entrancelogs | + Your imagination can't hurt you! +

[Sans stays prone, because lying down is basically the best thing ever, and it gives him an excuse to keep his eyesockets closed. The vision in his left eyesocket is still a bit cloudy and it's been giving him a headache.]

theme seems to be puzzles. solve a puzzle, get to another area. something like that. just don't really know what the point is.

[He folds his arms across his ribcage and heaves a sigh.]

nothing seems to be happening yet. guess we could just stay here and wait for the event to be over.

If we wait for it, will it be over?

[ barry's reconsidering his choice to stand. sans looks comfortable, and barry wants to be comfortable. lying on the hard ground had been relaxing, even for someone who's so restless and in the need to move about every single second. rather than be bouncing off the walls, he stands uncharacteristically still. there's energy bursting inside of him, but he doesn't feel the desire to so much as move. ]

[ he remarks quietly, ] Every event ends. [ he shakes his head, then speaks louder, ] Maybe if we figure out what we're supposed to do here, it'll be over for us? [ he looks to sans and frowns. ] Aren't you uncomfortable without a pillow?

one way or another, yeah. heh.

[This room doesn't seem to be filling up with water, but something else is probably gonna happen that will kill them. And then, hey, they can just wait out the rest of the event while they're dead. Sans will get two whole days, Barry will...probably get one. Either way, that should be sufficient.]

[God, that's dark. He cuts that thought off.]

all seems to be puzzle-based. last one was a locked room sorta thing. figure out how to escape before...heh, uh, before time runs out.

[He sits up just enough to get a better look at the room.]

don't see anything in here but a tree, though.

[It occurs to him that he's feeling a little...weird. Sluggish, and not really in his usual Sans-brand exhaustion and laziness sort of way. It's a sort of...almost boneless feeling, which is both absurd and ironic. And a pun, so triple points.]

[ for someone who's always so restless, moving about and desperate to run from one end of the country to the other, barry feels like clicking the brakes into place and sitting down again. what he ends up doing, though, is leaning against the tree. that sluggishness feels inherently human, but not in the way that had once defined him. (he'd been lazy, but not that lazy.) ]

[ as if noticing he's leaning against the trunk of a tree, he peers up, letting the back of his head sit against it. ] Huh. [ then he looks around again, as if expecting the room to shift. nothing seems to happen, save he thinks to lean more of his weight against the trunk. ]

I had to phase — [ barry pulls a face, those reflexes of his a little too slow to catch his own slips. ] — Uh. Get through … stuff. I kind of thought puzzles would be more … Why's a raven like a writing desk, you know? Wonderland's got an absurd sense of humour.

[ he lets out a breath. a touch of his old self pokes at him, and he's quick to go on another tangent, ] Do you feel weird?

yeah, i had a...glorified fish tank before this, pretty...much.

[Man, he's even talking pretty slowly. Huh.]

but yeah...you'd think it'd be more... [He waves his hand vaguely, unwilling to even finish the sentence.]

[That's an odd question. Implies that Barry is feeling weird himself, which means that this slow, sluggish feeling might not be normal.]

[There's also the fact that the hand he just waved seems to be kinda...warping. Some of his fingers are fusing together and turning into claws.]

[He watches it with a sort of detached, philosophical horror.]

i think i'm turning into something else.

and not, like. metaphorically.

Huh?

[ for the fastest man alive, he's barely processing anything sans is saying. you'd think he'd be more excitable about being face-to-face with his skeleton acquaintance. he knows so much about him already — he's named after a font but not deliberately, he has a cool brother, he loves his brother, he's from the underground, he doesn't know lady gaga — and he has so many opportunities to teach sans the entire world, but barry allen wants to lean against this tree instead and become boneless. ]

[ there's a pun in there somewhere, but he's too sluggish to even try and find it. ]

[ he looks to sans, brows furrowing. what's wrong with his hand? ] Dude, your hand — [ and when he lifts his to point toward sans, he finds his fingers are beginning to fuse together, too. ]

What the frak. [ so, in true flash fashion, barry vibrates his hand. blurring in the air before him, it eventually slows down to a hum. ] What's happening?

