#but come on. blupjeans.

[yardsards]

why blupjeans deserves the win:

-lup is canonically a trans woman and it was handled so well and so respectfully.

-which normally cheering something on just because it's Representation™ is meh but. it's just so heartwarming to see a trans person be valued and loved so unconditionally. in this case, i'm referring to the romantic love between her and barry, but also the love that other characters and the creators themselves and the fanbase have for her

-they're outwardly the "the coolest woman imagineable and Literally Just Some Guy" trope but the good flavour of that trope, where he knows full well she's the coolest woman imagineable and is head over heels in love with her, and she's like "he's not *just* some guy he's *my* some guy"

-barry is the Wife Guy of all time

-he loved her so strongly that his title in a prophesy about their group was literally "the lover"

-you like slowburns? these two took like FIFTY YEARS (whilst trapped in a sort of time loop/cycle of repeated apocalypses) to get together officially

-and the scene where they finally got together? beautiful. immaculate. they composed and performed a beautiful duet together commemorating their love

-the scene included a monologue that made me cry once:

"Our capacity for love increases with each person we cross paths with throughout our lives, and with each moment we spend with those people. But, too often we neglect that part of ourselves in favor of others. And by the time we realize just how important that is, we find ourselves with fewer folks around to practice with. But the seven of you have something that nobody else ever had: time. All the time in the world. Time enough to grow indescribably close. Time enough to- to learn how to care for each other, how to allow yourselves to be cared for. And in the case of Barry and Lup, time enough to fall deeply and truly in love. "

-watch this scene if you're curious and willing to listen to 6 spoiler-filled minutes of a podcast you've presumably not listened to before https://youtu.be/R6Ze7EFY8Wo

-on top of their "badass arsonist gf x weird nerd bf" thing, they ALSO have a "mad scientist wizard gf x mad scientist wizard bf" thing goin on. she's a nerdy coolgirl and he's the world's weirdest normalguy. there's Layers.

-these two decided to skip the normal people marriage step and instead elected to become liches together (as a tool to help them save the world but also possibly additionally as a failsafe for after they break the time loop thing, because he's a human and she's an elf who would outlive him by centuries otherwise)

-it was really sweet and they used their love for each other (as well as their bonds with their family) as anchors to keep their souls intact instead of becoming corrupted by the ritual

-as someone in the tags put it: they put the romance in necromancy

-at the end of the story they become immortal reapers for the goddess of death

-(and yet somehow they still retain their connecticut clark and malfina type vibes throughout all this)

-she goes missing for a DECADE and gets her soul sealed away and he never gives up on trying to find her

-he chooses to DIE (albeit kinda temporarily bc lich) instead of having his memories of her stolen away

-all the while, he clings to his love for her as a tether to keep his lich form stable as his family loses their memories of him and he faces extreme isolation and acute knowledge of the upcoming end of the world

-the first message lup manages to speak to her family while her soul is sealed away is a plea for them to trust barry

-there's a period of time between them being reunited where he has a body but she's still a ghostly lich and he offers to blow himself up just so he can hold her. then, after she gets her body back, one of the first things she says to him is "i'm gonna smooch your fuckin brains out". they are both so fucking Weird.

-but at the end of it all, they survived numerous apocalypses and years of separation and they manage to find a happy ending together and it's just so so sweet

[bunni-art]

now that Lup's got a canon design in the graphic novel, i feel okay sharing the speculative GN!Lup designs i've done!

being identical to taako makes it pretty easy to assume what she looks like, but it was fun to think up hair and clothes for her!

(also many of these poses were traced from taako in the graphic novel so credit to carey for that!!)

[luckylolabug]

I've been trying to figure out good final designs for the Hooked Up fic since they're all losers working at a museum so heres the first half???? (Krav gets two because yknow. Reaper shit)

[anistarrose]

thinking about barry bluejeans and lup being demiromantic and experiencing the occasional romantic attraction that's intense when it does happen, but thinking also about it being incredibly rare and an exception from their default state of being — so rare, in fact, that they both thought they were aro for years, until after they'd been bonding with each other for well over a decade and the romantic feelings slipped in. and yet despite being quote-unquote "wrong" about themselves, that realization doesn't change their philosophy on love, or the perspective of all those years prior about the types of love they value that society writ large downplays or ignores. barry and lup who aren't lovequeer in the sense of rejecting romantic definitions of love, but who couldn't be more on board with the lovequeer philosophy of extending "love" as a concept to areas where it is not conventionally taken as seriously or to be as powerful as romantic love. they love each other but they also love taako and merle and magnus and davenport and lucretia and that is not lesser for not being romantic. it's love, one of the many ways it can be experienced queerly.

[junotter]

i think having blupjeans AND taagnus dating at the same time on the starblaster would create some awful mix-ups

[ethersierra]

Please consider this quick visualization for my idea of a blupjeans as amber & kodira au.

For @blupjeansweek <3

[pocketsizedcrab]

and if i say blupjeans

[raspberrybluejeans]

i’m thinking of taking down my ofmd section of my wall decorations, partially because the ofmd hyperfixation is over and partially because the newspaper article i cut out and put on the wall is starting to get pretty damaged. but i feel sort of guilty. i am betraying pirate gang……

[youhearstatic]

Trick or treat! OvO

Happy Halloween, K!

Here's a couple paragraphs of enemies to lovers tattoo artist and baker blupjeans AU that Bitsy and I did a few years ago and never (quite) finished or posted.

Barry stared at her. “I ‘marched in like I owned the place’?!” he asked, disbelief caking his voice. “When exactly did I do that? When I came over and politely introduced myself and you told me I didn’t belong here? When I spent every damn cent I had hiring local people to overhaul the place? When I threw a party for the whole town to try to fit in? When I gave away dozens of consultations that haven’t turned into a single bit of business? If that’s me owning the place, I’d hate to see what it looked like to rent!”

All the frustration he’d felt was just bubbling out of him and yet, he couldn’t help notice how beautiful she was when her eyes were bright with fire, how perfect her mouth was even as she yelled at him.

[jerreeeeeee]

Balance fic recs

some of my favorite balance fics. various ages, popularities, and lengths. i’ve been wanting to do a rec list for a while!

caramel by nevereverever

The first time Taako is left alone, it isn't pretty. But their lives are stuck in a loop and people come back and die again and again and he wonders if there will ever be a time when he doesn't have to fear being left alone.

2.7k, Taako & Lup Lup dies one cycle and then, years later, she dies again. But she always comes back. Hurt/comfort of the best kind.

Warmth by noxic

"It was a well-known fact among the residents of the Starblaster that Lup, Barry, and Taako slept in the same bed more often than not. It was one of those things that they just did without really talking about it."

2.1k, Barry & Lup & Taako The BLT fic of all time. Quality platonic adult sleepovers.

Taako the Matchmaker by @fantasysamsclub

In which Taako tries to set up his sister. Events take place during Stolen Century.

11.1k, Blupjeans & Taako Taako tries to set up blupjeans. Miscommunication ensues. Very sweet and funny.

red fishing line by @anistarrose

A routine performance of Sizzle it Up goes nightmarishly wrong, and at Lup’s bedside, Taako feels helpless. And when a red-robed guest appears before him, Taako doesn’t know how or what to feel at all.

3k, Barry & Lup & Taako Also the BLT fic of all time. Excellent subtle Taako characterization, and my favorite depiction of the familiarity-but-not of being voidfished. Warning for major character death.

Sunny-Side Up by @barry-j-blupjeans

And the world? The world loved Taako. For once in his gods-damned life, people loved him. They didn’t care about all the flaws, they didn’t care where he came from or who he was before. They loved his food and they loved him. No one would ever quite be at Taako’s level and that was something he thrived on. There would never be anyone who could measure up. Taako deserved this happiness. He worked for it. He wasted his fucking life away for it.

5.7k, Taako A wonderful character study, revolving around the role food plays in Taako's life. Fairly minor but impactful characters like Sazed and Taako's aunt are utilized in a very meaningful way. So well-written and warm. Warning for brief suicidal ideation.

On the Deck of the Starblaster by @papergardener

“What the… what are you all doing? We have work to do!” It’s a justified reaction, Lucretia thinks, to finding your entire crew literally lazing about on deck not an hour into this new cycle. “This one's on me,” Taako says. “It’s a new trend I like to call: taking a fucking break.” Cycle Nintey-Five. Everyone’s maybe not doing so good and could use a little warmth.

6.5k, Lucretia & Taako Near the end of the century, Lucretia is feeling rough. Taako pulls her out of her funk and initiates a much needed rest. Fantastic characterization, of Lucretia as a whole, and the loyal, warm side of Taako. Warning for mentions of a suicide attempt and suicidal ideation.

leaving, as an injustice by @anistarrose

When Mavis is eight, she starts finding her Dad asleep on the couch in the morning. Sometimes, he’s even all the way out on their tiny patio, with his head slumped onto a pillow atop the chess table, and bags beneath his eyes. In one of their following games, he tells her about tactical retreats.

4.7k, Mavis & Merle A study of Mavis and her relationship to Merle. Incredibly insightful into criminally underrated characters. Excellent Merle characterization.

Permission by vaguenotion

She’d been doing this on and off for the last hour, as if daring the men to catch up to them. Daring them to fight her. Every time seemed like a final stand. Here is where I will meet them, her shoulders said, hiked up around her ears. Here is where I’ll make them pay for what they’ve done. But then Taako would grab her hand, and she would turn and see the bruising on his throat, the blood drying on his brow, the tear in his shirt. And she would grip his hand in hers and together they would keep running.

12.6k, Taako & Lup My favorite depiction of the twins as children, both in character and realistic. Beautifully atmospheric, with so many small details that make the setting feel so real. Warning for assault and harm to children.

Come Hell or High Water by @nillial

“Taako,” Hurley asks, “where’s your magic umbrella?” Taako looks behind him. He had tossed the Umbrastaff in the path of a neighboring vehicle, which was beginning to catch up to them. He sees them now, far in the distance, and he sees his Umbrastaff, too, lying dangerously close to its wheels. As if on cue, he watches the tires crush it to pieces. “Whoops,” he says. - Lup is trapped. And then she isn’t. --- In which Taako breaks his umbrella during the Petals to the Metal race, unknowingly freeing Lup, who is almost immediately captured by Kravitz. After becoming a member of the Raven Queen's retinue with Kravitz as her trainer, she has two missions: 1) find her family, and 2) ruin Kravitz's afterlife. A story about enemies becoming friends and lost families finding their way back to one another.

197k (currently), Lup & Kravitz Incredible characterization. I love the way Lup is written. Hilarious shenanigans, sweet friendship-building, and terribly sad sometimes, because it dives deep into the reality of Lup existing in a world that's forgotten her.

Very cold water on a very hot day by @keplercryptids

Sometimes a family is a nerd who can't swim and the crunchy-haired watersport inventor who teaches him how. Surfer lingo required.

3.1k, Barry & Taako Deep dive into the beach year. Excellently in character, well-written dialogue, and a beautiful depiction of their growing friendship.

Children of Atlas by @papergardener

They’ve survived the apocalypse and now as far as they know, they’re the only ones left. Perhaps it was inevitable that they’d consider… repopulation. Lucretia writes up a weekly schedule to try and address that. Absolutely no one is happy with this.

76k (currently), IPRE crew The premise for this one is incredibly offputting, but I'm so glad I gave it a chance. The characterization and quality of writing is absolutely wonderful. I also love the attention to detail of the realistic difficulty of just surviving. Fantastically atmospheric, this fic dives deep into the uncertainty and fear of the first cycle, when the crew are all strangers, and the love that turns them into a family. Warning for extensive discussion of sexual assault.

Emissary Davenport by DragonWrites

A series of stories where Captain Davenport is secretly an emissary of Garl Glittergold, Gnomish god of pranks. And when you're a serious-minded captain on a mission to save all of reality, having a cheerful trickster god as your unexpected patron can get a little strange...

300k, Davenport A series of four works set in an AU where Davenport is an emissary to the leader of the gnomish pantheon. My absolute favorite depiction of Davenport, ever. The first three works are explorations of Davenport as a character and the relationships between people and gods in a DnD world. The last, Lost Gods, is the best fanfiction I've ever read. I can't express how good it is. The attention to detail among myriad plot threads, the building of themes, the characterization across just about every single character in Balance, all come together to create 223k words of a genuine masterpiece.

[lithiumseven]

Some people out here pretending Blupjeans was one sided Bluejeans Pining™️ until Legato but Griffin said Lup’s moment of realization was SOON AFTER HIS, coming to her in CYCLE 17!!!! MY GIRL IS 30 YEARS DEEP in this fantastic and beautiful love by the time they walk up on that stage

IT REACHED INEVITABILITY

[noodyl-blasstal]

WIP Poll

Rules: Make a 24hr poll listing the titles of every WIP you want to work on. (It’s fine if you only have one, still make a poll for the vote count). Whichever WIP title gets the most votes, write 1 sentence for every vote received.

tagged by @ceilingfan5 thank you!!

