#also forgive me if it's bad this is my first taz fic

[voidfishaquarium]

Lup claims she can remember their parents, but Taako is convinced she’s making it up.

She makes this claim the first time when they are barely old enough to read, and still living with their grandparents. Lup takes to the reading a little quicker than Taako does, and makes a habit of reading aloud to him from the books they find in their grandfather’s study. One evening she finds one with a name scrawled on the inside cover, stares at it for too long. She’s cross-legged on the rug, the open book taking up the whole of her small lap.

“That’s mom’s name,” she says, pointing at it.

Taako, lying on his back by her feet as he waits for a story, sits up and looks at the name with mild interest.

“Huh. Yeah,” he says, and lays back down.

“She had pretty eyes,” Lup continues, still staring. “And long hair.”

“How’d you know that?” Taako asks. He’s curious now, because it’s rare for any of the grown-ups in the family to talk about Lup and Taako’s parents.

“I just remember it,” Lup says.

Taako frowns, skeptical. “No you don’t. We were too little.”

“Yes I do,” she replies, and gets back to reading.

The arrangement with their grandparents does not last long. After some shuffling around to various homes, they end up with an aunt and uncle and two older cousins. Lup is excited about sharing the house with other kids, for a day or two, until it becomes apparent that the cousins do not feel the same way. The older one, Kaba, complains constantly that the twins are too loud, that they take up too much space; the younger one, Meera, is fond of snatching books out of Lup’s hands whenever she’s reading. Taako starts strategically stealing things from both of them - pens, buttons, shoelaces, single socks - and hiding them under the floorboards.

After a couple of years, they are handed off to a great-uncle with a farm; they’re a bit older now, just big enough to help out with the chores. Neither of them are particularly pleased to discover that this is the main reason they’re here, but it’s a roof, and at least some of the animals are charming. Taako particularly likes the horses.

“Dad liked horses, too,” Lup says, nonchalant, leaning against the barn door and watching as he brushes a white mare. He looks up and frowns - it’s been a while since the last time she dropped a random parent fact.

“That another memory?” he asks.

“Yeah.”

“You sure you didn’t dream it?”

Lup snorts. “I didn’t dream it, dingus. I remember.”

Taako doesn’t argue, but he also doesn’t make up his mind about whether he believes her or not. She’s only a minute older than he is - whatever she remembers, he should remember, too. He wonders if there’s something wrong with him, or if she’s somehow cheating.

The next year, after a good crop allows their great-uncle the money to hire older, sturdier hands to help out with chores, they spend a few months shuffling between relatives again. An older cousin with a closet full of shiny dresses that they run their hands over, giggling, when she isn’t looking. A distant uncle who works as a traveling salesman and constantly forgets to feed them, but they can fend for themselves well enough. Taako likes the traveling, seeing different towns, and he likes the way the uncle talks, casually confident.

“The secret to sales,” he says one evening, half-drunk and jolly, touseling Taako’s hair, “is to remember you’re really selling yourself. It’s all about charm.” Taako is a bit disappointed, at first, when the man drops them off with his mother. A distant great-aunt, half-human, grey-haired, living alone in a cottage, seems like a downgrade. But Lup takes to Auntie immediately, and it’s hard not to love someone his sister loves.

Unlike her son, Auntie never forgets about food. She spends hours in the kitchen, filling the house with the smell of baking cookies or sizzling bacon. She notices Taako skulking in the doorway, watching, and waves him in to join her. He’s nervous, unused to the sensation of an adult beckoning him closer instead of shooing him away.

“Come on up,” she says, pulling over a stool for him to stand on so he can reach the counter. “You can help chop the vegetables.”

They stay with Auntie longer than they’ve stayed with anyone else, and it is a small heaven. It’s always warm, and there is always more than enough to eat. Auntie seems happy to have people around to feed, to teach, to talk to. The three of them together in the kitchen, chatting and laughing as they cook and bake and taste, these are sacred moments. Taako doesn’t trust the concept of home - his sister has always been home, it’s never been a place. But in these moments, it almost feels like it could be.

“When do you think we’ll move somewhere else?” he asks Lup one night, from the bottom bunk of their bed.

Her voice comes out of the darkness above him.

“I don’t know,” she says. “Maybe never?”

Taako hums softly and replies, in what he hopes is a casual voice: “That’d be cool.”

Auntie dies three years later, softly, in her sleep. Lup, taller now but still not quite a teen, finds her and can’t wake her, feels that she’s gone cold. Taako holds his sister for several hours while she cries; later, she helps him copy down all of Auntie’s recipes, before the adults arrive and start going through her things. The cleric who visits says there’s nothing anyone could have done. Auntie’s heart was shaped just slightly wrong, and she lived much longer with it than he would have expected. But at her funeral, Taako hears whispers that maybe “taking in those twins” was bad luck, and Lup reports that while hiding in the coat rack (where she stole absolutely everything out of cousin Kaba and Meera’s pockets) she overheard talk of orphanages.

“Little bro,” she says, wrapping an arm around his shoulder, “I think it’s about time to bounce.”

There are a lot of cold nights, at the start. In cities, they end up curled tightly together, huddled in doorways against the wind; on the road between towns, they collect firewood and Lup starts fires with stolen flint to keep warm. It always takes several tries, a lot of muttering and cursing, and she swears she’s going to find an easier way to do this eventually.

And this is when Taako starts asking her for more memories, for anything she knows about their parents. Their favorite foods, what they did for fun, what kinds of decorations they had hanging on their walls. It’s a distraction from the cold, and he’s not worried anymore about whether it’s real or not. He just wants to imagine it.

“What did they look like?” he asks one night, and she bites her lip.

“Tall,” she says.

“That’s obvious.”

“Mom had green eyes.”

“Like what kind of green?” he presses, while scooting closer against her. “Like grass, or limes, or…”

“Emeralds,” Lup replies, and Taako tries to think back to whether or not he’s ever seen an emerald before. He imagines eyes that sparkle, a face that won’t materialize fully in his mind’s eye, but he knows it’s smiling.

They stumble into a method of survival by accident. A travelling circus rolls into the town they’re in for the night, sets up camp, and the original plan is to steal a few bites from the food cart where they’re selling concessions. But they find the cart being run by a haggard old dwarf who has no idea that there’s a difference between macaroons and macarons - as evidenced by the angry customer in the window who’s allergic to coconuts - and Taako seizes an opportunity. He remembers the advice, “you’re really selling yourself,” and turns on the charm.

“My man, you are doing a fantastic job with the customer service,” he says, walking up to the window and trying on a confidence he doesn’t quite feel yet. “But it seems like this baking and cooking thing, it’s not quite your passion, am I right?”

The dwarf sighs and says he’s actually a juggler, a very good juggler, but their cook quit, and someone needs to feed the crowd, and he’s gotten stuck with it. Taako looks back at Lup over his shoulder and grins.

“You know, I really think you should be performing, my dude,” he says. “That crowd needs to see your skills, they are missing out on the best juggling spectacle of their lives. And my sister and I...we can definitely take care of the cooking.”

Everything unrolls from there. Taako’s sweet-talking finds the opportunities, his even sweeter recipes seal the deal, and Lup’s sharp savvy takes care of the details - makes sure they’re given fair compensation, helps procure all the necessary ingredients for the menus, scares off the people who want to take advantage of them. She helps with the cooking, too, but Taako is the one whose heart is in it. It’s not a luxurious life, constantly on the move, packing and unpacking, covered in the dust of the road, but it has its moments. Some of the acrobats let Taako try on their sequined garments, teach him a few simple tricks, and he falls in love; Lup sits enraptured watching the fire-dancers as they move between flames and whispers to Taako, “I’m gonna do that.”

The circus is seasonal, but they find other caravans: traders, mercenaries, explorers. Everyone needs to eat. Lup trades and borrows books in every town they pass through - books of recipes, books of spells - and resumes her old habit of reading them out loud to Taako as he preps meals and cleans dishes. They don’t have space to keep them, so they all have to be memorized. Lup learns how to start fires with the snap of her fingers, and Taako learns how to transmute parsley into saffron, apples into pomegranates. They save up money, slowly, because while Taako’s good with continuing the travelling cook lifestyle, Lup insists that eventually they should really go to school.

They get older, taller, smarter. They reach a point where people don’t call them kids anymore, even though they both know they still are - they just hide it well.

“Hey, Lulu?” Taako asks one night, interrupting her reading. She’s sitting cross-legged by the fire, book open in her lap, while he lies on a blanket by her feet, staring up at the stars.

“Yeah?”

“I was just thinking...I mean, we are kinda crushing it lately, natch, and the fritters I made yesterday were basically the best thing any of these lot have ever tasted, and all that, but like...it’s not exactly what people have in mind when they pop out a kid, probably...”

“What’re you trying to ask?” she presses, closing the book, and he sighs.

“Mom and dad,” he replies, propping himself up on one elbow. “You think they’d be okay with what we’re up to? I mean, I don’t know if you remember any...”

Lup bites her lip, doesn’t quite meet his eyes. He sits up fully now, knowing something’s wrong.

“What?” he asks.

“I just...I guess we’re older now, and I...Taako, I’m really sorry,” she says, fidgeting.

“Sorry for what?”

“I don’t...I don’t actually remember them,” she admits, finally. “I mean, I thought I did, when we were really young. But I realized I was just...I was imagining it. I had seen a picture of them, once, and I made it come to life in my mind, I think, and then you asked if I dreamed it and I just really wanted it to be real…and then later, I knew I was making it up, but you really liked it. It made you happy. It was real for you. And I was gonna tell you when you got older…”

Taako is silent for a moment, and then he laughs.

“I knew it,” he says. “I knew your memory wasn’t that much better than mine!”

Lup looks baffled and guilty, and Taako gets up, sits next to her and hugs her.

“I get it, you were lookin’ out,” he says. “That’s okay. I mean, I’m defo gonna rag you about it for like, several weeks at least, but it’s alright.”

“That’s fair,” she says, and smiles. “It’s better if we make it up, anyway, right? I mean, we can say they were legendary heroes or famous actors or anything we want, really. They could have been anything.”

“Listen, the famous and legendary ones are gonna be us,” he replies. “And I don’t need the made-up memories anymore, yeah? I got real ones.”

“Of what?”

“You, doofus,” he says, rolling his eyes and elbowing her in the ribs. “Not gonna forget that.”

“You better not,” she replies, and wraps an arm around him.

It’s warm, there by the fire, beneath the stars, the two of them together. They’re home.

#the adventure zone #taz #taz balance #taako #lup #taz fic #I'M SORRY I DON'T KNOW WHY I'M LIKE THIS #I ONLY WRITE SAD CHILDHOOD FICS APPARENTLY #why is this my wheelhouse #also forgive me if it's bad this is my first taz fic

[barry-j-blupjeans]

TAZ Balance Fic Recs

I’m making this 90% because I love these fics and the world needs to know and 10% because I need help finding them once I’ve read them. Let’s begin!! (I will not be tagging authors because I only know a few writers on this list, but if anyone else wants to tag them, feel free :>)

Refractory - Written by Nesswrites on Ao3 - Rated T 

Refractory adj. (rih-frack-tuh-ree) 1. Stubborn or unmanageable. 2. Resistant to a process or stimulus.

Kravitz, a young orthopedic surgeon, is thrust into what feels like a different reality when he meets psychiatric patient, Taako. In a strange flurry of events, he finds himself being drawn toward this man, spending more and more time in a department that he used to hate and becoming invested in a patient who isn't one of his own.

Taako, an in-denial anorexia patient, is forced into a long-term hospital stay by friends and family who worry about his waning health. When he meets an attractive doctor from another wing, he begins to wonder if maybe this was the star-crossed love that he was always destined for. At least, that's what hundreds of episodes of Grey's Anatomy taught him.

In other words, the hospital drama nobody wanted but everyone got

I just really love this fic, guys, there’s not a lot I can say. It’s well written

Bury the Lead - Written by marywhale on Ao3 - Rated T

Taako’s senior year at Neverwinter High could be going better. Faced with a choice between joining the school’s floundering newspaper or being expelled, he opts for a career in journalism.

Lucretia, the paper’s editor, kind of wishes he'd gone the other way.

As the first TAZ fic I ever read in my life, this was really good. Even if it wasn’t the first fic I ever read, I still would love it. It captivated me in a way I didn’t think fics could.

Seven Raptors - Written by DragonWrites on Ao3 - Rated M

In a distant plane, Fate brings together seven scientists and explorers, who set out to explore the unknown and find themselves on a mission to save all of existence.

In another, far harsher plane, Fate brings those same seven together again. But these Seven Birds have been shaped by a crueler, much less forgiving world. These Seven Raptors are the villains in their story.

And when the two flocks meet, each of the Seven Birds must come face to face with who they might have been--who they might still become--if they let the darkness consume them.

I’ve had an idea in my head for a while of the birds meeting themselves but on a different plane? And this fic makes that idea so much more than I ever thought it could be. The first chapter really drew me in and I read it all in one night (with help from insomnia).

More below the cut!!

Serendipity and it’s inconspicuous faults - Written by TasteofDeath of Ao3 - Rated G

The morning after Angus comes home with a sore tummy and a stomach bug, things are starting to get better.

Or, Angus’ fathers have a fun time loving their little boy and a not so fun time worrying about his health

This is absolutely the cutest fic I’ve ever read. It made me tear up but in the good way. Also everything by TasteofDeath is amazing, check them out.

From the blackest room - Written by FordRiverBlues - Rated M

The authorities on a new plane mistake Barry for an enemy spy. They want information he doesn't have. Barry just wants to survive.

What can I say, I like angst. I’ve spent long hours thinking about this fic. Barry is a comfort character of mine and apparently I love seeming my comfort characters going through hard stuff. It’s just a good fic, my dudes.

The Sweetest, Dorkiest Love - Written by ceilingfan5 - Rated G

Anxious about giving Taako the perfect Valentine's present, Kravitz trades Lup two weeks of night shifts so she'll teach him how to make chocolates. It doesn't go as planned, but love wins out anyway.

Okay listen. I just said I liked angst buuUUUT - Heck, this fic is so soft and I really love and it made me cry because they’re just so soft.

All the Things You Prayed For - Written by anonymousAlchemist and marywhale - Rated T

Taako's been dead for two years. Taako's been dead for seven decades. Depends how you count it.

Her brother is dead and Lup’s a whole lifetime into the future. It’s a brave new world out there and she’s trying not to think about it too hard. She gets the feeling that if she starts thinking, she won’t ever stop, and she can’t afford to be out of commission. She's the only Captain America the new century’s got.

Lup is Cap, Taako fell from a train, and eventually all ghosts come in from the cold. You guessed it—it's a TAZ/Marvel shakeup baby. We're bringing the party to you.

If you’ve been anywhere on tumblr, you’ve heard some mention of this fic and for good reason!! I’m not into any superhero stuff so it took a while to read it because I didn’t think I’d understand it. But honestly? You don’t need to know anything about any superhero to read this. It’s written excellently and I really like it.

It's Difficult To Learn About Yourself When You Didn't Know You Could - Written by Casual_Scribbles - No rating

He licks his lips, running his knuckle along the spiral binding of his notebook. “I was reading my Caleb Cleaveland books – some of the newer ones, where he's a teenager – and one of the characters that were introduced was, um, they’re nonbinary. And I- I've heard of that before, but I didn't know a lot about it, so I looked it up.” He looks up and Miss Lup is listening to him attentively, her ears perked up. She nods at him.

“And I found out- I thought it was just one thing, ma'am,” he feels bolder, having seen the encouragement on her face. “But it's not. It’s a lot- it's so many things, Miss Lup! And I was looking through them and I just- some of them felt really familiar. Like- like I knew exactly what the writer was trying to say and I-”

(They'd been more than familiar. They'd been-)

No. They weren’t his.

