JULY PLANET MINGLE

[save_the_souls]

Who: YOU. ME. EVERYONE.
Broadcast: IF YOU WANT
Action: YEAH!!!!!
When: July!

[Congratulations to the crews that did not get themselves blown up! Welcome to the Blue Planet, a planet full of charming islands and even less charming weather patterns! Are you going to take the time to enjoy the beach? Help out with the local Nunnilis population? Get caught in a storm with another person and have a rating boosting sexual tension moment? The world's your oyster!]

[Yeah in other words: ITS A MINGLE GET IN HERE]

[July Planet Info!]

Comments

[geonomy]

IIIIII'm fine. With not sharing.

[CHRIST. Clay rubs his face briefly, as if to fruitlessly wipe away the redness there, then looks at her with a sheepish smile.]

Uh, nice to meet you, though. Zessica. [That's kind of cute, with a Z instead of a J.] I could help you find your towel? Where'd you last see it?

[zessica]

We'll settle on very fine, then. [Since he's said that a few times now. Another chuckle.] And yeah, you too.

[A thoughtful expression crosses her face before turns and points a thumb up the beach.] I think it was somewhere that way. I went to the snack bar, and that was farther away than I first thought. Then it looked like it was going to storm, but it didn't. Finding shelter was a waste of time.

[She huffs a little, then shrugs.] There was some wind, so I guess it might have blown away. Don't worry about it. [Zessica stands, stretching her arms a little.] If I can't find it by the end of the day, I'll just have to barter for a new one.

[geonomy]

[Don't watch her stretch don't watch her stretch don't watch her stretch DAMMIT.

Very pointedly looking at the shore, Clay also stands, hands on his hips while he rolls his shoulders. Yup, yup. This is fine.]

I could help you find it! This island isn't too big, so it's got to be around here somewhere, right?

[zessica]

[His sudden declaration of willingness to help catches her off guard, and she looks at him for a moment before actually laughing.]

Are you sure? You looked like you were pretty busy a moment ago. [Zessica can't help but give him a genuine smile. D'aw.]

[geonomy]

Nah, the ocean's gonna be there when we're done. It's fi - Uh. It's cool!

[And everywhere else too. Besides, Clay's got plenty of time to find shells and other things to possibly take back, whereas that towel might not last much longer. Giving her a smile of his own, Clay starts making his way back to the shore.]

So, uh - did you just show up? I haven't seen you around the fleet.

[zessica]

[There's a giggle at his dodging of the word 'fine' as she follows him.] If you're sure.

[She quickens her pace so they're walking side by side, and her hand is placed on his upper arm in thanks, smile still in place.] Thanks, I really appreciate it. And yeah, I've only been here a few days now.

[geonomy]

[Arm touches are okay. He's an affectionate guy anyway, although it is a little weird doing so at a first meeting. Still, it does make his cheeks heat up a bit.]

Did you get the info on the situation yet? It's kind of a lot to take in.

[zessica]

[It's a thank you. Deal with it, man.

She nods, rolling her eyes.] I did. It's pretty crazy, all things considered. But there's some stuff thar could be considered weird back home, too, so I'm not really one to talk.

[geonomy]

Right? To us, our worlds might sound completely normal, but to everyone else, it's probably the weirdest thing ever. [He tilts his head up with a smile.] One of my friends here told me she thought my world was weird because we don't have any magic. Meanwhile, I've never heard of magic actually being a thing someone could use before.

*that...

[zessica]

Magic? Hm, we don't have that exactly... [She pauses, peering behind a stall and then someone's beach chair.]

For a while back home we had people from another world kidnapping women from our planet. [Pause.] One second.

[Zessica jogs up an elderly looking man just coming from the shore. From her gestures and subsequent body language, it looks like she asked about the towel with no luck. He receives a polite wave as she walks back to Clay.]

He said to try up that way. Things sometimes make their way over there.

thar was better

[geonomy]

[W h o a that tidbit right there was concerning. He can't help staying on it as Zessica heads off, and when she comes back, Clay tilts his head to see if he can see any sign of the towel before he starts to head that way.]

So, wait, they kidnapped women? How did that turn out, were they okay? [HE SOUNDS SO CONCERNED why were they kidnapped were they hurt ugh]

your mom was better

[zessica]

[Her hand goes to the back of her neck as sort of a distraction. It's a little awkward now, and she doesn't want to freak him out. So she glosses it over as best she can.]

There were a lot of them. It was hard to keep track, but a good number were taken back home. [Cause honestly they probably did that. Zessica walks ahead, still looking around for the dumb towel.]

And that's not even the weirdest thing. [That was more to herself.]

omg r u d e

[geonomy]

[Well... at least most of them were taken back home. That's a good thing, and it makes Clay relax a little more. Jeez, some of these worlds, he swears...]

