[LOG]: 'Cause I need a break, I need a vacation

[callbacks]

Who: The Homestuck posse and anyone who might be on the Olivine beach!
Where: The beach in the southwest corner of Olivine City
When: All day August 2nd
Summary: We kept talking about a beach episode, and now there is a beach episode. Just slap up a toplevel, hang out, and mingle!
Rating: T for Terrible Language
Log:

It's a pretty impromptu thing. Now that they've retrieved Jane from the horror of having to walk all the way through the early routes, their party's up to six entire people, which is the most any of them have been likely to have hung out with in...ever, basically. Jane doesn't even know anyone but Dirk, she's that far back on the timeline. So what's the obvious plan of action?

BEACH. FUCKIN'. EPISODE.

There are big, colorful towels and big, colorful umbrellas. There is a picnic basket, even though the boardwalk is pretty much, you know, right there (they can sample Olivine's fine dining for dinner; for lunch, there's Hawlunchables). There are bottles of Lemonade and Fresh Water, AJ for Dave, and Soda Pop for Dirk, the godless heathen. There are plastic buckets and tiny shovels because fuck you, that's why. There's even a beach ball. No one knows who brought it.

And of course, everyone better have brought their bathing suits, because there's ocean.

Comments

OTA

[cyan_maid]

[Ocean. That's a. That's a fucking ocean right there. Jane is still getting used to the busy buzzing of a real city full of people but an OCEAN, man. That's where it's at today. Where Jane is at is on a towel underneath an umbrella, dressed for hot weather, sipping some Fresh Water and enjoying...well, just existing in all of this. Being with new people. Seeing things she hadn't seen since she was small. If you need a break from the hijinks, she's there to chat with.

Dinah the Audino and Poirot the Kricketot have never seen the ocean, but they're out and about, sticking close to Jane as they observe the surf and all the new people. Either of them are just as likely to come over to you and say hello as they are to have come upon a joint endeavor to build a sand castle. Dinah seems set on it, and Poirot has taken her request to heart, so it'll definitely be something to see. Or help. They're like young children, pity them.

But fuck you Jane's not going in the water. Nope. You can't make her. You should totally make her.]

[harlequinhater]

[When John was on the ship, Nannasprite always had the advantage in the pranksters gambit. That old ghost woman simply could not be outpranked, no matter how hard he tried or how stealthy he was. But here, now, John finally has a chance. His Nanna is the same age as him (possibly younger, given time shenanigans), and more importantly, she doesn't have magical sprite powers. The playing field is even.

John has acquired a water gun by spending nearly all the money he'd saved up during his extended stay in Cianwood. He's filled it up with ocean water, the perfect weapon against Jane "not going in the water" Crocker. He tip toes across the sand, his water gun at the ready. He takes position behind Jane, aims for the back of her head, then fires.

Sure, water guns aren't quite as classic as a pie to the face, but this is more seasonally fitting.]

[cyan_maid]

[You little shit.

If she were a little more aware, Jane might have noticed John's approach, but the plain old craziness of extended travel and having new, unusual creatures jump out at you every once in a while tires a girl out, dulls her senses. She half coughs, half shrieks as the cold ocean water hits her head and drips down her back Jesus H Christ, flailing as the bottle of water she was drinking from goes flying. It won't hit you, John, but the contents sure did spray out in an arc headed right towards you. CAN YOU DODGE THE WATER JOHN?]

[wing_attack]

[There's someone who's been dragged here by association, but he is also not going in the water. He's got shorts and a shirt on and has Eevee wandering along behind him. He smiles a bit as he sees Jane, and sits down near her.]

... Hey there.

[cyan_maid]

[Yeah, he's not familiar, but Jane will turn to him all the same, when she notices him sit down, and she smiles, a little awkwardly.]

Hi. Um, so...are you here to watch the surf come in, too?

OTA

[callbacks]

[Man, you know what? Fuck all this drama everywhere, Dave's just gonna take a day to pretend none of that is, has been, or will be happening, ever. He's got his swim trunks on and an ironic tee, and for once, his sunglasses will actually be used in one of their intended settings.]

[A] Umbrella

[Dave retreats to the umbrellas once an hour to reapply sunscreen (it does nothing) and just hang out and chat. His baby Chespin, Took, stays here under Missy Elliott's watchful eye. He's a bright-eyed, curious little thing, but shy, still, and sticks to the shadows.

When Dave comes back this time, he puts a coconut with a hole in it in front of Took.]

Check it out, broster.

[He sticks a two straws in the hole and then leans over conspiratorially.]

If you share it with somebody, I'm sure you'll make a friend.

[Took's eyes widen credulously. With an effort, he picks up the coconut and stumbles off in search of a friendly Poké, person, or other to go halfsies with. Satisfied with his work, Dave flops back onto his towel and closes his eyes.

Naps. Naps are cool.]

[B] Ocean

[Dave doesn't have a single Water-type to his name, but Ronzoni, the Dragonite formerly known as a pool noodle, is on Ocean Friend duty as Dave gets his swim on, shirt abandoned back at the umbrella. Every now and then, the two of them take a break from tag and splash wars for Ronz to fly low and pull Dave through the waves while he laughs and splutters at the speed.

Of course, Ronz isn't always paying attention, and he might just drag Dave right into you if you're not careful. Oops. Sorry about these dumpasses.]

A with a Poke!

[cyan_maid]

[Well hello there Took! There seems to be a friendly Audino not too far from her trainer, who seems a little preoccupied with helping a Kricketot fill a bucket with sand to notice the pink Pokemon making its way to you. She tilts her head at the coconut, ears twitching.]

Aud?

[callbacks]

[GaaaaaAAASP Davewasright, a friend is coming already! Took tries to hurry to share the love.]

Ch-Ches--

[Whoop! He trips over himself and lands right on the coconut, or whatever the Berry equivalent is, honestly. Nothing spills, thankfully, and he's not hurt, but he just lies there for a second, afraid to look up. How embarrassing. Can he just sink into the ground?]

A

[harlequinhater]

[Naps may be cool, but they are probably ill-advised when John Egbert is on the prowl. The minute John sees that Dave's eyes are closed, a devious grin stretches across his face, and he readies his water gun. Then, silently as he can while he's giggling to himself, John creeps over. He closes one eye and sticks out his tongue to make sure his aim is perfect, then sprays an unfortunate amount of salt water in Dave's face.

John's prankster's gambit ticks up a few notches. Or it would if the gambit were a game construct that actually existed in Pokemon. That's good enough for John, though.]

[callbacks]

SPBLLAWK--!

[Dave flails right off the towel into the hot sand, earning a fine coat of grit all over his wet shades. Somehow, he stares through them at John for a hot second, dripping ocean, hair full of beach.

And then he grabs a pink pool noodle in lieu of a strife deck and launches himself at the Ruiner of Naps.]

You're dead, John! Dead to me! Eat my pool foam justice.

OTA

[harlequinhater]

[A] - Water Gun

[John had some money saved up from his time helping the rescue efforts in Cianwood, so naturally he has spent that money wisely, purchasing a state-of-the-art, plastic water gun. He's filled this gun up with salt water, and he is on the prowl for unsuspecting victims. Maybe that unsuspecting victim is you. Or are you ready to beat him at his own game?]

[B] - Cooling Off

[It's been a long day of water guns and ocean fun, but it's time to cool off. Luckily, John has just the Pokemon to do the job. Out comes Little Foot, now an Aurorus. The crystals running along his side produce cold air, and sitting next to him is like sitting next to a very effective air conditioner - which is precisely what John is doing. He's got a beach towel out and is basking in the cold air of his giant dinosaur Pokemon.

There's plenty of room for more. Care to join him?]

B

[cyan_maid]

[This is on you, John. You sparked the flames of prank war, and now you must reap what you have sown. Jane warned you, good sir, and she's quick on her feet when there's limited resources about.

A Kricketot toddles up to John, the set of his brow quite serious as his antennae bounce with his footsteps. He stops just at the start of John's towel and meets his eyes squarely, tilting his head...and then waving his stubby arms up and down.]

Tot? Krrricketot!

[harlequinhater]

[John sits up and looks down at the little bug Pokemon with a curious raise of an eyebrow. It's cute, in a kind of gross bug way. He grins down at it and gives a little wave.]

Hey, what's up little guy? You have something to say?

A

[charcoalfeather]

[Honestly, Rakka is the most unassuming victim in this log. What even is a water gun. What does that mean.

She's seated under an umbrella, busily reapplying her sunscreen. And the next thing she knows, there's salt water. Everywhere.]

Aah! Wha - pff, pff! [augh it's in her mouth] W-what?!

[harlequinhater]

[John laughs and lets his gun fall to the side. No need to keep spraying her with water and messing up her sunscreen. Any more would just be cruel - and anyways, he's lost the element of surprise now.]

Aww man, you should have heard yourself! That was priceless.

