#i feel like it's easier to understand once you read wally's flash run

[jostenneil]

Hi, what has happened since Barry returned that made you dislike him? Or rather, do you dislike him?

i don't think i dislike HIM him it's more that i dislike what editorial has made of him and how they've used him to regress so much of the canon that was built prior to his resurrection. i think the harms of flashpoint are pretty obv but what's also frustrating is having to sort of do this whole backtrack to where wally has to work to reestablish himself when he already did that after barry died. moving out of barry's shadow and establishing his own legacy was a huge part of waid's flash run and that slowly started being worked back when johns came onto the book and decided to start centering barry as a primary figure in wally's internal conflicts. that's not to say that i think barry should never be present in stories about wally, but i think there was a difference in wally looking up to barry and seeing him as inspiration and guidance versus being brought back into the shadow of wondering whether he would ever be as good enough as barry when waid wrote concrete arcs to tackle that very notion. additionally what i think made that new direction worse is that it involved johns heavily emphasizing upon barry being a cop and doing the things that cops have to do, like use lethal force, or stand strong with your fellow cops even if they're doing something wrong, which. . . was just all around very unpleasant to read about. barry's role as a police scientist wasn't so heavily emphasized in his original flash run from what little of it i remember like it was just a job that he did and that gave him some good background on science matters but it wasn't really used to ground his personality or his morals, esp since he wasn't even a real cop, he was just the guy who worked in the lab with evidence. he was for the most part a good guy at heart who cared about his family and about saving people. and even with the arc where he killed reverse flash, his decision and whether he could have handled the situation differently was brought into question, which to me stands in really stark contrast with the way barry's choices were depicted by johns and the identity crisis tie-in stuff. aside from that, i also just think the implications of flashpoint on his character are. really bad lol. like i know rebirth retconned it to say that oh no abrakadabra is actually the reason why these people disappeared! but it's incredibly lazy (not to mention proves just how lost flash writers would be without mark waid bc they LOVE to reuse his stuff and somehow mutilate it instead of coming up with anything original) and i think it also just felt very jarring next to what wally had been built into as the flash bc like, so much of his run was about selflessness and how you can't put your own trauma or fears above the greater good. but here we have barry more or less shifting the whole fabric of time bc he goes back to save his mom WHO WAS GIVEN AN ENTIRELY NEW HISTORY JUST TO MAKE FLASHPOINT HAPPEN. like the whole of it is just so contrived and i think it really drives in just how much johns was stuck in the past and on highlighting barry again to the point that he was willing to destroy anything and everything that had made the flash mythos enjoyable in the two decades since before he took over. and within context of rebirth it's just esp shitty how flashpoint's consequences are used to make wally go psycho to the point of killing other mentally ill people, which they then had to retcon THAT as well in the recent flash annual bc the reception of it was so bad

so tldr i don't necessarily hate hate barry i just think his resurrection has done more harm than good over the years and that he was more likeable and easier to admire when he was still dead

[illumiru]

hello! i just saw your post about the titans tower and i just had a question (feel free to ignore) but as someone who’s been into comics but wanted to get more into the titans/teen titans. is there a comic or series that you would recommend?

oh for sure! i'm trying to write a more comprehensive reading guide to make the series more accessible especially for people find it hard to read more dated comics.

but in the mean time, i recommend first getting a feel for the backstory of the teen titans just so you understand how the team was formed:

The Brave and The Bold (1955) #54 - Origin comic where Garth, Kid Flash and Robin first team up (Optional: The Brave and The Bold #60 is where you first see them team up with Donna!)

Showcase #59 - Comic where they officially get marketed as the Teen Titans before they got their very own comic.

If those comics feel too dated, I also recommend this:

Teen Titans: Year One - A six-part miniseries that details the early days of the Titans and their first year together!

They get their very first comic series that you can read right here! I enjoyed it because I like the characters but if you're just getting into them, the comics here can be hard to read and are very dated. But it's where the Fab Five (Garth, Wally, Roy, Donna and Dick) get their start!

You just need to know that it ran for about 44 issues before getting cancelled and it had a 70's revival before getting cancelled again in Issue 53. In-continuity, they disbanded because they felt like they've outgrown the Teen Titans and moved on.

(I'll post which issues are worth reading in the future! But you can read the very last chapter because it recaps their origin too!)

Now, what I definitely recommend:

The New Teen Titans (1980) by Marv Wolfman and George Perez - Basically, where the magic happens! This is where the most iconic Titans characters are first introduced like Starfire and Raven.

The comics here can feel dated as well and the beginning can feel like a slog to get through but once you get past that, it can get very good! Just chill and read. It also helps if you latch onto one of the characters.

Also, check the reading order!! Because at some point, Tales of the New Teen Titans and Tales of the Teen Titans also runs in-between some of the issues. Anyways, I used this reading order to make it easier! Here

I'm sort of losing steam but here are other comics or arcs I recommend reading-

Other Titans Comics:

Teen Titans (1996) #12-#15 - This entire comic run in general features an entirely new team but the OG members minus Donna team up again for this arc! It's great especially if you love Dick.

Titans (1999) - The Titans team up officially again which features a lot of Fab Five content. The caveat is that it's written by Devin Grayson but tbh, this is probably the better written out of all her works at this time. So, I don't hate it! :)

New Teen Titans: Games - It's a oneshot by Marv Wolfman and George Perez published in 2011. It's set in the world of NTT and it's very good! It made me miss the New Titans Team a lot!

Tbh, there are other comics as well like you could read Young Justice and then read Graduation Day and then Outsiders but I ran out of steam so you can start with these first!!! I'll get back to you once I finish writing my reading guide! Also, I don't recommend reading the N52 Teen Titans because it's bad and written by Lobdell and if you like the OG Young Justice and New Teen Titans, you won't like Teen Titans (2003) as well.

But ENJOY!!!

