#also i cut out the part where oliver says now joy is his middle name but that was cute bc..... well (gestures to da'vine)

[lesbiancolumbo]

[amphii-writes]

Hi! I would like to request an angst fic where the reader gets into a fight with any of the karasuno boys and ends up in an accident after running away. You can choose anyone who you like! Thanks

So, because of how much creative liberty you gave me I’m gonna make the accident less of a “your hurt” accident but an accidental meeting if you catch my drift! Okay, on that note here are the three boys I thought would work the best with this idea:

Asahi

Tsukishima

Ennoshita

surprising, right? people seem to forget that Asahi quit the club and ennoshita almost quit like 5 times, and Tsukishima is self-explanatory.

Part two -->here<--

Thank you so much for requesting! It means a lot to me!

synopsis: Tsukishima snapped at you after you asked him to support your friendship, doing so, you ran away and met a tall man with red hair and a strange smile. genre: ANGST, slight fluff in the memories and end! warnings: Swearing, toxic friendships, heartbreak, etc. pairing: Platonic?Tsukishima & Yamaguchi x F!Reader x Platonic?Tendou word count: 1.7k

After a long day of doing club activities and homework, you were thoroughly beat. Who could blame you, staying up late nights for some free time and to get your homework done. But you always made sure to check in on your closest friends: Yamaguchi and Tsukishima.

You three had met at the beginning of middle school, as you were getting made fun of by some kids and Tsukishima stepped in and helped you. Since then you’d always wanted to repay him with your time and effort in the friendship. He was often cold to you though, leaving you to believe that nothing would ever happen in the friendship and that he’d leave you high and dry.

You and Yamaguchi often discussed Tsukishima’s personality and actions to try to attest to his actions, which at some points was hard due to his slightly sadistic nature. After long nights of ranting to each other about your frustrations, you two became closer.

Long sleepless nights filled with laughter and music often warmed your heart, especially when Tsukishima joined. He had made both you and Yamaguchi playlists- full of songs that reminded him of you guys and a small description in the bio. It was the sweetest thing he’d ever done for a long time, but then he started getting colder to you, distant. He would push you away and use words sharper than knives to cut open your heart and let it bleed a little. You had asked Yamaguchi to talk to him about it but he just said that Tsuki told him not to bring you up anymore. 

You had no idea what to do, why he exiled you, and why you never saw this coming in all honesty. You wondered if he saw you checking up on him as clingy, or how you’d make treats for him and Yamaguchi and see it as annoying or too doting. You thought of everything you could until you decided to talk with him face-to-face, which you knew would be hard, but you knew you had to try.

Armed with some baked goods and a dinosaur plushie in your already weighted backpack make your eyes droop with exhaustion. But, you were determined to go and ask him what was up. You couldn’t let such a meaningful relationship go to waste.

As you approached the gym, the sound of volleyballs bouncing around the floor filled your ears, a faint yet somewhat comforting sound. You were proud of Tadashi and Kei for doing a sport, you knew it would exhaust them, but you believed it was exactly what they needed. the feeling of light dread and the beating of your heartbeat the sound of the slams of the balls, now a faint memory in your ears.

“NOYA, LOOK OVER HERE!” you heard a male voice yell, it was coming closer to the door. “RYUU, WHAT DO YOU MEAN- OH!” a short guy with a blonde streak of hair made eye contact with you, his eyes full of energy. He ran to the door and opened it completely for you. by this time, the whole gym is now aware of your existence.

“So, what’s a cute girl doing here? Waiting for someone-” The boy named “Noya” was then promptly picked up along with his friend, “Ryuu” by a tall boy with brown hair and kind chestnut eyes. “My apologies, what do you need?” he asked with a smile. You then saw a boy with orange hair jumping up and down.

“Kageyama, look how pretty she is! Is she gonna be a manager? Hey! Are you gonna be a manager? Your very pretty!” his sweet attitude and words reminded you of what you were there for, who you were there for. You chuckled, rubbing your hand on the back of your neck.

“Thank you for your compliments but I’m just here to walk home with my friends after they’re both done with practice, I don’t mean to be a bother. To apologize, would you like some brownies? I think I brought enough for everyone here-” you were cut off by the two boys who first greeted you praying and crying out of joy. 

“Well, if you don’t mind then we’d love some! I’m Daichi Sawamura, the captain of the volleyball team” He shook your hand, his grip was just tight enough and his hands where calloused and warm, you were then met with a boy with long hair and some stubble hunching over, his hand rubbing his neck as he flashed a shy smile and bowed and thanked you. You saw so many different looking people, the skinhead and blonde streak boy seeming to be the most energetic out of the team. You finally were met with Yamaguchi jogging over to you after seemingly talking to Tsukishima. 

“Hey, Y/N! Thank you for coming, I appreciate it!” Tadashi smiled brightly. “Oh yeah- I, um... this is me and Tsuki’s friend: Y/N!” he stumbled on his words because of how many eyes were onto him.

“Y/N? Why are you here?” Tsukishima sounded frustrated “Tsuki, let her explain! Please?” only to be answered with a “Shut up, Yamaguchi.” in an icy cold tone, icier than usual. “Well, I just wanted to see if you were okay, and in all honesty, I wanted to talk to you privately-” you said, trying to calm the thumping of your heart.

“Y/N, if I was avoiding you, it was for a reason, now leave.” He snapped, the whole gym was quiet, no sound of balls, just everyone holding their breath. “Tsukishima, please hear me out-” you were once again cut off by the harsh words of one of your closest friends.

“Y/N. I don’t care about what you want to say to me, shut up and leave.” his words made you hold your breath, choking back the salty tears with a warm smile and a bow and you reached into your bag to grab a small dinosaur plushie. You handed it to him without a word, left the bag of sweets with the boys, said goodbye, and then ran out the door. you heard the faint yell of Yamaguchi and Daichi saying something. 

You could only imagine how awkward the team felt, you felt bad for coming, felt horrible for bothering him so much. You knew deep down that you did nothing wrong, that he just had to learn how to cope with his emotions, but that didn’t change the ache in your heart as your feet carried you to the street. You were aimlessly running until you were met with a stop sign, the red lights from the stoplights illuminating your skin with the bright blue.

You just aimlessly walked around the streets, not caring where you’re heading, where you are. Your tear-stained cheeks being wiped away by your sweater sleeves. The moving of cars and the small amount of business on the streets welcoming your bad mood. A tune of humming met your ears as you looked around yourself. You had somehow managed to run yourself to Shiratorizawa Academy. Honestly, now that you think about it, your feet do feel sore after walking for so long.

"Hey! Whatchu doin' here? That uniform means your from Karasuno, right?" only to be met with a perky male voice, he sounded mischievous. you turned around to see a tall boy with sanpaku eyes and a mischievous smile. His hair was a medium red and his eyes were sunken in, but not dull. But as soon as he saw your tired eyes and your tear-stained cheeks his demeanor changed. “Hey, are you okay? Can I do anything to help?” by this time you had already cried all your tears, so you just simply asked him to listen, and listen he did.

He never interjected, but he was paying attention, nodding with you while walking into Shiratorizawa. You two were met by three boys, one with black hair and a bowl-cut, one with peach hair and slanted bangs that you giggled at, and a very tall man with broad shoulders and olive hair. Tendou had asked you if he could explain what happened and the team let you in with open arms.

“So, I know what I’m about to say doesn’t justify his actions at all! I’m not that stupid!” you giggled at his lightheartedness “But, ya know how parents often tell girls ‘If he hits ya, he likes ya?’ yeah, that’s the vibe I’m getting off of Mr. Four-eyes here.” he sighed “Still doesn’t mean much when he treats ya like garbage- I’m so sorry by the way- oh wait! I haven’t even introduced myself; I’m Tendou Satori! I’m a middle blocker for Shiratorizawa’s volleyball team. I guess not all volleyball boys are bad, huh?” he stuck his tongue out at you playfully and smiled.

He was so nice to you, hell, the whole team was so nice to you! but little did you know that your phone was blowing up with messages from Yamaguchi. He wasn’t going to forgive Tsukishima that easily after what he had done.

And Tendou said that if they ever played Karasuno, he wouldn’t go hard on him, but he knew he was lying, just a little bit. Hey, it isn’t cool to leave a girl crying in the middle of the street ya know?

Thank you so much for reading and requesting again, it means so much to me!

this is also my first fic that i wrote for someone who isn’t a close friend, so thank you so much!

-Amphii

[tytodreams]

space to wonder, part one

summary: Hal Jordan comes to while drifting out in space in the middle of nowhere, and even though he’s accompanied by his fellow Green Lantern, Guy Gardner, things aren’t exactly looking good for either of them.  

author’s note: this is part one of a two part (or maybe three part?) fanfic set in my DC headcanon verse. It’s from Hal’s perspective for a change. And yes, all of the unfamiliar space location names were pulled directly from my ass.

you can find part two here

The world is upside down.

Everything is a lazy swirl of shadow and his fingertips are so numb that he can scarcely even feel them. Hal isn’t sure if he knows where he is anymore. Space is black and endless and empty. And everything is so, so cold.  

“......big bad dino......big bad dino ahead.......”

That’s Guy’s voice. He recognizes it immediately ― that’s Guy’s voice. That’s Guy’s nonsensical mutterings and that’s Guy’s limp body floating nearby. Hal blinks and tries to chase away the blurred pictures in his mind; the strange haze of light and color and darkness.

“......big bad di-no-saur ahead, yeeup. Big baddie dino with big bad teeth,” Guy’s head is tipped forward, chin resting against his chest as he blabbers on. Hal can see him properly now ― just a few feet away and outlined faintly in green.  

“Di-no-saur! Yeeup, yeeup!” the ginger slurs again to no one in particular. His words are the only noise in the silent vacuum of space.

Big bad dinosaur.......big bad dinosaur? Hal can’t make sense of it. All he knows is that his head hurts and that it hurts bad. He winces, teeth grinding together, trying to bite down against the pain. It feels like there’s an iron spike being driven into the left side of his skull, over and over and over.......

Weakly, Hal lifts his fingers to his temple. Wet. There’s something wet against his skin. He pulls his hand away, narrows his eyes, and tries to get a better look at it. The more accustomed he becomes to being awake, the sharper his surroundings appear. They’re all beginning to look real now; like proper images instead of smears of color and light.

There’s blood on his fingers. He’s bleeding. Hal chokes slightly, takes a deep breath and pulls in air from nothing. There’s no oxygen in outer space. But somehow, he can take it from his shield ― from the green light surrounding him.  

Hal groans and touches his head again. It’s still wet, but the bleeding has begun to slow down and the blood itself has started to harden around the edges of the wound. He guesses it to be some sort of cut across the left temple.

“.......di-no-saur......di-no-saur......di-no-saur.......” Guy remains close by, still lolling around on his back. But something doesn’t seem right when Hal looks at him this time around. Because this time his eyes are swollen shut by bruises; and his whole lower face and jaw is stained with blood. His neck is red and covered in marks. His limbs twitch.

It takes Hal a few moments, but finally the image registers and he jolts forward in surprise. Muscles tensed and eyes widening, he’s hit with a sudden wave of panic. Guy is injured. Oh fuck, Guy is injured, and he’s injured bad.

Despite the shooting pain in his temple, Hal starts glancing frantically about himself. Where are they? Where are they and how did they get here? What happened? His heart rate picks up. Hal’s body trembles and he parts his mouth to speak, but nothing comes out.  He searches the empty star fields in vain. It feels like his mind is going at a million miles an hour. What’s happening? What’s happening? What’s happening?

Hal squeezes his eyes shut. No, stop. He clutches his head in his hands and barks angrily to himself, don’t panic. Don’t be afraid. You’re in space and you’re with Guy, and you’re both in bad shape but he’s worse off. But you’ll be okay ― you’ll both be okay. Call John. Call Kilowog.  

He pulls his bloodied hands away and breathes in. The ring on his finger is burning cold. It reminds him of stepping into the shower when his feet are numb; the way that hot water feels as it washes over chilled skin. Hal’s whole body is tingling.  

If he’s going to call for help, he’s going to have to tell the ring who to call. So, he focuses on John’s face. He tries to imagine the way his nose slopes and the exact hue of his irises. It’s a face that Hal knows well, so it shouldn’t be hard, now should it?

But when he thinks, he can’t think of John. And when he reaches out for a face and for a name, it isn’t John’s. It’s someone else’s. It’s someone the ring can’t call.

