entrancelogs | crowded streets are cleared away, one by one

Entry tags:

crowded streets are cleared away, one by one

Who: Anders (

circlejerked) and Barry Allen (

accelerate).
Where: Tea room to start. (Pity party at the bar TBD.)
When: Aug. 9th.
Rating: PG for now?
Summary: Thanks to the depowering, a mage loses his magic and a speedster loses his speed. Being normal sucks, man. It just sucks.
The Story:

Oh, come on. Why aren't you working?

_{[For a hot second, Anders had been overjoyed when the brainwashing of the last few days' had broken. A sure sign the event's power was starting to wan, he'd thought. The words "thank the Maker, it's over!" might have been used. Wrong. He should've known the worst was yet to come.]}

Work. Come on, work. Pretty please? I know you want to work, so just do it. Please? For me?

_{[Who is Anders begging with such heartfelt wheedling? It's more of a what. Sitting in front of him on one of the tea room's tables is a glass of water. More specifically, he's trying to coax his mana, which he's been trying to do for the past hour.

Freeze the water. It's a simple manipulation of the elements, a trick any child with magical aptitude could do. Freeze the water. Face scrunched in concentration, Anders leans in, close enough to see his distorted reflection in the glass.

He taps it with a finger. The water sloshes, mocking him.]}

Augh!

_{[Throwing himself back in his chair, he puts his arm over his eyes with a groan of absolute frustration. The empty, unresponsive core of mana somewhere deep in his being hadn't scared him... for maybe the first fifteen minutes. Now it's starting to. Now he's starting to wonder if he's going to be stuck with this hollowed out feeling forever.]}

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

_{[Central City wouldn't have rung any bells, but the name combined with the cupcake combined with the acronym rings several, and loudly. His eyebrows lift, threatening to settle somewhere near his hairline.]}

My text friend, Barry Allen? Oh wait, I forgot. My text bff.

_{[This is his pen pal in the flesh? He'd been imagining his acronym mentor as more... more...

Actually, no, a skinny young man tripping into rooms with a quick one-liner on hand is exactly how he'd been imagining Barry Allen. With an empty cupcake wrapper in hand, he really couldn't cut a better picture if he tried.]}

Wow, you're real. I thought you might be some kind of intangible being with a personality too big for life, like a spirit haunting the network or something.

[ with a smile, he shrugs his shoulders. ] Sorry to completely ruin that really cool image of me. [ his brows pull together as he looks at anders, impressed — and now a little disappointed he had to run into the room with anders, his texting pupil, inside. ]

But that's me. Your texting BFF. [ he brightens when he says that. ] Sorry I'm not a ghost haunting the network. I don't know if I'd want to be one, considering the whole rules of Wonderland not really being a fan of Casper.

_{[He looks Barry up and down, and then up and down again. Things are starting to make more sense now that the fast-talking network whiz is here in the flesh.]}

That's all right. For my part, I don't know that I'd want to be known as the guy who befriends spirits lingering in the physical world. All the better that you're alive and well.

_{[Apparently it earns you a bad reputation when paired with acts of war on Free March cities. Who knew?]}

This really is a small world. Do you know any acronyms for "life is a grey, barren wasteland with no joy left in it?"

_{[Anders has a flair for dressing melodrama up in a casual, everyday tones like he's commenting on the mildness of the weather.]}

Um.

[ barry actually considers it. there's no acronym for those particular words, but the kids these days have outgrown "emo" for another choice of words. there's one he says over and over when he finds himself afraid, as barry allen and the flash. ]

[ is anders being rhetorical? he doesn't even think about that. ]

Hashtag yolo? [ and the way he says it: yo-low. ]

[ and barry, without much of an invite, collapses into the seat beside him. is it a surprise he even reaches forward to grab a pastry, picks it apart, falls back against the back of his chair, and mulls over whether or not there's another word or phrase that's better than #yolo? ]

Does that capture what it's like waking up without your power at your fingertips?

