#you just know if Lisa was there then she was glaring disapprovingly at him with her arms folded across her chest. back straight. chin high

[cake-emu]

me when I hear Carla's name mentioned in Corrie during a drought... the CRUMBS

[kpop-zone]

Blackpink reaction to their s/o cursing in their native language

Jisoo

“You can’t escape me, you’re doomed.”

Jisoo giggled mischievously, causing you to throw a hostile glare at her before focusing on the screen again.

“This game is not over!”

You announced confidently, only to see your character running into a dead-end the next second. A smirk formed on your girlfriend’s lips and you frantically searched for a way out, but there was none.

“Scheiße.”

The moment the curse word left your mouth, you froze, not fearing the destiny of your character in the game anymore, but your own instead.

“Y/N L/N! There is no use in trying to curse in your own language! I still know that that was a bad word!”

As expected, Jisoo scolded you for your improper language. Since you started dating her, you cut down on your use of curse words because your girlfriend never really cursed herself. But sometimes little slipups happened. Slowly, and with an apologetic smile on your face, you turned your head to see your girlfriend looking at you sternly.

“On the bright side: Your German became a lot better!”

You tried to distract Jisoo, but she didn’t engage in your positive thinking.

“Those words are irrelevant though. And for your slipup I have to make you pay now.”

Confused, you looked at her, ready to ask what she meant by that when she suddenly grabbed her controller and a loud bang could be heard from the speakers.

“You didn’t!”

Jisoo smirked proudly when you looked at the screen to find that she had just won the game by killing your character. But you didn’t accept your defeat that easily.

“Just you wait!”

You growled before jumping off your seat to start a tickle fight with your girlfriend.

If you weren’t allowed to release your frustration in form cursing, you had no other choice but to take revenge in another way.

Jennie

“When we’re home, we can order some food.”

You proposed, causing your girlfriend to cheer excitedly. But she wasn’t the only one that was looking forward to some food. Your stomach had started to make inhuman noises already 8 blocks from your apartment and by now you were feeling like a zombie. Gladly, however, you had almost reached the elevators of the building and should be on the right floor in no time. Just when you rounded the corner, you saw your old, grumpy neighbor step into the elevator, and you flashed him a polite smile.

“Hold the door, please.”

Just a few more steps and the two of you would be there. But as you came closer, you realized that your neighbor was pressing the button to close the doors, causing you to pick up the pace. There was no way that you could reach the elevator in time though. Therefore, you had to watch the door closing on you as your neighbor chuckled smugly.

“Bajingan...”

You muttered under your breath, tired of the rude behavior of the old man.

“Bajingan?”

Jennie suddenly giggled next to you, causing you to whip your head around. She looked at you with a wide, gummy smile, obviously proud of the new word that she had just learned.

“Don’t remember that...”

You grinned sheepishly, making your girlfriend laugh.

“Why not? It sounds really cute when you say it. Plus, now I can curse others without them knowing.”

Jennie winked at you with a sly smirk on her lips.

You shook your head in defeat while laughing to yourself. That word would probably be aimed at you a few times from now on.

Chaeyoung

“Ok, so now we have to let the dough knead for ten minutes.”

You stated thoughtfully while scanning the recipe.

“Um...Y/N? Is it supposed to be that crumbly though?”

Chaeyoung asked with her brow furrowed as she looked into the mixing pot. Following her gaze, you realized that the ingredients of the dough weren’t incorporated as well as you had wanted them to be. Confused, you went through the recipe again before suddenly realizing your fatal mistake.

“Merde alors! We forgot the eggs!”

Hastily you turned the kneading machine off, in hopes that you could still save your pastries. The dough didn’t really look that promising, causing you to sigh in frustration, but you still added the eggs.

“Hopefully this works.”

You mumbled while starting the kneading machine again.

The ingredients slowly came together, and you nodded satisfied before smiling at your girlfriend. When you turned your head though, you could see that she was somewhere else with her thoughts as she was staring blankly ahead.

“Merde alors... I think I’ve heard that in a movie before. That’s not a nice word, right?”

Chaeyoung suddenly asked thoughtfully, making you wonder why she brought that up before realizing that it had just slipped your mouth.

“Oh...Um...yeah. It’s probably not the first phrase that you should learn.”

You giggled, causing your girlfriend to grin cheekily.

“Hm... you can never know what it could be useful for...”

She stated mischievously before devoting her attention to the dough again.

You had no doubt that Chaeyoung had saved that word in her brain forever now. She was a good student and you couldn’t help but to be slightly proud as well because she had recognized the word from previous studies. Maybe it wasn’t the most professional language, but at least she would know how to speak like a true Frenchwoman soon.

Lalisa

“I’m a little monster!”

Lisa sung at the top of her lungs before dancing wildly in her seat as far as the seatbelt allowed her to. You laughed in amusement while trying not to get too distracted by your girlfriend’s dramatic performance. Your eyes were firmly fixed on the road what proved to be a lifesaver not even a second later. A black sportscar suddenly pulled into your lane just inches before your front and you needed to step on the brakes with full force. By a hair, you prevented a crash, but you were still shaken up.

“¡Cabrón!”

You yelled to give vent to your anger, well aware that the other driver couldn’t hear you though.

“Are you ok?”

Worried that Lisa might have hurt her neck because of the hard stop, you checked up on her, but instead of finding her anxious, you found her smirking.

“Cabrón?”

Lisa repeated your word in amusement, causing you to look at her disapprovingly.

“Of course, you would remember that...”

You muttered and your girlfriend grinned proudly.

“¡Cabrón!”

She yelled while pointing at the black sportscar that was speeding out of sight.

“Did I say it right?”

Lisa asked seriously, causing you to chuckle in response. Although she only ever wanted to do mischief, she always made an effort to do it right.

“Yeah, perfect actually.”

You smiled, making your girlfriend grin widely.

At least she was learning some Spanish along the line.

[ao-anonymousobsesser]

Oops?

Hey! So! I’m not dead! Surprised? Me too!

This story was written for my good friend @comfortably-chaotic-mind -  I love them, please go follow them and read whatever they post. Some ColdFlash written just for you, buddy, since I know I haven’t written much...and this is honestly kind of garbage and not in any way explicitly ColdFlash until the end, and I might eventually continue it in a real story (probably not). But anyway! Good job with school! Here you go!

Oops? a ColdFlash Fic for @comfortably-chaotic-mind - 4700 words

“Allen.”

He glanced up, fingers pausing their furious typing but still hovering over the keys. “Yeah?”

“There’s some guy at the door, says he knows you.”

Barry’s brow scrunched. “Who?”

His roommate shrugged. “Didn’t give a name. Said he was your friend, asked me to get you.” A pause, and he looked over his shoulder almost nervously. “He’s creepy, dude—I think he might be on the run. Who the fuck you hangin’ out with?”

Realization dawned, and he laughed. “Oh, okay,” he said, still laughing. “Yeah, it’s fine. It’s just Len—you can let him in.”

“You sure?”

Barry rolled his eyes. “Yes, Hal. I promise he won’t steal your stuff.”

His roommate’s eyes narrowed at that. “Even more suspicious,” he muttered, but he disappeared back into the hall.

There were muffled voices—Hal telling Len where to find him—and then the front door shut and the TV in the living room turned on. If he listened really carefully, he could hear quiet footsteps on the creaky stairs.

The door to his bedroom-slash-office opened again, and he turned back to his computer. The data report wasn’t going to finish itself. It didn’t take long for the door to shut, and then a man’s figure came to lean against the desk beside his arm.

“No Cold-Gun today?” Barry asked, conversational. “How bold of you. You know, without that thing, I could take you to jail whenever I want.”

The man scoffed. “We have a deal, Scarlet—I don’t kill, you don’t turn me in. I haven’t killed anyone, so…”

He rolled his eyes. “What do you want, Snart?” he sighed. “And how did you even find me?”

“I asked Vibe.”

Barry waited for him to continue, but he left it at that, so Barry finally stopped talking and looked up with a raised brow and a completely nonplussed expression. “What do you want, Cold?” he snapped.

Len just frowned. “What are you doing here, Scarlet?”

“What do you mean?” He gestured pointedly around them. “I’m working.”

“You work in Central City,” the man corrected, almost…grumbling.

Barry shook his head, face scrunching in utter confusion. “No, I mean—I had to go back to school.”

“Back?”

“Yeah? Back? This is where I went to get my degree in the first place, and now I have to take an updated course. Just a few weeks. I should be back by next month. I’m even getting paid for it.” He grinned, though it almost immediately fell when Len just stared at him. “What?”

“When did you get your degree?”

“Every CSI has a college degree, Snart. It’s mandatory.”

