#also why I could never get into west/allen

[burningblake]

btw the trope "they were childhood friends and now they are in love" only works for me in a fanfic (i.e. about a couple that I already got to ship via another story) and never as the beginning of an original story

[acid-ixx]

Sigh.. We all should've have chosen both wally and conner...i can't imagine the faces of batfam

how to be a heartbreaker! (again &. again concept)

ft. yandere! wally west, starfire, roy harper, artemis, conner kent, bart allen x gn! neglected! reader w/ platonic yandere! batfam.

— masterlist !

reblogs and interactions are encouraged and appreciated.

tw: age gaps but there isn't nsfw (except for conner) and the reader is described to be older than 20 in this concept and was far ignored longer than in the og story.

a/n: happy (late) halloween! 🎃 i'm praying to the gods, please don't let this post flop, i'm in my flop era fr! because i am not writing allat for it to get ignored 💔 (just kidding i love u guys, especially to all those who comment! i read all your comments even if i'm unable to reply at times). if you guys are wondering why i didn't include all the characters, it's because this is just a drabble and if anyone likes more concepts about this, please send in asks! anyways, enjoy this sweet harem au hehe.

anon, you are so right. but let me raise you this: getting together with all your siblings' teammates. i'm not just saying wally and conner, no! i'm saying the young justice, the teen titans, all their friends and old pals— the moment you come of age, hide under the radar for a few years and eventually meet them at random. you'd be giving dick, hell, even bruce, your father, mind you, a run for his money when it comes to a player reputation amongst the siblings, and the best part (or worst part for you once it's too late...) of it all is the fact that you don't even have to keep all your little relationships with them a secret when they never once bat an eye on you until recently.

the funny thing is: you didn't even have to try to attract them. it was all them approaching you at random days and getting to know you better, with you, at your lowest point, accepting any medium of attention. at first it was them feeling pity, perceptive to how your siblings chose to focus on them rather than you, but now it's them chasing after you because you're so interesting in every aspect; even if you find yourself average at best compared to your talented siblings.

maybe it's because you bring the normal out in them, or because you display such raw emotions and are an entirely separate being from vigilantism. either way, they find themselves thinking about you more often than their missions and that's harrowing.

and because you're such a pathetic, wet cat, so desperate for love; all the people you hit on develop a savior complex because of you. i don't just mean them finding you cute, or interesting, absolutely not. i mean you're constantly being thrown around like a prince or princess who needs a knight in shining armor to catch them when they fall, except you're constantly being carried in some other's arms even when you can stand on your own two feet.

you just have that special quality in you that makes everyone fall head over heels. it makes them fantasize scenarios of a home life with you; they could provide better than your current ones do, for sure. you'd be spoiled to death with kisses to your face, hands wrapped around your body, and a guarantee that you'll never feel alone or unsafe in a world full of danger that lurks around the corner.

that same quality may have also been your downfall.

wally west doesn't mind training all day to become stronger and faster to save you from every danger that lingers near your presence. hell, he doesn't complain anymore whenever dick assigns him some missions if that means he can pass by your room by the manor as an after-mission reward, loving it when you smile at him with the gentlest quip of your mouth as he hastily wraps you in his arms with the same amount of speed it took to run to your house. wally cherishes watching you in slow-time because he could worship every little part of his darling's expression, quelling the boredom he had for the entire day. he wants to be fast enough for his babe, not only just to impress them but because he wants them to see him as the only reliable individual capable enough of protecting and flirting with you. not everyone can measure up to his speed, no? nobody could keep up with this man's speed and he's known for taking you away whenever you're with someone else just to get a sliver of your time.

starfire's emotions become ablaze and so does her powers every time she notices one of your other sweethearts becoming too touchy with you, unable to comprehend why you're not even in a relationship with her yet. but you're too sweet and you bury yourself in her curly tresses to calm her down. at first that's enough! she doesn't understand the concept of physical affection and the boundaries that come with it as much as others but boy does she crave it when it comes to you. it doesn't help the fact that you're incapable of sometimes denying her affections and letting yourself be constantly kissed by the girl in every part of your face. she's very warm, though, and her curiosity about things foreign to her, paired with you teaching her more about your world, makes starfire adore her sweetheart's willingness and patience; it simply warrants another passionate kiss in the mouth from the pink-haired alien.

roy harper brings out a more rebellious side of you that you never imagine yourself sporting. his experiences in life and his rebellious relationship towards oliver queen, his adoptive father shapes him to who he is now; and he'd be damned if you drown yourself in endless misery like he did. yeah, it doesn't help that lian loves you as much as he does and he thinks you're the perfect match for him, watching you play with his little girl and care for him whenever he's injured does wonders for the fantasies that plays itself in his head, all scenarios of coming home to you after a hard day of work, just to see you and lian greet him the moment he enters your shared house with him, kissing him in the lips, telling him about the wonderfully prepared dinner you and lian whipped up for him, and watching your eyes widen at another bouquet of your favorite flowers he bought home for you. you're not in a relationship with him at all but can't a man just dream?

why dick wonders every damn time one of his friends ditch another one of their hangouts is a question never to be answered. but it's been noticeable these days that he's starting to suspect something wrong at play, especially since he's noticed tension within his comrades, and as a leader he couldn't just simply ignore the tense glares, insults to their being, and the hushed whispers; all pet names, a mantra they're used to calling you.

but dick doesn't take it seriously until it's too late.

that his baby bird long fell off the nest years ago, taken into the arms of whom he thought to be his most trusted comrades, thoroughly loved more than he could've given you. and it's not just one person smitten with you; it's an entire harem of people unwilling to share you just as much as dick who'd soon realize that he shares far more similarities with you; a heartbreaker, yet a caretaker at heart.

it's no wonder why everybody wants you for themselves. it's not only your family who loves to hear your precious laughs and gentle hands; that sets the jealousy ablaze in his heart.

jason never thought that artemis carried a softer version of her. but he's been picking up telltale signs of her donning dangling keychains, all cute doodles of her no doubt, and necklaces he's sure he's seen around the manor at times. it's not her typical style, and she never really found the appeal with cute things like crochet plushies of her; yet the designs are oddly reminiscent to someone he always called his angel. but whenever he tries to bring the topic up, he only receives a snarky reply, a protective hold on her things, and a familiar phrase telling him to mind his business. he isn't aware of how she met you one time after you've nearly been crushed to death by a car accelerating at you, if not for her taking the blunt end of the hit. ever since that day you've been seeing her regularly by alleyways watching over you as your guardian and giving her tokens of appreciation, albeit small, that she keeps as her prized properties; ones nobody has special access to touch. she's not much of a heckler for physical touch, but she occasionally gives you a head scratches and the rare peck to your lips.

jason doesn't like how jealous he is towards her, because of how the would-be stranger treats her and why he can't seem to pinpoint the primal urge to rip those little trinkets from her. sometimes he feels like a man possessed, eyeing the keychains and the random pastel bracelets longer, all warranting the same angered glare artemis reciprocates.

he swore he's seen them before, splayed across the random rooms in the manor, some even being in the library; things he loved to fiddle with whenever he was bored out of his mind. so seeing them being proudly displayed by artemis triggers visceral reactions within him.

but could jason do anything about it when he's part of the reason why your roster consists of your family's comrades? no.

if you couldn't get attention from your family, you'll just have to get it through their affiliations. yeah, some are older than you, but god are you treated like divinity with just how willing they are to kneel upon your feet just to gain a crumb of your attention. even the strongest lay weak whenever you look at them with disappointment or sadness with your wide, captivating eyes.

all the times tim drake would be with teammates, he'd notice how their eyes look at him expectantly, as if waiting for another one to accompany them. at first he ignores it, but the longer their strange behavior persists, he begins opening a case about his close friends.

he soon realizes that conner has a record of mentioning "his cute little darling," and how he'd brag to his other friends about how left his jacket and all his favorite t-shirts in your room and how you're always drowning in his scent— always quiping about just how much it smells like you and how he enjoys wearing all his clothes right after you wear them just to get a whiff of your presence in his life; you being his motivation to fight against crime just so he could see your pretty face and tell him you're proud of him. undeniably, he's the one who spends the longest time with you and he's prideful about it, being the only man with the privilege to touch every part of your skin, wishing to melt against you just so he'd be branded in your body like how your name is the only sweet thing he can taste in his mouth.

it's not only conner, but bart allen would bounce around more often demanding that it's unfair how conner gets everything and how he gets little time with you, with just how often you get thrown around by all your love interests! he'd admit just how cute he finds you whenever you coo about him and play with his messy locks of hair whenever it's his time of the week to visit you right after missions. spending time with him is arguably the most casual part of your life, because he loves to help you with your daily errands despite him complaining about the same tasks to his other teammates... he says it's because you stimulate every part of his brain to find satisfaction in every small action that you do, but it's not only that, rather, he wishes to gain all your praises that you sing for him, never finding boredom in your presence at all.

tim's the first one who pieces the jigsaw puzzle together, but he's thoroughly astounded either way at just how smitten they are with you. it makes him open an entirely different case that's just about you; where he discovers how you're connected with nearly everyone close to him and his siblings.

it makes him wonder what makes you all the more interesting. it's how exactly he spirals into a periodic cluster of events investigating your entire life and drowning himself in work, terabytes of files each analyzed carefully— all about you, your past, and present situation. tim drake never saw a person this admired that much, so much so that online stalking lead to physical stalking.

all your dm's are spammed by countless people, and you don't even take the initiative to reply because you'd be too busy being tossed around by the time the vigilante tracks your location. it's honestly amusing at first but the longer tim become a third perspective to your life, the more he craves your physical presence, just to get a taste of dissecting all the thoughts in your brain. but with just how often their friends fight over you, it'd be hard to rip you away from the clawing hands of all your admirers.

that's why he sets a plan into motion. if he couldn't have you to himself, then he could at least share you with the closest people he had in his life— not with all the strangers who think they know his younger sibling better than he does.

a simple document, many actually, so documents, were all he needed, with printed stacks of a4 paper compiling each and every known fact about you.

all in the name of love, he'd give it out to every member of the family in quick succession.

a hefty reminder to take back what once was theirs.

[aboutzatanna]

Hey, remember that JLU episode titled ‘The Once And Future Thing: Weird Western Tales’ where a couple of JL members ended up stranded in the old West thanks to time travel?  

Well, turns out there was a comic book very similar to it written by Gerry Conway with art by Don Heck but starring a different set of JL members which may or may not have been the inspiration for the episode:   

The episode was written by the late Dwayne McDuffie who was no stranger to writing in references to older comics. For instance, the two parter ‘Brave and the Bold’ Flash’s hallucinations were references to various Silver Age Flash comic covers and he was also very open about the fact that the line up for the Terra Beyond two parter was based on Marvel comics Defenders (no not the Netflix team, the one with Namor and Dr Strange). Even the episode title itself, ‘Weird Western Tales’ is a reference to the long running anthology series of the same name featuring DC’s western characters. 

The story arc in the comics ran from Justice League of America Vol 1 #198-199.     

While it’s hard to conclusively say that the episode was inspired by the comic, there are some interesting similarities like Batlash’s introduction here:   

I posted Zatanna’s meeting with Cinnamon earlier in another post but here is a little excerpt:  

Interesting to note that one of the goons calls her an ‘Eastern Filly’ (is it because of the way she was dressed or a subtle hint that she is not 100% Caucasian?).  The heroes and their new Western cowboy friends all meet at a Saloon: 

Then they all ride off on horses out of town to confront the villain and of course, faces robot cowboys:   

The differences begin with the choice of the time travelling villain, the comic went with classic JL villain: the Lord of Time:   

JLU went with David Clinton, aka Chronos. He’s a different villain who is primarily the enemy of the Atom/Ray Palmer but has also fought the JL on occasion.   

The Lord of Time on the other hand, is a conqueror from the future who travelled back in time with future technology to conquer the past and rule the future. Sound familiar? He was Kang before Kang.  Since JLU’s version of Chronos comes from the future, you could make a case that version is a combination Chronos and Lord of Time.   

Then of course,  there is the line up, the comic features Zatanna, Elongated Man, Barry Allen and Hal Jordan whereas the show features Wonder Woman, Batman and Green Lantern.  Superman also appears trying to thwart the Lord of Time in the present day.     

On the Western heroes side, we got Diablo instead of Cinnamon and Scalphunter is replaced by Pow Wow Smith (and it only takes a cursory glance at the characters wikipedia pages to see why the socially conscious Dwayne McDuffie made that choice).   

The plot of the JLU episode involved a corrupt sheriff using future technology to take over the town but the plot of the comic is a little different. The Lord of Time sent the heroes back in time, erased their memories, because an anti matter meteor was set to strike earth on that day.   The LoT is counting on the heroes to stop the meteor so he can have it for himself so he can use it to conquer the world.  (Why he doesn’t just get the meteor himself? Maybe he didn’t have the technology to?) 

Anyway, the heroes learn about the anti matter meteor heading towards them, Zatanna is reluctant to leave her new found cowgirl girlfriend with her friends to fight the robots:

But she ends up going anyway:   

Can I just say, I really like this shot of Zee and Green Lantern flying together? Even though she is depowered during this period, they never really stuck strictly to the ‘she can only manipulate the elements’ ethos.  Having her flying alongside GL and being unabashed powerhouse is really cool and shows her place among the DCU. There is no ‘she has to be taken out so someone else can shine’ bs here.  Also, reading these comics, I have felt that GL makes the most sense as the field leader of the JL; power based on creativity and will power and they are specifically trained to work together and take on strange extra terrestrial or otherwise threats. I think any of the human GL’s (except maybe Guy) can lead the team.  

