vee-martinelli-blog

[vee-martinelli-blog]

@jack--davenport

Serving a summons was one of the many job allotted to the interns at Vale & Vale, and at first they were hesitant at giving her such tasks. But she insisted on taking as many as possible, quite frankly the thought of ending up doing filing all day every day was enough to make her want to quit the profession and work at a corner store or something for the rest of her life.

“You lost?” The bartender asked, probably indicating that she looked out of place in the bar. This was the downfall of letting her mother pick her clothes, she looked perfectly acceptable in a courtroom, but entirely out of place in just about any other setting. 

“Not at all, I’m looking for someone actually. Jack Davenport?” She smiled knowingly, this wasn’t the first time she’d served him a summons. 

[vee-martinelli-blog]

The sidewalk was less crowded than usual, in fact right now it was empty. More and more people opted to stay indoors lately due to the rain, and only ventured out for necessity. Vee on the other hand was determined to continue her habitual life. Even though this rain scared her she would tough it out, being blind didn’t stop her from leading an active life and neither would douchebag apocalyptic acid bloody rain damnit. She was a New Yorker born and raised, she was no wilting flower. At least that’s what she sternly told herself as the sheer smell of it all wafted up her nostrils and had her rethinking this whole stubbornly independent streak in herself. 

At least the plastic in her umbrella wasn’t melting like those radio hosts insisted was happening all over the city. Her kane met little to no resistance or obstacle as she walked briskly down the sidewalk.

“Oh fuck, I’m sorry! Shit... my clicker.” Someone coming out of an alley collided into her side and knocked her clicker right out of her hand, and she didn’t have a spare. She frantically tapped her kane around for it, not expecting the stranger to stop or care, people bumping into her was more or less a frequent thing in New York, more so than your average person in the city but hey what can you do right? New York was home of the in a hurry get out of my way type of people and she probably wouldn’t have it any other way.

[vee-martinelli-blog]

@corrxna​

The Strand was one of Vee’s more frequent trips, she tended to go through books fairly quickly since there was little else to do when you were riding the subway and headphones were ill advised on public transport when you were sight impaired. 

The store had no braille section unfortunately, so browsing wasn’t really something she could enjoy at the quaint place - but they could order just about any book she was interested in for her. Honestly Vee could have just ordered the books online for herself, but a combination of a strong desire to support local bookstores and the need to get out more on non school related activities drove her to be a patron of the store. It was like trips to her favorite bodega or grocery outlet, a little chore that got her out and walking.

Her thick raincoat and umbrella protected her successfully this time. And as she shook off her umbrella and folded it she carefully placed it by the door, not wanting to stain the floor with what she was told were red raindrops. Every time she recalled the colour a shiver went up her spine. Red. She couldn’t remember what red looking like, what anything looked like really, but the connotation of the colour mixed with its smell and effects didn’t encourage a calm attitude about it in the least. Either humans had messed up their planet so badly that this was the result or something of terrible biblical proportions was happening. Maybe both.

“Is anyone here?” Vee chimed, approaching the front desk, the store was so quiet. She used her clicker to determine the front of the desk but it told her nothing about anyone possibly behind it. For some reason the people that worked at this place were especially quiet people, and pinning their location could be extra difficult. Even the way they breathed seemed muted and careful.

[vee-martinelli-blog]

natalyasankara·:

Normally, she’d probably look absolutely insane pushing a basket full of umbrellas towards the checkout but give the hellish rain Natalya was sure she got a pass. Not that she actually gave a damn about what anyone had to say about. She’d cleared out all of the stands in the store and the final one was en route to the line. “Hi,” she greeted the customer standing just left of the display. “Are you going to purchase one? I plan on taking what’s left.” 

“Hello.” Veronica parroted back in a small voice, already knowing the inflection of the other’s tone to mean that she was going to continue speaking and the small ‘hi’ was only a transitional politeness.

“Well yes, I was just wondering... they said on the radio some people’s umbrella’s were melting depending on the plastic. Do you think these are ok?” She asked the other woman’s opinion on the matter, as she herself had been sitting there feeling the fabric of the umbrella’s as though that would divulge the answers to her suddenly.

“Wait I’m sorry did you say you were going to purchase the one’s left? Is there a new monopoly on umbrella’s somebody forgot to mention?” Veronica said jokingly, though she was actually serious. It did occur to her that people could purchase out the umbrella’s in stores in bulk and force people to play more because the item was in demand and stores were conveniently empty of them. She hoped that weren’t the case here.

[vee-martinelli-blog]

derek-calloway·:

The hospital was swamped. Of course, he shouldn’t have been surprised, but it was overflowing with people. What with victims of the bizarre rain, Derek certainly had his work cut out for him. Every day was a long work day, which bled to long work nights, which bled to longer work days. The resident was high-strung and sheerly exhausted. The constant influx of people wasn’t exactly making his life much easier, what with minimal space they already had and swarms of anxious, fearful families waiting. So when he was asked to play babysitter for a young boy, well, it didn’t exactly take with the child. Derek had spent the better part of his time between rounds being constantly called to the daycare center, only to find the child having run away again while his parents were being treated.

Groaning, Derek narrowly pushed past the crowded hallway, his brows furrowed in concern. Tapping the first shoulder he could, the resident spun the other person around. “Sorry. You wouldn’t by chance have seen a small boy, around ten years in age, light brown hair with dark eyes running around, have you? Goes by the name of Eli? There’s…” Tiptoeing, the resident eyed the massive crowd of people swarming about in the lobby. “…There’s a chance he ran through here or something, but I’m looking for him.”

Oh my, how awkward. “I’m no I’m so sorry. I... haven’t seen anything of course. But I also didn’t hear anything either.” Veronica turned around and answered, grimacing in sympathy as she clutched her kane close. Losing track of a child, in this environment, with that kind of rain happening just outside? That wasn’t good. Veronica herself was among those waiting to be seen, her skin slowly driving her mad while it prickled under the wet acidic rain. The smell alone confused her but everything else about it was just excessive.

It couldn’t be just water that fell from the sky, this substance was thicker, it almost smelled like, well blood. And it coated her arms and face unfortunately. “Shouldn’t you tell security? It’d be awful if he ran out in this rain.” She noted.

[vee-martinelli-blog]

@calebmartinellii

Was it just her? Or was Caleb ducking her calls? They’d been playing phone tag for a couple weeks now, which was ridiculous given that they live in the same city and one of them should have given up by now and just gone to the other’s residence. Only for Veronica to realize that she didn’t actually know Caleb’s current residence, and neither did their mother or father. Which was just… odd. Granted, she hadn’t seen him in what amounted to a year and change but still. Not knowing where Caleb lived or where he was or how he was doing was a first for her. Especially when she had free time, mind you there wasn’t a lot of that, arguably less and less of it as the stakes in law school got higher but it wasn’t good to just let your family slip through the cracks like this. She wanted to hear him again, in person, and she felt she kindof deserved to after all this time. Which is why she didn’t feel too guilty about the call she was making right now.

“Hey, Caleb… so, there’s like this… strange nasty rain that smells awful and I’m having a hard time doing things like getting food. Class has been canceled and work let me off the hook. What do you say about helping a girl out a little? You bring food and we can put on movies? Like old times… It’s been too long you know and I know I’ve been so busy but- “ She heaved a sigh, “-Ugh, this rain is the worst is smells like wet iron on steroids. Anyway let me know if you can pop over.” She hung up, gingerly making her way from the window to the couch. At least the sounds of rain were still pleasant. There was that, silver lining and all.

She scratched at the red rashes of skin on her arms and face, her thin PJ’s were all she could be bothered to wear at the moment. She, being the fool she was, had decided to walk home in the rain last night, which resulted in a late night visit to the hospital and a hazardous travel back to her apartment with ointments and pain killers. Veronica supposed she looked awful if the itchiness of her skin were anything to go by, her mother had full on gasped in the morning during their daily facetime chat. At least it gave her some rest time, much needed rest time. Veronica turned the volume of her TV up to better listen to the news, the weather was a constant topic and she as well as all residents of New York wanted answers.

[vee-martinelli-blog]

Veronica Martinelli, 24, Human

BIOGRAPHY

The children of the Martinelli family had a high genetic chance of ending up blind, like their grandmother, but where Caleb did not lose his eyesight, Veronica did. She came two years later than he, and by age five became legally blind. She’s light sensitive, like most blind people, but her eyes are effectively useless for making out any kind of detail or colour.

However, this transition of learning to live and function as a blind person was not as frightening as it might be to a family who hadn’t the experience or funds of how to deal with a sight-impaired child. The Martinelli’s believe in preparedness in all things, believe in attention to detail and in a strong family bond. Veronica’s father used to blindfold her and her brother when they were children, at first to show them that not being able to see is not the end of the world, and then as Veronica became blind to help Caleb understand how his sister felt and functioned. The two were very close growing up. Veronica probably would’ve stayed latched to her brother’s side regardless of her eyesight, but no matter how she tries to deny it out loud she did rely on him quite heavily when she was young. He would lead her up and down stairs, hold her hand, warn her about objects in the way and find her favorite fuzzy socks for her. All without complaint. Veronica was more scared about her situation than she let on, especially being in school with other kids who didn’t understand, she would puff up her chest in bravado and say “Who needs eyes anyway?”, which would always produce a good natured laugh from any adult listening. But the truth is it was difficult, still can be, she has to do things differently. She has to trust that things are fine the way they are visually and had to in particular find ways to manage her outward appearance as a girl. Even though she couldn’t see what she looked like she had to present herself in an acceptable way. And she’d be lying if she said she didn’t want to be seen as pretty. Especially when she was a teenager and liked someone. The appearance of things may not have mattered at all to her but they mattered to others, and played a great role in judgement. Something Veronica was keenly aware of. Because of this her mother, even now, has a tendency to treat her like a doll, and as a result has been accused of dressing like a nun with her high collars, button upped blouses and modest knee-length dresses. Regardless of that fact she still trusts her mother’s taste over that of any friends she makes. At least her mother won’t try to sabotage her by making her wear something ugly or unprofessional. She still does morning facetime checks with her mother on her phone.

Luckily for Veronica’s upbringing, her parents are wealthy and well connected, Veronica received an education in specialized schools and youth programs all through grade school. New York is home to many innovative programs that deal with blind individuals and teach them the skills they need to live full lives. In particular one such program teaches blind individuals how to navigate the area around them using noise, via a hand-held clicker and a specialized kane. Veronica can use clicks to tell where things are with her keen sense of hearing. This works in short distances and isn’t as effective as simply seeing something, but it works well enough that she can get around on her own quite well. In addition to these programs and schools Veronica’s parents also hired blind tutors to ensure that she was learning from a blind person’s perspective as well as a sighted person’s one. That isn’t to suggest that everything was handed to her however. The Martinelli family expected their children to earn what they had, and pushed her and her brother to achieve quite a bit academically. Slacking off and laziness were not allowable traits for the Martinelli’s, and in fact they could be considered particularly strict when it came to their children’s schedules. Veronica and Caleb would compete with each other on the basis of a made up point system, but Caleb was older and always had more points. Though age was never an excuse to Veronica, and sometimes she’d take the competition too far or harm herself in an attempt to do something physical that he could clearly do but she could not. Caleb was thankfully willing to forgive his sister when she became insufferable. She was his biggest competitor but also his biggest fan. The only exception to this competition dynamic was in music, Veronica’s ears afforded her great musical talent and she learned a number of different instruments. She would continue music into her adult life as a hobby and use it win various scholarships into college.

College was her first taste of independence, and she insisted on living in the dorms, arguing with her parents day and night until they conceded. It was quite the loud house during that time because arguing with a father who was a judge and a mother who was an attorney proved quite the feat. But Veronica was Veronica and insisted in that she would have to experience independence at some point and college dorms were a great transition, as she refused to continue to live with her parents when she achieved her goal of becoming a lawyer. It was unbecoming of a respectable attorney of law to be living with their parents. She couldn’t be their little girl forever and stay in their bubble.

The first year of law school humbled Veronica a great deal, in fact it kicked her ass. Where her bulldog attitude was advantageous and charming before, it hindered her in first year law school. Showing your cards right away and confronting everything head on doesn’t always work and it rarely convinces anyone of your side of the argument. Her parents had warned her and they were right, she had to dial it back, learn passivity, be tactful. Sometimes it paid more to shut up and listen then it did to bulldoze your opponent immediately. Sometimes your opponent will even do you the favor of hanging themselves with their own rope if you play your cards right. Veronica realized her misgivings and errors readily and early on, taking her mother’s advice and listening to criticisms rather than becoming defensive and shutting her ears to them. After all, for a blind person, it is always essential to keep your ears open. She was willing to learn and transform herself as a result. Veronica did away with the foolish and youthful pride of a childhood overachiever, as it served her very little in the end.

In her second year of law school the stakes are higher and Veronica, though more learned, still has much to go through. She’s in the process of choosing what kind of law to concentrate on and is leaning towards criminal defense. The internship she’s currently a part of involves her doing a lot of grunt work but overall she still finds criminal justice more exciting and important to her sense of morality than something like corporate law. Her life for the past couple of years has centered entirely around school and she’s had little time for anything else such as hobbies or even her own family. Her mother and father understand from experience but she worries now that she’s missing out on a social life, and that she’s lost contact with her brother - who went on some sort of strange “finding myself” backpacking trip and though he’s been back has only spoken to him on the phone once since.

+ funny, compassionate, intelligent, forgiving – manipulative, annoying, opportunistic, idealistic

HEADCANONS

Movies, though there are versions for the sight impaired, don’t do much for Veronica. However music and literature are parts of the media she consumes with abandon. So she hasn’t seen the movie but she’s read the book and she can name a theme song for you within a day of meeting you. A thing she’ll do privately if not tell you outright. She also has songs for the daily mood or perhaps a particular time of the night. These songs range from 80’s synth pop to operatic scores and everything in between.

She likes to feed birds at the park. She learned at one point however that bread wasn’t good for them so she brings actual birdseed now. She can swear there are certain birds that recognize her specifically, she can tell by their unique coo-ing.

The Fitzgerald Jazz & Poetry club is one of her favorite places to go “out”. She enjoys the music, and the poetry, she’s even played in the band before, though it was voluntary and only temporary - to fill in for a sick pianist. She was just at the right place and listening into a conversation at the right time.

Veronica LOVES the rain, not only does the sound help her understand where things are more clearly - but the feel of it too. There’s something about water falling out of the sky that’s magical to her. Even if it is cold out, she always feels the desire to reach out and let the rain fall on her hands.

Occupation: Intern at Vale & Vale, Student at NYU

Residence: Hell’s Kitchen

Affiliation: Unaffiliated

FC: Sarah Bolger