Just Keeping Swimming | March Planet Mingle

[thespaceopera]

Who: Everyone!
Broadcast: If you want!
Action: Anywhere on Mafik
When: The month of March



[Welcome to Mafik, the water world! Hope you brought your best swimming gear and don't have a paralyzing fear of water, because that's all that's here! So get out those wet suits and enjoy life under the sea!

In other words, it's a mingle! ]

> System Information

Comments

[shamisens]

[ a: ghost town. ]

[ Kubo wanders the town, shuffling his feet. It reminded him too strongly of his own damaged village, the wreckage of his father's fortress. The remains of a life. His fingers brush against the writing before drawing back in respect. He sits down and twinges a few chords. Pale unearthly lights appear in the water. As the song plays on, they drift towards him, surrounding him. But as the final chord is struck, there is an echo that shakes the lights and they vanish. With a sigh, Kubo looks down at the shamisen, deep in thought. ]

[ b: the dungeon crawl - open to all. ]

[ Finally, Kubo gives in and makes the call to Soujirou. As he waits, Kubo takes in the imposing entrance of the temple. He still has his doubts, but the need to go forward, to find out what he could discover, to know the truth is greater.

And that's how it should be. ]

[ c: wildcard ]

b.

[ahappylie]

[When the call comes in, Okita does as he was asked - he leaves Saizou behind despite his protests, grabs a short knife from the kitchen just in case to hide up his sleeve, and then heads out toward Kubo's coordinates. He doesn't expect a lot of trouble, but he also knows that he has to be able to defend himself in case things do get difficult. He has to protect his promise to retreat, but he also needs to secure a route for that retreat.

He uses one of Nami's glittery hair ties to bind his hair into a ponytail to keep it out of his face and soon finds Kubo waiting at the entrance to the temple.]

You seem very determined today.

[He says as he swims up, adjusting his balance so he can land nearby.]

[shamisens]

[ His fingers drift over to the shamisen strings as he nods, his expression firm. ]

I can't keep running away because I feel scared. Life is about trying and I need to try again.

[ahappylie]

[Okita smiles and nods, pulling his hair down to a more manageable height. The downside of having long hair in water is that it floats everywhere.]

I'm glad.

[And he is. He's glad Kubo has realized that dwelling forever on the past and those lost does nothing for them. He's glad that Kubo is strong enough to save himself. Mostly, he's glad that the boy will be alright. The future rests with people like Kubo not giving up on it.

And then he suddenly launches himself off the ground, shooting up a few steps to toward the doorway.]

Well, come on then! You don't want to be left behind!

a

[expellerhead]

[aizawa is doing his own poking around; talking to the locals is nice and all but he's always preferred investigating things and places over people. he spots kubo arriving but doesn't distract himself from searching out more of the ominous graffiti littering the buildings to pester him.

it's not until he can hear the sound of kubo playing that he swims around a building to see the lights flickering around him, like small underwater flames. aizawa waits until he's done before swimming over, squinting.] What was that?

[shamisens]

[ He rests his hands on the strings, in a quixotic mood. ]

The departed. Their memories still linger here.

[expellerhead]

[spirits? hm. he's not exactly a believer of ghosts, but he's not about to question kubo's expertise either.

aizawa drifts closer, settling on a nearby rock. here he'd thought kubo's quirk was strictly object manipulation. seems like 'magic' really is the more appropriate term.]

...would you be able to learn anything about what happened here from them?

[robitussin]

[She's been wanting to explore this part of the planet, and it just so happens that when she does, it's in time to see him there. The display is observed without a word, and only once it's over does she speak up, curiosity in her tone.]

You wanna tell me how you did that?

[shamisens]

If I could, I would. But I can't really explain it.

[ There aren't many rules to Kubo's magic. ]

[robitussin]

I don't need a full and in depth essay on how it works, you know. Is it a magic instrument or is it something you're doing somehow?

