Born To Write, Forced To Art | Page 1 | First Year Oct. 8th to Nov. 11th Time Skip | Guild Forums

Beyond The Time
Vice Captain

Dapper Dabbler

Offline

Posted: Sat Dec 14, 2024 1:59 pm

Characters: Atropia and Gabriel
Prompt: Finding Gabriel Montgomery's ability to bring his artistic vision to life lacking, Instructor Kelsey has tasked Atropia Lavigne with assisting Gabriel in his work. It'll be fun, he said. You'll be sure to gain something too, he said.

Posted: Sat Dec 14, 2024 9:07 pm

ＧＡＢＲＩＥＬ ♫ ＭＯＮＴＧＯＭＥＲＹ
ＤＵＫＥＯＦＭＵＳＩＱＵＥ

Gabriel Davis Montgomery was not a man of many talents. He was a man of one singular talent, and that was writing. In Professor Beckett's class, he really felt like he was home. Things made sense, as he understood the structure of the written word rather well. There were classes like etiquette where he felt similarly, and some like the combat courses where he was absolutely a fish out of water. But more frustrating than those classes was the art course.

From what he understood of it, Instructor Kelsey was a man who found structure to be unnecessary in a general sense. He had no structure when it came to seating or even lesson planning that Gabe could make sense of. Even worse was the fact that because of all the colors that were involved with art, Gabriel couldn't wear his sunglasses which completely threw him off. Then again, being able to wear shades probably wouldn't help him much anyways. Writing really was the only thing regarding expression through ink and paper that he had any sense of comfort in doing. At best, the most he'd ever done prior to coming to Utopia was drawing little stick figures on the sides of his drafts. But painting? That was another thing entirely.

It would seem as though, at the very least, the instructor had been paying attention to the struggles he was having in the older gentleman's class. The instructor was even so kind as to offer additional assistance in the form of a fellow student who would act as a tutor for Gabriel. Their subject for the week was to paint a landscape, to the best of their ability. Gabe had spent the entire class trying his best to grasp the concept but found himself getting frustrated with just how little he actually got out of it. He knew that he wouldn't be the best artist by a long shot, but he had spent a great deal of time catching up on what it meant to be a proper noble, and now it felt as though he was back at square one.

No point in stewing over it, though. I just hope I'm not too much of a hassle for whoever he ended up getting to help me out.

Instructor Kelsey had told him he'd choose someone after class and that he could come to the art room on the next afternoon for his first tutoring lesson. Having gotten there a bit earlier than the scheduled time, Gabriel sketched away on a canvas to get an idea of where he wanted things to go when he actually did get to painting. This was akin to making a draft in his mind, but he wasn't sure if he could get from point A to point B like he did when he was writing, even if someone helped him out.

Almost feel like I'm a lost cause. Still, suppose I should stick around and see where things go. Who knows, I might make a new friend at the very least.

Over on an empty table, he had gotten some tea and assorted snacks prepared for his tutor as a token of appreciation for the monumental task that Instructor Kelsey had given them. Just as well, the sound duke hoped that the soothing chamomile blend he'd requested would offer them comfort as they dealt with how artistically behind he truly was. "Okay, so...the sun can go there....maybe some trees there..." Mumbling to himself as he mapped everything out, he figured he could also offer his tutor writing advice should they ever end up needing any.

Should probably add in a second subject too with how much elbow grease they'll have to put in to try and "find my true potential," as the instructor put it.

Still, this was a far cry from the struggles of history class, so that was a plus at least. I mean, what could Instructor Kelsey do to top that fiasco? Bring him a tutor from Corthyr?

Location: Art Room
Company:
OOC: Outfit

Beyond The Time
Vice Captain

Dapper Dabbler

Offline

S u u r i A a l t o

Fuzzy Wolf

Offline

Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2024 11:48 am

Everyday was pretty much the same for Atropia, she’d have her morning tea, followed by the scheduled classes for the day, and of course she made sure to study. But when she finally had time, she always found herself in the art room. Here she had everything she ever needed and more, any medium she wanted to work on could be found in this very room. The instructor didn’t seem to mind either, she liked to believe she was one of his favorite students, he was in fact her favorite professor. But of course he was, he taught her favorite subject.

She claimed a large corner in the classroom studio for herself, it was slightly disheveled, surrounded by paint streaked palettes and notebooks filled with sketches of the many subjects that caught her attention over time. Atropia sat quietly, the air smelled faintly of paints and oils, her hands were speckled with a mix of colors from her current project. She scanned her half finished canvas, strokes of blues and greens blending into each other, creating the start of an abstract face.

It had been brought to her attention that a poor student needed help with her favorite past time. She didn’t recognize the name, Gabriel Montgomery, although she was sure he had to have been in some of her classes. He must be pretty awful for the instructor to seek her out to tutor him. Her eyes, steady and unfaltering, once again glanced over her piece on her easel, this would have to wait, unfortunately.

She stood by the sink, rinsing out her brushes one by one, still stuck on who she was going to have to spend time with. The last thing she wanted to do was have to hold small talk with a man she knew nothing about. Of course she knew she could always allow herself to learn something about him so that he was no longer a stranger but well, that was asking for a lot.

Later the next day, Pi found herself lingering longer than usual in her room. She had finished her studies and now it was time to meet Mr. Montgomery. She sat at her desk and opened one of the drawers that contained her art supplies, a few pencils, charcoal and multiple notebooks, the rest of her things were left in the art room from the previous evening. She walked out of her dormitory, and stepped into the hallway, her gaze was steady. A long sighed escaped her lips as she wandered down the corridor, their session was to take place in the art room, so at least it didn’t’ have to be in one of their dorm rooms.

Her dark hair was pulled into a neat, no-nonsense bun as she approached the art room, a few students chatted and laughed as they took their leave. She stopped for a moment at the door and tightly pulled the strap of her bag close to her, eying a man wearing a green floral shirt and dark pants sitting by himself. This must be the guy she would be spending her time with. She did recognize him, but from where? There was a quiet serenity about her as she walked over to the table, and set her things down. She scanned the snacks he had placed as well as the tea, ’Hm, surprisingly thoughtful,’ The Princess had yet to eat that day, it was one of those times it just slipped her mind, too much to do.

Finally her eyes met his, her features remained stoic, “I’m Atropia,” She pulled the chair from the table and sat next to him, “Instructor Kelsey informed me that you needed some extra help on your project.” The canvas had a messy sketch of what she believed was his blueprint for what he was attempting to create. Her head tilted ever so slightly to the side, ’Is that… supposed to be a tree?’ She chewed on the inside of her cheek as she investigated the piece, by the look of it, this would be a tough one.

