lucetilogs | (no subject)

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Who: OPEN to adults
What: A networking party on the beach
When: Saturday, 9/20
Where: The beach, around sunset
Summary: An open networking party on the beach. Enjoy the food and drinks, mingle as you wish. Details here
Rating: Let's keep it under PG-13

The setup for the party is pretty simple. Several coolers filled with ice for drinks (soda, bottled water, juice, assorted alcohol and mixers) with cups nearby, a food table with some cookies and cake from the bakery, two sandwich platters, some salads, fresh fruit, and a veggie platter. There's a grill going for roast vegetables, hamburgers, hot dogs, steaks, and fresh seafood, often run by Ginia but anyone else who wants to watch the grill or grill their own food is welcome to do so. People are also more than welcome to bring their own food and drinks. There's driftwood set up in a small firepit for once the sun goes down.

There are a few folding chairs and blankets spread out for anyone who wants to sit down as well as a card table or two.

Relax, meet new people, enjoy the food, and watch out for ghosts or shifts that might ruin your food.

((ooc: Handwaving the IC announcement of the party. Characters can still drop by even without checking in on the post (though that would be great for stats purposes). Feel free to say your character was there for set up and later take down, it's mostly handwaved unless people want to play things out.))

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[ Erwin has purposefully refrained from making any journal posts since his re-arrival, preferring to quietly heal up and get his bearings before launching himself back into the midst of Luceti village socialization. This get-together is his first real appearance. He'll be easily recognizable to those who knew him before. There are only a few differences: he wears a longcoat rather than the usual short jacket of the Survey Corps uniform, and the right sleeve hangs empty by his side after the still rather recent loss of his arm. Thankfully, his face has healed almost entirely from a few other injuries inflicted just before finding himself in Luceti again.

Never having been to the ocean before, even in Luceti, he spends much of the evening simply admiring the water. He stands frequnetly at its edge, and at one point even removes his coat and boots and rolls his pant legs up around his knees to wade in, enthralled with the crashing waves and the taste and scent of salt in the air. It's unlike Erwin to act so childlike, but the ocean is, in many ways, a waking dream for him. He'd read about it as a child in books he was not meant to possess and yearned to see one day, but never truly imagined he would live to do so. This isn't the ocean of his world, of course, but it seems to fit the description, and he imagines that they must be very alike.

He does eat over the course of the party, trying anything he hasn't had a chance to before, and he'll gladly engage in conversation, but he's somewhat distracted; like many others, he's still seeing ghosts, made even worse by the fact that quite a few of them are dead in his world in addition to having left Luceti. ]

[A certain colonel strides beside him at some point while Erwin is staring out over the ocean. He speaks in relatively light tone.]

I thought that I had seen a familiar-looking face around campus...

[Jade remembers enough from his other life to feel... something almost like trust for Erwin. Or rather, having a better handle on the man's mentality and abilities. Still, in some way, it is pleasing to see the man again.

His gaze only briefly blips on the empty sleeve. Just to confirm one lingering thought from the other other life at the university.]

[ Erwin acknowledges Jade with an an initial nod; Jade's pleasure at seeing him is reciprocated. Jade had proven himself capable and useful, and Erwin too feels he has at least a solid grasp on him from lingering memories of having him as a Squad Leader. Even if they were false, he thinks he knows Jade better than he would otherwise. ]

That you did. It seems Luceti wasn't quite finished with me after all.

[ Quite a lot of people have been casually glancing at his sleeve this evening. He's not adverse to talking about it, but he won't bring it up if Jade doesn't. ]

As luck would have it, I returned just in time for a shift.

Edited (html.....) 2014-09-26 22:40 (UTC)

It sounds like bad luck on both counts. [His hands settle in his pockets as he focuses on the view. He's in no rush to ask about the arm - it's mostly something to take note of for future reference.]

Luceti apparently could never have its fair share of me, either. But unlike me a year ago, at least you have the privilege of remembering your previous stay, or so it seems. It would be a waste to lose all of those months of intelligence.

It would be. I'm glad, at least, to have been allowed that much.

[ Erwin's gaze returns to the water as well. Though it's dark, the moonlight is more than enough to see by. ]

Have you been keeping out of trouble, Colonel?

[Ginia removes her sandals and leaves them a safe distance away from the water before she joins Erwin, tapping his shoulder to make her presence known. Her toes dig into the sand as salt water rolls over them. It's cold, though not too unpleasant, certainly bearable enough. It's peaceful by the water, the sound of people talking behind them, the rolling waves crashing before them.]

/What do you think?/ [The question is open ended. The ocean, the party, even her attire, it's all open for commentary though her attention falls back on the water.]

[ Erwin acknowledges Ginia's presence with a nod. He'd greeted her briefly when he arrived earlier, but hadn't engaged her conversation for long, as she'd seemed busy enough. He tuns his eyes from the horizon onto her instead, so he can speak with her, and in the process more fully registers her appearance. She looks nice. No--beautiful. ]

I spent years imagining what the ocean might be like, but there are still a number of things I wasn't expecting. The smell, the taste of the air, the animals. [ He opens his hand, holding his palm out to Ginia to reveal a mostly-intact dried starfish. ] The size. I wasn't able to properly conceptualize something quite this vast.

