[OPEN] Let's go surfin' now, everybody's learning how

[windeity]

WHO: John Egbert, past and future coaliation members and you
WHERE: The beach
WHEN: July 22nd
WHAT: Coalition meet-up and beach day! Mostly getting to know yous and organization/strategy discussions
WARNINGS: Nah, it's a mingle log.

He’d mentioned it on the Retrospec post at the beginning of the month briefly, but John decided now was as good a time as any to get things in order, see who was around and recruit new members for the coalition. Despite the fact that things seemed to have calmed down in the city, it was better to be prepared now than be surprised later.

Or, at least, that’s what he told himself. A beach day didn’t seem like a bad idea either though and even if he didn’t directly invite someone, he always welcomed gate crashers...



a.)

[The sun is shining, the water’s nice, and anyone passing by will be immediately hit with the scent of grilling hot dogs, hamburgers and vegetables. John’s currently at the grill but he’ll step aside for anyone else who wants to take over and special orders can be placed.

Grab some food and mingle! Maybe take a plate over to someone sitting down by the water instead?

Or bother the cook because sometimes he’s not paying attention to what he’s doing, oops.]

b.)

[Post-lunch the idea is to start with team-building exercises and games, something to break the ice and monitor how people get along.

Set up on the sand are a few things:

1.) Bowling! There are several plastic pins set up in the sand and at the end of the “lane” are soccer balls. Play a game of one on one or grab a few friends for “strategy building.”

(There’s even a helpful sign in the sand that says “STRATEGY BUILDING.”)

2.) Human pyramids! There are mats on the ground so that people don’t slip in the sand and an equally helpful sign that says “LITERAL BUILDING.” Do you trust yourself with these strangers to stand tall? Time to find out!

3.) And of course there’s good ol’ beach volleyball. With a net set up and a sign that says "TEAM BUILDING", you might find that even if there's nobody playing the volleyball seems to be moving over the net back and forth on its own accord. What's that all about? Maybe you should stop it and follow through with a game.]

c.)

[At some point in the afternoon John gathers everybody who's around in the middle of their meeting space, hovering a few inches in the air cross-legged and peering at the group.]

Okay so first off thanks for coming! Hopefully everybody got to know each other a little better so…my name is John. Egbert. I tried putting this project together a while ago after everything in February happened but so far the city's been okay. I know some things have been weird but I'd like us to be as prepared and ready to work together as possible so…

…last time I did this everybody filled out clipboards with their names and abilities and stuff. But since we're all here, everybody just introduce yourselves, tell us how long you've been on the app and what your skillset is.

[Go on, introduce yourself! Maybe you'll find people who have more in common with you than you think.]

d.)

[And once introductions are died down and the chattering seems to draw to a close, John's expression goes serious and he waves a hand to get everybody's attention again.]

I'd like to start doing this more frequently. June was a month we could organize ourselves since it was a lot of tasks, but getting together more often might help us keep a pulse on who is still around, what new powers or memories people are getting and how we can use them together.

…but more importantly. [A pause.] Seriously don't tell me I'm the only one who's been dealing with the weird dream thing. Anybody have any ideas what's up with that?

[Discuss!]

e.

[Wildcard! Set up your own prompt for mingling, bring up a discussion topic, organize a team-building game/exercise, etc.

This is a mingle log! Please feel free to top-level and tag out to each other, etc. Additionally please ping me on alternatively if you have any questions. Thanks!]

Comments

[compendiem]

i.
[ The sun is shining and Minato really wishes it'd stop. Rather than hanging out by the grill, he's been keeping the local popsicle stands in business by swinging over to them every hour or so, although he does eventually give into hunger and swipe one of the vegetable kebabs that'd been left unattended on the cooling rack, taking it over to the water to eat. He walks right along the shoreline where the sand is cool and damp, waves lapping at his ankles and more rarely crashing against his knees when a particularly large one comes.

Regardless, it's still too hot, so he just... walks into the ocean, t-shirt and shorts and all. There's a good rule of thumb about waiting a certain amount of time between eating and swimming, but he doesn't heed it, chewing on the wooden skewer as he tries to float on his back in the ocean, arms out on either side of him. The waves aren't exactly making it easy, but every time he goes under, it takes him a bit before he pulls his head right back up and lies down again, trying. Trying. ...Giving up the eighth time it happens.

