BEACH EPISODE BEACH EPISODE

[darknesshotpot]

⭐ Who: Everybody's invited!
⭐ When: Beginning of August
⭐ Where: Facet Lagoon
⭐ What: Beach party in the Dream Sphere!
⭐ Warnings: Old guys in skimpy bathing suits. (ｼ;ﾟДﾟ)ｼ

While wind and rain hammer Yumemigaoka, the weather in the Dream Sphere is perfect for a beach party!

At Facet Lagoon, the sun is shining, the gemstone sands are sparkling, and a pleasant tropical breeze rustles through the emerald palm trees. Umbrellas in a rainbow of colors line the beach, providing welcome shade. Farther back from the shore, tables laden with food and flowers offer familiar summer treats - shaved ice, watermelon, grilled meat, cold noodles, icy drinks, exotic fruits, and soft-serve ice cream.

The beach is generally safe, but aquatic Torments lurk in the lagoon's depths, so make sure you don't swim too far out!

But wait, I didn't bring my swimsuit! Oops, neither did anyone else! You'll just have to improvise! Take off those stuffy petticoats, mod your Dreamer outfit, make a bra out of coconuts if you're feeling crafty, or get Ango to make you an awful swimsuit with his ninja cosplay magic.

Never seen an anime beach episode before? Here are some ideas!

⭐ Sandcastle Competition

Wherever there's a beach, some kid has dug a massive hole in the sand. Use that pretty gemstone-studded sand to create your ultimate dream palace! The best part is knocking them all down at the end.

⭐ Watermelon Smash

The Japanese version of the piñata game. Players take turn wearing a blindfold and attempt to break open a watermelon using a stick. Whoever manages to break it is the winner! Using weapons and powers is highly encouraged, but try not to completely destroy the watermelon.

⭐ Just Lounging Around

Not interested in splashing or smashing? Soak up that summer sun, or relax under an umbrella with a cold drink and a trashy romance novel.

⭐ Beach Volleyball

Will it be a friendly game or an intense life-and-death sports battle? It's okay if you don't know the rules - just use Dreamer magic to cheat!

⭐ Cave Exploring

The cliffs around Facet Lagoon are honeycombed with caves, both above and below the water. A mysterious glow provides enough light to explore by, but who knows what creatures hide in the shadows?

⭐ Bonfire

As the sun begins to dip towards the horizon, someone makes a pile of driftwood and sets it alight. It's a great time to tell scary stories, or perform your favorite song, or roast marshmallows.

Comments

[dullshooter]

i. let's go to the beach-each

[This is all, without a doubt, Misfire's jam. Being a Florida man, he's all about Beach. And, quite frankly? He's been missing it. After getting a questionable swimsuit from Ango (because that flight suit is just too heavy), he helps himself to a generous helping of the food on offer and plops himself right underneath an umbrella, splayed out in the sand.]

Ahh. Now that's more like it. [He takes a long sip of a brightly coloured, obnoxiously fruity drink.] Why can't we run into beach dreams more often?

ii. let's go get a wave

[Eventually bored of sitting around - and not quite able to doze off yet - Misfire heads out into the water, brandishing his Dreamer weapon. Knee-deep, he seems to be trying to....take it apart? He's doing something to that toy gun, and getting increasingly more frustrated by it.]

Come on, you good-for-nothing --

iii. they say what they gonna say

[At the bonfire, Misfire's got another drink in hand and is reclining on the other. Whether you're just joining him or you've been there for some time, minding your own business, he leans towards you with interest.]

Hey, you ready for a scary story?

iii

[healthepast]

[Finley doesn't look any different from waking life, like this, honestly. The only difference is the clothes. And he made sure to get his hands on some modest swim trunks, thank God.

He was playing with a small pile of sand when Misfire leant over to him about scary stories.]

Hmm? Oh, sure! I'd love a good scary story right now.

[He leaves his sand pile and turns to give Misfire his full attention, chin in his hands as he leans on his knees.]

I'm ready!

[dullshooter]

[He loves the rapt attention! Misfire beams.]

Awesome!

[A beat.]

Go on, get started, then.

[He didn't say he was going to be the one to tell it.]

