#captain singh

[vexic929]

Child in Time

Chapter 24

Warnings: none

Chapter 1: link

Previous chapter: link

"Can I trust you two knuckleheads to behave in there?" Joe West asked upon parking his car. 

"I will if he does." Cisco muttered as he began unloading a cartful of tech and instruments Joe couldn't have begun to name to take into the precinct.

Hartley scoffed. "Please, I am an upstanding citizen."

"Uh, are we forgetting the part where you blew up a building and tried to kill us?"

"Again with the hyperbole, Cisco-"

"Boys." Joe interrupted with a warning look before gesturing for them to follow him into the building. They fell into step behind him.

"Okay so, officially I'm the S.T.A.R. Labs tech liaison, you're the junior tech liaison." Cisco explained under his breath.

"Excuse you, why am I the junior liaison? I'm at least six years your senior, I should have seniority." Hartley argued.

"Yeah well I've been here longer so I actually have seniority." Cisco hissed back.

Joe pretended not to hear them on the ride up in the elevator, but found it difficult to ignore when the two began arguing about Wells. He couldn't help but take a half-step back, closer to the dubious fount of information on the man. It was a more personal insight into his character than anyone had been willing to give him so far. Though, with the source being a public menace who'd given everyone he'd talked to in the last week a massive headache, he'd take the information with a whole margarita's worth of salt. 

"Embustero," Cisco snapped as they strode into the bullpen. "That's libel!" 

"If I was lying, it would be slander, you moron," Hartley shot back. "Libel is only in print."

"Oh, cool, thanks, Professor Wikipedia. That really clears up the part where you keep acting like Dr. Wells is secretly the devil."

"Not secretly. You're just painfully unobservant."

Cisco stopped short in the middle of the bullpen, the cart's wheels giving a protesting squeak. Around them, phones rang, keyboards clacked, officers moved in brisk lines between desks, and none of it did a thing to soften the sharp edge in Hartley's voice.

Joe shot them a warning glance over his shoulder. Hartley ignored it.

Cisco lowered his voice anyway, anger tightening it. "You know what? No. You don't get to come in here acting like you were the only person who ever got screwed over by him."

Hartley's mouth twitched. "I never said I was."

"Then maybe stop talking like Caitlin and I are idiots because we didn't figure out sooner that he let the accelerator go online after you warned him it could blow."

"I warned him it could tear a hole through the city, that people would die, that the fall would be on not just him but everyone at S.T.A.R. Labs, and he did it anyway," Hartley said. "He risked your lives, your careers, and your futures. You can dress that up in as much reverent little nonsense as you like but it doesn't change what he did."

Cisco's grip tightened on the cart handle. "Everybody else bailed after the explosion. He helped us rebuild everything. He helped Caitlin after Ronnie..."

"And I suppose I should give him credit for cleaning up after himself?" Hartley sneered.

Joe slowed just enough that they nearly walked into his back, giving them another look that said behave without him having to waste breath on the word. They moved around him, still glaring at each other.

Cisco leaned in closer, jaw tight. "You don't know anything about what he's done for us lately."

Hartley laughed once under his breath. It wasn't pleasant. "You think because he admitted one thing that means the ledger is balanced? You think telling you he knowingly gambled with your lives somehow makes him honest?" He scoffed softly. "Please."

Cisco shoved the cart harder than necessary around a desk corner. "At least he told us."

Hartley stopped.

"He only told you because I forced him to," Hartley said quietly. "And even then he trimmed it down into something you could swallow."

Cisco glared back. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Hartley moved again, closing the distance between them until they were nearly shoulder to shoulder, his voice low enough that no one else could possibly make it out over the noise of the bullpen.

"It means that men like Harrison Wells never confess because they've suddenly discovered a conscience." His gaze cut, briefly, toward Joe's back and then back to Cisco. "They confess because they need to keep the people around them from asking the right questions."

Cisco laughed, but it came out thin. "You really can't help yourself, can you?"

"Can't help what?"

"Being like this. Taking every single thing and twisting it into proof that he's some kind of master manipulator."

Hartley's expression did not change. "He let people die because he wanted his machine turned on."