“Is that chamomile?” She glanced from the canvas to the tea then down to the bag that was leaning against the side of her chair. Her hands riffled through it as she searched for some materials, then pulled them out one by one. Large pieces of textured paper laid out in front of her, pencils rolled as they were set down. Her current plan would have him starting from the very basics, and she didn’t want to waste canvas in the process. Firstly, for this project she wanted him to learn about the importance of a simple horizon and the use of the rule of thirds, then after he understood that, maybe she'd let him attempt to draw an actual tree.

OOC: N/A Location: Art Room Company:Gabriel Wearing: Outfit

Posted: Thu Jan 02, 2025 8:59 pm

ＧＡＢＲＩＥＬ ♫ ＭＯＮＴＧＯＭＥＲＹ
ＤＵＫＥＯＦＭＵＳＩＱＵＥ

Soon enough, Gabe could hear the footsteps of someone coming in behind him. "Come on in. I'm just getting started." As his classmate introduced himself as Atropia, the woman took a seat and set up her things as Gabriel's focus remained on his rough draft. Maybe another tree...here? Yeah, that might just work. He'd clustered six of them together now, but was that enough? Too many? Forests came in all shapes and sizes, so was there even a right amount? He had a few clusters and something vaguely resembling a river to the far right, so that was something. Right? Bringing his head down so that his face could better meet his palm, he took a moment to take in how truly dim-witted he must look right now.

"Gods, I'm sure I must look a total novice. Sad thing is that I've had lessons since I was pretty little...minus a short break, anyway. Really, thanks for putting up with all-...this."

As he turned his head over to look at her, Gabriel was taken aback by just how intense her gaze was as she stared at his work in progress with clear disdain. I mean, it's not that bad...is it? Bowing his head back down, he scratched at the crown of his head and wore an embarrassed smile as he prepared for the worst.

“Is that chamomile?”

"Um...yes. Feel free to help yourself."

While her question was innocent enough, Gabriel couldn't help but associate it with the look of disgust she had. It wasn't that she was being particularly evident about her disapproval, but he'd gone through enough failed pitches to know when someone didn't like his work. One might think that this was so very trivial of a trial compared to what Gabe had been through these past few weeks, but it was fatigue from those very events that informed his current avoidance of her eyes.

Gabriel looked over at all the different supplies that Atropia had taken out. Ok, so at least I seem to have the materials down. That's a good sign, right? That being said, he was still getting the feeling that he had a long way to go. "As you might be able to see, I was trying to draw a forest of sorts. Maybe add some depth with a hill or mountain in the background. For example, something like..." Frantically, he scribbled some vaguely mountainous shapes on his canvas. Couldn't hurt if he painted as vivid a picture as possible, especially considering that this would in fact involve painting at some point. Gods, that was terrifying.

All the while, Gabe couldn't shake the sense that Atropia was familiar to him beyond his time in the various classrooms. Had they met before or something? No, he was usually good with faces...so why did he feel like he should be able to place hers? Whatever the case, he just hoped that she didn't find him to be entirely a lost cause. That sort of thinking wasn't Instructor Kelsey's style, as far as he could tell anyways, so he prayed that he was in the clear. Having to do all this in an open environment was embarrassing enough, but in a one-on-one setting? It was worse than when his first novel idea got shot down by his publisher. 28 Dresses would've certainly been a hit; that was their loss.

"Anything I should switch up so far?"

Location: Art Room
Company: Atropia
OOC: Outfit

Beyond The Time
Vice Captain

Dapper Dabbler

Offline

S u u r i A a l t o

Fuzzy Wolf

Offline

Posted: Fri Jan 03, 2025 8:15 am

Atropia wasn’t the type to offer reassurances or make idle chatter, she didn’t smile much and when she did it was more of an afterthought than a genuine expression. She preferred to focus, to dissect and to get to the heart of things without distraction. So, she planned to jump right into explaining what he already should have known, since—according to him, he had lessons since he was young. “I see…” She watched him move his pencil in uneven strokes, attempting to create what could be described as sharp edges of a serrated kitchen knife in the background. Her emerald eyes lingered on him, he seemed nervous, or was it embarrassed? It wasn’t like art came naturally to people, it took hard work and dedication.

Her hand delicately landed on the canvas, stopping him from the ongoing abuse. “Well, firstly, you’re not using the rule of thirds,” Gently, she she pulled the canvas away from him and replaced it with the textured paper she had previously pulled from her bag and started dividing it up into segments using a small ruler, “Take the grid into account,“ Her pencil scratched smoothly across creating horizontal and vertical lines in its wake, “…The key points should fall along these lines, or at the intersections.” Pia leaned in her chair, then tapped the paper, her eyes sharp as she assessed the placement of the elements.

“The problem with your canvas is everything looks flat, there is no direction for your eye to follow.” She reached forward to grab his project, then lifted it up to get a better look. Her eyes scanned it briefly before she set it back down and sighed, “Art is supposed to take the viewer on a journey... start at one point before allowing your eyes to flow across the piece, it tells a story.” Her tone was direct, although, a little softer than it was prior. ‘He’s at least got the right idea…’ She stood up, pushing the paper back in front of Gabe, then stood beside him, tilting her body ever so slightly to get a better look for when she moved onto the next steps.

“Normally, I’d suggest we look outside to get inspired, but it’s dark out—so that will have to wait.” She drew a thicker line through the middle of the paper, “This is your horizon, imagine you’re standing on a road, looking toward your home, trees are larger the closer they are to you…” Her voice continued to stay soft as she took a moment to sketch a tree at the front of the page, placing it on the left, and not fully in frame, “A good way to show perspective is to picture what you see when you draw.” She scribbled feathered trees on the horizon line, keeping them simple since this was only a lesson, “Notice the size difference? It tricks the eye into thinking they are further away.”

She stepped away from Gabriel and took her seat next to him, then rested her chin on her hand as she took a moment to watch him absorb the information. “Does this make sense to you?” The Princess was a patient woman, she always had been, except for when it came to herself, and her own needs for perfection—especially in her studies. But she learned a long time ago never to place those expectations on others, it would just bring disappointment. Maybe that was why the art professor chose her to tutor the man next to her, she was stern, but calm for the most part. Perhaps it was because she grew up with Thing 1 and Thing 2, it took an exceptionally even-tempered person to deal with the two of them.

A strand of hair came loose from her neatly tied bun, tickling the side of her face, she blew it a few times to move it before ultimately tucking it behind her ear. ‘I wonder how many sessions he is going to need…’ Her gaze lowered to look over his previous work, judgement clouding her once emotionless eyes, ‘…Definitely more than I expected.’ She shifted in her chair and moved her attention toward the window, the sun had set a while ago, and the sounds of night creatures started singing. Their next lesson should be outdoors, she wanted him to try and copy exactly what he saw.

“Thank you for bringing the tea by the way, it is one of my favorites.”

