#future time princess zari

[lesbianmarrow]

okayyyy let me make my post about legends of tomorrow 6.05 “the satanist’s apprentice.” right away i knew this episode was gonna be something special with the care they were taking showing us astra’s perspective. and it just kept getting better and better until the real show-stealer which was of course the ANIMATED SEQUENCE!!!!!!!! i am so glad i wasn’t spoiled for that. truly amazing to see. i can’t imagine how much work that must have been to arrange but it was totally worth it, such an incredible sequence. but even apart from that very fun and flashy trick it was a really great episode!!!! 

i’m really really glad the writers decided to allocate almost an entire episode to humanizing astra and showing us life from her perspective. astra won me over in the college sorority episode but i definitely think more work needed to be done with the character to make her really feel like one of the team members, and they did that really well here. one issue i had with astra early on is that she felt very much like a two dimensional sexy femme fatale when she was first introduced, and i feel like that characterization stuck around for quite a few episodes. i really dont care for the decision to introduce her that way, even if it makes it more shocking for constantine to see that shes alive and all grown up. i think she shouldve been presented as a more nuanced character from the get go. but hey they finally start doing that in later episodes and this episode explores who she is very thoroughly. 

i loved seeing astra’s morning routine and just all the stuff she does (or doesn’t do) every day. lots of fun. again i think it’s so important to humanize her not just because she was initially presented as this evil sexy femme fatale but also because she is a Black woman and too often white or nonblack audiences refuse to relate to these characters. so it’s great that the way the episode is written and directed essentially forces us to relate to astra. i felt so bad for her when she got drenched by that puddle omg i hope constantine’s house at least has hot water in the showers. i thought it was interesting when her old white guy neighbor is racist to her because legends has been really steering away from depicting racism onscreen in recent seasons when the early seasons showed much more of that. i think it’s done effectively, it makes us feel for astra and want to see the old guy dead which of course plays into the later scene where astra lures him over to kill him. also i was so mad at constantine for being super dismissive of astra and not helping her even though this is her first time living on earth as an adult and also she’s basically his time-displaced niece. constantine you misogynist!!!!!!!!!! 

somehow i had previously been under the impression that astra was already a sorcerer but i guess not? it was fun seeing her make this devil’s bargain although she seemed just a tad naive. but if you think about it she had everything under control up until the bad guy (i forget his name) stole the soul thingy. so she didn’t do anything wrong except lower her guard down a little when she realizes she can’t kill this horrible old racist guy. and i think that makes sense because such a revelation is going to be shocking for her. she used to be fine with causing lots of death and cruelty, and this guy certainly had it coming. but she’s not that person anymore. she has changed and become more compassionate and doesn’t want to hurt people needlessly anymore. i still wish that old guy could be punished in some way though like she could infest his house with bats or something bc he deserves it. 

it was so fun when she turned the legends into various household objects. why was nate a CHEESE. i loved zari and ava’s little faces. and it’s so funny that zari was a flip phone. would she even know what that is, since shes from the future? and then everything about the animation i loved. it was so funny how astra began talking all disney princess-y and using dramatic gestures and all that. and she saves the day by singing her mother’s song! how lovely is that. also awesome to see the animated versions of the transformed legends fight and then tuck the bad guy into bed. so silly. i like how at the end astra says the legends are her friends!!!!!!! love that for her. 

the side plot with sara was also really good even though it was very short. bishop is a fantastic villain. he’s just so AWFUL. i love how charismatic he is and how that just enhances his awfulness. and also how he is always singing and dancing like a weirdo. i dont have much experience with techbros but he seems like a techbro. also so interesting to see the nurse ava clone. i like how disturbed sara was by her and by how brainwashed she was. and i loved how sara tried to convince the clone to help her escape and really thought she got through to her. sara made the mistake not only of thinking this clone was more like her ava than she truly was, but also of thinking that all it would take to get this clone on her side was an inspiring speech about her personhood. it’s honestly so arrogant of her, but also so in character. sara has a hero complex when it comes to saving women from their own internalized misogyny and that’s essentially what she’s trying to do here. but the clone’s brainwashing is more thorough than sara had counted on. 

umm anyway really good episode i thought caity lotz’s directing was good and i like that astra is becoming a bigger part of the team now :) 

[cxplqnce]

Nate Heywood - Nowhere To Go

Word Count: 2,052

Your daily walk had started off completely normal. You had left the grounds of the palace and were walking through the surrounding wooded area with some palace guards on your tail. However, when you were on your way back, you encountered an unexpected hitch.

“Hello, there!” You called to the mysterious man, who was dressed in foreign garments and had a look of utter confusion on his face. “Are you alright?” You asked once you’d gained his attention.

“Yeah, I think so.” He replied, in an unfamiliar accent. The man was handsome and seemed polite. He had dark brown hair and eyes and was wearing some kind of long sleeved shirt and trousers. “Where are we?”

“London.” You replied, “In the woods behind the Palace of Westminster. I’m almost certain you must know of it.”

“Yeah, thanks.” The man responded, looking around – past your head to get a look at the back of the palace that you had called your home for your whole life. “What year is it?” He asked, but before you could respond, one of your guards rudely interrupted.

“You will think before addressing your Royal Highness in such an impolite manner.” He warned, pointing his sword at the man’s throat.

You lowered the sword and gave the guard a deathly glare, “That will not be necessary.” You condemned, sending the guards to stand away from you and the mysterious man, “The year is 1283. I am Y/N, Princess of England.” You introduced, extending your hand to the man.

“My name’s Nate. Nate Heywood – short for Nathaniel.” He stuttered, taking your hand and kissing it. “Wow, I never thought I’d meet you, Princess.” He smiled, seeming shocked.

“Well, Nathaniel, would you care to accompany me on my walk back to the palace?” You asked.

Nate nodded, standing up straight and offering you his arm, “Of course, your Royal Highness.”

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

On your walk back to the palace, you had learnt that Nate had no place to go so you offered for him to stay at the palace as your guest. Although you had already grown quite fond of the man, you had an ulterior motive – you didn’t want to be alone in the palace with Phillip, Prince of France and the man you were marrying in a few weeks.

You didn’t want to marry the Prince and future King, because it meant moving to France and becoming a Queen but also because you didn’t want to marry a man you didn’t love. However, you knew you had to so you were going to carry out your duty but having Nate in the palace with you was a comfort that you definitely needed.

“So, you’re marrying the future King of France?” Nate asked as you personally showed him to his chambers that were coincidently right next to yours.

“Yes. It’s not that Phillip isn’t handsome or kind, I just don’t love him as I should and I don’t want to leave England.” You replied, sitting down on his bed, “I always thought I’d marry one of my father’s lords or earls and spend the rest of my days living in a manor house somewhere in the countryside. Or I’d meet some handsome knight and fall in love like in the stories.” You continued, before you noticed that you had been talking at him for hours and you knew nothing about the man, “My apologies, I have been babbling on about myself – you must think I’m so self-centred. Where are you from, Nathaniel? What is your family like?”

“Oh, I’m from Washington – which doesn’t exist yet.” Nate replied.

You subconsciously tilted your head, “Doesn’t exist yet?” You asked. Nate’s eyes widened as he started to come up with a reason why he had said what he did. “Where are you really from, Nathaniel?”

“The future?”

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

“How are you, this morning?” Nate asked while lying on the couch in your room as your ladies-maids fiddled with the hems of your dress.

You sighed, shooing your ladies-maids out of the room, “Honestly, I’m terrified.” You admitted, sitting down on your bed and placing your head in your hands, letting out a groan.

Nate came to sit next to you, putting his hand on your back and rubbing gently, “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. And if you really don’t want to, don’t marry him.” Your head snapped up at those words, “You don’t have to marry him. You’re a princess, anyone would want to marry you.”

“But, it’s my duty. My duty to my country, to my family.” You defended.

“Screw duty!” Nate smiled, “You don’t have to always do what you’re told.”

You smiled, looking at Nate intensely. You’d never noticed just how beautiful his eyes were until that moment. You also noticed that he was looking at you the exact way you were looking at him and suddenly, you were leaning towards each other. His eyes flitted to your lips but just before they connected to his, Nate moved away, his hand connecting with his ear as he stood up and looked out of the window.

You followed his sight line and saw what you could only describe as a giant carriage, floating in the sky. Your jaw dropped to the floor as Nate started talking at the carriage, before he turned to you. “I have to go. My friends – the ones I mentioned – they found me.”

“I’m glad.” You smiled, but it fell very quickly.

Nate’s face went from a smile of glee to a glum expression, “I don’t want to leave you.” He said, taking your hands in his.

“I’ll be perfectly fine, Nathaniel. You must leave. You belong with your friends on your floating carriage and I belong here.”

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

Nate regretted leaving. He sat in his bedroom for days just thinking about you. He almost went back to tell you how he felt and stop your wedding but he stopped himself. However, the uncertainty of how your wedding went got to him.

“Gideon, could you tell me exactly what happened to Princess Y/N of England circa 1283?” He asked the talking A.I.

“Of course, Dr. Heywood.” She replied.

“Shit.”

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

 You stood outside of the church you were supposed to be getting married in, away from the views of the crowds that came to see you. Your hands raked through your hair as you struggled to breathe and paced from side to side.

“Princess?” You heard from behind you. You turned to see one of your father’s lords, Lord Gilbert Almeric. “It’s nice to see you after this many years.”

You were once engaged to Lord Almeric but it was broken off when he left to go to Navarre. You were glad though, he was almost 12 years your senior and you found him extremely unsettling. “Of course, Lord Almeric.”

“You know, I’ve always regretted leaving you all those years ago. Hearing that you were to marry the future King of France – well, we can’t have that.” He said, unsheathing his sword.

“What are you doing?” You asked, backing away from him with your hands in front of you.

“If I can’t have you, Princess. Then no one can.” He grunted, grabbing your arm and shoving his sword through your side. You gasped as he held you close to him, pulling the sword out and sitting down, holding you in his arms, “I’m sorry, Princess. It was the only way.”

“Y/N!” You heard, but your eyes closed before you could see the face of the person the voice had come from.

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

All you could hear was white noise when you eventually woke up from your long coma.

Your head was pounding and you felt a sharp pain in your side when you tried to sit up. Looking around the room you were in, it seemed to be made out of some sort of metal and you didn’t recognise a thing. That was until a certain brunette came through the sliding doors.

“Y/N! You’re awake!” Nate smiled, standing over you and looking over to your right. “Gideon?” He asked.

“Where am I? Who is Gideon?” You asked, trying to move but failing.

“I am Gideon, an advanced A.I from the year 2166.” A voice spoke. You could hear the voice from all around you and your eyes widened at the sound.

Nate put his hand over yours, “It’s okay. Gideon powers the ship. The time-ship.” He started to explain. “She’s one of the friends I told you about. Although she’s not exactly alive like us.”

“Take me back to court. I am supposed to be getting married.” You demanded, looking up at Nate who held a solemn expression.

He sighed, “I can’t. You were supposed to have died when you were stabbed, so when I brought you back here to save you, I changed history. Your death is a crucial point in that history.”

“So, what you are saying is… Everyone thinks I am dead and history relies on my death… So, I can never return home.” You sniffled, tears falling from your eyes as you realised that you had nowhere to go.

“We can give you a new life, somewhere in history and you can fall in love like you said you wanted to. You can meet a handsome knight.” Nate suggested, trying his best to console you.

You shook your head, more tears falling down your cheeks as it dawned on you that you’d never see your parents or siblings again, “No. I want to go home… Why couldn’t you have just let me die?”

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

A few weeks later, you were still on the ship. You had finished recovering and were spending time with Behrad trying to figure out when in history you’d like to go but nowhere seemed as fitting for you as home. You had also been spending time with Sara and Ava, training.

After helping Zari QB a mission, you had become extremely interested in fighting so Sara and Ava had been training you and you’d gotten pretty good at defending yourself. Also, almost everyone on the ship had been teaching you modern slang and showing you movies – just generally teaching you about the future.

Apart from Nate – you’d been avoiding him since he saved you. You were grateful that he did but you hated the fact that he tore you away from your home. However, you’d been feeling a lot better about being on the ship and you’d finally accepted that you could never go home so you had been thinking that it was finally time to forgive him.

Your hands shook as you entered the library to find Nate asleep on top of an open book. “Nathaniel. Nathaniel!” You called, shaking his shoulder.

Nate awoke suddenly, with a piece of paper stuck to his cheek. You chuckled slightly and pulled it off, a pleasant smile on your face. “Y/N. Hey, I thought you were avoiding me?” He asked, standing up and coming to stand and talk to you.

“I was. I was trying to figure everything out, deal with everything that’s happened and what it means for me… I’m still upset but I understand you were trying to help and obviously I’m grateful that I’m not dead.” You started to explain, a hopeful look gracing Nate’s face while he hung onto every single word you said. “So, what I’m trying to say is, I forgive you and I’m not mad anymore.”

Nate smiled, “Good. Great. Awesome. So, have you found a place to go, live out the rest of your life?”

“I’m thinking here.” You replied, “I asked Sara what she’d think of me sticking around for a while and she’s not opposed, so…”

“That’s great! I’m glad you’re sticking around.”

You nodded along to Nate’s words, “Yeah, me too. I just have one question. Why didn’t you let me die? Why did you care so much?”

Nate leant back against the desk, perching on the edge and crossing his arms, “Because, you’re one of the most awesome people I’ve ever met. You’re smart and funny and cool. You helped me out when I had nowhere to go, so I wanted to do the same… I wasn’t ready to lose you.”

“Well,” You started moving closer to Nate, “You don’t have to worry about that. I’m not going anywhere.”

A/N: Hope you enjoy! I take requests! Also, follow my instagram @cxplqnce

[oficytheft]

Finding His Way Out of the Time Stream: < Chapter 6 >

Leonard was not happy with being benched, even if he still wasn't quite at 100% just 3 days after coming back he was close enough even without his gun; and with how Dahrk and the Legion had manipulated his younger self into helping them? He had a bone to pick with the resurrected asshole. Instead though there he was on the ship with Zari, Amaya, and Helen of Troy; the others had gone to help Stein, and since the ladies charm didn't seem to affect him? Sara had asked him to stay on the ship encase any of Darhk's pose showed up on the ship. He'd decided that the best place to sit was perched on the center console on the bridge, one leg propped up as he rested his elbow on his knee to prop it up and rest his chin in his hand well his other leg dangled.

