Entry tags:
OPEN LOG: A beach party.
WHO: Everyone.
WHAT: A beach party.
WHEN: On a very hot day. At some point during the month.
WHERE: A beach just outside of Kirkwall.
NOTES: It is a beach party.
WHAT: A beach party.
WHEN: On a very hot day. At some point during the month.
WHERE: A beach just outside of Kirkwall.
NOTES: It is a beach party.
During a particularly hot and oppressive week in Kingsway, the Diplomacy division announces it will be diverting some of its funds to organize a party on a nearby beach. Kirkwallers are invited as well - a relationship-building sort of effort - but the party is mostly intended for morale boosting for Riftwatch itself.
The party features the following:
- Transportation to this lovely beach from the Gallows and from Kirkwall.
- Sunbathing and swimming in skimpy (or non-skimpy, if you're a fuckin square) bathing suits.
- Live music and dancing.
- Delectable grilled meats (and some vegetables, if you're a fuckin square).
- Rum drinks served in hollowed-out fruits.
- A sandcastle-building competition.
- A swim race.
- A few fun little sailboats bobbing around out on the water.
Does all that sound too wholesome? Great! There's also a cave system in the cliffs next to the beach. These little grottos are full of nooks and crannies and are perfect for a bit of sinful action after dark; in one cavern, there'll be some gambling games where some of Kirkwall's citizens are losing money; in another, you're likely to run into people making out.
Have fun! Soak up sun! Don't get in trouble! Or do, whatever, it's a beach party.

Byerly, open
[ Contain your shock: Byerly's swimsuit is indecently skimpy. As he lays out on the warm sand, soaking up the sunshine, his privates are just barely covered; when he rolls over to get some sun on his back, you can definitely see rather too much of his butt-cheeks.
(Also notable, for anyone who would not avert their eyes: he's rather well-scarred for a fellow who prefers partying to fighting. The Riftwatch life is not an easy one.)
He'll welcome company when company comes, particularly if that company comes with a drink in hand. ]
b. Swimming contest
[ Perhaps a bit surprisingly, By participates in the swimming contest, and actually makes a very good showing for himself. He doesn't win, but he places in the top ranks. And so after the race, he's preening, quite self-satisfied, checking around to see if anyone noticed how excellently athletic and cool he is. ]
c. Puppy!!
[ Did you know Byerly has a puppy? Her name is Whiskey, and she is a hound who is just starting to lose her puppyish features and become more like a proper dog, and as it turns out, she loves water. Throughout the party, she alternates between a) running into the ocean and then running out and barking at the waves b) snuffling around seeing if she can steal someone's grilled meats and c) sleeping soundly on the sand. ]
d. Late-night misbehavin'
[ After dark, By absolutely partakes of some mild naughtiness in the grotto. He can be found either at the gambling tables, cheerfully losing to a professional card shark, or leaning against a wall watching two prominent (and very intoxicated) Kirkwallers make out and commenting to the person beside him - ]
I didn't know they were together. How droll.
A
Stay still!
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d
Maybe they're not.
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a
Are you sleeping?
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c
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b&c, I do what I want
So that’s what he’s doing when he catches sight of Byerly’s victorious preening some distance away. And he grins, and he waits as long as necessary for Byerly to notice him before he mouths third, or whatever place he actually wound up in, with an approving head bob and eyebrow thing. ]
I approve.
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PUPPY TIME
now they have taken up playing in the water, sonia laughing and splashing while whiskey runs around barking in the shallows, kicking up water and sand and occasionally coming up with a bit of seaweed hanging off one ear. sonia is tossing a rubber ball out onto the water's edge for whiskey to catch and retrieve, but this time her aim goes a little wide, and whiskey dutifully kicks sand all over byerly in her pursuit of the ball before turning around and kicking up more sand as she bounds back towards the water. sonia's laughter is crystal clear. ]
Byerly, come over here! She wants to play!
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Benedict ota
Ostensibly under Byerly's supervision, Benedict has been allowed to leave the Gallows for the first time in a year, for the purpose of helping the party run as well-oiled as it can (which is not even to say how well-oiled the guests are).
