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

[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.]

[wishingalone]

I'll spare you from such exertions. For the time being.

[But she might drag him along some day. Being a Valkyrie requires a certain amount of daring-do.]

Train, though? In combat?

[punchesyu]

Sec.

[He starts to swim back, and doesn't answer the question though until they reach the sandy shore. He sits, feet at the edge of the water, the waves pushing water up over his feet and receding again.]

I mean, yeah, sorta. Ever since that Gigas crap, I've been trying to do a little bit more than just have a pair of weapons on me. [Normally he'd try to pass this off to try to look amazing in this girl's eyes, but he can't lie to her. She's from Citadel, she knows perfectly well that he isn't trained for combat, or even knows how to train, probably just by looking at him. He looks like a lean, only slightly muscular boy from the tree.]

That shit's totally hard, I really gotta give you ladies credit for what you do. I'm still sore from a few days ago...!

[wishingalone]

[Mami swims back most of the distance, but then she makes another ribbon strand and fires it into a tree limb. She pulls herself out, then drops down, and lands beside him. She's now trying to get her hair in some semblance of order. HER DRILL CURLS NOOOOO]

[She looks down at him, though, and nods. She's well aware of how often men from Citadel fight.]

It helps when you've done it most of your life. What have you been practicing? You mentioned weapons?

[punchesyu]

[He may or may not be checking her out as she pulls herself from the water. Even with her hair all wet and messed up, she's still hot...focus, Yosuke. He blinks, taking a second to answer, but finally spits it out.]

Yeah, I picked up a couple of kunai a while back, and got some sweet ones after we took Sanctuary. Anything else just weighs me down.

[It's his only saving grace- despite being clumsy, Yosuke is light and quick on his feet.]

[wishingalone]

[Mami mostly -- mostly! -- manages to miss that he's checking her out. She does glance for a moment at him and pauses, her head tilting to the side. She's busy fixing her hair as much as she can.]

That's a better idea. Some people choose weaponry that is far too heavy. [She's lucky. She can make her own weapons.] You... aren't a Windblessed, I presume?

[punchesyu]

Nope. [Spoken like it's just a fact of life.] I'm just your normal average guy from Citadel. Nothing special here.

You know, except that I help run a business, if that counts. [He winks, the cherry on top to make light of the situation, even though he feels a little down about it.] Dad isn't all that happy with me, but I told him I gotta do what I gotta do- so he's giving me some time off from work to get some practice in. He was surprisingly understanding about it, even if he thinks I should leave it to people who are more prepared, I guess.

[wishingalone]

The world being what it is... [She shakes her head. She might have somewhat jaded views; after all, she's had encounters with wild Pokemon and fought a war recently.]

Having a way to defend yourself is important. We can't know that someone will be there to defend us at all times, sadly.

[punchesyu]

Dammit, that's what I said! [He remembers when the lava god was headed towards Citadel too. There'd been worries, and it was so bad that they had to reach out for help from Union and Caldera. Even the Matriarch had personally contacted them, it was a mess.]

I can't just stand by while this crap happens.

[That's why he's gotta get better- even if he doesn't exactly knows what he's doing half the time.]

You understand what I mean, right?

[wishingalone]

[Mami remembers that. She had been terrified out of her mind when it occurred. She felt helpless against the terrible god, and she didn't know what they could really do against it. They owe Union and Caldera a debt, but...]

[She does understand. She nods, hesitating a moment.]

Yes. The danger that that so many have been put in... I can't imagine standing idle then. Especially as... [She looks down at her hand, her fingers curling. She almost says 'as a Windblessed.'] ...as a Valkyrie. Others shouldn't suffer.

[punchesyu]

You're damn right they shouldn't. [He's a little fired up over this subject.] Sorry, I let myself get a little carried away. We're supposed to be enjoying ourselves, aren't we.

[He looks over to her, genuinely apologetic.]

Y'know, I might be ready for round two of this cliff diving stuff. I didn't die the first time, so...why not give it a second chance.

[He will regret this later.]

[wishingalone]

[Mami shakes her head.] No, don't apologize. It's quite all right. But...

[She looks at him, smiling, and yet surprised. She figured it might be a few days -- or weeks -- before she got him up there. Have some respect points, Yosuke.]

