Emperor In ACTUAL Paradise

[Darth Valravus]

❅ THEME ❅​

It was a few hours before the sun would set. Drali was not sure how long this date was supposed to last but she figured it would be good to start in in the earlier part of the evening in case it ended up lasting a long time. Perhaps that was just her being optimistic though.

The sounds of soft waves and the gentle breeze blew her sundress's hem slightly. Today she was entirly devoid of any eyeshadow, tribal markings or war paint. Her alternating colored eyes were unfocused in contemplation as she waited. The only ink were the tattoos that were inlayed across her defined back and arms that seemed to somewhat clash with the summer attire. While it was not visible she did have a bathing suit underneath. Hopefully the Varyn was the type who liked to swim.

Special made Personal Entertainment Attendants built to record and broadcast were hovering all around. This was a reality holo-drama after all. The Deucalian was used to one being over her shoulder but she was not used to seeing so many flit this way and that trying to get dramatic angles. Pretend like they are not even there. The producer had said. Like that's going to be easy she thought to herself as she stared out into the Naboo ocean before her, making a mocking and mildly annoyed expression to imitate the man's request. "how bout YOU go on a date with the emperor and see how good you feel."

Taking a deep breath an exhaling Drali tried to breathe away the stress she was feeling. This was technically the first actual date she had been on, ever. It was with the emperor of the Sith Empire of all people.

Heading back to plaid picnic blanket beyond the vacant beach she looked over the woven basket holding the crafted food she had made herself. There was a small fire and a bit of other items here and there. A few hard case crates off to one side had their latches locked but were otherwise simple sticking out among the otherwise romantic landscape. Drali wondered if she should start in on the wine. Maybe that would calm her down.

Pacing back and forth she shook her flattened hands like she had nail polish that needed to be dried quickly. "It's gonna be fine. You have nothing to worry about. He's a great guy. You're not gonna mess this up. Just enjoy the evening." Her own personal entertainment attendant stood out from the observation PEAs as it hover calmly nearby waiting to be told to play any mood music if its owner decided.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

What had he gotten himself into? No, correction, what had his PR manager gotten him into? He made a mental note to find some terrible punishment for whoever had this brilliant idea. An internment on Hoth, maybe.

Varyn had gotten used to having cameras on him all the time since becoming Emperor, but this was entirely different and outside the realm of the "typical" things he did. This wasn't a public address or one of the hundreds of paparazzi following him down the street to see what he had for lunch. This was someone putting him on a date, and then as if that weren't bad enough, they were broadcasting the whole thing.

His eyes rolled back, but there was no putting this off any longer. He emerged from the large trailer used for preparation; the type used by holomovie stars. Despite the objections of the producers, Varyn had insisted on using his mask for any camera shots of his face. His privacy was still something he liked to maintain, and while he was fine showing it to the women, it was nonnegotiable that it not be broadcast to the galaxy. That was going to make for interesting camera shots to say the least.

The light breeze from the ocean blew over the water, and even grumpy Varyn had to realize what a beautiful evening and landscape this was. The views were occasionally obstructed by a droid or camera whirring through the air, but he did his best to ignore it, instead focusing on the person he was here to meet.

Zandrali wasn't the first person he would have expected to come out for a show like this, but then, he wasn't the first person he would have expected to be here either. She looked nervous, and he could feel the emotions radiating through the Force. The fact that she seemed nervous almost made him feel better, as he was more than out of his element on this topic as well, but even with the cameras around, maybe they could make the best of it.

Good evening. It's so nice to meet you. I'm Varyn, he said. It was a bit odd meeting people for the first time because most everyone already knew who he was, but he decided to introduce himself anyway. It made things feel more like regular people than "Emperor and subject" which wasn't the feel he was going for.

You look quite lovely tonight, he added a moment later, figuring that was probably as good a way to start this out as anything. She did look quite nice in the dress she had chosen. @Darasuum

 

[Darth Valravus]

___________________

As she fussed over the items wondering what to start with for the date she saw motion out of the corner of her eyes. Standing up she made sure her dress did not have have any grass clippings, dirt or sand by brushing all around any surface that may have gathered anything.

"Oh um..." She hesitated a moment, wondering what to do. Should she bow, kneel, curtsy? She decided on the latter. "...Likewise Emperor Rask. I'm Zandrali Tuistco." While she wanted to be relaxed and not make the man feel like this was some formal event she also did not want to upset him by being less than respectful. Even the title of Crusader was new to her. Drali had no idea the weight of being an emperor of a whole...well, Empire was.

