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

[arfvader]

[He notices all the tell-tale punctures in her wetsuit, but decides it's safest not to comment. Besides, it's not like he's exactly been inundated with other people swimming up to strike a conversation about possible temple exploration.]

As a matter of fact, I am!


... you're going to have to help me out with whatever designation I should be calling you.

[Probably best not to call the four-armed alien the wrong thing. It's likely as bad as asking if a New Zealander is from Australia.]

[tough_love]

Oooh, excellent! Then I shall join you.

[If that didn't sound like a request, it's because it wasn't. She's still working on the whole "politeness" thing humans are fond of. She at least gets the importance of giving a name though- she'll go ahead and do her best to adopt an impressive bit of chest-puffery posture for said introduction. Standing up straight as best she can while still trying to avoid sinking like a rock, and placing her two lower hands at her hips]

By my name, of course.

[What an odd request- do humans not do that anymore? Then again, he doesn't sound like any of the other ones she's met, maybe there were different clans of them or something and they all had different ways of communicating. Great.]

I am Princess Looma Red Wind of Khoros. But I know your kind is more fond of using one's given name- "Princess Looma" is also acceptable!

[Which is probably as good a warning as any that she will be less-than-receptive to leaving out her title.]

[arfvader]

["Princess Looma" is still a bit of a mouthful, but he thinks he can probably manage for now. He mirrors her stance, except of course having only two arms instead of four.]

Of course! And I am Dr. Ravi Chakrabarti, but you may call me Dr. Ravi.

[He figures he deserves just as many syllables as she does for the moment.]

[tough_love]

[Hey who is she to question humans and their weird names? "Ravi" and "Chakrabarti" made perfect sense, but Doctor? Eh, whatever, his name.]

Very well Doctor Ravi. We leave at once!

[Hey, Party Support Member was acquired and since she assumed from the beginning she'd be the one doing anything related to brute force and monster killing, who cares if he's ready or not, right?

Which means she's absolutely grabbing hold of him and tossing him over her shoulder like a bag of potatoes. In her defense though, she swims much faster. And she's clearly very excited about (maybe) finally getting past the first room of one of these temples.]

This will be so much easier- you will figure out how to open the doors, and I shall crush anything that dares oppose us!

[arfvader]

[He lets out a bit of an undignified yelp as he's hoisted up and hauled off, but figures there's not a lot he can do without offending his new companion. Well, this should net him some shame-money, if nothing else.]

Wait, so you've already tried exploring this place?

[tough_love]

Of course not! This one is new! But the others barred my progress beyond the first room- this one will likely do the same. Some even housed predators!

[WHICH IS EXCITING, APPARENTLY]

Of course, if this one does as well, they will no doubt attack you first- but I'm certain I will be able to crush them before you are devoured!

[She may have left certain very important details out of her particular Group Request.]

[arfvader]

That's like a 100% certainty, right? Because I'd rather not gamble my life away, if it's alright by you.

[He really doesn't want to go the way of fish fodder, thank you very much.]

[tough_love]

I have battled alongside humans many times, Doctor Ravi! I have yet to see one perish!

[...that's not a yes, but it's at least reassuring, right? Then again, it's not like she's about to let him squirm away if he has any doubts.

Plus, when she finally lets him go inside the first room, what's he going to do? Leave, when he's already there and on the first step toward fabulous prizes?!]

[arfvader]

Let's hope that I'm not the first.

[Once he's free to move again, he immediately approaches the door with the big padlock around it's handles.]

You mentioned you were having trouble with doors?

[tough_love]

[She will eagerly swim up behind him, likely putting entirely too much faith in his ability to solves such problems where she could not- or, more accurately, would not.]

Mmhm! But this one is different.

[Well, in that it looks different anyway. She's still pretty certain that if she couldn't punch her way through before, she can't punch her way through now.

And a quick punch to the lock she completely failed to warn was coming just confirms that. Fortunately all the water keeps the pressure wave to a minimum, just enough to jostle them a bit.]

Yet it still denies me passage!

[arfvader]

[Ravi sort of jolts back a little when she throws that punch without warning. He'd say agreeing to this "quest" may have been a mistake if he'd actually had any real say in the matter. Oh well!]

... right, well, there's obviously some kind of puzzle we have to solve to get to the key. It's basically like one of the escape rooms that have been so in vogue as of late.

[tough_love]

[...half of that last part may as well have been complete gibberish, because she has no idea what he was talking about. And while she doesn't say as much, the confusion is definitely visible. But she understood the first part well enough!]

Well, then solve it we must! I have heard treasure is at stake!

[She has no idea where to begin, but she swims off all the same. The first thing that grabs her attention is a raised circle on the floor in the center of the room, but that's probably just where said key will appear.

Not that she won't be doing her best to see if it's pressure-sensitive or something, and generally just getting tunnel visioned in on that one part of the room.]

[arfvader]

And who doesn't like treasure?

[The answer is "no one", obviously. While she pounds at the glowing pedestal, he drifts over to a wall where a bunch of symbols are sketched out and contemplates it.]

[tough_love]

People who insist on being as infuriatingly dull as possible, for starters.

[She is not used to rhetorical questions, okay? They don't come her way often.]