[OPEN] Bodies in the sand, tropical drink melting in your hand

[youraffection]

WHO: Everyone and anyone! (That means you!)
WHERE: Peach Beach & Recollé boardwalk
WHEN: Saturday June 24th, 4PM to midnight
WHAT: "Welcome summer" Beach party!
WARNINGS: 70s dinner party food and questionable aesthetics.

Sun, sand, and blue skies!--er, well, maybe not the last part. But everyone can pretend, can't they? That's kind of the point. To be honest, Yosuke had been planning on throwing this for a while so he sure as hell wasn't going to let Jim and his botched love life ruin the summer for him. Or for you! Just as he promised in his mass invitation, the party starts around four in the afternoon and is open to anyone who decides to stop by.

A. Welcome to the party!

Who doesn't love to hang out at the beach? Not you, you love the beach, that's why you're here! And lucky for you the beach is full of things to do. If you haven't been to Peach Beach before, you're here now. There is a boardwalk where the city's famous peach grove used to be, which is very crowded as the temperatures rise and children aren't forced to be inside for the school year. There are also a number of shops that you can visit if you're curious or if you realized you forgot to bring something to the potluck. But before you head over to the beach, don't forget to enjoy some of Recollé's Peach Ice Cream!

Oh, but once you make it to the beach, it's totally worth it. Okay, so the sky may be a light gray and the ocean may be a...darker gray. But the way the waves slowly roll in is still kind of picturesque, right?

Okay, it's a little disappointing, but there are still activities around to help you ignore the gloom! The sun is still out and there are plenty of blankets and beach chairs that are available for the public to borrow. Catch some sun and take a nap! But if you're more of an active type, a beach volleyball court has been reserved for the party. Battle your friends and prove yourself! There are also a few frisbees that you can toss around and some kites for when the wind picks up!

But don't forget to take the opportunity to bury your friends in the sand and then post the pictures online #PeachBeach. Become the sand guardian!

B. B is for Barbecue

Have you had enough of the local ice cream? Or maybe you've spent the afternoon running around and throwing plastic discs at your friends? Well lucky for you that there happens to be a large public barbecue that everyone has for the afternoon. Yosuke was being real when he said BYOB (bring your own beef), so whatever you decide to bring will be put on the grill, whether it be beef, pork, corn, or...whatever creative item you decide to contribute.

But, hey, there's more than just barbecue! It's a potluck of sorts so there will be plenty of other snacks and dishes as you see fit to contribute. Did you bring your favorite bag of spicy potato chips? Singing fresh fruit and vegetables? Did you bring your homemade potato salad? Or did you just grab something from the back of the fridge and hope that it's edible? Well, someone did. What the hell is that? What the hell is this? You can definitely save yourself or be brave and take a bite.

If you tried some of the questionable food items and are already regretting it, don't worry: there are public bathrooms for you to recuperate in. However, it looks like half of the stalls are down, which is creating quite a line. Hope that's not a problem.

If you're not suffering from indigestion, Yosuke is technically celebrating his birthday for a part of this, so everyone is welcome to enjoy some cake! Just be sure to wait 30 minutes before you head into the water.

C. Catch some waves

The best part of a beach party is arguably the water itself. It's summer so the shores will be crowded, but there are plenty of waves to catch. Small boogie boards are available if you want to ride the tide as it comes in. Don't forget to lounge around in an inner tube or inflatable shape of your choice. Fun and whimsical, right?

The more adventurous ones amongst you may try to travel away from the beach. But the further you go out, the choppier the waves get. It's a little windy out here too, isn't it? Definitely. Come to think of it, there aren't many boats around either. Not the best place for swimmers, so I hope you're on a boat or board. But wait, what is that? There's a dark shadow underneath the water. Do you go closer? If you do, you'll find the dark shadow disappears. How strange...

The waves aren't letting up, so it's best to turn back. Wait, are the shadows back too? If you try to go back, the shadows will only disappear again. How frustrating.

