#mentions of blupjeans

[orykorioart]

Quick mood test for an upcoming Blups comic I have in mind.

[sirislayer]

"It had only been a few days since they defeated the Hunger. Pure luck caused Lup and Barry to finally be alone with each other. They were rumaging through the damages the hunger had caused, when they stumbled across what must have been a concert practise room.

Barry and Lup, independent of each other, approached their instruments. Lup, gently holding a violin. Barry, sitting in front of a mostly unscathed concert piano.

Lup pushed her back against Barry's as she sat down. He made space for her on the small stool cushion.

"Well? Do you remember how to play?", she asked.

Barry smiled. "How could I ever forget?"

Both of them did not have their actual bodys. The warmth of an embrace was impossible to feel in the stage both were in.

They started playing the duet, first a little unsteady, slightly asynchron, slowly merging into the song they had both worked on for so long, all those years back.

As they found their rythm, after all those years, both of them felt the warm embrace of each other for the first time. Not in a traditional hug. Not as a kiss. But by the lullaby which carried the love and longing they had felt for another all this time."

Happy Candlenights!

@noodyl-blasstal

(Also if you want a print file version of the illustration you can DM me)

thank you @thecandlenightszone for hosting the event!

[noodyl-blasstal]

Blupjeans Week: Myth (day 3)

Following on from the last two days prompts! Part 1 | Part 2 Today's @blupjeansweek prompt was Myth. -

Barry couldn't fathom how Taako managed it. Of course he, more than anyone Barry had ever met, could feign nonchalance on such an important day, but still. Barry knew he must be anxious deep down - no one cooked as much as Taako had been lately when they were fine, but aside from his occasional toe flexes Taako was sprawled loose limbed and casual across the chairs in the corridor.

"Stop worrying so loud, Barold." Taako didn't raise his head. Barry couldn't even get a read on his face because his ridiculous hat was tilted down over his eyes. 

"I'm not worr…"

"Then what am I hearing, Barry? What distress is accosting my delicate elf ears? Taako's busy trying to nap and you're spreading your anxiety everywhere. It's not hygienic, my guy."

"Uh." Barry countered. Perfect, got him.

"Yeah, that's what Taako thought. Now, why are you doubting Lup?"

"I would never doubt Lup! She's smarter than both of them put together." Barry replied indignantly, he couldn't believe Taako, of all people, was accusing him of not believing in Lup. As far as Barry was concerned, if she told him she was gonna grab the moon right out of the sky his only concern would be where they were going to put it. 

"Well then." Said Taako definitively as if the case was closed.

Barry looked at the door again. It had only been an hour. Anything up to four was relatively common. He knew she had this, but he just wanted to skip to that bit right now thank you very much. Maybe if he paced, did a little exercise, that would get rid of the nervous energy.

"Don't even think about it." Said Taako. "Sit down, read your book, it's going to be fine."

Barry sat obediently. He tried, he really did, but he was on what must have been his thirtieth attempt at reading the same page when the door finally cracked open. Barry barely had time to register it before Taako vaulted off the chairs and rushed over. 

"Thank you again, Dr Tacco. Congratulations!" 

Lup emerged from the room, finger gunned, and closed the door behind her. "Guess who's got two thumbs and a PhD?" She said as Taako slammed into her and knocked her sideways.

"Barold." He mumbled into her hair.

Lup pretended to try and wriggle out of his hug. "Fuck off, Goofus."

Barry wrapped himself around them both. "I'm also going with me. I checked, one, two." He prodded Lup in the back with each thumb in turn to make his point. 

Lup laughed hard and long and wild. "I hate you both."

"We love you too." Said Barry and Taako together. 

Lup stuck her tongue out. “Terrible, awful, what did I do to be cursed with you both?”

“I don’t know, Dr Lup. What did you do?” Barry grinned. Dr Lup! She’d done it. He knew she would. There was no universe in which she didn’t, but still. It was over.

“Dr Lup Tacco.” Taako said quietly. “You did it.”

“I did it.”

–

“You got the car snacks, Dr Bluejeans?” 

“Of course I have, Dr Tacco. But, Dr Tacco, have you set up the playlist?”

“Dr Bluejeans, I cannot believe you’d doubt me, your good friend, Dr Tacco. Of course cha’girl’s got the playlist sorted.”

“But, Dr Tacco, is it the one we  agreed on, or the one I saw you making to torture me?”

“I cannot believe these wild accusations that you are levelling, Dr Bluejeans. Of course it’s the one I made to torture you. Rude of you to entertain any other thought on the matter to be honest.”

Barry snorted. He still wasn’t entirely sure why Lup had agreed to road trip home with him despite not losing the bet, but maybe the allure of a second wardrobe full of vintage Barry threads (as Lup had designated them) had been too strong to resist. Either way, the car was packed, backup maps were in the glove box, roadside attractions had been scoped, their motel was booked, and his Mum was expecting them in a few days.

–

“There! There! There!!! Pull over, Dr Bear.” Lup pressed her face to the window and wriggled in her seat. “I knew we were close.”

Barry steered the car to the side of the road and parked on the gravel at the side. “We’ll be fine here. The road’s pretty dead and we shouldn’t be long.”

“Speak for yourself.” Said Lup, already unbuckled and clambering free. 

By the time Barry had hauled himself out of the driver’s side and stretched out his rice crispy spine Lup was already halfway up the scrubby embankment. Barry smiled fondly, he wished he had half the energy reserve the twins seemed to possess. 

“C’mon Bear! Look.”

The grass was sharp and the scree slippery, but Barry eventually made it, red and panting, to the rock.

“I love him.” Declared Lup, petting the top of the large, terribly painted frog she lounged across. “Take a picture for me please? Taako’s going to hate it. I’ll frame it for his birthday.”

 Barry huffed out and laugh and snapped some photographs. Lup looked perfect in every single one, because of course she did.

