#— sender ; taz

[tedspankoffskisbignaturals]

bringing back this old thing

Cast your moots in Starship!!!

ooo!!! this is all based on vibes and vibes alone.im sorry

bug- @loganschwarzy

february- @richie-shitlips

roach- @paranormaltheatrekid

overqueen- @twiin-armageddons2

that one nick bug does he have a name- @kairithemang0

taz- @loganschwarzy

up- @just-watching-dont-worry

junior- @starkidobsessedgiantgremlin

specs- @ender-of-the-sender

krayonder- @justa-regularuser

tootsie noodles- yours truly

megagirl- only because of the romance @fishgeraldthealmostincel

[oathfcrged]

@spacereflected : [ KISS ]: the sender lowers themselves into the receiver's lap in order to kiss them properly. // you said kisses??? taz says ok.

The drinks were flowing and if their guests weren't partying then they were belly laughing around the camp huddled in groups. They had one, they'd defended the grove and they had every reason to celebrate. But to him it was all a little overwhelming, he was used to the noise of taverns and tankards crashing together, he was used to drinking until his vision became distorted too, however the praise and the attention was new and taking to his tent to hide away for a while felt like the best option.

But Tazengar had found him in his hiding space and as soon as he looked up to look at him he found the other sitting comfortably in his lap. A smile appeared to tug at Aksel's lips and he wrapped his arm around Taz's waist to hold him there. " You should be out there partying with everyone else - " He managed to get that much out before their lips found one another in a heated kiss, his fingers curling into the fabric of Taz's shirt applying pressure to pull him in closer.

[oathwilled]

[ patch ] sender carefully patches one of receiver's wounds // taz >:3 @spacereflected / ordinary things that feel intimate

He handles injury well; he has to, really, given the role he plays and the reckless fighter he is. One doesn’t commit to sword and steel without accepting that being up close to the enemy means that sometimes those you’re fighting hit back — and he’s been what he is for a long, long time.

Most the time, he’d just heal it and be done. But it’s the end of the day, and he’s running on empty and so is everyone else. It’s not severe, and it can wait for proper healing until morning when everyone’s rested — but for now, doing it the old-fashioned way it is.

He lounges, and it’s a good-sized cut made worse with the weapon being elementally enchanted — cold, this time, so it’s frost burned and aching. On his lower back, too, so he can’t reach it —— and he grimaces and glances back with a little snort. “ Lucky thing they didn’t get much lower, ” comments he, and it’s wry because he’s trying to find some humor in all of this. “ Then ye’d have t’be bandagin’ my arse. ”

[bracketsoffear]

Alright the propaganda got to me again. You guys are good. First it was Ride the Cyclone (it was amazing by the way, thanks to all who hyped up Karnak so much I gave in) but now it's BOTH Fallen London AND the TAZ wonderland stuff. Helpful propaganda senders where can I listen to the wonderland arc cause I need it.

P.S. mod you're doing amazing these brackets are so fun and giving me so many more things to look up

Aww, thanks! The Suffering Game is episodes 51-57 of series 1 of The Adventure Zone, which you can find wherever fine podcasts are located. That said, you should probably listen to the earlier arcs of the series first for the pain to really hit.

[bhaalswn-arch]

[bath] - Alkas seeing the extent of his burns under the armor for the first time?? 👀 oopsss

Ofunderdarks

seggsual tension! ( accepting !! ) [bath] - Sender catches receiver bathing.

They both needed a bath, and all they had was the nearest lake. Better than nothing, Alkas had thought as they walked to it. Alkas undressed first. Shameless in his form. Scars untold. ( You do not know the length that you had gone to get them. Your shoulders bear faint white lines; like someone had attempted to claw them with nails. Scars on his sides/ribs. Like a dagger had cut through him. Tattoos adorn his body. The same you see on his face, replicated on his naked chest and back. Scars on your ankles and calves as if someone tried to attack you there, an attempt to do something. You simply do not know what it was. Scars on a canvas and yet there is no title. As long as no one touched the scar on the back of your neck, you shall remain shameless. ) He gathers some water in his palms before looking over at the other. His eyes drawn to the burns.

He shifts in the water, not deep enough since he didn't know how to swim. Eventually, Alkas reached out and touched one of the burns. Healed, of course. Even the burns on his fingers ( faint ones ) have healed. He has small burns/small cuts on his fingers and the burns make senses, the small cuts? He doesn't remember. But he wondered where Taz got his burns from.

"Where'd you get these? If you're willing to paint me a picture."

[korrektheiten]

Inspiration, Konspiration, Evolution

Manova: »Er befasste sich schon vor den Anschlägen des 11. September 2001 mit Verschwörungstheorien: Mathias Bröckers ist nicht nur ein begabter Schreiber, sondern hat auch ein feines Gespür für politische und gesellschaftliche Entwicklungen. Er gehörte zur Gründergeneration der taz und veröffentlichte mehrere — darunter internationale — Bestseller. Er schrieb lange für Die Zeit, Die Woche und den Sender Freies Berlin. Zu seinem 70. Geburtstag im Juni 2024 erschien sein neuestes Buch „Inspiration, Konspiration, Evolution“ mit ausgewählten Werken seiner 44 Jahre währenden Journalistenlaufbahn, die noch heute aktuell sind. Im Gespräch mit Manova-Redakteurin Elisa Gratias gibt er seine Erfahrungen und Erkenntnisse über den Umgang mit Unterwanderung, Erleuchtungsmomenten, Drogen und andersdenkenden Mitmenschen preis. http://dlvr.it/TDQYV3 «

[inabsentiia]

@neptunemused sent: [ behind ] sender comes up to receiver from behind and wraps their arms around their waist ( accepting )

It's still early in the morning, the sun is painting the sky orange. And Lucan is already up, preparing some breakfast outside the tent. He tries not to make too much noise, as last time he checked Taz was still resting.

