ocean eyes

[Aadya Drast]

[theme]​

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Aadya had never been to Mon Cala before. The idea of a whole world filled with fish and squid people wasn't exactly her idea of a good time. Of course, like with most things, her initial perception of what the place would be like couldn't have been further from the truth. Sitting in a chair on the pristine beaches of New Coral City, Aadya chuckled as she watched the waves rise and crash onto the sand.

The sun was high in the sky and the tide was still low which meant that they should have plenty of time to do whatever it was they wanted to do - whenever it was that Varyn decided to finally show up. Aadya was sure that all of the waiting was some way to build suspense for those that were watching on TV, but oh. my. god. did she hate it so much. In her opinion this whole date thing was just a formality. The other contestants were... pretty much worse than her in every possible way imaginable. Or at least, that was Aady's opinion.

For their first date Aadya had opted to wear one of her more conservative swimsuits. She figured it was better to err on the side of caution at first, not knowing really what Varyn would actually like. Opting into one of her favorite suits would have meant being brave enough to go straight for the thong bottoms on day one.. probably not a good idea. Though the TV ratings would have probably been pretty good.

She could see some people parasailing and some others racing on jetskis a little ways out into the ocean. That seemed like something that could be fun. Aadya made a mental note to challenge Varyn to a jetski race if the opportunity presented itself. Looking down the beach Aadya thought she could make out the figure of someone heading her direction. Standing up, Aadya stretched her legs and looked towards the stranger, a smile curling the corners of her mouth as she started to wave.

Hopefully it was Varyn or some rando was going to think she was super weird.

 

[Varyn Rask]

Varyn had wanted to wear his customary Imperial gear and mask, but this wasn't just a beach picnic, it was a full-on water adventure. He'd had to reevaluate things because he was still not going to show his face on Holonet.

All said and done, he'd been forced into wearing a swimsuit, which meant that more people were likely to be looking at his abs than anything else. As usual the cameras were only allowed to shoot from certain angles to avoid exposing his face, and he still wore sunglasses and a hat to cover those angles.

He made his way across the open beach, actually enjoying the lovely weather. Even someone as broody as him could enjoy a beach as beautiful as this. And then there was Aadya. The two of them had met before, and she looked... well, she certainly didn't look bad in that swimsuit. He wasn't sure how well the two would really mesh, but time would tell.

Hello, Aadya, he said with a slightly forced smile. He turned toward the ocean and looked out, catching sight of the jetskiis and seeing her looking at them as well.

A bit of an adventurer, are you? he asked, though he had to assume that was the case given that she'd signed up for this show. @Logan

 

[Aadya Drast]

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It took all of Aadya's self control not to have the smile on her face turn an expression of open mouth surprise. The Emperor looked... very good without a shirt on. She did think it was pretty weird the extend Varyn went to to conceal his face from public view, but hell if he just walked around the house without a shirt on all day Aadya was sure she could get used to the weird face stuff.

"Hey Varyn," She said, returning his greeting. Aadya wasn't sure if any of the other contestants had met the Emperor before the show had started like she had. Hopefully that fact would be a bonus to her and not a negative.. no telling if first impressions had already ruined Aadya's chances before the date even started.

"Oh, that's one way to put it." Aadya said with a laugh, turning back to a small cooler she'd had the show people leave behind before the cameras started rolling. Inside were some bottles of the more expensive liquors and nice wines she'd requested specifically. Couldn't very well be on a beach date without a little day drinking. "What about you, Varyn? You got a taste for adventure?"

Aadya put two glasses out on the table, sliding one towards Varyn, and poured herself a drink - preferring one of the clear liquors over the amber ones or the wine. She'd leave the Emperor to his own devices on whether or not he wanted something. She figured that under normal circumstances, most people would be acting all uppity and tight-assed around Varyn, so Aadya was going to make an effort to just treat him like a normal person.. just another guy she was on a date with. Hopefully it didn't backfire.

"So tell me three facts about yourself. Things I wouldn't already know." Aadya said with a smile before taking a sip of her drink. It was a question she asked a lot of people she was trying to get to know. The three facts they picked could tell you a lot about them. Of course, since they were on a television show Aadya was sure that Varyn's answers would be pretty vanilla but she'd been surprised before. "That way I can get to know you before I shamelessly kick your butt in a jetski race here in a few."

Aadya wondered how competitive Varyn was as a person. In the past, she'd intimidated a lot of potential boyfriends with how seriously she took things as simple mini-golf. Aadya liked to win, and she liked her men to like to win too. There was nothing worse than a boy letting you win just because you were a girl.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

It felt more relaxed here on this beach and with her than in some of the other situations. Beach dates seemed nice enough, but he still wasn't really sure how he was supposed to act on them, particularly when ti was being broadcast to the whole galaxy.

You could say I like adventure, he said with a nod. He had always enjoyed pushing the limits, and it was part of why he was so good in his... career. He was fearless in most regards... as long as it didn't involve dates. He took a seat near the cooler and poured himself a glass of expensive looking liquor, a dark amber with a single ice cube. I have to say, the show certainly does know how to supply fine drinks, he said, taking a sip of his own as she asked about facts she didn't know about him before mentioning a jetski race.

He snort-laughed slightly in disagreement about her beating him in the race. Not likely, he said. Oh yes, he was very competitive. Overly competitive. It probably wasn't healthy.

Oh this was always a struggle. What could he say that he didn't mind having broadcast across the whole galaxy?

