» she saw the pictures and painted them

[thenormalsquint]

Who: Angela and You. YES, YOU!
What: Come be drawn like one of her French girls.
Where: A street corner a few blocks away from the inn.
When: Early Misdi afternoon
Warnings: The warning is... it's Angela.



On this chilly, yet sunny afternoon, Angela Montenegro can be seen walking down on of Baedal’s many streets, dragging behind her is a little red wagon filled to the brim with art supplies. Where she got the wagon isn't important; what is important, however, is what Angela's planning on doing with the equipment.

Setting up is done quickly and easily with the finesse of a pro (this isn't her first rodeo, kids.) One sketchpad is placed on an easel and flipped to a clean page where Angela scribbles in thick black marker:

ART DONE BY PARIS TRAINED ARTIST – 6 SHEKELS EACH PORTRAIT

She stands back and eyes her handiwork before an almost evil grin spreads across her face. And in smaller, but not too small, letters, Angela writes the words:

NUDES ARE WELCOME. 1 MARK.

And in even smaller letters:

PLEASE HELP ME NOT STARVE. SUPPORT THE ARTS!

And in almost illegible letters towards the bottom right corner of the page:

Please? I don't want to do death masks anymore. ):

Comments

[thenormalsquint]

"It's more whoever walks up and wants one gets one," she replies with a laugh. Patting another stool placed next to the easel, Angela turns on the charm. "Come on. You know you want to. Nobody else is offering the prices and skills I am."

[andyoullmissit]

Clarice considers a moment, then sits, lowering her hood so Angela can see her properly. "Do I pay you first, or after?"

[thenormalsquint]

"After. Though if you feel better paying first, don't let me stop you." Once again, Angela's smiling at her own joke as she flips the sketchpad to a fresh sheet. "Any preferences? Color, mediums, poses?"

[andyoullmissit]

"I'll skip the nude, but uh, you're the artist? I don't know what would look good, really, I'm just kind of curious." It seems such a deeply normal thing, and that's still a novelty.

[thenormalsquint]

"Well, I could do it realistic or more cartoony, if you want, though, looking at you... I think I'll stick with realistic. No reason to hide your face."

Or the rest of Clarice's looks. Angela's used to seeing people of different shapes, sizes, and colors. They're no longer strange to her; just a new challenge to draw.

"What's your name?"

[andyoullmissit]

"Blink. Well," she corrects. "Clarice, but everyone calls me Blink." She's grateful that Angela doesn't seem put off by her appearance, and thinks briefly of the world her parents had hoped she'd have, moving to Miami. All that went up in flames, but it was a nice world to imagine, and Baedal is closer than she's ever seen.

[thenormalsquint]

"Which one do you prefer?" This is a question that Angela really shouldn't ask since with most people, she ends up either giving them a nickname or calling them some term of endearment. Just one of the dangers of being acquainted with this woman, that's all. Could be worse, really.

[andyoullmissit]

"I'm more used to Blink, these days, but I'll respond to either." Sidney called her Clarice, and very occasionally Mr. Creed had, but the war meant most mutants had come to rely on their code names more or less exclusively, even among friends.

[thenormalsquint]

"Blink it is, then." Turning back to the easel, Angela begins sketching Blink from her hair down, working in long, careful strokes. "Where are you from anyway?"

[andyoullmissit]

"I traveled a lot. Grew up in Miami, though, if that's what you mean." The hardest part of this is going to be fighting her desire to see what Angela's doing before it's done. "You?"

[thenormalsquint]

"Same here, only replace Miami with Texas and Baltimore. I lived in D.C. these last few years though."

Angela pauses to sit back and judge her progress with a critical eye, adding shadows here and there. She can tell Blink is impatient.

"Relax. This won't take too much longer."

[andyoullmissit]

"Sorry," she says with a laugh. "I was trying not to be that obvious. I'm not in a rush, I'm just curious."

[thenormalsquint]

"It's fine. Most people are. If you weren't, I'd be worried, to be honest," Angela chuckles in mid-strokes of pink chalk. "I'm almost done. With hood or without?"

[andyoullmissit]

"Down. May as well." It's a shame Sydney isn't here, she thinks. He'd be obnoxious, and flash twenty different faces before Angela could finish one. Her smile takes a slightly sadder cast at that. "I learned a long time ago that I can't expect anyone to like my face if I don't like it first."

[thenormalsquint]

"No, you can't," Angela says as she turns back to finish up the portrait, "But at the same time, you can't go through life caring about what other people thing about something you can't change."

It's easier said than done, Angela knows. She can't know what Blink has gone through, only guess at the severity of it, but she does know that people who look different than the status quo tend to get the shit end of life's stick. She's gotten it a fair handful of times just by being biracial.

[andyoullmissit]

Clarice smiles, grateful for how understanding Angela seems to be. "True. I guess Baedal's it's own thing in some ways, and I'm still just not used to it." Mutants - or xenians generally - coexisting with humans under at least the pretense of civility.

[thenormalsquint]

"It could be a worse place, I guess. Like Hell." So she says. It could be Hell right now but it just hasn't shown Angela's it's true face yet, who knows. But for now, Angela's going to try and look on the bright side of things.

[andyoullmissit]

"Been there," she says, and though she's smiling, it's grim. She's really not interested in digging up her time in the pens, though, so she makes it a joke. "Fewer restaurants and uglier law enforcement."

[thenormalsquint]

"I'm sure it's closer to D.C. than Paris," Angela adds, trying to further the uncomfortable joke to set Blink at ease. "Anyway, I'm done. You can look now."

On the pad is a sketched out version of Blink, hood down and in full color.

[andyoullmissit]

Clarice comes around to see, and smiles, then, leaving the unpleasant thought behind. "Oh that's lovely. Thank you." Images seems such ephemeral things to her; she's never owned a photograph of someone she cared for, let alone a portrait.

Maybe she'll eventually have someone who cares to have an image of her, but if not, it's a well-done piece that's its own reward.

She pulls out her coins, plus a tip. "I don't know many people here, but I'll be sure to send anyone looking for art your way."

[thenormalsquint]

"Nothing like word of mouth to drum up business." Angela carefully removes the portrait from the pad and rolls it up neatly, handing it over to Blink. "Don't be a stranger."

[andyoullmissit]

"Or you." She takes it. "Thanks again."