Feel like I should let y’all know that this event isn’t gonna be happening this year!! Sorry if anyone was looking forward to it, but my real life has gotten much busier in the past year, and I’m also not... really active in the taz fandom anymore, so I don’t think I’d be a good person to run this kind of thing again!!
Don’t worry, though, this blog isn’t going anywhere, so all gifts from previous years will remain for everyone to enjoy!! Thanks for all the great times and great creations, I am going to miss doing this event <33
HI! Thank you so much for running the Queer Taz secret santa! It's been so fun these past two years. I was wondering, since you don't get a gift for yourself, if you wanted something? I might not be able to do it super quickly, but I could probably do something in the next few weeks! Thanks again!
Hey, anon, thank you so much for this message!! I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the event, I’ve enjoyed running it and seeing everything that you guys have made the past two years!!
And, wow, thank you for offering!! I definitely don’t need a gift (again, I just enjoy seeing every creation), but I would certainly treasure anything you made!!!
Well, folks, that's it for this year! All gifts have officially been posted!!
Thank you to everyone who participated, I think this event went really really well this year, and everyone's creations look amazing!!
Extra thanks to @motherfuckingmagicbrian , @josscadeart , and @all-made-of-stardust for stepping in as backups, you guys were extremely helpful and got rid of a lot of my stress!!
Keep your eyes peeled next year, as I'll probably end up doing this event again, and make sure you look at all the creations posted over the last few days if you haven't already!!
[ID: A digital drawing of Lup and Lucretia. Lup is on the left, with light brown skin and long hair that fades from blonde to pink. She’s wearing a flowey pink dress with a gold belt. She has a small flame cupped in her hands and is looking fondly at Lucretia with a smile on her face. Lucretia is standing to the right of Lup. She has dark brown skin and short, curly hair that fades from white to light purple. She’s wearing a red shawl with a gold button at the collar over a light blue form-fitting dress. One of her hands rests on the opposite arm, while the other hand is lifted up to cover her mouth. Her eyes are squeezed shut and her mouth is open mid-laugh. End ID]
[ID: an aesthetic with 6 images in two columns of three, alternating in color between blue and yellow. Top row: a white jellyfish on a dark blue background, a woman sketched out with the word "rise" written above her on a yellow background. Middle row: a person's hand holding a sparkler on a yellow background, the word "sigh" written in neon blue letters. Bottom row: a neon blue crescent moon, "anyway, back to the gay shit!" written in white on a yellow background. END ID]
A gift for @llliched , created by @aubreylikesgirls !
[ID: 9 images in a 3x3 grid, all with gray or white backgrounds. From left to right, top to bottom: 1. "I'll be the kid with the big plans" written in handwriting. 2. A brown newsboy's cap. 3. "The facts were these" embroidered on a yellow circle. 4. Three pairs of glasses. 5. "Not a girl, not a boy, not your problem" written in 3 speech bubbles. 6. A dark blue cloak with silver stars on it. 7. A drawing of a juice box with "just cool juice" written on it. 8. A magnifying glass. 9. "Golden boy" written in bubble letters. END ID]
A gift for @neurodivergent-angus , created by @aubreylikesgirls !
A gift for @katie-lynch-official, created by @aubreylikesgirls!
Some of that good good soulmate AU content for you, I hope you enjoy!! Primarily Blupjeans, with some implied Taakitz in there too.
~~
For as long as she could remember, Lup had had the name “Sildar” inked on the back of her neck. Taako made fun of her for it endlessly, but she thought that he couldn’t say much, not with a name like “Kravitz” on his own skin.
They talked often in those early years about soulmates - wondering what their soulmates were like, where they are, what they were doing. They talked about Taako’s a lot - a black marking meant your soulmate was alive, a white one meant they were either dead or not born yet, but Taako’s mark was gray.
Neither of them had heard about something like that before, but they also didn’t really have anyone to teach them, about soulmates or anything else.
Time passed.
Taako and Lup grew up, and they succeeded at things - they were smart, and capable, and respected, and when they applied to join the IPRE, and later to join the exclusive mission of the Starblaster, they were accepted both times. The group was unusual, all of them, but Lup frequently found her eyes straying to one of them.
