thespherelogs | August Mingle Log

Entry tags:

August Mingle Log

Who: Everyone
What: The open August log.
When: The month of August.
Where: All over.
Notes: Fireflies.

August Open Log

innnnnnnn summer

So, someone seems to have gotten the idea that summer has kicked into high gear. Or at least it would if there were seasons here other than the artificial ones. So the party this month definitely has a large summer bent to it! Instead of the main party being held in the merchant dome, which has another purpose right now, the party is being held in the Rec dome. More than that, it’s being held around the swimming area. The swimming area consists of three pools and smaller communal bathing areas. The large pool is Olympic sized, and is a sparkling blue. It’s fresh water, and probably clean enough to drink. I still wouldn’t drink it. The second pool is slightly smaller and more kidney shaped with a gradual sand mound at one end of it. This pool is salt water and looks a bit more like a beach than a pool.For those who are missing the actual sea, the pool is a wave one, the highest wave cresting at about four feet. The third pool is a kiddie pool, complete with a splash pad, that’s running. Buckets drop, it’s got one of those mushroom things, and sprinkler jets.

Set up between the pools is a brightly colored tent, and there’s massive grills going behind it. These are definitely the sort of grills that one uses to feed the sort of crowds that would be at old timey Church socials. Every sort of meat is being grilled or smoked on them that you can imagine, right down to an entire suckling pig on one end. Veggies and corn and potatoes in foil are at various stations, and locals are pleased to hand you some of whatever you want before directing you to the cold salads stations or to the long picnic tables covered in red and white checked tablecloths.

On a different long table is beverages of every sort: wine, beer, sangria, sweet tea, lemonade from ice-cold carafes. They’re being served in red solo cups, going along with the theme of this being a picnic. Strangely enough, there doesn’t seem to be any desserts anywhere. You’re gonna need to go elsewhere for that!

For those who didn’t bring a bathing suit or a towel (or a cover up if you’re feeling modest) they will be provided in the changing rooms along with flip-flops. The changing rooms also have volleyballs for the volleyball net, and an assortment of sand toys and beach balls for people to play with. There’s also various local bands playing music, and a temporary dance floor for people to jam on.

Additionally, the baths are still present! There’s a large bamboo building near it, and inside are various sets of hot and cool pools, sauna and steam pools, a masseuse and other spa treatments and the like. There are three options for these times. 1.Strictly bathing suits, 2, strictly mixed nudity/ bathing suits and 3. Strictly separated nudity. No one below the age of eighteen is getting naked in the baths, sorry kids.

ten million fireflies, i'm weird cause i hate goodbyes.

Someone, somewhere during the movie night said that they missed nature, so the Sphere has provided. As the “sun” in the rec dome starts to “set” people will notice something odd. Small, fluorescent bugs appear seemingly out of nowhere. It’s just one or two at first, but then they almost seem to fill the sky, creating an internal galaxy. The bugs are entirely harmless, and will land eagerly almost in cupped hands, and form crowns in people’s hair. They’re listless and practically tame, but will only be here for the night, so enjoy them before they disappear in the morning.

oh so the cake is not in fact a lie

Several weeks ago now, Carol and Alex got started talking about desserts and baking. Alex, being candian mentioned that the one thing other than coffee that she can cook is Nanaimo bars which are a no bake dessert. Carol ran with the idea and the two of them went to Max with the idea of having a no bake no sale. So, they opened it up and main street too is set with those red and white table cloths and picnic tables, and are strewn with lights and there are many many no bake desserts set out. Basically anything you can imagine is there, from Alex’s Nanaimo bars and Carol’s Chocolate drop cookies, to any varieties of cheesecake, mousse, tiramisu, pudding, rice krispy squares and so on. There’s also more beverages of every variety here in those red solo cups.

For those more health-conscious there’s also a variety of fruits and cheeses around. There’s also more music and a variety of card games. Of course betting is surely optional but no one’s really looking all that hard are they?

exploration: teeth and bones. (yes again)

After what had happened, there really is no putting back the seals on the doors to the places that were opened up, even though the council has tried with some of them. There are some doors that are deemed too dangerous to let anyone go inside of (lava and ghosts are not good things to let loose inside the Sphere, no matter how fun it would be at the time) but the door in the infirmary (in the morgue) needs to be open for practical purposes. Which may not be great for people who work in the infirmary, but there it is.

