IC Contact [Folkmore]

[somethingrevolutionary]

IC Contact

Comments

backdated to Dec. 21st

[spktr]

[ On Solstice, Mel will receive a package from Steven wrapped in blue paper with a shiny silver bow. Inside, she'll find a mug and an assortment of local herbal teas.

There's also a written note: For calm and peaceful mornings. Here's some of my favourites. Happy holidays! - Steven ]

text | un: artismagic

[somethingrevolutionary]

Thank you, Steven. The mug is beautiful, and I've tried the first tea. I hope you're having a great holiday.

text | un: giftshopist

[spktr]

I'm so glad you like them! I saw that mug in the store and thought of you. I was going to buy some special art supplies before realising I don't know the first thing about art haha

It's been a wonderful month overall, really. [But he knows that is not the case for Mel so he won't push...]

[somethingrevolutionary]

There are so many kinds of art that it would have been correct to something. I mix my own paints out of habit. It lets me control the color I want, and I spend some good time around Folkmore gathering supplies. I can always use Lore to buy what I cannot find, but it's nice since I have more time here than in Piltover.

That's good to here. I'm glad the trial didn't get everyone down.

[spktr]

Is there a certain type of paint you prefer working with the most?

It wasn't the easiest time to start with but I think the holiday celebrations that followed helped immensely to heal. I'd almost forgotten about the horrors that came before.

I hope you're holding up well. If you ever need company, you know I'm happy to stop by.

[somethingrevolutionary]

Oils from a region near where I grew up. They take a great deal of work, but I like that about them.

Yes. It is pleasant that the greatest surprise these days is a present with your name on it that you cannot move and possibly golden glitter.

I would love your company. We spoke about sitting and reading together side by side months ago. I'd greatly like that.

[spktr]

It's nice that you can have them here too.

You ran into that mess too did you? I'm still finding glitter in my hair...

We did! I'd love that too. I'm always glad to come by yours or take over Hawke's living room.

[somethingrevolutionary]

Yes, it's amazing how much we can find here.

I did. Fortunately gold matches my fashion, yet I swear I have never bathed more in my life, and the glitter is nearly impossible to get out. I felt further foolish when handling the next gift and it behaved perfectly for someone else!

I love Hawke's living room, but I believe it would be better for me to do it at my place. I need to stop avoiding it if I'm going to be able to live here. [ She's spent more time at Hawke's farm and her studio than the apartment it feels like. The apartment is the emptiest part. ]

[spktr]

You know Thirteen and her tricks. They never quite make sense, do they? One month we're struggling with the horrors of death, the next we're getting glitter bombed.

Much easier to travel a floor down too, isn't it? I'd be happy to keep you company in your flat.

[somethingrevolutionary]

The two are clearly equivalent to some criteria in her mind. I certainly do not understand it. I don't understand the last trial at all.

That too. I enjoy the trip to my cottage, but it is a trip.

Gift for Mel

[obeir]

[ A small, neatly wrapped box has been left on Mel's doorstep. It contains a painter figurine with golden accents, all of it (other than the miniature paint brush) constructed from recycled electronic bits and bobs. It's a hobby K originally picked up back in Deerington that he's been devoting more time to lately.

There's also a signed note from K that mentions he's been thinking about her and hopes she's doing well. ]

Action

[somethingrevolutionary]

[ Mel appreciates the sculpture immensely. She finds a place for it on a shelf in the living room, a place the eye is naturally drawn to by the decor and layout. Friendship is the most important part of Folkmore, and she's glad to have K's art. She's thought about him too.

So rather than reaching out on the network, she visits him and knocks on the door with a bottle of fresh tangerine juice. ]

[obeir]

[ With so many of his once-frequent visitors like Jayce and Tech now absent and Viktor never really making social calls, having a visitor is unexpected these days. Surprise is clear in K's expression when he answers the door, but he's quick to offer a smile as he gestures Mel inside. ]

This is a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you? Would you like to come in?

