DOWN TO THE RIPTIDE;

i wanna be your left hand man.

[va-keaton-blog]

PLOT IDEAS;;

I finally had the opportunity to put together a plot page for Adam. I'm sorry it's so small. I just imagine that he'd be the type to keep his circle small.

[richicgcko]

[va-keaton-blog]

The one thing Adam hated most about his job was that they would regularly leave him (or his co-workers) to work alone for the last hour. One of them, every night, was supposed to end the day. Clean up the shop, check inventory, close out of the registers- the usual tasks that any other store or shop would do. And just like those stores and shops, Adam's place of work had an open and closing hour. So what he hated more than being alone, was having to stay later because of a customer. Without fail, at least twice a week, a customer would roll up looking for help after closing. Especially when he was there. Tonight was no different. Headlights flashed into the open space of the auto shop Adam was sweeping up. The other employees would simply ignore those on the outside... but Adam hated turning people away. He hated rejecting people. He could have gone out there and shouted that the shop was closed, but he didn't have it in him. Swallowing thickly, after sighing heavily in annoyance, of course, he proceeded to the open garage space with balled fists. "What can I help you with?"

[adriengracerp-blog]

If you only heard it once, you ain’t heard it enough! It’s the only way what you can live an’ be happy every single moment, I reckon, ‘cuz in routine an’ what, you’re gonna get bored, an’ it gets all samey an’ you wonder what else y’could be doin’— but y’get stuck an’ all, an’ y’can’t get out! But see, bein’ on’th’go with th’flow, you do whatever! Y’start routine when y’want a damn picket fence, an’ see more things, an’ live proper. I reckon, anyway. Most like jobs, though, but I ain’t good at that shit. No, that’s what I mean by go with th’flow, that’s what it is! One day at a time, an’ go where the world does or don’t take ya, it don’t matter, it ain’t ever matterin’. Ain’t nobody that gives a fuck!

[va-keaton-blog]

It's weird that you say that... Like we got two different meanings of go-with-the-flow? I don't know, like I get it. Routines can be boring- but they can be pretty helpful. I mean, I used to live like that- all free and flowly and I didn't really give a shit. That landed me with warrents- jail time and fines- it wasn't fun. Jail was not a routine I wanted. So I had to change that whole thing- your meaning. I had to give that shit up. And now, I live that go-with-the-flow you hate, hah. The job, the ritual. It's... Not boring. Just adulthood, I guess.

[maybellexd-blog]

Maybelle didn’t like being told to relax, most especially not when she felt that she was as relaxed as she could be given the situation. Her eyes shifted slightly side to side, a part of her thinking that possibly someone else was approaching them who had assumed the worst. There was no one and thus she was left to assume that it was her he was telling to relax. A breath parted her lips in an annoyed huff, he had snapped at her initially and now she was suppose to play the part of the one who over reacted?

Let ‘em think me bitter then, it’ll do me some good.” Her inner dialogue offered nothing to her current posture, her hand clutching the strap of her duffle bag as if by some chance or another he might attempt to make a grab for it. For a split second her attention was shifted to the change in his hand, having become so use to watching for it along her pathway during the daylight hours that she must have somewhat looked like a dog who snapped it’s head at the sight of a treat. “You don’t have to give me the whole story board there scruff, just got a wee’ case of Newton’s Third Law of Motion; not that most people apply it in as broad of a spectrum.” With a shrug of her shoulders she found that some of the edge in her demeanor seemed to melt, though to say that she wasn’t still obligated to be cautious would be quite dramatic. 

Maybelle blinked at him in confusion, literally staring at him as if he was Hagrid’s giant three headed dog that they used to guard the Sorcerer’s Stone. “I— what? You grabbed my arms, literally. That’s all I meant? I wasn’t tryin’ to— whatever you think I was tryin’ to insinuate. Doesn’t have to be some kinda’ sexual advance or whatever you think I was talking about? I could have tried to deck you or somethin’, you know? I mean some stranger just happened to grab you— your initial reaction wouldn’t exactly be all that understandin’ I don’t assume.”

Unable to help the small laugh that parted her lips, she shook her head to dismiss any further attempts of his to explain himself. “Okay, I get it you’re a wee’ out of it. Let’s say i’m not exactly in the best head space either yeah? Alright. Though uh, any chance before you go gallivanting off you might be willing to give a gal a cigarette?”  She’d never smoked, not a single day in her entire life; but she could get anywhere from fifty cents to a dollar off of one depending on who she was waving it in front of. 

