#and making life worse for Barry Allen along the way | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

kitkatt0430 · 1 year

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I posted 576 times in 2022

That's 161 more posts than 2021!

349 posts created (61%)

227 posts reblogged (39%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@purpleyin

@hartmonfest

@kitkatt0430

@polyshipweek

@creativepromptsforwriting

I tagged 513 of my posts in 2022

Only 11% of my posts had no tags

#fanfiction - 168 posts

#the flash - 161 posts

#kitkatt0430 answers - 94 posts

#fandom events - 83 posts

#cisco ramon - 63 posts

#writing prompts - 51 posts

#barry allen - 50 posts

#flufftober2022 - 34 posts

#hartley rathaway - 34 posts

#flufftober - 32 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#so there was room in there to see him getting both worse and better as a person but all that remains of him are the echoes of his potential

My Top Posts in 2022:

Aromantic Versions of Romance Tropes

Seen a few of these lists floating around out there and thought I'd add my 2 cents. :D

Enemies to Lovers -> Enemies w/Benefits Instead of two enemies falling in love, we've got enemies who fall in lust. Just because they're on opposite sides of a conflict doesn't mean they can't find a little stress relief together and maybe find some common ground along the way. Alternatively...

Enemies to Lovers -> Enemies to Friends All the fun of a redemption arc centered around the relationship between two (or more) characters, with none of the romantic trappings.

Friends to Lovers -> Friends to QPPs These friends already do everything together and share a lot of intimate moments and maybe get mistaken for lovers, but they're not interested in romance with one another. Acknowledging that there's a level of commitment between them or a queerplatonic angle to their relationship that makes them reassess how they want to label their relationship? Turns out that's on the table after all. Of course there's also...

Friends to Lovers -> Friends w/Benefits They're friends who have sex because it's more fun and enjoyable with someone they trust. Adding sex to a relationship doesn't automatically have to change a friendship into something else - it's sex, after all, not alchemy.

Second Chances An estranged former couple reuniting only instead of the cliche of them reigniting their romance, they realize that the spark between them came from platonic feelings and a desire for non-romantic intimacy with each other. Trying to force romance to happen was what wrecked their friendship the first time around, but now they're older and more mature and realize that despite society's expectations... all they really want is a friend.

Pretend Relationship... That Stays Pretend Fake dating to avoid exes, appease nosy family members, or ward off would be suitors who won't take 'no' for an answer. But when the night's over, no romance has bloomed. And why would it? They already have the relationship with each other they both want - friendship.

Forced Proximity Coming in shades of 'trapped in an elevator', 'snowed in', and 'there's only one bed', the romance version of the trope has rising tensions break as romance blooms. But for an aro version, we have two people setting aside their differences to create a friendly bond. And if sex is thrown in, that doesn't change the fact that it's friendship discovered in their enforced confinement.

Destined Romance -> Destined Friends Maybe they're people who reincarnate as best friends in every life. Maybe their friendship is fated by prophecy. They know from the moment they first see each other that they're meant to be a part of each other's lives: an instant, platonic connection.

Forbidden Friendship Two people from opposite sides of a divide who, despite all odds, forge a friendship that overcomes the conflict between them. For them, their friendship is worth the struggle that comes with it.

Co-Parenting Friends who choose to come together to parent a child - maybe it's a choice to adopt a child together, maybe one of them finds they're suddenly a parent and needs help. Works with two or more characters recognizing that they all have something to contribute to help raise a child and recognizing the bonds between them helps them not only give the child (or children) the support they need to grow and flourish, but give each other the support they need too

60 notes - Posted April 6, 2022

the speed with which Worf insists Julian may not hug him implies that Julian has definitely hugged Worf without warning at least once before

Worf knows the signs now; he is alert and wary

99 notes - Posted December 1, 2022

Well, it's certainly creepy knowing Dracula has started in on Mina now and no one - not even Mina - has realized that yet.

It seems pretty clear that Renfield must have given Dracula the invite he needed to get inside the house. Which was, no doubt, why he was so emphatic that Jack and the others take him with them. He knew Dracula would be after Mina now, somehow, and he clearly likes Mina. She was kind to him and didn't talk down to him over his mental illness and, honestly, who doesn't like Mina? But he knew Dracula would use him to get to her and it wouldn't matter that he likes Mina. Renfield will do what the Master tells him to do.

And Mina's account of how she was made unable to move before being rendered unconscious makes it even clearer now what the last moments of the sailors on the Demeter must've been like. Not only were they bitten by a monster and then drowned, but they were made incapable of moving or even making any sound. They were likely not made unconscious the way Mina was either, so in their last moments those sailors were frozen in place, bitten by a monster in the mockery of an intimate embrace, and then flung into the ocean where they could not swim to save themselves. All while unable to shout or scream for help.

114 notes - Posted October 1, 2022

As much as I like seeing Ten again... I do feel like if a previous Doctor had to take a spin at the wheel again before the Ncuti Gatwa became the Fourteenth Doctor (don't care that they bumped the number on him, he's Fourteen and Ten is still Ten) then it probably should have been the Fugitive Doctor.

Her return as the active Doctor makes sense narratively given everything that happened with the Flux and how connected she is to the Doctor's past and lost secrets. And giving her a proper run of episodes, even a short three parter, before handing the reigns to Gatwa probably wouldn't have felt quite so... disrespectful. (Right as a black man has been cast as the Doctor... surprise, we're bringing back a white guy? That was not a decision that was as well thought through as the show runners probably believe it was.)

And it would be fascinating to see her struggle with knowing she isn't actually new, but feeling like she is because she doesn't really remember being this version of herself before. The Doctor being very tempted to open the watch and retrieve the memories that belong to her would probably be a lot stronger as the Fugitive Doctor 2.0 and it'd be an interesting story to tell whether she opens the watch or not.

206 notes - Posted October 27, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Assuming Miles Edgeworth writes Steel Samurai fanfiction, I'd like to think that Maya is his beta reader. They've been carefully ensuring Phoenix never finds out. Not because they think he'd be judgy or anything, but because they're enjoying making up bizarre excuses for why they're emailing each other so much and it's turned into a game of who can come up with the weirdest excuse that Phoenix just accepts without question.

326 notes - Posted August 31, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

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austarus · 3 years

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Harrison Wells (Eobard Thawne) x Reader Ballistic Confrontations (1/3)

**A/N: The picture/edit/gif belongs to me!

Yes, I’m alive.

*TW: mentions of suicide, drowning, and cutting. Along with Eobard being a dramatic bitch*

Word Count: 3184

Part 2 Part 3

Felicity deadpanned with Harry beside her on one of the Cortex monitors. She had glanced to all her friends. “The bottom line is that we have to catch these parallel-earth goose-steppers.” Everyone was well aware of her dislike towards Nazi’s. The things they had done on this earth to her ancestors and to people like her. Utterly Disgusting.

“This might help,” Barry stepped in, holding up a blood-stained arrow.

“Is that a kryptonite arrow?” Kara’s sister, Alex, unfurled her arms as she gently took the lethal arrow away from him.

“Yup,” Barry responded with a sigh, hands at his hips while the others rounded together. He felt exhausted from chasing around Eobard while Kara and Oliver dealt with their doppelgangers. Years later and he still wasn’t fast enough to stop the yellow speedster.

“I know I shouldn't have to ask this question, but I have to ask this question.” Felicity interjected with quick words; worry seeded in her chest. “Oliver didn't shoot Kara, did he?”

“Sort of,” Barry replied, further clarifying with a face. The days just keep getting worse and worse with these parallel-dimension-hoppers. “The other Archer and flying woman are Oliver and Kara of Earth-X.”

“When you said that Earth-X was horrible,” Caitlin glanced back at Harry, who had raised a hand in mock defeat, “you might have undersold it.”

“Wait a minute. How- how could there be another Kara?” Alex was thoroughly confused; she was still new to the concept of parallel earths doppelgangers.

“Well, there are 53 Karas, just like there's 53 Kryptons and 53 Earths.” Harry explained simply.

“And the Thawne from our earth is working with them.” Barry gave a look, clearly annoyed at the fact that Thawne was back. Again. Thawne coming back due to time travel and the Speedforce were already giving him a headache just thinking about it all over again.

Caitlin just gave Barry an incredulous look. “He's an idiot.” Harry plainly stated.

Felicity already was thinking up of ways to track them down. “Ok, if that arrow has not-so-Supergirl's blood on it, we c—"

“We could track it using quantum analysis.” Harry cut her off, but she just nodded at his words.

“We could.”

***___***

“Harry, Cait, Iris,” Barry unfurled his arms and gestured to them with his head for a sidebar. The others were busy with Alex in isolating the city for Kara-X’s radioactive blood signatures. Felicity’s specialty. After all, she was able to track a deranged killer with just his face cream. “Whatever happens, (Y/N) can’t know Thawne’s here.” Both scientists gave odd looks to each other at the speedster’s words.

“Barry she’s going to find out one way or another, she’s part of this team too,” Iris voiced, side-glancing the door as if you’d step in at any moment.

“If he’s working with them, she has the right to know.” Caitlin added. “She should know what to expect.”

“Allen, unless you decide to lock her up in the pipeline until this is all over, she’ll find out.” Harry said. “You can’t possibly hide this from her forever.” The genius scientist hinted at the fact that when Barry had run back in time last year, Thawne had been the one to ‘fix’ things when really, he had altered the timeline. A timeline created to suits him and his plans. Even going as far to tell Barry that this was how the timeline was supposed to be before Thawne had caused the alteration when he had time-traveled back to kill Nora and escalated into what is now Team Flash. Three different timelines had been created, but this one, according to Thawne, is how the original one should have been. Just with a few… absences… Like Eddie and Ronnie. Barry had never mentioned any of this to you or the fact that Thawne had ended up escaping him that night. The scarlet speedster did not want you looking for the man in the yellow suit. But it seems that fate’s not on Barry’s side this time.

“Harry, I can’t have her chasing after him. Not with all this going on,” Barry protested. “One maniacal problem at a time.”

“Whether she does or doesn’t is up to her, Allen. You’re not a god.” Harry pursed his lips before heading to the side lab.

Barry ran his tongue over his lips tightly, frowning deeply at the echoed words. He didn’t need this right now. Those words stung the speedster, mainly with the aftermath of his time remnant – Savitar - claiming god-hood, wanting to alter everything and anything in his way to stay alive. Even to kill the love of his life. Jay Garrick told him that when he ran back to this timeline a year ago. ‘We’re not gods, Barry.’

How did Wells know about that? Maybe he didn’t. But it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that time-traveling powers shouldn’t be abused like that. Yet… Thawne always gets away with it. He gets away with barely a scratch. I can be one step ahead, but he’ll be 15 steps further.

Caitlin gave her friend a sympathetic look, exchanging one with Iris. Alex and Felicity were still present in the room, but too preocuppied with their blood sample. Barry’s intentions made sense, but it was your decision whether to chase after Thawne or not. It’s your choice on whether you’d even side with him for this battle.

***___***

You had stood right outside the Cortex in the corridor, your feet stopped when you heard Barry announce that “Thawne is working with them”. Your heart got caught in your chest. Eobard was here. He was back. But why in the hell would he ever work with Nazis? Nazis? Seriously Eo??? What the absolute fuck? You knew Eobard never had a tolerance for people like that. People like Eiling or Stagg, who would “poke fun” at those with disabilities, even if he had feigned his inability to walk in the end. People who would intentionally use their status to torture others. It just goes to show how people with that kind of caliber would think. So why this sudden change? Not ‘why now’. No, why at all?? How could he have stooped so low? That idiot. Unacceptable.

But what ached the most was Barry’s words. He doesn’t trust me… Even after all these years. Your heart shook and eyes narrowed as your eyes peered at the light being cast from the Cortex. You took in a breath. Taking a quiet step back, your feet carried you to one of the higher levels of STAR Labs- one of the tower levels. Your quiet place of refuge when this had gotten too much, whether it was because the shadows kept you safe from judgment or not, you didn’t know. If he wants to act like that, then two can play this game, Bartholomew Henry Allen. You looked out onto the city, subconscious scanning every light – every street. Lights winked in and out, the night progressing as the city remained unaware of the new monsters it currently hid. But what am I going to do?

***___***

Iris rubbed her eyes before taking a step closer to her almost-husband. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

“I can’t have (Y/N) fighting with us. Not now. Not in this battle.” Not when he’s lurking around.

“Why?”

“You know why? Thawne’s out there. Running, scheming.”

“So, you don’t trust her.” It was more of a statement rather than a question.

“Iris, she knew what he did to my mom. Lied to us about it for months back then and still chose Thawne when we locked him up. What makes this time different?”

“Barry, while all those sound like good points, first and foremost she’s our friend.” The speedster just shook his head, Iris huffed, “Look, it’s been -what?- 3? 4 years? Since she’d last been with him? Things have changed. You think after everything we’ve been through; she’ll throw that all away?”

“Yes! Old feelings come back; they always do and she’s going to get her revenge.”

“How do you know that? How do you know that she wants revenge?”

“Thawne will coax it out of her. He’s good at manipulating a person’s feelings.”

“And what would she get in the end?”

Barry didn’t answer her, instead he wrung his hands together.

“Barr, if she had wanted revenge, she would have done so already after the incident. But she didn’t. (Y/N) was depressed after Thawne was erased. Vulnerable. The love of her life was gone, just like that. Don’t you remember? How she wanted to end it all, but we stopped her.” Barry’s eyes flickered to the ground, remember the sight he had seen. Drowning. You were purposefully drowning yourself in your tub. The way your looked back at him- lifeless- when he had gotten you back to your senses. The blood the dripped, your cold skin. The monitor beeping every so often in the Cortex. Iris’ own mind shifted to when she had seen the scars littered on your arms when Caitlin had fully examined you. Your dull hair and gaunt face, nothing like the brilliant fire that rang through you months prior to Eobard’s erasure. “We helped her work through it when we found out. Caitlin and I looked after (Y/N) every second of the day until she was ready to get back on her two feet. And then Zoom happened and he was breaking you. Breaking your bones and your spirit- when you broke your back, she was all-hands-on-deck to step in and help in your place while still dealing with her own issues.”

“I know, it’s just- something just tells me otherwise with Thawne here.”

“Barry-”

“-She’s going to choose him, Iris. Nothing will change that. To her, everything we’ve been through until this point won’t mean anything. Not when Thawne’s at the end of the tunnel waiting for her. She’s going to choose him and help him.”

“But what if she doesn’t? What then, Barr?”

Barry just shrugged. “I-I don’t know, but I can’t take any chances. Not this time.” I can’t hesitate with Thawne here. One misstep and that’ll be all he needs to make his move.

Iris reached out to her fiancé, gently caressing his cheek. She knew that he won’t change his mind, no matter the reasons she could come up with. Barry thought in absolutes when it comes to Thawne. And your past emotional ties with the evil speedster only further drove his current mistrust. “Come on, we have to help the others.”

***___***

You threw the ball against the concrete wall opposite to you, all your strength forced into it. The stress ball ricocheted back to where you sat. You caught it with ease, giving it a firm squeeze as your eyes shut.

“How could you betray us? We were your friends, your family!-”

“You are-”

“We stood by you!”

“I just-”

“-Just what!? He took everything from me!”

You cringed at the voice from years past. Breathe in, breathe out.

“You’re just as guilty as him. No wonder, like calls to like.”

“I-”

“I don’t want your excuses.”

Breathe in, breathe out.

“I hope you rot with him.”

Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. Swallowing harshly, you did your breathing exercises to push Barry’s cold voice away. You had stolen the malleable ball from Harry- or rather, he had allowed you to take it from him. It was an unused gift from the others for Harry to deal with his anger issues. Instead of throwing beakers and graduated cylinders off desks, the Earth-2 scientist can simply channel his anger into this stress ball… Which had been a hard pass for him. Rather he preferred his method of anger outbursts, even if he did end up hurting himself in the process. So you put it to use instead; a tool for simple meditation, as well as the redirecting your certain senses. It’s made of rubber polymer so your electrokinesis didn’t harm your new toy in any way.

Your eyes lingered back onto the city, your arm hanging over your bent leg while your other remained outstretched. No good in hiding up here forever, it’ll make things more suspicious. Not like Barry isn’t suspecting anything anyway. But you had needed time to think, to collect your thoughts and assess what actions you would take. You touched the necklace Eobard had made for you in rich gold- a Columba. It’s a constellation signifying the dove in astrology as he always called you his little birdy. But also, because gave him a sense of peace which the dove has generally symbolized fore. A finger ran over the one of the six diamonds that twinkled for the constellation, connected to each by a trail of gold. Eobard. Licking your lips, you got up, you pocketed your ball and brushed any dust particle from your leggings.

Upon entering the Cortex, a group of heroes left: Oliver, Kara, Barry, Sara, and so on. Barry had shoved past you, your eyes meeting briefly as you raised an eyebrow. His expression was guarded, but you said nothing.

“I’m guessing they’re going on a little midnight excursion?” You turned to Felicity and Iris with a thumb pointing in their direction. Mick was nowhere to be found so you can assume he’s already raided the lounge fridge. Caitlin had already prepped the med bay for incoming injuries, which isn’t an uncommon expectation, but wasn’t in the Cortex.

“Ding ding ding, you’re correct,” Felicity piped up, typing away at her computer screen. She was already hacking into cameras around the warehouse as the inside had ones out of commission. “The remaining Legends are to be on standby, should something happen during the warehouse fight. Per Sara’s orders.” At least Felicity isn’t treating you any differently, especially with how close she is to Barry. He probably told her to.

“And we’re going to be…?” You raised an eyebrow, a bit offended no one decided to volunteer you for the fight. You wanted to kick some Nazi ass too. Fry those fuckers. Guess Barry told them all to not trust me. Great, thanks Barr. Bitterness welled up inside but didn’t show it. Felicity and Iris aren’t the ones to be at odds with. Maybe it’s a good thing if Eo’s there. Barry would have his eyes all over your interaction with him.

“Just doing some monitoring and staying on comms. The usual Overwatch stuff,” Felicity smiled up at you then quickly turned to her tech. You could tell that her mind was wondering. About what? You had no clue and decided it’d be best to not involve yourself should things go sour if you did and Barry would find a reason to blame you.

No, this reunion needed to be on the downlow. One away from prying eyes. Your eyes drifted to Iris’ back in a subtle manner before pulling out your phone to check the time.

“Where’s Harry?” You asked, if anything he was one of the people who hadn’t seen you for just your past. Didn’t care for it as Zoom terror and Jesse’s rescue were more pressing matters. And you had seen him for more than a doppelganger to Eobard, even if their tendencies and bristliness seemed similar. Harry was Harry and Eobard was Eobard. Both were their own men, it wasn’t that hard to see and understand. He had done his own share of horrors and dark deeds for Jesse that Harry was dealing with his own darkness, while your demons haunted you. In an odd way, you both understood one another. Begrudgingly at first, though. Plus, you needed to return the stress ball back to him, thinking he’d need it now with Thawne around. If anything, you found it funny how Harry got mad when people would call Thawne a Wells. The Wells doppelganger would spectacularly blow up, which was always a site to see. Though you were hoping the two would never meet. You chewed on the inside of your cheek on how that interaction could possibly go. Would you-

“He’s probably back in his lab,” Iris spoke up from the other side of the Cortex, padding up to you. You nodded at her, mind drifting once more as you strolling to the Cortex exit. Harry could hold his own, but up against Eo, with all his speed… You’d choose-

“Hey,” Iris stopped you, snapping you out of your thoughts and placing a hand on your arm. You blinked. A small smile was woven on her face, one of those comforting smiles that said that you can come to her for anything… But could you?

“Hey,” you returned it, feigning any indication that you had overheard what Barry had said earlier. Schooling your features, you calmed your nerves. I’ve done this before. Pretended not to know. I can do it again. I can’t trust no one, and it seems like no one can trust me. I’ll be the actress again in this drama, spun by Barry this time.

“Can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Sure”

Iris was perceptive, she didn’t miss the slight strain in your voice. The guarded look that the young journalist had become accustomed to receiving when approaching you. There were times where she’d realize you were walking on eggshells with her. Because of Barry. Because of the serrated words he had thrown at you like knives all those times ago. But there were times where all was well with the world, the past forgotten and the strength of your friendship with the team more prominent than ever. Then again, having Nazi’s return and who are hell bent on ruling this Earth by eradicating its heroes then move on to the next Earth in the multiverse does tend to throw tension into the air. Iris bit her lip. Especially if she doesn’t know about Thawne.

