#briar ridge: open starter

[reinayourparade]

who: Reina & open where: Birdsong Park

Reina sat on a shaded park bench, laptop in her lap. Her fingers typed away as she worked on a few cases, adding finishing touches and whatnot before she sent the paperwork. A few moments passed by before she shut the screen, and her brown hues searched the area that was moderately filled with children, their parents, and random people running or walking together along the sidewalk.

Reina needed to feel peace, she hadn't felt true peace since...well, it had been a while. After the events of the NYE bash, the conversations that came about, the sound of children laughing and birds singing seemed to be the closest thing she could get to feeling something other than sadness. Her work also helped, but that was because she threw herself into it full throttle, no holds barred, she had reverted back to her first few years as a lawyer in Chicago.

Humming to herself, she noticed someone else was approaching the bench she was on, the same bench where her work purse had been taking up most of the space left. "Here, let me move this," she stated quickly, grabbing the straps of the purse and setting it on the sidewalk in between her feet, sliding the laptop into the bag soon after. "I can scoot over more too, if you want, you're free to sit."

[civanguneri]

Who: Open Where: Chapman's Grocer. It was only December fucking tenth. A week into December was all it took, and suddenly, you couldn't go anywhere without being elbow-to-elbow with people. The days leading up to Christmas seemed like its very own kind of virus, with people frazzled and shopping like it was just days before the holiday. Civan was in dismay as he navigated the isles he knew by heart, muttering to himself as he went. If he wasn't so particular about his vegetables he could just order for delivery, but he'd be out of sorts if things weren't just so. Overly ripe tomatoes made a difference. As did the gender of a bell pepper. "Of course—" He cut himself off, "Allah belanı versin." Civan rounded a particular stall in the fresh market section to a cart wall. A traffic jam, except, in the produce section of a grocery store. Two energetic middle-aged women stood there gabbing, carts facing each other as if the world should stop and rotate around them. The Zax. Instead of arguing, they were gossiping. He backtracked, begrudgingly making to go around them but instead, he felt himself bump into the cool metal of someone else's cart behind him. For a moment he froze, rod straight, and had to exhale the tension in a huff. Civan turned. Face a mask, frustration still boiling beneath the surface. "That way is blocked."

[nate-strauss]

Location: Fresh Garbage Starter for: Open

He might not have spent anywhere near to the majority of his life in Briar Ridge, in fact, it was the place he had lived least in his life, but there was something about the tiny coastal time that had a strange feeling of home. It was the feeling he got in his mother's kitchen, it was like he knew he was going to be safe there. That he could be happy.

Standing in the vintage shop, flicking through the box of vinyls they kept in one corner, Nate was sure he had found his favourite place in town. Not only did he have a new jigsaw earmarked, he had a whole box of records to go through. Coming across a new looking one, he couldn't help the frown on his face. "I didn't know what to expect when I looked through these but a Justin Bieber album on vinyl was not the one.." Continuing to flick through, he picked out a couple before laying them both on top of the box.

Aware of someone to his side, Nate glanced over at them with a little trepidation. "Would you go for Fleetwood Mac or Pink Floyd out of interest? Promised I'd only go for one record today so I'd be only disappointing myself if I bought both."

[ozanulusoy]

open starter for anyone capping at 5/5 CLOSED location: Paradise Point Resort & spa

It had been a few days since Ozan returned to the small town, and he had been slowly reconnecting with the place in his own time. He wasn't ready to face some people and had avoided reaching out to anyone other than his sister Esra. He had yet to tell even his parents. This place had a special place in his heart, but it also had wounds so large they were like chasms, and he worried he wasn't ready to face them.

He stood outside the resort's veranda with his tea in hand, watching the rain fall. This was a vast difference from living on his grandparents' farm in Turkey. His hand reached up to touch the ring on the chain around his neck, memories of his grandmother playing in his mind. A tickle of anxiety itched his throat, so he cleared it gently. "Saçma," he offered to the person next to him, then shook his head, forgetting where he was. "Sorry, tickly throat," he added with a friendly smile. "I blame the weather this time of year, not good, for the lungs." A faint blush crept onto his cheeks as he realized he had just explained one of the most straightforward medical concepts — bad weather usually meant sickness. Everyone knew that. He just happened to fixate.