Zatanna and GL  manage to stop the meteor. But in present timeline the Lord of Time ends up defeated by Superman (early on he got in a kryptonite trap set by the LoT but managed to escape) just as the time trapped Leaguers make their way back.      

Awww, a krytonite waterfall wasn’t that bad, Clark.    

Overall, the issue was alright. It does feel like placeholder (albeit a fun one) before the big #200 celebration issue (I posted some scans from that here). Come to think of it, the episode came off as filler as well, with the Western parts feeling like a fun romp and ultimately inconsequential to the arcs of the main heroes but the follow up portion set in the Batman Beyond timeline was more impactful and memorable.   

[zeroducks-2]

❤️💛💚🖤🤍🏳️‍🌈

anon I'm sorry I don't see the red heart in the list D: Maybe I'm blind. I'm gonna have to skip it.

💛: What is a popular ship you just can't get behind, and why?

Since I already talked about Dickbabs I'm gonna go with DickTim. I do see where it comes from, but it's one of those rare cases where I prefer their relationship to be a platonic friendship with familial feelings rather than romantic and/or sexual. ALSO THEY ARE BOTH BOTTOMS AHEM

💚: What does everyone else get wrong about your favorite character?

"Eobard Thawne is Barry Allen's Number One Hater and the pettiest person to have ever lived!" makes me wonder if ppl have actually read the same comics as me.

🖤: Which character is not as morally good as everyone else seems to think?

I've mentioned Bruce, now I'll raise you Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne's Number One Enabler and most dryass cunt you can meet in the DC character ensemble, but somehow gets treated like the perfect sweet and affectionate granpa you could ever wish for.

❤: Which character do you think is the most egregiously mischaracterized by the fandom?

There isn't just one but the first that comes to mind is Wally West. Wally has a very dark side which is a delight to explore, especially as it comes out mostly when he's around Barry, but almost everyone seems hell bent on pretending that he's some sort of perfect baby who could never do wrong.

🏳️‍🌈: Which character who is commonly headcanoned as queer doesn't seem queer to you?

Unfortunately I have this condition which is called "Everyone is queer because I said so", so it's really hard to answer this question. I guess I've seen people arguing that Iris is actually a lesbian and Barry is her beard, but while I'm not a fan of modern Newsflash, I really don't think Iris likes women, that is not the point of their problem. But I don't think this could be considered an unpopular opinion anyway.

ask game here

[book-place]

Not Alone

Warnings: mentions of death and abusive parents, let me know if I missed any :)

Pairings: Barry Allen x daughter reader, Iris West- Allen x daughter reader

Request: K so I’m actually binge watching the flash and I just thought about what if Barry had an adoptive daughter(a kid who was affected by the first particle accelerator and ended up getting speedster powers like Barry and the team didn’t find her till season 2) and in season 3 she’s fighting crime with Barry at that point(she has seen iris as her mother as well even before Barry and Iris got together, so when they marry the reader is ecstatic) so when season 4 comes around and around the episode where Barry has to go to jail for DeVoe murder. REQUEST: the reader had been acting out with attitude lately with everybody and slight aggression and the team can’t figure out why, but Iris catches on and tells Barry to talk to her and they have a heart felt moment with the reader crying and breaking down about losing one of the only parents that actually cared about her and then Iris comes in and they all sit and hug as a family. P.S:readers parents were abusive and didn’t care bout reader so when reader got her powers she ran away and stayed under the radar till team flash found her in season 2 and Barry took her in after he figured out she had no where to go and gained her trust which took a while) Sorry Ik this is long

Request by: @daughterofthequeen

*not my gif*

Summary: Recent events opened your eyes to just how quickly you could lose everything

A/N: I am so so sorry that this took me so long (this request has been in my drafts longer than any other one); And also sorry I changed the readers powers for the sake of the story; I thought I should also mention that I wrote this while wearing my star labs sweatshirt

Please don’t plagiarize my work, you may reblog if you like but I’m asking that you don’t steal my hard work

Weather and speed. Who knew that the two went together? That one without the other would be considered incomplete. And not just by themselves, but by the citizens of the city who had grown so used to seeing their two favorite superheroes together.

Barry had taken you in during his early days of being the quick hero for Central City when he found you, a young girl- no older than twelve- who had the power to control the weather after being affected by the particle accelerator explosion like so many others in his beloved city.

You had run away from home, much later confessing to Barry that it was because of your abusive parents, and how after everything happened to you, they only got worse and you just couldn’t take it anymore.

Though he was hesitant at first, you had finally convinced him to let you become a hero of your own, alongside him of course.

Although Barry had been the one to adopt you and quickly become the strong father figure you never had in your life, Iris also became like a mother to you, especially after her and your adopted father got married.

The three of you were a different than most, but happy family that would do anything for one another and loved each other dearly.

Recently though, things had been getting rocky. Sure, you were a teenager and it was expected for you to be moody, but this was different. You were constantly snapping at not just your parents, but Caitlin and Cisco as well. Not just that, but you were pushing all of them away and giving them the cold shoulder whenever one of them tried to confront you about it.

“Barry,” Iris spoke softly while they watched from afar as you leaned over a desk doing your homework in one of the Star Labs rooms, “You should try to talk to her.”

The man shook his head a little, “I tried already,” A frown pulled at the end of his lips, “She just keeps shutting me out.”

She sighed, casting a longing glance at you, “Please just try again… I’m really worried about her, Bar.”

He glanced into the eyes of his wife and immediately nodded his head before leaning down and planting a kiss on top of her hair and setting off into your direction.

“Hey, kid,” Barry greets, pulling up a chair and peering over your shoulder at your homework, “Whatcha working on?”

Your eyes flitted over to him, but instead of scowling like he expected, you just shrugged and grumbled, “History.”

He supposed it was a step in the right direction.

“Anything I can help with?”

There was slight hesitation behind your expression before you quickly shook your head and trained your eyes on your work once more.

With a sigh, your adopted father gently took the paper away from you, forcing you to look at him, “What’s wrong, Y/n?” He asked softly, “What’s been going on lately?”

There was a flash of something in your eyes, but it was gone too quickly, even for him, before he could analyze it.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” You spoke to him through gritted teeth as you used a bit of unnecessary strength to take the worksheet back.

From up above you, a small storm cloud began brewing, the only thing that Barry could use to access your emotions.

Over the years, he had learned to read what your emotions were through your weather. If you had a very strong emotion, you wouldn’t be able to control your abilities, and your thoughts would appear in the form of weather.

Like on Barry and Iris’s wedding day, the sun shined brighter that it ever had. Or on the day not too long ago, that Barry was sent to prison for DeVoes murder, a spontaneous hurricane had appeared in the city and ensued major damage.

The storm cloud that now sat above your head showed just not sadness, but fear as well.

“What’s wrong?” He repeated, tone never rising higher than it needed too.

A shaky sigh left your lips as you for the first time looked- really looked- at him.

Because of your past, it had never been easy for you to just come out and say whatever was on your mind, and Barry had learned to be patient with you.

“I don’t want to lose you.” You finally admitted with a broken whisper, eyes beginning to fill with tears as you quickly averted your gaze from him.

His heart was as broken as your voice as he looked at you with sad eyes, “Why would you lose me?” He asked.

For all the time you had been with him, you always knew the dangers of the job you both took upon yourselves. But while you were always scared for each other, this was different. He could tell.

“Because,” Your words came out harsher than you meant as a tear ran down your face, “I never realized how easy it was for you to be gone until you went to prison.”

If he wasn’t already speechless, he would be now.

“You were the first person to show me kindness,” You continued, squeezing your eyes shut as if to get rid of all your unshed tears, “You took me in, gave me a home, introduced me to more people who also showed me the same kindness. And I don’t know what I would do without you.” A small sob left your lips, “So I’ve been pushing you all away, because maybe if one of you got taken from me again, then maybe it wouldn’t hurt as much.”

It was silent for a moment, and by the time you finally had the courage to lift your head up to face him, Barry had already raised his arms and brought you into a tight hug.

This time, there was no hesitation in your movements as you wrapped your arms around his torso in return, burying your face in his chest.

He planted a kiss on top of your head before leaning his chin there, “I’m not going anywhere, n/n, I promise.”

Not even a moment later, another figure crouched down beside your chair and wrapped her own arms around you in comfort, her and her husband grasping hands in the middle.

“I love you, mom and dad.” You hiccuped slightly, not having the courage to look at them as you said it.

Both of them quickly snapped their heads up and stared at you. That was the first time you had ever called them that out loud.

“We love you too,” They both echoed back, hugging you tighter.

Chaotic Hero’s 🤍- @lovanitu @mukbee @i-writes-things

[seeminglyseph]

I know in recent years Marvel has delved into legacy identities way more, and I admit that I mostly know about it because I know about the MCU more than the comics universe and have had legacy heroes sold as either jumping on points, or as the MCU versions of certain characters/ways comics have adapted comic versions to be more similar to movie versions.

But part of me feels like, as someone who originally got interested and passionate about the superhero genre through DC Comics, where legacy heroes were a lot more common and a bigger deal (at least for the era I was reading, I do also remember the nu52 and the period immediately proceeding it involved a lot of like… reactionary un-legacying of a lot of characters which like… honestly resulted in me reading significantly fewer comics) the way for heroes taking up someone’s mantle was paved with like…

Flash, Green Lantern and Robin. And two of those I think we can point to Geoff Johns as to why they’ve stagnated a little. And I might get a lot of shit for that because he’s also created some really fascinating lore for the Green Lanterns, but he *needs* to let go of Hal. I know I personally dislike Hal with the power many would find hypocritical considering I adore Guy, but a character who knows he’s an asshole and everyone agrees is an asshole and a character who is an asshole and everyone is too busy tossing that salad to notice is entirely different and that’s the difference between Hal Jordan and Guy Gardner both being assholes. One is the author’s most favourite character ever and the other clearly sucks at emotional maturity and expression but does at the core have a good heart and intentions.

Barry Allen ruined the world. His sacrifice was great, the world moved on, a whole new generation of fans were attached to Wally and his story, then Geoff Johns continued undoing legacies and broke the whole world and brought back Barry Allen. There could have been potential with him as a man out of time in the timeline he didn’t fit in anymore and had been dead for years, but after Flashpoint he’s genuinely one of my least liked characters because of how much like… “no, it should be like when I was a kid” vibes he brought with him. While Hal’s revival just shook up the status quo of the Green Lantern corp and sucks a little for people who liked Kyle but since the Corp was big enough Kyle and Guy and John still got to have their stories… but Barry came back and not only did Wally get shelved, he stopped existing for a while. Same with Wally’s family like Linda Park-West and his kids Iris and Jai, Bart Allen didn’t exist for a while, a massive swathe of the Flash Family and legacy was completely wiped out. And I think they’ve brought some of them back lately? But I know I spent years with most of my favourite characters just not existing and it just made the idea of The Flash fully not interesting, despite the lore and legacy of the Flash being a favourite.

And Robin… well everyone’s afraid Robin’s too silly to touch let alone actually allow to live out into a legacy. The fact that it’s one of the most poignant that DC has is a shame, but they seem pretty terrified of it. And they keep erasing one or more of them from the lineup and they all served a purpose. You can’t just replace Tim with Damian. They serve entirely different purposes. Why there are canons that skip Tim baffle me. I swear it’s not just because he’s my favourite. I dislike but understand skipping Steph’s time as Robin due to the fumbling of the execution, but honestly I think the Batgirl legacy undo is more egregious for all I think her run as Batgirl was painfully toothless and removed a lot of her characterization. Babsgirl still pisses me off because Oracle was amazing and glorious and they backslid all of that and spit in people’s face while they did it. At least Steph and Cass exist now, they also spent an extended time in purgatory.

It’s hard to love legacy heroes. You never know when they end up on a shelf. Or they suddenly become the side character in someone else’s story after you gain an attachment. They get killed or stuffed into “not a character anymore” purgatory and yelled at at conventions if you ask about them.

And after all that they might end up reimagined in the worst light possible and that becomes the new cannon, because they had a spare character to offer up for a redo. And now you have to explain you liked them before they were made into the popular adaptation that most people think you’re talking about.

[negative-speedforce]

🧡💚🖤💔🏳️‍🌈 for the Flash or Star Wars?

Under the cut for space

Flash

💛: What is a popular ship you just can't get behind, and why?

Coldflash (Barry Allen/Leonard Snart). Idk, it has all the ingredients of a ship that I really should be into, but I'm just... not. I think it's just that they're that really specific brand of "friendly rivals" that doesn't really excite me that much.

💚: What does everyone else get wrong about your favorite character?

It's apparently really hard to "get" Nora West-Allen's character if you didn't grow up in a single-parent household, never meeting your other parent. A lot of people say that she overreacted or that she was being irrational in her actions to try to save her dad from dying. Yeah, she did make some bad decisions, but she just wanted to know her dad. She just wanted to get to know him, because she had a frankly terrible life and she thought that maybe, if he was around, things could be better. Idk I have a lot of thoughts about her but she deserves her own post.

🖤: Which character is not as morally good as everyone else seems to think?

Caitlin Snow. Because she's the token white woman of the main cast, a lot of people seem to uwu-ify her and make her into someone who can do no wrong. Really, Caitlin has willingly worked with a human trafficker and hid the fact that she had a murderous alternate personality from people who could help her with it, and the people who were put in danger because of it, for a really long time.