OOC: N/A Location: Art Room Company: Gabriel Wearing: Outfit

Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2025 10:54 pm

ＧＡＢＲＩＥＬ ♫ ＭＯＮＴＧＯＭＥＲＹ
ＤＵＫＥＯＦＭＵＳＩＱＵＥ

For what felt like an eternity, Atropia said very little, and it scared the s**t out of Gabriel. What was going on in her mind as she gazed with pointed intensity at his rough draft? What did she mean by "I see?" What did she see? The silence was really messing with his nerves. Even worse was when she finally did voice an opinion about what he'd done so far; it was accompanied by her taking the canvas right off the easel. "Oh, uh- o-okay then." She had a look on her face like his editor did before telling him that his first draft was s**t. Was his rough draft s**t? There were...lines at intersections. Probably.

Atropia's tone was sharp as she cut right to the chase, speaking in volumes about the various qualities that even his rough draft lacked. Scrambling to wrap his head around every topic as she went through the various factors one should take into consideration when crafting a masterpiece. Was this...was this all covered in class so far? It made sense that she might know more than what was already taught, but to speak with such specificity showed dedication to the craft. Forget tutor; this woman could probably teach a course all her own if she chose to.

However, Gabriel was struggling to keep pace with her. He'd say that she was at least being kind enough to come up to him and draw examples for him, but he wasn't exactly sure he could call it an act of kindness. She'd been mindful to sound gentler as she continued to go over things with him, but her no-nonsense speedrun of painting fundamentals was still frighteningly involved. Golden eyes darted around as she pointed and sketched, desperately attempting to absorb as much information as possible. He nodded along as she spoke, engaging with her as best as he could, but he was absolutely certain that not everything was sticking.

“Does this make sense to you?”

"Yes? Somewhat. I think."

While he wasn't sure if he'd grasped every detail of Atropia's lesson, Gabe managed to get a grasp on some of it. Or at least he did in his head. Would he be able to apply all that to a canvas just as he'd observed? Probably not, but as he took in a deep breath to decompress, he did feel like he'd gotten a well-read tutor at the very least. The only trouble now was making actual sense of it all and creating something that even closely resembled the methodical artistry that Atropia had described. As she looked away for a moment, Gabriel thought through all the concepts his scholarly peer had described to him.

Something for the eye to follow...

From left to right, Gabriel traced the thick middle line that Atropia had drawn on this new paper with his finger as if he were carefully reading the start of a real page-turner. The faint tapping of his foot on the ground gave the sound of waking night owls some added percussion. Hm...ok....wow. That's a really well-drawn tree. No wonder she looked so concerned at what he'd made so far. As she thanked him for his choice in beverage for them, Gabriel turned over to her and gave her a thumbs up. "No problem, feel free to help yourself," he replied, thankful himself that she had decided to stay in the room with him. With the difference in their artistic talents in mind, he couldn't imagine that his barely recognizable foliage was easy to look at. Looking back at what she had done by comparison, he figured it best to face the music.

"The more I look at this, the more I don't think somewhat was a fair thing to say," Gabriel began as he took in her blueprint in full. It had taken him on a journey, alright, and now he was wondering if he'd ever have artistic intent anything like Atropia's. Just as she'd described, the simple line and tree drew his eye and demanded he make note of them. Maybe it was just the influence of his classmate's own intensity, but there was a decisive quality to her simple linework that would certainly take a long time to replicate. Hopefully Atropia didn't bail beforehand.

"Maybe I should give all this a shot, yeah?"

Grabbing a new piece of paper, he put it over the one that Atropia had sketched on and first drew himself a crude grid with a pencil. From there, he made a similarly thick line from one side of the sheet to the other. Alright, here comes the hard part. Going very, very slowly, Gabriel started to construct a more true-to-life tree. It actually did look better than before, looking more akin to a serrated arrowhead rather than the masterpiece of a toddler. "It's...a start, right?" he asked with a nervous smile on his face. This was most certainly still utter trash, but he felt better about it than he did with his last draft. On the other hand, Atropia didn't seem like a very softhearted judge.

"So is uh...art a hobby of yours? You really know your stuff!"

Perhaps some small talk could save him from annihilation. Probably not. But at least he could say he tried. Looking over at Atropia, he wondered if painting was something she willingly chose to get good at or if it were something imposed upon her. Either way, it seemed certain that sooner or later she would tire of his ineptitude and quit. As determined of a person as she was, his peer honestly deserved better than having to teach remedial painting to someone who couldn't even sketch a tree right. "Hey, you wouldn't mind going through the middle line thing again, would you?" But at the very least, Gabriel would do his best to keep up. Atropia didn't have to take the time to come here and tutor him, and he didn't take that lightly. He was going to get better at this...eventually. Hopefully.

Location: Art Room
Company:
OOC: Outfit

Beyond The Time
Vice Captain

Dapper Dabbler

Offline

S u u r i A a l t o

Fuzzy Wolf

Offline

Posted: Wed Jan 15, 2025 10:53 am

It came to Atropia’s attention that her classmate was on edge. She had been told she was intimidating before but never really thought of it or cared. Trying to seem less intense, she decided to give him some space, and stood up to walk back over to the window. The tea swayed in the cup but not enough to accidentally spill out. Mixed in with the owls “hoo-ing” to the tapping of Gaberiel’s foot, was the faint sound of his pencil scratching against the paper. It was kind of… calming, but perhaps it had just been the tea taking effect. Her hands wrapped around the warm mug, and she sighed quietly; it hadn’t been the worse way to spend an evening. At least he wasn’t the type to be a know-it-all and not listen, he truly seemed like he wanted to do well.

“The more I look at this, the more I don’t think somewhat was a fair thing to say.” Atropia turned her head at the sound of his voice, “Maybe I should give all this a shot, yeah?” Well, he was going for it. She walked over to him and sat down, doing her best to keep a neutral expression. The lines he drew could have been a little more coordinated but, at least he started with the grid. At first, she struggled to make out what she assumed could be a tree, not unlike the picture she quickly sketched for him prior. But eventually, she was able to pick it out, he at least got the shape right, and it looked a lot smoother than before.

He clearly lacked confidence in his artistic abilities by the look on his face and was nervous to hear her reaction to his tree. Atropia had always been a woman of precision, her stoic nature forged through years of quiet discipline. She had never been one to sugarcoat things, but she found herself wavering between her usual directness and a gentler approach. He had potential, somewhere in there, deep inside. She set her tea down and straightened her posture, leaning over to get a better look at his masterpiece. “It most certainly is,” She returned his gaze, sitting back, “It’s a clear improvement than what I saw when I first got here.”

