#rd head pixie

Obligatory reminder that this is a non-human society with non-human biology and social norms based on eusocial insects.

Alarm Scents

Pixies are eusocial. They swarm to protect the injured (specifically, once the scent of blood hits the air).

Injured pixies produce a scent that's been described as "Mint, warm butter, and wet dog" along with the banana alarm pheromone.

Pixies swarmed in "This Is a Box" after Chloe kicked H.P. in the face.

Mature Scents

When Seelie Courters are no longer virgins, they gain an underlying scent of caviar. This boosts their social status, deepens the scent of their other pheromones, and makes them much more attractive to drones and potential mates.

This parallels many real-life insects, who can detect a scent change (and favor non-virgin mates)

Poof was embarrassed in "All I Ever Wanted" when roommates and family confirmed they'd noticed his scent change.

Since the mature scent boosts dominance, gyne rivalry is much more vicious among mature individuals than virgin ones- It's just part of their biology to get more aggressive (and it's a lot harder to calm down when a rival has strong pheromones).

- Vice President Longwood is under strict orders to remain a virgin, lest the Head Pixie kill him (H.P. has a hard enough time not killing Longwood just for being a gyne even when he is a virgin). - Tension spiked between Poof and another gyne he grew up with (Finley) once Poof was no longer a virgin. - Finley is a tomte: a Fae who can't use magic. This means he's guaranteed to die during mating since his body wouldn't be able to survive it... but Finley has always been more dominant than Poof, so there's a lot of increased paranoia and aggression there.

Mindsets

There are three Fairy mindsets- the gyne, the kabouter, and the drone. Gynes and drones are two sides of the same coin.

Gyne - A Fairy or pixie drake who has freckles and gives off powerful pheromones that drone Fairies and pixies are attracted to.

In insect colonies that have queens, “gyne” is the word for the virgin “princess” insect who will either leave her mother’s colony to form her own, or seek to kill her mother and take over her colony instead. Similar instincts exist in Fairy or pixie gynes, who are rather territorial.

Wilcox listed the following responsibilities for gynes in “The Facts of Life”:

Appreciate your subordinates

Care for them when they’re sick

Ensure they have food and shelter before yourself

Culture Note - In Fairy World, it's the dominant individual who provides and serves food. In Anti-Fairy World, a host will provide food, but it's served by submissive individuals.

Gynes and drones are more easily manipulated by pheromones as they're much more connected to their insect biology, so they're more likely to cringe away or submit to dominant individuals (and gynes often fight to the death for dominance).

You can identify a dominant gyne because they'll float higher than others and people tend to defer to them (i.e. glancing, asking permission, keeping alert).

IRL, eusocial insects outgrow the term "gyne" when they become queens, but in my lore, the term sticks for life.

Two dominant gynes can't stay dominant in the same area for long. On neutral ground (like Fairy Con's sparring ring), they can maintain their respective dominance. When visiting each other's property - or sometimes even when meeting up for lunch - the more submissive one will get flipped. -> See the chapters "Made to Be Broken," "Senseless," and "Almost" respectively for examples from Origin of the Pixies. -> A young H.P. was required to wear a scarf to conceal his pheromones when he lived in the Earthside town of Bayard- "Mature" "Getting flipped" means mannerisms, dialogue, dress code, and thoughts shift to reflect that of the dominant individual. This happens to Sanderson in "Minion" when he and H.P. visit the Fairy Elder and Sanderson gets flipped to his "yellow butler" persona; more info on this in the "Minion" section below. - The top image for this post depicts Sanderson in different colors, including the yellow butler one and navy blue while under Anti-Cosmo's influence In "Senseless and Almost" (see above), H.P. changes his shirt from lavender to Reddinski's red. He shifts into a highly anxious "apologizing and asking permission" state that mirrors his behavior when he was in high school with Jean Reddinski, who took advantage of him back then (i.e. flirting with and brushing fingers across skin, setting up tension years later when Reddinski is actively abusing his drones by taking advantage of them when they can't leave and H.P. struggles to face his old bully on their behalf).

Gyne Pheromones

🍌 All gynes have a banana undertone to their pheromones. It's specifically the banana scent that becomes stronger when a gyne has mature pheromones, and strongest of all if they're the dominant gyne in the area (the aldra mór). See also:

"Mostly 9-oxo-2-decenoic acid, but your 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl ethanol is rather strong too, sir." Keefe looked at him in horror. "The answer I expected was bananas, but close enough. That's right. Since I'm the boss, you'll smell the 9O2D on me, but not on a younger gyne like Longwood. That's the specific scent you like, Sanderson, along with the 10H2D."

Origin of the Pixies Chapter 36, "Senseless"

Only dominant gynes are capable of conceiving. Subordinate gynes have their fertility suppressed until they become dominant (Queen bee vs. worker bee).

Poof was subordinate for most of his life, but becomes dominant when away from Finley in Hawthorn Haven.

Rupert Roebeam (ishigaq) and Walter Keefe (pixie) are drones born with dysolfactya: the inability to organize scents in their head. This renders them immune to pheromone cues; they'll just look at you if you try to lure them in "because it's instinct."

This also leaves them prone to falling off clouds or wandering into dangerous caves since they can't smell border warnings.

In Baby, You're a Rich Man Chapter 10, Keefe is the pixie who manages the file organizing computer: a job that keeps him safely indoors and doesn't require smelling anything.

The Anti-Fairy parallel of a gyne is a pilot. The Refracted parallel is a plume. They don't produce special pheromones, attract drones, or fight to the death. However, they're more likely to express bat or bird behavior (such as preening wings with teeth or building nests). They're often considered attractive in their communities.

Poof is a gyne, Foop is a pilot, and Poppy is a plume

- Drones are drakes who are overly sensitive to pheromones (and are drawn to dominant individuals who produce them). They tend to be calmer, more organized, and clearer of mind when exposed to pheromones; they risk falling into anxiety or depression without regular exposure.

Drones make up retinues: groups of worker bees that clean, feed, and care for the queen of an insect colony (or gynes, in this case).

Most pixies are drones, so Sanderson is a great example. In "Grooming," he describes the caretaking process for H.P., which includes things like wing brushing.

Wilcox listed these responsibilities for drones in “The Facts of Life”:

Be loyal

Be trustworthy

Don’t hurt your superiors

Fight to defend your family

Culturally, they're stereotyped as simpleminded, but that's not part of their biology. During Fairy World's medieval era, drones weren't allowed to own property, hold eye contact, work most jobs, leave rooms without being directly dismissed, and were required to wear muted grays or browns (and wear bracelets that matched one worn by their gyne.

At the end of this era, the court case Canterbury v. Oakwing granted drones additional rights, though some (like marriage) wouldn't be gained for another two generations (by Waterberry v. Reddinski).

The Fairywinkle family have a history of smuggling drones out of families (both upon request of those who wanted them removed from the inheritance order and upon request of drones seeking a better life). Legally, they “disappeared,” though few were actually killed- Most were relocated to new gynes. Notably, as Poof (a gyne himself) grows older, he works to revive this practice, combining his Fairywinkle heritage with the business know-how he picked up from interning at Pixies Inc.; Poof's dream is to create a legal, transparent "exchange program" of matching compatible gynes and drones.

The Head Pixie and Santa are both examples of gynes with a lot of drones under their care- H.P. has his pixies and Santa has his elves. Pixies represent paper wasps in Cloudlands AU and elves represent honeybees- two eusocial insect species this worldbuilding was largely based on.

- Kabouters can smell pheromones, but are less influenced by them since they're more human-like than insect-like in their behaviors. They don't fight to the death and are not as ingrained in social traditions that can be traced back to insect biology.

The term kabouter does not have any connection to insect biology. It's a friendly creature akin to a gnome (Dutch folklore).

Damsels with ZW chromosomes can't* develop into gynes or drones. Instead, they come in two flavors: "can have sons" and "can't have sons." Wanda is an exposed kabouter, so she can have sons.

Fairy births are biased in favor of damsels, with a roughly 75%-25% split. Sons are less common, but not rare. Again, the vibe here is "haplodiploid reproductive system, but it follows the 'male Fairies give birth' canon from the show and I don't claim to know everything about it, so if there are mistakes, 'It's because magic.'" Fairy World doesn't learn about the jelly connection until Foop connects the dots in young adulthood. Fairy World doesn't really know what's going on with their bodies. * See Smith's info below

Gynes and drones can only produce gyne or drone sons, not kabouter sons (although they can produce kabouter daughters). This mirrors the haplodiploid reproduction of eusocial insects.

Reminder: The mother needs to be an exposed kabouter to produce sons in the first place.

