#PROJECT: s.t.a.r

[mothdotz]

Character Design is so fun

[aziraphale-is-a-cat]

Planned Obsolescence

Pt 1

Danny liked to think he had made a life for himself outside of the hero gig, that he'd put down the metaphorical cape, gone to fancy engineering school, and landing himself a job at S.T.A.R. Labs.

So walking into the main lobby at 6am he was understandably a little unnerved to find a member of the Justice League there, waiting for him.

"Dr. Fenton!" His boss called him over from where she'd been chatting with the new guests. "We've been waiting for you, come with us."

Danny was suddenly extremely uncomfortable, part of the main hero force of his home dimension was suddenly staring at him intently. If they'd been tipped off about his dead-ness then he was in a whole world of trouble.

"Uh, Dr. Norris, what exactly is going on?" He asked, nervously.

"We'll discuss it in my office, follow me."

The slowly walk up to the office was a new type of torture, trying to push down his panic and watching the hero watch him from the corner of his eye.

With his supervisor and him were Nightwing and some random Dude who, while not in costume, still held himself with his shoulders squared and his stance wide in the same way.

The guy must've seen him staring and introduced himself. "I'm Ted Kord, I work as a, uh, civilian contractor with the Justice League."

Danny's eyes narrowed but he didn't voice his skepticism. "Damn, how do you even get a job like that?" Kord, that sounded familiar.

The guests all shared a look as they stepped into the office, Dr. Norris finding her seat behind her desk. "Well actually, that's what we came here for."

Danny was immediately on edge, he wasn't on good terms with the government already. He remembered in that moment where he remembered the name 'Kord' from.

"This is about my parents' work, isn't it?" He accused, continuing when he got no response. "You're from Kord Omniversal," he said to Kord, "You wouldn't go running to S.T.A.R. Labs, your competitor, unless we really had something you didn't." He let the silence stew.

Danny had put a lot of work distancing himself from the legacy of his parents, going so far as to pull most of their research from public access once he gained ownership of it after their deaths. It really bothered him to still be associated with them and their body of work now that he had a name for himself and a reputation he had built on his own.

Awkwardly, Nightwing stepped up to fill the silence, doing his best to ignore the mounting tension.

"We know you have your parents' complete research, but while we need that your expertise in building and designing," he gestured with his hands as he searched for the right word, "unique machines-"

"You want me to build you a portal." Danny interrupted shortly.

"To another dimension, yes." Nightwing responded, cringing a little.

Danny rubbed the bridge of his nose, wishing to the ancients that he could just run off and be a hermit in the mountains. Appalachia would work well, a healthy supernatural community for occasional social interactions and minimal contact with stupid fucking humans.

"What would I get out of it?"

"Money, government contract, that looks good on a resume." Kord responded.

He looked to Dr. Norris, pleading with his eyes for a reason not to take it.

"Dr. Fenton taking on a contract with the Justice League would open up some in demand employment opportunities for you here at S.T.A.R. Labs, positions with better pay and access to better materials." She pushed him a manilla folder smiling, and when he opened it Danny saw contract pre-written, addressed to him.

He snapped it shut and took a deep breath to ground himself. "Where do you wanna go?"

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Being picked up for work via Zeta Tube was a new brand of surreal, even for a Teen-Hero Turned Engineer.

The automated voice called out his designation, "G-09: Daniel Fenton", as he stepped into his new temporary laboratory. The workspace was top of the line, and lined with cameras. The constant surveillance was going to make this very hard, seeing as he's now stuck with staying humans the whole time, and is no doubt going to be bugged going home.

Something was sketchy about this whole ordeal. Danny hadn't seen hide nor hair of any of the other members of the Justice League, and even though he's handling a task drenched in the occult, he hadn't had to consult any League Affiliated occultists.

Batman was notorious for going through research and experiments with a fine tooth comb, and yet Danny hadn't been called in to explain himself nor the obvious holes in the material he submitted to them, intentionally omitting parts both to keep the more dangerous parts out of government hands and to see where he stood.

And it appears he stood at the crossroads- holding, though his unique and specialized knowledge, all the cards. Nightwing was desperate, something had at least a few of the more senior members out of contact, including whoever they had that knew anything about magic and the multiverse. And it had everything to do with what was on the other side of the portal they wanted him to build.

Any magician worth their own ass knew that mechanical portals outside their own group of dimensions, known as a format due to their similarity in inhabitants and history, never fucking work. Spell portals were the only type that ever made it out, and it took an exceptionally strong caster to open one for even a few seconds.

Any portal trying to leave would just find themselves in the hub, the space between dimensions in a format, same as any portal without a destination or goal which is why it was relatively easy for the Fentons to punch a hole into the Infinite Realms.

As it stood Nightwing really should know that what he was asking of Danny should by all means be impossible.

He purposefully set his file box down on his desk Infront of a hidden camera, it would be hard to work around later when he needed the space but it was worth it to make his point. He knew he was being watched. And he didn't like it.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Walking into the nearly empty conference room, Dick Grayson slid onto the table and laid down. Being alone with some friends in the watchtower free to sit on the fancy, expensive surfaces however he wished sounded like childhood Dick's dream, but now it was just depressing.

"You know you're taking a massive risk with this one, right?" Cyborg asked from the head of the table. "I know our options aren't too great, but this is just miserable."

"Cy, we are beyond the point of miserable."

The half machine groaned and put his head in his hands. "Constantine would shoot us for even trying this bullshit, first for mixing tech and magic, then again for hiring a Fenton!"

"Yeah well, the blonde bastard is stuck with the rest of the League on the ruins of fucking Azarath, and Dr. Fate fucked off to whatever he's deemed more important than us so there's not much by the way of options!"

Cyborg massaged his temples. "This guy's tech is off." He pulled out the papers Dr. Fenton had submitted on his research. "I know confronting him about the inconsistencies will just scare him off, but it's not just that! The tech he brought in, I tried interfacing with it and it just repelled me. There's something wrong with it."

Nightwing rolled his head over to look at him critically. "Something magic? Something interdimensional? Because if so that's what we hired him for."

Cyborg opened his mouth to respond but at that moment a bright flash of light filled the room as The Flash zipped into the room.

"Hey so I know you guys told me to check out his old home for signs of that portal, but the whole place is fucking weird."

[finkadink]

Abner Krill “Polkadot Man”

I didn’t want to change his design much from The Suicide Squad 2021 version, mostly because this was my first introduction to this character, and I’ve really grown attached to David Dastmalchian’s image…

My take on Abner is basically the same as the movie version, his mother was a scientist of S.T.A.R Labs who was so obsessed with the thought of creating the next Superman, she dedicated her time to experimenting on her own children. Abner Krill was the youngest of his Seven siblings (three of the seven were actually blood related, his other siblings were fostered and soon adopted under his mother’s care after she ‘deemed’ herself worthy of taking care of them fully, which she then used them for her own sick experiments.) Abner was injected with a inter dimensional virus, which is the Polkadots that Abner is able to conjure. These Polkadots are basically like lasers, formed into small colorful spheres that can destroy pretty much anything in its path. This could make Abner a very powerful ally, or even a worse threat. The thing is, Abner loathes these abilities as they cause him nothing but pain. He still has to dispel these pesky dots twice a day or they will literally eat him up from the inside. When the dots begin to form under his skin like a boil or cyst they itch and ache, not only that but they tend to shift, not staying in the same place, which is even more of a nuisance to deal with. Abner lived under constant surveillance in his Mother’s home, which she integrated into her own lab to keep on eye on her remaining kids. After the death of his eldest sister, one he was closest to, he snapped, using his powers to destroy his mother’s lab and her along with it. Due to being sheltered all his life, he had limited social cues and didn’t know how to function fully around others, which got him quickly sent to Belle Reve to fully contain his powers.

Abner is a pretty intelligent man, tinkering with things in his spare time. He would often take apart his toys as a young kid, only to repair it from the ground up. Right before the murder of his mother, he created a pair of gauntlets from spare parts that he used to better project his destructive powers. Abner is very much antisocial, he’s awkward and shy and has a hard time expressing his emotions with others. Sad pitiful man who deserves better.

