#and making Carlos choose between his friends. forcing him to choose. rather than allowing him to run again.

[quietwingsinthesky]

the Gabriel/Loki episode of the winchesters was good though. That one can stay.

[evcrafter]

Carlos De Vil

Face-claim: Cameron Boyce

Status: semi-active

Biography:

Carlos Oscar De Vil is the son of Cruella De Vil. He was first introduced as the bullying target of Jay and Mal. Raised to believe that dogs are vicious animals, Carlos used to have an irrational fear of canines. Everything changed when Carlos arrived in Auradon and met a real dog, Dude, and the two soon became inseparable.

Carlos is one of the nicer VKs and is rarely seen doing anything bad. Having been treated as a slave for a long time, he is obedient and dislikes the idea of going against authority. He tends to follow what his mother tells him to and what his friends do. His mother claims he was a follower rather than a leader, and Carlos longed to prove her wrong.

Being younger and physically weaker than the rest of his class, Carlos was often a target of bullies. Despite being looked down by the majority, Carlos has shown to be a lot smarter than them. He is a true tech prodigy, having had worked feverishly on a project that would connect the Isle of the Lost to the outside world.

Although he inherited his mother's love of fashion (especially if it's in black-and-white), he didn't inherit Cruella's love of dogs ― on the contrary, Carlos is deathly afraid of dogs. Cruella raised Carlos into thinking that dogs are killers, as well as vicious, rabid pack animals. As a result, Carlos had an extreme fear of canines, practically allowing them to chase him up a tree. Carlos realized that dogs can be gentle and lovable when Ben introduced him to Dude the campus mutt; the two then developed an unbreakable bond.

Carlos cares about his friends deeply and sees them as his older siblings. Evie was the first person that he ever considered as a friend. The two grew closer after Carlos rescued Evie from the trap that Mal set up. Carlos noticed that something was troubling Mal and requested the rest of his friends to sit down and have a talk, even though he didn't know how to start a "girl talk." He is extremely supportive of all his friends, and even calls them his family.

One of Carlos's greatest attributes is his character. He is extremely loyal, willing to follow his friends (family) wherever they go. He is honest, admits when he feels down, very clever, witty, and asks for advice when he needs it. He keeps the team together and tries his best to be helpful to the others. Carlos is fun-loving and holds good clothing styles. And as most would say, very good-looking.

Carlos is treated badly by his mother and sleeps in her dressing room on the floor, without touching her furs. He is forced to look after and clean her furs, and it is also revealed that she loves her furs more than him and refers to her car as "her baby."

Since he never had anyone to play with, and everyone ignored and bullied him, Carlos never received what he longed to have: love. Cruella tortured him with chores and the thought of dogs, while Mal and Jay bullied him into holding a party. Reza, his rival in school, takes a vial out of the lab, and Carlos himself admits that Reza hates him. In the book, Carlos seems to be the one everyone beats up, as he tells Evie he is beat up in "games." At Evie's 6th birthday party, Carlos is given a cat named Beelzebub, a kitten from Lucifer's litter. Thanks to "Bee," Carlos was given affection and love, and was able to push through many hard times that were yet to come over the course of the years. Years later, Carlos rescues Evie from his mother's closet and helps her escape the bear traps. As a result, the two begin to bond together and grow closer throughout the course of the books. Evie tries to cheer Carlos up about his bedroom, but Carlos objects, saying his mother keeps him away from her furs. When Evie offers to give him an old comforter, Carlos didn't believe that a Villain Kid would offer such a thing; Evie herself felt awkward, and didn't know what to say. Carlos tells her that "no one's ever cared whether I'm warm or not." Having never had any form of comfort, Carlos asks if she has a pillow, regrets asking, and then tries to cover it up by claiming he has had one before. Even as both felt extremely awkward and uncomfortable, both felt something different inside, and we are given a glimpse that VK's can feel different emotions.

With other things that are not related to his house, Carlos is incredibly smart and enjoys science and creating inventions, and refers to himself as a nerd. He has a tree-house where he keeps his inventions and chemicals, as he fears his mother will create hair products. He also has Jace and Harry, the sons of Jasper and Horace, as his "minions", though they are not truly his friends since Cruella forces them to hang out together. He gets beaten up and pushed around in school. Carlos was also the one responsible for making a hole in the dome briefly when he was testing his invention, which would cause Maleficent's staff to gain its magic back as a result. It also lets him watch Disney Channel sitcoms like Dog with a Blog, Liv and Maddie, and Mighty Med while the dome is open. After Mal and Jay force Evie to help them retrieve it, she also convinces Carlos to reluctantly join the quest. Though the group fail when the staff is unable to retain any magic, Carlos is finally accepted by Mal and Jay, beginning the four's friendship.

Cruella forces Carlos to help touch up her roots, fluff up her fur, and scrape the bunions from her feet. This makes Carlos consider that heading to Auradon wouldn't be so bad, but Cruella uses his fear of canines as a way to control him. While in the limo headed to Auradon, Carlos takes a liking to chocolate. When they first meet Doug, he seems to have trouble remembering the names of the Seven Dwarfs, though Carlos seems to know the names of each and reminds Doug of Sneezy. He is the most tech-savvy, as he seems to take a liking to video games and is able to use a computer to locate the museum where the Fairy Godmother's wand is. When Jay causes the alarm to sound, Carlos hears the phone and picks it up; he manages to disable the alarm and make them think it was a system error.

