Stroke 1: Video SN: Bellsareme

[relance]

[The video clicks on with a blond woman sitting in a window in the communal residence. Well, half in the window, she's got one nearly naked leg braced against the window sill, and her other is dangling off below her. She's holding a black cigarette in one hand, and the device in the other. An oversized white shirt men's shirt, splattered with paint streaks covers a black cami and a rather small pair of shorts below it. When she speaks, it's after taking a drag of the clove and her voice has a subtle New York accent in it.]

So, kidnapped to a moon yada yada yada, got that. Things I need to know: where do they sell cloves for the love of fuck because if I have to quit smoking on top of all of this I'm going to lose my fragile little mind. Two: how does one go about finding studio space for artists. Clearly this whole camp set up isn't going to work for that especially because I'm supposed to be a freelance fine artist for my assigned job.

And three, at the risk of being redundant, I've heard there's all sorts of fun adults only things going on. So tell me, is lingerie night at Trixie's all it's cracked up to be? I never can turn down an excuse to be wearing stockings and heels.

Oh yeah, I'm Julia Bellamy. Just Julia, mmkay?

[She doesn't want to get into a fight on her first day here, so there's a warning about that.]

Comments

[compartmentalise]

[Don't mind the android staring, or the flashing circle (currently yellow) at his temple. His retinal scan picks up on every detail, from the clove of her cigarette to the exact colors that are staining her shirt. His audio sensors take note of her accent and search the archives until he comes up with a match.

All of this takes the fraction of a second. Him actually approaching her takes a lot longer. When he does, his LED is a calm blue]

The local art supply stores have a large selection of paints in watercolor, oil and acrylic.

[relance]

[Julia knows that there are people in the room with her, she can't not when the wolf inside of her reminds her of that. Her posture is deceptively relaxed; if need be she could spring into action in under a second. But for now, she just lazily swings one leg back into the room, still holding the clove outside the window. She's an asshole, but the cloves are necessary for her not killing someone who decides not to shower or wears cheap perfume. Her nose is too keen for that.

So she notices that he doesn't smell human even before she notices the LED. With a soft amused tone, Julia just responds.]

Yeah, I know that, sweetie. But I'm not going to try and create a studio here. I'd drive you all completely insane with it. I'm more than a little bit of a night owl.

[compartmentalise]

[No one has ever called him "sweetie" before and he has no idea what to make of it, so he'll just focus on the comment that he can process]

That won't bother me. I don't have any need for sleep.

[relance]

Oh really?

[Drawing up her leg from where it had been dangling, Julia bends it so she can rest her arm on it to watch him.]

How'd you manage that one?

[Her eyes were watching him intently, and she just breathed deeply for a moment, as if forgetting that she didn't have the cigarette in her mouth.]

[compartmentalise]

I'm an android.

[His lips pull down, like he's puzzled he even needs to tell her this. It's true he isn't wearing his jacket with the arm band and symbol, but the LED is usually enough to clue people in]

[relance]

Welllll, [The word drags out for a moment as Julia studies him with a smile, and she takes a drag of her clove before leaning out of the window to exhale.]

That explains it. The prettiness I mean. Nothing like that can be man made. At least not without a whole shit ton of money.

[compartmentalise]

[He's not sure what Kamski intended by programming Markus's appearance to look the way it does. At least the money comment is something he can work with]

The man who designed me is very rich.

[indigobird]

[An artist? And a hot one at that. How can Hawke resist?]

They do sell things you can smoke at a lot of the... general stores? I think they're called? Can't say if they have your cloves specifically. As for a studio... I've seen none specifically advertised, but I don't see why you wouldn't be able to rent a space? They have those "studio apartments" about that may work?

[relance]

A studio apartment is too small unless you're a starving artist in a shitty musical. You'd die from the paint fumes.

[Or at the very least she would. Stupid nose.]

Back home I had a loft even.

