#i try to change my stances with new info… and like | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

carrickbender · 2 months

Text

Sunday 7-

I had 2 drs appointments on Friday, one of which was a CT that was supposed to help figure out why I have so much pain in my right testicle(TMI). It saw nothing, so now we get to keep guessing. Boss told me to "take weekend off", but was doing the morning orders/teams call every day between 5-7, trying to fix stuff and do reconciliations. Glad they trust me with this, but wanna give a 'high five' to my imposter syndrome telling me im gonna get fired any day.

- had to take Henry to urgent care on Saturday, and it turns out he has the start of pneumonia. Wanna give a big shout out to the ARNP who told me she really thought he should just 'ride it out' after 10 days of awful coughing and that their kids 'were still in it after a month'. Yeah, the PA said there was no way he wasn't leaving without antibiotics. Made me feel like an asshole parent... he's on day 2, and already more of himself.

- I went back up there today for me, and I have pretty severe bronchitis. He put me on a different antibiotic, more steroids, refilled my inhaler, and actually listened to me. I mean, I appreciated his care and actual concern. Fun situation: while I was there, a tree fell across the powerlines and tripped off most of town, so they had to go to back-up generators. There was a hall full of people, in a brown out, that the staff were managing like pros. Seriously, we are lucky to have that place.

-after today, I have 4 payments left on my car. 4. I think we will wait till June, and then it's 4 door vehicle time. The lunabug is getting taller, and we want to go see my dad/stepmom in Eastern Wa in something that has space. Everybody and their dog has sent me one of those damn, "interested in a new car loan? It's OK to check your rate, and won't hurt your credit" messages and as soon as my credit union chimes in, I'm sure we'll have something to talk about.

- speaking of something to not talk about, I learned a new term and joined a subredit today called 'dead bedrooms', and yeah, checks out completely. I don't have a therapist yet, so it's not a bad sorce of info or me trying to figure out what I have messed up(apparently, yet again).

- so I had to stop at Walmart(yay for small business destruction by a corporate giant!) for meds/a few groceries and this dingus in an f250 with a WA st license plate celebrating wrestling decided he needed to back into a compact space that was in front of me. He almost hit the first car on the way in(who had to stop and back up), but then he literally backed his 'not a farm truck but a penis extension' into the compact space in front of me, and thanks to me backing up knowing he would have been sticking out if I didn't, he took 3 feet of my spot and his hitch was literally 4 inches from hitting my car. In my space. And that entitled piece of shit didn't even look to see how close he was, he just walked away like he was the king of backing up. Look, I have no problem with wrestlers, but the only one who matters in my life is John Irving, and I think he would have been sensitive enough not to be a shit bird like that! (Part 1 of 2 rant)

- I wanted to share a thought or 2 about something I've seen going about on here for a little bit, because I think i need to say avfew things:

I love that I have so many people I follow here who take stances for the poor, marginalized, POC, and other underrepresented communities-not just in a perfunctory way of saying 'I support you'; but quite a few of you are actually involved in helping bring about change and strengthening communities by being unselfish hands that help heal hearts- you inspire me to be a better person, really. As a person of faith, I see you doing the work that many faith leaders of old spoke of when they talked of when they said, "serve as you have been served, and love as you have been loved"- and seeing that faith in action, it has made me read more about liberation theology and revisit the works of the Rt Rev Bishop Desmond Tutu, Dietrich Bonhoffer, and Dr Martin Luther King jr(and of the later, 'Why I oppose the war in Vietnam' is just as relevant now as it was then). I thank you all for this inspiration and work.

But what I have really come to realize about myself is that I am a person of privilege. I am a white CISmale, straight, accessed a good education at a young age, had a huge extended family that helped raise me when my mom had me at 17, have never had to worry about my gender causing me to be looked at differently, have a good job(for now), have access to clean water, don't live in a food desert, and save for the fact that I understood discrimination at a very young age thanks to my last name, I know that I have lived a mostly privileged life.

But there is one privilege I will never take for granted, and that's voting. And yes, I don't always vote my conscience because at heart, I am a democratic Socialist. But I always vote in my local and state house election because it is in places like your local school board or your city council where you can stop the spread of groups like 'Moms for Liberty' or any of the other neo-fascist organizations that seek to change education or change for the worse how cities deal with their population experiencing homelessness. If I stay home from these elections, I feel like I'm spitting on my great grandmother's grave(whose name I found on the voting roll of the first year that women could vote in Basin, Montana). I feel like I'm not being a good parent or a community member for sticking up for my sons right(or other kids rights) to read books in the school library that have a rainbow(let alone letting kids see representation for non-traditional families that are just the same as everybody else!). So please, if you're feeling crappy about the election, this right here is the biggest way to affect change if you don't know where to start or affirm.there is something you can do to really make a difference. Don't see enough representation of POC on your city council, especially in multi-ethnic communities? Hear a trans voice that would make for a great representative for all people? Fill in those boxes, act locally, and get those folks elected! It works if you work it!

I hear a lot of voices talking about Joe Biden these days, and I feel numb and angry about a lot of things that have been done in our names too: I hate HATE what is happening in Gaza(PBUT); I hate our support of Saudi Arabia and the proxy war in Yemen; Our jaunts in Zaire and Jordan; I hate that we are no closer to universal Healthcare, but I understand that that road and others lead through a Republican congress. I love that child poverty is declining, but programmes that were designed to make this a reality are sunsetting. We have a barbaric and truly archaic policy on immigration, and every time(that's not hyperbole, either), every goddamn time a good bill has been proposed to deal with the issue, the bill has been met by the xenophobic forces on the right and their deep pockets fueling the media and it is destroyed out of fear. And let's not forget student debt forgiveness, the continued dismantling of public education by states like Texas and Florida, Our goal of dismantling of the prison industrial complex, the protection of reproductive healthcare, and the dire need for nationwide police reform.

Yes, our laundry list is long, but it is full of necessary things that need to change or be codified in order for a great change to happen for generations and the continuatonof this great experiment called the U.S.A.

And for all of this and more, I ask: where are the leaders of our generation on this? Where are the ghosts of John Lewis, of Paul Wellstone, and of Shirley Chisholm? Thankfully, our leaders and the ghostsbof their forebearers are there- they are doing their best, and thankfully we(those of us on the progressive side) are represented by POC women who will go to the mat for these issues and more, being inspired by those who came before them. But the more that I think about it, it's time that we offer an ultimatum: we'll give you our voting block, Joe. We'll help bring along the majority of the 9 million new voters who are coming of age this year, so you will have a supermajority with which you can put forth truly transformative legislation. Sure, you'll get us- for now. But if it's businesses as usual, if we are not knocking over the tables of the money changers, and if we are not investing more in programmes of social uplift than we are for the military industrial complex, then we strike. Not in 2028, as one of my absolute favourite people on here suggest, but in 2026, in early summer. Because it is people like me, those of us who have know privilege and continue to know it, who are finally waking up to the truth that we need to do the work. We need to do the heavy lifting. I'm willing to make that offer, and I hope I'm not alone, because there either needs to be a change in the way our political system operates, or we walk away and start our own political entity. I hope I'm not alone in the way I feel, and I hope that we can all make the proposition. We have the leaders, we have the people, now it's about courage. It's time.

But for today, if you can pull the lever for democrats nationally, I totally get it. But consider what I said about voting locally, and in local races and elect people who represent your values. It matters.

- ok, rant over: if you made it this far, know that I love you all and I hope this week brings good things for you. Remember what Pete Seeger always said: "Take it easy, but take it". Much love yall!

#me #this is my life #exhausted #singer songwriter #henry adam #washington state #in repair #democratic socialism #radical feminist safe #POC safe #we are one in the spirit of reform #time to dream it up again #Spotify

20 notes · View notes

altocat · 7 months

Note

It would appear I have been summoned again lol. I am currently trying to talk with Japanese players about Sephiroth’s voice lines in EC and I really can’t recommend looking into the discussions on the LifeStream website enough—especially if you guys are curious about this stuff.

For instance, here are the names and Japanese names of Seph’s weapons and attacks so far!

Localization notes:

Limit Breaks

Astral Gate (星門, Seimon, lit. "Planet's Gate" or "Star's Gate")

Ardent Flare (アーデントフレア, Ādento Furea)

Weapons and Abilities

Nameless (無銘, Mumei)

Telluric Fury (動地, Dōchi, lit. "Shaking Land")

Edged Wings (斬り羽, Kiriha, lit. "Cutting Feather," a euphemism for an excavation site)

Aerial Frostblade (氷翼急翔, Hyōyoku Kyūshō, lit. "Cold Wings Swiftly Soar")

Glaireid (グライレイド, Guraireido, lit. "Gli-Raid," Glide+Raid)

Sweeping Slash (孤斬, Kozan, lit. "Lone Cut")

Aonibi (青鈍, Aonibi, lit. "Dull Blue")

Frenzied Stance (荒天のかまえ, Kōten no Kamae, lit. "Stormy Weather Stance")

Northern Lights (ノーザンライツ, Nōzan Raitsu)

Radiant Aurora (極光, Kyokkō, lit. "Aurora")

Prototype Crimson Blade (試作・紅蓮太刀, Shisaku: Guren-tachi, lit. "Prototype: Crimson Tachi")

Firaga A

CC Alloy Sword (CC合金刀, Shi-Shi Gokin Katana, lit. "CC Alloy Katana")

Thundaga A

Mythril Type-0 Katana (ミスリル0式打ち刀, Misuriru Reishiki Uchigatana, lit. "Mythril Type-0 Uchigatana")

Steadfast Stance (不動のかまえ, Fudō no Kamae, lit. "Immovable Stance")

Shinra Blade: Model I (神羅刀壱号, Shinra Katana Ichigo, lit. "Shinra Katana No. 1")

Shock Blast (ショックブラスト, Shokku Burasuto)

Gear

Shinra's Hero (神羅の英雄, Shinra no Eiyū) - Default; pairs with Nameless

Edged Wings Training Garb (羽刃の修験装, Kiriha no Shugensō, lit. "Cutting Feather Ascetic Garb") - Featured; pairs with Edged Wings

Aeroglider (グライディングスーツ, Guraidingu Sūtsu, lit. "Gliding Suit") - Voucher; pairs with Glaireid

—

Some curious details include: Sephiroth’s training garb’s name, “cutting feather,” is apparently a euphemism for an excavation site, and though not mentioned here, that Japanese name “kiriha” is the name of a famous sword, kiriha sadamune. This sword was forged by one of the sons of Masamune. A cool detail.

I find it interesting that Sephiroth’s default set could be run together as “Shinra’s Nameless Hero” too.

Sephiroth’s training garb also seems to be a very strict get-up if we go by Japanese. It is his “ascetic garb” which has the implications of something you wear to practice strict self-denial and discipline, almost like a monk.

People have been discussing some other great details on the LifeStream forums since the new Ever Crisis chapter—especially about Seph’s Nibelheim meltdown being his literal “Limit Break” as a person, and why that changed the name of that very attack to “Hell’s Gate” after it summoned the fires of Sephiroth’s wrath.

People also noticed how much Jenova in Advent Children’s opening looked absurdly close to the picture of Lucrecia AND Sephiroth in general. Ever Crisis is really giving us a ton of insight. I will keep sharing with you guys the more I talk to the Japanese players and my friends. I am just a lurker here but I feel like certain great tidbits of info are being missed, so I will do my best to share. I will also try to get those voice line translations!!

You're amazing. Thanks so much for all your valuable insight! I personally find this stuff pretty fascinating.

#asks #ff7 #ffvii #final fantasy 7 #sephcanons #sephiroth #Ffvii first soldier #first soldier #ffvii ever crisis #ffviiec #ff7ec #ff7 ever crisis #ever crisis #Thanks so much to our incredible translator anon!

39 notes · View notes

the-biornicles · 10 days

Text

plurality primer

just a bunch of of plurality resources i’ve& found + my& own 2 cents

sections for primer/basic info, questioning, new systems/getting set up, did/osdd, and singlets

nobody asked for this but i& figured it couldn’t hurt :)

this isn't intended to be finished at all! i& do plan to improve this by adding more resources and maybe adding more sections as well

Plurality 101

our 2 cents

plurality is a vast experience, but it boils down to being or having more than one entity in one body. it can be like sharing your body with other people (headmates), or having more than one “you,” or losing time to other headmates controlling the body (switching/fronting), or hearing others making commentary while you go about your daily life.

resources:

MoreThanOne.Info - a compact and digestible primer to plurality

Dragonheart Collective's Primer to Plurality - an faq and myth vs. fact about plurality

Healthy Multiplicity Poster - an overview of plurality

Are Multiple Personalities Always a Disorder? - an article exploring the history and different stances on plurality. note: may include triggering language and content, such as suggestions of fakeclaiming and anti-plural psychiatry. skeptical singlets may be more receptive though, which is why i'm& including it.