Jorgen's father (Frost) refused to believe in the "gynes can't have kabouter sons" rule of biology. Jorgen was born without freckles (and is a drone), but his father refused to admit that as he considered it shameful. Jorgen was very pleased to announce himself as a drone during the eulogy he gave for his father (after a lifetime of living in shame and suppressed emotions).

Jorgen and Binky are a gyne-drone pair, and while there's sometimes tension between them, they're very content with their set-up overall. Jorgen's happy to be himself with someone who doesn't judge or shame him, and Binky enjoys the company of his long-time friend.

See "7 Billion Years in 15,000 Words" for more about how cloudland perceptions of drones have shifted over the years.

Fairies cannot reproduce with Anti-Fairies (or Refracts). Their bodies are shaped differently (Fairies having systems based on insect anatomy, Anti-Fairies ones based on bat anatomy, Refracts on bird anatomy). Additionally, their chromosomes are incompatible, so in vitro doesn't work either.

Pixies and Anti-Fairies can't reproduce either- Pixies are also bug-based.

"Minion"

H.P. values hard work, rigid body posture, a straight face, and showing little emotion. When Sanderson is under the influence of H.P.’s pheromones, these are the traits he shows.

He was raised by H.P. from birth, so he grew up under these expectations anyway, pheromones or no pheromones. However, he defaults to H.P.’s values more naturally when “in H.P.’s service,” as we would say.

130 Prompt #14 - "Minion" depicts H.P. and Sanderson visiting the Fairy Elder: a presumably powerful being namedropped in "Timmy's Secret Wish." In Cloudlands AU, she's an ancient being who stands about 20 feet tall and wears yellow robes- Thus, Fairy World's rainbow designs pay homage to her even though there is no Yellow Robe sitting on the Fairy Council with the other colors.

Being the Fairy Elder, she has very powerful pheromones, even more so than H.P. In the Castle, H.P. was unable to maintain his usual influence over Sanderson, who felt instinctively prompted to turn his gray suit into a yellow one. Even H.P. fell under the Fairy Elder’s charm, turning his own suit yellow and showing more emotion (in this case, romantic affections) than we would usually expect from him.

While under the Fairy Elder’s influence, Sanderson took on a slightly different persona: checking for smears of dust, gesturing with sweeps of his arms, wearing white gloves, and folding his hands behind his back, and refusing to acknowledge H.P. as his boss. As far as he was concerned, the Fairy Elder was his boss now.

The relationship between H.P. and Sanderson is very boss & employee in nature. Sanderson calls H.P. “sir” and expects to be treated as a valued employee who receives a paycheck for his services and can be promoted and demoted in the company as appropriate. However, the relationship between Sanderson and the Fairy Elder is very butler & proud mistress of the household. Instinctively, Sanderson can sense this, even though he’d be hard pressed to explain how if you asked him to. That’s the nature of being a drone: he can sense what his superiors expect of him, and his natural instinct is to conform to their expectations. No longer under the influence of H.P.'s pheromones, Sanderson gestured more than usual and even shrugged- An act unusual for a stiff, professional pixie. He also hung his shades from the collar of his suit. He makes a point of referring to H.P. by his full title, “the Head Pixie,” and refers to the Fairy Elder as “his boss.” Other things Sanderson tends to do more frequently when he isn’t under H.P.’s influence include rolling his eyes and interrupting conversations (even when H.P. is the one speaking).

Notably, Sanderson warned H.P. that he would be flipped by the Fairy Elder's pheromones before it actually happened.

Once he did flip, he struggled to comprehend a future where he would return to H.P.'s service. He mentions that logically, he knew the Fairy Elder wouldn't force him to stay because she's always dismissed him back to H.P. in the past, but it was difficult to wrap his mind around the thought because it felt so right to be in her service.

He even described H.P. as his “former boss” and mused that he “can’t go crawling back to his ex” despite the fact that he was never fired from Pixies Inc. and technically still has a job there.

So, what exactly is going on in Sanderson’s mind right now? And what does he think of H.P. while in the Fairy Elder’s service?

All of a sudden, my body felt three sizes too small. Not even caring that I was breaking Pixie tradition, I made a fast, observable movement and scratched furiously at the crook of my left arm. Oh, it was a snatter of a place to be, trapped between a gyne and a god. On the one hand, the Elder’s pheromones gleamed on my tongue like sparkling suns that I could stare at without flinching away, but on the other, even she couldn’t overpower two and a half hundred millennia of scent layers quite so easily. Though my body and actions were hers, my brain longed to stand safely beside the Head Pixie again. But I didn’t make a move to do so. As a drone, I had little choice but to passionately serve the most dominant source of pheromones in the area, and for now, that dominant source was a deity, not a dear old friend.

Sanderson recognizes his loyalty to the Head Pixie, and regrets his inability to go against his own instincts and stand beside him, the way he would be standing if the Fairy Elder weren’t so influential. The part of him that’s speaking is the part of him that was raised by and which loves the Head Pixie, not a part of him prompted purely by pheromones. It’s the part of him that sees H.P. as both a father and a friend.

Additionally,

Obsession, now that I could comprehend. By the distinct natures of our biology, my own “infatuation” with the Fairy Elder manifested differently than his. Drones were natural fair-weather friends and sycophant servants. Even I, though minutes ago I’d loved him fiercely, had no power to alter my fate. For kabouters (and, especially, gynes) it was confusing to watch our colors change in a snap. Hurtful, even, that we could so easily abandon someone who fed and cared for us in instant favor of someone we’d never met. Yes, hurtful even for pixies, pallbearers of emotion they may claim to be. Even a pixie gyne must be hurting to see me now. Hurting, and lonely, and confused, and dripping with lust and fearful anxiety. And thus, I looked back at the flushing Head Pixie with pity in my brain, without a thought of blame or hypocrisy. This was not my fault. This was not his fault. It did not matter whose fault it was. Neither of us mattered to each other right now. One thing alone mattered, and she was the Fairy Elder.

Here, Sanderson explains that switching sides is, for him, a natural part of life. It’s something that he goes through life expecting it to happen, and so he is rarely surprised when it does. In his detached way, he understands that he might be hurting H.P.’s feelings, but he is pitying rather than sympathetic.

In sometimes subtle ways, the Fairy Elder’s influence has gotten under Sanderson’s skin. He is making the shift from valuing H.P. above all else to valuing the Fairy Elder above all else.

During the conversation between H.P. and Jorgen’s mother (Adelinda von Strangle), Sanderson demonstrates that even under the Fairy Elder’s influence, he is still his own person with the ability to think for himself, and explains he can’t be forced to reveal any secrets he doesn’t want to:

He lifted his eyebrows. “Does that bother you, dame? It’s fine if it does. It would bother me. But the fact remains, dumb Fairy laws prevent you from getting in my way. Even if I’ve confirmed I will be launching one of my revenge schemes this year, and even if you know where I will likely act and who I may be utilizing as a pawn, you can’t stop me.” Each of those last few words, he spit like their own sentence, wings beating rapidly until their noses were nearly bumping. “My son and I will not be taking our eyes off Dimmsdale for a second.” “Do it,” he said, softly. “Send in your patrol of godkids to stop me. March them straight through the Learn-A-Torium doors and onto Pixies Inc. property. Maybe you’ll find a find a weak point in our plan that Sanderson and I didn’t catch and correct.” That was my name. And… that was my old job. Adelinda realized it at the same time I did. As I inhaled sickly pheromones through my nose, she turned and stared down at me. Her fingers snapped once. “Spill your guts, pixie.” I stayed quiet, glaring up at her as the Head Pixie widened his eyes behind her shoulder. When she made as though she might leap down and approach, it was a steady process- not the quick, unexpected lunges forward that the Head Pixie (more than Anti-Sanderson, or even the Dame Head) were well known for. Apart from shifting her staff in my arms, I didn’t move. The wingless Adelinda positioned herself, fuming, at the tip of the Elder’s knee. “Pixie, you wear the colors of our goddess. For the good of the Fairy nation, reveal to us what you know.” “Adelinda, I’m gone, but I’m not that far gone. I’m a drone. Not a computer program. While my present loyalties lie with the Fairy Elder over the Head Pixie, I’m able to perceive that if he should accept me back upon her leaving, I will again belong to him. In this likely scenario, it would no longer benefit me to share that information with you. I don’t discuss my ex with current employers.”