She noticed that he had chosen to wear his mask. Part of her had wanted to see his face but she also understood given the circumstances. "Thank you." Looking down she tried to hide her blushing face out of habit. "You look really good too."

Drali's bare foot toed the soft grass beneath her as she tried coming up with what to say next. "Soooo, are you hungry?" The woman had a few ideas of things to do on their date but did not know how to bring them up. Drinking right off the bat probably was not a good idea. He clearly was not dressed for swimming around the reefs. It was probably best for them to start with some food and get to know one another a little first To emphasize this she turned a bit to show the blanket with the basket sitting beside it.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

A curtsy and "Emperor Rask." Well, he couldn't blame her for the formality, as most situations probably would have called for something along those lines, but this wasn't normal situations, and even he didn't know what the expectations of a televised date were. But she seemed sweet enough, and she didn't want to make a mistake. He didn't want to make a mistake either.

Please, call me Varyn, he insisted, glancing past her as she motioned to the beach blanket for them. After you, he said, following her over and offering her a hand for stability as she sat down. A moment later, he sat down across from her and looked over the variety of foods that were packed by the show crew: chief among these were tiny little sandwiches that had to have been half the size of his palm. There was every imaginable type, and it seemed the crew wanted the two of them to be well fed. He was pretty sure he could have eaten one in one bite with the size, but he supposed he wasn't here to just stuff his face.

The second thing he noticed was that they had actually managed to get the specific vintage of sweet, red wine he'd requested. In one part he had picked it because it was quite good, and in one part he'd selected it just to be difficult. It was hard to come by, but they had managed it. Color me impressed, he thought. Well, if he was going to eat, he probably needed to not wear a mask. This was the part the camera crews would hate, but they would simply have to deal with it. He removed his mask, but left the hood in place, requiring the crews to only air footage that was from angles in which you couldn't see his face. After a lot of grumbling, they'd agreed to comply under pain of death. But at least Zandrali would be able to actually see his face now, so that was an improvement.

He smiled a bit awkwardly, after finally getting it off, and immediately covered it up with a question. Would you like a glass of wine as well? he asked, reaching for the bottle and not quite having the inhibitions she had about drinking along with their meal that she seemed to have.

The breeze blew gently over the beach as he poured the wine into the glasses, and he looked out across the water. It's beautiful, isn't it? he said, almost forgetting for a moment that they were on holonet. The more he could forget they were doing this in front of billions of people, the better. That way they might actually enjoy their evening.

So, Zandrali, what's something most people don't know about you? he asked her after a moment, offering her the first of the poured glasses of wine. @Darasuum

 

[Darth Valravus]

___________________

Hearing him insist on a more casual name made her relax a little matching it with a slight increase in her smile. He seemed like quite the gentleman. Furthermore he offered a hand which she accepting gratefully. Drali sat down on the blanket with her legs to the same side like a proper lady of romance.

Looking over the food she pondered what to start with. Drali reached for one of the baskets that was a little different from the rest and brought it closer. Inside were foods that were not made by the crew, though they had certainly tested it before hand to make sure it was not poisoned or anything. It was actually made by the Deucalian herself. She had insisted on making food for her date herself. If this was anyone else other than the Emperor, er Varyn, she would have done the same thing.

"So I know it's not really dinner food but I figured a picnic, even as a date, should-" looking up mid sentence she saw him take off his mask. The Crusader had expected him to keep it on the whole date even if that meant slipping food under his mask bit by bit. "-have sandwhiches."

As her voice had trailed off she felt a moment of awkwardness that seemed to span a few minutes but was only a single second. He may have picked up on it or maybe had his own feelings of awkwardness which he filled by asking her if she wanted a drink. "uhh...OH um...yes please!" Her head looked around for the glasses but saw they were closer to Varyn making her look like just a flustered girl.

Turning back to her own self prepared basket she wondered now if she would just be better off giving him the fine cusine the emperor's chefs had made. They definitely knew his pallet batter than she did. start with appetizers you clod! She screamed at herself. Grabbing some pre-cut cubes of cheese and a variety of crackers she began assembling a charcuterie board between them. please don't be lactose intolerant. The staff would have told me if he was right? Oh gawds what if he is and they just didn't tell me so the cameras would catch such an embarrassing moment. ffffff-

The wind came again making her catch some of her dark locks that ended in silver tips from going into her face. Raising her gaze she looked up towards her date and then out towards the ocean. "It sure is." Now was a good a time as any to start getting to know him. Drali imagined he had traveled quite a bit, seen some spectacular sights. As far as she was concerned this was the prettiest place she had ever been to but maybe for him it was just an adequate landscape.