Questioning

our 2 cents

sometimes upon learning about plurality you’re like “huh, am i plural??” i’ll& start by saying that you’re not invalidating anyone by questioning plurality with or without known trauma. there are many different forms and causes of plurality, and did/osdd is just one of them. nondisordered plurality is perfectly possible and does exist. as for actually figuring out if you’re plural, i’ll say what the Vickis said: does it work? ultimately plurality is a framework to understand and describe your(&) experience. if it makes sense, then it does! if it doesn’t make sense, then it doesn’t!

that being said, it can be helpful to have a list of common plural experiences, just to get a feel for it. the dragonheart collective’s Am I Plural? essay is really good for this. i’d say that the big factors about plurality are 1. identity (ex. feeling like you’re someone else or like you’re not one person) 2. other autonomous entities (ex. hearing other people inside your head, having imaginary friends that you can’t control) and 3. missing time/memories (self explanatory but generally caused by switching + not fully shared memories).

since this is our 2 cents, we’ll share our own experience! we don’t really experience any memory issues. this is mostly because we’re median, all fronting/aware in some way, and have shared memories. the main things for us that helped us realize we were plural were being autonomous and not feeling quite like one person. we often had internal dialogues where we couldn’t control each other. sometimes one of us would get thoughts and be like “who said that.” for a long time we’ve always kind of felt like we had different “modes” or that we were made out of different people, like personas that also had their own thoughts and couldn’t control each other. that led us to concluding we’re plural! this started out as a tentative label, we were just trying it out to see if it would work. we’re still calling ourselves plural to this day, so i guess it does work!

resources

Vickis' Does it work? - questions and answers about figuring out if you're plural

Dragonheart Collective's Am I Plural? - a list of experiences that may point toward plurality. also has a section about disorderly plurality

System resources (especially for new systems)

our 2 cents

figuring out that you’re plural can be an… interesting experience. maybe it’ll be like an epiphany, maybe it’ll be confusing and disorienting, maybe it’s just like “oh cool i guess.” it’s important to recognize that nothing has changed, you’re still you, you just now have words for what’s going on.

as for first steps, that’s entirely up to you(&). what works for one system may be damaging to another. we’d recommend figuring out information about your headmates, how your system functions (with identity, memory, fronting, stuff like that), what kind of language you want to use for yourself/ves, and how you want to express your plurality, if at all. like i& said, this process depends a lot from system to system. just remember to take things one step at a time

resources

Healthy Multiplicity - a masterlist of pages for plurality. has sections on plural history, daily life, healthcare, safety, and more

The Big Book of What We Know About Us TEMPLATE - a template for logging system info. this can be very important for new systems! adjust as necessary or use as a starting point

The Big Book of Exhaustive Plurality Resources & More - what it says on the tin. various plurality resources

Power to the Plurals - a website full of plural resources. also associated with the plural association, which holds many events such as support groups, virtual meet ups, and group text chats

Pluralpedia - a wiki full of plural terms

DID/OSDD

our 2 cents

we’re not diagnosed with did or osdd, but we still feel like it’s important to include a section about did/osdd because it’s such a big part of plurality’s history. we’ll try to provide as much basic information as we can, but keep in mind we don’t have personal experience, and most knowledge is from the DSM-V or just being around the plural community

DID/OSDD are dissociative disorders with specific criteria. dissociation refers to feeling some sort of disconnection from your surroundings, thoughts, actions, memories, or identity. DID/OSDD are considered the most “severe” forms of dissociation, as the criteria usually includes all forms of dissociation. OSDD has a less strict definition and is considered a catch-all, but it does require dissociation that causes distress and dysfunction.

here is the diagnostic criteria for DID:

to paraphrase this image, a DID diagnosis needs 2+ distinct headmates (in terms of behavior, identity, etc), recurrent amnesia, and clinical distress. the possibilities of normal cultural occurrences, effects of substances, and other medical conditions also have to be ruled out.

it is generally recommended to seek professional help if you& suspect DID/OSDD, as it is by definition a disordered form of plurality, but there are various valid reasons for self-dx. it's up to you&

resources

The Dissociative Initiative - a website created by and surrounding people with multiplicity, dissociation, and amnesia

You feel like shit. - not plural or DID specific, but very helpful nonetheless. an interactive self-care guide

How to find a therapist who is educated about plurality? - a reddit post about finding a therapist educated about plurality. the gist of it is: ask a therapist up-front if they have experience with DID or if they believe in DID and other forms of plurality

For singlets (non-systems) and etiquette

our 2 cents

the main things about etiquette are to not objectify us and to remember we're just existing like you are! etiquette can vary a lot from system to system, so it's always better to ask. it's almost always rude to fakeclaim a system (that is, claim that they are faking or not real) or to otherwise claim that you know more about them than they do. it doesn't matter if you're "right" (most of time you're not), it's simply not your place.

as for whether or not plurality is actually possible, i& ask you this: does it matter? we haven't fully reached a consensus on what it means to be conscious or a person. either way, this is the reality for many people. reality is a subjective thing, no one truly knows everything. if someone is calling themself/ves plural, it's likely because it is a framework that makes sense to them.

meeting a system, or learning that a loved one is actually plural, can be a strange experience. plurality is far from what's considered the norm. hopefully, you are approaching this with understanding and support! you should allow the system to lead the way with this change, but do note that newly discovered systems might not know everything about themselves. sometimes, it's a discovery experience for all of you! you may find it important to ask if you should refer to them in a new way, if you can mention this to anyone, if there will be changes in fronting, and any other changes you should be aware of.

resources

Plural Etiquette Questionnaire - a questionnaire for plurals to answer to let others know how to interact. you may use this as a base point on figuring out etiquette

Rules of Engagement: Plural Etiquette - basic things to keep in mind when interacting with plurals

Allies of Plurals - a guide for singlets about systems

and that's it! honestly, this post is more for us than anything, but we hope that it can help someone out

#lior says words #plurality #avery (one of our guys) wrote most of this

3 notes · View notes

3rddimension · 6 months

Note

I still stand with my stance that Shoot Dood, should return to its rightful place on the Smoshcast (Smoshmouth). That being said, I enjoyed the new endcap they tried with Smart Mouth.

If Shoot Dood does return, I think it would be a sweet as hell way of announcing their relationship publicly. I think Department of Weird Sounds wrote this into a couple of their fics, it is so adorable🥰

Just imagine it, Courtney doesn't even have to be the guest, they could just read it off and have Courtney pop in or shout something from off camera in return.

In a dream scenario, I would have them do it like a radio show call in segment. Shayne goes into character like "ok caller you're live on Smoshmouth, SHOOT DOOD!"

Than you have Courtney start talking bout their mysterious relationship. They finish by saying, the main problem is they want to be more open about it on socials and such but are afraid of letting the cat out of the bag.

This is where Shayne drops the gimmick and starts talking openly about how he once was more guarded about these kinds of things. How he used to be tight lipped about sharing any private info regarding his dating life. He finishes by saying...

"but, that all changed when I met you Courtney"...

Selfishly, I would have no guest on, just Amand and Shayne, like that check in episode they did before. So this leaves an empty seat for Courtney to potentially pop in and stay for a while. Also I wouldn't have either of them tell Amanda so we could see her suprised look, think back to her finding out about FNAF🤭

Ok, sorry needed to do some setup, back to Shayne. He continues by saying,"I always thought I was bad at dating, because of how awkward I am or was. Hell we even had a show dedicated just for me to express that!"

"But, when I met you, I knew there was something special. I couldn't put my finger on it. Yet deep down, I knew I had just met one of my best friends in the whole world. Sorry Damien, if you're listening, your my male best friend" 😂

He continues,"We've been through so much together"��

° The Defy shutdown/ Mythical purchase

° My Suprise graduation😏

° COVID

° Ian and Anthony buying back Smosh!

° The day you said... yes

This is where you can hear a muffled, teary eyed Courtney say, "Shayne? Are you sure?

He continues without hesitation👇

"Courtney I've never been more certain of anything in my life. That moment melted away any hesitation I had before.

"I'm the happiest I've ever been and I don't care who knows it!"

After hearing this, it brings a chorus of giddy chuckles from Amnda and Courtney. They both couldn't believe how open Shayne just was, but now there was no going back!

Courtney still a little caught off guard, but beaming with happiness says, "Wow Shania, I didn't think you'd go that far my guy, I thought you'd maybe ease into it?"

"Well guys you heard it here first! The will they won't they of Smosh is engaged!"

At this point the episode is running a little over and they have to wrap things up. But, before they go, both Shayne and Courtney acknowledge the fact that they are now public, but remind us fans that this doesn't mean they're going to smother us with coupley pics and the like. It just means that from time to time you'll see more couple esque pics on ig and maybe a slight dynamic shift in videos given their new status.

Before the day is over on Courtney's ig we get to see an up close pic of that mysterious ring. We finally get to see it the way it was intended, while it is being slightly cupped by Shayne's hand.

With a caption that reads...

After so long of trying to hide this, either by switching it to different fingers or by switching hands, I'm glad I can finally have it where I want it.

Thanks guys for being so supportive about all this, it means the world to us! Even if it means Shayne is now going to post nonstop photos of Bones, oh great here's one now!

Shayne posts a photo of himself, Bones, and Birdie with Courtney slightly in the background head turned, with a caption that reads...

First family portrait! ❤ to the moon and back babe!

TLDR - Sorry this was so long, I kind of got carried away! Maybe I can write fics, maybe oneshots is my jam? Who knows?

Morale of the story, bring back SHOOT DOODS!

✌

WOW. I think with some brushing up and grammar fixing then it would be finished as a oneshot tbh. Thanks for sharing! I would dieeeee if we got any picture of them with their cats. I can't wait until the day we get that in the future!

#shourtney fanfic

13 notes · View notes

rosepetalsthings · 2 years

Note

We talking about our experiences as older mcyt fans? Okie dokie, I'm 29 btw

So I am not a Dream fan specifically, I much prefer Philza, and BBH would be the fav closest to the group, but I have followed his stuff just out of it being on the peripheral from who I watch and who I was friends with irl. That said this isn't my first rodeo with accusations, some that have been true and some false. The important thing is to step back, which can be hard when you like something or someone. Think of a doctor not being able to operate on a loved one, it can cloud them and make the operation more dangerous. Doesn't mean they aren't a good doctor, just that the feelings we have can overwhelm us.

As far as the situation itself, well from all I've seen it's kind of a non-issue at this moment. Given what we know that is. My stance is bound to change with new info and verifiable evidence of course. It has been very strange to see the reactions though. With all the jumping some people are doing they should try out for the Olympics! But I kinda get both sides and why they would jump to a stance, whether that be one of support or condemnation. It's because they have those strong feelings, after all you have to care about something a lot to hate or love it.

And I think the internet leans very heavily into action above thought sometimes so all those emotions get turned into action and that can end in a very bad way.

So yeah, kinda rambly but I hope it makes sense. Basically I see where everyone is coming from even if I don't agree, I do just block and move on like a true tumblr native lol

Cat Anon

Thanks for sending your thoughts!

This is very well thought out and I pretty much agree with it all. A lot of people on the internet can jump way too quickly, and then fill in the blanks themselves or with things that aren't even verified. And this isn't the kind of thing you should jump into, because it's an incredibly serious accusation and should be treated as such.

Also yeah, I understand people's opinions too, even I don't like or agree with them, but I can see where they're coming from.

#discourse #dream situation #Anon #You guys can all come in to vent or to share your feelings if you want

3 notes · View notes

db-reviews · 2 years

Text

#118 - Raindance - Gryphon (1975)

Been a while since I have reviewed a Gryphon album, let’s change that. After their third release, Red Queen to Gryphon Three, the band has gone into a more progressive stance, more than they ever had in their career. At this time they had two fairly solid albums that played in their medieval wizardry, combining their folk influences with more electric styles of playing, creating a unique sound they bathed in. Here, in Raindance, we get some of the same-ish material that Red Queen to Gryphon Three brought to the table, but with something a little different this time.

The first time I heard this album I was very confused since it never really felt like Gryphon, heck more like a variety of other bands that weren’t them. This could be due to them trying to evolve their more progressive rock sound they started with Midnight Mushrumps and evolved with Red Queen. However as shown with the first track of Down The Dog, it seems like sometimes evolving to where you cannot have much of your original sound retain some curfew is a way to make you fly too close to the sun. The thing about Gryphon that made them special was the medieval sound that they have retained since their beginning, and only expanded more through their career. Here though it is all but lost. We get keys similar in vein to Gentle Giant, fewer acoustic instruments, and a lot more percussion than usual. Not only does it not feel like Gryphon, it feels more like parodying off of progressive rock but not doing it effectively, unlike some of their other progressive folk contemporaries (cough cough Jethro Tull). While it is far from bad, it’s far from Gryphon, and in its wake, I cannot feel right at home with it.

Despite this, they do have some folk aspects still retained, like in the title track of Raindance. This album's new age mix to their past sound does give me a glimpse of an idea that Gryphon might’ve had for this album. With Red Queen, it was a concept record based on a game of chess, with a lot of calculated yet seemingly random movements. For me this song could relate to maybe another concept that was scrapped away with, possibly the concept of rain as they transform their sound to something a bit more electronically wavey than more rock-ish. As for the song itself it took me a bit to fully appreciate it. I think it does lead to an interesting development in the band’s sounds, and I’d say it is much more preferable for me in the context of Gryphon than anything else. It is a solid new-age track that feels weirdly at home with Gryphon’s past sound. As it does sound very much at home with Gryphon, it feels like they are taking a bit too many notes from the lack of Mike Oldfield or Tangerine Dream. I’d say this entire album feels like they are peeking at the homework of all the other acts that were going around, almost as if they are copying. This leads me to feel as though they aren’t trying as hard with this album, and that sucks a lot of the charm of Gryphon right out for me.

However, the most striking info for the claim in my point is a cover song of The Beatles’ Mother Nature’s Son. While I do not feel weird about the fact they are covering a song, it loses the album’s charm in every sense of the word. While the last track made me question if they were even trying, this is definitive proof that they pretty much aren’t. It’s kinda sad in a way. It is like Icarus flying too close to the sun due to putting extreme faith in their wings. The thing that gets me is that none of the songs are bad, it’s just they aren’t original.

Things get more off-putting with "Le Cambrioleur Est Dans le Mouchoir" being almost a show tune that one of The Beatles would make. The thing too is that it pretty much doesn’t fit with Gryphon’s sound, creating the first true dud of the album. It is so short too that it makes it feel wasteful concerning the album as a whole. They wasted potential in what would be a mediocre album. This is even more so with the track afterward being Ormolu, however, with that track it does sound more like a classic Gryphon track so it may be the most original track on the album, but it is so short that it feels less like a track and just a snippet of what we could’ve gotten.