“Now c’mere, we need to get some for the wall.” Lup spun herself round and made grabby hands at Barry. The photo collection had started during undergrad. Lup had read something about tangible photos being lost because of technology and decided to be a one woman task force to combat it. She religiously took photos, got them printed monthly, and strung them up around the house using a seemingly endless supply of tiny colourful pegs. The strings were a timeline of friendships, charting the day that Magnus appeared in their lives and decided they were going to be friends actually; Lucretia’s increasing appearance at events; Kravitz moving from glowering at the twins in the background of a shot in a lecture hall, to standing awkwardly at the edge of a group shot, to kissing Taako’s cheek and making him blush right to the tips of his ears. They charted bad haircuts (Lup), terrible fashion choices (Barry repeatedly begged Lup to take down the evidence of his pork pie hat era, but she resolutely refused), and covered the mundane to the sublime - book days, beach days, lecture halls, labs, picnics, hikes. All of it.

Barry walked over to her then waited for direction, Lup’s creative vision wasn’t something to be trifled with. 

“Okay, can you hop up here with me? I’m just gonna go prop the camera.” Lup scooted off the edge as Barry found a solid foothold to push himself up with.

“Aye aye, Dr Captain… Captain Dr?” Barry saluted from the top of the frog and Lup laughed, mission accomplished. He still loved that he could inspire that reaction, after all this time she still loved his stupid jokes.

“Right, it’s on a 10 second timer… GO!” Lup sprinted and hopped deftly up the frog. Barry realised at the same time as she did that there was no way there was room for both of them to sit on top. Lup glanced at his lap and grinned, “...incoming, Barold!” She threw herself onto his knee and somehow produced a smile and a peace sign. There was no way Barry had been looking at the camera, he was definitely staring at Lup with the ‘lovesick’ face he’d bribed Taako into deleting or editing from photos so many times before. 

“Uh… can we do that again? I think I blinked.” Maybe he could delete the last attempt before she saw it once they were back in the car. He’d managed it before, there was only so many times you could be photographed staring longingly at someone before they worked out you were probably a bit in love with them.

“Sure you aren’t just trying to keep me in your lap? You could just ask, you know?” Barry was going to expire, right here right now. She could stay in his lap forever as far as he was concerned, but she was joking and he would be serious about it if he asked her to stay put and she’d laugh, his heart would break, and she’d feel weird about the last 10 years of their lives.

“I… well… er… I… just… the blinking.” Perfectly eloquent. He nailed it. There was no way she’d pick up on the fact he was combusting.

“No problemo. Save my spot!” Lup started to wriggle free, but Barry scooped her instead, cradling her briefly before setting her down on the very edge. “Thanks Bear! You’ve been working out.”

Barry had very much not been working out, unless you counted frantic note taking - which they definitely hadn’t in high school, he’d checked.

“3-2-1, comin’ in hot!” Lup clicked the button and set off running back to the rock. Barry watched her go, laughing at the smile on her face. He should probably just have volunteered to use mage hand for this, but Lup was having too much fun. She ran up the side of the rock, and Barry caught her, tugging her down into his lap. 

“8-9…” Lup raised her arms and Barry heard the familiar whoosh of flame. Gods, she was ridiculous and he loved every inch of her. He focused resolutely on the camera. “Think you managed without blinking that time?” Lup asked.

“Yeah, yeah, that was a good one.”

“Okay, stay put, I want one more of you with the frog please… Oh, do you still remember some of those bard spells Johann showed you?”

Barry nodded tentatively. “I do.”

“Cool, a cowboy hat please.” It was done before she’d slid back to the ground, and the raucous laugh she let out meant he’d definitely made a good choice. “The pink fuzzy trim really adds a mystique to the look, Barold. Have you been studying at the Taako school of headgear?”

Barry yee hawed instead of answering and Lup snapped away as he wielded his imaginary lasso.

Back in the car he felt a bubbling sense of pride as she set one of him high in his imaginary frog saddle as her screensaver and laughed again.

–

“It should be the next left, Bear. I hope you’re excited.” Lup uncurled herself from the scrunched up position she’d adopted for reading.

“”I’ve got a surprise and you’re gonna love it” can usually go either way with you and Taako, so I’ll reserve judgement for now.” Barry pretended to frown, but he knew Lup saw through it. He’d trust her with anything, she was the person his Mum’s ‘if your friends all jumped off a cliff’ lecture should have focused on. He wouldn’t have done it for Juan or Glennis, but Lup? He’d be straight over the side knowing she’d have figured out some way for them to fly. “Hang on… Lup, is that Mothman?”

“Maaaaybe. Turn in here.” 

“... and that’s bigfoot?”

“Yep.” Lup popped the p and looked incredibly smug.

“Why’s the rabbit… oh, it has horns. Jackalope?” 

“Jackalope.” Lup confirms.

“Lup, is this a cryptid hotel?” Okay, so the kitschy vibe was fun, but this was definitely more for Lup than for him. She didn’t usually miss with her surprises, but there was a first time for everything.

“It is, yes, but they also have a collection of academic papers you can view on the topic. There’s loads of really great evidence, according to the website.” Lup side eyed him.

“There’s research I can get angry at?” Okay, now she was talking.

“Bear, I hear those methodologies are real unscrupulous. There’s likely some inconsistencies in the referencing too, if you know what I mean.” Lup waggled her eyebrows. 

“I love you.” Blurted Barry, then tried not to think about that too hard as he parked the car. That was fine. You could tell your friends you loved them, he’d told Lup he loved her before. He told all of them he loved them because he did. She didn’t need to know that he meant it in a different way when he said it to her.

“I love you too.” Lup nudged his arm. “Now let’s go see which theme the rooms are. I’m hoping for the Hodag, but I think you’d prefer Champ.”

“Oh, I see how it is, pawn me off with budget Nessy. I’m Jackalope or broke. You go ahead, I’ll grab the bags.” Barry cracked the back door and started the slow task of sorting through the detritus of the day. He wasn’t entirely sure where Lup had managed to accrue four souvenir bags, but he didn’t want to risk damaging anything. He piled them carefully to the side, then tracked down the overnight bags, and double checked to make sure he’d locked the car properly. Shouldering the rucksacks he headed into the reception, glad that Lup was sorting the rooms. Frankly, he didn’t want to have to speak to anyone other than her before he’d thrown himself into a long shower and felt a bit more human. 

“Hey Bear.” Lup gave him a small wave from the electric blue sofa near the door. “There’s, well, there’s good news and there’s bad news. Which do you want first?”