[Ginia looks at the starfish, a warm smile forming as she light brushes her fingers across the rough surface. For her, someone who's traveled her world so much with no limitations save money and the legalities of crossing borders, it was easy to take things for granted. Seeing Erwin's reaction is a reminder to enjoy and appreciate things.]

/Words rarely do it justice. And this ocean is limited by the barrier; who knows how much further it stretches./

[She pauses, another thought coming to mind.]

/I planned on camping on the beach tonight, watch the sunrise before cleaning up. You two are welcome to join me./

[ Another nod, this one accompanied by a slight tightening of his jaw. There are always barriers. Always walls.

Her suggestion, however, sparks his interest. ]

I would gladly join you, and I am certain that Levi will agree as well.

[ If he asks, Levi will stay. He's sure Levi would like to see the sun rise over the ocean anyway. ]

[Always barriers, always walls, always restrictions even if they can't be seen.

Ginia smiles and nods. It was a sight worth seeing at least once, especially while the weather was still good. The company would be welcome too. While Ginia planned on staying out on the beach and cleaning up in the morning, it was also because she needed to get away from ghosts. Seeing Evan and Kakashi around her apartment on top of the nightmares was getting to be more than she could take.

There's a lull in the conversation and Ginia's grateful she's never felt any pressure to have to carry a conversation around Erwin. It's nice being able to enjoy silence. But in time, she strikes up a new topic.]

/Know anything about C-O-N-S-T-E-L-L-A-T-I-O-N-S?/

Yes. In my world, at least.

[ He uses them often when they make camp on expeditions beyond the wall. It's only well after sunset that he has time to work out their exact position to make sure that they are still running on course. The positions of the stars can be quite helpful.

There are stars out tonight, which he confirms by looking up at the sky rather than down at the water. ]

Do you know about the ones here?

/Sometimes. The stars are fake so I imagine the ones being shown are from a mix of worlds./ [That there were no stars in the sky and the night sky was just a black void was certainly one of the more unsettling things about this place.

Ginia looks up at the sky, searching for a grouping she's familiar with. Orion stands out and she stands a bit closer to more accurately point out the three bright stars forming his belt.]

/Three stars. O-R-I-O-N-S B-E-L-T. More stars make up his body and his sword. A mighty warrior from legends./

[ Fake. Of course. He should have known.

Following Ginia's gesture to the constellation she points out, he's surprised to find that he actually recognizes it. ]

We have three stars like that as well--though our name for them is different.

[Erwin's words are surprising and also somewhat troubling, but one point of data does not lead to a conclusion.]

/What do you call it? Do you recognize any other constellations?/

The names of many constellations vary by region, but most seem to call them the three stitches, as the whole of the formation resembles a cloak-wearing archer.

[ The stars have simple names within the walls. With so little history and folklore left to humanity, naming them after great warriors of the past is hardly an option.

Near Orion is the constellation most from Earth would recognize as Ursa Major. Erwin points it out, but gives it a different name. ]

That one there is the beast, but often the most visible part is its tail, which looks like a ladle.

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[Levi doesn't spend every minute at Erwin's side - there's no need for it, really. But eventually he does circle back that way, before the sun goes completely down and they still have enough light to see by.

To see...well, the sea.

He wordlessly comes up beside Erwin, gazing out to the horizon and still not quite sure he believes what he sees. Or perhaps it's easier to accept in Luceti, where so many things are different from the world they'd been born into. Somehow he can't quite accept that such a place could really exist in their own world.]

[ Levi's presence at his side is a welcome one, and Erwin turns his attention from the reflection of the setting sun on the waves to Levi's face instead, observing his expression and the way the waning light casts shadows on his face. ]

Even if it isn't ours, I am glad we were able to see it.

[ Together, he might have added, but that's implied. ]

I'd have a harder time believing my eyes if it were ours. It's easier to accept strange thing when you're in a strange place.

It is strange, isn't it?

[ He turns his eyes back out on the water. ]

I've been reading about it since I was a child, and I'd always had some idea as to what it must be like. Yet, standing before it, I find it difficult to reconcile my preconceptions with the real thing.

Endless salty water. Seems unreal.

[yeah he's still not really convinced.]

[ That's...certainly putting it concisely, Levi. ]

When you say it like that, it actually sounds rather simple.

[ Erwin doesn't laugh, but there's the hint a small smile threatening to break his typical stoicism. ]

That's all it is, isn't it?

[Even if he's heard and read a little bit about what kind of creatures are said to inhabit said puddle of endless salt water, until he actually sees them, he's not sure he can believe it.]

Think there's weird things in this one, too?

I think so, yes. I found something strange earlier.

[ When Erwin opens his hand to show Levi, there's a dried starfish resting in his palm, almost entirely whole. ]

[Levi eyes it almost suspiciously, poking at it carefully with the tip of his finger and almost frowning at the rough surface.]

What's it supposed to be?