InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Bootylicious!"

r (keoughr) wrote in mirage_rpg,
@ 2008-06-23 09:25:00

Entry tags:

complete, day 4, giselle, the doctor

Day 4
Who: Giselle and OTA
What: Perusing
When: Early Evening
Where: The Art Gallery
Rating: G, subject to change
Status: Complete

The notes from Legolas had made Giselle's whole morning. She sang louder than ever off her balcony, giggled and played with her animal friends while they tidied up her room, and dressed up in her frilliest outfit. She skipped more than ever, not to mention the extra bouncing. She clapped and then slipped into musing daydreams of their morning together tomorrow. She was so distracted by her thoughts that she was driving herself crazy.

She needed to get out and do something other than think of what might come the next day with Legolas. She had seen an art gallery in passing and she idly wondered what it was like inside. She decided that she ought to find out, and maybe that would take her mind off the next morning.

She had seen the foreboding clouds off the balcony that morning and decided to throw a cloak around her shoulders. Not that it was cool, but it might rain on her, and she didn't want that. She danced down the hall, humming to herself and then stepped outside into the muggy heat of the storm threatened day. She peered up at the sky, wide blue eyes searching for signs of rain.

She pulled her hood up and scurried across the courtyard to the main building. She breathed a sigh of relief once inside, and pulled her hood off, untying the cloak from around her neck and draping it over one arm. She found the room where the gallery was located and stepped inside. It had been dark, but motion sensor lights detected her movement and switched on, flooding the room with soft luminance.

She hooked her cloak to the coat rack just inside the door and moved past the entryway into the main gallery. She had plenty of time on her hands before she wanted to get some dinner and she was going to take as long as she liked looking at each piece of art. She stopped to look at the first one, and then moved backward to sit on the bench that lay situated in the middle of the aisle.

She settled her hands in her lap, crossed her ankles and tucked them under the bench and tilted her head, looking at the painting Madonna of the Rocks.

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notginger
2008-06-23 07:21 pm UTC (link)

Considering his antics in the bar the previous night, the Doctor had awoken in a much lighter mood than the previous day, which probably had something to do with the female companion he'd found lying beside him and the lipstick smeared across his face. He'd been pleased to find that he wasn't going to be forced into any activities, but considering Rose's hangover the Doctor had taken it upon himself to go exploring.

What struck him as odd was that the planet really did seem to be brand new. Not new in the sense that he considered Earth to be new, younger than that. There was absolutely no trace of prior civilisation. There were no ruins, no graveyard, he was pretty sure there was no hospital, which was a little worrying. There were no signs of religion, war, evolution... it was all very peculiar, and just made him feel more determined to move the TARDIS to the other side of the planet. This part was all for show; he wanted to know what was out there in the desert, and he would find out even if he had to walk.

He'd been about to head back to his room to find Rose and discuss these new thoughts over dinner when he spotted the art gallery. The Doctor was a massive art fan, and it was about the first hint of culture he had seen so he was eager to take a look. He stepped inside, peering about the room curiously; he scrunched up his nose in confusion as he saw that the majority of the paintings were famous Earth masterpieces. He moved to see what the only other visitor was looking at, and sat down beside her.

"Ah, good old Leonardo," he commented, as though he knew him personally... which he did, funnily enough. "I'd say it couldn't possibly be the original, but then he did paint copies of the Mona Lisa," he remarked, smiling a little as he remembered scribbling This Is A Fake onto the blank canvasses he'd used for the copies. There was a copy of the Mona Lisa hanging in the Louvre, and he was the only person left alive who knew. It was rather amusing.

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keoughr
2008-06-24 09:45 am UTC (link)

Giselle looked up when the door opened. She smiled when the man walked in and sat down next to her on the bench across from the DaVinci painting. She tilted her head curiously as she watched him take in the painting and muse about the artist. She looked back to the painting and peered at it a little more closely. She didn't know anything about the artist, or his other works. She had spent her youth growing up in the middle of a forest where the only artistry was that of Mother Nature.

"I think it's lovely." She sighed softly. Everyone in the picture looked happy, and that was right up Giselle's alley. She looked around the rest of the room. It was quite large. Larger than it appeared to be from the outside. "Are you familiar with many of the paintings here? I've never seen any of them." She gasped suddenly and put her hand to her mouth.

