#this works with snart too

[amelia-queen-black]

Joe, about Oliver: Don’t get too close to him. He’s dangerous.

Barry: But he’s nice!

Joe, making a strangled noise: Nice? He’s a criminal. A murderer.

Barry: That’s in the past.

Joe: He tortured a man yesterday.

Barry: Technically, yesterday is in the past.

My AO3

[slowpokeiy]

idk if ive posted this on tumblr before... this is like rlly old but i still find it funny as hell, so it goes here bc ive no art to post atm (sorry!!!)

always love the idea of loop live-narrating things lol

[captain-cold-approved]

im past 10k words in my 5 + 1 coldflash fic. i'm only done with the first two out of six scenarios. it's going SWELL.

[anissapierce]

5$ says that gus's glasses are entirely cosmetic n he just has them bc 1. They look good 2. They make bim look older n also smarter

[purple-goo-writes]

Punk Hazard

Now to put this into a story.

Part 2 Here

It was a normal day in Central City. The Flashes were fighting the latest team-up between Killer Frost and Captain Cold. So of course it was snowing in July now and traffic was stalled due to ìce attacks making the roads impassable. But the heroes had the villains on the ropes. Then a fresh wave of ice and cold came out of nowhere, covering everything and everyone in frost. Dropping the temperature further as the crunching of boots on ice drew everyone's attention. Dressed in distressed black leather pants with frosted chains, a black crop top with a deep v-neck lined with blue, and plenty of ice chains to rattle as he walked was a teen near Impulse's age with pale blue skin, elfin features, and long black hair streaked with white and blue. Blue lips pulled into a deadly smirk as the air started to thrum with vibrations and the beat of crackling ice, "Time to drop the beat down."

Unfortunately for the heroes, they were not familiar with this villain's move set or powers. And it seemed they had made a mistake in assuming that his powers were similar to the other two ice villains. Only to be thrown for a loop when they missed a beat and started to freeze. And the music was only getting faster and with it came faster ice attacks.

Later, Barry groaned as his team worked to get him, Wally, and Bart out of their ice prisons. The three of them were shivering and turning blue from how cold their core temps had dropped. Looked like they would be hitting the showers on max heat once thawed out.

"What in the world was that?" Wally groaned once he was finally freed, while Barry rubbed his hands together to get feeling back, "I don't know but we better get investigating to figure out how to fight this new guy."

"Yeah, I don't fancy being a Flash-cicle just because I can't keep the beat," Wally grumbled, "Dick is going to make me play sooo much Just Dance once he hears about our new villain."

"You noticed it too?" Bart shivered, taking his mind away from the fact that the new villain was around his age and rather interesting to look at. Something he hadn't noticed before on others. he shook his head, no he needed to focus, "We had to follow the beat of the music or we started to freeze up. It was pretty easy to do until he started to ramp up the difficulty. Also...He has to follow the beat as well."

Barry groaned softly as he wrapped the blanket handed to him around his shoulders, "Wally is right, we are going to have to start ramping up our Just Dance scores...Hal is going to laugh himself sick."

All three groaned realizing their respective teams were going to be insufferable.

---

"You are pretty badass, kid," Killer Frost smirked once they got away from the heroes, "What even are your powers?" "A cross between music manipulation and Ice control," He shrugged, "I've been calling it Cryo Symphony." "Got a name?" Captain Cold grunted looking over the little punk, though little probably only applied to age given the kid was nearly his height and in that awkward stage between Twink and Tank.

"I was thinking Punk Frost-" "Yeah no, I got Frost already covered and I'm not looking for a side kick," Killer Frost hissed at him, making the kid raise his hands in surrender, "Okay, how about Punk Hazard? After all, I am a punk and my powers are hazardous to other's health if they can't keep the beat." "Sounds good kid, now you got a place to stay?" Snart asked, tone gruff but concerned. He never liked seeing kids turn to the villain life, didn't really like kiddie heroes but at least they had more support then kiddie villains did.

"Ummm not really?" Danny shrugged, "Probably the bridge I've been sleeping under."

Even Frost looked concerned at that, causing Snart to sigh, "Yeah no, I got a safe house you can crash at. Come on, you look like you haven't eaten in days." Danny blinked in confusion, "Huh?" Making Frost snicker, "Sorry, kid looks like you've been adopted."

[loudlittleecho]

Frozen in Time: Too Late to Save Them

Previous

Part 6

Tim got an alert on Forever Ice in Wisconsin. 

Seems there had been an accident. He quickly scanned the document. Mr. Anderson had given a statement, grateful that no one had been harmed, thankfully, and he also did not expect this to delay shipping. He mentions that his new facilities had better safety measures installed, and while he was sad to let the building go, it was time. . . a little further in the article mentioned how everyone who had worked at the facility had been given two lucrative options. Take a generous severance package, or transfer to another facility with housing and transportation cost support. 

Tim frowned. He had gotten alerts about the other facilities two months ago. When he had scanned them they all seemed above board. Seems Anderson had found a way to recreate his ability. Tim had purchased one crafted from a newer facility, and had analyzed it beside the first. They were identical.

Tim had a hunch he didn’t like. Anderson was making friends with quite a few people. 

He noticed a file he hadn’t added to the report, written in code. 

He narrowed his eyes. This folder was open to anyone in the Justice League to add to if they so desired. 

The only one who would add something in code was The Question. 

—

The woman, Nora, had requested his team to clear one of the smaller offices of the warehouse they were occupying, and to find a bed for the boy– though by now the boy was back as a block of ice.

His crew had glanced at him for confirmation; he nodded for them to comply. 

She had only given her first name, but Snart was able to put the pieces together. Nora Fries, wife of Mr. Freeze. He hadn’t kept up with Gotham news, but it looked that somehow Freeze had managed to bring his wife back.

Now how the kid connected to the two, he didn’t know. 

Nora had told him the boy had felt feverish; she believed if a room was made colder than his own, his body wouldn’t need to form his own ice. 

Snart worked on the logistics. 

—

Sources (See interview 1c): noted complete flip in N.A.’s personality. Clone? Mind Control? 

P.A. using ice BEFORE N.A. (See interview 1a). Need full interview with P.A. 

B.A. No Meta gene, biological sibling of N.A. (See D.M.A. Federal Employee Background Check)

Forever Ice: hired employees previously working with CADMUS. Deeper connection?

Tim rubbed his eyes. He enjoyed cracking codes, but The Question had written his added documents in seventeen different ciphers. Two to three, Tim understood, but seventeen on an already secured folder? He admired the man, sure. But he also recognized this could be his future if he wasn’t careful. 

It seemed The Question had taken on the case. That was good, because Tim already had enough on his plate. He started to close out the file when he paused.

He wanted to let his fellow detective know he was willing to help if needed. Tim smirked.

Wrote a coded note, and closed the file. 

— 

The room was set below freezing, using Nora’s cryokinesis and Snart’s devices to keep it at the right temperature. 

It had taken a week, but they had finally found the correct temperature. Nora wasn’t quite sure why Cold was helping. But she didn’t complain. 

When she removed ice from the boy, it didn’t replace itself. 

Slowly and gently she placed him on the bed. It had frozen over, of course, but was better than the floor.

His chest slowly moved up and down; breathing. 

Noticing the medical band from his wrist, she removed it. 

Fenton, Daniel.

ADM: 09/16/–

DOB: 04/03/–

The band was frayed, so Nora couldn’t be positive about its accuracy on the current situation. But based on dates alone, Daniel Fenton was fourteen 27 years ago.

Author note:

Acronyms: N.A., P.A., B.A: Nathan, Paul, and Becks Anderson

D.M.A.: Department of Metahuman Affairs. 

The D.M.A. is a real department in DC comics. Now, they don't have a 'Federal Employee Background Check', but honestly I wouldn't put it past the DC Universe to do so: Especially to not have a Queen Bee, Count Vertigo, etc situation happen in the states.

[the1entirecircus]

Violent Apprentices

MEANWHILE in the bat cave, our heroes talk about their periling issues...

Flash (Barry Allen): ...and now he's back from the dead, and while he isn't killing as many people as before, he is still hurting people to extreme!

Batman: And did August have this level of violence before he became Godspeed?

Flash: No, August was like any other officer in the CCPD. Which is saying something, we have one of the nicer police forces in the country. (That's just a headcanon. Yes ACAB, but these bastards are nice)

Batman: The way you're describing him reminds me of one my old protege. Jason Todd.

Flash: The Red Hood?

Batman: Yes. Except, Jason learned the hard way of why he shouldn't kill. Although he did return to using guns.

Flash: Really? That's seems very...reductive.

Batman: Yeah, I was surprised too.

Flash: Heh, imagine if they met. Wouldn't that be terrific.

Batman: Don't make me laugh, Barry. It would be the end of the world if that happened.

Flash: Yeah it would...

*Meanwhile in a more crime-orientated area of Central City, danger was afoot as the Red Hood monitored Penguin and Captain Cold and The Rogues.*

Penguin: As you can see here, we have the latest equipment in subzero freezing based weaponry. Perfect for handling those pesky speedsters! Wank!

Captain Cold: How much for the freeze grenades?

Red Hood: Snart, they're free if you really wanted them.

*All weapon were aimed at the anti-hero, ready to fire.*

Penguin: RED HOOD?! You followed me all the way here!

Red Hood, with both of his guns brought out: Yeah, because you're not supposed to be here. Now pack things up, and waddle your ass back to Blackgate before I make.

Captain Cold: I don't think you're the one to talk here. Me, my buds and sis take on the Flash every day. A guy who looks like he came from Mortal Kombat and carries guns doesn't scare us.

Red Hood: Really? Well, I've fought Mr. Freeze before. You're just a watered down copy.

Captain Cold: Oh you are so...*a look of fear strikes Cold's face*...MIRROR MASTER NOW!

*Mirror Master rapidly fired his mirror gun at the equipment the Penguin had presented. Penguin squaked both from fury and surprise. He cursed at Captain Cold as he and the Rogues teleported away in a flash of light. But then came a brighter light. A white blinding light. Screams from Penguin's men followed as the light zoomed around the area. Red Hood reached for something in his utility belt but stopped when the white blur caught and picked up Penguin.*

Penguin: What are you??

*The man in the white and gold costume resembling the Flash's uniform pulled the crime lord closer.*

"I am Godspeed"

Red Hood: Put the crime lord down!

*Godspeed glared at Red Hood and the guns he pointed at him with. The masked vigilante tossed Penguin aside and approached the Gothamite. Red Hood pointed at Penguin.*

Red Hood: Go anywhere, and I will make you a legless bird, got it?

Godspeed: I can stop a pullet the second it leaves a gun, who do you think you are?

Red Hood: I'm Red Hood, I usually work in Gotham City.

Godspeed: Red Hood...the crime lord?

Red Hood: For a time, now I just do vigilante work against Gotham's elites. Basically what batman did before the crazies arrived.

*Red Hood walked over and cuffed Penguin.*

Red Hood: I'm starved, wanna grab some Big Belly Burger?

Godspeed: ...why not?

---

*our Anti-heroes munched and chewed on their burgers as they discussed their various adventures as masked vigilantes while sitting in a big belly burger.*

Red Hood: Are you sure you didn't hear of me? Because I had similar reasoning when I fought Batman. Although it was focused on just killing the Joker.

