Juliette "Marseille" Fourcade

JULIETTE (MARSEILLE) FOURCADE


Mademoiselle Juliette
Aimerait faire la fête, champagne à sabrer, coca décapsulé

I Feel Like We're Summoning The Devil

[/color]:[/b] Juliette Fourcade
Nickname/Alias: Marseille or Juliette, but will only introduce herself as Marseille; only friends would know her full name. Rarely allows others to refer to her with a nickname.
Gender: Female
Character Type: City
Country or Country of Origin: France
Canon or Original: Original
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When I look into all of your stupid faces

I think how fun it will be to pound them into dust

[/color]:[/b] Violet
Hair: Brunette
Height and Weight: 165 cm (5'5"), 57.6 kg
Other Distinguishing Features: Small tiara. She could also be seen with either Mistral or Sirocco at times--Mistral is a cold wind that brings good weather, whom is welcomed company, but Sircocco brings hot, sandy wind, and causes bad weather. Marseille is usually in a bad mood when Sircocco is around.

Overall Appearance: Marseille is nothing short of elegant. Her clothing is as rich as her culture, and even when they are simple, it would not be surprising if the material of the articles are made with luxurious fabrics. She tends away from frivolous outfits, unless attending a social meeting, and favors her formal uniform when appearing in public and knowing she is going to meet company. When alone, she is casual, but still holding a very smart appearance. Loves darker shades of purple and blue.

Her height is average, and her build is highly feminine, slender and thin. But, that is not to account for weakness; it is obvious she is not fragile, and one could tell in a glance that the woman is not delicate. After so many centuries and given her age, she is not spared from physical hardships from her past. All of her scars are hidden well enough, and if one did not know her well enough, they would believe her skin was flawless. She has a fair complexion apart from the scarring.

Brunette hair is always seen in a French knot, and it is absolutely rare to catch Marseille not being well groomed. She is also typically seen wearing a small crown, but there are some instances were it is missing.
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Man up or I'll beat you with my peace prize!

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[li] Social events
[/li][li] Museums
[/li][li] Swimming
[/li][li] Boating
[/li][li] Fishing
[/li][li] Anything to do with water, really
[/li][li] Operas
[/li][li] Art shows
[/li][li] Dancing
[/li][li] Music
[/li][li] (Classical) concerts
[/li][li] Shopping
[/li][li] Fine wine
[/li][li] Cooking
[/li][li] Fashion
[/li][li] Gardening
[/li][li] Tactics
[/li][li] Poetry
[/li][li] Novels
Dislikes:
[/li][li] Arrogant men
[/li][li] Dirty things
[/li][li] Crude, foreign food, except for north African dishes
[/li][li] Rudeness
[/li][li] Odd or erratic behavior
[/li][li] Those who do not appreciate the arts
[/li][li] Losing competitions
[/li][li] Not being able to sleep
[/li][li] Not having a "third option"
[/li][li] Being insulted
[/li][li] Bad wheather
Strengths:
[/li][li] Maritime activities
[/li][li] The arts
[/li][li] Anything concerning sociability
[/li][li] Open-minded to different cultures
Weaknesses:
[/li][li] Unforgiving
[/li][li] Unstable when lacking sleep
[/li][li] Controlled by her emotions
[/li][li] Quite merciless
[/li][li] Wine
Fears:
[/li][li] A "repeat" of WWII
[/li][li] Violence, death, etc.
[/li][li] Unemployment rates in her city
Secrets:
[/li][li] Dependency: Though her rebellious streaks speak otherwise, she is secretly glad that she is under a higher rule, having been so for the past couple of thousand years and really does not know how she would run things as a nation without ending up with it turning bad.
[/li][li] Freedom: But, in a different kind of sense--she sometimes wishes she did not evolve such a formal personality, and sometimes entertains the thought of having a more carefree life that is not restricted by her own limitations.
[/li][li] Hip hop: A secret fan of French hip hop, she hides this love, since she is well known for her equal love of classical music.
[/li][li] Commitment: She actually avoids long-term relationships with foreign figures at all costs, and does not explain why. Being a workaholic, she does not think she will have enough time for friendships outside of her general reach, to stay away from disappointing others.
[/li][li] Virginity: Yes, Marseille is a virgin--and is embarrassed by the fact yet values it. She will avoid sexual conversations and topics at all costs, using the excuse that she is a woman married to her work and has no interest in such things.
Any Quirks/Habits:
[/li][li] Drinks water when nervous
[/li][li] Gets upset whenever it storms in her city, and makes rude remarks about Sircocco
[/li][li] Usually defaults to the "silent treatment" when angry or sad

Overall Personality: Marseille is an easy woman to get along with. She is a lover of small talk, and it does not take much to start a trivial yet enjoyable conversation with her. She prefers this sort of conversation over long, personal ones, because she does not plan to have many meaningful relationships. She is respectful to other cities and nations, and can be seen going to great lengths, even when it is difficult, to enjoy the company of them.