Barry. It’s Barry’s face. It’s his square jaw and round cheeks, and his short, golden hair. And when Hal tries to push the face and name away for Kilowog’s instead, it doesn’t go. He wants to show the ring a fellow Lantern he can call, but his mind isn’t listening. He can’t see John’s face and he can’t see Kilowog’s. The only name is Barry’s name. The only face is Barry’s face. His snub nose and big blue eyes. His easy, all-American smile.

There’s a stab of wistfulness in Hal’s chest. Something that he can’t really describe, some sort of sorrowful feeling that fills him with inexplicable joy. He’s seeing Barry’s face and he’s remembering something. A recent memory, but nothing all that important in the grand scheme of things. A memory.......

He was sitting in a red leather booth in some cheap diner in Missouri. It was a Saturday or maybe a Sunday; a day when Barry could get off work early if convinced. And Barry was sitting across from him, dressed in a blue argyle sweater vest and pleated long sleeves and khakis. And Barry was smiling too. And he was digging into his meal, and pensively tapping his foot against the tiled linoleum floors. He looked so handsome in those clothes. They fit him so well and the blue of the sweater brought out his eyes.

So naturally, Hal made a remark about him looking like a nerd. Barry rolled his eyes and ate a French fry. Then he pointed out a bruise on Hal’s cheek and started scolding him over it. And Hal tried to wave him off ― told him it was from a skirmish with Black Hand or some other earthbound baddie. But Barry knew better. He always seems to know better. And Barry stared at him for a moment, almost unnervingly serious, and then finally his face broke out into a wide grin.  

“Liar!” he exposed Hal right away, “You and Oliver were being stupid and messing around again, weren’t you?” And Hal tried to act offended, tried to hide his embarrassment at Barry having so easily realized the truth. He’d been sparring with Ollie in the boxing ring at the Arrow hideout when Dinah had stopped by to watch. And when she’d leaned against the rails, the boys had started yapping their big mouths off; started teasing her as they mock-fought.    

Not a good idea, naturally. Because then she’d jumped into the ring and kicked them both hard in their sorry rears. “And a kiss on the cheek each didn’t exactly make it any less painful, Di,” they’d have liked to say. And when Superman asked Ollie how he’d gotten a black eye, he’d panicked and claimed he’d walked into a door. He’d started blushing like a madman when Hal laughed, and Hal was the lucky one because he didn’t need an excuse. No matter what, it seemed like there was always some sort of scrape on him, so people had eventually just stopped asking. Except for Barry, of course.

And in that little Missouri diner, Hal had finally surrendered to Barry. He admitted that Dinah had “whooped his ass” and that “if we’re being honest, Ollie got it worse ‘cause he called her a ‘wannabe Joan Jett’ and that was just rude.” Still smiling, Barry shook his head and muttered a “knew it”, continued emptying another carton of fries. And Hal shrugged and leaned back in his seat. He knocked his knee against Barry’s, heard the speedster hum approvingly, and smiled back at him. Smiled when he sighed and said, “What am I going to do with you?”  

But he’d also kept an eye on the other patrons too. Because as much as he hates to admit it, deep down, he’s always been rather self-conscious. And he didn’t exactly want to deal with anyone going on about stupid stuff then either. Not then, when Barry was sitting across from him, smiling like the sun and telling him all about his day. And he’d had a really good day, so Hal had wanted to hear all of it. The fingerprint analysis that Barry and his colleagues worked on that had helped solve a case down at the station. The two friendly border collies he’d met in the park during his morning run. The little girl he’d helped get her kite out of a tree and who’d given him a hug in thanks. And Hal sipped the strawberry milkshake he’d weaseled away from Barry and listened to him rave about the new materials the lab would be getting next week.    

“And this microscope is so much more powerful than the one we have now. It has twenty different lenses, and you won’t believe how sleek it looked in the catalogue......”

“Hey! Di-no-saur! Di-no-saur! Bad, bad, bad!”

Hal tumbles back into the present. His eyes widen when Guy yells and the hairs on the back of his neck raise. He’s weightless. There’s nothing solid beneath him, no leather booth in Missouri or concrete sidewalk under his feet, only empty space, only distant lights scattered across eternal blackness. Only nothing.

The cut on his head doesn’t hurt anymore. When he touches it, the wound throbs gently, but any pain it gives off is so minor that he can barely feel it. Hal lurches forward and the blood drains from his face. Guy is unnaturally pale.

He’s still muttering nonsense and floating too far away from him for comfort. Hal settles his quaking limbs and looks his comrade over, trying to gauge the exact distance between them. Five and a half, six......? He propels himself forward a few feet and maneuvers around Guy as carefully as he can. He slips his hands under Guy’s arms and pulls him up against himself. Guy’s head is tilted back, chin pointed upwards and jaw twitching slightly as he rambles on. The faint green aura from his ring appears to be the only thing keeping him afloat.

Hal curses under his breath and tries to adjust his hold on the other Lantern. Guy may be a thousand times lighter in space, but whatever beating Hal received earlier isn’t exactly helping his arms stay steady. The wound on his head doesn’t hurt anymore, but the rest of his body sure aches like a son of a bitch.

What happened? He’s racking his brain, struggling to remember. Where are they? How the hell did this happen? How the hell did they end up here? How......?

“Dino......dino......” Guy sputters childishly, his shoulders knocking into Hal’s chest. The other man winces but doesn’t let go. His ribs must be bruised ― that would explain the tugging in his chest whenever he breathes. “Dino......dino......dino.......”

Then it hits him. Dinosaur. Hal remembers now, oh goddamn, he remembers now. Dinosaur. Atrocitus. The Red Lantern’s hulking form looms over Hal’s memory and he clutches onto Guy a little too tightly in response. He knows where they are, why they’re here, what happened, and everything else in between.  

The Corps had gained intel on some recent Red Lantern sightings out in sector 2075 in the Oberix and Talmayn systems. The more the number of sightings increased, the more uneasy the Guardians became about the possibility of a reformation of the Red Lantern Corps ― a not at all unfounded concern. Especially considering the jailbreak incident roughly one Earth year back, and the fact that former Red Lantern general, Atrocitus, happened to be one of the escapees.  

Salaak had sent Guy and Hal, by order of the Guardians, to do recon out in sector 2075. After all, word-of-mouth rumors don’t guarantee reality. In order to act, there needs to be confirmation. And it was their duty to deny or to confirm.  

Well, Hal thinks to himself as he floats aimlessly about, Guy dangling in his arms, at least our suspicions have been confirmed. Joy.

Perhaps they shouldn’t have sent Hal Jordan on a Red Lantern reconnaissance mission, knowing that Atrocitus would almost certainly be involved. General Atrocitus, who happens to have a vendetta against plucky Green Lantern “captain” Hal Jordan. Because Hal Jordan was the one that foiled his grand invasion of Oa. He was the one that defeated him in battle in front of his own men and then imprisoned him in a science cell to rot for (hopefully) the rest of his life. Yes, that Hal Jordan.

If one thinks about it rationally, they might come to the conclusion that a mission tends to become a bit more dangerous when the enemy in question would like nothing more than to flay you alive. It’s just common sense, really.

Hal struggles to hold back his laughter. He’d rather not test the pain receptors in those bruised ribs of his with a verbal expression of self-loathing.  

He and Guy had scoured the entire Oberix system without any luck, and by the time they’d reached the Talmayn and it’s yellow dwarf sun, they’d gotten a bit lazy. Instead of giving straight-backed salutes to the occupants of the mining operations and refueling stations they’d swung by, the two had plowed in with informal bursts of sardonic humor and good-natured jabs. Guy had accepted free drinks at a rest stop bar almost took quickly, and Hal had wowed a company of Yulqazz miners by breaking his record of consecutive backflips in space.

Thirty-seven, to be exact. The trick is to breathe deeply and consistently, and to focus on your core so you don’t get dizzy.  

None of the locals in either solar system had much of anything to say about the supposed Red Lantern sightings. Most of them denied seeing anything at all, while the few that did couldn’t seem to place any specifics. As far as Guy and Hal were aware, there really wasn’t anything substantial this side of sector 2075. Maybe the Uhbeld system would’ve been a better place to check.

Whatever the answer was, the two of them had conceded that there was no point in staying there anymore. So, Hal recalls himself and Guy taking off from the docks of a refueling station, headed for the nearest long-jump portal back to Oa. They’d started talking ― of course, talking with Guy had always been a trip, and it is even more so now after his onslaught of head-related injuries.

Guy’s brain damage certainly causes him some issues. His memory, his speech patterns, and his ability to compartmentalize things are all pretty muddled. The past couple of years have been quite rough for him and he’s had to relearn a surprising amount of basic tasks. But, luckily for him, the medical expertise offered by the Green Lantern Corps is far more advanced than that on Earth. And even though Guy has never exactly been one to trust doctors or hospitals ― and Hal can’t blame him for that, seeing that he’s very much the same ― Guy has been remarkably lenient with what the Corps have provided.  

That makes sense to Hal though. The Corps may not always know what they’re doing, but if he were given a chance to significantly fix the damage done to his brain, he would jump on it immediately as well. Thinking about that, Hal winces at all the brain cells that he’s probably lost to concussions and alcohol. It certainly isn’t a small amount.

Guy still sounds rather childish when he speaks sometimes. Not that he ever had a very sophisticated manner of speaking before, but Hal finds there’s still something notably immature in the way he talks. Maybe it’s how he sounds things out or the words he chooses to use ― again, Hal isn’t sure ― but there is a distinct difference in how he communicated before and how he communicates now.

He was calling Atrocitus a “big bad red dinosaur with a face full of warts” when they got ambushed. Ah, yes. They’d been ambushed. Hal remembers now, how they’d been joking amongst themselves when at least twenty Red Lanterns had shot out from behind a cluster of asteroids and taken them by surprise. And Atrocitus had happened to be one of them.

It was a miracle that Guy had managed to finish his sentence at all.

“......Hal? .......Hal?” speaking of the ginger brickhouse, he appears to have opened his eyes ― or at least tried to. With those nasty yellow-green bruises, it’s hard to tell.

Hal’s heart leaps in his chest at the sound of his own name, and he turns around to grab his comrade by the shoulders, “Guy! Oh god, Guy, you’re awake! Stay awake, okay?” He knows from experience that drifting off after a bad beating or a blow to the head is far from a good thing.

Guy tilts his head slightly, a look of confusion crossing his face. But he doesn’t say anything in return. He just blinks his eyes and then starts looking around slowly, as if he’s just woken up from a long nap. Hal isn’t sure if he can see out of such bloated eyes, but at least he can still feel things, because when Guy flexes his fingers, he winces and holds them still. He must have broken something or hurt the joints while throwing a punch.

Hal moves around him and tries to get a better view of his head. There doesn’t appear to be any serious damage to Guy’s cranium, which is good. He’s already gone through enough; another round of brain damage issues would just be cruel by this point. They’d probably make his current mood swings even worse.  

After examining the other man’s head, Hal swings back around to face Guy and puts his hands firmly on his shoulders. They’re roughly an arm’s length apart and floating somewhere in the Talmayn solar system, in a sector that Hal knows fairly well. If he’s being honest with himself, it could be worse, and Hal is glad that it isn’t.

He draws one hand away from a still woozy guy and brings it up to his face, eyeing the green light. He needs to call for help and this time he can’t get distracted. There are Red Lanterns in sector 2075 and they are undeniably dangerous. They’re also still out here somewhere, and that doesn’t ease Hal’s nerves in the slightest.

Especially seeing that he and Guy are still alive. That’s the part that really worries him.  

Why would Atrocitus and his men ambush him and another Green Lantern only to let them live? It would have made more sense to kill them for vengeance or to capture and imprison them to hold for ransom or to torture for information. So why beat them senseless and then leave them alive? Atrocitus was no idiot ― he wouldn’t have just assumed they were dead, he would have made sure. So why just leave them where he found them instead of taking them as prisoners if killing wasn’t his intent?

Hal doesn’t like this. He doesn’t like this one bit. He has to call John and he has to call him now. Hal closes his eyes and conjures up the name and face he needs ― needs not wants ― he reminds himself bitterly. He needs someone like John, someone that can help him. He wanted Barry. But Barry can’t help him. Barry’s lightyears and lightyears away and even the fastest man alive can’t run across the stars.

