AUGUST PLOT: A LOVELY TRIP TO PLANET 10952.EG.K

[luminals]

Arrival on EG.K is non-eventful; one will find themselves about a five minute walk away from the closest village on a very flat planet. The purple and turquoise grass waves in the near-constant warm breeze under a rosy pink sky, and while the sun seems far too close to the planet for comfort, the semi-cloudy nature of the planet means one can see far into the distance without squinting constantly.

EG.K is currently a delightful 23.9 degrees in Universal Standard Temperature, dipping down to 15.5 UST at night. Visitors to the planet can expect clear skies and no rain or storms for the week. Occasional winds up 50 MPH are present, but not constant.

Make friends with the locals, take a swim in a lake, actually do whatever it is you came here to begin with - whatever it is, enjoy your week on this charming and uneventful planet!

Comments

LAKE

[luminals]

Namorita | OPEN

[littlecousin]

A: [Nita can get the hydration she needs in a bathtub, technically. She can also get the nutrition she needs from diet shakes, which doesn't make them good. Without regard for what might be waiting in the depths of the lake--whatever it is, she can take it--she plunges into the water from a good 30 feet in the air with the grace of an Olympic diver...and then doesn't come back up.

Sprawled happily on a rock ledge at a depth where the water is nicely chilly, Nita starts to doze off in the comfort of her other native element after only a few minutes. She's certainly not in need of rescue...but it's not like she told anyone that. On the bright side, she's capable of rescuing a would-be rescuer who gets in over their head in an entirely non-metaphorical fashion, even a giant robot.]

B: [After a good long soak, Nita's resurfaced and is splashing around in the shallows, doing...something. It seems to be swimming around for the hell of it because she doesn't want to get out of the water yet, because that's what it is. If anyone approaches her from the shore, she'll stop doing her dolphin impression and fly over to greet them, dripping everywhere while she hovers at eye level on her strange little ankle wings.]

Hi!

OOC: Not picky about format, so if you prefer prose, that's fine.

[rodders]

( Eye level for Rodimus is roughly fourteen feet taller than most people's, which is why he's very much taken aback by the fact that something is hovering in front of him. An organic, and one of the human ones too, by all appearances.

Which is funny, because - )

Look, last time I was on your planet I was in kind of a rush to get off of it, but I'm pretty sure you didn't fly.

[littlecousin]

[The physical cues that she's not human are too subtle for most Cybertronians to pick up, meaning Rodimus sure as hell isn't going to notice.]

If you'd been on my planet, I'm pretty sure I would have heard about it, big guy.

[Only pretty sure, 'cause there are a lot of giant robots around, really.]

Probably another universe.

[rodders]

( That is rude but also incredibly true. Also he just doesn't care that much - he's still sore about the whole shooting and killing Autobots thing to welcome most organic interaction with open arms. Except for the small one that took pictures of them fighting. That one can stay. )

You sure you haven't heard of us? We kind of made the news once or twice, and then you all decided to try and kill us. ( He's not bitter. But the last part gets him slightly more confused. ) You don't look like anyone who's spent any amount of time in the Dead Universe. You're uh. Kind of more alive than they tend to be.

( Which is the only one he has for comparison )

[littlecousin]

[Wow, Rodimus, it's almost like thinking every member of a particular group is the same is problematic.]

If I got invested every time someone made the news and then there was a fight, I'd never have time for anything else.

[The Decepticons are less scary than Ultron, anyway.

The unspoken element in the conversation is that Nita doesn't find Rodimus particularly unusual, but she's not mentioning it precisely because she doesn't find him unusual. Eh, giant robots, must be Tuesday.]

Uh...that part's complicated, but I'm alive.

[Not that he'd be remotely close to on-point for most other characters, but Nita's been having a weird couple of months.]

[rodders]

( EEEEEEEYYYYY )

It wasn't that common. I mean, we use our alt-modes for a reason, and part of it involves not getting shot at by twitchy organics.

( Well hey, someone else who's recent past involves dealing with undead things trying to kill them. )

Are you sure? Brainstorm managed to be alive but dead for months and no one knew.

( He doesn't understand it, but he knows it was a thing that happened!! )

[littlecousin]

[We'll say this is after Drift so she knows about robutt disguises now.]

Yeah, I'm sure. Mister Fantastic cleared me.

[Rodimus just mentioned someone named Brainstorm so he'd better not come over weird about Reed Richards' code name.]

Like I said, different universes. I guess there are fewer robots on Earth in yours, because seriously? The government builds giant jerk-bots where I'm from and somebody's always having to rip their stupid murderous heads off.