[bluboothalassophile]

Hi Blu, I know you said you were going on a break, and I can wait for the answer until you're ready or have time, but what are your OTPs in DC and why?

Hello,

That’s going to be a lot of Ships, not a whole hell of a lot of reasons though if you don’t mind. I mostly ship on chemistry or how I feel the pair would compliment each other in a relationship, usually pulling them apart psycologically and history wise to see if they might fit well together. Shipping on chemistry just makes life easier.

OTPs

JayRae, I hope that it’s obvious. Crack ship it may be, but it’s my love.

BatCat, July, I just have to make it to July then they are hitched and no more painful dramas of this on again-off again thing.

Clois, they are my Disney Prince and Princess, don’t fuck with it. And I’m not talking some whimpy love story prince and princess, where the prince doesn’t go after his girl, I’m talking true love, once upon a dream shit with Clark and Lois, I fucking adore them, so do not fuck with it.

Harley/Ivy, I shipped them together before I even understood what lesbians were! 

WonderTrev, again, do not fuck with it, they are the most precious example of equals, and true meeting of minds, hearts, and love, whilst maintaining their individual identities in a strong relationship that means a lot to both. It’s deep, meaningful, and just wonderful, simply wonderful, in the eternal love that is displayed between Steve and Diana. It also broke the mold, for the era that it was published in, for a traditional relationship and just so delightful in expressing love whilst not taking power from the girl or forcing her to be submissive. Again, Do Not Fuck With It.

MultiShips

DickKori, as eternal love, not young love. 

DickBabs, as young love not eternal love. I’m all for their friendship, just not their romance, I think their romance fizzles out a lot of the time, or brings out the worst in each other, while their friendship brings out the best they have to offer.

DickZatanna, interesting, blame YJ

TimSteph

TimKon

TimCass, Don’t Shoot Me! I shipped them before Cass was B’s kid!

BartJaime

DamiJon

DamIrey

DamiMar’i; I really, really, really shouldn’t, but Gods I can’t help it.

Mar’iJon, I shouldn’t, but they’re cute.

Mar’iLian

LianHelena

LianTerry

Cassandra Cain/Emiko Queen, I think Cass is probably pan-sexual, so her relationships could be very interesting

CassHarper

Cassandra Cain/Conner Kent

Kaldur’ahm/Wally II (Don’t ask, just don’t, I don’t even know why I ship them together I just do)

MidnighterApollo, they are awesome!

BarryIris, one of my true love couples, again, but I just never got super into the Flash comics so I’m not die hard for them to stay together. The show has made them rather mundane and not all that unique, but still, they’re cute.

SnowBarry; I blame the first season of Flash for that! I like it, I enjoy it, but I don’t see them as anything but the rebounds for each other.

Olicity; I blame Arrow for that! Before Arrow I stood firmly on the belief that no other would work for Oliver aside from Dinah. However, Felicity is awesome and she and Oliver are a good couple

Oliver/Dinah, they’re kick ass together

Lucas Fox/Babara Gordon, for the .00025 seconds it was happening I thought it would be fucking amazing and actually do some good for Babs, because God knows she and Dick are a wreck 99.5% of the time when together, outside of sex

MeraDiana, guilty pleasure IF Steve and Arthur are dead or not in the picture

Shyra Hol/John Stewart, JL cartoon ruined me for them before I even knew what shipping was

Wally West/Artemis Crock, I’ve NEVER liked Linda Park for Wally, never

TerryMax, again, TV, not comics influenced that love

BartJaime, do not fuck with it, they’re awesome

RoyThea

RoyDonna

GarthDolphin

Zatanna/Artemis, guilty pleasure

GarRose, that is all Xaphrin, Garfield Logan and Rose just click in her works, I almost wish she wrote more of them

BumbleBee/Cyborg, They were my goo-goo Titans couple as a kid, I adored them

BBTerra, yeah, yeah, I know this isn’t what people like, but they WORKED!

PenguinRiddler, and that was BEFORE Gotham started, it was just a quirky thought as a kid

Constantine/Zed

Constantine/Epiphany

Constantine/Chas

Constantine/Zatanna; IF it’s written well I think it’s interesting, if written poorly, I’d rather NOT read it. Bombshells is an Excellent Example! of ConstantineZatanna being written Well.

Captain Marvel/Stargirl

Arthur Curry/Mera

JeriRae; guilty pleasure if it’s written well

JayRose; guilty pleasure if it’s written well

BBWally II, again, just don’t ask

Wally I/Jinx

JayRoy, okay, if it is written WELL I enjoy the romance, if not, I’m all for their friendship, they have the best bromance ever! Like seriously, even if they aren’t a couple I’m all for their bromance. It’s WAY better than DickWally’s BFF bromance thing, JayRoy are just fucking AWESOME!

KaraBabs, obvious I think. And I think Babs has a better romance with Kara than Dick, which is sad given all the fucking effort DC goes through to shove DickBabs on us, and BabsKara, whilst friends, appear to have a better romance potential than DickBabs.

NOTPs

SuperWonder, No. Just No. On so many levels, NO. That’s Too Much Power, also Morals Will Clash. Just NO.

BatJoker, Nope. Uh-uh, No. Reasons should be obvious.

BBRae, No, On So MANY LEVELS, NO! I respect people who enjoy it, but I despise it, I think it’s a prime example of a very bad, bordering on abusive romance, it’s worse than comics DickRae! Just No.

COMICS DickRae, reasons should be obvious if you’ve read the comics.

DickBabs past anything but young love

TimBabs, WTF!? Cradle robber much!**

JayBabs, who ever thought that one up deserves to be smacked, after all the shit Babs has been known to do to Jay (not that he doesn’t deserve some of it), and all the shit he dishes back, not to mention it’s like making Babs the Bat Slut… NO.**

JayKori, Can We PLEASE Stop Giving Jason Dick’s Hand-Me-Downs In the Love Department!? Does he Not deserve his OWN, Original Love Life!? Not the one littered with Dick’s string of broken hearted exes! What’s next!? ShawnJay!? TarantulaJay!? I don’t mind multiships, and having crossing interests, but seriously DC put SOME Thought into these ships. Just a Little! 

