#this is from a take on the adventure zone balance where Taako can see Lup’s ghost the whole time

[mobbothetrue]

What the hell, that’s actually a really funny line

[inklingofadream]

Ink's 2023 Fic

It’s the end of another year, and you know what that means! Or you joined me this year and don’t, one of the two. At the end of every year I post a list of everything I wrote to become my blog’s pinned post for the upcoming year. However, this year, it’s a bit different. We’ll get to that in a minute.

According to my AO3 stats, I posted 709,908 words of fic in 2023, across 8 fandoms and spread over 64 individual works. That’s a 765.784% increase in word count from last year! I’m unwell!

Normally, I post everything I wrote, split up by fandom and in chronological order, with basic stats and descriptions that vary between synopsis, liner notes, excerpts, or all of the above. However, 45 of those 64 works were written for Whumptober this year. Since they’re mostly for The Magnus Archives (dominating the list as usual) and many of them are very short, I’m not going to list all the TMA fics. I’ll list my favorites and ones I think got less attention than they deserved, as well as all fics for other fandoms, and since that’s my most popular stuff I’m listing it last/under the cut. Wordcount and relationships (romantic or platonic, healthy or not) are listed, but check the AO3 tags, warnings, and notes, as I won’t be including the content warnings here.

Batman

Mom’s Been On a Parenting Kick Lately- 9k, WIP, Talia/Bruce, Talia & Batkids;This is still getting off the ground (I need to get back to it), but I’m excited about the future of this fic! It’s my take on Jason’s post-resurrection time with the League of Assassins, but with timelines turned into spaghetti to facilitate bonding. Talia is currently in possession of 3 batkids, but she isn’t done stealing Bruce’s kids yet :)

i'd walk a wire, jump through a fire for you- 800, complete; literally just just shy of 1k about Dick have feelings about falling and parents

The Locked Tomb

lyin’ on our backs and countin’ the stars- 900, complete, John&Gideon; I’m actually shocked there aren’t way more John and Gideon “bonding” fics out there. This one also has a backstory for Gideon and Ianthe’s friendship bracelets!

The Adventure Zone- Balance

old worn out suit and shoes- 600, complete, Taako&Lup; Post-finale nightmares for Taako, now that he can remember he has a sister to lose

Malevolent

Please Come Back To Me- 2.9k, complete, Parker&Arthur; Parker lives and goes to hunt down and kill whatever used Arthur to try to kill him.

You’re here. That’s all I need to know.- 300 complete; Arthur finds Faroe in the bath.

Living, Dead, or Undecided?- 1.7k, complete; Arthur is sacrificed to the King in Yellow as punishment for what happened to Faroe.

His head and limbs were heavy with ornaments, much of his flesh left unprotected from the elements. It was far too mild a summer evening for that; he deserved to freeze or burn at the freedom of open air. His thoughts were fuzzy with the overpowering cacophony of scented oils and chanting. He was deposited at the top of the hill, too gentle in slope to burn at his atrophied muscles, on a stone slab. They chained him in place, the seeping stone finally sapping enough warmth from his bones to feel appropriate.

Dracula

i still see your ghost- 200, complete, Jonathan/Mina; Some fill-in angst about Jonathan seeing Dracula on September 22… which I did actually write on September 22.

Hannibal

I can’t remember if I cried- 1.7k, complete, Abigail/Marissa; This is actually a concept I came up with in high school lol. Hopefully, someday I’ll write a fic expanding on the shipping kernel of the concept.

Hench

The Kind of World Where We Belong- 1k, complete, Anna/Quantum; AU where Leviathan dies and femslash ensues.

The Magnus Archives

The Vampire Saga- 68k, 6 works, Jon/Martin; The first of several shared universes with @suttttton on this list. Vampire!Elias snacks on Jon until Vampire!Martin gets hold of him instead, fluff and romance ensue. The new works this year both feature Gerry!

The Vampire Saga Route 2- 38k, 7 works, Jon/Martin, Jon/Elias, Jon/suffering; Shares a few fics with its predecessor, up to Martin entering the picture, this is the darker version. Fic this year mostly focuses on Jon meeting Tim and Sasha, and the gang rescuing Danny from the Circus. And the aftermath thereof. I’m really proud of the Circus stuff I wrote!

Bird-Verse- 37k, 7 works, Jon/Beholding, Jon/Martin;Spin-off of cult au, also with Sutton, featuring a happier resolution to many of Jon’s problems, so he gets to live with all his friends and marry Martin. Except for how this year’s additions are about him dealing with the lingering cult intrusions and trauma :)

Indent AU- 50k, 2 works, Jon/everyone;My first foray into writing smut. I’m very proud of it, and I’d say it deserved more love than it got, but I’m realistic about the content being very much not for everyone.

Cult AU Bad Ending- 9k, 2 works, Jon/Beholding, Jon/Jonah; This is a good time to mention that, as I have 10,000 Cult AU derivatives, they have their own AO3 Collection now. This one is a far future fic where Jon is immortal with Jonah and sad about it. It’s a crier.

Interesting- 3.7k, complete, Jon/Elias, Jon/Martin; This is an old fic of Jon and Elias in the Panopticon that got a new chapter for Whumptober! It took about 2 years to get that draft to publication…

restless soul who always skips town- 900, complete, Jon/Peter; This is the one I most wish got more attention. Peter keeps Jon in the Lonely.

When Peter comes, it's wonderful. Peter is a person in a way the Archivist isn't and, he knows, Peter even sometimes leaves the fog. He knows it because Peter gives him journals that are red and gold and violet, so different from the limited palette of the fog and the Archivist and Peter that they make the Archivist's eyes hurt.

dead if they knew- 6k, complete, Elias/Jon/Tim; I had SO much fun fiddling to differentiate the four POVs from each other!

Familiar AU- 16k, 4 works, complete; Jon is kidnapped by Elias and turned into his familiar; for Sasha, Tim, and Martin, it’s a long, hard road to rescuing him.

no beat, no melody- 600, complete; Canon-compliant fic in between Jon getting the tape of the birthday party from MAG161 and the episode itself, hanging around the safehouse in the Depression Zone.

welcomed you with open doors- 1.6k, complete, Martin/Jon; Spiral!Martin in a role reversal au that swaps him and Michael. Martin is much more proactive as the Distortion (and more liable to fall in love with nearby Archivists)

save some face (you know you’ve only got one)- 1.4k, complete; Sasha is altered by the NotThem instead of killed. Half body horror, half giving her my fibromyalgia, all bad times!

somebody once broke me- 2.7k, complete, Jon&Gerry; Gerry lives! Visibly monstery Avatars! Jon gets kidnapped from a kidnapping! It’s all the hits for my body of work ;)

remember this moment- 3.8k, complete, Jon&Daisy; I initially planned this fic for, I think, Februwhump 2021. It’s been slated for every Februwhump and Whumptober since, and FINALLY finished!

Take Me Through the Darkness- 15k, complete; Superhero AU, ft. epistolary interludes! Several more of my greatest hits! (And also Jon getting kidnapped from another kidnapping.) My personal favorite is Jon thinking Tim is a hallucination and crying.

look upon your greatness (and she’ll send the call out)- 8k, complete; Cult AU AU where Georgie tracks Jon down a few months after his kidnapping.

The chances of Jon being abducted, held somewhere, and still alive are so narrow that they might as well not exist. Checking the resources the charity sent, Georgie realized it's even grimmer than that. She struggles to picture Jon doing anything to appease his captors. It's extremely easy, however, to picture him literally or figuratively daring them to kill him.

Something Wretched About This- 2.9k, complete, Jon&Tim; Jon returns from the Circus without vocal cords, and he and Tim have a moment of peace, if not reconciliation.

just like a real-life thelma and louise- 6.6k, complete, Sasha/Annabelle; Sasha and Annabelle have superpowers and escape from the lab experimenting on them.

Kinky Polychives AU- 70k, 2 works, WIP, Polychives; My second, much fluffier smut verse. I tagged Jon as “horny for predicaments instead of people” and I think it’s the thing that’s been commented on specifically by the most people lol

til the veins run red and blue- 200, complete, Jon/Martin; I really like the Lonely, and I don’t know why I don’t write it more. This one is a little Somewhere Else coda with Jmart

come home (to my heart)- 8.7k, complete, Jon&Gerry; a fusion of Little Archive and cult au where Jon is the specialest boy in the whole Cult of Beholding, and Gerry grew up with Mary. If anything I wrote this year gets a sequel, I think it’s this. The fic is all Gerry POV, but I had a chunk written in Jon POV I cut, ft. Jon convincing Beholding that he can definitely wander London solo and it’s FINE, he won’t disappear in the house of a murderer or anything… ;)

Extras- 18k, Jon/Martin; My fae au is complete, but this is a bunch of little bits that inspired me beyond the bounds of the main story, like meeting Melanie, Martin proposing, and so on.

sitting pretty on the throne, nothing more i want (except to be alone)- 217k, WIP, Jon/Beholding; Cult au wraps up another year! Hopefully, by this time next year, it’ll be complete at LAST!

Beneath the Stains of Time- 98k, WIP; Also a contender for longfic that I hope to finish in 2024! This year, we FINALLY got to the gang figuring out Jon’s identity and now it’s all unraveling…

Little Archive- 85k, WIP; Last but certainly not least! I’ve been so happy to see the warm reception for Cecile and Anika this year 💗

[august-anon]

You know i gotta hop in on that Taakitz action!! Perhaps something with cold hands? Either them tickling Taako or Taako issuing retaliation tickles because Kravitz keeps sticking them on his warm body.

Admittedly at first I was like "when would this even be set because I thought his hands warmed up from the power of love" and THEN i remembered that there's at least a few months between the end of the last arc and that line at Carey and Killian's wedding, so there's a good time for this fic to take place lol. So they're dating, but there's no L-word just yet lol.

Also, thank you for the prompt, I loved it!

--

Fandom: The Adventure Zone: Balance

Ship(s): Taakitz

Characters (lee/ler): Lee!Taako/Ler!Kravitz (brief Ler!Taako/Lee!Kravitz)

Word Count: 1736 words

Summary: Taako would love nothing more than to cuddle close with his boyfriend. Unfortunately, the heat of the kitchen and the chill of Kravitz's hands don't quite mix. Kravitz doesn't intend to give up so easily.

[ao3 link]

------------------------

Taako smiled as he heard the front door open and close, but he didn’t move from his spot in the kitchen. He continued flitting between his pots and pans, preparing dinner, listening as Kravitz completed his routine and made his way through the house. By the time Kravitz made it into the kitchen, Taako had everything on a low simmer.

“Good evening, my dear,” Kravitz said. “Everything smells lovely.”

Taako hid a smile. “It better.”

Taako didn’t move away from the stove, even as he heard Kravitz prowl up behind him. He relaxed back into Kravitz’s chest as Kravitz’s hands came up to rest on his hips, humming as Kravitz pressed his lips to Taako’s shoulder.

“How long until dinner is finished?” Kravitz asked, his breath across Taako’s neck sending shivers down his body.

Taako hummed. “A little while. Why?”

He tilted his head to give Kravitz more access as his lips started trailing up Taako’s neck. He finally let the smile show, figuring that Kravitz wouldn’t be able to see it from his vantage point in Taako’s neck.

And then Taako shrieked and jumped away as Kravitz’s hands slipped up under his shirt to brush across his bare skin.

“Taako?” Kravitz asked, his hands still hovering in the air where Taako’s body had just been. “Babe?”

The warmth of the kitchen had soaked into Taako as he had cooked, leaving his skin overheated and sensitive to even a normal temperature. Kravitz’s cold hands felt worse than ice, sending a startling shock through his entire body.

“Cold!” Taako shrieked belatedly, rubbing at his sides.

Kravitz’s shoulders relaxed as he shook his head and chuckled. He started rubbing his hands together, as if the friction would be enough for Taako to let those hands come near him again.

“Don’t you come near me with those,” Taako said.

Kravitz raised an eyebrow, then smirked. “Taako,” he called teasingly, raising his hands as he crept toward Taako. “Come here, dear.”

Taako pointed at Kravitz, backing further away. “Kravitz…”

Kravitz lunged. Taako yelped, a frantic, high-pitched sound he would never admit to making under pain of death, and darted out of his path. Kravitz followed him, chasing him around the kitchen island and towards the dining table.  Whereas Taako had respect for the furniture Magnus had crafted for his and Kravitz’s home, Kravitz seemed to have no such concerns. While Taako ran around the edge of the table, trying to get to the far side, Kravitz pulled himself atop it.

Taako made a desperate bid for the archway leading toward the rest of the house, but Kravitz jumped off the top of the table, tackling Taako to the floor. Taako winced, prepared for pain, but Kravitz had carefully maneuvered them so that he took the brunt of the fall, Taako landing on top of him, back to chest. Taako gasped once he found his bearings, trying to escape Kravitz’s arms, but his grip was sure. He was well and truly stuck.

“Don’t you dare,” Taako said, hoping the grin stretching across his face didn’t come across in his voice. He had to appear stern, after all.

“Don’t what, darling?” Kravitz asked, his fingers teasing at the hem of Taako’s tunic. “I’m just trying to show my lovely boyfriend how much I care about him.”

Taako didn’t get a chance to retort, shrieking as Kravitz’s chilly hands slipped under his shirt once more. Taako squirmed under the freezing touch, grabbing at Kravitz’s wrists and trying to push him away. Kravitz laughed and fought to keep his hands on Taako’s skin.

“Taako-- come on, quit-- just let me--!”

Kravitz grabbed at Taako’s side in an attempt to keep his grip, squeezing at the flesh. Suddenly, Taako was squealing for a whole new reason. He kicked his legs frantically, trying to propel himself out of Kravitz’s grip.

Kravitz laughed again. “It can’t be that cold, Taako, dear.”

Taako didn’t say anything. He was perfectly content to let Kravitz believe that was the issue. If Taako had managed to hide his little weakness from Kravitz for this long, he could manage to hide it a little longer.

Except then, in all their squirming and tussling, Kravitz’s hands kept shifting and moving, squeezing and pinching at places with an unfair amount of sensitivity. It only made him squirm worse, which only led to Kravitz accidentally tickling him more. It was a vicious circle that Taako didn’t know how to escape.

Taako thought he would be able to hold out until Kravitz got bored. It wasn’t like he hadn’t gotten far worse from Magnus or Lup, or even Barry at times. Only then, Kravitz hands landed on his ribs, his nails scrabbling and scratching for purchase against Taako’s skin as he continued to squirm. Taako couldn’t help it, he burst out into squeaking laughter.

“No!” Taako cried out, though it was far too late.

Kravitz’s hands only faltered for a moment, before he let out a low chuckle directly against Taako’s ear, making his ear flick as he let out another squeal. His hands started scribbling against Taako’s ribcage a lot more deliberately, searching out tickle spots.

“I don’t think this about the cold anymore at all,” Kravitz murmured into his ear. “I think someone has been hiding something from me.”

“Kravitz, please!”

“Please what?” Kravitz hummed. “Please… warm up my hands using your warm, ticklish torso? It’d be my pleasure, my dear.”

Kravitz’s scratching nails managed to find Taako’s sweet spot, just above the middle of his ribs, slightly towards the back. Taako nearly screamed, despite the touch being so light and teasing, the buildup and taunting making everything so much more unbearable. He thrashed enough that he was able to escape Kravitz’s grasp at long last, throwing his dignity to the side as he tried to crawl away across the tile.

“Oh, Taako,” Kravitz called, starting to crawl after him. “I don’t think my hands are quite warm enough yet.”

“Don’t touch me,” Taako shouted back, still giggling at the phantom tingles dancing down around his torso.

Taako shrieked when he felt a cool hand wrap around his ankle, slowly tugging him back. The worst part was, Kravitz’s hands did feel warmer. It wasn’t fair. He kicked against Kravitz’s grip, managing to throw him off, and scrambled to his feet. He raced out of the kitchen, and he could hear Kravitz’s footsteps thundering after him.

“Taako,” Kravitz called after him, his voice cajoling and teasing. “Come back! I promise I won’t do it again.”

Taako didn’t need a Zone of Truth to know how big of a lie that was. He could practically feel those wiggling fingers looming over him already, more than prepared to seek out all of Taako’s sensitive spots until he was begging for mercy. Embarrassingly enough, it wasn’t an outcome Taako would necessarily mind, but he had a reputation to uphold, an appearance to upkeep, and despite his care for Kravitz, it still was not something he could give up so easily.

But he wouldn’t have to give up that control if he got Kravitz pleading, first.

Without a thought, Taako switched directions, barrelling toward Kravitz instead of running away. Kravitz yelped, an adorably startled sound that Taako was not blessed with often, and stumbled over himself trying to stop and avoid collision. A new grin rose to Taako’s lips, feral and hungry, and he tackled Kravitz back to the ground.

“Maybe this will teach you to go around sticking your cold, clammy hands on everyone,” Taako said.

He slipped his hands under Kravitz’s own shirt, dragging his nails down Kravitz’s chilly sides. Giggles bubbled out of Kravitz’s mouth even as he raised a hand to cover it, using the other to swat at Taako in a feeble attempt at self-defense. Taako laughed, high and unaffected, and gently pinched around Kravitz’s stomach.

“Perhaps I can be persuaded to be merciful,” Taako said. “If you told me where you’re most ticklish.” He lightened his tickling to let Kravitz respond with more ease.

“I’m not an idiot, Taako,” Kravitz said around his giggles. “I know better than to tell you that.”

Taako harrumphed. “Suit yourself.”

He dug his fingers back into Kravitz’s flesh, climbing up his sides and ribs. Kravitz cried out and tumbled back into laughter. His arms clamped down to his sides in an attempt to halt Taako’s ascent, leaving his laughing face in full view. Taako resisted the urge to swoon.

His eyes crinkled with his laughter, joy clear in every wrinkle. His smile was the most beautiful thing Taako had ever seen, Taako could barely bring himself to look at it since it was so bright. Taako didn’t even have words to describe how musical and magical Kravitz’s laughter was.

A certain L-word came to mind, looking at Kravitz like this. Taako refused to acknowledge it, for the time being.

Unfortunately, this all left Taako very distracted. While his tickling fingers hadn’t stopped, they had slowed considerably. It gave Kravitz ample time to gather his wits about him and slide his hands under the hem of Taako’s skirt. Taako screeched, both at the once-again-freezing hands and the ticklish massage his thighs were suddenly being assaulted with. He almost toppled right off Kravitz’s lap with his cackles, doubling over and ceasing his own tickling to try and push Kravitz off, as unsuccessful as it was.

“Distracted, my dear?” Kravitz asked, focusing his tickling on Taako’s inner thighs and making him gasp for air. “Clearly you don’t understand the position you’re in.”

While he continued tickling at Taako’s thighs with one hand, the other crawled up Taako’s body. Taako cursed how smart he was, how good his memory was, as his fingers quickly found that death spot on his ribs once more. Taako toppled forward, face-planting into Kravitz’s chest as he lost himself to his frantic laughter.

“Unfortunately,” Kravitz said directly into Taako’s ear, making it flick and flinch away from his ticklish breath, “my hands are still very cold. I think it may take a while to warm them up.”

Taako wailed with mirth.

“Good thing dinner won’t be ready for a while yet, hm?”

Taako knew he was in for a long evening. The only thing that would get Kravitz to stop would be his timers going off, and they still had plenty of time left before that happened. Kravitz was going to ruin him.

Taako couldn’t wait.

[patriciasage]

promises, promises

Author: Patricia_Sage

Fandom: The Adventure Zone - Balance

Summary: 

Taako made two promises to his sister early on in this seemingly endless mission. Firstly, he isn’t allowed to intentionally cut a cycle short, no matter how much time is left, no matter how much he misses her. Secondly, if she’s gone, he has to take care of Barry.