When Atropia was asked if art was a hobby of hers, she paused for just a beat longer than most would. Her expression remained composed, the flicker of thought passing through her eyes imperceptible to anyone who didn’t know her well, “Something like that...” Her voice trailed off just slightly. This hobby of hers was intimate, outside of her love of reading it is what kept her grounded when she was growing up—especially during the darker days of war. Her family paid less attention to her during those years, so it kept her busy, in turn keeping her from getting stuck in her head.

After quietly clearing her throat, she continued, this time hopefully coming off a little less “scary” by letting him in just a little, “To be honest, when I paint there is a kind of peace I cannot find anywhere else. It’s the only time my mind is not working in overdrive.” She exhaled, that’s all he would get to know, at least for now. Thankfully any silence thereafter was broken when he brought up the “line thing.”

Another piece of paper came out of her notebook, and for a second, she smiled, “The middle line thing is the horizon, as simple as it is, it’s a crucial element for creating realistic perspective and depth within a scene.” She used her ruler to re-draw the horizon, then she drew a bold point directly in the middle of the line. From there she drew more lines extending from the vanishing point to the edge of the frame. “Okay, using this why don’t you try to take this tree—" She pointed to his arrow point tree on his sheet, “—And make smaller versions of it on this line, they could also just be triangles if you’d like.”

She moved the paper in front of him and leaned on her hand, her eyes staying glued to the sheet, ready to pause for corrections at any moment, “So… what are your hobbies?” She coudln't get a read on him, so In her opinion he owed her information about himself now, she wasn't going to be the only one. Plus, she found herself wanting to know more about him, like many of the people she met. It was her job in the family to know kept secrets like what Kingdom others were from to report it to Arsene. But it was also her job to show a different side to the Lavigne siblings, even if it was a job she gave herself, she took it seriously.

OOC: N/A Location: Art Room Company: Gabriel Wearing: Outfit

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2025 2:58 pm

ＧＡＢＲＩＥＬ ♫ ＭＯＮＴＧＯＭＥＲＹ
ＤＵＫＥＯＦＭＵＳＩＱＵＥ

It was a good thing that Gabriel was a better conversationalist than he was an artist. Otherwise, he was pretty sure that Atropia would have just walked off. Or perhaps that was too harsh a judgment. She had been encouraging; it was he who couldn't shake the feeling that he should be learning faster. Working harder. It was that kind of mentality that had fueled many in the royal court of Musique, a mindset that Gabriel could never entirely shake. But it wasn't exactly fair to warp his view of a new acquaintance because of that. A fellow fan of chamomile deserved a fair shake.

“Something like that...”

Sensing some hesitation, Gabe turned in his seat to better face his tutor. He wanted to make sure she understood she was being heard, regardless of whatever he'd let himself think about her so far. If there was one thing he learned in life, it was that everyone had a story, and every story deserved to be heard. Straightening his posture a bit as she cleared her throat, Gabriel made sure to give his terrifying tutor his full attention as she spoke of the solace art brought her. It was a shorter explanation than he expected, but that seemed to fit Atropia's vibe.

When the conversation turned back to the project at hand, the smile that Atropia returned was jarring for a second. He'd gotten so used to her being so aloof that he hadn't expected to see one from her, but in a way it was nice to know that people existed beyond the archetypes he sometimes found himself boiling people down to. Ok, I think I'm starting to actually wrap my head around what she's trying to tell me... Following her hands as she redrew the framework he was to work off of, he was quick to nod when she brought his attention to the tree he'd drawn.

"If it's alright, then I think I'll stick to triangles for a bit," said Gabriel in a way that could be mistaken for absentminded as he gathered his thoughts on all she'd shown him so far. He slowly began putting triangles within the lines that Atropia had set up. Wait. Wait, hold on. At first he had all drawn them the same size, but then he remembered the comment about making smaller ones nearer to the point on the horizon. Starting on the opposite side, he began following her instructions to the letter. On top of that, as he got farther from the middle point, he made the triangles steadily larger. At least, what he would consider steadily. It wasn't exactly consistent, but that was the point of the final draft. For now, he'd use this as an opportunity to get down the basic concepts without worrying too much about finer details. Or at least, that had been the plan.

“So… what are your hobbies?”

"Oh, well uh..."

Pulling back, Gabriel scratched his head for a second as he considered how to respond. He wasn't exactly ashamed to have been a middling author and journalist; he wasn't sure if he was ready to broach all that so openly. "I...do a bit of writing from time to time. String words together...and stuff." After that mortifying display of a severe lack of linguistic talent, Gabriel bowed his head down so that his face could meet his awaiting palm. It wasn't like he was trying to keep it a secret from anyone at the school; did it really need to be so difficult to say? He let out a sigh.

"I haven't done it in a while, though. I guess I just haven't been in the right headspace, especially as of late..."

Not letting the moment linger, he went back to drawing more triangles along the path Atropia had set out for him. "What would you say about this, though? Any better?" Gabriel's tone brightened, forced into a lighter tone as he tried to change the subject. He brought his hand up to the top of the paper, right above the center point. "I was also thinking of adding a light source here? Or maybe..." Gabe moved his hand along the top of the sheet to the left corner.

"Over here instead? Or would that ruin the perspective?"

Bringing his hand back to ponder for a moment, it did seem as though moving the horizon would then change the composition of the piece. Was horizon meant to be taken so literally? This is definitely not going to be something I'm going to get good at overnight. Without leaving a mark at the top, he brought his hand down and filled out a few more triangles across the bottom."How has your stay at the school been so far? There's certainly been some...crazy moments, so I don't mean to pry, but I'd hope things have been alright for you." Searching for something to keep the conversation going, Gabe let his inner journalist guide the way for a bit. He knew at least some things he could speak on if the conversation turned to him that wouldn't be too difficult to speak on, so at least with this there could be some better back and forth from his end.

Location: Art Room
Company: Atropia
OOC: Outfit

Beyond The Time
Vice Captain

Dapper Dabbler

Offline

S u u r i A a l t o

Fuzzy Wolf

Offline

Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2025 2:21 pm

It seemed to her that she caught him by surprise with her question about hobbies, she shifted her gaze away to look at his triangles of all shapes and sizes, not wanting to put him on the spot. But the momentary pause made nerves sneak their way into her mind. Pia was well aware she was not the most talkative person, it took time to get her to open up to others, she was extremely protective of her peace. Here she was trying, and all it seemed to do was—

"I...do a bit of writing from time to time. String words together...and stuff."

A subtle, but drawn-out breath left her lips, her anxiety taking a back seat for now. His answer peaked her interests, reading was something she did often. It was another one of her escapes, her favorite genre being romance novels, but that was neither here nor there. Atropia arched an eyebrow as she watched his head fall into his open hand, he seemed…uncomfortable? No that wasn’t it, he certainly didn’t seem happy about it. ’I wonder what kind of writing he does…’ her slender fingers tapped the side of her face where she had been leaning on her palm, wanting to ask him about it.

