[Open] The Sun Is My Friend

[doubled_speed]

Who; Tommy Shepherd, OTA
What; the anime beach episode Enjoying the Beach
Where; The Newly Uncovered Beach
When; Weekends Mid-July
Warnings; N/A

He hears the talk of a beach rather quickly. It wasn't that Tommy had more inroads to the gossip of the city than other people not native to this world that led to him finding out so fast. No, it was entirely just his business. Businesses reappearing and thus reopening around the shore meant goods needing delivered there for beach season. And urgent deliveries meant quick deliveries.

It meant Tommy's delivery service doing some seriously brisk business. Even if he wasn't the most fond of running on sand. But a beach was something he could get behind anyway, even if it wasn't normal to New Yorker life. No, he'd visited Kate a few times in California, which meant he'd gotten even more used to the idea of it, and the idea of something like home made Tommy act.

An ocean that he wasn't living under? Definitely worth visiting. Which was what Tommy found himself doing every weekend when he wasn't working. It hadn't taken much effort to find himself a big beach umbrella, a long blanket to lay upon on the sand, and of course, it was simple to gather snacks for himself too.

Was he wearing anything more than some short square-leg swim trunks in white and green? Nope. Was he absolutely laying there on the back sometimes, umbrella down, sunning so he could enrich his tan? Absolutely. Was there periods of time Tommy laid around, snacking and watching the waves? Totally.

Did Tommy seem likely to go into the water himself at all? Nope. Not without prompting.

But hey, good news: any time anyone at all walked nearby he smiled and offered a wave.

"Hey! Fucking beautiful, right?"

Comments

[heavenlyhonour]

Angeal was walking his dog who still didn't have a name. But that was okay because he just called him 'pup'. The little dog had yelped and had gotten all sorts of excited to see the sand, kicking it up and getting himself really dirty.

All of this after Angeal had given it a bath earlier in the day to try and help keep him cooled off. So he tried to keep pace with his excitable four legged companion and then the little pup went snooping and sniffing.

Hearing an unfamiliar voice, the Soldier turned to the person who'd spoken and nodded. "I wasn't aware there was even a beach here."

[doubled_speed]

Dogs. Tommy was not the biggest fan, but that one was small so it was fine. Totally fine. It's fine.

"There wasn't, a few weeks ago. This place, it changes. We don't know why. Locals don't seem to realize it."

[heavenlyhonour]

Angeal turned and looked back at the water, while keeping a good eye on the little leashed furball. Training him took up some of his time which was good because it gave him something to do. He planned to teach it to run with him without a leash as he used to do with Zack in the mornings.

But that was a little ways off as of yet because the pup had to get bigger.

His gaze came back to Tommy as he nodded once. "Seems I've heard something about that. But does everything that comes in always stay?"

It was a question he hadn't asked yet.

[doubled_speed]

"No," Tommy said, his voice briefly dark and pained. Billy, Gar, gone. Leaving him alone. Wanda gone, leaving him alone. Everyone he loves...

Easier not to love anyone but Speedy probably. That's the safest.

"People get to go home too."

[heavenlyhonour]

Angeal didn't know what was with that answer but he knew pain when he heard it. So he wasn't going to ask. And this was where he nodded. His next question was to ask about dead people but that was a secret he wasn't going to give away.

"Even if they don't want to, it sounds as if there's no vote."

His blue eyes narrowed a bit. "I take it the Aspects or whatever they're called have no control over this except to bring us here."

[doubled_speed]

“No clue,” Tommy admitted with a shrug. “Like, I don’t talk to them. Got enough of a fill of gods at home.”

Given the ‘god’ he has a fill of is literally his twin brother. Damn nerd.

[heavenlyhonour]

Angeal nodded and sighed. "In that case, I'll have to find out how to locate them and see if I can get any more information."

How he was going to do that he wasn't sure. But the one thing he did want to know was why take someone who'd passed on? That should at least get an answer of nothing else.

Thinking on this now made him wonder how Genesis would react to this place and all of this news.

But he turned back to Tommy and shook his head. "It makes me wonder if this beach is some sort of a distraction for whatever it is that they want us to do."

[doubled_speed]

"Good luck with that. I dont' even bother asking. Gods are tedious."

That had been true of the Sphere, and it was definitely true of Billy. But for now he looked out over the waves and thought about the observation.

"I don't know. Maybe... Maybe they just want to make a real world but they aren't strong enough to do it all in one go?"

[heavenlyhonour]

There was a slight smile. Well if this guy knew that, it might not be worth asking. And then again it might.

However he remained silent as the other seemed to be lost in thought about something and he had to lean down and get the pup to not chew on whatever it had found at the moment.

Straightening back up he heard the answer. That made him think and rethink a few things as he considered this new angle. "If this place isn't real, then what about the people who are here already?"

[doubled_speed]

"I don't know if this place isn't real, or if it's, like, becoming real?"

Is that an option? Is that a thing a place can be? He doesn't know. Fuck, but he doesn't know.

"Shit, this is way above my pay grade."

[heavenlyhonour]

Serious blue eyes blinked at Tommy's answer. Well that wasn't something he'd even thought of really. "That would make the townspeople something like puppets." There was a sort of question in his tone regarding this but it was something he hadn't considered.

Still, he half smiled at the pay grade. "Seems this is a question that needs to be answered by the people who brought us here, provided they'll talk."

