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aboutzatanna · 2 years

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Meet Zachary Zatara! Zatanna’s Cousin

I’ve covered Zatanna’s mother, father and now to complete my series of posts on the pairing, lets look at Zachary Zatara.

Zachary is a magician just like Zatanna, making her one of the few female heroes with a male side kick. He was also a member of the Teen Titans during Geoff Johns run which the YJ show draws heavily from.

I’ve included a recommended reading guide for him at the very end of the post including some lesser known, obscure stories so do check that out if you’re interested in wanting to read more about him.

The inspiration for Zachary goes back to writer Mark Waid and artist Alex Ross Kingdom Come OGN. KC was seminal back in the day and had a huge influence on the DCU both positive and negative.

A big part of KC were the children of various superheroes and super villains whom Superman, freshly out of retirement, recruits into his new super powered army in order to fix a world ravaged by out of control anti heroes like Magog.

One of them was John Zatara, the son of Zatanna and Constantine (the latter of whom was walled off from the rest of the DCU at the time). It’s not known what happened to Zatanna and Constantine in the KC timeline, Zatara being their kid was only revealed in the back of the Absolute edition of Kingdom Come.

Zatara barely had a speaking role in the OGN, here is a couple of scenes where he shows up in:

He also showed up as a supporting character in ‘Kingdom Come: The Offspring’ one shot by Mark Waid and Frank Quietly which focused on Plastic Man’s son Earnie a.k..a ‘Offspring’ where it was mentioned that he was dating Avia, the daughter of Scott Free and Big Barda.

Also note that all of his dialogue was written backwards throughout the whole comic even during normal every day conversations:

He also appeared as a background character in The Kingdom Special as one of the many heroes trying to protect Superman and Wonder Woman’s kid from Magog.

Given these minor appearances it’s really hard to get a feel of Zatara’s personality here. One gets the impression that Avia is the assertive one in their relationship whilst Zatara is the passive one. And...this is just my speculation here, but I think KC Zatara might be autistic or at least, on the spectrum.

After KC’s monumental success, DC began incorporating elements from KC into it’s main universe, and just to give you an idea of how immense and influential KC is and continues to be:

(feel free to skip past these bullet points if you’re not interested in KC’s influence)

- Maxine Hunkel, Magog, Jai and Iris West first appeared in KC then later in the main DCU.

-The concept of a Blue Beetle who wore mecha armor ended up becoming Jaime Reyes.

-It also popularized the idea of Bruce and Talia having a son. The idea originated from ‘Son of the Demon’ where we first see their infant child given up for adoption. Then in KC we see him grown up and named ‘Ibn Al Xuffasch’ and later incorporated into the comics in the form of Damian Wayne. Xuffasch also had a romance with Nightstar (Dick and Kory’s kid) much to Dick’s chagrin.

-Alan Scott’s GL armor was introduced in KC that later appeared in the main universe.

-WW’s golden eagle armor which has appeared in both the main universe and in WW84, her being the one Trinity member being willing to kill in the series which also directly paved the way for Rucka’s Sacrifice arc in which she killed Maxwell Lord. Granted she killed once during Perez’s run but the context of how it happened in Sacrifice directly pertains to KC. This lead to the false perception of Diana being a blood thirsty warrior and her thus her characterization in early Nu52 era.

-KC Superman even showed up in the main universe and even talking to Diana about how the main universe was turning similar to his.

-The concept of Diana being exiled from Themyscira. In KC universe she was exiled because of her failure to change Man’s World. In JLU, 2017 Wonder Woman and Bloodlines DTV movie, her being exiled would be incorporated into her origin story instead (not for the better, if you ask me). In the Golden Age, Post Crisis and Rebirth versions, she left voluntarily with the blessings of her mother and sisters and was later able to reunite with them.

-Even the core concept of the Infinite Crisis event of older heroes trying to impose a nostalgic outdated view of heroism on a world they deemed too dark and cynical was clearly inspired by KC.

-JLU’s Cadmus arc and the paranoia about Superman turning the JL into a super powered army, the fight with Captain Marvel on the show, things turning out for the worst despite Superman’s best intentions and Batman disproving of Superman sentencing criminals to the Phantom Zone felt like they were directly drawn from KC.

-CW’s version of Crisis on Infinite Earths where Brandon Routh’s Superman had a costume similar to KC Superman and even has elements of his backstory like Lois, Perry and his co workers being killed by a gas attack from the Joker.

-Even CBR exists because of KC since the site started off as a fansite for Kingdom Come before turning into a forum and later a comic book news site. So yeah, good and bad influences on the DCU all round.

1/3 Zachary Meets Infinity Inc & Black Adam

Anyway, back to Zachary Zatara, he first debuted in Teen Titans Vol 3 #34 and was created by Geoff Johns and Tony Daniels. Although his first published appearance was in Teen Titans, his first chronological appearance would have been in 52; a weekly series which covered the gap year in which Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman were inactive and other heroes were filling in for them.

Zachary showed up in 52 #21 as part of the Teen Titans team investigating the new Infinity Inc (a group of kids given super powers by Luthor).

Note that’s not Big Barda. That’s Little Barda. A New God who takes after Barda and clearly based off of Avia.

Zach gets off on the wrong foot with one of the Infinity Inc members:

Later, in the issue, one of the Infinity Inc members was killed in battle (thanks to Luthor’s machinations) and Zach and Little Barda are seen at the funeral:

Note that Zach is associated with Raven.

Later in 52 #32 Zachary is among the crowds of young heroes gathered to fight Black Adam (he’s right next to the Superboy statues palm):

Among them is also a young, costumed Eddie Bloomberg aka Kid Devil whom we will see will be an important character for Zachary:

In World War III #3 we get a small glimpse of Zachary fighting Black Adam as well as Raven reacting to him getting hurt (these two always had a connection):

And finally in the 52 #50 we see Zachary working with Zatanna and several other mages attempting to stop the rampaging Black Adam with the help of Billy Batson:

Zatanna and Zachary don’t share any dialogue with each other in the issue but it’s cool to see them working together as well as seeing Zatanna and Billy effectively leading the magical side of the DCU and I love that it’s Billy who figured out how to defeat Black Adam.

2/3 Zachary & Eddie + The Teen Titans

Zachary would make single panel appearances in Teen Titans #34-38, they were from bits and pieces from Cyborg’s recordings from when he was in a coma. The ‘present’ day of these issues were set the year after the events of 52 Zach complains about Raven’s powers affecting him and we also get hints of his personality:

So Raven has gone missing and in between fighting super villains, the Titans go on search for her which leads them to meet Zachary.

Zachary finally gets the spotlight in Teen Titans #39 in which we are also introduced to his assistant, Bunny and he and the Titans don’t really get along:

We also learn from Cyborg that his powers were only awakened recently after the events of Days of Vengeance (long story short; Spectre went crazy, Nabu died, magic died and was reborn):

Zachary is kind of snobbish, arrogant and rude but they are also a way for him to hide his insecurities and fears.

As you can see he also has history with Kid Devil/Eddie Bloomberg and we finally learn about their history and Zachary’s role in Eddie’s transformation from the kid in the suit you saw in 52 to the humanoid devil in present day in Teen Titans #42.

So, Eddie is a huge of Blue Devil aka Dan Cassidy and idolizes him much to the latter’s chagrin , this leads to him wanting to get powers just like BD. One day he gets a strange mystical candle from a stranger which he takes to Zachary for consultation:

So despite Zach’s warning, Eddie goes through with the deal and to no one’s surprise, his trust in Blue Devil is in fact broken, when Eddie learns that Blue Devil was indirectly responsible for his Aunt’s death. (Long story short: Neron promised him a way to return to being BD if Daniel blew up a power plant, the latter did but the feed back ended up killing Eddie’s aunt who was miles away. Dan Cassidy kept it a secret until Eddie confronted him about it).

So yeah, Eddie is pretty much damned now but Zach tries to console him the best way he can, in Teen Titans #56:

This era of Teen Titans was heavily dependent on making the Titans into a Junior Justice League. Along with Zachary, this run also introduced Miss Martian and reinvented Superboy/Connor from a fun loving Booster Gold style glory hound to the angsty black t-shirt wearing Superboy we know today and Cassie Sandsmark from the tomboyish fangirl to the cheerleader archetype. Instead of a stand alone squad the Titans were now tutored by older heroes, at least initially. Suffice to say, this run had a huge influence on the Young Justice show.

As for the run itself, I wasn’t a fan of how Robin, Wonder Girl and the Wonder Twins were written. Especially under Sean McKeever post Infinite Crisis (though tbf he faced a lot of editorial hurdles) but the Eddie/Zachary stuff was a highlight for me personally.

Side note, Teen Titans #52 also gave us a peek at a possible future version of Zachary, you can tell he is evil because he has a goatee:

Zach also showed up in Tim Drake’s Robin series (Robin vol 2 #166) to help him out with some bad guys:

There are so many dark haired caucasian costumed guys around, especially in Gotham that even the villains get confused.

There are some interesting parallels between Zachary and Donna Troy. They’re both the side kicks of female heroes, both of them debuted in a title that didn’t star said female hero and they operated independently for a while before actually getting to interacting with their female mentor.

Despite Zachary being a ‘part time’ Titan, he would show up in the 6 issue Terror Titans mini in which the Titans took on Clock King who was running a meta human fight ring. Zachary and the Titans were captured and mind controlled to participate in the tournament and somehow Zach lost to Terra in a straight up fight:

(I call bull shit, maybe he threw the fight)

Also Zach being emotional about Kid Devil is what got him caught in the first place:

Meanwhile, in the main Teen Titans Eddie has managed to beat his curse and returned to normal human form.

Then in the follow up in Teen Titans #69, he harshly turned down Wonder Girl’s offer for Zach and other teens held prisoner by the Clock King to train with the Titans.

His next appearance in the Titans would be part of a back up title called Coven of Three which ran from Teen Titans #84-87. The series starred Zachary Zatara, Traci 13 and Black Alice in which the Demon’s Three trapped them in a world that brought their deepest desires to life. All of it as part of a gambit to escape their imprisonment and threaten the world again.

The series begins by showing Zach in the least flattering light as possible:

Then drops this reveal on us when Zach’s dream world is shown:

Yes, he had a girlfriend with unborn twins who died untimely deaths. How old is this kid anyway? Was it a teen pregnancy? Does Zatanna know? This is one of the many plot threads that could have been addressed in the Zatanna ongoing were it not for it’s untimely cancellation and the 52 reboot.

Traci 13′s dream is a world where she is worshiped as a Goddess and Black Alice’s dream was a world where her parents were alive and they had a normal family unit. Of the three, she was the most reluctant to give up her wish. It made things more complicated because undoing the spell required the consent of all three individuals. Zachary and Traci have relatively normal, stable lives to return to, Alice doesn’t.

We also got this interesting scene showing the difference between a book worm mage and someone who has natural abilities but never studied actual theory:

Zach also brings up Eddie again and he gets a moment with Kate (his dead gf) before helping Traci undo the spell:

The three managed to undo the spell and even agree to become teammates:

But there is a twist at the end where we learn that oops, even though they ‘won’, it was all still a ruse on the Demon’s parts as they’re still playing right into the demon’s hands:

The ending also flips our view of the character. Zachary, whom in the beginning was kind of a jerk, ends up with the most sympathetic motivation of wanting to use magic to bring back his dead girlfriend and unborn child. Black Alice ends up more or less at the same spot she started in. Meanwhile, it looks like Traci 13 is on the path of actually bringing her dreams of being a goddess to reality as she keeps one of the magical items used to trap the Demons Three for herself.

On the YJ cartoon, I wasn’t a fan of Mary being the corrupted one for various reasons. But given Traci’s characterization here, I would have rather she had been the one corrupted by power.

It’s a neat twist and I’m disappointed that there hasn’t been any follow up to it. Especially the part about Zach’s dead girlfriend. Zatanna and Diana need to have a talk about their respective side kicks going through all sorts of trauma in stories without either of them getting involved.

NGL, I still find weird that the Young Justice show, which draws heavily from Geoff Johns era of Titans decided to deage Zatanna and put her on Dick’s team instead of using Zachary, who was already associated with the Titans. Plus it’s rare for a female hero to have a male side kick. But then, if Zatanna was with the adults on YJ, we’ll probably see even less of her.

2/3 Zachary & Superman: World of New Krypton Era

Sometime after his first appearance in Teen Titans, Zachary later showed up in Superman #680 in which Superman fought the mythological Atlas and was getting his ass beat. Supes realized that he needed help so he went to a magic show Zatanna was meant to headline but instead met Zachary there and the two got off to a rough start:

I’ve mentioned this story in another post but lets cut to the chase; Supes is a little abrasive here but lets cut him some slack, the Man of Steel was forced to leave his dog to fight his battles for him.

After getting a super charge from Zachary, Supes managed to beat Atlas but he wanted everyone to credit Krypto instead.

Zachary would have a minor role during the ‘World of New Krypton’ era of Superman comics. This was imo, the most interesting era of Superman comics which was kicked off when Superman rescued the shrunken bottled city of Kandor and restored it to full size on.......earth. So now the inhabitants on earth are neighbors with a thousands of Kryptonians and not all of them are as nice as Superman.

This event was like a tide for the Superman books and supporting cast, I can’t think of another era (besides maybe Death of Superman) that elevated supporting characters like Supergirl, Guardian, Dr Light/Kimiyo Hoshi, Captain Atom while also reviving Silver Age characters like Mon-El, Flamebird and Nightwing/Chris Kent (hey, remember him? he was the proto Jon Kent).

