riverviewlogs | [open] it's time to tip it off

Entry tags:

[open] it's time to tip it off

who: cisco + anyone!
what: catch-all
when: july
where: anywhere; if you want a starter, please hit me up!
warnings: discussion of sex & drinking

i. tech testing

[ Most of Cisco's work is done within the privacy of his workshop, but there comes a time when he has to leave and find a nice quiet place to actually test some of the tech that he's made. The one time he'd done so outside the wall, things had gone very very badly. So he makes a compromise, finds an alleyway that is within the city but deserted. Sure, he might blow up a dumpster or two and make quite a racket, but he is less likely to get attacked by monsters here, and if anyone disturbs him he can just tell them to clear out.

That's the theory, anyway. But some of the stuff he brought with him might be a bit more powerful than he'd intended... ]

ii. nesting

[ Cisco had been very tentative about his new living situation, at first. He didn't want to get too comfortable, in case Yuri changed his mind, or Eddie got sick of him. But after a few weeks, with no signs that they want him to leave, Cisco starts to think about maybe settling in to his new room. It's fairly stark, still - just a bed, some sheets, and an old couch. All his clothes are still in bags, but the first thing on his list is some dark curtains for the windows. He was never meant to be a morning person.

He can be seen in various shops in the quarantine, looking at furniture, rugs, curtains, etcetera. Cisco's not above asking random strangers for their opinion, either. ]

What do you think, this one or this one?

iii. misc

[ Come plot something! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Wally's mission right now as he makes his way down one of the hallways of the Guard's headquarters with his eyes focusing on a map of the areas outside the wall is to retrieve some snacks he has stashed away in a bag in his locker.

That's when he notices Cisco coming down the hallway from the opposite direction in his periphery vision, and plans to walk on by without any acknowledgment whatsoever, but settles for a slight nod after the other man's greeting, somehow managing to keep the knowing smile off his lips.

Cisco had certainly made a good first impression on Wally and everything he has heard about him when he's subtly asked around has backed that impression up, but he's still not quite ready to reveal his secret identity to him just yet.

The best way to avoid doing that is by limiting their interactions when he's not wearing the Flash suit.

It's something Wally thinks he's accomplished when Cisco walks by without a word, but before he can reach the other end of the hallway, he hears movement coming from behind him and what can only be Cisco's voice calling for someone to hold up.

Wally's expression is one of feigned confusion as he turns around to address Cisco. ]

Can I help you with something...?

[ Cisco's eyes narrow; at this point he can't be sure if the voice is a match or if his memory is playing tricks on him. He knows how tempting it can be, to misremember things. Confirmation bias, or something like that.

He quickly dismisses the option of just asking flat-out. If he's wrong, then he risks compromising the Flash's safety, because he will need to explain how he had made the mistake. Cisco doesn't want to to that. But what are his other options? It's possible, he thinks, that he could do some kind of test. There's the Joe West method of just knocking over the nearest breakable object, but Cisco decides against that - it might not work on someone who isn't, well, Barry. Instead, with a tiny nod of decision, he says: ]

Think fast!

[ And he just... straight up lobs one of those prototype shock grenades right at Wally's face. Reflexes are tough to fight. At the very least, if he's wrong and ends up hitting some poor dude in the face, it won't endanger the Flash. Cisco can just pretend to be a straight-up asshole. ]

Edited 2017-07-22 01:17 (UTC)

[ As Cisco expects, Wally's superhuman reflexes kick in before he knows what's going on and he easily catches the shock grenade in hands before it hits him in the face, the map in left hand crumpling up against the object.

He fixes Cisco with a hard stare as his peers over the grenade he's holding in front of his face. ]

What the hell...

[ He cuts himself off, coming to the realization of what had just happened on his own. His lips quirk up into a 'you got me' type smile. ]

You know that was as dirty as it was clever. [ There's nothing but amusement in his voice as he offers the grenade back to Cisco. ] How did you figure it out?

[ Cisco just barely had time to tense up; for a moment he really thought Wally wasn't going to catch it, that he was going to have to just start his new life as an infamous jerk who threw things at total strangers. But then, so quickly he doesn't even see it, Wally catches the grenade, and his horror is instantly transmuted into triumph.

Wally might be smirking but Cisco is smiling all over; he takes the grenade back, pointing at Wally as he crows: ] Ha! I knew it! I totally knew it!

[ Just... give him a moment to savor this. It's not often he manages to actually get one over on a speedster. But Cisco doesn't gloat for long; Wally asks how he knew, and Cisco goes immediately from victorious to concerned with a hint of stern. ]

The hair's kind of a giveaway, dude. Like, a literal red flag. On your head. Why doesn't your suit cover it up?

