Garden of Eve: The 9th Rose

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The moment you enter the gallery, you're greeted by a short, plump man wearing a suit. His voice is loud -- too loud, and he doesn't waste any time separating you and the rest of the newcomers into groups. You wonder if this is necessary and kind of want to turn around and leave now. Then again, it's probably protocol...Maybe. The man seems to be letting quite a few people go on ahead with no interruption, but they look like they know what they're doing. Maybe they work here?

You've never been to an art gallery or museum before, so you don't question it. Instead you stay quiet and scan the group of people you're with. They don't look very much older or younger than you. He must be sorting by age. How weird. At least the youngest children get to stay with their parents.

Now that he's finished, he motions a couple more in his uniform over to the other groups, and they begin giving an introduction of the gallery and the exhibits, handing out paper guides and such. You shudder. Of course your group gets stuck with him, the loudest and most awkward of all.

[/url]"Ah, I see you've decided to visit the gallery. Is this your first time? Well, welcome! There are many unique paintings and sculptures for you to enjoy. Is there anything in particular you're looking for? Perhaps our guides, Krowley and AnnaLynne can help you?"



They look different than the men in suits. Less formal, somehow. Do they really work here? Maybe they're volunteers? The female waves and smiles after being addressed. She looks young, wearing a large bow, and a dress. The male however, just stares blankly. Upon meeting eye contact, he seems to glare at you. The greeter notices.

[/url]"Ehem, don't mind Krowley, he's just a bit...grumpy. Please do not be afraid to ask for help. There are many levels of the gallery, and we wouldn't want anyone to get lost, would we?"




He chuckles nervously. You begin to wonder how many visitors this gallery actually gets. You peek past the short man before you as he continues to ramble on about the artwork and how wonderful everything is. There are actually quite a bit of people here, including the group you're in now. You've never been to this gallery before, but the staff seem friendly enough (excluding Krowley). Maybe you'll find something interesting?

[/url]"Now, without further ado, please enjoy your stay. Feel free to wander about the gallery. Good luck!"

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【OOC: N/A】​

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Annalynne watched as the groups began to separate from each other and move away from the entrance, only for new groups to continuously fill their place. As usual, more people passed her and Krowley than approached them. It was a bit silly, when she thought of it. It made sense that it would take away from the adventure of exploring the gallery if someone was walking you through it all. Besides, they had their guides! Maybe the problem wasn't that she really wanted to go around guiding people through the gallery, but that it just got a bit lonely, sometimes. Krowley wasn't exactly the best company. ​

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The much shorter girl nervously peeked up at the brooding man with big, blue eyes, her lips curled in a frown that couldn't possibly mimic his. She used to think that being nice to him would get him out of his shell--that maybe all he really needed was a friend; but they had been working together for a long while now and he hadn't changed much at all. Except, he seemed to ignore her more often now than he did when they first started working together.​

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When that was, she couldn't exactly remember. She couldn't remember a lot of things, so she had the habit of making things up. It wasn't to hurt anybody, of course. She just didn't know exactly what to say when asked certain questions. Most questions, actually. ​

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As for now, though, she stood with her back pressed up against a wall, smiling at the visitors and waiting patiently to see if she would be needed anytime soon. ​

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OOC: Credit to Jayn for the awesome banner~
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Slowly as the crowds filtered in, a petite girl entered the gallery. Her eyes were wide as she stood on tip toes to try and get her first glimpse of the gallery from over the shoulder of the person in front of her. It was just her luck to stand behind somebody tall but then again, everyone was tall compared to her. Lucy had been looking forward to today for a while; it was a rare occurrence when for once she was actually doing something for herself. She didn't have to worry about looking after anybody else, she could just enjoy herself. Of course a niggling worry was still at the back of her mind about what might happen if she wasn't there. The millions of tiny possibilities of things that might go wrong while she was away, working away at her self-assurance. For a second she almost turned around and went back, forfeiting her day out. However she stopped herself, took a deep breath and reassured herself that they'd be fine. She'd sorted them all out before she left, giving detailed instructions on what to do, trying to account for everything she could. They could survive for one day without her, couldn't they?

