#taako is such a blast to write

[ceilingfan5]

Time Enough At Last

I've gone and written an absolutely wild, indulgent romp of a fic and you are cordially invited to enjoy it with me. Read Time Enough At Last here!

Taakitz, M, 13.5 k

Summary:

There's no fantasy like being able to pause time and catch your breath. Kravitz would do anything for a break, and finds himself making a deal with Taako, a suspicious person that pauses time for him so he can finally rest and catch up on his hobbies. But Kravitz isn't alone for long, and ends up taking cooking lessons from Taako that lead to something else entirely. And then this fantasy gets a lot more fantastical... Check the tags. Presented in two parts. The main story is the first chapter, and the second, which we will call the "tentacle supplemental", which is not required to read, but was a blast to write.

This was delicious and crazy to write! It started as a little thing to send some love to @noodyl-blasstal and became a great big bizarre delight treat. I hope you read it!

[boy-snax]

kravitz writing

usually post this on AO3 but its short enough here i think

Kravitz had made peace with the cold long ago. Being a corpse had unnerved him at first; it took quite a lot to get used to the rigor mortis and the unnatural movement of his own body (and that wasn’t even mentioning his secondary skeleton form). And though the initial shock wore off, the existential horror of it all reared its ugly head time and time again. It’d taken almost a good few years to realize no breathing meant no sputtering fog clouds during winter. Animals shied away from his touch, if they were even brave enough to stay in his presence. In his most panicked states he’d grasped hands over his chest only to realize his heart wasn’t hammering, and his blood wasn’t pumping, and his mind was simply trying to feel what wasn’t there. While most of his emotions stayed intact, experiencing panic without the physical deliriousness was quite a horror in itself. So he tried not to panic, if he could help it.

Being warm was a lot harder now than before. Wrapping himself in blankets and sheets didn’t help; he produced no body heat, and therefore had no heat to preserve. There were only little things that brought him warmth. The full light of the sun on a bright summer day soaked into his skin, making him feel almost alive sometimes. Fires helped, too. He didn’t get to be around fires a lot. Sometimes he would try to conjure a small, magical flame in his palms just to hold it near his face and feel its warmth blossom across his nose, his cheeks, his lips. It just wasn’t the same.

Kravitz never had a consistent respite from the cold. Not until he met Taako, anyway. Because Taako’s life was just full of warmth. 

Taako liked to cook on his own, but Kravitz couldn’t help but butt in from time to time. Taako would begrudgingly give him a pan to simmer, and the hot smoke and steam would billow up and up into Kravitz’s face. Even the feeling of popping grease falling onto his hands- nearly hot enough to burn- was a welcome sensation. After a while, it became routine. Taako quickly caught what Kravitz wanted; he kept him in charge of any big open flames for him to relish in the blast of heat. Kravitz would be in charge of the oven, too. Crouching down and pulling out anything fresh from baking, leaning in just a little too close to feel that warmth from inside. 

And with all this came the fresh food, of course. The freshest stuff he’d eaten in decades. Kravitz could scarcely wait to down everything that came out of their kitchen. He didn’t even really need it- food was a luxury and not a necessity. But he could feel its travel from his mouth to his gut. Taako interpreted Kravitz repeatedly burning the roof of his mouth as a compliment.

He always volunteered to do the laundry for the same reasons. The warm water and soap and even warmer sunlight that dried them off left a pleasant buzz in his hands. Technically, washing didn’t necessitate hot water unless he was scrubbing out a stain, but he boiled it and let it sit out for a few minutes for his own enjoyment. It seemed less weird than if he had just boiled water to stick his hands in.

He saved that for baths, too, when it seemed convenient enough. Having an entirely warm bath was admittedly much more work and resources than one could afford on a regular basis. It was for special occasions- the good and bad kind. Celebrating a holiday night, or taking his mind off a particularly violent day at work. Fortunately, Taako didn’t mind heating all that water, for he was as weak for baths as Kravitz was. They’d spent many hours just soaking and sleepily talking, too tired to stand and dress and go to bed. 

Taako’s friends were pretty warm too, but that wasn’t as welcome an occurrence. Magnus never failed to dishevel Kravitz’s getup every time he hugged him. It was quite a skill of his. And Kravitz had a feeling Magnus was challenging himself to lift the reaper off the ground every time, just to prove that he could. But no matter the inconvenience and absurdity of it all, he still found himself fighting off a smile. Taako’s family was so much more forward than most. It made him feel at ease, in a way. Knowing that no matter how strange Kravitz was, they were stranger.

But Taako himself was Kravitz’s favorite source of warmth by far.

He tried not to ask for it much. Kravitz knew better than anyone how uncomfortable the cold was, but Taako insisted that he didn’t mind.

In the colder evenings when Kravitz retired from work, he crashed into bed with Taako and buried his face and hands into his neck, or his chest, or his stomach. Taako didn’t like when Kravitz laid on his bare stomach; the sudden cold tickled him in a way and made him giggle uncontrollably. So, naturally, it was Kravitz’s favorite place. And though it would be cold at first, they would both be warm after a while. Although Kravitz’s body couldn’t produce heat, his human flesh could still retain the heat rather well. The longer they rested together, the warmer they got. Taako usually rested his hands on Kravitz’s shoulders or back. During the winter, he opted to hold his boyfriend’s face instead to speed up the warming process. Kravitz never shivered anymore- his body must’ve given up decades into the perpetual cold- but he could feel when Taako did. He massaged and rubbed Taako in return to try to keep him warm with friction.

He stole warmth from smaller instances, too. Kisses her and there, ones where Kravitz brushed up on him from behind and let his cheek linger against Taako’s just a few seconds longer. He loved to rub Taako’s hands, too, which Taako asked for often. Being a chef *and* a wizard *and* a prankster all at once sometimes left them cramped and sore. He didn’t stretch very well. Or, perhaps he didn’t stretch, so Kravitz could massage the pain out of his joints instead. Whatever the case, neither of them minded.

They were doing so now, laid out on the couch with Taako half on top of him, half to his side, and their little fufu dog between his feet. He held one of Taako’s hands between his, gently massaging small circles into his palm. They’d stopped talking a while ago, and Kravitz couldn’t tell if he was asleep or not. The silence and stillness made him believe so, but Taako’s breathing hadn’t quite slowed. He could feel his breath still blossoming warmth along his neck. Between the dog at his feet, the fireplace to one side, and the boyfriend on top of him, he didn’t think there was a single part of him that wasn’t warm.

[noodyl-blasstal]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Tagged by: @holdmecloser-gandydancer thank you very much! Tagging: @cataztrophi, @sugarberryandtea, @aeivyen, @taakosleftshoe (and anyone else who would like to take part! I'm so sorry if I forgot anyone who hasn't already been tagged.)

1. How many works do you have on A03? 40 (thanks to taznc for the recent boost!)!

2. What's your total A03 word count? 185,442! That's more than I thought it would be. Bloody hell. It's been a busy year and a half!!

3. What fandoms do you write for? Mostly TAZ but I do occasionally write Jainshine for Naddpod

4. What are your top five fics by kudos? Scamming Me Scamming You, Astrology for Horse Jugglers, Taako Deserves a Sword, Star-Blast-o-Mania, Excuses Excuses.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I will usually because I really appreciate people taking time leave a comment (they genuinely bring me such joy and they're not that common so they're a real treat!) and want to thank them.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I don't really know if any of mine are that anxty at the end, but the anxtiest overall is probably 10 Years Ago Today.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? I think pretty much everything does to be honest, but probably I PhDo (Blupjeans Week 2023)?

8. Do you get hate on fics? I haven't and I'd love for that to continue

9. Do you write smut? I have some in a few things I'm working on but I'm not quite there yet.

10. Do you write crossovers? I haven't yet, I'm not sure I'd be very good.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not as far as I know

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Also not as far as I know

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? I've got a few in progress with Larissa! (We're time poor, but slowly chugging along and they're a delight to write with.) I really enjoy writing with other people, getting to bounce off someone is a lot of fun.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship? I think it's gotta be Taakitz. Although I also love Jainshine.

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Hmmmm, I'd like to be optimistic and think I'll finish all of them at some point, but maybe a Blupjeans one where Barry's on holiday by accident. It's been a while since I touched it.

16. What are your writing strengths? Errrmmmmm. You have to know I am crushed by crippling self doubt at all times. I've had some very kind compliments about writing the twins bickering, so that. Also I like coming up with stupid storylines, so probably rolling in the ridiculous.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Getting bogged down, not accidentalling sliding into the wrong tense, actually writing the damn thing...

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? I occasionally write a little Gaelg, I think it's nice to add a bit in!

19. First fandom you wrote for? TAZ! It was actually @blupjeansweek which got me started!

20. Favourite fic you've ever written? This is tricky, I think it might be Astrology for Horse Jugglers, but I also loved writing The Lady in the Lake and I'm very fond of my still-in-progress library AU (I'll finish it one day...)

[fezwearingjellybananas]

Writer's Month Master Post

Here is my complete collection of works for Writer's Month 2023, which can be found in at AO3 here or are all linked below (including the individual chapters of Once Upon a Timeline split by which prompt they are filling), it's predominantly The Flash (a mix of comics and TV 2014), with a few Adventure Zone (Balance) thrown in there, alongside one original work

Thank you to @writersmonth for organising this event again, it has once again been a blast (and I seem to have picked up some new little AUs to write some more for again)

1. word: blossom | setting/AU: on an island

Blossom (The Flash Comics)

Spring had arrived and Hal was leaving

(G, 100 words, Iris West/Hal Jordan/Barry Allen)

2. word: perfume | setting/AU: camping AU

Perfume (The Flash Comics)

One of the few things Jenni still had from her mother was a small bottle of perfume

(G, 100 words, Jenni Ognats)

3. word: seashell | setting/AU: at a festival

treasure (original work)

A poem

17 words

Tumblr link

4. word: memories | setting/AU: underwater AU

Things that Change (Young Justice Comics)

For some reason Cassie, Tim, and Conner don't believe Bart when he says they live underwater in the future

(G, 212 words, Bart Allen, Cassie Sandsmark, Conner Kent, Tim Drake)

5. word: sun | setting/AU: poolside

Once Upon a Timeline (The Flash TV 2014)

Central City was a fresh start for Eddie, away from all the mess of his past.

