#he's just the perfect balance for me of unhinged but heartfelt
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Comte Drama CD Translations, Track Six: Pampering at the End of the Day
I'm not a professional yada yada yada, these are just my rough transcriptions of each track in the CD because I need fodder for my simping. This one's actually pretty short? But it's full of fluff and sweetness ;-; 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
So after what was probably an insane round(s) of [redacted], they settle in for the night to sleep:
…Tonight, I don’t mind falling asleep like this.
I’ll keep caressing your hair until you fall asleep.
Hm? …Of course I don’t mind. (his chuckle QAQ HE’S SO DELIGHTED, THE SMILE IN HIS VOICE) Here…come by my side.
…as requested, your arm pillow to sleep on. How is it?
(ANOTHER HAPPY LAUGH) Looking so happy and comfortable, it just makes me want to spoil you even more.
Isn’t it okay? At times like this.
I always have to hold back from being more affectionate with you in front of everyone.
So like. Do you ever just cry? Because--😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 this man is gonna give me cavities I adore him PLS. I'm a sucker for cuddlers 🥺💜
Also that last line like. The way I hollered SO LOUD AAAAAHAHAHAAHAH
Literally everyone in the mansion: could you. not flirt in front of us every five seconds. wtf get a room.
Comte rn: yeah and that's me holding back
KHJDGFLDKHJGDFLAKHJGDHJF CAN YOU TELL I LOVE HIM, NOBODY DOING IT LIKE HIM 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Besides, I need to take care of/heal the body that put up with all my passion just now…
You were so lovely/breathtaking when you clung to me, cheeks rosy and lost in pleasure.
(HIS BOYISH LAUGHTER SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP)…You’re blushing again. Your shy expression…I can never get enough of it.
I want to watch you forever…
And if I cried my eyes out???--he's so cute and silly and sweet 😭
(MC says this line) “I love you…I never thought I’d be expressing my love for someone like this.”
That’s my line. I’m happy to have met you too…
Thank you. Thank you for following me that day. Thank you for loving me
(KISSES) Mm……I want you to stay by my side forever….
…I’ll hold you tight until morning.
And when the sun rises again and you wake up, the first thing I’ll do is kiss you good morning.
Yes, it’s a promise…good night, princess. (KISSES)
EVERYBODY SAY TY MC--"Thank you for following me that day. Thank you for loving me." TRUE LOVE IS REAL
"I want you to stay by my side forever...I'll hold you tight until morning" 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 tfw you think you're safe from WHATEVER THIS FEELING IS 🥺 nobody look at me I hide my face every single time
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…Looks like you fell asleep.
I’ve been taking you all over town to all these places since this morning, but from the moment your eyes reflected only me…
No, even when your eyes are closed like this, it fills me with happiness.
Good night…have wonderful dreams.
…I’m sure I’ll have wonderful dreams sleeping next to you.
I love him your honor, it's not a phase. I'm sure I'd have wonderful dreams too if I were MC 🥰
But also 👀 lock me up gorgeous /j
#ikevamp#ikemen vampire#ikevamp comte#ikevamp saint germain#ikevamp mc#drama cd translation#**happy sigh** he's everything i've ever wanted#pure bliss#call me comtesse the way i wanna SNUGGLE with this man#idk i just feel so ticklishly happy with this one whenever i listen to it#he's just the perfect balance for me of unhinged but heartfelt#comte propaganda#fangdad propaganda
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VHSCC OH MY GOD
(no spoilers)
Starkid nation, you aren't ready.
So let's start with the obvious. Look, I spent thirteen years growing up with Starkid. That initial Michigan gang are deeply special to me and I will always miss Dylan, Brian R., and Corey in any show they aren't in. And this one's no different. But just as Janaya came in and took over Belle from Britney so flawlessly, Curt, Brian, and AJ were all WONDERFUL in their new roles. The gentle-but-high-energy, truly decent, romantic himbo charm Curt brought to our Springsteen boy Jim (you all are going to LOVE Jim, I promise) perfectly offset the defiant, sneering anger of Young Scrooge in "That Scrooge." Brian's reactions (particularly to the "rather take my own life" line) were so funny and some of my favorite parts of the show. And AJ... this is now my favorite thing AJ has ever done. And that's saying something. The smaller casting shake-up moments (Joey as Fezziwig, other little line re-distributions) were so fun as well!