💔: If you had to remove one major character from the series, who would you choose?

Cecile Horton. Idk, she just bores me. She's an interesting character in the earlier seasons, but later on, her personality is just filed down to "empath".

🏳️‍🌈: Which character who is commonly headcanoned as queer doesn't seem queer to you?

They all seem like they're some flavor of LGBT+. However, with Caitlin Snow, people often headcanon her as bi or pan, but I see her as a-spec.

Star Wars:

💛: What is a popular ship you just can't get behind, and why?

Obikin. Even though I'm aware that they're both adults when most people ship it, I'm just not a huge fan of the power imbalance in there. It gives me this feeling of visceral disgust, and if I see it untagged that gets an instant block from me. Ship and let ship, I'm not going to give someone hate if they ship it, but that ship kinda grosses me out.

💚: What does everyone else get wrong about your favorite character?

REVA WAS A CHILD!!! SHE WAS A CHILD SUCKED INTO A BRUTAL CULT AND NO ONE WAS THERE FOR HER!!!! YES SHE DID BAD THINGS BUT THAT DOES NOT MAKE HER A BAD PERSON! SHE WAS TRYING TO SURVIVE!!!! (also she's honestly one of the best most compelling characters that Star Wars has put out since the Clone Wars ended and anyone who says otherwise clearly doesn't understand her character)

🖤: Which character is not as morally good as everyone else seems to think?

Padme. Again, sad dead white woman can do no wrong. She was ready to stay with Anakin, to try to bring him back to the light, even after finding out that he murdered his friends and massacred children.

💔: If you had to remove one major character from the series, who would you choose?

Kylo Ren. He really could have been interesting! He had so much potential! I was peak Reylo trash back when TLJ came out, but now? He got boring. There was potential there, but they just made him a generic conflicted sad bad boy.

🏳️‍🌈: Which character who is commonly headcanoned as queer doesn't seem queer to you?

General Hux. While I have enjoyed a few Huxlo fics in my time, I don't really see him as liking men, or he's just around the wrong type of men. MAYBE he'd be Bi with a very strong preference for women, a 0.1 on the Kinsey Scale, but I don't see him as being anything more than that.

[backtothestart02]

Swimming Lessons - 2/2 | westallen family fanfiction

A/N: Enjoy!

...

Chapter 2 -

It was about an hour’s drive out to the old Allen cabin on a lake. Luckily, it was also a Friday, so the West-Allen family decided to make a weekend vacation out of it and packed enough to last till late Sunday afternoon. Nora complained about the wait to get there, but both Barry and Iris were cheerful as could be when they answered ‘almost’ to nearly every ‘are we there yet’ their daughter delivered.

When they arrived, Nora raced out of the SUV and skirted to a stop on the back porch of the cabin overlooking the lake.

“Daddy, this is so cool! How come you never took us here before?”

Barry swallowed, a moment of silence for the memories he’d had here with parents that only now lived in his heart. Iris squeezed his hand and answered for him.

“We actually did bring you here when you were really little.”

Nora folded her arms and raised an eyebrow.

“How little?”

Iris tugged on her braids as she approached her.

“What does that matter?”

“I was in your belly, wasn’t I?”

Iris laughed and turned to Barry who was back to his old self and lifting their bags from the SUV.

“This one’s too smart for her own good, isn’t she?”

Barry smirked.

“Oh, definitely.”

Nora rolled her eyes.

“Can someone please unlock the door, so I can change into my swimsuit?”

“A bit demanding for someone who never wanted to swim again as long as she lived,” Iris pointed out, and Nora sobered up.

“I did say please,” she informed her mother.

“You did.” She chuckled, then turned to face her husband. “Bear?”

“On my way!”

He struggled with the luggage all the way to the front door and then dropped it promptly.

“You know, little lady, you could’ve at least carried your purple teddy bear that’s as big as you are, I think.”

Nora pouted as she walked to where her dad was.

“I thought I was your little princess who could do no wrong.”

Iris laughed.

“She got you there, hun.”

Barry muttered something under his breath, then got the door open before either of the women he so adored could ask for clarification.

“Whoa! This place is so cool!” Nora declared, immediately running inside and inspecting every room. “Which room is mine?” she asked after zipping out of the master bedroom.

“Not that one,” Barry and Iris both said without looking, to which Nora slumped her shoulders and went into the smaller bedroom across the hall. “I guess this one’s good too.”

Barry and Iris shared a look.

“Though I could do without the rocketship blankets…” Nora scrunched up her nose.

Barry cleared his throat and headed for his daughter after dropping the bags in the middle of the living room.

“Those would be mine,” he said, leaning against the door.

Nora spun around.

“Yours? Like when you were my age?” Her eyes widened, and her mouth fell open.

He nodded. “Just about. I used to come out here with my mom and dad every summer.”

And that’s when Nora grew quiet.

She knew the stories. She’d been told when she asked why she didn’t have two sets of grandparents like most kids the previous year that her daddy’s mom and dad had died before she was born. She wasn’t told how, and she hadn’t asked at the time, but she suspected it was something really sad because she could see how her dad changed when they were brought up. Whatever he said, the memory of his parents still made him sad because they couldn’t be here now.

Nora did the only thing she could think of to do. She walked up to her dad and hugged him around his legs.

“I love you, Daddy.”

“I love you, too, Princess.”

He bent down and hugged her more fully.

“Can we change into our swimsuits now?” she asked after a few moments of silence.

He chuckled.

“You bet. You want to grab your suitcase?”

She groaned, and he grinned.

“Hey, I brought it most of the way. And it’s not even that big.”

“Yeah, because you wouldn’t let me overstuff it like last time we went on vacation.”

“When the zipper broke, you mean?”

Nora glared but grudgingly stomped into the living room in her purple, fuzzy, unicorn flip-flops and grabbed her bag that matched, trudging back into her dad’s old bedroom and giving her parents a moment alone while she changed.

“You alright?” Iris asked, running her hand down her husband’s arm to soothe him from whatever memories still plagued him. He’d told her time and again that he’d healed from the death of his parents the night Nora was born, but she knew it still had to hurt that his parents weren’t here to watch their kids grow up.

It helped that Joan and Jay, who had no intention of starting a family at their age, had started coming around more and integrating with their family, but it wasn’t exactly the same. And nothing would be. So checking in with her sensitive husband was still a must, and she didn’t mind it one bit.

“Yeah.” He nodded.

“You sure?”

He smiled faintly and leaned down to kiss her.

“Positive.”

He moved away from her to find his swimsuit, and then he found her maternity bikini she’d insisted on bringing.

“You sure you don’t want to stick with the pretty summer dress you’ve got on? It’s not like there’s a railing or anything for you to hold onto.”

Iris frowned.

“You know, now that you mention it, I think I will stick with this for now. Maybe you and I can do some swimming after we put her to bed later though. Then you can be my railing.”

He smirked.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“AHEM.”

They both turned to see their little girl standing at the front of the hallway in her lilac-colored sparkly one-piece swimsuit and bright pink floaties on her arms.

“Those are coming off today, young lady.”

Nora’s eyes widened, and she noticeably panicked, looking to her mom for help.

“Not right away though, honey.” She looked to her husband. “Right, Daddy?”

He softened.

“Of course not. Baby steps.”

Nora relaxed and then almost immediately stomped her foot.

“Why aren’t you dressed yet, Dad?”

“Oh, I’m just ‘dad’ now, am I?”

“Until further notice.” She tipped up her nose to the ceiling and walked through the cabin till she reached the back door.

Barry shook his head, and Iris chuckled.

“Take your time, Babe. I’ll keep her occupied.”

“Thanks.”

And yet, in a jiffy, he had run to the bedroom, changed into his swim trunks, and zipped past the two of them down to the beach.

“Daddy, wait for me!” She let go of her mother’s hand and chased after him. Luckily, Iris was near a cushioned wooden chair on the front deck and eased into it just in time to lose physical contact with her daughter. She had a water bottle with her too, so she knew she’d be good for a while.

Barry stopped and grinned, waiting for the seven-year-old to catch up to him.

Heaving and looking annoyed, Nora stopped when she reached him, hands on her hips, head tilted up and glared in his direction.

Barry only chuckled and held out his hand to her.

“Come on.”

She let him lead her up until she realized they weren’t going straight for the lapping water but for the dock meant for boats.

“Oh, Daddy, I dunno…”

He picked her up and held her in his arms the rest of the way.

“There are some rocks right at the shoreline, Princess. I don’t want you to hurt your feet. Down by the dock, it’s sandier, and you can swim freely.”

She gulped and clutched his shoulders tightly.

“If you say so.”

Iris watched them cautiously as Nora turned to look at her from over her dad’s shoulder, looking a bit panicked. She waved to her enthusiastically though, unsure if that made things better or worse. But she trusted Barry, and she trusted him with their child. She knew it would be okay.

“Alright, you stay here,” he said, setting Nora down on the edge of the dock. “I’ll go in first. Then, when I say, you jump into my arms, and we’ll begin.”

She gulped.

“O-Okay, Daddy.”

He got down on her level and gripped her chin.

“Don’t you worry, honey. Everything’s gonna be okay. And I won’t make you take your floaties off until you’re ready, okay?”

She took a deep breath and nodded.

“Okay.”

She watched then as her dad jumped down into the water. The water barely came up to his waist, so she knew it wasn’t that deep. Still, it was deep enough to be over her head, so she was glad she had her floaties on.

“Okay, your turn,” he encouraged, holding out his dripping arms.

Nora looked down at her reflection in the water.

“Is it cold?”

Barry gathered two handfuls of water and held it up to her for her to dip her finger into.

“Not too bad,” he assured.

“It’s freezing!” Nora countered.

“Not once you get in, I promise.”

“I dunno…” She hesitated. “What if there are sharks?”

“Sharks are only in oceans. This is a lake. And it’s just you and me, and your floaties. Plus, look at your mom.” Nora turned back to look at her mother. “She’s being a look-out. If she sees anything suspicious, she’ll let us know.” He craned his neck to look at his wife. “Isn’t that right, Iris!”

“Yep!” She called back, even though she hadn’t heard a word he’d been saying to Nora.

“See?” He looked back at his daughter. Then he held out his hands. “Trust me.”

Nora took a deep breath, then nodded.

“Okay.”

“Great!”

He grinned and took one step back. He kept his arms raised and watched as little Nora plugged her nose with one hand, shut her eyes, and jumped into the air and into his arms.

Water covered her little legs but only splashed onto both their upper halves, and soon enough Nora realized she’d had no need to plug her nose at all.

“Well?” Barry asked. “What’s the verdict?”

“It’s…it’s not bad,” she admitted.

He chuckled.

“Didn’t think so. Now, come with me.”

Slowly, he released her so she was solely supported by her floaties, but he held onto her fingertips, so he wasn’t very far away and together they floated out a little further into the lake. When they were at chest level for Barry, they stopped.

“Why are we stopping?” Nora asked, frowning.

“Because I want to make sure the water is above my head before you can really swim on your own. There’s a dip not far away, and we can’t both be in danger.”

“Right,” she squeaked.

“Which we’re not,” he soothed her. “Now come on, kick your little legs for me. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

And so they moved across about 10 feet in the lake swimming back and forth, Nora kicking as hard as she could under the surface and Barry tugging lightly on her hands to make her go even faster. Then he showed her again how to tread water, what she had to do with her arms and legs, how to float without floating, laying all the way back on her back and lying still, and how using her arms could make her swim fast too.

He showed her all that while keeping her floaties on, and then they came in closer to the shore so the water was at Barry’s hips. Then he asked if she wanted to try it without her floaties.

Nora’s eyes widened with panic.

“You don’t have to, Nora. I’m asking if you want to.”

She swallowed.

“Can we go in a little closer to where I can stand?” she asked. “Then maybe I can try it and see if it works.”

“Sure.”

And so they got closer to shore, luckily before the rocks really started showing up, and Nora was able to stand with the water at her waist.

“Okay, here you go.”

She took the floaties off daintily, and he tossed them ashore, making sure to lock eyes with Iris and nod, so she’d know he knew what he was doing. Then, he looked back at Nora and nodded too.

“You ready?”

She licked her lips and gave a quick nod.

“Yes.”

She pushed off the ground, started kicking madly beneath the surface, and even used her arms!

“You’re doing it! You’re doing it!”

“I’m doing it?!”

“Yes!” He laughed. “Keep going!”

And so, she did, though she was careful not to stray too far into the lake, and at one point when she got a little nervous, Barry was right there beside her, gripping his hands around her waist, and eventually encouraging her to climb onto his back and hold on as he swam with her a little deeper.

“I feel safe with you, Daddy,” she said, laying her cheek on top of his head.

“I’m glad, Princess.”

“But uh…I think I want my floaties back. Just for a little bit.”

He smiled softly.

“You got it. We can try more without them tomorrow.”

“Deal.”

And so, he swam back to the dock and helped her climb onto it. Then he followed suit, and they got her floaties back on, and he got some snacks for his very pregnant wife and growing daughter. Then after a while, Barry and Nora got back in again and swam some more. This time she kept her floaties on the whole time, but first thing the next morning she wanted to swim without them, and by the time the party came around a few weeks later – after returning to the cabin each weekend following to practice, she was ready to go and accepted the invitation.

Barry and Iris overheard Nora telling little Lia one day when she was over, and Lia asked what had changed.

“I learned how to swim,” Nora said confidently. “My daddy taught me.”