The Fairy Godmother assigns Carlos and Jay to sports. While Carlos doesn't seem to do well, Ben offers to help him with this. As he practices sprinting, Carlos gets chased by the campus mutt, Dude. Seeing that Dude isn't vicious, Carlos starts to take a liking to canines, and takes Dude everywhere he goes in the film. During the big game between Sherwood, Jay insists that Carlos play with him, and with his help, the team wins the game.

When Cruella sees Dude and calls him an "earmuff," Carlos defends Dude; this is most likely the first time that Carlos has stood up to his mother. He then "burns" her by telling her to "give it a rest" with talking to a toy dog head. In one plan, it is Carlos' job to get into the limo and find the remote that activates the barrier around the Isle of the Lost. At the coronation, when Mal makes a speech on choosing to be good, Carlos is cautious at first, as he is nervous of the anger of their parents. But after being assured, he chooses to be good too. He is seen dancing with Jane during the coronation party.

As they settle into life in Auradon, Carlos is seen as the student who spends his time in library after school and likes to work in the dark. However, he is first seen working on finding the culprit of sending him an email to return to the Isle. Mal and Evie join him, and both state they also received messages telling them the same thing. When Evie suggests that their parents are behind the scheme, Carlos worries and begins to search urgently. He manages to hack the system on his computer by guessing the code- D-A-L-M-A-T-I-A-N-S. He unlocks the Dark Net, a form of internet that allows villains to communicate secretly. Carlos becomes frightened and tells the others that he will work on obtaining more information about the Dark Net.

Later, Carlos is running across the Tourney field to find Mal and Evie. He lunges into the girl's dorm, only to find the door open, and tumbles to the ground front forward. Evie and Mal help him up, and Carlos quickly tells them he found some important news. He pulls up a tab with their pictures on it, with red X's across them. He tells them he found out a secret message and translates for them. Apparently, the secret meeting is on Saturday at 11:59 PM, before the New Moon rises. Jay joins them a few minutes later and suggests planning a way to get back to the Isle without being noticed. Together, the four VK's make a plan.

Jay states that he and Carlos must play in the Tourney game on Saturday, and Evie has a dance plan that has to go through as well. The 4 make a plan to compete and go to the dance, while also being able to leave for the Isle later that night. Carlos and Jay would act to be a chauffeur and bodyguard, while Mal and Evie would pretend to be Lonnie and Audrey. Carlos and Jay win the game, though Ben is absent due to King duties.

Afterwards, the four go to the dance, and spend some time there so others know they are present. Mal eventually gets Jay to follow through with the plan, and goes to find Carlos. Carlos is dancing with Jane when Jay comes to find him. When Jay tells him he's not feeling well, Carlos almost forgets the plan but saves it at the last minute. He says he doesn't feel well either, clutches his middle, pretends to be in great pain, and tells Jane he is sorry. Both he and Jay make it out of the ballroom and make a beeline for the limo. When Evie and Mal join them, Evie asks Jay how he knows how to drive. When Jay admits he can't, Carlos tells him to switch places. Mal asks him how he knows how to drive, and Carlos says he is self-taught. Ben arrives coming back from Camelot and finds Mal and the others leaving. When he sees what is going on, he asks why Mal and Evie look like Lonnie and Audrey and why Carlos is driving. Ben says he is not mad, but is questioning Carlos driving without a license, Jay tricking Jordan out of the keys, and Mal and Evie pretending to be someone else. He lets them go reluctantly, fearing for their safety, but knows they need to go.

Carlos drives to the Isle with the others, but he crashes the car when trying to find a place to hide the limo. They are okay, but they lose to remote to the dome, causing them to worry. After they change, the four went separate ways to find their parents. Carlos heads to Castle Across The Way with Evie to find their parents. When Castle Across The Way is deserted, they try Hell Hall. But once more the house is empty. Later Carlos and Evie meet up with Mal and Maddy to eat at the Slop Shop. Evie becomes annoyed with Maddy, as she bullies Carlos about past exploits. Carlos is extremely uncomfortable throughout the entire conversation.

Later, Carlos, Evie, and Mal meet up with Jay, who was waiting for the Anti-heroes meeting to begin. During the meeting, the four learn that their parents are in the Endless Catacombs of Doom, and are looking for their talismans. After the meeting, Carlos and Jay obtain more information about the talismans. Mal had left the meeting, being tricked into following Maddy. Evie follows her, to make sure she is okay. Carlos and Jay are unaware of their absence. When Evie comes back to find Carlos and Jay, Mal is surrounded by a group of VK's who are angry. Mal is thrown off the port, right into the ocean. Carlos is the only one who could swim out of Jay and Evie. He jumps into to ocean to save Mal, while Jay and Evie draw away the crocodiles. Carlos is able to save Mal, and the group meet up at Mal's former home. Carlos shows up wearing a yellow and purple sweater and shorts that were too big for him.

The next morning, Carlos and the other Anti-heroes find a hole that leads into the Catacombs. They enter the Catacombs and begin to search for the talismans. After Evie and Jay find and conquer their talismans, Carlos has to face his. His talisman forms a picture of his mother holding her Ring of Envy. Carlos is deathly scared, and almost lets his mind and fear get the better of him. But, he listens to his heart, and manages to take the ring away from his mother. The ring tempts Carlos to use it to destroy his mother, but his heart is better than that, and he resists the temptation. Much later, Carlos and the others make their way out the Catacombs.

