Fireworks, popsicles and s'mores [Open]

[ichoosefight]

🧙 WHO: Literally everyone is invited
⚔️️ WHAT: A beach party!
🕒 WHEN: Saturday, afternoon to night
🗺️ WHERE: The Beach
⚠️ WARNINGS: In subject lines, please!

Maybe you saw the network post, maybe you heard from a friend, maybe you just happened to be at the beach and saw the coolers and small pile of fireworks. However you got here, you're welcome to the many fruity popsicles Steph has procured as well as the assorted other snacks brought by guests. Some kind soul was good enough to supply beer and water bottles.

Come sunset a fire is lit and the marshmallows are broken out. Steph will happily instruct anyone who doesn't know how to make s'mores. The fire eventually grows into a full-on bonfire.

Once it's properly dark they'll be setting off fireworks, which are a mixed bag. Some are the kind that you can get from grocery stores, and some are 'enhanced' by Kipposhi, which means they definitely explode! But probably not in any kind of safe or expected manner. Steph makes it very clear that spectators are to stay well back, and if anything goes too wrong she has healing magic.

There are also sparklers.

After the bulk of the fireworks are set off Steph decides to extend the fun by making her own with light magic. Others are welcome to join in.

[ contact flamingchemist if needed ]

Comments

[ichoosefight]

It's early afternoon when Steph starts setting up, which mostly entails dumping a bunch of coolers out of the light-wheelbarrow she made to get them here and laying out a towel nearby. She opens the coolers, which are as much ice as they are popsicles, and pulls aside one iceless cooler full of fireworks. Presto, setup completed. She then rips off her shorts and oversized t-shirt to reveal a modest purple bikini, kicks off her sandals, and heads into the water. She turns two cartwheels on the way.

By sunset she's retired from the water and put her shorts back on. She can be found making s'mores by the fire as often as she's out on the sand turning cartwheels, risking the occassional handspring. She needs the practice. She also takes the time to greet everyone that she hasn't seen already, whether she knows them or not.

Once the fireworks have been set off she settles down for a while, enjoying the warmth of the fire, a can of beer and the feeling of a day well spent. It's been a long time since she's had this much fun, and she hopes everyone else enjoyed themselves at least half as much.

[ooc | Want something specific from your host? Feel free to start your own prompt! ]

post-fireworks

[tempredmental]

[Keith hadn't really been paying much attention to the network, but he had seen the fireworks at the beach. Curious, he'd gone to check it out despite being worried about the whole animal mage thing, and ended up staying to watch the whole show. Once she was done, Keith recognized Steph from that crazy escape from Celliwig with the undead, and he went over to say hi.]

Nice show.

[ichoosefight]

Oh, hey!

[ She's excited to see another familiar face, despite a day full of familiar faces. The party has definitely energized her, which was what she was hoping for. ]

Thanks! I've been practicing.

[ She wiggles the fingers of one hand, producing more firework-like sparkles. ]

Early Afternoon. CW: Language (I apologize for her ahead of time! lol)

[pissoffbook]

[Kainé is new to Avalon and still getting used to how different it is from her own world. She doesn't have much money yet as she hasn't figured out the quest thing quite yet (she can't read and hasn't learned audio to text/text to audio yet from the device they handed out.) Nor has she seen the announcement of the party. With no money, she is still clad in her usual style (without the bandages).

Kainé sits near the water's edge with her bare feet dipped just where the tide came in. She thought she would be alone on the beach since she arrived really early and no one was there.

Boy is she about to be wrong.

She watches as the blonde starts setting things up, trying to keep to herself but still looking on with interest. When the woman finishes preparing whatever she was, Kainé continues to half pay attention until the blonde comes cartwheeling towards, what she thought was her. She scrambles up and out of the way only for the woman to go for the water instead.]

Son of a bitch!

[She curses her own skittishness, but yells out to the woman anyway.]

Hey! Watch where the hell you're going!

[ichoosefight]

[ Steph is halfway in the water before she manages to stop and turn. She'd thought she'd given a very considerate amount of space between them. Of course, she knows how much control she has in a cartwheel, and other people don't. ]

Uh... sorry?

[ Not the best apology, but it's not like she hit the girl or anything. ]

I was watching.

