#petty eobard

[thwackk]

people underestimate the comedic potential of eobard’s existence and his extreme petty hatred for this one (1) dude

bonus because i just feel like barry would think he’s just hallucinating or something but came up with the WORST way to tell his mom that

[ditzy-town]

⚠️PETTY MAN ALERT⚠️

(close ups below)

I never shared my funky design of this man so here you go ur welcome😌🤲✨

[televisionlassie]

I love how petty eobard thawne is, like you could look at this man in a way he doesn’t like and then BAM you’re erased from existence

[misterbaritone]

If you think about it, DC comics has two big 3s

The first is the classic Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman trio

The second is Reverse Flash, Black Manta and Lex Luthor. The big 3 of hatin ass niggas

[rayfishandchips]

which dcau movie is that "it was me Barry" clip originally from?

someone please tell me

edit: found it. It's Justice league: the flashpoint paradox

thank you @i-think-ill-miss-you-forever for telling me in comments :)

second edit: Flashpoint paradox is SO GOOD gotta be my fav dcamu movie

[fantastic-nonsense]

Your post about Lady Shiva is very true but didn’t Reverse Flash at one point travel back in time to trip somebody down the stairs iirc? That’s an unmatched level of petty

Thawne is absolutely pettier. There is no DC villain pettier than Eobard Thawne. But Shiva as an entire concept is funnier imo.

[keanurye]

Barry : WHY DID YOU KILLED MY DOG?!

Eobard :

[dadoodler25]

Can we just talk about Reverse Flash?

After watching memes about this guy, I fucking love him. He's one the most powerful beings in all of fiction, being a LITERAL paradox, and he uses this power to straight up fuck with Barry Allen. And I don't think we get enough.

I want to see super petty RF. I want him to go back in time and:

Write all the wrong answers during Barry's maths test in elementary so he fails.

Knock over his ice-cream cones.

Barry's going to give a love letter to a former high-school crush? Thawne tears it up, replaces it with a new one that has mean words written all over it. Barry gets beat up.

Tie his shoes together so he always trips.

THIS is what I want to see.

[nadeii]

Look, I really love Constantine, but Eobard Thawne is so unhinged and petty, he said to Barry that he would go back in time, kill his mother, and pose as a social worker so that he can raise him ???

Vote for Reverse Flash

[zeroducks-2]

speaking of august vs thawne I felt like those two were being petty towards each other when barry forced the 3 of them to work together. I remember at some point august pointed out how he's better than thawne cause he's actually willing to change hence why he gets to be part of barry's life. personally I felt like that struck a nerve in thawne and that's probably one of the reason he killed him lol. "you thought you'd get to be with barry? guess again!" moment

The thing about Eobard (and this is something that drives me insane in a very good way) is that his actions look pretty much nonsensical when you look at them without context.

Why did he kill August at the end of The Flash Age, after everything had gone SO WELL?

Barry trusted him, Eobard did the right thing. They easily fell into the right rhythm, they helped each other no strings attached, and not only that - after saving Chris, Eobard went back to Barry and August to save them too.

He could have very well left them to die, and if you think about it, he can just walk into the Speed Force and pluck Barry out like he did in the Rebirth Mini. So it was really just a plain good action.

But then he goes and pulls August's neck like a chicken's? Why TF Eobard? Barry doesn't understand it, and since we don't get Eobard's POV, we don't see what's in his head when it happens. But if you know enough Flash lore, it's possible to piece together what went down.

First of all, and this is very important to consider, Eobard was walking away. It's August who physically stops him.

August grabs his arm, and Eobard immediately understands what this is about. August wants him to go back to prison. The fact that his response is about trust, and the defeated look on his face, make the feeling of betrayal pretty evident.

(also what in the FUCK you think you're doing August, this is a whole ass tiger not a kitten you can scruff oh my god. anyways)

Now, the reason why Eobard immediately assumes (correctly) that August wants him back behind bars, is because this exact same thing happened to him so many times, and it's basically a trauma so big he would rather take his own life over going to prison.

Back to his time of origin in the 25th century, he would stay locked up in the most inhumane conditions (total isolation, sensory deprivation, no human contact to the point where they fed him using radiations so that no one would approach and talk to him), and the only way he had to get out for a very limited amount of time, was when the good law abiding citizens needed a hero to fight some kind of superpowered foe.