“(Y/N), look there’s… there’s something I need to tell you.”

“Sure, what’s up?”

“…”

“Iris, is something wrong? Are you ok?”

She noted sincerity on your face. “Thawne’s here.”

You pursed your lips, internally confused. “Iris-”

“And he’s fighting with the Earth-Xers.”

“I… what?!” Your rage was not false. Sure you knew about it earlier, but now it was necessary to unleash it. It’d make your surprise all the more legit.

“I needed you to know,” Iris swallowed.

“How?”

“When Barry, Oliver, and Kara intercepted their heist.”

“…” It was your turn to be silent. You knew, but you had to play a little longer until you could leave.

“I trust you, ok?”

“But” You knew there was a ‘but’. There always is one. Iris blinked, opening her mouth a few times then looking away before meeting your gaze once more.

“But I need to know you’re with us on this.”

Your eyes never left hers, your hand was held in both of hers. Before you could even respond an alarm had gone off. Both your necks snapped to Felicity, who snapped up from her sitting position.

“That was the corridor alarm.” Fear crippled its way in the air. “This is a setup.”

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backtothestart02 · 3 years

Text

Hazy - 9/? | westallen fanfiction

A/N: Enjoy!

Commissioned by @andie1223

...

Chapter 9 -

Barry had managed to pull off the grand lie that he didn’t remember anything to Joe when he came in the room, but he didn’t know if he could do that repeatedly, and he knew he’d have to if he stayed at his own place after leaving presumably the next day. He could only guess that his powers were gone, since he’d been in the hospital overnight instead of just a few hours, and he didn’t know how long it would take for the severity of his injuries to recede. It’d been so long since he was…well, human.

“I know that look,” Linda said when she re-entered the room sometime later.

Barry quickly smoothed over his face and looked up at her.

“What look? And also, how? You haven’t known me long enough to know my looks.”

“Psh. I’m a reporter, which means I’m observant. I’ve been paying a lot of attention to you in the short time we’ve known each other. Trust me.”

He watched her suspiciously as she sat down on the chair beside his bed again.

“You’ll stay with me.”

He gawked. “Excuse me?”

“It’s obvious you’re terrible at keeping secrets.”

“I kept from Iris that I was in love with her until her wedding reception.” He paused. “I think.”

He couldn’t remember now. Did he confess his feelings before then in this timeline? Suddenly it was all very foggy.

“That’s different.” Linda brushed it aside. “That was a secret you wanted to keep. This one you don’t. And I’m the only one that knows. It just makes sense.”

“Linda, I appreciate the offer, but I’m not going to be fully healed by tomorrow. You’re going to have to…wait on me and stuff.”

She raised her eyebrows, amused.

“Nothing I can’t handle. Besides, how are you going to handle yourself if you just go home? Answer, you won’t. Joe will have to come over and then your little secret will probably come out.”

“You don’t know tha-”

“You’ll be at your weakest moment, and without me to interrupt a possible moment of secret spillage, well…”

He waited.

“It would be a disaster!”

“I don’t know how I’ll be on a couch, Linda…I’m still kind of fragile.”

She waved that off.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I have a guest bedroom. You can stay in there. And I’m a very clean person too, so you don’t have to worry about tripping over anything.”

His brows furrowed.

“Why would I worry about that?”

She leaned in, an all-knowing look on her face.

“Are you a clean person?”

He managed to blush.

“Yeah, exactly.” She returned to her former position. “If I leave you to your own devices, you’d probably re-injure yourself. And even worse!”

“Okay, okay, fine, I’ll stay with you.”

“Good.” She smiled smugly.

“But we’ll have to stop at my place first, so I can get clothes and stuff.”

“No problem.”

“Have you talked to Scott yet? About…your employment?”

She winced. “I haven’t heard from him, but I’m very good at groveling, so I’ll be sure to do that first thing tomorrow morning.”

“And if it doesn’t work?”

“Worst case is…he suspends me, which I wouldn’t be a fan of but it would give me more time to wait on you, so that should excite you.”

Barry’s brows furrowed.

“You’re not afraid he’ll fire you?”

She snorted. “Uh, no. I’m too good of a reporter. He needs me. Plus, it’d be kind of a dick move, don’t you think? He escorts me home, only to fire me on my next workday?”

Barry attempted to shrug, but it hurt, and he winced.

“Use your words, Allen.”

His lips thinned. “I guess.”

“Look, I appreciate your concern, but you’re in a much worse state than I am. Maybe let me take care of you and not the other way around?”

“I said I’d stay with you, didn’t I?”

“Reluctantly,” she reminded him.

He frowned. “I still said it.”

Linda studied him for a few seconds longer before letting up.

“Alright, well, I guess I should go.” She started to get up.

“Wait, why?”

She hefted her purse onto her shoulder.

“To let you get some sleep? I’ll be back in the morning to get you settled at my apartment, no worries. Unless…you’re not afraid someone will come in and pummel you here? You don’t think Eddie…” She let the question hang.

Well, he hadn’t been until now.

“No, of course not,” he said, sounding as convincing as he could. “Go ahead home, Linda. It’s late.”

“It’s early is what you mean.”

He had no concept of time anymore, so his brows furrowed and asked the question for him.

“It’s early Sunday morning. You were out for hours when they brought you in last night.”

That stunned him, even if he did recall vaguely hearing about that.

“Oh,” he said, and that clearly worried her.

“Maybe I should stay…” She bit her bottom lip.

“No. No, Linda. Go home. Everyone else will probably go home, and if they don’t, I’ll insist they’re not in my room. Get some rest. Please. You’ll be dealing with me enough in the coming days.”

“Okay, if you’re sure.”

“So sure,” he assured her.

She pursed her lips.

“I’ll be fine. The monitors will go off if someone starts punching me again. Then the nurses will come running and soon after, the doctor. You have nothing to worry about.”

She eyed him carefully, but it was clear she’d started to agree with him.

“Alright.” She reached for his hand and squeezed it gently. “I’ll be back in the…later morning. Get some sleep.”

“You too.”

With one last pained smile, she finally turned away and exited the room. Then he was alone. No one else came in until a nurse some 20 minutes later. That nurse asked if he needed anything, and when he didn’t, she shut off the lights and said she’d check on him later.

That seemed fine to him.

He lay his head back on the pillow and did his best to fall asleep. Unfortunately, he dreamed.

At least he thought he did.

“Flash,” a dark, rumbly voice sounded beside him.

His eyes flung open. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. There in his yellow speedster suit stood the Reverse Flash himself. He was vibrating at full speed.

“Missing your powers, are you?” He darkly chuckled.

Barry’s brows furrowed. He had a million questions, but his voice was stuck in his throat and he couldn’t get them out.

“If you think this is bad, it’s only the beginning.”

Then a crackle a lightning filled the room and the man in yellow was gone.

Barry’s eyes flung open again, and he was gasping for air. He couldn’t breathe.

Fumbling around with his free hand, he hit the red nurse’s button. The monitors must’ve been beeping really loud, because three nurses came in at once and quickly got him on oxygen. They stuck a needle in him too – something to calm him he guessed.

He blacked out. He didn’t dream this time. No hallucinations or visits from evil speedsters.

He was just out. For hours.

The steady beeping coming from the monitors woke him once. That and the light coming through the large window that the nurses must’ve forgotten to draw the shades over. Glancing at the clock across the room, he saw it was still early, 5 a.m., but he was okay now. He could breathe.

He was okay.

…

He didn’t tell Linda about the dream when she came to pick him up a few hours later, but he did reluctantly tell her about the whole not being able to breathe thing. He shouldn’t have, because it made her feel guilty for leaving. He was quick to reassure her though, and soon enough all the necessary paperwork was filled out, and he was allowed to go home with her.

They stopped at his apartment, which he only remembered because he had his phone on him and apparently at one point he’d put in his address along with the general contact information for himself.

Weird, but helpful in this particular instance.

It took some time to get all packed up, but Linda was good at that too, and she was fast on her feet.

“I’m glad I agreed to stay with you,” he finally said when they walked into her apartment about an hour later.

She turned to look at him and smiled.

“Me too.”

Things moved quickly after that. Linda showed him to the guest bedroom, which had a TV in it and some comic books on the bedside table. Superman, Spiderman, Iron Man, etc.

“Some light reading in case you get bored and the TV doesn’t entertain you enough,” she said when she caught him staring.

“Did you…have these or-?”

“Let’s say I did,” she said with a wink, and he knew that she’d gone out and bought some for his sake solely.

He chuckled and shook his head but got in the bed anyway, kicking off his shoes just before he did.

“Comfortable?” she asked, coming in moment later with a tray of breakfast food.

“I-” His jaw dropped. “Yes, thank you.”

He started to try sitting up and found he was in pain again.

“Ah-ah-ah, here you go.”

She set some pain meds on the bedside table and pulled a remote up from behind the bed.

“This bed is one of those adjustable ones. It’s like a hospital bed that way except way more comfortable. So you can lay all the way down and only have to press a button to sit yourself back up.”

“Wow, this is…this is really nice. Thank you, Linda.”

She smiled serenely.

“Any time, Barry Allen.” She picked up the tray that she’d set on the edge of the bed and laid it on his lap. “Now, be careful so nothing spills. I wouldn’t want to have to strip you of that warm comforter to clean it with you laying there.”

He shook his head and smiled.

“You really are a neat freak.”

She actually laughed at that.

“And proud of it. You’re welcome.”

He took a bit of the eggs on his plate.

“Mm, and a really good cook too.”

She rolled her eyes at that.

“It’s eggs and toast, Barry. This is no gourmet meal.”

“Still, you could’ve burned it,” he said, and then wished he could’ve taken it back.

He managed not to frown in front of her though, which was a win because then she’d ask why and he’d have to explain something other than in another life Iris was his fiancée and she couldn’t cook to save her life, but he’d take her burnt toast instead of Linda’s excellent cooking if it meant he could have Iris back in his arms again.

Unfortunately for him, he stayed silent too long even without the change in facial expression.

“What?”

He shook his head and hoped she wouldn’t push.

“Nothing.”

“Right, well, I should get dressed and get to work. I’ll check on you at lunchtime – or sooner if I’m suspended. Just text me if you need me.”

“Will do. Thank you, again.”

“Any time.”

She smiled brilliantly and left the room. He heard the shower run on the other side of the apartment and heard her move around the kitchen in her heels. Then some time after that, he heard the door open, close, and lock and knew she had gone.

He set the trap on the other side of the bed after he’d finished eating and used the remote to lay back down again. He wanted to get some decent sleep that didn’t involve being attached to tubes and cords in a hospital bed. This was a really nice set-up Linda had made for him here, and he planned on taking advantage of every part of it.

He slept for a few hours and then was unexpectedly roused by the sound of soft knocking on the main door to the apartment. He frowned, unsure if he’d heard it or not. Then a familiar voice sounded on the other side of the door and awoke Barry fully immediately.

“Barry? Barry, are you in there?”

Given how at odds they were at the moment, he had planned to ignore Iris should she try to talk to him again about Eddie. That was the last thing he needed, and besides, he was in pain. He shouldn’t have to get up when he was feeling like this.

How she’d even figured out he was staying here was beyond him too. Unless Linda had told her. But why would she when she’d invited him so he wouldn’t be bombarded by Joe.

And then suddenly he knew why.

“Barry?” She sniffled.

He tensed up and immediately went into protective best friend mode. She was crying.

Gingerly he got out of the bed as smoothly as he could, wincing as he went, but he made it. Down the hall he went, and peeking into the peep hole before opening to make sure she was still there, which she was, he opened it and stared at all the crestfallen beauty before him.

“Iris, what are you doing here?”

She swallowed hard.

“Linda told me you were here. I begged her to. I knew she knew and-”

“Iris-”

She huffed out some air and dabbed at her damp cheeks.

“Can I come in?”

He stepped to the side to let her in and shut the door behind her.

“Wow, this place is clean,” she commented, briefly thwarted from telling the reason of her visit.

“Iris,” he redirected her.

She spun around to face him.

“Oh, Barry, I’m so…so sorry. I…” She shook her head. “There will never be enough words to apologize for what I was asking of you when you were injured. I mean, you still are injured. And to put him first,” she scoffed at herself. “I know he’s my husband, but-”

“Iris.”

He reached forward with one hand and gripped one of her shoulders. It seemed to calm her somewhat. She caught his gaze.

“He did it, Barry.”

His brows furrowed. “I…don’t understand. Who did what?”

She swallowed again.

“Eddie. He went back after you had blacked out and…” Her bottom lip quivered. “He’s the reason you were in the hospital.”

#westallen #fanfiction #westallen fanfiction #backtothestart02 fanfiction #hazy #chapter 9 #fic comissions

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westallenfun · 3 years

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A Most Unexpected Love, Chapter 1

WestAllen secret santa gift

From: @jade4813

For: @sophisticatedloserchick

Author Notes: For the lovely @sophisticatedloserchick from @jade4813! Merry Christmas, and I hope you like my first fic after a long hiatus!

Title: A Most Unexpected Love

Rating: PG

Synopsis: Iris has loved Eddie Thawne Allen her entire life. When she returns home just before Christmas, it looks like she might finally have a chance to catch his eye…unless an accident puts his older brother, Barry, directly in her path. Story inspired by Sabrina (with some quotes lifted more or less directly from the source material).

Chapters: 1/7

Chapter One

For almost as long as she could remember, Iris Ann West had been in love with Eddie Thawne Allen. That it was utterly hopeless was a lesson she had learned at the tender age of eleven, but since she had lost her heart to him at age six, that knowledge hardly did any good. Eddie – or Eobard, named after a great-great-great-grandfather or some such; Iris could never remember, but it was far too stodgy of a name for him anyway – was the younger son of Henry and Nora Allen, her father’s wealthy employers. So of course he was leagues above her. But that didn’t matter; her love had never been dependent upon reciprocation. For most of her life, she had been content to worship him from afar.

She would never forget the moment he had first captured her heart. They had just moved into the Allens’ home – her dad having just started his new job as the head of their security team – when the gardener’s son, Christopher, had stolen her favorite toy. Four years older (and a good foot taller) than she was, Christopher had taunted her with his prize, dangling it over her head and pulling it out of her reach in an attempt to make her cry. Iris had been about to punch him in the nose for his trouble, since her father’s lessons on self-defense extended beyond his employers – when Eddie had appeared out of nowhere. He’d retrieved her toy from her tormenter, offered the other boy a stern word of warning, and handed it back to her with a kind smile.

It was in that moment that Iris’s heart had been lost. He had swooped in from out of nowhere to save the day, and it didn’t matter that her day didn’t actually need saving. He’d been her hero nevertheless. He had been like a knight in the fairy tales her mother had read her when she was younger; all tall and blonde and perfect.

Of course, since he was the younger son of the family and she was the daughter of a member of staff, Eddie and Iris seldom interacted. He often seemed oblivious to her very existence, in fact, but that did nothing to quell her devotion to him. She was content to watch from the sidelines as he charmed children and adults alike, always shining like the brightest star in every room he occupied. She marveled at his easy manners and infectious smile, and as she grew older, she imagined what it would be like to have that smile turned upon her.

On the other hand, his brother Bartholomew – three years older than Eddie and herself – couldn’t have been more different. Where Eddie was easy-going, Bartholomew was reserved. Where Eddie approached life with a laugh and consequences with a devil-may-care attitude, his brother approached each decision with careful deliberation. And where Eddie lit up every room he entered, Bartholomew tended to remain on the sidelines. Rarely penetrating her conscious awareness, at least when Eddie was around.

Iris didn’t have any reason to dislike the elder brother. In fact, he’d always been unfailingly polite to her. One day, shortly after they’d moved in, he’d caught Iris reading in the garden and had invited her to borrow from his family’s library in a surprisingly thoughtful gesture. He had offered to teach her how to ride a horse – a proposal she’d quickly declined because horses had frightened her at that age. When she was ill, he brought by soup prepared by their chef, and she always found gifts he had chosen for her and her father under the tree at Christmas.

But all of that was to be expected, she supposed. Bartholomew (who had asked her to call him Barry years and years ago, but that seemed entirely too informal for him) was Henry and Nora’s oldest child. He would take over the family businesses in due course. He was only doing what someone in his situation would be expected to do. And so it was that Iris was content to fan the flames of her one-sided infatuation of Eddie while maintaining a polite if distance cordiality with Bartholomew. Until one fateful day when she was sixteen.

She had been walking through the woods when she somehow stepped badly, tripped over a root, and rolled her ankle on the way down. Unable to bite back her sharp cry of distress, Iris had fought back tears as she cradled the injured area, in too much pain to put weight on it so that she could return home.

Then, out of the woods, like an angel come down from Heaven, he had appeared to act as her hero once more, Bartholomew at his side. They had been strolling nearby when they’d heard her cry out and had rushed to her aid. Eddie hadn’t even hesitated before he kneeling next to her, asking if she was okay, while his brother had stood back a bit, watching her in concern. He had said nothing as Eddie verified that her ankle indeed seemed sprained, but Iris didn’t really care. Eddie was there, mere inches away, cradling her ankle in his lap and staring at her with those blue, blue eyes. Bartholomew could have been on the moon for all she’d noticed him.

Pain or no pain, she could have stayed like that all day, except that Eddie had jumped to his feet and offered to fetch her father to come help. “Oh, no, that’s not necessary,” she’d protested, aching at the all-too-brief encounter.

Meanwhile, Bartholomew had begun in his typical, reasonable tone, “We could probably—”

But Eddie wasn’t listening. “I’ll be right back!” he’d promised before turning and darting back towards home, and Iris had let out a frustrated sigh. Bartholomew had followed suit, his attention darting from Iris to his brother’s back before looking at Iris again.

She hadn’t known what he was thinking; but, then, she’s rarely thought about Bartholomew at all and had in fact almost forgotten his presence until he’d spoken again. “It may be a while for him to find your dad, and you can’t just sit out here indefinitely. Do you think you could walk a little if I helped support your weight?”

It had been (naturally, given the speaker) a perfectly reasonable solution, but Iris was unjustly irritable at him for having made it. She’d been hoping Eddie would return to sweep her into his arms and carry her back home himself. Sure, it seemed unlikely he would do so, and she certainly hadn’t twisted her ankle with any such plan in mind. But she’d thought it would have been nice. Indeed, it would have been the perfect opportunity for her to get closer to Eddie (if he’d only return without her dad in tow), and now his brother was ruining it.

She’d let out a small huff of frustration. “I guess,” she’d grumbled rather churlishly. Bartholomew had blinked a few times, seemingly taken aback by her mood, but he’d moved to crouch at her side nonetheless. Moving slowly, with almost uncharacteristic uncertainty, he had wrapped his arm around her waist and steadied her as she lumbered to her feet. When she let out a soft hiss of pain at putting weight on her injured ankle, he had shifted his hold on her so that he was carrying a greater amount of her weight on that side.

Setting her chin in a determined angle, Iris had hobbled forward several steps, feeling a little guilty about her uncharitable thoughts as she wished it was Eddie by her side. Even still, she couldn’t help but be annoyed that it was Bartholomew instead. Why hadn’t he gone for help and left his brother behind? Then things would have been perfect. Her pain would have been worth it.

She’d let out a heavy sigh of frustration, and she felt Bartholomew shift his hold on her again. “Are you okay? Do you need to take a break?”

“No, I just – ow!” she’d cried out, so distracted by thoughts of how wonderful it would be if she was spending this time with Eddie that she stepped wrong and caused a sharp stab of pain to radiate from her ankle.

He’d pulled her to a halt, holding her steady while she caught her breath and waited for the swell of pain to subside. Finally, when she was able to straighten slightly again, he’d offered tentatively, “You know…I’m really scared we’re going to make your ankle worse if we keep this up. I-if you want, I could, um, I could…carry you?”

“What? No! Don’t be ridiculous!” she’d cried automatically, even as her mind had conjured images of Eddie lifting her into his strong arms to carry her home. Her head would have rested perfectly against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. Even when they returned home, he wouldn’t have put her on her feet right away, as reluctant to release her as she would be set free. He’d stare into her eyes and, in that moment, he would realize what had been in front of him all along. He’d open his mouth to finally say the words she’d been longing to hear for so long. “Iris, I—”

“Well, I think it’s going to start raining soon, and that might make everything worse,” Bartholomew had pointed out pragmatically, throwing a bucket of cold water all over her fantasy.

