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camslightstories · 3 years

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Tolerate it - Part 4

Notes: Here is the part everyone waited for. I have been receiving so much love from you guys, and I don't know how to thank you. You guys are completely utterly amazing, and I cant wait to give you guys more of this story. I think i can write part 5 in a day, idk, but I will try my best for you guys.

Thank you so much for your love, it means the world to me. I receive any type of feedback, comments or request, I posted a prompt list so you guys can have a little idea for your request but if it is your own then I have no problem writing it.

Thank you again for reading, I hope you like it.

Lena Luthor x reader, Kara Danvers x reader, Alex Danvers x reader. Baby Danvers.

24 hours before

The raindrops overwhelmed the streets of National City. The overwhelming sound of the rain falling was heard all around the city. The way the cold breeze moved the trees. The light of the posts illuminating the city during the cold and rainy night.

You were happily cleaning the decoration table, as you hummed to the melody that has been in your head the whole day. JJ, your boss came walking laughing when she saw your mood. “Why is my favorite pastry chef so happy may I ask”

“First of all, I'm your only chef, and well like you know I finally cracked it. The lemon pie cake recipe, Lena loves so much. It was a success boss I made four cakes and they are all gone, third I got Lena's favorite flowers and favorite pastry, fourth I don't know, I think that is it” You stopped cleaning before showing her the flowers you had gotten earlier that day, and then the other box with the cake while smiling widely.

The blonde looked at you before sighing, you had worked with her for 5 years now, and she had seen you in the past with Barry and now Lena. She cared about you in her own way, you were her principal chef and somehow you became her friend. The blonde said as she closed the register walking to get her things.“Never change, Danvers.”.

You nodded and kept cleaning and organizing your workspace. Lena never leaves your mind, you knew you had to talk to your sisters and your girlfriend soon because it had been two weeks since the school decided to fire you since they found a better fitting music teacher.

The fact that you worked your ass off in the school, so the children could have the best of you, wasn't enough for them, and it hurt you. What other things have you done, are doing, or will do that are not going to be enough?

Like the time you worked on a project for 6 months straight, not taking care of yourself, working in three jobs, going out of line to make sure the movie sample was perfect. Trying to achieve your dreams, only for the executive director to call you one morning to tell you, they had found some else, someone better.

It scared you to think about the fact that Lena may find someone else, you knew she deserved everything she wanted and needed it, she deserves someone who was smart, stable, powerful, someone strong who can give her anything, someone without trust or abandonment issues, someone perfect for her, and you had a long way to be that person for her.

But every time she had seen your insecurities, she had come and reassured you every single thing, she had made your insecurities go away. She had made you feel worthy and perfect for her. But your insecurities had always been a part of you and somehow Lena worked in every step of the way with you.

Your boos whistle pulling out of your thoughts, before making you look up as she threw the store keys for you to close before she concluded “You are way too deep kid”

You murmured as you looked at the raindrops. “How could I not? she is my everything”

The rain covered you completely as you rode your bicycle, the coat on your basket covering the pastries boxes and the flowers. The way your cold shirt cling to you, and your socks getting wetter every time you passed through a puddle. Your soaked hair taking over parts of your face, as you felt the cold breeze hit your face, your breathing became stronger when you started to feel the freezing temperature.

Before entering the lobby of the large building, you tried to get rid of the extra water from your clothing, but it seems impossible. Grabbing the things you entered and smiled when you felt the warm temperature. You watched the clock and noticed the time it was 8:35 PM, meaning it took you over 10minutes to get there.

Mr. Simmons, the doorkeeper of the penthouse chuckled at you, you were too stubborn to take a taxi or let Lena’s driver, Mr. Smith, to drive you even when it is dangerous outside, you had always preferred to ride your bike.

After Jeremiah, your dad died, and you felt your world crashing down, you didn't want help. You kept quiet about your feelings, trying to comfort your loved ones, every time you felt you need space to open up alone, you rode your bicycle to the beach and sat for hours thinking, and crying. After a time your bike was the only way you went to places alone, it was the way you remember it was okay to be alone and to be hurting as long as the ones you love are okay and happy.

“Ms. Danvers, good evening,” The man said as he called the elevator for you.

You rolled your eyes at your name, before speaking “Good evening Simmons, we have talked about this call me Y/N, we have known each other for 3 years”

The old man responded as he chuckled, maintaining the elevator open for you.“Yes miss-...Y/N, I hope you don't get sick”

You mention as you walked inside, giving him boxes with various types of cheesecakes smiling.“I hope so too, Simmons. Here this is for you ”

“Thank you Y/N, have a great night,” The man said waving at you.

You yelled when the door began to close, the old man nodded and smiled at you. “You are welcome! good night and say hi to your family for me”

Each floor of the building was elegant, classy, and minimalist. The soft LED lights on the top and bottom corners of the corridors, the way the blue and gray color made pop up the white vintage doors.

You took the key chain out of your pocket, putting the security code in, waiting for the green light meaning you could put the key card in. The keychain was simple, it had the keycard and a polaroid photo of you and Lena, the day you moved in. Lena was laughing at something and you were looking at her as if she had brought down the moon for you.

You entered with difficulty at the apartment trying to not let anything fall as you spoke before you stopped completely when you saw your girlfriend in one of the bar stools drinking wine.“Baby, I'm home! Sorry it took me a while but it was raining and I tried my best on the bicycle, nut that is not important, what is important in that I have something for you, you are not going to believe me when I tell you that after 3 years of dating you and knowing your favorite cake, I cracked the recipe- ”

You didn't even think about anything else, you immediately turned to her side, putting all of the things on the kitchen aisle, as you asked worriedly while checking her for any types of injuries.“Lee? Are you okay? Are you hurt? Did something happen? Do you want me to take you to the hospital? Do you want anything?-”

“I need to tell you something” Your girlfriend interrupted with a tone, you swear you have never heard from her. It was cold but at the same time vulnerable. She glances at the wine glass, not looking at you.

Pain and worries flashed through your eyes when you felt the sudden change of attitude. You felt the wall she had put between you guys when you entered the apartment, no greeting, kiss, or hug. It felt like you were nobody. That morning everything was perfect. Why is this happening now? Why the sudden change?.

You started to say before stopping, taking her in. She was not okay and she needs you now. It didn't matter if you would wake up tomorrow sick, what matter was that Lena was okay.“Lee do you mind if i- you know what that doesn't matter, you are first.”

You quickly went to one of the bar stools and sat down facing Lena. You went to grab her hands, and she quickly put them away from you. There was the moment you knew the hurt in your eyes could be seen by everyone.

You cleared your throat, shaking away the tears that were overwhelming your eyes before speaking, as carefully and softly as possible.“What's up? What did you want to tell me, Lena?”

“Kara told me she loves me” After a few seconds of silence, she took another sip of her glass before admitting.

Your stomach drops. Your throat was caught. You stopped breathing. You felt the world fall down on you. You saw how every piece of the future you had imagined left in the late nights. You knew what was going to happen, just because you studied film doesn't mean you can't solve a simple riddle. You knew the other shoe was going to drop.

You whispered incoherently, still not being able to think or speak “Ohh- i...I didn't- Ummm”

When Lena cleared her throat and her glance and yours connected waiting for an answer. You whispered softly not figuring out what to say “I didn't know”

The silence overwhelmed you. You felt your chest tighten. Your sense of cold and wet clothes in yourself became uncomfortable. The smell of the wine made you nauseous. The way you felt your mouth to go dry. Your eyes blinked away the tears, but the hurt in them couldn't go away. Your hands closing tingly almost cutting blood with your nails. You knew you had lost her, but did you lose her if you never really had her.

“Can you say something?” Lena said with anxiety in her voice, you could see her walls slowly coming down.

You pulled away from her glance, painfully looking around the apartment not wanting for her to see the pain in your eyes. As your eyes ranked around the apartment memories of the two of you came running through your head as you responded quietly, pained and hesitant of the answer ”Do you...?”

You went, you heard her sigh again, you knew everything was over. You closed your eyes hoping it was all a nightmare, that this wasn't happening, that Lena loved you, and that she wanted to be with you, not someone else, someone better.“Somehow, deep down I felt the same, and that came crashing down”

When the words finally fell out of her lips, all you felt was pain and emptiness. There wasn't anything else but it. You knew you had lost everything, your light, your heart, your world. Right there you had empathized with Kara’s feelings after leaving Krypton.

You kept your eyes closed, putting yourself together knowing that if you did or said the wrong thing, Kara and Lena would not be happy. And how selfish of you could be, to make two of your favorite people in the world to hurt. You wouldn't do that, to anyone less to your sister and the love of your life.

You knew Kara was better for her, Kara had a stable job, a great personality, a status that can be compared to Lena’s, She had superpowers, she is Supergirl, She was out of this world literally. For Rao’s sake how could she not want her instead of you, she was perfect.

You who was only a 24-year-old woman. You who studied film school but weren't good enough to get a job in your field. You who played soccer and basketball in high school but weren't good enough to make it to college. You who could barely survive in National City with two jobs. You who the school fired because you weren't a good enough music teacher. You who worked at a bakery as the pastry chef. You with trust and abandonment issues. You who had some much baggage because of your past relationships. You who were scared of the dark as a grown woman. You with self-esteem issues.You who were broken.

You wouldn't be good enough for anything and less Lena Luthor, the good Luthor, a genius, the CEO of one of the most important companies in the world. How could you ever be enough for her?

You took a deep breath before opening your eyes, to see the two eyes you felt more in love with every day staring at you, waiting for your reaction. Lena had thought she was subtle but you saw the fear in her eyes, as tears overwhelmed them. There was the border, you would never want Lena to cry, or Lena to be other than happy and okay.

You whispered as you slowly got up from the stool putting it back, taking her in, one last time. The weight of the world in your shoulders as you did. “Okay”

Your eyes examined her hair, as you remember how many times you had comfortably run your hand through her hair after a long day. You saw her nose and remembered how many times you had softly leaned in, sharing an Eskimo kiss. You looked at her eyebrows as you remembered every time she had raised them, when you did something childish funny, before laughing with you. Her cheeks made you remember every time you would make her laugh as the dimples came out. Her lips remained you of every kiss, every time she would ground you with only one breath when you were panicking.

“You know, you two deserve the whole universe, and I know Kara will give it to you, as you will do with her. I know she will give you everything I couldn't, and that she is the better option. I mean we are talking about Kara, she is perfect. What isn't it to love?”Lena was perfect for you, but you knew you had to let go, for her and Kara to be happy. You concluded before walking to the door not bothering to take any of your belongings.

Lena watched you as you walked away in silence, her glance burning in the back of your neck. It was a second before grabbing the doorknob, with tears threatening to come out and a hitched breath you spoke with a sad smile.“You deserved all the happiness in the world, I will come for my things tomorrow morning, I wish you the very best Miss. Luthor”

The moment you closed the door, the world came down on you. Everything was gone. You didn't know what was going to happen to you, you knew you wouldn't go to Alex and any less Kara. You couldn't blame your sister, it was Lena you were talking about. She was perfect, she was the person you fell in love with after 3 months of dating. And you couldn't blame Lena for not wanting Kara. She was royalty, she was perfect, she was the sun, and you were not.

You just knew you had to be okay...for them.

#lena luthor x reader #lena luthor #kara danvers x reader #alex danvers x reader #baby danvers #supergirl imagine

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cthomashoodstory · 3 years

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Best Years but Not in the Same Way (23)

Calum Hood x Reader

Previous Part

Pls let me know what do you think about this story. The summary is in earlier part if you forgot just open the part or you can ask me!

Masterlist

After Christmas day you have spent at your parents house, for a week, you finally get back to your place and you lowkey curious about what’s your apartment looks like for the new year’s party.

It’s 2 PM and you opened the door and you saw your couch on living room is put aside into other wall. You walked to your bedroom and there’s 2 queen size air beds on the floor and so much bags and suitcases laying on the floor. You checked the kitchen and there’s so many barbecue equipments and tools and everything. You peeking at the room behind the kitchen and it has a single airbed on the floor. You also checked the refrigerator and you saw it full of foods and drinks for tonight. Alright. It’s all settled.

You walked back to your bedroom and changed clothes and took a nap before they all came and crashing your place.

You opened your eyes and you saw Calum sat beside you. “Hey sleepyhead.”

You rubbed your eyes. “What time is it? The gang is came already?”

He shook his head. “No, not yet.” When he said that suddenly the door is knocked. “Yes they’re here now.” He opened the door while you’re go to the bedroom to changes into proper clothes.

“Hey hey hey, who’s here to burn down the house?” Ashton yelled a bit and we all cheered. Not gonna lie, you were excited because this is the first time you spent time with them at new year’s eve.

It’s 8 PM and the girls (Crystal, Sierra, Kaitlin and you) are grilling the meat and vegetables while the boys are setting the table. Actually your dining table is only capable of four people and your kitchen bar is only fit for three people. But they brought an actual stool from Luke’s house so we could be eating together. It really took an hour to prepare anything. Your tiny kitchen almost didn’t fit for 4 people at the same time so the four of you really managed not to bumped into each other.

After the late dinner time at 9 PM, we all sat on the carpet on the living room. And then Kaitlin pulled out a wine bottle. “Lets play truth or dare.” She smirked and everyone shouted except you and Calum. “The rule is simple. If you didn’t want to spill the truth or even do a dare, the question of this tod will be posted on your instagram stories.” “Alright let me spin the bottle first.” She spinned the bottle and it stop on you.

“Omg, you really got her,” said Sierra mesmerized by the way Kaitlin got you.

“So Saara, truth or dare?” She asked you excitedly.

You smiled. “Truth.” Easy, you chose truth because what else they would asked, your relationship with Cal? Please.

“When, where, how and who is your first kiss?” What question is that? Was she serious?

“My bet is on Justin Bieber,” Sierra said it out loud.

Then Crystal shook his head. “Definitely Barry Allen guy. He was really his ex boyfriend.”

You glanced at the boys one by one. Like, did they know who the person was? Because you never told anyone about it not because you ashamed, it just the story behind it kinda ridiculous and funny.

“I’m pretty sure some guy from her high school.” Kaitlin added. “Calum won’t angry at you finger crossed.”

“Okay… so…,” you looked at Calum slightly. “It happened on December 2014 when i was 19, at this apartment i just rented, we were hanging out and watched some movies and there was a kissing scene and i said ‘i never kissed before’ because i didn’t really have many friends at school becauce i spent most of my time with my dad, and that guy said his innocently his first kiss when he was 13 and i was like how? and he asked me if she wanted to try? And I said yes and we kissed. And that guywas Calum.”

“What?!”

Three of them were shouted in disbelief because they guessed the wrong person and never thought it was Calum. The boys was just laughing because apparently they knew. It must be Calum who told them.

The next round you spin the bottle and it stopped on Ashton. “Truth, i choose truth.” Before you asked him, he already choose truth.

“Okay thank you for choosing truth because i always wanted to asked you. What was the thing you whispered to Calum when i met him and Luke for the first time at the studio? Because his reaction was so negative and i know you were talking about me.”

When you asked that Calum suddenly laughed and Ashton followed him. “I’m so sorry Saara i was saying to Calum that you’re his future girlfriend and if it didn’t happen, I would be the one who dated you.”

You rolled your eyes and laughed. And the next round Ashton spin the bottle and stopped at Calum.

“My man! Since two people choose truth, you have to choose dare.”

“Dare me. I’m not afraid of anything.” He said it arrogant.

“I want you to go to the bedroom, and do 7 minutes in heaven with Miss B a.k.a Miss Bara.”

You frowned. “What the hell? It isn’t high school. You should dare him another else like, i don’t know.”

Then Michael interrupted you. “Oh shut up Miss B. We all knew you’ve never done this before in high school. You said yourself that you’re don’t have any friends and just hang out with your dad. And Calum also never done anything like this, he dropped out of school, remember? Now lets do this. Or you’ll be facing the Instagram. Which one do you prefer?”

Calum finally got up and gave his hand and you hold it. And now you both walked to your bedroom and anyone shouted so loud. They were so happy when we finally getting in to my bedroom.

“We won’t interrupt you!” Said Kaitlin.

He closed the door and now we stood up beside the door. We didn’t talk nor interacted for two minutes straight. Like, you knew what 7 minutes in heaven concept. But, you felt so awkward since Calum didn’t make any move.

“I won’t doing anything unless… you want me to do it.” Finally Calum break the silence.

Maybe this time was the right time for you to make a move. And maybe this time you ready to start a thing with him?

“I never kissed before.” You said it exactly like four years ago. Like you hinted him to kiss you. And you hope he would notice it.

He chuckled. “At this 19 age? Are you being serious? My first kiss when i was 13.” We both laughed because it was too funny to be remembered. “So you want to try it what it feels like?” You nodded slightly and his face is closer to your and you closed your eyes and you could smell a beer before he put his lips to yours. The kiss was tender enough. Then he put his tounge all over yours. And It was brief but it was meaningfull. At least for you.

You both looked at each other shyly and you couldn’t say anything because… you don’t know why.

“If we ever kissed again, it means that we’re in an official relationship, like we’re dating.” He said it confidently.

“Deal.” You shook his hand and we both smiled to each other. You couldn’t believe you were in this kind of phase, that you’ll be giving your heart to someone you love since long time ago. You thought that you’ll never move on after what happened. And then you peck his lips. “Not now.” And we both laughed quietly because you didn’t want people outside this room knew what happened inside.

Then we both sit at the corner of the airbed because there’s 2 minutes left. And then the door was opened by Luke and he looked at us both weirdly. “Nothing happened between them, guys look. They’re just sitting on the bed.”

“What happened there stays there.” Said Sierra.

You and Calum both giggles because something here happened and they didn’t know.

To be continued.

Next part

#calum hood #calum thomas hood #calum hood imagine #calum hood fanfic #calum hood x reader #calum imagine #calum fanfic #calum fanfiction #calum fic #calum 5 seconds of summer #calum 5sos #5 seconds of summer #5sos #5sos imagine #5sos fanfic #ashton irwin #luke hemmings #michael clifford

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terreisa · 3 years

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Love Down the Line: Chapter 8

The last thing Indie musician Emma Swan needs is a gigantic wrench thrown in the workings of her biggest tour to date weeks before its launch. When her backing guitarist that caused the problem says she has the perfect solution Emma is skeptical but left with little choice but to accept. Unfortunately she isn’t really prepared for said solution to be former Rock Star and leading man of Emma’s teenage fantasies, Killian Jones. With no other options and a month of performing across the country ahead of her Emma just hopes she doesn’t come to regret letting Killian onto her stage and into her life.

Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 7, AO3

~*CS*~

Denver, May 20th

“Have you slept with him yet?”

Emma choked on the bite of grilled cheese she had unfortunately tried to swallow just as Tink asked her question. They were in their hotel room having arrived only an hour before after a brutal thirteen hour drive from Dallas. She’d had every intention of vegging out and watching the ubiquitous middle of the night marathon of Unsolved Mysteries until she passed out from exhaustion. Tink’s out of the blue question derailed those plans completely.

Though, she had to admit she’d been waiting for Tink to ask something like that since Chicago.

Ever since the afternoon the bus broke down things had shifted between her and Killian. She had never considered herself to be a touchy feely person but for some reason with him she couldn’t help but inch closer when they were sitting side by side, or find reasons to brush her hand against his, or a million other little casual touches that seemed to thrill her and ground her all at once. It wasn’t just her either. Killian was just as guilty at seeking her out and drawing her close. He was much less subtle about it than her and to her own surprise she didn’t mind one bit.

Of course, that was when they were around other people. Whenever they found a moment alone, however, things grew heated quickly. She’d been pulled into more alcoves, behind stacks of equipment, down empty hallways, and up to more roofs for quick but toe curling make out sessions than she could count. Not that she wasn’t guilty of doing the same to him and enjoying every second of it.

One thing they hadn’t done was actually talk about what it was that they were to each other. There had been plenty of opportunities, seeing as they’d found more than enough time to drag each other into dark corners, but Emma had hesitated each time. The question of what it was they were doing was constantly on the tip of her tongue but she always bit it back. It wasn’t just her feelings on the line, though they were a major part of it, but there was the rest of the tour to consider. They were only halfway through and Ruby hadn’t called to tell her that she was ready to play again. If she gave things with Killan a real, no holds barred chance and they went south the fallout would be huge. It didn’t help that the tension between them was ratcheting up to ridiculous levels and she knew that he was waiting for her to decide whether to pull back or push forward. She just didn’t know if she had the strength to do either.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, trying for nonchalance but unable to when she was still coughing.

“Emma,” Tink said exasperatedly, her hands going to her hips, “You can deny all you want but you’re not fooling me. I’ve read about this over and over again to recognize the signs.”

“Romance books aren’t instruction manuals,” she scoffed, “And there aren’t any signs because there’s nothing going on between me and Killian.”

Tink smirked in triumph, “I’m going to ignore that you insulted my reading habits because I never said who I was talking about.”

Emma sighed in resignation. She had thought they were being careful but she should have known that Tink, of all people, would have picked up on the shift in whatever it was she had with Killian. For Tink and her belief in all things love, romance books actually were instruction manuals.

“So have you?”

“No, nosey, I haven’t and I’m not going to-” she took a large bite of her sandwich to hopefully help cover up the giant lie she’d just told. Tink narrowed her eyes at her so she swallowed quickly to explain, “We’re just friends. I didn’t think we would be but you know how it is on a tour. It’s how you learned to tolerate Will for more than an hour. It’s the same with Killian. Friends. That’s it.”

Tink merely stood there, looking at her.

“What?” She snapped, throwing her hands up in exasperation. “Okay, so I’ve been spending a lot of time with him or whatever. He’s got a lot of stories and knows a lot of tricks for the road. Did you know that he still checks into hotels with an alias? Like a spy movie? He said it’s so that someone doesn’t tip off the paparazzi but I think he’s more afraid of his fan club showing up. I guess there was one time some girl was hiding in the closet of his hotel room before he even got there because he’d used his real name. He uses James Barrie, you know, the guy that wrote Peter Pan? It’s his favorite book and- why are you looking at me all smug and shit?”

“Do you even hear the words you’re saying?” Tink laughed. “Are you trying to convince me or yourself? It’s not a bad thing, Emma. He’s a good guy and he really likes you, has since the beginning.”

“He has?” She asked, surprised.

“Oh my god,” Tink said, rolling her eyes, “You can’t be that oblivious. Yes, dummy! I could write my own best seller with all the yearning looks and doey eyes you both make at each other.”

“I don’t yearn,” she grumbled, finishing off her sandwich.

Tink giggled as she pulled out her phone. Emma frowned when she noticed that Tink was fully dressed, shoes and all.

“Going somewhere?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah,” Tink said distractedly, her thumbs tapping on the screen. She looked up smiling, “My old roommate from college runs one of the local radio stations here and we’re going out for drinks and some dancing. Hey, wanna come?”

Emma looked down at the terrycloth robe she was wrapped in and felt the bone deep exhaustion from a series of good but tiring shows pulling at her, “Nope, I’m done in. I’m going to finish my onion rings, destroy Ruby in another round of Words with Friends and pass out to the soothing tones of Robert Stack.”

“Well, if you change your mind just let me know,” Tink said cheerfully.

With that she left in a flurry of sequins and an almost noxious cloud of perfume.

Emma snuggled down into her bed, ecstatic with the sudden freedom she had in the room. She got along fine with Tink but she’d never really gotten used to sharing her space with someone else. Even when she’d shared an apartment with Ruby it had been a steep learning curve that she’d never gotten the hang of.

Revelling in being alone she got down to the business of doing exactly what she’d described to Tink. Just as she’d sent off a triple word scoring ‘kumquat’ to pull substantially ahead of Ruby there was a quiet rapping on her door. Confused and a little worried that something might be wrong she padded across the room and warily looked through the peephole. Seeing Killian’s distorted face on the other side simultaneously sent a wave of relief and a thrill of anticipation through her. She pulled the door open with a grin she didn’t even try to hide.

“What brings you to my neck of the woods?” She asked quietly, knowing the other guests on her floor were probably asleep.

Killian shrugged and then scratched behind his ear, “Er, I was making use of the twenty four business center to give Will and his girlfriend a bit of privacy-”

“Oh, Belle’s here?” Emma asked excitedly before she realized what Killian was implying. “Oh, that’s, uh, nice of you.”

“I can be generous at times,” he said sardonically. Then he began fidgeting again, tapping on the cover of the notebook in his hand with his thumb, “As I was saying, Tink saw me and when I told her my plans for the night she insisted that I make use of her bed instead.”

She stood blinking at him, trying to make sense of his words but only one thing stood out, “Your plans?”

“Aye-” he scratched behind his ear again and wouldn’t meet her eyes, “You see Belle is only here for the night and has a flight early tomorrow morning and considering how, er, enthusiastic Will’s greeting was I told them the room was theirs.”

“And where were you going to sleep?” She asked, narrowing her eyes and hoping he wouldn’t say-

“The bus?”

“Jesus, Killian,” she pinched the bridge of her nose and stepped back, “Get in here.”

He walked into the room but only far enough for the door to close. When she turned around he refused to move further and they stood toe to toe.

“It’s honestly not an issue for me to sleep on the bus for the night, Swan. I have done it many times before.”

“So have I and it sucks every time-” she pushed past him but grabbed onto his wrist and dragged him along with her, “You should have come here in the first place. Even if Tink wasn’t going out we have a perfectly uncomfortable floor for you to use. I guess you’ll just have to settle for this queen sized quilted mattress instead.”

“Har, har, love,” he said drolly as she let go of him next to the still made bed and proceeded to crawl back into the nest of pillows and blankets she’d accumulated on hers. “That looks cozy.”

“You should see my bed back home,” she said absently as she made herself comfortable. Then she realized what she’d said as heat crawled up her neck and into her cheeks and Killian raised his brow at her, “Not that I’m inviting you over. I mean, you can come over but not only to see my bed or you know, you don’t have to see the bed at all. Whatever, it’s up to you.”

Killian chuckled and said in a low, teasing voice, “Up to me, huh? And if I said I wanted to see the bed?”

Emma froze. She knew that as much as he meant it as a joke he also meant it in the way he was implying. Suddenly Tink’s earlier teasing seemed all too real. The truth was she wanted everything the women Tink’s precious books got, the blissfully happy ending filled with love, respect and the added bonus of phenomenal sex. With butterflies the size of seagulls in her stomach she looked at him and hoped that she wasn’t about to make a complete ass of herself or end up with her heart shattered into a million pieces.

“Just the bed or are you interested in the whole place? Leaky faucets, thin walls and all?”

“I, erm-” Killian tilted his head, his brow knit in confusion.

“Because, yeah, the bed’s great and all but I think the rest of the apartment is pretty good too. It might not look like it but it is,” she said vehemently and a tiny bit defensively.

“I’m sure it is,” he said slowly. His eyes darted between hers as though he was trying to read her thoughts, “What is it you’re trying to say, Swan?”

She knew she was being unfair and a bit of a coward by making him try to puzzle it out. The only time she liked to be vulnerable was in her music and even then it could be an uncomfortable stretch. Opening herself up to Killian had the potential for disaster but the patient, dare she say doey eyed, look on his face gave her the small dose of encouragement she needed.

“Do you want to want to go out to dinner?”

“Now?” He asked bewildered, throwing a look at her empty room service tray on the room’s table and grinned, “It’s nearly two in the morning, love.”

“No, not now,” she said patiently. “Tomorrow, before the show. Go out, like, on a date or something.”

Killian’s amused smile softened and he ducked his head, “Shouldn’t I be the one asking you?”

“Figures you’d be old fashioned,” she said with a relieved laugh, “Get with the times, Jones. So, do you?”

“Want to go on a date? I’d love nothing more,” he said, his gaze flitting back to the tray and then to the tv that was still showing Unsolved Mysteries, “Though I do have one request.”

“Which is?”

“Allow me to plan the evening?”

The earnestness of his question took her by surprise. Since she’d done the asking she’d planned on doing a quick Yelp search for a higher rated restaurant and calling it good. From the hopeful way he was looking at her she suspected that he’d already been thinking about what to do on a date with her. She could feel a warmth surging through her at the idea that he had been piecing together date plans for them already.

“I know how to plan a date,” she said with a small pout even though she was far from upset.

“You know how to astound a packed venue in any city, I know how to plan an evening out in every city,” he said with a confidence she found impressive.

“Fine,” she said with a shrug. Burrowing back into her pillows and blankets she looked at him askance, “Just so you know I don’t rock and roll on the first date.”

He snorted in amusement, “Well, you’ve never been on a date with me.”

Emma gave him a skeptical hum and delighted at his warm chuckle. She watched surreptitiously as he toed off his shoes and placed his notebook on the bedside table, noting for the first time that he was in sweats and a hoodie. When he pulled a couple of pens out of his pocket and placed them on the notebook she couldn’t help the giggle that escaped.

“You wouldn’t be laughing at me now, would you Swan?” He asked with a raised brow, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Just wondering how much you expected to get done in a hotel business center in the middle of the night that you thought you needed more than one pen,” she teased, reaching her hand out to nudge the pens out of alignment.

He huffed and lined them back up, “Terrible thing to run out of ink when trying to get down the lyrics cycling through your head, love. I’d think you’d understand.”

“You’re writing again?” She asked, scrambling to sit up.

“Oh, er-” he scratched at the back of his neck as his ears began to turn pink, “Nothing of note, really, just some fragments that might have potential. Or they could end up being rubbish but I should write them down, though, rubbish and all. Not that I need to write or anything and I am out of the habit so what little I’ve got probably doesn’t hold a candle to anything you could write-”

“Killian-” she reached out and grabbed the sleeve of his sweatshirt, giving it a little shake to interrupt his rambling, “I’m not asking to look at what you’ve got. I get it, it’s all private until you’ve got it to a point that it’s not so much anymore. I was just… surprised I guess? I haven’t seen you credited as a songwriter since the accident so I stupidly assumed you hadn’t written anything since.”

“No, love, your assumption is actually quite spot on,” he sighed. His gaze drifted back to the notebook and he glared at it, as though it had personally insulted him, “It’s been an uphill battle to get back into it after all this time.”

“Then don’t,” she said with a shrug, letting him go and sliding back under the covers, “No one’s making you, right?”

He made a kind of strangled sound that had her looking over at him. His ears were turning pink again but he shook his head.

“So don’t force it. It’ll be like riding a bike once you’ve actually got something worth writing about.”

“I’m sure it will be,” he said with a small chuckle.

She gave him a satisfied nod but as he began to pull back the covers on the other bed she surprised herself by making a small sound of disappointment. He looked at her with a raised brow.

“Something wrong?”

“No, I just-” she paused, not entirely sure what she wanted to say. She’d already opened herself up much more than she ever had with one person before and didn’t think she had it in her to keep going. There was, however, something else she wanted to do. Sliding over a bit she flipped back the covers and tilted her head to the spot next to her, “Want to see what late night tv looks like in Denver?”

Killian stood unmoving except for a slight tick in his jaw. Disappointment crashed through her. She hadn’t realized just how much she wanted to be close to him, even if it didn’t lead anywhere. Clenching her fists she forced herself to remember that he’d just agreed to a date and was clearly interested in something with her. Taking a deep breath she gave what she hoped was a casual enough shrug, smoothing the covers back into place and fixing her gaze on the tv.

“Or not. I’ll, uh, keep the volume down. Still a bit wired, you know?”

She kept her eyes glued to the terrible reenactment that was happening on screen and tried to ignore the living statue that Killian had become. Even when she heard his harsh exhale and low chuckle she continued to look forward. When he tugged the covers out from under her arm her resolve faltered.

“Budge over a bit more, love?” He requested as he climbed into the bed next to her. She gaped at him and he gave her a soft smile, “Do you want the light on or off?”

“What?” She said dumbly, the heat radiating off of him clearly addling her brains.

“I think for a true cinematic experience the light should be off but perhaps that will only serve to make it harder to stay awake, though I think that’s the point?”

She snorted, “Do you get more wordy the later it gets or are you just trying to be an ass?”

“A bit of both I suppose,” he said gleefully, “So, on or off?”

“Off,” she said quickly before she could second guess herself.

The sound of the lamp clicking off somehow sounded like a thunderclap. As she let her eyes adjust to the dim blue light of the tv she was hyper aware of Killian next to her. She could tell that he’d taken a shower before leaving his and Will’s room since the smell of his soap and deodorant was still strong. Fighting against the urge to bury her nose in his chest she didn’t realize he had asked her a question until he nudged her with his elbow.

“Huh?”

“Falling asleep already? Good I can watch whatever I want then.”

“I don’t think so-” she quickly grabbed the remote and held it out of his reach, “I’m not going to sit through some documentary on pirates or Ancient Greece or whatever.”

“I mentioned once that I like Ken Burns and you use that against me? Bad form, Swan,” he grumbled, though she could hear the smile in his voice.

“We’ll go through the channels once and then we pick something,” she said as she started flipping through channels, “We each get one veto but we’re not watching something that has to do with what we do.”

He turned to her, “Does that encompass the entertainment industry as a whole or merely our melodic neck of the woods? Because it sounds like you’re using a loophole to get more than one veto.”

“That’s not what-” she paused on a fast food commercial and sighed, “I actually want to be able to unwind at the end of the night and if we watch something music industry related I’ll start thinking about the next show and if it’ll be as good as the shows before it, or how we’re releasing Snowdrops and Buttercups before the LA show and all the interviews I’ll have to do while we’re there, or how Regina keeps hounding me to increase my social media presence to ‘stay relevant’. If you want to count that as my veto that’s fine.”

She could feel the weight of Killian’s stare but she kept her focus on the insurance commercial that had replaced the fast food ad. Tink and Ruby had never complained about her taking control of what they ended up watching at the end of the night. Then again they’d always put on Food Network and kept it there so it had never been an issue.

“Alright-” Killian nodded and wiggled a bit, bringing him closer to her side, “Nothing industry related. What about musicals?”

“Big fan?” She asked, turning to him with a smile that was due to more than just his teasing question.

“The biggest,” he said with mock seriousness. He turned back to the screen, “but you haven’t even got to the premium channels yet, love. Can’t make a decision without knowing all my options. Carry on.”

They ended up going through the channels three times and Emma using her veto on a cheesy nineties horror movie. Through sheer luck and good timing they paused on a channel to argue over her veto right as the commercials came to an end and the next program was starting. By the time they realized what was playing Marty McFly was skateboarding through Hill Valley to the sound of Huey Lewis and the News. With a grin to match Killian’s she tossed the remote towards their feet and settled comfortably into his side without a second thought.

She came awake with a start to a darkened room an undetermined amount of time later. Confused and overly warm she tried to turn to look at the clock on the bedside table and found that she couldn’t due to the arm wrapped around her waist. After a brief moment of panic she remembered whose arm it was and why it was there in the first place.

“Swan?” Killian’s voice was gritty with sleep.

“I missed the enchantment under the sea dance,” she mumbled disappointedly.

He chuckled and it reverberated across her back, “Love, you didn’t even make it to Doc Brown’s house in 1955.”

“Oh-” she blinked owlishly in the dark and blamed it for the question that tripped off her tongue, “Why didn’t you move to the other bed?”

Killian’s arm tensed around her middle. She held her breath waiting for his answer.

“You asked me to stay,” he said simply.

A vague memory of her doing just that surfaced in her still sleep addled mind. Wiggling a bit until his grip on her loosened she turned to face him. She could barely make out his features as her eyes adjusted to the dark but from what she could see he seemed wary but hopeful.

“I’m glad you listened.”

Slowly, so that he would have time to stop her, she leaned up and forward, gently pressing her lips to his. He made a noise of contentment, returning her kiss for only a moment before pulling back and pressing his forehead to hers.

“I think I should go to the other bed.”

“Why?” She breathed. The darkness of the room made her feel bold as she snaked her arm between them to rest on his chest, the tips of her fingers toying with the collar of his t-shirt. “I still want you to stay.”

He groaned, “Swan, I’m trying to be a gentleman.”

“Oh, so you’re a gentleman now?” She teased, ghosting her lips over his.

“I’m always a gentleman,” he retorted, as his hand drifted down to her hip and flexed, as though he wasn’t sure if he wanted to push her away or pull her closer, “but you’re making it bloody difficult. What happened to not rocking and rolling on the first date?”

“You’re right-” she nodded, pulling her head back but inching their hips closer together, “Good thing this isn’t our first date.”

His hand gripped her hip and held her in place as his eyes searched her face. She gave him a sultry smile as he looked, drawing idle patterns on his chest with her fingers. It was easy for her to see that he was trying to figure out why she had gone from zero to sixty in the span of a few hours. Deciding to go easy on him she let her smile soften and moved to brush the hair off his forehead.

“Emma-”

“It’s no secret that I’ve had the hots for you since the leather pants and emo eyeliner-” she broke off at his wide grin and wagging eyebrows to roll her eyes at him, “Please, I know Ruby told you all about my obsession.”

“She may have let some things slip,” he said with a mischievous look, “Is it true you had a photo of me as your phone background?”

“Well, you looked really hot in that photoshoot for Men’s Health,” she stated without shame, though she couldn’t help knocking his ego down a peg, “Even if you totally lied about running five miles a day.”

“I might as well have with the shows we put on every night,” he grumbled. “So you read the article as well? Good to know you were interested in more than just my pretty face.”

“I’m a fan of every part of you,” she said simply. “Even more now. Definitely more now. I’ve gotten to know you, as a musician and as a man, and turns out I really like you. You get me in ways that no one else ever has, not Regina or Ruby or even the Nolans. You make me feel like anything I want is possible and I want you in every possible way. One date or a hundred won’t change that. Plus I really, really like kissing you.”

“I rather fancy you too,” he said softly, his hand running up her side to cup her cheek, “But are you sure?”

“If I wasn’t I would have made you get in the other bed in the first place or just sent you down to the bus-” she leaned forward and nipped playfully at his lower lip. When she pulled away he made a low noise in his throat, “I’m sure.”

“Good.”

With a low growl Killian surged forward and captured her lips. Emma let herself fall into the kiss and thanked her lucky stars that Tink had given them both the little nudge they clearly needed.

#captain swan #captain swan ff #captain swan fan fic #captain swan fan fiction #captain swan fanfic #cs ff #cs fan fic #cs fanfic #ouat ff #my writing

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steve0discusses · 3 years

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The Live Action Fullmetal Alchemist Movie Part 6: Let’s Kill Hughes

Hey guys, I’ve been having some issues with the blog not...updating my drafts. So in case you’re wondering, that’s where I disappeared to. Give a round of applause to the support team for finding a solution until it gets fixed but as of right now I’m on like a private window with my extensions turned off and writing this from both tumblr and a LibreOffice document. Hello ads, nice to see you back.

Last we left off, we were a hop and skip away to lab 5. In the anime, this was a sequence where there was a bunch of fighting with suits of armor, and they kept that in this movie, but...not the people you think would be fighting are going to be fighting.

Listen I’m not like super knowledgeable about the world of Matte painting, but I like that they’ve unintentionally made this world building where whoever is in charge of making these red bricks basically owns everyone’s nuts. Everything is made out of the same red bricks. Like I know this is a show about homunculi ruling the world but I feel like the red brick guy is hellllllla more egregious. Freakin Monsanto over here.

I assume they had a 3d model and was like “we can just keep using it” and damn, they sure did. And inside of this brick building is, unsurprisingly a lot more red brick (although I think this is partially, if not entirely, an actual real life set.)

This next part is...such a lesson in pacing. Not necessarily a lesson to follow, but definitely a lesson to learn from maybe their non-example.

(watch Hughes die under the cut)

And what’s interesting is that there were a lot of good lines in this upcoming segment. There were a lot of good moments—bu there’s just so many. Maybe too many. You gotta prune your script occasionally, it’s like a tomato plant.

Like I’ve been doing a stress garden to cope with quarantine and Covid and 3+ months of life endangering wildfires, and I learned that you gotta prune the sucker vines off your tomatoes, although sucker vines can also make tomatoes. It sucks to do because I love tomatoes, and I want as many tomatoes as possible, but when you prune the plant, you get bigger better tomatoes that are more worthwhile than the suckers that can infect your plant and make it really sick.

Sorry that made me sound like 5000 years old with that gardening analogy. If you need me to solve your small town murder mysteries, I’m ready.

So it’s like...kind of tragic that it came together as kind of nonsensical when you can tell that it’s so close to being something better.

Like we have some reason up to this point to believe that Ed would have a freak out here...but like...a sobbing on the floor screaming at the walls type of freak out? Was there enough time devoted to this blow up, or did he walk into this room and immediately start screaming? Because he sure did walk immediately into this room and start screeching like a broken bird.

Like last recap, which was about 2 minutes ago in screentime, was this fun and quirky montage with Hughes. Now we’re sobbing into this rusty factory.

And I know what’s going on because I’ve seen the anime, but if you haven’t seen it—would this emotional break down make any sense? We were told by Dr Marcoh, “check out lab 5,” but we were only going to this factory on kind of a wish and a prayer. I really wonder if people who don’t know this show could follow past this point.

And then while we’re still adjusting to “yo, Ed just took it from a 2 to a 10 like immediately” Al is like “Hey I noticed no one is paying attention to me, and I have to lay a wicked fart:”

and then both brother’s just have a freak out. Gotta all be freaking out in this random ass Unity asset that was probably also used for some college grad’s first battle royale.

Pacing is just everything. And what’s SO HARD about Full Metal Alchemist is that there really is a lot of content to cover, there’s a lot of emotions to go through, and when you only have about 7 minutes to cover what was about 3-4 episodes, if I remember correctly, it’s kind of a zany mess.

And if you were going into this movie hoping they wouldn’t illustrate Al as a large idiot baby, then you share the sentiments of most people who saw this movie. Al is like...kind of reduced to a whiny big baby and is...not cute. Like Al is low key kind of menacing throughout this movie, not just because he has this CGI armor thing going on, but also because Al is...so impressionable and unhinged.

Something that I didn’t appreciate enough when I watched the anime was just how important Barry the Chopper was for Al’s logical character development.

Yo...These bangs…

...I’ve realized that every show I recap here just has the worst hair styles. I honestly never thought much about hair at all until I watched like 200 hours of Yugioh and all of this movie and also 6 seasons of Once Upon a Time which featured some LOOKS (but only recapped like 3 episodes, sorry if I got some of y’all excited. That was when we had no reason to cap everything because the capping community for Once was very alive and very exciting.)

By hitting him with a wrench (Al does not feel pain, ps, so he doesn’t need to be hunched over like this) Winry reminds Al that Ed would not risk his life for a fake brother (which may be a line from the anime or the manga but I don’t remember) and crying just...a lot.

Like it felt as if she had to shoot all of this out of order. Same with Ed’s freak out here. Movie’s aren’t really shot in succession and it’s up to the director to make it feel coherent and logical...this felt scattered, like the actors really didn’t know what was happening in the scenes leading up to it so they just cranked it to 11.

And then I guess Ed was either so insulted that Al punched him or was so upset that Al made Winry cry (again, this movie really tries to sell the EdxWinry ship and from me that’s a really big compliment), that Ed just started laying punches to extend a fight scene that was kind over before it started.

But symbolically there is a lot nice things going on here, Ed only uses his fleshy hand so he bleeds all over Al, hurting himself as much he’s hurting his brother. Implying more than just this fight, but suggesting that their whole journey of trying to find this sorcerer’s stone is just going to hurt both of them in their quest to save the other.

And then Al says something along the line of “it hurts!” to infer that he’s got this broken heart which is when they both finally just freakin stop.

Such a shame the pacing, which was a mix of too quick, and too many tomatoes, kind of made it hella blindsiding.

Again this was so many episodes of FMA and they stuffed it into so few minutes, it’s wild.

Especially since Ed is like...he’s cast as an adult! He’s an adult! At no point in the movie so far have they called him a kid, and they’re not pretending that he is one. But like...he acts like such a child because in the original, he was one. And, while this movie steps so far away from the source material, if should have committed and either stepped completely away or committed completely. Of course “should” is one of those things where we’ll just never know. A wish into the ether of hindsight being 20/20.

But lets get to the thing that you all came here for. This is where this movie gets BONKERS:

So Hughes actually draws out a pentagram between the different places in Armestrias, including Ishvaal, leading us to think that he’s figured out the whole dealio of turning the country into an alchemy circle. But, for some reason only helps him find the real lab 5.

It didn’t...that’s a different thing.

And it has been a long time since I’ve seen the ending of this movie—and maybe it was so offhand that I forgot if they actually do bring up turning the country into an alchemy circle--watch me eat my words, it could happen—but yo, we are finally killing Hughes—but we’re over halfway through this movie. And you may wonder...so uh...what...then what could possibly happen? There’s too much anime left!

Now I’m glad they kept this scene really close to the anime, although I haven’t watched the anime in a hot minute. It’s kind of an iconic scene so you don’t forget.

Like I do genuinely enjoy the campy parts where they were bringing up some of my favorite nostalgia of the original.

and then when you are like “ah, this is exactly the same as the anime. I can relax and watch as all my expectations are fully realized.” This twist happens.

YAH.

It’s a change!

So in the anime we had a really fun arc where we were trying to save Lieutenant Ross for being framed for killing Hughes. It’s probably my favorite part of Full Metal Alchemist, actually, it was so clever and a really thrilling chase. It was also like...half of season one.

Anyway, they cut it. They reduced half a season into 7 minutes. I know that, because each of these recaps is about 15 minutes of the movie.

You may look at this recap and be like “wait...this all happened in 15 minutes??” because yeah, this all happened in 15 minutes.

The same squad of people we see in every single scene of soldiers comes up to arrest Ed, which is weird, because I thought this band of soldiers was the military under Cl. Mustang’s command so like…shouldn’t they be arresting themselves? Mustang was over the command of more than 2 people. If we are suspicious of Mustang’s buddies then everyone in this movie would be in trouble.

And that’s when I realized that these guys were just unnamed soldiers and not a part of Mustang’s band. They only had like this many extras and just hoped we wouldn’t keep track of who is who, but I KNOW I’ve seen these guys this whole time. There are only like 6 people in this army. I see you movie magic—I see what you’re trying to do.

Anyway, Ed gets thrown into an old timey opera house that occasionally gets to be used for Middle School graduations. Or maybe also a mortuary where they charge you for funerals.

Like I know it’s supposed to be the capital building but like...this looks so weird when it’s live action. I remember the anime had this kinda feel to it but in live action it’s like…

...this is a weird ass capital building…Why do they have curtains like a Granny Holiday Inn in Reno, Nevada?

Thankfully, Hawkeye is here to explain to Ed what just happened because we, the movie viewers, were kind of surprised by that plot twist.

Like there were many ways you can condense half a season into 15 minutes, and I dunno if I would have just changed the murderer. It is a solution you can do. You can just point blame on Mustang and skip that whole Ross segment but like….

…then why write the movie?

Obviously, they had to make the movie, it had already been funded, people were really excited about the idea, and I do not envy the people that had to hack and slash with the Full Metal Alchemist script, but it is interesting what they decided was important to the original content, and what was unimportant. All that stuff that showed how Mustang was brilliant and two steps ahead of everyone else? Unimportant. All that stuff we had that showed how Mustang cares a lot about protecting other people and also cares about Ed and Al? Unimportant.

It really changes the dynamic, and it’s kind of fascinating to go into this cold because it’s been like...a year for me since I’ve watched it...and just see how different everything is without all those supporting characters that when I watched the anime I just assumed were mostly useless (Though fun). Turns out they all had a pretty significant part of making me care about Ed, about Mustang, about Al, about all my main characters.

FMA is very character driven, and this movie is mostly just...plot driven. There’s kind of a great debate in literature about plot driven vs character driven. Movies and TV tend to be very plot driven, because they are very expensive to make, so they follow pre-formatted plot beats like “Save the Cat” or “The Heroes Journey” and other ones (there’s several to choose from).

They’ve made a fine science out of at what point a TV show should introduce the main, at what point they should suffer doubt, at what point they should shun their hero’s journey, etc etc. They know it down to the page number of the scripts they are writing. I know this, because it’s readily available on the internet and people fight about it all the time. This is why a show may suffer developing a character—because they just don’t have time and they just don’t have the resources to do something out of the box. Movies doubly so, because every minute of film can cost thousands of dollars.

What’s interesting about this is that FMA, the original FMA, does follow these beats. It was a manga sold by a huge publisher so it had to follow those beats. But, it has managed to do it while still being character driven. Yo, that’s so hard to do. This story was already written to be hyper condensed and structured when it was made into a Manga, and then it was condensed again for an anime, and then it was condensed yet again for this movie. It’s like a game of telephone, and at one end you have a very character driven story, and then at the other, it’s just totally plot.

Like it’s just a really huge risk to take. This was really, really risky.

PS did you miss Shou? Did you think we’d be done with Shou Tucker? No. Because this movie is gonna end at some point and rather than introduce other people...we’re just gonna stick with Shou and only have one miniboss.

(It has a freakin radiator in it?)

So then this next part happens and it’s low key hilarious.

The whole time.

Mustang and Hawkeye knew what lab 5 was this entire time but Ed just never asked for some reason despite working with those two for what is inferred to be YEARS since his childhood.

Hey PS, did you miss that brick building? Because it’s back.

Anyway, Mustang decides to take this underground where we can recycle the tech crew posing as extras that we used in the shot above us. Would not be surprised if a few of these are someone’s husband or wife on set.

Usually when I watch a movie I don’t get this feeling so much. But this movie...the latter half is like...EMPTY.

...this is going to be all movies made during Covid, I just realized…

Mustang is stopped by an angry Lieutenant Ross, and then we get this series of events.

And when you’re like “...Sorry?” Mustang’s like “I can make it weirder.”

And he just, without any warning or anything, lights Lieutenant Ross on fire. Multiple times, and it’s pretty intense and everyone who’s holding a gun just watches it happen is like…

...well I guess it’s too late to just shoot the guy...

…and like do you seriously not carry around a fire extinguisher when you are trying to manhunt Mustang? This is the one guy you want to wear fireproof clothes around. You have the technology. You at least have the technology for buckets of water. Like no one want to throw a blanket on her?

Just want to...watch? I guess?

Mustang just looks like a nut from this series of events instead of a genius--which is what I think they were originally going for. The pacing does that, youknow? Pacing.

And, out of the corpse pile stands Envy.

Envy has a pretty good look, I appreciated his whole look and that unlike the anime where you only find out Envy is a guy because someone told you on a forum somewhere and you were like “wait WHAT?” the movie is live action so you won’t make that mistake and embarrass yourself online.

Ed has only ever seen Lust once, and she walked in from off screen, stabbed a guy, and walked off. He’s just like...having a time because he’s done zero research into homunculi, and really, at no point in this movie are we going to give him time to figure it out.

Also, there’s this shot where Lust and Gluttony just walk in from behind them in the tunnel and it’s like…

….so no one noticed these two just hanging out back there?

It’s so freakin funny. This movie is gold. I love it.

Now If you just got here, this is a link to read all these recaps in chrono order:

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/fma/chrono

Have a good one, and stay safe! 2021 has been...weird nuts...and it’s still January somehow??? Weird times. Overall, please stay safe, it’s weird out there.

Also, if you’re like “I don’t remember this scene actually” here’s the original Hughes dies scene that inspired the movie (since the movie definitely was like “we’re only going inspired for this one nerds, get mad”)--some shots were inspired cut for cut.

youtube

And obvi this is on Youtube so it’ll probably get taken down eventually, but that’s why it’s flipped.

#FMA #FMA movie #FMA live action movie #recap #Fullmetal alchemist #hughes #roy mustang #ed elric #al elric #winry #I've had to write these tags twice now because tumblr won't SAVE MY DRAFTS #photo recap

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frogoat · 4 years

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Friday the 13th: Mrs. Voorhees Had Help!

I think if you’re in any way familiar with the horror movie genre, you’ll have heard of the Friday the 13th franchise. And even if you’ve never watched the series, Scream gives away the fact that Jason Voorhees isn’t the killer in the first film; it’s his mother Pamela Voorhees who does all the slashing. Or does she?

Lets look at the instances of murder that the film tells us Mrs. Voorhees committed. First we have the two camp counselors in 1958, Barry and Claudette. They sneak away to do the nasty but are confronted and killed shortly afterwards. Note that they don’t appear surprised to see the killer and in fact try to lie about what they were doing, suggesting a familiarity with the assailant. As we know Pamela previously worked as Camp Crystal Lake’s cook, so we can attribute these two murders to her.

