What's the story behind Fiz and the polite-looking little fellow with the glasses? (sorry for dropping in out of the blue, I hope that's okay, it's just... they seem cute... I enjoy seeing the green bard boy pop up on my dash and want good things for him)
Uh oh. You’ve done it now. You’ve unlocked ... THE BACKSTORY. Exposition ahead!
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A true story of opposites attract, Fizridge and Siggy entertain an unlikely romance that's no less genuine in its warmth despite the sheer incongruity of their personalities.
Fresh off the heels of love lost, Fizridge met Siggy much by chance while wandering the Mage Quarter during the month of Love is in the Air. The bard had found himself entrenched in a particularly volatile conversation with a mechagnome noble, arguing against the incensed politics regarding mechanical upgrades and the loss of bodily autonomy prevalent under King Mechagon's regime.
Siggy Mindticker, a neurologist and author currently pioneering a study on body dysphoria in mechagnomes, couldn't help but overhear the conversation and step in as a mediator. He insisted that differences would be best discussed over a drink and good company, leading the trio to retire to The Blue Recluse for a night of revelry ... and significantly less political discourse.
With tongues loosened over the comfort of a good drink, Siggy quickly discovered the source of Fizridge's cantankerous behavior. Love is in the Air had put him in a foul mood, compounded with a general feeling of being slighted by an old flame that'd pulled out of port only to never return. Sig took note of this and excused himself from the Recluse, returning within a few minutes with ... a rose?
Fizridge had admittedly pegged Siggy for little more than a nosy bookworm looking to play hero, possessing somewhat of a bias against Gnomeregan natives due to his frequent inability to get along with them. ( Condescension and haughty attitudes chief among the reasons why. ) For the plucky doctor to fly in the face of his assumption was definitely a deciding factor for him to pursue Siggy romantically, especially when Fizridge was so used to being the one that initiated flirting. The role-reversal was new ... and exciting. The nerdy little dude was maybe the tiniest bit handsome too, okay?
The two struck up an easy camaraderie, ending that night above the Stormwind Harbor overlook as they gazed at the stars. Sig proved to be a calming presence, working past those walls with little effort and encouraging conversation before the night came to a close. Fizridge extended the invitation to see each other again, discovering that the man was a Stormwind local and setting one of his many worries at ease; his last partner had been an adventurer that frequently left him on standby. Siggy offered stability. Uh oh.
In the course of a night Fizridge definitely started pining after this dude, but in a way entirely foreign to him. Gone was the smarm and wheedling flirts, no foot shoved in a potential opening as the bard did nothing to push their time past bedroom doors. At the end of the night, Fiz and Sig went their separate ways with little more than a promise to see each other again. Why did that make him feel weird?
Fizridge and Sig next met up at the Stormwind Market, allowing the doctor a chance to see Darkmoon’s Finest in action as he was treated to a game of Drunken Dragon. Following the market Sig was invited to play a round of Lucky Sevens amongst the carnival troupe ... with the ever-so-high stakes of Truth or Dare! Sig walked away with a cool three wins, leading the Finest to accuse Fizridge of loading his dice ... something he eagerly refuted by propositioning Siggy regardless of his win: Truth or Dare?
Fizridge limped away from the entanglement with more than a bruised ego, his mind swirling with a fair amount of confusion and anger. Why did something as simple as a stupid prank upset him so much? Why did Sig’s forwardness catch him so off-guard? ... Why did he want his first kiss with him to be different? He didn’t have a problem making out with strangers before. Taking things slow isn’t Fizridge’s style, so what gives?
Sig later apologized through a letter and the two agreed to meet up again. They reconciled over some tea and, hey, even made up for that kiss. A peck and nothing more. So not his style, but he’s found that he likes this guy. Likes him enough to, uh, maybe ease up the flirting with strangers just a bit. Oh no.
In the weeks that followed the two men found that they enjoyed one another’s company past tea and idle chit-chat. Siggy offered Fizridge a space to let his walls down and be vulnerable. Fizridge encouraged Siggy to get out of his shell and start pursuing his passions again. The bard found he adored the man’s stupid jokes, or the way his eyes lit up when he enthused him about the inner workings of the Gnomish brain ... everything so ridiculously, properly gnomish seemed to, against all odds, be a draw. Which made it all the more exciting when the doctor subverted his expectations and brought a more devious side out to play in private.
Siggy had Fizridge pinned as polyamorous from day one and broached the topic eloquently, initiating an admittedly painful conversation wherein Fizridge agreed to give monogamy a shot, just for him. The flirting would remain a staple of his show persona, but once the spotlights dimmed and the curtains fell, he’d go home to Siggy. No one else.
This ... admittedly brought with it some difficulties. Do remember the heartbreak that Fizridge had been nursing his heart over when he and Sig initially met. Vaskel, a Blackwater Raider who Fizridge had an on-and-off relationship with, reared his head when the bard was already well into his relationship with Sig. Facing an impending relocation to Kalimdor, the pirate returned to bid farewell one last time ... and proposition Fizridge to run away with him.
He said no.
Despite still loving Vaskel deeply and sorely wishing things had ended up different, Fizridge knew it was extremely unfair to Sig to even consider the idea. For him to turn him down spoke volumes about the depth of his loyalty in regards to Siggy, particularly because of Fizridge’s still-present feelings for Vaskel.
Their relationship has followed a pattern of push and pull, a never-ending game of discovering one another’s weaknesses and accounting for them. Fizridge finds it difficult to slow down, but finds Siggy’s companionship worth the effort. There’s still that omnipresent fear: what if he moves too fast? Comes on too strongly? What if he messes things up? He always does, after all. That’s why Posy left. That’s why things with Ziti never worked out. That’s why Sparksie won’t talk to him. How can the hands of a thief ever hold him like he deserves?
Part of him wonders if those fears will ever abate, but for now, Sig is there to help him every step of the way, and Fizridge thinks himself the luckiest gnome in the world for it.
Presently Fizridge and Siggy are in a committed monogamous relationship, though most of the carnival circuit isn't aware of such. Fizridge has proven to be rather secretive of the whole affair, though not purposefully so. A womanizing stage persona acts as quite the red-herring. Who could be the mysterious mainland paramour that’s snared the heart of none other than the Darkmoon Devil himself?
The fact of the matter is: Siggy is probably the closest thing Fizridge has ever had to a good, stable partner he has a real future with. He's fiercely protective of this part of his life and, as it stands? He's more than satisfied with their private affairs to feel like the whole world needs to know. ( He'll still eagerly regale you with anecdotes should you ask politely, and never fails to bring Sig up when speaking of things that remind him of the doctor. )
