#still not too happy w the redesign... the front legs are what's bothering me but i might edit in the mornign

[mdelpin]

@fuckyeahgratsu​ request for Anon AO3 | FF.Net

Summary: Ever since the Fairy Tail members from Earthland had returned home Natsu Dragion could not stop thinking about his counterpart, about how much he wanted to be like him. When he walks into the guild to find Lucy Ashley hurting Gray Surge again, he channels his best Natsu Dragneel and comes to the rescue.

Disclaimer: All Fairy Tail Characters Belong to Hiro Mashima

"L-leave him alone!" Natsu protested as he walked into the guild hall only to find Lucy hitting Gray, again. He was terrified, his legs literally shaking as he yelled at Lucy Ashley to release Gray but he stayed firm.

He was tired of her constant bullying. Raising his arms and forming his hands into fists, he placed them in front of his chest, thankful there wasn't a mirror to show him how pathetic he must look.

Gray looked over at him, his eyes widening as he shook his head solemnly. Lucy stopped what she was doing long enough to stare at Natsu, she didn’t look intimidated in the least.

“What did you say to me?” Lucy enunciated every word, wanting to let Natsu know that she wasn’t amused in the slightest. She let go of Gray and started walking over to him.

"Y-you heard me," It took every ounce of courage he possessed to not turn around and run out of the guild, but he was determined to see this through.

What he wasn’t counting on was his best friend running towards him, grabbing him by the arm and dragging both of them out of the guild before Lucy Ashley could reach him. Natsu had no idea how Gray could even run that fast considering how many clothes he was wearing.

They kept running, hearing Lucy scream after them and she must have thrown something at them because Natsu could feel something flying just to his right, but they didn't stop until they were both out of breath.

“What were you thinking?” Gray scolded, his breath coming in pants, his face covered in sweat. He studied Natsu intently and suddenly released his arm as if he’d just noticed he was still holding on to it.

“Aren’t you tired of her shit?” Natsu asked, rubbing his arm where Gray had been dragging him, knowing he’d have a bruise before long, “What did you even do this time?”

Gray shrugged noncommittally and muttered something under his breath.

Natsu waited for his friend to repeat himself, but Gray remained quiet, eyes staring off into the distance.

“I have been a little bit,” Natsu took a deep breath and tried to catch Gray’s gaze, “Thinking that is.”

That was one hell of an understatement, he'd been doing nothing else since the members of Earthland Fairy Tail had returned to their home, taking Lisanna with them. It's not like he had a hell of a lot else to do during the long drives required for the guild's supply runs. He was happy he at least got to continue driving, Levy had managed to redesign his car to not use magic.

Gray turned to look at him, head tilted to the side and lips curled in a confused smile that Natsu found incredibly endearing. His chest felt tight as he looked away for a moment, fighting off the sudden flush of his cheeks that threatened to give his feelings away.

Gray noticed this and his brow furrowed a bit. Natsu wasn't sure what that meant, but Gray had saved him, or actually they'd saved each other, and for now, he wasn't about to let the futility of his feelings ruin that for him.

“What have you been thinking about?”

"I'm just," Natsu thought hard about what he wanted to say, he'd never tried to voice his feelings before and he wanted Gray to understand the changes that were happening within him, "I guess, I've been thinking about the other me, Earthland Natsu. How he's everything I'm not -- brave, confident, strong. And I keep thinking, even if he is from another world he is me, and I am him, you know?"

Gray bit his lip, distracting Natsu again, but it was often like this between them, Natsu had it bad. “I wouldn’t say that, Natsu. I think what you just did would count as brave, well suicidal actually.” Gray chuckled. “You do realize I can barely feel her through all my clothes, you didn’t have to do that for me, you --.”

“It doesn’t make it right, someone needs to stand up to her, why not me?” Natsu interrupted, still furious about Lucy picking on Gray.

“You didn’t let me finish, I still appreciated it,” Gray said as he sat down, once again grabbing Natsu’s arm and pulling him down to sit next to him. “Anyway, why don’t you tell me more about what you’ve been thinking?”

Had Gray always been this grabby with him? Natsu shook the thought away and continued, "I mean I know I don't have any magic or know very much fighting, but even he must have started somewhere… Sometimes I just want to get in my car and just keep driving, see what else is out there, maybe try to be the man I want to be."

