Beach Party on planet Lithios

Entry tags:

Beach Party on planet Lithios

Good news everyone! Soundwave fixed the long range scanners on the Space Bridge! This means that they can travel to other worlds now. To test everything, Soundwave is going to open the bridge to the last planet the R1’s crew stopped for supplies on before Earth: Planet Lithios.

In even better news, Lithios is basically a tropical getaway. It’s become something of a vacation spot for folks from other planets passing through. The beaches are covered in soft white sand, the water is sparkling blue, and it’s a balmy 80 degrees in Fahrenheit out - or 26 degrees Celsius. There's cute little huts scattered around the beaches, some even built out on the water. Unfortunately for the Cybertronians who are taller than 12 feet, you aren't likely to fit in these. And walking on the wooden piers might be a bad idea for bigger mechs. But generally the weather is perfect and the water shallow so being stuck outside is actually pretty nice.

The islands of Lithios are populated by an organic race of tree like people called Lithians. They are generally between 8 to 10 feet tall, with bark-like 'skin', and leaf-like 'hair'. While their leaf color is almost always the same, the tone of their bark and color of their eyes varies. Overall, they're pretty friendly bunch. They had heard of Cybertronians before, but given that the R1’s previous crew was the only ones they had met, they don’t think Cybertronians are the worst thing ever. All the species at the resort might not feel that way though, so best keep away from anyone less flowery looking. Unless you are at one of the shops they’ve set up. Most people will still haggle and trade with Cybertronians, and it could be a good chance to get parts for the ship.

The Lithians are also in the middle of celebrating their 'winter' festival, called Nostresstivus. It’s basically just a big party to celebrate having fun with friends, family, and loved ones. And if you don’t already have loved ones, well, it’s a good excuse to find someone to hook up with and hope they become one! There’s food, drinks, games, gift giving, dancing, and dating. Adults are offered some special leis during the celebrations as party favors. They have a very nice aroma that helps put people in a flirtatious mood. Just handle them with care. If they get squeezed too hard, or ripped off… well. The pollen in them is prone to suddenly exploding out. But that couldn't really be a problem, right?

The only bad news is that once the space bridge closes, the comm lines suddenly go down. But hey, there's much worse places to be stuck than a tropical paradise. Just enjoy the beach for now!

((OOC: Just a reminder that this event is forward dated to the 15th! Got questions? Need to plot? The OOC post is here for that! You can also use this log for exploration of Lithios before, or after the event.))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A. Time to party....again

[What's with all the partying lately? First the wedding, now the first planet they get access to that's not Earth, or it's moon, is having one too. And it's on a beach, which means sand everywhere. Ravage is here to relax, and watch Rumble. Not to find someone to hook up. So he'll be sticking mostly to the fringes of the celebrations. Watching the goings on, and checking out the stalls for anything that could be useful on the ship.

But he may also grab up one of those little huts for peace and quiet.]

B. Don't pet the cat

[The locals seemed to pick up on his lack of interest in a loved one, so only offered the lei once. Which was turned down. However, on the other side of the coin, some have taken it to thinking he looks like some kind of giant pet that needs to be petted. Which is really tested Ravage, because they don't need to loose their good standing with these organics.

He does his best to dismiss their attentions, but some are rather persistent at it.]

Nope. Not this shit again.

This isn't the first time something like this has happened to First Aid. It doesn't feel like all that long ago that he became intimately familiar with half (or more than half?) the present population of the ghost town of cybertron, all due to some seasonal blooming of plants. He had some fun, of course, though there were some direct consequences of it all that still give him nightmares in recharge.

The moment he starts to feel the throb in his systems, see the signs in others, he packs up some things and leaves.

He leaves a note, of course, making himself available for medical emergencies, but First Aid shacks up in the abandoned moon base, settling in.

It's lonely, but First Aid is sort of used to that. He spent much of this time in the morgue and with faders on Delphi, since no one else would make the time to tend to them. Nurse work, they said. There's no corpses or comatose mechs here on the base, but there's a lot of dust, and he figures... well, why not clean up a bit?

Other people might find him sweeping layers of moon dust, or washing a window, or in his down time... quietly playing a card game by himself.

Instead of getting railed, Riptide is out exploring. He doesn't really want to know about whatever's going around; it sounds... sticky.

He finds the shack by chance - having not actually seen First Aid's note and-- well. It's a door. He knocks, by chance there's someone inside. Or something! Spooky. Riptide is very confident in his punching abilities.

First Aid groans when he hears the knock. He got into a routine of solitude, and with his luck there's going to be some desperate person out there begging for help when they can just go and turn on the TV and find a new fetish or something.

With a sigh, he leans the broom against the door and creaks open the door, peering out through the crack. He's faced with a blue paint job, and his visor travels up the body of a tall boat until he sees a familiar face he's still not entirely used to seeing.

"Riptide?"

"Oh!" he squeaks when First Aid opens the door. Oh! "I wasn't really expecting anyone to answer. I just wanted to spook out the cybermice."

He rubs his head a little awkwardly.

"Uh. I'm not-- infected. Or anything, if you're bothered about that."

First Aid gives the boat a critical stare, as if debating internally telling him to get lost, but then he shrugs and opens the door a bit more.

"Oh, well then, no sense in sending you away to get infected then, right? Come on in."

He shifts away from the door, going back to his broom and sweeping the floor.

"At least there's one sane person around."

"Who? You?"

He means it.

"Uh-- I can go. I know it's awkward because of... everything..."

First Aid snorts at that, and looks at Riptide over his shoulder.

"Is it?"

He's being serious.

"Yyyyyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssssssssssss?" he says, slowly and obnoxiously, all while following First Aid to the living area.

First Aid sighs and leans against the broom.

"Oh, Riptide. No."

He goes over to a couch and lifts the dust sheet, shaking it, and then settles it back down so that Riptide can take a seat if he wants to. There's things on the table in front of it, like a hot cup of energon and cards and what looks like a whole bunch of dice.

He clunks over, sitting on the edge when First Aid puts the sheet back down, still feeling a little awkward.

"Thanks. For letting me in. Uh-- do you have any idea what all the stuff going around is? I missed it 'cause I was watching Flixnet."

"To be honest, for the best."

First Aid busies himself heating up another glass of energon for Riptide while he talks. He's made himself a cozy bunker here, having done some maintenance on the place to occupy himself.

"It's not a virus. It's a containment in the air. You can smell it." Or maybe Riptide couldn't? Anyway. "I had a similar experience a bit go, which is why I decided to get out of dodge. Everyone else will stop acting like horny newborns and go back to routine regret once the air filtration system sorts it out."

He pushes the warmed glass into Riptide's hands.

"Horny--" he's cut off by the warmed glass, taking it with a thankful noise. "Oh. Gross. They should come here? Though I guess they like the feel of it..."

He shrugs, taking a sip.

"People are weird. I think I get people then stuff like this happens."

First Aid strokes his chin thoughtfully, taking a seat on the couch near the boat.

“The last time I experienced this it was in the open air. If everyone came over here it’s likely it would just spread through this base as well, and I doubt the vents in this place could clear it out any quicker.”

He shrugs a bit.

“Ratchet would know. Some people might be enjoying the... boost of libido. Romance is in the air.”

"That's true," he says, like he has any idea how airborne viruses work.

...

"Er. I really upset Ratchet, actually. I don't think he'll want to see me for a long time."

First Aid tilts his head at Riptide.

“Ratchet can be a real gealstick. Is this about the mutiny?”

He figures so. That’s likely the awkwardness that Riptide was talking about, in hindsight.

“You don’t have to hang out with him, you know. But he would still help you. That’s a thing he does.”

"I got mad about some stuff and was kinda nasty to him..."

He fiddles with the glass awkwardly.

"About stuff you shouldn't say to people when they just friggin' came back from death. It was stupid. After that and the mutiny I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't want to see me again."

First Aid is quiet for a moment, then leans over to pick up the still steaming glass of energon from the table.

"Well, what did you say to him? Specifically."

"He got mad when I said the DJD weren't meant to show up-- which, I mean, is pretty fair. I'll accept him being mind searingly furious with me about the mutiny and everything to do with it, but..."

He winces as he thinks.

"I think it was when I said I'm still not really entirely prepared to be cool with Megatron or Tarn. He was really mad when I said Tarn should be dead and not in the medibay. Um, then I said he was trying to hide selfish self-interest behind his doctor skills to prove some weird point about Tarn that makes no sense, then he told me to go to hell. Like I didn't get the irony of that in regards to what we did to the crew?"

Riptide rubs his chin.

"Well, jokes on him 'cause I'm already in hell, and also like I didn't know that? I'd say Tarn is worse than Megatron, though."

These are things that First Aid can see Ratchet being furious over, for sure. Ratchet is unpleasant in general, but especially unpleasant to have an opposing view from. He has issues conceding that he may be wrong.

"I've put some thought into this myself, a bit." His hands cup the glass, warming them. "I think I would have been with the others on the Necroplanet, waiting for the DJD to kill us."

The rest is very complicated.

"But I agree with you. Maybe not about Megatron, but one hundred percent about Tarn. I hated every minute of that psychopath being in my medibay. Ratchet is being hypocritical, because he's the only other one who remembers that Tarn did this to me."

First Aid reaches up, removing his mask, and beneath it his face is fucked up. His mouth is scarred, a chunk of lip missing, exposing teeth, and the scars run along his jaw and up to his visor. The results of reconstructing a face with limited supplies.

Hey, he was going to take it off anyway. He sips at his energon quietly.

"I think Pipes and Trailcutter would've been as well," he says, knowing that mentioning Trailcutter in that context is probably a bad idea, but... it's the truth. To Riptide, at least.

He doesn't react outwardly when First Aid removes his mask, beyond his optics widening slightly. It's sad, but after the second Lost Light, Riptide knows that there would've been nothing else. He reaches out to bump First Aid's shoulder with his fingers lightly.

"I'm sorry. I wish he wasn't like that. Uh-- Tarn and Ratchet. Can't you tell him to scarper if you're the CMO? I mean-- I'm sure you tried and he probably pulled some reason out his aft why he should stay, but..." Riptide trails off, shaking his head. "I know I'm in no place to pass judgement over anyone's actions, but I think keeping Tarn around like that is too far. So is using what he did to you against you."

Edited 2017-12-30 10:53 (UTC)

The mention of Trailcutter hurts a bit. Riptide lost a friend, but so he did. And he was the one who was there. That saw him murdered in cold blood.

He takes another drink from his glass, wishing it was engex.

"It's not the same Tarn. I mean-- it is, but he doesn't remember doing it. As if it somehow makes it fine and better. Ratchet's solution was to relinquish me of any responsibility for him. Like I'd treat him anyway. One of the first things I did when... When Ratchet was gone, was to reinstate Rodimus' medibay permissions. I had no stake in keeping Tarn alive."

He leans forward, rubbing one hand over his scarred lips.

"He lets one the two who murdered Trailcutter run around the medibay. If you see a skinny purple gunformer. He's one of the ones who did it."

"Cool. That's cool. Real cool."

It is not cool, however, as Riptide's tone is flat and the glass he's holding cracks slightly.

"Did I say I sent an apology to the fragger? I kind of want to take it back now. Like he was giving me a reaming over morals."

The crack sound is a little hard not to notice. First Aid reaches out, putting a hand against Riptide's back and rubs slow circles into the seams with his strong, practiced, medic hands.

"I love Ratchet. Not like... not like that, but as a friend. He's also infuriating."

They've had many, many disagreements.

"But he's worthy of forgiveness."

Riptide grits his teeth slightly - not at the touch (he certainly isn't pulling away from it), just at the situation.

"I don't know him well enough for this... but I'm also a nobody, so. Doesn't matter what I think anyway."

He shrugs, making a face.

"We-- uh. We don't have to talk about this anymore. If you don't want."

"You're not a nobody, Riptide. You're important to a lot of people."

He draws the hand away and considers that suggestion. It's a fine suggestion, rather than dwelling on some rather shit topics. He turns his attention to the mess of the table.

"So since we're gonna be here for a bit. Do you think you'd be a wizard, fighter, cleric, ranger, or monk?"

"Hmm," he hums, not really believing it.

"Wizard, for sure. They do fireballs and stuff, right?"

"Yeah, they do! And illusion and like telepathy and things like that."

Honestly, he didn't expect Riptide to go for a wizard, but wizards are pretty cool and all.

"I'm thinking about maybe running a fantasy roleplaying game. Earthlings are super into them. At first I was thinking maybe adapting something based around the war but... I don't know, magic seems fun?"

"Sounds like good escapism," he says with a nod.

"I want to be a wizard that can summon sharks n' stuff. Sharks are cool."

"You can't summ--" You know, he shouldn't burst Riptide's bubble like that.

"I'm sure I could work out something. Maybe you can have a shark familiar."

He pats the couch next to him. Come sit closer, Riptide.

He scoots closer. Not too close, because kibble, but closer. Looks over the stuff on the table like he knows what the hell he's looking at.

"I'd like that. How does it work? Like, what's the goal?"

First Aid literally rubs his hands together.

"So this is going to sound complicated, but I promise, it's easy."

Maybe not for Riptide, he realizes. The poor guy.

"So you make up a character. Like come up with a backstory and personality. When I've got a group together we'll essentially go through a story and there's adventures and fighting and romance. The goal is usually saving the world. From what I've seen it looks like lots of fun."

"Like a datapad story, but... on the fly? Or do you think out the story beforehand?"

Predictably, there's parts of it he doesn't get.

"Close... I'd be setting up a scene and you and whoever else plays would be reacting as if you were these characters."

Hmm, how to best describe it.

"So for example, if I said there's a Decepticon bar maid and you need information, you could be like, 'I go up to the Decepticon smile charmingly.'"

"Oh, like roleplaying. I've done that before. Sorta."

Drunkenly, and as a joke.

"I get it, but..." he trails off suddenly, his insecurity coming back as it always does. "Maybe I won't be quick enough to play with a group. I'd like to watch, though!"

First Aid suddenly grabs Riptide's hands with his own, holding onto them tight.

"No, no! I think it'd be really fun if you played. Besides, I have no one else who's agreed. I'm not sure who really to ask..."

He looks a little shocked for a moment and almost jerks his hands back, but doesn't.

"I--if you're sure. I'll do it if you want me to. Maybe-- ah... there's this human around. Sonia. I need to talk to her 'cause I was horrible to her too but... I think she'd like it."

First Aid didn't mean to startle the fish stick, of course, but he doesn't let go of his hands yet.

"It's not-- well, you don't... have to if you don't want to, Riptide..."

The mention of the human makes him pause though, and he tilts his head.

"I haven't really spoken to this human but I think I've seen her around."

"I do! I really do. Honestly," he says, only lying a little bit.

"Yeah, it's weird, right? A friggin' human..."

Honestly, he suspects the lie since Ratchet would lie to him well... all the time about small things, but he doesn't press. If Riptide doesn't want to then he'd just find an excuse not to, wouldn't he?

"Organic life's not all that bad, I'm sure. Unless it's the BBC or the Council."

"I don't think she's bad or anything... this just isn't really the best environment for her. Do you think she'll be okay? In the long run?"

"Hard to say... Ratchet used to tell me about some humans named Verity, Hunter, and Jimmy. From what I recall they... well, they aren't doing too well. I think cybertronians and humans are just somewhat incompatible."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Beach Party on planet Lithios

no subject

The No Fucks Given Bunker

HELLO HELLO HOLA

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

slams dat matching icon

aww ye

continues it

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject