(Mingle Log) These Embers Can Be Stars

[mooninthewater]

FOOD TO SURF-VIVE ON

After getting some feedback from various people on the beach, the need to do a big cookout becomes apparent between those who either fear the ocean but like seafood or are just completely new to the ocean entirely. And, of course, there's wanting to try the new fish that only exists within this world that piques the curiosity of many. Thus, with some help from Moder, a massive bonfire is set up late one evening and an invitation to join Mizuki on the beach is announced. For those who seem wary about this, what with the cave definitely flooding soon and cutting them off from the cabanas, will be informed that Mizuki has a plan!

...Did you think he'd just tell you what it is? No, no, of course not. You'll just have to come and find out for yourself. Regardless, the get together seems to be for cook-out for everyone. A good handful of people seem to be cooking, either over the bonfire, or over makeshift grills, or maybe even preparing raw foods. Some beach tables had even been stolen to set food along them so they're not just sitting directly in the sand, as well as towels and such laid out for those who might need them.

It's cozy. In a way that maybe has been needed for some time.

AP-PIER-ANCES ARE DECEIVING

A ways back, towards the forest as not to be swept away by the tides, is a little shrine set up. It's made from shells and pretty stones and handful of sand from the bottom of the ocean that shimmers spectacularly, with little sea-themed stickers placed everywhere. There are names written on the shrine of people who didn't make it to the beach with them, and notably people who could potentially be considered to be "lost" to the forest. Around the shrine is a gathering of spiky looking flowers that glow brighter as the last remaining bits of the sun disappear over the horizon, keeping the shrine lit.

There's a small empty jar nearby sitting on top of a small stack of paper, as well as a note left there with instructions on how to fold one to make an origami star. At the bottom, it's signed with a doodle of a sea jelly, and a reminder that when you're making the star to make a wish on it (or even write it on the paper), then leave it in the jar. In the morning, he'll seal the jar up to send out to sea.

WITH A PORPOISE

Around the bonfire, of course, there's going to be entertainment provided. Either by songs from someone's phone, an instrument, someone outright just singing, teaching people how to make s'mores or even spooky stories around the fire, but there'll always be encouraged to have something going on.

And, of course, if you thought you could escape dancing last month, you're wrong. Of course, the looser, more chilled out mood here makes for some less formal and more silly dancing to be encouraged. The Cha-Cha Slide WILL happen and you canNOT escape this.

IT'S OKAY TO BE A LITTLE SHELLFISH

...As for the plan to sleep for the night, well, it's quite simple! You see... you'll all simply sleep on the beach tonight! Wow! What a turn of events. It'll be like one big sleepover! There's going to be various tents set up for those who don't like looking up at the starless empty void that is the sky and just want somewhere a little more confined to sleep, but for those of you who aren't cowards, there's going to be a patchwork mess of towels and blankets and pillows and such for everyone to lie down on. Even Moder can be used as a bed for anyone afraid of Sandy Pants(tm).

It's prime conditions for a cuddle pile, though I'm not your mom. Do what you want I guess.

(CODE)

Comments

MENU A LA FEL

[amethystic]

grilled octopus

[amethystic]

skewers

[amethystic]

lychee soda

[amethystic]

hibiscus tea (both sweetened and not)

[amethystic]

grilled lobster

[amethystic]

ain is here to play music that's his job now

[eidxiety]

[For most of the day, Ain will sit in one of the chairs with his acoustic guitar and belt out some jaunty tunes. If people come over to dance to them, he won't mind, he'll just keep playing music and singing with a smile where he can. He will take requests, but most of the music he knows is Elrian so uhh good luck. All of them are either love songs, folk music he heard on the road, or something that vaguely sounds like a church hymn gone off the rails.

If no one comes to play and/or dance and/or interrupt him, he'll be seen where all the food is, sampling every single dish he can get his hands on. All of them. He doesn't seem to care for what he's eating as long as it isn't too gross or inedible, but he gravitates mostly toward sweets. If anyone's fried the bananafish hit him up— it seems like he's a bottomless pit, so he'll be here a while.