More information will probably be added later !! Here’s some old attempts of trying to draw this man lmao… love to struggle

[avayarising]

Dick in the Murder Machine

(Part of the Batfam Death Project)

Forever Evil 6–7, 2014

In Forever Evil, the main universe was invaded by the Crime Syndicate: Earth-3 villains who are counterparts of Earth-0 heroes. They captured Nightwing and exposed his identity as Dick Grayson on live TV, then kept him captive at the behest of Owlman (Earth-3 Thomas Wayne Jr, in his universe the elder brother of a dead Bruce Wayne), who seemed to be feeling parental/avuncular urges, although The Outsider (Earth-3 Alfred) kept reminding him that Dick was not his own Richard.

Grid, Cyborg’s Earth-3 counterpart, put Dick in an inescapable ‘murder machine’ with a bomb connected to his heart, such that it would only be disabled if Dick’s heart stopped. Grid apparently built the machine from Apokoliptian blueprints he found in S.T.A.R. Labs.

You’d think that this whole arrangement was a trolley problem aimed specifically at Batman, but in fact it seems to have been an actual accident. It looks like Grid intended only to hold Dick securely: Grid didn’t much care if Dick died, but he was following Owlman’s instructions to keep him alive along with Ultraman’s (evil Superman’s) instructions to keep him secure. But when Batman and allies (including Catwoman, Bizarro, and Lex Luthor) invaded in search of Dick, a failsafe was triggered on the device and the bomb started counting down on a five-minute timer.

The only way to disarm the bomb was to kill Dick.

And you’d expect Bruce to come up with the temporary death plan. But Dick’s death is apparently something Bruce can’t handle, and he just kept trying to unplug him. No planning, no solution, just desperation. Being Apokoliptian technology it was semi-sentient and kept working around his attempts.

So Lex Luthor attacked Bruce, with Bizarro holding Bruce off for long enough for Lex to force Dick to swallow a pill to stop his heart. Which, pills and the digestive system being what they are, shouldn’t have worked or at least not worked that quickly, but comics I guess.

(I think Dick could have held the pill under his tongue instead of swallowing it if he’d wanted to, so it’s possible that Dick deliberately swallowed the pill. But his eyes here show pure panic, not acceptance of death.)

Bruce of course attacks Lex and starts beating him up, threatening to kill him, till Lex says he can bring Dick back, whereupon Bruce allows Lex to proceed:

And it works, and Dick is brought back to life, and the bomb doesn’t go off. Good thing Lex Luthor routinely carries around both cardioplegia pills and adrenaline shots!

(Does he often need to temporarily kill people?)

Bonus: here’s Dick making light of his trauma:

Batfam Death Project Masterpost

[abrakuxas]

More classic Teen Titans (part 2 of my personal redesign/alternate version of some DC guys)

Part 1

Lilith Clay Jupiter/Omen (15) - In this version of Lilith I'd like to make her the daughter of Mr. Jupiter, yes, but also of Apollo. As a demigod she is the new heir of the same precognitive powers of the Oracle of Delphos. This is somewhat inspired by her pre crisis origin as the daughter of the Sun Titan Thia, but adapted to Apollo. She's good friends with Donna and teached her everything about the more human girly things. Her boyfriend is...

Gnarrk, the Cave Boy (16) - The last survivor of his people, Gnarrk is an artist, a painter of cave walls and a very smart boy. He kept his people's culture of praising the sun god and when Kid Flash accidentally sent the Titans back in time, Gnarrk was convinced Lilith was the answer to his prayers. The Titans saved Gnarrk when he was about to be killed by a beast and noticing that not only was he alone but he should've been dead, they decide the best they can do is take him back to the future to guarantee his living wouldn't affect the past. Gnarrk and Lilith become fast friends as she teaches him about the modern world and he teaches her about a culture never documented. Lilith and him are the last speakers of his ancient language and that means everything to him.

Mal Duncan/Herald (15) - Mal is a musician, he learned to play at the church his family went and developed into jazz after that. In a moment of near death experience he ends up winning a game against the Angel of Death. He wakes up surprised at the house of young genius Karen Beecher, now carrying a magical horn, a gift of the Angel for his victory, an item capable not only of beautiful music but of affecting space, allowing him to change the location of things and people, teleporting them or switching their places. Karen and him quickly fall in love. He is a support to the Titans, helping them get to places and maneuver in the battlefield.

Karen Beecher/Bumblebee (16) - A young genius working at S.T.A.R. Labs, she is an assistant to the mysterious doctor Arthur Light and his studies on light. Karen learns of a secret project of his to an organization called the H.I.V.E and the development of secret battle suit that used her own ideas and designs which her mentor stole from her. Betrayed, she steals the suit and destroys her own notes, bringing what she learned to the Titans together with her boyfriend Mal. With the help and support of actual superheroes she finished the suit and became the Bumblebee.

Duela Dent/the Pierrot (14) - Duela was raised in an orphanage where the only thing she ever learned about herself is that her mother said she was the child of a Gotham criminal to whom the woman worked for. Duela ran from the orphanage into a life of crime, trying to get into the underworld of Gotham to learn about her parents. She learned her mother worked to Two-Face and took the name Dent, but she soon found her mother had worked with multiple different villains and lost any hope of finding out who her dad actually was. After fighting Robin a couple of times, she learned to let it go, as she was too old to be the child of any masked villain in Gotham. He helped her locate an older crime boss who could maybe be her father but at that point she noticed she didn't really care, and only ever wanted a family. Robin then took the girl to the Titans and they slowly became her friends and family.

[vexic929]

Aftermath

Chapter 1

Chapter 2: link

Warnings: suicidal ideation

Dépite. ひふんこうがい. Martirio.

It was honestly incredible how many words there were for how Hartley was feeling as he left S.T.A.R. Labs for the last time, escorted out by four burly security guards. (That was far too many in Hartley's opinion, probably more for spectacle than any fear on Harrison's part of what Hartley would do.) He didn't want to know what Ramon or Snow or Raymond thought, what lies Harrison would tell them about his abrupt firing. More than likely, he'd make up something about Hartley trying to sabotage their progress. Which was absurd, Hartley had been fiercely dedicated to the project, anyone could see that, but Ramon at least was probably foolish enough to buy it and Snow and Raymond loyal enough to go along with it.

"Get your fucking hands off of me." Hartley snarled as one of the security guards gripped his shoulder when they approached the door.

So much for keeping his cool. But what did it matter anyway, he wasn't coming back here, he didn't need to be professional. The guard merely tightened his grip, giving Hartley a warning glare. Hartley's heart raced with anger and frustration as he shrugged off the hand and stormed out the door.

It was uncharacteristically warm for Missouri in October but he still shivered as a cold sense of betrayal gnawed at his insides. He didn't have anywhere to go, not really. He could go back to the rundown apartment he rented, but what was the point? He felt like little more than a pawn in some twisted game, destined to be sacrificed in the first few moves.

Hartley walked aimlessly through the streets of Central City for what must have been hours. He felt like screaming, like pounding his fists against the pavement until they bled. But he knew it wouldn't change anything.

His mind kept replaying the confrontation over and over again without his permission, the look of smug satisfaction on Harrison's face as he delivered the final blow. So cold, so cruel, so unlike the warm, easy smiles he'd given Hartley on quiet evenings alone. God, he felt sick.

Why did this always happen? Every good thing in his life Hartley had to ruin by opening his damn mouth. He was the common denominator in all of it. It had been his decision to come out to his parents, his decision to go looking for trouble in the accelerator - if he'd just kept his head down, stayed in his place...well, it was too late for that.

It was only the knowledge that he needed to go home and take care of his rats that led him back to his apartment and not off the edge of the nearest bridge. Hamelin and Erdős greeted him as happily as ever when he opened their cage, oblivious to the self-loathing spiral in his head, scurrying up his arms and onto his shoulders to poke their noses into his cheek, begging for treats. Hartley made his way to the kitchen and pulled out the last of the baby carrots from the bag in the fridge, cutting it into small, round pieces.

As Hartley mechanically went through the motions of caring for his pets, his mind kept returning to the injustice of it all. His fury and frustration faded into a bone-deep weariness. He sank into a kitchen chair, his head in his hands, feeling the weight of everything bearing down on him. Hamelin and Erdős paid him no mind, happily munching on carrot slices.