She’d huffed and looked around, praying she would see Eddie rushing back to her. Regrettably, he’d been nowhere in sight. She’d glowered up at the grey clouds above, her irritation growing when she realized it did indeed look like rain. Frustrated at her thwarted fantasies, she’d dropped her gaze to Bartholomew’s and snapped, “Why did you have to be you? Why couldn’t you have gone to get my dad and left Eddie behind?”

She’d felt badly about her words the moment they’d left her mouth, as Bartholomew’s head had jerked back as if she’d slapped him. She’d braced herself for him to snap at her, but he hadn’t, which somehow had made her feel worse. Instead, he’d cleared his throat and asked, “I understand if you don’t want me to – well, if you’d rather take a break and rest for a minute. I’m sure Eddie will be back soon. We can find a place for you to sit so you’re not putting weight on your ankle.”

Feeling wretched and ashamed, Iris had dropped her gaze to the ground as she mumbled, “No. I-I want to go home now. Please.”

He’d nodded, one swift, decisive, jerk of his head. Bending to loop his arm behind her knees, he’d said, “Okay. You ready? Go ahead and put your arm around my neck, and make sure you keep your weight on me. I’m going to pick you up in three…two…one.”

She’d never really thought about Bartholomew’s physical strength – other than to think it came second to Eddie’s, as all things did. So she’d been somewhat surprised to find how easily he lifted her and carried her back toward the house, his long legs eating up the distance with surprising speed. He hadn’t even sound winded as he stepped onto the gravel pathway leading to the side door that was closest to the rooms she shared with her dad. Whether she’d have been able to hear his heartbeat if she rested her head against his chest, she didn’t know, since she’d flatly refused to put her head there.

They’d remained silent the entire way back to her door, but when he’d put her gently back onto her feet, the good manners her parents had drilled into her head overcame her embarrassment. Her gaze fixed somewhere around his feet, she’d mumbled, “Thank you for helping me get home, and I’m sorry. About earlier, I mean. I was in a bad mood, but I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. I appreciate your help. Really.”

“It’s okay,” he’d told her sheepishly. “I understand. You love Eddie.” Mortified, she’d shot a look at his face, and he’d lifted his hands in an appeasing gesture. “I’m not judging! Lots of people love my brother. He’s always been lucky like that. It’s just, I thought for once—” His voice had trailed off, and she watched as his cheeks turned red.

Though she’d suspected she should leave it alone, she hadn’t been able to help herself. “What?”

Bartholomew had sighed, his shoulders lifting and falling in an awkward shrug. “I thought you saw me.” Scowling, he’d looked away from her before mumbling, “Anyway, you should take it easy on that ankle. I’ll have my dad stop by and check on you when he gets a chance.”

“Thanks,” she’d said, but he’d merely nodded at her and walked away, shoving his hands into his pockets, his head bowed.

She hadn’t realized it at the time (and wouldn’t have cared even if she had), but that would be the last time that she and Bartholomew would be alone or speak honestly with each other for several years. She’d never have cause fault him for his manners; he remained unfailingly polite and even thoughtful in his choice of gifts for her and her dad on birthdays and holidays. But from that moment in the woods, the distance between them only continued to grow.

By the time Iris left for college, she and Bartholomew were all but strangers, and Eddie had still never seemed to really register her existence. Perhaps the latter was a blessing, because it might have made it easier for her to go. She couldn’t believe her luck when was admitted to her top-choice school overseas and was even more astonished when she received a scholarship to attend from an anonymous benefactor.

Her first few months at the school were bittersweet; she missed her dad, he friends, and of course Eddie. But over time, her fixation on Eddie lessened, even if her devotion did not. She made new friends, explored new interests, and even went on dates with other men. And every so often, she’d read the society pages back home to see what the Allen family were up to in her absence. It seemed like every week, Eddie had a new woman on his arm – a fact which initially brought her pain but which she eventually was able to accept with an indulgent laugh.

And then the unthinkable happened. Almost a year after she left, Henry Allen died unexpectedly, and Iris managed to get a few days off school to return home for the funeral. Her first encounter with Eddie upon her return caused her heart to race no less than it had before, but she noticed with some degree of surprise that it was Bartholomew she couldn’t stop watching at the funeral.

Later, she would console herself with the thought that her attention had likely not been entirely consumed by Eddie because his open display of grief had garnered the attention of many – including several pretty ladies – who seemed eager to congregate around him to offer their sympathy and support. Bartholomew, on the other hand, remained somewhat apart, staying silent until approached directly. While most attendees to the funeral watched Eddie, Bartholomew watched his mother, offering her a glass of water or his arm for support whenever her strength seemed to flag.

Once – just once – as the coffin was being slowly lowered into its eternal resting place, Bartholomew looked up and met her eyes. His features were frozen, but she saw his eyes were red, filled with tears that he refused to shed, and her heart broke for him. It was then that she remembered his words from the last time they had really spoken. “I thought you saw me.”

He looked away quickly, and Iris tried to turn her attention back to Eddie. But when the service had concluded and they returned to the Allen home for the repast, Iris found herself preoccupied with thoughts of how Bartholomew was faring. She wanted to talk to him, to make sure he was okay, but she didn’t get a chance since she only saw him briefly, as he was busy seeing to his guests’ comfort and making sure they had enough refreshments to go around.

It seemed strange, that he would spend such an event worrying about other people. So it felt perfectly natural that she should want to check on him, to offer him her condolences for his loss. With that in mind, she’d sought him out, eventually finding him in his father’s study, hands clasped behind his back as he stared gravely out the window.

Inexplicably shy in his company – though she’d never been so before – Iris approached without a word, taking a position at his side. If he needed her, she would be there for him, but if he would rather his peace be undisturbed, she wouldn’t pressure him. After a moment, she saw him turn toward her and took this as an invitation to speak. “I don’t mean to disturb you. I just wanted to tell you that so sorry about your dad,” she murmured softly, the words sounding inane in her own ears.

He paused, and she watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed heavily before he could speak, his voice thick with emotion. “Thank you. I’m, uh, I’m glad you could come. It would have meant a lot to him. He – he thought very highly of you, you know.”

“The feeling was mutual,” she said with a wistful smile. In her position as daughter of an employee, she couldn’t claim that she’d ever been terribly close with either Henry or Nora Allen. Or with their children, come to that. But the elder Allens always been kind to her, taking an interest in her when she was in their presence and remembering her when she wasn’t. She tried for something profound – or at least comforting – but her brain resorted to inanity once more as she offered a lame, “He’ll be missed.”

Bartholomew nodded, turning his attention back to the window, and Iris almost took that as her cue to leave except that he spoke again. “Your dad has been very proud of you this year. I’m sure you won’t be surprised to hear that he takes every opportunity to tell everyone who’ll listen how well you’re doing.” She didn’t know what to say to that, so she didn’t say anything at all, and a brief silence fell between them once more. Eventually, he broke it by asking, “Do you like it? School, I mean.”

Iris recognized he was probably looking for anything to talk about that would take his mind off his own grief, and so she lingered, turning to look out the window as well. “For the most part. I can’t say I love all the classes, and it was hard at first, being so far from home. But I’ve made some friends, and I just got a part-time job that’s flexible with school and will tide me over between semesters.”

He looked at her in surprise. “Oh, I thought you might come home over breaks.”

She shrugged. “Yeah, I thought about it. But I decided I wanted to get a job and help out, and my dad said he’d come visit me whenever he can.”

Bartholomew let out a soft sound in the back of his throat. “Well, if there’s ever anything else you need, all you need to do is ask.” She didn’t immediately catch that strange word, else, and wouldn’t until she was on the plane back home, too late to ask him what it meant. Instead, when she started to thank him, he waved it away, visibly uncomfortable by her gratitude. “Anyway, I’m glad you’re enjoying school,” he said, glancing down at her once more. “You should do something that makes you happy.”

She started to reply, but unfortunately (though she wouldn’t register the misfortune of it for some time), it was just then that Iris heard a loud sob behind her and looked over her shoulder to see that Eddie in the hallway, surrounded by his usual phalanx of admirers. She hesitated, inwardly debating stepping out to check on him but not wanting to abandon the man by her side. Her indecision became moot, however, as by the time she turned back to her companion, Bartholomew had walked away. She looked around just in time to see him step through an adjoining door, and though she cried out after him, he seemed not to have heard her as the door swung closed behind him.

It occurred to her on her long flight back to school that she was always a victim of timing when it came to Bartholomew. But what did that matter? Her heart did – and always would – belong to Eddie. There weren’t many things she was certain of in the world, but she was certain of that.

#westallen #westallen secret santa #submission

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mattzerella-sticks · 3 years

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⭐2020 Fics in Review ⭐

Happy New Year’s Eve! 💫💫💫 2020 sure was a year... between everything that was happening on the macro (the pandemic, elections, etc.) and on the micro-level (shows delayed, some ending - disastrously, so much drama, etc.), the past 12 months felt like a blur. Especially since we’ve been inside and realized time is an illusion!

But, there were moments where I was able to ground myself in the present and not be swept away by the tide. Most of them were because of fanfiction. Whether writing or reading, fanworks became a soothing balm. And I’d be remiss (and breaking tradition) if I didn’t reflect on my past works of 2020!

I’ve written 43 fics across a wide array of fandoms - the most being Supernatural, with 9-1-1, DC Comics, Marvel, Boku No Hero Academia, Stargirl, Star Wars, Hollywood, and RWBY sprinkled in. I really branched out this year, and am looking forward to what I will write in 2021. Maybe new fandoms? Maybe an original work? Who’s to say!

Thank you to all those who’ve read my works, and am grateful for both your support and continued engagement - can’t wait to see you in 2021 with me 😁

Here are my works!

9-1-1 (TV Show)

Caught (Evan ‘Buck’ Buckely/Eddie Diaz, side Athena Grant/Bobby Nash, side Maddie Buckley/Howie ‘Chimney’ Han)

Photobooths are prime for catching special moments and making them last forever, even if they are less both and more open spaces with a backdrop. When Athena, Bobby, and Michael stumble upon one such moment between Buck and Eddie, what will they do?

And how will it affect Maddie and Chimney?

Lumped Together (Evan ‘Buck’ Buckely/Eddie Diaz, side Henrietta ‘Hen’ Wilson/Karen Wilson, side Maddie Buckley/Howie ‘Chimney’ Han)

As an apology for keeping her thoughts about medical school secret from her wife and partner, Hen takes them (and Maddie) out for lunch. With the promise that it would only be them. And for the most part it was. Until Buck and Eddie strode in with every intention of eating Takoyaki.

Just not with them.

Armed with new information, what's a girl to do? Hen spends the next day fighting back the natural instinct to tease her friends about the wonderful step they've taken together in their relationship. Can she make it home without saying anything? Or will she give in?

DCU

Lonely Together (Barry Allen/Bruce Wayne, past Barry Allen/Iris West, past Bruce Wayne/Selina Kyle)

Barry needs others, yet whether by his enemies or his own actions, he ends up alone. After Iris leaves him, Barry feels as if he drifts through life. Like lightning humming in the air without a rod to ground him.

Until he struck another lonely soul and entered a relationship he never thought possible. Now, months since he and Bruce began sleeping with each other, Barry feels settles. At peace in a way he hasn't felt in a long while. Since he and Iris started petering out.

But it's not love... is it?

Come Home (Jason Todd/Kyle Rayner)

Jason Todd gets a message from Bruce. He's surprised to see it. Then, he's surprised by the message itself. Hearing Bruce's final message stirs something inside of him, urging him towards a place he's avoided ever since his and Bruce's falling out. So he gathers his things, and then... waits.

He can't leave yet. Jason doesn't know why. Bruce gave him a mission, just like old times. Except it's not, because he... Jason can't move. Can't even stand.

That's how Kyle finds him.

Restless (Barry Allen/Bruce Wayne)

Returning home from a mission in outer space, the team picks up a distress signal off-course. They rush off to help, landing on a strange alient planet teeming with life. Especially within the plant kingdom.

While guarding the Javelin, Bruce and Barry encounter one such member while engaging in some familiar fight-flirting. Will its effects spell trouble for the League, or help these two relax their guards long enough to explore new possibilities?

(Hint: It's a little bit of both)

Marvel

Hot Seat (Peter Parker/Johnny Storm)

Spiderman likes Johnny. Like likes him. And he thought Johnny felt the same. He wasn't wrong, but Johnny like liked someone else, too. Someone he actually wanted to pursue, over Spiderman.

Unfortunately that someone is Peter Parker.

However, after a terrible misunderstanding, Johny isn't too keen on seeing either Peter or Spiderman; the longer this confusion left unresolved, the more Johnny's hurt would fester. Can Peter find a way to make Johnny listen?

Hollywood

Merrily We Roll Along (Archie Coleman/Rock Hudson)

With their careers still on the rise and no peak in sight, sometimes Archie's and Roy's lives get a little too busy. Understandably so. Archie's in the midst of writing his next screenplay while the latest opens across America. Roy spend more time on set than at home working on his latest project. When their schedules allow it, all they want is to be together.

Can they enjoy a simple morning together, or will the clouds of Hollywood cast a heavy shadow over their sunny day?

RWBY

Lucky You, Huh? (Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi)

After all that happened, it's time for the dust to settle. Choices were made. Now, the consequences for certain actions need to be carried out.

Even though he fought alongside her to save Mantle, Robyn Hill couldn't help save Clover from the whims of the Council. Without a job or home, Clover needs to find a way to carry on.

If anyone understands what that feels like, it's Qrow. Never being one who can communicate his feelings well, would he be the best to comfort the other man. When he's the only one who can, what does that mean for Clover?

Star Wars

Fourth (Poe Dameron/Finn)

What's a man and his co-general to do when they're on a mission together on a planet known for frequent sandstorms?

Flirt? That is a possibility. And definitely the one they take.

Stargirl

I’m Here (Courtney Whitmore/Yolanda Montez, past Yolanda Montez/Henry King, Jr.)

Coda to 1x10 "Brainwave Jr."

Losing Henry was sad, but it's not the first person Courtney knew whose future was snatched by the Injustice Society of America. That doesn't make his death any less tragic. It does remind Courtney how screwed up and dangerous her life was. At least she was able to wake up the next day and keep moving. And so was Beth, and Rick. But Yolanda...

Where was Yolanda? Courtney needs to know.

Crusher (Lawrence Crock/Paula Crock, Pat Dugan/Barbara Whitmore, Lawrence Crock/Pat Dugan)

When Lawrence met Pat, he saw another body that could benefit from some exercise at his gym. The more they interacted, became friends, he saw that body doing other things in other places. And his wife is totally supportive of this. While in the midst of an afterhours training session, Lawrence drags his feet on telling his friend a few important things. Egged on by Paula, will he say what's on his mind? How will Pat react?

And does Pat have a secret or two of his own?

Boku No Hero Academia/My Hero Academia

Little Secrets Everywhere (Bakugou Katsuki/Kirishima Eijiro)

Mina thought letting Bakugo read whatever was in her folder wouldn't be too bad. Maybe he would snipe at her for her less than perfect English translation and sentence structure, slap her on the head with the balled up assignment. What she wasn't expecting was for him to charge with hellish fury towards her in the common room with all their friends to see.

One careless mistake leads to many things coming to light. Everyone walking away with something new to think about.

Boku No Fundanshi (Bakugou Katsuki/Kirishima Eijiro)

Bakugo Katsuki is a top student at the premier hero academy in the world. Bakugo Katsuki is a boy with the ability to use his sweat as a weapon, each droplet containing enough nitroglycerin to obliterate a phone book. Bakugo Katsuki enjoys reading manga where boys fall in love with one another. Two out of the three are commonly accepted facts. The final one is a heavily guarded secret that Bakugo protects with his life. At least until his vigilance lapses, and he loses a doujinshi.

Will he be able to recover what he lost before anyone realizes it's his? Or, by the end of this, will he have found something he didn't know he was missing?

Portmanteau (Bakugou Katsuki/Kirishima Eijiro)

Portmanteau (port·man·teau) n. a word blending the sounds and combining the meanings of two others

Like Bakugo's chosen hero name. But was that his first choice? Kirishima doesn't think so, after finding a damning piece of evidence hidden within his notes. Except it's not what he thinks, at all...

Supernatural

Real (Dean Winchester/Castiel, background Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester)

Coda to 15x09 "The Trap"

Morning after, and Sam spies a little something blossoming in the kitchen. Something that stokes the fires of his curiosity. When the scene ends, he walks in with an intent to investigate. Learn about the strange magic that happened before his eyes. How quickly Dean and Cas's relationship repaired. And what brilliant new shape it took on after Purgatory.

Will Sam be satisfied with the answer?

Half-Priced Chocolates (Dean Winchester/Castiel, background Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester)

The day after Valentine's Day is great for many things. Basking in the glow of a night well spent, sharing the joy of love with your family, and eating chocolate priced considerably lower than it was the day before.

Except Sam can't enjoy any of that, because Dean won't let him. Because Dean woke up in a sour mood and has picked up the banners of war against romantic love.

Albeit, the three aforementioned things might make his conflict the shortest in history.

Spill (Dean Winchester/Castiel)

Dean always thought it would take more to force him into retirement. Yet here he is, locked in the Bunker until the world figures out a cure for a deadly virus. It could be worse - at least they have a home. He cannot imagine how worse it would be if this happened years earlier, where he and Sam were trapped in a tiny motel room together. Here they have options, and miles of outdoor space they can stroll through if their options become stale.

And they were beginning to. Dean could only do so much indoors. Dean knew he needed to shake things up, but couldn't begin thinking how. Luckily Castiel has an idea, and gives him a new way of looking at their kitchen.

Supernatural Crack🩹tober

Following the Supernatural Cracktober prompt list, one day at a time.

Prompts will be listed in the notes and the chapter title.

Enjoy!

Bullets Over the Bayou (Dean Winchester/Castiel)

Everyone wants Castiel Novak to quit the force, including Castiel. But he stays on despite the toxic work environment he’s surrounded by. Still believing he can do some good despite the many lines of red tape impeding him. Luckily, a pair of scissors by the name of Dean Winchester drops into his hands, and he finally feels like he can do some good.

Dean Winchester thought he would be in New Orleans for a day or two. Identify the body of his deadbeat father and then move on. No one knows he’s here. His mother and brother are blissfully unaware of the danger his father roped him into. With a parting gift of a journal, delivered to him the same day he received word about his father, Dean has become the target of a group of people who want him dead. The same people who killed his father.

Racing against the clock, can Dean and Castiel figure out what is so important about John Winchester’s journal that someone would kill for it?

Kick Ball Change (Dean Winchester/Castiel, background Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester)

Coda to 15x10 "The Heroes' Journey"

Dean has the Bunker to himself at a time after he and Sam regain their supernatural abilities. With nothing needing his attention, he decides taking time for himself wouldn't hurt. But the usual fare leaves him bored and tired.

So he tries something new. Something he wanted to try, but wasn't sure he would be good at. Dean starts off strong, but doing it on your own can only be so fun. Get you so far. Luckily a partner happens by and truly allows Dean to enjoy a part of himself he knew was there, but didn't want to share.

Tempered Desires (Dean Winchester/Castiel, background Charlie Bradbury/OC, background Sam Winchester/Jessica Moore, background Sam Winchester/Ruby, background Sam Winchester/Mick Davies, past Dean Winchester/Arthur Ketch)

Dating, sex, and finding love were the farthest things on the minds of both Dean and Castiel. There were more important things to worry about - namely the pandemic that swept across the globe and changed everything. Navigating this new environment was hard enough without adding romance.

But fate never intervenes when you expect. From first meetings to first dates, we'll see how Dean and Castiel's relationship blossoms despite the circumstances.

Sunrise (Dean Winchester/Castiel, background Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester)

Dean and Sam were free. Finally, unequivocally, free.

But this wasn't the happy ending Dean had expected. Maybe in the past, having Sam in the passenger seat tearing across an open stretch of highway as the sunsets, it'd be what he wanted. But that was years ago. He's not that man anymore. Dean's tired of sunsets, of saying goodbye. He yearns for a different ending. One that's less of an ending, and more of a beginning. A sunrise instead of a sunset.

Sam has his. Dean lost his. Despite this setback, he won't stop. He'll live in memory of his sunrise.

Except, what can he do when he feels those rays on his face again?

