herbgerblin

[herbgerblin]

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.

#to read later

[herbgerblin]

SQUARE UP!

[Image description: Fanart of a scene from Dimension 20's Fantasy High: Junior Year episode 14. The Bad Kids and The Rat Grinders square up in the middle of the school cafeteria. Alt text provided and copied under the cut. End ID]

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Image one: The Bad Kids and The Rat Grinders square up in the middle of the school cafeteria. Above their heads is written, "The Bad Kids vs The Rat Grinders."

Image two: From left to right - Adaine readies her magically glowing hand, Gorgug cracks his knuckles, Fig pages Colin Counterspell on her earpiece, Riz hisses, and Fabian steadies Kristen as she smirks down at Kipperlilly.

Image three: From left to right - Kipperlilly glares up at Kristen, Bobby looks on worriedly, Oisin has a hand on Kipperlilly's shoulder as he tries to intervene, Mary Anne has a deadpan stare, Ruben poses moodily, and Ivy smirks behind Oisin.

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#the number of people who forgot kipperlily is a halfling is very funny

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“I hate podcasts” <- guy who listened to Episode 41: Memoria and cried

I’ve been binging Wolf 359 this week and it just reaffirms my favorite media genre being “the horrors are neverending but we stay silly” a la the talent show episode and the board game episode

#that was a really fucking good episode omg #I was sobbing on my drive to work yall lol #wolf 359

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(Spoilers)

also I did latch on to Dr. Hilbert as a problematic fave because a mad scientist who violates the Hippocratic Oath so profoundly they had to send his ass to the far reaches of space is very funny.

Mad scientist who is so unethical that they have to add new war crimes to the Geneva Convention. Mad scientist who unapologetically says, “Yes, I did use you as a living test dummy. I’ve killed people, get over it >:/”

I’ve been binging Wolf 359 this week and it just reaffirms my favorite media genre being “the horrors are neverending but we stay silly” a la the talent show episode and the board game episode

#also I feel like him being silly with it early on was his choice #HE embraced the dork within #you’re not taking that back hilbert #wolf 359 spoilers

[herbgerblin]

I’ve been binging Wolf 359 this week and it just reaffirms my favorite media genre being “the horrors are neverending but we stay silly” a la the talent show episode and the board game episode

#wolf 359 #girls night! + dr. hilbert :3

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#taz steeplechase #thank you for your service op

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Trying to file taxes while listening to TAZ vs Dracula and all I can think about is how sad justin sounded when Lady Godwin chose to give up being a werehorse, thus forever cutting off her connection to the beautiful and carefree utopia of the horse dimension. It feels like a reverse The Last Unicorn moment. She turned away from the immutable sublime. She looked that stallion in the eye and denied the call. The boys keep playing, the podcast keeps going. I can’t believe I have to process this while filing taxes

#taz vs dracula #taz vs Dracula’s spoilers

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It's cause you're always balduring that damn gate...three

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tom cardy's "red flags" but the guy is into it. that's blupjeans

#hkdlhdlhdhkdhkd I’m glad I’m not the only one #blupjeans

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Our statement on the ticket situation with the Madison Square Garden live show! Apologies for the delay, took a bit of time to get everything squared away with the cast mid-travel and everyone at Dropout prepping for hiatus. Stay tuned for more updates!

#that's good i guess but the original ticke pricing definitely made me want to pass on the show :( #dimension 20

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the real problem with necromancy is all of these necromancers are pursuing immortality instead of dying so all the good necromancer names are taken for like centuries at a time. the other day i met a guy who called himself skull james

#taz balance

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Hey steepies, I was possessed by spirits to write about the future is you so here you go👍

#taz steeplechase #the adventure zone #:0!

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Podvember day 16! Back in those bluejeans!

#this art had a permanent resting place in my brain

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So I sold a book and also uh. Tv rights. Ok it was three books. Normal amount of books. In a seven figure six house auction to Tor. So that’s cool. I’m normal about this. (I am so excited)

#everyone support Iz!!!!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

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been really enjoying the new season and wanted to take a crack at some vs Dracula design concepts,,,I love them so bad. might change them up a bit as time goes on but for now take them and this bonus doodle

#taz vs dracula

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Somehow they managed even greater levels of Brennan torture than in Second Place. The man was well and truly shooketh. They broke him (again)

{clips from the season 6 Game Changer episode “Bingo”}

#there’s something about watching that man be psychologically tortured #brennan lee mulligan #game changer

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how is it that all of lucretia’s one liners in moonlighting always the funniest fucking shit 

“oh you’re so deep in the test, you are knee-deep in test town”

“i particularly liked when you ripped the arms off that poor helpless robot” 

“here’s the problem: they just run right off the goddamn thing”

“goddammit we love domes around here”

“yes, it’s that we very quickly cut your hand off and get the bracer off, but then we attach the hand back and it’s like, not a big deal”

“are there any non terrible questions”

#taz #taz balance #honourable mention to griffin describing her voice as 'ooey gooey gravitas'. #<- op