"Please forgive me, I should have introduced myself earlier." She held out her hand to him. "I'm Giselle. What's your name?" She smiled at him again. He was an interesting looking fellow, sharpish features and big eyes. Not really her type. Which was probably for the best, she was going to meet Legolas tomorrow. This thought caused a dreamy sigh she had to shake herself from.

Looking sheepish she grinned and ducked her head, standing up and moving down to a different painting. This one was rather boxy shaped, and Giselle wrinkled up her nose slightly. It was interesting, but certainly not very attractive. She bent down to read the plaque near it. "Girl with Mandolin." She read aloud. "Pablo Picasso."

Returning to her upright position, she crossed one arm over her middle, using it to support her other arm as her hand cupped her face. She couldn't understand why someone would paint something with so many points, especially when people clearly didn't look like that. All boxy and pointy. "It's. Nice." Giselle didn't have a mean bone in her body. She was ever the optimist, and that meant that she rarely pointed out the negative in anything.

She turned to look at the Doctor. "What do you think?"

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notginger
2008-06-24 01:15 pm UTC (link)

The Doctor couldn't help but smile as the woman described the Da Vinci as 'lovely'. There was something so fresh and innocent about her interest that really appealed to him. "Yes, it's rather lovely," he grinned widely, giving an enthusiastic nod of agreement.

He'd been about to tell her a little about that particular piece when she said something that really sparked his interest. "Really?" he asked in surprise. "Yeah, they're mostly a selection of Earth's great artists work," he explained, giving her a curious look. He couldn't quite tell where she could be from, but then she probably thought the same of him. "Where are you from?" he asked curiously; it was usually best never to assume with humanoids.

The Doctor raised his eyebrow, turning to her with a look of concern as she gasped, but it seemed as though she was only alarmed over the fact that she hadn't introduced herself yet. "Oh, no problem, I entered rather unannounced myself!" he smiled, accepting her hand in a warm shake. "I'm the Doctor. Just the Doctor," he explained, not sure he wanted any more confusion over whether or not he was a doctor of medicine, which he was not.

He followed her over to the next painting, although he was much more interested in watching her facial expressions. It was always wonderful to watch someone experience a brilliant artist for the first time; it reminded him of taking Romana to the Louvre when all she'd known beforehand had been computer graphics.

"It's called cubism, that sort of abstract boxy technique," he informed her. Really, a little more information next to the paintings wouldn't have gone amiss. "This one's generally considered unfinished, but interesting because it shows us how he began his paintings," he explained, wondering if he should ask to work in the art gallery in the same way Jun worked in the cafe.

"Ah, look! This is one of my favourites," he grinned, motioning for her to look at Van Gogh's Starry Night.

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keoughr
2008-06-24 03:10 pm UTC (link)

She nodded when he told her most of them were Earth's greatest pieces. She was nibbling on her lip, still looking at the painting when he posed the question of her origin. "From? Oh! Yes." She giggled, returning her attention to him. "I'm originally from Andalasia, but I was pushed into New York before I was pulled here. What about you? Where are you from?" Giselle didn't elaborate on her "push" into New York. She was naive enough to believe that everyone had experienced such a push at some point. And that belief was solidified by the very fact that she and all of the others had been "pulled" to this place.

She shook his hand and smiled, nodding when he said his name, though looking slightly confused. She supposed that he got questioned about his name on occassion and it must be why he said he was just The Doctor, and not a doctor. She didn't ask, besides she was already distracted once more by the paintings and it slipped her mind.

"Cubism." She tried the word out, nodding to herself as she peered at it a bit longer, allowing him to explain slightly. She gave him a warm smile when he concluded. "My, that's interesting. You know a lot about these paintings, don't you?" She looked away from "Girl with Mandolin" as he excitedly turned toward another painting.

She followed him over and looked at the dark piece. It had little yellow stars in a swirling night sky. It was beautiful, Giselle had to admit. "It's magnificent. Do you know anything about the artist who painted it?" She continued to stare at the painting, but kept her ears open. He was so knowledgable, she thought he ought to be her guide and had unconsciously given him that task.