The ache consuming his soul was horribly familiar, his head spinning with a discordant cacophony of memories turned sour. There had to have been warning signs, red flags he'd missed. Harrison wasn't a monster, hadn't seemed so full of hubris that he'd risk the lives of his team and everyone in Central City. He'd been kind, charming...was it all a façade? He'd said he'd loved Hartley, had that just been another lie? Or had Hartley just fucked everything up as he was wont to do?

As Hartley sat there, lost in his thoughts, the despair suffocating, he felt another surge of anger rise within him. Anger at himself for being so blind, anger at Harrison for betraying him, anger at the world for being so cruel - but it left as quickly as it had come, leaving a hollow feeling in his chest. He choked on a sob, the tears hot and bitter, streaming down his cheeks unchecked. He didn't bother wiping them away as he buried his face in his hands, his body trembling as he finally allowed himself to completely break down. He couldn't shake the feeling of emptiness that consumed him. He was alone now, truly alone once again, with no one to turn to and nowhere to go. He felt like the terrified, devastated 17-year-old again, not the capable adult he'd become.

Hartley let out a bitter laugh, the sound hollow and muffled against his palms. What was the point of being fluent in six languages if he couldn't even make himself heard? Harrison had silenced him as effectively as if he'd cut out his tongue and cut off his hands.

Hamelin and Erdős squeaked from the table, finally making Hartley look up again and wipe the tears off of his face. For a moment, Hartley envied them their simplicity. Their world consisted of food, shelter, and the occasional game of hide-and-seek in the maze he'd built for them. They didn't have to worry about betrayal or lies or the crushing weight of loneliness.

Hartley reached out and stroked Hamelin's fur gently, the repetitive motion soothing to his frazzled nerves and spiraling mind. Erdős squeaked again and squirmed his way under Hartley's hand, demanding attention as well.

Hartley's tears slowed, his breaths shaky but steadier now. He needed to pull himself together, for Hamelin and Erdős if nothing else. The thought of packing up and leaving Central City crossed his mind, of starting fresh somewhere far away from all the pain and betrayal, but he quickly dismissed it. Running away wouldn't solve anything, wouldn't make the hurt go away. Besides, Central City had been his home all his life. He couldn't - wouldn't - let Harrison fucking Wells drive him out of his own city.

With a deep breath, Hartley pushed himself up from the table and wiped his eyes once more, determined to regain some semblance of composure. His mind raced this time with possibilities; with plans for revenge, for redemption, for finding a new path forward. He wouldn't let Harrison win.

With renewed determination, Hartley set about cleaning up the kitchen, tidying his apartment, and making sure Hamelin and Erdős had everything they needed. As the evening wore on and the sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows across the living room, Hartley found himself drifting towards his makeshift workbench in the corner. His fingers itched to tinker, to build, to create something new. To build something he could use. He put Hamelin and Erdős back in their cage and sat at the desk to begin sketching, fueled by his newfound loathing of the man he'd given everything to.

~~~~~

Dépite: French for an itching irritation or fury left by a bitter disappointment (such as being rejected by a lover)

ひふんこうがい (hifunkougai): Japanese for a righteous, miserable anger, frustration, or despair over a situation that cannot be changed

Martirio: Spanish for a situation so bad that you feel you must be sanctified after going through it

[averageartistamber]

Considering an Ultraman side project, here's some concept art of the Story Significant Humans. I just really like how the science patrol( I think?) uniform looks from the OG series.

About twenty years ago, Goro Hikari, a foot soldier from S.T.A.R almost died during a sudden kaiju attack. Instead, he made a DnD Warlock pact with a Giant Alien Dude and he becomes a superhero. Yeah, years go by and the monsters and aliens go quiet for a bit. He marries a mecha pilot and they have a son, y'know that kinda stuff.

Now Eliot, their son, is 16 and just starting to develop his own powers...Shame the monsters and aliens couldn't wait just a little bit longer.

Yeah, this AU kinda takes the premise of Rising and the Manga, and adds a little bit of Spiderman and Steven Universe to it, I guess?

Thinking of doing a sort of "My Take On..." series on my Youtube, for whenever I want to do some fandom stuff, without the huge time commitment of a full project (like Fazbear Collection for example). Gonna have a go at Ultraman first since the brainrot is getting deep (Gamera will almost definitely be next though).

This one has the potential for two parts, first one being focused on Kaiju, than the second part on Aliens. And of course, if the videos do well there's potential for more stuff to cover since there's like, hundreds of Goobers in tis franchise. So, yeah, it might not be Godzilla but I'm gonna be drawing my beloved Beeg Monstahs again.

[dailyp1anet]

BREAKING NEWS

WAYNE ENTERPRISES SCANDAL: THE TRUTH

By Lois Lane, Senior Staff Writer

PUBLISHED: 23:00, 26th July 2024 | UPDATED: 23:06, 26th July 2024

BRUCE WAYNE CLEARED: Wayne was arrested earlier this week outside of Wayne Manor. © The Daily Planet: James Olsen, Photographer.

Gotham based Wayne Enterprises has been the centre of a scandal surrounding the technology it has been developing. A whistleblower came forward to discredit the integrity of CEO Bruce Wayne, accusing him of malpractice and breaking international law by producing a lethal product with intention to harm citizens of the United States. The Daily Planet can reveal today in an explosive expose, that the whistleblower in question has been revealed to be an employee of LexCorp Industries. Questions have been raised by the press against the independent review body commissioned by the World Health Organization.

Wayne was accused of introducing a prototype bomb filled with a somniferous agent. Somniferous poisons refer to agent capable of inducing sleep. Narcotic drugs were the term employed to categorize these agents. Examples are: Opium. Morphine. Gotham's underground crime syndicates are notorious for their use and selling of narcotic drugs and somniferous agents. The GCPD have arrested three cartels operating in the Gotham area and have supply connections in Metropolis. It was believable to connect Mr Wayne to this agent and the person behind this prototype knew exactly what they were doing.

The World Health Organization (WHO) was commissioned to undertake an examination of Wayne Enterprises and their scientific divisions, including seizing laboratory operations. In partnership with the WHO, the Department of Defense (DOD) ordered Mr Wayne to suspend his operations. The share prices of Wayne Enterprises plummeted with shareholders losing billions of dollars overnight. Meanwhile, LexCorp share prices tripled as many shareholders invested into Mr Luthor' company. Lucius Fox, Wayne's Business Manager, was ordered to step down from his role and Bruce Wayne was told by his board to resign from his post before they would vote no confidence in his leadership.

The Daily Planet can reveal that members of the WHO and the DOD were all shareholders of LexCorp, meaning they could make millions of dollars off of Wayne Enterprises' collapse. The UN has since ordered the WHO to cease their examination and the US Senate has called for an inquiry into the Department of Defense and their disclosures of vested interest. Bruce Wayne has been detained several times throughout the course of the investigation and outside of the Wayne Enterprises building, he gave a statement to the Daily Planet exclusively.

@urbanoath said “I have always believed in justice and accountability. Those same values are translated in business as well. The Wayne Enterprises remains committed to innovation without forgetting the ethic practices. The technology we developed has been altered to defile the original program and our reputation. Now, the truth has come to light, and we’re putting the project in stand-by to work on security enhancements.”

The prototype bomb has been sent to S.T.A.R. Labs to determine its origin. LexCorp has declined to comment on this story after several enquiries were made. Pressure mounts on US Senate to start their inquiry as soon as possible, it is unclear at this stage if Bruce Wayne will take legal action. The Department of Defense has asked General Sam Lane to act as Secretary of Defense, on the orders of the President of the United States.

MORE ON THIS DEVELOPING STORY SOON ...

COMMENTS (988.8K) | LIKES (23.1M) | SHARES (15.5M)

[fumblefeatures]

[Skeets' Log – Entry 165]

[December 20 th , 2022]

Not much to report about this event…

At 16:41, a Justice League team entered S.T.A.R. Labs in Gotham City.

At 16:41, S.T.A.R. Labs was destroyed completely.

----------

Chapter 15 of Spider Lost is out now!!! Please have a look if you're interested in Spidey x DC fics...

[unreliablesnake]

Of reverse love and stuff: Confession (Eobard Thawne x OC x Harrison Wells)

Summary: You know the truth about Eobard, now it's time to find out who Harrison truly is.

Note: If you want to see other parts, check the #orlas tag on my blog.

Harrison was an excellent tour guide, especially when it came to rich people he needed to fund his projects. S.T.A.R. Labs was busy working on its particle accelerator, but he could talk about the future of that place so excitedly as if it would begin to operate the next day. Despite what they were planning to do there being quite a challenge to understand, he tried to keep things simple and interesting to all of his guests.

Listening to him reminded Nina of Eobard and how he usually took his time to explain everything to her. He didn’t think she was an idiot, but she wasn’t a physicist either so he had to slow down and pay attention to whether or not she could follow him. She missed him and she wished he was there with her now. Sure, this was old news for him, but maybe he would have had fun with her around.

Apparently she wasn't the only one thinking he would like it because her mother let out a dramatic sigh before looking at her. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Harrison, but I’m sure her boyfriend would be a little more entertaining than you. Would you mind if I went out to get some fresh air?” she asked.

“John will go with you,” he began, signaling his employee to get going, but then he noticed people beginning to become a lot more livelier at the thought of leaving. “I believe we’re all tired a little, let’s take a break. Please, follow John, I have to check something before joining you all.” Nina turned around to follow the others, but Harrison was quick to reach out and put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. “Wait, I want to show you something.”

She didn’t understand what this was all about, what he wanted to show her that the others couldn’t see, and this caught her interest. “What is it?”

“You’ll see. Come with me,” he said with a smile before turning to begin to walk again.

Nina reached an empty hallway not far from where he had interrupted the tour, and once he looked around to see if anyone else was around, he put his hand on the wall and it somehow opened a door she didn’t even see before. He signaled her to follow him inside which she did without question. This secret room was almost completely empty and it made her wonder why he wanted her to see it.

Despite the number of question marks rapidly rising in her head, she didn’t ask anything, instead she waited for him to finally begin talking. But he remained silent and only reached into his pocket to grab an object with a smug smirk on his face. It was only when she looked to see what it was that she realized it was a way too familiar piece of jewelry.

Eobard’s ring that contained his suit.

She didn’t even know what to say. Things only became more confusing after he pressed the ring against the wall and it revealed a mannequin that was within a few moments dressed in the yellow and black suit she knew so well.

“How did you get these?” Nina asked hesitantly, doing her best to leave Eobard’s name out of the conversation.

“They’re not from your boyfriend, don’t worry,” he replied as he walked closer to her. “Well, they are, but not from this version of him.” She warned herself to play dumb, to make it look like she had no idea what he was referring to. “These are mine,” he suddenly said when he let go of the ring he’d been toying with and reached out to take her hand.

The young woman didn’t even bother to pull her hand away because her brain was in overdrive. What did he mean when he said these were his? How? He even mentioned that they were from another version of Eobard, so what was the truth? It was getting a little too complicated for her liking. He was confusing her, and she had this feeling that he was doing this on purpose.

“I’m your Eobard, only from a later point in time,” he clarified himself. “I know you probably have a lot of questions right now and I’ll gladly answer them, but right now I need you to listen to me very carefully. I’ve been waiting for almost ten years to tell you this, until you found out the truth about me–about what time period I’m from, about my speed, about my past. I know I already told you everything a month ago, so now I need you to be open minded again, okay?”

“Harrison, why are you doing this?” Nina asked, assuming it was just some cruel joke. But when was the last time she had seen him pranking anyone? He wasn’t the type to do such things. And when he let out a frustrated sigh, she had a sudden feeling that maybe it wasn’t a joke after all. “Let’s say I believe you’re Eobard. Why do you look like this?”