He had introduced himself as “Barry Bluejeans,” but when they had laughed, he had laughed, too, so Lup suspected it might not be his actual name. Barry, maybe, but not Bluejeans. It fit him just a little too well.
And then the world collapsed, and it was just the seven of them, on a mission to save the multiverse they hadn’t even been sure existed.
Lup thought she might find her Sildar on one of those new worlds - her ears were always open for his name, and she knew Taako was looking for Kravitz, too.
But, at the same time, she was looking at Barry. Sweet, awkward, funny, intelligent Barry, who made her feel warm, who made her laugh, who was maybe a little too interested in necromancy. He wasn’t her soulmate, her mark said that plainly enough, but there was still something about him that kept drawing her in.
After a few too many cycles, when they were starting to get discouraged, starting to feel like there would never be an end, they landed on a world that seemed to pride itself on status and reputation and propriety. The Light had been found by a wealthy family living in a huge mansion, and Davenport’s attempts to ask for it had gone… poorly.
“They’ll only negotiate with people of similar status to them,” he explained later that afternoon on the ship. “And, well, even if I’m the captain, I’m only a sailor in their eyes.”
“We’ll just have to fake it, then,” Taako said, waving off Davenport’s concern with an easy grin. “We’ve made shit up to get the Light before, I’m sure we can do it again.”
Davenport sighed. “Yes, that’s probably what we’ll have to do. Who do we think will be the most effective at that? I probably can’t go back, since they’ve met me already.”
“I’ll go,” Lup offered, raising a hand. “But I don’t want to talk to these assholes alone.”
“I think,” Barry said, not looking at any of them, “that I could also help.”
Lup raised an eyebrow. Barry wasn’t the theatrical type, and he didn’t usually volunteer for that type of mission.
“You sure about that?” Magnus asked, echoing Lup’s thoughts.
Davenport, though, looked thoughtful. “Yes,” he said, “I think you’ll be able to convince them, Barry, if you’re willing to do it.”
Barry nodded at him, and there was something steely in his eyes, a determination and a willingness to do whatever he had to, that took Lup by surprise.
“Excellent,” Davenport said, clapping his hands together. “Do you two need time to prepare, or are you able to go this evening?”
Lup grinned, deciding to put aside whatever Barry had going on until another day. “Ah, don’t worry about us, Cap’n,” she said, “we’ve got this.”
“Yeah,” Barry said, and his smile was a little bit more strained. “We’ll, uh, be fine.”
~~
“Hey, Lup?” Barry said a little later, as they approached the mansion. “Maybe, uh, let me take the lead on this one.”
Once again, his eyes were determined. “Yeah, okay,” Lup agreed, even though she desperately wanted to ask him what was going on. Now is not the time, she reminded herself. “I’ll just, uh, try to follow whatever you do.”
Barry nodded and took a breath, bracing himself before they walked up to the door and knocked.
As soon as a servant opened the door, Lup saw an immediate change in Barry. They had both dressed in some of their nicest clothes for this meeting, Barry even setting aside the jeans. He had looked awkward and uncomfortable in them, but she watched him straighten up and tighten his jaw, immediately looking like he belonged not only in the nice clothes, but in a house just like the one they stood in front of.
“Good evening,” he said, and there wasn’t a trace of nervousness in his voice. “We’ve come to inquire about the artifact this family recently acquired.”
The servant glanced between the two of them, and Lup did her best to match Barry’s pose and demeanor. It worked, apparently, because the young man nodded and led them inside. “I’ll go get Mrs. Willoughby,” he said, scampering off into the house and leaving them standing in a large sitting room.
“What is going on,” Lup hissed, unable to let everything Barry was doing slide without comment.
“I’ll explain everything later, I promise,” he said, smiling tightly at her. “Just… just roll with this, please.”
Before Lup had the chance to respond, a woman walked into the room, tall and regal and carrying the Light in her hands. “Welcome,” she said, nodding at both of them. “It seems word has gotten around, as you are the second people to come to me seeking this item today.”
Barry lowered his head in a half-bow at her, and Lup mimicked him. “You must be Mrs. Willoughby,” he said, smiling at her. “It’s wonderful to meet you.”
