And sure enough, he's waiting, with his sleek yet very stupid new haircut. Instead of his usual chunky sweaters or Jedao Shu's scarfs and blazers, trying to look both professional and approachable, he's wearing an Aloha shirt - mostly buttoned, at least - khaki shorts, and is fully barefoot.
Astarion, for his part, is dressed like it's his first day on the ship -
white poet's shirt, black leathers. The unusual look Jedao is sporting is
noted but not remarked upon, except to ask:
He opens the door and walks down into - well, it's not really a biome type that exists on earth. Part shallow sea, part hot springs, part mangrove swamp, part upside-down rafting kelp forest, part alluvial delta, part volcanic tower karst.
The distant blue-white sun is smaller than Earth's sun is in the sky, but noticeably brighter; the sky is a rich almost-violet blue, except where it's slashed by vivid daytime auroras of green and gold. A few minutes is enough to catch a silver-white meteor streak blaze for a few seconds. The gravity is lighter, too, only around three quarters Earth gravity. The whole place isn't really a planet, but a heavy water moon of a hot gas giant around a blue-white giant star. The gas giant's magnetic field flings constant ionized particles off toward its moons, and this one has a magnetic field of its own to convert them into auroras, while the constant debris of the loose ring system and ejecta from the other major moons supply the shooting stars.
A few hundred feat away, a geyser shoots up from one of the volcanic outcroppings, the plume of steam painting temporary rainbows onto the scene before dissolving and drifting away. Around them, the churning water and occasional obsidian formations reflect the bright light in every direction.
The life is aggressively amphibious, jewel-bright crustaceans, sleek scampering otters, chattering shorebirds diving just as frequently, strange plants half-draped over the intermittent fingers of stone, half curling wavy tendrils out into the water. There's a boat tied to a spur of stone at the bottom of the stairs, with plenty of space for both of them to sit uncrowded, and one pole to navigate with.
It's a lot to take in. If there's any place like it in Faerun, he wouldn't
be able to name it. Astarion meanders slowly down towards the boat, much
more focused on taking in the scenery.
"Thanks for giving me an excuse to come," Jedao replies, as a swell of water nearby crashes over the edge and connects to a tide pool; a little hand-sized octopus, turquoise and translucent, heaves itself over the lip of rock and then pulls itself leisurely around the tide pool, tentacles wrapping around iridescent barnacles and slowly prying them open.
"There might be spots with more breeze, if you want to take the boat out. Although, neither of us need to breathe. We could just walk on the seabed, I suppose."
Although perhaps not in those pants. And it would not solve the humidity problem.
"Of course." Jedao gives him a little bow - half playful, half thoughtless politeness, and steps into the boat after him, either in front or behind, depending on where Astarion left the space for him, and takes the pole to start scooting them slowly around the jagged little islets.
"Some, eventually. We've got to have a way to go cross-world, for Hakkai's friends. But I've promised to go meet all forty of my step-brothers, and...I think we want to make a home to come back to, before we go roaming around. I'd never come back here, though. This whole universe isn't worth the risk."
The barge's puppet-shows of the strangest wonders are just fine for him.
"I simply cannot express how much of a baby-crazy over-energized hyperacheiving weirdo my soul clone father-prototype-thing is," Jedao explains with a deep sigh.
"Most of them were adopted in batches of five after he liberated a million squads of child soldiers from slavery and at least managed to give most of them away. But then also there were war orphans, I think? Plus someone he adopted here while he was an inmate. And maybe one of his husbands had biokids too, I don't even know."
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2025-02-04 08:26 pm (UTC)lets start with girls it's less confusing for me, what do we think about sokie, she's newish
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Date: 2025-02-04 08:28 pm (UTC)I've never spoken to her.
I don't speak to a lot of people, actually. You may need to go elsewhere for your bitchy gossip needs.
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Date: 2025-02-04 08:35 pm (UTC)that's what i get for projecting, i suppose
would you let me take you to a place with a beautiful sky if i promise not to talk about it while we're there? sometime this week, maybe
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Date: 2025-02-04 08:38 pm (UTC)Alright.
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Date: 2025-02-04 08:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-02-04 08:47 pm (UTC)What would be easier for you?
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Date: 2025-02-04 08:50 pm (UTC)person who died gets to pick
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Date: 2025-02-04 08:53 pm (UTC)Today, then.
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Date: 2025-02-04 09:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-02-04 09:27 pm (UTC)I'll meet you at the Enclosure entrance. 3 is fine.
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Date: 2025-02-04 10:19 pm (UTC)And sure enough, he's waiting, with his sleek yet very stupid new haircut. Instead of his usual chunky sweaters or Jedao Shu's scarfs and blazers, trying to look both professional and approachable, he's wearing an Aloha shirt - mostly buttoned, at least - khaki shorts, and is fully barefoot.
no subject
Date: 2025-02-04 11:22 pm (UTC)Astarion, for his part, is dressed like it's his first day on the ship - white poet's shirt, black leathers. The unusual look Jedao is sporting is noted but not remarked upon, except to ask:
"Should I have worn something else?"
no subject
Date: 2025-02-04 11:52 pm (UTC)It's going to be a bit balmy.
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Date: 2025-02-04 11:57 pm (UTC)Astarion looks down at himself, then shrugs.
"Lead on, darling."
no subject
Date: 2025-02-05 12:33 am (UTC)The distant blue-white sun is smaller than Earth's sun is in the sky, but noticeably brighter; the sky is a rich almost-violet blue, except where it's slashed by vivid daytime auroras of green and gold. A few minutes is enough to catch a silver-white meteor streak blaze for a few seconds. The gravity is lighter, too, only around three quarters Earth gravity. The whole place isn't really a planet, but a heavy water moon of a hot gas giant around a blue-white giant star. The gas giant's magnetic field flings constant ionized particles off toward its moons, and this one has a magnetic field of its own to convert them into auroras, while the constant debris of the loose ring system and ejecta from the other major moons supply the shooting stars.
A few hundred feat away, a geyser shoots up from one of the volcanic outcroppings, the plume of steam painting temporary rainbows onto the scene before dissolving and drifting away. Around them, the churning water and occasional obsidian formations reflect the bright light in every direction.
The life is aggressively amphibious, jewel-bright crustaceans, sleek scampering otters, chattering shorebirds diving just as frequently, strange plants half-draped over the intermittent fingers of stone, half curling wavy tendrils out into the water. There's a boat tied to a spur of stone at the bottom of the stairs, with plenty of space for both of them to sit uncrowded, and one pole to navigate with.
no subject
Date: 2025-02-05 12:58 am (UTC)"Well, this is - quite something."
It's a lot to take in. If there's any place like it in Faerun, he wouldn't be able to name it. Astarion meanders slowly down towards the boat, much more focused on taking in the scenery.
"Somewhere from your plane, I assume?"
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Date: 2025-02-05 01:11 am (UTC)But there was some old footage he saw in a documentary, one time. And it seemed like a good choice.
no subject
Date: 2025-02-05 11:57 am (UTC)"Well, it's...unpleasantly humid, but certainly nice to look at," Astarion murmurs. "Thank you for bringing me here."
no subject
Date: 2025-02-09 03:16 am (UTC)"There might be spots with more breeze, if you want to take the boat out. Although, neither of us need to breathe. We could just walk on the seabed, I suppose."
Although perhaps not in those pants. And it would not solve the humidity problem.
no subject
Date: 2025-02-09 12:41 pm (UTC)Astarion stares at the tentacles for a moment, grimacing, then tears his gaze away.
"I'd much prefer the boat, darling, if it's all the same."
He's already making his way over to step aboard.
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Date: 2025-02-09 08:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-02-10 04:50 pm (UTC)Astarion sits at the back of the boat, facing forward, looking ahead as the boat draws away from the water's edge.
"Do you intend to travel when you're done here?" he wonders, idly.
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Date: 2025-02-10 07:19 pm (UTC)The barge's puppet-shows of the strangest wonders are just fine for him.
no subject
Date: 2025-02-10 09:01 pm (UTC)He's silent for a few moments, reassuring himself he didn't mishear.
"...how did you acquire forty step-brothers?"
Not that fourteen would have been much more believable.
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Date: 2025-02-10 09:10 pm (UTC)"Most of them were adopted in batches of five after he liberated a million squads of child soldiers from slavery and at least managed to give most of them away. But then also there were war orphans, I think? Plus someone he adopted here while he was an inmate. And maybe one of his husbands had biokids too, I don't even know."
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