#ie both of them calling out Nate in their own way
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independent-fics · 9 months ago
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Love how in the beginning nearly all of them got angry (especially Parker) at Nate every time he gave up the money to make the con bigger. And then as the show progresses they either care less or (Parker) learns to trust a little more because she knows Nate will make sure the payoff is bigger in the end (money or emotional wise!).
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mythoughtsaretroubled · 5 years ago
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Haven and Leverage and OT3s
Leverage has such a competent ot3 and Haven had such a dysfunctional ot3… honestly it’s almost like they are on opposite ends of a spectrum
Spoilers for both shows ahead
Obviously, Leverage has the better ot3. For one, the creators confirmed they are canonically in a relationship. Secondly, they are all alive in canon. Third, they communicate, which may sound wild but it’s true. 
But Haven… Haven has the perfect set up. A more traditional love triangle, where two men are in love with the same women with the added bonus of a complicated history and amazing chemistry. So it’s right there. Dare I say, it could have been epic. But instead of growing together as individuals and as partners, they form a very unhealthy relationship with no established boundaries where not everyone is viewed equally. 
(disclaimer: I actually haven’t finished s5 of Haven, although I do many spoilers. I’ve also been in the fandom for a significantly shorter period of time.) 
So here is a look at what Leverage did to succeed and Haven did to fail. 
(this got very long) 
In Leverage, Parker and Hardison have the traditional romance in Leverage. They don’t rush into a relationship and Hardison respects Parker’s boundaries. He repeatedly let’s her know that he is her friend and her partner and never makes her feel uncomfortable about their relationship. In season 1, The Stork Job, when Parker expresses self doubt, Hardison tells her he likes how she turned out. He also tell her that their crew is “a little bit more than a team,” a line she repeats back to him at the end of the episode. His support of her has been unwavering from the start and he has never made her feel like she should be anything other than herself and never uses his feelings for her to manipulate her or guilt her into any choices. 
Parker’s support of Hardison looks different. She constantly talks about how smart he is, how competent he is, and at one point, how empathetic and good he is. She admires him and respects him. She brags about his hacking skills to even Nate, who knows how competent he is. He is the first person she calls for help to contact the team in The Inside Out Job. She trusts him and he has given her every reason to and never doubt him. They are stable and consistent and neither one prioritizes their feelings over the other.
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Now we add in Eliot, and his relationships with Parker and Hardison. Eliot and Hardison bicker like an old married couple, but when they are in a serious situation, they work together and trust each other’s abilities and take the lead from the other when the situation calls for it. While they might tease each other and snipe at each other, it’s never with any malice. They don’t manipulate each other and have honest conversations. They also grow more open with physical affection, when Eliot is at first shown adverse to it, he knows it is comforting to Hardison, and even a few times, to himself. And, like with Parker, Hardison never pushes Eliot into any vulnerable positions and instead allows Eliot to know he is there for when he wants to open up further, like in The Low Price Job, where Eliot shares his past with his dad with Hardison. They also trust that the other will help them if they are ever in need, full stop. And if there is a shared adversary, they always gang up on them together, like with Sterling, although they do this as early as The Homecoming Job (1x02). They never doubt they other is on their side. 
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Eliot and Parker have a relationship that reads the least romantic to the outside observer. They don’t have many one on one scenes, unlike Parker and Hardison and Eliot and Hardison, but they do have more in common with each other than Hardison. As the hitter and the thief, they have the most physically demanding jobs and the darkest pasts. They also have the most implied trauma in their past, Parker in her childhood (see The Future Job) and Eliot in his life as a solider (see The Experimental Job). They understand the darker side of the other because they share that. In The Long Way Down Job, Parker tells Eliot she wants to do the right thing. And Eliot tells her that looking out for themselves is not a bad or wrong thing. He says, “it’s what makes us us.” He doesn’t make her feel guilty, he just states facts, which Parker understands. Their bond is incredibly strong and filled with understanding. 
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As a team, all three of them work together. They have inside jokes, they spend time together outside their jobs, 
Their relationship started with respect for how competent each was at their job, which grew to trust, and then grew to love. They became a family. There was no jealousy of their relationships with each other, no one tried to undermine the relationships of the other two. And while they may not spend much time on screen talking about their relationships, we do see them have very important conversations that explicitly state their feelings, which are supported by what we have previously seen. 
