Beach Party Log

[celebrity_commentator]

Who: The people of Union and all their wonderful friends who can be bothered to take a vacation.
Where: The Tropical Island
When: On and off, the second week of June
What: Union's more-than-annual beach party. Open log, tag around!

The sun is shining, the Wingull are squawking, and the beach of the Tropical Island is as beautiful as always. The whole city has more or less been effectively encouraged to come out, especially people who need to recover from the shenanigans in Sanctuary. The air is filled with the sounds and smells of Citadel visitors grilling, the expected murmurs of shock at Calderan fashions hitting the place where they're most practical, and of course, the colorful sights of everyone having a good time. There's lots of places to see and things to do on the island, and now's the time to enjoy them.

Comments

[punchesyu]

[He noticed that she didn't answer the question, not really.]

That's great and all, but you still didn't answer it. Is that what you want? To go back?

[wishingalone]

[She hesitates a moment, before she shrugs.]

Eventually. What I want to do is what's best for the other Valkyries. Which... means going back, eventually.

[punchesyu]

It's always about that. Must be tough being one of the top warriors from the tribes.

[He sighs. On one hand, he's a little jealous of her, because of all the attention she gets. Because those who were skilled enough to be warriors were really cool.]

But, I mean...what if you could find a way that you weren't forced to go back that would also help Citadel out? Would you do it?

[wishingalone]

[That's a difficult question for Mami to answer. On the one hand, that life is what she has to cling to. On the other, it's living for other people, and not herself. But the stipulation makes it easier.]

I might, yes. It's hard to imagine such circumstances. But... I enjoy traveling and seeing more of the world.

[punchesyu]

You know, with as much that's happened around here, I bet you could make a case for it.

[That's something he thinks would be really awesome- and it would be awesome if Mami got to do it too.]

Then you could be helping out the Valkyries and get to do something you want to do. Think about it!

[wishingalone]

It is an idea... I would have to think on what. But it could be nice.

[She is dubious, though. Being a fighter is what she is best at -- and there are numerous responsibilities to her other Valkyries.]

Though... there are the other Valkyries. Girls I helped train and the ones who trained me. And trained with me. It would be hard to leave them behind forever.

[punchesyu]

Who said anything about leaving forever?

[He even laughs a little at that. It would be fun to explore, but...]

This world's only so big. Man, I don't know if anyone could ever really avoid going back to where they're from. You could always go back and visit. I dunno. I'm not sure if getting cooped up in Citadel for forever is any kind of exciting life.

[His voice, at the end, becomes a little wishful- like that wasn't a fate he'd want, but he doesn't want to say that.]

[wishingalone]

True. It hardly needs to be forever. But, still...

[She doesn't follow up immediately. Mami's quiet for a moment, longer than she needs to be, while she thinks about it. Her feelings, she decides, are complicated. The idea of exploring, of seeing more of the world, seems nice. But how much of that is the lingering bitterness about Sanctuary? How could they have not known what they made an alliance with?]

[And it comes back to why she can't let it bother her too much.]

...I can't consider only my personal wishes. Others rely on me and need me.

[punchesyu]

...I understand.

[Not to any real extent, but he understands her feelings, or maybe lack thereof of knowing how she feels about it. He won't push it any further.]

You've got a lot of responsibilities. I wouldn't know what that's like. Let me know when you figure it out though. [He doesn't want her to feel down.] I know you will.

[wishingalone]

[She looks sideways at him and nods. The faith in her makes her wonder, though. She smiles, finally, idly toying with a ringlet.]

Thank you. I'll do so. And if you should have an idea about how I might be useful to Citadel abroad... please share.

[Then she looks back over the cliff.] Now. Shall we see how cliff diving works?

[punchesyu]

[...Oh yeah. That thing he was trying to avoid.]

Don't you think sitting up here and enjoying the view is way better than that? [He says worriedly, fearing for his life.] Check out how beautiful it is! You wouldn't want to ruin that!