At the end of the night after the cave floods and they're all stuck outside, he'll forgo sleeping in a tent — braving nature raw is what he's used to — but as he settles into a chair with a book, it seems like he's not sleeping either. All he says if asked is that he'll watch over everyone while they rest. Concerning? Nah don't worry about it.]

Tunes

[lupusxylem]

[Wolfwood is here. He is at the bonfire! And though he isn't cooking anything special (he can cook by a campfire just fine, and he might grab some kind of fish to spear and cook, but his style of cooking really is just hold out on a stick and wait until done, so) he is nearby watching the food that's already on the fire to make sure it doesn't burn.

He's...feeling some kind of way. Not anyone's fault necessarily, it's just the last time they had a bonfire, it was a disaster and it was his fault. He's reasonably sure nothing like that should be happening out here, but...you know, anixety be a bitch and all that.

Nevertheless, he hears...something Ain is playing, and it sets his heart to racing. He can't tell if that's a good or bad thing, in this case.]

...sounds like a hymn.

[eidxiety]

[Wolfwood do you also have anxiety—]

Haha, Hallo, Herr Priester. [Oops, still German Celestial. Ahem. Clearing his throat.] It's sort of like that. You could say my... mother taught it to me.

[It came free with his fucking instincts.]

[lupusxylem]

[Why yes how kind of you to notice!!]

Your mother? [How very specific] Was she religious?

harque is here to cook food also

[selenokinesis]

[Except unlike Amity I'm not cool so pictures won't be provided in the post you have to click on LINKS like a LOSER, anyway

Harque mostly flits around cooking various seafoods. He's a fancy boy with a rich kid education, and even though he wasn't ~supposed~ to be cooking, he picked things up from his personal chef. Yes he had a personal chef. Sue him. That means all of his dishes are fine dining gourmet, and he puts love into every single one. Between him and Fel y'all are gettin' FED.

He's serving mostly sea urchin — this one in particular has a bit of a fruity kick because the animals here are odd — fruit-fish ceviche, and for the vegetarians and those looking for something sweet, a mango panna cotta. To get it to properly set, he uses some of his magic to rapidly cool it down. It's cheating but shhhh, eat food.]

You'll have to tell me what you think. I haven't been able to cook in some time!

[charmpagne]

[Sparkling is in the midst of trying some of the fruit-fish ceviche, and- being that he's from a world where most if not all things are sweet foodstuffs- the fact the fish has fruity undertones doesn't bother him at all. In fact, it feels like home. It's weirdly nostalgic, in that way.

So, with his plate already empty, he's come over for more.]

This dish you've made is lovely.

[selenokinesis]

[Harque is plating on real-ass plates here and not beachside paper plates, so he will take the dirty one and replace it with a clean one while he re-plates. Sparkling can watch him be all fancy with how he arranges everything. He has very, very steady hands.]

Really? I'm so glad to hear. I've never cooked with fish like this, so I was nervous it wouldn't turn out well. I thought it tasted good, but I'm never sure of others' tastes.

[where is the AU where Harque runs a restaurant god damn]

Re: harque is here to cook food also

[lilyberation]

( if he'll allow, she'll certainly accept one of the panna cottas. )

Thank you. This is perfect for the heat...!

[selenokinesis]

[Why would he ever say no—]

Oh, I do hope so. Please, tell me what you think? I've never made them using magic before, so I hope the taste isn't impacted...

plops a jellyfish here

[mooninthewater]

Mizuki's Menu:

[ Mizuki has quite a few things on his menu to serve. The meat dishes all look... dreadful, truthfully. They have no smell, either, which is strange, because they're definitely steaming. They look a bit like he just coated everything with literal gasoline or something like that. It's not appetizing. Mizuki states that they all have sea jelly in them, so if you're allergic, just keep that in mind! No he won't elaborate. If you're brave enough to take a bite, it's... delicious, actually. The best thing you've probably had! It gives you a +1 to your mood and energy, congrats.