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notginger
2008-06-24 05:50 pm UTC (link)

"Andalasia," the Doctor repeated, sort of rolling the word about and getting used to it. "Never heard of it!" he decided, which seemed to excite him more than anything else. Places he had never heard of simply fascinated him, and he just stored the name at the back of his to check in the TARDIS database later. The idea of being pushed into New York wasn't all that odd to the Doctor either, and he knew where New York was so he wasn't quite so interested about that. "You're human?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow. For all he knew Andalasia could be a very distant planet.

"Me? Oh, I'm..." he scrunched up his nose, not entirely sure how to answer the question. Ever since the war he'd hated telling people where he was from on the off-chance they'd heard about it. It wasn't a pleasant topic. "All over, really. Bit of a traveler. I was... in London, with a friend. She's here too," he nodded; that just about covered it, he supposed.

He was glad to move back to discussing the art. "Yeah! I love it. Just one of the many brilliant things Earth has to offer! We didn't have stuff like this... where I grew up," he said, hoping it was vague enough.

The Doctor nodded slowly. "Yeah, Vincent Van Gogh. Very tragic figure," he said softly. "Killed himself eventually. He thought he was a complete failure. Apparently his last words were 'the sadness will last forever'" he explained, falling into a sombre silence. "Gives the painting a bit of a dark edge when you know that, eh?" he suggested.

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keoughr
2008-06-25 10:11 am UTC (link)

Giselle quirked a smile when he seemed so delighted to have never heard of Andalasia. Most people looked at her strangely when she said that. They all tried to find it on a map. Robert had even tried to send her back the day after they'd met. But, he didn't know where it was either. He certainly hadn't been excited about not knowing where it was. Not like the Doctor. "Yes, I'm human. Are you?" She suddenly wondered. This Planet could make men out of mud, she was sure it could make people, too.

She nodded at his own explanation of where he was from. She had heard of London, vaguely. "I've never been there. I bet it's wonderful, though." She clasped her hands in front of her as they spoke, rocking slightly on her heels. "I would love to travel. See things I've never seen, eat things I've never eaten." She smiled wryly. That probably wasn't going to happen anytime soon. Not unless she tried some of the other stuff on the menu at the restaurant. The stuff with funny names.

"We didn't either. Well, we might have. But I grew up in the forest, and there wasn't much in the way of art. Except for the beauty of nature, anyway. I suppose that's a kind of art." She turned her attention back to the Van Gogh painting as the Doctor began to explain a little of what he knew of the artist.

She frowned, her lower lip trembling slightly. "He.... killed himself?!" She was horrified. What kind of sadness would drive a man to do such a thing? She put her hand to her mouth and tried not to cry, but a single tear found it's way down her cheek. "Such beautiful work, and such a sad artist. I don't understand." She wiped the tear from her cheek and gave him a small smile.

"I'm sorry. It's just so sad." She looked back at the painting once more before moving on. "Do you know anything about this one?" It was a brilliantly colored piece called "Red Canna" by Georgia O'Keefe. "It's beautiful!" She hoped that this woman hadn't also killed herself.

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notginger
2008-06-25 11:17 am UTC (link)

Considering she was human and yet did not know any of the paintings the Doctor felt that he could safely assume she had been born in one of the distant human colonies of Earth's future. That seemed logical enough; humans hadn't stuck to the one planet for all that long. He gave her a waggle of his eyebrows as she asked the same of him. "Nope!" he confessed; if she was from a colony, it probably wouldn't be all that surprising to her anyway.

"Oh, yeah! I have... a sort of fondness for London. It was the first place on Earth I ever saw, and I seem to keep on returning," he admitted, although his returns to London weren't always through choice. They did have a knack of getting themselves into trouble. "You'll probably be the same with New York," he suggested.

He nodded along as she suggested wanting to travel; hearing someone speak like that always made him want to grab their hand and whisk them off to some faraway place. Mind you, he only took the best, and he had no idea if Giselle fitted into that category. Plus, he wondered how Rose would feel if he suggested they took a random woman along with them. "Well, you sound like you've got around a bit so far. If you want to do something, make it happen. It's a big, big universe out there," he said thoughtfully.

He was quickly distracted by the pain in Giselle's voice; he certainly hadn't meant to upset her, but he could see why it was upsetting. "Hey..." he reached out to touch her arm in what he hoped was a comforting manner. "I think there are some things that we can never understand. But his work brings pleasure to millions of people. He lives on in many ways," he suggested, smiling back at her as she seemed to relax a little more.