"You want to leave?" Gray's shoulders slumped, and his lower lip trembled, but he turned away and stared off into the distance once again before Natsu could see any more.

Natsu found himself blurting out, “You could come with me.”

Natsu covered his mouth as soon as he said it but it was too late, he'd just given much more away than he'd intended, but perhaps it was for the best, wasn't it better to know?

“W-what?” Gray stammered, he found Natsu’s eyes and searched them quickly, glancing away at whatever he found in them. His fingers moved to his coat as he fidgeted with the buttons nervously.

"Forget I said anything," Natsu felt like an anvil had landed on his chest making it hard to breathe, but he needed to pretend everything was okay. It was just as he'd suspected, Gray only had eyes for Juvia, it's how it had always been, and he was a fool for getting his hopes up. "I don't know what I was thinking --"

"I'd like to." Gray breathed shakily, and he grabbed Natsu's hand again.

"I-- I don't understand," Natsu sputtered, and he didn't. He was confused and hopeful, and that was a bad combination.

"I've been thinking too," Gray smiled, it was tentative but no less genuine, and Natsu had no idea what to think anymore because their eyes had connected and neither one was looking away. "I saw the way you looked at Earthland Gray and I-- I didn't like it."

"I didn't, I--," Natsu didn't like where this was going. Gray had caught him ogling Earthland Gray? Natsu's eyes darted around, desperately searching for an escape route. How could he tell Gray he'd been thinking about him the whole time, wondering if underneath all those clothes he looked the same. Personally, he preferred his sweet Gray to the always grumpy ice mage, no matter how hot the other one was.

“Don’t bother to deny it,” Gray made a sound that sounded almost like a growl as he glared at him with an intensity that Natsu had never seen before, and he couldn’t even begin to interpret it.

"I'm sorry, it's just I'd never seen you without all your clothes on, and I couldn't help it," Natsu babbled on, increasingly more horrified with every traitorous word that came out of his mouth but he couldn't seem to stop, "He was hot, I mean you were hot, I mean-"

“You don’t have to apologize Natsu,” Gray spoke softly, his tone meant to be reassuring, but there was a twinkle in his eyes that betrayed his amusement at Natsu’s discomfort. He soon turned serious and added, “Seeing the way you looked at him, it forced me to confront something I’d been avoiding for a while.”

Natsu finally understood how the animals that would sometimes freeze in front of his car’s headlights felt. There was so much fear, but at the same time, there was also this odd fascination that kept you from running away to safety. You just had to face it head on and hope for the best while wondering if this was how you would meet your end. Natsu found himself looking at Gray and wondering if his next words would be the ones to end him.

Had he discovered Natsu's feelings for him and been shocked when he saw them so obviously displayed? Gray had only ever had eyes for Juvia, it was quite possible that he'd be disgusted to learn Natsu had feelings for him. Natsu tried to prepare himself for the worst, already wondering if they'd be able to salvage their friendship after this.

Natsu’s face must have reflected some of what he was thinking because Gray was watching him with a concerned expression. He grabbed both of Natsu’s hands in his and locked his eyes with his, further reinforcing the feeling of being caught in headlights, “The truth is,” Gray paused for a moment and let out a nervous cough before soldiering on, “I wanted you to look at me that way.”

Natsu's mouth gaped open as he absorbed the words, it was difficult for him to believe, but after running them through his head several times, they still sounded the same, "Y-You did?"

"Yeah, surprised me too," Gray chuckled softly, and Natsu found he loved the sound, it was light and airy and he could listen to it all day.

“But what about Juvia?”

“What about her? I can like both men and women, dimwit. It’s a thing.” Gray grinned at him, willing him to believe.

"No, I know, that's not what I meant." Natsu was flustered, he wanted to take Gray at his word but there had never been any indication, and while he tried to be brave like his counterpart he was terrified of being hurt and losing the most important person in the world to him.

Still holding Natsu’s hands in his own Gray held him in place, moving his face ever closer until finally pressing his lips against Natsu’s, who immediately closed his eyes and nibbled gently on the soft lips he’d thought he’d never get a chance to taste.

