Relistening to Stolen Century and am still so in love and obsessed with how immediately Justin is enamored with Lup. He finds out Taako has a sister and he's so intensely in love with the idea of her. Griffin drops her first line of "Nerd Alert!" and Taako is on the floor laughing- Justin sees the vision and he knows the vision and he's IN IT. HE LOVES HER. TAAKO LOVES HER. AUGH.
Griffin knew exactly how to play it, and Justin was on board before Griffin could even say jump. Its just insanely beautiful the way Justin latches onto it, because Yeah. Because Yeah, if Taako had a sister he'd be obsessed with her. They'd be obsessed with each other. A perfect duo that doesn't always agree but who bring the same energy to the table. Lup is the perfect accent to Taako. They balance each other. They're the Twins. And he loves her so so so much.
Barry, sometime on the first cycle: I'm thinking about the time I was struggling to open my water bottle on the Starblaster, and the crew arcanist I had spoken to maybe a total of three times came up to me, and went: "Let me help you with that, baby." Before she then proceeded to struggle with opening the water bottle.
This is my short hair kravitz propaganda btw long haired kravitz is my buddy but I was granted a psychic vision of short haired kravitz and I wanted to give his face a skeletal silhouette and I also really like trench coats that’s my only other reasoning for his design
For the cute lovecore outfit suggestion thing, the first thing that popped into my head is Merle flirting with a plant of some kind, and the plant is "wearing" something Merle made, either knitted or made out of shells or other things made from the beach
Happy Valentine's Day to everyone's favorite terrible grandpa
ID: Digital drawing of Merle Highchurch, a male dwarf with brown skin, grey hair and beard, and hair over his body. He is wearing a pink, heart-patterned collared shirt with the collar open. He is also wearing khaki shorts, dark brown sandals, and a gold watch. He is grinning at a large punk tropical flower, resting on a table beside him. Hanging from the stem of the flower is a necklace made out of yellow seashells. End ID.
nastiest trick in the book is getting you genuinely deeply attached to a character whose name sounds fucking stupid in any other context. this WILL happen to you at some point in your life.
im relistening to taz balance and this might be old news but i haven't seen this brought up before
in the cave where they find the umbrastaff, clint is trying out character voices and does one as he says he's going to check out the staff, to which justin replies (as taako) "no, that won't do"
and then when lup is freed at the very end of the campaign, griffin narrates her thinking "no, that won't do" wrt merle getting the umbrastaff
i have no idea if this was intentional on griffin's part, but in either case, its such a wild bit of narrative through-line. each twin using the exact same phrase ("no, that won't do") at almost the same time about the same character
A moment that didn’t happen in Story & Song, and wouldn’t have really worked dramatically speaking due to the format, but that I think could be super cool and gratifying in an adaptation:
Magnus, having gotten his memories back, telling his Shield of Heroic Memories about all the times he fought the Hunger and the various beings that make it up over the course of The Stolen Century, and a hundred new images appearing across it.
I must have posted about this before, but. The fact that the Animus Bell asks Magnus: "how would you like to live forever?" and Magnus replies: "I'd hate it, shut the fuck up," all while Barry is listening. Barry, who not only made the bell, and knows what it would've asked Magnus, but also remembers the hundred years where Magnus was immortal, when Magnus could've lived forever. Who knows that the Hunger is coming again. Who knows that depending on the next 24 hours, the only way to save this world, and prevent complete annihilation of the multiverse, might be to restart the cycles, and foist immortality upon Magnus again. Despite hearing how much Magnus — his friend, his brother, his century-long companion who doesn't remember him — has come to despise the concept of living forever. They don't call it the Suffering Game for nothing. Because man. Man.
amnesiac barry bluejeans is still one of the most existentially fucked up characters of all time to me. you wake up with a gaping hole in your memories, naked in a tank in a cave that screams "dark magic and horrific experiments." your own voice tells you you've lost more than you can imagine, and you sound like you know what you're talking about. you run away from that place, knowing you're on a death mission. wishing you didn't have to wonder what happened to you — how some nobody like you got caught up in something so terrifying and incomprehensible, something so much bigger than you.
and then, you die. and you realize it's the other way around. you are the terrifying, incomprehensible thing that the fate of the world has been caught in. and you've just failed. again.
You ever re-listen to a podcast and an idea for a missing scene pops into your head, and for some reason the only way your brain will let you write is to write it literally like it is part of the podcast?
I got to end of Stolen Century in my TAZ Balance re-listen and was thinking about how absolutely pissed Davenport would be at Barry and Lup for not telling the others about their lich plan, and when I started noodling the scene the only way the narration would get out of my head was in transcript form, complete with the boys interrupting Griffin as he tries to tell the story.