Together with his friends, Carlos is able to defeat Madam Mim. He returns to Auradon Prep on Sunday with his friends, and hangs out with Jane afterwards. The book closes with Carlos stating, "I don't feel like a hero." But Mal ends the book saying to remember what Yen Sid said, "We are the villains you root for in the story."

Now instilled with a burgeoning sense of self-confidence from his new life on Auradon, Carlos has left his wicked ways behind him along with his fear of dogs. With his fellow villain kids and his buddy Dude the dog by his side, he is ready to step up and take on another epic adventure. When Ben hears that Mal has returned to the Isle of the Lost after the pressure of royally perfect becomes too much for her. Carlos along with Evie and Jay attempt to teach Ben their wicked ways so he can sneak around the island to find her without being recognized and soon come face to face with Uma, Harry Hook, and Gil.

He is extremely intelligent. Unlike the other VK's, Carlos is very smart, a mathematician, a scientist, an inventor, and an athlete. After all, he was the one who "punched" a hole in the dome.

He has the ability to drive. Unlike a few, Carlos knows how to drive the limo, and is able to travel from Auradon to the Isle. Carlos himself tells the others that he learned how to drive so he could drive his mother around. Unfortunately, he doesn't have a license.

Carlos has the potential to create spells, as well as cast them, like Evie and Mal. However, it seems like Carlos avoids using any form of magic, except for the truth gummy. He doesn't seem to like using power, and tends to stick to the internet and online world.

He is a true tech prodigy. Carlos holds the ability to use many forms of technology, like in finding the museum and his 3D printer. He even impresses Chad with his intelligence and technology, which might be the only reason why Chad is always using his 3D printer without his permission.

He can swim. Unlike Jay and other people of the Isle, Carlos knows how to swim, or at least dog-paddle, as he says, "I can dog-paddle! I'll go!"

Carlos is sometimes a step ahead of the others. Literally, as Evie said, "How did you know... Never mind." He is often able to find out certain information that allows his friends to figure out different plans. His ability to investigate and obtain information makes him very special to the group.

Carlos holds many strengths, but that doesn't mean that he has no weakness. There are few weaknesses Carlos has, and some of them are just mental.

Carlos tends to become very nervous quickly, which sometimes makes him falter in certain areas.

He doesn't always stand up for himself. When his mother video chats him, he stands up for Dude and surprises his mother in the process. Carlos has trouble standing up to Jay and Mal when we first meet him, and is bullied into holding Mal's party, and joining the quest to find the Dragon Eye. He allows the other students to beat him up in a game.

He is physically weaker and younger than the rest. Carlos is shown to be almost two years younger than the rest in school age and age. Due to this, he is not able to fight back against the bullies.

His self-confidence is very low, due to his mother. Cruella constantly tells him that he is useless in everything except chores. She constantly works him like a dog. Because of this, Carlos always kicks himself, and Mal noticed his behavior as well in Isle of the Lost.

He can sometimes be a little naive. Carlos doesn't always take a hint in some situations. He doesn't always understand some things, but because of his friends and family, he is eventually able to catch up with the others. Sometimes he is able to understand the situation in a deeper way, making him even more valuable to Mal, Evie, and Jay.

Verses:

Runt of the Isle: Carlos on the Isle of the Lost

Free to Be: Carlos in Auradon

Road Less Traveled: any AU threads

[raging-violets]

The hopeless romantic in me tells me 51 or 23, but whatever you choose to write will be great :)

A/N: The hopeless romantic in me just decided to put both together. Lol. So numbers 23 and 51 for Kiley ended up being, “Just pretend to be my date.” And “I see the way you look at me when you think I’m not looking.” So I likened this to feel like it could be an extension of an episode of the show, as if the Jacksons were actually there but still hold onto that romantic element I love to stick them in, rather than something more serious and angsty between Kiley as I tend to write. What do you think? Would it fit in the episode? Did it sound like it would?

Stealth edit: Tumblr’s formatting is killing me!!!

Tag: @pearlselegancies @witchofinterest @foxesandmagic @mystic-scripture

Kendall wondered how his life could get much worse. If it wasn’t for the “horsey back ride” he’d been forced into when Bobby leapt onto his back at the beginning of the day, which he was still feeling the effects of, it was definitely seeing the look on Bobby’s face when Katie had bid her brother goodbye to go to the park.

If it were possible to have heart eyes, that was look Bobby had given Katie. Or, the thought that made Kendall shudder every time it slammed into his brain, Bobby saw Katie walking in slow motion with her hair blowing back from her face and the 70s-esque guitar solo playing in his head. It upset Kendall to no end.

But the cover of Pop Tiger was important to him, to the band, just as Kendall was important to Katie. He knew it was only a matter of time until she agreed to let Bobby hang out with them so that their band could succeed. And she did it with a gritted-tooth smile…until he tried to kiss her. And she punched him, and he ran off sulking. And they raced around the Palm Woods trying to find him, sending Annie Windsor, the editor of Pop Tiger, on a wild goose chase to convince her they were playing hide and seek.

It was one thing to see guys start to notice his baby sister, fans of his that may have mentioned it here and there—they were far enough away that he didn’t have to worry about it. It was one thing to see guys stop and stare as they walked down the street—he could glare at them and they’d turn away in shame. It was another thing to have Bobby turn around and shriek-ask in a way that only an obnoxious teenage boy could, “Whoa, who was that?”