[willynilly]

( A: CUTE GIRL SQUAD )

[Ochako had spoken with Aria about potentially visiting one of the temple ruins with her- she'd heard that you get stuff out of it if you can reach the end, and that has her intrigued enough to give it a shot. Apparently a girl she doesn't know will be joining them, and she's fine with that, stranger or no. The more the merrier!

It's still a little nerve-wracking, though, so she's fidgeting and rocking on her heels as she waits at the entrance of one of the ruins. It looks sort of ominous... is it really safe?]


(B: CUTE GIRL... SOLO? OTA)

[Much as she'd love to test out her newly-acquired costume helmet, there isn't really a good way to practice zero-gravity in a planet with only water. People just sort of float around anyway, and something about swimming with her powers activated makes it feel a little pointless (and more vomit-inducing than usual for some reason). Thus, instead, she's spending her free time in some of the open market areas, shopping for the best deals for some of the essentials (like interesting and tasty-looking food, or trading for resources, or even emergency supplies just in case). She's also, a bit indulgently, looking for inexpensive but pretty things like small bits of jewelry or clothing. On the more practical side of things, she does need some stretchy materials to get a proper costume... but what's for sale here looks more pretty and fluttery than durable. ...But on the other hand, it's pretty. Dammit.

Anyway, she can be caught hemming and hawing over how to spend her money, as frugal people often do. She already seems to have indulged a little- her hair is up in a ribbon and some cute butterfly clips, courtesy of Nami.]

( CUTE GIRL WILDCARD )

[She's all over, so let's have some shenanigans. Another trek through the ruins, maybe? Anything that comes to mind, have at!]

[foxpas]

[WE'LL HANDWAVE WHO KNOWS WHO AND SUCH. aria is swimming up before too long, though a bit awkward, trying to use her tail to help paddle. she doesn't have her sword with her, though! instead she's just got one of the wetsuits, and her hair is tied up into a fancy bun.]

Good morning, Ochako. I must thank you again for teaching me to swim before we came to this planet...

[seriously, this could have sucked.]

[willynilly]

[Ochako brightens at once, offering up an energetic wave.]

Yes! I told you it would be a handy skill! Now it's much easier to get around, right?

[Imagine having to weigh yourself down and walk on the ocean floor... that would take forever.]

[foxpas]

It is! I think I much prefer dry land, but this is an interesting change of pace.

[She seems to have a bit of trouble stopping, but she eventually just summons a barrier in front of her to stop on.]

wildcard

[expellerhead]

[aizawa most certainly Did Not want to go on a 'dungeon run' or whatever people are calling it, because performing arbitrary physical tasks for the sake of quelling boredom isn't his jam.

but then uraraka comes bouncing back with her helmet and tales of people finding things from home and aizawa remembers, during the raider attack, using a damn broom handle with a knife attached and decides fine, fuck it, he'll give it a shot. "training exercise," aizawa declares, and ropes uraraka into going along with him. he'll make it a real exercise! just. he'll also hopefully not have to do some bullshit puzzle where he has to shove a block around a room so it falls into a correct hole.

he's played video games. he knows how this shit works.

so a day later when they're swimming over toward one of the temples, uraraka chatting happily at his side, aizawa spies a familiar figure chilling out on the path toward the temple with a gigantic glaive slung over her shoulders.]

I guess I should've expected seeing you around these things, [aizawa drawls as a greeting.] Working out some latent aggression?

[stormfist]

[ Jayden wasn't planning on going more than just once - hell, she hadn't been planning on going the once, to be fair - but boredom's brought her out this way. Why not spend some time getting used to her new weapon? That's productive, right?

She's hanging out near one of the temple entrances, taking a break from whacking things with her pointy stick, when she hears the chatter of a young girl, and then Aizawa. Well that's unexpected. She nods, waves to them both. ]

More or less. Creatures need beating, after all. [ One-shouldered shrug ] What are you doing out here?

[ Meanwhile, her Ghost is hovering in the water, just over her shoulder. He looks back and forth between Aizawa and Uraraka, curious. ]

[expellerhead]

Training exercise. [aizawa drops a hand atop uraraka's helmeted head, a little bit of body language he doesn't usually employ to make his meaning a bit more obvious ("she's in my care").] This is one of those students I told you about.

