Down Where it's Better [CIS + allies]

[Bella Rosewood]

Location: open water near coral reef
Tags: [member="Vidalu Na'an"]

Bella had decided to swim around and enjoy the scenery while her band took five. It was really a weird sensation to be underwater and able to breath and walk normally. There were tiny fish swimming around and she briefly wondered if there were sharks. That could make this entire trip a little less fun to say the least.

The water was open and there was a small coral reef that was teaming with life. Little sea turtles and different colored fish were zooming in and out of the coral. It was really pretty and for a moment she was completely absorbed in it all, until she realized she was not alone. There was another woman enjoying the reef, in a bathing suite and white shirt.

"It's really pretty here isn't it?" She asked the other girl.

 

[Taozi Fuyuan]

Tags: N/A​

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It had been a very long time since Lace had been to a gathering, and even longer since she had been to Naboo. The planet was beautiful, and the idea of seeing the world under it's waves appealed to her curious side, as she placed the device upon her sternum, and dived into the water. She was not donned in her usual leather vestments, or her armor, but instead loose black pants, and a snug dark gray shirt with long, loose sleeves. Lace had chosen to keep the gravity altering function off, for now, and swam lazily through the water.

For now, Lace was enjoying the quietness the water in her ears provided.

 

[Darth Metus]

Tag: [member=Áine]​

Wearing: xxxx​

I had no idea you could dance.

For the most part, the fiery-haired woman was spot on in her assessment. The shinobi had not, in all the days of his life, ever stepped foot on a dance floor. He had not so much as danced before a mirror whilst a tacky song blared through the speakers. However, Hisashi was a warrior who practiced a variety of forms to maintain his breathing. Literally. His efforts to survive each and every battle afforded him an understanding of how to move his body deliberately - and with grace. As her warm touch guided him through the waters towards the swaying patrons on the floor, his tentative thoughts were all but confirmed. If he could use martial arts, he could cut a rug. Therefore, a confident smile worked its way upon his face as they found their place on the floor.

The music which came from the stage was...not a song he had heard before. Not that the shinobi had a large collection of music that he had listened to before this moment. However, he was able to find the rhythm of the voices and the instruments rather easily after a few moments. As he quietly assessed the tone, his offhand found the small of his partner's back whilst his dominant hand remained in hers. He lead, moving them in a slow circle to the rhythm of the song. "You once said something about laying bait." he began, bringing thoughts of Wroona to the forefront of his mind. "Have I managed to catch you?" The man offered a bright smile as they continued along.

And for a few moments, Hisashi could understand why the woman enjoyed scenes such as these. The water which graced his skin was cool to the touch and coaxed him towards relaxing. The tension he always carried waned ever so slightly; for the music also worked on his shoulders. If this was the world Lust frequented - he understood. And while it certainly was not his ideal or first choice in destination...well, it wasn't half bad. "This is...Nice." For one who belonged on a battlefield to admit thus was, well, Huge. Perhaps there was hope for the shinobi yet.

 

[The Girl In Green]

wrong profile please ignore

 

[Vidalu Na'an]

Attire: Well, what else would one go swimming in?
Goals: Explore, ACT NATURAL
Tags: Bella Rosewood

Na'an had been tracing the shapes of a nearby brain coral with one finger when the voice came from behind her. She started at the sudden sound, jabbing the coral so hard the nearby fish were themselves spooked into hiding in a nearby anemone. She tilted her head back to look behind her, letting the water carry the motion until she'd flipped completely upside-down, and found herself staring at a young, skinny girl, green streaks visible in the cloud of floating hair above her.

Oh, gods, she'd been caught. As Na'an pasted a big fake smile on her face, she berated herself for being so careless. Of course a spot as beautiful as this would attract the actual, intended members of this party, and of course she stood out, bobbing along in a leotard and undershirt and nothing else. There was probably nothing she could say to make herself seem like she belonged. The best she could do was act like it was already true, and hope nobody questioned it too hard.

"Hi, uh, yeah," she said brightly, twisting her shoulders until she was facing upwards again. The motion had sent her hair billowing against her face; she pushed it back, careful not to dislodge her eyepatch. "Don't think there's anything quite like it topside. No wonder Gungans never want to leave."

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

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Wearing: Dress​

Tags: [member="Setter Ryburn"] | +Feel free to join​

The sneer had not gone unnoticed. Rhaina renewed her stare, the only movements coming from her marble-silent form coming in the motions of taking an occasional sip from her drink. The smirk left no reaction from her either. There was a very simple thing that the violet eyes of the woman spelled, and that was death.

No, she was not quite like him. Where the brute preferred to kill through violence, Rhaina preferred science. Injecting someone with something deadly, to her, was more satisfactory than stabbing them in the heart. Coming up with ways to take entire populations down by releasing something into the air or into the water, to her, brought on more joy and a much more fulfilling sense of accomplishment.

And of course, the brain. She could spend hours messing around with the mind of someone, both through the Force and with a scalpel. Many of her co-workers, when she was younger, were terrified of her, until she learned to better conceal it, until she learned patience. And until she removed her competition from existence, of course.

But that was not a memory for tonight.

"As do most of the people gathered here, in one way or another," she responded, not bothering to hide the disappointment from her voice and face. "This is not a celebration for the pacifist and the meek."

 

[Setter Ryburn]

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She might've flirted with death. But Setter was sleeping over. Setter stared at her for a while, then- laughed. He took a cursory glance around the room, and measured up all the people in the room.


And found them wanting.

He turned back to Rhaina, and the expression in his eyes went from curious, mischievous- they shifted. Hardened, glazed over. Like an animal. There was nothing behind Setter's eyes. Not a god damn thing. He lost that part of him a long time ago. A long, long time ago. He gave it away to be the man that he was. The ruthless, efficient killing machine that he was.

Setter shook his head and got another drink, grabbing- quite forcefully, a passing server. "Funny that you say that and you all look so..." He eyed her up and down. "Meek." He downed the drink, disregarding the taste for the effect. He held the glass down at his side, lazily, slouching in his posture as he spoke to Rhaina. "You can tell if someone's really you know-" He paused on how to elaborate on it. "About it, you know? Paying someone, poisons, commanding an army of droids, all that jazz- that ain't really killin'. That ain't really bein' strong. No, no I've seen strong, I've seen violent. Interpersonal violence is what drives change. No change ever came 'round without people dyin' and people killin'. And that either comes from the blade, or the gun. 'Course we got 'nough o' them friggin' space wizards runnin' 'round causin' problems all over the god damn galaxy as it is." He glanced around again, constantly checking his surroundings, analyzing and scanning, like a hawk would for food.

Setter wasn't a genius. Setter wasn't a scholar- but he understood things plenty well enough. War and violence were natural to him.

"So you tell me who in here is ready to grab a weapon and burn a world to protect what's theirs, or get what they want."

He stared at Rhaina, before speaking one more time before her eventual rebuttal or comment.

"Cause I sure as hell don't see nobody that can or would."

[member="Rhaina Tira"]

 

[Vidalu Na'an]

Attire: Well, what else would one go swimming in?
Goals: Explore, ACT NATURAL
Tags: Bella Rosewood, [member="Rhaina Tira"], [member="Setter Ryburn"], [member="Hisashi"], [member="Vyra Silara"]

Well, this was getting uncomfortable.

Na'an bobbed at the edge of the coral, making idle conversation and trying with one hand to keep her nightshirt from billowing too high. The girl who'd accosted her didn't seem to be part of the fancier sections of the party, but it still wouldn't be smart to flash her. She'd definitely be memorable then, and at that point it was only a matter of time before someone started asking questions. Her bare knees would certainly contrast against the finery she could see trailing the ladies and gentlemen far below.

As her body followed her head down-current to watch them move, she suddenly felt a mild--but familiar--wave of nausea. The swaths of black and white and pale colors against the pale sand suddenly felt like the smooth, emotionless curves of hunting sharks. Even without reaching out, she could feel the killer instinct bubbling off them in the Force, like bubbles filled with toxic gas rising to the surface. If she focused, she could pick out one or two faces--a woman in black, a high-collared figure, a man with eyes like chips of blue ice--but focusing too hard ran the risk of attracting equal notice. If she noticed them, they'd notice her.