Years of repressed feelings burst through Natsu as he bungled his way through his first kiss, worried it wouldn't be any good, but Gray didn't pull away, and after much fumbling they quickly got the hang of it, Gray let go of his hands at some point to caress his cheek with his fingers. It was everything Natsu had hoped for, the joy that coursed through his body at Gray's touch unmistakeable. Much too soon for Natsu's liking the kiss ended, and Gray licked his lips slowly, smiling as he tasted Natsu on his lips.

Natsu was too flustered to really look at Gray, and he tried to disappear behind his bangs. Gray didn't push, just let him hide, but continued to give him gentle caresses as Natsu got himself together.

“We’ve always been there for each other, Natsu. You’re the only one who’s always accepted me just the way I am.” Gray moved Natsu’s bangs out of the way to gaze into his eyes as he confessed with a smile, “You’re the one I want, Natsu, not her.”

Natsu didn’t know how to respond, as much as he’d hoped, he’d never expected this to happen. The whole thing felt like a dream he didn’t want to wake from. His lips began to twitch before they stretched into a grin that was wider than any he’d ever managed before and that seemed to be enough for Gray.

"So let's do it, let's get into your car and go," Gray urged, looking back at the guild hall they'd just run away from. "Nothing is keeping us here."

It was true, they’d had some good times over the years, but most of those had involved each other. Natsu was sure the guild would miss them, but they’d also move on without them. The idea of just getting in the car and starting a new life somewhere with Gray was very appealing. It was sort of what he’d already been planning, although he’d thought he would be doing it alone. This was much better.

“Don’t we need to get clothes or something?”

Gray looked down at himself and laughed, “I’m already packed.”

“Are you sure about this?”

“Yeah, I’ve never been surer of anything in my life.”

They remained where they were, watching the sunset in each other's arms while saying goodbye to the place they'd called home. By the time they'd gotten up, night had fallen, and the temperature had plummeted, leaving Natsu shivering as they walked to the car. Gray took one of his coats off and wrapped it around his lover, kissing the top of his head as he buttoned it up.

Natsu looked up, and they kissed again, less hesitant and more eager. They laced their fingers and walked to the car, not once looking back. They drove away into the night, excited about the new adventures that awaited them. Together at last.

A/N I realized I’d never really written Edolas Gratsu so this appealed to me. I hope you like it Anon! As always, fluff is my kryptonite.

[jewishlensnart]

So it’s the holiday season, which in a lot of households means presents. You know who has more merch than almost any other Flash villain (1. being Reverse Flash as of my last count)? Captain Cold!

Have a Len lover in your life? Need to give your family gift ideas? Peep this list, y’all!

I used to own...basically everything with Len on it. I had the largest Flash collection in the southern US until about 3 years ago, when I sold the vast majority of it, and gave away even more. These reviews come from in-hand experience. Let’s start with the Original Lad:

DC Direct Captain Cold

Holy macaroni, was this figure terrible. Yes it was comic-accurate at the time, but you could not pose it, you could not keep it standing, and the face when you removed the glasses? Nightmare fuel. Still, it was a figure from 2001, and they really were doing their best, so I’d have to rate this guy a 2 out of 5.

These next two came out around roughly the same time, but could not be more different in quality. First up, DC Direct Justice Captain Cold

Strictly speaking, this figure was beautiful. Yeah it was in the hyper-realistic style of Alex Ross, who I’ve never been a fan of, but it was toned down in a way that made it less uncanny valley. The figure had stubble painted on, and if you removed the hood (which you technically could but shouldn’t), he had hair under there! But still, this was a DC Direct figure from 2008, so it had all the same flaws that a figure from that time period tended to have: absolutely a bitch to pose, hard to keep upright without the base (I let mine lean against the wall whenever I needed the base for even more precarious figures), joints prone to snapping if you worked him too hard. Still, by far my favorite of the DC Direct/Collectibles Len figures, if not my favorite full-size figure. 4.5 of 5.

Meanwhile in big box stores across the nation, DC Universe Classics was releasing their best wave yet, wave 7. Man, I had that whole thing aside from Aquaman; Big Barda, Flash, Kid Flash, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, and of course, Captain Cold

This is the ugliest Len figure. Hands down, the least visually appealing. Which is a shame, because it’s also one of the best! Completely comic accurate until you hit the upper torso/head area, a ridiculous amount of articulation, with the single best cold gun of any of these figures...but jfc that expression. The weird poncho/hood always bothered me too, because while it was almost comic accurate, something just threw it off the track and made it look more ridiculous than cool. 3.5 out of 5.

