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#TAZ balance fic
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There are some things Davenport knows.
He counts them sometimes, the things he knows.
His name; how to tie his shoes with twelve different knots; how the Madame Director likes her coffee.
The rules of playing Fantasy Chess, and how to cheat at Fantasy Chess too.
How to tell when someone is afraid
How to make his bed, so tight and neat he can drop a coin on it and it jumps, newly polished and gleaming, right back into his hand
How to bandage up to twenty different kinds of injuries
How to make the best sea chowder on the Moon Base, and also on the planet
How to press a uniform so it lasts a week and several explosions with no crinkled corners
How to organise reports with proper colour-coding techniques
Not a great many words, when it comes to that - slippery as fishtails, words, hard to grasp in the mind and impossible to put into his mouth
How to laugh, and how to cry
How to be helpful, if not always in the most efficient way
Some very complicated geometry and arithmetic, though not the word for geometry, nor how to write down an equation to explain how he got his results.His name, the names of his colleagues, where he is, what time of the day it is, what happened yesterday.
His name, his name, even when he doesn't know anything else, his name is Davenport -
Most days, anyway
He cries, sometimes, over bowls of spicy soup and at cute dogs, when someone leaves a book half-open on the table - when he sees groups of people laughing, and when he's alone for a long time. He is rarely alone. The Madame Director finds him, every time. Brings him biscuits and jam, shares puzzles, gives him folders to file.
She tries to teach him new words from brightly coloured books, sometimes. Not often; Davenport hates to make her unhappy, and she looks very sad, whenever he fails. He hates failing - this he knows for certain. But regardless of what he does, the Director is sad a lot of the time. Busy, busy; but she goes very still, late at night, and writes lists in strange languages with shifting characters, and then burns them, with a look on her face like stone, like a closed fist. He sweeps the ashes, afterwards; there's nothing in them he can understand.
No one sees her in those hours. Only Davenport is there, with no one else around. Davenport does not count as company, really. Or at least the Madame Director trusts him enough to let him see her when it's very late and she is very tired, and there is too much work for a night's rest.
It's nice, being trusted. Davenport likes it, likes his little tasks, his schedule and his friends. He knows every corner of the Moon Base, except the ones he is not supposed to enter; he has a little map sewn into his coat pocket, for when he forgets he knows every corner of the Moon Base.
He loves slow music, and sea chowder, and to drink his tea (the Director makes it, sometimes; she knows just how he likes it) while standing behind the transparent windows and watch the planet down below, all green and blue and changeful, like a face with many moods.
He knows he likes these things.
It is only that, sometimes, Davenport is very full of a painful feeling, a feeling like being full of smoldering fire, a feeling like --
Anger has no face, no colour. Davenport does not know a lot of things; sometimes he grasps at the softened edges of his mind, looking for something sharp enough to cut himself with. Davenport is angry, sometimes, though he has no words for it. Sometimes, anger is the only real thing in Davenport's world, the first thing he ever knew.
And then he forgets about it.
There are few things Davenport knows. He can feel the shape of something very important, prodding at him, filling him up with a warm, unpleasant energy. It is there when he wakes, for a handful of moments - every day, in the dreaming place between wakefulness and sleep. Like a dream, it fades before he is done dressing for the day. He has no words for it. The truth is, most days Davenport only knows his name is Davenport, and the worst of it is Davenport forgets there might be anything missing.
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jerreeeeeee · 6 days
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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.
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elvencantation · 5 months
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sooooooo I paused in the middle of episode 65 of taz balance and my angst senses were tingling so much i had to write a lucretia fic
the year of stone
Lucretia wakes up alone in a ship that has been shot down. A ship that is much too quiet with six of its seven occupants gone. A ship she does not know how to repair, much less fly. She has a year. A year to learn, a year to run, a year to fight. A year to survive with the hope of thousands of universes dropped onto her shoulders alone.
1.8k words, character study, stream of consciousness, all hurt no comfort, mostly
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jortsman · 1 year
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Year 87: And the Rain is Pouring in
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asexual-juliet · 1 year
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“Have you ever been in love?” Lucretia asks, looking up at the night sky.