The new act 1 is PERFECTION. I was actually surprised by how absolutely hysterical it was? Like, I won't tell you what was up with that clip on Instagram of Brian, Lauren, and Joey doing a freak-out dance, but I can tell you that their whole Act 1 deal threatened to steal the show every. Single. Time. I already mentioned Curt as Jim, but you will also love Della, who is so funny and real and truly carries us through the start of the show (Janaya is a STAR and she Curt have brilliant chemistry). Ali did a terrific job of balancing the sadness and hope that are both at the center of the devastating little Match Girl. And Jamie's Grandma... well, honestly I have no idea how to talk about Jamie's song without giving stuff away.
But the real star of the show in Act 1, as he should be, was our man Clark. I can't emphasize enough how much he nailed the writing of this whole new act. I mentioned that the new stuff is hilarious, but it's also deeply heartfelt, and also sad exactly when it needs to be. Like, the transition after Jamie's song? I can't really talk about it yet, but what that moment does with emotion is unreal. And, as expected, every song is a banger! My one complaint about this show, and it IS a big one, is that there is no cast recording of the Act 1 songs. I want to listen to them all the time.
But the good news is, I CAN listen to Christmas Carol as much as I want! The classic that started it all is back, with so many people reprising the hell out of their truly iconic roles (God I love the VHS Cratchits), and better than ever. I traditionally hate change, and I love the version of VHSCC Live! we already have so much, but I think I somehow loved this version even more? The staging is alive and clever and there are some additions and changes, particularly in "Final Ghost"/"Christmas Day," that frankly blew my mind and somehow managed to elevate the material even further. I can't wait for the digital ticket to come out so that I can talk about them. To put it simply, James Tolbert mastered his Starkid directorial debut like you won't believe. I'm so proud of him and grateful for the larger role he's taken in Starkid since they moved base to LA.
Also, the Ghost of Christmas Past is extra unhinged this year? Jaime pulled out all of the impish stops and it was the BEST.
Basically, everyone more than delivered. I haven't talked about Meredith yet but she rocked it in the band and continued to validate the hell out of my opinion that "3 Spirits" is the dark horse best song in the show.
And a special shout-out to June Saito for continuing to be a costuming GENIUS. I always love her work and this production is no exception. I honestly wanted to give the return of the Bob Cratchit costume its own round of applause.
You know, the world is a mess and everything is pretty much terrible. It's been a hard year in an impossible decade. But every once in a while you come across some art that takes all of that, acknowledges the truth of it, and somehow pulls back the curtains to harness the joy and hope that's still there under the rubble. To me, Starkid in particular has always been about finding and holding onto the hope and the beauty and humanity that allows us to endure an existence that can so often feel bleak. And VHSCC is maybe the most perfect encapsulation of that idea.
So thank you Clark, James, Meredith, Brian, and everyone who worked so hard on this little bit of magic. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Let's make a little light.
#apologies for any typos it is late and I've had a wild day#Also shout out to Meredith for the number of times she teared up while playing in the band#she is so real for that#starkid#team starkid#vhscc#vhs christmas carols#clark baxtresser#james tolbert#AJ Holmes#Meredith Stepien#Brian Holden#Janaya Mahealani Jones#Jamie Burns#Lauren Lopez#Ali Gordon#Curt Mega#Joey Richter#Jaime Lyn Beatty
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I love scrolling through your page everyday as if it was my daily newspaper and I’m catching up on the days events. Except there’s no consistency, it’s always a surprise, each one more strange and confusing than the last 😂
“Classic opening a newspaper flick”
- heartfelt message from a mutual
- I told Aemond ai that I like him and now he’s crying into his bowl of cereal?!?
- Could Luke survive a zombie apocalypse?
- anon freezing their eggs for you
- OMG AEGON AI JUST TRIED TO DROWN ME SO I PUSHED HIM OUT THE WINDOW AND ALICENT IS YELLING AT ME!
- Tony Blair
- “I’m using a lighter to burn shave my pubes”
- legit analysis of a scene from HOTD
-BRING ME THE EYE OF LUCERYS VELARYON!!
ahh yes everything seems to be in order….