[taxi-cab-to-slowtown]

I'm the Mole

Chapter 30: Swan's Playtoy

For Taxi's 366 Day 60: "flub"

Ships: Dick Grayson/Wally West, Barry Allen/Hal Jordan/Iris West Rating: Mature Fandom: DC Comics Warning: Implied rape/non-con Link to I'm the Mole on Ao3 Why am I doing this?

fic update below cut

Bart stopped next to them. “You alright?” 

Hal was laughing into a scowling Barry’s shoulder. “I thought you were dying,” Barry cried. Hal continued to laugh. Bart watched the two of them in confusion. 

“I don’t know what’s so funny?” Bart screwed his eyes together. 

“Neither do I,” the voice came through a familiar vocoder, made to sound like it was vibrating, Bart had heard that voice before. He turned around slowly as the two Justice Leaguers climbed to their feet. Standing in front of them, bo-staff in hand, feathered cloak fluttering behind him, was Black Swan. 

Bart had never seen his mom back in the days when he had two different IDs, he’d only ever seen the Black Swan costume where it was placed in the glass case in their house. Bart never really thought about just how terrifying his mother would have looked in it. Sure, Deathwing was intimidating, but there was something in the added mystery of the almost full-face mask as opposed to the painted-on blood mask he wore in the future. 

“Black Swan,” Barry growled, stepping in front of Bart. “What are you going here?” 

“Neutron was supposed to kill you,” Black Swan admitted, stepping forward more, spinning the bo-staff with ease in one hand. “But he flubbed that, so I’ve come to finish the job instead.” 

Hal stepped up next to Barry, the ring powering up around him, making a blockade between Barry and Black Swan. Dick braced himself and swung his bo around, dropping into a ready crouch. 

“Look, kid, we don’t want to hurt you,” Hal said. “You might have been able to fight the Team, but Flash and I… you don’t want to mess with us. We’re founders. We’ve been doing this for a long time, and are good at it.” 

“Oh really?” has asked, raising an eyebrow, lips tipping up to a cheeky grin. “Are you really, Harold Jordan?’ 

Bart could watch the moment when Hal’s heart stuttered in his chest. He definitely wasn’t expecting that. Bart wasn’t either. Why would his mom reveal his hand like that? 

While they were all dealing with the shock, he struck. 

Dick twisted, flying through the air and over Hal’s shield, landing on the other side. Barry lunged toward him, and he swung out with his staff, blocking both his blows, and the construct hand that Hal sent down toward them. He twisted and turned, springing up and down and back, and somehow landing a perfect blow on Hal’s chest while also executing a backflip and landing a bit away from them. 

Hal gripped it chest. 

“Why don’t you run on home?” Dick asked, looking Bart right in the eyes. “I’m sure your mother would like to see you.” 

He was sneering, and it took Bart a second to realise that was an act. Dick was playing the jilted lover, angry that Killer Flash had made a baby with Nightwing and not him. Bart wondered if Dick was openly his dad’s husband as Black Swan. He knew that Killer Flash’s infatuation with Nightwing had been ramped up to the point that the two of them had faked Dick’s rape in order to cover up their marriage. 

Bart didn’t know what to do. 

A sharp blade slid out of the bo-staff in Dick’s hands and he lunged toward Barry. Bart made his decision. He lunged forward, grabbing the hero and pulling him, running at his top speed back toward the Allen house. He’d have to trust that Hal would be able to handle himself for a minute or so. 

“What are you doing?” Barry asked him as Bart pulled him into the house, closing the door behind him. 

“Saving your life.” 

***

Dick scowled at where his son had just disappeared with his target in tow. Bart was going to get a talking to when he got home. He didn’t get between Dick and his targets. All that was left now was Hal, holding his ring up toward Dick, surrounded by a faintly glowing green forcefield. Dick stalked toward him. 

“No one ever told me Flash was a scaredy cat,” Dick taunted, stepping toward him. “Barry doesn’t even care enough to take you along with him.” 

He watched Hal Adam’s apple bob, he could sense the fear in him. It made Dick’s confidence rise. It really interested him how words he could speak as Nightwing and boost confidence and morale, he could say as Black SWan and inspire fear. 

“What do you want?” 

“Your little loverboy dead,” Dick answered, kicking at his construct. It didn’t budge. “Hmmmm, that’s not going to work.” 

He pulled something out of his belt and lunged forward, stabbing it into the construct’s centre. It shattered like stain glass. Hal stared at the thing in Black Swan’s hand, it was a small yellow lightning bolt, like the symbol Barry wore on his chest. 

“Oh, this?” he grinned. “A friend of mine gave it to me.” 

He slammed his knee into Hal’s stomach and sent him back onto the ground. He climbed onto his chest, re-pocketing the lightning bolt and then grabbing his hand and pulling the ring off his finger. He tossed it aside, and Hal watched as it skipped over the asphalt away from him. 

The bo-staff came down, a sharp point sliding out of the end of it. Hal tried to move away, but it impaled him in the shoulder. Black Swan pulled it back out, grinning like a maniac. 

“By the way, my friend wanted me to give you a message, one to send to Flash,” He stood up, pacing away as Hal gripped at his bleeding shoulder, fighting back the reflex tears in his eyes and shuffling backwards on his butt as he struggled to stand back up. 

“Alright, what was the fucking message?” Hal grit out, pulling himself to his feet and fighting through the pain of the injury. “What did your friend tell you?” 

Black Swan laughed. “Well, it’s for Barry, but I guess you can pass it on to him.” 

He stepped forward and Hal tensed, but he leaned in up against his ear and murmured. “He said you’re right, Killer Flash did kill his parents, but he’s still alive. He told me to tell you ‘I never gave up hope on you, uncle Barry, I never doubted you would save me.’” 

All the colour left Hal’s face. It was a tossup if it was from shock or from the stab-wound in his shoulder. 

“No, Wally’s dead… he died, ye–” 

Black swan plunged his spear into his side. Hal gasped, groaning as the spear slid out of his side and he gasped, falling to his knees. Dick leaned down. 

“Some days I think he thinks it would be better if he were dead. The screams… well, I can make Wally make whatever sounds I want. My husband and I have a deal, you see. He gets his fuck toy, and I get mine.” 

Hal was staring at him, his blood rolling down his side. Dick grinned, it was feral, and dark. He wanted his claim to be clear, he wanted Hal to know exactly what he was saying. 

“I’ll be back to kill Flash later.” 

And, like the bat he was, he was gone. 

***

Barry carried Hal back to the house bleeding out. He laid him on the kitchen table. Bart watched as Jay, Joan, Iris, and Barry bustled around him, trying to stitch him up. Bart sat on the stairs, face in his hands, tugging at his tufts of hair. He’d messed up. He’d managed to save Barry, but now Hal was laying on the table, pale-faced and dying as they hurried to try to fix him. He was going to die, and it might all be Bart’s fault. 

He stood up, walking up the stairs and into the bathroom, closing the door and sitting down against the wall. He’d wanted to fix things. He could have done better though. If he’d just told Barry that Dick was Black Swan and Killer Flash was Wally West, it would have fixed things, but Bart didn’t want to do that. 

Bart loved his parents. Which might seem like something a villain kid shouldn’t say, especially a villain kid going back in time to change what their parents did, but that didn’t change the fact that it was true. Bart loved them. Bart’s mom was good to him, gentle, sweet. Bart’s dad was all smiles, and love. They never talked about work at the dinner table, and all blood had to be washed off before they sat down to eat, and Dick always asked Bart about his day, and Wally ruffled his hair and smiled at him and said he made them proud. 

Bart loved his parents. 

Bart didn’t want to see the Justice League lock them up and throw away the key. He wanted his mom and dad to come back to the light, and he didn’t mean the Light. His mom used to run with Batman. His mom inspired a whole new generation of heroes. He just wanted Dick to go back to what he once was, and he wanted his dad to realise that Luthor and all of them were wrong, that they lied to him, that Barry couldn’t have done anything because he didn’t know. 

Barry wasn’t at fault for the things that had happened to him. Barry wasn’t at fault for Rudy’s abuse and Wally not getting out. Wally was obsessed with the Flash, obsessed with the idea that the Flash could save him, just because he was hurting. He needed that hope, to get through each day, but that hope turned around and made him believe in something that didn’t exist. 

Flash wasn’t infallible. Flash wasn’t some magic tooth fairy that could come and save him whenever he wanted him to. Flash was a man, just like Wally. A man who could run faster than anyone else, but still a man. He worked a nine to five, came home to his wife and boyfriend, put on a red suit, and ran around saving people. He was a good man, a hero, but still a man. 

Wally had let the dreams of a boy, crushed by reality, blind him to the truth of the world, and it had driven him to evil. It had driven him to team up with a bunch of Eugenicists who wanted a “pure” society, because he’d let those dreams be what guided him. 

If only Bart could make Wally and Dick see where they’d gone wrong, then everything could be fixed. If only he could lead them back to what they were supposed to be. They could defeat the light and bring the world into a better future. That’s what they needed. It would be better for everyone. 

Bart couldn’t tell. He couldn’t let his parents get locked up. All that would do was solidify their hatred of the heroes, he needed them to change sides, to return to the good, who they were meant to be. 

Bart stood up, leaning on the sink. 

But was his desire to see his parents happy more important than Hal Jordan’s life? All his parents would face was prison, but his mom might have killed Hal. 

“Bart?” Iris voice called from down the hall, he tensed. 

“Please don’t let Hal be dead,” he begged quietly, before walking over toward the door and opening it for his great-aunt. “Yes?” 

“He’s going to be okay,” she told him gently. 

Bart lunged forward and fell into her arms, letting out tears of relief. He was going to be okay. He still had a chance. Neutron had been neutralised, and Hal and Barry were still alive. They might be able to win this. 

He could do this, everything could turn out alright. 

***

Dick run across the beam and jumped into the air, flipping and grabbing onto the bar above him, before spinning around with his hands as the fulcrum and launching off. He landed in a hand-stand and then flipped up to his feet, heaving out breaths, hands on his knees. He moved to move to a new exercise, but a hand shot out a grabbed his wrist. 

“Babe, what happened?” Wally asked, worried, looking around at the mess Dick had made of the gym. “You’ve been in here for three hours already.” 

“Wally, let go,” Dick growled. 

Wally stepped toward him, nose-to-nose. “Oh, babe, you can’t scare me away with the hot boy act, that just makes me horny.” He leaned into him, sliding a hand around his waist and pressing kisses up his throat. Dick tilted his head back, eyes fluttering half-closed. “What happened?” he whispered in his ear, kissing behind it and making Dick shiver. 

“Failed mission,” he answered, biting his lip to keep from whimpering. “And our kid from the future showed up in the mountain and he’s the reason my mission failed.” 

Wally froze. He pulled back, eyes wide. “What?” he asked, “our kid… our kid from the future?” 

Dick nodded. “His name is Bart. He’s coming to live with us tomorrow, so I can try to get to the bottom of what he thinks he’s doing.” 

“Oh, fuck.” 

“Walls,” Dick cupped his hands around Wally’s face. “I’m just stressed about the failed assassination, but we’ll figure it out, you and I.” He leaned forward, brushing their lips together. “After all, we always do.” 

[ofbrainsofsteel]

@starlabsspeedster

Leaving; it was the only way to be okay. To heal the pain Patty felt. When she left Central City over two years ago she never could’ve anticipated the day she’d be forced to return. Don’t get her wrong she enjoyed the city; she enjoyed working at NYPD; she was smart. She knew the how to cracking a case. That’s not why she was nervous. It was the who she knew she’d have an awkward run in with. Patty left and took the Program in Midway City it was far enough from the thought of getting kidnapped again. It was far enough from the day to day lies. Patty was witty; she was smart she knew when to fall into excuses and when the truth was right in front of her. 

And Barry Allen the CSI; the guy that helped her find footing in Central City; who helped her get on Joe West’s good side. He was full of mystery. He was someone I was keen on; he was smart; he was that dorky cute. He knew how to make a lame joke to force a smile. He would stare at me as if I was the only girl in the world. I felt special; I felt those bangs of flutter each time I thought of him. He was a good guy; but he also was full of shit. I stopped believing his day to day lies way before I left town. Except he had no idea I had put the dots together. How was he always present right after a kidnapping? A robbery just you name it right after the flash had finished saving the day? I remembered the moment I figured it all; it was the night of the gala. The night we were dancing on the dance floor his arm wrapped around me; and my own arm around his neck dancing; melting away within each other. I didn’t want to be anywhere else but with him. And then someone threatened the night; and Barry got squirmy; he made his lame excuse of having to go check on Joe. Which would’ve been believable if the flash hadn’t appeared seconds later. 

I knew; and I tried to hint to him to trust me, to let me in. And each time I got told “ It’s okay.” And he’d look at me with those dreamy eyes of his and all my thoughts melted away. I left for myself; for my career but a piece of me was always in Central City; with him. Not that Barry ever thought of me because come on; he was brilliant, he was handsome, he was also the hero of the city. I admired him even if it stung that the trust between us was never reciprocated. I healed; I moved on with my life. I spent my time talking to new people, I worked my ass off in the courses; at the lab to be the new upcoming CSI. I had my own kit now; which was thrilling I felt the excitement inside of me when I packed up my las clothing into my suitcase. 