He had his gun off his leg and in his trigger hand ready to shoot if he needed to, but currently? He was just watching as Helen paced back and forth looking worried well Amaya and Zari went to make sure the doors were sealed shut. Could he have gone and helped him? Yeah, but he was kind of hoping someone ended up on the ship so he could start a fight. After so long being stuck in the time stream he was starting to get antsy just staying in the ship for so long. Finally, he slid down off where he was sitting and walked over to lean against the door frame to Sara's office. "Really don't get all the fuss, do they just not have attractive people in Ancient Greece?" He knew that wasn't it, if that was the case then she wouldn't be having the effect that she was on people in a future time. It was probably just some naturally occurring meta power that she didn't know how to control.

"Unfortunately I'm afraid I've been cursed by the gods, a thoughtless remark by someone who saw me and my beauty was turned into a curse." Leonard couldn't help but roll his eyes, he'd gotten the rundown of the myth from Gideon when they'd learned who it was that they were after. He figured that if Darhk was interested in the woman? Maybe she had a connection to one of these totem things or something, that's why he'd recruited the water witch after all from what they'd learned; who was to say that wasn't his end goal with her too. "I don't understand why you aren't affected though unless you prefer the company of men to women."

Leonard couldn't help the roll of his eyes before he lifted his gun, resting it on his shoulder before answering. "I prefer the company of people that don't make me wanna shoot 'em, a pretty face doesn't mean anything to me." His attention was drawn away then, focusing on the screen on the far wall where she could see Amaya fighting the water woman. "Well, that ain't good." He turned then and raised his free hand to let the end of his gun fall into it, telling her as he walked away. "Stay here or come help I don't care, just don't get yourself killed. Don't need to hear it from the esteemed Captain."

He didn't bother to check if the woman was following him or not as he made his way down the hallway, he didn't exactly rush but when he saw Amaya fighting in the hallway he took note of Helen peaking out from behind the corner of the other end of the hallway as he aimed his cold gun at her feet in order to avoid hitting Amaya just in time for the blonde to stab her in the back. Neither one seemed to do more than cause her pain though before she liquified herself and slid through the vent grate at her feet. "Great! Now she could be anywhere on this damn tin can." And they couldn't have Gideon do a scan of the ship until it was up and running again, should have told Amaya to move and just froze the bitch solid.

When the team got back to the ship with an unconscious Sara? Leonard made it very well known how incompetent he thought they all were, and as soon as Gideon was back on he told her to scan the ship for Kuasa once she was done fixing their captain. He had no plans to take over this half-baked mission of fighting some mysterious demonic being that could use magic time travel well she was out, but someone had to make sure that they weren't all going to get killed in their sleep. He didn't bother sticking around the medbay after they all got Sara hooked up, he'd already been itching for a fight before and now? No better. He headed to his own room rather than Mick's like he had been the last few days, preferring to channell his frustration there.

Not that Mick wouldn't get him being upset, Sara just reminded him too much of Lisa and the idea of her being hurt felt too much like the idea of Lisa being hurt. And this was why Leonard Snart didn't get close to people, this is why after Mick had nearly died in that fire in 2014 he had stayed away for 10 months. He didn't like the lack of control he felt when people he cared about ended up hurt, plans going off the rails he expected and accepted fairly easily. People he gave a shit about dying? Well, it was expected with the life he lived even before but it wasn't something he was so great at accepting. That's why there were so few people he let himself care about. When he got to his room he started opening totes and pulling out his things that had been put into storage, he'd mostly been pulling anything he needed out without unpacking the last few days because he was busy getting fully filled in on what was happening and fixing his gun.

If anything Leonard was good at focusing his energy on tasks that needed to be done, of the two storage boxes that he had to unpack he only had half of one left when Mick eventually knocked on the door. Leonard waved his hand in the air in a motion that at this point Gideon understood as 'go ahead and open the doors', he didn't bother turning around as he put the clothes in his hands in the open drawer before turning back to the nearly empty container and pulling out a small zip-up binder. As Mick spoke well walking into the room and plopping himself down in the chair at Leonard's desk. "Thought for sure I'd get to see you punch one of em."

Leonard didn't answer right away, walking over to his bed to set the binder down and open it up. "Well I'm sure it would have been very cathartic I think you're forgetting that you were there and figured 'lets let her take on the trained assassin witch on her own' along with the rest of them." He spread the contents of the binder across the top of his blanket as he spoke, turning to look at Mick with a raised brow. "I die and you take the cash from my go kit?" All of the documents were still in there, a slew of fake ID's ranging from social security cards to passports. The only thing missing, as he'd mentioned, was the substantial amount of cash he kept in it just encase.

He watched Mick raised the beer he'd been holding and pointed at him with the neck of the bottle before replying, clearly ignoring his implication that Mick was just as likely to be punched as the rest of them if Leonard had resorted to that. "You were dead-technically that money was either mine or Lisa's." He wasn't wrong, and if Leonard was honest with himself? He wasn't surprised, he probably would have done the same thing if the situation had been reversed. He turned back to his bed and began shuffling it all neatly back into the binder, making a mental note to go use the fabricator to make some cash to put in it later as he slipped the binder into place under his pillow.

He reached in and grabbed the last thing out of the box before flipping the lid shut and pushing it towards the wall of the room along with the other empty one, taking his parka and hanging it on a hook on the wall near the door. "Sara wake up?" The likely answer was no or Mick probably would have mentioned it when he'd come in, the grunt he got in response was answer enough. "Between this and helping pull my younger self outta the timeline to mess with your head? Damien Darhk is practically begging for me to personally end his life." He leaned so he was perched on the edge of his bed as he spoke, crossing his arms in front of him as he spoke.

"Gideon said she'll be fine, put her in a coma or something to help her heal." Mick told him before putting his empty bottle down on Leonard's desk. "You sleeping in here tonight then?" Leonard hadn't really thought about that one way or another, he'd mainly started putting his things away as a way to focus the agitated energy that he'd felt. It had worked, he had all of his things back where they belonged now and he felt much less agitated than he had been before.

He decided at that moment that not messing with Mick was out of the question, and so he quirked an eyebrow and asked him. "Why? You hoping to lure an ancient greek princess in there tonight?" He didn't think he was; when they had a falling out and were away from each other for a few months? Sure. Sometimes Mick slept with other people, over the years Leonard himself might have gotten drunk enough once or twice that the same was true. But when they were together? When they were on good terms? Well, good terms for them anyway. Not the case.

He almost smirked when he elicited exactly the response he was expecting when Mick pushed himself out of his seat and moved so that he was standing in front of him, he managed to hold that back though well he uncrossed his arms and propped his hands onto the edge of the bed. "I wanted to sleep with a woman it wouldn't be some powered bitch who messes with people's minds. An' if I wanted to sleep with her I wouldn't be here making sure you ain't thinkin' 'bout going ta off Darhk." He was almost offended. Sure Mick knew that he saw Sara a lot like Lisa, but he also knew that Leonard wasn't stupid. He supposed that he did just come back from them thinking he was dead though, so Mick being on edge about the idea of him facing life or death wasn't all that strange.

"Careful Mick, I might start thinking you think I'm incompetent if you start assuming I'm gonna do stupid things. I want him dead, don't have a death wish." He pushed himself up slightly off the bed and reached up to lock his arms together behind Mick's head and shifted his weight to his right foot, his left leg moving to hook his foot behind one of Mick's ankles and pull it forward just enough that his only real option was to put his hands down on the bed so that they wouldn't fall onto it . He saw that the other realized what he was doing a second before he felt his mouth on his neck and couldn't help the smug smirk that came to his face as his eyes slipped shut and he let out a hum of satisfaction.

[avasharpe]

It Takes Time

Chapter: Six of thirteen.

Summary: Now that Sara is 22 weeks pregnant and they are in the middle of a pandemic Ava is determined to get the nursery done. Plus, they might not be the only ones planning a family.

Fandom: Legends of Tomorrow.

Relationship: Sara Lance/Ava Sharpe, Nora Darhk/Ray Palmer, Charlie/Zari Tazari, Nate Heywood/Behrad Tazari, and John Constantine/Gary Green.

Characters: Sara Lance, Ava Sharpe, Nate Heywood, Behrad Tarari, Jefferson "Jax" Jackson, Mick Rory, Zari Tarari, Ray Palmer, Nora Darhk, John Constantine, Gary Green, Mona Wu, Gideon, and Kendra Saunders. 

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences.

Additional Tags: Pregnancy, Babies, Domestic Fluff, Legends shenanigans

Read at AO3

Read at FFN

Let me know what you think and please leave a comment!

……………………………………………………………………

April 18th, 2020. Week Twenty Two. 

Sara actually smiled as she watched her crew work. “Okay, you’re doing great Ray. I need you to take a left up ahead and Behrad watch your back.”

“Got it,” Behrad said as he turned around and took out the guy who was following him with a blast of wind. 

“Aye aye, Captain,” Ray said as he took a left and reached the door. A displaced young Charlotte Brontë was being kept as a playmate for little princess Elizabeth and her sister Margaret Rose. If they didn’t return her to her time, then the whole of section of literature inspired by her could disappear.

“Hello little Charlotte,” he said, picking her up the toddler. Charlotte let out a scream of protest as she was picked up and taken away from her play.

Her scream alerted the guards, but Ray quickly settled her in his arms, and Sara watched as he reassured her. 

“Hey, hey, It’s okay,” Ray said as he gently bounced her and carried her out of the room. “My name is Ray and I’m here to take you home. Back to your Mom and Dad and your sisters and who has a funny mustache?” 

Ray leaned over to tickle her cheek, earning a giggle from Charlotte after she had reached up to grab his fake mustache that he had worn for the mission and for Nora. Sara had seen the look they had been giving each other all morning. 

Charlotte was still giggling as Ray made his escape with Nora and Nate, keeping the future king and queen occupied. Sara looked back to see that Charlie, Ava, Mick, and Zari had all managed to keep the guards away from Ray, but there were several others headed toward him. 

“Ray time to go. Ava, Mick, I need you to catch up with Ray and head off the guards that are heading towards them. Everyone else get ready to go and head for the jump ship.”

They all split off and Behrad, Charlie, and Zari kept the guards running around so that everyone else could make their escape. Mick and Ava caught the guards and kept them from Ray in a team-up take down that reminded Sara of how far their friendship had come. The four of them made the jump with Ava’s time carrier. 

“Alright everybody, Charlotte and Ray are on the ship,” Sara said in her com watching as the guards gained on them. “Everyone else head back.” 

They all circled back to the Jumpship and soon they were all settled on the bridge. Sara managed to steal Charlotte from Ray and they both cooed over her, but Charlotte leaned over to play with Ray’s mustache. When they walked on to the bridge Nora came over to them and untangled the little girl’s fingers from his hair. Sara passed Charlotte over to Ray and watched them both gaze lovingly at the little girl as Ray put his extra arm around Nora.

“Do you two want to take her back?” Sara offered, seeing how smitten they were with her.

“If it’s alright with you Captain?” Ray said not taking his eyes off Nora and Charlotte.

“Go on,” Sara said, waving them off. “Just make sure you check in when you get back.”

Nora and Ray nodded, never taking their eyes off of Charlotte as Ray continued to bounce her. Nora procured a bit of magic that swirled around Charlotte’s head as she cooed and reached up to chase the wisps of blue. They both stepped through the portal and closed it behind them, and Sara turned around to look at the rest of the team. 

Most of them we’re out of breath, but whole and unharmed. “Well, I’d say that that was a huge success. Good job guys, I’m proud of us!” 

They all smiled and beamed at her praise and Ava came over to put her arm around her waist and gave her a gentle squeeze.

“All right go on get out of here,” Sara said as she turned to hold Ava’s hips and bring her closer, pulling Ava down to greet her with a kiss.

The Legends knew better than to stick around and soon they were all alone, except for little Laurel who moved around like a fish in her belly.

“That actually did go really well,” Ava said, putting her hands on Sara’s belly. 

The sweater Sara was wearing this morning was thick, but it barely hid her bump. At twenty-two weeks Sara was basically the size of half a basketball and her belly now curved out from under her breasts. Sara was still getting more used to Laurel taking over her abdomen.

“I guess I kinda overstepped, trying to take over for you, I’m sorry Sara,” Ava said, tilting her head and looking at her with soft eyes.

“Thanks, but It was nice to have you around, an extra set of hands has been really nice,” Sara said, leaning into her. “Even if you did go rogue and lock up the butler.”

“He was onto us.” Sara set her with a look and Ava looked down and bit her lip, but smiled. “Sorry, Captain Lance.”

Sara reached up and put a hand under Ava’s chin, tipping her head back up so she could kiss her. “You are always forgiven.”

Ava smiled and leaned back in to kiss her again. Their lips melted together and they enjoyed their passionate kiss. Their hands wandered under clothes and lips trailed down necks. Sara moaned and tugged at Ava’s blouse that just had to be buttoned up to her chin.

“Were back!” Nora announced, and she and Ray stepped through the portal and back onto the bridge. 

Ava spin around and groaned, shifting to stand at Sara’s side, but slipping them down to her rest on her waist.

Nora had a knowing and huge smile on her face, but Ray was mortified to know they had potentially walked into something. 

“That’s great, Ava time to go,” Sara said, pulling her away and opened a portal straight into their bedroom.

Nora laughed as she watched them go. “That’s not a bad idea, you know?”

“What is?” 

That was all he got out before Nora’s lips were on his and she was ravaging him. Nora pushed Ray up against the wall and he held her waist and welcomed her lips. She loved the feel of his mustache tickling her cheeks and her cupid’s brow. She loved the feel of his chest under her hands as she ripped open his shirt, letting the buttons fly. She loved the way his big arms wrapped around her, always making her feel safe. She loved the way his pants pressed against her, telling her exactly how much he wanted her.

Nora reached down to Ray’s pants, feeling him moan and melt against her. She had just pulled down his zipper when.

“Hey, your back. Have you told Cap yet?” Nate’s said waltzing back onto the bridge, completely oblivious to their actions.

“Well, yeah, I guess Sara knows we’re back,” Ray said fumbling with his words. All he could think about was where Nora was pressed up against him and what she was about to do. “What did you need Nate?”

“Oh well, Behrad and I were just wondering…”

“Sorry Nate,” Nora said rather curtly. “We’re busy.”

And with that, she pulled Ray away to their own bedroom.

……………………………………………………………………

Ava wiped her hands on the rag after setting the pot of soup on a hot pad on the table. She smiled down at the meal she had prepared. She had burned the meatballs, but the rest of the soup was cooked to perfection. Ava put her apron over her chair before heading upstairs to get Sara.

“Sara dinner’s ready,” Ava called out down the hall, walking over to the nursery.

“Okay.” 

She heard Sara’s broken voice and immediately dashed into the room. Sara was sitting on the floor next to the bookshelf they had put together that afternoon, silently sobbing.

“Sara, sweetie, what’s wrong?” Ava asked, seeing the light tears upon her cheeks.