Godspeed: That was 100% my idea, I had no intentions of copying your actions. I also fully intended on killing everyone in the Flash's rogues gallery. But I did emphasize Reverse Flash because he killed Flash's mom. I honestly thought Flash would agree with me. I feel dumb for thinking that now, and for wanting to kill those people.

Red Hood: Mutual feelings, except I'll never feel bad for trying to kill Joker. That fucker has it coming.

Godspeed: How is he still alive? I know the Gotham justice system is bad, but I didn't think it was that terrible?

Red Hood: It is shit, but he just keeps coming back. Rumor has it, he's immortal. I don't believe it though. I think he was just a guy who wanted attention.

Godspeed: That makes more sense to me. He does seem like an attention whore. Reverse Flash is similar in my opinion. Except he specifically wants the attention from Flash. I mean he did kill my brother just to help motivate me into being Godspeed so that I would be enemies with the Flash.

Red Hood: He killed your brother? Joker killed my mom the same day he killed me! Well, he used a bomb, but still.

Godspeed: Joker killed you? Reverse Flash killed me!

Red Hood: That is so coincidentally strange!

Godspeed: I know!

"Oh you have got to be kidding me..."

*Both vigilantes look and see Barry Allen in his civilian clothing*

Red Hood: (Whispering) Is that...?

Godspeed: (whispers back) Yup. (speaks normally) What? Never seen two vigilantes eating at Big Belly Burger?

Red Hood: They do it all the time in Bat Burger over in Gotham.

Barry: ...I'm tired.

---

Flash: (while running through Central City) And so they're just talking about how similar they are. I think they're friends now.

Batman: (in the bat cave listening to the communication link) I'm not surprised, Red Hood was following a lead that Penguin was going to give new weapons to the Rogues.

Flash: Oh...wait what?!

[barrencelenny]

one thing I loved to do when watching the flash as it aired was try and figure out how to get Len to reappear in the show + I love pov outsider so one of the funniest situations I had would be len reappearing early on during Julian Albert’s time on the show.

ideally the time stream drops len back into central city before Julian joins team flash, but after Barry knows len’s dead (because I like pain.) so based on episode air dates I think that’s between 29th November, 2016 (invasion crossover when ray tells Barry) and 6th December ( the midseason finale of season three is I think when julian is free from savitar/alchemy?) Len’s been dead since 12th May, so the time stream keeps him for like six and a half months before spitting him back out?

anyways, julian already dislikes Barry because he’s chronically late, probably got his job through nepotism, keeps taking personal calls during work hours, keeps clocking out early to deal with flash stuff etc etc etc (and as alchemy he hates the flash so there’s probably some subconscious memory of that too)

and once Barry finds out that len is alive that boy is DELIGHTED. He died a hero’s death he KNEW there was GOOD IN HIM. And he was so emo about his fav villain being dead but now he’s BACK :D

with Len’s records being deleted (which julian finds extremely suspicious) and anything after that cleared by the president (was everyone getting presidential pardons canon or fanon? I forget, but either way you know Barry would push to get len a posthumous one) he’s off the hook for his father’s murder and then breaking out of prison. So now Len’s just waltzing into Barry’s lab (read: break in via the windows because why would he want to see the cops on the ground floor when he doesn’t have to) and Barry’s crimes (being late, having guests in the lab, leaving early) increases manifold. Julian is So Pissed.

he talks to singh about it but technically there’s nothing he can do, and the one person that would be on his side re: the snart thing is Joe, who has to keep the flash secret from him (and is also Barry’s father, seriously this must be nepotism?) so julian has no allies in his crusade against the Barry/Len bickering/flirting that he is forced to witness

I literally have no plot to this except pissing julian off tbh (it may only be a week but it’s the worst week of his life) (if anything the Barry is the flash reveal goes worse because hello???? That is a clear conflict of interest Barry??? Why are you So Bad at being an enforcer of the law?????) (this is all part of my acab agenda and Barry just permanently resigns from the ccpd ☺️)

[daydreamer999]

Your Scars Are Beautiful

Summary: In a world where you have a predestined partner, Y/n must navigate her harsh reality as her body holds the scars of her Soulmate

Barry Allen x Plus Size Reader

She was used to the stares by now. But the harsh words from random strangers were still very hard to adjust to. Thankfully working at a shifty bar with even more questionable patrons, Y/n's looks alone were enough to have them leave her be. Y/n's two toned eyes, one grey, one e/c, flitted towards the mirror across from where she stood as she frowned at the image that looked back at her. Her s/c was ashen and sick as the angry dark marks that branched from her neck and spread the left side of her face, her left eye clouded and grey. Her eyes trailed down her arm and chest where she knew it spread down to her navel. With a huff she mumbled to herself, "As if it wasn't bad enough that I had stretch marks."

It hadn't always been like this. 23 months ago, before the Particle Accelerator blew up, she was on her way to do big things as an up and coming journalist for the CCNP. But that night, whoever her soulmate was, got hurt bad, bad enough that she felt it through their connection that sent her into a coma for nine months. When she woke up, she and the doctors were surprised that none of her faculties were failing her. Despite her left eye, she was perfectly normal.... well that and the scar that she now had. The doctors said that it looked like a Lichtenburg figure... but it would have been impossible for her or her soulmate to survive being struck by lightning. So her scar remained a medical mystery.

And she was left with her life in shambles. Because of her disfigurement, she lost her job as she scared most of her colleagues now. And well, the world in general for that matter.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when her favorite patron sat down at the bar in front of her and gave her one of his cool smirks. His blue eyes danced across her face as he drawled, "Evening snowflake."

Y/n's dark painted lips pulled up into a grin as she greeted, "Len, what a pleasant surprise. Last I heard you were in Iron Heights."

He let out a soft chuckle as he shrugged, "I got out on good behavior."

"Mmhmm," she pursed her lips as she smiled at him disbelievingly. She quipped, "Heard Mardon and the Trickster got out too. They out on good behavior as well?" Len's icy blue eyes sharpened as did his smirk as he complimented, "Smart, and beautiful. You really are too good for this place Snowflake." Y/n laughed good-naturedly as she turned around and asked, "Your usual then Snart?"

"That would be lovely, thank you N/n." came his easy reply. Mixing the cold beverage up, she completed his order and handed it to him with a easy going smile as she said, "It's on the house. Take this as a 'congrats for getting out of prison'"

"Oh, how thoughtful," Len joked. Y/n couldn't help the giggle that slipped out at the older man's words. With that, her evening truly begun. For hours she stood behind the bar and made drinks, all the while Len sat there making easy conversation with her, and threatening some of the customers when they got too rowdy.

Nearing the end of the night Len started slowly, "I have to ask, you don't have to answer.. but your scar?" Y/n's lips turned to a sad smile as she wiped one of the glasses clean, "My soulmate's." She confirmed causing him to wince, "That looks painful. Do you know what caused it?"

Y/n sighed and shrugged, "The doc's said it looks like a Lichtenburg Figure; a lightning strike scar. The night the Particle Accelarator exploded, was the same night I got this scar and went into a coma."

Snart stiffened at that causing her to quirk a brow but continue on, "The damage it's done to me, means it probably killed my soulmate."

Leonard stayed uncharacteristically quiet for a long moment before dropping some bills on the counter and saying, "I gotta go do something real quick kid, I'll be back." Frowning, Y/n's eyes followed him, "Okay..... later Snart."

Barry was not happy. Not one bit. His glare on his face was murderous as he stared down the man who made himself comfortable once again in his home. It was Christmas, and yet, here Leonard sat, the same reindeer mug in his hands as he leisurely stared down Joe's and Eddie's guns. His blue eyes slowly scanned the group in front of him before they landed on Barry as he said in his usual drawl, "I hope you don't mind, but I helped myself to some eggnog."

Barry's brows were furrowed as he snapped, "What do you want Snart? Don't criminals take the day off for Christmas too?"

Snart's signature smirk tweeked his lips as he hummed, "I'm not here for business. Consider this a Christmas gift to you Scarlet." Barry's confusion was written clearly on his face, "What?"

With a dramatic sigh, Snart hauled himself to his feet before staring down his nemesis that was more of a friend to him, "I found your soulmate Scarlet."

Barry's sharp intake of breath broke the silence that followed Leonard's words. Cisco was the first to speak up, seeing as he had the least problem with Snart as Lisa was his soulmate, "Wait, what do you mean you found his soulmate? You know who they are?"

Snart gave a curt nod, "She's been working at Saints and Sinner's for the past 13 months." Barry's frown deepened, "Why didn't I see her the times I went there?"

Snart tilted his head, "Let's be honest Allen, you didn't go there for pleasure." Barry huffed with slight agitation but conceded as he always went there to check on Leonard. Joe finally found his voice as he asked with an accusing glare at the criminal, "What? You're just going to trust him? What if he's lying?"

Jay, whom Barry forgot was even there, spoke next, "Yeah, I'm not sure you should listen to him. If half of what you guys say is true about him...." he trailed off but the insinuation hung in the air. Snart was apparently done being accused as he glared at the two of them, "I may a thief and a liar, but I care about her like she's my own sister." Gliding his ice cold eyes back to the Speedster he said, "She's hurting. She thinks your dead."

Barry bit his lip unsure of whether to believe him or not when Harry asked, "Do you mind telling us how you know she's Barry's soulmate? And if you knew, why come to us now? Instead of all those months ago."

Leonard let out a sigh as he admitted, "Her scar..... I never asked about it until today. She got it the night the Particle Accelerator exploded," he paused for dramatic effect. His eyes finding Barry's again as he admitted, "Her scar is from a lightening strike." Barry's heart thumped wildly in his chest as he registered his words. Barry looked over to Caitlin with hope and trepidation in his greenish blue eyes, "But how? I never had a scar."

Caitlin frowned as she mulled over the possible situations before nodding, "It may be because you're body may have already healed itself so a scar never showed on you, but your soulmate....." Barry's jaw dropped as he thought of all the possible ways he could have gotten scars, his mind going straight to when he was shot for the first time, and the two arrows that Ollie shot at him. Covering his mouth, his happiness quickly turned to horror as he thought, "Oh my god, what have I done.... all this time.... she could be getting more scars." Leonard winced as well as he thought about the time he iced Barry. Holding out his hand, Leonard offered, "Tell you what, you do right by her, and I won't be icing you every time we meet as the Flash and Cold."

Barry looked overly grateful for the deal, and without thinking, shook his hand. Before he could pull away though, Leonard gave his hand a hard squeeze as he shot him another glare, "But I swear to God Barry, if you hurt her in any way, no one will ever find your body." Barry laughed nervously as he asked, "You're joking right?"

"No, I got the same threat," Cisco muttered helpfully to Barry, who audibly gulped, "Right, of course. I won't do anything to hurt her." Leonard squinted at the young man before letting go when he was satisfied that he understood the very real threat he was delivering him, "Good." The Scarlet Speedster mouthed ow as he rubbed his now very sore hand , but he bounced back with a visible spark in his eyes, "Can I meet her?" Leonard gave a curt nod causing Barry to grin, and zip out the door without further prompting. Leonard just sighed before turning to the rest of Barry's family as he spoke to Joe, "Might as well change and blend in, I'm sure you all will want to meet her too." With little else to say, the rest of them scrambled to get ready as well as Leonard waited and thought, "God, I'm turning soft in my old age."

