[F4 - Musico Primo Performer] Chasing the Sun - Studio (By invitation only)

[Icarus 0]

At the back of Snowfrost Town, where the settlement met the treeline of the surrounding forest, an untitled building existed that resembled all the other cottages that surrounded it.  It didn't appear to be anything special from the outside.  There wasn't a title-bearing placard that alerted people that the establishment was a functional business. No sign to grab the attention of the occasional wanderer who passed by.  If anything, even the patrons of Snowfrost might have thought the building to be abandoned if not for the occasional light that popped on late at night while the rest of the world slept - even then, that light was more sporadic than consistent.  Within the structure, though, once you were able to get past its nondescript surface, you will find the humble habitat of a musician.  There wasn't much in the way of customer service, as the business was owned by one man with no interest in selling or marketing his talents, he simply wished to play again.  The walls were lined with various instruments from all the different families, some used but others not.  The main display, however, located in the center of the main room and angled so the player could look out at nature through an enormous panoramic window, was a pristine grand piano.

[Performer info]
Rank: 1 - Musico Primo
¤ Attraction Songs ¤ 
2 Crafts a Day

EXP: 0/40

Edited February 22, 2016 by Icarus

[Icarus 0]

A lone figure sat by the light of the candle before the keys of the grand piano centered in the middle of the room.  The wavering flicker of the flame lit the half of his face that it managed to catch with a warm, orange glow while the rest remained in the cold shadows.  The single emerald eye that was kept in constant illumination could be seen momentarily staring out the window framed on the opposite side of the room from him before looking down to the perfected set of ebony and ivory his hands resided upon.  Beside the candle, pulsating with its own multicolored illumination was a rectangle shaped box that looked similar to an Alchemist's crystal, although this particular device was meant solely for use by someone of the Performer profession.

Someone like the blue haired Icarus sitting at the piano.

Icarus inhaled a long, slow breath and let it fill his lungs completely before he exhaled in the same deliberate manner - and then he let the room become filled with the sound of his playing.  It was not beautiful, pleasant, or inspiring; it was absolutely horrid.  His fingers felt like blocks of concrete as they crashed about the keys with terrifying inaccuracy.  After several long minutes of playing, Icarus slammed his hands onto the top board of the piano with an exaggerated huff and stood up from the instrument.

He proceeded to leave his studio without a single word.

Spoiler

ID# 48932 | CD: 2 (Fail)(+1 EXP)

ID# 48933 | CD: 5 (Fail)(+1 EXP)

-2 Materials.
+2 EXP

Progress: 2/40 EXP
27 Materials remaining.

 

Edited February 22, 2016 by Icarus

[Icarus 0]

Icarus knelt before the hearth of the fireplace nestled in the back of the room.  In his hand was a hooked fire iron, which he used to prod and poke the logs within the crackling fire into a better burning position.  It was a completely unnecessary task that he did out of sheer remembrance of the late nights he spent in the manor, or the family cabin, reading books by the light of a warm fire.  He found that the more elements about that reminded him of home helped fuel the desire and creativity required of him to attempt the piano - an instrument which he used to love endlessly but was now finding it to be awkward and foreign in this strange world.  Either way, he racked the fire iron back on the matching stand located next to the fireplace and made his way back to his seat at the piano.

It was nearly the same as before.  The keys his fingers desperately searched for were not the ones that they found and the discordant melody that came funneling out of the piano wasn't anything anyone wanted to hear, not even Icarus.  However, there was a momentary bright spot during the end where he seemed to find some sort of cohesion in the dexterity of his fingers but even then, the music he produced wasn't inspiring or creative in the least.  It was a start, though.

Spoiler

ID# 49011 | CD: 7 (Bad) | +1 EXP

ID# 49013 | CD: 8 (Good) | +2 EXP

-2 Materials
+3 EXP

Progress: 5/40 EXP
18 materials remaining.

 

Edited February 23, 2016 by Icarus

[Icarus 0]

For the longest time, Icarus stood and stared at the grand piano before him with his closed fist pressed against his lips.  There were numerous thoughts of what to play or what inspiration to model his next session after but none of them took root.  If he was being honest with himself, he mostly hated the musical system within Sword Art Online.  Coming from being an accomplished, private pianist, it was terribly frustrating for him to not even play the simplest of selections due to the limitations the game put on him.  He knew, though, that if he spent enough time at it, he would become more skilled than he was currently.

Removing his hand from his mouth, he moved to sit at the bench before the piano and properly positioned his fingers against the smooth white keys.  After a moment of composing himself, he began to play.  It was an absolute disaster.  Even if it seemed like he was hitting the right keys, the wrong notes were coming out.  He kept hammering away even though his ears wanted to bleed and after some time, the sounds became acceptable and not completely head-splitting.  It was still a far cry away from what he was used to playing at home but it was another step forward progress.

Spoiler

ID# 49143 | CD: 1 (Fail) | +1 EXP

ID# 49144 | CD: 9 (Good) | +2 EXP

-2 Materials
+3 EXP

Progress: 8/40 EXP
16 materials remaining.

 

Edited February 24, 2016 by Icarus

[Icarus 0]

There was no contemplation this day.  Icarus marched into his studio with a sense of purpose, letting the door close behind him of its accord.  No hesitation, no overthinking, he just sat down at the piano, settled his fingers in and began to play.  Nothing but embarrassment in the form of musical notes filled the room.  Desperate as he was to keep hammering on and getting better, even a look of utter disappointment, with a tinge of nausea, found itself forming to the angled features of his slender face.

Sensing that his playing was going to get him nowhere this day, Icarus just started hamfisting the keys and pounding on them with the heel of his palm. Sadly, even when he had given up, it didn't sound much worse than his original attempt.

Spoiler

ID# 49228 | CD: 3 (Bad) | +1 EXP

ID# 49229 | CD: 2 (Bad) | +1 EXP

-2 Materials
+2 EXP

Progress: 10/40 EXP
14 materials remaining

 

Edited February 25, 2016 by Icarus

[Icarus 0]

"Practice made perfect" is was everyone says.  As deterred from progressing in his Performer profession as Icarus was, he still managed to fight the cold of the early morning to make his way to the studio.  After spending all of a couple of moments to get a fire started in the hearth, he settled in at the piano bench and started idly plucking at the keys as he contemplated what he would like to take a failing stab at today. Bach?  Brahms?  Beethoven?  Nothing was really striking a chord within him.

Icarus found he didn't want to play anything serious.  He just wanted to goof around jam in the ways he used to with his brother and sisters - so he did.  What came out was actually pretty good sounding.  It wasn't classical in the slightest, sounding more upbeat and poppy than intended but it didn't immediately instill in him the desire to rip his own ears off.  Well, until he let the composition go on longer than necessary, then it devolved into something he wouldn't put his name next to.

In the end, the recording stone he always had situated on the top board of his piano illuminated with a new, successful recording.  Hey, progress today.  Not bad... I guess.

Spoiler

ID# 49369 | CD: 11 (Rare) | +5 EXP

ID# 49370 | CD: 5 (Bad) | +1 EXP

-2 Materials
+6 EXP

Progress: 16/40 EXP
12 materials remaining

 

Edited February 26, 2016 by Icarus