Other Sanderson Personas

Like most drones, Sanderson has a slightly different persona for every dominant figure he ends up in the service of. Briefly, here are two other dominant figures who trigger unique personas:

“Can’t we preen just one last time before you go?” “Sanderson,” Smith said, making exaggerated rustling noises as he moved the boxes around, “I’m busy right now. Why don’t you ask Cresswell or Chidlow?” “Because they don’t preen the way you do.” Sanderson walked his fingers between the coffee filters and black straws. “You know… Besides H.P., you’re the only gyne I’ve ever given myself to on purpose. Cresswell and Chidlow get paralyzed by awkward fears of getting caught, and they fumble around. You’re the only one who never lets on he cares if he’s found out. Whenever we preen…” Sanderson narrowed his eyes in thought. “You actually exude an aura like you’re in charge. You’re just so dominant that way.” Smith set the box he had just picked up back on the floor. “Go on…”

Smith - Every once in awhile, the name Mr. Smith comes up in my pixie-related works (in this case, the above scene is from a piece called “The Other One” that we won’t be seeing again for quite awhile).

Smith is H.P.’s second-eldest gyne offspring, and his “spare” to his “heir.” Sanderson finds Smith’s pheromones nearly as favorable to smell as H.P.’s. He considers Smith a good friend, and occasionally seeks him out when working on a project or struggling with a task he’d rather not admit to H.P. that he’s struggling with.

Smith, in turn, finds Sanderson more entertaining than annoying, and sees him as a little brother despite the fact that Sanderson is slightly older than he is. So every once in awhile, Smith’s pheromones do overpower Sanderson’s mind more than the Head Pixie’s do.

It’s technically against both company policy and social norms for Sanderson to walk around with pheromones all over him that don’t belong to the Head Pixie. As a result, such behavior is considered scandalous, and that’s affected the persona Sanderson takes on around Smith. He tends to be more coy and silver-tongued about getting his way, rather than defaulting to the entitled and somewhat whiny persona he often falls into around the Head Pixie.

The second figure is Anti-Cosmo-

Mr. Sanderson actually frowned, eyebrows descending. He took half a step back. His wings bumped against the nightstand. The candle dish rattled. “Preen you like I preen the Head Pixie?” “Is that a problem?” He paused again. “Yeah, actually, yeah. I’m going to refuse, sir. What the Head Pixie and I have is special. I’m totally bound to you for now, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. I sort of have to be over here and stick around because you’re attractive, but that doesn’t mean I’ve been mind controlled. I fully realize and understand what I’m doing, and I’m not willing to give you that part of me. Pick a different way to do the ritual.”

Sanderson doesn’t view Anti-Cosmo as someone he cares about impressing. Simply put, if he’s in Anti-Cosmo’s service, it’s not because he intentionally got himself into that mess. It has happened on occasion, but Sanderson always considers the relationship between the two to be a nuisance.

In Sanderson’s mind, Anti-Cosmo is a friend of H.P., but not of him. H.P. tends to keep his friendship with Sanderson separate from his friendship with Anti-Cosmo. If Anti-Cosmo is around, then H.P. pays attention to him, and Sanderson ends up pushed into the background like a bodyguard. He hardly acknowledges Sanderson’s presence then, meaning that Anti-Cosmo, in turn, hardly acknowledges Sanderson either. Thus, being around Anti-Cosmo makes Sanderson feel like an unimportant child who isn’t wanted at an important business meeting in the living room, and his persona is more childish too.

Overall, he is more casual around Anti-Cosmo than you might expect, and more forthcoming in conversations with him than he is with anyone else (although this has just as much to do with Anti-Cosmo being a good listener who carefully coaxes things out of him as it has to do with anything).

While Sanderson still thinks twice about letting company secrets out of his mouth, he does tend to be slightly more open about his (gasp!) feelings. Especially those concerning his frustrations with H.P., which are usually out of his mind when he’s in H.P.’s service, but which Anti-Cosmo’s aura seems to bring to the forefront of his mind.

This openness, of course, reflects Anti-Cosmo being a more emotional person than H.P. is. His influence prompts Sanderson to lower his guard.

On the flipside, because many of his filters are down around Anti-Cosmo, Sanderson also tends to be more critical, stubborn, and bossy around the anti-fairy than he is around H.P.

While Sanderson still “sort of has to stick around” Anti-Cosmo, he tends to fall into a persona that could best be described as “sneering, self-righteous butler.” He’s again more expressive with his body language while in Anti-Cosmo’s service than he is around H.P.

Sanderson Without Pheromone Influence

So if at least part of a drone’s personality can be attributed to the influence of pheromones, what happens if we strip them of pheromones entirely? Here's another scene from "Minion"-

I held her gaze for several beats, then dropped it to the pillow in my lap again. The tension in my legs and hands eased. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be saying these things. Back in Pixie World, the heaters and air conditioning units push the Head Pixie’s smell everywhere at all times of the day. Even after we shower, we just fall into them again. I’m not used to this. Being without." My eyes latched onto a glass bowl on the coffee table. I clicked my teeth. "Smoof. Is this who I really am when all the pheromones come off? Bitter and sassy and critical of everyone and everything? It doesn’t happen often, but it’s unprofessional and demeaning when it does. Do I not really like him? The Head Pixie is my boss. He’s the founder of our company. I have to like him. So where did all of these flaws I see in him suddenly come from? I shouldn’t say that. Don’t tell him I said that.” I clenched my fists to my ears, this time without the spider. “Sanderson is not a fan-derson when the Head goes subordinate. All of a sudden he’s not… He doesn’t seem… I don’t view him as… I start spreading negative gossip about him. Like this. I ought to be ashamed, but I’m just not in the state of mind to be ashamed. Do you regular kabouters ever get like this, Adelinda, or is this the curse of drones?” “I can relate. It is called being annoyed, pixie. It’s an emotion.” I fumed for a few seconds, unable to think up a clever response for her rebuttal. My hands slid down my face and then dropped into my lap. “Well, I don’t like it. I hate the ‘freedom’ of being a drone without a gyne. I’m nothing without one." My voice splintered. Reaching for my knee, I finished, "And I wish I’d remember that. But without pheromones, my brain doesn’t want to. Thank you for the towel. My thoughts are clearer without conflicting scents raging in my head. However, there’s still an empty deadness inside me. Blankness. Lostness. It’s not natural, Adelinda, to look upon the world and hate your own workplace. To criticize your employer. How can kabouters ever get by holding positions and doing part-time work like it’s some passing fling, not devoting every ounce of their passion to what they do? How can they serve someone and contentedly work side by side in a company doing a job they don’t like with people they don’t like either? I could never live that way.” No, I couldn’t. I just couldn’t. I ran my hands up and down my pant leg. “If this is what it’s like to be a kabouter, to live life hating the daily grind, never pleased with what you have, spotting flaws everywhere and griping about them after-hours, then I’d take being a drone in a wingbeat. But it’s just not natural, to be an independent drone. No one should have to be frustrated with someone they admire.”

Sanderson’s “au naturel” persona is, as he described himself, “Bitter and sassy and critical of everyone and everything” to a higher degree than he is when under the influence of most dominant figures, whose pheromones tend to suppress the part of him that snarks back (Exception being Anti-Cosmo, who as a bat instead of an insect, doesn’t produce impressive pheromones).

“Blank slate” Sanderson is more nervous and questioning, seeking approval from outside sources and constantly second-guessing himself. He’s more active with his hands: covering his ears, touching his face, holding his knee to his chest, and expressing himself through more body language than H.P.’s influence typically allows. His voice even cracks.

Without the presence of pheromones, Sanderson feels like a small child separated from his parent in a shoe store... unsure and overwhelmed. He acted in a similar way during Chapter 8 of Baby, You’re a Rich Man when he hadn’t been exposed to pheromones for days.

Although Fairy society may look down on drones, sometimes viewing them as cowards or as oddballs who gain masochistic pleasure from their “servitude,” in Sanderson’s mind (and in the mind of many drones), this is simply his role in life, and he accepts it. He lacks any desire to strike out on his own and raise his own family, because he prioritizes H.P.’s happiness- and, by extension, his own financial and shelter-related security. He simply enjoys being around H.P.

A drone is a creature who will loyally follow his gyne everywhere, and even raise his gyne’s children if he’s asked to. A gyne’s life consists of balancing his own needs with those of the drones who are subordinate to him, not to mention the needs of a potential wife and children.

Drones desire loyalty and intimate affection from their gyne much the way a romantic partner does, albeit in a slightly different way. There’s no question that H.P. has his work cut out for him, balancing so many pixie drones. No surprise, perhaps, that he isn’t married.

Wolbachia Notes

The bacteria Wolbachia pipientis has several properties, known as phenotypes. These are:

- Feminization -> Masculinization, to mirror FOP reproductive lore (During prenatal development, unborn children have their ZW sex traits overwritten with ZZ sex traits) - Parthenogenesis (Asexual reproduction; genetically identical offspring) - Male killing -> Female killing (Damsels who contract Wolbachia don't survive; Pixies with ZW chromosomes do because of aforementioned masculinization making them look like ZZs to the bacteria) - Cytoplasmic incompatibility (Inability to reproduce non-asexually, except with infected males females)

The masculinization phenotype of the Pixies' Wolbachia pipientis messes with the reproductive system. There ARE pixie kabouters, but they don't know they're kabouters because they're raised believing they're drones. Some pixies have ZW sex chromosomes, but were masculinized: looking at their outer body and internal reproductive system, you might assume they're also ZZ.