Next we have the super nice Annie, who’s been hired as the new Camp Crystal Lake cook. Annie is given a lift to the crossroad half to Crystal Lake by truck driver Enus at the suggestion of Trudy, a diner waitress. Along the way Annie learns of the ‘death curse’ from Crazy Ralph and is warned about going by Enus who recounts the troubled history of the Camp. Undeterred, Annie starts walking from the turn off toward the Camp, only to be picked up by a passerby in a vehicle. This is clearly intended to be Mrs. Voorhees driving as we see her ‘arrive’ in the same vehicle at the films conclusion and it still contains the would-be Camp cook’s lifeless body.

But how did Pamela just happen upon Annie at the right moment? Was she really just passing by and saw an opportunity for a secluded kill or did she get a tip off? Notice the interior shots of vehicle show a radio handset. I suggest Pamela was perhaps tipped off by Trudy the diner waitress, as the two share a common vocation and could plausibly know each other well. Whether or not Trudy knew what would happen when she mentioned a girl had arrived in town talking about a re-opening Camp Crystal Lake is up for debate, though she is does go from sceptical to helpful very quickly when suggesting Enus drive her to the turn off.

Here it’s worth mentioning that despite Mrs. Voorhees being a middle aged woman who doesn’t demonstrate any exceptional athletic abilities on-screen, still catches up and kills Annie. I concede this was likely intended to be Pamela, perhaps without her iconic pale blue sweater and is possibly just the stuntman being glimpsed on-camera. If it is Mrs. Voorhees, then it begs the question who is lurking behind the trees watching Alice in a scene prior to Annie’s dive from moving vehicle. It can’t be Crazy Ralph because we know he was travelling by bike and couldn’t have outpaced Enus’ truck. Therefore, there must be a second person already onsite at Camp Crystal Lake, either an accomplice or Mrs. Voorhees herself. Whomever kills Annie wields the knife in their right hand and has a prominent ring on the ring finger of their left hand. We see Mrs. Voorhees has a ring on the same finger and wields a knife with the same hand in the climatic battle at the end of the film.

Time passes and the camp owner Steve Christie heads into town while the Camp Counselors take a swim in the lake, kill a snake, encounter a motorcycle police officer and meet Crazy Ralph who promptly leaves after delivering his doomsayer speech. Ned spies on lovers Jack and Marcie and is in turn spied on himself. Spotting a person in a hooded black raincoat entering a nearby cabin, Ned approaches the cabin, asking if they want help. We don’t see exactly what happens but we later see his body on the top of the cabin, his throat slit in the same fashion as Annie’s. This obscured figure could be Pamela’s accomplice, Pamela or both killers working together to lure Ned into a secluded spot to kill him.

With a heavy storm about, Jack and Marcie shelter in a cabin and get down to business, unaware that a deceased Ned is just a few feet above them on the upper bunk and a murdered lies inches beneath them. When Marcie leaves to use the bathroom, Jack is skewered through the throat as his assailant holds his head in place. This killer uses their right hand to hold Jack and strikes with their left hand. We also get another glimpse of the plaid long sleeve shirt.

Seemingly at about the same time, Marcie is followed into the bathroom block. Hearing someone approaching, Marcie calls out playfully to Jack and goofs around in the mirror until hearing more movement nearby. This time thinking it’s Ned trying to prank her, Marcie approaches the shower cubicles only to be killed with an axe blow to the head. We don’t see anything to identify the killer but shortly after when Brenda uses the bathroom, we get a glimpse of a hand behind the shower curtain, suggesting they were unable to leave with Marcie’s body until afterwards. Given that it was a downward axe swing, it’s possible the killer here was taller in height, but this one is unclear. Either way, they were stuck in there with Marcie for a while, presumably holding her upright to avoid detection.

Brenda is watched from outside her own cabin as she settles for the night, only to be drawn outside when she hears what sounds like a child’s voice calling for help. This is most certainly Pamela herself providing the voice, leading Brenda to the archery range where she is blinded by the spotlights and attacked. The left hand we see flip the spotlights on is again adorned with a ring and appears to be wearing the same black raincoat as before, which further corroborates the idea this is Mrs. Voorhees. But who grabbed her while she was blinded by the light? We’ll see Pam use the blinding tactic again, too. As is evident later, Brenda is not actually killed here, because we see her moving feebly later when she is tied up and thrown through a cabin window. More on that later.

Alice and Bill go to Brenda’s cabin to investigate a scream only to find the bloodied axe in her bed. Given the short period of time between Brenda’s scream and the duo’s investigation, I think it’s more plausible the accomplice planted the axe immediately after Brenda exited her cabin before approaching her from behind while she was blinded. Finding no one, Bill and Alice try the phones and the car only to discover they’ve been disabled. Given we know someone was already present at the Camp during the daytime and the whole group of Counselors were at the lake at one point, it’s likely this is when the sabotage took place.

Meanwhile, Steve Christie leaves the diner after a brief chat with waitress Sandy and heads back toward the camp in his 4 Wheel Drive with trailer in tow, only for the vehicle to become bogged and apparently have engine trouble. He is given a lift most of the way back to Camp Crystal Lake by Sgt. Tierney before the latter is called away to a crash. Making his way back on foot, Steve is blinded by a person with a torch in front of the Camp Crystal Lake sign before being stabbed. This is evidently Pamela herself as Steve recognizes his assailant, and we know she had worked for the Christie family back in the 1950′s before her son Jason drowned. I’d suggest the diner worker Sandy may have tipped off Pamela that Steve was returning so that she could lay in wait for him.

The generator is turned off, causing Bill to venture out to investigate and restore power while Alice tries to get some sleep. Evidently some time passes between Bill’s departure and Alice going to find him, as he is found hung on the outside of the generator room’s door with his body filled with a number of arrows and his throat slit. As Bill leaves his raincoat in the generator room, it would appear he too was lured out by Mrs. Voorhees before being attacked and killed. Given the sheer strength required to suspend a man on a door in such a way, I believe we can attribute at least some of this task to Pam’s accomplice.

Now in a panic, Alice returns to the main cabin and attempts to secures the door from within and arms herself. At this point, the still faintly alive Brenda is thrown through one of the windows, presumably killing her. Brenda appears to have ropes wrapped around her and is covered in blood. Moments later, Alice sees the headlights of Mrs. Voorhees vehicle approaching from the front of the cabin, causing her to remove her barricade and pleas for help. While it’s only an assumption on her part, Alice remarks ‘Please don’t leave me! They’ll kill you too!’ The obvious question here is if Pam did all this herself how did she manage to throw Brenda through the window (or swing her on a rope pulley, perhaps?) and also drive up in her vehicle from the opposite direction within seconds?

After her mental flashback, Pamela draws a knife from her left hip with her right hand. Here we can see what appears to be the plaid shirt beneath Pam’s sweater. When brandishing her knife at Alice, Pamela makes erratic stabbing motions, rather than the clean slices we saw on some of the victims. Alice discovers poor, sweet Annie’s body in the car, apparently having been left there since her murder. Next, Alice runs into Mr Christie who’s body is suspended from a tree upside down with a knife still lodged in his chest. Clearly a passionate slaying.

With Alice now running and hiding from Pamela, we move into genuine Final Girl territory. Notice that Mrs. Voorhees struggles to break down the pantry door and swings her weapons wildly as though without skill. Compare this with the early more methodical and precise throat stabbings and we paint a clearer picture of the second person. Finally we have the iconic decapitation of Mrs. Voorhees which also gives a clear shot of her ring.

Notice that several of the attacks have involved luring the victim to a secluded location alone before attacking. It’s also noteworthy some of the victims have been moved after death to delay their discovery, often in elaborate ways involving both physical strength and planning. Finally, note that there were primarily two mechanisms of injury: slit throats and far more messy stabbings. I would argue that this indicates a second person present at Camp Crystal Lake that June 13th. Two personalities and two types of attacks. One is more cold and calculated, the other more emotional and aggressive. It could be argued that this is just an indication of Pamela’s psychosis manifesting (and that’s a perfectly acceptable answer) but I think the sheer amount of physical strength, the timeline of events occurring around the camp, the presence of someone hiding at the camp while Annie is being killed and the sheer amount of moving and planning needed to pull this all off indicates an accomplice on-site at the camp. This is in addition to the far more passive assistance from certain members of hospitality industry who likely had no idea what Pamela had planned.

The movie presents at least two occasions where the assailant is forced into hide after a killing, preventing them from moving on immediately to the next victim, leaving us to wonder how they could have possibly moved about so quickly. We also have several elaborate set ups for the victims to be revealed in a dramatic fashion which clearly require time not afforded to a lone killer. The evidence of violent strength only seen on some of the victims, particularly those lured aware and killed off-screen indicates a second participant, one with greater physical prowess than that seen from Pamela in the film’s finale. The real question shouldn’t be was there a second killer. Rather, it should be who was the second killer in Friday the 13th?

But that’s a discussion for another time.

#Friday the 13th #Pamela Voorhees #Mrs. Voorhees #Jason Voorhees #Theory #1980 #Second killer #Scream #Final Girl #Mystery #Horror Movie

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captains-log-reviews · 4 years

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Disney’s Peter Pan (1953)

Summary/Overview:

I’ve been considering a Hook-themed review blog for some time now, and what better way to start off than with the classic 1953 Disney film? Originally slated to be Disney’s second animated film after Snow White, the idea for a production of Peter Pan was in Walt’s mind long before it hit the big screen. Walt himself had played Peter in a school play as a boy and had retained a fondness for the story ever since. The first major film version to feature a boy (Bobby Driscoll) in the titular role, Disney’s Peter Pan has since become perhaps even more widely known than Barrie’s original. That being said, I think it’s probably unnecessary to give much in the way of a summary, but for the sake of developing a consistent format for my reviews, here’s the super quick version:

Wendy Darling, a young girl with an active imagination and a love for storytelling, is distraught when her practical father decides that it is time for her to grow up and move out of the nursery with her brothers. Later that night, after her parents have gone out, Peter Pan—the flying boy hero of Wendy’s stories—shows up at her window and offers to take her and her brothers to Neverland, a magical island with mermaids, “Indians,” and pirates where they will never grow up. Unfortunately the kids get caught up in the plans of Captain Hook, who wants revenge on Peter for cutting off his hand and feeding it to a crocodile. Ultimately, Hook captures the children and nearly kills Peter with a bomb in the guise of a present from Wendy, but Tinkerbell, Peter’s loyal fairy friend, saves him just in the nick of time, allowing Peter to free the children from Hook’s crew and fight the captain in a final duel that results in Hook being chased off into the sunset by the crocodile. Wendy and her brothers return home safely, and Wendy realizes that she isn’t so afraid of growing up anymore...only to have her father admit that maybe holding onto her childhood a little bit longer wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all.

What I Liked:

Those of you who followed me over here from my other Hook blog, not-wholly-unheroic, already know that I am more than slightly biased when it comes to Disney’s Hook. I distinctly remember the first time I saw him on screen when I was twelve. The sequel had just come out on video, and ABC was doing its usual Sunday Disney movie (and advertising) by showing the original Peter Pan one weekend, followed by the sequel the next. I was bored and had never watched the film before, so I decided to give it a shot...and I was instantly struck by how different Hook was from any Disney villain I’d previously encountered. While most of the classic villains are motivated by greed, vanity, or the desire for power, Hook’s feud with Pan is at least somewhat justified considering he not only lost a hand but also faces the constant threat of the crocodile as a result of our supposed hero’s actions. Additionally, prior to Peter Pan, Disney’s major villains (Queen Grimhilde/The Evil Queen, Lady Tremaine, the Queen of Hearts) were typically rather flat and lacking in personality. We see only their wicked side (or in the case of “Man” in Bambi, we don’t see them at all!). Hook is a major departure from this trend in that while he is clearly made out to be the bad guy, we also see him in moments of fear, weakness, and self-doubt. We see him sick and in pain and ready to give up at times. Suddenly, he isn’t just a villain anymore... He’s a person we can empathize with. Walt himself recognized that the audience would “get to liking Hook” would not want him to die as he does in Barrie’s canon, opting instead to have him “going like hell” to get away from the crocodile but ultimately still very much alive at the end of the film.

Aside from Hook himself, I love the dynamic he has with Mr. Smee. While Hook admittedly doesn’t treat Smee well, there is clearly a bond of trust between them. Early on in the film, for instance, Smee prepares to shave Hook with a straight razor. It’s a moment that is ultimately used for comedic effect, but when one considers that Hook has a crew full of literal cutthroats, it says a lot about Smee that Hook feels totally at ease with this man putting a blade to his neck. Smee repeatedly attempts to intervene to save Hook when he doesn’t have to, and Hook unfailingly looks to Smee when he’s afraid for his life or when he needs to send someone out to complete an important mission for him. It’s a villain/sidekick dynamic that borders on friendship, and I think it adds a lot to the film and to Hook’s complexity as a character.

As far as artistic choices go, it is a rather minor thing, but I love that they kept the stage tradition of using the same actor for both Mr. Darling and Captain Hook, giving the film a rather dreamlike feel and subtly reinforcing the enmity Wendy feels toward her father in real life as she faces off against Hook in the Neverland. Speaking of the actor, Hans Conried isn’t just voice for Hook, as many would assume... He IS Hook as much as any live-action actor could be. I love the old hand-drawn animation style and how they used to use the actors as live-action reference models. (You can see some shots of Hans as the reference model vs the final images of Hook in the film here.) If you’ve ever seen a recording of Hans in one of his other roles, you’ll notice he doesn’t just SOUND like Hook...he makes the same facial expressions (particularly in how he speaks with his eyebrows) and hand/arm motions. It’s small details like this that make Hook (and all the characters) more human and show just how much time, effort, and love the animators put into their work.

What I Didn’t Like:

RACISM. With a capital “R.” There’s no sugar-coating it. Unfortunately, Disney’s film falls victim one of the many problematic tropes of the time when it was made and portrays the island’s native characters as highly caricatured, ignorant, and—in the case of Tiger Lily—romantically exotic people. Their signature song, “What Made the Red Man Red” is lyrically painful to modern listeners with any sense of decency, and the villagers’ character design—from their bright red skin to their large noses and often extreme body shapes (very fat or pencil thin)—along with their badly broken English is highly uncomfortable, to say the least. On the other hand, Tiger Lily, the most realistically drawn native character, is shown dancing flirtatiously for Peter and subsequently rubbing noses with him in what is meant to be a sort of native kiss (based on the concept of the “Eskimo kiss” which in and of itself is not a politically correct term).

Aside from the glaringly obvious issue of racism, my only real complaint with the Disney film is the music. While the songs are pretty standard for films of the day, I personally don’t find most of the music particularly memorable or catchy. “You Can Fly” is alright, I suppose, but the next few songs have their issues. “Following the Leader” and “What Made the Red Man Red” both have racist undertones, and Wendy’s lullaby, “Your Mother and Mine” puts the kids to sleep for a reason... It’s sweet but rather boring and drags on for far too long to keep the audience’s attention. Less time on the lullaby and more pirate sea shanties, please!

On the flip side, Hook is arguably the first Disney villain to get his own theme song, which is pretty cool. The original pirate song (which you can find here) is a bit more sedate than “The Elegant Captain Hook” we end up with and focuses more on the joys of pirating in general than why Hook, specifically, is someone the kids should want to work for. Personally, I’m glad they chose the song that they did, though I do wish they’d given Hook more lines as originally planned. (You can find the lyrics to the full version here.)

Would I recommend it?

Despite its flaws, Disney’s Peter Pan has had a major impact on the legacy of Peter Pan and how we view the characters as well as Neverland itself. It has long been a personal favorite of mine and acted as a gateway into the fandom for me. It introduced me to Hook as a likable, sympathetic, and complex villain and I’ll always be grateful for that. I definitely recommend it to anyone entering the fandom, those with a fondness for the nostalgia of classic Disney films, and kids at heart of all ages.

Overall Rating:

As much as I love the film and want to give it a perfect score, I’d be remiss if I didn’t deduct at least a few points for the depiction of the “Indians.” Otherwise a lovely version of the story so... 4/5 stars

#captain's log reviews #disney peter pan #peter pan disney #peter pan 1953 #disney captain hook #captain hook disney #reviews #disney reviews #movie reviews #film reviews #captains-log-reviews

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skylarmoon71 · 4 years

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Harry Wells x Reader Imagine-(Extra 4)

Disclaimer: I don’t own the show, song or lyrics.

“We’re safe, you’re safe Jesse.” You watched as Harry hugged his daughter like the world was ending. Zoom was finally defeated. Both worlds were free of his wrath. It came at a price though. Even so, everything was actually going to be alright. When Harry was done having his moment he turned in your direction.

“Jesse, I’d like you to meet someone.” your back straightened as you walked towards them. “This is (Y/N). A dignified member of Team Flash, and someone who is very important to me.” you smiled, holding out your hand to shake hers. She took it happily, her face lighting up. You were shocked when she yanked you forward into a hug. “It’s really nice to meet you.” You patted her back.

“Y-Yeah you too. “ When you pulled away you stared at her. “You’re really beautiful.” you complimented. You could see her cheeks brightened as she played with her hair. “Thank you.”

Your eyes drifted from her to Harry. As much as you knew about him, he never really told you anything of his late wife. You assumed it was because he cared about her deeply, her dying must have shattered his world. Then soon after his daughter was taken. Harry experienced so much in his life.

Something else that dawned on you was that Harry would be going back home. The threat was gone, his daughter safe. He really had no reason to stay.

You weren’t sure if maybe he was thinking the same thing. Because he was now wearing a pretty solemn expression.

Joe and Barry came by your side and you got swept away when the dark skinned man hugged you to his chest. Barry wrapped his arms around Joe and you laughed as they kept you in a bear hug. You caught a glance of Harry who was wearing a smile, but his eyes looked so sad.

~~~

When the short celebrations were over, you finally got to spend a minute with Harry. You walked up, brushing a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey stranger. “ he took your hand, running his thumb over your knuckles.

“Hey to you.” you stepped closer, walking into his arms. He welcomed you, holding you closely. You inhaled deeply, loving his scent, the feel of his big arms covering you like a blanket. You always felt safe when you were with Harry. Which was funny since you were the one with superpowers. “It’s over.” Harry nodded. “Yes it is.” you grinned, lifting your head.

“How does it feel?”

“Not to have a psycho speedster trying to kill me? Very good I would say. “

“Always with the sarcasm, why did I expect any different.” you retorted.

He looked at you for a few seconds. “(Y/N).” you gulped, from his tone you knew where this was going. You buried your face into his clothing.

“I know, you don’t have to say it. When are you going back?” His hands ran through your hair.

“At the end of the week. I need to go back. There is so much I have to make up for, so much that needs to be fixed. It’s my responsibility to help. Too many people suffered because of me.” you understood. Right now Earth 2 needed Harrison Wells more than you. You couldn’t be selfish.

“I know Harry.” you held unto him tighter, enjoying what little time you could with him. Who knows how long it would take before he came back, if he came back. All you could do was hope.

“Hey dad, I’m going to hang out with Wally.” Harry grumbled under his breath. Jesse just wore a smile. Her father was so overprotective, especially with what she’d just gone through. You watched their little interaction from your seat.

“Quit being a grump, tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. If you’re nice I may even think about getting you a rose. “

“That’s right!” you almost forgot. With all that was going on the last thing on your mind was celebrating. This was it. You were going to give Harry a Valentine’s Day he wouldn’t forget.

“Hey Jesse, can you come and help me with this thing I’ve been working on. Barry told me you have five majors, so I think you’re just the person for this job.” She looked more than happy.

“Sure I got a little time.” you walked over leading her out. Harry watched a bit suspiciously.

“Why didn’t she just ask me?” He continued looking down the hall, wondering what exactly it was you were working on that you couldn’t enlist him.

When you were out of earshot you took Jesse’s hand, causing her to turn back at you quizzically. “I was kind of lying about that whole project thing, I do need your help though. “

“Sure, what do you need?”

“Well, I know you and Harry are leaving soon, so I wanted to get Harry a really good gift for Valentine’s Day. But short of big belly burgers and expensive weapons, I have no idea what he likes. Do you have any ideas? “ You were looking at her expectantly. A soft look overtook her face.

“You really love him don’t you.” you stammered, face flaming up.

“W-What I-I never said that. W-We’ve only been dating for a few months I just-”

“It’s okay, I won’t say anything. “ Her reassurance made you relax a little. You looked down at your feet a bit self consciously. “I-I haven’t said it yet. He hasn’t either. And if i’m being honest I don’t really expect it this soon. I know how much he loved your mother, I-I can tell. I just..I want him to be happy. I want to make him happy.” you conveyed.

“Listen to me, my dad feels the same way about you trust me. He..he loved my mom and still does. But I can tell that he loves you too. I’ve been with him for years, through all that time I’ve never seen him smile so much. And I think that has something to do with you. All you have to do is tell him how you feel. That’ll be the best gift you could get him. “ your eyes felt like they were about to well up. You wiped at them with a laugh. “Gosh you Wells really know how to tug at my heartstrings. She gave a cute giggle. “What can I say, it’s in my blood.” She pulled you in for a hug.

“But really, thank you for opening his heart again.”

~The Next Day~

Iris walked in with a coffee in one hand and a small teddy bear in the other. When she caught sight of the scarlet speedster she almost sprinted over to him in excitement. She contained herself, watching the way his face glowed when he saw her.

“Hey Iris what brings you-Oh!” She wrapped her hands around his neck, pulling him down for a kiss. He was clearly surprised. When she pulled back she was smiling so wide her cheeks hurt.

“Happy Valentine’s Day Barry.” He looked down at the beautiful women in front of him, wondering how he’d gotten so lucky. “Happy Valentine’s Day Iris. “ when she pulled back she handed him the teddy bear that read “Be mine.” on its stomach. He took it gratefully. His smile matching her own. Caitlin and Cisco watched the scene from their seats.

“All right all right break it up! Some of us aren’t as fortunate.” he huffed munching down on chocolate.

“We could have a movie night Cisco. Just so you won’t feel as lonely. “ Caitlin offered.

“Sure, what’s more pathetic than two single scientists watching reruns as happy couples enjoy this beautiful day.” he commented. She gave him a comforting pat, going back to her work. Harry walked in, moving to his work space. Barry looked over when he saw the red wrapping poking out of his bag. “What you got there Harry?” he asked. Harry looked back, shoving the wrapping deeper into his bag as he tucked the bag under his desk.

“Nothing. “ he answered flatly. Barry smirked.

“Hey, where is (Y/N)?” Iris inquired. Harry pulled out his phone, checking to see if you left a text on your whereabouts. He didn’t see any.

“Maybe she got tired of Harry and ran away.” Cisco joked. Harry’s eyes hardened and Cisco could feel a chill run up his spine and the cold look.

“Does anyone feel cold, I feel cold. I-I’ll go and check the- y-yeah I’ll do that.” he rushed out the room and Caitlin shot Harry a disapproving look.

“He was asking for it Snow. “

“Still, be nice. It’s Valentine’s Day.”

“No promises.” he added. His eyes drifted to his computer, tapping his fingers against the table a bit impatiently. Iris noticed, nudging Barry.

“Maybe you should give (Y/N) a call. Do you think she forgot about today.” she whispered. He shook his head. “I don’t think so, she couldn’t stop talking about it yesterday.” he spoke just as softly. Barry’s head turned forward when the very person he was talking about walked in. Everyone stopped what they were doing when they saw you.

Harry looked pleasantly shocked at your attire.

Barry whistled with a laugh. Iris had to press a hand to her mouth to stop the shout of glee she almost released. You were decked down in a tuxedo, perfectly tailor for your body. Your hair was pulled down in a ponytail, wearing just a touch of makeup. You had a rose in your hand, a smirk on your lips. You walked over to the object of your affections. You stopped when you were standing directly in front of him.

“Harrison Wells, I would be honored if you would be my Valentine. “ you gave a deep bow. Cisco was at the back snapping pictures. Harry finally stood, he still looked at a complete loss for words. You raised, handing him the rose. He took it. “Today, don’t worry about a thing. I’ve taken care of everything. I have reserved dinner for both of us at precisely, 9 pm. The venue, my beautiful apartment of course. For the rest of your day, I’m at your service.”

Harrison was sure of it now, you were unlike any human being he’d ever met in his entire life. You took his hand, placing a kiss on the top of his hand. You looked back up at him.

“Come here often handsome.” you flirted. Cisco broke. He leaned over the desk laughing so hard tears came to his eyes. Caitlin was trying her hardest not to join in.

“Don’t mind him, he’s jealous.” you said. Harrison couldn’t remember ever feeling so damn blessed. Kissing you that day was the best thing he ever did, aside from having Jesse that is.

He played along. “I usually hang out here, but we should find somewhere a bit more private. I think my girlfriend would get a bit jealous if she saw you flirting with me. “ you giggled.

“We can’t have that. What girlfriend would leave such a delicious snack all alone.” Your eyes roved over his tall frame for good measure and he did the same to you. Enjoying the way the suit hugged your body. Even in such an outfit he could see your beautiful curves.

“Shall we?” you offered, stepping to the side as you gestured to the door.

“We shall.” he took your hand as the both of you walked out.

“Just when I thought I’d seen everything. I’m definitely using this as blackmail.” Cisco said tagging the photos he took.

For the rest of the day you and Harry just enjoyed each others company. You walked through the park, watched a movie, even visited a museum. You knew how curious Harry was about the subtle differences on your earth, so you were more than happy to educate him on all that your earth had to offer. The sun had gone down a while ago. You checked your watch, realizing you had about an hour to get everything back at your house ready for Harry. You dropped him back off at Star Labs since he said he needed to get his bag.

“Hey, I just have a few things to take care of before nine, when I’m done I’ll give you a call and you can meet me at the apartment okay. “ He nodded. “That sounds great.” you gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“See you there!” you said rushing off.

When you got to your apartment you basically threw off your waistcoat. You started rummaging, setting up your table for the dinner you planned.

“Candles, food, music, wine! “ you were checking off your list. Your hands dug through the fridge, picking up the bottle of wine. You placed it on the table, satisfied with your layout.

“Kay, got ten minutes to change, need to hurry.” you ranted to yourself. You just wanted everything to be perfect.

