LET'S GO SURFIN' NOW

[maskormods]

WHO: YOU
WHERE: Heropa, Florida.
WHEN: Saturday June 13th, all day.
WHAT: A registration beach party with a bonus murder mystery game!
WARNINGS: None anticipated; please let us know if this should be edited.



PARTYING IT UP

As the imPorts flood into the entrance of this month's Swear-In, every imPort will pass by a large table with a welcome sign hung over top of it. Spread out on display are a huge pile of brochures, something that all new imPorts are heavily encouraged to read by the smiling woman manning the booth. From this point onwards, these brochures will be supplied both at Cape Carneval upon arrival, and available at every Swear-In, ready for imPort consumption.

Slap on plenty of sunscreen and put on your swimsuits, imPorts, because it's time for a good old fashioned beach party! While there are several food stations set up, they're all restricted to working with the grill, which means that there are plenty of hot dogs, hamburgers, kebabs, grilled corn and more to go around. It's messy eating, but if you need to clean yourself off, why not go for a little swim? The water's clean and clear, ready for anyone who wishes to while their time away splashing around.

Of course, there are always more competitive people afoot, and many may notice a handy buoy some ways from the shore as an excellent point to use for racing. For imPorts who are interested in a more organized affair, there are several courts set up for a spirited game of beach volleyball, battling against the city's own native population. ImPorts are asked to play fairly -- no powers allowed! Of course, some imPorts may try to sneak in a power or two, but wouldn't be much fun to cheat against people who have no way of retaliating, now would it? For those who enjoy their feats of daring, pits of red-hot coals are set up - and carefully supervised - for anyone who wishes to try their hand at it, though a medical tent isn't too far off. Once everyone's properly overheated from all that exercise, swimming races will be held, a faraway buoy serving as the finish line.

Not too interested in joining in on all of those people sweating and running around? Not to worry! Huge, white tents dot the generous expanse of beach, fully equipped with lounge chairs and tables for people to take their food to. Along the beach itself are several colourful, fluffy beach towels, just waiting for anyone hoping to get a nice tan out of the day.

Once the games start to wrap up and the sun begins to fall, the beach will be transformed into a place not for competition, but for camaraderie. Firepits will be set up, framed with logs used for seating, and all the ingredients for s'mores will be freely provided! Sit around the fire for a spell, make some s'mores, play a little music and tell a few stories before the day slowly draws to a close.

A BEACHSIDE MURDER MYSTERY

As 5 PM strikes, all participants in the murder games will be ushered away from the festivities on the beach into a somber looking tent, cordoned off from everyone else. Inside is a lavish enough spread to make one forget that they're still technically on the same grounds as a beach party. The long, intimidating looking table has a pristine white tablecloth draped over it, and each place at the table is set with expensive looking plates and cutlery, with the silver candelabras in the middle of the table setting the mood.

Each imPort will have been given their role in the whole affair before their arrival, so all that's left to do is take a seat, nibble on the hors d'oeuvres and start getting to know each other... and to hope that they're not the first ones killed. The prizes for winning include an all-expense-paid condo in the winner's Porter city of choice, as well as a brand new hovercar; should both killers win, they will be expected to share this prize. Should the voters win, more cars and up to three more condos will be added to the prize pool to be dispersed/shared evenly among the winners.

Comments

C!

[mcgill]

[Bela may only be here for warmth, but Jimmy's definitely here for the s'mores. He's still clad in his outfit from earlier: a gaudy tropical shirt and khaki shorts, with sunglasses perched up on his head. There's also a smear of sunburn across his nose and cheeks — not dark, and maybe not even noticeable in the firelight, but he touches the tender spots every so often and makes a bit of a face. He swore he used enough sunblock.

Ah, well.

Anyway, there he is, seated nearby with a marshmallow on a stick held over the fire.




Correction: with a small ball of flame on a stick held over the fire. Oops.]

[cleptes]

[She was lucky enough to go tan rather than get burnt but Bela was still careful enough to not stay in the sun too long and find suitable shade when she needed it. Her tan would probably deepen by tomorrow, much to Bela's delight.

The smell of something burning catches her attention as Bela glances up, noticing the almost comical sight of a marshmallow that was on fire. The next thing she notices was whom was the owner of the doomed snack food recognising him immediately.

Only kind of her to tell him, right?]

Jimmy. [Bela calls over, her tone one of amusement (sorry) ] You may want to check your marshmallow.

[mcgill]

Hm? Oh — [Jimmy starts and mumbles a string of Bad Words. This is what he gets for people-watching instead of watching the flammable object he was just holding over flame.

He shakes the stick so hard that the marshmallow flies off and lands in the fire, never to be eaten.

After a few seconds pass for him to process the loss, he simply makes a face and grabs a fresh one to skewer. He's about to work on toasting that one when he realizes who just spoke to him, and he grins lopsidedly, holding out his stick as an offering.]

Hey, Bela. Want one?