Coda to 15x19

Fixing It (Dean Winchester/Castiel, background Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester)

Dean Winchester walked a long & difficult road. House burning down when he was 4, constantly being on the move until his father lost a fight with demons at the age of 25. Reunited with his mother only to lose her again. Have a son only to lose him, too. Of all the shadows that have crossed his path, he thought one of the main sources of light was his husband Castiel.

But he had to ruin that, too.

Can he ever have that shine again? Or are there things that are too good for him to hold? Will they mend what was broken?

Heart in My Hand (Dean Winchester/Castiel, background Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester)

He was right there.

Cas was telling Dean everything he ever wanted to hear since meeting the angel of the Lord... only each and every word of his confession stabbed at Dean's heart. Because once he finished, there's no more time for them. For him. For any chance of happiness - all that taken away by the Empty. And now he has to carry on.

He tries. Stands, gets in his car and drives where Sam tells him. When he meets with the others, though...

Coda to 15x18 "Despair"

A Dumb Idea (Dean Winchester/Castiel)

They celebrated Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, birthdays, even the Fourth of July. What about the other holidays? What about Valentine's Day?

Mrs. Butters actually had a plan for that, but she left before it could come to fruition. Sam, however, stumbles on Dean and a leftover piece from said plan. Something Dean would rather Sam not see. When he does get a peek as to what it is, well... Dean and Sam have a lot to talk about.

Coda to 15x14 "The Last Holiday"

What the Water Gave Him (Dean Winchester/Castiel)

It was over. Chuck lost, Sam and Dean can live their lives how they want them. But their victory wasn't without losses. The biggest upset nearly taking Dean out of the game, happening so close to the final battle. Now he's on the other side, alive against all odds, but Sam knows he isn't happy. Not truly happy since the Empty stole his best friend.

But there's a chance they can save him. A slim chance. A risk that Dean's willing to take despite every logical nerve in Sam's body screaming at him to look for better options. That threading a needle this small is too dangerous. That they don't have to take on another big bad, not anymore. That they don't have to risk their lives anymore. Dean is far past the point of listening. Dead set on this mission, Sam can only watch.

And pray his brother proves him wrong.

(Now with art from gabester-sketch)

Acutely (Dean Winchester/Castiel)

Jack said he's sorry, after getting his soul back.

Jack said he's sorry, and he's looking at Dean. They're all looking at Dean.

Jack said he's sorry, and Dean can't take it. It's too much. Like a frog thrown into a boiling pot he hops out, jumping out from the room towards safety. Doing his best not to succumb to the pain.

He can't hide forever, let the wounds fester. It's too much to deal with on his own, though. Can someone help him through it?

Leeches (Dean Winchester/Castiel)

Sharing a Netflix makes sense, in hindsight. Dean gets it. But that doesn't mean he appreciates seeing a bunch of profiles after his that weren't there last he checked.

He's gonna get to the bottom of this - of when this happened, why, and how they were able to guess his password.

Revival (Dean Winchester/Castiel, Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester)

Sam and Dean stand there on the bridge, the camera panning out on them as they are finally reunited in Heaven.

But then Sam wakes up.

(Coda/Fix-It Fic to 15x20 "Carry On")

Memento (Dean Winchester/Castiel)

Why did Castiel have a photo of himself in a cowboy hat? Where did he get it? Who took it, and more importantly who gave it to him?

Coda to 15x15 "Gimme Shelter"

The End (We Deserve) (Dean Winchester/Castiel)

Dean Winchester dies in Sam's arms.

And then he doesn't.

(How that scene originally looked...)

Constants

Meeting with alternate versions of themselves makes Sam and Dean think about what the landscape of the former multiverse might have looked like - or, really, "If there can be multiple Deans and multiple Sams, can there be other versions of things they know. Like... Baby?"

Dean says no. There's only one Baby. She's got four wheels, black paint, and has been his from the beginning. Sam thinks otherwise.

Let's explore what the possibilities of Deans, Sams, and Babys in different universes might look like.

Enjoy the Present (Dean Winchester/Castiel)

Sam had a birthday, Jack had a birthday...

It would only be fitting for Dean to have one, too. It's expected, really. Yet the one Sam and Jack throw him still catches him by surprise. Maybe because he actually agreed with Butters, about having outgrowned birthdays. Or because his thoughts were pulled elsewhere because of some disappointing news.

If it's the latter, than a birthday will definitely take his mind off of that. Especially when it comes time for his present.

Coda to 15x14 'The Last Holiday'

Swallow It Whole (Dean Winchester/Castiel)

"The older you get... the less lies make everything better"

But when you've told as many lies as Dean has, it's hard to tell what's true and what's not. How can he remove all the rotten parts of himself without bringing everything down? Which lies have ingrained themselves so firmly, that removing them would change everything about who he was?

And, scariest of them all, who would he be without those lies?

Coda to 15x16 "Drag Me (Away From You)"

Desperation, Baby! (Dean Winchester/Castiel)

Death took her sweet time parsing through Chuck's book, meaning Lucifer spent longer than he'd like surrounded by his former vessel, his brother, his son, and a man whose obvious longing made him want to vomit. Instead of returning with his prize, Chuck welcoming him back, he must waste his valuable time playing 'nice; with those he can't stand.

Not that it matters. They don't trust him, each member of this ragtag group of survivors watching Lucifer in shifts. Never leaving him alone.

It's Dean's turn now, and he's driving Lucifer up a wall by doing nothing at all save for broadcasting a never-ending supply of feeling. Can he cut the signal without showing his hand, or put Dean's heart to good use?

Coda to 15x19 "Inherit the Earth"

A Healing Touch/New Experiences (Dean Winchester/Castiel, Adam/Serafina)

Maybe if Cas hadn't abandoned him, he wouldn't have agreed to Adam's offer. But with free will finally theirs, Cas made his choice, and Dean his. Now he has to live with the consequences - even if they are awkward. He won't die from it, certainly.

It's only a massage.

But what Dean doesn't know, is that it's more than a massage. It's healing.

It Feels Real Good (Claire Novak/Kaia Nieves, background Dean Winchester/Castiel)

Jody sent her to Yosemite, and she brings her back. For what reason, Claire doesn't know. But it had better be important, otherwise Claire gave the Dark Figure that stole her happiness another chance at escape. Will Jody's house hold a reason important enough for Claire to let go of the heavy burdens she's been carrying since hopping through a rift into another universe?

Coda to 15x12 "Galaxy Brain"

Through the Door (Dean Winchester/Castiel)

Cas tells Sam that Chuck and Amara are here. But how does he know? Sure, he could've felt them land through his grace. But all that time Sam was gone? There was enough there that he could've investigated. They'd need to know where they were anyway, when the time came.

But Cas should've known better. Now wasn't the best moment for a little family reunion, especially when there's so much bad blood it can drown them all. Yet he came, and finally got the audience he always seeked with his father.

Coda to 15x17 "Unity"

Four of Swords (Dean Winchester/Castiel, background Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester)

The Four of Swords, in the present position, means you don't want to interact with the rest of the world. Because of stress, you need to spend some time with yourself - unhealthy always being 'on'. That the healthiest thing to do is to escape.

Dean might crave escape, but it's not something he thinks he can have. Something he deserves, even. After his and Sam's most recent hunt, this cancerous feeling has grown heavy and weighs him down. He cannot escape on his own, as best he tries.

Luckily a guardian 'former angel' angel swoops in at his lowest. Helps pick up the pieces as best he can and lovingly put them back together. But he can only do so much. The rest is up to Dean.

Can Dean take those final steps, say those final words, and finally free himself?

i’d like to teach the world to sing (Dean Winchester/Castiel, Castiel/Others, WIP, 10 out of 15 chapters posted so far)

Mar del Vista, California - 1972

The groovy counterculture that dominated conversation in the past few years still clings to the landscape, floating around like smoke off a burning joint. Changed by the fires of war, Manson, and life into something new. Less trusting, optimistic, and innocent.

Cas is just one of many disillusioned hippies, saddled with a general distrust even before the movement self-imploded. Wary of about everything. Perfect for his line of work, where what's on the surface might not match the truth underneath. It's not an easy life, but he's comfortable with how it goes. Coasting until he hears a case he has no business accepting. For one, it's about a missing teen. And another, it's personal.

Except Jack's disappearance, like every other case he's worked, isn't so cut and dry. Like a rock skipping across a then-placid lake, the ripples stretch far and wide. Those waves slamming at Cas; of cops, federal agents, hippie cultists, and a certain green-eyed detective who's a little too interested in Cas's investigation.

Will Cas find Jack? Or will he drown in the tides.

Checkmate (Dean Winchester/Castiel)

Billie saves Jack from suffering a fatal end from her plan, and knowing Jack was safe gave Cas space to focus on his own troubles. Nearly losing his son again... revelations from Chuck... choices Dean made, were set on, until Sam broke through at the last minute - too close - they all were...

It was too much. Cas needed to digest these roiling experiences away from faces it hurt to look at. Except he stumbles exactly where Chuck wants him. After countless times praying for guidance, Chuck finally decides now is perfect for a long-awaited heart-to-heart.

Coda to 15x17 "Unity"

Slide (Dean Winchester/Castiel, Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester)

This isn't his day. It's Sam's and Eileen's. But while out on the dance floor, Dean realizes something that forces him to act. Act boldly.

It's not his day, but he cannot push back what's been there all along, dam bursting with no hope or need of rebuilding itself. He has to say something to Cas.

Why? Because it's Electric... boogie woogie woogie

(Inspired by the Suptober Day 9 prompt - Electric)

Unwrap Me (Dean Winchester/Castiel)

Dean never thought he would make it this far. Nor would he have as many wonderful things that he has now. A home, friends, family, and most importantly love. With a former angel.

Given how normal his life is now, Dean decides he wants to go all out celebrating Christmas. Parties, feasts, and the perfect presents. He wants to get Cas something that will translate everything that resides in his heart. Dean believes he has the right gift, but decides against leading with it. Instead surprising Cas with it after showing him his Christmas best.

Although, during his entire time planning Cas's present, he never wondered what Cas got him...

Disappointment is temporary, but creativity is eternal 🥂 to more fanworks in 2021!!!

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ruffiorocks · 4 years

Text

Kara was never going to permanently change the past.

I think some people, (mostly those that hate Lena) have completely missed the point of the last episode.

They are cheering "yay! Kara didn't decide to change a thing!"

But that's just it, Kara was never going to truly be able to change anything. Everytime she changed something it all went to sh*t.

That's the whole point of being shown the past. It's like Scrooge, he is shown his past but he can't change it. But what he can do is learn from his mistakes, he can learn to do better and redeem himself.

The writers, in I'm my humble opinion were never going to have Kara permanently change anything.

Kara was given the chance to change things because no doubt she has been wishing that she could, going over every encounter in her head and thinking "what if I'd just done this?" Like we all do when we make an mistake.

Kara got the opportunity, but ultimately she learned that no matter how she went back and changed things something even worse would happen.

Lena either forgives her and dies, or she never gets to meet Lena and sees that she's been turned against her will into a villian. She also gets to see more people, like Mon El die again and Sam can't be saved etc. Etc.

So, even though Lena is mad at her in the current timeline she at least is still alive, Sam is alive and has been cured, Mon El is alive. So no matter the consequences of Kara's actions, in the end we are being told that she made a decision at the time and that's how things need to stay. In this timeline at least Lena is still alive and has her shot at changing her mind and forgiving Kara.

So the point was never to change the past permanently at all. Kara isn't Barry Allen f**king things up so far back to suit himself. The only time Kara has changed the past was seconds after Reign killed Mon El and Jonn, mere seconds. It didn't have the same effect that Barry f**king with the timeline on an almost annual basis did. The consequence wasn't a different timeline, it was the creation of Red Daughter and that's only because Harun El was involved.

Kara went through all of that as basically her therapy session. She needed to see what would have happened if she had made better choices. The show wants to portray (a bit annoyingly and very biased in Kara's favour) that despite what is happening now Kara made the right decision all along. Because apparently every though Kara tells EVERYONE who she is down to Bob she gets her coffee from that she's Supergirl it's only LENA that somehow suffers for it if she had been told sooner 😑. But I suppose that's the writers way of showing just how important Lena is to Kara and that if she knew Kara's secret sooner others would see how incredibly close they were and use it against her.

Still not a fan on how they make Kara look like she was always right though... But whatever.

I personally think the more logical solution would have been to have a proper conversion with Lena along with Alex and explain what happened and how she's always defended her, and not a few boo hoos, this is all about me and I haven't really given much thought to you tears, but that's just me 🤷‍♀️. That doesn't make for quite as an exciting episode.

So Kara didn't go back and choose Mon El, she simply got a do over where she got some wise words from Mon El, probably some of the best words he has ever said to her and he even supports Lena. But she didn't suddenly change her mind and think "ooh I can change things so me and Mon El can get back together!" No, she got to hear Mon El tell her she deserved to be loved, giving her some closure to truly move on (hopefully not with William! Doesn't have to be Lena, but please if it's someone else make it someone who isn't an arsehole to her from the start, even if they are pretending).

Kara ended the episode knowing than no amount of do overs can change what's happening now. That changing the past isn't an option. The whole point is that her and Lena's futures can still be saved. Yeah she didn't need to be so much of a hard assed d*ck to Lena when she went to see her (I will not entertain the idea that it was Mxy! Because that invalidates the whole episode! It means we ended it as we started it, with Lena being lied to and manipulated) but she has forgiven herself. Kara has finally realised she can't move on without forgiving herself. She knows she messed up, but she also knows now that Lena knowing sooner would have had disastrous consequences. She now realises that she can't just ignore what Lena is going under the guise of "she's just hurt, she'll come around, I mean this is my fault". No Kara has snapped back to reality and knows that if Lena goes through with her non nocre plan and teams with Lex to do bad s**t she's going to have to treat Lena like a villain. She didn't say she WAS a villian, she said if she acted like one.

Kara has let go of the past and knows she needs to move on. It doesn't mean she loves Lena any less or she doesn't regret what happened. It means she's moving on with her life like everyone eventually has to. But she is still giving Lena the choice to come back to her. She's playing the tough love card and giving Lena a dose of reality, no matter how bad Kara messed up Lena makes her own choices.

It would have been much easier if Kara had taken the tapes, gone to Lena and told her what happened, but noooooo Lena has to be in the dark while Kara gets her closure!

But anyhoo, the point wasn't to change the past, that was never going to happen. The point was to learn from it and move on.

#mon el #supergirl #lex luthor #lena luthor #kara danvers #supercorp #mr mxyzptlk

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raywritesthings · 4 years

Text

Happy Accident 2/3

My Writing Fandom: Arrow Characters: Oliver Queen, Laurel Lance, Felicity Smoak, Curtis Holt, John Constantine, Barry Allen, Iris West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow Pairing: Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen, Barry Allen/Iris West Summary: Felicity’s punch has consequences no one intended, driving Oliver to take drastic measures with their own unexpected result. *Can be read on AO3, link in bio*

It was difficult trying to move in all this wet leather that clung to her skin like it was stuck with glue. Being cold and uncomfortable was distracting in itself; she hadn’t had any physical discomfort in that other realm, hadn’t wanted for any material need.

But now she was here in the real world, she was pretty sure. Oliver had brought her back even though she’d thought that was impossible now. “Is that a Lazarus Pit?”

“Yeah. Turns out there were more.” He pulled a big, fluffy towel out of a pack that Laurel eagerly took when he crouched down to pass it to her. He stayed there, smiling at her in a way he hadn’t for a long time, a way that always guaranteed to turn her insides to mush. Laurel tried to find something else to distract herself with.

“Who painted my nails black?” She was really starting to worry about her dad’s mental state if this was what he’d chosen to lay her to rest in.

“...you did?” A vaguely familiar voice said in what seemed to be a question. Looking past Oliver allowed her to see Curtis Holt, the man that had helped them save Oliver’s life and rescue Thea and Felicity from Brie Larvan’s attack on Palmer Tech. Felicity was here, too, staring at Laurel with an unreadable expression on her face.

Constantine had circled around to stare at her as well. “Oliver, if something’s gone sideways, I need to know.”

“It hasn’t — it’s not bad. You were right, I couldn’t find Black Siren’s soul.”

“Oh, she didn’t have one? Color me shocked,” Felicity muttered.

To Laurel’s surprise, Oliver ignored her entirely. “But it turned out that, even though her soul had fallen out of our Earth’s vibrational frequency, Laurel’s hadn’t.”

“Wait,” said Curtis. “You’re telling us this is Laurel-Laurel? Like the good one?”

Laurel raised an eyebrow at that. Since when had she been a ‘bad one’?

“Yes,” Oliver confirmed.

Felicity’s mouth fell open. “Laurel body-snatched her own doppelganger’s body?”

“This isn’t my body?” Laurel asked, her heart — or someone’s heart — doing a funny lurch. She ran both hands down her face. Everything felt like herself, except — was there a hole in her nose? She had a nose ring now?

“Hey, it’s gonna be okay,” Oliver promised, his hands on her shoulders helping steady her. Behind him, Curtis and Felicity seemed less convinced.

“Oh man. Oh man, this is way beyond what I signed up for.”

“Why did you grab the wrong soul? You really thought it was a good idea to just mix and match people’s souls? This could be a disaster!”

“If everyone could shut it a moment?” Constantine demanded loudly, and they did. He nudged Oliver back a couple feet and stood over her, waving his arms and murmuring what to her basically sounded like gibberish under his breath. When he at last stopped, his shoulders sagged in relief. “For better or worse, she’s stable. An exorcism shouldn’t be necessary, and it’d be damn difficult to do since she is so compatible with this body.”

Laurel leaned slightly away at the word ‘exorcism’, but felt the tension leave her upon hearing the rest. She wasn’t totally sure how she felt inhabiting what was apparently a version of her body from another Earth. And really, what had happened to the other her that had led to Laurel inhabiting this body?

“How exactly did the other me die?” She asked. She had to assume the other her had died if they’d been trying to get her back with a Lazarus Pit.

The range of reactions was something to behold; from Oliver’s wince to Curtis squeezing his eyes shut and shying away to Felicity’s stiff, “There was an accident. But that doesn’t really matter, now, because… you’re back. The real you, this time. Kind of ironic considering she pretended to be you at first.”

“She did?” Laurel really wasn’t sure what to think from the bits and pieces she was learning about the other her – though she couldn’t help thinking that real was an oversimplification of what she was in relation to her doppelganger. Her doppelganger had been real, too, had lived and died. Was it right for her now to be living in her place?

Laurel didn’t want to be dead, though. Before she had died had been some of the best months of her life; she’d finally felt like she had everything to live for. She couldn’t and didn’t want to change that she was back, as selfish as it seemed.

“It’s a long story,” Oliver said. “There’s a lot we’re gonna have to catch you up on.”

“Wish I wasn’t used to that feeling.” Laurel shifted so that she could get back onto her feet — or her doppelganger’s feet. She didn’t know if she ought to keep reminding herself of that out of respect to the other woman or if it was just going to end up driving her mad. She was a little unsteady in the heeled boots she had on considering her feet were still damp inside them, and Oliver rose to his own feet to steady her, one hand on her arm, the other supporting her back. She smiled up at him a bit timidly; that other place she had been in was beginning to fade from her mind, and Laurel couldn’t help but to focus on the last conversation she remembered having in the land of the living until now.

“I’m going to need all of you to step outside while I place the protective enchantments over this Pit,” Constantine said.

They filed out, Laurel wrapping the towel tighter around her shoulders as she was met with cold mountain air. Oliver guided her to shelter against an outcrop of rock, one hand rubbing her back to help warm her.

“So what was the plan after this, exactly?” Felicity shouted to be heard over the wind. Laurel shifted to try and make a little more room for her friend to come stand with them, yet Felicity remained where she was using Curtis as a buffer.

“I was going to call a secure ARGUS transport,” Oliver said. “But we don’t need them now.”

“We do need a way to get a legally dead woman back into the US, though,” Curtis pointed out. Laurel found herself wondering why he was here. Not that she had anything against Curtis, she just would have pictured John or Thea being the third person to accompany them on this resurrection mission. Then again, she had no way of knowing how long it had been or what might have happened to Thea or John in the meantime. That was an unpleasant thought.

Oliver nodded. “Felicity, see if you can get a hold of Cisco.”

