizard bondings!

Bonus: Fig & Fabian: I feel like people overlook these two because most of their interaction is early season 1, but they’re both just popular passing huge dorks who lose any brain cells they may have had when their in the vicinity of each other. Riz and Kristen get known as the dumbass duo but let’s not forget the reason why Riz got thrown while inside a backpack

(Anyway, yes this is because @smallestbrown mentioned wanting to hear about bad kid friendships and I’d been sitting on this idea for a while. In truth, I have more this is just what’s at the top of my head)

#fantasy high #d20 #dimesnion 20 #des says things

[titanias-stolen-shoes]

more tangled au but like. plot relevant

on adaine’s fifteenth she begins to plan an escape and a few weeks later her feet touch earth for the first time in a decade only to find aelwyn waiting for her

a few months earlier on aelwyn’s eighteenth birthday, she was engaged to some lord due to political machinations outside of her control and hated everything about it, but it did bring her closer to her parents’ inner circle

this made her both Ecstatic (that sweet, sweet parental approval) and Horrified (they are, of course, up to some shady and terrible shit)

like war with the neighboring countries for no other reason than war generated money and they were slighted somehow by the governing council of high kings (i know this is arbitrary and meaningless but like. bear with me the abernant parents would find any excuse)

aelwyn speaks up to say there’s likely a diplomatic solution and that the slight (which was essentially the council giving them a hard no on angwyn joining them) wasn’t all that bad

the look on their faces was enough to know she fucked up by stepping out of line even if she spent the next week as perfect as possible

in the middle of the night, she was genuinely kidnapped, her screams muffled by a gag, and dumped in the woods, still tied up with a knife placed roughly in her hands

it took her hours to escape, and she had no reference for her bearings, so she has the worst panic attack she’s ever had, faints, wakes up, picks a direction, and starts walking

in a near starved, badly dehydrated state lord knows how long later, she stumbles upon a tower with no idea how she got there, only a short reflection of herself staring back. and then she faints

adaine, who’s plan was the storm the castle and demand her parents explain themselves, watches this taller version of herself faint from who knows what, puts that plan on hold, and hauls her into the tower

adaine herself had come across several kids around her age around her birthday as they’d explored the woods and stumbled on her tower

only a two of them really looked like they knew what they were doing

she watched from her tower as the sat by the small pond and splashed their feet in the cool water, not knowing what to say because the only other interaction she gets is from someone who stayed as little as possible

but eventually it gets hard to stay quiet, partly because there are people her age and also that they look so familiar

the bad kids are, of course, absolutely shook that there’s a whole person living in the tower and, after talking for a bit, horrified that she hasn’t left it in a decade

after some shenanigans that get them all into the tower (there’s a secret staircase that she knows is there but has never found), they tell her about themselves and the kingdom, namely that no one thinks she’s alive

riz is a detective (of course) who works freelance and mostly spies to gather information before getting some people to help with the bigger parts of it

fabian is a trained dancer and fencer, who often puts the two together in a performance and when he’s not doing that, he helps riz

fig and gorgug are traveling bards (to an extent) that also happen to pick a lot of fights with assholes which get them their own bard song

kristen is a priestess by trade, but a forest ranger in every other way having been taught by her parents

they were all born in the kingdom, and visited the castle quite often because of their parents which is why adaine finds them all familiar

adaine, surprisingly, is more interested in the her being dead part, because that’s not at all how she knows it

they admit she does look like the lost princess, but, again, she should be dead or worse not locked in a tower ten miles from the kingdom walls

riz agrees to look into because she does looked like aelwyn, and they all skedaddle while promising to come back

in the meantime, she plots her escape because What The Fuck, Mom and gets supplies and idea help from the bad kids when they come around

and as she goes to execute her escape, she runs into aelwyn

#i've come to realize that this is basically just an outline #maybe next time i'll like #flesh out the world #or focus more on the Bigger and Broader strokes of it #idk i'm just happy about this #fantasy high #fantasy high tangled au #adaine abernant #aelwyn abernant #long post

[bogariel-frogariel]

The Bad Kids Visit Middle Earth Part 2

Part 2 of my fics. You can find it on ao3 as well, just look it up.