Y/n hummed along to the Christmas songs that played mutely in the background while the patrons cheered at the footage of the Flash being beaten down by Mardon and the Trickster. Her own e/c eyes drew into the scene as she winced with every punch, but her lips quickly twitched upward when the Flash put a hand to his ear before he zipped around and quickly disarmed the two of them. Y/n wasn't sure what had changed the Flash's demeanor, but she was grateful no matter what had happened. She rolled her eyes when she heard the collective groans and boos. One going so far, as to throw their beer at the screen causing the bottle to shatter, and the screen to crack. More groans and yelling sounded around at that just as Y/n's eyes caught sight of Len walking in with a big group around him.

Not paying them any mind, she quickly turned and yelled at the rowdy customers, "Oi! You better pay for that!"

"Eh, whatever, I can steal ya a better one!" the man yelled back.

Glaring she spat back, "I don't care what you do, but it sure as hell ain't coming from my paycheck!"

The man waved a dismissive hand at her, "Whatever, grab me another drink would you doll?!" Y/n felt her face heat up with anger as she muttered angrily to herself before she heard Len say, "Tough crowd today huh?"

Y/n's two toned eyes turned towards Leonard, and his group of..... well normal looking friends.... her demeanor relaxing as she easily grinned, "Len! You're back, I thought you'd be done for tonight." Len tilted his head to the side as he said, "I had someone I wanted you to meet." Y/n's eyes turned to the group that were staring at her with varying degrees of awe and disbelief. Her eyes landing on a pair of green blue ones that looked at her with unfiltered adoration that it nearly knocked her on her ass. Her eyes scanned his thin frame that was lean, but clearly built. His brown hair looked like it was in a constant state of windswept, and his smile was soft.

She was shocked out of her daze when the same man from earlier came clobbering towards her bar and parked in the stool right in front of her, effectively shoving Len to the side. Her face immediately fell as the sleezy man eyed her up and down, "Dollface, what's taking so long? I asked for a drink ten minutes ago."

Y/n bit back the insult that was just about ready to burst from her throat, and instead gave him a sadistic sweet smile, with a tilt of her head she spoke sarcastically, "Of course sir! How silly of me, just one moment." Her smile dropped as soon as she turned away and towards her alcohol. She was about to grab the ingredients to mix a drink when she stopped dead in her tracks as the man spoke, "Well aren't you just a lovely sight walking away like that. That's right, just bend over, let me see that view." Y/n felt her body go rigid before she muttered, "Fuck it." Turning with a speed that would surely make the Flash proud, she bent down to pick up her bat, as she made strides towards the counter. Climbing over it, she swung her thick leg out and hit the man in the chest, effectively knocking him off the stool.

He fell with a loud clattering thump, causing the other patrons and the group that Len brought to turn and stare at them. The man stood up with a fury as Y/n planted her feet on the ground, "What the hell?!?!" He didn't have time to even retaliate as she brought her arm back, and swung hard into the man's abdomen. He fell on his knees as he wheezed and clutched his stomach. Grabbing him by the ear she pulled him to his feet and all but dragged the towering man out, which she would admit probably looked a sight as she was significantly shorter than him. He kept hissing and complaining but followed her to the door where she promptly shoved him and swung her bat again, hitting his ass on the way out. The man face planted and turned to look at her in outrage, but she flipped him the bird and spat, "Don't come back here you dickhead!" Slamming the door shut, she let her bat rest on her shoulder, while the crowd began to bellow and shout in excitement.

She huffed out a laugh as the many customers began to pat her back and compliment her for being so badass. Rolling her eyes she went back behind the counter where the group was staring at her wide eyed now. Well, except for Len, who looked smug and proud at the same time.

"You took my lessons to heart," Len spoke, breaking the silence. Y/n smiled as she began to wipe the glasses down, "Of course, I may have this scar, but it will only do so much. I work here for God's sake Lenny. I'm lucky no one has really tried anything yet."

"Well the scar makes you look badass," a Latino man with long hair spoke up, causing her eyes to snap at him. He immediately began to curl into himself nervously as he stuttered, "Sorry, I hope that wasn't rude."

Y/n smiled easily as she shook her head, "Not at all, although I can't take the credit. My idiot of a soulmate did this." That caused most of the group to chuckle while the really handsome one from earlier just blushed and rubbed his neck nervously. Y/n's frown slowly came back as her eyes glazed down at the bar, "Wherever they are..... I hope they didn't suffer too much."

She noticed that the group got quiet, causing her two toned eyes to flit upward before giving them a sad smile she apologized, "Sorry, that was depressing.... What can I get ya'll?" They gave her their orders, and she made quick work of mixing it up for them. All along, she hummed to the Christmas tunes, unbothered that she had an audience now watching her closely.

As she handed them each her drink, one of the women, who had auburn hair and warm brown eyes, asked, "I hope this isn't too forward, but your left eye... it looks pretty damaged..." the woman ended with a question as Y/n's hand immediately went to cover her grey eye before she chuckled and shook her head, "It's alright, it's just part of the scar. I can see perfectly fine with it."

"How interesting, can I get a blood sample?" She asked as she pulled a kit from her purse.

Y/n was surprised to say the least, as were the two men beside her. The handsome one looked at the woman almost scandalized that she even asked that as he said, "Caitlin! Not now." The woman, Caitlin, sighed as she shook her head, putting her kit back in her purse, "Right, sorry, I'm just really curious about the effects soulmates have on one another."

Y/n's face twisted into pained amusement as she scoffed, "Why would that matter? My soulmate's dead."

The group turned look at her again, this time with pity as the Latino man asked, "Why do you think that?"

Y/n's frustration leaked out as she gestured to her body, more pointedly her face, "Look at me, look at all this damage my soulmate went through. Do you honestly expect them to have survived? I know, more often than not people do survive lighting strikes.... but whatever this is... it was much worse."

The attractive one turned to the group and Len before turning to Y/n as he asked, "Hey, can I show you something?"

"Barry..." an older African American man started with warning but Barry shook his head at him as he answered cryptically, "Joe, she needs to know."

Y/n's eyes squinted with distrust, "What the hell are you talk about? What do I need to know?"

Barry's eyes turned back to her, "Please, you can trust me-"

"Trust you? I don't even know you," Y/n interrupted but Len spoke out, "N/n." Her eyes searched his calm ones as he gave a curt nod and said, "You can trust him." She let her fears reflect in her eyes before turning to Barry who just gave her a calm smile and a reassuring look. Letting out a breath she said, "My shift ends in ten minutes." Barry's smile was blindingly bright making Y/n's heart skip a beat.

Y/n looked around at the Forensic Lab that Barry worked at. She wasn't sure why she was here, or why she had trusted Barry so easily as soon as he held her hand and guided her to her car. She was confused when she asked where his car was, only to be met with the response, "Oh, I ran here."

Y/n's two toned eyes, flitted back to the lean attractive male as he walked towards the wide window where Central City was lighting the horizon. He pulled some chains causing a clanking noise to sound above her. Her head looked upwards at the skylight that was being exposed, she could see snow falling leisurely from the clouds above them.

Her brows furrowed as she turned to Barry to find him already looking at her, "What are we doing here?"

Barry gave her a sad smile as he confessed, "23 months ago, I was struck by lightning and fell into a nine month coma." Y/n's breath hitched as her eyes widened, never leaving Barry's figure when he stood next to her and looked up at the sky, "I was standing right here when it hit me."

Y/n let out a disbelieving huff as her eyes began to sting with tears, "How..... how is that possible? You..... you don't have a scar.... You... You-"

Barry turned to her and gave her a scared smile as he let out a shuttering breath, "When I woke up from my coma..... The lightning, combined with the Dark Matter in the Particle Accelarator, changed something inside me. I found out that I could heal really fast.... and run faster than the speed of sound."

Y/n's eyes got impossibly bigger as the little clues he hinted clicked in her mind. He didn't drive to the bar, he healed fast, and ran faster. With a hysterical chuckle she asked, "You're the Flash aren't you?" Barry gave her a nod which caused her to touch her head with disbelief as she leaned against the table behind her. She could feel the air in her lungs being squeezed as she tried to not freak out. Barry, for his part, looked like he wanted to comfort her but didn't know how so he hesitated as he took a step closer. Y/n's eyes searched his as she asked, "Why? Why tell me?"

Barry's eyes started to glisten as well as he let out breathlessly, "Because.... because you're my soulmate. I don't want to hide any part of myself from you." Y/n stayed silent as she observed Barry, who seemed more and more distressed as time passed between them. Barry ran a nervous hand through his hair as he shook his head, "Look, I understand if you don't want me as your soulmate, we can just be friends.. But I promise that I will do everything I can to protect you."

When she still made no response to him, his hope began to dwindle until her voice broke through the stillness, "I always felt a strange protection every time I saw the Flash fighting on the news.. Now I know why," Y/n ended with a smile as tears freely fell down her cheeks. Taking in a shaky breath, she closed the gap between the two of them as she reached up and held his face in her hands. Her two toned eyes gazed at him with unconditional love causing Barry's eyes to mist up even more and his heart to ache with longing. His heart slowly fell as he asked with fear, "What if you don't want anything to do with the other part of my life? I will always be putting myself in danger, I can't even guarantee your safety."

Quietly, as to not disturb the peace around them, Y/n said through her tears of joy, "I finally found you. Whatever hardships come our way, we'll be ready for them... Together." Barry shared her smile before closing the gap between them and kissing her softly in the stillness of his lab.

>>, >>>

[1-imaginary-girl]

Happy Birthday

Leonard Snart x Reader

Summary: It's Leonard's birthday, and you have a special gift for him. Reader is gender-neutral. (This takes place in The Flash universe, before Legends).

Warnings: Pure fluff!

Word Count: 1552

A/N: I keep adding new men to my master list but I can't help it! Wentworth Miller is just a beautiful individual and I've been obsessed with him as Captain Cold from the start.

It wasn’t the sun shining through his windows that woke him up. It wasn’t even the hustle and bustle of Central City. No, instead, Leonard woke up to the feeling of kisses peppering his face.

He immediately smiles before even opening his eyes. “G’morning,” he says in a husky voice. He hears you giggle. He opens his eyes to the most beautiful sight he’s ever seen. You’re next to him on the bed, leaned over so that your faces are close together. You have the brightest smile on your face, that lights him up from the sight of it. He doesn’t know what he did to deserve you, an angel in human form, but he’ll be damned if he gives you up.

His attention falls back to you as you speak. “Happy birthday!” you say excitedly, trying not to be too loud as he had just woken up. He looks confused before remembering. He had completely forgotten. But it seems as if you hadn’t.

“Thank you, sweetheart.” You lean down and plant a kiss on his lips, thoroughly waking Leonard up. He brings his hand up to hold your head but then you pull away giggling. He’s left looking jokingly dejected which gets him another quick kiss on his pouty lips. “You seem very excited.”

“Well duh! It’s your birthday. Birthdays are fun,” you say cheerfully. 

“As long as you don’t throw me a surprise party, I’ll have fun.” You look offended.

“I think I know my boyfriend a little better than that,” you say which makes him smile. He takes you in, positively vibrating with joy and narrows his eyes.

“What is it?” he asks suspiciously. This only makes you smile wider.

“I got you something,” you say and before he can even comment, you’re off the bed. He instantly misses your warmth.