“I don’t know,” says Magnus beside her, as fresh-faced as the day he walked into IPRE training for the first time. “I don’t think so. Why do you ask?”
Lucretia swallows, thinking back to the gentle kiss Barry had pressed to Lup’s forehead that morning at breakfast, the duet at the Legato Conservatory, the way they’ve started sleeping in the same bed, the way their late-night conversations sometimes filter through the Starblaster’s vents, Lup’s voice gentler than Lucretia’s ever heard it.
“Do you ever look at Lup and Barry and just… ache?”
Lucretia thinks about love.
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ceilingfan5 · 2 years
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uhhh taakitz 🥺
“Okay, sorry to get distracted from the, the great kissing-”
“You think I’ll let you get off track?” Taako grins sharply, tugging him closer. “This train has left the station, hotboy, you really gonna crash the choo choo?” 
Kravitz kisses him again, hungry and wanting and tasting their ice cream date on his tongue and so lightheaded he could touch the sun, nearly forgetting what he was going to say. Taako steers him to the bed and Kravitz goes like an off brand Jenga tower and then Taako is right in his face again, eyes blown wide, heart beating like a bongo bouncing down the stairs. Kravitz’s head hits something soft, and the half-thought swims close enough to grasp. Gonna make thought sushi. Notion nigiri. He’s getting double distracted, fuck. 
“Uh,” he says, and Taako laughs softly, pulling back. “You good, hombre? You want me to stop? I’m kidding about the choo choo. This bad boy’s got breaks if you need ‘em, yeah?”
“Oh, that’s not it, I’m, very invested in, rail transport, but,” Kravitz feels even warmer all over now, like he swallowed lava lamp sauce. Taako is so perfect. Kravitz is going to keep him forever. “Sorry, when you kiss me my brain turns to pop rock soup? Uh,” he catches his breath. Taako tilts his head to the side, grinning, waiting for the meaningful part. Ugh, he’s incredible. 
“This- this is the stuffed animal I won you from the fair, isn’t it?” Kravitz grabs the enormous rainbow t-rex and gives it a squeeze. It was the best date he’d ever had, until the next one with Taako, and the next one, and the one after that, because Taako’s good at a lot of things, but escalation is right up there.
“What? Course it is.” Taako sits back, still half on Kravitz’s lap. “What, did you think I was gonna throw him out? He’s my buddy, reminds me of you.”
“Me-” Kravitz can’t help but laugh. “Do- Taako, do you sleep with this guy?”
“Jealous, Krav?” Taako steals the dino away. “Maybe cha’boi gets lonely when you aren’t here.” 
“You think about me when I’m not here?” Kravitz has to kiss him again, and it’s Taako that pulls back this time, laughing. 
“Of course I do, jackass, I love-” Taako swallows and clears his throat, folding in. “Uh, I mean-”
“Shit, Taako, I love you too.” Kravitz couldn’t be more honest. The dinosaur falls to the side, and they look at each other for a long beat, and then they’re kissing again, absolutely magnetic. 
“Fuck,” Taako breathes, wasting precious oxygen. “You love me?”
“I love you,” Kravitz promises, panting. “I do.”
Taako just laughs, and tugs him into another kiss, and another after that, with no intention of stopping. 
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northern-borealis · 11 months
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Sometimes self-care is rereading The Worst Candlenights Ever by Weevilo707
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thedistortionwrites · 2 years
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The Director meeting THB for the “first” time, after Phandalin.
~
The Director sucks in a breath through her teeth as her new reclaimers walk through the door into her office. It’s weird how different they look, after 100 years of never quite changing.
Magnus looks so much older, and it occurs to her that he must’ve finally turned 30 after all those years just barely breaking 20. The cut above his eye has finally faded into a well-worn, faded scar. And the large sword in his hand looks almost out of place, like he’s forgotten how to really hold it.
He looks… he looks sad. He’s lost more than she can imagine, even after losing a hundred worlds.
She hopes the time he got to spend with Julia was better than never meeting her at all.
The knowledge of how close she’d been to losing Magnus still hurt, even after all of this time.
Merle… Merle looks tired, even if he hasn’t physically aged much in just 10 years. The way he holds himself is all wrong, he looks too unsure of his place in the group.
