#but I will be constantly thinking about fancy gloves as I work on that waistcoat

[vinceaddams]

17th century gloves are. very good.

[lostinfic]

Self Indulgent prompts, huh? I love anything with artist Rose so something with that theme. I'm not picky about the Doctor- like my current obsession is Eight/Rose, but I'm perpetually in love with Nine/Rose and Ten/Rose too so whichever Doctor you're most comfortable with.

The Museum of Serendipity

Doctor x Rose, Wilf, male OC (Original Cat)

Rated E  | 2300 words

Sorry this took longer than anticipated, I got sidetracked by research and 8th Doctor audio adventures ;)

I’m fulfilling your self-indulgent prompts

Of all the wonderful, celebrated museums in London, Rose’s favourite was an anarchic collection housed in a crooked Georgian house in Marylebone. 

From ground floor to attic, over four storeys, shelves and frames lined the walls of every room, following a seemingly incoherent design. Part cabinet of curiosity and part celebration of beauty in all its forms, the collection was curated by an anonymous— and eccentric, Rose liked to imagine— philanthropist.

Its name, the Museum of Serendipity, summed up how the collection was put together. Or perhaps it indicated how this museum could be found: by sheer good luck, as it was not advertised anywhere. Rose herself had stumbled upon it by accident last September, when looking for a shelter from the rain. Quite a happy accident, since her art teacher had asked them to visit a gallery for their first assignment of the semester (she’d earned extra points for originality).

Despite few visitors, it remained open from morning to evening. More often than not, the elderly greeter slept in his rocking chair by the door, leaving Basil the cat in charge.

Its location near Regent’s Park, made it a perfect destination for a drawing session. On a beautiful spring day like today, Rose would walk along the paths of the park and draw the flora and fauna in her sketchbook. Then make her way towards the museum. Other days, after a long time indoors, she would enjoy the park’s fresh air and time to reflect on the latest collection piece she’d discovered.

Since her childhood, art had been a way for Rose to travel, around the globe and across time, a way to see the world through other people’s eyes and to share her own vision. A way to exist beyond the Powell Estate. The Museum of Serendipity transported her like nothing else.

Although she enjoyed the morning sun, she didn’t linger in Regent’s Park, too eager to get there. 

The elderly greeter was listening to the radio in his small front office. 

“Hello, Wilf!”

He jumped to his feet with an energy that belied his years.

“Ah, Rose, luv. Alright? How’s school?”

“Got another assignment to complete for art history class. By the way, mid-term break is coming up, if you fancy a holiday, I could cover your shifts here for a few days.”

He would be doing her a favour more than the other way around.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said. “We got a new piece came in.”

New pieces were simply added to the exhibition wherever a space was available. As they walked to the drawing room, Rose tried to know more about the museum.

“Who brought this new piece?”

“John did, just this morning.”

“John?”

“Yeah, John McConnell , the mailman,” Wilf said. “Here it is.”

On the mantel lay an artifact shaped like a metal glove without fingertips. Or a pan flute.

“Looks like something from the future,” she joked.

“Modern art, then,” Wilf said. 

He left her to look at it a while longer. The pattern that covered it, both engraved and raised all at once, looked like scales. Rose pulled her sketchbook out of her messenger bag and drew it. Texture study. 

Basil, the museum’s Abyssinian cat, greeted her, rubbing himself against her legs. She petted his long ears and ruddy coat. She followed Basil out of the room, and wandered the now familiar corridors and staircases. Her hand trailed along the faded floral wallpaper and oak paneling. The smell of candle wax and pine wood polish always hung in the air.

There was one painting in particular Rose always came back to, in the third floor library, just above a loveseat that once belonged to Marie Antoinette. Ahead of her, Basil jumped on the loveseat and looked at her expectantly.   

Rose pulled up a chair to sit down, the museum was almost a second home now, she had no qualms moving furniture around.

With a dreamy sigh, she let her eyes roam the large canvas. It depicted a dozen people in elegant Edwardian clothing, visiting an art exhibition. She was transported back in times, it seemed. Back to la Belle Époque. Late 19th- early 20th century, in France. Among women in high-necked waist shirts, carrying white lace parasols and men wearing mustaches and straw boating hats. The era of Moulin Rouge and absinthe, of the first movie, of bicycles and Marie Curie, just to name a few.  The era of Gustav Klimt, Toulouse-Lautrec, Van Gogh and Renoir, the artists whose work Rose had first fallen in love with. The painting itself blended elements of Art Nouveau and Impressionism (as she’d described in her second assignment).  