Anyway, please enjoy this scene of Davenport yelling at Lup and Barry for not telling their family they were going to become liches, heck.
--
Griffin: So, it’s the next cycle, cycle 83. And you’ve all reformed into your recorded states, the same positions and physical forms you always return to.
And Lup’s back in her body. She and Barry both look totally normal, just like they always do. And Taako, I think that’s probably a relief, to you? Like, maybe you weren’t sure how the lich thing would affect the reset?
Justin: Absolutely.
Griffin: So, it’s a new cycle, you’re coming into a new planar system. And Davenport brings you down into this next world, and he’s—he’s absolutely silent. Like the rest of you are I think like, pretty jazzed about what you just saw Lup do to the Hunger. Like she said, blowing it up didn’t fully work but it was the most—the most damage I think you’ve done to the Hunger, maybe ever.
Travis: Yeah, Magnus goes over to Lup and is like,
Magnus: That was the coolest shit I’ve ever seen.
Lup: Hey thanks, Magnus. It was pretty baller, if I do say so myself.
Griffin: And you’re all congratulating Lup and talking about how this will change things, you’re all excited—except Davenport. He’s just flying the ship, keeping his eyes straight ahead. And then as soon as he’s brought you down into the prime material plane of this new world, he turns around and says,
Davenport: Lucretia, take the helm. Lup. Barry. Lounge, now.
Travis: Uh-oh.
Griffin: And the tone of the room instantly shifts, as you realize that Davenport is like…really angry.
You’ve all been together a long time, but you can count on one hand—well, it’s been 80 years, so maybe two—you can easily count the number of times you’ve seen Davenport truly angry at one of the seven of you.
Usually, if he’s had to do the captain thing and reprimand you, it’s been a little more toned down—
Clint: “I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed.”
Griffin: Exactly. But this is—Davenport is pissed. And Lup and Barry realize it too, pretty immediately, and they go to the lounge without any protest. And Lucretia takes over the controls from Davenport and puts you in a holding pattern as he goes into the lounge.
Do you guys go after them? Or like, eavesdrop, or whatever?
Justin: Oh, eavesdropping for sure.
Travis: One hundred percent.
Justin: Taako is—he’s always here for the drama. And he’s relieved Lup’s okay, so he’s definitely gonna like, give her shit now. As she passes by he’s like,
Taako: (sing-song) Oh, you’re in trouble…
Clint: Merle does that trick where he puts a glass against the door so he can hear.
Griffin: Well, Davenport leaves the door open, so you don’t have to—you can hear pretty easily.
Clint: Oh, okay.
Griffin: So you sort of follow behind Davenport—not into the lounge with them, but close enough to hear. And you hear Davenport say,
Davenport: What the hell was that?
Griffin: And Lup says,
Lup: Uh, I mean. That was me blasting the fuck out of the Hunger. It was pretty incredible. Did you see how that whole column just vaporized?
Davenport: Yeah, I did see it. I also saw before that, when you jumped off the ship and turned into a crackling red specter. What the hell was that? That was some—some lich shit.
Griffin: And Lup says,
Lup: Well…yeah.
Griffin: And Davenport is just, like flabbergasted.
Davenport: Are you serious? You and Barry are liches now?
Griffin: You can’t see them but Barry must make a face because then Davenport says,
Davenport: Don’t look at me like that, Bluejeans, I know that there’s no way one of you would have done something like this without the other. What were you thinking? Do you know how risky that is?
Barry: Of course we knew the risks. We researched the hell out of it, we took every precaution.
Lup: Yeah, we weren’t like, stupid about it.
Davenport: I’m sure you weren’t, which is why you’re here right now. But you didn’t think to say something before you did this?
Griffin: And Lup is getting a little frustrated. She says,
Lup: We don’t need to ask your permission.
Davenport: I’m not talking about asking permission! Gods know, Lup, after eighty years I know that I can’t stop you from doing anything you really want to do. I’m talking about the risk, to all of us.
Griffin: Lup seems even more frustrated, she’s maybe even getting a little angry.
Lup: It was our souls, Dav. It was our risk to take.
Griffin: That—that seems to really piss Davenport off, because he kind of starts yelling. Which is rare.
Davenport: It was not just your risk to take! Did you think of what might happen to the rest of us if something went wrong? Did you think about what it would do to us if we lost one of you—or both of you—in a way you couldn’t come back from?
You took a risk for yourselves, but you also took that risk for all of us. Our escapes have been so narrow for so long—who’s to say how it would work if there were even one fewer of us?
You put your crew and this entire mission in danger. And what’s more, you risked us losing you both. Permanently!
