#I guess it's a bit inconvenient having to open a different app whenever you want to listen to a specific song but is it really THAT hard

[ravespect0r]

why do people even reupload songs from lesser known artists on spotify anyway (or any artist for that matter but I mostly see it happening to smaller ones), like aside from the obvious issue, assuming the reason for doing this is to be able to listen to the songs while being offline why can't y'all just download them normally???

[raywritesthings]

Dear Friend, 3/?

My Writing Fandom: Arrow Characters: Laurel Lance, Oliver Queen, Quentin Lance, Barry Allen Pairing: Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen Summary: When Felicity decides to get serious about Ray, she knows it won’t be a good idea for Oliver to be hanging around. So she turns to the world of online dating to keep him distracted. Unknown to the both of them, over the summer Joanna had set Laurel up with an online dating account in the hopes that her friend could move on from past failed relationships. There’s only one way this can end. *Can also be read on my AO3*

Laurel woke up the next morning still wondering what the hell had just happened.

She’d resigned herself to sort of skirting around the edges of Oliver’s life, avoiding arguments through less contact. It wasn’t what she wanted, but maybe it was what they needed.

And then he’d shown up at her door with ice cream. Which was inconvenient, considering she’d just finished off her own large bowl. But she hadn’t wanted to admit to that, so she’d taken a small amount and dug in. She’d just have to hit her training a bit harder than usual today to make it up to herself.

None of that was what had her so thrown. It was more to do with what Oliver had said.

She’d known for a while now that he struggled sometimes to see his way through or whether what he did had any impact. That was part of why she’d invited him to come see her father’s speech announcing the disbandment of the vigilante task force; he needed some kind of positive reinforcement.

But Laurel hadn’t had any idea the kind of toll Sara’s death had taken on him. She’d been so important to both of them, of course, but to hear Oliver say he’d taken it as some sort of sign of his own grim end frightened her. It made her think how close they’d come to losing him last year when he’d nearly turned himself over to Slade Wilson. It made her think of her own worries that had kept her up at night from time to time ever since she’d learned the truth about his identity.

And it left her more determined than ever to get involved. Oliver needed help, some kind of support he wasn’t getting. Laurel didn’t know if she was the one who could provide it, but it had never stopped her from trying.

He’d opened up to her. That was enough to convince her their friendship was still worth striving for.

Her phone pinged on her nightstand in the tone of her dating app; unusual for this early. She sat up and leaned over to take a look.

KingOfSurvival: good morning

JusticeIsAWoman: is it?

Something must have happened if he hadn’t been able to wait till his usual hours to text her.

KingOfSurvival: well, for me. I wanted to thank you for listening last night. I think getting my thoughts out helped me to better explain myself and then be ready to listen, too

JusticeIsAWoman: so you patched things up with your friend-ex?

KingOfSurvival: I think so

KingOfSurvival: it’s definitely better than it was

Well, looked like he’d been able to pull off his own reconciliation. That had to say something for her talent in mending fences, didn’t it?

JusticeIsAWoman: I’m glad to hear it

KingOfSurvival: Yeah

KingOfSurvival: it feels like this weight’s been lifted off my chest

KingOfSurvival: we’ve been friends for so long, and I didn’t want to lose that

JusticeIsAWoman: she must mean a lot to you

KingOfSurvival: she does

Now there was a thought. If she’d helped him so thoroughly with his problem, did he even need her anymore?

JusticeIsAWoman: do you think you’ll give dating another shot?

KingOfSurvival: What?

JusticeIsAWoman: well you only tried the one date. If you were able to patch things up, it might not be a bad idea to give it a second chance

JusticeIsAWoman: I won’t feel bad if you leave me behind for the real world, promise

He was already typing before she’d sent her last message.

KingOfSurvival: no, no, this was a different friend-ex. She wasn’t the one who signed me up for this app

Laurel felt her eyebrow raise.