“No. When were you in Coast City?”

He shrugged. “I moved the summer after high school. School for three years, training for one, and then I went home.” The other man was silent, and his brow scrunched in concern. “Why?”

Len shook his head. “No reason,” he said quietly, glancing around the room. The way he said it indicated that there was, in fact, a reason, but that he would not be disclosing it. “What are you doing back?”

“Refresher course,” Barry replied slowly. “They updated the curriculum for the new tech we have now, and Singh offered to send me back here instead of doing the course in Central, since Coast City is way better in the university department.”

The other man didn’t ask anything else, still looking around the room, and the speedster sighed deeply.

“Look, Snart, I have a lot of work to do, so if there’s a reason for this visit, please get to—”

“What was it like,” he interrupted, the words rough and halting, as if he were forcing them out of his throat, “for you, when you were in your coma?”

Barry blinked in surprise. “How do you know about that?”

“Humor me, Scarlet.”

“I…” He hesitated before shaking his head. “Well, it was hard, at first. Not just because I woke up with superspeed, but—when I was…asleep…I was just dreaming. About anything, everything—and it didn’t really feel like anything more than just regular dreams and stuff. And then I woke up, and it had been, like…nine, ten months without me even noticing. So I had to deal with that.” He sighed. “The world just kind of…I mean, the world doesn’t stop because a random CSI is in a coma. No one really cared—No one other than Iris and Joe, and STAR Labs kinda. So, yeah. It was rough for a while. Everything had changed, and I didn’t even get to see it.”

Len was quiet for a long moment. Barry watched him carefully, searching for any sign as to what this was all about.

Finally, the older man sighed and shook his head. “How did you know it was me at the door?”

“Hal’s description,” he replied without hesitation. “He’s pretty intuitive about stuff. Said you looked like you were on the run, and creepy, and suspicious, but if he thought you were actually dangerous, he would have come out and said it. And you’re the only one I know that could pull that off and still say, I’m a friend of Barry’s, can you get him? with a totally straight face.” He shrugged. “Anyone else who might have done that is still in Central. I got an update last night—they all went out to celebrate Caitlin’s first official catch.” He grinned.

Len rolled his eyes. “You left a bunch of newbies to protect the city,” he sighed disapprovingly.

Barry frowned. “You know, when we first met, I was a newbie,” he pointed out. “I had only been a speedster for like—a month.” He huffed. “Cisco and Iris have it under control for now. It’s fine. The city’s in good hands.”

“I don’t like it.”

The speedster paused, head tilted as his eyes narrowed. “Why?”

“I just don’t. A lot can happen without the Scarlet Speedster around.”

“There are three other speedsters in town right now. I think they’ll be fine.”

“None of them are you.”

“What’s your point, Len?” he sighed, exasperated now. “Did something happen?”

“No.”

Just then, Barry’s alarm sounded, startling him. It was noon: officially lunchtime. He huffed, shutting down his laptop and standing to stretch. Then his phone started beeping again—not his alarm, this time, but his text-tone. And then it started ringing. Like, ringing ringing, in the way it only did when Cisco’s latest installation was being put to use.

He had only let him put the app on his phone a few weeks ago, before going to Coast City, just in case. If several people called him at once, he could choose which he wanted to answer rather than hearing the busy-line beeping noise when he answered the phone.

Barry raised a brow and reached for the device.

Len grabbed his arm, pulling him back. “Don’t answer that,” he all but ordered. “Trust me.”

“Why?” His face scrunched. “What’s going on?” he demanded.

“They’re just going to tell you that I’m on my way here,” the man explained carefully. “And since I’m already here, you don’t need to know.”

“How did you get here so fast, then?” Barry retorted.

“Kara lent me her generator.” Len shrugged. “She was…strangely nice.” His brow rose. “I’m guessing you only told her the good parts, and not that I’m a criminal?”

The speedster ran a hand through his hair. “Maybe? By the time I met her, you were with the Legends.” He paused. “How did you meet her?”

“Long story.”

“Obviously, I’ve got time.” He crossed his arms and glared pointedly. “What the hell is going on, Len? What did you do in Central that has everyone trying to get ahold of me? When did you get back from the Waverider? Why are you here?”

“I didn’t know where else to go!” Len shouted, expression crumpling. “Mick won’t talk to me, Lisa’s underground, Sara thinks I’ve lost my mind, and the rest of the crew—they can barely look at me after what they did! What they let me do!”

Barry was utterly confused, now, and he took a slow step forward as if approaching a scared, wounded animal. “What are you talking about?” he asked carefully.

“I died, Barry.”

He froze—actually froze, standing stock-still like a robot shutting down. This was… “What?” he asked. “What…That…What?”

Len sighed, slumping down into the vacated office chair. “The Time Masters were—They were gonna let Vandal Savage wreck the timeline. Kill whoever he wanted. They said they had to, to ensure the world’s survival.”

“What does that mean?”

“In a couple hundred years, we’re going to be invaded by Thanagaar—an alien planet with a warlike people. And the Time Masters don’t think we’ll make it unless Savage is there to help us. So, they let him do what he wants, shape the world into what he thinks is best, and he’ll save the world.”

“It’s Vandal Savage, Len. He can’t be trusted.”

“I know,” he snapped. “We all knew that.” He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “We decided to destroy their time-keeping device. The Oculus, they called it. It held the records for every timeline, every little change that would or could occur. Destroy that, and time is guided by freewill.”

“And?”

“And the only way to destroy it was to stand right next to it, holding down the button until it exploded.” He looked up, watching the horror dawn across Barry’s face, and nodded. “Ray was going to be the one, thinking his Atom suit would protect him, but we saw that it wouldn’t. And then Mick tried to step in, because Rip convinced him it was the way to repent—by saving his friend. I couldn’t—I couldn’t let him die.”

“Len…”

“I couldn’t let Mick die, Barry,” he snapped. “Not like that. Not when I—I was the one who dragged him into the whole thing. Into the Legends. He followed me, after everything, after everything I did to him, and…and I couldn’t do it.”

“I get it.”

“I knocked him out, took his place…blew up the Oculus. Took out half the Time Masters, too.”

“And then?”

“I died. Disintegrated. Became…Nothing.”

Barry reached out to set a hand on his shoulder, brow scrunched in sympathy. “How long?”

“I don’t know.” Len shook his head. “Days? Years? Centuries? I…I wasn’t sleeping, exactly, or dreaming. It was all…real. And then you were there. Every time I managed to pull myself together, every time I relaxed into the pain enough to think…You were there.”

He was confused again. “I don’t remember…”

The man was already shaking his head. “An older version of you,” he clarified. “You were…maybe thirty?” He sighed. “There were so many fragments, different timelines…It’s hard to keep track. Most of them didn’t make sense.”

“Why?”

“I’d rather not say. If you don’t mind.”

Barry shrugged. “That’s fine, I guess. It’s your trauma.” He sighed. “So this was maybe…three, four years in the future.”

“Most of it.”

“And the rest?”

Len looked away at that, silent for a minute. Then, quietly, “The last one was a few weeks ago. He brought me back to the Waverider.”

“He?”

“You…Future-You.” He chuckled softly. “I fell through a wormhole onto his kitchen floor.”

Barry laughed. “I’m sure that was surprising.”

Len shrugged. “He didn’t seem surprised. But it could have been because he was older.”

“What do you mean, he didn’t seem surprised?”

“He…” Hesitation, again. “He just leaned over and said, Finally. Then he helped me up, explained some science stuff that I couldn’t understand, and offered to take me back to my time.”

“How old was he—I?” Barry stuttered.

“Forty? Maybe forty-five?” Another shrug. “You might have been older, though—I had a feeling. Speedster aging must be slower.”

“Strange.” He shook his head. “How long did you stay with the Legends?”

“Not long. Like I said, they can barely stand to be around me.” He sighed. “It didn’t take much to get them to drop me off in 2016.”

“You still haven’t told me how you met Supergirl. She’s on another Earth, Len—the Waverider couldn’t have taken you there, and I don’t think you have any favors left with Cisco. So how did you meet?”

Len nodded, thoughtful. “That…is complicated.”

“More complicated than literally dying?”

“Yes.”

Barry huffed and sat down on his bed, crossing his arms. “Hit me with it, then.”

“First of all, I didn’t meet her this year. I met her…probably at least fifteen or twenty years from now. It’s all a little fuzzy.”

“Why?”

“She—Well, her team, really…They were the ones who pulled my threads together.” He shook his head. “They didn’t mean to, not really—they were looking for some sort of robot, or something—but they got me out first. I was unconscious for that part. Woke up in a hospital bed next to Kara’s.”

“She was hurt?”

