|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 3:26 pm
Iouri had left the planetarium passes at the front desk for Kyndall several weeks ago, but so far they had just sat there, tucked under the compute keyboard with a note "GIVE TO KYNDALL ROSEN" stuck to them. He knew because he checked every day in hopes of finding the drama teacher wandering the museum. And, with Halloween approaching, Iouri wanted to talk further with her about his plans for the haunted house.
The museum director was mopping the lobby. Don't ask why, but it was his turn to do it and it involved a bet with the Janitor over a hockey match. Iouri pushed the swiffer across the marble floors, keeping an eye on the door. On a Saturday afternoon like this one, he could expect a fair number of visitors. Perhaps subtract a few because it was a holiday.
He whistled an old soviet waltz while he mopped. If anyone were to ask him a question now, Iouri would probably adress them as Comrade and make a crack about hard work making for glorious soviet party, probably in an exaggerated version of his real accent.
And the planetarium passes were still on the desk. Huh.
Iouri continued to push his swiffer.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 7:50 pm
Thanks to Camelot, Kyndall now had hope. She slept deep and dreamless and felt refreshed. When she woke up her first thought wasn't dark. In fact, she observed how blue the sky was and how nice a day it was turning out to be. She stretched in bed and yawned and actually smiled. Kyndall Rosen felt something like herself again. Somewhere, someone knew where her daughter was and they were working to bring her home, to protect her. She took comfort in that.
It was time once again to live her life. She'd always worry until the moment Harmony came home but she needed to start living again. She needed to. She believed her daughter was in good hands. She thought of the perfect thing to do considering. She had tickets waiting for her at the Planetarium and a man there who was counting on her to make his Halloween. She actually had finished some sketches before her daughter was taken and she got them together.
She showered, dressed, and felt light. The last thing she grabbed was her folder of sketches before she walked out the door. It was only a quick drive to the planetarium. She hadn't been to one since she was in school. At the front desk she paused, talking to the man there who seemed surprised when she mentioned her name and knew right where the tickets were. "I think Iouri..." but she didn't get far as the guy was already trying to get in touch with the coordinator to let him know.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 8:19 pm
Although "trying to get in touch with the coordinator" involved yelling across the lobby to the man with the Swiffer, so it wasn't nearly as high-tech as it might initially sound. There wasn't a single piece of technology involved, just some cupped hands and a loud voice. It got the job done well enough, of course - Iouri came when called, trotting across the lobby with his swiffer in tow, grin plastered to his face.
"Miss Rosen," he said bashfully, leaning the mop against the information desk. "Come to take me up on my offer?" Oh, he hoped so - why else would she be here? Self-respecting adults didn't often come to the museum of their own volition. In the director's experience, they had to be bribed, or else dragged there by their children.
"And - I don't want to assume-" He'd spotted the portfolio folder tucked under her arm, and his heart skipped a beat. "But do you have something for me?" Iouri certainly hoped so - he supposed Kyndall must have gotten busy with the school year, but he'd still waited long enough for these sketches. Who could blame him for being a little bit antsy? There was an event to plan!
"Also - hall of gems and minerals, or hall of space exploration?" he proposed. "Either gets us to the planetarium, but I don't know which you would find the more interesting walk..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 9:34 pm
She chuckled, imagining Iouri didn't assume much these days after his very impressive mistake about her sexual orientation. It still made her smile to think about. She would have made a joke about it but thought perhaps it wasn't the best thing to do under the circumstances. They weren't alone and he was at work. She wanted him to keep his professional reputation.
"It seems I've come to take you up on your offer, Mr. Spekter. This is very impressive."
She looked around for a moment, taking it in. Then she pulled the folder out from beneath her arm and extended it out to him. Inside were the completed and colored sketches based on the concepts she showed him before. Impressive looking with minimal effort and materials. She was rather pleased with her work, as extensive as it was considering her daughter went missing just a short few days after their meeting.
"The Hall of Gems and Minerals, if you don't mind. I'm sorry to have missed this during your gala. I'm sure it was spectacular."
She took his arm as if he'd offered it and let him lead the way looking through her artwork as they walked. Whatever he wanted to talk about was fine with her. She had all the time in the world. She felt a little bad about keeping him waiting, though. He deserved an explanation.
"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner. I would have. I had the sketches. There aren't as many as I planned but I got sort of...waylaid."