Artemis of Bana-Mighdall/Jason; Again DC!? Please put SOME Thought into these ships! Artemis, according to history and valid reasons, is not a fan of men and has always been shown to prefer women, I doubt that it changes because she’s on Jay’s team and he’s not that bad of a guy. I also sincerely doubt after losing her best friend/possible girlfriend/possible lover that she’d leap into a relationship with a GUY of all people. I respect people who ship JayArty together, I just don’t see it, and I feel they don’t have any real chemistry

BruceBabs, I’ll be honest, Batman the Animated series infuriated me as a kid because of the B/Babs thing, and she was dating Dick at one point of that and pregnant with B’s kid! GROSS! It has taken me A LOT of years and objective reading after that stunt to even RESPECT Babs and B in the same light! No Ship There. NO.**

**I’m not saying that Babs shouldn’t be treated as her own woman, and be free to sleep with whoever the hell she wants, I say go for it, but I also am disgusted at the thought of her leaping from one Bat’s bed to the next, it’s degrading to her character and the Bats. She’s not their whore, nor are they her harem. She is a self-respecting character and woman, and I find it insulting writers have reduced her to being nothing but a Bat love interest at times when stories run dry for the writers regardless of what she’s capable of. And I’m not even overly fond of Babs and saying this. 

Things I NEVER ship:

I Don’t Ship Incest, EVER.

I Don’t Ship Pedophilia. No.

I Will Never Ship An Abusive Relationship

I also don’t ship a pair if I don’t feel they have the chemistry, sorry, but this last reason ought to be easy to understand and relateable.

[skewedlights]

The Flash Season 4 Musings

First: It's crazy how The Flash finale aired in May and it’s still sort of hyped online, as people are waiting for season 4. Like I can’t wait for it hey. October is really far. Like really far.

Second: When I saw this Emergency Awesome video (Yes, I am a subscriber. How are you reading my blog and not a subscriber to Emergency Awesome?? Please go check it out before you read this, there is already a link I put up right before this). In it, Charlie (and you can see all the details for yourself when you watch it) talks about the Reverse-Flash origin story and how maybe since The New 52 version of his origin story is so good, maybe they can incorporate that into maybe a future episode of The Flash.

Maybe it can be one of those episodes after they try and fail to bring Barry back from the speedforce prison for like the 300th time in 3months and Iris decides to stop coming to watch because she can’t take it anymore and only when they are sure they have it will she be able to come back. Wally may say that’s she’s still a part of the team but she may give her side: that without Barry, her heart, their apartment and even The Flash suit is empty.

Then a young guy shows up. He looks all wide-eyed and wearing the old Flash suit. He explains that the suit comes from the time capsule (that the city sent to the future to depict how the times were back then but Eobard got to The Flash suit before any of the authorities) and that he got powers and came back to meet The Flash because he is a big fan and this is around the time The Flash Museum is built and the time capsule is sent to the future.

The team meets the kid and he introduces himself as Eobard Thawne. Now the whole team (knowing the significance of his name) starts to freak out, but not to his face. They send him on his merry way but not before Eobard (noticing Wally’s suit) makes a comment about the yellow. Wally states that he is not ‘The Flash’ he is just his sidekick, ‘Kid Flash’ – he may lie and say that he’s taking care of things as The Flash is on vacation or whatever – so Eobard says “Wow, so The Flash has sidekicks? And the sidekicks wear yellow? I’ve always liked yellow.”

Now that last part might freak out the team because they know about the Reverse-Flash suit being yellow and they might be afraid that this is where he gets the idea for the yellow suit from (which is true because he wants to be The Flash’s sidekick, like Syndrome wanted to be Mr Incredible’s sidekick from The Incredibles). They send him on his way and at the end of the episode, you see the young Eobard trying really hard to create a yellow suit so he can maybe become The ‘Future’ Flash’s sidekick and the episode ends with the kid putting on the suit. Now, this suit won’t look exactly like Reverse-Flash suit because that would be too easy.

Third: The next episode can be a flash to the future episode. A different future, one without Savitar-type of future. One that isn’t all gloomy and ish.

Now in this episode, we see an older Barry, in the kitchen of a house, when he sees through the baby camera that the baby/toddler is about to fall out the crib he speeds to catch him before he falls out and puts him back in the crib. The baby/toddler (mixed race BTW) laughs and Barry looks at him and goes “You’d think you enjoy me running to catch you.” an older Iris walks in and says “He does enjoy it because he knows you’re going to catch him and he gets a thrill out of it.” Then an older Joe walks in and says “Maybe you should let my grandson fall for once, it might teach him something.” Barry then says “Teach him what? That he can’t count on his dad to catch him?” Joe says “Or that jumping out of cribs and scaring your parents half to death is wrong?” Iris laughs, Barry kisses her goodbye and Barry and Joe go to work.

On the way to the station, Joe notes that Barry is being quiet and Barry says “The kid was at the fire The Flash stopped around 11 o’clock, last night.” Joe says “Look, Barry, I don’t understand this time-travel loop, time-remnant stuff. I never have. But this kid is becoming a real and true danger to you, your family, the past and the present.” Barry replies “Don’t you think I know that? But I’m still me, I just don’t see the danger in a 10-year-old Eobard Thawne!” Joe says “Believe me. I get that but, this kid’s future is our past, your history. If you really did help this kid become better, don’t you think it would’ve had an effect on your past already?” Barry mumbles something about not actually being able to tell if he’s past has changed but agrees. Barry plumps down in his office (The deputy chiefs office BTW) when Vibe pops up from a portal. Vibe looks at Barry and says “We have a problem. An Abracadabra problem.”