Len shook his head again. “Not exactly…More drained. The machine they used drew power from her. She insisted it was fine, that she just needed some Vitamin D, and she’d be fine.”

“Her power comes from the Sun.”

“I know that now—I didn’t know back then.” He sighed. “She asked who I was…and when I told her, she immediately asked if I knew you and Oliver.”

“Of course she did,” he muttered. “And then?”

“I don’t remember a lot of it,” Len admitted. “She gave me one of her spare generators, and then I woke up on Older-Barry’s kitchen floor.” A scoff. “And then I get home to a crew that no longer wants anything to do with me. They dropped me off in Central. I looked for Lisa, but it looks like she’s underground—she’s not at any of her usual safehouses.”

Barry grimaced, shifting slightly in his seat. “Um…”

The former villain narrowed his eyes. “What’s that, Scarlet?”

He winced. “Lisa’s not underground, Len.”

“What are you talking about? Is she in jail?”

“No…” Barry sighed. “She’s on Earth-2.”

“Why?” Len demanded, lurching from his seat.

“Because she’s sick,” he said calmly, holding his hands up in a placating gesture. “Harry—Earth-2 Wells knew a doctor who specializes in her condition, one who’s much better than anyone we know on this Earth, and we sent her over there to get help. Cisco’s probably on his way there right now to tell her you’re back.” He paused. “Actually, she’s probably with the you who lives there, now that I think about it.”

“What?” That made him pause in his anger, at least, now confused and concerned. “Why?”

“I don’t think you want to know,” Barry hedged. “But she’s in good hands, I promise.”

“Just tell me, Barry.”

“Fine,” he sighed. “The doctor I told you about, the specialist? It’s her—Earth-2 Lisa Snart is a bio-engineer with a Medical Degree. Basically, she’s Caitlin. Minus the ice powers and with the addition of some pretty sweet inventions.” He grimaced. “Her brother is…the Mayor. Of Central City. They killed their dad when they were kids—self-defense.”

Len was quiet for a moment. Then: “You’ve met, then?”

He nodded. “Twice, actually. Once on accident…and then again when Harry introduced us to Lenny and Doc. They’re…nice. Safe. Very protective, which isn’t surprising.” He grinned. “Last I talked to Lisa, she was awake and feeling a lot better. She hasn’t had an episode in almost two months, and her brain activity is back to normal. She sounds better, too—more like herself. Even flirted with Cisco when they talked, which she hadn’t done in a while…”

“She’s okay, then?”

“Not at a hundred percent yet,” Barry warned with a shrug. “But yeah. She’s safe. Happy. Feeling better than she did when she first came to us.”

“What happened?”

“She just—Showed up at Joe’s one night, out of nowhere. I think it was maybe a month or so after you left—she had called Cisco before that, asking if we knew where you were, and we told her, and she was pissed at me for some reason.” He laughed, just a little. “Then she just shows up out of nowhere at Joe’s house, scares the hell out of me when she just walks right through the front door. Which was locked.” He shook his head. “Apparently, she stole your key?” His brow raised.

Len just smirked. “Lock-picking gets tedious after a while.”

“Where did you even—”

“Iris should be more careful about leaving her purse lying around.”

“…Whatever.” Barry huffed. “So, anyway, Lisa just walks in one night—middle of the night, out of nowhere—sits right next to me on the couch, scaring the hell out of me. She looks at me, and I could already tell something was messed up with her, because she just…she didn’t look right. She looked tired and sad and…sick.” He sighed. “She looked at me for a minute and then said, Don’t freak out. You know, like she hadn’t just appeared out of nowhere. And then she said, I need your help. And I was like, With what? And she told me she ran into an old boyfriend and he did something to her.”

“What the f—”

“Not that,” he assured quickly. “That was my first thought, but she kind of lost it when I asked her, and—yeah. So then, when she calmed down from that, she got this headache…migraine…thing, and that was when I first saw her get one of her attacks.” He grimaced. “It was…bad. Weird, and scary, and it actually kind of freaked me out.” A sigh. “So, uh, I called Caitlin first, and then Cisco and Harry, and asked them to meet us at STAR Labs. Harry had actually seen something like it before, on his Earth, and he knew a specialist—other-Lisa—who could help. So we took her there. She insisted that I had to come with her, and she wouldn’t let me leave until she was with Lenny and Doc, until she was sure she could trust them.”

Len thought this all over for a moment. “What exactly did this attack entail?”

“Hard to describe…” Barry thought about it. “She kind of…exploded? Not her body, but like…her spirit, kind of. Like an astral projection, except she couldn’t control it enough to actually appear as a person.” He sighed. “We met the ex-boyfriend a few weeks later…Roscoe?”

“Dillon.” He sneered. “He’s still around?”

“Not anymore,” the speedster said darkly. “He was a metahuman…some kind of tornado-hurricane-spinning abilities. Cisco called him Topsy-Turvy, but after he just kept coming and coming…it was an accident, but he died.”

“How did he hurt Lisa?”

“As far as we can tell…She was working on some sort of mercenary work or something, and he was robbing a bank, and they…literally ran into each other. She got thrown into a wall, got a knock on the head, and apparently the concussion triggered some kind of ability she didn’t know about.”

“She wasn’t in Central—”

“When the Particle Accelerator blew.” Barry nodded. “Yeah, we know.” He winced. “You’re not gonna like our theory on that.”

“Why not?” Len asked, very slowly.

“Because it might be my fault.”

He blinked, surprised. “What?”

“Turns out…I kind of…give off small amounts of Dark Matter because of the Speed Force…mostly when I run.”

“And?”

“And, the people that I transport, if they carry a metahuman gene, could, theoretically, absorb that Dark Matter in the same way that people affected by the Particle Accelerator did…and, theoretically, this would make them more likely to develop an ability when exposed to violent trauma.” A pause. “I transported Lisa a handful of times when we were helping you guys last year, and even before that for different reasons.”

Len didn’t say anything to this, instead looking down at his hands.

“I’m sorry, Len,” Barry said quietly. “If I’d known…”

“It’s not your fault,” he told him. “You didn’t know.”

“I…”

“Not every bad thing that happens is your fault, Scarlet,” Len said with a smirk. “It’s alright.”

Barry huffed. “Fine.” He was quiet for a minute. “If you want, I can take you to her. You know, so you can see for yourself.”

He thought about it for a bit before shaking his head. “No,” he decided. “If she’s getting what she needs, I don’t want to interrupt it. If Cisco does tell her and she wants to see me, I’ll go, but for now, she needs her rest.”

The speedster nodded in understanding. “Okay.” His phone was still ringing, and he looked at it. “I’m just gonna tell them that everything is fine.”

He picked up the device, ignoring the calls, and opened the group chat, which was full of about a hundred messages that all said pretty much the same thing. He sent out a text saying, Yeah, he’s here. Just wants to talk about some stuff. Everything is fine. Thanks, I’ll let you know later. Love you guys.

With that, Barry sighed and slipped the phone into his pocket. “So, what are you going to do now?” he asked the former villain.

Len just smiled. “Not sure. I could go back to robbing banks…but I don’t really need the money. Maybe I’ll offer your team some help in Central.”

“What do you mean, you don’t need the money?” His eyes narrowed.

“Blowing up the Oculus had a few benefits.” He shrugged. “I know all the lottery numbers for the next five years. I’ve already made four-hundred grand.”

“Len…”

“Technically not a crime.”

“Still.” Barry shook his head with a deep sigh. “Fine, whatever. Well, I’m sure STAR Labs could use the help. And I’ll be back in no time…as soon as I finish this course, which is…not what I expected.”

“Too hard?”

“Too easy,” he corrected, scoffing. “I’ve read all the material, and the projects are all…solved with very little effort. Nothing near as challenging as my actual job in Central. Science there is always complicated.”

“Because of the metas.”

“Yeah.” He shrugged. “Superpowers make regular science look way easier than it did in college.” He nodded at the computer. “Actually, after the paper I’m working on right now, I only have two more and a final exam. I could be done by next week, if I wanted. I just don’t want Singh to think I rushed through it.”

“He already trusts you more than any other CSI, Barry. I think he trusts you to do the work on your own schedule.”

“Maybe.”

“Then I’ll see you back in Central next week.”

“I—”

“Next week, Barry.”

A sigh. “Fine. Next week.” His phone buzzed, he looked at the message and laughed. “Harry says your sister is attempting a prison break to try to see you. You might want to visit her.”

Len chuckled. “Alright then. I suppose it’s time to tell her what’s happened.” He stood, holding out a hand when Barry followed suit. When their hands clasped, the villain-turned-legend pulled the speedster forward until they were almost hugging. “I’ll see you soon, Scarlet.”

“See you soon, Cold.”

And with the press of a button, Len was gone, leaving Barry to wonder exactly what just happened.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

6 Weeks Later

“Barry…”

“Iris…”

She sighed. “This is getting unprofessional.”

He laughed, a little nervous. “What are you talking about?”

“You and Len.” It had taken a while for everyone to get used to each other, but now he was just Len instead of Cold. Progress. “You guys have got to stop flirting in the field. It’s weird.”

“We do not flirt.”

“You’re literally blushing, Barry.” Her tone was amused now. “Do you have a crush?”

“Iris,” the speedster all but whined, pulling a t-shirt over his head. “This is weird.”

“Why? Because we dated?”

“Yes!”

“Barely.” Iris rolled her eyes. “Barry, it’s fine. You have a crush on Len, it’s fine…but you should probably tell him.”

“No!” he said immediately. “No, that’s—That’s a bad idea.”

“Why? I’m pretty sure he likes you.”

That made him pause. “Really?” He bit his lip, looking at her. “You think so?”

“Lisa keeps teasing him about it.” She nodded. “And you’re both clearly attracted to each other, and you’re always flirting, so…Why not just come out and say it?”

“What if you’re wrong?”

“I’m not.”

“What if it ends badly?”

“What if it doesn’t?” Iris laughed brightly. “Barry, sometimes you get in your own way. You just gotta go for it sometimes. Take a leap of faith. It’s gonna be okay.”

Barry was quiet for a long time, and Iris eventually left him to his own devices.

Ultimately, he decided to go for it; he went to find Len. Unsurprisingly, he was at “their” spot: a diner across from Jitters and CCPD, filled with leather booths and chrome and the smell of fresh homemade pie.

Barry slid into the booth across from Len, who looked up from his phone with a smile. “Hey, Scarlet. Look at this.”

He turned the device around so the speedster could see. “What’s that? Oh—Oh, that’s so cool!” He grinned. “Lisa-Squared?”

“Yeah. Lisa drew up the models, and Doc built it. It came out pretty neat, I think.”

“It did, yeah. I like the melting feature—there won’t be ice-streaks all over the city.” He laughed. “Of course they’re gold—Lisa’s choice, I’m sure.”

“Naturally.” Len shrugged. “You can’t take the Gold out of the Glider, I guess. Not completely.”

“No, I guess not.” Barry leaned his head on his palm, elbow on the table.

The newly-branded Citizen Cold raised a brow and put his phone away. “Something on your mind, Barry?”

He shrugged. “Iris came to talk to me today.”

“What about?”

“She said that we flirt a lot when we’re in the field.” He scrunched his nose. “I told her she was crazy, and she looked at me like I was an idiot…not unlike you’re looking at me right now, Len—what the hell?”

“Barry,” he said quietly, slowly, “I don’t know how to break this to you, but almost everything we say to each other is banter…which is a form of flirting.”

“But—But,” Barry sputtered. “But!”

“What’s wrong, Scarlet?” Len teased. “Can’t keep up?”

He frowned, almost pouting. “You never said anything,” he accused.

The other man shrugged. “I was told not to.”

“By who?”

“By you. Older you—The one who brought me back. He said you had to figure it out on your own.”

Barry stammered again, arms flailing. “What the hell!” he said, frustrated. “That’s stupid!”

“You’re calling yourself an idiot?” Len clarified.

“Yes! I’m an idiot, now, but like—that’s just stupid.” He sighed. “I mean, I guess it makes sense to keep the timeline the way it should be. But still.”

They were both quiet for a long minute. Long enough for a waitress to come by and take drink orders and then bring them back.

Once she disappeared, Barry took a sip of his soda and then suddenly blurted, “Will you go with me to Jesse’s party on Earth-2 this weekend?”

Len raised a brow. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? That’s a lot of pressure.”

“It’s just a party, Len,” he said with a grin. “All our friends will be there, and we can be together without doing the awkward first-date thing…I mean, we already did a lot of that without realizing. Unless you want to…”

There was a pause as he thought about it, enough to make Barry almost panic, but Len nodded slowly. “Alright. But I have two requests.”

“Shoot.”

“One: If Caitlin makes her Speedster Alcohol, you have to stop drinking at least two hours before we leave. I want you sober when we head out.”

“Why?”

“Because, two: I want to go for a walk. We’re not doing the first-date-awkward dinner thing, and movies aren’t something we have time for, but we can go for a walk and talk about things.” A pause. “It’s important, to me.”

Barry thought about this, about what it might mean, but he didn’t see a reason to say no. Besides… “That sounds nice. Okay. I won’t drink too much, and I’ll stop before we leave so we can go talk. It’s a deal.”

“It’s a date, Scarlet.”

“A date, Cold.”

[one-leaf-grimoire]

“hellfire”

A little one shot based on a throwaway line in “Dyad” that I felt like expanding on. I realized I only showed the titular dyad at full power once in the story so this should be a special treat! Enjoy.

synopsis: Julius prepares a plan for the final battle against an invading kingdom. Takes place shortly before BC canon. Also my OC Lisa is there and they kick ass.

“ About a month before my 26th birthday, the Diamond Kingdom attempted yet another invasion. This time, they were serious, and much better prepared. Luckily they went through the town of Kiten first, instead of my hometown to the North. Still, they gained a valuable foothold and prepared to make a rush to the capital. We didn't have much time to mobilize, and really didn't have a plan of attack. But we attacked... and Julius lead the magic knights into the most important battle of his term so far. I was lucky enough to fight beside him, and all the other Magic Knights; people who were old friends, and people who became new friends. Fortunately, we emerged victorious. The Capital roared with celebration as we arrived back, showering Julius and the others with praise. Everyone wanted to be a magic knight now, and everyone wanted to become the Wizard King. They would be telling stories about his spell for years to come... White Hell. “

Dyad, chapter 53

(Six months before the beginning of Black Clover)

“A push towards the Capitol? Right now?”

“Yes, sir,” Marx stammered, his hands shaking as he held the report. Yami stood behind him, beaten and battered but with a neutral expression on his face and a cigarette hanging between his teeth. The smoke dissipated quickly in the cool night air blowing in through Julius’s open bedroom window. He usually didn’t like to be bothered at this time of night, but when at war, a ruler must be ready to act at any time. 

“What about the defenses in Kiten?” Julius asked, reaching up and rubbing the last of his sleep out of his eyes. “Weren’t you stationed there, Yami?”

“Yep. I beat a bunch of them up,” the younger man replied gruffly. “If I were by myself, it would be easy, but it’s harder to fight when ya got a squad full of idiots to protect.”

Despite the situation, Julius let out a huff of laughter. Nervous laughter, but laughter all the same. “I see, so you fell back… well…” His gaze moved to the window, his wise, old mind starting to work hard. Every solution, every possibility, ran circles between his ears. It’ll take too long to mobilize everyone to defend the city… not to mention that, if we aren’t prepared, civilians are going to get hurt… His brow furrowed as his fingers pinched his chin once, his eyes closing briefly. Our best bet is to catch them on the way… but how am I going to gather enough knights, tell them the plan, then get them into position in time? Ah, this is bad…

Why on earth did Lisa have to be gone now-

Lisa. That was it. She was the answer… like always.

Julius’s eyes popped back open. “Yami, Marx, gather anyone in the capitol right now. All the captains if you can.”

Marx frowned. “Sir, will that be enough?”

“Yes… I think. If Lisa can get here in time-” Julius let out a groan. It’s bad enough that she left to visit Mereoleona for a whole month, but of course war broke out while she’s gone. Not that she would have known… 

“Lisa? Oh no…” Yami took out his cigarette to glare disapprovingly at Julius. “Don’t tell me you two are gonna do that creepy link thing again?”

Marx raised an eyebrow, but Julius couldn’t help but smile.

“That’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

----------------

Two hours later, the group they managed to throw together headed out by broom to the calculated interception point. The night wind rippled Julius’s golden locks as he flew, this time on a carpet that Marx procured. They hung towards the back of the group, which consisted of only the magic knights captains and a few of the knights already stationed in the capitol. Everyone was tense, glancing back at their King who had told them a worryingly little amount of details about this plan. Even Marx, who had inside information, was a little worried. “Lord Julius, if she doesn’t show up-”

“She will.” Julius cut him off, glancing back at the blue-haired man. “She’s on her way now…” his mouth twitched into a smile. “I can feel it.”

Marx gulped nervously, his hold tightening on the edge of the carpet. “How can you say that? I’ve been with you this whole time, and you never called her-”

“When you left to let me get dressed-” Julius cut in once again, his eyes focused up ahead. “I took a moment to clear my head… and sure enough, I could hear her.”

