Behind stage curtains...

Artful.

Does regret ever cross your mind? Do you miss the warmth and comfort of another person being around you? I can only imagine how rough you are on yourself, darling.

With what you've done, what you've accomplished...is it even possible for redemption?

The conductor began, calm but melancholic, "I don't think I need to spell my answer out to you; Why do you think I've let myself live in isolation for a decade and a half?"

He sighed, as if letting go of the weight of the weight of the next words that would have on him.

There was a grit in his voice, "I don't — and should never — be redeemed, even if I myself wish it were otherwise." He could feel his throat run dry. "I took many lives that day, out of my own ego. I didn't mean to... take it that far; It all happened so fast, I-I couldn't help it-" the words choked him.

His body began to betray the conductor as a tear leaked from his eye and a sob escaped him.

Like practiced routine, his stagehands shrank themselves to wipe his tears, caress his face and back. A mechanically cold mimicry of human comfort done by porcelain — it was all he could have, really... all he could allow himself to feel.

...

In a distant past, everyone was happy.

Fans smiled, hecklers mocked; It didn't matter.

There was joy.

Now, all that's remembered from that day was silence;

All that could be remembered is the smell of organic metal;

All that could be remembered was the sound of sirens and a loved one's lamentations.

All that could be remembered...

How a foolish man took away his and every other children's futures.

...

Thank you for 50 followers.

⚠️ // Flashing images, Blood

So... Can you get into detail about Bernadette? I am curious to learn more about her and her role in this au

♠️ As you probably know, Bernadette is the older sister to AOFO's #1 fan Émile. Key character traits of hers are: Protective, Aggressive, and Spiteful.

♠️ My intentions for her character is similar to Émile's, to reflect Artful's character. If Émile is meant to reflect better traits of Jean, Bernadette reflects worse traits of him; both posses anger issues that led to their crimes, and both posses self-destructive tendencies that manifest in their respective personalities (ie. Bernadette's lack of self-care, Jean's imposed isolation and touch avoidance)

♠️ Additionally, both characters haven't let go of what had happened. Artful still laments over the incident and refuses to forgive himself, while Bernadette (though dormant) would still gladly pick up her axe and go on a manhunt if she knew Artful is still alive and knew where he was. Even if 15-16 years have passed since then, she still holds onto the vendetta strongly.

♠️ More lighthearted information about Bernadette will be reblogged with this post by a side blog. Keep your eyes peeled for that if you're interested. 👀

🐻 Bernadette Trivia

She was based on the idea of a ferocious grizzly bear, hence why she's named Bernadette.

Unlike the achromatic asswipe (Artful), Bernadette has a big sweet tooth. Even though she's 35-36 and seriously needs to watch herself.

Her preferred clothes are polo shirts.

She likes braiding; it's why she keeps her hair long.

Her inspirations are:

SAIKAI by Mili

Ishmael from Limbus Company

My hatred towards that Frenchman

The concept of slashers

I don't believe anyone asks this but do you suffer from any depth perception issues, Conductor? Not to be rude, but you're blind on one eye, how did you even get a scar in the first place?

"I used to struggle with it. Of course, nowadays, it's a non-issue that hardly matters in my day-to-day."

"As for where I got it..."

The Conductor seemed to hesitate for a moment.

"...I'm sure I've disclosed of it before when answering a rude visitor; I got it from an old friend. That's all."

[Following content warning: Non-graphic scarring and blood.]

For the Mod, do you have a design for Bernadette or Èmile? I'm curious on what they look like

♠️ I am glad you asked.

♠️ During the time of the incident, Bernadette was around 19 years old. The age displayed here is her age in the current time of AOFO.

♠️ Usually I'd reserve loredrops like this within @abackstageorchestra, but... I don't have any formal ways of illustration at the moment, so I've been sadly holding off on it and the milestone post...

#backstage stories #die of death oc #dod oc #solely for you

I really want to make his N1 relevant to his character. So, forgive me whenever I try to shoehorn the elephant in the room into posts.