[cleptes]

[ Words that Bela is able to hear quite clearly but she pays no mind to them. She wasn't immune to using the occasional curse word after all.

She watches as the marshmallow is consumed by the fire and immediately gets a sinking feeling in her stomach. Would she meet the same fate as the marshmallow if her deal with a demon came due?

Bela pushes those thoughts to the back of her mind before looking at him again, coming back to the present.]

No, thanks. I shouldn't. I'm just here for the fire. [There's a faint smile from Bela as she wraps her shawl a little tighter around herself.] Had a good day?

[mcgill]

[Jimmy watches her intently, waiting for her answer. He's ready to toast up a marshmallow (successfully, this time) and hand it over, because who can say no to such a sweet thing?

... Bela, apparently.

He makes a bit of a disappointed face, though he's not quite sure why. Luckily, Jimmy being Jimmy, he's quick to cover it up with another grin, so quick and bright that it's almost like the disappointment never happened.]

Yeah. Did a little mingling, a little eating, a little drinking. And now I'm here, satisfying my inner pyromaniac. All in all? A pretty damn good day, I'd say. What about you?

[cleptes]

Glad to hear it.

[There's a smile as she recounts her day.]

I had fun. Swam in the ocean for a while, sunbathed and mingled. Drank cocktails and ate a lot of food. Pretty much the standard fare for a beach party, I'd imagine.

[Which should give him the impression that Bela didn't really go to beach parties that often. Not a lot of priceless things to steal at a beach party.]

It's made me think about coming down here more often- when the weather is good of course. [Bela nods to the empty spot beside her.] You can sit here if you like.

[Because she has an inkling that he likes her and this fact presented a very interesting opportunity.]

I don't bite.

[mcgill]

[...oh.

Okay, sure. He'll move. After he's finished listening, he blinks once, then nods and gathers up his supplies (a half-empty bottle of beer, his skewer, and the bag of marshmallows), and relocates to Bela's side.]

I never lived near the ocean. Always kinda wanted to, though.

[cleptes]

[When he settles himself beside her, Bela shifts slightly in her seat and turns towards Jimmy, enabling her to hear him better. She listens with a smile, speaking when he's done.]

Any particular ocean or just the closest one you can get to?

[mcgill]

[And Jimmy —

Doesn't actually move, aside from absently fidgeting with a marshmallow he just picked up.]

I'd like to see the Pacific someday, but the water down here is just fine with me for now. The winters back home were real harsh — like, "Jack Frost nipping at your nose and almost biting it clean off" harsh. I could do with a semi-tropical vacation away from that and the desert.

[cleptes]

English weather doesn't come close to that harsh of a winter but the rain can be terrible. [She sounds wistful almost.] Now, New York? The snow there is bad sometimes.

I wouldn't like the desert either but give me somewhere like the Bahamas or the Mediterranean and you're speaking my language.

Florida isn't that bad admittedly.

[mcgill]

[He couldn't deal with the rain of England or the attitude of New Yorkers.]

The Bahamas aren't far from here, you know. Just hop on down to Miami, get on a boat... I think you'd be there in a few hours, tops. It's like that song by, um — [Jimmy snaps his fingers a few times, trying to remember.] Christopher Cross, I think was his name. Not to be confused with the rap duo. Anyway, you ever hear that song? "Sailing"?

[cleptes]

No, I don't think I have heard of it. Nor the rap duo. [Probably before her time, right?]

I could definitely get behind the idea of going onto a boat and sailing all of the way down to Bahamas. The only problem being I don't know how to sail. [She looks amused for a second.] Don't suppose you have any idea, Jimmy?

[mcgill]

[GOD. So young.]

It's a good song. Anyway, no, I don't know how to sail, but...

[He glances at the fire, taking a few seconds to figure out how to word this.]

I was here before. An older... uh, me. And I had a boat, which is now mine again. So theoretically, I could skip town and hit up the tropics if I wanted to.

[cleptes]

[She listens carefully, her eyebrows raising a little at his admission of being here before.]

Then perhaps you should learn how to sail and take a nice trip. Get away from here for a while on your boat. [Bela sounds amused for a moment.]

I'm kind of envious you know. Instead of a boat, I'd love to have a car.

[mcgill]

[...he has a car, too.

It makes him feel like cheating, this whole "showing up and having an inheritance from my past self" thing. And it's not the cheating that bothers him; it's the fact that he doesn't actually feel bad about it.]

Tempting as that sounds, I think I should take a little more time getting used to this world before I go off on my own. Anyway, if you don't have a car, how do you get around? Bus?

[cleptes]

I use the Porters to get between the different cities and the rest of the time, I walk. Not even sure if there is a reliable bus system in place.

[Bela is quiet for a moment, running a hand through her hair while she thinks. She didn't have money for a car, let alone a boat and the shop she owned could do better.]

It would be easier if this place give me the ability to teleport or even fly. Even super speed would work.