Aragorn tensed as Legolas' head spun around. The elf's heightened senses ensured that he was almost always the first of the Fellowship to become aware of anyone approaching.

 "Legolas! What do you sense?" he asked.

 Legolas frowned. "The trees are too thick to see them properly. But they do not look or sound like orcs, and the trees are telling me that they do not bring harm."

 "How many?"

 "Five… no six. I think it is the party that Mithrandir told us about."

 Aragorn nodded, and then looked around at the party. The hobbits had not noticed their exchange, but both Boromir and Gimli's hands had drifted to their weapons, though Gimli was scowling thunderously at them as they spoke in elvish.

 Gandalf was sitting on a moss covered rock, leaning back against a tree trunk as he smoked his pipe grumpily. The wizard had been even more grumpy than usual in the last day but Aragorn did not have time to be watching over him. Honestly, he should have been just about the only member of the Fellowship that Aragorn didn't have to worry about.

 Everyone else was so young.

 He knew, in standard human years, he was not much older than Boromir, possibly younger, but he still had the vaster experience between the two of them. He had seen much more battle than the son of the Steward probably ever would, and he knew he must accommodate Boromir's complicated feelings towards himself, for they were more than justified.

 Gimli was the other of a similar age to him if dwarvish years were translated into human ones. At just over a decade shy of one hundred and fifty years old, Gimli was in his prime. However, he had also spent much of his life protected within Erebor, ever since the dwarves returned there nearly eighty years ago. And, of course, Aragorn would need to manage the animosity that he held towards other species, particularly elves, an attitude of suspiciousness that had been deeply ingrained in him since birth. Only the hobbits seemed to get exemption from his prickly moods.

 Speaking of the hobbits, they were who Aragorn was most worried about. Though halflings lived almost as short a lives as Men, their youths stretched long, with almost half their lives taken up by youthful inexperience. It came from living in such a sheltered and peaceful place as the Shire, an environment that had done nothing to prepare any of them for the horrors to come.

 And then there was Aragorn's dearest friend, Legolas. He perhaps had closer friends in his foster brothers at Imladris, but Legolas was one of the few beings that Aragorn could trust completely. Every time they met, it was as if they had never left each other, and he truly enjoyed the other's company. However, if Aragorn and Gimli were of an age approaching thirty when their respective species were compared to Men, then Legolas was barely over nineteen. The elf was centuries old, having reached his physical maturity at the same rate as humans, and his majority within elven society at the end of his first one hundred years of life, but he was still some three centuries under a thousand years old, and he knew that all elves were not truly viewed as adults until they had seen their first millennia.

 It took much time for elves to overcome their inexperience within the world, their slowed ageing also slowing the latter of their youth years, so from the age of seventeen to one thousand, they would largely remain unchanged, and then mature slightly more rapidly for another hundred years before they remained in the unearthly beauty of their immortality for the rest of their unending lives.

 It had been one of the reasons that Aragorn had ultimately decided to branch out from his elven family; he knew they would be unable to truly treat him as an adult until he had gone off on his own and collected some experience outside their watchful gazes. He did not blame them for their stifling protectiveness, it was in their nature.

 So, in a way, despite physically being the second oldest in the Fellowship, he was also the youngest. Not that his foolish friend would ever let anyone other than Mithrandir and Aragorn ever discover that.

 At least, they would be getting help now.

 Mithrandir had explained to them that the gods themselves had sent them a gift, reached out and borrowed warriors from another world to aid them in their quest.

 He had warned them of what to expect: that the gods had been unable to send anyone of too significant a power, lest the secrecy of their quest be jeopardised, which was why the newcomers would be unable to physically interact with the ring, or any other weapon of Sauron other than his minions. (That, at least, was a positive in Aragorn's eyes, for he would not have to worry about them falling prey to the Ring's power.)

 They had one directive only: to help them defeat Sauron's forces within Middle Earth, and then they would be returning to their own home.

 Eventually, the group emerged from the tree line, and Aragorn couldn't stop the slight frown that pulled at his lips.

