fandomhigh | Treat Yourself, Thursday, Period 2

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self-care

Treat Yourself, Thursday, Period 2

Class had been notified to meet at Portalocity today, and that is where Liliana, dressed in normal, if low-cut, Earth clothing met them.

"Self-indulgence is about giving yourself permission to enjoy things, especially things that you normally would consider out of reach, costing too much in time or energy or money to usually enjoy. Not all of these are relaxing; in fact, some can be quite active or intense. It is not everyone's cup of tea to enjoy a languorous massage--" some people were just weirdos "--and might prefer something more lively and exciting instead. Still others might not find creature comforts particularly indulgent, but may be transported by the opportunity to experience aspects of the cultural scene they normally would not be able to. And so, today we're going to indulge ourselves experiencing some cultural activities at their finest, perhaps even a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We're off to Paris; though you each have your choice of locations."

Behind Liliana three different portals opened up. "To the left, we have a portal that will take you to one of today's Olympics showings, the--" She had to check the tickets. "--Women's Artistic Individual All-Around, which is a gymnastics competition. Through the middle portal, we have the show En Amour at the Philharmonie de Paris, labeled an 'an immersive, interactive experience at the intersection of live performance and visual art installation.' And then through the right portal is a trip to the Louvre, to see some of the most well-known artistic works on the plane. Now, because we are splitting up, it's on you to make sure you return to your portal on time, otherwise you'll be making your own way home."

But they were all adults and if they couldn't figure out how to summon a portal on their phones, that was a them problem. And who was she to deny them if they decided they wanted to indulge in a little more time in Paris, hmm?

"Each portal will drop you off in a secluded location in or near your chosen activity and will open there at the end of class. This way, there's no worry about having to navigate your way through a foreign city. Any questions? If not, take one of the three tickets and enjoy your trip!"

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Music, Art, or Sport!

Figure out what you wanna do, where you wanna go, maybe give some thought to the bit about self-indulgence she mentioned in the beginning.

With a little bit of help from the portals, the local time is now 6pm (or 18:00 if you're, you know, not American), the people around you are all speaking French and judging you for not doing so, and Liliana is about to get an unpleasant surprise about the difference between Cajun French and Parisian!

Have Fun!

The seats aren't spectacular, but will you get to see Simone Biles live and in-person?

Yes. Yes you will and that's all that matters.

It's an interactive experience, it's got music, and you're required to take your shoes off for it. Sounds like an adventure!

Tradition, elegance, taste, art. And with fewer stolen cultural artifacts than the British Museum. What's not to love?

You're in Paris! What's stopping you from visiting other places? Not Liliana, that's for sure. Just keep track of your time and be on your best behavior. Not for the school's benefit, but simply because it'll be pretty difficult to bail you out of jail in France.

(Liliana certainly isn't going to.)

If you end up in the same place she is!

Team Fuck Around And Find Out represent

Ignis Scientia

And as tempting as the music of En Amour was, that would be an indulgence for another time. Because the Louvre was said to have an excellent tactile gallery that Ignis had very much been eagerly anticipating to experience firsthand.

Edited 2024-08-01 11:21 (UTC)

"Aww, you knew," Liliana said with a soft laugh. "There goes my surprise."

"Mmmm." That soft laughed managed to pull the suggestion of an equally soft chuckle out of Ignis as he smiled lightly over at her. "My apologies, love. If you'd like, I can pretend to abolish all foreknowledge of this entirely and act completely caught unawares of this unexpected pleasure?"

Nell Ingram

Nell was absolutely going to watch these incredible athletes and wonder about incorporating some gymnastics into her workouts.

Nell couldn't help but grin to herself, since she'd barely arrived back from Paris in order to... go to Paris again!

Cal Kestis

Okay, that took approximately one nano-second of decision making for Cal. He'd been a Simone Biles fan for... well, as long as it had been since the Olympics started, but you'd never know it from the way he was cheering.

After class, Cal waited for Liliana to return and went up to her excitedly. "I adopted a cat."

Hello as well, of course.

"Actually, yes," Liliana declared. "An experience I couldn't possibly pass up. Please, love, dazzle me with your acting prowess."

She so regularly enjoyed the other types he indulged her with, after all.

"A cat?" Liliana said, sounding delighted. "And are you enjoying it, darling?"

"I am," he said proudly. "I wanted to do something just for me. And BD, now he has a friend to keep him company while I'm in classes and such. Do you want to see some pictures?"

Definitely how BD-1 was taking it. Definitely.

"Of course," Liliana said. Pictures of most children, pets, or people were of no interest to her, but cats? Cats, she could make an exception for.

"And how are you feeling now that you have a cat? Have you noticed any changes in your overall mood?"

"Well, then," Ignis stated, somewhat staunch, right back, "in that case..."

He pulled himself up a little and cleared his throat, taking a moment as if to reset before venturing, "I daresay darling...marvelous idea, truly splendid, indeed, but I'm afraid I must lodge one tiniest of a fraction of a complaint. My options for indulgences here, in the events you've proposed are, regrettably, uniquely limited in scope, don't you think?"

"Not at all, my darling. Tell me, do you trust me?"

Trusting her was a fool's game, Scientia.

"Far more than is likely wise," Ignis answered, without hesitation but with the ease that came from not only having been resigned to that fact for quite some time, but also being perfectly and completely content with it as well. "Please, do enlighten me of what it is I'm missing, my dear."

You were a fool, Scientia, but she loved you for it.

"Instead, I shall show you and yes, I do mean that," she said with a merry laugh, and led him into the Tactile Gallery and over to one of the exhibits. Then, she took his hands, placing one on the Braille plaque and the other on the statue that accompanied it.

"Ta-da!" she said. "The reason I included the Louvre at all today."

Well, if he was going to be a fool, then at least he was a fool for something well worth it.

Ignis was more than willing to be led, a pleased smile making itself comfortable on his face the whole time, right up until his hands were place and Braille and statue respectively. Because after that, the expression took on a genuinely mildly surprises turn that required no acting at all.

"Did you really?" he asked. "Just for this?"

"Of course," Liliana said as if this were only expected. "And..." She grinned up at him. "Because this is part of a school trip...it's free."

Jesus, Liliana, this is a public place.

"Well, you know, darling," Ignis pointed out, "there really is no such thing as a free lunch..."

Ignis. Ignis, no. No! You were not going to let yourself fall down the endless rabbit hole of pain and torture that was trying to make sense out of how this place funded itself!!!

And the narrative was correct. He wasn't. Because now his attention was now on the most spectacular work of art in this entire museum, and he didn't even need a plaque or a model or guidebook to know it.

All he needed was to wrap an arm around Liliana's waist to pull her in and kiss her.

There were donors! They were awful!

Liliana laughed, more than a little smugly, into the kiss. Because yes, she knew what Ignis liked and did, sometimes, cater to him for just that reason.

"Je t'aime," she murmured when the kiss ended. "Je t'aime d'amour."

Charlie Gale

Jonathan Sims

Jon debated, but he'd been to the Louvre before, and the music experience sounded more interesting than sport, so here he was.

He might end up having to shut his eyes a few times to avoid vertigo. And he might end up crying a bit when he found out the theme was love and separation. Shut up, it was dark. Nobody could tell.

"I feel a lot better. A little nervous about what might happen if I go home, but happy that I did something I wanted to do without overthinking it." He handed his phone over with about three dozen pictures of Patches for her to look through. "And she really needed to be adopted. Because I'm still me."

Liliana flipped through the pictures, properly appreciating them.

"And darling, you don't need to not be yourself, simply expand what being yourself means and what you're comfortable with," she said, handing the phone back once she had gone through them all. "I'm delighted to hear this."

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Treat Yourself, Thursday, Period 2

Sign In #4

Listen to the...Instructions, Really

Arrive in Paris

The Olympics

En Amour

The Louvre

Other Places

Talk to Liliana

OOC

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