#also bad boy Gorgug

[flamingfoxninja]

In the world of British Spyre, we cut to the Hudol's School of Explorers Extraordinaire! A place where young students learn the ways of globetrotting shenanigans in search of love, war, and treasure seeking.

We cut to Kristen Applebees, an aggressive party girl who is ready to thrash and snog with the best of them. More specifically she's snogging her boyfriend

Fabian Aramais Seacaster, a quiet gentle poet who read the grand tales of adventures that his family legacy provides, especially of his Mother, Admiral of the Fallinel Navy. His shyness eventually broken by joining the Hudol Football League, along with his friend

Gorgug Thistlespring, the resident bad boy on campus. Growing up adopted in a lowerclass family, he is consistantly angry when anyone gives him shit about it. Which results in many fights and detentions on school grounds, not like he cares. But he's not the only fish out of water cause he's friends with

Adaine Abernant, an American transfer student. Her parents are Ambassadors who are trying to make a good impression, so Adaine is working on learning the slang and behaviors of her peers. Where she comes off as a bit brash and ignorant. But she's more than ready to learn, especially from

Riz Gukgak, the inquisitive mind of Hudol's greatest academic student. His dad a gentlemanly spy, his mother a police Sargent. He was taught from a young age a love of investigation, forensics, law, and learning. There's no such thing as useless information, only information not yet applied. But his talent in academia is only rivaled by

Figeroth Faeth, extra curricular extraordinaire. She can only even accept perfection in everything she does. Theater, Art, Classical Music, Martial Arts. Nothing is out of her reach to master. And nothing, not even her parent's divorce, her crumbling life, will keep her from her craft. Though she can at times learn how to let loose, go wild, and take a break from resident party girl Kristen Applebees

And these are our Hudol Hunters! Say Hi Hudol Hunters!

[ewwww-what]

Just watched boys night. Will never be normal again.

[longdeadking]

no actually i think mary ann will be great for gorgug bc like. no fault of the bad kids or the thistlesprings obv but they do put a lot of pressure on gorgug to be Normal (think the van scene and "lets put on the episode youre listening to" "im not listening to anything im just exhausted") (and sidenote Full Fault of porter for wanting gorgug to be Normal also) and i think mary ann just absolutely would not have ANY of those expectations and would probably Shut That Shit Down if gorgug DID try to Be Normal around her. and like zelda kind of had that about being quiet and not needing to be super high energy all the time but she also had expectations that gorgug couldnt meet about emotional investment and expression. and again no fault to her thats just how it is. but again mary ann just doesnt have that expectation. and thats something gorgug hasnt had before!

[recycledraccoon]

I have evolved into Scuttlespring anon, just say anything about them. I love them so much

THE ANON PANTHEON GROWS

Ok so. Gorgug likes Mary Ann because she absolutely infuriates him but also, and perhaps more importantly, because she has a type of confidence I think a younger Gorgug would have deeply envied. She's so weird, but entirely sure of herself. She likes what she likes and anyone who would have a problem with that is absolutely beneath her notice. She has friends not despite her oddities, but because she refuses to bend about them and that confidence is incredibly attractive in a person. Mary Ann Skuttle see's something she wants and she just...goes and gets it, easy peasy. Tiny little kobald strides, but when she puts her foot down with force, Gorgug thinks she could crush a mountain under with nothing so much as a blink or falter of her stride. She's certainly physically strong enough for it, and while Gorgug is undisputedly the better fighter, Mary Ann has a physical strength hidden under soft pastel pink hoodies and can, has, and will knock Gorgug on his ass. Gorgug got THRASHED at those Bloodrush field tryouts, and I'm certain he probably got his ass handed to him more than once during the year while at practice but before he quit the team. She made him so damn mad, everything that year was, and endlessly kind Gorgug got real mean to her over it. She was better than him, more casually confident, and didn't blink ONCE at his outburst. And later? When she was resurrected and freed from possession? He talks to her, acknowledges that it was just a game but he had been actually mad to be so easily knocked aside. He never really had to work at Bloodrush to be good at it, he just was, until suddenly she proved herself better.