She listened to the greeter as he told them about the guides as she tried to see in front of the person ahead of her, rather unsuccessfully. She probably wouldn't need the guides, she much preferred to go and discover everything for herself. That way everything was a surprise and everything was so much more exciting. Although one thing did strike her about what he said; he'd said 'Good Luck' at the end, which to her seemed a strange thing to say. Why would they need luck to look round a gallery? Surely 'I hope you enjoy your stay' or something was more appropriate. It was probably just bad phrasing but it caught her attention nonetheless.

Her breath caught in her mouth as she finally saw the gallery when the one ahead of her moved. In an instant that was forgotten and she knew that the risks of leaving them to come here were worth it. It was incredible, a feast for the senses. They had so much here and so much beauty, it was almost impossible to take it all in. She moved quickly to take a better look at the closest piece of work, her eyes gazing at it and taking in all the fine details. She savoured every second and if this was only the first piece then she could not wait to see the rest of the gallery. This place seemed to be almost magical to her, from the moment she'd seen the poster she knew that she had to come. So here she was and at that moment, she couldn't be happier.

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【OOC: N/A】​

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"Sounds good!" The small girl chirped, stepping away from the wall and running her fingers through her ice-hued hair as she thought. She had always liked the smaller groups. She found them much more intimate and exciting. Still, it seemed that a lot of the guests simply wanted to browse around themselves. Annalynne rocked back on her heels, still lost in thought and wondering what to do.

"Hmm..." Her voice was soft and she was completely oblivious to the sounds that she was making as she subtlety rocked back and forth on her shoes. Her partner, however, should have been quite used to the sounds by now, considering this was one of her many habits. Thoughts continued to swivel through her head, but in the end, her eyes only met Krowley's with confusion. "What should we do?"

She was still a little nervous when speaking to him, so somewhere in there her gaze diverted and her words melted into a mumble, but at least she had asked.

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My Love surrounds you like an ether
in everything that you do​

Carl rubbed his eyes. He didn't get enough sleep last night. The greeter shuffled away from the front, and Carl wandered away blankly. He sneezed loudly and glanced at at a large painting. He was a fan of art, he thought. He didn't really understand it, but he was supposed to like it, because people tended to. He thought back to the end of the greeter's speech. Good luck, right? He got that. Like, staying awake, or whatever? As time went on, he realized how strange it really was. He sneezed again. "What the hell?" He blurted.

He'd been sneezing all morning. Oh, god, if he had a cold... Colds suck. Colds are disgusting. People hate colds. He looked around shiftily. He was fine. He looked for some pop art, or an audio tour. Good luck finding anything in this place, he imagined the awkward greeter saying. He swore and slammed into the wall, sliding onto an uncomfortable wooden bench. This place is boring, with boring people.

He wanted to go and talk with someone, but they'd probably consider the philopsophical implications of his "Hey." Maybe he could get a tour... ]

 

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Really, she almost didn't want to come . . . She wasn't very fond of being around people, especially when things always seemed to go bad for her. Honestly, the dark-haired girl had a sort of horrid feeling about how this experience was going to turn out - and it only intensified when the round man who greeted them said "Good luck." Who says 'good luck' when all you're going to do is observe an art exhibit? No one, that's who.

No, no, no, she thought to herself, scrunching her pale face up, You need to stop thinking like that. More positive, think positive! But unfortunately, it didn't look like that was happening any time soon.

People bustled around her, attempting to gain their fill of the art that was showcased around them. Her blue eyes peered around as well, trying to catch a glimpse of something she might like. Art was nice; she liked to draw while she was at home, but truth be told . . . well, she wasn't very good at it. It wasn't as if she dreamed of a day when she could observe the art of others, but this was nice, leaving her home, regardless of how hesitant she was to do so. In recent years, months, days, Sophia had become something of a recluse, in which she only left her home to be around the nice bit of land her parents once owned. Once owned, that is . . .