Zachary and Zatanna appeared in Action Comics #873 along with the ‘Sentinel of Magic’ where they cast a spell to ward off a group of hostile Kryptonians and we also get a peek of Zatanna mentoring Zachary:

The Zatara’s and the Marvel Family should team up more, imo. Plus it’s cool to see them doing combos and this is a great follow up from their appearance in 52. Their team work is better here and they’re doing combos now.

In Superman #690, Zachary is meeting one of his stage hands who has something important to tell him when they are suddenly interrupted by Parasite:

Mark Merlin is an old Golden Age character, the writer, James Robinson (who also wrote Starman) is a huge fan of Golden Age characters.

I’m normally not a fan of jerkass protagonists but Zachary is a little different. His arrogance and aloofness serves as a mask to hide his insecurities and cowardiance. Plus you know Zee would whoop his ass if he really crossed the line.

In a sudden twist though, we learn in Superman #692 that the man Zachary was talking to was not Mark Merlin, but Mirabai; a sorceress who agreed to become an ally for General Sam Lane in his anti-Kryptonian war in exchange for him loaning her a brainwashed Captain Atom so she can rule her realm (called the Sorcerers World) with an iron fist.

Zachary appeared in the Captain Atom back up series in Action Comics that ran from Action Comics #879-889. Zachary appeared in #887-889 as an unwitting slave to MIrabai. He doesn’t really get to do much here, the story is centered on Captain Atom who has managed to break out of the Mirabai’s mind control and joined the rebels to help them over throw Mirabai.

He succeeds only to find out that one of his ally’s was actually the wizard Mordru (I’ve mentioned him before in relation to Dr Fate) in disguise who quickly banished Zachary back to the mortal world:

But he is friendly with Captain Atom, telling him that the latter could come back to his realm at any time.

This issue also came with preview pages for Zatanna’s solo series by Paul Dini and Stephane Roux which is where we meet Zachary next:

Side note: Mirabai would make a good foe for Zachary and by extension Zatanna (’nobody enslaves my cousin!’).

3/3 Zachary & Zatanna

Finally, when Zatanna’s own ongoing was launched in 2010, we finally got to see what their relationship was like.

Zachary showed up in Zatanna #04-06 written by Paul Dini and we finally get a little backstory on them including this flashback showing a teenage Zatanna teaching a young Zachary:

Zatanna promises to show up for Zachary’ next show but fails because an evil casino owner who made a deal with a literal demon hypnotizes her to marry him so he can sell her soul in exchange for immortality.

Zachary is at first, pissed when Zatanna doesn’t show up...

but ends up helping her escape from the evil casino owner while also bickering like siblings:

The issue walks a fine line between not rendering Zatanna a damsel in distress, giving her agency in saving herself while also allowing Zachary to contribute to the story.

At the end, she finally does manage to make it to one of his performances:

He showed up next in Zatanna #14 written by Adam Beechen which starts out with Zatanna chewing him out for screwing up a joint performance:

Zach, predictably doesn’t listen and ends up getting into trouble which his cousin had to bail him out of:

Part of what makes the Zatanna/Zachary dynamic so fun is that both Zatanna and her father are often portrayed as heroic and selfless (even if they have some morally gray moments at times) but Zach is more self absorbed and arrogant which forces Zatanna to be more up front in dealing with her side kick. It also gives Zach a character arc; his hubris is a cover for his cowrdiance and insecruities thus his story arc is one about overcoming them to become a better person.

They also worked together during the Reign In Hell event which is set sometime before Zatanna’s series, I’m posting this here because I found Zach’s impudence here to be hilarious:

You know you done fucked up when even Jason Blood is horrified.

Post Nu52, Zachary disappeared but he did show up in Raven: Daughter of Darkenss, a 12 issue limited series by Marv Wolfman as part of the Nightforce:

I haven’t read it yet and it’s the kind of thing that deserves it’s own separate post anyway.

Finally, in 2021, a Suicide Squad book was among the titles in DC’s Round Roubin (basically, vote for whichever title you want to read the most otherwise it won’t see the light of day) with Zachary on the roster. The title never made it past the rounds and was never published but we did get some preview pages, Zach screwed up royally and has to work with the Squad to make up for it:

Thank god this was never published, all I can imagine is Zatanna downing a whole bottle of alcohol and screaming after hearing this.

That’s about it for his major appearances to this date. Now for some FAQ’s before wrapping this up and also check out the Recommended Reading List at the very bottom:

Who Are His Parents?

Zachary’s parents have never appeared on panel and has never been mentioned. Sure, in Earth-22 Kingdom Come universe, ‘John Zatara’ is the son of Zatanna and John Constantine but as you can see there are differences between ‘John Zatara’ and the ‘Zachary Zatara’ here.

Zatanna having an adult son either in the Pre Nu52 universe or the Rebirth timeline doesn’t make much sense timeline wise unless you go down the path of convoluted retcons involving aged up magical babies and false memories ala Pre Crisis Dinah Laurel Lance. You also have to consider the flashbacks showing teen Zatanna training kid Zachary, how they interact like cousins/siblings instead of mother/son and they refer to each other as cousins even when they are by themselves. .

That said, there is no indication in Giovanni’s backstory of him having any siblings either but not enough to completely rule out the possibility either. It’s possible that he had an estranged brother or Giovanni himself became distant from his own family or he had an uncle and Zachary is his cousin first removed.

Also, this is just my opinion, but I can’t really see Zatanna as a mom. Even with characters like I like seeing her dating (whether it’s Blue Devil, Joshua, Batman, sometimes Dick Grayson). I can see Wonder Woman, Mera, Big Barda and Catwoman being mothers but never got that vibe from Zee. Sure she’s great with kids but I never got the ‘mom’ vibe from her character. She always struck me as a Helen Mirren type who would remain childless but fulfilled even into her old age.

I have a few guesses as to who his parents could be in the pre Nu52 timeline:

-Fulcanelli. A minor character that appeared in Fate #10 (click here for more). Zatanna initially introduces him as a friend of her fathers. He’s an alchemist who is burdened with the cost of magic. At the climax of the issue, right before he is turned into a gold statue, Zatanna calls him uncle while in turn he calls her niece. Whether it was just an affectionate term, like she thought of him as an uncle despite not being related or if they were actually blood related was never clarified. Plus Zatanna has referred to people she isn’t blood related to as uncles or aunts, like the time she called Rose Psychic her Aunt during Reign In Hell.

But suppose Fulcanelli and Zatara’s were blood related, Zachary’s father being an alchemist could explain why his power doesn’t work on anything organic.

-Giovanni himself.

Which would make Zatanna and Zachary into siblings as well which also fits their banter in the comic books. My theory in this case is that they share the same father but different mothers. Giovanni has been associated with multiple women, both romantically and non romantically; Madame Xanadu, Charity from Starman and Tigress. He was smitten by Madame Xanadu and outright said he wanted to make babies with her but the latter turned him down since she was aware of his future. Their relationship never moved beyond friends with benefits but it would be interesting if she ever did take up on his offer after Sindella’s first death.

The other option would be Tigress; the classic enemy-to-lovers trope. Tigress was a thief and a normal human who was Zatara’s main nemesis and sometimes-ally during the Golden Age. There are no stories where their relationship turned romantic but imagine if it did at some point but for whatever reason it didn’t work out, they divorced and Tigress had custody of Zachary. The flashback of teen Zatanna training a young Zachary could have taken place during brief visitations. It also fits Zachary’s stated origin that his powers were only awakened after the events of Days of Vengeance, especially if one or both of his parents are human. It also explains Zatanna telling Flash that she doesn’t have a family in JLA: Crisis of Conscience, technically she wasn’t lying as this scenario involves Tigress separating herself from the Zataras. But then Zach got his powers and started following in his father’s footsteps and the two started to bond again. It also contextualizes Zachary’s ego; he is trying to reject his mother’s villainous roots and trying to embrace his father’s heroic side.

Still, this is just what my speculation.

Who knows what Johns, Robinson and Dini had actually planned though. Maybe they were intending for him to be Zatanna and Constantine’s son and had a convoluted explanation involving wizards and genies and time travel involved.

Is Zachary Queer?

Zach has never been confirmed to be queer but I noticed that he does have a queer fanbase and his close friendship with Kid Devil aka Eddie Bloomberg can be interpreted as such. They just have that vibe to them. He also does have a relationship with Bunny, his stage assistant but that could just mean he is either bi sexual or polysexual. Folks are free to interpret him however they like.

I’m supportive of the head canon that Zachary is queer and him being in a relationship with Eddie totally works.

I hope Zachary returns one day. He would be perfect for JLD and I love his dynamic with Zee and an appearance there is long over due.

Litnu txen emit!

Recommended Reading

-52: #21, #50 (also World War III #3)

-Teen Titans Vol 3: #34-38, #39, #42, #52, #69 (after Terror Titans)

-Terror Titans #1-6

-Robin Vol 2 #166

-Teen Titans #83-87. Coven of Three back up with Zachary, Traci 13 and Black Alice.

-Superman #680, #683 (which is followed up in Action Comics #873), #687

-Superman #690 followed by #692 and the rest of the story is picked up in Action Comics #887-889 Captain Atom back up.

-Zatanna #4-6 and #14.

-Raven: Daughter of Darkness #1-12

If there is anything you would like me to add or remove, let me know.

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firesoulstuff · 3 years

Note

Enemies AU + Captain Canary?

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27544165/chapters/69795360

You know, for a man who can break the sound barrier without breaking a sweat, Barry Allen is becoming awfully boring to fight.

At first the speedster had intrigued Leonard. He was a man who could do the impossible, not to mention he was cute but Leonard learned quickly his observation of that was going to remain as such; as Barry Allen is clearly both straight and head over scarlet heels for Iris West. Pity, but fair. Besides, those things somehow make toying with him all the more entertaining.

Or at least they had for a while.

Lately toying with Barry hasn’t been as fun. Every time it feels like the same song and dance. He steals something, Barry fails to stop him, Barry tracks him down, gives his obligatory speech about how he could be a hero if he so chose, and yadda yadda yadda.

At this point he isn’t bothering to try drawing Barry out when he runs a job in Central, though the scarlet preacher still keeps showing up.

Suddenly a knife cuts across his line of sight, making his breath hitch and his thoughts stop in their tracks.

The knife embeds into the wall he’s leaning against, now paused in his attempt to crack the code on the museum back door.

With only a minor sense that he might regret it Leonard looks up and there is a figure standing about ten feet away from him in the shadows of the corner of the building.

He can’t make out much, but judging by the knife he’s going to take the hint that this isn’t Barry.

“You new in town?” He calls over.

“Just passing through.” A feminine voice calls back, and the figure steps out into the lights of the overhead posts. “Helping out a friend.”

She’s about Scarlet’s age, with blonde hair that is slicked back by gel and a white leather suit with a halter-top. The curious thing about her, though, is her lack of a mask.

All of Barry’s friends wear some sort of mask. Whether it’s him and that stupid cowl, Ramon with his goggles, or the human wad of bubble gum and his eye mask. Even Snow changes her make-up and the color of her eyes.

But this woman isn’t hiding anything from him. She is giving him, and any other potential enemies, a full and unobstructed view of her face.

He would say she were an idiot if her voice weren’t tinted with an edge of darkness you can’t fake, if the smirk on her lips reached her eyes in the way a rookie’s would. She knows what she’s doing, and she’s choosing to do it anyway, and that unnerves him.

His fingers twitch at his side, itching to pull off his goggles against all logic except that she should not be exposing her face. She should not be choosing to expose her face. She should not know the risks and decide they don’t scare her.

“You don’t have the same affinity for masks as your friend.” He finally says.

She’s still walking closer, her hands down by her sides, seemingly not prepared with any weapons. Again, he wants to write her off as stupid, but she has this aura about her that gives him the feeling he would be very, very wrong.

“I don’t need one.” She says, “I’ve been in the darkness long enough.”

Yeah, she definitely knows what she’s doing.

For the briefest moment of weakness he considers bailing out, but he turns the thought away. It’s going to take more than a new player on the scene to scare him off.

“Right…” He drawls, squaring his shoulders and turning away from the keypad for the time being. “Well much as I’d love to hear about all your darkness…”

He doesn’t finish. Instead he pulls out his gun and fires on her. He sees her move, but thanks to the light from the cold gun he doesn’t see where. He finds out though, barely three seconds later, when there is suddenly something hard and strong around his chest, his gun is knocked from his hands, and there’s a blade poised dangerously against his throat.

Well, this certainly breaks up the routine.

“Gotta hand it to Barry.” He says, “Usually by the time Frost gets a dagger against my throat he’s calling her off. How’d you get him to let you out alone?”

“Hm, call me a loan.”

“Pity.” He says, “You’re a lot more fun than the heroes around here.”

She hums again and gives his arm a twist.

“Get out of here and you won’t have to find out just how fun I can be.”

Leonard would prefer to not admit how tempting it is to learn that.

“You said you’re on loan?” He asks, “You know I’m not tied to Central City.”

She laughs this time, her breath warm in his ear, and oh… Oh Iris can have Barry.

She presses her knife deeper, just enough to draw the tiniest amount of blood.

The next thing he knows he’s being shoved away from her, and when he turns around she is already gone.

