[PQ] Knick Knacks and Tat

Peter isn’t really convinced by Bastiens attempt at encouragement, a fact plainly written over his features, his lips quirked down and his eyes narrowed. He tries to not let it affect him though, and bends his head again, painstakingly organizing shards of glass into some sensible shape. The careful focus he had for his task split as Loren began to speak, then the man he didn’t know, then Jigano. He was so busy listening to the others words, and working on his (alleged) art that he didn’t realize the pause was meant for him to speak up until it had extended into something awkward. ”O-Oh, um... I guess I...” As he stumbles through the words he looks down, and suddenly the unconscious thought behind his hands comes apparent. ”Where I uh.. came from, in the city there was... there were tubes of light. They glowed and buzzed and came in... they came in every colour. I wanna make something, uh... something like that I guess.” Peter shrugs, his ever present anxiety taking over again in the wake of his admittedly exited explanation. Peter Perfectly able to hold my own hand, But I still can’t kiss my own neck;

BASTIEN

Well, Bastien wasn't to blame if people chose to become strange little fuzzy bastards to make art. It seemed that Loren had another solution anyway, able to sit up as a man and simply transform his fingers into claws for carving; as much as Bastien had never desired to become an animal, he had to admit that seemed handy (Or, as Oliver said, 'super cool'). "Ah, I see. And have you seen a Phoenix in real life, Loren?"

It seemed that statues of animals were to be their forte, at least in part. "Ah - toys, interactive art. A good thing to make. People like things they can handle." Admittedly it was not his speciality. He was often too precious about his work to let other people touch it too much, never mind how much he liked the concept of the public being a part of his practice.

He was pleased to hear Jigano was making something to honour the Old Gods. He wanted badly to run a guild where people of all religious followings could come to make art for their specific deities. "I see. It is beautiful. Can you make any flower you'd like, with this magic? Can you keep them from dying?"

As for Peter, who seemed rather uncomfortable, Bastien wasn't sure if he even expected an answer. When one came, nervous and stuttered as it was, he tried to be as encouraging as he could. "A tube of light? How interesting! How was the light caught inside the tube? A flame, or some kind of magic?"

Chatting and making really was one of his favourite things to do. Time passed quickly and before long Bastien had before him several little paintings, mostly dry and ready to be varnished for sale. Looking about the table, he tried to peek at what everyone else had completed for the stall.

--
Let's see what ya got!
No Order.

Fade to the close-up

We're gonna stay naive tonight

Base Code by Sky!

loren

As Oliver complimented Loren’s technique, he tilted his head and gave his houseguest a sheepish smile. ”Uh. Thanks? You too?” At Bastien’s question, however, the summoner grinned. ”I have, many times. Including at your wedding.” His expression grew thoughtful, as he realized he hadn’t tried summoning a phoenix in quite a while and had no idea if he could even still do it. That was a question for another day, though.

Now that the carving portion of the creation process was done, he moved on to the painting. Taking up the finest brushes he could find, he began marking the feathers in brilliant shades of red, yellow, and orange. It hopefully began to take shape, and he added black for the eyes and the talons.

Never judge a book by its cover.

The wreath had come together nicely, Jigano thought, with a collection of colors in reds and oranges and yellows, fire-bright and sunset-hued. The matching crown was in violets and blues, with a few sprays of red and yellow to match it to the wreath, while it was able to stand on its own as well. He glanced up at Bastien as the other man began asking questions and speaking to each of them in turn, but his hands continued to make flowers from magic and weave them together as people spoke. ”I don’t think I can make fantastical flowers,” he admitted conversationally. ”But real ones, yes, if I’m familiar with them I seem to be able to recreate them with magic. And I can’t keep them from dying forever, no, but I can give them a boost so that they’ll live much longer than one plucked would.” Using his healing magic combined with his earth magic it was possible to do more than earth magic alone gave him a bit of an edge in the botanical department.

He listened to the others give their answers as well while he continued his creation, adding a second crown and then a third. Perhaps some booth would appreciate the matching wreath and crowns for those running it, or perhaps a family would prefer to take them home during the festival, floral souvenirs to remember the party by for a week before they would fade.

oliver

With Loren semi-accepting his compliment, Oliver dove straight into working on creating some figurines. They weren't exactly the most conventional form of art, but they could still be nice. It would be something nice to set out on a windowsill or maybe on a countertop. As well, they could work well with children. Either way, he wanted his animals to add a little bit of life to someone's home, maybe substitute in as a pet or have something unique to add to their room. Either way, he'd put in as much care as he could into his creations.