Because in the 25th century superheroes are illegal, when something too dangerous comes up, the only way to fight it off is to use a criminal. And who better than Professor Zoom, the "sociopathic knock-off" of the now defunct hero the Flash, who'd do anything for a scrap of freedom and two minutes of leniency - especially because for all his life Eobard has desired being a hero and help people, so he'd never refuse such an offer.

Page from The Flash #147. The Flash in question is Wally in one of his timetraveling adventures.

So Eobard helped, everyone cheered, and then locked him back in prison.

We see this *in The Flash Age* as well. It's what happened when he had to fight Paradox the first time - he was pulled out of prison and he not only fought of Paradox, he also saved the survivors, rebuilt Central City and the Flash Museum with it.

Now of course August couldn't possibly know all of this, but what August knows is that Eobard, when he was locked up in Iron Heights, was in this condition:

So what he's doing is in fact demand that Eobard, in order to actually gain their trust and proceed on his "road to redemption", willingly goes back to that BDSM contraption thing in sensory deprivation and with a muzzle in his mouth.

After this man went back in time to specifically save August's ass from a world eroding from under his feet.

Eobard is openly terrified at the idea of going back to prison, by the way. Many times he very clearly tells Barry that he'll die before going back to the situation described above. Or to this:

Or this:

Or this:

And I could go on but you get the picture.

August basically put his whole foot into an open wound and twisted. The idea of going back to jail after his five minutes of leniency had to be so upsetting that I'm surprised Eobard JUST broke August's neck, and didn't like, gut him up while he was still alive.

It's understandable that people would think that he killed August out of jealousy, or that he somehow cringed at the good action that he did and had to sort of compensate with a bad one. But it's actually way more complicated. And the saddest part is that he assumed that Barry was on August's side, wanting to put him back to jail, because he's traumatized as fuck and will always assume the worst possible scenario.

[littlelambscandyland]

Precious Thing

Cg!Eowells x Little!Reader x Cg!Eobard

Warnings- Female Reader, Panic Attack, Regression to 3yrs, Use of Daddy (non-sexual)

Eo used for Eowells and Eobard for past Eobard (not confusing at all lol)

It’d been a few weeks since he arrived. The other Eobard. One who didn’t know you or care to learn. Blonde hair and blue eyes, quite unlike the dark haired man you know.

Those few weeks have taken its toll. The man was cruel and capricious. It brought you back to when you first discovered that Harrison Wells wasn’t who he said he was. It brought you back to when you both hid yourselves with anger and hurtful words.

Your biggest problem however wasn’t the bickering with a past version of your husband. Your biggest problem was the stress waying you down without regressing. Eo tried to convince you. Tried to reassure you that the other him wouldn’t hurt you, but you feared Eobards words just as much as his actions.

Today was extremely difficult. You could feel yourself slipping. Your mind and body betray you to act on protective instinct to save you from yourself.

You barely made it back to your home, back to your room, before you regressed into a small child. Perhaps you were 3, maybe 4. You had no chance to call him, no chance to plan.

You’d moved quickly but not quick enough to completely avoid his eye. Not long after you locked yourself in the room you heard a knock. An aggressive knock. A noise you just couldn’t handle.

The sob tore its way through your throat as you buried your head into your pillow. The pillow you wish was your stuffie. You wanted the comfort, the love of your caregiver. Your mind could only make out how alone you were. Your breathing grew rapid. In only a small amount of time you were completely panicking.

So caught in your mind you didn’t notice the man phasing through the door. So caught up in your own mind you didn’t notice anything he was doing at all. You only noticed Eobards presence when an arm pulls you into a chest.

Your panic grew more. Whines and cries coming out of your mouth. You were turned in strong arms to face the blonde. He seemed confused himself. He pulled you in and shushed you calmly. He rocked you slowly.

“He’ll be back soon. Poor thing, you just can’t handle anything alone can you?” Despite his tease his voice was soft and sweet.