Angus struggles to come to terms with something new he learns about himself, but thankfully his family is there to support him.

Non-binary Angus!!! Non-binary Angus!!!!!!! That’s all I have to say!!! Read it!!!!

Back to Wonderland - Written by OhWowAltMal - Rated G

When lich twins Edward and Lydia pull a trick far too convincing for Taakos liking, he may have found himself panicking and making some rash decisions. Just a little, though.

He definitely doesn't break the umbrastaff in half, looking for his (real?) sister.

An alternative look at the live show in Orleans, and how it could have gone.

This idea was something I didn’t even think of but I love it so much?? Half of me wishes this is what really happened, but they write the characters so well that it feels like it did.

I Know I've Kissed You Before - Written by Desiree_Harding - Rated T

"He thinks, one day, that maybe what he’s been feeling is the urge to show Kravitz, really show him, how much Taako cares about him. To make it… official. That he’s not going anywhere. Because Kravitz doesn’t live off of implications like Taako does, and maybe Taako’s a little tired of making him translate.

Maybe Taako wants to do a little bit of the work for him, just once."

AKA The story of how Taako and Kravitz got married alone in their kitchen on Candlenights (on purpose they swear)

This??? Is incredible?? It’s a (long winded but worth it) process of Taakitz proposing. I have no words, truly.

Six Years - Written by WritingIsMyCoffee and zumbah_plumbah - Rated T

Six years ago, Taako was kicked out of culinary school for an altercation between him and his roommate, forever crushing his lifelong dream of becoming a chef.

Six years ago, Merle was fiddling with the ring on his finger that he no longer needed to wear.

Six years ago, Magnus was sitting beside a hospital bed and holding his wife's hand.

Now, Taako is burdened with the struggles of raising a ten year old. Merle is wondering whether or not he wants that ring to become an obligation. Magnus is struggling to overcome the grieving process. For the past six years, the three of them have been running away from their problems and the reasons that brought them to where they currently are. Now they will be forced to face the music and deal with what happened in the past in order to move on.

FUCK!!! Fuck this made me cry?? I really like it. I really really like it. It’s so raw and emotional. All the characters fit perfectly.

synecdoche - Written by androids_fighting93 - Rated M

Echoes of the seven of them stretch into infinity, and now there’s Kravitz, a parallel line that they keep crossing despite all physical laws. Taako can see how they are bound together, he and Lup and the rest of the crew, white shimmering cords that stretch between them, between himself and Kravitz, and every aspect of Kravitz and every aspect of the Raven Queen in every world, all existing simultaneously. The Light falling to countless worlds at once, the Hunger descending over it all, the same patterns into infinity and nothing to stop it except for a silver ship, a bright beacon, unique among it all. He can see all of it.

They’re hunted by two immensely powerful creatures now, the Hunger and the Raven Queen’s servant. It's too bad Taako can't seem to stay out of harm's way.

I read this again recently and it broke my heart all over again. The idea is wonderful, the writing is even better. Please go read this fic!!!

#vic speaks #taz balance #taz #taz fic #taz fic rec #The Adventure Zone #the adventure zone balance

[arofili]

Worldbuilding Exchange Letter 2021

Hello lovely creator, thanks for creating for me in the Worldbuilding Exchange! I’m very excited and grateful for whatever you create for me <3

This letter will restate my DNWs, list my likes, give you a brief rundown of my canon preferences, and then dive into specific prompts for each of my requests.

I’ll warn you upfront that I tend to ramble, so feel free to skip prompts that don’t interest you and/or use ctrl+F to search for whatever it is you want to write for.

My requests are divided by fandom, and in the case of the Silm + Middle-earth Legendarium, by topic too, so hopefully that will be helpful for you! Also, my TAZ request is waaay down at the bottom, so if that’s what you’re here for, just go to the bottom of the page.

Housekeeping:

DNWs:

Non-con

Unrequested dub-con

Abusive/Neglectful parenting (especially wrt Fëanor)

Sibling incest, parent-child incest (cousin pairings are fine)

Unhappy/Unhopeful endings (unless otherwise specified)

Jealousy/Possessiveness

Cheating

Character or ship bashing

Hanahaki/any scenario where unrequited love is physically damaging

Soulmates, especially soulmate AUs (soul bonds are OK, if there is choice involved)

Porn without plot (Porn with plot is fine!)

Food involved in sex

Unrequested Modern AU

Non-trans mpreg

If you’re writing a slash ship where the characters are/were married to/involved with someone outside the ship, please don’t have the character(s) hate their spouse or not have been actually in love with them (the one exception is Finrod; I’m fine with him and Amarië not having been actually in love, but please don’t do this for anyone else, especially not Fëanor)

Hobbit/LOTR-specific DNWs:

The concept of a dwarven “One”

Any Fíli pairing

Alfrid

Legolas or Gimli paired with anyone other than each other

no smut for these fandoms, please

Silm-specific DNWs:

Evil/irredeemable/incel Maeglin

Elwing bashing

Fëanorian bashing

Over the top Fëanorian apologism (they did bad stuff; it was at least partially their fault. you don’t have to address that, necessarily, but don’t rewrite the story to claim they were blameless)

Fingon with a wife

Fingon or Maedhros ships that don’t take Russingon into account (polyamory, an open relationship, Mae with someone after Finno dies or vice versa for an AU, them with other people while they’re separated on the Ice/in Angband - all of these scenarios are fine, but in the end I need them to be with each other first and foremost)

Dark!Maedhros

Elvish re-embodiment after death being an actual, literal rebirth that requires the characters to have a second childhood; I much prefer them being granted a new hröa in their prime (feel free to explore what “in their prime” means, though, especially wrt scarred and disabled elves)

~~~

Likes:

(these might not all apply to worldbuilding, but they might give you a place to start from!)

Gen fic

Found family

Family dynamics

Loving families, even when things get complicated

Friendship, intense/important platonic relationships

Relationships that defy categorization

Queerplatonic relationships

Polyamory

Queer headcanons (especially aromantic-spectrum headcanons)

Trans/nonbinary headcanons (genderbending is also fine, but I prefer trans/nb hcs)

Angst with a happy ending

Gray morality

Explorations of magic

Most tropes

Fanon and fandom tropes

Deconstruction/Inversion of fanon and fandom tropes

Interspecies relationships

Peredhil

Secret relationships

Secret relationships coming to light

Secret kids (especially secret peredhil!)

Giving ships OC kids

OCs interacting with canon characters

Confessions of love

First times

Hurt/comfort

Redemption, forgiveness, mercy

Ironic foreshadowing

Canon divergence AUs/X Lives AUs

Politics and scheming

Resolving conflicting canonical details

Historical/Narrative bias affecting what is and isn’t “canon” (to an extent; changing motivations, consequences, etc is great, but please don’t ignore canon entirely)

Elrond & Elros having complicated relationships with both their bio and adoptive parents

Names fitting the time period (Quenya names in Valinor, please; if this is difficult for you, that’s okay, no pressure, but I do strongly prefer it)

Names having a lot of thought put behind them (does the character go back to their original Quenya name upon rebirth? or do they keep their Sindarin name? or come up with something else entirely? do they hate their new Sindarin name and resent having to use it, or do they embrace it? As long as you put some thought into it, I’m sure I’ll like whatever you decide!)

Author’s notes where you explain your thought process, if you want; I love hearing how the story took shape!

~~~

Preferences re: Canon:

LaCE compliance is always completely optional (except if you’re choosing a prompt that is specifically about LaCE, lol). If you do want to include it, that’s great, but if you just want the characters to fuck without having that be an issue, go for it. I love explorations of LaCE that take into account the exceptions, boundaries, definitions, etc; I also love takes that emphasize that they are Laws and Customs, not biological imperatives.

I’m not picky about my Amrod deaths. He can die at either Losgar or Sirion (or, hell, some other time/place if you make it interesting enough!), whatever works best for the story. I do like Lightly Toasted Amrod, aka he almost burns to death at Losgar but survives/gets rescued at the last minute.

Gil-galad theories are all very fun. Please don’t make him the son of Fingon and a wife; if he’s Fingon’s son, I want Maedhros to be involved at least a little bit (adoption or trans mpreg are both fine in this scenario). Otherwise, I don’t have a particular preference, though if it’s not really relevant I usually default to the son of Orodreth (who is in turn the son of Angrod). Also, I’ve requested “Origins of Gil-galad”; there’s more information on him in that section.

Honestly, when it comes to theories and headcanons, my rule of thumb is “convince me”! I’m down for whatever, for the most part, as long as you can justify it :)

~~~

For all of these, “suggested characters” pulls from the list of characters I requested with that signup, but if you’ve got an idea involving other characters then go for it! And in the end, all characters are just suggestions, this exchange is more about the worldbuilding :)

~~~

The Hobbit (Book)

Adventuring Hobbits Before Bilbo: Who were they? Did they ever come back, or was Bilbo assumed dead because of precedent? Were they all Tooks, or did some other hobbits tag along on adventures, too? Suggested Character(s): Belladonna Took

Dragon Magic & Dragon-hunting: Talk to me about dragons! I’m interested in dragons & dwarves, especially in relation to the first time dwarves were driven from Erebor and into the North and the War of the Dwarves and Dragons. What kinds of dragons set their sights on the mountain? How old was Smaug when all that was happening; did he learn anything from the failures of his kin? Who were the dragon-hunting dwarves who fought in that war? Suggested Character(s): Smaug, Original Dwarf Character

Dwarven Craft and Magic: Enchanted weapons, enchanted armor, runes and spells...all so interesting! Borrowing from the movies a bit, did Kíli’s runestone from Dís have any magic power? What’s the deal with the Arkenstone’s thrall? How do elf and dwarf magics intersect when it comes to objects like Bilbo’s mithril coat? Suggested Character(s): Dís, Frerin, Thorin, Original Dwarf Character (perhaps a craftsdwarf?)

Dwarves and Gender: We need more dwarf women! And I’d love any takes on nonbinary dwarves and/or dwarf-specific genders. Were there female dwarves in the Company that Bilbo mistook for male dwarves? Are dwarven women really only a third of the population? If dwarf men and women are very similar in appearance, how do they differentiate between them, or do they differentiate at all? If you included something about dwarvish braiding styles indicating gender, class, marital status, I would be delighted. Suggested Character(s): Dís, Frerin, Thorin, Original Dwarf Character; in this case I’d prefer a focus on canon characters, but OCs interacting with them would be marvelous, especially people like Dís’ spouse.

The Black Arrow: Bard’s little pep talk to his arrow has always intrigued me. I’d love to see your take on the origins of the Black Arrow. Does it really come from Erebor, and if so, who made it? How did Bard and his forefathers come to acquire it? (I like the movie version that ties it into Girion’s attempt to kill Smaug, so feel free to incorporate that if you feel like it.) Is the arrow enchanted? (Perhaps that could be tied to the Dwarven Craft and Magic tag!) Suggested Character(s): Bard, Original Character from Dale, Original Dwarf Character

The Stone Giants & Were-worms: I don’t have many thoughts on these guys except “neat! tell me more!” I’m fascinated by the creatures Tolkien only gives us a passing mention of; if you feel like it, maybe you could combine these tags with some of the creatures in the LOTR tagset (crebain, cold drakes, Watcher in the Water, Mearas, Kine of Araw, etc...I didn’t sign up with all those tags, but it would be neat to hear about them anyway!)

~~~

The Lord of the Rings (Books)

Cold-drakes and Fire-drakes & Crebain & The Watcher in the Water: Like with the Stone Giants and the Were-worms, I just think they’re neat and I’d love to hear your take on their origins and how they affect the history of Middle-earth. Feel free to combine this with other creature-related requests. Suggested Character(s): Scatha

Ghosts and Hauntings: Barrow-wights? Nazgûl victims? Just your crotchety old hobbit neighbor who still holds a grudge about losing the biggest pumpkin contest despite having been dead for 20 years? There’s a lot of potential for stories here; maybe you could combine a ghost story with some other prompt to add a murder mystery or haunting plot to a relationship you’re exploring!

Dwarf-Elf Relations: I don’t believe All Dwarves and All Elves hated each other! We have famous elf-dwarf friendships across the ages, and really it was just the Sindar vs. the Broadbeams/Firebeards that had the feud. Still, Legolas (a Sinda) and Gimli (raised among Broadbeams and Firebeards in the Blue Mountains) are caught up in that, so their friendship is quite remarkable! I’d love interrogations of how that feud continued across centuries and discussions of what really went down in Menegroth, perhaps with one of the Durins having an elf friend at some point in the past that sheds light on how Legolas and Gimli can get along. (I am here for any and all Gimli and Legolas combinations; I love them as friends, I love them as boyfriends or husbands, I love them as queerplatonic partners, I love them as anything in between! Do whatever you’d like with them!) Suggested Character(s): Gimli, Legolas, Original Elf Character, Any of Durins 1-7

Elvish and Mannish settlements in post-Ring War Ithilien: How do Legolas and Faramir get along, both living in Ithilien after the war? What do Legolas’ people think about being neighbors with a bunch of Men? Faramir and Imrahil were Aragorn’s chief commanders after the war, and Legolas expressed admiration for Imrahil; I imagine Imrahil visited his nephew in Ithilien, so what are the interactions of those three like? I’d love to see an exploration of Silvan elves and their culture here, with Legolas leaning into his Silvan heritage and maybe some Silvan OCs who have spent their whole lives in Mirkwood up until now and have never met Men before now! Suggested Character(s): Faramir, Legolas, Imrahil, Original Elf Character

Relations between the Dúnedain and Rivendell: Talk to me about the Grey Company, or Elladan and Elrohir fighting alongside their distant kin, or Rangers taking breaks in Imladris, how the Rangers think of Aragorn who was raised among elves, etc. I’d love an outsider POV here, such as an OC observing the oddities of a canon character. Suggested Character(s): Original Elf Character, Original Ranger of the North

The Glittering Caves of Aglarond: More Gimli and Legolas stuff - but with a focus on Gimli this time :) Gimli as a lord in his own right, Gimli who takes elves on tours of his dwarf-kingdom and weirds out his people (is it just Legolas, or does he take any Silvan elves with him, or like...his elvish in-laws??), Gimli as a craftsman... Or, alternatively, you could explore the caves before Gimli gets to work on them, what the Rohirrim thought of them and how they were created - by natural processes, or by magic, or a mixture of both? Did Aulë make them for the dwarves to find, perhaps? Suggested Character(s): Gimli, Legolas

~~~

The Hobbit (Movies)

Dragonsickness/Goldsickness: The parallel to mental illness in the movies was really interesting. I’d love to see lingering effects of the goldsickness on Thorin after the Battle (Everyone Lives AU, probably), or an AU where Fíli or Kíli inherit the throne of Erebor and are afflicted by it as well. Or, sticking to canon, how did Fíli and Kíli and the rest of the Company deal with Thorin falling into madness? Were the other dwarves affected by the thrall of the gold? Bard and Thranduil were observers of Thorin’s madness; what did they think of him? Did Thranduil remember Thrór under dragonsickness? Or, since movie!Thranduil is a far cry from book!Thranduil when it comes to going to war over jewels, was he affected by the dragonsickness even from a distance? Was Bard? Suggested Character(s): Thorin, Fíli, Kíli, Bard the Bowman, Thranduil