Let's. [She creates a ribbon, then hands it out to him.] Shall we?

[punchesyu]

[He knows this is a bad idea, he knows he will regret this. The things he'll do just to see her smile...

He takes the ribbon, at least determined not to make an ass of himself this time and land on his feet.]

Totally! I just hope someone up there likes me-! [He mutters that, praying to the Great Tree that he doesn't actually die this time.]

[wishingalone]

[Back up to the top of the cliff they go. She shoots them into the air with a ribbon, and then a second stops. She, too, lands on her feet with a small flourish.]

Don't worry. It usually goes better the second time. Care to go first, or shall I?

[punchesyu]

[He actually manages not to bungle it this time, almost falling on his face but staying on his feet.]

Yeah, I'll let the pro show how it's done first.

[So he can watch and see how not to mess it up again.]

[wishingalone]

Then I'll try to not disappoint.

[Mami winks at him, with a slight flash of light. Being a Fairy-type Enlightened is awesome. Then she walks towards the edge of the cliff. There's a moment's pause -- before she bolts, running forward, and leaps well off the edge.]

[She dives down with that damnably perfect calm.]

[The splash is still pretty huge, though.]

[punchesyu]

Woah!

[He runs to the edge, watching her go down perfectly, hitting the water and hoping she was fine. He's sure she was, but that was pretty impressive. She made it look so easy, like it was nothing! He mutters to himself how he wishes he could be like that, looking for her to surface before he realizes that now, it's his turn. Saying another small prayer, he steels himself. He did it once, he can do it again.]

Okay! [He yells down.] Here I come!

[Taking a good couple of steps back, he gives himself enough room to get a good running start. Taking off, he picks up speed and all seems to be going well, and right when he goes to jump-!

He slips. He totally biffs it, tripping up on himself. Instead of jumping off the edge, he visibly slides off it, screaming, doing a few somersaults in midair until he hits the water. Somehow, he managed to kind of look like he dove in, enough not to hurt himself.

It's only a few seconds later that he surfaces, embarrassed. His heart is pounding and he's up on a adrenaline rush, but he's okay. Okay enough to complain.]

I don't think I'll ever get the hang of this...

[wishingalone]

[Mami laughs, gently and without reproach, when Yosuke surfaces. Then she shakes her head and reaches a hand out to pat him on the shoulder. The actual dive wasn't so bad. The jump, now, that really wasn't great... but no need to hurt his confidence.]

It took me some time, too.

[She pulls her hand back, though, and resumes treading water while she looks at him.]

If you practice at it, you'll get better.

[If he's crazy enough (or maybe just crazy enough about her).]

[punchesyu]

Guess even ace Valkyries gotta start somewhere, huh? [Her words are a little comforting. He still wishes he wouldn't of totally messed it up, but the hand on his shoulder helped. Especially since it was coming from her of all people. Had it been Yukiko, or someone else, he'd still of felt really stupid and complained, but it's not.]

C'mon, let's swim back. I wanna ask you something.

[wishingalone]

Oh, of course. [Mami nods at him, but then she starts swimming. Once again, when she's back, she works on drying out her hair. It's still some work.]

What is it?

[punchesyu]

Well- [He says as he takes a seat in the sand once more, while he's admiring her hair and well, just all of her-] you mentioned training other Valkyries earlier and I was wondering if maybe you'd want to give me some tips?

[He does genuinely want to get better. But, this is more of an excuse to hang out with Mami more.]

Whaddya say?

[wishingalone]

[Mami considers it for a moment, looking down at the sand. The idea that he's out there, still untrained, and in danger is worrisome. It's more worrisome than Mami would like to admit. She is supposed to look after everyone from Citadel. After everyone, really. But...]

[She's come to be fond of him, and while she won't admit that to herself, that it's specifically him in hypothetical danger matters. She nods, finally, and smiles.]

Of course. I would be glad to.

[punchesyu]

Sweet! [He's excited, for more than one reason, and smiles brightly back at her.]

Can I call you when we're able to go out and do a little training? I still work part time at Junes too, so it depends on when I get off from work.

[wishingalone]

Certainly. I don't mind at all.

[Her schedule is rather more fluid; it comes with being, at the moment, a Valkyrie errant. Exploring is about all that she has to do.]

Perhaps I'll come see Junes, too.