 Mithrandir had told them that they were from another realm, one beyond the reaches of even the gods, and that in their realm, different races lived together freely as there were no inherently evil races. He had warned them that three of their new companions would be of races that they would find rather distressing, but that they weren't like the orcs and goblins that the Fellowship knew of. They were… good somehow.

 Only the Fellowship and those who could practice magic would see their true forms, to all others the goblin would look like a hobbit, the half-orc (the thought of one of those made Aragorn shudder) would appear as an exceptionally tall human, and the… devil would look like a normal elf. Not that Aragorn had any idea what a devil was, but Mithrandir had seemed far too annoyed to bare trivial questions that would interrupt the rather clipped warnings he was giving them about their new allies.

 However, Mithrandir had been right, the goblin and half-orc (which he immediately knew were the shortest and tallest of the group respectively, the colour of their skin and unique body shapes) looked nothing like any orc or goblin that Aragorn had seen. There was a complete lack of the cloying darkness that seemed to surround them. Aragorn could not sense the energy as well as elves, but after so many years surrounded by elven magic, and the residual power in his blood gave him some ability to feel them. And none of the people in front of him were setting off any of his senses.

 So, Aragorn smiled and stepped forward.

 "Greetings, friends," he said, with as much warmth and confidence as he could muster.

 The blond elven girl and the girl that would have also appeared elven if it weren't for her light pink skin and the black horns protruding from her hair (Aragorn the slightly shorter girl must have been the… devil that Mithrandir spoke of) stepped forward.

 "Hello," the elf replied with a smile.

 "We’re happy to join you on your quest," the devil said, grinning openly.

 "We are grateful to have you," Aragorn returned, dipping his head respectfully. "I am Aragorn…"

 He went on to introduce the rest of the Fellowship, each of them giving a small gesture to call attention to themselves as Aragorn said their names.

 "… and the… esteemed wizard to my right is mostly commonly known as Gandalf the Grey," Aragorn finished.

 "Well met," the elven girl said before also giving a more formal greeting in elvish.

 "I'm Adaine Abernant," she introduced.

 "And I'm Fig Faeth," the devil chimed in.

 The dark skinned boy nodded as he introduced himself. "My name is Fabian Seacaster."

 The goblin also nodded. "I'm Riz Gukgak."

 The tall one gave an awkward wave. "Uhh… Gorgug Thisltespring."

 Finally, the human girl lifted one of the hands off her huge staff that was curled at the top and gave a more confident wave. "My name is Kristen Applebees."

 Aragorn was about to ask more questions about their skills but Legolas suddenly shifted behind him and when Aragorn looked at him, he had his bow in hand.

 "There is something very large approaching," he explained, reaching back to grab an arrow.

 Master Seacaster clapped his hands together. "Ahh, that is just my animal companion… the Hangman."

 "Please don't shoot him," Miss Faeth requested. "He won't hurt anyone here."

 "Well, unless they attack Fabian," Miss Applebees said only to be elbowed in the leg by Master Gukgak.

 "He won't hurt anyone unless Fabian orders him to," Adaine assured them. "And Fabian won't order them to hurt anyone. Right Fabian?"

 Master Seacaster, who was looking off into the forest, in the same direction that Legolas was glaring in, shook himself and glanced back at the female elf.

 "What?" he asked, blinking. "Oh yes. Of course, I won't ask him to attack anyone here. He's only roaming around the forest to scout for danger."

 Before anyone could say anything else, a black mass burst from the tree line, zipping straight to Master Seacaster's side and coming to an abrupt stop.

 Now that it was no longer a blur of movement, Aragorn could see that the figure was a great, hulking hound, as big as any warg that Aragorn had ever encountered. The hound as leaning up against Master Seacaster, its tail wagging as the boy patted it's head.

 "Yes, hello, Hangman," the boy said, grinning more brightly than he had been previously. "What did you find?"

 The new group nodded along at the hound's huff, as if they could understand it.

 "Well," Miss Applebees said. "That's good news. There's nothing in the forest that's going to try and kill us."

