maskormenacelogs | [OPENish] ~LIFE NEEDS MORE BEACHES & BONFIRES~

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[OPENish] ~LIFE NEEDS MORE BEACHES & BONFIRES~

WHO: Josuke, Kaneki, Hazel, Annie, Hide, Reiner, Usagi, Jolyne, Giorno and possibly Hisoka
WHERE: Cape Canaveral Beach
WHEN: Saturday Night, February 7th
WHAT: BONFIRE! BOOZE! ROASTED MARSHMALLOWS! ...skinny dipping?
WARNINGS: Teenagers. Shenanigans. Probably mentions of nudity. TBA IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE!
NOTES: More or less OPEN? I mean, if one of the above characters would have or did invite yours (talk to the muns!) then please come join us! Opener's in prose, but feel free to use whatever works the best!

They'd come from their homes to the military base in Cape Canaveral, and that was where they'd agreed upon meeting one another.

The plan from thereon in was simple. (Maybe too simple to start with—Josuke had originally under planned, after all—but thanks to some helpful 'intervention' things were on course and running smoothly.) A hop, skip, and a jump away was the beach, but in order to be sure they were appropriately distanced from military property, those who were able and willing were to visit the garage and borrow vehicles that could be used to usher their small group a little ways down the coastline.

And by the time they had all arrived at the designated location—an end of the beach decorated with bits of driftwood and only a very light dappling of footprints—the sky was already beginning to darken. The bands of color that had once streaked the horizon like the layers of a sedimentary rock were now fading to a beautiful blue-grey monochrome; the rippling waves looked less like glimmering silk and more like impenetrable velvet; and the sun was barely a glowing sliver, minutes away from disappearing entirely behind the skyline.

It was cool, but not cold, and as the fire was struck, as it reached brightly skyward, flames dancing and crackling, warmth soon began to fan outward.

Around the bonfire were blankets and towels for people to sit on. There were snacks of all kinds: marshmallows, chocolate, graham crackers, chips, and hot dogs—and there were skewers with which to stab several of these foods. There was a volleyball, too, pairs of binoculars, someone's media player and headphones, and a small cooler full of drinks on ice: water, some selections of soda, and of course...the alcohol. In short, everything anyone calling themselves a 'teenager' might need to cut loose on a Saturday night.

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Josuke accepted the bag when she returned it.

Josuke then fixed Annie with a very flat look, not unlike her own.

"How about you hoof some with me," he said.

It was the only warning he gave before gently beaning her with the bag.

Annie grimaced, hand and arm up and blocking his arm as he moved. The bag still beaned her on the head, but her action was an indication of her attempting to redirect and control his motion.

Which was silly, when it was a meaningless gesture on his part, but she wasn't about to let someone with his height, weight, and reach have more leeway than they really needed. She hefted upward, letting go of her hold on him when she did so.

"I think you're going to have to pony up and ride this one home to the barn on your own," she said, eyes narrowing again.

Hefted upward, but Josuke still had to look down at her, a fact that left the teen grinning with amusement. Or maybe he was just amused by the horse-themed puns?

Nobody would ever know!

Plucking a marshmallow from the bag, he took a pointed bite from the end of it before saying, "You're cold, Annie. Putting me out to pasture all by myself." He shook his head. "I'm getting all stirrupped over this!"

He was even worse. The wordplay wasn't ending.

"Why? Did you want me to take you out and put you through your paces? It seems kinder to leave you to graze at your own pace." She looked pointedly at the marshmallow bag before twisting her own stick in hand to rotate the hot dog. No point letting it char if she didn't need to.

Did you want it to end, Annie? It might have if you didn't challenge him, but you've opened up the door and walked through it now...so you have to deal with the consequences.

The consequences being really poor jokes.

Josuke finishes his marshmallow before dropping down next to her.

"Is that your mane concern? Me not keeping up? Because I bet you I can give you a run for your money. You pick the race if you wanna. Wouldn't want you to think I wasn't willing to give you a whinnying chance."

"Don't go getting burrs under your saddle. For all you know, I'm the sort to ride an animal hard and put them away wet. Chancy, asking to race with someone that reckless."

Annie pulled her hot dog out of the fire, poking it with one nail. Not bad. It was bubbled on the skin a bit, but it isn't covered in charcoal.

"For all you know, I'm too wild to be ridden! Maybe I'd throw you, huh?"

...what even happened to this conversation.

Better yet...hey, Annie. What even happened to your hotdog? It's starting to look kind of uncooked over there.

And Josuke's looking...smug as can be about it.

The only bright side is there's no actual double entendre meant in any over PG-13 sense, so it's mostly a very stupid conversation. Which does mean the smug is a little concerning. Why is he looking smug.

"There's a reason why people tell you to get back up into the saddle, but you're right - 'm not interested in breaking just anyone in." Breaking them in when they volunteered is a different matter.

It takes some surreptitious looking around to try and figure out why he's looking smug. Is he just that sold on his own wordplay? She's tempted to go with that answer.

Then she catches sight of her nicely browned, decently done hotdog. Which looks like neither of these things anymore. Annie narrows her eyes, staring at Josuke. Staring.

"Hey, Annie. I think there's something wrong with your hotdog."

Wait for it...wait for it...!

"It looks...colt."

The staring intensifies.

