There's guilt.

Of course there's guilt. Wanting to come here, being 'rescued', the guilt of it all almost crippled Barry for the first couple of days. Or maybe that was just the residual pain. It doesn't matter anymore. The fact is, Barry came, and he's managed to convince himself that it's for the best he be here and not home. He was about to do something stupid, back home. Something that would have put everyone he cared for at risk, and then, suddenly... he's here. That can't be coincidence.

Considering the fact that he's dodged a bullet, you'd think that Barry is trying to be more cautious now that he's been given a second chance. And he is! Well, was... look, the point is, he saw a door, he went through the door, and now he's in the middle of some maze that he can't find his way out of.

The maze cheats. That's the only explanation for it, he's decided. Everybody knows the golden rule for mazes, keep your hand on one wall and keep walking in that direction, it's bound to lead you to either the center or a way out. That being said, Barry's been walking for what feels like hours now, one hand brushing against the leafy hedge to his right and he can't help but feel like he hasn't gotten anywhere closer to his escape than he was an hour ago. So, yes, the maze cheats, and he has every intention of putting a sign on that damn door that says exactly that, once he finds it. If he finds it.

"Hello?" He calls out in hopes that he's not the only one stuck in this place, which may be a little selfish but realistically, who wants to be lost in a maze alone? Not Barry, that's for sure. "Anyone? A little help here?" It must be the tenth time he's tried, and for the tenth time, he receives no response. His tone turns bitter as he grumbles more to himself than aloud. "Or, you know, just me. Just me is cool too, I'll just die in here. Breaking news, The Flash found dead from dehydration in the middle of a maze, villains rejoice."

As if on cue to his comment Barry turns a corner only to find a large courtyard that he definitely hasn't seen before. He stops abruptly, staring wide eyed at the single bench sitting in the center, and beside it...

A tray. With a clean glass, and a pitcher of what looks like lemonade.

Oh, the maze is so cheating.

"You think you're funny," he says aloud, refusing to acknowledge the fact that he's speaking to shrubbery. After a lingering second he caves, and Barry approaches the bench before sitting and sniffing the liquid in the large pitcher. It smells safe... he dips his finger in and tastes it, searching for any odd flavor that could be a sign of chemicals, but he picks up on nothing. Just lemonade. "This is great and all, but do you think I can get a way out of here instead?" He doesn't know what he expects but he gets exactly what anyone else would get when they speak to an intricately placed series of hedges; absolutely nothing. Barry sighs.

"I didn't think so." He mumbles again, and he glares at a random maze wall as if it's personally wronged him before resigning to pouring himself a glass. He might as well take whatever perks he can get... he's going to be here for a while.

Name: Paley
OOC Journal: baneofpaley
Preferred Contact: Email, Plurk, or here.


Character Name: Bartholomew Henry "Barry" Allen
Fandom: The Flash
Canon Point: Season 2 finale, before time travel
Canon Wiki/Source: Here.
Contact Method: The Also Humans visited Barry right before he was about to enter the Speed Force, effectively stopping him from going back in time. They took the form of his late Father.

Character History: Barry Allen has not had an easy life. Despite his double life as a vigilante, he's actually quite shy and awkward, having been an outcast and easily bullied when he was in grade and high school. When he was young he watched something impossible take the life of his mother in a flash of yellow and red light, and from that point on Barry delved into the sciences in a dedication to find out what truly happened to her and free his father from prison, where he sat for her murder. His interest in comic books and sci-fi came from such an effort, able to comprehend the complex plots of different stories due a natural intelligence and hunger to learn, neither of which helped his reputation when he was in school.

Barry's life changed when he became The Flash. Although sheepish and somewhat socially awkward, he's more confident behind the mask, proving that he has the ability to snarky and suave as long as he has a different identity to hide behind. His loyalty to his friends is unwavering, particularly because his life is quite literally in their hands on a day to day basis as they work in the lab while he's out on the streets, but because of his dedication to his friendships Barry takes betrayal very seriously. After not one, but two mentors turned out to have ulterior motives of taking his life, Barry has become somewhat cold to new people let in on his secret, and he's now remarkably slow to trust. He's also torn emotionally, struggling to find peace within himself after watching his mother and father murdered before his eyes by the two men who he allowed into his life, and he blames himself for their deaths. He's still struggling with the guilt, and he accepted the Also Humans offer because he knew that if he stayed where he was, he would make rash and dangerous decisions.

After watching his father sit in prison for fifteen years despite being an innocent man, Barry has one true moral standard that he does everything he can to stand by, and that is to do the right thing despite how hard it may be. He had watched his mother die before him twice, the second time being optional, because he knew that changing the timeline could be dangerous for the rest of the world, and his own losses were not worth more than the lives of innocent strangers. Such a burden, however, weighs heavy on him, and although he knows that he's made the right choices for the rest of the world, it doesn't stop him from feeling the guilt of the things he's allowed and the people he's pushed away. After watching several of the people he's cared about either die or have to go into hiding, Barry is convinced that he brings nothing but trouble to those who he's close to, and it makes it hard for him to truly open up to someone and show them the most vulnerable parts of himself.

Abilities/Special Powers: A lot.

Prose/Action Bracket Sample: (From and old comm)

There was admittedly a little bit of relief when Felicity said that she needed what he had said, because Barry had been afraid that he was crossing a line by pushing a subject that had obviously upset her so much. The tightness around his heart loosened when he saw her face lighten a little, but it was traded with sinking guilt in his stomach when she told him how much of an 'inspiring hero' he was. Not anymore. Perhaps when she had last seen him, but Barry was no hero. He wasn't inspiring anyone, Zoom had sufficiently managed to turn his whole city against him, and although Barry was recovering from that there was no denying that they were scared. Not inspired. And that was his fault for letting Zoom so close, and for trusting a man who he felt as if he could relate to only to find that he had made the same mistake twice. Inspiring, no. Failing. He was a failing hero. Which just made him a guy in a suit.

But there was an undeniable comfort in seeing that he was able to pull Felicity out of the self-loathing she had been quickly sinking into. Perhaps he wasn't a hero. At least he could be a good friend. "You feel bad because you're a good person, Felicity. That's what good people do, they feel bad for things that they can't control. And that's okay, you can feel bad. But you can't blame yourself." The brighter she got the better he felt, and when she leaned in Barry's eyes closed in a slow blink, staying still so he could feel her soft lips pressing against his cheek. Her words managed to bring a blush to his face, and he gave a shy laugh that was paired with a little shake of his head. Alright. Not an inspiring hero, but her hero. He could accept that, and that meant something. Because it was Felicity.

"And you're never going to have to find out because I'm not going anywhere. So, bad news got nothin' on us, right? You've got me, Felicity. I'll always be here for you, you know that." He grinned, and Barry brought one of her hands up to his lips so he could press a kiss to the back of it before shifting to stand up with a grunt. "Come on," he offered her his hand, paired with a charming grin. "You were upset so obviously I need to make an idiot out of myself to keep you smiling. And I will openly admit that I know the whole dance to this song. You're learning it."

Network Sample:

Oh, woah, okay.

Yeah, this place is awesome! They weren't kidding. How do I
Okay so how am I supposed to
Hi, I'm Barry Allen, I'm the new guy, I have a horrible track record and I come with a lot of emotional baggage how are you

I'm Barry, and I'm really glad to be here.

Lame? Is that lame?

I haven't found my way back to everybody else just yet but when I do I'll help however I can. It looks like things have been turned upside down for you guys lately if I'm going off of the other messages here, and you know what they say. If you're not a part of the solution, you're a part of the precipitate.

Yes. Nailed it.