Sorry for the delay, got eated by real life. Feel free to drop this thread if no longer wanted

[healthepast]

[Finley blinks a few times, uncertain of what just happened.

Then, when he finally understands, he laughs a little.]

Ah, I may be a little unprepared. Let me think.

[He's trying to find what scary story he knows. Something he can recall from memory. And, hopefully, something quick.]

Ah, I've got one!

They say the first hotel to ever have thirteen floors had a Halloween party to celebrate its opening. Each floor was designed like a maze, with decorations everywhere. Everyone dressed in scary costumes for the event. If you could make it all the way to the top floor, you would get an amazing prize~

[Finley leans in closer, looking to make sure he's not boring Misfire. He is... admittedly telling a children's horror tale.]

iii

[reluctants]

Eh?!

[ Just listen to that sound that escapes the girl. It definitely sounds outright startled - though at least not just by a stranger speaking up to her all of a sudden, despite that being a touch startling too for her.

Especially when she's still a little jittery in the Dream Sphere, even when it's on a beach.

No, it's more what the other is saying that gets the girl's eyes to widen. ]

W-W-Why a scary story?!

[ Ah. That's the problem, isn't it. ]

[dullshooter]

[Oh this kid is startled, bless her heart. Usually Misfire has fun scaring the bejeebies out of new recruits, but it’s less fun if they’re already in a state of terror just about talking to you.

Still, he goes on.]

Think of it as something of a cultural tradition. Where there’s a campfire, there’s a whole rich history of making up shi—- uh, stuff that didn’t happen to scare the socks off of everybody.

[Perhaps it’s the summer sun, but he’s feeling particularly benevolent tonight.]

Why don’t you start us off, rookie?

[reluctants]

[ At least there's a bad words filter. Thanks, Misfire. Scaring kids, but not cursing in front of them, this is clearly the way the world is supposed to work. ]

M-Me?

[ The girl still seems plenty startled, in fact. Even now she's kind of looking like a cornered bunny, with wide eyes and a gaze that keeps shooting back and forth, like she's looking for an exit. ]

But I'm not sure if I really know a story that's scary enough.. [ Mostly because she's terrified of them herself, honestly. ]

[dullshooter]

Sure you do, kiddo. [He's being...supportive...?] Haven't you ever heard any at school?

[reluctants]

[ She shakes her head, almost right away. ]

No..!

[ She's not even lying, though it'd be tempting to do so if she did know any scary stories.. Please, telling a story? Being in the spotlight? Illya could never. ]

I mean, they're.. so scary. So whenever someone tells one, I just try to not listen, or else I won't sleep that night.. [ Does she realise this is a little immature to admit?

Sure. It's why she looks so embarrassed as she admits this. But it's better to be honest than to pretend she does know a story, only to come up with nothing when she starts to tell it, right.. ]

[dullshooter]

[He lets out a low whistle.]

This case is more severe than I imagined. Sounds like you really can't handle that kind of stuff at all.

[He'd go ahead and tell one of his own anyway, but maybe he's not so morally corrupt that he'd go and give a kid nightmares for a week.]

Tell you what kid - you know, I should really ask for your name - this whole 'telling stories around the campfire' thing doesn't have to be scary. We can do something more tame if you want.

[reluctants]

.. Illya.

[ At least she seems to offer up her own name without him having to explicitly asking for it - that's one win, right. It also helps that Illya can introduce herself with the name she prefers to be called, compared to her full name.. A win-win situation, maybe.

Especially when the other is kind enough to offer Illya a way out of the worst possible scenario here. It's definitely the reason that hope appears in the kid's eyes when she looks up at him. ]

And is there something more tame that we could do..? Really? What is it? [ Because she would be so ready for something that doesn't absolutely terrify her, thanks!! ]

[dullshooter]

Well, we could always tell boring, regular, un-spooky stories - or there are campfire songs, and…uh…

[He goes on a great facial journey of recollection. It looks mildly painful.]

Okay, that’s all I’ve got.

[reluctants]

Well, those don't sound so bad..

[ Granted, is Illya going to volunteer to sing a campire song first?