Their friend turned away to do just that. Laurel desperately wanted to know why there was still such a coldness between the pair, and why it no longer just seemed to be on Felicity’s side of things. And why had Oliver apologized to her about Felicity? Except it hadn’t been to her, it had been to some other version of her. Something had happened that no one seemed to want to get into right now. She’d let it go for a time, but once she was warm and in comfortable clothes, Laurel wanted to know just what exactly had been going on while she was dead.

Constantine joined them outside. “Well, you lot got a way back yet?”

“Working on it, John,” Oliver told him.

“Then I suppose this is goodbye for now,” he said. “Laurel, always a pleasure.” The man leaned in and gave her a light peck on the cheek, which Laurel couldn’t help noticing had Oliver grimacing. “You take better care of these Lance girls, Oliver, or I might have to steal them from you.”

“Well, Sara speaks for herself, but I’m happy where I am,” Laurel said before Oliver could try to speak up on her behalf. He looked mollified by her answer anyway.

Constantine shrugged with a grin. “Worth a try. Right then, I’ll be off. Good luck in your new life!” He turned and sauntered down the mountain path, only the trail of cigarette smoke left in his wake after a moment.

“Cisco says he’ll make the breach and that we just step through,” Felicity shouted. “He doesn’t want to come to Siberia, apparently. Can’t imagine why.”

“Step through what?” Laurel asked, but then her answer arrived in the form of a strange, blue, rippling circle of energy opening up just a few feet ahead of them.

“Oh, thank you,” Curtis said before promptly running through it and not coming out the other side.

“Ollie?” Laurel asked.

“Just trust me,” he said, taking her hand as Felicity went through next. Laurel nodded and walked through it with him.

She could see nothing but blue all around them for a moment, and then they had somehow stepped out into some sort of command center of a room with computers and metal tables. Caitlin Snow and Cisco were there, along with a woman Laurel didn’t know.

“Thanks for the pickup,” Felicity was saying as she rubbed her hands together. “I was not looking forward to going back down that mountain.”

“So what were you all doing out there anyway?” Caitlin asked. She froze as her gaze passed over all of them and stopped on Laurel. “Oh!”

“Uh, hi,” said Laurel. “I’m back.”

Rather than surprise or even happiness meeting that statement, however, Caitlin paled, the unknown woman reached for a gun and Cisco sent some kind of blast of that blue energy at her, knocking her clean off her feet.

“We’ve got Siren!” He called out.

“Hey!” Oliver rushed to her side, but to her own amazement, Laurel was already shaking it off and getting back to her feet with her fists clenched. Figured this was the kind of welcome she got when coming back from the dead. “Just give me a minute to explain,” Oliver was saying.

Laurel saw a streak of lightning rush into the room straight toward her, her fight or flight response kicking in of its own accord. Without her even willing it, she released a scream like she used to with her choker device. Except instead of it just producing a noise this time, she felt the power of it rush out of her in waves that impacted Barry and pinned him against the opposite wall.

“Laurel, Laurel, stop!” Oliver’s hand on her arm snapped her out of her fighting stance, and the scream let up.

She backed up a couple steps, one hand going to her throat. “How did I do that?”

“It- she could do that,” he answered. “She was a metahuman.”

“Oliver, are we sure she isn’t still — that maybe some of her is still in there?” Felicity asked, eyeing Laurel warily.

“John didn’t seem to think so.”

“Okay, is someone going to actually explain what we’re talking about and why Black Siren shouldn’t go back in the pipeline?” Cisco asked, loud enough to cut through what seemed to be a brewing argument.

“Because I’m not Black Siren,” Laurel said. “I’m me. And I didn’t mean to do that just now. I didn’t even know I could. I’m sorry,” she said to Barry, who was just struggling to his feet with the unnamed woman’s help.

“Well, thanks for the apology,” he grunted. “But I’m not following. You’re not Black Siren, you just have her clothes and her powers and look just like her?”

“Well, that’s what happens when Oliver decides to drop original Laurel’s soul in Black Siren’s body on a whim,” Felicity remarked.

The Flash team all looked suitably stunned. Laurel shifted a bit uncomfortably. She really didn’t know what the process was for accepting that you were yourself, but slightly not at the same time. Somewhere else, the body she had always known was still rotting away in a grave. Somehow she kept whatever contents might have been in her other self’s stomach at the thought.

“So… she’s our Laurel instead?” Caitlin asked at last.

“Yes,” Oliver seemed glad to answer.

Cisco was the first of the group to approach, scrutinizing her for a long moment. “What was the thing I asked for in exchange for the Canary Cry?”

“What did I say I’d do if you showed anyone?” Laurel answered with her own question. The others looked, if anything, even more wary.

But Cisco’s face split into a wide beam. “Can I hug you?”

Laurel, who had not been hugged yet since coming back from the dead, opened her arms obligingly. Cisco practically flew into them.

“We missed you so much! I love how no one from Star stays dead!”

Cisco’s teammates were all relaxing now that he had given the green light of sorts, and one by one approached her for hugs as well, though in the case of the woman who came up after Barry it was accompanied with a, “I’m Iris. It’s really great to finally meet the you the others have all told me about.”

“Thank you.”

“And you’re a metahuman now? I mean, this is even more awesome,” Cisco was saying.

“Is no one really going to miss the other me?” Laurel couldn’t help asking. A part of her felt she ought to stick up for her not-self.

When her question was met with a round of shaking heads from just about everyone but Oliver, she cringed. She could only imagine the worst.

“So how exactly did her soul replace Black Siren’s? And how are you gonna explain Laurel’s being alive? I mean, is she gonna resume living in Star?” Barry was asking Oliver. They were good questions, but Laurel was honestly starting to feel a little overwhelmed to consider it all. She still didn’t even know how long she’d been dead for.

“You look like you could use a shower and maybe some of your own clothes,” Iris noted. “Come on, I can show you where to find stuff.”

“Thanks,” Laurel said, catching Oliver’s eye briefly as she made to leave the room. He nodded, indicating he understood where she was heading, then returned to speaking with Barry. “So, when did you join Barry’s team?”

“Oh, I’ve known for a couple years now,” Iris answered her. “But I’ve known Barry since we were kids. We finally decided to give dating a shot a couple months ago.”

Laurel returned Iris’ happy smile with one of her own. “Good for you. Dating your best friend… it’s really special.” It had been one of the happiest times of her life before it was over.

But why was it starting to feel like Oliver didn’t think it was? Was it his happiness to have her back that she was misreading, or had something changed in a way she’d never dared to hope?

---

Barry gestured for Oliver to follow him out into the hall since Felicity and Curtis were already talking with Caitlin and Cisco. “So how exactly did this all start?”

“That’s a long story,” Oliver said with a sigh. “But I guess it started when Black Siren really did come to town. Prometheus, another archer, had broken her out and wanted her to pass herself off as our Laurel to mess with our heads, I guess. We ended up realizing it was a trick and capturing her, only Felicity let her escape to try and follow her to Prometheus,” Oliver explained, a frown on his face as he continued, “which nearly killed a security guard and led to Siren dying when Felicity sucker-punched her.”

Barry’s eyes went wide. Felicity had killed someone? He just couldn’t picture it. “And then?”

“And then, I… I don’t know if I can explain what watching her die again was like for me, Barry. My own team doesn’t even understand it. I called John Constantine, and maybe it was rash, but when he told me there were still other Lazarus Pits out there, I couldn’t just… not when my team was responsible. Not again. I know that sounds — she wasn’t even my Laurel—”

“No, I get it. I’ve met other versions of my loved ones, too. It affects you.” He could still remember holding Earth-2’s Iris close as her Joe slipped away from them at the hospital, a lump in his throat that had made it painful to breath. “And trust me, you don’t have to explain what watching something like that does, how desperate it makes you. I know.”

And the thing was, Barry thought he was starting to get something else, too. He had heard about Oliver and Felicity’s breakup last year a month or so after it had happened. When they had all met up to combat the Dominators last month, the two had seemed on good enough terms for a working partnership, but nowhere near the level of intimacy they had had the same time last year — when they hadn’t been fighting in one timeline, Barry supposed.

So when Oliver had told him about the dream world the Dominators had stuck him and some of the others in, that it had been a perfect life with his parents still alive and him about to be married to the love of his life, Barry had wondered at the time about the lack of a name. Part of him had assumed that Felicity had been implied, yet now he was starting to think that hadn’t been correct. Especially when Oliver and Felicity hardly even seemed cordial with each other now if Felicity’s sarcastic remarks and Oliver’s clear frustration with her actions towards Black Siren were any indication.

“Thank you, Barry,” Oliver said, drawing him out of those thoughts.

“Hey, you were there for me about Flashpoint. I am always gonna be in your corner no matter what the call,” he said. “So I guess you guys went to this Pit?”

Oliver nodded. “Yeah, we met John there and restored Siren’s body to life. When people are fully killed, their souls have to be restored separately. Laurel and I rescued Sara’s last year, but when I went in with John this time, there was nothing at first. He thinks that because she was on a different world to her own, her soul was lost to us.”

“Wow,” Barry said, making a mental note never to die on another Earth. “You said there was nothing at first?”

“Yeah. But then I heard a voice calling for me. It was Laurel. I don’t know how or why they were connected like that, how she knew I was there. But I am so thankful.”

It was hard to wrap his head around. Barry was a scientist first and foremost, no matter how strange the science in his life had become. He didn’t fully understand everything that went on in Star these days any more than they seemed to understand metahumans. Though who knew if that would change now that Laurel was one.

But if Laurel was alive again and Oliver was happy, then Barry supposed the rest of it didn’t matter much in the end how it had happened. Just that it had.

“What are you going to tell people? I mean, everybody knows she was the Black Canary.”

Oliver looked down. “I wish Evelyn’s actions hadn’t made me do that, now. I haven’t spoken to Laurel yet about what people know. We’ll have to figure something out.”

Barry nodded. Anything else he might have said, however, would have to wait, as footsteps announced the arrival of Iris with Laurel. His girlfriend had supplied Laurel with the full STAR Labs apparel line, it looked like, and the two were chatting away like old friends as Laurel towel-dried her hair.

“And there they are,” Iris remarked, smiling at Barry in a way that always made his stomach do funny flips. He couldn’t help but notice Laurel’s smile seemed to be having the same effect on Oliver.

“Feeling better?” He asked.

“Yeah, now that I’ve sort of taken stock of things.”

“Oh?”

“Well, other me clearly got into her fair share of fights judging by some of the scars I have,” Laurel remarked. “Kinda weird they’re in different places than mine were. Also, I have tattoos, now.”

“Really, where?” Oliver asked with a grin that had Barry’s mouth dropping open.

Laurel, for her part, just rolled her eyes. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“C’mon, we better regroup with the others,” was all Oliver said in reply, still grinning as he offered Laurel his arm. She took it, and the two headed back into the cortex.

Iris stepped up to Barry’s side and slipped her arm around his back, her head leaning on his shoulder. “Aw, I’m glad they’re still cute. Teenage me’s kind of having a freak out right now.”

“Yeah?” Barry shook his head. Iris and her magazines. He much preferred her writing. Together, they followed their friends back into the room.

Caitlin and Cisco had abandoned their conversation with Curtis and Felicity to come see Laurel again.

“We have some data on hand about the sonic scream already, of course, but it’d be amazing to get a full, comprehensive picture now that you’re the one in control of it.”

“Also, I’m thinking suit update. I mean, what’s a back from the dead party without presents? If you let me keep Siren’s suit for the measurements, I can have it ready by the end of the week.”

“Thank you,” Laurel said. “That’s really sweet.”

“It is, but you guys might be getting ahead of yourselves,” Felicity interjected. “Let’s not forget that Oliver kind of outed Laurel as a superhero last year.”

Barry winced as the smile dropped off Laurel’s face while she backed a step away from the group, away from Oliver. “What?”

“Yeah, right over your grave,” Felicity added.

“There was a situation with an imposter,” Oliver explained. “I was going to tell you. I just wanted you to have some time.”

“Well, she did need to know, Oliver,” Felicity argued. “I mean, I don’t even know if Laurel can come home with us, at least not publicly.”

“We will figure it out,” he said, his voice taking on a harder edge that Barry knew meant it was time for the other person to stop pushing. But Barry also knew Felicity tended to struggle with those sorts of social cues.

Sure enough, his socially awkward friend continued, “How? This isn’t exactly something you can take back. I mean, you had a statue built in Laurel’s honor — even if her doppelganger just destroyed it — and Quentin even confirmed he knew Laurel’s identity which cost him getting his job back—”

“My dad gave up his job?” Laurel asked, looking distressed at the prospect.

“It wouldn’t have been good for him to take it, Laurel, he needed the time in rehab,” Felicity said, and though her tone was a soothing one, Laurel did not look any calmer, and Barry didn’t blame her.

There was something about the smile playing around Felicity’s lips that didn’t quite seem sympathetic and raised the hairs on the backs of his arms. He had spent enough time over the last few years with men who had claimed to have his best interests at heart all the while that they schemed and acted to hurt him, and he had gotten good at spotting the feeling. But why would Felicity of all people be giving him that feeling?

“That’s another thing, actually,” Felicity was saying the same time that Barry’s mind raced with these observations. “If Quentin hears about Laurel being back, he’ll want to check himself out in the middle of his treatment. You really did not think through the ramifications of doing this, Oliver.”

“Felicity, that’s enough,” Oliver commanded, causing everyone in the room to stand just a little bit straighter. Felicity’s mouth, which had opened again to speak, snapped shut. “What is done is done, and whatever the complications that arise, we will deal with. I would much rather live in a world where Laurel is alive and have some issues to sort out rather than a simpler one where she is not here. I’d have hoped you felt the same way.”

There was a stunned moment of silence where Caitlin, Cisco and Curtis all stood there gaping. Iris watched at Barry’s side, her slightly widened eyes the only giveaway to her feelings on the matter and Barry himself had little clue how he looked on the outside, only knowing that he would never have thought he’d see Oliver take that tone with Felicity; not since the disagreement they had had all those years ago when Barry had been brought in on the secret of the older vigilante’s identity.

Laurel stood at the midpoint between them, her arms crossed in a move Barry recognized was far more about shielding herself than it was about projecting power. Her disbelieving gaze slowly swept in Felicity’s direction, who scoffed.

“I- of course I prefer it! I just think you have a bad habit of making incredibly impulsive decisions without considering all the facts or getting the rest of the team’s consensus.”

Oliver didn’t even bat an eye. “Impulsive decisions like going behind my back and giving the recruits separate parameters for a mission that ran completely counter to my stated directions? Or like releasing a dangerous prisoner in the hopes she’ll lead you to her commander?”

“You- you did that, too,” Felicity declared. “Last year, with Anarchy!”

“Yes, and I was wrong! Which Laurel pointed out to me, privately instead of bringing it up in front of the team or our friends, something that in all the years we have worked together, you never fail to do,” Oliver shouted. He then squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, voice returning to a normal volume as he added, “I didn’t like doing that with you, just now. I understand why you took those risks with Siren, what you are going through. I wanted to address it later, see what you needed to let the team keep working.” His frown deepened. “But you never have afforded me the same courtesy, and I am realizing that you never will.”

“Oliver—”

“I need to ask you to take a leave of absence from the team.”

“What?”

“Oliver,” Laurel said softly. “If this is about just now, I’ll be fine. I don’t want people kicked off the team just because they disagreed about bringing me back.”

“If it was just that, I’d consider other options. But this has been an ongoing problem I’ve made excuses for in the past, and that’s only compounded things.”

“What, because I make my own decisions and don’t just follow your orders? That’s enough to get kicked off a team I helped build?” Felicity demanded.

“I recruited you,” Oliver said. “I thought it would be a good idea to have an expert on the computers, but that does not make you an expert in the field. A woman died a few nights ago because of an impulsive attack you made on her after Curtis had already taken measures to neutralize her threat. When that catches up with you, when you can see past the anger and grief you are feeling over Billy and think about what you did, you are going to need the time off.” The anger had almost entirely receded, and it struck Barry now why Oliver was doing this; he was trying to be kind. “When you’ve had that time, we can talk. And that will include laying some ground rules about how the team is going to operate.”

Felicity nodded, her eyes particularly bright behind her glasses in a way Barry knew meant she was holding onto her tears. “Well, I can save you the time, because it is going to operate without me.” She turned and marched for the exit to the cortex, turning once to call over her shoulder, “Good luck with the recruits since they basically all hate you.”

She left a very long and awkward silence in her wake.

“Um, for the record,” Curtis began in a small voice. “While I don’t exactly hate — it’s a strong word, you know — but I do, at times, find you extremely difficult to work with, and I’m not sure how I feel about what just happened.”

“Then take some time off to figure it out, Curtis,” Oliver replied. “I need a team that can function as a cohesive unit. We are never going to defeat Prometheus when we’re too busy with infighting. Decide what’s more important to you, and then stick with it.”

Curtis gulped and nodded.

Oliver turned out to face the wider room. “I’m sorry that had to happen in your space, Barry.”

“No, it — well, it’s probably best we know the situation,” he decided. “I guess I just hope things work out for the best.”

“We should probably get home. All of us,” Oliver added, with a look at Laurel.

“What are we going to tell people?” She asked.

“That’s something I’m working on, but I know you’d rather be in Star than anywhere else.”

Laurel’s lips turned up in a small smile, and she nodded.

“I can get you guys back to your base to avoid bumping into anybody who shouldn’t know yet,” Cisco offered. “And I’m still gonna get started on the suit.”

“Thanks, Cisco,” Laurel said, walking over and hugging him again. Barry thought his friend was quite happy with that development.

A new breach was made, and the remaining Team Arrow members stepped through, the somewhat tense and awkward air in the room breaking as the breach closed.

“Well, that was… something,” Iris commented. “I hadn’t realized things were so bad with their team.”

“Neither had I,” Barry admitted. He had always viewed the Arrow’s team as a well-oiled machine, something to aspire towards. It was almost comforting to know they had their issues the same as his team had had theirs. Barry hoped it never came to a head the way things just had between Oliver and Felicity, though.

He couldn’t help wondering, however, if perhaps that had needed to happen. The last couple times Barry had seen Oliver, the other man had seemed tired, run down, and missing some part of that unbeatable drive he brought to everything he did. Now it seemed he had regained it with new vigor, and it didn’t take a genius to guess what had caused it.

Barry only hoped Oliver did figure out some way for Laurel to return to Star City officially, and as a free woman. He needed her just as surely as Barry needed Iris. And like Oliver had just proven, even death could be conquered in the face of love.

#lauriver #laurel x oliver #laurel lance #oliver queen #arrow #green arrow #black canary #my writing

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astrid-goes-for-a-spin · 4 years

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Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Flash (TV 2014) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Barry Allen & Iris West, Barry Allen/Iris West Characters: Iris West, Barry Allen, Cisco Ramon, Zoom, Hunter Zolomon, Hunter Zolomon | Jay Garrick, Henry Allen Additional Tags: superIris, Iris has Powers, Metahuman Iris West, BAMF Iris West, Women Being Awesome, Episode: s02e21 The Runaway Dinosaur, Episode: s02e22 Invincible, Season 2, Season 2 feels, Canon Divergence, Henry Allen Lives, Everybody Lives, no Flashpoint, Iris defeats Zoom, Happy Ending Series: Part 6 of Iris Week 2020 Summary:

Iris Week 2020 Day 6! SuperIris! @iriswestallenweek

At first, Iris doesn’t even notice that something’s changed. That she has powers. That she’s no longer just a run-of-the-mill human.

Everything is overwhelming – Barry’s lost in the speed force, Jesse’s in a coma, Tony Woodward is sorta back to life and still has a crush on her. It takes her until she and Barry are standing in the cemetery before she starts to realize that all the feelings she’s been feeling…might not actually be hers.

Iris is affected by Harry's particle accelerator explosion and gains empathy powers. Iris defeats Zoom.

__________________________________

full text for the tumblr crowd!

At first, Iris doesn’t even notice that something’s changed. That she has powers. That she’s no longer just a run-of-the-mill human.

Because Barry is talking so nostalgically about the little board book he brought his mom’s stone, and even though Iris knows that book always made her irritated and sad, she’s feeling a little teary and –

“I never really liked that book,” Iris says, and Barry turns watery eyes to her. “But, right now? I feel like I’ve loved it forever.”

“Why?” Barry asks, and she takes his arm.

“Because neither of us had a mom,” Iris says, and feels, almost like a physical wave, the emotions coming from Barry’s body to hers: sadness, tenderness, pure and absolute love. She steps away from him and drops his arm, and his worry comes to her more slowly, like a cloud rolling in.