“Oh, it’s nothing serious,” Sara said, looking down at her lap. “It’s just that my ring doesn’t fit.”

“Oh baby,” Ava said, kneeling down in front of her as Sara broke out in a fit of tears as she held her ring. Ava took a look at the ring that Sara tried to fit on her finger, but it refused to go over her swollen knuckles. Ava took ahold of Sara’s hand and brought it up to her lips, giving Sara a soft smile.

“I just want to wear it,” Sara said, wiping her eyes. “And these stupid hormones are making me cry at everything.”

“I know,” Ava said, pulling her in for a hug, and rubbing up and down Sara’s arms as she hiding her smile behind Sara’s shoulder. The tears were now a daily occurrence and it was all Ava could do not to laugh or cry with her at certain things. Even if it did break her heart. “I’ll tell you what, why don’t we get it resized? I’m sure Gideon or Ray could have it done in a day.”

Sara pulled back, shaking her head as she took the ring off her finger and threading it through the chain of her necklace. “What if my finger balloons up even more and what if it shrinks down after I give birth and I lose it?”

“You won’t lose it,” Ava said, knowing how important the ring was to her. “And I want you to be able to wear it, especially after we announce our engagement.”

“Yeah, we should probably do that pretty soon, especially since everyone thinks you’re a jerk for not proposing already,” Sara said, with a soft smile as she placed the ring and the necklace in Ava’s hand.

“What?” Ava asked, paling at the thought of what the Legends would do to her. 

Sara just shrugged and put her hand on Ava’s shoulder to help her get up because her belly had already put her off balance. “Come on you said dinner was ready and Laurel and I are hungry.”

“Sara, what do you mean the others think I’m a jerk? How long have they known I’m planning to propose?” Ava asked as she pulled Sara down the hall. She had only told Nora and Mona who had helped her pick out the ring and she made them promise not to tell anyone else.

Sara just smiled and giggled as they walked down the steps. “I don’t know I just heard something about Mick and my Dad sitting you down and having a talk with you about your intentions.”

Ava’s face fell as she put her arm around Sara. “Well, maybe I’ll have a little talk with them about biting into other people’s business.”

“Oh come on Ava,” Sara said, patting her arm. “It’s not that bad. I think they’re just excited.” 

“Well they can wait for us to announce it,” Ava insisted as she pulled out Sara’s chair for her. “But I’ll tell Nora to give Ray the hint to drop it.” 

“Uh hum.” Sara took Ava’s left hand and smiled at her thinking of a way that she could get the Legends to drop it.

Sara couldn’t help but think about how Ava’s finger was as empty as her own. She wanted Ava to have a ring of her own. A simple band that Ava could wear at work, perhaps one with a small diamond that would match her own ring. Something that would mean that Ava was her’s forever, something that Sara could give to her in front of everyone they loved as a declaration of their commitment to each other. She knew Ava was a sucker for grand proposals, but Sara loved their little intimate dates. Perhaps she could do both.

Little did Sara know that Ava was thinking of something similar. Ava’s original plan was to ask Sara out and propose to her in a simple, yet meaningful and romantic way. Ava loved being engaged to Sara and she was over the moon that Sara had said yes, but Ava wanted that meaningful moment. Ava wanted to make a declaration about her commitment to Sara and Laurel. Now that she had the ring back she couldn’t wait to do this and it meant the world to her.

“I’ve been thinking,” Sara said, interrupting her engagement planning and having pushed off her own until she could talk to Nora and Mona about a ring. “I think that we should come up with a nickname for Laurel. I love her name, but I just think it might get confusing when we get together with Laurel, and my mom and Dinah Drake.”

“We don’t have to, you and Quentin are really the only ones that call Dinah, Laurel, and technically if we do Dinah Laurel Lance.”

“The third,” Sara added.

“Yes Dinah Laurel Lance III, I want to use roman numerals it will be easier for her, but then Laurel is already a nickname for Dinah. It’s more confusing when it’s your sister Dinah, your mother Dinah and Dinah Drake who I suppose is our sister-in-law.”

Sara laughed at the little family joke about Laurel and Dinah being married. “I guess if it gets confusing we can use a nickname. I just kind of like the nickname Lulu and we need a non-name nickname if we’re going to keep her name to ourselves.”

They had agreed to keep Laurel’s name between the two of them. Mostly to avoid the drama of everyone else having an opinion about her name, but it also felt special. They had a part of Laurel just for themselves. So they had agreed to refer to Laurel as just the baby or little Lance, but it was so hard not to call her Laurel. After putting a name to their baby and calling her Laurel, it felt different in a way that Sara hadn’t expected. Laurel felt more real with a name, more like a person. Suddenly Laurel’s movements inside of her weren’t just that of a baby’s, they were that of her daughters’. 

“Well Lulu is nice and it technically doesn’t give away the name,” Ava said interrupting her train of thought as she helped Sara up. “We still need a middle name as well.”

“Dinah Laurel Ava Sharpe-Lance that’s her name I thought we agreed on this?” Sara said as she put down her spoon.

Ava avoided answering her. Instead, she took a piece of bread and buttered it. Sara sat with her arms crossed and ignored the soup Ava had set at her place. Ava huffed, put the bread down, and looked up at her.

“You don’t want her middle name to be Ava.”

Ava sighed and tried to think of a way to say this to Sara. “I like my name, for me. It fits and I like it, but I don’t want our daughter to have it.”

“Ava!” Sara said with intention, causing Ava to look up at her. “Do you know why you wanted to name our daughter Nicole?”

“Because I love the character. I mean Nicole Haught is amazing and it’d just be fun,” Ava said, blushing slightly at the fact that she originally wanted to name their daughter after a fictional character.

“Yes, because you loved Nicole Haught and you know that I love you. So every time that I say your name, I am filled with so much love for you and for your name. I want our daughter’s name to have the same kind of love. Look, you don’t have to agree with it right now, but just think about it okay?”

Ava smiled and looked down as she bit her lip before looking up at Sara. She reached out to her and came over to sit next to her on the bench. Ava pulled her in and they wrapped their arms around each other’s waist. It was a bit more difficult to press up against each other when it felt like there was a papaya, according to their pregnancy app, in between them. Nevertheless, Ava still managed to pull Sara into her lap like she always did. 

“I’ll think about it,” Ava said, leaning down to drop a kiss to Sara’s lips.

“That’s all I’m asking,” Sara said as she reached up, put her hand on Ava’s neck and pulled her in for a deeper kiss. “Now come on, I was promised dinner.”

Ava smiled and Sara shuffled off of her lap and sat next to her as Ava dished her up. She laughed as she watched Sara’s face lit up with joy. As she took a bite of the soup, Sara moaned as it hit her tongue. “How come you don’t make those sounds for me anymore?”

Ava raised her eyebrow at Sara, who opened her eyes and just looked at her. Sara’s smile grew as she burst out laughing and Ava couldn’t help but join in with her own giggles. Sara pulled her in for a kiss, which was one of the reasons they liked to sit next to each other at Ava’s long table. Sara moaned against Ava’s lips as she tilted her head to let Ava have access to her neck. Where Ava laid soft kisses down her throat as she nibbled on Sara’s skin. 

“How is that for pleasure Director Sharpe?” Sara said, as Ava pulled back to look at her. Ava looked into Sara’s eyes that sparkled with mischief as she ate another spoonful of soup. “Umm, but you’ll have to wait because Laurel and I are really hungry.”

Ava laughed again and putting one arm around her shoulder as she pulled her in close. “For you, I never mind the wait.”

……………………………………………………………………

April 25th, 2020, Week Twenty Three

Sara was definitely not hiding. She was just in the parlor hanging out, with the bridge doors locked, at a time when everyone thought she was at the Time Bureau with Ava. However, when you live on a ship with ten people, if Gary sleeps over, having alone time becomes trickier, especially when you’re the captain. Sara could have gone home to Ava’s house, but Sara was still getting used to attaching her name to the place she called home. Besides, she wanted to stay on the Waverider right now, as being home alone at Ava’s always felt too lonely. She wanted alone time not to be lonely.

One of the other upsides to living with a crew was that Sara was never lonely and she missed the little things about living on the Waverider. She missed seeing a friendly face around every corner, she missed eating meals with her family, and she missed being needed by her crew. 

They’ve tried to rely on her less and less in the field these days, but it also seemed to carry over in their personal lives as well. She knew they missed her as their Captain and she missed being a Captain to her crew, and Sara loved being the mom friend. 

Nonetheless, whenever they needed something, they would just start to ask her for help or begin a rant to her, and then they would just say nevermind. They would turn around and walk the other direction, which just made it worse. Sara didn’t mind helping. It was one of the few things she could do, regardless of her pregnancy. She just felt like everybody was treating her differently. Like she was fragile and breakable and one wrong move and they will lose her and Laurel. So for now Sara pouted, hid in her room, and enjoyed a whole box of egg rolls, because she was pregnant and she could.

Sara ate her egg rolls and had put on a horror movie that she was half paying attention to. She tried to get a few minutes of shut-eye, but something or rather someone was making it hard for her to nap. Laurel had decided to practice her soccer skills. While Sara loved feeling Laurel kick against her belly, she knew that soon she wouldn’t be so fond of Laurel kicking against her ribs or bladder.

Yet, for now, each little flutter of an arm or a leg made her smile. Sara closed her eyes again and tried to ignore the little movements in her belly and focused on the sound of the movie playing, letting it lull her to sleep. Her mind began to drift off and she started to slip into dreamland just as Gideon’s voice jolted her awake. 

“I’m sorry to bother you Captain, but I have an urgent call from Director Sharpe.” 

Sara sat up and stretched with a yawn. “Okay Gideon put her on.”

Sara smiled as Ava’s face appeared on the screen in front of her, but that smile quickly fell when she saw Ava’s worried look.

“Sara I need you to put the Waverider on lockdown right now and proceed with decontamination. Then you and your crew need to be tested for COVID-19. There has been an outbreak at the Bureau and so far ten agents have tested positive for the virus. We are on lockdown down here and are currently testing every single agent.” 

Ava took a deep breath as she finished, before looking up at Sara and trying to smile despite the worry that still hung in her eyes. “But I don’t want you to worry about me, okay. Miranda vaccinated us against this when you first got pregnant. So far it doesn’t look like this agent has come into contact with you or your crew, but he could have spread it to others who did.”

“Like Gary.” Sara trailed off as Ava mournfully nodded.

Sara took a moment to take her in. Ava looked so frightened as she spoke to Sara, but her voice never wavered, as she used her Director’s voice. She never did that anymore unless they were fighting, or when she was extremely worried. Sara stood up and took a step towards the monitor as if it could bring them closer together.

“Gideon put the ship on lockdown and began to sanitize the empty rooms. Tell the team what’s going on and that I’ll explain it further to them in a second.” Sara said looking over at Gideon’s halo projection that had appeared next to the monitor. 

“Of course Captain,” Gideon said, before disappearing.

The emergency door to the parlor closed off and Gideon tinted the glass walls black. Sara could hear the rest of the doors closing around the ship. The parlor’s glass walls tinted black to protect her yet, Sara turned away as the beam of UV light cleaned the bridge. Gideon would have to wait until she left in order to sweep the Parlor.

“How did this happen, I thought you were checking every agent as they came in the door?” Sara said, sitting back down on the couch and putting a hand over her belly as if it could add another layer of protection for Laurel. 

Ava huffed and put her head in her hands. She looked like she was about ready to cry. It took everything inside of Sara to hold herself back and not to portal into her office right then and there.

“We were, but apparently some other agents thought it was okay to portal straight into work, bypassing our security. We’ve been so careful. We’re down to the bare minimum of agents and everyone has strict instructions to only go from work to home and back. We’ve been testing everyone as they clock in, but,” Ava looked up at Sara and she could see the tears collect in her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Sara,”

“Hey,” Sara said, tilting her head and trying to comfort Ava as best she could with her words. “It’s not your fault. You did everything you were supposed to.” 

“But I could have been more strict with the check in’s and now I’ve potentially exposed your team and Gary. If he gets sick because of me...” Ava shook her head trailing off and put her head in her hands again. 

“Gary’s going to be fine, okay. Oh Ava, don’t cry. It’s not your fault and it’s all gonna be okay, worst comes to pass and Gary just has to spend a few weeks in the Med-bay being waited on hand and foot by us, he’d love it,” Sara said, trying to maintain her composure and not cry as well.

Ava chuckled as Sara knew she would, and Sara tried to give her a happy smile even though she was filled with worry as well. “You’re testing everybody right?”

“Yes, the medical team is coming through right now and testing everybody and then sending them home. I think now would be a good time to shut down the Bureau for a few weeks. The Legends should be able to handle anything that comes up in the timeline, and I’ll help out as well.” 

“Good,” Sara said with a nod. “You come here as soon as you finish, okay?” 

“I’ll stop by the house and change and shower, just as a precaution. Then I’ll be right over,” Ava said, nodding almost too fast at her. Ava tried to smile and straightened her jacket, a sign Sara knew all too well meant that she was trying to control the situation again. “I should let you address your crew.”

“Okay,” Sara said, reluctant to part. “I’ll be waiting for you to come home. You know Laurel has been kicking up a storm. She hasn’t let me sleep and the only thing that calms her down is you singing.”

Ava smiled, knowing it calmed Sara down as well. “I’ll sing for you both as soon as I get there.”

“Even if we’re in front of the whole crew?” Sara said with a teasing smile.

“I don’t know, my singing talents are just for you.” Ava laughed and seemed to relax back into her chair. "I’ll make sure my employees are tested and treated and I’ll be over there before you know it. Who knows maybe we will get done before you, and I’ll be the one waiting."

Sara nodded, the smile returning to her face. “I don’t know. Gideon is much faster than your crew.”

“Well, it looks like they’re approaching my office,” Ava said, looking past the camera and out her window.

“See you soon?” Sara asked, seeing that the worry had returned to Ava’s face.

“Promise,” Ava said, with a weary smile.

“We love you,” Sara said, feeling Laurel kick against her hand, she had been saying it to Ava for both of them as it just felt right.

“I love you both too.” 

Ava cut the feed and Sara stared at the monitor for a moment trying to get her nerves under control. She sat back down on the couch feeling light headed and took a few deep breaths. As soon as she felt like she could talk again Sara looked up at the monitor where Gideon’s face had reappeared, silently watching over her.

“Alright Gideon, show me the team.”

Gideon pulled up the rest of the team members on the monitor in front of her as Sara stood up again to adress them. As soon as they saw her they all started talking a mile a minute with questions of what was going on.

