Not Pink Enough (OTA)

[st_ellargoddess]

She liked the pink of the hotel a lot. If she had to guess, she'd say that whoever built the place kept her aesthetics in mind. Still, there were some places were pink was lacking and on a hot day like today, the pool was one of those places. Clad in her bikini, she was lounging on a pink shell floaty with sunglasses on and an umbrella drink in her hand. She casually touched the water and the water instantly turned pink like she had dumped a bunch of pink food colouring into the water.

Aphrodite let out a relaxing sigh. "Much better!" Smiling, she sipped her drink.

Comments

[st_ripetail]

Rocket could go either way on the pool, usually. Being cool and wet on a hot day was nice and so was the prospect of being an asshole by clogging something with fur, but he sometimes worried about shorting an implant and the chemicals got up his nose. So it was a trade off.

He could definitely leave it when it was pink, though, no matter how hot the day was. “People’re gonna think this is acid or some shit, ya know.”

[st_ellargoddess]

She made a dismissive hand gesture toward the talking raccoon. "Isn't acid some ugly colour like green or yellow?"

[st_ripetail]

“Only the weak, boring shit.” Rocket crouched and sniffed the water: it smelled like the same chemical mess as always. “The good stuff ends up pink ‘cause’a the dissolved corpses.”

[st_ellargoddess]

"Ew." She scrunched her nose. That was something Ares would be into and definitely not her. "I'd rather turn the water into something fun, like a nice rosé or a cosmo. Dissolving bodies is so not my scene."

[st_ripetail]

“Yeah, you’re more into pickling.” Rocket laughed a little and shook his head, but actually the idea of an entire pool of booze, even if it was almost more fruit than booze, sounded pretty cool. “That what you did here, or is it just color?”

[st_ellargoddess]

"It could be." She winked at him, then with a casual snap of her fingers, the water shifted just a little and a more fruity sent appear. She looked around and felt something was missing, though, and she wiggled her fingers at the edge of the pool and a big umbrella not like the one you have in drinks appeared. Then a glass appeared beside Rocket. "There. Tell me how it tastes."

[st_ripetail]

Rocket’s ears pricked forward, interested, then he dipped the glass in the water. He only spared a brief moment to consider before pouring the liquid down his throat. “Not usually my style’a drink, but I’m good with bein’ enabled.”

[st_ellargoddess]

"Oh, I am great at enabling." She wiggled her eyebrows at him. "You going to tell a girl your name, or leave her guessing?"

Aphrodite/Tony

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Usually a flight around the perimeter was enough to clear Tony's head, but sometimes a little dip worked just as well--today definitely called for both. A man only wanted to calculate the efficacy of gain mediums for so long in a day, after all.

Dropping in to the gated pool area in his full armor, he thought for a second that his eyesight had been affected by staring at lasers all day--yeah, nope, it just was that pink. And there, a vision of beauty lying recumbent upon her bubblegum floaty throne in the midst of it all was...someone. Christ, it was getting embarrassing how insulated he made himself depending on the month.

"Digging the Snagglepuss aesthetic," Iron Man said as he regarded the pool in bemusement.

Re: Aphrodite/Tony

[st_ellargoddess]

The metal man instantly reminded her of Hephaestus which meant she had mixed feelings. On the one hand, she missed her husband. On the other hand, she didn't.

"Not sure what that is, but the name is terrible. Still, thank you. Designed it myself." She winked to him - it? She wasn't sure. "Is there someone inside that thing, or are you all metal?"

Re: Aphrodite/Tony

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

It was tempting to keep her guessing, but why not be neighborly? The armor rolled like a small wave on his body, transforming into a white button-down and fitted dark trunks. He tugged on his collar leisurely and the glow of his reactor could be seen.

"Only partly," Tony replied with a quirk of his brow, "Promise."

Re: Aphrodite/Tony

[st_ellargoddess]

She smiled widely. "I definitely like this version more." Aphrodite wasn't shy in her appreciation of his form when it was revealed."I dig the goatee."

Re: Aphrodite/Tony

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"I'll drink to that." Tony nodded towards the bar. "What'll you take?"

Re: Aphrodite/Tony

[st_ellargoddess]

"Dealer's choice." While she could conjure her own up, it was definitely much better when someone decided to buy her one. "I'm going to bet on you having good taste."