[He's going to die he swears]

[wishingalone]

[She looks at him. It's understanding, but... skeptical.]

We don't have to if you don't want to.

[punchesyu]

[He really doesn't want to. But it seems like she wants to. Why is she looking at him like that...]

I mean... [He takes a step over to the edge of the cliff, looking down. That was so. Far. Down.]

How do you do this again? [Only asking to make sure that it's safe, but he's sure it's probably not.]

[wishingalone]

You do a running start off the cliff, then jump at the end. This one's straight down, so there isn't that much danger. And there--

[She points at the water below.]

You see how much darker the water is? It means that it is much deeper there. If you like, I can go first.

[punchesyu]

[He's not so sure about this. He might of been able to muster the courage to do it if the cliff wasn't so damn high, but it's high.]

You're sure there's no rocks down there? [His dumb boy mind is starting to take over though. If she can do it, why can't he? And she seems pretty confident.]

[wishingalone]

[Mami glances down at the bottom again, before she nods. She's learned to do water landings as a matter of necessity in battle and while exploring. Sometimes, there's no tree to latch her ribbon to.]

I'm sure of it.

[punchesyu]

[There comes a point in every guy's life where they are faced with a decision that is decidedly stupid, but necessary to retain any kind of manliness they've clung to if they're the kind of guy that does that kind of thing. Yosuke is one of those, coupled with the want to impress a lady and being easy to give into peer pressure, no matter how small it may be.

He gulps, looking over the edge. Well, if Mami can do it.

He can too.]

Here goes nothing.

[He takes several steps back, says a small prayer to himself, and runs as fast as he can, which is surprisingly faster than one might expect of him.

And he jumps. With nothing beneath him anymore, he makes the mistake of looking down, and starts to scream.]

THIS WAS A MISTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SPLASH.]

[wishingalone]

[Mami watches Yosuke leap. She blinks when he goes faster than she expected -- and then she pauses when she hears his scream. She covers her mouth with her hand.]

[...oops?]

[Well, she better go down there and see what the damage is. Mami does her own run and jump -- shooting off the side of the cliff. She comes down in a more practiced dive. She hits the water with her own splash, well away from him.]

[And then Mami comes up and looks around for him. Just in case. She might be ever-so-slightly worried.]

[punchesyu]

[He's splashing around near her, the sudden impact of the water plus the fact that he was freaking out to begin with wasn't helping his situation. He's not drowning, but he's freaking out.]

Aaaahhhh! Holy crap, I thought I was gunna die! Why is this water so cold?!

[He yells as he pathetically splashes around like a Magikarp.]

[wishingalone]

But you lived, didn't you?

[Mami smiles and grabs him by the shoulder. It's not so much a sign of support -- well, it is that, but.. -- as it's a way to make sure his flailing doesn't turn into drowning. She can keep him above water, if need be.]

Unless I blinked and missed it...

[punchesyu]

[The hand on his shoulder helps to calm him down, and he actually gets a little red. Is it because he's embarrassed or because she's so close to him now? Who can tell.]

Aw, c'mon, don't give me that crap. Yeah, I lived... [He sighs.]

You girls are crazy, you're already down here and you don't even look phased at all!

[wishingalone]

I have done it before. I am a Valkyrie, after all.

[She winks. And then she pulls her hand back from his shoulder. No need to fluster him too badly.] Did you have fun with it?

[punchesyu]

It was scary as hell! [That's the honest truth, and it comes flying out of his mouth before he can even think about it.] But...

I guess it was kinda fun.

[That is definitely on the list of things that are not boring.]

[wishingalone]

Sometimes, being a little scared is fun. [At least, that's how Mami has coped with vast tracts of her entire existence. C'est la vie.]

Maybe we won't do it again right away, though.

[punchesyu]

I don't think I'm ready to have a heart attack again-! [He's glad she suggested not doing it again.] Let's do something a little less life-threatening next time, okay?

Man, I'd rather train than do that again-! [Yosuke's life is tough. Totally.]