After the New 52 hit, DC Collectibles released 2 Captain Cold figures in rapid succession, one that was packaged alone, and one that came as part of a 7-figure set

Can you spot the differences? There’s just one: the Len from the 7-figure set is in a dark blue suit, and doesn’t come with the ice mace and ice dagger. Like all DC Direct figures before them, these DC Collectibles figures are pretty to look at, but offer very little in the way of articulation. They could be hard to keep upright, which was annoying, as neither came with a stand, and do not try to take off the hood. Nothing under there. Still, they were very pretty depictions of a popular redesign, so I feel alright giving these guys a 3 of 5.

DC Collectibles spat out a final Len figure for the CWverse line back in 2015

As a big fan of Wentworth Miller and his face, I feel this figure could have been better. I mean, I’ve seen Arrowverse figures that are spot on, and this one just is not. Maybe it’s because the goggles obscure a good portion of the face, I don’t know. That being said, I love this figure, and it’s actually one I re-bought at a convention recently, along with the Heatwave figure from the same line, that hadn’t been released when I’d started selling off all of my toys. The costume is show-accurate, the figure comes with an extra set of hands, and the gun is just really cool. This is a solid 4 of 5 figure.

These next toys aren’t action figures per say, as they don’t do much in the way of action, but they’re cute and I like them, for the most part.

Funko took over the market and the world back in 2010 when it first introduced the Pop Vinyl figures, but it took a hit TV show to get Flash villains other than the Reverse Flash into production. There are 3 Captain Cold Funko products currently out, the two Pop Vinyls and a Re-Action figure

Now, I love the first Pop Vinyl. The round, lifeless black eyes of the Pops have freaked me out for a long time, but with Len in his sweet goggles, this Pop is perfect for me. I actually have him on a shelf in my closet. The variant...look, I like how they included the actual real-life hairline Wentworth Miller has, but those creepy eyes just kill it for me. The Re-Action figure, by the way, is garbage. They’re supposed to be based on the lines of toys that came out back in the 80s, but all that means to me is little to no articulation, weird molds that look nothing like the character they’re supposed to be, and few if any accessories. Why is he wearing a tie??? Just. The worst. 5 of 5 for Pop 1, 3 of 5 for Pop 2, and 1 of 5 for the Re-Action figure.

There are a bunch of figures that came out before Funko’s reign that have little to no articulation, and here they are:

Action League Citizen Cold, from the Batman: The Brave and the Bold line

I love a good boy??? 5 of 5, absolutely perfect. No you can’t pose him, but he already comes in a dynamic, interesting pose. This is my absolute favorite of all the non-poseable figures, and I miss mine all the time.

Imaginext, a line of toys for very young superhero fans, made a New 52 Captain Cold a few years back

Honestly, Imaginext toys are ridiculous, and I love every single one of them. They’re great toys for little kids, and yeah, Len is completely bald underneath that hoodie and ice gun backpack, but he has a snowball cannon to compensate with, so who’s the real loser?! 5 of 5, beautiful.

Did you kno w that back in 2011, McDonalds put out a line of Happy Meal Young Justice toys featuring Captain Cold??? Did you want to know? Too bad, you know now.

My dad’s dog chewed up his ice projectile, rendering the actual immobile figure completely useless...but I still really like it??? Like, it’s a toy that came with food that I sweet-talked the counter guy into giving me. It’s a worthless little nothing of a toy...but I still like it. 3 of 5.

Pocket Heroes were a weird little line of 3-inch figures that came in two-packs. One of those packs contained Flash and Captain Cold

You can basically only move their arms and legs, and while this figure comes with a cold gun and a remarkably ripped set of abs and pecs, the design never really appealed to me. 2.5 out of 5.

I collected MiniMates once upon a time. 2.5 inch figures that were basically fancy LEGOs? Deal me in! ViniMates are uh. Not that.

ViniMates are 6-inch figures and I Do Not Like Them. Being made of vinyl makes them almost completely free of articulation, so the post you get them in is the one they stay in. Also, this one is based on the show-interpretation of Len and it seems to be smoldering at me. Don’t like that. 1 out of 5.