Accidentally, while looking for something to, well, look at, she caught the eye of the boy in black and immediately looked away - He's scary. She looked around a bit more for some watercolors or pastels, those were her favorites, when she observed a boy in red, one who was apart of her small group, seemingly fall over and sit on a bench. The girl was tempted to ask him if he was alright, but . . . it was probably best she didn't speak to anyone. Quietly, she removed herself from the group, going not too far, when she spotted something she finally liked.

 

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Why am I even here? the girl asked herself rather impatiently as the plump man in front of her droned on and on about how wonderful the exhibits were, or something to that effect. Not that she really cared about what he had to say anyway, it's not like she actually wanted to be here. If it weren't for her stupid friends, she could be at home having a nice manicure. Yet instead, she found herself standing in an equally stupid gallery, surrounded by a crowd of complete strangers, none of which caught her attention in any way. They were all average, if not lower, when compared to her. She could tell with just a quick glance.

But that's really to be expected, she gloated in her mind, a prudish smile forming on her lips. No one could match her beauty. She believed this whole heartedly. It was like her motto. Her words to live by. Nothing in the world could change that.

Finally, after what seemed like an age, the man had decided to shut up and move onto another group, much to the girl's delight. Of course, since she hadn't paid the slightest bit of attention to his speech, she had no clue what she had been instructed to do. "I suppose looking around might be the obvious thing..." she sighed quietly, turning to look at some of the art on the wall behind her. What she was looking for exactly was beyond her. She didn't know the first thing about art, nor did she really feel the need to appreciate it. To her, art was nothing more than a few random colours and patterns plastered onto a sheet of paper in the hopes that it would look nice. She never understood why people found it so fascinating.

 

OOC: Boy, did this take a while to plan out...

"What a nice place this is... I bet it took a lot of effort to put all these fine pieces together", he thought, although he wasn't really there for the exhibit. Sure, art in general is very pleasant, but there was something else there for Felix. Something better, according to him.

Recently, his local performances were getting a little repetitive, which caused a few people to stop attending to them. That got him a little down, so he looked around for a diversion. That's when he discovered this Gallery, quite a popular one. "Hey! There doesn't seem to be a better place to see a bunch of people enjoying themselves! I bet that will definitely reinvigorate me."

And he couldn't have been righter. All of those smiles and laughter enclasped him like a christmas present wrapping, or a thick blanket on a chilly night. It was everything he needed. Well, that and a big, fat, greasy round of applause. From the moment he stepped in, Felix was already at his best, even though the smiles weren't because of him. He'd just enjoy the exhibition for the moment, pretending that they were.

 

►Occ; Credit to Saxima for the lovely banner. Sorry for being somewhat to reply..I was a bit unsure of what to post.◄​

The warm air brushing against Bree’s skin complimented the soft strokes of her fingers, tracing up and down her arm.
Good luck?

Panic seized her chest and her hands began to tremble. She didn’t even want to be here. Why did she have to be here? The idea of turning around and running away sounded very tempting to her it was a good idea, she told herself. No, no. Have to be brave. Her face scrunched up and she stuck out her tongue in disapprovement as she stopped shaking. Oh gosh. Did anybody notice? Could they all be laughing at her? Mocking? She closed her eyes and slowly began to count, a technique her Father taught her. One, two, three. One, two, three..

Liquid pools of amber reopened. She looked around and realized the crowd had departed. Was she supposed to be looking around now? Observing the art? She liked art. The beautiful strikes and strokes of the brush fantasized her. The pastel colors were horribly fantasizing, they looked almost drained. Drained of life. Was she strange for liking them? She thought so. Taking a deep breath she turned on her heels and decided to peer around, trying her best to avoid any eye contact with the fellow visitors. ​

 

【OOC: At this point, you've all been grouped up again. Sorry for the semi-time skip.】​

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Annalynne took a deep breath, bringing her fingers up to brush some loose strands of hair neatly behind her ear. Her brows furrowed at Krowley's harsh comment, and she almost cheerfully retorted with 'there are no stupid questions', but she decided to hold her tongue instead, afraid that he would lash out at visitors if she irritated him.

The way that the tours worked here was a bit different than how most galleries operated. This particular art gallery was massive. Not only were the individual floors themselves large and maze-like, but even the height of the building was ... intimidating, to say the least. While they would allow some time for the guests to wander about by themselves on each floor, they would eventually regroup and move up a floor together.

As she and Krowley moved closer to the greeter, Annalynne felt a familiar excitement fill her. She watched as the man begin to round up the different groups from earlier. They had been paired with the newcomers. She absolutely loved showing the inexperienced around the gallery. It was like Christmas for her. New people, new adventures, and new stories for her to think up. She couldn't help herself from grinning and squeaking once with joy.

The short man nodded towards Krowley and her knowingly, pointing them in their group's direction. She took a good look at each of them. Some would call her intuitive, but she just felt she had a decent, natural connection with most people...At least those radiating positive emotions. Those with negative emotions bothered her--at least until she got used to them as she had with Krowley. All of them looked relativity young, which both pleased and worried her. They hadn't all come alone, had they? Even so...Now was the time to put on a smile.

"Welcome to the Guertena Art Gallery!" She greeted with a wave. "I hope you've enjoyed the first floor so far, and we're sorry your time has been cut a bit short here, but there's still so much to see! My partner, Krowley, and I will be showing you to the next floor now, so if you'll all just follow us to the elevator..."

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OOC: My apologies. I've already explained myself to Jayn, and the same goes to you Krow, it's all on her VM... Also, is interaction between non-GM characters valid?

After the old man's command, Felix found himself, along with some other gloomy-looking teenagers who were probably the same age as him, paired up with a couple of interestingly contrasting guides. He drew his mental picture of them. The girl in white was smiling and seemed friendly, while the other guy -- the one in black and brown, was it? -- had a blank expression, sort of like he was being forced to be there.

During some part of Blank-Face's explanation speech, Felix nudged the only other boy in his group. "Hey. My name's Felix, what's yours? Oh, and do you know any good jokes? I've been wanting to expand my comical repertoir" He whispered, hoping he wouldn't get reprehended by the guides. Not that he was afraid of talking to girls, but he could approach men more easily, without worrying about what to say. And he was starting to feel the need to converse with someone as they were heading into the elevator, so why not?

 

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Sophia had observed all of the other people in her group. They were all wearing different colors, and it was almost too strange of a coincidence that they nearly resembled the rainbow, she herself wearing the blue.

She quietly listened to Krowley's explanation of Weiss Guertena, not recollecting that she had ever heard of the man before even though her parents had been patrons of all sorts of art. She was a bit surprised to find out just how many floors there were . . . Could one man have really created so much art?

"Beyond this point, any questions you will have will be saved to the end of the tour." the boy in black said, and then told the small group that they were going to start the tour now. The two guides had the rest of them follow into the elevator. Sophia's heart began to thump, having the horrible foreboding that she did when something was going to happen; she didn't know what, but she was almost scared and horribly sad.

As they moved into the elevator that was at least big enough for all of them, the black-haired girl quickly situated herself in the corner, tying her fingers together and quickly becoming immersed in their fiddling together - while she tried to shake the terribly feeling that something . . . something was going to happen soon.

 

love is unbreaking​

Carl stirred."Uwha?"He blurted, stumbling a bit. He must have started daydreaming. He noticed some of the other tour members walking towards the elevator. A blonde fellow was staring at him, and he was embarrassed. He walked faster to catch up with the blonde. "Hey, I'm sorry! I was kinda... blacked out." He said, catching himself before he dug a bigger grave.