I think there should be some positives this album could bring, like for example with the Fontinental Version, a track that does feel like they aren’t copying anyone really and instead trying to create their progressive rock track for once. We get a unique, almost Irish-sounding symphonic-styled prog here, making a unique flavor that I think only a band as definitely experimentative as Gryphon is. While it does almost feel like the band became less of what they once were, it isn’t entirely bad and I think what it held in sound and scope does allow it to be a fresh and new track in a sea of mediocre melodies.

The last few shorter tracks of Wellbanger and Don’t Say Go end with a Canterbury stylization, very much like Caravan. I have stated before that this made it almost extremely lackluster and unoriginal, so you can connect the dots with that. A shame.

However, we get a huge glimpse of what the album should’ve been with (Ein Klein) Heldenleben, the 16-minute epic that feels like what the evolution of Gryphon’s sound should've been on this album. A mix of the more electricity of guitars and keys with the acoustic medieval stylizations that they were popular for. This feels like what Gryphon should sound like, minus the more rock-layering drums. Each small movement brings me to the same joys Red Queen led me on when I first reviewed it a while back. It ends pretty great too, not ending with a big guitar solo but more just strums of the acoustic guitar with light percussion. It is pretty great and their best epic since Midnight Mushrumps, heck it exceeds that song even further and beyond. It does make me ponder, like the man in the nude man on the album cover also listening to this album. It makes me ponder what this album could’ve been if they went in a more original direction than trying to copy their contemporaries. It is an epic that makes me question an alternate history where Gryphon led a different charge for this album that could’ve led them to further stardom rather than a fall from gracefulness.

It is very awkward how high Gryphon rose and how hard they fell within just two years. Red Queen was when they made their winning move, creating an album that, while imperfect, could’ve been the basis for a great progressive folk band that’d be considered a classic next to Jethro Tull or Harmonium. Instead, though, we get mere homework copying as Gryphon looks around the class, cheating on the test and only writing a fairly great write-up at the end of said test. No wonder 2 years after this release, and another album, they would disband, though they did come back in 2018 and made an album at the beginning of this decade so maybe after this day they learned their lesson. Hopefully, not certain, but hopefully.

2/5

#music review #album review #progressive rock #folk

0 notes

brattyfics · 3 years

Text

Like That

Pairing: Rio x Black!Reader

Summary: You and Rio get to know each other better. Loosely based on ‘Like That’ by Doja Cat.

Warnings: Smut.

Word Count: 3.5K

Installments: Say So | Like That | Talk Dirty

And baby, I want it, and I'll just be honest 'Cause I just can't front when I look at you

About six weeks have passed since Rio declared himself your man, and you quickly learned he took the title very seriously.

He was busier than usual with ‘flipping his game,’ and you were busy preparing to transition your shop, but you saw each other often despite time constraints. You agreed date nights at least once a week were a must, but when you couldn’t see each other, Rio made sure to end nights with a phone call. Virtually falling asleep next to him gave you butterflies, reminding you just how exciting new relationships could be. It took prodding, but he told you made-up bedtime stories and the boring details of his day. In return, you shared things about yourself— childhood memories, the crazy things your mom did to embarrass you. He was sweet and attentive, and you found it refreshing to be with someone who was just as infatuated with you.

On your second date, he took you to his favorite restaurant, a fancy sushi place with expensive rolls. He taught you to hold chopsticks the wrong way the way he did and even fed you across the small table, a couple of unfortunate rolls falling apart due to his prodding. You tried your best to hide your amusement at the pensive look on his face. For whatever reason, Rio thought of himself as a sushi connoisseur, but it was clear to you that he was still learning.

“You’re no better than me!” He admonished when he noticed the way you held your chopsticks. Like his technique, it was incorrect, but it worked for you— sort of. “I never said I was.” You couldn’t keep the amusement off your face any longer. “You’re the one who comes here weekly. I thought you were a professional, and we’re in the same boat.” He folded his arms on top of the table as he insisted you were wrong, but secretly he found your teasing endearing. Later that night, he called and gave you a cheesy line about loving to see you smile.

The following week, you had lunch at a mom-and-pop soul food restaurant that served the best cornbread and peach cobbler in the city. The owners, an adorable older couple, Donna and Gene, and servers alike stopped by your table to meet Rio. Donna gushed over Rio, showering him with compliments and extra cornbread. “Girl, he is cute!” She told you, failing miserably at whispering. He smirked as you rolled your eyes, but he handled the attention well, being friendly and personable even when Gene kept going on and on about changes to the menu, one chef to another.

A few days later, he called you up randomly and asked you to get ready and ride with him somewhere. “What should I wear?” You asked, hoping for a hint. You could hear him smile as he said, “It doesn’t even matter, ma. You always look good.” The occasion had turned out to be ‘Foodtruck Friday.’ Barbecue, kebab, taco, ice cream, and other miscellaneous food trucks were parked in a spacious lot in Downtown Detroit. You settled at a picnic table and shared several plates of food as you discussed the possibility of your own mobile ‘Mad Batter’ shop somewhere down the line. It got you thinking about the future.

“Where do you see yourself in five years?” You asked the dreaded question in between bites of a colorful Korean fusion taco. He stiffened as he considered the answer. “What is this, a job interview?” Sometimes you saw peeks of bossman Rio rather than the Christopher Castillo you were getting to know. It happened seemingly out of nowhere when you asked questions he felt were invasive.

You looked up from the panko-fried shrimp, red cabbage, shredded carrots, and tasty orange sauce wrapped up in a flour tortilla with a frown. You had two choices: respond in the way he had or make light of the situation. So, you said, “Kinda. You’re auditioning for a spot on my roster, so...”

He stopped chewing the half-eaten dumpling and swallowed hard. “That’s not funny.”

“You better start taking the interviewing part of the audition more seriously then.” You wiped your fingers on a napkin, and he gathered your hand in his own, wearing a look you couldn’t decipher. “You got it, ma.”

You played a game of mini-golf at the local arcade. Rio stood tall behind you, holding you by your hips as he corrected your stance. You purposefully arched your back, brushing against him just slightly. “Like this?” You looked over your shoulder with the most innocent look you could muster, but his eyes were glued to your ass. “Yeah, just like that.” He answered in a low tone without looking up. You giggled as you took your swing, adding a wiggle for his benefit. You pretended to care about the ball as it glided across the bright green tarp towards the hole. “How was that?” You chirped, looking down the lane.

“I can’t even lie. I don’t care about the game right now. I just wanna watch you.” Your aim was terrible, and the ball never went in the hole without several attempts, but he insisted you finish playing the course. You teased him about it for days after despite his claim that he actually enjoyed the game because it was one of Marcus’ favorites.

“Stop lying! You just wanted an excuse to openly watch my ass.”

“Why you always gotta call me out?”

You shopped a cozy health and wellness store with hundreds of cool little trinkets for sale. Neither of you had been there before, so you took your time exploring, stealing unexpected kisses from the other. Rio took full advantage of the size of the store, pulling you by the hand and holding you close to his side.

He frowned at the large collection of shiny crystals. “A rock, really? What does anybody need with a rock?”

“It’s not a rock!” You hissed, head whipping around as you hoped the owner didn’t hear him.

“What is it then? It looks like a rock to me.” He picked one up, turning it over in his hands.

“It’s a crystal!”

“What’s the difference?”

“It has healing properties...” Rio snorted but strung his arm across your shoulder and listened intently as you read the info cards to him. When it was all said and done, he bought an aventurine stone to apologize to the owner for prosperity, well-being, and good luck.

The next day, he disappeared with no warning. You had been worried sick until Mick let you know he was busy handling something. It would have only taken a minute to tell you that, so you were (understandably) pissed. He showed up at the shop several days later like nothing had ever happened. “What’s up, mama?” The greeting that usually melted you grated on your nerves. All of your feelings about the situation bubbled up to the surface. It was hard to find the right words— you were still getting to know each other, so how mad could you be? At the same time, how little did he think of you to not say anything? Finally, you settled on, “I can’t do the disappearing act.”

Rio wasn’t used to answering to anyone, not even his child’s mother, about his whereabouts, but he put his palms up in surrender when he saw the serious expression you wore.

“You’re right, mama. That’s my bad. It won’t happen again.”

And it hadn’t.

But knowing ahead of time only made it a tiny bit easier, especially when he didn’t have a set return date. You were going on day seven (the longest you had gone without seeing him since you started dating) when he called to say he made it home and wanted to see you. Your heavy heart swelled with relief. You missed him way more than you probably should have, so you insisted on a night in at your place, wanting him to feel relaxed and at home instead of on guard somewhere public.

It had been a long six weeks without sex while he romanced you with delicious food and beautiful words. It wasn’t an easy task, but you knew as soon as sex was thrown in the mix, you would be done for, either destined to be his or ruined by him. It was a scary thought, but distance had indeed made the heart grow fonder, and you cared about him enough to take a chance.

He was set to arrive within the hour, but you were still unsure of what to wear, frantically rummaging through the dresser for something cute and comfortable. You let out a frustrated groan when your phone started to ring, thinking Rio might have come early, but when you look down at your phone, you see your best friend’s name and face. You swipe quickly, accepting the FaceTime call. “Hey, girl!”

“Hey, stranger!” You pick up the phone, so you can look at her. “Really?”

“Yes, really.” She replies with just as much sass. “I haven’t talked to you in what— two weeks?”

“We talk—“

“—text.”

“Okay, fine. Text. We text every day. What are you talking about?”

“That’s not the same.” She insists even as you remind her of the ridiculous amount of time you spend trading memes and food pictures with her.

“Anyway, what are you doing?”

“I’m trying to decide what I’m going to wear between this, this, or this.” You move the camera around, showing her the different options. A black-and-white tank and short set with ‘Being cute is not a crime’ in a cute font. A fuzzy grey sweatsuit set with hearts, or a simple cream hoodie with matching shorts.

“Um, what’s the occasion?” You giggle at the look on her face, knowing she thinks none of the above are appropriate for wearing outside of the house.

“Movie night in.”

“You need help picking an outfit for movie night with yourself?” Her face scrunches up in confusion. “Wait, is it movie night with yourself?” You try to be casual about it, shrugging your shoulders in response. As usual, she sees through your bullshit and goes straight into an interrogation. “Oh, bitch. You been holding out on me!” She asks you five questions in a row without stopping to breathe before settling on one. “Who?”

You gnaw on your bottom lip. “...Rio.”

“Rio?” She frowns. “Like the guy we work for, Rio? With the eyebrows and the neck tattoo, Rio?”

“Yes, that Rio.”

“Wow.” You wince but decide it’s best to get it over with. “What? I know you, so I know there’s more where that came from.”

“I don’t know what to say! From what I can tell, he’s a decent dude, I guess, but you know what he does. You definitely know what we do for him! You don’t think that could be a problem?”

“It’s messy, for sure, and I can admit that, but I’ve been thinking about getting out anyway...” She nods. “Then, I guess there’s nothing else for me to say about that. You’re both grown, and you know what you’re doing.” She was your best friend, which meant she’d always give her honest opinion, but wouldn’t berate you about your choices. Just like that, you return to your regular discussion topics, everything from warehouse gossip (yes, even in the business of crime, there’s a rumor mill) to new music releases. Before you knew it, forty minutes had passed, and Rio was calling your phone. You promised to call her more often before hanging up.

You sing your ‘hello’ into the phone, hoping Rio can’t detect the shakiness in your voice as you clumsily pull on your bottoms.

“Hey, mama. You about ready? I know you’re sensitive about your space and all that.” He was referring to the fact that he had never been past the doorway of your home. Your home was your sacred place, so you were extra careful about who came in and what energy they brought. It was always nerve-wracking to let somebody into the space that you cherished so much.

“Yeah.” He picks up on the hesitancy in your voice. “Are you sure?” You nod your head as if he can see you before telling him yes with a giggle. “Alright, well, I’m outside. Can I come in?” You bite your lip, butterflies fluttering in your tummy. “Yeah, I’ll come unlock the door.” He whispers his thanks, and you take a moment to force yourself to relax. When you meet him at the door, you do so with an open mind and heart, taking in his appearance with a goofy grin on your face. As usual, he’s dressed in all black, wearing a well-fitted t-shirt and sweatpants. He’s casual but still so high quality and attractive.

“Hi.” You breathe out like a dork when you realize you’re staring. It helps that he seems just as mesmerized, stepping forward to envelop you in a tight, warm hug. He sways you from side to side before pulling back, his hands resting heavily on the top of your ass. He settles for a quick peck on the lips because he has something to say. “You’re as pretty as ever, darlin’.” He says earnestly, shaking his head as he steps back to look you over once more.

“Kiss me again.” His hands cup your ass as you devour each other in the open doorway. You forget your surroundings. “Damn, ma. Can I at least get inside before you jump my bones? I don’t mind giving your neighbors a show if that’s your thing, but…” You turn to hide your embarrassment, leaving him to close the door behind you as you gesture around the room as if you’re in an episode of MTV Cribs. “... here’s the living room. The kitchen’s through the arch. The bathroom’s over there...” He follows you with his red as you point.

“And the bedroom?”

You snort. “The tour stops here for now. Sit down.” Your tone leaves no room for argument. He settles into the soft couch while you grab the snack tray from the kitchen. Homemade popcorn, chocolate-covered pretzels, and dried fruit gummies are on the menu.

“All this for me?” His arms snake around your waist so that you can curl up into his side. “What we watching?” You grab the remote. “I saw a trailer this week that caught my attention. I’ll play it for you.” He didn’t care what you watched as long as he got to be close to you, so it didn’t take long for you to get the movie started. He stole glances at you when his knuckles brushed against your bare knees under the blanket. You’re embarrassed at how wet the small action makes you, so you stretch out across the couch and place your bare feet in his lap, silently planning your revenge. The movie may as well not be playing because you couldn’t be less interested in the plot as you lightly stroke him through his sweatpants with the balls of your feet.