Hmm... he hummed, taking a sip and thinking. I was born on Coruscant. Most people don't know that, he said, shrugging and realizing that probably wasn't very interesting. Almost nothing about his early years was actually known to the wider galaxy, and most of that was for good reason. He didn't want a lot of his history - and its less than legal nature - getting out, but his birthplace was a harmless factoid.

I like to read a lot. Whenever I have spare time I read for the most part, he said, thinking about his daily schedule. Exercise and training were part of his work - though he enjoyed those too - so the time he actually had that wasn't scheduled for anything was for reading.

And I want to do a triathlon someday. It's on my bucket list, he said, taking a sip of his drink once again.

And what about you? I think it's your turn now, he said. Despite the two of them having met, he didn't know her all that well or know much about her. @Logan

 

[Aadya Drast]

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"Please, I told them what to put in there. I think they were gonna stock it with like wine coolers or something else that sounded gross," Aadya said with a laugh. It occurred to her just then that the gross drinks they wanted to stock the cooler with were probably sponsors or something.. hopefully that didn't somehow count against her later.

Oh, she made the usually stone-face..masked Emperor actually laugh even if it was a little incredulous. If she failed in every other possible way in this game, Aadya was gonna count that as a fat win.

Listening to Varyn list his personal facts, Aadya couldn't help letting the corners of her mouth curl into a little smirk. She wasn't surprised by the vanilla answers and actually believed them and liked thinking that even the Emperor of the Sith was just a normal person like her or anybody else; not some evil monster like a lot of people outside the Empire would paint him out to be.

"I suppose fair is fair," Aadya said finishing off what was left of her drink. "Well, I guess the first thing would be that I'm actually half Vahla." It wasn't a particular secret that Aadya kept from anyone, but it wasn't really something that came up in most conversations either. She felt comfortable saying it to Varyn.. and the whole Empire, she guessed.

"I really love animals, and not just the cute and cuddly ones. I actually have a pet Arkanian dragon named DK. He's like my little baby." Aadya didn't want to go so far as to say that DK was her best friend despite it being mostly the truth. She doubted Varyn would want to marry some crazy lady obsessed with dragons.

"And I guess one thing that's always been on my bucket list is to go hover-boarding down Mount Ison on Hoth. It's the tallest mountain on the planet and I've heard there's nothing like boarding down it." If Varyn was adventurous as he claimed, maybe Aadya could convince him to go. Assuming their date was going well enough to have some more, that is.

The producers must have overheard the conversation about jetskiis. Aadya noticed that two had suddenly appeared floating near one of the docks just off the beach. "Oh hey look," She said, getting up and heading over towards them. "Time to get your butt kicked on a jetski."

Aadya hopped on the jetski and threw on the life jacket, figuring it was probably some liability thing for the show. Without wasting a second she yanked back the throttle, sending the jetski shooting off like a rocket. "First one out to the buoy and back wins!"

All is fair in love and jetskis.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

Varyn listened as she told a bit about herself, genuinely surprised when she said she had a pet dragon. That was certainly unusual even among the Sith who were known for having unusual and dangerous pets. He'd have liked to see one of those for sure.

Boarding down a mountain on Hoth. Hoth wasn't known for being a very hospitable world, but he thought he could see the enjoyment to her little plan. It was a thrill, and Varyn enjoyed thrills more than anything. Perhaps that was why they both found themselves making for the "convenient" jet skis that just "happened" to be floating by. Like no one was going to see through that.

The Emperor threw his leg over the ski, waving off the life jacket that they were trying to push toward him. He had no interest or desire to wear one, and he wasn't going to do anything he didn't want to.

She was already off and on her way by the time Varyn was even on his ski, and he was tearing off right after her. The wind was whipping past as the speedometer crept ever higher. The waves were snapping and the jet ski flew up, but the skis maxed out their speed. Instead, all was fair in love and jet skis. Varyn reached a hand up and the Force pulled at the waves, snapping the water into the side of her jet ski to throw her off course and careening out of the way and allow him to take the lead. @Logan

 

[Aadya Drast]

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Everything seemed to be going according to plan. Aadya almost thought about turning around to see how far back Varyn was but she knew the moment she did, that's when he'd probably pass her and she'd lose. Instead, she kept her eyes forward, squinted in determination and locked onto the buoy. That's when the waves magically rose out of the water and smacked the size of her kriffing jetski.

Her mind instantly went to Varyn and Aadya couldn't help but smirk. Apparently he was as competitive as she was, which was great. It was once in a blue milk moon that Aadya met someone willing to take cheap shots and do whatever it took to win even in friendly games. It was refreshing.. it was fun. Shit. She was starting to like the Emperor for real.

She needed to get her head back in the game now, though. Twisting the throttle as far down as it would go, Aadya veered herself hard in the opposite direction the waves were trying to push her. Reaching out with the force, she pulled the water up in front of her jetski so that it would work like a ramp of some kind. Slamming it a she reached the top, Aadya's jetski flew through the air and landed almost directly behind Varyn as they rounded the buoy for the final stretch back to the beach.

At this point a small part of Aadya - and she would emphasize a very, very small part - almost didn't care if she won. She was having the first bit of genuine fun she'd had in a long time. Before the competition had started the young Drast had told herself to keep a level head and not get too invested. She was already failing her own advice. Typical.

Thinking that all she might need is a small distraction, Aadya reached out with the force again and pulled on some water, hoping to splash it into Varyn's face. She was starting to pull ahead, all she needed was just that one final push.

"Eat my dust, nerd!" She shouted, unsure if Varyn would even hear her over the sound of thrumming engines and crashing waves.

It would be down to a photo finish, now.

@Phoenix