Marx blinked, starting to understand. So… they can talk to each other like that? Miles and miles apart, and yet, he just needs to clear his head. He knew about Lisa’s strange Dyad power, and how she and Julius shared magic as a result. They complimented each other perfectly, and he had always suspected that there was something more than love behind that synchrony. Well… maybe that synchrony was a result of love after all. But that wasn’t his main worry right now.

“So… you’re telling me you don’t have a backup plan?”

Julius was still for a moment, but then he shook his head.

“No. We don’t need one.” His gaze hardened, and his smile widened. “We will win.”

“THERE THEY ARE!”

Fuegoleon Vermillion’s loud voice boomed out into the darkness. He was at the head of the group, tagging a ride on Nozel’s Mercury Eagle spell, and was the first to spot the enemy. “Remember the plan! Engage!”

“KEH KEH! Don’t think you can order me around.” Jack suddenly zoomed past him on his broom, the scythes on his arms glowing green in the night. “I don’t need you to tell me how to slice up my prey!”

He swung his arms forward, and two huge slashes ripped through the night. The opposing army scattered, more than two hundred strong, and then converged on the magic knights like a swarm of bees.

Before chaos erupted, Yami glanced back at his mentor one last time. Julius nodded, then he and Marx descended out of sight below the treeline a moment before impact.

Spells were everywhere, people were yelling, and bursts of light shattered the otherwise peaceful slumber of the earth. Julius stepped off his broom and peered upwards, his eyes widened exponentially and sparkling like a kid in a candy shop. “Amazing… all the captains fighting at once-”

“T-There’s too many of them…” Julius looked over at the sound of Marx’s hoarse voice. He was staring up in the sky too, but with less wonder in his eyes. “We’ll never win…”

Julius’s laugh surprised him. “Marx, I know I couldn’t even take on that many people… not alone, not with all the Captains at my back. But you saw Lisa and I fight together before, remember?”

Of course Marx remembered. No one present that day could ever forget what happened. He witnessed something… indescribable.

Lost in the memory, Marx did not notice the attacker from behind until it was too late. Something slashed down, hitting him in the back. Blood flew crimson against the black sky.

“J-Juli-” 

Marx’s mouth opened, but he couldn’t even finish the name before he hit the ground. Julius started to turn around, almost in slow motion, his gaze landing on his fallen friend first. For one brief moment, shock froze him in place and he was helpless to the mage now leveling another attack at his head. 

Marx…

Before Julius could do anything, the tree trunks around him lit up. A bright blue streak of light, sparking and snapping with power, struck the assassin through the back. His body jerked, then fell down limply at the Wizard King’s feet.

That spell…

Flame Magic: Solar Bolt.

Julius knew it well. It was one of his favorites. 

“Lisa?”

Sure enough, a woman stepped out from behind the trees. She was short, petite, even with her traveling cloak thrown over her shoulders, but you couldn’t take your eyes off of her as she walked with such… purpose. At least, Julius couldn’t.

“There you are-” Her eyes caught his, moonlight reflecting off of her irises like mirrors. She smiled. “-Julius.”

With a sigh of relief, Julius let a grin burst forth on his own face. Forgetting about the battle for the moment, he stepped over the assassin’s body on the ground and bounded towards her. With one swoop, he grabbed her into his arms in a tight hug. She was as warm as always, his little space heater that he missed dearly when she was away. Lisa let out a momentary protest, but he couldn’t hear it over the joy in his heart.

“Julius! Isn’t there, like, a super important battle happening right now? We don’t have time for hugs!” Lisa contradicted herself by letting her arms wrap around his middle and hug him back.

Julius chuckled before pulling back to look at her face. “So? We have time, I say so.” He gave her a wink before reality set in once again. “Ah, but we’ll have time later.”

Lisa nodded before peering around his shoulder. “You okay, Marx?”

“Thanks for asking.” Marx had sat up, still wincing from the pain on the wound on his back. “Luckily it just knocked me over, and it’s not deep.”

“Oh! Well-” Julius was already running over. “Let me close it up-”

“NO! Julius, Lisa, do your… thing. If this can be over as quickly as you say it will, get on with it.” Marx’s annoyance broke for a moment to give Julius a confident smile. “We have a plan, remember? I’m still able to complete my part. You can heal me after you do yours.”

Julius gave him a nod before standing up again. “Right…” He looked down at the fallen assassin. “Is he going to wake up?”

“No.” Lisa walked over and craned her neck to look up at the battle. “Yikes… that’s not good. Are our people still mixed in with all the enemies?”

“For the time being. That’s where Marx comes in. Now, Darling…” Lisa looked back down to see Julius extend his hand to her. “Are you ready?”

With a deep breath, Lisa nodded. “Yes.”

She took his hand and the two of them ran out of the forest to the field underneath the battle.

In a way, it was lucky that Lisa had just been on sabbatical in the grand magic zone. She retreated there about once a year to train with Mereoleona, and learned how to channel large amounts of magic through a body that wasn’t necessarily built to do so. All of that training, all that pain, all this development, she did it because she knew a decisive moment like this would come. 

I have to be strong enough… not just for the Kingdom.

She looked up at the back of Julius’s head as he led them ahead.

But for him, above all else.

Finally, the two of them slowed to a stop in a good central area. Magic was still whizzing above, the tables not yet turned but close to getting there. There were just too many of the enemy, but soon that would all change. Julius sucked in one last breath before grabbing Lisa’s other hand and turning to face her. “Are you sure you can do this?”

She nodded, but Julius could feel her hands trembling. With a calm smile, he leaned down a bit to look into her eyes. “We’ll be together the whole time, remember? I won’t let you get hurt. Remember what you said to me the first time?”

Slowly, Lisa nodded once again, more sure this time. 

“As if I would let you kill me.”

Her grimoire started to glow white, the pages flipping to one emblazoned with a symbol; the same symbol that marked Lisa as Simulcian, as someone who could form a Dyad. Lisa could already feel her mark pulsing, glowing brighter and brighter in the darkness. It was working, as if it had done this a million times instead of just a handful. Julius winced slightly as an identical mark suddenly burst to life on his own head, right next to his swallowtail mark. “Ah… it’s working.”

Lisa nodded, her hands tightening in his. Magic was cycling now, between the two of them, faster and faster and faster and-

I- I can’t do it-

Every time the mana moved through her, Lisa felt the familiar sensation of her very soul breaking.

It’s going to hurt… it’s going to be scary…

She squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to ground herself again. Images were flashing through her mind, both her thoughts and Julius. Each flash brighter and bigger than the last, building up, amplifying, getting so massive that she wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer-

But this is what it’s supposed to do…

Slowly, she opened her eyes to look back up into Julius’s. His eyes were starting to glow like hers, but he was still smiling.

In order to become all-powerful… I must destroy myself. I must destroy both of us.

It’s alright, Lisa. I’ll be here. I’ll always be here.

I won’t be alone.

Without closing her eyes, Lisa leaned up, and Julius bent down to meet her. Their foreheads touched, and their souls shattered.

For one brief moment, neither of them existed. The Ego, the very shape of the Self, was gone, destroyed by the sheer force of their combined mana. But then, it reformed. One new Ego… one new Self.

A Dyad.

Marx watched from the treeline, leaned up against a trunk, his eyes widened as he watched the two of them glowing violently. They’re doing it… are they- He sucked in a breath as Lisa stepped back. They were still hand-in-hand, but it wasn’t them. The being that stood there appeared to have two bodies, but when they turned to look at Marx, he knew he was looking at just one thing. It worked.

Marx stuck to the plan. He raised his hand to the sky and fired off a bright, loud mana blast, which exploded like a firework a couple meters up.

Yami caught sight of the light, his heart skipping an anxious beat. “Everyone! Get out of the sky!” he yelled, swinging his sword once to dispel his enemy before diving down. The other 8 captains and their crew followed, zipping away from the cloud of the enemy as fast as they could. Yami glanced down to see Lisa and Julius standing there, glowing eyes locked on the sky. “Shit, they’re about to blow this place to high heaven.”

Just as Yami predicted, the Dyad made their move. Their movements were eerie, yet perfectly in sync. They were extensions of each other’s bodies, one mind and one soul shared in order to perform a feat of magic. 

This is going to be difficult to explain to the others.

Their hands clasped together, pulling closer together as if they were performing some strange waltz. But then they pointed towards the sky towards the swarm of attackers who were just now realizing that they had fallen into a trap.

At the very tip of their fingers, pressed together with intimacy and precision, a pure white ball of fire started to form. It was only the size of a marble… but it caused the very earth to shake.

Finally, their lips moved to utter the spell.

“Instant Fire Magic: White Hell.”