Your heart raced, but he held you tightly. His grip brought you a bit of comfort among your turmoil.

~~~~~~~~~

Soon enough Eo walked in quickly. “Aww, you sweet little thing. Look at you.”

Eo took you from Eobards arms as you clinged to him desperately. The man holds a dummy up that you take without question. Where he got it you weren’t sure, or where he got your favorite plushie, but you weren’t going to question him.

“You precious little girl, just couldn’t wait for daddy to come home hm?” Eo says as he peppers your face in kisses.

Eobard looked awkwardly between you and Eo. Brows furrowed as he tried to process the scene. His future self coddling a regressed version of his partner. He wanted to be petty and annoyed. To hold onto the anger he normally feels, but he couldn’t. Your cries have dimmed to a pout as Eo pretends your stuffed friend was real, and honestly, Eobard could feel himself fall in love with this little girl. You were so cute reaching towards the toy in Eos hand.

Eo looks towards Eobard with a knowing look. Smirking before looking back at you. “He was so nice to you wasn’t he, princess? You should thank him.” He tells you light-heartedly.

He turns you towards Eobard, and takes your pacifier. You hold up your toy as if it’d protect you. You sigh lightly and mumble out a few babbles.

Eo laughs and narrows his eyes at you. “That wasn't done properly and you know it.”

A few nonsensical sounds fall out of your mouth again before you whisper out, “tank oo eobar”.

You look down shyly and hide behind your plush again. Eobard who had sat there staring at you before shaking out of his own head. 

He pulled out his signature smirk and responded quickly. “Of course, how else would I react to a toddler?”

“Yes, there is no other way to act when such a precious thing is in distress.” Eo responds smoothly.

A squeak comes from you in response to the two mens shared words. Both men couldn’t help but smile at you as you cuddled into your soft toy.

Eo stands with you in his arms. “Why don’t we have some dinner?” He asks you before looking down at Eobard questioningly.

You nod enthusiastically as Eobard stands. The rest of the night was spent with two daddies proudly caring for their precious little girl.

[emin-folly]

@fezwearingjellybananas 💚: What does everyone else get wrong about your favorite character? I've already talked about Barry, so it's Eobard's turn this time!

Okay so like....the whole deal with Eobard and the thing that a lot people seem to kind of?? Not get?? Is the fact that he's a pathological lair.

He's SO GOOD at this, he straight up got his own ass fooled into thinking he actually hates Barry. He'll say he "hates" Barry, and that he wants nothing more to than to be rid of him forever (nevermind in the next breath, he says he wants them to be equals??? Make up your mind, bro) BUT THEN he goes and tracks Barry through the timeline and proceeds to build a massive lightning rod which turns himself into the Negative Speed Force JUST to drag Barry out from the afterlife. Keyword there--Drag. Bringing Barry back to life wasn't some freak accident, Eobard deliberately dragged him out, kicking and screaming (<-- His exact words) Like...sacrificing your humanity, literally making yourself into your archnemesis's universal half to resurrect your most "hated" enemy is uuuhhhhh??? PRETTY GAY NGL And that's not the only instance either. There's lots of little things that Eobard does that shows he is surprisingly capable of being kind (like, the person who fixed Irey and Jai's whole speed aging thing? Yeah, that was Eobard), though it can be very easy to miss because he uses malicious pretense to distort them

"Oh, that's just writers inconsistency/rectonning things!" While true, there were things about Eobard that were changed/rectonned over the years, there still seems to be this same, underlying thread that ties all of Eobard's actions together, even going back as far as the Silver Age and that's love

When you rip away all the layers and get at his very core, you'll find that underneath all of that, he just wants to be loved.

That's it, and that's why he's so ruthless and unstoppable. He's willing to tear the whole universe apart just for a brief moment of happiness Eobard is a person who on some level, realizes how unlovable he is and is vehemently rebelling against that. He doesn't know how to love nor how to ask for it. All he's familiar with is his own obsessive and erratic love for Barry. This is why he's so, SO hellbent on making Barry as obsessed with him as he is with him, because that's the only form of love he knows As for him being petty, I've also gone a bit indepth in another post but I'll go over it briefly here why this is also VERY incorrect:

Yes, Eobard pushing Barry down the stairs or erasing his friends looks very random and ridiculously childish on the surface, but the second you look deeper, you'll see in actuality it's all part of a elaborate and sinister plan which he executes with terrifying precision

