OPEN — FOOD TRUCK RALLY

[antagonize]

WHO: Everyone!
WHERE: Peach Beach and the Boardwalk
WHEN: April 12th, from 8:00 AM to 11:00 PM
WHAT: A food truck rally for all our hungry selves.
WARNINGS: Sunburns?? Maybe.

THE FOOD:
With so many trucks, stands and kiosks, there's more than enough food to cater to everyone's tastes. Tables and chairs have been set up around the boardwalk, complete with patio umbrellas to shield customers from the sun and an excellent view of the ocean. It doesn't matter if you're a customer, a vendor, a swimmer or even one of the musical acts — it's hard to deny it's a nice day outside. The sun is shining, the temperature is pleasant, and the smell of delicious food fills the air. Vendors selling other wares and stands for face painting have also been set up around the area, so there's plenty to spend your money on throughout the day.

And for those poor, responsible saps who won't be able to join until later in the day (be it because they decided not to skip school or had to work a shift early in the morning), don't worry. The festivities won't end until 11:00 PM. There's plenty of time to enjoy the scenery, the food, and the beach.

Hope the queues don't stress you out, however.

THE BEACH:
The beach itself is equipped with a handful of volleyball nets. Some volleyballs can be found in the general vicinity, but should all of them be in use (or, you know, super duper squished), you can always bring your own — or buy them from one of the more opportunistic vendors in the rally. Those who are interested in making use of the nets are more than free to team up and get down to business. You all might want to be careful, however, to avoid accidentally smacking a passerby in the head with a badly aimed volleyball.

Or... a well aimed volleyball. It's okay. Nobody will judge. Probably.

Move past the volleyball nets and the sand, though, and you'll reach the waters. Today's weather is nice enough that no one needs to worry about getting dragged away by the tide, but just in case? There's likely to be a lifeguard nearby. That, or a good Samaritan. So don your best swimsuit and have fun.

THE MUSIC:
A small stage has been set out for the DJ and the live musical acts to do their thing. Music will be playing throughout the whole day, offering a nice mix of the latest hits and... questionable musical choices between acts. Some of the trucks and stands are outfitted with placards and flyers announcing this year's lineup, and there seem to be four (4) familiar names among the list:

Ainsley Menodora
Jade Wolf
A Lyrical Assassination
Yin Longwei
Feel free to grab a friend (or a stranger) and dance along to the music. Maybe relax after your performance. Or, contemplate throwing the DJ's equipment into the ocean when he plays the same diddly darn song for the 20th time in a row. It's not even the full version. It's only a infinite loop of the same 43 seconds. Please make it stop.

(We did say to be patient with the DJ.)

THE RAFFLE:
At 5:00 PM, there will be an intermission in the music in order to announce the results of the raffle. The tumbler drum is wheeled to the stage, where it's given one last spin before tickets are removed from it one by one. The winners will be called as their tickets are drawn, an announcer asking them to climb up to the stage via microphone. There, they'll receive their prize and will thus be free to gloat — or grimace at what they've been given.

The results are the following:

Dave Strider - Coupon book with $500 in savings at participating fast food restaurants.
Penelope Raban - $50 giftcard
Ranko Kanzaki - Novelty sunglasses
Izuku Midoriya - Free dinner for six (6) at some ritzy restaurant.
Ilia Trevelyan - A few dozen gourmet cupcakes, courtesy of The Confectionary
Noah Campbell - A selection of the latest games ÉcarlateSoft has to offer.
James Barnes - Two tickets for an hour's time at the Deadeye Shooting range, donated by Elizabeth Wolf.
Augustine Sycamore - $30 giftcard to Amazon, donated by Penpoint Productions.
Don Maxwell - Coupon for free slice of pizza with choice of topping and a medium fountain drink, courtesy of the Pizza Port.
Roxy Strider - A selection of character plushies from CUBEnix's flagship game series.
Minako Arisato - A month of free Zumba lessons at Dance!!! Studio

Enjoy your prize! And be sure to haul ass, lest the announcer decide you're absent and call someone else.

BONUS:
As the last few live musical acts play and the festivities begin to wrap up, it seems like this year's Food Truck Rally has come to a peaceful end. Most vendors have started to pack up in order to call it a night — save for two. Anyone who has been hanging around the local soft serve ice cream and açai bowl trucks might have noticed the growing tension between their vendors. It all comes to a head when, at the end of the rally, they both hop into the driver's seat of their trucks, rev their engines, and begin to race each other down the beach.

It's all too predictable when, in an attempt to avoid a prop that hadn't been packed up yet, the ice cream truck swerves and drives right into the ocean. The splash is big enough to soak anyone who happens to be nearby, the truck being pulled into the waters moments later. There doesn't seem to be any chance of saving the poor, innocent truck.

Almost appropriately, it seems like the DJ has time for one last song.