In that moment, the night ceased to exist. A second sun burst to life in the sky, engulfing the attacking army in its entirety. Light bathed the land, as bright as noon, and more than two hundred people screamed their life out into the abyss. 

As quickly as it started, it was over. Darkness fell over the landscape, as is if it had never been lit up in the first place. Two hundred soldiers of brooms and carpets were suspended in the air, then went limp and started to fall to earth. 

The Dyad did not notice.

They stood there together, inside the recess of their shared mind. It was warm and cozy, like the sanctuary of a bed or even the safety of a mother’s womb. They stood there together, their palms pressed against the other’s. Lisa smiled up at Julius, and he smiled right back. There was so much he wanted to say to her in this moment, but he didn’t have to utter a single word. She knew. 

Because, to be a Dyad is to destroy yourself… to destroy yourself and become something beautiful. It is the only way to truly be known. 

Julius blinked, and it was over. Smoke and dust filled the air, dirt kicked up from the force of many bodies hitting the ground around him. He looked up into the sky and grinned when he saw that not a single mage managed to avoid the attack. “Look at that! We did it, Lisa, you did it-”

He looked down, and realized that she had collapsed at his feet in a puddle of her own blood.

“LISA!” 

Julius fell to his knees with a strangled cry, quickly turning his lover over into his lap. The sight made him as queasy as it did all those years ago; there was blood coming from her nose and ears, and her eyes were shut. Panic beat itself into his chest at the sight and his hands trembled.

Oh god… oh no… I- I actually killed her this time- I should have never-

But then, Lisa cracked open an eye, her lips twitching into a ghost of a smile.

“Boo.”

Julius groaned, his shoulders slumping with relief. “Lisa! Don’t scare me like that!” he admonished lightly, his heart still pounding slightly. “Jesus... I’m gonna have to spank you.” Despite the situation, he threw in a little joke to make her smile.

“Hmm, you can try.” Lisa winked before wincing again. Julius winced as well, feeling a phantom pain through his own head. “Are you ok?”

“Yeah, mostly.” Lisa sat up with some help from Julius, leaning into his chest while she caught her breath. “It hurt a lot, but not as much as last time for sure!”

“Good, good.” Julius pulled out his handkerchief and started to tenderly wipe away the blood on her face. So, she’s grown a lot since last time… To be able to share magic, both members of a Dyad have to be able to withstand the full force of their combined mana. Back in the beginning, Lisa almost died with every attempt. But by working hard and honing the magic Julius shared with her, she was able to do so much better. Pride swelled in his heart, and he couldn’t help himself; he leaned down and gave her a kiss. Her lips were still tinted with the metallic taste of blood, but they were warm.

“Lord Julius!”

Julius quickly broke away (reluctantly) as the other captains ran over. Most of them had stunned looks on their faces, but Fuegoleon and Yami were pensive. The two of them saw the first Dyad on that day long ago, but they were still surprised to see how it had developed. 

This power… Fuegoleon gulped, his eyes flickering between Julius and Lisa on the ground. So easily… they decimated the entire Diamond army. 

Both of them are scary enough by themselves, but when they’re together… Yami shook his head to himself. It’s unreal. I guess I should be grateful.

“What was that?” Rill piped up, his eyes as wide as saucers.

Julius bit his lip, exchanging a glance with Lisa. She was too drained to even move except for a small shrug. They had agreed to keep her power secret, so this was going to be difficult to explain. “Er- a combo spell we’ve been working on. I’ll explain later.”

There was a murmur of agreement among the others. William narrowed his eyes slightly underneath his mask.

Interesting…

“Now!” Julius quickly grabbed Lisa bridal style and rose to his feet. “I better get her home, and get Marx healed as well. The rest of you should contain all the prisoners then drop them off at the border. The reinforcements should make short work of the force at Kiten.”

“Prisoners?” Nozel repeated, glancing back at the bodies strewn everywhere. “But sir, aren’t they… dead?”

Julius let out a hearty laugh. “Of course not! How would that look if we just killed 200 people like that? Anyway, I want witnesses so they know never to come back again.”

“Amazing…” Charlotte’s eyes widened. “How did you save them from the fall?”

“Oh, that…” Julius shrugged before turning away to rejoin Marx. Lisa peeked over his shoulder to smirk back at the other captains before finishing his sentence.

“They are alive because we decided it was so.”

The two of them soon disappeared into the night, leaving 7 of the 9 captains very confused… and awestruck.

The Capital roared with celebration as we arrived back, showering Julius and the others with praise. 

Everyone wanted to be a magic knight now, and everyone wanted to become the Wizard King. 

They would be telling stories about his spell for years to come... White Hell.

Well… our spell.

[strange-destinations]

Dear Yuletide Author Letter

(Please ignore this if you don’t know what this is about!)

Hello and thank you so much for writing something for me!! I adore seeing what people come up with for Yuletide and I am super excited for what you end up producing. I want this to be a good and enjoyable experience for you as a writer, so don't try to second-guess yourself too much - just have fun making whatever it is!

Squicks/DNWS - no sex, please! (And it also follows that I'd rather like to avoid any noncon, kinky stuff even if it's nonsexual, any other sort of sexual content, etc - that's just not my sort of thing, really.) Romance is all right, if that's the way that you want to take things, but I much prefer close friendships and family dynamics. However!! I am pretty much completely fine with body horror/violence, hurt/comfort, etc. 

I love good dialogue, character interaction, twist endings, and imaginative plots - and worldbuilding! Happy endings are preferred but not necessary if it just isn’t working for you.

AUs are... fine and good, as far as I can think of! (Obv no A/B/O or sex-related stuff please, but) canon divergence, fantasy, high school, etc seem all good to me! Especially if there’s a whole lot of clever nods to original canon in there. 

And I've just looked at all the fandoms that I've requested, and realized this: if you happen to know more than one of any of these fandoms and feel like writing a crossover between them, I would be delighted to see it and you should absolutely go for it.

Onto the fandoms!

Fandom: Ruby Redfort series - Lauren Child

Available:  I managed to acquire a copy of the full series online via my local library - and the physical copies were at my local library too. I don't have a link to them, I'm afraid!

My sideblog: agentredfort.tumblr.com

Tvtropes page: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/RubyRedfort

Characters: *** Any from *** Ruby Redfort, Hitch, Blacker, LB

About the fandom: This series is very dear to my heart - I dragged its fandom out of the depths of Tumblr singlehandedly a year or two ago and have been creating content for it ever since

Prompts/suggestions:

I'd love to see some casefic! Blacker and Ruby working together to solve a puzzle or problem - either serious or mundane - or Hitch and Ruby on a stakeout of some sort. Or both!

Spectrum office shenanigans - stuff that happens between books, when Ruby and everybody else aren't in mortal danger and that LB will most likely glare disapprovingly at.

On the angstier side of things, if you want to stick Ruby in even more mortal danger than usual I am ALL RIGHT WITH THAT. Rescue missions hell yeah.

I feel like I'll be delighted with whatever you create, tbh. I can’t think of many ways you could go wrong with it.

Fandom: Bernice Summerfield (Big Finish Audio)

Available:  Via the Big Finish website, and all of the boxsets from Epoch to New Frontiers are available for free on Spotify! Just look up Bernice Summerfield there.

My sideblog: it's actually just my normal blog, believe it or not! therogueofblood.tumblr.com/tagged/bernice-summerfield

Tvtropes page: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Franchise/BerniceSummerfield

Characters: *** Any from *** Bernice Summerfield, Irving Braxiatel, Jack, Ruth

About the fandom: It's like if Indiana Jones was shorter, actually did his job, and was a kickass woman who was also the Doctor's companion at one point! And also she has a considerably larger family than Indiana Jones. Her spinoff kind of transcends a lot of forms of media - she's in comics, print, animations, audio dramas, and one really hilariously terrible sort-of-fanfilm made by Lisa Bowerman and Sylvester McCoy when they were on some kind of cruise together. And it more or less transcends genre too. There's been musical episodes right alongside the episode where someone very dear to her manipulates someone else very dear to her into killing (you guessed it) someone who is also very dear to her. It's a wild ride. Anyway.

Prompts/suggestions:

What I would most LOVE to see is some interaction between Benny and Braxiatel. Whenever you would like to set it - be it on Dellah, the Collection, Legion, or elsewhen/where - just them working together/snarking together/robbing a bank or art museum together. Or even just sitting down and having dinner together!

Some family/friendship content based on the Legion-era - adventures around/based in the White Rabbit; Brax cheating at Monopoly during family games night, everybody conspiring to throw Benny a surprise birthday party, etc.

Failing that, just… a good Benny story would be fantastic! Archaeology, adventure, any other combinations. Any era, any time.