Eobard pushing Barry down the stairs isn't him being childish, it's to make Barry paranoid.

Eobard opening the door to let Barry's dog out isn't him being evil for the "lulz", it's to rip away all the things that Barry loves which love him back systematically until he's so lonely and desperate, like Eobard is

Every single little thing Eobard does to Barry has VERY meticulously thought out reasons behind them, most of which are known to only him. He's is SCARILY patient and extremely proficient in getting the results he wants and honestly, we don't talk about that nearly enough TLDR, Eobard wants to mold Barry into someone who would love and accept him. To make him into someone who could understand him and love him (the tragedy here being Barry already was that but it wasn't enough for Eo)

🤍: Which character is not as morally bad as everyone else seems to think? Batman. But that's too easy. So instead I'll say: Wally West.

Now, now. Hear me out.

Yes, Wally IS kind (though he had to learn that the hard way) and he does absolutely care about people, and he is compassionate (unless they're in his way....well, we'll get to that) but he also has this undeniable nasty streak.

He grew out a lot of it but he still has his moments where he's uhhh, really kind of horrible? He's judgmental, he's quick to jump to conclusions, he's selfish and he has a bad temper. He also struggles with empathy sometimes, too caught up about himself and what he's feeling to get the bigger picture. Wally definitely has good intentions, I'm definitely not doubting that, but when push comes to shove, he does has a tendency to do what he thinks is right vs what actually is right

Like, listen I'm sorry, Wally/Birdflash fans, but Wally's more than just the sunshine quippy, flirty guy. He's an asshole with some dark tendencies (remember when he turned Thad into a living statue? Y e a h) A good example of this is his relationship with Barry. Their relationship has so many layers to it and uhh, noooot all of it is positive.

They do truly love each other so, SO much. They tore through reality and time for each other. Nothing can separate them and yet...despite all of that, Wally has just...so many issues regarding Barry and how he sometimes treats Barry (honestly, you could extend this to the rest of the Flashfam. Yes, they are more emotionally adjusted and healthier compared to some, ahem other families coughtheBatfamcough but still, the way they seem to treat Barry a lot of the times is really?? Kind of rancid) Let's look at Flash War. Yes, Wally yelling at Barry was also influenced by Eobard, but I can't help but think Eobard's hypnosis wouldn't have worked as well as it did if Wally wasn't already harboring some deep-seated resentment, ya know? It's not really feasible to think Eobard created all of that anger there, but rather, he just nudged it to the surface, all of Wally's jealousy and fear regarding Barry (to be fair, he did get accidently 'eaten' by his uncle a couple times and reduced to a non-corporeal existence where no one remembered him, sooo yeah the fear is definitely justified lol) Barry for his part spent that whole arc trying to desperately reason with Wally and telling him to slow down and think things through. And how did Wally respond? By insulting him and threatening to cripple him beyond repair

"That was all just Eobard!" Mmm was it tho? I don't think so. I'm sorry, but I think to call everything Wally did in Flash War Eobard's fault seems very reductive and as well as the fact that Wally lashing out at Barry is something that seems to repeat itself a lot in the comics history.

The first time being at Barry's trial when he was being convicted of killing Eobard. Wally, who up to this point in time idolized Barry and wa his biggest fan, was now accusing him in a court of law of being incompetent and responsible for Iris's death (as bad as this was, I do give Wally a lot of slack here, he was very angry and hurt and needed someone--anyone--to use as a outlet)

Second time was during his solo run when he hallucinated Barry and Wally was attacking him, calling him a monster....yeahhh, I don't think I need to elaborate

Like...I absolutely get it, Wally was blinded by grief, he was hurting so bad, he wasn't thinking straight, I understand that. But he still threatened to hurt Barry to get his family back and if that doesn't speak volumes about his relationship to Barry, then I don't know. Because Wally is definitely possessive of the Flash mantle (which is also a whole thing in itself) and he doesn't know when Barry would suddenly re-absorb him back into the Speed Force again, Barry will always be a threat to him whether Wally likes it or not

Wally doesn't like confronting his issues either, and Barry will never call him out on it (that's his precious son boy after all) so it'll most likely just keep happening, sadly. And it's not just Barry, you can pick a lot of other characters, like Roy or Bart, who Wally also lashed out at Now, I'm not saying all of this to prove that Wally's a "bad character" or that Barry is flawless and perfect--far from it! Wally's complex, he has grey areas/layers which isn't the same as being horribly written