Meeting Iris and Barry might even make the whole arresting his parents then finding out he's adopted situation worth it. (T, Eddie Thawne/Iris West/Barry Allen, Eobard Thawne)

6. word: surf | setting/AU: backpacking AU

Lessons (The Adventure Zone)

After they save the day and after Lup gets her body back, she suggests another Beach Day. (G, 159 words, Taako, Angus McDonald)

7. word: vacation | setting/AU: in the mountains

Meetings in the Mountains (The Flash TV 2014)

Iris had left the city to find out more about how people were taking this shift to more and more technology.

She hadn't planned on straying this far off the path (T, 2k words, Iris West, Barry Allen/Cisco Ramon)

8. word: watermelon | setting/AU: fishing AU

all along the backwater (The Flash TV 2014)

Barry hadn't had the patience for fishing last time his dad had taken him, but that was fifteen years ago and a lot had happened since then

(G, 100 words, Barry Allen, Henry Allen)

9. word: warmth | setting/AU: home for the summer

Once Upon a Timeline Chapter 2

Iris is wonderful. Eddie is in love. Barry is in a coma.

10. word: sandcastle | setting/AU: lifeguard AU

Summer Job (The Flash Comics)

Linda's lifeguarding course had not covered what to do in the event of superheroes

(G, 206 words, Linda Park, Wally West, Barry Allen)

11. word: sweat | setting/AU: on a roadtrip

Once Upon a Timeline Chapter 3

Eddie buys coffee. Iris buys groceries. Barry needs a nap.

12. word: lemonade | setting/AU: band AU

Once Upon a Timeline Chapter 4

Eddie makes a decision. Iris quietly worries. Barry probably eats some sandwiches somewhere off-screen

13. word: fan | setting/AU: cruise ship

Loops (The Flash TV 2014)

Eddie leaves the hospital room angry and behind him Barry tumbles through time one more time

(G, 1.7k words, Barry Allen, Eobard Thawne)

14. word: bonfire | setting/AU: vacation fling

Stranded (The Flash TV 2014)

Cisco's stuck with no flight home and no place to stay. Hartley's meant to be on a couple's vacation and now has no boyfriend.

It's probably only going to be one night anyway

(G, 711 words, Hartley Rathaway/Cisco Ramon

15. word: blue | setting/AU: neighborhood barbecue

Three People (The Flash TV 2014)

Eddie had once told Iris there were three people in their relationship. The Negative Speed Force told Eddie they're meant to fight. Iris and Barry have a different idea.

(G, 1.5k words, Barry Allen/Iris West/Eddie Thawne, Cisco Ramon)

16. word: energy | setting/AU: tourist AU

Once Upon a Timeline Chapter 5

Barry loses a fight. Iris gets a delivery. Eddie meets a relative

17. word: waves | setting/AU: at a wedding

Bluff Check (The Flash TV 2014)

Doctor Wells said Ralph Dibny died the night the particle accelerator blew up. He seemed pretty alive when Barry saw him sitting in Jitters though

(G, 2.3k words, Barry Allen, Iris West, Ralph Dibny)

18. word: free | setting/AU: restaurant AU

Founder (The Adventure Zone)

Lucretia hadn’t known Magnus had drunk Fisher’s water before feeding them her journals. She should have realised he'd do something like that.

After Wonderland, she finds him by the crumbling ruins of Raven’s Roost (T, 272 words, Magnus Burnsides, Lucretia)

19. word: cloud | setting/AU: at a party

Once Upon a Timeline Chapter 6

Barry visits his brother. Eddie gets a visit from his brother. Iris doesn't know she has a brother yet

20. word: fireworks | setting/AU: different first meeting

Help (The Flash Comics)

The last person Iris had expected her lead to go back to was Rudy West. She's not risking him dragging Wally into this, whatever this is. When she was a child, a man in a red suit saved her. Maybe the one currently running around Central will be able to do the same for her nephews. If she can find a way to find him.

(T, 3.5k words, Iris West/Barry Allen, Wally West, Hartley Rathaway)

21. word: hammock | setting/AU: at a bar

Wandering (The Adventure Zone)

Erasing their memories had hurt Davenport more than Lucretia had ever thought and she felt so guilty, she felt responsible for him, but seeking the relics would be dangerous and she couldn’t do that and look after him. There was only one person Lucretia would trust to protect them, whether he knew them or not.

(G, 241 words, Magnus Burnsides, Davenport)

22. word: sunscreen | setting/AU: human/non-human AU

Reminiscing (The Flash Comics)

Iris raises their children alone in the future

(G, 214 words, Iris West, Dawn Allen, Past Barry Allen/Iris West, Post Canonical Character Death)

23. word: storm | setting/AU: in the woods

Altocumulus Castellanus (The Flash TV 2014)

A long time ago, there had been a superhero in Keystone City, who fought other people with superpowers. But that had ended fifteen years ago, and they'd moved to Central to get away from all that. And then lightning strikes

(T, 6.7k words, Barry Allen/Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Eobard Thawne, Joe West, Jay Garrick)

24. word: summer | setting/AU: different powers AU

Summer (The Flash Comics)

Thirteen-year-old Wally West gets the best news ever

(G, 100 words, Wally West)

25. word: relax | setting/AU: at a concert

Night Out (The Flash TV 2014)

Laurel had invited all of Team Flash to this small gig her band was playing at, and at some point Barry and Cisco had disappeared

(T, 169 words, Iris West/Caitlin Snow)

26. word: found | setting/AU: online dating AU

Once Upon a Timeline Chapter 7

Eddie has a bad day. Iris saves the day. Barry makes a confession

27. word: volleyball | setting/AU: at the beach

The Fraudulent Scientist (The Untold Parts) (The Flash TV 2014)

Mrs Iris West-Allen, biographer to the world's leading (and only) consulting detective, Mister Cisco Ramon, wrote so many of his cases over their years together. She left out some of the details

(T, 4k words, Iris West/Cisco Ramon/Barry Allen)

28. word: bright | setting/AU: mythological AU

Once Upon a Timeline Chapter 8

Eddie gets some answers

29. word: fireflies | setting/AU: at a cabin

Visits (The Flash 2014)

Two visits Barry makes to his dad's cabin

(G, 246 words, Barry Allen, Iris West, Henry Allen)

(Warning for Major (Canonical) Character Death)

30. word: happy | setting/AU: kid story/children AU

Tents (The Flash TV 2014)

Wade Eiling was an infuriating person, and his favourite hobby appeared to be ruining Eobard's day. Demanding a meeting when Eobard was collecting Jesse, Wally, and Barry from school was quite frankly too far.

(G, 1k words, Eobard Thawne, Barry Allen, Jesse Wells, Wally West)

31. word: fall | setting/AU: at a hotel

Once Upon a Timeline Chapter 9

Iris aims. Eddie lives. Barry falls

(Bonus: Once Upon a Timeline Chapter 10- bringing the total words to 13.5k)

[sovinly]

Okay okay i have one: Taakitz, Fake Relationship? Like to make a relative happy or to piss odd a crotchety homophobe. Ofc they had Feelings the whole time

Oh man, okay! Thank you for the excellent choice of prompt! I am not entirely sure on the mechanics of this AU - is it an always!Faerun au? A two-suns planet non-Hunger au? WHO KNOWS, but we’re rolling with it! Oh my god this got long.

“You can’t borrow Barry, I’m using him,” Lup tells Taako mercilessly. “Barry is a babe who doesn’t mind looking pretty while I do the heavy lifting. Drag along one of the others.”

Taako scoffs. “Please. Half of them are chucklefucks who’d throw off my game and the other half would drink the cooking wine and bitch about its vintage. Who the fuck decided this class had to be a couple’s only gig? That’s fuckin’ bullshit, my dude.”

Lup shrugs, tosses a grape in her mouth. “You open a cooking school, you can prohibit couple’s classes. Y’wanna borrow Kravitz? Bet we could bill it as workplace bonding time.”

Despite himself, Taako considers it.

--

“Oh!” Kravitz says, flustered and faintly red. “Uh, I’m no good in the kitchen, but uh, sure, if it would help. I’ll go.”

“Rad,” Taako replies and throws in a wink for good measure, and ignores the faint flutter in his chest.

--

Cooking isn’t fucking romantic. It can be, Taako is no stranger to wooing people with food, but it’s a goddamn crime to act like that’s a good way to learn it.

Take Lup and Barry, the next bench over, where Barry stands with perpetual hearts in his eyes while Lup tosses through the drawer with an expert eye. They’ve got their vibe figured out, but it’d be a disaster if they were actually here to get Barry some mad cooking skills.

So yeah, Taako’d rather be doing this alone. Or hell, even with Lup, because they still work in perfect, unconscious synchronicity.

Instead, he’s working with Kravitz, who admittedly seems pretty chill and pretty fuckin’ handsome, all dark dreadlocks and crisp shirtsleeves. Awkward and anxious, too, cutting Taako occasional glances like he’s worried he’ll upset their cooking station if he leans on it.

Not that he’d mind, really, going on a date with Kravitz, checking out the maybe-vibe Taako thinks he’s picking up, but he’s thinking that’s more of a wine-and-pottery dealio, not a fucking cooking workshop. But Taako wants those good good Halfling pastry secrets, so they’re doing this.

“You ready, my fellow?” Taako asks him, glancing up from testing the edges of the knives.

“Bit late if I’m not, isn’t it?” Kravitz replies with a crooked, charming smile - it could be the edge of flirtatious, but Taako doesn’t want to read too much into it, not yet.

--

“Would you like me to chop the coriander for you?” Kravitz offers, two nights in.

“Hell yeah,” Taako agrees, flashing a brief, sparkling smile, and then, because the instructor is glancing at them, tacks on, “babe.”

It’s always been Lup’s endearment more than his, and it feels awkward on Taako’s tongue, strange to apply to this co-worker of hers that Taako finds devastatingly attractive.

Kravitz just smiles back, red and a little bashful, and holds his hand out so Taako can hand him the right knife.