Besides, it would be cruel to ask him to. Hal’s chest clenches at the thought of everything that Barry might do for him. Because Barry’s a good man, and even though it seems cliché to say it, Hal really can’t think of another way to explain it. He’s just a good man. And he believes that Hal is too. That Hal deserves to have someone who would leave the Milky Way for him. Who would leap over Orion’s Shield and dart across the Pillars of Creation.  

Who would come to him galaxies away from Earth with hope in their eyes and tell him that everything will be alright.

And that thought is just too much. It makes Hal’s limbs weak again and it makes his grip on Guy’s shoulder go slack. Hopefully the other man is conscious enough to stay in the same orbit as him, because Hal really doesn’t know if he has the strength to pull him back in right now. He needs Barry to leave his mind. He needs to think with his head and not his heart.

John’s face comes into view of his mind’s eye. Strong cheekbones and broad nose, tight mouth and curious eyes. He’s as quiet and contemplative-looking as always and Hal can’t help but snicker a little. People always seem to imagine John as some sort of “deep-thinker” ― after all, he always looks so lost in thought, like one of those ancient Greek philosophers.

People always assume things.  

Just last week, during the Justice League’s most recent meeting, John had given everyone in the room that deep-eyed look. He’d nodded thoughtfully and tilted his head in consideration each time someone spoke. And then, roughly half an hour in to yet another one of Batman’s monotonous and excruciatingly boring speeches, he’d leaned over in his seat and whispered to Hal, “I had to wake up real early on Oa, so I could get here on time and I’m damn sure that I accidentally put Katma’s ear lotion on my toothbrush. I can still taste it. Can you make some sort of distraction, so I can grab a cup of water? It’s all I’ve been thinking about for the past six hours.”

A real deep-thinker, alright. The next Socrates, for sure. Hal stops himself from trying to laugh at the memory ― his chest still hurts when he exerts it too much.

Instead he focuses on his ring. It’s begun to glow more brightly than before, as he draws in all the willpower he can. The low hum it gives off is reassuring, and if you listen closely enough, the ring sounds like it’s singing. Hal told Ollie about it once before, but he didn’t believe him. Even when Hal had put it up close to Ollie’s ear and let the ring settle into a harmony, Ollie said he still couldn’t hear a thing.  

But Hal knows he can hear the ring. It sings to him because that’s how it communicates. He made Dinah and Barry listen to it too, and even Tom when he first realized that it could. Yet none of them heard it. So, he was anxious when he asked John if his ring sang to him too ― he hadn’t wanted to look stupid by asking Kilowog or Sinestro at the time when he was younger. He’d asked John if the ring sang to him and John looked at him as though the answer was obvious.  

“Of course, it does.”

So, he asked Kilowog and Katma and Tomar Re too, and all their answers were the same: “What kind of question is that? Of course, the ring sings.” And that settled it then. Only ring-bearers can hear the ring. No one else can make sense of it ― all those melodies are just distant hums to them. They can’t hear the songs and they can’t feel the words that the songs embed into the ring-bearers’ minds. A shame, really......there’s nothing else in the universe like it.

“This is Green Lantern, John Stewart. Who is this?”

Hal hears that familiar voice and he feels like he could fly to the moon and back. Finally, John. Good old John. He tries to cry out the other man’s name in excitement, but he finds himself breathless and croaking out a weak, “Jo-hn” instead. Hal winces at the sound of it, yet still, he continues, “It’s Hal. I’m with Guy and we’re fucked, dude. We’re fucked up.”

“Hal?” John’s voice is warbled slightly by the ring, “......do you and Guy still have all your limbs?”  

It’s a slightly ridiculous but understandable question. In fact, Hal takes a moment to glance over himself and then Guy again just in case, before replying, “Yeah. Everything’s still there. We got ambushed, John. There were Red Lanterns, ‘bout nineteen or twenty of them. And Atrocitus ― Atrocitus was there........”

He can hear a muffled, “shit......” from John’s end. “Where are you two?”

Floating around aimlessly, Hal struggles to gain his bearings. He searches the open space around them, the asteroid fields, the distant stars, the occasional planet as it falls into view. “We’re still in sector 2075,” he rasps, “somewhere near the Kylaaq Belt.........Talmayn System.......I, I think we might be near the planet......Givnuer? Terrestrial, no native life......yellow dwarf star. Talmayn’s the one with the yellow dwarf, Oberix is red.......”

Guy has started babbling incoherently again, his head lolling against Hal’s shoulder. He looks as if he may start drifting off into unconsciousness and that isn’t a good sign at all. Hal grunts and carefully pushes Guy about arm’s-length away from him. He shakes his shoulders a little, trying to keep him awake. The murmuring ceases and Guy blinks drowsily.

“How far?” John asks, and Hal thinks he can hear concern.  

“Huh?” Hal looks back to his ring. He’s still in a bit of a daze himself.  

“How far from Givnuer?”

Keeping his hold on Guy, Hal twists his head around as best he can and attempts to judge their distance from the planet. “Four......four AU.......maybe three?” He gives the area a quick scan with his ring and waits for the responding hum, “......yeah. Yeah, about four.”

“Okay,” John sounds relieved despite the vocal distortion the rings tend to cause, “If your rings are looking low on power, jettison over there immediately. Try to conserve energy. We’ll be there as quickly as we can.”

“Thanks, John,” Hal sighs, his shoulders sagging and his free hand dropping away from Guy’s arm.

John exhales, “Of course,” and then ends the call, already heading off to go fetch a proper rescue team. In the meantime, Hal turns his attention back to his less stable teammate. Guy is wobbling back and forth, still gazing blankly at the empty space around himself. The dried blood from his nose and jaw cover the entire lower half of his face, and it almost looks like some sort of patchy reddish-brown beard; not entirely unbelievable for the ginger to have.

“Hal.......” he murmurs, “Hal, I heard Johnny.......”

Hal steadies him with both hands again, “That was Johnny. I called him, he’s gonna come get us.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

Guy hums in consideration before slumping forward, resting his head against Hal’s shoulder, “Don’t feel good. Hope Johnny comes soon.”

“He will,” Hal accepts the weight and cocks his head to the left. He narrows his eyes in the direction of Givnuer. Would it be best for them to go there and rest like John suggested, or can they just wait it out......?

“Hal?”

He tears his eyes away from the distant planet and says to Guy, “Yeah? What is it?”

The concussed Green Lantern screws up his battered face, looking more like a curious child than a six foot four Baltimorean, “Were you scared?”

“......what?”

“Were you scared? When the dino showed up?”

“...........”

Hal doesn’t blink. He isn’t looking at Guy anymore though — his gaze is fixed on Givnuer again. It looks pale and reddish from a distance, reminding him vaguely of Mars. Mars; J’onn’s home planet, less than one Solar AU from Earth. And Earth, so far away from here........  

“I was,” Guy says nonchalantly and (Hal wonders if even he knows it) with incredible irony, “I thought I wasn’t gonna make it back home. Were you thinkin’ ‘bout home, Hally?”

“......no.”

“Hhm......I was thinkin’ ‘bout home......I was thinkin’ ‘bout my Tora an’ ‘bout Bea too. An’ stupid Ted an’ Booster even......an’ I was thinkin’ ‘bout my old students......hell, my old woman an’ her husband too — even if they’re awful.......I was scared I wouldn’t see any of ‘em again......”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.......” it’s strange to hear Guy speak so softly; speak so calmly and in little more than a whisper, “......Hal? Were you thinkin’ ‘bout anyone?”

Hal throws Guy’s arm over his shoulder. He shifts around a bit, trying to support him in a half-carry before finally setting course for Givnuer, “I guess I was.”

Guy’s cheek is pressed against Hal’s shoulder. His swollen eyelids droop and he doesn’t look at the other man when he speaks. Like Hal’s are, Guy’s eyes are focused only on the approaching planet, “......your Barry?”

Though every nerve in his body is immediately struck with the desire to freeze, Hal presses onward instead. His skin is riddled with pinpricks and the green blaze of light around him takes on a wavering image. There’s something heavy stuck in his throat. Something heavy sliding slowly — so painfully slowly — and dropping down into his chest. There’s something heavy settling between his ribs. Something heavy trying to smother the delicate façade onto which his heart so desperately clings.    

His Barry.........his Barry.

The two Lanterns fly on in silence. Hal gives no response and Guy doesn’t push him to. At one point, Hal worries that Guy has fallen asleep; but fortunately, the other man blinks through his bruises and manages to keep his chin up. He even musters enough strength to straighten out his back, easing some of the pressure off Hal. Roughly halfway to Givnuer, they both get a twenty percent warning from their rings and Hal speeds up a fraction or two.

Guy starts humming something under his breath. It’s some sort of song, maybe even a lullaby, but Hal doesn’t recognize it. Despite his exhaustion, the inky void of space still makes for a surprising comfort. The shivering stars and roving meteors seem to urge him forward as he pulls his comrade to safety. Hal tries not to think about Atrocitus or the Red Lanterns. He tries not to think about Earth and certainly not anyone on it. He tries not to think about.......Barry.

Guy stops humming as they reach the edges of Givnuer’s outer atmosphere. He gives a little burst from his own ring to aide Hal as the two of them prepare for entry. The world around them turns starkly rose-colored, and the burning green light of their shields become tipped with fuchsia. Guy and Hal descend softly into the afternoon sky, streaks of color trailing behind. Both men are as silent as the barren world below them.

They remain silent all the way there.

[the-mere-queer]

Color Me Shakespeare

Tragedy on Stage, Romance in Life. Olivarry Week Day 3. Read it on AO3 also.

Part 1: Hamlet

Barry followed Iris to their seats. He was already sweating through his suit jacket and the show didn’t start for another ten minutes. Iris had begged him to be her plus one to the show so that she would be able to bounce her thoughts off him when she wrote a review for CCPN. Even though Eddie was her first choice, being that he was her soulmate, Barry could help Iris articulate what she wanted to say on a more analytical level.

So here he was, sitting in a cushy seat looking around at his black, white, and grey world while his best friend sat beside him looking at the world in full technicolor.

He looked down at the program in his hand.

Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Fucking great. Not even a good tragedy like Macbeth or even Romeo and Juliet would be better.

Under the play’s name, a man’s figure was shown partially obscured in shadow. However, enough could be seen to know, that he was shirtless and certainly looked good like that. Strong jaw with stubble artfully cut along it, cropped hair, and broad expanse of muscle. If the actor came out onto stage like that, maybe the night would at least be bearable. A nice face might make up for the awful show.

“I can’t believe we’ll get to see Oliver Queen on stage,” Iris gushed. “I’ve read other reviews during the tour and everyone agrees that his performance is the highlight of the whole thing.”

“It better be good,” Barry mumbled. “Otherwise we’ll have wasted a night we could have gone to see Wonder Woman.”

“You, Eddie, and I can always see it tomorrow,” Iris assured, smirking down at her program.

“And be an awkward third wheel? Nah, I’ll take Cisco and Caitlin instead.”

Iris slapped his right arm in mock betrayal. He laughed at her pouting face that didn’t last long before it dissolved into laughter. They pulled themselves together when they noticed some older patrons glaring at them.

“At least we got good seats,” Iris offered.

True. They sat in the middle of the third row. Close enough that they’ll be able to see the actors sweat. If Oliver Queen did indeed perform shirtless, they would see everything.

They quietly perused the program, waiting for the show to start. Barry looked at Iris from the corner of his eye. This was the first show she was seeing and reviewing since she had met Eddie and had finally seen what color actually looked like. Her gaze would jump from the program to theater and the stage currently cloaked by a curtain. Her left leg bounced slightly from nerves.

Barry leaned closer to her asked, “So what color is the curtain?”

She looked at the thick fabric hiding the stage and thought for a moment before saying, “Red. A gorgeous red.”

The smile on her face was wondrous, and her leg had stopped bouncing. Barry nodded and pulled back to his previous position.

The lights dimmed, and the last of the patrons took their seats before the theater went completely black.

The show started with Bernardo, Marcellus, and Horatio interacting with the ghost in front of the curtain. They spoke the lines well, if a bit slow, but Barry used the slowness to wrap his mind around the language so that he didn’t have to think so hard later in the show.

The curtain parts at the end of the scene, revealing an amazing castle set. The king and queen talk with the people of the court, while Hamlet sulked in the back in the shadow of the castle wall.