While she seems all business and no-nonsense, she does have a life outside of politics, but it is rarely seen for she usually does not invite casual company. When out of uniform, she enjoys relaxing out by the coast, either shopping for food to cook later on, looking at expensive clothing, or simply laying out on the bench, she does it all. There is also a more excitable part to her; she loves sports that involves the coastal theme, sailing being a particular one she likes to flaunt off. It could be somewhat confusing that this trill-seeking woman is the same, self-possessed and artistic city.

Unfortunately, there is also a darker side to her. After many years, she has become unforgivable of acts made to disarm or offend her, and has little tolerance for advances made to hurt her or her nation, for that fact. Along with her sharpness, she can get rather physical in disputes, and usually does not account the other when her temper gets loose. She is somewhat cruel when she is like this, and actually does not regret actions she made that has hurt others, finding them justifiable.
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I'm the hero!

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Prehistory and Classical Antiquity

[li]Humans have inhabited Marseille and its surrounding areas for almost 30,000 years: palaeolithic cave paintings in the underwater Cosquer cave near the calanque of Morgiou date back to between 27,000 and 19,000 BC.
[/li][li]Marseille has been called the oldest city in France, as it was founded in 600 BC by Greeks from Phocaea as a trading port under the name Massalia, also being one of the first Greek ports in western Europe.
[/li][li]Facing an opposing alliance of the Etruscans, Carthage and the Celts, Massalia allied itself with the expanding Roman Republic for protection. This protectionist association brought aid in the event of future attacks, and perhaps equally important, it also brought the people of Massalia into the complex Roman market. The city thrived by acting as a link between inland Gaul, hungry for Roman goods and wine (which Massalia was steadily exporting by 500 BC), and Rome's insatiable need for new products and slaves. Under this arrangement the city maintained its independence until the rise of Julius Caesar, when it joined the losing side (Pompey and the optimates) in civil war, and lost its independence in 49 BC.
[/li][li]It was the site of a siege and naval battle, after which the fleet was confiscated by the Roman authorities. During Roman times the city was called Massilia.
[/li][li]Marseille adapted well to its new status under Rome. The city's laws amongst other things forbade the drinking of wine by women and allowed, by a vote of the senators, assistance to a person to commit suicide.
[/li][li]It was during this time that Christianity first appeared in Marseille, as evidenced by catacombs above the harbour and records of Roman martyrs.

Middle Ages and Renaissance

[/li][li]With the decline of the Roman Empire the town fell into the hands of the Visigoths. Eventually Frankish kings succeeded in taking the town in the mid 6th century. Emperor Charlemagne and the Carolingian dynasty granted civic power to Marseille, which remained a major French trading port until the medieval period. The city regained much of its wealth and trading power when it was revived in the 10th century by the counts of Provence. In 1262, the city revolted under Bonifaci VI de Castellana and Hugues des Baux, cousin of Barral des Baux, against the rule of the Angevins but was put down by Charles I.
[/li][li] In 1348, the city suffered terribly from the bubonic plague, which continued to strike intermittently until 1361. As a major port, it is believed Marseille was one of the first places in France to encounter the epidemic, and some 15,000 people died in a city that had a population of 25,000 during its period of economic prosperity in the previous century. The city's fortunes declined still further when it was sacked and pillaged by the Aragonese in 1423.
[/li][li]Marseille's population and trading status soon recovered and in 1437, the Count of Provence René of Anjou, who succeeded his father Louis II of Anjou as King of Sicily and Duke of Anjou, arrived in Marseille and established it as France's most fortified settlement outside of Paris. He helped raise the status of the town to a city and allowed certain privileges to be granted to it. Marseille was then used by the Duke of Anjou as a strategic maritime base to reconquer his kingdom of Sicily.
[/li][li]King René, who wished to equip the entrance of the port with a solid defense, decided to build on the ruins of the old Maubert tower and to establish a series of ramparts guarding the harbour. Jean Pardo, engineer, conceived the plans and Jehan Robert, mason of Tarascon, carried out the work. The construction of the new city defenses took place between 1447 and 1453. Trading in Marseille also flourished as the Guild began to establish a position of power within the merchants of the city. Notably, René also founded the Corporation of Fisherman.
[/li][li]Marseille was united with Provence in 1481 and then incorporated in France the following year, but soon acquired a reputation for rebelling against the central government. Some 30 years after its incorporation, Francis I visited Marseille, drawn by his curiosity to see a rhinoceros that King Manuel I of Portugal was sending to Pope Leo X, but which had been shipwrecked on the Île d'If. As a result of this visit, the fortress of Château d'If was constructed; this did little to prevent Marseille being placed under siege by the army of the Holy Roman Empire a few years later.
[/li][li]Marseille became a naval base for the Franco-Ottoman alliance in 1536, as a Franco-Turkish fleet was stationed in the harbour, threatening the Holy Roman Empire and especially Genoa.
[/li][li]Towards the end of the 16th century Marseille suffered yet another outbreak of the plague; the hospital of the Hôtel-Dieu was founded soon afterwards.
[/li][li] A century later more troubles were in store: King Louis XIV himself had to descend upon Marseille, at the head of his army, in order to quell a local uprising against the governor. As a consequence, the two forts of Saint-Jean and Saint-Nicholas were erected above the harbour and a large fleet and arsenal were established in the harbour itself.

