Post by Francis "France" Bonnefoy on Jan 23, 2011 1:12:29 GMT -5
(Image not by me.)
Name: Francis Bonnefoy
Country/ Code Name: France
Age: 24 (making him a year older so that he can have been in Londinium longer as a pirate)
Gender: male
Affiliation: Pirate
Ship Positions: Quartermaster(/First Mate), can act as Navigator, and if a dire emergency, can pilot an airship quite poorly
What ship would you like to join? I’ll have to figure that out once we get more players in place. ^_~
If we get a Spain who is interested in playing Boss with France as your First Mate and Belgium as your Navigator, we’re up for it! I’ll temporarily align myself with mon frer Gilbert and wreak havoc on Londinium as the Bad Touch Duo, HON HON HON! *creates terror with the awesome Prussia until Spain comes along and France gets distracted and wanders off*
Background:
Even though he currently makes his way as a pilferer of goods, Francis did not start out that way. He is actually of noble blood, coming from a long line of Europan merchant traders in the Republic of Gaul. He grew up learning the ways of business and the finer life, but his heart was never really in it. His parents were often infuriated that he spent his free time at parties and wining-and-dining with the local aristocracy, rather than taking his studies seriously. Francis is the carefree-type, who would prefer to have fun and enjoy life than worry about trivial matters such as business relations. However, with his quick wit and natural charisma, he was actually very skilled at trade negotiations. His parents often sent him as an envoy to help with negotiations in other parts of the Empire from the time he was 17. He has therefore had a lot of exposure to many different places and people, and Francis has partied with them all. He would do his job just enough to make his parents satisfied, but spent his free time as he pleased.
Five years ago, his family asked Francis to help establish a new import/export depot in a port town in Albion. Francis spent six months helping with all of the business matters, but this was the most involved job they had ever assigned him to, and he quickly grew weary of the long hours and tip-toe-ing around other merchants’ egos. He began spending more and more time in the bars and brothels and less time showing up to meetings and dealings. Francis’ family contacted him with the intention of straightening him out, but at such iron-handed provocation, Francis decided this lifestyle was just not the one for him, and literally jumped ship. Francis packed up his few belongings one night and hopped a trading ship to another port.
Francis spent the better part of a year traveling from place to place, never staying anywhere for too long or getting too close to anyone, in an attempt to make it harder for his family to find him. They did notify the authorities and send people looking for him, so Francis went by his first name alone, or just no name at all, if he was able. He made his way with the bit of money he stole and selling off whatever valuables he’d nicked and didn’t mind parting with, before traveling and over-indulging had those resources dwindling thin, and Francis began conning nice but oblivious noblewomen out of their riches, or just grabbing a nice piece of jewelry from the end table while its owner is fast-asleep and sighing happily beside him, before he slips out the back door. Making his way as a conman, it wasn’t long before Francis started being involved in more and more insidious dealings, acting as a runner for the men that pulled the strings of the underworld in that backwards island of Ireland. He never asked what was in the packages that he delivered into or out of the Heta Empire, and soon Francis was using that business sense he swore he /didn’t/ have in order to begin fortuitous dealings of his own, mostly in the illegal art trade. It was around this time that he began to go by the code name of France. It was his call-sign in his merchant days, given to him when he was rather young, but once out of the Empire’s boundaries and pursuing a career that he felt suited himself better, Francis decided that he wanted to re-appropriate that identity for this new life, and soon the name he could never make for himself as a merchant was quickly-overshadowed by a more nefarious character.
After deciding it was safe enough to go back to the Empire, Francis settled in the neighboring territory of Albion, in Europa’s giant capital city. He had made contacts there over the past few months, and Francis fit in well with the teeming underworld of Londinium, where could blend into the background and forge a fierce reputation for himself at the same time. The rampant Europan piracy that seemed to have a central hub in the bustling port town was not any sort of inconvenience to Francis except when one of his cons or dealings was ruined by their less-refined methods of negotiation. It wasn’t long before he decided that it would be much more advantageous to try and work /with/ them, rather than against them, and Francis began first working with pirates, then befriending them, and then suddenly flying with them.
