i believe every day's a good day when you paint

[acherontiastyx]

[...so, shortly after breakfast, there's a note posted to the refrigerator door (and well, shoved under Elda's door, all things considered) in handwriting that's come to be really easily recognizable in its jankiness.]

YO. WE HAVE PAINTS. WE HAVE SPRAY PAINT. WE ARE ALLOWED TO DO WHATEVER WE WANT TO THE WALLS AS LONG AS WE DON'T BREAK THEM.

LET'S MAKE THE ACADEMY'S WALLS OUR CANVAS.

BE IN THE ART STUDIO AT 6:00.

[At the appointed time, when those interested walk into the art studio, they'll see that holy shit, Guzma got a lot of paints out of the storage room and put them all over the tables. There's a lot of stuff there, ready for everyone to grab and spread out all over the academy and paint all over everything.]

Comments

[matchbreaker]

[ . . . Okay she's - ]

You know what, I'd like to see that! So that's a good idea! I'll make some bats then!

[matchbreaker]

[ She needs to think about that for a moment and- ]

I could see that.

[ ANYWAY...

she's going over to the far wall and starting to spraypaint some purple bats ]

[foundfate]

[That is an interesting choice.]

...

Can vampires turn into bats?

[matchbreaker]

What, no, of course not! That'd be silly.

[ Hahaha... ]

But we do have a long standing relationship with bats.

[foundfate]

Why? Er, for the longstanding relationship, I mean.

[matchbreaker]

You can use bats to spy on people and places, and skilled vampires can use them as extensions on our natural abilities. For example, the manor I live in has a network of bats flying around it at all times which convinces humans they don't want to get anywhere near it without them knowing that's what's happening.

... Oh, and if you have enough of them together, you can fly with them.

[foundfate]

Oh! So that must be where the 'vampires turn into a cloud of bats' rumor came from.

[acherontiastyx]

Well, street art is the kind of thing that looks a little better with some stylistic jank, if you ask me.

[like this wussy looking wharf roach thing he's working on now.]

As long as you can figure out how to make something look cool, it's pretty easy.

[matchbreaker]

Mmmhm! But of course, because the bats are their own thing, you need to maintain the colony near the manor. In the Marker clan, we have our own personal jerky we make for them.

[ This is clearly something she has pride in ]

[neverheardofhim]

[The second he spots the red spray paint, Varric snatches it up and moves to the nearest walls. Two symbols go up right next to each other, the Amell crest and this peculiar symbol. Varric is more than willing to talk about either of them, should anyone ask.]

[foundfate]

Stylistic jank?

[That first part is said to himself in a confused voice, but he quickly shakes his head and speaks up again.]

How do you make something 'look cool' with spray paint, then? All my lines are wobbly.

[foundfate]

...

Don't bats eat bugs?

[That is clearly the biggest problem with a family of vampires keeping a swarm of bats for flying and mind-suggestion purposes.]

[matchbreaker]

Oh, it depends on the species!

[ Nod. ]

[foundfate]

There's species of bats that eat meat?

[matchbreaker]

Mmmhm. Most bats do eat insects of fruit, like you said, [ She's back to spraypainting ] And we do keep some of those, but a lot of them are smaller. There are vampire bats too of course. But there are some larger species that eat birds, lizards, all small creatures like that.

[foundfate]

[Trying to imagine a bat large enough to eat a bird is scary.]

They must be pretty good hunters, to get lizards off the ground and stuff.

But is that why you feed them jerky? To make it easier for them, so they stay nearby?

[matchbreaker]

Mmmhm! Plus if you're traveling with them, you'll usually try to keep them close-by and it's not a particularly comfortable space for them. My husband and son tend to keep several under their cloaks when traveling just in case.

[ And then, because Elda is really boastful ]

Of course, I don't need to worry about that!

[ Whahaha!! ]

[foundfate]

Because of your dresses, right?

[See he gets it! Maybe.]

[foundfate]

[That first one he won't say anything about, but the second one catches his eye. Mostly because the one he's making is a winged animal too.]

Is that a bird?

[foundfate]

[But is she drawing pictures, or just random lines?]

[foundfate]

[Well that sure is a thing.]

Silver, be careful!

[matchbreaker]

Nope!

[ And she turns now, smirking. Her fangs are exposed and her eyes are predatory mode. But mostly, she's just boasting right now ]

It's because my control over bats is so good it doesn't matter if their wild or some other clan's, I'll still command 'em.

[foundfate]

[The fangs and eyes do stop him for a moment, but that moment is much shorter than when Elda is being purposefully scary.]

You still feed them afterwards, right? Instead of just commanding them once and then leaving them.

[matchbreaker]

...Well, usually. But if I were to say, take the Reegans' bats for a spell because I was in the area, they'll be well fed anyway, so I'm just borrowing them.

[foundfate]

[He's speaking lightly here, clearly to tease Elda.]

Wow, how bold of you. Borrowing someone's bats without paying a fee for doing so.