“I came back to 2000 to take care of something and it ended with me losing my speed and getting stranded here. I needed to speed things up, so to speak, which is why I took Harrison Wells’ place.”

That year made her think. She was eleven at the time, but she remembered that was the year Harrison moved to Central City following the accident that took his wife away from him. “Wait, the accident Tess died in–”

“Don’t worry about it,” he was quick to tell her. “All that matters is that this is our chance to be together in a proper relationship.”

“You come back quite regularly and you keep things linear, so I’d say my relationship with… younger you is pretty normal,” Nina explained as she pulled her hand away and took a step back.

She could see the disappointment in his eyes, but he didn’t say anything. Instead he nodded and nervously licked his lower lip as he watched her. “It could be better,” he told her.

“So what, you want me to break up with him?”

“No. Definitely not.” Of course, the timeline would be affected if she broke up with him before it would happen naturally. She wondered what Harrison was expecting from her, but she didn’t have to wait long to find out. “You need to keep dating him, but you have to make him understand that you have to marry me.”

As if that would be so easy. “He wouldn’t be fond of the idea of me marrying someone else while I’m seeing him,” Nina noted.

“Yeah, well, if it comes down to it–and knowing myself it will–just say it was his future self telling you to do it. And if he doesn’t believe that, tell him I said I advise him to trust you because you’re not Rose.”

How come she had never heard this name before? Sure, she and Eobard had only been together for eight months, but if she was important, he would have mentioned her, right? “Who’s Rose?”

Harrison looked hesitant, probably considering whether or not he should explain this to her. “A woman I liked,” he said eventually. “But she broke my heart, so… It’s a long story.”

Nina drew in a deep breath then let it out slowly as she thought about the situation. Harrison Wells’ place was taken by her boyfriend’s older version over nine years ago, and he had–as she now assumed–deliberately moved into the house next to her family’s to be close to her. What she saw in his eyes as he talked was the kind of genuine love she hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Does this mean I’d have to keep my relationship with him a secret? That I should make it look like we broke up?” she asked to clarify.

“This is the only way.”

“And if I don’t want that?” Harrison tilted his head to the side as he folded his arms over his chest. She loved Eobard, but even if he was truly his older self, this was too much to ask for. “Listen, I’ve known you ever since you moved here all those years ago, it’s–”

“Weird, I know. Look, don’t think it’s easy for me. I watched the woman I love the most grow up, knowing it will be long years before I can even tell you the truth and we can be together. And even then, what would people say? You’re so much younger than the Harrison Wells they know, it would surely raise some questions.”

“Then why do you want me to be with you?”

He let out a heartfelt laugh before moving closer to cup her face with his hands. “Because I’m selfish and I need you in my life. I need my partner, I need things to be back to how they used to be before I got stranded in this dreadful period of time,” he admitted.

“But I’ve only been seeing your younger self for eight months, during which I met him a total of eight times. I’m not the same woman you left behind,” she told him softly, trying to make him understand that even if she agreed to this, things wouldn’t be the same.

Harrison gulped loudly as he thought about this. Maybe he had only just realized what Nina pointed out might be correct, that unlike her the woman he knew had been his girlfriend for who knows how long. Based on the way he talked about her–about the other version of her–she assumed it was a serious relationship, that the two of them were really close. But her and Eobard? It wasn’t that serious yet.

Nina reached up to wrap her fingers around his hands, ready to pry them off of herself, but he didn’t let her do that. His grip became firmer, his blue eyes locked with hers as he watched her. “It won’t be long before you admit that you love him. You already think this could be something serious, don’t you?” he asked with a smile. When she remained silent, he went on. “You introduced him to your parents, it has to mean something.”

“Yeah, maybe that’s the case, but you two are not the same. You know a lot more about me than I know about you. It isn’t fair,” the woman pointed out.

To her surprise, Harrison let out a short laugh. “You’ll get to know the both of us. I won’t tell you anything my younger self wouldn’t share with you, I can promise you that.”

“How would you know what he tells me?”

Finally letting go of her, he raised a finger with a smile, then walked over to the console by the wall, putting his hand on top of the device to activate it.

“Good afternoon, Dr. Wells,” said the holographic head that showed up.

“Gideon, show me Eobard Thawne’s logs about her,” he instructed the AI.

Nina walked over to him with her arms folded over her chest. There was a screen taking the head’s place, showing her a series of dates, each of them followed by another, much later date. “What’s this?” she asked as she turned to him.

Harrison’s lips curled into a delicate smile as if he was recalling a fond memory before answering her. “I kept track of our meetings. In the first column you can see your time, in the second one you can find mine,” he explained as he looked over at her. “Like I promised, I kept things linear as long as I could. Each meeting is a log, so this is basically a journal with the details of our dates. This way I always knew what I’d already told you.”

This made her think. He was the smartest man she knew, he surely wouldn’t forget these things. “Did you ever return to read these?”

“Every time I had a bad day,” he replied.

Before she knew what she was doing, she stood on her toes and pulled his head down to kiss him. Harrison seemed surprised by her action, but he eventually eased into it and wrapped his arms around her to pull her closer. It was clear he didn’t want to let go, but she didn’t even want to be away from him. This man, this version of her boyfriend clearly loved her more than anyone before.

Maybe it was a mistake. Maybe she shouldn’t have done that. Maybe it counted as cheating. But every cell in her body told her to do it, to test how weird this would be. To her surprise, she liked it a little too much. The way he kissed her reminded her of Eobard, every movement of his was screaming they were the same person, and so it was hard not to catch feelings.

Harrison was the one who broke the kiss, looking at her with a bright smile she had rarely seen on his face. “Attagirl,” he said quietly before placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

[chronicangel]

Groupie

Link to this fic on AO3. Words: 2963 Date posted: May 27, 2024

Summary: He’s working for an extremely secretive government organization entirely intent on destroying Superman. So which is worse: That he has a crush on a journalist, or that that journalist is also a Superman groupie?

Lex sits in a chair as far away from the center of the room as he can get, chin propped on a fist, elbow propped on a table with some largely ignored snacks on it, and knee bouncing nervously. He hates these sorts of PR events. They always remind him of his days as an unappreciated assistant, whose primary job, above using his genius intellect to build impressive new tech the likes of which the world had never seen, was making Anthony Ivo look good. At least now his job is mainly to make sure that the companies working with the government to fund his newest endeavors stay happy with the projects and don’t spill too much information publicly.

Several feet away from him, he sees two stuffy old men whose names he can’t keep straight talking to each other in hushed tones. Just as he’s pushing himself out of his chair to go check on what, exactly, they’re whispering about at this extremely public event, he bumps into someone fetching something from the snack table, sending all of the food on their plate directly into their chest. His eyes blow wide, and he scrambles to try to grab some napkins from the table while he spits out, “I am so sorry, I should have been paying more attention to-- you!”

The man across from him is at least a head shorter than him, which isn’t hard given how lanky and awkward Lex has always been. He’s almost 25 years old and his sister still insists every time that he visits her that he’ll fill out soon. His suit-- which is nice, but not remotely the right type of suit for this event, and privately Lex wonders how he got in-- is smeared with chocolate cake, potatoes, cheese, and gold flakes, dark colors and awfully textured mush marring the white button-up and khaki vest. “It’s Jimmy Olsen, right?”

Jimmy blinks up at him a few times, long eyelashes practically brushing against his cheekbones, and then smiles like nothing bad has ever happened at all. “Yeah! And you’re Alex, right?”

Lex can’t help but grimace. “It’s Lex, now,” he says, and then adds somewhat lamely, “I’m trying something new.”

“Lex… I like it!” Jimmy says, clapping Lex on the back and then taking the handful of napkins from him to start carefully dabbing at his shirt, trying to at least get some of the chunks off. “So what are you doing here? Ivo’s still in prison, right?”

He gives an awkward cough of a laugh. “I… I think so! I haven’t really kept track since he isn’t my boss anymore and everything,” he dismisses, probably more quickly than is natural. The reality is that he’s sort of the lead researcher for the team trying to figure out what, exactly, to do with Dr. Ivo. Waller figures he’s got a better shot at it than anybody else. “What about you? I didn’t think this event was open to the press…”

“Oh, I’m not here in a press capacity!” Jimmy laughs, waving a dismissive hand. “I have a pretty huge stake in the Daily Planet now and Perry didn’t really want to come, so I’m here as more of a business type of guy.” He looks down at his shirt, messy napkins crumpled up in his hand, having picked up as much as they’re going to. “Man, I think this thing’s done for.”

“Sorry,” Lex says again, rubbing at the back of his neck now. “I can cover your dry cleaning bill, if you want?” He offers. He gets a substantial stipend from the US government now for his work with Waller and Task Force X, and really, he has no idea what to spend on it anyway.

“How about you just buy me a drink? One with gold in it! I wanna hear about what you’ve been up to since our little chat at S.T.A.R. Labs. Clearly you’ve been up to something cool since you’re at this party for whatever mysterious reason you won’t tell me,” he says, throwing an arm around Lex’s shoulders like they’re old friends.

