liburutegiaooc | TDM 1 ⬡ The Oval Portrait

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TDM 1 ⬡ The Oval Portrait

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.

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"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.

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"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.

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"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.

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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.

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Shen Qingqiu raises his eyebrows.

"Well, I suppose I can't blame you for being in a bad mood," he says, blandly. Honestly he feels dumber for not noticing that this dude is clearly more of a fish out of water here than he is himself (either that or a really dedicated cosplayer, anyway) than he does for not noticing his obvious foul temper, but whatever! We're all kind of freaking out here, devastatingly handsome eyepatch guy!

He'd prefer to just turn around and leave, but he figures he might as well take the opportunity to get more of an idea of what kind of situation he's dealing with here. "Has this sort of thing ever happened to you before...?"

Please, call him a cosplayer and see what happens. (Which would probably be nothing because he doesn't know that word, but he'd take it as an insult anyway...)

He's never been to a place before where his disinterested response, the annoyance roiling off of him like particularly acrid smoke, his disdainful reproach all working together to paint one pissed off portrait do nothing and the other person continues their line of incessant babbling.

How bold.

But, in the effort of gathering more information, Hua Cheng supposes he should... put a little in, even if he doesn't really want to (because he should know already and it's bothersome that he doesn't). His lips tighten at the corners and he exhales a slow breath from his nose. "Narrow down what you mean."

Because, after all, several things have happened to him since arriving here. Hua Cheng can likely guess what this man means, but that doesn't mean he's going to make the conversation easy. (i'm sorry)

Shen Qingqiu does not roll his eyes, but he kind of wants to. This guy! Who told you to act so self-important if you're not going to do anything useful!

"Finding yourself... transported to an unfamiliar world." No, a pizza party. What do you think!

Nobody taught him, he's self-taught! He will accept praise... probably.

Anyway, he could do something useful if he felt like it, but so far this guy hasn't given him any reason to do anything, therefore, he's going to be very unhelpful until he's given a reason not to be.

So, he sniffs, crosses one arm over his chest to hold the elbow of the opposite arm, and makes a disapproving gesture before resting his chin in that palm. "Unfamiliar world, no." Transported to a place he didn't expect, maybe. Meanwhile, Hua Cheng does roll his eye because he doesn't want to ask but he also kind of does, for the sake of knowledge, "Why, have you?"

"Mm. Something like that." Shen Qingqiu's eyes narrow over the top of his fan as he looks the man up and down (mostly up). "Is this place familiar to you..?"

Hua Cheng doesn't respond right away, but that's probably not anything new at this point. Instead he stands there for a moment, then actually turns to face the other man. "Is there any reason you keep covering your face?"

Shen Qingqiu snaps the fan closed, looking vaguely annoyed. Please do not draw attention to his bullshitting accessory. "No. Are you going to answer that question?"

A small, yet quite sharp, smile pulls up Hua Cheng's lips, seemingly pleased he's caused some annoyance. "Does it matter if I do or not?" He tilts his head to the side, his smile bigger but very, very obviously fake. "Whether I know this place or not is irrelevant to you. What good will that information do?"

"Hmm. Well," he says, unfolding the fan again to cover the frustrated tightening of his mouth, "since it is somewhat familiar to me, I was hoping to get some understanding of whether there's any pattern, in that regard, to the kind of people who've been brought here."

That probably wasn't the best thing to say because there's suddenly a murderous aura emanating from him as he leans in so they're eye to eye. "What do you mean it's familiar?"

Because, if this guy is part of the problem...

Shen Qingqiu takes a step back, his eyes widening in alarm. He swears internally, fanning himself as he makes himself calm down enough to look pissed off instead of freaked out. What is this guy's deal?

"I mean its... architecture and food... resemble a realm I've been to before," he says tersely. "This part," he gestures to the motley variety of people gathered outside the library, "is new to me."

Hua Cheng remains close for just a few moments more, staring hard as if he's trying to read him. While he's able to do many things, even he is fallible, so he could be missing something about this guy. Definitely going to be keeping an eye on him.

But, he does back off. Slightly. "What realm? What of the architecture?" He pauses but briefly, very clearly thinking about something. Sorry, he shifts in closer again. "What of that purple drink with the bubbles. Is it poison?"