Barry hesitated. You were definitely supposed to get the bad news first, but the day had been so nice that maybe he could just put off whatever was going to ruin it a little longer. “Give me the good?”

“Buy one get one free on frozen margs. The glasses are massive and they have wild flavours. I need to try at least three, you know, for science. One of them is goldfish and I don’t know if they mean the creature or the cracker.” 

“Or both?”

“It could be both.”

“… and the bad news?”

“There may have been a tiny bit of a mix up. Just, like, the smallest amount. A little communication thing. You’ll barely notice it.” She smiled winningly, just like the time she broke his favourite mug, tried to fix it, somehow melted the shards, recruited Taako to fix it, and the resultant puddle became pudding.

“Uh huh.”

“We’re sharing.”

“Oh. That’s absolutely fine, I don’t mind.” It was better news than the margheritas, frankly.

“And there’s only one bed.” 

“I don’t mind if you don’t.” They’d shared before, he could deal with another night sleeping on his arms so his stupid subconscious didn’t decide they should be cuddling, actually.

“...and-also-they-might-think-we’re-married.” Lup said in a rush.

“Sorry, what? I don’t think I heard you right.”

Lup blushed brighter than he’d ever seen. “They think we’re…”

“...Ah, Dr Bluejeans-Tacco, I’m so delighted to meet you.” A tall man in an ascot and cosy looking jumper appeared by his elbow before Lup could finish. She definitely couldn’t have said what he thought he’d heard. That was ridiculous, there was no way. “As I explained to the awe inspiring Dr Bluejeans-Tacco here, we’re always so pleased to see newlyweds at Myths and Bed-gends! Marriage is such an honoured tradition, a delight, a union of souls! We were so excited when she let us know this trip was a surprise as you were celebrating an important life event. Now, do let me show you to the honeymoon suite, but don’t forget to visit the gift shop or the CryptoNOMica restaurant later tonight!”

Before Barry could say anything the man strode off towards the corridor. Lup gave Barry a panicked look, seemingly undecided as to whether she should follow the man or flee the building. Barry knew he should probably be freaking out right now, but truly he couldn’t find it in himself. Most of all, he needed to get his back under some hot water and maybe lie down. Lup could explain what was going on after that, but right now she looked more uncertain than he’d ever seen her, and there was no way he was having that.

“Come on then, Dr Bluejeans-Tacco.” Barry grabbed Lup’s hand. “You were definitely right about this place being a surprise.”

[jerreeeeeee]

Balance fic recs

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

caramel by nevereverever

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

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

Warmth by noxic

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

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

Taako the Matchmaker by @fantasysamsclub

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

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

red fishing line by @anistarrose

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

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

Sunny-Side Up by @barry-j-blupjeans

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

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

On the Deck of the Starblaster by @papergardener

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

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

leaving, as an injustice by @anistarrose

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

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

Permission by vaguenotion

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

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

Come Hell or High Water by @nillial

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

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

Very cold water on a very hot day by @keplercryptids

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

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

Children of Atlas by @papergardener

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

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

Emissary Davenport by DragonWrites

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

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

[17-million-years-of-pining-poll]

THE BRACKET IS COMPLETE!!! HUZZAH!!

(do not mention how shit the bracket looks, im sorry) Art creds: @henreyettah for the griddlehark art, @herbgerblin for the blupjeans art, and @rottingraisins for the clefdraki art! thank you all for letting me use your wonderful art<3 MAIN BRACKET ROUND 1 ROUND 2 ROUND 3 SEMI-FINALS FINALS (upcoming!) LOSER'S BRACKET ROUND 1 (ONGOING!!!)

[barry-j-blupjeans]

44 with blupjeans

44. Washing their hair for them when they can't.

--

"This sucks," Lup said. Barry made a little "mh-hm" of agreement and raised one of his arms to wipe water from his face.

It was warm enough in here that he had begun to sweat, which was probably the opposite of what he wanted to happen in a shower. But Lup wanted him here so he'd be damned if he didn't even try. Technically, he wasn't in the shower. He was standing against the wall, wedged between the shower curtain. Lup was standing directly in front of him as he scrubbed conditioner into her hair.

He probably should have taken off his shirt, at least. That would have been a smart idea.

"Not you, babe," Lup said.

"Of course," Barry said.

"But like- the situation sucks," she said. "I wanna do my hair and not feel weird about it."

"I get it," Barry said.

Stepping into a regrown version of your body was… an experience, to say the least. It came with some new, unwelcome discomforts. When he was on his own, he had been able to power through for the most part. There was a time on his… fourth? Fifth? body that the sensation of brushing his teeth made him so uncomfortable that he didn't brush them until he died again. And not to mention the idea of wearing socks with his third body. Barry was fine with them now but even recalling it shook him up.

They had tried to plan around the random things that Lup might be uncomfortable with for a while, but it was hard to figure out until they truly knew what was going to happen. It didn't help that half the time they couldn't tell if it was a weird new body thing or a "Lup has not had flesh in ten years" thing.

The past few weeks had been full of experiments and tests to figure out accommodations for the weird little things. They bought new blankets because the ones that they had were too suffocating for Lup to use. He managed to find a sponge that didn't give Lup goosebumps if she had to wash the dishes. They were getting very good at keeping Magnus's tiny dog out of Lup's way because the feeling of her nose rubbed Lup wrong in a very bad way.

They were still having a rough patch with the shower stuff. He felt like they had gone through all the hair care companies on Faerûn to find one that felt okay, but they had quickly run out of options. For now, they had to settle with Barry helping her with hair care because the texture of the condition and shampoo on her hands made her feel sick. Thankfully, her hair was okay. Barry wasn't even going to pretend he knew how it worked anymore.

He leaned back, observing Lup's hair. Barry had never really had hair this long (or this curly) but his muscle memory still seemed pretty intact for what he needed to do. That was one thing he got to keep, at least.

Nope. No. Now was not the time for that train of thought.

"Let it soak for a bit," Barry said, shaking his hands off. Lup glanced over her shoulder at him, smiling.

Gods, he loved her.

She turned her body a bit more towards him, tugging on the collar of his shirt to bring him back in. Barry laughed, meeting her halfway for a kiss. His glasses had started to steam up by the time he pulled away.

"Thank you," Lup said.

"For- for the kiss, or the ha-?"