Na'an was suddenly very, very aware of the fact that she'd left her lightsaber back on the ship.

She shouldn't be here. She was a fish among barracuda, and she hadn't been invited.

Time to make a swift exit.

The girl who'd approached her was saying something Na'an had missed; Na'an forced herself to smile wide, and grasp the hand offered to her in turn.

"I hate to leave you here all alone in such...spirits...but I really ought to be going. There's so much more I'd like to see before sunrise. What the far side of the reef looks like, for instance."

She arced her body upwards again, kicking with both feet to propel herself towards the top of the reef.

"You should check it out," she called behind her. "It'll be a good bit safer than the company!"

In seconds she was skimming the top of the reef, reaching out here and there to explore it with her fingers--a bright purple outcropping of coral here, a gaudy orange sponge there, silver minnows nibbling at her skin all throughout--and looking ahead. In the middle distance, the bright stretch of colors and textures, the pinks and greens and blazing, fiery reds, dropped off into deeper water.

Another hole? A chasm, maybe. One larger and deeper and darker than the one she'd dived into to get here.

But literal darkness, Na'an thought, was a good bit more worth exploring than the Darkness she'd tasted back there, at the party. This darkness might hold something interesting other than blood and death.

 

[Krystal]

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Wearing: Something Impractical​

Objective: Underwater mingling... Also, find out if this makeup is actually waterproof.​

Tags: [member="Calum Neth"], Open​

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Krystal slowly let out a breath. One, two, three... She watched in fascination as each floated up towards the surface, most seeming to disappear before they reached it. Krystal herself was rooted firmly to the ocean floor, though her hair certainly hadn't gotten the memo. It floated above her head, waving with the currents -- she had thought to tie it back but decided not to, at least for now, in favour of simply enjoying the moment.

She had come alone, both to the party and the planet of Naboo itself. It wasn't an unusual occurrence, to be sure, for her to be on her lonesome, but it wasn't necessarily a choice. Sipping on a glass of champagne she had purchased from the underwater bar earlier, she wandered over to the nearby expanse of corals and quiet paths. Though one could easily hear and understand those standing close, the water had an overall muffling impact on the sound of the party. The usual cacophony of clinking dishes and loud voices was nowhere to be heard, replaced instead by a sort of quiet serenity. She took another deep breath, reveling in the feeling of being underwater without a rebreather, and shut her eyes. Standing still for a moment, she simply took in the feeling of the water gently brushing by her skin. Her sleeves billowed out and the trail of her dress waved slightly behind her. Taking a step forward, her eyes snapped open as she ran into [member="Calum Neth"]. She quickly took a step back and rushed to apologize -- "Oh man, I'm so sorry about that. I was not paying attention. Are you alright?" She hadn't fallen, thanks to the forgiving ocean gravity, and hadn't run into him hard, but she asked nonetheless.

Surprised to see that she hadn't spilled her glass in the incident, she took another sip of the drink gratefully. She wasn't drunk, to be sure, but... wouldn't put herself in charge of a spaceship right now.

 

[Paragon of Virtue]

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The party thrown by the Confederacy was a great success. Part comers danced, conversed, and enjoyed the wonders that under the water had to offer. The new gadget that had been developed by the CIS worked without a hitch, and not a single anomaly or problem had been reported the entire night.

The festivities continued from daylight into nighttime, so that the guests could enjoy a night under the sea as well. The sights were beyond lovely, and the coral reef seemed to come alive and glow from within.

As visitors began to leave, water-proof droids from the Confederacy gifted each of them with a small package – a new underwater gadget, that would last them multiple uses after that night. For when the Confederacy celebrated a technological advancement, it shared it not only with the worlds under its wing, but with its allies as well, for when the Confederacy flourished, as did its friends.

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The overall plot of Down Where it's Better is done, but everyone is welcome to keep posting! ​

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All party goers will be tagged and receive the submission for the tech that permits them to breathe underwater later this month.​