Barry was enraptured by Oliver Queen. He was so subtle compared to the rest of the actors and maybe that had been a director’s choice. Everyone is large and over the top while Hamlet is subtle and calculating. It made him stand out. Ophelia was the only other character that seemed to match the subtle acting and it just made sense.

He was so convincing in all his scenes. Even when he played a fool (where he was quite shirtless during the scene) he didn’t seem like a brooding man pretending. He really did seem like a fool.

As the show went on Barry couldn’t wait to see Oliver perform the famous “To be or not to be…” speech. He could only imagine how entrancing it would be. As Claudius and Polonius hid and Oliver came onto the stage, Barry was at the edge of his seat, staring intently at the man.

Oliver looked around the stage, then out to the audience seeming to consider each audience member. It was as he slowly scanned the dark seats that he made eye contact with Barry and the world burst into color.

Barry could barely contain his gasp as he watched Oliver’s eyes turn from a light and bright grey to… he didn’t even know the name of the color. They were so fair they seemed to glow under the stage lights.

He looked around the stage and took in the colors he could now see, even though he couldn’t name them.

It was gorgeous, spectacular, and a little overwhelming.

He looked back to Oliver and saw the man struggling to stay in character. The shock was plain on his face as he gazed at Barry. Those beautiful eyes closed and he took a deep breath. His eyes opened again and looked again to Barry, this time though with determination.

“To be, or not to be- that is the question:

Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,

And by opposing end them. To die- to sleep-

No more; and by a sleep to say we end

The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks

That flesh is heir to. 'Tis a consummation

Devoutly to be wish’d. To die- to sleep.

To sleep- perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub!

For in that sleep of death what dreams may come

When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,

Must give us pause. There’s the respect

That makes calamity of so long life.

For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,

Th’ oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely,

The pangs of despis’d love, the law’s delay,

The insolence of office, and the spurns

That patient merit of th’ unworthy takes,

When he himself might his quietus make

With a bare bodkin? Who would these fardels bear,

To grunt and sweat under a weary life,

But that the dread of something after death-

The undiscover’d country, from whose bourn

No traveller returns- puzzles the will,

And makes us rather bear those ills we have

Than fly to others that we know not of?

Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,

And thus the native hue of resolution

Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,

And enterprises of great pith and moment

With this regard their currents turn awry

And lose the name of action.”

There was a ferocity behind the calm spoken words. It hinted at the turmoil inside his mind, and Barry recognized it was his gaze never wavered from those fair eyes.

Ophelia entered and the spell that seemed to hold Oliver and Barry snapped, and the show resumed.

As Barry leaned back into his seat, he couldn’t help but marvel at the feeling inside him. He had never realized he was missing something, but now he felt whole. He couldn’t ever remember feeling the empty space, but as the joy and contentment settled inside him, he wondered how he had ever lived without the space filled.

For the rest of the act, the Barry would catch the actor looking at him, trying to be inconspicuous. Barry couldn’t take his eyes from him, even when he was just standing in the shadows. Barry didn’t care what was happening in the story anymore. Intermission came after Claudius interrupts the players in their story, proving to Hamlet that he did indeed kill his father.

The curtains closed and the house lights brightened allowing the audience to stand and move about before the rest of the show continued.

“That was amazing,” Iris breathed, pulling her notepad from her purse and hastily took notes. “I have to bring Eddie to one of the nights, because there is no way he wouldn’t appreciate it, and this is just the first half.”

“Iris,” Barry breathed, barely even a whisper.

“And the costumes are beautiful, I wish I take pictures.”

“Iris,” he tried again.

“And Oliver Queen is just killing it at Hamlet. I can’t believe this is his acting debut-”

“Iris,” Barry finally managed at a normal tone.

Her head snapped up looking at his with her dark eyes. No longer a grey that was almost black, but a rich color, full of light and shadows that matched the color of her skin. Without color, he hadn’t noticed.

“What, Bar?”

He took a deep breath before he said, “I can see colors.”

Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened. She scanned his face for any trace of lying.

“Really?” she questioned.

Barry slowly nodded, starting to look at the warmly lit theater. Everywhere he looked, the room just seem warm and inviting.

“Oh my God, Bar. How? Was it one of the actors? That would be so cool. Maybe they could give me an exclusive interview. Who is it?”

Barry looked down at the program in her lap and pointed at the man on the cover. It took a moment for her to register what he was trying to say without words, but her gasp made it obvious when it clicked.

“Oh my God,” she looked back up at him. “Oliver Queen is your soulmate?”

“Apparently,” Barry managed to say.

“When?”

“Just before the ‘to be or not to be’ speech.”

The realization painted her face. “Was that why he looked so shocked? I thought it was some weird acting choice.”

“Nope,” Barry stuttered. “That was all because of me.”

However badly he had been sweating before the show, it surely had doubled since. Barry loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt, not caring what it’ll look like to the snooty old people next to him. He had just found his soulmate and he was jittery as can be.

“Do you need to go outside for a second?” Iris asked, placing a hand on his back. “Or the bathroom?”

As tempting as that sounded, Barry knew that if he left now, he would be too nervous to come back. He shook his head and tried to calm down.

It worked for a moment, then the lights went down and the show started up again, and Barry’s nerves were practically screaming. The rest of the show was a great big blur, except for Oliver. He was a clear image in a nonsensical plot. Fighting, monologuing, a skull, and a lot of death. And Barry’s eyes never left Oliver, who continued to sneak glances. Sometimes there would even be a happy smirk during those looks, but it would disappear as he looked away.

Soon enough, the show ended and the cast was met with rapturous applause before the curtain closed.

Barry could hardly move. What if Oliver didn’t want to meet him? What if Oliver didn’t like him? What if he didn’t like Oliver? What was going to happen?

“Do you need a minute, Bar?” Iris asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Barry nodded and closed his eyes.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

A few more deep breaths, and he was calm enough to stand and make his way to the aisle. Iris slipped her arm through his and gave him a small smile as they followed the crowd out the doors to the lobby.

When they finally stepped into the lobby, Barry’s heart beat sped up. He was happy his hands were tucked into his jacket pockets, because they were sweating so much, his pockets were becoming lakes.

Iris pulled him to the side out of the flow of people leaving. He tried looking for a possible way backstage, but then realized that it would probably be useless. People probably tried using the “I’m their soulmate” card before, trying to do whatever. It would probably be best to wait for Oliver to come find him. If he came.

Iris didn’t try talking to him and he was grateful for that. She just pulled her notepad from her purse and wrote down some more notes. They just stood there, out of the way and quiet.

It took some time but the crowd finally left. The employees of the theater were running around making sure everything was clean and ready to lock up. A couple of them glanced curiously their way but didn’t question them.

A supervisor of sorts did approach them a little bit after the lobby had been cleared of audience.

“Is there something I can help you with?” she inquired politely.

“Yes,” Iris responded, knowing the Barry was in no condition to speak. “My friend here made eye contact with one of the actors and discovered they were soulmates. Understandably, he’s a little nervous and we didn’t want to cause a fuss, but is there any way you can tell the actor we’re waiting?”

The woman looked skeptical, but did seem convinced by the look on Barry’s face, whatever it was. She nodded and asked if they knew the name.

“Oliver Queen,” Iris answered, straight faced, no-nonsense tone.

The incredulous look on the woman’s face confirmed Barry’s earlier thoughts. Just a couple of fans trying to get close enough to do something weird to the star of the show because he’s hot.

The woman opened her mouth to respond – probably to not-so-kindly remove their asses from her lobby – when a male voice called, “It’s you.”

The group turned to a door that lead into the theater where Oliver Queen – fully clothed in jeans, a colored shirt, and a leather jacket – was walking out of toward them.

Barry stared as the man moved toward him. He wished he knew the words to describe the beauty of the man. Was his hair blond, brown, red? Was his skin pale, tan, sunburned? And those eyes. What was the word to describe them?

Soon enough Oliver was standing in front of him. The woman politely excused herself trying to hide the flush of embarrassment coloring her cheeks. The trio just stood there seeming to wait for something but unsure what. Barry and Oliver just stared at each other, studying each other’s faces, bodies, clothes. Looking down, Barry became self-conscious about his lanky, lean form where Oliver’s was all broad shoulders, rippling muscles, and – if memory served him – hard, defined power in each one.

Iris was the one who finally broke the trance the men had seem to fall into. “Alright, well, Eddie’s waiting outside to take me home, so we should probably get out so these nice people can lock up and go home.”

The trio walked outside and stepped up to where Eddie’s cruiser was parked, windows dark. Iris hugged Barry, whispering encouraging words that he didn’t really hear. Then she turned to Oliver with her patented reporter “don’t bullshit me” glare.

“If you hurt him, you’ll regret it.”

Oliver’s eyebrow lifted but otherwise didn’t react or respond. Iris smiled at him and opened the passenger door. She waved one last time at Barry before ducking in and closing the door. The men watched the car pull away and join the late-night traffic.

Barry looked back to Oliver who was staring at him. They just studied each other for a moment, both too nervous to break the silence.

Finally, Oliver asked, “Do you live nearby?”

Barry jumped a little at the question, probably looking like a deer in headlights.

“Sorry,” Oliver hurriedly continued, “I was just wondering if I could maybe walk you home.”

“Oh,” Barry intelligently responded. Taking a deep breath, he listed his address a few streets over. Oliver nodded, then gestured for Barry to lead the way. Barry tucked his hands in his pockets and started a slow pace toward his apartment, Oliver stepped up beside him, hands also tucked into the leather jacket.

They walked along the dim streets looking at the stores that were still open or quiet residential buildings. They tried and failed to avoid eye contact, their eyes seeming to always find each other.

“So, acting,” Barry nervously tried. “What got you started in that?”

“A dare,” Oliver chuckled at the thought. “My friend, Tommy, dared me to audition as a joke and I took it. We didn’t think I would actually get a part let alone the lead.”

Barry found himself laughing along with Oliver, feeling the tension in his shoulders slowly ease.

“I showed up to the first rehearsal, ready to quit, but during the read through, I found out I liked it. So, I stayed on and now here I am.”

“Here you are,” Barry echoed.

“What about you?” Oliver questioned. “What do you do to make a living?”

“Well, right now I’m in med school.”

“Med school?”

“Yeah,” Barry smiled. “My dad’s a doctor and I’ve always been fascinated by it. I would always ask him questions and he didn’t hold back any details. At all.”

Oliver laughed. He looked really handsome when he laughed.

They kept talking the whole way to Barry’s apartment. Oliver talked about his parents and their business empire he didn’t want to be a part of. He talked about his sister, Thea, and how she actually wanted to be the one in charge of their parents’ empire. Barry talked about his mom and her love of teaching elementary kids. He talked about how he and Iris had been best friends for basically all their lives. By the time they reached the door to his building, they had some basic understanding of each other.

“Well, this is me,” Barry sighed, turning to face the other man.

Oliver looked at the building seeing the decent condition it was in.

“I liked the show,” Barry complimented, bringing Oliver’s attention back to him.

Oliver smiled, “I’m glad. I was a little nervous after… you know. After intermission, I just wanted to the best I could in the rest of the show.”

“I’m not going to lie,” Barry admitted, “I was so nervous and distracted, I didn’t really pay attention in the second half.”

Oliver laughed and shook his head.

“Well, then I guess you’ll have to come see it again.”

“I guess I will.”

They just stared at each other but far more relaxed than they had been before. Barry stared into Oliver’s eyes that still seemed to shine in the street lamp light.

“What color are your eyes?” Barry asked before even think about it.

The small smile on Oliver’s face made Barry’s stomach flutter.

“My parents tell me they’re blue,” he answered almost reverently, stepping closer to Barry. “What about yours?”

“I’ve been told they’re a nice green,” Barry answered, stepping up into Oliver’s space.

“Green,” Oliver echoed. “They are a nice green.”

“Yours are a really pretty blue,” Barry countered.

“Pretty?” Oliver questioned, leaning forward.

“Very,” Barry mumbled before he was kissing Oliver.

All the colors in the world would never compare to the feeling of kissing his soulmate. Of kissing Oliver. Oliver’s hands found their way to his hips and Barry placed his on Oliver’s shoulders. The scruff on Oliver’s face tickled Barry’s face but he didn’t care. He’s seen colors, found his soulmate, and now all he wanted was to be with him forever.

When they separated, Oliver connected their foreheads and they caught their breaths.

“I don’t want to go,” Oliver whispered, gripping Barry’s hips.