[ But lecturing Wally about the design of his suit is maybe not his first priority - or at least, Cisco realizes it shouldn't be. He holds up a calming hand and says: ]

Don't worry. Not gonna say shit to anybody, but I just gotta say... if I noticed? Somebody else is gonna notice, if they haven't already. And that's a real big problem, if you wanna do the secret identity thing. A problem we're gonna need to fix.

Edited 2017-07-22 06:00 (UTC)

[ It takes all of the restraint Wally possesses not to roll his eyes at Cisco's gloating. He does, however, cross his arms in front of his chest with a playful huff. He's been had, he can admit that, and he can let Cisco have his moment in the sun. The pointing does seem to be a bit much.

Cisco shouldn't expect Wally to forget this if he ever finds himself in the position to gloat in the future.

He actually begins to miss the gloating as Cisco proceeds to explain how he connected him to his superhero alter-ego and letting him know of the potential danger his red hair could have to his secret identity.

The man isn't wrong, the events here have proven that, but Wally isn't in any hurry to make any changes to his suit or his hair. ]

Believe it or not, it's never really been a big problem back home. But, I guess things are a bit different here.

[ He has been pondering just how important it is to keep a secret identity in a place where so many people who come from so many different worlds have unique abilities. Being The Flash doesn't quite have the same significance here that it does back home and most of the potential hazards that come with having a public identity aren't present at the moment.

That doesn't mean he'd go on the network and make a show of it, but perhaps letting things be without worrying about it is the way to go now that Cisco knows. Maybe he should talk about this with Dick on their trip into the abandoned city they have planned soon. ]

Since the cat's out of the bag, so to speak, I should properly introduce myself. [ He sticks out the hand not clinging to the map. ] The name's Wally, Wally West.

[ Cisco doesn't know whether he buys that story entirely. He might not know Wally all that well, but he knows Barry, and Barry would often say that things were "no big problem" that did indeed become big problems in the future. Cisco's learned to be suspicious of that kind of flippancy. But... ]

I mean... I guess it wouldn't be an issue if you don't stop and hang around for long enough while you're in your Flash suit for anyone to get a good look at you. Not like they're gonna notice the red hair when you're just a blur going by, surrounded by lightning.

[ But is that really sustainable, or feasible, in the long term? Sometimes, Wally is going to have to stop and fight. And those would be precisely the people who would get a chance for a good look at his hair, and they are precisely the sort of people who should have the least idea who he really is. So he just shrugs, a slightly exasperated sort of concession, but he files away the problem to mull it over later. ]

Wait... did you say West?

[ Cisco shakes Wally's hand, but his brow is now furrowed. That can't just be a coincidence, can it? This guy just happens to be a speedster who knows Barry Allen, and his last name is West? How could there not be a connection with Iris? ]

[ Wally doesn't mean to come across as dismissive of Cisco's concerns. But it's true the open cowl showcasing his hair has never been much of an issue for him. Then again, most of the people he interacted with any regularity since he became a costumed hero at the age of thirteen have been those also in the business with one notable exception.

He's willing to admit the situation in the the quarantine isn't the same. ]

I'll think about making a change. You know this place better than I do. [ He smiles wryly. ] I mean, I wouldn't want people to constantly chuck grenades in my direction to test me.

[ Yeah, that's something he is going to remember for a long time.

Wally notices there's something about his name that registers with Cisco even before the other man questions him about the second part of it. He thinks he might have an idea where this is going. ]

I did. Does it mean anything to you?

[ He wouldn't be surprised if it did. It's hard to imagine Barry Allen without Iris West. His Aunt Iris was the one that introduced him to Barry, after all. ]

Well, when you put it like that I sound like a total psycho. It wasn't an armed grenade... I wouldn't've...

[ Cisco stops with the slightly fumbling explanations. Sure, he can protest that Wally's life was never in danger, but in hindsight he sees that maybe it wasn't clear to Wally that there was no danger. And even if Wally knew it was harmless all along, Cisco had still tricked him, and tested him, and made him reveal himself when he didn't want to. His smile falters, just a touch, and he asks in all earnestness: ]

Wait, was that... a really shitty thing, I just did?

[ It's too late for doubts to fix anything, but boy, is he suddenly having them. Should he have just pretended not to recognize Wally? Or even if he did, have let it go without confirming? ]

I mean... you said you know Barry. Hard to imagine a Barry without some Wests around him, in any universe.

[ Wally waves Cisco's worries away with a hand. ]

Don't worry about it, man. I'm just messing with you. But, maybe you could pick something a little less dangerous looking the next time you want to trick a speedster.

