somethingrevolutionary | IC Contact [Folkmore]

[ 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?

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?

[ 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?

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?

[ 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.

[ 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. ]

[ Mel considers K's apartment. The decoration style differs greatly from hers. Mel believes in color, and while she knows how to stick to the Medarda themes, her own home reflects far more than that. Folkmore has allowed her to express herself more freely. It changes over time, and Mel keeps some things the same but changes others. That includes her own artwork.

If he should want something to match this style, she can manage that, though she might still want to bring in some gold as an accent. Yet, whatever constraints he wishes to place on the piece, Mel will respect. It will be a creative challenge, one she can enjoy. ]

You can be as specific or general about what you want in a work of art. In the end, what matters most is that it speaks to you and is something you wish to display here.

[ As for compensation, Mel's instinct is to refuse compensation. They are friends, and their needs are readily meant in Folkmore. Her time and effort on the piece will not make her go hungry if she is not paid. However, given K's history, Mel's aware he might want to provide compensation, as commissioning art isn't something he'd have done back home.

So it's a matter of honoring that he too can commission art and wishes to do so, including the aspect of compensation. It's even more generous that while he suggests some ideas, he leaves it up to her to decide, between them or on something else entirely. ]

If it is amenable to you, perhaps you could compose a piece of music on the piano and record it. An art trade, as it were. I would love music I could listen to while I paint.

[ Being invited to state his preferences helps to reframe things in such a way that, thanks in part to the effects of the pendant, he's able to push past the mental hurdle of not inconveniencing a human. For as much progress as he's made overcoming the limitations of his programming, sometimes (essentially) being granted permission can still hold power. For better or for worse. ]

I'd like... colours. [ It's a thoughtful sort of hesitation rather than one stemming from uncertainty, for once. ] As many as you have or can create. For a painting that would stand out and draw the eye, not blend in.

[ Still broad enough parameters that they hopefully won't stifle any creativity, while also encompassing everything that he wants. He could narrow things down further (and if he knew of the existence of those nude paintings of Jayce, they might inspire interesting suggestions), but he's also curious about what Mel would come up with on her own for him.

Her proposal is a pleasant surprise. It isn't often that his own artistic pursuits are even acknowledged like this. Though to be fair, he also hasn't shared them with very many people, some of whom are now absent from Folkmore. ]

If you won't mind a potentially uneven trade. I've seen your paintings, I feel I'm getting the better end of the deal. But— [ Before she starts thinking it's something he doesn't want to do: ] I'm flattered you'd want that from me. I'd be happy to compose something for you.

[ Not "try" to. He will. Because he can do that now, even without Tech's direct help or Jayce and Joi's steadfast encouragement. Though he wishes he could share his accomplishments with them. ]

Is painting a private endeavour for you, or would you allow a curious observer on occasion?

[ Mel looks at his apartment once more, the lack of color now sadder in feeling, the signs K still has further to go to make himself his own man well and truly free. Well, don't they all? Mel only stepped away from her mother the day she came to Folkmore, despite her long exile, despite everything she knows to be true about her. Nor does that mean Mel has fully freed herself of Noxus and her mother. Her mother remains in Piltover to take advantage, to push for what she wants, and to manipulate the situation to her advantage.

So it is not with judgment that Mel thinks that of K. Thirteen brought them here to reach their potential. If they'd fully reached it, even by her standards and not their own, they would not be here. It's fair to say they all need to grow. ]

It would be my pleasure, K. Color has always been associated with freedom and life for me, so it's most natural to include it in any painting I make for you. Would it be all right to visit you repeatedly, at many times of day, or perhaps even to spend a day here to observe the light in this space? I'd love to have that in mind when I know exactly where a painting will go.