“And who might you be?” she asked, and Lup felt her heart drop.
They hadn’t discussed code names, and there was no way Barry Bluejeans was going to get them in this woman’s good graces.
Barry, though, didn’t seem phased. “My name,” he said, “is Sildar Hallwinter, and this is my partner, Lup.”
The world seemed to slow to a stop around her. Sildar. What were the odds that Barry would choose Sildar as a code name, and how had he thought of it so quickly? He didn’t know what her soulmark said - that was private information, only Taako knew hers, and she didn’t think any of the other crew members knew each other’s marks. So why…
Barry negotiated with the woman, Mrs. Willoughby, for a few minutes, but Lup wasn’t conscious of most of it. She smiled and nodded when it felt appropriate, followed Barry’s lead, and at the end, when they were walking away with the Light in his hands, she couldn’t quite remember how they had acquired it.
She was walking as if in a haze, and Barry obviously noticed, because he pulled her to a stop as soon as they were out of sight of the mansion. “Hey,” he said, “are you… okay?”
“Um, what do you mean?” she asked, trying to break free of the fog. It was a coincidence, just a weird coincidence, nothing to get worked up about.
“You just seem a little… I don’t know, spaced out?” Barry said, rubbing the back of his neck, embarrassed. He was slouching again, and Lup found some comfort in that. “I know that was a little weird, and I’m sorry for not preparing you, but I don’t really… like doing that.”
“You were incredible, though,” Lup said, managing a grin at him. “You’re not an actor, though, so how…?”
Barry laughed a little, ducking his head. “Well, again, I don’t really like admitting it, but that’s… that’s how I grew up. In a house like that, with people like that.”
“Oh,” Lup breathed, and she could feel her heartbeat quickening.
“Yeah,” Barry shrugged. “The Hallwinters were a bunch of rich assholes, so I separated myself from them as soon as I could.” He laughed again. “Can you blame me for changing my name, though? Barry Bluejeans might be a bit of a laugh, but it’s miles better than Sildar Hallwinter, right?”
It was his real name. Barry’s name was Sildar.
Barry was her soulmate.
“Oh my god,” Lup said, her face heating up and a grin stretching across her face. “This is ridiculous, Barry, you are ridiculous.”
Barry blinked at her. “What?”
“Gods, I hope you were just too shy to say something,” she said, and then turned around and lifted up her hair, revealing the black writing at the base of her skull. “Fuckin Sildar, dude!”
She heard Barry’s sharp intake of breath, and when she turned back to face him, his eyes were wide and his cheeks were bright red. “Oh,” he said, “I, uh, didn’t realize that that might happen.”
“Don’t leave me hanging here,” Lup said, still grinning, her heart practically beating out of her chest.
Barry jumped. “Oh, right,” he said, and pulled his shirt away from his collarbone, where Lup was inked in small, black letters.
“You were just too shy to say something!” Lup said, practically shouting now, throwing her arms into the air. “Do you know how hard it was, looking for this Sildar when I just wanted it to be you?”
Barry hadn’t stopped looking at her with those wide eyes. “You… wanted it to be me?”
“Hell yeah I did,” Lup said, taking a step forward and putting a hand on his cheek. “Barry Bluejeans, Sildar Hallwinter, whoever the fuck you are, I am glad that you’re my soulmate.”
“Yeah,” Barry said, a smile finally creeping its way onto his face, “I’m glad, too.”
[ID: A family photo of Taako, Kravitz, and Angus, all smiling. Taako is an elven man with light brown skin, long chestnut hair, and freckles. He is wearing a turtleneck sweater depicting a snowman wearing a metal helmet and gauntlets - to emulate the beloved Candlenights Knight. Kravitz is a human man with brown skin and long black braids. He is wearing a gray sweater over a collared shirt, depicting a wrapped gift and a menorah. Angus is a human boy with brown skin, curly dark brown hair, freckles, and big round glasses. He is wearing a blue sweater with a repeating pattern depicting the Star of David. He is also holding a skeleton cat. To their left in the background is a Candlenights bush, and to their right is a large scroll bearing the words: "Joyous Candlenights from the coolest family you know", with their names signed below. END ID]
A gift for @cactith0t, created by @neurodivergent-angus!