“Ma...” He warns, watching you in the low lighting. He’s come to learn you like to tease, but he doesn’t think he can take it, not tonight. “Hmm?” You hum innocently, loving the strained look on your face. He doesn’t move even as you sit up on your haunches and kiss him. It’s slow and long in the best way. He pulls you to sit in his lap. His hands roam your body as you grind down onto him, relishing in the feeling of the soft skin on your tummy. He sighs into your mouth as one hand finds your bare breasts.

He pulls away to talk shit. “No bra? You just knew I was gonna put out, huh?” He pushes the cotton material up so he can see you properly. “Perfect.” He murmurs into your skin. You let him kiss and lick and suck on your nipples until the pressure you feel below is too much to handle. You’re a quivering mess when he finally helps you pull the cotton material up and over your head. It lands on top of the television behind you, but neither of you notice.

You nudge him until he removes his own shirt, and then he lifts his hips to help you when you begin tugging on his sweats. They puddle at his feet while you spread your legs wide, desperate to get your hands on him. “I could cry right now.” You admit honestly when you finally see him, biting your lip. He arches a brow. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing, darlin’?” His hips jerk when you take him into your hands, the cold temperature surprising him.

“It’s definitely a good thing.” You whisper excitedly, staring with wonder as he hardens in your hands. He barks out a laugh, stunned by your ability to make him laugh, even with his dick in your hands. “That’s really nice, ma. I feel real special.” Your eyes meet, and silent promises of all the filthy things you’re going to do to each other are exchanged. “You should. I’m about to change your life.” He throbs in your hands, loving that you find small ways to challenge him.

“Come on. Let’s go to bed.” He wraps his arms around you in preparation to get up, but you stop him with a shake of your head. “I don’t wanna.”

“No? What you wanna do then?”

You answer him by slipping to your knees. You spit on his dick, stroking him up and down slowly. He watches you closely as you lower your mouth, wrapping your lips around the tip. It takes a lot of restraint, but he lets you do your thing, slowly working him deeper into your throat. He closes his eyes as he concentrates on lasting, but he can’t turn his ears off, the obscene smacks painting a vivid picture for him. When you swipe your tongue across his balls, he moves to stop you, grabbing your shoulders. Fire dances in your eyes as you realize you got him where you want him. “I don’t wanna.” You repeat.

“You are a brat.”

You release him with a pop. “The biggest.” You admit, swallowing him once more. He groans, thinking he can’t believe you’re the same sweet girl who bakes in a frilly pink apron and begs him to tell her bedtime stories.

“I want you to fuck me now.” He stops you before you can bend over the couch. “Slow down. I want you on your back, darlin.”

You throw his earlier words back at him. “That’s nice. I feel really special.”

“You should.” He mocks you, instructing you to hold your legs wide. He wastes no time licking and sucking you as enthusiastically as you had done him. “You’re so pretty. I could eat this pretty pussy forever.” He compliments as you squirm in his hold. “You’d let me, huh?” You shake your head frantically. “No! You’d drive..me crazy!” Payback is a mother, especially when Rio’s the one dishing it out. “Wait, wait—“You whimper, clawing at his shoulders.

“What?” He cajoles. He almost wants to laugh at the distressed look on your face. “I want you.” You pout, trying to sweet-talk him.

“You have me.”

“Not like this. Inside.”

“Yeah? You sure?”

“Mhm.” You swallow, watching as he fumbles around with his pants searching for a condom. He opens the golden foil packet with expert fingers, positioning himself in between your spread legs. “You don’t have any pointers for me now?” He drags his tip up and down your slit, slowly pushing his way further. Teasing. You shake your head. “No. Just fuck me.”

“That ain’t polite. You gotta say please, mama.” You scowled, but he didn’t budge. “Please.” You pleaded with the sweetest tone you could muster, sighing as he gave in. You cursed at the stretch, him at the way you squeezed him. “You feel…” He couldn’t find the words, so he buried his face in your neck, trying to gain some composure. You caressed the back of his neck sweetly. “You feel good too, baby.”

His hips stuttered forward, and you gasped as he worked himself deeper. You grasp his shoulders tightly, your nails embedding themselves into the soft skin.

“Yes!” You squeal.

“Like that?” He grits out, struggling to keep his rhythm.

“Yes, just like that!” You cry, moaning as he pounds up into you. His lips find yours again, and it’s bliss. Then before you can stop yourself, you’re calling him Daddy like it’s his given name. He groans into your sweaty neck like he’s in pain.

“You’re so nasty.” Overwhelmed and breathless, you whine your protest, “You’re nasty. Look at what you’re doing to me.” His eyes shift to where you’re connected. You’re creaming all over him and leaking down onto the couch, but you can’t bring yourself to care about anything other than coming. You do just that, mewling as you make an even bigger mess between your legs. He whispers filthy things into your ear as he finishes, grunting at the way you seem to be sucking him in even deeper.

“That was—“

“—unreal.”

“Yeah.”

Neither of you can bring yourself to move. Your sweat-covered skin sticks together. You swipe your hand against your forehead while he pants.

“I wanted to ride you at least once tonight, but after that, I’ll be lucky to make it to bed.”

GENERAL TAGLIST

@woahitslucyylu @briannab1234 @sheeshgivemeabreak @breakingnewsin-no-oneasked @angelreyesgirl @blessedboo @glimmerglittergirl @apantherinmypastlife @brownsugarcoffy @marvelmaree @starrynite7114 @scuzmunkie @thewarriorprincessxo @sadeyesgf @pearlkitten33 @imanerdychubbyqueen @literaturefeen @ourlittlesecretsoveragain @everyhowlmarksthedead @yourwonkywriter @trulysuccubus @sparklemichele @luckyharley1903

RIO TAGLIST

@xsweetdellzx

#good girls rio #nbc good girls #manny montana #rio x reader #rio x black!reader

606 notes · View notes

inkdemon-whore · 2 years

Text

Anonymous asked:

Hey! Have you heard about the new internet art challenge going around? it’s called the: “incest shipers please take a step back and consider what your doing, do some research on the topic, learn from your mistakes, and grow to become a better person while continuing to make the art that you love and live for with a new and heather mindset for everyone” challenge! Would highly recommend, it seems right up your alley. (in all seriousness I think canceling people online is bullshit and accomplishes nothing except shaming people. Everyone has the right to change and learn, and there’s a lot of reasons why drawing incest is harmful(real people or not) for yourself and others in the art space. I know this is just a stupid ask on tumblr but if this makes you even consider doing some more research and forming your own opinions then thats all I wanted. Plus if you decide to ignore this and keep doing what your doing, then I’m the idiot how made a whole new account for an anonymous ask, and I wasted no ones time but my own.) I still think your an amazing artist, and I hope you keep doing the thing that makes you happy.

imma keep the og ask in my inbox for a bit, to actually look into stuff, because to be fair, a lot of my knowledge is based more on experience rather than actual research (unless you want me to count post i've read like these with links that i've yet to properly look into

https://freedom-of-fanfic.tumblr.com/post/175479363749/is-it-me-or-is-the-anti-movement-really (a thread mostly about how american anti-shipping is, along with talking about porn with irl actors, consent, and stuff more along the line of abuse ship dynamics)

https://problematic-faves-appreciation.tumblr.com/post/649530789317509120/this-blogs-most-important-posts (a post that starts out with meme's but the bulk of the post is links to other tumblr post that the op has written. probably not the best post compared to the top link, but i thought i'd share it anyway)

)

in the mean time, here's my stance.

i have tagged my post for them to be curated by the individual viewing my blog. you can use tumblrs blacklist system, tumblr savior, or xkit rewriten if/when the blacklist feature returns to it.

i am well aware that there are those who have had traumatic experiences, and that my art may trigger the memory of such experiences, which is why they are tagged in the first place. you may also unfollow or block me, i won't get pissy about it.

there are also those who use this art/fanfiction as a coping mechanism. whether or not it is a healthy one depends more on the individual.

and then there are those who are just, into that kind of stuff. similar to incest porn you'd find on porn hub. it's a kink. (the first post linked has more info about that, fiction and reality when it comes to kink/porn is not one to one, this is just a quick example)

----

here's what art is to me. this doesn't just go for my ship stuff, this goes for everything.

art is a mirror. it can be a fun house mirror. if can be a broken mirror. it can be just a normal, run of the mill mirror. no matter what mirror you're looking at, the reflection is not exact. objects in the mirror are flipped, or warped, or cracked like the mirror itself. even looking into a pool of water, it reflects the world upside-down, and ripples away when you try to interact with the reflection.

art can effect you, but it can't hurt you. art can't pull a knife on you, but it can make you feel fear. art can't hold you and tell you everything is going to be ok, but it can make you feel comforted. art can't rape you, but it can make you squirm in discomfort and disgust, and make you feel just as violated. if art where an entity, it's entire goal would be to make you feel something emotionally, to poke your buttons and get a reaction out of you, positive or negative, willingly or manipulative. art lies to you, makes up stories and characters, and for some reason you believe it. not only do you believe it but you get attached, over and over again, without skipping a beat. and when all is said and done, when your heart strings have been pulled, when you've cheered in victory or cried in defeat for the fake person this art thing made up, and it tells you "non of that was real. you got emotional over things that didn't happen, over people who don't exist", then uh.... what the fuck do you do?

.....

..........

i mean, personally i'd say "thanks for giving me a safe environment to experience and/or process these emotions without me, like, ACTUALLY going through any of that, because by GOD would i be traumatized irl. and even though it was all fake, that doesn't make my emotions to any of what i've witnessed invalid (even though it's not on the same level of actual truama victims)."

:V....

also, if you actually are traumatized by my art, or it really is opening old wounds for you, please, please, PLEASE blacklist tags/unfollow/block/just do whatever you need to like, cut me outta your life. like i'm glad you like my art, but really man, your mental health is important.

anyway, i hope this was understandable at all. if from all that i said, you're wonderin if this is like a kink, or a coping mechanism for me, or whatever, i just, that's too many labels/words, for me it's all too grey to say definitively why i'm into this shit. i'm not a super sexual person, so like, i don't wanna label this blog "kink" along with pro-ship, that just, that brings in too many people who start makin me uncomfortable with their own fucked up and invasive ask. and to make it really clear, i don't support any of this stuff irl, whether it be incest, abuse, rape, etc. fiction is... this word has been over used, but fiction is a safe space. it just IS. point blank. probably the only one we really have if i'm bein honest.

------------------------------

tldr; art is good way to explore taboo topics without physically hurting people, and those who have already been physically hurt in the way the art depicts shouldn't be consuming that art for their own mental health and well being

is this doubling down?.... did i completely miss the point? gonna be honest, i have no idea, i'm running on energy that's verging on "take a nap", so for all i know i've taken this the wrong way, or said something i shouldn't have. it's just been on my mind for a while that people treat art in general too harshly or too close to reality, like you could take the monalisa to jail or somethin- i don't, i don't fuckin know man. i feel like i sound like some pretentious art snob, or an internet troll... imma..... imma take that nap.

really though, if you have post or articles about how this stuff effects people, send it to me

#al #talk #long post #tw rape mention #abuse mention #tw incest mention #tw abuse mention #if i need to add any other tags let me know

21 notes · View notes

ive-tumbled-down-a-rabbit-hole · 3 years

Text

MariJon Week

Day3: Soulmate/Glasses

Masterlist

Day1 Day2 Day4 Day5 Day6 Day7

...........................................................

“Lucky Charm” Ladybug called out and a pair of glasses fell into her hand. Quickly glancing around and looking at the glasses. They looked eerily like Max’s new ones, she figured out that it meant that Pegasus would be required. Either she was getting better at interpreting her lucky charms or Tikki was going easy on her today. Catching Chat Noir’s eye, Ladybug discretely showed him the lucky charm. “Cover me, I’ll be back soon” she called out.

Ladybug dashed towards where she had stored the miraculous box and dug out the glasses and popped them into her yo-yo not giving Kaalki as chance to appear. She dashed out to find Max trying to recall where he had planned to be this afternoon. Lost in thought she didn’t notice the Akuma sneaking up on her. ‘Soul Finder’ had Chat Noir within her grasp but needed Ladybug closer to get. Soul Finder aimed at Ladybug to zap expecting her to materialise next to Chat Noir.

“Look Out!” Chat Noir called just as the zap hit Ladybug.

Unexpectedly, Ladybug did not appear next to Chat Noir, giving him time to escape as Soul Finder ranted over the fact that Ladybug and Chat Noir were not soulmates.

___________________________________

Jon was with Damian as they walked Titus around Wayne Manor grounds for an early morning walk. He loved visiting his friend as the grounds were secluded, he could practice his flying and throwing a ball super far for Titus to chase. The pair were discussing the latest Avengers comic book and discussing the realistic-ness of it all.

That is until out of no-where a girl in red materialises mid-air and falls straight into Jon’s arms with some force. As Jon caught her a bright golden light encompassed the pair. Damian had to shield his eyes rather than reach for a hidden knife that he so desperately wanted too.

Within the light Jon and Ladybug found they were unaffected. The pair gazed into each other’s blue eyes. They could have been there for a second. They could have been there for eternity. Ladybug in Jons arms. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders. Eyes never breaking contact. The feeling of their souls singing to each other. Humming an intricate entwined tune only they could hear and feel. The warmth that bathed them as they had found an unknown missing piece. Someone who would accept them. The whole them. All the jagged rough edges. The flaws and imperfections. The perfect person who would celebrate their strengths and balance out their weaknesses.

Soulmates their hearts sang.

MY soulmate.

my SOULMATE.

It was with this understanding passing between the pair that the light receded.

Damian grabbed his hidden blade at the first opportunity and moved into a defensive stance he barked at the intruder. “Who are you?! How did you get here?!” As much as he wanted to attack, he was reluctant to with his friend still in his attack path holding on to the girl. He knew that he was unlikely to hurt Jon, but he was reluctant to risk this invader know that it was Superboy who had caught her.