He looks around, but she’s completely vanished. He brings his hand to his throat to touch the blood there, the only evidence that she was here at all.

He gets the feeling she’s still nearby somewhere, waiting to give him much more than a warning should he continue on with his business.

He gathers up and re-holsters his gun, and starts on his way back to the safe house with a smirk on his face.

This game suddenly just got a little more interesting.

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aceinejghafa · 3 years

Text

TGT as PJO au part 2: TLT and SOM (parts 1 & 3)

(I forgot some characters so they’re here)

Nadia Zhabin — daughter of Poseidon

She’s kinda like a Clarisse character

Enemies to Friends to Lovers with Tamar

Adrik Zhabin — son of Poseidon

Nadia’s half brother, they’re the only children of Poseidon there

Also, I forgot to mention that Nikolai arrived at CHB with Zoya and Mal.

Plot: The Lightning Thief

(spoilers for pjo btw)

The Darkling’s arrival starts things off; he detects Alina’s ability and triggers it during Capture the Flag

Zeus’s bolt has gone missing, like in the book, but he blames Apollo for it, so when Apollo claims Alina after her powers are revealed, it’s like in the books. Poseidon sides with Apollo against Zeus.

Prophecy: You shall go west, and face the god who has turned/you shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned/you shall betray one who calls you a friend/and light will triumph, in the end

Alina, the Darkling, and Mal go on the quest together, as the prophecy refers to light and was given to the Darkling; Mal comes along because he’s the head counselor for the Athena cabin and volunteered

They go to LA, thinking it’s Hades who stole the bolt. They meet Ares, etc., and everything unrolls like in the books; Alina bounces her newfound light ability off of the water to distract Ares while they fight. At the end of the summer, the Darkling tries to kill Alina (Luke-style), but she survives

The Sea of Monsters

Alina has been going to a boarding school during the year as her abilities are fairly minor.

She’s having dreams about Mal being in danger from a cyclops

Tolya and Tamar come to pick her up from school, instead of Mal, who was supposed to be there; she’s worried, more so when they tell her that Mal never arrived at CHB from his own school

She arrives to see Nadia fighting a monster that managed to get through the border, Chiron is gone, Tantalus is there, and Zoya’s tree has been poisoned; Chiron is blamed for this

During the chariot race, Nadia works with Adrik, while Alina, Tolya, and Tamar work together; the birds attack, and Alina thinks of going back to get chiron’s records, scaring the birds away, while Nadia and Adrik win the race

Things unroll like in the books; Nadia is charged with a quest to find the Golden Fleece, and receives the prophecy: You shall sail the iron ship with warriors of bone/you shall find what you seek and make it your own/but despair for your life entombed within stone/and fail without friends, to sail home alone

Tamar and Nadia go on the quest, as Tamar realized that the “iron ship with warriors of bone” was something that she, as a daughter of Ares, could summon

Adrik and Toyla are mad about being excluded, and they and Alina sneak off in a boat (as Percy, Tyson, and Annabeth did), to rescue Mal; they enter the Darkling’s cruise ship, etc., things proceed like they do in the books

When trying to get past Scylla and Charybdis, Tamar’s ship blows up; Nadia, Adrik, and Tamar are presumed dead

Tolya and Alina get ~sibling bonding~ in lieu of Percabeth

They arrive on Polyphemus’ island; Mal is pretending to be a female cyclops; Nadia, Adrik, and Tamar are alive, but Adrik has lost an arm

Nadia takes the pirate ship back to CHB, while Mal, Adrik, Tamar, Tolya, and Alina are captured by the Darkling

Alina and Adrik control light and water to create an Iris message back to CHB, in which the Darkling admits that he poisoned Zoya’s tree

Alina and the Darkling fight, and Alina is losing when Chiron and the Party Ponies arrive

They arrive back at CHB, Nadia puts the Fleece on Zoya’s tree

Zoya is back!

Again, if you’re interested, let me know and I can tag you!

@catboykuwei

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kitkatt0430 · 3 years

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Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Flash (TV 2014), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Rob/David Singh, David Singh/Mick Rory, Past! David Singh/Leonard Snart/Mick Rory, Rob/David Singh/Mick Rory Characters: Rob (The Flash TV 2014), David Singh, Mick Rory Additional Tags: in which David has made some questionable dating choices in his past, Barry was not the first person to see good in Leonard Snart, Polyamory, Rekindling Old Flames, Rob is a menace which is why David loves him, Mick is perfectly happy to be seduced here, Looks like Sara isn't the only Legend with an unexpected hookup at this wedding, minor White Collar mentions, Minor Barry Allen/Iris West, Nazis at the wedding since this is Earth-X crossover adjacent, Crisis On Earth-X Crossover Event (CW DC TV Universe), Crack Treated Seriously Summary:

David Singh honestly thought the most awkward part of Barry Allen's wedding would be the part where he and Rob were stuck sitting next to Mick Rory - pardoned criminal and David's ex - during the ceremony.

#the flash #legends of tomorrow #fanfiction #mick rory #david singh #rob singh #david x rob #david x rob x mick

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ao3feed-batlantern · 4 years

Link

by Anna12aot

What if Kate and Bruce were born around the same time? What if the tragedies that made them the heroes they become, also happened around the same time? What if the two of them ended up living together? What if the two of them ended up as huge theater nerds? What if they had some actual healthy coping mechanisms along side their totally not super unhealthy vigilante detective hobby that nearly kills them on a weekly basis? What if everything wasn't a shitty cheap ass drama show written by racist, misogynist, homophobic, all the bad ism's and phobia's and ist's?

(No disrespect to the individuals who try to give us good diverse content. Actually, all the respect because DC as whole is a weak dumb ass bitch and kudos to those people for tolerating that bastard.)

Here is my sad, pathetic attempt to fix the DC universe that I am very much under qualified and under prepared for. Enjoy. (And I'll get to finishing the relationship tags soon, it's just not on the agenda right about now. There is just so many fucking characters. The character tags are technically unfinished because that won't be all of the characters showing up. Do I really hate myself and DC that much?)

Words: 633, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Batman - All Media Types, Batman (Comics), Superman - All Media Types, Superman (Comics), Wonder Woman - All Media Types, Wonder Woman (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Under the Red Hood, Red Robin (Comics), Young Justice (Cartoon), Justice League - All Media Types, Justice League: War, Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons), Teen Titans (Animated Series), Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (2017), Teen Titans (Comics), Harley Quinn (Comics)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death

Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Other

Characters: Bruce Wayne, Kate Kane, Alfred Pennyworth, Lucius Fox, Jim Gordon, Helena Bertinelli, Harold Allnut, Hiro Okamura, Vic Sage, Renee Montoya, Patrick "Eel" O'Brian, Zatanna Zatara, Basil Karlo, Talia al Ghul, Selina Kyle, Holly Robinson, Kitrina Falcone, Dick Grayson, Slade Wilson, Rose Wilson, Grant Wilson (DCU), Joseph Wilson, Damian Wayne, Barbara Gordon, Gus Yale, Wendy Harris, Jacob Kane, Catherine Hamilton Kane, Diana (Wonder Woman), Jason Todd, Koriand'r (DCU), Roy Harper, Bette Kane, Duke Thomas, Tim Drake, Kon-El | Conner Kent, Stephanie Brown, Billy Batson, Harper Row, Cullen Row, Shawn Tsang, Natalia Knight, Sasha Bordeaux, Carrie Kelley, Jaina Hudson, Cassandra Cain, Cheyenne Freemont, Tiffany Fox, Luke Fox, Barry Allen, Wally West, Bart Allen, Jay Garrick, Iris West, Max Mercury, Clark Kent, Kara Zor-El, Kara Danvers, Lois Lane, Jonathan Samuel Kent, Jonathan "Pa" Kent, Martha Wayne, Martha Kent, Thomas Wayne, Sam Lane, Lucy Lane (DCU), Donna Troy, Cassie Sandsmark, Artemis of Bana-Mighdall, Akila of Bana-Mighdall, Queen Hippolyta, Atalanta, Antiope (Wonder Woman), Bana-Mighdall Amazons, The Amazons (Wonder Woman), Grace Choi, Anissa Pierce, Jefferson Pierce, Jennifer Pierce, Oliver Queen, Thea Queen, Emiko Queen, Dinah Lance, Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, Jessica Cruz, Simon Baz, Jon Stewart, Kyle Rayner, Jade Nguyen, Jennifer-Lynn Hayden, Artemis Crock, Ra's al Ghul, Nyssa Raatko, Silver St. Cloud, Wildcat (DCU), Tatsu Yamashiro, Jason Blood, Jason Bard, Crispus Allen, Kate Spencer, Onyx Adams, Boston Brand, David Zavimbe, Calvin Rose, Jean-Paul Valley, Santiago Varga, Baber Shah, Percy Sheldrake, Cyril Sheldrake, Jiro Osamu, Lonnie Machin, Harriet Cooper, Agatha Wayne, Vicki Vale, Harley Quinn, Pamela Isley, Harleen Quinzel, Harvey Dent, Joker (DCU), Jonathan Crane, Waylon Jones, Bane (DCU), Roman Sionis, Floyd Lawton, Hugo Strange, Thomas Elliot, Drury Walker, Jervis Tetch, Victor Fries, Oswald Cobblepot, Edward Nygma, Cyrus Gold, Solomon Grundy (DCU), Shauna Belzer, Peyton Riley, Ulysses Hadrian Armstrong, Vandal Savage, Noah Kuttler, Julian Gregory Day (DCU), Thomas Blake (DCU), Arthur Brown, Count Vertigo, Garfield Lynns, Warren White, Charles "Chuck" Brown, Zeus (Wonder Woman), Onomatopoeia (DCU), Peter Merkel, Peter Merkel Jr., Deever Tweed, Dumfree Tweed, Victor Zsasz, Ben Turner, David Cain, Titus (DCU), Lady Shiva, Lazlo Valentin, Barton Mathis, Matilda Mathis, Mark Desmond, Mortimer Drake, Alfred the Cat (DCU), Ace the Bat-Hound, Bat-Cow (DCU)

Relationships: Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne, Hal Jordan/Bruce Wayne, Hal Jordan/Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne, Hal Jordan/Clark Kent, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Bruce Wayne, Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Kate Kane & Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth & Bruce Wayne, Jim Gordon & Bruce Wayne, Diana (Wonder Woman)/Kate Kane, Kate Kane/Renee Montoya (past), Talia al Ghul/Bruce Wayne (past), Kate Kane & Jason Todd, Helena Bertinelli & Kate Kane & Jason Todd, Kate Kane & Clark Kent, Kate Kane & Alfred Pennyworth, Kate Kane & Oliver Queen, Kate Kane & Damian Wayne, Kate Kane & John Stewart, Bruce Wayne & Kara Zor-El, Barbara Gordon & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne & Zatanna Zatara, Hal Jordan & Bruce Wayne, Talia al Ghul & Bruce Wayne, Lucius Fox & Bruce Wayne, Lucius Fox & Luke Fox & Bruce Wayne, Stephanie Brown & Bruce Wayne, Cassandra Cain & Bruce Wayne, Stephanie Brown & Kate Kane, Cassandra Cain & Kate Kane, Luke Fox & Kate Kane

Additional Tags: No Smut, No Incest, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Past Rape/Non-con, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Not Canon Compliant, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, will try to remember to add them later, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Fix-It, Fix-It of Sorts, I am trying to fix the entire DCU while very much trying not to, This was supposed to be like just about the Batfam, But I started doing research, and it was really confusing, Then I got angry, and then hyped, and this happened, The Author Regrets Nothing, The Author Regrets Everything, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, How Do I Tag, Batfamily (DCU), Protective Batfamily (DCU), Batfamily (DCU) Feels, Domestic Batfamily (DCU), fuck you dc, It's Not Paranoia If They're Really Out To Get You, Please Kill Me, I Tried, I Don't Even Know, some people die, no one stays dead, but god, God is Dead, Cause I killed him for letting DC continue this shit show, Nothing makes any fucking sense, This doesn't make any sense, It's a fucking mari go round of bullshit, enjoy, Explicit Language, To Be Edited, Not Beta Read, Bruce Wayne is Batman, Young Bruce Wayne, Bruce Wayne Has Issues, Growing Up Together, Romani Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Kate Kane is a Good Parent, Alfred Pennyworth is the Best, Good Parent Alfred Pennyworth, Good Grandparent Alfred Pennyworth, Jim Gordon Knows, Everyone Needs A Hug, Everyone Has Issues, Everyone Is Gay, And they're all panicked gays, Fluff and Angst, Family Fluff, Romantic Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Feels, Humor, Gallows Humor, Bruce Wayne's Sense of Humor, Jason Todd’s Morbid Humor, this is gonna get long, Like over a few hundred thousand, Or this will die after it's reached 3k, Don't Like Don't Read, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Trauma, Psychological Trauma, Childhood Trauma, Mental Health Issues, Mental Institutions, Because of arkham, Arkham Asylum, Eventual Romance, Eventual Relationships, read the tags, Tags May Change, Tags Are Hard, Body Image, Jewish Character, Canon Disabled Character, Canon Rewrite, Hispanic Character, Black Character(s), Native American Character(s), Arab Character, Arab Damian Wayne, We Die Like Men, Everyone is a minority in some way, This will have all the representation, Racism, Racist Language, They will suffer because of their racism, Don't worry, Don't Have to Know Canon, Hopefully you won't have to know canon, Because if I don't do this right, Than you will be so confused, Better Than Canon, I take most of my inspiration from the justice league cartoons, and from the harley quinn movie soundtrack, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, Trans Character, Gay Panic

#ao3feed #fanfic #batlantern #dcu #bruce wayne #hal jordan #batman #green lantern #hal jordan/bruce wayne

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dailybarrycaitlin · 4 years

Text

The Flash Reimagined

Read on the Ao3 here

by Shinigaminoko

Barry Allen's life is about to turn upside down when the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator exploded. Now he has superpowers. What will he do now? Would he be able to leave his home, his life, his friends and his job in Starling City to fight crime and other superpowered people in Central City... as the Flash?