 "What would you like to do?" Adaine asked. "We have been instructed to follow your directives whenever possible."

 Aragorn contemplated this for a few moments before he answered, "We're less than three hours from the forest borders and then we'll be on open plains until we hit the next ridge of mountains. We will walk for an hour before we make camp again. Tomorrow will be a long day."

 From tomorrow, there would be no more hiding in forests along the mountains, they would need to find rock formations to camp under. Soon they would need to choose what path we would take.

 Everyone acknowledged Aragorn with a nod.

 "We can help you make you break camp, if you would like?" Adaine asked.

 Aragorn shook his head. "We should be ready to travel in five minutes. Take the time to rest."

 Miss Faeth smiled at him. "Thank you! Adaine made us get up really early."

 Adaine glared at her. "You agreed to get up at that time. It's not my fault it was my job to get you all up."

 Miss Faeth rolled her eyes and all of the newcomers drifted towards each other, forming a circle around the Hound as they quietly talked amongst each other. When Aragorn glanced at them half way though his sweep of the camp to make sure they didn't leave anything behind, he saw various bits of food in all their hands.

 The newcomers easily dispersed themselves as the party walked. As usual, Legolas scouted far ahead in front of them for their next campsite, though Master Gukgak walked off to the side of them, almost disappearing into the trees. Master Damian and the Hangman flanked the hobbits, who walked at the centre of their party and Master Thistlespring and Miss Faeth reinforced the rear, where Boromir and Gimli were walking, whilst Adaine and Miss Applebees walked along only a few metres behind Aragorn and Mithrandir, murmuring quietly between each other.

 True to form, after an hour, Legolas returned to them, informing them of a suitable clearing not far off, with a few birds in his hands that they could cook up for dinner.

 Sam perked up at the sight, bustling forward and taking it from the elf with a hesitant 'thank you' before he started preparing them and Miss Applebees wandered off with him whilst Master Thistlespring and Master Seacaster went into the forest with Bormoir and Merry and Pippin to start collecting firewood.

 As usual, everyone else went about their own business, setting out their bed rolls and tending to their personal gear as they whiled away the hour or so until dinner would be ready. Aragorn asked Legolas to stand watch, for he knew that the elf preferred that activity, as he was uncomfortable speaking with large groups of unknown people.

 The young elf would need to learn to become friendly with the group, but Aragorn didn't want to push his friend. Hopefully, with another elf here, everyone would open up. The Hangman paced a circle around the camp, apparently joining the elf in his watch.

 Adaine walked over to Aragorn just as he was trying to decide what job to assign himself.

 "How would you like to assign overnight watches?" she asked.

 "Am I correct in assuming that you only need half as much rest as the others in this group?" Aragorn questioned and the elleth nodded.

 "You are. I was thinking that Legolas and I could take alternating shifts each night, with someone else also up to cover blind spots," she suggested. "If that is what you want to, of course."

 Aragorn smiled and nodded. "That sounds reasonable. And good for the whole company. It should ensure that everyone gets as much rest as possible. We usually don't have the hobbits stand watch, as they are all rather young and they need to conserve their strength. Besides, none of them have seen proper combat before, and would not know what to look for whilst on watch."

 Adaine frowned at that but did not argue. Instead, she was distracted by Miss Applebees coming up to her and grabbing her arm.

 "We need you down by the fire, Adaine," she said. "Sam's wants a few ingredients for the soup he's making us. And I want to braid your hair before it gets too dark. We probably won't have time tomorrow and it might get in the way on open plains."

 Aragorn's eyes widened at that statement. For elves, hair braiding required an incredible amount of trust. It was not a duty given out lightly. Aragorn himself, had only ever been given the privilege a few times, and that was with elves that he had spent his whole life with. However, Adaine just smiled, nodding goodbye to Aragorn and allowing herself to be led over to a rock that had been dragged over to a fire that was already blazing healthily.

 As he watched the human started braiding a complicated design into the elf's hair, as the blonde pulled items out of a pouch at her waste, producing potatoes and herbs seemingly from mid-air, much to the delight of Samwise.