D. It's time to set it on fire!

As promised (and with the blessing from the Park Service), there is most definitely a bonfire once the sun begins to set. The purples of the sunset may be a little dull, but the oranges and pinks aren't as affected by the lack of blue. The bonfire itself is quite big! There's plenty of room for people to sit or stand around it. There are marshmallows to roast if you're feeling a little peckish. Go ahead, eat up!

Someone was smart enough to bring portable speakers, so you can enjoy some fun music! That may sound eerily similar to the kind that was played during High School Graduation. Hm. And yes, you will be subjected to a Nickelback song or two. Sorry, guys.

If you're not dancing, you can participate in a game of limbo! Or just enjoy some drinks from a cooler until the sun is finally gone. Yosuke can only provide sodas, water, etc. but it seems like some generous 21s and up have donated beer. How very kind! Drink up, me hearties, yo ho!

At around midnight, the party will be winding down! You're welcome to stay and help clean up, or you can just run off and let someone else deal with the disappointing casserole leftovers you brought. Either way, the summer welcomes you and hopefully with some team work there will be blue skies and blue waters to celebrate next time.

The prompts above are to help give some ideas of things to do throughout the day, but you are also more than welcome to come up with your own ideas! If you have questions about anything, don't hesitate to hit me up.

Comments

[youraffection]

[ He's been planning this for weeks. So, yes, he was definitely bummed when Jim and his buddies decided to try and ruin summer (and his birthday!) for him by taking away blue, but he's not going to let that get him down. Nope! And especially not after he went through all that damn work to get a bonfire permit from the Park Service. (A previous mishap taught him that, yes, fires can be legalized if you know the right person to talk to, which he didn't before. Lesson learned.)

Since he's running it, Yosuke shows up early to make sure that the spaces he reserved are, in fact, still under his name. (And his mom's. He had to have someone over 18, technically, but that's not something he'll be talking about. Don't worry, she's not coming.) Once he's there he makes sure that the volleyball net is set up, that toys are available, and that the grill has a fire going. (A) Are you here early too? You're more than welcome to help him set up! He'd really appreciate it. ]

Hey, thanks!

[ Either way, once it's close to start time Yosuke throws the meat that he brought along on the grill. He's not an expert cook or anything but it can't be that complicated, right? Right! So, (B) for the first hour or so of the party you'll find Yosuke manning the grill, unless someone more experienced wants to take over. He seems to enjoy it, at least. ]

So, what'd you want? Hotdog? Grilled pork? Grilled...ugh, fish?

[ His disgusted face really sells that last one, huh.

Everything does seem to be going well. At some point Yosuke does step away from the grill to snack on something as well. And, unfortunately, (C) a couple seagulls have the same idea. Sorry, birthday boy, but you're getting dive-bombed but the most popular characters from Finding Nemo, and we're not talking about the fish. ]

ACK! Just take it!

[ An offering to the sea gods.

Well, it was technically his birthday on Thursday, and even though he's advertised the main part of this event as a welcoming of summer (which it is), (D) Yosuke does take a moment to be proud of the fact that he's the big one-seven, now, and enjoy some birthday cake.

...Hopefully without seagull intervention this time. ]

...Y'know, frosting on such a hot day probably wasn't the best idea...

[ Is his cake melting? ]


(( OOC; There's also always a (E) CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE option if you have something that isn't referenced above! I'll be tagging around to all you lovely people as well. ))

D

[notyourutopian]

...Did you bring an ice cream cake to the beach, Yosuke?

[Eleanor is just kind of frowning at the cake, watching as the far side seems to be sagging under it's own weight. Poor cake. She has her hands folded behind her back, and her attention shifts over to him.]

Cause we're going to have to eat it right now if you did, I think. Before it escapes.

[youraffection]

[ Yosuke cringes a little as he looks down at the sad cake. Really, even the whole "happy birthday' lettering his mom had asked for is looking more like it's giving up. ]

No! It's just a regular cake. I didn't think it'd be this hot, though...but you might be right either way.