In other words, pixies are described as an "all-male species." Some have ZZ chromosomes and some have ZW. Chromosomes are pretty irrelevant for them; most don't know which set they have.

The pixie Smith is an unusual case: he had ZW chromosomes during prenatal development. He was masculinized by Wolbachia, exposed to jelly at a very young age, and ended up a ZW gyne.

Smith's pheromones are overpowering. He has conflicting hormones trying to express him as both a kabouter and a gyne. In other words, he has "double pheromones" and turns a lot of heads- Even the Anti-Fairies can smell him easily.

Clarifying note- Masculinized pixies don't get their sex chromosomes replaced with new ones- They get their hormones and such replaced so their body expresses the sex traits associated with ZZ chromosomes. Or in Smith's case, you get ALL the sex traits fighting for space and the body does its best to make that work.

- Many Fairies gossip about how attractive Smith is (despite shunning Pixies in general). In "Dignity," he's married off (unhappily) to a korrigan named Montana Powers. - Smith isn't H.P.'s heir, but he's next in line if Vice President Longwood loses the position. Smith is a rebellious braggart who flaunts his pheromones and challenges H.P.'s authority. "Letters and Numbers" is a good example. - H.P.'s non-identical daughter (Commelina) is the only ZW pixie who identifies as a damsel. She was born through an incredibly specific Wolbachia situation discussed in the Origin of the Pixies chapter "The Fading of Light" (Major story spoilers) - Commelina does not have Wolbachia and - like a Fairy damsel - would die if she came into contact with it. - In the Origin of the Pixies chapter "Fruitful Fruition," the cherubs bypassed H.P.'s cytoplasmic incompatibility by placing an egg directly in his uterus (Eggs are usually stored in the head and travel down).

Additional Chromosome Notes

- Witches are born with XXZ or XYZ chromosomes. Those with XXZ may or may not be sterile, but those with XYZ are always sterile (as far as studies have shown). - Juandissimo has no sex chromosomes; he was finger-snapped into existence by a genie, so his internal systems run on genie-given magic. On paper, he and his counterparts are listed as 00. He's infertile because even though he has reproductive anatomy shaped like a Fairy's, his chromosomes are incompatible. - Poof and Foop DO have sex chromosomes since they were conceived by their parents (not summoned without pregnancy). They won't have any chromosome-related issues when it comes to reproducing.

Poof can only reproduce if he's a dominant gyne. When he's submissive, his fertility switches off. Foop's ability to reproduce is in Poof's hands- He's unable to have children unless Poof has a child, at which point he's magically forced to have a child too. Further reading on that in the honey-lock section of Class Overview: Anti-Fairies.

Closing Note

These sex chromosomes apply to several AUs of mine, such as Cloudlands and City Lights.

Reedfilter Rules AU is notable for fluidity with their bodies. The RR Fae are shapeshifters, can change species, and reproduce freely with any Fairy, Anti-Fairy, or Pixie. It's not likely they know what chromosomes are (let alone sex chromosomes) apart from a thing they need to learn about so they can shapeshift into various living things.

Related Posts:

- Class Overview: Fairies - Class Overview: Pixies - Freckle Distribution in Gyne Fairies - Preening Signals - H.P. and Sanderson's Short Bios - Commelina's Short Bio - Jorgen and Binky's Short Bios - The 130 Summaries page uses the 🔷 to mark works that contain non-sexual intimacy, with gyne-drone relationships being one example.

OVERVIEW

Full Name: Fergusius Alexander Whimsifinado

Title(s): Head Pixie the First / Pixie holotype / Pixie 001

Preferred Form of Address: H.P.

Alternate Forms of Address: Esteemed Head Pixie / Mr. Whimsifinado / Fergus S. Whimsifinado / Fairy-Fergus / Fergus Prime / Boss / Sir

Aspiration: Build something great that will last in the hands of his descendants long after he’s gone

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Born: Winter of the Fallen Mountain

Zodiac: Soil

Birthday: February 12th

Hometown: Novakiin - Small, wealthy town in Fairy World; features Wish Fixers and the science museum seen in “When L.O.S.E.R.S. Attack”

Came Into Adult Wings: 153,887 (Slightly earlier than average)

Age During Frozen Timestream: 744,699 (Mentally 66)

Age As of “Live For the Moment”: 892,130 (Mentally 79)

Age As of Devil’s Backbone: 907,959 (Mentally 80)

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Race: Fae (Seelie Court)

Species: Pixie (Formerly classified as Fairy)

Ethnicity: Originally classified as a crossbred common fairy, but technically a full-blooded pixie (Faedivus quadratum). He has fairy, leprechaun, imp, nix, brownie, and will o’ the wisp ancestry.

Nationality: Formerly Ildáthachian (Obtained at birth); automatically changed to Spriggish shortly after the War of the Angels when Pixies became recognized as their own class

Patron Insect: Polistes dominula (European paper wasp)

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Mindset: Gyne (Dominant)

Alpha Retinue Drone: Ennet Sanderson (Firstborn)

Previous Alpha Drones: Cosmo Waterberry (née Higgins), Buck Banister, Ren Hasten, Luis Magnifico, Rupert Roebeam

Pheromones: Switched into maturity [unusually late in life] after pairing with Kalysta Ivorie in the Year of the Charged Waters. His pheromones smell of orange and cinnamon.

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Counterparts: Dame Head > H.P. > Anti-Fergus 

Core: Laser cannon (“The Fairly Oddlympics”) - Overprotective and quick to strike; knows exactly what he’s aiming for and commits full-force

Core Color: Purple (Layer 1: Red; Layer 2: Blue)

Core Trait: [REDACTED; see the Origin of the Pixies chapter “The Makings of Greatness”]

Anti-Pixie: Tough-love backwoods type turned whiny emotional eater

Pixie Refract: Religious PTA mom

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Stats:

Power: Below Average

Endurance: Average

Wisdom: Average

Adaptability: Below Average

Charisma: Below Average

Openness: Below Average

Conscientiousness: Above Average

Neuroticism: Below Average

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Magic:  Tomte  |  Unstable  |  Weak  |  Average  |  Strong  |  Luz Mala

Crown Lift: Very low

Breathing Lines: Triple fishtail braid

Karmic Weave: Frayed  |  Sparse  |  Plain  |  Average  |  Thick  |  Elaborate  |  Royal  |  At Equilibrium  ||  Manifests as coronation robes

Fagiggly Color: Lavender

Preferred Shapeshifting Form: Goose

Signature Tactic: Disarming Kick - Literally kicks weapons out of people’s hands and catches them as they fall. More effective in his youth; not so much anymore with his older body.

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Wand Type: Ulkroot / Gold

Struggles to use other wand varieties as his is a handicap booster to help him channel his limited magic. Chews on it when stressed (if he isn’t in public).

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Family: High status and wealthy (Whimsifinado)

Creed: Páistí refracta foirfe daoine - “Heirs don’t make mistakes.”

Caretaker Spirit: His Glory Twryth (The wild hog)

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Permanent Residence: Pixies Inc., Inkblot City; Pixie World

- Has the penthouse suite at the top of the Headquarters building

- Central Star Region (Purple)

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Occupation: Head Pixie / CEO of Pixies Incorporated / Junk hoarder

Ruled: Year of the Dipping Moon - Present day

Heir: Markell Longwood

Previous Employment: Wish Fixers intern, worked in a bookstore during high school, butler to the Blue Robe, owner of a small tourist shop, owner of a small paperwork company, owner of Wish Fixers, worked under Santa Claus at Kringle Inc.

BACKGROUND

Self-Perception: That underappreciated guy who keeps the universe in order when the Fairies and Anti-Fairies go full chaotic mode.

Alignment: Neutral Evil

MBTI: ENTJ

Deadly Sin: Pride

Heavenly Virtue: Diligence

Love Language: Quality time

Reinforcers: Attention; he thinks getting scolded in public is funny

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Personality: Very laid-back, although hot tempered in his youth. Has a sassy tongue and little shame. Likes to get his way and be the center of attention, and will undermine anyone who attempts to dominate over him. When H.P. is around, he makes sure you can’t miss him. Very organized, with a few small OCD tendencies that flare up worse when he’s stressed. Major procrastinator.

H.P. views the world in goal-oriented terms, and constantly tries to tackle large conquests without gaining experience from side-quests first. He’d prefer to try and fail at the boss fight over and over instead of backtracking to form a new strategy, the way Anti-Cosmo prefers.

