expiationlogs | [open mingle] let's go to the beach-each, let's go get a wave

Entry tags:

[open mingle] let's go to the beach-each, let's go get a wave

Who: Anyone in Aldrip on June 12th
Where: The beach close to town
What: A totally open mingle for a party on the beach
Warnings: potential for injury and alcohol use -- let me know if y'all do anything that needs to be warned for, and I'll update it!

The prompts are just suggestions below -- this is a completely open mingle, so feel free to make your own starters, tag around, and go wild!

The weather doesn't change overmuch in Aldrip, but what is summer if not a state of mind? If anything, the too-pleasant weather makes planning ahead a little easier. A video message from one Kotone Shiomi had gone out the day before to invite everybody -- and that means everybody, locals and Chosen alike -- to a party on the beach, starting in the afternoon when the sun is consistently warmest and going until- well, until everybody leaves.

The morning of... Kotone can't do it all on her own, though! Maybe the prospect of a party is enough to get you digging around looking for supplies that could be useful on the beach. Games? The shops must have something, surely. Food? The kitchens are, as always, available. Hauling wood for a bonfire? Hey, someone's gotta do it. Maybe you're helping some of the locals go fishing early in the morning for extra food, or harvesting some fresh fruits and veggies from their gardens and farms. Many hands makes light work, or something like that. If nothing else, if you missed the initial annoucement, the bustle should at least clue you in that something's in the works. Don't forget to buy (or make, or "find") a swimsuit! Modernity not required.

If you can dodge a chore, you can dodge a ball, or, with or without your help, there are plenty of things to do on the beach itself. Some of the sports and activities might seem a little anachronistic to the generally old-fashioned vibe in Aldrip -- the volleyball net and ball are local, but the beach ball and water guns are a little too brightly-colored and plastic, the water balloons in their bucket too obviously mass-produced, to be local, but they're there for anyone to play with (or torment others with). The band's set up as well, though with some different music than they'd played for the inn party. Maybe someone can make a request for more appropriate beach music? Or maybe you just want to see if you can launch a water balloon from a trumpet.

Eventually, someone starts a volleyball tournament. Time to let that competitive streak shine! Or at the very least, you've got to try cracking open a watermelon with a bat... but maybe not too close to the people relaxing on lounge chairs under umbrellas.

Y'all gotta eat, right? Whether you helped the locals earlier with catching fish or preparing food, there's an array of grills that have been dragged out to the beach. Hopefully some of the more magically-inclined among you can figure out how to keep the insulated boxes of ice and ice cream cold away from electricity (or maybe you're using the trek back to town for more ice as an excuse to get away from the party), but even if not, there's plenty of fish, vegetables, and meat available for grilling. Maybe you're the chef, maybe you're just here for the food, but there's plenty available no matter what you choose.

The food is hot and the drinks are cold. Unlike the inn, there's plenty of space around to try to avoid mingling with others if you're the quiet type, but watch out! It also means there are fewer places to hide. It's harder to wallflower without any walls.

As the sun starts to set, someone gets the bonfire going. Marshmallows exist, though maybe in a less-manufactured way than you might be used to, and there's plenty of other leftover things to roast if you're the type. It's another beautiful night in Aldrip to watch the stars and take in the fresh air with some friends. In light of everything that's happened, maybe some quiet relaxation is finally in order.

Well, for some of you. For others, night is when the party gets rowdier and it's time for drinking and party games. Just try not to make too much of a mess! Because somebody's going to have to clean it all up tomorrow.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It does at that. [Ethlyn looks out towards the waves, lit beautifully by the lowering sun as they continue their endless rolling towards the shore.] All the troubles and petty squabbles of men seem like nothing next to it.

[The ocean has certainly had its share in shaping history, just by not caring who's sailing over it.]

There's something everlasting about it.

Yeah. That's a good way to put it.

[Very apt, very poetic. That's never really been Kotone's thing, but it's nice to hear from someone else. Kotone draws her knees in and rests her chin atop them, glancing sideways at the other young woman without losing her smile.]

I don't think I've gotten your name before? I'm Kotone Shiomi.

Ethlyn. I run the Arztenritter. [And they all got quite a workout in the recent trouble.] Kotone... you're the one who's getting all sorts of clubs started, aren't you?

[Not a familiar concept to Ethlyn--at least nothing so formal and named as that.]

Oh! That's you.

[Right. Kotone had thought about joining up herself, but she has Shinji to think of, and if any of her other teammates showed up, her first loyalty would be to them. But it's good to know there's a group out there that intends to help the town.

And. Mm. She winces. Ethlyn probably definitely knows that Kotone and Thanatos had rampaged through a decent portion of town. Her back stiffens a little as if waiting for some kind of rebuke, but she doesn't comment on it herself.]

And yeah! I'm finishing up my preparations in the building, so I wanna get it started soon. Stuff like the Artzenritter is really important, I think, but so is the chance for people to do normal stuff and get to know people through that, too.

[Ethlyn probably did see the huge, sword-wielding thing rampaging around town--and now that she thinks on it, maybe it did have a petite young lady running around nearby. Things were so chaotic that it might take a few moments to connect the dots. As it is, she's not sure why Kotone is wincing--modesty over being known for taking charge of something?]

I think it's a wonderful idea. We're from such different worlds--the Arztenritter is there for emergencies, like the one we just had, but your idea is a good way for us to get to know each other, and to learn things that we never would have had the chance to do in our world. [She smiles, hoping to put Kotone at her ease.] I didn't know anything about electricity before coming here, for example, apart from knowing people who used it as combat magic.