And yet, without flinching, Mary Ann, famous for not giving a shit but listening to Gorgug say how much he had, just....asks if he has a girlfriend. Unparalleled confidence, shooting a shot he was unprepared for. Planets aligned even as his own orbit was knocked off course. And then, when he admits he doesn't even know where to get a quokki pet, something its been explicitly known to be something she really cares about? She writes down her number, letting him see that folded paper. She initiated this, and he got swept up in it, but instead of just handing over the number and allowing him to be swept up- Mary Ann Skuttle puts the number away and tells him shes gonna put it where you get quokki pets, and if he wants her number he's going to have to go get it. He's not allowed to just be swept up in the force of her, she wants him to put in effort, prove to her and himself that this isn't just a moment but a starting point. He cant be swept up by the tide, he's gotta swim. Gorgug liked Zelda, but their relationship started because they thought she was in danger and Gorgug had the best in. He stumbled into that relationship unsure and off balance, he never would have had the confidence to pursue Zelda without his friends hands on his back and their advice in his ears. Later on he gets more serious, he did love her and he put in the work to maintain that relationship, but it didn't work out and that's ok. Ever confident Mary Ann tho? She doesn't want unsure stumbling steps into this relationship. If Gorgug doesn't make the active decision to chase her, to WANT to be with her and putting deliberate effort to get there, then she doesn't want him at all. Gorgug, confused, asking where you even GET a quokki pet? And she smirks, calls him a loser, and walks away leaving him reeling and dumbfounded. Mary Ann Skuttle wants Gorgug to work for this. And who is Gorgug Thistlespring, but someone who puts in the work for things he wants? He did the seemingly impossible by creating his own subclass of Barbaficer, even if he had to take four years of schooling all at once. He puts in the work and makes the impossible possible, the greatest wizard of this age. So yeah. Yeah. Gorgug Thistlespring likes Mary Ann Skuttle because she makes him work for it.

[bacchuschucklefuck]

(chuckles) Im so good at reading comprehension and my meat is huge

[xiewho]

This isn’t an ask or an art request at all really but your art is sooo wonderful I’m thrilled every time I see it . I feel like you specifcally have done such a good job of capturing Adaine’s kinda nuisance energy this season and your Gorgug and Fabian designs give them so much character I’m obsessed

OHHDJFD THANK U ANON !! that means a lot 2 me n im glad u like the way i draw them <33

[allthecastlesonclouds]

there’s a lot of posts about the bad girls and how powerful they are, and i agree with all of them! an archdevil, the blessed saint of the goddex of doubt, and the oracle herself are three people you’d never want to see in a fight with how much power they hold.

but something i was thinking about was the boys: the girls have power, but the boys have pull. riz works for heaven; he gets paid and has a signed contract and a bunch of secret agent angels at his back. fabian’s got pulls in leviathan, solace, and fallinel with garthy, his mother, and his grandfather, not to mention that his father is quite literally an archdevil in hell. and gorgug is a rock star and has given all of his money to these gnomes by a magical forest (who made him multiple axes that are Very Good at murdering people). For all of the hilariousness that they’re, in fact, socially idiots, they have the most pull on all the planes around them. and i love that for them.

tldr: girls have power over time and space: past, present, and future, the boys have power over the planes: material, hell, heaven. they’re all powerful

[satturn]

it's 4am and i'm laughing tears because of the gorgug 'you might be your own dad' moment

[deconstructthesoup]

Still thinking about the Ratgrinders who were revived.

Mary Ann, of course, is functionally the same, and we love her for it. She was working for the bad guys because she was shatterstared, now she's not, and she apparently has a thing for Gorgug. She just happily exists with her Quokki Pets and her friends.

But the others... hoo boy.

Ruben doesn't remember anything. How is he gonna go from there? How is he gonna handle losing a year of his life, dodging autographs from people who like music that he didn't make but he also did, and just overall feeling an intense disconnect? Did he run up to Lucy all excited to see her again, not knowing that the last time she saw him was when he was taken over, and he killed her? Does he get weirdly confused whenever someone mentions the name "Wanda Childa?"

Ivy, what about Ivy? She remembers the stuff she did, was it in a haze or was it clear? Does she have times when she's going about her day feeling pretty good about herself, and then she remembers some of the shit she said as a mean girl and starts to feel sick? Does she see Fabian in the halls and immediately go the other way, not because she's scared of him, but because she knows that she kind of deserved what she got? How much of her old personality lines up with the girl who sneered at anything she considered uncool?