She’d known that he’d had kids, of course, she’d kept tabs on everyone she could, but it was still interesting to see the ways that that had changed him.
She wished she could have been a part of their lives.
And Taako-
He’s holding himself all wrong, too. 
It was so common to see the twins hanging off of each other, disarming smiles poised at whoever was talking to them. They’d had a way around words, to the point that when they were asked a question, they’d deflect it off of each other so well you’d almost forgotten that you asked them the question, not the other way around.
Without Lup there Taako looked… lost. 
He has the same deflecting smile, with the closed-off look behind it, but all his edges look sharper without Lup there to soften them. Without her there to remind him that he was never alone, even as they moved from house to house; from wagon to wagon.
Taako rolls his eyes at something Magnus says, leaning onto the umbrella in his hands– the Umbra Staff.
He looks so much like Lup at that moment, from the length of his hair and the way he’d put it up, to the style of makeup he was wearing. It was a distinctly Lup look, and one he’d teased her for plenty of times.
She’d taken Lup out of the picture, and Taako had unknowingly put her back, piece by piece, in every way he could.
But she couldn’t bring herself to regret her decision, not when she was this close to completing her plan after ten long years.
If most of her family was all she could get, she thought, looking at the picture behind her desk after the boys had left, Davenport still standing at her side, that could be enough, for now.
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fastasyoucan1999 · 2 years
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the last test and proof
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After the events of Story and Song, it unceremoniously falls on Taako to take care of Angus. Together, they move into a very old, dilapidated and probably haunted farmhouse.
teen, one-shot, 30k
On the backend of autumn, Taako unsticks his heel from the mud of the walk. Overhead, the sky promises slates of rainfall. He heaves a bag across one shoulder, the other hand tugging along a suitcase. The funeral march up the road was wet and deadly; the glum sides of a broken fence tailing his steps. Behind him is Angus, ghostly, nearly transparent, and looking as sullen as he has normally looked this past week.
Before them, rising in a gloom of warped wood, its windows like black eye sockets, is the farmhouse Angus’ grandfather abandoned in death. The winter seems to stick to it, a second skin of chill, the chimney raised and unlit like a frozen off limb. The front doors are dark and unwelcoming. A hollow wind erupts across the surrounding field, turned a somber blue from the evening, and catches Taako’s velvet cloak in a strangled twist.
“Hello, Monster House,” Taako says gravely.
read here!
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raggedyanndy · 2 years
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Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Adventure Zone (Podcast) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Magnus Burnsides, Taako (The Adventure Zone), Governor Kalen (The Adventure Zone), Kravitz (The Adventure Zone) Additional Tags: Curses, Minor Kravitz/Taako (The Adventure Zone), Post-Episode: e067-069 Story and Song Parts 1-3, unintended consequences of Wonderland, mostly Kalen's perspective, Memory Loss, Minor Character Death, could read as Taagnus if you want, shows up 5 years late with iced coffee and taz balance fic, all joking aside memory loss can be really difficult to deal with in the real world
Summary:
The former Governor Kalen has been cursed. He has one week to beg forgiveness from Magnus Burnsides or die. Of course, Magnus literally can't remember Governor Kalen, which might complicate things.
Words: 5437
What, me posting on AO3 twice in one month??? I didn’t wait three years to a decade to post again??? It’s more likely than you think!
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mylilbirbs · 2 years
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hey..so i know its been like a thousand years but like please check this out
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anistarrose · 1 month
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growing increasingly invested in the dynamic of the classic Bureau of Balance crew (Carey & Killian, Johann, Avi, Robbie Pringles, etc) all being buddies, except periodically one of them at a time will get possessed by a powerful lich who is trying very hard to pretend he's just a normal member of the Bureau like everyone else, nothing to see here.
I think Barry knows all their names, favorite foods, and interpersonal drama. after the Story & Song the Bureau crew obviously all know a weird amount about the Seven Birds' personal lives, but are shocked to discover that it goes both ways, and Barry knows just as much about them. and they just think... yeah, this might as well happen. this friendgroup was already so goddamn weird. add that lich to the group chat
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barry-j-blupjeans · 5 months
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TAZ 2023 Fic Recs
It is that time of year again! Unfortunately, I don't have as many as last year, mainly because work and Life have been a lot this year. But I am very, very glad to share the fics I have loved this year and I'm looking forward to any other recs!