--

Barry and Lup have gone rogue and are no longer even pretending they’re equally invested in the class. Barry sits perched on a stool, elbows on the bench, and chatters about optimal angles in necromantic magic arrays while Lup hums sounds of interest and applies her wicked knife skills to a fatty cut of chicken.

It’s fuckin’ adorable is what it is.

Taako thinks about asking Kravitz if he’s elbowing in on some romantic opportunities, asking this favor, but Kravitz doesn’t seem wistful when he glances over, just amused.

“If cooking’s not your jam, what is?” Taako asks instead, a normal get-to-know you question. A normal new-relationship question.

“Jamming,” Kravitz says, a little dryly and a little too self-amused. He’s trying to slice nuts like a tomato, but he’s trying to be helpful, and Taako is more amused than disdainful. “I, uh, I play a couple instruments. Also card games.”

“Cool, cool.” Taako nods, wondering how long it’ll take Lup to find that out and rope Kravitz into Music Time. He shifts absently into Kravitz’s space and sets his hand on top of Kravitz’s, tilting the angle of his knife. “Oh boy. Boy howdy, that’s a clammy one. Look, uh, here’s the thing, you just rock the knife like this, yeah, you’re gonna chop ‘em with like, half the effort.”

Lup and Barry’s situation is so weird, Taako forgets sometimes, what death means. What dead means. But Kravitz doesn’t pull away, and Taako leaves his hand there for a moment more.

“Thank you.” Kravitz looks over and his smile is so soft.

--

“You, uh, don’t have to answer, obviously,” Kravitz prefaces, giving Taako plenty of space, and deftly brushes pastry with egg wash. “Taako, why do you do all this, uh, freelancing? It seems like you could do something, I don’t know, safer? Steadier?”

Taako is a fuckin’ master of Transmutation, let slip to Kravitz that he’s top of his field, has enough cooking cred that he could open a culinary academy, has a fucking PhD in philosophy while he’s at it. Flip wizard, hella combat expert, pretty damn good alchemist for not even minoring in the subject. Taako loves the spotlight, and Taako is good out here.

“I’m worried I’m gonna fuck it all up,” Taako says, easy as breathing, and transmutes the cinnamon to nutmeg, tastes it to be safe. “Like, fuck, y’know?”

Kravitz, incredibly, nods. “I’m, well, that’s a lot of honesty. But, yeah, I, uh, I get that. I mean...”

“I getcha, my dude.” Taako does, though. Taako knows Lup and Barry and the whole Raven Queen deal. It’s not easy stuff. Lup and Taako are still always ready to go off the grid, and Barry doesn’t seem to think it’s weird - they’re fucked up people, Kravitz probably has some fucked up shit, too. “We’re just doin’ what we can to get by, like jugglin’ fuckin’ chainsaws or some shit. That’s a Taako original, don’t wear it out.”

“I won’t,” Kravitz replies, laughing.

“Don’t get so distracted you don’t get to finish your dish,” the instructor chirps from behind them, but she’s smiling and gives them a wink, like they’re a legit couple, and it’s only then that Taako realizes how close they’re standing.

--

“So, my guy,” Taako says, out in the cold behind the community center, last class over.

“Mmn, yes?” Kravitz, wrapped up in black wool, a faintly shiny purple handknit scarf peeking through the collar, hands shoved in his pockets even though he can’t really be cold.

Taako could just walk away with a thanks and head home with his Best People, squishing in on Barry’s other side and giving him and Lup shit about all their PDA. He could just see Kravitz next time he dropped by after work, or at some weird metaphysical reaper work party. Fuck that, though.

“Y’wanna hit up the Chug’n’Squeeze next weekend?” Taako asks, slouching further into his own coat, left open over about five layers of cardigans and scarves. With Kravitz, there’s no real temptation to tilt his ostentatious wizard’s hat to shade his face, which is weird, but cool. It’s good. “Just pleasure, this time.”

Kravitz lights up, a warm smile crossing his face, sincere and sweet. “I’d love that. I had, um, I had a lovely evening, you know. Even if it wasn’t, uh, strictly pleasure this time.”

“S’cool, ch’boy did too,” Taako says, and leans up to kiss Kravitz’s cheek. “Listen, it’s cold as fuck, so Taako is not good out here, for once, but, uh. Hey, I’ll catch you this weekend?”

“I’ll look forward to it,” Kravitz promises, and catches Taako’s hand, pressing a cool, soft kiss to his palm before turning to slash open an interdimensional portal.

Taako rocks back on his heels to watch him go, warm.

--

[thevastnessof]

i listened to a few taz balance episodes today, and taako tormenting the fantasy gacha guy by pretending he doesnt understand the machine and then doing it correctly as soon as he walks out of the room in despair is still one of my favorite recurring bits. thats such a character defining interaction, also, has me in stitches every time

[figofswords]

15 taako+character of choice

15. “I am trying to assist you, you thankless reprobate!”

wait with me/wait for me

Taako finds him in a tavern.

He’s clearly very drunk, eyes hazy and movements wild. He’s in a fight; his opponent is a large, nasty-looking goliath, and as Taako eyes the young woman slipping away from the pair with a frightened expression on her face, he knows exactly how the dispute started. Magnus is ever the hero, after all.

He’s also taking the beatdown. Taako knows with complete confidence that Magnus could win this fight, even drunk. Maybe a year ago, he wouldn’t have been able to, but now, with a century’s experience restored, it shouldn’t matter that the other man looms over him or that he’s had too much to drink. Magnus has wrestled magic power bears and won. This is not a fight he should lose.

But he’s losing, and it doesn’t make sense, except maybe it does because Taako knows what it’s like to want to be punished.

What does Magnus want to be punished for? What guilt lurks in the darkness of this particular night?

Even as he watches, the goliath man’s fist collides firmly with Magnus’ temple and he goes down hard. The onlooking tavern-goers gasp and the man spits angrily, lip curled as he kicks at Magnus’ side.

And with that, Taako has had enough. “Hey, fucker, over here,” he calls, and then he casts Banish.

The look of shock on the asshole’s face is so, so good. Taako wants to cast something more violent and more destructive, but something’s wrong with Magnus so the most important thing is removing the danger as quickly and efficiently as possible so he can figure out what the hell is going on.

Magnus recoils when Taako reaches out a hand to help him up, lashing out sloppily. Taako dodges the blow and scowls. “I am trying to assist you, you thankless reprobate!” he snaps, though he knows his tone lacks it’s usual bite. He’s worried, okay? Call him soft but a hundred years is a long time in which to learn to care for someone.

Magnus pauses, and finally his eyes focus on Taako’s face. “Taako?” he asks, uncertain, and his voice is so much rougher and so much more fragile than usual.

“Come on, big guy,” sighs Taako, and pulls him to his feet. “Let’s go somewhere a little more…private.”

Eyes follow them out the door and into the night air but Taako pretends not to notice. There is no way those people have not realized by this point that he and Magnus are, in fact, two of the Seven Birds, the heroes of Story and Song, but he doesn’t care. They hadn’t lifted a hand to intervene in that fight so honestly? Fuck them.

Taako leads Magnus to a deserted alleyway, allowing him to sling an arm around his shoulders for support. Under most circumstances, he’d just leave the idiot to limp after him, but he cannot forget the vacancy in Magnus’ eyes or shake the feeling that something is unspeakably wrong. So he supports him all the way into the indigo shadows and helps him sit down on an empty shipping crate, back against the wall.

“Alright, you big lump. Out with it. What’s going on?”

Magnus shrugs limply. “Nothing,” he mutters. He won’t meet Taako’s gaze.

“Mmhm. Sure. Okay. There’s nothing going on, except you’re piss-drunk and you just let some fool beat you up in a shitty bar. Now dish. What’s wrong with you?”

There’s something unspeakably fragile in Magnus’ expression as he leans his head back against the wall and tilts his chin towards the sky. His eyes flutter shut and his hands clench and unclench on his knees. “She died today.”

It takes Taako barely a moment to realize he means Julia.

“Oh,” says Taako. He sits down on the crate beside Magnus and clasps his hands in front of him. He doesn’t know what to say, not really. He’s lost people before, but for the most part he got them back. And his childhood was rough, yes, but the absence of people was never due to losing them.

Can’t lose people if you never had them in the first place.

But Magnus…Magnus has lost so much, and has received so little in return. And what happiness was granted to him in the lonely years on this plane was ripped from his fingers by the unforgiving hands of fate.

(Not for the first time, Taako finds himself hating Istus, just a bit, and regretting becoming her emissary. He imagines himself marching up to her and demanding compensation for all the pain they have been dealt, but he knows the days after the Hunger’s defeat have been glorious and wonderful in so many ways and he can’t bring himself to risk that. Perhaps this is their compensation.)

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No,” says Magnus. Then, because clearly he didn’t mean that, he says, “She was beautiful, you know? Kind and strong and fierce and gentle. She was my everything. All those years of running and I never thought I’d fall in love, but then I met her and even if I was only half of myself I knew I wanted to spend my life with her.”

Taako thinks of how quickly he’d realized he loved Kravitz and thinks maybe he understands, if even just a little. But Kravitz is still here, and Julia is not, and that is all the difference.

He could say, I’m sorry, but that would fall flat. He could say, I’m here for you, but that’s bullshit. So instead he gently bumps his knuckles into Magnus’ arm and offers one of those rare smiles of his that aren’t lies.

“You’ll see her again,” he promises. “You just have to wait.”

Magnus looks over at him with tears glistening in his eyes, still unshed, and asks in a broken-yet-hopeful voice, “How do you know?”

“I’m dating literal, actual Death. I’ll make it happen.”

Magnus huffs out a laugh that’s almost a sob and then he’s surging forward and wrapping Taako up in one of his signature bear-hugs. Any other day, Taako would complain loudly and wriggle away, but now? Magnus needs this. And Magnus is his family, and family comes before anything else. He can put up with a little bit of discomfort if it will help soothe the aching wound he knows is still weeping in Magnus’ heart.

“She’d be proud of you,” says Taako, and absentmindedly pats at Magnus’ back. He never met Julia, so all he knows about her is what little Magnus has told him, but from what he can tell he knows this is true. “Of what you’ve accomplished.”

