#i'm thinking about wally and piper again

[gorogues]

Spoilers for Flash #788!

You can see the preview pages here.

A whole lot happens here, which you can see above. To sum up: Wolfe got out of his conviction upon appeal and then ran for mayor with money from the mob/criminals, and has access to a mysterious source of power (possibly Hypertime) which is letting him do all sorts of questionable things. He's enlisted the Rogues to keep order in the city, and has an agenda to "put right everything that's wrong", probably via this power source. The Rogues are keen to arrest Wally as part of the law and order agenda, but Hartley shows up to help him.

Mr Terrific sees a clear link between Wolfe and Hypertime, so it seems likely that's a big part of what's happening. Wolfe apparently used it to cure Mick of his terminal cancer -- I'm glad that plot hasn't been forgotten -- and it certainly seems a good avenue to change things he believes are wrong, to solve "the cancer of chaos that needs to be excised from the world". Question is, how did Wolfe gain access to Hypertime, and how's he manipulating it? Did the Time Masters help? And what exactly is he planning to do with it? Obviously the latter point will be addressed next issue or in a coming storyline, so we should find out then.

(Once again I ask who was wanting the return of Hypertime, but we'll see if DC does anything interesting with it.)

Another thing I'm curious about is why the Rogues are doing Wolfe's bidding, because they're all smart enough to know what an abusive asshole he is…you might not think so based on this issue, though. Maybe getting out of jail for a few days is worth it to them, but surely they don't think he'll actually set them free. Or is he using Hypertime/the mysterious power source to rewrite their feelings towards him to make them more amenable? He isn't doing anything like that to Blacksmith, and is just using pure force + threats to keep her in line, so I wonder what makes his relations with her different from the way he treats them. I also wonder where Lisa is, as in recent years she's been one of the voices of rationality within the Rogues and might be more difficult to manipulate.

But, as said above, it's good to have Mick's illness and the plot with Waller addressed. I can actually believe he has genuine loyalty to Wolfe based on what's happened, though less so for the other guys even if they'd be glad their friend's healthy. Axel is frustratingly a Jaxel hybrid again, which I'd been hoping DC had left behind…you could be forgiven for thinking that's James, if not for his prosthetic arm. And it's good to see Hartley back and have him interacting with Wally; hopefully DC will remember they used to be best pals! I'm also glad to see the return of my favourite Piper costume.

It's no surprise that Wolfe's a hypocrite who preaches law and order and takes money/services from criminals. I am curious if anyone will call him out on it, and whether he's planning to use Hypertime (or whatever) to eliminate anyone who can snitch on him. And just how far he wants to go with this: is he planning to run the whole city like a prison, as hinted by his comment about setting up checkpoints? It makes total sense that Hartley would get involved in fighting this kind of authoritarian regime, so it was a great choice to include him in this arc.

Anyway, it's a pretty good issue and very nice to see some missing characters again. I wonder if this story would be better suited as a longer arc instead of just one more issue, but maybe it'll be slowly burning in the background and occasionally furthered whenever Wolfe makes a move. That's what we've been seeing already and it seems to be working, but we'll see where this goes next issue.

#Captain Cold #Heat Wave #Weather Wizard #Mirror Master #the Trickster #Axel #Blacksmith #Pied Piper #Warden Wolfe #the Flash #Linda Park #Mr Terrific #spoilers: comics #reviews #tw injury #long post

[fialleril]

Not really a question, but I love that you recognize that everything about the Flash family, from the oldest to the youngest, and even to the Rogues, is so wholesome in a weird but perfect way.

Now if only DC would recognize that, lol.

Listen, I’m not in this superhero thing ‘cause I wanna read a bunch of dark, gritty, angsty painfest stories where everything is super ~realistic~ (for which read dark and gritty, of course). Buddy. Pal. Friend. You know what that is?

It’s boring.