A Candlenights Barold by @sgrumby - or honestly, all three of the Reaper Squad Candlenights fics! Based off that one liveshow where Merle became Santa Clause. Now it is the job of Barry, Lup, and Kravitz to deliver presents to children every Candlenights! This one is based off A Christmas Carol and is not only hilarious but also super in character.
The Best Version Possible by @thedaisiestdaisy - Taako's experience with past romances, his current one with Kravitz, as well as the aftermath of Story and Song. This is a beautiful, meaningful fic that hits me in the feels every time I read it. It's such a deep, refreshing dive into Taako's character.
a monster might begin to worry by @anistarrose - In short, a Barry-kills-Governer-Kalen AU. In long: Such a good fucking fic. Rose's character voices are top notch and she's so incredibly good at playing with emotions and building up scenes. It's a god-tier Magnus fic, with some fun Magnus-Kravitz interactions and some wonderful hurt/comfort.
Also by Rose and very worth reading:
fill up your lungs, feel better - Barry spies on the BOBs corporate excursion and realizes his family still cares, even if they don't truly know him.
to eat from a poisoned plate - Barry leaves notes in Taako's cookbook.
somewhere over the rainbow (bluebirds fly) - Maureen and Lucretia fall in love. Then, Maureen and Lucretia fall out of love.
midlife crises, laboratory niceties - Barry bulldozes his way into being on the Starblaster crew. Davenport is very concerned <3
colors of space and time - Taako and Lup's relationship with their hair.
Rode Hard And Put Away Wet by @holdmecloser-gandydancer - Band AU!! My beloved!! Lup, Johann, and Kravitz are in a band and it gets. Tough. To put it lightly. Whenever Lup discovers Kravitz and Taako are hooking up. This is a WONDERFUL and super funny fic, that also has it's moments of deep reflections and a lil angst! Plus, Blupjeans! We love that!
Astrology for Horse Jugglers by @noodyl-blasstal - Kravitz and Taako meet at a wedding. This goes badly for everyone except them. This fic is pure chaos and I adore it so, so much.
We Got Boned! - Another one by Noodyl! Barry and Lup write a book for payback, kinda. This one is such a fun, weird turn of events. I cannot describe my love for it.
Revenge Plus One by @ceilingfan5 - Kravitz is invited by his ex (Edward) to go on a cruise. A cruise that will host Edward's wedding. And, to add insult to injury, Edward (rightly) assumes that Kravitz will have no one to bring along. So Kravitz does the responsible adult thing: Invite the gorgeous man who sells bagels in the work cafeteria (Taako) on the cruise with him. There is fake dating! There is tension! There is romance! I love this fic so much, I want to eat it.
a lesson in boy math - Also by Larissa! Speed-dating, Taakitz style. Both Taako and Kravitz are the best shade of weird in this <3
fashion statement by @journalofimprobablethings - Taako takes Lup's robe when he finds her and the umbrella. Lucretia deals with that. This fic? Destroyed me. And I loved it. It's pretty full of angst but the good kind, y'know?? I'm in love.
That's all I got this year!! I hope you all enjoy these fics as much as I did! They're all incredible and I love seeing all the different ideas and takes everyone has :O
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entguarde · 4 months
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hii your art is so cute!! what about a merle in "youth" for the color pallete challenge
AAA tysm!!! I love your art too :]
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fun fact! the conch’s based directly off this one that my mom gave to my a couple years back! beach-gifting habits die hard after you remember them
[id: A digital illustration of Merle Highchurch in a palette of oranges, yellow and blues.
He is a fat dwarven man with long wavy hair in a braid and an equally wavy beard. He is wearing an eyepatch, a tank top and his prosthetic arm which resembles driftwood. He also has a fang sticking out.
He’s sitting at a table, furrowing his eyebrows in concentration as he paints a conch shell. He has three tubs with him: a paint container, a plant pot, and a bucket with shells. There are several vines hanging from the ceiling in his room. End description]
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jortsman · 1 year
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Year 82: The Quiet World
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junotter · 3 months
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and then I go and spoil it all by saying something stupid like I love you
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