Dwarves who "choose craft"/Aromantic-Spectrum and Asexual-Spectrum Dwarves: This is pulling more from the books than the movies, but I didn’t have enough nomination slots to include any book nominations, so it went here, lol. Anyway: as I’m sure you can tell from my tumblr url, I headcanon Fíli as aromantic, and I love seeing that in fanworks! It’s really wonderful that Tolkien mentioned that many dwarves choose their craft over marriage, and I’d love to see an exploration of that aspect of dwarvish culture, and how Fíli fits into it. It seems to be fairly common/accepted, but are there different cultural pressures around marriage for the crown prince? How does Fíli figure out he’s aromantic? If aro and ace dwarves are expected to be choosing a craft over romance and sex, what’s Fíli’s craft? Or does he not have one, and people judge him for that? The “choose craft” language I use is very much inspired by this post and the Neo-Khuzdul word “bijebtorva” :) Suggested Character(s): Fíli, Original Character(s)

Governance and Politics in Mirkwood: How did Thranduil and Oropher come to power in the Greenwood? I hate the “lowly Silvan elf” line from the movie; can you somehow justify that with worldbuilding, or show how it’s not accurate? Is Legolas half-Silvan like is implied in the LOTR books? Who are Thranduil’s advisors? Is Tauriel really the only one who dislikes and defies Thranduil’s isolationist policies? Is Mirkwood very patriarchal, and is Tauriel’s appointment to Captain of the Guard something she faced opposition or competition for? Are the Sindar elite colonizers, or did they integrate into Silvan society? How does the average Silvan elf feel about their king, or do they not even think about him? Suggested Character(s): Thranduil, Tauriel, Original Character(s)

Poetry and prophecy: Bard uncovers that tapestry that turns a song from the book into a somewhat ominous prophecy; there’s a lot of discussion of fate and signs from the thrush at the door to the last light of Durin’s Day; Thranduil has seen enough in his thousands of years to have had time to brush up against a prophecy or two. What do these three believe about fate and prophecy? Are any of them prophets in their own right? How does poetry/music lend power to prophecy? (Bonus points if you tie it back into the Ainulindalë...) Suggested Character(s): Bard the Bowman, Thorin, Thranduil

Poisons and antidotes: I love Kíli/Tauriel and the scene where she heals his wound...but the worldbuilding around morgul poison and athelas is a little murky. It’s a decent parallel to Frodo’s condition in the LOTR movies, but it’s confusing lore-wise. Can you make sense of it? If Tauriel is a warrior, where did she learn healing? (In my own headcanons, her foster family are healers, which is how she learned those skills even though she’s primarily a warrior - but feel free to take it in whatever direction you’d like!) Suggested Character(s): Tauriel, Kíli, Original Character(s)

Rebuilding Erebor & Relations between Dwarves + Elves + Men: (I’d prefer an Everyone Lives AU for this situation.) How do Thorin and his Company put Erebor back together again? What are the renovation projects like? How long does it take Dís and the rest of the Longbeards to arrive in Erebor and help out? How long does Dáin stay to help his cousin? I would love to see some politics both internally within the Longbeard dwarves and externally as they relate to Mirkwood and Dale. Smaug’s corpse is just lying in the Long Lake...how do the dwarves feel about their old enemy’s body so close by? Do some Men want to re-establish Lake-town, and demand help from the dwarves who flushed the dragon out of the mountain? Do the dwarves want to harvest Smaug’s corpse for resources? (He’s probably got gold and jewels stuck in his scales, and dragon-skin/scales is probably a good raw material for crafting things.) What’s the process of Bard becoming King of Dale? Does he face any opposition? I love the idea of Hilda Bianca challenging him for leadership, or maybe insisting on some kind of democracy/representation in Dale! And if she doesn’t get her way, maybe it’s her leading some people back to Esgaroth and founding a democracy there that would make the old Master roll in his watery grave... How do Bard and Thranduil and Thorin reconcile after the battle? Does Thorin pay up like he said he would? Does Tauriel hang around, or does she go somewhere else? Are any elves inspired by her, or is she a total outcast? If you choose to explore the Kíli/Tauriel relationship, how does that affect politics between Erebor and Mirkwood? Suggested Character(s): Thorin, Fíli, Kíli, Bard the Bowman, Hilda Bianca, Thranduil, Tauriel, Original Character(s)

Tauriel's fate after the Battle of the Five Armies: This is for exploring what happened to Tauriel in canon. Does she wander the world and explore new places? How long does she mourn Kíli? What does she do with the runestone? Does she return to Mirkwood, and if so, how does she manage to get back into Thranduil’s good graces? There are a million different ways to take this, I’d love to see your take on her! Suggested Character(s): Tauriel, Thranduil, Original Character(s)

~~~

The Silmarillion: Magic & Spirits

Houseless Elves: Why did they refuse the call of Mandos? Do Avari even go to Mandos? Can Melkor and Sauron ensnare these spirits for their necromantic purposes? If the call of Mandos is refused once, does that bar them from listening in the future? What kinds of ghosts are haunting Middle-earth in the First Age? What kinds of ghosts haunt Aman? Suggested Character(s): Original Character(s), Melkor

Magic as a connection to the Music/the Song: Magic isn’t always the best-explained in Tolkien’s universe, but what we do know is the incredible power of the Music. How do the Maiar and Valar, who are not technically beings of Arda, interact with the world? How do elves and men (and dwarves! and orcs!) tap into the Song and manipulate it to their benefit (or detriment)? I have the headcanon that Elemmírë, the elf who sung the Aldudénië, is a priestess of Varda; what was the power of that mourning song, and how was it received by her patron Vala? Suggested Character(s): Elemmírë, Varda, Melian, Melkor, Original Character(s)

Nature Spirits: These holes in Tolkien’s worldbuilding are fascinating to me. What role do nature spirits play? How many are there? I’m thinking particularly of river spirits, like the River-woman and Goldberry, but there are probably also mountain spirits and water spirits and-and-and... Are they Maiar? Lesser beings? What do the Maiar we know of think about them? Gandalf seems the kind to listen to them and learn their stories, but perhaps Melian sees them more as servants in protecting her realm... Suggested Character(s): Melian, Original Character(s)

The Shadow-shapes in the hills above Cuiviénen: What were these shapes? Melkor’s prototypical monsters, Maiar who didn’t know how to interact with the Children, something else entirely? What did the original elves believe about them? Did they fear them, did they try to appease them, did they try to confront them? I headcanon that Elemmírë is an Unbegotten elf, so perhaps she lost friends to the Shadows, or thought she did. If the Shadows did take elves, was it out of malice or curiosity or a desire to protect them from whatever Melkor was planning? Suggested Character(s): Melkor, Elemmírë, Original Character(s)

The Void: Melkor spends a whole lot of time here. Does he have any company? Something or someone he makes to pass the time with? Do the Valar (like Manwë or Námo or Varda or Nienna) visit him there? What is the nature of the Void, is it pure emptiness or chaotic magic or a nightmare machine? Is Melkor being punished or is he being contained? And where are the boundaries of the Void? Varda rules the heavens; does her realm bleed into Melkor’s prison? Suggested Character(s): Melkor, Varda, Original Character(s)

~~~

The Silmarillion: Elven Relationships

Note: This request deals with relationships, and while I’m open to pretty much anything, please keep in mind my DNWs. Exploring these topics using canon relationships is a safe bet; I adore Maedhros/Fingon so having a look at them through this lens would be amazing; I have Aredhel as a character request here, and I see her as aromantic (“to none was her heart’s love given”) so while showing her in a relationship is fine, I’d love it if you could take her lack of romantic feelings into account; if you have a question about another ship, you can check to see what I’ve written and/or send me anon message! Additionally, a lot of these talk about soul bonds, which I’m very interested in, but one of my DNWs is soulmates. To me the concepts are very different things; it’s the destiny and inevitability and universal assumption of romance that really squick me out about soulmates. Soul bonds, on the other hand, have an aspect of choice to them that I really dig. So, please don’t make characters Fated For One Another, but please do explore what joining souls is like!

Laws & Customs of the Eldar: Boy do I have a lot of feelings about LaCE—and I’m always intrigued by other people’s feelings, too! I’d love to see an exploration of how these laws and customs came to be, which parts of the rules around marriage and children and re-embodiment are social constructs and which are innate to the fëa and hröa, and/or relationships that defy the norms. If your take on the laws is hetero/cisnormative, how does that affect queer elves? If your take is free of bigotry, what are the flexibilities around queerness, including asexuality and aromanticism? Laws and customs and rules always have loopholes and exceptions, so what do elves who don’t fit into the expected relationship mold do about these norms? Suggested Character(s): Aredhel, Maedhros, Fingon, Elrond, Any Unbegotten Elf Character(s)

Arranged Marriages among the Eldar: Russingon arranged marriage AU?? Orrrr....Maedhros or Fingon are politically engaged to someone else, and they have to deal with the ramifications of that? (Please don’t have them actually go through with the marriage if you go that route; I’m not interested in a story with Fingon having a wife, even if she’s a beard.) If elves (usually) only love once, and by declaration of the Valar can only marry once (Finwë being the somewhat disastrous exception), how is an arranged marriage justified within the cultural emphasis on these bonds? Are they more like arranged romances, people pushing their children together in hopes that they’ll fall in love? Or is it a stricter rule about “you do what’s best for this family”? (Note: Bad/cruel parenting is one of my major DNWs, so if you’re going that route, please don’t make the parent uncaring or malicious. Stubborn and narrow-minded is fine, as is the genuine belief that this is what’s best for the child, but ideally they’ll learn from their mistakes or perhaps everything will be interrupted and derailed by Canon Events. This is especially important wrt to Fëanor.) Suggested Character(s): Maedhros, Fingon

Creation/Discovery of soul bonds: How do soul bonds work on a metaphysical level? Can they be broken? Do they have to be nurtured and maintained? What’s long-distance communication like? Heck, what’s short-distance communication like, is it like talking in your mind or sharing your feelings or more abstract than that? Can elves form soul bonds with mortals? And most importantly—how did elves figure out they could soul bond with one another?? I can imagine that would be quite a shock when they’re discovering sex and then suddenly they’re inside each other’s minds! Suggested Character(s): Any Unbegotten Elf Character(s)

Non-romantic/sexual soul bonds: I’m good with practically any relationship here. Explore sibling bonds, twin bonds, parent-child bonds, queerplatonic bonds, found family bonds, adoption bonds, the bond between a Vala and their Maia...any kind of soul bond that is familial or platonic or chosen without regard to romance! (Feel free to take a canon romantic relationship and turn it queerplatonic, I live for that shit!) How are these bonds formed outside of sex? What are the rituals and ceremonies around forming them? Is it a public or private thing? Are non-romantic soul bonds taken seriously, or are they seen as less important than marriage bonds? Since elven parents literally give part of their soul in the creation of the child, is that parent-child bond innate? Suggested Character(s): Aredhel, Any Unbegotten Elf Character(s)

Elven adoption: I nominated this with Kidnap Dads in mind (if you go that route I love fluff for them as well as more nuanced/complicated takes on the situation, but whatever you do don’t make M&M cruel, and please include Maedhros as a parental figure alongside Maglor)...but hey, it could work for Fingon (and Maedhros) adopting Gil-galad! What are traditions around elven adoption? Are there soul bonds created between the adoptive parents and children? Was adoption even a thing in Aman, or is it only practiced in Middle-earth? Did elves adopt mortals and vice versa? Is adoption extended to found family other than a parent-child situation? How is adoption viewed by elvish society, especially if inheritance/succession is a concern? Suggested Character(s): Maedhros, Fingon, Elros Tar-Minyatur, Elrond

~~~

The Silmarillion: Noldorin Politics

Original Fëanorian follower(s) who turned on their lords at Sirion: Okay, this is a character tag, but I’m absolutely obsessed with this line: “For the sons of Fëanor that yet lived came down suddenly upon the exiles of Gondolin and the remnant of Doriath, and destroyed them. In that battle some of their people stood aside, and some few rebelled and were slain upon the other part aiding Elwing against their own lords (for such was the sorrow and confusion in the hearts of the Eldar in those days).” Who were these people who followed the Fëanorians into exile, into a Kinslaying, through the burning of the ships, through 30 years of Maglor as a king-regent incapable of treating with the Nolofinwëans, through the scattering of their lords and the harsh conditions of the North, through the Bragollach and the Nírnaeth and a “wild and woodland life” and the Second Kinslaying (where some of them went as far as to abandon children in the winter woods to die because they thought it was what their lord/s would want), through isolation and hatred from every other elven group, through the plan to attack a refugee camp—through ALL OF THAT, and THEN they turn on their lords at Sirion??? Why betray your lords NOW? And the people who DID keep following them after that (after kidnapping children!!!), what were they thinking?? — I firmly believe that Maedhros has many escapees from Angband in his service who are ride or die for him and whose morality was somewhat warped by Angband, but what about Maglor’s followers? Caranthir’s? Ambarussa’s? Even Celegorm and Curufin’s?? There’s just SO MUCH potential for story here, I’m dying to read about them!

Noldorin lines of succession: Was It Sexist Or Was It Not: The Eternal Question aka Why Didn’t Idril Become High Queen After Turgon? Also, what does “eldest of the house of Finwë, and not the least wise” even MEAN, Maedhros?? How did Gil-galad come to power? I find it hard to believe he became king immediately after Gondolin fell; was it a wartime power grab? A battlefield promotion? How did the kingship get established in the first place? Why was Finwë chosen to go with Oromë to Aman? Was Maglor ever really king, or did he only rule as a regent for the missing Maedhros? Suggested Character(s): Finwë, Gil-galad, Maglor

Origins of Gil-galad: I am always so interested in takes on Gil-galad’s parentage. My favorites are Russingon baby Gil (through trans mpreg or adoption, both are good) and secret peredhel Gil (probably an Aegnor/Andreth baby adopted by Orodreth), but I also love Finduilas Is Gil-galad and honestly, any situation is fascinating here—just convince me! A possible way to explore this is through Outsider POV; some noble or historian trying to figure out just what the heck is up with Gil-galad. His parentage being confusing in-canon is so fun!! Suggested Character(s): Gil-galad, Original Nobility of the Noldor

Maglor's Kingship between Maedhros' capture and rescue: Was Maglor ever really king? Did he give up on Maedhros early on, or did he cling to the hope that he still lived? Did his brothers turn to him for support, or did they connive to take responsibility from him? The rift between the Noldor wasn’t healed until Maedhros’ rescue; did Maglor try to cooperate with Fingolfin, or did he keep his people isolated? Was he relieved when Maedhros came back and took responsibility, or was he resentful to lose his power? How does this situation (and Maglor not going to rescue Maedhros) affect M&M’s relationship later on? Suggested Character(s): Maglor, Original Fëanorian follower(s)..., Curufin, Caranthir

Dwarf-Elf relations in the First Age & Dwarf-kingdoms: Dwarf-friends!!! Yes!!! I love elves and dwarves being buds (or partners if you’d like to go that route!) <3 IIRC, Curufin learned Khuzdul, and I’m sure Celebrimbor did too; Caranthir was supposedly rude to the dwarves, but what if that’s just his (and their!) love language? How did relations between the Sindar and the dwarves sour over time? Maedhros was friends with Azaghâl; how did that relationship begin? How did Finrod’s contract with the dwarves blossom into a real friendship? Eöl was also buddies with the dwarves; did he ever bump into Curufin or Caranthir while at a trade festival or something? And the dwarf kingdoms of the First Age are fascinating on their own, too; what was the political structure like? Did the dwarves bring items from the other side of the mountains into Beleriand? How did the petty-dwarves get exiled? What happened to Nogrod and Belegost in the War of Wrath, and were they ever re-established after the sinking of Beleriand? Suggested Character(s): Curufin, Caranthir

Guilds and Noble Houses of Tirion: Give me a Tirion political drama! Finwë trying to appease his lords and craftseldar? Indis integrating into Noldorin society and making connections with the noble houses? Arranged marriage situation between Nolofinwë and Anairë? The younger princes running amok and causing chaos in their elders’ carefully-laid plans and delicately balanced alliances? Suggested Character(s): Finwë, Indis, Original Nobility of the Noldor, Curufin, Caranthir, Maglor

Roles and Responsibilities in the Noldorin Royal Family: There were oodles of princes in Valinor. What did they all do? How did they get the followers who came with them to Middle-earth? Were they free to pursue their own crafts, or did they have responsibilities to the common people? How did this change in Middle-earth when suddenly everyone was in danger and had more pressing needs? What is it like being a re-embodied royal in a society that’s adapted to life without you? Suggested Character(s): Finwë, Indis, Maglor, Curufin, Caranthir, Gil-galad

Fashion as Political Statement: This is an excuse to request Color Coding Politics. Fëanorian red! Nolofinwëan blue! Findis wearing Aggressively Neutral White! Lalwen in orange? Arafinwë in yellow? Finwë in an amazing technicolor dream-coat...or more likely just red, showing his bias once more? Art of this would be absolutely fantastic. I have lots of headcanons about color politics; feel free to ask me about them if you choose this option. Suggested Character(s): Curufin, Caranthir, Gil-galad, Finwë

