⌠ SABRINA CARPENTER, 18, CISFEMALE, SHE/HER ⌡ welcome back to gallagher academy, VIRGINIE BELLEROSE! according to their records, they’re a FIRST year, specializing in LINGUISTICS, CULTURE, & ASSIMILATION + RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT; and they DID go to a spy prep high school. when i see them walking around in the halls, i usually see a flash of (eyes trained on the ground, a string of muttered french curses, a large satin bow tying up her hair, expertly shaped brows, miss dior perfume). when it’s the (libra)’s birthday on 10/14/2001, they always request their MILLE CREPE CAKE from the school’s chefs. looks like they’re well on their way to graduation.
pay no attention to how old that first post is haha,,,,,,
it will become apparent immediately upon looking at her bio that i’ve been thinking about virginie for a very long time!!!
you can find her biography and connections here !
tws for the bio and this brief intro are (gun) violence, murder, ptsd & depression
the tl;dr version:
she’s french and i always drop my american chars so ig that says it all
ginnie is here begrudgingly (she doesn’t know how unoriginal that is smh)
also unoriginal: she’s rich and her parents suck
she was never exceptionally good at the spy thing because her physical strength begins and ends with her ability to get on pointe but she did find the behind the scenes stuff kind of interesting and she’s always enjoyed learning languages and getting to know different cultures
virginie’s father was in the brotherhood (recently arrested, poppin’ bottles) and she knew before he was caught because she found some Sketchy Files on his computer w/her bf who then decrypted them
their actions were traced and the brotherhood was like time to murder but ginnie’s dad was like well murder the boy ig but don’t murder my daughter and he made some kinda shady deal so they’d let her live
the gunman was next to virginie when he shot her boyfriend multiple times so she has tinnitus in her left ear
she’s sad and she hates it here
i don’t wanna force everyone to read her bio but then this is useless sorry for me it’s 5:30am as i’m drafting this to the surprise of nobody
“Oh, I thought you did the move well.” To be fair, Olive thinks that everyone’s moves are great when compared to her own so if Virginie was doing the move completely wrong, it would go right past her. “I appreciate you being honest with me, though, instead of letting me repeat it and look like a dumbass later.”
“Thank you.” She probably should have said that to begin with. It’s possible she had done it well, but she’d never assume so. “Well, um, I do practice, a lot. I might get it right every so often, and maybe you caught that. But I am not the best teacher. Unless you want to learn another language.”
“does anyone?” esther asks genuinely, because she can’t imagine how anyone can get through their day with barely any sleep, let alone a day at a place like this. “i have no idea either. i suppose having it so limited does make it more special when we do get the opportunity.” after a few months of being limited to the grounds, it makes roseville feel like a vacation destination. “it sounds delicious. it’s hard to resist my sweet tooth sometimes, and that would definitely tempt me.” her own personal favorite dessert is spanish, of course, but she has to hand it to the french when it comes to pastries and sweets. “it’s hard to really imagine when it’s all hypothetical.” she’s never been in any sort of serious relationship, a combination of being young and incredibly picky, never fully trusting anyone’s intentions, especially anyone she’d met being ricky’s shadow. “that feels like the very, very distant future.”
“it seems like it. some people sleep less than six hours each night and go to work or school like normal.” she’s not sure if they’re just exhausted all the time or if some people really don’t need as much sleep. “do you think you’ll leave campus a lot when you’re a fourth year?” virginie thinks, on some occasions, it might be nice to go somewhere else for a weekend, but she’d have to still fit in homework and then it seems less worth the effort. “it is hard to choose a favorite kind of french cake.” though hers is probably her gallagher birthday dessert. “one day i will make sure you taste them all,” she threatens with a smile. if not in france, then at least somewhere more authentic than roseville. “you can think about what you want, even hypothetically.” virginie is still of a mindset that she won’t ever get married, or fall in love again, but it’s not something she talks about. “i trust future you not to choose someone clueless,” she says with a laugh. “they will know the right way to propose, and when.”
“i mean, don’t all ideas sound move convenient??” sky asks, a smile taking over her features. “you are right though. this is why i prefer the wallet app in my phone, i take my phone everywhere – so it’s easier to use that.” which is not the best idea if you’re someone who leaves their stuff left and right, because then anyone can access it, but the blonde doesn’t have that problem. “honestly.. i don’t think that ever crossed his mind, his face spoke volumes.” and the memory makes her laugh easily, far too funny for words to describe. “poor guy run out, trying to find help but i left his room as soon as he bailed.” skylar explains, still grinning. reaching for two glasses of champagne in the tray, the blonde hands one of the drinks, “here you go. should we make a toast?”