[ She gives him a smile at his insistence in complimenting her art. She's had a longer time to explore her artistic pursuits, but she has no doubt K will only grow more skilled and devoted a musician. Like painting, it's a way to communicate feelings that words cannot express. They all need that, and K dedicates himself to what he cares about. ]

To receive an original piece of your art, I don't see how anything else I could ask for in a trade would be more meaningful. Should I memorize your piece, once written, it is even something I can bring home with me, and that is something I cannot give you.

[ Nothing lasts forever, not even a work of art. Yet Mel likes the idea of what she can bring home, and that it can be more than memories. Someday, she might choose to go home, to do what she can. There is so much she'd leave behind here, but there are so many people to help there. She'll do everything she can for K first—work with Viktor, so as not to leave him hanging. Yet Piltover and Zaun need her.

Another day. Now is about art. ]

It depends on the piece. Most of the time, so long as any curious observer knows how to be quiet until I take a break, that is enough. Though when I paint portraits with models, I expect my subjects to talk. Such extended silence would be unfair to them.

[ It makes sense to want to know the quality of light in a space where a painting will be displayed. That attention to detail is also well above and beyond anything he would have expected from their exchange, to the point where his surprise is clear in his expression. But there's no hesitation. ]

Of course. Whatever you need. [ Though he isn't always home. Much of his time lately has been dedicated to helping maintain the hydroponic garden. He looks down for a moment, thinking, then rises from his seat to retrieve something from one of the bookcases, replying as he does. ]

A painting can't be memorised or replicated the same way, but I would at least retain a digital copy of it. [ Which may require a little elaboration. ] That's how my memory functions. Like a recording of everything I see and experience. Unaffected by the passage of time... and multiversal travel, so far.

[ A double-edged blade. It means being capable of recalling events exactly as they occurred, uninfluenced by emotions, but also that traumatic experiences are not softened by time the way they're said to be for humans. They exist within his memory with the same clarity as when they occurred. He's incapable of forgetting. His memories can also be extracted and utilised like files, so he could have the future painting of Mel's digitally reproduced and printed that way. Wouldn't be the same as having the original, of course, but it would be better than nothing.

The item he retrieves is a spare key to his apartment, and he sets it on the table near the tangerine juice for Mel. And he also ~~finally, oops XD~~ pours them both some while he's there, offering Mel a glass before taking his with him as he returns to his seat. ]

You can use the key to get in if I'm not home. [ As for why he was asking about her visitor policy... ] And I'd like to be that curious observer. I wouldn't interrupt. You and any models you may have might forget I'm even there. [ Because the unobtrusive presence of a cat often goes unnoticed, he's found. Well. And the fact he's also liable to fall asleep if there's any particularly nice sunbeams available, even though he'd worry it might be rude to do so. ]

[ The spare key surprises Mel because it means K welcomes her into his apartment, his personal safe space, whenever she chooses to utilize it, including when he's not home. She'll knock, she'll always knock first. Yet the measure of trust is meaningful. ]

I am glad you will always be able to look at it in your mind. You will be able to remember it in the light and setting it was meant for too.

[ She wonders more about his memory. K is a person, and with that he has emotions. Those emotions can still be tied to memories, even if the memories themselves are remembered more accurately. What is that like, for good, for ill, and for everything in between? It certainly would shape his interactions and experience of the world. Like most people, Mel cannot remember everything from when she was a child, and she wonders what more she would know about herself and her family if she did.

A sip of the tangerine juice. It's fresh and delicious. Mel's glad she got as many tangerines for herself as she did. More to share it with K. ]

I would welcome your presence. If I have a model, I would check with them first. Some people can be awfully shy about posing for paintings, so it would be no snub to you if someone says no. I'm fairly sure that some of them wish I could paint them without me seeing them. An unfortunate impossibility.

Most of the time, I don't have models, so it's not an issue. I paint a lot of landscapes, memories, and whatever I'm feeling. I don't restrain myself from any subject matter that strikes my fancy.

IC Contact [Folkmore]

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

happens to all of us

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time to float the idea of lapcat for mel~

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