EDIT: I’d also be really delighted if you did something related to one of the newest audios, Braxiatel In Love. Some missing scenes (esp. post Benny figuring what was up with Veronica the first time) or some aftermath, etc.

Fandom: Tanis (Podcast)

Available:  all episodes at http://tanispodcast.com/

My sideblog: meer-katnip.tumblr.com

Tvtropes page: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Podcast/Tanis

Characters: *** Any from *** Nic Silver, Geoff Van Sant, Meerkatnip, Veronika Pilman

About the fandom: Ahhh, Tanis. What a goddamn weird podcast. I love the characters and the mystery of the show and the atmosphere (!! The atmosphere) but the pacing is not the best, I'll be the first to admit. I love Nic and Geoff (Karl?? Whatever his name is this week. I refer to him as 'Geoff' generally just for consistency's sake.) a lot, but my heart (as you may have guessed from my blog title) is reserved for Meerkatnip.

Prompts/suggestions:

If you feel like writing Geoff/Nic, go for it! Same goes for poly Meerkatnip/Geoff/Nic because that's very good (but I'd prefer not to see MK/Nic or MK/Geoff).

Worldbuilding!!!! This series really benefits from people adding to it in their own ways

Continuation of where Season 4 left off, or some earlier encounter with Tanis, or an exploration of any of the related myths and mysteries

Crossovers (stealth or otherwise) with The Black Tapes are also DEFINITELY on the table

Meerkatnip is a really good character. This is not a suggestion, it is a fact.

Fandom: Gallifrey (Big Finish Audios)

Available: Via the Big Finish website, again.

My sideblog: none, just my regular blog again -  http://therogueofblood.tumblr.com/tagged/gallifandom

Tvtropes page: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Audioplay/Gallifrey

Characters: Irving Braxiatel, Ace McShane

About the fandom: Hmmm… it's like, uh - like the Office and House of Cards got married and had a baby, but on an alien planet. Except it's absolutely nothing like that. Basically, Gallifrey is a mess as far as politics goes, and the current President is trying her best not to let everything go to hell (with the help of her - friends? Colleagues? People who are trying to undermine her at every turn? It's hard to tell) and a bunch of terrible things happen, and then the Time War starts. It is, much like everything else in the Doctor Who universe, a wild, wild ride.

Prompts/suggestions:

……..sorry for being restrictive with this one as far as the characters go, but I just want to see some interactions between Ace and Brax. I have absolutely no idea why but I just have this strange craving for it. He’s basically her uncle right

They seemed to be getting on quite well pre-Soldier Obscura. Some good, non-angsty interactions between them would be, well, ace! Somebody made a post about them teaming up to pull pranks on Narvin and other Time Lords and that’s a frankly adorable idea. Alternately:

go full angst/horror/etc. Missing scenes from Soldier Obscura, stuff after Soldier Obscura (them meeting during late-game Time War/afterwards). 

If you would like to write this for me I would be eternally grateful. If you don’t know what Dr. Nyar is, don’t worry about it

Or whatever other direction you can think of!

Again, thank you for writing for me, and I hope you get something awesome in return from your own writer!

EDIT: I’m also open to receiving IF fics! Additional information over here if that’s something you feel like doing!

[kadtherine]

Rip is pretty sure he stops breathing the minute Miranda appear on the screen. The smug smirk plastered on the Pilgrim’s face makes it worst. He ignores the confused looks the rest of his crew send his way and focuses on his wife’s face. His formerly dead wife. Miranda stares back, her jaw clenched – whether it’s in pain or irritation, Rip doesn’t know – and her expression blank. And even though he knows that she isn’t technically ‘his’ Miranda, his heart clenches at the sight of her and the corner twists upward into half a smile.

The recording comes to an end and Rip already has an half-formed plan in his mind. It might not be the best and fool-proved he has ever think ever, but at least he would manage to save his crew’s younger selves, as well as Miranda. At least, for now.

They’re back on the Waverider and Rip is hidden in his study, pretending to be researching for their future mission, while the others spend some time with their loved ones. Well, he isn’t really pretending but he has using this excuse to avoid Miranda. Which, probably, isn’t the smartest thing to do. Their half-assed plan had, against all odds, gone well. Much of its success had had to do with Miranda’s refusal to wait for a rescue party to save her. The rest had been a team effort, which is, in Rip’s opinion, a step in the right direction.

Seeing Miranda is one thing. Facing is another. While he feels remorse at the idea of letting the woman to fend for yourself in an unfamiliar environment and surrounded by strangers, he can’t find the strength to face her. Rip fears that if he were to spend some time with Miranda, he wouldn’t be able to let her go. Which he knows will be inevitable, in the end. Letting out a trembling breath, Rip shakes himself out of his depressing thoughts and makes his way to the holotable.

“Gideon, pinpoint the dates from when our guests have been taken,” he calls, leaning on it, “Set the course for London, 2160, first.”

“Right away, Captain,”

“Eager to get rid me?”

Restraining himself from flinching at the sudden intervention, Rip pushes himself from the table and slowly turns around, his fists clenching at his side as his gaze meets Miranda’s amused green eyes. She looks like she had been taken out from her – their – house, which had been probably the case : she’s wearing a pale blue sweater with her usual dark jeans and ankle boots while her dark, brown hair is slung over a shoulder, her fringe barely covering her eyes. She looks alive – is alive – and Rip can’t help but reach out a hand to her, as if to touch her, to make sure that she isn’t an illusion. When realizing what he was doing, he stuffs his hands in his pockets and clears his throat.

“It’s not that, I just-”

“Need to restore the timeline to avoid any time aberrations,” Miranda finishes, chuckling as she slowly walks to him, “I understand. Which is why you’re going to give me one of those fancies pills hidden in your pocket.

Rip gaps at her for a second, finding himself impossible to gather his thoughts under her expectant stare. Closing his mouth, he clears his throat a second time and plasters a smile on his face.

“Right,” he mutters as he turns back to the holotable, feeling the heat of Miranda’s stare on the back of his head.

From the corner of his eye, Rip can see her wandering around, her curious gaze taking as much as it can before it falls back on him. Again, he pushes down the urge down to reach to her and never let her go. Miranda sighs.

“I know you’re not him,” she says.

That makes him look up.

“ ‘Him’ ?” Rip repeats, his brow furrowed in puzzlement.

“My Rip,” Miranda answers as if it was obvious, before rolling her eyes and adding,” Well, at least Rip Hunter from 2160. That Rip is supposed to be on a mission in 19th France. He doesn’t travel with a crew, either. He seems to think that his A.I is the only teammate he needs.”

“I assure you, Captain Coburn,” Gideon jumps in, almost sounding offended, “I’m perfectly capable of looking over Captain Hunter by myself.”

“You make me sound like a bloody toddler,” Rip grumbles, frowning disapprovingly.

“I don’t doubt any of your abilities, Gideon,” Miranda laughs, looking up, “And Miranda will suffice. I’m not a Time Master.

“Of course.”

Rip snorts while Melinda gives a fond eye roll. He uses her distraction to watch her and wonders, not for the first time, if she misses having Gary looking out for her. As if feeling his stare on her, Miranda turns back to him, a small smile tugging at her lips.

“I’m glad to see you, though, for some strange reason. It’s good to know you’re alright,” she admits, putting a hand on his arm.

Rip almost comes away apart at the touch. For a second, he’s afraid that his heart might beat out of his chest, then he realizes the irrationality of this thought. For another second, he dreads Gideon may remark on his current state, which is more prompt to happen. He chooses to ignore the blood pumping in his ears and takes a step away from her, swallowing the guilt as her hand falls back to her side. Rips vaguely recognize Lisa Snart’s laugh, coming down from the hallway and can’t help but feel annoyed by it.

Miranda clears her throat, trying to diffuse the tension surrounding them, and leans back onto the holotable while keeping a gap between the two of them. Rip is torn between relief and longing.

“Speaking of your crew, you have some particular personalities among your ranks,” Miranda remarks in a light tone, an elegant eyebrow raised in interest.

“What do you mean?” Rip tilts his head to the side, feigning confusion.

“Hum,” Miranda narrows her eyes at him, copying his head tilt in amusement and leans in, “Sara Lance? Mick Rory? Ray Palmer? Shall I go on?”

Rip can’t help but let out a chuckle at the lightness and familiarity of the conversation. He remembers about days spent in beds discussing about 21st century heroes discussing that very notion of heroism. He remembers frowning at a younger trainee Miranda Coburn’s weird obsession with the two rogues and her admiration for the Lance sisters. He remembers having an heated argument – an entertaining debate with two passionate parties, according to their professor – about the impact that Dr Palmer’s tech had had on their current society.