"Oooh, isn't that..." he trailed off, frowning a little. "Geez, it's a bit..." he had been about to say 'erotic', but there was something so innocent about the woman and he wasn't sure he wanted to be asked why he thought that. "It's beautiful!" he said, deciding on a suitable adjective at last. "Quite the remarkable woman, trying to make the city dwellers pay attention to the beauty of nature..." he explained, turning to her with a wide grin. "You might relate to that, going from the simplicity of nature to the insanity of New York," he suggested.

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keoughr
2008-06-25 09:34 pm UTC (link)

She was briefly distracted by the fact that he had replied in the negative to her question of his humanity. But, she was easily sidetracked and found that the paintings and his knowledge of them was quite a bit more interesting than his heritage.

She smiled at the touch to her arm. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't get so upset. It's just a sad waste of life, to live it so bleakly." She took a deep, calming breath and tried not to think of it as they moved on to the next painting.

The vibrant colors drew her in. She didn't even catch on to the idea that it was in any way erotic. It was just beautiful, an up-close rendition of a flower. She didn't understand the Doctor's hesitation before he came to his final statement. She nodded in agreement and listened to his knowledge about the artist.

"She was quite talented." She turned to the Doctor when he told her to imagine going from nature to the harshness of New York. "Yes, I can see that. She must have been such an inspiration to many." She turned away from the bold painting to walk down to the next one. "Can you tell me about this one?" She tilted her head and peered at it.

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notginger
2008-06-26 10:44 am UTC (link)

"No, it's quite understandable!" he insisted; anyone who was capable of feeling that amount of empathy for someone they had never even heard of before, based solely on a few words and a beautiful painting was a pretty amazing person in his books.

"Mm, I think it must be quite sad to get so caught up in city life that you start to miss out on some of the truly beautiful things in life," he admitted. Around a thousand years of travel through time and space and the Doctor still tried to make sure he noticed the little things. That's why human companions helped him in so many ways; they reminded him of the wonders of the universe.He still got excited opening the doors to a brand new world.

"Ah! Claude Monet!" he exclaimed, tempted to reach out just to feel the brush work that never ceased to amaze him. "Branch of the Seine near Giverny," he read out, scrunching his nose up at the title. "Not much of an imagination when it came to titles apparently, but... I'd say he fair makes up for it with that!" he grinned, crossing his arms over his chest as he examined the painting.

"Another artist who understands the beauty of nature. That's impressionism, that is!" he explained. "He saw that everyone else was trying to copy the paintings of the great artists of the past, but he decided to go out and find things to paint the way he saw them," he explained. "Look at the reflections in the water. Molto bene!" he grinned.

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keoughr
2008-06-26 08:42 pm UTC (link)

She sniffled slightly and gave him a grateful smile. Many a person had told her she was silly for crying over such simple things. She wiped her cheeks where the tears had made tracks and listened as he gave her some information on the next painting and artist.

She nodded, grinning at his enthusiasm. She saw his eagerness and the way he looked as if he wanted to leap into the painting. She giggled when he said the artists didn't have much imagination when they came up with the titles. Rocking back on her heels, she examined the painting with him.

Tilting her head to get a different perspective, she scrunched up her mouth and turned her head to get yet another perspective. "It's so dark. You can hardly see where the trees end and the shadows begin." She wasn't complaining, just making an observation. "It's quite blue, isn't it?" She supposed that was the way the man had seen it. Perhaps the light had been nearly gone and had cast a bluish tint to it.

"I do like it, though. It's very pretty." She smiled, looking at it once more, trying to decipher the trees from the shadows. But she soon gave up and moved on to the next painting. She chewed on the inside of her lip, giving the painting a curious look. "Now, why would someone paint an old woman in a chair?"

She tapped her chin, turning to him for an explanation of "Whistler's Mother".

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notginger
2008-06-28 11:16 am UTC (link)

The Doctor nodded eagerly as she commented on the darkness of the painting, eager to share another little tidbit of knowledge with her. "Well, this is one of his later pieces. He developed cataracts and had a few operations on his eyes that likely had some sort of effect on his vision," he explained, not seeing it as a negative thing at all. "He even re-did some of his earlier paintings. Like I said, he wanted to paint what he saw, even if what he saw was a bit blurred and discoloured. I think the effect is actually pretty marvelous!" he grinned, nodding appreciatively at the painting before they moved on.