"That is not-"

"It is exactly that." Hartley's voice rose just slightly. "And you know it, otherwise you wouldn't be this defensive. Continue defending him until the day you die if you want, waste your last breath on him if it makes you feel better but in the end, he'll rip your heart out, too."

"Whose heart is getting ripped out?" A low voice asked dryly before Cisco or Joe could fully process the ominous and far too personal-sounding statement.

Joe turned as Detective Bennet Harrow approached with Captain Singh. David spoke next, his voice clearer and more authoritative than Bennet's.

"Good afternoon, Detective West. Officer Harrow, these are our liaisons with S.T.A.R. Laboratories; Cisco Ramon and Hartley Rathaway."

For a moment, Hartley and Cisco both looked offended. David ignored them.

"They'll be assisting with the investigation into the homicide at Iron Heights Penitentiary. Joe, I've already spoken to Allen, he'll meet you there."

Joe nodded.

Hartley turned toward Harrow fully then, annoyance pausing just long enough to become appraisal.

Tall. Broad through the shoulders. Pale blond hair clipped short with military neatness. Scruff framing a severe mouth that looked like it had forgotten how to smile. There was something aggravatingly solid about him, as if he'd been carved out of oak and departmental policy, and Hartley found himself noticing the sharp blue of his eyes before he could stop himself.

Harrow let his gaze settle on Hartley for a beat too long before shifting to Cisco and the cart between them.

"This the equipment?" he asked.

Cisco blinked. "Uh, yeah."

Harrow nodded once. "Good. Follow me."

Hartley arched a brow. "No 'please'?" He commented snidely.

Those blue eyes cut back to him. Cooler now. Assessing. "You can stay here if you'd rather."

Joe had to bite the inside of his cheek not to laugh. Cisco failed entirely, a snort slipping out loud enough to earn him a filthy look from Hartley.

Hartley straightened, chin lifting. "Lead on, then."

Harrow did. Hartley fell into step beside him almost immediately, ignoring Cisco's muttered "that's new."

"Unstoppable force meets immovable object?" Joe commented to Cisco under his breath as Harrow and Hartley pulled away from them.

"Oh yeah, big time." Cisco confirmed. "This is gonna be a disaster."

"Maybe they'll annoy each other to death." Joe suggested. 

"We can only hope."

[mikhaelwrites]

Iris worried about dating Eddie and Joe being mad at them when he finds out and Barry goes, "Oh, don't worry. I got this. Watch." (Starts dating Captain Singh) "Now he'll be waayyy more focused on me."

[candicepattonsdaily]

posted by jesse l martin on ig:

@gradyano

[sapphire-dicson-official]

[ACROSS THE SPIDERVERSE THINKINGS]

oooooo boi, do I have thoughts about spiderverse.

like oh my GAWD

okay, so, first I wanna talk about Miguel's ideology with cannon events and how breaking them is "bad"

we see, some evidence in the movie that would indicate he is correct about this assumption, however there is also big damming evidence that this assumption is VERY FUCKING WRONG.

I'll first address the shown evidence that indicates any semblance of truth to Miguel's fears. First, we meet Pav, great introduction, action sequence, stopping death and most destruction, and Miles stops the one death that is "supposed" to happen: the death of Captain Singh. Nearly immediately after the day is saved, we see the fabric of Mumbattan start to break a little bit. So, we have a case of cause and effect right? cause: "cannon event" didn't happen, effect: reality does a fucky wucky and splits like a banana.

I don't think it is, and here's why: before Captain Singh's life was ever in danger, we had the event of Spot activating the Mumbattan collider. Remember what happened in into the spiderverse when a collider was activated? reality started getting REALLY fucked. I think the reaction of spot activating and interacting with the collider was the cause for the sudden rip in reality to open up. It's a deceptive clue hidden by the writers, at least in my opinion.

okay, if not the cannon event of Captain Singh's death, then what about Miguel's backstory?

I don't doubt for a minute that Miguel believes he caused the destruction of an entire world because he interacted with it too much. That is what he BELIEVES happened. That doesn't mean there weren't other causes that led to the webs of a world to disappear and break. I honestly don't think we've seen enough of Miguel's time in that world to use it as evidence that he's right. Spiderman, ANY spiderman, can't see everything that's going on all the time. there could have been things afoot that he didn't discover before the collapse.

