#please ask me about kravitz i want to talk about kravitz i NEED to talk about kravitz | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

noodyl-blasstal · 1 year ago

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Fake Dating - TAZNC Day 1

It's @taznovembercelebration time again!!! My first card pull was "Fake Dating" (delicious, also, we're already off the rails). Want to take part too? Find to post here. You can write, draw, share thoughts, anything. It's just a fun time to talk about taz!

Anyway, have some Taakitz! Read below or on Ao3:

“Krav, Kraverooni, Kravino, please? Taako’s asking you from the bottom of his tiny shrivelled up husk of a heart.”

Kravitz rolls his eyes. “You hand reared a litter of kittens you found in a bin bag.”

“Easy money, the resell on those.” Taako says all faux nonchalant, flipping his hand as if Kravitz didn’t sit up all night with him so they could take shifts to sleep but both woke up for every single feed alarm anyway.

“You kept three of them and gave the others away for free.” Kravitz says flatly, "... In fact!" He's worked up now, he's remembering "... You did home inspections for every one to check they'd be safe and happy." There’s no chance he’s going to let Taako pretend he doesn’t care. He cares often and passionately in various directions. “Anyway, who was the one who organised the letter writing campaign to Angus’ school when they tried to stop his soccer team’s funding and put it into the football team?”

“Anyone would have done that.”

“Did anyone else?”

“They might have.”

“If you didn’t?”

“If I didn’t.” There’s a long pause. “It’s not because I care though. Taako just didn’t want to see his sad little face.”

“Because you don’t care.”

“Because he takes up more room when he’s sad. It gets everywhere, the child mope. I’d have to scrub it out of the floors.”

“And why would he be moping here?”

“Because… I… It’s court ordered.”

“Uh huh.” Kravitz has him on the ropes.

“And there’s evidence of that, then, is there? If I googled your name I’d see the sentencing?”

“I had Google wiped by data assassins.”

“I assume you have a copy of the paperwork I could review?”

“Cats ate it.”

“Which ones?”

“This one!” Taako indicated Tiny Taco, who’s gnawing at the string of Kravitz’s shoe. Taako’s got him here, it’s plausible, but…

“Cats plural, who were the accomplices?”

“You don’t know them. Strange cats, a bad crowd that Taco’s been hanging out with. I’ve tried telling him, Taco, son, they’re not worthy of your time, they’re leading you down a bad path, can’t you just play nicely with Garyl and Beans? But no, he worries me sick instead.”

“Taco’s a house cat.”

“He’s been running up massive phone bills.”

“How did they get in the house to eat the documents with him?”

“He pushed it under the door and they lady and the tramped it.”

“You have a porch, the cats aren’t allowed in the porch.”

“The back door.”

“Uh huh. And this flagrant fabrication is easier than admitting you want nice things for Angus?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“You’ll think I care.”

“You do care. I watch you care all the time! Today you cared at least three times before breakfast.”

“Nuh uh.” Taako’s squirming in place now, he can’t run though, it’s his house.

“Yuh huh. Who helped Grant with the papers to set up his juice stand?”

“Well it made sense, I set up Sizzle It Up so I knew what to do. It was a chance for Taako to show off.”

“You helped coach Sloane to ask Hurley out.”

“So she’d stop whinging about it to you. She was taking up my valuable Kravitz time.”

“You care about me then?”

“No.” Taako looks pained when he realises what he said and how quickly he said it. “Just the normal amount. The friends amount.”

Kravitz tries not to let it sting. Of course Taako just wants to be friends. It’s fine. Kravitz is a grown up, he can look after himself. He shouldn’t have let it get this far, shouldn’t have let his feelings get so deep. It’s fine, he can just change the subject, they don’t have to do this now, especially not with the current context. “You didn’t let Magnus pet the bear.”

“I should have.” Taako says darkly. “Then I wouldn’t have had needed to listen to him complain all the way home.”

“Also you didn’t want him to die?” Kravitz asks casually, trap closing.

“I’m not a monster.”

“Show off, I can’t believe you’d be so insensitive.” Kravitz flops backwards onto the chair, hand across his eyes.

Taako throws a cushion at him. “Come off it, you love it, wolf boy.”

Kravitz sits up, grins to show off his slightly-sharper-than-they-should-be teeth. “Sounds like I’m not the only one.”

“It’s such a good club, Krav. Lup and Magnus are always saying how fabulous it is there, and who’s more fabulous than Taako?”

“Good point. I can’t think of many people.” He means it, is the problem, Kravitz can’t think of anyone more fabulous, more funny, more handsome… nope!

“Then you see why Taako’s solution is perfect?”

Ah fuck. They’re back to where they started.

“Why me?”

“Do you know any other single werewolves who’d be down to fake-date Taako into The Starblaster?”

Kravitz growls low and slow, surprises himself just as much as Taako. “Er. That… I… I have to go to the bathroom.” Kravitz flings himself off the sofa, dives towards the toilet, slams the lock home, and tries not to let the panic take hold. Maybe Taako didn’t even notice? How often was he even around werewolves? Did he even know what that was? Like, fine, yes, his sister was married to Barry, and Magnus was married to Julia, and Taako was part of their families and he’d seen the dating process up close, and… fuck. No no, it was fine. He was psyching himself out unnecessarily. Barry told him all the time that he worried too much, ocerthought everything, this was fine, good even, he’d just say that it was a cough if Taako asked.

Kravitz splashes his face with cool water. It doesn't help as much as he hoped, but it was worth a go. "It's fine." He says firmly to his own reflection. "He didn't even notice."

“So I couldn’t help but notice…” Taako says, the second Kravitz re-enters the room. It’s probably too late to go hide again. “... that you might be feeling a bit possessive when it comes to other weres dating yours truly.”

“It was a cough.” Says Kravitz, not even convincing himself.

“Uh huh.” Taako isn’t convinced either. “You know, the only condition of getting into The Starblaster is that you're a were or you’re dating one.”

“I’m aware.” Kravitz cannot believe Taako is still focused on the club while simultaneously tearing away the carefully constructed wall Kravitz has been using to hide his ridiculous unwanted feelings for months. Doesn't he care? He could at least be offended. The indifference hurts.

“Well it doesn’t have to be fake. I didn’t realise you’d be down.”

“Are you offering to sleep with me to get into the stupid club?” Kravitz is angry now, furious. He thought they were friends, he thought Taako wanted some kind of relationship with him - even if it was just friendship, he would have been happy with friendship. He doesn’t want this, it should be special, not just some flippant transactional thing.

“No! I’m offering to sleep with you because I like you, you idiot.”

“Wait, did you just proposition me, confess you have a crush on me, and call me an idiot in the same breath?” Kravitz didn’t know whether to be offended or elated, settles on something in the middle.

“Sounds about right. Wanna kiss about it?”

Kravitz does, in fact, want to kiss about it, but first he needs to know what is going on. “You like me? Romantically like me?”

Taako arches an eyebrow and looks peeved about the lack of kissing. “Obviously.”

“For the club?”

“A bit for the club.” Taako’s forehead wrinkles. “It’s really cool. I’m not going to lie to you. But that’s more a perk of the boning, not the reason for it.”

Kravitz sinks down onto the sofa. Taako likes him back, Taako likes him back and not just because he wants to go to the stupid club.

“If anything, the boning will be the biggest perk of the boning.” Taako says cheerfully, pats him on the shoulder.

“Why are you like this?” Kravitz asks through his hands, face buried.

“You love it.” Taako says, plonking himself down next to Kravitz and throwing an arm around him. “Can we skip to the kissing bit now, or do I need to tell you about how I was gonna fake date you so hard you’d forget we weren’t real dating?”

“Can we do both?”

“You want me to talk through the kisses?”

“Between them?”

“Fine, but it’s a talk sandwich, kissing bread.”

“Kissing bread.” Kravitz extracts his face from his hands, sits up, and nods solemnly.

“Here we go!” Taako says, leaning in.

“No!” Kravitz scoots backwards. “That was terrible, awful. Our first kiss is not going to be prefaced by “here we go!””

“You do better then.” Taako’s arms are crossed and he’s doing the frowny thing and Kraivtz is going to kiss every grumpy furrow out of his brow.

“I’ve wanted to do this for months.” Says Kravitz simply, makes it inches from Taako’s lips before he pulls back.

“That’s not fair! You can’t just be all suave out of nowhere. What am I supposed to say to top that?”

“You don't need to top it, it’s not a competition.”

“It could be. If it was.”

“Well it isn’t.” Kravitz says firmly. He reaches for Taako, trying to draw him back in. They were so close to finally getting it together.

“Buckle up, sweetlips.”

Kravitz stands, horrified. “Taako! What… why would you?”

Taako’s too busy laughing to answer. “Your… your face!” He gasps out.

“Do you want to kiss or not?” Kravitz is trying not to be petulant, he’s trying so hard, he’s failing.

Taako dives forward and crashes their mouths together. Kravitz can’t entirely tell when his mouth opened, or when exactly Taako started to nip at his lip, but it’s good, it’s great, even. Kravitz’s hands pull Taako closer, closer, closer, cradle his face, weave into his hair, help pull him down when he moves to straddle Kravitz’s lap. It’s messy and passionate and perfect, he doesn’t want it to end.

“Wanna kiss or not?” Taako pulls back, then snorts with laughter.

“I would love to do more kisses, why don’t you come back down here?” Kravitz asks, running a hand over Taako’s chest in what he hopes is an alluring manner.

“No, you said… I… it’s perfect. “Wanna kiss or not?” and then we did. That’s how we got together.” He collapses onto Kravitz’s chest, giggling furiously.

“You tricked me!”

Taako laughs harder.

“We’re going to have to tell people that when they ask.” Kravitz says, aghast. He really doesn't want to have to tell anyone this story.

Taako attempts to sit back, taking a moment to collect himself. “We’re going to <i>get</i> to tell people when they ask. What a gift!”

“A gift.” Kravitz repeats, quietly, carefully.

“Hey Krav?”

“Yes Taako?”

“I think you’re great.”

“I think you’re great too.”

“Wanna kiss about it?”

Kravitz cups Taako’s face, brings it gently, reverently towards him like Taako’s the most precious thing in the world. He might be in this moment. Kravitz kisses each cheek softly, then his nose, his forehead, and finally his lips. It’s gentle, tentative, full of care.

Taako pulls back. “You’re going to tell people this was what happened, aren’t you?”

“Yep!” Kravitz says happily, pressing their lips together again.

“Fine. But I’m telling the real story.” Taako says huffily before kissing a firm line from Kravitz’s collar bone to his jaw. “The people need to know.”

“Uh huh.” Kravitz is finding it harder to focus on anything but the insistent kisses on his neck and the hands working themselves down his chest. “Gotta give the people the…” He tails off as Taako’s teeth graze his neck. “What… they… it’s science.”

“Uh huh.” Taako replies. “Great point.”

“No more words, just kissing.” Kravitz tugs Taako closer again.

“Are you going to tell people this bit too?” Taako asks.

“Ssssh.” Kravitz kisses Taako again. “Nothing about other people, just about us.”

“Just us.” Taako nods. “And how much fun we’re going to have at The Starblaster.”

Kravitz sighs.

“Hey Krav?” Taako noses at his cheek.

“Yeah?”

“I’m glad we figured it out.”

“Me too, Taako. Me too.”

Thank you for reading! You can find the next day here.

#TAZNC #TAZ November Celebration #TAZ Balance #Taakitz #Taako #Kravitz #Noodyl Writes

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ceilingfan5 · 1 year ago

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Alphabet prompt- N with THB, and or Taako and kravitz please :3

“So there I was, in Walmart, of course,” Lucretia sighs, her head in Lup’s lap and her legs dangling off the side of the shitty couch. Barry’s cozily jammed in on Lup’s other side, the couch hardly the right shape or comfort level to accommodate all three of them, despite the fact that Taako was definitely crammed in there a moment ago. Who knows where he’s gotten off to. Kravitz tucks his legs up under him in his god-awful armchair and props his head up to listen, surprised at himself for being absorbed so easily into this friend group. He feels like an intruder, or a mimic, or some kind of fungus.

In a good way?

“And I was In the frozen aisle,”

“God forbid,” Lup says, teasingly.

“Let me get out my story,” Lucretia says, stifling laughter.

“And she bought fourteen Kid Cuisines, and a Teenage Mutant Neetle Teetles Pizza,” Barry adds, making her snicker.

“Listen!” Lucretia clears her throat, trying to maintain some level of seriousness, but her usual composure just isn’t there tonight, as late as it is. It’s wild seeing this warm, vulnerable side of her. “I was in the frozen aisle in Walmart and I was trying to get something for dinner, and the man in front of me was taking his sweet time, and then this song came on the radio–don’t ask me what song, listen, don’t. I don’t remember. But-” she smiles, remembering. Kravitz feels surprisingly fond of her in this moment.

“But it’s a bouncy song, right, something you could really jam to.”

“Glad I’m not the only one who sounds like an old man when I use slang,” Kravitz mutters. Lup and Barry snicker.

“And he- he’s still looking at the frozen food, but he starts bouncing his ass cheeks-”

Everybody struggles to hold back laughter.

“And listen-” Lucretia tries to restrain herself, but she can’t stop smiling. “I’m not much of a manliker. But it was so cute. He turns around and sees me waiting and apologizes to me, and I wanted to say no, no, go on, you carry on bouncing that ass to the music, sir. He wasn’t any older than I am, and he looked so tired, and he just-” She reaches for the ceiling, grasping like a warm cat considering making biscuits for the evening. “It was sweet. Normally I document the profound and profane, but this moment was just so…alive. People, you know?”

“I dunno, I am a documented man-liker, and that’s cute as hell,” Lup muses, through laughter. “Too bad he eats frozen food. But I can fix him. TAAKO!” Lup hollers. “TAAKO, CUTE OR NOT?”

Fellow noted man-liker Taako pokes his head in from the other room.