~~~

A knock on your door alerted you that your guest was here. “It’s open!”

Harry twisted the knob, walking in. “You should be more careful. It could have been anyone at the door and..” his lecture stopped short when he saw you standing before him. He dropped the bag in his hand.

The room was dimly lit, the table set up so meticulously. You were now wearing a red dress that stopped just above your knees. It was dipped at the front, giving him a view of your cleavage. Your hair was in a loose bun, a few strands laying delicately on your face. You were wearing heels too. Black ones that complimented your dress. Your hands were tucked behind your back.

“Hi.” you said a bit nervously.

“(Y/N), you look...absolutely breathtaking.” you giggled.

“You don’t look too bad yourself. “

Harry was just admiring you, he couldn’t take his eyes off of you.

“Harry.” That snapped him from his daze. He looked you in the eye, giving you his full attention.

“I wanted today to be special. I’ve been meaning to say this to you for a while, but I never seem to work up the nerve. So, instead of saying how I feel, I thought I’d just..sing it for you.”

Your hand moved to your stereo and you twisted it in a motion, making the knob turn. A soft song filled the air and Harry just stood there as you started to sing.

Love

It's a special day

We should celebrate and appreciate

That you and me found something pretty neat

And I know some say this day is arbitrary

But it's a good excuse

That I love to use baby I know what to do baby I,

I will love you, I'll love you, I'll love you

Harry’s eyes wavered at the words that left your mouth. You continued, swaying a little.

Love

I don't need those things

I don't need no ring

I don't need anything

But you with me 'cause in your company

I feel happy oh so happy and complete

And it's a good excuse

That I love to use baby I know what to do baby I,

I will love you, I'll love you, I'll love you

Yeah it's a good excuse

That I love to use baby I know what to do baby I,

I will love you, I'll love you, I'll love you

He walked closer, and you were finding it a bit difficult to continue. You could see the tears forming in his eyes. Despite that he gave you the most heart warming smile.

So won't you be my honey bee giving me sweet kisses all the time

Be mine, be my

Valentine

So won't you be my honey bee giving me sweet kisses all the time

Be mine, be my

Valentine

Be my Valentine

The melody faded out as you finished. He took off his glasses, wiping at his eyes with the heel of his palm. He placed the spectacles right behind you on the table, bringing his attention back to you.

“Harry, I love you so much. These past few months you’ve made me feel so special, so loved. I know we all got off to a rough start, but I’m so thankful I met you. You’re the most amazing man I’ve ever met and I love you. So much.” you confessed. You finally said it. You stood there, heart pounding against your rib cage. He took your face in your hands, looking at you with so much raw emotion.

“Words can’t describe how much you mean to me (Y/N). If anyone should be grateful, it’s me. I love you with every fiber of my being. “ you chuckled, tears running down your cheeks.

“T-That’s good. This would have been awkward if you didn’t.” you joked. Harry laughed, kissing you. When he pulled away, he just looked at you.

“I’m coming back (Y/N). When I’m done with everything, I’ll come for you.” you sniffled. “Y-You promise.”

“I promise.” you smiled. That was it. You would wait for him. Even if it took years, you’d be right here when Harry got back. You found the one you wanted to spend your life with, and you would never let him go. Harry was everything you wanted, and you finally had it. You couldn’t have been happier.

#harrywellsxreader #jessequick #flash #barry #allen #zoom #earth 2 #valentines #love #confession #cuteness #imagine #extra

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robinrunsfiction · 4 years

Note

Hi! ^.^ Maybe number 4 with Dallon, please?

Snowed In

Pairing: Dallon Weekes x Gender Neutral Reader Rating: GeneralRequested By: @aprilpoisonWord Count: 1,700Author’s Note: I’ve never done one set in the Brobecks era before!

“Thanks again for waiting for me Dallon,” you said as you settled into the passenger seat.

“Of course! I know Ryan and the other guys wanted to catch some of the other acts in the festival, but as long as we’re there before we go on stage, I don’t mind,” he shrugged.

You watched the darkening clouds as you drove along. The Brobecks were playing a winter festival in Denver, which meant a long drive. Unfortunately for you, your day job wouldn’t give you the day before off, but Dallon offered to hang back and drive with you so you wouldn’t be stuck driving alone.

You chatted happily with your friend, talking about the latest music you’d heard, what you hoped was coming up for the band, and every other thing you could think of. Every time you offered to take over driving duties, Dallon insisted he could handle it. Eventually you started to feel your eyelids getting heavy, a week of work, band practices and life in general wearing you out, and eventually you were asleep, curled against the cool window.

Dallon glanced over and smiled to himself, you looked so cute when you were sleeping peacefully. He didn’t know how to explain to you that he would have waited until the end of the earth for you, that he’d rather ride with you in this car just to be around you for uninterrupted hours than to do almost anything else.

After a while, his joy of spending time with you turned to concern, as heavy, wet flakes of snow started to fall. Hearing Dallon’s grumbling woke you from your nap.

“What’s goin on? Oh my god that’s a lot of snow!”

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Dallon replied, leaning forward slightly in his seat to watch the road.

“You’re not very convincing,” you replied, nervousness twisting at your stomach. “Maybe we should pull over somewhere until the snow lets up.”

Dallon sighed. “Yea, I think I saw a sign for a town up ahead a couple miles, we can see if it’s going to let up soon, or maybe there’s a motel if we need to wait it out.”

Your heart skipped a little at those words. Going to a motel, with Dallon. Getting a room with Dallon. No, it wasn’t going to be like that. You were friends, bandmates! You couldn’t help your crush on him, he was after all one of the best looking men you had ever seen, not to mention kind, funny, clever and dorky as hell, but you knew you shouldn’t be getting your hopes up.

Soon the sign for a gas station could be seen through the falling snow. You both got out and went inside to find an older man behind the counter, watching a small TV.

“‘Scuse me, do you know if they’re saying the snow will be done soon?” Dallon asked.

The man laughed and turned the TV so you both could see. The meteorologist showed a gigantic swath of blue, indicating snow, moving through the area. “Should be cleared out by morning. Plows will come through when it’s done.”

You looked up at Dallon, stress written across his face. “Is there a hotel or something in town?”

“Yea, stay on the main road, drive about half a mile and it’s on the right side. Tell ‘em Barry sent ya and they’ll give you a good rate,” he smiled.

You both thanked Barry and went back out to the car. “So, do we crash here? Or keep going and potentially crash?” You asked.

“I think I’d rather play it safe. We don’t even have to be there until 4 PM tomorrow. We can call Ryan and let him know.”

You nodded in agreement and set back out through the sloppy snow to your destination. The roads were already turning slick and the car even slid a little as Dallon turned into the driveway of the Evergreen Motel.

You grabbed your bags and headed to the front desk. There was a older lady behind the desk doing a crossword puzzle when you walked in. “Well hello to the luckiest people in town!”

You and Dallon looked at each other, trying to see if the other knew what she meant.

“Why’s that?” You finally asked.

“Well I assume you’re looking for a room to get out of that storm that whipped up? And I happen to only have one left! Anyone who comes after you will have to keep going and the next town is 20 miles away!”

“Oh well, yea, we’ll take what you have!”

The lady grabbed the last key on the wall of hooks behind her and handed it over. “Room 152. Check out is at 11, but the snow should be done by 8 according to the weatherman.”

“And umm, Barry said you’d give us a good rate?”

The lady giggled at that. “Oh Barry is my husband! I’ll certainly give you a good discount if you stopped to see him.”

When you arrived at the room and flipped on the light, you were struck by how dated the decor was, but the room was still clean and well maintained. Then you realized the problem. There was only one bed.

“Oh. Umm, hey Dal,” you started as he walked in behind you.

“Oh,” he said as well when he saw the bed. “And she said this was the last room?”

“Yep.”

“Well, I mean it’s ok right? We’re friends,” he smiled.

“Yea, no, I just didn’t know if you’d be ok with it,” you said awkwardly.

“Yea, no problem,” he replied with a smile and you thought your knees might give out.

You went into the bathroom and brushed your teeth and changed into your pajamas. When you came back out, you found Dallon had changed as well and settled in against the pillows.

“Sorry, I didn’t know what side of the bed you wanted,” he said, about to get up.

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m not picky you said sitting cross legged near the end of the bed. “What are you watching?”

“There’s nothing really on, just a bunch of weird old movies.”

“This whole town feels weird. Like a town out of time.”

Dallon hummed. “I like that, I’m gonna remember that.”

You shrugged in response as you watched the old movie play on the tv, oblivious to the fact that Dallon was paying much more attention to you than to what was on the screen.

As the credits rolled, you stretched and crawled up to the top of the bed and climbed in next to Dallon. The room was a little cold, so finally getting under the blankets felt nice. You both turned out your lights and lay in the dark silence of the room.

“So, umm, goodnight,” he said quietly.

“‘Night,” you replied, staring up at the ceiling, trying to ignore how badly you wanted to cuddle against him.

You didn’t even realize you had fallen asleep until you felt a hand on your arm. “(YN), are you ok?”

“Hmm?” You replied sleepily.

“You’re shivering, are you cold?” Dallon asked concerned.

You realized then be was right, you were freezing. “Yea, I’m cold,” you said, pulling the blankets around you further.

“Come here,” he mumbled, as he pulled you against him, his body so much warmer than yours. He wrapped his arm across your middle, his breath soft against the back of your neck.

“Thanks,” you whispered, not sure what else to say.

“Mmhmm,” he replied sleepily.

The next morning Dallon woke up to the sound of slow plows on the road. When he opened his eyes, he realized that you were in fact still in his arms, sleeping peacefully. He knew in that moment that this couldn’t be the last time this happened. He didn’t want to go back to pining for you, longing for you to finally notice that he was crazy about you.

You started to wake and at first you didn’t remember where you were. Then it dawned on you. The motel room. Dallon. His arm was still around you, holding you tight against him and you didn’t want to move, in case it never happened again.

“(YN)?” Dallon said softly. You closed your eyes tight, wishing the moment wasn’t about to end.

“Yea?” You asked rolling over to look at him.

“I’m glad we got stuck here,” he said.

“Me too,” you whispered.

Dallon looked surprised at your response. “Really?”

“You’re my favorite person,” you admitted, and put your hand on his.

Dallon held his breath as he looked at your hands together before he turned his over and intertwined his fingers with yours. When he looked up, you were smiling softly.

“I’d weather any storm with you,” he said barely above a whisper and your heart felt like it could leap from your chest. You looked up at him and his blue eyes were full of worry. “I think I’m in love with you, (YN).”

“Dal,” you started.

“I’m sorry if I just wrecked everything-”

“You didn’t,” you cut him off. “Because I think I feel the same way.”

“Do you mean it?” He asked, wide eyed.

“Yea Dallon, I really mean it,” you beamed back at him.

Before you could realize what was happening, Dallon was leaning in and pressing his lips to yours. He dropped your hand to caress your cheek and you ran your hand through his hair. When you came up for air, he was looking back at you like he didn’t believe what had just happened and then you both burst out laughing.

“I think this weird old town might be my favorite place on earth,” you laughed.

“Me too,” he grinned, before leaning back in and kissing you again.

After checking out, you stopped for donuts and coffee and continued the rest of the journey to Denver.

“About time you guys got here!” Ryan exclaimed when you arrived. “We were starting to worry you guys ran off together and left us here to play without you!”.

“Well, funny you should say that,” Dallon started with a smirk as he wrapped his arm around your shoulder and you grinned up at him.

#dallon weekes x reader #dallon weekes imagine #dallon weekes fanfic #dallon weekes fan fic #dallon weekes fan fiction #idkhow fan fic #idkhow fan fiction

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callunavulgari · 4 years

Text

TOP 25 FICS OF 2019

1. these roads will take you into your own country by @notbecauseofvictories | American Gods | Laura Moon/Mad Sweeney | WIP | 33k

Here’s a joke for you: a Muslim, a zombie, and a leprechaun walk into a bar in Misery, Indiana. No one stares, because no one in the puckered, shitty asshole of Misery, Indiana gives a fuck. The Colts are playing.

Heather Says: So. It’s funny that another of @notbecauseofvictories‘s stories is at the top of my list again this year. Keep in mind this list is sorted by when the fic was read rather than favorites (because that would get real complicated real quick). Clearly there must be something about January. There’s just something about the writing that is easy to slip into, be it a Star Wars fic or a Labyrinth fic or even a fic about Johnny and the Devil. This was lovely and I can’t wait until it’s finished.

2. eighteen wheels on an uphill climb by @honkforhankcon | Detroit: Become Human | Hank/Connor | 91k

Hank is going to die. He’s going to die right here in Kentucky, 53 years old, halfway to broke, and tragically sober. Survived only by a nine-year-old St. Bernard and the 31-year-old twink who delivered the fatal blow.

Heather Says: I don’t think that this is the first DBH fic that I sought out after beating the game, but it is the first that I loved enough to make it to this list. I didn’t think that I would go for a modern au for this fandom, certainly not a modern au wihere Hank is a truck driver and Connor is a sex worker (albeit briefly?) but here I am.

3. Fuck pride (pride only hurts, it never helps) by ImogenGotDrunk | Detroit: Become Human | RK900/Gavin Reed | 41k

After the android uprising, Connor becomes a permanent fixture in the DPD. That’s fine. Gavin can accept that. The dipshit’s more human than he used to be, and a decent detective to boot. Gavin can deal with him being around. What Gavin cannot deal with is Connor’s replica; two inches taller, blue-eyed, and with a mouth that Gavin doesn’t know whether to punch or take between his teeth. The RK900 model has been assigned as his partner for the foreseeable future.

Heather Says: I also never thought that I’d like a fic with Gavin in it. But I got curious about all the Reed900, and well, this fic really won me over. The writing is fantastic, and it softens Gavin while still keeping him believable. Also, well, I like the enemies to lovers thing.

4. Almost Cool by @blacktofade | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 30k

While filming the Yuma Territorial Prison episode, Shane gets bitten by what he thinks is a bat. Spoiler alert: it's not.

Heather Says: This is actually the first thing that I read for this fandom. In fact, this is the fic that got me into Buzzfeed Unsolved in the first place. I’d seen a lot of art and gifs and fics pass my way, but I was only ever slightly interested in what I saw until this fic came through my inbox and piqued my curiosity.

5. Pride by @astolat | Game of Thrones | Jaime/Brienne/Cersei | 22k

Jaime didn’t understand why Cersei suddenly insisted on trimming his hair and shaving his beard, but he also didn’t care to fight her on it, even though he’d just as soon have kept the beard: it was bitterly cold in the small tower room with its arrow-slits.

Heather Says: Wowza. This fic was intense. I’ve always loved Jaime and Brienne. I’ve loved them since the second book, which was read at least a few years before I started loving them in the show. Adding Cersei to their dynamic would have probably been almost impossible to pull off if it was anyone else, but @astolat lives to surpass my expectations.

6. Skin and Scales by Ernmark | The Penumbra Podcast | Lord Arum/Sir Damien/Rilla | 18k

The man glares, and this time, Damien is certain it isn’t a trick of the light: those eyes are violet as amethyst. He wears disdain like a second skin–- or, perhaps, like the scales that he is missing. “Lord Arum?”

Heather Says: I was one of those people who skipped through all of the Second Citadel episodes during my first listen through of Penumbra. The stories were good, but the pull of Juno was too great. A couple months after I finished, I went back and listened to everything I didn’t. And let me tell you. Lizard monster. Honorable knight. Bookish girlfriend. Poly. It hit every single button I had and then some. This fic really hit the spot when I ran out of story.

7. someone you like by caela | She-Ra | Adora/Catra | 5k

catwithabat u think ur so hipster but u just look like a lesbian 27m she_ra @catwithabat bc… i’m a lesbian. lmao 5m

Heather Says: Noooot usually a big fan of high school fics. Namely because I’m not in high school anymore and well, after you read so many in your teenage years they sort of lose their luster. This one was phenomenal enough to change my mind.

8. Sands of Time by @tirsynni | Legend of Zelda | Ganondorf/Link | WIP | 98k

Link awakens in the desert with no idea how he got there, to encounter his worst enemy...except it was the King of the Gerudo, not the King of Evil, he faced.

Heather Says: I have seen a lot of really good Link/Ganondorf art over the years, but never really stumbled across a fic that didn’t have judicious amount of non-con involved. But the Breath of the Wild 2 trailer happened, and everybody started drawing really pretty art, so I went looking. And lo and behold, @tirsynni saved the day with this gorgeous time travel/fix-it fic.

9. killed with kindness by veterization | Persona 5 | Akechi/Akira | 52k

Goro can't quite figure out why so many people keep acting like they're his friend. (Or: the one where the Phantom Thieves decide to know thy enemy, befriend thy enemy, love thy enemy, crush on thy enemy).

Heather Says: I’ve read a couple of veterization’s fics over the years, and to date they have never disappointed me. They published this in June, and I think I clicked on it mostly because I was bored and hadn’t read any good P5 fic yet. This was basically just what the doctor ordered, and I was really happy to find something where Akechi’s story went ever so slightly different.

10. paper thin by @ebonybow | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane/Sara | 9k

Shane’s new neighbors are a morning-sex kind of couple.

Heather Says: So I went into this one knowing very little about how Sara fit into things. I didn’t know she was Shane’s girlfriend. I’d never even seen her, but I clicked because I like poly and I trust the author. I was 100% not disappointed. There’s also another fic with a very similar dynamic here, which is also aces.

11. damn.nation, now available on itunes by @kaikamahine | Good Omens | Aziraphale/Crowley | 11k

When lowly tempt-pusher Amphora (formerly of Stairwell 7B North, before she Fell,) gets the notice that end times are nigh, she gleefully quits her job and cancels her Netflix subscription and takes her place among the legions of hell. This, it turns out, was a bad plan.

Heather Says: Elizabeth may have only written one fic this year, but she made it a damn good one. I’ve always loved her OCs especially, so I was pretty tickled that this is 10k+ of outsider pov. Also, demons! Demons are great! This demon is great! I want like 9 seasons and a movie about Amphora, just saying.

12. The Dragon and Her Wolves by hapakitsune | Game of Thrones | Jon/Sansa/Daenarys | 60k

When the truth of Jon's birthright is revealed, control of the North and Daenerys's claim to the Iron Throne are both called into question. To preserve their tenuous alliance and secure her rule, Daenerys puts aside her personal feelings to arrange a marriage of political convenience between Jon and Sansa Stark.

Heather Says: What do you mean season 8 didn’t exist and the show totally ended with a three way relationship between the two most powerful women in Westeros and Jon Snow? Never been a big fan of Jon/Sansa before this, but this is another of those writers that I would literally trust if they wrote a fic about a fork and a spoon.

13. never tell me the odds by @wildehacked | Wolf 359 | Eiffel/Hera | 9k

“I tried Star Wars," he says, adjusting the phone under his neck, "and it was way underwhelming.”

A shaky breath from her end. “Well, where did you start?”

Heather Says: I don’t remember which of @wildehacked‘s fandoms I started reading first. Most recently it’s been The Magnus Archives (more on this later). The point is, they’d written Wolf 359 fic and it had Hera and Eiffel and it was literally everything that I’ve been looking for since the series ended.

14. Find Me Somebody by raiining | Good Omens | Warlock/Adam Young | 11k

“You left me,” he said. “You both left me, for him. And I can’t even blame you, because I’d have left me for him too.”

Heather Says: There was an Art. The art was lovely. So I went looking, because that’s what I do when faced with beautiful art depicting a rare pairing. And I found the holy grail. Like, possibly my favorite Good Omens fic? Ever?

15. flirting with fire by @brawlite | Stranger Things | Billy/Steve | WIP | 7k

Steve's a cop, Billy's a firefighter. It's not a grudge, it's just a regular old small town rivalry.

Heather Says: Okay so brawlite has written a lot of great stuff this year (more on that later), but I read this in bed at the beach house this August while I was reeling from both a horrible sunburn and like seven hours of mild to moderate day-drinking while everyone else was still throwing back shots right outside my bedroom door. Jaws was playing on the tv and I wasn’t even paying attention to it, because THIS. Long story short, I’ve been thirsty for more ever since.

16. gold, when you find me by mmtion | The Flash | Iris/Barry | 53k

It's not that Iris hates The Flash, per say - more that she hates writing about The Streak in a weekly, pun-heavy comic based on The Flash.

Heather Says: I never would have thought that a canon pairing would make it to my Top 25 list, but here we are. I like Iris/Barry a lot better when they don’t grow up together and spend a lot of time playing the Superman game, apparently. Also, this was really well-written, and sexual tension has never been something I’ve felt from Barry and Iris, but I felt it in this fic. Just. Damn.

17. never gets old by @brawlite & @toast-ranger-to-a-stranger| Stranger Things | Billy/Steve | 78k

Falling in love with a cam boy named KingSteve isn't the smartest thing Billy Hargrove has ever done, nor is it the most healthy -- but the good choice is rarely ever the fun choice, and Billy is all about living life fast and loose.

Heather Says: Told you I’d come back to it. brawlite and toastranger are a fantastic team. last year was cherry pie and under the covers, this year it’s camboys and cop/firefighter dynamics. Also, I have a really strange fascination with fics where a character has an instragram. It’s really, incredibly strange. Also also, every time I see this fic title I get that one Discovery Channel song stuck in my head. And no, it probably isn’t the one you’re thinking.

18. ways to save the world by @wildehacked | The Magnus Archives | Martin Blackwood/Jon Sims | 19k

“I left you,” Martin says softly.

Heather Says: And we’re back at wildehacked too! The Magnus Archives was a thing that happened to me. This is I think the first fic I read for it while listening, and it was so very close to what we got in canon. I think when it comes down to it though, I still prefer this fic, even if the ending of this season was pretty fantastic.

19. The Denial Twist by beethechange | Buzzfeed Unsolved | Ryan/Shane | 35k

“This is kind of surreal,” Shane says, taking a sip of his tea. It’s piping hot and delicious, except it tastes like hot chocolate and not like tea at all. “Sort of—Wonka-esque, right? Or Alice in Wonderland.”

Heather Says: While the vampire one is my favorite both because it is excellent and because it was my first, this one was bizarre and sexy and also I read it like only a month or so ago! The dancing was my favorite part, but having dreams to work with made this story fantastically interesting and I loved every second of it.

20. silver in our lungs by taywen | Spinning Silver | Miryem/The Staryk Lord | 4k

The marks had been with Miryem for as long as she could remember. There were a number of them, all the same shade, following one after the other around her left wrist. They were pale as old scars, though they felt no different from the rest of her skin, and her mother claimed that Miryem had been born with them.

Heather Says: I really like soulmate aus. There’s so many different ways to twist them and the way they can sometimes change the dynamic entirely and other times not change them at all is just fascinating. I’ve been hoping there would be more Spinning Silver content on ao3 and running into this while I was trying to decide what I wanted to do for yuletide was a real treat.

21. you got me begging, begging, i'm on my knees by plalligator | The Queen’s Thief | Attolia/Eugenides/Costis | 5k

Costis has a particularly enlightening evening. (or, that struggle when you're a guard who's in love with your rulers and it turns out you would kind of like it if they bossed you around a little)

Heather Says: I accidentally re-read the King of Attolia and it made me consider ships I had perhaps not previously considered. This was really lovely and just steamy enough.

22. something more alive than silence by pageleaf | The Queen’s Thief | Attolia/Eugenides/Costis | 21k

It was a good thing that six months after the king had promised to halve the guard, he still hadn’t done it, because since then, there had been two attempts on the king’s life.

Heather Says: I want to only type the words AGONIZED NOISES to describe this fic because that’s basically my headspace when I get 21k of a shiny new ot3, but I mean. Really. This is super good and maybe my favorite yet? Why didn’t I start reading this fandom when I first read the books?

23. Timing it Right by DragonBandit | The Bright Sessions | Mark/Damien | 14k

The dragon chooses, Mark knows that as well as any boy born in a weyr. He'd never considered what that would mean if the dragon picked someone you hated. He's starting to think that was a mistake.

Damien's gold rises at Whitney. Mark tries to make things right.

Heather Says: This should actually be somewhere back in March, but I apparently closed out of the tab at some point. I never really got into Pern much. I have the first three books, but got most of the way through the first one a long time ago and then never picked it back up. I didn’t think I would like this, mostly because of the fact that I hadn’t gotten into the books, but was surprised to find that I absolutely loved it.

24. Keep It In Your Sights Now by LuckyDiceKirby | Shades of Magic | Lila/Kell/Holland | 9k

Holland travels with Lila and Kell. Somewhere along the way, they reach an equilibrium.

Heather Says: I love the new things I’ve discovered during my yuletide trompings. I don’t think I ever actually considered this pairing when I first read the books, but I am just so enamored with the idea of the three of them together. Like, why did I not realize that potential back then? This was lovely, and I loved it, and I want so much more out of this pairing than what ao3 has to offer me.

25. Charioteer by petrichoral | The Queen’s Thief | Gen & Costis | 13k

Captured in battle and stuck in the Mede capital, Costis has given up all hope of seeing his country again. But Eugenides has a habit of turning up where he's least expected.

Heather Says: Technically this shouldn’t be on here because I only read it today, but it was really wonderful and so canon typical. Gen and Costis were perfect in it, Irene was perfect in it. Everyone was perfect and nothing hurts.

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bandsconcertsfood · 5 years

Text

Let Go

Part 2 to I Never Stood A Chance, Did I?

Don't really have to read part 1 to read this part However here's the link to part 1: Link!

Jace Wayland/Herondale x Reader

Summary: After Y/N leaves Central City she moved back to the Institute and Jace finally reveals his feelings for her and they start dating. What happens when Team Flash decides to come look for her in Brooklyn and accidentally capture her parabatai, threatening to kill her, unless she tells them where Y/N is. Will she reveal herself to them?

