Seaside 5: Kinda like One Piece without the anime

[5a Violista]

[Marlick Bay]

Zophiel has gotten up by the time the monster crab thing gets over to him.

Jeez, yesterday there was that monster scorpion that he and Anchor fought and today there's this monster crab. What's next, a monster lobster tomorrow? A giant spider? A giant tick? A giant barnacle?

He grabs one of his swords and spins it around, holding it vertical - point downwards - to block the claw. One of his hands moves down to support the lower part of the blade, so that the sword acts more like a large shield.

He steps back to cushion the momentum of hitting his sword.

How can he take out this thing? he wonders. After the strike against his sword, his lower hand withdraws, and he tries to create a rope, with threads coming out of his fingertips: the same trick he tried yesterday against the scorpion. Like yesterday, however, it instead creates a black chain that keeps on growing longer and longer.

Once it's long enough, he spins the chain and throws it like a lasso - aiming at the same claw that attacked, in order to get the spikes tangled up in the chain link.

The chain is unnaturally strong, when trying to break it with strength alone. Even possibly impossible to break with strength. Instead, it requires targeted willpower - willpower directed at specifically breaking the chain (and not any related desires like getting free or attacking someone) larger than Zophiel's desire for the chain to not break.

[bc56]

Marlick Bay

Sekhmet gasps. What? How? It was dead! She was so sure! She throws a bolt of chronal power at it. Go back to being dead, you aren't supposed to be here!

[Recaiden]

Drinking Supers
Jade sighs. "In a world where other people have created devices that can literally move planets? A lot of lesser things lose their impressiveness. My tech is mainly used by the entertainment industry." It's clear Jade would rather make a more substantial contribution. "It's good money, but it's kinda hollow work. Heroism is my chance to do something real and impactful for others. To make a difference."

Skye considers that for a moment.
"That's backwards. Just about every human can save, or end, a life. But not everyone can be truly entertaining, or bring stories to new people."

[bc56]

Beach Party
Drinking Supers

"I don't actually do any of that. I'm not an entertainer. I just created something which they use. Someone who sells TVs isn't proud of spreading entertainment," Jade tries to explain. "People don't really care if they get their entertainment from a holographic display or a cathode ray tube, but helping people? That's something where I can really see the impact I make."

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Beach Party- D&D]

At the very least, Melvin Dobber's darker skin hides the fact that he's not been outside except for work terribly often. In addition, ever since he moved into a certain hippo-themed mansion he has had enough need for swimming-appropriate clothes to own some.
Unfortunately, the short officer beside Wilfred doesn't look any more comfortable with the situation than he does. Except maybe a little more enthusiastic to have been asked to the beach by Officer Ithuriel, the pride of T Division. Mostly because she's one of its only members who has had more than two years to get used to sometimes being a rhinoceros or whatever.
"Well, he does have a point, Officer Ithuriel. We're not exactly, ah, rocking beach bodies here. And it'll only get worse if-well you know." At this point Ithuriel might be aware of the two of them having the dubious status of being some of the only members capable of matching the extremity of their size-changing. Along with their sergeant, in the opposite direction.
"Did you ah, did you have anything in mind in particular?" he asks nervously.

[Beach Party- D&D]

"It's like the two of you are allergic to fun!" Ithuriel grumbles, "Oh, right, allergies, that was your-"

Wilfred Dibbles nods.

"Well I doubt there's much that's going to set you off here, so you should be fine!"

"Eesh, well it's na' like tha' doesna' mean nothin' will make me sneeze, officer."

"We're off-duty. No need for Officer This and Officer That. Anyway, if the two of you would stop being so paranoid for five seconds, you'd see there's all sorts of shapes and sizes here. You look good, both of you, stop worrying about what is and isn't a "beach body". And if you don't believe me, I'll quite happily put my money where my mouth is and spend the whole day half-rhino. At least your clothes will scale up just fine. If you want to know what ridiculous really looks like, it's a rhino wearing a bikini."

[Morty]

[Several Nicks]

"That's fascinating. So the bridges manifest as literal doors with literal keys?" Geneva asks curiously. "Or am I reading too much into this?"

The statement 'literally anything' throws her off a bit. Maybe they aren't doors and keys? Or maybe they are.

She just wants to make sure that she understands properly since proper understanding is something pretty high on Geneva's priority list.

"This sounds like it might be an interesting place to visit, if only for research potential," the hippogriff considers.

"They're literal in that they're passages you can cross," Michalson explains. "But a portal can appear just about anywhere there's space for it. An' the keys... they're a little less literal. It could be an object. Or a word. Or a melody... or a thought. There was this one berk that told me you can get to Bytopia through an archway if you were bubbed enough. But since he was himself up to his neck in the bub, I didn't feel like tryin'. But I once really did see a portal leadin' to Acheron where the key was a memory of your first kiss. The Planes got a sense of humor sometimes. Gettin' to Sigil from the Nexus oughtn't be hard, but it can be a big overwhelming at first."

[Recaiden]

Sunbathing Supers

"No, I think they're not so proud of that. But I still bet you could do more good with your creations than you think."
Skye's drink is nearly empty already, huh.
"How did you get started making hard light technology, hmm?"

[bc56]

Beach Party
Drinking Supers

"I guess I developed it by accident. I was working on a hologram projector at the time, and I realized I could modify it to make the light solid. So I tried it," Jade explains. Her coffee is still mostly there. She hasn't been drinking much.

[Lord Magtok]

Moonwell Convergence

Spoiler

Show

[Moonwell Convergence]

Anika smiles in a way she hopes is reassuring as Awen agrees to be healed. Honestly, she should have noticed it earlier but in all the excitement she had completely missed it.
"You should have just asked. I still got plenty of healing juice left." She remarks while holding out her hands, causing purple and green magical energy to start to swirl around Awen which will start to mend her broken bones together. '

But then a fireball explodes in the room just next to them as Saint Laz charges in.
The shockwave nearly causing Anika to topple over where she stands. "Ouf!"

Inside the other room the ghoul knight meets the full fury of the fireball as it makes impact with her and the surroundings.
There's two parts of a fireball.
The fire of course which likely causes her armor to get so hot it will start to burn into her skin. That part is relatively harmless to our ghoul knight at the moment however.
The real troublesome part is the ball. The kinetic energy driving the fire fourth before exploding into a shockwave of energy that this close is strong enough to break bones and cause internal body failure to the degree it'll kill someone outright.

Saint Laz isn't just 'someone' however. She doesn't even look at the explosion as it fades behind her.

Whatever damage she sustains by tanking that hit she's still moving at the end which is enough to even cause a pit lord more than twice her size to hesitate and start to back away.
It's not made of near indestructible metal as the golems and it's not even as well armored as the more melee-focused fiends. It carries a huge wicked blade which it seems to be using as a focus for its spells but is otherwise unarmed.
Laz might be completely blinded and probably partly deaf at the moment, but she can still recognize feeling of her blade sinking into soft flesh as it has done so many times before.

[Moonwell Convergence]

"Th-thank..." Awen says, when the shockwave of the fireball hits them.
She's blown back a little, but not enough to counter her broom's flight. She gets blown back a bit, but then the broom corrects and moves her back forward before she hits a wall.

She thinks. Her legs still hurt - or rather, feel like bliss - a little, so she assumes that means they're not broken anymore. She could probably walk, but...what if there's another shockwave like that one? She's not as big or as tall as Anika: Awen would just fall or crash into something. Even if it takes one of her hands, it's probably better to stay flying.
But it seems like it's healed enough; no need to waste any more time healing it.

Awen turns to Anika: "H-how long can you hold your breath?" she asks her, mostly just to warn what's going to happen. Awen has a way to stop Laz from being on fire, but...with Anika around, it could get dangerous if Awen doesn't pay attention.

The witch immediately begins casting her spell to counter the burning and more flames or explosions. She takes a deep gasping breath, and holds it. Shortly afterwards, all the air in the room and the hallway and the connected rooms and Awen's own lungs - they begin draining out, creating a vacuum of nothingness. Flames can't burn in a vacuum; shockwaves can't propagate; people can't breathe.

She flies closer to the room, and while holding her breath, begins her next spell. The witch holds her nails to her left palm and twists, carving out a circular shape, then pulls. The handle of a whip of black energy appears that she pulls out of her palm.
At the same time, the other end of the whip lashes down from the ceiling above the pit lord - made from the same energy. If the pit lord doesn't dodge it, it'll reform itself as a noose around the demon's neck, squeezing and pulling upwards and draining its strength and energy.

If Saint Lazarus was still aware of what was going on behind her, if there wasn't a big pit lord in front of her demanding all of her focus, maybe she would've been a little peeved that Awen didn't ask if she needed air, too. Instead, she's just glad the pain has died down a little. The fire is gone, but the broken bones, molten armor, and shredded muscles are still there, hundreds of little pinpricks and screams demanding that she stop fighting, curl up in a ball on the floor, and die. It would probably be nice if she could listen to all those screams in the back of her skull, but unfortunately, she's already made up her mind: the only way forward is through.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA! FLESH! MIIIIINE!" a feral animal that used to be Saint Lazarus trills in bloodthirsty mirth, attempting to push the blade deeper into the unfortunate demon, and then lean in to tear out a nice bloody mouthful with teeth that weren't half as sharp only a few minutes ago as they are now, and are probably doing a much better job removing tissue than actually keeping any of it in her jaws and off the floor. She's hungry, wounded, and her squire isn't around to see this. If ever there was a time to just let loose and let the ravenous monster inside do whatever it wants, it's now. Besides, it's fine. She can worry about taking the reins of her own body back later, when her life doesn't depend on doing violence and ignoring all the violence that has already been done to her. I'm sure nothing bad will come of this later.