~~~

The Silmarillion: Trauma & Religion

War of Wrath: For a war that took so long and had such wide-reaching repercussions, we really don’t have very many details about this. It’s free real estate, basically! I have my favorite characters (Maedhros, Maglor, Elrond, Elros, Gil-galad...) that you could use to explore this time period, but literally anyone who’s alive at this point is fair game. And OCs! What do the Noldor and Vanyar (and Telerin sailors) feel about the War and interacting with the war-weary exiles and Sindar and Men of late-stage Beleriand? What kind of culture shock/culture clash is there? Were re-embodied exiles permitted to return to Middle-earth, or were they barred from going to war again? Suggested Character(s): Original Noldorin Character, Original Vanyarin Character

Trauma after the War of Wrath for elves and humans & Exiles adjusting to life in the Undying Lands post War of Wrath & Dealing with psychological trauma in Valinor: Trauma was commonplace in Beleriand, but not so much in Valinor. What’s it like for exiles who sail West to be in a society that doesn’t know how to support them? Are the Valar having to learn how to deal with the trauma of living elves super quickly, or are they reticent to change? How do the exiles interact with their re-embodied kin? What do the Vanyar and other Amanyar think of these elves who have been so deeply hurt? What kinds of treatises on psychology are penned by scholars with little to no previous experience? What is therapy like in Valinor? Do the exiles get together for support groups since no one else understands them? Or did the trauma of the Darkening and the First Kinslaying wake up the Amanyar and get their act together before then; are the exiles surprised by the structures already in place to support them? And what about Avari who have been dying steadily all this time from accidents and incidents in Middle-earth? If they’ve been re-embodied, how do they engage with the Eldar who have similar traumas? Suggested Character(s): Estë, Finrod, Maeglin, Original Noldorin Character, Original Vanyarin Character, Rúmil, Any Avarin Elf Character(s)

Worship of the Valar and Religion & Avarin religious culture: Do the Vanyar really worship the Valar, or do they seem them as hyper-powerful neighbors? What are priests and priestesses like in a world where the gods walk among you? How does each kindred of the elves interact with the Valar? Are Maiar viewed as equal worshippers/servants or as deities in their own right? Do the Avari even know about or acknowledge the Valar? Do they worship the stars, or simply Eru? Suggested Character(s): Pengolodh, Rúmil, Any Avarin Elf Character(s)

~~~

Middle-earth Legendarium: Magic & Spirits

Afterlives: This is pretty vague, but I think it’s referring to the various kinds of afterlife. What are the Halls of Mandos like? What happens to spirits who don’t go to Mandos? Do Men pass through Mandos on the way to Beyond? What happens to Men? Are they reincarnated in the more traditional understanding of the word, do they go to some other realm similar to Arda, are they just endlessly partying it up with Eru? Do dwarves really go to the Halls, or is that just a superstition? And of course, what about orcs? Suggested Character(s): Námo

Fate of orc souls after death: Yeah, really, what about orcs? If the orcs were originally elves twisted into Morgoth’s servants, are their spirits still elven? Are they reborn as they once were, elven despite their life as an orc? What about orcs who are many generations removed from their elvish ancestors? Do they have fëar? Can orcs be rehabilitated? I refuse to accept that all orcs are inherently evil; but what does everyone believe in-universe? Suggested Character(s): Námo, Original Orc Character(s)

Foresight and Prophecy and Doom: I’m honestly not sure if this fanon or canon, but Finarfin and his line having foresight through Indis is a wonderful concept and I’d love an exploration of that. How accurate is foresight? Can fate be circumvented? Are prophecies like the Doom of the Noldor self-fulfilling, or are they warnings about possible futures, or are they curses upon people? If you have a high Doom upon you, does that end with your death, or does it follow you to Mandos and beyond? Suggested Character(s): Námo, Finarfin

Songs and Words of Power: Rap battles with Sauron! ...joking aside, song as magic is just fascinating to me. How does this connect to the Ainulindalë and the Song of the World? The elves named themselves Quendi, the Speakers; how do they view the power of words and their ability to change the world around them? Can music be used as a force of destruction or a weapon (battle bard Maglor)? Can it be used to manipulate someone’s mind (Sauron)? Suggested Character(s): Maglor, Sauron

Stars and Starlight: “All light is sacred to the Eldar...but wood-elves love best the light of the stars.” Okay, sorry for being a Hobbit movie apologist on main, but I do love Tauriel! How do elves view starlight? Is it holy, or are the stars more like their friends and guides? Did the Avari choose to remain in Middle-earth partially because of their love for the stars, which were drowned out by the light of the Trees? How does Eärendil feel about being a star; does he feel blasphemous or holy? What legends and superstitions are there among Avari and Men and others who don’t know the origins of Gil-Estel about the new star in the sky? Suggested Character(s): Morwë, Eärendil

The Unseen Realm: This is the in-between world where Frodo goes when he wears the ring, the world that the Nazgûl in their half-life inhabit. Are Ainur able to slip into this realm at will? Did Gandalf walk invisible in Gondolin? How does Sauron manipulate this realm to his purposes? Is this where elves go if they fade? (I don’t usually like Maglor fading, but it could be an interesting way to explore this...) Suggested Character(s): Námo, Sauron, Nazgûl, Maglor

Magical Artefacts & Magical Communications: Palantíri! Galadriel’s mirror! Ósanwë! All sorts of cool ways to talk with magic. Do the Rings of Power enable long-distance ósanwë? Did the Silmarils contain pieces of Fëanor’s soul? What other marvelous magical creations were there that didn’t make it into the Legendarium we know? Suggested Character(s): Sauron, Maglor, Eärendil

~~~

Middle-earth Legendarium: Politics & Lore

Feudalism between Eldar and Edain: We have Edain entering into the service of Noldorin lords (Bëor and Finrod, Hador and Fingolfin, Amlach and Maedhros) and land being given to Men by elves (or not, in Haleth’s case)...how far did this feudal relationship extend? Were the Edain mostly autonomous or were they very much bound to their elven lords? Were there common elves who paid tribute to Edain lords? Can any relationship between elves and Men truly be equal if this is the way they originated? Fealty kink? Suggested Character(s): Curufin, Original Elf Character

Fourth Age Tirion: What’s Tirion like with a bunch of dead people walking around living again, and a bunch of weird legends now imposing in daily life? What’s the first meeting of Rúmil and Pengolodh like—who geeks out over whom? Are the Fëanorians back yet? Is the average elf even really aware of all the nonsense that happened in Middle-earth, or are they extremely unimpressed with King So-and-So of a square of land that’s now underwater trying to cut them in line at the coffee shop? Suggested Character(s): Original Elf Character, Pengolodh, Rúmil of Tirion, Celebrimbor, Elrond, Galadriel

Relationship between Noldor and Dwarves: See “Dwarf-Elf relations in the First Age & Dwarf-kingdoms” in my Silm request for a starting point...but also, was Elrond’s Last Homely House open to dwarves? How did Galadriel come to respect the dwarves, especially after her Sindar kin grew to hate them? Suggested Character(s): Curufin, Celebrimbor, Elrond, Galadriel

Timekeeping between the Death of the Two Trees and the Rise of the Sun and Moon: Tolkien’s math drives me ABSOLUTELY INSANE. His timelines are contradictory, I get headaches just thinking about the length of elf pregnancy, what does aging mean for an immortal species, WHY ARE TREE YEARS LIKE THAT and WHAT IS A YÉN? Please try and make sense of this for me, I beg of thee. I’m especially interested in the time period between the Death of the Trees and the Rise of the Sun and Moon. Did the Noldor wander the Helcaraxë for 3 years or 30? How long was Maitimo in Angband? Did the Sindar even realize something was different? How did people start calculating Sun years? When was the calendar of the First Age adopted? Who did all this math? Is there an in-universe explanation for these contradictions? Do people fight over math? Do the Ainur experience time the same way the Children do? Did some Noldo genius come up with a timekeeping system that worked with the Moon, only for the Sun to come along and muck it up? Suggested Character(s): Pengolodh, Rúmil of Tirion, Original Elf Character, Fëanor - really any scholarly character, tbh!

Treatment of Angband's Escaped Thralls: Which kinds of escapees choose to go to Himring with Maedhros the Tall, and which choose to go to Gondolin and the House of the Hammer of Wrath? Was Rôg an escapee too? Can Maedhros really tell who’s been turned by the Enemy? Does Thingol have the right of it in turning away thralls from Doriath? (If he even does that, I’m now researching this and I’m not sure it’s actually canon...) What was it like for Maedhros and Gwindor to readjust to elven society? Did Elrond grow up surrounded by Fëanorian followers who escaped Angband, and is that where he learned healing? Suggested Character(s): Original Elf Character, Elrond

In-universe authorial bias in historical texts: All of the Legendarium is a history, which means there’s bound to be unreliable narrators. Was Maeglin really as evil as the story says? What gets left out of the narrative? What gets lost in translation? Who lives, who dies, who tells your story? Suggested Character(s): Pengolodh, Rúmil of Tirion

Trade in Middle-earth: What was trade like in First Age Beleriand? What about Second Age trade between Númenor and the mainland? Was Ost-in-Edhil a trade hub? After Sauron returned and traveling became dangerous, what intrepid traders braved the wilds for the sake of goods and money? How was currency developed around the world? Suggested Character(s): Curufin, Celebrimbor, Elrond, Galadriel

Orcs Surviving the Wars: Again, I don’t believe that all orcs are irredeemably, inherently evil. Were they persecuted and stamped out after the Ring War, or did some escape and adapt to a life without a harsh overlord? What’s orc agriculture like? Would Elrond take a chance on rehabilitating an orc in Rivendell? What if orcs were more complicated all along, and it’s the histories that simplified them to cardboard-cutout villains? Suggested Character(s): Original Elf Character, Pengolodh, Celebrimbor, Elrond, Galadriel

~~~

The Adventure Zone: Balance

My only non-Tolkien request, oops. Don’t think I’m not as interested in this request, though; I’m the only one who nominated for it, so I picked my very favorite concepts and I’d love to see what you do with them!

Angus McDonald’s Grandfather: This guy’s name was lost to time, and he loves silverware, and he has a grandson, and that’s pretty much all we know about him. Was he involved in the Relic Wars somehow? Did his name get eaten by the Voidfish? I imagine he’s a rather eccentric fellow; how much of that did he pass on to Angus? Is he even real, or was Angus lying to Tres Horny Boys about his destination?

Any Wonderland Adventurer(s): I’d love to see what happens to the other people who go to Wonderland before our boys. Do they all die? How many get what they want and get out? Do any of them have weaker moral compasses than THB and agree to advertise for Edward and Lydia? What if Edward or Lydia fell in love with an adventurer and trapped them there? What kinds of things do people sacrifice to the Wheel? We know about the Escape Game and the Healing Game; what about the Recovery Game? How long has Wonderland been around? How has it evolved over time? What was it like before Edward and Lydia got ahold of the Animus Bell? How did they get ahold of it? (Personally I think Barry just gave it to them...but did he have to go through the trials first?)

Differences within species between the Two-Sunned World and Faerun: I love the fanon that Two-Sun elves are juuust a little different from Faerun elves...like Taako’s echolocation, for example. But what if this applies to the other species like gnomes and dwarves and even humans? How are the Seven Birds just a liiiitle off from everyone else around them? Also, Cat Elves. This is an excuse for Two-Sun Cat Elves. GIVE TAAKO A TAIL. (I mean, or not, do what you want, but I’d love to see that, lol.) Suggested Character(s): Any Member(s) of the IPRE, Original Character(s)

Reclaimers before Tres Horny Boys: Who were the other Reclaimers? Who did Lucretia trust to carry out this dangerous mission? How did they all each, inevitably fail? What if Magic Brian was a Reclaimer gone wrong? What was the last straw for Lucretia, the last failure that made her scheme to get her boys back? And the other Reclaimers weren’t officially disbanded right away; how did they feel about the new guys in town, and losing their jobs to these doofuses? Suggested Character(s): Lucretia, Original Character(s)

The Relic Wars: There were wars about the Relics!!! Wars!! That everyone forgot!! Wars where people that THB knew died!! And then we never get into this in canon! It drives me nuts! I would love to see an exploration of this chaotic time period, what the IPRE did to mitigate the damage, which relics were obvious and terrifying and which were secret and terrifying, etc... I’ve written a bit about Relic War-era Hurloane, but what were the other NPCs doing? (Or Hurley and Sloane too, I’d love to see your take on them too!) When Lucretia wiped everyone’s memories, what was lost? (I suspect Angus’ Grandfather got caught up in that...) How did those missing memories lead people to the Bureau of Balance? Suggested Character(s): Lucretia, Any Member(s) of the IPRE, Angus McDonald’s Grandfather

The Robot World's crystal post-Story and Song: The IPRE promised to return the Robot World’s crystal if they ever managed to defeat the Hunger...and we know they can plane hop from the casino liveshow...so, did they ever return the crystal? How did that go down? How does the Robot World rebuild itself? And if we’re going into it being the (K)nights Arc’s setting, are there other characters than Troth that we might recognize? Suggested Character(s): Magnus Burnsides, Lucretia, Any Member(s) of the IPRE

Worlds that survived the Hunger: In the worlds where the IPRE found the Light of Creation before the Hunger arrived, what was it like for the people there who had to endure the Hunger’s attack? What was the scope of the destruction? How did they rebuild afterward? Does uniting against a common enemy bring the people of the world together and create more Tesseralia-like societies? How many people knew about the IPRE, and what did they think about them? When they hear the Story and Song, what’s the reaction? If they didn’t know about the IPRE what myths do they create to explain the Hunger? Suggested Character(s): Lucretia, Original Character(s)

~~~

Alright, that’s the end of my prompts/requests! Thanks for reading this far, and whatever you end up writing for me I am super excited to read it!! And if you have questions or ideas or something, my askbox is open and I have anon messages on, I’d love to talk! Thank you again for creating for me, you are the best! <3

#tmi anna #worldbuilding exchange #exchange letter

[umbraastaff]

I’ve just been thinking--it’s about time I make a proper index for my TAZ fics, huh? Also contains: mini-series, ficlets, goof posts, and lyric comics.

(All of the fics are rated G, or T at most for McElroy-appropriate language.)

FICS

I Saw Seven Bounties | Canon Compliant, Enemies to Friends, Complete | Mostly lighthearted, episodic recounting of Kravitz and Barry’s rivalry throughout those first twelve years on Faerun. 24K. -->Extras: Lich Eyes, Fantasy Starbucks, Alt POV for Chapter 1 & Chapter 5, Sorry

They Say Fire Took Phandalin | Small-town supernatural/sorta-haunted-house AU |  Fresh out of grad school, Barry Bluejeans takes a job and a house in the rural nowhere-town of Phandalin. And it’s not like he thought fitting in would be a walk in the park, but the people there all act really weird, and it’s almost like they’re expecting something of him, too. 11K/~20K.

