fluxscapememe | Test Drive 2: Beachville in Flux.

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Test Drive 2: Beachville in Flux.

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Upon Arrival:

Just ask anyone, Beachville is the most beautiful city anywhere! That's exactly what the NPCs will tell you with a genuine smile on their faces and a happy nod. It even just might be true. For a beach as crowded as it is, it's surprisingly clean! The sand is just right. Not too hot and soft to the touch. The water is so blue you can see marine life swimming just under the surface. A variety of multicolored fish. Dolphins. The occasional mermaid.

...yes, that was in fact a mermaid! They're playful, don't worry. They won't try to drown you, Maybe just knock you off your surfboard with a laugh and a flash of a shimmery tail as they swim off to who knows where.

There are still sharks in that very blue, very clear water, but they're not interested in you in the slightest. In fact, they seem very keen on avoiding you.

There's so much to do here in Beachville! There's fishing off the docks, well away from where people are swimming. There's a boardwalk with almost every shop imaginable. A tattoo artist, a piercing parlor, a place to buy silly souvenirs like hermit crabs in cages, or ridiculous shirts. There's so much food to be tried; Pizzas, Salt Water Taffy's, lemonades of various flavors and some of the best burgers and fries you've ever had!

If the day-life isn't for you, wait until dark. The amusement park (which opens at sunrise and runs until 2 AM), lights up the night in a fantastic and colorful display, the sounds of the roller coasters and laughing guests heard for miles around, and part of the docks turns into an open air nightclub, complete with dance floor, beverages for all and alcohol for anyone over eighteen. Don't try to trick the bartender. They'll know.

If the hustle and bustle and noise of the beach isn't for you, don't worry. There are many resorts nearby with their own private swimming pools and entertainment. There are coffee shops on almost every street, various boutiques and curios to look at and a movie theater or two.

Don't worry; you'll also find the more necessary stores like grocery stores (where there is something for almost everyone), pharmacies, book stores, clothing stores, hardware stores. There's even a police station, fire house and hospital.

But that's not what Beachville is about! Everyone needs a vacation, right?

Beachville Locations
(Feel Free to use our locations to spark ideas for prompts! Check out other fun locations Here!)

	Beachville Boardwalk and Amusements Just what it says on the tin. Every possible Boardwalk location you can think of is here. Tattoo parlors, really cheesy t-shirts and hideous beach attire, awesome food of highly dubious nutritious value. There are also rides, like a huge ferris wheel, bumper cars, spinning rides and a huge roller coaster. At night, part of the boardwalk closes and turns into a place for dancing, drinking (For anyone over eighteen) and watching fireworks every weekend until 2 AM.
	The Surf Board There are three of these places located along the beach, and each one seems to be run by surfers in 'business attire'. Of course, by business attire, we mean these shirts and khaki shorts. They're here for all your surfing needs whether it be board rentals, lessons or even board purchases and care products. Dude.
	Shellfish Shack A small, outdoor restaurant right beside the fishing docks that can happily boast the freshest, most inexpensive seafood. There are crabs, lobsters, shellfish of many edible varieties and other seafood, besides. They also sell fresh catches by the pound that you can cook yourself at home, so go ahead and buy some! And be sure to buy some of their fresh made lemonade by the gallon. It's known all over Beachville as the best.
	Beach Breeze The Perfect place outdoors to grab a smoothie or any kind of fruit juice. They also serve the best shaved ice you've ever had in your life. What a great way to beat the heat!

Bear in mind, however, that while things look bright an shiny and lovely, shops have a tendency to move overnight and change entirely. What was once beachville's finest seafood yesterday is, today, the finest in antiques and even though the owner looks like the right owner, he'll insist he's never sold seafood, nor does he like the stuff or know the first thing about it.

The sandwich shop you love is now a small advertising agency and the round and jovial owner is now rude and loud and doesn't remember your usual at all because he doesn't run a sandwich shop now quit wastin' his time!

And should your character notice there's no town dump, even though people generate garbage and there are garbage trucks, it'll be discovered upon following them that they seem to vanish all on their own with no trace whatsoever that they'd been there at all, save that there's less garbage in town.

