App for synodiporia

[tireur]

P L A Y E R;
NAME: PG
AGE: 31
PLAYER JOURNAL: quantumvelvet
TIMEZONE: EST
CONTACT: quantumvelvet, quantumvelvet at gmail
OTHER CHARACTERS PLAYED: Sabetha Belacoros (amadine)

C H A R A C T E R;
NAME: Aramis
CANON: BBC's The Musketeers
POINT IN CANON: Following the Series 1 finale
AGE: Early 30s
APPEARANCE: Here
CANON HISTORY: Not much is said of Aramis' past prior to the beginning of the series. We're told that his father used to make grape and honey brandy, and that his parents wanted him to become a priest - that he, in fact, went through some of the education, but determined that he was better suited to more earthly pursuits (notably, unlike his literary counterpart, he shows no sign of regretting this, or of wishing to become an abbe). Given his education, mannerisms, mode of speech, and overall apparent comfort with the lifestyles of the wealthy, we can assume that his family was well to do. We know that when he was 16, he was betrothed to a young woman named Isabelle, and that though the marriage was arranged because she was pregnant, he genuinely loved her and wanted a life with her. She lost the child, however, and was (as far as he knew) sent into seclusion in a convent, breaking the betrothal in the process.

It can be assumed that Aramis' parents passed away at some point between the broken betrothal and the beginning of the series, as he speaks of them only in the past tense, and when asked about his family states that his brothers in arms are all he has. Given his education, manner of speech, and comfort with the customs of the wealthy, it can also be assumed that they were wealthy, though he is himself a poor soldier.

Some time during the next ten years or so, Aramis was granted a comission with the King's Musketeers. He befriended the musketeer Porthos, who would go on to be his closest friend. Five years before the beginning of the series, he was assigned to a unit on training exercises in the duchy of Savoy. The group was attacked in the night, by what they presumed to be a Spanish raiding party. Aramis was injured early on in the fighting, and pulled back to safety by Marsac, a friend and fellow musketeer. Marsac fled the battlefield afterward, leaving Aramis alone in the woods with their dead colleagues.

Given the timelines given in the show and the fact that Athos needs to be informed on screen of Aramis's connection to the massacre at Savoy, I'm assuming that Aramis met the third of the eponymous Three Musketeers shortly after the event. They, along with Porthos, became an inseparable trio, rising fairly high in their captain's esteem.

The series itself opens roughly five years after the massacre at Savoy, with the arrival of a young Gascon by the name of d'Artagnan, who has come to Paris to seek vengeance on Athos for the murder of his father. This was the first indication that there was someone attempting to discredit the musketeers, though further proof came shortly afterward, as Athos was arrested for murder and banditry along the roads leading to Paris. Aramis and Porthos took it upon themselves to investigate the attacks, and brought d'Artagnan into their plans, as the only witness to whom they had access. They discovered that the uniforms used by the highwaymen had been stolen from a party of musketeers slain on assignment, and managed to track down one of the bandits, who in turn led them to the rest of his crew. Though the majority of the bandits were slain in the resulting battle, the confession of the man they'd captured, along with the stolen uniforms found in the bandit camp, were enough to allow Aramis and Porthos to clear their friend's name. This led to the musketeer trio expanding to include d'Artagnan.

Some time after this, Aramis saved the queen's life for the first time, during a prison break that took place during her customary Easter visit in order to pardon several criminals. In thanks, she gave him her crucifix, which he took to wearing in place of his own.

The next incident of particular note came at the close of an assignment to escort a wealthy explorer and slaver to Paris for trial. Upon discovering that the man they'd just spent the past several days repeatedly saving was, rather than being punished for risking France's treaty with the Spanish, had instead been tasked with forming a French colony in the New World and was going to turn right back around and start trading slaves again, the quartet hatched a plan to hand him over to the men who had been pursuing him. This would technically be treason, though they weren't found out for it.

This willingness to go against the letter of the law in service of what he believed to be right proves a pattern going forward. First, a visit to the crown by the Duke of Savoy coincided with the return of Marsac, intent on assassinating the duke. His attempt failed, and Aramis caught him escaping. Once he'd heard Marsac's suspicions that the Duke, and not a Spanish raiding party, had been responsible for the massacre five years previous, Aramis convinced d'Artagnan to help him hide his former friend for long enough for him to investigate the claims. The investigation led to the realization that not only was Marsac correct about the Duke's involvement, the musketeer troupe had been sent into a trap by their own captain, M. de Treville. When confronted, Treville explained that he had been operating under the King's orders, and was unaware of the full extent of the ploy, or the casualties that would result - the entire exercise had been a feint in order to protect the Duchess of Savoy, the King's sister and his spy within the Duke's court. While Aramis was satisfied with the explanation, Marsac was not, and Aramis found himself having to kill his friend to protect his captain.

The second such incident came about some time later, while Aramis and d'Artagnan were assigned to escort a young woman and her child to Paris at the behest of the Cardinal. The child was kidnapped just as the two men arrived, and the simple escort mission turned to a rescue. In the process, Aramis bonded with Agnes, the child's widowed mother. When it was discovered that the child was being sought because he was actually the King's nephew, the firstborn son of the King's (heretofore unheard of) older twin, he realized that at best, the baby would be spirited away to be raised by someone who had no idea of his parentage, and at worst (and far more likely), the baby would be killed. Rather than allowing this to happen, he opted to help Agnes escape France with her son, and set out to do so without informing his friends of his plans. They, of course, followed after him, and hatched a quick and dirty plan to fake the infant's death, then reunite him with Agnes afterward, once they knew there would be no reason for anyone to pursue her.

Sometime later, Aramis and his friends were charged with investigating Ninon, the Comtesse de Larroque, after one of her students died attempting to get a letter to the Queen. He was shocked and angry when she was arrested and charged with witchcraft, at the behest of a papal emissary visiting Cardinal Richlieu. During the trial itself, Richlieu was poisoned by that same emissary, who intended to see the poisoning passed off as evidence of witchcraft. Aramis managed to save the Cardinal's life (something that may come back to bite him later), and Athos convinced the man to spare Ninon's life in return for her forfeiting her identity - and her fortune, which had been the reason he'd gone along with the charges in the first place.

Events continued apace, and the four friends were assigned to accompany Queen Anne on a journey to a sacred spring renowned for its powers of fertility. The trip was interrupted by an assassination attempt, claiming the life of one of the Queen's handmaids, and forcing the party to take flight. Knowing they couldn't easily outrun the assassins, the musketeers split up, Aramis and Athos taking the Queen to shelter in a convent, and d'Artagnan and Porthos riding on to Paris to get reinforcements. At the convent, Aramis was reunited with his old love, Isabelle, and found that she had a very different view of their parting than he did - rather than being sent away by her father, she'd opted to join the convent herself after losing the baby, reasoning that it would be kinder to the both of them. She didn't believe Aramis would have ever been happy in a settled, married life, and stated that this way, they'd both found their true calling - her to God, and him as a soldier.

Shortly after this conversation, Isabelle was shot by one of the assassins, who had managed to break in through the cellars of the convent, and died in Aramis's arms. Grief-stricken and questioning both his view of the past and his worth, Aramis confessed his insecurities to the Queen, who reassured him that he was a good man, and that any woman would be lucky to have his love. In a display of stunningly poor judgment by all parties involved, Aramis and Queen Anne slept together. Athos caught them the next morning, though the resulting confrontation between the two musketeers was brief, owing to the continued risk from the assassins.

Fortunately, Porthos and d'Artagnan returned with reinforcements in time, and the musketeers discovered in the saddlebags of the assassins' leader the signature of the woman who had hired them - a woman in the employ of Cardinal Richlieu.

Knowing they couldn't accuse Richlieu without proof, the musketeers hatched a plan to get him to implicate himself. They staged a confrontation between d'Artagnan and Athos, faking Athos' death and allowing d'Artagnan to go into the Cardinal's employ. d'Artagnan was to claim that Captain Treville had a letter from the assassins' leader implicating the Cardinal in the assassination plot, and to suggest offering to trade him to Aramis and Porthos for that letter, reasoning that their code of honour would require them to avenge Athos' death even if it meant stealing the letter and destroying their only proof of the Cardinal's treachery.

In truth, Aramis and Porthos used the meeting in order to fool the Cardinal into confessing his part in the assassination attempt so that the Queen, hiding in the wings, might overhear it. They were surprised when she decided to spare the Cardinal's life and keep his treachery from the King, provided he continue to work for the good of France...and even more surprised when, not long afterward, she revealed that she was with child, putting paid to the rumours of infertility that had prompted the assassination attempt in the first place.

Following her announcement, Aramis pledged that he would do everything in his power to protect the Queen's child (who was implied, at least, to also be his own), then rejoined his friends to ride off into the sunset.

CANON PERSONALITY: On the surface, Aramis is charming and gregarious, a romantic at heart who delights in life's pleasures and beauty. He's a bit of a daredevil, a bit of a show-off, and is typically friendly and quick to put someone at ease. He remarks early on in the series that he's not accustomed to being unpopular - he prefers to be liked by the people around him, and is willing to put in the effort to make it so. However, the majority of his relationships are transient things. He has temporary affairs with women who catch his eye, he befriends people for the span of a single journey, and then he moves on. His only lasting bonds are to his fellow musketeers - and most crucially to Athos, Porthos, and d'Artagnan - and, as of his vow to her, to Queen Anne.

This doesn't mean, however, that he considers other people trivial, or is willing to use and discard them. Aramis genuinely cares for the people who pass through his life. He cherishes his lovers, is genuinely concerned for the happiness and well-being of his acquaintances, and is quick to show compassion to those he believes are in need of a kind word or gesture, whether they are friends, passing acquaintances, or clear strangers. While he occasionally attempts to remain aloof, he is incapable of sitting idly by and watching someone suffer needlessly if he can take action, even at great risk to himself. He merely structures his life around primarily short-term relationships, caring for others while they're there, and letting them go when either mutual agreement or the restless life of a career soldier requires it.

While those who aren't familiar with him may think this makes him fickle, Aramis is, in truth, incredibly loyal. He is devoted to his ideals, to his friends, and to his duty, in roughly that order. He will not, as shown when he shoots Marsac to save Treville, go against his own conscience and sense of justice at the request of a friend, but in any other circumstance, the people he cares for come first, even above his own duty and far above his own safety. His duty to the crown and the country comes a close third, and he is entirely willing to lay down his life fulfilling that duty. While he is occasionally shown going against orders, it is always in the service of what he believes to be good and just, or in order to save the life of someone he cares for.

Betrayal is, in fact, one of the few things that has been shown to make Aramis truly angry. Desertion, treachery, and the mere suggestion of abandoning or giving up on a friend will provoke him into a shouting match at best, and physical confrontation at worst. The suggestion that Treville might have betrayed his musketeers was enough to make him risk court martial in order to investigate, and he has snapped at his closest friends for the mere suggestion that another of them might be guilty of a crime they'd been accused of. His loyalty and loathing of treachery is, in fact, enough that it forms one of the cornerstones of the plan to entrap the Cardinal - if either he or Porthos had been any less loyal or prone to punish betrayal, it never would have worked.

While Aramis's heart and sense of loyalty does occasionally land him in trouble, it doesn't make him as easy to manipulate as some might assume. He is an astute judge of character and motivation, and understands what makes others tick. He also knows how to use this knowledge to his advantage, and though he is typically shown using this skill for the greater good (or, at least, in the fullfilment of his duties), he has the capacity to be a manipulative bastard if he so desires. He has a ruthless streak that, while it generally manifests only when he's facing down an enemy, can be incredibly chilling - he is perfectly able to discuss the specifics of shooting a captive, nonlethally but incredibly painfully, in order to extract information, and give every indication of being absolutely willing to go through with it if need be.

Which, of course, he is. Aramis is, at heart, a soldier and sevant of the crown. He will, if he has no pressing moral reason not to, follow orders, kill the enemies of his King and country, and do it without flinching. As kind as he can be in peacetime, he is very good at compartmentalizing, and while he may regret the necessity of taking a life, he will not hesitate if he believes it necessary.

Though he never did become a priest, Aramis is a deeply spiritual man. He will, if there is no religious official present, often pray for the fallen, be they ally or enemy. He believes in a forgiving God, one who loves humanity for its idiosyncracies, rather than judging them harshly. He has a stated distaste for the use of religion as a goad to violence, and scoffs openly at accusations of witchcraft.

He is, at one point, described as a man of contradictions: "a soldier who preaches love, a famous libertine who cherishes women". It's a pretty fair assessment - he's a man who enjoys company, but lets few people near, who can be deeply compassionate or a ruthless killer depending on the circumstances, who values duty and honour, but will put both aside in the service of what's right, who believes deeply in his God, but rejects aspects of the church with which he disagrees. He says that he is searching for truth, and ultimately, he seems to have found it in his friends, his idea of justice, and his love of life.

POINT OF DEPARTURE:

ABILITIES: Aramis is an excellent shot with both a pistol and a long gun, a skilled swordsman, and a skilled brawler. He's also capable of throwing a knife with reasonable accuracy. He is well-read in both French and Latin, and speaks at least one language (Spanish) in addition to his mother tongue. He's a decent tracker, an astute investigator (given the limitations of the time), and a very competent medic (again, by the standards of the time). He's also a good judge of character, an astute observer of human behaviour, and a good liar when need be. He can ride a horse extremely well, and is versed in wilderness survival, hunting, and fishing.

INVENTORY; Clothing, crucifix, his field med kit, sword, main gauche, a boot knife, his pistol, a bag of shot, and gunpowder. (Note: ammo and med kit will be depleted if he is allowed to come in as a veteran.)

ANYTHING ELSE WE SHOULD KNOW? If possible, I'd like to bring him in as a veteran Traveler, who's been around since three Jaunts previous to Moebius.

S A M P L E S;
FIRST PERSON:

[Aramis has an arm around a young man's shoulder, smiling and amiable.]

I understand your impulses. You want to fix everything. Just sweep in, set it right, and leave everyone happy and secure when you go. Frankly, if you didn't want that, I'd be concerned.

[The boy mutters something that might be an agreement; Aramis sobers.]

Let me give you a bit of advice: don't get involved. You don't need to learn everything about their lives, or solve every problem. You shouldn't try. You'll just bring trouble down on your head. On all our heads. And then, when you're gone, it will all fall back to the way it was.

You weren't thinking of staying, were you?

[The muttering this time is negative, and Aramis nods, as though that's nothing more than he'd expected.]

Good. Then again: don't get involved.

[And if he follows his own advice for more than an hour, it might just be a miracle.]

THIRD PERSON: There is something calming about tending to his kit. Aramis doesn't do it as meditation; it's a necessary part of soldiering, something he does because to not do so would be unforgivably careless. Unmaintained gear is worse than useless. A sword that hasn't been sharpened might, rather than dealing a lethal blow, instead result in a wound that causes a slow and agonizing death. A gun that hasn't been cleaned and tended might misfire, or fail to fire at all, leaving him a liability. And a poorly kept medical kit... Ah, that's the worst one yet. He'd seen men die of sepsis, feverish and twisting in pain, reeking of death, flesh gone black with rot and sloughing off. He'd seen men bleed out, wounds poorly bandaged, with nothing to stitch them shut. Better to die clean, he thinks, than go out like that, fevered and mad, or watching your life slip away, drop by drop, second by second.

Better still to have someone there with steady hands, a clear head, and the necessities to clean and stitch the wound before it can ever get that far.

And so he takes the time to tend his gear after every assignment, with the steady precision of old habit and the focused care of someone who knows full well the risks inherent in missing a step. And he checks it when he stops for the night, or for a break while riding, or while waiting for the Queen and her handmaids to finish at the spring. (And if that, in particular, had also been a distraction from the fact that the Queen was swimming nearby and really, he should know better than to look...well, it had failed him in the end, but at least his equipment had been in good shape for the fight that followed. Even if it hadn't saved Isabelle – Sister Helene – in the end.)

And he's realized, over the years, that it's calming. That it means he's alive to do something so mundane as clean his pistol, or mend a strap that's begun to fray, or sharpen his sword. That it means he's more likely to survive than an enemy who's careless enough to let his powder get damp. That, while he cannot make his friends immortal, they will never die because he doesn't have cord and a needle to stitch them up, or poultices to stave off an infection.

And besides, watching d'Artagnan's expression every time he drags him off to help see to the guns will never, he's sure, stop being entertaining.