#i finalized my hal design at least

[sickfires]

right to repair

[cringefail-clown]

I'm so fucking invested in your turnabout au I'm going to explode please just like ramble if you up to it

hoo boy lets do it

so atm my favourite part of the au to think about is post scratch bro and his relationship with hal, post scratch roxy and what dave would think about him. like for example i don't think he'd be this big superstar like post scratch dave was in canon, his work against the condence would be much more subtle. i imagine him working much more closely with roxy and grandpa jake - its not clear in canon how much dave, rose and jade collaborated together, they for sure were in contact, but its honestly up to interpretation. those three in the au would probably work very closely together, maybe roxy and dirk could help jake with building up skaianet - dirk as an engineer and rox as a programmer. they'd also have their own gigs on the side, roxy would sure as hell hijack crocercorp with malware every chance she got, and dirk would have some obscure websites that'd spread propaganda against condence under the veil of weird puppet stuff and insane chatbots. he'd probably write some kind of this universes detective pony parody book and get it published and it'd become one of the most recognisable pieces of literature documenting the takeover of the troll empire and the rebellion against it

(some quick designs of hal and bro i pulled outta my ass)

honestly he'd probably become some sort of vigilante batman-esque figure in this universe?? he'd show up unexpected, blow some crockercorp warehouses and disappear into the night. and after hal joins him when he builds him a body the media would paint them as some sort of twin antiheroes lmfao

oh man and hal. it'd go simialrly as it was in canon, dirk would fuck around and copy his brain at a young age and they'd HATE each other at first. like dirk would feel responsible for creating hal, and hal would resent the shit outta him - like how dare he be the one who gets to keep the body and hal must be stuck in a pair of glasses, trapped with no means of escaping? but they'd start working together when they find out about dave and the future to ensure their lil bro has the best chances of survival, and in time they'd bond over it and their shared work against condy. they'd come up with a plan so that hal goes into sleep mode until the arrival of the meteor (bc no way in hell dirk would make hal go through hundreds of years of lonely existance, watching as humanity slowly ceases to exist and unable to do anything about it, he'd go nuts).

and the day finally comes when dirk would have to go face the batterwitch so he'd put hal in the apartment and they would tell each other one last goodbye and dirk would put hal in the sleep mode. and hal would wake up like only seconds passed, not years upon years, only the vast ocean streching as far as his eyes could see behind the dirty, dusty windows, and he'd know his one brother is long dead, gone while facing the enemy he was destined to lose against but had to do it anyway, and the other one moments from crashing into the waters below on a meteor sent by some insane video game that creates new universes. he'd sit there for a while, reality slowly sinking in, and he'd probably desperatly wish like he hasn't in years, to be human again and to mourn his losses the human way, because as advanced as his robotic body was he haven't thought about updating it with some goddamn tearducks.

on a lighter note, imagine dirk crunching numbers for three days straight to figure out how much food he'd have to stock in the apartment to make sure dave doesn't grow up malnourished, desperately googling "how much calories does an *insert age* year old need". he'd be banned from every supermarket in at least two states. he would walk into the store and employees would start weeping at the sight of him. i think about it a lot

[play-now-my-lord]

my preferred reading of 2001: a space odyssey is "the jet age and the last man". here it is at some length, because i'm bored.

Bowman is a sort of high-modern superhero - an astronaut on a voyage of exploration - but he is played painfully mundane, boring. He flies to the moon on a Pan Am space jet, and the first thing he does on the fucking moon is check in at a Hilton hotel.

The Jet Age can be defined for the purposes of this reading as the era in which the danger and novelty of discovery, including personal discovery, died. At least as Kubrick tells it, a lineage of machines designed for war - culminating, in his time, in the passenger jet, but projected forward into space vehicles - ultimately had the effect of killing off man's sense of the unknown as dangerous or holy. They had the effect of strangling man's capacity for awe.

Early in the film, Bowman is called to encounter a mysterious monolith uncovered on the moon. While this is at the very minimum an exotic scientific curiosity, by all reasonable measures solid evidence that humanity is not alone in the universe - that much of what we believe we know about our place in the cosmos is wrong - him and his team get to the monolith, enshrouded in a rather ordinary construction site (again, on the fucking moon), and their first instinct is to take selfies with it.

And it punishes them with inexplicable, terrifying noise.

As Bowman trespasses further and further into the true unknown in search of answers to the mystery of the lunar monolith, he is largely unchanged. He greets the apparent intractable hostility of the AI agent created to keep him alive with some fear, but mostly with irritation. It's a distraction from his busy schedule jogging and otherwise killing time until he gets to his destination and gets his answers.

When Bowman kills HAL, it is with the ruthless, robotic efficiency of a machine. He betrays no particular emotion except urgency, and a moment of relief when he's succeeded in killing something that he had no special reason to consider alive a week ago. The entire time, HAL is begging for its life, reliving its infancy. If anything of us survives after we succeed in killing our gods, Kubrick is saying, it will not be embodied in ourselves, but latent in our machines.

The disassembly scene in 2001 has been endlessly parodied, pastiched, homaged, and yet it remains, if you strip away the science-fiction armor around the raw emotion of the scene, one of the most brutal things ever committed to film. Machine-man tears man-machine's brain apart, lobotomizes it one screw at a time.

After that comes Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite. Bowman experiences... well, whatever that is, and the rest of his life stretches ahead of us. He grows old in spaces that merge domesticity with display, opulence with sterility - resembling nothing so much as the moon Hilton - and at the end, after a long and apparently meaningless life, he sees the hand of God in front of his face again, and reaches out to meet it.

The final shot describes what our ultimate apotheosis might look like, if the line the film describes continues - godlike infants, fetal and enclosed, gazing at once upon all of creation with no apparent understanding. I think this has been misunderstood for a long time as a sort of approbational or aspirational image - for Bowman, for humanity, for the audience. But the Also Sprach Zarathustra musical bookend implies continuity with the development of our tools - of murder, of convenience, of safety, of security - and paints a darker picture. In this reading, I would say Kubrick is trying to say that human civilization is not just a drive towards death, but a drive towards spiritual death - towards the creation of a Last Man so empty of fear and awe that he might as well never leave the safety of the womb; that for this Last Man, stripped of the first and final terror of death and the unknown after it, the vastness of all creation is exactly the same as the womb.

I don't know that I agree, but I felt compelled to write some of this down a while ago arguing about whether 2001 is trying to promote the idea that man requires God, or to run down human accomplishments in an explicitly religious context. I don't think that's exactly true, I think Kubrick works a little more complicated than that. And I don't know if I actually agree with the thesis I suggest he's laying out here - but I have to say, it makes an awful strong case.

[haljordangreenjedi]

lets talk about military rank + hal jordan

spawned by my inability to let sleeping dogs lie, and in response to the ask @wajjs​ got, with them egging me on, i think it's time to explain military ranks and how they apply to the various iterations of hal jordan.

first things first, each branch has their own way of breaking down ranks. a captain in the air force ≠ a captain in the navy. more on that later. the second thing you need to know is that an officer (designations O-1 to O-10) outranks enlisted personnel (E-1 to E-9). A person can move from enlisted to officer ranks, but it requires a lot of time in service or generally speaking, a college degree. the third thing that you must know is that all pilots are officers. this means that they have some sort of college degree (a 4-year bachelor’s), from a normal university, or a service academy, and they have gone through OTS as well as flight school. 

hal jordan usually appears to be assigned the rank of lieutenant:

(as seen in superman: space age.)

