Young Writers Society

Bit of back story: I wrote a short story for a French assignment about an art thief who steals a statue that suddenly comes to life, and then must deal with the Consequences of that (namely the fact that his boss wants the statue and won't take too kindly to not getting it). It was heaps of fun to write, so I figured rather than writing something ~serious~ for LMS, I'd have a bit of fun.

I'm just using the names I had in the original short story (ie all the names are French), but will probably change all of them except for the eponymous Philippe.



Gregoire Thibault (now Gregory Tilmore) never exactly planned on becoming an art thief, but it pays the bills, so he's willing to put up with the inconvenient hours and the fact that most of his employers would be out for blood if he screwed things up. His latest task was pretty simple: steal a 19th century statue from the local gallery's storage facility, give to his employer, Francine Clement, get paid.

The thing that throws a spanner in the works is that upon stealing the statue, it comes to life. Philippe Grosjean had spent the better part of the past two centuries trapped in stone, and even though his memory of how he came to be a statue's a bit foggy, he's determined to get revenge, and wants Greg to help him. But... Greg has slightly more pressing problems at hand, in the shape of Francine Clement, who is demanding he deliver her the statue, and is becoming more and more suspicious of why he hasn't already done so.

The pair have to try to hatch a plan to fool Francine, to avoid the dire consequences she has promised Greg if he doesn't give her the statue that was formerly Philippe. Meanwhile (and this is the bit I haven't put much thought into), the Villain Person who made Philippe into a statue all those years ago is making their presence known, and Greg begins to realise that Francine isn't the only threat to his well-being. They need to discover what happened almost two hundred years ago that led to Philippe spending all those years as a decorative ornament, to stop it (or worse) from happening once again.

I really like this premise! I’ve always enjoyed reading about people who may do slightly bad things for good or practical reasons, and Greg’s is very understandable. You’ve got a lot of ways you can go with that type of villain, and I’m excited to see where this story takes you! Immortality could play a part, and magic overall is always fun to see . Plus, you’ve got a great opportunity to make up your own history two centuries ago, or just throw in some jokes that magic could have done in the past XD. Oh what fun!

(* indicates placeholder name until I come up with something better)

Gregory Tilmore: Never really intended on becoming an art thief, and although it's hardly his dream job - the inconvenient hours and the fact that most of his employers would quite literally be out for blood if he screwed things up are both pretty big minuses - it pays the bills. Doesn't really have much of a social life, what with the fact that he's unable to discuss his work life in polite conversation without confessing to several crimes, and he can't really afford to trust any of his colleagues. Shares his not-swanky but reasonably decent inner-city apartment with three goldfish and a perpetually grumpy cat. Has a reputation in the art thievery business for being reliable and consistent, if a bit boring. Mostly just wants to stay on the good side of his fairly ruthless employers.

Philippe Grosjean: A French gentleman in the court of Napoleon/Louis XVIII (or I might make him from pre-revolutionary France, I haven't quite decided yet). Was living the life, until someone (he can't quite recall who) made him into a statue for some reason (he can't quite recall why - plot device or author just procrastinating world building?). Is a bit miffed about having missed so much of the last couple of centuries because of being made of stone, even though he was mostly aware/conscious during that time (which, was actually pretty boring so he's spent much of it asleep). When he becomes de-statued he knows that he must Seek Revenge, but needs to find out who made him a statue in the first place, and wants Greg to help him, and isn't really all that concerned about the fact that Greg is being threated by a black market art dealer. Somewhat disappointed with the state of modern society, but it's preferable to being a statue, which he will avoid being turned back into at any cost.

Francine Clement*: Black market art dealer who hired Greg to steal the statue of Philippe. Rich, ruthless and doesn't trust a soul. Betray at your own risk. Very intelligent, has ears everywhere and is not too happy that Greg hasn't given her the statue. Won't get her own hands dirty, but will sacrifice one of her henchpeople without hesitation in order to get what she wants

Marion: One of Greg's few friends. Master forger of art, unlike Greg she's in the bizz because it's exactly what she wants to do. Loves a challenge, and is a bit mercenary/would be loyal to anyone who pays her the most. Does genuinely enjoy Greg and eventually Philippe's company, but it's impossible to tell whether she can really be trusted. Aged somewhere in her twenties, but unlike Greg she manages to have an almost normal social life, even if most of her friends have no idea what she actually does for a living. Good at lying, but would rather be honest when she can. Wants an exciting life.

Villain Person*: Made Philippe into a statue many years ago, for reasons as yet unknown. Didn't exist in the short story version, so I have no idea about this character except for their existence

Matthew: Francine's henchperson, who, much like Greg, got into the field somewhat accidentally and has only stuck around for the money. Isn't necessarily a fan of the violent sides of the job. Very loyal, not necessarily the sharpest tool in the shed, but looks intimidating.

@killeham Thanks! Yeah, I'm really excited to see where this one goes, and exploring how the magic works. It's been a long time since I've written fantasy, or a story with a proper villain, so I'm excited to have some fun with them.

10/10 would definitely read.

I know you're not sure why and how Philippe became a statue, but at least you know you need to think about that. I have two questions you might also have thought about, but just in case:

- Why does the Villain Person come around just now? Are they somehow alerted to the fact that Philippe has come to life?
- On that note, how does Philippe come to life? Why now? Has he come to life before?

okay, that was slightly more than two questions but they were all related

OMG this sounds amazing. I echo Blue's question above: what causes the statue to come to life now?

Also I'm assuming this is a person sized statue and I am hello curious how anyone art thieves a big ol' statue from a museum or anywhere for that matter. Can't wait to read it!

I'm excited to read this and all the other LMS posts. You have a better plan then me. I only have a loose idea.

Thanks for the replies and questions @blueafrica @Lauren2010 and @Lives4Christ24 !!

I'm still working out some of the details but the questions have helped start to define some of the story's 'why's.

SO BASICALLY (aka backstory time!):

Philippe was a bit of a cad and a playboy in his time (thinking early 1800s/1810s), and had an affair that ultimately ruined some young woman's (her exact details need to be expanded on lol) reputation/prospects/future (but not his own because yay double standards!). She seeks out (or maybe already knows of?) a group of witches who curse him to become a statue for maybe twenty years? An extended period of time anyway, but not quite 200 years.

The thing is, in the two hundred odd years since Philippe was statue-ified, someone's been performing a ritual to keep him as a statue. He's been kept in a private collection, by the way, by a family that's connected to Philippe's ex-lover. The witches who cursed him in the first place find out he's still a statue (they may or may not know it's because of a ritual - I'm tossing up whether they think they accidentally made him a statue permanently and want to fix their mistake, or whether they steal him in order to find out who has kept him a statue) and they want to get hold of him. So they orchestrate Greg's stealing StatuePhilippe before the next ritual takes place.

So Greg unknowingly stops the ritual from taking place/interrupts it. And without the ritual, the spell wears off and BAM Philippe is a human again.

In the meantime... Philippe's ex-lover has kinda gone rogue and gotten into all sort of shady magic as a sort of empowering thing/for revenge (because literally everyone wants revenge in this story) on everyone who's wronged her and that eventually becomes an obsession with getting the kind of power she never had without magic. But she takes it a bit far and becomes the Big Bad of the story, and when she finds out about Philippe not being a statue she's Out For Blood, and I'm thinking the gang also have to stop her in whatever else she's up to.

That's pretty much where I'm at right now, which aside from making me wonder whether I should have been writing about a gang of Regency-era witches instead, is a lot further along than I was before haha.

Lauren2010 wrote:Also I'm assuming this is a person sized statue and I am hello curious how anyone art thieves a big ol' statue from a museum or anywhere for that matter.

Yeah... as much as this is supposed to be a bit silly and absurd, I'm still trying to work out the logistics of this one.

Somehow you made it all sound EVEN MORE EXCITING TO READ oh man scorned lovers, secret rituals, witches. Sign me up!!

And I think you can totally keep stealing a statue silly and skirt around the logistics on that one. I asked mostly because the prospect of it is amazing

In love with this idea. I feel like I am already invested!

I bet Gregory is naturally really good at stealing art even if he doesn't necessarily want to do it beyond money. So stealing a human sized statue is no biggie. Just another Tuesday.

Okay, so a) this is amazing, all of it, and b) my main question here is - isn't the person who originally kept Philippe a statue dead now? Shouldn't Philippe have figured this out? You said his ex-lover is still running around doing magic, but if it's really been 200 years than I am sufficiently confused as to how she's even alive. Maybe I'm missing something?

Sarah, this sounds super fascinating and like something I would definitely enjoy. All the characters sound interesting already, and I agree with @Lauren2010 about the backstory making it sound even more amazing.

As I read the introduction, I wondered why Francine might want the statue of Philippe - is there a rumour about it being rare or valuable, or does she maybe even have some knowledge on what it actually is...? Or is it plainly because it's an old art piece and she gotta catch 'em all. This isn't something that I'm demanding to know now, but as a reader that would really pique my interest (I mean it obviously already has). But if you want to disclose the reason here (if you've thought of it), that's totally cool too.