Her head titled, just a little, she supposed the Academy had been a shitshow the last few weeks, she couldn’t blame him for not being in the right headspace. Lips parting, she prepared to say something encouraging, or at least try to, but he had already moved on, immediately changing the subject. Instead, she lowered her arm against the table and leaned closer, getting a better look at his numerous triangles. Is this how it was talking to her about things she enjoyed? Just continuous attempts at avoidance.

“It’s much b—” She blinked having to stop mid-sentence while he continued talking, suddenly with a brighter tone to his voice. Her gaze narrowed, not in a judgmental way, or a rude way, more…concerned, than anything. Pia followed his finger with her eyes, as he went from one point to another looking for the perfect place to put what she assumed would end up being the sun. “—I think a light source can always bring an interesting element to a piece, whether that would be in the center or off to the side,” She paused to grab her own pencil then drew a messy sun at the corner of her paper. In the middle of the page she lazily drew a circle, then started to shade on the outside of it giving it a shadow. “It can bring more life to your art, see? A shadow is being cast from my poor excuse for a sun, up here.” She pointed to the half circle, then set her pencil down, “But that’s for a later day, lets just take it one step at a time,” The tone of her voice was soft, opposite of her flat expression.

Unsurprising to her, he kept the conversation moving, now with questions pointed at her, she would’ve done the same thing. The princess leaned back in her chair, crossing one leg over the other getting somewhat comfortable, but kept her attention on his triangles. “It’s been different…” She started, then crossed her arms in front of her body, “I can’t say that I’ve enjoyed some of those crazy moments.” History had been something, she wasn’t a fan of the hallucination that she never consented to, but on the other hand she was able to learn critical information on the family bioweapons. So at least she gained something, and perhaps a new friend out of Mirabella, she started to chew on her bottom lip at the thought. She didn’t have many friends, which was her own fault, so the idea that she may have one made her feel a little better.

“I don’t think my experience has been bad though,” She flicked her gaze back to him, it looked like his triangles were taking over the paper, “How has your stay been?” Her curiosity grew, bringing her thoughts back to when he talked about his hobbies, she wanted to know more, “You mentioned that you haven’t been in a good place, so I hope it hasn’t been too bad.”

OOC: N/A Location: Art Room Company: Gabriel Wearing: Outfit

Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2025 10:50 pm

ＧＡＢＲＩＥＬ ♫ ＭＯＮＴＧＯＭＥＲＹ
ＤＵＫＥＯＦＭＵＳＩＱＵＥ

“It’s been different…”

As Atropia's voice trailed off for a moment, the gears that made up the journalistic part of Gabriel's brain started to turn. With the way she was speaking, it came across as though she were holding back a bit when it came to speaking on her time at the school.Then again, who wouldn't? This academy was a strange beast, built to foster peace but denying them the option to speak openly about their nationalities; not exactly the best situation to be open and vocal in. And it wasn't exactly like he'd planned to be forthcoming either.

Having disappeared off the face of Musique for five years, Gabriel was no stranger to keeping people in the dark. There was a lot of "I'd rather not talk about it" and "it's complicated" that he threw out there to get out of getting into any form of actual discussion about his whereabouts. But he knew that the second he did, the rumor mill would only churn out even wilder conspiracies. On top of that, having not been the kindest voice towards the royal court of Musique during his time touring the country would not have looked good for him either. No, he had to be careful if he was to succeed. And so he was.

With that in mind, it was entirely fair for Atropia to do the same with him. They'd only known each other for a few minutes, and it wasn't like agreed to an interview or anything. She'd come to help him with his art, not to share her traumas. On top of that, you never knew when someone's intentions were noble when it came to learning more about you. Despite a year of peace, there was still such unrest in the world. In Gabriel's own heart. It would take more than a treaty to make that go away. Much, much more. And while the intention of the school, and his coming here, was to better foster relations that could sustain such peace, Gabe also knew that there were those whose intentions were clearly not so pure.

“How has your stay been? You mentioned that you haven’t been in a good place, so I hope it hasn’t been too bad.”

The duke of sound took a moment to think before making one. Tilting his head down to rest upon a raised hand, he pondered how he'd respond. "Hm..." Gabriel's first thought was to be about as nondescript about his time at Utopia as she had been. It wasn't exactly the most riveting small talk, but it would be the safest route. Should he be that concerned about doing safety, though? Gabriel was unsure. For the past eight years he had gotten quite good at holding his tongue when it came to personal details, but what had all that running around the subject gotten him? Well, aside from a writing career that was apparently far better than he had been told it was. Looking at what came across as genuine curiosity on Atropia's face, he wondered if these games were really the best they could do for one another.

"I wouldn't call it an easy time."

Looking back at the canvas for a moment, Gabriel took in a deep breath. Despite every alarm in his head and every lesson he learned growing up about the power of being tight-lipped repeating in his head, would that really be the best way to go? It'd certainly be a change of pace from his current behavior, now that he was thinking about it. "It's been extremely difficult sometimes, honestly. This place has given me both the greatest joys and the deepest moments of despair I've experienced in a few years now." His voice trailed off at the end. Was this showing too much? He didn't have any confirmation that she was someone he could be honest with. However, he'd also spent a good deal of his time at the school pulling back the curtain and getting others to do the same. Was it right for him to go back and forth like this?

His worried gaze went downward, up towards the canvas. "A poor excuse, though? This is a perfect reflection of what you were trying to convey." Turning his attention back to his tutor, he offered her a smile. "At the very least, it blows any one of my trees out of the water. Not that they'd win any awards to begin with," he continued with a faint chuckle before taking a moment to sip his tea. The warm chamomile beverage helped his nerves, and he hoped his humor would be appreciated. He still wasn't entirely sure he could trust his tutor beyond art lessons, but Gabriel wanted to give her as fair of a shake as he felt comfortable offering. Since they'd met, she'd been nothing but helpful, and while that didn't automatically indicate trustworthiness, he wanted to believe that it could. Otherwise, what were any of them doing here? Just sitting around on a sabbatical before they go back to their regularly scheduled bloodshed? Gabriel desperately hoped not.

"Do you have any art pieces you're particularly proud of, then? Even if you don't have them here, I'd be honored to hear about them."

Maybe if everyone had dialogues like this, there wouldn't be as much of a need for the walls they placed upon themselves in the future. And if not in this way, then even just through acts of kindness like Atropia showing up to help in in the first place. She was paying it forward in ways he hadn't remotely thought to in regards to writing and she really didn't have to. If only people everywhere thought like that. Alas, some places were likely far too barbaric to be helped. Thankfully, it seemed as though the choir above had graced him with a reprieve from Corthyr's tyranny for the time being. I mean, would they even be able to appreciate a good chamomile tea? Doubtful.