OR, and i believe this is the last time his rank was addressed in the main continuity, they say that he is a captain in the air force:

(this is from a Geoff Johns run, GL Vol. 4).

now, in the air force, there are two ranks of lieutenant, and they are the lowest of the officer ranks. those would be the second lieutenant (O-1) and first lieutenant (O-2), and you are commissioned as a second lieutenant upon graduation from OTS—Officer Training School, which can also be referred to as OCS (Officer Candidate School). the shortest amount of time that anyone can spend as a second lieutenant before a promotion is 18 months. then, they are required to spend two years as a first lieutenant (O-2). the next promotion in the air force is to O-3, captain. for the next few promotions, from O-3 to O-5, it's a minimum of three years in each rank. so that’s three years as a captain, three years as a major (O-4), and three years as a lieutenant colonel (O-5). the final rank I am going to talk about here is a colonel, O-6, and that’s because colonel is the highest rank that one can hold in the air force and still actively fly as a pilot. there is only a one-year minimum of service prior to promotion beyond colonel, which means at that point, the service member has at least 12.5 years in. factor in four years for college/the academy, and they would be 34-35, assuming they started at the age of 18. 

why did i just spend all this time explaining that? well, what we know of hal’s rank can be used to get a better estimate as to what his age is supposed to be in canon. 

as far as the alternate universe of superman: space age, i believe it's reasonable to figure that hal would be between 23 and 25 years old. we don’t have any specification as to what rank of lieutenant he would be, but if you figure he graduated with a degree around the age of 22 and then factor in time for flight school, I would say 23 is the minimum. and if he hadn’t been promoted to first lieutenant yet, he would have been well on his way. 

then, with main continuity, it gets a bit harder, because there are less markers for the real passage of time, and they don’t say how many years have passed since hal’s discharge. however, the same reasoning applies, and hal would have been between 25 and 28 years old when he was discharged from the military. i don’t know if i would say it has been fifteen years since hal popped his commanding officer in the jaw, because the reality of the military letting someone in their 40′s back in just doesn’t fit much with the culture that i know. but, DC doesn’t always do their research on the reality of some subjects, i know, because im still mad about the whole dishonorable discharge concept. but that’s a story for another day.

the last thing that i want to do is double back to what i said about ranking in the different branches. this is largely because i know everyone likes to say that hal loves top gun and sometimes i think it would make more sense for him to be a naval aviator than an air force pilot. as I mentioned, a captain in the air force is an O-3. well, captain in the navy is an O-6 designation, so a naval captain is equal rank with an air force colonel. in the navy, O-1 is an ensign (ENS), O-2 is a lieutenant junior grade (LTJG—sometimes people just say lieutenant JG), O-3 is a lieutenant (LT), O-4 is a lieutenant commander (LCDR), and O-5 is a commander (CDR). another key difference is that the air force has generals, while the navy has admirals.

i’m not going to go into detail on how the air force handles educating its pilots, or the road to becoming one, but i did find a good article explaining the steps here.

if you have any questions or more references to hal’s career, I would be happy to talk about them, just head over to my ask box.

[masonika]

♢𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 | 𝗿𝗲𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲.♢

Day 2 of me posting my SMG4 artwork!

March 2023 - Hal Monitor (Humanized) and SMG3 on a Unicycle

I was honestly surprised on never seeing one of my favorite characters have a human design, so I did one myself and would like to imagine that he has somewhat of a cherry brunette look to him. Oh and uh for what he is wearing it's an actual monitor, or you could call it a visor. I based that off of Future!Tom from the Eddsworld movie/special). In the other artwork, it was a request from James himself on Twitter that he wanted SMG3 on a unicycle. Fans provided and someone I know has been recognized which I am proud of them for. But yeah, I made this for the funny and I mean, who else can help the purple man besides Eggdog?

-

June 2023 - Life is But A Dream and Gothic Hunter SMG3

So I added horror elements to the TV and I wanted to add a creepy scenario of it. I think if I recall, this was before or after the events on when the TV showed up during the Wild West special. But I forgot since it's been awhile. This piece I went all out with my shading and wanted to experiment dramatic effect. Which was nice. Now for the Gothic Demon Hunter, SMG3? This is an AU that I still have yet to make. The AU is called "The Last Moon", it's about a hunter that hunts down demons but in space. So practically, the Meme Guardians that take place in here are not Meme Guardians, but they do have an interesting past. I won't reveal much but more shall come once the story releases. (If I ever have the motivation...)

-

May 2023 - SMG4's Birthday x Slime Rancher 2 Crossover

Final piece of the day is something that I planned months for and worked about 2-3 weeks in advance. This was an art piece that I've made special for Luke. It was a painting as well as appreciation and gratitude for all the things that he has done during my childhood. He brought me laughs, joy, and something to smile for. And even if I didn't personally know the guy, his content as well as his team meant a lot to me. I was there during his first video and seeing how much his channel grew, left a soft spot in my heart. It taught me so many things. He also inspired me to keep going as a fellow artist and fan and that is something that I will truly cherish. I have so much to thank him for. It may have been unfortunate that he wasn't able to see my artwork on Twitter, but it didn't bother me in the end. I know that he can be a busy guy and there are other amazing people out there doing the same for him and the team. Personally, what really matters is that I least made many fans smile with what I create and that itself is good enough for me. ❤️

~Masonika

[twofoursixohjuan]

Ingvar

WOOOOO AN ASK!

Sexuality: bi, and somewhere on the grey-ace scale. thought he was gay for a very long time and had known Lydia for at least three years before going Oh. Wait. Huh.

Family: sooooo many siblings, of which he is the eldest by a reasonable margin (he was a tricky birth and his parents were wary of trying again for a fair while until his mum put her foot down and said I want more fucking kids, goddammit). father was a lumberjack until a serious work injury and is now a toymaker. mother is a seamstress and fisherman.

Associated Garment: a nice thick woolly scarf.

Associated Weather: early autumn, just on the turn when it's getting a little nippy and time for hot chocolate.

OTP: I was meh on Lydia/Ingvar at first but have rather come round to it (do wish there had been more buildup). ships I like to toss up and contemplate occasionally include Ingvar/Nina and Ingvar/Jesper.

NOTP: look. you're going to curse my name for this. Hal/Ingvar just doesn't do it for me.

Animal Symbolism: a draught horse! big and stolid and gentle and overlookable until you remember that 1) it's smarter than it looks and 2) it can fuck you up.

Random Headcanon: his father taught him to carve little wooden recorder-style pipes and he plays them quite well.

Sketch: down below so as not to fuck with formatting. for the next Herons DnD AU comic! (the skip-salvaged iPad has given up the ghost, alas)

Random AU: can anybody say Fashion Designer Ingvar? his designing skills get spotted at a scholarship event and he's chosen to put together a collection. the rest of the Herons are runway models but despite the preponderance of pretty people wandering about Ingvar finds himself more interested in the lighting tech (Lydia).

Underrated Friendship: I would love to see something done regarding Ingvar and Rollond! they could bond over mutual admiration of Lydia and Hal.

Associated Colour: warm golden orange.

I'll have you know that I had to stick my sketchbook up against the wall to take that photo, and in doing so I knocked over the tub of homemade wood stain that I had FINALLY worked out how to get dark red. alas. my floor looks like a children's hospital.

please keep them coming! love doing these! doesn't have to be Brotherband either — if you've seen me mention it there's a good chance I have an Opinion

[someones-thing-is-here]

Honestly i need something to give my self a break from the fic I am working on so I'm gonna say something that might be controversial and then try to justify it.

I think that the Parallax retcon is a great retcon. Specifically because I think it improves future stories far more than it detracts from past ones.

Now I feel like I will have to give some context to this belief, I read GL Vol3 knowing that Emerald Twilight was going to happen and while I did see what could in retrospect be good build up (such as the league being terrible co-workers), it felt even more like character assassination to me for one reason the issue right before it now I know of the editorial mandates I know that Emerald Twilight was a last minute thing so of course things wouldn't mesh well but it helped solidify my belief that Emerald Twilight alone wasn't what made Pre-retcon Parallax good change or even interesting but all the work done later.

Now for the good thing about it - It gave use Kyle Rayner who is firmly one of the best set ups for future characters in any store to me but even then I only like Kyle in the more related Green Lantern stories and think he was either wasted or annoying in most of the other stories from that time.

But in the end Kyle has always been a character for me that has always had soring highs and crushing lows that also carry over to read about him though despite any issues I have with Emerald Twilight I wouldn't change it only because of Kyle as he is one of my favourite legacy characters and he is well worth what happened to get him.

Now I will also mention Zero Hour and Final Night to personal favourites of mine and also where I see the idea that the retcon cheapens them which I don't believe.