He isn’t sure what his sister was thinking with the second one. ‘Taako’ and ‘take care of’ are not words that naturally go together for anyone other than Lup. He loves the entire crew, of course he does, but he would rather kill for them than comfort them.

This is the first cycle where Lup is dead and neither Taako nor Barry had gone with her.

posted in full under the break but you can find me on AO3!!

There are two months left in the cycle and Lup is gone. She, Merle, and Davenport were poisoned during a political meeting.

Taako hadn’t been hungry that day. He wishes he would have taken a drink. Magnus hates when he says it, but he prefers to die by her side than live without her. And death would have been much more preferable to watching her choke and spasm in front of him. Helpless.

Lucretia has a lot on her plate now, attempting to negotiate with the bastards who killed them. There was death on both sides, since Taako literally burned the place to the ground. It seems as though they’re on the verge of war – the four remaining crewmembers versus this country’s royal armies.

Taako doesn’t give a shit.

“What’s the fucking point?” he asks Lucretia when she made plans to meet with the royal representative. “This cycle’s gone to Hell; let’s just go.”

“We have two months left,” Lucretia says. “We have a chance to work through this and get the Light. Then they didn’t die in vain.” Her voice cracks. Taako attempts to be gentle with his friend, even though rage flows through him like a roaring stream.

But quiet vitriol escapes his mouth. “Are they even worth saving?”

Lucretia looks at him with bright, brown eyes. “Taako.”

“They killed Merle and Davenport and Lup! And they should have killed me too. And we’re still going to bend over backwards in order to save them? They obviously wouldn’t do the same for us.”

“That’s not how this works,” Lucretia says, quiet and stern. “We don’t decide who is worth saving or not.” She places her dark hand on Taako’s shoulder. “I know you’re hurting, T. And I won’t make you be a part of this. But I’m going to try and get the Light of Creation. And you’re going to make it through these next few months to see her again.”

Taako could see her again right now if he wanted to. But he doesn’t say that. And he doesn’t let himself truly entertain the thought. He promised.

Everyone on the ship is grieving in their own way. Barry becomes entirely reclusive, locking himself in his lab. Magnus cries a lot over the first few days and blames himself for not being at the meeting to protect them, but then he focuses his energy into learning to pilot the Starblaster. Taako attempts to distract his mind from the grief that sits deep in his bones.

Knowing their deaths are temporary doesn’t make it hurt any less.

Magnus makes it his personal mission to take care of Taako, which is very annoying but also helps with his plan for distraction. He sits next to the Magnus as the fighter test-drives the ship. It’s hard to think about your dead sister when your friend is crashing a spaceship into a lake.

But Magnus isn’t only recklessness and aggressive enthusiasm. He’s also soft and sensitive – and fucking manipulative. He tells Taako he needs a hug or someone to keep him company when he sleeps. Taako knows these are partial lies. He knows that Magnus just wants to hold his pieces together, to shield Taako from the nightmares that tear him apart.

Taako travels through the days like molasses. He wants to exist in the bare minimum, avoid the smouldering flame threatening to burn him up. But it’s hard to exist, unfeeling, in a world where he’s always had her at his side. He can’t do anything without thinking of her.

He drinks too much.

It helps a little, but it causes Magnus to make that sad, helpless expression, so Taako hides it as best he can.

He made two promises to his sister early on in this seemingly endless mission. Firstly, he isn’t allowed to intentionally cut a cycle short, no matter how much time is left, no matter how much he misses her. Secondly, if she’s gone, he has to take care of Barry.

Taako isn’t sure what his sister was thinking with the second one. ‘Taako’ and ‘take care of’ are not words that naturally go together for anyone other than Lup. He loves the entire crew, of course he does, but he would rather kill for them than comfort them.

This is the first cycle where Lup is dead and neither Taako nor Barry had gone with her.

Food is always an effective way to build a bridge between two stubborn souls. Taako steps foot into the Starblaster’s kitchen for the first time since the disaster a few weeks ago. Lucretia is a passable cook, so the remaining crew haven’t been suffering too much, but her meals are nothing compared to the twins’ concoctions.

Absolutely everything on this ship reminds Taako of his sister (pretty much every aspect of existence reminds him of his sister), but the kitchen is particularly salient. He stands in the doorway and breathes through it, thankful that no one is around. Lup is the only one who knows him at his core, the only one who’s ever seen his soft, fragile centre. Magnus has been digging closer and closer every cycle with his big hands and even bigger smile. But there’s no one Taako trusts like he trusts Lup.

And she’s gone.

And he made her a promise.

There are so many lakes on this world. Taako had spent most of springtime fishing and filleting, so the freezer is full. He takes out a few cuts of cod, expertly deboned, as well as some salt, pepper, lemon, chili powder, and dill. He starts the rice boiling and thaws the fish with a flick of his wand. The meat hasn’t been frying for too long before Magnus and Lucretia appear at the kitchen table, summoned by the smell. They’re looking at him with an irritating mixture of encouragement and wariness. He ignores them and focuses on cooking. He’s mentally batting away memories and feelings constantly and it’s starting to take a toll.

The kitchen is silent except for the sizzle of fish in the pan and the soft murmur of boiling rice. Taako transmutes some beans into asparagus and tosses that in the pan as well.

“Fucking talk,” he says to the stove.

Magnus startles into conversation. Taako feels his friends’ gazes move away from his back and toward each other. He focuses on their chat even though it’s boring. It’s easier than fighting his heart’s insistent ache.

He avoids looking at their faces while he places their meals in front of them. “Thank you,” Lucretia says softly. Magnus places a big, warm hand on the wizard’s shoulder.

Taako feels his mouth press into a shadow of a smile. He squeezes Magnus’s hand and steps away. “Dig in. I’m gonna bring some to the lab rat.”

Barry is asleep at his desk, drooling on a sketch of one of his prototypes. Taako sets the plate down next to him and watches the smell wake him up. His glasses are askew even when he lifts his head.

There’s an awful moment when he looks at Taako and his face softly lights up. Taako’s stomach sinks, and then Barry comes fully into awareness and looks away. Taako regrets shaving his face his morning and he regrets wearing his hair up the way Lup usually does before bed. He doesn’t blame Barry for the disappointment.

“This is good shit, so you’d better not let it get cold,” Taako says. He leans against the workbench with his arms crossed.

“Smells good,” Barry replies with his characteristic, gruff awkwardness. Taako tries not to fidget. The chill of Lup’s absence is strongest in the kitchen, but it’s swirling around the lab, too. It’s typical to see Lup sprawled on the couch pretty much every evening, chattering while Barry tries and fails to focus on his work.

Barry puts a forkful of rice in his mouth and speaks around it. Gross. “Did you eat already?”

Taako is absentmindedly surprised when he realizes he hasn’t eaten anything except a bite of toast that Magnus practically shoved in his mouth this morning. He curses himself for thinking about it too long and ruining what could have been a perfectly good lie. “Yep, sure did.”

“Taako…” Barry says disapprovingly, lowering his fork.

“Get outta my ass, Barry. I’m, like, a hundred years old, or something.” Age doesn’t mean much to them, anymore. “Don’t treat me like a child.”

“I’m not treating you like a child. I’m treating you like – ” He sighs. “Do you have some left over upstairs?”

“Yeah,” Taako lies. He walks toward the door. “Gonna go eat now, so…enjoy, or whatever.”

Barry rubs his eyes under his glasses. “Thanks, Taako.”

“Shit,” Taako mutters as he climbs the stairs. Why didn’t Lup tell Magnus or Lucretia to take care of Barry? Hell, anyone would do a better job than him.

Taako enters the now empty kitchen and casts Prestidigitation to clean the dishes, but he stops before he can leave for the upper deck. There’s a full plate of food on the table. It’s obvious that Magnus and Lucretia had each put half of their meal onto a clean plate. They’re taking advantage of his inability to throw away food, engrained from his childhood. Taako sighs but sits at the table to eat. He feels more solid when he’s done, but just as empty.

The next day is better.

“Come for a walk,” Taako demands from Barry’s bedroom doorway. Barry yelps and covers his chest with a blanket.

“Taako!”

“Come for a walk!” the elf repeats, leaving the door ajar as he leaves.

Barry joins him on the Starblaster’s lower deck in a few minutes, hair messy but fully clothed. “Where are we going?”

Before Taako has a chance to respond, Magnus rushes in. “Don’t forget your cloak – it’s kinda cold. Oh, hey, Barry. You coming with us?”

“I guess I am.”

“Great!”

Magnus hands Barry his denim jacket and throws Taako’s thicker cloak in his direction. The security officer himself is wearing a wool-lined vest with no sleeves. Taako resists the urge to roll his eyes when he notices.

The men don’t talk a lot as they traverse the path that Magnus and Taako have worn down over the last few weeks. They skip rocks on the surface of the still water. Barry stays far away from the water’s edge. Magnus picks Taako up and pretends he’s about to throw him in. Instead of protesting, Taako looks the man in the eyes with a challenge. “Do it. I fucking dare you, Burnsides.” Magnus freezes and just stands there holding the elf in his arms for a moment. Taako smirks. “That’s what I thought.”

Barry disappears into his lab when they return to the ship, but Taako still considers it a success. After a few days, Barry no longer needs to be woken up; he joins them in the foyer, sleepy but ready, every morning. Lucretia comes, too, when she’s not out negotiating.

Taako cooks when he can.

Sometimes he’s good. Sometimes the air of the kitchen suffocates him. Barry sees him once, standing in the pantry, frozen and overwhelmed. “Hey,” he says. There’s something soft and complex in his expression when Taako whirls around.

“What’s up, my man?” Taako’s voice breaks more than usual. The stiffness of his hands betrays him, too. Barry beckons him out of the pantry. Taako follows quietly as the scientist travels to the Starblaster’s upper deck.

The endless night sky is strangely comforting. There aren’t many constants in their life besides each other, their target, and their enemy. But the sky is always there and ready to take them away.

Barry opens a hatch near the centre of the deck and brings out what looks like a piece from a broken chair. “Ready?” he asks.

“What?”

Barry just nods and then throws the item high into the air. Taako understands when it reaches his highest peak, but he can’t bring himself to take out his wand. The piece of wood falls into a nearby like with a soft splash.

“Oh, sorry,” Barry says awkwardly. “You’re supposed to hit it with a spell –”

“I know what I’m supposed to do, Barry. I’ve lived with her my whole life,” Taako snaps. He takes a breath and tries again. “Look, I appreciate what you’re trying to do here, man. But that’s her. She feels things build up inside and needs to let ‘em out in a way she can control. But I- …I’m not full of anything.” He turns to leave. “So, thanks, dude, but this isn’t gonna work for me.”

Barry grabs his wrist. “Taako, wait!” He looks a little helpless. “Then what does work for you? Tell me.”

“I don’t know.”

“Come on.” Barry attempts a smile but he’s shivering a little in the night air. “Like you said to me the other day – you’re over a hundred years old. You know. So, tell me what makes you feel better when you feel like shit so I can help you out.”

“I don’t want your fucking help, Barry.”

“Well, that’s too damn bad!” Barry rarely raises his voice. It echoes across the empty deck and is swallowed by the night sky. “Tell me, Taako.”

He knows the answer will hurt both of them when it leaves his mouth, but he says it anyway. “Being with her.” Barry averts his gaze and Taako feels both sick and triumphant. “Just…being in her company makes me feel like a person again. So. Unless you can do that for me, I think we’re done here.”

Taako stands outside Magnus���s bedroom door for a few minutes. He raises his hand to knock then lowers it again. He spends the night on a nearby dock, listening to the waves lap against the shore and slowly emptying a bottle of rum.

The next morning, they pretend it didn’t happen. They go for their morning walk and let Magnus carry the conversation.

Lucretia gets the Light of Creation against all odds – and just in time. There’s only about two days left in this Cycle. Taako makes her favourite dish, piri piri chicken, and they allow themselves to celebrate with wine and music. It never feels completely right to celebrate, knowing the Hunger is still going to cause a lot of damage, but they need to allow themselves these small successes. The men also feel the need to show appreciation to Lucretia, since she worked tirelessly to save this world while they went for walks and crashed the ship into lakes.

Magnus is dancing with Lucretia in the kitchen and Taako makes a quick exit before the big man can trap him in another embrace. He finds Barry on the couch, lost in thought. He sits down beside him, touching their wine glasses together in a small toast. “We made it,” the wizard says before taking another drink.

“Yeah,” Barry says. They’re both thinking the same thing. They’ll see her again soon.

Barry turns to face him. “Listen, Taako, I’m sorry I was so pushy the other night.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“It’s just…” Barry sighs. “I promised her I’d take care of you and I –”

“What?” Taako interrupts. They look at each other, incredulous and inquiring. “She made me promise to take care of you, dude.”

Barry smiles and laughs. Taako fumes. As if Barry Bluejeans could take care of him – what was she thinking? “We both did kind of a shit job, didn’t we?” Barry says.

“Hey, without me you would’ve starved to death.”

“Yeah, that’s fair.”

A few days later, Magnus flies the Starblaster through the Hunger’s advancing tendrils, their bodies fragment, and the entire crew materializes in their set places. Before Lup can even take a breath, Taako shoves her hard. “What the fuck?” she sputters. He silences her with a hug.

The IPRE crew puts the past behind them and they settle into a new life on a new world. Barry and Lup go back to their routine of being attached at the hip and stubbornly not talking about their feelings. Lup and Taako cook and practice magic together. Barry and Taako aren’t close, per se, but they tolerate each other in a new, honest and kind way.

It’s worth it to see the smile on Lup’s face.

[anistarrose]

Summary: Taako unlocks a backstory reveal, Kravitz notices an astronomical discrepancy, and Noelle completes an errand. It’s an evening of relaxation and bonding for some, and a night of furtive preparation for others, but one thing is constant — everyone is missing a few pieces of the story.

Characters: Kravitz, Taako, Barry Bluejeans, Angus McDonald, Magnus Burnsides, Merle Highchurch, Noelle | No-3113, The Raven Queen, The Director | Lucretia, misc. BoB cameos, Julia Burnsides, Garyl

Relationships: Taakitz, Angus McDonald & Taako, Barry Bluejeans & Kravitz, Kravitz & Angus McDonald

Hey, guess what fic isn’t dead! Before we get into the action, I just want to state for the record that I, Rose, think mullets are generally a valid hairstyle (including on Barry Bluejeans). The opinions on mullets that a certain character expresses in this chapter are in no way representative of my views as the author. Anyways, enjoy the Taakitz before the storm!

(A “previously on,” since it’s been so long since the last chapter: THB all know Barry is the Red Robe, Barry knows THB are in trouble for death crimes, and he’s shared all his relevant backstory details with Noelle, who has agreed to help him save the boys from Kravitz with the endgame goal of stopping the Hunger. Kravitz has arranged a sort-of date with Taako, which he’s obviously excited for, but he doesn’t know a lich and a robot are out to get him. Meanwhile, Garyl doesn’t know why Taako stopped hanging out with liches about twelve years ago, and is really missing the spectral oats said liches always gave him. I think that’s everything everyone knows and doesn’t know!)

***

The Raven Queen had always reminded Kravitz of his mortal mother, not just because of the physical resemblance — which was indeed present, albeit slightly diminished by the beaked mask that concealed the Queen’s nose and eyes — but because of her temperament, kind but stern. She was a fair judge, and even a surprisingly forgiving one at times, but she held no reservations against telling people they could do better, if she believed it to be true.

So when the Queen approached Kravitz during his walk along the coast of the Astral Sea, in her usual form of a dark-skinned woman wearing a magnificent feathered cloak, Kravitz breathed a sigh of relief when he saw she was smiling at him. Her ethereal voice was both diminutive and thunderous at once, but thankfully free of disappointment or malice.

My child.

She unfurled not just one pair of midnight-black wings, but a hundred pairs, and suddenly she embodied an entire flock of ravens, circling Kravitz with impossible synchronicity and silence.

Come fly with me.

Kravitz leapt into the air, changing shape and sprouting wings of his own. In the form of a rook with dark blue-gray feathers and the pattern of an avian skull atop his head in light gray, he took off across the sea, and the Queen followed, casting a hundred identical shadows atop the waves.

This airborne sightseeing tour across the afterlife was not a new ritual for them — they’d done this countless times since the Raven Queen had first taught Kravitz to fly, lifetimes ago — but Kravitz had noticed, over the past century or two, that the Queen almost exclusively reserved these flights for days when Kravitz felt stressed.

They soared through a cloud of souls, which danced and shimmered like snowflakes in a gentle breeze, and as they exited it, he finally spoke. “It’s a pleasure to see you as always, my Queen, but… er, what is it that brings you here today?”

My dear Kravitz, you’re even a bundle of nerves when you’re a bird. You’re not letting those elusive lich bounties get to you, are you?

“I… I suppose I have been letting it get to me. In a way.”

Kravitz, you are competent and you are worthy. You needn’t fear me reprimanding you — I have no doubt that you will capture them eventually. After all, you have a promising new strategy, don’t you?

“My Queen, I…” Kravitz trailed off. The scenery of the Astral Plane changed with every flight, but today he’d stopped taking it in, preoccupied with wracking his brain for the right words. “I appreciate that — but it’s really that ‘new strategy’ you mention that I’ve been worrying about, not the liches themselves. I’ve been talking to Taako, and to a lesser extent Magnus and Merle, and —”

The flock’s flight slowed, and two hundred glassy raven eyes all fixated on Kravitz as he transformed back into a human, hovering in midair and clasping his hands together as he spoke.

“I didn’t believe them at first, but they really don’t remember their crimes against death, I’m sure of it. They’re not dangerous people — dangerous to themselves when they rush into danger, maybe, but not dangerous to the world. They stopped Legion, and their friend Angus has been telling me about all the people they’ve saved from the Grand Relics, and I — I would not feel justified reaping their souls, even if they fail to capture Bluejeans and Lup. There’s just so much we don’t know about how they’ve violated the laws of life and death — it may not have even been intentional on their part. My Queen, I sincerely believe we should grant them the same benefit of the doubt we grant to people roped into necromantic cults against their will — I can vouch for their character, and I know many other souls, both living and dead, who will do the same.”

Kravitz…

The flock was completely frozen in place now, and though he didn’t need to, Kravitz held his breath — a nervous habit from his life that he still hadn’t broken after centuries.

Is this why you’ve been stressed? Because you were anticipating this conversation?

“Partly, my Queen.”

I trust your judgement, Kravitz. I cannot pardon these three bounties altogether, knowing so little about their offenses — but if you deem it fitting, then I will grant them an indefinite respite as we investigate further. In the meantime, what do you propose for the escaped soul Noelle Redcheek and the necromancer Lucas Miller?

“So far, neither of them have done ill with their borrowed time. Noelle never asked to return to the world of the living, and she fought heroically against Legion, while Lucas… well, I spoke to his mother, and she seemed confident that he’d learned his lesson. I think we should allow them to stay in the world of the living until they die, provided they commit no more necromantic offenses.”

Then that shall be our policy moving forwards. Do keep an eye on Lucas, if nothing else, but I reviewed Noelle’s file personally this morning, and she sounds like a pleasant young spirit.

Still hovering in the air, Kravitz executed a bow as he let out his breath. “I appreciate the trust, my Queen.”

I will consult with Istus, to see if she can discern the pasts or destinies of the three… unique bounties. Until then, they are to be presumed innocent.

Kravitz smiled, because it was no secret that the Raven Queen relished every excuse to consult with the Lady of Fate. “I’m sure Lady Istus will be happy to hear from you.”

She will, and I don’t need to be the goddess of fate to know that. The ravens swarmed together, consolidating back into a seven-foot tall woman with dark brown skin, black roses adorning her hair, and sapphire-blue eyes glowing from behind the slits in her mask. She draped a cloaked arm over Kravitz’s shoulder as she continued:

Now, my child, you said something else was bothering you besides the status of your bounties?