He also has vegetarian options, like dried kelp, mushroom "calamari", and no-clam chowder. These meals, unlike his meat meals, all look and smell completely normal, actually. They don't provide the same mood or energy boost his other meals provide, but they're very good all the same. 5-star chef level of preparation, it seems.

He's also liable to go over and bug the other nerds who are cooking to see if they need help with anything. Here's your opportunity to get bugged by a sea jelly here. ]

I. Let's get lost at sea

[ And if you're a friend of Mizuki already, he's absolutely going to come over to you with one of his meals and find the best seat. It's probably your lap because he's overly friendly, but he's liable to also just seat himself next to you.

Regardless, he has food for you, and he's holding up a spoon of the icky looking shit he's cooked up to your face with a big smile. ]

Here! Try this! Say "aaah"~

II. Where they will never find us (cw: child death mentions, fucked up psychological experiments)

[ If you don't do the Cha-Cha Slide with everyone, that's fine. You're good. But know Mizuki is gonna be so sad that you're not participating in the best dance to ever be conceived. Not because it's good, and not because it's profound, but just because it's fun and silly.

Regardless, there's a bunch of other music Mizuki plays from his own phone when no one is playing music or singing or anything like that. He puts on spooky mood music if there's any scary stories being shared as well. And, if it's left to Mizuki to tell stories... ]

Oh, I don't know about stories at all. Not unless you want me to start recounting the plot of some of my favorite horror games and such, but I think that kinda defeats the purpose of stories like that. I think you should definitely experience those games for yourself. Mmmh... Oh! I know of some interesting stories I read from my psychology books, though.

a. Like the one experiment that a Leithanian king conducted on babies. He wanted to see what "language" people would "invent" for themselves if left in an environment where they were not exposed to language otherwise. Moreover, he didn't want the nurses and such to even touch any of the babies either, which ended up with both a fascinating and tragic discovery that touch is vital for infant growth as they all ended up dying instead~

b. I heard about an experiment that tested people in following the orders of an authority figure if those orders conflicted with their personal conscience. Like, pressing a button that produces shocks in increasing frequency to another person that likely would have eventually been fatal if they had been real shocks. They weren't, of course, as it was just a test, but the participants didn't know this much. It's a fascinating study, actually. I would have loved to be there!!

III. Got stars at night to find us

[ If you're left wondering, "hey, Mizuki? Aren't the beds a little too close to the water? [pushes up nerd glasses] The tide comes in at night because of the pull of the moon, so-" then you'll be pleasantly surprised when this just... doesn't seem to happen. In fact, the tide seems to full stop at the place Mizuki chooses to lie himself down, just a few feet away from everyone else, and the waves gently wash around him as he settles for the night. The water seems to glow with speckles of blue light when it hits Mizuki before pulling back out into the ocean.

Unfortunately, staying here means he doesn't get to participate in the cuddling or the moon gazing or the silly sleepover activities. Not unless someone comes to move him, anyway. Surely, that would be okay, though, right? It's not like he's really stopping the tides or anything like that... right? ]

IV. Wildcard

[ Rattles spoons, hmu if you wanna plot something different out!! ]

I

[sesa]

[Sesa is perhaps one of the few people here who isn't scared of Mizuki's food at all. He knows what to expect, he's had it before.

So here Mizuki is, sitting sideways in his lap with a fork held up for him to try one of the dishes he's made, and Sesa- of course- opens his mouth gladly to accept it.]

Aah~

[mooninthewater]

[ And the spoon goes directly into Sesa's mouth, with this sea jelly excitedly waiting for him to swallow and give his opinion. He always works really hard on all his dishes, yet all the same he always has the "this is my best work yet" thought about them. Usually, anyway. ]

It's an old Gaulish recipe I found a while back. It's called Bouillabaisse. Admittedly, it'd be better if I had some bread to go with it...