[Shadowcaller]

[Moonwell Dragon Profanity Adventures]

There are cheers from the gathered adventurers once they see that they're relatively unharmed by the bomb while the demons seems to have been devastated by it.
The dragon is now completely gone from sight, having disappeared into the swirling smoke.
It looks that whatever the demons were doing at the well, presumably related to the dragon, is done however as the ritual maintaining the swirling cloud is cut short.

Anyone with a binocular or extremely good vision can see that Sargon and his closest bodyguards have made their presence known. The demon king seems to be giving some kind of orders to the other fiends and some of them are gating away.

"Looks like we won!" The lizardman cowboy cheers as he watches the moonwell through a pair of binoculars. "I mean, I think we did. They're retreating."

"The 'nemy ship!" The fiery dwarf shouts while gesturing in the direction of the obelisk ship which now seems to have completely disappeared. "'tis gone, 'long with the knight, the switch and da' druid!"

Moonwell Convergence

Anika peeks inside as Saint Laz goes berserk on the demon. Of course, the sound of the blast down in this cramped environment has left her sound-sensitive ears ringing. Thus she can't quite catch what Laz is saying and inserts her own imagined dialogue.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH! HELP! HEALING!"
That's what tanks usually shouted after they had been hit by a fireball like that head on at least.

"I'm coming, Laz!" Anika proclaims as she dashes in after the ghoul knight, enduring the lingering cloud of heat left by the explosion to save her.

The demon howls, fiery energy forming around it even as Laz is digging into it with both her teeth and her sword. It has dropped it's weapon however and is trying to grapple Laz with it's armored hands in a desperate attempt to just get her away.
It's efforts are hindered by the noose which suddenly forms around it's throat however. It's not paying attention on anything but Laz at the moment so dodging it is out of the question and if it's draining its energy it might not even be able to pull away the ghoul considering the frenzied state she's in.

But as Laz is indulging in her demonic lunch Anika has started to heal her. Her magic should work even on the undead, though the question is if Laz even notices it at this point.

[5a Violista]

[Moonwell Convergence]

Awen, standing in the back, notices that Anika probably didn't hear her question.
And it looks like the demon isn't really hampered by the vacuum, and its magic fire still seems to work in spite of the vacuum.
She realizes there's really no point in continuing the vacuum spell - the surroundings must be hot enough that just their radiation alone is too hot.

So, she halts that magic and air returns to the rooms.

On the bright side, it looks like Laz has this handled. The most the witch can do for now, she thinks, is just continue weakening the demon so that Laz can finish it off. Beating these demons is so much easier when there's other people here, she thinks.

It seems like just waiting is Awen's best option, so that's what she does.
And so, Awen just pulls at the whip handle and holds it tight.
Likewise, the noose pulls up at the demon, draining its energy.

[Deathkeeper]

[Beach Party- D&D]

"It's like the two of you are allergic to fun!" Ithuriel grumbles, "Oh, right, allergies, that was your-"

Wilfred Dibbles nods.

"Well I doubt there's much that's going to set you off here, so you should be fine!"

"Eesh, well it's na' like tha' doesna' mean nothin' will make me sneeze, officer."

"We're off-duty. No need for Officer This and Officer That. Anyway, if the two of you would stop being so paranoid for five seconds, you'd see there's all sorts of shapes and sizes here. You look good, both of you, stop worrying about what is and isn't a "beach body". And if you don't believe me, I'll quite happily put my money where my mouth is and spend the whole day half-rhino. At least your clothes will scale up just fine. If you want to know what ridiculous really looks like, it's a rhino wearing a bikini."

[Beach Party- D&D]

Melvin looks down at his feet, a somber look on his face.
"Would you- um. Would you really do that for us? If either of us changes, I mean?" He's clearly more paranoid about how he'd look if forced into werecritter mode than he looks right now.
"I'm sure you would look fine no matter what, Ithuriel." It feels weird, calling her by her first name. But he does believe that even as a rhino in a swimsuit she'd probably still look fine. That's the whole point of angelic grace, isn't it?