Overtime, he'd have three animals laid out in front of him. First was a cat. This creature had a long tail and he tried to etch in a little mouth on the creature. Next was a bear, the inspiration for these creatures. He had a small ball for a tail and an indented nose. Last was what was supposed to be a wolf. It didn't turn out as good as Oliver had hoped, but he still tried his very best. It had a bob tail, since his previous one failed completely, and pointy ears. Hopefully someone would still want the pitiful excuse for a wolf.

"Wish I could've made more...or painted them...but here they are?"

don't worry, be purple

The suncatchers gradually began to come together, like colours swaddled together with clay, arranged into abstract designs that would, with any luck, send colours dancing through a room when light shone through it. ”It wasn’t... wasn’t either. Fire or magic. It... there was... like, little bugs? Really little. And they... glowed, and made power.” That was about as far as Peters understanding of it went, at least as it related to the lights. He had made a handful of the small suncatchers, and went to hold one up, trying to test it to see if it worked like he hoped. As Peter lifted though, the still soft clay began to come apart, and he scrambled to catch the pieces before it broke completely. ”How um... does it just get... does it just harden?” Maybe he should have chosen something he was more familiar with. Not that there really was anything he was more familiar with available. Hopefully, this was just him missing something, and his work would still be useful. Peter Perfectly able to hold my own hand, But I still can’t kiss my own neck;

BASTIEN

"...So you did." Bastien laughed as Loren reminded him of the Phoenix. His wedding day had been...chaotic, to say the least, with Blighted visitors trying to sabotage it and the celebration becoming rather overwhelmed with lights and magic towards the end; until Loren mentioned it he had not remembered the specific Phoenix. How odd to live in a world where he could forget such a thing! "You are making a beautiful representation there."

Jigano's flowers were not quite as miraculous as he had hoped, but Bastien was still impressed. It was hard not to be, when the bard had made life before him. "Then I will be sure to tell the customers that. Maybe it adds a beauty to the whole thing...that it will not last forever." Of course, given he had made a choice for eternal life, he didn't necessarily believe that travelled across all things.

It seemed Oliver had not had enough time to paint, but he had made some charming figurines anyway. "Those will sell well. If you wish to stay longer to paint, you are welcome to." Bastien smiled at the young man, hoping he'd develop some confidence soon.

Peter was...weird. He rambled about how the lights were in fact powered by bugs, something that made Bastien tilt his head with a frown in confusion. At least he could answer the question about the clay easily enough. "That particular clay, yes. But...ah, come here." Standing, Bastien went to wet his fingers then stood by Pet, carefully moulding over the edges of his work. "You must make sure you smooth it together, like this. To make it one piece. Or it will crack."

With all the pieces done or at a stage he could be sure they would be sellable, Bastien was content to let his artists go their own way now. "Thank you, all of you." He said out to the room. "You've each created something beautiful here; you will see your work on the stall at Fiat Lux, alongside the paintings and works created by members earlier. I hope your amazing pieces will allow us to attract new members to the guild."

--
PQ done!
Feel free to post a wrap up post <3

Fade to the close-up

We're gonna stay naive tonight

Base Code by Sky!

loren

Loren let out a huff of laughter at Bastien’s response. However, the smile the summoner gave the Ascended was brilliant. ”I take it you were too blinded by the bride’s beauty to pay attention to much else.” At the compliment, however, the Launceleyn blushed a little. ”Thank you.” Then Bastien turned to the rest of their group, and Loren had a chance to recover.

Placing the phoenix with the rest of the offerings, the summoner grinned as they were dismissed. Holding out his palm, another phoenix appeared, this one with slightly different coloring. Then a second, a third, a fourth, and finally a fifth, all unique, with different feathers and poses. ”Might be a bit overkill, but I figured it might help as well.” With that, he waved cheerfully at the other helpers. ”I’ll see you all around!” Finally, he turned to go seek out another person he could help with Fiat Lux.

There seemed to be no end to them.

Never judge a book by its cover.

oliver

Watching everyone else create had been an absolute treat. He hasn’t seen it too much, but it was nice to hear the reason behind each art piece as well as seeing the completed project. ”Thanks! I may just do that.” Oliver was highly tempted to stay and finish up with painting...but first he had a very specific job to do.

A nod and a smile was thrown Loren’s way as the man made his exit before his face turned towards Bastien ”Bastien? May I speak with you about something? Nothing is wrong....I just have a question for you.” It was now or never. Hopefully he had proven himself to Bastien and maybe he’d be allowed to join the guild.

don't worry, be purple

"Time moves on, and nothing is forever," Jigano murmured, clearly quoting something from his own world. "Not even the gods, in the end." He chuckled as he finished a final flower crown and set the crowns within the wreath that he placed on the table Bastien had indicated for the guild's offerings. "But these will last well beyond the festival, so at least they'll be in good shape for those who come to visit the Artist's Guild stall."

He looked over to where Peter was still struggling to keep his suncatchers in one piece, but Bastien was better able to help him with that, while Oliver had managed a cute little menagerie that would assuredly earn some attention from young Grounders. He smiled at both of them as he stood, giving Loren a grin as the mage showed off just a little with his creation magic. "Are you sure you don't want to sign them, too?" he teased, joining his fellow Loreseeker as they headed out to spread some more Fiat Lux cheer. All they needed was Deimos and they'd be ready for any set up or task that remained for the festival prep, he thought to himself, letting the spirit and energy of the coming festival lighten his steps as he waved to Bastien on his way out. "See you at the party! Best of luck to the Artist's Guild this year!" he called back, before he was gone.

BASTIEN

People began to file out and Bastien was thinking he would go upstairs for a while and drink some wine, prepare a surprise of some sort for Rexanna in preparation for a romantic night...then Oliver caught his attention. Turning with a 'hm?' he listened to the young man's request and nodded.

"Of course. Ask away, Oliver." He smiled, leaning down to pick up Pittore as he spoke, the little gremlin spotting a chance to be spoiled by his master.

Fade to the close-up

We're gonna stay naive tonight

Base Code by Sky!

oliver

Oliver’s eyes widened ever so slightly that Bastien just seemed so...chill? Then again, that was always better than the man outright refusing to even hear him out. He was still a bit nervous and tried his best to calm himself by taking a deep breath before speaking. It would be okay. He could simply just ask and get it over with.

”When we first met you invited me to join the guild and I said I needed to visit some others first.” At this point it should be obvious what he was trying to ask, but Oliver was a dramatic little shit. Even when nervous, he had to add some pauses and moments of tension to his question. ”I wanted to know if the offer was still available because I’d love to join your guild.” And love was a fitting word. He truly did feel like it’d be perfect for him to join the guild, to become part of something. Oliver wanted to create things and make others happy through art.

don't worry, be purple

BASTIEN

Oliver seemed surprised by something, but Bastien wasn't sure what. Honestly, he'd barely even thought of the happenings at Longnight since - he had never been a man to hold on grudges for little things and given he'd still survived? It had been little.

When he found out what the question was Bastien clapped his hands together and grinned. "Of course! The guild extends a hand to anyone that wishes to join. Welcome, Oliver! Feel free to use the supplies in the hall any time you like and you will receive a special invitation for our next party." Reaching to shake his hand, Bastien considered his membership now official.

Fade to the close-up

We're gonna stay naive tonight

Base Code by Sky!

oliver

The widest of grins grew on Oliver's face and he was finally able to relax. Bastien was true to his word and hadn't gone back on his invitation! He was now, finally, part of something! He could have people to go to and so many new opportunities. Oliver would feel a bit bad using the supplies, but he'd make sure to remember that. Maybe he could make things for selling in return for using supplies for his own projects? He'd have to talk about that with Bastien on a later date.

"T-Thank you!" The words stumbled out of his mouth, tripping over each other. He was clearly a small bit surprised, but also genuinely happy. "I'll be sure to stop by the guild more often. Show you what I've made and also try new things." As well, he was excited to meet the other members of the guild. The idea of a party was also very intriguing. "Be sure to let me know the next time you have an event! I'd be down for attending this special party, sure, why not." There must be some other events like learning how to sketch or making your own paintbrush or something fun like that.

For now, he'd be able to begin a new life. One where he could finally have a purpose.

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Fin?

don't worry, be purple