What Can’t Be Done Alone (Detective Squad) | Canon Divergent, Found Family, Fluff | AU where the voidfish works a little better, and Angus never finds the Bureau. Instead, he finds a strange lich in a cave, and he most certainly continues to work this case and not gradually get adopted instead. 18K/~22K. -->Extras: Drangus AU Oneshot

If I Wanted to be Funny I’d Name This Fic “The Time Belt” | Futuristic sci-fi AU feat. time travel | Taako meets the only people in years who recognize the Institute’s name. Known time criminal Barry Bluejeans continues to evade law enforcement. 2K/??.

Overgrowth / Undercurrent | Roleswap AU, Johnchurch, Pining, Twoshot, Happy ending optional | Overgrowth is a oneshot that follows John, the Starblaster’s chief diplomat, through a series of parleys with Merle, the center of the plane-consuming mass of plants that’s been chasing his crew. Undercurrent is a sequel about their post-canon reunion. 4K + 6K. --> Extras: PLAYLIST by @merle-casts-zone-of-truth

Davenport Remembers | Post-canon, Oneshot | Davenport meets with his crew members to try to reconcile his anger with Lucretia, or to decide whether he should. 1.5K.

MINI-SERIES

AU Where Taako is a Lich - Pretty much what it says on the tin here, folks!

Baritz (ask series) - A fusion of Barry and Kravitz, who took over my blog and answered asks for a while. (He originated in the Gallows/S&S lyric comic.)

Good Adventures (Good Omens crossover) - The Antichrist’s wishes summon the wrong boatful of aliens. Thankfully, it seems they’re apocalypse experts. [with plot-ideas help from @avijohann​.]

Omen Zone (Good Omens crossover 2) - Barry is a demon. Kravitz is an angel. Kravitz probably won’t ever admit that they’re friends.

Pokémon: Century Version (Pokémon crossover) - Stolen Century AU where they’re all pokémon trainers. Faerun spin-off: Double Trouble

Till Death, Don’t Let’s Start - Barry fucks up. Kravitz is present.

Very Normal Blog Posts (ask series) - In which Garfield is not at all dangerous, and I am perfectly fine. <alt: chronological link - desktop only>

COMICS & ART

Gallows/Steady and Stronger (Double lyric comic) - Canon-divergent AU where, as the world is ending, Barry gives up to Kravitz. [Image description version]

[Lyric Comics] - Other, shorter lyric comics based on single verses of songs.

Dear Scientist’s Log (series) - Illustrated ship logs from Barry J. Bluejeans.

Movie Madness (Comic) - Barry obsesses over the unforgivable.

Palette Prompts (Arts) - Art from art meme prompts.

Pregananant (goof comic) - You know the one.

REAPER (Comic) - Baritz fuses with Lup.

These Jeans? (Animatic) - Barry advertises jeans.

They’re Both Tessa Thompson (Comic) - Lucretia has a nightmare. Barry reassures her.

War (Goof comic) - prompt: "taakitz with CAT”

What’s bigger than this? - The Red Robe.

FICLETS

Back Soon - Kravitz leaves a note with unfortunate wording.

Bodyswap: Barry & Davenport - During Wonderland.

Casual - AU where the red robe talks like a normal person.

Command - Barry misuses his magic.

Davenport - There’s something unsettling about that butler.

Hangin’ Out - Lup and Magnus.

Harvest - Roleswap AU: Barry is the Hunger.

Healing Necromancy - Merle tries to teach Barry some tricks.

Hope - Barry knows she’s still out there.

How Long? - Taako is frustrated.

In Pieces - The staff.

Liches Forget Too - AU.

Lucretia Forgets - In which there was a mistake with the voidfish ichor.

Lup’s Robe - Gifts from Taako.

Mourning Glories - The flowers in Merle’s beard.

New Years - Celebrations and fears.

Parole - Barry and Kravitz bonding hours.

Phone a Friend - Baritz (the fusion from Gallows/S&S) meets Angus.

Raising the Dead - Barry has to use his crew members’ corpses. [sequel]

Robbie...? - Magnus breaks into the brig immediately after Petals to the Metal.

Second Apocalypse - Based on that one party liveshow. What was the rest of the crew doing, again?

3 Sentence Fics - Pairing + AU prompts.

Smartstone - Lup gets stuck in a Stone of Far Speech, instead.

Stir Crazy - Barry waiting for a new body to grow. Thoughts of Lucretia.

Writing Things Down - In case you forget (again).

You Remember - Taako remembers.

PROMINENT GOOFS

Barry’s Dead - But he’s fine! Calm down!

Character Development - Joke’s on you, DM!

Crystal Kingdom - An absolutely bonkers arc.

Dealer - Merle pun.

Decapitate Me - for making this post

Don’t Care - Taako during the finale. [bonus]

Epilogue - Bracer struggles. [bonus: 1, 2]

Explain the Hunger (Good Omens crossover) - Magnus explains the hunger to Aziraphale and Crowley. They react in varying ways. [with cursed art contributions from @avijohann and @mspainttaz]

Fifteen Dollars - Plus interest. [Bonus]

Fullmetal Kingdom - They’re the same, right?

Gender - And lack of roles.

Gnomes Don’t Exist - They’re all aliens, actually.

Hot Diggity Shit - Been a while.

Icon Confusion - The saga of people thinking my icon is a carrot. [chrono link - desktop only]

Incomprehensible Denim - Jeff Angel’s illegal pants.

In Case it Changes Anything - Taako, Kravitz, and lies.

Irresponsible Teens - Magnus and Lucretia get into trouble.

I Saw Seven Nerds - That’s the post.

Gogurt - Taako’s crimes.

Learning to Drive - i.e. Barry & Davenport Bonding(?) Hours.

Live Shows - The general mood.

Lucretia’s Efforts - A proper meme? On my TAZ blog?

Lup Said No Thanks - That time Magnus was in a tree.

Magnus’ Death - So many close calls.

Nearest Middle-Aged Woman - Clint’s characters’ friends.

Necromancy? - You must be mistaken!

Ned’s Aliases - The Truth.

Pirate Debt - Davenport during that one liveshow.

Punch Squad - SQUAD!

Reaper Cloak - Thoughts.

Relic Names - She probably changed them.

Responsible Necromancy - Good and bad ideas.

Resume - It’s not like they thought it would be relevant.

Schools of Magic - And the Sash was what, again?

Self Care - Respect the dead, please.

Server Shenaniganry (art) - TAAKO THE CAT, NO!

Soulmate AU - Where your soulmate’s greatest enemy is on your wrist. [alt]

Stern’s Truth - You Know.

Taako’s Last Name - Taako’s last name.

Team Composition - The post where everyone wants to argue with me about what qualifies as a wizard.

Third Option - Taako saves the day.

You’re Laughing - End of Suffering Game.

THEORIES/MECHANICS/THOUGHTS

Aloof - Holes Taako refuses to fill.

Barry’s Lucky Possessee - Graphic novel theory hopes & dreams.

Catpiling - Stolen Century thought.

Davenport’s Deaths - Sucks when you always wake up driving.

Death Leaves a Mark - Stolen Century AU concept.

Everyone Else - Some people didn’t get perfect endings.

Fantasy Nonsense - lore about the word “fantasy,” as in “Jesus Fantasy Christ.”

Fragments - Magnus’ memory.

Forgiveness - Old post about the crew’s thoughts on Lucretia’s actions.

Forgot to Erase - Lucretia’s errors.

FULL TIMELINE POST - the Balance timeline.

Gauntlet - (disproven!) Theory about the final relic, from before it was confirmed in the show.

Gnome Nicknames - Thoughts on Cap’nport.

High School AU - Some old headcanons.

Home World Names - The pattern in surnames (or lack thereof) on the IPRE’s homeworld.

Hour - This isn’t a thought so much as an Actual Thing That Magnus Said before the time loops had started, which is absurd.

Idiots in Love - The IPRE’s collective braincell was lost for all of Legato. [2]

Liches, Alone - Being stuck as raw emotion for an awfully long time.

Losing Julia - And subsequent developments.

Love - What was remembered and forgotten.

Love Without Fear - Thoughts on bonds during the Stolen Century.

Memory - Barry actually shouldn’t have remembered anything.

Nickname - Memory of Lup.

Paladin Barry Theory - Converging evidence on Barry’s multiclassing.

Paradox AU - blueprint for 8th, 9th, 10th, etc. Bird AU of your choice(s). (Extra)

Phylactery Mechanics - How liches differ.

Produce Flame - Mechanics of John killing Merle.

Recklessness - THB’s actions recontextualized.

Relic Schools of Magic - They don’t have them!!!

Relicswap AU - Where all the birds get swapped out.

Seven Birds as Gods - Ask-prompt thoughts.

Staring at the Sun - The birds and their light sensitivity.

Story, Song, & Sorcery - Effects on the young population.

Sword Tornado - Magnus Mechanics. [bonus: Time Warlock]

The Good Place AU - A series of crossover thoughts.

Tree Climbing - Davenport shenanigans.

Unique Magic Types - [and combo styles]

What Killed Maureen - hint: it wasn’t Fisher.

#the adventure zone #taz balance #mine #index #there were a fair few in here that id forgotten about too! #god i hope i didnt mess up any of these links

[angstytieflingbard]

Slight Magnus x One-sided!Demigod!Reader

Request: “Thank you for the fic!! Could I request a trickster Demigod reader who's the raven queens kid(created not born) They take the form of a young adult and just mess around with the main three(they don't know what the person is, just that they like to take their stuff)until one day they are messing with them, kravitz appears and like "please go back home-" which blows the demigods cover? A bit of romance with Magnus if possible( the reader being a lovesick puppy around him). Thank you for your time!” -Taz anon

Summary: You, (Y/N), are the child of the Raven Queen, created from the very fabric of the astral plane shortly after the woman first attained godhood. You sneaked away from your home realm to experience the mortal world for yourself, meeting a strange group of adventurers on the way. You, of course, immediately decide to mess with them. 

Warnings: None, besides a one-sided crush the reader has on Magnus, which I understand some might not be interested in. 

A/N: I’ve been busy the past few days, my friend is moving to France in a little over a week and some other friends of mine have started a little horror gaming group so I’ve been hanging out with them a bunch. But here it is, and I hope you enjoy! I’m going to try to be quicker with requests in the future, I feel bad making people wait (particularly Taz anon, who’s an angel honestly), though I may have to make shorter works. We’ll see! Anyway, please enjoy, and know my asks are pretty much always open for requests (my fandoms/rules are in my bio) or just to say hi, or tell me what you think of something I’ve written! 

~~~~

The first time you met the boys was on the road to Phandalin. You’d taken up residence a little less than a day out from the small mining village, in a little camp on a hill by the road where you could watch the travelers as they passed. You were new to Faerun, having only recently left the astral plane where you were created (despite your mother, the Raven Queen, having forbid your leaving), and you’d never actually interacted with still-living mortals yourself, so you’d taken to people watching for much of the early days of your stay in the mortal plane. 

They’d stopped for the night in the area of road your camp bordered, and ended up making their camp nearly on top of yours. They introduced themselves, and you watched in interest for the evening at their actions, glad to get a chance to watch the mortals up close for once. You’d also had your first experience eating and sleeping that night, not wanting to seem too suspicious by declining their offer to join them for dinner, nor for keeping them up by moving around and reading and practicing whatever new craft you were attempting as you usually did at night. 

In the morning, you’d felt confident enough to throw some of your own teasing into the mix of their conversation, and their laughter and friendliness to you made for an easy fascination with them. You had an odd luck in finding them on your own travels, often ending up in the places they had to go for “missions” from some mysterious benefactor, though you’d never pried despite your growing interest, getting the feeling that any question about their jobs would be particularly unwelcome. Your respect for their privacy did not extend to their belongings, however, and you took to snooping through the trinkets they found over their missions whenever you met them, to their chagrin. Magnus was the most forgiving of your sticky fingers, though he was quick to take his things back from you after he’d let you inspect them. You’d taken a liking to Magnus for that fact alone, though his general optimism was also enjoyable. 

Your interactions with the group only increased over the months, and eventually you started actively seeking them out, curious to a fault regarding the strange group of adventurers. 

~~~

You sat perched upon a tree branch which overhanged the road, waiting for the three adventurers you’d come to be friends with over the course of your stay in Faerun. Well, friend might be a strong word, considering how Merle groans the second he catches sight of you in the tree. 

“Hail and well met, strangers!” You grinned playfully at them, swinging your legs back and forth in the air as they stop just a short distance away. 

“(Y/N).” Magnus greeted you. “Causing trouble as usual?” He asked, and you laughed, jumping down from the tree branch and landing in a crouch. 

“Only for you, of course! You know you guys are my favorite to mess with.” You said as you straightened out again. Magnus sighed. 

“We’re on a… mission, right now. We need to get to Goldcliff.” He told you, and you stepped to the side, waving them past you. There was a moment of hesitation, but the party moved forwards, and you fell into step beside the fighter at the head of the group. 

“So, Magnus, what’s this mission about? You wouldn’t happen to be after the Raven, would you?” You hounded him, and he looked at you in surprise. 

“How do you know about the Raven?” Taako interjected from behind you, and you threw a glance at him over your shoulder. You’d been around the city for the past couple weeks, leaving now due to the increased militia and Raven activity, though you were somewhat sad you wouldn’t be able to watch the races anymore. 

“Well, she’s been wreaking havoc all over the city for days now. You can barely take two steps without running over someone in the militia.” You tell them airily, and all three are silent for a moment as they process the information. In that time, you catch sight of a small water-filled glass orb attached to Magnus’ belt with a leather strips woven together in a way reminiscent of fishnet. A fish swam contentedly inside the ball, and you looked at it curiously, reaching over and plucking the orb from its harness and holding it up to your face. 

“Hey! Give Steven back!” Magnus protests, and you quickly step back out of his reach, holding the glass orb carefully in your palms. 

“Steven? That’s a pretty name! How do you feed him?” You ask, glancing at the fish as it swam mostly unperturbed. 

“We- huh.” Taako paused, thinking. “I don’t think we’ve ever had to. It’s pretty happy inside the ball, actually.” Merle snickers. 

“Are you sure? It’s not floating upside down is it?” 

“Hey! Steven isn’t dead, he’s still swimming around!” Magnus exclaimed, taking the orb back from you. You let him, laughing along with the cleric as Magnus tucked the orb back into its harness. 

“Don’t you have somewhere else to be?” Taako asked you as you and Merle’s laughter faded. 

“Wait, don’t we?” Merle asked, and the elf sighed. 

“No, but I get it, you’re busy. I’ll leave you to… whatever it is that you do.” You told them, feigning disappointment. “Bye, boys! See you around?” You asked, already starting to head down the road in the opposite direction as them, away from Goldcliff. 

