2; THE BEACH EPISODE

[medicgunner]

WHO: Everyone!!
WHERE: Starting on the network, then The Beach!
WHEN: Forward dated to the last weekend of August
WHAT: Beach Episode!!
WARNINGS: None hopefully??



[With no context, no preamble, no nothing. Early on the last weekend of August, Eunie greeted the network with a message.]

text; un: fortuneclovers

hey
Eunie here, changed my un
so this month was fuckin awful
im goin to the beach. Maybe have a little fun there to get the mind off all the bullshit
if you’re seein this youre invited too. come on and lets have a good time, bring what you want

Oh yeah
im bringin a volleyball for the nets
anyone who wants a game come at me. >:)

🌭 getting grilled

[So ended the text one humble weekend morning. Eunie didn’t have specific plans for this, she just sort of ran off and invited the whole app to the beach without considering the logistics. She did say to bring what you want but she was social enough to arrange some things for a bit of a beach gathering.

It wasn’t a lot, a few coolers and BBQ grills people can hand around and either loiter or cook at if they have the capability. If they don’t though they will be removed from the grill. But maybe that’s part of the fun.]

🌊 ocean owned

[Aside from the coolers, there’s obviously the beautiful sea people can surf or swim in all they want! The water is fine, a little cold but in a way that felt refreshing from the hottest days of the last legs of summertime. The tides were even and there was no real risk of drifting away, but don’t go too far out unless you’re a strong swimmer. There are lifeguards on duty but we’ve had enough trauma this month, we don’t need a drowning scare. Or do, I’m not your mom.]

⛱️ avoid the burn

[Not a swimmer? Well then catch up on your tan under the share umbrellas and towels laid on the sand. Or your sunburn. It is a bright and sunny weekend after all so no matter what you’re catching up on, get your sunscreen on too.

It’s also just as good for a little break from the swimming and the music to steady yourself before you head out or head back into the water or some piers you can walk down on your own for the same experience to just catch the sea breeze while staying up and about.]

🏐 bolleyvall bapped

[That being said, Eunie was not joking about there being volleyball. There are a few nets on the beach for a few different games to go on at once. Organize a tournament or just play casually. Remember though that there are normies on the beach and any Earth Shattering volleyball spikes might cost some property damage claim money. This isn’t death soccer, people.

Who am I kidding, this is going to turn into a disaster either way. Go ham, challenge the bird girl or just watch the chaos unfold and place your bets, kids.]

🎇 bonfire lit up your life

[As the day winded down and night settled on the beach, some folks were headed home or have gone there already to get the sand out of their shorts. But those who stuck around will get the pleasure of sitting by a bonfire not me as they bid a fond farewell to the summertime and summer vacation.

Or get in touch with their inner arsonist in a less destructive way.

Sit, relax and socialize, take in the ambiance of the twilight by the fire, roast some marshmallows or hot dogs. Maybe decide to camp out for the night. It is a pretty peaceful time, and it’s these small moments of calm with friends and loved ones we have to cherish the most when in recovery, right?]

Comments

iii

[jackdawvision]

What, just like that?

[But he’ll take the marshmallow anyway, and hand Diarmuid a bottle of whiskey in return. There’s already a buzz in the back of Edward’s head, a pleasant gauzy feeling that he sinks into so he won’t have to look at what lurks underneath it. Won’t have to think about bonfires on the beaches of Nassau, surrounded by those who’ve since died.

Instead he bites into the marshmallow. It’s sticky-sweet in a way he’s not quite used to, and still warm from the fire.]

You know, I think I may finally be getting used to this city and its foibles. I tried the subway for the first time the other day and I managed not to stare at the incoming trains like some piss-drunk lout.

[twofoldfury]

[It's with a nod that Diarmuid took the bottle in exchange for the roasted marshmallow with a chuckle.]

Just like that, though this feels like a lopsided trade. [Not that he won't take a swig with a gesture of cheers to Edward. It was a party, seeing folks buzzed was like saying water was wet.]

You're quick to adapt, as I imagined. Transportation has come a long way since our respective times it is easy to be awe struck by it. [Maybe not since the 90's but well 90s cars didn't have whole ass GPS systems and subways didn't have automated announcers.]

[jackdawvision]

Not so lopsided as you might think. I had to get the cheap stuff. [That being said, even $10 whiskey tastes a hell of a lot better than the swill Edward's used to. He'll give the 2020s this, they really know how to make their liquor.

He shrugs.]