So when the arms of the other come up from behind to catch him in a hug, the redhead is caught off guard. Jumping ever so slightly at the contact before immediately relaxing as he quickly recognizes Taz's touch.

A chuckle leaves the fighter as he leaves the task at hand to reciprocate the affection as best as possible, leaning into it and turning his head slightly to look at the other.

"Good morning..." He chuckles, a kind of fondness twirling in his voice. "I hope I didn't wake you up."

[wildsmystic]

@ofunderdarks; [SACRIFICE]: the sender cups the receiver's face tenderly to distract them, right before shoving them out of the way (to safety) and facing an attack alone in order to buy the receiver enough time to escape. // reasons to cup a face

Her body is marked by blood, vision blurred, and head throbbing so intensely that the clamor of the battlefield fades into mere whispers. Beads of sweat drip down her temple, arms outstretched and trembling as she focuses on maintaining the wall of fire that acts as a desperate barrier, separating her and Taz from a menacing horde of shadow-touched creatures, all poised to breach and wreak havoc on Halsin's portal. Thaniel's rescue is within reach; she just needs to endure a little longer.

A pained groan escapes her throat, the sound resonating through the air. A hand, strong and calloused, cups her cheek, coaxing her gaze toward the drow. Her eyes, weary and struggling, fight to stay open, and in each passing moment she feels her concentration slipping away...

"Taz --"

In the blink of an eye, she finds herself forcefully shoved backward, the magic severed instantly from her fingertips the moment she lands against the damp underbrush. She looks up, breathless, heart thrashing against her chest as the shadow-touched creatures all close in on Tazengar.

"You idiot!" she screams, the pain gripping her bruises and opened wounds suddenly overcome by a rush of adrenaline -- fear, anger, downright annoyance coursing through her veins. Maybe even a bit of spite, too.

The drow clumsily, painstakingly, brings herself to her scraped knees. "You stupid, fucking --" Lifting her arms she musters what little energy she has left, mauve tendrils of the Weave encircling trembling hands, and with great effort and a rasped scream, she throws them forward.

Shards of ice plunge down from the sky, impaling everything in its path -- save for the cleric, who she's sculpted outside of the area of affect. The spell is powerful, cold, sharp and deadly enough to bring each creature to its demise.

Erys collapses back onto to the ground once she's sure they're victorious, the wet ground almost soothing to her as she attempts to catch her breath. "Next time you push me away," she begins as Taz moves to her side, "I'll make sure once of those icicles goes right through your head."

[wrlckd]

[WOUND]: after the receiver has been wounded, the sender tries to keep them calm and conscious by cupping their face in their hands and talking to them to keep them focused. Taz being a cleric boi in the midst of a fight against Gobbos?? //eyes emoji

"Fuck..." Sylvn takes in a gasping breath, the sound choked and rattling. He looks down to his hand as it covers his side, pulls it back to reveal bright red blood. Before them lays a now dead goblin, crackling and swirling with eldritch energy. He was slow on the draw, the Goblin getting the upper hand and running him through with a scimitar before Sylvn could pop off the spell. He sits on the floor, leaning up against the cold stone of the nearest wall and waits for just a moment to let his mind clear up. He doesn't know where his pack is, therefor no healing potion is at his disposal. The longer he sits here, the less likely he'll be able to get up and get himself to somewhere safe. Not that he really could make it with this place covered in goblins. He's also unsure of where his companions are, as they had been broken up quite some time ago. Damnit, where could that cleric have run off to? Sylvn, just only a moment, hopes that they're not dead. It's always sad to see a cleric, one who is supposed to give life, have their life taken, and he'd rather not bury anyone else for the time being. His eyes slip closed, unaware for actually how long until he feels a soft pressure against his cheeks. Bleary eyes crack open, lips dry from a slack jaw. Relief washes over the half elf when he realizes it's Taz that's found him, the other's hands pressing and patting his cheek to help him come around. "Thank Gods." Sylvn mutters, brows furrowing down. He can't feel the wound at his side anymore, and he knows for a fact that it's not a good thing that that's happening. "Got a little top off for me?" He asks softly, leaning further into the other's touch. "Afraid i'm not long for this world without it."

[fictionkinfessional]

to everyone on the Starblaster, i miss you so much. you were my family and i hope you know how much i loved and love you. i hope wherever you are now and wherever you go next, you will carry that love close to your heart and know somewhere, even if you don't consciously remember it, that i care about you and i'm always thinking of you. 99 cycles and then some more time on faerun didnt mean nothing to me, i promise. i'll never forget any of you. i love you so much. please stay safe

[korijime]