OTA

[quadrangle]

[The beach, Karkat quickly concludes, is total bullshit.

Reason 1: it's sunny. Very sunny, horribly so, and he's all the more aware of it because hey, look, convenient enormous fucking reflective surface! It's not like anyone here is naturally nocturnal or anything, hahaha why would that be a problem??

Reason 2: it's hot. Abysmally hot, even. The sand is even more so. (Karkat could probably alleviate this problem by not refusing to wear colors other than black and grey, but fuck that and fuck you. Black and grey are practical.)

On a related note, reason 3: sand is fucking awful??? It's awful. And it's everywhere. It gets in his sandals, gets on his towel, gets kicked in the air by the slightest motion, and have we mentioned that it's fucking hot? Oh, and it's sticks on anything and everything that's even remotely damp, which, considering that THEY ARE RIGHT NEXT TO THE FUCKING OCEAN, basically means, well. Anything and everything.

Reason 4: "There are plastic buckets and tiny shovels because fuck you, that's why." <- IS NO ONE ELSE BOTHERED BY THIS? OF COURSE NOT. WHY NOT LITTER THE ENTIRE GODDAMN LANDSCAPE WITH PAILS IN DISTURBINGLY CHEERY HUES, GOD KNOWS HE HASN'T ENDURED ENOUGH BORDERLINE PORNOGRAPHIC SHENANIGANS BECAUSE OF THESE. FUCKING. EXHIBITIONISTS.

(They're putting sand in them, for crying out loud. Sand! In pails! AND THEN THEY'RE DUMPING IT OUT AGAIN IN SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT LOCATIONS WHILE SMILING TO THEMSELVES LIKE THEY'VE ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING?? GOD. NO. PLEASE, NO MORE.)

... Needless to say, all these factors combined mean that one (1) Karkat Vantas is very much planning on spending the entire day, if possible, buried in only the most tasteful of romance novels and avoiding the fuck out of any sort of eye contact whatsoever with. With anyone.

In the shade. Because fuck you, that's why.]

[cyan_maid]

[Funny thing about staying in close proximity with a good amount of other people - you don't necessarily have to talk to them all the time, outside of pleasantries. You know, "excuse me", "thank you", "pass the butter please", that kind of stuff. And for Jane, that's kind of how she'd been handling the ball of mysteries that is Karkat. They haven't...had a conversation since she'd arrived in Johto, and that'd only been in text to begin with. Even so, it'd been awkward. She doesn't know what his deal is, and won't ask until Dirk's explained whatever he needs to explain to her, but that doesn't mean she wants to be rude and completely ignore him. If she's going to be spending time with these folks, she damn well better get to know them.

So hey, Karkat, there's another person who said "fuck you" to the water making her way hesitantly over. An Audino and Kricketot trail after her, having abandoned their sand bucket shenanigans (thank God for small miracles) and decided to cool off with their trainer in the shade.]

Um...hey. Hi, Karkat. [She waves, hoping he'll look up from his engrossing read.] Is...that book any good?

[Smooth, Jane.]

[quadrangle]

[Oh god, someone's coming over. Karkat hunches his shoulders and holds his book a little higher, unwilling to even risk the possibility of seeing, fuck, anyone with a pail in hand and a line like "care to join me?" on their lips.

Shirtless, maybe. Or wearing a very nice swimsuit. Or both? Both would be good. Uh, not that he's imagining it or anything. Hahahaha, what.

He doesn't realize it's Jane until she actually speaks, and surprised, he glances up from his highly important perusal of Gone with the Whismur.]

What? Oh. Yeah, it's supposed to be a classic.

[Or. Something. Frankly, between the Poképuns and the baffling human historical context, he's a little at sea FUCKING LOL lost, but at least that means puzzling his way through it is taking his full attention.]

[callbacks]

[You know what else is damp and covered in sand? The guy plopping himself right down on the corner of Karkat's towel like it's his. Like it is property of his butt. That guy.]

Come in the water already or I'm gonna bury you in the sand, and you're not wearing clothes for that, I gotta tell you.

[brocrux]

[ He's soaked and wandering over here after another trip to the ocean to basically be Aquaman. Karkat's pretty close to where Dirk dumped all his stuff on a nearby towel.

A towel he's got a slight scowl directed at because sand is bullshit and what's the point of putting a towel down for sitting off the sand if it's all just going to get covered in the shit? His ocean didn't have this grainy fuckery in dry places. This is absolute nonsense. ]

Are you going to read the entire time? [ Also, can he borrow that when you're done? But he won't ask. ]

OTA

[charcoalfeather]

[Do you know what beats the pants off of wandering through piles of flowers, an inability to sleep for three days straight, and whatever the heck Tobias had been going through for a while there?