And Magnus holds him tighter and sobs harder and Taako lets him.

Twenty minutes pass like this before Magnus finally pulls away, wiping at his eyes and breathing thickly. He sighs with the exhaustion of too many years and leans back against the wall again, but he doesn’t let go of Taako’s hand.

“Thank you, Taako,” says Magnus. He squeezes once. “I mean that. Thank you.”

Something uncomfortably warm is bubbling in Taako’s throat, so he scoffs and waves his free hand in the air and says, “Eh, no biggie,” and Magnus laughs and then he laughs and then they’re both sitting in an alleyway in a small town at midnight, cackling like a pair of particularly demented hyenas for no real reason at all except the knowledge that despite having struggled so long and suffered so much and lost so many things, they’re still alive, and they still have each other, and the rest of their family, and all the people who have come to mean so much.

Fate owes them so much for all the things it has taken, but maybe this is, at long last, their repayment.

[lilblog-asatreat]

43 and Lup!

#43. Your favorite song on repeat for the hundredth time

Still accepting prompts from this prompt list!

(Thank you, Reese for sending in the ask, and thank you, Griffin for making all of us aware that this beautiful song exists)

"Okay, we'll play through it one more time from the top before we end practice for the day," Lup and Barry's professor says. Lup holds her bow above her violin, and Barry turns back around with his hands over the keys of the grand piano. Their professor waves their hands in the air to count off the beats as they say, "One, two!"

Lup closes her eyes as she and Barry begin to play. They've been practicing this piece that they've written together with the help of their professor for a few months now, but this time when they play, it feels different. It feels finished. Complete. Right. Hearing Barry's piano accompanied with her violin makes her heart sing. She pours every single ounce of love that she has for him in her music, and she can feel Barry's love for her in his.

They don't make a single mistake by the time the song ends, and as their professor claps with happiness at their performance, Lup opens her eyes and looks at Barry who is giving her the softest expression she has ever seen him have. They both smile at each other, and Lup misses what their professor is saying to them because in that moment, the only thing that exists in the world is him.

They have one more week before their recital.

They're ready.

-

As Lup and Barry walk on stage and take their positions, Lup feels her nerves getting to her. It's odd because she's never felt this nervous about a performance before, but she knows it's not because of the performance itself. She's confident she and Barry will give a stunning show. She's not confident, however, in what this performance might mean. Writing and practicing this piece in the privacy of their classroom, where the only other person who could see them and guide them was their professor, provided a level of unspoken intimacy where they could be in love and acknowledge it quietly. They haven't spoken about it, but they know. It's safe knowing without getting into the messy details of saying it out loud even if they both yearn for something more.

Now they are about to put their intimacy on blast for everyone to know. And once everyone knows, they can't keep it quiet between themselves anymore. They'll have to acknowledge it out loud, and taking that step is scary. What would it mean for them and their relationship if they try to take the next step? What would it mean for the mission? What would it mean for their future?

Not only that, but the Light from the caves will be silently judging their love. Will it be good enough for everyone in the planarverse to hear? Is the Light going to make the world forget?

Lup searches the crowd as she taps her bow against her leg nervously, and her eyes meet Taako's. Her anchor. Her rock. Taako smiles and gives her a thumbs up, and the anxiety clenching her chest eases up a little. She does a little wave before looking around at Barry.

He looks more anxiety ridden than she feels, but he's always had a high base level of anxiety at the best of times. She smiles reassuringly at him, and he smiles back, releasing some of the tension in his shoulders.

The noise from the audience dies down a little as Lup brings her violin to her shoulder and Barry fixes the sheet music on the piano. When the crowd falls completely silent, she takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, and they begin to play.

Somehow, the music seems even more magical than before. She moves slightly to the music, pouring her soul into every measure. Giving all of her love to Barry through every note. And she feels all of his love for her as their music dances together in the air. Time seems to stand still around them as they get absorbed into this moment together. They've lost and given up so much in their journey to get to this moment, here and now, but they will never give up this. They will never lose their song. Their love. All of existence might beat down on them for all eternity, but nothing will take away this moment. Nothing will take them from each other.

When the song ends, Lup opens her eyes and ignores the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. She transfers her violin to her other hand as Barry stands up and walks next to her. They hold hands and do an overdramatic bow as the crowd cheers, and they laugh out their nerves. When they come back up, they look into each others eyes and don't let each other's hands go.

Lup's heart feels tingly, and all she wants to do is hold him and be held by him. She can have that, she realizes. She just needs to break the silence.

"Barry? Do you want to go talk somewhere for a while?"

Barry gives her the most lovestruck smile as he says, "Yeah."

They leave their sheet music on the pedestal, and then they're running up the slope back to the conservatory as their song is blasted for the planarverse to know, hand in hand.

-

While on a date in cycle 51, Lup and Barry decide to walk through the cozy little town of Hampton. They're chatting idly as they hold hands and looking at the different shops on the sides of the street when Barry stops and points at a medium sized building with a sign hanging over it proclaiming the establishment to be called Hampton Strings. This piques Lup's curiosity, and they decide to head in.

Hampton Strings is a cozy music store that sells mostly stringed instruments. There's guitars and ukuleles hanging on the walls and harps and basses and lutes among a variety of other instruments, some of which Lup has never seen before, strewed around the shop. They walk around a bit, and Lup finds the violin section. She looks through the different brands of violins left on display and loses track of Barry. When she finds one that looks particularly pretty, she turns to show it to Barry, but he's already gone.

Lup takes the instrument with her and the bow that comes with it as she tries to find her boyfriend. It doesn't take long for her to spot him toward the back of the store, sitting on a bench in front of a piano. It's not as big as a grand piano by any means, but it's big enough to play some interesting melodies. More specifically...

"We haven't been able to play our song in a few years," Barry says, smiling up at her. "Want to see if we still remember how it goes?"

Lup smiles at him brightly. "Absolutely."

And they begin to play.

They have no problem remembering all of the notes, the melody, and the harmony. It's every bit as magical an experience as the first time they played it all the way through. The violin is a little out of tune, but it doesn't stop the couple from getting totally immersed in the music and in their love.

When they finish the song, they kiss, and they decide to make the purchase. The piano is small enough to keep on the Starblaster, but they're thankful for having two rooms to keep all of their stuff in because it's still going to take up a bit of space.

It's completely worth it to be able to play their song whenever they want.

-

Everyone is at least a little tipsy by the time the dance floor opens at Lup and Barry's reception after their first wedding ceremony. Taako and Magnus laugh as Merle takes to the dance floor, swaying a little more than strictly necessary after one too many shots of tequila. Davenport and Lucretia chat idly off to the side as they watch everyone on the dance floor. Barry spins Lup one more time as the song the musician is playing ends, and they hold onto each other and laugh.

Lup looks at Barry with the biggest smile and says, "I brought my violin, and they actually have a grand piano. Want to play our song?"

Barry kisses her on the forehead. "Thought you'd never ask."

Lup goes to grab her violin and Barry excuses the pianist for a moment and settles in, getting ready to play. Lup walks back up to him with her violin under her chin.

Magnus grabs his cool guy shades and puts them on as Lup and Barry play, but everyone knows he's crying anyway. Taako looks at the two of them with a happiness he hasn't felt in a long while, and Merle sways to the music with his eyes closed. Lucretia puts a hand on Davenport's shoulder with a soft smile on her face as Davenport watches his family be truly happy, safe, alive, and together for the first time in a while.

Lup and Barry's love is their love, and their love is Lup and Barry's. Nothing can take this moment away.

-

This is definitely one of the most interesting places Lup and Barry have ever had a picnic. They sit at the top of a cliff looking over the ocean, and the light of the setting sun is cut through the horizon by the purple energy of the Plane of Magic. It's eerily silent, but they've grown used to it in the months they've been here.

Barry grabs the picnic basket he brought and takes out the sandwiches Lup made before handing her one. They eat in silence, basking in the lowering rays of sunlight and each other's company. When they've finished eating, Barry grabs Lup's hand, and Lup lays her head on his shoulder. When the sun finally sets below the horizon, Barry speaks softly.

"I have one last surprise for you that I've been keeping secret until the right moment, and I think this is it."

Lup sits up to look at him. "What is it, Care Bar?"

Barry smiles softly as he digs around the picnic basket. Then he pulls out a small ornate box, big enough to fit in two hands. He hands it to her, and Lup flips open the lid and gasps.

A little holographic display of her and Barry performing at the Legato Conservatory appears above the box, and their song plays loud and clear. Lup smiles and holds it to her chest as Barry explains, "I love playing the song with you, but I thought it would be nice if we could dance to it too. And that's kind of hard to do if we're the only two people who know how to play it, so I thought I'd record it."

"I love it," Lup whispers above the song.

Barry stands up and offers Lup his hand. "Will you dance with me?"

"Of course."

She sets the box down before taking his hand, and they dance well into the night.

-

Lup walks back to her room after Taako's Thong Song performance feeling a little better but still ultimately depressed. She finds Barry already asleep on his side of the bed, so she closes the door quietly as to not disturb him. She stands there for a few seconds, watching him sleep. He seems so at peace without the weight of what they had done to the world berating his consciousness. She craves that peace too for whatever few hours of meditation or sleep that she can get, but she's not in the mood to try. Instead, she quietly walks over to her nightstand, grabs her music box, and walks back out to their storage room, closing the door quietly behind her.

Lup takes a look around the dark room at the all of the stuff they've accumulated over the century piled in different parts of the room. She passes stacks of books and boxes of different trinkets before she makes it to the piano in the back corner of the room. She sits down on the bench, facing away from the piano, and she holds the music box in her lap. She runs her thumbs over the engraved designs absentmindedly before she opens the box and lets it sing.

Lup watches as the miniature holographic versions of her and Barry move as they play the violin and piano. Tears quietly slip down her cheeks as she watches the two figures play their hearts out. That had been a strong and unforgettable moment, free of the weight of existence for just a few minutes.

Even the times after that performance, when they were actively researching ways to stop the Hunger, somehow, those times seemed to be less complicated and weighted than what she was feeling now which should have been impossible. They had stopped the Hunger from growing stronger. They were going to starve it out.

They were destroying the world like the Hunger destroys everything else. They needed a new plan that fixes both.

