Totally Not Procrastinating (Summer 2021 Beach Party Mini Event)

Rolling for Sand Castle result...

The member 'Aliarey Casady' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Normal Dice' :

"Damn. He's calling again." The pair of cerulean blue eyes glared at the small screen of her ilac, reading the name that popped up just as easily and clearly as she could hear the cutesy tune that played as the communication device vibrated in her hand. It was Trey. No doubt he was calling to check in on her status with the supposedly super easy job she was supposed to complete. She should have been done by now. Days ago even. Technically she was. The job had been completed and the pay had been given to her. There was just the matter of letting Trey and the old man know about it. And the other matter of giving them the pay since it was theirs. Technically. Alia was doing the job for them and was promised a cut of the earnings. Instead she kind of took it all and went on a vacation instead. It seemed like a good idea at the time, which was days ago. As more time passed though the calls became more and more frequent. She'd have to fess up eventually and get back. The jewels from one job could only go so far while vacationing at one of the most popular resorts. But how was she going to face the highly fueled fire and not get completely scorched? Ehhhh.... That was something for future Alia to figure out. Present day Alia easily tossed the thoughts of the consequences aside once again.

"Declined," she added while poking the screen and swiping to select that option. The ilac went silent and no more did the name of the caller show. The screen then powered down and the lazy blonde used the last of the energy that she was willing to spend by tossing the ilac down onto the ground below her. The device silently hit the sand and no more was it on her mind. "That's better," she said with a relaxed sigh. A couple of adjustments later and she was back to being completely comfortable in the colorful lounge chair she rested on. Her closed gaze aimed directly at the clear sky, her thin eyelids and the pair of sunglasses being the only protection against the heated glare of the sun above. Her body had just about as much protection. If a blue bikini counted as protective armor against sun burns. Hopefully that sunscreen actually worked like it was supposed to or she would regret spending the day lounging under the sun for hours.

Alia wasn’t the only one enjoying the beach that day, though. The noise and people around her was evident of that. It was getting hard to tune out actually, but that was probably her fault. She could have put on some headphones or something if she wanted to. That fact was probably the only reason she wasn’t complaining. That and she was a bit too lazy to complain that day. Her purpose there was to have fun and relax, not complain and be annoyed at everything that breathed the air around her. It made her wonder if the place was always that crowded and lively. Sure it was a pricey and popular resort, but damn. Maybe it had something to do with all of those party signs she saw earlier. Was it like one of those community festival events that happened all the time every few months? It sure was happening a lot over the last couple of years. Was it some Ishgarian deity’s plan to have everyone come together for frequent parties? Well, besides that whole war thing a few months back. Unless someone counted that as an exciting party.

The beach party that surrounded her was being ignored for the most part. As long as everyone left her alone she was content. That is, until an announcement was made by some guy holding a megaphone and wearing way too much sunscreen got her attention. Something about a sandcastle building contest. Alia sat up slightly and raised her sunglasses up a bit to stare over that way. “A sandcastle contest?” Interesting. She didn’t know there were contests going on. Reading the signs probably would have helped with that, but she wasn’t going to focus on that detail. Her focus was now on what the rewards for winning the contest would be.

Curious, and admittedly interested in the contest itself, Alia got her lazy butt out of that chair, grabbed her iLac, and proceeded to make her way over towards the event announcer. Already people were spread out, working on their sand castle entries. Some were better than others, but really all of them were technically the same old fashion thing. Small sandcastles that were completely ordinary when they actually stayed together. Nothing special and completely one hundred percent bland. The children she could understand having such entries, but the adults in the contest should have been able to do way more than that. Booorriinngg. Well, at least they’d be easy to beat if she entered.

“Hey. Got a question for you.” Alia stated, taking her eyes off the sand castles in the making and focusing on the event announcer that she now stood in front of.

With the megaphone still up to his mouth and still on, the announcer turned to her. “THAT’S GREAT! I HAVE AN ANSWER!”

Alia closed her eyes and cringed as the loud voice blasted her eardrums. Another idiot. Wonderful. She should have stayed on the lounge chair. “Yeah, okay. Could you turn that thing off real quick? I’m right here and unfortunately not deaf just yet.”

“OH! SORRY!” He shouted, once more through the high volumed megaphone.

Her blue eyes then rolled as she added on with a murmur, “although I guess I’ll reach the point of complete deafness at this rate.” At least after shouting at her a second time the event announcer brought the megaphone down. Sweet. Now maybe he’d talk normally. “So this contest. What’s the prize for winning anyway?”

“Good question! All contests and games here allow you to earn leis!” He took hold of the flower garland around his neck and held it up slightly. “You can turn these in for a special prize once you participate in enough of our events here.”

“Wait. So there’s no actual prize just for winning?” That left her a bit dumbfounded. It wasn’t much of a contest if the winners got the same thing as the losers. Yeah, so participation prizes weren't a new thing or anything but didn’t the winners usually still get something worth the effort of actually winning? It was a bit disappointing for the blonde. She kind of wanted some prize money or at least something she could brag about or sell. Lame.