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Now Haven. 
Audrey and Nathan start out as adorable. They have a friendship where they tease each other and push each other out of their boundaries, but always with their support. They are great in season 1 and season 2. They even support each other’s romantic relationships (ie Jess and Chris). There are hints of jealousy, like in Roots, when Nathan is a little on edge that Audrey is with Chris, but nothing outward and toxic. But here’s where it starts to go off the rails. As cute as it is that Nathan can only feel Audrey, he becomes fixated on her (who can blame him, he’s touch starved). While this isn’t a big deal in the first two seasons and rather a romantic tidbit, this friendship and fixation turns into an obsession by season 3, so much so that he takes away agency from her. Now she does start by pushing him away when she finds out she is leaving in a certain amount of time, so she is also to be blamed. The lack of communication between them goes both ways in season 3. And he starts dating Jordan, while still prioritizing Audrey during their relationship. So much so, he cheats on Jordan with Sarah, the previous incarnation of Audrey. While there is an ongoing level of trust and respect between them, the lack of communication in season three completely derails their relationship, causing Nathan to reverse Audrey’s decision to go into the Barn by shooting Agent Howard and then trying to convince her to shoot him in season 4. 
Their relationship would have been more meaningful and powerful had we seen them stay partners who leaned on each other and listened instead of bulldozing over the other’s choices and acting like their love was justification for doing bad things. 
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Onto Audrey and Duke, who were set up to be the foil to Nathan and Audrey. There are episodes in season 1 where Duke is absent. They were set up to fail. And despite Audrey’s affection towards Duke, she takes her lead from Nathan and uses her power as a police officer to get him to talk to her from the beginning. While she eases up on using her power as an officer, she does use his feelings for her to manipulate him, like in The Farmer, where she guilts him into killing a man. The narrative pushes this idea that Duke has unrequited love for Audrey, and then shows how she uses his feelings. While we see them trust each other, Audrey proves she doesn’t respect Duke to make his own choices. Duke is also expected to put Audrey first and himself second but condemned whenever he tries to put himself first. Their relationship has a huge imbalance and is quite unhealthy in the later seasons. 
Their dynamic could have been solved if Audrey spent more time considering Duke and his point of view instead of her own perspective and the greater good. If she acknowledged his feelings and they communicated what they wanted and needed from each other, they would have been a solid couple. 
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Now Duke and Nathan are up next. Out of all the dynamics, this had the most wasted potential. Even ignoring the fact that they are not acknowledged in or out of verse as romantically involved, there is a fair amount of what can be interpreted as queerbaiting. Ignoring that and looking at what happens in canon, Nathan and Duke have an undefined history. Duke carried Nathan to the hospital when he broke his arm and they were 8. The same year, Duke bullied Nathan by putting thumbtacks in his back. Duke also attempted to put a snake in Nathan’s locker when they were teenagers. That’s all we know about the events of their past of 25 years, so they don’t trust each other at the start of the show. They don’t respect each other and they certainly don’t communicate. However, there are moments throughout the show where we see them become friends and support each other, like in Resurfacing or Friend or Faux. Every time their relationship develops, Nathan reverts back to the grudges he held and the pain Duke caused as a child. In Sins of the Father, Duke rejects his father and tells him he stands with Audrey and Nathan cause they are his friends. Then we see in 301 that Nathan got the tattoo that is supposed to be on the man who kills Duke. All of their moments are undermined by not acknowledging their growth and reverting back to the dynamic they had in the beginning of season 1. By season 4, when they are finally consistently friends, Nathan takes Duke for granted and invalidates his feelings and his relationship with Audrey, particularly by claiming Audrey loves Nathan most so killing him would destroy the Troubles. 
If their relationship had steadily progressed instead of consistently regressing for the first three seasons and Nathan had valued Duke as much as Duke valued his, their relationship would have thrived. and could have been one of the foundations of the show. 