This is The Flash Reimagined.

Hinted/Implied various pairings. Slash, FemSlash, Het... Endgame is a toss up and you are more then welcome to request someone, just not Iris. There will be No Iris West, or WA in this story. Barry doesn't know the West's.

Words: 4048, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: The Flash (TV 2014), Arrow (TV 2012)

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: Gen

Characters: Barry Allen, Oliver Queen, Laurel Lance, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Eobard Thawne | Harrison Wells, OMC- Jayden "Jay" Allen, Eddie Thawne, David Singh

Relationships: Barry Allen/Oliver Queen, Barry Allen/Caitlin Snow, Laurel Lance/Eddie Thawne, Cisco Ramon/Hartley Rathaway, Cisco Ramon/Lisa Snart

Additional Tags: Allot of hinted and implied pairings, Not sure what the endgame will be, Past Abuse, and sexual assault, of a minor, offscreen, And only mentioned, Jealous! Eobard, Possessive! Eobard, he is a stalker, and obsessed, with Barry Allen, possibility of story becoming slash, just saying, don't want to shock or offend anyone, if you didn't read that tag and still clicked, well you have been warned, i forgot to mention, BAMF! Barry Allen, He knows how to fight, legit, Oliver trained him, to fight like him

#dctv #the flash #barry allen #caitlin snow #snowbarry

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whatsupwhump · 5 years

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Whump Bump of the Month: Laws of Motion

(where the new, the slightly old, and really old fanfic gets bumped to your attention in broken down, comprehension reviews)

Whump Bump of the Month: Laws of Motion

Written by: pennflinn

Posted on Ao3: November 26th, 2017

(word count: 4,858)

Fandom: Flash (CW TV)

Ship: Barry Allen/Iris West

Summary: A collapsing building is just part of the job. Being buried beneath the rubble was never part of the bargain.

Obvious but obligatory warning: The following contains spoilers for the entirety of the aforementioned fan-fiction. It contains quotes and personal opinions, both done out of appreciation for the author’s time and efforts put into their work.

“Laws of Motion” written by @pennflinn was chosen for the b-lated January Whump Bump of the Month for it’s astounding ability to allure a heartfelt sense of loss of hope, struggle, pain and heroism in its such short word count.

@pennflinn is far from new to bringing her audiences in with little words, instead focusing on simplistic punches that wrap up her plots tighter than a shiny Christmas present. There’s no dragging alongside a prologue or introduction when starting this fic -- rather you’re immediately presented with the problem Team Flash and Barry Allen are faced with: a collapsing building.

As the narrative so wonderfully goes on to say, none of this is new for our characters. Iris makes a mental note that, albeit hesitate to call it routine, burning buildings and breaches in the space-time continuum were all coming to be the norm. Still, Pennflinn doesn’t fail to captivate a sense of urgency between characters, gut-punching usage of verbiage like “His groan turned into a drawn-out yell” and “She was staring at her phone, pale as a sheet” doing wonders to satisfy a whump itch.

Character Whumped:

Barry Allen

The Enjoyment of Whump!Barry:

Barry Allen is a unique character for whump, not in the sense of being a superhero -- of which a lot of fans like to gravity towards for the trope of “hero who can’t save themselves” -- but because he has superhealing and an intolerance to prolonged pain, poisons and medications. It’s the latter that really makes the Whump!Barry spark. Though your time torturing the fastest man alive is limited, it can be intense, brutal and bring a mental and/or emotional pain after.

Flavor of Whump:

Foreign object in the skin -- a building collapsed leaves Barry with a back full of tiny shards of glass.

Comforter of the hurt/comfort:

Primarily Iris West with a dash of Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow.

[ Laws of Motion ]

The story transcends similar to a constantly moving camera, capturing moments of time scattered throughout an otherwise routine and somewhat insignificant event in Team Flashes life. It’s even mentioned in narrative that after having his back broken, clearing the use of his legs leaves more than just Barry with a sigh of relief.

[ Laws of Motion ]

| Cisco broke into a shaky smile. "So, you've just had a building dropped on you. How do you feel?"

"Spectacular," Barry croaked. He was cut off from further comment by Caitlin tearing off his cowl and fitting him with her own oxygen mask.

"Does anything feel broken?" she asked, while simultaneously shining her penlight into his eyes. Iris didn't need the light to tell that he was definitely concussed. "Can you move your legs?"

It was always the worst case scenario, ever since the Zoom incident. And judging by the way he'd been hunched over that girl, tons and tons of metal pressing down—

Barry's face scrunched as he agonizingly bent one knee, then the other. He groaned as he let them drop back to the table, but he bent each of his arms up as well to prove his mobility. At least, what limited amount he had. |

The groundwork is laid down neatly and without hesitation as Caitlin goes on to explain what the readers already know, and are subsequently excited for.

[ Laws of Motion ]

| Tweezers already in hand, Caitlin felt around for one piece near Barry's shoulder blade. "I'm going to have to pull these out, Barry," she said, having learned over time to narrate her actions. Whether or not it helped with the pain itself, it at least seemed to help Barry in identifying the source of it. "Some of these are..." She moved lower, frowning at the soft flesh beneath Barry's ribs. "...they're buried pretty deep, and I'm afraid some may have splintered into smaller pieces under your skin. They're going to require a minor surgical procedure—"

Barry moaned, and Iris whipped her head toward Caitlin. "Surgery? Isn't that the kind of thing that local anesthetic is for?"

"Minor surgery. We can't use anesthetic," Caitlin said, her face drawn and tight and deliberately blind toward much of the world. "You know that."

"I don't want to," Barry said, shaking his head, half-delirious, the fingers on one arm clenching and unclenching on the sheets. Based on the look of it, Iris was pretty sure the other arm was broken. "Please. Don't. Not now, please." |

The introduction of a Barry who doesn’t have the strength, mental or physical, to withstand the usual agony of healing his injuries is what makes this story so unique. Pennflinn goes on to spend time focusing on Barry’s struggle with the pain, his ability to hold it together deteriorating moment by moment.

[ Laws of Motion ]

| She pried the pieces from his upper back first, and quickly, so Iris and Cisco could plant their hands on Barry's shoulders and hold him down while he thrashed, screamed, begged, sobbed. |

Credit where credit is due to a moment of weakness written sharply yet precisely as Pennflinn makes the decision to capture Barry’s pain in short, gut-punching words.

Comfort is later found in the source of Barry’s lightning rod, Iris West. After giving him as much time as she felt she could, she goes to find him in one of the bathrooms in the deepest part of STAR Labs.

[ Laws of Motion ]

| Barry was facing away from her, and even though he was in front of a mirror, he didn't see her—his head was bowed over the sink, his working hand planted on the side and shoulders hunched. The way his spine curved reminded Iris of how he'd looked when he'd been uncovered from the rubble. Arched over the little girl, bracing against whatever might bear down on them both, getting crushed beneath the weight of a building. A loose shirt covered the damage: the stitches, the layers of gauze, the deep red bruises, the cast that encased his shattered arm.

In the ten seconds Iris waited in the doorway, he didn't move an inch, not even when she gave a light knock. It was only when she stepped into the room itself, her heels too loud on the tile, that Barry stirred. She knew better than to touch him, especially not without warning, especially not now. The physical wounds on his back were one thing, but she knew from hard past experience that they were only part of the unconscious touch aversion in situations like these.

"Barry?" she whispered, venturing to break the ice that way instead.

At this, he lifted his head and met her eyes in the mirror.

The lower lids of his eyes were pink, and his whole face sagged. He met her gaze with desolation, misery, a pleading look that said, I don't want to do this anymore.

Without a word, Iris moved forward. She reached out a hand tentatively. He allowed her to place it on his shoulder, her touch light. His face didn't crumple, exactly, but it wilted deeper into defeat. His breath shuddered under her palm, and she softened. |

The clarity of imagery here is worth noting and while never caught properly on the show, I would pay to see this recreated by an artist. Iris’s ability to wordlessly comfort Barry in his weakest moments, free of any judgement or disgust, is beautifully written here.

It’s not long after that Barry disappears, seemingly stuck in his own head.

[ Laws of Motion ]

| He picked up on the fourth ring, just when Iris was beginning to wonder if he'd left his phone behind as well.

"Iris."

"Hey," she replied. All at once she was very aware that she had no idea what she intended to say. "I just woke up. Are you alright?"

"Taking a break." Barry's voice sizzled, popped, through the phone line. "Might be a couple days. Don't worry."

He hung up before Iris could confirm that she was worrying, despite anything he said to the contrary. She held the phone up to her ear still, listening to the dead air.

It was only later that she'd see the international charges tacked on to her phone bill, a twenty-second call at 5:45 in the morning. |

His return is met with doubt, capturing a side to the hero often not seen. The strong, brass, brave Flash is suddenly exposed in the presence of his loved one, stating his nearing approach to a breaking point.

[ Laws of Motion ]

| After the meta had been safely locked away, Barry sat alone for a long while in the recovery bay, elbows up on the cot, face buried in his hands.

"I can't do it," he'd said when Iris had sat beside him. Even under her light questioning, he hadn't said a word more, and eventually she'd let him be.

That evening in the apartment, Iris kept the evening news on low while Barry made dinner. It was part of her nightly routine, practically required given her choice of profession. Tonight, she tuned out most of the national news, the breaking stories, in favor of listening to Barry putter about the kitchen. Steam whistled from a pot, a knife thunked against a cutting board, a can opener ground dully against metal.

The latter part of the newscast, near the end of the broadcast, was what caught her attention. Not because of what they were saying, but by what they were showing. Images of the ruined apartment building, the few piles of rubble that still remained.

Throwing a glance over her shoulder to ensure that Barry was busy, she turned up the volume a few clicks.

"…still missing, following an evacuation by Vibe. Vibe has since ignored our request for comment. With us tonight we have a very special guest in the studio. Six-year-old Grace Parks was shielded from the falling building by the Flash, and she has a message for him tonight. Grace?"

Grace Parks, round-faced and pink-cheeked and so vibrantly alive that only a six-year-old could be, faced the camera. She wore an earnest expression as she studied the camera lens, no doubt never having anticipated appearing on the news.

"I just wanna say," she began in her squeaky voice, "that Flash told me I was gonna be okay and now I'm okay. And I hope he's okay, too. I miss him." She glanced furtively off to the side, as if looking for confirmation that she was doing well. When she turned back, the corners of her mouth were downturned slightly. "Flash, if you're listening, I miss you. Thank you for saving me. You're my hero. And I wanted to say that. Thank you."

The feed cut back to the two news anchors, one of which was nodding sympathetically. "No doubt we all feel the same as little Grace—"

Some sixth sense caused Iris to angle her face back, and she was shocked to find Barry standing behind the couch, fixated on the TV. She quickly punched the mute button on the remote. |

Barry’s struggle between his own physical well being and the well being of others is so well detailed in the story, if not profoundly stated in the scene that follows.

[ Laws of Motion ]

| Once, when they were kids, Iris had accidentally knocked over Barry's Lego Star Destroyer and sent hundreds of tiny pieces skittering across the floor. Through her tears, she'd apologized over and over, feeling she'd destroyed something precious, something that could never be put back together. But it can, Barry had told her. Staring at the seemingly infinite number of broken parts peppering the bedroom floor, Iris had asked How? And Barry had smiled reassuringly: One block at a time. |

The story concludes as Barry aka the Flash goes to spend his time rebuilding the building that collapsed, inspired by the little girl he saved and returning her home to her.

Favorite Aspects:

[ Laws of Motion ] holds a side of Barry Allen that I have yet to see in any other written works. It seizes a side of weakness to his character without over-saturating the emotions. The blip of tears, cries, struggle and agony are all believable if not as well executed as Grant Gustins performance of Barry Allen within the show.

With his friends and family lending support, as well as all of Central City, he moves forward past another physically demanding injury with the mere words of, “tell me where I can go next.", exquisitely if not perfectly capturing the true essence of the the Flash.

#flash #barry allen #cisco ramon #caitlin snow #cw #whump #fanfiction

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chanoyu-to-wa · 5 years

Text

Nampō Roku, Book 2 (43): (1587) Seventh Month, Seventh Day, Beginning at the Hour of the Monkey.

43) Seventh Month, Seventh Day¹; beginning in the hour of the Monkey².

◦ 4.5-mat [room]³.

◦ [Guests:] Omuro-gosho [小室御所]⁴, Konoe dono [近衛殿]⁵, Ryōshitsu [良叱]⁶, Ryōmu [了無]⁷.

Sho [初]⁸.

﹆ In a [hanging] basket [籠], yūgao-no-hana [夕カホノ花]⁹.

◦ Small ito-me kama [絲目小釜], [suspended] on a [bamboo] jizai [自在]¹⁰.