“Well there’s that special prize I mentioned earlier,” the announcer said, scratching the back of his head in awkwardness. He didn’t think anyone would point out the lack of winner prizes. Before she had come along people were content with the lei participation prize during the earlier contests. “Not everyone participates enough to earn it so it’s still…. Special. I guess?”

“And that prize would be?” It was then Alia’s eyes dulled, clearly unimpressed, when the announcer happily held up a keychain with a mini surfboard attached to it. “Ugh. Forget I asked,” she scoffed and then began to turn around to get back to lounging around.

The man asked her to wait though so he could explain further. He couldn’t just let a potential contest participant get away! He was getting paid to reel in as many as possible! Or maybe he wasn’t getting paid at all. Was this a volunteer gig? He couldn’t remember. Either way, he was going to do a damn good job to earn that possibly imaginary pay!

Out of weird curiosity Alia stopped and fully faced him again. She listened to him go on and say that the surfboard on the keychain was actually magical. It turned into a real surfboard. Better than a real one actually. He even pointed towards the water where some people that had already earned one for themselves were using them. They did seem a bit different than a traditional non-magical surfboard. Faster even. So, maybe he wasn’t making that up and she really would get more than some silly cheap keychain. Did she really need a surfboard though? Of course! Everyone needed one!

“Okay. That sounds better than nothing. How many of these flower necklaces am I supposed to earn for it?”

“Four.”

“And the sandcastle contest gives how many?”

“One.”

Alia rolled her eyes. Of course. Just one. Not even winning gave double the amount apparently. “Let me guess. Every game and contest only gives one.”

“Yep!” The announcer’s grin only grew.

A sigh escaped the blonde. Jeez, she was going to have to participate in four games and events? That was so many! “Oh well, at least I don’t even have to try if it’s all based on participation,” she said with a shrug.

“That’s the spirit!” The enthusiastic exclamation made Alia raise a brow and stare at the guy awkwardly. Was he really supposed to be happy and encourage people to just not bother trying to win? That seemed weird, but whatever. It wasn’t her problem. It was time to get started on making a sand castle thing. “Sign me up, I guess.” With that said, the requip mage slowly made her way to a spot on the sand that was clear of other people. She forgot to ask how much time was allotted for the contest. People had already started so exactly how far behind was she? Eh, even if she just had a mound of sand by the end it’d still count as something so there was no need to worry, she supposed.

Time went on as the sandcastle contest participants worked their way to building fantabulous sandcastles. Not as fantabulous as Aliarey’s though. She didn’t know how she did it, but somehow she had managed to make a giant sandcastle in the middle of a surrounding sand fort. How the hell everything managed to stay together she had no clue. She wasn’t a sand mage, and her knowledge as an architect was zero. Yet there it stood. For now. Eventually some kids would probably come and use it for a game of war since a group could hide in it. Actually, the thought of using it for herself was quite tempting. There was no time for that though. There were leis to be earned and a surfboard keychain to be bought. Speaking of lei, she did just earn one, didn’t she? She and everyone else that was in the contest was given one to wear after the winner announcement for that round was made. The contest was over for her now. Just three more lei to go now.

(Word Count: 1809
Alia has received one Lei from Sandcastle Contest)

Rolling for Surfing Contest...

The member 'Aliarey Casady' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Normal Dice' :

The blonde wandered around the beach party scene for a bit. There was a variety of things to do to earn more lei, but what one seemed like the best choice for now? Volleyball seemed fun. She didn't actually know the rules to the game but she could probably be decent enough. Horseshoe tossing was kind of meh but doable just to earn the lei. Fishing was out. She had no desire to try and catch a fish at all. Limbo? That was a maybe. Getting the free lei just for eating something from the feast was also on the agenda for later. The last thing to catch her attention was the surfing contest. It then dawned on her that surfboards were generally used on the ocean. Aliarey hated the ocean. She was afraid of being out in it. Aw, hell. Why was she trying to get a magical surfboard then? To torture herself?

Maybe joining the contest would help her get over that fear just a bit. Granted the ability to surf wasn't exactly on her list of skills. A couple of silver linings though was that the surfing was a bit close to the shore instead of being out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by nothing but ocean waters, and there were also plenty of people around that she could mimic in order to pretend that she knew what she was doing. Heck, if she started flailing like some dummy and drowned there were also plenty of people to save her butt too. Nothing could go wrong!

After signing up for the contest, Alia was given a random surfboard and told to join the others that were already paddling their way further into the ocean to catch some waves. Forcing herself to even get that far was a long process. She paddled slowly and a few times she just stopped altogether and clung to the board for dear life, hoping that the waves of the ocean didn't cause her to slide off. During those pauses she managed to watch a few others attempt to stand on their boards and ride the large moving waves. Some were more successful than others. Each wipeout she watched was cringing to her. That was going to be her next, wasn't it? Truly horrifying. Why did her want for a surfboard she'd undoubtedly never use overcome her common sense? How did it accomplish overriding her self preservation skills? The mage cried loudly on the inside.

