[Has he learned his lesson? Has he?? 🙂 Time will tell.
But he does seem relatively normal, and Fern seems to be doing well enough, too, so he just tilts his head slightly in the direction he intends to lead her-]
All right. Just over here; it faces the street, so maybe people will have a chance to appreciate it before it gets graffitied over again.
[A small mote of pride mixed with cynism. Both utterly sincere, and she will come to learn that this is very, very Henry. He turns and leads her around the building, and his work becomes obvious almost immediately. She will be struck with the color green, first and foremost. Henry has painted the side of the building to look like crawling foliage, with wide thick leaves, splaying across the side. Vines, interweaving. And on the leaves, painted with careful precision that is also indicative of his character, are all sorts of little bugs.
They're lovingly rendered. There is, of course, a little jumping spider here and there amid the collection.
This is a far cry from painting a logo in a bowling alley. Did this take him a week? Two?]
They wanted a "nature" scene, I guess to contrast against the rest of this dirty city. So I gave it to them.
Fern follows, though it's not just Henry's tone as he makes that remark about people getting a chance to appreciate it that gives her a hint into that pride, that cynicism. It's as if she can feel those spikes of emotion as he speaks, allowing her that additional glimpse into him. (And they're going to have to discuss that, as soon as they're settled inside.) The thing is, he's probably right and it's only a matter of time before his hard work is scrawled over. With this many people all living in a city together, it's not that uncommon for things like common decency to go out the window.
As Fern turns the corner and finds the mural there, however, she pauses at a distance to study it in full. It's how it's supposed to be viewed, after all. And the nature scene may not be what she expected, but she does realize that it makes some sense to want a facsimile of nature on the grungy streets of Panorama.
It's not the same as cultivating a park or something like that, but the pop of color does make the street look more attractive. ]
It is eye-catching. [ She's impressed. A pause, and she draws closer to study some of the painstaking details of the plants and vines, the attention to detail that he took when painting it all out. She lifts one hand, tracing some of the lines, but her palm hovers rather than making direct contact with the paint. ] This must have taken a long time. Maybe there's something to be said for your work ethic after all.
[ A little tease, though her tone hardly changes.
Then Fern notices them: a spider here or there. She can see why he decided to go with a mural that focused on bugs, specifically. She points to one, glancing back to Henry with a controlled smile. ] I'm starting to notice a pattern with your interests.
[She will feel a faint vibration of appreciation radiating from him, like it were a string gently and subtly plucked within her. Despite Henry's generally unkind view of the world and the human society that festers within its confines, he is still beholden to very human emotions, and pride in one's work (if it is work that he is invested in) is one of the more straightforward ways to spark it.
He clasps his hands behind his back as she examines the mural and its finer details.]
I like to start what I finish. [He deflects her tease by sounding unaffected by it, and adding-] But you'll notice I'm not exactly clamoring for more work right now.
[Though that may be partially due to their run-in with the Skinner, and his powers being on the fritz.
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But he does seem relatively normal, and Fern seems to be doing well enough, too, so he just tilts his head slightly in the direction he intends to lead her-]
All right. Just over here; it faces the street, so maybe people will have a chance to appreciate it before it gets graffitied over again.
[A small mote of pride mixed with cynism. Both utterly sincere, and she will come to learn that this is very, very Henry. He turns and leads her around the building, and his work becomes obvious almost immediately. She will be struck with the color green, first and foremost. Henry has painted the side of the building to look like crawling foliage, with wide thick leaves, splaying across the side. Vines, interweaving. And on the leaves, painted with careful precision that is also indicative of his character, are all sorts of little bugs.
They're lovingly rendered. There is, of course, a little jumping spider here and there amid the collection.
This is a far cry from painting a logo in a bowling alley. Did this take him a week? Two?]
They wanted a "nature" scene, I guess to contrast against the rest of this dirty city. So I gave it to them.
no subject
Fern follows, though it's not just Henry's tone as he makes that remark about people getting a chance to appreciate it that gives her a hint into that pride, that cynicism. It's as if she can feel those spikes of emotion as he speaks, allowing her that additional glimpse into him. (And they're going to have to discuss that, as soon as they're settled inside.) The thing is, he's probably right and it's only a matter of time before his hard work is scrawled over. With this many people all living in a city together, it's not that uncommon for things like common decency to go out the window.
As Fern turns the corner and finds the mural there, however, she pauses at a distance to study it in full. It's how it's supposed to be viewed, after all. And the nature scene may not be what she expected, but she does realize that it makes some sense to want a facsimile of nature on the grungy streets of Panorama.
It's not the same as cultivating a park or something like that, but the pop of color does make the street look more attractive. ]
It is eye-catching. [ She's impressed. A pause, and she draws closer to study some of the painstaking details of the plants and vines, the attention to detail that he took when painting it all out. She lifts one hand, tracing some of the lines, but her palm hovers rather than making direct contact with the paint. ] This must have taken a long time. Maybe there's something to be said for your work ethic after all.
[ A little tease, though her tone hardly changes.
Then Fern notices them: a spider here or there. She can see why he decided to go with a mural that focused on bugs, specifically. She points to one, glancing back to Henry with a controlled smile. ] I'm starting to notice a pattern with your interests.
no subject
He clasps his hands behind his back as she examines the mural and its finer details.]
I like to start what I finish. [He deflects her tease by sounding unaffected by it, and adding-] But you'll notice I'm not exactly clamoring for more work right now.
[Though that may be partially due to their run-in with the Skinner, and his powers being on the fritz.
Still, a shrug, and a knowing, leading question-]
But what pattern is that, exactly?