...There he is out in the middle of the ocean, trying to convince a four year old child to lend him her swimming ring. ]

ii.
[ None of that was conducive to team building, and the one promise he'd made was to try volleyball, so Minato grabs the volleyball out of the air the next time it floats over the empty court. ]

Alright, ghost, it's just you and me...

[ This level of pretend companionship is one he's comfortable with, taking the ball back to the service line and giving it a few short tosses into the air. He's not particularly tall, and he can't jump well in the sand, but this should be okay, he thinks. He doesn't need to be the tallest or the best jumper, he just has to get high enough off the ground to—-

The flat of his hand makes contact with the ball as it drops from its toss: a sharp spike that just barely makes it over the net before it slams into the sand. Minato straightens, looking equal parts surprised and pleased, and also... expectant.

Hey ghost, bring that ball back so he doesn't have to walk over there, the downsides of playing alone. ]

iii.
[ When it comes to his turn for introductions, Minato looks up without stepping forward from where he's... standing next to the snack tables unwrapping another popsicle. ]

Minato Arisato. Been on the app since last... October? November?

[ Some time last fall. He shrugs a little, lifting just one shoulder, since what matters most is that he isn't one of the veterans who'd been here for ages, and nor is he a relative newcomer who might need more catching up. ]

Since then, I've picked up how to fight with a bow, sword, axe, fisticuffs, whatever. I can also summon monsters by shooting myself in the head with a special fake gun.

[ He lifts his non-popsicle hand and mimes this. Bang bang. ]

It's a varying skill set of whatever sort of magic. I work best in short term fights, so that's something to keep in mind if we're together, although I held the leader position in my memories.

wc.
[ etc etc. If he's not doing any of the above, he can generally be found lying on a beach towel under an umbrella and evaporating from existence. Heat makes him tired. But if you need somebody to collect seashells with or kick down a sandcastle or whatever you want to play out, fingerguns, he's amiable enough to go along with whatever today. ]

ii

[thebeastwithout]

[Gar is...

Not actually sure why he's here or why he would ever... want to be a part of something like this, but. He was on the roster? For some reason? And he actually explicitly remembers... being at the last meeting, so...

It's probably... rude to not show up.

He has been walking awkwardly up and down the beach for the last ten minutes doing nothing when a volleyball thuds into the sand close by.]

Oh.

Um.

[...]

Is this yours...?

[compendiem]

[ Minato's reasons for being here are admittedly less for the coalition, and way less for volleyball, but here he is too...! aka making no move to trot up to Gar and retrieve the ball, but standing- still right at the service line- and waving at him. ]

Yeah. Can you toss for me? Straight toss, directly overhead, no spin.

[thebeastwithout]

Oh. ...Yeah.

[...Probably?

He's not the most athletic human being on the planet, but he manages in P.E. He manages to slap it in Minato's general direction, though he comes up a little bit short since he overthinks it like he does everything.]

...Are you playing volleyball by yourself?

[compendiem]

[ Minato's got broken lungs or something, but he's still doing stuff like this. aka whiffing the air because the ball doesn't even reach him, and he can't step across the line on a serve. It rolls to a stop at his feet, eventually, but he doesn't bend over to pick it up, but rather he just stands there and stares it down as if expecting it to jump up into his arms. ]

No, I was playing with the ghost. But even with the two of us, we need more people. Want to play?

[thebeastwithout]

With the what.

[...It's pretty hard to tell when Minato is joking. Though, come to think of it, he's not sure he's ever seen Minato joking.]

Um.

[He stares at the ball for a few seconds.]

Sure... I guess. I'm not very good.

ii

[doesntdiscriminate]

[Sabo's gotten used to the repetitive movements of the volleyball moving back and forth across the net - which is admittedly a pretty odd thing for it to do all by itself but he's getting more and more used to strange things and at least this one seems to be harmless - and the break in pattern catches his attention enough for him to look over.

He gets up and picks up the ball, smiling widely at the player on the other side of the net before tossing the ball back over.]

Hey! Mind if I join, or are you playing solo?

[compendiem]

[ Minato extends his arms reflexively, letting the ball bump off the inner sides of his arm but not putting any power behind it, so that it hits his side of the net and drops down onto the sand. There's a slow blink or two Sabo's direction before Minato straightens up, realizing that this isn't the ghost materializing, but an actual person speaking to him. ]

...Kinda hard to play solo, so...