"Both," Lup said.

"Well," Barry said. "Anything for my wife."

Lup managed to smile a little wider. Barry felt a little stupid, in a good way.

"Love you," she said.

"Love you, too," he said. "Can I, uh, can I take off my shirt? I am getting... very damp."

[umbraastaff]

the main post was getting long but i wanted to highlight a couple of cool responses on my taz balance game posts pointing out stuff i forgot or didn't realize:

@widzi:

op forgot the new davenport glitch where if you manage to clip him into the voidfish tank he gets innoculated earlier and skips #right to the story and song cutscene

@scarlett-green-rose:

Wait, I haven't played (or really thought of) TAZ: Balance in years, and I never really got into the speedrunning scene. But do all the speedruns run in the optional chronological timeline order? I get that starting with hundred year journey lets you play around with the early faerun stats that Barry, Lucretia and Lup (or really the Umbrastaff) get, but considering the long gameplay loop I'd have thought that runners would just settle for the basic stats for those three and exploit the hell out of the tres horny boi's immunity to corruption buff to free lup and then speedrun the rest of the relics, at least for any%. Is running hyj first actually worth it despite the fact that the planar order is randomised? Or do runners use a specific seed when running that category? Also, shame to see that Merle and John's Parleys isn't as present in the current meta. That cutscene where John monologues about his doctrine and Merle rejects him is just *mwah* incredible. Although I guess it's understandable considering how long those dialogues are.

@somelittleplacebetweenthestars:

lol speaking of the spa scene i found a pretty funny glitch there the other day #i was messing around with menu storage clipping the other day and found out if you clip merle out of bounds during the first song#his properties get all weird #so although he loses his arm to the crystal cosmetically #it just. doesn’t register? so when it comes time for him to get the soul wood arm he just straight up cannot get it #idk it’s mostly a visual glitch#doesn’t really effect game play that much it just means he’s got half an arm for the rest of your run #but rlly why are you in the crystal kingdom if you’re running another other than 100% #where was i going w this #OH YEAH #but this weird not!arm gets SUPER FUCKED UP in cutscenes #like the spa scene!#basically#like once every two seconds it’ll spawn the soul wood arm in its pot plant#without despawning the previous iteration? #and bc the cutscene’s in-engine you basically soft-lock yourself bc you can’t start the scene without overloading the game #just kind of a stupid fun thing tho #mb it can become a category #arm% or whatever#(this is all in crystal kingdom btw sorry forgot to mention)

@barry-j-blupjeans:

oh shit really??? #listen. i love magnus but all his level 1 shit is so sloooowww #i wanna rush in!! how can i rush in if i cant land a hit half the time!! #(<- i say as if mangus still isn't the most overpowered character in the game anyway) #(esp in a lotta the alpha releases. i get why they had to nerf him down but it's really funny to see a very low level magnus #fucking up absolutely Everyone he comes across) #u used to be able to do the raven roost's arc in like. 3 months max #just bc of how overpowered they originally had him sldkfsdf

[fandomsnstuff]

We're two weeks in team! Have some simple blupjeans chatter

Day 14: celebrity au

Barry's just trying to buy a new tv for their bedroom, but Lup wants to talk about his celebrity status.

Read it on AO3

Barry considers the different tvs in front of him. “The 45 should be enough for where we're putting it. What do you think, babe?” He looks at Lup, but she's looking off in some other direction. “Lup?” 

She turns to him. “Hm?” 

“The tv?” 

“Oh, yeah, whatever you want is fine.” She looks away again. 

“Alright, uh,” he turns back to the sales associate helping them, “we'll go with the 45 inch one then.” 

“Great! Just wait right here and I'll go grah the box from the back.” 

They walk away, and Barry says to Lup, “what has you so distracted.” 

She glances at him and grins. She links her arm through his and points to a tv nearby, “look.” 

It's playing an episode of a cheesy mafia-themed soap opera. The same mafia-themed soap opera Barry was cast in 30 years ago to play the mob boss's fifteen year old son. The scene playing at the moment is from a recent season, showing Barry all done up in a suit, surveying some sort of shipment. 

He rolls his eyes. “You're ridiculous.” 

She laughs. “You're probably the only mainstream celebrity who comes to Best Buy for his tvs.” 

“There's no way I'm mainstream. I'm like a T-list celebrity at best."

“Oh, come on. You're on Netflix!” 

“Have you seen some of the shit on there? It's like finding an old can of beans from 1962 at the back of your grandma's cupboard sometimes. Plus,” he gestures vaguely at the tv, “the show's been running for over 30 years now, some streaming service was bound to pick it up eventually. It's not an indication of my celebrity status.” 

Lup tuts. “You're selling yourself short, Bluejeans. You've gotta be at least E-list. The kids are getting into older shows nowadays.”

“I never get recognized in public.” 

“Bullshit. There was that one time-” 

“On the rare occasion that I do, they're almost always over the age of 60.” He gives Lup a look as he cuts her off, knowing she was going to mention that time they were on a road trip and a table of older women recognized him in a diner. She purses her lips, thinking. “You get recognized more than I do,” he says. “You're more of a celebrity than I am.” 

“There's no way a YouTube channel makes me more famous than you, who's been a staple of daytime television since you were fifteen.” 

“Oh yeah?” He tilts his head to indicate behind her, “six o'clock.” 

“Excuse me?” Right on cue, a 20-something customer comes up to them. “I'm so sorry, but are you Lup Taaco?” 

Barry takes a picture for them, and Lup talks to them for a few quick minutes until the sales associate comes back with their tv. The fan thanks her and scurries away. Barry takes the flat cart from the associate and starts driving it to the cash registers. “Told you,” he says.

“Shut up.” She crosses her arms. “I refuse to accept this slander to your popularity.” 

“Lup, I'm a pudgy white guy in his 40s wearing jeans and a t-shirt. I'm practically set decoration when I'm in public. Now, if I walked around in a suit and waved a gun around going,” he makes a finger gun and does a silly impression of his tv self, “give me my fuckin’ money or I'll kill ya! Then I might get a little more attention.” 

Lup considers this. “I don't think people would appreciate that.” 

“No, I don't think they would. Unfortunately tv is pretend and I don't actually run the seedy underbelly of a major city.” 