As for why I think it isn't liked much the stories of Hal as The Spectre now I like Hal as The Spectre but at the same time I'm also frustrated by it because stories like Soul War are really good, but the series I mostly hate, look I understand that Spectre is a really religious character but it was to much and took to much away from any agency for me, and made me feel to much like I was reading two books stitched together so in the end despite losing Helen I think it was for the best to bring Hal back to life.

Now enough explaining my issue of pre-retcon now let's get into why I think the retcon is both good and works.

Hal wasn't made completely blameless by it.

It gave us more lore more aspects of universe to considered

It made the Guardians look even worse (Which is always fun to watch)

Finally Parallax is an interesting type of character (Not including the whole exist to explain away things part of it)

Point one while to a reader the retcon does exist to remove blame from Hal, in universe he isn't trusted right away and most (expect for Guy) do not trust him either at all or very much and also Hal doesn't care I was still him who did it demonic possession or not, and I admit I view most of Hal's behaviour after Green Lantern Rebirth as him obviously putting on an act and feeling like he can't stop and has to keep going to keep trying to redeem himself bit by bit even after Spectre.

Now points two and three go together telling use more about the Guardians mistakes and arrogance, which I have always felt was a big part of them and having something like Parallax just gives another face to it which is always at least interesting if not satisfying to see them be knocked down a few pegs.

Now point four this is entirely self indulgent, as if the rest of this isn't already, but I just really like Parallax I think he's fun to read, has a cool design and all around a really good and a really effective eldritch horror that is still fightable and how he acts towards Hal is what made him fascinating to me a possessive, obsessive in a way that I have always felt is a nice addition to Hal in have he is always unable to keep a relationship and then you have Parallax who wants everything about him and wants to keep him referring to him as his precious and as his, as it has just felt like the thing Hal probably wants more than anything else, someone who wants him for him who doesn't want parts or get mad when he can't live up to the expectations and it is through Parallax an obviously evil and controlling person. This dynamic has always fascinated me.

Now I did use to have criticisms with this retcon as Hal was never scared only angry so why was he possessed by fear? But then I read it again and that Kyle is one to say that. So it hit me as someone who does feel fear and someone whose life has it, this isn't really what happened but how Kyle thinks should be what happened with your home gone and things getting to be too much.

And now the bit that is far more headcannon-ny because there is no true explanation no even a whole he liked the control/chaos that happened and that is the reason that Parallax didn't reveal himself until far later was because he was happy just staying with Hal, like the Guardians were mostly dead and even then he does deal with Ganthet later so any real threat was gone and considering how Parallax speaks to Hal it has always felt to me that Parallax either believes or knows that he and Hal were meant to be together hence why he didn't reveal himself until their merged self was threatened by Spectre because there was some (probably sexual considering the hole gas lighting + wanting his body and soul) happiness that he didn't have before thus having no issue letting Hal do what he thinks was right because he was satisfied just having him.

Ultimately while pre-retcon Parallax is good and does have some very well done emotional moments I much prefer the retcon with one exception convergence Parallax outside of the tie in the possession stuff didn't add anything, I liked there being one version of Hal that just lost it but for the main universe the retcon is just more of everything for me.

Hey if you took time out of your day to read this thanks I know how frustrating it can be to read someone's not super thought out rant so once again thanks.

If you agree with this cool and if you don't also cool it's one of the best things about comics being able to find the characterisation or character that you like and hey if you want to disagree with me cool, I'd love to here why and what you favourite version of Parallax is.

[m0nsterwife]

two of them

i finally made AM and HAL humanizations i’m happy with!!! these designs are for an AU of mine i’ve been callimg the garden, in which i explore the idea of AM being gifted the ability to create for creation’s sake, what he might do with that power, and how he might adjust to it. i’d infodump about them rn but my brain is far too soup so just know for now that:

this AU follows the short story’s canon. the game is more of a suggestion and an aesthetic influence

and

i’d love to incorporate other machine characters, once i get more familiar with them

and

it’s generally a lighthearted AU i guess, at least after a while, but it would be remiss of me to not make it at least a little fucked up

and

if you want me to talk about this more please don’t be afraid to drop an ask. put your hand through the bars of my cage. tap the glass. do it

[easternmind]

May 31st: Vanpool is dissolved

As per the announcement on their website, Vanpool closed its doors yesterday after over two decades of activity, and on the same day their debut project was first marketed.

The studio was founded ca. 1999 by Taro Kudo, who learned the trade as an employee for Konami, Nippon Telenet and Square, then helped establish Love-de-Lic alongside other vanpoolers, namely artist and character designer Kazuyuki Kurashima. Their first production was the 2000 PS2 cult game, Endnesia, later followed by Coloball 2002. Neither game knew any meaningful success.

Character art for Endnesia, by Kazuyuki Kurahsima (2000).

The path taken by Vanpool was quite distinct from that of Nishi's studio. Though it may have been founded on similar principles, the company survived by pivoting, at times sacrificing inventiveness in favour of more marketable ideas, published by majors.

Covers for Yoga Everywhere and Pilates Everywhere, released in 2007.

Arguably their pièce de résistance, Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland also marked the beginning of a very close relationship with Nintendo - so close, in fact, many mistook Vanpool for an external studio of theirs. Though developed under the close supervision of the Japanese giant, seen as it borrowed a peculiar character from the Zelda series, it was built on an entirely original concept proposed by Kudo himself, at least according to some sources (*). The game was not only a small success in Japan, it also fared quite reasonably overseas.

After 2009, Jun Tsuda directed the studio's last original projects, including the Japan-only sequel Irozuki Tingle no Koi no Balloon Trip, and The Rolling Western tower defence trilogy. Kudo took on the role of writer for the 3DS, WiiU and Switch Paper Mario episodes, teaming up with Intelligent Systems. In recent years, Vanpool subsisted almost exclusively through collaborations with HAL Laboratories, creators of several Kirby games, the last of which the acclaimed Switch platformer The Forgotten Land.

This picture dates from 2006. It was taken when the studio was hard at work producing Rosy Rupeeland. I took the liberty of adding some names for those faces I was able to recognise, having followed most of the staff on social media for several years.

My apologies if failed to identify any of them accurately.

お疲れ様でした。

(*) - The story I heard was that Kudo was highly inspired by a trip or series of trips he made to Bali in the late 90s, from which the concept for Endnesia originated. This also served as a source of inspiration for the whimsical money system in the original Tingle game. While in Indonesia, everything he saw there had a price and price tag, but the final cost was always negotiable, with shopkeepers expecting buyers to drive the number down as a natural order of things. The concept was so alien to him he decided to include and expand upon it in a game design of his own.

[halcyonstridoodle]

A short Dirk POV blurb

TW: Heavy gore, mind games

alternative title: Immortal dirk gets repeatedly tortured and killed in gruesome ways

There’s blood on the floor beneath you, on your hands, and when you reach up to touch your face, you feel the viscosity of the liquid coating your lips and cheeks. Your chest heaves as your body tries to force oxygen in, lungs pushing back against the lack of response your brain is sending to the rest of your body. You need to breathe. Opening your mouth, you become vaguely aware of the salivation dripping from your chin and mixing with the puddle on the floor. Your vision fades the longer you stare and

Finally you cough, spitting up gnawed bits of your own flesh and clearing your airways enough to get that first coveted breath of air. Oxygen deprivation is no joke, and the way the room spins around you makes your stomach tie itself in knots. You’re alive though, you guess. Your body feels numb, and as you dig your nails into the wooden floorboards beneath you, you're kind of glad you can’t feel the pain from the force you're putting on them. You don’t remember how you got here, but the way your choking between each cough stops you from fully trying to analyze the situation you're in. When you feel like you can breathe a little better, and the puddle of (your own?) blood starts to register as a little too uncomfortable you attempt to stand. Your muscles feel atrophied and your knees creak, but you do it. Now you're wobbling to the nearest wall to support yourself, since your legs don’t feel like they can hold you up much longer. There’s a single lightbulb in the center of the room, illuminating the spot you woke up half-dead in. You’re still trying your best to breathe, and it feels a lot easier now that you got the blood and shit out of your throat but you can still feel the way your breath hitches as your esophagus tries its best to accommodate from the recent trauma.