[ The lack of visitors hasn't affected K's habit of maintaining a tidy living space. The most noticeable signs of his apartment even being lived in is the presence of many thriving house plants, the few stray books left on the arms of furniture, the several lying open on the coffee table next to unfinished sculptures similar to the one he made Mel, and of course the scattered stacks of sheet music on his piano. ]

[somethingrevolutionary]

[ Mel is quite familiar with keeping a tidy space. It's her habit as well, such that it feels anyone might move into her apartment, were she suddenly not there, and be ready to go. Not everything might be to their taste, but it's stylish enough to suit until one personalizes it further. The meanings to everything might be lost, but such is history, when it becomes history. ]

I'd love to come in, and I brought a small token of appreciation with me.

[ She means the tangerine juice, made fresh from the tree outside her studio in Gram. Her stellacorn doesn't eat all the tangerines, though she tries. ] How have you been doing?

[obeir]

That's very kind of you.

[ He shows Mel in to the spacious living room that's furnished with cushiony sofas and armchairs before heading to the connected kitchen, answering over his shoulder. ]

Doing my best to keep busy and be productive. Thankfully that isn't difficult here. [ A polite version of the truth. There's no sense ruining their visit by detailing the lonely isolation that he's largely fallen back into; he'd rather enjoy the company while he has it.

Returning from the kitchen, he sets a pair of wine glasses on the coffee table — he can't actually tell what the bottle contains, but what's stopping them from having fruit juice in fancy glasses? Then he pauses for a moment, debating the most appropriate place to sit, with Mel's comfort being his chief concern. Beside her? That might be too close for comfort in his current form... never mind how they've shared a bed before. It feels like a lifetime ago. He opts to take a seat opposite her. ]

And yourself?

[somethingrevolutionary]

[ The creature comforts are a good touch, and Mel supposes they reflect on the life K gets to live in Folkmore. His own. Humans may not have cared whether he had comfort like these, little everyday luxuries. Here they are, and Mel is glad for them for K far more than herself. She still relaxes onto a couch and appreciates the design.

The wine glasses for fruit juice make her smile. How appropriate, to live how they wish. ]

Despite no longer working in politics, there is more I wish to do here than I ever have time for. Art, magic, Tangerina... It's easy to lose time and only notice and look up when another trial starts.

I've been working on improving my ability to store my magic in the gems from the Encantado. Have they been able to help you, like Viktor talked about?

updating my thread tracker and noticed i missed this, so sorry!

[obeir]

The pendant. [ It's an almost unconscious gesture, the way K presses a hand to his chest, over where the pendant lies against his skin beneath the layers of his clothing. He frequently does this. ] Yes, it's helped significantly to resolve the issues I was having. Thank you for everything you've done for me, I really appreciate it.

[ And it reminds him that he can do something for Mel, too, even if it pales in comparison to the magic imbued pendant that's allowed him to live virtually pain-free after more than a year of the opposite.

He may not be her Familiar, but he knows how to use the compatible traits of their roles to his advantage. In this case, by projecting a serene feeling of calm, subtle as the warmth of indirect sunlight. Without a shared bond it's harder to fine tune it to meet Mel's individual and specific needs, but he hopes it might at least help her relax. ]

I've enjoyed seeing your paintings in the lab and Viktor's home. Do you accept commissions?

happens to all of us

[somethingrevolutionary]

[ Mel smiles, glad that her magic can help K in such a good way. He deserves to have his own life, the same as any of them. Too many people want to use magic and technology for violence, for conquering, for purposes that hurt people and the world. These ventures, these ways of helping people, that's what Mel wants her magic to be for. ]

You are welcome. It is honestly my pleasure to help. If I can ever do more, please let me know.

[ K has always helped people she cares about. She's known that since the first day she came to Folkmore and Jayce introduced them. There's nothing more K needs to do for her to be grateful for. The well being of those she cares about is the most important, especially when it feels at times she cannot do so herself. She worries about Viktor.

It's not the time for that, however, and Mel sets aside those worries in the comfortable conversation they are having. ]

I'm pleased you like them, and I would be happy to take a commission. So much of my art winds up with no one to see it but me that making something someone would enjoy is worth it on those grounds alone.

[obeir]

[ K's own worries regarding Viktor are never far from his thoughts and there is a conversation that he and Mel may need to have one day soon. About ways of combatting the growing Void influence that he's been in a unique position to sense — and monitor — within Viktor... ]

I'd love something to display here.