“i think the idea of a real wallet is just as convenient as it sounds! or...more convenient, even, since designers thought building one into their purses made more sense.” it just doesn’t! it’s a lot of effort moving stuff between purses and a surefire way to accidentally forget important things like your ID or credit card. “does that work most places?” virginie is sort of traditional -- she has apple pay set up but that’s it. “hopefully the lack of blood left behind clued him in that you were okay. otherwise...i am not sure what he thought.” most guys probably wouldn’t question a bleeding girl getting out of his room, because that’s a hard thing to explain. “oh, um...” she peers down in the flute, surprised to find fruit floating at the bottom. “aren’t we supposed to just toast to the new year? and hope it is better than the last one.”
“ NO, BUT NOTHING COMPARES TO THE ORIGINAL VERSION, ” he argues, because tommy thinks la vie en rose in english is just not the same. but he’s always been a fan of the french language. “ that’s valid. i’m not too familiar with america outside of a few cities, but you’ll definitely have to see more than just here. virginia isn’t particularly scenic. ” or interesting, but he doubts he has to tell her that. tommy knows more of the west coast, with cousins and close family friends in california, but he’s traveled enough to see the highlights of america without feeling like he’s missing out. “ at least you have plenty of time, ” he offers, because he remembers learning she’s a first year. “ i feel like i shouldn’t answer that, because i’m a little biased, ” he cracks a smile towards her. the fact that she shows off gum from steve – as if it has his name on it – makes the smile stay on his face for a little longer, nodding faintly. “ um, probably ? ” he wouldn’t normally, but he’s not going to say no to her. “ is it another formal dance ? ”
“i feel like so many people don’t even know which the original is anymore.” she doesn’t mean it in a cynical or even sad way, especially since where she’s from, naturally everyone knows édith piaf. “it’s interesting to think of how some songs take on a whole other life after they are released.” there are other examples where the original is by far not the popular version, which doesn’t fully apply here. “at least dc is nearby, it feels sort of required to visit, as a foreigner. i would love to see the museums.” no surprises there! “oh, i would not trust your opinion anyways,” she says with a dismissive wave of her hand before smirking. “it is hard to imagine a building more beautiful than the palace of versailles.” in case it wasn’t already clear that she’s also biased. “i am not sure...but i hope not. if i join the committee, i will feel obligated to go, and attending dances without a date is not my idea of fun.” because she wants someone to dance with.
– “AS LONG AS WE WANT! THEN YOU PUT IT ON SHUFFLE AND LEAVE IT TO THE GODS…” ricky says, “ i just don’t think there should be any rules, just put songs you want me to here and i’ll do the same. ” he doesn’t really think too deeply about these things, or at least he’s never thought of rules for exchanging playlists or anything like that. “ you just said you did modern dance ? or did you mean something else by that… ? ” he furrows his brow, confused. but maybe his definition of modern dance is different ? he doesn’t know what she meant. “ interesting, maybe they should teach the waltz during that class then, since there’s flirtation, ” ricky suggests, like he’s the right person to give addendums to the syllabus. “ i’ll probably need a refresher. ”
“don’t!” she says reflexively, before clearing her throat. “don’t put it on shuffle, i mean. i’m going to put it in a specific order,” she clarifies with a tentative smile, but she takes curating playlists very seriously! “at least, not the first time. i will understand if you shuffle it after that.” virginie is already considering whether to separate it by genre or intentionally blend everything together. the latter seems like a better listening experience. she purses her lips, because she doesn’t know how to describe it to someone who knows nothing about dancing. will the name martha graham do anything? “ballet dates back to the fifteenth century. so for a long time it was one of the only art forms. modern dance emerged sort of to...rebel against that, there are many different sub genres. i mostly did contemporary, and a little jazz, i never took hip hop, or...whatever...?” again, still not sure what to call tiktok dances. “i wouldn’t be surprised if they focus more on the tango.” obviously it’s sexier! “between ppc and classes, i will have to find time for additional lessons,” she comments with a grin, like she’s decided she’s definitely going to join.
Olive wasn’t the best in any of the categories that were a part of bootcamp and she did try to care, honestly, she did but she was just not the most agile. She’s standing watching someone else practice and lifts up her phone. “Wait, do you mind if I record you doing that last move? I don’t think I can physically do it but I do want to spend several hours later bothering my roommates by trying to recreate it.”
Virginie looks over, confused. “Um, I am not very good at it, am I?” She’s never watched herself do it in a mirror or anything, but she’s shocked if it looked decent. “You would be better off learning how to arabesque from me.” Rather than...insert combat move here. “Sorry, I just don’t want to teach you how to do something the wrong way. But I am flattered if you thought it looked okay.”
“ THE FRENCH REALLY DO KNOW HOW TO WRITE SOME BEAUTIFUL MUSIC, ” he smiles, thrilled that at a party that’s playing cardi b they can be talking about this. he’s definitely going to check out those albums, come next semester. tommy would try it for bootcamp, but he doesn’t think that’s decent gym music. “ i haven’t seen much of the country, but i’m sure it’s lovely. ” he’s not surprised that she’s proud of where she comes from – in his experience, the french usually are – but it’s a nice change from those who often resent where they grew up. there’s a fair share of them at gallagher. “ if you like big cities, you should definitely visit, though i’m sure it won’t compare to paris. steve park ? i know him. ” they’re not close friends, but he knows his family and they’ve discussed music before. “ he’s a nice guy. not that i have to tell you that. ” the fact that he adds that is embarrassing in itself, but maybe he’s second guessing himself right now. ballet makes him think of stella, the first time in the conversation for it to happen, which is a win for him. it’s pretty easy to push it aside, especially when she asks a question. “ yes, but it’s not very hard. so long as you have a decent reputation from your past professors and seem genuinely interested in all the classes. you’ll have to let me know how the club goes for you, though. maybe at the next event. ”
"it is hard not to be cliché about favorite songs when la vie en rose is right there. i don’t even mind the covers in english.” french is a prettier language, though, she thinks even native english speakers believe that. “that’s kind of how i feel about the united states...i haven’t seen anything outside of virginia.” new york kind of interests her, certainly she’d love to see something on broadway, to go to the ballet and the opera and the museums, but she doubts she’ll ever have the opportunity. “if i go back home after graduation, it will seem like a waste if i never go to the national parks or big cities here.” she supposes she has some time before she has to start worrying about missing out on those things. “i want to see how your palaces compare to ours,” she jokes, though she would like to visit buckingham palace, honestly. “you do?” she asks in disbelief, as if she hadn’t just assumed he might. “yeah!” reflexively she reaches for the pack of gum steve had given her earlier and shows it off, before realizing how weird it must look. “he um...gave me his gum.” virginie figures offering him a stick would only further the oddness, so she puts it back in her purse. “i’m afraid i’d get overwhelmed. do you plan on attending the valentine’s day event?” assuming that’s the next one.
– “WAIT, REALLY? THAT WOULD BE REALLY FUN, I’LL MAKE YOU ONE,” he says, because his personal playlists are a bit disorganized so if he was sharing music with someone else, he’d probably want to curate it. ricky is my one character that i’m pretty unsure about his music taste, but it’s probably top 40 trash. “ so, do you want to modern dance, then ? ” ricky asks her. “ i’ll take it, considering you’ve already made me into a pro. sounds better than a class i’d have to sit around in, at least, ” he replies, more interested in the being-allowed-to-get-up-and-move part than the seduction and flirtation aspect, actually. “ fair. maybe i’ll ask the ppc if we can get an orchestra next gala. ”
"yes, really. should we cap it at a certain number or just make it as long as we want?” she is slightly concerned about being sent a 50 song playlist or something, but she also doesn’t want to give him one that’s twice as long as the one he’s made. “well, i...think so. i’m not sure how to dance like, um, everyone else. do i have to...?” ginnie does an approximation of one of the wap dance moves, don’t ask me which one but she is not doing the splits. “i don’t think they teach waltzing in that class specifically, though a lot of flirtation does take place during one.” if you’re living in the 1800s. “think you will still remember the steps by then?” she teases, though she assumes the next gala will be the following school year.
“okay, that’s true. sometimes i will inevitably choose sleep over us hanging out.” esther imagines their ability to stay up and watch movies will lessen once boot camp starts after break, something she’s been feeling very stressed about more from a social standing. “i did, but that doesn’t mean i don’t want to do more of it, so going into town sounds great.” esther’s very much a window shopper most of the time, especially due to the limited space in her dorm, but she never enjoys it any less. “what’s an opera cake? it sounds elegant.” if it’s french, she can only imagine it would be even if it didn’t have a name like opera cake. she doesn’t want to push about henri, always just honored when ginnie even references him. “i would hope when my time comes for that, that nobody feels overly pressured to do something crazy. overly public proposals seem a bit stressful anyway. what if i want to say no?”
"i don’t function well on no sleep,” she says, by way of agreeing, because virginie isn’t the kind of person who can stay up late on a school night and not fear the repercussions in the morning. “i am not even sure when we can leave campus again, so we should take full advantage of the opportunity.” roseville isn’t exciting, but it’s something different from gallagher. “it is layers of coffee soaked almond sponge cake with ganache and buttercream in between, all covered in chocolate. naturally, it is a french dessert.” so elegant by design, in her opinion. “i am sure there is a way to let it be known that you want a quiet, private proposal. that is the kind of thing couples discuss before it happens. and if they are the one, they’ll know you well enough not to do something you would hate.”
“…..i don’t know, you tell me! i can’t go anywhere without my wallet, well, obviously i don’t carry it here or to the gym, but if i go out, i need it. there’s no way i’m putting my cards in those pockets, it seems to me that they’re too small, what if they get stuck?” it was a legit fear of hers. “he started yelling i didn’t do it while trying to put on his pants, and let me tell you that was the funniest shit ever. i think it was really traumatising for him, because after he left, he never texted back.” boys, skylar thinks. they’re not good for everything, some even think you’ll stop breathing if you faint. she grins at the blonde, giving virginie’s hand a soft squeeze. “oh, stop it, you’re so cute. i’m going for champagne, but if you’re into wine they have that as well.”
“i think it is an idea that sounds more convenient than it is in practice. even putting cash in your shoe is easier.” though that concept seems a bit gross to her and she’d rather have a proper purse. “sometimes they get stuck to the...fabric glue? they get stuck somehow.” they are rather tight, though, that’s also very true. “he must have thought you had an incredibly high pain tolerance,” she jokes, because surely someone bleeding out would have made that known immediately? “maybe he was just embarrassed, since clearly you were unharmed. or he should have been.” weirdly she might have to add knows the difference between lipstick and blood to her list of things to look for in a significant other. she smiles, “champagne seems the most appropriate.” hopefully it’s actually from champagne.
“What’s she like as a teacher?” Ruby asks, genuine curiosity on her face. She imagines Claire would be good at it, but much too frightening for her own taste. Like a ballet instructor on steroids perhaps. “You have grit, I can tell, Ginnie, you’ll be fine!” she smiles assuredly. “Oh, I’m not, I just have a couple friends in it and I thought I’d like to help out if possible. People seem to enjoy being in it, I bet you’d like it too.”
“When I don’t get something, I think it is hard for her to understand why. Thankfully I already know all the basics, so mostly it is just nice having someone who likes sparring to practice with. When I make a mistake, she usually knows what it was.” Teaching is hard for most people, it doesn’t often come naturally. “I want it to go by quickly,” she admits. “Would you ever join?” It sounds like Ruby would fit in well. “I am joining with a friend, so I think that makes it less scary.”
– “YEAH, LIKE THE SLOW SONGS THAT YOU CAN WALTZ TO.” he’s not sure if you can do the waltz she showed him to wap, but now he’s kind of sad the song is over because he would have liked to try that. “ maybe we should try to waltz anyway, i can show you what i remember and you can do the dance moves that you like, ” he suggests, even if the music is much different than what she selected in september. “ well, the party planning committee doesn’t do any ballet that i’m aware of, or i’m just fucked, ” he says. he didn’t really join specifically for the girls, but it’s a really nice plus ! “ you’d rather hear wap again than that pretty orchestra music ? ”
“i do have playlists for ballet...but for waltzing i just know a few songs. i listen to many things, though. maybe we should swap playlists.” she has no assumptions of his taste, though it has to be more mainstream than hers. “i appreciate that,” she says, because she does, “but i did modern dance, too. i am just...getting used to these kinds of parties.” virginie never had a chance to go to normal high school parties, she doesn’t want to look dumb when she dances. “does this mean you won’t ever take that dancing class?” since it’s for the flirtation major, it seems like that’s half the reason to take it. despite that, she’s a bit interested. “we are listening to neither right now, so i don’t know! i don’t think an orchestra would match the...vibe?”
“even if the movie doesn’t appeal to me, i won’t find any time we hang out to be a waste of time,” esther points out, because surely if she’s not interested or bored they can just talk instead, and that’s fine with her as well. she doesn’t have much of an issue sleeping, but she’s also capable of staying late, so she’s more than happy to follow ginnie’s lead, and it’s a holiday anyway. “i do miss going shopping whenever i want,” she says a bit wistfully, one of the downsides she’s finding of being in a real school setting for once. “i guess maybe the most recognizable parts of the holiday don’t appeal to me, like all the candy and chocolate. also i don’t think i’d like to be proposed to on a holiday lots of people get engaged on, that’s a thing, right?”
