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

wildflowers

[relieable]

[he had to leave that room for a bit. Osomatsu was getting frustrated, and he didn't know why. he didn't have a lot of time, but he decided to get a quick bit of air.

he's not alone. someone else is already out here, looking at the flowers. Osomatsu can hear the sea in the distance as he approaches. where is he?]

Uh, 'scuse me... You see a pachinko parlor anywhere around here?

[bluemackerel]

[Osamu swerved around. Well. This wasn't his husband, he was pretty sure. Probably? ...Possibly. But his husband was far older.

He contemplates in the back of his mind why he married such an old man, but some weird wonky voice in the back of his head says 'because you love him!'

...Yeah, sure.

But nonetheless, he gives this guy a smile.]

A pachinko parlor? I don't think so. There's not really a city to gamble in all the way out here...mostly just country air. It's nice. Kind of boring, but...

[Well, can't be picky with locales when you're living the life of an artist's wife. Husband? ...Either.]

[relieable]

[he squints. something seems off about this. he shouldn't be in the country, right? Osomatsu lives in the city!

...but wait! this is probably still part of the weird dream he's having. sure, it must still be going on]

Silly me. I forgot I was no longer in the city. Hahahaaa...

[bluemackerel]

[There's something that clicks in the back of Osamu's mind. Hm. He grins a little.]

Is that so? Or do you not ever imagine coming here at all?

That's an important distinction, you know.

[Not that he knows the feeling. Absolutely not.

...Probably?]

[relieable]

[Osomatsu blinks, tilting his head]

Whaddaya mean?

[bluemackerel]

The way you said that. It didn't sound like 'I moved here, and I'm just not used to it.' There's a certain tone difference, if you're not used to concealing that. You seemed confused that you were here at all, in a sense.

You don't remember moving here, do you? Or anything about where we are?

[relieable]

[eh? eehhhhhh????????]

N-no... I don't. I feel kinda lost, actually. Like I think I'm supposed to be here, but not really sure yet.

[bluemackerel]

So we're both in the same kind of predicament. I see. I'm lost as well, but there's something compelling me to stay, too.

[A beat as he picks up a flower and sniffs at it. A curious smile forms on his face.]

You wouldn't happen to be an artist, would you?

[relieable]

[he shakes his head]

No, but my husband is!

[where did that come from? oh well]

...I think.

[bluemackerel]

[hmmmmmmm]

You think. You probably should know your own husband's profession as a certainty. And it's an odd coincidence that you say that....because mine is as well. I think. That's why I asked.

But on top of that...I can only remember the slightest details about him. He's older than I am. Far older. He's an artist. We live together. And he's always seemed to love his art more than me. I don't know his name, or his face. If you asked me any personal questions I should probably know before marrying someone - his family, his finances, his preferences on anything...I couldn't tell you. It's all a blank.

That's kind of odd, isn't it? Enough so to be alarmed.

[relieable]

[well, now he's thinking harder than he'd like to think. his own memories of his husband are foggy, too! even the fact that he's married is weird? but Osomatsu loves his husband! ...probably...

he rubs the back of his head]

I mean, I wasn't really thinking about it before now. But I guess you're right. It is alarming.

[bluemackerel]

You've gotta be two steps ahead in these kinds of situations. After all, if you're confused, you're one step away from danger. Any guy could step in, just say he's your husband...and you'd believe him. If I'd approached you, for example...

[He looks away, takes one more sniff of his flower, and walks further towards him.]

My muse. My one and only. It's so nice to see you on this beautiful morning. Your captivating brown eyes have taken me, as usual, and your smile...that is the only thing that I can never truly capture in one of my pieces. Nothing can ever truly match reality when it comes to true beauty such as that.

[He takes one of his hands.]

As befits the man I married.

[relieable]

[he holds up his arms instantly, making an X with them]

Bzzzt! Wrong. That's definitely not the man I married.

[bluemackerel]

[...Okay, that gets a laugh out of him before he feigns annoyance.]

You must've married a very boring man, then. Tch.

[A beat.]

Also, how do you know that, if you don't know anything much about him? Mmm?

[relieable]

[Osomatsu drops his arms and rests his hands on his hips, looking serious for a moment]

He wouldn't compliment me like that. I'm not his art. That's what he really loves.

[bluemackerel]

...

That doesn't sound defiant. That just sounds sad. A sadness that I understand, since, functionally...we seem to be stuck in the same kind of role. I can't get too sad about mine, is the thing, and I imagine you can't get too sad about yours, but on the outside looking in, that just seems...painful.

Thinking about our similarities, though, I imagine our paths weren't intended to cross. With how unrealistic it is, it's like the same role in a play being cast twice.

[relieable]

...So then we're rivals? [a beat, then] I won't lose, you know!

[bluemackerel]

As fun as that would be, no. Besides. I've no interest in winning if my prize is a loveless marriage. You can have that.

It's more like I'm Cast A, you're Cast B. We're not rivals, just alternating casts. We've got a role to fulfill. Then...I'm not sure what happens. Maybe we get to leave then.

Or maybe we could mess up the script entirely. That sounds like fun.

[relieable]

[wow, this guy's a bad actor. and also kind of a buzzkill. Osomatsu's competitive spirit has deflated]

Tch. Just as long as I get paid, I'll say whatever they want me to say.

[bluemackerel]

[Osamu snorts.]

I don't think you're going to get paid, either. You're not here by choice. It's a shame for all of us, I know. The real concern as to why this is happening in the first place.

[relieable]

[more deflating. it's like Osomatsu is at war with himself, with his real personality, and this new wife personality. right now, all he wants is to have fun, while also making his husband happy...]

You really think it's that big of a deal, huh?

[bluemackerel]

I mean, yes. Most likely. Don't you?

I'd love to make my husband happy and giggle out in the field all day...but I also really don't. I don't like being forced into being into a part. Especially with someone I don't know.

It's more fun to mess it up. [He smirks.] So I'm not going to help my dear husband paint anything ever again~

[relieable]

[wild. Osomatsu sucks in a breath. faintly he can hear his old life calling back to him, telling him he's just a lazy NEET. that sounds right! that feels right! yes! he doesn't belong in this story!

...at least, that's what he wants to think, but it's not that simple. he frowns, unsure of what to do. then he turns to start heading back towards where he came from. this all doesn't make much sense but he knows he probably shouldn't be out here. he needs to find his husband]

[bluemackerel]

[Oh. Well. There goes the other man. How sad...]

...Shame. He seemed interesting.

[Osamu mumbles to himself. Maybe he's stuck in this role. For now. But it's more likely than not he'll meet that guy again, he thinks.

That should be fun.]