semi-open post: portraiture

[peaklordshen]

After shifting his way through oil pastels, watercolors, house paint, colored pencils, and an endless variety of paint markers, Shen Yuan has finally managed to get the Mansion to produce a decent set of oil paints, and—wonder of wonders—an easel. He's set up in a spacious, well-lit hall, probably for dancing or salons or whatever, where he's arranged a bunch of furniture in various configurations—wooden screens that he's draped cloth¹ over for backdrops; armchairs stolen from the lounge, wooden stools and high-backed dining chairs from the kitchens; even a lovely chaise lounge in a deep purple that he wistfully thinks he won't actually use, because it would definitely be for Aleksander, and he doubts he'll be doing that entry in his protagonists of the Mansion series after all. He has one of the stools pulled up next to the easel to hold his paints, and is wearing a wide-necked sweater over a black turtleneck and some loose, worn jeans that already have a few flecks of paint on them from when he was doing his color tests.² He's pulled his hair back in a practical bun, and he's currently laying down a layer of gesso on his canvas.

¹ Look, he has to do something with all of those robes he accidentally conjured in his last post.
² After days of feeling very lost and confused about how he's not required to LARP anymore, he's pretty much decided that it actually means he can just change who he's LARPing as at will, and the main way to do this is through fashion. Today he is An Artist.

[Primarily for those Shen Yuan has offered to paint, but anyone else is also welcome to come bother him while he works.]

Comments

[peaklordshen]

Shen Yuan blinks at it. Is it?? "I guess the world I'm from--" he manages not to call it the real world "--does have a pretty fanciful approach to packaging. It's, um, like an advertising thing." He considers, briefly, trying to explain the state of modern unrestricted capitalism, and quickly decides 'how to eat an Oreo' is more his speed. He opens the normal package to take one out and show her. "You can just bite into them, but a lot of people prefer to twist off the top and then lick out the cream."

[ravkanwitch]

"That sounds like something from Princess and Barbarian," Nina says with a little giggle. She grabs an Oreo from the package and bites into it normally for the first try. "Oh, this is good!" She also slides a wrapped stroopwafel towards him to try.

[peaklordshen]

Shen Yuan snorts. "Yeah, there was basically no way to phrase that without it sounding sexual." He tries the stroopwafel. "Oh, that's really good. Are these from your world?" Then, correcting himself, "No, they wouldn't be, unless you guys have plastics."

[ravkanwitch]

"We don't have many wrappers," Nina says, "if that what you're talking about. A lot of the more complex materials have to be Fabrikator made and there aren't that many Fabrikators, especially to focus on food packaging. They're mostly ushered away to the laboratory to work on airships and missiles." She makes a little face. She loves Ravka and she's a proud member of the Second Army, but something in her wonders if this is truly the best use of Grisha abilities.

[peaklordshen]

Aleksander had said something similar--Grisha working in factories, producing arms. Their source material must be pretty focused on this magical war. Shen Yuan hesitates, taking an Oreo, then asks, "He didn't hurt you, right?"

[ravkanwitch]

"No, the only time I saw him before this was very briefly... in his future and my past. He left all of the younger students alone and made sure we got to safety during the war." She holds her half-eaten Oreo in one hand, worrying her lip a little. It's clear she's deciding if she wants to say this next part or not. "The instructors were a different story."

[peaklordshen]

"The instructors...?" Shen Yuan trails off, letting her end the question however she likes, maybe pick from the buffet of options he has in his brain, if she can hear them—he wants to know if they were killed; he wants to know if they meant something to Nina, if she was close with them; he wants to know what kind of instructors she means, at what kind of school. He's happy to have her disclose however much or little she wishes, though, it's not an interrogation.

[ravkanwitch]

"Well, Botkin was an instructor, at least. He trained many of us in our Grisha abilities. Ana Kuya worked at the orphanage that I grew up in and that we evacuated to. Botkin was somewhat of a mercenary and she was extremely strict -- but ...they weren't bad people. They were found dead, hanging in the trees." All of the things that the Darkling did later in the war, it just all seemed so unnecessary and cruel. How was he furthering the cause of the Grisha if they were dead??

"When I confronted him about it, he seemed genuinely confused," Nina hurries to add. "I think... something happened. Something made him snap and it hasn't happened with the version that's here yet." The yet does hang between them, though.