I remembered when I got the phone call an hour ago from Joe West himself. I answered with a polite Hello. Small talk as he said he needed help and heard I passed with flying colors here at midway. I was honored; considering our rocky relationship when I was living in Central City. He told me there’s been a sting of murders; each one left a hat behind; each time same kind different color. I asked why Barry couldn’t handle it because I’m sassy like that. He made a quip that Barry asked for an extra hand but he was quite busy. I rolled my eyes with an “ Sure” Mumbled more to myself. I said I’d be there. 

Back to the place I ran from, the person I ran from. I kept tabs on Flash; I wanted to hold onto the clippings; I wanted to be proud of Barry even if he never felt he could be honest with me. A simper over bare lips as I closed my suitcase. Patty was close to the train station; she had bag in one hand; and ticket in the other as she stepped outside. The train would be here within an hour. A fast track; hearts come running home. Gripping her suitcase tightly she wheeled herself to the station; it was small. Benches on the pavement; the ringing to indicate when a train was approaching. Patty lowered herself to a bench as she sat comfortably. 

An hour close to passing; when she saw the star train approach, exhaling lowly the female stood to her feet and stepped aboard the train. Leather seats as she placed her bag on top above her. Heels hit the carpet as she lowered down into the window seat. Her preferred seating. I wonder how he is.. Will it be okay I’m coming back? I hoped Joe told him. Leaning my head against the window eyes fluttered shut; heart pounding against my chest. 

How? How does one act fine? When the truth was all I could think about? It was easy to pretend in Midway; but did I have the will power now to lie to Barry?

[fezwearingjellybananas]

talk shop tuesday - what made you write Once Upon a Timeline?

To bully Eobard Thawne.

So, Thallen and Westhallen are nice ships, they are sweet, I adore @kitkatt0430's Westhallen fics and that is meant as a fic rec for every single one of them, but there is at least part of liking them that is I think it is funny if Eobard has gone back in time to erase his nemesis Barry from existence and now not only does he have to ensure the Flash exists, instead of finding his great-something-grandma Eddie is going and making out with Eobard's nemesis (who he may or may not be in love with, he would rather die than admit he has feelings) and erasing Eobard from existence instead. This is his Worst Case Scenario, why is this happening to him, what could he have done to deserve this (you know what you did, Eobard)

(Which is why I often headcanon Patty Spivot would have been Eobard's great-something-grandma in the TV show universe, Eobard now has to live with instead of them getting together his grandfather dated Iris West and his grandmother dated Barry Allen and that's not fair, why did he never get to do that)

And Once Upon a Timeline is mostly how do I take that and make this even worse for Eobard Thawne. Who is the person Eobard would hate most of all if Barry went and fell for them instead of him.

Originally I was going to just giggle away to myself at the idea and keep writing Gone in a Flash, but that I was heading towards writing myself into a corner and I like doing Writer's Month, it's a fun challenge, and because I've already written the Milk and Sugar 'verse I don't want to do any more full series rewrites, so having prompts to tell just the changed parts of the story seemed like a good idea, and with it being prompts for an event there was a deadline so it couldn't grow that wildly, having a few chapters for Writer's Month would get the idea out of my head and then I could go and focus on what I was writing originally after a break and I could figure out where that needed to change to make the plot flow again. So I wrote Once Upon a Timeline. Which is not a silly fic at all given its origins, but it is one I enjoyed writing very much.

And it had to be Westhallen. I get to write Iris and Eddie being in love and also both pining after Barry, Eddie gets a comic inspired storyline (while at first glance it looks like he's taking Malcolm Thawne's, he's actually borrowing an origin story from Iris), and know in the background Eobard Thawne is having the worst day of his life, where's the downside.

(Also, as an extra, Once Upon a Timeline originally had a different ending, but that would have meant a much longer fic that wouldn't have fit with limited prompts so the choice was either leave it on Chapter 9 and write a sequel later or scrap that, and I went with scrapping that in favour of what is now Chapter 10. But it's Multiamory March next month, and I won't fill all of those prompts, but I have a few, and one I have already written is the original alternative ending to Once Upon a Timeline)

Thank you!

[Talk Shop Tuesday]

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Even More About TOY STORY 5

Usually, these kinds of announcements make me think and rethink and sometimes overthink the nature of animated movie sequels made in the West, but also just the way some sequels are done...

Some people on twitter did ask aloud... Why the hype for a fifth SHREK, but not a fifth TOY STORY movie? A lot of the answers were, reasonably, to the tune of "TOY STORY had *two* definitive endings"...

That's a great explanation.

There's a real finality to both TOY STORY 3 and TOY STORY 4, unusual for animated family movie sequels made to two already blockbuster, beloved, popular animated movies in a capitalist American landscape. Especially ones coming from a conglomerate as massive as Disney... And if there's one thing we should've realized over the past 5-10 years, it's that it is never over until they pass away... Almost like one's life. Someone I know on Twitter put it that way in the wake of the TOY STORY 5 announcement. Not that Woody or Buzz or any of the gang died, but the endings were like goodbyes... TOY STORY 3 was the gang's goodbye to a young adult Andy, and TOY STORY 4 was Woody's goodbye to his long-time family. I mean, how do you go on from there? A new story for just Woody? A new story for Buzz and the Bonnie's room gang? Do Woody and Bo go traveling and pay a brief visit to Bonnie's room to check in on Buzz and the gang? I think retconning the ending of TOY STORY 4, no matter how divisive it may have been, would be kind of cowardly. Director Josh Cooley and the writer made their storytelling choices, no matter how they'd be received... The next filmmaker to take on these characters and world ought to make their own mark, just like Cooley did with his film.

Maybe it could be, as I stated in an earlier post on here... A story that starts fresh with a whole new gang of toys? After all, the title *is* TOY STORY... Not WOODY AND BUZZ. Close one door, open another to a new room? Would the filmmakers at Pixar even consider doing that? A franchise as old and as massive as STAR WARS can't even get away from the Skywalkers or the familiar eras of its universe for a minute, so I doubt that TOY STORY would do that. People are there for those movies because of the characters to begin with, I reckon. That's likely why LIGHTYEAR had a hard time at the box office this past summer; it features Buzz Lightyear, yes... But it wasn't the comical and dutiful toy Buzz voiced by Tim Allen who was pals with the Woody doll. Nor was it the funny space ranger Buzz as seen in the TV series BUZZ LIGHTYEAR OF STAR COMMAND. I think that was partially a turn-off for audiences, it deviated too much from the character everyone is familiar with. Audiences must've looked at those trailers and thought it was supposed to be like a cynical, gritty reboot of something associated with a family franchise. Almost like an animated equivalent of one of those recent remakes of a Disney animated feature.

I reckon TOY STORY 5 will at least star someone from the originals.

Who is to say it can't be a midquel? If the ending of TOY STORY 4 is such a concern, there could be a story set at Andy's house, or Bonnie's house between the events of TOY STORY 3 and TOY STORY 4. TOY STORY 4 notes that about two years had passed since the ending of TOY STORY 3, and the two TV specials - TOY STORY OF TERROR! and TOY STORY THAT TIME FORGOT - took place between the two... They just can't call it TOY STORY 5, then... But no matter. Pixar already made a prequel with MONSTERS UNIVERSITY some 10 years ago. Several other recent Disney releases across all their outlets have gotten prequels and midquels and such. For me personally, maybe a midquel is the best route they can go. They can still have Tom Hanks and Tim Allen as Woody and Buzz together, though the existence of the movie *could* still somewhat feel weird... Didn't TOY STORY 4 *just* happen? Didn't that just *end*? But it's either that, a new adventure set after TOY STORY 4, or possibly a full-blown prequel that details Woody's life when he was Andy's father's toy in the '50s/'60s.

I also thought about something else... Actually, this is something I always have stored in my file-cabinet brain...

Pixar, and by extension, Western animation's weird history with sequels... Which I did an article on not too, too long ago.

When The Walt Disney Company acquired Pixar in early 2006, it put an end to the strict original contract that Pixar signed back in 1991. The three-film deal that added a five-film deal on top of it. The veru contract that *didn't allow them to make sequels*, which absolutely played into the rift between the two parties that TOY STORY 2's existence created in the early 2000s. TOY STORY 2 happened because it was supposed to be a direct-to-video sequel produced by a B-team at a different studio altogether. Keep in mind that Disney was likely scared off of doing theatrical animated sequels after years of flop sequels and one of their own - THE RESCUERS DOWN UNDER - coming up short at the box office. No truly successful Western animated movie sequel existed until TOY STORY 2 came out.

Pixar then took over this DTV affair, were able to get it bumped to theatrical status, but Disney did not count it as part of the contract and initially agreed to *not* put worth any more sequels without Pixar's permission... Which meant that no sequel was in the cards, period, for a long while... Imagine, if the rules hadn't been so strict, how many sequels we would've gotten between 1999 and 2010. We would've at least had a TOY STORY 3 by 2005, and possibly an A BUG'S LIFE sequel too, being one of the looser and breezier Pixars that arguably could've gotten a followup back then.

Now, things got heated in 2004, when Pixar was looking to split from Disney after their original contract was up following the pending completion and release of CARS (back then aiming for a fall 2005 debut, almost exactly a calendar year after THE INCREDIBLES). Disney had first rights to those movies and characters made up until that point, and while there was a gentleman's agreement between them and Pixar that promised no Pixar-less sequels made without Pixar's blessing, Disney went back on it. They played dirty, they played hardball. They readied Pixar-less sequels - TOY STORY 3, MONSTERS, INC. 2: LOST IN SCARADISE, and FINDING NEMO 2 - at a newly-minted studio called Circle 7 Animation... By 2005, it wasn't looking good, and it put fans at an interesting fork in the road...

Of course, the story ended with then-CEO Michael Eisner stepping down from Disney in September 2005, his replacement Bob Iger initiating the $7b purchase of Pixar in early 2006, and Pixar operating free of contract and able to make the movies - including sequels - that they wanted to make. It's no surprise that the first new movie they announced that was in development, post-acquisition, was *their* TOY STORY 3 and not the Circle 7 movie with Buzz Lightyear being recalled to Taiwan. Though not announced till 2010, MONSTERS UNIVERSITY went into active development right around that time, too.

But let's pretend it's mid-2005 again... What if Pixar did leave? It would mean that they wouldn't have made the sequels to their pre-RATATOUILLE movies. Post-RATATOUILLE movies, wherever they would've been made, would've absolutely gotten sequels. Disney/Circle 7 would've cranked out their TOY STORY/MONSTERS/FINDING/INCREDIBLES/CARS movies, and possibly an A BUG'S LIFE sequel for good measure... This would've been a wildly different timeline, to say the least. The original filmmakers were around, but not able to make the sequel to *their* first few films made for Disney... But they also wouldn't have had to have made sequels to appease Disney shareholders... It's almost like a weird red pill-blue pill situation. Either path opened or would've opened a Pandora's Box...

For me personally... At least the Pixar sequels are being made at Pixar, with as much of the original creators involved as possible. I know most folks on the Internet made it official that the likes of MONSTERS UNIVERSITY and FINDING DORY and INCREDIBLES 2 and TOY STORY 4 were factually subpar movies, but they were at least made by a lot of their originators. I also happened to quite like, and in some cases even love those films. INCREDIBLES 2 is one of my favorite animated movie sequels, actually, but most people in the internet film and animation circles seem to really not like it much. Though, you could argue that the Circle 7 movies would've been made by fresh blood bringing their own unique take to the material? I don't know if that would've happened in a theoretical scenario where Pixar and Disney Co. *did* split in 2005: Disney in those final years under Eisner was not a pretty landscape on the animation end of things... Disney Feature Animation's morale was at a terrible low under execs like David Stainton, and they released a string of box office disappointments (many of which also got mixed to poor critical reception) tempered by one lone hit. Many animation fans found the direct-to-video Disney sequels to be of poor quality, too... So, would the Circle 7 movies had been any better under those circumstances?

That's the weird thing about that biz. You gain one thing, lose another, vice-versa. There's never a perfect scenario going forward, as there is always a sacrifice. Maybe there is potential in an alternate timeline where sequels to TOY STORY/MONSTERS/NEMO/INCREDIBLES/CARS are so-so under Disney/Circle 7 while Pixar thrives with their post-RATATOUILLE originals and sequels to those movies. Maybe not.

This brings me back to the question... Why the hesitance to see Woody and Buzz again, but not other animated movie sequels?

The thing is, like I said earlier... Things don't end. There will be, for instance, STAR WARS and Marvel and DC and probably even FAST & FURIOUS movies til the end of movies. Animated movies are no exception, money absolutely drives these decisions, as do audiences' love for the characters. Look at how PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH is doing. Look at how MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU did. If there can be more, there will be more... The only $1b-grossing movie that can't feasibly get a sequel is TITANIC, everything else in this world is fair game under the more-more-more capitalism of Hollywood. Everything is rebooted or brought back. Remakes of animated movies, previous iterations of superheroes appearing in new films (i.e. Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's respective goes at Peter Parker showing up in SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME, Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck's BATMAN showing up in THE FLASH this summer), legacy sequels like TOP GUN: MAVERICK, etc. etc. It's just the way the tides have been flowing, and animated features made into boffo box office hits by large swaths of families are no exception... No matter how the filmmakers choose to end the individual chapters.

Heck, why do those live-action and all-CG tech demo Disney remakes exist? Partially because the originals were 2D animated movies, direct-to-video sequels were made to them already, 2D is barely used for features like that at the big studios these days, most of those movies are way older and had completely different crews working on them under completely different circumstances... Like, there's a reason Jon Favreau's LION KING and the upcoming MUFASA prequel exist, but *not* a proper LION KING sequel made at Walt Disney Animation Studios in 2D or in a PAPERMAN-esque CG style that's being used for their upcoming WISH. The majority of these remakes made a lot of money, they are the brand extensions of the original animated classics if actual canon made-in-house sequels are not or can not be. As such, tech-demo LION KING has a prequel, a live-action ALADDIN sequel was lined up a while back, ditto a tech-demo (with one live actor) JUNGLE BOOK follow-up.