JusticeIsAWoman: two friend-exs? I’m not sure if that says good or bad things about you

KingOfSurvival: me neither

KingOfSurvival: But don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere

It was probably wrong to feel relief. But in the short while they’d been talking to each other, he’d kind of made himself a fixture in her life. It should worry her, that she’d let a total stranger get that close to her in so little time. But then, if she wasn’t so lonely she wouldn’t be chatting with strangers in the first place. And this one didn’t feel so much like a stranger. For whatever reason, her mind had just accepted him like an old friend.

KingOfSurvival: anyway, I promised we’d talk about your friend-ex problem

JusticeIsAWoman: oh, I think we’ve steered our way out of it

KingOfSurvival: Yeah?

JusticeIsAWoman: Yeah. It’s not even the worst fight we’ve had. And he’s decided to be much more reasonable all of a sudden

KingOfSurvival: must be your good influence

JusticeIsAWoman: ha

Laurel took the phone with her as she left her bed, heading down the hall to her kitchen.

JusticeIsAWoman: But I should let you get back to sleep

KingOfSurvival: how did you know I should be sleeping?

JusticeIsAWoman: based on the times you text, plus you mentioned your job having late hours last night

KingOfSurvival: oh right. You a detective or something?

JusticeIsAWoman: get some sleep, sounds like you need it

KingOfSurvival: alright, have a good day

JusticeIsAWoman: you too

She set her phone on the counter as she set about fixing herself some breakfast, which wasn’t much more than pouring cereal in a bowl — the milk smelled off, so she went without. Laurel made a note to get some the next time she went shopping, whenever that was. Her hours at the DA’s office were pretty incompatible with the grocery stores.

Laurel scooped her phone up on the way to her little table. So he thought she came across as a detective, did he? Him and everyone else. Being raised by one was near enough, she guessed.

The smirk Laurel wore slowly faded as she sat there, spoon in one hand and phone in the other.

There was one thing Oliver had said the previous night that she couldn’t seem to stop thinking about: “I’m living in the same loft as my sister, but we barely exchange more than a few words with each other because I have nothing I can tell her. Because I have no life of my own, just the secrets.”

Didn’t that describe exactly her relationship with her father ever since Sara had been killed?

She’d been so sure about not telling him when it happened. He’d only just been in the hospital, and his doctors all cautioned against any form of stress. Telling him the truth would only make his condition worse.

But every time she saw him now, it was harder and harder to maintain the illusion that everything was fine. He could tell something was wrong, even if he didn’t know what.

And deep down, she knew she couldn’t hide this forever. Would it just make it worse the longer she let it go on?

Laurel thought for a moment about taking her online friend up on that offer for advice, but how would she even begin to explain that sort of situation? How did her life make sense to the average person anymore?

This was her secret, her mistake, and she had to fix it. Laurel knew there was no easy or magic solution to it, either. Nothing about Sara’s death was.

She kept thinking about it and thinking about it until his next day off. A small, terrified part of her tried to convince herself to put it off for yet another day, not to ruin it for him. But she knew in her heart it was better than ambushing him at his office.

Laurel walked, since her car had been wrecked by the crash with Stanzler, and the whole way she tried to think of the right way to break the news. Every attempt she ended up mentally discarding. There was no right way. Not for news like this.

Laurel knocked on her father’s door and waited. Eventually she heard the slide of the deadbolt and the lock being undone before the door opened. “Honey?”

“Hi, dad.”

His smile was bemused more than anything. “What brings you round here?”

“There’s something I need to talk to you about. Something I should have talked to you about sooner,” she admitted, eyes downcast. “Is it okay if I come in?”

“Course, yeah.” He showed her through, shutting the door and following her to the sitting room. Laurel stopped in front of the couch but stayed standing. “Everything okay, honey?”

“It’s not me,” she said. “You know how Nyssa was in town a couple weeks ago?”

He nodded, still looking unsure. “Yeah.”

“She was here on League business. Because- because Sara was sent on a mission here last month.”