_{[Just call him Captain Emo. He'll be here all day.]}

Something's wrong with me, too. I don't have my magic anymore. _{[With another soul-weary sigh, he slumps into a more comfortable sitting position to face Barry.]} A temporary effect of the event, I hope. I'm not sure I'm ready to turn into a seven-year-old girl.

_{[He props his elbow on the armrest and goes back to resting his cheek in his hand. The subject of how Barry relates to the Flash and how the Flash relates to his cats can wait for another day--preferably a day when he doesn't already feel like his twelve-year-old, ordinary self.

The irony of ironies is how long he'd prayed not to have magic, and now here he is, feeling like half a person now that it's gone.]}

Nice to put a face to the text. I wish it were under better circumstances.

More magic-friendly circumstances?

[ barry sighs, and he lets himself slump. if anders isn't going to pry too deeply into the flash and barry allen, he can at least let himself relax. it's tiring, too, being so worked up and on the defence. he finds he lacks the energy to keep that charismatic bubbliness up. ]

[ he picks up a cupcake and tears off the wrapper, but lets the cupcake itself drop onto a plate as he tears the thin paper in his hands into uneven strips. he's almost pouting. ] Does this usually happen? You have an event with powers, you end up losing them after?

_{[He finger guns at Barry with thumb and forefinger. Exactly so.]}

I'd settle for unfriendly magic as long as there was magic.

_{[The rest of his thought goes unfinished, but his meaning is heavy in the air. The trade-off for the return of his real memories is that his well of mana has dried up. It's an impossible sensation to describe, like having a limb severed without the pain.]}

I can't say I've experienced anything quite like this before. Names taken away and replaced with titles, emotions shut off, memories altered... but nothing this extreme. _{[He looks over, mollified somewhat that he's not alone in feeling out of sorts.]} What's your excuse? Did Wonderland take your sense of coordination?

[ if both wells and zoom hadn't chosen to steal his speed, he knows he'd be freaking out right about now. he'd be unsettled, bouncing off the walls, afraid of what this means for his future as the flash and barry allen. but he's experienced a betrayal he's easily forgiven, and opting to hand over his speed for the sake of ensuring wally west's life. he knows what it's like to go from being the flash to barry allen again, and he's already grieved and accepted it. ]

[ wonderland taking it away seems like it's trying to teach him a lesson he's already been taught and succeeded in passing the examinations for. but he hasn't made it a point to tie both barry and the flash together for the residents who are in similar situations to him, whether it be falling down the rabbit hole or losing their powers upon this very day. ]

[ barry looks at anders, then down at the plates before him. ] Uh … [ this is a part of the contingency plan he needs to create for future depowering moments. ] Yeah. I'm not usually this clumsy? [ he shrugs his shoulders and sighs in defeat. ] Guess I am today. It really sucks.

_{[He chuckles lightly in his throat. Though it's not with his usual energy, his amusement is no less genuine.]}

It must have stolen your ability to lie, too.

_{[Anders has heard more convincing answers in his day and he's not above continuing to tease someone for all the telltale signs of subterfuge. Oh, how times change. Most of his childhood had been dedicated to sitting across from Irving's desk, dodging topics and distracting from the truth just like this; now here he sits in Irving's shoes.]}

Your day is going as well as mine, by the sounds of it.

[ barry doesn't even sit up and try and defend himself. if he can blame the aftereffects of this event on his piss poor attempts to keep his lies in line and his own expressions controlled, he'll take advantage of it. he's never been particularly great at lying, but he has given leonardo dicaprio a run for his oscar when he needs to. ]

[ he shrugs his shoulders pathetically and sighs. ] What are you going to do now? I was planning on eating myself to death but I don't have the appetite anymore.

The cupcake wrappers might do you in before the cupcakes do.

_{[Just saying.]}

I'm moping and feeling sorry for myself, that's what I'm doing. You showed up at the perfect time to join in if you like.