They get to the register, and Lup digs into her purse for her wallet. “Well at least we don't have to worry about the paps following us around.” 

“And we can go to Best Buy for tvs.” 

[raineydaywrites]

20 Questions for fic writers

Tagged by @barry-j-blupjeans (thank you!!!)

tagging @sgrumby and anyone who wants to play!!

1. How many works do you have on A03?

132

2. What's your total A03 word count?

568,150! half a million!!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mainly TAZ Balance and Star Wars (Prequels/TCW era, mostly), but I've written a fair amount for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in the past, and I'll sometimes write a fic here or there for other fandoms.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

They're all Star Wars fics, which makes sense but makes me kind of sad because I love my other fics too. But oh well:

still much that is fair.

Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Jedi Code, and Other Things That Anakin Has Misunderstood

Take Two

brothers don't let each other wander in the dark alone

growing season (absolutely BLEW MY MIND that this one is in my top five now. It's a one-shot kidfic for a pairing I don't write often?? I'm not used to those getting notes. But I guess it is the Codywan era for prequels fans so I can see where it's coming from.)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to! But sometimes I don't have the spoons for it. But I love getting comments and want to show my appreciation!

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I don't usually write super angsty endings! I don't like them. Or, well, actually I do enjoy them sometimes, but IDK, if I'm writing a whole-ass fic, I usually want to make the ending happy!

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending

still much that is fair! which is wild because it has one of the angstiest premises I've ever written (suicide attempt that all loved ones believed to be successful, ends with characters giving each other hugs and 'love yous' and closure)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Rarely. Every once in a while. Sometimes people don't like me writing autistic headcanons or characters mentioning pronouns.

9. Do you write smut?

No. I'm not opposed to it in fic, but it doesn't interest me.

10. Do you write crossovers?

No, but I'll read them sometimes. I'm not opposed to writing them, but I've never really gotten an idea for one that inspires me.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of! I did once have someone warn me that my fic was 're-posted' to ao3 back in the days when I was still posting on both ffnet and ao3 with different usernames.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes, actually, though I forgot about it until asked! It's not one I ever posted. I co-wrote a Maximum Ride fic with a friend in middle school, lol. But I'd love to co-write again in the future! It's fun to talk about ideas with friends.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

All-time favorite ship is SO hard for me because I'm a multishipper and I flipflop fandoms a lot, so I kind of default to my first (and still beloved) ship: Janeway/Chakotay from Star Trek: Voyager. I'm also gonna answer for my two main fandoms atm: Star Wars is Obi-Wan/Satine and TAZ Balance is Barry Bluejeans/Lup/Lucretia, because I love a good polycule. Also Barry and Lup on their own are great but they remind me too much of my parents to really go wild over them.

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Be My Brother's Keeper. A Darcy Lewis is Tony Stark's daughter AU. I love that one and I had PLANS for it, but my Marvel days are so long gone.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think I'm good at coming up with creative, unique ideas and making them work!! People often say that they didn't expect to like my fics from the premise but enjoyed them anyway. :3 I'm also good at character interactions and emotions

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Describing things, mainly visual things that are happening. They're just there, in the fanfic, not in a physical location to me. Also staying motivated to finish writing and avoiding derailing my own ideas with wanting to include EVERYTHING.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I haven't done it before but I'm not opposed!

19. fandom you wrote for?

Like, first fandom? Nancy Drew. I wrote a Nancy Drew fanfic when I was eight years old on looseleaf notebook paper, before I knew that anyone else wrote fanfic. In it, Nancy fell down a hole, broke her leg, everyone who loved her thought she was dead and they were all soso sad, but then they found her and it ended happily. My tastes have not evolved much since, but my writing ability has!

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

Changes often! Currently it is The Parent Trap(ped in an Umbrella) but I'm also quite fond of Still Much That Is Fair and one more last try, I'm gonna get the ending right.

[ceilingfan5]

characters out of context

➥ Include one character quote — of your choosing ⁠— from each chapter of your WIP (or as many chapters as you'd like).

➥ Give absolutely no context, save for what's between two parts of an interrupted sentence, should that occur. You may mention who said it.

tagged by @barry-j-blupjeans thank you!! sorry i missed it at first

hm im in the same boat i dont have much to speak of chapter wise except for my sizzle it up wip

Kravitz pt 1: “I work at the Olive Garden,” Kravitz admits, unable to control the bitter tone in his words.

Kravitz pt 2: "Oh, you know," Kravitz drawls, intentionally vague. "The side-hustle."

Kravitz pt 3: “I don’t think you understand what a bad cook I am, Taako, I mostly eat frozen food. I burn grilled cheese. I’ve ruined three microwaves and two toasters.”

and then there's it's free real estate, which is still pretty short, so a few different characters:

Lup -- “It’s like someone got zooted and spent their paycheck on every Sims expansion they could think of,” Lup agrees.

Taako-- “Fuck yeah, fuck yeah,” Taako nods. “High oink-sweet-piggy technology. These little bitches are so cozy they don’t even need sleepytime tea.”

Kravitz-- “I have never, ever been told otherwise about the relative intelligence of my ass, so I’ll have to believe you.”

oh and mob pizza, which i need to revisit:

Taako-- “No, let me get that name real quick before I pound you into the dirt?” Taako’s eyes are piercing and Kravitz feels like swiss cheese.

Kravitz-- “Dan,” Kravitz, who is not Dan, agrees.

and then this circus roommates one i was going to continue and fucking left off midsentence

“Pshh, you think I care?” Taako twists himself much too far one way, cracking his back, and then much too far the other way. Definitely a ferret. Or maybe something weaselier. “Anyway, by that incredibly sound logic, it goes all the way the other way, and all your stuff is my stuff. That’s roommate law.”

oh and this rockstar au just called "fame and fortune"

“If he hasn’t heard your songs, you get to pop his cherry with the live version,” Lucretia cuts in, and the arguing comes to an absolute halt. Probably just as much because they heard Lucretia say pop his cherry in her ooey-gooey gravitas laden voice, but the sudden quiet is nice anyway.

anyway i should write more chapter stuff again huh

tagging @noodyl-blasstal if you havent been yet and @taakosleftshoe and you, reading this, if you wanna

[loveatfirstsightbracket]

sorry i just sent in taakitz as a submission and i forgot to add one thing: taakos twin sister spends over half a century falling in love with her partner so they have a fun little contrast there :>

TBH, this entire competition was born from me repeatedly getting heated about blupjeans in the @/17-million-years-of-pining-poll and wanting something for taakitz SO TRUST ME I KNOW. <333

I'll be sure to mention it in the entry!