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None of the dynamics within this trio are healthy, and together they only exacerbate each other’s flaws. If they had grown together, progressed as a team, trusted and respected each other, and communicated their feelings, as an ot3, they could have been unstoppable, even without canon confirmation. Not to mention, Nathan and Audrey often worked as a unit and then clued Duke in instead of him being included from the start, creating unbalanced power dynamic and fostering jealousy and exclusion within. 
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The relationships in Haven were not treated with the same respect and consistency as the ones in Leverage so the negative emotions overflowed the positive ones and never let the characters flourish in their relationships. However, the essence of their dynamics and many of their scenes lead viewers to find solace in fixing these dynamics and letting them flourish in fanfiction the way they never did in canon. Haven had all of the potential and none of the follow through. In Leverage, the characters came first and the relationships came second, which made the relationships richer and more dynamic as well as stable. There was also more consistency in how they developed. 
While all relationships, ot3s included, should be unique, if creating the one in Haven had looked to Leverage for guidance, there could have been more hope for a functional and healthy dynamic within the show. 
please feel free to comment, add or contradict me, I’d love to hear other people’s thouhgts. 
tagging: @leverage-ot3 @clearskiesandmistyeyes @honoraryplantking @kitsparrow @abstractfondness @music-rider @would-we-be-friends-if-i​ @doctortreklock​
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artsy-hobbitses · 6 years ago
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Because my nostalgic ass had been wanting to do this for a SUPER long time, have some Humanized!Mighty Ducks! It’s funny to see how far I’ve kinda come, because I had a strong love for this and most other anthro shows back in the 90s bc they looks excellent but also because I couldn’t draw humans worth a god damn and ended up anthro-ing all the humans, but now I can human the anthros :’B Also because I have no self-control, actual human names and backgrounds below. I might actually have to write this AU at some point. 
WILLIAM ‘WILL’ FLETCHER ie. ‘WILDWING’
30yrs
Canadian (Eh)
Half-brother to Nate Fletcher (Same father, different mothers). Despite this, they have a generally good relationship with each other.
It doesn’t mean they don’t have their issues however; Will believes his father chose Nate as the man stayed with Nate and Nate’s mother, while Nate believes Will is the favorite because they never hear their dad stop comparing their accomplishments as a troubled teen to straightlaced Will.
A decorated ice hockey player in his youth, won several state championships.
Formerly a member of the Canadian Armed Forces, did a security stint in Afghanistan from 2009-2014.
Returned to Canada, opened a youth hockey camp to leave behind his old life before the Saurian threat at which point he was called up by his absentee military father to help spearhead a team of saboteurs.
Initially reluctant, however the death of his best friend and former army comrade, Connor Tiberius, during a rescue of captured citizens spurns him to accept on his terms in which he picks the team members.
Responsible, dependable, good-natured, more bookish than his size and stature might suggest, some self-esteem issues and very much a wary but bleeding heart. In his baby brother’s affectionate words, a “Major Dweeb”.
Trilingual; Canadian-French, English (fluent), Pashto (intermediate).
His codename ‘Wildwing’ came from Connor, who affectionately gave it to him as he was the best ‘wingman’ a soldier could ask for on the field and his habit of going from bookish to ballistic when faced with any injustice. His civilian outfit includes a bomber jacket with wings decorated over the back to commemorate his best friend.
Literally the only member of the team to actually be associated with ice hockey. The others picked it up gradually as a way to bond with each other and discuss battle tactics.
NATHAN ‘NATE’ FLETCHER ie. ‘NOSEDIVE’
20yrs
American
Half-brother to Will Fletcher, unofficially the ‘team baby’ which is something he tries hard to break out of.
Seen as a delinquent in his youth and battling with ADHD, his father strongarmed him to enlist with the Air Force when he was 17 to try and ‘shape him up’ and while he absolutely bucked under the chains of command, he proved to be a natural at flying which both amazed and frustrated his officers when he would ace their flying exams but often break out to fly the planes when he wasn’t suppose to.
Due to perceived attitude problems, he was dismissed much to the anger of his father, but was quickly roped into the same role by Will who saw his potential in combating Dragaunus’ forces.
Hotheaded, impulsive and immature but also loyal, gregarious and friendly to a fault.
Will not stand for anyone badmouthing Will. That’s his brother and only he’s allowed to joke about them.
Codename ‘Nosedive’ was chosen because of the stunts he used to pull in the plane and also as a take-that moment to his father who would often complain about how everything good they tried to do for ‘this kid’ would ‘nosedive into shit’.
Oscillates between loving Will as the only family member to have really given a damn about him and see any potential in him at all and resenting Will for in his eyes, being everything he felt he couldn’t be.
Often in charge of flying the team jet.
Bilingual; English (fluent), Canadian-French (beginner. For Will, he’s trying).
MALLORY MACKENZIE
27yrs
Irish-American
A former cop who idolized her Sergeant mother who was killed helping to defend NYC from Dragaunus’ marauding forces.
She knows Will as a good friend through Connor Tiberius who was an old boyfriend prior to his death.
Has been tracking Duke’s movements for some time prior to the invasion, dead-set on bringing the jewel thief to justice. Not particularly enthused about his way of life, but does care for him in her own way as it was during their little chases that she would have conversations she couldn’t have had otherwise with someone she believed would have no role to play in her life outside of prison time.
When he consoled her after the death of her mother and she had to tend to him after he was gravely injured during a rescue, a strained friendship grew as they defended NYC together for a while with her banding together the remaining cops of the Central Park precinct and him putting together a coalition of small-time criminals who turned their tricks to beat off the alien invasion until Will called her up as a member of his new saboteur team.
In a spur of the moment, she asked Duke to come with her, vouching for his set of skills to Will and despite their back-and-forth snarking (mostly snarking from her, mostly teasing from him), they work with each other the best out of the team.
Her hatred for Draganus is strongest out of all the team and of all of them, she’s the most adept at hand-to-hand combat.
Has no use for code names—-the people she loves are dead or on the same team as her so she sees no point to it.
Pugnacious, Black-And-white view of the world and judgmental but also confident, decisive and fiercely determined. If she has her mind set something, she’s Terminator levels of terrifying to see it through.
Speaks only English but understands Arabic and French to an intermediate degree even if she can’t trust her tongue to speak it, if only to understand what Duke is saying at times (as he unwittingly tends to jump between his three ‘fluent’ languages in conversation).
DULQUER LATEEF ie. ‘DUKE L’ORANGE’
35yrs
French-Algerian
A renown jewel thief (simply known as the ‘Duke’) with a knack for stealing blood diamonds from diamond barons to channel their proceeds back to the communities they were pilfered from. Actually thinks the diamond industry is a huge joke, but it’s a joke some morons pay insanely dangerous amounts of money for. Prefers other jewels on a personal basis (fond of rubies and amethysts)
Ran his own gang back in France called the Brotherhood of the Blade, got caught up in the invasion when he decided to work his heists in New York.
His codename came from the inability of people to properly pronounce his name in his youth and so ‘Dulq’ became ‘Duke’ in due time. ‘L’Orange’ was what happened when having to come up with a surname on the spot during a heist in the States, he blurted out the first vaguely-French word he could remember which was ‘L’Orange’ ie. ‘duck a l’orange’ which was what a former target of his ordered and when his gang brethren found out, it amused them so much they talked him into keeping it as a full part of his nom de plume. He keeps it, because it helps his remaining family stay safe that no one knows his real name and he prefers it that way.
He and Mallory had something he likes to describe as a ‘dance’, with her continuously tracking him down and him escaping her clutches at the last moment. He’s absolutely tickled that they’re now on the same team.
Cares for the team the deepest due to having run his own back home and missing the brotherhood and his own family, always aware of everyone’s emotional and physical condition to the point he disregards his own at times.
Seriously, hurt his new family and you die.
The most streetwise of the team and adept with any form of blade-play and stealth/subterfuge.
Lost his eye and gained the scar on his face fending off ‘Wraith’ for as long as he could from a geologist with knowledge of Beryllium crystals.
The cybernetic eye he hides behind his eyepatch was given to him by Mallory who came across it while evacuating scientists (Including Tanya) from a lab under siege. She obtained it as willing ‘payment’ from them and had them help install it on Duke, claiming that he was only as much use to the rebellion as the clarity of his depth of field. (In truth, was well aware of how shaken he was from the loss of his eye). Cybernetic eye has x-ray and heat-seeking capabilities.