[The weird thing is that he's not that freaked out. Probably because he instinctively compartmentalizes existential dread so he can deal with it later, or never, but it's also just kinda...hard to be upset about this. His hand is growing flesh and fur now, but hey, at least it doesn't hurt.]

[The last challenge kind of set the bar really, really low. Turning into some kind of creature isn't as bad as what happened.]

[He seems to be shrinking, too. And there's more skin happening.]

i have literally no idea.

[He could probably count the Surface animals he knows about on his fingers. At least when he has regular fingers, at least. The point being, he knows basically jack shit about animals. Someone else might recognize his new paw as that of a three-toed sloth, but as for all Sans knows maybe this is some kind of werewolf thing.]

this is probably gonna be part of...the challenge. uh...maybe we have to...do something with the tree, as...whatever we're turning into?

[Okay it's happening to his face now too. That's weird. He's developing ears and a nose. What the fuck, man.]

[ despite feeling himself change slightly — god, this is really weird — barry's watching sans' transformation. it's so surreal — he'd never gotten to really see how the norman bates had shapeshifted into each person he'd come into contact with. he'd changed from the flash of iris to caitlin to even himself within a blink of an eye, perhaps more of a comment on his grasp on his ability than anything else. ]

[ once he's over how confused and queasy he feels with watching sans change, he recognises the animal as soon as the claws replace bone. ]

You're Sid!

[ one day he'll remember sans isn't totally up with all the pop culture references he thinks to use to describe almost every situation. ]

You're turning into a sloth. [ he looks down at himself, noticing how his five fingers have become three elongated claws. ] So am I!

[ it's almost as though he remembers his face is changing. all that hair on the top of his head? it's spreading itself out to appear like fur all over him. he doesn't even have time to toe off his converse shoes as his feet begin to morph through them. ]

what the heck is a sllllllll...

[His mouth changes and he loses the ability to speak. Alright then. That part kinda sucks. Can't tell puns if you can't talk.]

[He wonders what a sloth even is, but now his mind is kind of starting to slow down. Welp. He's guessing this isn't permanent, and that this...maybe has to do with solving this room puzzle? Maybe? And the tree has to factor into it. He's not even remotely a biologist and knows jack shit about animals, but it's not too much of a stretch to assume that claws like these belong to a tree-faring animal.]

[Tree-faring? Is that even the word? Tree...enthusiast? Whatever.]

[He raises a very slow paw and points three very slow claws very slowly toward the tree, hoping Barry will understand while their minds are still semi-functional. Then he sort of...forgets what he was doing. Alright, then. He is a sloth now, whatever a sloth is and whatever it even means to be a sloth. Fortunately, sloths don't care much about such existential questions. This isn't so bad. He kind of wants to eat leaves.]

[There's leaves up in that tree. Hmmm.]

[There is a fellow sloth-thing-maybe nearby. He hopes it is a friendly sloth. It's probably a friendly sloth.]

[He had a name, didn't he? Right, it's Sans. Sans the...sloth. He was something else before he was a sloth, but he can't remember the name for it. Well, whatever. Those leaves up there look pretty good. He probably has to climb up to get them but, uh...he doesn't think he's ever climbed a tree before, not without teleporting his way up the branches. Hmmmmm...]

[ for the fastest man alive, he sure is turning into a sloth at the slowest rate imaginable. maybe the speed force is fighting it, the changes that are happening to his body, but he inevitably falls prey to what's taken over sans' … well, it's not flesh, but it's bone. ]

Sssssss —

[ yep, sans' name is now ssss. ]

[ he's leaning against the tree, but the tree looks much higher than it had before. barry's lost a good chunk of height since being demoted from six foot to whatever this size is. ]

[ he looks over and sees another sloth. barry knows it's a sloth, because while everything else is moving super slow now that his face has lost all barry allen features and become a furry beast, his mind seems to still be whirring out of control. the fastest sloth alive. he thinks he'll need to tell cisco that one. ]

[ he lifts his hand and it's the slowest movement of his life. the frustration grows inside of him before it falls flat. it's almost like he's forgotten. he tilts his head up to the tree, then turns his body and tries to climb it. ]

[ but how the hell do these claws even work? are those sounds of disgruntlement coming from him? it sounds like something dying. and he can't get a grip on this tree. how the hell is he meant to climb it so he can be tall again? sans, come help. ]

[Friend sloth is having a hard time as well. Maybe he has also never climbed a tree before. It's nice not to be alone in this strange situation of being bad at existing as a sloth. You'd think this sort of thing would just be instinct.]