“Then don’t,” Barry urged, his hands sliding up to the back of Oliver’s neck.

“Are you sure?” Oliver checked, blue eyes searching for any sign he should.

“Yes,” Barry confirmed, and pulled Oliver back in for another kiss.

They eventually made their way into Barry’s apartment and fell asleep, just talking on his couch.

~

When Diggle followed the GPS to the apartment building in the morning, he couldn’t hide his smirk at the sight in front of him.

Oliver clutching the brown-haired man and whispering in his ear. When the blond man pulled away, the lanky man’s face was as red as a tomato. Oliver kissed him and reluctantly pulled away. He walked backward never looking away from the man until his back hit the car. The other man laughed and Oliver sheepishly opened the door and slid into the car.

The man waved as Diggle pulled the car away.

“Good night?” he asked when they turned a corner and Oliver finally turned away from the window.

“Yeah,” Oliver murmured.

“Seeing colors, man?” Diggle wondered.

“Every single one,” Oliver answered.

“He coming to see the show again?” Diggle questioned.

“He’s coming tonight, then he’s going to visit when we’re in Metropolis.”

Diggle nodded as he pulled into the hotel’s parking building, finding a spot near the entrance.

As they stepped into the lobby, Oliver’s phone started vibrating. The look on his face told Diggle exactly who it was.

“I’ll meet you upstairs,” Diggle said. Oliver nodded and stepped away to answer it.

Diggle watched his face light up when he answered. He smiled at the actor then stepped into the elevator.

~

“I missed you,” Barry said.

“We just saw each other,” Oliver teased.

“I know, but I just felt like I needed to hear your voice. Is that a soulmate thing?”

“I don’t know, you’re the doctor.”

“Med student,” Barry corrected, “and the biology of soulmates not my strongest area of expertise.”

“But you could cut someone open and give someone a new heart?”

“Well, not really,” Barry tried to counter but just ended up laughing.

Oliver joined in quietly, noticing a few people lounging in the lobby.

“So, what are your plans for the day?”

“Well, call time is 6 but before that? Nothing really. You?”

“I have class until 3, then I’m meeting Iris at Jitters to help her with her article about the play, though I don’t know how much help I’ll be.”

Oliver chuckled at the thought of Barry just staring at him the whole show. “Maybe I could help,” Oliver offered.

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Oliver answered. “Help her get a good article, show her I’m not someone to worry about, and on the plus side, I get to spend more time with you.”

Oliver could practically hear the blush over the phone. “Is that okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, yes, of course it’s okay,” Barry stuttered. “We’re meeting at 3:30. It’s actually down the street from the theater. If you get lost, you can just call me.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Well, I better get going, otherwise I’ll be late to class.”

“Didn’t you say you’re chronically late?”

“That’s beside the point.”

“Okay,” Oliver concede, laughing under his breath. “I’ll see you at Jitters then.”

“Jitters.”

They stayed on the phone for a minute just listening to the quiet breaths.

“Barry,”

“I’m going,” Barry insisted. “I’ll see you later.”

“Later,” Oliver replied then he reluctantly hung up, trying to help Barry in not being late. He went up to his room to shower and change.

~

Hamlet: Tragedy on Stage, Romance in Life

By Iris West

“To be or not to be,” one of the best productions of Hamlet you will have the honor of seeing. The National Shakespeare Theater began their tour of Hamlet two weeks ago in Star City and have made their way here to Central City. Directed by, the incomparable, Cat Grant, this staging combines the classic text with Arthurian level medieval style. It stars Walter Steele as King Cordelius, Kara Danvers as Ophelia, and Oliver Queen as the titular Hamlet.

From the moment the show starts, to the final applause, audience members will be swept up into the intrigue, romance, and tragedy of Prince Hamlet’s court.

I myself was lucky enough to sit down with Mr. Queen over a cup of coffee hours before he would return to the stage.

So, this production was your first time ever acting, correct?

Queen: Well, acting on stage, yes. When your family is as well-known as mine, you tend to learn how to act for cameras early on in your life.

Is that skill why you decided to audition for the show?

Q: I guess that is one way to look at it. My best friend convinced me to try it, but I never thought I would actually get in the show. Now here I am, playing one of Shakespeare’s most infamous tragic heroes for one of the nation’s most renowned companies. It’s funny how things work out, isn’t it?

Indeed. Now that you’ve had a taste of the theater, are you planning on staying on the stage?

Q: I’ve already been in touch with some agents in National City who I’m planning on meeting with when the tour stops there. That’s all there is to say on the subject at the moment.

That’s all? Well, at least we’ll still have the chance to see your handsome face in hopefully a more positive light from now on.

Q: Hopefully.

What’s it like working with big names like Walter Steele or Cat Grant?

Q: It was little intimidating because I was sure the casting was a joke but they welcomed me. Walter was so patient with me when we first started rehearsals. He taught me techniques and ways of looking at a character that helped me make my Hamlet stand out. And Cat is just amazing. She’s focused on her vision and she knows how to get it. She definitely believes in tough love. She’s truly a visionary.

She is. She’s an inspiration for a lot of people, especially girls. She always makes the best possible content she can, and she’ll only take the best.

Q: I guess that’s a compliment, then.

Oh definitely. Now let’s get into the fluffy side of the interview. What’s your current music obsession?

Q: Forever and always will be Styx’s Come Sail Away.

Favorite movie?

Q: Skyfall. I always wanted to be James Bond when I was younger. Skyfall was seriously the best of Craig’s run.

Best first date idea?

Q: A walk through the city at night. Just taking in the quiet night and being with someone is probably the best way to get to know a person.

Romantic. Favorite color?

Q: Green.

So, you can see colors?

Q: As of recently yes, I can.

Such a shame. I mean congratulations of course, but I know there are probably a lot of people who will be a little disappointed by the news.

Q: I’m sure there will be. But I’m happy, and that’s all I can really share on the topic. It’s still a little new.

Of course. Wouldn’t want to scare you into the shadows so soon after you found a spotlight that compliments you so well.

Q: Thank you.

Is there anything else you want to share with the readers?

Q: Come see the show, not just for me, but for Walter who is an especially subtle antagonist, for Kara who is so sweet and brings a tragic joy to poor Ophelia. Come for everyone who helped make this show what it is. Come for yourself because you’ll never know you may discover in a theater. I sure as hell wasn’t expecting some of the revelations I’ve discovered on this tour.

Thank you

Hamlet runs to the end of the month in Central City’s Heritage Theater at 7:30pm with matinees on Saturdays at 2pm. -IW

~

“‘12 People Who Might Be Oliver Queen’s Soulmate,’” Barry read off his phone.

Oliver huffed as he listened while Kendra applied his make-up, clearly trying to hold back her laughs and focus on her job.

“‘Number 1: His current co-star, Kara Danvers is the most likely candidate. Oliver stated that he met his soulmate recently. Considering that they hadn’t met until they started rehearsals, it’s likely that was how they found that. Not to mention their chemistry on stage is indescribable.’”

“I think Lena would take offence to that,” Kendra interjected, “but they’ve been able to keep the secret for a while now.”

“Not to mention,” Oliver continued, “that Kara and I try really hard not to be seen in public without other cast members.”

“So definitely not Kara,” Barry joked, “Number 2-”

“If there’s anyone more ridiculous than Kara, then don’t read them,” Oliver interrupted.

Barry scrolled through the list, occasionally chuckling. Finally, he just closed the article and put his phone down.

“Oh my God,” Oliver moaned while Kendra and Barry just laughed. “Gossip writers need to get lives and more creativity.”

“There were creative choices,” Barry said. “They just kept getting more and more ridiculous.”

“Trust me, Oliver,” Kara walked in through the door and took the empty space on by Barry on the couch. “You don’t want to know who else was on that list.”

Barry and Kendra laugh again while Oliver just scowled at his reflection.

Kendra had him close his eyes. Oliver listened to Barry and Kara talk about some movie coming out. Barry had been coming every night while they were in Central City. Everyone in the cast and crew had fallen in love with him immediately (after they’d been sworn into secrecy), Even Cat had taken one look at him and given a cluck of approval then turned to give notes to one of the stage crew.

Oliver was so happy to have Barry here. Most of the time, the student would study and do homework while Oliver was on stage or changing. When there was a break, he and Oliver would just talk and hold hands or hug or kiss, or just find some way to be connected.

Tonight was the last night in Central City, and Oliver was already feeling separation anxiety. He’d tried researching, and had found a lot of articles, journals, and so much about soulmates, but everything he’d found on separation anxiety was still theoretical or really “needs more research done.” No one could know if the anxiety was a part of soulmate science or was just a mind trick based on the idea that “once you find your soulmate, you’ll never want to leave their side.” Researchers couldn’t decide if it was a biological consequence or just a mindset perpetuated by millennia of finding soulmate searching.

Barry had voiced concern earlier that day and they’d tried talking about it and coming up with solutions, but that hadn’t alleviated their concerns.

They were successful in distracting themselves by learning colors together. Oliver still stands by his opinion that green is his favorite, and Barry insists his favorite is red.

“All done,” Kendra announced, starting to clean up her materials. Oliver opened his eyes and smiled at the woman, thanking her.

Barry and Kara were deep in discussion about an actor’s portrayal of a character.

“He just didn’t have enough emotion driving him,” Kara complained. “Sure, it was in the script but he missed in his acting.”

“Fair, but I think he made up for it in the third act,” Barry countered.

“Barely,” Kara snorted.

The stage manager called ten minutes over the speaker system. Kara stood up to go change into costume, informing Barry that they were not finished. Barry just laughed and turned to his bag to pull a text book out.

Kendra left, and before Barry could open the book, Oliver put his hand on it and was kissing Barry.

Barry hummed contently before pulling away.

“Don’t you have to get ready?” Barry inquired.

“I wanted to be distracted,” Oliver offered and leaned in for another kiss. Barry pushed him away and pointed to the costume rack.

“Costume. Now.”

Oliver sighed but stood and quickly got changed. He sat by Barry and started running his fingers through the soft brown locks. Barry leaned into the touch but still studied the pages with ardent focus.

This had become a sort of a ritual over the last few days. Just being connected and relaxing. Oliver running through his lines in his mind and reminding himself of the meter and rhythm.

When the places call came, Barry pulled out of his textbook, and looked up at Oliver with a small smile. Oliver’s hand paused its ministrations to pull Barry closer. He connected their foreheads for a moment and just breathed together before connecting their lips quickly then standing to leave.

“Break legs, not your own,” Barry called diving back into his textbook.

“Don’t think too hard,” Oliver called back.

Oliver ran through his lines as he walked upstairs and stood backstage. He joined Walter and Donna and ran lines with them quietly while the first scene started.

Soon enough they were on stage, keeping pace and working together to make the spectacular show. The first half flew by and the curtain closed for intermission. Oliver made his way down to his dressing room to get everything prepared for the rest of the show.

Barry breezing through flash cards when Oliver entered, barely stopping acknowledge him. Kendra came in to make sure make up was still in place and fix any that wasn’t. Moments after she leaves, Barry seems to reach the end of his flashcards as he puts them away. Oliver sat down by him and Barry curled into his side.

“Finish everything?” Oliver asked.

“Almost, need to review lab notes from today, then it will all be done.”

Oliver hummed into Barry’s brown hair, before kissing the crown of his head. He was content here, but the anxiety still hovered in the back of his mind waiting to drown him in worry. But here, it stayed back, letting him enjoy being close to Barry.

“You’re thinking too loud,” Barry mumbled sleepily, turning his face into Oliver’s neck and kissing it.

“And you’re falling asleep,” Oliver teased, sliding his fingers along Barry’s side. Barry just curled away from the touch which meant closer to Oliver’s body.

“No, I’m not,” Barry argued, though not strongly.

Oliver just laughed softly, running his hand up and down Barry’s arm.

“Five minutes until the top of Act 2. Five minutes.”

Oliver smiled when Barry groaned. The lanky man pulled away from the actor and reached into his bag to pull his lab notes out. Oliver stood and stretched, jumped, and shook away the fog of complacency. He started muttering his lines, watching Barry pull his legs up under him onto the couch. Watching the tall man become so small just made Oliver smile and he stopped his exercises.

Barry looked up then and saw the smiling man. “What?” he questioned.

“You’re just so adorable,” Oliver answered leaning down and kissing the man.

“I am not adorable,” Barry asserted. “I’m impressive and intimidating.”