4 Months Ago: "Y/N I know it's only been two months since you got back from Central City but I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date with me" Jace says as I walk into the weapons room. "Clary told me y'all were dating" I tell him as I grab a Seraph blade, semi confused. When I met Clary, she seemed kind of jealous by how close Jace and I were but eventually warmed up to me and we became good friends, not close friends though. "Well she lied, so yes?" he asks, slightly irritated that Clary lied to me. "Yes, tomorrow night" I say and go and train with Izzy, telling her what happened. As I'm walking out of training I bump into Clary, "I don't want to repeat what happened in Central City so please don't hate me but I'm going on a date with Jace. We've been best friends for years and I've always wanted this" I tell her truthfully. "I'm sorry, after what you went through two months ago, I shouldn't have been selfish, ever since I was forced into this world all I did was be selfish, I won't get in between you guys, forgive me" she asked sincerely. I smile at her and we hug, slightly giggling.

Present: "Y/N would you like to go on a date with me to maybe the pizza place on main street?" Jace asked, so many things have been happening with Lilith that we haven't gone on a date in a while. "Sure, usual time?" I asked as I walked into the common room as Alec is talking to Izzy. "Of course" he says kissing me on the cheek and walking towards the Lightwoods as Clary approaches me. "You guys seem happy together" she says smiling. I know this must be hard for her but she's been super supportive of us, something I realized I should've done with Barry and Iris. I wonder how they're all doing. Especially Caitlin, last we saw each other was painful. "Wanna help me get ready for tonight?" I ask and she nods excited. We giggle and walk to my room. A few minutes later Izzy walks in, "you didn't invite me" she pouts giggling. I decided on leather pants, a noodle strap black crop top and some black wedges. I decided not to wear makeup other than red lipstick that Izzy let me borrow. "Have fun" she says "What are you guys going to do" I asked curious. "We're going on a mission, apparently a fast mundane has been asking about shadowhunters so we're going to find him" Clary replies before Izzy says anything. I freeze. Bartholomew. "Go on your date and don't worry about it. We'll take care of it" Izzy says and grabs my hand and leads me to the common room. "I know who it is, please don't go after him. He's looking for me" I tell her quietly. "Who is he" "He's the one that got me killed" I say before Jace walks in. He kisses me and I look at Izzy one last time before we go to our favorite pizza place for a nice night. Not knowing Izzy was going to talk to Barry... alone.

Barry's P.O.V.

We were next to an old abandoned church. It was me, Caitlin, Iris, Cisco and Joe. They wanted to come with me, I had finally managed to ask Caitlin why she didn't want me to search for Y/N's body when she finally told me the truth. Now I'm in Brooklyn, wanting her to come back. After I saved Iris, she started dating Eddie again, that's when I realized the one for me was Y/N. Out of the church came a woman in all black. She had long black hair. I ran and grabbed her, tying her up, there was a chair and Joe made her sit on it. "What do you know about shadowhunters" I asked her, noticing she had the exact same tattoos as Y/N. "Leave" is all she grumbles. "I think she's a shadowhunter" Cisco says excitedly. "Where's Y/N?" "She's better of without you getting her killed. At least here she's loved" she spits out. "Please I'm her best friend" Caitlin begs. The lady laughs, Iris goes and slaps her leaving everyone shocked. "You? Her best friend? I have a rune that begs to differ. Her and I are connected, our souls are as one. If you kill me, you kill a part of her, how's that for best friends" she says. "Find her phone" Joe says. "You won't reach her, her phone is always left at the institute during date night" the mysterious woman says. I feel a pang of jealousy, she's on a date? Joe looks through her contacts, "I feel like we should call Jace or Simon" Cisco says giggling, excited to be meeting nephilim. "This is serious Cisco" Caitlin says, not regretting her choice to tell me the truth. I noticed how the woman's eyes widened when Cisco said the name Jace. "Try Jace" I said serious.

Third P.O.V.

Jace and Y/N were talking when he got a phone call. "It's Izzy" he says answering, putting it on speaker since we were the only two at the pizza place. "This is Barry Allen. We're next to the broken church on main. Give us Y/N and this woman goes unharmed." he says and hung up. "It's Barry" Jace says getting mad, the only ones that knew the whole truth about Central City were Magnus, Jace, Raphael, and Alec, Y/N didn't want Izzy to worry so she never mentioned the details, just the overall that she got shot by a crazy man.

Barry's P.O.V.

"She hates you" the woman, we found out her name is Isabelle, says. "She is my best friend and I will take her home" Caitlin says, proudly. "Again, she's my best friend, my sister, my literal other half. Also Jace won't let her go. And if you think she'll leave with you, you're going to have to get through vampires, werewolves, seelies, warlocks, shadowhunters, and lastly me. Every downworlder and shadowhunter loves her. Like I said, we protect our own here, you just let them die." Isabelle says, I notice Iris, Joe and Cisco suddenly look afraid. "I'm not afraid of monsters" I say, knowing I'll be taking Y/N home, especially once I tell her i love her. "Maybe we should leave" Cisco suddenly squeaks out. "I'm going to agree with Cisco" Joe says but Caitlin answers before I do, "we're not leaving without my best friend."

"Back away from Izzy" I hear a very angry deep voice say. "Hi Alec!" Isabelle says happily and walks up from the chair. I just realize she was untying herself as we talked. "call for backup" he tells her and he points an arrow straight at me. "I'm the fastest man alive, so that won't really work" I say and flash to him and get the arrow then back to my original spot. He immediately has another arrow pointed at me. He's almost as good as Oliver. Almost.

Caitlin's P.O.V.

I notice Isabelle is calling someone, is it Y/N? "We just want Y/N" Iris says and the guy named Alec points the arrow at her. Now I'm starting to get nervous. Suddenly there's some type of portal and 3 guys walk out with a redhead. "Heard you're here for Y/N/N" the palest guy asked, he had some latino features but he was extremely pale. Barry grabs the Isabelle girl and holds her tight. "Let go of her" Alec says and grabs Iris, this is getting extremely dangerous. Suddenly someone walks in and says, "You let her go or I swear to god!" I turn around and it's..

Y/N's P.O.V.

"You let her go or I swear to god!" I say walking in and notice Bartholomew had grabbed my parabati. "You heard her" Barry says to Alec, Raphael starts to laugh. "Y/N-" Caitlin starts as she steps closer to me. "I meant you Bartholomew Henry Allen, don't you dare lay your hands on my best friend" I say ignoring Caitlin, I am furious with her. She promised she wouldn't tell them. "What? Y/n I love you, let's go home, to Central City" Barry says, I sigh and take out my seraph blade, "let go of my best friend" I say getting into a stance, that's when I notice everyone had gotten into their own fighting stance. "Ok, let's just talk this out" Cisco says getting in between me and Barry. "Francisco move before something happens to you." I say looking straight at Barry. "We won't repeat ourselves, let go of Izzy and you can have your mundane back" Alec says, his grip on Iris tightening, she winces but I don't even care. Barry lets go of Izzy, knowing that he may be the fastest man alive but he won't be able to save his entire team. Once Izzy gets to me safely Alec throws Iris back at Barry. Immediately Izzy is standing with her snake out. "What the fuck are you doing here? Couldn't you just stay in Central?" I ask pissed but slightly more calm when Jace stands next to me and holds my hand. "Y/N I love you" Barry says and I can't help but laugh. "You sure didn't love me when you looked into my killer's eyes and told him to spare Iris and not me. You could've saved us both but no, you wanted me dead" I tell him, knowing it was easy to find us because he had made us all get tracking rings so he'd be able to find us. "I didn't know where you were" he said crying trying to get close to me. Jace gets in front of me and Izzy gets ready in case he gets too close, "What about the rings? You gave us rings so you'd find us, you could've saved us both but you wanted to be the hero in her story, not our stories" I say knowing he wanted to save her so she'd fall in love with him. "I made a mistake" is all he whispers. "Y/N-" Caitlin starts. "Don't even speak bitch" Is all I tell her and begin walking away. "Go home Flash. You're not needed here. I see you again and I will kill you, that's a promise" Is all I say and walk into the Portal that Magnus had created, I needed a movie night at the Bane apartment with all my friends, they quickly follow behind, understanding what I wanted.

#jace wayland x reader #jace herondale x reader #jace wayland imagine #jace herondale imagine #Jace wayland #the mortal instruments #shadowhunters imagine

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rudbeag · 4 years

Text

ClodFlash. Coffee Shop AU (Barry)

Fandom : The Flash (TV 2014), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)

Name : Coffee is a hug in a mug. Coffee Shop AU.

Rating : Not rated (I could say it’s a General audience, with a kiss and one or two bads words)

Relationships : Barry Allen/Leonard Snart (main) - Maisie(OC)/Karen(OC) - Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak - Iris West/Eddie Thawne (mention)

Characters : Barry Allen, Leonard ‘Len’ Snart, Maisie Hilston-Fell (OC), Karen Hilston-Fell (OC), Oliver Queen, William Queen, Felicity Smoak, Mia Smoak, Lisa Snart, Iris West

Tags : Tumblr: otpprompts, Imagine your OTP, OTP Questions, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Love Confessions, Misunderstandings, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Other Additional Tags to Be Added

Summary : Just a ColdFlash OTP prompt/questions found on tumblr. Each one of the questions will have an OS attached to it, so it will make it greater and way more interesting. The series will contains different OTP situations/Challenges etc.

1. In a coffee shop AU, who would be the barista who keeps spelling the other person’s name wrong? Barry and Leonard's different first Meeting.

Words : 6710 / 6.7K

Chapters : 1/2

Disclaimer : This OTP question was taken from the moon dust writings, Tumblr.

Read On AO3

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Chapter 1 ; I think that we need to be open to exploring something new. (Barry)

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1. In a coffee shop AU, who would be the barista who keeps spelling the other person’s name wrong?

Rep : Both, they will both do it, in different ways. BUT, it's always Leonard L. Snart's fault.

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Barry Allen, 22, whose name is Bartholomew, was a barista in the coffee shop "Tasty Interlude" in Central City. The Shop, belonging to Maisie Hillston-Fell, who is one of his High school best friends, is one of the most famous in the whole city of Central City. Because of the nice behavior of the staff, the quality of the coffees, the way the shop is open 24/7, the diverse and various tastes in drinks and multiples pastries they propose and the overall pleasant atmosphere - Which result to Maisie, who provides a reduction to nice people and allow an increase in the prices to those who are extremely rude and vulgar. This was a brilliant move, as Barry had spotted his second bully, Jamison Lordge — Tony still gets the first, but he already dealt with him — being nice and behave like a gentleman. Which, not to be rude, he is not.

Barry had worked for a month when he perceived him for the very first time; around 9 pm, during a wintry day, as it was winter and the barman was having a night shift. He was putting the Croissant and Napoleons in the display cases with some other pastries; Baklava, Chocolate pies, cream puffs, and Chestnut fondant cake, when he spotted this heavily enveloped man in front of the shop. He quickly cleansed his hands, thinking that maybe the man wanted to come in for a hot coffee.

The stranger was tall — bigger than him and barry was 183 cm or 6' 0 — and was wearing a white shirt with a black pant, dark baker boots with a leather vest of the same color. He was on top of that, wearing gray gloves, a knitted scarf with multiples shades of beige, a dark gray beanie, and winter protective glasses. Barry thinks the man is doing relatively too much as it was not that cold outside. Or maybe it is, he doesn't remark how the weather is as he had worked from 4 pm. He waited for the man to get in, but he didn't move at all, which was a bit disturbing because Barry was certain he was looking at him.

The man had already disappeared when Barry had jerked his head in surprise as he heard suspect sound from the back; fortunately, it was nothing more than Rosie, the store mascot, that leaves the shop by the kitchen's window. He couldn't find him. He surely was waiting for someone or was homeless waiting for something. Barry had lost his light fear and was a bit sad for not knowing if it was someone in need of something hot to warm him. Nothing more had happened next, and only two people had come taking hot drinks. It was the less exhausting and crowded night shift he had until now, since he started this work one month and a half ago.

When Barry's shift ended, at 11 pm and he said goodbye to the other staffs and get a leaving. He took with him a bunch of hot coffees cups for Joe, Eddie and the homeless that lives near the bus station he will pass by and where Joe will pick him. He sends them his biggest smile, while giving them their coffees cups; Latte for Gerard and Winston, Hot cocoa for Liam and decaffeinated for Julian, Roy and Old Liam. He took time to talk with them before wishing a goodnight to everyone and hoping a brighter next day when Joe's car was spotted.

Barry had totally forgot about the strange standing man until he saw him again, a few days later. He could recognise him due to his boots and the way he was standing; he was standing in a specific way that is actually common but gives certain vibes to Barry that he finds it way too strange, not that he is not a weird nerd that plays vigilante as he is one of the fastest men alive but this will certainly place him in a whole other level. He politely smiled at him as he entered the shop.

Today, the man is wearing a black shirt with the same dark pant and same biker boots but is having a blue parka and the gloves only. Barry can perceive his attractive, deep, blue-grey eyes and the only thing he could think about is that he is handsome and really charismatic. The man smiles back, while coming towards the counter.

" - Hello, sir and welcome to Tasty Intelude may I get your order, please?"

"- Hello. I am unfamiliar with this establishment and don't know what to try. Can you please help me with that? " He looked at the barman with a slight smile that emits the same energy as a smirk. Even his voice is charismatic; low, smooth and slow. The younger really loves it. " Barry. "

Barry felt more than saw his ears changing colors to a pinkish one; his name said by this voice sound like something more than it really is and it makes him feel strange, he quite don't want to know why. The barman then nodded after a few seconds because of the intensity of the look the attractive man is giving him.

" - With pleasure, what is the type of drinks you like? Creamy, sweet or strong?" He asked, while giving the menu a look, already knowing everything that was there but still needing for some assistance.

" - Surprise me."

These words made Barry look at gorgeous man with wide eyes and a hint of blush on his cheeks. What is he trying to do? He then nodded a bit, incertain. None of them had noticed how staff near, Maisie and Karen, her wife, were looking back and forth at them with an amused gazes. After another a little awkward second, the consumer added.

" - Give me any drink you think suits me, I have fait in you. Barry." He smirked again and leaned over a little bit " I'll tell you if it was good or not. And make it large size."

" - O-okay. Great." Barry was, already, dark pink.

He thinks rapidly and looked over the coffee to get a sudden idea for what to give him, when he spotted a cup. It was Iris and Eddie, in an early morning coffee date, totally forgetting they are not alone in the shop despite being an extremely advanced hour. He knows what first hot drink he will serve him and started working on it. When he finished, he was satisfied with himself for few seconds before asking himself why is he proud. It is plain weird. He turned to the man and shows him the fuming cup.

" - What name should I put in?" He asked with a smile but it merges to frowns when handsome gives him a teasing smirk.

" - It wouldn't be funny if I give you my name, but my last name is Snart. Good luck, Barry. "

Barry was panicked; he is used to people giving him incorrect names; which might be funny at some point - some use famous actors, singers names or even movies or book characters - or telling him some that he never heard about before. But he didn't once meet someone that ask him to take a guess and find his name. That wa the weirdest thing ever, and it's from the same person.

" - There is your order, Mister Snart, it's a Caffee Latte, with a half spoon of sugar. Hope you will like it."

He writes Snart on the cup before giving it to him, Mr. Snart look at the cup for a long time that it made Barry nervous and thought that he will ask him to redo anther one. The man in front of him only gives him a mysterious smile then take the cup.

" - That was a clever move, unfortunately Snart won't work on it's own. Think about it for the next time we'll meet." He took the cup after paying and was going to go, but turned to look at the young barista. " And Mr. Snart won't either. I'll come tomorrow, have a nice day, Red."

Snart leaves the coffee shop, not after winking at Barry — that absolutely missed it - and let the two other staffs corning the poor young man and interrogate him about how is this hotie that was totally flirting with him — " yes, Bartholomew, he was totally flirting with you. " and make him spilt the tea about who is this person. They only could make him talk to them when it was their shift's end, which coincided with the arrival of the other workers and, of course iris was spotted inside as well. His foster adoptive sister and best friend directly joined them right when Barry was blushing.

" -What is going on, why is our little Barry is as pink as a flamingo? " She asked while setting her bag, containing her laptop on the ground, and look at them with questioning eyes.

" - He is blushing because a hot consumer flirted with him with the hottest way possible and a little game." Maisie explained.

Without waiting even a second, Karen explained everything that happened when Snart arrived, lacking to give any name. She does want to know what is the stranger's name to encourage his rgame with Barry, but if she gives the name to Iris, she will totally go and try to investigate everything about him and that will make the game end and maybe will ruin the chance of Barry with him because as much as she appreciates her — She really loves her. She is kind and daring and loves to help other people — but she is insistent and will surely will stalk the man or be fascinated with Snart overmuch that it will frightens him and push him away from the cutest male she ever met.

" - I am not blushing. And totally don't know who he is, I've never met him before." That was not a total lie, but he actually really never met him before. " He is just having jokes and want me to find his name. He was totally not flirting with me. I mean, it's normal, it does happen often... Right?"

By the looks he gets from all three girls; It seems that this games does not happen that often, which makes him turn pretty silent and blush a lot more than he already did. Okay. Maybe the charismatic man was really flirting with him — which he doubts — Or was acting his usual way, he couldn't know, and it truly means nothing for him. The girls were aware of what he was thinking but said nothing — Iris got warning from the two others — and decided to only interfere when Barry is clueless. Or will lost his likely future boyfriend, that they hope it will be more like a future husband. Barry, then receive a call, which is not unusual but he is lucky enough to be able to get a little rest.

—•—••–

As Snart had said, he came back the next day at seven;he was wearing a beige shirt, a black pant, some leather shoes and a grey parka that is less heavy than his blue one - Barry preferred the other. He waited until Barry was available to make his drink and talk for a while. His slight smile was left on his face, and he had put some great cologne. Barry greeted him with his usual big smile, and if this one was more vivid and joyous than the ones he gives newcomers, no one have to know it. Even if they seem to already do it.

" - Hello Barry. Have you found my name yet?" That was the first thing he naturally said to him, with a smirk. "The latte was good, but not that grandiose, unfortunately. What will I get today, superman? A medium size cup, please. We wouldn't desire me to have problem sleeping, wouldn't we."

Barry's ears blushes strongly before he started working on the next drink he will provide him. He had, indeed thought about his name but nothing came in mind, so he decided to start Alphabetically. Wishing from the bottom of his heart that his name wasn't from another country otherwise, he will never find it. He put the ingredients in the medium-sized cup. In the meanwhile, Snart was having a discussion with him.

" - So, how is your ankle? " He asked, gaining a weird look from the Barista, that didn't disturb him but he continued talking. "I saw you walking in the main street yesterday around 7 pm, like someone that suffer a twisted ankle. You really should be more attentive, the street is quite slippery in this period of the year I wouldn't want to stop seeying my favorite barista."

" - Oh, it was nothing, just me being a little clumsy. My foot is good!" He offers him a big smile, looking at his foot with the spiderman logo, a hint of blush on the back of his neck. "I'm absolutely fine, thanks for your concerns."

Barry was internally panicking; yesterday he had fought a metahuman with a rock power, he had been injured by him. Snart must have witnessed him when he was going home while his body was recovering from the attack he got. He offered him a smile to hide his nervousness before giving him his hot drink. It was a classic Cappuccino with sugar. He wanted to try classic drinks before going to the complex ones. Handsome took it carefully and look at the name.

" - Aaron? I am way to handsome to an Aaron, don't you think?" He playfully gives him a smile while paying. "It smels good. Thanks, have a a nice day."

Barry was speechless by what did not-Aaron had said, and he didn't know how to respond. He can't lie and say he was not "too" handsome, seeing as it is a lie, and it will upset him. He also, can't just admit he is handsome, since he is too nervous for that and because if he does this, the girls will never let it go, and he will get teased about this for a long time.

Snart note his reaction, and his smirk was way too marked not to be a tease, but it didn't make the barista want to make it disappears — he doesn't want to accept yet why he wants that with the other, but not with Snart — more it causes his face to get warmer. He winked again before looking at Barry with a gleam in his eyes. He turned after that and left the coffee shop, with his cup tightly in his hand. A smile hidden on his face.

—•—••–

For about three months, Snart came back to the coffee, in Barry's shift. He once arrived and it was not, thought — it was Maisie's and she gives him the man's schedule — so he came back later, to find him, and he rarely did miss their meetings on his own mistake, sometimes Barry have emergencies. He became good acquittance with the owners of the shop after that, and he somehow appreciate the couple, both of them .

He and the barista became pretty close and now, Barry flirt back with Batman. It's a long story; all you have to know is that Jamison was way too touchy with an awkward barista — Barry, who had ended his shift — and it didn't pleased Mr. Handsome, so he suggested the bastard should not touch what wasn't his, wearing all black. The next day, he got a free drink from the staff to thank him. Still, the best thing he was given was a lovely message on the cup "Thanks for protecting me, Batman" from Barry. Now, the hero's name is one of his nicknames. He pretty much likes it, because Barry is the only one to use it.

Barry — Bartholomew, he had learnt, when it was suggested, which is as great as his own name — had considered many of them, and for two months, he was absolutely wrong, trying different types — He even did try Albert, Coleman, Charleston, Broderick or Emmerich, and that was hilarious — so Snart had decided to give a hint, allowing him to know if the initial was right or no. Which, now, Barry knows his name is L. Snart, thanks to Lawrence.

Snart was undoubtedly in a jovial mood; he had a great dream; he got the best sleeping of the week — sleeping after talking with Barry is something he really liked — and his friend Mick had his plaster removed, thus, is in a good mood too so he will not be annoying him. It's also due to the fact that he will see his cute barista and that alone could light up his spirit.

He entered the shop; it was already crowded, but it is easy to identify the waiters, Sarah and John. Then he spotted Maisie with whom he had developed a relatively great friendship, with Karen, her wide, that is tease if you ask him. He, then, spotted his — Not his. Not yet — barista. Again, Barry was wearing the red vest he saw him for the first time, and that is the reason for the nickname he gives him. Red — Barry blushing a lot is another reason, but the vest remain the main one.

" - Morning Barry." He smiled at him "So, what is for today?"

" - Hello Batman !" He joyously smiled back while carefully preparing someone's cup. "Do you want to try something new today or do you like to go with the usual Double Espresso Chiaro? "

" – I've got the same coffee order for five days. I would like to change that." He started looking at the menu; it's the third time he has done it this whole period he was coming here. "What would you suggest for a sweetened drink?"

" - What about a Peanut Butter and Banana milkshake?" He asked while giving him quick glares. "It's no that sweet, but still sweet enough."

" - We'll see that after, Red." Snart smiles while adjusting himself to stand in a better position "But I trust you enough."

Barry finished the cup he was making and give it to John, the waiter. He then looked at his friend with a big smile, swiftly getting into work for the coffee of his favorite consumer. He seizes the usual cup. The he begins making the peanut butter, the milk and the banana plus some honey and start preparing the drink. Snart watches him with a tender smile on his face, that neither any of them had noticed. Other clients had, but for the consumer, it's a usual scene that occurs frequently when they are looking at each other and find it endearing. When the drink is finished and given to Snart, Mr. Handsome was going to say something but was cut with the arrival of someone. It was not the arrival itself that had cut him off, but the beaming smile his barista had given the newcomer. He turns to identify who the person was, and it was the notorious Oliver Queen.

As soon as Barry saw the millionaire, he leaved his post for his break and went to greet enthusiastically the man. With a tight hug, while the other male didn't seem to want to even let him, go. They looked as if they were really intimate and this picture causes the heart of Snart winch painfully inside his torso. It's not like he doesn't enjoy observing Barry with other people. It's just seeing the man he is unconditional in love with, being intimate and tender with a person that is not himself and being as close as a couple. That causes negative feelings. He looked at the cup in his hand, especially the name and that inadvertently causes him to feel worst. Lewis. Great. A growl escaped from his throat while glaring fiercely at the two other sittings in a table in the corner of the shop, discussing. He pays for the cup, and some fondant cakes then leaves the place.

Snart was gone and didn't notice the glance the staff exchanged between themselves, before looking at Barry. Maisie facepalmed herself with a desperate sigh before asking the other to continue their work. She and Karen decided to talk about it latter on, when they will be on the privacy of their home. Maisie went back to work while Karen decided to drop by the two stupid persons that were chatting, with absolutely no idea of what their action looked like to the other around. She sat face-to-face with Oliver when barry went somewhere.

" - Oh, it's good old Ollie! " She instantly started with a big, too joyful to be true, smile. "What bought Mr. Queen up in our city, thought you were doing, you-know-what in yours. Were you bored or in need some vacation from it?"

" - Good evening to you too, Karen. " He greets her with a nod while taking the tart the waiter presents him. " Thanks. I decided to drop by to say hello to my friend, and Felicity wanted for us to have some family vacation time with the kids. "

" - You have a personal work in Central City."She said matter-of-factly with a slight smile, knowing him well enough.

She looked at him with a smirk as he nodded. Naturally he must have a work to achieve in Central City, otherwise he wouldn't have been here and ruined the moment between Len — she definitely knows his name as she had the idea of searching for Snart — and Barry. And he will definitely ask for the younger to babysit his two children to have a date with his wife or merely enjoy some free time. She sighs then looked at him with a frown and her arms crossed on the table.

" - And I have works in central city, too." He smiles vaguely then look at her with a frown of his own."I did something or...? "

She jerked her head a bit before sighing again at his noticeable lack of intelligence. She looked around, making sure Barry is not coming back anytime soon, before giving him the darkest look possible. It was still cute, but that was not the point.

" - Needless to say that you did something, you big idiot! " She said in a low voice, so people couldn't listen to their conversation. But she knows they are doing it anyways; they are all worried about the love story as she is. " Might just ruin a love confession a hot, nice and perfect man towards Barry! Do you know how much we were waiting for it? Three months, yes, three damning months and you managed to ruin everything in less than five minutes because two looked like both were boyfriends not just Best friends. Do you know what quite of a sexual tensions they were having and that... "

She was going to start talking higher, so he merely paused and takes one deep breath. Then she starts looking at him while tapping her nail tips to the table and gazed into his keen eyes; expecting for the information yo be thoroughly analyzed by his brain. It doesn't take long; his eyes become wide, and his mouth opens to comes to be of the shape of a small O. He quickly places his usual mask on his face even if he still was a bit surprised, afterward.

" - I didn't know about that. " He grimaced. "Do you think it can be fixed or do the green one have to interfere?"