[He's...pretty sure there's a joke in there, but he can't think of it.]

[He moves very slowly. That's okay. Slow is good. He drags himself across the dirt floor toward the tree and toward friend sloth. He has no sense of time whatsoever, so he has no idea how long it takes him to reach friend sloth, but eventually he makes it. Friend sloth is trying to figure out how his claws work.]

[Sans sloth reaches up and tries to dig his claws into the tree. Hm, no. They're not that sharp. These are gripping claws, not scratching claws. He gives friend sloth a slow nudge and then reaches toward the tree. These claws don't spread very far, but they're curved in a nice way. The way they're curved makes sense. With that shape, they can hook around the bark.]

[He demonstrates for friend sloth. Then he gets his other paw up on the tree as well. Now...the hind feet are a problem. How is that going to work? Hmmm...]

[ if the flash was a sloth, would the flash be moving just a minuscule of a second faster than sans-sloth? it's a question for the ages, and a thought barry has before he ends up dropping said thought because he feels a nudge at his shoulder. ]

[ sans-sloth shows him how to use his claws, but barry-sloth doesn't want to. his legs have always been what's held him upright, kept him running. his mind may be moving too slowly to pull a thread together, but he knows that. it's instinct, ingrained in him in a way wanting to climb this tree seems to be the be all and end all of life. ]

[ he looks to sans-sloth and realises he has the upper body strategy worked out, but not the back. barry-sloth decides to get up right behind him and give him a headbutt on the butt. ]

[ use your feet! put some power into your legs! he tries to encourage sans-sloth to move his left leg first by trying to nudge it upward. (btw, dude, you've got some bony legs.) ]

[Friend-sloth headbutts his butt. Distantly, Sans remembers that he's never actually had a butt before, and that this is going to be something he has to laugh about later on, because this is objectively hilarious.]

[Sloths can't laugh, though. They climb trees and hang around, and that is ten thousand percent okay with him right now. But alright, he sees what friend-sloth is going for. Use your legs kinda like hands or something. Put some force into them. Okay.]

[He manages to get one clawed foot hooked around the tree. Then slowly manages the other. Oh man. He is totally clinging to this tree. Nice. This is a good tree.]

[Now there's that whole climbing thing. He sort of looks back at friend-sloth. Okay, so...it's probably just your standard one foot in front of the other thing, right? He moves one front paw upward, grabs some bark a bit higher. Levers himself up further, shifts the other paw. Shifts his feet. It's all very slow and methodical, but he is definitely climbing this tree and that's amazing.]

[He makes a sort of weird sound of slothy triumph.]

[ it's almost like they're speaking the same language — or grunts. barry-sloth finds himself feeling elated sans-sloth is appearing to make some headway up the tree. he shifts his head, albeit slowly, to watch him from an angle, taking in how his claws dig into the park and almost hook into it, as though the shedding skin of the trunk are steps to a ladder. ]

[ he remains behind him, though. despite being as impatient as any speedster, barry-sloth stays where he is, bumping sans-sloth as though the mere movement will push him upward quicker. ]

[ he follows at a slow pace, shifting so he's not directly under sans-sloth, but he's off to the side, visible around the tree, his body mass noticeable so his friend doesn't so much as forget he's sharing a tree with him. copying sans-sloth's actions, he digs his claws into the tree and begins to pull himself up, feet slipping just a little with how impatient he is to move his arms before he's properly settled. ]

[ he makes his own sound of triumph, glancing down and noticing he's a sloth's body away from the ground. ]

[Oh man. Oh man. He's actually climbing now. Him and friend sloth, just going straight up there to where all the tasty leaves are. Heck yeah! They can hang out in this tree for weeks, just eating all these leaves. It's gonna be great.]