C;

[complementing]

[Minako arrives with the promised tamagoyaki and another covered dish in her other hand-- just in time to witness the seagulls attacking Yosuke. And she miiiight be seeing a little red because of a certain incident a couple months ago that involved food, seagulls, and needing to jump off the pier to avoid them. So like any calm, rational senpai, she sets the dishes down, takes off her right sandal, and hurls it at one of the seagulls with deadly accuracy.]

[youraffection]

[ He has always looked up to Minako-senpai--it was nice to have someone around when he was younger who understood the situation he was in with moving to the states, but she's also just a pretty awesome lady. He should be more aware of just how badass she is since the group picnic they had the other weekend, but holy crap, he did not see that coming.

Literally! But luckily neither did the seagull. The seagull gives a loud squawk and Yosuke dives into the sand. The bird then tumbles down beside him, while the other rightfully fucks off, not wanting to meet a sandal of its own. ]

Wh--

[ He pulls himself up, spitting out some sand, to see a super cute sandal a few feet from his head with the comatose bird. ]

What the?

A!

[chuusai]

[ Of course Mao's early. He's early to a lot of things anyway but in this case it's the beach, which means in part being early means a longer day there but also that it's not quite so hot yet. He's got his guitar with him because what's a beach party without a guitar, but he finds a place to set it down when he sees Yosuke working on getting ready. ]

Hey! What can I help with?

[youraffection]

[ Look at that, it's his treasure hunting buddy! Now they can be like real pirates on the beach--or...not. Probably not. It's still way better than eating paper and getting stuck in a crowded mall. Yosuke will take the beach any day. ]

Wanna grab a pair of tongs and start rotating these guys? I think we're just supposed to make sure they don't get burned.

[ Real chef right here.

Though, he can't miss the fact that Mao brought something with him. ]

You--that's yours, yeah?

[ He nods to the guitar. An obvious question, but... ]

B

[tarotcards]

What's wrong with fish?

[ Don't hurt Unagi-kun's feelings :( Minato from another universe took great care into bringing it here for them to grill.... ]

[youraffection]

[ Unagi-kun was a carp. Yosuke, of course, doesn't know this, nor would he understand why someone would be weird enough to name a carp after an eel. But that's neither here nor there.

He sighs dramatically, making a face at the offending source of protein. ]

Everything! They're--they're just gross. Slimy...just thinking about touching them makes me feel like I need to shower.

[digthefuzz]

[Kurt is here and ready to party! Dressed like this (just with shades instead of the normal glasses), he's quick to showboat and try to claim the title of being life of the party! His hair does stick out, though - it's still gray from the lack of blue, but it looks like he's added red streaks on one side of his hair and purple streaks on the other, as an experiment.

You can run into him at pretty much any stage of the party and at any of the activities. Including:

-sitting in a beach chair and trying to catch some sun! Oh, or is he starting to doze off?
-eagerly taking part in either beach volleyball or throwing the ol' frisbee around!
-erecting a whole in the sand for a sand burial as he ponders the mysteries of the universe:] To bury or to be buried? That is the question...
[-hitting up the boardwalk! You'll find him eying any games that have neat prizes and treating himself to some of that ice cream!
-pigging out at the barbecue!
-trying to catch some waves on the boogie board! In this case, he'll either wipe out and soon wash up on shore, looking comically defeated, or he may end up accidentally drifting out and starting to notice some of the shadows in the water...
-Around the bonfire, he'll unleash his inner party animal and pull out some funky (read: really, really embarrassing) dance moves, jamming to the music no matter how horrible!
-And, he'll be excited for limbo too.] Alright! Limbo!! How low can you go! Who wants to challenge the champ?!

[Or come up with something else! He'll try out pretty much every activity at some point and party 'til he drops! ...And probably end up with some sunburn as a souvenir.]

[youraffection]

[ When Yosuke originally made his open-invite, he definitely hadn't been expecting that a celebrity would make an appearance! Way to up the ante, right? He is busy manning the barbecue for a while, but there's no way he's going to let a beach party pass him by without going into the water. That's kind of the point.

So that's one boogie board splashing into the water right next to Kurt's. Yosuke offers him a friendly grin. ]

Hey man, glad you could make it!

