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 Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2023 9:55 am
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Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2023 10:01 am
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Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2023 10:27 am
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Posted: Sun Mar 26, 2023 10:30 am
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Posted: Sat Apr 01, 2023 11:56 am
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 Inspired by Ochre, Resin, and Light series by onlyonedayIzzy sighed as he walked through the museum, not paying much attention to the pieces he walked past. He needed to get some air. No, that wasn't it. He needed to step away from the suffocating puppy love-like atmosphere that had filled the work room downstairs when Stede came to visit Ed. It wasn't that he disliked Stede; even he would admit he felt something about the guy after spending weeks working on a portrait of an unnamed gentleman for their "Lost at Sea" exhibition and Ed came back with a living replica of the guy. As he made his way into the room housing the exhibition, he felt like he was returning home, being surrounded by the paintings Ed and him had worked months on. Izzy was about to turn back around to leave as he felt the eyes of "The Gentleman" stare at him from across the way before stumbling to a halt.
Off on one of the standing walls in the middle of the room, there were two portraits of women by the sea, done by two separate artists. Izzy had insisted the two be hanged together. He wasn't sure but he had a feeling there was some connection between the two painted ladies. If you asked his opinion on how, he would have said it was the same lady, just portraits from different times of her life. He couldn't help but feel for the lady - ladies - as he gazed upon their faces. At times, when he was working on restoring them, he wished she was a real person, so he could pull her into his arms to comfort her of whatever worried her and to comb his hands through that long golden hair of hers.
"A Lady by the Sea" by John Simmons / "On The Seashore" by George Elgar Hicks
The sight of the paintings wasn't what stopped him in his tracks. It was the young woman standing in front of them. He thought it was an odd coincidence when Ed crossed paths with Stede, a man who looked exactly like "The Gentleman." But the chances of finding another painting twin? He wanted to shake his head to get the idea out of his head but instead he found himself drifting towards the woman.
"She's lovely, isn't she?" Izzy found himself saying when he stepped up just behind her.
His heart skipped a beat when the woman looked over her shoulder, flashing a timid smile in his direction and her dark green - almost hazel - eyes met with his. The same longing he had come to know so well from the paintings resided within hers as well.
"Yes," she finally replied, before turning back to look at the paintings. "Though she seems sad."
"Which one?"
"What do you mean which one?" she asked, turning back to Izzy. "Are they not the same person?"
Izzy almost broke into a wide smile when he heard this. When he had spoken with the museum curator on the hanging arrangements of the paintings that would be part of the exhibition, they had scuffed at his idea of the paintings being of the same person. They had eventually agreed to hang the two together, just because they wanted to avoid any conflict with Ed; they knew if Izzy was upset, Ed would get involved to make sure he was happy again. And now here was someone else who felt the same way as him about the paintings.
"If you asked anyone else, they would say no," said Izzy. "They would say it just happens to be two ladies painted by two separate artists who happen to look the same."
"But you?" She tilted her head to the side inquiringly, a sparkle of curiosity and delight at his rebellish thoughts appearing in her eyes.
"I think they are the same person. Just different times in her life."
"I like that thought." The young woman turned back to the painting to look at them again. "This one," she continued pointing to the lady in the pink dress and purple cloak. "It looks like she is in her teens. She smiles... but it seems like she's... well... painted it on. She is trying to be courteous to whoever she is with, whether it's the painter or whoever she is spending the day at the beach with. It's almost like she would rather be elsewhere. Maybe she's the one who suggested the idea of going to the seashore. Maybe she craves adventure and this little outing is the only way she can satisfy that desire."
"And the other?" breathed Izzy. He was trying not to become smitten with this woman, this stranger. But hearing his own thoughts spoken out loud in her calm tone seemed to put him under a spell.
"She's in black... and by her gaze and posing, it's almost like she's in mourning. Maybe she's lost someone who meant a lot to her."
"Why would this lady in black be at the sea?"