[holdmecloser-gandydancer]

Characters Out of Contex

➥ Include one character quote — of your choosing ⁠— from each chapter of your WIP (or as many chapters as you'd like).

➥ Give absolutely no context, save for what's between two parts of an interrupted sentence, should that occur. You may mention who said it.

Tagged by @liltaz-asatreat and @barry-j-blupjeans (Thank you Gab and also thank you Ise!!!)

so this is literally just going to be from RHAPAW and also very vaguely separated into chapters? I still haven't decided how I'm going to break it up

Kravitz: “So, either of you care to tell me just how you named the band? Because I gotta admit, the name kinda fucking sucks."

“Hey babe! Baby! Barry says hi!” Magnus shouts, leaning away from the phone.

“I ate at work,” he explains. Misty smiles and nods before walking off. “And the thought of consuming anything more than coffee here does fill me with a deep and terrible disgust.”

“Well in the highly likely event that any of us are made to deal with the baby Antichrist, we will be absolutely sure to consult you first,” Johann says drily.

“Kravitz, I will see you at sound check. Please leave my apartment now,” she says crisply, not shifting her hard gaze from Taako.

“And here I was about to offer you my brother to fill the sibling void you’ve been missing,” she says blithely

“I hate you all so much, when did I suddenly get three brothers to interrogate me about boys?” Lup complains light heartedly.

“And here I thought you were just using me for my Hulu login.”

“I think you just killed me. Tell Johann we can’t finish the show because you fucking cock-blocked your pal Lup!” She wails melodramatically.

If you see this and wanna do this, then this is me tagging you!

[noodyl-blasstal]

15 for the writing game and you fucking KNOW it's blupjeans

The prompts are from this list and I’m still taking suggestions (although they might be a bit slow!)

Object: Denim jacket with bleach-painted bone motif Emotions: Totally Chill, Nothing Can Prove Otherwise and Can’t stop humming love songs

Of course I didn’t make the playlist, that would be ridiculous. (I did in fact make the playlist. Here you go!)

-

“Lup, hey, hey Lup. What the fuck?” Taako lets her headphone snap back against her ear and gives her The Look that means he thinks she’s being insane. She’s not, so there.

She puts down the paintbrush and pushes her headphones down round her neck. “What?”

“Lulu, sister mine, you’re humming stupid loud, everything smells of bleach, and it’s arse o’clock. Are you good? Do I need to go find the emergency conditioning treatment again?” Taako grabs her jaw and turns her head side to side and looks for signs of crispy hair. Lup pretends to bite him but doesn’t connect, because, well, fair. It wouldn’t be the first time and it’ll probably happen again, but this time it’s different. He of little faith!

“I’m doing art, Taako.”

“Uh huh. 2am art?”

“I’m feeling creative. You can’t dictate when that happens.”

“Can I dictate that you create quietly? Taako needs to sleep.” He leans himself over her back, tucking his head onto her shoulder and Lup nuzzles him slightly with her head. She almost forgets he’s a feral goblin until he pretends to snore loudly in her ear.

“Gross, gerrof Goofus!”

“I will if you promise to stop listening to your Barry playlist while you make… whatever this is?”

Lup definitely doesn’t choke on her own spit, and if she does then that’s definitely why she was red, nothing to do with the mention of Barry’s name, thank you so much. She was nothing but incredibly normal about him. Professionally normal, in fact. Sometimes you made playlists about the guys you reaped souls with. That was super normal. Sure, she didn’t have a Kravitz playlist, but that was just because… he was her boss. It’d be weird if it was her boss, but Barry wasn’t, so it was fine.

“It’s a rad skull jacket, I’m bleach painting thank you so much, and I’m not listening to my Barry playlist!” Lup realises her mistake a minute too late as Taako cackles gleefully and swipes for her phone. Lup knocks it out of his reach and adds “...which I don’t have, and that’s why I’m not listening to it, because you can’t listen to something that doesn’t exist, Taako.” Nailed it, perfect, this was gonna be fine.

“Uh huh. Then you won’t mind showing me what you’re listening to then will you?”

Lup couldn’t show Taako her phone. For reasons. Ones unrelated to the Reap Me Baby One More time playlist she definitely wasn’t listening to and didn’t in any way relate to Barold. “No.” Oh, yeah, great, Taako was definitely going to take no for an answer, that was a thing he did, especially when he could already smell blood in the water. 

He darts round her before she can knock the phone even further away. “Good luck, Goofus. It’s locked.”

Taako turns and gives her a disparaging look before removing his glasses and holds up the phone. “We’re twins, idiot.” He says as her stupid traitor phone unlocks itself. “Ooooh, interesting. Just some platonic songs. Platonically stupid for you, a classic. Love you madly… platonically; I want you to want me in a friend way though. All fine and normal.”

Lup doesn’t say anything, she grabs her brush and ignores the prickling feeling of tears building behind her eyes. It’s fine, Taako’s just teasing, he doesn’t mean anything by it. She’ll just finish painting her skull jacket and Kravitz won’t even be able to complain about denim being unprofessional because it’ll be super rad and she can say it’s a portrait of him. He’s always susceptible to flattery.

“Hey, Lulu.” Taako slots himself back over her shoulder. “You should just tell him you know? Barold’s head over heels for you.”

“Taako, I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay, fine, don’t listen to your older, wiser, more beautiful brother.”

Lup jiggles her shoulder to try and get him off, but he sticks like a limpet. Fine, fine, if he’s not going anywhere then he can at least be a pillow about it. Lup rests her head against his. “I’ll tell him one day… probably.”

“You’d better. Also, you’re making another one of these.” Taako reaches over to tug the sleeve of the jacket very gently. “I’m adding diamante.”

