InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "bidet!"

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.

(Read comments) - (Post a new comment)

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.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

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.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

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.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

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.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

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".

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

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.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

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.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

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.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

(Read comments) -