She intended to reply, and scold the man for joking about that, but barry was back so she couldn't answer. She gave him a look then returned to her work as a waitress, her mind already trying to find a way to help Barry. Promptly it's time to interfere in this story so that it will become unruined. This will be difficult, as none of them have any mean to contact Barry's future lover, even sure when he is coming back nor can clear the misunderstanding. And they intend clearing it, with Oliver and Felicity's help. Surely with all their expertise, it will be easy.

—•—••–

As expected, Snart didn't come for next to two weeks and Barry's state of mind was not the greatest around; he is pale, couldn't eat much, doesn't talk as he used to do, have the heart to do nothing and his smile is not as bright nor as true as it has been until now. Even as the Flash — that's his super-hero name — he was clumsy, careless and got himself injured way too much. He is desperate and barely knows the reason why. He is also worried about his favorite consumer; it is possible he was injured, bored of the coffee or maybe he did something wrong. He doesn't precisely remember, but it is driving him crazy. Everyone had seen him being in a bad mood, and they wanted to comfort him. Unfortunately, he merely says he is okay, while he definitely wasn't. And no one was up to confront him about that because he will become worst.

Karen and Maisie were trying suppressing their smile. They had worked for a week, but have set a plan to make everything become right again. They had found Snart's sister, Lisa, and contacted her to take her in he schemes. Surprisedly, she directly agreed to help them in the "plan" they also received the assistance of Felicity and of Oliver - does he in fact got any choice, thought? Naturally he didn't - and today was the D-Day. Barry was called to cover a shift — John was sick — and knowing the man he wouldn't refuse to help someone; he surprisingly loved to work and be in the coffee shop.

It started well, barry covered John's shift and nothing out of the ordinary had happened so far, it was even almost an enjoyable day, not much of bad consumers. He was too absorbed by his work to much give any attention around him besides his work, obviously. This was something the other used in an advantageous way to make the plan work better. It was a win-win situation as he didn't note how they organized themselves.

Iris was sitting in a table and seems to work; her laptop was open in front of her with a pill of paper was next to it and a coffee shop was there too. She wasn't really working, but more monitoring the outside as she possessed a distinct view on the street. Her job was to inform them about the moment the Snarts were coming inside. Also, it will let Felicity to know when she and her family need to enter the shop.

Karen and Maisie were inside, preparing everything; they were both baristas as they were the ones to encounter the Snarts first, and make sure Barry was not in sign when they will get inside. It's for the sole purpose to make sure Len wouldn't run away and break all their exhausting job and complex scheme that had taken one working week to be completed.

They didn't need waiting for too long before Iris saw the two Snarts coming towards the Coffee shop, she instantly makes the sign they were waiting for; the entirety of her papers fall on the ground and, of course, Barry rushed to help her arrange all of them in order. At this moment, Lisa dragged her annoyed brother inside; his face was clearly showing he did want to be anywhere but here.

Leonard didn't want to be in this place, and he didn't know where his sister insisted to come here and bring him along. He appreciates the spot, and the owner, but it's still a place he wants to avoid for a time — like the two weeks away weren't sufficient enough — to forget Barry. He just wishes for his stupid emotion to be in check and feel extremely unpossessive towards someone who actually has a lover. He merely accepted to come because he knows Barry's shift and Lisa had been very persuasive - threatening and then giving him the cold shoulders. He decided to be polite and salute Maisie and Karen before Lisa brings him to an unoccupied table in the corner, the most far from the windows and the door possible. She makes sure he take the only chair back to both of them, so he couldn't see Barry nor Felicity and Oliver when they will come inside.

Karen was the one to collect their orders — A hot cocoa with mini marshmallows and some cinnamon powder and a Double Espresso Ciaro with a cup of banana-orange juice accompanied by two chocolate-banana tart — and had small talks with Leonard and Lisa; asking about their days, how they are doing and all of that. She promptly omits to talk about Barry, and for that Snart is grateful.

He wouldn't be for too long, he even would want to kill her. The waiter delivers their order only a few minutes after Karen had been gone. It was Barry. Leonard had known it was him before he even gets the visual confirmation of it. He slowly shifted his head to look at the man he still remains in love with. He glared at his little sister; she must undoubtedly have something to do with this and he will get a revenge.

Barry was surprised when he recognized Leonard — he had made some researches, just to be sure he was alive — he wanted to greet him but didn't knew how to do it, especially since the man seem to ignore him. It started being awkward, and he was going to leave when Lisa — bless her — breaks the oppressive silence.

" - I am Lisa and you must be Barry, right?" She smiles and ignores her brother as much as she could. " Maisie had talked about you a lot. Don't worry, it's only good things. I think you are quite famous in the coffee shop."

" - Hello," Barry smiles back and nods "effectively, I am Barry. Barry Allen. Nice to meet you Lisa."

He smiles and takes the offered hand and shakes it. Lisa frowns a little then she hides a smirk on her eyes and Leonard knew she will do something stupid.

" - Likewise." She looked at him. " Tell me, Barry, are you related to one Hen- Ouch!"

The moment she said 'related' Leonard already decided to kick her leg under the table, but wasn't quick enough. He was aware of the relationship between Barry and Henry — father and son. He would have been the first one to talk about it if he didn't know it was a sensitive subject to the younger man. Why Lisa decided to bring it up now is uncomprehensible.

Barry was awkward and he excuses himself. Leonard intended scolding her when someone entered the shop. It didn't really bothered him, not until he overheard Barry greet the person. Damn 'Ollie' again. Like life itself is trying to gain a revenge on all the wrong he did since is young - What's next? Lewis will come into his house to hurt Lisa? Not like he hadn't done that many times already - and it starts pissing him off. He was going to leave the shop, again, when his sister indicates to something and her eyes pleaded him to turn and see it. Damn her.

He did, anyways, because he doesn't have much to lose already. Barry was hugging Ollie but then a little girl; 3 years old, light red hairs, brown eyed and cute literally jumps into Barry's arms. Leonard couldn't think that things could get way worst than what they were but this proves the contrary. Then he couldn't but to listen to their conversation, not that he wanted to.

" - Mia, don't jump on Barry," Ollie said with a smirk "you might break him."

" - Sorry Daddy." The little girl — Mia — smiles sheepishly and kissed Barry's check, "Sorry uncle Barry!"

" - It's okay, princess." He kissed her check with a big smile.

Leonard spotted, then a young blonde woman with a cheerful smile on her face while she looks at Barry with the little girl; himself do think it's the most adorable thing he had witnessed. Barry let go the little girl that run towards the blonde and looked at her, surely with the puppy eyes. She must be a friend of the family, or maybe an aunt. But why didn't she ask Barry, as she was in his arms already.

" - Mommy, I want orange Pie, please!"

Oh. She is her mother. It explained everything; she looks kind like her to be honest; same little smile and same nose, and eyes as her. She also has these puppy cutenesses; these will cause you to want to preserve them from harm.

And Oliver is her Dad, so she will certainly will end up... ! Oliver is her dad, and the blonde is her mother.

Oh !

Leonard looked at his beloved sister who gives him a triumphant smile. He gently rolled his eyes then, without him knowing how, the woman came to hug Lisa. It seems that his sister had planed this, and he doesn't know how to think about it; be proud of her because she was really quite he hadn't seen it coming; be angry at himself that he hadn't seen it coming and was played like a newbie. He was surprised when the blond looked at him and basked in this mischievious glow on her eyes.

" - You must be Lisa's brother, Leonard, right?" She didn't allow him time to talk before continuing, "I am Felicity Smoak, Oliver's wife."

" - Nice to meet you miss Smoak." He nods at her,"You can call me Len, or don't cal-"

" - Wow, your voice is great; your eyes too." She looked at him with a smile, which wasn't something he liked, while she takes place in the chair near his sister. "People out there call you Barry's beau you know? Some even use Future Husband to refer to you. Barry was so red when I told him; it was comic especially when he tried to deny his feelings for you — it's obvious he loves you, if you ask me — and ended up saying a half sentences where he nearly confessed his love. One of my co-workers always says that when you love someone, just go for it; if they reject you, at least you will heal faster. Did you know that -"

Leonard never meets someone that could speak as much as her. He was not barely trying following whatever she was saying until something had attracted his attention, but later — the information had to be fully understood by his brain — while she was talking with Lisa. He looked at her with surprise, even if it didn't really shown it.

" - Pardon me, but whay have you said?" He asked her. "I think I have misheard something."

" - Oh I was saying that buzzard do-" She couldn't finish as she was cut off by Leonard.

" - Not that," he said impatiently while asking himself how this subject was approached, "but what you said about Barry."

She gives him a suspicious look before looking at the man she talked about; he was talking with an old couple. She seems to think about all the things she said about him, until something clicked in her mind. She looked at Lisa and chuckled.

" - That his perfect date is being home," she asked with a grin, "with his lover, drinking hot cocoa or tea and talking or watching TV with the fire on the chimney?"

" - No. Not that." Leonard was glad to obtain this information, but it was not what he was looking for.

" - Oh, that he is in love with you? " She smiles, and nodded her head when he shakes his. "He is deeply in love with you. Never saw him so sad and worried when you stopped showing up. I had to make him stop thining that he did the 'greatest wrong in the history of Central City', which is not the case. He really was down when you decided to stop coming. He even decided to throw up his little crush on you because he thought that it makes you incomfortable."

She said that like it was the most natural thing ever. Not like she just made Leonard's heart skip a beat — several, in fact — and simply tell him that his feelings are not reciprocal and, on top of that, that his little disappearance had caused sadness and worry to the one he is in love with. It's a lot to take, even for someone as calm as Leonard - giving some arsehole a good beating after said person nearly assaulted someone he cares for is being protective and aggressive yet still a bit calm as he did not kill him. He had to think quickly; what to do right now.

He turned his head towards where Barry was and found him behind the counter, helping Karen while Maisie is god know where. He analyzed him for few minutes, and when the barista felt someone looking at him, he looked back and smiles wide when their eyes meet. It's at this moment that Leonard's questions and incertitudes seem to vanish into thin air. He knows exactly what he should do right now.

He gets up after giving a look to his sister, who only smiles and nodded, before walking towards HIS barman, a grin on the face. The, he stood in front of the counter and looked right into Barry's eyes. They stayed like that for a good two minutes before the smallest break the silence.

" - Hey, Leonard." He said with a smile. "It's been a while, how are you?"

" - Hello, Bartholomew." Leonard smiles too, then lean on the surface a bit more to be closer. " I am well, now. I had heard you were in a quite foul mood. How are you?"

" - Yeah I, I am great, thanks." He bit his lower lip and Len found his adorable. "I am sorry, if I did something to make you, I don't know, uncomfortable."

" - You really did something," Len smirked, "you have stole something from me. You have my heart, and I am certain I don't want it back."

The pickup line was a total cliché — usually, Len don't use them — but it makes Barry going tomato red again and it's the cutest sign the older had seen; it's a look he would gladly see every day. Len was a bit nervous, but the shy grin he gets from the person opposite him makes him involuntarily smile too.

" - Well, I would need it because mine was stollen by you." he looked at him. "And I wouldn't like to obtain it back... even if you want it."

" - Great, because I don't want to give it back either." He smirked, "Now, I hope you like to eat Mexican, because I will come gathering you at eight, to take you out for our first date, boyfriend."

He was going to turn and leave to inform Lisa that she has to be on her apartment tonight. Barry's hand halted him. He turned to ask him if something doesn't satisfy him — he would have altered all the plan if it will make him happy — but was taken by surprise by a tender, gentle and delicious lip on his own. Damn. Barry is kissing him. He was surprised. Len kissed him back hungrily and with passion, making the tender kiss an intense makeout session, as much as they could with a counter between their bodies. Until someone cleared his throat.

" - Can you two don't do that in front of my children, but in your car or, better, in your appartment?" Oliver inquired while his hands are on Mia and William's eyes.

Barry breaks the kiss, with a light growl from Len. The latter looked at his now, boyfriend's friend and smiles at him.

" - Don't be jealous," he started, "I am sure you can make someone babysit them for the night for you and Felicity to have a 'date' too."

Then he was gone, ignoring with an amused smile the eyes of Mr. Queen who were definitely addressing him middle finders.

#Alexian_writes #Alexian_writings #Writings of Alexian #coldflash #One-shot #OTP fiction #My fanfics #Fanfics AU

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saiilorstars · 4 years

Text

It Had To Be You

Ch. 4: All is a Secret // Story Masterlist

Pairings: Barry Allen x Original Female Character

Summary: Belén inadvertently puts herself in danger whilst trying to help in a metahuman crisis. And for some reason Barry is drawn to rescuing her almost immediately, creating some questions amongst the STAR Labs team.

Pronunciation of OC's name: Bell-en. The last syllable has an emphasis so it’s not pronounced like ‘Helen’ would be.

No real warnings for now!

~ 0 ~ 0 ~ 0 ~

Belén and Iris made their way out of the theater and walked down a crowded street, contently munching on their leftover popcorn. Iris had opted for a very much needed girl's night out. She thought Belén would need all the excuses she could take just to be out the house.

"Maybe on Friday we could watch the premier of..." Iris trailed off when Belén stopped walking so suddenly. The woman had grown pale too. "Belén? Belén? What is it?"

Belén swallowed hard, hoping to God it would pass soon and she could excuse it with something plausible. Iris grew more concerned and helped Belén towards a wall so that the woman could rest for a bit.

"Should I call a doctor?" she asked when she saw no progress in Belén's condition. "Your Dad?"

"No, no," Belén waved a hand, her eyes shut for the moment. "I'm, uh, it's...it's passing, yeah…"

Iris scowled at such a lame lie thrown her way. "Annah-Belén Palayta, are you trying to lie directly to my face? You know how I feel about that." She sighed and dropped her popcorn to the ground so that she could help Belén walk again. "Maybe we should get you home. Let's call a cab?"

"I think…" Belén felt famished despite the fact they'd eaten plenty before entering the theater. "...Can we go to Nina's please? She's a doctor, and...and I don't want to worry my Dad. Please, Iris?"

Iris just wanted her friend to get better, so she agreed without another word. This wasn't the first time she noticed Belén's health suddenly decline, and she hadn't yet brought it up with Belén. Perhaps that had been wrong of her - she didn't want anything to happen to Belén just because she didn't bring it up. She was the only friend Iris really had!

~ 0 ~

Later that evening, David Palayta received the abrupt news Belén would be staying with Nina for the night. Iris had been left with the false illusion Belén was better and would be returning home after a nice cup of coffee with Nina. But as soon as Iris left, Nina got straight to work with the medical exams again. Belén laid in the guest room of Nina's apartment, sitting upright on the bed with a weary look on her face. It was ridiculous how tired she felt when today had been so calm and easy.

"It's the same thing again," Nina sighed when she came into the room, holding Belén's green milkshake in hand. "Sugar levels are dangerously low."

Belén no longer felt worried over that. She merely took her milkshake and drank down its disgusting contents. Nina walked over to the window, about to close the curtain when Belén called out.

"Don't! Leave it like that please?"

With a sigh, Nina nodded and left the room. Belén reached out for her phone on the nightstand and looked at the time. It was almost midnight.

He would most certainly be there already...and she wouldn't be there tonight. What would he think of her, then? A flake? An irresponsible? Surely he had better things to do than help a girl out.

Belén sighed to herself. "Please don't be mad with me," she pleaded in a whisper.

~ 0 ~

Iris was bringing a tray of dirty dishes back to the counter when she saw Barry coming into Jitters. "Hey," she greeted as she left the tray back.

"Hey," Barry greeted politely, eyes briefly looking around to hopefully see someone by. "Um, listen..." he began after seeing no one was around, "I was wondering if you...know anything about Belén?"

"Belén? Like what, exactly?"

"Em…" Barry stuffed his hands into his pockets, knowing he was going to fail miserably in trying to seem normal, "...like, uh...if she's okay?"

Iris sighed as she remembered her last encounter with Belén - three days ago at the movies - and shook her head. "I honestly don't know anymore."

Barry was just as concerned as she was, but he couldn't tell her it sprung from the fact Belén had missed their 'secret appointment' at the city park late at night three days ago. It had become a custom for them to meet each other - he as the 'Red Streak' - to consult about Rayan's case. Belén had never once missed the date. She was always the first one. And suddenly she misses one without so much a note at the fountain's altar for an explanation. Not to mention the fact that he hadn't heard a single word from her afterwards, as the regular friends they were.

"You want to know something weird?" Iris suddenly asked, breaking Barry's inside thinking. "Bells and I were at the movies three days ago. We were having fun, we ate and saw a good movie...and when we were leaving...she got dizzy or something."

"Dizzy?" Barry frowned. "Did you take her to a doctor?"

"We went to Nina's," Iris sighed. "Nina gave her some type of medicine and she told me Bells would be fine. That's the last thing I heard since that night."

"And you haven't called her or anything?" Barry inquired. "Visited maybe?"

"No, I've been a bit busy myself right now. I'm trying to find a way to tell my Dad about Eddie and I, so…" Iris made a motion, signalling the trouble she was going through as well.

"Got it," Barry nodded, understanding her. He was about to ask how she was doing, considering they hadn't really spoken much either, but his cellphone went off. Motioning to Iris he'd be a moment, he walked to the side and took the call.

There was a new crime scene and he was needed right away.

~ 0 ~

A little restaurant not too far from where Belén and Iris had gone to the movies, was the center location for the murder scene of a crime family. The entire place had been blocked off from the public's eye and while several police officers looked about for anything that would tell them about the criminals, Barry attended to the corpses lying at different locations from the grand dinner table the family had been going to use.

Although, he probably would be a little more focused if he didn't repeatedly find himself distracted with his honey-haired friend. He didn't even realize Joe had come up to him asking for any details on the corpses until he was gently nudged with a shoe on his leg.

"S-sorry, what?" Barry blinked and looked up, finding a half concerned half irritated Joe looking down at him.

"I was asking if there was anything new," Joe repeated himself for the last time.

"U-uh…" Barry quickly ransacked his mind for the last professional thoughts he had before his mind had gotten away from him. "Well, there was, um...there are signs of histotoxic hypoxia. The cells in their bodies were unable to utilize oxygen. It's consistent with exposure to poison gas."

"What kind of poison?" Joe wondered.

Barry got up to his feet and sighed as he looked to the other corpses. "I'll need to take a lung sample, see if I can narrow it down."

Eddie joined the two after having met with witnesses. "The only other exit was bolted from the inside. They were trapped. I was thinking someone pumped gas in from the outside, but witnesses say the street was empty."

"So it was from the inside," Joe concluded, already taking extra looks around them for anything suspicious. "That means there should be a canister or a container left behind. The gas just didn't come in by itself."

Barry, meanwhile, had begun making deductions based off the way the corpses had landed to their current positions. Without thinking, he added, "Unless it had a mind of its own."

Joe immediately understood the implication and quickly resorted to have Eddie leave. "Eddie, would you mind canvassing again? Somebody had to have seen something suspicious." Eddie nodded and went on his way to repeat his task. Joe then turned back to Barry. "Okay, explain."

Barry nodded and did just that. "The boss collapsed by the table," he pointed to the nearest corpse just beside the table. "This guy made it 10 feet away," he gestured to the corpse closest to the front window - presumably having shot at the window three times to no avail - with a gun lying beside him. "That guy had a chance to move off and fire three shots into the window trying to break the glass. But they all started in the same spot, which means they should have all been affected by the gas at the same time, but instead, it's as if…"

"They were attacked one by one," Joe saw where he was going. "My gut feeling, if we're gonna solve this one, you and me are gonna need... Backup."

"Yeah," Barry agreed, but judging by the face he had on Joe realized there was something else on his mind.

"What is it?" he asked wearily.

"It's just...do you think I could make a pit stop first?" Barry innocently smiled. "...for about an hour?"

"An hour?" Joe frowned. "Barry, need I remind you this is a case we need to solve fast? There could be a metahuman on the loose and you want to waste time?"

"It's not a waste of time, I promise," Barry pleaded. "It's very important, okay?"

"What could be more important than finding a metahuman who's out murdering people?" Joe demanded incredulously.

Barry sheepishly smiled when he realized how his answer would sound if he actually responded.

~ 0 ~

Linda Park was in the middle of typing a new article at her desk, occasionally looking out for the intern that was supposed to be getting her the notes she needed to finish the actual article. She was most certainly not expecting a strange young man to walk into the place. By the way he curiously looked around, Linda knew for sure he had never visited before.

She got up from her chair and walked around her desk, coming down the small steps of the higher-level ground. "Can I help you?" she politely asked once she reached the stranger.

Barry felt like a complete idiot the way he knew he looked so lost. "U-um, y-yeah...actually, yeah."

Linda smiled, crossing her arms. "Were you looking for someone?"

"Yeah," Barry nodded, knowing that was the third time he had answered with the same word. "Do you know where I can find Belén Palayta?"

Linda's eyebrows quirked upwards, looking bemused all of a sudden. "You're Belén's…?"

"Barry?" came the familiar voice of the needed woman. Barry turned to see Belén coming out of a side room, holding Linda's notes in her hands.

"Bells," Barry brightened up when he saw her looking (at least physically) well, "Hey…"

"What are you doing here?" Belén joined him and Linda, handing the latter the files in the process.

"I, uh, I was...in the neighborhood," Barry began his excuse, seeing it was probably not a good idea to begin with 'since you failed too meet me while I was the Red Streak I got worried'.

"You were?" Belén tilted her head, confused. Though beside her Linda was smirking widely, wishing her friend could get a simple clue.

"Yeah," Barry cleared his throat, awkwardly glancing at Linda.

Belén followed his gaze and saw Linda. Nudging the dark-haired woman, Belén sarcastically said, "Linda, that article isn't going to write itself you know."

Linda rolled her eyes, knowing she was being politely asked to leave. "Yeah, yeah, I'm gone. See you later, Belén," she waved to the intern then looked to Barry, "and nice to meet you, Barry."

"Likewise," he shook her hand and let her go. Afterwards, he focused back on Belén who was curiously waiting for him. She didn't look sick, from what Iris told him. Her eyes were shining their special brown tinge, and her smile was genuine.

"Was there something you needed, Barry?" Belén's voice cut into his thoughts. "Though I doubt there's anything a journalist can do for a forensic scientist."

"Um," Barry nervously smiled, berating himself for not coming in with a plan - he looked like an even bigger dork than what Iris told him he was. "I...it's just been a while since we heard anything from you," he came up with in the end.

"You were worried," Belén realized, feeling a tad special about it.

"Well, a little-" but then Barry worried how that may have sounded and tried to clarify, "-though when I say 'a little' I don't actually mean 'a little'-" he gestured with his index finger and thumb, "-I meant the decent amount-"

Belén's laughter cut right through his words, making him awkwardly shift in place. "And here I thought I was the motor mouth in this city."

"S-sorry," was all Barry could think of at the moment. He felt his face incredibly warm and that was never a good sign - especially near girls. Iris always teased him for blushing so easily, and always being so red!

"Oh c'mon," Belén sobered up and touched his arm, "I was only joking - absolutely no one can top me. I'm sure you heard what happened at the movies with Iris but I can assure you all I'm just fine.

"We just haven't heard from you, that's all," Barry tried again.

"Well, to be frank," Belén sighed, growing slightly serious, "I've been kind of getting the feel that you guys don't want me at Star Labs anymore."

"What? Why would you say that?" Barry asked, unable to awkwardly cough. He knew that was his fault for being unable to decide whether or not to tell Belén who he was.

"I can kind of tell when Cisco sputters as he tries to make up excuses on why we shouldn't meet at the lab," Belén crossed her arms. "I love that guy, but he sucks at lying."

"Look, Bells-"

"No, I totally get it," Belén waved a hand at him. "I'm kind of an idiot and I'm probably just in the way during your nerd talks."

"That's not it," Barry shook his head, but Belén gave him an earnest look.

"Then why?"

"Well…" Barry rubbed the side of his neck, seeing this was a lost cause that could only hurt Belén.

"It's fine, Barry," the blonde assured, turning to leave. "I get it, there's just some places where others don't belong. It's like…" she stopped and turned around, finding he had been following her and so she bumped into him. "Oh - well," she fixed her hair and smiled warmly, truly looking alright as she said she was, "It's like me barging into your lab to try and talk to you about science. Or, perhaps you coming in here," she chuckled at the irony, "and trying to talk to me about journalism."

"Technically, if I talk 'sciency'," Barry raised his fingers into quotation marks, making Belén laugh again, "I can probably come up with a decent article."

"Hmm," Belén feigned thoughts as she went to gather her things from a small desk. "If you want to put your money where your mouth is, I have the job."

"You do?" Barry blinked, unsure how to go about that.

"Mhm," Belén turned around, her bag's strap over her shoulder now, "You know Iris has this blog about the Red Streak and she knows diddly squat about the science part involved in all that. I'm sure you can help her more than I could."

Barry withheld the annoyed sigh threatening to escape through his lips. Iris continuing to write about him was an increasing problem for him and herself. Who knew what could happen to her if she kept at it?

"Listen Barry," Belén stepped closer to him, resting a hand on his arm, "I'm touched you came all the way over here just to see if I was okay. As you can see, I'm doing just fine. I guess with my brother's case, my job, my parents, my nearly-failing-biology-class, and my near graduation...I have a lot of things on my mind. It was nothing more than a burnout."

"Are you sure?" Barry softly asked her, looking for anything in her that would tell him she was lying.

"I'm sure," Belén nodded, retracting her hand from his arm. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go shop before I head to classes. My friend had the lovely idea to cast me in one of his final short plays so now I have to go and buy me some new clothes for the part."

Barry laughed, walking towards the doors with her. "Really? And what's the part?"

"Um, this 'geek' girl so…" Belén shrugged, "I have to go buy me some geek clothes, I guess. That should be fun considering I look horrible in the glasses and the flannels…" she quickly looked at him then, knowing the flannels were a part of his common attires, "...but on you they look good!"

"Thanks," Barry laughed, opening the door for her. "I'm sure you'll make an adorable nerd."

Belén glanced back at him, sporting a light blush on her cheeks. "Thank you."

The two shared a longer look before Barry felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Suddenly remembering he had somewhere else to be, he nervously smiled at Belén who was curiously looking at him...probably sensing something was off.

"I, uh...have to...uh…" Barry awkwardly had a thumb pointing over his shoulder, but for some reason the words were like a tongue twister, "...g-go...yeah...y-yeah, we, um, we…"

Belén's eyebrows raised, evidently amused by him. "You could say 'I have things to do' and just leave. I wouldn't be offended, Barry," she laughed.