Do we get jackets? I think we may need to get them delivered here. I don't really want to move. [ uncharacteristic of barry allen, always on the move. his text messages to anders may imply he's talkative, but it's his textual way of constantly moving. his brain never quite stops, unless someone zaps the speed force right out of him. ]

[ he leans back in his chair, throwing his head over the rest of it to stare at the ceiling, and sighs pathetically. ] I can't even enjoy these cupcakes. Is this as bad as it gets in Wonderland? It takes the joy out of cupcakes?

_{[Anders groans. Ugh, no. Please no more uniforms. No more mutants, no more humans, no more islands, no more anything that reminds him of the last event. He wants a redo on the last week.]}

I hope not. If I never see another gaudy uniform, it'll be too soon. _{[A pause.]} No offense to your friend.

_{[Exemptions can be made. The Flash and the Avengers are allowed to keep their gaudy uniforms as long as they promise not to share their memories with the Wonderland population anymore. Have mercy, you guys.]}

Hm. Incarceration cupcakes can't live up to the taste of ones when you're not dancing at the end of someone else's puppet strings. Maybe that's the problem.

[ no one's had a glimpse of the flash's world yet. there's large, telepathic talking gorillas, and half-man, half-sharks running around the city. the genosha event seems more like a walk in the park than anything else. ]

[ it's on the tip of his tongue — the very tip — for him to ask what's wrong with the flash's suit, but he's simply not quick enough. it bursts and dies, and barry slumps, as though he's run a marathon in the span of two seconds, into his chair as he gives up on questioning anders' opinion on his suit, and possibly leading him to be suspicious once again. ]

[ being slow does have its advantages, but barry still dislikes it. ]

[ he sighs, and almost slumps so he can slide right off the chair and become a puddle on the floor. ] We shouldn't sulk. Sulking's for the weak. [ says the sulker sulking while he says he's too good to sulk. ]

_{[All right, it's official, Barry is much better at slumping sadly in chairs. What a pair of sad sacks they make.]}

But I am weak right now. I'm as helpless as a kitten. I've been declawed.

_{[These metaphors could use some work, maybe.]}

Tell me something cheerful.

[ thankfully his feet and converse shoes (perhaps they truly are magical) keep him from slipping off his chair like he's water. he remains hunched, looking completely pathetic, and looks up at the ceiling for that's the way his head's resting against the back of the chair. ]

[ he looks to anders with a slight tilt of his head before resting back against the chair uncomfortably, and stares up at the ceiling for a moment. hands against his chest, he thinks it over, and then recalls a non-science joke. ]

The past, present, and future walk into a bar. [ he pauses purposefully for dramatic effect, even if his tone of voice is rather dry. ] It was tense.

[ so, that wasn't cheerful. ]

_{[Oh, but good attempt. Bravo. One has to give lame jokes credit where credit is due, and this one is especially apt when Anders already feels like he's carrying all three on his shoulders.]}

True enough.

_{[He smiles, amused despite Barry's dry delivery. They could quite possibly grow to be genuine friends. Real friendship is sitting around a table shooting the shit while ignoring your problems.

Isn't it? Well, it should be.]}

That'll do.

[ if possible, barry slumps even further into his chair. ] How do we stop thinking about the thing we don't want to think about?

[ it's so whiny to his ears, and he wishes he could outrun it. despite losing his speed, he still hasn't quite attained a filter that lets him think overs words and gives him a chance to change what he wants to say. ]

[ he doesn't know the solution to this problem. he's never thought of any alternatives aside from either running right into the issue at hand or running from it. ]

_[Lightly:]

You mean go on and pretend life isn't a grey, barren wasteland with no joy left in it?

_{[Barry's probably asking the wrong guy. Normally Anders is an Olympic-level athlete at blithely shrugging off his concerns in front of watchful eyes or, like Barry, running away from his problems entirely.

But then he'd come to Wonderland and let Wonderland's magic break down every one of his barriers, and twist around every one of his private thoughts. Today is a little harder than most days to pretend.]}

We could go to the bar and get drunk to the gills. That's a surefire way to stop from thinking.