I am still trying to figure things out.

I don't want Émile to be a set piece that only gets mentioned as "the kid Artful killed", when I can do so much more by explaining/showing why this brat even mattered to him, when there's other brats that also attend his shows.

#backstage stories

AOFO N1 FAN LORE POST

⚠️🟢 // Mentions and Mild Descriptions of Abuse

Émile's home life wasn't great. Even when he had a loving older sister, his parents were still as broken as they can be — an absentee father and a mother who resents both his birth and appearance.

He never usually faces the ire of his mother; both due to her more preferring to be isolated, and to his older sister — Bernadette — taking the hits reserved for him onto herself.

He found solace in fantasy and the concept of magic; even fell in love with a show that featured magicians displaying their tricks snd stunts, because they all felt real to him, even if in the end they would explain away the illusion.

And when Émile learned of Artful performing nearby? He was absolutely overjoyed and went to see him as fast as he could — the prospect of seeing a magician outside of birthday parties he was rarely invited to, doing new tricks that weren't dragging repeats of what he already knew...it just fueled him.

... Long story short. You know it ended in tragedy.

Not tagging. If this comes up in your dash, congratulations. You are fortunate.

Sneak peek at 100+ follower special.

*hands you a mug with “DON’T TALK TO ME UNTIL I’VE HAD MY THOUSAND YEARS OF IMPRISONMENT FOR WHAT I HAVE DONE” printed on the side*

A gift 😊

The Conductor examined the mug... He looked to be scrutinising it.

A small huff blew out of his nose.

He seemed to be amused with the gift!

"Thank you. I will be using this," a small smile was on his lips.

#backstage stories #the lone conductor #an orchestra for one

Beautiful things happen in this blog sometimes.

An Orchestra For One

10 Fun Facts about The Conductor!

(Artful/Orchestraful Headcanons)

1. He grows flowers and some vegetables in his garden:

Flowers - White Roses, White Lilies, Blue and Pink Hydrangeas (Given by an Asker).

Vegetables - Potatoes, Carrots, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Cucumbers.

2. He knows how to cook decently.

3. All books he had gathered throughout the years were from different sources; Thrown out, self-made magic journals, and ones he copied from different libraries when he still snuck into public spaces.

4. All clothes he usually wears are magically made, except for the signature Orchestraful outfit associated with his image. That one was something he found in the ruins of the old house relatively intact.

5. He is the shortest of his family and takes a lot of his appearance from his mother.

6. He doesn't consider Fromage as his last name anymore.

7. Sometimes, The Conductor practices dancing with puppets. He doesn't do this to puppets specialised for visitors because they're warm, actively avoiding full contact with them.

8. He has written his own songs and own literature — a lot of them are melancholic. All books contained with these are magically closed shut.

9. He still finds fondness in performing magician's tricks made to entertain. Every opportunity presented where he can do so, he always takes.

10. Every time he thinks of himself, it's always him as Artful instead of Jean.

#backstage stories #an orchestra for one #die of death #die of death artful #die of death orchestraful #dod artful #orchestraful #the lone conductor

Replicated Intimacy

You yearn for another's touch, yet you know yourself that such a precious thing doesn't belong to you — especially you.

But...

You were always such a greedy man, weren't you, Jean?

Even in guilt, you think of yourself. Disgusting.

Perhaps the comfort of plastic really does suit you.

artful-detector

( Cutely puts dialog of one of my OCs related to Artful :3 )

"That puppet is nothing more than a fake. A mockery of the human you called your friend. As much as you wish it to be, it's not real."

"...I remembered, Magician."

"You cried, pleading and screaming to 'them', over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over."

"Did you really not notice yourself clutching their head? You didn't notice you crying? You didn't hear yourself screaming your apologies and regrets?"

"...but then, you stopped, and quickly shoved it into the fire."

"..."

"...It's strange."

"You beg for forgiveness, and you completely reject it when given another chance."