Of course not. She's way too shy for that in front of a total stranger. But that doesn't mean she's going to be entirely unhelpful here, since she instead suggests: ]

If you want, you could tell me a story, sir..! Maybe an interesting story about something that happened to you this week? [ Look, sometimes giving people a prompt helps, since otherwise they'll have to think about something completely out of the blue.. ]

[dullshooter]

Alright, kiddo. Sure can. Let's see...

[He strokes his chin as he recalls the events of the week. What even happened to him this week?

Ah, fuck it. Let's just make shit up.]

I was in the Dream Sphere, minding my own business, [He leans in and whispers "sleeping on the job"] When this huge - and I'm talking huge - torment - wait, no - Nightmare manifests. I look around, there's not a Dreamer in sight. What am I gonna do?

[He pauses - only briefly - for dramatic effect.]

This thing start shooting at me, but I get on top of a bullet train in the dream and then I shoot at it - through what it's shooting at me, hit a complete bullseye and take it down. A bullet through a bullet on a bullet.

[God, he feels so clever.]

And when I woke up? I found 200 yen on the floor.

[reluctants]

[ The girl seems so invested in this story. She's practically hanging right off his lips the entire time - and it shows too, especially in the way she stares over at him with wide eyes throughout the entire story. It's like she's watching the climax of a very intense movie, like she can see what he's telling her play out in her mind.

In fact, she might be getting a little bit too much into the story.

Or maybe she's just gullible, since once he's done, she speaks up with: ]

You fought a Nightmare so easily?!

[ Illya presses her hands to her mouth, clearly very impressed. She looks like she's thinking he's the strongest Dreamer she's ever seen. ]

That's amazing.. I've never heard of anything like it before..! I-It's like you were the hero in an action movie!

scary stories to tell in the dark

[thezekeinator]

Good luck, chum. [Zeke looks as relaxed as can be, sprawled out in a lazy stretch.] The Zekenator doesn't scare easily. Or at all.

[dullshooter]

[Of course this guy calls himself the Zekenator. Of course.

Misfire was ready to spring the burden of telling the story onto him, but now he’s got something to prove.]

Is that a challenge? Oh, it’s on. You ready, Zekenator? I’m not sure you’re ready for this.

[thezekeinator]

Ha! Bring it on!

[Chaosbringer snaps to attention, immediately all ears for what follows as he sits straight. He's plenty read for a challenge, so don't think for a second he'll back down no matter what happens!]

this is stupid

[dullshooter]

[Misfire leans forward, ready to tell his story. He lowers the tone of his voice for appropriate dramatic effect as he begins.]

So there's this man and his girl, they go out for a drive under the moonlight. They stop at the side of the road, and the man turns to his girl and he says "Baby, I love you very much." The girl, confused, asks him [And here he raises the pitch of his voice to a squeak.] "What is it honey?"

He says, "Our car is broken down. I think the engine is broken. I'll walk and get some more fuel."

"Ok," She replies, "I'll stay here and watch the stereo. There's been news reports of stereos being stolen."

And he says, "Good idea. Keep the doors locked no matter what. I love you sweetie."

So, the guy left to go get fuel for the car. After two hours the girl says, "Where is my baby, he was supposed to be back by now." Then the girl hears a scratching sound and a voice saying "LET ME IN."

The girl doesn't do it and after a while she goes to sleep. The next morning she wakes up and finds her boyfriend's still not there. She gets out to check, and -

[DRAMATIC PAUSE.]

Man door hand hook car door.

[thezekeinator]

[Zeke leans in with each sentence of the tale, more and more as it grows close to the climactic finish. When Misfire does at last speak the six words that shape the ending to this tale, Zeke lets out a gasp.]

Man door hand hook car door?!

[dullshooter]

[Misfire nods, grave, but with a wicked grin plastered across his face as he repeats:]

Man door hand hook car door.

[thezekeinator]

[Zeke shivers dramatically, wrapping his arms around himself.]

That's the second-scariest ending to that story I've ever heard.

[dullshooter]

What? Only the second? What was the first, then?

[WHAT could possibly be scarier than man door hand hook car door. And can he steal that story.]

[thezekeinator]

Person, woman, man, camera, TV.

[He's sorry to just drop that out there, but hey, you asked.]

[dullshooter]

[There's a long pause, and then-]

Woah.

[He holds up his arm, rather obnoxiously, in Zeke's face.]

Dude, I've got chills.