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[agardener]

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[agardener]

"Oh?" he asks and there's a genuine concern in the tone. "I didn't realize that."

[anashthetic]

"Having an opinion of your own, one not inherited from others, is inherently you making a judgement." This is not the discussion she intended to be having! And yet.

[agardener]

"Wouldn't an opinion coming from someone else also be a judgement, then?" he wonders.

[anashthetic]

"It's their judgement, not yours, and at that point you're just parroting whatever they said anyways."

[agardener]

He pauses, still clearly confused. "But isn't that simply - still judging?"

[anashthetic]

She's being so very patient right now, she thinks. Hasn't even properly told him to fuck off with this at all, not with any feeling behind it. "Their judgement and theirs alone. Unless you've thought about it and decided you agree, in which case the judgement is shared."

[agardener]

He nods.

"I think I understand now. Well, I apologize for the judgement," he says with a small little bow.

[anashthetic]

"I'm a judgmental bitch myself," Ashton snorts, "so don't apologize to me, I'm not bothered."

[agardener]

He chuckles. "What judgements have you made about me?" he wonders, more curious than actually worried.

[anashthetic]

There's a flicker of mischief in her eyes. "To name one, I've judged for myself you're quite appealing to the eye."

[agardener]

He laughs but it's warm, not mocking. "I did hope for that. I created this myself, though I can never get the ears right."

[anashthetic]

"The ears are a positive~ Anyone who says they detract from the overall look has no taste."

[agardener]

He watches them a moment, tilting his head. "Are you saying that you find this form pleasing to look at?" he wonders. "Would there be another that you might find just as...pleasing?"

[anashthetic]

"There's a great deal of forms I'd find pleasing." The fact they maintain their own form so solidly, untweaked day to day aside from things like makeup and hair length, isn't immune to this; the idea that they could be attractive sometimes feels so alien that why would they ever lie and wear some other skin that is? "My preferences are... broad. Why?"

[agardener]

"Because I know that you are not human," he says casually. "And my form is simply..." He gestures behind him, to the door to the cavern and the console within. "Whatever I create out of that vat."

[anashthetic]

The slightest of shrugs. "Again - my preferences are broad. A semblance of humanity is nice, though no more than that; monstrosity and inhumanity have always appealed to me."

[agardener]

"Would you object, then, if I was in the form I use most often at home when I am not impersonating any creature?" he wonders.

[anashthetic]

"It's your home, isn't it? I've got no protest; it's perfectly fine with me."

[agardener]

"Then please wait here a moment."

He retreats to the main chamber and slides into his vat. And what emerges is a vaguely bipedal, tall and thick creature made of purple and pink leaves and flowers. He has a long jaw, bright eyes hidden in foliage, and an almost delicate face. He has two appendages that serve as hands, though one is more of a tentacle and the other has fingers that split from the arm like veins in a leaf.

Coral, the young, tentacled vriki from his world, immediately buries itself in the familiar nest.

There is no real mouth to speak, so he uses telepathy.

This is how I travel in my world. Sometimes I am taller.

[anashthetic]

Ashton is emotive, yes, but generally somewhat restrained in their facial expressions; that drops away. They are unselfconsciously thrilled to see Sym take this shape.

"You're beautiful," he says without even having to think about it. Sym's default shape is pretty, yes, but this? This is something else.

[agardener]

And their joy is Sym's joy. He shuffles forward, reaching out an appendage for them, if they want it.

This was our creation.

[anashthetic]

"It's wonderful." They definitely want! They definitely, definitely want.

[agardener]

He slides that tentacle around her and pulls her close, into the folds of the foliage along with Coral, who cannot be found.

I spent thousands of years refining it.

[anashthetic]

For a second she stiffens, reflexive: she doesn't know him nearly as well as she knows John, and her instincts are still a little overtuned even after a year and a half of not fighting for her life nearly ever. She trusts John fully and absolutely regardless of shape, and as beautiful as this form is, she doesn't trust Sym anywhere near that much.

Then she relaxes again, because if Sym kills her - well, he'd have to actually kill her, first off -- if Sym kills her he'd have to deal with Aerith being upset about it. And nobody wants that; not her, not him, not Aerith. So that's good insurance! So Ash hums inquisitively, encouraging him to explain further if he so wishes.

[agardener]

He has no intention of killing them or even hurting them. He just holds them loosely, tentacle wrapped a couple of times around them, but not tightly enough to restrict.

He's quiet, just enjoying the feeling that comes with connection, albeit brief.

Once I was a mushtree. For centuries, just to avoid another Gardener who annoyed me. The leaves rattle and shake, like a laugh. But I think I prefer to have appendages.