“You didn’t have to get me anything,” he says, missing you but simultaneously drinking you in as he sits up. Your hair is a little tussled from the night before and he notices that you’re wearing his shirt which looks much better on you.

“Oh hush, of course I did!” you call from the closet. You quickly find what you’re looking for and turn with it behind your back. You’re biting down your grin, trying to contain your excitement now, but it’s all over your face. He thinks it’s the cutest thing he’s ever seen.

You make your way back over to the bed and place the gift in his lap. “I have a card for later,” you say. “But I need you to open this first.”

Leonard looks down at the delicately wrapped gift. The wrapping paper is dark blue with white polka dots. As soon as he touches it, he hears you take a sharp intake. When he looks back over at you, your excited energy has turned nervous. You’re rapidly looking from him to the gift. He reaches over to squeeze your hand, trying to help your nerves. It works, as you take a deep breath.

He returns to the gift and begins to unwrap it. Underneath the paper, is a plain white box. He glances over at you again and your eyes are trained on the box. Slowly, he opens it.

There, sitting on a sheet of parchment paper, is a hat. Not just any hat. It’s a dark blue winter hat, and it looks as if it’s been hand-knitted. He’s staring in disbelief, wondering why he’s tearing up at something as simple as a hat.

“Did you make this?” he whispers in awe, slowly reaching in and taking the hat into his hands. It feels comfortable and soft.

You clear your throat. “Y-yeah I did,” you say and Leonard looks at you with stars in his eyes because he can’t believe that his kind-hearted partner took the time to make something for him. You won’t meet his eyes, but if you did, you would see the love he has for you plastered on his face. “I, uh, I tried to match the colour to your coat.” You quickly add, “N-not that you would wear it on the job or anything, but it matches if you wear them together. Or it should.”

He noted that, the choice of colour syncing with his signature coat. “Y/N…” he says, for once at a loss for words. Unfortunately, you take his silence to mean something else.

“I-if you don’t like it, I can get you something else! It’s not that great considering it was my first time knitting, you know I wanted to try something new, but if you don’t like it I would totally under—”

Before your nervous ramblings got worse, Leonard leaned over and pulled you into a fierce kiss. You hesitate, confused for a moment, before leaning into it. You pull away, looking at Leonard for the first time and seeing an absolutely giddy smile, which confuses you even more but puts a smile on your face.

“I love it,” he says, looking into your eyes. You can tell he isn’t lying.

“Really?” you ask with tentative hopefulness. He pulls back to look at it some more.

“Yes!” he says and relief crashes down on you. He sees you smiling again. “In fact…” Leonard takes his new hat and puts it on, instantly warming his head. Your eyes widen.

“You don’t have to wear it—”

“Of course I do, it’s my new favourite hat,” he says with a smile. The thought of wearing something you made special for him warms his heart. He can tell that you’re still not entirely convinced. You set your lips into a straight line before leaning over to take the hat off. But Leonard’s quicker and he leans back, causing you to fall onto his chest. 

You giggle as he says, “Are you trying to steal my hat? On my birthday of all days?” This causes you to giggle harder which makes him chuckle. You look up at him with nothing but love in your eyes and his heart still manages to skip a beat after all this time.

“I’m glad you like it,” you say, finally accepting his words to be true.

“How could I not? It’s from you,” he says softly. You bury your face in his chest as you blush which makes him laugh again. Then you lean up and plant kisses all over his face as you did before. 

You pause as your faces are inches away from one another. “Happy birthday Leonard,” you say again. He smiles and before he can respond, you lean in and press your lips to his. It’s soft and slow and full of love. When it starts to become more passionate, you pull back biting your lip.

He tries to reconnect your lips but you turn away. “We have to save some for later,” you say with a wink. He groans but gives up as you settle on his chest. As he looks at you, he realizes that you’re the best gift he could ever receive. He wonders if that’s too corny to say out loud. Either way, he sighs in content. He could stay like this, the two of you in bed together, for the rest of the day—

You suddenly sit up, taking your warmth away from him. “Time to make your birthday breakfast!” you say excitedly. You start to move off the bed but he wraps his arms around your middle.

“Can’t we just stay like this in bed all day?” he asks, leaning his head against your back and planting a kiss there. But you wriggle your way out of his grip.

“As nice as that sounds, no can do. I have a whole day planned for you.” As much as he protests to getting out of bed, he really appreciates what you’ve done for him. “So up and at ‘em!”

You skip out of the bedroom towards the kitchen and he groans again, hearing your giggle echo from down the hall. But then he smiles and climbs out of bed, slowly following you. He almost forgets he’s wearing the hat but doesn’t want to take it off. He has a feeling this might be his best birthday yet. 

Bonus scene:

The next day at work, one of the rogues is talking with Mick when Leonard walks in. His appearance causes both of them to stop, and not just because he’s in charge.

Along with his infamous blue jacket, Leonard Snart is wearing a new, knitted blue hat. At first, they don’t know what to say. They just stare as he walks by. But then the rogue decides to speak up.

“Hey boss, what the hell are you wearing?” the man asks. Leonard pauses in his tracks and slowly turns to face him with a glare set on his face.

“A hat,” he says, obviously. Then his hand moves to his cold gun and powers it on. “Care to comment on it?”

The man’s eyes widen. “N-no, it looks great,” the man says with a nervous smile. Leonard says nothing more, slowly removing his hand from the gun before walking away. Once he’s out of hearing distance, the man turns to Mick. “You think Y/N made it for him?”

“Oh absolutely,” Mick responds.

From that day on, the hat became a part of Captain Cold’s look.

[longitudinalwaveme]

The Rogue Backstory Information Masterpost

Or, everything you always wanted to know about the Rogues' canon backstories, but were afraid to ask.

This post would be much simpler and less confusing if writers weren't constantly retconning each others' work.

Captain Cold

Showcase #8 (1957): Len Snart is a, quote, "ambitious" crook, who has realized that, if he's going to be successful as a criminal, he's going to have to find some way of dealing with the Flash. Conveniently, the newspaper he's reading informs him that a "scientific magazine has prepared a comprehensive article on Flash!" Hoping that this article might give him an idea, Len breaks into the office of the magazine, takes the manuscript home with him, and reads it. From this article he learns that "a cyclotron might effectively interfere with Flash's speed". Cold decides to imbue a weapon with the power of a cyclotron, and, to this end, breaks into the cyclotron building that is located "in a a suburban area" a few nights later with what appears to be a toy gun. He turns on the cyclotron and starts fiddling with it, but pulls the levers the wrong way, irradiating the gun and alarming himself. Assuming that he's failed, he goes to leave, only to run into the watchman, who pulls a gun on him. Len, in response, points his own gun at the watchmen in the hopes of scaring him off, and accidentally pulls the trigger...which causes the watchman to be frozen solid. Surprised but pleased by this turn of events, Len designs a uniform for himself (his classic parka---which we would learn in Flash #141 was sewn by a tailor named Paul Gambi), and comes up with the costumed identity of Captain Cold. (Rejected names included Mr. Arctic, the Cold Wave, Sub-Zero, and the Human Icicle.) He then goes out to commit crimes and fight the Flash.

Flash #250 (1977): We learn that Captain Cold has a younger sister named Lisa Snart. She's a professional figure skater who goes by the stage name of Lisa Star, presumably in part to avoid being connected to her infamous brother. Len tries to talk her out of taking revenge on the Flash for the death of Roscoe Dillon (aka the Top), her boyfriend and his fellow Rogue, but fails pretty spectacularly. This issue also is the first time one of Len's parents is mentioned, albeit in an offhand way; Lisa says "mother would never forgive you for snuffing her only daughter!"

Flash #300 (1981): The backstory presented here is mostly the same as that seen in Showcase #8, with a few minor differences. "Many years ago, Len Snart was a small-time crook who broke into a research lab, looking for an experimental weapon he could use against me [me here referring to Barry Allen, who was reviewing all of his enemies' backstories in the hopes of determining which of them was behind the most recent plot against him]. What he stole was the prototype of a revolutionary cold-gun." The main change here is that Snart appears to have stolen his gun, rather than having created it by complete accident after pulling some levers the wrong way...though it is possible that perhaps Barry has been misinformed about the creation of the cold gun.

Secret Origins #41 (1989): This retelling of the origin is completely identical to the one found in Showcase #8; although the fact that it's being narrated by the Rogues' tailor Paul Gambi does give it some extra flavor. The only new detail is Gambi's suggestion that Len didn't do too well in school: "The trouble is---and this would not have surprised your teachers---you figured it wrong!"

Justice League Quarterly #2: This story may not be canonical, but in it, we learn that Snart calls his cold gun Shirley, after his mother, indicating that her name may be Shirley Snart.

Flash vol. 2 #165 (2000): "The place reminds me of my parents' house. Smells like cigarettes and pine sol. All my dad did was smoke; my mother cleaned. They didn't drink much. That was me and my sister's job." This was written by Geoff Johns, and he would later retcon out most of this information. This story was also the first to suggest that Captain Cold didn't have a good relationship with his parents: "My name's Leonard Snart. It's a bad name, I know. But my parents were bad people."

Flash vol. 2 #182 (2002): This is the famous Cold origin story, and still the best one. It establishes that Leonard Snart grew up in a trailer home outside of Central City. His father was unemployed and on disability; he had once been a police officer but was fired for being drunk on the job, which led to his partner getting killed and himself being shot in the arm. He abused his wife (who would leave for days, but would always be forced to come back due to lack of resources) and both of his children, both physically and verbally. He was especially aggressive in response to words of affection or love from his children.

Leonard's grandfather (who was his father's father) was "the only real adult in my young life". He intervened to protect Len and Lisa whenever he could, but due to his poor health, wasn't able to take the children in himself. The grandfather drove an ice truck and used the truck to take his children to visit places like ball parks and restaurants that they otherwise didn't get to visit. Unfortunately, this grandfather died before Len turned twelve, leaving him alone with his sister, his often-absent mother, and his abusive father.

Len left home himself in his late teens. At this point, his mother had been dead for over a year, and he was fed up with his father's abuse. His sister, Lisa, wanted to leave home with him, but Len had already gotten involved with a bad crowd, and didn't want to put his sister in danger. "Keep skating, kid. You've got talent. You'll be fine." It's clear that leaving his sister alone with their father later haunted him, and it seems to be one of his biggest regrets.

Leonard quickly joined up with a gang, and one of its members invented goggles that protected their eyes from gunfire and contained a police band receiver as well. Len thought that these were cool, and they would ultimately serve as the goggles he would wear as part of his Captain Cold uniform. He and this gang then went out to rob a pharmacy...only to be stopped by the Flash and sent to prison.

While in prison, and seeking revenge on the Flash, Len "studied kinetic motion and thermal energy. But what really caught my eye was an article on absolute zero....Absolute zero means zero atomic motion". When he was released on parole, he "broke into one of the labs I'd read about. I never was too great at all the science, so I needed some help. I stole some blueprints. And I made a weapon." From here, Len used this gun to become Captain Cold.

Flashpoint Citizen Cold #1 (2011): Technically, this takes place in an alternate universe, but it included a recap of the Snarts' past, and it seemed identical to the one provided in Flash vol. 2 #182, so I'm going to note a few relevant details that this issue added. First, Len's dad is named Lawrence, and second, he's suspected to have mob ties. In other words, there's a good chance that Leonard's father was a corrupt cop.

