[open]

[wordcarvings]

WHO: Koutarou & open
WHERE: Recollé Square, Grocery store & flower shop.
WHEN: 4/15-21  (and other days for 2)
WHAT: After getting a weird gift from Retrospec, Koutarou needs some distraction by drawing. Also staring at fruits and buying flowers.
WARNINGS: None at the moment.

(( Recollé Square, 15th to 20th, afternoons ))
[ Today is a lovely day. And Koutarou needs a distraction from what Retrospec sent him most recently. He wasn’t entirely sure of the day that they sent it, but the package had been with his mail when he came home and that had been...weird… Getting a book that turns into a rifle doesn’t make any sense.

So instead he goes to the Square to do some outdoor sketching, sitting in the grass and drawing things, people and animals that he sees.

He’ll be there more days too, spending some sunlight hours outside, instead of losing them while spending hours indoors. ]

(( Grocery Store, every time ))
[ Every time he goes to the grocery store, he can’t help but look at the fruits. Nearly a month and he can’t get over the faces. Particularly that the lemons got messed with bugs him, because he likes lemons (or else he wouldn’t have named his atelier Lemon Leaf). You can’t help but pass those fruits if you want other fruits, which is...unfortunate...

So yeah, there’s a guy with paint-stained clothes looking at the lemons, oranges, and limes with suspicion, standing at the other side of the aisle with his shopping basket. ]

(( Flower Shop, 21st ))
[ For one of his commissions, he needs flowers. Sunflowers, to be specific. He couldn’t buy them earlier because the person in the portrait was allergic - but wanted to seem like she was not, or...something...he has no idea - and so he had to do the flowers separately, and do it after the person if finished sitting for the portrait so there would be no leftover pollen around.

So he goes to buy flowers and finds the sunflowers. ]

I’ve never seen such a fluffy sunflower.

[ That’s a goldie sunflower. ]

Comments

shopping!

[accordance]

[ It's by chance that the two men run into each other while buying things, Lucian having his own basket half-filled with assorted vegetables. ]

Ah, hello.

[ And then he sees what Koutarou is actually looking at... ]

... will you buy any of these?

Flower Shop

[true_noir]

I know, isn't it lovely and sunny? I think it is one of the greatest joys of the season, to see such brilliant displays.

[Chloe was at the shop this afternoon, on the job. So, she was there almost as soon as he started looking at one of the displays. Her hands behind her back, it was much easier to forget her troubles while working. Quite the solace her job gave her, promising that everything she knew and loved was still right there, at her fingertips, and that not everything was insane.

If anyone ever did this to her world, she probably would have snapped.]

Do you need a few of these?

[wordcarvings]

It is. They look like they're in a very good mood.

[ Small suns, even in bad weather, if you take care of them well enough. He's not that good at flowers, Mikoto-kun taught him most of what he knows about flowers and he's better at painting them.

It's always great to get some help. ]

I was looking for some of the less fluffy ones, you know the ones with the big middle? But I think I'd like some of these for myself.

[true_noir]

They do, don't they?

[Her grin broadened when he said that. It was kind of a nice way of thinking about it. Sunflowers were always happy, but these ones were like the best of a mum and a sunflower combined. She nodded to his question.]

Oh, I could see that. They can be a bit space intensive, of course, but they can really liven up one's yard can they not? But, is that what brings you here, or are you buying a bouquet?

Square

[long_live_the_queen]

[Oh hi there were you minding your own business, there's a quiet shadow approaching, head inclined a bit to peer over his shoulder. Like a cat, if a slouchy-shouldered 5'4'' one. Lucy doesn't say anything in greeting, but her shoes do rustle against the grass in a warning before she does speak.]

What are you drawing?

[wordcarvings]

[ Being approached and addressed is nothing that he minds at all, really. He's a bit slow at noticing when people speak to him though, so it takes a couple moments before he looks up. ]

Oh. A group of dogs.

[ There's a person with dogs playing a bit away. That's his current motif. ]

[wordcarvings]

Mhm.

[ He wonders what it would look like to draw baby chicks together with the fluffy sunflowers. It could be cute. But he's getting distracted. ]

I imagine that they can. I don't have a yard but it's nice in a window or on a table too. Actually, it's for a painting.

[wordcarvings]

[ He jumps, finally looking away from the smiling faces. ]

Sensei..! Ah, no, I, no, I'm not. They um, freak me out a bit and also frustrate me so...no...

[accordance]

[ Lucian walks over, picking up a fruit and turning it so that its back faces the two of them. Not the face. ]

Shall we walk to another section?

[ He seems quite bothered so maybe not looking at them would help. ]

[wordcarvings]

[ He's thankful for that gesture. ]

That might be a good idea.

grocery store!

[commandertoolbelt]

[ Leo knows that feeling, bro. Every time mom sends him to grab some stuff from the store, he gets weirded out by the stupid fruit all over again. And it definitely doesn't help that she's been trying to get he and his brother to eat healthier. ]

You know, they're supposed to stop dancing like that once you start to eat them.

[ Does that make it any easier?

No. Not at all. ]

[true_noir]

Hmmm, you might want to be careful if you want to plant them in a flower pot on your windowsill. Sunflowers can be quite large, growing to five feet or more. So, they're not exactly good if planted... but if you want them to brighten up a room, they're perfect [She tapped her lip for a moment.] But a painting you say? That should look nice and very festive. For class, or are you out of school?

[long_live_the_queen]

[A two for one combo of things she's weak to oh no. Lucy doesn't mind the pause, but she does glance up when he mentions the dogs.]

It's pretty.

[It's a drawing; it doesn't matter if it is or isn't to her. She'd always been a bit jealous of people who could manage more than stick figures.]

[accordance]

[ He leads Koutarou away and towards the vegetables instead. That's much better... ]

Quite inconvenient, they are... how are you?

grocery store!

[viktorymaker]

[ Contrary to what popular belief says about people who have been on TV, former pseudo-celebrities still have to do their own grocery shopping! Especially fruits and vegetables. They don't last for long, they're a very important part of his diet, he buys them often... Although lately, he hasn't been able to buy certain kinds of fruit, which affects his preference for variety. But he doesn't have the heart to do it, or lack thereof.

So when he sees Koutarou standing there, he understands. Or at least, he thinks that he does! And so he joins him. ]

It's awful, isn't it.

1/2

[wordcarvings]

It's insulting to anyone who's ever drawn them.

[ That slipped out before he could stop the words from coming. But honestly, with each change that happens, it's another insult to every piece of art. ]

[wordcarvings]

Um, I mean... Yes...

[ He doesn't generally complain, particularly to people he doesn't know well. ]

Hello, Nikiforov-san.

[wordcarvings]

[ Yep, much better. Hopefully, the vegetables won't be ruined in the future as well. But right now they're fine. ]

Yeah, they are. [ More than inconvenient. ] I'm well enough, at least. I've been inside for the most part so I haven't gotten in much trouble. But there's a lot to think about.

[wordcarvings]

[ He tears his gaze from the fruits, and turns it toward the other. ]

So I've been told but it feels unnerving to cut them up.

[ They have actual faces. They actually move. It's as if they're alive. ]

[wordcarvings]

[ Five feet is pretty tall for a flower. ]

If they're planted they have to stand on the ground, then?

[ He isn't always home though, so keeping potted plants isn't ideal. ]

I'm out of school. It's for a commission, so I thought I could use some as reference to make sure I get them right.

[ He'll do some sketches to practice first, but he does need the proper reference material to do that. ]

[wordcarvings]

Thank you.

[ Since Koutarou has studied art and works as a painter and art teacher, it would be pretty sad if he couldn't draw something more advanced than stick figures. ]

I hope I'm not in the way.

[true_noir]

Yes, I believe that you could get a few for that purpose. We'll make the bouquet together for your purposes, and choose a nice, appropriate vase.

[She motioned for him to look through some of the options that they had in stock, in case he needed anything to go with the sunflowers in his painting.]

As for planting, yes these ones would be best in the earth. If you want a similar look, though, consider marigolds. They're bright and warm, and they need far less ground.

[long_live_the_queen]

[It's a rather important skill to have, it's true.]

You're not.

[Lucy would just be standing over here. Still watching. Totally not creepy.]

Are you always out here?

[wordcarvings]

That's a relief.

[ He doesn't mind that she's watching. And he shakes his head. ]

Not really, but sometimes. IT's nice to be outside once in a while.

[wordcarvings]

That would be great, thank you.

[ Getting a new vase for them would work too, he could use another to add for when he draws flowers. ]

Is either one of them easier to take care of than the other?