“WHAT,” he hollers back, even though he’s close enough now he doesn’t need to shout. It’s not a big apartment, especially with all of them squished in here like a pile of puppies.

“Rate this rando on a scale of one to ten,” Lup demands. Lucretia covers a laugh. Kravitz’s eyes go to Barry, who looks amused but a little strained.

“Not now,” Taako says, still a full twenty too loud. “I’m drinking shampoo to prove a point.”

“You’re-” Lup cracks up. “What now?”

“You’ve got to listen when people talk, snorkel-brains,” Taako says, sort of affectionately. “Magnus was- MAGNUS, explain it.”

Magnus pokes his head out too, and Merle follows, not unlike a cartoon. Davenport is somewhere out of frame, probably folding his arms, but not not participating in shenanigans.

“So listen- listen-” Magnus says, holding the shampoo in one hand and a towel in the other. “You put some on your lips and you’re supposed to be able to blow bubbles! But so far-”

“So far it feels like we’ve gotten in trouble for swears,” Merle says, nodding.

“Damn,” Lucretia says.

“Fuck,” Barry agrees.

“You guys saw that online, or what?” Lup shakes her head. “Stupids.”

“It’s gonna be cool!” Magnus insists.

“I think it’s horseshit,” Taako counters. “What’s this about boyliking.” His eyes go conspicuously to Kravitz. Is it warm in here suddenly? Maybe they should get the climate control looked at.

“There was a guy in the grocery store bouncing his ass cheeks to the music, and Lucretia is wrapped up in how profound it was,” Barry says, not critically.

“It was profound!” Lucretia insists. “It was nice. People should appreciate life more. I should appreciate life more. It’s short, isn’t it?”

“Debatable,” both elves say in unison.

“Listen-” Lucretia sits up, swinging her legs back in front of her. She looks a little dizzy, but powers through. “Little moments like this are poetry.”

“Dear diary,” Taako intones, “Saw a guy bounce his ass. You might think it would be crass. But instead I want to say. I want to live another day.”

“Amen,” Merle says sweetly.

“Don’t be dorks,” Lup defends, patting Lucretia’s back. “It’s a good little moment of being a living creature.”

“Sure,” Taako says. “And so’s this.” And he rubs shampoo on his lips, and then blows a ridiculous stream of bubbles, and everybody cheers. Lucretia’s story gets a little lost from there, because everyone has to try the shampoo thing, but it sort of sticks with Kravitz.

Poetry. He hopes she knows he listened.

#taz #tazb #the adventure zone #the adventure zone balance #fan5fics #taz balance #thank you!!

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tvchi · 1 year ago

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Shocked, confused, and annoyed.

That’s how I felt as I stared wildly at my phone when my friend broke the news that Serena Williams, America’s former professional tennis player and arguably one of the greatest athletes of all time, was this year’s Fashion Icon Honoree. Yea, you read that right. The winner of twenty three Grand Slam titles has somehow pierced the gates (of what is usually a well guarded castle) of the fashion industry, has won the affection of industry giants, and has captivated the world with her style right under our noses. That was the shock. As I was parked outside gearing up to take my next appointment, my friend and I scoured the internet looking for what we missed. She looked up past honorees to make sure we didn’t misunderstand the Council of Fashion Designers of America’ s (CDFA) position on what style icon meant and I looked up when I was obsessed by a Serena Williams’ look. When I actually was halted in my tracks, when I reposted, when I desired to recreate, when I NEEDED to have a Serena look. I tried ESPY award show looks, some fashion show appearances, and even music video cameos. I felt nothing. Then I looked back at the text message to make sure that I read it correctly. Once I read the text again, I flipped back to the looks. This is the confusion.

Now before I get called “anti-black” or a “Serena Williams hater”, I want to say this: Before writing this, I’ve already predicted everything I would be called. I’ve already predicted everything that would be said about me writing on this topic. I’ve already anticipated many people speedily thumbing through my socials, trying to tear apart my looks, my style choices, my body shape and features thinking that they are enacting some kind of revenge for Serena. Thinking that they are doing to me “what I did to her”. The thing is I’ve watched the world vilify this woman. I mean equate her to an animal, call her all sorts of names, treat her unfairly, cheat her out of some awards. Every single time, she went back out there and proved that you cannot deny sheer talent and discipline. You cannot overlook hunger. You cannot cheat skill. If we are talking about tennis—-- shit, if we are talking about resilience and athletic talent, you’ll never hear me say one negative thing about Serena Williams or the Williams sisters.

This isn’t even about body build and features, even though some of you will swear that it is. I have never and will never comment on a black woman’s features in the realm of fashion because to me (before and after the era of the supermodel) those don’t matter, frankly. There is print and there is runway— just like life. You fall where you fall. But how did you style your outfit, what did you wear, why did you choose those accessories, what story are you trying to tell? Those are the questions that truly matter and when I look at Serena’s looks, I’ve never been intrigued enough to ask those questions. More importantly, I haven’t heard many other fashion connoisseurs do so either.

The annoyance part comes in when I learn that her ties to the fashion industry are the following: 1) Has a partnership with NIKE or NIKÉ (I like to say NIKÉ because I guess they are considered a fashion house now). 2) She went to fashion school (program was not disclosed) while she was winning Grand Slams. 3) She launched a fashion line in 2018 called “S by Serena” which, from what I can tell, consisted of mostly bodycon dresses and graphic t-shirts. While you are taking that in, please remember that the council has over 450 members who are considered the leading authorities in womenswear, menswear, jewelry, and design accessories. The list of past Fashion Icon award recipients are the likes of Lenny Kravitz, the Naomi Campbell, Jennifer Lopez, Beyoncé, Cher, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Zendaya, Sara Jessica freakin’ Parker!!!!!!! I understand that this is a huge moment for fashion as we are merging two worlds, but I just do not see how this choice was made when there are other choices to be made. Other black choices. Other black, fashion choices.

If I’m being honest, I think I’m at a loss here because I grew up in a time where there was a standard. That standard was fun, creative, explorative but always excellent. You may not have been able to understand it, but it was 100% art and 100% excellent even when other houses were stealing from each other. Your acceptance into the fold was an invitation to an experience. If you were considered a tastemaker, you were offered the best seats in the house. You were spoken about, people wanted to dress like you, other people tried to hire the stylist that styled you because that's how great you looked.

You had to ooze fun, daring, unique, yet authentic even in your casual. It feels like in order to allow more inclusivity, we’ve bulldozed the gates and we are now left with an unprotected fortress. Everyone can join. Everyone's free to look like everyone else and dub themselves a “fashion girlie”. People with no true sense of personal style are getting seats at tables that have been kept from the most patient and erudite of this industry. Anna Wintour has stopped going to shows. Some of our icons have cheapened their brands by partnering with fast fashion companies. There is a push for all people to have a capsule wardrobe containing 3 solid, primary colors. There are people that make videos on TikTok to teach people how to imitate the rich in style when wealth doesn’t have one style of dress. I feel like I entered another dimension and I don't know where I stand anymore. I don’t know if and how I should critique it. I am not sure if I belong anymore.

I will always root for someone who has received an award because they truly deserved it. Not because they had enough money to buy the award or because it would be a good business move, but because it is unanimously agreed that this person put in the work, time, and effort that is required to receive such an award. At the oscars of fashion, I just don’t think that Serena Williams is that person. But maybe I don’t know anything anymore. Oh and before I go, SJP is the host for the awards this year. You just can’t make this shit up!

Chetachi Odelugo

Just A Girl

10/26/2023

#fashion #black beauty #black tumblr #black fashion #tvchi #blog #text post #cdfa #serena williams #nike #black literature #black writers #writers on tumblr

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thee-achilles · 3 years ago

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🍊.| astro observations & drabbles pt. 3

orange edition because i have been on a KICK

“lee, the second one is a grapefruit, not an orange” FYL🤬🤬🤬‼️‼️‼️‼️ didn’t ask, don’t care. plus your feet STINK. anygay 😒🙄

💥. | these are only observations i have made. please take them with a grain of salt. DO NOT PLAGIARIZE OR POST ANYWHERE ELSE. if there is anything you’d like to add, let me know! <3 |💥

🐅.|made by a libra sun, libra rising, and leo moon :)

🍊mercury doms tend to pick at their skin a lot and if moon is aspecting their mercury or they’re also moon dominated, it can be a coping mechanism.

🍊you cancer risings are quickly climbing up my ranks. i’m interacting now with a lot of you guys and- y’all are syrupy sweet. also y’all could easily manipulate anyone you wanted with that charm of yours. but you didn’t hear that from me. 👨‍🎨

🍊gemini venuses/placements really like collarbones. also they’re the people to notice your new earrings and compliment them. everyone shits on gemini venuses, but their attention to detail in love is insane 😒

i have a gemini venus friend who every time i where something that shows my collarbones, she always complements them or stares at them 😭😭 and she bought me earrings for my birthday and noticed me wearing them the first time i wore them too. 🧍

🍊you earth doms love to take personality quizzes for fun huh 🤨 is it cuz you don’t know yourself or because you’re bored out of your mind? which is it 🤨 imma make ‘em say both 😻❣️

not only that, but you’ll take them as many times as it takes UNTIL you get the result you want. accept it. you are not hange. you’re yelena. i understand that you are mentally ill, which is why one day i am going to open up a hospital-

🍊mercury square mc 🤝 people telling you that you explain things well 💪 i get this a lot and it’s one of the best compliments ever tbh

🍊virgo mars like tattoos. whether it be getting them or people with them, it’s just something they’ve always found to be attractive.

🍊earth placements are so good with hair and makeup?? like i know we talk about taurus being good at it, but virgo and capricorn too?? they have such an eye for detail and color coordination, that they’re just so amazing at it.

🍊sagittarius placements/degrees are so fluid?? and we don’t talk about it enough. like zoë kravitz. it’s insane how fluid she is.

🍊“i’ve always had trouble shitting.” -my virgo stellium bestie <3

🍊leo placements are/were scared of the dark. they just constantly need some sort of light in order to sleep. it’s that sun ruler ship speaking 🙄😒

🍊moon in 9H/sag placements may have felt out of place growing up, but find their people overtime. also y’all are so smart 😻😻

🍊aries & sag risings & fire suns, air moons (or vice versa) CANNOT hide their expressions. you say some weird shit? their face gonna be like 😟

🍊aries rising, aries mercury, mercury in the 1H, mars-mercury aspects/dominance have BOOMING voices. i’m talking fee fi fo fum type shit. y’all just be talking and then someone is like “why you yelling 🤨” and in actuality you’re just speaking 😭😭

🍊harsh jupiter aspects (square, conjunction, opposition) with venus or ascendant & jupiter in virgo can’t tell if they’re hungry/full, so the sometimes just eat a lot or not at all.

🍊⬆️going off of that, harmonious venus-mars or venus-jupiter aspects have a fast metabolism.

🍊venus-jupiter aspects?? since no one said it: ⌛️

🍊mercury-neptune aspects 🤝 being great fantasy authors or absolutely hating the genre depending on the aspect.

🍊fixed placements like nice cars and have the NICEST cars. put love & care into them.

both of my grandparents are leo suns. my grandpa has an aquarius moon and they have such nice cars. and a LOT of them too. they even have this bright yellow truck 😭😭 how flashy can you get?

also scorpio placements are super knowledgeable on car mechanics. they love to see how they work!

🍊moon-doms/moon-mars/moon-jupiter aspects 🤝 their feelings taking up the ENTIRE room and literally changing everyone else’s mood. 😰 if you ever seem em in the forest with a grizzly bear... HELP THE BEAR‼️‼️

🍊moon-jupiter aspects could’ve had the bigger room while growing up or had a lot of things.

🍊it’s true what they say about you not liking your 8H sign 😭 my brother’s band directors are both taurus suns and he does NOT like them. my cousin is a taurus moon and i haven’t always really trusted him. it’s not that he’s a bad person and i do love and care for him, i just can’t bring myself to trust him. 🧍 my brother and i are both libra risings❤️

of course, if the 8H placement is cancelled out by other placements, you’re good. it’s happened to me plenty of times. my cousin just has a lot of my 8H sign’s influence.

🍊y’all can always catch a person with their mercury in detriment (pisces, sagittarius) with allergy issues. y’all be STUFFY and allergic to EVERYTHING. especially is the person is mercury dominant‼️

🍊taurus mars individuals really got their own speed. 😒 the world will be burning down and they’re like “well, i GOTTA put my shoes on first 🙄” and then put them on. as. slow. as. possible. it’s the venusian effect on mars i swear.

🍊this is just a personal observation, but virgo venus individuals LOOOOOVVVVVEEEEE scorpio venus individuals. i’ll be minding my own damn business and a virgo venus will come up to me and dedicate their whole well-being to me. literally. like. i’ve got a plutonic venus why are you doing this 🧍 very very sweet though and SUPER caring. literal soulmate venus signs. gotta be one of my favorite genders 🙏

🍊if your moon falls into their first house or your mercury sextiles their moon, expect that person to laugh at EVERYTHING you say. you’re like the funniest person in the world to them and they actually understand your behavior. vvv validating.

🍊i think the funniest and most accurate thing i’ve heard from a moon in the 6H is “she’s just... too chatty.. and kinda slow...:” (she was describing her cousin btw 😭😭) moon in the 6H like their peace and quiet and common sense 🙄❗️

🍊i think... virgo placements have their own way of speaking. like when a virgo placement speaks (especially mercury or mars) i’m like 😲 oh okay! they’re so funny and kinda have a high-pitched ending to their sentences and could have their hands near their mouth when they speak.

🍊9H with some 8H synastry could have the same views on taboo things. i hung out with this dude who had the same view on s3x as me and we talked about it for HOURS. we both wanted to be extremely experimental. then, i checked out synastry and we both had venus in each other’s 9H. shoutout to that dude🙄‼️

🍊taurus mercuries are INSANNNNNNEEEEEEEE‼️ the SMOOTH TALKERS of the mercuries. you guys make me feel like i deserve ONLY the best. okay! kiss me!

