[OPEN] Horror Across Cultures

[bloodonthestones]

WHO: OPEN
WHERE: Nonah Museum of Modern Art
WHEN: From November 1st to November 16th.
WHAT: An open mingle log for a special exhibit consisting of masks from cultures across the world.
WARNINGS: None, will add if necessary.

[A hall at the Nonah Museum of Modern has been dedicated to an exhibit of masks from various cultures. There are dozens of them, hung on the walls and arranged in no particular order, each with a small placard indicating the culture of origin and the reason the artist included it in the exhibit, which is usually a lot of pretentious language that boils down to "ISN'T IT COOL YOU GUYS". They're all modern reproductions, and some very nice handiwork, but not exactly the most culturally sensitive thing you'll see this month. Please feel free to use your imagination, because there is absolutely NO cultural context given by the artist for any of these things.

What sorts of masks might you see? A few examples: Kabuki, Noh, Haida, Tlingit, Topeng, Samurai, Schandmaske, Fang, Bambara, and at least one based on a sugar skull. Pretty much any historical mask that looks strange and novel or "grotesque" to American eyes is fair game.]

[The Museum is open daily from 10am to 8pm. Admission is free for children 12 and under, and very affordable otherwise. You can put the time/date your character chooses to attend in your subjectline, or just leave it vague.]

Comments

[fistofthejoestar]

All the more reason not to.

[of course he's curious, he spent his entire college life researching the damn thing. the idea that some incarnation of it might exist in other worlds is fascinating...and terrifying, knowing the consequences of that possibility.

but he's not going to indulge that interest while Dio's anywhere close to the thing, especially not by letting him smear his nasty-ass blood all over it. and because he doesn't exactly trust him to not suddenly lunge for it with his injured hand, Jonathan gently starts tugging him away. they can have this conversation in front of literally any other mask instead.]

[diociopath]

[Wow fine, he's going, he's going. Probably not much to Jonathan's surprise, the wound heals all by itself, along with the blood on his hand soaking back in through the skin. It's nice and clean, like it never happened.

They can continue their date chat in front of this instead.]

And you plan on just leaving it there?

[fistofthejoestar]

[bless the predictable cheater powers of vampirism. as soon as it's apparent that his body has automatically fixed itself up he drops Dio's hand, no longer having to worry about immediate danger from it.

he glances over at the other mask when he answers, caught between actually wanting to read the plaque on this one fucking christ and also making it a little more difficult for Dio to read his expression.]

What I plan to do isn't really any of your business.

[diociopath]

[It's a death mask of some kind, believed to be capable of bringing back the dead if some kind of nonsensical ritual is properly carried out, with the corpse of the deceased wearing it during the whole process. MAYBE THEY SHOULD JUST SMEAR BLOOD ON ALL THESE AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS AT THIS RATE.

But he just stands there looking at Jonathan, completely uninterested in the display.]

You are aware, if I had any intention of creating vampires- [He holds up his hand.] -I could do it myself.

[Well, he can't, but he doesn't know that.]

The mask would no longer be of any use to me. [quickly added on] ...if I were planning anything.

[fistofthejoestar]

[Jonathan glances back over at him finally, although whether the nagging voice of etiquette during conversation or simply giving up on shielding his thoughts prompted it is unclear.]

You aren't what I'm concerned about.

[it may come as a surprise to Dio but he is not, in fact, the center of Jonathan's universe, especially here. it would certainly be terrible if he got his hands on a working mask (regardless of his abilities making it pointless) but what worries him more is the possibility of someone completely ignorant of its background attempting to use it.

Dio at the very least understood the limits and weaknesses of the thing, would be prudent enough to use it practically. there was no telling what someone else might unleash.]

[diociopath]

[Wow HOW DARE HE???? They are supposed to be eternal rivals, he should be Jonathan's top priority at all costs.

And (un)surprisingly, a little part of him genuinely feels this way too. He had it in his mind it was their struggle after all. Thei rivalry. Their destiny. Nobody else should be involved, or if they are, they're just smaller parts of a bigger picture. The main focus in his eyes will always be them.]

...and if we take it now, you won't have to be concerned about anything.