◦ On the Sairō-dana [城樓棚]¹¹: ◦ above, habōki [羽帚]¹²; ◦ below, mizusashi tarai [水指タライ] ・ hikkiri [引切]¹³.

Su [ス]¹⁴.

▵ Suimono [吸物]¹⁵.

▵ Two rounds of sake [酒]¹⁶.

▵ Senbei ・ iri-kaya ・ shiitake [センヘイ・イリカヤ・椎茸]¹⁷.

Go [後]¹⁸ -- [the guests] entered [after] night[fall]¹⁹.

◦ The toko: [after] the hanaire was taken in[to the katte]²⁰, a tanzako-bako [短尺箱] was [displayed on the floor of the toko]²¹.

◦ On the Sairō-dana: ◦ above, on a tray, ﹆kōro [香爐], usu-gumo [薄雲] [in the] kōgō guri-guri [香合クリ〰], with the kyōji [香箸] stacked on top²². ◦ middle, hishaku [ヒシヤク]²³; ◦ below, mizusashi, as in the beginning ・ futaoki, as in the beginning²⁴.

◦ Chaire ryūgo [茶入リウコ]²⁵.

◦ Chawan Ko-mamori [茶碗木守]²⁶.

After tea was finished, incense [was appreciated]²⁷.

_________________________

¹Shichi-gatsu nanoka [七月七日].

The date was August 10, 1587, in the Gregorian calendar.

This day was also the Festival of Tanabata [七夕] (tanabata no sekku [七夕節句]: Festival of the Stars; Festival of the Weaver; and so forth), which celebrates the once-a-year meeting of the celestial deities Orihime [織姫] (the Weaver: the star Vega) and Hikoboshi [彦星] (the Cowherd: the star Altair). According to legend, the Milky Way separates these lovers, and they are allowed to meet only once a year on the Seventh Day of the Seventh Lunar Month. Tanabata is celebrated in all of the countries within the classical Chinese cultural sphere (including Korea, Japan, and Vietnam).

Because the idea is that the two stars meet across the Milky Way, it has been traditional (apparently since the time of Jōō) for the irori to be used on chakai given on this date, so that the host and the guests will be able to face each other across the ro.

²Saru-no-toki yori [申ノ時より].

There were twelve traditional hours in each day, though each was equivalent to two Western hours (i.e., 120 minutes) only on the equinoctes.

The Hour of the Monkey lasts roughly from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM. The chakai, therefore, began in the late afternoon.

³Yojō-han [四疊半].

This would have been the 4.5-mat room in Rikyū's official residence.

⁴Omuro-gosho [小室御所].

Rikyū has made a clerical error here: the title should be written Omuro-gosho [御室御所].

Omuro-gosho [御室御所] is another name for the Ninna-ji [仁和寺], the head temple of the Omuro school of the Shingon [真言] (True Word) Sect of Buddhism. And, when used as a personal epithet, as here, it refers to the Abbot of the Ninna-ji [仁和寺], who was an Imperial Prince (a custom that persisted until the end of the Edo period).

In this case, the sobriquet refers to Ninnaji-no-miya Shurihō shinnō [仁和寺宮守理法親王; 1558 ~ ?], a son of Prince Kunisuke (Fushimi-no-miya Kunisuke shinnō [伏見宮邦輔親王; 1513 ~ 1563], who was adopted by the Emperor Ōgimachi [正親町天皇; 1517 ~ 1593]. Prince Shurihō entered the Ninna-ji in Eiroku 8 [永禄八年] (1565), as a disciple of another Imperial Prince, Ninjo nyūdō shinnō [任助入道親王; 1525 ~ 1584].

⁵Konoe dono [近衛殿].

This was Lord Konoe Sakihisa [近衛前久; 1536 ~ 1612], a high court noble (he held the junior grade of the First Rank), who served as kanpaku [関白]*, Minister of the Left (sa-daijin [左大臣]), Chancellor (daijō-daijin [太政大臣]), and, after he left that office, he was further honored as jū-san-gū [准三宮]†.

Lord Sakihisa was close to both Oda Nobunaga and Hideyoshi -- Hideyoshi adopted Sakihisa's daughter Sakiko [前子; 1575 ~ 1630], who was given by him as a consort to the Emperor Go-Yōzei; she gave birth to the Emperor’s son, who became Emperor Go-Mizunoo.

Furthermore, in 1585, Lord Sakihisa (whose family represented one of the major branches of the ancient Fujiwara house) adopted Hideyoshi himself, which gave Hideyoshi the necessary entrée to become kanpaku in his turn. __________ *Chief civil adviser to the Emperor.

†An honorary rank meaning that Lord Sakihisa was accorded honors similar to those of the Great Empress Dowager (theoretically the Emperor's grandmother), the Emperess Dowager (in theory, the Emperor's mother), and the Empress (the Emperor's principal wife). The title translates “quazi-Three Empresses.”

⁶Ryōshitsu [良叱].

This refers to Ishibashi Ryōshitsu [石橋良叱; his dates of birth and death are not known], a machi-shū of Sakai, chajin, and one of Rikyū's sons-in-law (musume-muko [娘婿], the husband of one of Rikyū's daughters).

His name first appears in an entry dated to the Tenshō 10 in the Tsuda Sōkyū Chanoyu Nikki [津田宗及茶湯日記], when Ryōshitsu participated in a chakai together with Yamanoue Sōji and Tsuda Sōkyū.

While some scholars argue that Ryōshitsu must have been one of Rikyū's disciples, the Chajin Kei-den Zenshū [茶人係傳全集], published in Tenpō 8 [天保8年] (1837), states that he was initiated into the practice of chanoyu by Jōō (which seems more likely, since it appears that Rikyū married his daughters to men of his own generation). __________ *The title translates “the Complete Collected Transmitted Lineages of the Tea Masters.”

⁷Ryōmu [了無].

Unidentified. His name is also mentioned as being one of the guests at the previous chakai (which Rikyu hosted on the bank of the Kamo-gawa in the evening of the last day of the Sixth Month, after the conclusion of the lustration known as the Minazuki-barae [水無月祓]).

⁸Sho [初].

The shoza.

In terms of kane-wari, since this chakai began in the late afternoon, and continued until well after dark, the shoza should be yang, while the goza should be yin.

- The tokonoma contained the chabana, but suspended on the minor pillar attached to the outer wall (so that it would be illuminated by the fading light entering through the bokuseki-mado [墨跡窓] -- which would not reach the chabana if it were hung in the middle of the toko), so that the toko was chō [調];

- the room had the kama in the ro, and so was han [半];

- and the tana held the haboki (on the ten-ita), and the mizusashi and futaoki (on the ji-ita), and so was chō [調].

Chō + han + chō is han.

⁹Kago ni yūgao-no-hana [籠ニ　夕カホノ花].

The kago was probably the Katsura-kawa kago [桂川籠], so that the chabana could project away from the pillar on which it was suspended, and so catch the rays of the late afternoon sun coming in through the bokuseki-mado [墨跡窓]*.

The word yūgao [夕顔] refers to the flower of the calabash, a type of elongated bottle-gourd (Lagenaria siceraria var. hispida) -- whose simple, white flowers open in the late afternoon.

__________ *Which, in Rikyū's tearooms, was always located behind the shōkyaku's shoulder, just outside of the toko itself. The bokuseki-mado was on the west side of the room.

¹⁰Ito-me ko-gama jizai ni [絲目小釜自在ニ].

This was another old Temmyō kama [古天妙釜], though likely repaired by Yojirō [與次郎], Rikyū's kama-shi [釜師].

It is not really such a "small kama" (it was probably made as a kiri-kake kama for use with a large kimen-buro on the o-chanoyu-dana*); but it is definitely much smaller than Jōō's large ito-me kama (which Rikyū also owned -- and used during the first three chakai documented in Book Two of the Nampō Roku).

The rather flat shape of the kama suggests that it was probably suspended low in the ro (so that the mouth was 6- or 7-bu below the level of the ro-buchi). This would have made the fire in the ro seem more distant, thus appearing “cooler” to the eyes of the guests.

The kama was suspended on a susu-dake jizai [煤竹自在] (a jizai made from a length of oil-stained bamboo, taken from the ceiling of a farmhouse kitchen), using Rikyū’s bronze kan and tsuru (above).

The word ito-me [絲目] means thread-lines. The pattern on the kama, then, can also be taken as an allusion to Orihime [織姫] (which means the Weaver-princess), one of the stars being celebrated on Tanabata. __________ *The kama was probably repaired -- with a rounded bottom -- on Rikyū's orders.

¹¹Sairō-dana [城樓棚].

This was another tana created by Tsuda Sōkyū. In this case, it was based directly on the fukuro-dana, and features the compartment for the mizusashi, the naka-dana, and (half of the) ten-ita.

I have found no photographs of this rarely seen tana. However, the Enkaku-ji does have one; and their Sairō-dana has panels on three sides of the compartment in which the mizusashi is placed (if I recall correctly, the panels have openwork, and they do not quite reach the tana above and below -- in other words, there is a roughly 1-sun wide opening above and below the panel; all three panels were the same, and, I believe, featured the design shown above, which is called a kōzama-sukashi [香挾間透])*.

According to Tanaka Senshō, this tana was created to represent the right half of the fukuro-dana. Consequently, it is supposed to be placed on the utensil mat so that it occupies its original place. When Sōkyū first made the Sairō-dana, the right side of the tana was placed on top of the right heri (just as Jōō said the fukuro-dana should be oriented†); but by the time of this chakai, since the fukuro-dana was now being centered on the utensil mat (at Hideyoshi’s behest), so this tana, too, is placed so that the left side touches the central kane‡. ___________ *While this does not match the way things are done today (even, it seems, by the Nampō-ryū), Kanshū o-shō-sama once told me that, if it is difficult to dip the water from the mizusashi if it is in the middle of the ji-ita (on account of the shape or size of the mizusashi), then the mizusashi should be lifted forward (so that the front edge of the foot is near the front of the shelf -- the way the mizusashi is moved forward when using the Jōō-dana [紹鷗棚]) -- as below.

Furthermore (and not only if the mizusashi is moved forward), he added that if it is difficult to lean the lid of the mizusashi against its left side, then the lid should be leaned against the left side of the tana, as shown above.

†This was done so that the mizusashi would occupy the same spot that it would if it were resting on the shin-daisu -- which was the only way chanoyu had been performed before then. (The fukuro-dana represented the first departure from the tea of the daisu, and so Jōō was still constrained by its teachings.)

‡Nowadays this teaching, too, seems to have been forgotten. Even in the Enkaku-ji, the tana is centered in the middle of the mat when used with the ro.

¹²Ue habōki [上羽帚].

The habōki -- made from feathers between 9-sun and 1-shaku long -- was placed on the ten-ita of the Sairō-dana. It is not possible to speculate on the kind of feathers that would have been used.

The naka-dana was left empty during the shoza.

¹³Shita mizusashi tarai ・ hikkiri [下水指タライ・引切].

This mizusashi was mentioned before in Book Two of the Nampō Roku, in the description of the chakai that Rikyū hosted on the 17th day of the Eleventh Month. In that entry, the mizusashi is referred to as a hando [ハント] (meaning a handō [飯胴], a sort of bronze container in which rice was served in a temple).

According to Book Six of the Nampō Roku, Rikyū owned two such containers, which he used as mizusashi, in succession. The first was 1-shaku 5-bu by 7-sun 5-bu, and had large round kan on the left and right sides. But he gave (or sold) this mizusashi to the daimyō Arima Noriyori [有馬則頼; 1533 ~ 1602]. Rikyū subsequently acquired a second container (which he calls a tarai [タライ = 盥], which means a basin such as used when washing the hands). This second container was round, and 8-sun in diameter. It also lacked handles. The color of this second container (according to the passage in Book Six of the Nampō Roku) was even more splendid than [the first].

The first-mentioned piece was too large to be placed on the Sairō-dana. Thus it must have been the second mizusashi that Rikyū used on this occasion. (The actual piece has not been identified; the photo, above, is of a similar kind of sawari mizusashi.)

Hikkiri [引切] refers to the futaoki -- one of Rikyū's take-wa [竹輪].

¹⁴Su [ス].

The section introduced by the word su [ス]* usually refers to utensils brought out from the katte at the beginning of the sumi-temae.

However, here it is curiously followed by the menu of the abbreviated kaiseki. __________ *Which is shorthand for the kanji mata [又], meaning “and again.”

¹⁵Suimono [吸物].

Suimono [吸物] means a clear soup, usually with small pieces of food included*.

Because Tanabata was a national holiday, the shōkyaku and ji-kyaku (if not the others†) would have had their fill of rich food over the course of the day at the Imperial court. __________ *Unlike nimono [煮物], here it is the soup that forms the bulk of the dish, with the solid food (sometimes just a couple of leaves, or mushrooms) added as a sort of garnish.

†The other two guests (who seem to have been among Rikyū's intimates) may have been charged with taking on the role of attendants, arranged by Rikyū to assist the two noblemen who occupied the first two places among the guests.

¹⁶Sake ni kaeshi [酒二返].

Two rounds of sake were served. The host usually joined his guests in drinking.

¹⁷Senbei ・ iri-kaya ・ shiitake [センヘイ・イリカヤ・椎茸].

These were the kashi.

Senbei [煎餅] are rice crackers. Since they were a common gift given by the guests to the host, perhaps one of the noblemen had brought a box of fine senbei to Rikyū -- who decided to share them with everyone.