She didn't want to mention Harmony directly. She was tired of the looks of sympathy. She wanted to enjoy her day out of the house. She just wanted to feel like there was going to be a good end to all of this. That didn't come if she had to endure the looks of sympathy and all the questions. Better to let him think she was just busy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2011 9:18 am
Iouri flinched when she took his arm, thinking it was a bit forward of her. He wasn't opposed to chivalry, but arm holding was something he only did if he was drunk or trying especially hard to impress someone. Here in the museum with someone he was only cordially acquainted with, it hardly seemed appropriate, but he didn't want to offend Kyndall... So, torn between personal comfort and politeness, he stiffly lead her into the hall on the right, past a big honking meteorite and the stairs to the second floor.
"That's the sixth largest meteorite on the East Coast," he said informatively. That tended to impress people - he glanced at Kyndall, trying to gauge her reaction.
"Waylaid, of course, by the school year," he nodded. Just as he'd expected, the first month of classes ought to be busy for any educator. There'd been a week when he was up to his eyeballs in field trip groups, after all! "It's no problem, we've all been busy... grant applications won't write themselves!"
It was a joke, or at least he thought it was a joke from the way he chuckled. Iouri pointed out a display case with various semi-precious minerals. "These were collected by the museum's founder in the early 1900s... Most of the collection has a quite lengthy history, of course, and then the planetarium lobby's at the end of this hall."
He checked his watch. "We have ten minutes before the next show, if you'd like to look around out here? Or to show me your sketches?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:48 am
Kyndall, of course, remained blissfully unaware of his discomfort. She was accustomed to knights lately. Or, rather, a knight. Well, Squire. Either way she didn't think much of it. It was the polite thing for a fellow to do when escorting a lady around and though she had a bit of a wild streak Kyndall never supposed for one second that she was anything less than a lady. Ah, well, onto the exhibits.
She was sufficiently impressed by the hall and the meteorite. She knew how large they could start off being, even as they enter the atmosphere, and to see one this intact that was the size of a welcome mat was pretty amazing when you thought about it. She wasn’t much for science as she’d said before but she did know a few things from reading so much over the years. Surprising what tidbits lay in wait to be learned while you read, even if you aren’t expecting it. She smiled as he pointed out this and that.
“Oh, yes, please!” she gushed, handing him the folder. “There aren’t as many as I was expecting but it should be enough to give you more than a good idea about what to do.”
In truth there were about six completed sketches showing costuming in detail and backdrops colored and inked properly. She wasn’t an artist on, say, Alexandre’s level but she got her point across easily enough. There were other sketches, too, rough ones that he’d probably seen before. She wasn’t impressed with her own work, always overly critical of herself, but if it helped him she accomplished her goal. At least he didn’t ask about Harm, assuming she was held up by school.
“I hope they help. It wouldn’t be too hard to make some of these backdrop pieces and costumes. Raid a vintage store or two.”
She waited nervously for his reaction, nibbling on her lower lip.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 6:49 am
Iouri's smile grew and grew as he leafed through the folder - at least in part because doing so gave him an excuse to worm his arm away from Kyndall. He'd never tell her that she'd made him uncomfortable, but there was no reason to remain in such a position longer than necessary.
But really, mostly his smile grew because the designs were fantastic."These are exactly what I was looking for!" he gushed, pausing on the page with her designs for the monster. "Yes, yes, I can certainly find something like this- and this- but this-"
He held out the book, indicating the bare-bones indication of makeup on the sketch. "What sort of stage makeup do I need for this creature's look? Powder and - for the eyes, what? And the bolts, they are just from the hardware store and stuck on with spirit gum? Or are they plastic?"
He could get either and had a fair amount of experience with costume makeup, but with designs as exquisite as Kyndall's he wanted to pull them off properly.
"Tell me and we will slowly walk towards the Planetarium, yes?" Iouri suggested.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 2:11 pm
It was impossible to feel under-appreciated with a reaction like that. The woman beamed with pride. She rather liked the sketches herself. They were very dramatic looking with some sort of forties glam mixed in with the Victorian elements. She wasn’t without style even if she was borrowing a little of it from Rita Hayworth. Namely clean lines and the style of lighting and the hairstyles.
“There are tons of makeup palettes that would get the job done. Coastal Scents puts out several theatre qualities palettes with every tone imaginable. Not to mention you can add on prosthetics.”
She ran through a very brief but thorough list of suitable products, brands, and styles. She recommended real brass bolts, sawed off and rounded and attached with spirit gum. It all really depended on how elaborate he wanted to be with the setup and how much space he wanted to encompass. Parading people through an entire interactive set would require space, several actors, time, and production. He had plenty of room and she assumed money but she had no idea what the plan actually was.
“What are your plans, exactly? Do you just want to fill the lobby or have the entire thing elsewhere? Will guests simply walk through a recreation of the plot or will there be many horror elements to it?”
The Planetarium loomed closer and she didn’t try to take his arm back. Kyndall was sometimes not as observant as she liked to believe. Oh, she could tell you what he was wearing down to his cuff links and aftershave but she hadn’t noticed the strained look when she took his arm. Perhaps she was socially blind or just assumed all men were gentlemen regardless of boundary issues.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 7:29 am
"Well-" Iouri stopped himself before he could say more and inevitably get ahead of his grasp of English. Fluency didn't necessarily mean his excitement wasn't going to trip him up, and he wanted to look eloquent and competent for Kyndall. "It's more of a horror-themed murder mystery, to be honest," he explained, after taking a moment to compose himself.
Gesturing to the antique architecture of the hall, Iouri continued, "With proper lighting this building is very easily transformed. Add some proper decoration, and it's a mad scientist's lab. We have many old scientific apparatuses to use for set dressing..." Hopefully she was getting the gist of what he was saying. If not, he didn't show indications of doubling back to clarify. "Tesla coils for the main lobby, I have sort of my usual suspects for the performers... The second floor's barely okay to be shown in the daytime, it's better to just close it off for events-"
He was rambling now, and they'd reached the end of the exhibit. Iouri gestured to the count-down clock above the entrance to the planetarium, which was meant to deliberately make people think of NASA and journeys to the stars. "We ought to go find seats, yes?" he suggested. The show was scheduled to begin in just under three minutes, so it seemed like more or less a safe bet.
"This planetarium is my baby," he emphasized, taking enthusiastic strides across the the very Star Trek 2009-esque queue area. "If you had seen what it looked like when I began working here... It was stuck in the 1970s. This is not a bad thing, I was born in the 1970s, but that does not mean I still dress like the 1970s."
This much was debatable: Iouri was, after all, wearing a second-hand tweed sports coat.
"Shall we go inside?" he asked.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2011 2:42 pm
She could certainly see the potential as he described it and his enthusiasm was infectious. She paused a few moments and studied the architecture around her, imagining it as a laboratory for Dr. Frankenstein. The ruse would work out rather well. She’d be pleased to be a part of it. She nodded as he explained, enjoying his accent and his excitement both. With costuming and his desire to perfect things she had no doubts it would be a scene to remember.
“I can see that. Nothing stronger than forty watt inside, I should think. If you set timed lights outside the windows to flash every so often you can mimic lightning. Maybe arrange a full scale storm with rain pumped softly over the sound system?”
When he mentioned the planetarium she jumped. She’d forgotten that was why she was here to begin with. Her mind was busy arranging sets and thinking of costuming. She looked around the waiting area and noticed it for the first time. If it looked like this now she couldn’t imagine how it had looked in the seventies or even when he’d gotten a hold of it. She only nodded to his offer, letting him lead the way.
When he mentioned the seventies she tried not to snicker and ducked her head instead to hide her face. She was born seventies as well but didn’t remember most of them. Her formative years were in the world of New Wave and she vastly preferred that look to the style he mentioned. Something about straight men wearing eyeliner was just…appealing. And sadly out of fashion now unless you happened to be in a Clockwork Orange production.
“I’m ready when you are.” This was her first time to this planetarium, actually. She’d somehow managed to miss that field trip in school. But that was probably because she was schooled outside Destiny City.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 2:38 pm
Iouri liked her idea for a storm - the more atmosphere he could create for an event, the better. Even with such an old building it seemed to take quite a lot to make people forget that they were at the museum. This desire may have been counter-intuitive, but he didn't see it that way: the more guests thought of the museum as a place where they could travel without leaving Destiny City, the more successful it would be!
Or, at least, this was how logic worked in the world of Iouri Spekter. He had a Ph.D. It entitled him to have opinions about things. "That sounds more than excellent," he assured her. "Simple, inexpensive, and effective." All three were words he liked to hear.
Taking the lead, Iouri unclipped the velvet rope at the head of the queue and ushered Kyndall through the doors. When they stepped into the semi-dark theater he did a quick headcount - it was a respectable crowd for a weekday afternoon, but seating wasn't exactly limited. "You're lucky, I know all the best seats in the house," he laughed quietly to her. (Actually, he'd hung around while the electricians and engineers were setting the planetarium up and gotten them to show him the best angles.)
Gesturing to a row, he added, "Take any seat you like. I'll fill in."
The room got a shade darker. "The wonders of the cosmos await!" grinned Iouri, flopping into a seat and looking excitedly towards the domed ceiling.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