🍊back to gemini venus..... very VERY good with their hands. got me like 👁u👁. and mix that with a little bit of cancer placements... oh em gee. me like a lot.

🍊whenever the turn of a zodiac season happens or when the moon is in full, new, or half waning/waxing, i’ve noticed a lot of people get allergies?? they just get all sniffy. i started noticing this a couple of months ago, too.

ASSTEROIDS LET’S GET IT 💪😈

🍊(h58) waldemath lilith rules over big feelings and how we express ourselves at our worst. i noticed in my birth chart that i have it in 29° scorpio in my 2H. i ALSO have asteroid # vangogh at 29° scorpio in my 2H. when i was at my lowest, i created a lot of art and, specifically, wrote a LOT of songs based off of my experiences. go check out @brielledoesastrology’s post on it. it’s amazing 😋

🍊the last name asteroid of my first love conjuncts my saturn and sextiles my sun 🧍 the big impact is showing 🙄‼️

the asteroid sextile my sun: “what’ve you done 😨”

the asteroid conjunct my saturn: “😏 aaaaaaveeeeee 😌 mariiiiiiiiiaaaaaa 😩”

🍊i’ve been on an (#20000) asteroid varuna kick as of late. she’s a mix of neptune, uranus, and jupiter i think. she stands for long-term fame. i have her at 17° in my 9H conjunct my mc at 2° orb 🙄‼️ literal slay monster.

🍊i know this girl who has super curly hair and the most intense eyes. like when she’s intently listening to you as you speak her eyes are just... 👁👁 i think she’s got her (#149) asteroid medusa PROMINENT in her chart. woman’s intuition 🙄🙄🙄🙄

🍊(#1388) asteroid aphrodite making positive aspects to your personal planets could be what people think is “perfect” about you.

ex: i have aphrodite conjunct my moon and people that were close to me have told me they always thought that my tatas were the perfect size. 🧍

🍊(#10985) asteroid feast might show our eating patterns/our favorite foods.

i have feast in 8° of scorpio in my 1H square my saturn and trine my uranus. the foods i like now that are my favorites have been my favorite foods since I was really young, but they’ll probably change in my older years. i’m also really experimental with the foods i try! :)

oh em gee. it’s a been a huge glucky second, party people. i never forgot about you hoes‼️‼️‼️‼️ thank you so much for reading. would make out with every one of you. just be vaccinated though cuz... a girl got places to be 🙄🙏‼️

©thee-achilles 2022

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barry-j-blupjeans · 2 years ago

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#4 Taakitz?

4. "You're the worst, I love you so much."

"Oh. My. Gods. Is that Taako? From Story and Song?"

Y'know, usually Taako enjoyed being famous. At the very least, it made it harder for people to pickpocket him because someone was always watching. Though, that made it harder for him to pickpocket anyone, too. Taako liked his fans, loved them even, but someone of them needed to learn to not snitch if they saw him doing a "crime". That was none of their business, thank you very much.

However, there was a very important exception to his "yeah, sure, c'mon up and meet me" rule. And that was that if he was with literally anyone else, ever, then maybe you should either wait 'til later or, at the very least, acknowledge the other person's existence. Sure, if he was hanging out with Lup or Magnus or whoever, they all got attention. Them's the breaks with the whole "seven birds" deal. But heaven forbid he and Ren go out for lunch or he tries to take his boyfriend out on a fucking date. Gods-damn, some people couldn't light a fire if they rubbed two of their own brain cells together.

Kravitz met Taako's eye over the top of his menu, tilting his head further down the street to where the voices were coming from. They had been planning to get breakfast at this chic little café Lup had pointed out to him in downtown Goldcliff, but Taako was really not in the mood for a swarm of fans right now.

Kravitz leaned towards him and asked,

"Want me to get rid of them?"

"Like... kill them, or-?"

"Not quite," Kravitz said. "I don't think the Raven Queen would be very happy with me if I just started killing random people."

"It's a valid tactic, though," Taako said and Kravitz didn't disagree, but he didn't say anything either. "Go for it, babe. Let's see what'chu got."

Kravitz smiled at him and held his menu back up to his face. The people down the street were getting closer now and there was a very distinct, "I think it is him!" from one of them. Taako pulled the brim of his hat down over his eyes.

A halfling, an orc, and a drow approached their outdoor café table. Taako awaited Kravitz's punchline.

"Excuse me?" said the drow, the one who they had first heard earlier. Taako took a sip from the coffee that their waiter had brought out earlier. "Uhm, Mr. Taako, do you mind if we get a pictur-"

"Mr. Who?" Kravitz butted in. Taako choked on his coffee.

"Uhm," the drow said. "Taako? Him?" They pointed towards Taako, who was now patting his chest with his fist in an attempt to get his breathing back in order.

"I don't know what a Taako is, but that's not a very nice thing to say to my husband," Kravitz said, setting his menu down. Taako tried very hard to muffle his giggles. He raised his own menu over his face to hide.

"It's- it's not an insult!" the halfling said. "He's Taako, right? From Story and Song?"

"And TV," the orc sighed dreamily.

"What's Story and Song?" Kravitz asked. Taako switched his menu to one hand, using the other to cover his mouth.

"You're goofing us right now," said the drow. "This is- this is a bit, right? This is a bit."

"It isn't," Kravitz said, holding it together a lot better than Taako was. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"The fish song!" said the halfling. "The seven birds? Are you telling me you missed the literal end of the world?"

"I don't get out much," Kravitz said.

"You didn't have to go out to hear the Story and Song!" said the halfling. "You're killing me, man."

"I'm really not understanding, sorry," Kravitz said. "But I'm going to have to ask you to go. Look, you're making my husband cry."

Taako was crying, but it definitely wasn't a bad thing. Still, he took a deep, shuddering breath and peaked just his eyes over his menu.

"My sister was killed by seven birds," Taako said, voice steeped with tears. "Oh, I'm remembering it all like it was just yesterday. All the pecking and the screaming-"

"Please, just let us have breakfast," Kravitz said. "This is his first day out of the house in years."

"And they just kept cawing "nevermore"!" Taako said, throwing his hand to his forehead. "My poor, poor sister."

"I'm... so sorry for your loss," the orc said. Taako hid back behind his menu. "We'll, uh, we'll leave you to... that. Have a good day."

"You too," Kravitz said. Taako listened to them walk away and dropped the menu, burying his face in his hands and laughing so hard his chest started hurting. Kravitz patted him on the arm. "Not too shabby, huh?"

"You're the worst," Taako said. "I love you so much. God, I gotta bring you everywhere."

"Love you too," Kravitz said, grinning. "Do you know what you want? I think I'm gonna have the cheese omelette, but you can take your time because I think we scared our waiter away."

#taakitz #taako #kravitz #taz #taz balance #mine #ise cube writing #asks #anon

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holdmecloser-gandydancer · 2 years ago

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27 with Taakitz from the musical prompts please

from this prompt list! [still accepting if you want!]

To say that Kravitz has his plate full after the almost-nearly-apocalypse is to put it delicately. There was a blissful six hours where he sat on the moon with his boyfriend, two liches, and a group of people that had a criminally high death count; there would be time for discussions and deals later. For a frozen moment in time, they were all safe and alive and generally only mildly scathed.

But time waits for no Reaper and he was summoned to start helping the Raven Queen balance the books, as it were.

So he was whisked away for the better part of three weeks, leaving practically no time for anything else. Taako’s assured him that this was fine, that he had a whole mess of interpersonals to clean up.

But at long last, Kravitz has found a free evening.

He initially plans a veritable smorgasbord of options: a botanical garden, the hottest restaurant in Neverwinter (that also has had the chance to reopen), a trip to the beach, anything Taako desires.

What Taako desires, though, is a quiet night. For the time being, Taako’s still living in a dormitory on the moon, though he’s had the chance to move into a private one, given how many former Bureau members decided to move home. But for those that didn’t exactly have a home anymore, their old abode suited them fine.

So at promptly 6:45 PM, Kravitz rips a portal into Taako’s living room. Taako, determined to keep his composure, is very proud of himself for only jumping a little bit when he hears that all-too-familiar noise.

They delight in small talk, Kravitz discusses how filing his paperwork now feels like climbing every mountain on Faerun at once, Taako mentions needing to find a new place to live posthaste, given the discomfort spending time in close proximity Lucretia gives him.

It’s here where Kravitz makes an error. He’s not even thinking, he’s just so so happy about seeing Taako without any pretenses or slinking around. His brain’s a little soupy. So when he offhandedly says that “We could go looking in Goldcliffe or Neverwinter next week,” it takes a moment for his brain to catch up to his mouth. But by this point, Taako’s already blanching and clamming up. Kravitz has fucked up; obviously this is moving at lightning speed.

“Oh, oh Taako I didn’t mean—It’s not that I wouldn’t—I just…is it hot in here? I think it’s really hot in here,” Kravitz sputters out. He feels like his tongue has tripled in size in the past six seconds.

Taako doesn’t say anything for a few minutes. When he finally does, he doesn’t acknowledge Kravitz’s slip-up. Instead, he just beckons Kravitz to the couch to watch an old season of The Great Faerun Bakeoff. And so they get comfortable on the couch, Taako stretching his legs out and resting his feet in Kravitz’s lap; a blanket draped over the two of them and it’s like Kravitz didn’t develop foot-in-mouth disease.

Almost.

They’re an episode and a half into the season when Kravitz feels Taako’s eyes all but burrow into him; he’s biting at his thumbnail and staring at Kravitz, his brow furrowed and his face nearly screwed into a scowl.

“Everything okay, love?”

“What’s wrong with you?” Taako asks bluntly.

Kravitz is certain his recoil is big and embarrassing. “Excuse me?”

Taako chews at his nail with a little more force. “What’s wrong with you?” He repeats. “Because there has to be something wrong with you. Y-you like me and you’re so nice to me and you make me happy all the time and you know that I’m a total dick and nobody in their right fucking mind would be into all this so there’s gotta be something wrong with you, Bones. You said…you said that thing earlier and you shouldn’t want to maybe move in with me someday, you should be figuring out how to run off.” He looks down at the blanket, suddenly feeling like he's said too much.

Kravitz nods for a moment. “You can be a dick, yeah.” Taako looks back up at him and raises an eyebrow. “And pretentious. And distant. And confusing. And warm. And kind. And funny. And caring. And loving, even if you like to act like you’re above it all.” Taako’s other eyebrow ascends and he’s staring at Kravitz in utter disbelief. “You’re this divine mass of contradictions and impossibilities and you keep me on my toes but also solidly here with you, Taako. I never used to spend this much time in this plane. Never saw the worth in it. But now? Any waking moment I can spend here, with you, is something precious to me. A-and I did slip up and say that but I don’t want you for a moment to think that I wouldn’t adore that. But I also want to move at your pace. But Taako, you’re not getting rid of me. I’m not running off. As long as you’ll have me, you have me.”

Taako presses his lips together in an effort to keep some kind of composure. “Well, I don’t know how much your mom would like you living with a death criminal. Especially when my sister and her husband are also death criminals and liches,” he says, voice wobbling like a tightrope walker on a windy day.

“The Raven Queen isn’t my mom? But I have been discussing that situation with her. She can’t exactly condemn the saviors of the planarverse to the Eternal Stockade.”

He nods and swallows. “Well, I have a lot of clothes. I don’t know that there’d be much closet space for you.”

“My love, my outfits are constructs.”

“That’s kinda hot.”

“It is kinda hot,” Kravitz affirms. “You don’t have to decide anything right now. Right now we can just sit on the couch and watch baking sabotage.”

Taako bites at his lip before shifting haphazardly. He winds up leaning against Kravitz’s side. “Okay. I’d like that.”

Kravitz smiles and wraps his arm around Taako’s shoulders. “I would too.”

#rip (reeses in pieces)#noodyl-blasstal #taz #taz balance #reese writes #the adventure zone #taakitz #taako #kravitz #this is. not quite how i wanted it to turn out but here we go!#thank you!!#also i never realized this song was from 35mm by my dear twt mutual ryan scott oliver lskdfjlsdf #[yes im on twt i dont wanna talk about it]

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ethersierra · 2 years ago

Text

Welcome to my big log.

About me:

URL used to be taakosleftshoe

My main blog is @moreclaypigeons

my art blog is @sierraveree-art

I run @tazsapphicweek

I have listened to all of the TAZ campaigns, I love Ethersea and Steeplechase especially.

I am an admin and editor of the wiki, which you can find that at adventurezonewiki.miraheze.org, and our blog is @adventurezonewiki, where you can send any and all questions!

I love to draw and sometimes write.

AO3: lessclaypigeons

If you want me to tag anything just lmk!

Proudest posts:

Convincing Justin to GM

A look at my umbrastaff ft taako cosplay

Being a catalyst of the infamous pants post

beary bluejeans

nanofather essay

WIP Proudest posts, art edition:

WIP

Tags:

[I’m still working on getting all of these applied to posts I made before having this kind of system. also this is like 100% for me lol but feel free to sort as you please]

#barry queuejeans - my queue tag! if i've queued a post, or more likely, a reblog, i will add that tag and u will know i was not online just then. it helps keep the ecosystem going.

#srb or #self reblog

#favs - my favs

#sierra speaks - me talking

#a sierra original - a post that’s mine!

#my art

#ask game - did an ask game :D

#fic ref - I’m saving for reference for a fic

#writing tag - my writing

#to id: I still need to add image ID's

#tbr to be read/come back to later

#ref - reference, use for later

#taz playlists - when i talk about playlists!!! i love them!

#other people's fics - i have on occasion mistagged these without the apostrophe. my bad

#friends art

#thank you for the ask! - if i've answered an ask, it should show up here!

