You Asked For It: The Beach Trip

[magicademymods]

Be Careful What You Wish For: A Beach Adventure Crowded Quarters To the joy and delight of the Sundered students who feel joy and delight over going to the beach, the Sundered students get to go to the beach in celebration of their completed midterms! Professor Trammel has graciously paid their way on the local airship, which runs regular routes on summer days to the ocean some 45 minutes away, and so every student who so desires can pack up and head onto it to enjoy a fantastic day of fun and adventure! Slight downside: the airship is small and packed, as it keeps its fees low by relying on volume to turn a profit. The crowded travel compartment is standing-room-only, and even those who are lucky enough to get seats won't find themselves with much shoulder room. Some people may even find themselves in the lap of a fellow student, which only the most cynical and bitter of minds would abuse as a way to ship-tease (right?). The trip isn't long, just hot and stuffy. You can make it, students! Wave Your Hands If You're Shore The beach at last! Though the hot sun beats down from above, a gentle breeze blows in from the ocean and the water itself is delightfully cool without being icy cold. Waves run about five to six feet in height, enough to be forceful without dominating like some giant curl suitable only for surfing. Though scores of people have set up tents, umbrellas, blankets, and towels across the sands, the Diatu contingent has plenty of space to conjure up tables and chairs, an awning and plenty of shade. Professor Trammel politely deploys Spells of Sunscreening, as well as directing students to the swimwear the school has obtained and the screened canvas changing areas where they can don them. Helpfully, he's obtained all manner of suits to fit any taste, so... choose wisely? Baskets of sandwiches and drinks kept magically chilled offer sustenance for the busy swimmers, and all manner of balls, nets, and beach toys to enjoy. The Sand Castle Contest Early in the afternoon, Professor Trammel announces that a sand castle contest is open to all participants! The rules are as follows: 1. Headmaster Birony is forbidden from competing. (At this, Headmaster Birony sulkily turns Makerion Keep back into stone and sends it back to the Magicademy Campus. Ka students will be finding sand in odd places for a while.) 2. Students may work in teams of no more than 2. 3. You will have an hour to work with any of the sand-castle tools available. 4. Judging will be on creativity, quality, and durability. 5. 'Bedmaster Hirony' is forbidden from competing. (Headmaster Birony rips her fake mustache off and throws it to the ground in frustration.) You have a few minutes to form pairs and get ready. Who will win the competition? Teachers' Day Off Some of the Professors, too, have taken the day off! Students are treated to the sight of Professor Trammel digging a hole in the surf so his own knocked-together sand structure goes up against the waves, leaving him to improve its walls and channels each time to make for a better hope of surviving. Professor King is teaching anyone who will listen about a new game she calls Sunder-inlota, which involved lobbing a ball through portals to get it into the other team's goal. Headmaster Birony occupies herself doing a Sorcerer's Apprentice thing with the waves, making them smash and crash against each other with glee, while Professors Porfsin and Trent fail to put campus politics aside and both spend the day trying to attract an audience with their own personal performances. And Professor Kith just... swims and enjoys herself, like a normal human being, which is probably in violation of the Adequate Wackiness In Teaching Staff Proclamation, but no one seems inclined to call her on it. Fire in the Sky As darkness falls over the beach, swimming comes to an end as the gathered people move to get home, their day off done. The Magicademy, however, still has some tricks up its organizational sleeve. With fires conjured along the sands, the Professors take turns cooking -- simple fare like sausages and hamburger patties, that even the less adept among them (coughCamBironycough) can't screw up. And as the last vestiges of sunlight vanish behind the horizon and the beach and ocean are both swept in darkness, Professor Trammel pulls off his final flourish: a Discovery of beautiful lights exploding in the sky, a mixture between fireworks and aurora borealis that paints the night in glory. All in all, not a bad day.

Comments

[bearshermark]

Crowded Quarters

[Eleven takes to occupying a bit of wall, though in a risky move, turns his back to the crowd in order to better write on a sheet of crumpled paper. He has a permanent grin on his face as he works on it, and following up on his quick query on the bulletin board, innocently asks for input from anyone he catches eyes with]

What do you like to do for fun at the beach?
 

Wave Your Hands

[Eleven dons the swim shorts, though in the midst of changing, elects to keep his undershirt on. Though a sword remains by his claimed patch of sand, his worries are far away and he takes to the beach with single-minded glee.

The water is perfect for a delighted jump into the waves, swimming out only to be overtaken by the waves and swallow sea water. He comes up sputtering and spitting, but still grinning and throws a good-natured splash toward anyone in range.

He's not as familiar with the sports played on the sand, and doesn't have the first idea of how to build a sand castle, but he's eager to learn and doesn't let that stop him from refusing any invitations to play.

Occasionally, over the course of the day, he can be seen consulting a list and sending Hendrik away on any of various errands with a voice that laughs too easily to be as authoritative as he attempts to make each of his 'orders']


Fire in the Sky

When the first lights exploded in the sky, Eleven thought for a moment they were under attack. But as the sound faded and the lights burst, the crowd’s marvel took over. They were bright and beautiful and like nothing he’d ever seen. They reminded him of the spectacle at the dance- an overwhelming sense of awe and fondness that left his own world feeling like a distant consideration. Full of well-cooked food and watching the night fall only to be lit by bursts of color, a rare sense of peace stole over him.

"..I wish this could last forever."

Wildcard!

[Anything goes!]

crowded quarters

[zanarkandian]

Tidus seems to be surprised by the question. He lifts his head, awkwardly leaning back to attempt to give the guy some room. It doesn't seem to work too well.