[catalina-g]

who: Catalina & anyone where: The Rusty Spur

"That's the last time I'm going to say it Ema," she huffed out, airpod in her ear as she spoke to her sister on the other line. Coming to a hard stop, she quickly dismounted her Harley, straightening out as her hands fell to her hips. "Emalina, I'm serious," she continued, hands coming up now to take her helmet from her head. "No más pijamadas, necesitas estar estudiando. Si llego a casa y descubro que alguien estuvo aquí, te va a ir mal." she quickly rambled out before she clicked the earpiece two times to hang up the phone.

After getting her things situated, she quickly pushed past a few of the other people standing around the entrance before beelining it for the bar. "Three shots of Tequila, quick and fast please," she ordered, green eyes looking over to her right to see a few people staring at her wide-eyed. "Teenagers, mind your business." she basically barked at them before the glasses were slid in front of her and she downed all three. "Two more, actually," she started again before she looked to her left and saw someone sidle up next to her. "And whatever they want, I'll buy."

[jiya-santa]

Location: Firefly Brewery Starter for: Closed (4/4)

God, she missed New York. Well, she missed being able to bury her head in her work to escape her personal life and being able to drown her sorrows with her sisters, neither of which were possible in the small town she had found herself. The idea had been to confront her ex-husband and leave again but the idea of leaving with so many unanswered questions and loose ends had her feeling more anxious than when she had sat her MCATS.

Sitting at the bar of the first place that had come up when she typed alcohol into her maps app, Jiya simply stared ahead at the bottles behind the bar as she bartender poured her the extra large glass of white wine that she had asked for. It took three tries for him to get her attention before she snapped back into the room and she simply nodded and slid her card across to him. Surely wine could fix all of her problems, even if just for a night.

Taking the glass, Jiya sighed as she lifted it up. "Here's to.. here's to you, may your life be far less complicated than mine." She had been aware of someone next to her, not that she had paid any attention to them so far. Instead, she simply took a large gulp of the wine, trying not to pull a face at the taste.

[perikocak]

location » anywhere of your choosing, really; feel free to make it weird bc lbr it'd be v. on brand for peri

status » open to anyone, capped at 0/4

This was fine. She was fine. There was a stronger than average possibility she'd been at least semi-impaled by something—she couldn't quite tell what, exactly?—but she was fine. Really. She just needed a minute... or five.

Making no move to pick herself up out of the sprawl she'd found herself in, Peri sighed. She might've decided to just stay there, too, a whole mess of tangled hair and wayward limbs, had it not been for the sound of footsteps.

"I'd say you should see the other guy, but—" Peri laughed, low and breathless. "In an unshocking, highly impressive, turn of events I'm both me and he." In other words: she had nobody to blame for her current predicament but herself. As usual.

"Do you think you could, I dunno, maybe lend a hand?" Her own lifted and flapped around a bit in their general, upward direction. "Or you could always just join me, I guess. This spot loses a few points for comfort but turns out it has a pretty not so bad view."

[sahrademir]

WHO: Open Starter (4/4) CLOSED, PLEASE WHERE: Anywhere in the Street

"Stupid, fucking, no good boots..." Muttering to herself as she leaned against a nearby car, Sahra did her best to balance on one leg as she inspected the way the heel from her boot hung off the rest of it. "Now I'm gonna end up stranded out here, hopping like a fucking bunny, probably freezing to death because I can't call anyone because I threw my stupid phone into the stupid ocean." She put her foot down and tried to walk again in hopes she could get somewhere, anywhere, where she could sit and attempt to fix the situation. However, as soon as she put any weight on the boot the heel fully broke off and she stumbled once more, nearly faceplanting and grabbing for the nearest steady thing- person, trash can, whatever- to keep her upright. "Shit!"

[kira-aminu]

Location: Briar Ridge Summer Music Festival Starter for: CLOSED.