(Oops all demon bath... ignore the second one! They're bot the same.)

Also tagging: @sugarberryandtea @ethersierra @jerreeeeeeeand anyone else who would be interested in taking part!

[mfshipbracket]

I've never seen such a respectful losing group on a bracket like this on Tumblr like the blupjeans community. the power of Shrek is so true. No one can even be mean about it. They're out here like "blupjeans invented love" and "this is the true answer to mf ship of all time" and still like "we are going to lose and I get it" and I think that is beautiful

so true and i've seen several people be like. blupjeans and shriona would be besties and they're RIGHT. something something the trans joy & euphoria of coming to accept yourself and love yourself and finding those who embrace you for your whole unfiltered self. both blupjeans and shriona do embody this

[yourbelgianthings]

aforementioned giant list of mountain goats songs for taz

sadly some characters i couldn’t find a song i thought fit for (i.e. angus) that doesn’t mean i don’t like them!!

Magnus- Against Pollution, Spent Gladiator 2, Training Montage, Billy the Kid’s Dream of Magic Shoes

Merle- Hebrews 11:40, Harlem Roulette, January 31 438, Noche Del Guajalote

Taako- Up the Wolves, Get Lonely, Get Famous

Barry- Blues in Dallas, Love Love Love

Johann- Your Belgian Things, Harlem Roulette

Lucretia- Old College Try, Heel Turn 2, Game Shows Touch Our Lives

Davenport- Idylls of the King, Maybe Sprout Wings

Hurley- Magpie, Love Love Love

Sloane- Dilaudid

Lucas- In Memory of Satan

Lup- Going Invisible 2

Taakitz- The Age of Kings, The Coroner’s Gambit

Blupjeans- Bluejays and Cardinals

Carey and Killian- Animal Mask, 1 Corinthians 13: 8-10

IPRE- High Hawk Season, Corsican Mastiff Stride, When A Powerful Animal Comes

Aubrey- There Will Be No Divorce, Dinu Lipatti’s Bones, Amy aka Spent Gladiator 1, Shadow Song, Song For An Old Friend

Duck- Midland, New Monster Avenue, In the Hidden Places, As Many Candles As Possible

Ned- Cotton, Wild Sage, Estate Sale Sign, Prowl Great Cain, The Mess Inside, Bleed Out, Going to Hungary

The Pine Guard- Fire Editorial

Pigeon- Jeff Davis County Blues

Mama- Midland, Bones Don’t Rust

Barclay- Color in Your Cheeks, If You See Light, Harbor Me

Minerva- The Young Thousands, Luna, Mobile, Clean Slate

Dani- Blueberry Frost

Keith- Alpha Rats Nest

Hollis- Alpha Rats Nest, Amy aka Spent Gladiator 1, Guys on Every Corner

Boyd- The House that Dripped Blood

Indrid- Alabama Nova

Thacker- Elijah, How to Embrace A Swamp Creature

Amber- The Recognition Scene, International Small Arms Traffic Blues, Oceanographer’s Choice, 1 John 4:16, Bones Don’t Rust, The Young Thousands, Family Happiness, Game Shows Touch Our Lives, Genesis 3:23

Devo- Cotton, Up the Wolves, Get Lonely, New Zion, Outer Scorpion Squadron, Hopeful Assassins of Zeno, Never Quite Free, Cry for Judas, Mark on You, Autoclave, Genesis 3:23

Zoox- Song for Lonely Giants, Incandescent Ruins, Autoclave

Oksana/Kodira- The Recognition Scene, Oceanographer’s Choice, Luna, Genesis 3:23

Orlean- Trick Mirror, New Zion, In Memory of Satan

The Curator- Deuteronomy 2:10

The Shoreside Community- Letter from Belgium, Going to Lebanon 2

The Coriolis Crew- Steal Smoked Fish

[anistarrose]

after encountering Barry and Kravitz enough to genuinely get to know them, and most importantly, realize how pathetic they are, Lup starts having doubts like: "is it actually ethical to just capture these guys like a couple of pokemon and then subject them to scientific study? they're just sad, confused men, really... they clearly haven't come to terms with their deaths, they must be in so much pain deep down... Taako, I just don't know if we're doing the right thing..."