#not taz - if im talking about something thats not taz, it ends up here. and you may think oh sierra this is a taz blog why would you-- i do what i want. jk it is probably smth about fandom or my time creating art for fandom or smth

#headcanons - dont use this tag enough so sorry guys

#discord??? i forget my tag tbh

#ttazz spoilers - im unhinged. if u didnt want the the adventure zone zone spoiled LMAO

Campaign specific tags (i don't often do character tags. but sometimes)

Steeplechase

#taz steeplechase

#taz steeplechase spoilers - SPOILER TAG block if u are not prepared

#steeplechase bingo - there is a steeplechase bingo card i am filling out as i listen. it SHOULD??? be tagged this?

Ethersea

#ethersea ref - see above

#ethersea environment ref

#the adventure zone ethersea - usually only on original posts. not consistent

#taz ethersea spoilers - I try to always mark ethersea spoilers with this. so filter it if you’re not caught up!

otherwise, spoilers in: #taz e spoilers

#taz ethersea - originals and reblogs will typically contain this one

#taz e - less common but will use if i’m rushing?

#amber gris

#devo la main

#zoox

#oksamber (aka bubbanana) amber and kodira (oksana)

Balance

#the adventure zone balance

#taz balance spoilers

#taz balance

#it's taako! you know! from tv! - my taako tag

#magnus burnsides

#merle highchurch - ok so i dont use it that much

#blupjeans - barry and lup

#taakitz - taako and kravitz

#magnulia - magnus and julia

#a taag if you will - taagnus tag (get it)

#lucretia and taako - they make me emotional. what can i say

i also have a tag for every arc, pretty much. theyre not consistently added cause i decided to do them later: #### #eleventh hour # #stolen century # #post story and song

Amnesty

Graduation

Dust

Design reference (aka when I see a design I like for a character) (WHY DO I HAVE SO MANY TAGS HERE)

#design ref

Steeplechase

#montrose design

#emerich design

#beef design

Ethersea

#amber gris design

#amber design

#devo design

#zoox design

#oksana design

#urchin design

#blinkshark design

Balance

#taako design

#kravitz design

#merle design

#magnus design

#lucretia design

#lup design

#barry design

#voidfish design

#davenport design

#julia design

Amnesty

#aubrey design

#indrid design

Dust

#indrid design

#augustus parsons design

#callan design

#lulu design

Graduation

#argo design

#firbolg design

#fitz design

#rainer design

#sierra speaks

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liltaz-asatreat · 2 years ago

Text

I was tagged by @yaboyspodcastpalace to find some words in my wips!! :D

Thank you!!! <3

Also, this is really long, so I’m putting it under a readmore lol

So for “heart”, I’ve got something from my Kravitz fic about his origin story lol >:3

“Jaclyn and Kravitz, by order of the Raven Queen, I charge you both with multiple accounts of various necromancy crimes including the ritual you are doing right now. Please step out of the circle, now.”

Kravitz and his mom, Jaclyn, look over at the skeletal figure in the flowing black robe that had just stepped out of a tear in space. They're holding a scythe raised in the air, ready to strike, and their eyes are glowing red with anger.

“What do you mean the ritual we're doing right now?” Kravitz asks in confusion. “We were just��” Then he stops himself as his heart sinks. He should've seen this coming. He had seen this coming, but he faltered in his judgment again when he knows. He knows it always ends this way with his mom.

He drops the basket of bleached chicken bones as he rounds on the old woman standing next to him. He clenches and unclenches his fists as he fights back tears. “What ritual did you drag me into doing this time?!” he demands.

“I promise it's just a religious ceremony to bless my body and prepare me for death,” Jaclyn says in her cracked and sickly voice. “I have no idea what they are talking about.”

Kravitz clenches his fists again and holds them tight. “You're lying. I knew you were lying to me.” He steps closer to her, and his figure looms over her frail and withering frame. “What ritual did you drag me into doing?”

The skeletal figure laughs sourly. “Are you telling me you really don't know, Kravitz?”

Kravitz rounds on them again, and he blinks angry tears out of his eyes. “No, I don't,” he spits. “She used to drag me into doing this shit all of the time, but I never actually studied it because I hated it! I thought I had finally gotten away from it! I thought–” His voice cracks, and his breath catches in his throat.

“You thought what?” the skeletal figure asks forcefully, but there is a waver in their voice.

Kravitz tries to get a hold of his breathing. “She told me she was dying. She told me she was just getting ready for burial when she finally did kick it.”

The figure lowers their scythe a little. “She is preparing her body for death, Kravitz. You're helping your mom turn into a lich.”

I’m probably going to go back and add some more descriptors of the ritual circle because I have new ideas of what it looks like and what the ritual involves even though it’s basically not really shown lol

For “Moon”, I’ve got a bit from the scene where Julia and the gang destroy the Gauntlet! (Also, sorry it’s such a long passage, but I wanted to include the part where they present the umbrella to Lucretia lol >:3

Julia, Magnus, Taako, and Merle are shown into the foyer of the biggest dome on the moon, and on the ground, there's a carpeted runway leading into a throne room and up to a dais. On the dais is a throne, and as the four of them walk closer, they can see the person sitting on the throne is a dark skinned human woman, probably in her early to mid fifties, dressed in a very ornate blue and white robe. She's holding a plain looking white oak staff that Julia side eyes for a second. It's got a weird vibe too. Or maybe it's just residual weird vibes from the gauntlet. It could also be that she's paranoid. Yeah, it's probably the last two now that she thinks about it.

She takes her eyes off it to look back up at the woman as they reach the dais, and the woman smiles and says, “Welcome, the four of you, to the Bureau of Balance. Uh, it's a pleasure to have you. I've– I've heard a lot of great things about your performance from Killian. Um– Before we go any further, I'm– I'm going to need you to hand over the gauntlet so we can destroy it promptly.”

The thing that's annoying Julia the most about this whole gauntlet business is that she can no longer trust her gut feelings. The gauntlet's got her gut in a choke hold, and she can't tell if her immediate panic and distrust of this woman has to do with the valid fear of if she's lying to them and what she could do with it if they give it to her or if it has to do with the gauntlet trying to reach her from Taako's bag. She squeezes Magnus' hand slightly, and he squeezes hers back.

“Really,” Magnus says. “Well for one, it's our gauntlet–”

“Yeah,” Merle cuts in. “You see, that's the kind of business we're in. You know, we kind of get stuff, and people pay us for it.”

Is payment really the first thing they should be concerned about? Julia sighs a little. She would do anything to get rid of the stupid thing as soon as possible as long as the director's on the level, but considering how low her and Magnus' funds are currently, it would be really great if they could wiggle their way into payment she relents.

“Oh you will be paid,” the director says. “You will be paid very very handsomely. Um–”

“That's the kind of thing people say when by 'paying us' they mean 'kill us',” Taako says.

“Yeah, can we get some kind of guarantee that you're not going to do that?” Julia asks.

“Yeah, no that's not how the Bureau operates. I'm not going to kill you. Uh, just give me a moment.” She claps her hands and looks to the side of the room. “Davenport!”

A very finely dressed gnome walks out of a doorway, holding a tray with a coin purse sitting on it. “Davenport!”

The director smiles at him and says, “Go ahead and pay them, Davenport.”

Davenport nods and walks over to them. Magnus grabs the coin purse, and Julia says, “Thank you.”

Davenport smiles and nods before walking away and back through the doorway he came from.

“Thank you,” Magnus says, looking back up at the director. “And secondly– wait, what's your name, madam?”

“That's actually classified, but–”

“Then how should we address you?” Magnus asks, cutting her off.

“Uh, the Director is fine. Or Madam Director is fine also.” The Director says.

“Right, uh, Madam Director, I'm happy to destroy the gauntlet, but I would like to be present while it is destroyed, so I can confirm–”

“Oh yes, I imagine you would. It'll be quite spectacular.” The Director says.

“One moment, could you – could you maybe, tell us about the organization first? Like, why should we trust you? Anything?” Julia says.

“Yeah, we did just see it destroy an entire town. I'd rather know more about who we're giving it over to before we just do that.” Taako says with his arms crossed.

“Right, I can see why you'd be trepidatious. Um, the– the Bureau of Balance is a sort of disarmament organization whose sole purpose is to make the world safer by collecting and destroying certain destructive, powerful artifacts we call the Grand Relics. Artifacts such as the gauntlet in your possession right now.” The Director explains.

“Gotcha,” Magnus says.

“Sounds good to me!” Taako exclaims.

“Since this is a really powerful artifact, how exactly do you plan on destroying it?” Julia asks with an eyebrow raised.

The Director waves her hand toward the side of the room where there's a long curtain drawn across the wall. A guard walks over and draws back the curtain to reveal a large window overlooking an enormous chamber with a raised platform. “We're going to put the gauntlet in a large ball and wheel it in there, and then we'll turn on the lasers built into the walls. The lasers will be beamed into the ball, and when the process is finished, the gauntlet will be destroyed.”

Julia glances over at Taako. “Does that sound solid? I don't know much about magic.”

“Hell yeah! Let's get this thing destroyed!” Taako says.

Another guard walks to the back wall the dais is up against and walks through a door. Then they come back out with a cart and a heavy looking lead sphere with a glass window door that they pop open. “Plop that bad boy right in there!”

Taako snorts, but he pulls out the gauntlet and puts it in the ball. The guard wheels the ball into the chamber before picking it up and placing it on the platform. When they leave the chamber, the Director takes her staff and walks over to the window, gesturing for the other four to follow. They walk up to the window, and the Director taps her staff against the glass. The ball starts to float in the air, and bright pillars of light shoot out from the walls, stabbing into the sphere. After about a minute or so, the beams shut off, and the sphere lowers slowly to the ground. As that happens, Julia feels an immense weight get lifted from her chest. The residual nausea from being around the gauntlet is gone, and she can feel her whole body relax for the first time in hours. Thank fuck.

The guard wheels the cart back in and places the ball onto it before wheeling it back out. The guard winks at them and says, “That's one spicy meatball!”

They laugh as the guard opens the sphere's door, and inside it's empty. As the guard starts rolling it away again, Julia swears she can hear Taako mutter under his breath, “Spicy meat?” She looks over at him, and he seems a little lost in thought.

The Director turns to them and says, “The Phoenix Fire Gauntlet you just destroyed is responsible for some of the worst atrocities this world has ever known. You should be very proud of yourselves.”

“Oh, speaking of magic items, do you know anything about the umbrella Taako has?” Magnus asks.

They all look over at Taako who shakes his head and says, “Oh yeah! Here.” He pulls out the umbrella from his bag and hands it over to the Director.

The Director's eyes go wide for a split second, and her face seems to go through about a half dozen different emotions at once before settling on neutral professionalism. “Um, no, unfortunately I don't know anything about this umbrella. Our artificer, Leon, might though. Out of curiosity, where did you get this?”

“We found it on a dead guy in a cave. The same cave we found that gauntlet actually. Seems like Gundren was kind of right. Maybe the vault didn't have all of the magical armaments and artifacts that was supposed to be there, but there were the two things.” Taako says in kind of an amused way. He takes the umbrella back and puts it in his bag.

The Director looks down for a second and mutters something that sounds a lot like of course she would, but Julia can't be certain. She takes a breath to prepare to ask her about it and if she's sure she doesn't recognize the umbrella, but Merle speaks up first.

“So you called the gauntlet a 'Grand Relic', right? What's that about?”

For “Dream”, I’ve got a little bit of Suffering Game angst from Julia Burnsides vs Canon Lore lol >:3 (I’m gonna rewrite this a little bit eventually though because I used a lot of direct quotes since it’s mostly just a place holder scene for what I actually want to write. I just wrote it because the idea of how Julia would react wouldn’t let me go lol)

They all make it into the room, and Julia looks behind her to see the worm about to smash into the door when the door slams shut and disappears. She slumps against Magnus, shaking slightly as she breathes heavily, and Magnus puts an arm around her comfortingly. “We're almost out,” he murmurs. “We just need to figure out how to get out of... here.”

Julia turns slightly to look around the room. It's another circular chamber, but it's way bigger than the rooms they've been in before. Magnus steps further into the room, and she hesitantly follows. Looking back behind her again as she gets further away from the wall separating the previous room with this one, she can tell that it's actually a featureless cylinder. One of many wrapping around a huge central staircase, with the only thing on it being a label that reads Merle, Taako, Magnus, Julia, Cam.

“Come on, guys, I think... I think this is where we need to go next.” Julia looks at Magnus as he gestures to the circular staircase. It climbs about twenty feet up to a circular platform in the center of the chamber. A perfect spot for a final fight in one of those video james Magnus talks about sometimes from his dreams.

Taako and Merle walk a bit closer to him and the stairs. “You think the bell would be up there?” Taako asks.

“Well, it's not down here,” Magnus says with a shrug.

Cam floats a little further away from all of them and clears his throat. “Uh, listen, guys. It looks like you all are going to get out of here, and I hope you find what you're looking for before you do, but I uh... I think I'm going to part ways with you now.”

“What?” Magnus asks in disbelief as they all turn to stare at him.

“It's... It's like I said, Magnus, I'm a living disembodied head. I'm pretty sure the only reason why I'm alive is because Wonderland is keeping me alive eternally just to pump more suffering out of me, so if I leave with you all, I'm toast.”

Julia laughs a little unhumorously, and Magnus takes a few steps toward him, eyes narrowed. “Wait, so you'd rather– let me get this straight– you'd rather stay in here, as a head, forever, in a place that feeds on suffering, rather than go with us and be free from this.”

Cam bites his lip. “To be free from this place that's keeping me alive. Yeah, that doesn't sound good either, Magnus.”

Julia feels anger building in her chest and behind her eyes as Taako asks, “Why did you come with us then and make us take all those extra punishments?”

“I thought I could help y'all get out of here, and I did!” Cam says in an attempt at a self congratulatory voice. “Gooo Cam!”

“I mean, you cast a spell!” Taako says indignantly. “Two!”

“Yeah, I provided some sage guidance! Let's not split hairs–”

“All the sage guidance you gave us was back when we first met you!” Julia seethes. “And most of it we either already pretty much figured out or we could have figured out on our own!”

