TAZ? In 2026? More likely than you'd think

A taz fan blog bc taz Balance is my special interest // it/they

[a-train-nowhere]

Lucretia passively knowing about Barry still being out in the wild is kind of funny but also has so much room for heartbreak whenever the main three tell her they saw one.

She knows its probably just Barry. That guy will NOT leave her alone!! Let her do her plans!! Stop fucking with the tres horny bois they cant stay on task as is!!! She would also probably roll her eyes at how dramatic he's playing it up. Come on Barry, was all of that REALLY necessary?

But in the back of her mind... what if that wasn't Barry? What if, somehow, it was Lup?

I doubt she ever truly gave up that brief feeling of hope she felt when they first mentioned the red robe.

[a-train-nowhere]

Maybe it's a good thing narratively that Lup wasn't the last red robe because she wouldn't have been able to act mysterious and cool like Barry did, maybe she tries to do it for like a day and then y'know what fuck it that's her brother she has to help him

[a-train-nowhere]

Maybe it's a good thing narratively that Lup wasn't the last red robe because she wouldn't have been able to act mysterious and cool like Barry did, maybe she tries to do it for like a day and then y'know what fuck it that's her brother she has to help him

[careydraws]

I'm SO excited to finally get to show you the cover for The Adventure Zone: Story and Song graphic novel! The book will be out on July 14, 2026, and It's available for preorder now!

Because it's a double-length book that combines the last two arcs, we got to do a back cover to make it a full wraparound, too:

I was so excited to come up with a back cover that featured the Stolen Century crew! And here's the full wraparound all together, which was SO much fun to design:

The actual spine is substantially thicker than this, lol.

I'm so, so proud of what we all made! I can't believe the last book in the series will be out in just 8 months! I'm really excited to get to talk about it more soon.

If you're able to preorder the book or request it at your local library (!!), it's a big help to all of our future careers. Thank you for reading TAZGN, it means a lot to all of us!

[a-train-nowhere]

A moment that in hindsight fucks me up is in The Suffering Game episode 1 (episode 51 of Balance as a whole) Magnus asks Lucretia if they might encounter any red robes in Wonderland and she says:

"I find that unlikely. The Red Robes obviously, to my surprise, are still in operation, but there cannot be that many of them."

Just.... There cannot be that many of them.

While she, a red robe, is standing in a room with three of them, knowing Davenport is nearby, knowing Barry is still out and about and Lup is presumed dead.

Yeah there's not that many, you're in the same room as almost all of them!

[a-train-nowhere]

Does anyone remember how at the very end of TAZ Balance when Magnus was dying, everyone was at his deathbed???

Including Lucretia, who (assuming Magnus lived to be in his 80s) would be in her 100s after losing her lifespan in Wonderland?? She should have been dead??

I'll give Barry a pass because he is a lich but Lucretia should have chronologically been dead for several years before Magnus passed.

[a-train-nowhere]

Thinking about how scared June must have been.

How she would have been exploring the mines, a little bit lost but still having fun. She hears her dad and Sheriff Isaac up ahead, and she wants to go say hi! They're probably here to check on her because she's been gone a while. She goes to round the corner and she hears her dad yell. Not a joyous yell, one of fear. She has to watch as Isaac pushes her father off the ledge, dooming him. He yells out her name as he falls. The last thing she'd ever hear her dad say was her nickname. Junebug. And then she sees a cup on the ground, a beautiful ornate chalice that seems to call to her. So she picks it up. She's immediately taken over, trapping herself in a bubble and the entire town. And even though she's taken by the chalice she's still aware enough to know what's going on. She can't stop the bubble, though, and one day in her torment she realizes that the town is about to be destroyed by a purple worm. So she loops it. It's the only thing she can think of, the only way in her mind she can keep the town safe. She loops time again, and again, and again, hoping one day someone will come save her.