“Sara? But I never saw her.” Her dad fidgeted, already anxious. “She’s not trying to hide out from them again, is she?”

God, she wished that was it. Laurel shook her head. “No, she’s- she’s not.” She had to take a minute, closing her eyes to fight back the tears that already threatened. It was amazing she had any left.

“I saw her when she came into the city,” she confessed. “We met on a roof, and she was doing okay. Not- not happy about the League, you know, but she was…”

“Laurel, what are you trying to say?”

“I left and started walking home, but Sara- she — someone else came to the roof after me. I didn’t see them. All I saw was — Sara was shot.”

He was staring at her in total shock.

Laurel swallowed down the lump in her throat. “Three times. She fell off the roof and I- I went to her, dad, but she was already—”

“No—”

“Dead. I’m sorry. Daddy, I’m so sorry.” She pressed her hands together like a prayer as her eyes watered and spilled over.

Her father’s legs trembled and gave out. He sat down hard on his couch.

“Not- not my baby,” he choked out. “Not again.”

Laurel stepped forward and knelt on the edge of the couch as she wrapped her arms around him. Her father placed a hand on her arm and leaned his head on her shoulder. She didn’t know how long they cried together.

Eventually, he lifted his head and looked at her.

“Where...where is she?”

She had to swallow again, and her voice was still shaky as she answered, “We buried her in her old grave.”

“We?”

“I had to ask the Arrow for help,” Laurel admitted as she sat back.

“The Arrow,” her father echoed. “He’s known this whole time? And he didn’t say anything?”

“Because I asked him not to,” she said before the frown could set on his face. Instead it was a stunned, injured look he fixed her with. “I was scared. I didn’t know how to tell you, and with your health—”

“I decide what I can take, Laurel,” he said, though his voice was distressingly hoarse.

“I know. I know, dad, but you were just in the hospital. I didn’t know how to—”

“A month. She’s been dead for a month, and you kept this from me.”

Laurel stood from the couch, retreating. He hadn’t raised his voice yet, but she could sense the shift in his mood. “I’m sorry. I know it was wrong.”

“Wrong?” A nasty smile like a snarl marred his lips. “Wrong doesn’t cover it. I- I need you to go. I need to be alone.”

“Dad, please. Please don’t—”

“Alone, Laurel.” His hand gestured vaguely to the door. He kept his head down, refusing to look at her.

Laurel’s lips pressed together and she nodded, turning and leaving. She stopped on his front stoop and looked back. The sound of his sobs could still be heard through the door. Laurel closed her eyes and bowed her head.

She should have made some excuse to check his cabinets first, made sure there wasn’t anything in there. What if he drank himself to death over this? What had she done?

If there was one thing she knew, she couldn’t let him go to the bar. She’d already lost Sara, and her sister would never want to be the reason their father lost himself twice.

Laurel looked around. She had no car and was not welcome inside. About the only place left for her was right here. So Laurel drew in a breath and sat down on the stoop, her back to the door.

Night was already falling and the air was chilly, but she stayed where she was. A dim part of her knew it was probably crazy, that her father would be even more upset if he found her out here. But she couldn’t leave him like this. He wouldn’t leave her if their places were switched.

She took out her phone for something to do and her thumb almost automatically landed on the icon for her dating app. Well, if she ever needed a friend, now was that time.

JusticeIsAWoman: have you ever thought twice about telling somebody the truth?

She had to wait a while to hear anything. Probably wasn’t in the mood for deep questions.

But eventually her phone chirped. Laurel glanced over her shoulder at her father’s door and switched the device over to silent.

KingOfSurvival: that might be the story of my life, why?

KingOfSurvival: are you ok?

JusticeIsAWoman: mostly

JusticeIsAWoman: I’ve been putting off giving my dad some really bad news, and I finally told him

JusticeIsAWoman: now he probably hates me for it

KingOfSurvival: that does not sound fun

JusticeIsAWoman: you have no idea

KingOfSurvival: I’m sorry. I’m sure he’ll forgive you

Laurel wondered if he’d think that if he knew what the news was. But she’d already resolved not to bring that into their conversations. She had AA to process her grief with other people; she didn’t want whatever this was to become all about that.