It was with Damian’s harsh tone and Ladybug's yo-yo ringing that the soulmate pair were able to begrudgingly broke eye contact. Ladybug picked up her yo-yo to answer the call.

“Oui? Chat Noir, non... Errr... je ne sais pas... Oui, mon ame soeur... d’accord, je serai rapide!”

“Who are you?! How did you get here?!” gritted out Damian again.

Closing the yo-yo Ladybug looked at the pair, still in Jon’s arms though he no longer was floating (not that she seemed to notice the fact).

“I’m sorry. Je suis desole. I’m Ladybug, an ‘soulmate’ Akuma sent me,” she looked around and finally took in that she was in Jon’s arms. Blushing she continued, “to wherever here is.” She gave Jon a small smile as she made her way out his arms and started to fiddle with her yo-yo again. “I truly am sorry, this was an unintentional drop in, but I need to go and deal with this Akuma.” She pulled at a pair of sunglasses and put them.

“Kaalki merge” she cried out as a different light washed over her leaving her standing in a new look. “Thank you for the catch,” looking bashfully at Jon she smiled, “When this is all over, is it ok if I come back and we can talk soulmate? If that’s ok with you?”

Ladybug mumbled something and a portal open.

“JOn!” She turned to Jon with a curious look. “My name is Jon. Yes! Please come back. Are you going to be ok? What is happening?”

“Check out the Ladyblog – it’s a Parisian blog which will keep you updated and give you info. I do really need to go. See you later Jon.”

With that she disappeared leaving Jon pulling out his phone and a frustrated Damian.

“Kent! Explain!”

“That was my soulmate! Ladybug is my soulmate. Oh my Gosh! My soul mate is a hero!!”

Damian and Jon watched the battle via the blog Jon had pulled up on his phone. They could see that the heroes were having issues. Ladybug’s partners seemed out of sort as they tried to comprehend that she had a soulmate out of their team. The final straw was when Ladybug took a hit due to her partner being distracted.

Jon grabbed his phone, “Watch on the bat comp if you want. I can’t watch anymore she needs my help!” and in a blur he rushed off.

“Just remember to change Kent!” Damian shouted after him rolling his eyes at his friends' antics.

___________________________________

“Pegasus!” Ladybug cried as jumped off the roof which Soul Finder crashed their giant weaponised rose upon. He went to open a portal for her to fall into when a red and blue blur caught her and flew her up into the air.

“We have to stop meeting like this,” Superboy grinned down at Ladybug in his arms yet again for the day. Looking up at him, Ladybugs eyes opened wider in surprise. Blinking in shock allowed her brain to catch up with what was happening. “Jon?” she whispered. With a subtle nod, “Superboy in this outfit though” Superboy grinned down at her.

Ladybug scrunched up in a quick thought and suddenly all the elements aligned. The glasses weren’t Max’s though very similar; they were Jon’s. Grabbing Kaalki meant she could get back here quickly was a bonus. Her plan wasn’t working as it was missing a key element. Jon. Superboy. Her soulmate. With a devious grin forming on her face. She quickly explained her plan to Superboy.

With Superboy now in the fray with Chat Noir and Pegasus with her, they took the Akuma down no problem.

“Bye bye, little butterfly. No more evil doing for you! Miraculous Ladybug!”

Ladybirds flew around repairing the damage as Ladybug went to comfort the Akuma victim.

Chat Noir and Pegasus went to join Superboy while they waited.

“So, you’re her soulmate. Hmmmm. I’m Chat Noir. Her PARTNER. You best treat her right or you’ll be a pile of dust after I’ve done with you. Let her know I’ll catch up with her on patrol. I need to dash.”

Chat Noir gave Superboy one more once over before vaulting away. Pegasus looked him over analytically.

“Pegasus. Thank you for your help. Surprisingly it was needed. I may not be Ladybugs permanent partner, but I have no qualms helping Chat Noir even if it’s only to erase footage of your downfall if you hurt her. She means a lot to all of Paris. More than you will ever comprehend.”

“Errr Hi? I’m Superboy, but I think that you know that. I think. Yeah, ummm I met her today due to that thing. Are they common? And I don’t intend to hurt her intentionally. You don’t need to worry about the shovel talk, but I truly believe you when you say you’ll destory me...”

Ladybug walked up to the pair halting the conversation between them smiling at them both.

“Hi,” she started almost shyly, “I’m going to take Pegasus back, but ummm, if you’d like Superboy we could maybe meet up on the roof over there and talk about what just happened?”

“Sounds good,”

Superboy watched as the pair zipped away before flying to the roof Ladybug indicated.

___________________________________

As Ladybug landed on the roof, yet again a flash engulfed up and Superboy had to look away. In her place was a petite girl and a floating blob. Thing.

“mmmm, Hi Jon, Superboy. I guess I should introduce myself properly. I’m Ladybug, hero of Paris, Guardian of the miraculous or currently I’m Marinette. This is Tikki who helps me transform into Ladybug.”

Jon got a dopey look on his face. She was cute. Very cute. Especially as she seemed to be a contradiction of nerves and stubbon determinism. Quickly checking his phone to see Damian blowing it up with messages, he turned it off and directed all his attention to Marinette.

“Hi Marinette, you kinda know who I am. Its nice ta meet ya officially though. Did ya fancy grabbing a coffee or something before I have ta go? Would be nice to meet my soulmate properly.”

Grinning broadly back at Jon, Marinette nodded.

“I know the perfect place for coffee and pastries. I’ll show you! Oh umm do you mind flying us off the roof?”

Jon beamed and took her up in his arms again. He loved holding her. To him this was a perfect way to be with Marinette.

#maribat #maribat au #marijon week 2021 #jon x marinette #marijon #marinette x jon #ml x dc #dc x ml

138 notes · View notes

thechekhov · 4 years

Note

Hi Chekhov! Really enjoying your white diamond au! I had a quick art question: How do you start comissions? I've been improving my drawing skills and thinking about drawing for others after having fun in artfight, but I don't know where to start? How much to charge, how to get paid, etc. Do you have any tips? Hope you're doing well! :)

Alright, since a few people have asked, I’ve decided to put together a few things about how to get started on commissions - what you need, what you should make, and how to keep things organized.

This will get a little long, so I’ll divide it into 4 main sections:

1) Draw Art - Getting started

2) Get Commissioned - Making a commission sheet, Advertising

3) ??? - Communicating, Setting Limits, Running the Business

4) Profit - Pricing Yourself and Getting Paid

* Disclaimer: I’m an artist, so this How-To will be illustration-focused. I’m sure many of these tips can apply to ANY types of commissions, but I will be focusing on the type I know best. If you are proficient in other types of commissions for other types of art - music commissions, photography, etc - feel free to chime in and leave a comment or make your own tutorial!

1) Draw Art

I think this is probably the most obvious part, but it needs to be said:

Before you start making art for other people, you must first be comfortable making art in general.

I’m not saying your art has to be Disney-quality, or industry-level! Not at all.

BUT! You must be comfortable creating what you sell. If you try to sell something you have little confidence in, you will stress yourself out and possibly end up losing time AND money.

Don’t shoot for the moon if you haven’t landed on it even once. Sell what you know you’re good at. Your commissions don’t HAVE to include full-body illustrations if you don’t know how to draw feet/solid stances. Limit yourself to what you can do.

Things you need to should probably have before starting commissions:

1. Access to art materials or a fully downloaded art program

DO NOT - Use a free tutorial version that will expire in a month and leave you without a way to draw! If you are having trouble finding a program, try free ones like MediBang Paint Pro.

2. Free time to complete the amount of commissions you want to take.

DO NOT - Take on or offer commissions if you KNOW you’re going to be overwhelmed with school or personal life for the next 2+ months. Pace yourself, otherwise you’ll burn out, get stressed, and get discouraged.

3. A reliable way to communicate with your customers like a commissions-only email

DO NOT - Use your friend/family/college email. It’s hard to keep track of things as it is, and creating new emails is easy and free. And keep it professional if you can! Not many people will reach out to dong-wiggles20434 to ask for a design. Ideally, your email should be close to your brand - however you want to brand yourself. Usernames are fine!)

DO NOT - Use Instagram/Twitter/Tumblr to collect commission info unless you are ready to do the organizing yourself. Some people make it work, but in my experience, if you use these SNS sites to communicate with friends and network... you’re going to be losing commission inquiries right and left and accidentally ignoring people. Email is much easier to organize and sort into folders.

4. A portfolio or at least 2-3 pieces of each type of art you’re planning to sell.

DO NOT - Advertise commissions without having any examples of the art you plan to sell. People will find it difficult to trust you if you can’t even give them a vague idea of what sort of drawing they’ll be getting.

Disclaimer: These are not hard ‘do not’s. If you have had a different experience, I respect that. I’m simplifying for the sake of streamlining this advice.

2) Get Commissioned

So - you have your art, you have your art program, and you’ve got all the time in the world. That means.... that’s right! It’s time to let the world know you’re taking commissions.

One of the most common ways artists signal to their audience that they can do commissions is by creating a commissions sheet. There are MANY ways to make this - and they range from simple and doodly ones to VERY complex designs. For example, here’s mine!

There are many ways to organize a commission sheet. At its core, a commission sheet should display the types of art you WANT to be commissioned to make. Let’s go over a few ways they can be done!

#1.... Body Portion Dividers!

This sheet is most common with those who want to capitalize on drawing people and characters. If you want to draw lots of characters, this is a great way to offer several tiers of pricing based on how much of their character your customers want to see.

#2... Complexity Scale

If you’re open to drawing many things but want to base your pricing off of how complex something is, you can split your tiers into done-ness. This type of commission is popular with those that draw characters AND animals, furries, etc.

#3.... Style and Type

If you’re more on the design side of things, or if you have various niche art styles that you can’t quite lump together, display a variety of your skills alongside each other! It helps if all the ones you have can be organized under a common customer - like those looking to advance their own business and get logos, websites, or mascots made for them!

3) ???

You got your first commission... what happens now???

Well, ideally you have the time, tools and motivation to make things happen! Now all you have to do is... sit down and... draw.......

I’m going to say something that may be a little controversial:

Commissions aren’t fun.

No, no, hear me out: I have fun doing commissions! I genuinely enjoy drawing characters and coming up with designs. But even with all that said, commissions are, first and foremost: WORK

I’m not saying this to discourage you, I’m saying this to keep things realistic. When I first began commissions, I thought it would be just like any other type of drawing. I would sit down, imagine a thing, draw it... it would be fun!

But then I realized that I couldn’t just draw what I wanted - another person had an idea in mind and had asked me to do it. I stressed over getting the design correct from descriptions. I stressed over not having the right reference for the pose the commissioner wanted. I stressed over not being able to draw the leg right in the way I had promised I would do. I stressed about billing. I stressed about digital money transfers. It was difficult, and time-consuming, and I did not enjoy it. At all.

And a part of that is definitely on the commissioner - we, as artists, NEED to demand proper references or descriptions. We, as artists, NEED to limit the amount of changes we’re going to make at the flick of a finger. We NEED to demand clear instructions and set boundaries. That’s also super important.

But also - don’t be discouraged if you find yourself exhausted drawing your first commission. MANY artists go through this. Adjust your rules, fix up your limits, practice putting your foot down on finicky commissioners who expect you to read their mind! It does get easier, but you have to communicate and put in the effort and act as your own manager AND your own customer service AND your own accountant. That’s what you’re looking at.

Good limits and boundaries to set:

Limit the amount of changes a person can ask to make. “I want blue hair.” Next email: “No wait, yeah, make it red.” Next email: “Actually I changed my mind, can I get the blue but like, lighter?” Next email: “No, not that light.” ... At some point, we have to stop. I personally allow 2-3 changes on the final stages of a commission before I start refusing or start asking for extra money.

Demand clear instructions and/or references. If something isn’t described, you have to take artistic liberty and design it, but that’s difficult! And if the customer is not happy with it but can’t tell you more? That’s not your problem - the burden of reference is on THEM. You cannot read their mind, and that’s not your fault.

Get at least half the payment up front! This is a good balance between the ‘pay before art’ and the ‘pay after art’ conundrum that will limit the amount of woes between artist and customer. (I’ll touch upon this a little more in the Profit section.)

Organization:

Where possible, create good habits! Tag your emails and organize your folders. I have a tag on my emails for active and finished commissions. I also keep my emails on Unread until I have time to sit down and properly look at/reply to them.

My Commissions in the folder are also organized chronologically and I mark down which ones are paid and which ones are not.

(I understand not everyone can do this, but if you want to give it a try, it does make things easier in the long run. Again, this advice is just what I have found personally helps.)

One last thing - I do not want to shame ANYONE for taking their time with commissions! Commissions are complex, and they take time and work. You can draw in 8 hours, but some things take research, materials, etc. Some illustrations realistically take up to half a year, or, depending on what’s involved, several years!!

THAT BEING SAID - it’s good manners to be upfront with your customers about how long you expect the commission to take. If you think you’re busy, just say that! Explain that you have a lot going on, and you will probably take (insert time period here).

And if your commissioners are worried, work out a system to keep them updated! I send my commissioners updates when I finish the lineart/flat colors/etc and I try to be clear about how long everything will take. I try to estimate with a +3-5 days buffer to give myself extra time... and recently I’ve been using it. Always say a bigger number than you think you’ll need.

If someone wants a rushed commission... make them pay more. If ANYONE wants a commission done ‘by the end of the week’ - that’s an automatic rush-job for me because I’m juggling an irl job and several commissions at once. I WILL charge a rush fee and I won’t feel bad about it.

If someone wants a commission within 24 hours...... Well, they better be paying you 3x your normal amount, or more. And remember - you CAN refuse! It’s perfectly reasonable to say ‘No, sorry, that sort of turnaround time is not realistic for me.’