Location: Art Room
Company:
OOC: Outfit

Beyond The Time
Vice Captain

Dapper Dabbler

Offline

S u u r i A a l t o

Fuzzy Wolf

Offline

Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2025 8:23 am

The change in Gabriel’s tone caught Atropia’s attention—he wasn’t wrong, in fact she completely agreed. “Deepest moments of despair,” was right. But she wanted to know why, why did it cause him so much misery? The worry in his eyes stuck out to her the most, she found herself being pulled in by curiosity. What had he suffered through? It was her natural instinct to want to learn as much as she could about a person, without letting to much of herself be exposed at the same time. But sitting here, as she observed him switch his focus suddenly to the canvas, it was honest interest. It appeared that they shared common traits, which surprised her.

Atropia decided to not push any further, at least for the moment. It was clear that he was uncertain about her, as she was him. It was understandable. His smile forced a mirrored one on herself, and she allowed herself to laugh, just a little, “Thank you.” She reached out her hand and delicately took his canvas then held it up, facing him. “I don’t know...” her gaze traveled down to the piece of “art” held in front of her chest, “...With good lighting, centered perfectly on the wall, I could see your trees winning an award.” It wasn’t often she tried to joke around, but for a moment she let herself, wanting to lighten the mood.

She flipped the canvas to face her, holding it with both hands, observing each triangle tree with a slight raised eyebrow. Obviously, this would not win any awards, and Atropia was aware he knew that, but if he was going to succeed in something, he had to feel some type of good about his work. Plus, if he didn’t achieve anything, she’d look like a bad tutor and that would quite literally make her spiral into oblivion, especially when it had to do with her favorite subject. When she set the canvas down, she crossed her leg one over the other, then leaned back in her chair again, raising her eyes to meet his as he spoke.

"Do you have any art pieces you're particularly proud of, then? Even if you don't have them here, I'd be honored to hear about them."

It was a good question, and she had been asked it before by people who wanted to view her work and sometimes even buy it. Though, a part of her believed it was only because she was royalty that they desired it, and not because of any talent she may have had. At any rate, she never had answered it honestly. Atropia hummed softly, then rolled her lips tight as she thought hard about her answer. If she responded truthfully, it would be the portrait she did of her mother right before she got sick. It wasn’t her best work by any means—it was quite terrible—but it showed a side of her that she never got to see again. Even though she was better now, mother was never the same.

“A few years ago, when I still lived at home, I saw a fox…” she paused and returned her gaze to him, “We don’t typically see them around, so it was a rare opportunity for me. So, I found a spot under the shade, and sat there for I’m not sure how long, observing her movements. And she was so calm,“ The corner of her lip twitched into a smile as she replayed the memory in her head, “Then she saw me, and I thought she would run… but she didn’t, she stayed and sat down, staring right back at me. It was like she was posing for me.” Atropia bent to her side and started rummaging through her bag, until she found her little black book.

She hesitated for a moment, her thumb nervously rubbed down the leather spine, but after another second she opened it, and started flipping through. “Here…” With her sketchbook open wide, she turned it toward him. There were scribbled notes on one side—which she hoped he wouldn’t pay attention to, then on its opposite was a charcoal fox, looking at the viewer as it had looked at her that day. In the background there were smaller versions of the fox, where she had drawn her in different positions that she observed that day. “I was maybe…17 at the time?” It was after the incident, she wasn’t in a good place and that day had been extremely tough on her, but this was one small moment in that time of her life where she felt truly at peace.

After a minute, she shut the book, biting on the inside of her cheek, then placed it in her lap, “As you can see it wasn’t exactly award worthy, but you know it doesn’t have to be to be for it to be considered art.” Words she didn’t really believe herself but wanted to. “As long as you can look at it and feel even a little bit proud, well I think that counts for something.” Atropia adjusted in her seat, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed, like she overshared too much with him. But what was done was done. It wasn’t like she got deep with him, he didn’t know anything about her other than the fact she liked art. She exhaled long and slow, it was just about a fox, all was going to be okay. “I get to ask a question now,” Not so subtle attention shift, “Did you have a favorite story that you’ve written?” They were there to work on his art, she realized that, but he intrigued her. “Answer me that and maybe I’ll teach you how to shade correctly,” she laughed quietly; she did still have to tutor him.

OOC: N/A Location: Art Room Company: Gabriel Wearing: Outfit

Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2025 10:43 pm

ＧＡＢＲＩＥＬ ♫ ＭＯＮＴＧＯＭＥＲＹ
ＤＵＫＥＯＦＭＵＳＩＱＵＥ

Each second that Gabe's art tutor paused felt like an eternity to him. Might he have asked too personal a question? If it were, would she not simply say so? She was fairly to the point when it came to teaching him about painting theory, but that didn't exactly mean that she intended to get into deep conversation with the slacker she'd been tasked with helping out. Then again, there was a methodical element to their entire encounter so far. A rhythm that he had just threatened to ruin entirely. When a hum escaped her lips, Gabriel had to keep himself from attempting to harmonize. Not that he could carry a tune to save his life, but it was a bad Muse habit he had to remind himself to break around here. Finally, the result of the coin flip he just voiced out became clear.

“A few years ago, when I still lived at home, I saw a fox…”

As Atropia's eyes came to meet his, a jolt of surprise showed up on his face before he mellowed back out. The scene she began to recall to him was made of vague set pieces, but the sentiment was nonetheless well carried through her nostalgic tone. It was more than enough to keep him engrossed, as he readjusted his sitting position in time with her tempo. He hadn't done it intentionally, but some bad habits died hard.

She paused again after describing how the fox practically displayed itself for her to recreate, clearly hesitating to open up. Gabe leaned back a bit; if she didn't want to continue sharing, she wouldn't have to. Atropia would choose to do so, though, and turned her sketchbook right to him. If he knew her better, Gabriel might have taken the book to get a closer view. Instead, he slowly bent forward to get a better look at each line as best he could. He wouldn't go far, though. It was clear she wasn't entirely comfortable doing this, so Gabe would allow her space as she did so. He did, however, make sure that his wide smile rang loud and clear.

With every bit of detail Gabriel wrote into his memory, it became apparent to him that Atropia really cherished this memory. And when she returned that memory back to the guarded bindings of her now-closed sketchbook, he sat up straight again and continued to give her a warm smile. He was rather grateful to have been allowed to view something so important to her, and he didn't take such permission lightly. "I'd say it counts for a lot, yeah," began Gabe, nodding to her assertion. "Award-winning or not, that moment was clearly quite significant for you. Thank you for sharing." When Atropia brought the question he asked back to him, now in regard to his writing, it was his turn to take a moment to ponder. Bringing a hand to his chin, he ran his thumb back and forth along the back of his jaw as he searched his memory. She had clearly put a lot of thought into her response, so he would do the same.