"So, what did you say?" He asked hurriedly. Damn, what happened back there? He rubbed his eyes amd walked in pace with Felix. Maybe he'd have a friend. While waiting for the boy to answer, the elevator loomed above him. Wait... Why was he doing this again?

And then he was inside, sorta squished into the wall. Good luck, he whispered.

 

"Hahahahahuhuhuh... That's funnier than most jokes, I gotta tell ya" He laughed quietly, putting his hand in front of his mouth. ​"Oh, and I mean no disrespect" He said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. That's what happens when you forget politeness. Misinterpretation, that is, which gives way to bad impressions -- and it's the last thing Felix wants.

He turned his head and glanced the disturbingly uneasy girl in the corner. Felix thought about asking her what the matter was, though his inertia got the best of him. He turned back to face Carl. ​"Anyway, what was your name again, blackouter? Mine's Felix, if you didn't recall. Nice to meet'cha..."

 

►Occ;N/A◄​

I am alive in this world of face-first falls and public breakdowns. Dying to be heard for the simple art of letting this heavy wall finally fall.

Yes. Everything was heavy. The panic and fear Bree felt had gripped her, though she didn't let it show. Her Father's technique of counting to three over and over again had stopped her shaking knees. She swallowed hard and followed the group. She wasn't that good with people. She felt..insignificant compared to most of them. They all seemed to lead great lives. Friends, money, good grades, a loving family. What did she have to show? A collection of boll jointed dolls, a precious reminder of her Mother. Nothing more.

Her Father was..distant, to say the least. Ever since her Mother had died he hadn't been the same. He would leave ghostly reels of tape playing over and over again, during the night. Bree assumed it comforted him. He still had her clothes in the closet, neatly hidden. He would sometimes get them out and lay them out on the bed. He would cry. Hard. Death had destroyed this once strong man. Death was the thing to fear.

Bree didn't pay much attention to the others around her. She quietly listened to Krowley's explanation of Weiss Guertena, soaking up the information. She was curious to see his work. Eight whole floors..Woah.. How could have one man created so much art? "Beyond this point, any questions you will have will be saved to the end of the tour." the man in black said. They was going to start the tour now. Awkwardly Bree squeezed into the elevator, offering a smile to those she had nudged by mistake.

"Going up" She muttered with shaken breath.
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Lucy was enjoying herself, she'd loved to see all the amazing stuff this room had on offer. However to her disappointment, she'd somehow ended up in a tour group, cutting her time in this room short before she'd even seen everything. Still, she supposed the extra information would be good and with how big they said this place was, it would stop her getting lost. If everything was as good as this floor then they should be in for a treat.

Looking round at the tour group she was in, it seemed to be a nice group. Even though most of them were taller than her, she could tell they were all quite young, maybe younger than her. On top of that they were an awfully colourful group, which made a change from the usual dull colours she saw around. She liked that, though it was quite a coincidene how they were all in different colours. She promised herself she'd talk to all of them before the end of the tour.

She carefully entered the lift, which was getting fairly full now and looked to the girl in green that happened to be next to her. The girl looked nervous for some reason. Lucy's curiousity kicked in, wondering what there was to be nevous about but ultimatly she just hoped they were okay. "Hey" She spoke quietly to the girl beside her, a small supportive smile filling her face, "You alright?"


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►Occ;N/A◄​

It took Bree a few seconds to realize she was being spoken too. She felt the girl in orange eye's watch her. Stare, stare at me and I might transform. She cleared her throat again, bringing her fingers to lightly brush her own cheek before replying.

"H-hello." The smile comforted her. Oh, how it comforted her. She didn't know why it did..it just did. "I'm..Uhm..F-fine. Thank you, yourself?"

Bree silently began praising herself. She had replied to a question, somewhat positively without wanting to run away and be sick from nerves.
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