Arrivals - Beachville - OPEN LOG

[fluxscapemod]

Who: You and Jerry, the info booth guy!
What: Arrivals! Information! Money! New Homes!
Where: What's commonly referred to as the Information Hub.
When: August 15th, Mid Afternoon.
Synopsis: New faces arrive in Beachville. Jerry is a helper! Probably! Most likely, he isn't. At least, not as well as people wish. He can only tell people so much, see. But there are cookies, if you aren't a jerk.



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 a mix of dirt and sand and you can smell the ocean. 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.

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. 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.


[ooc: please warn for anything triggery in your threads! thanks! ]

Comments

[runs_on_batteries]

Tony gave him a humored grin. "Do you really think saying you raise goats should be stating with such gusto? There should be at least a little shame in your tone when admitting that- although, the rhino part does almost save it. I'll give you that much, Goat Dundee."

"Did you get your money and cookies from the fellow over there yet?" He asked, gesturing toward Mr. Schiff.

[luckybucky]

"Maybe, but the goats talk back to the king," he replied lightly, and glanced in the direction of the information booth, shaking his head. "Where would I put cookies that you wouldn't be able to see them?" In his stomach, he supposed, but that wasn't the point.

The point was that Tony Stark was treating him like a friend, and aside from being unexpected, it was also weird.

[runs_on_batteries]

He snorted a laugh. He never thought he'd respect a goat, but that wasn't the weirdest thing to happen today.

"Well go get them! Mush!" Tony urged. "He has an envelope for you too if you missed that part too."

[luckybucky]

"I heard it, but I didn't quite believe it," he replied with a roll of his eyes, and went to take care of the orientation business. Why they were playing into this weird, alternate-reality delusion business was beyond him, but he was here and Tony Stark was being nice, so he wasn't going to question it too hard.

It could very easily turn into a nightmare, he was sure, and he didn't want to tempt the fates. They hadn't exactly been kind to him in the past.

When he returned to Tony's side, he did indeed have a box of cookies, which Bucky had crammed up against his face. "They smell just like Ma's."

[runs_on_batteries]

He didn't quite realize how friendly he was being. It just seemed normal. Bucky was one of the few people he could relax with when everything else, like that nails-on-a-chalkboard irritating council meeting he was just in.

Before he could mentally descend too far down that stressful rabbit hole, Bucky was coming back with that remark about his mother. "Huh, how strange. Mine were Morgan's favorites." He held up his box with the white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. "You've never told me much about your family."

[luckybucky]

"Only person who knows much about my family anymore is Steve," he replied with a shrug, tucking his box of cookies under his arm. "I've got nieces and nephews, but I don't think they'd be too happy to see me even though I've been exonerated. At least for the UN thing," the one he definitely did not do.

He's a little surprised that people aren't after him for the rest, but the evidence of his imprisonment was pretty compelling. "Thanks, for putting your weight behind that." It was just Tony promoting the truth, but he knew it had to have been hard, after what Tony had seen. "Who's Morgan?" He doesn't exactly live in the city, but he gets the news and he hadn't seen anyone with that name in any of Tony's circles lately.

[runs_on_batteries]

It had never occurred to him before now that Bucky might have family out there he was estranged from. The man had always been this entity stuck to the ass of America in some shape or form before the train. It was only then he became his own person and had much more levels that Tony had given him credit for. The fact he'd never asked about Bucky's family made him wonder.

His eyebrows rose at hearing the gratitude. This Bucky was different than the one he'd met on the platform. It would be curious to find out what other developments had happened between that Bucky and this one.

"You're welcome." That last question though had him sighing. "Coffee first," he said after a pregnant pause. Fortunately it was only a few more feet before he was opening the door to the cafe. Going up to the counter, he looked ready to order something before his expression changed briefly to annoyed and then resignment. "Decaf. And something to cover the taste of that crap up." Damn Gladio..

[luckybucky]

He followed Tony into the coffee shop with a faint smile, which he has to try to smother when Tony orders, letting out a little snort as he stepped to the counter, taking a moment to look the menu over.

"I'll have a flat white, please," he said with a little nod. "Maybe the scent of the espresso can soothe your angry taste buds," he added for Tony's benefit, flashing him a small grin.

[runs_on_batteries]

Tony sent Bucky a glance somewhere between scowling and humored. It shouldn't work, but he manages it. "Something had better. Between decaf and your bullshit, this place is going to need some big air fresheners."

The person behind the counter was giving them odd looks since.. well, Tony was clearly unhappy with his order, but he picked it and paid for it. Customers can be so strange.

Once they were seated, he sighed. "Alright, this isn't going to sound believable but you and I are from different points in time. I've from several years in your future. If my assumption is correct, we're in a location that is outside of our reality. I'm not sure why we're here, but there has to be a good reason." There was in the last place he went, but this seemed less apparent. "With me so far?"

[luckybucky]

Bucky followed Tony to a table with his own drink, and pressed his lips together as he listened. "Tony," he said levelly. "I have seen aliens, gods, a magical girl, her robot boyfriend, and a guy that grew five stories in the span of five seconds." He waits a beat. "You could tell me I've turned into a mouse and it'd sound reasonable. The only question I have is why you assume the reason we're here is a good one."

[runs_on_batteries]

Tony had to agree with that. "Alright, that's fair." He took a sip before he found an answer. "I've been gone almost a year from my time. I've been trapped on a train that was traveling in between time. It would occasionally let us out so we could aid other worlds from these terrible disasters. We had almost no information to go on and no ability to go home."

He glanced around and then his gaze settled back on Bucky. "And this? It sure as hell beats a crowded, stinky train."

He realized how that might seem. He'd gone too complacent, but for the moment he was grateful for the change. Also there was a version of you was there. With as many different universes out there, there are more than one version of us. So clearly it was you from either a later point in time or a completely different reality."

[luckybucky]

He snorted softly in reply, giving his head a little shake as he took another long sip of his drink. "Yeah, you're not the first person that remembers me from a space train," he agreed. "I don't ever remember being on one, but it wouldn't be the first time my memory's been wiped. I do have some good news, though," he offers. "T'Challa's little sister is a tech wizard -- probably even better than you -- and she was able to get all that Hydra nonsense out of my brain. I feel more like me than I have since before I got drafted."

[runs_on_batteries]

Tony gave Bucky a look at the remark she might be better than him. Please, Bucky. No one was better than him. You should know better than that.

"Glad someone else had the time and patience for that." He certainly wouldn't have. See, not that he can't just that he wouldn't. There's a difference!

"Either way, I'm glad you're feeling more stable. I'm ready for some peace and quiet." Says the man who will be rebuilding his lab within a day. "That might be a hopeless cause though with Peter running around and the little pipsqueak I just adopted." Sigh.

[luckybucky]

He flashed a grin at the look, but didn't bother to pester Tony about it any further.

Instead, he seized on the last part of that. He didn't know who Peter was -- probably an intern or something -- but adopted sure was an entire word. "You? A dad?" He snorted. "No insult intended, but you don't really seem like the nurturing type," not based on what Bucky'd seen in the news reels, anyway.

Then again, the Tony he'd met didn't seem this... tired.