Fond of Mallory (who he may or may not be harboring feelings for but is also aware that he’s greying, a criminal and damaged, like who’s he kidding), Tanya (something of a younger sister to him especially since she’s the scientist who helped install his new eye) and Will (who he treats like a little brother he gotta teach the workings of the streets to).
Egoistical, questionable morals and unconcerned with ‘the big picture’ of global invasion but also surprisingly compassionate, open-minded and does his best to see the good in everyone (He’s a thief eh?)
Something of an omniglot due to his background and the different people he ends up having to work with; Fluent in French, English and Arabic, intermediate in Mandarin, Spanish and Italian, beginner in Japanese and Russian.
TANYA VANDERBILT
30yrs
German
A scientist working mostly with cyberkinetics who also made use of Beryllium crystals (the same the Saurians are coveting) in her technology and upon the invasion, her entire lab and research became a target.
She was rescued by Mallory and has since then tagged along with the fiery redhead who sees her as a sister, augmenting her gear and weapons where needed and even providing Duke with his energy sword.
Absolutely not a combatant, has no field experience and is most often found back at the base playing her role as Command central or guarding the ship while the group go on their recon missions.
Sees herself as deadweight sometimes though her comrades will always attest that they’d probably be dead out there if not for her tech and in-depth knowledge.
Meek, easily terrified and a bit of a pushover, but also innovative, multi-talented in diverse sections of science and always eager to help.
Speaks English and German, understands intermediate Japanese due to most of her lab co-workers.
CASSIUS ‘CASH’ HARDING ie. ‘GRIN’
40yrs
African-American
Originally a pro-wrestler working the circuits, he was caught up in the Saurian invasion and captured as a test subject in order for the invaders to figure out the biological weaknesses and breaking point of humans at their prime.
Was the subject of multiple experiments, but strove to keep up the spirits of his fellow prisoners by way of story, meditation and keeping a genial facade.
Was among the prisoners Conrad attempted to free before they died, led the prisoner rebellion and immediately joined up as a member of Will’s team upon finding out that he was Conrad’s best friend—-paying off his dues, as it were.
Unfortunately for the Saurians, their experiments had been in the midst of testing out how much augmented strength a human body could take before breaking, which left him with well, augmented strength to go with an extremely high pain threshold from both his old job and his ordeal. That said, the strength comes with a caveat that prolonged use of it could lead to organ failure due to the strain he has to put on them and thus he’s only able to work with it for short bursts of five to ten minutes depending on the task.
Despite his size, is generally the pacifist of the group more concerned with keeping people safe than facing down Dragaunus’ hordes—he leaves that to the actual soldiers. If you pissed him off in some way, you have fucked up super bad.
Bonds with Will and Nate quickly, rather like a stable older brother or uncle figure who realizes these two worlds-apart siblings have issues and are way over their head with these new responsibilities and tries his best to keep them grounded.
Hesitant, tendency to shy away from confrontation and almost on an emotional lockdown but also amicable, stoic and uncannily perceptive.
Speaks mostly English with a strong smattering/understanding of Jamaican Creole.
The codename ‘Grin’ came from his tendency to ‘grin and bear it’ when it came to punishment or altercations.
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diannaphantomfiction · 7 years ago
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Karivarry LifeSwap AU Writing Prompts. Prompt 6/15: The Failure of the Matchmaker
Prompt requested by an anonymous asker. Here’s the Prompt: 4
His sister thinks Oliver secretly likes Kara and Barry without realizing they've already been dating for a year. After months of "trying to get them together" she found out they were already dating when she found them buying groceries for their apartment she had no idea they were living in.
(I know you were probably expecting Thea, but Oliver’s life is different in this world, Thea taking up the role of Jessie Quick from Earth-2)
Also, if anyone want’s a Sara/Amaya story in this world, I’m down. Or you can request stories about what other characters are up to. 