It’s now at night and Cisco and Barry arrive at his home. Iris is aware Cisco is staying and tells him she made the guest room up for him. Cisco smiles and asks “Where is my favourite godson?” Iris smiles and says “He’s in his room.” Cisco opens a portal and goes through it. Iris obviously shook by the portal usage instead of just walking, gives Barry this look. Barry says “What? I told you he was coming.” Iris says “I know, but it’s been 5months since we’ve seen him and now he uses portals instead of walking up a flight of stairs? What’s going on with him?” Barry replies “Look, I was way worse when I lost you in that future Savitar timeline. At least he is being productive with his time. Trying to track down Abracadabra.” Iris sighs and says “Track him down and do what? Because I know he feels awful. We all do, we all miss…I miss her too. She was our son’s godmother, my friend but…” just then Kid Flash comes speeding in, looks at Barry and says “I got your 911 call.” Barry looks at him and says “I never called you.” Cisco comes downstairs and says “I called Wally because we are going to need all the help we can get.” Cisco hands the baby to Iris, opens a portal “Shall we?” and Barry, Kid Flash and Cisco walk through it.

(Some sneaky Abracadabra stuff happens)

The guys walk into STAR Labs Museum (secret entrance of course) which features a special The Flash sort of display section, with his OG costume and everything (kind of hinting at a future Flash Museum). When they walk into their Team Flash lair (which has been upgraded), none other than Caitlin/Frost is standing there (with the same colour Killer Frost hair only cut short and straight, maybe). Cisco freaks out asking what she is doing here. Wally then explains since Barry is a father now and still busy being The Flash and he (Wally) spends most of his time with his team (maybe hinting he could be the leader of Teen Titans or co-leader with Nightwing, because it is coming to TV soon) and busy going to visit Jesse on Earth-2, that neither of them could take on running the STAR Labs Museum and since Caitlin/Frost and Julian have finally stopped travelling the world and curing and helping metas, they could run it together. Cisco says doesn’t like the idea but then Julian walks in saying “Well if you’re not around enough, Mr Ramon, then you can’t really complain if decisions are made in your absence.” Barry gets the team on focus on Abracadabra.

(Some action stuff with Abracadabra happens)

Towards the end, everyone is celebrating the fact that they have broken the piece of technology that allows Abracadabra to travel between earths (He’s stuck on Earth-1 and it’s going to be easier to get to him). Barry then hands Cisco a cheque from the realtor who sold his house (then there’s a quick flashback to the beginning of the episode where we see a ‘SOLD’ sign on the house opposite Barry’s).

Everyone is leaving the museum (the secret way) when Cisco stops and sees the small Gypsy display with her costume encased in glass. Caitlin/Frost walks up to Cisco and says “She died a hero and I thought she deserved to be honoured like one. Look I know we aren’t close like we used to be all the years ago but a part of me still feels like I know you and I definitely know the pain you are feeling. Right now all you have been is ‘Killer Frost’, only seeing the bad. I’m not saying be full Caitlin Snow and shove all the bad feelings down but to rebuild you need to embrace the good you still have left, like your friends and your godson.” Cisco looks at Caitlin/Frost and says “You really have adapted.” Caitlin/Frost says “It’s that or die.”

We are back in the Allen house and Joe and Wally are playing with the baby/toddler while Iris and Barry make the table. They both walk in the kitchen and Cisco portals in, scaring Iris. Cisco apologises and asks “Do you guys mind if I stay for dinner?” Iris softly puts her hand on Cisco’s face and replies that he is always welcome. As she goes to take another plate to put on the table Cisco hands Barry a cheque, Cisco explains “This cheque is for my godson’s future, schooling, university or whatever. I love that little guy and you guys too. I think my grief made me forget that for a little while.” Barry smiles and says “I always knew you’d remember.” Barry and Cisco hug and Barry takes the cheque and puts it on the table, as they leave the camera pans onto the cheque as you see it reads: ‘PAY TO THE ORDER OF: Henry Ramon Allen’.

Get it? H.R. Allen??

Anyways I have many ideas and more for these flash forwards. Some flash forwards would be great in this new season.

The Flash returns October 10, 2017. Get Hyped!

[backtothestart02]

He is Home to Me

SPOILERS!!!!!

A/N: I’m putting most of this under the cut because it is based not only off of the 3x19 promo but also that HUGE Savitar spoiler that was floating around a couple weeks ago. Enter at your own risk.

*Many thanks to @valeriemperez for being the most epic beta ever & beta’ing this whole thing (12 pgs, 5,000+ words) in less than an hour and a half. QUEEN.

NOTE: I did do a bunch more grammatical edits after posting here & tumblr doesn't want to repost a whole 'nother 5,000 words lol, so if you want to see the BEST version of this, I highly recommend reading it on AO3 - and on FFnet when I upload it there. :)

Synopsis: Based off 3x19 promo (& spoilers) - Barry comes back from 2024 with confirmation of who Savitar really is. It’s so crushing he can’t face the team, especially not Iris. 

(#2) A/N: This fic is inspired by the theory that has been floating around for months, and the bombshell a jerk reporter dropped, that Barry is likely Savitar (or at least he looks like him). So this fic is about Barry coming back from 2024 with this knowledge, telling the team, and the fall out from all that. Obviously this was written BEFORE 3x19 aired, so any details of what actually happened while Barry was in 2024 are based entirely on what the promo gave us or any spoilers we already had. Minor references to the Killer Frost subplot.

The speed force hummed around him in the familiar blurring colors of blue and white. He was desperate to get out of 2024, to get back home to a place where he could breathe again, though he worried there wouldn’t be a difference. Because now he knew things. Things he wouldn’t be able to hide, or else how could he help his team then? He couldn’t lie to them. But he also didn’t know what good telling the truth would do. It would make matters worse. It would leave them stranded.

Before Barry could make any concrete decision on how to proceed, his mind refocused, and he was there in STAR Labs in front of younger, more hopeful versions of the people he’d just left behind. And of course, the one person that hadn’t been there at all.