Sara watched as Ray and Nora just looked at her with their big sad eyes from the lab. She then turned to see Mona in a full-on panic as she paced in the library with the words coming out of his mouth a mile a minute. Nate was also there and was trying and failing to reassure her. Sara could barely catch a word Mona said other than that she was worried for them. Constantine and Behrad were also talking and so was Charlie as she quipped at them in the background, looking uneasy but trying to appear relaxed. Rory was in the kitchen and was yelling about the food fabricator being shut off.

It was dizzying to look at and on top of the worry Sara felt lightheaded and reached back to put a hand on the arm of the chair as she eased herself into it. That was when they all grew quiet as they watched her. 

“Sara are you alright?” Ray asked.

Sara put her head in her hands and tried to find the words to tell them what was going on. There was no easy way to say that they had been potentially exposed to a pandemic.

Sara looked up and took a deep breath. “I’m fine, but Ava just called and said that we have potentially been exposed to the COVID-19 virus.” 

It descended back into chaos and panic after that as everyone shouted in outrage and began talking all at once.

“I just would just like to remind everyone that although the pandemic is very serious and the COVID-19 virus does kill a lot of people in the year 2020. This ship is from the year 2166  we do have a cure for the virus as well as a vaccine to prevent it, which you will all be receiving after you test negative for the virus.”

Gideon’s calming words put them all at ease and Sara smiled as she looked up at Gideon’s face on the monitor. 

“Gideon is right,” Sara said, squaring her shoulders and sitting up straighter. “Now one at a time, you are all going to proceed to the Med-Bay to get tested, then vaccinated. Then you are going to go back to your rooms until Gideon has cleared everyone.”

“You should go first, Sara,” Ray piped up.

The rest of the crew immediately agreed with him in a chorus of voices that made Sara smile. “Guys relax, Miranda already vaccinated me and Ava against the virus at the start of my pregnancy.”

“Oh thank god,” Mona sighed. 

That’s when they all start talking again as they all expressed relief and joy that she and Laurel would be fine.

“I would kill the person that infected you and Ava,” Nora said with a stone expression.

“Well… I… wouldn’t help you!” Ray stated and then continued to fumble over a speech to her against murder.

“I would,” Rory said, nodding at Nora.

“Okay nobody’s murdering anyone,” Sara said, trying to get their attention again and failing. Laurel kicked around inside of her and Sara looked down at her little baby and whispered to them. “I know it’s weird, but it’s just them showing that they love us.” 

“Aw,” Zari cooed, leaning in closer as if she could see it. “Did the baby kick?”

“Oh I wanna see,” Charlie said, leaning in and presumably pressing her face up against the monitor.

“Hey me too,” Nate added. 

“Hey guys wait,” Ray said, turning away from Nora to address them on the screen. “You know how Sara feels about us asking to put our hands on her belly and I’m sure she feels the same way about showing us the baby’s kicks.”

“This is my baby,” Charlie said, reaching out and putting their hand on the monitor. “And ain’t nobody going to touch it.”

The whole crew burst out laughing and even Gideon had a chuckle. After they all calmed down Sara sent Mick down to get tested first as he was in the high risk bracket, due to the years of fire scarred lungs. She wanted so badly to be there, in the Med-Bay, to oversee everyone’s testing. Sara felt like it was her duty as Captain to be there and hold all their hands. Even for Mick and Constantine, who would definitely refuse, but ultimately let her do it. 

Despite knowing she had the vaccine, Sara still felt a twinge of worry. She knew that she couldn’t risk putting herself and Laurel in a position to be potentially exposed. So Sara just watched over everyone as they went and got tested and vaccinated before returning to their now sanitized rooms.

After Nate, who was the last person, tested negative and was vaccinated. Sara lifted the quarantine and had them all gather on the bridge. Their high spirits had returned and they were laughing and joking as they all walked into the Parlor. Zari and Charlie both skipped up to her with wide smiles. Which made Sara feel worse about her most recent decision, regarding their travel to 2020, as she knew it would be hard on all of them.

“Can we please feel her?” Zari asked.

Sara smiled, but didn’t move the protective hand from her belly that had been there since this whole thing started.

“In a minute, why don’t you guys sit down for a second?” Sara asked as she wanted to make her announcement before she let them gush over little Laurel.

“What’s wrong Boss?” Rory said mirroring her worried look.

“Look,” Sara said, crossing her arms and leaning against the table. “You all know that this is a worldwide pandemic. We got lucky that the outbreak at the bureau hasn’t transferred onto the ship and knowing all of this I should have vaccinated you guys sooner. I’m sorry, but I need to keep you all safe and sometimes that means making hard decisions that you guys aren’t going to like.”

“What are you saying?” Nate said putting his arm around Behrad as he looked over at her. Sara knew they were planning a wedding and that a lot of those plans hinged on them being in DC that summer.

“What I’m saying is that from now until the outbreak ends I'm allocating part of the Waveriders Med-bay for use to help find the current pandemic. S.T.A.R. Labs has already transferred over to help fight the virus and Anissa and Jefferson have set up a clinic in Freeland. I've already talked with Kara, Kate, Rene, Jefferson, Barry, and we are going to disassemble part of the Waveriders Med-bay and use it to replicate the vaccine and to treat current patients at a COVID clinic at S.T.A.R. Labs. Those of you who want to can help out, but because Ava has shut down the Bureau we need to be available to handle anything that comes up in the time stream.We keep half of the Med-bay up and running in case any of us need medical care while out on missions.”

Sara let her words settle over them and took in their faces as they processed everything that she had said. She looked pointedly over at Mick. He made a point to take Lita every weekend. 

“What about our families?” Mick asked, his brow furrowed. “We can vaccinate them, right?”

“We can vaccinate them. We will do Lisa, Ali, and Lita, as well as my parents, Jax, Kendra, and their families. Nate, your mom, and Zari and Behrad, your parents.”

"At least we can help some people,” Nate said, looking solemnly up at her. “I’ll help Jax and Barry.”

“Me too,” Behrad said, patting his knee. “I can see no better way to help out our community which is especially important now during Ramadan.” 

“We’ll help too,” Zari and Charlie said.

“Us too,” Ray and Nora added.

“Yeah,” Moan said, standing up.

“It’s not like we can get sick, ah,” Constantine said, with a shrug.

“I’m in,” Mick said.

“It’ll take a few days for the vaccine to work, but then we can all set up shop at S.T.A.R labs,” Sara said, smiling at them, so proud of her team for stepping in and wanting to help. “I know it will be tough, but I think we can do it.”

“Hey,” Ava said as she stepped through a portal and into the Parlor with wet hair. “Gary’s fine and he’s at home. How are you guys doing?”

The second Sara saw her it felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Sara was the captain of her ship, but Ava was her partner and she relied on her so much to help her with the emotional burden. Whenever Ava was around Sara felt like she could take a deep breath and let go, so that’s what she did. Sara took a deep breath and relaxed. She quickly walked over to Ava and wrapped her arms around her to just hold her.

“Can we make this a group hug?” Sara heard Mona ask and nodded into Ava’s shoulder.

“Okay, but not too tight,” Ava said.

“Good, because I really need a hug,” Mona said, going over and hugging Sara and trying to wiggle in on Ava’s side.

“Alright bring it in,” Ray said, grabbing both Nate and Nora, and soon they were all piled around each other, one big happy family hug.

……………………………………………………………………

May 4th, 2020, Week Week Twenty Four

“Hey remember that time we watched Constantine chug Rasputin?” Ava asked as she watched Sara eat.

Sara just nodded as she took another bite of her snack.

“Yeah this,” Ava said, gesturing to the mayo, orange juice, lime, and salsa mix that Sara was dipping her Doritos in. “Is worse!”

“It’s not that bad.”

“Babe, I made you a wonderful breakfast. After I burnt the first one, but this one is great. It’s my finest breakfast yet if I might say and you are eating…” Ava’s face was of equal disgust and concern as she watched Sara take another bite. 

Sara just laughed as she took another bite of her snack. She and Ava had decided to join the Legends for breakfast after Ava got distracted and ended up burning the pancakes. So they headed for the Waverider as they waited for the smoke to clear. 

In the past week, they had been partially docked at S.TA.R. labs, as they disassembled half of the Med-bay and moved it into S.T.A.R. labs. So far they had been able to replicate the vaccine and we're now in the process of sending it to several clinics all around the world. While they still worked on treating current patients, everyone had taken shifts at clinics set up in Gotham City, National City Star City, and Freeland. This morning everyone had decided to take a break and eat breakfast together, the first time the team had been together in a week.

Ray had made breakfast for himself and Nora, who wasn’t feeling good and was giving Nate a lecture on the benefits of butter in coffee. Charlie and Mona were now arguing with Ava over the requirements for a healthy breakfast. Mick was stealing from everyone’s plate, except Sara’s, as he talked with Lita. Gary was making eggs with Constantine, and Behrad and Zari had a typical sibling squabble over something involving her use of the totem on the last mission.

A normal person would see all this arguing as stressful and annoying, but Sara relished in this lovely bit of normalcy. She loved living in a house with Ava, but it was always just the two of them and things were quiet. Sara missed the non-stop rambunctiousness that came with a big family. 

“Sorry to interrupt,” Gideon said as they all looked up to pay attention to her. “But there is a magical anachronism in a hospital in 1983.” 

“A hospital, then it should be fine for me and Lau.. little one. The little one to tag along,”  Sara said, patting her belly after almost letting slip Laurel’s name as she looked anywhere but at her team. Miranda had okayed a few lighter missions for her, as her health returned and Sara was eager to resume her work.

“Just be safe okay,” Ava said, leaning over to put a hand over Sara’s and to kiss her lips goodbye. 

“I will, I promise,” Sara said. 

“Okay, you heard them, Get going,” Ava said, standing up and moving to put their dishes in the dishwasher. Ava turned around to see that they were all still eating and sighed. Ava had taken over Sara’s Captain’s duties for the heavier missions, but the team was always reluctant to follow her when Sara was there.

“Alright guys let’s roll,” Sara said, rolling her eyes as she got up and the Legends soon followed her. 

“I’m going to stay behind,” Nora said, giving Ray a tired smile when she didn’t get up.

“Call me if you need anything,” Ray said, kissing her head before joining the others. 

Ray sent Ava a glance and Ava nodded, letting him know that she would keep an eye on Nora. 

“I think I’ll stay behind and keep an eye on the ship,” Ava said catching Sara’s arm.

Sara smiled and glanced over at Nora, who was still sitting at the table. “Okay, I’ll keep you updated though.”

“Thanks,” Ava said, leaned in to give her another kiss before she left.

Ava waved as everyone walked away then looked over at Nora who caught her eye and gave her a slight smile. Ava watched her push the oatmeal around in her bowl.

“Ray says you’re fighting a cold or something, is there anything I can get you?”

“I’m not sick,” Nora said with a shrug. “I just...”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Ava asked, getting up and walking over to her.

“No, I think I’ll just go lay down,” Nora said, putting up and putting her dishes on the kitchen island with the rest of the food. Ava frowned as she watched Nora leave. Both Nora and Ray were adamant about rinsing their plates and putting them in the dishwasher before they left. Ava stared at the bowl of oatmeal that Nora left out and wondered what exactly was causing Nora not to feel good. 

…………………………………………………………………....

Ava knocked on Nora and Ray’s door with two mugs of tea in her hands. She’d admit that she just wanted to check in on Nora, but thought that the tea would be a good start.

“Hey, I thought you might appreciate this,” Ava said, offering Nora the tea when she opened the door.

“Thank you,” Nora said, taking a sip and smiling at the sweet and easy taste of the peppermint tea.

“Hey so whatever’s going on with you, if you want to talk about it I’m here for you,  you know that right?” Ava asked, leaning against the door frame. 

“It’s okay,” Nora said, looking down. “I don’t want to stress you out or anything. I know you’ve got a lot on your plate with Sara and the baby.”

“Nora,” Ava said gently. “That shouldn’t be your reason for not coming to me about anything, when I tell you I’m here for you I mean it.”

Nora nodded and stepped aside just enough for Ava to come in. Ray’s room hadn’t lost any of the nerdiness that it had before Nora moved in, as Nora had only added to his collection of Legos and books.

There was a loveseat pushed against the desk and Ava let Nora set down before taking a seat next to her. Nora just stared down into her tea, Ava patiently waited sensing the heavy topic. 

“So Ray and I bought a house in Star City.” Nora began.

“Oh,” Ava said, pretending to be surprised as she had already known about their real estate venture as it was the house across the street from them. Both she and Sara were thrilled at the prospect of having Ray and Nora as their new neighbors. 

“We have been talking about the future for a while, and we want to settle down and start a family. You know that we always thought about adopting or fostering some of my fairy god kids. That’s why we bought the house, but Ray wants to start trying for a baby as well.” 

That part Ava didn’t know about, but she kept her excitement contained, knowing that this was only a setup for what Nora actually wanted to tell her.

“So we threw all our contraceptives out and I thought I was ready and then this morning when I got my period. I was just so relieved,” Nora said, relaxing back into the couch. “And I know Ray was disappointed, but I couldn’t help it. I want to have kids too, but I just feel so ill-prepared. I’ve never even held a baby before. Let alone raised one. But the older kids, my fairy god kids, I love them and I know I can do right by then. I know what kind of parent I can be for them. I know exactly what kind of rooms I’m going to make for them. I know how I’m going to help them with their homework, and with their emotions, and I’m going to provide a stable house for them and I want that. I want to do all of that, but a baby? It’s just a whole different ballpark.” 

“Have you told any of this to Ray?” Ava said, putting her arm around Nora and scooting over to sit next to her. 

“No,” Nora whispered, looking down at her hands.

“Well maybe you should,” Ava said, trying to be as gentle as possible with her. “Because it kind of sounds to me like you’re saying you’re not ready for a baby.”

“How did you and Sara know that you’re ready for a baby?” 

“Well,” Ava said as she bit her lip. “We had talked about starting a family before and we both agreed it was something we wanted, but to be honest, this baby was a complete surprise. We weren’t trying at all and I got Sara pregnant by accident.”

“How?” Nora interrupted her waving her hands around with a look of confusion.

“Well there’s this toy that we used and basically it created sperm from my DNA and well I’m sure you know how the rest goes.”

Now it was Nora’s turn to bite her lip as she held back her laughter and covered her mouth. “You got Sara pregnant with a sex toy?”

“Technically yes,” Ava said tilting her head. “But that’s not the point. The point is that this was something we had talked about and agreed that we both wanted. So when Sara found out she was pregnant, we both knew that we wanted to keep it. We wanted to start a family and we were ready.”

“But how do I become ready?”

“I can’t tell you that, because that’s not up to me, but when you’re ready, you’re ready and if you’re not, then you should wait.”