Or maybe your character isn't for staying in such an odd place and they're going to try to leave. Good luck with that. You'll only get so far past the borders of Beachville before they're dumped right outside the information booth with Jerry the Booth Guy peering over his paper at them. Another attempt and maybe you won't get quite as far. You'll get to just within view of the 'Now Leaving Beachville' sign just at the edge of town before finding yourself once again outside of Jerry's booth. Keep trying. You'll get bored of it eventually.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

a. The Beach

Adam wasn't dressed for the beach. In fact, he was wearing what he'd had on before he'd ended up here, except now he'd rolled up the bottoms of his pants to stand at the edge of the surf, the water lapping at his toes. He looked vaguely troubled, but that could have just been his default expression. Or it could have been the product of ending up in a beach town when he'd last been in Virginia.

He'd seen a lot of things before, and this wasn't even the most shocking. That didn't make it less worrying. This wasn't because of the ley line or Cabeswater. This was something else, and that made it foreign, unknown.

A mermaid flicked her tail in the deeper waters, and the reflection of sun off scales caught his eye. He craned his neck, taking a step forward, and debated what he'd even say to a mermaid, assuming he would get an answer. Excuse me, ma'am, he would start, and then he wasn't sure what he would ask first. He had so many questions. Where was he, why was he here, were the others here, too.

Taking a deep breath, he let it out on a sigh.

b. Pizza Shack

He felt weird spending money that had been given to him, money that was supposed to last however long until he got a job, or multiple jobs, if he had to, but hunger was hunger. Sliding into a booth by the windows of the pizza place, he ordered himself a couple of slices and a Coke.

While he waited for his food, he peered out of the windows, watching the people go by, looking for any familiar faces. A few in particular, really. He didn't know what to do here on his own. There was only so much he could plan when nothing seemed to work. At the very least, he didn't seem to be in any danger, but he hadn't ruled out the possibility entirely.

c. Escape Attempts

It happened in the blink of an eye. One moment he was walking determinedly down the road that led out of Beachville, the next he suddenly found himself in front of the information booth again. For a second, just a single second, it felt like his world tilted, and he rested his hands on his knees to steady himself.

"What the hell was that?" he asked no one in particular, or maybe he was asking Jerry. If it was the later, he got no response. Somehow, he wasn't surprised, because as nice as the guy seemed to be, Adam didn't think he'd actually try to help anyone get out of there, either.

d. Wildcard!

[ooc: Find Adam wandering around elsewhere/doing other things/hit me up with an idea!]

One would think that of all the food in the world, Blue would absolutely loathe pizza -- that cliche that when you work with food you begin to hate that food held a little bit of truth to it. But this time around, there was something comforting about the thought of biting into a greasy slice. Something that reminded Blue of home. And she was holding desperately on to those little things whenever she could get them.

The pizza place looked just like any other on the inside and Blue sighed wistfully. Her homesickness was in full force and it hadn't even been a full day yet. The beach was a nice place, but there was something about Henrietta that she missed. There were a few specific someones that she missed the most. It was home, they were home.

Blue gave the inside of the restaurant a slow once over, scanning each of the tables for an empty one that she could claim as her own when she had to do a double-take. The boy sitting alone at the table couldn't be who she thought he was, right? But the closer that Blue got to the table, the more it really did look just like Adam.

(If she was here, then why the hell couldn't he be too?)

"Adam?" She plopped herself down into the seat across from him, peering at him curiously -- she still wasn't convinced that this wasn't her mind playing tricks on her. "It's really you?"

Looking up, he blinked a few times when he saw Blue, trying to make sure his eyes weren't deceiving him. "Blue!" A familiar face was a relief. Being in a strange place all alone was one thing, but having friends around made it more bearable. At best, they could put their heads together and figure things out, at worst, there was at least safety in numbers.

"It's me," he replied. "Why wouldn't it be?" He knew exactly why it wouldn't be. A strange place, strange occurrences. Something could be wearing his face, or he could be possessed. But he was as much himself as he possibly could be.

It was Adam's voice without a doubt, even in the short time that she'd come to know the other, the specific tones of his voice were etched permanently into her memory. A slight Virginian drawl with lazily stretched vowels that seemed a whole different language than the ones other Aglionby boys spoke in. As much as Adam tried to disguise it, Blue enjoyed its rare appearances -- even more so right then. They'd all become so intertwined with one another so quickly, Blue felt lost in this new place without them. (It was strange to think that a couple of years ago, Blue would've been content to explore this world alone -- oh, how quickly everything could change.)