“See ya!” Magnus called after you with a wave, and you grinned, saluting playfully as the three turned away from you, continuing their own journey. 

~~~

You were a month into your stay at Moon Base Alpha, having been made an official regulator on the recommendation of Magnus, Taako, and Merle. Well, mostly Magnus, as the director had told you, a fact which had only sent you further into your admittedly ill-advised, but slowly blossoming crush on the man. 

Today, you and Magnus were hanging out in the courtyard, people-watching and talking about the events of Refuge, something which you were glad you weren’t present for. Apparently Kraavitz had shown up right before they came back to base, ready to collect on both their deaths and the many deaths of the people of Refuge, though Taako had stopped him. 

You were familiar with Kraavitz of course, your mother’s favorite reaper. You knew deep in your bones that if you’d been there he would have brought you straight back home. 

Unfortunately, fate was not on your side either way, as you felt the presence of a reaper appear nearby. You tensed almost imperceptibly. Reapers were distinct, even more so than spirits or undead of any kind, even liches. For example, the lich in Taako’s umbrella, so quiet you didn’t notice until several meetings after the first, and even then so soft you could almost ignore its presence, though it felt dead it was also still alive in some inexplicable way, crackling with magical energy. Reapers on the other hand, were like a void amidst the aura of life around them, a side effect of the abilities granted to them by your mother. You knew you must feel similar to those who knew how to sense it.

It took an hour for the reaper to show up, in full spectral form as he did, though you could still recognize him almost immediately. You could see Taako over his shoulder, watching in confusion and a little concern. Magnus looked between you and the reaper, taking note of your almost irritated expression. 

“(Y/N).” He said simply.

“Kraavitz.” You replied, already getting to your feet. 

“Wait, wait, I’m missing something. How exactly do you know each other?” Magnus interjected, standing up and stepping almost in between you. Kraavitz spared him only a glance before his attention focused back on you. 

“Your mother has been looking for you for ages, (Y/N). You know how she gets.” He told you, exasperation leaking slightly into his tone, and you sighed, looking at Magnus. 

“My mother is the Raven Queen.” You started, ignoring how his expression turned to one of shock. “I… may have essentially ran away from home to come hang out in the mortal world.” You winced, and he couldn’t help but let out a short laugh.

“So now she wants you to come home or she’s gonna’, like, ground you or something?” He asked, and you nodded. 

“Basically, and since I don’t particularly want to get what constitutes as a timeout in the astral plane…” You trailed off, and he nodded understandingly. He was taking the news surprisingly well, certainly better than most would. You turned back to Kraavitz, waiting increasingly impatiently with his scythe in hand. 

“I’m ready to go. If I wait much longer I’ll probably chicken out.” Kraavitz chuckled. 

“I understand. I still have to convince her not to reap Refuge.” He shuddered, turning and starting to open a portal. 

“You’ll be alright without me, yeah?” You asked Magnus, and he snorted. 

“I don’t know, you showing up and stealing our stuff really was the highlight of my day. I don’t know how I’ll manage without it.” He said teasingly. 

“Well, you’re smart, I’m sure you’ll find a way.” You told him with a wink. He laughed, giving you a nudge towards Kraavitz as the portal opened. 

“I’ll see you around.” He hesitated for a moment. “And hey, as a favor, do you think you could say hi to Julia for me? She’s… was, my wife.” You felt your heart sink in your chest, but you smiled and nodded, stepping back towards the portal, Kraavitz already on the other side. 

“Of course. I’ll see you around.” You told him. He smiled gratefully at you, and you turned away, jumping through the portal and feeling the unique aura of the living you’d grown used to disappear as Kraavitz closed the portal behind you. 

You were disappointed, knowing nothing could come of your crush. But you were determined to be a good friend regardless, and thus you let yourself sink into the water at your feet, seeking out Julia’s soul to give her your friend’s message.

#taz #the adventure zone #taako #magnus burnsides #merle highchurch #kraavitz #taz balance #x reader #reader insert #fanfic #fanfiction #req #requests #this ones like a week late but you know? it be like that sometimes #sorry taz anon youre an angel and im grateful for your saint-like patience

[mithrilwren]

Tagged by the lovely @drinkingdeadpeopletea ! I’ll tag in @soullistrations, @fivie, @charliesdayoff, @kookaburrito, and @walkthegale - haven’t got time to come up with a full 10, so anyone else who wants to join in, go for it!

Name ten favorite characters from ten different things (books, tv, film, etc.) then tag ten people. [Do different Star Trek series count?? Hmm.] I also added special mentions for the top five, since I couldn’t truly choose.

1. Beauregard from Critical Role - I loved Beau from her first words, and that love has only strengthened with time. A person who believes they are not good while trying SO DESPERATELY to be, her reckless disdain at the beginning of the show reminded me of who I used to want to be, and her hard-won trust with her teammates reminded me that there are gentler, more freeing paths to take. Plus, she’s given me an avenue to explore things in fic writing I’ve never been able to before, because I so rarely encounter lesbian characters in fiction, let alone ones who are (soft) butch, with short hair and strength and an absence of apologies to those who don’t deserve them. She inspires me in so many ways.

Special mention: Fjord

2. Garak from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Though he only shows up in a handful of episodes, I think Garak’s introduction is instrumental in setting the tone for DS9 apart from the other series. In many ways, he’s emblematic of the ambiguity of the show, where morals are not so clear cut and every person may be playing two sides without truly being dishonest in either. He’s also just a genuine joy to watch - charismatic, witty, biting, as queer as you were allowed to be on network tv in 1993 (”I need to know that someone forgives me”, goddamn it Garak/Bashir will always be the true OTP of my heart)

Special mention: Kira

3. Fem!Shepard from Mass Effect - We can debate the ending till the cows come home (and god knows I was as unhappy as the rest of you) but Mass Effect took me on a journey, y’all. And most of that journey is filtered through the eyes of Shepard, the intrepid naval commander and saviour of the universe. It’s so incredibly rare that I’ve gotten to play a video game with a female protagonist who actually has such a vibrant personality, all the more so because I got to help shape that personality through my actions. She was one of the few video game protagonists PERIOD I’ve ever came out of the game feeling like I truly understood. When the final goodbyes happened, I felt her pain, because I’d watched and lived her struggle for three games, and felt the gravity of all her actions up till that point, both ‘good’ and ‘bad’. She was a fully-realized creation.

Special mention: Garrus

4. Magnus Burnsides from TAZ - On paper, I would have expected Taako to become my favourite character of THB. And I do still love him dearly, but Magnus’s simple and constant drive to be good, to be better, to be a light of positivity and love in the world captured my heart like no other.

Special mention: Taako

5. Seto Kaiba from Yu-Gi-Oh! - Oh look, it’s a villain-turned-antihero with an asshole father who swears he doesn’t care about the gang but still manages to  always (reluctantly) put his life on the line when it really matters. All I’m saying is Zuko had a predecessor and he had twice the sass despite being just as dumb - seriously, his 4kids dub dialog is top notch. I was obsessed with this stubborn child-billionaire when I was 10 (and 13, and 17, and 21 and let’s be real, I will be til I die).

Special mention: Ryou Bakura

6. Sam Tyler from Life on Mars (UK) - Never has an actor’s performance on a TV show given me so many heart palpitations as John Simm’s portrayal of Sam Tyler, the time-travelling detective stuck in 1973 Britain after being hit by a car in 2006. His angst over the situation was visceral, despite the relatively silly premise, and his decisions in the final episode landed me in a fog of emotional processing for days after I finished the series. 

7. Bones from Star Trek TOS - (I’m ruling it counts as different shhh). Bones is everything. Probably the first fictional character I remember deciding was my “favourite”, back when I was a kid still watching old Star Trek episodes on VHS. Wry humour mixed with a depth of humanity and just a whole heaping helping of curmudgeonliness, what a great guy.

8. Makise Kurisu from Steins;Gate - MY SCIENCE GIRL. Incredibly smart, both in terms of academics and emotional intelligence and despite her all-too-relatable struggles as a woman not receiving her due respect in academia, she always manages to keep pushing forward, driving the rest of the crew towards the truth in any timeline. Just, the coolest person.

9. Marcus Keane from The Exorcist - Give me all that good queer religious angst! It hurts! It’s relatable! I need more! Marcus is a man who deeply wants to do the right thing with layers upon layers of guilt and pain stacked on top of his shoulders. I want only for him to finally be able to rest.

10. Ani from The Goose Girl - From one of my favourite books of all time, Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee is a princess with magic that lets her to talk to animals, which I mean, come on. But it’s was her journey that really had a big influence on me when I was a kid. I loved her for the way she was written, as admirable and imperfect and magical without realizing it, strong and self-reliant but only after learning how to be. The amazing prose by Shannon Hale is just the cherry on top.

#long post #personal

[mystery-moose]

BIG OL’ WIP LIST

List all the things you’re currently working on in as much or little detail as you’d like, then tag some friends to see what they’re working on.

I got tagged by @philosoverted, who has been wonderfully supportive of all her friends’ writing even when it’s for fandoms she isn’t even a part of. Because she’s fantastic.

I’m going to be kind of vague with some of these, though, because I like to preserve some semblance of surprise for anyone who happens to be following me for writing!

I’d put them behind a cut but apparently tumblr hates readmores right now? So instead I’ll just apologize for this long post that’s about to break your dash please i’m sorry it’s not my fault tumblr sucks eggs

AMatMMP

This is the direct sequel to Angus McDonald and the Flight of the Flying V. It is very long, not the longest thing I’ve ever written (yet) but certainly the longest thing I’ll have finished when it’s finally done. It’s also very complicated, because I like mysteries and plots and hate myself. I especially hate what I’ve done by setting it so close after the first one because it means I can’t write anything else with these characters until I’ve finished this.

But I swear to you and God and whoever is listening: this summer it’s happening.

Shelter

Think of everything I’ve ever written. Thematically and emotionally. Now, multiply it by a thousand and make it even more self-indulgent. You should have some idea of what Shelter is. It’s not plot-heavy (thank christ) and it doesn’t have any action or adventure. But it is everything I’ve connected with over the past year and a half, made into a single super-specific-to-me thing that stretches into a hazy future that I might never actually finish. But the fun thing is I don’t have to finish it, necessarily; I just want to write enough to get to the One Big Moment, the thing I’ve been thinking about since, oh, a year ago. That’ll act as enough of a catharsis that I can feel good about posting it, if I never end up finishing the rest.

Basically this is the epitome of me being Back On My Bullshit. I adore it. Someday soon, I hope to start posting it. Probably after AMatMMP, though.

Money and Fame (working title)

A few months ago I came up with a little adventure for Taako and Kravitz to go on. I really liked it at the time, but I waffled on writing it because I felt like... well, it involves Sazed, and I thought I might be being too charitable to him? But I haven’t been able to get a couple scenes of it out of my head, so it’s almost certainly getting written at some point. But it’ll likely be a much shorter, more focused thing than my usual plot-heavy junk. No flashbacks in this one, I don’t think!

The Lucretia Longfic (title TBD)

I got a bee in my bonnet last summer (thanks to @epersonae and her posse) and wrote, like, twenty thousand words of a Lucretia thing. I’ve since realized that it is Bad, and needs so, so much more time than I was giving it. It’ll happen at some point, I’m sure -- I like Lucretia too much to never finish it -- but it’s... she’s probably the best character with the strongest arc in the entirety of TAZ, and she deserves the best I’ve got, and my best so rarely feels like enough for her.

Candlenights

This is set after AMatMMP, so it’s getting finished after AMatMMP. It’s a meet-the-fam fic, with almost zero conflict whatsoever, but I’ve since realized it needs a different third act and I haven’t figured out how to end the damn thing. I’ve got a few thousand words for it already, but as soothing as I find writing it, this might not get finished for a while.

Fighting Words

This was gonna be a simple little series of one-shots for each of the THB (and maybe the IPRE) just gettin’ into some scraps. It’s still going to be that thing, but it’s just been set aside for a long time in favor of, uh, every other project I’ve got going. I’ll get back to it when I feel like posting something in short order, I’m sure.

The Great Taako-Burnsides Fight (title TBD)

I wrote a whole outline for a thing where Taako gets into a fight with Magnus about Lucretia, and then Magnus literally throws him out of his house and Taako feels really bad about it for like a week and Magnus fumes for a bit and then there’s a big ol’ forced sit-down with Lucretia and it’s yet another vision of mine for how Taako and Lucretia could ever, like, be okay again. It’s like the third version of this idea that I’ve plotted out (the Lucretia Longfic and Bygones being the other two) because apparently I’m just really into semi-forgiveness, as a concept. The funny thing? I’ve kind of settled on one that’s my personal “canon” for how it happens, and the other two are just AUs. I don’t normally do that! Normally when I establish a personal “canon” that’s all I write. TAZ has been really weird for me, in a lot of ways.

Anyway, it might get written at some point? It’s not super long, in the outline I’ve got. But there’s so many other things above it at this point, I think it’ll only happen soon if I get a real hankerin’ for it.

Cycle 95

This is a semi-follow up to Cycle 71, but it’s a different thing. The gang ends up on a planet where the Light is being held by a farming town terrorized by raiders, and have been bullied by them for generations. They have to help them fight the bandits to get the Light. (Taako is frustrated and suggests just taking it by force, but the townsfolk make it clear they would die fighting.) They end up training the townsfolk over the course of a year, defeat the bandits, and save the town. Their victory is an inspiration to surrounding communities, who create their own bands of protectors clad in red, and long after the IPRE has left, their legacy remains in the peace they create.

So this is straight up some Seven Samurai bullshit, because why not? The twist is that the town elder is something of a prophet, and as the IPRE train the townsfolk, he has a solitary moment with each of the seven in which he gives them advice that foreshadows what they’ll go through on Abeir-Toril. It’s not a lot, certainly nothing that changes how anything goes down, but I enjoy the cutesy foreshadowing and reassurance of who each character has developed into. (The only person who doesn’t get one is Taako. He avoids the elder like the plague. He gets his own moment, to himself.)

I will almost assuredly write this someday. Probably soon. It’s just so much fun to me. And it won’t be that long, either! Comparable to Cycle 71, I’d imagine. As with anything in the Stolen Century, I’d want to keep it short. There’s just too much room to lose yourself in that arc, any single year could be a hundred thousand words, and I just refuse to fall into that hole.

AMatItCJ (working title)

This is the “Angus at Neverwinter University solves a mystery with the help of his college buddies/Persona-style Investigation Team” and it is VERY loosely plotted but will almost certainly be VERY long and TOO complicated and I REFUSE to write it, do you hear me, I REFUSE.

(I’ve got character outlines and a basic plot and a few flashbacks and a final parlor scene and that’s basically it. I’ve actually thought about collaborating with someone on it, but I’m afraid I’d be too much of a control freak about it. This one might never happen.)

TaakoQuest (title TBD)

Kravitz is taken by a demonic entity anathema to the Raven Queen and is trapped inside a plane where no celestial entity or emissary can venture, purely to taunt her. Lup and Barry are helpless. Every other member of the IPRE and the founding Bureau is long dead. The Raven Queen asks Taako to do it. So he does.

This one literally came to me in the car ride home tonight, when I was thinking about Luster and how much I enjoyed the Taako-as-scientist scenes in that fic. I might write down some bits and pieces for it right now. It won’t be long. Maybe won’t even be multi-chapter. It’s just yet another exercise in showing Taako caring for other people through action, and in which he gets to act like a total baller.

I have very few settings, apparently.