Nora gave her a sliver of a smile and she reached out to squeeze Ava’s hand. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Ava said, returning her smile.

“But if you want to at least get some experience with a baby, I might be able to help. Sara mentioned that Kendra, Jax, and Lily wanted to set up a virtual playdate using the Waverider’s holo system with some other parents. They invited Sara and I. If you want, you can come watch. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind.”

Nora took a moment to seriously consider the offer with a weary look in her eyes as she took another sip of the tea. “Um, I guess I could.” 

“Great,” Ava said with a smile. “If you’re ready, Jax should be by pretty soon to help set everything up?”

“Yeah just give me a second.”

A few minutes later Ava and Nora had cleared all of the furniture in the Parlor to set up for the hologram play date. Ava opened a portal for Jax who stepped through, carrying Martina with her diaper bag over his arm. 

“Hey, it’s good to see you Jax,” Ava said, walking over to greet them.

“Hey Ava, can I leave her with you while I go drop off the rest of the halo projectors?”

“Yeah, no problem,“ Ava said, taking Martina from his arms.

Ava sat down with Martina and got her entertained in a stuffed animal as Jax walked through another portal with the other halo projectors.

“Alright, I just dropped off the halo projectors for everyone and made sure they all got set up. We just need to start the connection here and we’re good to go,” Jax said, returning to the ship and looking around the parlor. “Where’s Sara?”

“Oh well, she had a mission…” Ava began to explain before she heard the telltale sound of a fight and a portal opened up on the bridge. 

They all watched as Mick, with his body behind Sara, guided her onto the bridge before disappearing back into the portal and quickly closing it behind him. Sara stood up straighter and dusted herself off before realizing Ava, Nora, and Jax were all staring at her and gave them one of her winning smiles. 

“Hey great, I’m back just in time for the playdate.”

Ava crossed her arms over her chest and raised one eyebrow at Sara. They had agreed that Sara wouldn’t get involved in any more fights, but with the Legends fights were a daily occurrence. 

“I’m fine,” Sara said, strolling up and greeting Ava with a kiss. “And the Legends are fine and they’re handling it. It’s just a little shuffle, I’m sure it’s already over. Look, I don’t even have a scratch and I got Zari to play Captain.”

“Okay.” Ava dropped her stern demeanor and wrapped her arms around Sara. Relieved to know that she was okay and that she was being safe. Besides, how could she be mad at that smile, especially when she knew that Sara was doing her best to stay safe. 

Sara pulled away from her and went over to greet Jax and Martina, because of the pandemic, they hadn’t been able to see each other for quite a few months. Sara missed her little brother and her goddaughter. Martina let out an excited squeal as Jax handed over the eight month old and she eagerly cooed in Sara’s arms as she greeted her. 

“Hey,” Sara said to her as Martina giggled and patted her face, Sara started making funny faces at the girls, causing her to break out in an ecstatic giggle.

“Hey,” Jax said with enthusiasm as Sara finally greeted him, looking down at her belly. “Look at you, you look amazing.”

“Thank you, I definitely don’t feel the glow, but everyone says I have it,” Sara said with a chuckle. “To be honest, I think they’re just trying to flatter me.”

“We are not,” Ava insisted. 

Ava looked back at Nora who had simply been watching them interact. Ava smiled at her and patted the armchair next to her. Nora slowly walked over as Sara and Jax both got settled with Martina on the floor with a few toys. 

Ava could sense that Nora was uneasy and quickly put her arm around her. “It’ll be fun I promise.”

Nora just nodded as they started. Lily was the first to appear on their right with Ronnie. 

“Hey,” Lily and Ronnie waved to them. 

“Hey guys,” Jax and Sara greeted them. 

“Lily this is Nora,” Ava said as she waved to them. “I think you guys have met before.”

“Yeah, I think we saw you with Ray a couple of times, but it’s nice to finally meet you,” Lily said, waving at Nora. “I guess we’re a bit early Ronnie.” 

“Hey look who it is,” Jax said as Barry and Nora appeared next to Lily. 

“Hey,” Barry said as he greeted all of them. “This is so cool I can’t believe we didn’t think of this earlier.

“Barry, you remember our Nora right?” Sara said, looking up at her with a smile.

“Oh yeah,” Barry said holding up 11 month old Nora West Allen. “Nora meet Nora.”

“Hi,” Nora waved. 

“Hey, I thought that John and Felicity would be joining with their kids?” Lily said as Ronnie tried to pay with baby Nora. 

“They were but little Sara, Connor, and JJ had school work to do and Felicity just got Mia down a nap,” Sara explained as Martina crawled out of her arms. “But Kendra and Hector should be joining soon.”

Martina crawled over and sat in front of them as Ava leaned down to pick her up.

“Here,” Ava said, popping Martina into Nora’s arms. 

Two of them eyed each other warily for a second until Ava tickled Martina’s sides and the little girl laughed and broke out into a wonderful smile. Martina babbled to Nora about nothing and Nora nodded along as if it was the most fascinating thing she had ever heard. 

“See,” Ava said, nudging her shoulder. “You’re a natural.”

“I don’t know about that,” Nora said, not taking her eyes off of Martina. “She hasn’t cried yet.”

“Just take it one step at a time.”

“Oh, I bet that’s Kendra,” Lily said as Kendra and Hector’s holograms came into focus. “Ronnie look, Hector’s here.” 

They all watched as the three year old boys tried to hug each other and simply gasped the open air. Ronnie and Hector were the same age having been born only a few months apart and were inseparable. Although they were disappointed, the boys quickly brought over a few of their own toys to show to each other and quickly became engrossed in their play.

Ava chuckled as they played and looked over at Nora who still seemed nervous. 

“Hey,” Sara said, as Kendra came to sit down next to her, leaned back and held her t-shirt over her stomach to outline her baby bump.

“Hey, look at you,” Kendra said with excitement. “You look amazing.”

“I do not,” Sara laughed.

“Yeah, you do,” Jax insisted.

“Yeah, you’ve definitely got the glow,” Berry added.

“See that’s what I told her!” Lily said. 

They all dissolved into a light-hearted argument over Sara’s pregnancy glow which soon turned into more baby talk. Ava looked over at Nora as Martina babbled at her excitedly. Baby Nora walked over on wobbled steps and waved around a teething ring. 

Martina tried to reach for baby Nora’s teething ring and was getting frustrated she couldn’t hold the hologram toy. She soon began to cry and a flustered Nora put her back into Ava’s arms. Ava gently bounced her and looked around and reached to grab another one of Martina’s real toys, a stuffed giraffe, and waved it around to get her attention. Martina quickly calmed down as she took the toy and immediately put it in her mouth. 

Baby Nora looked up at them and thrust her toy into Nora’s lap.

“Hi,” Nora said to her.

“Hi!” baby Nora excitedly said, before trying to grab Nora’s knee and fell through and just sat on the floor as she half babbled half talked to Martina. 

Ava turned a girl around so she could sit in her lap and talk to Baby Nora and watched as Nora let out a deep breath.

“Are you good?” Ava asked.

“Yeah, I mean holding Martina was surreal and I still don’t feel any more ready, but this is nice,” Nora said, looking away from the girls and over at Ava. 

Ava smiled and leaned over to hug her. “Good, I’m glad you’re happy and I’m so excited for you and Ray to be our neighbors and have a family of your own. You deserve it Nora.”

Nora smiled as she looked around the room at all the kids. “Yeah.”

……………………………………………………………………

May 9th, 2020. Week Twenty Five

Sara opened the box for Laurel’s dresser. Why did everything have to come disassembled in a box, she deeply regretted not paying extra for assembly right now. She pulled out all of the little bags of screws before looking over the instructions. Sara soon had everything laid out in front of her, the tools, the screws, the instructions, and the pieces all in sections. She was determined to do things right and build it properly. 

Dressers were a huge danger for babies if not built properly and secured the wall. Sara’s own mother liked to tell the story of when Sara was an infant and had ended up climbing her dresser drawers like stairs. The whole thing had almost fallen on top of her.

Sara took a deep breath. If she could fly the Waverider through time without a navigation system, code Gideon to respond to specific voice commands, and learn the ins-and-outs of how to fix a 22nd century ship, then she could build a dresser.

Ava with everything going on wanted to be extra prepared for Laurel and had gotten a head start on the nursery. They didn’t have everything they needed, but they were putting together most of the furniture and painting the room. Sara loved the fact that her family was able to help her put together the nursery. Even if her original plan was to wait until after the baby shower to do the nursery. 

However, with the current pandemic, she didn’t think she would be able to have the shower. Instead, they had posted their wishlist online for friends and family to order from and have things delivered to their house. Ava and her mom had promised that they would do a shower after the pandemic had ended Sara knew that wouldn’t be until after she had given birth. 

Sara grabbed the front and left side of the first drawer and reached for the screwdriver only to come up empty. “Hey, who took my screwdriver?” 

“Ray has it upstairs. They needed it for the crib.” Zari said, not looking up from her phone. 

Sara sighed and looked over at Charlie and Zari who were given the easiest task of putting together the mobile, as neither of them were very handy. Ava had insisted that the shapes mobile would be educational and soothing. They had all the shapes, wooden hangers, and strings out, but were consumed by the new app on Zari’s phone. 

“Hey,” Sara said, snapping her finger at them. “Please put that together and then you can either go help paint or play on your game.”

Zari rolled her eyes. “I was just showing Charlie this new thing. It’ll only take a sec.”

“Okay, but then can you please get to work? I want all the nursery furniture set so it can go in as soon as they’re done painting.”

“Why?” Zari asked looking up at her phone. “Won’t the walls still be wet?”

“Yes, but I just want to get an idea of what it will look like?” 

“But you can’t even see the color when it’s all wet and stiff?”

“Please you guys,” Sara pleaded, putting her hand on her chest. “This is really important to Ava and I’ve helped you, Zari, redecorate your room four times since you started living on the Waverider.”

“Well one can’t live in the same boring room every season,” Zari said, as if it was obvious.

Sara dropped her hands back into her lap and set them both with a hard look. 

“Okay.” They both quickly agreed and got to work on the mobile. 

Sara smiled as she looked back at the dresser drawer. She located all of her pieces, and all she needed was the screwdriver. Sara looked around but didn’t see it. “Hey, did you two take my screwdriver?”

Charlie snorted as Zari just looked at her perplexed. “Ray just came by and took it a few seconds ago remember?”

“Oh yeah, right, of course,” Sara said, trying to play it off even though she only had no memory of it. “I was just talking about the other one?”

“What other one?” Charlie asked, mirroring Sara’s confused look. “We’re using the Phillips head, remember?”

“Whatever,” Sara said, getting more frustrated as her memory failed her. “I’m just going to go look for another one.” 

It had been happening more often lately. Sara would forget little things like where she put things, like her phone, the jumpship keys, or the remote. She charged up the stairs, determined to get the screwdriver, but was stopped by Mick at the top.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Mick said, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“I need the screwdriver!” 

He gruffed, but didn’t move. “I’ll have Haircut bring it down and help you build the dresser.”

“I don’t need help and it’s perfectly fine for me to be around house paint!” Sara insisted, crossing her arms. “I need a screwdriver.”

“It ain’t about the paint, Pantsuit told me not to let you see the nursery, as she wants to surprise you. So Haircut will bring one to you later,” Mick said, shooing her off with a wave of his hand.

Sara scoffed. “So you’re going to listen to her over me?”

Mick didn’t reply, just gave her a grunt, and stood firm in his place on the stairs.

Sara growled in frustration and stormed back downstairs. All she wanted to do was put together the stupid dresser and while she might not be able to do it here, there were extra tools on the Waverider. Sara tried to bend down to collect the pieces for the dresser, but it was a little more difficult as her growing belly put her off balance and she ended up falling on her butt. 

“Let me help Cap,” Charlie said, taking some pieces from her. 

“No I got it,” Sara snapped at them and jerked back.

“Okay, no worries,” Charlie said, holding up their hands, they looked briefly offended, but quickly school their features.

“I’m sorry Charlie. I didn’t mean to snap at you,” Sara sighed and then tears collected in her eyes. She didn’t want to be angry like that and snap at her friends, but her emotions seem to be getting the better of her these days. It was a crazy roller coaster of highs and lows that she was struggling to deal with.

Charlie and Zari exchanged a look, unsure of how to help, but Zari stepped forward to lay a hand on her shoulder. “There, there, it’s okay.”

“I’m going to go put the dresser together,” Sara said as she brushed off her hand. 

She collected a few pieces of the dresser before quickly opening a portal onto the Waverider’s lab and promptly closed the portal behind her, not waiting for their response.

Once she was on the Waverider Sara took a deep breath and spread out all the pieces. However, she quickly realized that she had only grabbed a few random pieces and not even enough to complete a whole drawer. Sara’s tears finally broke free and she cried into her hands, letting herself truly sob as she knew no one was around. She walked over to the couch and laid down as she cried herself out. 

Sara felt like she couldn’t do anything on her own anymore, and it made her so frustrated. She soon felt a kick in her belly as Laurel started moving around like she always did whenever Sara lied down. Laurel’s kicks had become stronger and more frequent. Sara wiped her eyes and put a hand on her belly and focused on Laurel, but the tears wouldn’t let up and Sara continued to sob. 

After Sara had cried herself out, Laurel decided to do jumping jacks on her bladder and Sara quickly got off the couch and made her way to the bathroom. Afterward, Sara got hungry and went over to the kitchen, opening the fridge door and cruising the available options and quickly grabbed some nuts and berries. 

Sara was about to sit down as she heard another portal opening in the hall and turned to see Ava step onto the ship. Sara smiled at Ava’s cute look. Her hair was tied back in a low bun, there was a hat on the top of her head and she was wearing a dirty old t-shirt and a pair of overalls spotted with paint. Ava looked around before spotting Sara in the kitchen and walked towards her.

“Hey you,” Ava said, returning her smile. “Charlie and Zari said you’d ran off with part of the dresser, after yelling at them and then almost crying?”

“Yeah,” Sara said, looking down at her food and picking at some almonds.

Ava didn’t say anything, she just stepped forward and was about to wrap her arms around Sara’s waist, but then stopped. Ava looked down at her paint covered overalls and Sara’s clean shirt. So she settled for merely putting her hand on Sara’s back and rubbing soft circles over her shoulders. 

“My emotions have just been so up-and-down the past few days.”

“I know,” Ava said, having watched Sara’s emotion flip flop and knowing how Sara struggled to remain composed during such times. “I know you’re trying your best not to lose your cool with anybody and I’m proud of you for trying to do so. So you just take as much time as you need and we are all going to give you the grace you deserve.”

Sara smiled and looked over at her for the first time since Ava stepped through the portal. 

