victory_road | {OPEN} BEACH PARTY

Entry tags:

{OPEN} BEACH PARTY

Who: OPEN - Anyone with a way to the Islands!
Where: Sevii Island Four - The Attack On Voltron House
When: July 12th (ish)
Summary: The Gang Throws A Beach Party
Rating: PG / PG-13 in case of Krieg

WELCOME TO ISLAND FOUR
HOME OF THE ATTACK ON VOLTRON HOUSE*

*(image approximate design, we're just using it for an idea here, work with us)

LET'S GET TO THE GOOD STUFF! THE PARTY!

THE BUFFET
No, don't worry, Shiro did none of the cooking. He probably coordinated with Hunk and with local delivery places. Fruit is plentiful. Snacks, too -- probably a massive amount of dips to go with them. There's sandwiches, salads (fruit, regular and pasta), rolls, and something that looks like fried tofu. Or whatever the Pokemon world version is. A separate table is set aside for the pokemon -- they're not left out of the buffet! It's covered in treats as well as general food.

Last, but not least, is the dessert table, crowned with a cake, and many, many cupcakes.

A drink cooler is off to one side, and, because this is a Shiro Party, nothing alcoholic is included. It's presided over by a watchful Omanyte. Bribe him with a snack, and maybe he'll overlook you stealing some ice for your beer.

THE GRILL
The meat station! Someone (probably Krieg) has set up a grill for any kind of meat or vegetable. Step up and take your place, claim your spatula and prove yourself a PokeGrill Master! Or snag a burger. Up to you.

BEACH GAMES
It's the beach, so there's gonna be Volleyball. The net may look like a hammock someone "borrowed" from their old landlady, but it works. Hopefully you won't mind sharing the court with some of the local Incineroar. They want to play too... but they're huge. And made of muscle. If volleyball isn't your speed, there's always swimming! The water's clear, beautiful, and full of local fish... pokemon. There are more than a few Spheals bobbing around out there too, in case you need a round, friendly floating device! Or you could build a sandcastle! Go crazy! Just don't set anything on fire.

DANCE???
You know, when there's a party, there's probably music. Someone (read: Blue the Gallade) pulled out a stereo, and started blasting it out over the beach. Maybe he wants to drown out the background music, or maybe he's just being Blue. Either way, now there's music. There's firm sand, or the porch. So get out there and shake it! If you're lucky enough to know a song, then, by all means, karaoke your heart out. No one will judge.

Then, when night falls...

BONFIRE
Of course, as promised, there's a bonfire. The wood has been stacked up all day long, and when the sun sets, one of the local Incineroar sets it alight. It's pretty big. There's plenty of sharpened sticks nearby, as well as big bags of marshmallows. Maybe there's graham crackers and chocolate, somewhere. But mostly, there's marshmallows. Park yourself down and enjoy!

STARGAZING
Matt has set up a telescope a ways from the bonfire. Feel free to observe some of the fantastic celestial things the Islands have to offer! Feeling romantic? There's plenty of room to pull up a blanket and cuddle while you watch the stars. Just... make sure you're far enough from the ocean if you fall asleep. Wouldn't want to get washed away by the high tide.

GENERAL INFO:
> the island is home to a ton of Voltorbs, thanks to Jean's starter
> the house is open for people to use the facilities, so to speak, but the party is happening on the beach
> the party is open to all! If you have a way to get to the islands, you're welcome!

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"Not generally. There are a few pokemon who can get very territorial. Dhelmise and Dragalge both have been known to sink ships that intrude on their territory. But I plan to keep my boat mostly close to shore so that shouldn't be a problem. Plus, I was hoping to use my boat as a sort of... home base for my own pokemon. Let them swim freely if they want, but have the boat to return to. That should dissuade wild pokemon too."

Who wants to mess with a boat that has Wailords circling it? That's right. Nobody.

"Ah, here we go." Once they are down the steps, they immediately arrive into the kitchen. It's a fairly small kitchen, with an L-shaped counter along one wall and a straight one along the other. For its size, it is actually quite well stocked with various devices, each worked cleverly into the woodwork to take up as little space as possible while still giving Armin access to the modern marvels of having an oven or a fridge. "Well, obviously this is the kitchen. It's small, but it's big enough for me, I think."

"Smart. And freely is good. I'm not as against the computer storage as Krieg is. My pokemon seem to like it. But I have to admit a part of me really hates putting anything 'away' like that."

Possibly it has something to do with her being locked away her entire childhood/life. Possibly.

She looks around the area and nods.

"Practical. Somehow I doubted you'd be throwing parties in here anyway."

"I think she would sink if I tried."

Not that Armin would be trying. Parties... are really not his thing. A small gathering of close friends, maybe. But a party? No, he'll pass.

Beyond the kitchen, there is a table. Benches are set on either side of it, making it a rather multi-purpose dining slash work table. Armin doesn't spend much time there though, only gesturing to it. It's... a table. He's certain miss Maya can figure out the purpose of that. No, he'd much rather show her his pride and joy.

A bit further down from the table stands a chair. Not just any chair; it's the stuffiest, laziest armchair this side of Johto. It's the sort of chair that is big enough to curl in on, stuffed enough that you can lay your head against the backrest and read to your heart's content. A thing plaid is folded over the back of it, and besides it, flanked by some bookshelves, stands a little stove. The perfect thing to warm the ship by on cold winter's days. Can you just imagine it, Maya? Curling up under the blanket, warmed by the heat of the stove with a good book at hand?

"I found this in a second-hand shop. Can you believe someone actually got rid of this chair?"

Who cares if it is probably dreadfully outdated. It is clearly the best.

"Another reason not to."

Maya is less adverse to parties but those are kind of rare in her life anyway so she hasn't had to really dislike or like them. ...unless it's Claptraps birthday party. That was just sad.

"That looks extremely comfortable."

So no, that's weird someone would throw it out. Also um yes she can totally picture it. It's a nice picture.

"You've got a nice set up here."

Armin glances around and he cannot help but look really pleased and happy.

"I do. I don't mean to brag, but honestly, this is more than I ever expected to own. None of this would've been possible back home."

Let's be realistic here, Armin isn't even sure if he'd still be alive back home. He's eighteen, going on nineteen now. That'd be two, nearly three years in the Survey Corps. Most people don't make it that long. Especially not poor soldiers like him.

"I get that. I was happy back home if I found one book. Or a really nice gun."

Pandora might not have child armies but it had a high enough mortality rate.

"If there's one thing this place is good for, it's being able to own things and live in places where you're not under attack all the time. ...also the food's better."

"To be honest, with what Krieg and Angel have told me of your world, I'm a little surprised to find out there are books at all."

He just kind of figured it was just guns and murderous assholes as far as the eye can see. The fact that there are also books, rare as they are, is a small bright spot.

"Pandora is like that. Which with the history it has, it makes sense. But there are people living lives there. Books are rare but then again Pandora is only one planet in the galaxy."

She shrugs.

"I haven't been to more then two planets in my life and I had more access to books on the first one. But we get echonet shows even on Pandora from some of the other planets. There's music, racing, bars. I've heard Tina runs a pretty good Badass and Bunkers tabletop campaign too."

"If you don't mind me asking; if Pandora is the way it is, why did you go there? It sounds like there are lots of planets to visit where you are from. What made Pandora so special?"

Like, why would you ever voluntarily choose to set down on a planet that probably doesn't have a single library?

"One day, before I left the Order. I found some archaeology notes while I was researching. They were from Pandora and they said that sirens had a connection to the planet, the element of Eridium and the vaults on the planet. This was the first link to anything related to sirens that I'd ever found before. I wanted to go there. I needed to go there. It took a while but eventually when the Order turned out to have been using me my entire life and then I wouldn't kill innocent people for them-"

She pauses for a moment. She really hates Brother Sophis. Even now.

"Well, let's just say I left the planet for the sake of everyone. And there was really only one place for me to go. I wanted answers and Pandora was the only place that had them. So that's why I ended up there. I didn't actually mean to get wrapped up in everything that happened, but you're looking for vaults, you get labelled a vault hunter and when you happen to also be a siren. Then you get a bounty put on your head as well."

"If I can ask, what exactly is a Siren? I know you are one, and Angel is-" (was) "- one. And that Sirens have incredible powers, but beyond that, I'm afraid I don't know that much about them.

Armin showed her his kitchen and reading spot, but unless Maya has some weird, burning desire to see his bedroom tucked into the front of the boat, this subject is far more interesting than giving a tour. It's something he's been mildly curious about for a while, but it was not something he ever really could ask Angel. Partially because she wasn't here anymore, but also partially because he had always worried about it being a subject she didn't much like to talk about. Her powers hadn't exactly brought her much good back in their world.

"See, that's the problem. I don't know exactly what a Siren is, and I am one. It's why I've dedicated my life to trying to find answers."

Maya will lean against a wall of the boat, folding her arms and thinking for a moment.

"I can tell you what I do know. Sirens are women with unique powers, we have tattoos that run on the left side of our body. Apparently, only six Sirens can exist at once. I have no idea why. Some sirens get direct power from Eridium, but I don't seem to so that might not something that works for all Sirens. And, like I mentioned before, we're linked in some way to Pandora and the vaults, probably whatever built them as well."

If only Armin knew a bit more about his own world, then this talk about a select group of people, who can never exceed a certain number would sound very familiar. Apart from the whole 'sirens are women-only' thing, it is all very similar to how titan shifters work. Well, that and eating a titan shifter can give you their power.

Then again, has anyone tried that with a siren yet?

"Are you born with those powers? Or do they develop later in life? How about the tattoo?"

Please no one mention this back home. The cannibals on Pandora do not need more motivation to try and eat her.

"I believe I was born with my powers, and I would have had the tattoos then as well. From what I've heard, Angel might have been the same. Lilith, I haven't had the chance to ask her yet."

They were really busy.

"I do know that I was identified as a siren when I was only an infant. It's why I was given over to the Order that young. And training is one of my earliest memories."

"What exactly is the Order? You've mentioned them a few times now."

Something about them taking in a Siren, but then, also something about her not killing innocent people for them? Had they been the sort of group to use the power of a Siren to establish themselves while caring only about said power? Or were they more along the lines of religious crazies, the sort so convinced of their own gospel they'd kill others over it? Not that that changes much for the dead.

"Heh, the Order of the Impending Storm."

There is a lot of scorn for that name.

"A group of Monks, they ruled the planet of Athenas. They raised me and trained me. I was taught that I was going to fight evil and protect the planet. That was what they said they were there to do, to help me. When I was twenty three, I was shown off to the people for the first time and presented to them as their goddess and savoir. Someone who would protect them from all evil."

They didn't plan things well.

"It was all a lie though. The Order might have stood for something once, or maybe it was always corrupt. They used the threat of having a Siren to control the planet. It only ended when they brought in a group of people for me to kill for the first time and the people were....terrified of me."

She pauses for a moment. She's used to people being scared of her now, but it was such a surreal and just...fury inducing moment.

"They weren't evil, they just hadn't paid money to the Order and it was then, I realized that I was nothing more then a weapon to the the monks. I was never there to stop evil, not really. I was the terrifying Siren that they used to threaten people with. So, I told everyone to leave, that I would leave, that they didn't have to fear the Order anymore. Then I killed the man who had controlled me my entire life. Then I kept my word and left the planet."

Maya's story sparks recognition in Armin's brain. Certainly, he hadn't grown up under the thumb of some crazed religious order, but... were they really so different from the government back home? The way they had wielded the Military Police to suppress the citizens through fear and punishment. If Annie is to be believed (and he has no reason to think she is not) it is that same government that had kept all knowledge of the outside world from them, something they had accomplished by killing anyone who dared put a toe out of line, as if the pursuit of knowledge and freedom were crimes.

"I'm sorry you had to grow up that way. To be honest, this order... it sounds a lot like our government back home. They didn't have any Sirens to control the people with, but they used the Military Police in much the same way."

She nods.

"It's not something I would wish on anyone. Though, considering Angel's experience I did get lucky in some regards."

They were both controlled, Maya just had enough freedom to escape.

"People with power will use whatever they have. I've heard a bit about your world, but I don't know much. Were they trying to get money from people as well?"

Being betrayed by a parent, a person that should be there for you, just adds another layer of ugly betrayal to the whole process. Angel had deserved so much better.

"In a way. Our government is essentially made up of the King and his nobles. They are the ones who prosper under what we have right now. They have the biggest houses, the most land, and they never go hungry. They also live right in the centre of the Walls, so they are furthest away from the Titans. There is no benefit to them if our system changes, so they do everything in their power to prevent it from happening. Pretty much everything that could change the system, whether it is learning about the outside world or developing new technologies separate from the military, is considered taboo. And the punishment for breaking the taboo is execution so nobody is willing to rise up against them."

Edited 2019-08-13 21:15 (UTC)

"That sounds familiar in a few ways."

Both her home planet and Pandora via Jack and Hyperion.

"It doesn't sound like it would last forever though. People get pushed far enough and there's always a few that will start something. Threat of death or not. What's a titan, though? Some sort of weapon?"

"They are skilled at leaving people with just enough that they have too much to lose if they rebel."

There is a note of bitterness there, unpleasant on his tongue.

"Not exactly a weapon." Except, wasn't that exactly what they were? Eren was their weapon now. And from that Annie had told him, the other titan shifters served as a weapon for Marley. Still, that is knowledge he is not supposed to have, and certainly not something he can share. Not without the risk of awkward questions. "They are... I suppose you could call them--" humans "-- monsters. They seem to be something unique to the world I grew up in. They are humanoid creatures. According to our history books, they suddenly appeared over a century ago and decimated the human population. That is why the Walls were built, to protect us from them.

Most are anywhere between three and fifteen meters tall, though taller exceptions have been noted. We don't know a great deal about them, to be honest, but they seem single-mindedly determined to devour every human. We don't really know why, though we do know it is not for nutrition. They don't actually have a functioning digestive tract, you see, so they just end up regurgitating any humans they eat when their stomachs get full.

It's not just their size or desire to eat us that make them dangerous though. For the most part, Titans are invulnerable. They take damage, but they are also capable of rapidly regenerating any lost body parts. I've seen them recover their whole head within minutes, so, unfortunately, there are very few weapons capable of taking down a titan."

She was going to say something about that first part there. However the talk of the titans makes her fall quiet.

"Shit. That's horrific."

And she'd thought the Warrior had been an issue. It had been just one giant monster.

"Does the not seeking out information or developing new technology thing, apply to fighting titans as well?"

"Yes. There is technological development, of course, but it is strictly kept within the research division of the military. Civilians aren't allowed to research these sort of topics on their own. In fact, even for a soldier, there are certain things we are not allowed to delve into. Take our gear, of example. While every soldier is expected to be able to repair and maintain their own gear, delving into the control mechanism of the gear carries severe punishment."

Armin shrugs slightly.

"Ostentatiously, that is to protect civilians and regular soldiers from any possible danger." Armin is keeping his voice mild, but it is very clear he doesn't believe one whit of that. "Of course, I've never found ignorance to be any particular shield against danger..."

Edited 2019-08-18 20:10 (UTC)

"Yeah, that's incredibly suspicious" For a lot of reasons.

"Ignorance just makes things even more dangerous. And it makes the people who find out the truth dangerous to the people in power. Which is more motivation to hide things from them. Yeah. That's a bunch of bullshit."

"It is. But most people are so terrified of the titans, that as long as these sort of things are framed as keeping them safe, they will gladly accept them. It can be... a little frustrating."

More than a little frustrating, to be honest. Most of Armin's time in the training corps had involved a lot of lip biting and swallowing down impertinent questions directed at the government approved literature that had been used to teach them. It had been galling, really, the sort of things they were expected to swallow and how readily people did swallow it all. But there had also been no sense in him questioning it openly. It wouldn't change anything and it was not worth dying over.

(no subject)

notyourgoddess - 2019-08-27 14:51 (UTC) - Expand

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