“Well, it’s… I just…” Kravitz shook his head. “Let me put it this way: do you ever get nervous before talking to Istus, even though you always like spending time with her and know she feels the same? I guess you probably don’t, because you’re a goddess —”

Oh, I do.

“Oh.”

Do you have a commitment tonight? Let me guess — with Taako?

Kravitz smiled sheepishly. “We… er, I’m not even sure which one of us talked the other into it, but we might have arranged to go to a wine and pottery place on the moon together —”

Of course, the Chug ‘N Squeeze. There’s one in the Celestial Plane as well.

“You’re joking!”

Istus and I have been going there often lately. She loves all arts and crafts, after all.

Kravitz sighed. “Well, I had been wondering where all the clay ravens in my office were coming from.”

Do you like them, my child?

“Oh, they’re wonderful. The real office corvids like to perch on them, I guess to assert their dominance?”

The so-often stoic Queen laughed in a voice that could’ve belonged to a human, despite the cacophony of caws that swept across the Astral Plane in place of an echo. Kravitz, I’m sure your date will be divine. You have my blessing.

“It is helpful, not having to worry about arresting Taako in less than two months,” Kravitz admitted. “Thank you, my Queen.”

One last thing, my child — I’d like you to prioritize hunting down those problem liches, unless anything else comes up. I can’t shake the suspicion that they’re connected to your former bounties’ cases — or should I say for Taako, your potential future boyfriend’s case?

Kravitz spent a few seconds of increasingly awkward silence thinking about that second sentence, but ultimately decided that he didn’t want to challenge it. “Taako and his friends are doing important work of their own at the Bureau of Balance, and I don’t want to drag them away from that any more than I already have — but I’ll ask them to keep me updated if they find any new leads, and I’m quite sure they will. Bluejeans seems drawn to them, and to the Grand Relics, like a moth to a flame.”

So I suspected, the Raven Queen replied. It seems Istus and I have much to discuss.

***

With a dramatic flourish of his scythe, Kravitz stepped out of the rift and into Taako’s kitchen. Taako was leaning against the counter waiting for him, chin in his hands and a smug, catlike grin on his face.

“Sooo, notice anything different about me?”

“Not sure. New hat?” Kravitz replied, feigning confusion. “Just kidding! The new haircut looks great.”

“Finally, someone realizes! Lumberjack Ruffboi and the lunar youth pastor didn’t say a thing about it.” Running his fingers through the considerably shorter hair in question, Taako snorted — apparently in response to the nicknames of his own invention — and Kravitz chuckled along with him.

“Don’t get me wrong, you wear the shorter hair well, but why cut it now?” he asked Taako. “It wasn’t that long —”

“Not that long? It was turning into a mullet, Krav, and that’s fuckin’ unacceptable. Can you imagine us walking into a five-star, metropolitan establishment like the Chug ‘N Squeeze together, you absolutely killing it — pun totally intended — in your feathered cloak and designer suit, only for me to saunter in behind you, sporting an honest-to-Raven Queen mullet? Who do you take me for, Barold J. fucking Bluejeans?”

“Of course!” Kravitz sarcastically conceded, laughing. “Clearly, I was running the risk of mistaking you —” He gestured to Taako, brown-skinned and freckled with distinctly pointed ears, “for my old undead archnemesis Barry —”

He stopped talking as Taako dove to catch his Umbra Staff, which had rolled off the kitchen table seemingly all on its own.

“Hey, what gives?” Taako demanded of the umbrella. “I thought we were cool again after the other night — you got something against me trash-talking mullets, or what?”

The Umbra Staff didn’t reply, and Kravitz rubbed his neck. “Er… you talk to your umbrella often?”

Taako shrugged. “Yeah, and I talk to my wizard hat and my favorite fantasy electric mixer too, sometimes. S’no biggie.”

“Sometimes people in the Material Plane give me strange looks for talking to corvids, so I guess I can’t judge,” Kravitz admitted. “But speaking of talking to birds, I have good news!”

Taako slung his Umbra Staff over his shoulder. “Oh, bird news? That’s my favorite kinda news!”

“I spoke to the Raven Queen this morning, and… well, you’re not entirely out of trouble, but you don’t have to worry about that two month time limit anymore! The Queen decided that since no one knows exactly what your crimes were, we can’t judge you for them fairly, so you and the boys are safe at least until someone cracks that mystery — potentially safe forever, if the truth comes out and the Queen finds it sympathetic. Noelle and Lucas have also been granted amnesty, so don’t worry about them either.”

“Huh.” Taako rubbed his head, blinking slowly a few times. “So… we’re calling it quits on the lich hunts ‘til further notice?”

“More or less, but I’ve got a hunch you’ll run into Barry again whether you’re looking for him or not,” Kravitz answered. “So if or when that happens, I’d love a tip off.”

“Gotcha.” Taako nodded slowly. “Well, at least this’ll be good for Angus. Little half-pint can finally chill out instead of worrying about me all day.”

“Absolutely. See, when I went to beseech the Raven Queen, a big part of my argument was that reaping these doofuses’ souls would make an over-stressed ten-year old very sad,” Kravitz joked, deadpan. “So she really had no choice but to give you a respite — wait. What do you mean, at least?”

“Oh, you know.” Taako shrugged, averting his eyes. “It’s just the end of a short-lived bounty hunting era for ‘cha boy. It was dangerous work, but hey, my whole job is dangerous, right? Solving a lich mystery was a nice break from the routine —”

Then he sighed. “Oh, what happened to me? What happened to Taako’s good out here? I’m not into peril! I shouldn’t be missing it no matter how much…” He met Kravitz’s gaze again, smiling sheepishly this time. “No matter how much I’m gonna miss you, when you’re busy hunting ghosts and I’m busy hunting Grand Relics again.”

“Ah.” Kravitz felt his face grow warm — which should be a rare for a reaper without blood or a heartbeat, but seemed to be happening an awful lot around Taako lately. “Well, if it’s any consolation, the Raven Queen’s pretty generous with vacation days — after all, how do you think I made time for our date tonight?”

Taako’s eyes lit up. “Oh, we’re officially calling it a date? I mean, I knew the subtext was there, but why didn’t you tell me earlier?!”

Kravitz clapped a hand to his mouth, several seconds too late. “That was — oh, gods. That honestly wasn’t — that truly wasn’t intentional, but if you want it to be a date? I would love to call it one.”

“Okay, okay, I got a related idea for you —” Taako leaned in a little closer, and for the first time, Kravitz noticed the flecks of gold and burgundy in his dark brown eyes. “How about we just stop making idiots of ourselves and kiss already?”

Then Taako leaned back and facepalmed. “Damn, I shoulda said ‘stop making idiots of ourselves and make out already!’ That works so much better than —”

Kravitz kissed him on the cheek — just a quick peck, made brief not by a lack of interest in kissing Taako, but by Kravitz’s reluctance to tear his eyes away from Taako’s own for any longer than a few seconds. Taako kissed him back, running his hand down the back of Kravitz’s neck —

Then he withdrew with a jolt. “Aw, we’re about to be late to pottery, aren’t we? I even made reservations —”

“Not while you’re dating me, you’re not!” Kravitz exclaimed, drawing his scythe and slicing open a rift that led directly to the Chug ‘N Squeeze. He grabbed Taako by the hand, and the two of them laughed as they tumbled through the portal, scaring the wits out of the host but earning a cheer from Killian and Carey. Magnus — who was contentedly third-wheeling behind the couple, in his weirdly wholesome Magnus way — raised an eyebrow at first, but then gave a friendly wave and returned to the misshapen cup he was molding.

“Today,” the instructor coughed, clutching his chest, “we’ll be walking through how to make plates. Please, for the love of all the gods in the universe, do not make clay interplanar portals, because we’ve already had more than enough of that.”

“What fun!” Taako exclaimed he settled into his seat, then whispered under his breath to Kravitz: “I dunno what I’m making, but it’s not gonna be a plate. Real art is born when you start out with no plan, and go wherever the moment takes you.”

“Honestly? You do you, but I can’t really relate. Like, maybe it’s because music is the only type of art I normally pursue — but I’d rather have sheet music in front of me as a jumping off point, even if I’m planning to improvise, you know?”

“You were a bard? I shoulda known.” Taako tried to shape his clay into something that could pass for a plate or platter at a glance, yet remain legally distinct. The instructor gave him a suspicious look, but quickly moved on to reprimand Magnus for attempting to recreate his wineglass. “Love you for that, and you know you’ll have to show off your kickass music skills for me one day, but how does a bard wind up working for the death goddess?”

“Interesting story, that,” Kravitz admitted. “You want the long version, or the short version?”

“I dunno, maybe a brief novella?”

“Okay. Yeah, I can work with novella length.” Kravitz leaned back in his chair, removing a few clumps of clay from under his nails. “At the beginning of the end of my lifetime, give-or-take eight hundred and twenty years ago, my sibling and I were travelling a dangerous road, and we got in over our heads. We were passing through an abandoned cemetery, and… it’s hard to forget how we were just joking about how ominous it was…”

He got a distant look in his eyes. “But the second we started to laugh, a gang of bandits jumped out from behind the graves to ambush us. Now, I was a damn good bard and my sibling was a damn good artificer, but we were unprepared for combat — and, worse outnumbered five to two. We pruned their ranks to four, then three, when the first two ruffians tried to charge us, but the other three had both range and cover, and they rained arrows on us from both sides of the road. My sibling took a hit that left them in critical condition, so… I did the only thing a protective older brother could do, upon finding oneself and their injured loved one assailed in a cemetery. It was a split-second, desperate decision, but… I played a song to raise the dead.”

“You did a death crime,” was what Taako said out loud, but what he thought was I’d do the same thing. Which was strange, not just because he couldn’t play any instruments, but because he definitely didn’t have a sibling whose peril would prompt such an arcane outburst from him.

He would’ve liked to have someone like that, though. Someone to unconditionally watch his back on those tough journeys, someone who’d raise the dead for him, someone —

Someone to tell him to quit psychoanalyzing himself on date night, come on, Taako, you’re giving yourself a headache.

“As rash as it was, I’d do it all over again if I had to,” Kravitz confessed, apparently too focused on the story to notice what must’ve been visible confusion on Taako’s face. “Though maybe don’t tell the Raven Queen I said that, because it was… quite the crime.”

Absentmindedly, he picked up a few extra clumps of clay and began to roll them into a thin cylinder between his palms. “The graveyard the bandits had chosen was a good place to ambush travellers, but the perfect place to be ambushed by the undead. The zombies I raised were individually weak, but there must’ve been close to two dozen of them, and they surrounded the ruffians that had surrounded us. While they bought us time, I poured all the power I had left into healing my sibling from the brink of death — and it was all worth it, because they got away safe…”

“But you didn’t,” Taako murmured.

“No,” Kravitz confirmed. “But don’t look so glum. The ending of the story’s not all sad.”

He placed the clay cylinder on his plate-in-progress, flattening it slightly as he affixed it to the rest of his project, then set to work shaping another clump into something quite different. “When I died, I was almost immediately met by the Raven Queen’s reaper at the time. She was… not exactly thrilled that I’d summoned a minor undead army — an undead militia, she called it — but my zombies and the bandits had more or less mutually destroyed each other, while she saw I was a first-time offender who’d only acted in self-defense, and wasn’t putting up a fight as I was escorted away from the world of the living. She told me she would be keeping an eye on me for the first few years of my afterlife, just to make sure I hadn’t developed a taste for necromancy and decided to hatch an escape plan from the Astral Plane, and then escorted me to a a pleasant little island in the Astral Sea.”

Kravitz added the final piece of clay to his creation, and Taako realized he’d formed a raised scythe pattern at the plate’s center. “Hopefully this sticks when it goes into the kiln. Anyway, I spent about the next five years on that island, but the reaper brought me plenty of instruments to play and books to read upon my request, so it was hardly a punishment. I was surprised, though, the day she showed up and said that the Raven Queen had requested my presence.”

“Aha. Now here’s the start of your career, right?”

“Exactly. When she offered me an apprenticeship as the next reaper-in-training, I was initially… apprehensive, to say the least, but I eventually accepted the offer, and… well, you know perfectly where the story goes from here. I was a better fit for the job than I could’ve ever expected, and… there were some nice perks, too.” He smiled. “For one thing, I got to spend a few months with my sibling and parents after each of them passed away.”

“I’m glad that worked out for you,” Taako said, with a sincerity he rarely used in combination with those particular words. For the first time since Kravitz had started talking, he took a good look at his own clay, which looked like… a misshapen lump, or maybe an especially boring rock. He probably could’ve paid more attention to what he was doing, but at least he hadn’t gone and subconsciously made a plate.

“But you know,” he went on, stroking his chin, “I’m intrigued by this implication that by peacefully turning myself in for death crimes, I could get nominated for a reaper job…”

Kravitz laughed. “Oh, I wouldn’t recommend that loophole. Maybe if the Queen hadn’t approved your respite, I would suggest it as a last resort —”

“What’s wrong, afraid of me stealing your job?”

“No — I’ve been a reaper for eight centuries, but the one who trained me only retired about four hundred and fifty years ago. Two to four reapers serving concurrently isn’t uncommon. The problem is, the Queen usually chooses reapers who have some prior knowledge of necromancy — without having used it for evil or anything, of course — and unlike most of my bounties, Taako, you don’t seem to be a necromancer? I mean, I’m sure you could learn, because you’re clearly a skilled wizard, but I wouldn’t encourage it. You’re just starting to get out of trouble as is.”

“If you insist,” Taako said with an exaggerated sigh. “So the Raven Queen’s ideal recruits would be, what, a couple of lich superheroes who swore to only use their dark powers for good?”

“In an ideal world, yes — but certainly not in the universe we live in, because those kind of liches don’t exist on any plane I’ve visited. Like I said, I’ve been doing this centuries, and even the rare times I’ve seen liches start out with good intentions, they can’t hold it together once they actually become undead. I guess Barry has debatably held it together, at least compared to the baseline for liches, but gods know what his intentions are, so I don’t plan on offering him a job any time soon.”

Taako took a sip of his wine. “You could still set him up for an interview sometime, just to see,” he suggested, completely deadpan. “Maybe he’ll surprise you.”

***

The view of the night sky was gorgeous from the moonbase, perhaps even on par with the blue-tinged literal heavens of the Astral Plane — but there was also something off about the view tonight, something Kravitz couldn’t quite place.

“What an atmosphere, am I right?” Taako sat down on a bench, still cradling Kravitz’s plate gingerly in his arms. “Who needs telescopes when you can stargaze from the moon?”

“If we ever have another artistic date, we should come out here earlier and try and paint this,” Kravitz agreed aloud. Internally, he was only growing more puzzled as he ran through a laundry list of variables.

The moonbase’s artificial lights had long since dimmed for the evening. They were miles above any other sources of the light pollution that plagued the modern world. The sky was cloudless from horizon to horizon, and the real moon was barely a crescent, hardly a bright enough beacon to drown out the lights of any stars.

So why did the sky look emptier than Kravitz remembered it ever looking in his lifetime, as if an invisible black backdrop at the edge of the Material Plane had slowly inched closer, smothering the most distant stars one by one and dimming the night by a barely-perceptible degree? Was his memory all wrong, or had something subtle yet cosmically pivotal changed?

“One of our artistic dates has got to be something musical,” Taako went on, apparently either unconcerned by the state of the sky or oblivious to it. “You keep up with modern music at all?”

“Mmm, on and off. Not so much recently, but I went to a lot of concerts last century.” Kravitz noticed Taako shivering slightly as a stiff breeze blew past, and draped his raven-feather cloak over Taako’s shoulder.

“Hey, thanks. Will RQ hand these cloaks out to any old Joe, or do you have to be a reaper to wear one?”

“You have to be a reaper to receive one —” Kravitz winked. “— but I have an extra I could loan you, if you promise you won’t wear it next time you commit a death crime.”

“It’ll get me more use than the Cloak of the Manta Ray, that’s for sure,” Taako snorted.

He pecked Kravitz on the lips, and Kravitz kissed back before the two of them both looked back up to the sky again, hand in hand this time.

“This is a very weird question,” Kravitz began, “but do you know how often visible stars go out? It can’t be very often, can it?”

Taako frowned. “Depends. You mean, like, as supernovas, or in the more anticlimactic ways?”

“Either, really. I just… I kind of thought there would be more stars visible from here than you can see from the surface, but the sky looks a little emptier than I remember from stargazing when I was alive.”

“That is weird,” Taako agreed, “‘cause stars all die eventually, and get reborn from the dust left behind — but they burn for millions or billions of years first. A few centuries is just chump change to stars; there’s no way it should make that much of a difference —”

“Okay, that’s what I thought,” Kravitz said. “Maybe my memory’s just cloudy…”

“Hmm. I guess that’s one explanation.” Taako rubbed his chin, then leaned back to rest his head on Kravitz’s shoulder as he squinted at the galaxies overhead. “Hmmm.” His murmur turned to a hum, his breath pleasantly warm on Kravitz’s neck.

“I’m sure you’ve studied more astronomy than I have, so I’ll leave this mystery to you,” Kravitz told him. “I prefer my mysteries down to earth, or maybe in the Underworld —”

“Me? Astronomy? Studying?” Taako laughed, and Kravitz felt him shiver. “You’re giving me too much credit. I just…”

He paused. “Just kinda picked up the basics in my free time, I guess.”

“Your free time where, at wizard school?” Kravitz teased.

“Nope! Taako’s Amazing Self-Taught Wizard Homeschool for life, baby. I just read about astronomy… here and there, I guess. Probs a library, not that it really matters…” Frowning, Taako rubbed his head, and Kravitz saw his hand come away damp with sweat.

“Speaking of libraries, we should visit one together sometime,” Kravitz pivoted, and was relieved to see Taako smile again, sitting up a little taller. “I love catching up on science that was contentious in my lifetime, like germ theory, or what will happen when the sun goes out —”

“Oh, that’s an easy one for us nowadays. We’ve got a few billion years before it turns into a white dwarf and eventually goes nova — not supernova, mind you, but still pretty nova. You won’t wanna be around for it.”

“I’ll try and retire from immortality before then,” Kravitz chuckled. “I’m sure my work would be cut out for me reaping —”

An electric buzz infiltrated the back of his mind, and he tapped two fingers to his temple, adjusting the celestial signal. “I’m so sorry. Hang on a second.”

“Business call?” Taako asked dejectedly.

“Yeah. Necromancers wait for no stargazing date nights.” Kravitz relayed a silent message of confirmation back to the Raven Queen, and lowered his fingers, cutting off the connection. “Alright, the Rockport Fantasy Costco got caught selling necrotic artifacts — again — but it’s not that urgent. Any other couples’ activities you want to squeeze into, let’s see, the next five minutes?”

Taako shook his head. “Nah, better to save all the good stuff for next time than to rush it. But speaking of that — when should next time be?”

“I have no idea when I’ll be free, honestly —” Kravitz admitted, “— but I just remembered! You’re not a wanted man anymore, so I can give you my Stone frequency!”

“Aw, hell yeah!” Taako rummaged through pockets full of pudding and magical trinkets, eventually procuring his own Stone of Farspeech. “Here, plug in your contact info and I’ll text you back —”

“Oh, gods, I was just going to read you my number! Your way is so much more efficient —”

“Hey, Old Man Krav, don’t be too hard on yourself! Most people your age wouldn’t even know what a Stone of Farspeech is —”

Caught up in parting banter, neither Kravitz nor Taako noticed when directly overhead, another star vanished without fanfare as the encroaching void swallowed it whole…

But miles below, at a furtive meeting in the foothills of an ill-charted mountain range, two undead spirits were all too aware.

***

Barry supposed it was obvious that he was nervous. In lieu of a racing heartbeat, the scarlet threads of his robe were repeatedly unravelling, then weaving themselves back together in a slightly different pattern each time — though he supposed he should count his blessings, since at least Noelle looked a lot less horrified than she honestly had the right to be.