"Josuke, you're not foaling anyone. ... Fooling anyone." Her momentary irritation is against herself for responding in what she shouldn't have. "You did that. Or - undid that."

He uncooked meat. And he heals. What else does he undo?

Oh no, he can't keep a straight face! He's trying. So hard. But as he laughs from behind a hand clasped over his mouth, cheeks puffing, shoulders shaking, foot stomping the sand...it's pretty obvious he's dun.

"Oh man...what do you mean I did it? I've been sitting right here this whole time, you've been watching me!"

He lowers his hand slightly, still looking smug.

"It's really unfair that you're trying to saddle me with the blame!"

That's enough of the wordplay. Annie continues to level her gaze at Josuke, unwavering in her attention. "Generally speaking... you shouldn't point things out if you don't want them noticed."

The smug look isn't helping either.

"I don't care if you notice your dog's not cooked," Josuke says, rolling his shoulders in a shrug. "I mean, it's not my problem if you suck at roasting, I just call it like I see it."

...yep.

Still pretending he's innocent. Why not, right?

"Want a pro to handle it for you?"

Without comment, still staring at him, Annie offers him her skewered hotdog.

And Josuke accepts the skewered hotdog, holding it over the fire like he's doing her some kind of favor.

"See? It's not so hard."

As if she hadn't cooked hers perfectly before he went and uncooked it on her.

Annie stands, brushing her hands off on her pants. There's no real need, but the look she affixes Josuke with is cool and sharp.

"I won't bother to caution you to remember that the actions we all take say something of who we are... because when it comes down to it, this is innocent enough. But not everyone would see this as just the joke you intend... and some would see this as an invitation to force a showing of your hand, cards face up on the table."

Be careful when you gamble. The cost isn't always in what you think you see. Annie turns around, ready to leave the bonfire.

...what?

Hey! Wait, where is she going?

Josuke's not quite. Sure. What just happened, but he sets the skewer down pretty fast when he sees Annie turning. Stands up and reaches out to put a hand on her shoulder because.

Did...did he offend her? That so wasn't his aim! He was just...it was...all in good fun? Or it was meant to be.

"Annie, hold up! I was just horsing—fuck, I mean, clowning around! I didn't mean anything by it, honest!"

Her reaction is immediate when she feels a hand on her shoulder; she logically knows it's Josuke, but there's no particular trust between them, only a desire not to cause harm that has her check how hard she steps back and tries to ram her elbow into his solar plexus.

Which means she personally would stop at first touch, but who says it even gets there?

The elbow flying back certainly isn't something he expects, but his intuition's always been pretty sharp, his reflexes quick...

"Whoa!"

Toes push into the sand to stop his momentum forward (doesn't wanna walk into that, thanks) and his hand flashes out to catch Annie by the crook of her elbow.

There's the first touch. She halts her own momentum to spin around to the side, away from the flames. Her eyes flash with some mix of irritation and an adrenaline surge she's not appreciating right now.

"What made you think that was a good idea?"

He lets go of her but doesn't stop staring like what the hell...

"You mean the hot dog or trying to stop you?" A beat and he's throwing up his hands. "I'm so confused! Are you seriously pissed at me for unroasting your food? Seriously, Annie?"

"I was unimpressed with you playing around with your powers and denying it. I'm irritated that someone your size doesn't pause to consider what the hell you're doing when it comes to restraining someone you don't know."

She straightens, taking in a deep breath and letting it out to a count of three. It's like that's all she needs to seem less irritated, but it's really settling into a better mask. That first spike of irritation fades. Josuke isn't pushing it. There's no reason to fan flames that shouldn't be there. Annie doesn't look to provide explanations, nor to justify her own actions.

She takes the easy, half-way sincere way out.

"I'm sorry. I'll walk it off." I'm leaving now.

"Denying it...in good fun."

Because he knew he was being obvious about the whole thing, or at least...he'd thought he was. But as to the comment about his size, that definitely gives him pause. He'd been careful, hadn't he? It's not like he'd tried manhandling her or anything like that. Because...he is aware of how much bigger he is than most teens. The last thing he wants to do is hurt somebody.

He supposes all that's left to say is, "Yeah...I'm sorry, too."

And he is. Even if he's still really confused and not quite sure how playful puns and food banter turned into her needing to walk anything off. He must have...hit some kind of button.

...there goes the jovial smile he normally wears. No pout, though. Doesn't really want to make things worse, so he just turns, somewhat blank-faced, and sits back down facing the fire. Pulls the skewer end from the sand and starts roasting the hot dog again. And thinks to himself, Man, girls are weird.

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[OPENish] ~LIFE NEEDS MORE BEACHES & BONFIRES~

STRAIGHT FROM THANATOS GIVES U BAD ROMANCE

I REALLY DID NOT WANT YOUR REVENGE THO

JUST MY LOVIN'?

yeah see revenge always ends poorly

does it tho does it rly

protags really are the only ones who get away with it 99% of the time, i play an antag

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i swear there's a point to this brevity

uh oh

my machinations at work without my phone see the light of day

SCREECHING

shh no words only abortive actions

wow annie he knows he's hot stuff but srsly...

well the saying does go "drop it like it's hot" and you're it, josuke

wait, but she hasn't dropped him...annie ur sending mixed msgs

she's mixed message central he's just cluing in to this???

UH...yes? apparently so!