Rebirth Flash #14: Most of the backstory remains the same as what we saw in Flash vol. 2 #182. "I'm sure you know their father was a real piece of work. After their mother died, he lived off hate and drink. Lisa used to tell me that her grandfather would take them on his ice deliveries. It was their only escape. They felt protected with him in the cold." That being said, the notion that Len's dad only became abusive after his wife died is new; in Johns' version he was just as abusive to his wife as he was to his children. This version also claims that Len was directly responsible for Lisa's turn to crime; in all previous versions of the story she didn't become a criminal until Roscoe's death.

Rebirth Flash #38: "Y'know, Flash, every time my dad would hurt my sister and me? He would beg for forgiveness afterward. And then he would just do it again. [I'm not like my father.] I would never ask for forgiveness." I'm not crazy about Williamson's version of Captain Cold's past, and this is a big part of the reason why.

Rebirth Flash #72: We learn that Clive Yorkin (the criminal who is experimented on, A Clockwork Orange-style, and then becomes a monster in the 1979 Death of Iris Allen arc) was part of the gang Len was in before he became Captain Cold. Yorkin is a wild card, and nearly shoots Iris (who is reporting on the scene of their crime) despite Cold's attempts to talk him down. Barry saves her, and then defeats the gang and takes them to prison (as we saw in Flash vol. 2 #182).

Golden Glider

Flash #250-251 (1977): "The girl at the grave is Lisa Snart---younger sister of the notorious Captain Cold! Small wonder, then, that ice played a vital role in her life, too---as a champion skater who performed in ice shows all over the world!" Lisa performed for the Futura Ice Company under the name Lisa Star and was internationally famous for her unparalleled spinning ability---something that had been taught to her by her boyfriend, Roscoe Dillon, who was also her (presumably unofficial) figure skating coach. Their romance "blossomed for months--but undercover", during which Roscoe followed her from city to city to watch her performances---but then Roscoe died from a brain hemorrhage; the result of his battles with the Flash (see Flash #243-244 for more details on this). Lisa swore revenge on the Flash for her lover's death and became the Golden Glider in response, using her brother's cold guns, her boyfriend's tops, and a pair of ice skates which produced ice in mid-air (also invented by her brother, Captain Cold) as the tools of her deadly scheme.

Flash #257: We learn that Lisa can read lips. Where and how she learned this is never explained, but she can. We also learn that she apparently has quite the inventive prowess, as she is now armed with a whole arsenal of jewel weapons.

Flash #300 (1981): Barry's recap of Lisa's past: "At one time she was a world-renowned figure skater travelling all over the country as the star of an ice show by day....while carrying on a torrid secret romance from city to city by night. The object of her passion---an infamous costumed criminal who just happened to be one of my most cunning long-time foes---one Roscoe Dillon, better known to the rest of the world as the villainous Top!" After a brief detour into Roscoe's past (more on that later), he gives us some new information about Lisa's past: "Dillon shared the grim details of his imminent doom with only one person---his grief-stricken sweetheart, Lisa! The final spin for the Top came the following day---as Roscoe Dillon became the first of my personal Rogues' gallery to die in his prime." This story also reaffirms the notion that Lisa frequently made visits to Roscoe's top-shaped tombstone after his death.

Flash vol. 2 #165: Len claims that he and Lisa drank frequently.

Flash vol. 2 #182: Most of the backstory overlaps heavily with Len's; since they're siblings and thus had the same runaway mother, abusive father, and kindly but sickly grandfather. Lisa was left alone with her father by Len, but managed to escape a few years later by becoming a figure skater. The rest of her backstory is basically identical to the one that was already established for her, but this issue claimed that Lisa, in addition to wanting revenge for Roscoe's death, became a Rogue because "I wanted to be like my brother. With my brother."

New 52 Flash Annual #1: We learn that Lisa is Sam's girlfriend, and that she was not properly a member of the Rogues until Len got the bright idea to give the Rogues superpowers and she was put into a coma but also given astral powers. This backstory would be retconned out only a few years later by DC Rebirth.

Rebirth Flash #14: We learn that Lisa was coached in figure skating by a woman named Glenda Dillon (Joshua Williamson says she's Roscoe's mother.) Glenda implies that Lisa gave up figure skating and went into crime in order to protect her brother. "Leonard always thinks he's taking care of her. But the reality is Lisa takes care of him. It's why whenever he asks for help she follows him." This backstory also seems to suggest that Lisa never became a professional skater or dated Roscoe in this version of events and makes Lisa's motivation entirely about her brother, who appears to have led her into a life of crime in this version of the story (in contrast to all of Len's earlier appearances, where he tried to dissuade her from becoming a criminal until she made it clear that she was going to become one no matter what he said).

Flash Rebirth #83: We learn that Lisa, for some reason, was terrified of dogs as a kid, and that Len knows this and thus also presumably knows why. Did it have something to do with their father's abuse?

Trickster #1 (James Jesse/Giovanni Giuseppi)

Flash #113 (1960): James Jesse is the youngest member of the Flying Jesses, a family of high-wire walkers who work for the creatively-named Big Circus. His mother's name is Helen; his father goes unnamed. Unfortunately for James, he's afraid of heights (or, more accurately, of falling) and thus is resistant to practicing. He prefers to read books, particularly books about his "reverse-namesake", the outlaw Jesse James. James' parents do not approve of his reading choices, and insist that he focus more on practicing (in part, I think, since he hasn't ever told them about his fear of heights).

In spite of his fears, James still wants to be a famous aerialist, so he invents a pair of shoes that use jet propulsion systems to let him walk on air. It takes him years to create and master the shoes, but once he completes them---from all appearances, when he's still a teenager!---they allow him to become a champion tightrope walker and the star of his circus. He also earns his parents' praise for his abilities.

However, this soon proves too boring for James, and he decides to become an outlaw like Jesse James in order to get more excitement. "But instead of holding up railroad trains like he did---I'll be a 20th-century version of Jesse James---and hold up airplanes!" James proceeds to do just that, and becomes the Trickster.

Flash #300 (1981): "I'll become a famous criminal--like him...a 20th century version of Jesse James! With my jet-shoes I can pull of the trick! And that gives me my name, too! I'll become---the Trickster!" That seems like a bit of a stretch, but I guess that's where the name came from. Barry also calls James "the most famous acrobat of all", implying that he did pretty well for himself in the circus.

Secret Origins #41 (1989): We learn that James Jesse is a stage name, with James' real name being Giovanni Giuseppi. His family comes from Naples, so James is either Italian or of Italian descent. This version of the origin story also strongly implies that his father was an unpleasant man; he insults James for reading and wrenches James' arm out of his socket when he gets distracted by some of the women who work with them at the circus. "It wasn't the heights you were afraid of---it was the old man dropping you!" This story also suggests that the Giuseppis did some trapeze artistry in addition to their high wire walking.

And then there's James' explanation (in song, no less!): "Oh, I flew through the air with the greatest unease, till I thought it all over and came up with these! My airwalker shoes were undreamed of by sages, and I did in one song what took Gambi two pages!"

New Year's Evil: The Rogues (1999): We learn that, twelve years prior to the start of the story, James had a relationship with a woman named Mindy Hong, whose family had its roots in a fictional Asian country called Zhutan. It's not 100% clear that this relationship happened prior to his becoming the Trickster, but it seems likely. This relationship also produced a son named Billy.

Rebirth Flash #66: The basic backstory for James remains the same (circus, reading about Jesse James, fear of heights, airwalker shoes) but a lot of the details are different. This story doubles down on making his parents awful; both of them are neglectful of and verbally abusive towards James. They're also portrayed as being con artists who use their act as a distraction while they pickpocket people, rather than being legitimate performers as in previous versions. The origin of the airwalker shoes is also quite different in this version of the story. Instead of making the shoes on his own so that he can better perform in the family's act, in this version he ran away from his parents and the circus, and pulled a "long con disguised as a lab tech at S.T.A.R. Labs. Fooled some lonely scientist into falling in love with me. And I stole her research and sold it to Lexcorp. But I was living that scam long enough that I picked up a few things. Like how to make shoes that run on air." Then he became the Trickster. Interestingly, this version of the story also removes any hint of James' family being of Italian descent.

Captain Boomerang, Sr. (George "Digger" Harkness)

Flash #117 (1960): Digger Harkness, a criminal who has spent "years hiding in the Australian bush hiding out from the law", is reading a newspaper when he finds an ad from W.W. Wiggins' toy company. Wiggins is looking for a person who can throw boomerangs expertly to be a mascot for his toy boomerangs, and Digger, who has been thinking about becoming a costumed criminal and becoming famous, decides to apply for the job himself under the alias of George Green. He is promptly hired, due to his incredible skill with boomerangs, and is given the name and costume of Captain Boomerang. Digger does work for the company for awhile, serving as the mascot, but commits crimes at the same time. Eventually, he and the Flash come to blows and he is exposed and arrested as a criminal.

Flash #227: We learn that Digger's father is called "Aussie" Green, and that he's a small-time crook from Australia.

Flash #300 (1981): Barry gives a beat-for-beat retelling of Digger's origin story from Flash #117. No new information is given.

Flash #310 (1982): We learn that W.W. Wiggins has a young son named Willard Wiggins Jr.; later revelations would make Willard Jr. Digger's younger half-brother.

Flash #311 (1982): "Regardless of the exact year, we calculated the arrival would take place somewhere over the South Pacific---which means a splashdown in the ocean---and my parents never taught little Digger how to swim!"

Secret Origins #41 (1989): Gambi gives another beat-for-beat retelling of the origin story from Flash #117.

Suicide Squad #44 (1990): This is the famous Captain Boomerang origin. It establishes that Digger grew up poor in Korumburra, a rural town in Australia. He lived with the man he believed to be his father, Ian Harkness, his mother, Betty Harkness, and his older half-brother Tom Harkness (who would eventually become an accountant). His mother was loving towards him, but his father was neglectful and abusive.

George made his first boomerang in elementary school, and, after being taunted about it by a kid named Mick Wentworth, he threw it in anger and managed to hit a kookaburra with it...which set him on the path of using boomerangs as weapons. Digger and Wentworth (so called as to not have him confused with Mick Rory/Heat Wave) promptly became friends, and proceeded to cause all sort of trouble together as juvenile delinquents. (His mother bailed both of them out of trouble frequently.)

When Digger turned 18, he tried to rob a general store, got caught, and narrowly managed to escape using a boomerang. This led to an argument with his father, and, after his mother tried to take his side, arguing that he was Ian's son, Ian flipped out and slapped her across the face. Digger responded by punching out his father, and his mother, in a panic, contacted W.W. Wiggins and had Wiggins give him a job in America. Wiggins made him a toy salesman, but after a few weeks (maybe months) on the job, Digger got sick of being a toy salesman and tried to pick somebody's pocket. The Flash saw him and tried to intervene, but Digger managed to tag him with a boomerang and knock him out. This led to Digger's official career as a costumed criminal.

It wasn't until Digger attended his mother's funeral that he learned (from W.W. Wiggins) that his mother had had an affair with W.W. Wiggins when he was a soldier stationed in Australia, and that that affair had been reignited many years later when Wiggins returned to the country, this time as a toy salesman, albeit only for one night. This affair produced Digger---and was the main driving force behind his father's dislike of him.

