liburutegiaooc | 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.

««

»»

"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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[shoving a piece of pizza into his face]

I'm eating.

[that's what's going on, like nothing else matters]

...Yeah, you are.

[He has eyes. Eyes that blink slowly at his older brother as if to truly question if he knows how odd this is.]

But where are we? What just happened? I was in a big tower and some guy painted me. It felt really weird? But I let him paint me all the way and then I ended up here after passing out again.

You let him paint you "all the way?"

[don't make this gross, Osomatsu]

I thought that was just my dream. Huh.

[back to eating]

[It takes him a second to get what Osomatsu means, and then his lips twist into a sardonic smile.]

...Yes. Absolutely. I let him paint me all the way. Every bit. Real art was made today.

[Then he catches that next bit.]

Wait, you went through the same thing??? ...Uh, you're not worried? Not at all? I mean, I get that this place doesn't look too scary, but we might wanna have a little more concern?????

Edited 2020-11-21 01:30 (UTC)

[man this pizza is delicious. he was starving!]

Hm? Why would I be concerned?

[is this a skit?]

[apparently so]

I mean, if you want the list...

First of all, we don't know where this is. It's a party in front of a library that is apparently going to open. Okay. But do you remember getting invited here or deciding to go? I don't.

Second of all, we can't explain what just happened? We were just going along with some weird painting-dream thing like it was a thing we're supposed to do! But it's not! It's weird!

Third...we don't know how to get home? There's a lot to be concerned about, niisan!!!

[well when you put it that way]

What do you mean we don't know how to get home? Sure we do!

[he looks around the courtyard, then realizes he has no idea where he is]

...

Do we, niisan?

I mean, if you know the way...I sure don't...

[blinks slowly.

then turns away, going back to his pizza. he doesn't know where he is. how will he get home? maybe a cab? does he have enough fare???

don't think about it now. just eat]

See, I told you so!

This is something we've gotta worry about! Sooner or later! Both of us! Because I dunno about you, but not knowing where I am kinda freaks me out! Even moreso when I don't know how I got here to begin with!!! Like, okay, the first bit with the painting? I would've thought it was a super weird dream if I woke up at home. But this? This?

Something fishy is going on, Osomatsu-niisan. I dunno what...

[He says, before popping a pizza lid open for himself. Well. At least they've got pineapple pizza. He takes a bite and tilts his head, staring at Osomatsu intently.]

MmmmmmmMMMMM?

[stop staring like that. Osomatsu might have a panic attack]

Look, I dunno! What do you want me to do? If I start worrying the way you are, we'll never get home... Fortunately, you've got a galaxy-brained brother over here, who has a plan. You can praise me all you want starting now!

[that'd at least be a REASONABLE reaction to this]

I'll praise you after I hear the plan.

What's the plan?

That's not how this works. You gotta pay up, first. Gimme the goods!

Is that how it goes?

[Hmm. He reaches his sleeve up and pats Osomatsu's head.]

Pat pat. Pat pat. Osomatsu-niisan is a good boy. A good boy who will get us home.

[This praise does not come without some condescension, but it's the best you're getting.]

[wow]

Don't worry, Jyushimatsu! My genius plan is, we're gonna hitch a ride with someone. Preferably the cutest person here. They'll get us back home.

[sorry not sorry]

So that's it, huh? We're gonna find someone cute and beg them to take us home.

[There are two wolves inside Jyushimatsu: one of them is just gullible enough to think this might work. The other is accepting his fate that this is his life now.

Both are at least smart enough to know that if they're getting a ride home, it probably won't be with the cutest person here.]

Hmmm.

Maybe my husband is around here! He'd be nice enough to help us out, 'cause he loves me~!!

[He can't remember what he looks like.]

...Is he cute?

[THAT DOESN'T MATTER]

[...]

Considering he's my husband, I don't think that is something you should be worrying about, niisan.

[IF YOU TRY TO STEAL HIM YOU'RE TOAST.]

...But, since I married him, yes! I'd imagine so!!!

[oh]

That's fair.

[anyone who was interested in Jyushimatsu probably isn't all there anyway. he'll just shove more pizza into his mouth]

[WOW, RUDE]

It definitely is. [He nods assuredly.]

...

[He tries to scan the crowd to see if there's anyone he has a faint recollection of. Guh. Guuuuhhhh. Nothing.]

...He might not be here, though...

[he could be mean here. he could say something about Jyushimatsu scaring his husband off.

but he won't]

It's okay! We'll find someone to help us. All we gotta do is look pathetic enough, and that's super easy for us!

[do you wanna die, niisan?

good boy.]

Ah. But we look pathetic all the time at home and that hasn't really helped before! But okay!!! I'm game!

[He then scratches under his nose in turn.

He knows how to look pathetic. It's fine.]