Iris would go wait in the car, but they ran here. Iris takes a deep breath and tries to block everything out.

“I’ll give you a minute,” Iris says finally, and gives herself space under the guise of giving Barry a moment in private. The further she moves from him, the less intensely she feels the worry, the heartbreak, the distraction. Iris takes a breath. It’s raining (her hair, oh god) and the cemetery is empty. She’s always been good at reading other people’s energy, but the room is – quite literally – dead.

When Barry takes them back to the house later, Iris waits until he changes out of his nice clothes, and then she sits him down on the sofa away from the noise of her dad and her brother in the kitchen.

“I think I have powers,” Iris says baldly.

Barry stares at her like he’s never seen her before.

“I was in the city when the accelerator went off in 2013, I was in the lab two days ago, I got mixed up with the speed force – I’ve been exposed to all the stuff that’s not supposed to exist. X-elements.”

Barry’s mouth is hanging slightly open. “Y-you mean-”

Iris takes a breath. “I can feel you. Your fear. Your guilt. Your sadness. I didn’t realize it right away because everything was so hectic, but – I’m pretty sure those aren’t my feelings.”

In less than a second Barry flashes away and back, and her hair flutters into her face. She wipes it away, and he’s fiddling with Harry’s watch. Fear and dread pouring off him, Barry silently offers the watch to her.

Iris’s hand passes over the face of the watch, and

everything

changes.

In the five-or-so minutes Cisco and Caitlin find in the next week, they confirm what Iris already knows: Harry’s oh-so-safe particle accelerator explosion that literally ripped Barry apart also washed Iris in dark matter. Her previously human DNA is different in one tiny but significant way: the metahuman gene.

Iris knows that if they weren’t facing down an army of supervillains from another world, if the CCPD weren’t operating out of a coffeeshop because their precinct is Zoom’s new HQ, if it was literally any other time, she’d be subjected to a battery of tests, be down in the basement training to learn what her powers can do and how to keep them under control.

As it is, the city’s barely surviving Zoom’s onslaught, and there’s just no time.

Barry’s new, post-speed force attitude isn’t really helping the situation, either.

Iris is still trying to get a grip on her new, fledgling powers, but she doesn’t think she’d need them to understand this. Barry is happy-go-lucky, upbeat, bursting with optimism; the speed force is with us. Iris can feel it from the moment Barry’s within a hundred yards of her, and she can’t help it: she’s slightly giddy with positivity.

On the other hand, the rest of Team Flash is terrified by the Metapocalypse and the lingering threat of Zoom, and that Barry’s optimism will be the death of him. (And the world.) Iris can’t help but notice her range for Barry is a lot farther than the others – but simply sharing a room with her dad can make her subdued and anxious.

It doesn’t make Iris feel better that the press is hardly helpful in this situation. Or at least, not as helpful as the rest of the team. She’s not exactly part of the news media producing the endless loop on TV telling citizens to stay in their homes.

Without complete solitude – an impossibility right now – it’s also hard for her to know what she’s really feeling – apart from her friends and family. If she could be sure her feelings were her own, would she still feel this worried? Or this blissfully confident? (Or both?)

Which feelings are right?

When Barry comes back to STAR Labs with blood crusting his ears and neck because an evil Laurel Lance would’ve killed him if Wally hadn’t run her over, Iris knows the majority has been right all along. No matter how Barry feels, the danger is real, and he needs to act that way.

The right ones are whatever feelings that’ll keep him alive.

Iris trails him into the medbay and plops down on the gurney. “You know you’re not invincible, right?”

Barry’s removing his gloves, but he gives her a little laugh and a patronizing sigh. “Yes. Of course I know this.”

Iris wonders how long it’ll take before it’s impossible for him to lie to her at all. His words tell her he agrees, but his heart tells her that they can survive anything.

“Joe’s being overprotective, but I get it,” Barry says, leaning against a cabinet.

Iris scoots a little on the bed, untangling her crossed legs. “Yeah, but you’re acting like nothing can touch you. Like nothing bad can get in your way.” Iris taps her heart. “And worse, I can tell you actually believe it. And it’s just not true for any of us.”

Barry seems sobered by the reminder that Iris – isn’t the same as she used to be. When he says, “What are you trying to say?” Iris thinks, He’s going to listen to me. He always listens to me. No one else has been able to get through to him, this time.

“I know you had an experience in the speed force. I saw some of it. I can still feel it on you now,” Iris starts, and holds out a hand to him, gesturing him close. “And I’m happy that you think we’re gonna win the day, but a little fear can be a healthy thing. It helps you determine which risks are worth taking.”

Barry swallows dryly, only feet away from her now. Separated by the wall from the Cortex, Iris is zeroed in on him in a way she hasn’t been since they were at Nora Allen’s grave. She can feel her words sinking into his buoyant mood.

When he nods and gets up to pass her, though, Iris can feel it all melting off, untouchable. She’s still holding her hand out.

He reaches out to rub it once in reassurance, and –

It’s like nothing Iris has ever felt before.

All of Iris’s worry, her fear, her helplessness, her terror for Wally and Barry and her father, her dim hope for a future after Zoom has ravaged the city: she’s exploding with emotion, and the moment Barry touches her, her feelings seep out of her skin and into his.

Barry staggers back as if impacted by a physical blow. His eyes flick up to hers, wide. She can feel his positivity sagging, supplanted by the caution Iris is impressing into him. Somehow, she’s actively changing the way he feels – and not the old-fashioned way.

She takes her hand away.

Barry’s eyes are slightly glazed. “Are you okay?” they ask at the same time, their words overlapping. Iris is nodding, but Barry is shaking his head.

“Is this how you’ve been feeling?” he asks, voice pitched high. “All the time? That was-”

“Really intense,” Iris finishes. “Yeah. I haven’t figured out a way to turn it off yet.” If she wasn’t so busy with Zoom’s army, she’d be afraid she never will. “And I definitely didn’t know I could – do that.”

Barry sits beside her on the bed and deliberately sets his hands on either side of her shoulders and rubs up and down. With each stroke, his optimism is tempered by her fear.

When someone calls for them from the Cortex, Iris takes his wrist once and closes her eyes, just to impress her feeling – caution! – one final time, hoping that her warnings aren’t hopeless.

This is how much we love you.

Maybe Barry is actually right, and the speed force is on their side. With Zoom gone and his army subdued, Iris thinks it’s high time for some family celebration.

Team Flash’s dinner party mood is almost as good as Barry’s has been for days, and Iris feels high on it – even more when Barry asks if – since he’s been feeling “extra invincible” – this would be a good time to give them a shot. (It is, it really is.)

Iris organizes people bringing food in from the kitchen while the others gossip, and she leads Henry into the dining room by an elbow and settles him at Barry’s side with a champagne glass.

And then there’s a pulse of terror, absolute and overwhelming, from the other side of the table, and she looks up to see Cisco’s post-vibe face, mouth gaping. The happiness abates. Iris can feel the tension straining across the room. People demanding answers. Cisco cries out, “Tell me I did not just see the end of the world!”

Iris can’t really imagine anything worse than an entire planet breaking, splitting in half from pole to pole, a whole world she’s never seen but has been so determined all year long to protect –

– a rush of hate and malice so cold Iris almost doesn’t recognize what it is. Sadism. A power-hungry cruelty. The bitterest spite. The fear in the room jumps; terror and helplessness all around her.

Two steps away from her, Zoom has Henry’s throat in his claws.

Barry’s fear is quickly turning into rage, a kind of rage Iris didn’t need powers to understand during all the years he hunted the Reverse-Flash. She can see him thinking, calculating how fast he needs to move in order to save his dad’s life.

Iris doesn’t think.

She feels.

Zoom never notices her hand, so fixed on Barry, the only threat, the only other speedster in the room. Barry is on the other side of her, but Iris is within arm’s reach, and her hand comes down on Zoom’s shoulder with what she knows must be suffocating force.

Iris still isn’t thinking. She isn’t calculating. She’s remembering all of the pain that Zoom has brought with him this year, with an intensity that she feels may make her heart explode.

Caitlin, hostage on another earth, at his mercy.

Jesse gone and Harry frantic with fear.

The endless lines of metahumans Zoom threw through the breaches to try to kill her family.

Larkin, who did not deserve to die the way he did, and Linda’s terror and pain – both Lindas.

Barry and Cisco gone through the breach, Barry shaking on the staircase as he confided to them the manner of the other Joe’s death.

Jesse, hanging from manacles and sleeping in her own blood and filth.

The prisoner Barry promised to rescue that they still haven’t gotten around to.

Barry’s nightmares.

Iris having to shoot a gun at another person, a person with her friend’s face.

Barry, broken like a doll, dangling from his grip on live TV, blood leaking out of him.

Her brother, helpless and in pain, a pawn in a game he was never a part of, and the reckless do-gooding he’s throwing his life away for.

Barry, white as a sheet, half his body in a brace, unconscious in a hospital bed.

Barry, screaming as they injected him with poison and the particle accelerator tore his body apart.

All of these things broke Iris’s heart, shredded it until there was nothing left but she just kept bleeding.

These things caused her to bite her nails and wake in the night with blood in her mouth, answer her phone after a single ring, have panic attacks in the bathroom at work and cry with fear as she wondered what catastrophe would befall her loved ones next.

All of these things – so…

…avoidable.

Acts of a man who hated and hated, and turned that hate into dead bodies all across the multiverse so – what?

He could feel less alone?

Zoom’s grip on Henry slackens. Lightning raises the hairs on her arm; Barry reappears on the far side of her with his father in his arms. Iris puts her other hand right over Zoom’s heart, and in slow stages they crumple to the ground.

She’s on top of him, her flirty dress riding up, the awful wrinkly texture of Zoom’s suit vivid beneath her palms. Somewhere in the background Iris notices lines of burning moisture traveling down her face and splashing onto his.

“You’re not alone now, Hunter,” Iris says softly, sinking further onto Zoom’s body. He’s twitching, and Iris can feel the impact of what she’s doing to him starting to break something deep within him, even more than he’s already broken. “I’m here. I can feel everything you feel. I know what you want, and why. You wanted to hurt people. Well, you succeeded. You hurt my family. You hurt me.”

Pitifully, a noise that resolves itself into the words “It hurts” reaches Iris’s consciousness. She didn’t notice it at first because he’s stopped vibrating his vocal chords into that demonic voice. He just sounds like Jay.

He sounds human.

“You’re not gonna hurt anyone anymore,” Iris whispers, and Zoom lies still.

Barry races to STAR Labs and deposits Zoom in the anti-speedster cell: the only safe place, for right now. The whole way there and for a long while after, Zoom remains unresponsive.

“Can we inject him with the anti-speed serum?”

“He’d have to be running to take his speed away, like he did before-”

“Do you have a place you can keep metas incarcerated on Earth-2?”

All the questions – important, Iris is sure – fade into the background for her. Iris is sitting on the end of the bed again. She’s got a mug of coffee in her hands, a pair of STAR Labs sweatpants covering up her very cold, bare legs, and a shock blanket around her shoulders. Though she can tune out the questions, she still can’t manage the emotions. Her family is afraid, but hopeful. They’re in problem-solving mode. Zoom is contained, for the first time ever, and it’s extremely possible that Team Flash is gonna figure this out.

Iris jerks awake when Barry sets down next to her on the bed.

“How long was I out?” she asks, grabbing for him. He allows it, but no emotions flow from her. Iris wonders if it has to be an exceptionally emotional circumstance. Touching him now only makes her perception of his feelings stronger.

“A while. Caitlin gave you a sedative to help you recover. Jitters’ll be opening soon.”

Morning. Iris suppresses a groan at the memory of 5AM shifts, but smiles at the reminder that things are going back to normal after Zoom’s defeat.

“Did you figure out what to do with him yet?” she yawns.

Barry’s radiating a kind of calm sureness that makes the question almost irrelevant.

“We extracted the speed force in his system while you were resting. STAR Labs on Earth-2 will publicize his identity, and he’ll spend the rest of his life in solitary confinement. He won’t hurt anyone else. The random metas he forced into his army we’re sending back a few at a time to the Barry and Iris there, to see whether they’re criminals or just – unlucky. Harry’s bringing our dampening tech, too, so any of those meta-criminals that need to be locked up can be. It’s a good day.”

Iris smiles. “I can tell.”

Barry’s feeling shifts to something serious, introspective, and almost…reverent.

“I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t been there,” he starts. “My dad-”

“He’s free, he’s alive, he’s here in the city, and he’s got his eye on Dr. McGee,” Iris laughs. “It’s okay. Maybe you were right all along. You are invincible.”

Barry takes a quick look at the rest of the team scattered through the lab, then whisks her away in his arms. Next moment they’re sitting on her dad’s front steps, and the whole world feels just as fragile as she knows it is, fresh with morning dew and sleeping as the sun is just beginning to rise.

“Not me. We’re invincible. I couldn’t have – none of this could have been without you, Iris. Believe me. You saved my dad. You saved Earth-2. Iris, Black Siren didn’t want to leave here because she insisted Zoom was going to destroy every earth with the stolen Mercury Labs tech, all in one shot. You saved the multiverse.”

Something is swelling, a depth of feeling Iris has often glimpsed, both in herself and Barry, but never had the courage to explore.

“Do I get a code name now?” Iris asks in a halfhearted attempt to play it off.

Barry huffs a laugh and sinks a hand into her hair. Somehow the fact that it’s sticky with old hairspray, pins long gone, doesn’t matter. Her smudged makeup and lab sweatpants under her fancy dress with no back and no bra doesn’t matter.

“I have never loved you more,” Barry murmurs as he gets closer.

Iris feels it like the sunrise. In response, she closes her eyes, takes his hand, and places it over her heart.

#iwaw2020 #iris week 2020 #iris west #superiris #iris has powers #westallen #season 2 #the runaway dinosaur #iris has empathy powers #iris defeats zoom all on her lonesome #bamf iris west

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winterflash-2019 · 5 years

Text

Temporary—Chapter One

Summary: Y/n is a single mother struggling to maintain her job and raise her 5 year old son all bu herself so she moves to central city for a fresh start but her start may not have been as fresh as she wanted until she met CSI Barry Allen.

