012 | The Beach Episode

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Beach party
When: All day June 5
Where: The beach
Summary: A beach party for all of the Far Shore residents

[01-27 Edit: Continue your threads at the overflow post to evade captcha!]



There were certainly a lot of broken hearts and emotional roller coasters recently, so the Heavens have decided it's time to allow their people to let loose and have some fun for a little while. Through some magic - or possibly just a lot of money - they have managed to rent out an entire private beach for the event so that they won't be interrupted by any Near Shore residents. The beach is beautiful and well-maintained, the ocean goes for as far as the eye can see, and rocky outcroppings offer a handy place to dive into the water on a test of courage.

It's a beautiful summer day, perfect for swimming and cracking watermelons and playing some beach volleyball. There's even some soft music permeating the air so that nothing is every silent on this fun-filled day.

New arrivals, after having been met at the Meeting Hall, would have been immediately redirected to this party. After all, they should be enjoying themselves as well.



Swimwear

Anyone who doesn't have swimwear will be provided with swimwear to fit their needs. Unfortunately, the Heavens don't have access to a lot of swimwear, so you'll likely wind up with something ugly, something old, or something just plain weird.

Playful Fish

The sea critters are excited about the party too. They're happy to swim up to anyone in the water and will even come up to the shallows to take a look at the fun happening on the shore. Toe nibbling and brushes of scales are in your future, so you'd better get used to the idea if you plan on being in the water.

Barbecue

Some basics have been provided, but everyone has been asked to bring a little something to the barbecue as well if they can. So you're more than welcome to grab one of the many grills and start frying things up. Heck, there are even fishing poles available if you feel like hauling in a few of those friendly fish to grill. Additionally, summery drinks have been provided, including iced tea, lemonade, water, and horribly fruity cocktails.

After Dark

Just because the sun is down doesn't mean that the party's stopping! The barbecue will continue well into the night, lit now by the stars and a huge, roaring bonfire. The bonfire is maintained by Amaterasu's shinki and climbs higher than any bonfire has the right to. Also, there are floating lights in the water so that people can continue swimming now that it's dark. And if you happen to get too drunk to go home, don't worry. A white-clad shinki will be happy to put you back to bed at the end of the night. Additionally, some sparklers and small bottle rockets have been provided for your entertainment.

In Summary:

• Get some sun
• Go for a swim
• Make sure you're in a swimsuit
• Enjoy the food and activities
• Don't drown
• Have fun~

Comments

[skepticstarbuck]

This doesn't look like Valhalla to me.

[She's heard of those too! And this still looks like a relentlessly mortal beach barbecue.

Except for certain unusual elements, but she's willing to accept the possibility that whatever brain damage resulted in amnesia has her hallucinating, too.]

That was about the limits of it. I'm dead and an ancient Greek god will be using me as a weapon.

[She frowns slightly.] Or Roman. Anyway. It's a crazy story, and I'd like to see some evidence beyond being on a beach.

[kokuyoyo]

And what would you count as solid evidence?

[Finally satisfied with the state of a rock he's found, he casts a critical eye upon the water before giving a flick of his wrist. Better, this time- unlucky number four.]

Some people get evidence... but it doesn't do anything.

[skepticstarbuck]

How about a gravestone with my name on it? I don't think I'm asking too much here.

[It's possible that, faced with that gravestone, the next thing she'd want is a spade, a bulldozer, a few heavy ropes and a warrant for disinterment.

Or at least the spade and heavy ropes, in the dead of night. Following the legal protocol to unearth her own body might be a challenge.

The boy's picking up the trick of skipping stones a little too fast. Scully avoids challenging him this time.]

[kokuyoyo]

So all you'd need is a rock with your name...?

[Now that he's gotten the hang of it- anything with hand-eye coordination seems to be in his realm of talent, he's come to learn- Chikusa almost doesn't seem as invested in skipping more rocks, although he'll still browse through to find anymore that are suitable.]

...Although it'd be hard for you here.

[skepticstarbuck]

And some proof that my body is buried under it.

[She pries a few smooth stones from the outcropping, checking them for shape, and tosses the best of them to him, gently, underhand.]