"Bye Belén," Barry finally managed to say in one go and hurried off to Star Labs.

~ 0 ~

When Barry sped into Star Labs, everyone - even Joe - was in the cortex room attempting to discover more of the newest metahuman in the city. As soon as he stopped, Barry found himself bombarded with scoldings left to right about his tardiness. It didn't get any better when Joe let it slip the reason Barry was late because he had to go 'see a girl'. As if it was just any girl I was seeing, thought Barry. And it wasn't like that, he then told himself. He was just worried over Belén and he wanted to see if she was alright. Plus, Iris was worried too and as her brother it was his job to help her no matter what.

"It was necessary," Barry concluded to the others. And before there could be another comment made about it, he moved to the desk where Caitlin and Dr. Wells were at. "So, did we make any advances on the case?"

"We were really only making assumptions and other questions," Caitlin answered after a moment, looking at the others. "For example, how he's able to formulate the connection of the elements needed for the gas creation."

"Oh, and if it was just poisonous gas, or can he control all aerated substances?" Cisco added in, rather excited about the idea.

"So basically we have nothing," Joe declared and walked up to the desk, leaning an arm over it. "I did, however, mention the possibility of finding an adequate place to hold metahuman criminals. Iron Heights isn't ready for that kind of stuff."

"At which point I reminded the ones you've encountered so far are no longer with us," Dr. Wells smiled.

"Well, unless we're planning on executing every super criminal we stop, you geniuses are gonna have to come up with someplace else to hold them."

Cisco was more awed then. "A meta-human prison. Sweet."

"Until we figure a way to remove their powers," Wells added before anyone got other ideas.

After a moment of sober thinking, Cisco meekly reminded, "There is one place here that might hold them."

Caitlin's eyes widened, looking fearful. "You can't be serious. I mean, we haven't been down there since... it's cordoned off."

"Cisco is right," Wells interjected. "It could be modified to act as a makeshift prison."

"What could?" Joe inquired.

"It was where the Particle Accelerator was meant to work in," Wells explained, no one except Barry noticing the distant, over-fearful look on Caitlin's face. "It was meant to contain the chemicals and even stronger components. We could, theoretically, manipulate the area and convert it into different cells designed specifically for each metahuman's ability."

"That sounds good," Cisco shrugged.

"So then we should get down there to see what exactly we have to do."

"Yeah," Cisco agreed.

"Caitlin, let's go," Wells said but when Caitlin stayed silent he glanced at the brunette and called her again. "Caitlin. Caitlin. Did you hear me? We're going down to the accelerator ring."

Caitlin became flustered as she came out of her memories, wanting to push them away as far as possible for fear of breaking down over the death she was working so hard to move on from.

Barry saw that too and came to her aid. "Actually, Dr. Wells, I could use Caitlin's help identifying the poison gas."

Wells seemed to understand the conflict and let it go without another word of insistence. "Okay."

Barry looked to Caitlin, who was already shooting him 'thank you' looks. "If that's okay with you?" he asked her.

"Let's go," Caitlin nearly jumped out of her chair, not seeing the moment they were out of the building.

~ 0 ~

It was never a good feeling to come home and hear strange noises from your bedroom. The only thing that she was thankful for was that her son was not with her at the moment. Balling a fist and creating a sphere of purple mass, she started for the hallway. The noises were coming from her bedroom and she wasn't going to waste a minute bringing the intruder down.

You picked the wrong house to rob, she thought. She kicked the door open and got ready to fight. However, she was met with a completely different image of her 'intruder'.

A young man with light brown hair stood in front of a dressing table, his back to the owner of the house. "It's so different seeing your mask off your face," he raised his head to meet her reflection on the mirror. "Why is it again that you prefer to wear it whenever you're with me?" He then raised the purple half-mask for her to see.

"That's not funny!" the woman stalked over and snatched her mask back. "And what the hell do you think you're doing in my house? My son could've been here, you idiot! Or worse, our sister or our dad could have stopped by."

"They wouldn't, I know their schedules," Rayan Palayta turned around with a smug smile, leaning against the dressing table.

"You know everything, don't you?"

"Maybe not everything but I know my sisters. Isn't that right...Maritza?"

Maritza Palayta had always hated when her younger siblings sassed her or used pointless sarcasm on her. "You need to quit playing games like these," she warned, pointing a finger at him. "You're dead to the city so you can't just show up here!"

"And you're getting to be a well known petty thief," Rayan countered.

Maritza walked to her closet and opened it up. "I know how to play the game, alright? I'm laying low for now."

"That would be a wise choice," Rayan nodded, pushing himself off the dressing table. "And you should probably hide that mask better. If I could find it then so can Axel or even Belén."

"Please," Maritza lightly scoffed, her words muffled as she was inside her closet putting away her mask. "I love Belén but right now she's not at her best."

"What's wrong with my sister?" Rayan demanded.

"She's still with the idea that you're not dead."

"Oh Belén," Rayan sighed. "I love her and I miss her so much but...she can't know about me. She can't know about either of us. If she...had turned like us...then things would be different."

"But the fact is that she's not," Maritza left it clear as she closed her closet doors. She turned around, looking firm. "And for that reason she can't know anything about us. All she should worry about is finishing college and focusing on her job. You don't go near her."

"I know that," Rayan argued. "It kills me but I know it's what's best."

"Now are you going to tell me the reason for your little visit?"

"Nostalgia, for the most part," Rayan admitted, truly missing his old life. But he knew that he couldn't go back anymore - he didn't want to. After everything he'd been forced to do by the gang of robbers he'd been kidnapped by, he didn't think he could face his family anymore. Plus, he had a score to settle with the culprit of all his misfortunes in the past months. "But I also think that I've found someone who could be like us."

Maritza studied her younger brother for a moment. "Eugh," she gagged, "How on Earth could you find some woman to still..." she shivered and Rayan laughed.

"I was making a run for food and we crossed paths," he shrugged. "Her name - well, what she goes by when she's out - is Pixel."

"Great, and?"

"I'm staying at her place now but the warehouse is still where we can operate freely."

Maritza rolled her eyes. "Okay, so while you came to give me that spectacular news, I have actually got something you might like."

"Let me hear it."

"Word has it that there's a new freak out there with incredible powers."

"Is it the one that controls gas?" Rayan asked, startling Maritza with the knowledge. "Sorry, I hacked into the records of the CCPD. It's fairly obvious judging by the poison evidence from the crime scene."

"Right," Maritza made a face. "Never mind that. So, you think I should reach him?"

"I don't like him," Rayan declared, confusing her more. "He's a right criminal and we don't need that in here."

Maritza scoffed loudly. "And what exactly are we, then? I've robbed countless stores and you? You slaughtered an entire band of criminals."

"We are sophisticated, and we have only one goal. I don't want petty criminals that I can't control."

"But he-"

"I said no," Rayan shot her down again, and this time warned her to stay quiet. "Let him be. Just...keep an eye on our family. You know the drill. If you need me, you know how to find me."

"Right, the warehouse or your new little girlfriend's place?" Maritza stopped him by the bedroom door.

"I'll send you the address," Rayan assured and continued on his way out.

Maritza sighed deeply after he was gone. She looked at herself in the mirror and could no longer recognize herself. She didn't like who she was becoming but she felt like it was too late to do anything about it. Star Labs made her that way, and they would pay soon enough.

~ 0 ~

Back at the CCPD, Barry and Caitlin were patiently waiting in his lab for the results of an exam. Barry was sat at his computer desk, fiddling with a DNA model in his hands while Caitlin stood on the other side by the printer.

"Can I ask you something that you don't have to answer?" Barry finally gathered the courage to ask.

"My least favorite kind of question," Caitlin nervously smiled. "Shoot."

Barry put down the DNA model on his desk. "Ronnie. What was he like? You just never talk about him that much."

Caitlin looked down a minute, her nervous smile fading and exchanging for a split peaceful expression. "We met when we were working on the particle accelerator. He was the structural engineer. He liked to joke that he was basically a very high-priced plumber. We were very different. You might have noticed I can be a bit... Guarded." Barry made an innocent look, something that didn't go pass Caitlin. "Ronnie knew how to make me laugh. He used to say we were like fire and ice. He wasn't supposed to be there that night. He was just there for me. If he hadn't…"

The printer then beeped, signaling the results were ready. Caitlin nabbed the paper and took it over to the desk, reading it simultaneously. "This says that there was no residue of gas in the tissue, poisonous or otherwise."

"It must have evaporated," Barry assumed. "We'll need to get a fresh sample."

Caitlin's eyebrows knitted together in confusion as she read more. "Wait, this can't be right," she put the paper down on the desk for Barry to see. "This says that there are two distinct strands of DNA inside the tissue. How did someone else's DNA get inside the victim's lungs?"

After a moment, Barry decided to configure the remnants of the discovered DNA in the computer. "I don't understand," he frowned. "There's no DNA match in the database.

Caitlin was still looking at the results, pretty much lost. "I don't understand. Why would a chemical attack leave behind another person's DNA inside the victim?"

Barry got to thinking and then offered, "What if the meta-human we're looking for doesn't control gas? What if he becomes it?"

"Ooh," Caitlin's mouth formed a small 'o' at the idea. It certainly made sense. But that would definitely make it a more difficult battle to fight.

And it seemed like fate today was purposely contradicting her. The radio Barry had set on the desk for the police station went off.

'All available units, we have a report of a toxic gas attack in the central city shopping mall.'

Without a second thought, Barry dashed out of his chair and ran for the locker he had inside the room. Seeing what he intended on doing, Caitlin rushed after him.

"Barry, don't," she tried. "We don't know enough about what we're facing yet. It's not safe."

But Barry's mind was set on the mall once he remembered an earlier conversation he had. He turned around, a frantic look on his face. "Caitlin, I have to go. Someone important is there, alright?"

"But-" Caitlin tried again but was cut off when Barry ran out of the lab. "Barry!" she called after him, though in vain.

~ 0 ~

Holding several shopping bags in her hands, Belén contently walked in the mall ready to head to class. But when she made a turn that overlooked the center of the mall, specifically, the elevator coming down to her floor, she abruptly stopped and shrieked without thinking. The glass elevator displayed a horrific sight consisting of a woman relentlessly pounding on the wall for help while a musty, green mist covered the entire square.

Belén's shriek made the rest of the customers look on to the sight, and thus provoked alarm throughout the rest of the mall. Belén looked at her hands, flexing them for a moment as she saw something green on her skin. "No, go away," she whispered and looked back at the elevator. The woman was crying out for help but of course no one could. Belén knew that if she proposed herself, she could probably help a little. What if I just make a bigger mess out of it? she thought. What if I hurt her instead of helping?

Belén decided she needed to help the woman. She was the only one in the building after all. She dropped her bags and dashed for the elevator that was arriving on the floor level.

"Stay back!" she ordered the crowd forming by the elevator doors. "I said get back!" as soon as the doors slid open, the green mist flew out and headed away. Determined, Belén ran after it. "Hey!" she shouted, though she wondered if the gas actually had a mind to talk to. She barely grazed the doorknob of the door the gas had gone through when she felt a powerful wind and suddenly found herself by the rail overlooking the center of the mall. It took a moment to realize she had been carried by the Red Streak. "Dammit," she balled her fist and looked towards the crowd of people. She hurried back then, pushing her way through till she stood at the front. She sucked in a breath at the sight of the dead woman sprawled on the floor. Her eyes watered up, her mouth unable to close. She'd taken too long to decide and now someone was dead.

~ 0 ~

If Barry was afraid before arriving at the mall, he was now furious that the metahuman nearly had a face off with Belén. Thankfully he managed to get there on time and speed Belén away before the metahuman could attack.

"Why did you kill that woman?" he caught the metahuman in a lonesome hallway of the mall.

The metahuman, a middle-aged man with no hair and barely eyebrows, turned around. "She deserved to die. Now go run away. I still have one more name on my list. Don't make me add you to it."

But Barry wasn't going to let him get away with the newest murder. He sped towards him, attempting to punch him with no avail. The man retaliated by releasing poisonous gas that quickly invaded Barry's lungs. He took his escape swiftly after that, leaving Barry to suffocate.

~ 0 ~

At Star Labs, Dr. Wells and Cisco were trying to make contact with Barry through the intercom on the desk. All of a sudden, they had lost contact with Barry.

"Barry. Barry, can you hear me?" Wells repeatedly attempted to get a response from Barry, growing more concerned by the mark of the vitals on the computer screens.

"His vitals are weak, but he's alive, Dr. Wells," Cisco pointed out. "I'm sure he's fine."

But as soon as the words left Cisco's mouth, Barry sped into the room, collapsing against the desk between the two humans. "I can't breathe!" he wheezed out the words.

"He needs oxygen!" Wells quickly ordered. "Get the crash cart!" he ordered from Cisco, who jumped out of his chair to get it done.

Barry was then placed on the hospital-like bed in one of the side rooms. Caitlin, who had taken off from the CCPD the moment Barry ran out, arrived in time to assist. The top part of Barry's suit had been open up to his bare chest, and when he saw Caitlin he quickly called to her.

"Cut me open! The poison's still in me!"

"He brought us a sample," Wells motioned to Caitlin to get on the job. "Caitlin, we need to do a pulmonary biopsy, extract an active portion of that gas."

Anxiously, Caitlin looked to Barry. "I can't give you any anesthetic. Your metabolism will burn right through it."

"I heal quick, remember? Do it."

With a sigh, Caitlin glanced at Cisco. "Cisco, give me the syringe. This is gonna hurt a lot," she warned Barry afterwards.

Cisco retrieved the syringe and prepared the needle for her. "It's a small needle," he spoke to Barry, "You probably won't even feel it."

Caitlin rolled her eyes and snatched the syringe from him, clarifying, "You're definitely going to feel it." She stabbed Barry on the chest with it, causing the metahuman to violently gasp before falling unconscious on the bed.

~ 0 ~

"This wasn't funny, Annah-Belén!" Nina angrily scolded her friend after hearing what Belén nearly did at the mall.

"You're going to use my whole name when you're mad with me too?" Belén looked up from the chair of Nina's kitchen, feeling like a child while Nina paced back and forth beside the table.

"Shut up!" came the snappy response from Nina. "This is serious! You could have died back there doing something stupid!"

"It wasn't stupid," Belén meekly argued, her hands fiddling over the table. "I saw the woman pleading for help and I...I had to try to do something."

"With what!?" Nina frantically turned to her friend. "You've got nothing to defend yourself with!"

Belén stared hard at her friend. "You know that's not true."

Nina released a large sigh, rubbing her forehead. "Fine," she gave in, "But you also know you're not in control. That gas thing-"

"He's a man," Belén corrected.

"Fine, the man, is clearly in control of his abilities. What the hell would you have done if he tried attacking you?" Belén had no answer and looked away from Nina. Nina shook her head. "Thank God the Red Streak appeared and got you out of there."

At the mention of the Red Streak, Belén crookedly smiled. "He saved me…"

"But don't expect him to be there every time you have a stupid idea," Nina warned her, not that Belén really paid attention.

"Nina, do you think the Red Streak feels guilty when he lets people die?"

"What?" Nina frowned at the change of topics.

Belén returned her gaze to her friend, allowing Nina to see a different expression on the blonde's face. "That woman that got murdered today - if I had been in control of my abilities and if I had made the decision quicker then I could have maybe done something to help her. But I didn't. I hesitated and she paid the price."

"No, Belén, please don't tell me you actually feel responsible for what happened to this woman," Nina shook her head again.

"But how could I not?" Belén got up from her chair. "I was right there, Nina! Right there!" her voice broke down as the feelings of guilt and despair settled over her. "And I...I couldn't help her."

Nina sighed and came to hug Belén. "You can't feel guilty about something that wasn't your fault. This guy had the plan calculated perfectly. Not even the Streak got there in time."

"But still…" Belén pulled away, her eyes shiny from looming tears, "...maybe if I had control...I-I could have helped in some way. The Streak may have not gotten there in time...but I was there. And I should have been able to do something."

"No - Belén!" Nina called as her friend hurried out of the apartment. "Belén!"

~ 0 ~

When Barry woke up, he found the cortex room empty save for himself and Caitlin. The brunette was sitting beside him, more or less scolding him already with a sharp, silent look. Barry sighed and tilted his head away from her.

"I'm sorry," he apologized.

"Mhm."

"I had to get to the mall fast, alright?" he continued, but Caitlin still didn't speak. "There was a metahuman murderer on the loose, in the mall, where Belén was-"

"Belén was there?" Caitlin cut him off, suddenly curious of the matter.

Barry nodded, slowly turning his head in her direction. "I panicked."

Caitlin put two and two together before dimly smirking. "Wasn't she also the reason why you delayed coming to Star Labs earlier?"

Barry rolled his eyes, assuming where she was headed with the conversation. "Iris mentioned she wasn't feeling well, and, well...she hasn't really been around so I...wanted to go see if she was okay."

"Mhm," Caitlin pursed her lips together, "So that's two times today that you practically blew us off for Bells."

"It's not like that, Caitlin," Barry earnestly said. "I feel incredibly guilty as it is for keeping all this a secret from her - and Iris. The least I can do is keep her safe and be a friend."

Caitlin softly smiled. "Well, you are definitely being a wonderful friend for Bells. I think after everything that's what she needs most."

"Well, I don't know how I'm doing with the 'friend' part considering I keep lying to her every time we meet as the 'Streak'," Barry sighed, closing his eyes for a minute.

"You could just tell her you know," Caitlin reminded him no one was against the idea of Belén knowing the truth behind 'the Streak'. Hell, even Joe didn't mind.

"It's too late for that," Barry made a disappointed face. "I volunteered as two separate people to help her with her brother's case. Can you imagine how she would react if I told her that it's been me all along?"

Caitlin could see the complexity of the situation and sighed. "Alright, so it's not that easy."

"Yeah…"

Caitlin stared at him in a silent minute before saying, "If you want...I could talk to her?" At the suggestion, Barry hastily turned his head in her direction. "I know it wouldn't be the same but...I'm still a friend and I could definitely explain the reasons why we kept all this a secret from her."

Barry softly smiled. "You're a very good friend, Caitlin. But I think, if she's going to hear it from someone, it should be me." Caitlin nodded, not pushing after that. "And you know what, because you had this idea of helping me...I'm going to help you."

Caitlin's eyebrows knitted together, confused. "H-how?"

Barry just smiled as he sat upright, his body's quick healing already making a noticeable change in him.

~ 0 ~

With a couple of her friends, Belén made way for her class down the bright, green field of her school campus. However, midway through the field Belén began getting the sensation she was being watched from afar. She didn't even realize she had stopped walking until one of her friends, Hilary, came back for her.

"Hey, Belén, what's up with you?" the ginger haired woman asked.

Belén was looking to her right, scanning the area full of students doing their respective things. "I...don't know," she answered truthfully. "I feel like I'm...being...watched or something."

"Watched?" Hilary followed in the direction Belén was staring at, but due to the sun going down it was harder to identify any potential creep (or perhaps admirer she thought) staring back at them. "I don't see anything - you're just imagining. We're going to be late, now let's go!" she grabbed Belén's arm and pulled her after their other friends.

A couple seconds later, a tall figure stepped out from behind a tree, their eyes indeed watching after Belén.

~ 0 ~

Back in the cortex room, after Barry took Caitlin to the Particle Accelerator so that she would finally conquer any remnant feelings from the accident, Dr. Wells and Cisco called them back up to share the newest information over their metahuman.

"We have identified the toxin," Wells was saying as Cisco pulled up a 3D model across them.

Barry went to have a closer look. "Hydrogen cyanide?" he frowned, glancing back at the others.

"What's interesting is what's mixed in with the cyanide... A sedative."

"Of course," Barry quickly realized and turned to Caitlin who stood by the desk. "The night of the explosion, find out if anyone was executed."

"Why?" the brunette made a face of confusion.

"That sedative is given to criminals on death row before they go to the gas chamber and breathe in hydrogen cyanide."

"That's right," Wells gave an impressed look to Barry while Caitlin got to work.

It didn't take her long to find what they were looking for. "There was someone executed. Kyle Nimbus." She pulled up the profile and displayed it as another hologram for all to see.

"That's him," Barry immediately recognized the man that nearly poisoned him.

"He was a hit man for the Darbinyan crime family. They turned on him and testified. Judge Theresa Howard was the judge at his trial. She sentenced him to death."

"He must have been affected by the explosion while he was being gassed," Cisco concluded based on the evident facts.

"Records indicate the execution was completed," Caitlin read from the bottom of the page.

"That's why there wasn't a match," Barry shook his head. "The DNA database only has records of the living. Right. He said there was one more person on his list. Check the arrest record. Who caught him? That could be his next attack."

Caitlin did just that and looked horrified after seeing the information. "Barry, the lead detective…" Barry glanced at her, waiting for her to finish. "...it's Joe."

Barry nearly felt his speedy heart stop then.

It was planned minutes later to get ahold of Joe and warn him of the dangers looming over him. In the meantime, others would try and find the location of the metahuman before he reached Joe. So when Barry couldn't find Joe, it became all that more frustrating and inevitable panic happened. He had to turn in the direction of his partner, Eddie, and while the blonde detective was initially reluctant to reveal Joe's location, he did…

At which point Barry nearly had another heart attack.

~ 0 ~

Henry Allen had no idea what the hell was going on. One minute he was talking to Joe - apparently now Joe believed that he didn't kill his wife - and the next a strange man appeared, turned into gas and poisoned Joe with it. It all seemed straight out of a movie, but unfortunately this was real life and Joe was dying with no one helping him. But suddenly, a red streak came into the room, dressed in a red suit with a mask.

Barry used a syringe to heal Joe from the poison, but since that was the only one he had from Star Labs he was basically on his own going up against Nimbus. While Joe recuperated, Barry glanced at his father who remained behind the glass barring the visitor and prisoner sides. He made his face vibrate to completely conceal his face from Henry.

Suddenly, Barry felt a hand on his arm and looked down to see Joe coming back. "Go get him," he urged Barry.

Knowing he would be fine then, Barry sped out of the room to catch up with Nimbus. The man was halfway down the road from the prison, walking calmly when Barry found him.

"So you've come to finish what the gas chamber couldn't?" Nimbus turned around to face Barry, looking heavily confident.

"You're going somewhere you can't hurt anyone ever again," Barry promised him now that the new metahuman prison was finished.

"Wrong," Nimbus hissed as he released the poisonous gas from his hands.

"You need to stay away from him, Barry. Do not breathe him in," Wells warned Barry through the earpiece of his suit.

Barry followed the warning and still tried to fight Nimbus as best as possible. But every punch he threw was evaded by a quick shift into gas on Nimbus' part. It was impossible to touch the man.

"I'm not sure how that helps me, guys," Barry panted after dozens of failed attempts.

"You can't fight him, Barry. Just keep him coming at you," Caitlin suggested.

"That should sap his strength. Gas is the least stable form of matter," Wells added. "This meta-human will not be able to stay in his mist form for long. His particles will need to reform."

Barry sucked in a big breath before going back in and fighting. He simply did what he done before, attempt to punch Nimbus which would force the metahuman to constantly shift to gas. Eventually, Nimbus became weary with the lack of power and in one of those was unable to change into gas. Barry snatched the opportunity and punched Nimbus square across the face.

"We win," Barry smirked at the unconscious metahuman on the grass.

~ 0 ~

After Nimbus had been placed 'under arrest' and imprisoned in his new, small-confined cell, the three Star Labs employees gazed at the prisoner with certain awe.

Caitlin winced each time Nimbus pounded on the glass of his cell. "Will it hold?" she had to ask Dr. Wells and Cisco beside her.

Cisco smirked, laughing to himself. "The barrier is powered by an 8.3 Tesla superconducting electromagnet, which is about 100,000 times the strength of earth's magnetic field."

Seeing Caitlin's overwhelmed face, Wells translated. "In other words, yes."

Caitlin sighed and looked at Nimbus again. "I think he's mad."

Now it was Well's turn to smirk as he pressed a button on the wall that began sealing the new prison. "Well, good night."

"So we're just supposed to get used to working above a makeshift prison housing evil people with superpowers," Caitlin reviewed as they made way out of the pipeline.

"You'd be surprised what you can get used to, Caitlin," Wells said rather blankly as he left the room.

"Caitlin," Cisco meekly called for the brunette afterwards. "Could I talk to you for a second?"

She nodded. "What's up?"

"It's about the night that Ronnie died. I…"

Caitlin sighed. "Look, Cisco, I'm okay. I thought coming down here would undo me, but thinking about what Ronnie did to protect us... It just made me love him more." Cisco lightly smiled at her. "Come on. I need ice cream or a drink. Let's see which one we hit first."

~ 0 ~

Late at night, the 'Red Streak' awaited in the Central City park, just beside the fountain. When Belén feebly appeared, she was a little bemused to find him already there.

"Am I late?" she had to ask out loud in case she made the mistake.

"No, I'm early," Barry replied and gazed at her in silence. She looked slightly lost, and tired - very tired.

Belén pursed her lips, coming to a stop a couple feet from him. She glanced down to her brother's altar, where a pin in the shape of an azalea had been pinned earlier in the night. "You put the flower pin," she said quietly, having assumed that the moment she saw it after coming out of classes.

"I did," Barry acknowledged.

"How did you know it was my favorite flower?" Belén curiously looked back to him.

"Believe it or not, I have read some of your work," Barry smiled.

Belén blushed. "You read my work?"

"I like to know who I'm dealing with," Barry shrugged. "Plus, you're a good writer."

"And you're a good hero," Belén remarked, slowly growing quiet again.

Barry noticed this fast and sighed. "You missed our previous meetings, and I notice you look a bit...pale," Belén gulped but let him continue, "And the simple quietness in your usual speedy talk is an outright red alert to me. Is something wrong?"

Belén shakily breathed out, her mind thinking back to today's event at the mall. "You know at the mall when that guy-"

"Oh," Barry frowned, nearly forgetting his planned scolding for her, "I meant to also tell you that you better not go endangering yourself like today." Belén sighed, half expecting something like that from him. "When I go out and save people, I don't really want to know that you're the one in need of saving."