Sara Lance loved her brother; both her brothers, and her sister, but when it came to Oliver, she was probably a little more protective than she really needed to be. When he’d come to live with them, he had been so... sad. No one had believed him and he was stubborn as they came so he never changed his story about what happened. That had convinced Sara that he was telling the truth, even when their dad and Laurel hadn’t believed him.
Of course, that protective instinct had led to some rather stupid decisions. She was suspended around seven times alongside Oliver for getting into fights, which of course led to a lot of groundings and lectures. More recently, she had stole a cold gun specifically made to stop Oliver (along with a heat gun she had given to her partner in love and crime Amaya) and become a morally grey, but well meaning crime boss to kill Oliver, believing him to be the man that killed his mother.
Despite the occasional screw up (ie: becoming a super villain) Sara was very good at reading her brother. They’d grown up together, and out of all her siblings he was her favorite, even if she’d never admit it out loud. More than anything, she knew what he looked like when he was in love.
She first saw it when she had helped him with a case that the Arrow had also helped with. She was just Sara’s type, a hot, leather wearing, badass, and she’d been fully prepared to flirt with her and try to get her into bed. Amaya had warned her it was a bad idea because ‘She could kill you Sara,’ but it turned out to be bad idea for a completely different reason.
Sara had taken one look at Oliver talking to the other vigilante, and immediately knew that Oliver was in love. She had been there for it, too. Smirking and teasing him to ask her out or marry her or whatever else came to mind. But he always stammered and denied it. Sara was actually starting to get frustrated, when she went to ask for Oliver’s help on behalf of the Legends and say him talking to Central City’s Superboy.
She hadn’t even known that he knew Superboy, but the way he was standing, the lightness of his voice, the specific smile he was smiling, and how easily he was reaching out to touch the alien. Oliver was in love with the Arrow and Superboy. No wonder he had been floundering so much! Oliver, even as sweet as he was, could barely handle being in love with one person!
So, she’d have to push him in the right direction. If everyone was on the same page there was no reason he had to chose. Of course, when she’d tried to recruit Alex, Cisco, Winn, and Roy they’d looked at her like she was crazy. Amaya had laughed, kissed her on the forehead and told her to “just stay out of it, love.”
“Hey babe?” Sara called, head in the cupboard and holding two wine glasses in her hand. “It doesn’t look like we have that Rosé you like...or any wine! I’m going to run out to the grocery store!”
Amaya was stretched out on the couch of their National City apartment, tucked under their fluffiest blanket, hair pulled up in a bun, face covered in a mask to pull the soot out of her pores, and giving herself an intense manicure to clean her hands. Alex had finally convinced Rip to allow them some shore leave. Sara and Amaya had planned to use the time to do some self care before checking up on their criminal enterprise. Sara already had her own mask (hydrating) and an electric blanket set up in the living area. But they needed wine.
“Take your gun!” Amaya called back.
Sara smiled and moved to the living room, giving her a careful peck on the lips. “Of course. I’ll be back soon. Love you!” She wrapped herself in her biggest jacket to hide her gun and left the apartment
The grocery store wasn’t very busy. It was after 7, so it wasn’t the most surprising thing, but it was nice. Sara slipped through the store to the alcohol aisle without issue and quickly. She was just getting Amaya’s favorite wine when she heard it.
“Sara?” It was Superboy (Barry) and the Arrow (Kara) together, pushing a cart full of rice, noodles, and various forms of meat. “Oliver didn’t tell us you were in town!”
“Well, I didn’t know I would be until a couple hours ago.” Sara felt her heart break on Oliver’s behalf. Barry and Kara, grocery shopping together. Clearly buying food to accommodate Barry’s increased alien appetite. Barry could easily live in National and work and fight crime in Central.
And they were wearing rings. Matching gold bands, Kara’s with an emerald and leaf engravings and Barry’s with rubies and infinity symbols. When had that happened?
Oh, poor Oliver…
Then there was a flash of sea blue and yellow lightning and there was Oliver, arms full of pastries from the store’s bakery.
“Oliver…” Kara said, lightly chiding him with a smile, “Barry wanted you to get vegetables.”
“I got broccoli.”
“Well, it is a vegetable.”
Barry made a distressed noise. “You’re both going to get scurvy.”
