TDM 1 ⬡ The Oval Portrait

[liburuzaina]

	Casting Call The Oval Portrait Edgar Allan Poe »» "Long — long I read — and devoutly, devotedly I gazed." Name: The Aristocrat Casting Call: Characters with a Birthday from September through December Physical Notes: Desperately wounded, to the point of being bedridden, but not losing consciousness. Personality Notes: Curious, and prone to becoming enraptured by the pursuit of learning about whatever has caught their curiosity. Mildly delirious due to injury. Compulsions: To learn about their surroundings, whether through study of the portraits in the chateau apartment, conversation with a companion, or ill-advised exploration. «« »» "We established ourselves in one of the smallest and least sumptuously furnished apartments." Name: The Valet Casting Call: Characters with an Unknown Birthday Physical Notes: Older than The Aristocrat by ≥ 5 years. Personality Notes: Willing and able (by force or by cleverness) to break in to a home for the well-being of their employer. A caretaker by nature. Compulsions: To see that The Aristocrat is comfortable for the night and their wounds are tended to, and to get some rest themselves once their duty is complete. In the absence of The Aristocrat, The Valet is free to act as they please. «« »» "She was a maiden of rarest beauty, and not more lovely than full of glee." Name: The Maiden Casting Call: Characters with a birthday from May through August Physical Notes: Young, aged from 15-20. Personality Notes: All smiles, loving and cherishing of all things, hating only The Painter's art, for they deprive them of their lover. Compulsions: To live life to the fullest, to love, to be happy... But also to make their husband, The Painter happy, by being a good and willing subject for his portraiture, should he ask. ⬡ Will slowly waste away and die, should they sit and allow themselves to be painted. «« »» "And evil was the hour when she saw, and loved, and wedded the painter." Name: The Painter Casting Call: Characters with a birthday from January through April Physical Notes: Older than the maiden by ≥ 10 years. Personality Notes: Passionate, studious, austere, wild, moody. More in love with his art than his wife. Compulsions: To paint. To paint, and paint, and paint some more. To ask their lovely wife to be the subject for their next piece, and to throw themselves into the completion of it. ⬡ Unaware they are doing harm with their painting, until it is complete. «« code @ efryndiel The Chateau ⬡ Common Cast Characters most likely to originate in The Chateau are The Aristocrat and The Valet ⬡ Literary Description "To all appearance it had been temporarily and very lately abandoned. We established ourselves in one of the smallest and least sumptuously furnished apartments. It lay in a remote turret of the building. Its decorations were rich, yet tattered and antique. Its walls were hung with tapestry and bedecked with manifold and multiform armorial trophies, together with an unusually great number of very spirited modern paintings in frames of rich golden arabesque." ⬡ For Your Exploration Characters may attempt to explore the Chateau, but it will be shrouded in darkness, and every room they enter will bring them back to the apartment chosen by The Valet. What decorations may be seen are dark and victorian in design, and the room and halls may be lit by candlelight. The Maiden's portrait is on the wall, and will initially be cloaked in shadow for The Aristocrat to find. It appears remarkably lifelike, almost as though it is a window instead of a portrait. The other paintings on the walls will contain figures that are almost familiar to The Aristocrat and The Valet - as though they could be someone they know, but only if they squint. There is no electricity. Characters will not have access to any powers. The Artist's Tower ⬡ Common Cast Characters most likely to originate in The Artist's Tower are The Maiden and The Painter ⬡ Literary Description "But she was humble and obedient, and sat meekly for many weeks in the dark, high turret-chamber where the light dripped upon the pale canvas only from overhead. But he, the painter, took glory in his work, which went on from hour to hour, and from day to day." ⬡ For Your Exploration Should characters leave the Painter's studio, they will immediately be transported outside, to a sprawling field of wildflowers. There won't seem to be anything else around, but there will be a light breeze and the sound of the sea in the distance. Inside the studio, the air is stale and musty, smelling of oil paints and turpentine. It's dim, lit only by a skylight. There is a stool for the subject and an easel with canvas sitting in the light, but everything else - art materials, more canvases, both empty and with the beginnings of paintings, and props - are all pushed to the sides of the room and cloaked in shadow. Like The Chateau, there is no electricity, and characters will not have access to their powers. The Library ⬡ Welcome! Free from their roles, through either death, completion of the Story, or from not being pulled into the tale in the first place, characters will find themselves in the gardens outside of the Library itself. As always, it will look and feel like a temperate, autumn afternoon. As this setting is part of the Library itself, characters will have full access to all their powers. ⬡ Grand Opening Coming Soon! The front door will, unfortunately, be locked, and a sign will be taped on the doors, detailing how the Library will be opening soon, but in the meantime to please enjoy the grounds and the pizza party in the courtyard. ⬡ Pizza party? Pizza party! In the courtyard, there will be tables set up that will be absolutely covered in stacks of paper plates, 2-liter bottles of any soda one could dream of, and stacks and stacks of pizza boxes, containing any flavor combination that could be desired. Opening a random box will provide a random, but popular, flavor. Opening a box with an Intent and a Desire for something specific will provide exactly that. Enjoy! It won't run out. navigation • premise • reserves • faq

Comments

[worthallthis]

He told her, didn't he tell her? Jesus. He shifts the hand at her elbow to her far shoulder, tucking his fingers under it for support, and guides her to the nearest place to sit, whether it be chair or bed. "I believe you. About not being delusional. But you need to sit."

[uncannylife]

"Fine..." She doesn't resist him as she's led to a chair, and once she is in it, she is quick to curl the blanket around her. Drawing it close, her dark eyes focus on him, unclouded and gleaming with intelligence.

"Have the doctors said how long I'll be confined to a bed?"

[worthallthis]

"Until you're healed, Miss Moira. Shouldn't be more than another couple of weeks, unless you don't rest." Or unless she takes a fever, He helps tuck that blanket in place, then settles on the floor in front of her chair, knees up and arms clasped around them. "I can bring you more books. If that will help."

[uncannylife]

"Books..."

She repeats the word, sighs, and nods. She's tired of reading. It's tough to focus in her current state. But, books.

"Yes, I suppose that would be fore the best."

[worthallthis]

Aw, Moira. He feels bad, but it won't make him relent on keeping her safe. So he looks at her little stockinged feet peeking out from under the blanket and says, "I could tell you a story, instead. If that would be better."

[uncannylife]

"A book would have been fine, but now you've caught my curiosity, James. Tell me your tale."

She may be a grown ass woman, but she's always willing to hear a story freely given. That it was his go-to only heightens her intrigue.

[worthallthis]

Sometimes listening is more entertaining than reading. Sometimes you just need to feel connected to someone else, hear another voice outside your own head. Right?

He tilts his head, thinking, before the words come, almost of their own accord, without thought. "Okay. Once. There was a boy passing by an alleyway. Minding his own business. When he hears voices coming from inside. Now, he could walk on by. Not his business, right? But it sounds like there's three kids against one. And the one says. He says. 'I'll not give you nuthin'.'" And for a beat, he sounds like he's from... New York? Mimicking the accent perfectly.

[uncannylife]

Sometimes that's absolutely the case.

Moira leans in, intently listening, taking in the tone and the accent, as much as anything else. It's curious, strange...and she doesn't really think she's ever heard him speak like that before.

"Sounds like a bold boy."

[worthallthis]

"Very much so," he says, though he doesn't necessarily know. Except he does know, down deep, that he is nothing if not bold. "And he's small and skinny, too, so it looks ridiculous, him putting up his fists to these three big bullies. So this first boy, he stays and he sees what's happening. And he thinks, 'Well, this ain't right,' and so when the three on one starts throwing punches again, he decides, 'Better do something about this mess, huh.' So he goes charging into the fray. And he isn't a small and skinny boy."

[uncannylife]

"Bold of both of them."

Moira isn't a fighter, obviously. Even if she weren't bedridden, she is small and slender and soft.

"Do they make it out alright?"

[worthallthis]

"One has a split lip and a bloody nose, the other has a black eye and a cut on his fist, but they make it out," he assures her. "The element of surprise. Helps a lot. Also, practice at hitting bullies." He smiles just a little. He's not sure where this story is coming from, but he likes it. "And both boys become friends. Good friends, for as long as they know each other."