This doesn't negate his good traits nor vice versa. Wally's a very messy and also very human and that's perfectly fine! And I wish more people would internalize that

Disclaimer: I really do like and enjoy Wally and I LOVE his relationship with Barry <33 I adore them, BUT I also understand that it's not completely wholesome at all times and there is underlying problems here~

[ftl-faster-than-life]

I’ll see your ‘Barry was passively suicidal up til Flashpoint’ and raise you a ‘Barry has been actively suicidal throughout Rebirth, crowned off by his going after the Anti-Monitor alone during Dark Crisis, and his entire family knows it.’

But they only address it when he is ACTIVELY trying to die. Otherwise you get moments like the post-picnic intervention, or Bart remarking that Barry has locked himself in his room and won’t come out and he’s ’real gloomy.’ Barry being suicidal and depressed makes everyone uncomfortable and they do not want to address it.

I do not think that this Fandom talks enough about the fact that Barry did not want to be "resurrected".

He came back to a world that literally was not his anymore because Thawne rewrote his entire backstory taking away his parents, his friends, his dog, his hope, his mental health and the security and lightness that was part of pre-trial/pre-crisis Barry Allen.

I firmly believe that Barry was passively suicidal from resurrection all the way to causing Flashpoint. During Blackest Night he briefly seemed back to his old self, managing to be picked as a Blue Lantern. It did not last.

People like to say Barry Allen should have stayed dead. I say, Barry Allen also think he should have stayed dead.

Ref to this post:

[radioactive-earthshine]

How would you personally approach redeeming Thad?

Well we can't undo Fastest Man Alive, it's canon. We can't just jump from Mercury Falling into a redemption arc so that must exist in the realm of fanfiction or an elseworlds story.

So there are one of two ways I would redeem Thad at this nebulous point in comic limbo where "everything is canon" according to DC right now.

1.) They redeem Thad by taking the approach that everything he did to Bart post-Mercury falling was in fact either a different Thad than the one in Mercury Falling OR he was mind controlled - likely by Eobard because he CAN do this (justifying why he would is something else that more keen fans of Eobard can pitch in). This would be an easy way for any writer to redeem him because then it wasn't really him and forgiveness would be quicker and easier to hash out because "who HASN'T been mind controlled or had an evil version of themself hurt someone?"

The second one is trickier and would need a skilled writer to execute.

2.) There is no other explanation for FMA and all subsequent events post-Mercury Falling. It was Thad all along, falling into his bitterness, his namesake, his inertia from rising above what he was made to do. Where redemption would come from would be likely a revisit back to themes in Mercury Falling, maybe he works with Max again and all those feelings come back, the grief, the rage at the nihilism and the hatred. Thad is essentially an indoctrinated/programmed child soldier, his entire being was centralized around being a weapon and being programmed to hate and to replace Bart - there was no real anticipation of self in his design. A skilled writer would marry all of these and tell a story of the tragedy of Thad's history and bring to a point that Thad wants to rise to be something other than a tool for petty revenge. Forgiveness would be difficult, if it ever came, and it might be one of those situations Thad and the Flashfam just never mingle again, Thad lets go of his anger, the hate, and runs off into the Speed Force to another time, maybe another reality and the reader knows he will be okay.

Honestly, with how many characters there ARE right now I would be more keen on regardless of which way he is redeemed he doesn't stick around and he just... moves on to somewhere else. The End.

[longitudinalwaveme]

The Retcon I'm Glad Hasn't Happened Yet

So, on TV Tropes, I found the following description of Len and Lisa:

"Captain Cold and Golden Glider. Jerks as they are, they were horribly abused by their father, who's cruel treatment of them left Leonard so emotionally broken he developed a cold and unemotive exterior that contributes to his "cold" image. Lisa, though more openly emotional, is still clearly affected by it herself and became a bitter, angry and violent person, not helped by the fact she also lost her boyfriend, The Top, who despite being an asshole had been able to make Lisa so hopelessly in love with him that she blamed Barry for his death and swore to hurt him as much as she could."

Most of this is accurate, with the exception of the part I bolded.