"in fairness, you might wish you’d gone to bed instead,” she suggests with a laugh, because starting a movie just before midnight (or later, by the time they get back to the dorms) is always risky. “did you get to shop a lot over break? we could try to go out to town at least one more time before they close campus again.” it sort of feels like a hassle to her, but most things still feel like too much effort so virginie has to push herself to do nearly anything. “i like the chocolates, although...henri and i shared an opera cake on valentine’s day, i will always take fresh french baked goods over anything else.” she still doesn’t talk about him a lot, though she knows it’s better if she gets used to it, and talking to esther feels like a safe space. “i think so, but a lot of proposals are cliche in some way. coming up with an original idea is probably stressful.”
“i am, yes. my girlfriend is inside,” emir again calling miray his grilfriend when the conversation was never had. you hate to see it ! “she does not know i am here, i arrived early for this.” he looks excited, his eyes shining. “oh, i understand this. i know a lot of people who cannot handle fireworks. i hope you find yourself with someone you love.”
“oh,” she says in understanding, because her first question was about to be if she is in there, why are you out here? “are you...nervous?” hiding outside strikes her as nerves. hopefully it’s not cynicism on her part that makes her assume this is their first new year’s eve together, a year is just a long time. “it’s a bit scary to throw that word around when everyone here is still new to me.”
“ no, actually. the, ah, girl in the red dress. i don’t know her name, but i think she’s gigi’s friend, she asked me for some gum as well. ” gigi’s friends seem to come up to him with all sorts of requests and other things, even those he’s never spoken to, which is one of the few downsides to the job. at least he’s not an intimidating presence. “ i read somewhere that apples are supposed to do the trick. maybe you could try apple juice? ” if they even serve that at the bar. seems unlikely. “ or, if you need something acidic, you could ask for a slice of lemon at the bar. ” a small chuckle escapes him at the thought of ginnie just … sucking on a slice of lemon. “ how about i take one for now, and if i need anymore, i can ask gigi. ” eyes flicker over towards the treats on the table. “ hmm, they do look good. shall we try a bit of all of them? ”
“gigi has a lot of friends,” virginie comments with a slight smile, and a lot of girls are wearing red dresses, i assume, because i don’t know who he’s talking about so neither does ginnie. “sorry for stealing your gum, though. or -- you gave it to me, but it seems like some other friend of gigi’s might wind up disappointed. you can point them in my direction.” she’s happy to take a small burden off his shoulders, actually. “i have tried the apple juice, actually, it is very good. it’s sparkling, um, but that was a while ago, though, so maybe it’ll work.” she’s never heard this but she trusts him. “or lemonade?” she laughs, because hopefully that’d work just as well. “deal,” she says and offers him a stick. “well, we are armed with gum, now is the safest time.” virginie leads the way, as if he wasn’t already looking in the right direction.
“ REALLY ? ” his face lights up a little at the mention of classical music, he can’t help it. “ do you have a certain composer you usually listen to ? i’ll have to try that. ” listening to music to drown out the people around him, he means. tommy is already a classical music fan. “ i’ve been to marseille and nice, both very beautiful cities. i’ll remember that for next time though, a lavender field. ” that hardly seems like the type of place he’d go himself or with his brother, but who knows the next time he’ll be in france. “ it was the same way for me as well. i went to prep school in london, where i grew up. ” of course, he got leaving england out of his system with italy, and doesn’t care much for america – at least virginia. he does understand the appeal of being away from home for more or less the first time. of course she’s going to join ; now tommy feels stupid for his comment, glancing away in case his cheeks flush. “ sounds like you’re a real team player, ” he says wryly, glancing back at her to offer a small smile. he shakes his head. “ i prefer taking six classes, which doesn’t leave too much room for clubs. ” WHY there are clubs is beyond him.
“well...overall, my favorite composers are debussy and satie, and vivaldi.” she doesn’t only listen to french composers! though she is partial to them. “there’s albums on spotify specifically dedicated to studying with all debussy compositions, i thought it was kind of silly at first but i think it actually works.” virginie has gotten good at staying focused on the task at hand. “it’s hard to say if the cities or the countryside are more beautiful in france.” she can certainly grant him that. it’s hard to wander out to a lavender field when the cities themselves have so much to offer. “i’ve never been to london, though i have always wanted to go. i have met a lot of people who went to prep school there. my...friend, steve, do you know him?” virginie does consider him a friend, though really he’s the guy who protects her friend so he might not feel the same way in return. “i am an only child and my only activities growing up were ballet and piano, so it will be nice to do something more focused on team work,” she admits, a little embarrassed, because she’s still learning. “don’t you have to get special permission for that?”