[digthefuzz]

Yoooo! [Kurt exclaims as he looks over towards the fellow-boogier.] Hey, partying is practically my middle name! No way I would miss this.

[He cracks a smile, recognizing that face from the Retrospec icon.]

So it's the man of the hour himself!

[esperimental]

... I cannot possibly imagine the leisurely benefit in being buried.

[ NOBODY ASKED YOU RITSU but unfortunately this eternally moody kid overheard you Kurt. ]

[digthefuzz]

[WHO IS THIS LOST SASSY CHILD

Kurt turns to face the boy with his arms crossed and a skeptical look.]

Hey, don't knock it 'til you tried it. It's a lot more comfortable than it sounds!

[A sly grin starts to creep onto his face.]

You might even find yourself saying that it feels... bury good!

[burningblossoms]

A. Burninating the Countryside

[The beach itself isn't exactly a place Yukiko spends a lot of time at. Sure, she comes down here regularly to practice and train in her hidden spot down the shoreline, but actually going just to enjoy it? Not so much. It's totally worth the trip, though, even with the sky and the water a little less beach-y than usual. Dressed in a nice two piece, she wanders around looking for people to talk to. She's not much of one for volleyball, but one of her secret loves is kites. It doesn't come up very often, but now that there are other people with them, she heads back to her car and goes to get her very own kite.

Setting it up takes a little time, and she does her best to keep anyone from seeing it until it's ready. And when it is? The majestic dragon kite takes off in a particularly stout breeze, impressive wingspan unfurling, string unrolling quickly. It wheels and darts between others, Yukiko's practiced motions making controlling it seem easy. Eventually it may even chase another kite, all while Yukiko giggles happily to herself.]

B. Is for Bento

[Yukiko came prepared with several dishes for the potluck, things some friends might remember from her post graduation sleep over. Nothing fancy, mostly stuff thrown into slow-cookers like shredded chicken, vegetable stew, and an incredibly spicy Korean dish that was sure to leave most of them begging for water.

She does have one other dish, this one a chile with a warning label, though the first bite of this particular food is reserved for Seta Souji and she will shoo people away from it until he's had his bite.

Find her eating, sipping lemonade, or cooking at the grill a little too.]

D. Happy Birthday.

[Towards dusk, Yukiko heads back up to her van and returns with an instrument case. Flipping it open, she heads over towards the music station and turns it off for just a moment.]

Hey everyone! It's time to sing something for the birthday boy!

[And then, pulling out an alto sax, she waves for everyone to sing along on three before starting to play a long, slow, melody that she'd spent a month making sure she got down right. And when that's done, she starts the beat back up and hurriedly makes herself scarce. As good a plan as it'd seemed early on, it'd definitely been pretty embarrassing.

Later that night, she'll be found by the fire, and helping clean up but no sax in sight.]

D OBVIOUSLY

[youraffection]

[ Yosuke wasn't lying when he said he wouldn't mind some birthday wishes, even if he didn't make it a requirement for the party. Yukiko, however, completely blew his expectations. He remembers going with her to the music store, playing around with more than a few instruments that he could play and even more than he couldn't. But they ended up finding something that piqued Yukiko's interest and suited what her memory-vision things were telling her, so he recognizes the instrument instantly.

So is he excited? Oh hell yes. And yet he's totally not prepared for Yukiko to be as solid and awesome as she is. It's like she's been doing this for years! Yosuke claps when she's done, and then--wait--

Why is she running off?? ]

H-Hey! Wait up!

[ He totally goes after her as she tries to duck away. ]

What're you leaving for?? That was awesome!

[burningblossoms]

[Why is she running off? Yosuke, do you really need an answer to that with as beet red as her cheeks are? That performance had been more than a little much, and she'd clearly done better than expected but she wasn't really the sort that liked being the life of the party.

She rounds on him, smiling awkwardly.]

I just don't want to pull the focus off you.

b

[tarotcards]

[ He's been waiting for this ]

Hmm, maybe I should have brought a warning label too.