First thing you learn as a sailor: adapt or die. [At least that's how he'll tell it.] But it did inspire a great deal of awe, watching the train come. If I didn't have pressing matters to attend to [like the guards on his ass for jumping the turnstiles without paying] I would've sat a spell and watched them pulling in and out.

[twofoldfury]

[An amused, light hearted scoff. It showed that it was cheap, can't hide mid quality whiskey from this guy but hey, cheap didn't mean bad.

Despite how he tells it, Diarmuid can't help but nod.]

Not a bad lesson to learn. [Didn't he know it.] It is easy to lose one's self to the new experience of it all once we realize we have the time.

[Said as if he was caught in that in this moment. Between the War and his human life he very rarely could stop and smell the roses, as it were.]

Pressing matters?

[jackdawvision]

Easy enough to let all the newness overwhelm you, and to get lost in the catching-up, aye. But I'm getting used to it. [A pause.] Haven't gotten on a ship yet, though. I'm not quite ready to see just how much has changed from when I was sailing.

[Maybe one day.]

Jumped over one of the barriers. They weren't very pleased about that. [Because it's illegal and also you pay a fine, dumbass.] So how does a fellow like you wake up in 1994, anyway?

[twofoldfury]

[... Edward. Okay, he can't help but chuckle at that.]

Public transportation requires you to pay a fee to use it. If there's something that has yet to change it's that dodging them will have a consequence. [Death and taxes are the constants of life.

As for the question, he paused for a while.]

That is a long, complicated story. You may find it as unbelievable as waking up in 2023. [And yet here he was, handing the bottle back in a gesture stating he was willing to share if Edward wanted to hear.]

[jackdawvision]

Only if the guards catch me.

[One day they absolutely will, but that day is not in the near future. So Edward takes the bottle back and shrugs.]

I have time. And perhaps it's unbelievable, but yesterday the rat cooked up a fish curry that was far better than any fish soup the last cook on the Jackdaw made. [He shrugs.] Tell me everything you can.

[twofoldfury]

Ha, true enough. [Godspeed to you avoiding the fee, Ed.

But well, Diarmuid went quiet for a moment, contemplating where to begin and what parts of this tale he ought to divulge. Secrecy was pointless in this world, he already publicly disclosed his true name. A lot could be shared with a little.]

In short, I was summoned via magic in order to fight in a War. ... I haven't been alive since the 10th century [And since 1994.] but record of my tale allowed me to manifest in the current era through magic.

[jackdawvision]

The tenth century, huh? Bloody hell. [He doesn't disbelieve him, it's just a shock to hear. Less so after the Observatory, but it does still take him a minute.] Nine centuries...that's quite the leap to make. I only skipped, what, two, three? Sometimes it strains the mind. I can't imagine what it must've been like for you.

[To skip forward just a hundred years shy of a millennium...he thinks of Roberts, claiming to remember a life led eight millennia ago, half-mad from having all that time in his head. Diarmuid, comparatively, is taking it quite well, but then again fighting in a war has a way of narrowing your focus.]

Record of your tale? What, someone summoned you from a story?

[twofoldfury]

Less strenuous than you may think. It was a culture shock, to be sure. But I received some knowledge of the passage of time. [He paused again, habitually. Trying to explain how he was summoned was precisely what made this subject complicated, his own knowledge of it was somewhat scattered. But nonetheless, he tried to find the words.]

In a manner of speaking. To the average person, it is known as a story, a myth, however my experiences are very real. [There is a very noticeable somberness in his tone reflecting on it.] "Heroic Spirits" whose tales are renowned throughout the world are able to be summoned by Mages and exist, thus fight, in the modern era.

[jackdawvision]

So when you woke up, you knew from the start how long it had been?

[Diarmuid's right, it does sound unbelievable, but Edward said much the same about a great many things that turned out to be quite plainly and literally true. So he holds his initial reaction of that sounds like a pack of fairy tales back and just listens, taking a sip of his drink.]

So you're a "heroic spirit", then, and the tale that you lived through centuries ago was told enough that someone...pulled you from it, do I have that right? [He lets that sink in, then takes another sip.] That is—a lot to swallow, Diarmuid. [But swallow it he does, because his next question:] What sort of War was this that your summoner pulled you into?

[twofoldfury]

That is the gist of it. [To keep it in simplest possible terms.] I did say it was a hard to believe tale. [His tone was weakly jovial like he struggled to make any sort of jest from this. Especially with that follow up question that left Diarmuid quiet and made his expression go from neutral to a bit of a frown.]

A War to win the Holy Grail. To have it grant any wish of the victor.