"A story in exchange for shading technique, eh? Hm..."

A soft chuckle escaped Gabe's mouth as he considered his options, eventually settling on one story he had conceived when he was 16. His favorite story. "I don't have it with me, so I'll give a brief summary." With eyes downcast, he took a moment to prepare himself as though he were prepping a pitch. Well, not quite. He felt far more comfortable here than he ever had with his editors. Perhaps he'd made a poor comparison earlier. "There was once a boy, born in vivid color, who lived in a monochrome town. Everyone else around him was monotonous in every sense of the word and wished to rid him of his vibrancy. But no matter what they did, they could only mask it. They could never truly rid him of that spark." Gods, did they try. But he wouldn't let himself linger.

"As he grew up, he found that he wasn't alone. There was another person of all sorts of fantastical hues, even more striking than himself. Similar plans were made for them, and it seemed as though they were both doomed to end up in the same dull plainness of the world around them."

Gabriel paused again, drawing in a long breath. "They found solace in one another and became good friends. Inseparable." His gaze was trading focus between Atropia and the floor at this point. Talking about this was far different than just putting it on a page. "The more time they spent together, the brighter their colors became. And no matter what the townsfolk did, they couldn't stop it. In fact, that vibrancy would infect the very people who attempted to change them. And then, they...saw the error of their ways. The end." His smile had weakened, his eyes favoring a downcast gaze. It was a happy ending, but not the one that those two got when the climax to that story was echoed in the real world.

Still, the ending wasn't as off as he had once feared that it was. While he wasn't sure if he had a right to say so for himself, his friend at the very least still retained the vivid colors that their innermost self was comprised of. They had been forced to hide them away, but they were still there. Gabe reminded himself that it was miracles like that which gave him hope for the future, despite the countless tragedies that colored their pasts. His smile became confident once again. "Wasn't my most successful work either, but it's one I can think back to and smile about. And if you ask me, that's not too shabby at all." Taking a few moments to collect himself, Gabe turned in his seat to face the canvas once again before looking back at Atropia.

"So shading, eh? You're sure that's not too advanced for the guy who's barely got triangles down?" he asked jokingly. Gabriel felt as though he was getting a general idea of most concepts that Atropia had introduced so far, so maybe he wasn't as much of a lost cause as he had first considered himself. Or perhaps he just had one hell of a tutor. Whatever the case, this evening was turning out to be far less terrifying than he thought they'd be. So far, anyway. He wasn't 100% sure that things would continue that way, of course. But Atropia had come to put some faith in him, so the least he could do is honor that in kind. And as long as this didn't end with him having to relive his greatest tragedy in some strange shared dream, then he'd take it.

Location: Art Room
Company: Atropia
OOC: Outfit

Beyond The Time
Vice Captain

Dapper Dabbler

Offline

S u u r i A a l t o

Fuzzy Wolf

Offline

Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2025 9:32 am

“Right…” Atropia glanced down at her book, silently tapping the old leather. His response was unexpectedly kind, she knew he wasn’t going to be rude, but it felt so honest, like he was genuinely glad she shared with him. It was a strange sense of comfort, but the corner of her lip ticked up into a small smile, “Thank you.” There weren’t many people she felt comfortable around, mainly just her brother. So, it was surprising that she allowed herself to open up, even if it was a simple story about a fox.

When she leaned to her side to put her sketchbook back in her bag, his voice caught her attention. With a growing smile, she arched an eyebrow toward him as she straightened back up into the chair, “Sounds like a fair trade to me.” There was a hint of playfulness in her voice that led into a subtle laugh along with him. The fact that he didn’t clam up immediately was a good sign to her. Maybe she wasn’t too bad at the whole socializing thing.

“I don’t have it with me, so I’ll give a brief summary,”

Atropia settled back into her seat, eyes steady and thoughtful as Gabriel started to unravel the story. As he spoke, there was something about his cadence that caught her attention. It was rhythmic. She leaned forward, elbows resting gently on the arms of the wooden chair, not out of obligation, but from genuine interest—a subtle nod here, a softening of her brow there. As the story continued, she found herself falling further into it, it almost felt like he was talking about himself. Almost. Or perhaps he was just that talented of a novelist.

Each pause made her worry, just a little, like she had suddenly made him uncomfortable. His eyes flicked up to her, but only for a moment before his gaze fell to the ground again. But her eyes didn’t wander once—not to his canvas, not to the window that now showed a night sky—but stayed fixed on his face, unwavering. In a world filled with noise, and chaos when talking of Utopia Academy, Pia’s attention was rare. But in this moment, Gabriel held it captive through his storytelling.

”And then, they…saw the error of their ways. The end.”

The sudden ending had Atropia blinking, and his expression didn’t help her quiet confusion. Was that a purposeful cliff hanger? Did they change after noticing the error in their ways? Which, in her mind, didn’t seem much like an error, it sounded like a good thing. Who wanted to live in a world that was dull? She had so many questions. What happened to them? Pia opened her mouth slightly, then paused when she caught a glimpse of his smile. A sign to not push it further. If it was a story that was close to his heart, she didn’t want to force it out of him. Instead, she exhaled, letting her lips turn upward into a gentle smile, “It absolutely is not too shabby.” Shabby was not a word she often used, or…ever actually, and it fell out of her mouth clumsily. She wasn’t even sure she knew what it meant but the way he used it, not too shabby sounded like a good thing. Atropia cleared her throat before continuing, “Well, it sounds like an amazing story. It kept my attention thoroughly.” She bent her arm that was resting on the arms of the chair at the elbow and rested her chin on her palm keeping her eyes locked on him, “You are very talented.”

Was that too nice? Best not to overthink it.

Atropia adjusted in her seat when he grabbed his canvas, letting out a small chuckle at his words, “I’m sure you can handle it. If not, well I guess I’ll have to tell the instructor you’re beyond help…” There was a joking glint in her eye when she turned her attention to back to the table, where she grabbed a textured piece of paper.

“So, shading a circle—which is the easiest shape to start with—" Her voice was once again calm, but there was a newfound brightness in it that wasn’t there before, “—Is about understanding light and form. It’s not just a flat shape. It’s three-dimensional, right? You need to make it feel like it’s round, that it has some sort of life to it.” With soft strokes of her pencil, Atropia began to demonstrate. “Start with the lightest touch,” Her hand moved in a circular motion. The pencil marks were delicate, almost imperceptible and yet a shadow began to emerge, a gentle curve of dark that slowly wrapped around the shape, “See?”