“Again, that's splitting hairs–” Cam tries, but that only makes her angrier.

“It's not splitting hairs when you had us under the assumption that we were helping each other! We didn't need to take you with us! If you wanted to just stay here, why on earth did you ask for us to suffer more for you?” she demands.

She takes a few more steps toward him as he floats backward away from her, but then she feels Magnus' arms wrap around her and stop her from cornering him. “Jules, it doesn't matter,” he says quietly. “The damage has already been done.”

“Okay, I see that this conversation isn't going to go down well, so I'm going to go hide out somewhere, I guess,” Cam says nervously. “Thanks for trying to rescue me and all that, and when you see Lucretia–”

Magnus stiffens and straightens up. “Now, hold on, Cam! I'm just going to stop you there, we successfully rescued you. You're refusing to be rescued. This is not a failure on our part.”

“Yeah, fuck it. Put him in your Pocket Workshop, Maggie.” Merle says with his arms crossed.

“Please don't throw me back in your Pocket Workshop,” Cam says quickly. “When you see Lucretia, tell her... I don't know. Make up something... heroic for me I guess.”

“Nope!” Merle says.

“Are you–” Julia tries to fight her way forward, but Magnus holds her fast. “The audacity–”

“Hey, Tam?” Taako says, cutting her off.

“It's Cam,” Cam says.

“Right, Cam? I'll make you a deal!” Taako says in a little singsong voice.

Cam laughs nervously. “Alright, but it's gonna have to be a pretty sweet one.”

Taako snorts. “If you let me kill you, you can live in my waaaand!”

That breaks Julia out of her building rage enough to make her snort.

“No, no I don't want that at all!” Cam says, laughing nervously again as he begins to back away some more.

Taako and Merle step closer to him as Taako says, “My umbrella will eat you–”

Merle laughs as he finishes Taako's sentence: “And you'll live forever!”

“You'll live forever in service to meeee!” Taako shakes his umbrastaff at Cam. “Imagine the possibilities!”

“No, I'm good. Thanks though.” Cam says, backing up even more.

“No wait, Cam?” Julia says, and he turns to look at her.

She pauses for a second to consider. Somewhere deep down under the turbulent ocean of her darkest fears and deepest anger, she does feel some sympathy toward Cam and his situation.

Unfortunately, she decides, she's not in the mood to listen to that part of herself.

Somewhere to the left of that place is her usually strong sense of morality. Forcing Cam to die instead of letting him make his own decision, no matter what he did or did not do, is wrong on a lot of levels.

Even more unfortunately, she decides that in this moment, she doesn't care about that either.

“Taako,” she says coldly while keeping eye contact with Cam. “You're going to need all of the magical potency you can get if we're going to really make it out of here. Just fucking kill him.”

“Taako, don't,” Magnus says quickly as he pulls her back a couple of paces. “Your staff already ate Wankins' wand. We should just focus on getting out of here.”

Julia glances at Taako, and he looks at Cam long and hard. Cam squirms a little under the scrutiny of his gaze.

Finally, he sighs and flips his umbrastaff over his back. “Can I have my wand back?”

Cam sighs in relief. “Yeah, hang on.” He wiggles around a little to get the wand to fall from his ear and into his mouth before he flings it at Taako.

Taako catches it and puts it in his bag. “Thanks.”

“Yeah, good luck!” Cam floats away and skulks behind the cylinder that they all came out of.

Merle sighs as Magnus hesitantly lets go of Julia. “We're never picking up another hitch hiker.”

“Agreed,” Taako and Julia say at the same time.

“Yeah, let's just find the bell and get out of here,” Magnus says.

Okay! I’m gonna tag @holdmecloser-gandydancer, @barry-j-blupjeans, @institute-of-planar-shitposts, @noodyl-blasstal, and anyone else who wants to do it! :D and your words are stars, light, and dark lol

#Thank you again for the tag; Tania!!#I love showing my wips :3 #tag game #written works of Gab #Julia Burnsides vs Canon Lore

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sirthisisa-wendys · 3 years ago

Text

Rewind (Part 4): Keizo Arashi x Fem!Reader

synopsis: winning also means losing.

wc: 1.9k

tw: mentions of violence

previous part ⏮ masterlist ⏭ next part

song recommendation:

"I hear that love is blue Ooh, I wonder if your love is true Think of all the things we've been through Did it ever end between me and you? Between me and you..."

You can see South's scowl in the reflection of the studio window. He despises this song in particular - the song Ran said would be your first single - but South trusts Ran's judgment more than he hates your song.

"Sounds like a winner," Ran nods, uncrossing his arms and looking at the man at the mixing board. "Can you make sure this gets to me by midnight tonight? We'll be orchestrating some PR with it, and I want to make sure the song is finished before then."

You look over to Kakucho, who quirks his lips but remains silent.

"Next song needs to be a light-hearted one," South gripes, rising from the leather couch. "I don't like listening to sad songs."

You all watch him stalk out of the room, leaving nothing but a wide berth of unease in his wake.

_____________________________________________________________

"'Blue' is being streamed everywhere. It's hit the charts as well."

"She's been nominated for the Best New Artist at the International Music Awards. Do you want to put any press out?"

South stands in front of you while Ran and Kakucho ask him questions you're not sure how to answer.

"Let's put out the picture of her from last week's shoot for the press about the award. And then we can talk about the charts." The two men nod, and Kakucho looks down at his phone, pursing his lips.

"She's gaining traction on social media, too. Might be verified before the year's up."

"Hear that, princess?" South wonders, smiling at you over his shoulder. "You might actually get a taste of fame soon."

Your heart drops. Fame comes with more obligations, more problems, more expectations. Sweat pools under your armpits, and for a brief moment, your throat constricts in on itself. How can you live up to the standards of being famous if you're barely surviving under South's grasp now?

I have to get out of here.

"Y/n?" You're brought out of your spiraling emotions by Kakucho's voice, and it seems that South has disappeared while you were having a moment. "You look pale."

"It's nothing," you reply, trying for a smile. "Thanks for your help."

You grab your purse and hurry out of the office, thinking about everything you need to do before the awards show and potentially becoming the "next big thing".

_____________________________________________________________

"Y/n, who are you wearing tonight?"

"Haus of Khan," you reply to the interviewer, smiling the fakest smile you can manage.

"And you've been nominated for Best New Artist, all thanks to your hit single 'Blue'." You nod, smiling shyly. "A lot of fans want to know, who is the song about? We know about your island romance with Keizo Arashi--"

"That's enough," South gripes, uncrossing his arms while you're ushered off toward the venue. "Thank you for your questions." Your eyes desperately want to communicate the truth hiding underneath your tulle skirts, on your face, under the extensions on your hair. Your eyes search the crowd for a familiar face - for someone - but only Yuzuha is nearby, directing the press for the next round of questions.

"Please, refrain from asking about any romances or vacations. Stick to the music and the award ceremony tonight."

"Ms. Y/n! Takemitchi Hanegaki from Entertainment Weekly." The young man reaches out a hand and smiles brightly. "A few questions?" You nod, which encourages him to continue.

"What is your current album inspired by?"

"Mostly by my own experiences, especially growing up in a small town."

"And what about your single, 'Blue'?"

"Love," you answer honestly. Takemitchi laughs nervously, scribbling your answers down.

"Who influences your music the most?"

"Lots of people," you answer. "I have influences from hip-hop, R&B, even a little bit of synth-pop."

"Very versatile," Takemitchi answers, sounding impressed. "Thank you for answering my questions, Ms. Y/n. I hope you win tonight."

"Between me and you, Mr. Hanegaki," you begin, leaning in close. "I hope someone else will." When you pull away, Takemitchi looks dumbfounded, almost in disbelief of your words.

"You're so modest and humble," he laughs, shaking his head. "You deserve it most of all."

"No more questions," you call out, walking toward the venue once more. You meet South at your seat, feeling the cold air on your shoulders and elbows.

"You should've seen the look on Mikey's face," South laughs, nudging Kakucho. "Told him to eat shit and he went all 'how do you want to die' on me!" You wiggle your toes in the boots you're wearing under the dress, trying your best not to bring attention to the crinkling inside while South jeers at another artist with his catcalls.

"Do you know where the restrooms are?" you ask Yuzuha, who's appeared suddenly.

"I'll take you there." The walk toward the bathroom is silent, and you try your best to think of something to say while the woman is beside you and you're left alone together. But when you finally think of the words, you're interrupted by a soft gasp.

"There she is."

You avoid the eyes of the peering women as you slip into a stall, trying your best to avoid stirring up any gossip.

"I heard she's sleeping her way to the top."

"Oh, really? I heard she hooked up with Benkei, and when things went bad, she moved on to South to save face."

The words swirl around your head like gnats, except you don't have any strength to swat them away. All you can do is just hope they focus on something else to say and someone else to rebuke or be nasty to.

"I haven't heard any of that."

The voice that pipes up in your defense isn't your own, nor is it Yuzuha's. It's an entirely new voice. You finish up and exit the stall quickly, only to face the woman who stood up for you.

"You're--"

"Up for the nom, too, I see." Senju, the eponymous rapper, states and stares you down. "Good luck out there." She sticks out her hand, but you hold yours up.

"Need to wash mine." Senju watches you as you run the water, her eyes narrowing in on your features. "What?"

"He speaks so highly of you." You clench your jaw. "But there's something about you I can't quite place..."

"No need to scrutinize me," you quip, wiping your hands on the paper towels. "I already get enough of that daily." When you turn around, Senju is already in your way.

"He beats you, doesn't he?" You look up at the other women in the bathroom, trying to see who's listening. "I can see it in your eyes."

"Makeup can't cover everything." You try to push past the platinum blonde, only to find your wrist captured in her hand. "You're hurting me."

"The only thing hurting you is the lie you're living." Senju lets you go without another word, walking out of the bathroom - more like floating - in her silk pleased dress and high heels. It's then that you feel it again - the need to escape - crash over your head and bring you to a standstill. It feels like forever until you can recall your mind back to your body, then walk out of the restroom, eyes unfocused.

You can barely make it through the entire awards show. Even though Taiju and Sanzu get up on the stage to hype up the crowd at the beginning and a somber, sad-eyed Kazutora sings a ballad to his childhood, you can't seem to enjoy yourself at all. The air seems to be filled with resentment and anger, even though you're all there to celebrate some type of achievement that landed you at the awards ceremony in the first place. By the time the award for Best New Artist is being presented, you can barely recognize yourself on the screen, your doe eyes flicking up to capture the audience in a staged mesmerizing glance while you mouth the songs to 'Blue' in the music video.

No, all you can see are the fading bruises on your back, the way you can barely tilt your head to the left - as you were directed- because South had tried to choke you out the night before.

All you can see is the pain and suffering that brought you here.

Two more faces pass on the screen before it returns to the MCs, and you vaguely hear your name ring out in the auditorium. Cheers erupt around you - this is the fifth win for Tenjiku Records tonight - and clapping echoes around the venue.

But who are they clapping for?

You? Or the person pulling the strings who's beside you?

Your feet carry you up the steps, and you take the award - a beautiful bust of Aoide, the Muse of song - then stand at the mic, inhaling shakily.

"Wow." Your eyes scan the crowd, and you see South's face in a triumphant grin. Then they pan over to where Senju is sitting, her lips in a thin line. And that's when you see Benkei, hand covering his mouth as he watches you. Tears come to your eyes as you think of all the things you lost just to get this one item... this one token of success.

"Um..." You pause again. Benkei's hand drops, and he straightens up in his seat like he wants to get up and do something. "I want to thank my record label... Tenjiku. My manager, Yuzuha... and especially those of you who have taken the time to listen to me. It means a lot that you would spend your time pouring into my life--" You hiccup, holding back tears. "I could never ask for more loyal people by my side. Thank you."

You don't hear the applause as you walk off stage, nor as you're ushered toward the makeup crew who is standing just off-stage. All you can hear is the words repeating in your head, over and over again,

I have to get out of here. I have to get out of here.

A large sign with the word 'exit' looms ahead, and you hold the coveted award close as you push past the makeup team and dash for the door.

"Y/n!" Voices clamor behind you, but as you dart out of the door and toward the street, you can't think of anything but escape.

"Taxi!" you scream, holding your hand out as your boots hit the wet pavement. "Taxi!" A taxi pulls up on the curb and you hop in, slamming the door shut behind you. "Just drive," you cry out, panicked. You see the faces of some assistants pass by as the taxi speeds off and for a second, you wonder if they'll chase you down on foot.

But as the vehicle crosses the bridge out of the city, everything in you relaxes. The gold award in your hand slumps into your lap, shining in the passing lights as the driver continues on, running up the meter.

Finally, you murmur:

"Take me to a motel far away from here. I don't care how much it costs." You reach down into your boot and pull out a roll of one hundred dollar bills - one of the four rolls stashed away inside of your shoes. Three bills are tossed over the seats into the woman's cupholder. "Somewhere where no one will find me."

#keizo arashi #keizo arashi x reader #benkei tokyo revengers #benkei x reader #tokyo revengers x reader #tokyo revengers #Spotify

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happyandticklish · 2 years ago

Note

You know I gotta. Taako! And Lup! ❣ from the ask game please! :0

❣ -Cackle

Two hands latched onto his waist, seeming to almost pinch the bone itself as they squeezed. Taako yelped, jerking his arms down and accidentally knocking the bowl of batter in front of him. It tilted perilously for a heart stopping moment before righting itself once more, to his relief.

Taako glared back at her, but she had already retracted her hands, using them to instead steal the spatula out of the bowl to lick. “What was that for?”

Lup shrugged, hopping up onto the corner. “Dunno. Fun? I’ve only just gotten my physical form back, remember? I have to make the most out of it.”

“By tickling me?” Taako replied skeptically, wishing his cheeks didn’t flush pink at the word. It was almost like saying it summoned the sensation anew, and he casually crossed his arms over his chest to prevent any further attacks.