Warnings: Minor Swearing

Pairings: Barry allen x reader

~~~~~~~~

You wake up with a blinding light in your eyes and a pang of fear in your gut. You felt like you’ve been asleep for way too long, so you look over at your phone right next to you and jump up in panic. It’s 10 A.M you were supposed to be at work two hours ago and even worse Noah was supposed to be in school as well. You start searching in your closet in a frenzy, clothes fly everywhere until you finally decided on wearing some black slacks and a long-sleeved white shirt and flats.

It was your first day of work in a new city and this is the stunt you pull but in your defense the universe was against you for some odd reason. Stumbling your way into the bathroom you grab your toothbrush and apply the toothpaste, some slipping into the sink. You shove the toothbrush in your mouth and rush to Noah’s room to find him on the floor playing with his toy cars while still in his Pjs.

“Noah, baby c’mon you have to get ready for school” He whines in protest as you pick him up and sit him on the bed so you can find an outfit for him.

“But mommy, I thought I didn’t have to go to school today” He pouts

“Mommy just overslept sweetie. Besides you should be excited its your first day of school in a new place. You get to make friends and have fun” You say softly while dressing him

“But I’ll miss you mommy” You cup his cheeks, smiling softly at him.

“I know sweet pea, but it won’t be long ok?” He just nods as you help him put his bookbag on. You check the time as he puts on his shoes and you internally groan as the clock read 10:40 A.M you wouldn’t have time to stop for coffee or you’d be even more late.

You grab a cereal bar and give it to Noah before grabbing your workbag and heading to the car.

“Seatbelt on?” You check as you look into the rearview mirror

“I do mommy” He says, mouth stuffed with the cereal bar you gave him

“Alrighty let’s go”

Once you arrive at Noah’s school you check him in and walk him to his class

“Okay baby remember what I told you”

“I know mommy. Never be mean to the other kids and if I have a problem go to the teacher” He says quietly, and you nod before laying a kiss on his forehead.

“That’s right. I love you okay? I’ll be here at three to come get you”

“Okay mommy. I love you too” He hugs you tightly before running into his classroom and you smile as you watch him leave you.

You rush into the ccpd, struggling to carry all your bags at once. You were almost to the captain’s office until you slipped and fell onto the floor. Papers were everywhere as you cringe from the embarrassment you started to feel when everyone’s eyes were on you.

“Get back to work people there’s nothing to see here!” A booming voice says and everybody scrambles back to what they were doing.

“You must be Y/n?” The older man asked as he helped you pick up your things and you nod a little

“well y/n, you’re two hours and thirty minutes late.” He states as you pick yourself up off the floor and from that you could tell he was the captain.

“I-I know, and I am so sorry sir. I just moved in a week ago and I stayed up all night packing and ended up oversleeping this morning and then my son had to go to school and-“

“Ms. Y/L/N, It’s okay. Things happen just don’t make it a habit please. I already have CSI Allen running late every day. I’ll take you to your office.” When you made it up the stairs and into your office you finally felt relaxed. It was small but not too small. Just enough space for you to feel like you’re at home.

“I’ll send someone to help you get sorted in” You smile and say your thanks and he just nods before leaving. You bounce on the heels of your feet excitedly as you looked around. You were finally going to start living the life you promised yourself years ago. You set your bags down on the desk and start opening the boxes in front of you. It was only three small boxes containing the small stuff like picture frames and your name tag along with even smaller trinkets to go with the cup of pens on your desk.

You hear the door open, turning around to see this incredibly handsome man in front of you

“Hi, My name is Barry Allen, I’m the forensics CSI next door. You must be detective Y/L/N?” He smiles politely as he shakes your hand and you could’ve sworn you felt electricity in your hands.

“Yeah, today is my first day and please call me Y/N” You smile back

“Well y/n, Captain Singh sent me here. He said you needed help getting settled in and well I’m here to help” He winks and you already feel your crush on the CSI form.

#the flash #barry allen x reader #barry allen imagine #barry allen #cw #grant gustin #iris west #grant gustin x reader #cisco ramon #joe west #caitlin snow

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disregardcanon · 4 years

Text

a decade of self recs

i’d like to invite anyone who wants to to participate in this exercise along with me!

this is a self rec and a reflection on a fic from each year of the decade

fandoms include: percy jackson, adventure time, a song of ice and fire, girl meets world, gravity falls, young justice, the flash, my hero academia, the mcu, and the handmaid’s tale.

2010: I didn’t even know what fanfiction was! oh my gosh i was a baby!

2011:

I Won’t Ever Leave You Alone

Fandom: Percy Jackson

Pairings: Percy/Annabeth

Summary: What happens when Percy's sent to the Roman Camp and flat out does not want to remember his past? Can it have a happy ending? It's my first fan fiction and I hope you enjoy.

A.N: This WAS the first fanfiction that I ever wrote. It was bad. It’s STILL bad. however... if I didn’t ever write this one, then I never would have gotten less bad. That’s important!

2012:

The Ice Prince

Fandom: Adventure Time

Summary: "Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice" Robert Frost. The lonely ice prince wonders a frozen wasteland of his own creation, searching for companionship he will never be fortunate enough to find, with only vague recollections and half memories as comfort. Drabble Ice Prince!Finn

A.N: this fic is actually shorter than the author’s note I wrote for it, but... I’m not going to lie. The atmosphere work is really great and the wording flows really nicely. I’m proud of this little piece. I think out of everything that I wrote that year, it shows my potential the best.

2013:

Hot Chocolate Heals All Wounds

Fandom: Percy Jackson

Pairings: Reyna/Annabeth and past Percy/Annabeth

Summary: Moving on is never easy, but with hot chocolate, love, laughter and Reyna by her side, Annabeth might just manage.

A.N: 2013 was where I really started to take off as a fic writer. I improved drastically over the course of the year, but I still think that this fic that I wrote during the summer is the closest to my heart. It’s the first of my “ladies getting over trauma together and falling in love” genre.

It’s not as good as I remember it being, and oh lordy. the smut.. the smut is bad. But there’s a lot of potential here, and I can still look back on it fondly.

2014:

The River Rushes On

Fandom: A Song of Ice and Fire

Pairings: Catelyn/Cersei

Summary: The official reason that she is sent to Riverrun is so that she can learn to be a proper lady alongside Hoster’s daughters. The unofficial reason, of course, is that Tywin found his golden twins having sex.

Or, the one where all good things end, but life continues.

A.N: I had a bit of debate going between this one and a sansaery fic that I wrote that year, but I decided that this HAD to be the choice. Catelyn/Cersei is a pairing that I came to on my own, but I ended up really loving because of the friends I made through the pairing. While this might not have been might best writing of the year, I feel like it was a formative enough experience that it overrides that.

honorable mention: like the songs, a tragic sansaery au where sansa was a traveling singer

2015:

Caged

Fandom: A Song of Ice and Fire

Pairings: Sansa/Margaery

Summary: In an alternate universe where many of the members of the Westerosi elite are magical creatures, the Lannisters seal Sansa Stark's wolf form deep within her. Margaery Tyrell vows to break the spell.

A.N: this is where we get into fics that I might actually recommend to someone. This one was one of the last fics that I wrote during high school, and it was inspired by our class reading of Macbeth and the emotional turmoil of getting ready to head off to college. There’s still some stuff I’m REALLY proud of in there. The spell ingredient “blood of a lover, willingly drawn” is still fantastic, the dream is still chilling, and I honestly sometimes think of adapting this premise into an original story.

honorable mentions: a guide to coming out, the girl meets world edition

her heart’s duet, the mabifica soulmate’s au

2016:

Over the Shadowy Hills

Fandoms: Young Justice

Pairings: Artemis/Zatanna

Summary: Wally is dead, but Artemis isn't. She's trying to learn how to deal with that.Featuring: Bart Allen, product placement Netflix isn't paying me for, blatant symbolism, and snaibsel sweaters.

A.N: 2016 was a REALLY hard one. I wanted to put like, 3 star wars rebels fics, but i’m holding myself to my one fic per year policy, and if it’s one fic for year... then it has to be over the shadowy hills.

one of my other friends helped me work this into a fic that i could be really proud of, and it’s the better version of the same fic type as “hot chocolate heals all wounds” from a couple years earlier. i’m still really pleased with the way that this one panned out and i couldn’t leave it out of a best list,

the honorable mentions: you were someone, once the winter soldiered! ezra fic that helped me become friends with @bodhimcbodeface, the ketbine soulmate au where sabine drew dicks all over her face, and then there’s the mirialan!ezra au.

2017:

you, me, and the flash makes three

Fandom: The Flash

Pairings: Cisco/Iris, eventual Cisco/Barry/Iris

Summary: When Barry Allen wakes up from his coma, he finds out that Iris is dating Cisco. He tries really hard to dislike the guy, but Cisco makes it really hard. He's a likable dude.Things get more complicated from there.

A.N: i have a few others that i would have liked to put for this year, but i saw “you me and the flash makes three” and then i was like. well shit. i can’t pick anything else. this fic is a little under 15k and it’s really one of my favorite things that i’ve ever written. it’s a little cheesy and at parts feels a little clunky, but i think that the way that i was able to hit the most important emotional beats for season one of the flash and flesh out all the relationships within an ot3 outweigh that.

honorable mentions are: how to fall in love with your mark, the bluepulse fic where bart allen realizes that he can’t kill jaime reyes and

mantis prays to oregon, the guardians of the galaxy vol. 2 fic where mantis is ego’s biological child, but that somehow makes everything worse

2018:

Ad Astra Per Aspera

Fandom: My Hero Academia

Pairings: Ochako/Bakugo

Summary: Ochako sees none of herself in Bakugo’s pure rage, her sheer confidence. Bakugo holds up an enormous middle finger to the world and says come and get it. She’s harsh. She’s loud. She’s angry. She doesn’t say what’s on her mind; she shouts it.If she’s being completely honest, Ochako is a bit in awe with her.People might not like her, but they take her seriously. Bakugo grabs them by the throats, pulls them in and says “I am woman, hear me roar."

Sequel to "knights in shining armor"

A.N: 2018 was the year that I embraced the gender bend and started writing bildungsromans that deal with coming of age and trying to puzzle out wtf being a person and gender even are. I’m really pleased with all of them, but this is my favorite. Partially because I think it’s the most well-written, partially because I like the motifs the best, but mainly because it taught me a lot about myself and my writing.

Also it accidentally got me to ship kacchako, which is something I appreciate.

honorable mentions: hers, not his: the fem!todoroki one where she learns that sometimes telling your dad to fuck off isn’t worth giving up the things that you love

gimme a boost over heaven’s gate, the one where eleanor and tahani end up on the same talk show together. then bone. then become better people

2019:

Paint a New Horizon

Fandoms: A Song of Ice and Fire

Pairings: Sansa/Margaery and abusive Sansa/Joffrey

Summary: Sansa is a painter. The moment that she meets Joffrey he becomes her muse. After they get married she starts to see his true colors unfold in front of her and she loses her passion. Then she meets Margaery. Her presence changes everything, and reignites a passion for painting and for life that Sansa thought was long buried. It’s too bad that leaving Joffrey isn’t an easy task.

A.N: this fic is 23k of my sweat and tears. i know that it’s kind of a weird premise, but this was the most gripping writing i’ve done all year. it was exactly right for me at that moment.

however, it does spell a bit of a turning point in my writing and life. in the past, i have written short fics that i could get posted fairly quickly. this fic was the result of multiple weeks of work when i was off school, not working much, and focusing mainly on... writing this damn thing. moving forward, i’m going to have to try to figure out a way to keep up my motivation and drive with longer projects when i don’t have the time to dedicate to HUGE chunks of work at one time when i also know i’m not going to get the instant gratification of kudos immediately after a long writing sesh. i know that sounds silly, but this is the first year where the majority of the fics i wrote WERE longer.

while i’m very pleased with all of these longer fics, it does mark a shift that i will just have to learn how to deal with.

honorable mention: A Woman’s Place, the handmaid’s tale time travel fix it fic

#self recs #decade meme #a decade of writing in review #sansaery #reynabeth #mabifica #bluepulse #barriscowest #ketbine #rilaya #larkle

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kitkatt0430 · 3 years

Text

the flash and the problem of the pointless sacrifice

It starts at the end of season one. Eddie Thawne picks up his gun and shoots himself, dying to protect Iris, Barry, and the rest from his dangerous descendent Eobard Thawne.

Season two ends with its reversal, Barry creating the Flashpoint Timeline that, though its eventually set back to 'normal-ish', leaves a time remnant of Eobard Thawne alive and well (if running scared from the Black Flash/Hunter Zolomon as a speed zombie) to wreak havoc once more.

And I get it. The Reverse Flash is one of the Flash's most iconic villains - killing him off in season one couldn't be permanent. But apparently Eddie's suicide could be and the message that sends is... unfortunate.

Eddie is an extremely kindhearted person and we see that about him again and again throughout season one. He always has a smile for the people he cares about and he's an absolutely terrible liar. But we also know that he was bullied as a child/teen and since he never brings up the subject of his own family, it's likely he doesn't have a support structure outside of Central City. And the support structure he does gain in Central City was Barry's support structure first. There's not a single person we see Eddie spend time with in season one that didn't know Barry first.

And that's a big part of what wears him down over the course of the season. When both Barry and Eddie need support, Barry gets it first. Barry's secrets are treated as something Eddie has to prioritize over his relationship with Iris. Barry's loved Iris longer than Eddie's known her and while Iris loves Eddie, she also loves Barry and she's infatuated with the Flash - not realizing he's Barry's alter ego. Over the course of the season, Eddie constantly tries to connect with Barry and Barry constantly holds back. Their relationship is never equal. And that's what leaves Eddie open to Eobard's manipulations with the future news article.

And Eddie tries to make his own future with Iris anyway. But even with Iris accepting his proposal, Joe makes it clear he'll never truly accept their relationship and Eddie's sense of self worth is at an all time low. And that's the state of mind he's in during the fight in the pipeline. When Barry chooses not to let Eobard go after all, it puts them all in a position of potentially having to deal with this fight between the two speedsters just... never ending. It puts Iris in danger because Barry cares about her and because while Eddie is Eobard's ancestor... Iris isn't. From Eobard's point of view, Eddie's the only one who isn't expendable and from Eddie's point of view... he's the only one who is expendable.

His answer is suicide. And his death immediately erases Eobard from the timeline, but its also implied to have contributed to the re-emergence of the singularity. But at least Eobard was dead.

At least, until Barry created Flashpoint at the end of season 2. Presumably Eddie was alive in Flashpoint, but we never see him. Maybe he stays in Keystone instead of transferring to Central City. Never meets Iris. Never gets worn down to feel like he's not good enough. Never kills himself.

When Flashpoint is reset, Eddie's dead again but now his sacrifice has been rendered moot because Eobard's still alive as a time remnant.

It sets a rather nasty precedent for the show.

Season two also ends with a suicide. This time it's Barry's.

Much like Eddie the year before, Barry's been worn down. He had his place in his family's come into question, with Henry leaving at the start of the season and Wally's arrival midway through the season. His back is literally broken by the stress of fighting Zoom and despite everything he's suffered for the city, his honor is called into question the instant a different speedster takes to thievery. He has to give up his speed to protect Wally only for that to immediately put Caitlin in danger. His colleagues are brutally murdered by Zoom to teach him a lesson. His father finally comes back for good, only to be murdered in the same place as Barry's mother.

Honestly, there is no question (to my mind anyway) that Barry's suicidal at the end of the season. And because Barry his time remnants are fundamentally the same person at the moment of their split, the time remnant Barry creates is suicidal as well.

That time remnant tears himself apart to stop Zoom's plan to destroy the multi-verse. His very existence also lures in the Time Wraiths that take Zoom away, transforming him into the mindless Black Flash. All at the cost of a version of Barry killing himself, going unlamented and forgotten. But at least the multi-verse was safe.

Until the Red Skies Crisis when the multi-verse is actually destroyed and rebooted.

Another sacrifice rendered pointless.

HR does not kill himself in season three. But he deliberately places himself in a position to be killed in Iris' place. He arrives on the heels of a scandal on his Earth where he's been revealed to have been taking credit for someone else's work - with that person's blessing, but its still ruined his reputation. He comes wanting to reinvent himself, but from the start he's not the person the team really wants. They want Harry. Cisco wants Harry. He gets it hammered in that his strengths aren't appreciated by the team because he's not a scientist. His efforts to help STAR Labs are dismissed entirely. The only reason any attempts to help his museum venture succeed are because changing the future might save Iris.

It's not that HR is disliked, but he's left acutely aware that he's considered 'a bit much' and that he's always going to come second to the people he puts first. In fact, Tracy's probably the only one who truly and completely appreciates HR as he is.

So HR swaps places with Iris, knowing that he's going to die when he does. And while HR doesn't kill himself, there's an argument to be made that what he did was still suicide by proxy.

And this is a sacrifice that sticks, because Iris West is the love interest. She's never going to be killed off for real.

Three seasons ending with a suicidal sacrifice. And only one of them doesn't have that sacrifice reversed or nullified. Unfortunately, that's not the end of it either.

Harry leaves his Earth at the start of season four. His relationship with his daughter, which was shown to still be strong in season three, has somehow deteriorated to the point where she's thrown him off her support team and he comes to Earth-1 to reconnect with the found family he forged during season two. He's in the midst of a crisis and his understanding of himself as a parent is unraveling. And then DeVoe calls the other pillar of Harry's self identity into question, because Harry's genius isn't enough on its own anymore. He's not smart enough to out think DeVoe and his Earth-1 family is suffering. So Harry creates his own downfall, burns out his own brain trying to be the smartest. And he sacrifices his last moments of lucidity to find the answer to stopping DeVoe. In doing so, Harry puts Barry in the position to save Ralph's life.

But DeVoe still gets the last laugh when he causes the STAR Labs satellite to come falling down, nearly destroying the city and creating Cicada in the process.

But unlike previous seasons, Harry doesn't die. He gets some of his intelligence back and immediately gets exiled by the writers back to Earth-2 due to the massive problems with ableism this show has. But that's a different conversation.

Season five is probably the only season not to include a suicidal character who's kills themselves. Nora dies when she erases herself from the timeline by accident, but we know now she'll be back in the back half of season seven, along with her new brother. But one out five seasons not taking a suicide (or similar action in Harry's case) and painting it as a noble - but ultimately useless - gesture is rather... bad as far as track records go.

Season six has the alternate Barry Allen - implied to be the Barry from the 90s show - who dies in place of this show's Barry. To save the multi-verse and let this other Barry go home to his wife, something he'll never have with Tina again. And the multi-verse is destroyed anyway.

Season seven opened with Nash Wells, whose usual method of investigating mysteries and hoaxes led to the Anti Monitor's freedom and the multi-verse's destruction. His home Earth destroyed so he can never go home. He's confronted with an alternate version of his dead daughter, who can barely stand his presence. He begins to hallucinate alternate versions of himself and is possessed by the Reverse Flash and all his research on how to create a new Speed Force - to try to make up for some of the damage he's caused - points to a single conclusion. The only way to make things better is for him to die.

Instead, Nash's death immediately makes things worse. The artificial speed force is flawed and Barry destroys it in the very next episode. And while one could argue that Nash's death allowed Barry to save Iris and ultimately restored the original Speed Force, it doesn't negate the fact that Nash's suicidal state of mind wasn't addressed by the people who called him friend. And his legacy was immediately deemed a failure and destroyed.

While I wouldn't say the show is glorifying suicide, there's a subtle and incredibly troubling repetition in the story telling on the show that frames suicide as the right decision in certain circumstances. Even though what's being sacrificed for often comes to naught. And it's incredibly uncomfortable, seeing it all laid out like this.

I'm still really not sure what to make of it all, but I've got no doubt it ties into the show's ableism with regards to mental health issues. Because every time its someone whose mental health has been brought down to a low point who commits these acts of 'sacrifice' and while the team grieves these losses... they don't seem to learn from them either. Because it just keeps happening.

(Think I missed something? Please, by all means, add on.)

#the flash #the flash meta #tw suicude #some of the story telling trends on this show can be a little disturbing when you take a closer look at them #discussing several characters on the Flash who commit suicide (or make self-destructive decisions) across the seven seasons #ableism on the Flash

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straightedgecrf · 5 years

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Don’t watch The Flash

I used to really love The Flash to where I told my friends that they should watch it.These days are different because I’m telling people not to watch due to it going from The Flash to The Trash there’s 2 reasons why.The first one is due to the poor writing of WestAllen because Barry is supposed to be the hero of the story and yet he turns into a jerk when his mind is on Iris West.Remember their first kiss?He was dating Linda and she was dating Eddie.That basically shows that he cheated on his girlfriend and violated the buds before babes code since him & Eddie were supposed to be friends.Another season 1 example was Barry giving all of the credit of The Flash existing to Iris just after helping him beat Grodd when he wouldn’t be alive or able to help the other metahumans if it wasn’t for Caitlin,Cisco and even Wellsobard who helped train him and heal him only for him to give all of the credit to Iris after one time helping just because he wanted to find any way to get into her pants in the future.When it comes to season 2,he was only supposed to go to Earth 2 with Harry & Cisco to rescue Jesse from Zoom’s layer only while pretending to be his doppleganger found out he was married to Iris on Earth 2 which caused him to care about what’s going in that life more than finding Jesse and even said to Harry that he still thought of her as Iris even if they’re on a different Earth which showed that even a different Iris is more important than the only reason they were there in the first place.Then when they come back,Iris starts wanting to be with Barry due to finding out that they were married on a different Earth and remembering the future article showing she’s married to him although she told Eddie it didn’t matter to her.She’s now saying “why not since the universe is telling me too”.Yeah that’s how you get this “Gold Standard” couple together.Then during Flashpoint,Barry spends months stalking Iris until he’s ready to ask her out.Isn’t that a little creepy?What’s sad is the 1st part of season 3 is the last part of the show where Barry Allen is who the show revolves around.Starting in the 2nd half,it’s all about Iris where he swears to her on his dead parents that he’ll do whatever it takes to keep her alive due to seeing her get killed in the future although he let Patty go to keep her safe from Zoom.They even made the whole “there’s now Flash without Iris West” look true by showing that she’s dead in the future and Barry decided to give up being The Flash because he didn’t feel like fighting crime anymore.Yeah there’s your hero.A guy who gives up being a hero to the city just because the woman he’s been obsessed with since he hit puberty is dead.Season 4 became the start of The Flash becoming Iris Knows Best since the show became all about her due to the people in charge going with a feminism scheme by having Iris be team leader when it was supposed to be Cisco which backfired.Iris became an even worse character by taking over the place and the writers nerfing everybody to make her look like she’s needed in the lab when she’s not.Barry doesn’t need Iris no matter how hard the writers try to make it look that way when it’s really Iris who needs Barry to have a reason to stay on the show.Now season 5 when their daughter Nora took over the show and when Barry decided to send Nora back to the future where she came from after not being able to deal with her working with Thawne,Iris so mad to the point that she defended Thawne and admitted that she didn’t care that their daughter was working with him.Yes that’s exactly what I said.The woman who is supposed to be the love of Barry’s life is defending the guy who murdered his mom.This is the most toxic ship I have ever seen on TV.The other reason people shouldn’t watch The Flash is because of the fandom.It doesn’t matter which side you’re on,neither side is full of saints.There are people on the SnowBarry fandom who say racist things towards Candice when they should just accept that an African American actress plays her and the WestAllen fans think just because somebody ships SnowBarry or doesn’t like Iris,they’re officially referred to as a racist without them not even knowing anything about the person.They just assume because Iris is played by an African American actress.They just can’t see how horrible her character is.What’s sad is I don’t think any of the cast would approve this type of behavior because it’s just a TV show and people in the fandom are too into their ship to realize it.That’s why I simply suggest that nobody watches this show and watch the cast members in movies along with other TV shows they’re in.That way they can support them without having to deal with any of this