“My sister, Katie,” he’d replied simply, only for his eyes to widen in horror when Bobby continued with, “Dude, hook me up!”

“No!” He practically yelped. “You won a date with me…not my sister.”

“And now I want to date your sister. She’s smokin’ hot!”

But all of that was pushed aside when Katie finally agreed to dance with Bobby at least once during the party if he apologized for trying to kiss her, making her punch him. Bobby quickly agreed, practically squealing, “Thanks, Kendall, for the best day ever!” as he glomped him in another ‘horsey back’ ride.

The relief hit him then, all the stress of the day melted away, knowing he managed to turn the day around and save the cover for himself and his friends. It was music to his ears when Anne Windsor said, “Okay, well, let’s get a photo and let’s get to the party,” and he posed for a photo that would be placed along the pages of Pop Tiger to accompany the article of their day.

Then everything  turned to horror when Bobby rotated toward Kendall with wide, innocent eyes, (Kendall wondered if Bobby was possessed) and said, “You want me to hook you up with someone? Now that I’m Katie’s date?”

Kendall’s eyes widened, Katie’s face screwed up in confusion, and Anne Windsor nodded, tapping her pen against her cheek as she said, “That’s right, now Kendall doesn’t have a date.”

“Well, uh, it’s not like we can't…just…” Kendall looked to Katie for some help, for an excuse to keep from having to deal with the same drama all over again. She made a face and shrugged in response, gently shaking her head. An image of another Bruna flashed before Kendall’s eyes, making him stammer. “Share Bobby as our date, right? I mean, there’s enough for him to go around!”

“I’m sure there is,” Anne Windsor replied with a tight laugh. “But we’re not that kind of magazine.”

Kendall’s face screwed up as he mulled over her words. Katie shrugged as she was swept away by Anne and her photographer, taking pictures of her and Bobby as they went. Kendall forced a smile in response; part of him hating the fact that Katie was going on a date, part of him wondering how Patrick was going to take it, and part of him wondering how he was going to get out of this problem.

He spun around at the sound of someone coming down the swirly slide, watching when it spilled Riley to the floor. She pulled herself up and brushed off the seat of her pants. “Hey,” she said, shooting him a tiny glare, “Did you find Bobby?”

“Yep!” Kendall paused for a second. “And I need you to pretend to be my date.”

Riley’s head jerked back, her face screwing up into an expression that was a mixture of disbelief and confusion. “What?” She paused and lifted a finger, pointing at him. “Wait, is this still about getting on the cover of Pop Tiger?” She eyed him warily when he pointed finger guns at her. “You’re not going to throw me into the bloody pool again, are you? I finally got dry.”

“First, I’m sorry about that.” Kendall held his hands up defensively, almost as if he were about to make the sing of the cross to keep her from lunging at him. (Not that he truly though it’d be a problem. She did have some devious tendencies, and he swore he’d only seen silhouette of devil horns and tail in her shadow once). “But we did end up finding Bobby.”

“Oh yeah?” She folded her arms, looking at him seriously. “Where?”

“In the swirly slide!” Kendall leaned over and patted the top of the swirly slide, the tube making a hollow 'thunk’ sound as he did so. “Turns out he really could live in there. And I need you to pretend to be my date.”

“I caught that the first time, Hockey-Head,” Riley said. She twirled her fingers in the air. “Still trying to figure out how everything came to that point. I must’ve missed that while I had my head underwater.”

“Your head’s underwater on a daily basis,” Kendall replied. His eyes scoured the floor for the tell-tale sign she’d been to the beach. “You’re just not leaving a trail of sand this time.”

She rolled her eyes. “Kendall.”

“What?”

“The party?”

“Right! So…” and Kendall explained everything that had happened the whole day since he’d unceremoniously pushed her into the pool so that she and her sarcasm didn’t ruin the carefully crafted ruse he’d put up for Bobby’s disappearance. “And now Katie’s going to the party with him as a date, and now I need to find one before we can’t share Bobby because they’re not 'that kind of magazine’,” he used air quotes around the words, noticing her blue eyes bobbing in sync with his hand movements. “And I need to so we can move up Pop Tiger’s mega…something…” he didn’t care to know what it was anymore. “And I’m tired of Gustavo and Kelly constantly asking me what’s going on with Jo being in New Zealand, and being asked in interviews if I’m dating, I’m tired of Carlos hugging me,” Kendall’s eyes closed into a pained expression. “And I’m tired of Logan’s puppet shows!” He took a deep breath, feeling all the tension release from his shoulders. Wow…how long had he bene holding all of that in? “Just pretend to be my date,” he said. “And we can get through this day and forget it.”

Riley looked at him for a long moment. “Okay,” she said simply.

Kendall blinked in surprise. “Okay?” He repeated. He looked at her suspiciously. “You’re not going to make this hard? Make fun of me in some way?”

“I reckon you’ve already had a long day, Hockey-Head,” Riley replied with a smirk. “I don’t need to make it any more entertaining.” Her smirk eased into a soft expression. One he couldn’t quite place. She shrugged, saying, “But why pretend? We always have fun when we go to things like this.”