So now, what evidence do we have that Miguel is wrong?

Miles 1610 and Miles 42. The existence of both of these characters and the worlds they inhabit still existing is proof that Miguel can't possibly be right. Don't follow?

Let me explain.

Miles from earth 1610 was never supposed to get bit by the spider, therefore every single action Miles makes as spiderman is a "non-cannon event" and yet earth 1610 has been stable from the moment the collider was shut down in the first movie. If any characters from different spiders' worlds made it into 1610 there would have been some indication of it mentioned to plant clues for the next movie, it would be foolish not to. Miguel is only meant to appear right, it's how it's written and how Miguel presents it to the other spiders.

And earth 42 with Miles 42? He was supposed to get bit, he didn't and now he's the Prowler of earth 42. If we assume that every action Miles 1610 does as spiderman is a "non-cannon event", we must also assume that every action Miles 42 does as the Prowler is also a "non-cannon event". World 42 still exists, and still hasn't seen hide nor hair of and reality ripping since the collider incident.

There is something else causing the rips and tears, and there's evidence that it's the colliders and the Spot.

now I'd be remiss if I neglected to mention the beloved Hobie Brown. A lot of my evidence is getting pulled from This video here a character analysis of SpiderPunk and his depth in the 5 minutes of screen time he has (great video, watch if you have the time).

In his 5 minutes of screen time Hobie plants seeds of doubt for both Miles and the audience. He acts as the writers' hands to get us to question what's really going on in the Spider Society before we realize what's wrong. Hobie recognizes the patterns of fascism in the society and the autocracy in Miguel and actively works to combat it. He secures tech to make a watch so anyone can world hop even if they aren't in the spider society, he tells miles how to break barriers so miles can escape and break barriers between himself and other spiders, Hobie warns Miles to really understand what he's signing up for before fully committing to it, and he congratulates Miles when Miles saves Captain Singh fully knowing it's an event that's supposed to happen according to Miguel.

By the end of the movie we know Hobie is solidly a good guy, we know because he gives Gwen the watch to allow her to find Miles. this watch frees Gwen from the grips of the Spider Society, provides a means of communication, and a means of traveling where ever the good spiders need to go. Because we know that Hobie is a good guy, a hero we're meant to root for, we know that he can't oppose Miguel's ideology if any point in Miguel's argument were true or could be justified, even if Miguel doesn't know he's wrong.

The other thing I want to talk about here is Miguel's idea that Spiderman isn't Spiderman without having the trauma of losing someone important to them. Nicque Marina made an excellent video discussing her thoughts on this concept and how bullshit it is, and I very much agree with her.

The idea that we need Trauma/abuse to make us stronger has been a concept that has held our society, not just the Spider Society, for far too long, and it also isn't true. We see it in the movie with Miles 42, instead of becoming the hero he was "supposed" to be after the death of his dad, he became a very bitter angsty teenager. Having trauma from abuse or tragic events doesn't automatically make them a good person, there are plenty of serial killers and villains with traumatic backstories and pasts who prove this wrong.

If trauma doesn't make a Spiderman, then what does? The decision to not standby as there are problems only a Spiderman can handle actively happening. Spiderman doesn't need a death, they don't need the "great power, great responsibility" speech from their Uncle Ben or their stories' equivalent of him. What makes Spiderman a Spiderman as well as a hero is the realization, acceptance, and actions of knowing they have the power to do something so people don't suffer or die.

With that said, you can make a good argument that when the spiders join the Spider Society they stop being the spiderman they once were because they ignore one death that they can prevent. Heroes are not meant to look at something they know is bad, they know is suffering, and turn the other way to let it happen. As the lead of the Spider Society, Miguel actively and vehemently insists on the spiders knowing a death will happen and ignoring it. It's safe to say that in Miguel's pursuing of what he think's is right, he's forgotten what it means to be Spiderman, he has lost who he was.

TL;DR : Miguel is wrong about cannon events and the idea that you need to have trauma to be spiderman.

[yokyopeli]

Grace Gibbons (Islie Hirvonen) The Flash 5x22 Legacy (2019) 5/ 5

[david-singh-mf]

[idkx9]

[simply-ellas-stuff]

Captain Singh and Hartley Rathaway are both gay.

In case you forgot