Spoiler

Show

[Several Nicks]



"They're literal in that they're passages you can cross," Michalson explains. "But a portal can appear just about anywhere there's space for it. An' the keys... they're a little less literal. It could be an object. Or a word. Or a melody... or a thought. There was this one berk that told me you can get to Bytopia through an archway if you were bubbed enough. But since he was himself up to his neck in the bub, I didn't feel like tryin'. But I once really did see a portal leadin' to Acheron where the key was a memory of your first kiss. The Planes got a sense of humor sometimes. Gettin' to Sigil from the Nexus oughtn't be hard, but it can be a big overwhelming at first."

[QUOTE=Rebonack;24574015][Several Nicks]

"That's fascinating. So the bridges manifest as literal doors with literal keys?" Geneva asks curiously. "Or am I reading too much into this?"

The statement 'literally anything' throws her off a bit. Maybe they aren't doors and keys? Or maybe they are.

She just wants to make sure that she understands properly since proper understanding is something pretty high on Geneva's priority list.

"This sounds like it might be an interesting place to visit, if only for research potential," the hippogriff considers.

Meanwhile!

"All sorts of castles are real keen!" Navvy replies. "I like the ones where you drip a little bit of water and sand down your claws to make towers!"

Khannie, meanwhile, is pulling some goggles over her eyes so she can plunge her head underwater and look around. She's the only one present who really needs them, isn't she? Everyone else nearby is aquatic!

And what's down there?

Sand. A little bit of sea weed. And one smell jellyfish blooping along.

/QUOTE]

[Beach Party- Several Nicks]

Nick shakes his head.
"I hope you aren't planning on going to some strange city on another plane by yourself, Geneva. Or even just with one of my detectives." Geneva isn't helpless. She's from her own Wasteland. But he can't help but feel that of the two of them, he's a little more city-savvy. \

Meanwhile!

Nick takes his goggles out of his pip-drake. He's a river dragon so salt water isn't what he's really used to.
"Okay well you come up with a design and I'll get the water going, okay?" he asks, not explaining what he means by that.

[Lord Magtok]

Moonwell Convergence

Saint Lazarus wrongly attributes her regenerating skin and eyes solely to that chunk of demonic meat she just stole from the pit lord. It's an easy enough mistake to make; eating the flesh of sapient beings usually is her primary source of healing, and keeps her body looking fresh and nice and mostly human. Something is definitely out of the ordinary here, though. For her healing to be accelerated this much, this must be the highest quality meat she's had since her first. God, this must be the best thing she's ever dined on ever.

So naturally, she's going to keep eating.

She grabs her sword's handle in both hands, to rip it out of the demon's chest and clumsily bat aside the enormous hands feebly trying to stop her. She doesn't need her sword for much more than that; just one defensive swipe to give her time to thrust a hand into the demon's stab wound. Half-blind as she is, it's hard to tell how far this stab wound goes; if she managed to get through muscle and organs or if her blade got caught on fat and bone before it could make any real progress. Still, there has to be something in there worth wrapping her armored fingers around. Something worth ripping out and pulling into her hungry, ravenous jaws.

[Rebonack]

[Beach Party! Several Nicks]

"Even just a thought or a memory or... a state of inebriation? If I'm getting the context there right," Geneva replies thoughtfully. "If a key could be anything, even something abstract, that seems like it would be incredibly difficult to narrow down the possibilities. Do the 'doors' give some kind of clue regarding what would open them?"

They would have to, right?

Otherwise how would you ever know that to open one you have to think about your first kiss?

A second thought occurs to Geneva here.

"Michalson, did you get to the Nexus through one of these doors? If so, what kind of key was required?"

She's wondering if it might be something at least tangentially related to the Nexus.

Then she flashes a sheepish smile at Nick.

"It would be a fascinating research opportunity. I can't imagine Sigil could be that much more confusing than Inside."

Meanwhile!

Navvy has no idea what 'get the water going' means either.

But!

He does go splashing back toward the shore! Once he gets there cups his claws in front of himself and begins conjuring something that looks akin to silvered glass in the crude shape of a bucket! His sister is WAY better at doing precise shapes. But he's pretty good at raw volume. Thankfully 'bucket shape' is simple enough that he can handle it.

Navvy is really hoping that Kara will be able to make it to the beach. She's been so busy with her community service lately. He's hoping she doesn't forget to have fun.

As for Khannie?

"If found some weird seaweed," she announces as she pops out of the water, brandishing the reddish mass of kelp. Its fronds are covered in little air bladders and there are several sand fleas crawling around on it. "Maybe we could make a forest in front of the castle?"