[Only...hm. Wasn't there some kind of Thing that they needed to do? Something almost as important as eating leaves? He can't remember. He just thinks that the Thing they needed to do was somewhere up in this tree, probably. Well, that's fine. They can eat some awesome leaves while they're looking for the Thing. Just gotta get up there first. It's gonna be a little while, but that's okay. You gotta go slow.]

[ is sans-sloth experiencing impatient bursts of wanting to move faster? perhaps it's just barry-sloth, given his past life was being the fastest man alive. he's a sloth now, but he finds himself fighting off the impulse to headbutt sans-sloth's furry behind to push him further up the tree. ]

[ after moving so he's behind sans-sloth, he tries it, but it only really starts a slight ache in his forehead. ]

[ barry-sloth decides to play a little dangerously and stretches his arm, nice and straight, above his head, and tries to dig his claws into the bark so it can help him pull himself up. despite being strong, he's still slow as all hell, and finds it difficult to pull himself up when he hasn't quite given himself enough elbow-bending room. ]

[ he makes a sad, pathetic sound, and struggles to release his claw from where he's accidentally pushed it a bit too deeply into the bark. ]

[Friend sloth bumps against his butt again. Seems like friend sloth is in a hurry. That's okay. Sans is fine with friend sloth getting to the top of this tree ahead of him. Friend sloth has helped a lot already, so he's entitled to the best, tastiest leaves. He moves slowly out of the way so friend sloth can pass him more easily.]

[Friend sloth makes a sad little sound though, so Sans looks back to see that friend sloth has gotten his claws stuck in the bark. Oh dear. That doesn't seem like fun. Sans should help. He scoots over a little bit and reaches with his foot downward, digging a little at the bark around friend sloth's claws with his own. After a moment, the bark gives way and friend sloth is freed.]

[Sans makes a weird, slothy triumphant sound.]

[ that's two weird triumphant sounds. ]

[ being a sloth is hard work. he has the vague thought that from this moment onward, he'll never make fun of sid in ice age ever again. but then he wonders what the hell that is, and why there's ice, and then he's suddenly glad that this particular tree is nice and dry, and it's sort of warm in an uncomfortable yet comfortable way. ]

[ again: being a sloth is hard work. ]

[ barry-sloth eventually gains some traction along the tree. lengthening his arms, he pulls himself upward at a pace that's incredibly, frustratingly slow, but it feels fast to him. does sans-sloth feel a little dizzy when moving a bit too fast along the tree? their previous pace was nice, but also irritating, as those leaves are right at the top and barry's stomach grumbles. ]

[ making his way along the tree, barry-sloth reaches forward when a branch hangs low with some nice looking leaves on it. somehow, in some way, he breaks it off with his scissor-like claws, and he holds his arm down so sans-sloth can take the leaves whenever he's ready. ]

[Wow! Friend sloth is booking it! What a speed-demon. Look at those claws go. Oh man. What a guy.]

[Sans is considerably slower, but finally he makes it to the branches. Hanging upside down from these branches seems appropriate, and it also helps him reach the leaves a little better. Friend sloth offers him some leaves as he's crawling his way toward a good looking patch. Aww! How nice of him! He accepts the leaves and starts munching.]

[Yeah, these are good leaves.]

[Though, hmm. Wasn't there something else they were supposed to be doing? There was something other than leaves up here. A Mystery or something.]