She wasn’t sure if it made her an awful person or not, but to have somebody in her life to talk to who wasn’t treating her with kid gloves constantly...it made it easier to believe life could go on even without Sara.

JusticeIsAWoman: your day going any better?

KingOfSurvival: I figured out why my friend-ex set me up with this app

KingOfSurvival: the more recent one, I mean

KingOfSurvival: she’s seeing another guy

Laurel winced.

JusticeIsAWoman: I’m sorry. That’s never easy

KingOfSurvival: Yeah

KingOfSurvival: any chance you have some advice on that situation?

JusticeIsAWoman: afraid my dating skills are slim to none if you haven’t noticed

JusticeIsAWoman: what are you doing now?

KingOfSurvival: a friend invited me to dinner with his wife. I’m heading over there with another friend of ours

KingOfSurvival: just didn’t feel like being alone

JusticeIsAWoman: I can understand that

There was a brief pause. She’d nearly tucked her phone away again when he replied.

KingOfSurvival: I’m just a text away if you need someone

Laurel didn’t think she was smiling, but she felt a little better at least.

JusticeIsAWoman: thanks

JusticeIsAWoman: I guess I just wonder if I did the right thing

KingOfSurvival: in my experience, telling the truth is hard but it’s better than the lies

JusticeIsAWoman: yeah

It went dark behind her all of a sudden. Her father was turning off the lights. She allowed herself a sigh of relief knowing that he was simply choosing to turn in. Not that she believed he was in the clear yet. He’d only barely gotten sober last year. But Laurel would be there as much as he’d allow her to be.

She wiped at her eyes that felt heavy with the tears she’d cried and waited another hour and a half, just to be sure. Her online friend had gone quiet, and she hoped he was having a good time with his real friends.

Laurel stood on slightly stiff legs and began the walk home. Ted had closed the gym for a few days for some time off in the wake of Stanzler’s murder, so she had no other plans.

A couple men were loitering outside one of the bars she passed on her way. Laurel considered crossing the street to avoid them, but in the end she decided not to give them the satisfaction.

“Hey, gorgeous,” one called out to her with leer. She ignored him.

“Hey.” His friend stepped forward, grabbing her arm. “You’re supposed to—”

Laurel didn’t wait to hear the rest. She took hold of his wrist and turned sharply, twisting it until he gave a howl and staggered back. Then she fished her ADA’s badge out of her purse.

“Yeah, I don’t think so.”

Neither of them probably knew what it really was, but they knew it meant something official. They shuffled backwards with their heads down, and she watched them till they were a safe distance away before turning and continuing her walk, though now it was closer to the pace of a march.

Maybe it wasn’t a workout, but it left her exhilarated all the same. On a whim and wanting someone to know something of her success, she took out her phone again.

JusticeIsAWoman: think my night just got a lot better

—-

Barry was seriously regretting the whole ‘train with Oliver’ thing. Those arrows hurt. As it was, he was looking for just about any and all distractions.

One was finally granted to him in the sound of a phone. His mentor of today had insisted they set any devices aside to avoid getting sidetracked, but seeing as Oliver had immediately looked to the side upon hearing it, Barry thought he could get away with a break.

“I’ll get it,” he offered, jerking his thumb towards the building.

“Barry—”

He picked it up and was standing next to Oliver and holding it out in the next second. But that short time was more than enough for his eyes to catch the name attached to the message. Or the lack of name, rather.

Oliver glanced over it, but his eyes lifted and fixed on Barry. “What?”

“Um, nothing,” Barry replied immediately. But the curiosity was eating at him. “Sorry, just — are you on message boards?”

Oliver’s face scrunched up. “No.”

“Then who’s Justice Is A Woman?”

“Not really your business, Barry,” said Oliver, in a tone that very much implied he should drop it if he didn’t want to get shot.