All these people are like, “Ooh, hey, here’s an edgy idea, let’s take a good and kind and decent character and break them down and make everything awful. What a great, super original idea!”

Yawn.

Man, that’s such a snooze fest. The grimdark 90s were a mistake then and they’re still a mistake now.

You know what is interesting to me? Stories about good people trying their best and learning and growing and helping one another and becoming better and more perfectly themselves. Stories about people recovering from the horrible things that have happened to them and reclaiming themselves and ideas of family and community in ways that are healthy and good and bring joy. Stories about people who’ve made mistakes trying to do better.

If your superhero isn’t best friends with at least one former supervillain, why should I even care about them, tbh?

#replies #darthlordrevoldemort #okay okay i confess #i'm thinking about wally and piper again #but also this applies to a whole lot more than just comics fandom even #like...i'm just so tired of all the darker and edgier takes these days #i survived the grimdark 90s i did not want to live thru this again #have we learned nothing? #at least during the 90s the real world was a generally more hopeful and prosperous place #but now reality is pretty damn grim too #we're facing catastrophic climate change and a rising tide of fascism around the world #if we can't find joy and hope and goodness in our escapism #what the hell is the point? #my meta #meta in tags #dc comics #flash family shenanigans

[givemewallywestorgivemedeath]

Introducing DC's 80 page Pride book!!

(yes, I know it's not a full rainbow, I don't have all the colors 😭)

(DC Pride cover, featuring Jess, Kate, Ivy, Harley, Dreamer, Midnighter, Apollo, the Question and Alan Scott!!!! Not featured but also present are Crush and Pied Piper!!!)

Notably, this marks Dreamer's first time being in the comics (she was first introduced in the Supergirl tv show as a descendant of Dream Girl). Dreamer was the first transgender superhero on tv and I'm very excited that she's here to stay!!! (Also apparently the actor who played Dreamer in the show wrote the story, which????? What the fuck, you go girl, that's awesome!?!? I wish I was that talented)

(Variant cover for DC Pride featuring the lovely Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, Gotham's resident Bi-cons)

Extremely excited to see Jess again so quickly (pun intended). If you don't know who Jess Chambers is, they're my favorite non-binary Flash and they are absolutely wonderful. (I adore them) I loved their relationship with Aquawoman in Future State (it was one of the only things about Future State that I liked). Unfortunately, that's probably the last we'll see of Jess and Andy together, as Andy is a baby currently (unless they bring in an alternate universe Andy??). But honestly tho, I don't care if Jess is in a relationship or not as long as they are featured in comics.

(Variant cover of Superman #32, featuring Clark being wholesome af)

Love to see the Gay Dads™ being featured front and center in the Pride anthology. Alan Scott, the absolute legend, just came out to his kids recently and it was beautiful. Hopefully this story includes his lovely children and the JSA, because we love to see them being wholesome together.

(Variant cover of Nightwing #81 featuring a pole dancing Dick Grayson)

Midnighter and Apollo (the other Gay Dads ™) we haven't seen since DC's last Pride book (cough, cough, do better dc). Hopefully we get confirmation that their daughter still exists post reboot because I'm half expecting dc to pull a Lian Harper and I hate it.

(Variant cover of Wonder Girl #2, featuring a Yara who is possibly queer?? All signs point to yes but we shall see)

Speaking of gays that we love, I'm incredibly excited for the return of the Pied Piper. The first openly gay man in dc, Hartley used to be a main character in the Flash series. Best friends with Wally West, Hartley stopped showing up in comics the same time he did. Hopefully now that Wally is the main Flash again Hartley will retake his role as a series regular (and we can finally have Piper's long awaited wedding).

(Variant cover of Crush & Lobo #1 featuring Crush and Katie....... Please don't break them up dc)

We, of course, have our resident lesbians, Renee and Kate. The Question and Batwoman, back at it again with that gay shit. You love to see it. We also have Crush joining the ranks with her girlfriend Katie (it is unclear at this time what Crush and Katie's orientations are but I think it's fairly safe to add em to the wlw catagory).