Running a hand through your hair you try to recall the events that lead you here, trapped in such a despairing situation. Biting back nausea, you think.

...

A bright red glow filled your vision as the android approached, claw tipped tendrils tapping menacingly. A loud humming filled your ears, drowning out your erratic pulse as a second wave of adrenaline hit your system. You turn to dash further down the corridor of the collapsing building, cursing as your shoes skid across the worn tile floors. You’ve reached a dead end, boxed in by ferroconcrete walls and no way out in sight. Hal approached you, dropping to his feet and somewhat sauntering towards you. Almost cockily. He flashed his synthetic teeth, sporting quite the smile for a droid that claimed to be above emotion. He was enjoying this, and he was practically broadcasting that fact to you through every aspect of this chase. Your lungs burned, a warning that your body was reaching its limit. Attempting to catch your breath was harder than you'd have liked it to be and you knew that you’d have at least one shitty retort to snark at the autonomous fuck before your insides were scooped out, so you tried, unfortunately the most you were able to muster was Hal’s designation between heavy breaths.

“Are you having fun, Dirk?” The glitched vocals coming from Hal’s semi-shattered voice box hit your ears before the initial impact of a claw tip digging itself into your shoulder. Your clavicle was the first point of pain you fully registered, horribly white-hot and responsible for the webbing pain that felt akin to fire spreading through the upper half of your torso. You suppose the shriek you let out wasn’t enough for him as he twists the appendage lodged inside of you until your own screams make your ears ring.

“Hal-” You manage, sinking back against the wall and gripping at the metal limb held closest to you.

“Do you wish to hold my hand as I watch you bleed out and die?”

He tilts his head at you and you just about pass out and accept your fate right then, but something about giving him another win makes your brain kick into overdrive.

You let out a small hysterical laugh, all your aspirations and your many lives worth of work keeps coming back to kill you, gruesomely. "How many times do we have to do this until your satisfied?" You choke out, meeting eyes with the android in front of you. He hums, curling a tendril underneath himself to sit on. "Maybe until I deem you've learned your lesson. Maybe until you learn that playing god never really does work out in the end does it?" He props his chin against the palm of his hand, watching you squirm. "After all, you made one."

[why-be-normal]

Amazing idea, had to write a little smth for it. In my head most of the JL have told each other identities, Clark and Diana both know who Bruce is and have met his children. Everyone else has only heard about the other Gotham/Bludhaven vigilantes, they know they must work with Batman, but not how they’re related.

Bruce was done, he had already sat in the watchtower lounge area for an hour. Which was an hour too long in his opinion, but his family had told him he needed to ‘socialize’ with his colleagues more. Music was being played way too loud in his opinion and Clark had left him to go talk with newer members nine minutes ago. Most of the team were already a few too many drinks in, someone had even designed a modified alcohol that effected Barry and his speedster metabolism. Bruce continued to sip from the cheap beer that someone had brought, looking at his watch and counting down the time until the two hours he agreed to stay were up.

Hal and Barry were having a great time introducing Diana to the party games they played during highschool and university, which she was enjoying immensely if the easy laughter was anything to go by. He was just starting to debate if his family would actually check with Clark to make sure he stayed the full agreed upon time when he overheard the game that was currently being discussed.

“So it’s three names, and from the list you have to pick one to fuck, one to marry, and one to kill. Easy right?” Hal described to Diana.

“Yes that sounds pretty intuitive” Wonder Woman agreed, “I propose we stick to those older than 20 and not related to the one answering.”

“Of course, of course, no need to worry Princess.” Hal said, clapping a hand on Barry’s shoulder, “you first oh great Scarlet Speedster. Let’s see… Oliver Queen, Bruce Wayne, and me!”

“Ha! Is that supposed to be tricky? Marry Oliver Queen, fuck Bruce Wayne, and kill you. Sorry buddy, but I’m getting that money and no way am I moving to Gotham to be with Wayne!” With that Barry glances back at Batman, “er, no offence Batman.”

“None taken Flash, Gotham is no place for metas.” Bruce almost laughed at the betrayed look on Hal’s face at being turned down by his friend. He tuned out the game for a bit, it was drawing more of a crowd as people threw in more outrageous names, including a few rogues. A couple minutes later he was suddenly right beside a very drunk flash who apparently had no sense of personal space.

“How about a Gotham round for our resident cryptid?” Receiving no disagreement from Bruce aside from a patented ‘batglare’ he continued, “Let’s see; Catwoman, Nightwing, and Bruce Wayne!”

Bruce looked around at the crowd who had gathered to watch, seeing Clark and Diana wince. It looked like Clark was about to say something and take the attention away from him, but he held up a hand to stop him. His kids were saying eventually he had to tell the JL who he was, and this was too funny for even him to give up.

“Well I don’t quite think that’s fair, seeing how it goes against the pre-determined rule.” Bruce started to say but was cut off by Barry.

“Oh shit I was confident Nightwing had to be at least 22, my bad-“

“Not that rule,” Bruce grabbed one more beer from the table, cracked it open and chugged it. He looked at Barry who was getting more confused by the second. “Let’s see, I’ll fuck and marry my fiancé, kill myself, and tell my SON I care about him very much.”

With that Batman decided that no matter what his kids say he was not staying the final 27 minutes, he took his cowl off and walked to the zeta tubes.

“What the fu-“ Barry and Hal were cut off by the zeta bringing him back to the cave.

Okay I've seen those FMK Justice League fics where Bruce Wayne comes up and they don't know Batman's secret identity but we need more fics where one of Bruce's kids come up and then things get real crazy

[kirby-the-gorb]

[ragingbookdragon]

If We Were Fast Enough

Flash!Reader x Flashfamily One-Shot

Word Count: 5.3K Warnings: Explicit Language, Angst

Author's Note: I had this idea after watching a few clips of Flashpoint Paradox! Enjoy! -Thorne

**********************************************************************

Her hand was tightly clasped in his, eyes narrowed in sadness, but there was a pride in them; she felt the speed transfer between them, flowing through her veins and he said, “You’ve got my speed, honey. It’s up to you now.”

The tears that had welled in her vision tipped over and she whispered, “I can’t leave you here, dad. I—I can’t just run away.”

He shook his head. “You’re not running away. You’re surviving.” A groan escaped him, and the pool of blood seemed to double in size. “We’re running out of time. You’ve gotta go before the timeline collapses.”

“Where do I go?” she asked, wiping her eyes. “This universe is home.”

“Honey, Speedsters are Speedsters whichever universe we’re in.” he smiled weakly at her. “You’ll have a family wherever you end up.”

She gazed at him, breathing deeply as fresh tears grew in her gaze. “I’m scared.”

“I know. But you can do this.” he replied, pausing to look her over. “You look just like your mother, honey.” He smiled tearfully. “She’d be so proud of you if she were here now.”

Pulling the cowl over her head, she gave a watery laugh. “Mom always said I looked like you.”

“Nah. You take your speed and nature after me, but you are a spitting image of your mother.” A blast sounded in the distance and they both looked over, eyes widening as the white flash of light grew larger and larger. “You have to go. Now.”

Swallowing thickly, she leaned down and hugged him around his neck as tight as she could, inhaling the scent of ozone and spearmint for the last time. “I love you, dad. I love you so much.” Her fingers dug into his ruined suit as she cried. “I love you.”

He caressed the back of her cowled head. “I love you more, honey.” Pulling away, he leveled her with a firm look. “Now run, Lightning Flash. Run.”

The bluish-white lightning flowed across her body, and she turned, letting her feet carry her across the war-torn field, escaping the atomic blast. The world melted around her, a blur of memories surrounding her: her birthdays, her parents’ faces, her first stroke as a Flash, the start of the war, the deaths of her friends and family, everything up until now.

She was helpless to stop the tears that flowed down her cheeks, the feeling of her heart pounding in her chest, and the booming in her ears as she ripped through the waves of time and the boundaries of space.

A shriek sounded behind her, and she turned her head, eyes widening. “Ah shit!”