[ he almost tells anders he can't get drunk. he's not exactly a lush anymore, able to handle many, many shots much like indiana jones' future wife, marion. sometimes he misses being normal; getting drunk with his friends is the one thing being the flash has taken away from him. ]

[ sitting on the tip of his tongue, he makes to speak, and then he deflates. pulling himself up in his chair, he looks as though he's about to decline. ]

Is this bar going to make me change in size?

[ out of all the places in wonderland barry hasn't quite investigated properly, the bar is one. how can he when nothing really kicks him into a flighty buzz of intoxication? he suspects if there were any potions to shrink him or make him bigger, it'd last for only a second before his metabolism kicks it in the shins. but without the speed force in his body, he's a little afraid of shrinking. ]

[ but this is his way of cosigning his name and saying yes! ]

Have you not been in the bar yet?

_{[Anders has to ask. Something in the way Barry words the question makes him wonder. Who hasn't visited the bar and drunk themselves into a stupor at least once already? How does Barry cope?

... Well, there's no hiding he's from Ferelden now. Booze as a cure-all is a painfully Fereldan thing to think.]}

The severity of your problems will certainly seem to change in size. And that's close enough sometimes.

[ barry's walked by the bar, but he's never walked into it. he's seen no point, considering he can't get drunk. ]

[ it's on the tip of his tongue, those words, the truth, but he closes his mouth and bites down on the words until they reshape themselves into something of a white lie. ]

Beer doesn't really go well with a muffin. [ he shrugs, as though that explains it. partly the truth, given barry allen downs cupcakes and muffins and everything in between and out of the pastry sphere like it's air. ]

[ tapping his converse shoe on the ground, he throws his head to the side. ] Do you think our pathetic selves can last the trip to the bar? It's a long walk just to the door. [ he lifts his hand and sweeps it over toward said door of the tea room. ]

Unless there's a special ingredient in those muffins, you're doing this relaxing thing all wrong. You need a good pint of ale to lower those inhibitions. Wet the whistle and get those acronyms flowing!

_{[Sparing a glance for the door, Anders doesn't move. Despite his cheery proposition, he doesn't seem in a hurry to do anything besides sit here and glare daggers at his glass of water.

Everything he does without his magic just hits home that he doesn't have it, and he's a little nervous to face the outside world like this, if he's being honest. Maybe that's why Barry had come in here in the first place--to hide and pretend like hell this isn't happening.]}

Would your inner ear make the trip or should I expect to bandage your wounds after you go tripping down the stairs? Just so I'm prepared.

I think I'm going to need to be plastered up. You can be the first to write your name on my cast.

[ if that's any consolation for the fact barry doesn't anticipate he'll be easily avoiding crashing into walls. his reflexes have always been quick, even before the lightning strike, but now that he's slow, he's beginning to realise how he relied so heavily on his abilities. he's forgotten what it's like to be the human in meta human. ]

[ he sighs, and lets his feet flop onto the floor. ]

Okay, dude. We have to move. We have to be BAMFs. [ he looks at the door for a long moment, as if suspecting it to move closer to him. (he is, in fact, willing it to come closer.) ] Either we try and move the door with our minds, or we be H.B.I.C.s and go to the bar ourselves.

[ turning his head to face anders, ] You can call a friend if you need help picking your answer.

_{[Plastered up. Barry continues to be a bastion of wit and punnery.]}

Do you think so? I don't know if I have it in me, teach. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

_{[Do you really think Anders has the strength of a BAMF in him, oh wise senpai? He doesn't have a gig as an acronym teacher or cupcake taste-tester to fall back on like Barry, after all. His stock price is in the gutter.]}

Well, there's you. We're pals, aren't we? But since I'm fresh out of telekinetic abilities, it looks like our choice will have to be... _{[Heaving their sorry asses out of their seats. Which Anders does with another dramatic groan. There's no such thing as too many dramatic groans on a Maker cursed day like this.]} All right, now you. Come on, this is a team effort.

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