Some tend to be more open-ended than others, though. TOY STORY 3 and TOY STORY 4 are supposedly definitive ends, but billion dollar grosses talked... SHREK FOREVER AFTER may have closed the book on SHREK, but a $700m+ worldwide gross sure as hell talked, so it was never going to be the true ending anyways. DreamWorks may have planned to just make PUSS IN BOOTS movies from there on out, but shit happened, DreamWorks had financial troubles up until Comcast bought them (who no doubt want lots of new sequels from them, see BOSS BABY 2/3, TROLLS 3 and KUNG FU PANDA 4 happening), so... SHREK 5 is a definite, and it *was* on the boards well before Comcast bought them, too. They were talking about making one as far back as 2014, only four years after SHREK FOREVER AFTER - billed as "The Final Chapter" in the ads - was released... Hell, do you remember when... In 2004... The plan was... Four SHREK movies, a SHREK prequel, *and* PUSS IN BOOTS as a direct-to-DVD movie? Again. Never over. TOY STORY 4 is just the end of that particular story, as was SHREK FOREVER AFTER. There is no "final chapter", unless everyone gets killed off... Then a reboot happens, new timeline, new universe-whatever... But that's not happening in one of these movies.

It only ends when the grosses don't come in... Pixar likely won't make a CARS 4 because the third movie barely broke even, if at all, and toy sales for it were underwhelming as well. CARS ON THE ROAD, the Disney+ series that debuted this past September, could've evolved from the canceled fourth feature film from a director (Steve Purcell) who helmed many of the show's episodes. It kind of felt like a condensed road trip, a silly throwaway fun movie that leans into - arguably - the franchise's strengths. I wouldn't be surprised if CARS ON THE ROAD is a reworked version of the unmade CARS 4. On the DreamWorks end of things, there would likely never be a sequel to PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR, which was a "flop" to their estimation. A fourth MADAGASCAR movie proper, though? Yeah, likely. I'm surprised it hasn't been hinted at or announced recently, that's one of the original DreamWorks franchises, the 2nd movie of theirs to get a sequel (not counting PRINCE OF EGYPT's direct-to-video spin-off JOSEPH: KING OF DREAMS) after SHREK. Sony Animation may say that HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA: TRANSFORMANIA was the end, but I kind of doubt that. Netflix movies may not collect blockbuster grosses, but that doesn't stop sequels from coming: See... Ahem, THE SEA BEAST 2. Universal still plans on making a LEGO MOVIE 3 despite how poorly Warner's LEGO MOVIE 2 and NINJAGO did at the box office. Outside of those heavies... Don't expect, say, a NUT JOB 3 to ever happen. Again, a gross says all, and not the way the thing ends...

And I totally get being upset about that. There's something nice about a story that closes the book and wraps things up. All good things come to an end, right? Well, that end takes forever in Hollywood and in the Western feature animation industry, for sure. There's also the option of departing the train if you don't feel like staying onboard anymore. Maybe some of these franchises should make like comics and just reboot. Start over. All new storyline, all new timeline, things happen differently... Leaves the story you like untouched and with a definitive ending, but continues the franchise. What if TOY STORY 5 was just that? Not at all a continuation of TOY STORY 4, or at all set in that world that the filmmakers created and played with for so many years?

At this point, to me, it really *is* like comics... 50, 60, 70, 80+ years later, there are still stories featuring iconic characters like Batman and Spider-Man. Reinventions, so many iterations of different characters... I think that's what it's all becoming, but in big budget movie form. Look at manga and anime, for example. How many POKEMON, DRAGON BALL, SHIN-CHAN, DETECTIVE CONAN and DORAEMON movies are there, again? They'll only stop if people stop going to see them. If one of these stories ends like, say, a bleak drama, then they won't get sequels... So little by little, I start to fall off of the "it's the definitive ending" thing. Maybe for you personally, it is. I might have a cut-off myself, depending on what TOY STORY 5 is about. I've kind of fallen off the STAR WARS train, as far as live-action goes...

It's a very sequel-heavy world, and TOY STORY 5 is just further proof of that, but it's interesting how a fifth movie in one franchise is perceived vs. how the other one is...

[popculturebuffet]

Rocko's Modern Life Hutch and Filbert Retrospective: (Rinse and Spit The Big Question/Answer and From Here to Maternity) (Comission for WeirdKev27)

Happy easter all you happy people! This year is an anniversary o-rama isn't it? X-Men, Iron Man, Avengers, John Allison, Legion of Super Heroes and many more. But among them all is one i'm going to be spotlighting a few time this years, a show that dosen't get enough love and deserves all of it: Rocko's Modern Life!

Rocko's Modern Life was created by Joe Murray as one of the earliest nicktoons, and used the wild west nature of those early days to craft what's essentailly an adult animated sitcom on a children's network, a slice of life show about living in your 20's following Rocko, a shy but kind and welcoming australian, his obnoxious but loveable best friend and man child heffer, and their third buddy Filburt, a neuotic turtle who while intially based on a sex criminal, thankfully grew out of that woody allen shape and into his own character. The three navigated all the pitfalls of being in your 20's in the 90's: multiplexes, mean bosses, cranky neighbors, finding out your adopted, health clubs, overextending your credit, crazy buss drivers stalking you to get BACK ON THE BUSSS, kidney removals, your neighbors wife trying to hump you, camping trips, the horrors of riding a plane, getting sent to heck and of course wild pigs.

It was a great show that could be incredibly relatable one minute and entirely bananas the next, and sometimes both at the same time. It was remakrably well done and going back for this set only reminded me why I love it so much.

So for our first look at it this year, we're taking a look at the show's major romantic subplot. It technically had two as Rocko had a longtime crush on his neighbor Melba Toast, but it was less a subplot with any progression and more just him pining for someone who didn't like him back. Honestly I feel bad that Rocko never got a steady relationshpi: he had two that seemed like they might work out and we might get to his fractured love life sometime this year, but the poor guy never got it started.

No the shockingly most consitent relationship on the show was Filburt's with Dr. Hutchison, the love story of a neurotic nerd and a doctor of all trades with a hook. Suprisingly though it's only really the focus of three episodes and an important part of two. We'll be saving kiss me i'm foreign for a later day, but it's remakrable how despite just kinda being there and in a series that didn't focus TOO hard on continuinty, how consitent it is and likeable it comes off. And since I love a good relationship it only seems right to take a nice long look at it and see why it works just in time for Zombie Jesus Day as the last episode happens to involve easter bunnies, jesus mortal enemies. So come with me under the cut for a love story for the ages

Rinse and Spit wasn't an episode I thought much about. I remmebered it sure, it's hard to forget the episode where rocko gets king konged by a giant tooth, but rewatching it this may be one of the shows best. It's just so densely packed with jokes, the second half is so lovingly bonkers, and paula is just so friggin great throughout you can't help but love it. The plot follows Filburt who tries to slasher villian stalk Hefer into taking part in his exam for dental school, and who then baits rocko into it via owing him one from childhood. Said flashback is also great with Filburt being genuinely sweet to his new friend, explaning how he and rocko are so close, the puppy jar, and of course the return of my one and only son

yes, yes you are. I wish he'd shown up more. He is the best of us. It's a good Filbert plot though: he's nervous, out of his depth and sweaty, exactly his wheelhouse with Rocko bein ga good enouraging friend even once he gets out the electrodes.

The real star htough is Hutch who I think makes her debut here. Her origin story is a great one too: Murray was attending a press confrence and was asked why the show had no female role models. Murray naturally for him responded with "people dont' see cartoon characters as role models " and TV shouldn't be used to teach lessons. Which was true for the show and it's goals.. but naturally set the execs into panic mode, askign for Rocko's narcoleptic sister to be added to fill this now needed gap, which he refused. Thankfully for the world and for tv an exec did end up accidently giving him a good idea. She cynically asked for a female character "with a hook". Naturally Joe took this as literally as possible because if you hadn't noticed he's kind of a sarcastic ass and I love it.

What's remarkable.. is he ended up giving them EXACTLY what they wanted through this joke of a response. The writers fell in love with Hutch and thus she became a strong career woman with 80 jobs and degrees, but who was also cheerful and entirley loopy, and could be both without any real contridction. Her weirdness was used fo rjokes, from her unique neck snap, to her hook, but her disability was just as much part of her as it was a fun visual joke. She was someone kids could look up to, someone who was a doctor but still theirselves at the same time while not sacrifcing competence to do so. Honestly out of the cast Hutch seems to be the most together person, without every sacrifcing her having fun to do so. She's not barely scraping by like rocko, reliant off tin cans like her future husband, mooching off whoevers around like heff, or in a miserable dead end job like Mr Bighead. She's just happy and in a career she loves. And that's what we all want right? to be our weird selves and still get to do what we love?

She also gets great character stuff: sh'es clearly into filbert, but refuses to go out with him till the crisis is past and shames him into actually getting back to fixing the mistake he made.. in this case a giant tooth abuducting his best friend, gladly asks him out once it's over, and rejects him from denstitry because well.. giant tooth monster. There's never a moment she's not great.

Rocko also gets one or two great btis: being forced into a "and now kiss' situation with hutch, and when filburt has a shot to save them "He's my best friend but he can't throw. I'd say we're done for". Just the casual way he says it. These eps reminded me that rocko himself is really underated as while he's often the straight man, and a very good one, he can be just as funny himself at times.

Filburt also gets to shine a little: his using a childhood promise, electrodes (which hutch seems to be INNN to) and his phallic chimney sweep dreams at the end all work. Overall this isn't a really deep or character based episode.. but it is relaly fucking hilarious and it'll always have that

The Big Question… is my faviorite episode of the show. It's the one I go back to the most, and has some of my all time faviorite gags which kev kindly screencapped for me. While I do most of mine I can't acess paramount+ on my pc, so he gladly made them for me.

The Big Question also took an uphill battle to get made: not the biggest i've seen in animation, i've seen way bigger fights.. but it was still one. See some execs simply prefer a looser status quo for shows: continuity is fine to a point, btu they want them playable in any order. Obviously they've relaxed ont his a bit as more recent comedies for kids like say craig of the creek, harvey beaks or big city greens still have a pretty rich continuity and ocasionally story arcs. Their just still episodic. It's still just a bit as while seralized shows exist, execs seem antsy about them, see it being the excuse for the owl house's cancelation.

So naturally when the writers pitched Filburt and Hutch, who had been together about a season, marying, they had to FIGHT to get them to agree with it. Me I don't see what the big deal is as it's a very slight change. They live together now probably… and? It dosen't really effect what kinds of stories they can tell an dat most a kid will go "Wait they got married?!" if it get sbrought up..t hen want to see what they missed. I can say this as a kid who often missed big plot point episodes, especially with avatar and badly wanted to know what i'd missed..or simply wasn't aware I missed anything till much later. It seems weird to get upset over when it dosen't hurt the show and the show HAD continuity once or twice before, with Rachel Bighead getting a sequel episode. It's also maddening to think this hatred of episodes having gasp continuity and arcs has NOT gone away. Kids.. like this stuff. I latched onto KND and Danny PHantom in part due to their ongoing soap operas. Amont my niece and nephews, my older nephews love anime, my younger nephew binged avatar all by himself and trollhunters too and my niece has binged gravity falls multiple time. Kids, at least a lot of them, love arc based story telling and plots. They love the fact these thigns pay off.. because most people do. It's how narrative storytelling often works. So seeing these two get married isn't some big GASP THEY'LL BE CONFUSED MOMENT but both a big awe and a desire to see how it happened. HOw it happened is also fun as filbert is neurotic about it!

We also get a nice contrast in their support from Rocko and Heifer: Heifer being.. Heifer… is both genuinely supportive and that one friend you wanted to shove out of a moving vehicle often. He'll troll filburt during a practice session one minute, and help him break into Hutch's old high school in matching stealth outfits the next. It shows while the two's main purpose as friends is to fight, see one of the very episodes today as an example, and have poor rocko serve as referee or just roll his eyes, Heifer DOES care about hima nd want to help

Rocko however shwos some of his best here: he's genuinely supportive.. but also fed up with Filburt's nonseense, constantlly encourging him to

And needling Filburt's attempts to keep putting off his proposal due to nerves. He's harsh sure.. but Filburt needs that. As someone with anxiety I relate to being trapped in your own insecurity and self doubt, so I get Filburt NEEDING that push to do what he truly wants to do but is sipmly too nauseous to pull off. It's a geninely sweet dynamic and i'ts also nice to see Rocko who the universe commonly bats around like a cat with a fairly intresting toy, be the assertive once for once and actually help drive the plot. It also works well as you never get the sense Filburt dosen't want to marry hutch just that his own self loathing and neurosis are an obstacle , one he does almost overcome to propose.. but she beats him to it, which I also like as it fits Paula's positve go getter personality and proves WHY the two, despite being polar oppisites works: he likely grounds her enthusasim while still being genuinely sweet and supportive, and she helps give him the confidence he lacks and genuinely supports him with not a speck of condecsenmsion. She's probably the only person in the series who both won't take Filburt's bullshit.. but also belivies in him. Even Rocko dosen't on most days, and he's our own marsupial jesus. The plot also works well for both it's emotinal core.. and jokes. Paula is hanging around with her good buddy Tiger, and being a traditionally handsome cat man, seriously his arms my god, it nicely sends Hutch spinning> We the audience can probably guess that their just friends because Paula Hutchison isn't a cheater and can you know.. have healthy inter gender friendships. But he's not relaly the obstacle here: the guys just THINK he's one. Filburt is his own worst enemy, he kicks the living shit out of .. he.