“Yeah,” Kendall agreed, his voice growing as soft as her expression. His eyebrows furrowed, unsure of what he was feeling. Of why Jo wasn’t the first thing that popped into his mind as it would have a month before. “We do,” he agreed, speaking almost to himself. He hummed quietly. “Wow.”

“What?” She asked.

“I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner,” he said. “To just have you be my date for the day, instead of having to deal with this stupid contest.” He picked up the discarded Pop Tiger issue that announced the contest, shaking his head at the image on the cover. “Win A Date with Big Time Rush,” he read aloud. “Spend a day with the boys at the world famous PalmWoods. And wrap up your date with a Big Time Party in the very studio where the guys record their hits. Only the boys’ biggest fans will win.” He shook his head, tossing the magazine away. “Why look when our biggest fan is right here?” He gestured toward her.

“How’d you know I’d say yes, then?” she asked.

“Because I see the way you look at me when you think I’m not looking,” Kendall replied.

Silence stretched between them. A sort of tension growing that he hadn’t noticed—or had noticed and wouldn’t entertain while Jo was around—before. Riley blinked slowly. Tilted her head. Eyed him closely. Let out a low breath as she reached up to run a hand through her hair, brushing her strand of red hair from her dark blue eyes that practically pierced through him.

“And how’s that?” She finally asked.

“Happy,” he said honestly.

“It doesn’t take much for you to make me happy, Hockey-Head,” she said, just as honestly. In an almost rare sort of honesty that not any others were able to see, but she allowed him to. The sincere honesty—he didn’t have to question it, knew from how quickly she responded to him that made him smile gently. Hell, he had to do his best not to grin like a loon, dimples forming in his cheeks.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

Riley grinned back. She lifted her chin, slightly turned her head away, looked him in the eye, her own flashing with amusement that made him gently roll his eyes, knowing her response was coming before she even said it. “Why do you think?”

[aion-rsa]

The Flash: Why Chester’s Moment in the Spotlight Matters

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This THE FLASH article contains spoilers for Season 7, Episode 6

Actor Brandon McKnight was promoted to a series regular for The Flash Season 7 last year and some fans (read: cough yours truly) may have wondered whether there was space for Chester P. Runk on a series that often struggles to give its existing cast of characters meaningful things to do.

After all, Carlos Valdes’ Cisco was absent for the bulk of Season 6, Danielle Panabaker’s Caitlin took a near-permanent backseat to her Frost alter-ego that the series is only just now correcting, and though we all love Jesse L. Martin, Joe West hasn’t had much of an arc to speak of in the past several years. Even Chester himself has conveniently disappeared to Grandma Runk’s house a couple of times this season already.

The Flash has gotten better about this by degrees since Eric Wallace took over as showrunner, with an overall approach to storytelling that feels a bit more balanced between the show’s sprawling cast. We could still use more Joe, but I remain hopeful, based on rumors and vague reports of where his story could be headed this season. But is there a need for a character like Chester, whose tech savvy and dedicated nerd jokes are already well represented on the team? (Though, don’t get me wrong, I love that STAR Labs crew now apparently includes a Doctor Who fan.)

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If “The One With The Nineties” is anything to go by, that answer is yes – but not entirely for the reasons you might expect. This hour proves that Chester is a character worth keeping around, and not just because he’s handy with scavenged tech parts. He represents an important perspective that The Flash hasn’t always embraced, as a Black man who has struggled to find his place in the world. And this episode takes the time to finally focus on his story and experiences in a way the show hasn’t really bothered to do before. (That one conversation with Frost back in Season 6’s “Grodd Friended Me” aside.)

“The One with the Nineties” isn’t the best example of a time loop episode ever, or even the best one in this particular franchise universe. Legends of Tomorrow, which benefits from being a show that’s actually about time travel, absolutely nails everything about this trope with the Zari-focused “Here I Go Again.” Sending Chester and Cisco back to the past allows The Flash to build upon their fledgling bromance and make a variety of nostalgic jokes about everything from Space Jam to the existence of Blockbuster video stores. (RIP.) And it eventually does give us some truly great visuals – from Iris’s amazing afro to Frost’s chill hippie threads and Caitlin’s painfully horrible Working Girl hair.

But this hour is also a lot more serious than stories in this vein usually are, giving Chester the chance not just to wear painful 90s prints but to connect with the father his younger self never understood. So much of The Flash is about various characters having issues with absent, bad, or otherwise terrible parents that it’s honestly a relief to find out that someone’s father was just a poorly communicative tough love type rather than a complete monster attempting to take over the world.

True, I’m not entirely sure how we went from Cisco promising his friend that he’d track down the part they needed to Chester deciding to go see his dad himself and get it instead, but the end result is so surprisingly lovely that it’s hard to pick but so many nits. It’s obvious that the tragedy of his father’s death is something that has shaped the man Chester is today, but that’s as due to the fact that he felt Quincy didn’t care about him as it is to his absence. That Chester gets the chance to hear not only how much his father loved about him, but witness how determined he was to shape his life and thinking in positive ways, feels shockingly important to his future.

His father’s actions appear to have been somewhat misguided – tough love can only ever carry someone so far, after all – but they ultimately came from a place of care. This is, rightly or wrongly, his attempt to prepare his child for a future that would likely often be hostile to him for things beyond his control. And there’s something powerful about the realistic way The Flash chooses to depict this relationship, with its quiet acknowledgement of the way that the experiences of Black fathers and their sons are necessarily different than those, say, of Barry and Henry Allen.  