[his hand slides off her head and he jerks his thumb at jayden.] This is Jayden. Jayden, Uraraka.

[beathach]

a. Insert Water Temple music; (Closed to Raven)

[eventually, Hank hears about people receiving items from home from the temples, and it's too tempting to pass up. So of course, when he has a moment to step away from the lab and his work with the mysterious illness, he and Raven make their way down to one of the temples to check it out.

Of course . . . being that it's underwater and all, he isn't in all of his blue glory, unlike his fiance. The very thought of having to deal with wet fur has put a semi-permanent sour look on his face, and while it's still there, under the surface if its necessary . . . he still feels considerably nervous about the whole thing.

Especially when they encounter their first puzzle]

This feels like something out of a movie . . . [he mutters, loud enough for Raven to hear, as he glances around the room]


b. Wildcard;

[Hank has mostly been keeping to his lab, but when he does leave, up until the 19th, you can find him at any of the cities and the refugee camps, asking questions and gathering information about the illness. There's no enjoying himself this time; he's all business, but that doesn't mean he won't stop to have a friendly chat with anyone from the Fleet, or won't help out if you need it]

[athru]

[ Raven has no idea what she might even imagine she could want from home, but the idea of exploring a temple isn't one that she's entirely willing to pass up. She's wandering around with her blue skin on show - with clothes, of course, because she realises that not everyone is comfortable and she is try - but she doesn't scold Hank for not doing the same. It's practical, she realises, not to wander around with blue fur when it's soaking wet everywhere you go.

She walks through the room and looks around at the puzzle, arms crossed over her chest. She's no idiot but it's going to take her a moment or two to figure this out - and that's fine. She's sure that wherever she stumbles Hank's incredible mind will pick up the slack. She has no fear. ]

Where should we start, then?

[beathach]

[he crosses his arms as he stands there - floats there, really, given the water and how he isn't as heavy as he'd like to be like this - and tilts his head as he studies the puzzle, eyebrows drawn down in concentration.

It isn't an instant solve from him, no - but then again, all of his attention isn't going into it, with it being diverted to important things like being on guard, and keeping an eye on where Raven is just in case]

I think we have to line up the symbols. [he gestures to the wall, and the faint scrawls made into the stone] Either that or I'm looking at this entirely wrong.

[athru]

[ It's almost funny, how carefully protective they are of one another. Raven can almost see how Hank moves closer to her, how he stands nearby, keeping an eye on her and keeping watch - as if he's waiting for something to leap out and grab them or bite them.

Knowing their luck it wouldn't be too much of a surprise.

Moving forward, Raven tilts her head as she takes in the symbols - and then she nods. ]

It seems... Logical? [ Sh reaches out, fingers brushing over the symbols - not hard enough to do anything, she hopes. ] Start at the beginning?

[castrationfist]

[Action on the Vanquish.]

[Caster hasn't been leaving the ship much. She vanishes from time to time, of course, but usually comes back totally dry, so it seems unlikely she's been visiting the planet.

Except, of course, now she's come back onto the ship, and she is in fact dripping everywhere. She looks kind of upset, too. This is probably related to the silver ring with a blue gem on her left ring finger.]

What an annoying planet... Shall I boil away the oceans? Perhaps open up a fissure in the earth? Even the Chimeric Lunar Seas had the decency to offer the arenas to stay dry in.

[brainiest]

[ Hermione, on the other hand, has been having her fair share of fun down on the planet. A few runs of the dungeon hadn't been too bad and she had been able to do it with both Hawkes, which had been odd, but she's getting through it. It means she heads back to the Vanquish with her sword on her hip and her hands pressing through into the room where Tamamo is... Dripping.

Oh dear. ]

Do you want me to dry you off first?

[castrationfist]

Oh? How forward! If you wish to, of course I would never refuse such an advance.

[tamamo no. she is literally the sun she can dry herself off if she wants.]

[brainiest]

[ Hermione just... Waves her wand. ]

There. Is that better, Tamamo?