Iri-kaya [煎り榧] are the roasted nuts of the Japanese allspice tree (which is also known as the Japanese nutmeg yew, Torreya nucifera).

And the shiitake [椎茸] were most likely also roasted, on skewers, over a charcoal fire, dusted lightly with crushed salt as they were cooking.

¹⁸Go [後].

The goza.

With respect to the kane-wari:

- the toko had a tanzaku-bako [短冊箱] displayed on the floor, with a tankei [短檠] (a wooden stand supporting an oil-lamp) off to one side (the side closest to the toko-bashira)*, making it chō [調];

- the room had the kama in the ro, making it also han [半];

- and the tana had the tray of incense utensils on the ten-ita, the hishaku on the naka-dana, and the mizusashi and futaoki on the ji-ita, making it han [半].

Chō + han + han is chō, which is appropriate for the goza of a gathering that extends into the night. __________ *Though Rikyū did not mention it in the kaiki, a tankei would have been necessary, since he notes that the guests did not return to the tearoom until after it was completely dark.

During the goza, the tankei is placed in the tokonoma, to give light to the room in general. Additional lighting would have been provided by candles, which would be brought out from the katte at the beginning of the temae.

¹⁹Yoru ni iri [夜ニ入].

The guests returned to the room for chanoyu after it became dark. Perhaps they had been sitting in the koshi-kake, watching the sky grow dark and the stars come into focus*, chatting quietly, and perhaps reciting impromptu, seasonal poems. __________ *Tanabata celebrates the once-a-year meeting of the stars Vega (Orihime [織姫], the Weaver) and Altair (Hikoboshi [彦星], the Cowherd). It is said that they can meet only if the sky is clear.

²⁰Toko hanaire tori-irete [床花入取入テ].

The chabana was removed from the toko during the (prolonged) nakadachi -- since the flowers would not be easy to see after the room became dark (since the source of light would be below and on the left, making the flowers either nearly invisible, or obscured by grotesque shadows).

²¹Tanzaku-bako [短尺箱].

Rikyū has made another clerical error. The word should be tanzaku-bako [短冊箱] -- a box in which a collection of long poetry cards* were kept.

__________ *The cards could be blank (perhaps with paintings hand-sketched on them), or they might have seasonally-appropriate poems written on them. Rikyū's collection, on this occasion, probably included both kinds -- since, after reading the poems and sniffing the incense, the guests might be moved to write their own verses on the blank cards.

²²Ue, bon ni ﹆kōro, usu-gumo kōgō guri-guri, kasane-kyōji [上、盆ニ﹆香爐、薄雲香合クリ〰、重香箸].

This entry, in the Enkaku-ji manuscript, is very confusing -- since Jitsuzan seems to have redistributed the different elements in a way that really does not make any sense.

A tray (Rikyū does not specify what kind, but it was probably 1-shaku across or a little larger) was placed on the ten-ita of the tana, on which were arranged the incense utensils:

◦ Rikyū's ido-kōro [井戸香爐]*;

◦ Rikyū's guri-guri kōgō [ぐりぐり香合], containing the kyara known as Usu-gumo [薄雲] (placed in a small envelope made of gold-foil-backed donsu), and several gin-yō [銀葉]†;

◦ and, apparently, with the pair of ebony kyōji [香箸] either stacked on top of the kōgō, or perhaps stacked one on top of the other (though this would look odd).

“Usu-gumo” [薄雲] was the name of Rikyū's personal variety of treasured kyara [伽羅] incense wood‡. __________ *While Rikyū also seems to have owned (or at least had access to) the famous celadon Chidori kōro [千鳥香爐] that had been one of Jōō's particular treasures, celadon does not look good under artificial illumination. Thus Rikyū's ido-koro (which is a deep beige color) would have looked much better at night.

The kōro is marked with a red spot in the Enkaku-ji manuscript, indicating that it was an object of special consideration (though whether for Rikyū, when organizing the arrangement, or for the delectation of the guests, is not clear).

†Gin-yō [銀葉] are pieces of mica approximately 1-sun square, usually with an applied silver edge. The kyara is placed on the gin-yō to burn. This keeps the ash clean and uncontaminated (the resins in the kyara melt as it is heated), and allows the host to discard the used incense easily (by throwing it away together with the gin-yō to which it is fused).

‡That is, he owned the entire branch or log. Teamen of the period preferred to own the entire piece, if they could afford it, rather than buying a fragment.

In the manuscript consulted by Tanaka Senshō (which was the copy that Tachibana Jitsuzan made with the Shū-un-an documents in front of him), the word Usu-gumo [薄雲] is clearly associated with the word kōgō, not the kōro, and the entry reads as I have described it above. In the Enkaku-ji version, however, “Usu-gumo” appears to be the name of the kōro (though no such piece has ever been identified); and the kōgō, meanwhile, seems to be a jū-kōgō [重香合], which is a set of two or three little boxes that sit one atop the other, in which the kyara incense, new gin-yō, and the discarded gin-yō (with a burned-out piece of kyara fused to each) are kept (the lowest box is lined with metal to prevent the hot gin-yō from damaging the lacquer). While such boxes were known even in the early days, there is no indication that Rikyū ever owned one. Neither has a guri-guri jū-kōgō ever been found.

Precisely why Jitsuzan changed the associations when making the copy that he intended to present to the Enkaku-ji is not known. Probably the easiest explanation is that he copied the original in a hurry, and did not trust his eyes when he came to making the copy -- letting his imagination change things to suit his seventeenth century prejudices.

²³Naka hishaku [中ヒシヤク].

The hishaku was placed on the naka-dana.

²⁴Shita mizusashi moto no ・ futaoki moto no [下水指元ノ・蓋置元ノ].

And the mizusashi and futaoki remained as they were, on the ji-ita of the tana.

²⁵Chaire ryūgo [茶入リウコ].

Rikyū has used this chaire several times before in the series of chakai documented in Book Two of the Nampō Roku -- usually on festive occasions -- but scholars are divided regarding the precise piece in question.

Most seem to lean toward a drum-shaped chaire (originally a gift container for medicinal liqueur), in which case the word would be ryūgo [立鼓].

Shibayama Fugen (and those scholars who follow his lead), however, prefers a container that was originally used as a ceremonial wine-cup (this would be especially appropriate, since it, too, was used on festive occasions), called a ryūgo [立觚], and example of which is shown below.

²⁶Chawan Ko-mamori [茶碗木守].

This was a red chawan made by Chōjirō [長次郎]. Over the course of his life (as documented in his surviving kaiki), Rikyū used this chawan more often than any of the others. So, if any of the bowls can be considered to approach Rikyū’s ideal, this one must come closest.

The original chawan was destroyed during the great earthquake in the early part of the 20th century. What is shown is an Edo period copy, made when the original was still extant.

In addition to the above things, Rikyū would have used an ori-tame [折撓] of his own making as the chashaku. And, most probably, a mentsū [面桶], as the koboshi.

²⁷Cha sugite kō ari [茶過テ香アリ].

After Rikyū finished serving tea, the party turned to the appreciation of kyara [伽羅] incense. In addition to the kind prepared by Rikyū (which he had named “Usu-gumo” [薄雲]), noblemen usually carried a little of their own favorite kyara on their person, which they often shared with the others on occasions such as this.

The guests (and host) would have passed the night sniffing incense and composing poems, to honor the meeting of the stars; and the party probably did not break up until the first light separated the lovers in the heavens for another year.

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sentofighta · 6 years

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The Theocracy of Plegia Headcanon post

In this post, I will try to write some headcanons for Plegia, kind of world-building to be a reference for myself and anyone who is interested to read it.

Please remember, these are mere headcanons, they are my own interpretation. If you disagree with something then I don’t mind discussing the points you don’t find accurate. There is no harm in checking other views, but please be polite or keep it to yourself. Suggestions and feedbacks are highly appreciated.

Special shout out to Jee @/stratesia for giving her opinion on some points~

Please don’t Reblog.

Etymology:

Plegia ペレジア, Perezia

I thought at first it might be a play on word (spelling i think) Plegia> Persia

Perezia is the name of a flower just like Iris (Ylisse)

I tried to look for the flower meaning but there is nothing. The only link is stated below in the headcanon of Religion.

Origin and History

Plegia is originally part of Ylisse, the content before the Schism event when The First Exalt with Naga’s help fought Grima and because of the immense power, the content was divided and thus having the awakening world continent.

After the schism, three counties were formed, Ragna Ferox to the north, Halidom of Ylisse in the middle and the Theocracy of Plegia to the west.

Some of the content here is shared with my previous ylisse headcanon so copy pasting some info here to connect the two posts together.

With the separation of the three counties, each country took a different path from the others. Ferox being in a harsh climate, was more of active of the two countries in terms of manpower and parties. Plegia to the south with its scorching desert life, the development was steadily but not very fast like Ferox and Ylisse in terms of trading business due to the lack of earthly materials like in Ylisse (farm yields and animals), Ferox (Ore, and furs.) Though, there are things that only found in Plegia like certain food spices, herbs, unique clothes textiles and dyes, exquisite make-up, etc.

The Grimleal in Plegia are a minority in Plegia and only grew with time especially in the game events. King Gangrel and his men were not Grimleal but they had to follow the cult for their own safety and the services they will gain from the cult.

After the separation, it was hard for the Plegian to fully operate with how harsh the weather is especially after they became independent from Ferox and Ylisse. Their livelihood was in a tie with Ylisse’s agriculture and meat products. and Ferox’s ore, manpower, and fur. They worked tirelessly to be a fully functional nation on its own that does not rely on its neighboring countries. Being a nation that is known for its dark magic, this enabled this to advance despite the harsh circumstances.

Plegia prospered during the time between their separation until the great war against Ylisse which Plegia suffered a lot. The truth that normal citizens of Plegia were the true victim of the war meanwhile any Grimleal were plotting from the back and escaped the war’s damage. The Grimleal played with its nation’s emotions saying that Ylissean wants them to become their slaves so they can enjoy their lives as their masters. Naga told them to take over Plegia and make it their own as it was once before. People were agitated with these false claims and sought to stop the Ylisseans--Chrom’s Father from invading Plegia. The cost of war was Ylisse’s almost destruction and Plegia while the Grimleal watched in the background this war. The Grimleal used their people to act as a human shield to protect their experiments and projects to revive their fell dragon god.

Reviving Grima was the Grimleal’s wish. As Validar said in the game that his Grandfather and father were failures to be the host of Grima even himself until he had Robin (Avatar) who was of pure blood to host Grima in them. The process of creating a suitable vessel was an ugly and disgusting one. A lot of experiments on subjects, children were torn from their parents. Subject after the other to create the right formula for the final product which was Robin. Whether Validar or Robin’s mother was a close being to Homoncluos (Grima in a way) that made Robin with a high success rate of being able to host Grima. Going by the events of SOV, Grima was made by Forneus and by the description, Grima resembles a homunculus in the way he was created and Forneus is an Alchemist so that kind of allude to that. Wouldn’t be surprised if Robin’s mother was a created being, homunculus to be able to give birth to Robin. Alchemy was lost because there was no mention to it in Awakening world. But surely the knowledge remains in the hidden abodes of the Grimleals.

After the Great war, Gangrel assumed his role as a King to the nation, a plan woven by Validar to dart everyone’s eyes away from the Grimleal as they plot their scheme to revive Grima from the shadows. When Emmeryn died, a lot of people who were affected by her sacrifice stopped fighting but sadly some were killed by true Grimleals or during the battle against the Ylissean army. Whoever could escape hid away and decided to start a new life.

When Gangrel was defeated, Validar took over as regnant King, making sure that the Grimleals are now the controlling force of the country; making it clear that the Grimleals are in power now. There was no need to hide their motives after finding Robin is still alive so the plan B they had, using the future Robin to assume the role. Validar aided Chrom’s army to defeat Walhart because he knew that Walhart if he reached Plegian, no one will be saved, not even the weakened Future Robin (Grima) from his wrath.

Once Walhart was out of the picture, Validar ought to steal the Fire Emblem and then fuel the Future Robin with power to regain the lost power they lose during their travel (and i assume reviving Validar as well?) even though the plan was to use the current Robin’s body but when they refused time was of essence so they had to move to use the future body (which is odd because they are not older even after they said that they did came with lucina so??? Maybe their aging stopped when they killed chrom or something idk man this game got a lot of ??? for me to think of answers im but i weak moogle.) Validar used the strong faith of the Grimleals to call them over to the Dragon Table to be Grima’s lunch. When confronted by Chrom and the company, these people were brainwashed, only speaking in gibberish

...the appointed...time...

...to the Dragon's...Table...

...our prayers...Grima…

Using these people so Grima can feed on them to be resurrected to its true form, however, the future robin mortal body remained as well. This could mean that the true form is mindless while the mind and conscience remain in the human body thus why Robin could kill Grima and end it. If Grima chose to get rid of the human body, I only assume that Robin would not be able to kill Grima and severe the ties between because his power is not equal to the current Grima so perhaps Robin should accept this current Grima’s powers if they want to destroy the future grima?? 👀

With the defeat of Grima, Plegia was left in shambles with the Grimleals are out of the picture as well. There is no information to what happened to Plegia next but I imagine with Ylisse’s help and Ferox, the people slowly regained the control of their country. Either Robin (Avatar) take their role as King/Queen but i kind of doubt that the people would just ‘yes we accept’ knowing that Avatar is Validar’s kid--the man who killed half of their people for a big ass dragon. This could require a lot on Avatar’s part to reassure the people that they can grant them the peace they want or surprisingly the people will accept avatar after knowing that they are the one who fell the dragon. Or it will be a democracy, they will elect someone to be their leader.

Geography

Plegia comes between Halidom of Ylisse to the east and Ferox to the north. Plegia is a country in the Ylisse continent that was once one country with its neighbor.

Topography

Plegia is known to be a desert country evident with a map up there. There are little to no forest areas like its neighbor country, Ylisse. A lot of mountains and sand dunes. Plegia as any desert country, it is bound to have dangerous areas of quicksands often used by bandits to lure helpless merchants and villagers towards them so they can trap them. Unlike Ylisse, Plegia’s bodies of water are more active because the Plegian made a lot of ports to make the trades between them and the Valmesean easier.

Climate

Because unlike Ylisse, Plegia is pretty much has the same climate all over its land. Very hot humid, even scorching at summer, and slightly cold at winter. In summer, the days are humid and hot while at night, it can get a little chilly and even freezing at certain times. In winter, the days are sometimes cloudy little chances of rain depends on the circumstances and at night extremely cold due to the desert winds and being exposed to the sea. Nearby the sea, the air can be salty and suffocating for newcomers.

Flora & Fauna

Since the climate is the same, the flora and fuana are pretty much the same across the land as well. Short plants in the desert area, different types of reptiles, a lot of wild birds like falcon and hawks, wild rabbits, coyotes and gazelles which often found near the border pass between Plegia and ylisse. Between Ferox and Plegia at the border wastes, some giraffes and elephants might be around.

Government

As the name of the country suggests, it is religion based country, more like a forced one. The government is hereditary from one leader of the Grimleal to another, most likely as Validar said, his grandfather, father then him and possibly Robin (Avatar).

Gangrel, as stated before he was placed to fuel the war between plegia and ylisse because he had the charisma and the drive to get people around him for that purpose--the revenge on the ylissean.

After the battle with Grima, the line of Validar--the Grimleals is over. The people either pick their own leader or accept Robin (Avatar) as their King/Queen if they wanted to serve their country alongside their friend Chrom being the Exalt of Ylisse.

The Law

The Law in Plegia is simple, Worship Grima, and hate Naga. The same rules that the previous Exalt had to not trade with Plegian or marry into them applied in Plegia as well. Who is caught to be trading with a Ylissean was immediately killed on the spot.

This to be changed slightly when Gangrel ruled because he wanted to use Ylisse for his revenge to he allowed some sort of trading to happen but with a lot of restrictions.

After the end of Grima, the laws are loose to let both trading and wedding from both countries without any sort of restrictions following after Chrom’s Laws.

Hierarchy

The Hierarchy is simpler than Ylisse because it is simply:

The Hierophant (Grima)

The Grimleal leader and the country Leader, the King (Validar)

Right hand and trusted advisor (Aversa)

The Grimleals is definitely set to ranks but for my sake, they are three levels according to what the enemies we have seen.

High ranked Grimleal: Priests & Dark Mages & Scholars (Chalard & Algol)

Middle ranked Grimleal: Loyal Military Soldiers & Spies (Campari)

Lowest ranked Grimleal: Believers and worshipers of Grima

Military Commander (Mustafa etc)

The commoners

After the Grimleals ranks, who comes next kind of does not have any authority nor power except on those who are around them. Mustafa being the commander of the army that fought Chrom, it should be apparent that his loyalty to his people not the religion should be known by the Grimleal so I doubt he has any power except on the men around him.

Religion

The forced religion is worshiping the fell dragon Grima even though there are many around Plegia who do not worship Grima at all. The Religion was founded when the first fathers saw the destruction that Grima caused in his first war with the First Exalt. They sought his power for their own misguided ends. They wanted to obtain that power knowing that Grima had a pact with a human, they thought they could control this ‘God’ to do what they want. When Plegia was founded, I imagine it was their goal; to revive Grima so they can use him. Naga helped humans on her own, they wanted their God to be same; to help them realize their dreams and wishes; their own God that they don’t have to share with anyone else. These wishes developed and reshaped to be wanting destruction about everyone so no one can be better than them; total damnation to all even if the in the process they died at least their selfish wishes that no one be happy happen. Validar was revered among the Grimleal because in a way he was the host or almost was going to for their God. If Robin remained in Plegia, they would be worshipped as the Human that has the pact with Grima, their own God, their messenger for their God.

Note to Grima’s design, which is just my own opinion again but look at the picture

The true form of Grima resembles Perezia, the flower that the nation is called after in the Japanese release. I don’t know if this was intentional or just me diving deep where it is not necessary. The right images are from here if you like to look at the other Perezia’s types because they are A LOT, i picked these two because they looked close enough to grima’s design imo. Just like Ylisse (Iris) the symbol is the flower itself, I think Plegia is the same. Ferox (Felia) on the other hand, their symbol is two wolves(?) animal motif instead of plant perhaps to represent the fierce nature of Ferox.

Holidays & Celebratory Days

The day when Grima was fell the first time, is a day that all Grimleal spend it mourning their God’s long slumber and prepare a lot of sacrifices in hope for the day Grima is revived come closer.

If Robin remained in Plegia, I am sure their birthday would be a day to be celebrated because the messenger of their God, his vessel was born on this day.

With how Plegia is under the Grimleal, there are a lot fo celebratory events unlike Ylisse and Ferox but common folks do enjoy summer festival and such in their cast away villages.

Customs

Grimleal’s customs

To get into the Grimleal is not an easy as it sounds like. Test of loyalty and such would be asked for the recruiters to do. Often raiding and killing people, offer sacrifices, be ready for any job whatever it is to be done. Who can’t fight, must assist in a way or another. Scholars and Scientists were expected to keep experimenting on different projects, more strong Risens and whatnot.

Commoner’s customs

Plegians are like the Ylissean in terms of upbringing. Respect is a must to teach their children, they might be little more strict with that than the Ylissean. The family may hold the Grandparents, the parents, their kids, and their kids. The extended family may live in the same house with how the living in Plegia in the years are getting harder with previous war and the current one, it is hard to save up money to live in your own.

It is not a custom but perhaps an explanation to why most Plegian are seen devoted of emotions or if they had them they are considered cold and distant. Basing the information on the real world, desert people are affected by the heat and being constantly under the sun thus they are more hot-tempered and emotionally distant (of course this does not apply to ALL desert living.) The heat damped their emotions but they are there but only visible to really close knit of people, for example, Mustafa and his company. They were moved by Emmeryn which does not necessarily they are cold but to the outsiders they seem like it.

First Grima war

The Events of the [First Grima war] against the First Exalt with Naga VS. Grima and the human he pact with was the first war in ages the people faced their first trial. There are no records of the war but a point to note that the whole continent was against Grima unlike the 2000 years later where The Halidom of Ylisse was against Grima alone, mostly. Another thing to note, that the human that had a pact with Grima was known, however, these little details ‘human pact’ was not known for anyone outside the Grimleal in the game (during Awakening) timeline. Evidence that everyone was shocked to hear of Avatar’s relationship to Grima and the whole plot to use them as a vessel. A lot of Grima’s secret was swept away when the three nations were made, means that the Grimleal in their early days, made sure to cover up Grima’s tracks to make sure that his next revival would be the last and no one can interrupt him.

The Grimleals made sure only to keep who will hold their tongue from blurting any information that could threaten their plan to revive Grima. Who was suspected to leak anything was murdered on the spot. It might have shaken them in numbers but that made the new generation even more stronger and loyal to the cause.

Ylisse-Plegian situation

It is no secret that these two countries have always had troubles and skirmishes. Ylisse worshiping the divine dragon and Plegia worshiping the Fell Dragon. Both contrasting counties of faith and beliefs. Ylisse wished for more peaceful negotiations, but Plegia saw it as a way to silence them--it agitated them because they thought Ylissean are simply provoking them due to their past.

Pre the previous Exalt’s time, the relationships were already on a thin ice. The Grimleal experimenting with everything they got to get the results they hope for-- a perfect vessel for their master. What kept the relationship at bay was on both sides, Ylisse’s Exalt was still going for the peaceful route and the Grimleal trying to maintain a low profile until they finish their experiments.

In the previous Exalt’s time, the situation got worse when Validar who had hopes that he will be the perfect vessel for Grima, was provoked by the Exalt who got a whiff of the situation tried to pursuit Validar to explain what is he doing but Validar did his best to conceal it that until Validar had Avatar who was, by all means, THE perfect vessel then it all hells went loose. With Avatar’s mother escaping, all spies who were around Plegia and the borders reported back of the scheme that plegia is making which made the first Exalt more determined to wage war against Plegia in name of Naga and peace. Thus the war 15 years pre awakening happened. It was a mean to stop Validar from making the vessel but it failed. The only success was that the vessel, Avatar was lost and their whereabouts were unknown. Sadly, this information was only shared by the Exalt and the Clergy and his personal knights so the news of vessel and Validar’s scheme died when the Exalt fell in battle.

During the game situation was the follow up of the previous war. Plegia did not forget the war even though 15 years have passed. The wounds did not heal and the people wanted a revenge, an end to their pain, a closure that no more of that cruel war is going to happen. With Emmeryn’s sacrifice, it showed that even Plegian were not sure of their emotions and deep down they want an end to all the fighting and when Gangrel was defeated, the situation calmed a little bit until Validar came back into the scene. Fueling the people against Ylisse and using every possible opening to rekindle the hatred. Who followed him were mostly long rooted Grimleal who would gladly give up their lives for Grima. Anyone else was fighting for other reasons, some because they fear for their families who were captured, some for glory, some for money, etc.

A lot of problems emerged after the first war, a lot of dead plegian, poverty, lack of funding. These were somehow fixed by the Grimleal in order to shut the people up and use that anger and direct it at the Ylissean. Some of course, knew that the Grimleal at fault too but couldn’t speak about it or death will be their end. People were living in horror from the Grimleal and from the Ylissean to strike again.

Plegia and Valm situation

Validar understood that Walhart was smart for his own good and decided to do something about Plegia when Ylisse failed to act, he used Chrom and his company to take Walhart down so there will be fewer people at his doorstep asking him to stop resurrecting Grima. If Walhart was not stopped, all what Validar planned with Future Robin (Grima) would have been under threat.

The Last Grima war, Avatar’s ending

In the second Grima war in game, there are three outcomes for the battle. 1) the shepherds lose to grima, 2) chrom’s ending where he delivers the last strike sending grima into another 1000 of slumber, 3) or avatar’s ending where they sacrifice their life. Since this is the true ending of the game, it is the best outcome of the three endings. The world was saved from Grima and history wrote about its savior. Naga did tell Avatar that if they have strong bonds they are to fight and come back to this world. During the time the avatar went missing, everyone continued to grow and develop in their name. The scars of the last battle did not heal quickly but they are surely coming along. There is no set of time to when Avatar came back but it is not that long taking that from the game ending where there are no visible changes on both Chrom nor Lissa; between a year and two max. The duration is a controversial topic so it is not that of important at this point. Meanwhile, Plegia is gathering itself after losing so many of its citizen for being Grima’s food and in the war itself.

Chrom’s ending

Avatar has the choice to return to Plegia and rule it as King/Queen.

Ruined Future ending (Future Kids timeline)

Plegia prospered even further to become the land of the Fell Dragon, the land of the risens. A lot of plegian escaped to Valm or Ferox leaving the country in fear for their lives. Who remained were the loyal Grimleals and commanders.

In Fate, Anakos asks Owain, Severa, and Inigo if they had a request after helping him and they asked to revive their families and friends but he could not do that so they asked to make revive their original world that was tainted by Grima and in the process make graves for their fallen families and friends. I assume that fixed Plegia too.

Ruined Present ending

If The Shepherds failed to take down Grima, an ending close to the future that the kids escaped from will happen. However, this time, Falchion and the Fire Emblem might be either lost or be confiscated by Grima’s puppets. A worse ending than the future they escaped from. The Grimleals will take over command of everything and the new place people will start pilgrim to is Plegia’s castle to worship their new God, Grima.

Military

Plegia units are [Barbarians, Dark Mages, Wyvern Riders, Myrmidons and Thieve] a balanced army. Plegian considers having a better strategic approach to battle so they can be hard to deal with especially with the wyvern riders who can travel a long distance and have a decent defense to close ranged and magical attacks. Though, with proper planning and using the archers they can be an easy target. Their advantage is only if they are fighting on their land where the movement is quite restricted to everyone but the mages and riders.

Education

Same with Ylisse, education was for people who could afford it. Priests, Dark Mages, and scholars are the highest people in rank of education, of course after the Grimleal leader themself.

Because of how the Grimleal is, a lot of experiments and projects are involved, thus why scholars are important in the country for their continuous experiments and researches.

Unlike Ylisse, we did not get to see official letters for Plegian nor any other nation (correct if im wrong please). Looking at the in-game sprites, you can see the spells are identical so I couldn’t get anything out of them to link to plegia.

All the spells have the same writing so it did not give away anything special. Weak spells and the powerful spells; all alike.

One could headcanon that the writing is the same what is different is how each nation pronounce them? Because of all magic stem from one place??? Idk.