[Earl of Purple]

Marlick Bay

Benedict's first reaction, upon seeing the giant monster crab in the way, is to rapidly draw a shape in red light, not the needles. Instead, he's drawing a different glyph, and when this one is complete it turns into a bolt of red lightning that jumps forward to hit the giant enemy crab. The lightning is electricity, and behaves as normal lightning, though it's not quite as powerful. It could still kill or seriously hinder the crab, causing pain if nothing else. Provided it can get past the shell; his needles probably couldn't.

Approaching the Crystal Pinnacle

The eaten ship can be saved, if the harpoons can be dislodged or the cables tethering them to the Gut severed. They're steel, and quite high-end, but the goblins probably have some method of doing it. Those engineers and guards who boarded before the town started to sink are willing to help, though they lack the ability to cut the cables themselves.

The survivors give a lot of conflicting evidence on who is in charge. Some say the Mayor, though none know where he is. Some say the head of their department, company or section aboard the town, or name the person who organised their escape craft. More than a few say 'you are, aren't you?', particularly since few of the survivors are armed- and none have weapons comparable to the goblins'. The escape attempts are all quite disorganised and haphazard; unless the person they name is on their boat, few know exactly where they are. Several people suggest the Mayor is going down with his town, but others think he has an airship to escape on, or a submersible.

Beach Party
The Larch

"Yeah, some progress. Need to figure it out more. Try it out when I'm more isolated, in case I start a fire or something." It could be fire, what Sekhmet gave him. Since Hell is often associated with fire, and Sekhmet's head is also on fire, and Prumathe's body temperature got up as he experimented with it.

Teen Loves

"A leyline is a conduit of natural power. There's thousands of them around us, in all directions- up, down, north, south, west, east, and places that don't fit in such easy categories. That suntail hawk came from another world, tugged along a leyline leading there from here. They link places, and not in a way like physical geography. This beach, for example. There's water over there, and sand over there. That water is linked by leylines to other bodies of water, other seas and oceans. If I were to try and summon a suntail hawk from the water, it'd be harder as they live in wide, open areas, like savannas and steppes. Not impossible, since they are flying creatures and the leylines linking the sky to the sea could be used to pull one here. But it's much easier to summon something like this." Natalie sweeps her hand through the water and hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades appear behind her, condensing into a coral eel as long as her leg, with a mouth full of sharp teeth. The fish swims around a little, but keeps near Natalie and Karasu.

Jack & Chidi

"I look forward to the massage, but... I don't have anything quite so interesting to share. I don't think I do, anyway." No supernatural powers, besides the ability to see magics and other weird stuff and the ability to turn into a bird. "I don't have to go full bird. I can stop part way, keeping the beak or reducing my size or growing feathers, or whatever. But until I got these I couldn't fly whilst human-sized. Humans aren't built for it." Her bones are still light, so it's not the weight, but the shoulder musculature is completely different. It's theoretically possible that Jack could have turned her arms into wings and flown, but it would have required other, subtler changes- she'd need a keel on her ribcage, and different shaped shoulders, and possibly a tail to help direct her. Easier to go full-on bird and fly that way.

Zaabi

"Animated sand, here we come! Oh, this'll be loads of fun!" Brandishing her plastic spade in one hand, and clutching Zara's with her other, she goes to the shop to buy some. And this she will insist on buying; if they're planning on using it to bribe her half-siblings later, this should be paid for with the money the bribe would benefit most.

[Recaiden]

[Beach Party]

"Are you really good or really lucky, to figure something like that by 'accident'? The details are your secret, yes?"
Skye shakes her head.
"Why is it just used for entertainment? Better options for actual hard material?"

[Marlick Bay]

Anchor still has the spear.
The monster's eyes are right there.
She puts some extra effort into her last two steps up the stairs and tries to stab the flickering monstrosity.
The odd visual artifacts and the body over there could indicate this is some projection or echo of the first monster.
Wait, what would that imply about the spear's memory effect on it? She doesn't have time to think it through.

[bc56]

Beach Party

Supers
"Bit of both, I guess." Then Skye asks a follow-up question. "I guess I misspoke. My holograms are used for entertainment. Hardlight has more niche uses. And yes, the trick is my personal secret. I don't intend to give that information away."

Flying
If I recall correctly, the power was tied to fire and emotions, but no other details were determined when it was given. Not even Sekhmet knows. "Yes, uh, better safe than sorry." Except what they're doing right now. Flying around like this is definitely not safe. But they also aren't sorry yet.

[Purple Eagle]

[Beach Party]

Teen Loves

Karasu listens attentively, her smile fading somewhat as her facial expression becomes more serious and thoughtful.

