open ✧ you are invited

[removal]

Who: Phantom and you!
Which: Open log/mingle
Where: Phantom's Music Studio
What: A music studio has opened! The staff are seeking students, but everyone's welcome to just hang out and chill.
Warnings: N/A

I. A Letter

[ Sometime on the 10th, a neatly-written invitation appears on everyone's journals: ]

Music Studio Opening on Theatre Row
Seeking students and fellow appreciators of acoustic arts
[ There is a hand-drawn map below that indicates where to go. The studio is located on Theater Row beside a bridge. It's not difficult to find Phantom's ID on the message, but he seems to have signed it with a facsimile of a wax seal shaped like a cat mask. ]

II. The Opening Act

[ There are two bluebirds perched on the stairs leading up to the studio asking passersby to drop in. There are no posters or other advertisements put up around town, as Phantom did not wish to attract too much attention. In fact, finding him is a whole hide-and-seek game on its own.


The reception room is rather cozy, with a few talking animals staffing the counters and offering cupcakes to any visitors. Right now, the studio only has basic equipment, so they are also looking for people who can help them expand their repertoire and build more instruments. Most of the animals are able to play at least one instrument, and they are willing to teach anyone who wants to sign up for regular lessons. Currently, there are beginner courses offered for piano, violin, flute, and singing.

The back half of the first floor is occupied by a small library dedicated to music scores and instruction manuals. However, the shelves are pretty much empty save for a couple collections of popular songs with no discernible origin. Oh, and this.

Sometimes the staff members will perform on the second floor to showcase their chosen instrument, or invite a visitor to take the stage. The more the merrier! ]

III. Behind The Curtain

[ The small music studio is staffed by enough people to ensure everyone's entertained. Notably, all of the employees are talking animals - birds, cats, dogs, and a bear with a truly impressive vocal range - and none of them have claimed authorship of the journal invitation. Asking the employees will reveal that the message was written by the studio's manager... who happens to be quite averse to showing himself.

Occasionally, you may feel a presence behind you, only to turn around and find nobody there. Maybe a gust of wind ruffled the curtains behind you, as if a ghost is haunting the studio. Or it might be a two-tailed black cat strolling leisurely through the rooms with a refined, self-assured air.

Eventually Phantom answers the call of his employees and reveals himself - a tall man dressed entirely in black, his hood not quite doing its job of concealing his Feline ears. He tends to hang out near the corners and away from conversational groups, though he would not turn away anyone who tries to talk to him... mostly.

Later he's talked into going upstairs to play the (sadly upright) piano. He spins one of the sonatas he had committed to memory on its ivory keys - only the first ten minutes or so remain in his fractured memory, but it is enough. ]

IV. Intermission

[ Feel free to tag in with your own prompts/tag each other in the studio! It's open to everyone. I'm also up for any and all wildcards! Feel free to PM or find me in the game discord for plotting owo)/// ]

Comments

[grandduchess_anya]

Hmm, never thought about learning to play a violin before. I doubt that I can remember any of my family members playing that often, well, I could switch instruments for now.

(She assumes that the music sheets provided to guests and students can be played with a variety of instruments, but she could be wrong on that.)

I suppose that you can give me tips as to how to play one since you sound like you know how to play with one.

[thegamesafoot]

Of course, when embarking on one's musical journey, one need not follow in the footsteps of others--your family or a charming stranger in a shop--but it certainly can't hurt to meander.

[ Sholmes runs his fingers over a few of the instruments before finally taking one down. He gives the strings an experimental pluck. ]

Now, are you left- or right-handed, my dear?

[grandduchess_anya]

I am primarily right handed for the most part, so that is a good starting part.

(Approaching to get another violin and taking it out from the wall, she tries to hold it the way professional violinists hold them in concerts.)

[thegamesafoot]

Yes! You have the right idea, but feet a tad wider, if you please. [ He gives one of her feet a gentle nudge with the toe of his shoe. ]

The next trick is maintaining a proper hold--it should be quite snug between the cheek and shoulder. [ He demonstrates on his own, arms raised and fingers wiggling in a "look! no hands!" gesture, while the instrument stays firmly in place. ] This way, your fingers are free to dance over the strings with wild abandon!

[ He runs his left hand up and down the neck with an illustrative flourish. Only at this point does it occur to him that a vital piece is missing. He turns left and right, violin still tucked under his chin. ] Now ... where have those animals put the bows?