It was her turn now. The moment of truth. The moment of life or death. The moment where she cursed her stupidity and demanded that the lei better be the best freaking looking lei of them all. A wave was coming now. She needed to attempt doing what the others before her had done. With a deep breath she pulled herself in and started the step of standing on the board. From there it was basically her just letting the water do what it wanted because like hell did she know what she was doing. All she did the entire time was pray that she didn't lose her balance and fall off. Her entire body tensed up yet somehow she managed to stay on the board. The wave carried her and the board she rode along. Her prayers to some unknown deity must had worked. After what felt like a terrible eternity had passed Aliarey found herself back at the shore. She did not wipeout. She had won the contest. Just... how? Was she really naturally talented at it? Really? It couldn't have been her good luck. That didn't exist. Oh well. She wasn't going to question it. It was best not to. Her nerves couldn't take going for a round two to test her newfound talent at surfing. Alia jumped off the board, turned it back in, took the lei, and got away as quickly as possible.

(Word Count: 651
Aliarey Total: 2460)

Alia has earned a Lei from the Surfing Contest
Alia previously earned a Lei from Sandcastle Contest
2/4 Leis for event acquired

After the whole surfing thing Alia thought it was best to try a game that was a little less nerve wrecking. That meant no game of Volleyball. While she definitely could have done her part for the team she really didn't want to waste anymore of her lifetime's luck on somehow being able to win it. Already she must have used seventy five percent of it just with the sand castle contest and surfing contest. She decided to go with throwing some horseshoes at pegs in the sand. Easy and not very stressful since she wasn't one of those weird people that took it seriously.

Upon reaching the horseshoe throwing game, Alia was given five plastic horseshoes by the event coordinator. Weren't they supposed to be real metal horseshoes? Ah, whatever. It didn't matter. Lightweight plastic just made it easier. The blonde faced the pegs in the sand and began to take her turn throwing her given horseshoes at them. One by one they soared through the air and landed. Some hit the pegs, others didn't. If she had taken her time she probably would have been able to get them all at the target. After all, having good aim was something she had due to her magic. Impatience wouldn't allow it though. It wasn't like her at all to take her time, especially if she didn't have to win to get what she wanted.

For her participation in the game she was given yet another Lei for her collection. Just one more to go now and that surfboard keychain would be hers!

(Word Count: 263
Alia Total: 2723)

Aliarey has earned a Lei from the Horse Shoe Throwing Game
Alia previously earned a Lei from Sandcastle Contest
Alia previously earned a Lei from the Surfing Contest
3/4 Leis for event acquired

The two contests and minigame had taken its toll on Aliarey's stomach. It rumbled loudly, complaining about her neglect to fill it. "Well I did want to chow down on some of that buffet food I saw earlier." Aliarey noted to herself while placing a hand on her stomach. The small action did nothing to stop the growling. Yep, eating was the only thing that was going to quiet that down apparently. It was a good thing it wouldn't count as wasted time either. Consuming food counted as participation and therefore gave a Lei. That was pretty damn awesome. Now all she had to hope for was that the food tasted good. The aroma of the variety of cooked items filled the air. There was no escaping it. Not that anyone would want to if they had good taste in food. It smelled delicious! Smells could often be deceiving though. Just because it smelt okay didn't mean her taste buds were going to enjoy it. There was only one sure way to find out though and the requip mage wasn't going to continue to stand around listening to her tummy gurgle its complaints.

It wasn't too much later that Aliarey had made her way over towards the Tropical Feast area and stood by the various assortment of food items. She already had obtained a plate of her own, but the hard part came in choosing just what to try. Sure she could eat a lot if she set her mind to it, but she doubted that she had room in her stomach to even try one of everything that was set out. 'They kind of went a bit overboard here...' she thought quietly to herself. At least she couldn't critisize them for being too cheap to offer a good selection.

A few of the barbeque options were piled onto her plate as a possible first serving. Whether there would be seconds or thirds she wasn't quite ready to decide on at that moment. For now, she was quite satisfied with what she had selected and moved to take a seat at one of the tables that were set up for the feast area. While she and others were enjoying the tasty food there were event coordinators going around the tables and giving out participation leis. They put one of the flower garlands over her head and around her neck, rewarding her for taking up the challenge of eating their food. If that's what it could be called. Alia still thought it was weird she was getting a lei just for eating lunch but whatever. It was best not to question things too much. After all, that one was the fourth. All of the leis she needed had been obtained. That keychain surfboard was hers! Maybe she could find a way to weaponize it if the whole surfing thing didn't work out. Heh. Who knows?

(Word Count: 484
Alia Total: 3207)

2000/2000 words completed for Event
Alia has earned a Lei from the Tropical Feast
Alia previously earned a Lei from the Sandcastle Contest
Alia previously earned a Lei from the Surfing Contest
Alia previously earned a Lei from the Horse Shoe Throwing Game
4/4 Leis for event acquired

Remaining Word Count: 1207
-1000 for C Rank Freeform
207 Left