Griffin: And Davenport takes a deep breath and sort of, calms himself down a little bit, and then he says,
Davenport: You could have died for good. We could have lost you both for good. And you didn’t even have the courtesy to let us know that it could happen.
Griffin: There’s a moment of silence after that. Like Barry and Lup are a little—maybe a little struck by what Davenport just said. Like maybe they hadn’t quite thought of it that way. And Davenport finally says,
Davenport: Did you tell Taako, at least?
Lup: Of course. He’s—he helped anchor me. I would never do something like this without him.
Griffin: And Davenport kind of sighs, and says,
Davenport: Good. At least you’re not a total idiot.
Taako: Debatable.
Lup: Yeah, it really depends on the day, and who you ask.
Justin: Wait, I’m not in the room, she can’t hear me.
Griffin: No, no, you’re just so much on the same wavelength, it’s like she knew you said it even if she didn’t hear you.
Justin: Hell yeah.
Griffin: There’s another pause, and then Barry says,
Barry: We’re sorry, Dav. You’re right, we should have told you all. It’s a big decision, it—it changes a lot. Mostly in a good way I think, but uh. Still.
Lup: We kind of thought that you would try to talk us out of it, if we told you.
Griffin: Davenport sighs.
Davenport: I probably would have. But like I said, I don’t think you would have let that stop you.
Lup: (laughing) Probably not.
Griffin: And you can’t see Davenport, but you just know that he’s like, pinching the bridge of his nose right now. Like, the two of them make him so tired sometimes. And then he says,
Davenport: Okay, then. What does this, uh, change for you two? What do I need to know?
Griffin: And Barry and Lup start to go into the particulars of—the advantages, mostly, of them being liches now. Barry emphasizes that they’ll still stick around even if they die,
Barry: Which is a great fail-safe for leaving the plane - we won’t be stuck in a Judges situation again. Even if we bite it, one of us should still be able to fly us out of here.
Griffin: And Davenport is quiet for a second, and then he says,
Davenport: Are liches—are you corporeal? Can you still move the controls, and everything?
Barry: Uhhh.
Lup: Um…
[Travis laughs]
Barry: You know…I think so? I can’t say we really, uh, tested that part yet.
Lup: Yeah, it’s—it’s still in development.
Griffin: Davenport kind of sighs again, and then he says,
Davenport: And this is why it’s good to run this sort of thing by your crew, who are all just as smart as you, before you go pulling a stunt like this.
Lup: Well. Fair point.
Barry: Uh, yeah. Didn’t, uh. Didn’t think that one fully through, I guess.
Griffin: Davenport kind of chuckles, a little bit. Then he calls out through the open door of the lounge,
Davenport: Show’s over!
Travis: Aw, dip.
Griffin: Do you guys try to like, run away or act casual or anything?
Travis: Magnus starts trying to like, inch back away from the door.
Clint: Merle steps away and starts whistling.
Griffin: Good.
Justin: Taako doesn’t move an inch. He’s a nosy bitch and he doesn’t care who knows it.
[Laughter]
Davenport: Come on. Let’s go see what this new world has in store for us, huh?
Griffin: And the three of them come out of the lounge, and Davenport gives you all a—a kind of wry look. And Lup and Barry both look a little sheepish. Like I think they know that there are some apologies ahead.
And you all head back to the bridge, to see what this new cycle has in store.
I can’t stop fucking thinking about how good the character development of merle highchurch is. like I’m talking cool character in dnd terms, see cuz it’s all
the THB are literally prerolled characters. they’d DESIGNED to be stereotypical, so that’s how they start, and then by the fucking end, you have a cleric who only became one because he came from a religious background but doesn’t have any actual faith in it until that faith is earned over the course of a whole campaign. a cleric who was a shitty father and husband, who resists being the moral compass he’s supposed to be at every turn, who treats religion, the literal basis of his class, like a necessary inconvenience. and then by the end of balance, we’re rewarded with a better father, a kinder man, and someone who has the personal love and favor of his god cuz he fucking. earned it. THAT’S dope character shit, THAT’S unique, Clint is a goddamn master.
just got to the barry bluejeans reveal in taz and i forgot how fucking good it is, griffin killed this twist. literally cannot help but grin and laugh along with clint cracking up while i walk down the street. god i love this podcast
the problem with taz balance is you first listen to it as a naive high schooler like "oh, funny dnd podcast made by those mcelroy guys i see in tumblr memes all the time! and they apparently have gay characters too! let me check this out! haha his name is taco that's so random XD" and nobody could have warned you that a decade later you'll still periodically think about lucretia and her martyr complex and be stricken with the urge to start gnawing your own limbs off
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