You hit my line, And say it's alright I don't ask no questions, Just hold on tight Xiao feels his phone vibrate. Planning to throw it to the side and continue to vape. Of course, the vape is just water. You've been getting him to quit smoking for a while now and it's been working. He puts the pen away seeing the caller ID and answers. "Hello? Riyuu?" he retreats to his bedroom and sits on his swivel chair waiting for you to start talking. "Xiao! Ugh, I know we had something planned out for tomorrow but I'll need to cancel. I'm sorry!" you said. "Oh, okay. Just DM me when you're free again, okay?" he replied. "Okay! Thanks again!" you said after ending the call. 'Bullshit. It's all bullshit. You're hanging out with that Ajax-guy.' he thought to himself. Chucking his phone haphazardly onto the bed and letting himself fall into his sheets face first. An actual pack of cigarettes would've been really good right now. But sadly, he'd thrown his last pack away when you told him to. Don't wanna know; What keeps you close What changed your mind; What hurt you most "Hey Xiao, we've been friends for a while and I wanted to tell you something." you nervously fidget with the hem of your shirt. "What is it? Don't tell me you got caught up in Venti's bullshit again. The guy is such a freeloader" He looks up from his phone and looks attentively at you. "Tell me." he continues. "Well, before I begin, I just wanted to say that this doesn't change anything between us no matter what your response is... I just wanted to say that I have feelings for you. I've had them for a while now." you try to say get it out of your system as quick as possible. "No." he quickly replied, you froze. You knew this was coming so you softly smiled even if you felt a slight twinge in your heart. "It's okay, forget it. We can still be friends, right?" You said. Looking at him with hopeful eyes. "No- I mean- What I meant is-" Xiao sighed. Taking a moment to collect his thoughts before inhaling a deep breath. "I have feelings for you too. It's probably not as strong... but it's there. I just- I don't feel like I have the emotional capacity for a relationship right now" he lets out a shaky breath after, nerves wrecking his whole body. He goes to look at you and sees you grinning "It's alright, I can wait" you said. But how long were you willing to do so? He regret his decision, really. How he told you he needed time when you had first confessed to him. He wasn't ready for a relationship and you understood that. In fact, he still isn't ready. But he can't deny that his feelings since then had long developed into something bigger. He loves you and yet he can't find it in himself to tell you. Only distancing himself from you further, or emphasizing that both of you were just friends. Drawing a line from the both of you and the possibility of being something more. You told him you were willing to wait. And he knew that you couldn't wait forever. But he still selfishly wanted your love. Even if he isn't sure if he can give it back to you just yet. I'm wearing your clothes It doesn't matter Xiao groans. Why must he start feeling existential dread now of all times? His insomnia is already a hassle to deal with. He just wants to sleep and not have to deal with these troublesome feelings. Deciding to at least get a change of clothes preparing to go to bed despite knowing the chances of him actually getting a bit of shut eye are little to none. He opens his closet and sees a hoodie of yours hanging next to his usual sleep wear. Even if you were the reason his mood worsened, he still finds comfort in wearing it. You gave it to him, after all. So he puts it on and decides to curl up in bed. Scrolling back to old conversations with you and smiling at the funny or memorable ones. Usually back reading to the dates before Childe wedged his way into your life. 'Ew I said that?' he thought to himself. Grimacing and staring at a past conversation with you. He had only first started talking to you back then, so he was pretty straight forward, not bothering to consider your

feelings. But since then things have changed, and it's all thanks to you. It's not like you know; That I'm in love And you're okay It's way too boring; In this place I stay Turning off his phone and rubbing his eyes, he looks at the time. 'The sun is gonna rise in 3 hours so there's no use in trying to sleep' he thought to himself. He decides to back to his balcony, watching how all the vehicles leave a light trail with how fast they're all going. Hearing the soft beat of party music coming from the floor below him. 'A party, perhaps,' he thought to himself. Despite the busy nature of the city night life, It was calming. His eyes scan the complex's bottom floor and spots you laughing along with Childe and walking to where he assumes is the ginger's apartment. His eyes harden and he frowns. 'A pack wouldn't hurt' he thought, thinking of going to the nearest store to buy a pack of cigarettes. 'Fuck it.' he grabs an extra coat, some spare cash and leaves. After his trip to the store, he removes the extra layer of clothing and sets the wallet down on his side table. Deciding to go back to the balcony, he checks the time. "3:00", the clock that's built into his phone displays. Almost as if mocking him. 'I was only gone for 30 minutes. This was easier than I thought' he muttered to himself. And so he opens the pack and gets his lighter. And he smokes. He finishes 2 or 3 cigars by the time the sun started to rise. Too high to feel guilt for going back to smoking. He decides to retreat to his bed and lay down. As soon as he did he immediately succumbed to sleep. He wakes up the next afternoon feeling like shit. Who wouldn't after the long night he just had? He tiredly gets up, Microwaves leftovers and goes to check his phone. 'Just as I expected' seeing no new notification from you he puts it off to the side and continues to go on with the rest of his day. Night falls again and he decides to smoke. It goes on like this for the next week. I've been waiting for way too long Trying not to break my own heart; Break my own heart He doesn't bother to hide the fact that he's been smoking. It's not like you care anyway. And when he goes to meet up with you for the first time in a few weeks, you only scrunch your nose in disgust and tell him to put some perfume on. 'Tsk, I was right, of course you wouldn't give a shit' He mentally scolded himself for even thinking that you'd play the hero and "save him" again. After that day, he didn't care anymore. Even when his whole room smelled of burn cigars he didn't bother. Weeks after weeks pass, you've finally moved in with Childe. Nothing much has been going on with him after your last meet up. Well, other than the recent doctors appointment diagnosing him with pneumonia. But he doesn't care anymore. So he opens a new pack of cigarettes and like the smoke that leaves his lips, he disappears in thin air.

moving in with childe so true <33

[bhaalswn-arch]

morning (well. evening---) + kitten

♡  SPICY  ACTION  PROMPTS  ; ( ACCEPTING ) [ MORNING ] ; the sender wakes the receiver up with sex + [ KITTEN ] ; the sender calls the receiver ‘kitten’.

You're half-awake, moaning; pushing your face against the pillow, so your moans could be swallowed up by the fabric. Fuck. His hand had slipped underneath the covers, fingers brushing over a certain sensitive part of you as he strokes it. Not too sensitive, but enough for you to stir. You're a little groggy, eyelids heavy with slight exhaustion.

His chest to pressed right up against your back, warmth radiating from each other in their shared tent. Fuuuuuck. The muscles in your stomach tremor, squeezing a little at the pleasure rolling like waves. You hear something, Taz's voice. Soft-spoken, right against your ear, the very ear that is flushed red. Kitten... Ki.... Huh? That word yanks you out of your exhausted stupor as you look over your shoulders, eyebrows furrowed. "What did you just call me?" You ask, pursing your lips together, trying not to laugh now.

[kincalling]

@Mod Anders Are you TAZ kin? ((I guess this is also just a generic canoncall, Haha)) cause I'm Taako Taaco, and I've only found my Kravitz, John, and possibly Barry? I'm looking for pretty much everyone else! Especially Magnus and Merle. Uhhh.. Taako-knows-whats-up is my kin blog, but I don't have a whole lot up, so it would be beat to either message me at broadway-ocs (I'm not openly kin,) or on discord at Mage_Of_Art#9358. Thank you!!!