[ He steps forward to get the ball— apparently he'd put in the effort to walk if it's only half a court's distance or less— and returns to the service line. ]

Best if we can gather four total, but if it's just the two of us... We can pass?

[doesntdiscriminate]

Maybe more will join once we get it going. And then we'll have the upper hand because we're already warmed up.

[He winks at Minato and stretches quickly before getting into position.]

Have you played a lot?

[compendiem]

[ Minato shakes his head, tossing the ball up and down several times to get a feel for the weight again. ]

Looked up how to play earlier this month. Promised John I'd play with him, so.

[ So it'd only been a week or two of actual practice, but— he throws the ball straight up, arm pulled back and then up, a solid service that again just barely makes it over the net without touching it— he'd always picked things up quickly. ]

i

[fiddlestick]

[Elliot was on the beach when he noticed someone was out there looking like they were trying to float. he has to squint to realize who it is]

...Minato? What're you doing out there?

[compendiem]

[ Trying to drown himself is the kneejerk response that Minato holds back, for the sake of the little girl who splashes away to safety with her inner tube the moment Minato's attention gets stolen away by Elliot. He gives up on it, treading water to keep upright. ]

I'm thinking of swimming back to Japan, but I can't do it without a flotation device during overnight hours. [ never mind choppy seas and the lack of food and drinking water. he's just joking. probably. ]

What about you? Want to tag-team swim the distance?

[fiddlestick]

[he gives a little laugh, because yeah that sounds like a joke.] Yeah and food might be a problem too.

[His shoes are off, so he'll at least come in so the water is ankle high]

I would, but I'm a pretty weak swimmer. We'd be lucky to make it out of the beach area.

[compendiem]

[ It would be a problem, because he knows better than to ask Elliot to pack a picnic for their ocean crossing endeavors. ]

The waves'll push us back to shore eventually, huh?

[ He'll... save the ocean the trouble. Abandoning the inner tube idea, he turns over onto his back and otter kicks his way back towards shore. ]

I never swam much before, so I was hoping to find a floatie.

wildcard option appears

[long_live_the_queen]

[Showing up to places unannounced and silent as a ghost seemed to be something of a specialty of Lucy's. She hadn't really engaged with the actual party...part, and only vaguely understood what this gathering was about. She had other things to think about. And she knew...maybe one person here.

Ah, there he was. A vector reached out to touch Minato's shoulder where he was sprawled under the umbrella.]

Minato.

[Lucy was standing not too far away, barely under the umbrella's shadow.]

[compendiem]

[ The consensus seems to be only vaguely knowing what the gathering is all about, but all Minato cares for is that there's the promised food, enough shade under this tiny umbrella that he only has to move every couple of hours as the sun inches across the sky overhead, and that he's not completely alone, blinking blearily at his left shoulder before sitting up properly when he doesn't see anybody right next to him. ]

Hey. You came. [ He looks relieved by her presence, if anything, not quite getting up, but stretching his legs out before him so he'll be ready to get up when he feels like it. ]

Do you feel like getting a popsicle or anything?

[ It's. all he's been doing all day, eating popsicles. It's hot. ]

[long_live_the_queen]

[Lucy shrugged. She has no strong popsicle-related opinions one way or the other currently.]

If you want. You hot or something? You look half melted.

[Lucy just has the inevitable pink of a sunburn growing on her nose, in the time it took her to get here.]

[compendiem]

It's summer. Minato's shouldn't be allowed outdoors.

[ As opposed to his sister who glows brighter than the sun no matter what the season, Minato is doing his best not to look too miserable, getting to his feet now that Lucy agreed to the plans and working on pulling the beach umbrella out of the sand. Sorry, whoever brought this, but he's taking the shade with him. ]

[frostythehitman]

A. somebody please foodshame him

[ He didn't know this was even a thing. He still has no idea what it is, really--but he knows there was an alarm set in his phone for "coalition meeting - Peach Beach," so he figured he had to be there. Although he's not sure why right now--it just looks like a cookout.

This is how James ends up standing alone on the beach, a good fifty feet away from the grill, eating a hot dog with no plate. It doesn't even have a bun. He's just holding a half-eaten naked sausage in his hands. ]

C/D. let's get down to business

[ Once the actual meeting starts going, James pays close attention to everyone else's intros--even if it may not look like it, because he's tapping away on his phone as if he's playing a game. In truth, he's taking notes. And when it comes to be his turn, he pockets the phone. ]

I'm James Barnes. I've been on the app for...a while. I don't have much of a skillset, really--although I am pretty good at gymnastics and acrobatics, stuff like that.