[Sentinels aren't sentient so it's okay. Still mad about that time they trashed Atlantis. Also apparently they committed genocide while she was gone?

Giant robots, man.]

[rodders]

'Mister Fantastic'. What sort of weird fleshy name is that?

( TOO LATE. Coming from someone who was willing to trust the Decepticon named Swindle at some point in time. Bravo, Rodimus. )

We're not-- we're not robots, and no one built us.

( That's borderline offensive. He takes a step back, making a face as he brushes off some of the grass still stuck on his plating from his earlier jaunt with Drift. Ugh. Organic environments. There always seems to be something small enough to get stuck somewhere. )

Drift | OTA; brackets or prose welcome

[alwaysadrift]

Someone's been driving around the prairie like he's an off-road vehicle. Except Drift most certainly is not, and when he reaches the lake and pushes out of his altmode, there's a clear grimace at the scrunch of grit in his transformation seams and the press of soil and grass caught in his wheel wells. The speedster isn't entirely filthy but his white and red finish has definitely seen better days.

That's secondary though; Drift is too taken with his newest discovery, this lake that is like none he's ever seen before. It reflects the rosy pink sky across its gentle surface, just barely kissed by the wind, creating a vista more pleasing than he's seen in a long time. Lake Michigan was never this beautiful or this serene. Drift moves to stand at the edge, water gently lapping at this footplates, just enjoying the atmosphere while his cooling fans whirl in recovery from the driving exertion earlier. The swordmech himself is not as serene as he looks though, occasionally shifting or squirming like he's got something out of place. Given the bits of purple grass sticking out of strange places? It's not hard to see why.

"Hmmm..." he makes a thoughtful noise as a hand idly passes over one tire seated in the back of a thigh, "I wonder how deep it is...?"

[littlecousin]

Namorita might be humming the Jaws theme as she skims along the bottom of the lake, up to where Drift is standing on the shore. The water's much too clear for her to have a chance of sneaking up if he's paying the least amount of attention, but she's darn well going to try.

She slips as close as she can. Since his legs are much too large for her to simply grab an ankle and pull him under the way she would one of her human friends, she just gets the fingers of both hands in around the edge of the plating on his foot...and yanks. Her slight frame notwithstanding, she's superhumanly strong, and while she's not trying to do damage, that's definitely more of a tug than someone her size should be able to manage.

She's also giggling madly, but whether he can hear it all the way up there is another question.

[alwaysadrift]

If Drift was on his guard, you bet he'd notice. But it's a rare moment of peace after so much strife, beauty a rare thing after long centuries of war, and all he can think of is how Wing should see this.

So, understandably, he's plotting how to get his crush out here and somehow make that work to his advantage. Maybe he shouldn't be thinking such things right now though when other people might be in danger though, so perhaps is instant karmic return that happens next.

The Cybertronian is not all that knowledgeable about aquatic environments given there aren't many on his homeworld. And during the war you didn't really stop for a biology lesson. So of course he thinks the worst when something wraps tiny tentacles around his foot that wedge themselves under his plating. Suddenly he's horizontal, crashing aft-first into the watery domain of unseen attackers... and there's a decidedly unmechly shriek that splits the air.

He'll notice that laughter in 3... 2... 1...

[littlecousin]

Oh Father Neptune, even better than planned. Nita darts out of the way to avoid her victim, letting the waves generated by his fall carry her backwards. Her giggling has changed to outright laughter, but it's good-natured, a friendly sound from someone who hasn't got a mean bone in her body--plenty of mischievous ones, though.

At first glance, a Cybertronian might mistake her for human, especially when the waist-high water hides her winged feet, leaving only her pointed ears and strangely high-arched brows as clues to her heritage. Of course, there's also the fact she's strong enough to unbalance a Transformer...and apparently blase enough about giant robots to play a trick on one.

"Ha, I so got you." Adding insult to injury, she splashes water in the general direction of Drift's head to underscore her point.

[alwaysadrift]

Oh, he's familiar with that flavor of laughter, a sound that rings with mirth and not a note of ill-will. It reminds him of Wing, as if the jet is here in spirit, though the voice is most certainly not familiar.

Thank Primus for that! Let's just not tell Wing or any of his other friends about that scream m'kay? He has a reputation to uphold. (Well, what's left of it at anyrate.)

Drift sits up just in time to take that splash to the face, one optic squinting shut as he twists away. "Alright! You did! Mercy!" He can't hold the frown though because the laughter is infectious, his own dry chuckle following the exclamation. It's the only part of him that's dry though, sitting in waist deep water as he is, vents gurgling. Yeah, he's wishing he'd sealed those about...1.5 minutes ago.

