(* --- nails digging deep. ) @frvnccis - Tumblr Blog

highnessaisling:

tywysoges-g·:

“You know, they’re not as scary as they look.” Gwen teased with a laugh. “Depends on what’s tripping you out. Is it the name? The texture? The smell? I have a trick for each one, but you have to let me know.”

❝ Of course the French get to be picky about their food.❞ To be fair their cuisine was one of the few redeeming things about them. ❝ You should trust Gwen she never disappoints.❞ She winked at her friend.

“ OH IF I ONLY COULD PICK JUST ONE THING... ” he grinned at the princess. the salmon looked perfectly fine. he reached for a piece to put onto his plate. “ pardon ? ” françois turned around and looked visibly shocked. a second passed before he burst into a light laugh. “ i’m not picky ! i’m not. i’ll try anything and i’ll even keep it down. i can’t believe we’ll be crucified for personal preferences these days too. ” [ @tywysoges-g ]

#[ GWEN ]#[ AISLING ]

hshmimi:

“I…” Mimi trailed off. For some reason she hadn’t even considered that. She supposed she’d simply assumed that Arnauld had already planned for all of this. That he was thinking six moves ahead of the rest of them, seeing something the rest of them couldn’t, yet…But Francois’ implication and Henri’s tone seemed to suggest otherwise. “You think he doesn’t care, anymore?” She repeated more to herself than Francois, and frowned. “–I mean,” she tried to reason, grasping at straws, “surely that’s what Fanni’s for? What the wedding is for?”

“Well…” She tailed off again, into an uncomfortable shrug. “It’s just…Henri seemed worried about that meeting. I know you say there were no firm plans made at that point, but…” But public opinion and international courts would ask why even a soft plan was so much as entertained. “Have you spoken with anyone else in the programme?” Anyone outside of the family, she means. “Do things feel as tense for you as they do me?”

FRANÇOIS SHRUGGED. it had never been his place to question arnauld, even in mimi’s presence he hesitated. “ i think he cares but he cared about winning more. ” françois would admit that he had never been too good at seeing ahead when it came to the ballgame that politics was. but even he felt confident in saying that arnauld had done something that people would find very hard to accept. impossible even. it would be bad optics not to give a horrified reaction and condemn the act. “ hmm. ” he paused. he had not really thought about the wedding. “ will it really fix things ? won’t it just make it worse ? first he kill civilians and then he throws a massive party filled with the people who conspired with him. ” someone from the pr department would have an opinion on it, and another one would have a way to twist it. “ i guess they’ll start posting cutesy stories soon. make people more interested in his personal life than his professional. ” distractions were their best weapon. “ worried that he might get in trouble because of it ? ” françois asked. somehow he had never even thought about consequences. it had never crossed his mind that arnauld would let anything bad happen to them. there was this bubble around him that made françois feel nearly untouchable by harm. arnauld’s perceptive eyes spotted risks and his deft hands dealt with them swiftly. “ i’ve only talked to family. i’m not very interested in getting into arguments with people who think they understand anything about being on the field. ”

#[ DOMINIQUE ]

liscttc:

“ I THINK I PICKED AN AMAZING TIME. This way there are so many less people talking about me. Sometimes i do enjoy being the least interesting member of this family.” She joked putting down her phone after sending the last email. And finally turning to give him a kiss on the cheek. Hopefully she had a few hours before all hell broke loose again. “Likely. I’m very persuasive. And I was right it was fine.” It was likely no one had even expected her to be on the air at that time. What really mattered was she was here. She would spend a few weeks with Chico and her cousins and concise Stella to stop being an idiot and then she could go back. “Plus if I didn’t come then i don’t know how I would have fitted it into my schedule. Mama sent you a gift it’s over there.”

“ ANYONE’S UNINTERESTING WHEN THEY’RE RELATED TO ARNAULD. ” maybe if françois had been born a bragança ( he had the look for it ), people would have remembered his name. each member of that family seemed to shine like the sun. “ it was quite a wager. imagine if it hadn’t been fine. you should have waited at least a month. why were you in a such a rush ? arnauld’s going home in two days so you’ll pretty much miss him. ” he pulled out a chair for himself and sat down. “ your schedule ? i thought you’d be out of work considering how arnauld pretty much destroyed your brand in two hours. ” his eyes moved to the spot she was pointing. “ really ? what is it ? ” like a child on christmas, he headed for the present.

#i assume this convo happens before nauld goes to paris so #[ LISETTE ]

hshmimi:

“Of course,” she gestured for the hovering waiter to bring another wine glass, and took a swig from her own. “Who cares about his image, I’m more concerned with someone setting fire to his apartment.” An exaggeration she hoped, but after what had happened to Windsor…”Although I’m sure the icy atmosphere in the building would put it out. –That’s why I came here for a few weeks.” She gestured around the hotel bar. She’d stayed behind after a visit to the hotel spa with Henri, and taken up a suite. “I couldn’t take the awkward elevator rides.”

“–I’m worried for you, too,” she added, looking to Francois. “Were you in the meeting?”

" IT'S NOT THE IMAGE I'M WORRIED FOR PER SE, it's the fact that he stopped caring. " his relationship with arnauld was too formal for him to ask the man an intrusive question about his mental well-being, but it didn't stop him from worrying. " i should get a room too. i don't have the patience for repetitive conversations. what do people want me to say ? that i'm sorry the ugly side of a war got televised and documented ? " it often frustrated him how little people tended to think about soldiers. most of them had ended up in an uniform for questionable reasons, and none of them wanted to keep fighting a slow and frustrating war. " you're concerned for me ? " his brows rose. " i was. in the first one, at least. not much was decided in that one. i thought the idea got buried, but i guess i was wrong. " he wasn't sure how many people had decided to allow the bombing. had it been just one ?

#[ DOMINIQUE ]

“ AREN’T YOU A LITTLE BIT WORRIED FOR DEAR ARNAULD ? ” françois asked quietly as he pressed a kiss on mimi’s cheek before sitting down at her table. “ he used to care about his image so much and he lit it on fire in one night. ” [ @hshmimi ]

#[ DOMINIQUE ]

“ YOU PICKED A VERY TERRIBLE TIME TO SHOW UP, ” françois told lisette as he draped an arm over her shoulder. “ i’m surprised they let you board the plane. i heard someone say it was a safety risk considering how hated arnauld has made us. ” lisette certainly had lifted his mood. he couldn’t say he felt quite right about brussels but the guilt and shame was easily washed away by the joy he felt now that he had lis around again. [ @liscttc ]

#[ LISETTE ]

vrnvuld

“ and it’s only tuesday, ” he hissed as he threw the report onto the table before sitting down at the head of the table. “ someone needs to talk to the andorran. i don’t even know what i want to accomplish in regards to her but someone needs to talk to her. giselle. ” he pointed at his sister. “ you will do that. ” arnauld had considered doing it himself but his fury might have clouded his judgment. “ but the bavarian. at this rate she really will have alsace. every centimetre of it. ” he had thought he had time. a week or two to play with ideas and come up with solutions. he hated feeling cornered. he pinched the bridge of his nose. “ i need this to go away. there’s too many fires to be put out. ” [ ;; @giselledorleans, @henridorleans, @frejaedb, @frvnccis ]

giselledorleans

“ it’s only TUESDAY, ” giselle repeated grimly. too many bad news had reached them far too quickly. the andorran wasn’t nearly as upsetting as the bavarian. her eyes moved to arnauld when her name came out of his mouth. “ yes, of course. ” it wasn’t the time nor the place to ask arnauld what he expected her to accomplish when he didn’t even know what he wanted. arnauld was a piece of wood waiting to snap under pressure. “ … we could talk to the prussian ? she has to know what is going on inside the german court ? i doubt she feels very loyal to the hohenzollerns now that she broke away. ” [ &&. @frvnccis, @frejaedb, @henridorleans ]

frvnccis

“ FANNI DIDN’T GET AN INVITE, HUH ? ” francisco muttered as he saw no pretty blonde trailing after arnauld. he was curious to know exactly when he’d trust her enough to have her involved in french politics. “ you don’t want to talk to stella. she won’t be cooperative. if you have a threat you can deliver, then you go deliver it but otherwise you’ll be wasting your time. ” stella had so proudly come from the shadows. she had no intention of changing her mind. “ the prussian... the blonde, yes... if she was that unhappy with the germans, she has to be willing to talk. especially if we offer the carrot. ” [ @henridorleans, @frejaedb, @vrnvuld, @giselledorleans ]

#honestly i just came on to write this #love to be part of scheming #[ ARNAULD ]#[ GISELLE ]#[ FREJA ]#[ HENRI ]

henridorleans:

henri hummed to himself. he spent a moment looking at his cousin with an appraising eye. high praise for someone that françois had only spent a day in the woods with. shared trauma, henri supposed, but… “politically,” he agreed, a smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. the tone of his voice said all that it needed to. “of course.” he shook his head and waved a hand as if to clear all mentions of louise from the room. the situation had been unfortunate, but it had, at least, somewhat mended his relationship with his brother. “we do have a fair number of cousins, don’t we? i hadn’t realized until we were all in one place.” they weren’t savoys, at least; henri didn’t think he’d be able to cope. “you haven’t been stressed out in months? tell me your secrets, please. i feel like it’s even worse here than it is at home.“

" TSCH, swipe that look off of your face. " he nudged the other on the arm and kept a grin from bursting onto his face. " i do, you don't, " françois mused with a shrug. four vs two, the latter was easier to grasp. " it's fun to have mimi around especially since she's spent more and more time in monaco these past few years. not to mention margaux. i swear the last time i had seen her, she was like a toddler ! " having all of them in one place reminded him of the summers of his childhood. an awkward laugh escaped him and he scratched the back of his neck. " i, err... it helps when you don't have to fear for your life, or hold a weapon. but you’re right, i’m hardly on a holiday here. ”

#[ HENRI ]

wcndv

𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐓 : ‘ in the dark . ’ 𝐅𝐎𝐑 : @frvnccis

“ 𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐀 , marius … girls , come on , 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐅𝐔𝐍𝐍𝐘 , ” wendy called out into the still night air. not a working street light in sight apart from the apartment building lit up like a chirstmas tree. her brothers , namely wren , used to torment wendy as children. no matter how high she would pull the covers over her head or scurry from one dark room to the next until she was back in the safety of her bed , one creak in the floorboard was enough to make her jump as high as she stood in height. 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭. “ luca , come on , did you put this girls up to this ? ” she pleaded with yet again no reply to the sound that broke the silence. her green eyes fluttered about in search of movement until her gaze fixated on a tall figure move , even if it had been minute. “ luca you’re getting an article published about all your phone calls i overheard if you don’t knock it off and stop lurking. people are going to start thinking you’re the french. ”

frvnccis

THE FIRST MISTAKE HE HAD MADE WAS ACQUIRING A NICOTINE ADDICTION. the second was needing a smoke that specific moment. the third was being so loud. with his hand in his breast pocket where his pack was hidden, he stood frozen. wendy’s melodic voice was easy to recognize and the luxembourgish sounded so oddly familiar. he could walk away and hope she never found out it had been him... but he would have died of embarrassment if she had ended up recognizing him. facing her there and there when he felt tense and his fingers itched to hold a cigarette didn’t seem like a lot of fun either... and then she mentioned the french. the response was out from his mouth before he could stop the words. “ they wouldn’t be very wrong, would they ? ” the confidence, wherever it had come from, disappeared in an instant. he stuck the cigarette between his lips and with shaky hands lit it. “ he’s taller, you know. your brother, i mean. ”

#[ WENDY ]

jinmeixu:

her head turns at the sound of a voice, she peers over before smiling widely at the sight of françois. she walks back toward his door, lightly laughing. “ please don’t feel burdened by it! it’s a small gift, really. it’s just a comme des garçons tie — now that you’re in japan i thought it was fitting — japanese designer, french name and all. ” if he thinks this is a lot, maybe she should cancel the overly priced humidifier she ordered for selene… “ but.. if it’s still too much for you to accept, you can buy me dinner some time and we’ll call it even! ”

“ A JAPANESE DESIGNER, but a parisian fashion house, ” he specified. he was fairly convinced that every french person had a list of every notable parisian fashion house in their mind — just in case some italian tried to get into an argument about fashion... and whose was more impressive. “ no, not at all, this is very thoughtful. thank you. ” his index finger rubbed the edge of the card and he held a thoughtful pause. was it a good idea ? he wanted to say yes, there was no doubt about it, but he wasn’t sure if being around the chinese was a good idea. everyone and their uncle wanted a jin for a friend. he couldn’t picture himself being around the princess and not being aware just how powerful she was. the connection would become complicated the second someone ( or himself ) wanted to use it. it just wasn’t smart. “ 8 pm tonight ? ” ...and he wasn’t very smart, and he liked her company. “ i’ll meet you at the lobby ? ”

#[ MEIXU ]

jinmeixu

she’s stood in front of the françois’ door. knocking once and then again. after the third, she hooks the small gift she had brought on the handle, under the assumption he’s not home. and as she steps away, she stops — is it strange to leave a gift without a name? she shuffles backward, fishing for a pen in her bag, quickly writing, from: meixu. and as she’s about to walk again, she wonders, is it even more strange to leave a gift without context? and so she goes back to write: thank you for your help that day! i hope your feeling better! — oh no… she wrote the wrong ‘your’. would he notice? this is so embarrassing! it would be even more embarrassing to mark it off, right? she tries her best to squish an apostrophe and an e. it’s a small bag! words are bound to get cramped. she places the cap back onto the pen, semi-satisfied with the note. finally, she walks back to the elevator with her nose in her loewe tote, trying to find her key card. ( @frvnccis )

frvnccis

THE KNOCK WAKES HIM FROM HIS NAP. the document he was supposed to finish reading an hour ago was crumpled on the bed next to him. slightly disoriented, he tried to fix his unruly hair but came to the conclusion that he would lose such fight. the rustling by his door had just ended when he managed to open it. the empty hallway made him from but the ding of the elevator doors opening made him turn his head. “ your highness ! wait, hold on. ” he looked around, trying to figure out what was really happening before spotting the gift. “ is this from you ? ” he opened the note first — a response he had had to learn as an adult. his first instinct was always to see what the actual present was. “ you didn’t have to... this is too much, bah... you helped me just as much as i helped you. ”

#[ MEIXU ]

henridorleans:

“that’s all you really need to know.” politically, at least. socially… not knowing the others was a faux pas at best, but françois had never been the socialite of the family. that role had always fallen to henri and giselle. “that’s true,” he said, offering his own shrug. the chinese political system was far beyond him. he sighed. “the crown princess, naturally. it was… awkward and uncomfortable, to say the least. but arnauld is alright, which i suppose was the best i could hope for.” he shifted, trying to come up with a conversation topic that was less dreary. “earthquakes aside, how are you liking the program so far? tokyo is certainly a change of pace from the last two locations.”

“ WELL, either way, now i know the middle one too. she’s very nice. polite and considerate. i hope she’s alright. i should probably check up on her. it would look good, politically. ” his reasons were far from political, a purely selfish desire kept the woman in his thoughts. “ louise. perfect. ” it must have been a scene from nightmares. françois himself could barely look certain people in the eyes, let alone offer them help. “ i like it ! i’ve managed to catch up with a lot of people. all my cousins are here, ” he elbowed henri’s side softly. “ it’s so... erh... well, peaceful here. i haven’t been stressed out in months. it’s nice. ”

#[ HENRI ]

hshmimi:

“Single,” Mimi sighed, throwing herself across the entire length of Francois’ sofa and leaving him to take a chair. “Why? Do you want her? –I think she might be gay, but when’s that ever stopped anyone?”

“ SINGLE ? ” he repeated, brows hiking up on his forehead. a booming laugh escaped him as he fell back into the comfortable arm chair. “ i would never dare to say no to someone as beautiful as her... but that wasn’t why i asked. i just saw her at the reception the other day and couldn’t believe she was still in the picture. i thought you guys would smoke her out now that your dad is a bit... under the weather. ”

#[ DOMINIQUE ]

henridorleans:

“it’s not like you could’ve known what would happen,” he offered, hoping to ease his cousin’s mind at least slightly. “the middle one…? aren’t all the chinese princesses middle ones?” a pause. “no, i’m wrong – the eldest one is well and truly eldest, isn’t she? their system is one of the outdated ones, i think. eldest son and all that.” he waved a hand, shaking his head as if to clear the thoughts away. “well, anyway, i hope she’s doing alright. the one you teamed up with, i mean.” he looked down and his hands, sighed. “i wound up in the woods looking for arnauld. and i found him with the princess of belgium, which was… wonderful, i’m sure you can imagine.”

“ WELL, UHM... i just remember the emperor and the eldest. ” he awkwardly cleared his throat. not knowing the chinese imperial family by heart was probably an unforgivable political faux-pas at this point — especially for a frenchman. “ it seems to work for them, ” he pointed out with a shrug. “ and the princess of belgium ? ” he repeated with a grimace. “ oh god. that must have been unbearable. the older or the younger ? just how unlucky were you ? ”

#[ HENRI ]

hshqedit

@frvnccis & @jinmeixu

#it's so cute :sneezing:#[ MEIXU ]#[ FACE ]

“ BUT WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO NAME IT ? francis is a good option, boy or girl. ” [ @laylabahiti ]

#[ LAYLA ]

“ OH, PARDON, ” francois quipped as he awkwardly sidestepped to keep himself from crashing into the man. “ i didn’t see you, your... ” he checked the face. should he use grace, highness, or... “ majesty. ” he blinked a few times. he couldn’t remember ever seeing the face of luxembourg so up close. [ @lucadansembourg ]

#[ LUCA ]

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(* --- nails digging deep. )