But the wheels were turning now. That hadn’t been a text message; it had come from some sort of app. An app that encouraged usernames and not a person’s real name. Combined with the dull red flush he could see creeping up Oliver’s neck and into his cheeks...

The realization hit him like lightning— which Barry felt he was qualified to know how that felt. “Oh wow. You do online dating?”

The redness in Oliver’s face was spreading. “No. I — she’s just a friend.”

“Right,” said Barry, drawing it out for an extra beat or two. Internally, he was kind of freaking out. Oliver was online dating. Was this new? Did anybody else know? Or had he just stumbled across the greatest secret of their time?

Oliver tucked his phone into his back pocket, brow furrowing. “Let’s get back to training.”

His phone pinging again kind of ruined the effect.

“You know what? I’m gonna head back to STAR Labs. See if they got a lead on this meta yet.” He took off running before Oliver could object. Or shoot.

There was a lot Barry needed to wrap his head around. Training hadn’t gone like he expected or wanted, and he was frustrated by the amount of criticism his vigilante counterpart had heaped on his techniques. But he was also a bit smug, knowing this embarrassing detail about the other man, even if he was having trouble believing it himself. It was a hard concept to grasp, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen resorting to an online service to meet people just like the rest of them.

It was that mix of resentment and cockiness that got Barry into trouble with Bivolo, and once he’d been cured he felt awful for the things he’d said and done to the others. Eddie hadn’t deserved to bear the brunt of his anger for having the courage to take a chance with Iris, and all it had done was turn Iris away from the Flash. Not that he could blame her when he couldn’t even begin to try and explain what had really happened.

There’d been other rash actions he’d taken as well, and he apologized in turn to both Caitlin and Joe. Oliver, he saved for last and just caught him as Team Arrow was making a stop at Jitters before heading out of Central.

Barry knew he should feel lucky Oliver seemed to hold no ill will for the fight and the pain he couldn’t heal from nearly as easily as Barry, but of course his friend had to give him one last bit of advice, this time concerning his love life or lack thereof.

“That’s not going to work out for you. You need to let her go, for both of your sakes.” Oliver didn’t even bother to follow Barry’s gaze as it landed on Iris, smiling and laughing with Felicity. “Guys like us don’t get the girl.”

“Is that an endorsement for online dating?” Barry asked before he could help himself. Oliver pulled a face, and he added, “Sorry, sorry.”

“Nope, I should have expected some pushback.” His friend folded his arms across his chest. “And I would say that having an account like that...can have its benefits. Being able to talk to someone else when there’s things you can’t say to your team is a help. Whatever method you find works best, Barry. And I think we all know you shouldn’t be keeping things bottled up.”

Barry grimaced. “Yeah, guess not.”

Felicity headed back over with the coffees, and the Arrow team departed.

He didn’t really know what to make of what was going on in Starling. Felicity had seemed in much better spirits this trip despite still obviously not dating Oliver, and Oliver was resorting to anonymous online dating as opposed to just walking up to anyone he chose and introducing himself. And apparently he used the site to just...vent?

Barry wondered if venting really was that necessary of a vigilante process. Sure, he had his own frustrations, but there was Joe or Cisco and Caitlin or even Dr. Wells for those various situations. He hadn’t come up against anything yet that required him to go to a total stranger. Oliver had to have it pretty bad if that was the case for him.

And he could tell no one. Barry had a feeling there’d be worse waiting for him than arrows if he let this slip.

“Bear, you want your usual?” Iris’ voice and the hand she laid on his arm had him jolting back out of his thoughts.

“Oh, uh, yeah, if it’s no problem. Thanks, Iris.”

“You’re not a problem.” She walked away with a shake of the head and a brilliant smile. At least Iris only hated the Flash and not him. Barry wasn’t a problem in her eyes.

Okay, so maybe he had been doing some anonymous venting of his own. He hoped Oliver’s setup worked out better for him than what he’d once had with Iris.