also a little meta to think about but I can't get the entire scene of Fabian and the Bad Kids on Leviathan out of my head.
Fabian's down in the dumps. he narrowly escaped death by illithid pirate captain, then death by dumped-in-the-ocean-by-Kalina, and is ill with two levels of exhaustion, actually admits that he's scared and is hurt.
it's not a joke. Brennan gives him Ragh to talk to and to keep him company, gives him Cathilda to try and soothe him (even if that brings him up to two exhaustion levels instead of just the one he previously had) and shows him kindness.
then the Bad Kids show up, the Intrepid Heroes, and they tear into him, kick him while he's already down. they make jokes about Chungledown Bim while Fabian's obviously distressed and terrified. he tells them that Whitclaw killed numerous of his siblings and nearly killed him, and Adaine's first concern is whether Alistair is dead. no one else responds to that.
Fabian admits insecurity about his legacy and not being his own person, and Kristen slaps him. she tells him that the Bad Kids need him, and compares his behaviour to Gilear's, telling him it's a mistake to bring Gilear along and implying that bringing Fabian is a mistake too unless he manages to make himself useful to them again. Fig and Kristen joke about casting a spell on Fabian to stop him from feeling this way so he goes back to being useful.
Brennan steps in with Tracker ("You see Tracker looks at you and goes, "Jesus.""), and lets the others do a bit, before stepping in again with Tracker and having her try to defuse the situation. has her say that Fabian might be struggling and that they shouldn't yell at him.
Adaine immediately cuts in and says Fabian can't be depressed, it's just one vaguely mediocre day. Riz adds that Fabian's life "rules 95% of the time." Fabian says he watched 14 men die on his orders, and Kristen reiterates it's just one bad day.
Brennan has Tracker step in again, and say "We might be catching this at the beginning of this process." Adaine resumes to make a joke about calling Chungledown Bim. Gorgug says they're going to fix the situation with or without Fabian. Riz says Fabian got hurt because he went off without his friends, and instead with a "bunch of randos". The kids move on in the conversation.
Then Brennan steps in again, with Cathilda, who is besides Tracker the only one in this circle to offer a kind word. To attempt to help or support him. To make him feel better.
Five co-players. Five other people in the circle, watching their sixth friend play a distressed character and yes, he makes it funny, and yes there's silly names and Lou is an incredible storyteller, but I think there was definitely a mistake made in that the only person to see the situation for what it is and step in with support, is the DM.
Cathilda vows to protect Fabian, makes him feel better and helps him, and immediately Kristen tries to hold Cathilda's hand and says she's hot. It's back to being a joke.
This is a common trend in how Fabian's issues are treated throughout the series, but I think it's the first time we see it so blatantly and it's set the tone for the remainder of the season and especially for Junior Year.
Fabian's issues are jokes to laugh about. Lou makes it funny, and thus we joke around the fact that there's a teenager abandoned by his caregivers, unable to maintain his house, incredibly lonely and pressured and torn by expectations, and only ever laughed at. punished for showing vulnerability. hell, his friends even team up against him and cast spells on him in support of someone they just met simply because they decided he was rude.
I think the cast are great at what they do, and I like their characters, but I think this situation specifically in Leviathan was not handled gracefully, and the fact that Brennan as the DM felt the need to step in three times to provide what five other people at the table missed... that's something I keep coming back to, too. there's such a disregard for Fabian as anything but a bit, and I have many thoughts about it.