The haunting melody plays as the ice cream truck slowly sinks into the ocean, its mascot cheery and bright as it's all swallowed up by the water. The driver dog paddles away (thank god), but this is not the end of the chaos. On the other side, the açai bowl truck's driver momentarily turns to jeer at his defeated enemy — only to crash into a peach tree the next second. Anyone on that side of the beach might want to get the heck out of the way, because it's literally about to start raining peaches.

Welcome to the Food Truck Rally, everyone! The OOC post for this can be found over here, and a thread for questions is here. Mingle, don't drown, and try not to get a sunburn while splurging on food. Or totally let your character get a sunburn, if that floats your boat. Either way, I hope you all have fun!

Comments

[long_live_the_queen]

[She gave another negative mumble, shaking her head a little this time. When she looked back, she focused on the shell instead of Chloe, kneeling to pick it up.

Lucy frowned at the thing in her hand; like a pinkish scallop shell, sort of? She hadn't seen something like that—

—before...?

A blink, and Lucy was cold—and could barely see, it was so dark. Rain soaked her clothes and hair, the not-so-distant waves louder. Water pattered against something over her head, and when she looked up, she didn't see Chloe. There was a young man crouching near her, holding an umbrella over her head. Her eyes were too bleary with rain and cold to make out his face more than...was he worried?

Looking at him made her feel calm, but...there was some growing panic too. A creeping dread, like something bad was about to happen. She had to warn him.]

K—

[The word stopped at the consonant sound; it could have been Chloe's name, it could have been something else. Aside from making that sound, Lucy was frozen in place, kneeling in the sand with her hands clamped white-knuckle tight over the shell. She shivered, despite the pleasantly warm day.]

[true_noir]

[Chloe didn't notice at first, in the midst of starting to chatter about something that clearly Lucy wouldn't hear. But after a second, she noticed the girl frozen. She stepped in closer, crouching and reaching to tentatively put a hand on her shoulder.]

Lucy, are you alright? You're just sort of staring at me. Snap out of it. Lucy?

[She didn't shake, and wasn't even sure if the small contact was wise, but she wasn't sure what was going on just yet. Was the girl having a flashback or something?]

[long_live_the_queen]

[Lucy didn't recoil, or snap, or even seem to notice the touch at all. She was still shivering, still cold in her mind. Why wasn't he listening to her?]

Nnn—

[She drew out the sound oddly, like a malfunctioning program.]

[true_noir]

[Now she did make a shaking motion, trying to get through to Lucy. She was certain that this was one of the visions at this point, and that worried her because of how hard she was having a time of trying to get the girl out of it. She shook and one hand came in front of the girl's face, snapping its fingers.]

Lucy, can you hear me? Please come back, out of this place. Tell me you are ok!

[long_live_the_queen]

[Abruptly the teenager's shoulders shook, along with her head. She dropped the shell, clutching at her temples like she could snatch back the dispersing image. She needed to warn him-

Come back.

One blink, two.

The world wasn't dark anymore. Lucy's voice—her proper one—reappeared, albeit quieter.]

...Chloe?

[Even before Lucy finished the word, a bolt of pain ripped from temple to temple. She pinched her eyes shut.]

[true_noir]

[Chloe sighed in relief, settling back and taking her arm from the other girl's shoulder. She wasn't going to prolong contact with someone this easily angered. It sounded like a recipe for disaster after all. She smiled over at her and nodded.]

Yes, it's me. Welcome back. Take a minute. Relax. It can't hurt you anymore, whatever it was that you saw.

[long_live_the_queen]

[Her ears still rang with the buzzing sound of a migraine, and her vision was blurred—it was so bright. She didn't protest the touch or its disappearance, with so much else to focus on.]

...nnt, didn't...hurt, until—

[Her head just felt like it was splitting now. Lucy made a pained hiss, and curled her fingers more tightly against her head.]

[true_noir]

I have a few chewable aspirins. Here, let me give you something for your head.

[She reached into her pouch and offered a bottle over to Lucy, smiling at her for a moment and hoping this helped a bit. The girl certainly looked like she'd had a bad one today. Still, she'd be fine in a moment hopefully.

Seeing the offending shell, she reached down to pluck it up. Wouldn't want her to forget it, just in case...]

[long_live_the_queen]

[Taking drugs from strangers?

...well, on the scale of questionable things Lucy had done in her life, that was somewhere in the middle. And this wasn't quite a stranger, but someone inexplicably kind to her. She'd be fine. The girl grasped for the bottle of aspirin, struggling to get the lid off with too-bright light clouding her vision.]

What...the hell was that?

[true_noir]

[She reached down to help with the cap. On the upside, it was just garden variety chewable aspirin, so it wasn't going to be an awful life choice today. While she did it, Chloe considered for a moment how to answer and shook her head.]

If what you saw felt like a memory, but of something you've never seen before, they're visions we get sometimes. People who have the app. It is... hard to explain.

[long_live_the_queen]

[Lucy listened, but didn't...understand, not fully and to her own satisfaction. That surely wasn't...what she saw? What she felt?

...but what was it, then?