IIa

[succiduous]

[...]

Is this the Witch King? This sounds like the Witch King.

[so far that's his only takeaway he'll be a nerd in a moment]

[mooninthewater]

[ Wolfie and I out here like “the Witch King was King Frederick II, no we don’t accept criticism.” Anyway, Mizuki nods. ]

Pretty sure it was. Admittedly I was more interested in reading about the experiment than who conducted it.

dorg

[soundsurfing]

i. Begging for scraps

[ Beat is not here to cook. He IS here to eat though, but he has a dilemma. Everyone is cooking around the bonfire and he can't get close to it. Shit, he can't even look at it before darting his eyes away, visibly shaken. Everything smells great though, so he paces back and forth at the edge, licking his muzzle and whining. Trying to catch someone's attention to beg for food.

If he catches yours? He'll perk and wave his arms - he refuses to come closer - and then gestures to his mouth. Then gestures to all the food cooking. Then claps his hands together and looks PITIFUL as all get out, his ears drooping and his eyes getting big and wide.

This pantomime is ridiculous please someone feed the dog. ]

ii. Sweet Sleep under Starless Skies

[ Whether or not he gets food, Beat will spend some time after digging madly. Once he's got a sufficiently sized pit, he runs around gathering as much leafy vegetation as possible to throw it into the pit. Once he has enough that look vaguely bed like (if you arrange it carefully enough), he flops himself into the pit.

He will share his pit if you want, it does tend to get cool at night on the beach, and he's a big fuzzy boy. And all those muscles are great heaters.

You might have to bribe him though... left over food works, or just saying he's a good boy and telling him to scoot over. ]

i. give me the good boy

[mooninthewater]

[ If you think anyone is going to be left foodless, than you've clearly just not been around one whole sea jelly enough. He does notice the distance between Beat and the fire, and like mood, honestly?? Mizuki's got his own fear of fire, but it's more so when it's burning down houses and people and less so when it's a contained fire.

So he'll totally fall for the begging. He's totally gonna bring over a plate of some of the food around. Not just his own, either, but a little of Fel's and Harque's food. They look far better than Mizuki's in comparison, anyway. ]

Hey, are you okay, Mister Beat? I can move a table out over here so you can grab what you want, if you'd like...

a dog for meezukee

[soundsurfing]

YES!

[ His victory bark and arms in the air is noticeably even from the distance, and he walks in circles eagerly until Mizuki is close enough. ]

Hell yeah squiddy-bro, I'm aight now. Ain't gotta move a table, s'cool!

[ He sits, tail wagging a line furiously into the sand, and - opens his mouth. The boy isn't gonna feed you, moron. Closes his mouth, holds out his hands to take whatever Mizuki gives him.

He's excited okay. ]

ok tling for real now

[amethystic]

( felicity's mostly just making shit right now. and that specifically entails food. because she's a stress baker who can't fucking bake. at least there's a proper kitchen waiting for them once they can get back to the grove. so you can find her at her cooking station doing just that! cookin'! anyone who comes by gets a plate, as well as some cubed fresh fruit and a fun drink. she's just vibing. anyone who's lived with her knows she's vibrating at the intensity of a child on caffeine, sugar and adrenaline, but still. vibes.

otherwise she's content to just sit and vibe. ... except when dancing comes up. now there is no fel. only a skittish looking black cat. ... turns out she's not ready for this sort of thing, yet. )

The Stars

[mooninthewater]

Mizuki does not look at the stars that other people have wrote, as those are special to everyone who put them down. He does, however, put a couple more in himself. Once he does, he closes the jar up as tight as he can to make sure nothing could get in or out, then presses his forehead to the glass and says a little prayer in Aegirian. Nothing special, just something to help wishes come true.

He wants everyone to have their wishes come true. He doesn't know how to do that, but he hopes if nothing else, this will help them feel a little more at ease.

He heads out into the ocean after, clearing the waves until he's far enough out he can set the jar to go out into the water and drift away.