[va-keaton-blog]

A part of Adam felt like he was looking in the mirror. The whole street demeanour didn't come off with this girl initially. She could have just been another girl; someone coming off of a work shift, or heading home from school. Honestly, he felt foolish. It wasn't until she'd stared at the quarters in his hands that she seemed familiar. Adam, himself, could count change easily. Just by the a five second flash, at this point, he could tell someone the amount of change in their hand. It was a street smarts thing. Someone walked out of a store with four items or more, they generally had change on them. Noticing money- it was a thing that only people without it really had; really acknowledged.

His body language softened, his shoulders dropped as the woman continued to talk. The way she gripped her bag didn't go unnoticed either-- her doing so caused Adam to slip his hands into his pockets. Hopefully she'd take that as symbol of submission. Not everyone did, but Adam hoped. "Alright, alright, alright--" He said as nodded slowly at her. "I get it. No story. I grabbed you, and I said I was sorry." Of course, she was correct. With his own mentality, if he were put in the position she was- with someone grabbing- he'd fight the other person without question. It'd been done before, multiple times. Adam would carry a large backpack quite often during his homeless days, and without fail, someone would try to rob him. "I'm still not gonna hurt you."

"You alright though? Like... Not just with this whole thing- the my grabbing you and shit- just you in general? You okay?" Figuring he might've wasted her time with this entire situation, Adam had to ask. A bit of him began to grow curious. He'd spent a bit of his time on this side of the town, so he knew it well. Or liked to believe so. Even before using it as a short cut, he had run a muck on these streets. So, he knew what the night activity was like around here. It wasn't his business, her general well being, but still. He was curious. While he waited for an answer, Adam pulled a Marlboro Black cigarette from his box, then looked up at her.

"You do know we're in front of a liquor store though, right? If you need a box, now would be the best time to get them." Adam suggested sarcastically, pushing his lips out as he rolled the cigarette between his index finger and thumb. Surely, she wasn't a smoker. Or maybe that's what he hoped. Without really caring much about what she did with the cigarette, Adam extended his hand to give it up. "It's non-menthol though... I'm not sure if you like it, but..." Cigarette smokers, even when they're bumming, had to be particular, didn't they? Adam wasn't sure, but he was making enough money to not have the worry of where he'd get his nicotine fix. Yet, he still knew what it was like to not have them. It's the reason he gave it up so easily.

[maybellexd-blog]

Her feet were killing her, and the only thing she could possibly think to compare it to was her sixteenth birthday. The reality of it was that comparing roughly seven hours of stumbling around in the heels her mother had forced her into to trudging endlessly around the streets of the city merely because she wasn’t nearly quite as street wise as she would like to be, wasn’t all that relevant. Her legs felt like jello, and with each step there was the faint nagging feeling as if at some point they would merely cave out from beneath her. Maybelle squinted her eyes ahead of herself in order to make out just how far off in the distance the entrance to the park was but instead her eyes settled on the lights outside the liquor store. A sigh parted her lips, as she’d thought she’d already been at least a block past it— meaning she still had another three before she’d approach the park. 

Her gaze fell to the sidewalk beneath her feet, trying to focus on literally just about anything else then the destination at hand. Her hand reached into her pocket, pulling out the small slip of paper that she’d scrawled out the number upon for a shop that had a ‘help wanted’ sign hanging in the window. She hadn’t dared to go in, knowing what a wreck her appearance was at the moment. It certainly wasn’t the first impression she wanted to make. Her hand reached into her pocket once again, this time to pull out her earnings for the day. A small amused grin tugged at the corner of her lips, possibly a bit too quick to pat herself on the back; though she had done much better canning earlier that day then she’d previously been. Surely she had enough that tomorrow morning she would be able to toss her clothing into the laundry, she knew of one facility not far from the shop where she’d seen the sign. 

Quaintly shoving the items back into her pocket, she yelped in shock as suddenly another figure had quite literally crashed into her. Her eyes shot up to meet his, freezing on the spot as his grip took hold of her forearms. She had to exhale in a huff of air in order to try to reign in her nerves, narrowing her eyes on him in order to feebly attempt to hold her ground “Hey, you ran inta’ me there fella’.” Her southern accent dripped off of her words, somehow softening any attempt she’d had of sounding challenging.

Her eyebrows furrowed as suddenly his grip on her dropped. Swiftly she herself took a step back to put a smidgen of distance between them, merely out of precaution. “Alright there sparky, you’re soundin’ a little Loony Tunes.” Her head tilted to the side to observe him momentarily, her eyes shifting toward the liquor store where they were now standing outside of. As her gaze shifted back to the young man she found herself trying to determine his sobriety, which as far as she could tell was intact. “Maybe in the future, ya’ might not want to be so grabby eh? Could get yourself in some trouble that way.”  