[peaklordshen]

Shen Yuan nods, slowly. "I think he thinks that, too. I think he's having second thoughts about whether pursuing the course you're describing is worth it. Worth what he did to your instructors, I assume--probably among other things. I told him I thought this place was allowing us all second chances, and giving us the freedom to become something new." He shakes his head, grimacing a little. "Which I do believe, but I probably would have said it less, like, sentimentally if I hadn't been truth-cursed at the time."

[ravkanwitch]

"That truth curse did a number on everyone," Nina says a little grimly. Luckily for her, the undead attack came immediately afterwards and anything she could have said about her Grisha abilities was on display during the attack -- and nobody cared. "I think he's telling the truth. It's just the potential that's there that scares me. But a lot of people here have the potential to do some really bad things." She shrugs. "I do too."

[peaklordshen]

"Everyone has the potential to do some really bad things," says Shen Yuan, though whether he's reassuring her about Aleksander or about herself he's not really sure. "I'd like to think everyone has the potential to do really good things, too, but I get why that feels less likely for some people than others." He reaches over and opens the packet of cherry cola oreos. "It feels wrong giving you these without at least introducing you to cherry coke first. Like showing you a grotesque copy of beautiful art, or something."

[ravkanwitch]

"There have definitely been a few points where even I could have done something quite terrible," Nina acknowledges -- then she makes a little face. "Is it really that bad?"

[peaklordshen]

"Okay, I admit, I don't actually know," says Shen Yuan. "But--corporations in my time are obsessed with shoving flavors into other flavors, and occasionally you really do get something so bad it should probably be a war crime. Here, try this, first." He stands up, and produces from the fridge, a--vanilla coke. And then a coke zero. And then, finally, after her gives it a very stern look, a cherry coke. He hands it to Nina.

[ravkanwitch]

Nina takes it and opens it carefully, taking a sip. She gives it a mild look of distrust first -- but then it's not bad. "It tastes like a whole sweets factory mixed together," she says.

[peaklordshen]

Shen Yuan snorts. "Yeah, pretty much." He cracks the vanilla coke, despite his better judgment. "Now imagine that taste but in, like, cookie form, and combined with the Oreo taste." He pushes the package toward her, slowly and slightly ominously.

[ravkanwitch]

"You're scaring me," Nina jokes -- but she still opens the package and takes one, taking a bite of it. Her expression as she chews is probably somewhere between contemplative and also mildly concerned.

[peaklordshen]

Well, Nina hadn't instantly spit it out, so that was? A good sign? Shen Yuan takes a fortifying sip of vanilla coke and takes one for himself.

[ravkanwitch]

"It's not bad," Nina says haltingly, but she waits until Shen Yuan takes a bite of it and starts chewing before laughing. "It's absolutely terrible. I need to drink something else to get the taste out of my mouth."

[peaklordshen]

Shen Yuan winces his way through his bite and abandons the rest of the cookie back to the package. It is truly disgusting. "Like I said, war crime. I think we'll let the mice have those. Maybe take them outside for Magnus' squirrels." He makes a face. "Some people dunk the original ones in milk, maybe that would help."

[ravkanwitch]

"Good idea," Nina says, grabbing a carton of milk and two glasses. "Why do people make things like that?" As she's pouring both of them glasses of milk, she makes the sound of someone suddenly remembering something. "I've been meaning to ask. ...what's Kitchen Nightmares?"

[peaklordshen]

"Kitchen Nightmares?" Shen Yuan snorts a laugh. "Where did you hear about that?"

[ravkanwitch]

"From your brain," Nina says, ducking her head a little sheepishly. "I'm doing so much better at blocking out your thoughts now, but this was from before, one of the first few times we met."

[peaklordshen]

"From my— okay, that does make sense, and honestly if you're going to glean anything from my stray thoughts that's a pretty harmless one." Shen Yuan shakes his head. "Kitchen Nightmares is, um—a television show? Has Magnus or anyone explained television to you, or movies?"

[ravkanwitch]

Nina shakes her head. "No idea what they are, unfortunately."

[peaklordshen]

"Damn," says Shen Yuan. "Okay, so like--you have plays, right? Other types of theatre? It's kind of like that, except--there are ways to record it, the visuals and sound and everything, and then play it afterward whenever you want. Movies are like, single performances, a couple hours long, and television is ongoing."