She turned her whole body to look at Izzy. It was at that moment he realized how close he had stepped up to her and resisted the urge to step back to make her aware of their closeness, if she wasn't already aware of it.
"Maybe it reminds her of whoever she lost," said the woman, a faint smile appearing on her lips. "Or it's the sea that gives her the calm she desperately needs at this trying time." |
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Posted: Sat Apr 01, 2023 12:44 pm
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Izzy found himself getting lost in the image of the woman before him. He almost wondered if he should look away before making things more awkward but saw the smile on her face widen as if she was enjoying their little intimate moment there in the museum.
"Oh, wow!" exclaimed a high pitched, Kiwi accented voice from behind them.
Izzy tried to keep his groan to himself as the spell he found himself be broken by the voice he had become all too familiar with since Ed finally made an honest connection with the man.
"You look just like them!" continued Stede.
"What are the chances of that?!" exclaimed Ed, standing behind him, his hand on Stede's shoulder.
"Sorry?" said the woman, turning to look at them. Izzy could tell by the dazed tone to her voice, which hadn't been there when they were conversing moments before, that she must been bringing herself back into reality.
"Oh, I was just saying you look like the ladies in the paintings," explained Stede.
"I do?" She glanced over her shoulder at the paintings, as if taking them in from a different perspective. "I suppose I can see the similarities."
Izzy saw Ed subtlety getting his attention with his facial expressions. When Izzy just kept looking at him with confusion, he saw Ed sigh before gesturing with his head towards the woman as if saying Well, are you going to introduce us to her?
"Um," said Izzy, gathering his senses and turning to look at the woman again. She turned to look at him hearing his voice. "Sorry, I didn't mention who I was."
"I didn't really expect you to. It happens. Two strangers crossed paths, share a conversation about a common interest, and then part ways to continue their own lives. In this case, two individuals who appreciate art."
"Izzy is more than just an appreciative art enthusiast," stated Ed, chuckling.
"Oh?"
"I..." said Izzy. "I helped restore these paintings. With Ed's help, of course."
"Wait, you restored these?!" she exclaimed.
"Have you see the painting they labeled 'The Gentleman' yet?" asked Stede.
Izzy had to give kudos to Stede for making his part of the conversation seem so natural and not so awkward like he was feeling since the two guys showed.
"The Gentleman?"
"Come, I'll show you!" said Stede, gently steering her by her arm towards the painting. "Sort of a funny story really."
"Funny how?"
"Oh, you'll see! I want it to be a surprise!" |
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Posted: Sat Apr 01, 2023 1:07 pm
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Mary Anne couldn't blame the man's excitement about the painting. If being told she looked like the two women in the seaside paintings she had been talking about with that other man, it was nothing compared to "The Gentleman" portrait. She felt like she was looking into a mirror where the man standing beside her was looking back at her.
"So... who is this... Gentleman?" asked Mary Anne, after awhile.
"No one seems to know," said Stede. "He's quite fascinating though, isn't he?"
"And how did you come to know of the painting?"
"Ed."
"Ed?"
"Oh, the tall guy in the leather jacket I was with," said Stede, gesturing towards the two men who remained talking to each other back at the paintings she had left behind.
"The other one mentioned they restored these paintings," said Mary Anne. "Is that true?"
"Oh, yes! Both Ed and Izzy did an amazing job. In fact, they were working on this painting when I met them."
"It must have been quite the meeting," said Mary Anne, smirking. "Being told they are working on a painting of someone that looks exactly like you."
"It was certainly disorienting," said Stede, looking at the painting. "Everytime I look at it, it feels like I'm looking at a glimpse in a former life, a past life."
"Hmm..."
"What?" asked Stede, looking over at her.
"I didn't tell... Izzy, was it? I didn't tell him that I felt the same way with those two paintings back there." |
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Posted: Sat Apr 01, 2023 3:46 pm
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Stede watched as he saw the young woman's eyes seem to glaze over, as if she was thinking about something. Could it be possible she had experienced something similar to what Ed, Izzy, and himself had felt with the paintings they had come across, the ones that now hung upon the very walls of this exhibition.