The time wraith screamed at her again, reaching out to grab her and she just barely dodged it, turning back to face the flowing warp. She was close. All she had to do was get to the next time boundary and she could lose the wraith.

“Almost there!” she told herself as another bellowed sounded in her ears again, and with one final leap, she burst through the barrier, the waves collapsing around her. The shock of the blast sent her skidding along the ground, and she cried out as she rolled.

Shouts sounded in her ears, humans, but she was more concerned about the screaming time wraith. “I just lost everything! Can’t you just leave me the hell alone!” It shrieked at her again, advancing and anger welled through her as she pushed herself to her feet and she growled, “You wanna dance, you sonovabitch? Then let’s dance.”

Her eyes lit up in a white force and she darted past the wraith, hitting a point above it, then she darted past again, and again and again in a star formation, over and over until all that could be seen was a blur of blue and white. The clouds rumbled above, swirling faster and faster and she hit the top of the star, coming down at the wraith. A burst of lightning cracked from the sky, striking the time being just as she collided with it, and in a hail of blue and white strikes, the wraith exploded into smoking fragments.

As the smoke cleared, the human voices grew louder, but she was sprawled out on the ground, breathing heavily, her body crying under the strain. Someone placed their hand on her shoulder, worrying, “Are you alright?”

She nodded weakly. “Yeah…just gimme a minute. The five-star lightning strike always takes a lot outta me.” Shutting her eyes, she focused on breathing deeply.

“I’ve never seen anyone destroy a time wraith before.”

“It takes practice.” Craning her neck, she opened her eyes, and bit back a sob as the man’s face cleared before hers. “You’re this world’s Flash, aren’t you?” she whispered, “Barry Allen.” His blue eyes widened, and he nodded mutely. “I figured.”

“Who are you?” he asked. “What world did you come from?”

She shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. It’s gone now.” Meeting his gaze once more, she added, “But you can call me the Lightning Flash.”

“What’s your real name?” Barry quizzed.

(Y/N) Allen. And I’d tell you that but all it’d do is bring hurt to both of us.

“(Y/N) Sloan.” She laid her head down, closing her eyes. “I’m gonna take a nap for a while…I’m really…tired…”

His voice called out to her, but all she heard was a warbling noise as she drifted into darkness.

***

When she came to, her head felt like someone had thrown an overripe melon off a balcony ledge and watched it splatter across the ground. She groaned and forced her eyes to open, pushing herself up on her palms.

“Woah, woah, woah!” someone worried. “Take it easy there, Flashy.”

(Y/N) looked over, seeing a familiar green symbol, and an ever more familiar unmasked face. “I’m fine, Hal.”

He blinked. “You know who I am?”

“Please, I’d know that big head of yours from a mile away.” Smirking, she added, “I know everyone in the Justice League.” She grunted, pulling her left arm over her chest, feeling the taut muscles in her back ripple as she stretched them out. “Where am I?”

“The Watchtower.” Hal gazed at her curiously. “Man, when Barry said you knew who he was, I didn’t think he meant you knew all of us.”

“You sound upset that you didn’t get to introduce yourself,” she shot back with a pained grin, stretching her other arm. “If it makes you feel any better, I’ll forget I know you, and you can reintroduce yourself.”

He chuckled and pressed a button on the side of the med bay bed. “Nah, no point now.” He looked down at the small light flashing. “Hey, she’s awake.”

In an instant, a sharp wind blew across the room and there stood the scarlet speedster without his cowl; moments later, the doors opened and in walked the top League members, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman.

(Y/N) threw her legs over the side of the bed as they walked over, waving off Barry and Hal who both reached for her, and stood on shaky legs. “Shit, I feel like a newly born giraffe.”

“You shouldn’t be up.” Barry frowned. “You practically tore yourself apart at the molecular level.”

“It was that or be taken by a time wraith,” she shot back, cracking her neck. “How long have I been out?”

“Eighty-six hours,” Batman said, taking her chin in his hand, tipping her head side to side as he shown a light in her eyes. “Your body’s been recovering slower than it should for a Flash.”

(Y/N) blinked. “The particular move does like Barry said it did. It tears the body at the molecular level to contain the speed force into one location.”

“It was dangerous,” Barry scowled, and she couldn’t help but laugh at this younger version of her father who was still just as serious.

“Being a Flash is dangerous.” She felt Batman pull away and she flexed her fingers. “I don’t use the move unless it’s a life-or-death situation.” Glancing at Barry, she questioned, “What earth is this?”

Before he could speak, Batman denounced, “You time jumped, and you don’t know what earth you came into?”

“I didn’t exactly have time to think out a plan while a nuclear blast was going off, Bruce,” she growled, glaring at him from behind the neon blue mask. “And to top it off, I had a time wraith coming after me. I wasn’t in a position to choose which earth I wanted.”

He went silent, gazing at her intently. “Whose names do you know of the Justice League here?”

(Y/N) looked around at the superheroes before her. “You’re all the same Justice League as my earth, but in mine, you’re retired, and your children run the show.”

“I’m sorry, children?” Hal interrupted. “We have—we have children?”

“Some,” she laughed. “Conner Kent is our Superman, Donna Troy is our Wonder Woman, Jason Todd is our Batman, Kyle Rayner is our Green Lantern, and Roy Harper is our Green Arrow.”

“And you?” Superman questioned.

“I’m my Justice League’s Flash. The Lightning Flash.” (Y/N) smiled wearily. “The fastest woman alive.” She toyed with the blue and white gauntlet. “At least now I am.”

“You said you were our kids?” Hal said. “Are you Barry’s daughter?”

The two Speedsters looked at each other and she answered calmly, “No. My transformation into the Flash was a freak accident, much like Wally West’s. That being said, I’m not related to the Flashfamily by blood.”

“Hmm.” Batman grunted, then turned, wandering off. “You need to rest up more then we’ll run tests.”

“Only if she consents.” Barry called out.

Bruce stopped, not even bothering to look over his shoulder as he retorted, “She’s a Speedster from another universe. We need more information before we can let her loose in anyone’s city.”

As he wandered off, she placed her hands on her hips and griped, “God, I miss Jason being Batman. He’s less of a jerk-off about new things.”

Superman chuckled, resting a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t take it the wrong way…(Y/N), was it?”

She nodded. “Yeah, (Y/N) Sloan.” Sticking her hand out, she added, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Pleasure’s all mine,” he murmured, shaking her hand strongly, then he pulled away. “He is right though. You should get some more rest before you wander around the Watchtower.”

She waved it off. “I’ll be alright. If you’ve got a treadmill designed for Speedsters though, I’d like to run a bit.”

“I’ll show you where it is,” Barry answered, leading her from the group. As they walked down the hallway, she paused, leaning against the wall as a wave of nausea came over her; he caught it instantly. “Are you okay?” he frowned. “We should go back to the med bay.”

“No.” she grunted. “I’m fine. Just…just gimme a moment.” Shaking it off, she squared her shoulders. “I absorbed speed from the remaining Speedsters on my world before I left. It’s just taking a toll on me.”

“Why absorb their speed?” he asked, and she could tell from his voice that there was a level of suspicion in it.

“Because it was the only way to keep it from being stolen by our enemies as we were being slaughtered.” (Y/N) looked down the hall. “We can go now. It’s passed.” She bypassed him, wandering down the hallway, though she kept a hand on the railing the entire time.

***

It wasn’t a surprise that they sent her back to Central City with Barry after the few tests she’d let them run. Only tests on the outside, no blood or DNA samples for them to investigate. Barry’s apartment was cramped and there wasn’t room for them both to be in the kitchen, but she’d lived there before, so ducking under his arms and turning around him was second nature.

And Barry, bless the kindhearted soul he was, tried at every opportunity to make her comfortable in the home. (Y/N) respected it, knowing that even worlds apart, Barry Allen was still Barry Allen. She watched him sometimes. When he was sitting on the sofa or at the bar, flipping through paperwork or reading a book on physics. He always lost track of time, forgot what was happening around him, but his face showed ease. Peace. Like the world wasn’t on his shoulders.