“I think I got everything,” she told him, completely unfazed as he snatched the sack of components from her with a shaking, blurry hand. He really hadn’t meant to snatch it, like a feral cat snatching food from a human hand it didn’t yet trust. It had just sort of happened that way.

“Thank you,” was what he meant to tell her, but the sound that came out was indistinguishable from nails on a chalkboard, and he tried again. “Thank you, Noelle.”

The second time, it was more of a rasp — a lot like the voice he’d put on to talk to Taako, Merle, and Magnus in Goldcliff, except not at all intentional this time — but at least it was recognizably his, and for that, he was willing to settle.

“Mister Bluejeans, are you… okay?” Noelle asked him — and there it was, the question he’d been waiting for. “You’re surrounded by an awful lot of crimson lightning.”

“I’ve dealt with worse. I’ll live,” he told her. “Well, no, bad word choice — I’ll survive. Liches like me just… don’t handle negative emotions well, but better I express it than repress it. Besides, I’ve gotten through worse before.”

It must’ve helped, talking to someone who reacted to his eldritch nervous tics with concern rather than horror — because the rasp in his voice started to subside, and his hands looked almost human again, albeit incorporeal, as he sorted through the bag of components Noelle had delivered:

Iron filings by the pound. A few jade crystals, imperfect yet sufficient for their purposes. An arcane core, currently deactivated, yet surrounded by a humming magical aura made from practically the same stuff as Barry’s own current form.

And last but not least, several handfuls of black opals — an unpleasant reminder of the Hunger’s approach, of the stars blinking out and the color being sapped from the world. Their shifting pattern iridescence was so familiar that Barry could easily imagine pure white eyes opening on the surface of the gems, even though he knew he was safe, that these stones were nowhere near perfect circles.

“These will work,” he reported. “Really, I can’t thank you enough.”

“Oh, come on. It’s the least I could do,” Noelle told him. “Did you finish the cannon upgrade?”

“Sure did.” Barry returned her cannon arm to her, and she reattached it gingerly, humming with satisfaction as she tested moving it around. “Had to override a couple of Lucas’s anti-modding measures, and it’s gonna be a hassle to recharge, but it’s all set up to deal radiant damage now. Just please don’t test it in here, ‘cause my poor subterranean lair may not survive.”

Noelle laughed. “Gotcha. Once I get some practice shots in, I’ll be ready to set the trap. You feeling up to it?”

“I still don’t feel ready,” Barry admitted, “but it’s not like I’ve got any other options, besides sitting here and worrying more. I just… I just have to take it one step at a time.”

He placed the opals back in the bag, along with the other components and a wand he’d made specifically for writing runes. Out of sight and out of mind, if only for a brief respite.

Tomorrow, I’m saving my family from the Grim Reaper, he resolved. Then, I can worry about saving the planar system.

***

End notes:

Taako is actually wrong about what will happen to this planet’s sun in billions of years — white dwarfs only go nova if they’re located in binary or otherwise multiple star systems, like a certain two-sunned planet had ;) There’s also a couple references to the Grand Relics in this chapter that I like to think are clever, let me know if you caught them!

(Also, describing the Taakitz kiss as “a peck on the cheek” was a certified 100 percent intentional bird pun — shoutout to this fic’s awesome beta Fex for encouraging me to take that joke and run with it completely seriously!)

[theassthatquits]

Chapter Four is now out!

Chapters: 4/? Fandom: TAZ Balance (Stolen Century) Relationships: Barry Bluejeans/Lup, Summary:

Early on in their journey the seven birds landed in a world where there were seven major magical celebrations that are designed to challenge relationships and make them stronger. The crew find themselves thrust into these events - how will their bonds change? Primarily focused on Barry and Lup. If you're reading my fic "In the Margins," this is the cycle that is referenced!

Two days later, Davenport woke up in a strange bed. He heard a frail voice calling out from another room but he couldn’t make out what they were saying. After quickly surveying his surroundings to make sure that he wasn’t in any danger, he carefully got out of the unfamiliar bed, thankful he had worn a shirt and shorts to bed the night before.

“Hello?” He called out timidly. “My name is Davenport, I think I am supposed to spend the day with you?”

“Hicrue? Is that you?” He turned right down the hallway, following the voice and the coughing that preceded it.

He opened a door to see an older woman lying in bed looking very frail. Pictures of cats lined the walls that mirrored the ones lying on her bed. “Well, you’re not my son. I guess you’re here to spend the day with me?”

“I guess so.” Davenport sneezed. Apparently he was allergic to cats.

—-

“Well, well, well, who do we have here?” Taako’s flirtatious voice came out, directed at the gorgeous shirtless man emerging from Davenport’s room. “Has the captain finally treated himself?”

“Captain?” The man sounded confused. “I just woke up here, my name is Hicrue. Where the hell am I?”

Lup pushed past Taako to get to Hicrue, “You are on the Starblaster, a plane-travelling spacecraft. Hi, my name is Lup.” She held her hand out for a handshake and batted her eyes, obviously into this guy’s whole deal.

Immediately upon setting his eyes on her, Hicrue’s face lit up. “Pleasure to meet you, Lup. I guess I’m yours for today.” He shook her hand, “Care to show me around?”

“Absolutely! The first order of business -”

“-finding you a shirt.”

Lup whipped around. “Merle! We don’t complain when you walk around shirtless.”

“Actually -” Merle held up his finger as if he was going to argue but she ignored him.

“Anyway, first order of business: a delicious breakfast cooked by me and my less talented twin Taako. Come hang out with us in the kitchen and we can get to know your whole deal.” Lup lead the way out of the common room with Hicrue and Taako dutifully following.

She didn’t notice Barry standing wordlessly in the darkened hallway from his room watching this interaction, a stomach ache coming on without knowing why.

---

“Can I get you anything else, Margaret?” Davenport handed her the cup of tea he made and she shook her head.

“No thank you, dearie. You have done more than enough. Breakfast was delicious.”

“It was really no trouble, I’ve learned how to make french toast from the best.” He would never admit this in front of the twins. “So, how do your days usually go?”

“Well -” she coughed a couple of times before continuing. “Hicrue normally makes me some tea and toast before going out for the day and I sit here in this rocking chair until he returns. We make some light conversation, maybe play a round of cards, eat some supper, and do the whole thing over again.”

“What do you normally do while he’s gone?”

“Sit here and wait for him to come back.”

Davenport frowned. As a certified workaholic who hadn’t taken a vacation in a decade, he couldn’t imagine not being busy. “Well, what does Hicrue normally do when he’s gone?”

“He has a job at the blacksmith’s in town, he’s the apprentice there. And then after work he usually hangs out with his friends.”

Davenport stood up. “Margaret, today we’re going to make this a day to remember.”

“Oh, but dearie you’re supposed to be following Hicrue’s footsteps. You need to go to the blacksmith’s.”

“I’m sure the blacksmith can handle one day without an apprentice. Today, we’re having some fun.”

All Margaret could do was smile sweetly back at him before going into another coughing fit.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, dearie. Well, not exactly. The doctors say it’s terminal.”

Davenport quieted before saying, “Well, I guess we’re going to have to make this an extra special day, then. Now, what is there to do in this town?”

---

“So you’re telling me that you all are from another plane, running away from a giant vore cloud eating up everything in existence that you refer to as the Hunger and you need to locate a giant bright orb of light or else my entire world as I know it will be lost to this entity?”

Lup looked around the table, waiting for someone else to add something. “Yep, that about sums it up.”

“How fucking wicked is that? And you all have been doing this for years?”

“Yup. You could say we’re humanity’s last hope,” Taako leaned back in his chair, attempting to look suave and nonchalant.

Hicrue’s eyes suddenly lit up and he turned to Lup. “Actually, now that you mention it, I think I saw something of that description fall in the forest right outside town the other day!”

Lup suddenly stood up, knocking the table as she went. “Really? We should leave right away.”

Standing up as well, Hicrue locked eyes with her. “Let’s go, I’m ready to leave right now.”

She took his hand in her own, “Let’s get the fuck out of here.” Remembering she was on a team, Lup looked around the table. “Anyone else want to come?”

Magnus stood up, also shaking the table and nearly knocking Barry’s orange juice into his lap. “I’ll join you guys!”

“All right! Let’s go!” The three of them bounded out of the room, eager to get their supplies and look for the light.

The room was suddenly quiet and the remaining crew just looked at each other around the table. Finally Lucrecia broke the silence. “That was weird, right?”

“Eh,” Merle said. “It’s Lup.”

*Kshhhh* “Merle, come in. Merle.” *Kshhhh*

Merle made no move to grab his stone of farspeech.

*Kshhhh* “Merle, this is your Captain speaking. Over.” *Kshhhh*

Barry turned to him. “Are you going to get that?”

“Get what?” Barry motioned to his stone. “Oh, is that for me?”

“Well, he is saying ‘Merle’ repeatedly, so yeah, I would say so.”

“Well, look at that, I never get mail.”  He picked up his stone. *Kshhh* “This is Merle. Over.” *Kshhh*

*Kshhh* “I need you to meet me in town. Your healing expertise is needed. Over.” *Kshhh*

“Sounds like he isn’t really needed if healing is involved,” Taako muttered under his breath. It was unclear if Merle chose to ignore him or wasn’t paying attention at all.

*Kshhh* “All right, I’ll head out now. Over.” *Kshhh*

Merle turned around to see Barry standing at him, incredulous. “Is the Captain okay?”

“I mean, you heard him.”

“He needs healing magic, he might be in trouble!”

Merle shrugged. “I’ll take care of it.”

Barry looked around the room, searching for any kind of support. “Is no one else thinking this is kind of concerning?”

Lucrecia shrugged. “I think if he was in trouble, he’d say something. But maybe someone should go with Merle.” No one spoke up.

Finally Barry broke the silence. “All right, I guess since I was the one concerned, I’ll go with Merle.”

“Whatever, Jeans Boy.”

Instinctively, Barry responded with, “It’s Bluejeans.” Then, “Fuck, it’s Hallwinter. I’m Sildar Barry Hallwinter.”

“Sounds like someone’s having an identity crisis.”

“Taako -”

“Are we leaving or what?” Barry looked up and Merle, who had been standing next to him mere moments ago, was now completely ready to go. Barry blinked a few times without saying anything and then followed him out of the door and into town.

---

“If the doctors of this world say it’s terminal, I don’t know what else I can do. I haven’t seen something like this before, it might be unique to this plane.”

“Merle, that’s quite an accusation to throw out there. We don’t have nearly enough information to declare this completely unique to -”

“Barry,” Davenport spoke sternly as if to say ‘stop talking.’ Barry obliged.

“You boys speak so strangely. What is this talk of ‘other worlds’?” Margaret inquired.

“That big metal ship out of town? That’s ours.” Merle answered. Kind of.

“What ship?”

“Margaret, do you go outside at all?” Davenport asked.

“Oh, no, I haven’t been outside in quite some time. Hicrue says he doesn’t have the time to take me out.”

Davenport looked around at the other men in the room and they all came to an unspoken understanding. “Margaret, put on your finest dress. We’re going out tonight!”

Her face lit up. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely! Let me clean up this game real fast and we’ll take you to see the ship.”

“And the festival?”

“And the festival!”

Barry helped Davenport clean up the table from where they had been playing a board game when there was a knock at the front door. Barry walked over and opened it and found a young man about the same age as Hicrue. His posture dropped as if disappointed and maybe a little bit of jealousy flared behind his eyes.

“Is Hicrue here?”

“Uh, no, he’s off galavanting with a beautiful young woman.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

The man’s face completely sank. “Oh. Well if you see him will you tell him that Nathan is looking for him?”

“Will do.” Barry was about to shut the door when, seemingly out of his control, he asked, “Are you okay?”

This was enough to break Nathan, apparently.

He started sobbing and Barry took a step back, uncomfortable and surprised.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I can’t believe I’m crying in front of a complete stranger. Oh gods.” Nathan wiped his eyes. “I’m a fucking mess, man. I’m in love with my best friend and I can’t get the fucking guts to tell him. And now he’s off with a beautiful young woman? Not going to lie, this does happen quite frequently. He’s always off with a beautiful young someone.”

Barry now knew even less what he should do. After standing there awkwardly a few moments, he stepped forwards and patted Nathan on his back, visibly uncomfortable. “There, there. On the bright side, she won’t be around for longer than a year.”

That didn’t seem to help, he was crying harder now. Barry sighed. “Look, don’t tell anyone this, but I might have a thing for the girl he’s with.”

Nathan stopped and looked up at him. “Really? So we’re in the same situation?”

“I mean, I think it’s just a minor crush, practically non-existent -”

He stared deep into Barry’s eyes and put his hand on his shoulder. “I feel your pain, man. To see someone you’re desperately in love with -”

“Not in love but okay”

“- run off with a gorgeous person doing gods know what, I understand that feeling.”

Barry quit arguing. He figured there was no use in it. “Nathan, do you want to come hang out with us today?”

---

After a full day of showing the ship to Nathan and Margaret, they all got ready for the big feast at the center of town where they would meet their counterparts and share what they had learned for the day. Nathan and Barry walked up together, the latter wearing their nice jeans to make a good impression (And because Lup had complimented them once). Nathan was talking Barry’s ear off about how incredible Hicrue was when the man himself walked up with Lup, both of them animatedly talking with one another. Barry looked up just in time to see Lup throw her head back in laughter and suddenly he wasn’t so hungry anymore.

“Is that her?” Barry realized he had been staring when Nathan spoke up. “The girl with Hicrue, that’s Lup, right?”

His mouth was dry. “Yup.”

“Gods, she’s gorgeous.”

“Yup.”

“I don’t stand a fucking chance.”

“Yup.”

“A little sympathy would be nice.”

Barry shrugged. “Lup is the most incredible person I know. She’s pretty hard to beat.”

“Well, fuck.”

That made Barry laugh. He slapped him on the back. “Sorry, man. She’s just incredible.”

“Wow, you have it bad, don’t you?”

Barry didn’t answer that. Right at that moment, Hicrue looked up and noticed Nathan and Barry and started waving hello enthusiastically. Lup looked confused until he leaned over and said something to her.

“Well, I guess it’s time to head over there.”

“I guess.”

“Gods speed.” They fist bumped in solidarity and walked over to join them.

“Hey! Nathan! Looks like you met another crew member.” Hicrue slapped Nathan on the back as they approached. “Here’s my Starblaster member, Lup. Who’s yours?”

“I’m Barry. We met earlier.” No recognition passed his face.

“Hi Nathan, nice to meet you!” Lup shook his hand enthusiastically and turned to Hicrue. “Is this the guy who -”

“Fell out of the third story window chasing his shadow as a kid? Yes it is.”

Lup giggled. “Just like that marsupial we saw earlier that did that thing.” And then the two of them proceeded to do a dance, clearly part of an inside joke. Both of the boys felt like outsiders next to their friends.

Nathan and Barry just awkwardly watched them go back and forth for a bit, one inside joke after another before Barry interjected. “Did you guys find the light?”

“Oh, sorry Bear. It’s a no go.”

Hicrue snorted. “Bear. How adorable.”

“Yeah, it’s Lup ’s nickname for me.”

“How sweet, Bear.” Hicrue winked at him, as if knowing he was currently getting under Barry’s skin. He then turned back to Lup, who was oblivious to this interaction.

“Nathan, do you want to find a seat?”

He sighed. “Yeah, Barry, I guess I do.”

Hicrue and Lup didn’t notice them walk away and once they were far enough out of earshot, Barry said, “Your dude’s kind of a dick.”

“He can be, yes.”

“Why are you still entertaining the thought of him? You’re a sweet, smart, sensitive guy. You could get anyone you wanted to. Why Hicrue?”

“He’s really kind and funny. We grew up together and I guess I’ve always sort of been in love with him.”

“You deserve better, Nathan.”

“I don’t want better, Barry.”

There was nothing else to say to that. They sat down, not enjoying themselves for the rest of the night, both of them stealing glances to their crushes across the party.

[archivednerdfics]

Never Prouder

Fandom: The Adventure Zone (Balance)

Summery: Angus gets in trouble at school and Taako is actually quite proud of this (and also hates Lucas Miller).

Requested: Yes - @punks-n-rec (I'm so sorry it took me so long to post this!)

Word Count: 1,164

----

"...Mr. Taako?" Angus's small voice came through Taako's stone of far speech.

The elven man was sitting in his office at his school, desk covered in papers -- both for the school and ideas for new dishes and different things for the brand in general. ...It was all a lot of work to keep up with, and he was prone to distraction, which was why he kept everything on the desk at once. Made it easier to concentrate. 

"What's up, bubula?" Taako asked, pulling out his stone of farspeech.

"I… need you to come get me." The boy sounded upset and Taako frowned. 

"You still at school?"

"Yes, sir. ...Mr. Miller wants to talk to you…"

"What? Why?"

"I'll explain when you get here… it'll be easier."

Taako didn't really like the sound of that, but he figured it would be better to get to Angus quickly and go from there, so he said, "Okay, I'm on my way. Hang tight, I'll be there soon."

"Okay, sir."

The stone frequencies disconnected as Taako stood up, grabbed his cloak, and made his way to Lucas Miller's school.

__

The moment he made it to the school, Taako went straight to Lucas's office, only to find Angus sitting on a bench outside of it. 

"Hey, Pumpkin," he said, making a B-line for the boy and sitting next to him, "What the fuck is going on?" He was acting as nonchalant as he could, but there was a tinge of worry in his voice that he couldn't shake, despite his best efforts. 

"...Something happened."

"Okay… I'm gonna need some context here, Ango."

"...I was late to a test."

"...And?"

"And they wouldn't let me take it…"

"Because you were late?"

Angus nodded and Taako frowned, "How late?"

"Ten minutes."

"...They wouldn't… let you take a test because you were just ten minutes late…?" Taako asked, his voice that certain kind of even that meant he was angry -- though Angus knew it wasn't with him, and he nodded. 

"...Okay," Taako said and stood up. "Okay," he said again and went to the office door and abruptly threw it open, yelling, "Miller!"

Lucas practically jumped out of his skin when the elf bounded in, "T-Taako…! Uh, good, you're here. We… we need to talk."

"Yeah, we fuckin' do!" Taako said, going over to the human's desk where he was sitting and slamming a hand down on it, "You got something against my kid?"

"Of course not," Lucas said, "He's been struggling in class… and then today…"

"And then today you idiots wouldn't let him take a test."

"They were just following the rules, Taako."

"Rules that you make!"

"You don't have a time limit on tests in your school?"

"Not like that! They show up late they just have less time to take it, I don't make them fucking leave!"

"Taako it's not just that," Lucas sighed. 

"What else, then?" Taako asked, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at the human man.

"...Angus… had a little outburst in class…"

"...The point, Miller. Get to the point."

"That… is the point. He yelled at a teacher. And several students."

"Well then they probably deserved it," Taako said. 

"I know you don't like me," Lucas said, "But this is serious."

It was at this point that Angus entered the office, going to stand next to his adoptive father, a bit nervously. 

"What makes this serious? Did he injure anybody?"

"Well, no… but--"

"Did he start an uncontrollable fire?"

"What? No. Taako--"

"So he just yelled at some people?"

"...I did… yell at a teacher, sir…" Angus said, looking up at Taako anxiously, possibly even ashamed, and then looked to Lucas, "I'm sorry. I'll take my punishment--"

"Nope," Taako said, interrupting the boy. He placed a hand on his shoulder and took a step in front of him, "Stop talking. Let me do one thing right and get behind me. Now here's what's gonna happen," he added to Lucas, in an almost dangerous voice, "You are going to leave my kid alone, you're going to let him make up that test for full credit, and I'm not going to have to come back to this school until he graduates. Are we understood?"

"...I suppose… as long as it doesn't happen again," Lucas said, mostly because he was afraid of Taako. 

