Post by Francaise on Jun 19, 2010 11:51:23 GMT -5
Country's real name: Francis Bonnefoy
Country: France, Republic of France, or République française
Age: 26 (appearance-wise)
Birthday: July 14th
Occupation: Art Teacher
Origin Language: French
History:
Francis spent much of his time in his capital, the beautiful Paris, wandering about the many streets and meeting the new faces that streamed in during and after the wars. Many of those he met by chance and made friends with were artistes, skilled in one form of the arts or another, and having a passion for beauty, he learned from them through the course of their acquaintance. He never imitated them to the point where he would only have shadows of their skills, he accepted their lessons in the basics and learned the arts from scratch.
Eventually, there came a time when his skill grew to a point where the tables were turned, and the student became the teacher instead. He made some money as a wandering artist, selling off some of his finer works to anyone who would want them, but a buyer fell so in love with his art that he begged for lessons, which sparked off the start of his foray into teaching. Francis taught his first student as well as he could, recalling what the masters had taught him. He found that he liked the process, and accepted students as they came to him.
Francis was in a unique position to study human anatomy, being a young, handsome bachelor in Paris, where many tourists flocked to in search of love. He made full use of his charms, cajoling a few of his nightly companions into being his models, and greatly increased in technical skill. He met a great variety of ethnicities, broadening his view on beauty and the world in general. Some would say that he was loose, but he firmly believed that all things held beauty within them, and that it was his right to pursue that beauty- whether the person in question was in agreement or not.
As time progressed, he began to realise that more and more employers, as well as students, were looking for proper qualifications before they looked at his portfolio. Realising the need to keep up with the times, and not wanting to miss out the opportunity to cultivate bright, young artistes within his country due to some measly paperwork, he pulled some strings to gain entrance to a prestigious university specialising in the arts. He worked as hard as he could, and managed to graduate with a decent portfolio, as well as the important degree that would allow him to continue teaching as he pleased in the modern world.
The fact that he was a Nation and that he had to keep his existence secret meant that he kept his public presence discreet, and didn't make any large waves in the artists' community at large. Thus, the letter arriving in his mailbox one day surprised him, as it invited him to teach at an academy he had never heard of before. Upon his first visit to the school, he realised its purpose, and immediately accepted the position of Art Teacher. He would do his best to educate the other countries on the beauty of the arts... and perhaps, other things as well.
Personality:
Francis holds a certain maturity that befits his age, yet is carefree enough to join in games and teasing with the students. He befriends others easily, apart from a slight hesitance with those of German or English lineage, and is generally genial to most. Some would say that he's overly friendly, but that depends on one's definition of personal space and the limits to affection in public. Serious while at work and flirty while at play, his character takes time to get used to. However, he is widely accepting of all ethnicities, having opened his country to the many refugees of war and the seekers of romance.
This fair blond is far from the stereotype, having proper certifications to back up his expertise in teaching the fine arts. He is qualified to teach several subjects, most of which focus on the visual arts, dance, sculpture and painting, to name some. He is also exceptionally proficient at sketching out human anatomy and ensures that his art students leave with a good education in it, even to the extent of... personal lessons. He freely volunteers to tutor any who need help, without expecting compensation of any kind, though the favours of the willing (and of legal age) are always welcome.
Francis is openly and unabashedly a connoisseur of prurient interests, and prone to the affliction of wandering hands. He tries to keep it under control when around students, not wanting to be demoted to a student himself, with lesser privileges in the academy. The ability to be out after hours is something he would rather keep, seeing as it is crucial to his midnight meetings, on or off campus. Discretion is still key though and he doesn't unnecessarily expose students to his ways, unless they are countries he is familiar with. He also avoids flirting with the child-like Nations, not wanting to be labeled a pedophile or any unsavoury moniker.
Having a generous dose of self-love is healthy for the soul, or so he believes. He enjoys showing off his body, almost as much as he enjoys showing his appreciation of the bodies of others, whether through words or touch. He doesn't bother to learn English despite its popularity amongst the Nations, as the only words worthy of being spoken are ones of love and the language of love is, without a doubt, French.