“Barry!” He heard Cisco shout, and then felt everyone crowding around him in his weariness as he slowly came to a grip with the new reality - or the old one?

Looking on, everyone could see their hero looked tired, like he’d just lived through a nightmare and wasn’t quite grasping that he was awake now – and safe.

“Barry?” Iris ventured, slowly coming towards him.

She was almost to him when his head snapped up, his eyes wide with horror. The expression alone was enough to make her stop, but then the concern on his face twisted into an agony she’d never seen there before.

“Stay away from me, Iris,” he said, not cold or cruel but almost desperate.

Her brows furrowed, and Joe took a step toward them.

“Bear.”

Barry’s gaze switched to his, and he swallowed hard.

“What did you see?” he asked.

Barry turned away from him and started to pace, running his hand through his hair, trying to put into words everything he’d seen and felt, what the world had become without Iris West and who the cause of her demise truly was.

He closed his eyes and swallowed hard.

“I saw all of us.” He lifted his head to look at Joe. “I saw you.” He turned to look at Cisco. “And you.” He didn’t dare look at Wally, was still too shaken up by the sight of him in a wheelchair. “Wally too, and…” He took a breath. “I saw myself.”

“Did you find out who Savitar is?” Joe asked.

The words hit him as hard as the answer had the moment he’d realized it – or been told. It was hard to remember which had really happened now. Savitar’s true identity had blinded him so much he’d nearly passed out in a back alley of 2024 Central City. Then he’d had to fend off metahumans. And then…

“Yes,” he said quietly, breaking the silence after as much of a delay as he could get away with.

Instinctively, everyone moved a little bit closer.

“Who…wh-who is he?” Iris asked. Joe came beside her and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close.

Barry couldn’t look at her for a while. He was glad she had Joe, but he hated that she was the one to ask. He could already see everyone recoiling from him in his mind as soon as he gave them the answer they all thought they wanted.

“Is it someone we know?” Cisco asked, probably able to tell the identity was going to crush them all, but maybe that gradual questioning was easier than a blunt answer.

“Yes,” Barry said, a tear trickling down his cheek.

Iris broke free of her father’s hold and went to Barry before he could stop her.

“Oh my god, Barry, who is it?”

He flinched and tried to pull away, but she wouldn’t let him. Then she placed her hands on his face and forced to look at him.

“Tell me,” she pleaded on a soft whisper. “The sooner we all know the sooner we can stop him.”

His breath hitched. He knew he couldn’t put off the inevitable for a moment longer. He was ready for the fear and hatred, ready to be disowned and turned against. How could anyone believe in him once they knew? How could anyone not feel betrayed, not feel like they’d been wasting their time on someone they believed to be good and a hero? Not Joe, not even Iris would stand by him now.

After all, how did one defeat a future version of one’s self.

“It’s me.”

Iris’s brows furrowed.

“I don’t…I don’t understand.”

“It’s me, Iris. A future version of me comes back in time and kills you.”

The initial horror in his eyes faded to instantly be replaced by confusion and firm denial.

“No,” she said. “No, there’s no way.”

She turned to the others to get back up, but they had already started to create some distance between themselves and their hero. Even her dad…

“Iris.”

The word was firm, and when she turned to look at Joe, she saw at the no-nonsense look in his eyes. He held his hand out to her, but there was no warmth there. It was a command. He didn’t trust she was safe even now, standing so close to her one day would-be killer.

She scoffed. “Dad.”

“Iris, he’s right.”

She turned around to look at her Barry, the man she loved more than anything. He was inching away again and she knew in a moment he’d be away from all of them, unable to look them in the eye.

“If I’m capable of…of hurting you in the future.” He shook his head. “Who knows what I’m capable of now?”

“Bar—”

Her bottom lip trembled and tears filled her eyes. But Joe cut off any further interaction by catching her off guard and pulling her to his side. By the time she’d pushed herself away again, upset beyond belief by her father’s severe behavior, Barry was gone, leaving all of them only with the heavy bombshell he’d brought back from the future.

The god of speed, the man responsible for so much death and destruction, was their Barry in the future. A hero turned into the most powerful evil villain any of them had encountered.

What do we do now? hung in the air, but nobody moved, and nobody said a word.

…

Barry was glad for the darkness at the waterfront. He was glad for the sole light drawn from the full moon and the soft lapping of waves against the pier.

Perhaps glad wasn’t the right word, but he did feel a sense of relief.

There was no one around to judge him or be afraid of him. No sense of impending disaster. With any luck his future self wouldn’t show up to taunt him about his fate. It was already eating him up inside, already driving him mad with hatred and despair.

How could he ever be capable of killing Iris? The woman who mattered to him more than anyone else in the world. How could he?

Every day since the moment he met her he’d wanted nothing more than to make her laugh and smile and feel loved. He fed off her light and relished in it. Her smile dazzled him. Her joy made him giddy. And whenever she was hurt, when he found her crying, no matter how rare it was, it absolutely destroyed him.

How could he be the cause of bringing her pain? Of ending her life?

What had happened that would twist him to the point that the one core part of him changed so drastically? What made him into a villain?

His eyes filled with tears. He did nothing to stop them from flooding down his face. The wind whipped around him, drying his skin and then making his eyes burn. His hair tossed about and he realized then how careless he was being.

Just because it was the middle of the night didn’t mean people couldn’t still be out. If someone were to walk by, see him with his cowl down, and realize…

Not that it mattered, he thought sullenly.

The Flash was a fraud, a demon in disguise. The inevitability of him becoming a villain was set in stone as clearly as Caitlin’s had been.

What hero had he even been to her? He’d barely wasted any time convincing the team after he found out what happened that he still needed to go into the future. Caitlin would still be Killer Frost when he returned. She would still need to be found, according to the headlines broadcasted a month from now.

All that had mattered was finding out other clues about the future, most importantly Savitar’s identity.