“And kissing Barry,” Lup added quickly, making Taako wrinkle his face up in disgust. He wasn’t particularly inclined towards hearing about his sister’s romantic escapades. “Besides, it’s only fair. Think of how many years I’ve missed of tickling you! You’ll be laughing into the next decade before I’m done making up for it.”

“Absolutely not,” Taako said, taking an instinctive step back. “No need, Magnus and Kravitz have more than made up for your absence, so I’m all good on laughter. Thanks, but no thanks.”

It wasn’t exactly a lie. Taako still regretted accidentally letting that particular bit of information slip to his friends. Well. Partly regretted it anyway. Maybe he didn’t mind it too much when they did it, and perhaps even looked forward to it on occasion. Not that he would admit anything of the sort to Lup in a million years; he would never hear the end of it.

“Sure, but they haven’t had the years of practice destroying you that I have,” Lup countered, gesturing with the spatula as she talked. “I always dominated at tickle fights when we were younger. It would be good to remind you who’s the superior sibling.”

Taako wanted to argue the point further, but her words reminded him of something. Appearances and birthdays weren’t the only things they shared as twins.

“You know, I distinctly remember that I wasn’t always the loser of those fights,” Taako said casually, stalking over to her. Lup frowned, sliding her hands forward to grip the edge of the counter in case she needed to make a quick escape. “In fact, I think we even share most of the same spots. And since, as you said, you are here and do have a physical body now--”

“Don’t you dare, Taako—”

“Then I think I’m owed some revenge?”

Taako lunged out and in a flash Lup had hopped off the counter, twisting around him and scampering into the hallway. It was a valiant attempt, but Taako merely smirked as he cast mage hand with a flick of his wrist. He waited a few seconds until he heard the shriek from the hallway before he finally chased after her.

Lup lay curled up on the ground, having lost her balance after the sneak attack. She giggled wildly, trying to fight off her hidden enemy as invisible fingers poked and prodded and skittered all over her torso.

“Mahahahagic ihihihis cheheheating!” Lup protested, jerking her shoulders up when nails discovered the spot behind her ears. It was a spot that Taako himself shared, so he knew how effective that particular method could be. “Tahahahaako c-c’mohohon!”

“What, I thought you were the superior sibling,” Taako teased, kneeling down and quickly grabbing her wrists to leave her vulnerable to the hand’s will. “Surely if that were true, you shouldn’t be bothered by just a bit of tickling?”

“Buhuhut thihihis ihihisn’t fahahahair! Wahahait nohOHOHO!”

Lup jumped as the fingers found the bad spot near the bottom of her ribs, digging in with a gentle precision that had her cackling as she kicked her legs out in protest. Technically, she probably could have used magic to help her out, but it was impossible to concentrate under these conditions. She had forgotten what tickling felt like after so long without a body, and she found herself regretting all her teasing earlier.

“Admit I’m the better sibling,” Taako demanded, reaching down with one of his own hands to tweak her right side as well. “And stay out of my kitchen until the brownies are actually finished. I won’t have any batter left if you’re there.”

“Ahahand, ehehe, yohohou’ll stahahap?”

“I’ll consider it. If you sound really sincere.”

When faced with the team-up on both sides, Lup almost gave in, the tickling frying her brain and making all logical thought impossible. Somehow, however, she managed to shake her head no, determined to show she really was superior at tickle fights (even if maybe, just maybe, that wasn’t true).

Eventually she did give in once Taako cast mage hand again and she found herself under siege by three different hands now, each digging into her worst spots.

She determined to make up for her defeat another day, of course. This was merely a strategic retreat to rally her forces, or at least that’s what she convinced herself later as she curled up into a giggling ball against the wall, still fighting off leftover phantom sensations.

Next battle would be hers, for sure.

I figured Taako is always the lee in fics, and Lup deserves a chance to get wrecked too~ Thanks for sending in an ask!!

#tickle fic #the adventure zone #taako #lup #taz #fanfiction #drabble #tickling #asks #answered ask #ask game

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noodyl-blasstal · 1 year ago

Text

Super-ish

It's day 9 of @taznovembercelebration and I drew "superhero AU". Taako's speed dating to save the puppy orphans!

Read below or on Ao3 and find yesterday's prompt here.

The bell clangs loudly and it can't come soon enough. It's a melody, a sweet symphony of horrible bell janglies because it means Taako gets to move on.

When Magnus told him there was a speed dating event to raise money for the puppy orphanage Taako definitely, 100%, absolutely told him it was a fucking stupid idea. He knows those words came out of his face, near certainly followed by 'what nerd's gonna show up to that?' Apparently him? Apparently he's the nerd that's gonna show up to it. He doesn't know how it happened, it's like he blacked out and woke up with at least twenty of the worst men in the city taking turns to talk at him.

Magnus looks so pleased with himself, he and Julia are holding hands, even when Magnus rings the bell. They keep looking at him expectantly every time too. He has to keep giving them a small head shake and destroying their dreams of finally pairing him off and getting to go on double dates. Taako's the perma third wheel baby, get used to it.

Honestly, Taako was sick of his single status, and maybe that was how Magnus wore him down. He tried at first, he did, but there were only so many times he could be talked at tonight. His most promising match so far seemed to be the spider magician. If he wasn't in a fucking cult he'd probably be a great bet, but the guy's deep in the sauce. Also, Taako and Brian?? Terrible. There's no mystery in it. What are they gonna portmanteau to? Taian? Braako? Bad. No way. Taako needs sophistication, he needs...

"Kravitz." Says the, admittedly handsome, dude he plunks himself down opposite. Something's gotta be wrong with him. He's wearing a three piece suit, a nice one, his tie has a tasteful skull pattern and Taako wanted to inspect his raven collar pin. He wanted to inspect a lot of things about Kravitz. Corporate goth with flair, most other people were in jeans and a t-shirt... or their spider magic uniform.

"So, what're you in for?" Taako asks. He's long given up on the suggested questions on the sheet. He doesn't know if he cares about this guy's job yet, or if he wants kids or likes sports.

"I'm here to find true love, obviously... Taako?" Kravitz glances at Taako's name badge and actually pronounces it right, suspect behaviour, if you ask him, along with taking this seriously.

Kravitz manages to hold his face in a sappy smile for a few moments before he cracks and laughs. "My friend bullied me into it. Bought me a ticket, drove me here with her wife. I've actually possibly been kidnapped - do you think I need to tell anyone?"

"Hmmm, are you having a bad time? I think it's only kidnap of you're not enjoying yourself."

"Then it's partial kidnap. I wasn't having a good time before , but I am now."

Okay, so he was funny too, funny and handsome, Taako likes funny and handsome. Taako can work with funny and handsome, especially if he keeps flirting.

"How about you? Why are you here?" Kravitz asks and leans in like he's interested in the answer.

"I have no idea. Not in a 'they knocked me out and put me in a trunk and now I'm here' way, more a 'my friend turned every ounce of his enthusiasm on me and I got caught in the tractor beam and now I'm here' way."

Kravitz nods sympathetically, like he understands, like the same thing could happen to anyone.

"That's him, over there, staring intently at us right now." Taako waggles his fingers at Magnus, who raises his eyebrows questioningly. "He's the most married man I know who isn't my brother in law."

"Gross." Says Kravitz happily and waves at Magnus too, probably giving him false hope. Magnus looks delighted.

"Anyway..." says Kravitz, "...down to business, if you could fly to the moon via any object and have one cheese as a snack, what would you choose?" Kravitz picks up his pen to take notes like he's taking this seriously, like he's considering Taako as a life partner. Wild.

But... the thing is, Taako likes to win.

"Unicorn." He replies immediately. "With two horns. If Taako's going to the moon he's gonna go in style."

"What's the unicor... Binicorn? called?" Okay, Kravitz is operating near his level, he knows how to play.

"Binicorn, thank you for respecting Garyl's identity. Now, cheesewise, cheesewise you got me because there's options, see, there's manchego because it's smooth and it's got the fun texture; but could cha'boy whip up a baked camembert with hot honey and garlic?"

Kravitz considers for a moment, then nods. "I'll allow it." He jots some things down on his black notepad with his silver ink pen. It was covered in tiny bats.

Taako admires the commitment to aesthetic theme. Taako also desperately, passionately, needs to know what he's writing. It'd better be "hottest man alive, great cheese opinions, 69/10"

"But the problem is, the problem is, that cave aged cheddar exists. It's got the bits."

"The mineral chunks!" Kravitz adds with enthusiasm.

"A man of taste I see!"

"I like to think so."

Kravitz sounds like he's flirting. Taako was probably flirting? He oozed it apparently, had no idea it was happening most of the time. People got angry about it sometimes, but you can't lead someone on if you don't know you're doing it.

"How about you, cheese and object?"

"Giant raven, mozzarella shreds straight out of the bag." Kravitz doesn't even look ashamed.

He's disgusting, he's perfect.

The bell rings, loud and unwelcome. It's far too soon, Magnus clearly fucked up the timings, but some guy is walking over here like he's planning to sit down?

"Keep it moving, kemosabe, this seat's taken."

Maybe he should have checked with Kravitz before engaging this plan, but he hasn't objected, so Taako's going to assume he's on board.

Magnus looks confused and gives the bell another jangle while looking straight at Taako - which means he misses the chaos it causes as everyone else stands up and rotates again. Julia tugs their conjoined hands and gently guides him away from ringing a third time.

"Nope." Taako doesn't even look round at the second guy. He's absolutely not budging, this is the first conversation even vaguely worth his time. Goth boy is his now, actually.

"Thank you." Kravitz looks relieved enough that Taako doesn't feel any guilt. "You're stuck with me now, you can't throw me back into the man pit."

"If you insist, but the man pit sounds intriguing."

"The man mines?"

"Yeah, okay, Taako doesn't do heavy labour."

"I bet you did while you were carrying all those prior conversations." Kravitz wiggles his eyebrows, dork.

"Speaking of which what's your shit superpower?" Taako asks. "I mean, you can tell Taako if you can stop time or whatever too, cha'boy isn't a snitch, but this is about the day to day powers." Taako kind of hopes he can stop time, honestly, then he doesn't have to worry about Magnus' bell ringing.

"I run the perfect bath every time." Kravitz barely hesitates, just has it ready to go.

"You know how you like your bath?" Taako's not convinced Kravitz understands the question.

"Oh, no, you misunderstand me, anyone, no matter who, I can run them the perfect bath." Kravitz looks totally confident. It's weirdly sexy. Maybe it has been too long since Taako dated...

"Run many baths for strangers, have you?"

Kravitz winces slightly, oh, now Taako's intrigued.

"There was this whole thing in college." Kravitz begins.

This sounds like it's going to get unhinged. Taako needs to know this story right now immediately. He rests his chin on his hand and may or may not flutter his eyelashes a little, no one can prove anything one way or another.

Kravitz looks like he's running sums in his head, big ones, difficult ones, with scary number teeth.

"You can't dangle something like that and then stop!" Taako needs to hear.

"It... well... when I..." Kravitz starts, then seems to find his feet. "Sloane, my married friend, off of kidnapping me fame."

Taako nods to show he follows.

"We went to college together, in Goldcliff."

Taako winces.

"Yeah, exactly. We were full ride scholarships, but most people were so posh and so rich and so unaware. The cost of everything there was ridiculous - so we needed money."

It's a shame Kravitz isn't loaded, but at least he's not saddled with college debt and was smart enough for someone to give him money about it.

"I ran Sloane a bath one time after she had a hellish shift at the roller skate diner and I guess she mentioned offhand that I ran the perfect bath because Johann asked if I'd do one for him and he was a friend so I did and he loved it." There's definitely pride in his tone. This is incredible, Taako wants to study him. Lup's gonna get a kick out of this.

"Sloane thought it was the perfect rich people nonsense magnet - pay 40 quid for the perfect bath. Pocket change to them, a week of food for us."

Taako nods as if this is a reasonable plan, a completely normal thing to do with one's time. "Bath consultant, right, of course."

"Oh, no, no no Taako, there's no consultation, I just do it. Wham, bam, perfect bath every time. It was weird enough that they'd pay it to test it out, and then they'd tell their friends and their friends would test it out. Snowballing. Bathballing." Kravitz looks so earnest, so keen for Taako to understand the magnitude of his powers.

"You bathballed your way through college?" Taako adores this man. He's going to pick him up so carefully, take him home and put him in a special box and just look at him.

Kravitz nods. "What can I say? I'm talented."

He looks so self confident, so pleased with himself, Taako's probably being goaded right now... But, but...

"What kind of bath do I like?"

"I can't tell you."

"Is it illegal?"

"I can't describe the perfect bath, and if I tried you might do something that gives me an indication of what you like which is cheating. I don't need to cheat. I have to just do it."

Okay, Taako's in. "What're you doing after this, handsome?"

"Running you a bath?"

"You can run us both a bath, if you'd like."

Kravitz's smile is wide, but he pretends to take a second to consider anyway. "Hmmm... What's your shit power? You'll need to show me yours if I show you mine."

Taako laughs lightly. "You're never going to believe this, Kraveroo, but cha'boy makes the perfect breakfast. Whatever you're craving in the morning will be what Taako already decided to make."

"I can't wait."

I hope you enjoyed! Want to read more? Find the next prompt here.

#taz balance #noodyl writes #taz november celebration #taz nc #taz fic #taakitz #taako #Kravitz

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ceilingfan5 · 2 years ago

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laughing, for @taznovembercelebration

Istus has noticed a lot about Kravitz’s new little friend, Taako. She’s noticed that they’ve bonded very quickly, and that Kravitz is coming home from first grade a lot happier than he did kindergarten. She’s noticed that they spend all their time together and can’t seem to get tired of one another. She’s noticed he’ll wear the same clothes several days in a row, and that he’ll never, ever refuse a snack, or a second snack, or a third. She’s noticed the big-eyed stare he gets on his face when she and Raven are sweet on him, how stunned and pleased he is when Kravitz grabs his little hand to run around and pretend that the carrots in the chicken and stars soup gave them magic wizard powers.