And Oisin. Every day, he's reminded of the fact that his actions not only led to several people getting hurt, but his ancestor getting killed. Every day, he has to sit in the same class as Adaine, who he definitely liked but can't face, because the year he finally talked to her was the year when his crush was twisted and corrupted. Does he remember the moment where he helped Kipperlilly kill Buddy with clarity, or is it just a haze? Does he remember toying with Adaine's feelings, and is he hit with a brick-ton of self-hatred whenever she's around? Was that little message a hint of his true self peeking through?

It's. It's a lot. These poor kids. Jesus Christ.

[shitpostingkats]

The bad kids are a great group dynamic, but also the individual team ups? Never miss.

Fig and Fabian going in to talk to Garthy O’Brien completely confident despite the fact that neither of them remember what they’re supposed to ask for. Adaine and Riz sweating profusely through making small talk but being overjoyed when they get past it and get to investigate a bloody ritual site. Fig and the Cig Figs. Fabian and Gorgug being jocks together (bonus points if there's Ragh). The Bardy Boys. Spring Break I Believe In You. Every combination of these characters is some entirely new nonsense dynamic and I am so here for it

[rrat-king]

some Bad Girls accesory headcannons:

adaine

doesn't need glasses but wears blue light ones because the light gives her migraines. the glasses are round silver wire frames that she has broken and cast mending on too many times

she loses her glasses constantly so gorgug made her a glasses chain so they can just hang when she's not wearing them. it has little star charms and blue and silver beads

it's my hc that adaine didn't actually give kristen her pinky back, keeping the philange instead so she has the bone on a little necklace she wears. its morbid but sweet.

she has a leather book holster that ayda made her after she complimented her's so that they are matching. keeps her spellbook in it

has three bracelets from kristen: a red rubber 'vote for applebees' bracelet as well as two woven friendship bracelets, a purple and blue chevron as well as a orange white and blue striped

elf ears are... so stupidly sensitive so she has a hard time wearing earings but she does steal fig's ear cuffs a lot

kristen

wears dog tags with jawbone's number as her emergency contact in case anything happens. he doesn't legally have custody but its a safe way of making sure he gets called over her parents

got her septum peirced with fig in leviathan, was originally a silver barbell but had to take it out when she realized the silver meant that tracker wouldn't kiss her, so wears a little golden hoop instead

has six trillion bracelets. most of them are friendship bracelets she's made herself, but she also has a rubber sig figs bracelet, a pony bead bracelet that says 'little shrimp' as well as a 'WWCD?' she made with her campaign rubbers

bad at wearing rings but has a number of them that she keeps on a carabiner that tracker got her (most of them found in the river while throwing rocks with riz. don't ask her why there are so many lost rings in the river she doesn't question it)

she got rid of her cross necklace after meeting helio but still has the saint necklace she got at first cornmunion. it's saint iree, patron saint of the lost harvest

fig

has one of gorthalaxes guitar picks as a necklace along with a million others

wears rings around her horns, most of which she makes herself but fabian gifted her a few of his that he doesn't wear cuz 'they interfere with my fighting, thank you' that are nice elven gold

has a matching septum with kristen as well as a million other peircings

she. loves. mixing. metals. she wears a million pieces of jewelry and they are all mishmashed but because none of it matches it works

constantly stealing her mom's earings. it drives sandra lynn crazy

hardcore believer in scrunchys over hairties. always has one either in her hair on on her wrist even they somewhat clash with her aesthetic.

wears compression gloves under her fingerless gloves to help with her joints swelling

has a million pins including: some of her mom's old band pins that she let her have, band pins of her own, kristen's campaign buttons as well as kipperlillys but she doodles over those, pins she's made herself out of bottle caps, a little tin skateboard pin gorgug made her, and a red compass pin that ayda gave her that belonged to one of the previous ayda's

(will make one for the boys eventually when i have time to come to terms with riz's new found accessory addiction this season)

[th3b4dk1dzz]

This was such a good episode for us Hangman/Ecaf shippers. #Mirrorbike for the win.

Don't get me wrong, I love Squeem with my whole heart. His monologue to Gorgug on top of the Van might have been one of Brennan's best monologues to date. I just wish we could have also seen best boy Squendolin in this fight.

R.I.P Balthazar. Since there are six fatherless baby parrots can each of the Bad Kids foster the parrot they named, so Kristen has Alphazar, Fabian has Balthastar, Adaine has Elfthazar, Riz has Ballthazar, Gorgug has Balvanzar and Fig has Little Gilear II.