Lex’s cheeks flush as he gets basically dragged to the bar by this guy, sparing a glance to the pair of old guys. They’re not talking anymore, at least.

“Um,” he starts lamely. Lex has never really been a drinker. He pretty much only has champagne when he’s forced to come to these stupid parties, and even then, it’s mostly to blend in with the elite socialite types, so he rarely ends up drinking more than one glass. “Could my friend here get… a glass of champagne? Uh, with gold flakes in it,” he asks the bartender, who nods and immediately picks up a glass.

“Champagne with gold flakes?” Jimmy asks with raised eyebrows, looking at Lex with the most skeptical expression he’s ever seen. “That’s the best you can do? Did you even go to college?” Without waiting for an answer (not that Lex thinks it was really a genuine question), Jimmy waves at the bartender, “Hey, ix nay on the champagne. Get me two starry nights. Put it under Olsen’s tab.”

“Starry night?” Lex asks, immediately followed by, “Wait, wasn’t I supposed to buy you a drink?”

“Well, you just get the next round then,” Jimmy says with a sly grin. They’re silent until the drinks come, with Lex just staring at Jimmy like he’s an alien. The other man seems completely confident, like he’s not out of place at this sort of event at all. He’s overly friendly, too, like he thinks he can just make friends with anyone. Then again, considering the situation Lex has found himself in, he guesses that must work. Maybe he needs to start projecting more confidence… The drinks that are placed in front of them are two gradients from clear liquid into a rich, coffee brown color, with gold flakes floating throughout. “Now, hold your nose and shoot it all back.”

Lex hardly registers what’s happening before the drink is in his hand, their glasses are clinking together, and then he’s throwing his head back with his nose pinched between two fingers and pouring the alcohol down his throat. It’s not like champagne at all. It burns, and it tastes like gasoline. He almost gags, but he manages to get it down. The aftertaste is like some awful mix between cinnamon and black licorice, and he can’t imagine why college students would drink this on purpose.

“It’s bad, right?” Jimmy asks, and Lex stares at him.

“You’re the one who ordered it!”

Jimmy laughs, and the sound makes Lex’s cheeks tinge pink again, heat crawling up his face. “It’s not about tasting good,” he says, which doesn’t make any sense to Lex at all.

“Then what is it about?”

Jimmy is quiet for a second, staring into the empty glass like it has the answer. To what, Lex doesn’t know-- he doesn’t think it’s the question that he asked. He’s got a sort of nostalgic fondness on his face, like he’s remembering something important to him. Lex wants more than anything to know what it is.

“Sometimes, life is beautiful, but it tastes bad going down. That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it for the beautiful parts-- gold flakes, the warmth in your gut, the people you’re with. Why waste all your time on boring champagne?”

Lex stares at him for a second. It occurs to him, somehow not for the first time even though this is only the third time they’ve met, that Jimmy Olsen must be a very wise person. He wants to know how he got to be so wise.

Jimmy beats him to the punch. “Aaanyway,” he starts, pointing an accusing finger at Lex, “what have you been up to since the last time I saw you? I mean, it’s only been a couple months, and now you’re at this fancy party for rich people and your boss isn’t even running it. Well, maybe your boss is running it. Is your boss Loren Jupiter?”

He snorts. “I don’t even know what Loren Jupiter does,” he dismisses with a wave of his hand for dramatic effect. “Look, I’m not at liberty to say too much about it, but I’m kind of working for the government now.”

The other man stares for a second, and then turns to the bartender. “Yeah, we’re gonna need more drinks.”

The next several minutes are spent with Jimmy trying to ask Lex probing questions about his new job and Lex expertly dodging them, if he may say so himself. Jimmy orders more and more drinks, until eventually the flush in Lex’s cheeks won’t go away and he can feel himself loosening up way more than he reasonably can. He has to redirect this. “Okay, enough talking about me. What about you, Jimmy Olsen? I know you work at the Daily Planet, but why? Why journalism?”

Jimmy hums in consideration for a long moment, staring into his empty glass again. “My dad was in the military and went MIA when I was a baby. Mom always said that he probably died, but I knew something else had to be going on. I kind of went down this whole government conspiracy theory rabbithole,” he laughs, but Lex can tell from the edge to it that there’s more he’s not saying. “I looked for connections in places other people didn’t. I’ve always known that the world is a secretive place, and I’ve always wanted to uncover those secrets. But nobody ever really took me seriously. I wanted to go into investigative journalism at first, but writing was never really my strong suit. So, I picked up a camera.”

They’re both quiet for another long minute. Lex watches Jimmy, sees the way that sadness dulls the light in his eyes, those eyes the color of chocolate and coffee and whatever the hell is in these drinks. It fills him with a sort of… anger, in a way that he can’t describe. The world is a secretive place-- a secretive and unjust one full of Supermen who take all the power for themselves and narcissists like Ivo who think they’re better and smarter than everyone else while people like Lex and Jimmy do all of the work. No one ever took Jimmy seriously? How dare they? How dare they ignore what Lex can see so plainly-- a genius just like him? “One day people are really going to regret overlooking you, Jimmy. I can tell.”

The smile that Jimmy gives him is half-hearted, and it twists something unidentifiable in Lex’s chest. “Well, all of that is behind me now, anyway. I have a great job at the Planet, and great friends. Lois and Clark have always believed in me. And once Flamebird blew up for my coverage of Superman stuff, the Daily Planet bought it and now I guess I… well I guess people take that seriously, if nothing else,” he says, with that same edge as his laugh earlier.

Lex wants to yell about something. He doesn’t know what. These so-called friends, who clearly haven’t supported him enough? The fact that it took Superman to get Jimmy the recognition he’s deserved from the start? That he still seems to think no one takes him seriously for anything else? Before he can even open his mouth to try to lament any of this, though, Jimmy is smiling again and jabbing him in the shoulder with a finger. “Well what about you, then? How did you start working for Ivo? I mean, why would a nice guy like you build something like the Parasite?”

Even though he’s never felt ashamed of it before, suddenly, Lex doesn’t want to admit that the Parasite armor was actually his idea. There’s something about the way that he says it that makes Lex feel like he doesn’t approve, and he desperately wants his approval. For the first time, Lex is the one who waves down the bartender and requests another round of drinks, and he waits until they’ve been set in front of them and he feels that burn down his throat for what must be at least the half-dozenth time of the night before he starts saying anything. He doesn’t think he would have the guts to tell anyone this sober.

“When I was a kid, my father used to… he wasn’t…” He grasps for the words that usually come to him so naturally, his jaw locking up. Jimmy puts a hand on his wrist and looks at him with furrowed eyebrows, like he’s really concerned. Lex takes a deep breath.

“I grew up in Suicide Slum, here in Metropolis. My parents weren’t… the best. Mom just watched while Dad used to take stuff out on us. Me and my sister, Lena. She was always sick when we were kids, wheelchair-bound when she wasn’t bedbound, and I think my parents always blamed her for the fact that we didn’t have any money. You’d think that would make me the favorite child, but it was kind of like a race to the bottom. And I didn’t want to be the favorite, anyway. I just wanted to keep my sister safe. I wasn’t able to protect her, and it made me feel so… small. That’s why I worked with AmazoTech on the Parasite armor.” He conveniently leaves out the part where he’s the one who pitched it, and where that’s what got him the job in the first place. “I don’t think anyone should ever have to go through that, to feel that way. You shouldn’t have to be Superman to protect people-- and you shouldn’t have to rely on Superman to protect people either. What happens when he decides that the rest of us are like Lena? Sick people he can blame for all his problems?” He tries not to let too much bitterness leak into his voice, sinking in on himself a little. When he looks over at Jimmy, the other man’s jaw is hanging open, and Lex can’t read his face. It makes his stomach twist up in knots.

Finally, Jimmy seems to realize that he’s staring and composes himself, mouth snapping shut. He clears his throat. “I’m sorry that you went through all of that,” he says, and his voice is so earnest. “But I think you’re wrong about Superman,” he adds, and Lex can only stare at him, chest tight again. “That’s the exact kind of thing that Superman is trying to put a stop to in Metropolis.”

“By making himself the law?” Lex snaps, annoyance leaking into his voice. “Maybe he is trying to help people-- but who is he helping? Do you really think that it’s everyone? No one can care about everyone. He certainly doesn’t care about the criminals he beats up. He doesn’t care about the people whose cars he’s flipping and whose walls he’s caving in. He didn’t care about me when he shut down AmazoTech and I lost my job.”

Contrary to what Lex might expect, Jimmy’s face softens a little. He reaches a hand out and rests it on Lex’s shoulder, and Lex’s eyes flash to it for a second. He thinks his face would heat up if it wasn’t already about as hot as it could get from all of those drinks. “You’re hurting,” he starts. “I get that. Honestly, I was once really hurt by Superman, too. It felt like he was one of the people who was supposed to be there for me, and he wasn’t, y’know? But then he was. And I think one day, he’ll be there for you, too. Maybe that’ll take some time. But I believe that.”

Lex considers these words for a minute. Is it possible that Superman could save him, just like he saves so many other people every day? Maybe. That’s not what Lex wants, though. He doesn’t need some superhero to fly in and rescue him. He wants to rescue himself. He wants to rescue the people he cares about. He wants people to know that Lex Luthor is not some weak little boy who cowers in the corner in fear, but a genius who has the power to take down even Superman. No one and nothing is ever going to hurt Lex Luthor again.