Well, he found it.

Even Killer Frost wasn’t the monster he would turn out to be.

He inched closer to the water and looked down into it, wondered how cold it was and how hard it would be to breathe if you were to be pushed under.

Or go willingly.

…

Back at STAR Labs, Iris struggled to hold onto her sanity as she fought to convince the team - most importantly her father - that their Barry, 2017 Barry, wasn’t a threat.

“Can’t you see he’s a danger, Iris? He kills you!”

“Dad. He’s Barry. Our Barry.”

“Yeah, and ‘our Barry’ becomes so twisted that he comes back and murders you, the woman he supposedly loves.”

“Something must have happened,” she’d protested. There was no point trying to convince him that Barry loved her. Anyone could see that he did. “Barry would never do this. You know he wouldn’t.”

Joe said nothing, only shook his head.

“He’s like a son to you,” she cried out, in disbelief that he would turn on Barry so quickly and that not even she could persuade him otherwise. “You know him!”

His shoulders sunk in on themselves, and Joe heaved a heavy sigh, “I thought I did.”

Iris spun around to Cisco…Wally…Julian…HR in the hopes of getting back up, but they all turned away from her. Wally shook his head, part disgust, part sadness that she could be so blinded by her love as to not see what was right in front of her. Julian was at a loss. Months earlier he probably could’ve gotten right on board with hating Barry – “I knew there was something off about him. All along he was the one we should’ve been afraid of,” he might have said. Now he looked conflicted, but not enough to back her up.

“He’s your best friend, Cisco,” Iris spat, positive if anyone would believe Barry wasn’t as evil as he’d just told them all he’d be, it would be Cisco.

But Cisco sighed and looked at her just as sadly, when he had the courage to look at her at all.

“I don’t know, Iris. Barry is the only one that went to the future and found out who Savitar was. He has no reason to lie to us. And why would he deliberately tell us it was himself, of all people?” He sank into himself a little too. “It has to be true.”

Her eyes moved to H.R., her one last hope, but all he did was shake his head and glue his eyes to the floor. There was no knowing what he thought, but he sure wasn’t going to help defend Barry to her father.

And so, Iris left STAR Labs and returned home to hers and Barry’s loft, the one place she felt safe and warm and not crazy.

There was no denying that Barry’s announcement had hit them all hard. She hadn’t let herself think about it too much because she was so appalled by everyone’s instant wariness and fear of Barry, who’d looked absolutely crushed by what he’d had to reveal.

As time passed and she sat alone on the windowsill where he’d proposed, the possibility that her Barry might be the one to… Well, it did weight on her. It made her sick to her stomach, and it broke her heart. But as much as it did all those things, she knew for Barry it must be ten times worse than everyone’s fear and anger and shock combined.

Here he had been so desperately trying to save her, using whatever means necessary, to the point that he almost lost what made Barry, Barry, and the Flash, the Flash - only to find out that he was the cause of it.

No.

She refused to believe that. It wasn’t him. There had to be some sort of explanation. Wells wasn’t Wells and Zoom hadn’t been Jay. There was no way Savitar, the man fated to kill her in less than a month was the love of her life; her heroic, heart of gold Barry Allen.

Her Barry Allen would never hurt her, but her Barry Allen was hurting, consumed with guilt and drowning in the sadness and rage of what he believed he would one day become. He feared even now he was a threat to her life.

Iris lifted her phone to her ear, hand shaking. She swallowed hard and listened to the repeated rings. The possibility he would answer was slim, she knew, but that hadn’t stopped her from needing to call him.

All she wanted to do was hold him, to tell him it wasn’t him, that there had to be something they didn’t know, something he hadn’t seen. A future version of himself coming back in time to murder the woman he loved? Not a single part of it made sense.

But her Barry refused to pick up his phone. She didn’t know where he was or what he was doing.

All she knew was that she needed to be with him. She needed to remind him there was always another way, that she wasn’t afraid of him, and that they would face this together, whatever evil existed behind that face that wasn’t her Barry would be defeated.

But how could she do any of that if she didn’t even know where he was?

“Hey, Barry,” she sighed into the phone. “I know you’re hurting and you’re afraid. You’re scared of what you think you might do to me. But I need you to know you’re not that person. You’re not Savitar. I love you. I’m not afraid of you. You make me feel safe. Just…” Her breath caught in her throat, and she knew she was near tears. “Please come home.”

She ended the call and cradled the phone in her lap.

“Come home to me, Barry,” she whispered, gazing out into the night, the city stretching out before her.

Her eyes searched the scene for any sign of a flash of red, any reassurance that he was coming home to her. Maybe he had gotten her message and just couldn’t bring himself to respond. Maybe he would phase through their front door and just stand there. And then she’d go to him and he’d fall into her and she’d hold him close and he’d let her be the rock he needed even though his news had shaken her just as much.

She just wanted him home.

But there was no sign of him. Only sparse city lights and the deep darkness on the horizon.

…

At 3 a.m. Iris strode into the cortex at STAR Labs to find Cisco’s head starting to bob and his body slouch over as he fought to stay awake. Her clicking heels must’ve been enough to jolt him fully awake though because as soon as she was before him, he snapped to attention and looked at him with wide eyes, quickly slurping up the rest of his cherry slushie.

“Find Barry,” she demanded, her eyes full of fire, leaving no room for discussion.

Very slowly Cisco set his empty slushie cup down.

“I know you can find him,” she informed him. “You have a tracker on his suit and you can track him by the lightning in his system, the same way King Shark tracked him down.” She placed her hands on his desk and leaned towards him, successfully coming across with just enough intimidation to make Cisco nervous. “So, don’t tell me you can’t find him, because I know for a fact that you can.”

Silence hung between them, but Cisco knew he couldn’t let it last much longer. He was already risking his own personal health and well-being by not doing what she said immediately.

“How do you know I was here?” he finally said cautiously.