Oh... really?

[Mentally, Kotone shuffles Ethlyn into "the past," which is a nebulous category spanning anything before she was born, really. Not having electricity sounds like it would suck, though -- even that time when the fridges were broken here had been bad enough. But her lip does quirk a bit at the mention of electric magic though, nodding once.]

Can you do that here? Combat magic, I mean.

["The past" works well enough. In spite of gods, dragons, and magic, most everything else Ethlyn has to say about the workings of her world falls solidly into a framework of European feudalism.]

I never learned combat magic myself, although I understand the theories behind it. But I did own a sword that could cast a powerful light magic spell. [Unfortunately, she hadn't brought it with her when she, Quan, and the Lanzenritter set out on their fateful journey across the desert. But it's unlikely that it would have made any difference to the outcome.] Does your world have magic? I know that some don't, as strange as that seems.

Oooh... cool!

[Her eyes brighten a bit at the mention of a sword that could cast spells. She's seen stuff like that on TV or in manga, but none of the weapons they'd ever found in Tartarus had been like that! Just the fact that it exists is neat enough.

She laughs a little sheepishly and shrugs as if embarrassed, tracing a meaningless pattern in the sand beside her.]

We don't have anything like that, no. People can't cast magic on their own, and there's definitely no weapons that let you do it, either!

Really? It's still hard for me to imagine places where magic is so rare. It's like hearing of a world where people don't sing or nobody knows geometry.

[She tilts her head curiously as Kotone begins drawing in the sand.]

But it sounds like it isn't entirely absent, either?

Sort of.

[Is she being baited? Is this some kind of trap? Ethlyn seems nice, but if she leads the Artzenritter, surely she must have seen Thanatos. Or maybe she saw Thanatos, but not Kotone herself...? It feels duplicitous to try to deny it, but then again, isn't that what's printed on her parchment?]

It's complicated to try to explain. Some people can summon mythical figures, though.

[Her idle drawing starts to take the shape of a dark pair of wings; a careful eye might note that those same wings crest a skull in brands on her back, faded to almost nothing but still there for those looking.]

It's pretty rare though. There's only a handful of people who can do it.

Magic often is. [She gives Kotone a smile. How do you explain how lightning can be called from the pages of a book or healing from a gem set in wood? It's as difficult as understanding how numbers and angles add up to a castle and takes just as much study.] Don't worry, I'm not a teacher--I won't make you try and describe the theory and practice of yours.

[Her eyebrows lift when Kotone describes one of the powers people in her world have. Mythical figures...? She tries to imagine Lewyn calling the wind god Forseti--or her brother Sigurd conjuring Baldr back to life.]

Summon--as in--bringing them here in body? [She looks very interested now. Wasn't there some kind of smaller monster in the town streets...?] That's a power I've not heard of before.

It's pretty rare!

[Less rare here than in the real world, she's pretty sure? It's kind of strange to meet others who weren't involved with the Fall who have Personas of their own. Still, Goro, Akira, and Violet are interesting in their own rights.]

And I dunno about being here in body... it's like, they're there? But also not. Metaphysically there, maybe?

[It sounds like a complicated word, one she isn't sure is entirely accurate, but she smiles apologetically anyway.]

I told you it was hard to explain.

[Huh... Ethlyn wonders what that actually looks like. A ghost, perhaps? That's the closest thing she can think of that is both "there and not."

She doesn't really know what metaphysical means, either.]

I think I'd have to see it to understand. [She gives her own apologetic smile.] It makes my homeland's magic sound downright straightforward.

[Her eyes drift down to the doodles Kotone is making in the sand. It looks a little familiar, and she can't think why.]

What sort of creature are you drawing there?

It's the symbol for one of the beings that can be summoned. Thanatos.

[Even she thinks it'd be a little weird to just say "Death," but she keeps sketching out the skull and its dark halo and wings, watching Ethlyn out of the corner of her eye to see if it jogs her memory. Again, it's possible she hadn't seen it, and maybe Kotone shouldn't push it, but... in case it happens again, it's probably better for the people who've charged themselves with protecting the town to know, right?]

I was thinking about it while we were talking.

[Even if Ethlyn doesn't have the cultural context to understand the significance of the name, the features that Kotone details are telling enough on their own. And as she adds the bat wings, that sense of nagging familiarity finally clicks into place.]

...I saw that creature. Back in May, when that colossus was enthralling people to its will and attacking the town. Did someone here--[she looks up at Kotone.] Did you summon it?

[She taps the stick gently against the sand with a quiet hum of affirmation, shoulders tense as she waits for rebuke, or worse, attack. It feels too good to be true that there hadn't been anyone who'd held a grudge against her for it, after all.]

I was trying to fight the monster, but I lost control of my Persona. [Her back itches a little with the reminder of the now-faded Brand that had mirrored the one now drawn on the sand.] I didn't want to attack town. But if you're protecting it, you should know it was me. Just in case it happens again and you have to stop me.

[Just in case it happens again and you have to stop me.

It is not that different from the conversation she had with Marianne earlier in the day... having to promise to kill someone she cared about should they lose control of themselves. Ethlyn doesn't know Kotone nearly so well, but that doesn't make her any less reluctant to consider such measures.]

You... aren't the first person who's told me something like this. I said that she shouldn't give up on herself so easily. And I don't think you should either.

[She looks Kotone in the eye. She's old enough to be called a grown woman, but not nearly old enough to have lived a life.

Certainly too young to ask to have her life ended.]

Even if it's already happened once.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[open mingle] let's go to the beach-each, let's go get a wave

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject