[PRP] Outreach in Art (Rasili - Caiden)

[Micillia]

 

[Micillia]

Caiden had been so happy to have something to focus on, something to take his thinkpan off of other, more depressing subjects. But yeah! He had been tickled when Officer Rasali had approved his idea of reaching out to frustrated trolls via vandalism. Pretty vandalism! Caiden was so happy that Autumn had invited him to join this cause, and that he in turn could give someone beaten down a little hope. The brownblood had collected all his spray cans, his Luses's help, and three or four bags of glitter. Everything he would need! The boy was set! His lusus would climb up the walls of a building, making it so Caiden could paint way up high on buildings, and then he could hide them with his illusions. It was such a point of pride to reveal the art. To be far away, where no one could connect that he had been the artist, and pull back the illusion, as if magically making a painting appear out of nowhere.

Sure, Caiden had practiced as a kid, but that was just for fun stuff. Now he had a message. A reason. The first few ones were... not Caiden's finest work... He often got frustrated with his work. Sure, it was fine, but it wasn't the boom he wanted trolls to feel as they realized they could be free of the system! The brownblood practiced, painting over and over his work, scraping off glitter just to throw more on. Finally tho, he had made something noteworthy.

Caiden was so excited. He had asked Officer Rasali to meet him here, a block or so away from his as of yet best work. He was so excited to show her the big reveal. Caiden had a slight headache from keeping up his illusionary "curtain", but the reveal was going to be worth it. He had picked the best spot and everything. Caiden had to calm down tho, he was a simple troll, "Acrlic Brushe" who wore all black and didn't smile at all. He didn't have that last part quite down.

seekingCylem

 

[seekingCylem]

Rasali, er, Peikoe Dubrow strolled down and across city blocks. She was doing her best not to triple-check the map she'd stuffed into her coat pocket. Rasali was doing everything in her power to not look like a complete tourist. Unfortunately she was in a less than ideal part of town and her Peikoe getup had a high-class, read: "muggable" look about her.

It wasn't the idea of actually being mugged that made Rasali anxious. Granted, her heeled shoes were wildly impractical for combat. It was more the scenario she'd concocted of pile-driving a would-be mugger and wrecking her disguise. She only had one pair of prosthetic horns and her dress was worth more than the rest of her closet combined.

Still, Rasali had done worse things in the name of the Phoenix Initiative. With how excited Caiden had been, this excursion promised to be pretty cool. She still didn't know much about the brownblood, but general enthusiasm went a long way in establishing Rasali's opinion about someone.

Rasali arrived on the designated street corner. At least, she was pretty sure she did. She still refused to check her map. How hard could it be to remember two street names, anyway? She squinted her eyes into the low lighting of the night and looked around for her contact. Definitely not conspicuous.

Micillia

 

[Micillia]

Caiden Banksy

Caiden saw Rasali and reached up to wave at her excitedly. He managed to keep from flailing his arm around too much, but his smile was impossible to hide. He beckoned her over and beamed at the commanding officer. "Wow you look great, um, Peikoe!" He said, admiring her outfit. Too bad Acrlic had a boring disguise.

"Okay!" He said with determination, and pointed to a large building about a block away. The plain grey building was the tallest of its kind in the area, and so it was easy to see. Perfect place to have his message be seen. "Ready?" With a flourish of his hands he pulled down the illusion, revealing the graffiti behind it.

seekingCylem

 

[seekingCylem]

Oh there he was. It took more than plain duds to block out Caiden's colorful personality. Rasali grinned with all her teeth and waved back with equal enthusiasm. "Aw, that's sweet of you to say." Rasali was genuinely flattered, though she would have been mad if Caiden hadn't complimented her. These shoes hurt! Give her kudos for wearing them, dammit!

Rasali spun on her heel in the direction of Caiden's pointing. She tapped her fingertips together with an excitable clicking. With a flourish and a shimmer Rasali couldn't quite comprehend, an image appeared on the side of the tallest building.

Rasali gasped and her fingers flew to her mouth. "Ish beautiful!" Her shouts were muffled by her hands. She pulled them away at the realization, but they continued shaking in the air with her enthusiasm. "It's so good, Caiden! You did such a good job! You're so talented!" Rasali squealed with no concern for image or codes. They were alone and she'd forgotten the name of Caiden's persona to begin with.

Rasali beamed. "Aw man it's so sweet. And the colors! The drones are going to hate it." She giggled gleefully.

"Have you got plans for more in this area?"

Micillia

 

[Micillia]

Caiden Banksy

Caiden beamed at the complements. He was so excited she liked it. He really hoped he could use this fun hobby of his to do some good. "Its so high up. Its gonna be a tough one to remove." Caiden giggled. He hoped it would last forever, but drones are kinda relentless when its all their really for.

"A few..." Caiden scratched his head. "Mostly ideas rattling around in my thinkpan." He grinned down at the shorter girl, clearly eager for something besides just showing off his art. "Really tho i wanted to ask your thoughts! Like, do you think this will really help recruitment? I was thinking something more interactive maybe. Get trolls participating with more than their look stalks." He frowned a little. "Other than more art, im not sure where to go from here."

seekingCylem

 

[seekingCylem]

Rasali nodded along with Caiden's thoughts and reexamined the building. True, the image was in a tough spot, and by no means small. However that would likely incite the drones to take care of it all the more. Didn't they have anything better to do? Rasali frowned. If Caiden was able to hang around up there long enough to paint it in the first place, the drones would likely have the resources to clean it up if they really put the work in.

"Hmmm..." Rasasli hummed--not entirely drawn from her thoughts. "Maybe one of the members with powers or connections could help you hit even trickier locations. The stunt alone would net some attention." Rasali would have continued to mumble, but was set back on track by Caiden's prompting.

Rasali grinned weakly. "Aw shucks. I'm flattered my opinion means that much. I, uh, don't really know a whole lot about like, art, or, uh... formal marketing." A thought visibly crossed over Rasali's features. "Huh! I guess that's really what it is when it comes down to it. Maybe..."

Rasali took another long look at the street art decorating the building.

"How about... a logo! Or like... something simple that anyone can draw or- or stencil. And then we make a thing of it! Like have a bunch of the kids just go out and tag stuff wherever they go? That should get people talking, trying to figure what it's about without inciting too much drone attention--'specially if they can't keep up with it across multiple towns. Or can't be bothered if it's just something small that keeps popping up. Like pamphlets but more cryptic and fun. Start a trend!"

Rasali was waving her fingers about as though that would further illustrate her point. "Maybe where to go from here is more art!"

Micillia

 

[Micillia]

Caiden's eyes widened and he gasped at the idea the greenblood brought up. "WHAT A GOOD IDEA!" The brownblood exclaimed, then looked around to see if anyone had noticed the two of them. He was working on being quiet but it was not his usual way of talking. "If it pops up all over the place in one night it will be sure to be something trolls talk about. It'll be a mystery on where it came from and what it means!" He grinned, "Things like that always get people talking, and that's exactly what we want!"

Caiden giggled, "Besides, like you said, the drones will hate it not being able to remove every small spot." He looked up at his mural. The piece would probably only last a night or two. He was sure the empress would want something like that taken down asap. It was okay tho. It lead to this, to Rasali's brilliant suggestion. He turned to the shorter girl, still beaming. "It's SUCH a good idea!" The brownblood exclaimed. "And we can make a game of it! The swamp kids will love it!" And him of course. Maybe Autumn could fly up to some really great spots, or Stryke could pause time and paint one of the back of a drone! It would be pretty funny if he could convince Etsali to break into a highblood hive and leave the mark somewhere sneaky. So many options! "Rasali you gotta help me out with a design." He pleaded. "When are you free? Let's do it soon!!"

seekingCylem

 

[seekingCylem]

Rasali beamed, practically glowing from the praise. She didn't even notice Caiden's outburst--too caught up in the enthusiasm herself. "It'll be fun! A game! A trendy game! See who does it the most, or, or in the coolest place!" Rasali grinned and pumped both fists. The fire of competition had been ignited within her.

"I don't know a damn thing about art!" She cheered, "But I'm always game for games. And social overhaul. Yeah, that too." Rasali nodded, self-satisfied.

"You don't got a place in the swamp, right? Hey, why don't you come over to my hive, I'll invited some 'artistically minded' trolls, and we'll make a slumber party out of it? I might not be able to draw for beans, but I can absolutely throw a baller sleepover."

Rasali gave Caiden two thumbs-ups and wiggled her eyebrows in what she hoped was a convincing manner.

Micillia

 

[Micillia]

Caiden's eyes sparkled and he slapped his hands to his cheeks in excitement. "YES!" He exclaimed. "Sleepover! Your hive! LETS DO THIS!" Having other artistic trolls helping would be AWESOME! More feedback was always a good thing. This had to be a symbol that was easy to read, yet small and not exactly noticeable.

Caiden returned the two thumbs ups and considered moving into the swamp. "It would be pretty cool to move into the swamp. You will have to show me the best places!"

seekingCylem

Fin?