Flash (2010) #7: This origin is basically the same as the one from Suicide Squad #44, although in this version instead of completely ignoring his son for 18 years, W. W. Wiggins sends little Digger boomerangs. Also, Digger tried to rob a pawnshop instead of a general store at age 18, and it was he rather than his mom whom his father hit. This version of events also implies that W.W. Wiggins went bankrupt trying to promote the boomerangs, and that it was this financial difficulty that led to Digger becoming Captain Boomerang---he wasn't getting paid because Wiggins had no money, and so decided to steal money instead.

Suicide Squad #47 (2019): Most of the backstory remains the same, but now Digger was also at some point a secret agent for the Australian government. No, really. This is actually a thing that was established in this issue.

Heat Wave

Flash #140 (1963): "I used to be a fire-eater in the circus, but I lost my taste for the work! And then one day a week ago I finally made up my mind for---er---private reasons, I must say--- to embark on a criminal career in a big way! Naturally, with my circus background you understand why I chose the character of Heat Wave! I created my own uniform---and my weapon--a heat gun!" The "private reason" for Heat Wave's criminal career was...a desire to impress a local TV personality called Dream Girl. No, really, that was why.

Flash #266 (1978): Mick, at the age of nine, went on a field trip with his school to a meat packing facility. Being curious, he wandered off on his own, and accidentally shut himself into a meat locker. After nearly freezing to death, he managed to use the heat of his breath to "un-numb" his fingers enough to open the latch on the door and escape. This near-death experience gave young Mick intense cryophobia and a love of heat and warmth. Mick felt comfortable only when wearing several layers of clothes (even in the summer) and he spent his teenaged years experimenting with heat. When he became an adult, he became a fire-eater in the circus, and then fell into crime (presumably for fame and/or to impress girls as per Flash #160). It's also worth noting that we see two people who look very much like they're probably supposed to be Mick's parents looking at their teenaged son with concern as he experiments with fire, indicating that his parents did not die when he was a child.

Flash #300 (1981): Barry gives a beat-for-beat retelling of the origin from Flash #266, with one exception...Mick is said to be ten years old, rather than nine, during the meat locker incident. This was probably just an error on writer Cary Bates' part, rather than a deliberate retcon.

Secret Origins #41 (1989): Gambi gives us a mostly beat-for-beat retelling of the origin from Flash #266; the only new information we learn is that Mick ran away from home in order to join the circus as a fire-eater.

Flash vol. 2 #218: This is the famous Heat Wave origin. It mostly follows the facts established by the previous origins, but adds a really disturbing twist to them.

Mick Rory grew up on a farm with his mother, father, grandmother, and brother. He had a mostly idyllic life---but he was a pyromaniac, obsessed with flames. (In all previous retellings, Mick was obsessed with heat more than with fire, and his obsession only manifested after the meat locker incident.)

When Mick was 12 years old, he couldn't resist the urge to set the family house on fire...and was so transfixed by the flames that, even though he wanted to help his family, all he could do was watch as they burned alive. Mick was then sent to live with his uncle.

Mick's classmates made fun of him because he wore winter clothes at all times of year, and one day, on the tour of a local slaughterhouse, Brad Riker locked Mick in a meat freezer. Mick took nearly an hour to free himself, and the next night, he felt compelled to lock Riker and his family in their house and burn it down. Horrified, Mick then ran away from his uncle's house and joined the circus, where he became a fire eater. He was happy there for a few years, but then his urges surfaced again and he set the circus on fire. And this time, he took pictures.

When Mick saw the developed photos, he was disgusted with himself and what he had done, and, when he saw Captain Cold on the news, he decided that the best way to get his urges under control was to make them into a gimmick for costumed crime.

"I designed a heat-gun based on the flame-thrower. I compacted the fuel in catridges at the base of the gun, focusing on a mixture of Greek fire and butane gas. Originally, the ignition system in the tip was the typical electrical coil. Through the years, I managed to improve it, adding in a laser that super-heated the fire and helped me control its shape. I lined my fireproof suit with hoses filled with the fuel. And gave the gun a quick reload system which would replaced the tanks whenever I locked it down into the holster." After completing his gun, Mick set off to become Heat Wave.

I'll be honest and say that, while this origin is iconic at this point, I don't really like it. I feel like the death of his family was sufficiently horrible and tragic to make the point about his pyromania; having him kill another family and burn down a circus was a bit much.

Mirror Master II (Evan McCulloch)

Animal Man #8, #17, and #21 (1989-1991): Evan McCulloch is introduced as a Scottish hitman, and is hired by an organization composed primarily of three powerful corporate businessmen to scare Animal Man away from crime-fighting, since his focus on protecting animals was cutting into their profits. They give him the Mirror Master costume and gear so that people will assume that the attacks are supervillain shenanigans rather than a corporate hit.

Evan readily agrees to harass and beat up Animal Man, but when this fails to scare off the hero, the organization then orders him to kill Animal Man's wife and two young children. McCulloch promptly refuses, as he doesn't kill women or children, and he is replaced as an assassin by someone willing to take the job. We also learn that he has spent a considerable amount of time in Glasgow.

Justice League #10-12, 15: We learn that Evan McCulloch grew up in an orphanage. Batman offers to donate money to it in order to get Evan to turn against the Injustice League formed by Lex Luthor.

Flash vol. 2 #212: This is the famous Evan origin.

As a baby, Evan McCulloch was abandoned in a basket on the doorstep of an orphanage in Kirkaldy, Scotland. A picture of his parents was tucked inside the basket with him. The orphanage was run by a kind-hearted woman named Miss McCulloch, who did her best to be a mother to all of the children at her orphanage, including Evan. As such, while he obviously wished for his parents, Evan was generally pretty content at the orphanage.

There was only one problem: an older boy named Georgie, who came into the rooms of the younger children at night, dragged them outside, and sexually assaulted them. When Evan was eight, Georgie dragged him outside and attempted to abuse him, prompting Evan to kill him in self-defense.

Evan left the orphanage when he was 16 and ran away to Glasgow, where he spent a few years on odd jobs, then drifted into crime. Eventually, he became a hitman, and was hired to kill two people in one day. The first target put up a fight and cut Evan across the eye, thus impeding his vision and preventing him from realizing that his second target was his father (whom he knew from the photograph) until it was too late. Evan shot his father, and, when he went to confess to his mother after his father's funeral, he found her dead in the bathtub from suicide. After killing the man who hired him to kill his father, Evan planned to turn himself in, only for the American government to turn up and hire him as their hitman. When Evan agreed, they gave him the Mirror Master costume and gear (again, to ensure he wouldn't be traced back to them). Mirror Master worked for them for awhile, then got fed up with them, trapped them in a mirror dimension, went to Central City, and joined up with the Rogues.

Pied Piper

Flash #106 (1959): "I am a master of sound! For years I studied sound in all its phases! Do you know what it's capable of? Maybe you've heard of sonic booms---explosions caused miles away by an airplane passing through the sound barrier!...Don't worry, I'll stop the Flash!" And for over twenty years, that was all the backstory we had for the Pied Piper!

Flash #300 (1981): Barry on Piper's mysterious past: "In all the years I've been battling the Piper, I've never been able to learn much about his pre-Piper days or the origins of his expertise in the science of sonics!"

Flash #307 (1982): Cary Bates provides us with what is effectively Hartley's definitive backstory.

Hartley Rathaway was born to the millionaire publishing magnates Osgood and Rachel Rathaway. He was born deaf, and his parents spent millions of dollars for highly-advanced hearing aids that would allow him to hear. Once he could hear, Hartley became fascinated with music, but didn't seem to have an aptitude or interest in much of anything else, much to his parents' frustration. What they didn't realize was that Hartley had begun to tinker with musical instruments----or that he would learn how to use them to control minds by the time he was a teenager.

For his sixteenth birthday, his parents gave him a silver-plated flute.

When Hartley graduated from high school, his parents bribed his way into a top college, bribed his professors into giving him good grades, and then bribed his way into an executive post at a major firm. Hartley wasn't interested in any of this, and instead just used his hypnosis to make things even easier for himself. Bored out of his mind by how easy life was for him, Hartley decided to become a criminal to finally experience risk and excitement (or at least, that's what his parents, Rachel and Osgood, seem to think). And so the Pied Piper was born.

To keep anyone from learning that their son was a costumed criminal, the Rathaways bribed everyone from the chief of police to the FBI to created the identity of Henry Darrow for the Pied Piper, and it was by this name that Hartley was known for much of his criminal career.

The Pied Piper himself also gives his own opinion on his childhood later in this issue, when he arrives at the Rathaway mansion with stolen goods and reveals that he has been giving much of the money he's been stealing to his parents---"At last I've paid back every Rathaway dollar my parents spent on trying to mold me into someone I could never be!" He also argues that his parents never wanted what was best for him, but rather "what was best for the Rathaway name! What I wanted never really mattered much to either one of you!"

Secret Origins #41 (1989): Gambi gives a beat-for-beat retelling of the origin from Flash #307.

Flash vol. 2 #32: This story establishes that Hartley has a younger sister named Geraldine, who appears to be about eight to ten years old.

Flash vol. 2 #190: This story is mostly the same as the one in Flash #307, but it does change some details and add a few things. This issue establishes Hartley's middle name as Robert and identified Dr. William Magnus, the inventor of the Metal Men, as the man who invented Hartley's hearing aids (when Hartley was nine). It also establishes that these hearing aids give him super-human hearing.

In this version, Hartley's parents are obviously neglectful---they went out every night for the first month of his life rather than spending time with him, and they don't even notice he's deaf until he turns two.

Hartley loves listening to music, but doesn't have much talent for playing it. He also felt as though he could never relate to his parents or their friends; the people in his social class looked down on him and gossiped about him behind his back.

Hartley got himself kicked out of every college he was sent to, apparently as a form of rebellion, and things only got worse when he came out to his parents. It sparked a huge argument, and in response, Hartley ran away from home, taking his musical instruments and some of his parents' money with him. He then used his knowledge of sonics in the hopes that he would be able to create and sell his own instruments...and then stumbled upon his mind-controlling flute, which gave him a sort of power he had never had over his life before. Intoxicated by this control, and angry at the world, he took to a life of crime as the Pied Piper.

Weather Wizard

Flash #110 (1959): Mark Mardon was a petty crook, and had been arrested for burglary on at least three separate occasions; once by a Central City police lieutenant named Jim Harvey. On his third arrest, he was sent to Tri-State Prison on a train...and escaped by jumping off of the moving vehicle! After his escape, he decided to hide out with his brother Clyde, whom he knew lived along the shores of Big Water Lake as something of a hermit.

When Mark arrived at his brother's house, he was surprised to find what looked like a scientific laboratory, and even more surprised to find that his brother was dead of a heart attack. Shortly thereafter, Mark stumbled upon his brother's notes and learned that his brother had been about to announce to the world that he had learned how to build a device that could control the weather. Clyde had intended to use his device to help the world, but Mark had a "better" idea: he would follow his brother's notes and build his own weather-controlling device to get rich and revenge himself on the men who had sent him to jail. After building the wand using the notes, Mark dubbed himself the Weather Wizard, donned a costume that even he called "bizarre and original" and set out on a life of crime.

Flash #300 (1981): Barry gives a beat-for-beat recap of the origin from Flash #110.