But before he can even think about saying any of that or what a bad idea it would be, the bartender announces to the two of them, “Sorry, guys. Event’s over in fifteen minutes. I gotta start cleaning the bar.” Lex stares at him for a second, and then at Jimmy. His hand is still on Lex’s shoulder, and the last thing that he wants is for him to move it. He doesn’t want to part ways at all. He wants to invite Jimmy to continue this conversation somewhere more comfortable.

When Jimmy finally does pull his hand away, it feels like the skin where he touched him is burning. “Well, I guess that’s goodbye for now,” he says with a grin, holding the hand out for a handshake. Stunned, Lex shakes his hand, staring at the shorter man for a long moment. He wants to kiss him. He knows this is a bad idea, for a number of reasons, yet he can’t stop himself from staring at his mouth.

Jimmy leaves not long after that, and Lex watches him until he’s out the door, along with half of the rest of the crowd, his heart pounding against his ribs and his stomach twisted into knots. He’s working for an extremely secretive government organization entirely intent on destroying Superman. So which is worse: That he has a crush on a journalist, or that that journalist is also a Superman groupie?

[stars-are-just-ghosts]

Permission to Rest (One Shot Harrisco Request)

This one shot was a verbal request from the most recent prompt list. '15. one has insecurities; other helps them through.' It sort of took on a life of its own, like a lot of my stuff tends to do. I hope you like it! * * * Permission to Rest by QuietDarkness * * *

The first time Cisco had ever seen Harry sleeping was the day after Cisco had vibed about Jesse in Zoom’s lair.

Harry had become a constant and wandering presence in the halls of S.T.A.R. Labs in the time since he’d shown up on Earth-1. Always tinkering, always working, always moving… as though something bad would happen if he ever slowed down. As if so much bad had already happened, and if he so much as paused, it might keep happening.

Before that moment, Cisco had never actually seen Harry rest, which he knew wasn’t possible. Everyone slept. But then there he was, hunched over his workstation, head resting on his folded arms, glasses askew, eyes heavily closed. His breathing was even, his shoulders were actually relaxed. And Cisco thought maybe it was because Harry had finally had some sort of reassurance.

Jesse was alive.

Maybe the relief of that truth had allowed him to finally get some sleep. But if he stayed in that position, he’d end up stiff as hell. He might even fall off his stool. Cisco had tried to wake him gently with the idea of making him go back to the room he’d designated as his own. He gently placed his hand on Harry’s shoulder. Steady, calm. But Harry stiffened like he’d been zapped. He heaved a breath, eyes blinking blurry and wildly blue. And the immediate flip from peacefully sleeping to panicked awakening was almost painful to witness. It was the first time Cisco realized… Harry was suffering.

And he was doing it alone. (Continued on Ao3)

[fezwearingjellybananas]

Multiples of four for the fic writers ask 🌼🌼

4. How many WIPs do you have right now?

Only 4! And one is almost done, it just needs a last check and a title so hopefully I can do that within the next hour or so. I do have lots of notes for future things to write but they're all in my notes document instead of their own documents being written so they don't count as WIPs yet. I tell myself so it looks like I have a manageable amount of things to write

8. What project(s) are you currently working on?

The one that's almost done is a prompt fill, but my main project right now is the Flashvibe Ghost AU which is a DCTV fic where Cisco's just started work at S.T.A.R. Labs and offered to help the (cute) ghost haunting the place fulfil his unfinished business and move on (so it's probably not going to be his best idea to go fall in love with said ghost while doing that). That's at 26k right now and I've just hit the start of the climax so hopefully it should be done by the end of the month at least?

I'm also crocheting a shawl which is completely irrelevant to fic writing but the pattern is available for free on Ravelry here and it's so beautiful and I love it. It uses US terminology instead of UK so there's been a couple of points where I've got my stitches confused but it's just so pretty

12. Do you have a playlist for your current WIP(s)? Share it!

The Wally Fic is the only one with a playlist and I'm not actually sure if this is going to work or not because I have never done this but there is a link here maybe

16. At what point in the process do you come up with titles?

Usually last probably when I've had a fic maybe finished for a few hours to a few days and have been staring at that little box as it taunts me into forgetting every word in the English language. There is a reason I accidentally gave two fics published near each other very similar names and didn't realise until like six weeks later.

20. What’s a favourite title for a fic you’ve written?

I'm quite fond of Ghosting (it's a haunted house fic, but Ghosting is actually a plastering term I found on a forum about asking builders for help with DIY. The plastering was relevant to the fic)

24. Share a moodboard for (one of) your current WIP(s).

Here's a very rough one for the Flashvibe Ghost AU. Despite the picture there is actually only one ghost in it (it's Barry, he's the ghost)

28. Have you ever tagged a fic “Dead Dove: Do Not Eat”?

I don't think so

Thank you!

[Fic Writer Asks]

[cityoftomorrow]

LOCATION : NEW TROY .

I . HISTORY the beating heart of metropolis . one of six boroughs of metropolis , serving as the central business district . established in 1775 , situated in the state of delaware . new troy is home to many established businesses and technology companies . new troy is now a huge competitor for one of most recognised cities on east coast including gotham city and new york city .

ii . NOTABLE BUSINESSES new troy is home to an up and coming technology centre of science and industry . businesses include : lexcorp , wayne financial , wayne technologies , kord industries , s.t.a.r. labs , magnus labs , goldstar inc. , hamilton technologies , stagg enterprises , project cadmus , ivo labs & metropolis financial .

iii . MEDIA OUTLETS metropolis is home to key media organisations and has the most respected publications in the world. media includes : black beacon , bridwell communications , daily planet , daily star , galaxy communications , metropolitan.com , metropolis daily news , metropolis eagle , metropolis 8 news , metropolis today , newstime magazine , the whisper , wgbs-tv , wjab-tv , wlex-tv , wmet-tv & ubc .

iv . DISTRICTS new troy is divided into eight districts , all promising something different that will attract tourists from all over : arts district , chinatown , lower east side , midtown , hob's bay dockyard , suicide slum , upper east side & upper west side .

v . LANDMARKS new troy is unlike any other city , interesting and modern architecture and home to superman . new troy boasts landmarks which tourists flock to every year such as : avenue of tomorrow , city hall , heroes park formerly known as centennial park , lena luthor science explorarium , lexcorp plaza including the lexcorp tower with an observation deck , metro palace theatre , metropolis museum of art , superman monument & the daily planet globe .

vi . WATERWAYS new troy is surrounded by different waters , home to some interesting and stunning marine life . with gotham city across the bay , new troy has a stunning view of the seas and is the beating heart of the east coast trade route which increases metropolis' economy each year . waterways include : hob's bay , metropolis bay & the west river .

vii . BRIDGES new troy sits on an island , but it's not alone . connected by a series of beautifully built bridges which connects the centre of metropolis to other boroughs of the city . these include : bakerline bridge , clinton bridge & queensland bridge .

viii . SPORTS metropolis is home to many sports teams who have a global fanbase . new troy is home to metropolis' baseball , football and basketball sports teams . baseball : metropolis blue stockings , metropolis meteors ( national league ) , metropolis metros , metropolis mets , metropolis monarchs & metropolis twins . basketball : metropolis comets , metropolis generals & metropolis spartans . football : metropolis spartans , metropolis meteors ( national conference ) , metropolis metros , metropolis sharks , metropolis tigers & metropolis university bulldogs .

ix . HOME OF HEROES the main attraction to the city of metropolis is the variety of heroes that live amongst us . new troy boasts a roster of exciting and brave heroes including : agent liberty , argent , atom , black lightning , booster gold , gangbuster , guardian , joto , prysm , risk , superboy , supergirl , superman & thorn .

x . NOTABLE RESIDENTS it's not just the heroes that have an impact on the city . new troy also boasts some popular residents that you may know from various news outlets or their award winning works : anthony gallo , bill henderson , bobby "the don" gazzo , cat grant , clark kent , dirk davis , dan turpin , emil hamilton , frank jackson , gretchen kelley , henry ballard , hope taya , jenny jurwich , jimmy olsen , joshua coyle , justin moore , lana lang , lex luthor , lola barnett , lois lane , loren jupiter , lucy lane , maggie sawyer , mercy graves , morgan edge , oscar asherman , perry white , ron troupe , steve lombard , sydney happersen , toby raynes , trixie collins & vincent edge .

[vexic929]

Bernadette: what's the most interesting project you've every worked on? What's a project that wasn't very interesting, but felt like an important thing to have worked on?

The most interesting project I've worked on to date is probably a visual way to track Superwoman on her travels through space from the comfort of S.T.A.R. Labs, it's something like a holographic projection utilizing pairs of glasses only granted to a select few users who Superwoman trusts. The project that wasn't necessarily interesting but now feels like perhaps the most important thing I've worked on is the bo-staff I designed for Tiff at Nightwing's request before I'd even met her. Objectively, it's certainly not the most important thing in the world, but it was the start of our relationship so it's important to me. - Bernadette

[superman86to99]

Adventures of Superman #512 (May 1994)

FINALLY: The climax of the Super-Superman saga, which was getting about as bloated as Superman himself in this issue's cover. After coming back from the dead, Superman went from having no powers to having too much power: it started with him occasionally misjudging his strength or commenting that things are easier to lift than usual, and eventually led to every single issue having a moment where he accidentally destroys a bridge by winking too hard or something. In Action #698, Superman actually started growing taller and more muscular, leading to the monstrosity you see above.