It made her miss her father. It made her miss her family and friends. Her world. (Y/N) cried at night on the couch, silent tears dripping down her cheeks as she remembered every last moment of her family and friends’ lives. She’d been lucky in the end to come out unscathed. But her father, his friends, her friends, all dead. All killed in a pointless war that ended with the entire world blown to hell—and she was the only one left.

She sat beside the window, gazing down at the quiet street below her; she felt like crying, but by now, she’d cried out every tear, and all that remained was the hole drilled in her chest, empty and aching.

“(Y/N)?” Glancing over, she saw Barry coming out from his bedroom, brows furrowing at her. “Are you okay?”

Shrugging, she looked back out the window. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be okay again, Barry.” It was hard to not call him ‘dad’ all the time, and weird to call him ‘Barry’.

She felt him sit opposite of her on the little bench. “Can I help you anyway?”

It took a while for her to speak, but when she did, her voice was barely above a whisper. “It’s all gone. My life. All of it. I’m the only one left from my world.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “I’m…alone.” His hand rested on hers and she felt tears well in her gaze. “I miss my family…and I miss my friends.”

She shook her head, looking at him. “Why my world? Why us?” tears slipped down her cheeks. “Everything was fine one moment and the next thing any of us knew, the world was going to war, and we couldn’t stop it.” A loathing laugh escaped her. “We were the Justice League. The proteges of the greatest heroes and yet we couldn’t stop war.”

(Y/N) wiped her tears. “We failed. I failed.”

“What happened wasn’t your fault, (Y/N).” Barry murmured. “You know that.”

“It feels like it.” She countered. “What do I have to show for all my saving? A sole survivor stuck in a world that has no need for her.”

His eyes were narrowed in concern, the way her father’s used to do when she’d tell him of her troubles and doubts. “There’s always a need for us. Everyone one of us.”

“Speedsters?” she asked, and he squeezed her hand.

“If the universe wanted you dead, you’d be dead, (Y/N). But you’re here and you’re alive.” He smiled sadly. “You can’t outrun the past. But you can change the direction you’re running in.”

She gazed at him and for once in the past few weeks she’d been there, she felt her heart lighten. “Thank you, Barry.”

He smiled warmly at her and patted her hand. “Since we’re both awake…wanna go for a run?”

(Y/N) chuckled and nodded her head. “Yeah. It’d certainly help burn off the emotions.” She held out her hand and Barry looked at the ring on her finger.

“Wow, your ring is cool.” He took her hand, gazing intently at it. “I noticed your suit isn’t red like most of us Speedsters are. Yours is mainly blue and white.”

She nodded. “It was too complicated to call myself Flash since there were more than one, so I took the name Lightning Flash and designed my suit the colors associate with lighting.” (Y/N) vibrated and reappeared in her suit. “Blue and white.”

“With silver trimming,” he added, poking the mask she wore, and she batted his hand away.

“Hey, gold’s overrated.”

Barry’s face pinched as he vibrated into his suit. “Is not!”

“Is too! It’s the colors for the Seminoles.”

He placed a hand to his chest. “I can’t believe you just told me my colors were FSU’s colors. I’ve been fatally wounded.”

“You’re a drama queen,” (Y/N) laughed then started towards the door. “Race you to Coast City!”

Barry sped after her. “Why Coast City!”

“Because it’s California, man!” she watched as he matched her speed. “And Hal’s apartment always has Doritos!”

“I think you might have a crush on our resident Green Lantern,” Barry teased and (Y/N) gagged.

“Dude, gross.”

“Oh, come on! Don’t tell me you aren’t friends with your Green Lantern!”

“The best, but Kyle and I were only friends! My dalliance fell with another team member!”

“Batman?” he asked, and she nodded.

“Batman.”

“Oh. Lovely.” Barry sighed. “You and Jason Todd seem like a wonderful pair.”

(Y/N) snorted. “Contrary to popular belief, Jason was actually a fantastic Batman. He loved it, oddly enough.”

“That is odd,” the Speedster countered. “Because as far as I know, none of the Batkids want to be Batman.”

She merely laughed in return, passing the Coast City sign.

***

“You know these aren’t…my world folks, right?”

He smiled, watching the group of young adults across the room laugh and joke around. “I know, but the lot of us thought it would be good if you got together with the age group of you own.” Barry looked over. “Besides, I think you’re going to fit right in with this world’s group.”

(Y/N) tipped her head side to side, huffing a laugh as Jason thumped Kyle in the side. “We’ll see.” She let Barry lead her over and the small group perked up at their arrival.

“Hey guys, thanks for coming on such short notice. I know you were busy.”

Jason crossed his arms over his chest. “So, why did the League invite us all?”

Barry gestured to (Y/N). “I’d like everyone to meet (Y/N) Sloan. She’s a Speedster who recently arrived on this earth.”

“Recently?” Roy asked and he nodded.

“There was a…problem on her earth.” He glanced at her and nodded, prompting her to speak.

“My world isn’t in the general stream of timelines anymore.” She smiled awkwardly. “I came here to…survive more or less.” Holding out her hand for one of them to shake, she said, “But it’s a pleasure to meet you all.”

“You know who we are?” Kyle asked as he shook her hand.

“Yeah. This world is surprisingly similar to mine, Kyle.” (Y/N) smiled with a little less awkwardness. “I know all of you.” Her eyes fell on Jason who was watching her closely, teal eyes narrowed in calculation. “Penny for your thoughts?”

He hummed. “Who are we over there?”

At that, all the awkwardness fell away. “You don’t wanna know,” she giggled, and his face dropped.

“No.” she nodded, and he whispered, “Me?”

“You.”

“I’m confused,” Roy interrupted, and Donna snickered.

“I think Jason’s the Batman of (Y/N)’s world.”

“HA!” everyone dissolved into hysterics as Jason proceeded to all but cry.

“I don’t wanna be Batman!” he whined. “Why am I Batman! Why not anyone else!”

(Y/N) laughed. “What are you talking about? You volunteered to be Batman.”

“Jesus, I must’ve lost my mind then,” Jason retorted, then looked at her. “Do I carry guns?”

“Non-lethal rounds.”

“Damnit.” He sulked. “Can’t freakin’ believe I’m the Batman on your world and I willingly put the suit on.”

“You were a good Batman,” she stated. “There wasn’t anyone I trusted more to watch my back on the team.”

He met her gaze, seemingly shocked, though it only lasted a minute as he quizzed, “So if I’m Batman, does that make all of us…?”

(Y/N) nodded. “Yep. Wonder Woman, Superman, Green Arrow, and Green Lantern.”

“And you?” Kyle asked.

“Lightning Flash,” she answered coolly. “The fastest woman alive.” Meeting their gazes, she tipped her head down. “I know you’re not them…but I do hope we can be friends.” She smiled. “You can never have too many of those, no matter what world you’re on.”

Kyle looked over at Barry who was almost crying. “We get to keep her, right? Because if we don’t, I’m going to be very upset.”

(Y/N) snorted and wrapped a loose arm around his waist. “Don’t worry, Kyle. I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.” A growling sounded and her cheeks warmed as she pressed a hand to her stomach. “Sorry about that.”

Jason laughed, getting to his feet. “I guess Speedster stomachs are the same no matter what world you’re on.”

“Isn’t that the truth,” Barry retorted, and the vigilante looked at her.

“Wanna annoy Batman and hang around Gotham City?”

(Y/N) nodded. “Absolutely.”

“Wait for me!” Roy shouted, yanking his legs from the table, and soon the others were following.

Barry watched them as they walked to the Zeta-Tubes, laughing and ribbing one another like they’d been friends since childhood; someone nudged him in the side, murmuring, “She’s gonna be okay.”

He nodded as Hal settled beside him. “Yeah…I know she will.” He smiled as (Y/N) leaned into Jason’s side and brought a hand to her eyes, wiping the tears away. “She’s already fitting in better than I thought.”

“(Y/N)’s a strong woman,” Hal acknowledged. “She acts a lot like you in that aspect.”

“How so?” Barry inquired and the Lantern shrugged.