"I just wanted to help," Belén nearly broke down into a sob, startling Barry instantly. "I saw the woman was dying in the elevator and I ran to help, but...but I was too late because I took to long to decide. I-I didn't think about being qu-quick...but then you showed up and you...you took me away and I...I saw the woman dead and I thought...I think...it's partially my f-fault because I didn't do anything t-to h-help-"

"Hey-" Barry reached out to calm her down but instead the woman threw her arms around him for a hug. For a good minute or so, Barry stood there without a clue of what to do. The ombre-blonde lightly shook as she sniffled, but her arms clung around him like her life depended on it.

She was clearly affected by what she saw at the mall, and it reminded Barry of the people he couldn't save from past encounters with metahumans. The inevitable feel of guilt nabbed at his mind, forcing him to be ashamed of himself. 'Why didn't you save them?' he heard in his mind constantly. It was a hard feeling to shake off, and without help from anyone, perhaps it would never go away. He had Joe, Caitlin, Cisco and Dr. Wells...but Belén? Who exactly could she go to in this case? Her father would probably have lost it knowing his daughter had been that close to danger. Iris was certainly not in the eligible case either. Nina, perhaps? But even then, it wouldn't be the same. He saved people - this time he just wouldn't be physically saving someone.

"Bells," he said her nickname without thinking, and pulled away slightly to face the blonde. For safety measures, his face blurred and he took a couple steps back.

"You're going to call me that too?" her raspy voice asked him.

"U-uh," Barry blinked, "Y-yes. Yes, if...if that's okay?"

Belén dimly smiled, nodding her head. "Why not, my friends do, and...I think you're a friend too."

"I am," Barry quickly nodded and resumed to what he was planning on saying first. "As a friend, I don't want you thinking that you had a in hand in this murder. The man who killed her was a prisoner she sentenced to execution." Belén gasped, her hand covering her mouth. "He had her in his hit list and he was going to come after her no matter who stood in the way. She didn't deserve to die, but it wasn't your fault it happened."

"H-how did you make that guilty feeling go away, then?"

"Honestly, it's still there, sometimes. I think, 'What the hell were you doing? You didn't save them'. But then at other times I remember that, no matter how quick I am, I'm still only human. I won't always be able to save everyone but I will always try to save them."

Belén bit her lip, seemingly thinking. "So…"

"That does not mean I want you out there playing hero," Barry quickly cut in, making her smile. "I mean it Belén."

"Okay," Belén nodded, agreeing to the term. "I can't be a hero anyways. I don't think I'd make a good one."

"I think you would be fantastic," Barry declared much to her amusement. "But, for now, focus on your journalism."

"A-and my brother's case," Belén felt the need to remind, in case he forgot in the meantime she had been under.

Barry smiled, nodding. "Of course."

"I'm sorry about missing our previous meetings. I...I was a little sick," she briefly explained. "But I'm better now."

"Are you sure?"

"Mhm. I wouldn't be here if I wasn't."

"Alright," Barry let the subject go, seeing she did appear to be better than before. Perhaps what she needed all along was to release her locked up feelings. "How about we call it a night and I take you home?"

Belén agreed with no hint of disappointment. She felt tired from today, and partly from her 'special condition'. She allowed Barry to take her home where she would hopefully get some needed rest.

#barry allen x oc #the flash x oc #noblecrescentedit #the flash #the flash imagines #barry allen imagines #barry allen fic #barry allen #caitlin snow #cisco ramon #joe west #iris west #harrison wells #star labs #it had to be you

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6rookie-writer0110 · 5 years

Text

Heart Scribble Part-1

Steve Rogers x Sam Arias

Request- Can you do steve rogers x sam arias where after thanos was killed and the stones gone. Steve went to earth 38 because they lost. He went to see kara where he already meet her after civil war. He meet sam and ruby when ruby bumped into him like in 3x01 when ruby bumped into alex. Than steve meet sam again in Kara's game night. This take place after season 4, a year after infinity war in 2018.

In the steve rogers x sam arias request Steve still has his suit in infinity war and his beard, his wakanda shields, and Buckeys mask and goggles in the winter soldier and Sam's flight gear and guns

Earth 616

Steve has been having hard time falling sleeping. When he does fall asleep, he starts to have nightmares and he blames himself for everything. He would stay up late, stare at the window or the ceiling.

He starts to think about having a fresh start on a different earth. Because everything is reminded about the past. He starts to remember about his friend Kara which he met a while ago.

He starts to remember her telling him about the multiverse. He thought about living on a different earth, for a long time but never did anything about it.

He gets out of bed and starts to pack his clothes in the suitcase. Then he sat on the bed and start to think about his decision. He sighed and he scratches his beard and sighed again.

~Later

Steve arrived on earth 38 to see Kara Danvers. They have met before Kara got stuck on earth 616 when she was racing Barry Allen. Since then have become close friends and Kara has introduced him to everyone and they all like him.

”What happened with the fight against Thanos,” Kara said.

Kara saw the sadness written all over his face. She gently rubs his back and he sighs.

”A lot has happened,” Steve said.

”I’m here for when you are ready to talk about it. You are not alone and I'm here for you. Tomorrow night is game night, maybe you should come by it will be fun” Kara said.

”That doesn't sound bad. Okay, I will be there, what time?” Steve said.

”Come over at seven and we have fun,” Kara said.

Kara and Steve smiled and their separate ways.

Sam is out with Ruby enjoying their day. There is a lot of people by the park because Lena Luthor will make a speech and reveal the new statue of supergirl. Ruby wanted to a better view so she ran but she bumped into Steve.

”Sorry!” Ruby said and left.

Sam went up to Steve.

”I am so sorry about my daughter,” Sam said.

”It’s okay don't worry. My name is Steve Rogers” Steve said.

He smiled at Sam and she smiled back.

”I’m Sam Arias,” Sam said.

Steve was going to ask her out for coffee but a villain meta human, starter to cause chaos. Steve went to help people and Sam went to look for Ruby. Kara arrived and started to help people.

”Go help them and I will take care of them,” Kara said.

”Okay. Just be careful” Steve said.

Kara nods and she starts to fight the criminals. Steve is helping people to get away from the scene. Sam found Ruby and she hugged her daughter tight. Steve can see Sam and Ruby are okay and safe. He went to check on Kara and she is doing fine also.

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

Sam is already at Kara’s apartment and they noticed she is acting differently.

”Sam, what's going on in your head?” Kara asked.

”I met this guy yesterday and he was very handsome. But the moment for ruined when the metahuman attacked. And I can't stop thinking about him” Sam said.

”Oh, it's been a while since you have dated someone. It's written all over your face that you can stop thinking about him” Kara said.

”If only you can see him again. Did you at least get his name?” Alex said.

”Yes. His name is-”

Sam stopped talking because someone is knocking on the door. Kara went to opened the door and she is happy to see Steve and he brought pizza. Sam and Steve each other.

”Sam, it's great to see you. I'm happy to see you” Steve said.

”You two know each other?” Alex asked.

”Yes. We met yesterday and this is the guy I was telling you about. How did know Kara and Alex?” Sam said.

”I met Kara while back then she introduced me to Alex and everyone else. And she invited to game night, so I am here” Steve said.

He smiled at Sam. Everyone can see how Steve and Sam are staring at each other. Everyone has played board games and card games. Now Sam and Steve are in the kitchen, talking to each other. Kara and Alex think they make a cute couple. All night, Sam and Steve mostly talked to each other and won't stop smiling.

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

On game night Steve did ask Sam out on a date. Now they are together at a carnival. Sam and Steve start to play whack a mole, they trying to see who can hit the most.

”That was fun. I haven't played that in a very long time” Sam said.

”It’s been a very long time since I been to the Carnival. I thought it would be fun to come here instead of doing the same old routine date” Steve said.

”Are you okay dating a single mother?” Sam asked.

”Yeah, I don't have a problem you having a child. But I'm guessing it doesn't go well when they find out you are a single mother?” Steve said.

Sam starts to nod.

”Once I say I have a daughter then there is no second date. If I'm going to date and the relationship he has to accept Ruby, not just me” Sam said.

”The date isn't over yet. But I hope you will let me take you on a second date” Steve said.

Sam and Steve smiled at each other.

”There could be a second date,” Sam said.

He is really happy to hear that.

Later, they took cute and funny pictures in the photo booth. Steve did manage to win a few prizes for Sam playing some games.

After a while of playing games, they share cotton candy together.

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

Kara is in Sam’s office talking about Steve with Sam.

Kara can definitely see how happy Steve is making Sam feel. Sam and Steve are taking it slow, he hasn't asked Sam to be his girlfriend.

”When will Steve meet Ruby?” Kara asked.

”Not sure really. But I will know when the time is right, she knows I'm going on dates with Steve. I just want to be sure, Steve and I are on the same page before he meets Ruby” Sam said.

”I understand. I do think Steve and Ruby will get along. So is it official between you and Steve?” Kara said.

”Not yet, but I hope so. I really like him” Sam said.

Steve knocked on the door and he walked in. Sam is happy to see him

”Well, I will leave you love birds alone,” Kara said.

”Bye Kara,” Steve said.

Kara left the office and Sam hugged Steve.

”Are you hungry? I saw this cafe place and I thought we can check it out” Steve said.

”Yeah sure, let's go,” Sam said.

They leave the office and ahead for the cafe shop. They are getting to know each other slowly. They have been going on a few dates, they have a good time. Steve does ask how is Ruby doing and Sam can see that he cares about her too.

Steve hasn't been completely truthful about his past because he isn't sure how she will react to it.

”I don't believe that you are a hundred years old,” Sam said.

”Its a very long story. But I'm really that old” Steve said.

They start to drink their coffee and Sam eats her muffin.

”Are you free tonight?” Steve asked.

”Depends what you will say,” Sam said and Steve smiled.

”I thought we can go to the movies together,” Steve said.

”That sounds good. I will go with you” Sam said.

”Great” Steve said.

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

Steve is at home then he gets a phone call from Alex.

”Steve, something bad just happened. Sam and Ruby have been kidnapped” Alex said.

”I’m going to help. Tell me everything that you know” Steve said.

”She was on the phone with me. Then I heard her yell for help and I heard them struggle. I managed to track her cellphone and it stops there” Alex said.

”I will meet you at the location,” Steve said.

”Meet me at the docks, that's where her cell phone location disappeared” Alex said.

”Okay,” Steve said and he hangs up.

Steve starts to get ready, he grabbed his

Wakanda shield and Bucky’s mask and goggles and Sam's flight gear and guns.

Steve and Alex met up at the docks. Steve and Alex looked through the window to see how many people are in there. They see Sam and Ruby with other people and the criminals are surrounding them.

Alex and Steve looked at each other, they nod. Alex goes inside first to distract them. Then Steve starts to help Alex.

Alex and Steve start to fight with the bad guys.

Steve hit the bad guy in the face with his shield, Alex used her gun first then she grabbed the guy’s arm and flipped him on the floor hard.

”Nice move,” Steve said.

”Duck,” Alex said.

Steve ducked then Alex pulled the trigger to shoot the guy. Steve stands up and he impressed with Alex’s fighting skills.

Steve went to check on the victims and Alex helped them get out of the building. Steve went towards Sam and Ruby

”Are you okay?” Steve asked.

”Thank you for saving us,” Sam said.

”It was pretty cool, how you and Alex saved us,” Ruby said.

”I’m glad you and your mom are safe,” Steve said.

------/---------

Steve went to buy flowers for Sam and he went to visit her at the office. Sam is happy to see him and she kissed him on the cheek.

”I got this for you. I came by to check how you are” Steve said.

”I’m doing good. The flowers are beautiful” Sam said and she smelled the flowers.

”Sam, do you want to be my girlfriend? I really like you and I want to keep getting to know you” Steve said.

Sam put her hands on his face and she starts to kiss him. Steve wrapped his arms around her and he is kissing her back.

”Yes. And you are okay dating a single mother?” Sam said.

”I will like to meet Ruby again when you want me to,” Steve said.

Sam smiled and kissed him.

#steve rogers imagine #Steve Rogers x Sam Arias #ship x ship #list

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panelbypanelshow · 5 years

Text

Why I’m Excited for “Crisis On Infinite Earths”

With the premier of the “Crisis On Infinite Earths” fast approaching, I recently began to reflect on why I’m so excited for it. Sure, I’m an avid Superman and DC comics fan and Crisis is an iconic story, but it’s more than that.

If you were to ask me “When did you know you were a Superman fan?” I would say, “Somewhere between 7 and 8 years old when my upstairs neighbor gave me his copy of The Death of Superman trade paperback.” Of course, at that age, I didn’t know what a “trade paperback” was. To me, it was a comic book; and like so many other children have done with their favorite comics, books, and toys, I carried it everywhere and read it to the point that I nearly had it memorized. I still have it. It’s beat to hell; but it’s bagged, boarded and stored in a safe place.

My copies of The Death of Superman TPBs. The one on the left I took everywhere with me when I was a boy.

If you asked me when I became a serious Superman fan and collector I would tell you “My 14th birthday, February 2000.”

My Aunt Susan gave me the Superman Masterpiece Collection for my birthday that year. The set came with a reprinted copy of Superman #1 (printed to the exact specifications of the comic books of that era), a hardcover book chronicling Superman’s Golden Age, and a limited edition statue designed by Alex Ross, made available only with that set.

I still have that, too. It’s a little worn along the edges and corners, but otherwise in excellent shape. I keep it on top of my bookcase. It’s one of my favorite pieces of memorabilia.

Even then, as much as I enjoyed comic books, I only saw them as a form of escapism; another way to keep people entertained. With explosions, science fiction, action, adventure, and romance; it was the modern version of the Greek mythology stories I read as a boy. They were a great way to keep myself entertained but not much else.

That perception changed when shortly after I graduated high school in 2004. I had received, among many other gifts, Barnes and Noble gift cards at my graduation party; and when I redeemed them, there were only two books I had my eye on:

Crisis On Infinite Earths (1985) and Kingdom Come (1996)

Crisis on Infinite Earths brought a new perception to these fictional characters that I had never before considered. There was depth, drama, and serious world-ending – in this case universe-ending – stakes. Universes were literally obliterated from existence , beloved characters were killed off, and the DC Universe was never the same again.

George Perez even introduced a character, Pariah, whose sole purpose was to witness the destruction of every universe, particularly every Earth, with no way to warn or save anyone. I even remember my jaw dropping at the beginning of the story when Earth 3, the home of the Crime Syndicate of Amerika – evil alternate versions of the Justice League, kicked off the story by being destroyed.

Crisis on Infinite Earths saw the teaming up of characters of the same name from different Earths with similar, but still different, backstories and abilities. The Superman of Earth 2, for example, was the Golden Age Superman; who’s abilities are limited to that of early Superman stories, “faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.” While the Earth 1 Superman was the modern incarnation with all of the abilities we are familiar with today, namely flight.

What made Crisis so successful, however, wasn’t just that there were variations of the same characters fighting side-by-side to save the multiverse from being wiped from existence, but that no one is safe. One of the most iconic covers of all-time is Crisis on Infinite Earths #7.

Cover of Crisis On Infinite Earths #7.

That basic design, a hero holding the body of a partner/friend/lover, has been used all throughout comic books; but Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 remains iconic not just because it features the world’s most powerful hero holding the dead body of his cousin, who’s abilities are nearly equal to his, reduced to a groveling mess, but because it was proof that absolutely no one was safe. By issue 7, everyone knew the stakes, and the heat was on.

What made Supergirl’s death so memorable and iconic, however, wasn’t just that she died in battle, but that she sacrificed herself, knowing what she was doing would kill her.

Following Crisis, DC rebooted the entire universe and in that reboot, they intended the Superman to be the last Kryptonian rather than the last son. So rather than letting Supergirl become another faceless casualty, she received a hero’s farewell by protecting her cousin - the entire reason she was sent to Earth in the first place.

The death of Kara Zor-El.

The story didn’t slow down there, either, the following issue saw the death of Barry Allen, A.K.A. The Flash. While the cover isn’t nearly as iconic as the previous, Barry’s death is because it, again, involves self-sacrifice.

Cover of Crisis On Infinite Earths #8.

Throughout the story, Barry’s “ghost” would occasionally pop up, looking less and less ghastly each time; and that was finally explained in issue #8 when Barry ran to create a speed vortex that would draw power from the weapon designed to destroy Earth. The power became too much for his body to handle and he literally ran backwards in time until he disintegrated and became the very lightning bolt that gave him his abilities.

The Death of Barry Allen.

Crisis On Infinite Earths upped the ante in comic book storytelling. It showed that just because the characters aren’t real doesn’t mean they’re immortal and, more importantly, it shows that we can feel connected to them just like we get with a character in our favorite TV show. When I finished reading Crisis I began to take a deeper look at comic book characters and was able to identify what made each character great and different in their own way. Sure, Batman has the money, gadgets, and the car - but it doesn’t mean he won’t long for his parents anytime he sees Superman with Jonathan and Martha. There is much more to comic books than colorful costumes and wacky villains; and it was Crisis On Infinite Earths that helped me realize that.

After Crisis, I picked up Kingdom Come.

Wow.

Let me say that again.

Wow.

Putting aside the writing for now. The art alone is enough to sell the book. Alex Ross is a legend, and his art speaks for itself. I had only ever seen his work in single images, not in comic book panels and I was in awe with how well everything seamlessly flowed together. To this day, Alex Ross’ work in Kingdom Come is among my favorites and will always hold a very special place in my heart.

Now. The story.

Mark Waid could walk into a convention and my heart would stop.

He ranks among some of the very best comic book writers and when you read Kingdom Come, you’ll see why.

Like Crisis On Infinite Earths, Kingdom Come opened my eyes in comic book storytelling that I had never before considered; this time with politics. In my last YouTube video, I talked about how comic books have always been, in some way, political. As children we don’t notice it as much but when we grow, mature, and begin to notice how the world works, we finally become aware of topics we were blissfully unaware of as children. Politics in comic books is one of them.

With Kingdom Come the politics covers not only generational gaps between yesterday’s heroes and the story’s current heroes, but we also see the government get involved out of fear of the destruction the two groups of heroes could cause should they not resolve their differences. Within that narrative was the conflict occurring among the primary characters. Superman and Wonder Woman, while working together, did not see eye-to-eye, Batman wanted nothing to do with their efforts while (shockingly) assembling his own team in accordance with his own plan that involved Lex Luthor and other classic supervillains, and a brainwashed demigod as the wildcard.

Most of all, the story portrayed a war and how the biggest victims aren’t those fighting in it, but those they claim to be fighting for; the unintended casualties. Sure, we feel for the casualties of the war, but it wasn’t until an enraged Superman nearly brought the roof down on the government who did what they did not out of malice, but fear.

Superman nearly loses control in Kingdom Come #4.

Kingdom Come is easily one of the most powerful stories I have ever read and remains in my top 3 favorite stories. It’s one that I would recommend to anyone, even if they aren’t a comic book fan. Hell, the first Superman shirt I ever bought for myself was Kingdom Come.

I need to get a new one.

Then there’s Brandon Routh.

Routh (rhymes with “south”) was cast to play Superman in 2006’s Superman Returns. While the movie itself was a bit of a disappointment and divisive amongst fans, Routh’s performance as the Man of Steel was not.

Brandon Routh as Superman in 2006’s Superman Returns.

I was 18 and in my first semester of college when the news of Routh’s casting hit. I was excited. Excited that he was an unknown actor. Excited that he was young and that a franchise could be built around him, excited that he grew up a Superman fan, excited that – like me – he grew up in a part of the country where Superman’s values are ingrained in everyday life. I was truly excited, even if other Superman fans weren’t.

Brandon Routh received, in my opinion, an unfair amount of criticism when he was cast, when pictures of him in the suit were released, when trailers were released, when the movie was released, and even to this day. Honestly, I feel fans and critics weren’t willing to give him a fair chance because he wasn’t Christopher Reeve and was compared to Reeve before the first picture of him in the suit was released. I was one of those fans who tirelessly defended him on the internet. I was insulted by fans, my family was insulted, called names, I was even accused of not being a “real Superman fan” because I was giving the movie my support. I was young, though, and didn’t realize then how pointless it was to argue over the internet; so I kept at it.

I was so excited for the movie I ordered my ticket for opening day the day tickets went on sale. I set out the Superman shirt I wanted to wear to the movie, drove an hour and a half from Limon, CO to Denver to see it, and arrived early to make sure I got a good seat. I had waited my entire life to see Superman on the silver screen and nothing was going to stop me from making it the best experience possible.

I’ll be honest. I enjoyed the movie. I was a bit underwhelmed because I had hoped for more action sequences and felt the story could have been stronger; but that didn’t stop me from walking out of the theater with a smile on my face, seeing it a second time, or looking forward to what the sequel had in store. Hell, at the time Superman Returns came out, I was an aspiring actor and I DREAMED of being cast as John Corben, also known as Metallo, in the Superman Returns sequel and going blow-to-blow with Routh’s Superman.

Ultimately, I think the premise had more to do with my excitement than anything else. I loved – LOVED – the idea of Superman being gone for 5 years and returning to a different world; especially with everything the world had been dealing with between 2000-2006.

From Superman Returns. The date of the article is March 3, 2000.

What if we had Superman on 9/11? What would have been different? How many lives would have saved? Would he have stopped the second plane from hitting the south tower? Would he have prevented it altogether? There was so much that could have been done with that premise that, I feel, was left on the table.

To this day, I believe that instead of being a continuation of the Christopher Reeve films (a decision I supported at the time) I think Superman Returns should have featured a young Superman who fled back to Krypton when he heard the rumor it might still be there. Jason should have been Lois and Richard’s child, Martha should have died while Superman was away, Lex Luthor or Cadmus Labs (both?) should have been trying to clone their own Superman that would turn into Bizarro, Superman should have spent less time pining over his lost love with Lois, and I have always, and firmly, believed there should have been a scene of Clark sitting alone in the Daily Planet film room, glasses in hand and tears in his eyes, watching footage of the September 11th terrorist attacks. Those elements would not only have given Superman Returns a stronger story, it would have made him much more relatable to the casual moviegoer and still would have provided plenty of action for fans.

Despite all of that. I still enjoyed the movie. I enjoyed it so much that when it was available for pre-order on Amazon, I bought the Two-Disc Special Edition.

I still have it.

When Routh made an appearance at Rose City Comic Con in 2018, I made damn sure I met him.

He signed my copy of the Superman Returns comic book adaptation and I’m still geeking out about it.

Of everything I enjoyed in Superman Returns, the plane sequence, the bank robbery, Kevin Spacey’s Lex Luthor, Superman flying around saving the city; if I had to pick one thing that I enjoyed the most in the film, it would be Routh himself. While his portrayal of Clark Kent was clearly inspired by Christopher Reeve, his Superman is where he shined. He stood tall, walked and spoke with confidence, and could intimidate someone by his presence alone – until he smiled that warm Superman smile and said something that would calm even the most nervous person like he did with an upset Lois Lane on the roof of the Daily Planet.

“Will I see you around?”

“I’m always around.”

Because Superman Returns didn’t fare as well in the box office as the studio had hoped, the sequel never happened and that was the end of Routh’s tenure as Superman. I was disappointed, but I understood. It’s a business. Making money comes first and Superman Returns, while profitable, didn’t make nearly enough.

Time marches on and we got more comic book adaptations. Smallville continued for another 5 seasons, ending its run after season 10 and inspiring a spin-off series about the Green Arrow, inspired by Justin Hartley’s popularity of the character in Smallville. Arrow, set apart from the Smallville series, came out swinging and quickly rose in popularity. Then in season 2, came future superheroes as recurring characters: Barry Allen, played by Grant Gustin, and Ray Palmer, played by Brandon Routh.

I was SO excited to see Routh back in the comic book medium. The only thing that would have made me happier was if they brought him back to play Superman; but alas, I knew it didn’t fit with Arrow’s reality.

Routh’s performance as Ray Palmer was different than I expected. Ray always came off as a serious character in the stories I read, not as the “Aw shucks” kind of person Routh portrays him as. It made sense, though. Stephen Amell’s Oliver Queen had enough serious to go around for everyone; there needed to be a lighthearted superhero to balance that – like Superman is to Batman.

It worked too! Routh became popular on the show and before too long, was starring alongside other actors who portrayed those lesser known heroes in Legends of Tomorrow. As the Arrowverse continued to up the ante and bring in other shows and characters, so did the expectations; and like the comics the shows are based on, annual crossovers became a thing.

They started small with the first 2 being two-parters with The Flash and Arrow, then expanded across all four shows for Invasion! and Crisis on Earth X, dropped to a 3-parter with Elseworlds while also setting up the Batwoman series, to an epic five-part series based on one of the most iconic stories of all time that showed me how serious comic book storytelling could be.

Then there’s Brandon Routh.

Not only is he returning to play Superman, he’s playing the Kingdom Come Superman!

I can’t take it anymore. Seriously.

The first actor I ever saw play Superman in theaters – the first Superman actor I have ever met in person, is playing the version of Superman that helped me realize the kind of message that comic books can tell, in an adaptation of an iconic story that showed how serious a comic book can get. Both of those stories, Kingdom Come and Crisis On Infinite Earths, made me into a comic book fan. Not just a Superman fan, but a comic book fan.

Now I have another comic book that I need to get signed by Routh the next time he visits the Pacific Northwest:

It’s gonna happen – and I’ll be sure to get a picture with him while wearing a Kingdom Come Superman shirt.

Fans can always remember what made them fans of their fandom. Crisis on Infinite Earths and Kingdom Come is that for me. Add the casting of Brandon Routh as Superman in Superman Returns shortly after reading those two iconic stories, and It was a done deal for me.

Seeing all of these impactful moments that helped mold my fandom being rolled together like this is, to say the least, emotional. Never in my life did I expect to see any type of live action adaptation of Kingdom Come or Crisis On Infinite Earths; and I certainly never imagined I’d see Brandon Routh play Superman again. It really is a fanboy’s dream come true.

The only thing that could make it better, for me anyway, would be if Routh’s final line as Superman is his best line as Superman:

“I’m always around.”

#crisisoninfiniteearths #kingdomcome #superman #supermanreturns #arrowverse #arrow #flash #supergirl #legendsoftomorrow #brandonrouth #deathofsuperman #raypalmer #theatom #dccomics #cwtv #dctv #dcuniverse #dcmultiverse

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