"Ah, good old Whistler and his mother!" he laughed, examining the painting for a little while before he decided to say anything. "It's possible that one of his models didn't show up, so his mother sat for the painting instead. But she was old, so that was the best position he could get," he explained, not entirely sure how much truth was in the rumour. "I like the way he's added in the painting on the wall, like art within art," he added, sighing a little as he tried to make a bit more of it.

"I'm not a big fan, to be honest. I mean, I'm sure the really drab colours and the way she's just staring off into space is meant to say something really deep about human nature, but... I like art that makes me feel a little spark of life. This... doesn't," he admitted, scrunching up his nose.

He glanced over to see what was coming next and gave her a wide grin. "This has life in it. Cupid Complaining to Venus!" he ushered her along, almost giggling at the sight of the Lucas Cranach painting in front of them. "Her kid is getting stung by all these bees, and she's just like... look at me! Aren't I lovely?!" he said, grinning widely. "I think it has some sort of moral about pain and pleasure, because he's trying to get the honey but... he just ends up stung," he shrugged, a lot more amused by his own interpretation than any moral message.

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keoughr
2008-06-28 06:47 pm UTC (link)

Giselle listened in rapt attention while the Doctor told her all about the art in the gallery. He knew so much, it didn't seem as if there was a painting in the room he didn't know about. She was glad he had happened along when he did, or she might have just stared at all the paintings with no information to relate to them. And that would have been sad, indeed.

It had been a while since she'd eaten, and unfortunately she could feel the hunger pangs starting. Still, she was having such a good time, she didn't want to pay attention to them. However, her body wouldn't let her ignore it for long. A low growl sounded from her stomach and she pushed her hand over it, grimacing. She looked up sheepishly at the Doctor. "Sorry, been a while since I ate." She giggled nervously as they moved on to the next painting.

She really ought to have eaten before she came to the gallery, but she could never seem to do something else when she had set her mind to one thing. When they moved from Whistler's Mother on to Cupid Complaining to Venus, Giselle's smile widened. It was a lovely painting, and the Doctor's interpretation added a measure of life to it. "Oh, the poor boy." She giggled again, looking over every inch of the painting. "I don't know that I would have wanted a mother like that. Although, any mother would have been welcome, really." She smiled again and turned to walk to the next painting, but her stomach growled again.

"I'm sorry, I probably ought to go find something to eat before my stomach really puts up a fuss." She grinned. "Thank you so much for explaining these wonderful paintings. I think next time I come I shall hunt you down to come along." She gave him a big hug, squeezing him around the neck before disengaging and grinning again.

"Oh, would you like to come along?" She had started to head for the door, but paused when she realized she was probably being rude by not inviting him to go find some dinner with her.

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notginger
2008-06-29 07:26 pm UTC (link)

Although the Doctor didn't need to eat as regularly as humans, Giselle's comments about eating suddenly made him realise how hungry he was. He wasn't even certain when he'd last ate, but he supposed it would be wise to try and get some dinner quite soon. He was skinny enough as it was without skipping a full days worth of meals.

"Nah, Venus isn't exactly the motherly type," he giggled, although his expression quickly changed to one of curiosity as Giselle brought up the lack of a mother in her childhood. "Oh. Well, if it's any consolation, you seem to have turned out pretty nicely despite your lack of a mother-figure to help you along," he told her, quite sincerely.

He was rather taken aback by her sudden hug, but it wasn't unwelcome; he'd become quite used to hugging at regular intervals in this particular incarnation. She was just lucky she hadn't pounced upon one of his earlier bodies. He smiled widely, giving her a little squeeze in return before she pulled back. "Oh yeah! Anytime! It's like a passion of mine!" he insisted, more than happy to indulge someone's interest in Earth's masterpieces.

"Nah, I'll pass I'm afraid. I best get back to my friend, she'll probably be wondering where I've wandered off to this time!" he explained, heading for the door with her. "Well, it was lovely to meet you, Giselle. Enjoy your dinner. I'm sure we'll meet again," he told her, giving her arm an affectionate pat before he turned away to head back to his room. "See ya!" he called, grinning over his shoulder at her.

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