Once people drop through a hatched hole in the floor of the morgue, there’s tunnels extended out for several hundred yards, into the dark. If you have a flashlight, it’s clear to see that here and there the walls are etched with Latin, carved into the stone of the tunnels themselves in what looks more than a little bit like scratches rather than anything that resembles tool marks. The words are repeated at first, over and over: ”cave veniunt!" And "ossa et dentibus illius ruminandum!" Along with the repeated: “cave.”

The skeletons inside are supposed to have been all taken care of, but you can’t help the uneasy feeling that moves down your neck in the darkness, or the way that you can swear you can hear more than a little bit of a hiss of bone. There are things discarded here on the floor of the hallway, gathering more value with the deeper that you go, but is it worth being down here in the dark with the dead for that?

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Discomfort was replaced by a sudden jolt of panic. "But I can't swim." Enis wanted to enjoy the party but she didn't really feel like she should.

She didn't belong here.

And what was the point anyway? She didn't have a future or a life to look forward to... What would Tommy say if she told him that she wanted to die?

Maybe this was a mistake.

Tommy would say no. Would say 'come have dinner'. Would say 'here's beach volleyball'. Would say 'come on we're going to learn how to manage a farm.' He would do everything to keep her going. His twin fell down that hole before, depression and futility. Tommy won't allow it.

"We're not going deep enough to need it. And if you get scared, I'll carry you back. Come on, we have to start in the water, or the beach volley ball won't be a good way to dry off."

"The best way to dry off would be to already be dry." The words were lightly grumbled as she stepped to the edge of the pool.

Enis stopped then, she didn't hesitate but she really didn't know what she was supposed to do. Eventually she sat and slipped into the water. It was colder than she had expected.

Tommy, meanwhile, runs for the far side of the pool and dives into the deep end. Swims over to her side with serious speed before bobbing up to the surface. But hey, here's the shallows, and he holds his hands out to her, ready to help hold her up.

"See, it's okay. I've got you."

Enis was uncertain but it wasn't the water that scared her. It was the simple fact that she didn't know if there was something inside of her that would react to the water. The cool liquid swirl around her slender frame as her fingers brushed across Tommy's palm, taking his hand. The water rose to the center of her torso.

She didn't really need to hold his hand but it felt nice.

"Right." She paused and looked around now that she was in the water. "Now what?"

She was fucking clueless about this stuff.

"Well now I would normally suggest some splashing around, but..."

Well, that probably wouldn't happen because she wasn't comfortable. But Tommy does have a grip on her hands and he pulls her just a bit deeper in with him.

"Now you see about experiencing the water."

Enis took another step forward, her fingers clinging gently to Tommy's hands as the water a few inches higher.

"Splashing around?" She looked around and noticed a lot of splashing but Enis still didn't understand the allure. It was fun getting wet? Or maybe there was something more to it? "I think I'm missing something."

She met Tommy's gaze with a brief frown. "What is fun about this? The water is cool and more comfortable but-" That was it.

"It's about the energy, the joy of it. It's about the way it feels to catch someone off guard when you splash them. It's about the laughter and so much more."

Then he's smiling and backing up a few more steps.

"Come on. Try it. Splash me."

Enis's eyebrows rose in a skeptical arc at Tommy's description. She wasn't sure what to make if it except that it sounded absolutely ridiculous but she was here to learn and she was going to try it.

She flatted her hand and skimmed it across the water enough to send a wave of water Tommy's way. Enis knew that he could easily dodge it but waited, holding her breath, to see if he was going to entertain her by getting hit by the small wave.

Okay... maybe it was a little exciting, for a second or two.

That's good enough. Tommy just stands there and lets himself get splashed. And grins as he wipes his now wet hair back from his face.

"The idea is that you splash each other. That you play. Playing is good."

Enis smiled at him. "It's fun to splash you when I hit you." That was a lie, she was having fun but she had to remain difficult.

She splashed him again just to see if she's able to get him. "Tell me more ways to play." Or she was going to just keep trying to splash him which might turn into a very intense game if Tommy tries to use his speed. Even in the water, he'd probably be faster than Enis.

Wow, a smile. Those weren't common, were they? Tommy grinned back, happy to see it.