[ He could have done without the grenade (unarmed as it was) tossing and would have preferred to reveal his identity on his own terms, but he isn't really bothered by the turn of events aside from feeling a bit like an idiot for falling for Cisco's trick.

The reaction could have been quite different if Cisco didn't have the whole "I'm a friend of Barry Allen's and know he's the Flash" thing going for him. ]

He and my Aunt Iris are pretty close. She was actually the one who introduced me to him when I was a kid.

[ There's some wistfulness and guilt there as he talks about Iris. He had been keeping his return from the Speed Force and his very existence a secret from her, wanting to solve the altered time-line mystery before approaching her. ]

[ Cisco's face is pure confusion for a few seconds as he tries to work that one out. Just saying they are 'pretty close' seems like an understatement, compared to in his world, particularly when he thinks about that by-line on that newspaper from the future. Add to that the fact that Iris doesn't have any siblings, and Wally and Iris sharing a surname wouldn't make sense if she were his aunt by marriage. And then there's the whole race thing, too, and in the end Cisco just shakes his head, giving up and proclaiming: ]

Must be another one of those things that's different between our worlds. The Iris West I'm friends with hasn't got a nephew or any way to get one, since I know for a fact her and Barry are gonna end up married in the future, and neither of them have got any siblings.

[ Cisco crosses his arms; it's not that it bothers him, exactly, but the differences are sometimes hard to grapple with. He's trying to imagine this other version of Iris. How different is she? Does she have anything in common with the one Cisco knows? What about Barry for that matter? ]

So you've known Barry a long time? How'd you find out he was the Flash, anyway? I'm assuming there were no grenades involved.

[ 'Pretty close' is the easiest way to describe Barry's relationship with Iris without getting into the manipulated timeline thing going on back home. Wally was shocked after he returned from the Speed Force to hear Barry refer to Iris as his friend, but even their love wasn't immune to history being rewritten.

He still believes the two will find their way back to one another because they are simply meant to be. ]

I've know Barry for about a decade. He told me about being the Flash right around the time I got my powers and became Kid Flash. I know it wasn't the most original of names, but I was thirteen at the time. So, yeah, it was a pretty ho-hum experience compared to this one.

[ The Captain Cold who was here also mentioned knowing an Iris with no siblings. He wonders if that's just a coincidence or not. Whatever the case is, he's learned to just roll with all of the differences or else he'd get one headache after another. ]

Anyway, him and Iris tying the knot wouldn't be that much of a stretch. Though Iris has two brothers and another nephew in my universe.

[ Cisco tries to imagine that. A thirteen year old speedster. Kind of horrifying, honestly. He's glad that Barry was around to look out for him, mentor him, keep him from accidentally ending the world or anything like that. He can picture it, too. An older Barry, more secure in his role as a hero, more settled and confident, taking a young meta under his wing, letting him in on the secret.

And from the sound of it, it's less that he and Iris aren't really a thing in Wally's universe, so much as they aren't a thing yet. Hell, the same is true in Cisco's world. If it hadn't been for that newspaper, there'd be hardly any difference at all, by the sound of it. ]

Listen... I feel kinda bad about the whole grenade thing, lemme buy you a drink? Pretty sure they got some alien shit here that'll knock even a speedster's socks off, even if it's only for a couple minutes.

[ Barry's guidance as a person and a mentor has certainly been a life saver for him. Though whenever Wally has expressed that sentiment to Barry, he would just wave if off and say he could have done a better job. Barry would rather take responsibility for the absurd things that aren't his fault. ]

I heard there's a bar close to here that serves this green stuff. It supposedly packs quite a punch. I have a few things I have to finish up, but we could meet up there later and continue to compare notes?

[ He can be a little more open now that Cisco is aware of his secret identity. ]

[ Cisco agrees eagerly, and the two of them arrange the details - which bar Wally means, when they are going to meet there. They decide to put it off until evening, for the happy hour drinks, which has the added bonus of giving Cisco a few hours to whip up a little something.

When Wally arrives to the bar Cisco has already gotten them a little table in the back corner, somewhere they shouldn't be overheard. There's a little tupperware sitting on the table, with a note taped to the top that reads: SORRY I THREW A GRENADE AT YOU :(. Cisco waits for Wally to take his seat before he slides the tupperware over to him and says: ]

I made you some of the high-calorie bars I make for Barry. There's some peanut butter ones, some tiramisu, and this matcha kind that I'm still tweaking the recipe on.

[ Nothing says 'I'm sorry' like gifts, and besides, taking care of speedsters is pretty much just ingrained in Cisco's DNA at this point. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[open] it's time to tip it off

sorry for the lateness!

no worries! :D

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

sorry for the delay, was moving and only just got wifi back

no worries!

no subject