Rip turns to her, a half-smile on his face, and notices her shoulders drop in relief at his slight improvement of mood. He gives her a indifferent shrug, smirking when Miranda snorts and reaches to shove him. This time, Rip doesn’t move away from her. This time, he lets himself enjoy her proximity. This time, he lets himself forget. This time, Miranda is the first one to look away, her expression slowly sobering and a frown appearing on her face.

“Why do you have that particular crew?” she asks in a quiet, knowing voice, “Did something happen?”

And just like that, Rip remembers why he had been hiding in his study since they had came back aboard the Waverider. He remembers why keeping his distance is necessary. He remembers. His jaw clenched, he crosses his arms and looks down at his worn-out boots.

“Did something happens to… me?” Miranda presses gently, her eyebrows frowned in concern. Strangely, her concern doesn’t seem to be about her future self’s fate, but about his current state. “…about Jonas?”

Rip pushes himself off the table and walks back to his study, his fists clenching and unclenching by his side, as if itching to hit – break - something. As the idea of unscrewing his hidden jug of scotch crosses his mind, he can hear Miranda walk in behind him, her footsteps loud to make sure he wouldn’t be startled. He freezes when a light hand lands on his shoulder, comforting.

“It’s alright,” she reassures, rubbing his shoulder blade, “It’s alright.”

Rip frowns and shakes his head, suddenly annoyed. There’s something strange about being comforted, reassured for something he knows to be inevitable. He feels the guilt coming back with a vengeance. He should be the one comforting her. Reassuring her, telling her that he would do everything in his power to make sure no harm would come to her and to their son. Because no, it isn’t alright. But Miranda – brave, rebellious Miranda – doesn’t seem to care about his lack of consoling – or emotions, overall - and grins at him.

His anger is replaced by tiredness and a sigh escapes his mouth as he turns around to face Miranda, running a hand over his face .

“It really isn’t,” Rip mutters, his eyebrows raised to emphasize.

“No,” she huffs a small laugh, cocking her head to the side, “I guess it isn’t.”

He shoots her a half-smile and doesn’t look away when she turns to look at him. Miranda cocks an eyebrow at him, daring him to break their stare-off. Rip mimics her expression, cheeky. He’s slightly taken aback by how easy it is to fall back and get lost into their playful routine. It doesn’t seem to surprise her and Rip supposes it shouldn’t, seeing as it only had been weeks for her.

Rip falls back into reality because of a loud clear of throat. Both of their heads turn to the doorway and are met with the sight of one Sara Lance, standing before them, her hands stuffed in her back pockets and her face unreadable, except for the slight twitch of her mouth.

“I’m sorry,” she starts, a small grimace forming on her face as her gaze darts from him and her, “I didn’t mean to intrude-“

“No!” Rip interrupts, perhaps too quickly and too loudly. He clears his throat, “No, it’s fine. No need for apologies, Ms Lance.”

Sara hums, an amused smile at her lips mirroring Miranda’s, much to his apprehension. Throwing him a quick glance, the blonde turns her attention to the woman standing at his, a hand held out in a greeting.

“Hi, I’m Sara.”

“Miranda,” she counters, walking to Sara to shake her hand, “and I know who you are, Ms Lance. And let me just say, it’s quite an honour to meet you in the flesh.”

Rip almost chokes on his saliva at the sly look Miranda throws behind her shoulder. She had done it on purpose. He responds to her look with a glare. Oblivious to the silent exchange, Sara tilts her head to the side and cocks an eyebrow at him, confused.

“Likewise, I guess.”

With a soft laugh, Miranda lets go of her hand and turns back to Rip, her smile smugly satisfied. He clears her throat again and forces himself to keep his attention on Sara as he joins the two women by the holotable.

“Was there something you needed, Sara?” Rip asks, cocking an eyebrow at the blonde, his hands deep into his pockets.

“Yeah, actually,” she nods, leaning on the table, “I was wondering when we’ll be arriving back in 2007.”

“Ah, we’ll have a couple of stops before having to drop your father back in his timeline. Gideon, estimated time of arrival to 2160, please?”

“We will be docking in London, 2160, in approximately five minutes, Captain,” comes the A.I’s response.

Clenching his jaw, Rip gives a small nod and turns back to Miranda, the latter already looking back at him. From the corner of his eye, he can see Sara giving them a wide berth as she makes his way to his study in silent. He recognizes at her attempt at providing them a moment of privacy and he’s really thankful for it. Miranda sighs and slowly closes the gap between them with a couple of steps, a hand held out in front of her.

“I believe that it’s time for you to give me that special, fancy pill of yours” she says, her eyebrows up and hidden behind her fringe.

“Ah. Right,” Rip breathes out.

Ignoring the lump in his throat, he reaches out into his pocket and gets out a small bottle out of it. Popping a pill out, he goes to drop it into her outstretched hand, only for Miranda to enclose his hand between both of hers and hold them to her heart. Swallowing, he looks up for their joined hands to meet Miranda’s green gaze, his heart clenching as he notices the forming tears in his eyes. It doesn’t stop her from shooting him a small smile, her head tilted to the side.

“You take care of yourself, Rip Hunter. Alright?’ she presses, squeezing his hand.

He doesn’t trust himself to talk yet. He just gives him a nod and that seems to satisfy her. With a nod of her own, Miranda brings him closer to her and kisses his cheek, lingering for a couple more seconds that necessary. As she begins to – reluctantly – pull away, Rip pulls her back in, an arm automatically wrapping around her waist while his other goes around his neck, his fingers running through her long hair. Miranda returns the embrace without a hesitation and Rip closing his eyes, his face buried in the crook of her neck and his eyes closed. Her fruity perfume is intoxicating and for the first time since they left the Refuge, he feels at home.

“You take care of yourself, Miranda Coburn,” he whispers, his hold around her tightening as the words leave his mouth, “Alright?”

Sniffing, she nods against his shoulder.

“Aye-aye, Captain,” Miranda retorts, earning a soft chuckle from Rip.

“Captains, I thought you’d like to know that we’ll be docking in London, 2160 in approximately less than one minute,” Gideon intrudes, bringing them back to reality.

Miranda snorts at the plural use of the word ‘captain’ and sighs as she pulls away, her hands slowly slipping off his neck. Smirking at him, she slips the pill under her tongue and begins to make her way off the bridge backward.

“Gideon, I trust you to keep an eye on that guy and his crew,” she calls, looking up.

“Your trust is well placed and valued, Ms Coburn,” Gideon deadpans.

Rip rolls his eyes at the response – he would have to have a talk with Barry Allen about his A.I developing an attitude – while both Miranda and Sara let out a snicker.

“It was great to meet you, Sara,” she calls, her smile genuine and slightly awed.

“You too,” Sara returns, going to stand beside Rip.

With one last smile and wave, Miranda turns around and disappears off the bridge. Rip tries to not think about the fact that it’s probably the last time he’ll see smiling and breathing. He looks down at Sara, the latter staring at the space where Miranda had been standing a moment ago, her expression pensive. With a small hum, she twirls back on her heels and smirks up at him.

“She’s out of your league, Hunter,” she declares, slapping his arm.

Rip doesn’t know whether to amused or offended by the comment, so he lets out a snort and gives a small nod.

“I suppose she was,” he mutters, crossing his arms.

Her smirk softens into a small smile and her touch is surprisingly soft when it lands on his arm, this time gentle and comforting. He blinks at her, his brow furrowed.

“She is. Because we’re going to save her and Jonas. And unsurprisingly, she will still be out of your league,” Sara insists, her gaze unwavering and her touch grounding.

Rip Hunter doesn’t know usually how to deal with his emotions He prefers to ignore them, burying them down within him. Which isn’t the healthiest thing to do, but again, none of his coping mechanism are, so what’s new. Rip Hunter isn’t one to usually show emotions, but it’s been a long day and he gets tired of his unhealthiest way of life.

His clogged throat makes it impossible for him to retort, so he reaches up and gently pats her hand, his mouth twisted in some kind of a smile as he gives her a appreciative nod. Her smile widening, Sara returns the nod. She gives his arm a squeeze before pulling her hands and stuffing them back in her pockets. Rip watches with a smile as she begins to skip back to her quarter, apparently satisfied with herself. He tilts his head to the side, bemused as Sara stops in mid-jump and spins back, looking at him with a frown.

“By the way,” Sara crosses her arms, her confused frown turning a suspicious scowl, “what did she means by it being quite a honour to meet me in the flesh? Aren’t we supposed to be a bunch of failures?”

Rip smirks smugly at her and actually has the nerve to wink at her, ignoring the true danger her narrowed eyes hide.

“Spoilers.”

sorry not sorry about that not so subtle dw reference, bye. 

find it on archiveofourown.