She jerks in surprise when the summoned creature turns out to be a fish, and stares at it to make sure it's not a threat. Even after leaving fight-or-flight mode, she'll shrink away from it if it attempts to touch her. If it actually does touch her, she'll shudder. Not in fear, but due to her skin crawling. She'll remain in this state until it leaves.

"So..." She says, trying to tough it out for the sake of her girlfriend, even though it's obvious she doesn't like it being there. "You use these leylines to conjure stuff up, and expend more or less energy depending on how easy it is to pull? Do you place your stashes in specific places for the best connection?" She's still staring at the eel, if only to be aware of when it tries to touch her.

Jack & Chidi

"You've shared stories of things I can't fathom, and soon you'll share some fun with me. I think the ability to turn into a bird or see magic is more interesting than my powers, but then I've had mine for 2 decades." So he's used to that, and even flight... but not magic wings with magic eyes, people turning into full birds or a darn shovel that remains in the air at the push of a button.

A question occurs to him. "Think you could carry me with your wings? Let's get out of the water so you can try." And also, showcase her transformation. "Maybe spread a beach towel and see about that massage."

Zaabi

Zara tries to insist back until the twins are mentioned, then relents and lets Abi pay for it. Hopefully, they get enough for them to have fun with, some for the twins and leftovers for Zara to give the kids at her orphanage so they can play with.

"Now let's find a spot where the waves - or running kids - won't ruin our hard work. How about there?" She points to a suitable spot once they get out, and starts pulling Abi to that place unless she has a better idea.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Beach Party - D&D]

"It's not a big deal, Melvin." It is, admittedly, easier to say things like that when you're as at ease with yourself as Ithuriel seems to be. "Not like I'd be making some grand heroic sacrifice or something." She chuckles. "Now come on, let's go get drunk."

"Ah, but Ithuriel, ye canne get drunk, can ye?"

"Well not normally, but you never know what they have."

"Seems like a wee bit of a long-shot tae me."

[Morty]

[Beach Party! Several Nicks]

"There's often clues based on the location and destination of the portal," Michalson explains. "An' you can analyze them with dazz- magic. I did come 'ere through a portal. It required a key made of the wood from Yggdrasil, the world-tree. It wasn't easy or cheap to get, but I did it. Sigil is... a lot like Inside, aye. But a tad less friendly. There's no real law enforcement, just a few factions that like to act like they are. But if you keep your wits about you, there is a lot to see there."

[Earl of Purple]

Beach Party
The Flying Circus

Earl would have to go back and check and possibly make a note somewhere.

Prumathe doesn't comment on the apparent hypocrisy of Sekhmet doing something dangerous as she says 'better safe than sorry'. He feels safe right now, and trusts Sekhmet to know what she's doing. He's thinking she's confident in her ability to fly whilst carrying him and that this is actually safe. "This is amazing, Sekhmet. Absolutely amazing."

Teen Girls

"Don't worry, Karasu. The eel's under my control. Bringing it here tames it, a little, so it does what I want it to." Exactly how that works might not be well understood, however. "That's basically it, yes. But I only have one stash, at the moment, just outside GLoG. I've prepared the area around it so the stash has a leyline connecting it to me. I can always get stuff from there, quickly and easily and without much energy because I carry a connection to the stash with me wherever I go." Natalie thinks a moment. "Maybe I should set up another, to make sure I've got spares if someone stumbles upon it and takes something from it." Which, given where she put the last one, isn't too likely- she thinks.

Jack & Chidi

"I can't give you a sound-massage, or do anything like that. Just... Maybe tickle with some feathers, nothing really special." That massage impressed her quite a bit, it seems. "I... have no idea if I can lift you and fly with you, but let's try it." Jack starts to swim for the shore, a backstroke propelled by her wings. "Massage after the flight, if it works, OK?" It might not work; Jack's not really very strong, not built much as a lifter. Her satchel's weight-altering enchantment helps her move with it, but if Chidi is large and muscular she won't be able to lift him.

Zaabi

"That looks like a good spot, yeah." Abi grins and jogs over, with the packet of sand and her bumbag. Fortunately, there's not many children around to interfere and get in the way. She's going to kneel in the sand and start to dig a moat so she doesn't have to worry about the animated sand getting too mixed with normal sand.

[bc56]

Beach Party

Flying Circus
Sekhmet nods. "I know. It's unforgettable." Before she learned how to fly, she wanted to go back to being an ordinary Tiefling. But now, she could never go back and still be happy. Flying is too great. She begins to descend.""I'm, uh, getting a bit tired."