"Good," Taako said with a short nod before swiftly turning on his heel and leading Angus from the room. 

Neither said a word until they were out of the building and making their way down the street, when Taako spoke, "...So how long have you been havin' trouble?"

"...Not long, sir," Angus said, averting his eyes. 

"Angus," Taako said, giving the boy a look. The fact that his mentor was using his real name was enough to tell him that he was serious, though. He didn't need to see the look. 

"...Since the beginning of the semester…"

"Why didn't you come to me for help? Or Krav, or Lup?"

"...I didn't want to bother any of you. I thought I could handle it. I'm sorry, sir."

"Don't be sorry, I don't care if you yell at people. ...But you usually do care about shit like that, so if you lost it, obviously something's up."

"I just got frustrated," Angus sighed, "I was studying all night, which is why I was late, and I was sure I knew everything for the test and that I was ready, but then they wouldn't let me take it, and…"

"It caught up to you," Taako said, nodding in understanding. 

"...Yes… I really am sorry, sir."

"You really don't have to be." He gave the boy a small smile, "I've never been prouder."

"Sir!" The boy looked reprimandingly at Taako, who laughed. 

"You don't have to be perfect, Ango. Just do your best, and for Pan's sake, ask me for help when you need it! ...And remember, when in doubt, tell Lucas you're gonna call Killian. She really hates that guy. ...But then, don't we all."

"I don't hate him. I just feel I was treated a bit unfairly…"

"You were, and you should hate him. But you'll learn," Taako said, patting Angus on the back. "...Now. What do you say we go get some ice cream?"

"I don't know… I don't feel like I should be rewarded for how I acted today."

"Well, I do. But if you really insist on punishing yourself, then you can just watch me eat said ice cream." Taako gave the young boy a loving smirk, and Angus smiled back up at him. 

"...Thank you, sir."

"You got it. ...Just next time, call me before you yell at people so I can come take pictures."

"Mr. Taako!" Angus said incredulously.

"Let me have this, Agnes," Taako said, and it put Angus at ease to hear him use the incorrect name like that. 

"Yes, sir," Ango said with a small, slightly amused smile.

"Good boy." Taako smiled and ruffled the kid's hair.

[marsdave]

Capitalism is the bad guy: a TAZ Graduation prediction/analysis

Still super sleepy but I made a promise so here's my analysis of the economic history of TAZ Graduation I guess. Again, there are only two episodes out so there is a large chance that most of this essay is going to be, in a word, wrong. However, I've got a lot of things to say about what's already been set up in the first two episodes and trailer for TAZ Graduation.

For the purposes of ease, I'm going to be focusing mainly on Balance and Graduation because they take place in similar universes. Amnesty is a little more down to earth because it, you know, takes place on earth. Amnesty's focus on money is minimal and its economic system is, well... ours (Or at least the USA's, I'm not actually sure where you live, but I understand that a lot of economic discussions on tumblr are very USA-centric, and not every TAZ fan is American)

In any case, I'm much more interested in the fictional societies of Faerun and... the world of Wiggenstaff's (Wiggenworld?)

The economic impacts of anything have been largely ignored in Balance. Off the top of my head, I can remember Goldcliff being a prosperous city, Taako's gold-stealing habit, fantasy costco, and Lup's 15 dollar bill (which, by the way I am writing a musical about, check it out if you want), as examples of money playing any role in TAZ Balance.

While hilarious, the moments of bargaining for items in the Fantasy Costco in Balance aren't monetarily accurate by earth standards, you dont haggle at a Costco, they price their items that way for a reason. A magically multiplying 15 dollar bill would cause mass amounts of inflation, especially in the hands of a crime boss like Greg F. Grimaldis and used to create cash reserves in a casino. There is a reason that printing money is illegal.

Balance's relationship with money isn't really a relationship at all, it's an acquaintance-ship. It's friends-with-benefits, except the benefits are goofs. It's the relationship that the class clown has with an easy-to make-fun-of-kid. In TAZ Balance, money is a joke. And that works!

Money doesn't play a huge role in Balance because it doesnt have to! Hell, that works in its favor! The main ideas explored in balance are People, Love, Choosing Joy, and The Unbreakable Bonds Of Chosen Family, if money was inserted into that equation, Balance would be way less impactful.

This ties into what I mean by "ultimate evil". The ultimate evil of Balance was not The Hunger, it was forgetting those you love. The ultimate evil of Amnesty was not the Aliens or The Quell, it was ignorance. The strength of the adventure zone is it's ability to create big, spectacular epics that are still ultimately character driven, and that comes from how it pairs its strong external conflicts (Hey guys, let's fight this sentient storm) with equally strong internal conflicts (Hey guys, let's build a beautiful found family). The Big Evil is the external, the ultimate evil is the internal.

Now let's talk about Graduation.

Graduation takes place in a pseudo-college setting. Maybe it's just me, but college immediately reminds me of money, it's just an instant association. (Again, I'd like to acknowledge that this is coming from a U.S. pov and for me, the link between money and college is tens, sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars on tuition and financially crippling student loans. I know).

Here are some other money-related elements of TAZ Graduation in the FIRST TWO EPISODES:

Argo's financial situation

The commune that [Redacted] comes from

The high reliance on/hero worship of accountants and accounting

The organization that can forcibly retire the heroes and villains of Wiggenworld when their costs outweigh their benefits

Travis McElroy essentially gave us Wiggenworld's economic history on a silver platter. It started out with unfettered, unregulated capitalism, which resulted in wars and a minority of people recklessly wasting the majority of Wiggenworld's resources. Then something really interesting happened.

The economy was regulated, but not by the government, by the people themselves, more specifically, the fantasy accountants. This is what I'm going to call the Rise Of Accounting.

After that, and the Hero/Villain industry rose to fill the void that the entertainment of the wars left.

So in my previous post, I alluded to the fact that capitalism would be the ultimate evil this season. That's not exactly what I meant. The real ultimate evil will be The Commodification of Individuals.

Heroes and villains are not treated as people in this universe, they're companies. Hell, you could even say that they're products. Once they cost more money than they earn, they're forcibly retired, unable to find another job as a hero/villain and at most institutions, barred from teaching.

This is a double edged sword, because besides robbing heroes/villains of their humanity, it forces them to walk the ever-thinning line between "interesting and new enough to keep people coming back and turn a profit" and "safe and careful enough not to cost their patron town too much" and if they falter (which they eventually will, because no hero/villain can stay both safe and interesting forever) then the failure is pinned on them rather than the broken system. There's also the matter of how sidekicks/henchpeople are treated compared to heroes/villains, but that's a whole different post.

The hero/villain occupation is an unsustainable one by design, it's a dangerous and temporary job, but hey, it pays well, and that's what it's all about in a capitalist system.

So yeah, with the way things are set up, this season is inextricable from the concept of money (and honestly kudos to Travis McElroy for setting it up so perfectly and concisely in these two episodes), and I can't wait to see what happens next.

[youhearstatic]

Cor’s Adventure Zone Writing

Longer Fics - solo

Chrysanthemums (Lovesick) - A Blupjeans hanahaki fic.

Barry Bluejeans knows what’s happening the moment the first petal appears.

And he knows how it will end.

Losing Time - (Set after Story and Song) After being missing for three days, Barry has been mysteriously de-aged. Now he looks 20 years old and doesn’t remember anyone. Lup, Kravitz, and Taako are trying to figure things out. 

Also on tumblr: Part One  | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven | Part Eight | Part Nine | Part Ten | Part Eleven | Part Twelve | Part Thirteen | Part Fourteen | Part Fifteen

Losing Time “Exit Interview” (10 fanfic questions answered about Losing Time. Includes a lot of behind the scenes and extended explanations.)

It’s About Time - This is a love letter to Barry Bluejeans of sorts: the whole campaign of The Adventure Zone: Balance (and then some) told from Barry’s point of view. (Part of ‘All the Time in the Worlds’ series, this fic covers their Stolen Century from Barry’s POV.)

It’s About Time “Exit Interview” (10 fanfic questions answered about the fic. Includes a lot of behind the scenes and extended explanations.)

Time After Time - With Lup missing and he and Taako unable to find any sign of her, Barry Bluejeans had thought things couldn’t get any worse.

He was wrong. Now he’s completely alone, on the run, hoping to find a way to fix everything and reunite his family.

These are Barry’s voidfished years, his years without Lup, his years forced to play the villain.

(Part of ‘All the Time in the Worlds’ series, this fic covers the Faerun part of the podcast from Barry’s POV. Updates on Fridays.)

Bluejeans, Boxers, and One Bed - A prompt that got out of hand, this is my contribution to the best mutual pining trope out there: There Was Only One Bed! 4500+ words of ridiculous pining with a side dish of underwear angst. Yup, it’s a thing.

Legato Solos - Before their song was ready, before their big performance, Barry and Lup spent their last few months consumed with thoughts of one another. (Rated Mature.)

Like Friendship Set Aflame - Barry has been searching for the perfect gifts for everyone. The problem isn’t finding something perfect for Lup. It’s that it’s too perfect. (Rated Explicit. Essentially? This is over 12k words of smut. )  

This necklace was incredibly and conspicuously expensive. There was no way to give it to her at the same time he gave Magnus nail polish and a silly stuffed animal. There was no way to not be obvious that he cared about her as more than just a crewmate. This was a piece of jewelry that said ‘I have been painfully in love with you for decades and will continue to be for as long as I exist’ and said it in big, shouty letters.

This necklace was overt. Undisguised.

This necklace was a declaration.

Like Friendship Set Aflame “Exit Interview” (10 fanfic questions answered about the fic. Includes a lot of behind the scenes and extended explanations.)

A Thousand Tiny Moments - Before being chosen for the Starblaster crew, Lup meets someone at a party. It doesn’t go well. (Part of the ‘All the Time in the Worlds’ Series, this is the Lup POV companion fic to It’s About Time. 14k words)

She drifts closer to him and slowly, so slowly, she bends her head to his. She pauses inches away, not yet touching but so close they share breath. Her hand slides along the lapel of his jacket and she feels his chest rise as he breathes in.

She looks at his mouth and thinks this is the last moment before I kiss him. It’s as inevitable as his chest falling beneath her hand as he exhales. So she kisses him. His lips are warm and soft against hers with the rich sting of alcohol painted on both their mouths.

The Lup POV minific that became A Thousand Tiny Moments

A Thousand Tiny Moments “Exit Interview” (10 fanfic questions answered about ATTM. Includes a lot of behind the scenes and extended explanations.)

Longer Fics - colabs

Wild Dragon Chase - Having spotted the same distinctive looking dragon several times and in several different planar systems, Lup is ready to force a meeting. A dragon on their side against the Hunger would be a tremendous advantage.

Barry Bluejeans has kept his true nature a secret for half a millennia. He’s been alone since the rest of his flight died trying to defend the town they were the protectors of. That’s a difficult life for a crystal dragon who hoards sentimental and emotional bonds the way other flights hoard gold or relics. Can he risk his secret when half the crew despise dragons? (By @tanger-catnip & @youhearstatic) 

Also, here’s a quick scene that would take place about two weeks after the events of Wild Dragon Chase, a conversation between Taako and Lup about her and the dragon.

A Single Slat of Wood and Canvas - After months of training, Lup fails to bring in her first solo reaper contract. She won’t tell anyone exactly what happened, even Barry. (By @tanger-catnip & @youhearstatic)

Barry woke with a start. His hand reached for the other side of the bed before he even knew who or where he was.

“Lup?” he asked the empty room.

Her side of the bed was cold. Barry was up and fumbling for his glasses in an instant, his heart pounding.

Made Before the Voidfish (Broken by a Voidfish) - For months Lup, Magnus, and Merle have been haunted by the presence of the ‘red robe’. Often showing up after their adventures to offer cryptic and usually unhelpful warnings and advice. Shortly after the events at Refuge, Lup hatches a plan to finally pin this incomprehensible creature down and get the answers to the questions burning inside her. [TwinSwap AU 1.0]  (By @tanger-catnip & @youhearstatic)

Lup heard her own voice twist into a burst of static. She couldn’t remember what she had just said or hold it in her brain, but her mouth knew the words. She bent over, a lance of pain shooting through her head. It hurt so much, but she was so close to something she just had to keep going.

More static. It was like something was stealing the words away from her. She tried to claw them back, but they just would not stay in. It was like vomiting, but with words that she couldn’t hear.

Lust is a Thing with Fangs - Lup tries to sneak in one more day of laboratory work before her annual heat cycle kicks in. Barry is there. It goes about how you would expect. (Explicit content.) (By @tanger-catnip & @youhearstatic)

Lup paused at the door to the lab. She stood up straight, wrapping herself in dignity and ignoring her heart pounding in her chest like a jackhammer. It would be fine. It was only Barry. He would be way too focused on his work to notice her trembling, or the fact she was flushed from the tips of her ears to her toes.

Lup licked her lips. She suddenly had the strangest feeling. Like part of her had come to a revelation about something and another was frantically trying to muffle it before it could be brought to her attention.

A Night at The Naughty Kitten - Out of options after the Starblaster hastily relocated without them, Lup and Barry spend the night at a “boutique” “short stay” hotel.

There’s only one bed, but that’s the least of anyone’s problems. (By @tanger-catnip & @youhearstatic)

The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. It wasn’t the first time she’d ended up like this, but every time Lup wondered if it would be the one to break her. He wanted her so badly. Lup didn’t understand how she was supposed to handle seeing it so clearly on his face on top of her own longing.

Sandworms and Other Concerns - Barry discovers that Lup’s presence can improve any situation, including having his arm torn off by a fifty-foot-long, carnivorous, burrowing, acid-spitting, hook-toothed, pinstriped Sandworm. (By @tanger-catnip & @youhearstatic - Also on AO3.) {Hey guys, just to let you know: The sandworm is all in the title. This is Hurt/Comfort wrapped in Fluff. Angst levels are at absolute minimum!}

Short Fics

Barry & Lup:

Lup watches Barry Sleep - Post S&S

Ghosts of Candlenights Past, Echoes of Candlenights Future - Barry feeling sad about the holiday and not realizing just how close he is to having what he always wanted.

Morning in Bed - Lup and Barry just cuddling and being in love. Prompt Request.

It’s Cold Outside But You’re Warm - Lup and Barry mutual pining. Prompt Request.

Strings - Lup and Barry just performed their song. Lup has a few final doubts.

What If She’s Just Gone? - Barry’s anxieties get away from him when Lup is missing. Prompt request.

Will You Marry Me - Barry does what he has to. Prompt Request.

Reactions - The twins deal with Barry being ill. Prompt Request.

Curse and Canyon - Barry is hurt. Lup is trying to deal. Prompt Request.

Take a Picture - Lup is frustrated. Prompt request.

Your Laugh is so Adorable - Lup does some reluctant pining. Prompt request.

Don’t Touch Me - Barry and Lup short experimental piece.

Gathering - Taako plans a party. Prompt request.

It was the Pottery - Taako teasing Barry. Prompt request.

Super Short & Cutesy - Barry and Lup in the lab. Prompt request.

What You Did Was Stupid - Barry and Lup on Tesseralia. Prompt request.

This One is Really Dark - You’ve been warned. Prompt request.

Let Me Help You - Prompt request for Barry & Lup.

You Don’t Have to Act Like You’re Okay - Prompt request for Barry and Lup.

Pride - Prompt based minific of Lup coming to Barry’s rescue at a Pride event.

Hotel Balcony - A prompt based modern meet-cute for Barry and Lup.

Hotel Balcony Pt 2 - Hey look, there’s more!

Contradictions - Test minific/opener for the Barry POV fic.

Lup and Barry switch - Lup is the one that falls from the Starblaster, taking Taako with her.

At the Wedding - Barry and Lup at Carey and Killian’s wedding. Quick scene inspired by a post.

True Seeing - Barry in a voidfished body with a group of adventurers. Short group write piece.

TazDelightful’s personality swap - A short piece with Taako and Evocation Specialist Barry talking, the echo of their beach discussion in an AU where Barry is the rowdy flame mage and Lup is the nerdy science officer.

Whumptober Prompts: A set of prompts for October 2019, all focused on angst and “whump.” Despite the focus, many of them do still have happy endings or at least, given the nature of Stolen Century, imply an eventual happy ending, since they still fit roughly within canon.

First fourteen prompts - The first fourteen days of prompts were strung together into a single story. Links at the bottom will lead through the story. This is a sort of general angst piece that delves into sci fi magical realism. 

Breathless - Lup wakes up alone. Set post S&S.

Pinned Down - Barry and Lup encounter a problem trying to get across a battlefield to return to the Starblaster.

Stay With Me - Once again, fate keeps them from having a certain conversation.

Bound - Barry dies again. This might be his worst one yet.

Asphyxiation - Lup is nervous about getting in a body again after so long being noncorporeal.

Trembling - Lup and Barry and a few, final minutes.

Laced Drink - A poisoned drink makes Lup reassess priorities.

Hallucination - Barry wakes up sure a terrible situation is happening again.

Other Short TAZ Pieces:

Love is Dead - Taakitz Soulmate/Soulmark AU with Blupjeans background. Also on AO3.

Just Like the Movies - Taakitz first Candlenights. Also on AO3.

Getting Home - Super short Magnulia prompt

Second Chances - When Lucretia gets the second void fish she realizes she can inoculate Davenport and talk to him.

Just You and Me - JohnChurch prompt request.

Karma is a Bitch/What Did You Say? - Taako & Barry’s friendship prompt request.

Can You Keep a Secret? - Taako & Barry’s friendship prompt request.

What if the Stones of Farspeech hadn’t been confiscated? - THB and others develop a friendship with the mystery contacts in their stones. Short group write piece.

Meta, Etc

Headcanons:

[The Twins | Taako & Lup]

[The Lover | Barry]

[The Protector | Magnus]

[The Lonely Journal Keeper | Lucretia | The Director]

[The Peacemaker | Merle]

[The Wordless One | Davenport]

[Kravitz]

[Miscellaneous]

Meta:

Lucretia and the Red Robes (Pt 1) Lucretia and the Red Robes (Pt 2)

A list of every conversation Lucretia has with the boys about the Red Robes and a discussion of her thought process/intentions. Part 2 focuses specifically on how her words in Ep 59 may have influenced Magnus’s decisions going forward.

Murder or Suicide: What is it when lich!Barry sets up his living!Barry body to die?

Other:

TAZ Balance Characters as WoW Classes

[angstytieflingbard]

Platonic Taako x Deity!Reader

Request:  “I saw that requests were open and that you wrote for the adventure zone, And honestly? Amazing. I was wondering if you could like write a platonic thing of Taako and the reader being friends, and like the entire time the reader hid that they were like a god or something, and maybe Taakos reaction to it? Thank you for your time, and have a great day!” -Anon

Summary: (Y/N), also known as Sashelas, deity of the sea, gets caught up in the Bureau of Balance as they attempt to uncover what exactly is going on in Faerun. This is a series of moments along that journey, and how they became friends with a certain chaotic elven wizard along the way. 

WARNING: Non-graphic descriptions of canon-typical violence, light angst, spoilers regarding Taako’s backstory.