Doesn't the way that this is written make it sound like it was Roscoe's fault Lisa became a villain, and that she was the only half of the relationship to feel genuine love? I mean, Roscoe is undoubtedly a massive, massive jerk, but----and this is a BIG but-----he was not a jerk towards Lisa. Ever. There's nothing in any of Lisa and Roscoe's Bronze Age appearances that suggests that he was manipulating her in this way. Indeed, in Flash vol. 1 #297-303 (the Roscoe ghost story), we got to see them interact with one another quite a bit, and, in spite of the fact that both of them are generally dysfunctional and nasty people....their relationship itself was neither nasty nor dysfunctional. They work as an equal team, and if there's any manipulation, I don't see it. Roscoe isn't jealous of Lisa's flirtatiousness (no insecurity when she talks about how great Barry Allen is at kissing or about how hot he is), Lisa doesn't get frustrated with Roscoe's boasting, they compliment each other constantly, they work well together, and they protect each other to the best of their abilities.

It's also worth noting that, for the entire time Roscoe was alive, Lisa was not a criminal, and, since her debut comic (Flash #150) seemed to indicate that the two of them had been dating for at least a couple of years, that strongly suggests that Roscoe had no desire to lead her into a life of crime. Especially since he also served as her figure-skating coach, meaning that he was actively helping her advance in her career. That would make no sense if their relationship was a ploy to make her a supervillain or something. I seriously, seriously doubt that Roscoe decided to "make Lisa fall in love with him" just on the off chance that he might maybe die fighting the Flash, prompting her to become a supervillain to get revenge. If you want to manipulate someone into being a supervillain for whatever reason, there are much easier ways of doing it than having to actually drop dead before it happens. It's not like Roscoe knew he would be able to come back as a ghost. What, are we supposed to assume he did all this, up to and including his own death, just to spite Len or something? Even Eobard Thawne isn't that petty!

What's more, even Geoff Johns, who didn't like Roscoe and strongly downplayed the relationship Lisa had with him, never suggested that Roscoe was manipulating her....which is particularly significant since Captain Cold is the one narrating most of the scenes about Lisa (since she was dead at the time).

In his spotlight issue, he off-handedly mentions that Lisa became a Rogue after the death of her boyfriend the Top, with no indication that Roscoe was manipulating her into loving him or into becoming a criminal. If anything, Len puts more blame on himself for her becoming a criminal, since from his perspective (and, frustratingly, Johns' apparent perspective) she primarily became a Rogue to be with her older brother.

Later during the run, when a very, very mentally ill Roscoe popped up in the Rogues' hideout and brought up his relationship with Lisa as a reason that Len should allow him to stay:

"Your sister loved me, Cold. Your sister---"

Len tells him to not mention Lisa again (Len gets grouchy when people bring up his dead sister), but it's worth noting what he doesn't say here. He doesn't say "No, she didn't. You just made her think she did." or "Only because you manipulated her." or anything like that. If Roscoe HAD been manipulating her, I'm pretty sure Johns would have had Cold bring it up here, since Johns dislikes Roscoe out-of-universe and Len hates Roscoe in-universe. He's not going to be sugar-coating their relationship!

But anyway, now I'm really afraid that somebody at DC will bring Lisa and Roscoe's relationship back, but that they'll retcon/change it so that it's more in line with the apparent interpretation I bolded above; that they'll have the relationship be abusive on Roscoe's end. He's used as a plot device boogeyman all the time anyway, so I could totally see someone deciding to have him be responsible for Lisa's becoming a criminal (in the sense of him manipulating her against her own judgement, I mean, not in the sense of "he's dead and I must avenge him"). And because most modern comic fans only know Roscoe from Johns' run (in fact, I would bet that that's where the above posted interpretation of their relationship came from), I could easily see someone deciding that it would be a great way to reintroduce their relationship. I really, really hope they don't, though.

Now that I'm thinking about it, I'm actually kind of surprised that Johns didn't make a retcon like that during his run, because it would fit with how he generally used Roscoe, and would have served as another reason for Len to hate Roscoe. I'm very glad he didn't, though.

[ftl-faster-than-life]

the more I think about it the funnier ‘Barry talking to Eobard like he’s his imaginary friend’ gets. In a universe where Eobard is slightly less aggressive and mostly keeps it to petty harassment but also follows Barry around constantly but invisibly to the humans around them.