Lup knows Lucretia's plan wouldn't work, but she can't help thinking... was she right?

She spends the next thirty minutes listening to her and Barry's song loop over and over again before she closes the music box and retires for the night.

-

Lup musters up all of the emotional and arcane energy that she has as she taps into her love for her family, her extreme loneliness, and her wrath for getting herself trapped here in the fucking first place and she screams in protest as she blasts the black curtains surrounding the chamber inside of her umbrastaff yet again. She feels the umbrastaff rattle and shake violently around her, but ultimately, it still holds. Damn her and her expert craftsmanship. She's sure if it had been anyone else's umbrastaff, she would be able to break free.

Lup floats down to the floor of the chamber and curls in on herself the best that she can. She wishes she was back in her body if only to be able to break down into tears at just how shitty this situation is. She has no idea of knowing how long she's been in here because she has only just been able to keep a steady consciousness going. It could be a few weeks to maybe even months. Or years? Surely Taako and Barry would have found her by now if it has been years since Cyrus killed her.

Lup extends her senses past the umbrella, a feat she has been slowly getting better at doing, and she sees that she's still in Wave Echo Cave and in the hands of her rotting corpse. She retracts her senses back to herself and is suddenly glad that her form can't feel or do physical things because seeing her own corpse in the decayed state that it's in would have definitely made her vomit.

Lup leans against the wall and thinks of her family. She thinks about her best day ever with Taako and becoming a lich with Barry. She thinks about girls' night with Lucretia, stargazing with Davenport and Merle, and training with Magnus. She thinks about her and Barry's weddings in various worlds and how happy she and her family were that they were celebrating and together.

Then she thinks about her and Barry's song.

Her form shudders slightly in lieu of tears as she hums her part of the song, hearing Barry's piano in the back of her mind. She becomes more and more aware of the fact that she can't breathe and how it's not because of her emotional state. She's dead and gone from the world and what if Taako and Barry and the rest of her family don't find her? What if after all of these long hard years, after growing up with Taako as her constant companion since birth, what if she's destined to be forever alone, trapped in this magical umbrella prison?

Lup's form crackles and she almost loses it. The song playing in her mind gets louder, and she holds onto it desperately, focusing on the notes, the melody, the harmony. She calms down and her form recollects itself. They'll find her. She just has to be patient.

They'll find her.

-

It's a couple of weeks after they've defeated the Hunger, and she and Barry are alone in Taako, Merle, and Magnus' living room on the moon base. The boys were going house hunting with Davenport, and Barry elected to stay behind and asked that Lup did as well because he had a surprise for her. It took a lot of convincing for Taako to leave her side for a few hours, but she promised that she wasn't going anywhere and if he really wanted to come back early, he could summon a ball and come back.

To be honest, it was really hard for her to separate herself from him too, but she also really wanted to spend time with Barry and was curious as to what surprise he might have.

Barry sits down on the couch next to his small pile of stuff and rummages through one of his bags. "I kept this with me when I was trying to find you before Lucretia... well..." Barry pauses for a moment and sighs. "Anyway, that's how I still have this instead of it being hidden somewhere in Lucretia's storage." He pulls out a small ornate box that's big enough to fit in two hands, and Lup's light flickers excitedly when she sees it.

"I thought I'd never see that again!" She floats over next to Barry and tries to hug him the best that she can. "Does it still play?"

Barry smirks. "One way to find out." He places it on the coffee table before standing up and holding out his hand to Lup. "May I have this dance?"

Lup's form crackles a little as she nods her hood, too taken by emotion to speak properly.

Barry flips the lid of the box, and their song starts to play as Lup takes his hand. They dance around the coffee table the best that they can, and Lup and Barry laugh as Barry tries to dip her and almost loses his balance. She had missed this while she was in the umbrella. So much. She missed him and his sweet smile and his adorable laugh. She missed listening to their song outside of her head. She misses playing the song herself.

Now that she has almost everything back, the thing she misses most is life.

But they're going to fix that too.

-

One of the great things about being rich and famous, Lup has recently learned, is that you can buy your husband a grand piano to go inside your big family house, and the great thing about magic is that you can transport said piano to and from a fancy open air amphitheater to put on a recital for your family and friends. And that's where Lup and Barry are now, a few months after Killian and Carey's wedding, on stage in front of Taako, Kravitz, Magnus, Merle, Mavis, Mookie, Davenport, Lucretia, and Angus along with their other friends from the Bureau of Benevolence and others they've met in their time in Faerun.

Since they've rented out the amphitheater for the whole night, they play other songs they've learned in their spare time since their time in the Legato Conservatory. Taako comes up at one point to drop one liner quotes from back home, and even though they're different ones than the ones everyone would have heard on the Day of Story and Song, everyone recognizes those are not his quotes. Magnus leads the crowd in booing him off the stage as Taako cackles and protests he definitely didn't steal them and that they were 100% Taako Originals^TM. Davenport sings some beautiful opera songs, and Merle dances to the delight of many, but none are more delighted than Mavis and Mookie. Carey and Killian perform some fantastic acrobatic stunts, and Lucretia and Magnus come up to show off their artwork and woodwork respectively. Many more people show off their talents, and everyone has a spectacularly fun time hanging out together.

At the end of the night, Lup and Barry come back on stage for one more song. Their song. The crowd goes quiet as Barry raises his hands back over the keys of his piano, and Lup holds the violin under her chin.

Their duet echoes across the amphitheater and down the valley, and it seems to make the night a little bit warmer.

-

On Lup and Barry's 66th anniversary, Taako, Kravitz, and Angus leave the house to them as they go find some adventure elsewhere. The couple spends a quiet day in talking magical theories they still want to explore together, reminiscing about some of their wilder adventures, experimenting with food in the kitchen (which turns into a food fight they regret having to clean up afterwards), and cuddling on the couch.

Lup lays against Barry and curls her legs up on the couch, and Barry plays with her hair absentmindedly. She feels safe and totally at peace in his arms, listening to his heart beat in his chest. The journey that brought them together was a wild and hard one, but she wouldn't have it any other way because it meant that she got her happy ending with him. It meant she finally got stability in her life a place to call home.

Lup smiles as she gets a bright idea for one of the last things she wants to do before they turn in for the night. She turns slightly to poke Barry's side.

Barry hums questioningly.

"My fingers are getting itchy. Do you want to go to the music room and play our song?" Lup says.

Barry smiles softly. "Yeah."

They get up and stretch before heading into the room. Lup tunes her violin as Barry gets settled onto the piano bench and pops his fingers.

When Lup is finished tuning, she looks up at him with a soft smile. "Ready, babe?"

Barry nods. "I'm ready."

Their song is an old one, but every time they play it, it feels as fresh and new as the first. It's stood up to the test of time and hardship and separation and turmoil, and it always brings them back together. Back to the time when their love was new, exciting, electrifying, and hidden in an intimate classroom with only a professor to bear witness.

They've played and listened to this song a hundred times over, and Lup and Barry will play it a hundred times more because their love is everlasting and beautiful and treasured for all time.

[words-writ-in-starlight]

Untamed TAZ Balance AU? Don't have to write anything, just consider that (is Wen Ning Lucretia in this or is he too nice for that)

NHS IS LUCRETIA, NHS IS ABSOLUTELY LUCRETIA, I HAVE THOUGHTS, my girlfriend yelled at me for these thoughts.  Hell this got long, I’ve literally been saving it in my drafts until Tumblr fixed the Read More issue.

WWX is Taako, JC is Magnus, WQ is Merle, JYL is in the umbrella (became a lich to keep her brother from doing it), WN is the Red Robe (became a lich because he thought it seemed reasonable), NHS is Lucretia, XXC is Davenport, LWJ and LXC are mutually Kravitz (LXC sets his bro up with the death criminal wizard), Wen Zhuliu is John Vore, LSZ is Angus but also a baby Reaper

ONE

So Wei Wuxian isn’t really a wizard, is the thing.  Like, he does the wizard magic, and apparently he has strong Wizard Vibes because wherever he travels, people ask him if he can solve their magical bullshit problems, but he’s, like, barely a wizard.  He’s an inventor, technically, except that a few years back some stuff went explosively awry while he worked with this traveling show and–yeah.  So he’s working as a wizard because, hey, he can cast Magic Missile and he needs to eat and he’s an Evocation specialist, anyway, so it’s not like he’s out here making food from rocks.  He’s hired on with a couple other random jackasses, a fighter who took a dislike to Wei Wuxian right off the bat and a cleric with a bad temper and an itchy Sacred Flame finger, and they’re doing a job for some dwarf, or whatever.  The dwarf has a guy hired on as muscle, but he doesn’t look like much, all wide eyes and baby face.  He calls himself Qionglin, no last name, and stares at Wen Qing like he’s never seen a cleric before, and Jiang Cheng spends the entire trip to Phandolin messing with his whip, which is the stupidest weapon Wei Wuxian has ever seen.

Well, then everything immediately goes horribly wrong, though, and turns out that Jiang Cheng is pretty okay with that whip.  Qionglin (Wei Wuxian spoke to the man all of one time, but he was sweet, if a little awkward) gets himself kidnapped by a bunch of goblins, and their employer is gods-know-where with whatever a Black Spider is, and suddenly this very boring escort mission is a very not boring rescue mission.

There’s a skeleton in the cave.  Wei Wuxian takes an umbrella from it, and it crumbles into dust beneath its red robe.  There’s a very annoyed man with a sword who calls himself Song Lan and speaks in static, and he’s somehow not the weirdest part of this whole day.

Phandolin doesn’t survive its brush with the Zidian Gauntlet, and neither does Qionglin.  Wen Qing screams when he dies, and Wei Wuxian grabs her under the arms with Jiang Cheng and books it for the empty well in Song Lan’s wake, and they just hide.  

And then they go to the goddamn moon, apparently.