[doubled_speed]

"I don't know. They could be really truly people," Tommy counters. He doesn't know. It's hard to figure anything out.

"Good luck with that."

[heavenlyhonour]

Angeal smiled. He half figured people who had been here longer would have ore intel on the Aspects, but if not he was totally fine with that. So he nodded at Tommy and then looked at the pup.

"I'll let you know if I find anything out."

[monochromatically]

Mono had seen beaches before, though one could argue he hadn’t really seen an ocean before. Even if the waters he’d crossed between the island where the hunter’s lodge was and the Pale City had been considerable. That said, the boy certainly had never seen anyone enjoying the beach before. It was just… a lot of sand, right? A lot of sand that was kinda hard to run around on where all the ocean stuff washed up on shore when the tides came in and then left driftwood and the like behind when it went out. So… Seeing his boss just laying there was kinda weird, really. “I guess? It’s a lot of sand and water.” He responded simply, crouching next to the guy with his hat pulled low over his eyes.

“Why’re you lying on the sand, though? Are you okay?” He asked, because… Well… He couldn’t really think of why someone would be doing that unless they were super tired or something.

So… Have fun teaching a kid who had a very hard time wrapping his head around the concept of normal fun how to spend the day at the beach! He was, more or less, a blank slate on the subject.

[doubled_speed]

"I'm tanning," Tommy answered. Because that should be obvious, shouldn't it? "Getting some nice color to my skin.

[monochromatically]

Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be obvious to Mono. He came from a city blanketed in an endless fog with people who weren’t really people anymore. No one went to the beach, no one went tanning, no one did much of anything anymore thanks to the entity in the signal tower. So Mono had never seen this whole tanning thing. “Oh…” He said simply to the explanation, clearly not really getting it. As long as the guy wasn’t lying there because he was hurt or tired, then, the kid guessed. “Is it… fun?” The kid is really trying to understand!

[doubled_speed]

"Uh..."

Well damn that's a complicated question.

"I guess not? I mean, I'm lying here."

And he's not doing much more.

[monochromatically]

“Oh…” He said again, sitting down on the sand for a minute and looking around curiously. One might hope the questions were over at that, but… Well? Mono was still confused and feeling a little lost on this whole beach day thing people kept talking about after the beach appeared. “Then why do ya do it? The whole tanning thing…?” He added, tilting his head up to glance at the sky and then back at Tommy.

Slightly more quietly, as if admitting a serious secret, he continued. “People keep saying the ‘beach day’ thing is fun, but I kinda think I don’t get it.”

[doubled_speed]

"To look amazing," Tommy answered. Of course Mono had questions. Tommy was used to that. And used to answering him honestly. "I like looking good."

And what else was he going to do? Go into the water? Hell no.

"They're better with friends."

[monochromatically]

Which was why Mono had a penchant for finding Tommy when it came to some things. He knew the guy at least kind of understood why he thought or looked at things the way he did. “So the sun makes you look good. Which makes you happy, because you like to look good. I get it, I think.” He responded, kind of… sort of getting it… As much as the kid was going to, probably.

Mono wasn’t afraid of water, but after having crossed a large river on a door with his friend, he wasn’t sure he wanted to risk being carried towards the fog that seemed to reside on the edges of the part of the world they were… confined to. So the kid was content to stay on the shore for now and keep pestering his boss/friend.

“So it’s kinda better to go with people than alone… Unless you’re just trying to let the sun make you look good.” Mono responded carefully. “Is it okay if I ask what kinda stuff do friends do…?”

[doubled_speed]

At least Mono got some of it, and that was a relief. Tommy didn't know how to break it down more than that.

"Yeah," Tommy answered. "People make it a party. You play beach volleyball or splash around in the water and have a picnic and so much stuff. But I never went to the beach with a large group of friends though, so I'm not fully sure."

[monochromatically]

“You know more than I do. I only saw a beach once, and it was all foggy and empty with garbage and stuff.” And a glitchy looking shadow, but he still wasn’t sure what to make of those. He scooped up some sand in his hands to drop on the beach again and watched it fall. “This beach is kinda nice, though. Are there any things friends can do with just like two people, or do ya think it’s gotta be a bunch of people?” He added curiously, since he wasn’t really a big fan of crowds to begin with. Those were only something he joined in on in specific situations and for people who wanted him to be there.

[doubled_speed]

"Soooo Jersey at the right time of year," Tommy snarked because that sure as fuck sounded like home.

Still, with the kid asking, Tommy's gotta think.

"Well, I could go find a ball and we could toss it back and forth. Or we could splash fight in the water."

[monochromatically]

Mono was a little confused by the comment. Jersey was like the Pale City??? He hoped it was just the beach, considering what was beyond the beach in the city. “Maybe?” He responded in a rather genuinely uncertain tone.

Playing with the sand some more while he waited, he tilted his head at the suggestions. Mono wasn’t sure why you’d want to fight in the water, so he latched on to the ball idea. Especially since he’d never actually played catch with another person before. Mannequins that probably weren’t trying to play? Yes. People? No. “Could you find a ball? If you want, I mean. You don’t gotta if you’re not done with the sun tanning thing to look good.” He responded, tone still slightly eager. “I never got to play catch with people before.”

[doubled_speed]

"I can go look," Tommy said, standing and stretching. He grabs his t-shirt to haul it on, and the slightly longer shorts.

"You'll stay here and, you know, watch my stuff?"