[Before they went on the run.]

[indigobird]

Paint fumes? Then you dabble in a different kind of art than I do. Mine doesn't usually lend itself to lethality unless I decide to stab myself in the eye with what I'm drawing with. What do you do that releases fumes?

[relance]

Just different varieties of paint have different smells.

[A beat.]

And I have a sensitive nose. Hence the smoking.

[indigobird]

[People having sensitive senses seems to be a trait around these parts, she's noticing. Julia is not the first she's come across to have overly attuned senses.]

That does sound rather troublesome. You mentioned smoking cloves? I'm not familiar with them. We have tobacco where I'm from, but that always had a potent smell to me. And I say that as someone with a very ordinary, insensitive nose.

[relance]

Cloves have a distinctive smell too, but it's different than tobacco and more pleasing to my nose.

[And it means she doesn't have to smell people, which is the important thing.]

video; un: j.calhoun

[bardish]

People still smoke cloves? I thought they went the way of the 80's.

[ Pause. Wait. ]

It's not... still the 80's when you're from, is it?

[ He's not trying to be rude; this is a genuine question! ]

Anyway, you'll be pleased to know this moon is not a No Smoking zone!

[relance]

Well, for some people it may have, but considering I wasn't even born in them...

[Julia is just going to be amused.]

Oh thank god. I could kiss you for that!

[Not that she wouldn't have figured out another way if it was.]

[bardish]

[ why is everyone here so young

AS FOR THE KISS REMARK: ]

Ahhh... [ Awkward. ] If only you hadn't paired that with I wasn't even born yet...

[ He's kidding! ]

Welcome to Quarantine. Er. Riverview. That sounds a lot more welcoming than quarantine... Welcome to Riverview!

[relance]

You do realize it's possible to be born past the eighties and yet also to be 30, right?

[Jules, honey. You are doing math so so so wrong. And have forgotten what your birthday is.]

Riverview works, even though it sounds like some sort of mental facility for the criminally insane. It's even got the whole wall thing.

[bardish]

Yeah, in a time-is-relative, people could be from my future kind of way. But! That's a little ways beside the point.

[ Not that there was actually a point, anyway. He was just making a jokey comment in response to her jokey comment! ]

Does it? In my experience, they tend to include words like Harmony or Serenity in the name...

[relance]

[Oh you're cute. Too bad you think she's too young for you, Jeff.]

I've sure I've seen one or two with some sort of view in their name. Hillview, Bayview, and so on and so forth.

video | @minsu

[foxtrots]

Cloves? I thought those were just for protection sachets and ham, who do you smoke them?

[minsu might be thinking of a different kind of clove here.]

[relance]

Like this.

[And Alex is just going to take a large drag off the black cigarette and blow it out in rings.

But something that you said caught her attention so:]

Protection sachets? Does that mean magic is a thing here too?

[foxtrots]

Ah! [his face brightens. he understands now. but that just leads to another concern.] I've never seen a black one of those before! Aren't they supposed to be bad for you though?

[he can't stop watching the smoke rings though. that was pretty cool.]

Mm, magic and all sorts of other things. The possibilities seem endless here.

[relance]

Oh honey, everything that's fun is bad for you. You just don't know it yet.

[Julia smiles in an amused fashion, but she's taking in every single thing that is being said.]

Oh really? Like say bringing someone back from the dead or whatever?

[Wow, Jules, that's specific.]

[foxtrots]

[oh. he kind of likes that answer. and isn't too much red meat and deep fried things and food in general supposed to be unhealthy? not that the same rules apply to minsu's body, but he definitely sees her point!]

I don't know about that...I'm sure it would be tricky, even if it was possible.

[minsu's been witness to some arguably dark magic, but he knows that what she's asking about is even darker still.]

Did you have someone in mind?

[relance]

Nope!

[She pops that P in that word like it's bubble gum and shakes her head.]

Just wondering is all.