She shook one of the pills out into her hand, and took it without question. It'd take a few minutes for it to work, but in the meantime-]

What...happened here?

[Whoever she saw, he...needed to know what would happen. Lucy didn't know what it was exactly, but it...didn't seem pleasant. He was important. He should know.

...Chloe was important, too. She should also know.]

[true_noir]

Nothing. Nothing actually happened, Lucy. You looked at the shell, and you froze. I think you had one of the strange visions, or waking dreams that people have had. It would have felt like watching someone else's life through their eyes, remembering everything.

[She sighed and settled herself on a knee in the sand, looking at her with a patient smile. It was a lot to take in. She knew that for a fact, after all.]

It can be very jarring. Has it happened to you before? Do you want to talk about what you saw?

[long_live_the_queen]

[At first, Lucy shook her head in vehement denial. No, that...that made no sense. She wasn't crazy too, on top of everything else wrong with her.]

No, he was standing right where you are. He was there.

[But...she couldn't remember being on this beach at night before. Maybe...when she was a child?

But she hadn't been staring up at the young man from a small child's height. Only from what was remarkably similar to her own.

With a scowl, Lucy grabbed the shell again, glaring at it. It caused this shit to begin with, surely it could do that again.

It continued not doing so.]

[true_noir]

I know he was. Just like that girl was there, when I kissed her in my vision. But he isn't here right now.

[She looked on as the girl scowled at the offending shell, smiling as much as she could to offer reassurance. There was very little about this situation that was good. If she knew the concern about being insane, she could certainly commiserate. She worried about that too, quite a bit actually.]

Let us go somewhere comfortable, away from here. Get you something to drink. So you can breathe in and out, and we can talk about it. Ok?

[long_live_the_queen]

[The residue from the aspirin was still chalky on her tongue, and bits of broken shell were digging uncomfortably into her knees. This...probably wasn't the best place to stay and talk, no.]

...fine.

[Something happened on this beach. Lucy was sure of it.]

[true_noir]

[She offered to help her out getting up, standing quickly and reaching out a hand before motioning to one of the stands in the nearby groups. Something to drink that was cool and refreshing would hopefully help. Because, she was right about one thing. Something had happened.

Chloe didn't say anything at first, though, walking and leading the way in the direction of the stand. It was a little hard to say what came to mind right now. After all, her reacion was almost the opposite to Lucy's, refusing to believe these were real at all.]

[long_live_the_queen]

[Lucy followed quietly, staring down at the shell the entire time. The only time she looked up was to ask for water; when she sat down, it was back to staring at the shell.

The teenager got her phone out after a moment, muttering in a more familiar irritation at the stupid app demanding her to play Pac Man first.]

...did someone die here?

[true_noir]

Honestly? Probably.

[She shrugged, and looked around the crowds, making sure that there was a little distance between them and the crowds when she spoke. It wasn't a pleasant sort of thing to talk about.]

Most public spaces have seen a murder at some point, Lucy, but I don't think there is any famous killing here. Why, did someone die in your vision?

[long_live_the_queen]

No. I don't think so.

[You sure about that, Lucy.]

But something...was going to happen. Something bad.

[true_noir]

Then something bad was about to happen... there. It isn't what is going on right now. I am not going to hurt you, and none of us are going to get hurt. The worst that will happen is that those two over there will get into a fist fight. [She pointed towards the two stall owners that were arguing down the way, who would later crash both of their cars in a race.]

When these happen, sometimes it takes a minute or more to separate yourself. It's so vivid.

[long_live_the_queen]

[Lucy glanced where Chloe pointed, but even that wasn't enough to bring a twist of a smile to her face right now.]

...it was.

[With just a thought, she could feel the rain on her skin again, the bone-dragging chill, like she'd been out in it for hours.]

This has happened to you, too?

[true_noir]

Several times, sadly. I see through the eyes of someone whose hair color I happened to gain recently. [She sighed.] Some of the things I've seen her do have been disturbing. Is this your first time so far?

[long_live_the_queen]

[Now that Chloe mentioned it, the shell did seem to have the same color as her hair. Her dyed hair. Lucy remembered seeing pinkish bangs in that memory too.]

Yes.

[Well...she sometimes tried turning into hallways that weren't there, but...that was just because she was tired. Even though she had lived at the apartment for how many months now.

Lucy was just tired. This was just a shell. That was...just a memory.]

[true_noir]

[She sighed, taking a sip from her drink and reached over to try and pat the back of the girl's hand in a soothing motion.]

I'm sorry that it happened, but just relax. If you ever want to talk about something you see, you can come to me, Lucy. These aren't things that you should have to deal with alone. They can be very scary.

[long_live_the_queen]

[Lucy tensed when Chloe touched her hand; she couldn't help it. She didn't bat Chloe's hand away, but she did twitch. This was supposed to be reassuring, right? She shouldn't just wiggle away, but...]

Mnh.

[It wasn't exactly a yes, but it wasn't exactly a no either. Her hand twitched again.]