“Thank you,” Sara said, leaning up to give Ava a quick kiss.

“Of course, do you want me to go get the other pieces and help you assemble the dresser in the lab?”

“Is the nursery all painted?”

“Not yet, but I think the others can handle it.” 

“Okay,” Sara said, as she took Ava’s hand and let Ava lead her into the lab. While Ava was getting the rest of the pieces to assemble, Sara gathered all of the tools they would need. Once Ava returned they quickly got the dresser put together. As Sara stepped back to look at the dresser. She was reminded of the time they built the wardrobe in purgatory. She looked over at Ava and knew she was having similar thoughts.

Ava came up behind her and wrapped her arms around her waist, settling them on Sara’s belly. “I’m happy you’re on my team.”

“I’m happy you’re on my team too,” Sara said, resting back against Ava’s chest. 

“And I’m really happy with the life we’re literally building together,” Ava said, as she rested her chin on Sara’s shoulder.

“I hope you’re only talking about the dresser because I’m the only one pregnant here,” Sara said, as Laurel started kicking inside of her again and Ava moved her hands to feel her. 

“I know, I know,” Ava said with a chuckle.

“I hope you know because I just put blood in her capillary blood vessels.”

“Did you now?” Ava said in the tone that was slightly serious, but mostly playful.

“Yep,” Sara said, pretending to be very serious. “And because of that, her skin is turning pink.”

“Wow that is pretty impressive,” Ava said, nodding her head. 

“Yeah, I downloaded an app,” Sara said, pulling her phone out and showing Ava. The app told them how big Laurel was inside of her, what kind of fruit to compare her to, and some facts about how their baby was growing, along with what Sara would expect week to week.

Sara could feel as Ava smiled against her shoulder as she pressed her lips into the skin exposed by Sara’s tank top. Ava just hummed and Sara melted further into her arms. 

“You are amazing,” Ava said, her voice genuine.

“Thank you,” Sara whispered, not feeling the need to speak higher as Ava was so close. “You’re pretty amazing too, you’re just not building a baby right now, so.”

Ava scoffed at her and stood up straighter behind her. “Ah excuse me.”

“Well it’s true,” Sara said, defending her words.

Sara could practically hear as Ava rolled her eyes. 

“I hope your behavior improves before Laurel is born because I do not want our child to be a brat like you are,” Ava said pinching Sara’s hip.

“Ow,” Sara shouted and spun around away from her. “I can’t believe you just pinched your pregnant fiancee.” 

Sara tried to be playful with her, but it had really hurt and she was more sensitive these days. Along with the fact that she had already been crying, it was easy for the tears to slip out. Sara hastily wiped them away with her hands.

“Oh my god, Sara. I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you. I was just teasing you.” Ava did a complete 180 and walked around to face her and rub her hands up and down Sara’s arms.

“It’s okay,” Sara said to her sniffles “I was teasing you too. I just keep crying today.”

Ava just shook her head and pulled her in as she continued to rub her hands up and down Sara’s back until Sara was able to calm down and pull away. 

“Are you ready to take the dresser to the nursery and see how the painting is going?” Ava asked when the tears had subsided.

“Yeah,” Sara said trying to smile. 

Ava nodded and opened a portal into the living room again. Sara was surprised to see that no one was there. However, the lovely smell coming from the kitchen told her that the Legends were not very far, as they were not ones to stray far from a fresh meal.

“I’m going to pop upstairs and see how it’s going,” Ava said, squeezing her hand once again before letting go and heading up the stairs. Ava turned back to look at Sara when she was at the top of the steps and Sara gave her a reassuring smile as she wandered over to the kitchen.

Ray must have been the one cooking because there was what looked and smelled like a zucchini pasta casserole in the oven with just a few minutes left on the timer. Sara looked over to the dining room table to see that it had already been set, along with a plate of roasted vegetables. Her favorite, as well as some garlic bread. Sara snagged a spoon from one of the place settings and reached over to steal a bite from the plate of vegetables. Sara closed her eyes as she savored the warm and wonderful taste. 

“Sara!” Ava scolded her as she quickly descended down the stairs. 

Sara just smiled knowing she would get away with it and put her hand on her belly, if only for added effect. “What, we were hungry.”

Her tone was seemingly innocent and Sara accompanied it with a soft smile. Ava saw right through her, but sighed as she approached her and swiped Sara’s nose with her finger. 

“You are too smooth,” Ava said, leaning in to give Sara a quick peck on the lips. “Now come on. We have something to show you.”

Ava smiled as she took Sara’s hand and lead her up the stairs. Sara’s brow furrowed as she wandered what Ava could possibly have in store. They couldn’t have possibly finished the nursery in such a short amount of time, but Sara trusted Ava unconditionally. They reached the door to the nursery and Ava hesitated, but smiled and looked over at her. 

“Do you want to close your eyes or just walk in?” Ava asked her. 

Sara knew that she wanted her to close her eyes, but Sara wasn’t very fond of being blind. Ever since she was blinded after Charlie’s sister Atropos showed her her true form, Sara hated to be blindfolded. Ava knew this and was always gentle with her when it came to her sight. 

“Can I just walk in?”

“Of course,” Ava said as she put her hand on the door handle. 

Sara smiled and bit her lip in anticipation. Although it was quiet, Sara could still hear her family, waiting for them in the nursery. 

Ava pushed open the door and put her hand on Sara’s forearm as she stood behind her. Sara stepped in to get a better look and was greeted with all the Legend’s smiling faces.

“Surprise!” They all shouted and parted to the sides of the room to show her. The white modern crib had been put together and made up with a fresh gray sheet, as the shapes mobile hung above it. There was also the bookshelf and dresser that she and Ava had to put together.

Sara looked around the room, it was painted a shade of olive green. It was still pretty bare with just the few pieces of white furniture, but there were a few books on the shelf that made it look more made up. It was the beginnings of a nursery and now Sara could see more clearly what it would look like. Sara quickly became overwhelmed as tears filled her eyes and she put her hand over her mouth.

“It’s perfect.”

Ava came over and put her hand around Sara’s shoulders to comfort her. Sara didn’t realize she was crying until Ava reached out to wipe away her tears with her hand.

“Here Sara, sit,” Ray said as he stepped aside to reveal a recliner chair and Sara teared up again. It was the exact one that she had been looking at online a few days ago, she didn’t even add it to her wish list, but somehow they just knew. It’s a slim chair with soft tan fabric that gently rocked as Sara sat in it.  

“We thought the bookshelf looked a little empty so Dad and I got you this,” Lita said, handing her a hardback picture book with a painted picture of the Waverider on it. Sara flipped through the pages. It was the story of the Legends, a bit more kid friendly, but with all of their adventures, leading up to the addition of a baby girl, their Laurel. “Dad wrote it and I did all the illustrations.”

Lita beamed with pride as Mick an arm around her shoulder smiling as well. Sara looked up at all of them, her family, as they stood before her in the room that they made for her daughter. 

“Thank you.” Was all she managed to whisper.

“We were happy to help,” Ray said.

“Yeah, of course, anything for you boss.” All of them said, as they nodded and smiled at her.

They’re all distracted by the kitchen timer and everyone filed out of the room eager for food.  Sara took a moment to look around the room once more and Ava hesitated in the doorway, but Sara nodded at her to go. Mick was the last one there and stood in the doorway as well, watching over her. Sara got up and walked over to him, she just smiled.

“Yeah, um, but that wasn’t my idea I was roped into it,” Mick said, looking down at the ground.

“Sure,”  Sara said, just shaking her head. “You know, after watching you be a father to Lita, I’ve never seen you happier Mick and I hope that you’ll be a part of my kid’s life as well.”

Mick just nodded and he didn’t have to say what she already knew. They’ve been friends since the beginning although they had their ups and downs, she knew that he was always there for her, like the big brother she didn’t know she needed. 

He looked down at her belly and Sara nodded as he reached out to place a hand on her stomach. Sara pulled it over to where Laurel was kicking her left side. Mick laughed as Laurel kicked particularly hard against his hand and gave her belly a light pat. It felt like she was being poked from the inside, but it didn’t hurt and Sara smiled as well. 

“Come on we better get downstairs before they eat all the food,” Mick said, heading out of the room, but looking back to wait for her to follow.

“Don’t worry they’ll be hell to pay if they eat all the food before me,” Sara said, giving him a sly smile and pulling a knife out of her jeans, just to joke with him.

Mick let out a full belly laugh and put a hand around her shoulders. “You gonna let the kid keep knives on them?”

“Probably, but only once they get older,” Sara said with a shrug as they walked down the hall. “I mean you let Lita use the heat gun all the time.”

Mick just shrugged. “A girl’s got to know how to defend herself, yeah.”

“Yeah,” Sara said, putting her knife away and settling her hand over Laurel.

When they got down to the dining room Ava got up and pulled out Sara’s chair for her. They had already dished her up a full plate and just as she and Mick had anticipated, the majority of the food was gone as the Legends had thoroughly dug in. Sara watched everybody talk, there was one large conversation going on with little pockets of people turning to talk to each other. 

Ava put her arm around her and pulled her chair closer and Sara smiled. She looked over at her and Ava leaned in to press a kiss to her cheek before she turned back to resume her conversation with Nora. This was her family and Sara wouldn’t trade it for the world.

[lovevalley45]

untitled ficlet #26

The setting is too familar for comfort - sneaking around some convention a couple centuries in the future, from her present. 

They’re looking for some forgotten princess who ended up here, in this steampunk-ren-fair-whatever. Sara sent her and Nate together, which had been fun. Apart from the weird costumes they have to wear to blend in, it’s a good time.

Until the con is starting to close and he shoves them in a closet to hide.

Zari barely has time to react before it all hits her. A tight, dark supply closet with guards prowling outside - her hands start to shake as Nate peers out the door.

She starts to flap her hands, trying to distract herself from the panic climbing in her throat. Tight spaces have always been associated with fear, panic, danger and no amount of gallivanting through time can change that. 

“Z?” she hears him say, but it’s faint over the pounding in her ears. “Hey.”

All of a sudden, he’s in her face - not close enough to touch her, but close enough that even in the dark, she can meet his eyes. 

He’s close enough that she can see the moment it registers - panic attack. 

“Hey,” he whispers again. “Are you okay with touch right now?” 

She can only nod - if she says anything, it’ll be too much, the guards will hear.

Carefully, Nate grips her biceps. His hands are warm, even through her stupid costume. “Okay, breathe in, 1, 2, 3-”

Zari inhales until he counts to 8, then holds in through another count, breathes out. They stay like that until her breathing is steady and her heart doesn’t feel like it’s about to jump out of her chest.

“I’m going to see if it’s clear.” He doesn’t move away right away. “Are you going to be okay?”

“Yeah,” she chokes out, closing her eyes. Being coddled by people isn’t something she enjoys, but she doesn’t have the energy to argue. She still feels jittery, like she drank too much coffee. 

The door opens, light feeling the closet. He holds his hand to her, and without thinking she lets him guide her out of the closet. As soon as she’s out, she shakes his hand off. 

“Let’s go back to the ship,” she says, wrapping her arms around herself. 

He opens his mouth like he’s about to say something, but just sighs and follows her out. 

--

Nate doesn’t go to check on her later. 

It’s not that he doesn’t care - of course he cares. He cares enough to know that she doesn’t like to feel vulnerable like that, even with the team. 

But as it turns out, he doesn’t need to. When the rest of the ship should be sleeping, Gideon informs him that Zari’s waiting outside his door.

“Let her in,” he says, closing his book. The anachronism still isn’t fixed - wherever that princess went, she’s evaded them for now.

The door slides open. Zari steps in, holding a carton of ice cream and two spoons. “Hey,” she says, plopping on his bed.

“Hey.” Nate gets up to join her. “What kind did you get?”

“Uh… fudge ripple?” She hands him a spoon.

It isn’t the first time they’ve done this, but it feels… different now. Usually they don’t talk, just sharing ice cream in the galley while the team is asleep. 

But then Zari pauses mid-bite, tapping her free hand against her knee. “Thanks. You know, for earlier.”

Nate turns to her, digging his spoon into the carton. “Of course,” he says. “I forgot you were-”

“Yeah.” She cuts him off, and that should be the cue to drop it. 

He doesn’t. “We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, but it might help get things off your chest.”

Zari takes another bite of ice cream. “No thanks.” 

“Okay.” Nate absentmindedly twirls the spoon in his fingers. With that, the conversation’s over. 

The silence is deafening, with all the things left unsaid. Despite the bed being pretty spacious, they’re right up against each other.

Out of the blue, she puts her spoon down. “How did you get so good at- calming people down?”

“I just have that natural charm,” he answers. 

By the look on her face, she’s not amused. Which is fair, if he’s being honest.

“When I first went to Yale, I was kind of- sheltered,” Nate says, not looking her in the eyes. “I had a panic attack on my first day of classes, but I thought I was having a heart attack. It was not a heart attack.” He scoops up a large bite of fudge ripple before continuing. “The nurse was pretty helpful to the sick kid who came into the health office and told her I was dying.” 

He expects her to make a snarky comment, but she’s quiet. 

“It’s not the first time someone on the team had a panic attack or a meltdown of some sort during a mission,” he tells her. “You’re not alone.”

Zari’s so quiet that he worries she’s fallen asleep, but finally she says in a quiet voice, “Thanks again.” She gives him the rest of the carton. “I’m gonna get some rest.”

He watches her get up, holding the ice cream in his lap. “Uh, good night, then.”

She pauses in front of the door, finally looking at him. “Night.” She smiles, a bittersweet expression that seems more for show than anything. 

The door opens for her, leaving him alone with a melting carton of fudge ripple. There’s an odd feeling he thought he’d never have again, when you realize you don’t know someone as well as you thought you did.