TWO

The goddamn moon is run by an older man with hair still a glossy black, toying with a beautifully painted white fan in his hand.  He calls himself the Director and–after some testing–hires them more or less on the spot.  Something flickers over his face when Wen Qing, bemused by her own upset, makes an offhand mention of a man named Qionglin who died when the Gauntlet brought down so much lightning that it turned Phandolin into black glass.  But it’s not Wei Wuxian’s problem, so he doesn’t worry himself over it too much.  He takes the payment offered to him by the Director’s aide, a blindfolded, stunningly handsome man in Bureau blue and white who rests his hand on his own chest and says “Xiao Xingchen” and not another word.

The Bureau is–weird.  They’ve got a giant jellyfish and a store run by–something Wei Wuxian Does Not Trust and a dorm.  Wei Wuxian laughs and kicks Jiang Cheng cheerfully in the ankle and says “Just like college, huh?” and Jiang Cheng gives him a dark look and snaps “I never went to college.”

“Yeah,” Wei Wuxian says, blinking.  “Me neither.”

Whatever.  They go on a train adventure and there’s a kid, a kid who blinks and stares at Wei Wuxian like he’s seen a goddamn ghost and immediately walks up to introduce himself as Lan Sizhui, boy detective.

Wei Wuxian fucking loves this kid.  He’s not sure why this wide-eyed fifteen-year-old latched onto him so hard, but he’s smart, funny, loyal, and extremely easy to pick on.  13/10 child rating, in Wei Wuxian’s book.

(Sizhui, for his part, more or less kicks down the door to his father’s offices in the Astral Plane the second the Reclaimers are gone and shouts “I HAVE A LEAD ON WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WORLD.”)

(His father, Lan Wangji, the Grim Reaper, is very interested to hear all about it–especially when his son casually name-drops three of the biggest bounties that the Raven King, his adoptive elder brother, has ever sent him after, with the exception of that absolutely insufferably sweet-tempered lich Wen Ning.)

THREE

So…the Crystal Kingdom.

Is it Wei Wuxian’s finest hour, shouting obscure tentacle-related threats at the second crystal construct they’ve seen in the past twenty minutes?  No, probably not.  But it’s been a stressful day, they’re already down one Regulator and Song Lan is fuck-knows-where with Mianmian and, again, this is the second menacing crystal construct they’ve seen in twenty minutes.  Or maybe it’s the same one? 

Whatever, doesn’t matter.  They’re here to hunt down Meng Yao, a scientist who’s been dicking around with some seriously ill-advised necromancy and also the Philosopher’s Stone, and a crystal construct or two isn’t going to stop them.

Wei Wuxian actually physically cannot help himself, though, when the Reapers appear in the mirror, a matched set of beautiful men, and he grins broadly at the one glaring at him most viciously.  They get let go on a technicality, along with a conduit still containing Meng Shi’s memory of a vision beyond the cosmos, and Meng Yao leaves with his life and not much more.

Later, Lan Wangji is absolutely betrayed by the realization that his brother willfully set him up to be the primary go-between for the completely breathtaking deeply irritating wizard-by-way-of-death-criminal.  And that’s before the whole lich revelation.  (He does get a kiss, though, after he watches his brother pulled under by the Hunger.  That’s nice.  He hopes Wei Wuxian will mitigate the death crimes now that they’re dating.)

FOUR

The seven Relics are as follows:

The Zidian Gauntlet, which can generate a lightning blast so powerful that it can obliterate an entire city.  (Jiang Cheng–he watched the others try to lay in protections, try to make their Relics harmless, and he knew it wouldn’t work.  All the Gauntlet does is damage.  It can melt a city down to black glass, but it can’t be twisted, it can’t be made into any more of a nightmare than it already is.  He’s a fighter.  He knows all about damage, knew all about what he was making.  That doesn’t mean it didn’t kill him by inches to watch it leave a path of destruction–so much that his beloved jiejie tried to seal it away.)

The Oculus, which can make any construct real.  (Xiao Xingchen–Nie Huaisang didn’t take everything.  He doesn’t remember the mission, or his own past.  Something strange got confused in the process, and he lost most of his speech.  But he remembers how to fight, handles his sword as cleanly and effectively as ever, and he remembers that he doesn’t think much of Nie Huaisang’s combat skills.  Or maybe it’s just really obvious that Nie Huaisang isn’t much of a fighter.  Regardless, Xiao Xingchen insisted on accompanying him, before–before.  Then they went into the Felicity Wilds, and…Xue Yang is honestly delighted.  He’s never managed to ruin someone so badly on the way into Wonderland before.  It’s just a shame that Nie Huaisang sent Xiao Xingchen away before they reached the doors.)

The Healer’s Sash, which can manipulate natural forces like the wind, the tides, and tectonic plates just as easily as it can manipulate a heartbeat or a pair of lungs.  (Wen Qing–she prays to Pelor, the Dawnfather, the healer and Lord of Light, but she’s long since lost her faith in him as anything but a contracted boss.  It’s a shock to everyone including her when she’s granted a right arm made of glass and magic after losing it.  She was so determined to make a Relic that could be used for good, but–well.  She supposes she should have known better.)

The Philosopher’s Stone, which can more or less transform anything into anything.  (Jiang Yanli–she’s a Transmutation wizard, she’s been feeding the crew of the Starblaster for a hundred years on whatever she can pull together.  If the right person found the Stone, it would have ended world hunger.  The wrong person found the stone.  Jiang Yanli tried her damnedest to hunt it down, but she found the Gauntlet first, and, well–she already became a lich to stop one younger brother from doing it.  It’s not a struggle to decide that she’s going to take responsibility for saving Jiang Cheng from his own guilt.  Then things go horribly wrong, and she spends the next twelve years in an umbrella.)

The Temporal Chalice, which offers complete control over time.  (Wen Ning–he was a strict scholar until his sister was contacted about the IPRE’s creation, but he always did want to travel, and his theories about bonds were too good for Xiao Xingchen to pass up having on his crew.  Everything he’s done since they lost their home system has been about trying not to leave his family, about trying for second chances, he became a lich for them, he’s done everything to stay with them, of course his Relic is a second chance generator.)

The Animus Flute, which offers control over the spirits of the dead and, in the hands of a sufficiently competent expert, the living.  (Wei Wuxian–he’s watched his brother, his sister, his friends, die so many times.  He’s terrified of immortality, but he’s most terrified of being alone.  He meant to make something that could keep the dead present, so that they would never have to fear being left behind again.  Watching it rip Jiang Cheng’s soul clean out of his body in Xue Yang’s hands is the worst thing Wei Wuxian can remember, even after everything is over.)

The Bulwark, which Nie Huaisang never did explain to anyone, but took the shape of a hand-painted fan.  (Nie Huaisang lost the only person who mattered to him when the Hunger ate their home, and then as he slowly, painstakingly, rebuilt something like a family, he had to watch them suffer and die for a hundred years.  And then he watched them win, and grieve like dying all over again for the winning.  He’s sorry they suffered for his actions.  He’s not sorry for what he did.)

FIVE

Wen Zhuliu didn’t mean to make his whole plane give up.  But he had spent his whole life being used, and it all just seemed so pointless.  It all just seemed so pointless.  There was always someone stronger, always something bigger, always a rule he couldn’t break, always something, and he started talking, started telling people as much, and--

Wen Qing is about the farthest thing in the fucking world from a peacemaker by nature, if you ask her, but she’s a healer first, last, and most of all.  And, she thinks as she watches the sun sink with a very tired man crumbling away at her side, she might be the only person in the worlds who ever noticed that Wen Zhuliu needed a healer.

(They aren’t from the same plane, but--some of the others have found distant family, on their new home.  It’s an unanswerable question, if they might have been family, a few dimensions removed.  Wen Ning still thinks about it.)

[thetaakotwins]

Angus headcanons?

My friend talked about this with me and it was mostly her idea but- angus was a detective before joining the bureau right? So like he totally investigated some weird stuff.

Imagine he goes to investigate a weird death. It looks like a guy just fell out of the sky. There are no cliffs nor buildings in the area it’s as if someone cast a fly spell and just dropped him here. Angus can figure out what really killed him was a blast of scorching ray, but the mans eyes looked so at peace. There’s no way he could have been fighting. And his clothes? His clothes are so weird. He wears a red robe with blue jeans, mostly stained with blood but he can tell they were well kept. This is the first case angus can’t solve.

About half a year later he sees the same thing. This time the man has been stabbed in what looks like a mugging. He looks exactly the same except no red robe, angus would recognize those jeans anywhere. The same guy is dead? Again? Maybe he has a twin.

To Angus’ surprise this keeps happening. He sees body after body of the same man, all in different places, all at least two months apart. He even gets news of another while on a train to Neverwinter while he’s making some new friends.

Elsewhere there is a certain director of a certain organization keeping close tabs on her family. She writes,

Merle, Magnus, Taako: on a mission in Goldcliff.

Captain Davenport: fell asleep in my office a few hours ago, haven’t found the strength to move him yet.

Barry: tried to break into the bureau a few days ago. Current location unknown.

Lup: gone.

Reminders: make anti-lich wards around the base. Look for Barry. Tell Garfield to pay his damn rent. 

The chronicler sighs as she puts her head in her hands. A small tear runs down her face and she quickly wipes it away. It’s been a long hard time.

She can almost hear Lup’s voice talking to her and taunting her.

“Listen Luce, we all hit fuck it eventually.” Lup smiles and twists her curly hair in her hands.

“Fuck it?” Lucretia asks, a smile making its way across her lips.

“Yeah, fuck it” Lup gestures around, “it’s like when you’ve reached a low and it can’t get any worse, then something happens and you think- well I might as well let this happen.” She smirks at Lucretia. “That my dude, is fuck it.”

Another tear falls down her face as she remembers. Gods it’s been so long. Gods I miss them so much.

Lucretia’s pitty party is interrupted by the buzzing of her stone of farspeech.

“Uh, madam director?”

It’s Avi. Why the hell is he calling her?

“Yes Avi?”

“There’s a, well, I don’t exactly know how to explain this but, there’s a kid in one of the canons. He wants to talk to you.” Avi talks nervously like he thinks he’s going to get in trouble.

A what? A kid? Before responding Lucretia rummages around in her desk looking for her journal from a month ago. It’s at the bottom of the drawer but she pulls it out, sending all sorts of papers flying everywhere. Yes, yes, there was a kid, a young boy, glasses, curly hair just like hers, he was a detective. She scans her notes of what her friends said to her. Finally she finds his name, Angus.