Sara watched the trio with a raised eyebrow until she saw the matching ring on Oliver’s hand with a sapphire the color of his Flash suit and two lines engraved along the diameter.
“Oliver? When did this happen? Have I been gone longer than I thought?”
Oliver turned to her, seeing her for the first time, his smile brightening even more. “Sara! Well, that depends, what year is it?”
“2017.”
“You’re good, you’ve been gone a few months maybe.”
Sara nodded slowly and gestures at the three of them. “So, how long has this been going on?”
They all look confused.
“For like a year?” Oliver sounded and looked like a confused puppy dog. “I thought you knew. All the teasing…”
“I was trying to get the three of you together.” Sara stresses the last word.
Oliver started laughing, quickly followed by Barry, and then a sweet chuckle from Kara. Sara couldn’t help but smile as well. It was a pretty silly situation to get caught in. Seriously, how did she miss that they had been dating for as long as she’d been trying to get them together?
Sara smiled and gave Oliver a hug. “I’m happy for you, bro.”
“Thanks, Sara. Hey, while you’re in town, you and Amaya should come over for dinner.”
“Sure, I’ll talk to her when I get home.”
When she got home, Sara did not mention the invite for hours, mostly because Amaya wouldn’t stop laughing at her for not realizing Oliver, Kara, and Barry had been in a relationship for an entire year.
“For God’s sake Sara, even Nate knew.”
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darkartandcraft · 7 years ago
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Trapped in the Dream of Death - Interview with Illustrator and Tattoo Artist Revolting Worship
We were honored to sit down and talk to Columbus, Ohio resident Nate Burns, aka "Revolting Worship" about his artwork, his transition to the tattoo realm and a little bit about his success with social media. 
So, can you tell us the story behind Revolting Worship? Why did you decide on that handle? How long have you been revolting worship?
The pen-name “Revolting Worship” was birthed mostly out of my entrenched metal nerddom; sort of harkening back to the history of artists/musicians of the genre utilizing pseudonyms to “brand” their creative output. It was a fun exercise that honestly ended up sticking more than I imagined/intended it to. 
Please summarize your illustration style in 3-4 words. 
Line & texture obsessed canoodling. 
You saw pretty prolific growth before Instagram started tangoing with their algorithm. What sorts of actions do you attribute your success?
Lots of time spent drawing to always have something at least halfway worthwhile to show for the efforts. Basically pouring in time to honing my craft was the primary goal (as it always should be as far as I’m concerned) but it just so happened to work in my favor that the old social media algorithms benefited those with speedier working processes ie. always working means always having something you could show means being pushed into feeds more often. The constant flux in algorithm changes hasn’t effected my working process or the amount of time I’m working, however. 
Did you always want to be an artist? What made you decide that's what you wanted to be?
I’d say in some form or another, yes, I’ve always wanted to make art for a living. Some of my earliest memories were drawing my own bootleg Batman and X-men comics, haha!
Okay, so here's one of our topical questions but get into it. Who are your top five greatest influences into your artwork (not that we can't guess some of them - cough DORE cough)?
Haha, well, Dore is in there for sure. Dürer, Harry Clarke, Joseph Clement Coll and Bernie Wrightston would probably have to round out the rest of that line-up. 
What creators should everyone reading this article follow on social media? 
Ooo hmmm. Some personal faves are Henrik Uldalen, Becky Cloonan, Little Thunder, Allison Sommers, Mike Moses, Brian Ewing, Randy Ortiz, Brandon Holt, Mike Sutfin, James Jean, Eric Fortune, Michelle Konczyk, Allen Williams, Adam Burke, Alessandra Maria, Jeremy Hush, all the artists I have the pleasure to work with in my American Crow family, the list goes on. 
How long have you been illustrating? About three years ago, you began tattooing. Why did you decide to do that? 
I’d say I’ve been illustrating in a professional capacity for about 7 years now? Looking back, I’m hesitant to call anything from the first few years very professional but I suppose that’s the ever present “your own biggest critic is yourself” that a lot of artists have haha. 