Food For Thought - Invoicing

Many artists I’ve commissioned in the past have not used Invoicing, but I’ve recently begun to fill out invoices and file them in my Commissions folder just to keep track of things. It’s not necessary until you start getting into the Small Business side of Freelancing, but it’s not a bad idea to get into the habit early in case you might need to do it later for tax purposes.

Here’s what my Invoice looks like, for example.

I’ve optimized it to help me remember who, what, and how much is involved! It also contains important info for my customers like where to send the money.

Which brings us to...

4) Profit

One of the hardest things for artists is pricing themselves. I’m not going to tell you which way is BEST - there is no BEST way, only the best way for YOU.

One of the options available to you is pricing by the hour. It includes averaging out how long it takes you to draw a specific type of art (whatever you’re offering as a commission) and multiplying that by an hourly wage you’ve decided on.

When you do this, I stress - do NOT price yourself below minimum wage if you can help it. When you first start out, aim for the $15/hour mark and adjust accordingly.

Other ways to price your art:

- Per complexity: Portraits vs full body should be scaled based on how difficult you find one vs. the other. You can also easily decide on a price for a sketch and double it for lineart, triple it for full color, etc.

- Per type: Look up for industry prices for website design and logo design. They may surprise you! You don’t have to charge that much, but it helps to keep things in perspective.

It’s okay to change your prices! Keep your commission sheet image handy so you can update the amounts as you grow. :)

Payment up front or after completion?

Some artist take full payment up front. Some only demand payment after they’ve finished and sent out the piece. I personally think these are both risky for everyone involved.

I recommend doing at least HALF of the payment BEFORE you start the commission. Calculate your full price and ask for half before you start working on it in earnest, to make sure the person can actually pay you. Then, when they receive the full piece and are satisfied, they can complete the payment.

I personally work in this structure:

> Someone emails me with their idea/reference

> I send back a rough draft sketch that shows the idea/pose (only takes me 10-20 minutes so not a huge loss if they ghost) and quote them a price

> They can pay the full thing upfront OR pay half

> I finish the commission and send updates when I do the lineart/colors to double check anything so they have multiple chances to spot any errors

> If the person paid only half on completion, I send them a low-res version of the finished thing, they finish up their payment and THEN I send them the full-res version plus any other filetypes/CYMK proofs, etc.

Many of the people who commission me pay me up front even though I offer they pay half - and I’m really flattered that they trust me that much! Because of that, I feel encouraged to update them frequently and ask for their input as I work, so they have the peace of mind knowing I’m actually doing their commission.

Great, but how do I get PAID????

There are NUMEROUS ways - these days money is relatively easy to transfer over digital means, and you have a few options.

Paypal is perhaps one of the oldest digital wallets and is geared towards businesses. By setting up a PayPal and connecting it to your debit card of bank account, you can tunnel a pathway from your online business directly into your hands in a matter of days.

Paypal also offers Invoicing - you make an invoice, price it and send it to the person’s email and they can pay whatever way they need! (It also allows partial payments.)

Pros: transfers from PayPal to bank account are free, and take a couple of business days. It also has no upper limit to the amount of money you can move in/out each month. It can force refunds due to the nature of its business-oriented payment system.

Cons: Because it’s used by businesses for larger transactions, PayPal may demand a more rigorous proof of your identity. It may also take longer to set up and be harder to get used to. I’ve also heard that they can be a hassle when it comes to closing your account.

Venmo is another type of digital wallet that acts much like paypal, except for a few key differences - it is NOT made for businesses (so depending on whether you’re officially registered as a freelancer, you may not be able to use it). I personally don’t use venmo, so I cannot speak to its usefulness, but I know a few people that use it for casual transactions. It’s easy and quick! :)

Keep in mind that you cannot force a refund over venmo! The transactions are final.

There’s also CashApp, GooglePay (which could load gift cards but also allows peer-to-peer transactions) and I’ve heard good things about Due, though I’ve never personally used it.

Other ways to pay: I’ve had people pay me over Patreon by upping their pledge, and I’ve had people pay me over Ko-Fi by donating a specific amount.

Many people even use Etsy - the website specialized for independent small businesses selling art - by listing their commission sheet and offering up several ‘slots’ of commissions, which allows you to track taxes AND allows your clients to pay using whatever they feel comfortable with.

If you’re in Canada, you can even pay by emailing money directly from bank account to bank account - check whether your country offers this type of service! There’s no shortage of ways to move money in the digital world.

Just like everything else, there’s no singular ‘Best’ way. It just depends on what works for you.

I think that just about wraps it up! I can’t quite think of what else to put here - but I’m sure other artists will chime in with their own advice. :) I’m very sorry this became so long but I hope it was helpful!

Obligatory Disclaimer: I’m not qualified to give legal or accounting counsel. Please double-check the laws in your own country/state in regards to taxation of freelancing work and do your own research. If you are underage, DEFINITELY get an adult’s permission before you start doing commissions, and have the adult help you through the process.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

OTHER POSTS YOU MAY FIND USEFUL:

An Extended Post on Pricing Yourself for Commissions

Dealing with Imposter Syndrome/Feeling ‘Not Good Enough’

Growing Your Audience

Advice for Starting Digital Art

#Anonymous #long post #commissions #how to #infograph #how to do commissions #arting #art tutorial

2K notes · View notes

sunnywritings · 3 years

Text

you’re amusing

request: n/a pairing: pirate!dream x reader genre: angst/fluff word count: 6k warnings: fighting, bloodshed(not graphic) summary: captainpuffy’s crew raids your island. :)

extra: i spent two days writing this and it turned out to be 14 pages on google docs- please- lmao. um anyways,, you can use my au if you’d like(just @ me if you do!!/credit me), feel free to ask questions and i’ll answer and give y’all the info i have on it! :) also this is NOT edited dsifds anyways!! (i dont usually add keep readings but this is so long im sorry please-) - - - - - - - - - -

winter was never kind to us, the only things that seemed to warm us all were the bread and pastries niki made, or the fire we’d have ever night. otherwise, the town was silent, not a peep from anyone simply trying to survive.

we were close, or at least some of us are. every now and then you’d here whispered talking, most now guarded and isolated from the first attack. tubbo and tommy were the two that spoke the most to each other, tommy commonly being seen entering and exiting tubbo’s florist shop, except not always with flowers.

he’d leave with weapons now, newly crafted and made swords or arrows, shields sometimes even. it wasn’t new but it was still shocking that this is what the town had come to. what used to be a lively, social town now filled with the cold, bitterness of a half victory.

wilbur hadn’t been seen for a couple of weeks, the only signs he was still in there were the fact patrols were still being sent out. tommy, techno, and purpled all wandering the island, weapons drawn and looking out for that one boat.

‘masked raiders’ is what they called them, the members rather than the ship. the title was earned when their raid leader had become recognizable for their white eye cover/bandana and mocking smile.

no, the ship itself was called ‘ethereal fury’. led by the infamous captain puffy. legends say it’s hundreds of years old, passed on to their family like an heirloom, yet no one knew who would lead it next.

you stared out over the waters, one leg over the cliff side and the other tucked up, elbow leaning against it and palm in hand. your bow sat beside you, the bundle of arrows scattered around messily. organization was never your strong suit, but aim was. tubbo had crafted you personalized throwing knives, your initials craved into the handle.

your hand clasped around one of the knives, running your thumb delicately over your initials. glancing up at the sky, you took note of the time, pressing a hand against the ground and standing. purpled would be home soon, and you needed to check him over for wounds. he was your brother, as reckless as he was, he never learned to take care of himself.

with a sigh you walked around, picking up the discarded arrows, sliding your bow over your back. the string pressed against your front, though it became an invisible, phantom of a feeling when you turned around, hearing noise from the waters.

around another island in the distance pulled a ship, not too far away from your home island. quickly you pulled a shrinkable scope from your pocket, an intention fundy had given you to test, looking around the boat for a symbol.

and there it was, the ram horns on the front of the ship. quickly a gasp left you, from your post you ran for the watchtower. the cliff was a watchpoint and practice area, one you commonly went to.

you rushed up the mossy watchtower stairs, almost stumbling. finally, you reached the bell, grabbing the string inside and frantically ringing the bell.

it’s noise rung out, hurting your ears, yet you continued to hit it and let the sharp sound fill the island. immediately you heard the upsurge from the side, hearing the draw gate start to close and defense barriers begin to set up. techno and tommy must’ve been closing in when you hit the bell, what ironically and unfortunately perfect timing.

the cold wind stung at your skin and face as you raced back down the stairs and to the cliffside. you kneeled, pulling your bow back out and drawing an arrow from your quill. your sight was aimed down at the ship, keeping a steady aim and stare on the offensive, and enemy raiders.

the ship began to slow, and you could see the cannon windows begin to open. steadying your grip on the arrow you aimed slightly up, breathing in before releasing the arrow, exhaling while you shut.

the arrow zoomed through the air, piercing directly into the opening of the cannon. the window immediately shut on that opening, and you took out another arrow, quickly changing positions to be further in the shrubbery. loading another arrow you aimed at the pirate ship again, watching them begin to dock. the moment you saw a sign of movement you fired the arrow, repeating your breathing process. it hit against the board that let them down, bouncing off and into the waters, though you had been inches away from hitting someone's foot.

you glanced up slightly from where you had been aiming, the white sticking out against the rest of the outfit. pain shot through your lungs at the aggressive and sharp inhale you took. the leader of the masked raider’s was staring directly up at the cliffside, though not at you, but rather at the watchtower.

quickly you rolled into the bushes, back against a tree while peering out at them. you saw two of the raiders jump out, one throwing a fireball at the wooden defenses and the other throwing two potions down. their swords gleamed, even from how far back you were. suddenly, you heard a familiar warping sound.

drawing your attention over, you watched a black and red hooded figure land, glancing over the town. they stood beside the watchtower, only about twenty feet away from you. slowly you leaned a hand down, grabbing a pebble. keeping it held firmly in your hands you reared your hand back, throwing it at the shrubbery on the other side of the watchtower.

that got their attention, and you got a good glimpse of their face. a half demon, black horns prominently protruding from their forehead and white eyes. you bit your tongue to prevent any noise, pulling a throwing knife out of its sheath. it was silent for a moment before the half demon began to walk over to investigate, sword drawn.

you had to block out the noises of the battle below in order to focus, inhaling softly and slowly. tunnel vision took its effect, and everything around you became noiseless, void while you zoned in on this half demon’s back. the knife flew from your hand, embedding yourself into their shoulder.

“agh!” the half demon shouted, flinching forward and dropping their sword before spinning around, growling. clearly they were angry, ripping the throwing knife from their shoulder and looking at it. their blood was white like their eyes, and while they seemed focused on the throwing knife you drew the dagger you had strapped to your thigh.

from where you were you could hear the half demon’s breathing, before their gaze flickered to the shrubbery you were in. your eyes met, and before you realized what you were doing, you had sprung out of the bushes, lunging at the half demon.

their grip on the knife changed, clasping tightly around your throwing knife. while you swung to the side in an attempt to hit them, they swiped at you. the knife clipped your shoulder, but you had managed to slash across their leg.

you rolled away, on your good shoulder, the adrenaline numbing the sting from the wound. the half demon took a step back to look at you, seemingly unfazed from the wound. they slowly took steps towards you, while you stood there, shifting your feet into a fighting stance.

suddenly they rushed at you, stabbing the knife down at you. your knife raised, meeting the knife in the middle. while you both struggled to push the other knife away, you rose a foot, kicking the half demon in the stomach. they flinched, gasping while being kicked back.

your throwing knife dropped, and while you quickly moved, ducking to pick it up, the half demon threw their own knife at you. it landed in your shoulder, which brought a gasp of pain from you.

glancing over, you saw the half demon running at you again, sword drawn, having picked it up when they were kicked away. you stared, rage now burning in your stomach. when they took several swipes at you, you managed to duck or back away from the strikes. when the barrage of hits ended you swung forward, slamming the handle of your knife into their head. the half demon got knocked down, and before they could get back up again, you slammed into their stomach. you hit the handle against their head once, twice, and finally three times before they were down for the count.

standing up you inhaled shakily, reaching a hand up and ripping out the knife. you gasped again, stifling a cry of pain by biting your lip. tears burned in your eyes before you rolled the half demon over, slowly taking all their weapons. you hesitated before grabbing the half demon by the back of the hood, dragging them over to the watchtower. you propped them up against a wall inside, leaving their practically emptied bag there.

new sword in hand, you walked out, the pain slowly returning from your dying adrenaline. returning to the cliffside over town, you stared down at the battle, panting softly. the battle reigned on, techno fighting the masked raider’s leader, tommy fighting the one that started the fire, and purpled fighting the one that splashed potions. from what you could see the battle was in the town’s favor, philza even shooting arrows down from above the town’s biggest building, the townhouse, where wilbur, fundy, and philza all lived.

with a sigh you readied yourself to go down the cliff, shaking out your arms, not without a spike of pain in your left one. slowly, you used your heels to ground you to the earth, sliding your way down without hurting yourself too badly. scrapes now littered your hands when you hit the ground, quickly running into the town.

the battle was louder now, metal clashing against metal and the sounds of the crackling fire. you ducked beside the bakery, peering inside for niki.

when you looked inside you saw her behind the counter, the traveler jack inside with her. they seemed to be talking, jack gesturing to the battle outside while niki shook her head. she saw you, pausing before waving. jack turned to look at you, scowling, which seemed to be his natural expression. you waved back before looking back at the battle, huffing.

the fire was spreading uncomfortably close to the townhouse, though philza seemed fine from above. it was fundy you were worried about, less than about purpled but still worried. the fox hybrid had been taught to fight, but hadn’t completed his training, and was even a few years older than purpled. he’d been babied for so long by wilbur that he hadn’t gotten the chance to train.

glancing around at the battle, you made sure all of them were distracted before running, sprinting across the open field. the clinking of the swords grew louder as you ran past them. unfortunately, the moment you got close to the townhouse, you heard the loud sound of cannon fire. the noise pierced the air, a ringing noise now sitting in your ears as you watched the cannon ball hit directly into the townhouse.