(Variant cover of Harley Quinn #4, featuring.... oh, who am I kidding? They don't need an introduction)

You know em, you love em, Gotham City's resident Bi-cons are out here stealing the show. Excited to see their relationship front and center!! It's not often bisexual characters are allowed to even acknowledge their bisexuality (looking at you Wonder Woman and John Constantine). This is a nice change of pace!

(Ps, guys please let me know how to do more than like five colors on tumblr....)

#dc comics #dc #pride #pride month #comics #biseuxal #transgender #nonbinary #lesbian #gay #lgbtqia #dc pride #nightwing #superman #crush #harley quinn #poison ivy #harley x ivy #yara flor #jesse chambers #the flash #dreamer #Midnighter #apollo #pied piper #dick grayson #alan scott #green lantern #batwoman #kate kane

[tricksterrune]

Oh, and Pipster (romantic or not) for "Accidentally Saving the Day"!

again, it was a struggle to pry this from my brain

long story short:

Wally asks Piper for help on a mission since he's the sonics expert. Piper hems and haws for a bit before agreeing to help. That makes Wally feel a bit suspicious since Piper is normally always up to help (well, that's how Wally sees it) and won't even tell him why.

At one point, they're at a standstill. The villain (maybe Toyman?) hid himself in a gigantic safe-like construction, meters of steel, bullet proof glass or other fancy material. But the time is ticking awy and they don't know how to get into the safe in time to save a hostage. (I'm thinking Toyman , let's go with him, kidnapped people, put them into death traps, but the team can't find the last one in time).

"What can we do?"

"Unless you just happen to have 100 pounds of explosive lying around, there's nothing we can do."

"I.... need to make a phone call." Turns out that Piper was reluctant to go because he was actually on his way for a date with James. While James isn't thrilled about the raincheck, he understands Piper's desire to help. Which means that he spent the whole story on Piper's couch, amusing himself by sewing tiny rat costumes when the phone rings. And he actually does have an ungodly amount of explosives. He made small explosives early in his career and got in the habit of preparing a few gadgets every month. But since he hasn't used them in years, there's now a stockpile.

"Honey, do you still have that hoard of explosives in your hideout at abc street? Because we're in need of a big boom."

Wally picks up James from Piper's place, races to the hideout, James carries it because it's weightless if he's the one holding the bag and they make it in time to crack open the safe, threaten Toyman and save the last hostage.

Wally asks after all is done, if Piper was reluctant to tell him about dating the Trickster, citing the initial awkwardness. Piper stops dead in his tracks and beings an epic rant. While it speaks of personal growth that Wally acknowledges his past as a well-intentioned but miseducated youth regarding Piper's sexuality, Piper had thought they were all past that, especially since he had told Wally already that he was dating James, but Wally had been too preoccupied or dense to notice. Cue James hysterically laughing in the background, managing to say "I told you so" before disolving into fits of giggles.

Piper had even invited Wally on outings with both of them, suggesting double dates with Linda, but Wally had managed to cancel all of them last minute for superhero stuff. So, Linda knew and also talked to him about them, mentioning them casually. But, Wally was too dense to notice. At that point it has been months and James had guessed that Wally had no clue, Piper of course denied it because surely his best friend (excluding James) would remember such an important details, but nope. James got him to agree on a bet.

While things click in place for Wally ( a hundred situations suddenly make so much more sense), Piper keeps ranting on and James has sunk to the ground, tears in his eyes.

#james jesse #the trickster #pied piper #hartley rathaway #wally west #the flash

[zoefandom127]

oof jk the jatp post was not the last one. how could i forget about my fav coupleeeee. spitfire supremacyyyyy

(i just copy and pasted this slightly edited version from ao3 cuz i improved this chapter everywhere else except on here)

this is also a multichapter fic, just lemme kno if any of you want the rest!