As far as making the leap into tattooing; it happened pretty organically. I had been getting tattooed for years and developed a friendship with the David Boggins, whom had been doing the majority of my tattoos at the time. We had had art nights every once in a while together so he became acquainted with my illustration style, etc. and over the years of getting tattooed and becoming more and more exposed to other artists and the industry in general, I started finding the idea of tattooing more interesting. I ended up asking David if he was interested in taking on an apprentice and it all started from there! 
How has tattooing influenced your illustration work and your illustration work influenced your tattooing? 
They’ve both influenced my drawing style subconsciously. The way I make marks and compose things has definitely changed (for the better, I believe) the more I started approaching a piece from the perspective of tattooing. Now, the only glaring difference between how I handle an illustration vs. a tattoo project is that when it comes to an illustration I can cut loose on a lot more detail, etc. simply due to working on paper and it’s possibilities compared to flesh. 
Has tattooing affected the amount of illustration commissions you take on? If it has, how has it made you selective and what are the projects you take on now as a result? 
Its definitely made me more selective on what illustration projects for the sake of finding the time to work on it.
How has tattooing changed your artwork? Now that you tattoo, do you find yourself exploring different subject matter or imagery than you did when you just illustrated
I’d say its influenced the sizes I like to work at? I’ve found myself really enjoying working larger and “stretching my creative legs” when I get a chance. 
What are some of your favorite illustration projects you've ever done for yourself? For someone else? 
I’m really excited about a personal piece I’m working on currently for the gallery show at the upcoming Midnite Communion in November. I really enjoyed the “Wraiths” series I had a chance to do last year; 13 5”x 7” pieces that gave me a chance to explore creating different environments, etc. 
Favorite project done for someone else? Hmm. If I really had to boil it down; I had a lot of fun with and enjoyed the end results for the album art I had a chance to do for Chrch’s “Light Will Consume Us” as well as Northern Widows’ “ Way of Suffering.” 
What would be your ideal commission? 
I pretty much love any chance I get to make gross, macabre shit for bands I really enjoy. I know that’s pretty vague but there’s nothing quite as satisfying as making some filthy art for equally filthy music. Filthy being a pretty subjective term here. 
Okay let's talk about your upcoming travels and artwork. What are some of your upcoming guest spots so people can get some of your tattoos? 
I’ll be visiting Ritual Tattoo Gallery in Denver this June from 5th-7th and White Willow Tattoo in Pittsburgh on July 29th-30th, both of which are currently booked up. So that’ll be a lot of fun! As mentioned earlier, I’m currently working on a large (for me) 11”x14” illustration for Midnite Communion in November our in Long Beach, CA. Hoping to possibly have another piece ready to go for an unannounced Chicago show in October. 
How can people buy your original artwork or prints?
I will sometimes post original pieces for sale on my social media but, otherwise, interested parties can  contact me and inquire as to what I have around. As far as prints go; I normally always have some availed at the shop (American Crow Tattoo) and sometimes will upload a small number of them for sale via online, it’s just a matter of watching my IG for announcements. 
How has digital media affected your artwork and your ability to be a professional artist?
Digital media has definitely made it light years easier to get your work out there and viewed by a wide audience. Having prints and merch made has also never been more seamless. 
What are Revolting Worship's top three points of advice to younger, less experienced artists?
 If you have time to complain, you have time to draw. You get out what you put in, meaning; you can always be improving on your work. The more time you pour into your craft, the better your skill set will be. 
Finding your style takes time and unfolds naturally as long as you’re putting in the work mentioned in the previous point. Learning what you like about certain types of art, artists, techniques, etc. and WHY you like what you do will subconsciously guide you. Don’t get too caught up on/stress out about finding your style, it will happen organically. Be more focused on learning. 
There’s a big difference between “taking inspiration from” or “emulating” and completely ripping off another artist. Please don’t do the latter. By all means, learn from the artists you admire but please become familiar with the difference between learning and stealing. 
What do you want people to know about you and/or your artwork? 
I feel beyond fortunate that people give a shit about what I do and allow me to do it for a living. Everything I do is made possible by the supportive people I’ve surrounded myself with and whom continue to be my patrons. All of my work is hand drawn and it warms my heart that the time poured into the traditional methods of making art still have an audience that appreciates it and are more available to see it in an increasingly digital world. 
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