“no!” you screamed, voice cracking. the impact knocked you off your feet and threw the sword away from you, though you scrambled back up, you were forced to watch the townhouse crumble and fall. philza managed to swoop down with his wings. “phil, fundy’s still in there!” you shouted at the advisor, who paused with wide eyes.

“get him! i need to help techno!” he shouted back before dashing off, not even giving you a chance to rebuke. you exhaled heavily before running into the burning remains of the townhouse, roughly scrambling through while coughing from the smoke.

lifting the broken wood, “fundy! where are you!” you shouted, coughing afterwards. faintly you heard him call back, a weak ‘help!’ from within the rubble.

dashing over, you quickly began to remove the wood, ignoring the sting from the fire. it burnt your skin, licking at it to create new wounds while you simply continued to move. finally you found the fox hybrid, grabbing his hand and pulling him out. his fur was burnt slightly, tips singed. you put a hand on his head, forcing him to duck with you. “c’mon! this place is gonna collapse!” taking hold of his hand you rushed fundy out of the building, with him stumbling behind you.

when you both managed to get out, only a few moments later did the building groan, the rest finally collapsing. your hands shot to your knees, crouching while you coughed aggressively. fundy pat at your back, covering his own cough with an arm. “thank you.” his voice was hoarse, yet almost broken sounding. you glanced up at him, nodding before walking a little bit away. picking up the half demon’s sword, you handed it to fundy. “protect yourself.” even your voice was hoarse, strained from the smoke and coughing.

he nodded at you before both of you turned to the battle still raging on. ringing set in your ears again, the pain coming back like a tsunami. you winced, crying out in pain before collapsing to your knees. burn wounds littered across your hands and upper arm, the stab wound to your shoulder not doing any better from the ash that now rests atop it.

your breathing had become labored, shaky on top of that. fundy rummaged through a he had, taking out a healing potion. he kept a hand on your back, “tilt your head back.” you glanced over at him before doing as told. the fox hybrid pushed the bottle to your mouth, pouring half of it for you to drink. you gulped it down like it was water and you were going through a drought. leaning your head back forward, he drank the rest of the potion. “thank you.” you muttered, able to feel the energy returning to your body, watching the burn scars fade slightly and feel the stab wound stop bleeding and scab over.

he hummed, removing his hand quickly after that while discarding the bottle. “now let’s get back to this battle right?” fundy grinned, one of his fox ear’s flicking. you smiled back up at him, standing up and taking out your dagger. “we got some raiders to beat the shit out of.”

together, you rushed towards the battle, though fundy diverged from you, running to philza. you kept running straight, sprinting to where purpled was fighting, though his opponent’s back was to you.

just as you were above to slash at him you heard the call out, “george! behind you!” it came from the one tommy was fighting.

the one now known as ‘george’, spun around, swinging his sword. you ducked back, sword swiping over your stomach and head. you spun, pressing your hands off the ground and kicking him into the stomach, knocking him back towards purpled. while you landed your brother slashed george in the side, rearing a hand back and punching him square in the face while he was in shock.

his glasses crumbled to the floor, now broken, blood dripping down after it. he gasped, and while you moved around george to purpled’s side you could see why. george’s nose had been broken from purpled’s punch, and your brother still wasn’t letting up. purpled landed another punch into his gut, shoving george back again. the enemy raider let out a small fry of pain before punching back at purpled, hitting him in the shoulder.

it was slow motion when you watched the raider’s leader appear behind george, and as george ducked, the leader’s sword swung towards purpled. you dived forward, knocking purpled out of the way. the sword hit empty air while you stood back up, glaring at the masked raider. their head turned to stare at you before one of their hands rested on george’s shoulder. george glanced at the leader before running off into the battle.

you stared at the masked one, or the bandana, shifting the grip on your dagger. right now you really wished you hadn’t given fundy that sword. it was silence between you two before he bolted forward, swinging at you. you backed up, ducking and dodging his rapid swinging.

purpled shouted, “catch!” you glanced over only for a second, dropping the dragged and catching the sword, spinning on your foot and clashing your swords together. the clink rang out, the renowned, mocking smile forming on the leader’s expression.

you stared flatly, glaring before smiling. the masked leader paused when you smiled, quickly spinning around and hitting purpled’s dagger away. with his back turned, you slashed down it, cutting through his shirt and drawing blood.

the masked leader paused before aggressively swinging at him, pivoting and slashing the blade at you. you bounced his blade off, taking steps back while he took steps forward, making aggressive slashes at you.

the tip of his sword hit you every once in a while, making shallow cuts first to your arm and then one to your chest. finally something intervened, though it definitely wasn’t what you hoped for.

“stop the fighting or he’s fucking dead!” the fire started called, sword to someone’s neck. you and the masked raider both paused, looking over. fundy was beaten up, bleeding from his lip and nose, slashes made down his arms and a couple on his legs.

you gasped, “fundy-“ your voice started, but before you could move the masked raider’s sword was put in front of you like a wall. slowly you looked over at them, staring with wide eyes. purpled came to your side, weapon discarded and glaring up at the masked raider. “back up.” he commanded, but his demand fell upon deaf ears.

the masked raider continued to stare at you while one of his companions shouted, “drop your weapons and give up! one fucking arrow or knife comes at me and he’s gone!” the sword moved closer to fundy’s neck, who managed to hold his head back slightly, his eyes wide, mouth tightly closed, and arms drawn in.

“let him go-“ your voice was quiet at first, before your fist nestled around the grass below you, though it was practically dead. “let him go!” you shouted, voice breaking halfway through, tears finding their way to your eyes. “he’s just a teenager how the fuck can you do this! you’re threatening to kill us for what? greed! fucking satisfaction you sick fucks!” you continued to scream, even when the masked raider moved his sword closer to your neck.

tears spilled over your eyes, “if you’re gonna do it then fucking do it! but leave him alone! fuck off! we’re a small island! a fucking family that you made distrust each other from the first attack! what’re you gonna do? stab me?” you reached up, grabbing his sword and bringing it to your neck. your grip was tight enough to cut your hand, blood dripping down the blade. “do it then you fucking sick prick.” from behind the bandana you could feel them staring at you, as if actually contemplating it.

their sword dropped as they walked forward, crouching down and grabbing you by the collar of the shirt. they smiled, “drop the fox!” they called, holding an amused tone of voice. “we’re taking this one.” as they spoke they hoisted you up, lifting you slightly off the ground. you squirmed, and as much as you hated it you had to accept they were stronger than you.

“no you aren’t!” purpled shouted, swinging the sword you had discarded towards their arm. another sword intervened, but not by who either of you expected.

wilbur scowled at purpled, pushing your brother away. “stand down purpled.” he ordered. purpled opened his mouth to speak, but wilbur didn’t give him the chance. “you heard me.” he glared before looking over at the masked raider.

“leave.” was all he said, turning his back on the masked raider, walking across the burnt town-square and over to where fundy had been dropped.

the masked raider tossed you over his shoulder, where you wiggled, hitting at their back while cussing bitterly. the raider who had started the fire was handed a pouch of gold while wilbur took fundy, leading the fox hybrid away from the raider.

the raider whistled, “and thank you-“ the masked raider shouted after a moment, “sapnap! c’mon we don’t have time for this!” they called. ‘sapnap’ groaned, rolling his eyes before going along. “and see you all another time!” he mock bowed while the masked raider walked up the board.

you hit at their back with closed fists, wiggling. “let me go!” your voice echoed, screaming, though no one listened. no one in the town could look at you, the only ones who did make eye contact were purpled and techno, one who looked regretful and the other looked guilty. both were wounded, techno more so than purpled, before they were gone from your sight.

the board was hauled onto the ship when sapnap got back on, george and the half-demon getting their wounds tended to as you were set down. the masked raider set you down against a pole while the boat got moving. feeling the boat lurch forward, you moved with it, wincing when your head hit the back of the pole.

your eyes closed, biting your tongue before opening your eyes. when you opened them you saw the captain staring at you, ram horns decorated with gold jewelry. you yelped, trying to flinch back even further from the captain.

alas, that did nothing as she only grew closer. you shut your eyes tight, tucking your chin and grabbing onto your own wrist tightly. the feeling of a hand on your chin brought back all your fear, and it only worsened when you were forced to look up, opening your eyes out of shock. she stared down at you, studying your expression and how you reacted. you were forced to stare back, and your fear mixed with anger burned into your eyes and stomach, boiling like a geyser.

“good job dream, now we have leverage.” she hummed, smiling. “welcome to ethereal fury.” captain puffy stared down at you before letting go, simply taking a few steps back. her sword shifted as she moved, and with a snap of her fingers you were being picked up again, this time by strangers. ‘dream’ seemed to be the masked raider, who stood beside the captain.

the new people holding you were up some not out on the battlefield, you assumed they were behind the canons or simple helpers. one was a half endermen and the other looked more dead inside, and bored, than sapnap did behind dream.

“now i find it awfully impressive you managed to take down bad,” that sentence got the half endermen to tighten their grip on you, “but i’m not all that happy you did it to begin with.” puffy turned to look at you, unsheathing one of her daggers. “now you can either tell us everything about yourself and the island,” the tip of the dagger pressed against your lips, applying pressure on your lower one, “or you can decide to not speak at all.”

your jaw fell loose, and the light pressure applied to your mouth made it fall open slightly. the cold of the blade shot through your head, the metallic taste was a bitter reminder of what was happening. she removed the knife after a moment, to give you the opportunity to speak.

you looked up at her slowly, glaring. “your men tried to kill one of my friends,” your voice was low, words slow, “so frankly, you can suck my fucking dick.” a smile drew onto your face, “because at least mine is bigger than half your men’s.”

puffy stared back at you, and while the fear and loss of confidence dwelled in your stomach, you were determined to keep staring back.

finally, she laughed loudly as well. your expression and body slacked at the noise, eyes widening. “that’s a good one kid, a good one.” puffy leaned slightly down to look at you, smiling. “you’re amusing, so full of spite it seems.” she stood back up, sheathing the knife. “i like this one.”

dream rose a brow before scoffing, him and sapnap walking over to george and ‘bad’. “release them.” puffy ordered, which got everyone’s attention.

slowly you were let go, you stretching by rolling your arms, though you winced right after. your arm was still sore from where bad had stabbed you. hesitantly you glanced around, unsure of what to do now that you were let go, though puffy brought your attention back to her. “alright kid, now you’re not one of us so don’t get the wrong idea, but you’ll definitely have to stay in the cell for a couple of days.” those words brought your scowl back.

“well if your so-called dream hadn’t insisted on taking me you wouldn’t have to worry about me.” you grumbled. puffy laughed again, though it sounded more mocking this time.

puffy grabbed you by the wounded shoulder, tugging you over. her nails dug into your wound, which made you wince out of pain, biting your lip and whimpering slightly. she let up on her grip, though she still dragged you down into the bottom of the boat, through a staircase. down there was one guy cracking jokes and the other laughing. the one making jokes was in blue, a scar down one of his eyes, and the other was in a colorful outfit, goggles on top of his head and a book in hand.

you stared at them for a moment, and eventually they both looked over at you, pausing in their conversation. puffy continued to tug you forward, and as you passed them they both returned to conversation, though more hushed this time.

when you looked forward again you saw puffy pulling you towards a cell, which was quickly opened with one of her keys. you inhaled sharply when she pushed you inside, landing on your side.

you sat up as puffy spoke, “now if you behave for a little we might consider letting you join, or return to your companions.” she locked the door again, spinning the key. quickly you went to the bars, shaking them a couple of times. you knew it was futile, only the width of your arm could fit between those bars.

moving back in the cell you sat against the wall, sighing while tilting your head back. this was gonna be a long few days wasn’t it.

- - - - - - - - - -

you woke up to the sound of the cell door opening, jolting up. pain shot through your shoulder when you sat up, staring with wide eyes at the door. dream stood there, bandages and gauze in his hands. he stared at you before clearing his throat, “puffy sent me to clean your wounds.” the raider muttered, walking towards you.

before he could reach you your back had hit the wall, distrust dwelling in your stomach. dream’s posture was slack, relaxed and unafraid, clearly he didn’t take you as a threat for now. no words were spoken as you slowly turned, huffing while showing him your back first.

the sound of him sitting down was the only noise in the cell, besides hearing your own breathing. when he stopped moving the noise of his breathing became clear as well, and oddly your breaths had been in sync. you flinched when a rag touched your shoulder wound, clearly he had doused it in gauze to clean and disinfect it. he stopped moving for a moment, waiting before slowly wiping the rag down the cut. it wasn’t necessarily long, just a deep stab in your shoulder, which hurt like all hell.

after a moment of repetitive wipes to the wound, he removed the rag, using his other hand and tugging your sleeve down. you bit your lip to distract yourself, fidgeting with your hands. “lift your arm.” his voice was surprisingly soft, calm to an extent. you did as instructed, wincing, though all he did was begin to wrap the bandage around your shoulder. he lifted a hand, gently pulling your arm down after he’d looped the bandage around the front, pulling the rest down onto the flat of your wound.

he cut the bandage off, though his other hand stayed on your arm for a moment longer before he removed it. you shifted, turning around and holding your arms out. the gauze rag he had used was tainted with a light red, though he still used it to clean the shallow cuts to your arms. his hands moved slowly, and you watched him work, closely studying his expression, or lack thereof, and his hands.

when he finished bandaging your arms his head tilted to look you in the face. silence settled between you two, only the sound of your breathing filled the room.