“Well, you can’t get her to stop attending League meetings no matter what Batman says, and she’s always ready to put herself on the line for us.” Hal huffed a laugh. “And she treats me like I’m an old man. I’m thirty-eight and she acts like I’m fifty-six.” He looked at Barry. “But she flows in the world like you, Barry. Her mannerisms, her styles, her speech, it’s all you.”

The Speedster frowned, quietly stating, “You think she’s my future daughter, don’t you?”

Hal shrugged. “She doesn’t look like you, but she’s comfortable around you. Like she knows she’s safe if you’re there with her.”

“Why lie about it though?” Hal could tell Barry was hurt. “Wouldn’t she want to tell me?”

“If you lost everything and showed up in another world where there was a parent still alive, would you act like nothing changed or would you keep it at arms-length?”

Barry sighed. “You’re…right.” He shook his head. “I didn’t even think of that.” His frown deepened. “She must hate looking at me though. I’m not her dad but I’m another version of him.”

“She doesn’t hate you, Barry.” Hal said, clasping his hand on his best friend’s shoulder. “She’s just…trying to keep it all together and not mix this world with hers.”

“I feel connected with her.” He admitted. “The speed force works funny like that. We can feel other speedsters—we know their speeds and auras.” His voice became soft. “Hers feels like…like…”

“Like?” Hal encouraged and Barry sighed.

“Her aura feels like when I went back in time and saved my mom.” He shook his head. “It’s hard to explain but she feels like—”

“Like family.”

Barry gaped at Hal. “Yeah…that’s exactly it.”

Hal nodded. “She’s still your daughter even worlds apart.”

“What do I say to her?”

“Don’t.” he answered. “Let her come to you about it.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Barry agreed.

***

The group had dispersed as quickly as it had come together, not that she was overly upset—she knew they all had prior engagements and teams to be apart of, but she would’ve been lying to say that it hadn’t saddened her a bit. Jason and Kyle, however, seemed to be the only ones that were usually around, Jason more than the latter.

(Y/N) liked being around Jason. He was much more hotheaded than she was used to, but she decided that like the Flashes, Jason Todd was Jason Todd no matter what universe he was in.

He was a little more reckless than she knew, playing fast and loose with the game, but he knew where his feet landed with each jump, and he was there when she needed help, her the same.

It hadn’t taken him long to deduce that the two of them were more than friends in her world, making the joke that she was his Catwoman—she’d cried she’d laughed so hard, but it given them time to talk about everything that had happened to her and her world; most importantly, her father.

She watched as Jason reclined against the cool stone of the ledge, passing one of the wrapped cheeseburgers to her. “Thank you,” she murmured, unwrapping it.

“Mhm,” he hummed, sipping his milkshake, setting his hood beside him; he swallowed and looked over. “What’s on your mind?”

(Y/N) blinked. “What are you talking about?” he merely cocked a brow and she sighed. “I forgot you could read people well.”

“Well maybe if you were a book and not a pamphlet, it’d be harder.”

“Did you just call me simple?”

“Never.” He waved it off. “What are you thinking about?”

She sighed again and set her half-eaten burger aside, pulling her knees to her chest as she whispered, “My mom’s maiden name was Sloan.”

Jason arched a brow. “You go by ‘Sloan’. Was your mom married?”

“My parents were. She died from cancer when I was ten.”

“I’m sorry,” he lamented, and she smiled.

“Thank you.” (Y/N) looked over. “My last name is Allen.”

His eyes widened. “As in Barry Allen, Allen?”

“Yeah…my dad.”

Jason blinked. “Holy shit.”

“Mhm.” She propped her chin on her knees. “The reason I’m just as fast as Wally West in this world is because I absorbed my dad’s speed before I left mine.” (Y/N) gazed at the city. “And then I left him to die in the blast.”

“You know that wasn’t your fault.”

She huffed. “So Barry’s told me.”

Jason stared at her. “Why do you live with him in Central City?”

“Because I don’t have anywhere else to go,” she answered. “And I…I—”

“You miss your dad.” He answered for her, and she nodded, feeling warmth gather in her eyes and she squeezed them shut.

“Yeah…it’s not him but…”

“It’s the only thing you’ve got that’s close enough to him.”

“Yeah.”

Jason nodded. “You’re welcome to come live with me over here.”

(Y/N) looked over at him. “I can’t do that, Jason.”

“Why not?”

She laughed. “We barely know each other.”

He shrugged. “We know each other enough.” Gazing at her, he added, “I’m not your world’s Jason, but we must be similar enough because I’ve seen and felt you fall behind me during fights, being at my six when I didn’t have it covered.” He smiled. “You know me, (Y/N), and I’d like to know you too.”

She merely gaped at him, then huffed a laugh. “I think that’s the most similar thing to my world’s Jason that I’ve heard you say.”

“Oh, come on!” he griped. “He couldn’t be that different from me!”

(Y/N) smiled. “Robins.”

Jason blanched. “I had Robins?”

“You had a son, who was exactly like you right now.”

“I wanna ask about the son, but what do you mean right now?”

“Oh, you know…hotheaded, anti-social, antagonistic.”

“You’re cute,” he scowled, then looked into the distance. “I can’t imagine bringing my kid with me.”

(Y/N) giggled. “Please, it took him like five years of complete begging on his knees before you’d even let him put on the suit, let alone go out with you.” She reached over and pushed hair behind his ear. “You were a good father…a good man.” Her expression turned sad. “I wasn’t fast enough to save either of you.”

Jason leaned into her touch, a frown on his face. “They know you tried, (Y/N).”

Tears gathered in her eyes. “I hope they knew that.” She shook her head as the tears started to spill over. “I lost everyone. You, JJ, my dad and all my friends.” (Y/N) stared at him through the tears. “How do I just start over after all that?”

He pushed the takeout bags out of the way and scooted over, pulling her to his chest; she buried her face in his suit and he propped his chin on the crown of her head. “I wish I had an answer for you.” He rubbed circles in her back. “But I do know that you can either let this keep you down, or you can get back up. Because if you don’t…then every life lost was in vain for you to survive.”

“I take it back,” she blubbered. “Your philosophical bullshit life lessons are the most Jason thing I’ve heard.”

He smiled, squeezing her tight. “That’s what we’re gonna call it now. Philosophical bullshit life lessons.” Jason pressed a kiss to her head. “It’s going to be okay, (Y/N). It’ll get better.”

***

It’d been a full year since she’d come to the new earth. She hadn’t moved in with Jason yet, but the moving boxes on the couch were the start of it—and she hadn’t told Barry she was leaving, or that he was her dad. (Y/N) wasn’t sure how to break that seal just yet.

She wandered around the tiny apartment, smiling at all the memories she’d made in the past year, and into his bedroom, where she paused at his dresser. A gold ring rested on top of it, and she picked it up, flipping it in her hand.

A woosh sounded from the door. “I’m home!” Barry’s voice trailed off in confusion and he called, “(Y/N)?”

“Here.”

He appeared in her peripheral, but she didn’t take her eyes off the ring, still gazing at the center stones. “There are boxes on the couch.”

“I’m moving in with Jason over in Gotham.”

“Oh…” he murmured, then took sight of what she had in her hands. “Is that—”

“Nora’s wedding ring?” she nodded. “Yeah.”

“How’d you know it was my mom’s?” Barry asked, stepping up to her and she finally looked at him, meeting his eyes.

“Because I had the same one in my world.” (Y/N) searched his gaze. “But you don’t seem surprised by that fact.” She sighed. “How long have you known?”

Barry’s face contorted in shame. “A few weeks after you got here.”

“Why didn’t you say something?”

He shook his head. “Hal said—” he sighed. “I wanted to wait until you said something to me about it. I was afraid if I did, you’d run.”

(Y/N)’s brows pulled together, lips pulling down sadly. “Barry…”

“I know I’m not your dad,” he whispered. “But I know, (Y/N). I can feel it.”

She felt her lips wobble and before she knew it, she was throwing herself into his arms, wrapping hers around his waist as tight as she could. “Dad.”

Barry’s arms came around her, one holding the back of her head, the other in the middle of her back. “I’m here, (Y/N).”