[theseareafewofmyfavoritethingzz]

Fantasy High: Junior Year episode 2 Thoughts

Hallariel and Gilear leaving reminded me that they'll both live to about 1,900 years old while fabian will only live to max 190 and now I have Big Feelings

Riz is my darling angel boy that can do no wrong I love him so much and sklonda gukgak best mom 100% I think Riz' storyline is really gonna kill me this season because I relate to him so hard and it's such a realistic struggle

Gorgug's parents being so supportive is so sweet but I can't help but thinking there's bad things to come with this folk festival

Fig and Kristin are great representation for the good at everything but school crowd

I think Ally nailed it when they said Kristin this season is going to have to deal with what it's like when being chaotic isn't cute anymore because there isn't a lot of direction in what Kristin's doing right now and it reminds me a lot of how I felt junior year

Fig and Ayda's epic fucking romance!!!

I see jobs in the bad kids' future!

Aelwyn putting the ward on adine's room to be like "no one fucks with my sister but me" is so funny and also so sweet

Fig really pulled a " Mom I frew up" on Sandra lynn lol

Is Cassandra dying because she doesn't have enough belief?

[twinstxrs]

there’s something so personal about the scene in fantasy high s1e7 where gorgug calls himself stupid & fabian, who up to that point had basically entirely been acting like the bad kids (especially gorgug) were beneath him & had also been the one calling ragh stupid two lines ago, instantly says “okay, do not put yourself down like that. don’t you dare do that to yourself.” like it was obvious he liked the bad kids at that point but the instinct to protect his friends manifesting as an immediate strong refusal of gorgug’s self-deprecating talk kills me. that boy loves his friends so bad oh my god i feel sick.

[bloodyshadow1]

the Bad Kids really spit in the face of Porter's philosophy this fight and it was beautiful. they were outnumbered 8 (counting Mazey and the hangman) against at the start 8 higher level enemies, but that number quickly spiraled to 11 with Jace's clones, and 14 with the 3 extra ragestars. Sure the Bad Kids eventually got a lot of helpers near the end of the fight, but only Squeem managed to do something and got people up and Bakur was a meat shield that did some damage to Porter.

Honestly, if he was smarter, Porter probably could have tpk'd the Bad Kids on his own. He had legendary resistances, legendary actions and was resistant to all forms of damage, immunity to fire, and a Barbarian's speed. Not to mention his attacks did massive amounts of force damage that Gorgug's rage doesn't resist.

If they went against him and tried to match him power for power they would have lost. Maybe they would have widdled him down, but there's a good chance they would be dead 8 vs 1, especially how tired they were from fighting off a swarm of dragons.

But the Bad Kids are good at what they do, they know there's more to fights than just damage. Strategy, utility spells, teamwork, that's what the Bad Kids used to win the day not raw power. They were smart, they targeted the squishy dangerous casters first to keep them out of play, they used their environment to get 4 deaths from lava alone.

Riz in his first turn did serious damage to the Rat Grinders with a single level 3 spell. Slowing down Mary Ann and Ruben left them so vulnerable. Mary Ann despite being a barbarian couldn't get to anyone to attack and meant she was out of the fight for the first half. Even more it destroyed the Bad Guys action economy since it meant one of the Jaces and Buddy had to use their turns to dispel the magic off their teammates, one of which was counterspelled. And of course he killed Kipperlily on his own. Drawing her ire, negating her sneak attacks against him and of course, casting hold person while she's in the lava killing her while telling her how bad she is at being a rogue.

Fabian did his thing, he is a fighter and a swords bard, it's his job to use his mobility to deal a lot of damage and boy did he do a lot of damage. He downed Ivy in a single turn and did damage to Oisin so he could be finished off with Fig. Then using his turns to draw fire, protect Mazey, give out Bardics when he could. And of course the biggest moment was freeing Bakur. In that moment, and it took a bit to pay off, they got an ally in a pit fiend, something strong and big that Porter couldn't ignore, and got the chance to get allies on the field to help them. It brought Squeem back so that he could get people up saved the day.