And what's the weirdest thing? [He asks as he looks all around, trying to find something red and purple and not to be distracted by all the amazingly different fauna around them.]

you started it

[zessica]

Right now weird's pretty subjective, but the-- [Cut off mid-sentence, Zessica stops in her tracks and looks up, muttering under her breath.] Are you kidding me?

[She points to the top of a weird looking tree. Oh look, there's the towel.] It figures.

his mom is deeeeead

[geonomy]

[Wow, way to cut off at an interesting part. Still, it's for a good reason. Clay walks up to her side as he looks up at the towel and lets out a low whistle, hands on his hips.]

The wind must've been blowing pretty hard to get that towel all the way up there. [And it looks kind of like a palm tree too, though different enough from his world's version of them. It really figures.] I could probably try to grab it.

most fictional moms are

[zessica]

[She makes a face. It's sort of a palm tree, but there are a few sturdy looking branches right near the top. Not helpful for climbing unless you're a giraffe.]

I guess it was during the almost storm earlier. [A slight scowl crosses her face, and she circles the tree.] I'm not sure how you'd even get up there.

R U D E

[geonomy]

Yeah, you're right. [He purses his lips as he pushes at the spot between his eyes; how are they supposed to get that thing?] I could give you a boost? That way we'll see if you can reach those branches up top.

true tho

[zessica]

Huh? [Honestly, the idea catches her off guard, and her face betrays the fact. She just stares at him for a moment, sort of wondering where that came from.]

... yeah true

[geonomy]

The branches are too high for you or me to grab onto, but if we combine our height, we might stand a chance. [He kneels down by the tree and laces his fingers together, giving her a foothold, and looks up at her with a smile.] So, climb on! I promise I won't let you fall.

[zessica]

[Zessica can't help staring for another moment before the laughter begins. She does her best to keep it to a minimum, so it's not long before she's taking a deep breath to get herself under control.]

Okay, okay, you win. [There's a bright smile in place when she walks over, placing one foot into his palms while steadying herself by gripping his shoulders.] I'm trusting you here!

[geonomy]

[He has no idea what the joke is here, so the smile falters a bit while she laughs, but still stays in place as she heads over. Okay, now they can get this starte -

Aaaaand there's a closeup view of that cleavage. Oh god oh god oh god Clay's face just heats right up, and he decides that looking down at her feet is the best way to go here. Yes, yes totally. Even though he can still kind of see them out of his peripheral vision oh god -

SHE'S TRUSTING HIM HERE. So Clay lifts her up, making sure that she's balanced properly on her hands, looks up to make sure she doesn't wobble -

OH GODDAMMIT.]

[zessica]

[It's a good laugh, it's okay.

Oblivious to any of his reactions for the moment, Zessica steadies herself, standing up... fairly quickly, actually. Her balance is good, and when she sees the opportunity, she grabs a branch and hoists herself to the next one with ease.

There are only a couple more before she reaches the towel. She grabs it with a yell of triumph and a grin.]

Got it! [A few moments of looking it over, and she's got it wrapped around her waist so she's free to maneuver. Back down the bottom branch she goes.]

Okay, I'm coming down. [She pushes herself off the branch, aiming a little beyond him to the left.]

[geonomy]

[When Zessica manages to grab the towel, Clay also gives a yell of triumph, even claps for her. That was pretty impressive, actually! She's got a lot more strength and balance than he thought.

And - oh thank god she put the towel around her waist, that makes this whole thing a lot easier than before. And just before she jumps - ]

Do you need me to -

[Except she's already jumped. At first, Clay holds his arms up as if to catch her, only to realize that she's positioned herself to land, not to be caught. Yeah, she's got this, so Clay lowers his arms and lets her land her own way, though he doesn't hesitate to meet her where she lands with a hand out to help her up if she needs it.]

That was awesome. Nice towel, by the way.

[zessica]

[She lands with a thud in the sand. Briefly, she's set into a crouch before she allows herself to fall back into a sitting position, hands placed behind her so she can stay upright. Zessica looks up at the offered hand before laughing in relief and taking it.]

Thanks. If it wasn't sand, I'd have actually cushioned my fall. [His hand is used to haul herself up. The towel's taken off her waist and dropped by her feet as she partially turns to brush the sand off her bum.] It was harder than I thought, though.

[geonomy]

[Aaaaand there goes the towel. Not easy again. Clay quickly darts his gaze upward, then drifts it back down to settle it on her eyes instead.]

Ha... Yeah, I can imagine. There's not much to grab on to! [He sets his hands on his hips and looks up at the tree.] It looks kind of like our palm trees back at home, but those don't have branches like that at the top. Huh...

[And now he's pondering the uses of branches on a tree like that help or he'll be lost forever]