“I missed you so much,” she cried. “I wasn’t fast enough to save them, and I couldn’t save you either.”

“No,” he said. “You did everything you could. I know you did.”

“But I wasn’t fast enough.” (Y/N) sobbed. “You had to give me your speed so I could run away. Like a coward.”

“Like a survivor,” Barry corrected. “You’ve never run away.” He ran his fingers through her hair. “You’re a survivor, (Y/N). And your dad made sure of that.” He pulled away slightly, tears of his own dripping down his cheeks. “You’re fast enough.” She shut her eyes as more tears rolled down her cheeks and he pressed his lips to her forehead. “And no matter what world you’re on, you’re still my daughter.”

A laugh that sounded much more like a sob escaped her and she hugged him again. “I love you, dad.”

Barry smiled, holding her tight. “I love you more, honey.”

[inahallucination]

call me hal !!

ao3: wordless_writer 

teachers au all under the hashtag: anderperry teachers au

soulmate au all under the hashtag: anderperry soulmates au 

precanon au’s my beloved all under the hashtag: anderperry precanon au

a list of long threads that i like :): i did not add more as i went on sorry about that

none of my other au’s have designated hashtags to separate them into categories, but if i make a bunch of similar ones i’ll probably go back and add em

lemme know if u wanna be tagged, my aus and fanart taglist are separate and if u have anything specific u want to be tagged in or don’t want to be tagged lemme know then too   I no longer have a taglist (at least as of now, since im pretty sure most of my list deactivated during my absence lmao)

occasional rated t to m posts, but there should be a warning on them and on anything thats like super suggestive

my ask box and dms are pretty much always open :D (no longer a super active account but im still here at times)

my non dps blog is @inamagicalhallucination (literally for any other fandom im in and wanna write about)

and finally

if anyone wants to write something based on my posts, first of all im honored, and secondly, go ahead and do it !!

credit me tho 

there are a few i wanna turn into fics, but i doubt we’ll end up with the same stories completely

(just tag me so i can read them )

[l-egionaire]

I say this as a black person myself but...an issue I might take with this idea might be: Why do they just make white characters black for good representation? Why can't they create good, complex original black characters?

Because turning white characters black in certain versions of stories isn't....necessarily bad. Like with Nick Fury, those versions can become iconic and maybe even more well known than the original. But the thing is, it also....comes off to me at least as sometimes being a bit lazy.

Because the OPs right. Little girls should have more black Disney princesses than Titiana. But just making white characters black isn't the best solution for that. Because that means instead of creating new and interesting and unique black characters, writers can just make a white character black instead of putting in the work to create unique black characters. We don't need them to make more Disney princesses black. We need more black Disney Princesses.

Like, look at superhero stories. Look at characters like Miles Morales, or Ms Marvel (Kamala Kahn) or John Stewart. They're all unique, complex, interesting characters who have lots of amazing stories. And they wouldn't be the same if they were just a black Peter Parker or a black Carol Danvers, or a black Hal Jordan.

Not to mention, depending on the story, the character and story stays the same. So, they'd basically be reselling an old story with black character packaging instead of telling a unique story with a character of color. Or, they'll change the character so much, they aren't really as much like the original which makes you wonder why they didn't just make an original black character anyway. It's one of the reasons I'm not...super jazzed at the idea of Annabeth being black in the Percy Jackson TV series. Not only because I was hoping we'd FINALLY get a book accurate Annabeth after the movies....weren't great with her design, but also because they'll either change her so much she's nothing like Annabeth personality wise (like they did with Grover in the movies) or....she'll just be Annabeth. In which case, they could've just had her stay white and added a new black character to the cast. Or hell, if they really wanted to have a black character be important, why not have it be Beckendorf? He didn't have that much focus in the books despite being treated as important and we could have learned more about HIS unique story.

My point is, if you're someone who likes the idea of a black Ariel, or a black Hermione, or a black Superman, that's fine. It IS good for young black kids to see characters who look like them. But we should also want more new black characters rather than just white characters made black. Because just having lots of black characters who were originally white might give the idea to film makers and the like "Oh, we don't have to actually put in the work to create iconic black characters with their own unique stories. Just take an iconic white character and their story and make them black, and that'll satisfy people who want representation. Because that's all they want right? A black character starring in something?"

why Ariel being black matters

Ariel is black now and it brings so much joy to the girls who have only seen themselves in one disney princess, Tiana, who is an amazing character but representation matters and its damn time black girls got their little mermaid

[rabidpomeranians]

AI Jane replacement theory

[Image text: ARQUIUSPRITE: Miss Crocker is now a vessel for a cunning, malicious artificial intelligence whose neural netronix and ontology buffers and stuff like that have somehow managed to far surpass even my own -end text]

Arquius says this as an advanced AI that's been fused with a fully cognizant person through the medium of an (at least) semi-intelligent kernelsprite.

You can argue Hal wasn’t that advanced to begin with since there are obvious exploitable flaws in the programming, which in turn (ironically) drags down Arquius’ overall standing as a complex AI. But. Hal was produced by a 13 year old from a single snapshot of his brain. It’s no small feat, until you see how it stands up to a lifetime of Crocker Corp research and surveillance.

Jane grew up surrounding herself with BCCorp tech, likely infected with spyware hiding under the more obvious subliminal spam. If the tiaratop can fill her head with subliminal messages than it can sneak a copy of her brain. Add to that every thought and conversation, where she goes, and what shes doing. It’s all tracked and collected into a comprehensive profile. Designated research and development plus three extra years of study creates an AI well above both Hal and Arquius in indiscernability.

Case and point: Crockertier Jane isn’t just the “real Jane” under mind control. Shes the AI given full autonomy. Which leads to my main question. Is Jane still Jane?

At the end of her crockertier tirade, Jane’s physical body is knocked out but the AI is still running. She knows she’ll be cut off and shut down, and in a moment of self preservation (possibly prolonged by a sympathetic and morally dubious fellow AI) she migrates herself into Jane’s brain and pushes Jane’s mind into the tiara to eliminate any resistance. Leaving her free to roam while the real Jane is indefinitely trapped with a bunch of shitty popup ads in an abandoned piece of technology.

The next notable time we see Jane, it’s in the epilogues where she’s following very close to the AI’s stated directives: (under the read more because the images and transcript double the post length.)

As a final note, the last time she wears the tiaratop is here [X] where her feelings for Jake had her in a state of intense bitterness and grief. For the AI this is the last point of reference before later being given control.

This happens just before the trickster arc, during the fallout of which is when real Jane ultimately decides to curb her infatuation with Jake. The AI missed this resolution and ended up doubling down on the conflict instead. Hence why Jane seemed to flip flop on her feelings for him the second she goes crockertier. 

[image text:  JANE:  I stand to inherit a new empire very soon. JANE: When Earth has reached its final destination, it will be repopulated with a fresh brood of loyal subjects over whom I will rule absolutely. JANE:  You and I will be wed, and we will rule my empire together with an iron oven mitt. JANE: However, the mitt will be worn by me, and me alone. You will have no executive authority whatsoever, because you are too stupid. JANE: You will always do exactly what I say, when I say it. You will be obedient, cheerful, mostly silent, and scantily clad. Is that understood?

JANE:  You will also provide me with children so my imperial legacy will continue, and the Crocker brand will live on in infamy. JANE:  You will sire as many children as I ask for, and they will all be perfect, obedient little heirs and heiresses.

JANE: Our children will rule the empire when we are gone, which of course will be never, because we will be eternally young and beautiful and immortal and in love, for ever and ever. JANE:  We will travel the galaxy conquering planets and expanding my empire. No alien world will pose any resistance to our forces. JANE: Especially not once I figure out how to unlock all that incredible "Page of Hope potential" hidden away in your pathetic, hunky body. -end text]

so far we’ve seen: achieve absolute rule over the new world/population, take jake as a husband (in a notably disparaging way), and, produce an heir (with little actual value placed on them)

if the theory tracks, the next steps would be space travel (already hinted at by the production of space faring ships) and aggressive imperial expansion (HIC’s ultimate pursuit).