“Impressively adorable, and as intimidating as a puppy dog.”

Barry opened his mouth to argue, but was stopped when the call for places came. Oliver kissed him one more time before leaving the room.

“Break legs,” Barry called.

The rest of the play went by smoothly and the applause for the curtain call roared louder than a hurricane. The curtain closed and Oliver found himself buried in hugs from all sides. They still had weeks before the tour finished but the bittersweet feeling of leaving a city still permeated the air.

They made their way to the dressing rooms ready to celebrate at a bar down the street.

Oliver opened his dressing room door and found Barry curled on the couch, fast asleep. Smiling, Oliver changed quietly, hanging his costume and removing his makeup.

Finally dressed, he kneeled in front of Barry.

“Barry,” he breathed, then leaned forward to peck a kiss. “Barry, wake up,” again kissing the sleeping man. A few more calls and kisses finally roused the sleeping man awake.

“Oliver,” Barry slurred though his sleep.

“The show’s over, Bar,” Oliver whispered, watching the man blink slowly, gaining his wits.

“Really?” Barry asked, pushing himself up to sitting and rubbing his eyes. “I hadn’t noticed.”

“I can tell,” Oliver responded, placing his hands upon Barry’s knees. “When did you fall asleep?”

“I remember ‘Alas poor Yorick,” and then the rest is a blur.”

“Did you finish studying?” Oliver stood and started packing his bag and grabbing his jacket.

“I finished by the time you killed Polonius,” Barry answered, also gathering his things.

They followed the cast out the door but left them and walked to where Diggle waited with the car. They’d been cautious when leaving the theater ever since the article had been printed. Iris had insisted she could easily cut out the soulmate talk but Oliver told her to just keep Barry out of the interview and publish the reveal.

The soulmates held hands the for the short ride, while Diggle talked with Barry about their days.

When they pulled up to the curb, Barry turned to Oliver.

“I’ll see you tomorrow for lunch?” Oliver asked.

Barry nodded, looked disappointed at the thought.

“We’ll talk then,” Oliver promised.

Barry looked at him for a moment, before nodding and kissing Oliver.

“See you tomorrow,” he said. He pulled opened the door and quickly exited and walked up to the door. Oliver watched him until the man was out of sight.

“It’s going to be alright, man,” Diggle offered.

“I know,” Oliver replied. “That doesn’t make it any easier.”

~

Oliver met Barry at Jitters. Most of the cast was also there grabbing something to eat before they made the long trip to Blüdhaven.

When Barry sat across from Oliver, the actor grabbed the other’s hand immediately, soaking up the contact while he still could. Barry just smiled and turned his hand so they could intertwine their fingers.

“It’s going to be okay,” Barry whispered.

“That doesn’t change the fact that I won’t be able to touch you for nearly two months.”

“I know,” Barry comforted, “but we’ll get through this. We just found each other. Let’s keep finding each other.”

Oliver couldn’t help but smile at the beautiful man. How did he get so lucky in the soulmate department? How did he get have this amazing person for the rest of his life?

“I love you,” he said, raising their joined hands to kiss Barry’s knuckles.

“I love you too,” Barry said.

~

“You know I’ll be seeing you in thirty minutes, right?” Barry asked, standing in the foyer to the amazing Metropolis Theater Center. Everything about the building screamed expensive.

“Yeah, but I don’t know if I’ll be seeing you during the show,” Oliver complained. “Besides, you didn’t get the chance to call earlier and I wanted hear your voice before I went on.”

Barry couldn’t stop the blush rising up his cheeks. “How can you say cheesy things without a trace of irony?”

“Because I mean them, Bar,” Oliver replied, unimpressed. “I mean every word.”

“God, I love you,” Barry mumbled.

“Love you too,” Oliver chuckled.

“Gotta go,” Barry said. “Doors are opening. See you soon.

“Not soon enough,” Oliver replied, and with the flush deepening, Barry hung up the phone.

He made his way through the crowd as they surged into the huge and gorgeous theater. Barry still didn’t have all the words to describe the room even after studying colors for two months.

He was in the middle, more center than forward. He tripped over a guy trying to get to the empty seat next to him.

“Sorry,” Barry stumbled to standing and sitting down in his seat.

“It’s alright,” the man said. He had black hair styled back and wore large glasses thought the man was anything but nerdy. His suit fit snuggly around large muscles. The woman next to him was very pretty. The blue dress accented her skin tone and dark hair beautifully.

“You here alone?” the man asked.

“Technically,” Barry cautiously answered. “My soulmate is in the show.”

“Oh,” the man smiled. “Do you know Kara then?”

“Yeah, she’s great. How do you know her?”

“I’m her cousin,” the man answered, reaching his hand forward. Barry took it and shook it in greeting. “Clark Kent and this is my wife, Lois.”

“Lois?” Barry asked. “As in Lois Lane?”

“The very same,” Lois replied. “What’s your name?”

“Barry Allen,” he answered. “I loved your review of the show. Oliver and I spent hours raving about it.”

“Thank you,” Lois accepted the praise. She tilted her head to Clark, “This lug did help a little bit.”

“Oh please,” Clark rebutted, smiling at the woman. “I’ve never helped you write anything.”

Lois just laughed and Clark smiled at her like she was his world. Barry felt a slight pang of sadness. He wanted to see Oliver so badly. He wanted to laugh with him right beside him. He wanted to tease the actor and kiss him. He missed the man.

The three talked about their favorite parts of the show and talking about Kara and Oliver and the whole cast’s performance.

Not long after the lights dimmed and the show started.

Barry loved every minute of it. He was still shocked and awed by everything that happened. Oliver stood out among the amazing actors and the audience’s applause at the end was deafening.

Barry followed Clark and Lois out to the foyer to await the cast and join them at the closing night celebration.

When the cast started coming out, Barry started getting more anxious. Toes tapping, heels bouncing. He was ready to launch across room the moment Oliver appeared. He didn’t care if everyone saw, he just needed to hold his man.

Clark and Lois pushed forward when Kara came out. Barry followed them hoping that Oliver wouldn’t be too far behind. Kara hugged her cousin and Lois, then pulled Barry into a quick hug.

“I’ve missed you,” she said pulling away. “I could always tell when you’d called, because Oliver was all smiley for hours.”

Barry laughed. He could picture the smile she was talking about. Small and shy but genuine all the same.

The smile he saw when Oliver came out and caught Barry’s eye was that but tenfold. Barry brushed past the group and practically leapt into Oliver’s open arms. Talking on the phone and skyping had been fine, but holding, touching, kissing his soulmate was fulfilling in a way that he could never describe. He was home.

~

The party lasted well into the night, and the sense of relief and joy was palpable. Oliver and Barry were inseparable the entire night and no one dared try to separate them. Photographers did snap pictures and Barry was sure his face would be all over the internet in the morning, but in truth it didn’t matter. He’d gotten to know Oliver in a way people don’t normally do out of necessity, but that didn’t change how much he loved the man. So, he let the photographers flash and he just smiled and enjoyed the night.

The couple did leave a little early and walked down the street to the hotel. Barry praising Oliver’s performance, and Oliver recounting every time he’d seen Barry from on stage.

They slept so well that night, holding each other close and just being there in that moment. The morning brought lazy kisses, not-so-lazy activities in bed, and breakfast brought up, compliments of Cat Grant.

“She’s trying to butter me up,” Oliver said taking a bite of sausage. “She wants me to be in the summer show she’s directing.”

“What show?” Barry smothered his fifth pancake in maple syrup. Oliver made a face at the sea of the golden liquid nearly overflowing Barry’s plate. Fast metabolism does have its perks.

“Romeo and Juliet,” Oliver answered pointedly grabbing a few orange slices off the tray.

“Oh, you should definitely do it,” Barry said, half teasing but also half serious.

“But I wanted to spend the summer with you,” Oliver complained, holding a slice out for Barry who took it with his mouth and licked excess juice from Oliver’s fingers. “And you’re taking classes this summer, aren’t you?”

“Just two online classes,” Barry answered, cutting into his drenched pancake. “It wanted an easy summer, because next I’ll start my residency and there’s not really going to be summer after that. I could come with you on tour. Watch the show get put together, meet new people. Spend more time with you.”

He looked up and saw pure joy bursting from Oliver’s face. “Really?” the blond man asked.

“Really,” Barry assured.

Breakfast was forgotten in favor of more pleasurable activities after that.

[milady-milord-lj]

Community Re-Watch Season 1: Advanced Criminal Law and Social Psychology

Community Re-Watch:  Season 1 Hello everyone! Once again, watching in intended order. Which means this week we've got "Advanced Criminal Law" and "Social Psychology" (yes in that order). Advanced Criminal Law

Commentary by Dan Harmon, Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, and Andrew Guest (co-writer with Dan)

Dan says the script for this episode was pretty much written on-set. Andrew confirms that the script went through a lot of changes. There was originally a secondary story involving Professor Duncan. According to Dan, Duncan just had a paper published called “Born to Leave,” which was about why women always leave men. Andrew clarifies that the comedy about the paper was that it was clearly Duncan publicly grinding an axe.

Dan says that a lot of people didn’t get the exchange between Jeff and Duncan where they talk “in code” using sitcom titles. Joel is kind of shocked by that statement.

Dan admits that Abed is loosely based on a friend of his (side note:  original Abed did make an appearance as one of the custodians during S5 in “Analysis of Cork-based Networking). He said Original Abed (the guy’s name is actually Abed) is incredulous. That was the basis of the Abed-Troy storyline in this episode. Joel points out that Original Abed actually read for the part of Fictional Abed.

Starburns’s first line in the entire series is said in Spanish class. It’s, “My name is Alex, dude.” According to Dan, this exchange was originally longer and descended into a huge argument between Chan and Starburns. Unfortunately, NBC hated the argument and it got cut as a result.

Gillian said during the day they were shooting in the Spanish class, Ken Jeong was doing a lot of Andrew Dice Clay impressions.

Joel actually doesn’t remember which episode he’s commenting on. He sheepishly admits that during the break when no one is talking he was quickly looking up on his phone to see which episode it was.

Dan once again repeats that this is one of the episodes where Jeff gets his one-on-one with each character in the study group. This episode is meant to be Jeff’s one-on-one with Britta. This is the episode where we discover that Britta is a character who cuts and runs “because she’s a skank.” Gillian cheerfully agrees that Britta is a skank-y, cheating, ‘ho, “which is what the people want.” Dan assures Gillian that she is selling herself short, and that he is in negotiations about that stuff with “the people.”

Dan says there were multiple re-shot scenes between Pierce and Annie at the piano while Pierce is trying to write a school song for Greendale. He mentions that some of the scenes will be included in the DVD extras. The point was to say something about Pierce (not Annie, apparently). Dan repeats that Pierce is Dan’s avatar representing him as an artist. Namely, that he’ll shut himself up in a room and procrastinate, then go around and lie about what a genius he is.

Joel notes that Alison’s neck is bright red in the scene where Chang threatens to flunk the class unless the cheater comes forward. Gillian points out that it’s because Alison just screamed. Joel asks Gillian if the same thing happens to her, and Gillian confirms that it does. She adds that she bruises very easily.

Gillian says that during the scene where the class throws balled up paper at her, some of the extras in the scene whipped the balls at her pretty hard. Dan admits that he ended up debating the scene with Joe Russo during editing. Joe wanted a beat before people starting flinging paper at her, and Dan wanted it to happen right away. Dan won.

Joel calls the scene where Jeff approaches Britta in the Cafetorium as “the battle of the awesome coats.”

Dan asks if Joel was the one who ad-libbed the line that a dirty bum is higher on the totem pole than Britta. Joel and Gillian say that the line was actually in the script.

Dan says that Jeff is based on a combination of his friends. In addition, Jeff Winger is both the voice of “the dorky writer who created him” and Joel McHale. He credits McHale with really highlighting Jeff’s “pomposity, narcissism, and shallowness.” (Umm, compliment? I guess?)

Dan says the dirty bum line to Britta was the point at which he realized that they had managed to successfully create a very flawed character as their Jeff protagonist and they had to commit to it.

Andrew says that there are a couple of different versions of the Jeff-Britta conversation that were put into the script, but that writer Neil Goldman was the one who locked it down to its current form.