Just to be sure of herself, Blue reached across the table and gave Adam's forearm a quick pinch -- nothing extremely painful, but enough to convince her that the boy seated across from her wasn't just a figment of her imagination, or some trick concocted by whoever, or whatever, was running this place. She half expected him to suddenly disappear the moment that her hand made contact with his skin. Blue hadn't fully figured out this world, so who knew what laws applied to it -- if any did. When Adam didn't suddenly disintegrate right before her eyes, Blue breathed a sigh of relief. They could figure this out, they'd figured out a way through every other obstacle thrown their way, why should this be any different?

(Blue just needed to hold tightly on to that confidence.)

"Things are weird here." She offered up as an explanation, waving down a waitress and politely asking for a glass of water, no straw. "I don't even fully understand how I got here, I thought I was the only one here..." She paused, correcting herself, clearly she could tell she wasn't literally alone here. "The only one from back home, at least."

He wasn't even remotely bothered when Blue pinched him, even if he rubbed his arm a little afterwards. He understood; he knew what it was like to want to be sure. He'd seen enough things, not real but real enough, from Cabeswater, from scrying. Luckily, he wasn't Noah; he wasn't going anywhere. Though he wondered if Noah was here too, if he could even exist away from the ley line. If he even existed at all anymore. Sometimes, Adam missed him.

He nodded. "So did I." But if more of them were here, what did it mean? They weren't the only ones, clearly, but was the purpose to bring them here or something else? "Have you seen the mermaids?" If they were talking about things being weird here.

While Blue wasn't the least bit sure why they were here, how they got here, or even if they could get back home, there was something reassuring about the fact that Adam had ended up there with her. If Adam was here, then that meant the others could be here too, right? That was the only logical conclusion Blue's mind could come to, and that was the one she was sticking with.

"The others are here somewhere, I'm sure." In her head, she could hear Orla telling a caller to manifest the things they wanted, by speaking them into the universe. Couldn't hurt to give it a try. They'd all just have to find each other, how hard could that be? She'd found Adam this easily! (If easily included panicking multiple times, getting lost, and ripping up her map.)

"Mermaids?" Both of Blue's brows arched curiously, she hadn't realized things were that weird here. "Like Black Lake mermaids or Neverland mermaids?"

"I hope so." He looked down at his hands for a moment, frowning, wrinkle forming between his eyebrows. Was it weird to hope that the others had been whisked off to wherever they were, too? It felt a little selfish, but if they were all together, surely they'd be able to figure out how to get home. They'd solved a lot of mysteries together, after all.

Looking back up, he smiled a little. "Neverland mermaids," he said. "I thought about trying to talk to one of them, but I wasn't sure what I would say." Or if he'd actually get an answer. He couldn't imagine what kind of conversation he'd have with an actual mermaid. Who would have thought there would have been mermaids here at all?

Blue hummed for a moment in thought, long enough for the waitress to return with her water and for Blue to pull a much more earth-friendly straw from a small bag she'd purchased from a shop on the boardwalk. "The Neverland mermaids wanted to drown Wendy." She added with an off-handed shrug and a shit-eating grin that would make Ronan proud.

"Hello is usually a good start." She teased, adjusting a few of the clips that didn't seem to be doing much to help hold her hair back in the first place. "They could probably tell us if there's anything else out there, they've got the whole ocean at their disposal." They couldn't have been the only piece of land in the entire ocean, right? There had to be something else, and there had to be a way to get to that someplace else.

(And hopefully, that someplace else would lead them back home.)

Blue sipped at her drink, collecting her thoughts in that momentary pause -- she really should have read those pamphlets a little better. "Just as long as they don't start singing."

Maybe it was a good thing he hadn't gone to see the mermaids up close and had stayed on the shore instead. He knew that in some folklore, mermaids--and sirens--ate people. And drowned them. It was impossible to tell what lore was true and what wasn't without either interacting with the mermaids or finding people who knew about them here or information on them.

"You know what I mean," he said, mulling over things for a moment. Blue was right, of course. "There has to be something else out there, doesn't there? It can't just be...this." Unless it was. That was a troubling thought though.

"So long as they don't lure anyone to their death, I don't care how they impart their information," he added. At least, if that information could lead them back home, singing would be totally acceptable.

Adam Parrish | The Raven Cycle | OTA

Pizza Shack!

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Pizza Shack

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Ronan Niall Lynch | TRC | Pizza!

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CW: LANGUAGE

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