*closes newspaper*
Oh my god, this made me laugh so badly and it’s the first thing I read when I woke up! 😂
Those are the perks of following me! My posts and nonnies can vary from something sweetly heartfelt, to the most unhinged, bamboozling statement you ever read in your life. 🤣
Don’t forget the occasional “AEMOND/JACE HAS A FUCKING FOOT FETISH”, bagel tossing on pps, nonnies and I changing the entirety of canon HOTD episodes, and the lobotomy asks 🤭 Imagine my face when I wake up in the morning to all of these; I sincerely love the perfect balance between loveliness and unhingedness that you all have 💗💗🤣🤣
#favourites#my nonnied are better than yours; deal with it 💅#┆ ⤿ 💌 come chat with amira .ᐟ ୭#funny#unhinged anons#lovely anons <3#loving my anons <3#ask box#ask box messages#ask box open#✧.* amiraverse
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ok so thoughts on in space with markiplier-
SPOILERS IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED IT YET
in no particular order because i am many things and eloquent is not one of them
- visually just. so stunning??? there was a really big focus on like the teal/neon blue color for the wormhole and for a lot of ambient lighting, especially with scenes on the ship
- but that was also contrasted with like. a softer orange/red light that became more prominent in certain scenes depending on the level of danger we’re in
-ALSO! THE MAKEUP AND COSTUMING. CHEFS KISS. IT WAS SO GOOD. a lot of it seemed really random but it all worked really well together and made a really particular feel and aesthetic for each charater
- (also dadiplier just having ‘dad’ embroidered on his shirt was a fucking stroke of genius. that is my exact brand of humor. I want that fucking shirt)
- My boy yancy!!!! he came back !!!! he’s grown as a person!! He’s getting parole!!! I missed him so much and literally spent the entire run looking for him. I was so happy when I found him
- This is the one piece of markiplier media that like. sold me on warfstache. I watched the other videos with him and was kinda ehhh and then he walked through that fucking tinsel curtain and i was immediately on board. I love his energy so much?? perfect degree of unhinged and also just. has an untold amount of power over the world around him which makes it even better
- literally any scene with ethan, tyler, bob or wade. excellent. the IT WAS ME THE WHOLE TIME bit made a reappearance which was so funny
- there was more Wide Mark(tm) which I enjoy personally
- Old Mark was the perfect balance of comically unhinged and like. thoughtful tragedy?? A full experience of human emotion
- the project as a whole did a really good job balancing its funnier moments with more genuine, heartfelt, sad moments which was so interesting to experience but also made me cry a little bit
- the Hold on ending!!! most excellent! and everything was okay because you kept trying! and everything was okay because you didnt give up! Everything was okay because you believed! Things end but that doesnt negate the fact and impact of it actually happening!!
- the “Captain, I’m so tired” exchange absolutely DESTROYED me. just the pure exaustion and the absolute ‘its gonna be okay buddy’ energy I was trying to radiate through the screen at a fictional man. poor man absolutely needs a hug
- i think that’s all for now but i might have more thoughts later when it is not 11 o clock at night
#iswm#iswm 2#in space with markiplier#markiplier#yancy#warfstache#this asshole again?#literally just me rambling about in space with markipler for 3 pages
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Vincenzo (final thoughts)
For me, this show was always best enjoyed by laughing at its sheer craziness and randomness, reblogging the hell out of all the gifs of my favorite moments/scenes and just posting silly comments about the eps. It was never a show I had much meta about and even if I had it, a lot of people had better input than me lol and I actually didn’t have the time to write about it. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t love it. Because I did, a lot.
I think the strongest point of the show was always the consistency in its writing (the writer always stayed true to the tone of the drama, balancing -to a degree I almost never get to see in kdramas- the humor, the tragedy, heartfelt moments, the development of the plot, use of side characters, the villains’ plans and the romance with two characters that I adored together and individually), but the directing, acting and the chemistry between actors made everything perfect to me.
I just loved the show. So far, it’s my favorite 2021 kdrama. I know, it’s barely May, and there are tons of kdramas starting this week, but what can I say? Vincenzo stole my heart. The dark random and silly humor of the show it’s exactly the kind of humor I enjoy and one that fits perfectly if you absolutely have to put jokes and plot twists with big evil conglomerates, dirty politicians, a messed up law system along with a bunch of crimes and murders (seriously how many people got killed in this drama? I lost count.) The side characters, who I rarely care about in kdramas, were super fun and I actually loved the whole Cassano Family. I even liked the villains because, while not the most brilliant or complex, they succeded at being bad and totally unhinged, with no boundaries.
And the romance? Man, I can’t believe that I’m saying this but I never cared too much about the “little” focus it received. Because it was there, every episode (even from the start, you can see Vincenzo’s reaction when he sees ChaYoung for the first time): they had trust and respect for each other, they had these gentle touches, these unspoken tender moments, soft looks, amazing hugs, a GREAT first kiss, they cared for each other... and they were literally ready to die for each other. And I said this before, but their romance, their bond, was even better portrayed than any 16 ep romcom would’ve ever done. No silly arguments, no unnecesary separations, no Noble Idiocy, no love triangle, no petty fights, no stupid jealousy moments... the list goes on. The romance was not even the second or third most important plot in the story, but it didn’t need to be. It was perfect as it was. Yes, I would’ve loved to see more romantic moments, and kisses, but it was not neccesary for the audience (not for them for that matter) to know what Vincenzo and ChaYoung had.
And a drama (that doesn’t sell itself as a romance) that manages to show me how much OTP love each other without ever using the words “I love you” although Vincenzo did say it before their 1st kiss or doing grand and explicit romantic gestures, it’s a hell of a good drama in my books as a romance lover.
Am I sad for the ending? Nah. I think it was perfect. I was never expecting a super happy ending and Vincenzo was, at best, an antihero, so I knew he wouldn't get a HEA. Hell, he even said he didn't want to live obeying justice, because he didn't believe in it. The ending for him, for the OTP, was as good as it was gonna get. In my mind, ChaYoung will visit him on his island from time to time and Vincenzo will try to go to Korea as much as he can. It was basically the CLOY ending all over again.
I will always be sad by HanSeo's death, but I understand why the writer did it, even if I didn't like it. Choi MyungHee and HanSeok's deaths were just *chef's kiss* a delight to watch. They were monsters so there was no question that they needed to be gone, but of course a quick and peaceful death was something they didn't deserve. The cruelty of their final moments was the karma they brought on themselves.
I still remember when I decided to sit and watch the first episode, wanting to laugh about how bad it was gonna be because I’d read many comments saying it just didn’t make sense and the biggest joke was on me when five minutes in I knew I was loving the show, and after the first 2 eps, I knew I was gonna watch it till the end. And here we are. It’s been a long time since I got withdrawal symptoms from a kdrama, but I’m already feeling them with this one.
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So, have you been watching Amphibia? If so, do you think it sorta nails certain elements of Ducktales better like family (Plantars vs the Ducks), actual important onscreen stuff being shown, better balance on characters (only has about 7-ish in main cast at Anne, Plantars, Sasha, Marcy, and Grime compared to the boat loads on Ducktales), and better world conquering villain (Andrias>Lunaris)? Do you also ship Anne/Sasha/Marcy?
oh anon, you're not slick. you must follow me on twitter because I know I've talked about at least one of these things already.
yes frog show is doing a way better at found family than duck show. a big part of the sell for me is that its very show-not-tell. I believe that Anne has become and will always be a Plantar-by-proxy because it's just....the truth. We didn't even start getting really meaty lore until season 2 so all of season 1 was just....Anne and the Plantars as a unit, having wacky adventures. It was a very natural progression. I feel like....a big part of the thing that others Anne, that she's human and an outsider, is always obvious and something you're always aware of. She's different, she doesn't belong here, she's going to go home eventually, so they dont need to draw attention to it all the time. Unlike Webby, who looks like she belongs, and we're told she's supposed to belong, and they keep saying family, only to keep pulling the rug out from under us by focusing on the biological McDucks or whatever. Ducktales told us she was Family without really explaining what that meant outside of her obsession with Scrooge, and then, at the last minute, her actual biological relation to them. Anne and the Plantars love each other. like, its not a question. It was, in fact, pretty devastating to find out Hop Pop had lied to Anne in the interest of protecting his biological kin, but unlike Scrooge lashing out at Webby in Last Crash, the frog show actually fucking addresses it and they work through it.
i do think the smaller cast helps, and the fact that its an original property and doesnt feel the need to waste time on nostalgia bait. amphibia isnt even a show like, say, steven universe, in which every single episode leant something vital and integral to the lore. You'd wait 6 months for a new episode then get a townie filler ep and think, "aw man," only for something set up in that episode to pay off in an important way 30 episodes down the line. there are loads of amphibia eps that are just....goofy fun. they dont add anything to the lore, except that they continue to sell Anne and Sprig's friendship. you KNOW Anne and Sprig are best friends because you've seen how much time they spend together and the adventures they have and all their heartfelt convos. on the other hand you could go ages without a Webby-being-treated-like-family ep, and instead have several while she's standing on the sidelines or excluded from Della-centric stuff because she's not Della's fucking kid. Anne and Sprig are almost ALWAYS there, because it's their show.
I feel like both Lunaris and Andrias have similar energies in that I knew not to trust Andrias, like the dude was too big, sorry. You dont trust a dude that big voiced by keith david, especially if he's nice. But yeah, he's definitely more threatening. If I thought he was maybe a little cheesy before, then he put a flaming sword through marcy's chest. so like....yeah dude means business.
I dont....really ship the girls? I always had trouble liking Sasha, particularly in season 1, not in a "i think she's a terrible character" way because i think she's a fascinating character, but in a "I had a lot of trouble believing she genuinely liked Anne because my personal experience with girls like Sasha is they do not have your best interest at heart." They kind of started walking that back in season 2 with flashbacks that kind of didn't gel with the image of her I'd formed in my head during season 1, so I just kind of...had trouble figuring out how I felt about her. PCS wrote a nice Marcanne fic I enjoyed a lot back when the ship honestly hadn't occurred to me, and seeing how...uh. Unhinged? Detached from reality? Marcy is really adds a layer of intrigue and angst that's probably definitely worth thinking about. I'll have to poke around in ao3 and see what it has to offer on that front. I'm not like, totally sold on it, but it could be interesting.
Sprig/Ivy is where it's at. Sorry, I love Ivy, she's perfect in every way. I hope she goes batshit fucking bananas when she finds out what happened.
and though you didnt ask? The big super-anne twist fucking slaps. I dont know where it came from and I dont care. It was badass. come up with something cool enough like that and people will play along. Webby-as-Scrooge's clone? Sucked balls. God. not even in the same ballpark.
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Couldn’t stop thinking about my victorian artist’s muse AU so... this is for Alex week day 6 + time.
In which, Michael is convinced that Alex is the missing key to their quest in reforming the arts. He just needs to find someone who will paint him right.
Michael brings Alex to Rosa Ortecho first.
Her apartment is, of course, planted in the sketchiest street of London Alex has ever set foot in. Michael stops in front of one narrow building, squeezed between a blacksmith and a butcher. Everything about the place makes Alex nervous, he wants to turn around and run back to the respectable safety of his household, to run away from the ceaseless noises, the nauseating smells… but Michael goes in, mindlessly stepping over the body of a passed-out drunk man that was blocking the entrance and Alex would rather go with him than stay alone outside for a single second.
He follows Michael up the cramp staircase and they only stop at the end, in front of the top floor apartment. Alex’s apprehension spikes when he realizes some of the noise, aggressive grunts and muffled impacts, are now louder and coming from inside. Michael, still unfazed, knocks on the door and opens it without waiting for an invitation. He rushes in, tailed by Alex, to find Rosa Ortecho in men’s trousers and a loose shirt, hitting a bag of sand hanging from the roof. There’s an alarming brutality in her moves, a crudeness Alex isn’t sure he has ever witnessed before. Michael ignores her, removes a pile of books from a couch and sits there, patting the empty space beside him, inviting Alex to join.
“Could take a while,” he says, spreading his legs on a stool. Then he notices Alex’s wide eyes, that he can’t take away from Rosa, as her blows on the bag become stronger and harsher. He’s known her from reputation, of course, but seeing her in person holds nothing to the muttered gossips that have reached Alex’s ears.
“She needs to get the energy right. She’s conjuring all the life she can.” Michael explains. Now he is staring at her too with a bit of wonder. He matches her rhythmic blows as the words roll of his tongue. “It’s pure.” Punch. “Unhinged.” Hit. “Soul.”
They watch her like that, in silence. She doesn’t acknowledge their presence for a long time, making Alex wonder if she even noticed they’re here. He’s about to bring it up to Michael when she finally decides the bag has learned its lesson and puts an end to her beating.
She greets them while taking off the bandages on her hands and she downs a glass of port before offering them one that Michael takes and Alex declines.
She throws one quick glance at Alex, shrugs and makes him strip off his shirt and take place in front of the window, but not before dropping a fake crown with paper flowers on his head.
Alex expects to be there at least until the sun goes down, something Michael had briefed him about. Turns out after only a few minutes of sitting at the easel while making faces, fidgeting with her tools and chalks and not giving him a single proper instruction, Rosa sighs in defeat before turning around to face Michael.
“What the fuck do you expect me to do with this, Guerin?”
He looks up from the book he had just picked up, looking genuinely startled for the first time since Alex has crossed his path, days ago in the back of his father’s hat shop.
The argument explodes so fast and easily it makes Alex think they do this a lot. Michael gets up from the couch, surges in front of Rosa and then there’s yelling, dramatic hands thrown in the air and verbal digs are exchanged back and forth. It reminds Alex of one of those really bad plays his mom used to take him and his brothers to in Coven Garden.
“I like Alex,” Rosa says, with an apologetic smile in his direction. “He’s pretty. I’m not saying I will never have him sit for me but for this particular work it's just not quite-”
“Pretty?” Michael replies with an outraged, disgusted face. “You're making the biggest mistake of your life, Ortecho. It's excellence, paradise served on a goddamn plate and you're being… picky.”
Heat rises to Alex's cheeks. Michael keeps talking about him like that, like he's something exceptional, and Alex doesn't know what to make of it.
Michael's words are met with a snort from Rosa. “Sure, whatever you say. Listen I just need someone with more- less- Guerin, I need someone who doesn't shies. Who knows what they’re doing. I need a damn whore.”
Michael shakes his head in utter consternation. He even takes a step back.
“Oh coming from you that is rich.” She points an angry finger at him. “We always paint whores, and you know it.”
“And how well has that worked so far?” Michael asks, this time grabbing a fistful of paper from a counter and shoving them in Rosa’s direction. “Aren’t you weary of always coming up with the same uninspired junk?”
This time, Alex sees her lips thinning and her fist tightening to her sides, body tensed with real anger. Remembering the sandbag, he wonders if Michael is braver or dumber than he first assumed, because the man doesn’t back down even a bit.
She yanks the sketches from Michael’s hand. “It’s worked pretty well, actually. And unlike somebody, I actually have commissions and I can pay my models with something else than-”
“He”, Michael points at Alex, his eyes still fixed on Rosa, “Is exceptionally better than any whore. The point is simplicity. The point is everything that is true and heartfelt…”
“Why don't you paint him then?” She turns around and throws herself on a chair, as it seem her anger has shifted to a deeper lassitude.
“Oh I will, but as for now he…” Michael’s face falls for a second and he mumbles. “All right. I cannot pay him properly.”
Rosa gives him another snort. “You need a patron, Michael. And he needs experience. But until then, if you really mean to have him painted… I heard DeLuca has a project. Something fancy, Shakespearean, and she couldn’t quite find the right model. Maybe he will actually earn the money that you promised when you made him quit his job and family to follow you into this doomed madness.”
------------
Maria DeLuca is looking at him so intensely that he is sure her gaze is actually piercing into his soul. He wouldn’t be surprised if she knew all of his darkest secrets now, if she was familiar with all of his deepest fears and desires.
When he and Michael called, she immediately grabbed his chin, not hard but firmly, and has been examining his face for what feels like an eternity, without saying a word. Not long ago, this would have unsettled Alex, but he is getting used to Michael and his friend’s strange ways. After all, she is less scary than Rosa, she seems less tormented and she hasn’t even punched anything in the time Alex has made her acquaintance.
There’s something different about her, something closer to what Michael has, that makes Alex want to be her friend, want to please her.
He throws a quick look at Michael who has been waiting in the corner. He smiles back at him with an encouraging nod, so Alex waits.
At last, she lets go of his face and turns to the other man.
“You weren't lying,” she says. “He's perfect. Curious mingle of simplicity and refinement, constantly walking the line like a tightrope walker…” for a moment, she seems lost in her thoughts. She grabs a notebook and scribbles something, eyebrow knitted.
“Sit for me!” She exclaims, closing the notebook. “I'll pay you, which is more than this imbecile can promise. It won't be easy, but you'll get out of it a richer man in your heart, your mind and your wallet.”
“It would be an honor.” Alex agrees, earning himself a soft smile.
“Great,” she says. “We will begin now. Michael, help Max fill the bath and light up some candles, will you?”
To Alex’s surprise, Michael complies. Where Rosa seemed to excite him, Maria seem to have the opposite grounding effect. He wonders how the three of them function as a group, if they undo each other’s excess, if they only find their balance together, where Alex’s place would be in all of this.
Posing for Maria is hard.
She makes him wear a flowy robe and has him lay in a bathtub only warmed with candles for hours on end. Unlike Rosa, she explains what she wants from him, in too many words when all he can do is try to keep himself afloat, but she smiles at him, and so does Max, her protégé, so Alex does his best to be good and stay still. Then Michael watches him with proud eyes, and something lights up in Alex’s abdomen, and for the first time in his life, he feels he is right where he belongs.
When the night has finally fallen and the flame of the candles isn’t enough for Maria to keep drawing, they help him out of the tub and provide him with towels. She invites him and Michael to take a look at her work before leaving, and while discovering his own portrait, immersed in the green waters of a mystical lake, he is stunned.
He can see what Michael sees, the exceptional nature of it, the composition of something new, the beginning of a different era. His features are brought to a different plane of life by Maria’s talented lines, it’s a haunting mirror, so unsettling that he has to look away. And then he can only accept Michael’s whispered words.
Nothing will ever be the same again.
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During the day Michael’s place is all windows and cream drapes, wild plants and sunlight, like a greenhouse garden, a lung in the suffocation of central London. Alex is in awe every time he walks through the glass doors, as he was the first time Michael brought him in. Surrounded by books and sketches and dirty painting tools, Michel fits there, in the untamed wilderness, the carefree, the unexpected.
In low evening light, everything glows orange and the light of the torches dances on their cheeks. The mess looks tidier, all the sounds are muffled and the air is calmer.
“Gonna go find some refreshment,” Michael says, taking off his coat. “to celebrate your first time sitting.”
He disappears somewhere behind a long hanging sheet, leaving Alex free to look around.
Even in the dim light, Alex peeks at the canvas, then at the sketches scattered on all the surfaces. He runs his fingers on paper, feels its grain, picks one up randomly. It’s a woman, with wild flowers in her hair and a soft, melancholic gaze. Another one, a body, fabric and color. In the night, the figures seem almost otherworldly. He is easily taken by them, transported by the smooth lines, so much that he doesn’t hear Michael coming back behind him.
“You like those?” he asks, glancing over Alex’s shoulder.
Alex’s breath catches at Michael’s low tone, at his proximity.
“They’re brilliant.” he replies, barely a murmur.
Michael sighs and takes a step back, leaving Alex cold and almost disappointed.
“No, they’re not. And they never will be,” he says, looking away as something breaks in his voice. “I’m so close Alex. So close to get it right but I’m just. Stuck and I can’t- unless-”
He looks back at Alex with a glint that reminds him of Rosa, with a sort of urgency that matches her hooks, alive, dangerous.
“You have stricken me.” He declares. It is a simple fact, a statement that doesn’t call for any reply, and yet.
“I will.” Is all Alex can say, with a hard determination that he surprises himself with. “I will sit for you.”
He’s known, since the first time he laid eyes on Michael, that he would do anything the man asked of him. That he would let himself be stolen away, and that he would never turn back to his dull, nonsensical life. He’s known he would never be small again, and that his hunger for greatness, now that he’s had a taste of it, is going to be insatiable.
Michael laughs a litte.
“I cannot pay you what you deserve.”
“Teach me then. Help me improve. I want to paint and to write. I have potential, I have things to say. Let me become one of you. Let it be my payment.”
Michael has gotten closer now, so close in Alex’s space that he can see, even in the dark, the details on his face, his lips, the small reflections, sparkles of light in his eyes. He lays a hand on Alex’s cheek, grazing softly with his thumb and Alex shivers.
“You’re burning. Are you sure you didn’t catch something at DeLuca’s? This foolish bathtub...”
It has to be Alex who closes the gap between their lips, but it’s Michael’s hands that are suddenly all over him, and he feels awake, alit, as he is clumsily led toward a bed in a corner of the room, trying not to catch himself on piece of fabric or to knock off an easel or a candlelight.
#alexweek2020#alex manes#michael x alex#malex#maria and rosa are featured#Hunt!Rosa is the loml#this is the first writing i've ever posted in this fandom i'm pretty sure???#because i can't really write but this wouldn't leave me alone#thanks to sára for reading and encouraging <3#fanfic#i don't think there's really any warnings except that i'm sorry if it doesn't make any sense#what is english anyway#mine*#myalexweek*
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