The warp spell pattern is different

The letters are kind of, slightly, different to the above one. Maybe because they are skewed they look different. But for me, they kind of resemble the arabic script because it looks cursive at the first part to me and we saw that ylissean counts on the symbol and they are not cursive. I will bite the bullet and say that Plegian script resembles the Arabic script, written from right to left to be just different from the ylissean. Out of spite lolololol

Health & Services

Due to the aftermath of the first way, poverty struck the country and famine. People died because of the heat and lack of food and clean water. It was a lot of work to provide food and water across the country and health services. Healers are not common around plegia that is why scholars work on more effective medicines to replace the lack of the able arms to cure and heal with items that can be used by the laymen. Of course, it is not because they ‘care’ because every soul is important in order to revive Grima. Plus, they are the human shield that the Grimleal will use to provoke the new war to happen. War can’t happen if there is no one to fight back.

Art & Entertainment

Architecture

The overlook looks similar to how Persian castle looked like, no color a lot of castle towers. I imagine that small villagers only have somewhat colors in their building because they are further away from the Plegian Castle and the Grimleal.

The inner design, however, has dark colors. The windows are above only assuming because to avoid having the heat of the sun come through them so they are strategically built to only let cool air in during the day and night and only enough of the sunlight depending on the position of each window and the sun circle.

Music

I imagine the music would be, all poetry of praising Grima and the soon fated hour of his return. Commoners might sing about their daily life struggle and whatnot, somehow melancholy fill all their songs. little when you find happy songs.

Painting / Statues

I looked all over the castle for any hint of painting like in Ylisse’s castle but nope. Nothing. I think Plegia is more famed for statues more than painting with how they build their houses from stones.

Writings

The same as their music, all written art is based on imaginary days of Grima’s arrival. Recording the feat of the Grimleal, and the history against the Naga worshipers.

#⌈⌈ooc. (faty speaks)#⌈⌈building up. (world of awakening)#//will tag my other muse in here when i change his bio hmmm

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valeriemperez · 6 years

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so...i'm looking at the preview for next week and thinking maybe Barry doesn't get out of prison yet? it's looking like he might get captured or something. and since the title of 4x14 is "subject 9" maybe it's a two-parter? but we also know he's clean shaven and wearing his ring again in episode 14, so idk.

My guess is that Barry is rescued at the end of 4.13 or start of 4.14, gets himself cleaned up and reunited with Iris, and then they work out a plan to save whoever Subject 9 is. Because like you said, Grant spent a lot of 4.14 clean-shaven and with his ring on.

Barry’s dreams came true permanently when Iris told him that she was willing to see if she has a future with him in 2x20. The man was in tears and he thought it was a possibility that she didn’t feel that way about him anymore after the S1 finale, even when she tried to move on with Scott. Now he gets to call Iris his wife.

Yup! And what a beautiful moment that was, honestly.

New theory time… So Devoe’s plan has to do with wanting to fix humanity or some ish like that right? So I wonder if maybe his ultimate plan is to get rid of metahumans. Like maybe he wants to make them look like criminals and eventually they’ll be outlawed altogether. (Didn’t LoT mention a future Anti-Metahuman Act?) He created these new metas to be bad guys and get arrested and now even Central City’s hero is starting to look like a bad guy (in prison for murder and now breaking people out).

That’s a more solid theory than most, tbh. I do think it’s either subjugating or eliminating metahumans (as a way to connect the future from Flash comics and from LOT) or it’s using them as a power source to send out Thinker’s brainwaves.

Yeah, I feel quite certain that our mystery girl is Dawn (Nora?) Allen. Thinking about all the different possibilities for her is fun and interesting, but I think her excitement about being at Barry and Iris’s wedding tells us everything we need to know, tbh. And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they cast someone who looks so much like Grant and Candice. That’s their baby, I’m calling it. I just wonder where her brother is.

Exactly. Not to mention that they wouldn’t spend all this time questioning the identity of not Iris-and-Barry’s daughter. No matter how much screen time other characters get, it’s Barry’s show.

Danielle West 😂 that’s too many Danielle’s on the show now 😅😅 but I like the idea of them gender swapping, especially a villain like Daniel West. We don’t have enough female villains on the show, especially a poc!!

I would feel terrible for Joe and Cecile if their baby became evil, but they can have their cake and eat it too by preventing the child from turning into her future self Looper-style. That being said, it could also be Charlotte or any random girl name and not become evil lol. Time will tell!

It brings me back to the TCAs votes when the haters spent more time shitting on Iris/CP than supporting their fave. They want to argue that she’s not popular? Them talking about her is making her popular.

They can keep talking all they want, it just makes Iris more powerful.

I get really fed up that iris hate is associated with *all* Caitlin fans. WA is my OTP, but Caitlin is my fave and I do love Iris of course. Not every Caitlin fan ships SB and approves of racism against Iris.

Yeah, we’re just talking about the fans who hate Iris, they’re the ones spending more time on her than their supposed fave. I personally know at least 3 fans of Caitlin who decidedly do not dislike Iris, so I know it’s possible.

Just thought I’d let you know I’ve seen a lot of SB shippers use your tweet as proof that deep down all WA shippers know Barry and Iris have no chemistry 😬

Anyone using that tweet as “proof” of anything is merely proving how they’ve fallen into the trap of shipping fumes. They will twist anything, lol. I’m here tweeting about how Candice and Hartley have a cute friendship that shines in minor scenes, and they think I’m somehow saying WA doesn’t have chemistry? Trololol, I literally said WA is lucky they have the best chemistry so that I can enjoy other dynamics without them threatening my ship.

#the flash #barry allen #anonymous #tatiana's thoughts #more asks under the cut #long post for ts #sbask

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ao3feed-superbat · 4 years

Text

Sensible madness

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/34NkxPp

by Anna12aot

Words: 633, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death

Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Other

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/34NkxPp

#ao3feed #superbat #world's finest #Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne #Bruce Wayne/Clark Kent

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thecsientist · 6 years

Text

david singh isn’t blind

Read it on the AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/13243989

David Singh knows Barry's dating Starling City's mayor Oliver Queen. How does he know? He has eyes - he's seen ten things to lead him to the belief.

Words: 1506, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: The Flash (TV 2014), Arrow (TV 2012)

Rating: Not Rated

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Barry Allen, Oliver Queen

Relationships: Barry Allen/Oliver Queen

Additional tags: Barry isn’t the Flash

David Singh wasn’t blind. He was a detective, after all. He had reason to believe that Barry Allen, the shy CSI who everyone said was in love with Detective West’s daughter, was dating someone. He hadn’t been very proactive with hiding it and David had seen at least ten different indications that he was in a relationship with Starling City’s mayor, Oliver Queen.

1. He was significantly happier.

As a boy who had to live with the trauma of a dead mother and a father with a life sentence, Barry wasn’t the happiest. Sure, he wasn’t depressing, but he often gave David the impression that he was just surviving, not living. Just taking each day as it comes.

Now? Now Barry Allen walked with a spring in his step and a consistent hint of a smile on his face. Every time his phone screen lit up with a new text message, his face glowed along with it as a grin creeped onto his face. Everyone was glad that he was happier, but David couldn’t help but wonder who had been the one to pull Barry back into a happier reality.

2. He began rushing through his work.

David knew that it was unlike Barry to rush through paperwork. Normally, he took his time and messed around with fun little experiments while awaiting a sample analysis. Now, every once in a while, Barry would rush through the paperwork so he could get off work earlier.

“Anywhere you need to get to in such a hurry?” David asked casually as he leafed through Barry’s paperwork to do a quick check. Barry glanced around nervously and answered, “No, no. I’m just tired and I really want to get home early today.”

David knew that wasn’t the real reason. He had been there before, after all, back when he first started dating Rob. He’d done his work in a hurry so he could get back home to his boyfriend. So who exactly was Barry itching to see?

3. The one time he came to work with sex hair and a hickey.

David had noticed it the moment Barry tripped into the precinct. The scent of sex hung heavy in the air around Barry and his eyes landed on the CSI who had a just-fucked daze in his eyes and of course, the obvious hickey he'd poorly hidden on his collarbone. His hair was an absolute mess and his clothes looked as if he’d pulled them on quickly, to avoid being later than he already was.

“Allen, what happened?" David asked, indicating the hickey and his general appearance. Barry glanced down and quickly pulled his jacket over to cover it as he shook his head, “Nothing, Captain. I'm fine.” David raised an eyebrow and watched him run upstairs to his lab. His slight limp didn’t escape David’s attention.

4. At random periods of time, he went out every lunch break.

Barry didn’t always go outside for lunch breaks. The only times he ever did so was if his friends Caitlin Snow and Cisco Ramon weren’t in the mood to get him lunch and Iris was too busy to grab him some coffee. Otherwise, he stayed in his lab and tended to the endless stack of paperwork and folders on his desk.

However, every once in a while, for a week each time, Barry would (without fail) leave the precinct for lunch break before he returned to his normal behavior of staying in the lab during lunch breaks. Joe had confirmed that Barry wasn’t meeting with Iris or the other two scientists. So who exactly was Barry so willing to leave his lab for? Clearly not someone who lived in Central, or Barry would have gone out every lunch break. This person lived in another city and visited a week each time. But who?

5. He wore clothes that weren't his own.

David obviously noticed it. Barry Allen was a big softie. He absolutely refuses to ride the bikes to crime scenes, much less go near anything labelled as ‘edgy’. Yet there he was, walking into the precinct dressed in a leather jacket a size too big for him. Joe passed a casual remark that Barry once mentioned that he would never wear leather jackets.

And there was another time, when Barry wore a shirt that hung loosely on him. Iris had seen it when she came over to get lunch with Eddie and she laughed, saying Barry never liked oversized clothing. Which led David to wonder why would Barry wear clothes he hates? Obviously, they belong to someone he loves and he shares clothes with his partner. David understood that — he has worn some of Rob’s clothes to work before. Judging from the clothes, Barry was dating a man. But who?

6. He had made frequent trips to Starling City.

David had walked into an empty lab — Barry was late again. He sighed and walked over to the CSI’s desk to leave his work for the day, his attention being caught by train tickets. Glancing around, he reaffirmed that Barry wasn’t present before he picked up the train tickets to check. They were two-way trips between Central and Starling. A drawer was open and David realized there were even more Central to Starling tickets in it. So he was making frequent visits to Starling. His boyfriend definitely lives there, then. Who?

7. He was suddenly interested in politics.

Barry Allen, pacifist, never interested in politics in the slightest. It was until Mayor Queen’s political rival, Sebastian Blood, had been making a speech and someone praised the man that David found Barry’s sudden interest in politics strange.

“I think he would make a better mayor than Queen, in my opinion,” Eddie had said as he, Barry, Joe and David watched the politician make a rousing speech on the small television. Barry’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance and he said, “Blood doesn’t strike me as a sincere leader. Queen genuinely cares for the citizens of Starling.” Joe raised an eyebrow, as if to ask how he would know. Barry quickly added on, “I mean, you can see it in the way he does things. Every decision he makes is for the good of his city. I can see it. Can’t you?”

“I guess,” Eddie shrugged, not up for getting into an argument with his friend about Starling’s politicians. David found it suspicious how he cared so much about something he often told his friends to never talk to him about.

8. Oliver Queen showing up at the CCPD.

David had gone up to Barry’s lab again, surprise coloring his face at the sight of Starling City’s mayor already there.

“Mayor Queen. What brings you to CCPD?” he asked. Oliver turned around and asked, “Hello, are you the captain?” David nodded and Oliver answered, “I’m here to ask your CSI for help on this sample. I need an analysis done on it.” He indicated the ziplock bag in his hands. David questioned, “Not to be rude, but why can’t you ask SCPD’s CSI?” Oliver gave him a wry smile, “Your CSI is much more capable, Captain.”

It was more than suspicious to David, but he kept his mouth shut.

9. The time he caught Barry on Oliver Queen’s Wikipedia page.

It was strange, least to say, when David walked in on Barry scrolling through Oliver Queen’s Wikipedia page, snickering to himself as he made minor modifications to the information.

“Allen, what are you doing?” David asked. Barry sat up straight in surprise and slammed his laptop shut, answering, “Um… nothing?” David narrowed his eyes, “You were editing Mayor Queen’s Wikipedia page.” Barry shrugged, caught, “I’m just playing a prank on him. I’ll change it all back after he’s seen it, don't worry.”

“You better. I don’t think he would appreciate someone making a joke out of him,” David advised. He heard Barry mutter something under his breath, but he didn’t pursue the matter any further.

10. And of course, the time he found Oliver Queen kissing Barry in the lab.

David couldn’t say he wasn’t expecting it, but it still caught him by surprise when he went up to Barry’s lab to the sight of Barry leaning down on his desk slightly, his hands pressed up to Oliver’s chest as the mayor kissed him. Their lips moved together in perfect synchronicity and Barry let out quiet breaths of contentedness against Oliver’s mouth. Oliver had one hand supporting Barry’s back, the other pressed to the edge of the desk.

David cleared his throat and the two immediately pulled apart. Barry’s cheeks were colored red, embarrassed that he’d been caught. Oliver didn’t look very fazed, however.

“Captain Singh, I’m so sorry,” Barry started. David interrupted, smiling, “No, Allen. It’s fine. I’m glad you found someone who makes you happy.” He turned to Oliver, “Now, he’s a favorite around here, so if you hurt him, just remember we’re all cops with guns.” Oliver gave him a quirk of his lips as he nodded, “I won’t hurt him, Captain.”

#olivarry #olivarry fic #olivarry ao3

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