[alexeishostakoff]

What are your top 10 DC characters & why? Maybe favorite fcs/hcs for them too?

ok so! i did this in alphabetical order bc i just can't do them as favorites from one to ten

bruce wayne, aka the batman

why: im gonna be real with you, i ignore 95% of his canon bc my bruce isn't as much as a dick, go away. he's a really interesting, complicated character, and i like writing about his trauma and the different ways he copes with it bc they're all so fucked up. so fucked up. man needs a therapist

fc: david castañeda

hc: he's bi, but not out to Anyone At All bc it took him a long time to come to terms with it and it's very personal to him

bonus! what verse: comics

dinah lance, aka the black canary

why: i want to BE her. she's a badass with a big heart and honestly deserves the entire world. also im generally a fan of strong women who are soft and kind but also take no shit from anyone ever and WILL fuck you up if you mess with their family

fc: jurnee smollett-bell (im really excited to see her take on dinah!)

hc: she's in love w barbara gordon & also mentored stephanie brown you CANNOT take this from me

bonus! what verse: COMICS

donna troy, aka troia

why: im weak for strong women! she's interesting to me bc she's like diana but she doesn't seem to be as untouchable or perfect yknow? she's amazing but still very human n i love that

fc: madeleine madden, laura harrier, conor leslie

hc: diana was always a lovely, supportive mom/sister/whatever relationship they have in dcs current continuity (THEY NEED TO MAKE UP THEIR FUCKING MINDS), but sometimes donna struggles with living up to someone who was just so fucking perfect all the time, which is part of why she quit being wonder girl

bonus! what verse: the titans tv show,,ik it's incredibly edgy but i love it ok. ive also been looking into her comics

hank hall, aka hawk

why: look i. really did not like him at first and then we got to 'hank and dawn' and s2 and jesus CHRIST. JESUS CHRIST. his trauma is very compellingly written and he's like, a white man but with depth?? DEPTH????? his heart is in the right place and he's been through a lot and i love him

fc: alan ritchson

hc: he's been hit so hard so many times that he's starting to reach the point where he physically can't be a vigilante anymore

bonus! what verse: the titans tv show

harvey dent, aka two-face

why: he's actually got, like, a genuinely interesting backstory when it's written properly. and the idea of gotham's savior, "apollo," the perfect, beautiful, good guy becoming a villain is just. poetic cinema. i adore it. @dc hire me to write a two-face movie hes the only male batman rogue i want to see one for. riddler u can stay but you're on thin fucking ice

fc: riz ahmed, austin stowell (specifically his look as larry king in battle of the sexes)

hc: him and bruce are in love and it was soft and then sad and then sadder. it's practically canon leave me alone

bonus! what verse: comics

john constantine, occasionally aka the hellblazer

why: bastard man!!!! bastard!!!!! he's not your typical comics protagonist, & he's an antihero without just being like, a broody murderous dick? hes reflective and self centered but also like. funny. and relatable. and interesting. he fucks up and fails a lot and it's okay. he's the comics representation of the everyman and relies on his wits more than his power and his og comics are SO fucked up and have a lot of political commentary and i Love Them. also hes been canonically bi since the 90s so that's a bonus

fc: riz ahmed (listen,,,), matt ryan

hc: he lets people lie to him too often. he lets them say "i'll be okay, i know what i'm getting into," lets them love him even when he knows he shouldn't. he wants to love & be loved so badly that he always tricks himself into thinking that maybe this time it'll be different, maybe this time it'll end okay. it never does.

bonus! what verse: comics & legends of tomorrow & the constantine tv show

kendra saunders, aka hawkgirl

why: in season one she was very much like, seen as the storybook princess who was so perfect and sweet and needed to be saved, but then she said 'i can handle myself' and slayed her OWN dragon and goddammit it was beautiful

fc: ciara renee

hc: there are some days where she cannot get the feeling of vandal savage off of her skin and she scrubs her arms raw but she just feels his hands and it's a living nightmare for her

bonus! what verse: legends of tomorrow

leonard snart, aka captain cold

why: he's very cold and ruthless and calculating but he'd do anything for his sister and his friends and he cannot live with the thought of anyone controlling him. he makes his own fate, he has to, he has to be able to be more than what he was made to be. he became one of the good guys while still retaining his character and ice and danger and he is also Hilariously snarky at all times

fc: wentworth miller

hc: he's not dead he's just trapped in the time stream seeing thousands of possible futures for all of the people he cares about and not able to do anything about it and it it his own personal hell

bonus! what verse: cw's dctv, but i've been looking into his comics too

stephanie brown, aka the spoiler

why: god. GOD. steph refuses to let anyone define her or stop her from reaching her goals and she has been through so much and stays bright and kind as an act of defiance and she is so quiet and so strong that sometimes you can forget she is hurting but the shit she's been through has given her a steel core and god she just shines, she's so perfect

fc: sydney park

hc: im not sure if this is actually canon or just a frequently used hc but she's a pre-med student

bonus! what verse: comics

zari tomaz

why: snarky hacker babe!! she's been through a lot and isn't afraid to let herself be hurting and angry but at the same time she's so so good and has a kind heart and she's usually the voice of reason and im gay for her

fc: tala ashe

hc: she's a lesbian and still in love with amaya

bonus! what verse: legends of tomorrow

[ranas12]

SAREES AND THEIR DIFFERENT STYLES

Sarees are considered the most lovely and stunning conventional wear for Indian Ladies. Saree improves one's style, balance, and excellence. This is the primary explanation as the saree is been an essential piece of Indian culture from the very start of human development. Going from North to South or East to West, saree has some erratic and unique spots of hanging saree as contemporary clothing.

Besides being the most well-known conventional wear for ladies, the saree enamors remarkable social significance. It is even portrayed in Vedas, which are the most heavenly and antiquated sacred writings of Hindus. It even has its presence in Indus Valley human advancement which is exceptionally old and is somewhere near 1300 BCE.

These unstitched Fabric changes from 4 - 9 meters have a most extreme significance in the History of Indian culture and will continuously stay in the future regardless of all occasions happen.

Development OF SAREE

In those days, a saree was the companion of day-to-day existence and has many sorts. It is even worn on fields by ladies, as a princess in the exceptional event, and like a lehenga during the wedding season.

These sarees have changed through ages and hundreds of years, without getting away from their radiance and their nature of being adaptable normally

This nine-meter unstitched texture sparkles and is beautiful through the provincial region, just to set the straightforwardness and ethics! The sarees have been rethought and unraveled, according to a changed viewpoint to improve their appearance and excellence. A Kanjeevaram saree with zari and frivolity on it or a Kota saree with its straightforwardness and ethical nature shouts itself the imagination of a specialist.

Fundamental APPAREL FOR WOMEN

A saree may not resemble cutting a cake but rather when it comes to appearance and style it simply beats on and it displays your bends where no other dress would have the option to make it happen and you will constantly get appreciation at whatever point you embrace it.

Also, obviously, you don't have to stress over the environment as well! You have summer texture like Chanderi and Kota to keep your solace in high pinnacles and furthermore look staggering! Cotton light saree and impeccable silk saree, obviously, are there to leave a closure picture in our regular daily existence. You can wear a Heavy Embroidered saree or a net saree in winters or a Light Gorgeous organza saree on Rainy days as well.

Sarees: Forever and Always in Trend!

Exhausted from the regular way of dress and the puffed pullover looks? Include the intensity and fire to your contemporary look with a gasp saree! You wear your saree with a gasp too and look more marvelous than at any other time! Match up your saree with the delightful bodice or a different pullover or with a jacket to improve your look. Gold decorations or old-fashioned trimmings, making no cosmetics - you are in a real sense going to add fire to your appearance.

Thus, this is the fluctuated motivations behind why saree is viewed as extremely adaptable.

What makes Saree generally unique?

The saree may be the need of numerous ladies in provincial regions however throughout the long term the Indian Ladies throughout the long term, yet in late time young women in metropolitan India have chosen western outfits. In any case, while all young ladies in the nation are wearing pants and tank best, the six-meter of unstitched texture is drawing in the style of Ladies across the world, and lacing its street into couture and design in a way. Its organza and net saree which are more in tend these days to draw in the magnificence. Decorated with sequins and zari, this hand-worked saree is really making a buzz around Ladies because it involves style and magnificence.

Avani Shah, a 20-year-old understudy from Michigan college rookie at Loyola Marymount University in Michigan, appreciates hanging it up in a saree that is "ethnic and contemporary." She wears them for gatherings, weddings, and favorable events, and thinks this is the design that makes her agreeable but shocking.

 "It truly oomph a lady's bends and can look extremely lovely," says producer Kinjal Shah, who has shown a British lady embracing an Indian culture and wearing a sari is an unadulterated assertion. Present-day Ladies generally favor a bandhani saree or a light organza one which is without a doubt entirely agreeable once you become accustomed to hanging it on.

 SAREE AT YOUR DISPOSAL

We are at the phase of praising the 75th Independence Day of India. At the point when I ponder our nation, part of philosophies strikes a chord; its way of life legacy, huge history, changed legacy, biggest majority rules system, solidarity, and substantially more. 

For more info:-

saree shopping online

[trenchcoatdevilsworld]

Get to know me!

Rules: Answer 20 questions; Tag 20 people

(I'm gonna break the rules by only tagging 14 people, so feel free to break the rules as well by not answering the questions if you don't want to 🤷)

Tagged by: @jbbbucky (Yes, after 2627388281+ years I'm gonna do the tag-thing too xD )

Name: Josephine (Josie)

Zodiac Sign/Birthday: Libra, October 18

Height: 1,60m

Languages I speak: German, English, Latin, Spanish is going to be added next school year too.

Nationality: German

Favorite Fruit: Apple, Pineapple and Strawberry

Favorite Color: Black

Coffee, Tea, Hot Cocoa, Water, Pop: Uhmmm.. hot cocoa

Favorite Show/Movie: ... All of them..?

Show's: Supernatural, Sherlock, Dr. Who, Voltron, Once Upon A Time, American Horror Story, Sleepy Hollow, Steven Universe, The Office, Brooklyn 99, some Animes too

Movie's: every single fucking Marvel movie, Deadpool, Walk The Line, Grease, Dirty Dancing, Pirates of the Caribbean, Back to Future, Harry Potter, Suicide Squad, every Horror movie I watched yet and probably a few more I don't remember right now... xD

Favourite Food enthnicity: Asian

Favorite Holiday: Halloween

Favorite People: My Mum, Sebastian Stan, Tom Hiddleston, Robert Downey Jr., the whole fucking marvel cast, Ryan Reynolds, Misha Collins, the whole fucking Supernatural cast, Johnny Depp, Ellen DeGeneres and @fxcknyouth

Favourite Disney Princess: Rapunzel, Mulan and Vanelope Van Shwitz (or however her name is spelled)

Books or E-books: ..both?

Hobbies: Playing the guitar, learning how to play the violin, drawing, writing, reading, eating, sleeping, fangirling, crying because of the fangirling, crying because I'm German and too far away from the people I fangirl about, hanging out with friends, listening to music or doing nothing at all

Last Movie seen: Iron Man 1, I had rewatch it, because I love it.

Favourite Animal: Pandas, Cats, Dogs, Spiders, Snakes

Show's that always make me laugh: Voltron, Supernatural, the office, Brooklyn 99

Favorite Genre: Horror, Psycho-Thriller and Comedy

_________________

So, that's it. I don't like it, but I'll have to tag a few of you :'3

@talinalani

@loki7ms

@daddysfangirls

@gaybybirth

@rayray150

@inlovewithmiddleagedcelebs

@writingcroissant

@buckitybarnes

@yourmishaboy

@waytoocrazyforyou

@not-zari-tak

@imayormaynothaveanaddiction

@infinitewcr

@bee-wrecker

[river-mist]

Lord of the Rings Aesthetics - Badeau

Reblog and BOLD all that apply to your muse.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - feel free to change pronouns as needed

Keep it secret. Keep it safe / It is precious to me, though I buy it with a great pain / a secret,  now, that only fire can tell / Throw yourself in next time, and rid us of your stupidity! / You shall not pass! / Fly, you fools! / The world is changed / I feel it in the water / I feel it in the earth / I smell it in the air / Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it / his cruelty, his malice and his will to dominate all life / But the hearts of Men are easily corrupted / And some things that should not have been forgotten were lost / History became legend. Legend became myth / Darkness crept back into the forests of the world / You will find your courage / May it be a light for you in dark places, when all other lights go out  /I don’t know half of you half, as well as I, should like and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve / I’m sorry that you must have to carry this burden / I’m sorry for everything /There is no life in the void…only death / A wizard is never late, nor is he early; he arrives precisely when he means to / You’ve been officially labeled a ‘disturber of the peace’ / I feel thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread / I need a holiday, a very long holiday / And I don’t expect that I shall return. In fact, I mean not to / Well, if I’m angry, it’s your fault! / Trust me, as you once did / I dare not take it. Not even to keep it safe / If I take one more step, I’ll be the farthest away from home I’ve ever been / You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no telling where you might be swept off to/ Are you frightened? Not nearly frightened enough / They will never stop hunting you / Hear my voice. Come back to the light / I do not fear them / That wound will never fully heal. He will carry it the rest of his life / Long years have passed. You did not have the cares you carry now / I would rather share one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone / You must trust yourself. Trust your own strengths / All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us / Not dark, but beautiful and terrible as the dawn! / All shall love me and despair! / I know what I must do, it’s just that… I’m afraid to do it / Even the smallest person can change the course of the future / I made a promise. A promise! ‘Don’t you leave him.’  And I don’t mean to!

tagged by: @the-blood-princess

tagging: @ilariizephyrgrin, @ziasilverstar, @twosidedsana, @jaylith, @caladhel-iarian, @calaglin-iarian, @zari-felheart, @eccia-dawnstalker, @lost-gods, @smokeandpoison and whoever else would like to do this

[readiprintfashions]

Ditch Red Bridal Lehenga with Unique Colored Lehenga

Which bride does not want to dress up like a queen at her wedding? Well, this is a common desire of every bride but do you know which apparel can give you this type of look. Lehenga choli is one of the few standard bridal dresses which has been in trend for a long time.

If you are looking for a chance to reveal your real beauty, then wear unique colored lehenga. New era brides are picking trendy and unique colored lehenga over the traditional red lehenga. You can be an inspiration for future brides by wearing unique colored lehenga choli on your wedding. Amaze your friends, family members, and other loved ones in the trendy and ravishing lehenga choli.

Bollywood divas are showing their keen interest in unique colored lehenga and can be proved as a great inspiration for a bridal look. From Aishwarya Rai to Alia Bhatt all actresses are making their appearances in wedding and reception in trendy lehengas. We are introducing you to some of the best trendy lehengas to get a phenomenal look on your D-day.

Bewitching, pretty, lovely, adorable all these words can fall short if we come to praise pink lehenga choli. Every girl waits for her wedding with keen interest and wants to wear something stylish yet traditional. Pink color lehenga choli can work like magic in your appearance.

Yami Gautam revealed her beautiful grace in this baby pink lehenga choli. The pleasant and beautifully worked heavy dupatta is taking her look to the fashion ladder. You can pair dazzling jewelry with this type of pink lehenga choli to look even more fascinating. The shine, the beauty, and the grandeur this color provides have no match. Deck out in the pink lehenga choli and surprise the people.

Brides are experimenting with new colors and not lagging behind to wear even white lehenga choli on the wedding. Why look for different colors when you have the most unusual color in the market that is white.