📯 @taako-knows-whats-up 

[anistarrose]

The Liching Hour (TAZ Balance AU)

AO3: archiveofourown.org/works/22963831

Summary: Taako is a lich, but he doesn’t die alongside Barry when his memories start to fade. In fact, he doesn’t die for another whole decade… until he arrives in Refuge, and first hears the clock strike noon.

Characters: Taako, Lup, Barry Bluejeans, Kravitz, Magnus Burnsides, Merle Highchurch

Relationships: Lup & Taako, Kravitz/Taako, Barry Bluejeans/Lup

Additional tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Major Character Undeath, Angst with a Happy Ending, relationships listed in order of focus

“Taako is a lich too” is definitely an AU that’s been done before, but I couldn’t resist giving it my own unique twist! I actually started writing this fic exactly eleven months ago, when I was still fairly new to TAZ, but I forgot all about it until a few weeks ago when I came back to dust it off and finish the last few scenes.

(if you want an accompanying soundtrack for this fic, then I strongly recommend Lifetime Achievement Award by Lemon Demon! the song has big lich energy)

***

The set of planar systems traversed by our IPRE was indescribably vast, but far from the only one of its kind. Over eons, countless other universes are forged and then left to their own devices by elusory, non-interventionist creators — and in more than one of those universes, a ship called the Starblaster takes flight, propelled between planar systems by the strength of the bonds between its crew. In more than one of those universes, members of the IPRE put enough faith in those bonds to undertake a great risk — fusing their life forces with their magic and becoming liches, constructing a failsafe to protect their family from the Hunger that pursues them.

In one of those universes, Taako joins Lup and Barry in taking that risk. The ceremony goes as smoothly as the transformation into a lich can go, and the three of are all able to hold themselves together, thanks to their love for each other and their crewmates...

But when Lucretia feeds her records of their journey to the Voidfish, when Lup is already trapped in the Umbra Staff and Barry cleverly cheats amnesia by falling to his death off the deck of the Starblaster, Taako stays in his living form. Being undead isn’t the first thing he forgets — no, it’s Lup that he loses first, for Taako’s bonds with his twin are more carefully documented in Lucretia’s journals than anything else he’s done or cared about over the century — but the second that awareness of lichdom vanishes from his mind, the second he forgets the safety net he has in place in case of death, a self-preservation instinct kicks in again after nearly two decades of lying dormant. No need to go charging into uncharted and potentially deadly territory — Taako’s good out here.

For over a decade, he avoids death, and he never remembers what happens to him when he dies. Sometimes animals will shy away from him for no apparent reason, and maybe that faint burning sensation that fills his chest whenever Merle channels Pan to cast a healing spell on him is a little weird — but there’s no dogs on the moon and Merle hardly ever casts healing spells in the first place, so Taako just... tries to forget about it when he can, and convince himself it’s normal when he can’t.

He has a vague suspicion that he hasn’t been like this forever, but he can’t remember a clear date of onset for these symptoms, so he just brushes them off and keeps them to himself. It’s no one’s else’s business, anyways.

Or so he thinks, until he meets the Grim Reaper one fateful Candlenights.

***

There are two presents left under the shrub, both in similar silver-wrapped boxes — but one is addressed to all three Reclaimers, and the other is specifically labeled for Taako. Neither indicates the name of the sender.

Magnus and Merle don’t even attempt to hide the jealousy in their stares as they watch Taako pick up his gift, but something compels them to all stay silent and open the boxes as subtly as possibly while the Director makes conversation with Johann on the other side of the room. There’s nothing inherently suspicious about them other than the lack of a “from” name, though the handwriting on the tags is extremely familiar, but Taako still positions his arm to shield the box from the view of the others before he opens it and sees the contents…

The interior is plush purple velvet, cushioning two items: a coin and a note. The coin is golden and about as big as the circle made by Taako’s index finger and thumb when curled to meet at the tip, and it’s engraved with runes he doesn’t recognize — but he can read the accompanying note, though he has no idea what to make of what it says.

Keep this to yourself. If you ever encounter a situation in which you need it, you’ll know what to do with it when the time comes.

A quick use of Detect Magic reveals that the box and note are completely mundane, but the coin is enchanted. Nothing feels inherently volatile or dangerous about the complex divination spell it’s imbued with, but it still gives Taako a sinking feeling, like it’s something he should be forbidden from possessing.

So he casually slips the coin into his pocket and pops the note into his mouth, chewing and swallowing as he peers over Merle’s shoulder to examine the other gift — an identical box, this one holding three circular blue patches with twelve smaller circles embroidered around the circumference and an unreadable acronym word lying in the center. There’s another accompanying note here too, this one simply reading: “For your eyes only.”

Then, three different noises happen in very quick succession: Magnus turns to Taako and whispers “What was in yours?” and a second later, the Director echoes “What is that? What did you guys get?”

But before any of the boys can blurt out some lie despite not knowing why they feel so compelled to hide the gifts, the Director’s necklace unexpectedly interrupts the conversation, glowing faintly as a staticy, panicked voice yells “Lucretia!” The Director instantly whirls away from the boys, angrily whispering into her pendant which replies with words that are hard to make out from a distance.

Almost on reflex, Taako slips one of the patches into the same pocket as the coin and disposes of the second note with the same method he’d used for the first, cleansing his palate with an elderflower macaron immediately afterwards. He doesn’t think about the patches or the coin for a long time after that — but then again, he ends up getting distracted by a lot over the course of the next few hours. With the impeding crystal apocalypse, and the floating lab, and the death crimes and all.

***

“Well, that’s weird,” Noelle says. Her satellite dish is blinking green as it rotates, scanning the perimeter of the Cosmoscope two, three, four times. “At first, I thought it musta just been interference, but… one of you guys isn’t a lich, are you?”