and then early next morning she drags herself to the store to buy groceries like she's been putting off for days, but when she finally makes it to the cashier with a cart full of perishables, she realizes her credit card won't work because Barry completely scrambled it with a supernatural magnetic pulse the other day, and she lets out a scream so bloodcurdling that Barry manifests directly in the checkout aisle with her, invisible to the rest of the store, and is like: "wow that was horrifying, are you sure you're not some kinda undead spirit or banshee? 'cause not to brag or anything, but if you wanna do something about that, I co-own a pretty good ghost-busting business"

I have this TAZ Balance modern AU in my head that I'll never write, but that's okay, because there's literally only two things that you need to know about it:

Kravitz and Barry both have graduate degrees

Barry and Kravitz are not using their graduate degrees even a little bit in their current career, which is running a really shitty, scam-adjacent ghost-busting business out of a garage together

[forestknifefight]

Blupjeans Week Day Two!

I thought a modern au working on a pier like Santa Monica Pier would be so fun. Please enjoy!

There is a man in a red robe and crisp, blue denim. He leans over the edge of a grandiose metal hull and stares out at the stares as they pass by. He realizes that he’s being watched, and his body tenses for a moment.

He turns and smiles behind horn-rimmed glasses. The corners of his eyes wrinkle delightfully. He looks happy and in love. Beautiful.

“Lu-Lu,” Taako says after Lup finishes describing the dream she had the night before. “You’re being a bit delusional. Delulu, even.”

Lup’s face pinches. She holds her index finger up in front of her brother’s face. “First off, you know how I feel about Lu-Lu, and second, be nice to me, I saw the literal man of my dreams.”

“Yeah, of your delusional dreams,” Taako mutters. He steps to the side and wipes down the grill of his taco stand, cleaning grease from it.

Lup adjusts her position on the bar stool stationed in the corner of Taako’s small kitchen. She grips the edge of the seat cushion and leans forward.

“No, no, Taako, you know this, we’ve discussed this,” she insists. One of her hands comes up, and she points at her temple. “Our brains can’t construct a human face. Every face we see in our dreams, we’ve seen in real life. That means I’ve seen this beautiful, horn-rimmed man before. I need to see him again.”

Taako whips around to face his sister. “Lup, we’ve seen a lot of people,” he says. “We work on a pier. You run a rollercoaster. Speaking of! Don’t you have to be at work right now?”

Lup straightens her back, her face contorting into offense. “You just don’t support my goals and dreams.”

“Not when they interfere with my cooking.” He crosses his arms in front of his chest. “Now get out.”

“Fine.” Lup jumps down from the stool and swipes her bag from the floor next to it. She digs through it and pulls out her employment-issued hat labeled “The Firebolt” and slams it over her head. “I will go to work. I will also not be giving you a free ride today.”

She leaves the small stand, the sound of Taako calling that he doesn’t care following her. She walks around the stand, glancing up at the glittering Sizzle it Up with Taako sign, and rolls her eyes.

The Firebolt is not that far down the pier from Sizzle it Up, but having to wade through crowds of tourists doubles the amount of time it takes to get to the coaster. She rocks up to the control panel, dropping her back next to it, and grins up at Magnus.

“Sorry I’m late, Taako just would not stop talking my ear off,” she says, the lie falling easily past her lips.

Magnus waves his hand at her dismissively. “Yeah, yeah, Lup, sure. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He scoops up his backpack and descends the rickety metal staircase of the ride.

“Later, Maggie!” Lup calls after him.

She double-checks the settings on the control panel before nodding with satisfaction. She and Magnus run this coaster like a well-oiled machine. She jumps down from the panel to the short line, collecting tickets from each passenger as they step up to board a car.

A slightly shorter-than-average red-haired guy hands her a ticket, and she takes it with a smile. He takes the first couple of steps up to the platform before looking back at his friend.

The friend comes up next and extends a ticket to Lup. She wraps her fingers around it and looks up at the passenger.

Her breath catches.

It’s him.

The beautiful, horn-rimmed glasses of the man she saw in her dream. He stares at her in awe, like he’s dreamt of her before as well.

Lup drops her hand from the ticket. “Congratulations, you get to ride for free today,” she says with a wide grin.

A pink blush colors his cheeks. “O-Oh, really?” he stutters. “Th-thanks, uh…” he trails off as he steps past her and up after his friend.

“Oh, me?” she says with a purposefully accentuated drawl and a hand over her chest. “I’m Lup.”

“Lup…” he says wistfully. He smiles at her, and the corners of his eyes crinkle delightfully. “I’m Barry.”