"You wouldn't be able to hit me unless I wanted to. But let's see, there's Marco Polo, but you don't swim well enough for that. And pool volley ball. That might work if you're willing to flail around a bit. Mostly, if you can't swim well, it's about frolicking and goofing off and splashing around. Oh, and jousting, but we'd need another two people."

Not that Tommy knows a lot about any of these, beyond what he's seen other people do or seen on TV. He's run past enough beach parties to have theories.

Her brow furrowed in disbelief. "Jousting?" She wasn't sure that she'd heard him correctly but after a moment, his face confirmed that he had said jousting. Enis really had no idea how that would fucking work...

"Let's try volley ball. I think I can manage flailing around."

This couldn't possibly end badly.

If she does end up with things going weird, well, Tommy could help her. He smiles and moves easily ~~seemingly~~ through the water and is out of it quickly. And soon he's back, with an inflatable pool ball. And he smiles as he jumps back into the water, splashing in.

"So, you wanna stay in the shallows, okay?"

And then he's bouncing a ball toward Enis. Come on, enjoy the fun.

Enis watched him grab the inflatable pool ball before jumping back into the water. His motions were faster than hers and seemingly graceful. It was odd but it was really difficult to move through the water. Logically, she understood but its different than how she had imagined it.

"Okay."

She watched the ball and then hit it with the heel of her palm. Enis might not be great at water games but she had a wicked amazing aim and was able to factor in her movements and hit the ball exactly where she wanted it to go.

For the moment, that was directly back at Tommy.

Now the accuracy was definitely impressive to Tommy. Of course he can't exactly be caught off guard enough for it to hit him in the face, but he laughs and hits the ball back at her.

"Pretty good, Enis. You're doing great!"

"Don't sound so condescending." She replied back in a tone that suggested that she was only teasing him.

Enis hit the ball back and once again she did it with startling accuracy. She couldn't do many things very well but she'd always been skill at hitting her target. It was one of the reasons that she enjoyed using guns, though she hadn't had access to a gun since arriving in the this weird place.

"How long do we do this for?" Did the game have an end or were they locked in a battle of effort because that would last a long time before Enis inevitably lost.

Wow, he's even being genuine here. He's so hurt. How dare? But he's grinning.

"I mean, normally you have a number of points you go to, based on rules. But between my speed and your accuracy," he hits the ball back, grinning, "I think we'd be at a deadlock."

"Then how should end our game?" She wasn't sure if it could really be called a game but it had to have some kind of natural end to it.

"Or when we get bored of hitting this back and forth?" Enis was secretly having fun...

"I mean, if you get bored, you can just concede that I'm better."

When he next hits it back, he definitely aims wide, clearly intending to make her miss.

"We can also stop if you get hungry. Or thirsty. Or whatever. I'm flexible."

Enis didn't answer him right away because she was trying to move through the water to reach the ball. She wasn't going to make it and the moment she realized that she jumped, hit the ball with her palm and splashed face first into the water.

Her hit was fantastic but it was not at all graceful and when she came up she was coughing and would miss whatever he hit back towards her.

Nah, mad respect kept Tommy from hitting the ball back. That and concern. Hadn’t she said she couldn’t swim? Tommy immediately starts swimming toward her, reaching Enis just as she came back up.

“You okay?”

It took her a moment to speak and reorient her senses. There was something about water that made it difficult for even her computer systems to know what direction was up and which one was down.

She pushed the water out of her eyes and then finally spoke. "I'm fine." It'd been a jarring first experience under water but not entirely unpleasant... mostly surprising. "I didn't hold my breath in time." She coughed again and then pushed her hair back into a slick greaser look behind her head.

"Does this mean I lost?"

"Normally it means I won a point," Tommy corrects, but he is more focused on reaching out, hands on her shoulders, stabilizing. Poor thing, the whole inhaling water sucks. "You okay?"

Why did he do this? This was a bad idea, she could get hurt. Though... the swimsuit clings to her well.

Enis rolled her eyes as she finally finished clearing her throat of pool water. "You didn't hit the ball back." She countered in a logical manner. "And yeah, I'm okay. It's my understanding that things like this happen a lot?"

Who doesn't swallow pool water?

Her lips twitched into a small smirk when she saw him glance over her swimsuit. "Were you worried about me?" Enis sounds like she's about to tease him.

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