#also is there anything more charming than a character who sincerely loves what they do….. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

saint-vagrant · 1 year

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Oh I forgot to ask a question!

😂

Ok, here it is: Who’s your inspirations for your artistry?

Big question, I know.

^__^

hmmmm you're right, that is a big question! since you asked "who" i'm going to assume you mean other artists?

for painting i'm particularly inspired by Anthony Cudahy, Alex Beck, Sterling Hundley, Ashley Wood (all contemporary,) Euan Uglow, Joaquin Sorolla, Sargent, Arkady Plastov, Ivan Shishkin, Konstantin Yuon, Ferenc Pinter, and a number of names in the Brandywine school like Mead Schaeffer and NC Wyeth.

i reformatted my brain a little in 2021 by reading Fujimoto's Chainsaw Man. Other mangaka are Hirohiko Araki, Kosuke Fujishima, Otomo, Inoue, Urasawa, Miura. the 2S artist Brandon Hoax is a HUGE inspiration to me. same for Chase Conley, Peter Chung, Freddy Carrasco, Xia Gordon, Ron Wimberly, Chris Kindred, Mel Tow, Hiro Isono, mozame_mo, Yoshitake Yamane, @maxbanshees @potogawaryuiki @coshkunz @cparrisartand @fourcorneredgod @newjackcole @choodraws @doctop @hirosemaryhello @nocturnalwalkr @fanficciera @oak-n @purenonsens @juangeedraws @plaest2k @blackblobyellowcone @turndecassette2 many more friends and strangers whose work i'm delighted to spend time traveling thru (and whose names i'll add in once i publish this enormous reply lol. rn i'm afraid of tumblr eating it!!)

most importantly, my partner Anka @kingfisher-cove charmed and captivated me from day one. the personality and dynamism of their work, specificity of place, time, body, personal effects, there's always been so much life in their art. i have little to no interest in stories/characters without limits, where mobility is never a concern, especially featuring the wealthy. stories where people don't sweat or pee or have "bad" teeth or talk too loud. Anka's always portrayed peeling paint and rusted metal as a fact of life. you get a sense of dimension/volume in their art— the way material hangs off a body, and that body's form, how gravity and weight conform feet to the ground— and the same goes for the personalities and ideas populating it. the viewer too has a home here beyond "representation." it's not just window-dressing, nor ponderous hyperrealism. there's cartoon whimsy and cartoon stakes. i wish i could describe the extent it's meaningful to me. i feel lucky to see it! plus i really making them yell and art is a good way of accomplishing it.

so because this is veering into WHAT inspires me...

other than like, transness and communism and everything that entails, i'm inspired heavily by pornography and leather culture, and (mostly vintage) magazines like Honcho and Juggs, 70s italian erotica/nunsploitation. relatedly, the lush scenes of Pierre et Gilles and Tarsem and Christian Riese Lassen. i'm also deeply inspired by hyperlink/multimedia art, such as that by Olia Lialina of @oneterabyteofkilobyteage or projects like Ted's Cave. places and delights of my childhood like Myst/Riven, Fin Fin, rural river water, rocky beaches, soft glowing glades, sharks in coral outcrops. autonomy and dissociation, too.

with a lot of the artists i mentioned, there is a handiness, a presence in their work, a dedication to indulgence and/or experimentation, in subject, setting, medium, whatever. an interest not feigned. i also love maximalist colour and texture... in drawings, in textiles, anything! worldwide and through history. i'm inspired by golden age illustration and Iranian turquoise and carpets. miniatures. iconography. lotuses. magnolia.

you can fake sincerity of course. when it comes to making art that seems like a waste of precious effort. when i get a sense that the artist really loves People beyond serving up a telephone game of vibe-mood-aesthetic... that is cool to me. if the art isn't well-lived, then it's well-cared for. a lot of the nostalgia fodder is based on a memory of a memory that was sold for mass market consumers, so i'm a bit distrusting of it. which isn't to say that i don't love a tone poem (i do-- Legend is one of my favourite films) nor that it requires "realism" to accomplish either. i love being sold on the ridiculous. i respond well to like, an artist (in whatever respect) showing me something absurd with 100% unbridled earnestness and fearlessness about being silly. my top 3 favourite series are JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Metal Gear Solid, and Ace Attorney. these are objectively as exaggerated in their drama as they are serious about their intent, and populated by straight freaks. one of my favourite directors is Michael Mann (Miami Vice, Manhunter, Heat, Thief, Collateral) who is known for his obsessive, even illustrative details but also, Audioslave plays during an emotional night drive. they don't let Audioslave play during an emotional night drive anymore. all these things are related lmao. let me go on a further tangent

there's an internal logic, right? and when it's flipped? that's the best. i don't mean a "twist," either. it's something else-- the author/artist revealing that, emotionally, things were always more complex than you were lead to believe, and it recontextualises the entire piece. if surprise is the best part of comedy then i think the same goes for melancholy. i love when the rug is pulled out from under me through something as simple as the reimagined N'doul episodes of the JJBA OVA. (YES! YES! I'LL TALK ABOUT IT FOREVER! I'M CRAZY! BUT I'M RIGHT!) is it a twist? nothing's actually changed about where the story is headed. you know where it's headed. but the meaning of that story has-- by creating an emotional trapdoor like that, it establishes a particular sense of suspense.

i'm mentioning these because i rewatched them recently-- films like Solaris and Sunshine and... you know what? Terminator are bigger to me than their subject matter because the emotional space they create is unnerving, where hope is fragile if it's present at all. something hard to accomplish... the bittersweet potency of ironic regret.

i'll keep adding to this. i could go on and on lol

#q&a

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robotlesbianjavert · 8 months

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10 fav things about spinner + 10 fav things about shigaraki

this is like asking me to describe my favourite things about the gentle warmth of the sun on my skin on a cloudless day at a beautiful lake that is good and fun to swim in. how can i put words to how perfect something like that is.

TOP TEN THINGS ABOUT SPINNER.

gay little hench fella. most important character trait always.

the bravado and bluster he gets introduced with being a cover for his deep-seated insecurities and internal struggles...

...his claims of high-minded idealism and lofty goals when his true wants are so simple (HOMOSEXUAL LOVE) (and to matter in some way i guess.) (mostly love. though.)

i know he is an annoying backseat gamer. i have said this before but it's so charming to me.

how surprisingly well his character development elevates the Themes & Motifs around how important human connections are for the ostracized. and he doesn't have to be annoying about it.

the charming little touches of characterization. him shrieking GRAND THEFT AUTO as a battle cry in 160, when he has to move his headband tail out of his eyes when trying to deliver a speech to toga. they make him feel so that much more real.

he's so poetic. he should be a writer. that warped, crumbling horizon...i'd never seen anything prettier GOD i know he was writing angsty poetry.

as someone who usually prefers secondary/side character to the mains, he is like. such a great example of a side character done right. he's like commentary on the nature of being a side character (monoma is another example of this in the manga), of the interplay between dehumanization/discrimination (Shoji Arc DNI) and crime, of connection with others and how they inspire us pushing us, etc etc etc. lots of the fun themes.

he is so sincere. so crazy sincere, once you have his love, he is so sincere. and so determined. he has the soul of the troubled outsider type of shonen hero who has to become stronger through the strength of his bonds. but also the energy of that shonen hero's love interest. all trapped in the body of a secondary character. he is so amazing.

when his face is drawn so small and cute and squishy like you can eat it :3

TOP TEN THINGS ABOUT SHIGARAKI

the reason i read bnha in the first place was because i stumbled upon the leaks of chapter 222 with the tortured flashes of shigaraki's past when i was discourse diving for fun. and then looking at that chapter in full, the way that shigaraki delivered what he remembered of his backstory, the Insane Tragedy of it all. well how could i not love him.

when he wants to murder highschool students. who wouldn't!

i love his physicality, the way his body language is portrayed - like he's generally pretty loose and slumped (especially early on), but he's also very purposeful? it's something that i think horikoshi generally excels with in art, but shigaraki just takes the cake.

for that matter his whole character design is perfection. early on with all the hands was such a unique and creepy look that tied in beautifully to his backstory and also Themes & Motifs. and even when he loses most of the hands, his face is so <3 with all the eyebags and scratches and wrinkles. he's also the character whose appearance has changed the most, in a way that goes hand in hand with his character development.

when he gets pissed off when he first starts trying to recruit people so he goes to the mall. to angst publicly. he wore a hoodie <3

he's a character that's really easy to reduce down to his victimhood and trauma - and lots of people sure do that! - and his victimhood and trauma are essential parts of his character, but even with the dumbass possession arc shigaraki never loses sight of who he is and what he wants, even beyond AFO's influence. it's also really easy to make him Just a villain, a straightforward villain who cares for nothing and no one. but he does care about things, he cares about the league! he does it all.

much like spinner and in fact more than spinner, he has The Most shonen hero energy despite being thee villain. and he's so cool about it. he even gets a love interest.

petty misanthropic bitch but as soon as you know you're place he's chill. this is how shigaraki/resdestro is real.

chapter 379. everything about it but also how he called nagant a flip-flopping screw up. i'm ignoring how he said the same about my friend gentle criminal.

his smile :)

i feel like both these lists do not do enough to really encapsulate why i love them. but one must try.

#bnha bloggin

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fandom-imagines-stories · 1 year

Text

Honor and Espionage Part Two

Aramis x Reader

Words: 5013

Part One

Summary: Shut away in the ambassador’s mansion with a woman who knows her true identity, the reader attempts to complete her task. Aramis must wait helplessly as the fatal night ticks on.

Notes: I cannot even begin to explain how much of a chokehold this man has me in. Aramis has stolen my heart, and I hope there are those of you who can relate! Let me know what you think, these are just such fun characters. (I also plan to do more with this reader/Aramis dynamic in the future, including the story of how they met)

Warnings: Violence, blood, angst, more steaminess

Find more Musketeers: HERE

The doors closed and the last of the guests appeared to be inside. Aramis tucked his spyglass away with a frustrated sigh. He could see you now in his mind, your dazzling smile winning over the guests and the ambassador, your charm earning your way to more secluded areas of the house. Areas with information. Areas with proof of his treason. Aramis had seen firsthand how skilled and precise you were at your job. But that didn’t keep the turning in his gut from adding to the pained worry in his chest.

The musketeer leaned back against the bark of the tree he’d hidden behind. The others were in similar positions, all glancing up at the house for any sign of trouble.

D’Artagnan shifted, leaning toward him with a raised brow. “How do you do it?” He asked. “I imagine marriage would be hard enough when only one of you is a musketeer, but both of you?”

Aramis looked up at the boy and found only innocent curiosity on his face, as well as a hint of admiration. He inhaled deeply and ran a hand through his hair. Aramis knew of the younger man’s complicated feelings for a particular merchant’s wife. Perhaps all he was looking for was a little hope.

“It isn’t easy, but I’m sure you’ve gathered that,” he said, a small smile teasing his lips. “But I think it helps us understand each other more than we would if we lived in a cottage somewhere.” Aramis chuckled. “Perhaps understand isn’t the right word…” In all his years of knowing you, he found that your mind was one he had yet to comprehend. Luckily, trying was one of his favorite activities.

“What is then?” D’Artagnan rested his arm on his knee and tilted his head. “The right word?”

Aramis contemplated the question for a while, listening to the distant sounds of the forest around the ambassador’s property and the occasional laugh streaming from one of the open windows.

“I don’t know, ‘appreciate,’ I suppose,” he answered. D’Artagnan noticed the intense sincerity overtaking his features. “I cherish every moment I have with her because of everything we’ve been through. I worship each second breathing the same air as her as if any inhale may be my last. Because when I even think of a world where her voice has been silenced and her heart has been stopped…” He trailed off, turning back to the house. “I know my soul would follow her, even if my body could not.”

Porthos’s deep and thoughtful laugh joined their conversation. He sat with his head tilted back and a smirk on his face.

“Always the romantic hero type, eh?” He said. “Both you and her.”

“Yes, Porthos, I am a man guilty of loving my wife and she is guilty of the same. Tease all you like.” Aramis smiled to himself, still facing the place where his wife could be in danger and he’d have no way of knowing until it was too late.

Porthos shifted so he was sitting beside him. He put a hand on his shoulder, gaze following his worried friend’s.

“She’ll be alright, yeah? She always is.”

“And if anything happens, we’re ready,” D’Artagnan added.

Athos merely nodded but Aramis felt his support. All four men contemplated the situation in silence, each plagued with his own thoughts and concerns. Aramis forced slow breaths to calm himself but reached again for his spyglass to peer through any windows he had a clear sight of.

D’Artagnan thought of the fierceness he’d already witnessed- had even been on the receiving end of- and had faith in your abilities. He felt sorry for anyone inside who’d be unfortunate enough to cross you.

With the man who was to be your escort now rotting away with poison in his belly, you had to alter your story to one Treville would likely have a headache of explaining later on. Rather than the daughter of a prominent merchant in the area, you’d presented yourself as a friend of the king of France’s sister, the Duchess of Savoy, who was traveling with her brother- unable to attend the dinner due to a head cold he gained on the journey- and looking for an advantageous marriage. A forward approach, of course, but luckily it seemed the ambassador couldn’t resist a good challenge of pursuit. All of the other guests seemed to buy your story as well.

Almost all of them.

As you giggled mindlessly at something Laurent had said, you could feel the harsh, burning glare from your rival across the table. Milady de Winter, making conquests of her own, ensured that you couldn’t ignore her presence. Her intentions, you had yet to decipher, but you knew her presence could only mean trouble for you.

Why had the cardinal sent a spy after the ambassador? Did he have the same information as Treville or were his motivations more sinister, as they often were?

“Tell me, mademoiselle,” Milady began, the same knowing smugness in her voice as before, “what do you think of the rumors growing in Paris regarding the musketeers dueling with Cardinal Richelieu's noble Red Guard? I, for one, have been frightened of even stepping outside of my door.”

Laurent grunted with an approving nod and took a drink of his wine. “A bunch of lawless miscreants, the lot of them.” He leaned forward so only the two of you could hear. “You know, I’ve heard that the imbecile Captain Treville even has some of his men following me.”

“You poor dear,” you cried, placing your hand beside his, “how awful to be pursued by those brutes. I’ve personally spoken to the cardinal recently and he couldn't agree more with… I’m sorry, I don’t believe I caught your name madame.” You stared pointedly at Milady. She didn’t blink.

“Lady de Bonacieux.”

You kept your face politely neutral, but inside you wanted to reach across and slap her. The use of your close friend’s last name was surely not a coincidence, but you failed to understand how she could know about your relationship with Constance. And her degradation of the musketeers was certainly meant to frustrate you, which meant she knew about your marriage to Aramis. But why not reveal you now? Why keep your identity a secret when it would benefit her much more to see the ambassador throw you out, or worse?

“Ah, yes, we’ve met before,” you said. She wasn’t the only one with veiled threats up her sleeve. After all, you were not the only one here under false pretenses. “The cardinal introduced us once, did he not?”

“I believe that was the occasion, yes.”

“How lucky am I,” Laurent cheered, “to have friends of the cardinal’s on either arm.”

You noted his boisterous tone and genuine glint in his eye. Either he was a much better liar than you anticipated, or there was something you had yet to discover.

After dinner, Ambassador Laurent insisted on showing off his gardens to his guests before the men would separate to discuss subjects they felt were ‘too intense for the women’s delicate sensibilities.’ It always made you laugh, having to play the part of the naive ornament that they foolishly believed women to be. If any one of them could look into your mind and discover what you truly knew and understood, the burdens of knowledge you carried, they’d be terrified.

Whereas, with your husband, your mind was his favorite thing about you.

You pushed Aramis to the back of your thoughts again and continued batting your lashes at the idiots around you.

Servants holding lanterns lined the paths of the garden, illuminated by the moonlight. Grand statues and topiaries were the center of Laurent’s boasts. You nodded and giggled and flattered until your brain was numb of boredom.

A glint in the trees caught your eye. It was only for a second, but you could have sworn you saw movement. A flicker of silver. A contrast of blue-gray in the dark between the trees.

You restrained yourself from groaning in frustration.

Surely, Athos was smarter than this. Surely, he wouldn’t allow for Aramis and the others to stake out the ambassador’s house because your husband was a touch too protective. Surely, they wouldn’t be that stupid.

And yet… you knew it was them.

Aramis ducked behind the tree with his breath caught in his throat.

“Do you think she saw me?” He whispered. Athos shot him a silencing glare. One trip, one loud noise could give away their presence.

D’Artagnan eyed their leader and leaned over to Aramis. “She definitely saw you.”

“Do you both want us to be shot?” Athos snapped.

Aramis held a finger to his smirking lips. Athos’s blue eyes glared icy daggers. They all turned back to the group in the gardens and found that you’d looked away from their hiding spot.

“Mademoiselle, have you seen your companion, Lady de Bonacieux?” Ambassador Laurent asked as he approached you. You’d only just noticed her absence yourself, sending a shock of panic through you that pushed the thoughts of your sneaking husband to the back of your mind.

You gave Laurent a confused smile. “I haven’t, mousier. Perhaps she forgot something inside?” He looked to the house with a disappointed frown. “Oh, don’t let it upset you, sir. I’ll find her at once and we can continue our merriment.”

There was something else in his expression, as well. A flicker of suspicion. But it was gone as soon as it had appeared, replaced by a smile of encouragement.

“Don’t be gone long, my dear. I have yet to show you the largest of the statues.”

“Of course.” You bowed and hurried back inside.

In the trees, D’Artagnan’s teasing of Aramis halted with Porthos pointing to the gardens.

“Look,” he said. Four pairs of eyes snapped over to watch you go. Porthos shook his head in confusion. “Where is she going?”

“More importantly,” Athos said, motioning to another member of the gathering who retreated back into the house. “Where is he going?” Laurent’s ornately dressed form followed after you just long enough that you wouldn't notice.

Aramis’s stomach dropped. He moved into a readied crouching position. “He’s discovered her. We have to help.”

“Wait.” Athos held out a hand to stop him. “We must have faith in Y/N’s abilities. If we act too quickly, it could be a disaster for both her and us.”

“But if he knows, he’ll kill her!”

“Not with all of these people here,” Porthos noted the still full garden. “Even he’s not that stupid. He’d have to take her somewhere else if he’s going to kill her.”

“How surprisingly unhelpful,” Aramis snapped.

But, with no other choice, he again remained, holding a clenched fist to his lips as he uttered more prayers he could only hope someone was listening to.

Inside, you crept along the halls to the sounds of the crowd outside. You couldn’t help but wonder how many of them knew. How many knew of this man’s betrayal of his country and stood by and let it happen? How many helped him?

You came upon a door on the second floor with movement and light streaming through the cracks. You removed the dagger you had strapped to your leg and opened it. Milady de Winter stood over the ambassador’s desk, rummaging through piles of parchment.

“I expected a more subtle exit,” you said, closing the door behind you. “I believed you were more skilled than that. I thought wrong.”

“Speed, in this situation, is favored for stealth, I’m afraid. Not all of us have musketeer husbands waiting to rescue us if this goes poorly.” She sneered at you over the countless letters and plans on the dark wood desktop. You froze. “Oh save me the shocked looks. It’s my job to know who you are.”

“As it is mine to know who you work for,” you fired back. Of course, your marriage wasn’t a secret, but something about her knowing of Aramis made your skin crawl. “How did the cardinal find out about Laurent? No one else was supposed to know. Why would he send his favorite spy?”

“Why indeed?” The growling voice behind you made your heart stop. A hand roughly grabbed your arm and the glower of Ambassador Laurent loomed over you. His burning gaze shifted over your shoulder. “What does the cardinal mean by this? I thought we had a deal?”

“A deal?” You gasped, whirling around to look at Milady. “The cardinal is working with this traitor?” Laurent’s grip on your hand tightened and you forced a cry of pain back down your throat.

“Unfortunately, you’ve run out of usefulness, ambassador. You’ve drawn too much attention to yourself, as this musketeer insider proves.” Milady said calmly. She raised her arm from behind the desk, aimed her pistol, and fired. “And someone has to clean up the mess.”

Laurent crumpled to the floor.

Milady skirted around the desk with a cold, hard glare. “I’m afraid that goes for you too.”

The crowd let out a collective gasp as the sharp sound rang through the night. The four men hiding in the shadows jumped to their feet.

“Did you hear that?” Aramis exclaimed, not bothering to stay quiet anymore.

“Steady, Aramis,” Athos urged, though he’d reached for his weapon.

“We can’t wait any longer,” Porthos said.

Aramis didn’t wait for an order. He dashed across the clearing separating them from the gardens. The other three swiftly followed. The guests gasped again upon seeing their approach.

“Everyone remain calm,” Athos instructed. “We have everything under control.” His voice boomed with enough authority that nobody questioned him.

Aramis’s feet carried him through the main door. Candlelight flickered in his vision. Gold shimmered from every surface it was nearly blinding. He whirled around, holding a hand out to stop the others, and listened.

You dove for the weapon with one hand and slashed at her with your knife in the other. Milady knocked against the desk, sending parchment flying over the ambassador’s bloody body.

“We could have made quite the team, you know,” she said. “The cardinal would have liked you, had you not married a musketeer of course. Aramis, isn’t it? I’m told he’s such a charmer.” She finished reloading her weapon. “Too bad you’ll never see him again. Husbands are useless anyway. He’ll betray you. Just wait.”

You snatched a candlestick from the side table and launched it at her. She fired accidentally into the wall. In the bright flash of your weapon, a note caught your eye. There, on the edge of the desk, was a letter. In the moment you were able to read some of the words, you recognized it as Laurent’s plot to pay Savoyan soldiers to assassinate the king. And in the corner, was the cardinal’s signet.

You swung your knife in Milady’s direction again, grabbing the letter and taking the second she had to reload to retreat. The ambassador’s guards met you in the hall. One reached for you. You plunged your knife into his arm and elbowed the other in the nose. If they pursued you, you didn’t turn to see. You ran.

The second shot might as well have been through Aramis’s pounding heart.

The third consumed his senses completely.

With Porthos and Athos busy with more guards, he and D’Artagnan raced up the stairs. The ornate white marble brought them to the second floor where you laid with your back against the wall and a cloaked figure standing over you, gripping your arm as you screamed in agony. The figure tore something from your hands and hurried away without looking back. Aramis fired a shot but missed.

“After her!” You shouted. You tried to pull yourself to your feet using the railing, but any movement in your arm shot searing pain through your body. Blood had already soaked the sleeve and side of your gown.

“Go,” Aramis said to D’Artagnan. The young man sprinted after the assailant while Aramis rushed to your side. When his dark, beautiful eyes hovered over yours, you almost breathed a sigh of relief through your clenched teeth.

“My arm,” you groaned. “The wretch shot me in the arm.”

Aramis examined the wound, lifting your limb gently. You took a sharp breath that sounded more like a whimper. He laid a hand on your cheek.

“It’s bleeding too much.” Aramis unlatched his belt and wrapped it around your arm just below the shoulder. He tightened it and this time you couldn’t keep the scream at bay. “I know, love. But if I don’t remove the ball and sew the wound soon-”

“I’ll bleed to death,” you finished. There was a flicker of terror in his eyes.

He saw the light leave your gaze, felt the warmth abandon your skin. He heard your final breaths as your blood stained his hands. He imagined his life without you. It was as dark and cold as a moonless night. The mere image of standing at your grave planted a seed of despair in his chest that he forced himself to push down in order to ensure that it didn’t become real.

“That’s not going to happen.”

Downstairs, Athos and Porthos’s battle showed no signs of ending. D’Artagnan returned with a shake of his head. Aramis put an arm under your legs and the other behind your back. He scooped you up and you bit back tears of anguish with every step as he ran.

“I can walk,” you protested. “It’s my arm, not my ankle.”

“Now is really not the time to argue, darling.”

“What happened? Is she hurt?” D’Artagnan asked, keeping up beside you.

“I need you to bandage her arm and apply pressure to the wound,” Aramis instructed. The younger musketeer tore off a piece of tapestry from the wall and wrapped it around your arm.

“Sorry about this,” he said, pulling the fabric taught.

You bit your lip and buried your face in Aramis’s chest.

“What in God’s name happened?” Athos exclaimed. He and Porthos joined the rushing group.

Aramis kept his eyes forward and his focus on you. “I need the ambassador’s cabin. She can travel on horseback and we need to get to a secure location for me to operate.”

“Where is the ambassador?” Athos asked.

You lifted your head. “He’s dead.” The four men exchanged a glance. You scoffed. “Don’t worry, I didn’t kill him.”

“That might not matter,” Athos said. He held the door leading out to the path where carriages awaited.

“What’s going on? Who are you?” The driver jerked the reins away from Porthos’s reaching hand.

D’Artagnan lifted his gun. “We’re going to need to borrow this, monsieur.”

“Aramis, there’s something I need to tell you all,” you said, voice weaker than before. He lifted you into the carriage, keeping you close in his arms.

“It will have to wait, darling.” He kissed your forehead.

“But if I-”

“Don’t.” His tone was firm, but it shook with fear nonetheless. He gulped. “Everything is going to be fine.”

A short ride away sat a small farmhouse, apparently abandoned. Porthos halted the carriage and the other two soon rejoined with the horses. Aramis hurried you inside.

“She needs a drink. This is going to hurt.”

Porthos held out a leather flask. “Why don’t we just do what you did with me?”

Aramis scowled. “I like her face the way it is. I’d rather you not damage it.”

“I’ll have to agree with my husband on that.” You snatched the drink from his hand and downed as much as you could as quickly as the burning liquid allowed. You were already feeling the dizzy discomfort of losing so much blood from the inner side of your arm. “Before you start, I have to tell you all… I have to tell you… the ambassador was plotting to kill the king. And the cardinal was a part of it. That’s why he sent one of his spies to retrieve his letter. She’s the one who killed Laurent and the one who shot me. If you can find her, you may be able to expose the cardinal.”

“We can worry about that later.” Aramis brushed a strand of hair off of your sweat-spotted forehead. “I’m taking care of you first. And I’m sorry, my love, but it is going to hurt.” His voice sounded as pained as you felt. The anguish in his eyes showed how much seeing you like this broke his heart.

Finishing the rest of Porthos’s brandy, you gripped Aramis’s shoulder with your uninjured hand.

“Do it.”

Lacking the proper tools, Aramis took the sharpest knife he had and reluctantly plunged it into your gaping wound. The burn of the bullet was nothing compared to the blinding sting as he worked to remove the ball from your flesh. Athos gave you a piece of leather to bite down on, but even your muffled screams made Aramis sick to his stomach.

“I know, mon amour. I’m sorry. It’ll be over soon, I promise. I’m so, so sorry.” He clenched his jaw and forced himself to focus. “I’ve almost… got it.” The gore-coated piece of metal fell into his palm. Blood poured out from your wound. Again, the sensory images of your failing body filled his mind. Your eyes struggled to stay open. He worked faster. “D’Artagnan, tighten the belt and hand me my needle.”

“Is it supposed to bleed that much?”

“Just do as I say!”

You let the leather piece fall from your mouth and managed a weak smile. “This reminds me of when we were attacked by thieves on the way to Gascony,” you laughed, ignoring the growing haze in your head.

“I think we have different accounts of that.”

You smirked. “Only, I saved you that time.”

Aramis shook his head, his lips teasing upward. He threaded his needle and held the point over a candle’s flame.

“Like I said,” he examined the needle. “Different accounts.”

The sharp point pierced your scarlet-stained skin. It didn’t hurt as much as removing the bullet. You squeezed your eyes shut, took shallow breaths, and tried to stay awake.

“There.” Aramis sliced the thread and wrapped a fresh cloth around your arm. “It’s over. You’ve lost a lot of blood but, God willing, you’ll heal.” He adjusted the cushions beneath you and cupped your face in his hands.

“Aramis,” you breathed weakly and placed your hand on his. Your voice was hardly above a whisper.

“What is it, love?”

You opened your eyes to his brown irises staring in panic. Your smirk grew.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

He breathed a sigh of relief and brought your lips to his.

Porthos chuckled behind him and slapped him on the shoulder. “That is a tough woman you’ve got yourself.”

“Don’t celebrate just yet,” Athos warned, though he was smiling as well. “We have to make sure the wound doesn’t get infected.”

“Your concern warms my heart, Athos,” you teased. You pushed yourself up on your good arm and tried to stand. But the blood loss, as well as the brandy, weakened your legs. You fell back against your husband.

“What are you doing?” He fretted.

“I must get to Treville. We have to find de Winter. She has the letter.”

“You aren’t going anywhere.” Aramis wrapped an arm around your waist and kissed your temple. “You need to rest.”

You squirmed in his hold, grimacing when you moved your injured arm. “Leisure is not one of my specialties.”

“I’ll just have to help you practice.” His dark gaze glinted with his smug smile, brow raised.

“Perhaps you will.”

D’Artagnan coughed, reminding the two of you that three other men stood in the room. You might have blushed if you hadn’t lost so much blood.

D’Artagnan winked. “Well, I’m glad to see you’re going to be fine.”

Aramis made a sling for you from his deep blue sash and the five of you headed back to Paris. You rode with Aramis, his arms on either side of you and his eyes shifting at every movement. He tensed at each snapping twig, his arms holding you a little closer.

“It’s just a bird,” you whispered. “Besides, you needn’t be so worried.” You turned your head over your shoulder so you could kiss his cheek. “Broken wing or not, I’m still a better shot.”

But if there were any of the ambassador’s allies, you did not encounter them. Nor was there any sign of Milady. By the time you reached Treville, you were sure the cardinal’s letter was little more than ash and memory.

The captain paced before you as Aramis changed the crimson bandages on your arm.

“If I had known your contact was Baffier, I would have warned your spouse to expect you.”

“That certainly would have made you simpler.”

“Admit it,” you snickered, “it was fun.”

“I can’t say that’s the word I would use for you almost bleeding to death,” he said. He wasn’t smiling, rather his face held the same concern it had at the farmhouse.

“Nor I.” Treville gave you a hard stare. “The ambassador is dead and we don’t have any proof of what he was planning. This is going to be a mess to try and explain to the king.”

“It was the cardinal’s spy that killed him, not I.”

“Unfortunately, we also don’t have any proof that she exists and if someone from the gathering comes forward and recognizes you or the others, it’ll be a hell of a time explaining what you were doing there.” He stopped his movements and turned his head to both of you. “Which is why I’m not assigning you to anything else until this all dies down.”

You stood up, Aramis following behind you.

“What does that mean?”

“It means stay home,” Treville sighed. “You are injured. For God's sake, Y/N, you could have died if Aramis hadn’t been there!”

“I’m afraid I have to agree with the captain.” Aramis stepped forward. “It’s far too much of a risk for you to be seen.”

Treville changed the subject of his exasperated glare from you to your husband. “And I’m sending you with her.”

Aramis’s face fell so quickly you would have laughed had you not been so frustrated.

“Captain, I don’t… do you really think that’s… surely you’ll need-” He stammered.

“You can keep an eye on each other until I can get this awful business figured out and her arm can heal.”

You both opened your mouths to argue, but he held up a hand.

“That is my final decision.”

“What if you should need our services?” You asked.

Aramis nodded frantically in agreement. “Yes! Surely Paris will find itself in danger some way or another and you’ll need our skills to stop another villain.”

“If an emergency arises- and only of the utmost importance-'' Treville pinched the bridge of his nose. “You two will be the first to know. Now I have to try to begin to sort this out.”

He dismissed you with a wave of his hand.

You wanted to stay and fight, but between the ache in your arm and your husband’s guiding hand leading you to the door, there wasn’t anything you could do.

“God knows how long it’ll take for this to quiet down,” you huffed once you were outside.

“You two don’t look happy,” Porthos said.

“Let me guess.” Athos crossed his arms. “House arrest?”

You crossed your arms, grimacing from the jerking movement.

“Careful, darling.” Aramis winced.

You ignored him. “We aren’t allowed on any assignments until this whole ridiculous situation is handled.”

“So, what, you have to go into hiding?” D’Artagnan wondered. “What are you supposed to do until then?”

“Oh, I’m sure they’ll think of something.” Porthos gave you a mischievous smirk, but his teasing did not lighten your mood.

“He might as well have sent us to live in a cave.”

“Now, dear,” Aramis said, putting an arm around your shoulder “don’t you think you’re being a tad melodramatic?” Your face morphed with fury and your eyes burned into his. He gulped. “I love you?”

You turned on your heel and stormed away. Aramis looked desperately at his three companions, but none offered any solace. In fact, they all grinned in amusement.

“God help me,” he muttered, chasing after you as the trio started to laugh.

Two Days and A Country Cottage Later

You swiped the damp cloth over your skin, bringing it further up your arm until fingers gently grabbed your wrist, stopping you from soaking your stitches.

“Mind my needlework, darling.” Aramis purred into your ear. He took the cloth from your hand and began his own soothing motions over your arm. “Allow me.”

You laid back against him, the bath water rippling with each movement. With your head leaned on his shoulder, he carefully cleaned the area around your wound. Any ache in your nerves was erased by his lips on your skin- from your shoulder to your neck to that little spot behind your ear.

“You know,” you sighed contently, “maybe the captain was right to send us out here. I can’t remember the last time we’ve gotten to spend this much time together.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” His lips followed your jaw as you turned to face him.

“I just hope the city is still standing by the time we get back,” you giggled. “I’m surprised we haven’t already been summoned.”

Aramis flicked at the water. “I give Treville and the others three more days before they come begging for our help.” A cocky smirk played on his features.

“Well,” you stood, water cascading from your skin and glittering in the setting sun streaming through the window.

Aramis basked in the sight of you. Almost glowing, you looked practically angelic. You stepped out of the bath and ran your fingers through your hair, beckoning him with a hooked finger and a suggestive glimmer in your eyes.

“We better not waste them then.”

#aramis x reader #aramis imagine #the musketeers #aramis #the musketeers aramis #the musketeers imagine #the musketeers bbc #d'artagnan #athos #porthos #treville #santiago cabrera

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booksandabeer · 8 months

Text

Okay, so... Maestro

I know it’s the cool thing right now to shit on Bradley Cooper and his increasingly desperate attempts to win that damn Oscar, and at this point it feels a bit like kicking someone when they’re already down, but oh boy, he makes it so easy. Still, let me preface what I’m about to say by assuring everyone who might be inclined to think that this is just me piling on, that I truly, sincerely wanted to like this movie. It’s about Leonard Bernstein!!! Of course I wanted to like it!

With that out of the way…if you already thought Bradley Cooper was a bit much in A Star Is Born, wait until you’ve seen him act at you for two hours in this never-truer-to-its-name vanity project in which producer Bradley Cooper produces director Bradley Cooper who directs leading man Bradley Cooper as he recites lines written by, you guessed it, screenwriter Bradley Cooper.

First of all, the movie looks gorgeous. It sounds wonderful. Everybody in the so-called “below the line” departments brought their absolute A-game to this. It’s a Vogue coffee table book come to life. And that is precisely where the problem lies: This is supposed to be a movie, but what it actually is is the epitome of style over substance. It is completely devoid of any meaningful insights into the man or the time or the culture it depicts. It’s not a movie about Leonard Bernstein, the artist. Which isn’t a problem per se—different approaches to biopics are perfectly valid. The real problem is that it’s not a movie about Leonard Bernstein, the man, either. It’s Bradley Cooper spending almost 100 million dollars cosplaying as The Great Artist—beloved by intellectuals and the common folk alike—that he so desperately wishes to be himself.

Cooper's performance is A LOT. From the many affectations to the sweaty mania that is constantly turned up to 11 to the extremely nasal intonation (that seems to come and go) to, yes, the stupid and entirely unnecessary prosthetic nose—he does The Most in every single scene. Now, you might say I’m biased by my recent love for Fellow Travelers, but still, what Matt Bomer—in a small part as Bernstein’s lover and collaborator David Oppenheim—does in one scene that shows him smiling through the pain of being casually cast aside by his lover, moved me more than (almost) anything Cooper does in the entire movie. They also share a moment later that is almost unbearable to watch because of the pain seeping out of these two men who are, due to a mix of self-denial and societal oppression, not allowed to (or allowing themselves to) live life as their true selves. Finally! Some real human emotion! That is the movie I want to see. And it is so telling that this moment of actual tangible humanity happens when Cooper finally calms down for five fucking seconds.

All that isn’t to say that there aren’t any scenes here that have true charm and flair; at times the movie even comes close to moments of true beauty and grace that could be poignant, even devastating in the best of ways—were they not ruined by some “eccentric” directorial choice, baffling camera placements, shots that either linger on forever or are abruptly cut short. I was practically waiting for him to turn to the camera and ask “see what I did there?” Yes, we see it. We see it in the fantastical dance sequences, the 40s noir inspired shots, the shift from black and white to color halfway through the movie, the classic 4:3 aspect ratio, and the many many many allusions that do not serve this story and these characters at all but make it very clear to the audience that Cooper has seen a lot of movies. He’s a student of Cinemah, didn't you know? Anyway, all of these things aren’t bad ideas in and of themselves, but he does not know how to edit himself (or his movie) and so it’s just all too much, all the time, and it goes on for way too long.

Let’s talk briefly about the Felicia of it all. Briefly, because for all the noise that Cooper has made about this being a movie that is just as much about Bernstein’s wife and their love story as it is about the man himself, I could not tell you who this woman was any more than I could before I sat down to watch two hours of Carey Mulligan reacting to Bernstein’s genius. Mulligan tries her best but she’s really only allowed to play two modes: swooning with adoration or vibrating with repressed anger. That’s it. I have no idea who Felicia Montealegre was beyond her husband’s wife. What did she want her life and her career to be? Was she truly passionate about acting or was it just a fun hobby to pass the time? And what did she hope to get out of this marriage, which—the movie makes it very clear—she entered into with the full awareness that there were parts of her husband’s life and heart that would remain forever inaccessible to her? Who knows. I certainly don’t.

Despite all claims to the contrary, this movie, and therefore I must assume the man who made it, is deeply uninterested in actually exploring this woman’s inner life. There’s no small amount of sad irony to be found in the parallel of Felicia serving as a shield of respectability for Bernstein (not only as that, because I do not doubt that they loved each other, but it was certainly one of the reasons for why he married her) and Cooper using his supposed interest in her (and to a lesser extent his lead actress) all these years later as a kind of preemptive measure to ward off criticism that he’s only interested in the Male Genius.

Finally. What’s actually worse than all of the above is that somehow Bradley Cooper managed to do the impossible: He made a movie about Leonard Bernstein that is both utterly exhausting and—the true cardinal sin—terribly boring.

#don’t even get me started on the approach cooper chooses to depict bernstein’s sexuality #which I think says more about him than about his subject #then again pretty much everything in this movie says more about him than about the people it's supposedly about #but whatever. i'm done now. going back to bed. if this has 1000 SPaG mistakes and/or makes no sense blame it on the fever #movie ramblings #maestro

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uroboros-if · 1 year

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OKAY OKAY and i don't wanna get off anon so you'll have to make do with links and not pictures, sorry</33

⊰ ⊱⊰ ⊱⊰ ⊱

AMARANTHINE

❝the eternal flower❞

❝all who lasts forever❞

❥ Amaranthine, All Who Lasts Forever, is a kindhearted deity, one with a strong sense of duty to their role as the guardian of the afterlife. Her words are measured, courteous and tactful, and are rather charming. Though every once in a while, she assumes a more innocent, child-like demeanor. She is sincere, and though she keeps a few secrets to her chest, and approach the world a blend of optimism and skepticism.

❥ She's fond of mortals, but prefers to keep them at arm's length.

✿ As the overseer of the underworld city of Lucidio, she holds the administrative role of sorting through logistics and resolving conflict within. Even under Luciel's guidance, she poured over the ancient texts of the Tesata Diceraga to learn of the underworld -- and furthermore, all the inner workings of divinity and mortals alike.

◉ Although most deities' Revelation reveals to them their special powers, Amaranthine only knows that her Revelation grants her a deeper connection with the Universe than others. Unable to communicate directly or see its visions as clearly as the Seer, her connection instead gave her a supernatural intuition, even by a god's standards. She senses what others cannot, see what others do not; and while they don't always work when she needs them to, a god can always count on them to be correct.

⊰ ⊱⊰ ⊱⊰ ⊱

MISC. & TRIVIA

Despite liking her job, Amaranthine wishes things weren't so monotonous

She's incredibly touch-averse, only letting a select few (namely her parents) to touch her

Might sound contradictory, but Salvatore and Ciocana are her closest friends

Amaranthine often dresses the way mortals do. whether it's to give them some familiarity in the afterlife or simply because she doesn't feel the need to show off, no one knows for certain

AE SORRY WRITING THIS TOOK SO LONG-

Ahh did this have links?! 😭 I can't see any! Anyway, reply in the read more <3

Amaranthine is such a pretty name, and also the title is so so lovely!! <3 I love that you have your own take on the character description / profile. Maybe I should let people pick their own title, in addition to the ones they get worn their skills?! She's adorable 🥹🫶

You should tell me more about how she feels about Salvatore/Ciocana, at least if you have any thoughts on that! It's the first chapter, though, so completely understand if you haven't formulated anything too detailed on Amaranthine's feelings on them!

I'd also love to see if you can find any cute pics you'd think she wear!! 🥹🥹

Thank you so much for sharing Amaranthine, she sounds like a sweetheart!! 💕💕 And let me know if anything ever changes about her, or if you have any answers to my questions! 😭😭 I'd genuinely love to hear about it! (Also if you ever find out a way to send pictures!)

#uroboros-if #uroboros #asks #anon #uroboros mc #mc #amaranthine #deity of eternity

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rxttenfish · 10 months

Note

Ship opinions: polly x vick :3

Shipping meme.

HM HMMMM

okay, so the main issue you need to keep in mind first off is that i don't really care for the PCs very much. not anything special, just the same thing as always where, by proxy of having literally no writing or Anything about them or describing what they were like, they never felt like actual characters to me and the recent work in roadtrip and the like, trying to flesh them out, is trying to work uphill and only makes them seem criminally flat and boring to me. i could tell you far less about vicky and what she cares about and what her inner world and emotions are like than i could tell you about scott or about valerie or about basically any other characters. and this, combined with how much the fandom loves them and uses them as self inserts (not a bad thing necessarily, very much intended by design) has not greatly endeared me to them either. they're charming little designs, and IMO they should have remained that way.

which is always going to have to be the disclaimer i give with all the PC ships, you know? i don't really know how to describe the PC side of the equation, which means its very hard to describe the relationship between the characters. one of these characters is much more interesting and dynamic, designed with a synergy between their personality, appearance, history, plot, and voice, and the other looks pretty with a personality coming in two games later.

i understand a lot of people love PC ships! and they love the PCs! i understand they mean a lot to a lot of people!

its just also sad that unfortunately they do not mean very much to me and that's going to impact how i think of them in ships.

so... for polly and vicky, we have someone who believes in celebrating life and love and the moment while you have it, who is very aware of the ups and downs of life and has dealt with her own, who is smarter than what people take her for but cares less about correcting this as much as she cares about using it to pull the wool over their eyes, but who is sometimes careless and prone to getting carried away, sometimes forgetting to look back and make sure others can keep up with her or that they haven't become collateral damage. and you have vicky, who is smart and spunky and intense, surely, with a perfectionist streak.

i think, on my first impulse, that polly might have an issue, since i imagine vicky would easily pick up on how smart polly is, and while polly doesn't mind the cognitive engagement and fun that comes with knowing how to pick apart something complex, i also don't see herself as particularly wanting to paint herself as a "smart person". vicky feels like she might tend to want to push polly towards that, as perfectionism tends to also end up projected onto others, especially others who have potential but aren't using it, and again, polly doesn't really want to use it like that. she's not ambitious, she's just doing what feels good, exploring and finding new avenues for pleasure and to sate her curiosity. polly wants engagement, less so fulfilling a prerequisite list of expectations.

vicky certainly gets into a lot and she throws herself in with her full heart, and polly does something similar, but polly's less committed to the outcome. she's not trying to succeed, necessarily, and i don't think she actually cares if she fails or loses so long as she enjoyed herself doing so. polly manages to succeed and to be damn good at things mostly out of rule of funny, but also because she is actually sincerely skilled, just skilled in an entirely different way than what vicky's used to.

honestly, i think these two might get on each other's nerves a lot? vicky seems to me like too much of a tryhard, too high strung for polly, and polly just doesn't care about all of the things that vicky has used to measure herself by, seemingly making a mockery out of them even when she's not trying to, chronically unable to take anything seriously. this feels like an extremely bad combination to me, something that, while it could work in the right circumstances (because, realistically, every potential combination of personalities could as a relationship, don't take this as me giving relationship advice or saying what will or won't work), isn't something that i see happening easily or even something that could happen in these circumstances. i kinda see this as the worse version of polly x liam, where the other party is too stiff and too set in their own ways and own way of looking at things to consider polly's own perspective and feelings, and to respect her own fears of commitment in a way that isn't just judging her for feeling that way.

#all the care guide says is 'biomass'#asks #monster prom #meltymoths #i am so sorry this feels so mean of me #it just! doesnt work! for me!#i dont care for it and i cant see it working out #polly is such an active character with such a colorful personality that you just. really need someone who can match that.

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saltymongoose · 2 years

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OK SO ignore my last ask (and delete it too that'd be great-) and ignore the fact I'm too lazy to come up with actual dialog- BUT I enjoy the thought of Player and Spy being bastards and just flirting with each other jokingly (or not on Spy's end) and making the boys much more irate with him. Ofc Spy notices and maybe turns up the charm because 1) you're going along with it, and 2) they're not going to do shit while you're around. AND to fix what I said last ask because I was a bit too excited while making it,, I think some of the mercs might get crushes on the Player. Not to the point of obsession tho! Normal lads who just love the person who's been watching over them, cheering them on, and helping them in the most dire situations!! I think the mercs most likely to fall in love are Scout, Demo, Soldier, and maybe Sniper.

HGJKGVK OMG WALNUT This is absolutely perfect, I love it. I 100% advocate for the Player being a bastard lmao, it's so fun. And btw, how are you so good at drawing Spy?! The expressions and everything are perfect (with the Player too lol, I love 'em), he looks great. :D I lowkey feel like every time I see your art of a character - any character - they end up becoming one of my favorites just because of how you portray them. As is the case here. <3333

I think the Player would be more impassive in reaction to Spy’s flirting at first, if not just because they think he’ll grow bored with it after a time. (That’s why he’s doing it - for entertainment, right?) However, after a period of time, he surprisingly doesn’t. You’re not sure if it’s because he has a genuine interest or if he just likes getting reactions from you (and the boys), but you figure that if he’s gonna keep at it, you might as well play along (for fun, if nothing else).

Spy would initially be a little surprised when you first turned the tables on him, giving an equally flirtatious response with a coy wink when he said something to you. However, you wouldn’t know this, as he was quick to shoot back with a compliment without losing any composure (he's Spy, he's not gonna be entirely phased by something like this. Not visually, at least.). From then on, he’d definitely try to do it more often, calling you pet names (in french, of course), complimenting your beauty whenever he sees you or you meet eyes, or just giving you looks that imply something more. (If you seem so open to it, why not dial up the charm more?)

In return, you tell him how much you love his accent and the sound of his voice, and just how nice you think he looks in his suit. Sometimes you even call him terms of endearment as well, even when you aren't technically "flirting back". (Is this something of an inside joke, or are you beginning to actually feel something for him? He can't really tell. But he'll go along with it regardless.)

Spy knows that you’re probably doing it in a joking way, despite how genuinely charming you are, but he can't help but feel just a bit warmer when you shower him with compliments in response to his own. (It's nice to get attention from someone as great (and important) as you, what can he say.) And, if he grows to like you more than platonically, then perhaps he can use this to get closer to you. It might be a bit more difficult to assure you of how true his affections are, but you are more than worth the effort and time that would take.

Plus, the reaction from those four "grunts" you have as vessels is also very amusing to him. He can feel them glaring at him when you flirt with each other, the weight of their stares settling a tad uncomfortably on him. But the odd feeling of happiness he gets from you returning his gestures, even if it isn't entirely sincere, is enough to ignore it. He also knows that your other vessels wouldn't dare try anything with you there anyway, so if he plays it up a bit more to get more amusing reactions from them, there's no harm in it. For him, anyway.

As for your grunts, "irate" is definitely a good descriptor for how they are. "Incandescent with rage" is also a fitting term.

They already loathed Spy for how he flirted with you, but they assumed that your supposed disinterest would make him quit it. However, all hopes for this were thrown out the window the moment they saw you go along with it. They're nearly shaking from how angry they are, and you honestly think you might've heard Hank growl at him once when you two were close to him. Your compliments towards Spy's voice are a real gut punch to Deimos (that was his thing!!), whereas Sanford and 2BDamned are questioning why you'd bother doing so. (There must be an underlying reason. Do you do this because you're both humans? What is so damn likable about Spy?)

To them, it doesn't even matter that you're joking; that flirting is something you should be doing with them.

(I can also see some of the bolder of your grunts trying to be more openly flirty to garner a similar response, with varying effectiveness. Deimos is great with it (he flirts with you sometimes anyway), while 2B and Sanford are a bit shyer with such things. Hank is another deal entirely.)

I also agree that some of the Mercs would probably get crushes on the Player. You’ve been with them for such a long amount of time, supporting them in their fights, keeping them alive for as long as you can, and cheering them on as you brought their team to victory again and again; they value you a lot, and after getting to know you personally, it is likely that they would come to see you in a more romantic light. Especially the more "open" of them (i.e. Scout, Demo, Soldier, and arguably Sniper), since you'd get to know them first. (Also if you "mained" them in TF2, since they'd have the knowledge that they were already your legitimate favorite out of the bunch. They'd also be the closest to you that way as well.)

It's a development from being starstruck to noticing how red they get when you come too close, and the feeling of butterflies in their stomachs when you compliment their work. They think it's a bit silly at first, but it's not exactly a bad thing. It doesn't get in the way of their work that much, and if they put in a bit of extra effort to try to impress you a little bit, that just benefits the team too. (Although some are far more obvious with their little crushes than others. Scout.)

It also helps that you know pretty much everything about them, and understand how they are. There's no judgement with you or trying to alter how they do their jobs, you can understand their idiosyncrasies and mentalities perfectly and work with them to get the best results. And, more importantly, you truly value them, in a way their previous bosses hadn't. So, they like you. Simple as that.

(Although, obsession is very unlikely, as they're more "normal" than the grunts somehow (at least in this way) and have better views on interpersonal relationships. They're just average eccentric mercenaries that might have kind of a thing for their Player, which would be expected after years of "knowing" you and being supported so selflessly, only to actually meet you and see that you're even kinder than expected.)

#tw: yandere #I love their facial expressions in the final panel lmao #(Spy is so lucky Hank can't do anything except leer.)#Why are the Mercs so great? I love them.#other's art #FAV #distressedwalnut #mutuals ✨

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metanarrates · 1 year

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What you wrote about letting the Poster in your mind die struck a cord in me. Lately when I'm writing I can't help but censor myself & add a tone of irony to it & lampshade cliches. Do you have any advice on how to write earnestly? Do you have any favorite media that is written with sincerity you would suggest?

my opinion is that if you're trying to cut out your own urges to be ironic and detached DURING the process of writing, you may end up overly scrutinizing your writing while it's happening, and that's usually what gets you too trapped in your own head to even get many words out. my advice is to simply let it happen in the first draft of whatever you come up with, and then have it be one of the things you look for while going over it in editing. ask yourself when you edit: am I saying what I actually want to say? am I being ironic for a reason, or is it because I don't know how to write anything else? can I try to do something less ironic? if I feel like I want to write something funny, can I come up with jokes that aren't "hey look at this cliche?"

above all else, when editing your own work, I find it valuable to think about whether this is the sort of story you really want to tell. if you feel passionate about it, why do you find it necessary to censor yourself? and if you find that you don't feel passionate about it, maybe you should restructure the work to make it more enjoyable to you. of course, not every scene in a story is fun to write, and not every moment of irony or lampshading is necessarily a bad thing. but if you find that irony is becoming a major habit in a work, it might be worth thinking about whether or not you're actually enjoying your own story.

as for the sincere media - most good media is very sincere! i actually think irony poisoning is the exception rather than the rule, though it is common enough in big blockbusters and the like that I do feel I have to complain about it. I would say most works I've read and enjoyed have been quite sincere. there's good stuff out there if you look.

that said, the works that come to my mind as being particularly upfront in their sincerity are:

mob psycho 100 - you've probably heard of this one. middle schooler with psychic powers and a severe case of emotional repression dispels a lot of ghosts with his con artist mentor and also figures out how to be a more well-adjusted person. mp100 has had a LOT of very eloquent reviews, so I won't say too much about it. it's just an extremely funny and shockingly emotionally resonant work.

witch hat atelier - absolutely gorgeous manga about a little girl who becomes an apprentice witch after discovering that magic is not exclusive to those who were born witches as she thought, but instead a teachable skill that has deliberately been kept in the hands of a few. the art in this is stellar, and its moments of horror are just as well-captured as its moments of gentleness. one of the themes of witch hat atelier is the beauty of art/magic and the joy an artist finds in its creation, and the artwork of the manga REALLY reinforces this theme. it's beautiful to look at and there's a quality of sincere love for both the work itself and its audience that suffuses the manga. though I will give a general tw for child harm - another major theme of the story is the responsibility adults, particularly teachers, have towards children, and this theme necessitates showing the ways that children can be harmed by teachers, as well as showing the ways that a good teacher can affect a child. it's very good!

omniscient reader's viewpoint: this one is LONG (over a million words) but is a great example of what I would call "post-cringe." a guy ends up seeing the events of his favorite fantasy-apocalypse action novel be recreated around him, and is determined to survive in this world where only he knows everything. one of the most charming things about orv, to me, is that the novel read by the main character is pretty obviously "cringe." it's a badly written escapist webnovel that is sometimes overly edgy, relies a lot on clichés, and can be very dense. the story points out sometimes how facts of the novel's world are kind of stupid or contrived. and yet, our protagonist loves that novel, and the story VERY much validates his love of it. despite him having at times a little bit of that ironic detachment towards the novel he loves, it's always clear that he thinks the cool monsters etc. are The Shit and that he is enthralled by the events playing out around him. the writing leans into how cool its setting and set pieces can be. hell, one of the big themes is how a story, no matter what kind of story it is, can mean everything to the reader who loves it. it's a good example of a work that can poke fun at its own clichés sometimes WHILE still loving those cliches and wanting the audience to enjoy those exact clichés.

again, there's a lot of good stuff out there! these are just my picks for having notable sincerity. if you read a lot, chances are that you will find a lot of great, earnest work. personally, I would recommend figuring out what genre you enjoy reading or watching, and then trying out some highly rated works in that genre. it's a great way to try out shit you haven't tried before! I would also recommend trying out stuff from 15 or more years ago, generally, if you're looking at more mainstream novels, movies, and TV series rather than specific genre fiction. the irony poisoning problem wasn't so prevalent then.

hope this helps!

edit: I FORGOT EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE. please watch eeaao, it's a deeply sincere and whimsical piece of art

#narrates #LONG post but here you go.#killing the Poster in your head can be a bit of an involved process #if you make the effort to be less detached & ironic in your self-expression the habit will eventually fade

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ladyyatexel · 1 year

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BONJOUR!!!!

🥳🦋😎 if you please <3

BONFUCKINGJOUR MY ELLY ☆¤•°°~

🥳 Why did you start writing fanfic?

A friend made me! I had an idea I was really enamored with when I started college and I drew it all the time. A friend asked me when I was going to write it. I told friend I don't write like this, it is too embarrassing. She asked if I would do it just for her.

I was so absolutely mortified by what I was doing that my first page of writing in a notebook was blacked out in most places with a marker as though the FBI thought it would shatter capitalism if anyone saw it.

My friend later told me that what I made was too good to do nothing with and she would put the word document online if I didn't. And so I was blackmailed into posting it and now it's the JTHM AU that has its own mini fandom with cosplay and everything.

I have forgiven friend :p

🦋 Which character is your favorite to write?

This feels really difficult and like I might have to split it up by fandom?

JtHM - SWAN-verse Nny. He's a smart charming asshole, he's a delight. (But also Tenna.)

DD9 - Probably Julian, who is navigating a sudden orientation being dropped in his lap that he needs to slowly dissect. He tries very hard and he's a huge dork but he's very smart and it makes him a lovely brain to be in.

B5 - lol g'kar. He takes nothing seriously, except when he suddenly does and it is profound poetry. He's so fun.

Yugioh - Malik and Ryou. Malik frantically flipping through all of his mental Rolodex looking for the right conversation card to use in a situation and Ryou does not have anything like that and they are both trying to be sincere and gentle people who other people are afraid to see Angry. Malik may be a little more fun because he's going through more machinery to get out what he says and does. Ryou is floating through life, there's smarts and observations, but the mechanisms that are Machinery inside of Malik are organic in Ryou.

😎 What fics do you prefer on a scale of canon compliant to wildly original?

THIS IS A JUICY ONE ISN'T IT? I am a captive tiger on enrichment day and the giant jack o lantern is full of ENTRAILS.

So, my most successful things turned out to be AUs. I don't read AUs. Don't know what that means.

In general, what I want to read is a post canon continuation of sewing feelings and plot threads back together. I love keeping canon as it is for the justified sanctioned foundation it gives me to frame what I want in.

I often can't be bothered with story establishing relationshipd in the middle of the canon because then in me it inspires thoughts of why they did not behave as they would have considering their feelings for B Guy! I need the Canon to be over so that new Canon doesn't get the chance to hit me in the back of the head with a piece of lead pipe.

As soon as old things begin making new canon material I'm like "Aaaaahhhh No you might damage my baseline!" Luckily, additional Canon, like comics or books, is more easily ignored than more of a show, if that's what your source material was.

My AU things mostly come up when the show finished and i need to fix the way we ended. And then it becomes wildly made up.

My Babylon 5 stuff is in a super vague grey area.

Deep Dish Nine is full pizxa shop AU.

reSWAN is both a high school AU AND a canon timeline extending AU. which is also a musical where everyone is gay.

Strange Shapes is normal post canon nothing in canon avoided or ignored.

Same with painkiller, not that those folks are reading this or anything.

#fanfic meme

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fullmetalgirl98 · 2 years

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Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks...

Hi! First of all, thank you for asking me this question, I'm really glad! ^^ (and no, no one had ever asked me this before ahah).

So....mhm...I have to say it's really HARD to choose, because I'm into a lot, really, A LOT, of stuff lol. But I'll try to choose among the riffraff the most iconic ones... despite that, I think it's really impossible for me to rank from 1 to 10 in the ascending (or descending) sense of the term, so please don't consider the characters I'm going to list as places within a ranking ahaha 🙊

Xerxes Break (Pandora Hearts, manga by Jun Mochizuki): Break is a wonderful character. His attitudes may make him seem like a superficial, clownish person, but he’s actually an extremely troubled man with very solid moral values, ready to do anything for those he loves. Break is a character I really can't help but love, I won't go more into his analysis because I want to avoid spoilers, but he’s such a troubled and controversial character, I really love him with all my heart. He needs to be protected adjkhgal.

Vanitas (Vanitas no Carte, manga by Jun Mochizuki): as I said for Break, Vanitas is also an extremely controversial character. Sarcastic, witty, extremely sensual, and defiant, he apparently gives the impression that he’s the kind of person who only exploits others for his own purposes, but this is actually not the case. Vanitas has suffered so much in the past, he creates on purpose a wall around himself to avoid making connections that could hurt him again someday, or hurt those around him. He’s more aware of what is happening around him than he wants to give it away.

Dice Arisugawa (Hypnosis Mic, multimedia project): I LOVE Dice. There’s a reason why he’s my favorite character in the Hm universe lol. He's that kind of person who's silly and funny, but would do ANYTHING for the sake of the people he loves. Loyal and sincere, he loves to take risks (way too much, I’d say) but he can also be serious and reliable if the situation calls for it. In addition, his rapping skills are SUBLIME.

Toma Hikage (Paradox Live, multimedia project): Toma is a character who has very recently entered my heart. Initially I thought he was the typical vain pretty boy, but I found out quite soon that there's actually a very deep motivation behind this such a seemingly frivolous behavior. Toma is a person with a heart of gold, ready to do anything to support the other members of VISTY. Also, I can't help but love that so special way he accentuates sentences ahaha. Also I love his voice in the songs, it's really pure and melodic! **

Rin Matsuoka (Free!, anime): Rin is cool and has style, no doubt about this. But beyond physical appearance, he's a guy who knows what he wants, fights and works hard till the end to achieve his goals. You can always rely on him. If you need help, you can be sure that Rin will be there for you to help, always. Despite the big muscle mass, Rin is a big softie and does not hesitate to dissolve into tears quite easily too, he is adorable ahah

Tsurugi Kamiya (Servamp, manga by Tanaka Strike): I have to admit that I couldn't stand Tsurugi at first, but the deeper I got into his story, the more I fell in love with him. Tsurugi made me cry more than once while reading. He comes across as a very strong character, but internally he's an extremely fragile person. I want to hug him ;^;

Gojo Satoru (Jujutsu Kaisen, by Gege Akutami): you can't help but love Gojo: I won't dwell on his physical appearance (as his charm is there for all to see), Gojo is a man who is apparently very superficial, with a very sharp tongue and always with a ready wit, but again this is only a facade: Gojo is extremely witty, as well as being damn strong. Everyone relies on him. Never make Gojo angry.

Osamu Dazai (Bungo Stray Dogs, manga by Kafka Asagiri & Sango Harukawa): what I've already said about Gojo applies somewhat to Dazai. It's impossible not to love Dazai. He's the perfect combination of seriousness and deficiency, if you need to break the heaviness of the moment, count on Dazai. If you need reinforcement, count on Dazai. If you need someone to properly blow up your nerves, count on Dazai.

Percy Jackson (Percy Jackson & The Olympians, book series by Rick Riordan): most of my peers grew up with Harry Potter. Well, I grew up with Percy. Thanks to him, over the course of many years and MANY books, I’ve been able to immerse myself in a wonderful world, a world, that of Greek mythology, which has always fascinated me so much. I really owe a lot to Percy.

Ophelia (The Mirror Visitor, book series by Christelle Dabos): Ophelia is also a recent addition. I finished reading the second book of the series just yesterday and I must say that I haven't met such a valid character for a long time. Ophelia is that kind of girl that, at first glance, you wouldn't value at all: scruffy, petite, "anonymous". In reality, she's a girl who really goes through all sorts of things, both to assert herself and to protect those she loves. Although fragile, contrary to what everyone might think, she's endowed with an iron will, a strong personality and also great courage, but it's not a snooty courage, as often happens to be seen in fictional characters, but it's a courage that she was forced to build, sometimes even against her own instincts to run away. I really admire her for that.

So... If it wasn't clear, I like very controversial and complicated characters LOL

I hope you found my answers somewhat interesting and thanks again for asking! ^^

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hanako-san · 9 months

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I finished watching Skip Beat and the anime has what I miss in jshk in terms of characters. I will focus here on daikon, because thanks to Kyoko I have organized my thoughts which I can express without anger. It can also be chaotic.

[I'm sorry for all the mistakes]

The main character Kyoko, a 16-year-old heroine, gave her all to make others happy, to be noticed and loved. As a result, she was used and betrayed. Her naivety disappeared and she decided to take revenge on the guy who told her to her face that she was only there to help him get into show business and that she was boring. Her admiration ended and she decided to take the path of revenge. She felt what a daikon should feel towards minamoto when he behind her back wanted to stop her so she couldn't help Hanako.Anger and pain. Well, daikon doesn't have any romantic feelings for minamoto . She admires him like an idol. This admiration should have ended when minamoto had no problem taking advantage of her, trying to turn her friends against her so she wouldn't disturb when he will kill the person she supposedly loves. But all I see in daikon is just admiration and she still be under his spell , zero anger and zero any neutrality towards him. How pathetic. she can only be angry and aggressive towards Hanako because to her, he is not what she considers a tall and "handsome" guy. Hanako cannot compete with minamoto because he is a 13-year-old junior school ghost. He won't grow up and don't have a body developed as a minamoto. Hanako is unable to meet her expectations, but as she said, "she didn't do anything wrong", so she will continue to trample on his feelings and ignore them, because her "sweet and charming" nature makes up for everything. I understand that the plot is different in jshk, but AidaIro don't change her because they consider her as 'light' as they once wrote. For me, this light is black as darkness, boring and annoying. daikon has nothing to offer, she is shallow, has no depth, and this pathetic and drawn-out admiration for a person who wanted to kill the person she 'loves' shows that she understands nothing at all, everything about her is artificial, her 'I'm sorry' and her admission of 'guilt' when she said that her friend's sacrifice was made because of her wish, she doesn't feel any responsibility. Rescue is something that you should always do to undo your own sins, her words are empty and mean nothing because otherwise. In the end, she made it clear that Hanako was more guilty than her, and she didn't need to feel guilty because he could shouldn't fulfilled this wish. Her pilot version was better than her. She knew what her flaw was and she worked on it, here is a person who doesn't mind weakness while in a relationship.Everything turns out to be a fact that the daikon is very convinced that she is just a victim, and when there is no one left to gulity, Hanako is more guilty because he forces her to work. She didn't apologize to Hanako and Aoi for the confusion. Neither of them, but they both apologized to her. Her apologies are always made when someone draws her attention and they are insincere, they are artificial and untrue, they don't come from sincere regret and sadness, but from the need to apologize to the person who is sad in front of her. Someone needs to tell her that she's doing something wrong because then she understands. she is not able to draw conclusions that she is behaving inappropriately and should not behave this way, but she is sad for the next chapter and then she is the same because she thinks that she did nothing wrong. She can't change anything in herself because she doesn't see it, she doesn't have any self-reflection, because if she had, she wouldn't repeat such mistakes as, for example, wish 1 and would she really regret going home minamoto after the whole situation. Naivety should also have its limits, but she has no problems crossing them.

I don't know her past. AidaIro focuses on love. So what? Without this, AidaIro could have made her an interesting character, showing how an obsessive girl begins to change under the person she is supposed to love and I honestly don't believe in her love for Hanako. This is not how a person in love behaves. Admiring a person who wanted and still wants to kill her boyfriend. Total bs. Yes. Daikon has long since stopped being a 'hopeless romantic' and has become obsessed with love. Total obsession. She even likes to sing songs that curse love. Love, love, love to disgust. She cares about her friends and her best friend, but she can't care about Hanako, whom she supposedly loves.

Where's her anger? and resentment towards mianmoto? There isn't and there won't be. Until she is noticed, but unless she sees her own mistakes, she will not change. She must understand that she is not a victim of her own wishes and decisions, but is GUILTY and hurts those around her with her actions and deeds, instead of seeing herself as a victim and mainly blaming Hanako for what she does for her.

The fact that she saves Hanako from time to time, such as from Akane. It doesn't change anything, because the biggest person that needs to be isolated from Hanako is SHE.

Daikon has a lack of self-reflection, she does not see herself as the culprit, because she sees himself as a victim and blames Hanako mainly for her actions and decisions. I see her character as a self-insertion and she can be in a relationship with anyone, because she is only for this and nothing more. daikon is like a shell. Empty inside. All she needs is a boy of her type to fill her up.

Sure, she has flashes of intelligence and shows that she cares about Hanako, but only verbally, because with her actions she does something different, and in my opinion, actions speak louder than words. Actions don't lie, but words can lie as much as you want. Sure, her character may undergo changes, but I honestly don't care if it's not chapter 59 or another, it's chapter 109. They showed the depth of Aoi and Mei's characters in a short time, but they can't show how their main female character changes.

Her character always focuses on herself and her when things are bad. Like in the chapter where she want to be where Hanako is because Tsukasa took her. She didn't think about him, only about herself, because she feels safe with him and knows that she is in no danger when he is with her. And when she found herself where he was, she had no problem admiring the person he feared most in the world and she didn't care about his presence, feelings or anything else. daikon always focuses on itself. Same thing with Hanako. Another situation was when Tsukasa kissed her, and instead of thinking about Hanako and how he deals with it, she dreamed about her twins fighting for her and she generously rejected Tsukasa, but she has a problem with minamoto. Such situations only made me realize that her feelings of love are non-existent. I didn't expect anything from her from the festival chapter. So… let her stay as she is.

daikon is also very aggressive when someone doesn't want to do what she does, examples include Hanako not wanting to leave school and she got angry and shouted or the newest one she told him to call Hanako, she was pissed that she didn't want to do it. But she didn't do anything wrong, there was nothing in her behavior that could make her hated or disliked, she was supposed to be that 'light', probably in hell.

Even though Koyko wants revenge, she gradually began to change the people she met and the experiences she gained influenced her development and change. Even if she was only doing work, she was honest and cared about the feelings of the person she cared about and liked. The daikon's age doesn't matter either, because experiences and pain should shape her and she should change, but nothing changes in her except for minor and temporary changes that don't really mean anything because the fish princess has nothing to complain about, with this approach. she will stay as she is. Her so-called love is artificial and worthless.. She wanted love so much that she was literally willing to sign a pact with the devil to get him. And when she finally has a boyfriend, she shouldn't have him. She doesn't know how to love and doesn't know what love is.

Her character may be something other than just focusing on love, which she has shown many times. But it is so small and insignificant that if it doesn't go away, well, too bad. For me, she'll stay the way she is and that's fine with me. I don't even care if I do anything for the twins. Not any more. Wasted potential of a character who should be a bridge connecting the twins from what I can see and help them, but is only an unfurled rose and stings when necessary.

And I honestly don't care if I understand her or not. I just read and give my conclusions. And thanks to Kyoko, I couldfinally said more calmly here about it. Daikon is full of flaws and an annoying personality that I hate and will continue to hate. Her character has potential that AidaIro wastes, but that's not my problem anymore. I stopped caring about it. I don't care about her personality or her 'in love' nature or her beauty, it all makes me despise her and hate her more. Her age is also not a pass because she should be changing, but she doesn't, which makes her even worse in my eyes. Her age is no excuse for any of her actions, nor is her appearance or irritating personality traits. Her sweetness and personality don't appeal to everyone. She is a burden and always counts on Hanako and relies on him too much, she cries all the time and have to save her ass. The few actions she has had do not cover up who she really is and she is getting worse and worse. Will she become a bridge between the twins? I don't know. But I don't care anymore.

It can only confirm that if I notice changes, I may become gentler at some point. I'm not that hateful of a person when not tell her when she's right or something I can admit,when she is right in my opinion but right now there's no point in me being kinder to her, I don't even want to. doesn't feel guilty or anything for being an anti fan of hana///daikon and her. Not everyone loves daikon and this ship. I am one of these people. I stopped deceiving myself that she would start to change and respect him. For me, the most important thing is Hanako and his feelings. That's all. She deserves a dose of karma. She and her minamoto prince.

#jibaku shounen hanako kun #yashiro nene #nene yashiro #my jshk post

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