Lup rolls her eyes, and finishes off the design. Maybe she can text Barry and ask if he wants to go for a drink after work tomorrow? He’ll definitely know that it’s different to all the other times they’ve been for after work drinks before… 

[in-this-crystal-kingdom]

Ranking the Arcs of TAZ Balance in order from worst to best in my own personal opinion with reasons!

(Respective Interludes joined together with the arcs-- This is for fun please don't kill me)

8. Petals to the Metal

I'm sorry I just don't like this one very much and I don't know why

The stuff with Sloan and Hurley is really good, I'm just not a fan of much else

Ironically one of my favorite lines in the whole campaign comes from this arc ("I am a fully realized creation! Fuck!")

It's not a bad arc, I don't HATE it, I just never remember much of it after it's over

The festival where Magnus dresses like Taako is funny as shit tho I will give it that

Also everything with the "Merle Fucks Plants" jokes are iconic

On the other hand the relic of this arc also isn't my favorite, sorry Merle

7. Here There Be Gerblins

This one is before PTTM for a few reasons but I also have issues with this one

It feels very different from the rest of the series which makes sense since it was originally supposed to kinda be a one off thing before everyone was like MORE NOW PLEASE YES

This is another that I don't really remember much of after it's over, but again-- it's not BAD, just not my favorite

Barry Bluejeans does a die in this one, rip sir jeans, he is one of the most character ever

Taako's Taco quest is so funny and is rarely mentioned throughout the series (which I get but still kinda wish it had been more relevant before the end)

I do like the Voidfish reveal and the Phoenix Fire Gauntlet though, so it pushes this arc just above PTTM (slightly, they are the only 2 I don't love)

6. Murder on the Rockport Limited

We are officially in the territory of having a hard time ranking these because I LOVE THE REST OF THEM SO MUCH

It kind of hurts my soul this one is at six but like... it has to be...

ANGUS MY BELOVED I care him so much

Jerkins Jenkins is such a good character and I love him

Him being the only one who is just immediately sick of their shit is iconic

The entire gag if Magnus being absolutely fucked up and trying to talk to Avi is so funny

TOM BODET

Leinen Kessler (I mean Justin) not fooling anyone is hilarious

Trashy wizard! Miss him dearly.

Have I mentioned how much I love Angus yet

5. Story and Song

Listen this arc is iconic, it is where everything comes together, and I'm not kidding that I spent like 10 minutes trying not to put it at 5 but FUCK I CAN'T RANK IT ABOVE THE OTHERS I'M SORRY

I love it so much and I'm litterally so mad I decided to make this list because I can't believe the arc that made me sob during my lunch break the first time I was listening to it is number 5

But I also need to speak my truth and this one is under some of the ones that came before it simply because of how wonderful the others are and how dearly I hold them in my heart

Taako breaking the Umbra Staff will always kill me, I cry every time.

Speaking of the Umbra Staff, Taako pointing it at Lucretia and counting down gives me chills every time.

"There is magic in a Bard's song" FUCKING KILLS ME EVERY TIME I CRY SO HARD

Small mention for all the members of the Taakitz and Blupjeans nations, come get your dinner-- I know that’s not even close to the only important things going on here, but this arc did so much for us.

The endings for each character make me so happy and I cry every time hearing them all

Merle and his kids. Merle saying he loves Mavis and Clint confirming later that he was talking to Justin, Travis, and Griffin as well as the audience when he said that always gets me.

Taako getting to be a part of a family he never knew he had. Taako and Lup getting to be together again, Taako teasing her and Barry, Kravitz's hand being warm. Taako getting to return to the lives he loved with the people he loves. Perfect.

Magnus and Julia reunion is one of the main reasons I was debating this rank because on one hand I love the other arcs dearly for personal reasons but on the other hand I can't deny it is one of the most poetic and romantic scenes in any media I have ever consumed. Griffin and Travis play off of each other so well, and this scene genuinely remains such a gut punch for me. "She smiles-" will happen and every time I immediately start crying without fail. This moment is so raw and emotional and I hold it dear in my heart.

Fisher and Jr. being free will always get me so hard. Such a beautiful end to a beautiful story that I will never hear anything like again. What I wouldn't give to hear it for the first time again.

4. 11th Hour

This arc was the arc that made me bolt up in bed several times for several different reasons.

God I just love this arc so much I'm so excited for the novel I just- AHHH

This arc was probably the first inkling I had that something big was coming, I felt it a little in Crystal Kingdom but this arc made me realize "Oh shit, Griffin has something PLANNED and it is going to be BIG" because even though I am several years late to this party I somehow encountered no spoilers for my first listen (sort of, will explain later in this post)

But back to my point

The reason I rank this above Story and Song is not because I think it's better story wise (although it is really fucking good story wise) it's because of how excited I am to listen to it

The first moment I realized they were stuck in a loop- God I was screaming in the car on my way home from work

Everything with Junebug and the Chalice was so well done and I love how Griffin decided to do that so much

Taako learning that it wasn't his fault all those people died, I could feel the weight being lifted off my own shoulders that was so evidently huge for him in that moment.

Magnus crying as soon as he sees Julia in his memory and not even being ashamed of it, just so emotionally raw and powerful.

The fact that Taako and Merle understood why Magnus might want to take it and they didn't stop him

Magnus not taking the chalice because "it's not what Julia would want" is so good, I cry every time.

Taako making a joke about them needing to make his dick bigger on the statues they made will always send me becahse I almost always forget the joke when it happens.

Barry The Red Robe trying to protect Magnus from the scroll, Magnus realizing that he himself is a Red Robe and he just can't remember it is another moment that really got me

I love this arc so much

3. Stolen Century

Man this arc has so much to it and it is so wonderful

I feel bad not ranking it higher but as much as I love it I have two I love more

Underrated moment people never mention, Magnus being a children's team coach for a cycle and them winning it all is so wholesome

Merle in the congregations he helped and taught through the cycles

Davenport being a great leader and such a complex character despite what we used to know him as

Lucretia learning and growing so much and making the most difficult decisions whether they worked out or not

Taako being similar but all at once nothing like the Taako we know. Taako being one of the smartest people in the IPRE. Taako loving the culture and unique qualities of each cycle.

Barry being so kind and brave even though he's a nervous wreck. I have never seen a character with anxiety be portrayed as someone who can put themselves before others without a second thought and be so brave in the face of danger that he faces death and laughs in its face.