Because without even knowing it, Chester has become his father’s son in almost every way that matters: The out of the box thinking, the recognizing the good in the things others willfully discard, the resourcefulness, those are all things that his father’s occasionally inscrutable methods were meant to instill in him, and clearly did. But now that’s something he can be purposefully proud of, rather than see as just another thing that makes him different.

That’s part of what ultimately gives him the courage to talk down Still Force avatar Deon. Granted, in several episodes, we’ll probably see just what a terrible idea alerting a time god to the fact that he can change everyone in Central City’s future actually was. But, for the moment, this is not just a win for Team Flash, but a moment that also allows Chester to feel closer to the dad he lost. And that’s the sort of peak heart that The Flash has always been so great at.

Does The Flash still have work to do with this character? Absolutely, particularly when it comes to establishing a place for Chester within STAR Labs and on the show’s larger canvas that is unique to his character and not just an extension or imitation of stories we’ve already seen – or should see – with Cisco. (Not every nerdy tech guy is or should be the same!) But it feels as though Chester really came into his own in “The One with the Nineties” and – possibly for the first time – I’m excited to see where they take this character next.  

The post The Flash: Why Chester’s Moment in the Spotlight Matters appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[evieshook]

fonder hearts

pairing: harry/evie, some platonic!ben/harry, and platonic!evie/uma/mal rating: pg-13 words: ~3200 a/n: i enjoyed writing the first bit of this haha, but hope you all enjoy.  prompt: Evie and Harry fic where Evie is mad at harry and isolated herself from him read on: [ao3] [ffn.net]

He couldn’t say he was exactly surprised, rather the situation had really been a long time coming. With the way Harry was, it was only a matter of time he did something that would warrant the use of the silent treatment from the normally composed princess. While it was no secret that the two had clashing personalities, the beginnings of their relationship essentially characterized by their endless bickering, it was always in good fun. Whenever the two fought, it would always be resolved within the hour, mainly because of their inability to keep their hands off each other.

But if Evie had gone this long without talking to him, the pirate must have done something extremely dire to evoke such a reaction. Whatever it was, it had Ben truly worried because this wasn’t affecting just the both of them, no it was affecting everyone in their friendship circle too. Harry seemed to have retreated with Uma and Gil, and the VKs had resorted to their previous hostility, with the AKs more or less caught between the two.

Ben knew that he needed to do something before it became unsalvageable, yet he didn’t expect the opportunity to come around when the pirate had gone to him for help. If anything, he would have expected he talk to Uma or Gil about it, and perhaps to an extent Carlos because aside from Evie, Carlos was the only one of the four who could initially tolerate him, with Mal and Jay taking longer to come around.

And yet he had come to him. While they weren’t exactly enemies like before, they weren’t exactly close either. To Ben’s distaste, they had never really had the chance to develop a friendship like he had originally been hoping for, with the only times they were able to interact due to their respective girlfriends. It wasn’t that he had been avoiding him, but rather that there was never really a chance to become friends, especially because his workload had gotten twice as heavy as before. Nowadays, only Mal was able to seem him daily but then again they were only a few short visits.

But much to his fortune, his work had been cleared and now he had been enjoying his free time until the pirate had sauntered in without a care.

"Have you ever heard of the saying, absence makes the heart grow fonder?”

He watched as Harry raised a brow, unable to follow. He sighed, thinking of ways to make his argument more understandable. He couldn’t screw this up, not when his friends’ relationship was counting on it.

"And yer point is?”

"That this separation is good for you. You two haven't really separated much from the moment you got here, which isn't bad but I think this distance will make you guys stronger in the long run,” Ben explained as clearly as he could, observing the pirate’s reaction.

To his disappointment, he offered a scowl in annoyance. "What kind of bullshit are ye spewing out now? I only came to ye because ye'd have the most experience with this, and I thought ye could help me."

"But I am helping you."

"If that's how ye help people, then I fear for the future of Auradon,” Harry snapped, Ben wincing at his tone. This was going to be harder than he thought, he sighed.

"Look, do you want my help or not?” he asked in exasperation, the pirate bristling in irritation.

"That depends if yer help involves this 'absence makes the heart grow fonder' bullshit.”

Ben shook his head. ”Listen Harry, you said it yourself. You came to me because I've got experience, and I do. If Evie's anything like Mal, which I'm sure she is, then you have to play your cards carefully. So when I say that this distance will make your relationship stronger, it will. In the meantime, give her her space and she'll come around.”

He seemed to gauge the words carefully before nodding in understanding.

"Or wait until I'm in danger and she comes rescuing me like what happened with ye,” Harry added mischievously, Ben rolling his eyes. At least the male finally understood.

"I'm being serious Harry. Give her space.”

Harry sighed, placing his hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright. Thanks beasty boy.”

He couldn’t stop the grin from spreading on his face at the words of gratitude. Harry Hook didn’t normally thank anyone, so this was an honor in itself. “Your welcome.”

He nodded, turning to leave before halting in his tracks. Ben raised a brow as the boy turned back, eyeing him curiously. “Out of sheer curiosity, what happened when Mal gave ye the silent treatment?”

Memories suddenly flashed through his mind, Ben frowning in distaste. It was all in the past now, but those times had been one of the worst during his relationship, and no man should ever have to go through the same thing. “It wasn’t pretty.”