Andrew also says that writer Hillary Winston came up with Britta storyline, and that she came into the writers’ room with the plot almost fully formed before they even wrote the script. Dan confirmed the storyline was Hillary’s. Although he adds that he always had the idea in his head that he wanted to do a trial storyline where the trial takes place next to a swimming pool. He notes that if the idea had come from Joe Russo, it might get shot down as being too expensive. But because Dan wanted to do it, people were willing to make it happen.

The pool-side trial was apparently a long day of filming. Gillian points out that on that day, Alison was on-set for 16 hours, and only worked for a half-hour. Turns out, Alison had a scene as a witness at the trial, and she ended up being cut from the final version of the script/episode.

Dan says that part of it was that when he went down to the set, he thought the pool-side trial scenes weren’t working. So he and Andrew basically sat on the bleachers and re-wrote the trial scenes. Then they were printing out the re-written pages to give to the actors, while they were still shooting the original script. Andrew jokes, “It’s really not the way you want to work.”

Gillian points out the guy diving into the pool in the background at the end of the first pool-trial scene made that dive 30 times.

Dan says the scenes between Annie and Pierce were originally much darker in tone. All of the scenes had to be reshot because NBC because they felt the scenes were too dark. Dan admits that NBC may have had a valid point. However, he says that the whole point of the Annie-Pierce storyline was to “find the Pierce character” that both Dan and Chevy would be happy with.

Dan goes off on a tangent and says that Chevy basically wanted to be Fletch. Dan’s argument was that Pierce wasn’t Fletch, he was meant to be a buffoon and that Chevy had been warned that Pierce was the target of jokes. But Chevy insisted that he wanted to be “Fletch-y and sexy.” So the Pierce-Annie storyline was Dan’s attempt at finding a happy medium. Pierce was written to be an angry character because he’s not getting what he wants in life.

Dan says in the original scenes between Pierce and Annie, Pierce is very abusive towards Annie throughout their storyline. In the final piano room scene between the two of them, Annie snaps and dresses down Pierce. Actual Dan quote describing the original scene where Annie finally confronts Pierce:  “You know why you have seven wives? Because everyone who gets close to you, you shit on them. Now I’m one of one of those people, and I accidentally thought you were a decent guy. Now I’m out of here too, and that’s just the way it is.” As Dan put it, Annie was supposed to be Pierce’s first real friend. Dan admits that the storyline was inspired by Malcolm in the Middle.

Back at poolside again, Gillian says she got great joy out of the seeing posters of the Human Being in his swimming form. Andrew adds that the art department did an amazing job on the set. Both Joel and Gillian pipe up and say that the set was infested by very large cockroaches.

Gillian says that it was her idea to crawl up onto the platform to give Britta’s testimony. Joel says he thought it was kind of adorable.

Dan says that he had a real problem with Gillian’s boots. Gillian adds that he seemed upset that she was wearing heels. Dan counters that he has a problem with dishonesty, and it seems to him that if someone is short they should own it. He had a hard time wrapping his head around why someone like Britta would wear high-heeled boots, because Britta was supposed to be a character that represented practicality and honesty. So, why is Britta stumbling around on stilts? Gillian interrupts and says it’s because she’s not very good at walking in heels.

Andrew points out that this is the first episode where the writers actually address Britta’s character. Gillian agrees that this is the first episode where you see Britta is flawed (Ummm, did we forget Britta admitting to being a hypocrite in “Spanish 101?”).

Dan says that this episode is one of his favorite episodes, however, it’s also an episode that had a huge number of problems during production and post-production. There was “political” pressure on him, plus a lot of second-guessing and over-correction. For example, a lot of the act breaks got shuffled around in the edit bay to improve the flow of the episode, so as a result none of the act breaks we see are the original act breaks in the script, which seems to drive him crazy. In short, filming and putting this episode was, in Dan’s word, “a mess.” Plus he was in the middle of the learning curve of learning to work with his team and the network. There was not enough confidence on his part.

Gillian says that both she and Joel got to really enjoy watching Jim Rash, John Oliver, and Ken do improve during the poolside-trial scenes. She says that it was like being at a comedy show that never ended.

Joel says the shower scene between Chang and Duncan and Jeff and Britta was shot about 20 minutes before they were about to be thrown out of the pool. Gillian says that both scenes were shot very quickly, with only two takes for each scene.

Dan calls Gillian’s acting in the scene between her and Jeff “brilliant.”Dan thinks that looking back at the Jeff-Britta scene after 25 episodes of pounding on Britta by pointing out that she’s humorless and joyless, you realize in this scene that Britta is “a crazy person.” He says that Gillian’s performance informs that realization, because it’s “so real.” Britta is the character on Gilligan’s Island who sticks out because she’s different from “all these sitcom characters.”

Andrew says that the Jeff-Britta scene was shot at the end of a 16-hour day and Joe basically had to tell Gillian, “Okay, this is your big scene!” Gillian repeats that they had to do the scene in two takes.

Dan’s still complaining about act breaks.

First appearance of Leonard (By the fabulous Richard Erdman! I recommend you see him in one of his most famous roles in Stalag 17. Great movie! Somehow it served as the inspiration of Hogan’s Heroes. If you squint, you can kind of see it.).

Everyone talks about how Dan almost drowned Richard. Gillian says it was fascinating to see two people swim out with Richard to guide him to his mark and then he’d sink about five inches down the second they let him go. Dan says “the legend” is that Richard had to do 20 takes of his “Busted!” line, but the thing is, he nailed it on his first take while Dan was in the bathroom. And then when Dan came back, he kept asking for more takes. Eventually, the first assistant director took Dan aside and said, “He’s going to drown!” Dan admits that the ended up using his first take. Gillian starts laughing that Richard is basically “eating water” during his scene.

Dan starts singing Richard’s praises and urges people to look him up on IMDb to see what he’s acted in and what he’s directed. He’s basically a museum of early television and a living legend. Gillian says that Richard was Marlon Brando’s roommate at one point when they were both starting out in Hollywood. Dan says everyone on the set should salute Richard when he comes on set. Gillian says he’s always in a good mood, and is always happy to be there.

Gillian says that she loved watching Danny shoot his scene where he’s pretending to be an alien communicating with his home world. She says that for the “alien twin,” Danny insisted that make-up draw in his eyebrows really heavy so he’d have a more alien look.

Dan says the scene between where Troy confronts Abed about trying to fool him into thinking he is an alien was re-shot as well. Originally Troy bought it, but Dan thought it was too implausible that Troy would think Abed was an alien. Andrew jokes that now the writers know Troy well enough that they’d probably go for the original storyline.

Dan says that in the first season of any freshman show, everyone involved has the correct feeling that it’s their job to save the show. This sometimes leads to the equivalent of a car crash at a four-waystop. But the thing is, everyone is right because it is everyone’s job to save the show. So everyone has to learn to work together. Eventually people learn over time. But early on “you think you’re writing the Constitution and everyone if Thomas Jefferson.”

Gillian says that Chevy loves playing the piano. Joel adds that he’s actually very good at it.

Dan clearly isn’t feeling the scenes between Annie and Pierce and calls them “watered-down.” However, he adds that writer Liz Cackowski did a good job re-writing the scenes between the two characters. Turns out that Annie’s final speech to Pierce about being a cheerleader is actually taken from a combination of Hillary’s and Liz’s real lives.

Dan says he actually loves Annie’s cheerleader story because it’s so specific of a backstory and it allowed them to learn stuff.

Andrew says adapting the Bruce Hornsby song “The Way It Is,” came about because someone in the writers’ room thought the name of the song was “That’s the Way It Goes.” And they got to talking about what if Pierce thought that was the name of the song.

Dan says they tried to get Bruce Hornsby and The Range to play the closing song of the episode, but was turned down. Dan adds that he hopes to get Bruce on the show at some point.

Gillian says that Luis Guzman posed for the Luis Guzman statue.

Dan thanks Luis. He adds that he originally asked Mark Hamill to pose for it. Although Mark said no, Dan still got an awesome letter in response to his request. Dan said it actually made him love Mark, because he he’s one of the few people who can say “no” without coming off like a dick. He said Mark came across as fairly reasonable in his rejection.

Social Psychology

Commentary by Dan Harmon, Joel McHale, Yvette Nicole Brown, and Anthony Russo. Danny Pudi watched them do commentary from outside the recording booth.

Anthony states that the episode was aired out of order. It was moved up, which resulted in a rushed post-production.

Dan says that Liz Cackowski wrote the draft. It was apparently a big milestone for Dan. He felt that this was the first script that was just “ready to go” and he felt from the start that they could actually do this story.

First appearance of Vaughn (Erik Christian Olsen). Yvette notes that he’s (as of when they were recording the commentaries) a full-time cast member of one of the NCIS shows. Yvette says he was a great guy.

Anthony says that commentaries were recorded out of order from when the episodes aired. Apparently they had just finished commenting on later episodes and this was a return to the earlier episodes for them. Antony says that part of the fun of the early episodes is that you’re getting to know the characters, and in this case, exploring the relationship between Jeff and Shirley. He adds that another part of the fun is finding characters outside your core cast. Some of those characters wound up having “lives” in the first season, despite the fact they were originally cast as a one-shot guest.

Everyone loved the character of Vaughn, and they’re kind of sorry they didn’t get to explore him more. Dan mentions about making Vaughn a musical rival to Pierce (which only sort of happened).

Yvette says the nice thing about this episode is that she got to spend time with Joel. She says that just as Shirley and Jeff were getting to know each other, she and Joel were getting to know each other at the same time.

Dan credits Liz for coming up with the idea that the basis of the friendship between Jeff and Shirley is their mutual love of gossip, specifically talking smack behind people's backs.

Dan repeats that this is part of the series where “in the first six episodes” (umm, it took longer than six episodes for Annie,just sayin’), where Jeff would interact with each member of the study group and become inextricably tangled in each character’s life. This was the Jeff-Shirley episode. The problem they were trying to overcome was how to make that happen with Jeff and Shirley. That’s why they leaned into the whole thing where Jeff says at the open of the episode that he hates walking with Shirley and making small talk with her. However, he likes the fact that Shirley is the first to really bond with Jeff.

Yvette points out that Jeff and Shirley are really toxic together, so does that mean that they shouldn’t be together in future episodes? Dan disagrees, since the whole point is for “the family” to grow together so much that, if they want, Shirley moves up from being Jeff’s “least favorite family member” to someone he likes more.

Joel points out that the name of the coffee shop is Hot and Brown. Dan says it was tough coming up with a new coffee shop name after going through 15 names of coffee shops used on other sitcoms. Yvette jokes that she thought it was in homage to her. Dan points out that it’s racist. Yvette asks how it’s racist. Dan says, “It’s not racist if you say it.”

Yvette says that John Oliver has the cutest dimples ever. Joel adds that comedy just flows out of John and Jim Rash like a broken Roman fountain. Dan says that both John and Jim are amazing in different ways. He calls Jim “a machine” who hits every mark in exactly the same way if you want him to, which makes it easy to edit his scenes. John does a different thing every time and it’s amazing every single time.

According to Dan, there were a lot of shots (that were cut) where Duncan was leering at Annie, and it just made him feel very uncomfortable. He is very protective of the idea that Annie was an innocent little girl.

Yvette says that during this episode, a writer from Entertainment Weekly was on the set.

During S1, the exterior shots were shot at LA Community College. They also did outdoor shots on the Paramount lot. The Paramount lot was dressed to mimic the exterior of LA Community College. In this episode, they were shooting on the Paramount lot.

Joel points out that during his and Yvette’s first walk-and-talk scene, they were walking across the street from the office of the President of Paramount.

First official onscreen appearance of Garrett (Erik Charles Nielsen) is in Duncan’s group of lab rats for the Duncan Principle! (Although, he does also appear in “Advanced Criminal Law,” but from an airing order perspective, this episode is his first appearance.) Dan admits that in this episode, Garrett didn’t have a name. He was just a background character in the scene. Dan says Erik is “a darling of the underground stand-up comedy scene in LA.”

Troy’s meltdown was completely improvised by Donald Glover, to the point that the script only said "Troy melts down." Everyone on the commentary track just bursts into laughter. Yvette says that Troy's meltdown just makes her happy.

Dan notes that this episode runs longer than all the other episodes in S1, because NBC let them “super-size” the episode. Anthony says that even with the super-sizing, this episode was eight minutes too long. NBC waived the length requirements on the episode because this episode got moved up in the airing order, which meant they had a very short post-production window. So NBC took pity on them. Anthony says the version on the DVD is the as-aired longer NBC version. However, on streaming sites, they use the chopped-down syndicated version that’s only 22 minutes.