#The Flash #The Trash #anti flash #anti westallen

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backtothestart02 · 4 years

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Mixed Drink - 19/? | westallen fanfiction

A/N: This one was harder to write, but I hope you enjoy it!

Commissioned by @andromidagalaxie

...

Chapter 19 -

A few days later, Iris found herself still at work an hour after her shift had ended, gnawing on her lip and still unsure of what to do.

She still hadn’t called or texted Jesse. She had to give the girl credit. She hadn’t bothered her once. She’d waited patiently for Iris to contact her. She had said she’d contact her in a few days though, and a few days it had been.

Tell her everything?

How dangerous would that be? And what would she do with that information? She said she wouldn’t share it, but would she cave and tell Wally, or worse yet, Joe and Francine? She might have the best of intentions, but some of the worst things in the world happened with the best intentions.

She was so occupied staring at the floor with her chin propped in her hand that she didn’t even register the presence of someone walking towards her.

“Made a decision yet?” the voice asked, and when Iris looked up, she saw the object of her thoughts staring down at her softly. She didn’t look angry or annoyed, just curious.

“Jesse, hi.”

“Hey. May I?” She gestured to the other side of the booth Iris was sitting at.

Iris nodded, forcing a smile on her conflicted face.

“How’ve you been?” Jesse asked, as if the real question she wanted to ask wasn’t plain as day written on her forehead.

“Alright,” Iris played along, needing the small talk somehow. “You?”

“I’ve been fine. School, you know. And Wally…”

Iris’ brows furrowed. “Are things all right with Wally?”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah, they’re fine. It’s just…” She licked her lips.

“You want to know my answer,” Iris finished for her.

“It has been a few days,” Jesse said weakly, as if she was afraid to remind her. “That is what you asked for.”

Iris nodded. “It is.”

“Have you…thought about my proposal?”

“Is this a school assignment?” Iris asked, only half-joking.

“I am taking a journalism class just for fun, but no, it’s not an assignment.”

That’s how it started for me too, Iris thought to herself. A journalism class for fun.

She’d developed a passion for writing and reporting so fast, investigating, finding out the truth and sharing it, letting justice prevail. But her love for it had also quickly become the downfall of the entire West family. Ever since then she’d wandered in the wilderness of her life, never succeeding at what she loved so much.

Every place of employment she went to, her heart ached too fiercely, her passion bending the rules before she’d elevated to a place where she could bend them. She was never promoted, never praised, and in the end fired for reasons that sometimes seemed like they came out of thin air. Sometimes they were legitimate – not sticking to assignments ever or sneaking into places where her badge did not allow, places that were dangerous apparently. But sometimes she would be fired without a reason and without any warning, and with no recommendation letter either, which left her truly wondering if she was cursed to have such a love for something she couldn’t seem to succeed at.

“Iris?”

She blinked and found Jesse looking at her with furrowed brows again, a concerned expression if she ever saw one.

“Um…”

“If your answer is no, it’s okay to say so. It’s eating me alive not being able to do something as I see your family continue to fall apart, but…I won’t push you. Like you said, some things just can’t be fixed.”

Iris eyed her suspiciously.

“You don’t strike me as someone who gives up that easily.”

Jesse hesitated. “Do you mind if I ask you a few questions – not related to your past?”

“Okay.”

That seemed safe enough.

“Why are you working at Jitters, of all places?”

Iris raised her eyebrows, amused.

“Jitters is a nice place.”

“For a first job maybe,” Jesse said. “Or a job to hold you over while you’re going to school or until the next big thing comes along.” She paused. “Is there a next big thing coming along for you?”

Iris didn’t like how unsettled the question made her. She hadn’t actually thought much into the future except making her part of the rent and having Barry in her life. Eventually she wanted to try being a reporter again, but right now she was so depleted from all her failed attempts that she didn’t even want to think about it.

“Not yet,” she finally said. “But for right now it’s enough.”

“Do you have someone special in your life right now?”

Iris grinned at that. She was shameless about the man in her life. She didn’t mind sharing that aspect one bit.

“As a matter of fact, I do.”

Jesse looked surprised, but Iris ignored her.

“Really? What’s his name?”

“His name is Barry.” Iris beamed.

“How long have you known each other?”

“Just a few weeks, but I feel like I’ve known him my whole life.” She sighed happily.

“Where did you two meet?” Jesse asked, slipping into girl talk mode more than investigative reporter.

Iris hesitated. “…in a bar.”

“Ah.”

“A one-night stand I’ll never regret.”

“Mm.”

Iris could feel the waves of disapproval coming off of Jesse and immediately got defensive.

“How did you and Wally meet?” she asked, crossing her legs beneath the table.

“Well…as much as I’d like to say a study group or something of that nature, it was also a bar.”

Iris’ jaw dropped. Maybe she’d judged too quickly.

“No way.”

“Way.” She laughed. “Celebratory drinks after a successful Math and Science Club competition. Wally apparently saw me across the room where he was with his engineering buddies and had a drink sent over. I invited him to do karaoke with me and the rest is history.”

“You’re telling me my baby brother didn’t so much as make a move the night you met?”

“Well, there might have been some making out in the women’s bathroom after we sang karaoke. He was apparently shocked I could sing, on top of math and science genius.” She lowered her voice to confide. “I graduated high school at 16 too.”

“Am I supposed to be impressed?” Iris asked, even though the look on her face told Jesse that she was.

“Wally was.” She smirked.

“So, what are you now, 18?”

“Nineteen,” she said. “Close though.”

Jesse’s energy was contagious, and Iris found herself smiling. She liked this girl. She liked her a lot. She didn’t know if she trusted her with such a precious secret, but she liked her. She approved of her brother’s girlfriend.

Iris sobered up.

“Tell me why I should trust you, Jesse.”

Jesse grew serious too.

“Because I’m the only tie to you and the other West’s that genuinely has the best intentions at heart. I want to see your family whole again.”

“And if I tell you, you’ll what? Tell Wally and hope the information makes him instantly forgive me and we can tackle our parents together?”

“Something like that. Though I intend to make more of a game plan before just dumping all the information on him, especially given what he thinks of you right now.”

Iris stiffened. “Right.”

“Iris?”

“Mm?”

“He’s wrong. I know it.”

“And if he’s not?”

“We’re not family yet. I can choose to give you a second chance without Wally’s permission.”

“You’re gutsy, I’ll give you that.”

Jesse waited a beat then asked, “So? What do you think?”

Iris took a deep breath and then jumped in with both feet.

“Okay. Tonight. Meet back here five minutes after we close. I’ll let you in, and I’ll tell you everything.”

“Promise?”

Iris hesitated, but then nodded.

“Promise.”

…

Shortly after Jesse left, Iris decided she’d spent enough time at Jitters and wanted to go home.

Maybe Tom would be parked outside to take her to the hotel. He had been the past few days, but she was running out of clothes to change into for the next day at work. She should probably go home first and meet Barry at the hotel room later. They could have room service bring them a candle light dinner like they had last night and spend the night just relaxing with each other before inevitably having sex.

Well, maybe the sex would have to be delayed until later if she was going to come back to Jitters around 10 that night in order to talk to Jesse.

In order to talk to Jesse.

Wow. She couldn’t believe she’d actually agreed to that. This would change everything.

A heaviness settled over her that she quickly shook off. She could think of the gravity of all of this when she came back later. Now she had to get some clothes and-

She paused. Because right there behind one of the glass windows was her tall, handsome man, Barry Allen.

Her heart leapt into her throat, and she hurried outside to greet him by jumping into his arms. He laughed and held her tight before setting her down and kissing her.

“What a greeting,” he said, smiling wide.

“I’ll say.”

Her eyes were bright, and her cheeks were flushed.

“I missed you.”

“I missed you, too.”

He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and swept his curled finger across her nose, cheek, and chin. She was smiling wide when he finished.

“You take my breath away, Mr. Allen.”

“That’s at least one good thing I can do today,” he said.

Iris started to frown.

“That doesn’t sound good.”

He sighed.

“I have to work late tonight, really late. You can still come to the hotel if you want to, but I don’t know how much I’ll be around.”

“I thought you’re only on call for late nights, not actually scheduled.”

“Yeah, well, this one unfortunately was scheduled, and I just was not informed until today.”

“I see.” Her face fell.

“I’m sorry.”

He weaved his fingers through her hair, and she looked up at him.

“I still want to go to the hotel. We can have dinner together at least, yeah?”

He forced a smile. “Sure, Iris.”

“Oh, but first we need to stop at my place. I need more clothes to work in for the rest of the week.”

“Don’t you ever get a day off?”

She laughed. “Day after tomorrow is my day off, so I guess technically I only need one more dress.”

“You like wearing dresses?” he asked, sneaking his arm through hers and guiding her across the street to where the limo was waiting for them.

She nodded as she stepped into the vehicle, smiling at Tom as she went.

“They’re fun to wear.”

“Easy to get out of too, I imagine,” Barry murmured, and Iris knew they’d only half be eating dinner that night. The rest of the time would be taken up with losing themselves in each other in the best way they knew how.

“You’ve learned that easily enough that week, haven’t you?” she teased.

He chuckled. “It’s been a fun lesson to learn.”

“Then come here, Mr. Allen,” she said, pulling him near her. “Show me what you’ve learned.”

He went with her and plastered a sexy grin on his face.

“Gladly, Ms. West,” he said, and slipped his hand up her dress to squeeze one ask cheek underneath.

Iris yelped, and Barry swallowed it with a kiss.

Just beyond them, Tom brought up the partition and turned on the music.

…

In the middle of the night, adorned in all black, Barry stepped into the shadows of the museum in downtown Central City.

He’d taken down the security system and the laser defenses and was now lying in wait for the criminals to come and take their prize – or attempt to take thei, the stunning painting with a usb inside that detailed important government information that was best kept out of their hands.

“Are you in, Barry?” Felicity’s voice said directly into his ear.

He pushed the com in closer and lowered his voice to almost silent.

“Yeah, I’m in. It’s quiet as a mouse in here.”

“Not for much longer. Look to your left.”

Barry pushed himself further back into the shadows and looked to his left as Felicity had instructed.

“I see him.”

“He has two guns on him. See the bulge at his ankle?”

“Yeah, I see.”

“We have to catch this guy and whoever’s with him. I’m your back-up, Barry. Follow him to the painting.”

“On it.”

And so, Barry waited a till the man started to move, foolishly right into the moonlight on his way to the painting. He followed him then, discreetly. From room to room he waited, making sure he didn’t make a sound with each step he followed him.

Then they were both inside the room where the painting resided, and Barry pulled a gun out of his pocket.

“It’s over, Slick.”

The man spun around just as he was about the reach for the painting.

“Who are you?” he gasped, and Barry realized at that moment that this wasn’t the guy they were looking for this. This was an amateur. And why would a professional use an amateur to come steal his prize possession?

Unless he knew someone would try to stop him…

“Hello, Mr. Visier.”

Barry turned around, the name he’d put on his job application familiar to him.

“I knew it was a mistake hiring you, but I did it anyway.”

Barry’s brows furrowed. “Wha-”

The man punched him to the ground, and then a few more times until he was unconscious.

“Barry! Barry, are you all right? Barry?” Felicity’s voice sounded in his ear, but neither men heard it.

The sound of Barry’s bulletproof vest being unzipped was heard in Felicity’s ear as well as a gunshot following it. Her eyes widened in a panic. She clutched at her speaking device.

“BARRY!”

…

After a romantic, steamy early evening with Barry, the last thing Iris wanted to do was go and tell her dark life story to Jesse Wells.

Still, a promise was a promise, and since Barry was gone when she woke up from her post-coital nap, she decided to get ready in the clothes she’d come in and head over to Jitters.

What she didn’t expect was the brunette not to show.

Iris waited over an hour and actually fell asleep waiting until a pounding at the door woke her. She sat up immediately, expecting it to be Jesse, but the sight before her stole her breath.

It was Wally.

Unsure of what was going to happen, she reluctantly made her way across the shop and unlocked the door for him.

“Wally, what are you-”

“So, this is your meeting spot, huh? With my girlfriend?”

She froze. “She told you.”

“No. She came over and this fell out of her pocket.”

He dropped the small recorder on a nearby table. Iris’ eyes widened. She’d had no idea Jesse had been recording her.

Wally pressed play on what he presumably wanted her to hear.

“Okay. Tonight. Meet back here five minutes after we close. I’ll let you in, and I’ll tell you everything.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

He stopped the recording.

“So, what exactly were you going to tell her?” He took a seat at the table. “Because I’d love to know too.”

Iris bitterly sat back down and glared at him.

“You came late for someone who was following instructions.”

“Who said I was following them?”

“You had a fight,” she deciphered.

“You had no business getting my girlfriend involved.”

Iris scoffed. “She got herself involved. Sought me out. Twice!”

“You should’ve denied her.”

“Why? You afraid I’ll tell her the truth?”

He laughed. “And what is the truth, Iris?”

She was about to answer, about to spit something truly awful back in his face, but her phone rang in her pocket. She saw it was an unknown number and ignored it, but then it called back again and again, and so she stood up and answered it, much to Wally’s dislike.

“Hello?”

“Hi. Is this Iris West?”

“Who’s asking?”

“My name is Felicity Smoak. I’m a co-worker of Barry’s. I was with him during his… During his shift tonight.”

Iris got a nasty feeling in her gut. She slowly sat down at the next table over to gain some privacy from Wally’s glaring eyes.

“This is Iris,” she said, her voice quivering.

There was a pause before the woman continued.

“There’s something you should know.”

...

*will be posted on AO3 and FFnet when beta’d.

#westallen #fanfiction #westallen fanfiction #backtothestart02 fanfiction #mixed drink #chapter 19 #fic commission #for andromidagalaxie

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theflashfictioner · 5 years

Text

Bad Blood pt. 2

Pt. 2 from the fic idea by @rachelscosplay

After Wells turned on the Particle Accelerator and popped a bottle of champagne, it seemed like the air was alive with the happy, excited energy emanating from all the workers at S.T.A.R. Labs, including you. But, you knew what else was coming up, and while everyone was sipping champagne, jovially talking, you walked up and out of the cortex, choosing to enjoy the night's events in the fresh, cooler air.

Raindrops were falling lightly on your skin and cooling you off. You looked at your watch and then look up, seeing the raindrops slow to a stop before starting to float up. You hurry back into the building, finding the most stable point as the particle accelerator explodes. There's pure chaos both inside the labs and out, as you rush in to the cortex, where Caitlin, Cisco, and Ronnie all seem to be missing as many of the lab technicians and other engineers are panicking and suddenly the waves of dark matter ripple through the city. You hurry around to help those who were hurt pretty badly by the explosion, and everything hits you at once.

The worst has happened. You knew what Dr. Wells was planning, knew things had to happen as they did, but you were promised there were only going to be injuries. You had believed there would be minor damage, but as you spend the next few hours surrounded by paramedics, police, and even coroners. You feel dread settle in your stomach like a rock as you count the 17 dead, identifying them before they're zipped up in a body bag and taken to be examined. You notice Dr. Wells taken in a neck brace on a gurneys and many others following, tears flowing down your cheeks as you feel betrayed and hurt over a broken promise. This is the one thing you begged not to happen, and you later go to find and confront him.

When you finally meet up with him, you see him in a wheel chair, staring in the room at a patient who you knew was Barry Allen, and would some day soon become the Flash. As you come up to Dr. Wells, he wheeled himself around and his expression softens only slightly as he looks at you. "Y/n, my darling, why have you been crying?"

"You broke your promise. This wasn't supposed to happen..." you say.

"Y/n, we are making history. You get to help the Flash become the Flash! There are variables that I can't always predict, either? Everything is okay! See? He's alive. I'm alive, and so are you."

You shook you head and refused to meet his eyes. "You told me there would be injuries and that no one would die. You told me this needed to happen. That we did this for a reason but that everyone would come out stronger and survive. It makes me wonder whether you knew about all this or not, and I'm wondering what my dad is actually planning that would cause him to lie to me," you say, meeting his gaze when you finish your last statement.

"Even you, no matter how skilled you are, cannot save everyone or predict what's gonna happen next. You have to wake up and realise that not every promise is in my power to control." He turned back to Barry before continuing. "This is our chance to become a part of something. Don't you want that?" He asks and looks up at you.

A few days later, you smoothed out your dress and met up at the hospital with Dr. Wells who was now confined to his wheelchair. He smiled at you when you approached and asked, "Ready to be a part of something greater?"

You nodded with a smile and he wheeled himself in to talk to Joe. You followed a bit behind while they talked and studied Barry, wondering how someone who looked so fragile, someone who looked like they were going to die any moment was expected to become the world's fastest man alive. When Dr wells returned by your side, he nods and you and Caitlin help get him to S.T.A.R. Labs.

9 months Later

You were walking into S.T.A.R Labs and talking with Cisco about ways you could possibly wake him up, and Cyberstalking him on Facebook was a good idea. As per your conversation, Cisco puts on Poker Face by Lady Gaga, and both you and Cisco sing along while Caitlin criticizes the music, right as Barry shot up and freaked out. You stayed back as Cisco and Caitlin fussed over him for a bit, calling Dr. Wells into the Cortex as you hear, "...lightning gave me abs?"

You chuckled and see Dr. Wells enter as Barry inquires about how long he's been in a coma. "Nine months," says Dr. Wells and smiles before continuing. "We have a lot to discuss." He and Barry leave the cortex as you hang back with Caitlin and Cisco, smiling and shaking your head at them and making conversation about the way Barry was physically and mentally. Having had quite a few scares there was actually a lot to talk about. When they came in, you heard him ask about Iris.

"She talks a lot," you and Caitlin say simultaneously.

"Also, she's hot," Cisco piped up and you rolled your eyes.

" I need to go," he says and starts to the exit.

"Caitlin's right," you pop in. "We need to take more tests since you're awake and we dont even know the extent of the changes you're going through."

He shakes his head and says, "Thank you for saving my life."

"Really?" Caitlin says as he quickly walks in and asks to keep the sweatshirt.

A little while later, you were all at the airstrip, setting up for the testing Barry's speed and poking fun at Cisco for the "safety gear" he'd gotten for Barry. As Barry stepped out you bit your lip and looked away to stop from laughing really hard as Cisco explained what was gonna happen.

"So then what do you two do?" He says gesturing to you and Cisco.

"I make the toys," Cisco says proudly, explaining the gadget he was handing Barry and then they turn to you.

"I have many talents," you say with a smirk, "but I mostly provide help to Dr. Wells as we fix up S.T.A.R. Labs and annoying Cisco and Caitlin. I'm an extra perspective here to make sure things end up going smoothly."

Barry nods before turning to Caitlin. "You don't smile much," he said and you cringed as you felt your soul leave your body. /why Barry?/ you thought as he was put in his place by Caitlin, who then walks off. After being warned by Dr. Wells, Barry sets off running and you all see flashes of lightening marveling at his speed!

Until he loses focus and crashes, breaking his wrist...

Back at the lab, Caitlin explained Barry his fractures, and the amazing way they healed while Cisco commented on his needing to stop.

"We find out he has speed healing and you're concerned with him learning to stop?" You tease Cisco.

Dr. Wells talked to him about the field and asked him what made him lose focus, as he explains his story, something seems wrong, but you nod sympathetically and then Dr Wells let's him know he's one of a kind as you process what was said.

A little later, Barry bursts in angrily demanding to know if he wasn't the only person affected, and you all shared a look before Wells told him he wasn't sure.

"You said this city was safe! That there was no residual danger, but that's not true. So, what really happened that night?"

"Well... the accelerator went active, we all felt like heroes, and then... it all went wrong," Wells started as you pulled up an image of the accelerator on the screens. "It all went wrong. The dimensional barrier ruptures, unleashing unknown energies into our world. Antimatter, dark energy, X elements...'

"Those are theoretical," Barry points out and you bite your tongue to keep from making a sarcastic remark, keeping your eyes on the ground.

"And how theoretical are you? We mapped the dispersion throughout and around Central City. Though we have no way of knowing exactly what or... who was exposed, we've been searching for other meta-humans like yourself," Caitlin says carefully.

"Meta-humans?"

"That's what we're calling them," you explained as Cisco commented with excitement about how cool this all was.

"This is not cool!" Barry snapped back. "A man died. Mardon must have gotten his powers the same way I did and he's still out there! We have to stop him before he hurts anyone else." He continued before starting to head out of the cortex.

"Barry, that's a job for the police," You piped in, trying not to make this worse.

"I work for the police,"he said, turning back around, and you felt like you'd made a mistake.

"As a forensic assistant," Dr. Wells replied and Barry turned on him.

"You're responsible for this. For him."

"What's important it YOU! Not me. I lost everything. I lost my company. I lost my reputation. I lost my freedom. And then you broke your arm and it healed in three hours. Inside your body could be a map to a whole new world of Genetic therapies, vaccines, medicines. Treasures buried deep within yourself and we cannot risk losing everything because you want to go out and play hero!"

Everyone was silent for a second, Dr. Wells and Barry holding a stare while you, Cisco, and Caitlyn tried not to feel too uncomfortable.

"You're not a hero. You're just a young man who was struck by lightning."

Barry looked disbelievingly at Dr. Wells before looking at the three of you to say something. When none of you did, he turned and walked out of the cortex. Everyone was quiet and then Cisco left to his workshop, Dr. Wells left to go somewhere else, Caitlin went into the lab, and you sat at the computer desk trying to get rid of the residual awkwardness left in the room.

A little while later

You, Caitlin, Cisco, and Barry were gathered around the table as Barry explained about how he was going over cases from the past 9 months and how the metas were busy. He let you know he doesn't blame any of you but he needed help catching them. Caitlin looked terrified, Cisco looked absolutely excited like he was part of his favourite show, and you schooled your expression into being neutral.

"If we're gonna do this, I have something that might help," Cisco said, and you found yourselves in the workshop as Cisco revealed a red suit and explained the all the features of the suit to Barry, and Caitlin talked about the satellites to help find Mardon, explaining the place that they picked up.

Barry then suited up and headed out as you, Caitlin, and Cisco headed into the cortex. When he arrived you and Cisco were trying to get his attention and he answered, explaining the issue of the tornado and his solution to it. You all took a second to think about it, Cisco explaining that he'd have to try and Caitlin worried he couldn't handle it.

"I have to try," Barry replied as you watched is vitals and speed.

"The suits holding up," said Cisco happily and Caitlin showed him his vitals, saying "But he's not."

"He can do this," Cisco said. "I know he can."

"You can do this, Barry," you said, at the same time Wells did. All of you looked at him in surprise as he coached Barry on how to do this after taking responsibility for all the damage.

And you all watched on screen as Barry was able to stop the tornado and Cailtin tried to get him to respond, calling his name out through the coms, until he answered and let you know he was okay.

Everyone celebrated and breathed a sigh of relief since the danger was now over.

#the flash #bad blood the fic #flash fiction #the flash imagine #barry allen x reader #barry allen #barry allen imagine #the flash x reader #harrison wells #eobard thawne #eddie thawne #caitlin snow #Caitlin snow #cisco ramon x reader #cisco ramon #arrowverse #x reader

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