Taken

Artemis woke up in a haze. The room was dark and her head was dizzy. As she tried to stand, pain erupted throughout her head and an overwhelming sense of nausea flared within her causing her to fall back onto her knees. She reached up to touch her head but was stopped as metallic bindings hindered her movement. Looking back she discovered that her hands and feet were chained.

 Instead of trying to stand again, she decided to observe her surroundings. The room was small. There were no windows, no opening to the outside world, no way out. She spotted one exit as she did a 180 of the room, a door with a little slit in the top center. It seemed to be made with thick metal, wider than the walls that enveloped her.

 Testing the strength of the chains, Artemis pulled and jerked and wrestled with them until finally, with a frustrated growl, she came to terms with the fact that she wasn't getting out of her restraints easily. Retreating from her failed attempts at escaping, she plopped onto the floor and tried to recall the moments of how she got into this hostage situation.

 14 hours earlier…

 The sound of the alarm blared throughout the building. Artemis's head snapped up from her desk, the sound jolting her wide awake. She was running on little to no sleep, deciding to stay up the night before adding the finishing touches to her report on the "Captain Cold vs. Flash" debacle that happened last week. Her attention turned toward the large screen at the front of the room.

 The screen showed a group of League of Shadow members. Artemis easily identified every face on the screen. Her eyes grew wide as she tried to swallow the lump trapped inside her throat. She nearly flinched as Iris came up behind her and laid a hand on her shoulder.

 "Artemis, sweetheart, hurry up. I'm putting you on this story," Iris spoke firmly while directing her attention towards her tablet, definitely multi-tasking, as it was her specialty.

 Artemis stood quickly, trying to regain her thoughts.

 "Oh, um, I-I'm—" Artemis stuttered but was abruptly cut off.

 "Stop sputtering," Iris started while pushing Artemis and her cameraman out the door, "And go!" she continued.

 "Good luck!" she yelled as the glass doors closed.

 Once she was on the sidewalk, Artemis' senses shifted into high gear and she grabbed Jimmy, her cameraman, and made a beeline for the first available van.

 "Drive to Kiona Park!" she exclaimed.

 As the driver slammed his foot onto the gas pedal, Artemis's nerves jumbled up as she suddenly realized she'd be seeing many familiar faces.

 ...

As she arrived at the park, Artemis and her crew hopped out of the van and whirled around to face the source of the commotion. Jimmy started going live as soon as his shoes hit the pavement. Artemis turned to see Pied Piper, Captain Boomerang, Heat Wave, Captain Cold, and...and Sportsmaster. Her breath hitched in her throat. Sportsmaster was here.

 He's supposed to be in jail... Artemis thought, They're all supposed to be in jail. Artemis spotted Wally er—Flash (she was still getting used to calling him that) zoom up to the group tauntingly.

 "Hey! Who let the dogs out!" he said jokingly.

 "We're not here for you," Sportsmaster spoke in that same haunting and daunting sound that sent chills down Artemis' back, "We're here for her."

 He nodded toward Artemis and she grew alert of him and his whole entourage staring at her. She shifted on the balls of her feet. Somehow she didn't think he would notice her if she held her breath and stood still.

 Wally stepped in front of the group. "Woah there, guys," he held up his hand, defectively acting as a barrier between them and his girlfriend, “That blonde beauty is off-limits.”

 "Artemis," her horrible excuse for a father called out to her, "you're really going to hide behind a superhero from the inevitable?" He continued taking a step forward, "I thought I raised you better than that."

 Artemis glared at him, anger rising within her.

 "You didn't raise me at all," she responded with a low growl.

 "Oh, now is that any way to speak to your father, baby girl." he retaliated.

 Artemis flinched at the nickname, having not heard it since her childhood years.

 All eyes were immediately switched to focus on her, including Wally's. But she didn't move. In fact, she narrowed her eyes, further intensifying her stare instead.