This appeared to pique his interest as he turned to face the king fully, eyes urging him to go on. Ben ran a hand through his hair. “The worst silent treatment she gave me lasted for two weeks.”

Harry whistled in awe, almost impressed. “Two weeks? Whatever did ye do to anger her so much?”

“I said things I shouldn’t have said and let’s just leave it at that. Anyway, when Mal gave me the silent treatment I bugged her quite a bit about it. I would always try to clear my schedules just to see her, make new schedules so she’d have to see me, and so forth. But she managed to thwart me every time, and I realize the reason she got so good at being unable to talk to me during that time was because she charmed herself not to. She would only speak to everyone who wasn’t me, and she never allowed herself to pass messages to me so I never knew what was going through her mind.”

“Ye seemed to have had it a lot worse than I do,” Harry remarked, “But who says mine won’t be worse? Princess can do spells even though she chooses not to, so maybe Mal charmed her too.”

Ben shook his head. “I would no. Mal tells me everything.”

“So, how’d ye get through it then?”

“It was only after Evie advised me to give her some space that things began looking up. I realized that after being the one to keep approaching her, in the end it had to be the other way around. She’ll come to you when she wants to, so don’t force her into it otherwise it just goes longer. And when she does come, I advise you to grovel.”

Harry looked appalled at the idea. “Grovel? Pirates don't grovel.”

He shrugged. “Neither do kings, but if you want your queen back, you have to. Just apologize for everything, and don’t fight her on it because it’ll only make matters worse. Once she accepts the apology however, that’s when you can even out the playing field because soon she realizes that we’re both in the wrong and eventually just let everything out.”

“Are ye sure that works?”

Ben nodded firmly in affirmation, giving the male a pat on the back to wish good luck. “Space and grovel. That’s the key.”

//

“He’s as stubborn as a mule that one. He’ll never apologize you know,” Mal noted as Evie combed her hair. The two were gathered in Evie’s room, along with Uma, who despite previous hostility, had eventually reached out to the two. They were all more or less filled in with the previous events, and Uma surprisingly had taken Evie’s side, noting that he had really messed up this time.

“Yeah. Unless he’s absolutely certain that he's in the wrong, he won’t do anything. He has too much pride for that,” Uma added, the queen nodding in agreement.

Evie sighed as she faced the both of them, shaking her head. “I know he won’t, but I’m still hoping he’ll try. I mean, we were both in the wrong but—“

“But nothing,” Mal interrupted, “Even though you may have had your part in all this, Harry’s the one who screwed up. Big time. He needs to apologize if he ever wants to gain your trust again.”

Uma nodded in agreement. “I have to agree with her on this one. Harry’s told me everything, but so have you, and even if he doesn’t see it yet, I know that he’s more in the wrong than you are. Until he’s got that figured out, just leave him be. You’ve avoided him for a week already, who says that you can’t go on for a little longer?”

“Yeah. I mean, I avoided Ben for two weeks and if he hadn’t gotten the message after the first week, I was prepared to go even longer.”

The pirate raised a brow in curiosity. “What did beasty boy ever do that was so bad you had to avoid him for two weeks?”

Mal frowned. “That’s a long story and—“

“She’ll tell you it another day, I promise,” Evie cut off, standing up as she placed her comb on her vanity table. “But right now, tell me something. What do I do if he doesn’t apologize? Should I go up to him to do it myself?”

Both girls opened their mouths in protests but after a look from Evie, held their tongues. “I can’t lose him. I don’t want to lose him, not when I have the chance to make things right. It was all a misunderstanding, and I refuse to let our relationship crumble because I was too stubborn not to put my pride away and reach out to him.”

Uma and Mal shared a look before Uma took the initiative to take a step closer, looking Evie straight in the eye. She put a comforting hand on the girl’s shoulder, squeezing gently to offer some reassurance. “You won’t lose him, I promise. If Harry doesn’t apologize, I’ll make him do it myself.”

The princess smiled gratefully at her, placing a hand over hers in gratitude. Never did she think she’d share this sort of friendship with Uma, but she was glad she had. After Mal and Uma had finally put aside their differences, Evie had begun to learn that the girl wasn’t as bad as she thought, especially when she wasn’t angry. After being Mal’s friend so long, she too was blinded by the hatred she had felt for the pirate but it was thanks to Auradon and the true goodness in her heart that she was able to think otherwise. While Uma wasn’t her best friend, they were very close and Evie was forever grateful she had managed to find a good friend, confidant and advisor in her, especially when it came to her own stubborn pirate.

“One more day Evie, keep your silence for one more day and then you can take action. But give him the chance to do it all on his own first,” Mal advised, coming to take her hands in hers.

The girl nodded, squeezing her hands gently. One more day, she thought, don’t screw this up Harry.

//

Perhaps before he had left the king’s good company, he should’ve asked on the specifics of how long he should give the princess her ‘space’. How long did he expect him to wait? Another day? Another week?

He didn’t think he could go on another week without her talking to him. One week had been seven days too many, but it had been his pride that had kept him from marching up to her and conceding his wrongs. Perhaps he had screwed up big time, but he was absolutely certain that she wasn’t in the clear either. They both had their parts to play in all this, and until she realized all this, he refused to take the initiative and apologize first.

But that was a week before he realized that she wasn’t going to such a thing sooner or later. And thus seven days had passed with her silence, the both of them unable to repair what could have been fixed so much earlier had they decided that enough was enough. It had made him desperate enough to seek out the king, who he would begrudgingly admit wasn’t wrong with that stupid motto of his.

