Republique Francaise [Francois Toulouse Bonnefoy]

These streets so fixed and solid
Were shimming with hate

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“You can't quit until you try
You can't live until you die
You can't learn to tell the truth
Until you learn to lie
You can't breathe until you choke
You gotta laugh when you're the joke
There's nothing like a funeral to make you feel alive
(…Will you swear on your life,
That no one will cry at my funeral?)
Just open your eyes
Just open your eyes
And see that life is beautiful.”
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And everything that I relied on
Disappeared

Country: République Française (French Republic)
Name: François René Toulouse Bonnefoy [René is his middle name. He has a double last name of Toulouse Bonnefoy but he doesn't mind if called just François Bonnefoy. ]
Gender:Male
Age:25
Profession: Arts Agent (Literary and 2d Visual Arts)
Highlander or Lowlander?: Highlander

All the strangers look like family
All the family look so strange

Appearance:
François Bonnefoy is a tall lithe man standing about 6’ 1” or 185.5 cm with a well-kept physique. He has a very attractive long angular face with high cheekbones and sparkling blue eyes. Under a summer sun, his thick waves of shoulder length golden blond hair will adopt red highlights. A source of one of his many vanities, his golden mane would halo his face and attract roaming fingers if he didn’t keep it pulled back away from his face in a short ponytail. He’s cut it short in the past when it was necessary for jobs that required it, but he has always preferred it longer.

He often has some sort of facial hair to hide the youthful features that belie his actual age. A genetic trait he might appreciate when he’s 35 or 55, but looking like your 19 when you’re really 25 is a detriment to a career dependent upon convincing people of your experience and knowledge. Though he’s tried almost every style of facial hair from full beards to soul patches, he’s currently settled on a style that lies somewhere between a really short beard and 5 o’clock shadow.

Clothes are one of his extravagances. He believes in looking good and well-fitting clothes are essential to that. He has all of his suits custom–fitted and many of his dress-slacks as well. He also follows the most recent fashions and trades his clothes out often. He has a particular fondness for the colors blue and red and often wears some form of them in many of his outfits, though he loves color in general and few colors are off limits to him. He does like to wear a variety of jewelry, but there is one piece of jewelry that he always wears in some form, an elegantly carved silver ring on a silver chain. When asked about it, all he says is that it reminds him of someone.

Personality:
If ‘all the world’s a stage’ then he’s the performer, ringmaster and the man selling you the tickets. That’s not to say he’s some con-artist. He’s not at all; he just innately understands the human psyche and societal compulsions. He then uses that knowledge to his advantage to persuade people, (the art of marketing at its best.) He always appears to be confidant in himself whenever in the public eye regardless of whether he truly feels that way. Whether it’s for himself or one of his clients and their abilities, he’s good at getting people to come around to his point of view. The only types of people that he struggles with, because they are partially resistant to his charms, are the stubborn, introverted, anti-social and pessimistic sorts.

Although his outward personality might make him seem to be flighty and unreliable when it comes to sticking with anything, he is actually quite the opposite. While it is true that he loves change and adapts to things like a chameleon that constantly changes its colors; when he finds something he believes to be important, he will steadfastly hold to what he believes to the point of illogical stubbornness. It’s what makes him good at his job. When he loves a client’s work he feels that it is important that others see and experience it as well. He will push until he succeeds in that goal and getting their work shown/published. And he never takes on a client unless he himself loves what they do. Unlike some agents, it’s not about the money with him; it’s passion that drives him.

He’s an adventurous sort who’s not afraid to try new things. In fact, he relishes it. He feels that we get just one life to live so we should experience all it has to offer. He’s an intelligent smooth talker with a wry cynical sense of humor who’s charming and appealingly attractive to all genders (and knows it.) He loves being in the company of other people, especially if they are attractive and/or intriguing people. He’s an extrovert through and through.

He also is a great patron of the arts who “…love(s) beauty in all its many and varied forms,” as he likes to say. Which if you were to loosely translate the subtext means he’s not gender-specific when it comes to his paramours either. He’s currently a bit of playboy, but at heart he’s very much the romantic and has stated he wouldn’t mind settling down if that special someone came along.

History:
If Solus had royalty then François would have been born into it. But instead he was born in to the next closest thing, ‘pedigreed eminence and renown’. He was well-known just for being born to the right couple, namely one of Solus’ current ‘Power’ couples, Àrdith “Aria” Bonnefoy and Grégoire Toulouse.

His mother’s family, the Bonnefoys, was as or more well- known than his father’s family, the entrepreneurial Toulouses. Aria Bonnefoy was born to the Triple-threat Bonnefoys, Èlise LeSalle and Jean-Martin Bonnefoy, who generated a mini-musical revival in Solus for a brief time with their song and dance routines performed on stage and screen. Solusians fell in love with the couple and many watched the romance bloom between the dance partners over the years, at first faked in numerous storylines on stage then as the real thing finally occurred.

The talented couple had one daughter, François’s mother, Aria Bonnefoy who as a teen became a model and then later a screen actress. An extremely intelligent and ambitious young woman, she quickly went on to directing and producing her own projects through the company she created.

Her life-partner and François’s father was one Grégoire Toulouse, born of a successful business family, he went on to form his own wealth as a successful Public Relations agent working for a major corporation in the Highlands. His natural charisma, charm, and eloquence also garnered him a lucrative side business of writing speeches for political candidates and guest- speaking at meetings, seminars and conventions. It was a long-standing joke among the social circles over which one of them was arm-candy for the other, a commentary both on their good looks and successful business acumen.

Needless to say, when François René Toulouse Bonnefoy was born 25 years ago, he already had a bounty of genetics to aid him in his life aside from the familial wealth. Added to that notoriety was also the oddity that he was born to happily unwed parents. (Hence why he was given his mother’s last name and his father’s was only added as secondary last name/middle name.) Though they lived together, neither parent wanted to deal with the hassle of a potential divorce, so they remained unmarried for most of his childhood. François with his cynical humor often noted that apparently that must be the secret to a successful relationship as they are still together.

Growing up his parent’s marital status never bothered him as he had long ago figured from observing some of his other friends’ families that happily unwed beat unhappily wed anytime. His parents also hardly ever argued, though that may have owed to the fact that they were so busy neither was usually home at the same time as the other. They did, however, always manage to coordinate their schedules so that neither of the children were ever home alone or with a sitter for any great length. So unlike many famous couples, his parents pairing survived and even thrived and he grew up in an environment of a loving family. Consequently any of François’ eccentricities (of which he has many) can only be claimed as his own and not due to any childhood trauma of a broken home. In fact, a couple of years after his sister finished grade school, his parents even decided to finally tie the knot; thus ceasing the rumors and bets among friends, family, and the general public about when and if it ever would happen.

During his childhood François often sat by his mother during many a production of hers. He even followed in the Bonnefoy footsteps getting picked to model for a few print ads, and even had a couple of starring roles in commercials, one movie, and a short-lived series before he was 13. By the time he was older however, he had grown tired of the acting world and preferred a more hands-on approach for his skill at creating personas and influencing situations and people. Something his father was adept at and called “People Manipulation.” Now out of school, he’s an agent for writers and two dimensional visual artists because he loves efficiency when it comes to making a profit. Often times he can take care of two clients by getting a writer’s book published and then pitching one of his artist’s to do the book cover and perhaps even some of the promotional poster work. On occasion he may pick up an actor/actress or musician as a client and pitch them to a project since he still has a lot of connections in the film industry, but he prefers sticking to his writers, painters, and photographers. He currently has a really nice office in the Highlands that has a small loft apartment on the floor above it, but he doesn’t stay at the apartment all the time. He often splits his time between there and his family’s home with its large kitchen and gardens that he enjoys. He also hosts promotional parties there as well.

His love life is one of constant speculation as he seems to never stick with any one person for more than a couple of months. It’s noted that he seems to switch back and forth between several people for dates for events and so it’s assumed that they are his “go to” when he needs someone to accompany him, and that they truly are “just friends” as stated. He’s only had one great tragedy in his youth and that was losing the love of his life Jeanne DeArciel. He struggles to find anyone to compete with the hold the ghost of her still has over him.

Recurring nightmare:
He’s surrounded by grinning faces, evil mad grins that change into death masks should he look too closely. He notices that he and the crowd around him are dressed in clothes he’s never seen but he thinks they are from a time long long ago, though he doesn’t know why he believes that. Perhaps he saw something like it in a history book. Before he can think on it he hears a terrible cry. He flips to locate the sound off to his left and sees a woman tied to a burning pyre. She cries out in agony as the flames lick at her feet. The crowd starts chanting, “Burn, burn, burn,” and begin to close in on him. They are staring at something to his right and he looks over to see that he is holding the torch that lit the pyre. He drops it in shock and looks back to the woman. The thick black smoke and heat have already done their work and she hangs silent now. He realizes that something has changed and there is now something familiar in that soot-stained face and drops in horror to his knees as he realizes the dark dream has changed into a nightmare of a memory he wishes he could forget; the memory of when SHE, his Jeanne DeArciel left him alone in this world. The scene has now shifted to one he has visited too many times in the past six years since the incident. He is now kneeling on the ground gingerly cradling his high school beloved after the paramedics have stopped trying to resuscitate her. His tears mingle with the soot on her face. He hears someone crying wretchedly, “wake up, wake up, please oh god, wake up.” He realizes that it is him as the paramedics disentangle him from her lifeless form. They ask him if he wants something before they cover her up. They see him rubbing the ring on his left hand and realize the significance of the matching ring on hers. They meant it to be kind as they pulled the ring from her finger, the ring that he had just given her that evening. They meant it as a memento, but the separation of their symbol of love struck him as cruel. He shakes his head and puts it back on her finger. Their rings touch briefly before she is taken away.

The only constant I am sure of
Is this accelerating rate of change

Likes:
Books-He insists upon reading anything he’s pitching. If he doesn’t like it he figures he can’t convincingly sell it either nor would he want to.

Beautiful Art-Whether it’s an intriguing image, a lovely etude, a sensuous sculpture, or keenly written poem or story. He also considers a well-proportioned person as beautiful art and won’t hesitate to tell them so, especially if it might endear them to him. (Playboy, remember? *wink*)

Gardening-He’s actually a bit of a green thumb and enjoys gardening to relax. Roses are his favorite and he would love to create a new variety if possible. He also loves irises, hyacinths and grapes.

Gourmet Food-He actually learned to cook from his father who was a deft hand in the kitchen and he himself is quite good. He even started a cooking club when he was in high school.

Going Out-He loves the company of others and trying new things. So he often tries to pick a new place to go to once a month. He often has business meetings at public places, so he goes out quite often.

Animals-He actually has a soft spot for feathered and furry animals. (He’s not so keen on amphibians and reptiles.) He does own a pet whom he claims adopted him. It is a little black cat whom he named Malheureux (unlucky) because he found the abandoned kitten on the doorstep of his office on Friday the 13th and found it funny to name her that; though he admits that she really should be called just Heureux (lucky) because she ended up finding a home with him.

Dislikes:
Being Stuck in One Place on His Own for Extended Periods of Time-He hates it. He starts feeling a bit stir crazy and like a caged animal if he can’t get out among people or just out of the house and doing something.

Terrible Art-Don’t argue his opinion on anything he counts as this, unless you want a tirade on crimes against the senses; because according to him, his opinion is the important one. Anyone who disagrees, he considers to be an uneducated fool.

Movies and Television Shows-One would think that he would enjoy them, but he says he’s seen too much too early in his life from working in the business that the magic is lost on him. He unfortunately can’t help but critique everything about it and so he can’t ever get into them like most people. His mother runs into the same issues. He does however like theater perhaps because of its live nature.

Fast Food-It has no flavor for him. That isn’t to say he doesn’t like well-made simple fare like something from a deli that is all fresh and made that day, he just doesn’t like most pre-processed stuff.

Being Taken Advantage Of-He may seem like the fluffy air-head type that you could bamboozle or easily dismiss and he would either never notice or just let it go, but he is actually quite intelligent and hard-edged and if he thinks you are trying to take advantage of, or hurt him, or someone that he cares about then you are in for a fight.

Fights-That said, he also hates to get into physical fights and prefers to win his battles without violence by using more devious subtlety. If someone is using dirty tricks against him, he has no problem turning the tables on them. The only time he won’t is if someone feels wronged and faces him like a man with an honest complaint. He will then try to address them fairly and come to a nonviolent resolution or compromise.

Fires-See nightmare above

Downside up, upside down
Take my weight from the ground

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Roleplay Sample:
8:30am
Arthur grabbed the phone after the second ring. “Hello?”

“Ah, my dearest Artie, it’s so lovely to hear your voice.”

Arthur grimaced. “Francis it’s too early for your games, what do you want?”

“For you to answer the door Love and say yes.”

“Um, what?” But he only got the phone clicking off as a response. And then the doorbell rang.

Arthur opened the door and decided the world had officially gone mad sometime in the middle of the night while he’d been asleep. For there on his doorstep was Francis surrounded by two large arrangements of white and red roses and blue and white irises and behind him a violinist was playing “Love me Tender” while a cameraman was capturing the whole thing. Francis himself was down on bended knee wearing a white tuxedo and holding outstretched in his hand a white box with a platinum band.

“Arthur, my dearest caterpillar brows, the love and light of my life, please say you will be mine forever.”

“Francis, what the …” He stopped before he finished, noting the camera.

Arthur stepped out of the doorway and grabbed the other man by the collar with his right hand leaning in to vehemently whisper in his ear. “This is the last straw; I will not be made a fool…” His rant was cut off as Francis laid a finger against his lips.

"Shush love, it’s not a joke.”

The finger slowly slid over his cheek until it came to his ear and tucked a loose strand behind it. “I truly mean it. I can’t live my life without you.”

Francis pulled the ring out of the box and grabbing Arthur’s left hand slowly put the ring on it.

“Arthur Kirkland, beloved Britannia, will you do me the honor of marrying me?” He held Arthur’s hand to his chest as he gazed up at the other man with a glazed expression from his loving devotion.

Arthur let the man go, jerking his hand away. He reached out ready to slap the man for his ill-conceived humor when he smelled it in the air, lavender, thyme, mint, hickory smoke, and sea water-the unmistakable smell of magic.

“Of course my love. I’m so happy that you’ve accepted me.”
“I didn’t say that. And you lot go home or wherever you came from.” He gestured at the violinist and cameraman that had started to troop in after Francis.

The two men shrugged and turned to leave. Arthur quickly realized that they were leaving the monstrous bouquets of flowers behind on his front step.

“Hey! Take these things with you too!” Arthur plucked out an iris and tossed it irritably at their retreating backs. He slammed the door shut disgustedly when they didn’t return.

He turned around to one Francis pinning him against the door and planting kisses on him. He immediately shoved hard against the other man. “Off of me lout!”

“Non,” he mumbled.

“Fine. Let’s do this the hard way.” Arthur raised the first two fingers of his right hand. “Geppeto, I beg your dark strings to me and impart them to one who won’t heed no.”

He gave a little swish with his fingers and suddenly Francis jerked up right. Francis’ face looked puzzled as he marched away to the sitting room and flopped on to the settee.

Arthur stopped the little dance of his two fingers and leaned in and whispered in the other man’s ear, “ Like a little puppeto, time to lie low until I say go,” and with that Francis slid down fast asleep.

Arthur gave a sigh of relief, but it was short-lived. He knew he still had to find the source of the magical mischief before something else went wrong.

Falling deep in the sky
Slipping into the unknown

Out of Character
Name/Nickname:France, Francis or François is fine
Timezone: GMT-6 or if on DST then GMT-5
Any other information:I hope this is long enough. If it’s too long I apologize, I was afraid of it being too short. I wasn’t sure what to put in for the nightmare, but I thought it worked well to tie in the burning of Joan of Arc with the loss of his fiancée mentioned in the History.
The RP sample is from something else where I referred to the character by his traditional name, but if possible in this RP I would like to refer to the character with the traditional French spelling of the name (or as close as possible.)
There's room for a Monaco or Seychelles to play the role of my sister if they like.

You pull me in…
P u l l

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