This’ll almost certainly get written at some point, but maybe not soon. I’ve still got school stuff to do, but I like the bits I’ve thought of enough that I’ll almost certainly inflict them on you all at some point. But don’t worry, it won’t be nearly as emotionally harrowing as Luster. I can be cruel, but not THAT cruel.

THE ULTIMATE MOST SELF-INDULGENT GARBAGE EVER WRITTEN

I love Pyre.

I love schmoopy, slow-burn romance.

I will probably finish this someday.

I will never post it.

THAT’S IT

I’m almost certainly forgetting one or two, but I’m pretty sure that this is all I’ve got percolating in my head and WIP folder right now.

I’m sorry it’s so long, and I’m extra sorry I’m so bad at writing things regularly.

But I’m not sorry I don’t post things until they’re finished. I learn from my mistakes. I will never leave my readers hanging again!!

oh i guess i have to tag some people huh

uhhhhhhh @orchidcactus @fistfulofgammarays @anonymousalchemist @marywhal aaaaaaaand @emi--rose

TELL ME YOUR SECRETSSSS

#writing #fic #the adventure zone #taako #angus mcdonald #my wips #i have too many #far far too many #but i do intend to finish most of them!! #still!! #somehow... #christ almighty it'll be like a year out from the finale when i finally post some of these #i hope people still give a shit about taz in the future

[a-big-apple]

TAZ Fic Recs

I’m bad at keeping bookmarks or remembering titles or remembering authors’ names, so I’m keeping my TAZ recs in a post instead! There are TONS of great fics in this fandom, and here’s a surely incomplete list of some that brought me particular joy.

Newest additions to the list are at the top, last updated February 2020.

Hey hey, marry me Barry by @qpenguin98 - rated Teen and Up

If you want to just be emotionally shattered by romance in really lovely and positive ways, please read this fic. This might be my favorite Blupjeans story I’ve ever read. It’s beautiful, it’s skillfully and subtly written, it has great emotional payoff, and I cried a LOT. I don’t want to give too much description of the plot because it was really impactful going in blind, but it’s all about Barry and the rest of Lup’s family ganging up to make her (and themselves) really happy, and it’s beautiful.

because that’s what love is (equivalent exchange) by teacuptaako - rated Teen and Up

This fic broke me a little. It’s Barry’s POV on the Starblaster, getting to know everyone, falling in love with Lup, and trying to figure out Taako. This is a FAB outside perspective on Taako’s weird outer layers of personality. Plus Barry is just such a good dude, it’s impossible to not love this trip inside his head!

Dumb Interspecies Relations series by nah_tho - rated Explicit

If you’re into Taako and Brad Bradson, well, you’ve probably already read this series? But if you haven’t, DO. What starts out as a fun sexy romp gets plotty and full of worldbuilding, Taako is a fantastic mess, and Brad is trying real hard. This series is hilarious, hot, sometimes suspenseful, and the final story made me cry.

got a license to kill (and you know I’m going straight for your heart) by @hoothootmotherf-ckers - rated Teen and Up

THIS FIC WAS MY GIFT IN THE 2019 TAZ CANDLENIGHTS GIFT EXCHANGE, I STILL CANNOT BELIEVE IT. It’s so wonderful!! A multi-chapter assassin AU with some coffee shop and fake relationship in there too, unbelievable. Lup is a badass. Barry is adorable. They love each other, and also get shot at, and also fight Big Pharma. Please go read it, srsly.

After the War by theauthoress - Not Rated

This fic took a twist I haven’t seen before, and I loved it! Dredging up some good angst from Taako’s past and then from Kravitz’s, it delivers a punch and then soothes you again with some good sibling stuff. I don’t want to say more and give away the surprise, but if you like some Taakitz hurt/comfort, do check this one out.

Apogee by @charmandhex - rated Teen and Up

I admit, I am one of those who think Taako won’t ever forgive Lucretia, but that they can be civil again, and maybe even friends. This fic captures that so beautifully, how much history there is between them that neither of them can escape. It’s lovely, and Taako is baller, and I read it twice in a row.

you know, elf practice series by @anonymousalchemist - rated from General to Teen and Up

Yet another one that I can’t believe I didn’t already have on this list. I know the elf practice thing as a meme has mostly vanished into the tumblr ether, but these two fics are on my mind always. They’re just so unusual, and the kind of creepy that’s treated as matter-of-fact (which is the best kind of creepy). What if elves had to, you know, practice? To become elves? Just thinking about it gives me a shiver, I love this fairycore take on Taako and Lup and their upbringing.

the kid, the future forthcoming by @anonymousalchemist - rated Teen and Up

Seriously, how did I not have this on my list already, I reread it all the time! It’s so incredibly hard to make second person work, and this fic really works. It’s a short and compelling vignette of young Taako’s life, and young Taako-and-Lup’s life, and the difficulties of a scrappy teenhood. It’s a little heartbreaking, and full of perfect moments that I think about a lot. Also, tiny Barry cameo that gives me so many feels! Also also, just...the mood of it is so good, the inside-of-Taako’s-head feeling, wonderful.

Taking the dogs home by Anonymous - rated Mature

What an extremely quiet and beautiful story! Set after Story and Song, at Magnus’ house in an almost dreamlike country woods setting. Taako shows up out of the blue, perhaps escaping a problem he won’t discuss, and falls back into Magnus’ small town routine. There’s a lot of subtly layered domesticity and realistic, compelling Taagnus feeling. Also, a dog! 

Heads/Tails by unprofessionalbard - rated Teen and Up

Short and powerful! I loved this fic. A really well-characterized look at Taako and Kravitz, and how their jobs and their personal lives intersect and interfere with each other. I don’t want to give anything away because it unfolds really precisely, I think, so--just go read it! It’s awesome.

and at a certain age the child is grown by bimaukery - rated Teen and Up

This is a really beautiful, bittersweet modern AU. The IPRE family move into Angus’ grandpa’s house, while Angus is still there, and he can’t understand why. He watches them, tries in small ways to interact with them--as they try to figure out what to do about the little ghost haunting their new house. Honestly, go read this and cry over it for a while, it’s lovely.

The Shrike and the Thorn by JoyfullyyoursDav ( @keplercryptids ) - rated Teen and Up

If you haven’t had enough of crying about Taako and Lup, here’s a great fic for you. That Good Sibling Shit, flashbacks, memory loss, beautiful conversations, just...everything I could want in a lovely little package. Also, PLEASE check out this author’s other stories, so many great ones!

(when i think about you) flowers grow out of my grave by @phantomsteed - rated Teen and Up

This Taakitz fic is one of my fav kinds of modern AU: Taako works in a flower shop, Krav is a mortician, they meet cute and fall in love! The ensemble are all there in the background, including a very adorable Angus and a soon-to-be-married Carey and Killian, but what really got me about this is the gentle and steady way our favorite boys fall in love. There are also SUPER lovely illustrations by @karinhart sprinkled throughout!

a fool for lesser things by himemiyaa - rated Teen and Up

This fic charmed the PANTS off me, and made me teary to boot. Taako and Kravitz are new roommates in this community college AU (and, surprise, they end up together). I love the way Taako slowly opens up in this story, to Kravitz, to the community of friends Lup has built that he’s been keeping himself outside of, and especially to Garyl the cat. It feels so real, and like a reminder to myself to be more vulnerable in my own life! Please go read this, it will lift your spirits.

Among the Ruins by @distractedkat - rated Teen and Up

I don’t know how I went so long without finding this fic, and then for a little while I resisted because I wasn’t sure about the description. Finally over the weekend I read the whole thing in a sitting, and I’m SO glad I did. It’s fantastic!! This AU reimagines the canon if Taako’s time post-Sizzle It Up had gone differently. What follows from that is an engrossing and plausible version of events with lots of action, lots of funny lines, lots of feelings, and lots more Lup! There’s a little angst, a lot of twins and Taakitz goodness, and a wonderfully happy ending. If you’re looking for something nice and long to dive into, definitely try this one.

Angus McDonald and the Flight of the Flying V by @mystery-moose - rated Teen and Up

This was one of the first fics I read in this fandom, before I thought to keep track of things I liked or bookmark them to find them again. Then it turned up in @marywhal‘s rec list, and I was overjoyed to find it again! As the rest of this list will show, I have a special weakness for stories about Taako as Angus’ guardian, and this one really shaped my headcanons about their relationship. In the main portion of the story, a grown-up Angus with his own detective agency is working a case--with a bored and lonely Taako’s help. Interspersed with the mystery are flashbacks to their time on the road as Sizzle it Up with Taako and Company, achingly soft glimpses of Angus’ post-finale childhood as Taako and Kravitz’s sort-of-son. I think it was finished before the actual finale aired, so it isn’t entirely canon-compliant, but it captures the same tone beautifully.

i will buy the flower shop by @weatheredlaw - rated Teen and Up

I saved this fic for an emotionally rainy day, because I had a feeling it would brighten things up. It absolutely did! A modern restaurant AU with all the necessary found family feelings, and all of our favorite characters with lives that aren’t perfect but that get better with communication and vulnerability and persistent joy. If you’re looking for something poignant and satisfying, something to lighten a bad day, this fic is an excellent choice.

Taako and Hurley’s Maximum Fun Drive by detectivelion - rated Teen and Up

WHAT A ROMP! If you’re longing to get back to the high speed action of battlewagon racing, this is the fic to read. Set after the Day of Story and Song, the whole crew (Hurley and Sloane included, of course) face off in a madcap race that really recaptured the spirit of Petals to the Metal for me.

Bureau of Badass ( @bureauofbadass ) by @chemicallywrit  and @miceenscene  - rated Teen and Up

This fic almost feels too obvious to rec, and yet I can’t not. SUCH AN ENGROSSING READ! Take all your favorite characters, stick them in the 90′s, give them attitude and relatable problems, and put them on skates--then you’ve got this roller derby AU. I don’t even know what else to say about it, because if that doesn’t make you want to read it, nothing will. As of this writing it’s a WIP, but there are over 100 chapters extant to read and only a few more yet to come!

and the warmth will never die by Junkyard_Rose - rated Teen and Up

This is an extraordinary fic. It’s a modern setting AU in which Taako and Lup were separated as kids and have made lives for themselves while searching for each other, which is wonderful all by itself. What stands out about this one, though, is the non-chronological way it’s told. Every chapter gives little glimpses into the pasts and presents of both twins, sometimes the same events from different angles, revealing a tiny bit of new information each time. I never found it confusing, just extremely interesting and vibrant, and SO emotionally satisfying in the last few chapters! The prose is beautiful too, sometimes I read it aloud to myself!

songs for revelations by @weatheredlaw  - rated Mature

So many of weatheredlaw’s fics wreck me in a variety of ways, but this one is maybe my favorite. It only has two chapters so far, but it’s SO EVOCATIVE and unusual and sometimes I just sit and think about it and wonder what will happen next. It’s the soft-apocalypse-adjacent AU I didn’t know I needed. Or, if you want to get fucked up by something finished, try their series all the way across the universe!

Bury the Lead by @marywhal - rated Teen and Up

Such a brilliant story! High school AUs are hard to do well, I think, and this is one of the best. It’s an ensemble story but from Taako’s POV, filled with extremely relatable versions of all the characters we know and love. There’s newspaper nerdery, wicked cool language stuff, and a million great moments that made me laugh, or cry, or both. Even if you don’t like AUs, I urge you to try this one!

Patterns of Migration by goodnicepeople - rated Teen and Up

Let me preface this by saying that I really want to put EVERYTHING by this author on my list. Their stories are all incredible, soft and beautiful and painful in good ways. It was hard to choose a favorite to list here, but this one is really special and elegantly crafted. It follows Angus and Magnus as child and parent, a progression over time as Angus grows up and Magnus slows down. In later chapters the addition of Taako to the dynamic produces some really lovely scenes, and also some very sad scenes--I cried a TON reading it.

Angus McDonald and the Case of the Mysterious Butter Wyvern by yassan - rated General Audiences

This is one of the funniest fics I’ve read in this fandom so far, and one of the closest in tone to the actual show. THB plus Angus is a great equation no matter what they’re doing, but when they’re shopping for a birthday present for the Director it takes on a whole new level of crazy. 

what can the harvest hope for by lagaudiere - rated Teen and Up

I think this is the first story on this list from Kravitz’s POV, and it’s GREAT. Full of great Reaper Squad interactions and marvelous Taakitz scenes, alternating with a really interesting, sometimes a little creepy, examination of John Hunger in the Eternal Stockade. If you’re into gray-area redemption stories and Kravitz being wonderful, then this is for you.

Oh have you seen my ghost? by greenglowsgold - rated Mature

Let me say first: if abuse or assault with intent to rape are triggering for you, you’ll probably want to give this one a pass. If that’s not an issue, then this is an excellently written and heart-hurting story about Taako’s past with Sazed, as seen through an unexpected and dangerous encounter. It’s beautifully subtle, and the last few lines legit broke my heart.

Reverie - by ltdominic - rated Teen and Up

Update: Reverie is finished! And it’s so beautiful, everything the first chapter hinted it would be. It’s one of my favorite themes, fucked-up Taako recovering from losing memories and getting them back. It’s painful and lovely, featuring a family who can see that something is wrong but can’t quite fix it, intermingled with backstory flashbacks. This story really captures the day to day struggle; there’s a crisis, and improvement, but there’s no perfectly happy ending.

“Cute, but still fucked up.” - by writersstareoutwindows - rated General Audiences

If you’re looking for a short and sweet pick-me-up in your day, this is it! The author drops you into a pitch-perfect and adorable scene between Taako, Lup, and Angus. They’ve captured a teasing-but-loving dynamic between the three that made me grin like a lunatic.

Taste Test (They Were Delicious) - by @marywhal - rated Teen and Up

Another moving and wonderful Taako-centric fic, made up of a series of vignettes set from the Starblaster years onward. Each section features a different meal (with a recipe, which is exciting), and a beautifully-written glimpse into Taako’s relationships. Lup features heavily, as one might guess, but the real through line is Lucretia, who poignantly bookends the story.

it takes a village - series by neverwinter ( @nxymxrjr ) - ratings range from General to Mature

This series is a modern AU full of extremely beautiful and moving found family interactions, told mostly from Angus’ point of view, and heavily featuring Taako as his legal guardian. You will notice if you read through this rec list that Taako and Angus as flawed-father-figure-and-son is MY FAVORITE THING, and this author does it so, so well. There’s some good parenting, some good sibling stuff with Taako and Lup, lovely Taakitz romance, and frequent cameos by the rest of the TAZ family. None of the stories in the series are explicit so far, but mind the tags for things like mental health issues, past abuse, and blood. Also, DEFINITELY check out their other TAZ stories!

with a pace and fury defiant - by redqueentheory - rated Mature

This author explores Taako’s inner life post-finale and the darker emotions that could follow that glorious happy ending. When he locates Kalen, he and Merle plan a road/camping trip with Magnus as cover and set off to avenge Julia. It’s beautifully written, sometimes painfully emotive (in a good way), and describes so much of what I headcanon about Taako’s feelings and how he deals with them that it’s like the author was reading my mind. It’s WONDERFUL (but check the tags, there is some violence). Do check out their other work as well, especially if you are into Bradko!

running into the sun (but i’m running behind) - by @quillyfied - rated General Audiences

Set between Crystal Kingdom and 11th Hour, this is a fantastic THB bonding fic! The bubble cannon breaks and strands the boys in the middle of the Faerun countryside, forcing them into a road trip that alternates wonderfully between sweet moments, drama from the past coming back to bite them, and very funny goofs. Their voices feel really in character to me, and the tone of this story is light enough that it could be a bonus episode of the show. I absolutely loved it, and I reread it all the time! Also, if you are a Davenchurch fan, definitely read i have loved the stars too fondly.

Wizard of Fortune - series by @fiercebadrabbit - rated General Audiences

This author has resisted the temptation to make Taako a Reaper when he dies--instead, he becomes a servant of Istus, creating a unique, beautiful, fascinating version of the far future in the Balance universe. I LOVE IT, so so much. Taako’s unusual personality shines through in all of his interactions, viewed through the eyes of the strangers who benefit from the hand of Fate. The writing has a lovely, mystical feel, which is a style I adore! This author has also written some very charming Taakitz, so check that out as well.