What was it again? Ah yes, absence makes the heart grow fonder.

His heart had definitely grown fonder that was for sure, and it was true that since his coming to the Isle, they had hardly separated unless it was necessary. Evie made his life on Auradon more tolerable, being surrounded by all this goodness that had him reeling in disgust. But he had to admit that his disgust had grown weaker until he almost no longer minded, almost. But that didn’t mean he would become like one of those prissy princes the princess would always fantasise about. He was still a pirate at heart, and once the time of graduation came, he would be out of there and sailing the seas for all his cared, with his princess at his toes.

But he was uncertain of that ever happening now, not when she was still set on blatantly ignoring him. He really should have asked how long this ‘giving space’ would last because he didn’t think he would last a day. But that meant he would have to grovel at her feet, and did he really want to grovel?

He was pulled back from his thoughts when he caught sight of a mop of blue hair at the corner of his eyes. Harry’s eyes immediately followed the blue hair as it got swept away in the crowds before it finally disappeared.

No, he wasn’t grovel. He was too prideful for that.

However that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to put away his pride and finally admit that yes, perhaps he had gone overboard and that his misdeeds were far worse than hers. To see that blue hair without getting close enough to touch it was torture in itself, and he had missed her with all his heart. Truly.

Without hesitation, the pirate spurred forward to follow where he had last seen her. He navigated himself skilfully through the crowds, fixing a glare on his face as they decidedly parted for him to let him through. Harry smirked inwardly; he still had that effect on people.

He reached the end of the corridor, head whipping around to search for the familiar figure of his princess but only to come empty. Harry cursed inwardly, running a hand through his hair in aggravation before that sliver of blue came into sight again.

His legs moved before he could think otherwise, the male walking briskly to reach her before he lost sight of her again. It was her, he thought joyously as he came closer. He hadn’t seen her up close in days, and he almost worried that his memory of her didn’t do her justice.

And it truly didn’t. She was as beautiful as he remembered; royal blue hair, painted ruby lips and warm hazel eyes. Before she could move any further, Harry reached out to grab her arm, spinning her to face him.

He heard a sharp intake of breath when she finally looked up to face him, eyes widening in surprise. “Harry,” he heard her breath and he felt a surge of confidence soar within him. He was glad to know that her feelings for him hadn’t changed after all, despite him being a complete and utter douchebag.

“Princess,” he greeted softly, nodding his head in acknowledgment. He still kept his hand wrapped around her arm, and she didn’t move to remove it, instead staring at him as thoughts swirled in her mind. What was she thinking?

“What are you doing here?” she finally asked after moments of silence, Harry clearing his throat.

“I’m putting away my pride for this,” he began with a wry smirk, “But I should’ve done this days ago.”

She raised a brow in confusion. “Wha—“

“I’m sorry,” he said sincerely, “I’m sorry Princess for everything. It was all my fault. I shouldn’t have said those things, and I’m sorry.”

Evie shook her head, the pirate wincing as he came to another conclusion. But his fears proved useless when she raised a hand to cup his cheek tenderly, again shaking her head.

“I’m sorry too. It wasn’t just you who was at fault. I also said some nasty words.”

“I said worse,” he protested as she continued to shake her head.

“I’m certain I said worse.”

Harry’s eyes twinkled in mischief as he suddenly chuckled. “What is this? A competition for who said the nastiest words?”

Evie joined in his laughing, giggling at the thought. “We are villains after all. Our words have always been wicked.”

He grinned, removing his hand around her arm and instead to rest it atop hers on his cheek. “But forgive me Princess.”

“Of course,” she replied, “Only if you forgive me however.”

He raised a brow. “I would be stupid enough not to.”

Evie’s lips lifted before she caught the both of them off guard when she abruptly pulled his neck down to meet her, promptly smashing her lips on his. He was almost taken aback by her boldness but quickly returned her kiss with as much vigor as she had, wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her closer. Evie held his head gently in place as she poured her emotions of longing and love into that one kiss, after having been separated from him for so long.

They only broke apart when a shout of, “Oi! Get a room!” cried out in the distance, Harry pulling away in irritation as he whipped his head around to look for the source of the voice.

“Fuck off and mind yer own business!” He shouted in retaliation, turning back to look at Evie who was now biting her lip as she looked down in embarrassment. Harry eyed her amusedly, adoring the little blush on her cheeks.

“I forgot we were in public,” she admitted, Harry shrugging nonchalantly.

“I really don’t care. Let them stare if they want, I’ll still kiss ye.”

Her cheeks flamed as she lifted her head to glare at him. “But not in public! We should probably take his advice and move this to a room.”

Harry’s eyebrows lifted at the implications, his smirk turning roguish. “My room then. Gil’s out with Chad so I have it all to myself. We can continue this there.”

The blush on Evie’s face refused to go away when she finally realized the extent of her wording before she slapped him on the chest lightly. “Get your mind out of the gutter.”

A chuckle left his lips as he pulled her to his side, lightly kissing the top of her head. “I’m only doin’ what ye asked me to Princess. Besides, it’s been far too long and my bed has been cold without ye.”

Evie slapped him again before leaning into his chest, carefully admitting, “Mine has too.”

Harry grinned a crooked grin. Absence definitely makes the heart grow fonder.