Backdated to the weekend Beach Party and Birthday Log! \o/

[fierybluebird]

[Marco runs around setting everything up. There's platters of food laid out -- more than enough and some extra as a habit from dealing with Ace and 1600 pirates, a boombox with tons of music, beach volleyball set up, a campfire, and according to Selphie and Marco, fireworks for later. GO NUTS. There will be some threads set up, but you can make your own or do anything! Just remember if the thread gets wild, mark it as NSFW.]

Comments

[espio]

I don't think it really had much of a beach to begin with but New Tek's a really industrial city in general and it's really densely populated, so most of it's really built up.

It was an amazing place, don't get me wrong - you won't find such a diverse set of people anywhere else - but there's just no beach.

[corruptedsouls]

But we have one here! So we can still play!

[Yeah, Tobias is... acting a bit like a kid again. Hope you don't mind that too much, Espio! Right now, he's just bending down to start work on the sand castle.]

[espio]

[To be fair, a lot of people feel the urge to act like children again when placed on a beach.]

You're getting way too excited about this! I've kind of had enough excitement for today... of course, we can always come back again.

[corruptedsouls]

Why? This is supposed to be fun! And it's a different kind of thing! Everyone's going to come here and play!

[Yeah, don't mind him.]

[espio]

It's like you've gone back to being a kid again!

[He doesn't seem to really mind, though. He can deal with Toby being exciteable for a little while.]

Ah, you know I'm not great at parties. I mostly came because it's Namur's birthday, and to spend time with you.

Mind you, I don't think I've ever had a chance to build a sandcastle before. I can't remember ever making one. So let's make a good job of it. Give it turrets and everything!

[corruptedsouls]

I just want to play around right now!

[He looks over to Espio again, tilting his head, but smiling brightly.]

I can make turtles! [And he goes to just do that.]

[espio]

I said turr- you know what, never mind. Sand turtles it is.

[corruptedsouls]

[Tobias is already carefully sculpting a turtle out of wet sand, having dumped some of the sea water onto the spot from a pail he procured. Like you'd expect, he's not half bad at it.]

What other kind of decorations should we do?

[espio]

[What goes with turtles...?]

Swirly things?

I dunno.

[corruptedsouls]

Flags? Or people? Or stone designs...?

[I think you're thinking a bit too much, Toby.]

[espio]

[Espio thinks for a moment... then:]

People.

All the different kinds of people.

[corruptedsouls]

Okay!

[And Tobias gets to work! As the castle goes up with Espio's help, he begins to add anyone and everyone he can think of to it. Of course, there are the obvious recognizable ones -- Marco, Grell, and Thatch, with a Namur made from memory in there as well as Espio himself -- which are soon joined by others of the Whitebeard crew that Marco's described, as well as Mighty, Vector, and Charmy. That small one in the corner there even looks like Edward Elric, and that can't be anyone but Zabala on the top of the wall itself.

After that, Tobias just sort of lets his mind wander. Some of the little figures become Pokemon, some just random people or ideas of people he's seen or heard in his lifetime that he can remember. Among those, there are a few different people that Tobias hasn't mentioned before, but seem to have a distinct enough feeling to certainly not be a random toss-together of ideas. After a moment of musing, Tobias begins work on two final ones near the top of the castle -- the first is, quite obviously, Whitebeard. The second seems to be giving him trouble trying to make, with the occasional stops and fussing, but once it's finished it's clear to see why.]

[espio]

[Espio, who'd mostly been working on making the castle big enough, eventually just sat back and watched Toby concentrate on his work. Sand wasn't the easiest medium to work in, and this wasn't really the best sand, but even so he seemed to be doing a good job considering the limitations.

When Toby starts having trouble, Espio frowns, but it's not until he finishes that Espio realises why.]

Oi.

[Don't mind the arms wrapping around you from behind, Toby. He's not sure what to say, here. He'd express worry about him, or tell him that he shouldn't have tried to show everyone, but... Lance was important, and clearly it was important for Toby to make him.

So, he'll settle for:]

Good job.

[corruptedsouls]

Thanks.

[Tobias tries to lean into the hug as best he can, looking at the little Lance!figure with an odd expression. He doesn't know why, but... it kind of hurts. Even if he only ever fought the man in the Elite 4, even if he just saw him that once in the cave, it's only being able to think clearly that Tobias can understand what Lance had done.

Lance had gone in to find him knowing the dangers. He had tried to help for Tobias' own good. And when the accident happened and he was dying in the most agonizing way Tobias could think of, Lance used the last bit of his strength to make it clear that he never blamed Toby. That scar Tobias held, that guilt and sick feeling and pain, it was something that would probably never go away. But Lance, even in that way, was important. Because...

Lance was the first person who wasn't afraid of him. Even dying, he was never afraid. He never hated.

And Tobias can't let him fall away and be forgotten. Not this time.]

...He was really strong, you know? His Pokemon loved him a lot, and even after I won, he was smiling. I think he liked us.

[espio]

[He's not sure what to say. What can he say? "Maybe he lives on in another world"? "It's a shame things went the way they did"? "He'd be happy to know you remembered him that way"? No. That was... just inconsiderate.

He feels like he has to say something, though. He'll have to go for honesty.]

I don't know what to say.

Just that... he's not a person you'd want to forget, even if it hurts to remember. Right? It means a lot.

[corruptedsouls]

I don't know what to say either.

[It's the truth, really. There's just nothing in his mind to say about Lance. Even if he holds some hope that, maybe, Time Compression will bring him here some day so he can say he's sorry, say anything...

It's not something even he can believe in. That one dark spot in his heart that even his innocent nativity can't stretch to.]

He... was the first person who wasn't scared of me. And even when it happened... he didn't hate me either. I... just don't want him to disappear completely.

[Ack. Tobias rubs his face on his sleeve, trying to dry it off. He hadn't even realized he'd been crying a little.]

[espio]

I know you don't.

[Squeezes, hopefully reassuringly. He can't even say something stupid like "he'd like the sand-portrait!" because, well... that's stupid.]

And I'm glad you don't.

There are people who'd run away from that memory because, well... it hurts. It takes strength to look back and see the value, despite the pain.

[corruptedsouls]

Yeah... I wanted to do that a lot. But...

I don't want to be forgotten anymore. So I don't think he would either. And... I'm the only one here who saw him. But maybe if I talk about him... he won't go away forever.