melodiesoflife | Pixel Paintings by Chiaki

Entry tags:

Pixel Paintings by Chiaki

Characters: Chiaki Nanami and Open
Where: Outside the Observatory
When: April 2nd
Summary: Chiaki decided to pick up a new hobby, but her paintings are turning out strangely.
Warnings: Probably just gonna use action brackets for my own tags, but feel free to go with whatever makes you comfortable.

[In a recent conversation with Valvalis during the events in the Imperial City, Chiaki has decided that maybe there is some merit to the suggestion that she should be doing something with her spare time other than just playing games. After all, there are no video games to speak of in this world, and that's what she spent the bulk of her time on before coming here.

So in order to fill the void in her schedule, she's decided to take up painting. There was a brief internal debate about whether to go with this or carving wooden lawn gnomes, because everyone knows the latter is much more profitable, but Chiaki eventually decided the start-up cost of becoming a painter in terms of both materials needed and initial effort required was more efficient.

It seems as if she's finished a few paintings, and she's showing them off in a little impromptu exhibition outside the Observatory being used as the Heroes' guild hall. But they all have a rather curious similarity to them - all of the images depicted are composed of hundreds of colored squares, almost like pointillism but more blocky. And the paintings are generally easier to resolve into an image the farther away you get.

Right now, she's got three things sitting on easels next to her. One is entitled Self Portrait, a second bears the title Valvalis, and the third is called Landscape. Up close, it just looks like a mess of random blocks and colors, but once you move back, it actually appears to be a picture of the sun setting over the horizon of the city. Chiaki is standing next to the paintings waiting for people to come by and comment.]

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[she'll do her best not to.]

From games? Then… do you know much about those ancient civilisations?

[while there are a few ancient civilisations she knows of, she doesn't know a great deal about them. If she could…

She's watching with great interest. It's looking good to her so far!]

Sure. I could tell you a lot about the Sindar if you want.

[It is probably not entirely clear at this point whether Chiaki is referencing a real historical race or something from one of her games. This is an unfortunate side effect of having conversations with her.]

They knew a lot about the twenty-seven True Runes.

[Dot dot dot... it's getting done, bit by bit.]

There. First foot done. How does it look?

The Sindar? [she has absolutely no context for this, so it can only end well. She nods.] Go ahead!

True Runes? [oh, that's one more than the Eorzean alphabet. curious!]

[she leans forward to try to get a better look without disturbing it too much.]

It's looking good! Veryneat.

Good. I'm glad.

[Chiaki briefly blows on her toes again before starting in on the second foot, starting in on her explanation at the same time.]

The Sindar were an ancient race known for their advanced knowledge of runes. It is said that they were cursed by the Rune of Change and forced to move from place to place, never settling anywhere permanently. They journeyed all over, leaving ruins in every corner of the world and protecting their wealth knowledge with traps. Many of these traps are magical in nature, since they were the first race to truly master the use of the runes. Not much else is known about them other than that, but scholars and archaeologists the world over have studied them for years.

[She explains all of this as she continues to work on K'pandolu's toes, never taking her eyes from her work.]

The True Runes, on the other hand, are thought to have existed since the dawn of creation. They could be said to be like gods themselves, as they are powerful, sentient, and hold power over the very forces of nature themselves. For example, the Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water Runes hold sway over those natural forces. There are also runes related to creatures of the world, like the Dragon Rune, which allows dragons to exist, or the Night Rune, which allows for the existence of vampires.

Nothing about what they were like? [well… she supposes it's possible. But it still seems like a shame.]

Sentient!? How? […if there were a Dragon Rune, she imagines Ishgard would be very interested in that.] What do you mean when you say 'allowing for the existence'?

No... not really. Their existence predated that of humans, so there's no eyewitness accounts beyond what people have managed to excavate from the various ruins.

[Chiaki hums a bit, thinking before offering an unhelpful shrug.]

I'm not sure. Not directly, anyway. The True Runes attach themselves to a mortal bearer as a way to directly channel their power into the world, but handling that much power all at once usually doesn't turn out too well for the bearer.