For the first time in a long time, the Sugar Rush Scoops ice cream truck sat at a venue, but Kira was no where near it. Usually, she distracted herself by working the events, determined to take her mind off her life and the people she might see. But now, she was in a dress she never thought she'd wear, wearing it with confidence and even though she had checked on her team in the truck, she was allowing herself to actually enjoy the festivals they worked.

"Excuse me, ma'am, the strap of your dress has come loose, you may wanna fix that." Turning towards the voice, beer in hand, Kira nodded and glanced down at her dress. "Oh, thanks!" With the stand she had just bought her drink fully busy serving people, she had nowhere to put her drink so instead, she put the cup between her teeth, trying to hold onto it as she reached her hands around to try and fix the strap on her shoulder. With focusing on not dropping her drink, she couldn't make the strap, only succeeding in loosening it more. "Shit." Letting go and taking hold of her beer in one hand and the straps in another to keep it together, she turned to the person next to her. "Could you help? My strap has come undone and I can't quite reach it to tie it back up."

[levibecker]

location: paradise point resort open starter: ( capping at 4 max )

The success of the Masquerade hosted by Paradise Point had displayed a soaring increase in numbers, just as intended. Yet, it also meant more work had been piling up onto his desk, and unfortunately as a result, lunch breaks had to be cut shorter than usual for the time being. Now back onto the resort campus heading in the direction of the offices, Levi realized his tracks were cut short, the path blocked as the ballroom was currently under a deep clean-out from the recent event. Of course. With a sigh, he took a seat in a lounge area, deciding to start going through work messages on his phone. Hearing footsteps nearing closer, he glanced upwards momentarily. “I wouldn’t go that way.” Levi remarked, nodding towards the signs the clean up crews had put out. “It’s blocked right now.”

[leylayilmz]

LOCATION: Everything Goes WHEN: Thursday evening FOR: Open (capping at 4)

Leyla often looked forward to the monthly book club meets, hosted at the shop open to interested town locals. But tonight.. well, she was a little exhausted after the events of the masquerade the weekend prior. Her body had not coped with the fact that she'd spent a night pretending she was twenty one again with Cali, drinking her problems away like no tomorrow. It had taken longer to recover than she cared to admit. At least there was an entire table filled with baked goodies for all club members to enjoy, and snacks for her to survive the night on.

As she moved to the end of the table now, Leyla noticed the stack of books that were clearly in preparation for tonight. Studying the title closely, she froze. "—Oh god, not again.." It was Mrs Robinson's turn to select their next read. She was always a little apprehensive given the elderly lady's questionable, at least in Leyla's opinion, taste in books. Tonight it was a smutty mafia book. Las time she had selected a read, it was smutty cowboy themed. Her cheeks were already burning a crimson red at the thought of how the book discussion would pan out. Why me?! Noticing someone standing to the right of her now, she begged the question without even looking up, "Is it too late to escape my own book club meeting?"

[reinayourparade]

where: The Rusty Spur who: Reina & open

Moving to a new city was something Reina had always thought about...maybe even dreamed about really when she was growing up. Just to get away from what her family wanted, the expectations to play this role were becoming a burden she no longer wanted to bear, even at age 12. Now being an adult, it was much easier to make this dream her reality, and instead of just moving to a different city—she moved states away! Having finally gotten all of her things from her old apartment moved into her new townhouse, she needed a break...a fun way to relax.

Looking up places to go and have a good time landed her right at The Rusty Spur. It was a good thing she had bought some new clothes to match her move—in she walked with a brown cowboy hat fitted to her head and some shorts matched with a cropped black tee. On her feet were some black Ariat cowboy boots to pull it all together. Stepping up to the bar, she placed herself up onto her tippy-toes so that her five-foot-two frame could be seen just a little better and called out to the closest bartender. "Excuse me! Can I get a tequila-pineapple?" she smiled before setting herself slightly back on the floor and in the process swinging her leg back to lift her heel off of the floor to replace it with the tip of her boot. In doing so Reina felt her foot kick into someone, immediately she turned and became apologetic. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't even realize my foot would hit anyone."