[ He is intentionally omitting a lot here--he doesn't want to show his hand too much to everyone else, after all. Of course, he doesn't realize that plenty of people here already know that he's got other skills too. ]

I have been having odd dreams...but I didn't think anyone else was too. And they always seem to involve someone on the Retrospec app.

a

[compendiem]

[ Even if you don't like bread, it serves to not burn your goddamn fingers off and keep you from accidentally dropping the meat, and Minato can't tell which is more of a hazard at the moment. But James looks content on his food choices and Minato approaches with a plate holding a toasted hot dog bun with relish spread on both halves, no meat.

It's an open-face relish sandwich.

Together, they make a proper hot dog. ]

You're standing so far... Makes it hard to talk and go back for seconds later.

[ There's a "Hi, James" implied in there somewhere. ]

[frostythehitman]

[ Thankfully, he's holding the hot dog in his metal hand, so he doesn't feel the temperature at all.

When Minato approaches, though, he doesn't pay any mind to the plate at all beyond a cursory glance. Maybe the dude just likes plain hot dog buns with relish on them. ]

Yeah, that's why I stocked up.

[ He reaches into his pocket and pulls out two more hot dog sausages. ]

[compendiem]

[ There's a very strong knee jerk reaction to smack those hot dogs out of James' hands. ]

Um.

[ He holds his plate out to James, firstly because James needs the rest of the ingredients more than he does, and secondly because he needs two hands free to shove into his pockets and will himself not to confiscate James' pocket hot dogs. ]

If you want the rest of this. A palate cleanser. You can't just eat meat...

[frostythehitman]

[ If this were James in his normal state, he'd go "WATCH ME" and jam all 3 hot dogs into his mouth, whole, at once.

But it's not. So he takes the offered plate and sets the hot dog down to pick up the relished bun. He takes a bite of the bun, sets it down while he swallows, then picks the hot dog back up again for another bite. ]

[invocate]

( A )

Look, you can't got to the beach and not get in the water. Li-Na not out there swimming, though she is wearing a swim suit. No, for the time being, she's out floating in an inflatable pineapple. What do you do? Swim out and chat, challenge her to a floaty race, or dump her in the water?

( B )

After she's had her fill of the water, Li-Na tries her hand at volley ball. Spying the ball bouncing itself back and forth of the next, Li-Na snatched the ball out of the air, and waves at anyone who happens to be close by.

"Hey! Let's play!"

( C/D )

Li-Na stands up from the beach towel she's sitting on, brushing a bit of sand off her leg.

"Hi! I'm Li-Na Li. I've been on the app since July of last year. Um... I have special boots that can do various things. Like kick really hard and jump really high. And I can make tornadoes and walk on water. And don't ask me how exactly they do it, because the explanation I have doesn't make sense."

Seriously, she tries not to think about all the rules of physics she breaks whenever she uses the boots.

[thisloveisjustice]

( A )

Tatsuo didn't come to the meeting alone. Since it was being held at the beach, he opted to bring Yujirou along, so the dog could have some fun too. The two of them can be found down by the water's edge, playing a fun game of frisbee, where Tatsuo tosses the frisbee out into the water and Yujirou dives in to fetch it back.

( B )

Sure, you could try to knock down the bowling pins using the soccer ball like a bowling ball.

Or you could use it like a soccer ball is supposed to be used.

And while Tatsuo isn't a stellar at soccer, he still manages to knock down about half the pins on the first kick.

"Goal~"

Only for Yujirou to get bored watching this from the sidelines and run in and try to steal the ball away.

"Wait, wait, Yujirou. Come back with that!"

( C/D )

When Tatsuo's turn comes around he gives a small wave.

"Hello, I'm Tatsuo Kihara."

He reaches over and gives his dog an ear ruffle.

"And this is Yujiro. I've been on the app since last May. I don't have any special powers? I'm just a chemistry teacher who's remembering a guy who was a cop."

When the conversation turns to the dreams, he raises his hand.

"Yeah, I've had some weird dreams this month. I'm not exactly surprised anymore when my brain processes a Retrospec memory as a dream, but I've been having dreams about living in Recolle that are just... off."