"Never been? Well...some people like to just bathe in the sun. Sometimes they cook food at night. Me, I'm mostly a swimmer, though you can play a few good games with a ball too."

[bearshermark]

Eleven smiles, grateful for the attempt even fruitless as it is.

"I've been, but we didn't have much time to enjoy it." He turns back to the piece of paper and scribbles 'ball games?' on it. "..I'm making this list for someone else, actually. I've made it my mission to make him enjoy himself no matter what."

[zanarkandian]

"Oooh. You've got a real stick in the mud, I take it? Some real serious guardian type, always worried about the rules and never cutting loose? I gotcha."

He's thinking of one in particular right now. The memory of him is a little sad, but Tidus perseveres with a smile.

"With that kind of guy you've gotta start small. Stuff he doesn't have to put a lot of effort toward, like...burying him in sand and making a cool sculpture on top. That kind of thing."

[bearshermark]

He laughs shortly and underlines something.

"Yeah. He takes his duty far too seriously. He's barely smiled since arriving here, and if I let him, all he'll do is stand around looking stern. Something tells me he won't appreciate being buried, but I want to try it anyway."

[zanarkandian]

"Well I could volunteer if you need some help...it's more fun than standing around, no question."

Tidus gives the other student a grin. "Trust me, you'll have a good time."

Wave Your Hands

[unswervingcompanion]

Hendrik is certainly not understanding the method to the Luminary's madness. He's been given a task list. One was to find a certain number of seashells. Then it was to find a certain shell. Then it was off to get a feather of a certain sea bird.

All the while he didn't understand what was going on. He was supposed to be having fun (whatever that was) and doing tasks didn't equate to fun.

(And we're not talking about his severe lack of fashion sense.)

[bearshermark]

"You found that quickly," Eleven lamented with a sigh, accepting the feather and peering at it. He took out his list and scratched it off before scanning down the rest of them. The feather joined his pile of seashells.

"Hm.." His eyes land on one in particular and a wicked grin splits his face.

"All right, I think it's time to bury you up to your shoulders in the sand."

[unswervingcompanion]

The knight is still unsure about all of this. And it almost unnerves him to see that grin on the Luminary's face. This unnerving is confirmed by the words that came next.

"No."

This was accompanied by a shake of the head.

[bearshermark]

Eleven's face fell, but he couldn't say as he didn't expect it.

"Come on, why not? I've had multiple suggestions for it."

[unswervingcompanion]

"Multiple suggestions..I highly doubt that."

Hendrik is suspicious as to who might be included in that dubious list. But then again, how many people could possibly want him in the sand, and for what purpose?

Folding his arms across his chest, he would relent but only a little.

"I will agree to it only if I get to throw you in the water afterward."

Fire in the Sky!

[treno_nobleman]

He hadn't been intent on disturbing the relative quiet for as long as the show would go on, not knowing what they would go back to. A few days of rest, then picking new classes, then starting the cycle again. But beside him somewhere, there was a familiar voice.

Kuja looked over, barely a glance, and returned his gaze to the display above them. "Perhaps we shall see it again after the next set of midterms."

[bearshermark]

Eleven spared a brief glance over, not having noticed Kuja there before.

"Maybe." He leaned back and stretched his arms out, then crossed them behind his head for support. "Though the season will be different, so we won't be here. It's been such a nice day."

[treno_nobleman]

He is aware of the boy moving beside him, but doesn't have enough concern to find it worth a second look over.

"We would call it the fall season, or winter, depending on how this world rotates." In truth, he preferred winter to anything, though his preferences in clothing did not. "Do they hold a celebration like this after every semester? I haven't been here long enough to know."

[bearshermark]

He shrugged. "I came here with the first Sundered, but that was only a handful of months ago. I guess the 'semesters' are pretty long? So I don't think we saw the end of the last one when we arrived, either."

[treno_nobleman]

There was something of interest. Kuja takes his gaze away from the brilliance of the sky above to look over Eleven in quiet thought. "So this happening, this arrival of others from other worlds was all far more recent than I was told."

He looks away again, to a space in front of him, then back to the light show with a soft sound. "To what end, I wonder, and will we ever know? I suppose the audience will just have to wait and see."

crowded

[woo_oo]

[Eleven probably does a double-take after he realizes who he's talking to - because Webby is hanging upside down.

Hey, if the floor's too crowded, where else would one go?]

I dunno, I've never been to the beach like this before! Isn't this going to be great?

[bearshermark]

[Eleven blinks, jerking back a moment only to bump into someone directly behind him. With a quick apology, he turns back to Webby and tips his head]

I'm looking forward to it. ..Are you all right up there?

[woo_oo]

Sure! Why wouldn't I be?

[She swings back and forth, happy as a clam.]

[bearshermark]

[It makes him a little nervous, like he should hold out his hands in case she falls]

It just looks er.. [Dangerous] Uncomfortable?

[woo_oo]

Aw, it's fine! I've been trained to handle all kinds of hanging positions. Never know when you need to hide!

Crowded Quarters

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

[Despite being mooshed up against the wall, Jecht cracks a huge smile at the question.]

Best place there is to get some blitz practice in! All sorts, not just kicking the ball.

[bearshermark]

Oh right, your home world sport.

[If El knows nothing else about Jecht, then it's that he loves his sport games]

How is your bala-inlota practice going?

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

[Way to find a question that'll get Jecht grinning like a cocky SOB.] 'Practice' nothing. I'm starting for a school team now. Just a small step to get on the Striking Fists proper from there!

[bearshermark]

Oh. [Eleven grins] Congratulations. I'll have to come see one of your games.