Iris’s nails dug into her hips where her hands were currently propped due to her impatience, but apparently, the question was warranted because she didn’t immediately strangle him. He doubted though that she hadn’t considered it.

“You weren’t at your apartment,” she said, informing him loud and clear that she’d checked there first. Cisco closed his eyes as she revealed the next piece of news that he knew would solidify his doom. “And there was a note on the door,” she said. “For Barry.”

He opened his eyes slowly, wincing.

“Something tell me it’s not a forgery,” she seethed.

“So…I may have…offered him a place to stay if he didn’t feel comfortable going home to you.”

“But you came here because you’re afraid of him.”

He sighed and hung his head.

“Iris—”

“Or is that not why you came here?” She frowned and suddenly looked around his desk, saw the research flowing over and then the face recognition program glowing on his computer when she rounded the corner to see exactly what he was working on. She sighed.

“I came here to keep looking for Caitlin,” he muttered under his breath. “Obviously, Barry isn’t going to be doing that any time soon.”

Iris’s eyes flashed to his sunken form, annoyed and infuriated but also feeling a sense of guilt and an extreme degree of compassion, because in the fall out of Barry’s revelation from 2024, neither Killer Frost nor Caitlin Snow’s name had been mentioned.

Everyone must have just left after I did, Iris thought, lamenting.

But then another thought occurred to her and her eyes widened in relief.

“You don’t believe he’s evil,” she said, half a gasp in every word he said.

“He’s not evil yet,” Cisco clarified, not looking at her, miraculously letting it slide that she’d completely ignored his comment about Caitlin.

“And the future can be changed,” Iris said excitedly.

“…yes,” he said reluctantly.

“Just like my death can be prevented, so can Barry’s future self not turn evil. We can keep Savitar from ever existing.”

Cisco looked up at her then.

“Well, aren’t you just chipper all of a sudden.”

Iris reined in the hope that had flowered in her and came to sit down beside him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“You need Barry to find Caitlin, right?”

He hesitated and then nodded. “Right.”

“And you don’t believe Barry is evil. You don’t believe our Barry is evil.”

Hesitation again, but followed by another nod.

“No,” he said. “I don’t.”

Her smile spread. “Then please, Cisco.” She squeezed his arm encouragingly. “Find our Barry.”

He turned to look at her, searched her pleading eyes. Tears were starting to well up, despite her recent surge of positivity.

“Help me bring him home.”

…

They found him exactly where Cisco’s tech had said they would, on the waterfront. He was standing on the edge of a pier looking down into the dark gentle waves. Cisco and Iris shared a look and then Iris squeezed his hand.

“Don’t worry, Cisco. I’ve got this.”

Reluctantly he let her walk away from him, words he couldn’t form on the tip of his tongue.

She turned to look back at him one more time before proceeding.

“It’s okay,” she said, able to squeeze out one tremulous reassuring smile that she hoped would convince him.

Cisco nodded and took a step back, gesturing to the car they’d come in.

“I’ll just be… If you need anything or if something hap—”

“It won’t,” she cut him off, then forced herself to relax so his uneasiness wouldn’t rise up again. She didn’t want him to doubt helping her find Barry. “But thank you.”

She turned back to the waterfront before Cisco could try to dissuade her – since she knew that was still a possibility – and was pleased to find Barry where he’d been before.

He hadn’t spotted them and run off. He hadn’t done the unthinkable and dived into the water with no intention of resurfacing. He just stood there staring, and as she got closer she could see his shoulders shaking.

Any nerves she had dissolved when she saw him lift his hand up to wipe something off his face. Tears. He was crying.

Iris slipped out of her heels and left them on the grass when she reached the edge of the park. She didn’t want any sound to make him run off. She wanted there to be a peace in her arrival, not tension. Granted even a slow approach was bound to surprise him, but she couldn’t help that. With any luck, he’d let her talk to him, and maybe that could lead to him coming home.

One foot halfway on the pier and the wooden board groaned underneath her. She stifled a curse. Of course, she should have remembered how old this pier was. Her father had forbidden her and Barry from ever going on it because of how someone had fallen through it the summer before Barry came to live with them. That part had of course been fixed, but the rest of it hadn’t been and so it was forbidden.

That didn’t stop the two of them from sneaking out to it when school field trips were in the vicinity though.

She reminisced for a few achingly long moments in the memories that felt like a lifetime ago.

But the nostalgia came to an abrupt halt because Barry turned to look at her, eyes wide and stance tense. Neither moved for the space of an agonizingly long ten seconds, and then Barry broke the silence.

“Iris?” he gasped in a whisper, as if speaking in a normal tone would somehow stir a sense of danger. “What are you doing here?” he demanded. His voice wasn’t hard. It was just incredulous.

He wiped as his tears again when he saw how she was staring.

“I came to bring you home,” she said, her voice breaking.

Barry’s feet shifted, making Iris almost lunge towards him, because he was sooo very close to the edge.

But he seemed completely unaware of how close he’d gotten. It wasn’t intentional. She supposed she should be grateful for that.

He shook his head, looking at her sadly.

“I’m not coming home, Iris. Not now.” He glanced down at the water, and she knew what he was seriously considering. “Maybe not ever.”

“No, Barry.” She closed the distance between them – old rickety wooden boards be damned! – and stopped right in front of him. “That won’t solve anything, and you know it.”

His eyes searched hers desperately, tears filling them again.

“Won’t it? If I die, Savitar will never exist. Everything he’s done and is planning to do will never have happened.”

“No,” she said again. “No, just – stop.”

She took his hands in hers and held firm even when he tried to wriggle away.

“Why aren’t you afraid of me?” he wondered, eventually abandoning the struggle. “In the future, I kill you.”

“You don’t kill me. Savitar does.” She looked up at him and cupped his face in her hands tightly. “And he won’t even do that because we’re going to stop it from happening. And not by killing yourself either.”

He curled his fingers around her hands on his face.