Re: Aphrodite/Tony

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

Sliding a forgotten float hammock into the pink pool, Tony laid back onto the reclining seat and made himself comfortable. “Un momento.”

With the aid of a foot propulsor, Tony flew towards the bar at the center of the pool and back in record time, bearing two martini glasses in hand full of a deep rose-hued drink. “Pink Lady.”

Re: Aphrodite/Tony

[st_ellargoddess]

Oh, he was good, and her pleased expression probably said as much. Aphrodite took the offered drink and sipped. "Tastes good, too. Known to mix a few drinks, Mr. Metal-man?"

Re: Aphrodite/Tony

[st_arkravinghazelnut]

"A few." Tony tipped the rim to his lips as he soaked up the sun. He'd gotten the chance to even out his tan during his honeymoon before returning to the masses, as it were. He turned a hospitable smile towards the woman with very good taste as she floated beside him feet away. "Pity it's not my day job. My job around here's far less exciting."

Aphrodite/Connor

[st_abilitylost]

When it came to neglected jobs around the inn, Connor had easily slotted into a jack-of-all-trades role. A body that never tired, incapability to feel disgust, a multi-purpose scanning system, and a programmed need to be useful made that a natural consequence.

The hot weather brought out the bodies to cool off at the pool (and a suspicious amount of fur in the pipes). Keeping the water serviceable was a daily and simple affair, and his room had conjured a tee rash guard and matching trunks after one day of duty. The clothing was as pastel as the interior, predictably. Many things about the inn had become predictable.

Today, though, the pink pool through him for a loop. His LED blinked yellow as he contemplated all of the pink before him as he approached it.

Contamination was the primary suspect but there was a woman lounging quite regally right in the center of it and a cursory scan didn't reveal anything toxic. He knelt at the edge and stuck a finger in the water, pressing it to his tongue for a comprehensive analysis.

Re: Aphrodite/Connor

[st_ellargoddess]

Aphrodite watched him with calm curiosity. The man felt wrong to her and she wasn't sure why. Was he even a man? Her eyes told her that he was, but the way he felt wasn't like any she knew. As he approached the water, she continued to watch. She had a foot idly dipped into the water as he knelt and stuck his finger in. When he stuck the finger in his mouth, her eyesbrows raised. "Taste anything specific there, handsome?"

Re: Aphrodite/Connor

[st_abilitylost]

pH: 7.4. Chlorine: 2 ppm. Alkalinity: 95 ppm. Calcium Hardness: 300 ppm. No presence of algae or harmful bacteria. All in all, a chemically balanced pool. Connor flicked the water off his fingers and then looked up to see the woman staring back. His eyebrows twitched apologetically, anticipating an adverse reaction--without Hank around to reel in disgust, it was surprisingly easy to forget how this looked to humans.

Well--was she human? He didn't recognize her and he learned his lessons about assumptions.

"No," he replied after a moment too long of staring. "I check it daily. I'm...very thorough."

Re: Aphrodite/Connor

[st_ellargoddess]

His words brought another interested expression on her face. Checking it daily for... Taste?

"Well, a thorough man can be sought after if you're thorough about the right things."

Re: Aphrodite/Connor

[st_abilitylost]

Sought after?

"Those things being...?" This line of questioning felt fraught, and suddenly Connor could visualize Hank rolling his eyes.

Re: Aphrodite/Connor

[st_ellargoddess]

She stared at him for a moment before uncrossing and re-crossing her legs in the other direction. "You're not very good with intimacy, are you?"

Re: Aphrodite/Connor

[st_abilitylost]

"I'm not built for it," Connor said with a glance back towards the water. A part of him began to conjure a scenario of if he encountered this woman as a human--a part of him he quickly redirected. "I'm built for service. Can I get you anything?"

Re: Aphrodite/Connor

[st_ellargoddess]

Built. Again, she was reminded of her husband. Maybe this was Hera's plan all along. Plop her into some hotel where everyone seemed to remind her of Hephaestus. "Oh, sweetie. We're going to have to work on how you say that. I mean, I can think of a lot of ways you could service me." She grinned and it was very suggestive, but also have a playful air about it, before the expression sobered a little. "Somehow I think you're talking more about getting me a drink or something."