Fig is like Fabian, she does a lot of damage so why not celebrate it. On her first turn, she used her incredible mobility to get Oisin, probably the most deadly of the Rat Grinders (not counting Jace and Porter) as a wizard with access to 9th level spells, and she was able to almost kill him. She was also able to do damage to Ivy with her green flame blade to get her health down so Fabian could down her in one turn. She used a fire ball to kill ruben, damage Buddy, some of the Jaces, and Mary Ann, that got concentration checks on at least one Jace and Buddy that they failed losing a bigbsy hand and the banishment that Buddy was holding. unintentionally, the fireball was a big move because it got Mary Ann to target her, it's not great to have a barbarian as strong as her after you, but it kept her from attacking anyone else. It also got Mary Ann to take a lot of damage from the lava because she was so angry with Fig. Without that they would have had to deal with a second barbarian who unlike her teammates actually had some hit points. When she was back up she kills one of the Jaces with a well placed shatter. All the while acting like both a bard and a paladin, giving out bardics and doing damage to the bad guys.

Kristen, what can I say, both Kristens were amazing. I'm not a fan of K2, but she was clutch this fight, they literally couldn't have done it without her. Their healing was of course a saving grace, their support spells helped so much, and their utility was incredible. I'm not sure if they did any damage at all this fight, but they were so important. You can't really get better support than two clerics and they showed why. Keeping their party up and alive is one of the most important parts of combat. But there was also the utility they had in the fight, banishing Buddy was huge, no heals or revifiys if that was his thing, and keeping him from hurting anyone because clerics do have a lot of damaging spells. the dispel on the devil's nectar and their connection with Cassandra was clutch of course, it was what set the stage for their victory and allowed them to get Bakur on their side. And of course Ice Feast, Brennan, if you're gonna homebrew a spell for your friends, don't make it so powerful. yes, it's basically a reskin of heroes feast, but immunity to fire damage is overpowered when your final battle map has lava in it. Lava is very dangerous to those not immune to it as it killed two rat grinders and 3 of the Jaces in the fight, all while helping the bad kids and their allies.

Gorgug was amazing this whole fight, utilizing both the barbarian and the artificer part of him. He got the kill on Oisin who would have been very annoying to deal with and with his final attack he grapples porter away from his friends. It's not great for him, Porter is still a huge barbarian who can get around Gorgug's damage resistances with Force damage, but he keeps the big bad busy for as much as he can. He kept getting knocked down the whole fight, but thanks to his friends he never stayed down. Tossing a Jace into the Lava and stealing the votes from Porter with one hp was inspired. And in the final round he completely proves Porter wrong, the guy who told him being an artifer multiclass was a waste of time, who mocked him and called his gadgets stupid. Gorgug uses one of those stupid gadgets to help Adaine put the final nail into the big bad and bad teacher's coffin by taking points away from his saving throw letting Adaine's spell take hold. To add insult to injury he drops his rage for that last part just to show Porter that his toxic way of thinking didn't do him any good.

Adaine, I could talk about Adaine's amazingness in this last fight for days, she's my favorite character. This whole fight, she wasn't the blaster wizard that you expect from a lot of high level wizards. She does some damage, but her real effectiveness shined through crowd control and using utility spells to keep her party in the fight. the synaptic static was so devastating to the clumped up rat grinders and it damaged Jace before he could summon his clones so they were damaged at the start, not to mention the -d6 to a lot of their shit. she was just amazing this entire fight, even after being targeted by spells and attacks, she's the only other person kipperlily attacked other than Riz and her only successful sneak attack in her life against an enemy apparently. She also tanked several spells from the Jaces, flesh to stone, lightning bolt, bigbys hand, despite it all, she stays up until Porter has to use an aoe to deal with her, even taking some attacks from him. She saved her friends with Scatter and kept one of the Jaces out of the fight for a while, three of her friends down and she stands there looking at Porter defiantly, talking down to him and Jace despite them being teachers. And of course the detect thoughts with Fabian's brain worm present, allowing Ankarna to see the truth for herself in Porter's lies.

That detect thoughts was clutch, because like I said in the beginning, damage isn't everything. In a straight up fight they might have lost against Porter, the guy did just too much damage and was too tanky. But with that one utility spells they didn't beat Porter, but they outsourced to someone who could. They told his god the truth, that he was trying to kill her with his own thoughts, and she showed him what a goddess could do.

The Bad Kids are very powerful, but it's important to win when you're fighting for the sake of the world. It's important to be powerful but the Bad Kids are smart and strong, able to think and put aside ego and rage, something the rat grinders didn't understand. Spells and abilities aren't the same thing as being strong and now they know that

[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