They’re good for each other, she decides, and she and Raven have an understanding that Taako, as well as his twin, are always, always welcome, although they appreciate a heads-up when it’s going to happen.

The funny thing about kids is they make you incredibly aware of the passage of time, and Raven and Istus had Kravitz late in their lives anyway, so every time Istus turns around, they seem to be getting bigger. Her darling baby gets taller and broader, though he always stays soft around the middle, precious thing, and she finds herself slipping a hand-me-down into Taako’s backpack here and there. It’s okay if he has to cuff the jeans–at least they aren’t falling apart at the seams.

Those sweet boys grow together like fungi and algae, and they’re lichen each other a lot. Fewer kids come to Kravitz’s birthday party every year, until it’s just Taako, and that makes her chest ache, but she and Raven use it as a full excuse to spoil the boys, and Taako’s family never seem to care what they do, especially if Lup gets to join them, if she doesn’t have a birthday party to go to. One year they go to the big zoo in the next state over, and they spend over an hour in the aquarium section of the park. She watches Taako do cartwheels, watches the dolphins mirror him, watches Kravitz watching Taako with absolute delight. Raven tells her they don’t need to buy out the gift shop, but hell, what is money for if you can’t plaster the world’s biggest smile on a couple of bright-eyed kids very seriously drafting a custody arrangement for a life-sized stuffed dolphin?

They even fall asleep on it on the long drive home.

Halloween and Christmases and pizza nights and study sessions and sleepovers pass like blurry cows out the window of a moving vehicle, and they grow up, grow closer, grow to understand the world a little deeper. Taako figures it out first, of course, clever little beastie. Poor Kravitz has a long series of accidental girlfriends he didn’t know how to say no to. Poor Kravitz googles “how to break up with a girl” and asks about the Girlfriend Rules, serious as the grave. Poor Kravitz has to heal things with his best friend over and over, clueless as to why Taako’s so upset, and refuses to explain.

“I just wish I was gay, so I could marry Taako and never have to deal with this again,” he grumbles, too big for a bedtime story but too soft and sweet to let go of the comforting routine. Raven has it written all over her face, but Istus manages to hold her off. Raven chews through parenting article after parenting article that night, and Istus looks over her reading glasses and laughs softly.

“We should tell him,” she says.

“He’ll figure it out,” Istus promises.

And he does, although it gets harder and harder not to say anything without him bringing it up first. And by the time he does, Taako’s gotten himself a football boy from the other high school, and Kravitz bemoans the fact that he wouldn’t want to go to the stupid dance if Taako wasn’t going, and they always used to have a sleepover and laugh about the weirdos who liked that kind of thing, and what a horrible betrayal it was that Taako wouldn’t talk to him about this first, and why would he do such a thing?

And Istus just looks at him, and dawn breaks slow and steady and cold on his face, and he flops back on his bed and lets all the air out of his body in one long raspberry.

“Permission to swear?” he says, which he hasn’t bothered to do since he was twelve.

“Granted,” Istus says, of course.

“Fuck,” he says, barely a breath, hardly audible, more than fair.

“I think we can help you come up with a plan,” Istus says, and she and Raven and Kravitz pick him out a tasteful suit, gangly now, who knows how he’s suddenly taller than Raven, and they order flowers, and Kravitz drafts a letter he doesn’t show them. And the night of the dance, they drive him to the school, and soothe his nerves, and promise him it’ll be alright. And they do the hardest part, the most important part, the part of parenting that comes again and again and hurts every time: they let go.

Istus waits for the text for a ride home, and it doesn’t come, and at eleven thirty pm, she hears the door open, and soon they’re laughing in his bedroom again, and she knows it’ll be okay.

They’re good for each other.

#taakitz #taakitz fic #taz #tazb #taz balance #the adventure zone #the adventure zone balance #fan5fics #taznc #i cried

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di0bran · 3 years ago

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stuck with you ; taakitz

pairing: taako x kravitz (taakitz)

word count: 2.9k

genre: arranged marriage, modern royalty au

warning(s): n/a

author's note: hello lovelies! i am so excited to put out a piece that, as much as i love jojo's, is not jojo's. it is another fandom i have gotten a huge hyperfixation on once again, and that is the adventure zone which if you like d&d and have not listened to it, please do. it is simply amazing. now onto the writing! <3 i hope y'all enjoy reading this first part as much as i enjoyed writing it!

“i simply don’t understand why i’m the one who has to get married, lup could certainly be the one getting in an arranged marriage.” taako crossed his arms across his chest, his usual nonchalant attitude replaced by one of irritation now that he was the one forced to marry someone he didn't even know.

lup snickered, "do you not remember i'm with barry? or does that just conveniently slip your mind at the most perfect moments?" her twin had always kept his cool - but in this situation, it was understandable for him to be annoyed. “barry and i have been together for how many years now?”

“i have most certainly not forgotten, but i would like to know why you and barry cannot be arranged to marry.”

"barry isn't royalty, so it wouldn't benefit anyone. but your marriage to someone with some high status will definitely be beneficial to all of us, including you."

the twins had continued their bickering until their aunt intervened, "listen, you two, we have a reason for this. i need both of you to stop bickering so taako can get ready. today, he will meet his suitor... the raven queen requested a meeting between you and her son.”

‘her son?’ taako thought to himself, ‘she’s talking about kravitz.. they want me to marry him?’... “we’re polar opposites!” the last of his thoughts were being voiced out loud, “you want me to marry kravitz? he and i are nothing alike!”

"and why does that matter?" it gives you two more things to discuss, just wait. you're sure to fall in love with him after learning something about him." their aunt continued, but taako was only half paying attention.

an arranged marriage with the raven queen’s son? taako had never met kravitz, but heard stories about the men and women who were enamored with him. as far as taako was concerned, if just about everyone who had seen him thought he was attractive, he supposed that it was something that he could give a chance.

“where am i supposed to be meeting him at?”

“at the raven queen’s estate, of course. so please go put on your best attire, taako.��

“fine, i’ll go.” taako raced up the stairs with lup following behind, “why are you following me?”

“do you not want my help?” lup asked, crossing her arms over her chest as she stopped on the middle of the steps.

“oh i most certainly do.” taako laughed, stopping to look behind him, “you always know how to braid my hair just right.” he smiled softly as he continued up the stairs with lup following suit. he opened the door to his quarters, now sitting on the edge of his bed. “come on, i don’t have all day. i get to go meet my suitor,” he spoke the last part with a hint of sarcasm behind his voice, and it made the pair laugh.

“i don’t think it’ll be that bad,” lup started, now sitting behind taako and pulling his long blond hair back behind him into a braid, “if i’m being honest, he seems like your type.” lup giggled as she put the braid over taako’s shoulder, “as your twin, i am obligated to know your type in men, and kravitz seems to be just that.”

“and you would know that… why?”

“oh, because i’ve seen kravitz before.” lup, now laid back on taako’s bed, knew this was going to rile taako up.

“and you’re just telling me now?!” taako exclaimed, turning around to face lup, “what does he look like, lulu? come on, you can at least give me that, right?” he had a grasp on her shoulders, and she couldn’t help but laugh.

“he’s tall, dark, and handsome according to your standards.” lup snickered at taako’s instant change of attitude after she said those words. “but i’ve heard he’s very… quiet. he keeps to himself, and isn’t one to open up quickly.”

“are you trying to scare me away? i’m going to have to marry him if it’s what the raven queen wants, lup. i’d do anything so you wouldn’t have to give up your relationship with barry, and you know that.”

“yeah, but hearing you say it definitely makes me want to get teary still.” lup smiled with small tears forming in the corners of her eyes. taako was always going to do whatever it took to make lup happy, they were twins after all. if he had to be in an arranged marriage so lup could stay happy with barry, he was going to jump head first into it.

“oh lulu, don’t start crying. you don’t want to make me cry before my date, now do you?” taako laughed as he held back the few tears from seeing lup cry. “why don’t you distract yourself by helping me decide on a color to wear. and don’t say red. because red is one hundred and ten percent your color.”

“fine, if you won’t wear red… then, wear neutral colors with your purple cloak and hat. i know you’ll feel silly with your hat but-”

“i will not feel silly with my hat, you know it’s my favorite accessory.” taako took offense to lup’s comment about him feeling abnormal while wearing his rather large wizard hat to his date. kravitz had to have known who taako was, he and lup were constantly seen around town, and taako always wore his obnoxiously large hat and a cloak. see, both lup and taako were magic users and taako wanted to make sure everyone knew so they didn’t try and mess with him.

“sure, sure. but i feel like if you do the neutral shirt and pants, it won’t feel as obnoxious as if you tried to match everything to the purple.”

with the twins finally reaching an agreement on taako’s attire, he had gotten himself together and prepared for this date. it was something he was rather nervous about now that he thought about it. he walked down the stairs and let out a gentle sigh as he realized it was time for him to face his fears about meeting kravitz. it was time for him to go and meet with both the raven queen and kravitz, and he gave lup a hug before he made his way toward the door, “don’t do anything stupid until i get back.” he sounded like a parent scolding their child, which caused him to stifle back a laugh.

“how can i? you’re taking all the stupid with you.” lup crossed her arms over her chest, “i should be telling you to not do anything stupid or reckless around the raven queen or kravitz, you don’t want to start off on the wrong foot, do you?”

“no, now stop psyching me out.” taako grumbled lightly as he now walked out the door and toward the raven queen’s estate. he knocked on the door, and a gentleman in a suit answered.

“hello, how may i be of assistance?” the man asked, looking at taako as he stood there nervously.

“i’m… here to meet with the raven queen,” taako spoke, trying to keep his composure. “and with the prince.”

“oh, are you here about the arranged marriage? i will gladly show you the way to the raven queen. or, i could point you in the right direction if you would rather take a look around for the time being.”

“i suppose i could spend a minute or two looking around.” taako smiled gently as the man pointed him in the direction of the raven queen’s throne room, and taako followed the hallway down until he heard the sound of a piano. despite the frantic pace of the song itself, the pianist playing it had to be a real expert, someone who really knew what they were doing, since they played each key without missing a beat.

taako knew it to be beethoven’s ‘moonlight sonata - third movement’ from the sounds of it. a classic piece to learn, but a hard piece to master to the extent that this individual was playing at. he followed the sound down a hallway that was off course for the raven queen’s throne room, but not too far away to where he would get lost. as he peeked his head into the room to see who was playing such a beautiful piece so perfectly… it was a face he did not recognize, but could definitely have placed as kravitz. the description lup gave about him was simple yet described him perfectly. he leaned against the doorway as he still tried to keep his existence unknown to kravitz, who was laser focused in on playing on the piano. it wasn’t until taako started to lean a bit too much and lost his grip on the doorframe that he finally fell down.

kravitz’s hands that had been so peacefully playing beethoven now quickly banged on the keys out of habit as he had been startled. “who dares interrupt my piano practice?” he had an accent, a cockney accent to be exact.

taako grumbled as he tried his best to get up off the floor without grabbing onto anything. “i didn’t mean to disturb you. you just… sounded so beautiful playing and i couldn’t help but be enthralled. so i followed the sound of the piano and it led me here.”

“who are you and what are you doing in here?”

“i was supposed to be heading for the raven queen’s throne room when i got distracted by your piano playing skills,” taako explained, “my name is taako.”

“no last name there, is that right? just a first name?”

“yeah, i’m mononymous, what about you, hot shot? got a name you care to share?”

“it’s kravitz. nothing else. as for the last name, it isn't relevant, since it does not exist.”

hearing kravitz reveal himself made taako’s face turn a soft pink. this was who he was meant to marry? he couldn’t be mad when he looked this good. his dark hair pulled back into a sleek bun with an undercut, he was wearing a pair of gray pants, a white button-up, a black vest and a cloak. taako didn’t feel so out of place with his cloak now, as he saw kravitz wore one casually as well.

"well, kravitz, i don't know if you were informed, but we're destined to marry. actually, we're arranged to get married in the near future."

“arranged marriage? do you know why?”

“i haven’t the slightest idea. your mother requested me, and i couldn’t refuse.” taako smiled, leaning lightly against the piano as he looked down at kravitz, as he was still sitting on the piano bench.

“oh, because you’ve just got a long list of suitors and i was your top choice?”

“no, because i was afraid no one else would have me. and because if i wasn’t the one to have an arranged marriage, my twin would be parted from her soulmate. i would do anything to keep lup happy.”

“that was quite admirable of you, taako. you know that right?”

“well like i said, if i didn’t give this a chance, i would have ended up the town’s hermit wizard who keeps himself locked away in a tower or something.” taako slightly joked, but was also being semi-serious. he had no idea what would have happened had he not taken this ‘arranged marriage’ deal.

kravitz realized that taako was only mildly joking, and now closed the piano. he placed his elbows against the wooden cover that easily slid over the pieces, his fiery red eyes now meeting with taako’s icy blue ones. “you said you were here to speak to my mother, is that correct?”

“that is correct, she was the one who wanted to see me. and have me meet you, but it seems like we’ve got that part out of the way,” taako tried his best to stifle his laughter, but couldn’t help it as he let out a small laugh. “sorry, it’s just ironic that i was coming here to have your mother introduce us and i somehow ended up doing that part for her.”

“she’ll appreciate having less work to do in that department, i just know it,” kravitz finally decided it was time to get up from the bench and taako realized that kravitz was definitely taller than he was. probably by at least a few inches.

‘just tall enough where i can rest my head on his shoulder,’ taako thought to himself, but with the look on kravitz’s face, taako could have sworn kravitz read his mind. but taako also failed to realize that he had been staring at kravitz from the moment he stood up, which was why kravitz was giving him such a quizzitive look. in addition, taako had failed to realize that kravitz had extended his hand to him, not to romance him, but to be his guide without him getting distracted again and wandering off.