A lawyer at heart, H.P. would rather fight enemies on level ground through the legal system (aided by the occasional random blessing of chance) than maneuver political obstacles that simply force you to concede beneath social pressure. There’s no glory in an unfair fight.

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Special Note - Compulsions: H.P. does not have obsessive compulsive disorder in the human sense of it; his half-insect brain makes him immune to such a human thing. True, he does likes to keep things orderly, and he always rewrites all his notes on a new page of his notebook rather than cramming a note into the margins.

Many other pixies show similar preferences. However, they do not experience compulsions in the same way a human with OCD might; H.P. is not plagued by reoccurring thoughts and does not have regular rituals. His experiences are closer to zoochosis (expressing repetitive behavior patterns with no obvious goal or function; generally seen in zoo animals when they don’t receive enough stimulation).

H.P.’s organizational tendencies ebb and flow depending on his mood and current levels of stimulation; his compulsions are not as stable as obsessive compulsive disorder would be. When he becomes stressed, they flare up intensely and he’ll lock himself into stereotypic behavior patterns. Without someone like Sanderson around to redirect his attention, he can easily get stuck in the same repetitive task (like scratching a gash in a wall or picking at a thread) for twelve hours straight. If confronted, he’ll defend himself by saying he’s a “master procrastinator.”

He tries to avoid talking about it since he’s reluctant to accept his behavior patterns might be destructive. Because he was raised by a therapist, he’s extremely paranoid about sharing his feelings with one and refuses to think too much about his internal struggles in general.

On a normal day of only mild stress, he can walk past a bookshelf without reacting to it. If he’s uncomfortable with the thoughts on his mind, he’ll stop moving, hesitate, then turn around and reorganize it as a way of calming down. Notably, in the 130 Prompt “Minion,” he nearly left the grocery store successfully, but turned around to rearrange bouquets by color when the anticipation of meeting with his crush overwhelmed him with nerves.

Technically he doesn’t organize things until he begins settling down; at first he moves them around and measures them against each other and moves them around and around and around as a way to focus on the physical world. Once he’s no longer stressed, then he can finally clean up and put things in whatever order he likes.

H.P. does not have a specific way everything must always be; some days he prefers organizing by color, others by size. Usually if he took everything off a shelf, it was already organized so he invented a new pattern for it while trying to relax and he’ll put it back in a different way.

The shelves he sees on a regular basis are orderly and won’t throw off his groove unless something is out of place. If just one item is wrong, he’ll dump everything and start from scratch; shifting just one thing around doesn’t work for him.

Vice President Longwood’s kleptomania leads him to shift things around in H.P.’s territory as a subtle way of expressing dominance, so the two often clash over this.

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Education: Helped organize paperwork at Wish Fixers for the majority of his young life.

Attended school up until he dropped out of the Fairy Academy (within the first month). He later returned to school in order to receive a degree in food sciences, which he puts to use baking cake and bread.

His magical focus is essential sensories, allowing him to visualize places he’s about to ping right before he commits to pinging there.

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Spellementary School: Completed his Spellementary education in the expected amount of time.

Was considered an oddball child due to his genetics and being born out of wedlock. He didn’t really have friends; his neighborhood pals Marina and Sunglow were older and younger than him (respectively) so they weren’t in the same cohort during school.

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Middle School: Received average grades; did not particularly excel or fall behind.

Viewed as a quiet and studious child unless you said something he disagreed with, in which case he was prone to arguing loudly. A hard worker at school, but lacked motivation for homework.

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High School: His vision began deteriorating, causing his procrastination habits to worsen further. Reading (an activity he’d once loved) became difficult. His grades started slipping lower in classes he couldn’t be bothered to care about; by this point, Fergus knew his father would pay his way into the Fairy Academy whether or not his grades were good.

He spent years as Magalee Dustfinger’s lab partner in potion classes (she later went on to be the will o’ the wisp ambassador and Idona Ivorie’s mentor).

No longer seen as the quiet, studious kid he once was, Fergus developed a reputation for arguing and causing trouble. Easily bored by the subjects most kids loved, he slept through or skipped a lot of classes.

Due to his large build and aggression, faculty often encouraged him to try out for sports teams, though he rarely had enough interest to do so and struggled to meet application deadlines anyway (That, and his unstable magic was a barrier). His father pushed him to date several damsels during this time as he searched for a wife, but no one clicked.

Halfway through high school, Fergus let slip to his roommates that he thought it would be nice to marry a Refract instead of a Fairy and was blackmailed by his roommate’s brother for centuries because of this. Also worth noting that he worked in a bookstore throughout high school.

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Further Education: Sent to the Fairy Academy by his father to earn a degree in psychology so he could eventually become a therapist and take over Wish Fixers someday. Tensions rose when Fergus secretly changed his focus to the law program; he ended up dropping out of school after his father confronted him about it, and spent the next 300,000 years avoiding Ambrosine on Earth.

After the birth of his first several pixies, he finally picked his schooling up again and earned a culinary degree. No, he is not happy Pixies are banned from participating in the annual bake-off between the Fairies and the Anti-Fairies.

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Favorite Magic Subject: Sensory Distance Analysis

Least Favorite Magic Subject: Advanced Transformation Sciences

Favorite Non-Magic Subject: Further Studies of Da Rules

Least Favorite Non-Magic Subject: Fae Reproduction II

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History: Born out of wedlock, unwanted by his mother, nearly drowned by his grandfather simply for having freckles, Fergus was raised by his adolescent father and, for the most part, seen as an outcast of society for being sickly, inbred, and square.

Though heir to Wish Fixers, he didn’t find therapy his calling and quickly dropped out of the Academy. After that, he spent much of his life on Earth, eventually became infected with the Wolbachia pipientis bacteria, and gave birth to Sanderson shortly afterwards (much to his confusion).

Sanderson was nursed by a will o’ the wisp, who kept Fergus around as part of her harem for a year until he was able to win his freedom. He returned to his father’s home and began working his way towards supporting himself independently. After his third pixie was born, Fergus married a selkie named China Mayfleet, although they divorced 1,500 years later.

After the birth of his seventh, the cherubs learned of Fergus’ strange condition and brought him in for intense study and laboratory work. Cupid’s mother eventually helped him declare himself his own species, making him the holotype for the pixie race, and the first ever Head Pixie too.

Most of his adult life has been spent juggling his duties as CEO of Pixies Inc. with his parental duties. He also participated in the War of the Angels (the war from the episode “Balance of Flour”), and was captured by the Anti-Fairies as a prisoner of war.

Nowadays, H.P. asexually reproduces on a regular cycle, manages Pixies Inc., and lives in constant fear that Pixie society will fall apart after his death. Having no idea if his pixies are fertilized with short-term purple magic instead of permanent yellow magic does not soothe this fear whatsoever. Secretly convinced his offspring will die with him, he’s begun to hatch a plan... but that’s a story for another day.

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Notable Likes:

- Chewing on wood

- The color purple

- Orange flavoring (But not orange sherbet)

- Rave parties

- Drinking soda

- Massages

- Silk

- Oatmeal raisin cookies

- Child-proof locks

- Owning the latest technology

- Running a tight ship

- Puns and witty innuendo

- All the memes

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Goals: 

- Unlock the secrets of immortality

- Live to see as many of his descendants as possible

- Get the Fairies to pay attention to him

- Finally beat Anti-Cosmo at cricket

- Continue holding the universe together through the almighty powers of bureaucracy and endless paperwork

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Beliefs:

- The stars are Fairy warriors

- He’ll become one with his counterparts in the afterlife

- Fairies are rude and unprofessional

- Coffee is a godsend

- His kids are idiots but they’re doing amazing

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Fears: 

- Being forgotten and/or misremembered. H.P. strives to leave a paper trail behind him and secure his place in the memories of those he interacts with on a regular basis.

- He’s also afraid of heights and will avoid them at every opportunity. Those penthouse curtains are usually pulled shut.

- Fireworks.

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Upsets: 

Frustrated by rebelliousness

Stressed by lack of control

Flustered by PDA and by children being exposed to things he believes they’re too young for (Swearing, reproductive knowledge, etc.)

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Comforts:

Thumb-sucking, chewing wood, having circles rubbed into his palms

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Indulgences:

Enjoys the party atmosphere. He prefers soda to candy.

EXTERNAL

Verbal Notes: Uses very short sentences. Sometimes fragments. Really. Dialogue is very casual and includes phrases such as “Get with the times, dude.” Likes to refer to things as “cute” and “adorable,” not always sarcastically. 

Constantly makes demands, and is generally oblivious to others’ culture and overall just plain rude. One of his quirks is a tendency to focus on the wrong or unimportant parts of sentences. For example:

“Look what I found in my sock drawer!”

“Why do you have a sock drawer?”