 "It has come to my attention that my little girl, the youngest daughter of Sportsmaster, is out here playing reporter and flirting with a hero. Do you understand the type of situation you have put me in? The dent you've put in my reputation? No. We simply cannot have that, can we?"

 Artemis bit her tongue to refrain from saying anything. She looked to the corner of her eyes to see Wally's brilliant green and confused eyes. She had been wanting to tell him. Honestly. But it's hard news. Being the daughter of a notorious con artist and assassin that is a part of the biggest group of infamous criminals is a lot to spit out, let alone process. Not to mention that her mother is an ex-con and her sister is an assassin who is also caught up with the League of Shadows. Her family lineage is not something you can just drop on someone or exactly "thrilling" to explain.

 It's hard to talk about the fact that she had to ditch her "family traditions" and go straight, start from scratch and leave that life behind.

 But the look in Wally's eyes indicated a hurt she has never seen before. A loss of trust. And that broke her down to her very core.

 "So, me and my friends here," he gestured to the League members, "are here to insist on your coming with us."

 "I will never join the Shadows," Artemis said with a chilling voice, "what you do is sick and I will never be a part of that."

 "We'll see about that." Immediately Sprotsmaster lifted his fingers into the air, gesturing some sort of signal. A signal that Artemis recognized very well.

 "Everybody get down!"

this is an au where arty is a news reporter and wally is the flash.

and eeeeee i love artemis and wally so much. like it’s unhealthy how obsessed i am with them. and btw wally ain’t ded. we don’t accept that statement in this area.

#spitfire #young justice #wally x artemis #wally west #artemis crock #kid flash #sportsmaster #dc universe #young justice au #young justice fanfic #yj artemis #yj kid flash

[eg515]

Who's your favourite characters in this flash?

oooooo that's a hard one. in no particular order:

Barry: I mean, Grant is the whole reason I started watching this show. to be honest, I knew mostly nothing about The Flash or most DC comics before the Arrowverse, but i love the way he plays the character. I think he's a great actor, and one of the few who made me like the main character, which is rare

Leonard Snart/Captain Cold: I mean..... come on. any and all versions of the character WM played in the Arrowverse is *chef's kiss*

Hartley Rathaway/Pied Piper: a villain turned hero (turned villain again)? who is gay? has sassy one-liners? Andy Mientus is just the cherry on the top.

Iris: I wasn't a fan of her at first. I didn't have any problems with her, I just did 't particularly care. I mean, s1 had both Wentworth Miller's Len and Andy Mientus' Pied Piper. I was distracted, okay? she slowly grew on me, and she's been one of my favs since the Earth-X crossover. it doesn't hurt that Candice is so amazing.

Tom Cavanaugh. just, any character he plays. except for Sherloque.

Lisa Snart/Golden Glider: this one might be beacuse of my never-ending crush on Peyton List, but every second she was on screen was a blessing.

Killer Frost: just look at her hair. her style. her sarcasm.

David Singh: except for that shit they are pulling with him in s6. but I liked him from the beginning. I miss having him around. (also, I have an ask in my inbox about him, idk if you're the same anon who sent that. anyway, I'm on it, I just wanted to check a few things in earlier episodes first.)

Wally West/Kid Flash: I mean, if I have to explain this one, we have nothing to talk about.

Jessie Quick: I refuse to believe she died with Earth-2. I loved her, her relationship with Harry, and I miss her smile. I get to see Violet on God Friended Me though, so it's okay.

Kamilla!!! she's so amazing. when she first appeared, I thought she will be just a one-time guest, but thankfully she stuck around.

don't think I forgot about my man Julian Albert. at first I only cared about him because of Tom Felton, but he grew on me. that weird romantic plotline with Caitlin though...

thanks for asking! this was fun to think through 😄 daaamn, I really miss s1.

#the flash #eg answers