[ A wave sneaks up at her and she squeals and jumps as it chills much more of her legs than she was prepared for. ]

Early Afternoon

[morganknight]

[Look. Morgan's only human. When a cute girl tosses her non-swimclothes aside and starts athletically zipping to the water, he notices. And heads that way, stripping off his own shirt as he goes -- because going in the water is just one more convenient excuse to show off the build he's quite proud of.]

[Having done so, he sticks up a hand to wave.] Hey!

[ichoosefight]

[ This is maybe the second or third time Steph has been in the ocean (recreationally) in her life, and she approaches it with all the glee of a 6 year old. She bounces around to face him and falls backwards, floating in give or take 4 feet of water, and waves back. ]

Hi! Here for the fireworks?

[pricklybloom]

A. Afternoon

While Amy had seen the invitation post on the network, she had debated on whether or not she would attend the party. She was still pretty new, so she didn't know too many people. But then again, what better way to meet new people than at a party?

She was a little disappointed that she didn't have money to buy a swimsuit, though, but she was determined to have a good time anyway. It had been a long time since she had a reason to party, let alone been to one, so she was going to have some fun, darn it.

And of course it wouldn't be a beach party with a fruity popsicle, of which Amy was more than happy to try one.

B. Evening

Finding a quiet spot on the beach, Amy sat with her knees drawn up to watch the fireworks fill the night sky with color. It was beautiful, and seeing the colors reflected in the ocean made it even more so.

But even so, she sighed softly, because she couldn't help feeling just a bit lonely.

A!

[ichoosefight]

It was a while before Steph got out of the water for a popsicle of her own, but she's quick to notice the bright pink non-human when she does. The duck-people she's noticed all seem to know each other, but whatever this person- girl? It's never safe to assume with an unfamiliar species- is, she doubts they have that kind of thing to fall back on.

"Hey! You're new, right? I think I saw you on the network. I'm Steph." She does vaguely remember a network post, but mostly she's pretty sure she would remember seeing someone so pink around town.

[pricklybloom]

Amy does have a tendency to stand out, though it's not always because she's so pink. Glancing up at the voice, she grins. "Oh, hi! Yeah, I'm pretty new. It's nice to meet you, Steph. I'm Amy Rose, but you can just call me Amy."

[claudiometer]

Snacks are good. Bonfires are good. The promise of fireworks is good. And who knows, maybe it'll all help distract Claudia from not having any real friends here yet. It's certainly more likely to help her make friends than not going.

If she mostly sticks to the edges of the crowd, well, she doesn't really know anyone yet. But she's there, which counts.

[ichoosefight]

Steph knew to expect Claudia, so she only yelled and waved from the water when she spotted the girl. It's much later when she finally comes out for a break and a popsicle. She tracks down her new friend when she realizes that the party has outskirts. Most of her friends are a little antisocial. Which is strange, but true.

"Hey Claudia! Did you get a popsicle?"

[claudiometer]

What can she say, she's a girl of many talents. ...That are mostly not athletic talents. oops?

"Sure did. I would've brought something myself, but weirdly, two days isn't much time to scrounge up some money."

It's clear from her tone that she doesn't feel bad about it, at least.

[notwearingthekeds]

[Note: Izzy is still under animal characteristic curse. So she is a wolf girl for the moment.]

On the one hand, Izzy didn't really want to be seen. The whole- fur and ears thing was a drag, she felt weird about them, and wearing anything that covered her stomach was too hot. Fur sucks. On the other hand, beach is a very good way to not wear too much in the way of clothes and it's okay. She had on a green bikini, with a pair of cargo shorts over the bottom half. (She couldn't quite get comfortable with the bikini bottoms and her tail.) The shorts having a hole tailored in for tailed visitors to Avalon.

Izzy was Izzy, just now her hair was the cinnamon and black of a red wolf, matching the fur on her shoulders, her tail, and around her new ears. From knee to ankle, elbow to wrist, and on her stomach the fur was a pure white. She avoided the water, wolf was dog enough she worried 'wet dog' would be her new nickname. Spending the afternoon building sandcastles, eating popsicles, and sketching random people and things that caught her eye.

At Sunset she's decided to curl up near the fire with a burger. Not really in the mood for s'mores for some reason. Tail wagging slightly as she just enjoys... people. Not being alone, and being herself. With admittedly some wolfish features, but she's not hiding herself behind some mask her mother made for her. Her sketchbook comes out from time to time to draw the fire. And... well, more than once she has to pour some water on her hand as it catches fire.