Angus McDonald, the worlds greatest boy detective. Helped a great deal in recovering Captain Davenports relic. He owns a book that intercepts messages and transmissions, stopping them from reaching their rightful owner.  I have a grave suspicion that he is the one investigating Barry’s corpses.

Reminders: locate Barry. Find this boy. Make amends.

Hot diggity shit. Only 10 seconds have passed.

“Let me speak with him”

There’s a shuffling noise from the stone as it changes hands and a young boy speaks.

“Hello madam director, my name is Angus McDonald. I stowed away on one of your organizations floating orbs, and I did this because I wanted to speak with you. Does your organization house a lot of magic users trained in the arcane art of necromancy? If so could I speak to them please?” he sounds far too happy to be speaking about death wizards.

Lucreata ignores the question and instead asks, “how did you find the Bureau of Balance, Angus?” All he hears is static.

“Ma’am if you’d let me come in and have a chat I’m sure we could go over everything.” Lucretia can almost hear him smiling through the stone.

She looks down at her journal, specifically at her notes about her family. She’s written gone next to Lup for so so many years. Too many years. The kid is a detective right?

Lucretia hits fuck it.

“I think that would be quite nice Angus” and the last thing she hears before the stone is shut off is the sound of a door opening. Cheers to new beginnings.

[ceilingfan5]

22 (Hey I love you and still very much do want to marry you but I need you to elaborate on these last few amazon purchases with my credit card?) w blupjeans please :O!!!! thank u <3 -ise

“Hey, Bear?” They’ve been on the phone for at least an hour now, and there’s been pleasant silence for a solid chunk of it, Lup working on a project and Bary idly re-reading the same page over and over in the text book he’s meant to be approving or denying for use in his class next semester. On the one hand, it sure does have many words inside, in a particular order. On the other, his mind is entirely elsewhere, and it may as well be word salad with a noticeable lack of ranch dressing. 

“Huh?” he says, incredibly intelligently, genius level, Nobel prize and a half, tell the news, et cetera and so on. So big-brained he lugs the thing around in a wheelbarrow and can’t see because the implications of that, physically, are horrifically comical. Jesus, what kind of flesh nonsense crimes would have to be committed to manage such a thing? Now, maybe if he carried it around in a backpack…no, that’s still pretty awful. 

“Bear,” Lup says, a multi-pack of the amused flavor and the getting-at-something flavor, which is a bit spicy, honestly. “Back to the planet, hon, reel your ass in and turn your gravity boots on.”

“Click click woosh.” Barry shakes himself and tries to focus. It’s easy to daydream about other things, one big thing in particular, if he’s gonna be real with himself here. He keeps spinning the roulette wheel, or maybe one of those things that makes the different animal noises, and, swish, moooo, he’s thinking of a white dress and a veil and rice from above, and swish, baaaaa, he’s back to a number with far too many digits and its place on a check he’s going to have to write, and swish, quack quack, it’s the tin cans after a limo, the Just Married :) he can’t wait to write…How can a guy focus on the here and now when the most important event he’ll ever be a part of is looming? 

“One more time, paging Doctor Bluejeans, you’re needed back on the planet, Doctor Bluejeans?” Lup snickers. “Hey, come on. You’ve been in the clouds a lot lately.” 

“Yeah, well, there’s a lot of clouds up there, and, you know, as clouds go, they’re pretty fluffy and inviting and, uh, up, there. What’s, what’s the thing?” He knows she can’t see him, but his cheeks burn and he rubs his neck anyway. 

“Listen. Listen. Listen.”

“Listening, I prommy.”

“Stop letting Taako teach you slang, I swan to John. But uh. Hey. I love you and still very much do want to marry you but I need you to elaborate on these last few amazon purchases with my credit card?” 

Barry freezes. Had he…did he…what? He didn’t think…But…oh dear. 

“Your credit card?”

“That’s what the numbers business do say. On the bank’em cruncher and everything. Several dollars, my fucking beloved, and, uh, Barry, Bear Bear. Barrold. Barty Juhbullgens.”

Barry is sweating whatever comes after bullets. Very quiet armistice, maybe. 

“Should I put you, my fuckin’ betrothed, on blast, right here, right now, to an audience of you and moi, or do you, are you aware of my uh, confusion on this front?” 

“Um,” Barry says, throat dry, dry dry. 

“Too late. Trendy Watermelon Inflatable Pool, $57.95. Fuckin’, 1,000 Bright Colors Ball Pit Balls Crush Free with storage bag, of COURSE. $99.04. Entire Gallon of Fake Blood, $24.98. Burritos Tortilla Blanket, X-Large, $34.99. Fort Builder Kit, $35.99.”

“Um. I, um. I, I, um. In, in my defense,” Barry pushes up his glasses. “I thought I was using my card. And just your Prime, I’m so sorry, incredibly remorseful,”

“I’m not worried about the money, doofus, although I would appreciate you taking care of that, but no. No, uh, my question is more on the order of what the actual fuck.”

“Um,” Barry says, swallowing. “If I said honeymoon prep, would you believe me?” 

There’s a beat. 

“You know what,” Lup says, before absolutely losing it and laughing so hard she almost asphyxiates. He can practically see her smile, all screwed up and wiggly, trying to hold in the mirth like she’s trying to keep marbles in her armpits. “Yeah. Yeah, I would.”

[mediocre-megs]

Barry has died a lot. It’s part of the job, although while he’s falling he forgets that. He forgets a lot of things while he’s falling, specifically why the fuck that elf just blasted him off of... something he can’t make out.

Moments before impact, he forgets everything.

And then he hits the ground. And there’s nothing.

And then he remembers. All of it.

—

Lup nails a lip print first try. Merle plays yooker. Cap’n’port grounds himself. Taako casts “Alter Self.” Barry cracks a back rib. Magnus sees something he shouldn’t. Lucretia apologizes.

Please read all the tags on AO3!! This one gets pretty sad, babes, I’m ngl, but it’s okay!! Maybe I’ll write something happier next time:)

[fantasyrockopera]

Chapter Three of my Bury the Lead [Podfic] comes out tomorrow! I’m having a blast recording it and especially enjoyed the challenge of Kravitz’s muddled accent. If you like this, give my podfic a look! All credit for the brilliant writing (and all thanks for the permission) goes, of course, to @marywhal.

Audio transcription below the cut!

[Ren’s behind the counter in an apron when Taako saunters up, drying cups pulled from the washing machine.

“Good,” she says. “You’re here. Nobody else ever orders the seasonal stuff and I’m training today.”

“That’s because they think they’re too cool for sugar.” Taako leans against the counter. “You’ve got a newbie?”

Ren gestures towards the floor behind the espresso machine, which makes a lot more sense when her new coworker stands up, a chipped coffee cup in his hand and sheepish expression on his extremely handsome face.

He’s human. Black, with long dreads that are pulled into a much neater bun than Taako’s. The bun does a good job of showing off both the killer skull earrings the guy’s wearing and the fact that he got cheekbones to die for. He’s made up all low-key goth in a black vest and button-up, his sleeves rolled to his elbows, just the slightest smudge of gold eyeliner around his big brown eyes. The overall effect is somewhat spoiled by the fact that he’s wearing one of The Davy Lamp’s uniform red aprons, the bottom of which is soaked with coffee and dripping onto his worn oxfords.

“My apologies,” hot barista boy says, in a strangled accent that is—Cockney, maybe? Taako’s ears twitch. There’s something weird about the accent that he can’t quite place. “My hand slipped.” He wipes his hand off on the dry upper half of his apron and holds it out to Taako. “I’m Kravitz.”

“Taako,” Taako says, taking Kravitz’s hand and deciding he approves of this new hire and his snappy dressing. He glances down at the damaged mug Kravitz is holding. “You need some help with that, stud?”]

[herbgerblin]

tagged by @kravkalackin. Well you didn’t directly tag me, but it’s cool fam, i gotchu. i gotchu

Ao3 name: Herbgerblin (TheEverlastingRandom for older stuff)

Fandoms: The Adventure Zone, The Prenumbra Podcast, The Magnus Archives, and steadily bulldozing through Critical Role in these trying times

Number of fics: 10. I started writing fanfic in late 2018 so I am babey :0

1. Fic you spent the most time on: Balance is the Key (BitK). My “tres horny boys have a garage band” fic. Took me six months of semi regular weekly posting. That one claimed a lot of my braincells.

2. Fic you spent the least time on: Probably For Last Time. It was a very quick write but there are a lot of emotions packed in.

3. Longest fic: Not a chonker compared to most writers I know, but Balance is the Key has 93,788 words.

4. Shortest fic: That would be Sweatpants that say ‘Fool’ on the Ass :>

5. Most hits: BitK. I really don’t give that fic enough credit. One of those ‘threw a lot of jokes on the wall to see what stuck’ kinda ventures.

6. Most kudos: Once again BitK, but No Country for Dead Men is a close second

7. Most comment thread: BitK. I read all the comments for the serotonin :0

8. Fave Fic you wrote: It’s always the fic I’m currently writing. Right now I am having a blast writing Taako gets (very politely) Kidnapped by the Bird King. I love reading fantasy/fairytales, and this is letting me do my own. 

9. Fic you want to rewrite/expand on: Ironically enough, BitK. I think I spent so much time just trying to finish the damn thing I couldn’t take time to sit back and really feel out some of the scenes. But right now I don’t know where I would go in and expand upon it. I’ll give it more time to look at it with fresh eyes.

10. Share a bit of your WIP or share a story idea you’re planning:

Section from the next update of Taako gets (Very Politely) Kidnapped by the Bird King (whenever that is because this week has been hella busy: 

“There you are!” 

Taako looks up and spots Kravitz approaching him very quickly. His gait is stiff and there’s a hard-lined expression on his face. “I was looking all over for you!”

Taako takes a step back. “My bad, dude, I was just—”

Kravitz blinks, and the expression falls from his face. “Oh, no. Sorry, love, I was talking about the bird.” He extends an arm out.

“Oh,” Taako replies, immediately ignoring whatever it is that being called love is doing to his insides. The raven flaps her wings and leaps from his shoulder to the king’s.  

