fluxscapemod: damn kids interrupting my reading (Default)
fluxscape mods. ([personal profile] fluxscapemod) wrote in [community profile] fluxscape2020-09-26 12:26 pm

Arrivals - Beachville pt 2: OTA!

Who: New Arrivals, Jerry Schiff and YOU!!
What: More arrivals show up in Beachville. There are cookies for the people that behave.
Where: The Information Booth which, while at the same place it always is, seems to have changed a tad!
When: Mid-Morning, September 27th.
Warnings: Just mind your CWs. There's probably swearing, too.

It starts off simple enough. There isn't even any warning. No feeling like something's coming. No little instinct in the back of your head or what have you that tells you change is coming. You blink, your setting has changed. It's as simple and as quick as that. From where you stand, you're surrounded by tall palm trees. The ground beneath your feet is green, a well maintained lawn like one would find in a city park. A clean, salty scent only found on untouched, tropical paradises. You can hear the sounds of the beach. People laughing, amusement park rides thundering in the background. And it's actually pretty peaceful. Even the weather is perfect. Just the right amount of Summer heat without being muggy or humid. There are tropical birds singing in the trees around you, and a light breeze in the trees, rustling the leaves. It's pleasant. Until someone clears their throat nearby. And this is when you notice you're not the only person standing there with a confused look on your face. You're part of a crowd, surrounding an information booth with an older gentleman inside, several stone paths leading away from the booth and towards the nearby beach town.

Was that information booth always there? And how long has the man inside been watching you with that look on his face that suggests he's internally sighing at your presence? He seems friendly enough, however, and once all eyes are on him, he begins speaking.

"Can I have your attention please?" he says, voice calm, lightly accented, fairly monotone, but still gets your attention just the same. And certainly 'no nonsense.' "My name is Jerry Schiff and I run the information booth. I have several envelopes with names on them, so if you hear your name, please step forward and claim your money and information."

With that, he runs down the list of names. And what do you know, your name is on that list.

When you approach, you'll be handed a packet containing money, enough to get through the month, and an information pamphlet about Beachville, along with a note from the mayor welcoming you to town and telling you your stipend only lasts so long and there are many employment opportunities in town. There's also a map with an address and a set of keys. This is where you'll live. The last thing he says to you is to check the chest in your living-room, you'll know which one, before he hands the polite people a box of cookies. They smell amazing and the box is warm, like they're very, very fresh. You might even find your favorite cookies in the box. They've won awards and are delicious. Just as an aside, though; for anyone that's rude, no cookies. For anyone that tries to take a box anyway, they'll find the box is empty. Maybe even full of dead leaves and rocks. That's what you get for acting up, apparently.

Rude enough and he'll shut the information booth windows. No amount of knocking and screaming, magic or psychic abilities will get the doors open again. The booth is pretty resistant, as is the man inside.

Once everyone has their information, Jerry will thank everyone for their cooperation, close the booth down and head into town. Try to follow him. After rounding a corner, he'll seem to vanish and no amount of looking will find him again.

It seems as though the only things left to do are either talk to the people around you, or find your new home.
forleaving: (007)

[personal profile] forleaving 2020-09-27 03:50 am (UTC)(link)
Squinting up, Adam used his information packet to shield his eyes from the sun. He didn't so much as stare at Bucky's missing arm as he did take quick little glances until he'd assured himself that yes, it was indeed missing.

"There have to be strings," he said. Reaching up, he took Bucky's hand--for shaking, he assumed, since he was quite content to sit on the ground right now. And besides that, he was perfectly capable of getting up on his own, when he decided to. "I'm Adam. And you're right. Is that how everyone gets here?" Everyone who wasn't like Jerry, at least.
luckybucky: (A little happy)

[personal profile] luckybucky 2020-09-27 07:31 pm (UTC)(link)
"I'm sure the strings will pop up at the least convenient moment," he replied dryly, smiling a little. "And yeah, so far that seems to be how people show up. You guys," he gestured towards the group of arrivals once his hand had been released. "Are only the second group that we know of. And there's certainly been some weird stuff going on, but nothing... obviously malicious or harmful."
forleaving: (005)

[personal profile] forleaving 2020-09-28 01:34 am (UTC)(link)
This man seemed awfully calm about the inevitable strings. Or maybe Adam was just being particularly paranoid. He didn't like things that could be dangled over his head or held against him. Being given things for free sounded an awful lot like a way to owe someone something. Or be owned by them.

"'We' being the first group?" Adam said. Either that or Bucky was a local. Gathering up his things, he got to his feet. He felt better having this kind of conversation when he felt like he was on even footing with his conversation partner. "What kind of weird stuff?"
luckybucky: (Sorry I guess?)

[personal profile] luckybucky 2020-09-30 09:28 pm (UTC)(link)
"Yeah. Or at least, the first group as far as we can tell," he agreed. He might have been calm, but he was also used to his life getting upheaved like this all the damn time. He has a long history of being manipulated, but as far as manipulations go, this one was pretty damn tame.

"Well, for starters, the townspeople don't seem to... know that weird things are going on. Once when I was trying to head to the outskirts of town, I found myself back here," he gestured at the info booth. "And there've been construction noises around town, but I've never seen any construction going on... then a couple days ago, out of nowhere, there's a new building in town." And of course, there was this group of random people popping up at the info booth, just like he had. "Weird stuff. Nothing malicious... yet."
forleaving: (005)

[personal profile] forleaving 2020-09-30 11:24 pm (UTC)(link)
He made a mental note to check out trying to leave town, which he would have tried to do anyway even if he hadn't been told something weird happens when you make an attempt.