[Rebonack]

[Marlick Bay]

The chain lashes around the crab as it gets blasted with lightning and temporal energy!

Wow, people are really piling onto this thing aren't they?

Frankly, it's understandable.

When you walk up a flight of stairs and immediately get sucker punched by a giant enemy crab you're probably going to be upset. Who wouldn't be?

Thankfully for our heroes the existence of this crab is a pretty tentative thing. It shouldn't be now, it's supposed to be elsewhen. And that tension between what is and what ought to be is like a coiled spring just waiting for release.

Release that comes in the form of a spear jab.

With a sound somewhere between shattering glass and a dying goose the crab monster vanishes, leaving a shattered gash in the air behind. The edge appears to be broken... something. Exactly what that something is will probably depend on the observer. Something like shattered. Beyond the gash is... darkness. Or maybe blinding light. Or maybe endless blue sky. Or maybe a swirly temporal storm like from Doctor Who. Again, the mortal mind really isn't equipped to process 'hole in time' so the way it appears to each individual is highly subjective.

Again, thankfully, the hole begins to slowly close back in on itself almost immediately.

Should anyone peer outside they'll find a familiar tern sitting on the roof of the chapel.

Waiting for them.

[Deathkeeper]

Beach Party- Several Nicks

Nick looks pensive.
"Does it have griffins? I'm not always the biggest fan of having to lock myself out of my stuff just for appearances."
He did that once. It was awful! Well, it was alright. But it's hard to walk around like a normal person when you can fly and shoot lightning maybe.

Meanwhile!

Nick Jr. starts...waving? Back and forth he shakes side to side almost as if he was listening to music. As he does, a small part of the waves start stretching further and further toward them, as if he had taken just one and pulled at it with a tweezer.
"The moat! You gotta get the moat ready!" he tells Navvy.

[Beach Party- D&D]

"Well, if there's anything the Nexus is good at, it's getting folks drunk that shouldn't be able to." Melvin admits.
"I shouldn't get too drunk, though. It makes me less aware. And that makes me easier to jump. And...well beside everything else, I'd hate to smash something if I was standing next to it." Melvin's hippo transformations do tend to be...quick and explosive. It's why he's always been terrified of it going off in a small car.

[Purple Eagle]

[Beach Party]

Teen Loves

"Only a little? That's not very reassuring, babe." Though Natalie probably means it won't attack as long as they don't. Doesn't help her reaction. "It's too much like a reptile, and I know someone that lost an arm to an eel attack!" That explains it. "And I don't like it touching me. If you went eel-y it'd be different because I'd know it's you, but that isn't you, control or not. Rare to see me so squeamish, I know."

She does nod when Natalie brings up setting up another stash. "It'll be useful to have more than one place you can draw from."

Jack & Chidi

Chidi tries to reassure her. "Feather tickle in the right places would feel good." He swims after her until they get to the shore and dry off. "Massage after bird transformation demo, which is after flight." He's hoping it works, even though he guesses it probably wouldn't. Since he's a large muscular dude, it won't work, much to his dismay.

Zaabi

Zara stretches her hands to gather the dug-up sand in the area bordered by the moat, and returns it to normal to shape it into a rough mound. "Bucket? Lemme go fetch some water!" When she gets it, she'll do just that!

[Earl of Purple]

Beach Party
A Hovercraft Full of Eels

Prumathe nods and looks around, eager to take as much from this flight as he can. He doesn't protest, though; whilst he'd love to stay up there longer, he doesn't want to be dropped as Sekhmet grows too tired to carry him. Once they land, he'll give her a big hug and smile at her. "That was absolutely incredible. Totally awesome."

Teen Loves

"It's tame enough not to attack unless I tell it to, but it isn't exactly house trained, OK?" Although as an eel, it's probably not necessary to house train it. But even if Karasu attacked it, it probably wouldn't fight back if Natalie told it not to. "Oh, sorry. I hadn't realised." And Earl was unaware of Karasu's fear of reptiles. Either way, Natalie waves a hand and it disappears.

"Yeah, that's what I figure. Just need to find somewhere as secure as the first stash, I guess. Somewhere it's not going to be found by some random person wandering through the forest or whatever." Which is why Natalie's first stash is located in a small hole at the base of an old tree.

Jack & Chidi

"You don't have to come back to me for a little bit of tickling, Chidi. I'd have to go back to you for one of your massages." Which is what Jack was worried about in the first place. She'll stand behind him, once they reach the shore, and grip him under the armpits- though I suspect he's taller than she is, since she's not really that tall. She flaps pretty hard, and locks her hands in front of her, but alas. Unless Chidi can reduce his weight using sound, somehow, she won't manage to lift him. "Sorry, Chidi. It's looking like you're... a little too solid for me to lift. You could probably pick me up fine, though. If our positions were reversed." Jack has hollow bones; she weighs less than a normal human would.