...She's still working on how staring at the flame does that to her elemental magic.

[ichoosefight]

Steph is on her way back into the water after her first short break when she notices the sandcastle and makes a sharp left turn. She almost doesn't recognize the girl working on it. She'd been working at a cafe until two weeks ago, but she was usually too busy to really chat with anyone. She definitely hadn't seen the ears.

"Oooh, can I help?" She doesn't sit down, though she looks closely at the growing structure. She doesn't know sandcastle etiquette... if there is such a thing.

[lastexit]

[Note: Maya is birdcursed.]

Maya, the loser that she is, arrives fairly early. A party at the beach sounds like a good enough distraction as any. Plus Maya has a few reasons she likes to flaunt her swimsuit bod. She shows up with a button up shirt long enough to be a dress to cover her green bikini. Although the bikini straps are a little lost in all the feathers Maya has going on with her animal curse. Gray and white owl feathers around her ears, down her neck and shoulders, to her back and sides, stopping just above her bikini bottoms. With little rings of them on her wrists and ankles.

The feathers and bikini hopefully distract from the scars she has on her arms and stomach. Slight things, hard to track unless looking for them. But Maya finds them easier to avoid if she's wearing something that's got eyes a little higher on her.

She spends the early afternoon lazily floating in the water. Not splashing or swimming but letting the current carry her around the edge of the beach. Only coming back in to re-up her sunscreen or maybe get something to drink. Sitting near enough people they can talk to her, but not to encroach on anyone's personal space.

Once the stars are out Maya will ask anyone who has a stringed instrument to lend it to her so she can play something by the fire. Given she's still without guitar or cello, she's rusty but her talent is evident even with some rust to it. S'mores, of course, are a must for such affairs and she is just glad nobody brought any special brownies as that ruined her last time by a campfire.

The only oddity to her (other than the feathers, and the lack of overall energy at having fun) is when the fireworks are going on. She slips away from the crowd and finds somewhere in the shadow further away from everything. With her headphones on and her eyes closed. Might be good to check on her.

[ichoosefight]

It's hard to greet guests when you're enjoying the ocean for either the second or third time in your life. For the most part Steph doesn't even try. Maya has made it easy though, and she's glad to know she isn't the only one in the mood to swim.

"Hi," she calls cheerfully from a few yards away. It's surprisingly hard to control where you go in the ocean, and she hasn't quite mastered it yet.

"Here for the party? Glad you could make it!"

[lastexit]

Maya jumps a little, generally when she's floating in the middle of the water she's alone. After the initial shock she returns to the placid vague state her face usually is. "Yeah, I saw the post but didn't message. I just- showed up. If that's okay?"

Maya hadn't completely planned on showing up, but she was feeling restless on her own. So she figured she could be near people, but not with people if she decided that wasn't her mind right now.

[dudesbestfriend]

Carlos is there, a shaggy brown dog bounding along behind him. His clothing is all black and white with some red accents and a crossed-bones symbol on the back of his jacket.

He mostly stays to the side with a popsicle, watching people along the beach, or watching people at the fire. He seems a bit shy, but obviously super curious.

Dude, on the other hand, bounds around, getting into everyone's business and splashing wildly. Sorry if he gets you wet.

[OOC: Please feel free to recognize stories of Cruella De Vil if it comes up in conversation.]

[ichoosefight]

Steph is still wet when she grabs a popsicle. Between that and Dude's wet fur, a nice layer of sand covers her legs when the dog starts bouncing around her. She laughs, but holds her popsicle up away from the spray. She'd rather not end up eating the sand.

"Hey now, this is not a dog-sicle!" She keeps laughing, but with the popsicle she only has one free hand to rub the animal's head and try to keep him from knocking her over.

[owarifool]

[ Kipposhi hadn't quite kept to his word about keeping his abs covered, as the t-shirt he wore was tied off to keep his naval exposed, but the board shorts and sukejan completed the rest of his beach look (and the cap, that he never seemed to be seen without).

What was also new was a guitar, a simple acoustic with an even tone and loose action on the strings, plucking out formless songs as he occasionally used his magic to keep the bonfire bright. He even sings a bit, though it's in his native tongue...


Or, later, as he's helping set off the fireworks and causing their explosions to be even more aggressive and brilliant, along with Steph's light magic. The sky is alive with pyrotechnic glory, flashing colors and pulsating bursts of sound and heat. He has a a hell of a time with it, laughing brightly at the heavenly orchestra he's conducting. Turns out he had a talent for putting on a show, huh? ]

fireworks!!!

[ichoosefight]

[ The fireworks are the only part of the day she's nervous about. If Kipposhi gets hurt, it'll be her fault- that thought is much worse than getting blown up herself. She trusts him, of course, but there's so much guilt already on her conscience that she can't quite let this go.

She steps up next to him once it looks like he's finished with the preparations. ]

You ready to do this thing?

[owarifool]

Me and an alchemist I've come to trust cooked up some really high-end powder for ya.

[ Kipposhi had set his guitar aside, and was putting on a set of goggles and gloves for the handling of the material itself. He passed a set over to Steph, wordlessly urging that she'd probably better wear them, too. ]

Nothing that's cannon grade, but will definitely kick the sky's ass, if you know what I mean.

[prontissimo]

a. sunset: bonfire + snacks;

[ Alberto helped with first starting the fire — he was, like, really insistent on that, even told Stephanie so and arrived early to help (cuz what else is he doing with his time, right?)... He's proud of his fire-making capabilities, because, well, he taught himself with a lot of practice and mistakes over the years... And for a secret sea monster, y'know, just knowing about fire at all is kind of a proud point for him, too. He's only ever made a small campfire for one person to sit by, though — never a bonfire. And he's also never cooked anything on a fire, ironically; only ever just enough to heat himself at nighttimes. Like this fourteen-year-old little Lost Boy knows how to cook, anyway?! With fire?! Is that even a thing?!

Apparently so, and he's kind of... struggling with the s'mores. Marshmallows are tricky; Alberto didn't even know what they were until this moment (still doesn't, really, since one hasn't even made it into his mouth yet), and as such, he keeps accidentally lighting his marshmallows on fire and burning them, cuz he's sticking it directly in the fire, and it almost immediately lights aflame. Whoever's sitting next to him, please help him, because he's getting frustrated and groaning in annoyance, flailing his stick and flinging the flaming sweets back into the fire. This is, like, the third time in a row he's fucked this up. Not even one success yet. He just wants to try the stupid s'more-thing! ]

Ugh! Again?!

b. nightfall: fireworks;

[ Catch Alberto a little later on, and it's a totally different experience... Surely he eventually succeeded at the s'mores ordeal, and probably ate the whole thing in one or two bites (likely disturbing to watch), but as delicious as those were, the fireworks are where it's at for him. Stephanie had mentioned them online, but he didn't really have an image in his mind for them... But now? This is his new favorite human thing, he thinks.

He's sitting in the sand near to the water, not far enough for the tides to come anywhere near him, but as close as anyone will let him safely get to the fireworks as he can, a little further off from the crowd. He'd tried bugging some of the people setting them off to let him help at first, but he's obviously too young and was told to just go sit down and watch. At first that put him out, but once the actual display began... Wow. Just wow. He is so dazzled and starry-eyed, it's as if you can see the fireworks reflecting in his wide green eyes, an amazed, dreamy smile all but frozen on his face the entire show, hugging his knees to himself. Anyone who happens to approach him, he'll be more than eager to share his sheer excitement. ]

Ahh, bellissimo, wowww...~! Hey— hey, you. How does the "fire work?!" Do you know?!

[ After the main show, find him running around with sparklers, two sticks in each hand, waving them around at arms' length with that same awestruck grin, entranced by the sparks flying in front of his face. This is probably, uh, not the safest, but he's clearly having a blast? No pun intended. But anyone who joins Stephanie in playing with their light magic to make magic fireworks illusions, the sight will stop Alberto in his tracks, and he'll rush to the edge of the light magic display, all four sparklers still sparkling in his hands but all but forgotten as his full attention shifts to the magic illusions. ]

How did you do that?! Is that magic?! Wow, che bello! Show me how!!!

[ Is he shouting? Oops. Too much...? Too much. ]

[ichoosefight]

[ Having just returned from setting off explosions big enough to leave a visible crater in the sand, it's just as well for Steph that he's shouting. Luckily it's still pretty early in her typical day, so she has the energy to deal with a hyper child. ]

I can't teach you Light Magic if you don't have it to start with, you know.