18th and 19th Centuries

[/li][li]Over the course of the 18th century, the port's defences were improved and Marseille became more important as France's leading military port in the Mediterranean.
[/li][li]In 1720, the last Great Plague of Marseille, a form of the Black Death, killed 100,000 people in the city and the surrounding provinces.
[/li][li]Jean-Baptiste Grosson, royal notary, wrote from 1770 to 1791 the historical Almanac of Marseille, published as Recueil des antiquités et des monuments marseillais qui peuvent intéresser l’histoire et les arts ("Collection of antiquities and Marseille monuments which can interest history and the arts"), which for a long time was the primary resource on the history of the monuments of the city.
[/li][li]The local population enthusiastically embraced the French Revolution and sent 500 volunteers to Paris in 1792 to defend the revolutionary government; their rallying call to revolution, sung on their march from Marseille to Paris, became known as La Marseillaise, now the national anthem of France.
[/li][li]During the 19th century the city was the site of industrial innovations and a growth in manufacturing. The rise of the French Empire and the conquests of France from 1830 onward (notably Algeria) stimulated the maritime trade and raised the prosperity of the city. Maritime opportunities also increased with the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. This period in Marseille's history is reflected in many of its monuments, such as the Napoleonic obelisk at Mazargues and the royal triumphal arch on the Place Jules Guesde.

20th Century

[/li][li]During the first half of the 20th century, Marseille celebrated its "port of the empire" status through the colonial exhibitions of 1906 and 1922; the monumental staircase of the railway station, glorifying French colonial conquests, dates from then. In 1934 Alexander I of Yugoslavia arrived at the port to meet with the French foreign minister Louis Barthou. He was assassinated there by Vlado Chernozemski. Chernozesmski was then beaten by the French police and spectators, and died the same day.

World War II

[/li][li]During the Second World War, Marseille was bombed by the German and the Italian forces in 1940. The city was occupied by Germans from November 1942 to August 1944.
[/li][li]On 22 January 1943, over 4,000 Jews were seized in Marseilles as part of "Action Tiger." They were held in detention camps before being deported to Poland occupied by Nazi Germany to be murdered.
[/li][li]The Old Port was bombed in 1944 by the Allies to prepare for liberation of France.
[/li][li]After the war much of the city was rebuilt during the 1950s. The governments of East Germany, West Germany and Italy paid massive reparations, plus compound interest, to compensate civilians killed, injured or left homeless or destitute as a result of the war.

1950s Onwards

[/li][li]From the 1950s onward, the city served as an entrance port for over a million immigrants to France. In 1962 there was a large influx from the newly independent Algeria, including around 150,000 returned Algerian settlers (pieds-noirs). Many immigrants have stayed and given the city a French-African quarter with a large market.
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You've got it backwards! Backwards!

Hurry up and throw it! If you don't hurry up and throw it, you'll go "boom"!

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Gilded gold flashed from the crown atop of the woman's head as she entered the main room, the clinks of wine glasses and idle chatter echoing the spacious room. A soft number of violins could be heard from a corner, hidden by the numerous people in attendance. While it must have been ignored by most of the guests, the woman knew that it added to the atmosphere, adding just the right touch to the room that would have otherwise been incomplete without it.

She clasped a glass of Cassis wine as a tray being carried by a handsome gentleman came her way, and took a regal sip of the finely aged beverage. The drink danced a lovely step as it made its way down her throat, and spoke of her approval of the wine to the waiter, but did not allow herself another drink, and set down the glass back on the tray. She started to immerse herself with the crowd. "Accueil, monsieur, welcome," she would say to a man, who gave a polite nod of his head her way in return, and "Profitant du vin, enjoying the wine, are we?" to a group of woman who had finished softly laughing at something one of them had said. Often compliments would go her way, and they were received with a gentle smile and a "Merci."

The night wore on, and soon the guests and employees dispersed as the night finally grew old. The soft murmur of violins was replaced with the whispers of a French singer lamenting about her lover, her strong voice so beautiful that the sorrowful words that spilled out from the small, radio cassette were almost ignored. Marseille busied herself with cleaning what was left of the small mess the guests had left behind, only half-listening to the singer's tragedy, having heard her story for perhaps a hundred times since it was made a couple of centuries ago.

The small kitchen, the last of the area that needed tidying, was over and done with, and she sighed with content and relief. It seemed that the night was going to be a sleepless one, and she supposed that she'd rather spend it happily dazed instead of tortuously aware. She moved to the wine cabinet, musing over the different choices she had, many years to consider. When she opened the aged, wooden doors, a new piece called out to her. A rather crude, familiar bottle stared out to her, and in written script: Cassis.

A grin widened across the tired face, and she whispered to the person who could not hear her, "Je vous remercie, mon ami."

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I Summon thee from far away lands, come forth!

You called?

[/color]:[/b] Aly
Timezone: [-6] Central Time Zone

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