He spends most of the day overseeing and assisting with the party's various amenities, whether he's keeping a watchful eye on the grill, helping deliver the drinks, or keeping score for the sandcastle and swimming competitions; and while never an especially emotive fellow, he maintains the sort of quiet, pleasant focus with which he was known to conduct business as chamberlain, albeit this time with no shirt on (linen trousers rolled to the mid-calf serve as his uniform) and his hair tied back in a neat little tail.
II. Resting
With a hand-rolled cigarette in one hand and a drink in the other, Benedict sits alone in the sand and watches the festivities. He hasn't personally partaken in much, seeming comfortable enough on the administrative side of things, but there's serenity to be found in just sitting for a while and absorbing the enjoyment of others.
III. Wildcard
He's not getting trashed anytime before sundown, at least, but who knows what can happen?
II
She’s quiet for a while, burying her feet in the sand.
“Which coast is your favourite?” She asks finally.
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II
"Good?" he asks, blissed out from the sun and the cold fruity drink.
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I
"Benedict. Hello. How are you?"
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kostos, otcko
[ Despite acting and sounding vaguely vampiric, Kostos is neither pale nor sparkly. And saying he looks comfortable on the beach might be overstating things—he's unwilling to just let sand happen to him, for example, instead of being constantly pissed and brushing it off—but he also doesn't turn to ash in the sunlight or cower under cover. He spends the whole day shirtless, and a while wading hip-high in the water with a drink in hand, and a while longer sitting on the beach and openly making eyes at the least clothed people in his vicinity, and then a shorter while in the make-out cave with one of the locals, before ultimately finishing the night watching the gambling. Watching and not participating. That's character growth!
Or he's just broke. ]
ii. small children.
[ For about three minutes, the scene borders on heartwarming. Kostos, rescuing a crab from two local children and their sticks. The children, actually willing to listen to him explain that it just wants to be left alone. (No symbolism intended.) It turns into an actual conversation and everything. There's banter. Perhaps Riftwatch is not scary. Perhaps there is hope for mages coexisting with Kirkwallers. All that's missing is a rainbow.
But then the banter turns sharp—hard to say who's at fault, honestly, Kostos or a mouthy crab-torturer—and suddenly one of the children turns and runs, face all crinkled up with suppressed tears. The other says, ] Asshole! [ and follows after her, and Kostos stands there, looking not quite confused. More like of fucking course. ]
ii
What have you done? [Barrow calls, cheerfully.]
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o. cameo.
Then a flat belly, and a freckled bosom gathered into a fitted top, but it's probably around then that Kostos will realise who he is looking at because Sabine is relaxedly raising her middle finger to him, eyes shielded in Riftwatch patented sunglasses. ]
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ii
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irl laughter at this
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i.
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i.
i
Alexandrie, open
[ Having ruined her complexion for the rest of the season for a mission and then spent two weeks on the beaches of Antiva City, Alexandrie has given over entirely and is letting the sun not just touch her but be quite brazen with her. She’s lounging careless and feline on a blanket in its rays wearing a filmy sheer wrap that flutters up when the breeze blows off the sea. Its intended purpose must be something besides covering her, as it does nothing of the sort, and her “swimming” costume (she is not intending to go into the water—sun is one thing, but salt in her hair?) is not making up for it in the slightest.
She has her eyes closed in serene satisfaction beneath the wide brim of the hat that is pinned so securely against the wind it might as well be part of her head, and is, if you were to come close enough, humming quietly. ]
II. truth or dare; (one thread, pile in!)
[ The last time she’d been on the beach and pleasantly drunk in the twilight with co-workers, fire crackling merrily alongside, they’d played a game...
And it turned out so delightfully that it’s going to happen again. Right now. When she turns to look directly at you, smile brightly, and ask: ]
Truth or dare.
[ It’s... more of a command than a question, really. ]
II
[He's only just passing by, but had come to welcome Alexandrie back from her travels after she'd been so kind to him in his convalescence.
He puffs lightly at a cigarette, eyeing her with wary amusement.]
Truth, then.