A/N: This was really fun to do! It ended up being a lot longer than I was expecting, it’s a full six pages, but I’m actually pretty proud of it! I took a bit of creative liberty with the prompt, I hope you don’t mind anon. It was nice to explore a bit of Forgotten Realms lore, particularly with aquatic elves, which are my favorite playable race in DnD. Anyways, enjoy the story, and if anyone reading this likes it or wants me to write something else, feel free to shoot me an ask! 

~~~~~~~

You stood back to back with Taako, fending off strange crystal and robot monsters in the depths of Leon’s laboratory. This was your first mission in the Bureau of Balance, having just become an agent after tracking the organization down with the help of a boy named Angus. 

It had been an ordeal, taking a mortal form and leaving your ocean domain, but it had been necessary. One of the few friends you had amongst the other gods, Pan, had grown increasingly concerned over the events in the material plane, and after a short chat with Istus, who had agreed that the mortals could use a helping hand, you had offered to go down for him. You had always been more involved than your peers in the guiding of your people, though land-dwellers were relatively new to you. 

As it turned out, the conspiracy you had come to investigate spanned the entire continent of Faerun, and it centered around this strange organization. So, of course, you joined up, and after a short incident where you stopped someone from stealing the Gaia Sash as the “Tres Horny Boys” returned to base with it, you were made a reclaimer. 

That led you to now, running a crystal-robot monster through with your trident and the eccentric elven wizard behind you cursing as he shot off a string of offensive spells. 

“Shit!” Taako cried out as he got clipped with a sword. You spun and pulled him behind you, nearly decapitating the thing that attacked him. 

“You good?” You asked, sparing a moment to glance him over for obvious injuries before returning your focus to the legion of enemies around you. 

“I’m alive, though I don’t know how long that’s gonna last!” He replied with a whine. 

“You can die after we’re done!” He cackled at that, and despite your words, you went out of your way to bump shoulders with him, transferring some of your magical energy to him. If there was one thing you were glad to retain in this mortal form, it was that, if only for its usefulness in keeping your spellcasting party members on this side of the veil. 

As you both threw yourselves back into the fight, you resolved to talk to him more after this. If you both survived that is. 

~~~

“There is something I can give all of you.” Istus told your group. You’d been uncomfortable ever since you walked in, not enjoying the feeling of being in another deities place of worship. She had essentially ignored you, much to your relief. 

“There will come a decision, some time in your future. It will be a difficult one. And when it comes, I will give you time to decide.” All of you shared a few glances. 

“I mean, that sounds pretty chill.” Taako answered for all of you, and she nodded. 

“Then, I will fulfill that promise now.” Behind her, a small portal opened, and she stepped into it, returning after only a short moment, wiping a tear from her eyes as she faced all of you. 

“You’re going to be amazing.” She said, and with a single nod to you, she disappeared, time speeding back up as the temple fell around you all. 

~~~ 

A knock on your bedroom door startled you from your nightly routine. You quickly moved to open it, peeking out into the living room of the dorm you shared with the other reclaimers. 

Taako stood in front of your door, looking pitifully at you. He was wearing plain pajamas, with a star-patterned blanket around his shoulders and his long blonde hair falling messily over his shoulders and down his back. 

“Sorry if I woke you up, um…” He paused, hesitant. 

“Come in. I was just getting ready for bed.” You opened the door wider and he slipped past you into your room. He paused for only a moment to take in your decorations before he moved to sit on your bed. 

“You like the ocean, I see. I should have guessed, from the trident and all.” He said uncharacteristically softly, a ghost of a smile appearing on his face. You hummed in agreement, sitting next to him. 

“Are you okay, Taako?” He took a deep, shuddering breath, avoiding your eyes as he mustered up a response. 

“I wanted to talk about what happened in Refuge. With the chalice.” You nodded in understanding. The chalice had shown all of you your biggest regrets, offered to erase them, at the price of being the new holder of the relic. It had been tempting, you had to admit. Deities have many regrets over the course of their eternities, and you were no exception. But you had remembered the Bureau, the people you had befriended, and knowing you would risk the chance of having ever met them at all, you had refused the offer. 

“What did he show you?” You asked softly, taking his hands in your own in an attempt at comfort. There was a pause, then he choked out a small sob, shoulders shaking. 

He told you what he’d been shown, his greatest failure. Told you of Sazed, and his betrayal, the death of the people of Glamor Springs. By the end, he was curled up against you, shuddering as he held back tears. 

“She was right when she said that was my worst regret. But now… I think my greatest regret was letting ever letting Sazed travel with me. Or even worse, having loved him.” You sighed softly. 

“You couldn’t have known what he’d do. It wasn’t your fault, Taako. It never was and it never will be.” 

You fell asleep curled up next to him, hands intertwined, the bond between you stronger than ever.

~~~

You waited for the pod to arrive to pick all of you up, more tired than you’d ever been in the time you’d been mortal as you laid in the grass outside Barry Bluejeans’ cave hide-out. 

“That was absolute bullshit.” Taako said, sitting down next to you. He had helped Magnus arrange his belongings so they’d be relatively easy to hold even in his new mannequin form, and had talked Barry into his pocket spa. Merle and Magnus were still a few feet away now, talking quietly about something you couldn’t hear. 

“It was. I get the feeling going back to the Bureau is gonna be equally as shitty.” You said, sitting up. 

“You know what, (Y/N)? I’m getting real tired of you being right about things.” You laughed. 

“Well, guess you’re gonna be tired forever then.” 

The pod arrived and you all hopped on, bracing yourselves for what was to come. 

~~~

You shuddered, recovering from the feeling of drinking the ichor of a voidfish for the second time. The director, Lucretia, was talking Taako, Magnus, Merle, and Davenport through the sudden regaining of apparently a century of memories. Carey, Killian, Noel and you all listened in rapt attention, you with dawning horror and anger as Lucretia explained what she had done to them. 

“Do you even realize what you’ve done?” You said as soon as she finished explaining. Several pairs of eyes landed on you. 

“You couldn’t understan-” She started, but you cut her off. 

“The hell I couldn’t! You made the entire universe incapable of processing even the concept of the Hunger, and then you went ahead and brought it here. And now, the entire world is under attack by these things and they can’t even see them! They can’t even defend themselves!” Lucretia’s grip on her staff tightened as horror dawned on her face. 

“I just… I can fix this, I just need a bit more time to cast the shield. Please.” 

“Lucretia, you can’t do this! You’ll destroy every bond in the world, you know this.” Lucretia shook her head, pointedly ignoring Barry’s words. 

Taako sighed deeply, turning away from her. 

“Fine, whatever.” 

“Taako, please you have to understand-” 

“Lucretia, you realize Taako just found out he lost his sister?” Magnus interrupted her, turning to Taako. 

“Taako, I know it wasn’t the way you wanted, but… You found her.” 

“Let me make something clear.” Taako said finally, his gazing slowly crossing over everyone in the room. 

“I appreciate what you’re doing, and I’m on board for whatever the plan is. But understand this: I have nothing, and I don’t give a shit. The world is ending, and I. Don’t. Care.” You frown at his words, settling a hand on his shoulder for just a moment. He shakes his head at you silently and you sigh, moving away from him. 

At that moment, the glass ceiling shatters, and the room floods with black opal monstrosities. 

~~~

“Kraavitz!” Taako cries, pulling his reaper boyfriend from the portal in the black glass circle under your feet. You smile, glancing at the two for a moment before throwing yourself at another enemy attempting to get past you. 

By the time there’s a big enough gap between waves to take a breather with the rest of the group, Taako, Kraavitz and Lup have all caught up. You smile, noticing the wizards’ disguise spell is gone, and bump shoulders with him as you stand next to him. He grins at you. 

“(Y/N)! This is my boyfriend, Kraavitz. You saw him in Leon’s lab I think?” 

“Yeah, I remember him. You’d already caught him with the tentacles by the time I got involved in that fight though, I think.” Taako laughed. Kraavitz glanced you over curiously, suddenly going still as he realized something. 

“Kraavitz? You good?” Taako asked. Kraavitz took a short step back, bowing respectfully. 

“Sashelas! I had no idea you would be here, I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself sooner…” You winced as Lup, Barry and Taako turned turned their attention to Kraavitz’ exclamation. 

“You really don’t need to do that… Especially since I didn’t tell anyone who I was…” You grumbled, and Kraavitz flustered. 

“Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to, uh, blow your cover or anything.” He grimaced. 

“You couldn’t have known.” There was a moment of silence, before Taako cut in. 

“Hey, what the fuck was that? Why’d he call you Sashelas?” You groaned. 

“Well, you already know my name’s (Y/N), but to the aquatic elves, and the other gods, I’m known as Sashelas, or Deep Sashelas if you wanna be fancy.” 

“The other gods?” Taako asked incredulously. You glanced around, eyes catching on another skirmish in the distance. 

“Wow, look, more things to fight! I’m gonna… go do that.” You exclaimed, charging off into battle.

~~~

It had been hours since the battle ended. The sky had cleared of the black opal of the Hunger, but the Starblaster hadn’t returned yet. 

“They’ll come back. They wouldn’t leave us now, not after everything that’s happened.” Kraavitz said, sitting down next to you. 

“I know. Doesn’t mean I’m not gonna worry about them while they’re gone.” With that, you settled into a comfortable silence as you waited. 

It was only about twenty minutes later that a bright light appeared in the sky, shining brilliantly for just a moment before going out, as though to announce the return of the Starblaster. 

The moment the ship settled on the ground, Taako vaulted over the railing of the deck and made his way over to you and Kraavitz. 

“Hey! Sorry we took so long.” Taako apologized as he approached. He hugged Kraavitz and gave him a quick, sweet kiss before he turned to you. 

“I think we need to talk, if you don’t mind.” You nodded. Kraavitz smiled sympathetically at you, moving to give the two of you a moment to yourselves. 

“So…” You started. Taako laughed. 

“So, you’ve been an ocean god this whole time and didn’t tell me?” He asked, an eyebrow raised. You winced. 

“Yeah. I’m sorry. I came up to investigate some of the things that the Bureau had been responsible for, and then I made friends with Angus and just got caught up…” 

“Well, it’s a little reassuring I guess. You’re a literal god and you still hang out with me, so I can’t be that bad.” You shook your head. 

“Not bad at all. Pretty fucking great, actually.” You paused. “I meant it when I said what happened wasn’t your fault. He made the choices he did, and you couldn’t help that. Glamor Springs couldn’t have either.” Taako nodded slowly at your words. He took your hand in his, squeezing it reassuringly. 

“I assume you’ll have to go back to wherever you were hanging out before?” 

“Yes. I’ve been away from Iumiathiashae for too long. The aquatic elves can be surprisingly needy, when they want to be.” You joked. 

“You’re welcome to visit whenever you like, though. I’m sure they’d love to host one of the saviors of Faerun.” Taako laughed at that. 

“I might take you up on that!” He paused for a second. “It’s still a little wild, though. I mean, my best friend is a god!” You smiled, squeezing his hand once before letting go. You stood, stretching. 

“It’s about time I go. It’ll be a relief once I get to the ocean, I’ll be able to drop this mortal form of mine.” Taako stood up with you. 

“Promise you’ll keep in touch?” 

“Always.”

[ink-on-parxhment]

with you, with me

Prompt: I’m with you, you know that. 

Fandom: The Adventure Zone, Balance

Rating: T

Summary:  Barry has his family back. Now, if only Barry could remember that.

He looks around, and he swears he’s seen this place before. There’s something familiar about the layout, about the vendors that are set up in the main plaza. His feet take him to a pub that he can’t remember the name of, but he finds a table and it feels like his. He sees a brightly dressed drow exchange pleasantries with a tall orc woman, and he doesn’t know why panic sweeps through him at the sight of their metal bracers, but it does. He’s up and moving before they have a chance to get a good look at him and then he’s gone.

He’s caught out by bandits three days later, dead before he has a chance to fight back, and then power surges through him like a wave.

Lup. The Hunger. Lucretia. Taako. MagnusMerleDavenportLupLupLup.

But Lup is gone and he cannot find the others and he is the only one left that has the power and the will to find her.

Then he is back in a body with explicit instructions to get to Phandalin. He’s back in a tavern that feels too familiar, at a table that feels like his. He doesn’t have a clue who he’s meeting. He doesn’t really know who he is. There’s something he’s got to stop, someone he’s got to find, he feels it like he feels the emptiness in his bones, but he has no idea what or who it is. He meets three gentlemen, if they can be called that, and more progress is made than what feels like has been made in months. They go off, and he goes off to figure out if anyone has any details about his mystery person.

Then the dwarf comes back, blazing with magic. He sees Taako in the distance holding an umbrella and he has just enough time for utter despair to wash through him before static hits his brain so hard he blacks out.

And then he’s dead again, floating above Phandalin.

He was so, so close. His family was right there, and he didn’t have the memories to saying anything.

Taako has the umbrastaff. Taako found Lup. But. But. Where? LupLupLupLup

“Babe. Hey babe. Wake up for me, hon.”

His heart stutters at the voice he’d only heard in dreams for a long time. There’s a hand on his shoulder and he fights down the impulse of threat, run, fight, because he has to know if it’s her. He opens his eyes, squinting in the darkness, and meets blue-green eyes he’s been in love with for sixty years. There’s a strangled whine in the air that he is vaguely aware that he is making, and he reaches up to interlock their fingers. Her hands are strong, fire-scarred and chipped paint and he loves them because even like this she can steady him with just a touch.

“Hey,” he says, and it comes out as barely more than a croak.

It’s quiet for a second, and then he feels her other hand on his cheek. Her fingers come away wet and it is only then that he realizes that he is crying, tears coming in a steady stream that he has no idea how to stop.

“You wanna tell me what’s wrong?” her voice is a quiet balm in the darkness, and a part of him doesn’t want her to ever stop talking. If he can hear her it means that she’s here, it means that he’s found her, that he’s not alone.

He nods, pressing the heel of one hand against one of his eyes in a futile attempt to stop crying. They’ve haven’t tried to hide nightmares from one another for decades, and even after that they realized that bottling up emotions wasn’t the best idea as a lich. He has no idea what would happen now that they’re reapers.

“Was it the Hunger?” she asked, and he can’t quite hold back a smile. She’s never been very patient.

She’s blurry around the edges when he opens his eyes, and he realizes she’s moved back a little bit to give him room to breathe. Without his glasses the space is too much for him to be able to bring her face into focus, so he holds his hand out and summons the glasses to him. This isn’t a conversation he wants to have if he can’t see her.

“No. No, it wasn’t the Hunger. Not, not really this time.” It’s hard to get the words out. Out of everything, it feels ridiculous for this to be what has brought him to tears. He died countless times, and he knows that he would have done it again. He watched his family die, his homeworld be destroyed. But, now that he looks back on it, the ten years he spent cycling through bodies in search of them feels like it took more of a toll on him than the entire century did.

Losing them all hurt more. That’s for sure.

He doesn’t continue immediately, but he feels Lup’s fingers interlock with his and feels stronger for it.

“It was after. After you went after the gauntlet. After Lucretia enacted her plan. I was so close so many times, you know. I never gave up looking for you. It took me years, but I was in Phandalin. I met Taako, and Merle and Magnus. But I didn’t have a single memory. I was so close. They were right there. And then I died. And they didn’t know who Barry Bluejeans was, so I couldn’t just come back, you know? I was by myself that whole time, and she had the nerve to make me the enemy. We spent a hundred years together, Lup. How does that—?”

The hand that is holding his is squeezing hard enough to hurt, but her other hand comes up and gently brushes more tears off his cheeks. “I don’t have the answers you’re looking for, hon. But what I do know is this. I’m with you, you know that. I’m with you now, and I’ll be with you until the very end. This job we’ve gotten ourselves into has made sure of that. Our family knows you now. We all have our memories, and we are all safe. We’re all right here. We did it. We saved the world. And no matter what anyone believed, no one in any universe thinks you’re anything but a hero now.”

He smiles, pulls her closer. “You’re my hero, you know.”

“Sap.” She says, but she’s grinning in the darkness. “Love you.”

“Always and forever.”

[boneless-mika]

My Favorite The Adventure Zone: Balance Fanmade Songs

If you’ve somehow missed it I love The Adventure Zone and I love to listen to music. There are a few songs for this show created by fans and these are my favorites. This post doesn’t have spoilers (except for the fate of Barry Bluejeans and it does mention characters who aren’t brought up until later) but most of the songs are super spoilery.

Taako’s Good Out Here by Nerdification (Taako)

This is all about Taako not wanting to risk getting hurt unless he gets gold for it. It’s very catchy. Taako’s good out here is the central message of this song. “’cause there’s nobody left to shed a tear if Taako disappears.” :(

Picture This by Hghrules (Lucretia)

This song is about Lucretia’s feelings about the thing she does at the end of The Stolen Century and how she’s dealing with the consequences. “Now I feel failure when you think you understand.”

Redacted by Jacob Ryan Smith and Gina Smith (Lucretia)

Again, we follow Lucretia but this time it’s how she comes to make the decision she does. She’s very distraught over it and this song makes me cry almost every time I listen to it. “A story isn’t good if we all hate the ending.”

Stipulation by Go! Child (Johann)

This is sung by Johann and takes place very late in Balance and it’s quite sad but it’s also just packed with spoilers. All I can say is “Don’t let the world forget me.”

An Idiot by phemiec (Taako)

Taako’s backstory basically. It makes a neat reference to his taco quest but it’s super serious. It’s about the two biggest things in his backstory which are kinda spoilers. “I have been an idiot, missing some key ingredient.”

The Good Old Days by emmacan (Lucretia)

This is about her regret over the thing she did and how she doesn’t really want anyone to know what happened. “Sister-shaped holes and reckless abandon.”

Waiting Game by Nerdification (Barry Bluejeans and Lup)

A wonderful duet between Lup and Barry about what’s happened to them and how they relate to the tres horny boys. “Struggling to speak, to make them understand.”, “Used to be a fire. Now I'm just a spark. But I help where I can. Reaching from the dark.  Lending power whether he's in hell or in the kitchen. He may not remember me but I am always with him.”

12 Days/7 Birds by emmacan (The Listener)

This is an outside perspective on the story and discusses what the singer “sees”. It’s incredibly sad just because it retells the saddest parts of the story in a very poetic way. “I see a woman who sees her best friends but they never really see her.”

End Our Story by Hghrules (Magnus)

Magnus’ perspective on the thing Lucretia does when he first discovers that she’s doing it. He’s supportive but also very sad. He just wants Lucretia to end their story on a happy note. “The light inside your eyes is glinting off of fischers tank.”

Magnus Reflects by Nerdification (Magnus)

The title is accurate, Magnus reflects in this song. He reflects over his love for Julia. “Time became a treasure, loving her. Every day more special than before.”

A Thousand Petals by Nerdification (Sloane and Hurley)

A song that makes me cry as soon as I read the title. It’s a duet between Sloane and Hurley at the end of Petals to the Metal and don’t fucking listen to this if you haven’t listened to Petals to the Metal. In other cases I’d say getting spoiled is fine but if you listen to this you aren’t going to be able to listen to any episodes of Petals to the Metal without crying. “A thousand grains of sand beneath my feet, crushed below the wheels as we speed ahead.”

[miamaroo]

Chapters: 27/? Fandom: The Adventure Zone (Podcast) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Barry Bluejeans/Lup, Julia Burnsides/Magnus Burnsides, Davenport/Merle Highchurch, Kravitz/Taako (The Adventure Zone), Starblaster Family, Minor or Background Relationship(s) Characters: The Director | Lucretia, Magnus Burnsides, Davenport (The Adventure Zone), Merle Highchurch, Taako (The Adventure Zone), Lup (The Adventure Zone), Barry Bluejeans, Julia Burnsides, The Hunger | John, Avi (The Adventure Zone), Killian (The Adventure Zone), Ren (The Adventure Zone), Johan (The Adventure Zone), Angus McDonald, Ensemble, Original Child Character(s), Sloane (The Adventure Zone), Kravitz (The Adventure Zone) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Slow Burn, Spoilers for taz balance, Angst and Humor, Team as Family, What if Lucretia doesn’t wipe everyone’s memories and the IPRE get to hunt down the relics together

Summary: Fate pulls a string: Magnus doesn't put on his shoes and Lucretia doesn't wipe everyone's memories. All knowledge of the Grand Relics is erased, ending the war they had released onto this world, but the Seven Birds still have each other. Finally, they are free to stop running, start living, and move on with their lives.

Then the Hunger finds them.

Now they have one year to come back together, reclaim their relics, and stop the apocalypse once and for all. But time has changed everything, and they're not the only ones seeking to claim the Grand Relics as their own. But after twelve years of hiding from the living storm, are the Seven Birds still meant to be the heroes of the multiverse or is there a new story in flight?

After so much complaining, it’s finally here! Even though I’m a week late, I want to take the opportunity now to thank everyone who’s been here for this fic for the past year. Writing this story has helped me to recover from a rough period of my life, and that’s because of the massive amounts of support you guys have shown me and this story I started on a whim. 

To quote the parting message in this chapter’s notes: “I don't think I could've made it this far into the plot in such little time without you. I hope we can have another year together, one where stories continue to inspire change in ourselves and the world in which we live in. Goodness knows, I can't wait to see it. Thank you. Xoxoxoxo”

[patriciasage]

The Wordless One

Author: Patricia_Sage

Fandom: The Adventure Zone - Balance

Summary: Davenport may not be able to speak, but there isn’t a mystery on this plane that Angus McDonald can’t solve.

[chapter one of two]

posted in full under the break but you can find me on AO3!!

She is with Magnus when he forgets, and she takes care of him the best she can. She helps him to the ground, so he doesn’t fall like a tree, and then casts Sleep. She gently brushes his hair out of his face, noting that even unconscious he’s grimacing.

She wants to take a moment to breathe, but she doesn’t have the time yet. She needs to get to Barry and Taako next, before they do something reckless in their panic. She rushes up the stairs to the deck of the Starblaster where they spend each night planning and worrying. The walls of the stairwell feel like they’re closing in. She perseveres.

She’s not sure what she expected to see, but it wasn’t this. There’s a hole blasted through the railing and Barry is nowhere to be seen. Taako is crumpled like an abandoned doll on the deck, hyperventilating. His wand, barely clinging to his shaking hand, is still smoking.

“Taako,” she calls out softly as she approaches. He whirls at the sound of his name and the expression on his face nearly breaks her.

His ears are low and flat. His skin, normally a warm brown, is washed out, and his dark eyes are ablaze with panic, confusion, and fear. He scrambles away from her like a wounded animal. “Who are you? Where am I? What the fuck is going on!?”

She has to account for everyone. “Where’s Barry? The other man who was here.”

“I-I don’t…” he points with his wand to the broken railing. “He told me to kill him. I didn’t know what to do – I just did it. Who was that? Why did I do that?” His hair is falling in front of his face like a curtain, some strands sticking to the tears on his cheeks. “I’m sorry! He told me to – I’m sorry!” He’s looking at her like she’s going to blast him in retaliation.

She puts her hands up. “Taako, it’s alright. I’m not going to hurt you.” He doesn’t believe her, and the fierce distrust hurts more than she thought it would. He’s breathing in ragged gasps, pushing his back against the other railing. Taako’s a proud elf; she’s never seen him like this. She thinks of his past, carefully shared by Lup one lonely night, and hates herself for making him defend himself again.

Oh, Lup. Forgive me for what I’ve done.

Sleep is a contact spell. She dreads what she has to do. “Taako. I know you’re scared and confused, and your head probably feels really strange. Please, let me help you.”

“Who the fuck are you? How do I know you didn’t do this to me?” That breaks through her fragile defenses and she can’t stop a few tears from falling.

“Taako, please.”

He tries to fight her when she approaches, but she disarms him before he can cast any spells. She touches his arm and casts Sleep. He slumps to the ground and she lets herself cry.

But only for a moment.

The last two were in the stateroom this evening for their weekly tabletop game. She collides with a confused and frantic Merle on his way out. They blink at each other for a moment before she sends him to sleep as well, catching him as he falls.

Davenport is sitting at the table when she enters, cards scattered and abandoned in front of him. He’s holding his head in his hands, muttering to himself.

“Captain?” Lucretia calls out softly.

He looks up. “Davenport,” he says.

He doesn’t usually correct her. She doesn’t know what to say. “Listen, I’m so sorry. I know it’s inconsequential now and you don’t even know who I am. But I’m so sorry, sir, I’ll fix everything.”

He’s looking at her with confusion. “Davenport,” he says.

Her heart stops. Something is wrong.  “Sir?”

“Davenport!”

His expression is similar to what she saw on Magnus, Taako, and Merle. But there’s also frustration as his mouth seems to grope around words he can’t say. He says his name again. She’s terrified.

She touches his shoulder and protects his head from hitting the table when he goes limp. She prays to any god listening that this is a temporary side-effect, that he will wake up and talk to her.

She casts a careful enchantment on the other three so that they don’t remember being on the ship, but she’s too worried to try the same with Davenport, who remains unconscious on the Starblaster with her for now.

She places Taako in a caravan near New Elfington and, as she stands on his front step, she hears him groaning about a hangover. His mind appears to have filled in the gaps she created (potentially devastating, Lup-sized gaps and 100 years of static).

She purchases a house for Magnus in the community of Raven’s Roost and watches him unpack for a few hours just to make sure he’s okay.

If there’s one thing she knows about Merle, it’s how much he loves the beach. She places him in a little cottage. The first thing he does in the morning is collect a pocketful of shells and plants.

And when she returns, she rouses her captain.

“Davenport?” he mumbles. Even though she was expecting it, it still aches when the flickering and desperate bit of hope is extinguished. His identity as a pilot, a leader, an adventurer – it was too much to take away. The guilt almost crushes her on the spot. She can’t leave him somewhere to start a new life like she did with the others. She has to keep him close, keep him safe.

She offers him a job. He nods.

They build the Bureau of Balance together.

[rockindragonz]

Home Is Where the Taaco’s Are

Angus McDonald would never allow himself to be a burden on anyone, so he tries to make it on his own following the Day of Story and Song. He ends up in an orphanage with too many kids, too few caretakers, and too little money. When Taako and Kravitz find out, they will not let that stand any longer.

Rating: General Audiences

Words: 4333

Chapters: 1/1

Read on Ao3

No one really talks about what they saw, or rather didn’t see, that day.  It's never mentioned when the Day of Story and Song comes around.  For many, it is a day of celebration, but, for many more, it is a day of mourning and loss.  So many died to the monsters before anyone could see them.  So many husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, children and grandparents.  Everyone knew someone who had died without being able to see their attacker, all they felt was blood spilling from them by the gallon.  What they do talk about is the story of the seven birds and how courageous and wonderful these people were.  They talk of the Bureau of Balance and some speak of Carey, Killian, and Angus who had the privilege of fighting beside the old adventurers.

Its weird for a while for Angus.  Going to school and trying to have a normal life all while being so related to the seven people who saved countless realities.  When he’s first recognized on the street as Angus McDonald, member of the Bureau of Balance, he is in shock.  People crowd him and ask him so many of questions about the IPRE crew that he loses track of them.

For the crew, the year immediately following the Day of Story and Song was the hardest.  Taako and Kravitz had rushed headfirst into their relationship and had spent as much time together as possible.  Magnus began to rebuild Raven’s Roost after the destruction it had faced.  Lup and Barry joined up with the Raven Queen, so they weren’t around much.  Lucretia spent all of her time trying to fix all the mistakes she had made and created the Bureau of Benevolence to aid in repairation efforts.  Merle moved to the beach and became the leader of a city he now ran.  And Davenport all but disappeared off the map.

As for Angus, he no longer had a home.  He was alone once again, without a mother or father to speak of, and his grandfather’s grave had been destroyed in the attacks.  He applied to Lucas’s school and got in with no problems.  But now he was living in an orphanage where there were too many kids, not enough caretakers, and not nearly enough money.  Many children had been orphaned on that fateful day.  Despite everything, Angus found himself happier than he had ever been.  He was learning new and challenging things and he was visiting constantly with Taako and Kravitz who lived so close to his school.  He was finally living the life a child deserves to live.  No one knew where Angus was calling home, no one even really knew that Angus had no family in Faerun that he could have lived with.  Whenever the subject was brought up, he changed it quickly with a dismissive answer and tried to focus on something not related to his living conditions at all.

That’s how it went for the first year.  Everything was calm and quiet and everyone had a new appreciation for life and love.

It's been almost three years since the day or Story and Song now and Angus is still in the orphanage.  Prospective parents have been few and far between for the orphanage this year and donations haven’t been large enough to support the displaced children so there wasn’t enough food to go around.  Besides that, Angus had some massive finals coming up that kept him locked in his shared room most days.  Those two things combined over the course of a month meant that Angus was starting to show some bone in his ribcage.  He was constantly hungry now, but he ignored it and continued working towards his goal of becoming as good of a wizard as Taako was.

His final for the year was held on the day before the Day of Story and Song, so the day after was when he finally found himself with enough time to once again visit Taako and Kravitz.  Normally the gang would gather in one house to celebrate and relate stories, but the party had been put off for a day or so because Davenport had gotten stranded briefly in some remote part of the world and refused out of dignity to let Kravitz help him.  Before knocking on the familiar wooden door, Angus hesitated.  He knew Taako was more on this day and he really didn’t want to bother him, but his decision was made for him when a surprisingly casually dressed reaper opened the door.

Kravitz blinked down at Angus twice before grinning ear to ear.  “Angus!  I was just about to head to the store to get some stuff for dinner, will you be joining us?”

“Oh, no sir, I wouldn’t want to bother you two, I know you’re both very-” he was cut off by a loud growl from his stomach that caught him totally off guard.  The growling had stopped weeks ago but apparently the mention of Taako’s delicious food reactivated it.

“I’ll take that as a yes.  Go ahead and go inside, Taako is just in the kitchen getting some things prepared.”  Kravitz clapped him on the shoulder and stepped away from the wooden door and past Angus.  Hesitantly, Angus stepped into the warm home.

“Sir?  Mr. Kravitz let me in,” Angus said, calling towards where he knew the kitchen was.

“Angus, I’m in the kitchen, do me a favor and come give cha’boy a hand,” Taako responded.  Angus nodded to himself and dropped his book bag on the cozy couch that stood facing a lit fire.  He stared for a moment at the flames that licked up and around the logs burning, and he thought of Lup immediately as he stared.  Honestly, Angus was surprised she and Barry weren’t here; the twins were usually inseparable today.  Shaking his head, Angus walked to the kitchen to lend Taako the hand he had asked for.

“How can I help sir?”

“Just hand me stuff and put things I give you in the sink or something, I don’t really care as long as they get the fuck out of my way,” Taako said, passing him a dirty dish.  Angus nodded and dutifully placed it in the sink and ran the water to clean the bowl out a bit.  “Ango, gimme the salt.”  And so Angus did.  Things continued like this for a while, both of them existing in comfortable silence, despite the teasing that usually occurred at Angus’ expense.  Taako said nothing besides a few short words to indicate what he needed next for the recipe.  At one point, Angus got the feeling that Taako didn’t really need his help, he could tell in the way Taako would go to reach for something and then hesitate and ask Angus to grab it for him.  Honestly, Angus had no idea why the usually flippant man would allow him to help out, but he wasn’t complaining, anything was better than being stuck at that orphanage ny longer than he had to be.

“That’ll do boyo, we can chillax now and watch Fantasy Queer Eye if you want, though Krav might kill me if we watch a new ep without him.” Taako spoke loudly, almost as if he were trying to get someone else in the house to hear him, as he dried his hands off on a dish towel.

“Whatever sounds great to me sir!” Angus said with a smile he hoped was convincing.  The food he could smell that was now baking kept causing his stomach to growl loudly, but if Taako had noticed, he hadn’t said anything about it.  Taako plopped down on the couch in what Angus knew to be his usual place and waved his hand at the small TV above the fireplace.  A rerun episode of Fantasy Queer Eye came on, one where they were trying to help a gay man get a sense of style that he obviously didn’t have.  Occasionally, Taako would scoff at the clothing choices one of them would make for the client and he would mutter things like “Oh so you think you know everything about clothing, don’t you Tan?”  In these instances, Angus would only smile to himself in a fond way one would if one’s father was acting silly.

“So...how’re...things?” Taako said.  He had obviously grown bored with the rerun and was now trying to rope Angus into a long conversation about his life.

“Things are good, I am doing very well in school!”

“Yeah, no surprise there, boy wonder,” Taako said with a snort, “what are they feeding you over there anyways?  You look like skin and bone my dude.  I’m gonna have to take that up with Lucas and make sure that shithead is feeding you guys right.”

“There’s no need for that sir, I’m just...sick is all.”

“No, no, no, I know sick and this is not that,” he said with a scowl, “have you eaten a proper meal in the last few weeks?  I’m talking something other than a shitty ass school sandwich and a granola bar.”

“Oh sir, the shows back on!  I love this part of the episode, it’s so funny.”  Angus turned his face to watch the TV and rested his head in his hands, hoping to mask the bit of bone that had begun to show around his jaw area.  With no warning, the TV was shut off.  Angus turned to look at Taako only to be faced with a serious look that he had rarely, if ever, seen on Taako’s face.

“Angus, what is really going on?  I’m not a moron you know, I know malnutrition when I see it, and boy, am I seein it right now.”  Angus sighed and let his hands fall into his lap.  He was torn between telling Taako the whole truth and lying about his whereabouts and his food intake.  Lying seemed to be the better and less inconvenient option.  “Don’t bullshit me or I will get Merle to pop over here and cast Zone of Truth.”  Again, Angus sighed a deep sigh.  Taako wasn’t going to give up until he was satisfied with the answer, was he?

“Okay, well, I’m living in a home where they don’t have a ton of money right now and we haven’t been able to get much food together.  Most people have spent their money on the rebuilding efforts so donations are low.”

“Wait a second there boyo,” Taako said, his eyebrows raising rapidly, “donations?  What, are you living on the streets now?”

“No, I have a bed sir, I’m not sleeping on the streets anymore.”

“Anymore?”

“Um, well yeah, after the Day of Story and Song three years ago, I had nowhere to go, so I was on the streets for a few weeks, but an orphanage took me in.”