I tag @anonymousalchemist. yeet

[ma-lark-ey]

But on Merle would have probably been able to save Jon if given the chance, I have been inspired to write my first Merle piece because I genuinely cannot get this concept out of my head;

His spell slots were running low, he knew that much. Merle Highcurch only had a few tricks left, and a man to save.

Merle usually relied on his healing abilities, but a few Cleric tricks he never pulled out were kick ass in situations just like this. Situations where he needed to separate the evil from a person. And he would separate Jon from the Hunger. He spent too many cycles speaking to Jon to not. He couldn't imagine just letting Jon go. Just like that. He loved him too much.

"Taako! I need your immovable rod!" He shouted over the sounds of the Starblaster taking flight and Jon in his final form ravaging the deck. Don't worry, old buddy. Merle's gonna end all of this soon enough. Without hesitation, Taako handed over the staff, bracing himself on the deck rail. Merle made eye contact with Jon, whispering a prayer to Pan.

Channel Divinity was the first spell. He channeled all three gods he knew were on his side, that he knew would help him. The force of the power would've blasted him back if he didn't have the rod planted firmly. He could hear the presence of Pan, Istus, and The Raven Queen. All here to help him accomplish one goal. Weaken the Hunger enough to cast the highest level of Purification he could and get that sucker out.

"MERLE! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!? DON'T TRY AND SAVE THAT BASTARD!" Magnus cursed, but Magnus didn't understand. They didn't know Jon like Merle knew him. They didnt know all the love Jon could give. They didnt know how many years Jon suffered with that thing. They would, though. Merle just has to do this right.

"I HAVE TO TRY, MAGNUS! I- I CAN'T GIVE UP ON JON! I DIDN'T GIVE UP THEN, AND I WON'T GIVE UP NOW!" The power surging through him felt like it was gonna rip him to pieces. These spells were too high a level for Merle to cast, but god dammit if he's not gonna do it anyway.

He held his hand out to Jon, a welcoming gesture. Offering him a place in his life once more, a positive place. The power suffered forward, going to vanquish the Hunger from Jon's spirit once and for all. Please, let this work.

A hand grabbed onto his as the power died. Grabbed on tight. He squeezed back just as tight.

The spells faded, and Merle crumbled to the ground in exhaustion. There goes his final spell slots. The dwarf looked forward to seeing if it was even worth it at all, in any capacity. And... Right in front of him... A regular human man. A regular, human Jon.

Merle didn't expect to be kissed, not really. But, he didn't deny it. It felt so right as so many years to be able to say that Jon was just that. Jon.

"There you are, you beautiful bastard." Merle chuckled, pushing Jon away long enough to sit up and look around at the quickly subduing battle. He must've knocked out for a few minutes, because now Lucretia was casting her spell and getting the Hunger contained in its own force. Its own plane. And Jon wasn't with it.

"Woah I... I guess I have to be a person again." Jon muttered, still clutching onto Merle's hands.

"Yeah, I guess you do. Don't worry, old Merle can teach ya." He pushed himself back to his feet, pulling Jon up after him. "We've got lots to do."

[kravkalackin]

You write corrupted Litch!Barry so well, how would Lup react to seeing him in that state? Would he know her? Or would he be too far gone?

She was free, by sheer dumb luck. A well aimed spell, minus eight hitpoints, and the umbrastaff dropped, snapped clean under the wheels of a battle wagon. Lup didn’t know what was going on, she’d been trying to piece it together since her brother found her. Something was wrong, and it nearly broke her when the dust settled, the sash retrieved and Taako and her dearest friends looking at her with confusion and distrust and not the slightest bit of recognition. 

Something was so very wrong. Something had happened with fisher. 

She needed Barry. 

That was the only thing she could think of, the only thing that could convince her to leave Taako as he was. She just needed to find Barry, and together they could fix this. They’d explain, no matter how many blocks were there they’d figure out a way for them to get it, and then they could stop Lucretia. Make her see what a huge mistake she was making, and be a family again. 

She just needed to find Barry first. 

She didn’t know where to look at first, they’d never gotten very attached to any one place down on the planet, at least not before she... disappeared. But there had to be somewhere, someplace he would go. 

He had to be looking for her. Where would she go? 

Well, she knew where she went, and as much as it was the last place she wanted to be, she headed back there. Back to that damn cave.

It was empty, truly empty. She could remember, she knew they’d gone in and taken the gauntlet, but the reminder still hurt. Her plan, despite how much she’d given up for it, the years she’d spent trapped away, it didn’t even work. They still got in, and it still killed more people. 

She tried to ignore that for now. She needed to look for Barry. She started casting, looking for any sign of strong necrotic energies. It would be easiest to find him if he was a lich now too. 

It didn’t take long to find a signal. Although it was stronger than it should be. 

Lup didn’t know what to expect when she got there, and she felt shivers through her soul as she came upon it. 

For a moment, she thought it was too late. That the hunger was already here, and everything they had worked for was gone. But that wasn’t it. 

She’d call it a palace, but it was too crude for that. Like someone not very skilled at sculpture had decided to try and carve a castle out of a single stone. It was black, and shimmering like the hunger, and every so often a crackle of red energy would shoot out and scorch the land of the felicity wilds around it. 

Something was very, very wrong. 

Lup expected there to be some sort of problem trying to get into this place. As she got close though there wasn’t, she just had to be careful of the crackles, which didn’t seem to be particularly aiming for anything. Soon enough she was at the edge, and as she put her hand against it, it wasn’t hard to move through the barrier in her incorporeal form. 

She almost wished she’d stayed outside. 

It was so dark in there, immediately seeming so much vaster than it had from the outside. The only light the occasional red blast off in the distance. She tried to follow them, leading further in, trying for some sort of center and a sinking feeling deepening in her soul the longer she was in here. There was no way Barry was here. He couldn’t be. He- 

He was. 

She wasn’t sure how long she’d been searching when she finally found him. He didn’t look himself anymore. His cloak was a constant furious billowing, tattered and broken. The energy from outside seemed to be coming off of him, starting as small shocks and growing as they spread further and further out, creating those red flashes off in the distance. 

In one gnarled hand, he was holding a bell. 

“Oh... gods, Barry? Babe?” she called, terror in her voice. What had happened? What- what did they do to him? 

“W̴̴͏̢̧h̶̶̨͟͠o͏̨̀͘ ̸̀҉d̨͘͜a͞͏͘r͘͠e͘͟͞҉҉s̴̡͢͝ ̨̨̛͡͡d̸̷͘i̸͞s̴̸̀͝͝t̀͏̴ư̕͟͟͡ŗ̸̴͡b̵́͠ ̶̨m̵̨̡̨͘e͏̷̨͝?҉̨̡“ he said, and she could barely understand him.  She couldn’t cry as a lich, but somehow she felt like she was close. She didn’t know what had happened, it but was- she left. She left and he’d been all alone and now he was like this. 

“Barry, Barry it’s me. Please, it’s Lup. You can’t- you couldn’t have forgotten too,” she said, terror starting to grip at her at the thought. Not Barry too. She couldn’t- she couldn’t have lost everyone. She had to keep herself together, she had to fix this.  

"̨̡̧̀́N͢͜o̶̸̡̢͜.̴́.҉͢͟.̷̡͟͡ ̷̨͠͝ņ̡ò̸̡ ̶̡I̧͏ ̸̧͞͏͞d̸̴̴́͟i̡d̵̶̡̕͞n͢'҉́̕͏t̨͠͠͝-͏̧̛ ҉͟I̴̢͟c̨͡o͘͘ú͠l̴d͟n҉'́t͞ ̴͝͡f̛͘o҉̷͡r̴͘ģ҉ò͘t̕..͡. ̶̧not͝ ͞Lu̧p҉...” he said, and there was a moment where Lup felt hope. A moment where he was slowly starting to sound like himself again. She moved closer, heedless of the blasts still shooting steadily off around him. 

“Barry, please, look at me. I’m- I’m back,” she said, and she could see the moment his focus finally solidified enough to be solely on her. The raging wind around him stopped, the shifting red lights in the distance freezing like someone had paused the world, and Lup allowed herself to hope. 

“I’m finally back,” she repeated, reaching out a hand as she moved forward. 

N̢͓̬̤̥̗̹ͤͮ͑Ṍ̾͋̏҉͍͎ͅ!̲͆́ͯͤ͐̐̈A powerful blast knocked her back, and when she regained herself she could see how much worse he was now. The waved that had been coming off him before were no longer steady, but erratic and arching high above and broken. He was clutching his head, moving back from her like some kind of animal. 

“Barry please! I swear, it’s me! It’s Lup!” she shouted, but he shook his head, only getting more and more unstable. 

N̖̞̬͉̜̤͐̓̎͑o̵̻̭͖ͩ!̄͆̍̉ ̉͒͋̂ͩͥ̌N̻̩͈̜̍͂ͩo̳̯̪͗ ̬͍͖̭ͨͪͬͦ̄̀ͨś̼͖͖̥̱͓̱͑͌̂͆̋ͦ͝ȟ͔̠̠ͨͯ͆̈̆͆e̴͈̳̗̼̬ͤ̊̚'͉̼̜̊̇ͦ̋͋s̥̲̙̼͒͊͌̉̈̈ ̣̹͍̰̣ͪ̂͐͊ͮͅg̸̲̗̯̪̈̑̾̂o̻̩̳̦̞̫͔͂ͦ̉̌͌̈́̓́n̵̺̠͙̠̥͈͂̑ͧ͂ͅę̦̠̠͈͙̭̦̉͛̀̿!̪̭̠̻̲͉ ̖ͯ͒ͮ̌ͮͭȘ̺̝̣̟͂͟ḫ͊̂ͪ͝é͔̻͓̦̭̙'̳̳̫̙̤ͩ̏ͫͯͪ̾͝s͈̣͕̈́̓̓ ̘͚̭̫͑g̸̲͚̙̪̤̘͑͐̈̇o̮̦̙̱̼̞ͤ̓̓͠n̗̤̻̲͊͛̔ͤͣ̓̀e̸!̢̮̣̳̺̝ͥͦ̉͐ͬ

The last thing Lup managed to make out was the sound of a bell.