"Would you like to see another painting?" asked Stede quietly, uncertain whether to interrupt her train of thought or not.
She blinked her eyes, refocusing on Stede. "Another painting?"
"Well, two actually. They're similar to this one," said Stede. "Ed thinks they may have been part of a series."
"That sounds intriguing."
"Come, I'll show you."
Stede tried to control the bounce in his step but he couldn't help it. He felt like a child showing an adult their latest craft project from school. It was weird how much he wanted to impress this woman. She looked half his age but from what little she spoke, he could tell she was closer to his age than he realized. There was something about her that seemed like she had experienced years - no, decades of... well, he wasn't exactly sure what. He realized that similar feeling of experiencing memories of a past life from being around The Gentleman painting and its companions was popping up again as he spent more time around this woman. He couldn't help but glance over his shoulder at her. Who was she?
"Ta-da!" said Stede, with a wide arm flourish when they finally came before two portraits of black haired men.
He heard the woman gasp as she gazed upon them.
"Quite impressive, aren't they?" said Stede. "I've always been intrigued by this one's style of clothing. Not exactly the usual 1700s clothing you see."
"Z..." whispered the woman under her breath.
Stede turned to look at her in confusion before following her gaze towards the other painting. The one that looked like his own Izzy but younger and wearing the blue lieutenant uniform. He glanced over his shoulder where Ed and Izzy still stood by the paintings he had found the woman at; they seemed to be in a deep conversation about something.
"Well, Gentleman Pirate," said the woman next to him, a teasing, sexual tone in her voice this time. "Shall we find your way back to your beloved Blackbeard?"
"Sorry?" asked Stede, turning to look back at her but saw she wasn't looking at him. Her glazed over eyes were still taking in the two paintings before her.
"Hmm?" said the woman, finally pulling her eyes away from the paintings to look at him.
"What did you just say?"
"Did I say something?" Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Hmm... I don't remember saying anything." She shrugged. "Maybe I let my imagination get away from me and I didn't realize it was leaking into the real world."
Stede let out a laugh to help dispense the awkwardness of the conversation but he couldn't help the words she had spoken echo through his mind. Shall we find your way back to your beloved Blackbeard? He turned to look back at the paintings along with her, his gaze falling on the one that reminded him so much of Ed. Blackbeard? As in the famous dread pirate Blackbeard? Could it be this was a portrait of the man? But that couldn't be. Blackbeard was supposed to be a scary figure with crazy hair and smoking fire in his beard, wasn't he? And yet, as he found himself looking into those doe-like brown eyes peering back at him from the canvas, the name seemed to fit so perfectly. |
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Posted: Sat Apr 01, 2023 4:08 pm
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"Looks like you found yourself quite the catch," teased Ed.
"Shut it!" barked Izzy.
"Oh, come on! You can try denying it as much as you want, mate, but I could easily see that there was something happening between the two of you."
"The only thing happening was us talking about the paintings."
"These paintings?" asked Ed, gesturing to the two paintings of the ladies by the seaside. "What was so fascinating about them? I mean... aside from her looking exactly like the subjects in them."
"We were talking about what was going on in their lives at the time of being painted," replied Izzy, quietly.
"Oh," said Ed. He said it just as a response, not as a nudge for him to continue. Ed turned to look over at where Stede and her were in conversation in front of the two paintings they had found after The Gentleman painting, the ones that looked eerily like Izzy and himself. "Stede certainly seems to be enjoying himself."
"I wonder if she thinks we're a bunch of wackos," said Izzy, following his gaze. "If she thinks we just commissioned some artist to do 18th century styled portraits of ourselves, hung them up in this exhibition, and see who would notice the difference."
"I can't believe you would even suggest a thing!" exclaimed Ed, looking at him in shock.
"Well, you can't deny the idea isn't possible!"
"Then how do you think she would you explain these?" asked Ed, gesturing to the paintings behind them. "It's not like we had her sit for some commissioned artist for it and ask her to pretend she's surprised she looks like them."
"I..." said Izzy, finding his gaze land on the painting where the lady wore black.
...It's almost like she's in mourning. Maybe she's lost someone who meant a lot to her.
Izzy tried to keep his composure as his sense of past memories flashed through his head, like the ones he experienced when they had worked on those strange portraits of the men. The scent of sea salt breezes and the echo of crashing waves against a boat and the flapping of linen sails flashed through his senses. Then an image of a woman passed through his vision. She looked similar to both the women in the paintings and the one he had been talking to except this one she was smiling widely with delight, not a care in the world and a twinkle of mischief in her eyes. He couldn't help but notice she was wearing black leather similar to Ed's portrait twin; a bit more elegant, sure, but it still echoed the same vibes. And the red shirt she wore... it looked so much like the red silk Stede had given Ed at Christmas.
"Come on, Z!" she called out. "Why are you being such a stick in the mud?"
Izzy should tell Ed was talking to him but his voice seemed far in the distance. The woman in his vision stepped closer, her sparkling green eyes drinking him in with admiration, respect, and... was that... lust? He couldn't help the flutter of warmth emerging in his heart... and further down.
"Z?" she asked, gently cupping his face with her hand.
"Izzy?" Ed's voice finally cut through, scattering the vision to nothing.
Izzy blinked up at him as he reoriented where he was.
"You alright, mate?" asked Ed. "You looked like we went off to some place else."
"It almost felt like it."
Ed gazed at him for a moment before he spoke again. "Was it it like before?"
Izzy only nodded, unable to put his thoughts into words.
"F*ck," muttered Ed, under his breath as he combed his hair back with his fingers. "I thought it was just me."
"What do you mean?" asked Izzy, staring up at him in shock.
"It wasn't coincidence she came into this museum... and found herself in front of those paintings, Izzy," said Ed. "I think it was fate. Just like how we met Stede... and we found those three portrait paintings." |
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Posted: Sat Apr 01, 2023 4:33 pm
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Stede jumped at the sound of a throat being cleared behind them. He turned and a huge smile came over his face as he saw that Ed and Izzy had joined them.
"Ah, Ed," said Stede. "Hello!"
"Hello mate!" replied Ed, returning the smile.
A groan escaped from Izzy and Stede had a feeling the man didn't even bother to hide it.
"Sorry, I didn't realize how long I had taken away your..." said the woman.
"Boyfriend," offered Ed.
"Boyfriend?" The woman raised an eyebrow before smiling. "Well, I'm sorry I had taken away your boyfriend away from you for so long."
"It seemed like the two of you were having too much of a fun time discussing about our strange portrait paintings. I didn't want to interrupt that."
Stede couldn't help but notice that their newly made friend's gaze had shifted from Ed to Izzy as she had talked. Izzy seemed to be trying his hardest not to look back at her, which Stede thought was odd since they seemed to have such a good interaction when Ed and him had come upon them.
"They are amazing," she said, blinking and turning her gaze back at Ed. "I can see why you think they are part of a series. And you - you both -" She glanced at Izzy again. "- did a fabulous job of restoring them."
"Why, thank you," said Ed. He glanced over at his quiet companion before frowning. "Izzy. Say thank you."
Stede tried not to laugh at the commanding tone Ed had used in that last statement. Izzy looked up at Ed with a defying glare before submitting to the man's command and looking over at the woman.
"Thank you," said Izzy, meekly.
Stede was surprised. Where was the aloof man he had come to know and admire? When Ed said Izzy was just a pussycat once you got to know him, he expected what he had come to know - a man who he came to know on a mutual respectable level. Not this... kitten-like man before him.
"So... what plans do you have after this?" asked Ed, shaking his head at Izzy's behavior and turning back to the woman.
"Plans?" she echoed before shrugging. "Nothing set in stone."
"How about you join us for dinner?"
"Dinner?" asked Stede, glancing at Ed questioning. Since when were they going to go out for dinner?
"Oh!" she exclaimed. "I... I wouldn't want to impose. I feel like I've taken up quite a bit of your time already. I'm sure you all have things to catch up on. Privately."
"Nonsense! You've been a delight to hang out with!" said Ed. "Or I suspect you will be since it's come to my realization, I'm the only one who hasn't had the chance of getting to spend time with you?" He smiled as he gently punched her arm in a teasing manner.
She chuckled. "Well, in that case, how could I refuse such a generous offer? Especially when I haven't provided equal opportunity for all of my boys to be with me."
"Your boys?" said Stede.
She turned and blinked at him as she seemed to replay what she had said in her mind. Eventually she just shrugged as if she couldn't explain why she said it.
"Excellent! I know a great place that I'm sure you're going to love. I hope you like seafood..." said Ed, before frowning. "Huh? Well... now I feel like we've been rude. I don't even know your name." He turned to look at Stede. "Do you?"
Stede shook his head. "No, I'm afraid not. I'm terribly sorry I never asked." He turned to look at apologetically.
The woman waved her hand as if batting the idea away. "I'm just as guilty of being at fault as you are. The name is Mary Anne. Mary Anne Townsend."
Stede and Ed didn't hear the gasp of surprise and recognization that escaped Izzy's lips as they greeted her by name. |
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Posted: Sat Apr 01, 2023 4:52 pm
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Ed had to admit he was fascinated by this woman, this Mary Anne Townsend. He was able to disguise the chuckle that tried escaping his mouth with a sip from the cocktail he was enjoying. Once they got over their awkward moment in the beginning upon sitting down, they quickly were able to get into a flowing conversation on various subjects. He soon learned that Mary Anne wasn't just a casual museum visitor but had an appreciation for art. Sure, it wasn't on the same level as Izzy and him but she certainly seemed to know enough to understand the side conversations Izzy and him had. Hell, she did a better job tracking their conversation than Stede did.
"So, do you paint?" asked Stede.
Mary Anne shrugged as she took a sip of her own cocktail. Ed was surprised she had ordered a cocktail that could be considered the one with the highest alcohol content and yet here she was drinking it like it was a glass of wine she was casually sipping with no side effects.
"I've dabbled a bit here and there," she replied.
"What do you paint?" Stede inquiring, shifting to lean in towards her with curiosity.
Ed couldn't help but smile at the delight that came on his boyfriend's face with the conversation.
"This and that," Mary Anne stated as she grabbed another fry to nibble on. "I tend to lean towards landscapes mostly though."
"Oh? Any particular landscapes?"
"For awhile, I was mostly doing trees and mountains. Countryside sort of things. But lately... I've found myself drawn to seascapes."
"Oh, wow!" exclaimed Stede.
"Do you display your art anywhere?" asked Ed.
She chuckled and shook her head. "Nah. It's mostly a personal pastime. And I pretty much keep all of my paintings for myself. Not that I'm embarrassed by what I paint or anything. I just never felt the urge to sell them or hand them out as gifts to anyone. Well... except for the two I did for my parents. But that was just because I wanted to attempt doing versions of paintings they did at their couple painting class."
"I would love to see them," said Stede. "That is if you don't mind people coming to see them."
"I have no issue with that," replied Mary Anne, flashing a warm smile at him. "Like I said, I'm not embarrassed or anything."
"You ever do portraits?" asked Izzy, finally stepping into the conversation. Ed couldn't blame him asking; Izzy had always preferred working on portraits at work than any of the landscapes that came through.
"I did a few when I was a little girl. Nothing recent though," replied Mary Anne, chuckling.
"You ever thought of trying again now?" asked Stede. "Now that you've developed more painting skills?"
"Hmm... I suppose if the right inspiration came along, I might attempt it."
Ed didn't miss the suggestive glance Mary Anne had sent Izzy's direction before turning back to her food as she searched for her next item to nibble on from her plate. |
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2023 8:23 am
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Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2023 9:21 am
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