[tanvimvshra]

WHO: Open Starter (2/3) WHERE: Paradise Point Resort & Spa

Anyone who knew Tanvi knew that while she liked to keep up appearances where her wardrobe was concerned, you’d be hard pressed to��ever find her at the spa. Sure, she loved a good pedicure as much as the next person, but everything else? Count her out. Facials and manicures required too much trust in strangers while you were in a vulnerable position and if she wanted to sit naked in a hot room full of steam she’d just forget to turn the fan on in the bathroom when she took a shower. However, she’d been hired to look in to one of the masseurs in regards to yet another cheating case, and while she hadn’t wanted to go into the proverbial lion’s den, there she found herself- in a comfy robe and slippers, following a man down a way too well lit hallway for the little amount of clothes she was currently wearing.

However, her surveillance was quickly nearly derailed as the man she'd been following turned stopped walking and looked like he was about to turn around. In a blind panic (she couldn't be caught again), the private investigator quickly turned around and booked it best she could in the opposite direction. She'd dropped her phone- which she'd been using to film- and cursed rather loudly, now having to make the decision to go back for the device or to leave it. But Tanvi couldn't let her phone with way too much footage of this man's life land in his hands, so she really had no choice.

Letting out an annoyed (with herself, of course) sigh, she came sliding to a stop and turned back around to retrieve the purple iPhone, only to come face to face with someone she hadn't noticed before. "Oh uh, hi?" She offered with a bit of a grin. "These robes are so soft, aren't they?"

[isaiahwarren]

WHO — open starter WHEN — whenever works! WHERE — chapman's grocer

"Hey, how ya doing?" Isaiah asked in his friendly approach before grabbing a bag to fill it up with a few apples. "You were at the masquerade, right?" Throughout the night, up until his date, he'd done his best to mingle with as many people as possible but some conversations ran longer than others. Plus, with everyone in masks there was no way to know for sure. Once he had four apples in the plastic bag he looked up and over at the person. "How any apple does it take to make an apple pie? This is enough, right? Mamaw called and said bring apples and I just said yes ma'am."

[britthellstrom]

𝑶𝑷𝑬𝑵 𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑹𝑻𝑬𝑹 : 3/3

»» ⸻ anytime from evening to close at firefly brewery

»» ⸻ with anyone!

     ❝ ⸻ Wow, ❞ Britt commented moments following her appearance in front of them at the bar where she'd set a glass set down in between them. It was full of a shot of course. Though not their usual order. Anyone that happened to come into the brewery with even a small level of frequency she usually remembered their orders and their favorites. ❝ You look like shit. Must've been quite a day. ❞ There was a faint lopsided smile as she gave them a rather gentle hard time. The hopes were to maybe pull them out of whatever had them looking like that. ❝ I don't wanna hear about it. You know me, I'm not that kind of bartender, this drink is actually for me. ❞ Even though Britt continued to tease she wrapped her fingers around the glass and picked it up to toss it back. When the bottom made a sound against the wood on the inside of the bar she slid it away. ❝ You're the third person now that's taken up a seat here at the bar looking like February as a whole needs to be a write off. It's getting my vibe down. ❞ As she spoke she was fixing another drink. Of course they'd come here for that, it was a bar, but she teased anyway and held up the glass. ❝ Want one? ❞

[catalina-g]

where: Pinewood Social House who: catalina & anyone

"Quedamos aquí de nuevo en unas tres horas," she spoke quickly to Emalina, watching as she and the few other teenage girls she had begged her sister to let her hang out with circled. Truth be told a part of her wanted to just allow her to go off by herself...and then the other side of her remembered what she was like at fifteen and decided they needed to be chaperoned.

Green eyes watched as the group of girls went off to the arcade while she stood over at the counter where she could buy a lane, rent skates, etc. Fingernails danced on top of the counter as she thought over what she would do to occupy some of her time. Black in line skates were soon rented and, in her hands, as she walked herself over to a bench. Plopping down, the brunette started to take off her shoes, loosen the ties of her skates, and slide her feet into them.

After securing both skates on her feet, she glided over to drop her shoes off in a small cubby before making her way out to the rink. The music they were playing currently wasn't her speed, per se, but she danced along to it as she glided by others, a small smile pulling onto her features as she remembered her youth.