Week one

[letsplayamod]

You've all met Athena, and she's made her point quite clear. She's fully committed to making this world better, and you're the ones who agreed to lend a hand. Something she's obviously quite thankful for.

It's really not so bad around here. Despite the sky, and the state of the land, things are fairly calm. You've got plenty of time to get used to it, and each other. Maybe this'll be easier than it seems.

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Comments

[pariunt]

[By the time Tuesday rolls around, it’s clear that Astarion is incredibly anxious. He can be found standing at his statue in the pavilion, gazing at it with a strange expression on his face. He’s been here throughout the week, but today is the first time he says something.]

Do I really look like that?

[Later, closer to what might be evening even though it’s difficult to tell given the state of the sky, he can be found off by himself drinking from a wine glass, though it’s obvious given the look of what he’s drinking, and his openness about his… condition, that that’s not wine.]

Pavilion

[sweetsynergy]

[Glancing between Astarion and the statue.]

Seems like a decent likeness. Do you have some kind of complaint?

[pariunt]

No. Not at all.

I just... I haven't seen my face in two hundred years.

[sweetsynergy]

[fucking pardon]

...Is that a vampire thing?

[pariunt]

It is.

I don't have a reflection. Even in the brief period where I could walk in the sun without fear, I still didn't have one.

[sweetsynergy]

Interesting. Any chance you know how that works, or is this a magic thing?

[And. Glancing up at the sky, checking for any gaps in the clouds.]

it’s wine o’ clock

[psychonductor]

[Crito hasn’t had much of a chance to talk to Astarion yet, and they don’t really know what a vampire is, but one thing they do recognise is-]

Is that blood?

[pariunt]

[Oh. Someone he hasn't spoken to before. He gives them a nod.]

It is. Athena spoke the truth; the kitchen is quite well-stocked.

[psychonductor]

[They can only imagine a selection of bottles for Astarion’s perusal…]

What is it? Pig, goat, sheep…?

[pariunt]

You know, I'm not certain. The way the blood has been stored leaves something to be desired.

[It's not humanoid blood. He does know that much.]

Probably some sort of cattle.

[psychonductor]

Are you a…con…connos-

[The word is connoisseur.]

[raisethemoon]

[Luna looks between them several times.]

Why - yes, I believe you do.

[pariunt]

That's...

[He's clearly not displeased. His gaze makes it clear the face may as well be the face of a stranger. He has no memory of it.]

I really look that old?

[How disappointing.]

[raisethemoon]

[.....she looks between them again.]

...I...am not sure if I can tell.

[Her exposure to humans (and human-adjacent) has been like. This. But she does know what it's like to be without mirrors, for one reason or another.]

Have you not...seen much of yourself?

[pariunt]

I haven't seen my face in two hundred years. Not since I became a vampire.

[raisethemoon]

...you do not reflect?

[Vampires are a story in Equestria, vampiric animals aside.]

Pavilion

[tailoredfate]

[... Man, Aglaea doesn't even need her threads to read that Astarion is a coiled spring being wound tighter and tighter. She keeps a distance between them, but still approaches.]

It seems like an accurate enough likeness. Tragic, though, that these were likely made through magic and not the hard work of a sculptor.

[... She's trying to keep things light for now, okay. Maybe ease some of that tension.]

[pariunt]

[Well, that seems to settle him. Maybe a little, because there's still clearly something about his appearance he doesn't quite like, even if it is accurate.]

...Magic is the obvious answer, I suppose. If boring. I assume Athena herself made them.

[tailoredfate]

Boring, indeed. What's the point of creating something like these statues if you don't put the effort in? It takes all the passion out of the work.

[Even with her godly abilities, she still directs the threads. Still weaves the stitches herself. She uses magic as a tool, but she doesn't just make clothing appear out of nothing.]

[pariunt]

Precisely!

[What's the point indeed?]

Besides, things created through magical means tend to be incredibly fragile. This absolute bastard named Gortash created a horde of metal monstrosities he called the "Steel Watch". The moment what was powering them was destroyed, every single one of them stopped working all at once. Reduced to piles of scrap too heavy to move where they fell.

Pavilion

[cannotunravel]

The statue does have remarkable similarities to the actual you. Are you unsatisfied with it?

[What's making you anxious, Astarion?]

[pariunt]

I'm not unsatisfied, exactly.

[Well, he is because there's no way his face actually looks like that now. But he doesn't say that.]

I've just... forgotten what I look like.

[cannotunravel]

[Oh, right, vampires don't tend to have reflections, according to pop culture, so he probably can't use mirrors. Maybe that's accurate after all]

There's no need to think too hard about it anyway. Statues depend on how the person sculpting it interprets the subject.

[pariunt]

...Yes. I suppose.

[Actually, that brings up something that has been bothering him.]</small I wonder who sculpted these? There's one for each of us.

[cannotunravel]

All we know is that Athena didn't do it. Someone else did -- and my guess is that this other person is also who gave us the titles each statue shows.

[Athena may be more like middle management, really, instead of the one in charge]