Secret Origins #41 (1989): Gambi gives us what is mostly a beat-for-beat recap of the origin from Flash #110, but adds a few new details. "Your brother Clyde---who had always had everything better than you except a first name (and your mom almost made you switch that)---lived not far away on Big Water Lake." This is the first evidence we have that Clyde was favored over Mark by their parents. Or at least their mother.

The Flash: Iron Heights (2001): We finally get confirmation that Clyde was Mark's older brother, and that he was a meteorologist. This is also the first time that Geoff Johns starts hinting that Mark killed Clyde after escaping prison (as this had not previously been part of the story).

Final Crisis: Rogues' Revenge #3 (2008): We get confirmation that Mark killed Clyde after escaping prison (albeit by accident). When Mark arrived at his brother's laboratory, Clyde went to call the police, telling Mark that he had to turn Mark in and that it was for Mark's own good. Mark reacted in a panic, insisting that he couldn't go back to prison (and perhaps hinting that something rather bad might have happened to him the last time he had been sent to prison--though that's speculation). In his panic, he grabbed the Weather Wand, and accidentally killed Clyde.

New 52 Flash #10: Marco Mardon is from Guatemala, and his older brother is now named Claudio. His family ran a drug cartel (because stereotypes). Their father didn't think either of them were fit to run the cartel, but after he died, Claudio became the head of the cartel anyway. Marco, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with the cartel and ran away to Central City, where he would ultimately join the Rogues. His brother, Claudio, later came to the city on a "business" trip, and attempted to convince him to join him in running the cartel. "When we were kids, you said you'd always look out for me." While he's on the phone with Marco, he gets murdered, and, as we find out later, the hit was ordered by his own wife, Elsa, who thought that Claudio was too weak to do what needed to be done as the head of a drug cartel. When Marco found out about this (after he became the Weather Wizard), he was understandably upset and attempted to kill both her and himself with a lightning strike (though he managed to survive).

Rebirth Flash #85: "Marco was a loner in a family of criminals. He tried so hard to escape that life---that family--and it hurt people he loved. He can never escape the pain." Weirdly, the art makes the Mardons look more like 1920s gangsters than a modern drug cartel.

The Top

Flash #122 (1961): When Roscoe Dillon was a boy, he discovered some toy tops in the attic and became fascinated with them, to the point that he preferred spinning tops to playing with other children. As he grew older, he drifted into crime, and, after the second time he was caught (he wasn't the most successful criminal), he hit upon the idea of using his old boyhood hobby of spinning tops as a way to improve his criminal career. He immediately plunged himself into research on tops and learned everything he possibly could about them.

"Tops are amazing! They're linked up with intricate scientific devices like gyroscopes! Although they've been just about forgotten, they are the basis for some of the most startling advances in science! The theory behind tops gave rise to guided missile systems---to the gyrostabilizers of ocean liners! And unless I miss my guess, the same theory will help me reach the top of my profession!"

Roscoe invented a huge array of weaponized tops, and also taught himself how to spin at incredible speed. This spinning also increased his brainpower, and, filled with newfound confidence and weapons, he set out to take over the world as the Top.

Flash #300 (1981): Barry gives us a beat-for-beat recap of Roscoe's origin from Flash #122, although the art does seem to indicate that Roscoe was playing with tops well into his teenage years.

Flash vol. 2 #120-121: Roscoe offhandedly mentions that growing up on the streets of Brooklyn didn't provide him with the education that he would need to become president. This doesn't really jive with any of the other backstory information we're given on him (the scenes of his childhood from Flash #122 seemed quite suburban, for example).

Flash vol. 2 #216: "His name was Roscoe Dillon. But you know him better as the Top. For a long time he was just another one of the Rogues. A crook from Central City who got creative like Len Snart and Digger Harkness. He had a talent for inventions and explosives, and an obsession with, of all things, tops. The only good memory of a horrible childhood, he claimed."

More specifically, it appears that his parents were extremely demanding of him. "When I was growing up, it was always be the best, be the greatest. Show the world you're my son. When I couldn't, I lashed out. I rebelled against everything."

We also learn that, while he was inventing his tops, Roscoe tested them out, hurting innocent people in the process.

Flash vol. 2 #217: This issue reveals that Roscoe visited a Wiggins Toy Company toy shop every day when he was a child, presumably because they sold tops there.

Trickster II (Axel Walker)

Flash vol. 2 #183: Axel Walker comes from an upper-class family. When his parents divorced, he drifted into juvenile delinquency, doing drugs and vandalizing buildings. Then he broke into one of James Jesse's old storage units in Keystone City and stole his costume, his tricks, and a pair of airwalker shoes. Axel then used these to become the new Trickster.

Flash vol. 2 #1/2: "When my mom divorced my dad, Pops told me, 'There's two things you can be in life, Axel. Either you're the Trickster, or you're the one getting tricked!'"--Axel, on his dad's life advice.

Mirror Master I (Sam Scudder)

Flash #105 (1959): Sam Scudder was sent to prison for robbery. While he was working in the prison's mirror factory, he made a mistake, putting a wrong chemical in the silvering of the mirror. The prison foreman (Tyler) ordered him to throw it out, and, as he was in the process of doing so, he was stunned to discover that the mirror had held the image of the foreman like it was a camera. Sam decided to hang onto the mirror, and hid it so that he could study it later. He spent the rest of his time in prison studying mirrors, and, upon being released, put his knowledge to good use to invent what was effectively a 3-D printer, which he used to commit crimes as the Mirror Master.

This issue also implies that Sam feels some level of resentment towards society generally: "Besides, why should I try to help science and society? What did they ever do for me--besides put me behind bars?"

Flash #206 (1971): "Posters of famous movie cowboys! That's why Mirror Master went through that gunslinger bit---he was a rabid cowboy fan! Probably wanted to be in a real showdown ever since he was a kid!"

Flash #255 (1977): "A nice save, old foe! How'd you know I couldn't swim?"

Flash #300 (1981): We get what is effectively a beat-for-beat recap of the origin provided in Flash #105, although Barry describes Sam as "a hard-case prison inmate", implying that he might have been arrested more than once prior to becoming the Mirror Master. Barry also claims that Sam didn't really start studying the strange mirror until after his parole.

Flash vol. 2 #212: "I'm not the first Rogue to go by this name. No. Sam Scudder was. Kansas City boy. Simple thug."

Flash: Rebirth #2: In a frankly unnecessary bit of grimdark retconning, Sam is sentenced to prison for burglary and murder instead of robbery. Barry Allen, police scientist, is responsible for his conviction (I have no problems with Barry Allen convicting Sam---but couldn't he have convicted him for robbery rather than murder?)

Flash: Blackest Night #2 (2009): "I know where you're comin' from, McCulloch. I was like you. Hatin' who Sam Scudder was. Puttin' on a mask to escape it. Like all the Rogues. Running away to Wonderland."

As you can see, we don't know much about Sam's backstory....

[iamthekaijuking]

Skeletons for snart and gobul! I based their anatomy on what I personally classify them as.

Snart I made a member of Brachyopoidea given that both have similar proportions (although not as extreme as snart), they were the latest surviving temnospondyls (outside of perhaps modern amphibians), and temnospondyls have spiracles behind their skulls. Snart’s gills couldn’t be homologous to actual fish gills because they and the operculum are on backwards, so modified spiracles it is. I even included otic notches too! The latest surviving Brachyopoid was the Cretaceous Koolasuchus, and was the primary ref. Members of Brachyopoidea seem to not have ossified wrist bones, so I don’t think we’ve ever found any, and that’s why I didn’t give snart wrist bones even though logically they probably are ossified; I couldn’t find any references! Snart also has what is described in an art book as “a hooded seal nose” so that’s why the nostrils are in a big indent. Kinda fucked that his head is bigger than his entire torso.

Gobul’s was pretty straightforward; I based it on deep sea anglers, frogfish, and goosefish. All various anglers. Of course, gobul probably belongs to a unique angler group and it’s closest relative in this hypothetical is probably the new world andangler. Goosefish would probably be a sister group to them. Like my note in the video said, labeled angler skeletons not made by David Peters are difficult to come by, so it’s possible that the skeleton isn’t accurate. The bones the pectoral fins attach to are homologous to our shoulder and clavicle bones so just like with tetrapods I had it separate from the skull in gobul to give it a distinct neck. Also because the illicium is retractable and doesn’t fold back, I only made the esca solid and ossified.

I personally love and adore both Gobul and Snart, especially Snart’s bomb eating and fishing mechanic. Also the poopenshitter server basically equated Gobul with Jack Black and Snart with Adam Sandler.

Like my little note in the debrief said, whether or not a monster gets a skeleton instead of just the normal skull or random body part treatment depends entirely on its dimensions. I use ArtStudio and so how many layers I’m allowed to have depends entirely upon the canvas size. Bigger canvas equals less layers. The very large square canvas size I usually use is the maximum height but not maximum width, and allows me to have 6 layers, overall it allows for more detail while still having a workable amount of layers. The largest canvas size only allows half that. So something like rajang I can comfortably fit in my normal canvas size and easily work on, but something like dalamadur might be too long for even my biggest canvas to fit while still allowing a level of detail.

[coldflasher]

was rewatching the pilot again yesterday for fic reasons and thinking again about the sherlock-style screen annotations they had when barry was doing CSI work that they literally only did in the first ep and then never revisited again, presumably because they realized it'd be far too much effort to work out the details on such a precise level

and thinking about like. that barry allen with the hyper-precise exact measurements that he did by eye (with joe shaking his head in awe so you know that he's a CSI supergenius) vs. the leonard snart who timed his heists to the exact nanosecond (which again, presuming they ditched because it's a logistical nightmare to write dialogue that nitpicky and obsessive, and would be such a fucking pain to do on a week-to-week basis). like. yet another reason they are soulmates tbh. is audhd4autistic a thing the same way t4t is a thing? if it isn't then i'm making it a thing

[kitkatt0430]

for the AU 5+ headcanons ask game, Cisco takes a leap of faith and tells Barry he's in love with him somewhere in the middle or second half of season 1. i hope it's a prompt that works for you?

I do love a good Barrisco headcanon. This'll be cute. ^_^

So Cisco tags along to karaoke night with Barry and Caitlin and instead of Linda showing up to hit on Barry, Cisco takes the opportunity while Caitlin is singing to tell Barry how he feels. And Barry is surprised - not necessary blind sided, but he's definitely having a 're-evaluating events' moment. Caitlin calls them up to sing with her before Barry can really respond. So Cisco just kinda assumes that they're gonna leave things as friends and be a little awkward about it at first.

However, Barry is aware that being left hanging sucks and so as soon as they've squared away drunken Caitlin on Cisco's couch for the night, he asks Cisco on a date. And apologizes for not responding earlier. He was surprised and taking care of their drunk friend was kinda the priority, but he likes Cisco a lot and the idea of going on a date with Cisco is giving him all the butterflies, so... Cisco cuts him off with a chaste kiss before Barry can get too into rambling mode and agrees to the date.

Their first date they start off both trying a bit too hard because they're nervous but once they realize that's why things are a bit stilted, they both laugh and unwind and it's a wonderful date.