"hmmm.." When he asked her a question she had to think about it after accepting the glass of wine. She was pretty open about herself if anyone asked. Then again most people did not ask thanks to her appearing so scary and commanding at times. "... well I guess most people don't know I like to paint. I once drank a devaronian under the table. I'm the last surviving member of my tribe. Uuuummmm, I can hold my breath underwater pretty long. I think I'm also not very good at talking about myself." The last was added with a little quirky shrug of her broad shoulder. "You're pretty mysterious yourself ya know. I bet there's a lot people don't know about you. I'd like to get to know you so what should a gal like me know about a gentleman like yourself." Now she felt a little better. Talking always helped her calm down a little. Awkward silences were never something she could stand. Drali finished with her board of appetizers and made sure it was within easy reach of Varyn.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

Varyn listened attentively to what she said, seeing her pull out a variety of finger foods that looked rather tasty as well. Rather than take an entire bite of one of the sandwiches, he took a smaller, more respectable bite that didn't feel like it was really cutting it. After a quick sip of wine that was probably longer than it should have been (because maybe a little win would help lighten him up), he finished the sandwich and drank some more wine before setting it down on a tray and watching her for a moment.

Her flustered and somewhat uncomfortable way she handled herself was actually rather cute, and he was taken off guard by actual potentially enjoying some of his time here with her. She talked because she was nervous, and it added an oddly human aspect to this date that he assumed was going to be mostly filled with staged activities. But she was filled with nerves of her own, and he was guessing some funny stories as well.

Something mysterious about myself... he said. He stifled a comment about Andraste because as Tasha had pointed out, he was a little obsessed with Andrastian history and he didn't need to show that level of nerdiness right now.

I like to swim, too, he said, thinking back to how she'd mentioned she could hold her breath. Maybe someday I'll find time to compete in a triathlon if I ever find the time, he said. He would be that 60 year old man out running, swimming, and biking along until he dropped.

I feel like saying I like to travel is too cliche because who doesn't? But I do like to travel, he said with a shrug and crunched on a cracker. You get to see places like this, but it's not quite the same when you're alone, he said. Traveling with Dav didn't count, and although the statement was a bit cheesy, it was also true, which was the more important part. @Darasuum

 

[Darth Valravus]

___________________

Drali watched him as he thought of an answer. She liked that he did not think of something immediately. Coming up with a genuine answer was always better. Originally she had hoped the Emperor would spend the whole evening smiling, laughing and just having the perfect date. Then she had been overcome with discomfort and just hoped it would move along. Now she was back to where she had originally started but it was a bit different. Instead of it just being her imagination she was living the scenario and was still happy to let it carry on.

While Varyn spoke she took a few sips of her wine. Her eyes fluttered for a moment realizing how tasty the beverage was. At least it was to her since Drali liked sweet things. A slight mmm escaped her mouth after the first taste. The Deucalian picked up a few items from the board, not hesitating to eat the whole cracker in one bite and munch. By the time her date finished answering she still had to finish a gulp.

"When I first heard my name on the holo-net I was so excited. I though 'where should we have our first date' and I thought about Darumaa. I've never been myself but I heard it was very pretty. I was not sure if you liked the beach though but I'm glad to hear you say you like to swim."

Looking down the crusader poked a finger into the surface of the picnic blanket and began tracing circles in it. "But I get what you mean. It's always nice to share your experiences with someone." She stopped and looked up at him again. "Do you....do you ever get lonely? I mean, you're the emperor and all. You've got an army, planets and systems, advisors and all that. But you're all the way up there...by yourself." The woman had been curious about this for a long time, ever sense she had joined the ith. It was not restricted to just Varyn, but anybody that held the position of Emperor. Though now, she had some emotional interest as well. Realizing it was a bit of a melancholic question she decided to shut herself up for a moment and drank the rest of her wine.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

Varyn thought about her question for a moment, though it was something he had considered many times before. There was certainly an element of being Emperor that was lonely, and he had tried to find someone to be with before. He had been somewhat successful in that regard, though that entire situation left him as confused as anything as well.

It can be, he said. There're times when it feels like everything rests on you and you only, and those times can be very lonely, he admitted. The topic had grown grim, and he realized he probably should put another spin on it. The fact was that being Emperor certainly had its perks, and it wasn't all gloom and doom by a long shot. He had worked long and hard to get where he was.

He took another long sip of wine and took a moment to savor the flavor. But I wouldn't trade it, he said after a moment. I have the chance to change the galaxy, and that's something I've always wanted, he said honestly, though there were many who wouldn't have liked the way he wanted to change the galaxy.

I can't say I've ever been to Darumaa. Maybe we'll have to go there sometime, he said, raising his eyebrows like it was a question. It certainly seemed like it could have been a worse plan.

Speaking of better and worse places to travel, that brought a thought to his mind. So if you could go anywhere in the galaxy, where would you go? he asked. Who knew, maybe it would be a new date idea?

 

[Darth Valravus]

___________________

Listening she nodded slightly in response. What remained of her tribe, her clan was probably in the form of just a handful across the galaxy. After Zandrali joined the Sith she had never sought them out. Maybe they were all dead. The meant she was the most likely the last of her people. There were other Deucalians but none that seemed to be putting forth the effort or earning the renown she had. It was not the same degree of weight that Varyn felt, but she did understand his feelings.

The edges of her lips perked up at hearing his positive attitude. Drali always tried to find the silver lining in even the worst of situations. When he responded about Darumaa her heart beat hard for a few rapid moments. DID YOU JUST HEAR THAT! Does that mean he wants to go on a second date? Ok chill out, maybe he meant something more casual. Yeah, that's probably right, like how companies do retreats and vacation weekends for executives or something...wait...does that mean he thinks I'll earn a high rank or something? Maybe he believes in me...RELAX you doofus and focus.

All of those thoughts came to a rushed ending as Drali realized she had been staring at him. The Crusader felt like she had zoned out in one of her younger lessons and the teacher had called on her to answer a question. Only instead of a class of acolytes it was an entire galaxy staring back at her waiting for the answer. "Uh, sorry what was the ques- OH wherewouldIgo! Right, um, maybe Deucalia?"

Raising her glass for a moment she realized it was empty and lowered it again. "I was not born on there. I think I would like to visit there and kind of get to know my roots. I mean, how can I call myself a Deucalian and never been to Deucalia." The woman chuckled awkwardly wondering if that would probably piss off some of her people. Reaching for the bottle she poured some more wine for herself, internally making note to actually let this one last this time. "What about you? Also...do you like to watch holo-vids by chance?" It was good that the conversation was turning towards more typical small talk.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

Varyn noticed the blank, absentee stare that he seemed to receive, and he wondered if the date was going that badly. It didn't seem like it was, but then she didn't seem very engaged. Well, this is... but his thought was cut off as she snapped back to attention again and began blurting out what he had just asked. He blinked a couple of times in surprise, but then everything... seemed to be back on course?

Deucalia. That was an interesting pick, and wouldn't have been what he expected of most people, but it made sense in the context of her history. If she was a Deucalian then wanting to visit her home world certainly made sense. He could respect that for sure.

Where would he go? That was a good question. Somewhere beach-like wasn't a bad idea. He always liked the idea of owning a boat. Maybe one of the beach resorts on Manaan, he said thoughtfully. A nice neutral world where there was no war going on, nice sun, beautiful water, and no responsibilities. Yes, that sounded nice.

As for holomovies, that was a more difficult topic. He wasn't much for watching them because he rarely found the time, so commenting on that wasn't his strong suit, though he was beginning to wonder if he didn't need to watch some cheesy romance holos if he was going to keep going on dates with people.

I don't watch many holos to be honest, he said. I usually read if I'm going to take on a... "relaxing" pass time, he said. Even he needed time to unwind from otherwise exhausting physical and mental exercises. But what about you, you must enjoy the holos? he asked, genuinely curious what types of shows she liked. You could tell a lot about someone by what they liked to do in their spare time.

 

[Darth Valravus]

___________________

Her recovery from the more melodramatic subjects seemed to have worked. Drali's soul felt like it had exhaled after holding in a long breath. Her different colored irises moved between Varyn's eyes and his lips. he does have rather nice lips doesn't he. Don't stare to long. He'll think you want to kiss him....wait, you totally want to kiss him! It doesn't matter what you want it's waaaay too early to think about that stuff.

Despite her loud inner monologue she retained what his answer was though she did not know if she could contribute. Perhaps it was just coincidence, maybe Drali just could not remember something she had studied awhile back. Whatever the reason the Crusader was lacking when it came to Manaan. It sounded nice but part of her subconscious had a little ping that went off telling her that something had happened there.

After he admitted to a preference to an alternate form of media she wondered how to segway into that area of small talk. Normally she would chat someone up at a bar and they would show a mutual interest in her or break off. Later it would escalate to a one night stand which was fine but Drali knew she could not, or maybe should not, treat Varyn like he was some party girl she had met while their sorority was on spring break. This date was not something that was a one night stand and Drali was more than fine with that. The only problem, she did not know how to carry on very well. It was all just learn as she went. The Deucalian had holo vids to thank for her wisdom of etitquette. hopefully I'm not absolutely failing at this.

Varyn had asked her what she liked to watch. Drali was not sure if her answers would matter if her had not seen the shows she would list of. "Oh well I like to watch like aaalll the time." She held up both hands already starting to mentally speed read a watch list of her favorite shows. All caution was thrown to the wind as she started to rattle the names off. "Well there's Ultranatural, Douchifer, The Moving Dead, uuuuhm I think maybe one of my all time favorites is Betterkenny though they don't come out with episodes nearly fast enough. Competitions of Crowns is another good one though I think the season finale was a bit.... Suddenly she became very aware of the numerous cameras and it was not even for selfish reasons. The Crusader felt it would be inconsiderate to some viewers to continue. "...oh wait never mind I don't want to spoil it for anyone watching this right now. It was a newer episode and some people haven't seen it yet, or so I'm told. I like, watch everything right away but I also watch while I do like...everything. There's really so much amazing content out in the galaxy these days that I feel I'm doing a diservice by not trying all the amazing shows and songs and movies, and especial, and I mean especially....... books."

Without realizing it the charcuterie board was losing more of its cheese and crackers. Drali wondered if she had been eating the whole time, just shoveling food into her mouth. "Soooo what kind of stuff do you like to read? Oooh oooh, after you answer that do you want to play a game?" Her eyes widened as she realized what would be even more fun than small talk.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

Varyn watched as she began shoveling in cheese and crackers, and he wondered if she realized how much food she was eating. Was this nervous eating? Yeah, definitely nervous eating. Combine that with the fire house of information that she was spewing about TV shows, and Varyn couldn't help but find it funny... and perhaps even a little cute. Huh, that was unexpected.

She continued until she mentioned "books" almost as a passing comment, and he had the distinct impression that was tacked on only as a consolation, but that was fine. Varyn knew not everyone agreed on pass times, and he didn't have a problem with that.

History and biographies, he said at first, thinking about the last 5 books that he had read. The spy novels had never held as much interest to him simply because he had done many of those things in real life.

I also enjoy mysteries, he added after the fact, but his mind was already traveling to their next topic: a game.

I... sure? he said. There was a marked hesitation in his voice, but he didn't object... at least not until he heard what she had in mind, though he was already pouring himself another glass of wine just in case.

 

[Darth Valravus]

___________________

While she understood some of the intrigue of biographies and history Drali found that texts holding that information were dry. If it were told with epic music and deep voices that had passion she could get into it. But all too often she felt her inner monolgue turning monotone and soon she began falling asleep. One of her mentors in the Sith Academy had actually beat her after drooling on a physical piece of papper. Then again she probably had deserved it considering the book was a thousand years old.

Mysteries on the other hand Drali could agree with. The Deucalian really enjoyed trying to pick out and guess who was behind certain plans. That was always a gun game to play with herself. Whether she was right or not did not matter. If Drali was right then that was great and she got to read how it unfolded with building intrigue. Not knowing the answer to the mystery though was just as fun as the twist had the shock factor and made her question even more up until everything was revealed.

When it came time to see if Varyn would play a game she waved her hands in excitement, glad he had agreed. "okokok, so the rules are you start with ten fingers normally...I say we only do one hand though so we can still enjoy some food and drink." to emphasize the point she held one of her hands flat with the fingers splayed out while the other held her glass to take a sip. "We say something we have not done. If the other person has done it then we put a finger down...AND take a drink. How does that sound? Remember, only honest answers but if you don't want to answer that's cool too just yaknow..." she looked around at the floating droids keeping watch. She leaned in cupping a hand to her mouth knowing full well they could probably still hear her. "Tell me later."

@Phoenix