[ sans-sloth is right. there is something else beyond the leaves they're currently munching on for energy as well as mere pleasure. it's lies above the leaves and the branches, the long trunk of the tree they're hugging with all their might. ]

[ it's more leaves. ]

[ and freedom. ]

[ but leaves are freedom, aren't they? ]

[ satisfied his friend's taken some leaves, barry-sloth decides to venture forth. it's within his entire makeup that he does so, the more stupid of the sloths, never quite taking what's before them right now as he believes in the impossible. he begins to move, albeit fast enough to still be slow, and makes his way toward the top of the tree. ]

[ and makes a noise of pleasure. there's more leaves, sans-sloth! and he's beginning to feel a little more clear-headed. his paw may be vibrating, or perhaps it's just the fact he's so hungry right now his entire body's doing it out of sheer impatience to eat more leaves. ]

[Yes...freedom. Freedom is good. Freedom is high in trees away from predators. Only, uh. What sort of predators? He doesn't really think that anything would want to eat him. Why is that, though? Things eat sloths, right? But things don't eat him. Because he's...a special sloth? Hm.]

[Friend sloth is climbing a bit higher, and it's mostly curiosity that makes Sans follow. Maybe there are better leaves up there? Or maybe it's that other thing--that freedom thing? Quite frankly he thinks he'd rather just find a nice branch to hang from and rest his bones. Wait--his bones? Hmmm.]

[ the higher he goes, the weirder he feels. when he'd been on the ground, he'd been set on trying to quench some sort of grumble in his stomach. all he wanted to do was eat when he saw the leaves, but now that he's up in the highest points of the tree, he finds this urge to do something else. something perhaps a little dangerous. ]

[ like phasing halfway through the tree. did his paw just disappear inside of it? when he pulls his arm back and his claw chips into the bark, he can't see his fur. it's a blur of soft grey with sparks of gold. ]

[ letting any leaves fall from his mouth rather unattractively, he makes a noise of surprise. then, he looks down at his friend-sloth, and finds that everything seems to be in crystal clear focus with him. maybe you shouldn't eat these leaves, bro. he starts making an audible fuss in an attempt to warn him. ]

[His fur is doing something weird. It's like...going away or something? It's kind of unsettling to look at, and he makes a mildly distressed sound, looking over at friend sloth. Friend sloth starts making a bunch of alarm noises, as if there's some kind of predator nearby. What is he trying to say?]

[He feels like maybe he shouldn't eat these leaves anymore. They came up here for a reason, him and friend--Barry sloth. Barry sloth? Yeah. It's a thing called a name, and he has one too. He's Sans. He shifts his head slowly so he can look at his melting fur again.]

[Right, none of that is supposed to be there, is it? He's something else. He's not a sloth at all.]

[So...what does that mean? What now?]

[ it means you stop eating the leaves, sans. unless that's a thing skeletons of the underground do, then this will be a free judgement zone. ]

[ barry, on the other hand, spits the leaves out. his claws are melting into long, bony fingers with flesh rather than fur over them. his grip on the bark is loosening, becoming as weak as his feet try to find a purchase that seems to abandon him immediately. his nose wrinkles as he tries to poke his tongue out, as if that mere action will get rid of the leaves that stick to the roof of his mouth. ]

[ his entire body's beginning to slowly lengthen, taking on his six foot frame, as his fur slowly shits to become skin. ]

— Yuck! [ he still looks like a sloth, albeit one that's currently undergoing some sort of magical treatment, but that's a very human voice. ] Saaaans!

[Oh man. Why is he eating these leaves anyway? What the hell. He hates salad. This is like--like healthy stuff. It doesn't taste like burgers and ketchup at all. Dude. No. No more leaves. He almost lets go of the tree entirely as his claws start to shrink and diminish, and ends up nestling into a crook in a branch and wrapping all four limbs around it. Oh holy crap, he's high up. Not that he's ever felt one way or another about heights, but--haha, it's a pretty long drop, and a fall from this fight will probably kill him. He only has 1...]

[1...sloth life? No, no. 1 something. 1 HP.]

[Oh god he has organs he can feel them in there what the fuck.]

[Thankfully they're all starting to melt away into nothingness, but he can still feel it, all the weird extra bits that make up a living thing aside from its literal skeleton.]

[It's probably a bit horrifying to watch as he's midway through, looking like a sloth that's slowly dissolving in acid.]

oh my god.

[Oh hey, he can talk again. He grips the tree limb tighter.]

what the fuck.

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