[He's never going to tell Jonathan the secret to the World's ability; nobody but Pucci has earned that kind of honesty. But it would be so easy to just...time stop and snatch it.]

[fistofthejoestar]

I'd have a great deal more to be concerned about, actually. People are going to notice that it's missing, Dio!

[is he going to have to drag him out of this exhibit entirely? he's probably going to have to drag him out of this exhibit entirely, isn't he. the chances of actually verbally reasoning with Dio are slim to incredibly stupid.

god damn being responsible he hadn't even gotten through half of these pieces!!]

[diociopath]

All I'm saying is...

[THE WORLD. Time is frozen.

At which point his stand picks up the mask, floats on over and hands it to Dio, who slips it to the inside of his jacket.

And time resumes. Of course, from Jonathan's perspective, Dio's sentence continues without missing a beat, as if none of that ever happened. He stands a little to the side, holding his jacket open to show Jonathan the mask.]

...it's not a difficult thing to do. But if you want me to put it back, then I will.

[fistofthejoestar]

[you can practically hear the record scratch in Jonathan's mind as his eyebrows fly up sharply. the mask had absolutely been on the wall when they'd walked away, which means its appearance in that tacky coat had to be supernatural. but how? was this another vampire power that hadn't been showcased in their battle? HOW MANY DID THIS FUCKING ASSHOLES HAVE??

later on he'll probably feel bad for inadvertently causing this with his thoughtless implication that Dio wasn't most important. you'd think he'd learn to avoid these tantrums by now.]

Dio, what did you do?!

[a stupid question in a furious whisper, but he can't help himself. Dio loves explaining and Jonathan's mouth runs away with itself when he gets worked up.]

[diociopath]

I thought I made it clear to you, JoJo. The Dio you contended with and the Dio that I, Dio, am now...we're on entirely different levels.

[How many fucking times can Dio say his own name in one sentence: a case study.

But as much joy as he gets from watching people react to the time stop, he still gives his eyes a little roll, as if Dio just stole a piece of candy from a store and Jonathan's worried what their father will think.

Except it's a priceless artifact in a museum. Also their father is dead.]

Like I said...if you really want me to, I'll put it back.

[fistofthejoestar]

Of course I want you to, that's not even a question. You can't walk out with museum pieces, no matter how powerful you are!

[Jojo almost achieves sassdom when riled up enough in situations he can't just punch his way through. who knew.

also Dio is so totally being dragged out of here after this holy shit. Jonathan would put the damn mask back himself if he weren't somewhat worried he'd immediately get pinned for robbery himself. childhood fears die hard.]

[diociopath]

[Spoilsport.]

Very well.

[And there it is, hanging back on the wall as if it was never moved.

...in fact, Dio never moved either. It's like it just appeared the same way it moved in the first place.]

[fistofthejoestar]

[...you know what, no, he's not going to think about this right now. there's more than enough time for that when he's laying in bed staring at the ceiling and assessing the state of his life at present.]

Thank you.

[a reflexive piece of courtesy made all the more hilariously out of place by the fact that immediately after he's grabbing Dio's hand again and making his way towards the door.

HE DOESN'T CARE THAT HE HAS NO IDEA WHERE THE FUCK ANYTHING IS IN THIS CITY THEY'RE LEAVING]

[diociopath]

[Well, he didn't expect that. He mostly expected to be ignored or quietly glared at for the rest of the evening.

HOLDING HIS HAND THOUGH. KYAAA JOJO-CHAN SO FORWARD. PEOPLE MIGHT SEE.]

JoJo!...JoJo, what are you doing?? Where are we going??

[HE WANTED TO SEE THE OTHER MASSSSSSKS JOJOOOOOOOOO.

Not that he's resisting.]

[fistofthejoestar]

[HE DOESN'T CARE ABOUT DIO'S FEELINGS OR OTHER PEOPLE SEEING HE'S NOT GOING TO HANG AROUND AND WATCH THE MASKS PLAY MUSICAL CHAIRS ON THE WALLS

he's going to regret the hand-holding later, though. it really does look like he's had a fight with his girlfriend and is taking her home.]

Out. I'm not going to take any chances with this.

[maybe if you'd wanted to see everything else you should have just frozen the mask to the wall!! Jonathan would merely have been sulkily petulant about that.]

[diociopath]

[Jonathan those are some weird priorities. Surely freezing it to the wall would attract more attention??]

Nobody noticed it was gone. You're causing a fuss over nothing.

[fistofthejoestar]

It's not nothing. You're entirely missing the point.

[which is not surprising in the least, but Jonathan somehow manages to sound righteously worked up about it despite his lack of shock. it's almost like he's had a great deal of practice with it.

aaaaand they're outside now. let's see how far down the street he gets before he realizes he has no fucking clue where literally anything is here.]

[diociopath]

[Surprisingly, he actually just lets Jonathan lead him on for a little while...he assumes they're going.............somewhere...........

But it becomes obvious soon enough that they're just walking without a direction, so he has to ask.]

Do you even know where you're going?

[Cause, uh, he walks the streets so much looking for bars and shit that he knows the place quite well, so...]

[fistofthejoestar]

[Dio you should know better than to assume Jonathan ever has a plan. his forceful steps gradually slow as reality catches up to his dumb ass, grinding to an incredibly awkward halt.

oh, that's right. he's only been in this city twice, and once to catch a shuttle right out of the teleporter station. and it took him like half an hour to find his way to the museum with help.

...f u c k]

...not particularly.

[there is a decided air of 'DON'T YOU SAY A FUCKING WORD' in his admission, detectable even as it's papered over by the intense mortification he can feel rising up. how does he keep doing this kind of thing to himself WHY CAN'T HE LEARN]

[diociopath]

[JoJo...

But see, if he feigns ignorance, Jonathan will have to spend more time with him...hm...]

So we're lost, is that it?

[fistofthejoestar]

[and also keep holding his hand for a little while longer, because he's totally forgotten that he's towing his brother around like a pull-along duck string in favor of staring with a blank lack of recognition at the surrounding buildings.]

Perhaps a little bit. I'm sure we could retrace our steps easily enough.

[diociopath]

Can we?

[Well, he could. In fact he knows retracing his steps would take much longer, and it'd be far easier to go the other way, turn some streets, yadda yadda...

...but let's rely on Jonathan's sense of direction instead.]

All these buildings and streets look the same though, don't they? I'm not sure I remember which way we came.

[fistofthejoestar]

[Jonathan is starting to get the distinct feeling that he's being made fun of again. maybe it's because he highly doubts that the guy who found London's most infamous criminal while being hauled around in a sedan chair could get turned about by one modern age city. maybe he's just crazy. it's Dio, either's possible.]

We can always ask someone for directions if things go poorly.

[the truth is that he has nooo idea which way they came either, as he was too wrapped up in his disgruntled thoughts to be paying much attention to the streets he was stomping down. Zeppeli would kick his ass for this, that much was certain.

but he can't exactly admit that to Dio, so he picks what looks like the best option available and sets off. how bad could it be?]

[diociopath]

[Haha oh no, he knows which way this is...

After a little bit of walking, one of the buildings they walk past is a little more active than the others. It maintains the aesthetic this whole weird future retro bullshit world is trying to keep, but features a few neon linings here or there, the sign on top advertising itself as some kind of night club.

But when they walk past, hand in hand, a few of the people waiting outside to get in seem to recognize Dio, calling to him as they walk past.]

Hey! Nice catch Dio, you sure got lucky tonight, huh?

[As fucked up as the implication is, Dio just...laughs it off.]

Nothing like that. We're just walking home; nothing more.

Yeah! Going home together, right?

[They start laughing, and Dio's clearly just amused. Sorry Jonathan.]

[fistofthejoestar]

[it takes him a moment or two to really catch on to what they're talking about, pure as the fallen snow as he is, but once Jonathan makes the connection he drops Dio's hand like it was trying to freeze dry him all over again. his head drops down and he practically sprints the rest of the way past the night club.

HE WAS GONNA SUGGEST THEY ASK FOR DIRECTIONS SINCE DIO APPARENTLY KNOWS PEOPLE BUT NOT ANYMORE]

You're certainly popular here, aren't you?

[mumbled, as if that comment could ever possibly distract anyone from the fact that his face (and ears, which are currently more visible) are bright red. he can practically feel the heat radiating off them, god dammit.]