[She pauses for a moment to get some more paint onto her toothpick before continuing.]

Because the Rune exists, the creatures associated with it exist. If the Rune were to stop existing, so would they. That's how powerful they are. The Runes are in direct control of primal forces.

It's a lot like what you'd get if the four elemental Crystals of this world could talk to you and behave proactively instead of passively influencing their associated elements, probably.

No, of course… and if they travelled often, they must have taken most of their lives with them.

[she nods, slowly, discomforted by the idea.]

I couldn't imagine it would.

Then they're connected to the world itself? [it sounds like a lot of trouble. But if that's how it is…]

[at that, she starts slightly.] …Perhaps so. [is the Mothercrystal like that? She didn't think so, but… she wonders.]

Edited 2015-05-07 12:25 (UTC)

Right. The Runes are as old as creation itself. They've been around since the dawn of time. Before them, there was just a vast nothingness.

[Regardless of how disturbing any of these thoughts might be, Chiaki's just rattling them off calmly and slowly.]

I'm finishing up the last toe now. I'll be done in about a minute.

Nothingness… The Void? How did they come into existence? […how did anything begin, really?]

[That's surprising. A little amazing, too, perhaps.]

All right.

The darkness shed a tear, and it split and became the Sword and the Shield Rune. The two had an argument over which was stronger and fought each other, and the jewels that adorned them became the other True Runes.

...Or that's how the legend goes, anyway.

…well, Ahriman shed tears, I believe…

[she nods at that, expression clearing slightly.]

I suppose… events weren't necessarily like that. But how do you tell? [it's… fairly rhetorical, really.]

If we knew, they wouldn't be called legends.

[Straightforward responses to rhetorical questions are Chiaki's other area of expertise.]

I suppose not.

[it's a little disappointing, in some ways. Still, she perks up after a moment.]

Were there other civilisations?

The current calendar was established around the same time as the founding of the Holy Kingdom of Harmonia, which is one of the biggest human civilizations in the world. Before that, there isn't much recorded history to speak of.

[Dot dot dot... and Chiaki smiles, pulling back.]

There. All done. Take a look and see what you think.

There isn't? […various Sharlayan scholars would probably have a fit.] The Kingdom of Harmonia?

[K'pandolu nods, and leans forward to get a better look. It's unusual to see the Wanderer's mark done this way, but they seem to have come out quite well.]

It's very neat. A job well done!

I'll tell you about it some other time. There's enough information on Harmonia to fill an entire book all by itself.

[She could talk about the Suikoden series all day long! Not that K'pandolu knows Chiaki's just reciting extensive video game lore.]

I'm glad you like it. You're my first real customer, so I'm happy it turned out well.

I look forward to it!

[pretty much. Harmonia does sound a little odd, but… who's to say it couldn't be a place somewhere?

She nods.]

And now you know you can do it for other people!

Well... I did do it once before. Twice, if you count when I did my own. So I've had a little bit of practice. But once was for my housemate. This is the first time I'm charging for it.

[Chiaki glances thoughtfully at K'pandolu's toes, tapping her chin.]

So what do you think it's worth?

[she nods, tail flicking lightly.]

How does five gil per toe sound to you?

So fifty total?

[Chiaki thinks for a moment before nodding.]

If you're all right with that price, that's fine.

Of course. [that's what she's suggested, after all! She reaches for her gil pouch and counts it out.] There.

[Chiaki still feels like that's a little pricey, but the customer is always right. Opening her hand, she accepts the gil and sets it aside.]

Thanks. You'll need to wait for your toes to dry first, but after that they should be fine.

Alright. [she wriggles her toes a bit, watching them.] How long do you expect that should take?

About half an hour, probably.

[Chiaki glances down at her toes, watching them wriggle too and smiling softly.]

I think it turned out cute.

Half an hour…

[…well, with any luck, she'll find something she can do in the meantime.]

It's all your that's done it.

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