merced: (Default)
ᴀʀᴀɴᴇᴀ ♛ ʜɪɢʜᴡɪɴᴅ ([personal profile] merced) wrote in [community profile] meadowlarklogs2019-02-01 06:34 am

catch-all.

WHO: Aranea Highwind + select individuals
WHERE: New Amsterdam
WHEN: OOC: February | IC: September 16 - 30.
WHAT: February catch-all!
NOTES OR WARNINGS: n/a for now - will edit if needed.

If you'd like to plot something / for me to write you a starter, feel free to hit me up via PM to this account!
saviorexe: (98)

[personal profile] saviorexe 2019-02-03 04:43 pm (UTC)(link)
[He can't stay still for too long, he can't sit and wait for his body to feel completely renewed and rested before he's out trawling the streets again, looking for something to keep his mind occupied with. He's not so departed from being injured that he doesn't still have the light bandage wrapped across his middle, to keep himself from straining muscle that might pull at the offending area. Even so, none of this stops Markus from visiting his usual haunts — artist as he is, this often entails poking his head into a local gallery to see if any volunteer work could be arranged.

They don’t need an extra pair of helping hands today (disappointingly, which means Markus must fill his daytime hours with some other endeavor), and just as he’s turning away from speaking to one of the gallery managers, a familiar voice pulls his attention in a different direction.]


Hey.

[Light, soft-spoken, the usual easy grin in greeting. He steps forward, taking a moment to eye her state: better than before, but certainly still sporting the crutches and a less cumbersome cast.]

I'm feeling a lot better than we last met. I’m even cognizant enough to catch whatever you happen to throw at me.

[He jests, it’s all in good humor. But seriously don’t throw anything at him this time.]

You're looking more energetic, too.
saviorexe: this one is out of order, don't at me (81)

[personal profile] saviorexe 2019-02-08 07:28 pm (UTC)(link)
[“Probably” won’t throw them at him.]

To think what might’ve happened if you hadn’t have helped me with my straw.

[Two faint jokes in a row — it must be some kind of record. If anything, it’s proof of Markus’ improved physical and mental state, no longer as wracked with stress as before. As if whatever snapping point looming above him has already come to pass, and now things are slowly falling back into place.]

Emergency surgery or not, it’s promising that you’re up and exploring the city. But no, I don’t work at any of the galleries in this area, though I sometimes drop by to see if there’s any volunteer work that needs to be done. Art installation isn’t always easy. Otherwise, I like to see what’s on display.

What about you? Don’t tell me you’re an art connoisseur.

[Actually do tell him, that’d be great.]
saviorexe: (104)

[personal profile] saviorexe 2019-02-09 08:30 pm (UTC)(link)
[It doesn't surprise him. He remembers quite clearly the conversation they had before, revolving around both making ends meet and trusting only yourself to do so. That her goal is to reach the status of Rolling In Credits a second time is nothing shocking.

Materialistic, maybe, but even Markus knows that having pockets lined with figurative cash goes a long way in making life more comfortable. He still doesn't know Aranea that well, and he can hardly blame her for it.]


This one...

[Words trail off softly as he follows, following her gesture and scrutinizing the piece. Markus' first impression is that he likes it; it reflects his own painterly style of quick, feathered brush strokes and impressionistic inclinations.]

You like it because it's 'pretty'? I can challenge that viewpoint, and tell you that it looks ominous to me.
saviorexe: (111)

[personal profile] saviorexe 2019-02-12 03:45 am (UTC)(link)
It definitely can. But in my opinion, one supersedes the other.

[Simple statements or complex ones, in the end, Markus is simply trying to spark a conversation about the art -- and in doing so, peering a little deeper into Aranea as a person. What makes her tick, what she dismisses as unimportant.

It's a tried-and-true tradition of visiting local art galleries, after all. Share some of those thoughts with Markus, Aranea.]


What do you think it says about you? Or, actually... why are you drawn to this piece in general?
saviorexe: (63)

[personal profile] saviorexe 2019-02-13 03:46 pm (UTC)(link)
[The last statement sounds latched on. Like she’s trying to defend why her thoughts don’t run deep enough, as if he possesses some looming expectation from those he questions, forever disappointed if they don’t spit out a ten page dissertation.

Sometimes it’s as simple as “I like the colors”, or “I wish I could be there in person”. Markus has viewed plenty of those himself, a few digitally portrayed here in this very gallery, bright swaths of fantastical nature that vitalizes imagination and unearths inspiration. He doesn’t need a complicated answer, he just wants an answer — and he finds it strange that there’s the crease of uncertainty across her brow when she hands it to him.]


