( ic contact ) - ( sorry, guys, i got a little held up. you had to be there. )

[tardily]

 

Barry Allen
Hey! You've reached Barry Allen. I'm not available to take your call right now because of— a reason. Leave a message or just text me and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. BEEP.


The Flash
This is The Flash. Not Kid Flash or Impulse. The Flash. I can't text and run. I'll get back to you ASAP and you know that's pretty fast coming from me. BEEP.

Comments

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[khajidont]

Oh my god you don't ACTUALLY have to apologize I was just going to give you a hard time. If I really wanted him to stop I'd just talk to him myself

Also if you apologize for everything he does you're going to be here for a while

IGNORE THAT MISFIRE

[runningstart]

so torture is on the table then

I WAS ABOUT TO SAY. LIKE DAMN GAARA HE HASN'T EVEN MET YOU

[tardily]

i'm not above reminding you that i do have the same name as your uncle and that torturing me would be bad. also superhealing.

and it'd make bart cry. so. not really on the table, no.

its never too soon to torture your acquaintances

[runningstart]

WELL THEN DONT OFFER IT DANG

[runningstart]

look what you did i dont even remember what we were talking about

[runningstart]

oh right ok so what do you wanna know

pretty sure you at least have to say hello first just so there's something there

[tardily]

I WASN'T OFFERING IT. COME ON MAN. THAT'S NOT A FLASH WAY.

...i shouldn't have said that but i like to think none of us do torture because it's a mean thing to do and we're not like other heroes. who will not be named.

[tardily]

you started it, technically? with your little string attached. i just ran with it to make this conversation last longer.

so sue me for wanting to talk.

[tardily]

right now? maybe jay. i know he's not here, but bart talks about him and other people mentioned him and color me slightly curious because i don't have him. and yes that means i'm the first flash at home.

...batman would also be a good one. mostly so i can stop laughing at batman. I'M TRYING NOT TO SAY EVERYTHING.

because that's not a text conversation.

[runningstart]

'not be named' ok fella

[runningstart]

jay is a badass with a senior discount

he was doing the speed thing before it was cool and helped found the justice society which was the big superhero group before it broke up and then kind of half-reformed into the league

theres about a bajillion stories about jay but if you want to know most of them go find a guy named the shade and ask him and hell talk about jay until the sun sets on the seventh day
he has a crush

[runningstart]

BATMAN im not telling you a lot about bc i value my broship with robin and also my life and batman is a jerk about stuff

[tardily]

already did the accidental reveal of someone's secret id, not risking it again. he may like green though.

so he's the grandpa flash. or can be called that because he was the first and not me. i might admit that's one of those things that your world has over me. THAT'S NOT CALLING MY WORLD BORING. but does he seriously have a crush? like neon sign crush?

[ not that it's a problem but he needs to know that ahead of time right now. ]

i also am slightly concerned about ever talking to batman but honestly, i've got to do it at some point because superman put me on superman catching duty if...that's not the point. the point is that if batman murders me because i say the wrong thing, i'm going to remember this and haunt you. even if that's not possible. but good on you valuing the broship. even though you now let me connect batman + robin. who i keep being concerned is a bird when i read that.

[tardily]

i'm assuming superman is not off limits.

because he is not a jerk.

and also you. because we've established you were just reacting the way anyone would have and you apologized.

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[restitute]

[Oliver just spends like a minute grinding his teeth and glaring at the communictator.]

Depending on the severity of what's going to happen, the hallucinations start either a week or two weeks before. If I'm directly involved, they're constant and intense. If I'm not, they're there and manageable.

They warn me of general danger, but any specifics are either in a language that doesn't actually exist, or can't be said at all.

[Happy?]

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[tardily]

IT'S. TECHNICALLY MY FAULT? I encouraged it at least. I should have been the adult who shut it down and went back to at worse :) I should have been >:|.

I'm not apologizing for everything he does. Just the things I caused. Inadvertently.

text

[tardily]

Btw when you put it like that, it makes me think I need to stop being the cool grandpa and I can feel myself aging and slowly becoming my dad who'd actually set boundaries for him.

Since I'm the adult in the equation.

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[khajidont]

He's annoying as heck but please don't shut him down when he's just being stupid and having fun doing it.

Have you really been calling yourself the cool grandpa?

[runningstart]

reads like a crush dude i dunno maybe he does if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck amiright

ALSO whatever dude everybody knows batman + robin theyre partners robin was THE FIRST sidekick its like national knowledge

heres the things u need 2 know about batman: prefers people who do the job right the first time
doesnt really appreciate dissenting opinions
no sense of humor (robin will say he does but hes lying)

[runningstart]

SUPERMAN is great hes a boy scout
he can get kind of holier than thou about it sometimes but like its so rare and if ur like whatever dude usually hes like ah sorry

hes pretty reliable i think he genuinely just likes people which is just
weird as heck

[runningstart]

ME IM AMAZING yes my favorite topic

im 16 im a scorpio i like food and hot girls
im a genius and everybody likes me

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[tardily]

I won't. That's probably why I joined in on the making them. I'll talk to him if you want, though. Just to tell him to simmer down just a little. Since. He's really excitable.

...Can I refuse to answer that on the grounds that I don't want a teenager laughing at me? Which is not to say I have been, but for reference for later.

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[tardily]

[ Give Barry a minute to actually fistpump in the air because he got you to do that. Victory is his! ]

And the one you're having is manageable right now, right? You're not just gritting your teeth and bearing one to talk to me about this?

Thank you for saying it, btw. That's what I wanted to hear, because information sharing is important remember?

[ He's gonna make a team player of you yet, Oliver Queen. ]

voice;

[tardily]

Yeah, but there's kind of a difference between detective work and semi-stalking an alternate universe version of a guy you know. It's subtle but it is there.

[ How dare you use his background against him. How dare you. ]

I'm— yeah, very busy, and I'd hate to see your lasagna get burnt. Never tastes good when it's burnt. Trust me.

[ Speaking from experience that will haunt him forever more, really. ]

I didn't— you asked, I don't— I'm all for giving people second chances, okay. You just might have to give me a bit of time on that one. I'm pretty sure the occasional ringing I hear in my ears now is the work of other him and his little— thing. [ A pause. ] I'll give him a shot, that's all I can guarantee you, okay? Now go get your lasagna, if you know me you know what I have to go do.

[ And another beat. ] And stay safe.

action-ish; shortly after the Flare plot is done

[andaway]

[Barry will find a little handmade Flash-doll in front of his door. The Flash is holding a little note:]

Told you I would check on you. Everything is fine, thanks for the help.

- S

[And yes, the S is stylized in a certain way.]