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the fact that goblins are made up of lineages of self-reproducing identities is interesting to apply to hob too. even if he's a bugbear, who knows how infectious goblin magic is? maybe he's died before. maybe he is captain k.p. hob version #2 or #12 or #200. if wuvvy ran him through right there in the dueling ground he might have just reconfigurated back to life, dazed and lacking a few recent memories and even more confused about why they're in this duel in the first place.
list of possible things rue & hob might end up doing post-canon:
nothing. honeymoon period of approximately an endless amount of millennia, in that they are both enchanted with each other and continuously on honeymoon. this does not preclude a great deal of politicking, quests, battles and magical rituals, but, crucially: they are but part of a larger honeymooning state-of-mind. rue has a great many gigantic, indulgent hats, and would they wear these hats if they were actively trying to destroy the court system as it has stood for aeons? please. hob's shirtsleeves are always pristine. they walk arm-in-hand and hand-in-hand everywhere. absolutely insufferable. they keep sending their friends souvenirs from such remote holiday locations as the court of fur and claw's elite premium mountain lodge resort, and new jersey. they can't possibly be involved in the fall of the court of wonder if they're in new jersey, now can they? (wuvvy gets a specially charming novelty charm, for unrelated reasons).
rue is still mistrex of the bloom. simply because the bloom says so. that is to say: mistrex of a new kind of bloom. they try to pass on the torch to wuvvy but instead their home with hob becomes flooded with overgrown ivy, winding paths, and doors that lead to every other court. very awkward as a diplomatic situation, to have the seafoam court end up bemusedly in their garden pond, but it helps that the lords of the wing simply steal the best chairs and the best brandy and lounge in them until every other archfey goes with it. good thing the house is enchanted to grow as needed, not to mention beautifully decorated, but still: extremely stressful. the collection of folded paper bats made by andhera on the mantle does get a lot of use as a conversation piece, though.
in five years, hob is doing exactly the same amount of paperwork for the goblin court, but as a freelance contractor. there is simply no one else who understands how to keep order in the chaos of budget planing like him. things falls apart when he's gone, and not in the fun way. this is considerably more rewarding, because it involved him being kidnapped several times (wildly flattering in goblin terms), gorebladder's schemes, a great deal of bargaining, and lord and lady boil actively pleading for help. it's complicated, it's strange, it's -- not bad, to be recognized as valued and necessary. too little too late for anything but quarterly spreadsheets and an occasional rumpus, but still. mostly he works freelance as a martial arts instructor. his quarterstaff classes are very sought out!
BINX asks rue for help as a socially-adept political player on how to steer the court of craft into facing the political trade queries and correspondence that follows from the bloom. and, actually? they kind of love it. finally, someone who is wholly on their wavelength re: the active revolutionary and determined undermining of the court system to open up space for a new, free state of affairs. besides, the court of craft's communal wardrobe of long-lost garments has some simply divine finds.
andhera invites hob over. it's a gesture of political peace-making and also, they're besties, they're brothers, they need to hang regularly or they become too forlorn. also, people keep trying to assassinate andhera. it's nothing unusual in the unseelie court, but man, it's getting a bit tiresome. hob is very protective about it, especially because andhera has to prove their mettle through a number of magical challenges. inviting the hero of the battle of briar falls to the unseelie court is a bit of a gamble, but it IS a very effective way to land matters of authority squarely into andhera's hands, once their combined united front settles enough scores, and hob duels enough people. suntar is out, insularity is done, a new order among the unseelie is coming. well, it might be, once they manage to cross the other side of this underground maze. hob keeps seeing their worst nightmares and walking through memories of his unhappiest centuries, in the dripping cave water that leads to depthless lakes, but it's nothing he can't repress to help a friend, surely, with no eventual consequences attached.
airy pearry's capricious creative director tyranny has seen many a producer and director walk out of the green hunter's set. they simply don't understand his vision! luckily, he has two very methodical and capable friends to be pressed into those roles. hob, a huge fan, is thrilled to be able to run the filming operation with military precision, but ends up having his own opinions on how the adaptation should go (and how lord squak is going about courting his lead actor, jeremy renner), while fighting between the habit to squash it down and obey and the courage to take a stand. he sometimes slips and calls the production intern 'gorebladder'. rue's refined sense of timing, event-setting and drama turns them into a directing powerhouse, and very quickly they're walking around with dramatic sunglasses making their visions come to life. it's a peculiar feeling, having to live under a glamour once more, but, at the same time, the freedom to project whatever image they want - not something that's on the line long-term, but how long can a movie even take? BINX gets involved in the costuming and props department at some point. andhera's in charge of lighting and special effects, to variable results re: squak's thoughts on far to take fake storm scenes. friendships are tested, new love faces challenges, and they must all work together to find office success, defeat suntar's very popular and scathing film review account, and, perhaps, try for an award nomination.
courtless and orphaned and very in love, their example starts a slow but growing mass exodus of underappreciated fey from their courts. some of them who follow on their wake drop their own glamours; most drop allegiances that are taking too much of their heart and magic. it becomes a movement. it becomes, most courts agree, a problem. rue, who has found their calling preparing and officiating weddings/divorce ceremonies/family adoption rituals/anniversaries/'i'm courtless and loving it blowout' parties on request and commission, is simply not very inclined to be assassinate about it. hob, who is also extremely committed to every single event, is even less inclined to allow them to be assassinate about it. they make a great team, actually! and always end up dancing together at balls, and sometimes in abandoned gardens and quiet spots, just because they can (and it's a great way to lure would-be assailants, too).
the chorus of the court of wonder start to lose their voices. queen of air and darkness fades into a deep nothing than her usual nothingness. grandfather, creator of birds, turns into a flutter of feathers. the goblin king sickens. nothing has been the same since the last bloom. now, it is up to the new generation of archfey leaders to try to figure out what's happening to the magic of faerie. this would have been easier, if delloso de la rue, once mistrex of the bloom, and their beloved, had not disappeared mysteriously. it is up to the pack of pixies to find their friends and figure out a way to keep the magic of the courts from unraveling - and decide if they should not, after all, allow magic to run its course.
The lovers
what if you attempted to conquer your self-doubts by making a grand entrance without your glamour and revealed yourself to be an owlbear and you see the object of your affection stumbling over themselves because they're marvelling at the splendour of your true form!! happened to my friend rue once!!!
i like the moment when hob said "IT'S BRENNAN TIME" and brennaned everyone
Would Impidimp be on K. P. Hob's team?
Yes
No
super rough rues and wuvvies and hobs
my housemate is rewatching a court of fey and flowers so I am also rewatching a court of fey and flowers and you know.
as much as "the p stands for pnackolas" is hilarious. and rue is for sure a morosexual.
it occurs to me that leaning over to your dance partner to whisper your middle name, in the world of the fey, is for Sure not a thing to be taken lightly.