[mcgill]

Ah, that's efficient. And healthy!

[But Jimmy doesn't know much about that.

He finally pops the marshmallow he's been fidgeting with into his mouth, as if making a point about that whole "healthy" thing.]

Wish I knew how they decided on powers in this place. I think mine's meant to be ironic, so I hope the powers that be got a good laugh out of it.

[cleptes]

I don't think anyone really knows.

[Unless they do and Bela just hasn't been told about it yet.]

In some way, I have a feeling that mine were given to me deliberately. Like the shop. [That they knew how useful they could be to someone like her.]

Why do you think they're ironic, Jimmy?

[mcgill]

[Jimmy's just operating under the assumption that there's a rhyme and reason for everything in this place. He'd had a talk with a man named Peter the day he showed up, one big discussion about things like destiny and fate. He thought he could stomach the thought at first, but the more he dwells on it, the more it makes him nervous.

Kind of like sitting next to Bela. The longer he's here, the more fluttery he feels.

Which is, quite frankly, ridiculous.

He misses Kim.]

I just — uh. My brother — [A pause. He doesn't want to talk about Chuck, but he can't seem to stop talking about Chuck.] He's allergic to electromagnetism, and now I'm basically a walking, talking Van de Graaff generator. That's the kinda irony even Shakespeare would appreciate.

[cleptes]

[There were times when Bela questioned why she was taken here, right to the very place where the devil was, and now he had extra leverage over her head. She wasn't too bothered by the presence of the Winchesters, she could always threaten them if they got in her way; her main focus was to keep herself afloat and not die.

As for her other needs, she would tend to them as necessary. Bela wasn't looking for any serious commitment and anyone who was smart enough wouldn't even dare to cross her.

But Jimmy didn't have to know about her darker side, unless he had to. Instead, Bela was just going to listen and act supportive, maybe even get him to trust her in the process.]

Ah, I understand better now. Giving you a power that could have an adverse impact upon your brother- pretty cruel of them, right? [She didn't even know that being allergic to that was even a thing.]

I am curious about something, following on from that. Does your power actually work on people? Humans have electrical impulses, yeah? Can you give someone a shock?

[mcgill]

That's one word for it.

[Maybe Jimmy would feel differently if their relationship hadn't exploded the way it —

No, you know what? Phrasing it that way makes it sound like they were equally responsible for what happened. Jimmy doesn't think that's the case; their falling-out, as far as he's concerned, was entirely Chuck's stubborn, selfish, narrow-minded fault.

That thought alone is enough to make the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. It's a warning; check yourself before you wreck yourself. Don't actually demonstrate your powers for her. Just answer. With words.]

Anyway, yeah. I mean, electromagnetism — that's everywhere. The electromagnetic spectrum, all those different frequencies... it's everything, natural and technological. It's what makes our hearts beat, it's what protects us from the sun, it's what holds atoms together...

[Someone's been reading up on the subject, and someone is disturbed.]

[cleptes]

Someone has been doing their homework. A good thing of course, especially when a person is trying to understand the powers that they have been given. I just more or less just tested mine out, rather than researching them; they seemed self-explanatory.

[Perhaps his ability was one of the most dangerous of them all. He's probably thought about that, Bela assumes. She would even argue that her undisclosed power was dangerous as well - Bela could make anyone do what she wanted them to do with a little mental nudge and she had already practised it a few times on the natives.

She had yet to test it out on an imPort.]

There is a man here called Harrison Wells, he's a scientist and he understands super-powered beings because of the world he comes from. I think he could help you, if you wanted it.

[Wells had told her not to allow her abilities to control her and to respect them. It seemed like sound advice.]

All I can really do is listen.

[mcgill]

[He's tempted to ask about her power, but he decides against it. If she wanted him to know, she'd have been more... ah, descriptive. So he lets it go, instead nodding and smiling in slight recognition at the name.]

Yeah, I spoke with him on my first day here. I have a list of potentially helpful people, I just need to... you know, follow up.

[Easier said than done.]

I appreciate that, though. The listening. You sure you don't want a s'more?

[Jimmy flashes her the puppy eyes. How else can he possibly repay her for her kindness, if not with a pile of sugar??]

[cleptes]

[Oh, wow. Actual puppy dog eyes. Bela is a cat person through and through but he seemed so eager and hopeful and she couldn't be cruel to him.]

All right, fine. Since you've offered and all, I'll have a s'more.

[She gives him a smile, hoping that she won't regret her decision to accept a sugary treat.]

First time for everything, right? That's how the saying goes.

[mcgill]

[That's right. The only way you can be cruel to that face is if your name is Charles. Or maybe Howard. Or...

Okay, it's a long list. Moving on.]

That is how the saying goes. [And Jimmy looks pleased as punch as he assembles the s'more for her, painstakingly roasting the marshmallow to crispy-but-gooey perfection. When he hands it over, it's as perfect a s'more as there ever was.]