His love for cuisine is second only to his love for beauty, and he is a rather good cook in that respect. He enjoys cooking his own meals, or cooking for his guests, and likes to insist that French cuisine is the best, though some Nations would strongly argue against that. The Frenchman is also a fine sommelier and brews a few bottles of home-made wine every now and then. He much prefers to pick from his extensive collection of French and Italian wines though, whenever he has a rare or important guest.
RP Sample:
[The sample specific to his forum that I was writing till my inspiration died halfway. :T]
"Mon dieu, how do you expect to pass this class if you won't look at them, Angleterre?"
Shaking his head and looking the very picture of disappointment, Francis circled the Englishman as he eyed his defensive pose critically. He had specially invited Arthur to his office for some extra lessons, seeing how he was doing so badly in the anatomy class.
It was standard for students to be skittish in anatomy class, but with this particular student, he was taking special relish in how he coloured every time his gaze alighted on the bare bodies of the models. He didn't believe that his long-time rival was as prudish as he seemed on the surface, having seen what happened after he got a pint or two of liquor in him.
"You wine bastard, you don't have to use nude models on the very first day!" Arthur was sure that he would never be able to get the blush off his cheeks, he was that embarassed. He should have known that any art class with France would have naked women. It wasn't proper for a gentleman to gaze at unclad women so he had tried to avert his gaze, but the Frenchie had caught him and made him look. The models had noticed his difficulty and even giggled at him, raising the level of embarassment to new heights.
The wavy-haired blond even had the gall to laugh at him. Not everyone was as promiscuous as the Frenchman, and he said as much to the art teacher, who was probably in stitches from the way he held his sides as he laughed. Scowling even more and crossing his arms, he glared at Francis, sure that his gaze would eventually burn some bit of him off.
-----
The man clad in red stared out at the passing crowd, his fingers tapping restlessly against his knee as the minutes dragged by like hours. Wares were displayed before him on a bright red cloth, any and every item ever thought of twinkling under the afternoon sun and awaiting the scrutiny of customers. The fingers stopped their tapping as the man shielded his eyes from the harsh sunlight and gazed at the thinning crowd.
It had been an unusually slow day, and he was starting to lose hope of selling off the items he had found on his last trip to the deep dungeons. Sighing only served to deepen his ennui, while people-watching had lost its interest an hour ago. There was nothing to do but wait, and though he considered himself a man of adequate patience, it was quickly fading like the small breeze that had been blowing past.
Fanning himself with a limited edition fan, he pursed his lips and tried to pick out familiar faces from the crowd. Ah, there was the man who had browsed over his glassware and taken a wooden flute instead. Then the woman who had only stared at his face and left. He wondered about her for a moment, before deciding it wasn't worth his attention.
Finally, another customer approached him, and he smiled warmly at her. If she bought something, she would be his fourth customer for the day, a far cry from his usual twenty customers. He put forth a query, knowing that good service was more likely to bring him more customers.
"Good afternoon, miss. Has something caught your eye aru?"
Yao was startled as she held his gaze for but a moment, before moving away skittishly. A childish pout took over his lips and he glared at the nearest object, which happened to be his backpack. Grimacing, he decided to pack up and hope the new day brought better business.
As he was folding his red cloth, a small crystal ball that had escaped his notice escaped from its folds, and rolled off. Surprised, he grabbed his full backpack and ran after the little ball. Dodging the few people still around, he chased after the magic crystal without pause. It seemed to taunt him, moving slowly when he was far behind, and picking up speed when he was almost there. Eventually, it rolled to a stop in front of a little girl.
She picked it up, enchanted by its sparkle, and was startled when Yao came to a stop in front of her. Her eyes widened and she stared up at him fearfully, pudgy hand gripping the crystal tightly. The man could only sigh at the sight, and smiled crookedly.
"That was mine aru, but you can have it, little girl."
An instant smile bloomed on her lips, and she grinned happily at him before returning to her mother's side. He could feel his lips twitch into a genuine smile in return, and he turned to walk back to his lodgings with a lighter heart. In the end, it wasn't such a bad day after all.
