the "p" doesn't stand for pretentious, FYI. [art gallery, may 6th—??? ]

[theearth]

[ Welcome to Locke's very own Taste de Louvre, everyone! Predictably, the unveiling of the new set of statues at the magnificent Hugh P. Thadson Gallery of Fine Art has turned out to be a rather fanciful affair. The upper echelon of snobby society, in their snobby society attire, has come to mingle amongst one another—and is endeavoring to ignore you, fair citizen, as much as possible—and discuss this fantastic addition to our city's fair culture.

The first statue is a touchingly metaphorical piece, the prominent carving of a snake coiled around a human heart that looks so real you can almost hear it beating within your ears. This statue appears to be the most popular; the crowds drawn around its base simply can't stop going on and on and on about how wondrous it is, along with the rest of the works on display tonight.

The second statue also depicts a snake, but has its blush-brushed scales cut dramatically open to display its own wicked black heart. The Thunder Corporation and its latest line of tacky memorabilia is the primary subject of discourse here.

The last statue is strikingly different from the other two, and features a wolf howling at the open sky,* dying in apparent agony with a sword driven through its chest. You get a distinctly unsettling impression from it that the other, ordinary folk don't seem to notice—that perhaps your adventure to meddle in recent affairs is ill-advised. Inscribed below the pained wolf's paw is a link of sorts to a peculiar forum that, when accessed, bears only the topic "Let's Negotiate" with the same message enclosed within. Strange, but since no one else is talking about it, you wonder if you can't have just imagined the whole ordeal... and yet stranger things have happened, right? Perhaps it's worth looking into, in any event.

There's plenty to do with the statues about and the gift shop buzzing, with lots of familiar faces to run into. So what's your agenda for the evening? ]

(( General mingling post for the plot as related to art gallery affairs! There will be base threads for OPEN INTERACTIONS, open to all as implied, CLOSED INTERACTIONS, for planned out one-on-one interactions between player characters, and a general purpose EVERYTHING ELSE, for characters who wish to explore the gift shop, just mull about. Just as a general reminder:

1) Touching one of the snake statues will grant you one (1) Echo, for two (2) Echoes max. However, touching a second statue will definitely arouse suspicion, so be prepared for that. One safe Echo, two potentially risky ones up for grabs here! No Echoes from touching the wolf statue, though, so slither your way towards the snakey-snakeys for those.

2) If you'd rather not touch the statues themselves, hanging around them for awhile -- about an hour or so -- will grant one (1) Echo.

3) Accessing the webforum will not grant an Echo, but posting a reply to it will. It will be possible to get a second during conversation, but as for how it happens... it's a secret to everybody!

4) Little statuettes are available for purchase in the gift shop, but do not grant an Echo themselves in any way.

You may also handwave the mingling NPCs being snobby snobs at you, just for fun. Because why not.

As before, please wait for all base threads to go up before posting. OPEN FOR BUSINESS! In your character's subthreads, please put your character's name, the day, and optionally the time you are visiting in the title so things remain nice and neat. Remember, open to all interactions in the open section and one-on-one time in the closed section. Everything else goes in Everything Else. This post will remain stickied throughout the entirety of the plot duration, for easy finding.

The plot post for this week, detailing about the art gallery and more, can be found here.

*This awesome picture drawn by our very lovely Lucas-mun! Thanks, MC! ]

Comments

[steelettos]

( she just laughs, her hands clenching around her skirt. she wonders what kind of accident it was, considering he doesn't look like someone klutzy enough to trip. she glances at the statues with a thoughtful look and at the people who surround it.

is she really going to dare it? with everyone looking and watching it carefully?

she laughs again, uncertain, as she turns away with a wave of her hand. )

I, It's okay. Maybe later, when no one's looking. Who knows what kind of craziness happen when I touch it, right?

[handcuff]

I think that depends on how mentally strong you are to begin with.

[ which is probably not something that somebody who had a fairly obvious visceral reaction the first time he tried it should be saying. but he could have been more obvious; at least he didn't accidentally knock something over. ]

... It's your choice, obviously.

[steelettos]

I'd like to think I'm mentally stable enough.

( after all, she's been enduring for a while now. despite her losing her hair and finding wounds on her legs. and despite her uncle asking so many questions about her well-being lately. )

But it's more of dealing with the after-effects that I'm hesitant about.

( the whispers and the looks behind hands. she bites her lower lip then smiles again. )

Anyway, shall we go ahead and meet your new companion?

[handcuff]

... Yeah, let's.

[ it's beginning to feel uncomfortably claustrophobic with so many people around, anyway. he turns to walk towards the door -- it wasn't so obvious when he wasn't moving, but he's pretty clearly tense. ]

[steelettos]

( she tries not to walk too close to him, sensing his discomfort. though towards what, she's not entirely sure and not one to ask. she wonders if it's the crowd or if it's the strange sensation they've been getting from the statues.

before she can take a step out of the gallery however, she freezes. she's hearing it again, the pounding noise that drowns out every sound in the room. she knows what it entails but denies it anyway.

she didn't touch anything, didn't do anything. )

W, wait -- ( she staggers, reaches out a hand to the wall to steady herself as visions flood her sight. ) Sorry, can you go on ahead? I might need a minute or two.

[handcuff]

[ a few moments pass without him doing anything -- he doesn't know what to do, to be honest. there is a part of him that wants to just walk away, like she says. but there's also another part of him that wants to say is collapsing here really that much more inconspicuous than touching a statue?

people are watching. he's always been hyperaware of that, when people are around, watching and passing judgment. he hates that.

he sighs before reaching out to offer a hand. ]

... At least sit down on a bench or something.

[ there's one a few paces away, at least. ]

[steelettos]

( she herself certainly wishes that he had walked away.

he, despite his blurry image through her memory-laced sight, does look like uncomfortable by all of this and the last thing she wants is impose on someone, anyone, because of her own weaknesses. she takes his hand - and pushes him away gently, managing a smile. )

It's okay, really. I'll be fine in a minute.

( in a minute, the marble floors will soon turn back into tiles, the hewed stone walls back into painted concrete. the staircases and tapestries and frescoes will all soon disappear, along with the ghosts dressed in white and black. )

If they ask, I'll tell them it's anemia.

[handcuff]

[ he gets it, he thinks. it's already a little late to start now, but if he pretends he didn't notice, then he thinks that would be -- better, probably. that option works just fine for him. it's almost less pretending as it is not acknowledging something he would rather ignore to begin with.

he doesn't say anything, but makes a vague gesture that he's going outside. the air outside is warm and not particularly crisp, but it's still a relief. it feels more open, less stifled.

like clockwork, the little bird that's been following him descends, landing on the side of a bench a few feet away. it is, as always, cheerful. ]

[steelettos]

( she lifts a hand to wave, a gesture that she'll follow afterward once this passes.

it takes a minute more before it completely fades, the gallery back to normal, and another minute before she's composed enough. she doesn't dare look over her shoulder, doesn't want to confirm if there were any questioning looks from the crowd.

instead she walks forward as if nothing had happened. she's so much better at that, playing pretend. )

Is that him? Or is it a 'her'?

( she walks over to the bench where the little bird from the picture is sitting, crouching on the ground to take a closer look. )

It's so cute!

[handcuff]

[ she doesn't mention anything, so neither will he. and honestly, if it were him in the same situation, that's how he would want it, too. that's about as close to empathy as he ever gets.

so he lifts up a hand and waits a few moments for it to come over, resting on the crook between his pointer finger and thumb comfortably. he's only discovered this trick rather recently -- whoever had it last must've had it well-trained, he thinks. ]

A boy. I think.

[ ... he hasn't thought about it very much, though. he knows how to check, it just never occurred to him to actively figure it out. ]

It doesn't mind being touched.

[steelettos]

( she feels relieved that he doesn't ask but she supposes that's how he is. asking simply opens a new can of worms, for both the person who asked and the person who was asked. an involvement he doesn't need.

she slowly walks over to them, close enough to observe the bird but far enough to not invade his personal space. her smile remains, fingers reaching out to lightly touch its head. )

It's very well-trained. And accustomed to people, looks like it.

( she looks up at him. )

You said it talks, right? In Japanese.