[va-keaton-blog]

Easily unimpressed by woman's reaction, Adam sighed impatiently and took steps away from her. Even if she'd done the same, he decided to return the action, just to prove he was harmless. It wasn't like him to be so distracted; so unfocused. Normally, he kept his eyes peeled. Especially this late at night. This area was not particularly safest, but Adam took this route to get home quicker. It beat cutting through the downtown areas. So he knew this one block quite well; he knew it was laced with the real Looney Tunes. He knew he wasn't the guy he was presenting to the woman in front of him.

"Just relax, alright?" He asked rhetorically as he raised his hands, exposing the quarters in his left hand. Those were for the bus- the one he'd miss when he stopped to stare at the liquor and cigarette specials in front of this store. Embarrassingly enough, it felt like his Karma. She brought him Karma, essentially. He'd been stuck in this one spot, for what felt like, minutes, debating on buying alcohol and getting drunk, and not one person walked by as he did so. Yet, as he turns to leave, he bumps into this random person? "I didn't mean no harm. I was just--" He didn't have much of an excuse for his initial reactions- just that he'd been pulled from his fantasy so quickly.

At her last remark though, Adam stood up a little straighter. His eyebrow raised in surprise. Did she really just say that? Grabby hands? That offended him in some aspect. Throughout his life, he'd been a very respectful man, especially to women. So to hear someone accuse him of being handsy threw him off. "Are you serious?" Adam asked dryly. A part of him was being a bit rhetorical; a part of him was a bit worried she being serious. "I grabbed your arms, and I just said I didn't mean to, I don't recall reaching anywhere else." Of course, as a man, he would never tell a woman how to feel- but he'd lose his security as a man if a woman thought he'd meant harm.

"We're good, alright? I'm sorry for bumping into you... It was just an accident. I was... I was just standing over there." He said, pointing to the specific spot on the sidewalk. "I was over there and I lost track of time, and where I was. I wasn't like... I wasn't waiting for you or anything- to grab you or some shit." Why he chose to break this down, even Adam wasn't certain. Still, he stood in his place, tight lipped, glancing around before exhaling once more. "Are we good? Can I--?" It'd be awkward, if they had to walk in the same direction, so Adam decided to point at the direction he needed to go- signaling beforehand that he was going that way.

[adriengracerp-blog]

No, no, no, see? Y’gotta be, like, the sayin’s, like, you gotta be real stubborn on yer goals but flexible ‘bout yer methods. Y’ain’t always gonna be able t’get there in th’way what yer meanin’! Y’gotta just, I dunno, go w’th’flow!

[va-keaton-blog]

Pfft, right. Been there; done that. I heard that speech once before, man. The whole go with the flow thing. Only goals one should have, is taking shit one day at a time and not wasting time on following others. Gotta do your own shit, you know?

[va-keaton-blog]

Tonight wasn't an easy night for Adam. Even after years of soberity, there were some things that were hard to change. The whole day had been one of those days that had been hard to get over. Rude customers, shitty hours, overall stress... Adam was lonely, tired, and overworked. Before this new life, he'd had gateway relievers. Stress was easier to deal with after a drink or two. Now, well, all he had was a cigarette, or two. Being sober was for the best, he knew that. Feelings were so hard to control; hard to deal with. And tonight, that was most obvious.

How long he'd been standing in front of this liquor store, Adam couldn't recall. That's what overthinking did to him-- it made him lose track of the simplest things. The cigarette he was smoking had burned halfway out. A good few minutes since he crossed that street to get to the bus stop, that's about how long. Adam never made it to that stop though. Despite passing this liquor store mulitple times before, tonight it was much harder to walk away from.

After another couple of minutes, the cigarette's butt created a burning sensation at his fingertips, moving Adam out of his hazy thoughts. The demons had their chance to win, but reality shook him awake. Allowing the burnt out cigarette to slide from his fingers, Adam sighed heavily and wiped his mouth. It wasn't until he picked up his hand that he noticed it was shaking. Shit. He had to get home. Abruptly turning away from the store's window, Adam absentmindedly bumped into a figure passing by.

Hissing some, mostly to himself, Adam grabbed the other by their forearms. He was still a little foggy, a little anxious from the battle he's trying to win, so he was... impatient. "Hey, watch it!" He seethed, his nervous eyes obviously not matching the tone in his voice. After realizing what he'd said, Adam blew another breath and looked down at his hands, immediately releasing the stranger before backing away. "I-I--" Tonight was not a good night, Adam could tell. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that." He explained, pulling the corner of his lip between his teeth.

[rockatanskymax]