The Rat Grinders - Tumblr Posts

i have so many things to say about the new fhjy episode, but i find it so funny that Jace spent a portion of this battle trying to keep his 6 children under control 😭

“Buddy, Bacarath isn’t real!”

Mary Ann tugging Jace’s shirt numerous times to tell him she doesn’t feel good

Jace you single mother, you need a vacation..

VAN HARAG - the rat grinders

I got to illustrate some posters for Fantasy High! Poster you can buy (in the Dropout store)!!!

KILL ALL YOUR FRIENDS // A RAT GRINDER COLLAB ANIMATIC [FULL] 💥

watch it on youtube here! (and replay the livechat for some laughs!)

this animatic was created in just a month for the @d20zinejam challenge, and features a total of 26 artists: @/pittermogged @dieantik @notllorstel @chromathesia @charlilil @pluveeus @cinnamonhex @teabagtoaster @hexaes @/andromelite @/25cir @melonsharks @rebsbobebs @cloudmancy @ljsarts @wyrmwright @voxphantasma @phosilli @aphoticfirefly @emiuli @zaccrimart @idonthaveanyurlideas @rabdoidal @thelongestwalk @lessmouse (and me)! thanks for watching!

Lucy Frostblade found Ankarna’s name. She learned of Ruvina’s sister and wanted to help her. Kristen just brought Cassandra back. She heard about the return of Cassandra. If Kristen Applebees, renowned mess of a cleric, could do it, why couldn’t she?

One night, Kipperlily finds Lucy bringing the rats back, with the rest of the Hi-5 heroes. And she confronts her cleric about what she’s doing, reminding Lucy they aren’t the Bad Kids. They don’t risk each others lives and put each other in danger. They stay *safe* by being cautious. The two argue.

Ruben and Oisin admire Lucy’s conviction. Mary-Ann tries to get them to stop. Ivy defends Kipperlily’s desire to keep the group safe. It’s not fair. KLCK brought her friends into it. It’s not fair. She forged a withdrawal of the God Change on Lucy’s behalf. Lucy strikes Kipperlily, hard enough to draw blood. Unknown to her, emboldened by Ankarna, Lucy draws on the Rage she feels to her party. She unintentionally drags her friends into the bloodlust. What happens is she desperately fights against her party. It never should have went this far.

At the end, Kipperlily and the others stand over Lucy’s body. Realizing what they’ve done, the bloodlust fading as Ankarna has protected her infernal form. And Ankarna uses this to make an offer. “I will give her back, when you bring me back.”

They all argue but Kipperlily convinces them all to go home and sleep on it. She’s careful. She hides the body, using all her rogue skills to cover up the crime. No one would believe them. And she remembers something she learned in Rogue Class. Devil’s Nectar. It’s her fault after all. Why force the rest of the party to bear this burden?

So when they next meet, with the help of Devil’s Nectar, she lies through her teeth. “We didn’t do anything. It’s unfair.” And she does it everytime they talk. The sickly sweet nectar, it almost burns at this point, to take. Its viscous drip down her throat is almost suffocating.

“The school should do more, we should try to change things. It’s not fair that Lucy is dead.” Kipperlily thinks, unaware that she has begun to believe her own lies. As she looks on, during the first day of Junior Year, she sees the Bad Kids. Fresh off their adventure with the Night Yorb. They must have it so easy. Kipperlily clenches her fist, and sets out to do what she promised, choosing to spare her friends from the burden of bringing a dead god back to life.

The rat grinders' first order of devil's nectar being immediately after spring break, right after Kristin very publicly broadcasted the bad kids' defeat of the nightmare king and resurrection of Cassandra?

the original purpose of devil's honey being used to lie in prayer?

that DEFINITELY seems to me like the rat grinders were inspired by Kristin to bring back the dead god, and were going to lie about praying/believing in Ankarna to do so.

And with the rat grinders spending all this time at the mountains of chaos on their adventures (at least, before deciding to go grind rats in the woods), that definitely provides the means for the rat grinders to have found out about Ankarna in the first place, as it is the ancestral land of the giant gods.