Shen Qingqiu leans away from him. "... No. The bubbles are, ah, the reason people like to drink it."

He takes another step back, dusting off his robe as if Hua Cheng might have gotten, like, ectoplasm on it or something. As if he's been lightly slimered.

"It's an acquired taste, I suppose. As for the architecture..." He glances over at the library building. "I'm not exactly an expert, but buildings like this definitely didn't exist where I just came from, and I'm guessing the same is true for you, correct?"

Wow, calm down?? He doesn't have cooties. Or, if he does, no one else is in danger of getting them besides his husband. But, anyway.

Once again, Hua Cheng relaxes — as much as he can in front of this questionable stranger — because that weird purple drink isn't poison. He isn't fully sure if he can trust what this guy is saying, but for now, since nothing has happened, he'll believe it's not.

For the moment, his gaze shifts toward the building again and Hua Cheng shakes his head. "No," at least there's less murder in his tone now. He turns back to the other man. "Where did you come from?"

Well, where he originally came from was the regular ass non magical 21st century, but he's definitely keeping that to himself for now!

"I was in the demon realm... but the human realm I came there from was very different from this too -- or, well," he gestures at, like, the sky, the nearby trees, "the plants and weather are similar, but whatever kind of human civilisation they have here is obviously different. I can't say for sure it's the same as the place I mentioned that I... spent time in, but it seems more like that than like..." He hesitates, trying to decide how to put it, and settles on, "... my home."

Is that accurate? Boy, he is NOT sure at this point!

Demon realm? Interesting.

Hua Cheng silently contemplates this as he silently looks this guy over again, though less critical and more assessing. There wasn't anything he noticed before and there certainly isn't now, but he wonders if that has anything to do with this place. An idea is beginning to take shape in his mind and he hates it, yet feels compelled to keep questioning to find out more information.

"Are you dead? Or were you taken captive?"

Shen Qingqiu pauses.

"I was brought to the demon realm as a prisoner," he says, frowning behind his fan, "but I've died before. Ah, but I'm not dead," he adds quickly, waving his free hand as if to dismiss that idea. "I came back." Multiple times.......

Perhaps even more interesting. Hua Cheng doesn't recognize this man, so he can't possibly be one of the Heavenly Officials, not even a lower ranking one; he would've known of him by now. And he's already felt he's not a ghost... at least, he doesn't think so. So, what is he?

"You came back?" His tone is oh so flat, "How did you manage that?"

Shen Qingqiu waves his fan dismissively. "It's complicated... There was a replacement body." Technically this was true all three times so far! He doesn't really want to elaborate on that, though.

Something about this seems a little too suspicious, which makes Hua Cheng not want to let this go so easily. His eye narrows a little more. "Try me."

Go on, explain!!!!

Shen Qingqiu sighs. "I grew a replacement," he says, faintly annoyed, "from a magic plant, that my spirit could enter in the event my original body was killed. It's useful to have a backup."

Alright... that... wasn't what he was expecting. His aggression isn't so sharp any longer as his brows dip in thought, his finger and thumb slightly pinching his chin between them. A plant that can hold a human spirit? "What sort of plant?"

Shen Qingqiu grimaces, very slightly, behind his fan. Saying Airplane's stupid names for things out loud was bad enough when he was living in the damn novel; saying them to people outside it? Ugh.

"Sun and Moon Dew Flower Seed... I expect it doesn't exist wherever you've come from." Because you're probably a real person and not a character from shitty internet porn!

Well, at the very least, Hua Cheng doesn't balk at the name. After all, when people call you Crimson Rain Sought Flower... who is he to upturn his nose at a silly name for a plant?

At any rate, the other man is right, he's never heard of it before but he keeps it in mind to ask about later. Let's not get too meta here since at the end of the day everyone is from some kind of shitty internet porn (hehe). And, apropos of nothing, Hua Cheng shifts topics without a segue. "What's your name?"

What, no more insistent questions about his resurrection? He raises an eyebrow at that, but shrugs and replies, "Shen Qingqiu. And you?"

(no subject)

deadvotion - 2020-12-03 14:37 (UTC) - Expand

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