Lup. I can't express all the things I feel about Lup. Courageous, firey, kind, compassionate, so torn apart by her decision to create the Phoenix Fire Gauntlet that she risked her life to seal it away for good. Lup, who was smart enough to create the very item that would be her prison for so long. Lup who can never forgive Greg Gramauldous to save her life. Lup.

Magnus having several reoccurring themes of learning to accept help, learning to ask for help, learning to work with others, learning to share the glory, learning to he humble. Magnus learning his strength can be his weakness and that weakness doesn't mean he's not strong enough.

Lup and Barry's duet. The undeniable love they have for each other is so beautiful.

Everything with Merle and John. Merle being kind to him, always leaving the door open for him to admit he was wrong. I love it.

This arc is so... yes. All of it. I hear people saying the format was bad but I loved it.

2. The Suffering Game

God so much shit got real in this arc

Lucretia revealing she lost a lot of her life in Wonderland

Magnus' secret break in to the brig to see Pringles

Magnus accidentally leading to the death of two guards

Wonderland has such a cool description and I can not WAIT to see this shit in book form you don't even KNOW

EDWARD AND LYDIA MY BELOVED

Taako being absolutely delighted by Wonderland at first and knowing what comes next always makes me weirdly sad

The wheel. That fucking wheel.

I will not be covering every little thing in this arc that I want to talk about because this post is already a novel but the wheel you guys. Fuck.

Trust or Forsake

SPELL SLOTS

Magnus and the Red Robe working together

GOD EDWARD STEALING MAGNUS' BODY. CHILLS EVERY DAMN TIME.

Taako using the spell to go get Magnus and Merle using the last of his magic to help. God. I am in tears just thinking about it.

"I'll be having my body back, you undead fuck."

BARRY REVEAL BARRY REVEAL BARRY REVEAL BARR

DAVENPORT SPEAKS IN THIS ONE Y'ALL

THE FIRST TIME I LISTENED TO THIS AND GRIFFEN PULLED THE "Of course, Lup, how could you forget your sister?" I WAS SCREAMING SO MUCH.

1. The Crystal Kingdom

If you saw my username and didn't see this coming I don't know what to say to you.

I know this isn't the most significant arc but it means a lot to me for one big reason-- it was the first one I went in completely blind on. At the time the Crystal Kingdom book hadn't come out yet, and the books were how I got introduced to the podcast.

That and because this arc fucking rocks (no pun intended... sort of.)

This post is honestly long enough already I'm gonna go more in depth on this with a separate post soon because I have a LOT to say about this arc

But seriously-- this arc is the fucking best and I will boy be judged by my choice

[17-million-years-of-pining-poll]

which are the top 10 most submitted pairings?

Blupjeans - 52 submissions?!?!?! Ineffable Husbands - 40 submissions Narumitsu - 34 submissions Hualian - 19 submissions Destiel - 16 submissions Catradora - 15 submissions Byler - 11 submissions Wangxian - 10 submissions Merthur - 10 submissions Tied for 10th: Royai - 9 submissions Percabeth - 9 submissions Garashir - 9 submissions Honorary mention: Scrat and the Acorn (1000000000000 submissions)

disclaimer: I tried my best but there might be some miscounts here. i also mightve somehow missed a ship. this doesnt reflect how the top 10 list might look in 3 days. i wannss sleep

[barry-j-blupjeans]

26 Blupjeans!

26. 🦖and don't get me started on Jurassic Park as a concept if they had just had some ENRICHMENT, sorry, sorry, you don't need to listen to me go on. I know it's annoy- why are you looking at me like that

((emoji prompts here - still accepting!!))

--

Message from The Less Superior Twin at 3:49 PM:

what the hell do you mean he doesn't like you like that?? Lup Lup That man is head over heels in love I want you to take one fucking guess on who he is in love WITH bc it ain't me! and it sure ain't himself!!!!

Lup turned off her phone, looking back towards Barry, who was now sorting through his VCR shelves. He wasn't resistant to change, per se, but Lup had never met anyone else who still had this many VCRs. This many working VCRs. He was thumbing through them, looking for a movie that they'd both enjoy watching. There was an ever-growing pile of rejects on the floor.

"Oh, don't even get me started on Jurassic Park," Barry said suddenly, plucking the tape from the shelf. "I hate these movies so much, I don't even know why I still own them-"

"Isn't that what you've said about the last few you've pulled out?" Lup asked. Barry gave a little grin and sat back.

"Those are different," he said. "I hate how they're made. But these fuckers-" He gestured towards where he had pulled the tape out. Lup had no idea how Barry had gotten Battle at Big Rock or any of the other newer ones on VCR, but there they were. "It's just- the plot. The- the details in it make me so angry."

Lup's phone buzzed under her hand. She ignored it, leaning forward to watch Barry talk. He used his hands a lot when he got passionate. She doubted that he knew that he did that, or he would have put the tape down otherwise. It was cute. His glasses were slipping down his nose slightly.

"If they just gave the dinosours some enrichment so many of the problems in this film could be avoided," Barry said. "And that's not even mentioning the fact that these are known violent animals and everyone is like, yeah, sure! I'll go to a park with that! It's like going to a petting zoo for fuckin' wolves or some shit, I'm-"

Barry caught her eye and cut himself off. And then he looked away immediately, bringing his hands down to fidget with the edges of the tape. He was slightly flushed.

"Sorry," he said. "That's, uh, very off-topic for what I was supposed to be doing-"

"No! No, you're good," Lup said earnestly. "I enjoy hearing you talk."

"Oh," Barry said. He finally pushed up his glasses, still looking a little embarrassed. "Are you sure? 'Cus your face was all..." he made an expression that Taako often made fun of her for. The big, wide eyes and the slightly open, slightly smiling mouth. Now it was Lup's turn to blush. Her face felt a little too hot. "And I don't know if that's a good thing, or-"

"It's good," Lup interrupted. "It's like-" Actually, no, she wasn't going to explain it. That'd be this awkward. More awkward, that is. "No, you're good, Bar. I was just really into the dino talk. I do kinda wanna watch Jurassic Park now, though."

Barry glanced at the tape in his hands, grimacing. He looked at her and broke into a little grin.

"I think we can make that work," he said.