This color is a symbol of purity and can be proved the best color for the holy day that is wedding. Jacqueline Fernandez is known for her bubbly and lovely nature, which she is defining in this pleasant color lehenga. The sheer dupatta, she is carrying beautifying her look and giving her mesmerizing appearance. Floral designs on the lehenga and detailed work on the border of the dupatta are working like a grandeur.

Green color brings happiness, cheerfulness, and joy in one’s life.  The gorgeousness of green color can make you feel fresh throughout your wedding day. Kriti Sanon opted for green lehenga in a festival and proved that her choices are as surprising as her acting skills.

Golden embroidered lehenga of Kriti is increasing her grace. She paired bottle lehenga with a long top that is giving her a glamorous and unique look. Dazzling green dupatta adorned with gold zari work is head-turner apparel. Dupatta is an essential part of lehenga choli, and women want it to be exquisite as this is the attire that grabs all the attention. You can go for this color and flaunt your stunning look.

Most of the brides want their wedding should be a destination wedding, and in this type of wedding, the bride’s dress must be unique. No matter how vivaciously brides look for bridal lehenga but end up finding traditional color lehenga. Henceforth you will not face this dilemma as yellow color lehenga has come to your rescue. Acknowledge the beauty of yellow lehenga by looking at

Alia Bhatt’s yellow lehenga choli. The striking look this color lehenga provides has no match, and Alia knows this. She chose a heavy necklace to pair with bright yellow lehenga choli that is accentuating her traditional look. Stunning sheer matching dupatta that is not only an essential but also a charmer of the lehenga is prettifying her look. Deep neck blouse and potli is enhancing her traditional Indian avatar.

When you will walk down the aisle like a princess in the blue color lehenga, it will surely increase the heart beat of your viewer. Girls love to fantasize about their wedding look at some or other point. When wedding lehenga matters a lot for you then why go for conventional obsolete red lehenga? Blue color lehenga gives royal look to the wearer and never fails to enhance the look. Diana Penty is dazzling, not less than superstar actresses in this blue color lehenga choli. Sheer blue dupatta of Diana holds the charisma that can attract people’s attention easily.  

Indian Wedding Saree has many trendy and unique colored lehenga choli for brides. Sticking to our blogs will give you many contemporary fashion ideas. Do not leave a chance to rock at your wedding, after all this is your day. Keep reading our blogs for more impressive fashion inspirations and ideas.

[swashbucklery]

falsealarm replied to your post: CONCEPT: Helen of Troy and Zari 2.0

tell me mooooore

Look I don’t know how to “explain” this in terms of “the timeline” or “canon” because honestly, time is a bowl of chowder and sometimes you’re the clam and sometimes you’re the potato, and aren’t we all just swimming in an ocean of warm milk, waiting to understand what the fuck is happening on crisis on infinite earths so that we can headcanon accurately about this show again.

But I DO want you consider some sort of universe where Helen ends up on Themiscyra because of Zari, and becomes the warrior princess she was always meant to be. And then there’s this beautiful role reversal because Helen’s so used to like - as much as she’s changed and grown into her strength, when it comes to Zari she’ll always melt. She’ll always be the doe-eyed, frightened girl from Troy, and Zari will always be the gallant woman warrior who rescued her. 

But then one day she comes forward to visit Zari or idk go for a nice weekend trip to the future because it’s Amazon Day at Heyworld and she meets this version of Zari who is. . .new. And she sees it, the echoes of the strong warrior Zari she met. But there’s also something about the way the balance of them shifts the other way. Because Zari 2.0 is brave and I think she’s a hero in her own way, but she’s not a warrior the way the Amazons have taught Helen to be. And now it’s Helen’s turn to be the gallant woman warrior, and it’s still a version of Zari so she’s flustered and doe-eyed as ever, and something something this ends with Zari 2.0 feeling Helen’s bicep while the two of them split a milkshake and they definitely have a soft, tender 69 session afterwards.

[swashbucklery]

Ok but if Zari looping herself changes the timeline and then Crisis changes the timeline is it just like a double negative where none of it counts?

[swashbucklery]

isaidquirky replied to your post “Ok but if Zari looping herself changes the timeline and then Crisis...”

Imaginary Barry Allen: "oh so when I do it it's a Fuck Up and I Should Have Known Better, but when she does it it's fine??" Me: " Yes."

I’m mad at you for pointing this out bc I was about to explain how Zari’s situation was ~different and she did it ~for love and ~to save her family and then I stopped bc it’s exactly the same thing????? And then I was going to be like oh no but Barry did it on purpose and for Zari it was an accident except no it wasn’t??? And I’m just full of such emotions I am FLABBERGASTED friend, like my whole face right now is just that meme of the comic guy going I GUESS??

I guess the only consolation here is that Zari is worth like. MINIMUM four Barry Allens taped together, so her Flashpoint is going to be BETTER and CUTER and DEFINITELY NOT CAUSE ANY PROBLEMS.

(idk I’m still holding out hope tho bc I feel like Zari is friends with enough ageless time robots and eldritch beings from the dawn of time that SOMEBODY might notice the timeline is different and figure out how to even things out again)

(while also escaping Jack the Ripper 2.0)

(while also doing Crisis and smushing the multiverse)

(while also learning about themselves and each other along the way)

(Mary what is happening this season)

[swashbucklery]

It's 2019. Zari is nine years old. She's at Heyworld, taking Mithra out for the very first time.

It's 2019. Zari is thirty three years old. She's standing in the library on a time ship, watching a beautiful, dumb man that she loves beyond reason fall to the ground. She's running out the door with her heart in her throat, full of love that there's barely anything in her mind but a name: Nate.

It's 2019. Zari is nine years old but she's also thirty three years old and she's rolling her eyes as Behrad takes her on a tour of a ship he keeps calling The Waverider.

+

Birthday fic for @falsealarm bc she loves Zari more than anyone else on the whole internet. I hope you like my distilled Zari feelings and I hope you have a wonderful birthday pal, you’re a gem and you make the internet a better place.

[swashbucklery]

So I just have a bunch of Charlie feelings I need to unload and I don’t know where to put them just yet. This started as just a lot of feelings but lowkey turned into super shippy Zari/Charlie tagfic OH NO so anyway HERE YOU GO, TUMBLR.

But first of all please just know that I have so many questions??? Like the idea of her character as a shapeshifter is just so cool and there’s just so many interesting things there in terms of like gender and sexuality and self-expression and how do you embody that if you can literally have any shape you want. Do shapeshifters have an “original” form? How old is Charlie - at a certain point would she lose touch with what that was, or is there like a “default” state. Is her default state looking exactly like Amaya because if John truly took her powers away then she should have gone back to her “original” rather than getting stuck on her most recent shape, ALSO JOHN I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS.

But okay. Accepting the premise that Charlie’s stuck in this shape, like.

There are just so many things that I can see being different and weird and I’m kind of fascinated by what that journey would be. (I mean, you can also get into a whole philosophical thing here about what about our experience is rooted in body versus mind and how much of mind and identity is based in physical brain vs some magical brainy-wainy ether and how precisely the mechanic of shapeshifting works, yes.) But assuming some basic stuff stays constant, Charlie would have to learn all over again stuff like - taste and texture, sexuality and interests and desire, how a body moves and feels.

And I’m so excited about that parallel journey of Charlie being in this place that’s actually really vulnerable, she’s stuck in this new shape and for the first time it’s literally the only one she’s got and that’s weird and scary but also kind of boring, how do people not just get sick of having only the one face.

And then running alongside that, Zari and Mick and Nate and everyone else who are messed up in a whole new way because hey, Charlie’s wearing the face of the person that they loved deeply with all of their souls and they’re missing her like a hole in their hearts and it’s kind of awful that she’s wearing her face.

(And here I mean mostly Zari, because if you think I am not pre-emptively shipping them GUESS WHAT I AM AND YOU CAN’T STOP ME.)

Because as much as Charlie has the right face she’s so clearly not Amaya, her walk is all wrong and she’s got bad posture and she scowls and she drinks and she doesn’t care about working together with the team at all.

Charlie who doesn’t want anyone to know that she’s fucked up about all of this, that it’s kind of hurty and weird and upsetting and maybe she kind of wants a hug and a good cry because all she wanted to do was live her life in peace.

Zari who kind of wants the same thing because she was doing so well, trying not to be angry and sad and raw about missing Amaya but there Charlie is just reminding her, all the time.

But she’s not a jerk and she’s not blind, she can see the little flashes of it. The way Zari asks her what she wants to wear and what size she needs and Charlie kind of shrugs and looks a little stricken because she honestly doesn’t know. The way Charlie kind of slinks around the ship, shoulders hunched like she doesn’t need any of them and it’s almost like looking into a mirror.

Because Zari remembers being the new kid, leaving her time and her world and feeling like she was stuck with these weirdos but didn’t fit. (And the secret was, of course, that she always fit, but she needed a push to see it.) And here’s Charlie wandering around with that chip on her shoulder, that lost sort of sad sort of lonely look in her eyes and suddenly she doesn’t look like Amaya at all.

She looks like a Charlie, who needs a friend, and look it’s probably a little early to say that she’s part of their weird little time family just yet but Zari knows a Legend when she sees one.

And maybe Zari reaches out first. She offers a seat next to herself at dinner because Charlie’s just sort of slouching against the wall, eating her dinner standing up and it - she may be dangerous, sort of, but then. All of them are dangerous in the right situation. And something inside Zari just feels bad, wants her to feel a little more at home.

Charlie who doesn’t really say much until after everyone’s eaten. It’s Zari’s time up on the chore wheel for dishes: dinner and Charlie lingers with her. She mumbles thanks down at her boots and Zari hands her a dish towel, asks her to help dry.

Charlie who kind of - she doesn’t reach out, the way Amaya does. She doesn’t burst into Zari’s room insisting that they’re going to be the best of friends and probably that’s okay. She just sort of lurks, and on anyone else Zari would almost call the way she approaches things shyness but Charlie’s got so much attitude that it almost - almost - covers that up. She’s not shy, she’s just lurking tentatively outside Zari’s bunk.

Eventually, they start to talk more, and it turns into every day. Charlie asks about computers, about hacking and what a video game is and does it have anything in common with a television because she knows about that, she’s seen some stuff.

Charlie who takes longer than she probably should to understand even late twentieth century tech, but she can teach Zari everything she could ever want to know about 1970s-era sound systems and how to patch things together that really shouldn’t be patched. She grins and calls the sound uncomfortably loud and explains how if the distortion doesn’t give Zari goosebumps then it’s not quite enough. She plays electric guitar surprisingly well, even with different fingers running along the frets, shows off for Zari and sticks her tongue out and wiggles it at her, says, “Pretty cool, right?” in a tone of voice that pulls at something behind Zari’s navel.

It’s not classical violin, but it’s not far off is the thing.

Zari who shows Charlie an electric violin and they lose a whole afternoon just messing around, Charlie with her yearning for things that are messy and loud and ugly and Zari who approaches music with precision and care and somehow it kind of balances out into something pretty cool.

(And maybe it starts there, with music. Because that’s a language that Zari and Amaya never really shared. So it feels safe to share that with this new person, the one who looks like Zari’s old friend but so emphatically is not.)

(Maybe it starts there and it ends with Charlie getting this look on her face and running her tongue across her upper teeth and shoving Zari back against the wall one day)

(Charlie starts it but Zari finishes it, leans into Charlie softer and more pliant than maybe she should be, surprising herself with how easy it feels to trust this.)

(It ends with Zari’s hand up Charlie’s skirt and Charlie gasping with this look on her face that might be actual surprise, this is the first time she’s come close to having sex in this shape and it feels just like new)

(It ends properly in Zari’s bed, Charlie smearing black lipstick all over Zari’s chest, her abdomen, probably her cunt as well. Charlie whispering filthy little prayers up against Zari, working at her until she screams and the world goes dark and for a moment she doesn’t feel so alone anymore.)

(Charlie resting her head against Zari’s chest, her hair tickling at Zari’s nose and it’s weeks later now, they’ve been doing this off and on since then. Charlie who laces their fingers together and kisses every one of Zari’s knuckles. Charlie who whispers how it’s us against the world, love and Zari holds her close, as close as she possibly can.)

[swashbucklery]

Do you think Zari would be the one Charlie talks about her sadness about not being a shape shifter with?

Anon I don’t know, but I LOVE this ask bc honestly that side of Charlie is so interesting to me. 

So I say this trying to be mindful of not wading into stuff I’m not in a position to talk about as a cis person, but - I’m real proud of my Charlie tag for accidentally guessing a lot of stuff about her and I’ve kept it bc like. When you can literally have any body you want, what does gender mean and what does identity and self-expression mean I think is a really cool question that they’re sort of unintentionally asking with her character.

Like, we don’t know much about her backstory, but we know that she tried to stay safe in magic prison by choosing shapes that were big and intimidating, and we know the kinds of body types and self-expression she was attracted to in London. But there’s SO MUCH more to her in terms of layers and I love all of it, I want ten seasons with Charlie in them just for this.

(She’s not not trans, is all I’m saying.)

I don’t know who she’d talk to about her feelings first, to be honest. Like in my heart I’d want it to be Zari because my most earnest secret hope is that they are frenemies-to-lovers like it starts with hatesex but gets Real Emotional Real Fast and suddenly they’re 2 Punks In Love. And so in that scenario, I think Zari would hear about it or at least pick up on it eventually?

(I have a lot of super romantic squishy headcanons for them and a lot of them involve Zari and Charlie kind of sleepy and post-coital and staring at each other under a little blanket tent and that’s literally the only time they’re capable of talking about feelings for the first little bit, It’s A Lot.)

I actually though - like sticking to canon but also assuming that Nora’s gonna be a real legend someday, I feel like she and Charlie would hardcore BOND. Like: they’ve both technically been to magic prison, both technically enemies with the Legends for a while, attractive, lots of feelings, THEY’RE GONNA BE BEST FRIENDS. And a part of me feels like if Charlie was going to start sharing feelings and we have to imagine a world where she’s not hooking up with Zari on the regular, she’d feel a lot safer bonding with someone who feels a bit outside the team, like Nora. 

(Or Mona. Oh my god. Like Charlie would try to scare Mona away off the bat but like. As much as Mona is a soft little marshmallow she’s also totally punk rock like she doesn’t care how scary you look she’s fearless and thinks you’re a cool person who just needs the right kind of snacks and she’ll bond with you just watch. Oh my god I need this, Charlie who doesn’t mind at all if Mona brings her like, little heart-shaped earrings or fluffy novels that’s her FRIEND she’s HARDCORE and she’ll FIGHT ANYONE WHO HURTS HER SOFT LITTLE HEART. Mona has a tattoo of a kitten on her ankle and Charlie thinks it’s the best tattoo she’s ever seen.)