[daybydaypoetry]

Hurloane as dryads

[a-train-nowhere]

"doomed yuri" this and "i love yuri" that WHERE are the doomed yuri enjoyers when Hurley and Sloane are mentioned?? Where were you when the wayward cop fell in love with the illegal street racer she was supposed to arrest?? When she decided to race alongside her lover? When her lover became corrupted by an artifact beyond comprehension, and she still decided to fight tooth and nail to save her? When her lover was taken over fully by this artifact but she never gave up hope her love was still in there? When she saw her lover was beyond help, and in her last moments subject herself to incurable poison to save her friends and her lover? Who's love was so strong she broke through the power of an unyielding force? Who died in her lover's arms, said lover turning the two of them into a cherry tree with bark that resembled the shape of the two cradling each other even in their final moments?? Where were YOU for that??

[merualeden]

Lucretia Adventurezone they could never make me hate you

[a-train-nowhere]

My favorite TAZ Balance theory that *almost* makes sense is that when tampering with the Philosophers Stone, Lucas created the Black Opal Mirror that's how The Hunger found this Planar System. The "plane" it opened up to wasn't able to be seen by Lucas so he thought it didn't resonate, but it opened some sort of connection to their plane that let The Hunger figure out where the Light is.

Think about it! When they divided the light of creation into smaller pieces and everything the idea was that it could never be found again. The thrall should have been so weak The Hunger didn't know it was there! How did their scouts know where to look? Was it dumb luck? Did the theory about the thrall prove false? Nobody knows.

But suddenly we're all on the floor, The Hunger is watching us, we've been found again.

Somewhere, up in a floating moon base, a scientist just tried to look into a mirror to nowhere, and deemed his results inconclusive.

I think the actual timeline is off by just a bit? That whole moment of the eyes in the sky happened during Midsummer, and Lucas claimed to have had the stone for four months prior to Candlenight which I'm assuming is like Christmas? So I think the math is just SLIGHTLY incorrect but it's so close that I don't care and I'm claiming it anyways.

[a-train-nowhere]

TAZ has two themes that span the entire podcast that r both equally important and cannot exist without each other

Griffin (and co) have talked about the idea of "do good recklessly" and how you should try and do the right thing no matter what, and how sometimes that means breaking rules and taking risks.

I think, however, the theme of "arms outstretched" and what that implies is equally as important. The idea of reaching out and not stopping, trying again and again to save those who might not even want saving. But no matter what you keep on trying to save them.

Merle trying to talk Gundren down despite being physically hurt and Gundren screaming at him to leave him alone.

Tres Horny Bois trying their darndest to stop Sloane from using the Gaia Sash throughout all of PttM, despite knowing at that point that the power of the relics corrupts entirely.

Taako trying to think of a way to save Hurley from the poison and being genuinely angry when he couldn't do anything.

Magnus's repeated attempts to try and save Lucas even after he betrayed the team, doing what he can to save his life because even if Lucas was a shitty person he still is a person worthy of saving.

The boys looping over and over again in refuge and never giving up, even after dying again and again and again.

The infamous "arms outstretched" scene we all know and love.

Merle's never ending attempts to save John and to treat him with a kindness he was not shown in return. Merle taking Arms Outstretched so literally his last choice he made with John was to reach out and try to pull him from The Hunger by wrapping his arms around him in a hug. John's last conscious thought before his humanity was ripped away was that Merle was giving him a hug.

Despite the way she betrayed all of them, Tres Horny Bois reaching out to Lucretia to help her. Because love means you keep trying.

And the final moment. Taako, arm outstretched casting the spell to end The Hunger, Magnus with his hand on his shoulder, Merle at his side, Taako with the immovable rod; "I'm not going fucking anywhere."

Because you can do good recklessly, you can be as good as you want. But it's the act of trying, of never letting yourself stop trying. You have to understand both ideals to really comprehend the characters in that series.

[a-train-nowhere]

It's so interesting to me how vastly different tres horny bois are in terms of how they're played, and I think that adds to the appeal of the Balance arc overall. Especially with Merle.