That said we do get a nice supporting antagon ist who really dosen't stop our heroes for long but eats all the screentime she has, with Kevin Meany doing an awesome job: The Wido Hutchison. Mrs. Hutchison.. is a racist asshole, beliving turtle on cat marriage is bad and wanting to stop it. She's more scary than funny especially since pricks like this exist in real life. What makes her funny is the contrast of her dead serious if hammy demeanor, with the wackier rest of the cast. My faviorite moments of the episode all come from the gang reacting to her.. and to her LIFTING ROCKO'S CAR AND THROWING IT. Observe

The last one is one I quote a lot and i'll likely get a LOT of use out of that image. The fact Rocko thinks that means anything is adorable. The episode, while defined more by filburt's journey and the heartwarming ending, really does have a lot of good jokes: Rocko's only disguise bein ga hat, the guys using a BOMB as part of the plan, and Tiger just casually holding rocko during the ending. A ship the series should have explored frankly, but eh it was the 90's and all. The ending swerve of hutch proposing and having gotten tiger's help is sweet, as is the fact Filburt still gives her the engagment hook he was going to propose with and the two telling each other "i love you" is so freaking sweet for a show so deranged. Speaking of which

This one was a two parter and a dang good one, though each episdoe feels like a complete short in it's own right. The Big Answer is heavier on the jokes, but keeps the nice character introspectiion and gives Hutch some needed autonomy. She's firm she's into filburt and why she likes him, and backs it up with a defiant kay.. and it also deals with the thorny subject that her mom just.. isn't "kay" with it. That no matter how hard she tries her mom is activelya gainst this and only helping because she loves her daughter, but can't love her enough to stop being a racist bitter ass. Her reasons for being so bitter are given context here, as we find out her father was a turtle, something she knew but never thought the rest of the cast needed to know, and just kinda.. left. Like Hutch speaks to him familiarly enough she clearly still sees him, he just left her and she's understandably pissed, even if her racisim is less so.

We also get our requisite wild bachelor party, complete with characters we don't know which leads to a great gag of "who are those guys"

And our heroes hyjacking an icecream plane and of course Filburt's classic cry of "and my frien'ds australian". The sugar bender is fantastic, flawless, no notes.

Where it leads is also great; Rocko trying to prevent a modern race war is suprisingly darkly funny, with the incidting incdient being filburts unsettling aunt who splashes water on the cats.. and while it's a very Jerkass Heifer moment, the weird swerve of him just.. being on the cats side works both for the sheer out of nowhere ness. and because if you think about it the cow raised by wolves who fights with filburt on a dime taking the predators side in this actually makes complete sense. The ending double punch of them already being married and the hilarity of hutch's dad, "CHARGE MAGNOLIA CHARGE!", really sells th eep. The previous one is better, but this one's still pretty sweet

From Here to Maternity is from the final season and sees the two have kids. And it's an episode that's very much front and backloaded. The middle is just Filburt being an overly masculine jerkass who assume she'll have a cisgender son and who bullies hef for daring to think ti's a girl despite hef you know, sitting on his eggs for him to keep them warm, something Filburt physcially can't do. It just gets exausting after a while and only Rocko's weak "I'm in jail joke" and getting stuck there hwen they move on really works.

The front and back thougH? Fucking fantastic. The opening with our heroes racing the stork is just comedy gold, from Filburt's mania, to him FLIPING AND REVERSING the car to drive it after him, to the stork for no reason deciding not to let filburt just.. beat him and instead taking his glasses to make sure he looses.

But Filburt missing his wife giving birth still works as he was such a dick to the stork to outrun him, you don't feel too bad and the babies hadn't hatched anyway. The gag about hutch having to go right into surgery is both so her and so funny.

The last act though.. is delightfuly batshit. The reveal the lamaze class is a secret front for easter bunnies is delightfully out of left field but still fits the world, Rocko simply having to put his ears up higher to sneak in is an all time great gag, and our heroes landing in jail is great. The ending is also shockingly funny: while the babies hatching is sweet, we get some great gags to quickly take it form sweet to comedy gold: Filburt asserting he's unconcious from the shock with Hutch having none of it and directly standing on him to make her point, and the Heifer resembling baby following rocko around instead, even past the credits is both adorable and makes way more sense than it has any right to. I don't have a ton to say about from here to materinity but the top and bottom are so strong even a week middle can't stop this one from being enjoyable.

So that was Hutch and Filbert and honestly? I had less to say thann I thought. The two are cute , functional and really support one another. There's not much depth.. but that's because the point of these episodes is mostly jokes. There's some introspection, btu the relationship itself is really just two people who ballance one another being sweet. For a 90's sitcom, you can't ask too much more, and what we get is fantastic. Check these episodes out on paramount plus and we'll be seeing mor eof rocko's modern life in the future.

[lacrimosathedark]

I have made some DC posts that people actually show interest in (and most of them seem to like with...one exception) but I know a not insubstantial portion of DC fandom watches the Young Justice cartoon, and I don’t. I have no intention to change that in the near future. But because I Have A Problem and constantly feel the need to explain myself for things, I’m going to do that.

Before that, DISCLAIMER: I am NOT saying the show is inherently bad, nor do I think anyone is dumb or wrong for liking it or even preferring it to the comics. It’s just not MY thing.

If you are sensitive to people not liking things you enjoy, seriously, don’t read this. I’m not attacking anyone, this is all my personal opinion and preferences.

So!

Reasons I Don’t Watch Young Justice

1. I suck at watching things.

Honestly my biggest reason. I was that kid in school that everyone was like “you haven’t seen [supposedly culturally iconic or currently popular movie]?! Seriously!?! That’s insane! You HAVE to!”

AND THEN I DIDN’T

A big part of that is my brain is Dumb. I have Inattentive-Type ADHD. This means my brain is very bad at focusing, especially on things I’m not like, super fixated on (and even then, I often overwhelm myself). So I’m not good at sitting down and watching things, even when I AM interest.

People have been telling me to watch and/or read Lord of the Rings for pretty much ever. GUESS WHAT I’VE NEVER SEEN

I loved Supernatural, as shitty as it could be. I haven’t watched every episode in any season past season 6.

I have had lists of anime and video games I want to watch. Still haven’t.

I’ve been recommended books (and I’m generally better at reading than watching) that sound awesome that I STILL have not picked up.

I have been intending to watch Moon Knight, which I actually really want to watch. Guess what I haven’t done.

2. My brain seems to like comic books more.

I didn’t get to have comic books as a kid just because it wasn’t a big thing where I lived so my exposure was limited. However, there’s a crossover exposure that my brain liked.

I grew up loving anime, and read a lot of manga. I also grew up playing Spider-Man video games. And then, I also grew up watching the old Teen Titans cartoon.

All these kind of combine into a certain predisposition towards consuming media in a certain way.

3. It doesn’t mesh with my comic experience.

I, like I presume a good chunk of other tumblr users, got into comics because of ThePandaRedd from TikTok. He is just so fucking funny and it drew me in. And if you don’t know, a lot of his content is Bat family related. So, that’s what I was drawn to. Growing up with the Teen Titans show, I was also lowkey predisposed to an interest in Robin anyway.

I quickly learned all I could about all of Batman’s many kids (because wtf my guy). To do that, I started watching comic videos on youtube, reading wikis, finding comic book pages on tumblr. I eventually grew to love all of them.

But I learned about and almost immediately fell in love with Jason Todd, Tim Drake, and Cassandra Cain.

Why does this matter to my point? Well...

4. That’s not Young Justice.

The show is called Young Justice, but like...that’s not Young Justice. That’s basically the Teen Titans.

I have seen clips of the first episode. I don’t remember all of it, but three characters I distinctly remember being present for the formation of that Young Justice was Dick Grayson, Wally West, and Roy Harper. In comics, they were never Young Justice. Those three specifically founded the Teen Titans with Garth and Donna Troy. Like???

Young Justice in the comics is formed by Tim Drake, Superboy (later named Kon-El and Conner Kent), and Bart Allen. Not long after they add Greta Hayes and Cassie Sandsmark and on and on but like, those three boys are at the center. So much so that them, along with Cassie Sandsmark, are known as the Core Four among the fandom. And they are all intimately close friends and those relationships actually mean a lot to me.

Just a glance at the wiki makes me just...my skin is crawling. Kon joins the team with Dick, long before Tim is on the team. Ugh.

Kon dates Miss Martian, which...I don’t know much about the Martians and Kon is a flirt but like...the other characters he’s usually closer with--ugh.

Tim dates Cassie??? Without the influence of losing Conner??? And also idk does he date Stephanie? Because Tim and Steph are like, a big thing and tbh the only more intimate relationship Tim has is with Conner effin Kent, and I know Steph is in the show. (Also for a show that has a bunch of queer stuff, why does my duck boy not have a boyfriend of any kind? I know Bernard is super recent but he’s been like queercoded forever so like where is it?)

Speaking of that relationship, where is it? Even in a platonic sense, because Kon is consistently borderline obsessed with being Tim’s friend. Tim is probably the most important person to him; throughout especially the Teen Titans run Kon relied on Tim for emotional support and put a lot of faith in him. Tim literally lost his goddamn mind when Conner died. Like, he tried to bring Steph back with a Lazarus Pit. Okay, kinda fucked, but it’s happened. But when Kon died, Tim changed his costume to match Kon’s colors, tried to clone him, and “dated” his ex-girlfriend (who had, at the time, literally joined a cult who had hoped to bring Conner back). Um??? And then when Kon came back, Kon’s support made a huge difference in Tim’s shitty mental health. And the second time they met after Kon came back, Tim threw himself at Kon to hug him. And Conner refused to accept anyone but Tim (Damian specifically, but also Steph) as Robin. To him, Tim will always be Robin (and he will always be Tim’s clone boy <3). These two are a pair, platonic or otherwise, and that they aren’t so close in this show is upsetting to me.

Bart at least doesn’t appear before Tim does but he’s still seemingly not close to the rest of the “Core Four” and that just makes me so incredibly sad. I mean, points for making him not straight I guess but like...those friendships are really important to him. Like, Kon has historically been almost like his mom-friend, making sure he’s taken care of even when Bart is doing everything to avoid his issues (not that Conner’s much better at that, but yknow). The newer Young Justice comics, Conner totally mom’s Bart. He full names him (”Bartholomew Allen the Second! Don’t run away from me!” literally all that’s missing is his middle name and a scolding “young man”), and grabs some of his favorite snacks for when he wakes up after he passes out. And he also immediately called Tim because from the beginning there’s been the joke of the co-parenting Bart. And another point to Conner relying on Tim and just UGH.

And y’know, if they’re just gonna do Teen Titans, where are Vic and Raven and Kory? Like, I’m glad they had lesser known Titans like Karen Beecher and Mal Duncan but like...idk. I personally grew up with them, and if you’re gonna have Beast Boy, I feel like Cyborg and Raven kinda come with that package. And Starfire comes with the Raven package. Just my personal feelings there.

Small note since I mentioned my other beloved Bats: I know very little about what’s happening with them, but Cass is Cassandra Wu-San and Jason seems to still be brain-dead. Like, pre-Lazarus Pit brain-dead. Like I just...don’t know.

5. Artemis unreasonably pisses me off.

Prefacing this with, she’s not necessarily a bad character (I honestly can’t judge that with what little I know). This is honestly mostly because my brain is dumb.

First of all, it takes my brain several jumps to figure out who someone’s talking about when they talk about her.

“Y’know, Artemis.”

“You mean Artemis Grace of Bana-Mighdall, badass redhead Amazon, archer and ax-wielder,  and Jason Todd’s bestie/former girlfriend?”

“No, the blonde archer, in Young Justice.”

“...You mean Cissie King-Jones, Arrowette?”

“No, from the show.”

“...Oh.”

And then she’s paired up with Wally West apparently. Which unnecessarily gets under my skin.

Look, the only person I can see Wally with other than his wife Linda is Dick Grayson, and that is really because he seems just as obsessively protective about both of them. I cannot imagine Wally without either of them, and tbh the idea of him not have Jai and Irey makes me so fucking sad. Man would do literally anything for his children. I know he’s dated other girls before Linda, but it still rubs me the wrong way.

In that same vein...

6. Zatanna

I know she’s implied to have...been with Dick Grayson in the show. In general, who can blame her, it’s Dick Grayson.

However, in the show, she’s around Dick’s age.

In the comics, she was childhood friends with Bruce Wayne. Those two are best friends. They sort of almost dated for a while. I may be wrong, but I think Z may even be a little older than Bruce.

And that just really freaks me out, okay? It puts me off. My brain doesn’t want to compute that her age is different than it is in the comics.

(Also I’m a fan off her on-off relationship with the lovable chaotic fuckboy that is John Constantine.)

7. What the FUCK is going on with Roy Harper? Also Cheshire and Lian.

Like, there’s like, three different versions of him or something? And the “real” Roy isn’t even Lian’s father? Like, this is things I’ve just learned from vague clips and they make me irrationally frustrated.