(this is becoming more and more likely to me)

thinking about freshman year high 5 heroes. how did you come together. how did you decide on your name. what changed. what happened. what have you done

brennan literally said that the ratgrinders underestimated the bad kids. they don’t know how real adventuring parties are fluid and communicative. they don’t realize that they’ve actually worked for their success, and that it wasn’t just handed to them. they’re so jealous of the bad kids that they’re blind to their genuine strength.

I Don't Want Your Money,

I Dont Want Your Crown.

See, I've Come To Burn Your Kingdom Down.

Kipperlily Copperkettle & Buddy Dawn || Dimension 20: Fantasy High: Junior Year

realizing now that the ratgrinders probably DIDN'T kill lucy frostblade at all. likely, they were all killed by the same entity (jace or some other proxy of the rage goddess) at the same time and lucy was just the only one with the integrity to stay dead, instead of becoming a puppet. that's why ruben was so sad when he said she "stuck to her guns." because he wishes he had been able to be that brave instead of living with a constant anger inside him that overshadows every other part of his life! their grief is, on some level, probably genuine

but now they've passed the moral event horizon and killed buddy almost as a sort of "initiation" ritual. a messed-up version of hazing. "you can't be one of us until you die and come back wrong too"

for my dimension 20 enjoyers:

there is something so deeply satisfying about brennan saying the ratgrinders underestimated the bad kids going into the last stand, seeing that jace was explicitly telling them to lay off the bad kids and that it could cause problems, and the SECOND the RG actually saw them in action and got made they immediately drop off the face of the planet and go into hiding

You gotta hand it to Fig. All of the Bad Kids were given foils this season and they got to decide how much they wanted to engage with that part of the plot. Gorgug only interacted with Mary Ann in passing despite them both being on the Owlbears. Fabian noped out of chatting up Ivy once she crossed a line with Mazey. Riz was so busy that he truly had no time to engage with Kipperlilly even though she's obsessed with him. Kristen interacted a bit with Buddy but spent way more time verbally sparring with Kipperlilly. And Adaine was somewhat interested in Oisin but never overtly acted on it.

But Fig?

She's in Ruben's WALLS. She's in his DREAMS. She's faking her alter emo's death. She's got the Fantasy FBI after her. She's SO SO tiny. No one is doing it like Fig's doing it.

everybody got mad

This post just made me think about something...

Guys.

the reason Copperlilt Capitalism wants "equality for all students" isn't a genuine want to help everyone out...she and her party have been going behind the school and killing rats and hobgoblins for 3 years...in that same time, the bad kids have saved the world 3 times. The Rat Grinders and The Bad Kids may be on the same level, but The Rat Grinders get no recognition, praise, reward for what they do. Of course they don't, they shouldn't. However...The Bad Kids do. They earn a lot of praise and recognition for saving the world. They should, they deserve it. But Kittycunt Kibblebitch wants what they have without any of the hard work.

kipperlilly’s campaign: equality for all students

kristen’s campaign: better conditions for steelworkers

I got to illustrate some posters for Fantasy High! Poster you can buy (in the Dropout store)!!!

do the rat grinders, jace and porter know they AREN'T beyonce

fantasy high junior year, this you?

Ruben Voted to change the party name because he knew it would piss kipperlilly off

vs

Fabian offered a truce and made up with his (LEGALLY AND FINANCIALLY RECOGNIZED) nemesis so his friend could go one a date without it being weird, Kristin didn’t even ask him to do it.

It’s not that the Ratgrinders don’t know eachother, they know eachother. They just don’t like these people they know so well.

The bad kids know eachother and like love the people they’ve gotten to know. They have allowed themselves to be changed by one another, to become better for eachother.

The ratgrinders will unprompted find ways to slight eachother, get some sort of advantage over their party members.

The Bad Kids don’t have to ask eachother to be caring. They would lower themselves so they don’t block the others from view.

They are not the same.

Never going to recover btw (I just finished episode 20)