[littlecousin]

Nita hasn't got an endgame for this prank; her planning ended with the splash. At least the big guy's taking it well, not that she gave any thought to what she'd have done if he hadn't. Sincere apology, probably. No one ever sees that coming.

"Looks like you needed the bath, anyway." She gestures at a tuft of grass trapped in his knee joint where the water hadn't quite succeeded in dislodging it. Then she attempts to pick it out, because that probably tickles, assuming robots are ticklish. Which, maybe they are? She doesn't know anything about robots.

[alwaysadrift]

Hey, sometimes spontaneity is the best way. It's mainly what got Drift out here in the first place, tearing around the plains with Rodimus just for kicks.

And at least this answers his internal musing of how uncouth it would be to take a dip and maybe wash up a little. Drift's new prankster playmate made that decision for him. It's going to take more than a quick dip to dislodge all local flora from his frame though, water streaking his white chestguard and leaving clean tracks through the dust. "Yeah well. I was being careful you know. Trying not to disturb the local wildlife." He peers at her sidelong with a quirk of his browridge, as if asking is she falls under 'local' because he already has the answer to the 'wild' part.

And you bet robots can be ticklish, the joints are especially sensitive since there's no thick armor and that's where the static charge tends to build up. So have a staticky sputter as that tuft of grass slides free.

[littlecousin]

While she doesn't answer the implied question, she's wearing a passport bracelet, which strong suggests her native locality is a long way from here.

Nita examines the wet grass from Drift's leg. Aside from being purple, it's unremarkable, and she tosses it over her shoulder, no longer interested. "Were you just rolling around on the ground?" No judgment, robro--she's rolled down her share of hills--but right now she's squeaky clean after taking a refreshing nap on a nice flat rock at the bottom of the lake.

Starscream | OTA Brackets or prose welcome

[aerospacecommander]

[When Starscream first arrived at this planet, he had hoped it'd be interesting or at least useful. But as it seems, the planet is flat and boring.

It reminds him of Earth a bit, only flatter. And more boring. But at least he stumbled upon a lake. It was there that he could stare at his wonderful reflection in the water.

Ah, yes. Finally something interesting to look at. And admire, because damn if he isn't amazing.]

[littlecousin]

[Something interrupts Starscream's literally narcissistic reverie--Nita surfaces smack in the middle of his reflection, his face disappearing in the ripples to be replaced by a smiling organic one as she breaks through. He's between her and open air, so she can't take off like she meant to. Instead she just floats with only her head above the water.]

Hi!

[aerospacecommander]

[He was so busy staring at his reflection that the woman's face popping up made him step back a bit.]

.. Gah. Where did you come from? ... Well, I mean aside from the obvious.

[Because he wonders if he was daydreaming so much that he hadn't noticed the woman come around him. Which could be a bad thing as he can't let anyone get the drop on him like that.]

[littlecousin]

I was taking a nap on the bottom.

[Despite only her head being above water, Nita points, and because the lake is very clear, it's not as useless as gesture as it could have been.

It is not a thing humans are supposed to be able to do, but she doesn't seem to realize it.]

[aerospacecommander]

[...]

You don't look like an aquatic life-form.

[To Starscream, this woman looks pretty much human. Granted that doesn't mean anything considered other humanoid-ish species in the universe but still.]

[littlecousin]

[Oh yeah? Well you don't look like an aerial one, buddy.

Nita rises a little farther out of the water so that her neck's visible above the surface. She turns her head and the gills beneath her ears flare as she shows them off to Starscream. It also shows off one of her pointed ears, but that's hardly something a Cybertronian would pick up unless he were a devoted Star Trek fan.]

Totally aquatic, dude.

[It's vitally important you not think for one second about how a mammalian species somehow evolved gills.]

[aerospacecommander]

I'm guessing you're not Earth then. ... Unless they've suddenly evolved other adaptations, but while I'm not a biologist ... I doubt the humans are that capable.

[He kneels down to get a slightly curious closer look. Who knows, maybe he'll need someone small who can breathe underwater in the future. He always likes to keep his options open at least.]

[littlecousin]

I'm from Earth. There are other species than humans, you know.

[Gosh, Starscream. Gosh.]

...Well, maybe not in your universe.

[Nita is culturally sensitive! And, fortunately for Starscream, both really hard to offend and extremely self-confident, so she doesn't mind being scrutinized. Who can blame him? She'd scrutinize her!]