As for Cheshire, I know she’s played to be sympathetic in the show, to at least some extent. Which isn’t a problem.

But I don’t like her.

She did, at one point, truly love Roy. She genuinely loves her daughter probably more than anything in the world. She is, arguably, the best mother she could be given the circumstances.

That being said, this is a woman who loves what she does. She revels in her job as an assassin. She enjoys the taunting, the fighting, the killing. She finds amusement in seeing people fall to her poisons. And as much as she loves her daughter, she would not give up being an assassin to raise her.

Jade Nguyen is an awful person in my eyes and that cartoon won’t change that.

I’m also not invested in that Lian.

Every clip I’ve seen of cartoon Lian looks nothing like any version of Lian I know and love. Like, the closest is Kingdom Come Red Hood with her long red hair, but her hair was distinctly curly and she looked like Jade, according to little Lian. Then there’s little Lian, black haired, clearly Asian girl, being raised with numerous superheroes and knowing Navajo traditions, sweet and clever and brilliant and whose favorite color is red. And then there’s Shoes, who while many don’t like her mostly due to her amnesia, I do. Blue hair and usually blue lipstick, seemingly temporary (or at least inconsistent) tattoos on her neck and arms, one of Catwoman’s Alleytown Strays and upcoming vigilante Cheshire Cat. Clearly clever, already a hacker, wears a red baseball hat (like Roy!) and fishnets (like Dinah!) and all around a ‘fuck you’ attitude while still being a sweetheart, very much like Selina.

The overall white-looking brown-haired girl in pink I keep seeing doesn’t click as Lian to me. That’s not the girl I adore. And as of late, Lian has been really important to me.

I don’t know if that’s even everything, but I felt I had to get it out of my system. Particularly about Artemis. I really don’t know why that makes me so upset but I don’t like it. At All.

Sorry, my content, aside from maybe a jokey reblog, will never be about the Young Justice cartoon. I don’t intend to bash it, but I’m not gonna watch it, and comment much on it either. If that’s content you want, you won’t find it here.

[cipheress-to-k-pop]

Could you write a Wally West (Young Justice) headcanon, when his Future child with comes to the Present?

Wally West when his Future child comes to the Present

Dick Grayson Ver. | Jason Todd Ver. | Tim Drake Ver. | Damian Wayne Ver.  | Bruce Wayne Ver.

Conner Kent Ver.| Artemis Crock Ver.| Roy Harper Ver.

It was no secret that Wally was madly in love with you

Well, no secret to everyone else

To you?

You probably wouldn't have known if Wally proposed to you

Why?

Well because Wally practically proposed to everyone

Before he decided to get serious about you of course

But you didn't know that

And you didn't even know how serious it was

Besides, you weren't on the team so Young Justice could turn into Love Island

You were here to train and help people

Hence comes the age of Wally's hopeless pining

Let's be honest here

Wally is such a simp that it's not even funny anymore

He's willing to do practically everything for you

And he's so easy to please

Like you smile at him and he'll be on cloud 9

No joke

No one on planet earth thought Wally would ever be so head over heels

But they stand corrected

Ever since you came into his life

It's only been you

Wally can't explain it

To be honest he can't even understand it

But he knows that his heart does 360's whenever he looks at you

And all he wants is your happiness

The team try and convince you at times that Wally isn't the same person that he used to be

Sometimes they want to tell you how madly in love with you he is

But Wally always stops them before they do

He doesn't want you to know

Part of the reason is because he's scared of rejection

The other reason is because he doesn't want things to be awkward

He doesn't want you to feel guilty for rejecting him

He doesn't want you to feel pressured to accept his feelings

He'd much rather be crushed by his crush than make you feel even a fraction of what he did

For the moment, he was fine admiring you from afar

Of course, that all changed when the incident happened

Now this isn't your first rodeo so if you read my previous parts on this yall already know what happens

One day when the team was having a beach day

Wally was taking a breather and eating a hot dog on the shore

Calmly watching you play in the ocean

You were so happy and excited

He was smiling brightly just watching you

Your happiness was his happiness

"Dude, you've got it bad."

His head snapped up to see a boy who looked eerily similar to him

Red hair, green eyes

Another Allen? Again?

His mind was already whirring a with super speed

"What?"

"That girl? Your eyes were practically going to fall out of your head."

Wally blushed

"I wasn't staring that hard."

"Are you kidding? If you were in a cartoon (haha I make jokes) your pupils would be hearts and the phrase 'Awooga' would've come out of your mouth."

The kid continued to smirk at Wally before offering his hand

"I'm Leo."

"Wally."

He laughed, "Yeah I know."

"What?"

"Never mind. So, you're madly in love with this girl?"

And so, Wally pours out his heart and soul to some stranger on the beach

Not to mention the setting sun is super romantic

Leo is super attentive, listening carefully to everything Wally says and doesn't make any interruptions

Not even when Wally starts gushing about how beautiful you look in the rays of the sun

Even when Wally starts lamenting about how he's going to be alone for the rest of his life

By the end of the talk Leo gives him some advice

"Ever think of a huge gesture? Something to show her that she means something else to you than the others?"

"Hm? Like what?"

"You have superspeed genius. Take her somewhere she wouldn't be able to go otherwise. My opinion, take her someplace that brings a lot of nostalgia to her."

"I don't know...what if she doesn't like me that way?"

"Just trust me, you guys are meant for each other."

Now Wally doesn't know why exactly he's putting blind trust into some stranger

It's so unlike him

He's also so methodical and smart about things

More of a trust your mind than your gut kind of person

But even then, he found himself believing this random person he found on the beach

Wally took his advice seriously, promising that the next time they see each other, he would have at least tried

And he came through on his promise

One day Wally asked you if you were free and you said yes

Not knowing that Wally was just going to grab you bridal style and superspeed somewhere

He took you to a fair by your hometown

One of your favourite places on earth

And the two of you spent the whole day together

Going on rides, eating at each and every food stall you could find

Only in that order because you didn't want to throw up

Playing carnival games, going to the haunted house and house of mirrors

And of course, the grand finale, watching the fireworks from the Ferris wheel

"So, why the sudden outing?"

Wally shrugged, "Just wanted to do something special with you."

"Something special as friends? Or something else?"

He blushed, "Well, I mean, if you want it to be but there's not press—"

You couldn't even let him finish before throwing your hands around his neck and kissing him hard

Nothing beats hearing actual fireworks in the background and actually being off the ground in the Ferris wheel while kissing Wally for the very first time

Wally thanks Leo for the start of your relationship

He didn't think he would see him again after that

Honestly began thinking that Leo was some sort of guardian angel or something

Or cupid

Until one day he shows up again in at the cave

Everyone was immediately on attack mode

Until Wally saw who he was

"Woah! Guys stop for a second! He's my friend."

They all stop attacking because Wally vouched for him

But that still doesn't explain how he got in there

Or why

"So, what exactly are you doing here."

"I kinda need the plans to Uncle Bart's time machine."

"Why would you need that? And what do you mean Uncle Bart?"

"So, I can get back to my time? My parents are probably freaking out."

He tells you about how he's from the future and he got zapped to the past through some warp hole or something

And he needed the plans to Bart's time machine to go back to his own time

"So, how'd things go with that girl?"

Wally outright beamed and you just looked mildly confused

"Girl? What girl?"

Cue Wally wrapping his arm around you with a giant proud smile

"Things went very well."

It was then you realized you were the girl he was talking about and blushed

Leo on the other hand smirked

"Great. I hope you'll keep this in mind when you want to ground me."

"What? Why would I ground you?"

Leo doesn't answer your question, just smirks and holds out his hand to you

"I'm Leo West. Nice to meet you, (Y/N) West."

PLOT TWIST lol not really cuz we all knew it

You're in utter disbelief

How is he so blatant

Now you can see the resemblance to Wally

And Wally is damn near a heart attack

Cuz like? You marry him? Have a kid with him? He can't compute

"So, you mean to tell me that you're my future son?"

"In the flesh."

"Huh. Damn I guess I have better genetics than I thought."

And Wally is just simultaneously flustered and agitated that you're not more triggered than he is and in utter adoration of you and how cool you are

And everyone is just like she didn't react because she's emotionally stunted and traumatized

And Wally is like shh she's amazing let me love her

Even though Leo was totally blatant about his name and the fact that you and Wally get married and stuff

He seems a little reluctant to tell you about the future

Which you understand

Besides, it's not like you wouldn't find out eventually

You help him build the time machine so he can return home

And you learn much more about him

He's the spitting image of Wally but is more brash and unfiltered than he is

And that says something

Leo's mouth works faster than his brain

And that's abundantly clear within the first 5 minutes of meeting him

He says some mean and straightforward things sometimes

But you know that his intention is never to hurt you

He just has problems framing his sentences in a non-offensive way

Eventually you do send him back

And you'd take about 20 years before you'd find out what happened on the other side of the time machine

But I'll tell you anyway

"Mom! Dad!"

"Leo! Oh, thank goodness! I thought I was going to have a heart attack!"

You grabbed him in your arms, checking him over for injuries and kissing every inch of skin on his face

"Mom, I'm fine, stop slobbering over me."

"Well, I'm glad you are fine. Because you're grounded for a month."

"What?! I get you both laid and I get grounded for a month?!"

"You're right. You're grounded for two."

Forever Taglist:

@simonsbluee

DC Taglist:

@emmacata

@p--e--a--c--h--e--s

@sometimeseverythingsucks

@sokkas-honour

@unstable1902

@lostgirlheart

@missdisapear

@tadpole-san

[taxi-cab-to-slowtown]

Core Disaster Week-- Day 5

Mission Report: May 25, 20XX

Timothy Jackson Drake-Wayne, Robin

Mission Completed: Young Justice Mission XXX

Summary: Look, weird things happen in our line of work, but this was weird even for that. We got transported to a universe where there was no such things as superheroes or superpowers, and let me say, it was trippy as all fuck. 

Notes: I find it really interesting that in this universe Bart was Barry’s son and not his grandson, it lends credence to my developing theory that Bart might be from the future, but his true intended time is the present. It would explain why Kon and I are his soulmates despite being from what would seem to be his past. If in a universe where time-travel does not exist he ends up in this time period anyway, maybe this is the period he’d meant to be in. 

Tw: Dick, don’t read this. You don’t want to know some of the stuff that happened. For everyone else, TW for child abuse. 

Notes For B: This is going to be weirdly sentimental and you can completely ignore it if it’s out of line, but that you for being my dad. I just got a look at a world where I never ended up becoming Robin or a part of your family, and it sucked. Robin, and this family, is such an intrinsic part of who I am that I wouldn’t be the same person without it. So, thank you. 

Report: I woke up this morning in my old bed in Drake manor. At first I thought it was some kind of prank– Jason has been known to randomly move me when I sleep and put me in weird places to take pictures on my phone and then make fun of me for being such a deep sleeper– but then I noticed that there were things off about the room. 

A lot of my current hyper-fixations and special interests were laying around the room. Books about coding that I didn’t own before now,  and a few time-travel theorem books. Turns out I always end up researching that, even if my soulmate isn’t a time traveller. There were other things there too. There was a Deadpool poster on my wall, which was weird because I’ve always had trouble getting into comic books because of how different they are from reality. There were also multiple school awards on a shelf that I was never able to get because I was always so busy. There was also a photo of me kissing a blond kid that I faintly recognised from school. 

Anway, really, really trippy. 

I grabbed my phone to call Kon or Bart, but didn’t find their names in my contacts. That was okay because I had their numbers memorised anyway, so I called them. 

Bart, it turned out, was the son of Barry Allen and Iris West. Iris was still a reporter, but Barry was just a normal forensic scientist who never had a lab-accident involving lightning. He also told me that he didn’t have superspeed. His soulmark was still on his chest– as was mine– and everything else seemed the same, but neither he nor Barry had powers, and it seemed that he hadn’t travelled through time. 

Upon further searching, we discovered some more discrepancies, the worst of which being that Wally West had never gotten out of his abusive household and had been beaten to death when he was a teenager. I guess that without super-speed and realising that Barry was the Flash, Wally would never have survived. Bart cried for a while after that, demanding that we find a way to get back home. 

Then I called Kon. Who, in this universe, was still the son of Lex Luthor and Clark Kent, but Clark was trans and the two of them were together. His name was also Conner Luthor and he was the Lexcorp heir. He said that it was really tripping, and that when he’d first walked in and saw Clark and Lex being lovey-dovey in the kitchen he’d almost died of shock. He also didn’t have his powers at all. 

We got Kon to steal a jet from his father and pick us both up so we could find a way back into our universe. I broke into Wayne manor in hopes of finding the Batcave, but it wasn’t there. I did discover though that Dick Grayson suffered from severe depression and was labelled insane after he murdered a man in cold blood when he was eight. Apparently, he’d lost both his parents, killed Tony Zucco, was confined to the manor for the rest of his life, his little brother was murdered– not by the Joker, but by some guy trying to get to the Wayne fortune– and then figured out that either his soulmate didn’t want him or was dead. I couldn’t exactly tell him that I knew who his soulmate was and exactly what had happened to him. 

We got out of Wayne manor and managed to track down a device that Lex was making to try to travel through universes. We broke into Lexcorp in order to use it, but Lex caught us. He asked Kon what he was up to. Kon told him that his machine worked and we were from another universe, before flipping the switch. We got back to our bodies just fine, but I’m sort of worried that Lex Luthor from that world might be in the body of our Lex Luthor. 

Follow Up: Keep an eye out for any weird behaviour from Lex.