Bastien
What's the point of art that doesn't make you want to tear your heart out?
Social Rank: 8
Concept: Tortured Artist
Fealty:
Crownsworn
Family:
None
Gender: male
Marital Status: married
Age: 32
Birthday: 11/5
Religion: Atheist
Vocation: Writer
Height: tall
Hair Color: brown
Eye Color: blue
Skintone: medium caucasian
Description: Bastien is all long limbs and graceful hands and lean, whippet lines to his frame. He can move with surprising grace and dexterity, and his carriage holds a certain hauteur that he hasn't exactly earned. He has an even, well-bred handsomeness to him, strong-jawed and straight-nosed, but it's often distracted by a sense of harried unkemptness from too many long nights at work. His hair is dark, his eyes a clear blue flecked with green, and he can vary widely from stubble to a full beard, depending on his current obsession level.
Personality: Bastien is a creature of extremes. He can be, at turns, laconic and morose or vibrant and energized. He feels his convictions -- which generally center on the hypocrisy of pretty much everyone in the world -- with a raging fire of passion. He is capable of great wit and eloquence, which often shows up in his work, and can sway an audience through words to either adore something or loathe it, but he lacks a sense of responsibility or practicality to make good use of his talents. He is prone to obsessiveness that tends to show up in a hunger-pang frame. The fact that he is forced to sometimes write work less than grand artistry or scathing satire -- for entertainment's sake, darling, please just take a break from all of those /feelings/ -- is a source of continual despair.
Background: Bastien came to Arx as a young man in his early twenties with far more pride and attitude than the silver in his pockets warranted and with ambition of great artistry. Surprisingly -- to Bastien, at least -- these ambitions were not /immediately/ fulfilled by wild success and acclaim. He's been toiling away, mostly in the underbelly of the city, but eventually towards more of the mediocre middle once he found enough steady work over the past decade. The focus of his work is in playwrighting, and he became known -- at least within a small community of arts lovers -- for having a particular affection for plays of political and cultural commentary with a taste for the avant garde. Of course, sometimes he just needs to write a comedy where everyone gets married in the end, if for no other reason than to pay the bills. But he doesn't do it /gladly/.
| Name | Summary |
| Alaric | As befitting a playwright, he's both opinionated and expressive! It's always a sure sign of a stable and confident regime to not throw these sorts of people directly into a dungeon on first encountering them, of course. Haha, just a little regal humor. Not at all foreshadowing my upcoming satire! |
| Ariella | And people say he's sour all the time. |
| Aurora | It is always nice to work with someone more socially confused than I am. |
| Caspian | A man who writes a play who's goal is to obviously incite some shame or anger from nobles. Bold. Very bold. |
| Duarte | When you pour your soul into your craft there is little attention left for social niceties. Would one prefer a timeless piece, or the transience of a kind word? I'd rather the former. |
| Echo | Bastien is a mystery. He had papers strewn about all over and he was rather quiet. Still, he got on good with Acacia and my brother, so... Hope I didn't scare him off! |
| Eleanor | I don't think he liked me. He has a sad view of the world. I know it can be a terrible place, but I wish he could see more of the potential in people. That's probably why he didn't like me. |
| Gareth | Probably what I would have become if I was crippled and was not in the Inquisition or a Great House. A spiteful little creature. |
| Jeffeth | Seems like he might not like Knights. I think I can win him over though. |
| Jordan | Obviously a man who holds a manner of resentment in his heart, but applies it into works of artistry. As he said it himself, fluff is enjoyable, and he wants to make plays that make others reflect. Far be it from me to criticize his artistic inclinations. I rather doubt his disaffected facade is true to his core in any way, though. |
| Joscelin | Tortured artist. Alternately seems to have a stick up his bum and the oily relaxation of a person who feels like everything they say is important. Amusing to watch, even more entertaining to listen to but only after one has had a few glasses to drink. |
| Keyser | Knows who's buying the beer. Valuable. Keep around. |
| Liara | A playwright or writer of some sort, apparently. Either very grumpy or very disillusioned, or both, or just plain mischievous. Perhaps a bit impolitic. |
| Lumen | What potential this man might possess were he to put that sharp mind of his towards not being a complete shit. |
| Magpie | Magpie spends a lot of time around artists and they all have a passion for their craft. Even during such a short meeting the sailor could see that Bastien is no different. He's hoping they might have a future working relationship, but if not at least the art of entertainment is alive and well. Unless his plays are awful, then perhaps there was good reason that Bastien was burning his work over a candle. |
| Mailys | What a charming playwrite, his brooding act is adorable, though he can be a bit blunt with his words! |
| Nierzen | He's irritable. I like him immediately. |
| Niklas | Imagine a necklace with half a circle on it that says PA. Now imagine another one with the other half of the circle and it says LS. That's us! |
| Orazio | Sharp. Likes to provoke a reaction, which Orazio is used to, but remains principled in his arguments, which is more rare. One day, Orazio would like to read one of his poems, he thinks. |
| Reese | He doesn't seem to like nobility very well. I don't judge him based on that. I consider him still be a stranger and have yet to make up my mind about him. He is a writer. I would be interested in hear some of his work one day. I don't even know his name, just face. Maybe one day that will change. |
| Rook | A rather difficult fellow, and a playwright. They say sometimes geniuses are like that, though. Too smart for their own good or something-- who knows. Either way, he likes to upset the nobility. It amues Rook, as a commoner-turned-prince. |
| Sabella | Prince Gareth is my favorite cousin and I've already made him smile once this year. You're next. |
| Sabella | Bastian is a brilliant theater-goer who delights in seeing other people love and enjoy the theater as much as he does. With his delightful smile and soft, kind demeanor he brings joy to all those who--oh, apologies, Bastien with an e? Well. For one thing he...Sometimes he...hm. There must be something good about him. |
| Saya | If he were less mean, the paper would talk to him. But he is mean, so his paper shall be /silent/! |
| Sebastian | Burn it, for it is for you alone, and it will live in your memory alone, save mine, until the spiders take it. I think I like you, playwright. I look forward to seeing your work. |
| Seymour | A man with the power to move people. Well, some people. |
| Sparte | He gets real passionate. REALLY passionate. I mean, like, all the passion. Maybe I should read one of his books. |
| Torian | A poplar playwright. Claims to be a godo one too. I can't say nothing to that, but a lot of the clan likes him. |
| Valery | Valery met him in the baths, the first time. He doesn't seem to like social events. And he uses so many long words! |
| Vanora | He is a talented playwright, though I don't recommend sitting near him if one wants to focus on the performance. |
| Vayne | I feel sad for him. To have closed himself off from the virtues that make life and art so worthwhile, and instead pursued banal and drab substitutes. There's a shortsightedness to him, but I suspect it's so he doesn't have to let himself truly feel what he needs to feel. There's no balance to him, and so he's miserable. |
| Yasmine | He hates my accent and thinks I'm an idiot. I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. |