“A what?” Magnus asks.

“A lich. The signal was real faint at first, but it just got stronger, and now it’s fluctuating a whole lot…”

“Nope, not me!” Magnus declares, with surprising confidence considering that he doesn’t appear to have any understanding of what being a lich means.

“Well, not that I’m aware of,” Taako answers slowly. “But I think even ya boy here would know if he was a lich. Right?”

“I’m friends with a few liches!” Merle adds. “They’re fun at parties.”

Noelle sighs at Merle’s comment, and then continues: “Yeah, Taako, I guess you’d hafta know if you were one. Guess my scanner’s just on the fritz.”

***

“Now Taako, Taako, Taako,” Kravitz mutters from within the sapphire mirror, and the pure exasperation on his face is almost adorable. “Care to take a guess what your bounty is for? I would really hope that you, at least, would know.”

Taako has a feeling he’s been saved for last because his crimes are the worst, but he’s got no clue why — there’s no way he’s died more than fifty-seven times, right?

“I dunno, is it about that tentacle thing? 'Cause don’t worry, my dude, this is a safe and non-judgmental environment where you don’t need to be afraid of being yourself —”

Kravitz's eyebrows raise and he looks aghast for a moment, but recovers quickly. “Taako, you've died twelve times — but alone, that makes you practically a law abiding citizen, compared to the company you keep! I never thought I’d see the day that I’d thought Magnus, with his 19 deaths, would be the least of the evils present, but — but —”

He sputters. “But you three all seem determined to make your crimes as unprecedented as possible —”

“Unprecedented, that’s me!” Taako laughs, and tries to ignore the half static-drowned screams of all his instincts, telling him to run as far away from Kravitz or any portal to the Astral Plane as he can get. “But uh, what is the deal with my bounty if —”

“Playing dumb about dying is one thing,” Kravitz growls, “but you’re really playing dumb about being a lich?”

“But I am dumb,” Taako blurts out, before the accusation really sinks in. “I’m just a humble idiot wizard!”

Kravitz bursts into bitter laughter. “An idiot necromancer, more like. Do you really —”

“There’s no way,” Magnus cuts in. “If Taako was a lich, we would have to know!”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that you would, given how long the three of you have been cheating death together!” Kravitz replies.

“Okay, first of all — how do you know we’ve actually been cheating death for that long?” interrupts Merle. “We could’ve just died all those times in the span of, I don’t know, a month or two! We’re really incompetent.”

Magnus and Taako nod in enthusiastic agreement as Kravitz sighs.

“And second of all?”

“Uh... I forgot what I was going to say second.”

“Of course you did! What won’t you three conveniently forget — GAH!”

A giant skeletal hand reaches out of the Eternal Stockade and grabs Kravitz by the robe, dragging him inside the Eternal Stockade. It slams the door of the prison with a force that Taako winces at, all the way on the other side of the sapphire mirror.

“Did we solve the lich puzzle?” Merle asks. “Are we free to go?”

“Gonna be honest — just personally, I’m not too worried about the lich puzzle!” Taako shouts back, as a high-pitched hum emanates from the crystals around them and the room begins to shake. “Mostly just thinking about how much I don’t want to remember what dying feels like!”

“You know, that’s fair,” Merle agrees as he watches a complete skeleton materialize behind the hand, wading through the Astral Sea and towards the mirror. “That’s pretty fair.”

***

“Look, you saved my bacon back there,” Kravitz tells them after Legion is defeated. “Not just my career, but the world too. Things would have gotten very, very nasty, in a way that I wouldn’t have exactly wanted to put on my résumé…”

He sighs. “And Merle, Magnus… I would be willing to let you off with a warning, because you’ve technically never escaped the Astral Plane, and that leaves a convenient little loophole in the law for you two to slip through. Even Lucas — he’s learned his lesson with necromancy, it looks like. But Maureen, Noelle, and especially you, Taako — you’re all going to have to come with me. I can’t make exceptions for those of you who have succeeded in a jailbreak — nor can I do so for a lich.”

This time, he doesn’t spit the word lich with any of the disgust or outrage that were in his voice before, but rather speaks slowly and solemnly — and if Taako didn’t know better, he might think Kravitz actually felt bad about having to lock him up.

“Look, Ghost Rider.” Taako’s heart is racing just a little bit faster than he’s comfortable with, and the worst part is he doesn’t know why. It’s tempting to blame it on the slight crush may or may not be developing, but his crushes — although few and far-between — definitely never send his pulse up this fast this early in the relationship.

“You seem like an okay fellow who’s just trying to do your job, so I’ll be honest with you — I can’t remember ever touching necromancy with a ten-foot pole. Look, I used to make my living as a chef, and when you’re cooking the last thing you want is your meal coming back to life in front of you. I’ve got no motive!”

“Does your book with the bounties say anything else about the charges against him?” Magnus asks. “The charges against any of us, actually?”

“Not a single thing, I’m afraid. The bar’s not very high, but you are some of the… less unsavory bounties I’ve hunted, which is why I genuinely hate to say this, but —”

“Oh, so it’s savory you like? Let me take you out for an evening at Taako’s Bar and Café, and I’ll cook you up as many savory dishes as you like —”

“The — the bar,” Kravitz stammers, slipping out of his Cockney accent, “is so not high —”

“He just wants to help you broaden your horizons!” Merle chimes in. “You must not get out of the — the, uh, whatever your plane is called very often, do you?”

Kravitz sighs. “It’s the Astral Plane, and — and look, we just… we need to get going, alright? Taako, I… I could give you the benefit of the doubt, I suppose, and let you stay here until you die and return to your lich form, but I still need those two souls in the robots to come with me —”

“Wait!” Magnus interrupts. “Gambling with death is a trope for a reason, right? Can we play cards for their souls?”

Kravitz shrugs. “You know what? Sure! This day can’t get any wilder!”