Travis plays Magnus like the big hero, the main character. He's loud and confident and boastful, he's incredibly talented and has plot armor out the ass that keeps him alive through everything. He's equipped with a tragic backstory, the loss of his home and wife and yet through everything he tries his best to be a good person.

Taako is the comedic side character. He starts as the joke character beginning with the name. He's Taako! The magical chef from TV! I assume Justin didn't truly expect TAZ to take off as much as it did so he made a silly guy for the one off episode they planned. But then TAZ just kept going. And of course he does get his own tragic story with the loss of his sister, the poisoning at Glamor Springs, and everything else. But that underlying silliness is always somewhat there!

But then there's Merle! Merle is the most human of the three. He's messy and he's relatable in some ways, and he's done bad things. He abandoned his wife and his children to go adventure. He's a deadbeat dad and he's not there for his family emotionally. His faith is loose and he's cynical. But at the same time? He's down to earth, he's a comforting figure and he knows how to help. He's trying his best to be there for his kids and to fix his mistakes, and he ADORES his kids. He wants to be a better father, a better man. And he does! He grows and learns and even though he fucks up he keeps trying. Merle's inherent caring nature shines through so well especially in regards to his children, and that's 100% Clint McElroy's influence.

[a-train-nowhere]

As the world's number 1 Lucretia enjoyer I think the TAZ ending is infinitely more interesting if Taako doesn't forgive her, and I think it makes more sense.

Lucretia thinks she was right. She hated every single second of what she did and felt so much indescribable grief over losing everyone she loved in an instant. But to her? There was no other choice. She had to do it to protect them, to protect the Light of Creation, to protect the planes of existence.

But she still stole Lup from him. His lifeline. Half of his heart, the one who was there for him through ANYTHING. He always had her to rely on. Taako and Lup, together no matter what. Completely inseparable. Then... she was ripped away from him unceremoniously. He had no time to prepare, no time to mourn the loss. Maybe he felt the loss, knew the whole time there was something or someone missing. He kept the others at arms length, knowing in his heart there was a missing piece of his story. He gets his memories back, and then he remembers her! How could he forget Lup? All the fond memories of her on the ship, helping her become a lich, and even past that to them as children.

But then something else rushes back to him. She's gone. He doesn't yet know that the very umbrella he's pointing at Lucretia houses his sister, in this very moment he's remembered a hundred years of his life that were ripped from him, and even further still he remembers the sister he lost.

Even in the aftermath forgiveness wouldn't come easy, if at all. He got Lup back sure, and she's encouraging him to forgive, but... How could he? He lost her. He lost the one person he cared most for in this world and wasn't even given the dignity to be able to mourn her loss.

[a-train-nowhere]

Baldur's Gate 3 + The Adventure Zone fans, are there any TAZ references in BG3? I feel like TAZ was a pretty influential piece of dnd media (in my heart and soul it was at least) and the only two things I could think of were when Halsin says he likes carving wooden ducks, or the Light of Creation halberd in the underdark. Can anyone think of any others? A party consisting of an elf, human, and dwarf maybe? A lich with a particular affinity for fire based magic? Or maybe a reference to a different story arc in the overall podcast??

[a-train-nowhere]

Thinking about how fucking heartbroken Lucretia must have been when Lucas supposedly died

The Miller family helped found the Bureau. They invented the technology to make the moon base float. She taught them about the planes. They had to have been close!

To me Lucas was a young adult, maybe in his early 20s. So imagining Lucretia meeting him when he's like 18 or 19, bonding with this kid who's just trying to get out of his grandpa's shadow. And he does! He kind of becomes a prick, but Lucretia still cares for him. He insists he's an adult, but having lived for over a century, Lucretia feels like he's so young.

And then. She hears Magnus's voice finally, after having received signal again. He tells her Lucas has died.

That kid, the scrawny teen who was helping his mother invent things, who grew into his own person, who had huge dreams for the future. His life ripped away from him. As far as she knows.