“An orphanage?!  Are you fucking with me?!” Taako yelled, “You’ve been living in an orphanage with barely enough food, if any, for three fucking years and no one even bothered to check on you?”

“I didn’t want to impose on anyone, sir.  I felt wrong aking anyone from the BoB to take me in because I’m not their responsibility,” Angus said, voice soft.

“Well fuck that noise!”  Taako stood violently, knocking into the coffee table as he rose.  Kravitz chose that exact moment to enter the room carrying a small bag of rolls with him.  He looked from Taako to Angus and back with a look of total bewilderment.  Taako’s face was pure rage and Angus was sure his was one of fear and shock.

“What is going on here?” Kravitz said, his voice unnaturally calm given the current situation.

“Angus here hasn’t been telling us the whole fucking truth for three fucking years!” Taako shouted.

“What ‘whole truth’ is he talking about, Angus?”

“Ango here has been living in a fucking orphanage with nothing to eat for three.  Fucking.  Years.”  Taako spat.  “That shit doesn’t fly.  Krav, take us to the orphanage where Angus is staying so I can get those fucking adoption papers now.”  With those words, Taako stormed off to the kitchen.  Angus could hear some banging as he grabbed the dish out of the oven and dropped on one of the counters.  He heard Taako swearing a muttering to himself just loud enough that he could hear the noise, but couldn’t make out any of the words, he just knew that Taako was furious.

“I-I-I didn’t mean to make him angry Mr. Kravitz, I promise I didn’t, I’m just really tired and I’m not thinking straight and I couldn’t come up with a believable lie in time to tell him,” Angus said as he stood, “I just didn’t want to force anyone to take care of me, that’s-”  Before he could finish his sentence, he was wrapped up in a tight hug from Kravitz.  Despite Kravitz being dead and his skin being cold, Angus had never felt warmer in all his life.

“Angus, shhh, it’s okay, he isn’t mad at you,” Kravitz said in a soft tone, “he’s mad that he didn’t notice you were going through exactly what he and Lup had gone through back on their home world.”  Angus was stunned.  This information was new to him.  Of course, he could infer it what with how jumpy Taako seemed to get in a new place and how he always seemed to know the fastest exit out of any room, but he had never had such clear confirmation.  For a long while, they stood there, Angus wrapped up in Kravitz’s arms with his own down at his sides in shock.  It took him a moment to process all that was happening and, when he finally did, he felt tears begin to streak down his face.  He wrapped his arms tightly around Kravitz, who pulled him down onto the couch, never letting go of him for even a moment.  Kravitz combed his fingers through the thick and curly locks as Angus sobbed harder than he had in years.  Taako returned at some point and wrapped his arms around the other side of Angus, but no one could tell you when or exactly how it had happened, it just did.

Once Angus had finally calmed down fully, he pulled away from Kravitz, but was unable to escape Taako’s tight grasp.  It seemed as if Taako was unwilling to let go for fear that he might lose him or something.

“Don’t you ever do something like this again, okay Ango?  We are your dads now, and thats final.”  Taako spoke with such finality that Angus was once again overcome with emotions.  He wrapped his arms tightly around Taako’s neck and buried his face into it and found himself crying once more.  Not out of stress or fear but out of so much happiness that he couldn’t handle it on his own.  Taako was happy to oblige him, wrapping his arms tight around his magic boy.  They sat there for what felt like forever.  Kravitz eventually stood up and went to get something, and Angus faintly registered talking in a room a ways away, but he wasn’t coherent enough to process any of it.  After what felt like hours, Taako and Angus let go of each other and only stared.  Taako’s eyes were red and puffy just as Angus knew his were, but this was more of a comfort than anything to him.

“How’re you doing kiddo?” Kravitz said as he took his place on the couch once more.

“Better.”

“Good.  I just finished speaking with the lady who owns the shelter and she is aware that we are coming to get your things.  She sounded drunk.”

“I did some detective work while I was there and I think she knows that I found out she stole all the money we had for food this month to pay for her alcohol.”

“That would explain it,” Kravitz said with a laugh, “when we get there, grab your things and do not say a word to her.  Taako and I will deal with her and her employer.”

Angus only nodded in acknowledgement and went to stand up, but was stopped by a hand on his knee.

“Angus,” Taako began, “you are never a burden on any of us, remember that.”  His face was stone cold serious.  He hadn’t seen this look since three years ago when he was preparing to kick the shit out of Lucretia for lying to him.

“Okay.”

Once the three were calm and collected, they gathered a few bags and waited for Kravitz to rip a tear for them to travel to the orphanage with.  Upon their arrival, the woman was standing in front of the building with a scowl on her face.  She was yelling at a younger girl who was covered in mud.  Once she had been incredibly sweet and loving to all the children, but that was when people were giving all they could to the ‘poor little children who had lost their parents to the Hunger’.  Now she was bitter and mean and crude to all the kids she came across.  Taako cleared his throat as he stared her down.  She waved her hand dismissively and continued to berate the girl for getting her clothes messy, but Taako was having none of it.  He grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her to face him fully.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” she demanded before she laid eyes on him.  It was almost comical how wide her eyes got when she was Angus standing behind one of the seven birds.  She had known that he was related to them, but they never visited or even contacted him at the orphanage, so she thought they had forgotten about him completely.

“I’m Taako from TV,” he said.  And, with all the rage and anger he had pent up, he punched her square in the nose with all the force he had in his body.  Granted, it wasn’t much, but she fell backwards, out cold all the same.  Kravitz only whistled as she went down and the girl stared at Taako in awe.  Taako turned to the young girl and, with a wave of his hand, her dress was pristine again.  “Don’t hit people, kid.”  He gave her a genuine Taako (™) smile and strode into the orphanage.  Angus was left shocked with Kravitz by his side.  The man laughed quietly and shook his head, but followed after his husband.  Angus followed suit, trying to keep up with him so that none of the other kids would wonder why a Reaper was here with one of the seven birds.

When they stepped inside the house, papers were flying everywhere as Taako searched for the forms he needed to sign.  Kravitz nudged Angus towards the stairs and pointed towards where Taako was obviously beginning his search.

“I’ll help him, you go get your stuff, if you need me, just yell.”  Angus nodded and began the climb to the shared bedroom for all the boys.  He frowned as he got to the top and all the kids in his orphanage were hiding in the room.

“It’s okay,” he began, unsure of how to help the kids, “it’s just me.”

“She said to stay here and out of sight or else, so we did.  What’s all the commotion downstairs?” one girl said.  Her voice was soft, so Angus could barely understand her, but he smiled anyways.

“Taako is downstairs,” he said.  Before he could even finish speaking, the children were scrambling to get down there to meet one of the famous seven birds.  Angus was left alone in the giant room with only his thoughts and his stuff to grab.  He pulled a chest out from under his bed where he kept all of his things and began to unpack it and put it in the bags Kravitz had given him.  He took extra care to cushion his most valuable items: his spell books for school, his journal where he kept all of his detective notes, and a single silver spoon that had belonged to the set his grandfather had entrusted him with that he knew Taako and the other two had stolen on the train.  This spoon meant more to him than almost anything else he owned so he put it in the safest spot he could imagine.

With a smile, he looked around the room one last time, gathered his things, and went downstairs to tell the two he was ready to go.  It was no surprise to him that Taako had been surrounded by the children.  What was a shock was seeing Magnus and Merle there trying to act as decoys.

“Hey guys!  Look it’s me, Magnus Burnsides!” he shouted, striking a pose and flexing.  Immediately, all the children who had been surrounding Taako flocked to talk to Magnus who took it all in stride.  The attention was something that the three of them had gotten very used to in the past few years, so it was nothing for Magnus to be messing with a few of the kids and trying to lift them while Merle tried his damndest to even see over the sea of children.  It seemed that none of the kids noticed Angus follow Taako and Kravitz to a side room where they could hopefully have a moment to process everything.

“Thank you for getting those two for me Krav, I couldn’t handle those brats for a second longer,” Taako said with relief evident in his voice.  Kravitz only nodded with a fond smile to which Taako rolled his eyes.

“So, Angus, shall we?” Kravitz said.  He gestured to the desk where Taako and he had already signed the paperwork.  The ink was fresh with their signatures, but that of the orphanage’s owner’s was not.

“She must have signed all of the forms forever ago,” Taako said with disgust, “she wanted ou all out of her hair so badly, I bet she would have gladly given one of you to anyone with cash.”

“Sirs?” Angus said, voice small, “Are you sure about this?”

“Of course we are, Angus,” Kravitz said with a gentle smile, “we love you, and we want you to be happy.  Do you want this?”

“Absolutely,” Angus said with a gigantic grin on his face.  His eyes had gotten a bit teary and his vision was getting slightly blurred, but he was happy.  Taako handed him the pen to sign that he agreed to be adopted, and Angus drew his signature over the line with the biggest smile he had had in years.

The rest of the day was a whirlwind of things.  Taako and Kravitz took him to the nearest city hall to turn in the paperwork and make it fully official.  The secretary there was shocked by Taako’s sudden appearance with a literal reaper’s scythe that dropped them in the middle of her office.  Once there, the woman only nodded in awe to the questions Taako asked.  When they brought up the lady in charge of the orphanage, the secretary shook from her stupor and began writing things down.  She assured them that the woman would be fired promptly and a new person would be instated as the caretaker. ��Taako also insisted on making a hefty donation to the orphanages that fell under the jurisdiction of this city, to which the woman humbly accepted and tucked away.

“If I find out my money has gone to anything except the kids,” Taako spoke, his voice suddenly deep and filled with anger, “all hell will break loose.”  The woman only nodded, pupils blown wide in fear.  Satisfied his money would be used well, Kravitz tore open another portal, this one to their home.

As Angus stepped foot into their living room with all of his things in hand, it finally settled in his mind that this was real.  This wasn’t just a dream, this was actually happening.  He would be with a family, a real family, and he would finally be safe for the first time in three years.

“Your room is upstairs, I’m gonna heat up dinner real fast,” Taako said, all but sprinting away to the kitchen.

As if Kravitz could hear Angus’ concerns, he spoke, “Don’t worry about him, okay Angus?  He loves you, I promise, he’s just really bad at showing vulnerability sometimes.”  Angus nodded with a small smile.  He knew Taako loved him, he knew the trio loved him, because they teased him so often but they were also softer to him than anyone else.  Kravitz patted him on the head and started for the stairs to lead Angus to his new room.  When they entered, it was basically empty save for the massive bed against one of the walls and a dresser with a mirror on top.  Despite the lack of furniture in the room, Angus had never felt so at home.

“Welcome home kiddo,” Kravitz said, “I’ve always wanted to be a dad, you know.  So has Taako.  The last time he got drunk, actually, he talked about adopting you, but you hadn’t shown any interest in being adopted by anyone, so he dropped it quickly.  He’s really fucking happy about this.”

“I know sir, I am too,” Angus said, “thank you, sir, for adopting me.”

“Angus, you don’t have to call us ‘sir’ anymore.  You can call me dad if you want, or if you don’t want, whatever works for me.  I just want you to be happy here.”

“Okay, sir,” Angus paused, “dad.”  Absolute joy took over Kravitz’ face and he had to seemingly restrain himself from wrapping Angus up in a bear hug.

“Get settled in, and then come down for dinner, okay?”

“Alright.”  With that, Kravitz turned and retreated down the hallway and downstairs.  Angus watched him go for a moment, before he stepped into his new room and into his new life.

And he truly couldn’t have been happier if he’d tried.

[wormy-business]

Neverwinter University; Chapter One

Starting the Semester

Summary:  It's time for the Tres Horny Boys, and the entirety of everyone from The Adventure Zone; Balance to head off to college. new faces abound, relationships are formed and broken, and a Lich just might be hiding out in the staff break room.

Word Count: 2,970

Read on AO3

“Well bro, here we are, the next four to six years of our lives.” Lup chimed as her boyfriend drew their carriage-like wagon to a stop. Taako stared out the window and stretched his arms out.

“Yeah, I mean at least it looks nicer than NHS.”

“Honestly,” came Barry’s voice as he unhooked the covered wagon’s door and let it come open. “Any place looks better than ol’ Neverwinter High.”

Taako surveyed his new, unfamiliar surroundings as he stepped down off the wagon, followed by his twin sister. The main building was massive, and made mostly out of stone. The building had been a castle before it was a university, and thus prided itself on maintaining that aesthetic. The new buildings stood out starkly, however. They were large contemporary dorm buildings that faced each other, neither marked much aside from being labeled the east and west dorms. He could also see the hint of a temple peaking its high pointed roof between the space of the actual university and the western dormitory. Taako was thankful he and Lup would be housed on the same floor, even if they weren’t roommates. He hated being away from his sister for too long, since he’d spent his entire life with her. Barry was going to be on the same floor with them, which wasn’t surprising as he and Lup had become nearly inseparable since they started dating their junior year of highschool. It was going to be somewhat of a relief having familiar faces so close to him, but he knew plenty more were either on their way or had already shambled onto campus; there were only two major universities this side of Faerûn after all. But searching through the crowd could wait, Taako wanted to see what his dorm looked like and figure out who his roommate was going to be. Lup and Barry were carrying two bags each, but Taako scoffed and casted levitate on both of his bags, as to avoid having to do any actual physical labor.

“Oh god!” Taako whined as the three entered through the doors of the eastern dorm. Lup didn’t see immediately what he was whining about, all she saw was that the place looked nicer than she had expected.

“What?” she asked, still unsure of what her brother was complaining about this time.

“Look!” He said in the same tone of voice, pointing his wand  towards an elevator.

“Well I’ll be damned, even this place is getting an upgrade.”

“Uh, if you really wanna call it that. I don’t get the deal with elevators, I can go up without walking too it’s called magic!”

“Taako, I will never understand why you’re so against elevators.” Barry noted, standing behind the twins.

“They’re overrated!” Taako exclaimed as he huffed and marched towards the stairs.

Lup chuckled as she followed her brother up the stairs to the third floor of the building, where they all were going to be situated. Taako glanced over the floor’s room listing, and turned to face Barry.

“You’re the RA?” He asked, a gleeful smile jumping onto his cheeks.

“Oh, uh, yeah! So, I’ll be the one laying down the rules and-” He was cut off by the elf, who in his excitement, dropped the levitation spell he’d been maintaining, causing his bags to drop to the floor.

“This is perfect! Sorry kemosabe but you’re not going to be able to stop me from doing anything I want!” and with that he was off to his dorm, the second room on the left side of the hall. He poked his head in, seeing a bare living area with a small kitchen area, a door to a bathroom, and two closed bedroom doors.

“Uh, hello?” He called out as he set his two bags on the floor that he ha carried in from the hall. He checked both rooms, and both were empty. Taako grinned as he grabbed his bags and marched into the larger of the two rooms. He got there first, so it was his right to take whichever room he wanted. He was about to start moving his clothes from his luggage into the closet when he heard a sound come from the lobby that he recognized immediately as coming from Carey Fangbattle. He got up and walked back out into the hall to watch what was going on.

“Carey? No way!” His sister’s excited voice came from inside a dorm room with an open door, so he moved to allow himself to look inside.

“I knew this was gonna be fun!” The blue dragonborn looked like she could hardly contain her excitement, her feet stomping on the ground and shaking her hands back and forth.

“How touching.” Taako teased when the two girls hugged, gaining the attention of both women.

“Taako! You’re on this floor too?! We are gonna have the best floor parties!”

“Not if I have anything to say about it.” Barry grumbled, now leaning on the doorframe of his dorm room which sat at the end of the hall.

Carey looked at him, grinned, and then looked back at Taako. “Like I said, best floor parties, ever!”

Lup waved her hand, and the door of her dorm shut. She stuck her tongue out at her brother as it closed, an he did the same back. As he was turning to go back into his dorm he saw a half elf who he was pretty sure he recognized from high school, but then again he might have been totally wrong. The guy looked like he hadn’t slept in days, and he was wearing a stupid hat with a feather in it, and a he was carrying a single bag of luggage and a carrying case for some kind of instrument. He walked down the hall, and stopped in front of Barry.

“Hey, I’m Barry, guess we’re gonna be roommates!”

“Yeah, cool. I’m Johann. We, uh, we went to highschool together. You know that, right?”

Barry’s rounded cheeks turned a glaring shade of red, a clear indicator that no, he did not know that. “Oh, yeah! I knew you had a familiar face!”

Johann. Was that name familiar? Who cared. Taako was about to slip back into his room when he heard someone call him from across the hall.

“What’s up, flip wiz?” It was Killian, who was leaning against the doorframe of her dorm, her square frame nearly taking up the entire space.

“Flip wizard” was a nickname that Taako had earned somewhere along the way in high school, mainly due to the fact he was very dextrous and incredibly agile.

“Not much, waiting for someone new to come around. Like I get it, you know? A lot of people I know but can’t there be someone I don’t know for a change?” He complained as he turned to face the orc.

Killian shrugged her shoulders. “Beats me, man. Hey, is Maggie here yet? Carey was talking the whole way about how when she saw him she was totally gonna sneak up on him and jump on his back.”

Taako’s ears picked up and a giddy smile drew across his face. “Now that’s something I need to see!”

“Let’s go find him then!” Taako jumped when he heard Carey’s voice come from behind him, and he whipped around as her girlfriend burst out laughing.

“Okay, never do that to me again, you nearly gave me a heart attack!” He shouted, now hearing Lup’s laughter from behind him as well.

The four of them, five once Barry had caught up, all walked their way out to the field after Taako adamantly refused to take the elevator. He’d be damned if he was about to start telling people about the weird dreams he’d been having lately that included elevators and vines. Even more people were milling about now, which would make it difficult to spot even Magnus. Faces were rushing past an not giving anyone enough time to figure out who they belonged to, but Taako managed to pick out a few that stuck out. Two drow who held a parasol over their heads, shielding their sensitive eyes as they rushed towards the eastern dorm building, a young country-looking girl who appeared overwhelmed, a red headed guy carrying too many books for one person to handle scampering towards the western dorm, and one guy who was standing in the middle of the chaos looking stoned out of his mind with his hand half stuck in a pringles can, and then a voice, broad and chesty, cut through the crowd.

“Jules!” The group followed the sturdy figure of Magnus’s girlfriend as she ran towards him and he picked her up and swung her around, nearly taking out the half elf who was standing a little too close. “I’ve missed you!” Magnus exclaimed as he kissed her, and set both of her feet back on the ground.

“Oh, you know I missed you too, big guy.” Julia teased, pressing her finger lightly to the tip of his nose.

“Gotcha!” Carey exclaimed, having successfully snuck up on her friend and jumped onto his back, though amidst the chaos sneaking wasn’t a particularly difficult feat. Magnus laughed, turning his head to look at her.

“Carey! And Killian, and wow, hey you guys!” Magnus waved to his other friends as the dragonborn hopped off his back. As she was walking away Magnus quickly checked his pockets and then grabbed her wrist. “Carey.” He said in a higher tone. “Give it back.” He extended his other hand and watched as Carey put something into his palm. As he brought his hand a little closer to his face in confusion, the small round object exploded into a cloud of smoke, eliciting laughter from the lizard-like woman, who swung around to drop Magnus’s wallet back into his pocket and then off to her girlfriend’s arms.

“You gotta keep your eye on your stuff, Maggie.” She teased, her tail swishing as she nestled herself under Killian’s arm, leaving Magnus and Julia to wave the smoke away.

Taako and Lup were both snickering, and Lup high-fived the dragonborn when she got back to their small friend circle. Lup was about to compliment Carey when she was cut off by a different familiar voice.

“Fellas! Hey fellas!” A dwarf with a short-ish beard (short as far as dwarven beards go) and a prosthetic arm bounded up to them. “Wow, it’s so great to see you all again!”

“Hi Merle.” Taako spoke and waved as Magnus picked up the smaller man and noogied him once the smoke from Carey’s bomb had cleared

“It’s been too long!” He exclaimed, putting him back down.

“I know, I know. I was doing spiritual stuff all summer so my dad took my stone of farspeech away. But hey, I got it back, and hey guess what else! I get to room with Davenport!”

“Oh, that’s great. You two really mesh well, that’s good.” Taako said, brushing his whitish blonde hair over his shoulder.

“I’m pretty psyched, I’ve got Avi and we’re gonna fucking party dudes!” Magnus gave powerful high-fives to both men. “What about you, T? Who are you with?”

The elf shrugged, playing lazily with his wand. “I don’t know, the dorm was empty when I got there, so I got the good bed.”

“You didn’t check the registry?” Merle asked. In all honesty, Taako hadn’t really thought to check the registry, but it wasn’t like he was about to tell anyone that.

“You gotta keep a little mystery going in your life, you know?”

Lup, who had gotten caught up in conversation with Carey, Killian, and Julia, was now tugging at her brother’s sleeve. “Hey, Taako? It looks like we’ve got competition.”

She lead his gaze towards two stunning elves, dressed in gaudy, flashy clothes who were walking in sync with two animated mannequins carrying their luggage for them towards the center of the school yard. Taako, a fire igniting inside of himself, flipped his hair, straightened out his handmade hat, and began strutting with his sister in sync towards the other two.

“Well, I’ve been asking for new faces all day, thank god they were good looking.” Taako started the conversation as he and his sister stopped in front of the two elves. The pair looked at Lup and Taako, looked at each other, and grinned.

“Well I could definitely say the same thing.” The male elf spoke with a smirk drawn across his face. “Your hat is stunning, I have to say.”

Taako winked, pulling it down slightly to show the way the sun bounced off the rim. “Thank you, I made it myself. And honestly? Your shoes? I’m loving them right now.”

“Thank you, they were expensive.” The foursome shared a laugh, and the female elf extended her hand out to Lup.

“I’m Lydia.” She said with a smile.

“Edward.” The male elf introduced himself to Taako.

Lup shook Lydia’s hand, drawing her own smile. “Lup.”

Taako and Edward’s handshake was a it more refined than the girls’ was. “Taako. We sorta know the place, we’ve been here for like an hour, and you two look lost.”

“Well, we’re both set up in the east dorm, the third floor.” Lydia stated, taking her hand back and shifting her weight to one side.

“No shit? So are we. Come on, we already know most of the people on the floor.” Lup said, already walking towards the building with the other three following behind.

“Edward, tell me, are you in room 33?” Taako asked, which made Edward’s ears face upwards more.

“I am, actually. Why do you ask?”

Taako looked relieved, but was also inwardly somewhat upset. He and Lup had to outfab these two new elves, and now he was sharing a room with one of them?

“Oh that’s crazy! We’re totally roommates!” Taako exclaimed, arms raised out to the sky.

“That’s perfect!” Edward proclaimed, following Taako into the dorm room once they had gotten to the floor.

“So, what are you majoring in?” Taako shouted from across the dorm as he and Edward were both setting up their closets in their respective rooms.

“Fashion design, obv. Lydia and I both are. What about you and your sister?”

“Culinary arts for me.” Taako called back. “And my sister is going for mechanical engineering. Oh, hold on bubeleh my sissy wants to talk.” Taako said as he saw his stone of farspeech light up. He picked it off his bedside table, and raised it up. “You’re go for Taako.”

“Meet us back in the courtyard, it’s Raven!”

“Sorry kemosabe, I gotta blink my high school teacher is here for some reason and I gotta get the tea.” And with that Taako casted Blink, shifting him into the ethereal plane where he could move faster to the courtyard, blinking back into the material plane next to his sister. And sure as hell there she stood, Ms. Raven. She was wearing a long black dress that trailed into the grass behind her, a murder of crows sitting upon tree branches all around her, and in front of her a young man who shared her same dark complexion, his face somewhat broad and very, very handsome.

“Taako.” Lup said, waving her hand in front of her brother’s face. “You’re ogling.”

“I’m not!” He protested as he smacked her hands away, watching as Ms. Raven kneeled next to the young man, looked like she whispered something to him, and with a snap was surrounded by black fog and was gone. The young man picked a large bag off of the ground and began walking, looking down at a paper he was holding. Taako straightened his robes off, dusted off his shorts, and walked right up to him.

“Hi there, handsome.” He started, making the man look up. “I’m Taako. I know your mom, she taught me in high school.”

“O-oh, yeah, she taught at Neverwinter High. Uh, I’m Kravitz, it’s nice to meet you.”

Taako grinned, biting his lip as he shook his hand. It was cold, very cold.

“Oh, boy howdy that is a clammy one. No worries! What’s your dorm? I’ll show you around.”

With a blush creeping onto his face, Kravitz cleared his throat. “Uh, the western dorm, fourth floor.”

“Perfect!” Taako clapped his hands together. “It’s over here. Hey Mags?” He called, now shouting to Magnus, interrupting the conversation he was having with Avi. Magnus excused himself and hustle over to the two.

“Hail and well met!” Magnus grinned, holding his hand out to Kravitz. “My name is Magnus, and your mom scares me!”

Kravitz laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck as he shook hands with Magnus. “Kravitz Raven.” He said, a bit more softer now.

“Maggie he’s sharing a floor with you, I believe. West dorm, fourth floor?” Taako inquired.

“Yeah, that’s us! C’mon bud, we’ll walk you there.”

Kravitz followed the two, Taako smiling at him the whole time.

“And let’s see, looks like this is your room.” Magnus smiled, stopping in front of a dorm, his smile turning down. “Ooh, Taako that’s gotta be awkward.”

Taako looked up and saw what name was labeled next to the door under Kravitz’s, and then he walked out of his room.

“Oh, Sazed, it’s nice to see you.” Taako looked away from him immediately, and Sazed scoffed.

“No it’s not.” He pushed his way past the group, and Taako tensed up, hands curled into fists as his sides.

“I have to go.” Taako blinked back into the ethereal plane and got as far away from Sazed’s dorm as he possibly could until the spell wore off. If his new crush was going to be rooming with his ex-boyfriend, this year was turning out to be a hell of a ride.