[ He walks on over with a nice plate of.... curry??? What is this... How can he hold it without fainting from just the sheer smell and look of it? It honestly took Souji a lot of effort to purposely mess up this curry, adding in all the ingredients that Yukiko asked for (yes, there is mango pudding in this) while adding a bit of his own (chocolate because it's gotta be sweet). This is the final countdown... to their death. ]

[burningblossoms]

[Don't be like Akihiko.]

It can't have hurt, though I don't know if...

[she gurgles a little just looking at his curry. The smell is...overpowering and she points to a table set a ways off.]

Set it there, please. I don't want that monstrosity anywhere near the food I cooked for everyone else.

B;

[complementing]

...so. What did he do to deserve this?

[Her eyes are watering a little bit from leaning over to look at the dish and then getting a whiff of it. Dear god.]

A

[notyourutopian]

Bloody hell that's awesome looking.

[Eleanor was seated on the sand a few feet from Yukiko, dressed in a simple grey one-piece swimsuit, watching the kite as it shot through the air at Yukiko's beck and call.]

I forgot how good you are with those things.

[flexer]

a.)

[ It's rare for Sousuke have time off, especially on a Saturday, but between the announcement and telling his father he was the butt of all jokes for the past few days due to his life as a hermit. Or attempt to be a hermit. It may differentiate depending on your perspective.

He's not new to social gatherings so at least he's not awkward despite being around unfamiliar faces, and surprisingly enough he doesn't sit on his ass the entire time. He's unable to play a few rounds of beach volleyball but he does spectate, which is undoubtedly the worst idea when you got a cone of ice cream.

It's like a movie scene, really, because the second his attention turns elsewhere there's a sudden pressure against the back of his hand and his fingers immediately unravel and send the ice cream straight into the sand. Sousuke's reaction is slow, staring at the remnants of cone and melted dessert in the palm of his hand before his expression turns void of emotion. ]

b.)

[ Anyone who approaches the grill may or may not regret seeing Sousuke manning it, because the moment they peer over to see what he's cooking they'll come to the quick realization that it is watermelon. It's under the presence of someone else that he even decides to speak up: ] It's actually good.

[ Take his word for it? Shove him out of the way or tell him to grill something else up for you. He's pretty much used to the heat so he'll gladly take the role as the BBQ Dad. ]

c.)

[ So a few months back this happened and since he's never taken himself seriously your eyes aren't defying you when you see Sousuke relaxing in an inflatable tube in the shape of a unicorn. Fun and whimsical, he's trying to relax for the most part and may actually end up napping—which means it's your best chance to fuck with him. ]

d.)

[ Later into the night he's definitely taking comfort around the bonfire, and if you thought he couldn't end the day being any more embarrassing you're absolutely wrong. Ask him to do his best party trick and you know what you'll receive? A kermit the frog impression (sans the frog).

Besides that he's also assisting anyone having troubles roasting marshmallows or making smores. ]

B

[youraffection]

[ People have brought some interesting things to put on the grill--some more offensive than others (aka fish)--but this one is something that Yosuke has to give a brow raise for.

But he's honestly mostly impressed. Yosuke crosses his arms as he regards the other boy and the grill. ]

I'm...actually surprises it grilled at all. I figured it'd just melt. Isn't watermelon mostly water?

a

[esperimental]

[ SORRY DUDE TOUGH BREAK? Was the initial essence of his thought, but ahh... he might have been a little responsible. He was not the actual one who sent a ball wayside to the spectators, nor did he really want to play until some cheery adult practically forced him into it, but he was the first from the players to reach him, and so morally obligated to-- nah, scratch all that, Ritsu just wanted out of the game he was pressured into just because he was a kid not playing with others.

But the guy is also legit making a pretty pathetic face as he tilts sideways to meet his uh. Broken gaze thing. Turning to make a "time-out" gesture without any intention of actually returning to his team, he addresses the stranger. ]

Sorry about that. I'll go buy you a new one.

A;

[complementing]

Oh my god I'm so sorry--!

[Cue one Minako Arisato running towards him. She was just in the volleyball game, if the sheen of sweat on her face is anything to say, but somehow she already has a handkerchief in hand, ready to clean up the mess she helped create.]

Here, use this.