[grandduchess_anya]

Um, like this?

(She tries to carefully mimic the stance Herlock is demonstrating to her, although it is not without problems as she nearly hit her cheek with the violin as she is adjusting its position.)

[thegamesafoot]

Further up the shoulder. A bit more cheek, a tad less chin. [ He helps shift her violin as described, his own still neatly held in place with an awkward tilt of his head. While these adjustments are made, a bear trundles up. Two bows are held in its claws with surprising grace. ]

Thank you, my good sir--or madam? [ The bear shrugs indifferently at the address. Sholmes takes one bow in either hand and pauses there. ] Oh, but where are my manners? It seems I've become entirely too accustomed to the celebrity I enjoy back at home.

[ He tips forward at the waist, twirling one bow before offering it to the young woman, handle first. ] Herlock Sholmes, consulting detective and occasional violinist, at your service!

[grandduchess_anya]

(Thank goodness that the position has been finally corrected to how many professional violinists would hold their instruments when the bear attendant shows up with bows at hand, otherwise she might accidentally hit somebody with her violin.

She graciously takes the bow from Herlock once she is able to get the position right.)

I’m Anya, nice to meet you, Mr. Sholmes.

[thegamesafoot]

Enchanté! [ He says this with a smile, but it's hard to tease out whether he's actually happy to meet her, or simply enjoys having a captive audience. ]

Now! Holding one's bow is a similarly tricky matter. Your grip should be ginger. Delicate! Like you might drop the thing were it not resting across the strings. Your hand must remain flexible, ready to move and bend.

[ Sholmes demonstrates the bent-fingered grip that barely keeps his bow aloft and pulls a long, slow note from the strings. ]

Indeed, the violin demands a unique individual: one cannot be rigid, no, a proper violinist must flow with the music--versatile and spirited! I cannot help but see the glimmer of that in you, Miss Anya.

[grandduchess_anya]

Alright then, here goes nothing.

(She tries to do the grip on the bow the way he is demonstrating to her and tries to make a note with it. Hoping and praying that it will work out well for her in the first time.)

[thegamesafoot]

[ That smile is certainly being pushed to its limits. ]

I-incredible. So like very like a feline in the throes of agony. If I may ...

[ Sholmes gingerly takes her hand and adjusts the position of the bow. ] Be sure to keep the bow parallel to the bridge--this bit here--and roughly between that and the fingerboard.

Ease up on the pressure. Remember! Loose! Relaxed! [ Sholmes demonstrates again, bowing out an even tone. ]

[grandduchess_anya]

(Anya does her best to relax her position of the bow to the bridge a little more as she begins to try out playin a note on the violin as relaxed as possible.

Playing a violin is going to be a little trickier than she is hoping it could be, but she could do her best and learn new things very slowly.)

[thegamesafoot]

[ Sholmes is in no position to judge; he was a beginner once himself, subjecting his roommate to the caterwauling of a poorly-played instrument. ]

Much improved, Miss Anya! [ The praise seems genuine enough. ] So? Do you feel the call of the violin? Or do you long to return to the piano?

[grandduchess_anya]

Hmm, I think that I’m starting to get the hang of this instrument already. I could try to get into piano someday, but I think that the violin is starting to take up much of my interest right now.

(Despite her initial concern of getting a instrument wrong, she is doing very good for just a novice. She is quite capable of being flexible when the opportunity calls in.)

[thegamesafoot]

The piano is such a stuffy, proper instrument! And quite impossible to carry around.

[ Sholmes can't very well ignore a chance to show off, and bows out a few bars of Carmen's Habanera. ] Learn the chords, put in the practice, and you'll be utterly unstoppable, Miss Anya. Your sisters will be entirely beside themselves with jealousy.

[grandduchess_anya]

(Anya soon begins to play one of the music sheets she picked up, playing it the first notes and bars of the music, slowly loosening the stiffness as she bows out the bars.

This is becoming a lot of more fun than she is expecting. It does certainly help that the person she just met is very competent with the instrument she is learning to master.)

[thegamesafoot]

[ Sholmes observes, quickly recognizing the melody, even if it's played a bit clumsily. When she's done, he claps. ]

Au Clair de la Lune! I often played it for my flatmate when she had difficulty finding sleep. [ He carefully omits that his so-called "flatmate" was a toddler at the time. ]

Not bad at all, my dear. The next challenge is working on your finger technique. That is, timing it with the push and pull of your bow for smooth transitions between notes.

[grandduchess_anya]

Why thank you, Herlock. I really appreciate the compliment.

I will do my best to get the finger technique on point as good as I could go.

(She loses the stiffness more gradually, and slowly one note at a time, it becomes less pronounced as she continues to play the music sheet for Clair de la Lune. Her playing becomes less janky and more smooth as she plays on, keeping the advice well in her mind.)

[thegamesafoot]

[ Sholmes tucks his own violin under his arm and fiddles with the bow--unscrewing the frog and setting a bit more tightness in the hair. He hums along to her song until, between attempts, he finally speaks up again: ]

Miss Anya, as I mentioned, I am a consulting detective, celebrated across the British Empire for my astounding powers of deduction. Would you care to hear my conclusions about you, and perhaps confirm their undoubted accuracy?

[ He laughs, and quickly adds: ] I only ask, you see, because some people can be put off by the terrifying precision of my observations.

[grandduchess_anya]

So you can deduct things about people with a lot of accuracy? Well, I have never asked anyone about finding things about my life correctly so far, so I guess that I can safely say, um, ‘yes?’

(Anya has literally no idea of what she has gotten herself into the moment she just said yes to Herlock making a guess about her or her life. She has said some things about her past to some people before, but never has she explicitly confirming about her status as royalty.)

[thegamesafoot]

Excellent! I was hoping you would say "um, yes?" [ He smiles and snaps his fingers. ]

First, let us start with your name: Anya--the common diminutive of Anna--immediately tells me you are an émigré from the Russian Empire.

[ He taps the end of his bow to his temple. ] But I ask myself, which part? Luckily, your striking hair color narrows the possibilities quite nicely. I can surmise that Finland, home to many red heads and part of that vast empire, is your native land.

Finally ... [ He points to her sheet of music. ] ... your choice here alludes to your change in geography! As tensions mounted in the east your doting parents sent you--and your musically-inclined sisters--westward to France, where you earn your living playing piano in the cabaret. There, you became acquainted with this quintessentially French song, "Clair de la Lune."

[ He smiles expectantly. It seems he's done with his "terrifyingly accurate" assessment ... ? Until he suddenly leans over and plucks a bit of fur from her sleeve, twirling it between his fingertips. ] Ah! You also keep an animal companion. A bear, if I'm not mistaken. Perhaps he performs with you?

[grandduchess_anya]

Well, it is actually true that Finland happens to be next door to Russia after all (I was told long ago that my great grandfather had a good impression to the Finnish) and I do have an animal friend with me in Reverein too, although he is actually a little dog than a bear.

(She is still reluctantly about publicly admitting to the fact that she is royalty in the Russian Empire or that she was actually from Saint Petersburg. But she does find some of the things Herlock tried to guess about her rather bemusing to say the least that she let out an amused chuckle.)

[thegamesafoot]

And yet, you do not refute the rest of my assumptions! Curious. [ He says this with a suspiciously arched brow. ] Well, my congratulations to your great grandfather. That is no small achievement--the Finns are a reticent people.

[ Sholmes perches on the edge of a table, propping the violin on his knee. ] Has your canine companion, by an chance, made the acquaintance of one Chief Inspector Toby?

[grandduchess_anya]

Ah, no, not yet. What is Toby like if I may ask, Herlock?

(She is still keeping her mouth shut on her origins for now. But the mention of a dog did peak her interest, after all, she has Pooka joining her from her time in the Realm of Stories. Maybe one day he meet this Toby dog Sholmes is talking about.)

[thegamesafoot]

[ Sholmes opens his mouth, then closes it. How does one describe such a dog? ]

Well, you see, the Chief Inspector is quite unmistakable: he has four legs, a head and a tail. Covered in black fur. Roughly the size of a bread bin. [ He makes the shape with his hands as best he can while still holding his violin. ] Prone to aggressive licking.

He usually keeps the company of a blond young woman with a very thick East London accent.

[grandduchess_anya]

Ah, so he didn’t arrived in this world on his own? That is good to know, otherwise he would have felt very lonely without her by his side.

(She carefully strums the violin strings with the bow as she weaves the notes into the Claire de la Lune song. Her grasp on the bow has become less awkward as she takes in every advice she can gather in her mind.

She is also very curious if Pooka can be good friends with Toby the canine Chief Inspector Toby. That would be a great sight: Pooka has been wanting to see and meet other dogs for some time but time has always gotten the best of her with her job.)