H.P. has a tendency to state the obvious. His dialogue is often unnecessary but he does what he wants anyway. If he shows you a photo, he will make a point of informing you “That’s you, that’s me, and that’s your husband,” even when it’s obvious. It’s his dull and boring way of initiating playful banter.

In general, he can easily separate literal and figurative language and is an expert at identifying sarcasm. He has a special knack for reading someone’s tone of voice even through a screen.

H.P. adapts to new phrases quickly. For example, before he met Emery in Origin of the Pixies, he would say “Wait a wingbeat” in conversation. After spending time around her, he picked up saying “Wait a second” instead. He also picked up “Roger that” from China and “Dude” from Sparkle.

That said, he tends to jump the gun on using new slang terms before he fully understands the appropriate context for them- For example, he once referred to Anti-Cosmo as “hot” instead of “cool” and got a few weird looks.

H.P. asks questions as rarely as possible (without going out of the way to specifically avoid them). He asks through observations instead; rather than “Is it lonely?” he might say “You seem lonely” and await agreement or denial. “I heard” and “My understanding is” are other common ways to make inquiries without technically asking them like questions. When he does ask questions, they’re mostly meant as jabs (See also, “Why are we in jets when we can fly?”)

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Language: Dry wit. Throws vulgar language into his speech, but tries to censor himself around kids. Fluent in Snobbish, Elrulian, Chif, and En. Can speak some Milesian. Milesian phrases occasionally slip out when disciplining his pixies.

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Physical Notes: I’ve always struggled drawing his pointed forehead, so in my style he’s just very tall. He’s big, with wide hips (owing to the fact that male Fairies give birth in FOP canon). His freckles were pale in his youth, darkened in his adult life, and paled again in his old age. His arms are covered in magical tattoos.

And, obviously, he is infected with Wolbachia pipientis. The changes that bacteria made to his body are all internal.

Handedness: Perfectly ambidextrous.

Body Language: Regularly places one or both hands on hips. Places his right hand over the knuckles on his left and rubs them when nervous. Carries himself in a relaxed way.

Hair: The swirl in the back of his hair is referred to as “the Whimsifinado family cowlick.”

Teeth: Small but extremely sharp; must chew on solid things in order to keep them from growing into his brain.

Wings: Pixie wings mimic those of the Polistes dominula. Pixie hindwings are stunted compared to most Fairies’ wings.

Gyne Freckles: Average dusting on face and throat, light dusting on back of shoulders, heavy dusting on upper arms.

Scars: Right palm is very scarred, as is his right cheek.

Notable Tattoos: Logo and “001” on underside of left wrist; piggy bank and Soil symbol on left shoulder, blue fox and rat further down left arm, commelina wrapped around left wrist, paper wasp on right shoulder, flying fox bat and purple crowned fairy wren on back of shoulders. Tattoos are capable of “burrowing” under his skin if he wants to hide them.

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Style: Crisp. Well-dressed. Dull colors. He wears a 4x2 double-breasted, single-vent suit. He owns several, with different interiors (some fully lined for extra warmth, others unlined to prevent overheating).

Regular Clothing: Usually in his suit when in public.

Casual Clothing: Often attends casual events still dressed in his full suit. Alternate outfits include a sleeveless gray and white shirt that says “Pixie Holotype” across the chest.

Preening Clothing: Normally wears a simple gray or white shirt, usually with pajama bottoms (Pixie Holotype shirt is a common choice).

Nightwear: Often sleeps shirtless. Mint green is his preferred nighttime color, as he says that color is the only thing he actually finds boring. Sometimes wears the Pixie Holotype shirt to sleep.

Ceremonial Clothing: Red robes decorated with scattered golden stars; only worn during deep preening rituals with important political figureheads.

Other: Also dresses in rave clothes on occasion, which for him usually means gray floral shirts and short sleeves. He loves kandi bracelets. At the beginning of the War of the Angels, he wore white and blue.

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Height: 4′1″ (Tall for a fae)

Hygiene: Bathes or showers every evening, but not in the morning. Generally very clean, but touches his face frequently and still puts his thumb in his mouth on occasion when no one is watching.

His pixies do his laundry and dishes for him, or else they probably wouldn’t get done (even with magic). Sanderson takes care of his wings by regularly scrubbing and brushing them.

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Morning Schedule: Usually awake by 7:00. Sanderson arrives for morning retinue duties around 7:15- he prepares H.P.’s breakfast (including coffee), cleans his wings, and helps him dress for the day.

Most days, H.P. briefly preens Sanderson so Sanderson can spread his pheromones to other drones throughout the company. H.P. is usually ready to start work for the day by 8:30 (though most of his pixies are ready by 6:00 or 7:00).

He usually has reports from the previous day that need to be delivered, and will either hand them out himself or find someone else to do it depending on his mood.

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Typical Day Schedule: Now that his pixies are older and can handle things on their own, H.P. isn’t as involved in the inner workings of the company as he was when he was younger. Most of his job involves touching base with his employees, spreading pheromones, and just generally being his territorial queen bee self.

He tries to focus on a handful of employees after lunch each day, preferring to hear about the workings of the company directly from workers, not just supervisors. Sanderson frequently massages his shoulders after lunch, sometimes extending the session as a full back massage, and he might take a nap.

He visits Talon at the Water Temple twice a week on average, just to check in. Some days, he meets with important political figures. Other days, he works on schemes to take over Fairy World. He reads a lot of memos and writes a lot of performance reviews. When he’s not procrastinating, anyway.

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Evening Schedule: Touches base with Vice President Longwood every few weeks. Sanderson’s retinue duties begin at 9:00. If H.P. hasn’t met with an important figurehead for dinner, he’ll probably eat something while Sanderson brushes his wings.

Some days, he and Sanderson preen together, in which case H.P. will have to write another feedback report before bed. He prefers to be in bed by 10:45, but preening with Sanderson usually pushes that time off to 11:30. Even when he does crawl into bed, he’ll probably flick through his phone for another two hours before falling asleep with it in his hand.

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Sleep Schedule: H.P. is a light, restless sleeper, owing to a lifetime of raising young pixies who might cry out in the middle of the night. He usually sleeps on his side or stomach, resting his head on his arm (He has to sleep on his back if he has a nymph nursing in his pouch, much to his annoyance).

For most of his life, H.P. has slept alone, but when he does share his bed with a romantic partner, he rests his hand on theirs. He’s not a cuddler, but he enjoys that slight hand touch. On nights he and Sanderson have traveled away from Pixie World (vacations, business conferences, political meetings that require visits to Anti-Fairy World, etc.) the two sometimes share a bed (though H.P. will undoubtedly critique Sanderson’s cold feet and excessive wing twitching in the morning). 

H.P. is always the last one to fall asleep if he’s sharing a room with other people, so Sanderson feels quite safe when he curls up near his boss. H.P.’s territorial instincts spike when he shares a room with his drones, so he has an extremely difficult time lying down and will sit on the bed keeping watch for at least an hour after the last person in the room has gone to sleep.

Sharing rooms isn’t H.P.’s favorite, but he’d rather be anxious and share a room with Sanderson than have Sanderson stay in a separate room at an unfamiliar place. Much easier if they need to wake each other up in an emergency.

PERSONAL

Relationship Status: 

He’s more or less given up on romance by this point. He’s abandoned sex (which he was never crazy about anyway) and gets his social needs met by his pixies, Anti-Cosmo, Anti-Wanda, and Jorgen. He has a massive crush on the Fairy Elder, but that might just be thanks to her overpowering pheromones.

He’s head over heels for Anti-Cosmo in a “Dude, let’s go out for lunch so we can swap guy talk and show each other memes” type of way. He sees Anti-Cosmo as his closest friend - something like a brother-in-law - and is blatantly possessive of him around everyone but Anti-Wanda, whom he defers to.

He and Sanderson are committed preening partners who respect one another, although Sanderson values physical touch in preening more than H.P. does and that makes their relationship rocky at times.

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Ideal Relationship: Living with someone whom he can trust to take his side and have his back during difficult confrontations. Someone who is willing to be around him and simply “hang out” without making him feel pressured or guilty that they aren’t “doing anything exciting.”

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Sexuality: Perhaps romantically attracted to Seelie Courters but with a very low drive. Not entirely opposed to relationships with Anti-Fairies. Asexual.

On paper, he’s akoiromantic asexual- Drawn to people, but doesn’t want the attraction reciprocated (and attraction tends to fade when it is)

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Attractiveness: Growing up, Fergus wasn’t considered a very attractive fairy even though he came from a high-class family. His various health problems affected his looks and magic, and on top of that his social skills were terribly lacking (he was once told he “flirts like he’s conducting a job interview”).