 Aragorn couldn't help but marvel at the scene.

 These new folk were strange indeed. However, they had a strong bond of trust that would not be broken easily, and they would truly help the Fellowship in their endeavours.

#dimension 20: fantasy high #fantasy high #adaine abernant #dimension 20 fanfiction #lord of the rings #adaine #dimension 20 #legolas #aragorn #gandalf #my fics #the bad kids visit middle earth

[amnestyaubrey]

Character ask: Ayda (of course) + Gorgug

ohhh heck yeah! big read more time for these two lovelies!

Ayda first!

favorite thing about them- oh my angel!! her introduction was literally everything to me- “do you want a friend” “desperately” shattered me! i watched her intro on youtube and just seeing that was literally what made me find a way to pay for dropout because i needed to know her and i was NOT prepared for how much i would adore her.

least favorite thing about them: i quite honestly cant think of anything? every scene she was in brought me so much serotonin

favorite line: oh goodness this has led me to watch that youtube video thats literally just all the ayda scenes oh my goodness. i need to rewatch sophomore year. “NOOO IT’S TOO CUTE” about boggy wearing a backpack!! “if i was you, i wouldn’t want to be anyone else” & ALSO WHEN SHE PULLED OUT THE CONTRACT FOR FIG BEFORE THE KISS. I FELT THAT ON AN EMOTIONAL LEVEL WHAT A MOOD.

brOTP: adaine!! gorgug!! riz! garthy!! give her all the friends!!!

OTP: fig!! I BLESS THIS UNION!!!! the way fig is always pretending to be other people, but ayda sees her and loves her anyway! the way fig starts the party just so ayda will stick around, EVERYTHING JUST EVERYTHING JUST T H E M!

nOTP: i haven’t seen other ayda ships honestly?

random headcanon: that one hc post thats just about her and gorgug’s friendship and how they both look out for fig just makes me soft. also i feel like her and riz would really get along well too!!

unpopular opinion: pirol finale spoilers---- as hyped as i was to see her in the finale and how much i wanted her in the season, that scene felt a lil forced/rushed? like,, i really loved it don’t get me wrong i adore her and cheese being friends, but it felt a lil fan service-y? like most everything else in the season stood alone well without watching any fantasy high but i feel like if i hadn’t known ayda previously that scene woulda felt out of place ig.

song i associate with them: pink in the night by mitski! which is more an ayda @ fig song then just an ayda jam but i do not have an ayda playlist (yet!)

favorite picture of them: my icon probably

AND NOW BEST BOY GORGUG

favorite thing about them: i love a sweet barbarian,, so very much. he just loves his parents and his friends and i just want to hug him very much

least favorite thing about them: .. i’m so bad at this idk??

favorite line: i mean,, my blog title is “it’s gorgug, keep going” for a reason sfhlsdfdk that scene was so sweet!! also not to be basic but “am i my own dad?”

brOTP: fig! ayda! fabian! he’s just such a good kid and i love his interactions with everyone agh!!

OTP: i mean like,, i don’t really have one? this probably is my unpopular opinion too but i’m not like,, super attached to him & zelda? like they’re super sweet don’t get me wrong! i’m just not like, seeking out content for those two i guess lol. i did love him working so hard just to be able to fix things with her in sophomore year like he INVENTED A CELL TOWER. WHAT A KING.

nOTP: hmm idk? i don’t see many gorgug ships floating around so its hard to say! i can’t really see him with any of the bad kids honestly ig? i’d have to be Convinced

random headcanon; if he ever has an idea for a song/something with the tour he’s probably nervous to bring it up with fig and i think it’d take a few times of him doing so before he got comfortable with sharing his ideas? i feel like he sees it as fig’s thing more then their thing sometimes? i could be off though i need a rewatch

unpopular opinion: already covered it!

song i associate with them: “let me drive my van into your heart” from steven universe for obvious reasons! and the only other song i have on his playlist atm is landslide by oh wonder because it reminds me a bunch of the “keep going” scene & that bit of his characterization

#collectoroflovelythings #ty for the ask! i love infodumping!! #turtle's ask box