But there was one character in particular that commanded her attention again and again. There, in the upper left corner. The painter had done this trick which makes it look like the subject’s eyes are on you wherever you stand in the room. Though unnerved at first, Rose now tried to master this technique. Countless time she’d drawn his thick, curly brown hair, the soft contours of his jaw, his blue eyes, the creases that bracketed his mouth. And that smile, a Mona Lisa smile, the hardest trait to capture. 

His clothes also offered many details to work on: the sheen of his satin cravat, the velvet of his jacket, the pattern of his waistcoat. 

At first, she only tried to capture his likeness in various mediums, but over time she tried to sketch his profile, his back. She depicted that gentleman in various poses and actions. He had taken a life of his own. What was he doing there that day? What was his relationship with the painter? Why was he looking at her like that?

Basil meowed. 

“Alright, don’t be jealous. I’ll draw you first, you beautiful boy.”

“Thanks, it’s a new jumper. Do you like the colour?” said a man with a northern accent.

Rose started. He was leaning against the door, looking at her, with the smallest hint of a smile. 

He picked up Basil and sat down on the loveseat, laying the cat on his legs crossed at the knees. Rose held back a quip about the similar size of their ears.

“Well, go on, then,” he said, indicating her sketchbook with his chin.  

“Hold on, are you the director of the museum? Or the curator?”

“No,” he said. “I don’t think so.”

At a loss for a reply, Rose simply got to work. 

If Basil wasn’t running away, then surely this man posed no threat. Just a lost, slightly odd item, like everything else in the Museum of Serendipity. Including herself.

His face offered such striking features to draw, that bold nose, those sharp cheekbones. The cropped hair revealed the shape of his skull and the collar of his sweater, a beautiful neck. A face for charcoal, she thought, to capture the lights and darks of him, in loose, almost intangible strokes. Charcoal and dry pastels, she amended, she had to recreate the infinite blue of his eyes.

They chatted about everything big and small: cats, galaxies, her doubts about art school and his hopes for the future of humanity.

Time flowed differently when she was creating. In that moment more than ever. A sort of appeasing, melodic hum filled her mind, and everything, but her subject, faded away.

When she traced his eyes, she was surprised to find in them a spark, as if he knew her. 

She looked up at him, and he smiled. “Hello,” he said.

Before she could think of a good way to phrase her question, he stood up and looked at the sketch over her shoulder. He gave an appreciative nod.

“We need someone to do a painting of the museum,” he announced. “Are you free to do it?”

“A painting? Are you taking the piss?”

“I’m serious. Great big canvas. Like this one.” He pointed to her favourite painting of la Belle Époque.

“I’ll need money to buy supplies,” she said, to test his good faith.

“Of course.”

He grabbed a tin box in a nearby bookcase; it was full of cash. He handed her the stack of pound notes without counting. Almost as if he was ignorant of their value. “Will this do?”

Rose nodded dumbly. She resolved right away to only spend a reasonable sum. 

“I’ll come by next Wednesday afternoon,” she said.

“Perfect. See you, then, Rose Tyler.”

She spent the next few days in a state of disbelief. Her mind constantly replayed her encounter with the blue-eyed man. Several times, she opened her sketchbook to look at his portrait. The fondness it aroused in her took her breath away. She found herself doodling both him and the gentleman in the painting, over and over.

She bought a load of art supplies, but kept the receipt in a secure place in case she needed a refund.

On Wednesday, she arrived at the museum with a knot in her stomach. Wilf greeted her, as usual, but he was wearing a smart new uniform.

A moment later, the blue-eyed man skipped down the stairs, two at a time, and welcomed her with a bright smile. He introduced himself as the Doctor, just the Doctor, and Rose went along with it— after all, it wasn’t the weirdest thing about him.

He’d set up an easel and a canvas in the third floor library. She barely paid attention to his directives, she was distracted by the number of visitors in the museum, more than she had ever seen.

“Is this a prank show thing or what?” she asked.

“Why would it be a prank show?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, you said it. Why a prank show?” he repeated.

“‘Cause to get that many actors and props, it’s got to be on telly.”

“That makes sense. Well done.”

“Thanks?”

“It’s not a tv show,” he said. 

“But— why?”

“It’s the museum’s anniversary. We are interested in collecting unique pieces, and what’s more unique than Rose Tyler’s first commissioned artwork?” 

“Maybe the last,” she mumbled.

“It won’t be,” he said, stating a fact rather than paying a compliment. “Coffee?”