Yvette is convinced that Jeff is in love with Britta.

Dan feels this episode has a weird effect. He notes that the critics had a weird reaction as well, because they commented that suddenly Jeff Winger is Jim Halpert from The Office, and it’s now a rom-com and Jeff is so devastated because some girl he likes is making out with another guy.

Dan feels that Jeff is very, very inexperienced when it comes to feeling anything genuine about women. He’s had a crass, collector mentality when it comes to women. That as soon as he gets what he wants from them (he calls it “validation”), they become disgusting to him and he moves on. However, Britta, for whatever reason is different. He’s got a big crush on Britta, he likes her, he’s attracted to her “dirtiness,” and the eclecticness of her. In short, (and this is Dan’s actual words) Jeff “believes Britta is the girl he’s supposed to be with.”

Joel asks Dan if he thinks Jeff leaning his forehead against the vending machine was over the top. Dan admits they cut it down, but that he likes the fact that privately, Jeff is bummed out that Britta is “the one that got away.”

Joel says that when he read the script he was heartbroken in a “how could she” kind of way.

Dan says that Britta reminds him of so many of his ex-girlfriends. That one of things he finds attractive is that Britta is that tough girl you can throw into a suitcase and bring with you around the world. Then she turns out to be a mattress full of bed bugs and gives you ringworm. (This is greeted by groans and admonishment from Yvette.)

Dan admits that Duncan’s breakdown is him doing a "take that" against doctors and therapists because he hates people in white coats.

Yvette said she was very nervous about making Shirley making fun of Vaughn because she’s not really a physical comedian and she had to physically make fun of him.

Erik (Vaughn) was wearing tiny fake nipples. Anthony said that they weren’t actually prosthetic nipples. It was actually a trick of the make-up because they couldn't really afford the prosthetics.

Dan really likes the scene of Jeff and Britta sitting on the couch together. Dan mentions that the focus groups had a really simplistic view of Britta and the Jeff-Britta relationship. Focus groups felt that Britta was “the normal one” in the ensemble. Also, they really weren’t on board with the will-the-won’t-they between Jeff and Britta, but they liked the sibling vibe when they hatched schemes together and hung out as friends.

(Dan is obviously unhappy with that feedback as he stumbles a little bit over his explanation over whether or not to pay attention to the feedback. On whether or not Dan really wanted to know what the focus groups said, and he admits that early on he did. He kind of closes the discussion with “to me, you could get good feedback form a fire hydrant.” Anthony adds that NBC never “misused” the focus group information. They only shared the feedback.)

In the scene where the study group reassembles in the study room and the shit hits the fan, Joel jokes about Alison’s costuming by saying that she walked onto the set directly from her audition for Dukes of Hazard II. Dan adds that it’s subtitled, The Prep-ening.

Dan says that the study room scene is the first time they had a “shit hit the fan” scenario, and he now considers it a Community staple. Dan and Yvette said they both felt bad during this scene. Dan points out that in this scene, Vaughn becomes the most likeable character. Dan says it was also part of his “beating up on Britta to make her more likeable” campaign so she'd become the group Charlie Brown. It’s also the point where you realize the Study Group is made up of bad people.

Yvette says the scene following the Britta-Vaughn break-up scene was hard to do with Joel. However, it was due to behind-the-scenes reasons. Joel was being a sarcastic ass, and Yvette thought he was being mean to her. (She stresses that at this point they didn’t know each other very well.) Joel admits that he makes jokes and is sarcastic with people he doesn’t know people all that well. Dan points out that Joel just admitted that his defense mechanism is to be an ass.

Dan comments that Joel and Yvette have good chemistry. Yvette jokes with Joel and asks when she’s going to be getting a kiss.

Dan says that the scene between Annie and Abed where she gives him the apology DVD set was longer. In the cut scene, Duncan comes back and tells Annie that she’s brilliant and wants her to come with him to help him continue his work. Annie turns him down because she decides that she’d rather watch the DVDs with Abed. Anthony says that the point of the scene was to show that Duncan realized his meltdown actually confirmed the Duncan Principle. By cutting it, the storyline didn’t get paid off. Plus, Anthony adds, it was one of the funniest scenes that John Oliver had ever done. Dan says that this was part of the learning curve of learning how long a script needed to be to essentially make a 20-minute movie. The tragedy was they had to “kill their children” early on, the children in this case being scenes and jokes.

Dan says that a lot of the cool songs in the show comes from Joe Russo’s Ipod.

The tag between Troy and Abed was shot at 4 a.m. Joel says he had to leave directly from the shoot to catch a flight to New York.

Anthony said the episode needed to be locked two days later on a Saturday at 9 p.m., so he was up for 36 hours straight in editing to make the deadline.

[the-ink-knight]

Chapter 2/3# TOM

Tom’s hands already full of callus began to hurt, like they were being crossed by lead bisonts when the night arrIved. His arms were made of pudin, always shaking for no reason. His cousin Rorge of the same age was in the same condicion. Only Oz and Balt were fine, they left the room in the middle of the day like everyone to lounch, than they disapeard like every single day in history. The knight did'nt want to wait so the heirs restarted the trainement. Tom as the heir to those prosperous lands, had the best teachers his father could give or trust. He learned how to fight, how to shot, how to run, how to throw sprears, how to swim, how to use a sheild and how to climb with the man he was with: the Iron ox. Usualy on the open yard, not at the horn room. However Tom’d rather use the closed room than that training yard. It was warmer. The floor was padded and had a leather coat. They wouldn’t use shoes on that. The room was in the top of the newest tower of the castle, made by his grandfather when the rebelion ended, his father told that a foreign arquitect from Loxer came and got lunatic with the city, beagging to be the one to constroy the new tower. When finished it looked like every other. With limitless windows And no regular shape.But inside the room the walls were made of green marbel and had a fire place as wide as a tall laid man, in the sides had exposed all kinds of weapons, from long swords to daggers, from spears to arrows alongside bows with a lot of shapes. It had all tipes of weapons, some that he had never saw outside that room. He would also learn all the Onteigonew history, all the wars, all the noble houses and their castles, islands, lands, forests, mountains, lakes, rivers, seas, bays… with the old sir Patrok Ungle Koik. His father always called him when some vassal came to the capital, usualy asking for some thing… or when a smaller lord was juged. From time to time he would call Tom and Rorge to play a war game in a massive map on the internal garden. They chosed wich land they would be the prime lord, excepte the Golden Lands where the king were. All them had indiferent advantages, some had more man to fight, or better castles, or better weapons, or fertil lands to grow crops sell it and buy more man. A maid wich Tom did'nt know the name said the dinner was ready in order of his mother. The knight canceled the train. Tom had to bathe first his body was as wet as a lamprey. The old intirior halls were so bright at night that Tom nedded a lamp to see the paintings of former lords and battles with forgoten names of forgoten wars. He was lucky he knew the castle. At night some young maids or stews ards could get lost, shouting was useless. The intirior walls were thick and a lot of chambers had a cork coat. Tom arrived to is bedroom like a hound after hunt a eagle for a mouth, rewardless. A hot water tube was ready to a bath. And the fireplace warmed the room like it should be warmed. He dressed a light beje tunic, green wool pants and brown sandals. And returned to the dark halls. Closer he got the the Diner room louther he heard is father telling a war storie. -He was right there. Up that bloody hill with is crown.-said Harkash Darlane with a turkey leg on his fist dropping sause to the table.- a big part of his army was with him. The blue man were a very big army with good weapons. “Lockily I had more. Me and your uncle were there. Do you reamember?” -How could I forget the day i lost my eye? When you tell me every mounth?- the lord laughed -It’s easy! The only thing you need is a barril of strong wine!- his father wasn’t fat or skiny, he had a small beard around his mouth and a big mostache, long and brown of hair, fern green of eyes. - Even with that most be hard to forget the day you got you title. And mostly the day the war ended.- saied Rorge. -Ay- anued the uncle. - Why is always the last day the most unforgetuble?- asked Vern, is sister under the cornflower dress near the big fire.- I’m sure there were a more important day in the war!- His sister Vernedys was three years younger than Tom, she had curly olive wood skirt of hair to his shoulders, two dark emerals above her tiny nose and two fin lines of cerise pink beanith. Her small hands, delicate and fine were holding a chiken leng. - There were! - said the uncle.- At the western White Lands. In a castle called the Porjuls Fort. Unfortunaly for the Daylon House. Sir Ulid Poliwood one of the high generals of the Blue King Tolman Morzan comanded a big army of twelve thousand man. They siege the castle in one second, the only thing the Daylons could do was to hide. In the end of the winter they had no reservations of any thing but wine. Hundreds of archerts surrunded the castle to put down any dove, raven or falcon. “In the 3 day of siege the Poliwood shouted to the guards and the maids of Porjuls to throw every Daylon of the fort’s walls.”- Varla Colte, his mother, drunk the last sip of wine she left in the cup. She turned even whiter when sir Marke stoped to bite a leg of turkey. -I reamenber how my father heard about it.- Barla his younger sister weren’t dinning with them. But sleeping with her poopy, Paunchy, so the Lady Colte could speack freely, fearless of toutching Barla’s inosence.- a raven of the Blue King.- she talked slownely and sadely, like she stiled in mourning.- it told us that they cut their throats and throwed them from the top of the walls, the first one was Lord Hilon Daylon, than Lady Katerine, than…- she hiccuped- Isabel and…- a lonly tear came down and left a wet road from the eye to the chin.- Leon , a baby if mouths….- her sadness screamed from her whiteness like the snow in the roofs of The Godsfeet Palace, she had very bright blond hair, two blue topaz lakes with a jet island. She was small, unlike the big mounteins she grow up but strong as their rocks.- My father after reading it shouted so loud every dove near the windows flew away. His precious lands were bieng destroyed. Tolman Morzan declaired war to all Oteigon. And killed his littel sister and his nefews - He was smart to wait. That year a very big drought hited the Green Lands , Meralyn Royte barely could afourd the hunger of her people. While the Blue Lands all keap to be wet. In droughts they would become a lot more fertil.- said the the old knight. - But why did they killed all the Daylons?- asked Oz. - They were the ones that guarded the passegue to the White Lands. With out them Tolman’s armys could go on. - ansered the Lord Harkash.- Are you fine dear? - I’m good, I just felt very bad. She has my aunt and they were my cousins, I played with Isabel so many times, in Godsfeet and at the Porjuls Fort. I loved her like she was my sister… But that was a long time ago. Isabel and Leon are with the gods now… Some umforgetable moments aren’t allways good ones… thought Tom. Some steward knooked the the ancient door of the room full of iron black bulls and beech leafs of jade and emerals, greener than the stones of that small hall, with only three windows, like the big window of Tom’s room, made of grey, green and normal glass, at the walls were exposed trophies of hunte and war, like stags,lions, bulls, bears… and the blue crown of Tolman Morzan. The fireplace and the moon were the only ones that lighted to dinner. The table they dinned with was to big for them, there were Tom, Vernedys, his mother Lady Margot Colte, his father, the twins Oz and Balt, his uncle and the old knight sir Patrok Ungle Koik. Barla was sleeping like his grandmother, Lady Elenor Summerbee. - My Lord…- saied the steward- Saon Gail wanted to know if we could start to decorate the city. For the graeps-harvest festival. - Sure.- said his father with out looking to the steward’s sowl.- one more thing. -Yes my Lord? -Tell Saon the next time he orders some one to ask me for meanless things like that, while i’m eating, I will wrip off his tongue my self. - Yes my Lord… - Ugrh! I hate that festival!-said the uncle, his mother looked better, she wipped her tears and continued to eat.- All those stupid songs, it’s just a who can shout louther conpeticion.- the Harvest Festival of Wine was full of joy, hapiness and well bieng to the Grey Grass people. Everyone drinked at the same time. And the women and children throwed florwers from her windows. -Well that also means I leaving.-said Rorge. He had a fire-head, was almost as white as his mother, tall and muscled, he was all Royte like his mother Lady Meralyn Royte of the Red Lands. The only Darlane image in him was the strong green big eyes with a basil tone. He was the same age of Tom. - Right! I can’t belive 15 years has passed!. - Shouted the long browned hair Lord. - I can’t belive it began.- his cousin looked so happy. He would finaly become the Prime-Lord of the Red Lands.