"I'd say maybe they've been brainwashed, but I assume it's a lot of people." And brainwashing on that scale was probably unlikely. And if reality was going weird, teleporting people back when they tried to leave-- "Maybe we're in some kind of bubble." Or they were all hooked up to a machine that had limited programming.
luckybucky: (So confused and innocent)

[personal profile] luckybucky 2020-10-04 12:22 am (UTC)(link)
"Yeah, and brainwashing is a lot more difficult than people think," Bucky agreed, barely suppressing a shiver. The bubble comment had him lifting a brow. "You mean like magic? I thought it was always flashier than this. Like, with sparks or glowing light. At least the stuff I've seen," and he'd seen his fair share.
forleaving: (008)

[personal profile] forleaving 2020-10-04 03:11 am (UTC)(link)
He wasn't going to ask if Bucky had personal experience with brainwashing, no matter how tempted he was. It would have felt rude.

"I was thinking more like a bubble of reality," he said carefully, "But magic might be an explanation for it, too. What kind of magic have you seen?"
luckybucky: (Sorry)

[personal profile] luckybucky 2020-10-07 04:43 am (UTC)(link)
"Bubble of reality?" That sounded... weird. But no weirder than the things he'd heard of. "All sorts. Mostly it's tied to these things called Infinity Stones. I don't know a whole lot about them, except they can't be destroyed and there's someone trying to hunt them all down," he shrugged his shoulders. "I was really trying to keep myself out of all that stuff. I've been in enough wars," but when they came to him for help, how was he supposed to refuse?
Edited (Bubbly. Fuckin bubbly.) 2020-10-07 04:44 (UTC)
forleaving: (008)

[personal profile] forleaving 2020-10-07 05:47 am (UTC)(link)
He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm just considering the possibilities," he said. Listening quietly after that, he nodded slowly. That sounded like how people treated magic. When they knew it existed, they wanted more of it, and usually not for good reasons.

But also wars, plural? "Sometimes you can't avoid terrible things." He sounded a bit like a cryptic fortune cookie. "Or else none of us would be here," he added.
luckybucky: (Sorry)

[personal profile] luckybucky 2020-10-11 11:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Bucky lifted a brow at Adam, and shrugged his shoulders. "I wouldn't call this place terrible. Strange, sure, maybe a little worrisome, but it's not terrible. Not yet, anyway," he wasn't dumb enough to think that it couldn't get terrible real fast. "So what kind of terrible things are on your heels, if you don't mind my asking?"
forleaving: (005)

[personal profile] forleaving 2020-10-12 01:35 am (UTC)(link)
"This place might not be terrible-" yet "-but being kidnapped is." At least, in his opinion.

"And there's nothing chasing me," he continued. "But I am missing an important presentation at school."
luckybucky: (You adorable dork)

[personal profile] luckybucky 2020-10-12 05:13 pm (UTC)(link)
"I suppose, if you wanna look at it that way." He'd been through much worse, when it came to kidnappings. There hasn't even been a hint of torture yet. No threats or even any taunts.

The mention of a presentation had Bucky barking out a laugh. "You don't say," he replied warmly. "Well, I'm sure being kidnapped is gonna get you permission to turn it in late." Or present late, as the case may be.
forleaving: (005)

[personal profile] forleaving 2020-10-13 12:13 am (UTC)(link)
Well, for Adam it was pretty terrible, at least.

He shook his head. "If they believe me. 'Yes, I was kidnapped to a pocket dimension, no I'm not high'." As if anyone would believe he was high or drunk in the first place. He'd never drank or done drugs his entire life.
luckybucky: (A little happy)

[personal profile] luckybucky 2020-10-14 03:06 pm (UTC)(link)
"See, the trick there is to only tell part of the truth -- leave out the stuff they won't believe," Bucky flashed a grin. "You were kidnapped! But you don't know who or what they wanted or why you're back again when this," whatever 'this' was, "is all over. I'm sure there'll be an investigation, but it's not like anyone's going to be able to prove you were somewhere you weren't. You're not as unlucky as me," he teased.
forleaving: (005)

[personal profile] forleaving 2020-10-15 04:10 am (UTC)(link)
He couldn't imagine why anyone would want to kidnap him, unless they needed their future told. Once upon a time it would have made more sense, but not now. It wasn't like anyone could demand a ransom from his parents. They probably wouldn't even care.

"Maybe," he agreed. "College is just really important to me." He'd worked hard for it. His entire future hinged on it. "That's selfish of me, though. I'm sure people have much more important things going on back home." That they were missing out on.
luckybucky: (That's the good shit)

[personal profile] luckybucky 2020-10-22 09:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Bucky has spent the last two years doing deep dives into his own psyche with a therapist, so he doesn't even think twice about how his reply sounds. "It's not selfish to make yourself a priority, it's healthy. The only person you need to compare yourself to is who you were yesterday."

Had he been told that hundreds of times? Had his therapist perhaps considered tattooing it backwards on his forehead so he'd see it every time he looked in a mirror? Yes.
forleaving: (005)

[personal profile] forleaving 2020-10-23 04:05 am (UTC)(link)
"Is it?" Good luck getting the rest of that one to stick, Bucky. Adam constantly compared his self worth to others, basing his self esteem off of how others saw him. It was an old habit that wasn't likely to die any time soon.