***

Boyland’s rites of remembrance aren’t until tomorrow, but Taako is down in the Voidfish’s chambers ahead of time, Umbra Staff clutched tight as he stares at the twinkling galaxy pattern within the jellyfish’s bell.

“Uh… do you need something?” Johann asks after Taako’s stands there silently for about a minute.

Taako twirls his umbrella and shifts it from hand to hand, half expecting it to fire on its own again like it had when talking to Angus, but it stays dormant.

“Can your jellyfish pal, like… I dunno, choose what it innoculates you for?”

“Uh… no? At least, I think we woulda noticed if it could… why are you asking?”

“I was bored.” Taako turns to leave, but before he can get back in the elevator, he hears the Voidfish sing a short tune — not quite as loud as when Magnus had touched its tank, but definitely the same three notes.

***

Taako dies a few times in Refuge before he notices anything weird about it — well, not that dying and being revived continuously isn’t weird albeit familiar, but at first he’s just immediately whisked off to the white space alongside Merle and Magnus. No special treatment for him — until the first time that they die before the hour ends, and everything starts unraveling.

Magnus leans away from locker as he opens it, but it proves to be a futile precaution as the sound of an explosion blows out their eardrums and shockwaves tear through the room, sending the floor beneath their feet blasting towards the ceiling at the same time that massive boulders rain down from above, crushing the cave’s occupants before there’s even a chance process what happened.

As the dust settles and the roar of the explosives and falling rocks dies out, Taako blinks — except it feels strange, like it’s not his physical eyelids moving as much as it is his vision shifting into another spectrum, as if someone had just cast True Seeing on him.

Huh, he thinks. Thought that would’ve killed me.

And then: Of course it killed me. I’m a lich.

(Well, there goes any chance I had with Kravitz —)

I’m a lich like the Red Robe — no, like Barry. And like —

Like Lup.

How could I forget Lup?!

The sensation of incorporeality hits him on a delay and doesn’t stop hitting him, harder and harder until he feels like he’s about to disintegrate. His red-tinged skeletal hand drifts through the air, catching the silver threads that hang lazily like cobwebs in the space all around him as his spectral fingers curl into a fist. He clutches those bonds with every ounce of strength he has but they’re unraveling now, just like his robe, like his magically deformed essence…

He’s ready to disintegrate, to unravel, to crumble into ash just like Lup’s skeleton in Wave Echo Cave, because of course it was her, it was all that was left of her —

I found her but she was gone — everything was gone, except for her robe and —

“Taako?”

Lying just a few feet away from the hem of his robe is Lup’s Umbra Staff, pulverized into a dozen smoldering fragments — and above it floats another red-cloaked figure, eyes blazing red like miniature versions of the explosion that freed her.

“Taako, I’m here!” she assures him, and her echoing voice is a chorus of too many simultaneous emotions to count — it’s worried, and desperate, but joyous and relieved and comforting all at once. “Don’t break down on me now, Taako! It’s okay!”

Something solidifies in Taako, a grounding sensation so powerful he feels almost corporeal again, but words are failing him, motion is failing him. He stays frozen as the bonds he’d clung to wind back into place, stretching from his arms to Lup’s and pulling them together into the closest thing to a hug that liches can achieve, and he feels warm.

“You idiot,” he finally chokes out. “You didn’t think that absorbing magic shit would make a bad combo with being a fucking lich?”

Lup is literally beaming with happiness, emitting beams of light that would blind someone with physical eyes. “You didn’t exactly realize either, you dingus!”

They stay in the embrace for a few more minutes — and Taako may or may not let out an ugly, messy sob or two, complete with tears and snot made of pure magical energy that crackles like lightning when it strikes the rubble below — before he finally feels stable, and Lup quietly asks:

“How much time do we have? Forty minutes? Thirty-five?”

“What?” Her words don’t sink in immediately, but the second they do, Taako immediately feels like the victim of a sick joke. “Oh, shit. The Umbra Staff’s gonna get fixed next loop, and — and I’m not gonna remember you’re in there —”

“It’ll be okay,” Lup assures him. Taako can tell from the tone of her voice that she’s just as frustrated as he is with the irony of the paradox, except trying to redirect that anger into stubborn optimism. It’s a lifesaving skill for liches of their particular breed, that ability to channel destabilizing negative emotions into sustaining positive ones — a skill Taako hasn’t had much practice with, lately.

“There’s got to be some way to cheat the loops — you know, a loophole.” Lup laughs — a rasping, echoing noise that would probably be terrifying to anyone who didn’t know her, but is a massive relief for Taako to hear. “It’s practically in the name. We’ll figure something out — we always do. Let’s just think — and besides, I’m sure Magnus will get you blown up at least another two or three times, so we’ve technically got even more than forty minutes.”

“Right, right, okay. Physical objects are a no-go, Magnus figured that out after his bank robbing stunt —”

“Yeah, I think I caught that. So we’ll have to try something magical —”

“Wait.” A thousand different realizations are slowly coalescing together all at once in Taako’s mind, and he struggles to find words to articulate any of them. “How much could you, like — how much could you see from in there? You helped me out fighting the vine monster, right, and — and ruined Ango’s cookies, so… you musta been pretty aware to do all that —”

Lup looks down at the remains of the Umbra Staff, now reduced to mostly ash.

“I could see and do plenty, if I put enough effort into it,” she explains, “but it wore me out quickly, especially casting spells. After I spelled my name, I was just… clinging to consciousness for the next few weeks. That stunt might not have been the best idea, since I’d figured out by then that you couldn’t remember, but… I had to try.”

“Did you see Barry, in… let’s see, Goldcliff and the Cosmoscope? He, uh… wasn’t doing so great that second time…”

“He’ll be able to hold it together,” Lup declares confidently. “He’s stubborn like that.”

“Do you think he realized… your situation? He was pretty stable until he saw you —”

“He would have done something about it by now if he’d known, though…”

“Yeah, of course, you’re right. But he definitely seemed like he had some kinda plan — wait, I think I got it! Where’s my body?”