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i
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rolling on the assumption that asgard is a vaguely recognizably tevene name
rolls along~
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bastien, ota
[ Bastien brought a book, but it doesn't wind up seeing much use, except as an anchor to keep his shirt from blowing away when he gives into inevitability and wades into the water. His trousers aren't going anywhere, but he does roll them up to his knees at some point, and he winds up sandy and curly-haired and somewhere between fully- and half-wet at any given time.
The longest he stays in one place is when he settles into the task of building a sandcastle. It's not a very good one. More of a sand country fortress. But he smooths out some roads around it and begins adding little lumps of sand that are sort of house- and shop-ish, to a forgiving eye, sprawling out to make a sand city around the castle.
He's working on an outer wall—to protect against invaders, you know—when the rising tide and a larger wave come too close for comfort. ]
Nooo, [ he tells the sea, like it might listen, and lies out to bodily shield the city from the encroaching water while he tries to dig a trench to avert disaster. ]
ii. dancing.
[ Between dance partners at the moment, Bastien gravitates toward any given familiar face on the outskirts of the music-and-dancing sand patch for one of the following, depending on how he knows them:
(a) An extended hand, maybe with wiggly c'mon fingers, if he knows they're the sort to enjoy a dance or if they look like they wish someone would ask.
(b) A boneless collapse either into their shoulder or straight down into the sand beside them, because it's very hot and he's danced himself to exhaustion. (Not really. He's fine.)
(c) A perfectly respectable falling-into-place alongside them to watch, and a few seconds of silence, and then, ] Are you having a nice time?
iii. after dark.
[ Bastien put in an appearance in both caves, just to see who was there and who was doing what. It's important to know these things. But he doesn't linger long in either before he winds up back out on the beach, standing in the surf and eyeing the anchored little sailboats with an eye gleam that's 70% double-moonlight and 30% man-with-a-history-of-joyriding. ]
iv. wildcard.
2b
Fitcher, wrapped from throat to thigh in some delicate, breezy thing, offers him her hollowed out orange. Presumably there is something worth drinking left in it.]
Will you survive, or should I call for a healer?
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I
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III
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ii. (d.) dance wildcard.
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iii
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i
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Barrow ota
It may have started as some mid-afternoon sunbathing, but it has become a nap. A half-drunk beverage beside him, Barrow is shirtless and immobile save for the gentle rise and fall of his broad chest.
He snores quietly.
II. Dancing
Glad to jump in with anyone else who needs a partner and seems willing, Barrow proves himself remarkably graceful in dancing for someone of such bulky construction.
Ever the gentleman, he concludes each song with a courteous bow.
i.
Hmm.
He finishes his paragraph, then looks over again.
Hmm.
His Barrow-ward scoot is very quiet and positioned to avoid his shadow falling onto the man at all, except as absolutely necessary when—after further consideration of his options—he picks up a fistful of sand and begins squeezing it so a thin little stream of sand runs out of his grip onto the man's chest.
He's drawing a circle around a nipple, very slowly and lightly. Then the other.
They're googly eyes.
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I
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Colin | OTA
Ordinarily this would be far too large a party for Colin to be comfortable with, but it's outdoors, and a little discomfort isn't killing him. Unlike at other parties he's been to, there are clear things to do besides talk, drink, get high, and throw up. He's also happy to soak up as much sun and warmth as he can before winter comes. He brought a woven mat and he lies out on it, eyes closed, completely blissed out.
II. Sandcastles in the sand
Utilizing whatever he finds at hand, Colin is very, very slowly building a detailed sand castle. Slowly. He's so focused on detail that he seems oblivious to the world around him. The castle might get finished in about ten years. We'll see.
III. Flooded with justice (swim contest)
He's just lately learned to swim, thanks to Sonia. The point, of course, is to have fun, which is why he's still grinning after coming in last place. By this time, the sunburn is starting to appear on his skin, but he doesn't mind. He's a healer, he can take care of it.
IV. Wildcard
II
"Nice castle. Where'd you learn to do that?"
No response. He's concentrating too much.
"Hello? Roommate? Griffon man?"
Then at a slightly raised volume.
"Sunbeam's Owner?"
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iii
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vanadi | open
ii: water's edge
ii
"You're not in a tree this time! Good job."