Zaabi

Abi hands over a bucket and grins as she watches Zara run away with it to get water. She'll keep digging the moat, adding to the central keep and looking around for interesting shells, stones or driftwood to use decorating the castle.

[bc56]

Beach Party

My Eel is Full of Hovercrafts

Sekhmet hugs Prumathe back, once again using her tail in that unusual way she seems to have discovered, the leans back a little and tries to give him a peck on the cheek. "Yes, it is. I'm so glad I could share it with you." She really is.

Marlick Bay

Sekhmet steps outside to survey the beach for any useful sign, and sees the tern. "Uh, that bird is back." What else can she say?

[5a Violista]

[Marlick Bay]

Zophiel is glad everyone came in with that save. Especially Anchor.
That was amazingly timed.
"Thanks," he says to her. "I wasn't expecting that thing to come back." Especially since its corpse is still over there.

Once the crab is gone, Zophiel stares at the hole in time as he catches his breath. Holes in time like that are actually something really familiar to him - things like that are all over his homeworld. Luckily, it's small and isn't growing and nothing is climbing out, so he feels no need to do anything about it. Just watching it, to ensure none of that stuff actually happens.

Hearing Sekhmet, he straightens up and goes to the door. "It is?" he asks for confirmation, as he looks for it.
Oh.
There it is.
He watches it to see what it does: what's Neptune going to tell them to do this time?

[Purple Eagle]

[Beach Party]

Teen Loves

Karasu did mention 'reptiles' as her least favourite animal, which meant 'I hate reptiles'. Fantastic dragons don't count, though, dragons are cool. Unlike, say, the komodo dragon, which is only cool after she's killed one.

She visibly relaxes when it's gone. "Thanks, babe." She kisses Natalie on the lips to show her appreciation. "I have a friend with a cybernetic arm because of one of those things. Swimming accident."

"Does our love for each other affect ley lines? I mean, if I was carrying something you needed, could you find me, wherever I was, without using a tracker of some sort?" Hey, it's a fair question!

Jack & Chidi

"Well, that's what friends-with-benefits are for. We'd occasionally have to meet up to hang out, maybe have some no-strings-attached fun, won't we? So it's all good." He stands tall, but once she starts flapping hard, he already knows the outcome. "I was hoping that'd work..." But then she mentions being light, and he decides he wants to see for himself. "Can I?" If she lets him, he'll pick her upin a bridal carry. "Wow, you're really light! You're a bird-person, though, so I suppose that's a given."

He chose a bridal carry because he figures she can transform to bird from there, easier than a fireman's carry.

Zaabi

"Got it!" Zara triumphantly produces the bucket filled with water! She sets it down and gets to packing the sand in the center more tightly with big hands, scooping up more so it's a little larger than what the final product will be. Then, she adds the bucket of water, continuing to mold the sand. "Your turn to get more, Abi."

[Earl of Purple]

Beach Party
The Gumbys

"I wish I could do something like that for you. But... I can't really think of anything." He's pondering it, though. And Earl has had an idea.

He does like what Sekhmet does with her tail when she hugs him like this; and will hug until Sekhmet disengages.

Teen Loves

"Um, sort of? I mean, leylines are about connection, and there are some leylines that link people to other people. There's one for everyone I know, though it's hard to tell which one links to who. There's one for you, and Sophie, and Zara, and Iknika, and her boyfriend, and everyone I know. Even Abi. But it'd take a while to figure out which is whose, and if I yanked on it I'd either teleport them to me or me to them. And that kinda teleportation is risky. Wormholes and portals are safer long-distance travel methods for people." She could maybe figure out which is her brother's and teleport him into the Nexus, and as he's off-world it might even be safer than teleporting Karasu to her. But that would be tricky and it might have the slight mind-control effect that lets her command creatures she summons to do her bidding.

Jack & Chidi

Jack yelps as she's lifted quite easily, and tucks her wings in tight. She grins, though she's not used to being carried. "Even when I'm a jackdaw, I've got some human traits. And as a human, I have some jackdaw ones." Not immediately obvious in either case, though. A mammalian digestive system in a bird is harder to notice than hollow bones in a mammal. She's happy to be carried, though it's actually not very convenient for her to transform- she wants to change into a shape much smaller, one that doesn't naturally lie the way she is now.

Zaabi

"Right, more water for the moat." Abi grins and grabs the bucket before getting up and jogging to the sea to fill it. She won't be long, before she returns and pours it into the moat.