On the other end of the vinyl spectrum, the Mini-Mezitz line from Mezco is simply delightful.

Mini-Mezitz were 2-inch figures with articulation in their arms, legs, and neck joints. I love mine, and they have been hanging out on the top of my bookcase for like 7 years now. 4 out of 5, absolutely weird-dorable.

Eaglemoss once put my blog on the front page of their website without telling me, back when I was actively snapping pictures of my Flash collection. The Eaglemoss lead figures, once you get past the fact that yes, these dudes are made of painted lead so maybe handle with care, are a good staple in any collection. Captain Cold got two

Both Eaglemoss figures came with information booklets about Captain Cold, though the chess piece New 52 version focused almost solely on his New 52 history. They’re both very detailed, and I really like them. 3.5 out of 5.

I never watched Thomas the Tank Engine as a kid...but I saw this weirdass thing in a HomeGoods one day and just kinda. Stopped and stared.

He’s a train. Len is a train now. Don’t like it. 1 out of 5.

So there’s this company called Kotobukiya. They’re most famous for their bishoujo statues, but they make guys too. I had the Flash Kotobukiya statue, back in the day. I was not collecting Flash stuff when they made a Captain Cold one.

I’m actually apparently getting this as a gift from my boyfriend for Hanukkah. He finally got access to my wishlist. This statue is based on the Francis Manapul New 52 redesign, and it is what we call Big Sexy. Frankly, I give it a 5 out of 5.

No offense to Wentworth Miller, but my favorite Captain Cold TV appearance is always going to be his role in the JLU episode, Flash and Substance.

The JLU figures were all godawful, but hell if we as a fandom didn’t gobble them up back in the day. I had all the available Rogues, Len, Heatwave, Captain Boomerang, Weather Wizard, “Justice Lords Flash” (who was really just Reverse Flash, let’s be real), Mirror Master...it’s the most complete set of Rogues you can get, actually. But they were terrible figures; the Dorito-like shape of the shoulder to waist ratio combined with the narrow feet of the figure guaranteed that these toys would not stay upright without a stand. They had no articulation, and most came without weapons. But you could get three-packs of them in Target for like $12, and they were designed with children in mind, so. 3.5 out of 5, because frankly, the Timmverse designs will always tug at my nostalgia strings.

Captain Cold is available in two official LEGO forms

The first is from the Mighty Macros line, and features Len vs the Flash in a racecar vs snowmobile race. It’s very cute and easy to build. The second is the more challenging Gorilla Grodd Goes Bananas set, which also includes Flash, Grodd, and strangely enough, Batman and Wonder Woman. I never owned that set, and it’s pretty hard to find these days, regularly running $80 and up. Both sets are a 5 out of 5, though, because LEGO does not mess around when it comes to quality fun.

I saved my favorites for last. In the 70s, there was a line of toys called MEGOs, which were plastic-bodied toys with cloth suits. Mattel, and later the Figures Toy Company, would both do their own versions of Captain Cold

The first version, by Mattel, is amazing. Mine is literally sitting next to me as I type this. I took him to Universal with me when I won a trip to Halloween Horror Nights back in 2015, I take him to the movies with me when I don’t have anyone else to go with, he’s my little buddy. My dad’s dog, again, chewed his left arm completely off at one point, but I don’t care. I love him. As for the Figures Toys version, I actually won a fairly cheap auction for him earlier this week, so we shall see! I don’t know if I like how he has the whole “Super Friends hypothermia Len” look going on, but I do like how his costume isn’t just cheap, tearable vinyl. We shall see what’s under that hood soon. I give the Mattel one a 5 out of 5 for the years of joy he’s given me. The Figures Toys one is pending, but I’m gonna give a tentative 4 out of 5, because it really does look nice.

You could get Len in other forms, like as a game piece in the Heroclix and Dice Masters games, as a paintable figure for a Batman tabletop roleplaying game, as trading cards, as a set of guitar picks, as a card holder, as a very hard to find but still lovely statue from DC Direct, in official pin form from Funko and Fansets, on an old 7-Eleven cup, and of course, in the pages of the comics...but I’ve always liked toys, so that’s what I decided to go over. Hope y’all enjoyed this, and maybe got some ideas for your own collections.