OOC: N/A Location: Art Room Company: Gabriel Wearing: Outfit

Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2025 11:31 pm

ＧＡＢＲＩＥＬ ♫ ＭＯＮＴＧＯＭＥＲＹ
ＤＵＫＥＯＦＭＵＳＩＱＵＥ

As they got into the topic of shading, Gabe couldn't help but notice a change in tone from Atropia's side of things. “I’m sure you can handle it. If not, well I guess I’ll have to tell the instructor you’re beyond help…” Not only had she laughed at his joke, she responded in kind with banter of her own—two firsts he hadn't quite expected. The giggle he let out between closed lips was sudden, almost threatening to break the delicate dynamic range of their spoken word oratorio. Gabriel was quick to compose himself, though, knowing that this didn't mean it was time to goof off or anything. "Shading it is, then," he responded swiftly, the sly grin that crept up on his face refusing to budge.

Keeping himself on task, Gabe listened attentively as Atropia began getting into detail about the ins and outs of adding shadow and depth to an art piece. While she was doing that, though, Gabriel realized that the newfound banter he had heard wasn't as abrupt of a shift as he first thought. His nerves had been a bit shot after talking about something so personal, so it took him a moment to grasp how much his "story" struck a chord with her. No, that wasn't an excuse he should be allowing himself to have. His smile shrunk to a mild simper. In the future, he'd have to make sure he was being as attentive to her as she had been to him. It was only fair, and fair was the least he could do for her after all she's been doing for him.

With each new line of lead that was drawn onto the canvas, Gabriel began to notice both how the individual contributions made the sketch look more three-dimensional and how they contributed to the overall shape of the shadows. Like magic, his tutors lines around the circle made it look like a ball you could rip out of the canvas and toss somewhere. No, not magic. Like she'd said, Atropia had started slow and made the circle come to life line by line. It was amazing how easy she made it look, but Gabriel was certain that it took lots of dedication and time for her to reach that level of mastery. Genuinely incredible stuff.

"See?"

"I think so, yes."

Of course, he could be incredibly wrong on the matter. Time to put his money where his mouth was. Starting with one of the less detailed trees, he went along the side of the plant opposite the light source with his pencil to thicken the lines. Paying attention to the angle at which the light would be coming from, he tried to make it so that the shadows kind of tapered off as you got closer towards his...sun, he supposed. If this was the sky, his light source would have to be the sun. "Hm..." Gabe's pencil work wasn't nearly as effortless as Atropia's, his shorter and more ragged as opposed to her elegant, long lines. Stopping for a moment to compare the two, he attempted to better emulate his tutor's technique on one of the other trees. However, Gabe's attempt at exactly recreating Atropia's drawing skills line for line just ended up in him making what he felt was just a cheap knock-off.

Then again, this still beats stick figures.

Nodding to himself in acknowledgement of just how much he'd improved in just one unfinished session, Gabriel felt confident that he'd only get better from here. While he didn't expect himself to become nearly as incredible of an artist as his eclectic instructor or his astounding tutor, he did find himself wanting to improve. And not just to do well in class, either; Gabriel would better himself for the sake of it. "Note to self: flowy lines do not work as well when it comes to shading basic triangles." He then worked on a third tree, using longer lines again but sticking closer to the harsh angles and triangular components that made up this style of tree. With slow, deliberate strokes, Gabe got that one done that, if he were so bold, might actually show that he got a grasp of what Atropia was trying to convey.

"What do you think of these here? So far so good?" asked Gabriel as he turned his gaze to Atropia, gold eyes meeting emerald while he pointed toward the trees he shaded. Even if they were starting to get more comfortable with one another, or perhaps because of that, he was certain that his tutor wouldn't sugarcoat a thing. Gabriel was really coming to appreciate that. Looking back at the canvas, he carefully traced his gaze around it to check out all of the things that had been taught to him so far. They had definitely been working at a breakneck pace, or at least breakneck for him, but there was an authenticity to it all that made it worth the effort.

Location: Art Room
Company:
OOC: Outfit

Beyond The Time
Vice Captain

Dapper Dabbler

Offline

S u u r i A a l t o

Fuzzy Wolf

Offline

Posted: Mon May 12, 2025 12:34 pm

His subtle laugh surprised her—and the warmth she felt from it surprised her even more. It was rare for Pia to let her guard down, especially around people she didn’t know well, and even more so with men. Though she wasn’t completely unguarded now, it was nice not to feel threatened, at the very least—not by Gabriel. Atropia used the palm of her hand to add the finishing touches to her example before tapping her finger on his piece.

“I think so, yes.”

Her green eyes shifted to him, her watchful gaze tracing his movements as though she were the one performing the task. Beneath that calm exterior, however, was a girl still wildly curious about the story he had just told. The ending left her guessing—which, she supposed, was the mark of a great story. Atropia’s focus shifted to his face, studying his expression as he concentrated on the jagged tree. It wasn’t bad—actually, she had to admit he’d improved a lot since the beginning of their session.

Another small chuckle escaped her lips at his comment. She nodded in agreement. “Yes, it can be quite difficult mixing organic and geometric forms.” Pia watched as he moved on to another tree, this time slower and more thoughtful with each shading choice. It was much better. She couldn’t help but give herself a mental pat on the back for his progress. “This is so much better,” she praised, meeting his eyes briefly before looking back at the trees. He was still a beginner, of course, but compared to what she'd seen when she first walked into the room, it was a significant improvement. “If only my brother picked this up as quickly as you.”

Pia had tried teaching Alastair how to draw, paint, or do anything related to her hobbies more times than she could count. But he was hopeless at it. Gods forbid she ever had to be stuck with him for an art project.

Her eyes drifted to the canvas, then to the clock at the far end of the room. “Looks like we still have a little time left.” She didn’t want to overwhelm him, but she added gently, “If you’d like, you could try putting all the skills you’ve learned into one piece.” She pushed a sheet of textured paper toward him. “A scene with trees, a road, and a sun in the corner as your light source.” Leaning back, she arched a brow at him. “If you’re up for the challenge, of course. No pressure—it’s just a suggestion.” She wanted him to enjoy the process, not feel obligated. It just felt natural to tie everything together with one final piece.

The day had flown by—much to her surprise. Especially the second half. What began as a dreaded obligation had turned into something… fun? Or at least, fulfilling. Gabriel wasn’t a bad guy, based on what she’d learned so far. Still, she remained careful not to reveal too much about herself.

—Speaking of, was it weird that she mentioned she had a brother?

Atropia’s expression flattened slightly. Surely everyone knew by now that she and Alastair were siblings… right? Her gaze returned to Gabe, watching his face for any sign that she’d slipped up. “I’ll be right here if you need help,” she said smoothly. She had already moved on since mentioning her brother. Maybe she was just overthinking it.

OOC: N/A Location: Art Room Company: Gabriel Wearing: Outfit

Welcome to Gaia! ::

Gaia Guilds

Utopia Academy: Between the Pages

Quick Reply

More Information