pencilitin | Open Post: Beach O'Clock

It's a beach day! Whatever serious dramatic shit you've got going on, set it aside and let's have fun in the sun.

HOWEVER! This is in the Zeiha region, in the country of Peifou, on planet Waba. So, while the region is famous for its beaches, you might find some things a little different here! For the interplanetary tourists among us, here's what you might expect:

Sand Fights: Due to slightly different physical makeup, the sand on Waba clumps a bit better on humid days. In fact, it clumps just well enough to hold together in a ball for a few seconds! In other words, you can have sandball fights. It's like snowball fights, but not cold!
Skymelon Toss: They don't literally fly, but they're a popular local melon, named for their light weight and their sky-green coloration. What you do is this: Grab one, close your eyes, spin it around like it's Bowser in Mario 64, and let it fly. The goal is to get it as far into the ocean as you can (they float, so recovery is easy), but half the fun is letting go at the wrong time and beaning your friend in the head instead. Because they're so light, they don't do any real damage. If you get hit in the face, you get the first piece when it gets cut up.
Sand Towns: Rather than castles, people in Peifou build little villages. It's more of a group activity, with people lining up houses together and making streets and stuff. There are pro contests where people create elaborate landscapes spanning the entire beach, but for normal people, usually it's just making houses and doing some ad-hoc city planning as you go.
Beach Dash: At the beach, you gotta have some sports! The focus here, though, is on any game that forces you to run, from races to tag variants. The gimmick is that running on sand is extremely awkward, and shoes/sandals aren't allowed, so everyone is always falling over like idiots. That's the appeal! Accidentally crash into your crush!
White Crab Grill: Not crab, technically, but this planet happened to develop crablike life independently, too. They used to be a serious invasive species, so centuries ago, they started holding contests to catch and cook as many white crabs as you can, and it caught on. Look for them around the tide pools - where you find one, you'll usually find a dozen, and they're slow enough and not very pinchy that you can just grab 'em with your bare hands. Once you've got a bucket full of crabs, you grill 'em until they're delicious and eat them together.
Beach Shack: Every beach has a beach shack! They're full of chairs and inflatables and other such beach supplies. The rule is that you're supposed to leave something behind at the shack for each thing you take, but it's run on the honor system, and as a result, the beach shack tends to get emptier and emptier over time until someone leaves a really passive-aggressive note on it and someone else shoves a dozen beach towels and balls in there at once. Having a robust beach shack is supposedly the sign of a healthy community.
Gear Shells: There's a common beach denizen called a Gear Snail - not literally snails, more akin to a conch. They're small and come in huge numbers, so in the summer you tend to find whole bunches of beautiful seven-notched shells buried in the sand. A rare mutation occasionally yields a six-notch gear shell, and finding one of these is considered good luck! Among younger people, it's said that giving one as a gift to the object of your affections will bring you together, but it's a little cringe by the time you hit your late teens.
Night Beach: The beach is a very popular, almost cliche'd romantic spot, but specifically the beach at night. A chance encounter on the sand, beneath the glittering stars, to the music of the waves... It's what young people who want to fall in love dream of.
Burying people in the sand is a universal constant.

That's not a list of prompts! Just a list of ideas for you to play with in your various beach hangout prompts. If you're not from Waba, or have never heard of Waba, or have nothing to do with this OC setting at all, don't fear! Show up anyway. We won't ask how you got here, but you'll fit in just fine as long as you have fun.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ For the sake of this setting, we can say that Hekla is a visiting imperial noblewoman, but is from a world with extensive genetic engineering of it's inhabitants to splice in traits from xenofauna. Which on her own, lower gravity planet, mean she can fly with her wings, but here hey are just for show. She herself is also a trained swimmer and has thus come to the beach, but...]

So...this is an ocean? It is rather a lot of water. But I am prepared-bring forth the forms to fill out! I would wish to attempt to swim in it.

What forms? It's the ocean, you can just go swim in it.

[ Once the novelty of humans from outer space wears off, you start to notice that some of them are some real weirdos. ]

No, I am certain there must be procedures for such things. If only to protect such a precious resource, or to prove that one will not die upon attempting it. I had to obtain four swimming certificates to be allowed to not use the 'water wings'. Do you not practice this?

[ There are a lot of weirdos, but there are also a lot of Imperials who just expect everywhere to be like where they are from. ]

It's not a precious resource at all, actually. Over half the surface of the planet is ocean. Just go jump in there and have some fun.

Are you not concerned that visitors may steal your water? Or...

[ She struggles to think of another downside. Clearly, there must be some reason for an oppressive carpet of unquestioned rules.]

Well, if you're not going to punish me, I may as well take advantage. But I shall warn you, as swimmers go, I am quite the expert! Prepare to be astonished and amazed!

Sure, go for it! I'm kinda swimmed out at this point, so I'll be here on dry land when you get back.

I may simply swim out to sea and never be seen again, for your information!

[ Hekla has a...unique swimming style, with the wings and everything. They make a lot of drag, but she really can use them to paddle through the water, throwing up a lot of spray when she does a breast-stroke/freestyle. But unfortunately, her hair-product turns out to be a powerful attractant... ]

Why are there crabs in my hair?!?

[ Jiao applauds lightly. ]

Good job! Those are white crabs, they're delicious. We can eat 'em later.

THEY ARE TRYING TO EAT MY HAIR! GET THEM OOFFFF!

[ Man, they really like the taste of her conditioner. ]

Agh! Slow down, stop flailing!

[ Nanjiao does her best to pry the crabs off of the imperial haircut, but it's gonna take a minute. They're really into this. ]

How are there this many crabs on this beach!

[ Having made it back to the sand, Hekla is...still pursued by crabs, dang! Whatever they like in the hair, it's attracting them by the bucketful, no need to scoop them up from tide pools. But they're still trying to shove hair into their mouthparts. ]

I am not flailing-I am not! I was attempting to shake them off.

Open Post: Beach O'Clock

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