UPDATE: When fiercebadrabbit asked for ficlet requests, I excitedly asked for more Taako as a servant of Istus--and got THIS WONDERFUL GEM in reply! Go read it for excellent sibling sass!

through the days you will dream of losing me and losing you - by @androidsfighting - rated Teen and Up

I love stories about memory, and this one BREAKS ME every time I read it. An exceptionally written look at Taako after the finale and how he recovers (or doesn’t) from the effects of the Voidfish. There’s some really excellent Taako and Lup scenes, some great Barry, some great Lucretia, and lots of very visceral prose about remembering and forgetting and the confusion in between. It’s fairly short, but packs a powerful punch. I feel like this is both the fic I’ve wanted since hearing the finale and also the fic I’ve been trying to write since finishing the finale, so it’s both perfect and intimidating!

Luster - by @lsunnyc - rated Mature

This one is a WIP, but nearly done and worth the wait! After the finale, Taako is abducted from the train on a business trip to Goldcliff. The story alternates between Taako’s perspective, imprisoned but viciously determined to escape, and the rest of the TAZ family trying frantically to track him down when they realize he never made it to his destination. It’s SO DAMN GOOD YOU GUYS. Taako is very in character here and his intelligence and power really shine under stress; the worldbuilding of the “prison” where he’s trapped is also precise and fantastic. Every day that this fic has an update is a Good Day for me. Keep an eye on the tags though, there’s some carefully written dubcon.

Our own, soft hearts - series by @wildgoosery - ratings range from Teen to Explicit

If you, like me, longed to hear more of Taako and Kravitz on dates, then this series is your antidote! They’re so in character, and they’re so in love, and their every interaction is so wonderful. This fic really brings me joy, and also is sexy as hell. Also, the most recent installment is a wonderfully drawn fan comic! The author’s other work is also sexy and great, do check it out!

<3 If you’ve made it all the way to the bottom of this list and want even more fic to read, may I humbly suggest mine? Mostly about Taako, light touches of angst, and hopefully prose that approaches the wonderfulness of the stories I’ve recced here. 

#fanfiction #fic recs #taz

[ptomlins]

sugar you’re right on time

sweet silly little taz fic, magcretia, taagnus, blupjeans, implied davenchurch, they’re all at least a little tipsy so alcohol cw if that bothers you, also decent amount of references to sexytimes but no actual sex is had

The stars are unnaturally bright on this plane, Magnus thinks, as he rolls his face to the sky and begs for patience. The night is cool, but there’s more than one fire going and no shortage of drink, so they’re all a little warm and a little giddy. This is one of the good cycles, where the locals are friendly and yesterday they found the Light after months of coordinated searching, and tonight they’re celebrating.

Dinner had given way to stories and stories had given way to songs, and now someone is trying to teach them a local style of dance, and it’s sort of a waltz, maybe, but there’s more steps and turns and ok, so maybe it’s not like a waltz at all? All Magnus knows is that instead of following the instructions of their hosts with any sort of competence or grace, he keeps tripping over his own feet and almost falling on Lucretia, who is valiantly attempting to partner him and quite literally breathless from laughter at this point. 

“This is so much harder than it looks!” he insists to anyone who will listen, really, but no one is.

“You are thinking about it too much!” the instructor tells him. “Less thinking, more feeling!”

There’s renewed giggling from behind him, where Taako and Merle are drinking what looks like martinis together on a bench near the fire and steadfastly observing his humiliation. 

“Magnus Burnsides, accused of overthinking!” Taako crows, nudging Merle who is nearly crying with laughter. He spills a bit of his drink down his beard. “Never thought I’d see the day.” 

“We can stop, if you’d like,” Lucretia assures him. Her eyes are bright and the fire is painting shapes of shadow and light across her cheekbones and her wide wide smile is still one of the most beautiful things he’s ever seen..

“Do you want to stop?” he asks.

“Not particularly,” she tells him, coy and teasing as she is more and more often these days. At least, more often with him. He hopes it’s mostly with him. “But I’d so hate to see you hurt yourself for my sake.” 

There is renewed laughter from the bench by the fire. 

“I hate all of you,” Magnus says good-naturedly. “I am a fighter, not a dancer.”

“And I’m a wizard, but at least I have rhythm,” Taako calls back.

“Big talk from the peanut gallery!” Magnus says, and tries to lead Lucretia into a spin. They both end up on the ground, fortunately with Lucretia on top. 

“Oh, for goodness sake,” Magnus hears Taako mutter, “Merle, hold my drink.”

“Are you ok?” he asks Lucretia, who pats his chest fondly.

“You’re trying very hard,” she says, her voice thick with barely-contained mirth. “I appreciate the effort.”

Taako is suddenly standing over them both. “Your girlfriend deserves better, Burnsides, I hope you know that.”

“Are you here to save me?” Lucretia asks, propping her chin on her palm in a bored sort of way, like she uses Magnus as a chaise lounge all the time.

Actually, that isn’t entirely inaccurate, when Magnus stops to think about it. 

“If I must I must,” Taako sighs, offering a hand, which Lucretia takes.

“My hero,” she deadpans, as he pulls her to her feet. Magnus makes a great show of being winded when she leverages herself off his stomach and she grins down at him. 

“As your boyfriend’s boyfriend,” Taako says, “I’m pretty sure it’s in my duties somewhere that I make sure he doesn’t accidentally maim you.”

“Oh, I wasn’t aware there was a guidebook,” Lucretia says. “Or a rulebook? Is this a metaphorical list of duties or did you actually draw up a document?”

Taako snorts. “Fuck that noise, and anyway you’re the one with the writing fetish, Miss Watch-Me-Use-These-Pens-With-Both-Hands.” He frowns, a thought occurring. “Does that do anything for you in the bedroom?”

“You’re disgusting,” she tells him amicably. 

He shrugs. “Hey, I mean, our Magnus Burnsides timeshare aside, you’re like, practically an honorary sister, gotta make sure you’re happily kept and all that.”

“I assure you I am anything but kept,” she says. “Also, would that make us sister wives, or...?”

“Now who’s disgusting,” he says, but he says it like he’s proud of her, and gods above, they really are rubbing off on one another. Magnus realizes not for the first time that between the two of them, he’s in way, way over his head. 

It’s not a bad place to be, all things considered. 

Taako sighs dramatically. “And here I thought you were the civilizing influence in this relationship.” 

“Oh, I am,” Lucretia says. “Are you sure you can dance in those heels?”

“Please.”

They leave Magnus on the ground, and within only a few minutes and a little bit of trial and error, they’re moving in tandem almost flawlessly despite the dark and the uneven terrain. Magnus is not jealous. 

He props himself up on his elbows and tries his best to look peeved when they glance his direction, but it’s less than effective seeing as he can’t stop grinning. Sure of his audience, Taako leans in to whisper something to Lucretia and then in the next moment, dips her with all the theatrics he can muster. Magnus appreciates the miniature fireworks, they’re a nice touch. The two pause for effect, silhouetted against the firelight and the sparks. 

These two, he thinks. He leans forward, laughing. “Ok, it’s not fair if you already know how to dance!” he yells.

They right themselves, and Taako sticks his tongue out at him. Lucretia waves cheekily.

“That’s not even the dance they were teaching us!” Magnus yells again, but they’re back to twirling, wild and carefree, and the crowd of other dancers soon swallows them up. 

Pleased despite his loss, Magnus shakes his head and brushes himself off and makes his way over to Merle who hands him Taako’s half-finished drink. 

“You know,” Merle says, “It’s a damn good thing they like you, cuz they could probably eat you alive.”

“What’s in this?” Magnus asks, ignoring him. 

“Hell if I know,” Merle says, knocking back his own drink. “I’m going to dance.” 

Magnus knows better, he does, but he takes a tentative sip of Taako’s drink anyway, and oh fuck, yeah, that’s--that’s some straight liquor there. He sets the glass down on the bench next to Merle’s empty one and goes in search of something more like cider and less like paint thinner. 

The search goes less well than he had hoped.

Eventually, he finds Lup and Barry cuddled up next to one of the smaller fires and decides that’s good enough.  

“Luuuup,” he whines, throwing himself down to starfish next to her in the grass. “Taako and Lucretia are ganging up on meeeeee...”

“And how is that my problem, Burnsides,” she says, looking down at him.

“Poor Magnus,” Barry says, peering around her. “What did you do?”

“I can’t dance.”

“Oh, is that all.”

“I can’t dance and they’re both going to leave me for each other.”

Lup makes a horrified face at the thought and Barry chokes on a laugh. “I can think of several reasons why that is categorically untrue.”

“Gods, can you imagine?” Lup says, shuddering for effect. 

“I’d really rather not try,” Barry says. “Magnus, they both love you very much, I’m sure they will forgive you for being a bad dancer.”

“Thanks Barry, you’re my favorite.”

Lup punches him in the stomach. 

“Hey, hey, hands of the goods! I’d like him less bruised, not more,” Taako’s voice floats over from not too far off. Magnus uncurls himself from the fetal position to raise his head and sure enough, Taako and Lucretia are making their way over to their small fire. 

“Why are you all here, I just wanted a nice private makeout sesh with my bf, please go away,” Lup says. Taako cheerily flips her off and sits down. 

“This is our fire now, go be gross somewhere else.”

Lup flicks at her brother’s ear and he dodges it. “Excuse you,” she says, “We got here first, go find your own fire.”

“There’s more of us,” Taako says as Lucretia sits down too. “Also I used up all of my energy dancing, I am incapable of movement for the next forever, sorry not sorry.”

Lup makes a face at him, which he mimics before giving his attention over to Magnus. “Where’d you go, big guy, we weren’t done showing off,” he says. 

Magnus sits up and throws an arm around him. “Thought I’d give you guys some privacy to gossip about me.”

“Please, we do that in front of you,” Lucretia says, tugging at Magnus’s other arm and draping it over her shoulders when he raises it obligingly. 

Taako leans in. “Yeah, it’s only fun to tease you when we can see your face while we’re doing it.”

“He’s worried you’re going to leave him for each other,” Barry supplies helpfully. Magnus can feel both of them freeze on either side of him. 

“Barry, I take back what I said about you being my favorite.”

“Dibs!” calls Lup.

“Maggie,” says Taako. “Maggie Maggie Maggie Maggie Maggie.”

Magnus sighs. “I was being dramatic--!”

“Magnus,” Lucretia says, tone deadly serious, “The day Taako and I get together is the day the Hunger wins, don’t you realize? We can’t risk it. Existence as we know it would literally end.”

She can’t keep the grin off of her face towards the end of the sentence, and it’s contagious, and soon they’re all giggling at one another. Lup mutters something at them about getting a room. The fire is warm and stars above are as bright as ever. 

And it’s nice.

“You’re both jerks and I don’t know why I like you,” Magnus says easily, once they’ve all calmed a bit.

“Lies,” Taako says, dropping his head against Magnus’s shoulder. Lucretia wiggles closer and nuzzles into his clavicle, humming her agreement.

“Yeah,” Magnus concedes. 

“Seriously though, if we’re overdoing it on the teasing--”

Magnus rolls his eyes. “It was a joke, it was only a joke, and I’m going to murder Barry in his sleep.”

“Don’t make me haunt you, Burnsides.”

Lup stands up and makes a show of brushing the grass off of her robe. “Alright you lovebirds, this has been a blast, but we’re turning in. Magnus, no killing my boyfriend,” she says, raising her eyebrows in a significant and mildly threatening manner as she holds his gaze.  Magnus smiles innocently up at her until Barry walks over to join her and takes her hand. “Oh, and uh, take your time coming back to the ship, just sayin’.”

They turn to go. “Wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Taako says, without lifting his head from Magnus’s shoulder. 

Lup stops. “Why not.”

“Because we saw Merle dragging Cap’n’port that direction on our way over here,” Taako says.

Lups eyes go wide. “Gods DAMMIT.”

“Oh, no,” Barry says.

“Can we just sleep out here tonight? I vote we sleep out here tonight,” Magnus declares. 

“Ugh,” says Lup. “How’s a girl supposed to get her freak on with all you cockblockers being gross everywhere.”

“Too much information, thanks for sharing,” Taako deadpans loudly.

“C’mon,” Barry says, tugging Lup gently by the hand. “Maybe we can bribe someone to lend us a cabin.”

She lets herself be led away. “You all suck!” she calls over her shoulder.

There’s a beat, and then: “Hmm. Well, not at the moment,” Lucretia mumbles into Magnus’s shirt. 

The resulting fit of laughter doesn’t end for quite some time. 

#taz balance #magcretia #taagnus #magnus burnsides #taako #lucretia #blupjeans #the adventure zone #this got away from me #my fic #title from oh honey's sugar you #hush ptomlin #pt writes fic

[jewishangus]

1, 3, 28, and 34!!

1/3: what inspires you?/what motivates you?

i think im going to answer these questions in one???? its kinda easier

for the inspiration - and oh fuck this is going to sound egotistical but i swear im being honest - i most of the time go back and read my own fic? it helps to have a work you’re proud of because it gives you a goal you know you’re capable of reaching! that’s mostly true for writing style or like. writing specific characters thoughsometimes it does come from other places though - the discord inspires me a bunch, because talking out your ideas is always fantastic, and so does other fic (you can totally, 200%, blame seren for the feeblemind saga ive got in the works), and my first ever taz fic was me just trying to parse through my canon-induced emotions - but most of my ideas come from hc’s i think of while writing other fic, or hours and hours of shower/about to sleep/bored in math class thoughts!

as for motivation, that tends to come sporadically as fuck.

im maybe the worst example? because for me it’ll be when im on break and lucky enough not to have writers block and feel like it at 1 am.but when i need to get myself motivated, i’ll listen to music to get myself in the mood or just? force myself through it? im bad at recommending music because most of the time i connect songs to characters not through lyrics but through like. composition so to others my music recs make no sense BUT!! music helps!!! and ill definitely share if you’re downself-enforced deadlines help too!!!

28. any scene/line you wrote that you didn’t expect to write/that surprised you once it was written?

ironically??? the titular line in eulogies threw me off so much after i wrote it

“Whatever gets published from this two-month trip will be the result of the life’s work of my whole family, and what we all rely on to make our hard work known. The person who I end up picking for this would have to be one I trust to do it well; and if I’m trusting them to chronicle this journey, then I sure as hell would trust them to write my eulogy.”

fuck like. now that im thinking about it all of eulogies threw me off after i wrote it - it was one of those few fics where i had no idea what i was going to write before i sat down????? like most of the time i have one or two ideas floating in my head to grab at any given moment, but this was me laying in my bed like shit fuck i need a fic by tonight and idfk what to write

but that line especially stuck with me - that’s why its the titular line - because like. that was honestly the first time i ever managed to answer the question of why davenport would need a chronicler to begin with???like. you’d think after all this dav and lucretia fic id figured out why he hired her in the first place but nahit also like!!!! cemented what dav and lucretia’s relationship really was to me!! and ive never put that into words before!! so i wrote that and then looked at it and was like.  w o w

(as a bonus: the scene also in eulogies where davenport reads all the eulogies/cries after lucretia dies is something i wasn’t expecting either for the same reasons!!! i hadn’t thought about when davenport forgives lucretia until that moment)

34. a scene/paragraph you wrote that you’re proud of

“Lucretia?”“Yes?”“I-I-“She paused, letting him take a minute to finish his sentence.“Y-you said. N-not to. to listen.”“To the relics?”He nodded. “But. I-it’s loud.”“Hey, that’s okay.” Lucretia smiled softly. “It’s loud sometimes.”“O-okay.”They sat a little bit, in silence - he seemed deep in thought, and so did she - before Davenport spoke up again.“I-it said. I should be. I should be angry.” He took a breath. “Why?”

in hindsight one of it’s loud sometimes’s biggest flaws to me is that davenport says too much - its unrealistic and creates the plothole of “why the fuck doesn’t he talk to everyone else then” - but fuck if im not in love with this bit because it sums up my wordless dav so succinctly and perfectly and i fuckin???? love it???? that last line kills me every time and i fucking wrote it how the fuck do i stan myselflike. the combination of the world being too loud and him not knowing why to be angry is fantastic and im in awe that that came out of my own brain

#eden talks #TESS I WOULD TOO DIE FOR YOU #thanks so much and sorry it took so long!! #ask meme #gayipre