“come along, let's go meet the raven queen,” kravitz said in a soft voice, waiting patiently for taako to grab his hand. “i’m sure she’s going to love you.”

and with those words leaving kravitz’s mouth, taako had finally grabbed a hold of kravitz’s hand as he followed behind him. he was looking around at the scenery as they walked through the long hallway to the throne room, and he was amazed at how beautiful the interior was… not that he expected any less, but it was astonishing to see in person. “no wonder you’re pulling me along, it is really easy to get distracted by all of this gorgeous interior decor.” taako mumbled just loud enough for kravitz to hear.

when they finally made their way to the throne room, taako hadn’t noticed until he felt kravitz let go of his hand and glanced down to see him bowing. taako quickly caught on and bowed, “your highness, my most sincere apologies. i wandered off and simply couldn’t find my way back.” that was a lie, taako made sure he knew his way back to the main hallway that lead to the throne room. but something held him in the recital room where kravitz had been practicing. was it kravitz himself, or was it simply the atmosphere that was created between the beautiful music and kravitz’s irresistible charm? it didn’t matter, because here they both were, bowing before the raven queen. the pair had risen at the same time, as taako hadn’t been around true royalty in what felt like forever, so he was mirroring kravitz’s actions towards his mother.

“i see the two of you have already met. i have arranged an outing for the two of you, there is a pottery class that i believe might help the two of you get to know each other better.” the raven queen spoke, “it would not be my ideal choice, but i believe you both are… artistically inclined.” she added on before getting up from her throne. “it is later tonight, so you both have time to get yourselves prepared and changed into less fancy attire. i’m sure you wouldn’t want to ruin your clothes with clay.”

“of course not, your highness.” taako replied, his cheeks looked like they were stained with a tinge of pink as just the thought of going out with kravitz, in public, nonetheless, was a huge deal for the both of them. “and what time is this arrangement, so i can be properly prepared?”

“it is at six tonight, that gives you about,” she glanced up at the clock, calculating just about how much time was left between then and now, “three hours, which is a reasonable of time, wouldn’t you agree?”

just as taako was going to reply again, a familiar accented voice replied, “it’s plenty of time, mother. now if you would please let him go on his way so he can get ready, i would like to have a word with you in privacy. if it isn’t too much trouble.” kravitz had chimed into the conversation now, it had seemed that when he and taako were talking previously that he had dropped the accent at some point within their conversation before meeting with the raven queen, and had picked it up again while talking to her.

“of course, darling. it’s absolutely no trouble at all. taako, you may be dismissed. i am hoping to hear good things about tonight,” she smiled as she waved taako goodbye, and taako gave his goodbye bow and went on his way back home to tell lup about what had just happened.

“now what is it you wanted to talk about?”

“it was nothing particularly important, but i just wanted to tell you that i believe you may have made the right choice in my future husband. he seems rather nice,” kravitz had started to speak, but had been cut off midsentence by the raven queen.

“he’s not hard on the eyes, either. especially not by your standards, because i can see a little bit of red on your cheeks.”

“you cannot!” kravitz instinctively covered his cheeks, which had certainly confirmed his mother’s suspicion. she knew that she had made the right choice, but it was certainly going to take some time for the two to get acquainted. there would be plenty of time for that after they were wed, as they would have the rest of their lives to learn about one another.

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lils-in-space · 3 years ago

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Notes on The Batman (2022) pt. 2

Here’s the link to part one, if you haven’t gone through it already :)

(Sidenote: it’s been a while since I last posted on Tumblr so my notes organization is kinda messy. Please excuse the chaos)

Pt. 2 begins with the introduction of Selina Kyle in Bruce’s life and whewwww between Pattinson’s jawline and Kravitz’s cheekbones, I was a melting mess.

When Bats shoves the Penguin against the glass to threaten him, the Penguin threatens him back, “Do you know my reputation?” Bats responds, “Yeah, I do. Do you?” Though the wording was a tad ambiguous, I think he meant “do you know mine?” Again, we’re back at it again with questions that Bruce Wayne really should be asking himself. Bruce, sweets, we really need to step up the introspection game.

Selina’s apartment scene:

When we see Bats looking into Selina’s apartment with the binoculars, we flashback to an uncomfortable reminder of how the Riddler was looking into Mitchell’s apartment at the beginning of the film. This serves the purpose of blurring the line between hero and villain--can we justify violations into one’s privacy? Even for heroes? (namely, when Bruce watches Selina change into the jumpsuit).

Bat meets Cat scene to tentative alliance at the 44 Below:

I like how Kravitz really leans into cat-like mannerisms when she fights and interacts-- she huffs into Bats’ face in indignation, hissing when he covers her mouth and pulls her against him to prevent her from moving.

We see some Marxism enter the room when Bats notes not only her name from the eviction notice, but also the fact that she probably doesn’t have much to go off of (this plays into a fight they get into later on in the movie).

Social media returns with the video that the Riddler posts, announcing his claim on his murder of Commissioner Savage.

In this video, the Riddler says he wants to “unmask” the city. This wording will come back repeatedly. More to come on this significance.

44 Below--apparently propane boils at (approx.) -44 degrees Fahrenheit. It turns into flammable steam. Kinda reminds of the “powder keg�� comment that Gordon makes later when talking with Bats. It’s the vapor of depravity that will bring the city to its knees.

“I can take care of myself” -- Selina repeats this on other occasions. This comes into play at the end.

Red motif makes a comeback with Selina’s wig. What this means, still have yet to connect the clues. I feel like there’s more beyond the simple “red equals this emotion” but my sleep-deprived brain is slacking.

It also shows up when we see Selina’s perspective (through the contact lens) which is also red-tinted. Makes me wonder if this is what Bats sees every day or if this is just how it shows up on his screens. Red-tinted vision. Anger?

Screw you Falcone.

I wonder if this was intentional, but the lights on the bomb that the Riddler put around Gil’s neck looked like police sirens, which perhaps, was a good disguise for the car, and naturally, people would avoid it.

Bruce, you’re such a loser sometimes, re-watching the footage of Selina saying “I don’t have a relationship with him.” You really need a better hobby.

During this part though, we can see different parts of Bruce’s workshop--it looks like he’s working on developing part of the Bat-mobile.

Alfred sounds almost happy? when he notices Bruce is dressed up in a suit and actually combed up. And then, Bruce just has to go and ruin it by saying he’s staking out Mitchell’s funeral as a civvie because serial killers like being at their victim’s funerals. What a loser, pt. 2

Alfred also notes the absence of Bruce’s Wayne cufflinks (”I can’t find them”--literally and metaphorically) and gives him his own, saying that he needs to keep up appearances. Thomas Wayne gave Alfred his, so in a sense, Alfred is passing the cufflinks along to Bruce, as if it’s his inheritance from his father.

Honestly tho, Bruce, “How about you? Are you a Wayne?” What a dick thing to say to Alfred. Ask your reflection, yeesh.

Funeral Scene

It seems rather natural for there to be civil unrest after political corruption is unearthed. Here, we see the economic gap between the protesters and those who are arriving at the funerals in their schmancy cars with valets to park their cars. We also see some police men patrolling on horses.. they’re literally on “high horses”.. sorry. bad pun.

We also see how differently people treat Bruce vs. the Batman, which may because of Bruce’s status as a “rich person”. The policeman directs him to the valet area with a smile and recognizes him right off the bat.. I’m sorry (again) for the bad pun. Even criminals like Falcone and Oz treat him differently (aka, they don’t blast his brains out for a smart comment). Officer Martinez (he’s back!) treats him differently by greeting him with a smile.

Nice detail of how Bruce is looking around at possible places the Riddler might be hiding around the building, and maybe scouting for exit points?

Funeral guy that I mentioned in part one shows up with his line “What good is a safety net that doesn’t catch anyone?” and proceeds to share with Bruce how it failed his daughter. “Do I know you?”funeral guy asks, which again points to the identity question. Embarrassing for him, he doesn’t and Bruce Wayne just happens to be included among those “rich scum-suckers” that the man accused of ripping off his daughter. This guy comes back later, which I didn’t realize until my third watch-through.

Mayor Elect Bella Reál addresses Bruce and says, ironically, “Mr. Wayne, you really could be doing more for this city.” Oh, sweet lady, if only you knew. He’s doing what he can, just not in the way that many would hope. This reminds us of the voice-over Bruce did at the beginning of the movie. “I wish I could say I’m making a difference.. but I don’t know.”

Bomb to Jumping off a Building

Whoever played Gil actually had me feeling sorry for the guy. He’s rather realistic-- hysterically scared, willing to play along with a psychopath’s game for a chance to not die (even though, chances are he would’ve been murked anyhow), and stupid/wise enough not to spill in order to protect his family (again, with no guarantee that he and his family wouldn’t be killed by Falcone even if he didn’t spill the beans).

The head puns in this scene were too much, I almost laughed at the deadpan delivery. “Not if you want to keep your head.”

The video call with the Riddler reveals some things: (1) The Riddler says he is “nobody” but later on, we see he develops...almost an ego? and reacts negatively when Bats calls him a nobody in the cell scene. (2) “Unmask” makes another guest appearance. Further analysis on the word to come. (3) Social media commentary is back babyyyyy. Disturbing how there were so many likes on a serial killer’s video. Probably some of his 500 followers. (4) “No one ever gave me a chance.” This actually seemed like a genuine comment, showing how the Riddler is actually affected deep down by the traumas of his childhood.

I love, love, loveeee the fact that Bats actually got knocked out by the bomb. Again, this shows his vulnerability and maybe naivety in thinking Gil would rat out the rat.

“Now I have you for assaulting an officer.” “You have me for assaulting three.” Bats, you’re really not helping, sweets.

The small detail that Bruce actually hesitates before considering jumping off a building and that it takes him time to assemble the flying Bat suit is so human, I love it. This is amplified when he pulls the chute but miscalculates and ends up getting it caught in the railing and falling rather haphazardly onto the bus and then through a bunch of trash. He limps home.

Part One // Part Three // Part Four (to be linked)

#the batman 2022 #analysis #spoilers #battinson #dc movie #movie analysis #long rambles #robert pattinson #zoe kravitz #mine #the batman 2022 analysis

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barry-j-blupjeans · 2 years ago

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43 and either taakitz or the IPRE crew please? :0

43. “I’ve been alone so long, I didn’t even know I was lonely”

Maybe he was just in the honeymoon phase of this new relationship, but Taako was happy. Like, legitimately happy. Sure, he was happy every now and again. And sure, joining the Bureau had lifted his mood quite a bit. But before dating Kravitz, the last time Taako could remember feeling happy with where he was at, let alone feeling content, was with Sizzle It Up. At least Kravitz couldn't be poisoned.

It was... disconcerting in a way. Taako never would have described himself as lonely but like. He was realizing now that he had been. Even during Sizzle It Up, he had been lonely. Sazed, obviously, hadn't helped any. Magnus and Merle filled that gap a little, but not enough for it to be noticeable. With Kravitz, he felt like he had a bit more room in his heart for love instead of whatever soggy, achy feeling had been there before.

He really wasn't used to it. But he wasn't going to complain. Because, y'know, you can't exactly go up to your boyfriend and say "you make me too happy".

"You make me too happy," Taako said.

They were lying on Taako's bed, a blanket in between them in a poor attempt to warm Kravitz up. It was late and Taako was tired but he didn't want to miss any Kravitz time. Kravitz was running his fingers through Taako's hair (he was letting it get long again but he might have to cut it soon because he couldn't stand the weird phase of having it curl against his neck). When Taako spoke, Kravitz's fingers paused.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"You're just... good at this," Taako said.

"This being?"

"Boyfriend-ing?" Taako said. "Being- so fucking hot. And nice. All the time. And you're spoiling me with it. I'm gonna get spoiled, Krav, d'you really want that?"

Kravitz laughed softly, his fingers resuming their path through his hair.

"I think I can handle a spoiled Taako," he said. "Can't be any worse than a cat, right?"

"Well, that's where you're wrong, compadre," Taako said, smiling. Gods above, he needed to stop being so good. Taako didn't know what to do with that. "I'm not gonna settle for just some wet food and cuddles."

"Yeah?" Kravitz said. "You want something else?"

"This is what I'm talking about," Taako said, instead of doing something that would make him blush more. He ducked his head down a little, staring at his hands. His ears flattened. "You're just- you're really fucking good, is the thing."

"If it's any consolation, you're also really fucking good," Kravitz said, pressing a kiss to his head. Taako's face, somehow, felt even hotter. "You're smart-" Taako scoffed. "And really funny. And, believe it or not, you're the second hottest person I know."

"Second hottest?"

"Not everyone can look as good as I do, babe," Kravitz said and Taako snorted so hard that he started coughing. Kravitz sat up, patting him on the back and Taako broke down into giggles. Kravitz's hands were warm against his skin. "You good?"

"I take it all back," Taako said. "You're awful. I hate you."

"Come here," Kravitz said, pulling him back down. Taako crumpled up the blanket that had been between them and threw it aside. It hit something and there was a loud thunk as things hit the floor. Taako didn't look back.

"I think you just knocked your umbrastaff over," Kravitz said.

"It's fine," Taako said and then pressed a kiss to Kravitz's lips. Kravitz laughed into it, circling a hand to hold him around the waist. When he finally pulled back, Kravitz finally looked just as flustered as Taako felt.

"You're really good at that," Kravitz said, breathless. Taako grinned. For the first time in years, the gap that felt in his chest was almost, almost closed. And while Taako figured that it was never truly going to go away, he would make damn sure that he could keep Kravitz here to fill it.

#taakitz #taako #kravitz #taz #taz balance #tentatively-positive-3 #asks #mine #ise cube writing #i am showing enormous self restraint by not adding 'among the other things he would like kravitz to fill' as the last sentence #but GOD it's so hard lsdkfsdf #(literally)#okay okay i'll stop now sldfsd

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