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I
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ii
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i. eyebrow waggle
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eyes emoji right back
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ii
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Mr and Mrs Rivain (Darras & Yseult) || OTA
ii - Sandcastle Competition
iii - Sailing
ii
Covered in sand, he walks over to them.
"Was that on purpose?" It is spoken calmly and sand is spat with every word.
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iii.
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i
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closed to dick + barrow
Richard, bless him, was to be her accomplice. Exactly how Fitcher had meant to engage him in cheating had yet to be decided, though no doubt she would have explained the system in elaborate detail - something about a tugged ear, or a particular way of thoughtfully stroking his beard - at least once before throwing him to the wolves if not for the appearance of an unhappily familiar face at the gambling tables and the gentleman's subsequently unhappy (literally; there was no mistaking the purple color the gambling man's face had flushed to for anything other than fury) pursuit while demanding such unsavory things as, "Stop her, that woman owes me a year's wages!"
Luckily, the system of caves are all rather twisty and turny and pocketed with intimate little places for wedging indiscretions in. Fitcher turns a corner, promptly ducks into one such niche, and yoinks Richard in after her by the medieval times lapels.
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His uncertainty in close quarters has near the intensity of eyeshine, bright and sharp as he searches her face for some indication of how committed to sparklemotion she is, exactly.
This is Very Untoward. But he knows what these niches are for.
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ellis, ota.
Children hijinks
“That boy says you’re his dad. And that one,” He points to a boy at a sandcastle, “says you slew a monster for him. Also, the girl next to him said you let her make you into a pretty princess.”
Edgard has a ghost of a smile, but folds his arms.
“I want to know how much of this information is true.”
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after;
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wildcard. you know.
i sure do.
i
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derrica, ota.
dancing!
He makes for a competent dance partner, with the occasional self-conscious laugh when a step differs from what he'd imagined, a hasty apology when he misjudges a rhythm and accidentally steps on her toe (with his bare foot, so no harm done really).
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i
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athessa | ota
[ Athessa turns up to the party fashionably late, as the prompt title says, wearing a completely not-anachronistic bandeau-top bikini and a simple cover-up that doesn't actually cover much of anything.
The neckline of it plunges to just past her navel, because when you train as much for the kind of work Athessa does, you end up with abs that would be criminal not to flaunt. She sports a number of earrings in each ear, necklaces about her neck, bangles on her wrists and ankles, making her a veritable wind-chime when she breezes past anyone.
Not that she's breezing very far; she finds a spot to stretch out and sunbathe almost immediately after arriving, using her cover-up as a makeshift beach towel and lighting up a joint for the ultimate in relaxation. ]
b. bonfire night
[ As the evening wears on and the sun starts to set, the construction of a bonfire begins and Athessa can be found basking in its warmth, humming or singing along with whatever drunken revelry is taking place around it.
For the most part, the songs that are sung by the fire are group affairs, the likes of which are very magnanimous to those in company who aren't much good at singing. But word has surely gotten around by now that Athessa herself has, as Bastien once claimed, the voice of a songbird that'll break your heart.
Shouldn't be too hard to get her singing. ]
c. wildcard
[ hit me with your wildest cards! ]
julius | ota (prose or brackets are fine, I'll take your lead)
Julius strongly considered skipping the excursion altogether. But he's sensitive to the accusation that he never does anything but work being a bit too close to reality for comfort, especially when Petrana is on a field assignment. He is, however, not a man with a long track record of "recreation on a beach," which means he's a bit overdressed in shirt and trousers. He's rolled both up in a gesture toward being more casual. (It's only sort of working.)
That said, he participates with good cheer. He eats grilled meat, has some rum, and dances a bit, in roughly that order. Later, he can be found building a sand castle with great concentration, if not great skill.
b. when the sun goes down
Julius doesn't venture to the caverns or grottos; instead, he lingers near the bonfire, nursing a drink and participating in the group songs when he knows them. He seems closer to relaxed than most in Riftwatch have seen him, though his eyes are alert enough to show it's not principally due to rum.
c. wildcard
If you want something you can't fit into one of the sections above, hmu
b
"It's been forever since I had a good swim," he says, grinning. "You get out into the water at all?"
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