“But I’m Savitar,” he said. “Don’t you get that? Don’t you see how serious that is? How can you possibly trust me or even…even love me when you know what I’m capable of?”

Tears started to fall down both of their faces.

“It’s not you!” she insisted. “You don’t know that!”

“Iris—” His breath hitched.

“It could be another Barry from another earth. There are an infinite number of those, remember? Or it could be some face-changing technology, like what HR has from Earth 19! There could be a million explanations for why Savitar looks like you or why people say that it was you. He’s from the future so of course he would know everything about you. And how could you have thrown yourself into the speed force? It doesn’t make any sense.”

Barry struggled for a moment to come up with an answer.

“Maybe he lied about that part,” he said eventually.

“Maybe he lied about everything!” Iris sobbed.

She pulled him nearer, forced his head down to her level so she could press her forehead against his tightly and keep him from running. She needed to feel close to him. She needed him all around her. She needed him to not die, especially if he’d been deceived.

“Can’t you even consider that?” She sniffled, clutching then at his emblem. “You’re the Flash. You’re not a monster. And you’re my Barry Allen. You’re mine.”

His arms came around her and she sighed in relief, nestling into his embrace. The coldness of the suit became invisible because all she could feel was the heat of his body and his breath in her hair. All she could hear was his heart racing and their breaths so close together. This was home. This was everything. She refused to believe this was the end.

And when she lifted her head, his lips descended on hers, seeking refuge and forgiveness and love. She gave it all to him, and she was so very glad he’d initiated.  She was so much shorter without her shoes, so would’ve been near impossible to kiss him if he wasn’t ready to let her love him.

But he had kissed her. He was still kissing her. And they were crying into their kisses, wanting nothing but this moment, wanting only to be safe and in love and to be out of this crazy, horrible situation.

Iris wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down further, deepening the kiss, tangling her tongue with his, feeling the thrill of his touch ripple down her spine and all over her body.

Finally in need of air, they parted a while later, but Barry didn’t pull away. He let his forehead rest against hers again and let himself breathe.

“You’re not evil, Barry,” she said quietly. “You’re good, and you’re mine. You belong to me.”

His arms closed even more snugly around her.

“Please come home,” she begged, a hitch to her voice, tears ready to make another appearance.

Barry let out a deep sigh and lifted his head. Then he lazily tucked some wild, dark strands of hair behind her ear, kissed the side of her face and stayed there for a while.

“I don’t want to be alone,” he murmured, nearly collapsing into her.

She clung to him tightly, holding onto him with all her strength, not wanting to be anywhere else in the world in that moment. Only ever wanting to be by his side as his partner, his rock, his solid ground forever.

“Then don’t be,” she whispered back. “Come home with me, and you’ll never be alone again.”

For all his doubts, for all the certainty of her death he must’ve seen in all the futures he’d been to, Barry let her words wash over him and decided at least tonight he would believe them.

He didn’t say anything else, but he nodded against her and let her steer him toward the end of the dock.

The relief she felt was unimaginable, and she could not have been more grateful that Cisco had stuck around because Barry was in no condition to race them home.

Iris sat in the back of the car and Cisco helped her get Barry inside. There the scarlet speedster lay across the back seat and passed out with his head in her lap, completely depleted of all energy but open at least for tonight to let someone keep him safe.

When Cisco arrived in front of their building, he turned back to look at his passengers and found Iris tenderly playing with Barry’s wind-tossed locks. Barry was still a goner, but he woke enough to assist in some way when Iris and Cisco needed to get him to the elevator.

Barry seemed to not even really register Cisco as anything other than a being helping him get to where his feet could not. When they reached the loft, his friends miraculously got him upstairs to the bedroom where they deposited him on the bed. Iris meant to go with Cisco to the door to thank him again and discuss in some form what life would be like for Team Flash going forward, but Barry sensed her moving away and started moaning and panicking, unaware of anything but the fact that she was leaving him.

“Irisss?” he slurred, rustling about on top of the sheets.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” she soothed, coming to clasp his hand, which soothed him instantly. “I’m here.”

She looked over her shoulder to where Cisco was standing. The heartbreaking and wondering look on his face assured her like nothing could have.

“It’s okay, Iris.” Her lips parted to protested, but he shook his head to silence her. “We can talk tomorrow.”

She swallowed, unsure if that would suffice.

“He needs you,” Cisco said, gesturing to where Barry still held her hands tightly.

She sighed shakily as she followed his gaze.

“I know.”

“And you were right.”

Iris looked back again, her brows furrowed.

“He’s not Savitar,” he said. “He’s Barry. Our Barry. And we’re going to stop this.”

She felt the huge weight lift off her chest, and she almost wanted to laugh. She nodded, a small smile breaking through, a thank you in her eyes.

Cisco smiled back.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Iris.” He glanced over at Barry and then back to her. “Maybe I’ll see both of you.”

Iris only smiled in farewell. Then she turned back to Barry as soon as Cisco had left the room. She slid out of her heels for the second time that night and managed to strip down and slip on one of Barry’s old t-shirts before he started to panic at her absence again.

Then she helped undress him and tucked him under the blankets. As quickly as possible, because he seemed to be unaware of her coming and going, she got herself underneath the covers and snuggled into his body, intertwining their legs and pressing herself close enough to feel his breath on her forehead and his heartbeat against her ear.

“I love you, Barry,” she whispered, not really caring if he wasn’t awake. He would hear it somehow, and she needed to say it.

Barry didn’t say anything in response, but she felt him wrap his arms more tightly around her, and that was more than enough.

He was her Barry. He was hers. And nothing was going to take him away from her. Nothing was going to take her away from him. Not some twisted evil version of himself, not an unseen villain entirely. They were going to fight whoever was against them, and they were going to win.

Barry wasn’t a monster. He was a wounded soul fighting to survive.

And in her arms, in their home…he would.

*Also available on AO3 and FFnet.