[The details of this part will have to be added in later after we figure out which crew he is a part of. I have a general idea of how France has spent his time in Londinium and as a pirate, but there is lots of room for flexibility and I’ll have to make history threads with other players.]
Became an opium addict after settling into pirate life. Francis frequents the Airman’s Delight for more than one type of pleasure. He likes to go to the café’s in the area late at night after leaving the opium den to watch the people and converse philosophically with the poets and dreamers and insomniacs like himself, rambling off nonsense about nature and mankind’s inclinations.
Job Skills:
Having been raised as an aristocrat, Francis has received a top-notch education, in which he and his younger sister had tutors in history, geography, economics, rhetoric, and other subjects he thought would be useless, at the time. Thankfully they’ve come in handy, as have his lessons in fencing, and Francis is extremely skilled in swordsmanship, most especially with a rapier or a saber. He is also trained in marksmanship, but Francis is much better with a sword than a pistol, though he can hold his own in a gunfight.
In his training to be a merchant, Francis has gained intimate knowledge of trade information, airway routes, how to pilot steamships, navigation, and the ins-and-outs of local ports. He knows how to appraise objects for their value, and knows which loot is worth going after, and what would be a waste of time. He’s not very good with the technical aspects of the ship, however, being a rather-inexperienced pilot and preferring to handle the more business end of the ship’s dealings.
As the Quartermaster, he’s the one who secures supplies, negotiates the sale of many of their acquired treasures, and seems to always be scheming up some new thing for the crew to try and do (unless the often-lazy Frenchman has had another late night of drinking and dancing, in which case good luck getting him to come out of his room or speak to anyone for hours). Francis prefers to leave all the really hard work to the rest of the crew, and any of the important decisions or bloodier endeavors to his Captain, as well as (thank god) piloting the actual ship. Francis has spent his youth riding in the pilot’s deck of many an airship before, and yet behind the wheel France is still a terror. He’ll manage to keep the ship (mostly) in one piece if it comes down to it, but let’s just say that overall, it’s better for everyone that he leave the wheel in more capable hands.
And lastly, just by being Francis, he is skilled at knowing how to reap the most rewards from the smallest effort made. This is actually because he is lazy, but it turns to the crew’s advantage when he sometimes comes up with a good plan to sabotage another ship and take their spoils or get away from the military. Cooking is his hobby, so sometimes he will serve up a fine meal for the crew, though he usually leaves this thing that smacks so much of “work” to Belgium.
Likes:
*Beauty, most especially beautiful people and fine art, though also technology, music, and the beauty of the truth, or at least the endeavor to find it.
*Good wine (or scotch, or beer, or rum, or any other alcohol under the sun, most especially those that come under the wise recommendation of Mademoiselle Elizabeta)
*Having beautiful clothes and making sure that all of his accoutrement are of a certain quality (a certain holdover from his days as a spoiled son of a merchant, and part of the reason why Francis enjoys the life of piracy so very much, to begin with)
*Good food, whether at his own hands, or those of the capable Miss Belgium, or anyone else who knows their way around a seasoning rack
*hosting & attending good parties, which Francis was known for in the brief time he spent away from his family but before he had to go on the run
*cooking for other people that actually know how to appreciate it
*roses & lilies, though for entirely different reasons, which sometimes switch depending on what day it is
*fencing, which was one of the few lessons he enjoyed attending as a child
*traveling, at least when not burdened by responsibilities, and most especially when he has a friend in tow
*bickering for fun, if he can try to one-up someone, getting into a good debate or just enjoying making others so annoyed with him
*giving relationship advice, even if it’s not always the most appropriate advice
*is a fan of both the slow seduction and the cheap thrill, in every sense. Will invest a great deal of time and energy into endeavors that the pirate feels are worth it, taking his time to ensnare the things he desires. Or, alternatively, will be quick to take advantage of whatever fickle pleasure happens to cross his path. (is incredibly opportunistic)
*he actually likes steamships themselves, he just didn’t like working as a merchant, and doesn’t have the skill for piloting that his friends do (meaning Spain and Prussia)
Dislikes:
*most other people’s cooking
*his family, except for his sister Sophie and a few cousins who weren’t entirely intolerable seeing at holidays and vacation vineyards in his youth
*having to work hard at anything that doesn’t involve some immense gain for himself. Though one could say the Frenchman turns this into a talent, by working hard at having to be responsible for as little as possible.
*attractive people who don’t take care of their looks. It’s such a waste to see some fair-skinned thing marred under dirt or the curves of a beautiful body in some unflattering and cheaply-made garment. Perhaps it’s pure judgmental egoism on his part, though it has motivated the Frenchman to give away more than he perhaps should of to some pretty thing on an occasion, should the circumstances find the pirate in a giving mood.
*People who have a poor sense of taste. Francis has little patience for those who don’t know their way around a kitchen and no respect for those who can’t appreciate good food when they taste it. If you can’t tell the difference between a round of crepes whipped up by the Frenchman aboard the ship and the things that greedy vendors sell out of the stalls on the corners, then you can get off the damn ship and out of his sight.
*Other people bickering around him. Despite being quick to bicker and debate with anyone about anything and everything under the sun, just for good sport and amusement, Francis has less tolerance for the grudges and grievances of others. He’s had his fair share of being dragged into others’ quarrels for his life, so if he has no personal investment of his own in the situation, you might find that you’ve been abandoned or turned against, unless he has some great loyalty to you (and there are very few in this town that do). France prefers to stay neutral in the dealings of other pirates against each other unless it’s directly-related to himself. (One part of being so lazy is that he isn’t willing to invest his time and energy to back any endeavor or cause unless he thinks he’s going to win. And by god, that stubbornness will have him hanging in to prove he’s right for a long time, or at least until the opposition is exhausted.)
*the military, most especially when they are masquerading as alluring and pretty young girls, albeit rather cold and violent ones
Personality:
If you were to be met by this Gaullan gentleman on the street, you might think him a stylish and well-off aristocrat, if not one with a flair for the dramatic, with a feathered or beribboned hat and lace-trimmed longcoats. Francis will speak sweet words, enunciated with the slight lilt of a French accent that has been curbed with years of travel through many parts of Europe and being in Albion for too long. There are a few mysteries about him, like that accent, or the strange crests and symbols that seem to adorn his accessories, not to mention the man’s ever-present sword, or his seeming ability to sometimes slip away unnoticed or seem to appear from nowhere. There’s a little edge of danger to this seeming nobleman that isn’t lurking beneath the surface so much as it is put proudly on display for the appropriate audiences to see.
A bit of a Lokean character, France is a very mercurial type, not content with staying still for very long, instead intent on seeking whatever entertainment he can from life. He finds his pleasure in playing any sort of game – whether a hand of cards with his skilled sister, a drinking challenge down at the Bar, the crossing of swords, or some sort of more intimate interpersonal game – the clash of wills, of mingling minds and the battle of wits. Francis lives very much in the present , driven by any sort of excitement or indulgence. He sees people more as accessories or playthings most of the time, treating others in whatever way he wishes and finds most enjoyable or convenient or amusing. He has an obsession with studying and observing people. At its mildest form, he just likes to say things that will provoke a reaction out of people, and at its most intense he will hurt a person just to watch them suffer. Francis has a bit of a sadistic streak, finding delight in watching people react to harshness or pain nearly as much as he loves to see people at the peak of their pleasure. Any sort of strong reaction he can garner from another is interesting to him, and the more of a challenge that someone poses for him, the more intrigued Francis will be.
He enjoys life as a pirate because he is able to lose himself in so many fun and challenging situations. Francis sort of stumbles through the role as it comes to him, and for the most part, this method seems to have served him well. It’s easy to do as you please and take little regard for others if you live as an outlaw. Unfortunately, this lack of concern for any sort of consequences can lead Francis (and if things turn bad, sometimes other people as well) into some very hot water. The man has had to develop, in part due to sheer necessity, a skill for talking and reasoning his way out of some very precarious and sometimes-dangerous scenarios. When this doesn’t work, however, he employs a different skill that the young nobleman developed in his youth: running away, in every sense of the word. What may have begun with a need to sneak out of second-story windows when a client’s young daughter whispers that her violent father has returned home early has evolved into a sort of art form. There is a dizzying list of places from which the pirate has been able to escape, often from the direct clutches of the police, military, his rivals, or even said violent father. And like any man possessed with enough demons, Francis can also run away from the truth. For all his laziness, he will work harder than anyone, if it means wriggling out of a question he doesn’t want to answer. Francis will use every illusory metaphor in his arsenal to avoid saying what he really means when pressed, and getting him to admit or own up to anything requires a sharp mind and a great deal of tenacity. Or at least a sharp weapon at hand.
Francis can be suave and charming, but he also has a tendency to overstep his bounds. In the scenery of a pirate port, where privacy is key, this can lead to him stepping on many toes. Some people find his nosiness obnoxious, but Francis doesn’t see that as his problem. He takes little stock in regard to others’ opinions of him most of the time. Francis is good at ignoring his own shortcomings, and doesn’t like to take responsibility for his failures. He is very good at coming up with a perfectly-good reason why things didn’t turn out the way that he intended, and you can bet that the reason will not involve any mistakes on his part. He’s never handled accountability well, and if he ran away from his family to get away from responsibility, then you can bet Francis wouldn’t want to burden himself with something dreary thing like guilt or self-loathing. He’s a rather self-absorbed, egotistical man, and simply has trouble seeing his own actions as any sort of mistake. He will wax maudlin when he is drunk and depressed, though, and then Francis turns bitter and plays the pity game, indulgent as ever.
Associations:
Relations:
Monaco is his younger sister, whom Francis was very close to in his youth, but hasn’t seen in years. When he left home to go set up his family’s business, Sophie gave Francis a refillable gear lighter bearing a fleur-de-lis, the Bonnefoy family crest. Even though it was a risk of secrecy to keep it on him and would have been worth a few valuable coins when things were dire for him, France never sold it, and uses it often to light his cigarettes or maybe the occasional fuse on a cannon.
Resources:
Gets taken care of by his crew-mate Belgium, often getting dragged drunkenly back to the ship at 4 in the morning for important missions. She keeps him fed and helps make sure he keeps his bills paid up at the bars around town, occasionally keeping Miss Hungary from beating him senseless and getting him out of some bad situations. Though she’s just as likely to train her rifle at the man when he gets too handsy or does something else she disapproves of (and Francis thinks the woman has a whole lot of morals, considering she’s a pirate, but he’s still not one to complain, though he teases her a lot).
Flirts with Hungary at the Bar but has met the end of her frying pan on more than one occasion when he’s grown rowdy, so the pirate is always certain to keep his tab paid up in full on a regular basis. Also he’s not so foolish as to anger so invaluable a source of information in the town.
Has his messenger bird Pierre that he keeps in his cabin most of the time for delivering important things of a time-sensitive nature. The bird’s a bit ostentatious, and therefore not very suitable for things of a secret nature, though private or personal messages are just fine.
Rivals:
Made acquaintances with Prussia when first starting out as a pirate. The two used to work together and consider each other good friends, though they were often somewhat-competitive with each other, and this has only increased since Gilbert decided to leave the crew and go get a ship of his own. They have struck a (sometimes perhaps not too healthy given the circumstances) sort of rivalry, and though it’s mostly in good spirits, it has led to the two pirates pulling off any number of stupid and outrageous stunts to try and outdo each other, usually leading to something getting blown up and someone getting injured or at least a bit singed…
The Captains England and Netherlands, each for varied reasons, a few of which are the same, but most of which are not. Francis doesn’t care for any of the other pirates that aren’t his friends, since they like to make his life more difficult. England runs in many of the same negotiating circles and has bested him out of a few deals before. And France will be damned before he’s about to let that brute Lars run off with his sweet gunner, as well, blood relations be damned. Francis has taken to fighting with either of these two as soon as he sees them, acting scathing towards Netherlands and bickering with England. There’s a bit more to his feelings towards the later, however, since this other pirate gentleman has seemed to pose enough of a mystery to France that he finds him somewhat intriguing. He still hates the idea that England might be a better pirate than he, however, so Francis will grow passionate about beating the other man in any way he can, given the opportunity.
RP Sample:
[This RP takes place sometime after he flees his family, but sometime before the roleplay starts.]
This bar, like most others in these seedy little port towns, was not very well-lit. This suited Francis Bonnefoy and his needs just fine, however. It wouldn’t do him any good just yet to have someone recognize him - not while it had only been this long. Francis gave a small nod to the barmaid as she set his drink on his table, giving only the smallest inclination of his chin beneath his feathered hat. Until he was a bit farther away, this was how things would have to be - not staying anywhere too long, not getting to know anyone for more than a night. Francis would take his pleasures as only momentary, because not much more could be asked in his current situation.
As he savored a sip of the vintage wine he had ordered, however, he decided that he was okay with only capricious pleasures. That was how he had always tried to live his life, after all. Francis wasn’t one for planning for the future or dwelling on the past. He preferred to live by savoring every moment as “now” – taking all he could get from each day like he was demanding it. So, for just a little longer, he was okay with treating each city like a tourist destination on a map to nowhere. As long as he kept moving forward, things would work out fine. He could handle running for a little longer.
Francis laid his glass back on the small wooden table, the soft sound lost in the muffled voices of the bar-goers around him. He reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a brass pocketwatch to confirm that he still had enough time before the next ship left. Replacing the item, he pulled out a sleek silver cigarette case instead, since he had time for one smoke. He turned his face slightly away from the room as he lit the end, a brief flash illuminating his features. As he exhaled a stream of smoke, he wondered how much longer he would need to keep this up – how many more miles he would have to travel before he felt like he was safe. Francis pulled the cigarette from his mouth to take another sip of wine as he thought. If he was honest with himself, he was certain that this feeling would never actually quite leave him. That no matter how far he ran, no matter how much time had passed, he would always feel as if there was someone at his back. Even when he stopped moving, he would never feel like he had stopped running.
Francis savored the last sip from his glass before he rose from his dingy stool. He tilted his hat down on his brow as he tossed a handful of small coins on the tabletop and stepping out of the noisy din of the bar into the gaslit streets of the night. He put his cigarette to his mouth as he stared up at the sky, watching ships weave through the stars like strange, steam-spewing sea creatures. He exhaled his last breath of smoke into the night air, the tendrils twisting in sync with the steam hisses from the ships above him. Running wasn’t all that bad if you could enjoy life while you did it, he thought. Francis tossed his cigarette to the pavement and extinguished it with the toe of his black leather boot before stepping out to run towards another city full of momentary pleasures.
OOC Information
Name: Annie, though I seem to have acquired a gamut of nicknames: France, Frannie, Fran, Furansu, France-Bro, etc, all of which I will answer to just fine XD
Age:
Time: GMT-5 or something (Central Time Zone)
Space: Louisiana, USA
Contact Info: The best way to catch me is to speak to me in the CBox and send me a PM. If you want to know my AIM or e-mail, just ask me.
So like, am I accepted yet, Pock? :3 Because I want my damn snickerdoodle.