The Doctor knew something she didn’t, and as irritating as it was, it incited her to stay and fulfill his request.

She laid a tarp on the floor below the easel, spread out her brushes and palette knives, picked the colours. 

Basil, of course, wanted to be part of the painting. He lay down in the sunniest spot, on the window sill, looking ever so regal.

As she prepped the canvas, her brain ran ahead of her with ideas to best infuse her art with feelings this room evoked. Warm earth tones, old leather bound books, a thick Persian rug, but also glass cases to keep people away, artworks by undisclosed artists, mysteries all around. Inviting and distant all at once. Much like the Doctor.

She scanned the room for him. He stood in a corner of the library, surveying. As she traced his silhouette, she noticed the similarity, in his posture and smile, with the fascinating gentleman in the Belle Époque painting. She made a mental note to ask about that too.

Hours passed by, Wilf kept her comfortable with cups of tea, snacks, a stool, opening the window, closing the window.

Everyone had left. The sun had set. Only the Doctor and Basil remained in the room with her. 

The artwork wasn’t finished, but it had everything she needed to continue another day. Yet, she didn’t leave. She didn’t want to. She stood there, wringing her paint-splattered hands waiting for something, anything, from the Doctor. 

“I want to show you something,” he said. He took her hand and they both stood up on Marie Antoinette’s loveseat. “Look closely.”

Now inches from the Belle Époque painting, she saw it like she never had before. It shimmered and shifted. Like those 3D images you have to cross your eyes to see. She blinked. Looked closer. And drifted through the canvas.

Rose gripped the Doctor’s hand tighter. Behind them, there was no library, only a blue door. And in front of her, the painting had come to life. No— they weren’t in the painting, they were in Paris of the 1900s. Around her, people chatted in French, cigar smoke wafted to her nose, and through a window that wasn’t on the painting, she could see the brand new Eiffel tower.

The gentleman that had so fascinated her was there too. Thick hair, bright smile.

“Rose, we meet at last,” he said.

His voice sounded exactly like she’d imagined. She didn’t know until now that she’d imagined his voice.

“She’s all yours,” the Doctor said.

Rose didn’t let go of his hand.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be here to bring you back to your own timeline.”

He disappeared through the blue door.

The other man linked their arms together. A feeling of safety washed over her. He was a stranger and yet not at all. As if to reassure her further, an Abyssinian cat sauntered by.

“Is that Basil?” Rose asked.

“In a fashion. Cats have nine lives, as you know.”

“And you, Doctor, how many have you got?”

The Doctor smiled. “Ah, you figured it out, clever girl.”

That didn’t mean she didn’t have a ton of questions, but for now, she only wanted to soak up the magic of it all. 

The Doctor showed her around the room. They mingled with the other visitors, admiring the artwork on the walls. Rose couldn’t stop grinning.

They stopped in front of a painting depicting another gallery, in another museum, in another era.

“Can we go through there too?” Rose ventured.

“Yes, but wouldn’t you like to see Paris first?”

“We can go out?”

“Of course. You know, my friend Claude has been pestering me about visiting his garden. Nice fellow, this Claude. Mind you, he’s a tad obsessed with water lilies.”

[jaskiersbard]

how 'bout newtina ship meme 2

Here you go! :D

* Who comes homelatest?By default, Tina, because Newt works at home; she does work very late mostnights, however, owing to the nature of her work.* What was the absolute worst fight between the parents and children about?There are no real big fights because the children adore their parents;there’s bickering and a few little arguments here and there, but nothing major.* Who has the shortest temper?Linnet Scamander has a fiery temper, definitely, and while she’s all sweetand innocent most of the time, she definitely has a short temper.* What are the relationships with grandparents like?Well, obviously their grandparents on Tina’s side are deceased, so theironly grandparents are Newt’s parents.Newt’s mother is very doting to the kids, and she loves spending time withthem; his father is a little more reserved, being a Ministry man, but beingaround the children makes him loosen up a little bit. Sometimes Newt’s parentshave to babysit if Jacob/Queenie aren’t available, and the children adore them.* Who steals what out of someone’s closet?Linnet always steals Phoenix’s Gryffindor jumpers because although she’s aRavenclaw his jumpers are baggier and warmer. Leo definitely starts to stealwaistcoats and bowties from Newt’s wardrobe. Both Linnet and Wren have a habitof “borrowing” Tina’s blue coat or cloche hat; Phoenix likes to wear Newt’scoat for fun, and to explore the individual pockets. Before the kids were born, Tina liked to wrap herself in Newt’s coat becausereasons.* Tea, coffee, or anything else [all family members]?Tina is not herself unless she has a cup of coffee in the morning; afterthat, she can survive on tea. Newt’s preferred beverage is any kind of tea –English brew, herbal etc. When the kids are older, Phoenix and Linnet both needcoffee to survive; Leo settles for tea, and Wren is in a world of her own settlingfor juice. Let’s not forget mugs of hot cocoa whenever the kids want/need it(many conversations are had over hot cocoa)* What chores are assigned?It’s mostly stuff in the case when the kids are old enough; Phoenix is incharge of the Niffler and cleaning his den out of gold; Linnet feeds theMooncalves and animals like the Fwooper; Leo settles the Erumpent, feeds theGraphorns, makes sure the Bowtruckles are happy and even feeds the Nundu fromtime-to-time; Wren makes sure the Kneazles in their home are fed/given water,and then feeds the Occamies. Newt, of course, deals with most of the magical creature duties but it’s alwaysuseful when the children help out because it gives him more time for otherthings (i.e. editing his book again ordoing things in his shed). Tina soon becomes just as adept at caring for themagical creatures, helping wherever she can.* Who’re the best and worst dancers?Wren, I feel, is by far the best dancers by far in the family because AuntieQueenie and the Kowalski cousins do it a lot with her. The worst dancer isprobably either Newt or Phoenix – the whole family’s rather awkward, really.* Something banned within the household?Bringing the Niffler out of the case – the last time they did that, itstole all of the money and jewellery in the house. * How do the parents feel about dating?It differs depending on the child and parent, really. I feel like Newt isdefinitely uncomfortable when Linnet and Wren are dating because he still viewsthem as little girls (he’s very close to both daughters), whilst Tina merelyreminds him that they’re old enough to date (though if the boy is a lot olderthan she would worry just a tad). As is usual with sons, there’s not so muchconcern when Phoenix or Leo date – though Tina does admittedly feel a littlemelancholy about Leo dating because Leo is still very much her baby that shehas a soft spot for.* What would they do if one of the kids brought over a boy/girl for dinner tomeet them? (Worded weirdly, I apologize)Newt and Tina would be polite to one of their son’s girlfriends comingover, though Newt is definitely still very eccentric and soon offers said girla look around the case. With their daughters, Tina is of course veryprofessionally polite to boyfriends whilst Newt is surprisingly quiet and staysout of things, watching from a short distance away and studying the boys likehe would creatures. (when it was Linnet bringing Michael home as a boyfriend/fiancée, it wasdifferent because they had known Michael for nearly two decades and he was likea son already)* What do they do on days off?Spend all day in the case, of course, what else? Afternoons are spend sittingand relaxing as they bond with the creatures; Dougal is a favourite with Tinaand the children, and the Bowtruckles entertain Leo for hours. * One of the most surprising things that’s happened?Finding out that Wren is a Legilimens like her Auntie Queenie; it was quitea shock and it took some time for the family to adjust to it.* Who continuously checks up on the kids when they’re gone [i.e. school]?They’d write letters from both of them to the kids at Hogwarts, owling eachchild at least once a week. I feel Newt writes the letters more often than Tinadoes, given that he has more time, though it’s always signed from both of them.* Out of everyone, who’s the nerdiest?Probably either Newt or Leo, if being obsessive with magical creaturescounts as “nerdy” (and Leo has glasses)* Out of everyone, who’s the most likely to do something incredibly stupid?Phoenix and Linnet are both risk-takers, and a lot of risks can be reallystupid. Of course, Newt is the one most likely to nearly get killed trying totend to or bond with a magical creature.* Who gets annoyed easiest?Half of me says Linnet because of her temper, and the other half says Wrenbecause she can hear everyone’s thoughts and that makes her snappy/irritatedeasier.* Who’s the most reserved?Leo; he’s very shy and quiet, keeping to himself and reading his father’sbook instead of playing like the other children do. (Also Newt, of course,though he’s less reserved around his family)* Who’s more motherly?Tina doesn’t fancy herself the “motherly” type, though she is a goodmother; Newt does more of the “motherly” duties, really, like taking care ofthe kids when they’re sick (I can see Newt being a total mother hen)* Who’s the most organized?Tina – Newt’s shed is a mess, and the kids don’t care much for organisationso she has to do it (and she’s an Auror which involves some degree of beingprepared/organized)* Who’s the reader?Tina reads a lot in the case, both to herself and aloud to thecreatures/children; Linnet has a love of books, and Leo reads his father’s bookover and over again when he’s little.* What are the bedrooms like [as in, how do they look, weird question, I know]?Newt and Tina have the larger master bedroom, of course, so there’s a bedfor them to share and dressers/a wardrobe. Tina soon finds that Newt likes toleave pages of his manuscript or notes on his creatures lying around, and nomatter how often she tidies them there’s always another bunch left spreadaround the room. Tina likes to keep books on her end-table, reading in bed atnight before sleeping.Phoenix’s room has toys when he’s little, but when he’s older and more his ownperson he has a lot of Gryffindor house things around, like a scarf on thebedpost, gloves by the window etc. His room has his broomstick for Quidditch,and he has Quiddictch posters up around the room.Linnet has her stuff neat; she ties her Ravenclaw scarf around the bedpost, herclothes folded or left in the wardrobe, and drawings she’s done on the wall.There’s a small neat pile of books on the table, and everything has a place.Leo’s room is a little earthy, like he has a plant on the windowsill, and hetacks up his own notes or observations of his father’s creatures around theroom. His Hufflepuff jumper is either strewn on the bed or over the back of thechair near his desk – if he’s not wearing it. Wren’s room is similar to Linnet’s, but a little messier; she leaves books outon the bed or on the floor, clothes folded neatly but left on a chair becauseshe’s forgotten to put them away. There’s maps on her walls, and herfascination with dragons had led her to sketch them – the sketches are all overthe room, on walls or on the desk.* Who has the better sense of style?Probably Linnet; she’s the bubbly and bright one, and she also likes tokeep up with the style of the time.* Cute things the SO does?Tina thinks the way that Newt sleeps is adorable; his hair messy andfalling into his face, freckles a contrast to his skin, his whole body utterlyrelaxed…it always warms her heart.Newt enjoys watching how Tina reads; occasionally when she’s reading she’llpull a face or something in reaction to something. Newt just thinks It’sadorable.* Cute things the children do?Phoenix always looks away when he grins, like he’s bashful about grinningfor some reason. Linnet sleeps like a starfish, spread out and nearly hangingout of the bed. Leo, when he’s younger, just constantly wants to cuddle witheither parent (usually Tina – he’s a Mummy’s boy, really). Wren, as a child,carries around a teddy bear nearly all of the time, and she has a habit offalling asleep in one of the creature’s enclosures curled up with it.* How strict on grades are they?Newt and Tina really aren’t strict on grades at all, so long as thechildren try their best – Newt remarks he didn’t even finish school, thoughTina says that that’s not the best example. But yes, they’re not strict at allon grades as long as the children try their bests. * Who holds the entire family up when leaving?Oh, definitely Linnet; whenever the family think they’re ready to go (forexample, for the train to Hogwarts), she goes “Oh wait!” and will run upstairsbecause she thinks of another thing to bring. * What do they do if one of their children doesn’t win/get something theylooked forward to (i.e. a part in a school play)?The first year Phoenix tried out for Quidditch he didn’t get it, and he wasreally very upset about it; he was at school, so Newt and Tina asked Jacob tomake some Niffler pastries to send up to the school because Nifflers arePhoenix’s favourite creature. They also wrote up in the letter that he tried,and that he can try again next year after some practice.  * What’s their favorite place to eat out at?The Scamanders aren’t really a fan of eating out – they very much prefereating in the privacy and comfort of their own home. The best scenario of “eatingout” would be at Jacob and Queenie’s.* What do the children/SO do when one of the parents is gone for a few days(for work)?When Tina goes away on missions or Newt goes away on a trip to studycreatures, it feels strange in the house. If it’s Tina who’s away, Newt feelsrather unnerved without her and spends time in the case like he usually doeswhen things are strange; the children join him, though they’re all just asquiet because there’s the worry of “what if she gets hurt?”. If it’s Newt who’saway, because he brings the case with him, it really puts the kids at a loss ofwhat to do; Tina is equally unsure, but she usually asks if her work can besent home (like paperwork) so she can be with the kids, and she takes them tovisit the Kowalskis whenever possible to distract/entertain them.* What are their Hogwarts Houses?Newt was a Hufflepuff, obviously. Tina didn’t go to Hogwarts so that’sdebatable (but I personally think she’d have been a Gryffindor based on herdetermination and the fact she keeps running into danger etc.)Phoenix is a Gryffindor, Linnet is a Ravenclaw, Leo (who is Newt’s miniature)is a Hufflepuff, and Wren is a Gryffindor like her older brother.