“why’re you listening to puffy and helping me?” your voice came as a surprise to even yourself, having blurted out the words.

dream only stared back before a smile formed on his expression. “puffy was right. you are amusing.” his tongue clicked, raising a hand and pulling his bandana back. piercing, green eyes stared at you, bright somehow even in the darkness of the cell, a taunting, yet charming smile painting his face. “i’m glad i chose you over the fox.” dream’s words were practically purred out, voice filled with amusement. you couldn’t help the small blush that spread to your face, both from his eyes and sudden change in voice. “try and get some more sleep doll, we have a long couple of days to go.” he leaned towards you, grinning before patting the top of your head.

the bandana returned to cover his eyes after he gathered the gauze rag and bandages, walking out of the cell and locking it. you stared wide-eyed at the spot he once sat at and the cell door. a sharp breath left you, one you didn’t realize you were even holding. who the fuck was this raider? and who did dream think he was to do that to you? but most importantly, what did he mean?

- - - - - - - - - -

dream had visited you a couple more times over however long it had been. mainly he had been bringing you food and water, his excuse was always, ‘puffy sent me down to do this’. the more he used it the less you cared, you were tired of that excuse, you just wanted to know what he saw in you that had him coming back.

on the brighter side, you had met a few of the other crewmates. quackity and karl were the two you had passed before below deck, they seemed fun and even cracked jokes with you despite you being in a cell. they had made you laugh for the first time since you got here, it was refreshing too. you had also met ranboo, the half endermen, and punz, the one who had looked dead inside. though it was more you had heard his name was punz, from ranboo who had been coming down to check on some storage.

anytime you tried to ask how long you’d been down here you never got a certain answer, just an ‘uhhh’ and then a shrug, or being flat out ignored. at this rate you were tempted to shimmy out of the bars and see if there was a window you could jump out of. it felt like you could swim to shore with how long you had been cooped up in here.

you heard his footsteps again, he had come by enough for you to recognize them. turning, you looked at the cell door, focusing back in, seeing dream walking. something hopped in your stomach, seeing him carry a tray of food and a glass of water.

he opened the cell door again, “puffy had me-“ you interrupted him, “oh quit the fucking excuse, if you’re gonna bring me something at least tell me why you’re coming.” dream looked mildly shocked you had snapped at him, shoulders stiffening.

his jaw clenched while he set the food down, water beside it. you grabbed the food, picking up the bread and biting into it. cold as always, “well? you gonna talk or you gonna keep shoving your head into your ass?” you swoop your hand in a vague ‘get it going’ gesture.

dream paused again before laughing, sitting down. “i’ve always been interested in you. since that first raid we pulled on your island,” he started, while you slowly continued to eat, “when we lost and were retreating you didn't shout in victory like the other island protectors did. you turned around and helped the others of your island, checked on them, made sure they were fine, and began to help set up housing for those who had temporarily lost it from our cannonballs.” his words slowed considerably, pausing to breathe.

another smile formed on his expression, though not a mocking one, “something about you drew me in, something i can’t explain.” dream undid his bandana, resting it on one of his crossed legs. he leaned forward and towards you. his eyes scoured your expression, looking for something, which had developed a look of mild shock. you didn’t think he paid that much mind to you before they had taken you.

he leaned back, standing up and tying his bandana back on. dream offered a hand out, “your days in the cell are up.” a grin split across his expression when you took his hand, stumbling after pulling yourself up. “oh doll, you’re gonna love it here.”

dream led you out of the cell, careful to support you to avoid you falling or stumbling, even as you climbed the stairs. the daylight burned you eyes when you saw it again, squinting up at the clouds before glancing around. the crew had all gathered by the stairs, puffy in the front.

you paused to glance at dream, who was still grinning, before looking at puffy. she was smiling, taking strides towards you. the ram hybrid stared down at you for a moment, letting the silence ring out before she spoke.

“we want you to join ethereal fury.” puffy offered, “we all here believe you’d fit right in with us, training as a team, close as a family, and forming a bond with everyone here.” the ram hybrid hummed, finishing her small speech.

silence sat between you two again, the only noise was the waves rocking the boat. dream’s grip on your shoulder tightened slightly, but not as to intimidate you into joining, more of anticipation.

a small smile formed on your face, “sure.” why not try it? you’d probably return home eventually anyways, right? the crew burst out into cheers, karl running at you and pulling you into a hug, “welcome!” he shouted, shaking you slightly.

they were so trusting of you. but why? they’d barely known you, didn’t know if you’d say yes to joining. it made no sense to be this trustworthy.

dream pulled you away from karl, pulling you into a tight hug while quackity shouted something about getting the tequila and rum out. “welcome to the team, glad to have you here.” he shifted back slightly, using a hand to tilt your head up and kissing your forehead, smiling. a blush rapidly spread across your face, eyes widening slightly, and your posture and expression momentarily falling slack.

maybe this was the start of something new, a good new, and frankly? you couldn’t wait to see where it led.

121 notes · View notes

buttterknifeee · 3 years

Text

An Introduction Pt.3- Teen Titans x Aquagirl!Reader

Pt.1 Pt.2

Requests for this series is now open!!! You can request for ships, episode inserts, and headcanons for this series!!! More info can be found here

Summary: You guys are like the "Friends" of the crime-fighting world. Robin's totally Ross and if this was one of those episodes, it would be called "The one where aliens get their asses kicked"

Ships: none, see info above

A/N: Once again this is a reader insert for the Teen Titans 2003 show season 5 episode 10 (the one where they all meet!) I also added an epilogue for funzies.

You found yourself in a dark bubble of Raven’s magic, floating up to the alien ship. You had offered to water jet all six of you up, but you weren’t even sure if you could create that big of a geyser. Besides, a quiet bubble is much better than a large geyser. Beast Boy, however, disagreed.

“That dark energy stuff gives me the--” He was cut off by a glare from Raven. ”Uh...I mean, it's cool!” He gives a guilty grin.

Robin tells us to go to the firing control room, and you all crept through the hallway in a single file line: Robin, the pink-haired girl, Beast Boy, You, Cyborg, and Raven, who you noticed was still near the entrance. Cyborg gave you a look as if to say Keep going; I’ll handle this. You nodded and continued walking forward.

You were walking near Beast Boy, when you noticed a cut on his arm, with that part of his suit torn open. You pointed at it.

“Hey, you alright?” you asked, referring to the gnash.

“Oh this?” He replies. “This is nothing. When you’ve been a part of the DOOM patrol, a little cut is nothing.” He smiles confidently, patting his wound. You realize that he was totally bluffing when a comical tear springs from his eye and his arm tenses.

“Here I can help.” you say softly. Concentrating on the air between your hands, you condense the liquid in the air, forming a small bubble of water. You move that bubble of water onto his arm and it begins to glow. You let go of the water, revealing Beast Boy’s arm to be completely healed.

“Dudeee,” he stares in awe of your handiwork. “That's so cool-” He’s interrupted by your stumbling; healing really does take a lot out of you. He lets you lean on him, and the two of you continued walking forwards. After a few seconds, he stops.

“Uh, guys?” he says. And that's when you noticed it too. The six of you were surrounded by alien soldiers, and they seemed really out for your blood. “I think they know we’re here.” The six of you charged at the fleet of soldiers. But Robin seemed to have an idea.

“Raven!” he yelled. “Take out part of the floor!” Raven looked at him with confusion, but then nodded and did as she was told. With a large SMASH, she removed the part of the bottom of the ship, revealing the water below. The water below you realized, suddenly understanding Robin’s plan.

“Aquagirl! Now!” he yelled, holding off a soldier with his staff.

“On it!” you yell, punching another alien out of the way. (Apparently with water powers came enhanced strength, which you found out at that moment.)

Concentrating on the water below, you raised your arms, allowing the ocean to shoot up from below. Instead of blasting the water through the entire ship, you carefully controlled it to grab onto the aliens that were attacking your friends, pulling them through the hole and causing them to fall into the ocean below.

You looked at the door to the control room, which was locked shut.

“I got this.” Robin said, placing something shaped like a birdirang onto the door.

As the bidirang counted down, you heard Trogaar talking from behind the door. “The Earth scum shall learn it takes more than six juvenile heroes to defy the mighty Lord Trogaar!” he said, most likely with a smile on his face. You all looked at each other, prepared to prove him wrong.

The door exploded, and Robin was the first to get through. “We’re not six heroes,” he declared. “We’re one team.” Him considering the six of you a team sparked something inside of you. You all split up to take down Trogaar and his guard, with Robin at the lead. You took on a guard, kicking him in the stomach and sending him flying towards a wall.

You noticed that Robin was on the shoulders of Trogaar, and you sent a jet of water to his face to knock him off balance. That didn’t work and he threw Robin across the deck. Luckily, he landed on his feet. The two of you joined to fight Trogaar, taking turns to land punches and kicks. However he overpowered you and Robin, throwing you both across the room. You landed on your back, but Robin hit the wall with the back of his head and fell to the floor.

“Robin! Aquagirl!” The alien girl yelled. You got up as quickly as possible and helped Robin up from sitting position as she and Cyborg tried to take on Trogaar, only to be thrown in your direction as well.

Still leaning on you, Robin looked at Cyborg’s arm. “Can you rewire that into some sort of weapon?” he asked.

“I can try,” he said, getting up. The four of you were in a fighting stance, despite being injured and surrounded by Trogaar and his goons. Suddenly, you hear a voice, as clear as day.

“Get away from my friends!” It was Raven, supporting an injured beast boy. “Azarath Metrion Zinthos!” she chanted. Part of the ship exploded, sending it crashing into the ocean.

You found yourself standing in the ship, the roof torn off and making a slow descent into the ocean. All of the alien soldiers were groaning on the ground, but Robin, Cyborg, and the alien girl were all unharmed. The four of you watched in horror as Trogaar aimed to attack Raven when BLAM! You turned to see Cyborg standing next to you with a smoking sonic blaster in place of his arm. He grins.

“Alright I’m only gonna say this once. Boo-Yah!”

“Yo, is it just me or are some of these guys starting to move again?” Beat Boy points out, still slumped in Raven’s arms. He was right; a few of the aliens began to twitch, making attempts to get up. You turn to the other 5 people.

“You guys don’t worry. They’re in the ocean now, meaning that they’re in my territory.” You cracked your knuckles, your eyes glowing blue.

It’s the next morning and you find yourself sitting with Robin, Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy, looking at a view of the bay and an island

“Thanks so much for the new suit Cyborg!” you say, fiddling with your brand new outfit. You were wearing a cropped short-sleeve rash guard and swim shorts, both with deep cyan and black patterns. He also gave you black gauntlets with curved spikes ‘To protect yourself from bad guys and still be aerodynamic!’ according to him. Robin gave you one of his old yellow belts, since he figured you’ll probably need something to carry stuff in. Finally, you found some black scuba shoes from the swimwear store that allowed you to walk and swim with ease.

“Its no problem AG! I figured you needed a new outfit if you’re gonna be a superhero now” Cyborg chuckled, calling you a new nickname that he probably made up just then. Superhero, you thought. I like the sound of that.

Raven had a far away look in her eyes.“That's quite a view.” she said, still staring that the scenery

“Somebody oughta build a house out there,” Cyborg agreed, his voice now softer.

“Yeah, if you like sunshine and the beach.” Beast Boy added, making an obvious dig at Raven.

“You know, you're kind of funny.” Raven said to your surprise, smiling softly at Beast Boy. This was obviously too much for the guy’s ego.

“You think I'm funny?” Beast Boy sat up straight, looking at Raven. “Dude! I know some jokes!”

You laughed at Raven’s face of pure regret, before a familiar voice brought your attention to behind you. It was the alien girl, now in a purple outfit similar to the one before, but this time it seemed to really suit her.

“I look .. nice?” she asked, obviously insecure. You took her hand again.

“You look amazing,” you reassured her, causing her cheeks to flush.

Robin stepped forwards. “I still don’t know your name,” he said.

“In your language, it would be ‘Star Fire.’” she says with a smile.

“Welcome to Earth, Starfire.” Robin said.

She looked at you all shyly, certainly different from when you first met. “ I thank you all for your bravery and help, and I wish to ask permission...to remain here. Where the people are most strange ...but also most kind.”

“You don’t need our permission,” Raven said calmly.

“But if you want our friendship, you've got it.” Robin added.

“I could use a new friend,” you say with a wink.

“Guess we could all use some new friends.” Cyborg agrees.

“Besides, we kind of made a good team.” Beast Boy says proudly.

“I thought we might want to keep in touch, so Cyborg and I designed these.” Robin fished out four black and yellow communicators. You, Raven, Beast Boy, and Starfire each took one and observed them. They were similar to flip phones, but they were circular and had no logo on the front.

“Made ‘em outta my own circuits, '' Cyborg said proudly.

“When there’s trouble, you know who to call,” Robin said. You all smiled at one another. You were a team.

Epilogue

While everyone else was still smiling at one another, you excused yourself and walked a few feet away. You opened your new communicator, dialing in a phone number you know by heart. You waited for the person on the other line to pick up, and began to speak.

“Heyyy dad. It’s (y/n); you must have been worried sick, I’m sorry… Yeah no I’m fine, really. I’m in uhhh Jump City and I made some of the coolest friends and I was wondering... if I could stay here? I’ve been spending the whole night wanting to go back home, but I think this might be home for me. I understand if- oh? Really? You’ll let me stay? Wow, thanks dad. I-I promise that I’ll be careful and that I’ll go to school here, I know there's this high school called Murakami School I’ll try to… I love you too dad. I’ll talk to you later.”

You flip your communicator closed, and walked back to your new friends. Raven looked at you.

“Are you alright?” she asked, noticing your change in mood.

“Yeah,” you say, a smile forming on your face. “I’m great actually. Just had to call home.”

“You're going home???” Beast Boy asked, a frown falling on his face.

You chuckled, “Of course not.” You lightly punched his shoulder. “Besides, this is my home now.”

“Awe Yeah!” the green guy cheered. You laugh, feeling extra cheerful. Now that you’re in a team, you really do feel like you belong. You looked at your new team.

“Anyone up for pizza?”

106 notes · View notes