That’s all right. [—he says, easily, meaning it. He leans incrementally in her direction, still looking at the piece, as if sharing with her some deep secret.] Let me tell you why I think it’s ominous; the colors are too dark, and the sea looks like it’d swallow me whole.

[Lips quirk upward, blink and you’ll miss it.]

Doesn’t always have to be mind-blowing commentary.
saviorexe: (69)

[personal profile] saviorexe 2019-02-18 07:57 pm (UTC)(link)
[The question has him detaching his assessment of the painting and looking around, then gesturing across this particular gallery, off to the corner.]

Here, I’ll show you.

[And so he’ll lead the way at a slow pace, cognizant of her injury and her reliance on the crutches.

Eventually, they stop at a piece. It only appears once they draw close, popping up as virtual reality art via their implants — swirling, moving, lurching forward then slowly receding back, like waves on a shore.]


This one is hard to ignore.
saviorexe: (10)

[personal profile] saviorexe 2019-02-20 04:03 pm (UTC)(link)
[It’s a little on the extreme side, maybe, but there’s something about the application of paint that echoes Markus’ own style and his propensity for slightly exaggerated color.]

And is that such a bad thing?

[Though to be fair, this one is decidedly very… trippy.]
saviorexe: (15)

[personal profile] saviorexe 2019-02-22 07:11 pm (UTC)(link)
[His good humor hasn’t drained from him when she looks askance; in fact, it seems to live on more vibrantly in each moment taken to appreciate the virtual, moving painting.]

Taking on a literal life of its own. I can see why that might bother you.

[It’s interesting, too, to still see it confined in a rectangular shape — he wonders if that was purposeful.]

But if nothing more, it’s a piece that’ll strike up a conversation. Sometimes I think about trying to make something like this; maybe use up the tubes of paint that usually get neglected.
saviorexe: (58)

[personal profile] saviorexe 2019-02-25 05:07 am (UTC)(link)
I do.

[Often. A lot. Came from a household where he was surrounded by art, headed by a prominent artist who remains close to his heart, an endless inspiration.

All of which could be said, of course, if not for Markus’ powers of observation — something that aids him in his propensity to read subtle changes in others — noticing the growing pallor creeping across Aranea’s complexion. Whatever he was going to say next is ignored in favor of concern.]


Tired? Maybe we should find a place to sit.

[There are, after all, such places inside this gallery — but outside, along the expansive square in which this establishment exists, even more so.]
saviorexe: (52)

[personal profile] saviorexe 2019-02-27 07:41 pm (UTC)(link)
[The heat of the sun is stark contrast to the inside air, the former’s warmth quick to spread invisibly across his skin. Markus looks around for a spot to sit and rest, the only suitable place being the curved steps near an interactive water fountain — its spray currently turned off, due to stringent city-wide restrictions.

Markus’ step is unhurried as he leads them in that direction.]


Do you want me to? I can do better than just sign it.

[He doesn’t have markers, but he does have the power of VR.]
saviorexe: (25)

[personal profile] saviorexe 2019-03-01 06:02 pm (UTC)(link)
[He recognizes that wince as pain from sitting and standing, or any mode of movement that either adds or releases tension too quickly around an injury. Never mind being a caretaker android; Markus is suffering from that himself, and his own attempt at sitting is careful and slow, jaw going tight.

They’re just a couple of elderly people, these two.

Still, he can’t help but sound amused.]


It isn’t as ominous as it sounds, I promise. [Gesturing at her cast-] I can paint on it — digitally. Whatever you want.
saviorexe: (90)

[personal profile] saviorexe 2019-03-14 03:24 pm (UTC)(link)
[He grins, looking at her and raising brow.]

I hope so, otherwise someone needs to give me a reality check.

[Especially given the circles he runs in.

Now that he’s seated, the ache is happy to reside in the background, and Markus continues.]


The advantage of VR means that if you hate it, you can delete it. I promise I won’t take too much offense.
saviorexe: (94)

[personal profile] saviorexe 2019-03-25 04:33 pm (UTC)(link)
[“Make it cool”. The weak point of every artist: the inability to know what her version of ‘cool’ might be.

He laughs faintly, though it’s cut short by the way it makes his side pang with an ache.]


A cool what, though? You get to pick the subject matter.