“Wait, got what?”

Taako levitates a few boulders out of place, and summons two Mage Hands to rifle through the pockets of his corporeal form. “Our way out of this time paradox shit, courtesy of Barold himself! As long as it didn’t get crushed — ah, here we go!”

One of the Mage Hands procures a familiar golden coin, imbued with a divination spell of Barry’s own engineering that Taako finally recognizes. “Well, I guess I don’t know for sure that Barry sent it to me, but it’s his spell and came alongside some IPRE patches, so I’m gonna say it sure wasn’t from Lucretia.”

“Is that — is that the spell he made when Magnus was worrying about the Temporal Chalice overwriting things without us knowing?”

“Yeah, storing info across timelines is its whole gimmick! He knew we were going to go after the Chalice eventually, and musta realized that I would forget anything I did as a lich if a time loop like this revived me —”

“Gods, I love him!” Lup shouts, laughing and lighting up with joy all over again. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s send Amnesiac Taako a message!”

***

Taako faceplants in the dirt alongside Merle and Magnus, alive again and holding an unbroken Umbra Staff. As always, Roswell stands guard outside the gate, and Taako and Magnus immediately start running through their explanation.

“Great job, Maggie!” Merle mutters under his breath. “Now we’ve gotta go through this whole shebang again.”

“We’ll be able to make a great speedrun video on Fantasy Youtube by the end of it, though!” Taako whispers back, and Roswell tilts their bird head in confusion.

“What? What’s a speedrun?”

Taako opens his mouth to reply, but a slightly muffled yet incredibly familiar voice from within the pocket of his skirt beats him to it.

Yo, Taako! T to the double A-K-O! I’m you from half an hour ago now, so listen up!

“What the fuck?” he blurts out, digging out the coin. “That’s — that’s not me! I never said —”

I know you don’t remember recording this, but there’s something you’ve really gotta do, the coin goes on, still in Taako’s voice, and he drops it to the ground and stares at it in horror. It’ll make sense later — well, maybe a long time later. Eventually, I hope!

“I don’t trust you!” Taako shouts, not sure if he’s expecting the coin to respond or not. “I don’t know who’s behind this, but I know a trick when I hear —”

You need to break the Umbra Staff, Taako, a second speaker explains, and Taako goes stiff at the sound of her voice. And you need to break it again in every new cycle — or every loop, I should say, until you get out of here. Please, Taako, trust us. We’ll explain as soon as we can, I promise.

Magnus kneels on the ground and pokes the coin gingerly, as if expecting it to explode. “Taako, where did you get this? Do you know what triggered it to —”

Taako snaps the Umbra Staff with his bare hands, and a column of fire erupts around him.

As his vision turns into an orange blur, he can just barely hear Merle yelp in shock and Magnus shout in concern over the roar of the flames, but he doesn’t feel afraid — which is itself a deeply unsettling feeling, because he should really be terrified out of his mind — but he just can’t fear this fire no matter how hard he tries. The warmth of the flames that weave so deftly around him is not harsh, but rather, comforting — almost fiercely comforting, in a way Taako wasn’t prepared to be comforted, a way that makes his heart seize up just like the woman’s voice that he couldn’t help but trust.

The blaze consolidates into a spectral figure in red who floats in front of him and nods, face obscured by the cowl of her robe but a smile manifesting clearly in her voice nevertheless.

“Thank you so much, Taako. I knew you’d come through.”

Then Magnus swings Railsplitter through her — harmlessly, of course — and she turns to face him.

“What do you want from this town, Red Robe?” Magnus yells. “Why did you bring Jack and June here?”

“Magnus, calm down! Really, I should be asking you about Jack and —”

She pauses, noticing Magnus’s disoriented expression. “Shit, was that static? You know, that’s probably for the best. Let’s start over: Magnus, Merle, Taako, earth elemental who’s name I missed —”

“I’m Roswell. Could you please identify yourself?”

“Magnus, Merle, Taako, Roswell — but mostly you Tres Horny Bois, or whatever you call yourselves these days — first things first, I’m not the Red Robe you met before. Second and on a related note, yes, I’ve been in Taako’s umbrella this whole time. Yes, it sucked. And third…”

She sighs. “You’re just going to have to take my word on this one, but I literally can’t explain who I am or why I’m on your side. It might seriously damage your minds, but I should be able to tell you my name, which is Lup.”

“Lup, why do I trust you?” The name feels strange in Taako’s mouth — familiar, except it shouldn’t be, except it is, except it couldn’t be, except…

The contradiction just spirals on forever, boring a hole in his mind that aches like hell and makes his stomach churn.

“Taako — oh, Taako, you’re not thinking about it too hard, are you? You can’t think about it too hard — you see why I can’t try and explain anything else. I would if I could…”

Slowly, with help from Lup’s Mage Hand, Taako stands up. He can’t even remember when he fell to his knees, but… he tries not to think too hard about it. Just take things one step at a time.

“Lup can help get us out of here,” he tells Magnus and Merle. “I don’t know why, but I’d trust her with my life even outside of a time loop, so… we’re doing what she says now.”

Magnus shrugged. “You know, I guess we could do a lot worse than putting a competent woman in charge, even if she’s undead. Lup, whatever your plan is, I’m down for it.”

***

By the time the purple worm dives back down beneath the earth with her children, Taako’s just about ready to collapse. Physically, he’s uninjured — he had a lich and an earth elemental watching his back, after all — but mentally, he’s a wreck. The persistent roar of static in the back of his mind has taken its toll, especially since the loop where he died before anyone else, and woke up to find Magnus and Merle giving him the two most confused and concerned looks he’d ever seen on their faces.

So when Avi freezes, glowing red, and everyone’s Stones of Farspeech go dark, Taako barely has the energy to wonder why until another robed figure materializes, holding a finger to his lips —

“DID YOU RETRIEVE THE…”

Every fold of fabric freezes in place, as lightning washes over the Red Robe’s form.

“LUP?!”

“Hey, babe,” Lup whispers, unfazed by the lightning bolts as she floats forward to wrap her arms around the other lich. “Thanks for the coin.”

“But — but how?” the Red Robe stammers. “How are you finally —”

Several curls of hair, made up of ghostly orange fire, escape from under Lup’s hood as she explains, and the Red Robe gently twirls a coil of flames around one of his skeletal fingers. “How are you really here?”

“You’re not gonna believe this,” Lup explains, “but it turns out that magic-absorbing staffs and beings made of pure magic aren’t actually the best combo.”

“Oh my god, we’re idiots,” the Red Robe gasps. “We’re magical undead idiots.”

“Love you too, Barry,” Lup murmurs.“God, I missed you so fucking much.”

“Wait, like Barry Bluejeans?” Magnus asks, at exactly the same time that Taako mutters: “Ugh, get a room.”

Barry whispers something to Lup that Taako doesn’t catch, and then both liches turn around.

“So, slight change of plans,” Lup announces. “It looks like the bubble isn’t quite down yet, but once we get that taken care of… anyone else up for a moonbase infiltration?”

“I’ve got one condition,” Taako immediately announces.

“What’s up?”

“If we run into the Grim Reaper, neither of you crimson lovebirds know me.”

[derzaungast]

Das Revolverblatt für besserverdienende Grüne, die ehemals dezent linke „taz“, nimmt sich eine verdächtige Abweichlerin vom staatlich-medialen Corona-Konsens vor. Der Artikel rechtfertigt Zensurmaßnahmen gegen die Kabarettistin Lisa Fitz mit der stichhaltigsten aller Begründungen: Schwurbelei!

Konkret wird ihr vorgeworfen, die Behauptung, dass es europaweit 5000 Tote durch Corona-Impfungen gäbe, sei falsch. In Wahrheit wären es viel weniger. Sehr viel weniger können es aber nicht sein, denn sogar das Robert-Koch-Institut spricht laut Zeitungsberichten von ca 1.800 „Verdachtsfällen“ (man drückt sich lieber vorsichtig aus) auf Impfungen mit Todesfolge alleine in Deutschland.

Wie auch immer, Frau Fitz gerät durch ihre im Rahmen eines Kabarettauftritts gemachte Bemerkung volle Kanone in das Zentrum eines mainstream-medialen Shitstorms, der sich gewaschen hat. Die Empörung schlägt Tsunami-mäßige Wellen, die Qualitätspresse schießt sich mit „Fake News!“- und „Schwurbelei!“-Geschossen ein auf die Frau, die immerhin schon mal irgendeinen Verdienstorden und diverse Preise und Auszeichnungen ihrer Branche eingeheimst hat.

Diesmal hat sie’s aus Sicht der Gesinnungswächter aber übertrieben, und sowas gehört bestraft. War da mal was mit sowjetischen Bildmanipulationen, bei denen in Ungnade gefallene Personen aus Fotos rausretuschiert wurden? Sowas machen WIR natürlich nicht, aber sowas ähnliches schon: Fitz‘s Beitrag wird flugs aus allen Medien gelöscht.

Interessant allerdings ein Passus in dem „taz“-Artikel:

„Eine Sprecherin des PEI schrieb schon vor Monaten dem „Faktenfuchs“ des Bayerischen Rundfunks: „Ein Todesfall NACH Impfung bedeutet nicht zwangsläufig einen Todesfall DURCH Impfung. Das wird in den Sozialen Medien leider häufig gleich gesetzt.““

Da wird man stutzig, denn umgekehrt scheint ja zwischen Corona-Infektion und Todesfällen durchaus ein Zusammenhang zu bestehen, wenn man den offiziellen Sprachregelungen Glauben schenkt: war nicht bis vor nicht allzu langer Zeit immer bei allen (vor oder nach ihrem Tod) positiv getesteten Verstorbenen von „Corona-Toten“ die Rede, inzwischen etwas abgemildert durch die Redewendung von „Toten in Zusammenhang mit Corona“?

Will sagen, bei den Todesfällen „durch Corona“ oder „im Zusammenhang mit dem Corona-Virus“ wird großzügig alles zusammengezählt, was Corona-positiv getestet wurde - egal ob die Leute vorerkrankt, alt oder sonstwas sind.

Fragt ja nur mal

Ein doppelt geimpfter Genesener

https://taz.de/Lisa-Fitz-bei-Spaetschicht/!5822849/

[takoboru]

A letter was placed on your table. It wasnt decorated nor was there anything that stood out. However, the seal that closed the envelope was one that a certain red head would use in your letters.

Next to it was a ring. It was a simple golden band with your name engraved in the inside. The gem that was on it was your favorite gem or perhaps it was your birth stone?

Once you opened the letter, the paper was slightly burned. The edges were burnt as if the sender wanted it gone. The paper itself was well kept. The graceful handwriting that was printed on the paper was kepted intact. Though, the tear stains on the paper says that the sender couldn't keep it together.

────────⊹⊱✫⊰⊹────────

Dear Taz,

How have you been? I hope you've been well. I don't know why I find myself thinking about you in the dead of night. I remember the little things you used to do. The way you smile, the way your eyes gleamed when you talk about your passion. I miss it, I miss it all.

I regret not spending time with you. I regret not holding you tighter. I regret many things but the one I regret the most is pushing you away from me. I didn't deserve you. Your light, you. You would just be held down by my darkness if I continued to be selfish...

I love you. I love you so much

My heart aches at the thought of you walking away from my life. It aches that I won't be the one that you'll grow old with. It hurts but it was my fault.

I'm sending you this letter as a closure. Please, don't push your love away. I can see the love you have for her. Don't push her away cause of me.

Thank you for the memories, the joy.

I am yours, for eternity. Even if your heart is for someone else.

Love,

Diluc Ragnvindr

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