Here's one. You're probably right, anyway. I don't think I'm from Japan, even if I speak the language -- it's just not very familiar.

[She looks out over the sea, expression smoothing to something more neutral as she thinks. There are some things that are familiar: the scent of the sea, the look of the rice fields by the roads. But she can't read the characters fluently, and she's sure if she'd lived here she would have put the effort in to learn.]

[kokuyoyo]

Even if you were recently deceased in Japan, it’d probably be difficult to find your corpse.

[Oh, this works out- he catches the stone easily, turning it in his hand before it clearly meets his satisfaction. Another skip. Three, this time.]

There were issues with those, not long ago… Yours wouldn't be recognizable then, probably.

[skepticstarbuck]

How badly mutilated are you talking about? That's what fingerprints are for, or dental records. Or DNA.

[Can you extract DNA from a ghost, if she's a ghost?

She'd scraped her knuckle, and she'd bled, so she's going to assume that she can test her own DNA if she has to, as morbid as it is to think seriously about the possibility of identifying her own corpse.]

[kokuyoyo]

...It depends.

[And he has to think about that. There was really not that many ways to make the corpses stay down, after all.... besides-]

Most were dismembered at the very least so that they couldn't move anymore... Others were simply burned to a crisp.

...I didn't recognize your face amongst the ones I took care of, for what it's worth.

[Because yeah that was a thing]

[skepticstarbuck]

So, all right, DNA.

[Badly burned bodies could be a pain that way. Skulls often exploded, ruining the chance at dental ID.

She frowns faintly, looking down. That seems like specialized knowledge.]

Thanks for checking, I guess. Why were you mutilating bodies?

[kokuyoyo]

They were reanimated and aggressive.

[...This is likely going to do nothing for Scully's disbelief that this is reality.]

[skepticstarbuck]

[Well, "you're undead" and "zombies attacked me last week" aren't as far apart, conceptually, as Scully wishes they were.

Her weary stare becomes slightly wearier.]

... So, let me just get this straight. My corpse might have been mutilated in the middle of a zombie attack.

How very Romero.

[kokuyoyo]

[A shrug. WELCOME TO THE AFTERLIFE, SCULLY.]

There are reports of it, if you need them.

[Since that seems like the kind of thing that would help a skeptic.]

[skepticstarbuck]

Thanks. Where?

[It's probably not relevant but if she's looking for recent deaths anyway, then a recent zombie outbreak sounds like the kind of thing that might turn out to be very relevant.

Even if she's not from Japan. She could have been here on vacation, or a business trip, and been -- who knows? -- hit by a car. If she's dead at all.]

[kokuyoyo]

That depends...

[Glancing back to the ocean, he goes to skip another rock.]

How comfortable do you feel breaking into buildings...?

[skepticstarbuck]

I'm going to guess getting a warrant is out of the question.

[She doesn't like breaking into buildings.

She also doesn't like being lied to, having her memory meddled with, and being trapped in a weird sunny beach party "afterlife" with a bunch of strangers. A little minor breaking and entering, by comparison, is something she can accept.]

[kokuyoyo]

Well…. We aren’t cops…

….I doubt I was, anyway.

[For all his height, after all, he is a teenager.]

Still… If you want to see things with your own two eyes, then going to the hospitals in Tokyo is for the best. I have pictures saved but… there’s no reason for you to believe they’re real.

[skepticstarbuck]

All right, I'll take a look.

[There's no real reason for her to believe that any of this is real, in fact, but it's easier if she sees it with her own two eyes.

She wonders if she were a cop. Her first thought had been to get a warrant, but if even if she'd once had that kind of authority, she doesn't now, does she? She doesn't even know who she is.]

And see if I'm any good at breaking in.

[kokuyoyo]

[A nicer person would offer their help.]

[Chikuas just shrugs and, with one last skipping stone, he begins to make his way off then.]

I’m Kakimoto Chikusa…. Let me know if you find anything interesting.

[skepticstarbuck]

Dana Scully. Same to you, Kakimoto.

[Her pronunciation of his name isn't too bad, but then, she's speaking Japanese anyway, so it's a little hard to tell. She settles back into her spot on the outcropping, glancing curiously after him as he heads away.]