As an adult, his brute strength, ever-increasing dominance, and the novelty of being holotype of a brand new race began to attract attention. As he progresses through his elder years, he is considered highly attractive by Fairy standards and most people would be shocked to learn he ever wasn’t. Nowadays he’s considered the “soft pretty boy who doesn’t like to get his hands dirty.”

By Pixie standards, he is likewise considered very attractive and always has been. Pixies gravitate towards the most dominant figure in the area and H.P. easily qualifies. By Anti-Fairy standards, his brains and influence make him attractive from afar, though his mean, sarcastic humor often rubs them the wrong way.

H.P. is so neutral and so incredibly influential in the universe that his karmic weave - an invisible “coat” of delicious luck that Anti-Fairies can sense around living beings - is considered the most attractive in the cloudlands today, and definitely one of the most attractive of all time.

His weave is only visible to Anti-Fairies at certain times, but when it’s visible they tend to drool over it. The reigning High Count always has dibs on “sipping” the luck from his weave by biting a certain point on his neck, but only with permission.

H.P. has allowed both Anti-Bryndin and Anti-Cosmo to sip from his weave on multiple occasions, which they consider an absolute honor. H.P. doesn’t see the appeal, but it makes them happy, so... whatever.

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Intimate History: Attempted to court several damsels in his adolescence under his father’s insistence; all fell through. Mary Black was his crush for millennia (possibly just because his father didn’t like her).

Considers his first sexual experience to be with Kalysta Ivorie, the will o’ the wisp who nursed Sanderson. Was also intimate with the selkie he married for a time. At one point in his adult life, he attended parties constantly and recklessly slept around.

He also had an emotionally intimate relationship with the High Count before Anti-Cosmo (Anti-Bryndin) and is most likely projecting the expectations of that former relationship on Anti-Cosmo. Later in life he pursued a relationship with another damsel, but after that came crashing down, he swore off sex and romance permanently.

At present, H.P. is the only political figure known to have preened with an Anti-Fairy (He’s preened with both Anti-Bryndin and Anti-Cosmo). Because of this, and because he’s seen as a figure who embodies neutrality without playing favorites, it’s widely assumed he’s had affairs with both Jorgen and Anti-Cosmo and switches between them depending on where Pixie loyalties lie at the time (or perhaps the loyalties of his race switch according to how well his affairs are going).

H.P. spent a lot of time in his younger years arguing with the media and vehemently denying it, but by this point he’s given up. He still loathes the implication, but tries not to let it get to him (It totally does). Jorgen will pound anyone he hears insinuate such a thing, but Anti-Cosmo finds the gossip entertaining and sometimes teases the media deliberately.

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Turn-Ons: Physical touch, actually. Like getting scratches behind his ear (He melts over those). Having someone cup his cheek in one hand, gently kiss his lips, or trace their fingers along his upper arms. Something that wouldn’t occur on accident, or while preening with a drone. Something that feels undeniably “Yes, this is what people do when they’re wooing someone.”

He’s a little oblivious to emotions and you have to be super blatant about your intentions to get through to him, so direct physical touch is the way to go. 

Despite his massive ego, fawning over him is actually a turn-off; he gets satisfaction out of pleasing his partners, but thinking about his own reactions paralyzes him with dismay.

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Reproductive Status: Infected with Wolbachia pipientis; reproduces asexually every 500 years, menopause kicks in ~1,000 years post-Season 10

H.P.’s Family Tree: HERE

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Children: The list of Gen 2 pixies can be found HERE.

Notable Grandchildren: Aspen Longwood, Cavatina Sanderson, Blackwood Longwood

Godchildren: Unknown ancient humans, IX (“Nine”), Dale Dimmadome, Flappy Bob, Gary Cabrera, Betty Lovell

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Foster Parents: Raised by “Mama Gidget” and “Papa Reuben” for his first 29 years while Ambrosine fought in the War of the Sunset Divide

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Father: Ambrosine Alexander Whimsifinado

Grandfather: Praxis Whimsifinado

Grandmother: Nettle Whimsifinado (née Gumswood)

Aunts: Adrina, Amalia, Ara; two married, no children, all deceased

Uncle: Alik Whimsifinado

Notable Ancestors: Windshine Whimsifinado (Once held the position of Purple Robe on the Fairy Council); Ezekiel Whimsifinado (Earliest ancestor the Whimsifinado family have written record of)

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Mother: Solara Lavender Wurpixiz

Grandfather: Beckham Wurpixiz

Grandmother: Corinna Posy

Uncle: Hugh Posy

Cousin: Sparkle Posy

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Sister: Emery Dakota Ranen (née Whimsifinado)

Met at age 491,535 

Brother-In-Law: Logan Ranen

Nephew: Chrysanthemum “Zan” Ranen

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Firstborn: Mister Ennet Sanderson Chipixie

Met at age 491,535

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Ex-Girlfriends: Don’t get me started

Met in youth

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Ex-Captor: Kalysta Lola Ivorie

Met (officially) at age 491,535 (encountered at age 157,344)

???: [REDACTED; see the Origin of the Pixies chapter “Fruitful Fruition”]

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Ex-Wife: China Cassandra Mayfleet

Met at age 491,535

Wing Notches: Scoop (Care) / Scoop (Diligence) / Slit (Spirit) / Scoop (Unity)

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Former Platonic Partner: Anti-Bryndin Kitigan Anti-Coppertalon

Met at age 494,529

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Former Platonic Partner: [REDACTED; see the Origin of the Pixies chapter “How Not to Bake Brownies”]

???: [REDACTED; see the Origin of the Pixies chapter “The Fading of Light”]

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Major Political Ally: High Count Anti-Cosmo Julius Anti-Cosma

Met at age 491,535

“Stepson / Nephew”: Anti-Westley Talon Anti-Lunifly

“Stepdaughter / Niece”: Larkspur Shiny Mayfleet

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Celebrity Crushes: Venus Eros; Ilisa Maddington

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Current Love Interest: Unrequited crush on the Fairy Elder

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Other Important Relationships: Sees the anti-pixies as his nephews and sees the pixie refracts as his nieces; dislikes Anti-Sanderson. 

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Sanderson - H.P. values Sanderson as useful, but considers him emotionally unstable; he firmly believes Sanderson can only be a good leader if watched over by another leader figure, which limits his promotion opportunities in the workplace.

Nonetheless, H.P. does care for Sanderson and values the perspective he brings to the table; Sanderson would sooner give an honest opinion than blatantly suck up, and H.P. respects that immensely.

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Longwood - Vice president of Pixies Inc. and H.P.’s heir. H.P. considers him a little wishy-washy, especially with his tendency to flirt with damsels and hesitation to bond with his coworkers (not to mention his dream to keep Pixies a strictly neutral species someday), but admires Longwood’s creativity and dedication to his job.

H.P. sets regular time aside to teach Longwood the ropes of being Head Pixie and holds him to a high standard; he’s quicker to lose patience with Longwood than with most.

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Smith - On paper, Smith is one of the subordinate gynes at Pixies Inc., though his pheromones flicker in and out of dominance depending on how strongly H.P. presents himself that day. H.P. and Smith have had a number of bad clashes, and Smith has even overthrown him in the past.

Smith and Longwood do not remotely get along, meaning H.P. has to keep Smith outside the inner workings of the company, meaning Smith is outside the normal range of his pheromones and therefore a dominant gyne more often than not.

H.P. respects Smith’s strength, but is wary of his bloodlust. They keep the peace by taking turns with Sanderson’s free time and pretending they don’t.

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Anti-Cosmo - H.P. admires Anti-Cosmo for clawing his way to a leadership position at such a young age and, minus the emotional instability, considers Anti-Cosmo a hard worker and excellent role model for his pixies. He sees Anti-Cosmo as his best friend and shows his affection by roasting him with quick wit and dry sass.

H.P. had a close relationship with Anti-Cosmo’s predecessor and is probably projecting the feelings of that relationship on Anti-Cosmo; H.P. doesn’t let go of friends easily and clings to Anti-Cosmo as his main source of support outside of Pixie World.

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Anti-Wanda - H.P. and Anti-Wanda share a love for sass and innuendo and get along well. Anti-Cosmo tends to take H.P.’s teasing personally, and while his reactions are funny, sometimes H.P. wants to hang out with a friend who gets his sense of humor and won’t require follow-up apologies to calm down.

He and Anti-Wanda enjoy the occasional party together, or at least playful banter over lunch (See also, “No Absolutes”).

Anti-Cosmo frets that H.P. is flirting with his wife, but reluctantly accepts that H.P. isn’t going to go away any time soon (and that he needs to trust Anti-Wanda to make her own decisions about her friends).

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Jorgen - H.P. and Jorgen get along best when business and money are being discussed; they share a lot of political opinions about order and discipline. They work well together when they see themselves as a guest in the other’s home and the dominance hierarchy is clear-cut, but clash when cultural norms expect them to work out a pecking order in neutral territory.

They simultaneously respect each other while having no moral issue with tormenting one another. During times Fairy World and Pixie World are officially aligned against the Anti-Fairies, Jorgen and H.P. have a very close relationship as H.P. treats Jorgen as his closest friend (even above Anti-Cosmo) and Jorgen tries to prevent him from swinging back to the “dark side.”

TRIVIA

- His legal name is Fergus, not Fergusius; he had it and his middle name legally changed when he turned 200,000.

- His in-story namesake is Fergusius Mór mac Eirc, also known as Fergus the Great, the legendary king of Scotland. In reality I named him after my brother’s stuffed triceratops, who is very cute and widely underappreciated in this household.

- Without his cohuleen druith (magical hat), he would die after about an hour of mildly strenuous activity (i.e. walking or flying). It’s not really a concern when he’s in bed for the night or sitting quietly at his desk.

- This hat also grants him the ability to breathe underwater in addition to being filled with squid ink (thus it’s also a pen).

- Anti-Fairies show up to break his back when his pixies step on cracks.

- Not good with hugs because of the whole “bees cuddle their queen to death when she’s no longer useful” thing. Paranoia game is strong.

- He’s borne more offspring than any single Fae drake in history, although it’s possible future pixies will usurp this title from him.

- Absolutely plays favorites and makes no attempt to hide it.

- Along with all pixies, he has much higher tolerance for caffeine and sugar than the majority of fae do.

- His pride is his downfall; he hates being thought of as weak or cowardly and can’t resist a dare. His desire to show off and impress others often outweighs his common sense.

- He’s extremely honest and sneers at the idea of telling lies- even white lies. He tends to speak his mind regardless of the consequences.

- His blood is purple 95% of the time due to his neutral emotions. Most fae bleed blue (irritation), pink (knee-jerk reactions), or green (misery).

- He chews his fingernails. And sticks. And a lot of things.

- He’s deathly allergic to honey, so he can’t actually use Fairy World’s contraceptives (which are all honey-based). His Refracted counterpart runs a honeywheat mill.

- Wolbachia pipientis prevents him from bearing children the traditional way. It also blocks all other STDs. Win some, lose some, I guess.

- Wears watches on both wrists. One is set to the Pixies Inc. time zone and the other is set to the time zone of Fairy World’s capital city (Faeheim).

- There’s a joke to be made about his friendship with Anti-Cosmo and smoke’s calming influence on bees, but you didn’t hear that from me.

APPEARANCES

Main Blog Tag - #I’m wasp dad trash

Sideblog Tag - #RD Head Pixie

Sideblog Masterpost

AO3 Tag - #Head Pixie

130 Reasons Why I’m Fairy Trash - 130 Prompts series

FERGUSIUS ALEXANDER WHIMSIFINADO

Occupation: Head Pixie (H.P.)

Birthday: February 12th, Winter of the Fallen Mountain (Soil)

Height: 4′1″ (Tall for a fae)

Age During Frozen Timestream: 744,699 (Mentally 66)

Age As of Devil’s Backbone: 907,959 (Mentally 80)

Alignment: Neutral Evil

MBTI: ENTJ

Love Language: Quality time

Handedness: Perfectly ambidextrous

Hometown: Novakiin - Small, wealthy town in Fairy World; features Wish Fixers and the science museum seen in “When L.O.S.E.R.S. Attack”

Core: Laser cannon

Core Color: Purple (Layer 1 Red; Layer 2 Blue)

Crown Lift: Very low

Wand Type: Ulkroot / Gold

Fagiggly Color: Lavender

Preferred Shapeshifting Form: Goose

Bio: Fergus lived in Novakiin, raised by a single father, until the time came for him to leave home for the Fairy Academy. He dropped out within a month and wandered Earth alone for about 300,000 years. Following an encounter with dead wasps infected with Wolbachia pipientis, Fergus became infected with the bacteria himself. Wolbachia altered his reproductive system, forcing him to reproduce asexual clone offspring on an automatic cycle. Sanderson is his firstborn.

Approximately 3,500 years after Sanderson’s birth, Fergus was named the holotype of a new species and coronated as Head Pixie. He built up an empire based on organization and clear-cut rules, and as a result will align his race with either the Fairies or the Anti-Fairies depending on which race seems less chaotic at the time. By his debut in “Pixies Inc.” H.P. had sired 505 pixies (His 506th, Finley, was born around the time of “Crocker Shocker”). H.P. is currently training his fourth offspring, Longwood, to take up the mantle of Head Pixie after him. He and Anti-Cosmo also share custody of an adolescent selkie (Larkspur) and an anti-fairy child (Talon).

H.P. is the narrator of Origin of the Pixies, “Health Bars,” and “Liquidation,” a major character in Frayed Knots, and appears in several one-shots and 130 Prompts. You’ll always know when he’s around because he craves the spotlight and will undermine those who currently hold it in order to get a piece of that pie. Stubborn, sarcastic, and immature for his age, he taunts his allies and enemies alike and gets away with it because he’s rich and powerful. Counting the Pixies on your side is somehow worth dealing with their annoying boss, so both Anti-Cosmo and Jorgen put up with him.

Despite the stereotype that he’s rule-tight to the point of insanity, H.P. runs a fairly loose ship with his pixies because he views them as his employees rather than his children and lets them do whatever they want off the clock. That said, they’re quick to follow orders when he calls for them. H.P. isn’t someone you want to make an enemy of... though having him as a friend comes with the drawback of spending time around a snarky, entitled, desperate-for-attention jerk.

Related: 

Full Character Profile || Anti-Fergus’s Bio || Family Tree || Penthouse Layout || Pixie Class Overview || Gen 2 Pixie List || Longwood’s Bio || Talon’s Bio

MISTER ENNET SANDERSON

Occupation: H.P.’s alpha retinue drone; vice president of the complaints department; later [REDACTED; see the 130 Prompt “Hate Mail”]

Birthday: June 19th, Spring of the Charged Waters (Water); celebrated once a decade on February 12th

Height: 3′5″ (Short for a pixie; average for a fae )

Age During Frozen Timestream: 253,163 (Mentally 22)

Age As of Devil’s Backbone: 416,423 (Mentally 37)

Alignment: Lawful Evil

MBTI: ISTJ

Love Language: Words of affirmation

Handedness: Left dominant

Hometown: Inkblot City - Pixie World’s bustling capital city; contains the buildings seen in show canon

Core: Silver sharpener

Core Color: Pink (Layer 1: Purple; Layer 2: Purple)

Crown Lift: Very low

Wand Type: Gingertie / Iron

Fagiggly Color: Lavender

Preferred Shapeshifting Form: African gray parrot

Bio: Sanderson is Fergus Whimsifinado’s firstborn and has passed his life in loyal service to his boss. He struggles with separation anxiety and rarely goes anywhere on his own, especially far from other pixies. Panic sets in when he does. His tendency to put H.P. above all else - even the rest of the Pixie race - has left him with the reputation of instability. As a result, H.P. has determined Sanderson is unfit to become Head Pixie in his stead, which is a fact Sanderson struggles to accept to this day.

Sanderson spends his life sprinting from one task to the next, trying to impress H.P. as best he can in the limited complaints department position he’s been placed in. He resents the vice president of Pixies Inc., Longwood, for being next in line for the Head Pixie position and he is constantly striving to one-up him any way he can. When he isn’t on-duty at Pixies Inc., Sanderson also enjoys music and soda. He can be found frequenting any sugar bar between Pixie World and Anti-Fairy World that he hasn’t been banned from already.

Sanderson is the narrator of Baby, You’re a Rich Man, a major character in Origin of the Pixies, and appears in many one-shots and 130 Prompts. Though he does his best to fade into the background like a loyal assistant should, his big mouth and knee-jerk desire to cheat things in H.P.’s favor tend to get him into trouble.

Clingy, whiny, and far from self-sufficient, he lives in mortal fear that H.P. will abandon him at the slightest “real” screw-up and strives to be as irreplaceable as he can be. Though not as sarcastic as H.P. himself, his stubborn refusal to compromise on things he doesn’t want to makes him equally (if not more) annoying.

Most people would describe Sanderson as quiet, in denial, and full of himself- and they’d be right, but they always neglect to mention how much he can talk if you get him started. Being the observant pixie he is, Sanderson’s thoughts tends to ramble far longer than most people’s, and they’re usually filled with judgment. Like a pixie should, however, he actually does try to keep his mouth shut unless spoken to, and he always defers to H.P.

Most notably, Sanderson is one of few pixies who will offer H.P. honest critique when asked for it instead of being a simple yes-man, which is perhaps the thing H.P. appreciates about him most. When his boss is around, Sanderson is rarely far behind.

Related: