04 [written/action]

[wipesfaith]

[Classic incognito message, with the picture blocked out and everything; he even makes an attempt to disguise his handwriting, which he forgets after the first three words.]

Say you want to ask a girl out. How do you go about doing that?

Girls like flowers, right?

[See, there's actually a lot of consideration that goes into this. For a guy with a faulty brain-to-mouth filter and a do-or-die attitude, the amount of waffling here is...strange, maybe. But everyone's a walking contradiction. He has some ideas, along with maybe ten different speeches that he's mentally mapped out over the past three years and never planned on actually using, but second- and third-guessing himself leads to this pandering for advice...thing. He's pretty sure it's lame, but... It couldn't hurt, right?

Okay, so maybe he's just procrastinating.]

[Action]

[Anonymous dweebiness aside, Jean goes about his day as usual. Training at the Battle Dome; going to school; taking care of his horse at the stables, and taking him out for a ride into the woods; and checking the General Store for some...supplies, art supplies. Don't ask, don't tell.]

Comments

[action]

[sketchingideals]

[Dweebs of a feather must flock together, because Jeb is also at the General store looking for art supplies. And... wow, he's pleasantly surprised to see Jean of all people looking at the same stuff he is!]

...fancy meeting you here, Jean! [You know. In their actual bodies!]

[action]

[wipesfaith]

[He straightens up awfully fast to pretend he wasn't just peering at some charcoal pencils.]

Uh...hey. What's up?

[Crap, he wasn't supposed to run into people he knows.]

[action]

[sketchingideals]

Not much, just looking to replace and stock up on a few things. What about you? I didn't think I'd run into you while figuring out what art supplies to get!

[You have him in his natural habitat, Jean. The habitat of the artist. Run. If you think he is incapable of gushing over something, you are wrong.]

[action]

[wipesfaith]

Still drawing?

[Yes, he remembers the conversation about drawing Jeb's girlfriend. This is very obviously a dumb filler question whose sole purpose is to stave off having to talk about what the hell he's doing here too.]

[action]

[sketchingideals]

I am! My muse has been really strong lately. I think part of it can be credited to my roommate acting normally again, though.

[He smiles more.]

What about you? Are you looking for art supplies, too?

[action]

[wipesfaith]

[A shrug.] I'm just looking.

[His eyes flit back over to the charcoals on the shelf.]

[action]

[sketchingideals]

[Not. Convinced. Maybe it's because he's so excited.]

Are you sure? Because I could give you some suggestions...

[action]

[wipesfaith]

I think I can handle it.

[He throws a look over his shoulder, like he's making sure there's nobody there, and a huffy sigh, as if Jeb is forcing this information out of him.]

It's been a while, but I used to draw sometimes when I was a kid.

[action]

[sketchingideals]

Really? [He smiles, as if he isn't totally surprised by this point.] Are you looking to pick it back up?

[action]

[wipesfaith]

[As Jeb gives him that stupidly encouraging smile, Jean's embarrassment is given away by his sideways glance and his cover-up scowl.]

I might as well, right? I've got time to kill here.

[Outside of regular military duties and schoolwork, he's picked up a few hobbies in the time he's been stuck here, but it could get dull following the same routine day after day. While he tends to lean toward the comfort of the familiar, it also doesn't hurt to mix things up a little. Just a little.]

[action]

[sketchingideals]

That's true, isn't it? [He doesn't seem bothered by Jean's behavior.] If you'd like, I could give you some pointers to help you with that.

[action]

[wipesfaith]

Yeah? Well, you gotta be a lot better at this stuff than me.

[Meaning, sure, he'll take some pointers.]

[action]

[sketchingideals]

Well, maybe! I mean, I do practice a lot. It's my passion...

[He tries to work through his flustered state because chill, Jeb--it's just an observation!]

I could show you some of my work sometime and give you some advice from there. But I can give you a little now to start with, too: landscapes are great practice. You get to visibly see what you're drawing, and gives you an idea of perspective! I've done a lot of landscape work since I first arrived here.

[action]

[wipesfaith]

Sure, if you want to sometime. [Like, I guess that's ok...]

Maybe I can show you what I've got by then. [Maybe. Very maybe.]

[action]

[sketchingideals]

Of course I'd want to. Sometimes seeing other people's work can be just the inspiration you need. And I would be honored if I could see what you've done by then, I really would!

[You can tell how excited he is, right?]

[action]

[wipesfaith]

It's kinda creepy, the way you're sucking up to me, you know.

[Or he's just embarrassed. Seriously... So he likes to draw a little, it's not a big deal.]

[action]

[sketchingideals]

It's not sucking up, it's having genuine interest. I promise! [But now he's worried that he's offended Jean.] I mean, it's good for friends to have common interests... isn't it?

[action]

[wipesfaith]

Sure...

Just don't set your expectations too high. I don't wanna disappoint you or anything. [He's not that great, he promises.]

[action]

[sketchingideals]

You don't? [Well, that's confusing. He didn't think Jean would care that much about doing that. But still...] Um, well... it's okay. As long as you put your heart into what you do, there's no way you could disappoint me!

[action]

[wipesfaith]

[It was more of a joke. But also he's leery of being made fun of, not that Jeb is the type to do that. But still.]

Don't say something like that when we're both guys.

[action] 1/2

[sketchingideals]

Huh? What are you talking about? I didn't say anything out of the ordinary, did--?

[Wait.]

[action] 2/3 i lied deal with it

[sketchingideals]

T-That's not what I mean at all! I promise! I swear! I--!

[action] 3/3

[sketchingideals]

...I guess I'm just used to being open like that with people. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable.

[What kind of guy do you take him for? Really.]

[action]

[wipesfaith]

[Oh my god, Jeb, you're so embarrassing sometimes. He holds one hand up in a lazy, placating sort of gesture.]

Hey, don't make a big deal out of it. I'm just saying.

[action]

[sketchingideals]

I'm sorry, I just don't understand why it's such a weird thing to say... [Yeah, he can be embarrassing. Like when he sulks. Sort of like what he's doing right now. He sincerely doesn't see anything wrong with what he said.] Or why it should matter that we're both boys. Gender shouldn't matter when it comes to being open with friends!