[ As he says it, he gestures to indicate the largely bare walls of his apartment. Much of the decor is also monochromatic, with some of the only spots of colour being provided by the abundance of house plants he cares for, and a handmade crystal rose with a gold stem — a gift from Jayce — in a place of honour by his piano. 

A vividly colourful painting would help liven things up, he thinks, though he's hesitant to express his desire for something specifically colourful lest it impose on Mel's creativity. The few paintings of hers that he's seen have possessed a stunning use of colour, and they're what have compelled him to ask in the first place. But he will appreciate anything she might choose to paint for him. ]

With compensation in any form you prefer. Lore, labour, a trade... [ An offer that's left open-ended in a display of trust. ]

[scienceofthearcane]

An orchid under a transparent dome so the temperature stays controlled the whole plant is left at Mel's cottage in Gram along with a notecard.

These flowers are beautiful and unconventional. They grow as symbiotes to their host tree and have a sense of graceful dignity to them. They remind me of you.

text | un: artismagic

[somethingrevolutionary]

Viktor,

This orchid is beautiful and reminds me both of Piltover and my own magic. It is a kind and thoughtful gift, and I shall make certain Tangerina does not eat it.

What is their host tree? I might plant one near my cottage for it.

Thank you,
Mel

text, UN: Machinist

[scienceofthearcane]

They grow on hardwoods like mango, avocado, or oaks and would prefer more shade so it would be better to make sure they are under a canopy of leaves so they will be shaded from the afternoon sun.

They grow on trees as a temptation to pollinators and thus the tree is able to propagate while the orchid is much more protected than they would be if they tried to grow along the forest lower. Where they grow the forest is very dense, so competition for light and water is fierce. By growing on a tree they also have access to much more light and water than they would otherwise. I do not know if they have a proper name, but I have just been calling them Mel.

(OOC: It's an AI pic of an orchid so I just made stuff up based on real world orchids)

[somethingrevolutionary]

It may be best I find a good spot for it in the woods rather than keep it where it will wither. There's some oaks near one of the places I gather supplies for making paints. If it grows there, I would be able to visit and to see it regularly, while it flourishes in a good environment. The best of all options.

It is only appropriate when I have flourished so much in Folkmore itself in ways I could not back home.

Thank you, again, Viktor.

action // may 2025

[glassrose]

Oleandra had spent much of her week leading up to Thursday trying to decide whether or not she would show up to her promised appointment with Mel. There had been something intriguing about their conversation, the way in which the other person hadn't allowed her to take control of the situation in the way she had wanted to. Although it had directly contradicted what she'd wanted, in a way, it was one of the more interesting conversations she'd had here -- sometimes losing control was more fun than having it, after all.

And, if she was being really honest with herself, she was lonely and wanted the physical company.

So, although she's quite sure the chance of being ghosted or humiliated in this situation is high, and it is something of an effort to ensure she's up that early in the morning ... she shows up to the appointed meeting place right on time. She's put some reasonable effort into her appearance -- ribbons tied daintily around her horns and tail, hair perfectly curled, skirt pressed and petticoat fluffed to perfection. She'd made a bit of a fool of herself in their conversation on the network, so now was the time to put her best foot forward.

... Or so she thought, but as she arrives to the appointed meeting place, she realizes that she hadn't specified a part of her appearance to look for, and neither had Mel. So she looks around curiously, trying to discern if there's anyone else standing around and looking for someone as though they might be waiting to meet up.

[somethingrevolutionary]

The days pass quickly, and Mel finds that Thursday morning comes around quickly. She prepares everything at her studio in advance—for painting, mind you—before making her way to the lake. It isn't terribly far, and it's a beautiful day. Flowers no longer haunt everyone's footsteps, so that the forest could be full of the trailing paths where everyone had been. It's better for privacy but removes a little art from the world. Ah, there's a solution for that.

Mel arrives on time, dressed as usual in fashionable clothes that showcase her golden tattoos. Painting is no excuse for any less effort, and even her time in Folkmore hasn't changed her preferences. While there's a few people at the lake, Mel makes her way around. She has the fortune that this person might actually be a bard, and—

That may be too on the nose, but given the appearance of someone with ribbons, Mel smiles. Her instinct has always led her true, so she waves to get the woman's attention. "Good morning," Mel says, "I am Mel Medarda, and I believe we have... a date."