Going to see the ocean. Thanks for the invitation, Dave and friends.]

A: Beach

[Rakka had never been this far west of Goldenrod, but BOY, was today going to be a lesson on what she's been missing out on. No sooner had she accepted this impromptu trip, had she found herself needing to go through some of Olivine's stores as a necessity. So now she could stand on the beach in her brand new - and first - swimsuit and sunhat, and a shirt she hadn't taken off yet.

Here she was... the beach, one that frankly puts the rocky expanse in Cherrygrove to shame.

The beach.

And the view...! The bright blue ocean, the sounds of the waves, and the scent... It's all new, and wonderful and just... gosh she's happy to be here. There's even that smile on her face, you know the one.]

...hmmmmm...

[Eyes briefly shut, she stretches to work any nerves out of her system. Everything is Fine, which means she'll totally chat up whoever catches her just enjoying the scenery.]

B: Ball

[If you think that a beach ball, regardless of who brought it, is going to go unnoticed by Rakka or her Pokemon. It's not long before she works out just what she can do it with, and her Togetic, Kuu, really seemed to be asking for it...]

Ready... Ha!

[Serving a beach ball for the first time, not especially easy, but still a game of head-it has started. Kuu and Rakka somehow managing to keep the ball off the sandy ground for about a minute.]

Ha! Ah-Wha!

[Bird noises everywhere, as Kūki, Fezā, and Tamashī dash through, taking the ball with them. Of course, Rakka gives chase down the beach, even if sand sucks to run on while she chases after her Dodrio.]

C-come back with that!

A

[wing_attack]

Enjoying the ocean?

[Tobias and Erek wander up to her, the Eevee skipping happily in the sand. Tobias, for his part, has a towel and a book under his arm... and no swim suit.]

I guess seeing it for the first time must be really... something.

[brocrux]

[ What is the appeal of the beach, exactly?

Dirk really doesn't get it. This sand shit is getting in everything and he's pretty much over the ocean. Granted, the novelty of an ocean has never existed for him. The ocean is a constant. A symbol of isolation that he's accepted as something that's never going to go away. He doesn't mind the beach but he wouldn't actively seek a beach out as a place to go relax. Like. Ever.

He might be a little tense. ]

A. WATER

[ Swimming is a thing he's really fucking good at. He's got his swim-trunks on and is going to spend a lot of time in the ocean. It's good exercise. He'll go under and will stay under for longer than the average person who did not survive a flooded apocalypse world. The guy can hold his breath like he's a competitive diver or possibly a mermaid. It might look like he straight up drowned and his Starmie floating around nearby is just going to let it happen.

Dirk might tug lightly at your foot if you're floating out there or pop up next to you without warning. ]

Hey.

B. ZOMBIE MODE FEATURING ANNE AND EGG

[ He has a towel laid out on the shore he'll sit on with his arms resting on his knees. And there Dirk will... be mostly unresponsive. He's really zoning the fuck out right there. Wow. Wave a hand in his face. Nothing will happen. Is he thinking really hard? So overtired he's actually passed out? It's hard to tell with those shades on.

Anne Hathaway has completely buried his feet without him even noticing. She'll gladly stop to entertain anyone coming their way. Has she shown you the egg? She made it a little towel nest and is hoping the occasional dunk in a bucket of sea-water might draw it out. The baby is apparently too shy! Look at it. OR Have you seen this cool smoothed rock? Do you want it? Take it. It's for you. And this one. And this one is for you too. ]

B

[cyan_maid]

[Yeah no Jane wasn't going into the water anyway, so when Dirk is done being Apocalypse Aquaman she comes over, Dinah close at her heels, pausing in front of him and waving a hand in front of his face.]

Dirk? Yoo-hoo? Anne's going to make a sand sculpture out of you if you don't do something.

[Meanwhile, Dinah has wandered over to the towel-nest and egg, not touching it, but...very curious about it.]

A

[charcoalfeather]

[The one time, the one time Rakka gets into the water, and she's not even headed into any water she can't stand up in. So while Dirk decides to play Sharpedo, Rakka was interacting with one of the water Pokemon she'd happened to find in the shallows.

Needless to say, when Dirk pops up Rakka is unprepared.]

Wha--! U-uh, you...

[let her catch her breath, Dirk. Please, thanks.]