rp post

[excontractu]

for offscreen interaction 

Comments

[inhumanresources]

It doesn't bother me to talk about them. I just don't really . . . care.

I'm sorry. Does that sound cold?

[selfdissecting]

[ for an inexplicable second they struggle to make that statement fit their idea of who he was. and it doesn't quite. and they realize that's fine.

it's better than fine.

softly, even for Maeve, ] No.

Talk to me about something you do care about.

[inhumanresources]

Um . . . I really like . . .

Modern art, actually.

[selfdissecting]

[ '^' pulling out their phone ]

Like which?

[inhumanresources]

[also . . . soft. stirring his coffee]

Well, there's this artist who has an exhibit up at MOECA right now. She lets insects and lizards walk across a canvas with a thin layer of paint, and then takes the patterns and uses them to make abstract expressionist pieces. It's sort of more guided than some people think that kind of art should be? But I think it's fun to look at. Emilia. She only goes by one name.

[selfdissecting]

[ doing a quick eldritch guugle to see what they can find, flicking through the results. then they just tuck the name away into a memo app, possibly to be forgotten about entirely until they no longer remember what the name is meant to relate to, but you get the feeling probably not ]

I think that is really cool. Is there a reason you like it? Or... just a feeling?

[inhumanresources]

Well . . . it's sort of like.

I could never create art from a blank canvas. Because the first stroke would be too hard. I wouldn't be sure I could get it right. But for Emilia, those bugs and lizards don't worry about that at all. So she doesn't have to worry about it either. The beginning of the art is already made by someone who didn't agonize over it, and then she can make it relatable to humans by finishing it.

[he seems like he REALLY does not ever talk this much]

[selfdissecting]

[ and Maeve definitely looks surprised, but pleasantly so. they like it when they get to just listen to someone else talk. especially when they like that person. ]

Ohhh. That seems like a romantic way to look at it... idea of... a ssssssymbiotic creation? [ they shake their head, kind of bashful. the exact phrasing to describe it doesn't matter, right? ] I think I would be afraid of the final product being... informed by someone else's beginning, I guess.

[inhumanresources]

That's why she chooses little animals, I think. But I understand what you mean. I think I just like collaborative things best, for everything.

[selfdissecting]

You really are suited for your job.

[inhumanresources]

[he smiles, more warm than polite] Thanks. I try to be.

[selfdissecting]

[ god he's pretty

glances away, as though taking a sudden interest in the decor on the walls ]

Y, Yeah. You are. Collaborative...

[ mumbles ]

[inhumanresources]

Things are easier when you're not alone.

[somehow he really manages to not make it sound directed at her]

[selfdissecting]

[ .......jiggles a leg under the table, taps a finger on their mug. it's just slightly too noticeable, because they can't quite monitor the subtlety of things like that anymore ]

They are. Yeah.

[inhumanresources]

So, um.

Do you like any kind of art in particular? Or music, or movies.

[selfdissecting]

[ they find themselves having to think for a little before anything comes to them. too long where the answer was "i like what you like". ]

I like Romantic art. Um... I don't really watch movies often. The light hurts my eyes. But I like music. I can't, um, remember literally any of the artists now that you have asked me, though.

[ even their monitor at W&O has, like an eyestrain/privacy screen protector on it ]

[inhumanresources]

You'll have to share a playlist with me sometime.

[selfdissecting]

[ soft :o, just their front teeth visible through the parting of their lips ]

I.

I can make one for you.