Last issue, Superman was taken to a space station owned by Project Cadmus where they tried to "safely" siphon his extra energy into space, but that ended with the entire space station blowing up and crashing into Metropolis' bay. Turns out Superman returned to Metropolis just in time to hear Lois Lane's apartment blow up (more on that in the plotlines section below), but he can't comfort her because he's so ridiculously strong that he'd turn her into human jelly if he tried to hug her.

Just when Superman is about to say goodbye to Lois forever, his super-supersenses pick up a convenient disturbance nearby: some rowdy Underworld mutants have attacked the Cadmus transport that happens to be holding Rudy "Parasite" Jones, the power-sucking supervillain. The Underworlders sympathize with Rudy's predicament and free him, and he thanks them for their generosity by turning all of them into skeletons.

Parasite recently got a taste of Superman's enhanced powers in Man of Steel #33 and is itching for another fix, so he tracks Superman down -- and Superman lets himself be tracked. Even though Cadmus already tried to use Rudy's powers to cure Superman's condition, Superman is all out of ideas, so he decides to give him another shot. Last time, their fight had to end because Parasite started parasite-ing some Cadmus workers, so this time, Superman takes them somewhere a little more private: the moon.

After flying them both to the moon, Superman unloads his full heat vision on Parasite, and actually thinks he killed him for a moment... but then Rudy regrows himself as a Doomsday-sized monster with a freaky leech-like mouth. It seems that Rudy truly can't fail.

The good news is that Superman is his normal size again and can actually control his powers. The bad news is that Parasite is much more powerful than Superman now and has no intention to stop knocking him around and absorbing his powers. Uber-Parasite punches Superman through the moon's floor and they end up in... some sort of hidden armory? Turns out they've stumbled upon the moon lair owned by Scavenger, the villain from the latest issue of Superboy, who was probably in the toilet while all of this happened (he doesn't appear in this issue).

Superman is able to use one of the weapons in Scavenger's stash to keep Parasite at bay untii they bump into a teleporter that brings them back to Metropolis -- more specifically, to its sewers. But they're not there for long, because Rudy is still much stronger than Superman and uppercuts him into the sky. The issue ends with an unconscious Superman laying in the rubble as the people of Metropolis wonder if they're gonna have to start wearing black armbands again... TO BE CONTINUED!

Character-Watch:

Debuting the Parasite's bulkier body and leech-faced look, which is the second creepiest incarnation of the character (the creepiest is "Lois Lane," but let's not talk about that here). Everyone's pal Don Sparrow says: "This version of the character would go on to become the most consistent look for the character, though I prefer the original look." Same here, especially because I feel like once he started looking like a monster, they started writing him as such and forgot that he's supposed to be a blue-collar guy named Rudy who was once S.T.A.R. Labs' janitor. He never says stuff like "I feel like I should'a brung roses" anymore, sadly.

Plotline-Watch:

Oh, yeah, the Lois stuff. Last issue, Lex Luthor Jr. got Lois fired from the Daily Planet by hacking into her computer and publishing wacky stories about how he's a "space-alien clone" and somehow Elvis Presley at the same time -- all because Lois uncovered the equally wacky truth about him (you know, that he's Lex Luthor Sr. in a clone body and murdered his personal trainer but then aliens brought her back to life). In this issue, Lois is planning to get her job back by showing Perry her evidence on Luthor, but then her apartment blows up just as she's about to walk in. There goes the evidence!

I know what you're wondering, but don't worry: Lois' cat Elroy is fine, he bolted out of the apartment the moment she opened the door. In fact, he's the one who finds the monstrous Super-Superman hiding in that alley. Elroy's dislike of Clark has been well documented by this blog in this past, but he actually seems to feel sorry for the guy in these panels. That, or he's overwhelmed with joy because he just likes watching Clark suffer.

Incidentally, the scenes between Lois and Clark in the alley are very nice, and further evidence that the often-ignored post-"Reign" period was still capable of producing classic moments. I particularly like that Kesel and Kitson are allowing Lois to be vulnerable for a moment; her entire life just blew up, she can't be a badass 100% of the time.

Another standout scene is the tense moment when the increasingly sick and paranoid Lex "Jr." loads a single bullet into an antique gun (once owned by George S. Patton) and points it at his top lackey, Dr. Happersen, accusing him of being Lois' source. Happersen panics and blurts out that the rat must be Dr. Packard (Luthor's mole inside Cadmus, so this would make him a double rat), while repeating that he's always been loyal. Lex's quick shift from anger to "Hmm. Packard. Yes." is just classic Luthor.

The Underworlders who attack that Cadmus transport do it with the hi-tech weapons Luthor gave them recently, and they even call themselves "Lex-Men" in gratitude (though those giant guns make them look more like "Lex-Force").

The fire chief who tells Lois that her apartment blew up due to a "gas leak" and totally not because of a bomb planted by Luthor is of the opinion that they should just "tear it all down, build a real city of tomorrow." That's intentional foreshadowing for a storyline that's about to start and unintentional foreshadowing for one that will come much, much later. (Spoiler talk: maybe they should have rebuilt Metropolis as a "city of tomorrow" after "Fall of Metropolis," instead of magically restoring it to how it was at this point. They could have debuted the new look in the post-Zero Hour issues, fitting in nicely with the "soft reboot" theme and giving "Fall of Metropolis" more weight in the continuity.)

Patreon-Watch:

As always, a Super-Superman-sized shout out to our patrons Aaron, Chris “Ace” Hendrix, britneyspearsatemyshorts, Patrick D. Ryall, Bheki Latha, Mark Syp, Ryan Bush, Raphael Fischer, Kit, Sam, and Bol, who last month got to read a Patreon-only post about Man of Steel Annual #3 (an Elseworlds story and therefore out of the scope of this blog). More Elseworlds posts coming soon! Join them here: https://www.patreon.com/superman86to99

And now, click through for more commentary from the great Don Sparrow!

Art-Watch (by @donsparrow):

We open with a cover that’s about as mid-nineties as it gets, with a grinning parasite riding a metal-head looking Superman in outer space.  The overlaid purple Kirby-dots are a nice touch.

Inside the cover, we are swiftly greeted with Elroy exiting the danger, which we learn a full page splash later is Lois Lane’s apartment detonating from within.   The minimalism of the explosive light is a good choice, though the bulk of Lois’ winter coat makes her look a bit matronly. The effect of Superman’s heat vision crackling behind the space shrapnel is another good bit of colouring.

Ditto on the next page, where Lois and the fire chief are warmly lit from the flames of her apartment. 

A little later we briefly meet an Underworlder running a strong risk of a copyright infringement suit from Marvel, as apart from the colouring, he looks for all the world like one of Spider-Man’s goblin-based villains.  Actually now that I look at it, the other Underworlder attacking the Cadmus vehicle reminds me of The Lizard, another Spider-Man baddie.  Any other villainous Easter eggs I’m missing? [Max: I see a store-brand Savage Dragon down there, too...]

As Lois and the hulking Superman say their teary goodbyes, there’s a great detail showing the moistness on Lois’ eye.

The effect of Superman’s full force heat vision is well done, later introducing us for the first time to the lamprey-eel faced Parasite.  The fight that follows is perhaps a bit repetitive, particularly since it lasts a full five pages.  But the exposure to the Parasite does the trick, and we’re back to a normal sized Superman.  I know I keep harping on the inconsistency of the size of the overloaded Superman, but it would have been so easy to make his cape a little smaller in the scenes when he was gigantic (to say nothing of the belt and buckle I mentioned last time) so that when he goes back to his normal size, the cape would be the appropriate scale.  I get the tight uniform scaling, for the most part, but the cape is a bit of a head-scratcher.

STRAY OBSERVATIONS:

While I share the Cadmus agent’s sentiments about country music, “Achy Breaky” as a reference is a full two years after Billy Ray Cyrus’ heyday.

The Lex Luthor is deteriorating storyline is to me the most interesting part of the issue.  It’s hard to tell if he’s behaving more erratically because his clone body is dying (affecting his original brain?) or if it’s he’s getting desperate in his illness.  This seems sloppily unhinged for someone as methodical and controlled as Lex.

In art school a quick rule of thumb that we learned is that every line you add to a face ages that character by a year.  But this logic, Gretchen Kelley must be about a thousand based on her appearance on page 11.  I know the Jim Lee, hatchy style was hot at the time, but she’s looking like Dana Carvey’s Church Lady in places here. [Max: I think it's interesting that Lex never even considers that Dr. Kelley could be Lois' source. She's been with him the longest, but she also calls him out on his BS and apparently tried to defend Lois before this scene started. Is Lex underestimating her, or are his own deeply buried feelings for her clouding his judgment? Isn't that special?]

Lex as a Patton enthusiast?  Interesting idea, and perhaps a callback to Lex’s lair of the silver age, where real life conquerors like Genghis Khan, Nero and Julius Caesar lined his hall of heroes.  I wouldn’t quite put Patton in their ranks, though. [Max: Maybe he should have threatened poor Sydney with Gengis Khan's spear or something like that.]

I rarely refer to the letter columns, but the letters in this issue (addressing that weird Challengers of the Unknown fill-in issue, Adventures #508) features a letter from Jeph Loeb, author of the Challengers of the Unknown maxi-series that #508 referred to.  Loeb will of course become a super-team member himself in about sixty-two issues from now, the lone good writer in a truly terrible era of Superman comics.  In any event, Loeb was touched that his (unfairly largely forgotten) Challengers series lived on in that issue.