Barry realizes that something is up with Cisco with regards to Hartley and it's more than just Hartley being a jerk to Cisco in the past. So Cisco loops Barry into the whole thing about Ronnie maybe being alive and how guilty Cisco feels about being the one who closed Ronnie into the pipeline in the first place. So Barry gets to be a supportive BF both in helping Cisco deal with his survivor's guilt and with getting info out of Hartley regarding what really happened to Ronnie the night the accelerator exploded. Hartley still winds up escaping somehow but Cisco doesn't have to bear that weight alone this time.

I think Barry would turn down the bowling double date here, citing that it's still early in his relationship with Cisco and he wants their date that evening to be just the two of them. Since Cisco is well aware of Barry's feelings for Iris, Barry wants to make sure Cisco feels secure in their relationship before doing any double dates with Iris.

During the day that wasn't, Barry and Iris do not kiss (hate that kiss anyway, any reason to throw it out) but Barry does call Cisco for help with the oncoming storm problem that's poised to decimate both Central City and Keystone. Only EoWells answers Cisco's phone because, um... Cisco cannot come to the phone right now. Barry doesn't think hard on it at the time because DANGER ahead is more pressing. But after resetting time it definitely sticks out to him as strange.

Lisa does not manage to honey trap Cisco because Cisco is flattered, but not interested and this is his boyfriend right here, isn't he so cute? Which means that the Snarts + Rory go with plan b which is kidnapping both Cisco and Barry. Cisco stalls for time until they're down to just Mick watching them and when Mick isn't paying attention Barry knocks him out and rescues Cisco and Dante. Dante comes out of the ordeal shaken but otherwise unscathed and impressed with his brother's courage. It's the first step towards mending their relationship and moving them more towards being the close & supportive brothers Cisco and Dante are in the comics.

Somehow Len does figure out Barry's identity from this (hidden camera?) and thus Barry does still have to make his deal with Len. But Len's outta luck if he wants Cisco to build him new guns. Good thing Len made blueprints off the original guns in case he had to make new ones the hard way. (Barry - that is not in any way a good thing >_<)

The experience is still traumatic enough for Cisco that it triggers his nightmares/early manifestation of his vibes of the timeline where he died. Good thing Barry is there in bed with Cisco to hold him after startling awake from that. Barry soothes Cisco back to being calm and listens to Cisco talk about the nightmare afterwards and while he doesn't know what to make of Cisco's subconscious associating Dr. Wells with the Reverse Flash, he does know that the idea of losing Cisco terrifies him. And, huh, for some reason he's reminded of how weird it was for Dr. Wells to answer Cisco's phone in the day that wasn't...

Being with Cisco mellows out Barry's 'don't tell Iris' reflex so when Eddie finds out about Barry being the Flash and wants to tell Iris the truth, Barry agrees over Joe's protests, noting that keeping her in the dark hasn't actually protected Iris the way Joe insisted it would. So the whole situation actually makes Iris & Eddie closer instead of causing the relationship drama from canon.

Finding out that Cisco's nightmare actually happened for real? Infuriates Barry. Cisco has to talk Barry down from going after Wells immediately, but Barry is just done with Wells taking away the people he loves. Killing his mom, framing his father, and now killing Cisco in another timeline? Which might also be when Barry realizes that he's fallen in love with Cisco and doesn't want to be without him.

The Iris West-Allen newspaper byline is explained by Gideon to be from the OG timeline, but it still shakes Cisco, who doesn't quite realize Barry is relieved that's not from this timeline. Eddie questions his decision to propose to Iris afterwards, but Barry pushes him to go forward regardless of what Joe might think. That timeline is gone and they should focus on living their lives for themselves, not live up to the destinies of people who lived entirely different lives from them.

Eobard still tries to break up Iris and Eddie while he has Eddie kidnapped, but Gideon nonchalantly updates the by line to West-Thawne and Eobard takes the psychic damage instead.

Eobard tries dangling the whole 'save your mother, reset to the real timeline' carrot in front of Barry but Barry talks things over with his dad and admits he doesn't want to give up the life he's building with Cisco for the life he could have had with Iris, but he wants to save his mom so much... Henry is able to talk Barry out of the time travel this time.

Cisco is of course very surprised when Barry comes back from Iron Heights and puts an end to any time ship building. They're not helping Eobard Thawne in any way. They wind up talking through everything and Barry tells Cisco he loves him.

Cisco - *heart eyes* I love you too, Barry.

Eobard escapes and tries to force Barry to cooperate anyway, but Cisco uses his vibe blasts instinctively to protect Barry. Eobard swears he'll be back, but he's concerned about risking Cisco accidentally severing him from his speed entirely - made easier by Eobard's speed still being so unstable - so he hoofs it out of town, faking his death in the process. The Harrison Wells identity is well and truly burned, so he might as well give Barry something he wants. That way it'll hurt all the more the next time Eobard takes something - someone - away from him.

Thus Ronnie and Eddie survive the S1 finale, but there's a lead in for a Rogues centered S2 with Snart getting the gang together - not just the metas from the pipeline that he rescues from Team Flash, but Hartley as well - pushing the Earth-2/Zoom story line to Season 3.

[thatsnotmygunflash]

Okay @simpledontmeanpeachy this is like a week late but I finally got the inspiration I needed to write prompt 25 "It gave me great joy,"

I really fell in love with this and might add to it honestly (or someone else can if they want) it's set in a world where Barry grew up in the foster system and turned out way differently.

Len was nursing his first drink of the night at Saints and Sinners an hour before his crew was suppose to meet up for their weekly check-in when Hartley came waltzing in the front door. Len didn't bother to turn and look, taking a smooth sip of his beer as the young scientist came up to the empty bar.

"Rathaway, little early, even by your standards." Len said in observation. Hartley Rathaway wasn't the newest addition to his Rouges or even the youngest, but he was by far the smartest and most capable out of the lot. They had worked three big jobs together in the past year and a half and besides his sister, he was the only one Len felt gave it to him straight and pulled his weight enough for it to mean anything to Len. He wouldn't call them friends, but they were friendly. Not friendly enough, however, for Hartley to show up without an agenda.

"I wanted a chance to speak privately before the rest of the crew show up,"

"About?" Len assumed it would be business Hartley wanted to discuss but this must be something he didn't want the rest of the crew to know about yet.

"You heard about the new player in town, right?"

How could he not, when it was all anyone in the city wanted to talk about lately.

"The Chemist?" At Hartley's nod of confirmation Len tilted his chin down in understanding. "I've heard whispers, why?"

"He approached me last night, said he needed a little tech support, willing to pay more than well for my time too."

"Did you take the job?" Len had never cared about Hartley's freelance work before, unless it directly effected Len's own timetable, but they had never had issues with scheduling before. Len made sure of it.

"You're not asking the important questions, Snart."

"If you have something to say, Rathaway, say it." Len didn't enjoy the condescending smirk painted on Hartley's face and he definitely didn't like a single word that came next.

"He's planning on hitting the Federal Reserve, the same one you're planning on hitting in two months. Which wouldn't be a problem for you, if he wasn't planning on making his move next week."

"Next week." Next week. Next. Week. There was no way. The Chemist had just hit First National two weeks ago. He couldn't be that reckless, especially when the cops and the papers had painted him to be some kind of evil-mastermind. Len had been casing the Reserve himself everyday for four months, there was no way he would have missed another thief doing the same.

"Yep. He doesn't even have a crew either. Plans to do it all by himself. Seems like kind of a loner. Pretty though. And smart. Meta too, I think. Full package really."

"You think he can pull it off." Len didn't need the snort of agreement Hartley let out to let him know he was right. Hartley was not an easily impressed man, which meant this Chemist was someone to be on guard with.

"Oh, definitely. Especially with my help covering his tracks, but, because I knew he'd end up iced for fucking with your job, I convinced him to come here tonight to talk to you about joining the Rouges."

Hartley had told a man who enjoyed explosives where his entire crew was meeting tonight. The nerve of this kid.

"And you just expected me to be okay with that?"

"Well, obviously." Hartley scoffed, waving a dismissive hand in the air when he saw Len's icy glare. "I thought you'd agree it couldn't hurt to have other smart and pretty people around to look at. You should have seen his face when I told him I worked for you. It gave me great joy. Watching him go from obnoxiously cocky to painfully desperate just at the sound of your name. I think you have a fan."

A fan. A fan. The Chemist was a fan. Good lord.

"You better pray this works out in our favor, Rathaway, or it's your ass."

"I'm not worried." Hartley shrugged carelessly, his smirk turning into something like delight when the door opened behind them.

"And why's that?"

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Hartley replied, pointing a finger behind Len's shoulder.

"Wha-" Len turned to see who the new comer was, losing his voice and the ability to move when he caught sight of an unmistakably familiar face. Len couldn't believe what he was seeing. Barry Allen, the flirty barista from the coffee shop Len had been using as cover for his stakeouts of the Reserve was standing just three feet in front of him. The same Barry Allen that he had taken home with him five nights ago. The same Barry Allen that had not taken Len's one night stand policy well.

Barry gave a lazy wave, not bothering to hide the challenge in his eyes or the smugness coating his voice.

"Hey Lenny. Miss me?"

[coldinpantsreboot]

Leonard Snart is a conquering king who subjugated the nearby kingdoms in just a couple years of his reign. People whispered in fear about his invincibility and the cruelty with which he overthrew one king after another. Barry Allen, a prince whose kingdom was still recovering from the long war with Eobard Thawne, realized the terrible truth — they were next and they weren't ready. King Henry, heartbroken after the death of his beloved wife, who was killed during the war, could no longer make important decisions and save his country from a new conqueror. Barry found no other choice but to sacrifice himself for the good of those he loved and his homeland. He asked Leonard to spare his father and not torture people with unnecessary war and cruelty. In return, Barry offered his soul and body and an alliance that would give Leonard a kingdom without a fight and full legitimacy. The proposal was risky, but the plan worked. Meeting his future husband's eyes, Barry promised himself that he would never give up and would find a way to overthrow the usurper. Even at the cost of his own life.

"I know you keep the blade under your pillow," Leonard whispered in the young man's ear. Barry got goosebumps and covered his eyes, exhaling slowly. There, he'd been busted again.

"You were going to kill me with it, did I get that right?", Leonard asked next and kissed Barry first on his temple and then lower on his jaw line and neck. He didn't seem to care about the topic of conversation. Barry was beginning to get annoyed.

"No, I was going to cut them ham," he snapped, obediently setting his neck up for more kisses. Leonard grinned and bit the young man weakly on his bare shoulder.

"You kept it there for almost a week. Were you hoping I'd stumble upon it and gut myself?", Leonard chuckled, lying down on his back. They were both still in bed. Naked and a little drunk from the wine that had been served at dinner. Mick was pouring for them both while they pretended not to see.

"Don't laugh at me!" hissed Barry, angrily digging his nails into the man's chest. It wasn't for him to decide how and when Barry would kill him.

"Never, my love," Leonard replied gravely, taking the hands off his body and kissing them both in turn. He pulled Barry toward him, and he fell into his arms without resistance.

"I'm going to kill you someday," Barry said quietly, snuggling his nose into the man's neck. Leonard stroked his back, lulling him to sleep.

"You're too good for that, baby," Leonard replied in a whisper, and Barry propped himself up on his elbows, looking into his husband's eyes.

"And you're bad. I have to do this," a tear crawled down Barry's cheek and Leonard caught it before it fell. They stared into each other's eyes for a long time before Barry reached up to kiss his man. Leonard didn't respond.

Barry never needed a knife to hurt him.