giselledorleans

[giselledorleans]

giselle struggles. she struggles accepting that margaux has slipped from her protective embrace. she struggles to watch roman wither away in his house arrest. giselle struggles letting fanni take over the 'lesser duties' that had been once giselle's duties.

and once she's over the growing pains, she begins to suck up to the romanovs. giselle's prideful but she had never been principled. the romanovs do not like her and that does not change but zhenya pities her and anneli sympathizes with roman, and that is enough ! that is enough to make giselle's stays in karelia long and meaningful.

she fights against margaux's brainwashing but the part of margaux that is completely and truly roman, thinks very little of her mother's whining. giselle has always looked down on eastern europe, her stance on russia, in margaux's eyes, differs not from her view on belarus. so why would margaux listen to her mother about this ? russia's been surprisingly kind on margaux and as vitaliya's protege, she even gets invited to the winter palace. to an almost teen that is a privilege and it makes her special. giselle loses the fight against the romanovs' influence before she even realizes there is an actual fight. giselle had thought that margaux would be more influenced by her parents' opinions on russia, but no.

giselle's quite hung up on roman. even without realizing it, she keeps comparing possible suitors to roman and they all fall short. one's too loud. another too short. another seems uneducated. another something else. she always finds a flaw. it's why her flings remain as flings. a month or two but never anything meaningful. it seems too much work and too tiring. giselle already has a family and she already has a best friend. it's alright.

but roman's not alright and it saddens and concerns her. she visits as much as she can and she tries to keep his spirits up. she keeps reminding him that it will only take a year or two for margaux to ascend the throne. he will be pardoned. it will be alright. it's hard work, it brings giselle down a bit but it makes her feel important, like she matters. and she needs that. she has not been needed by her brothers in a long time.

margaux's graduation from high school is a joyous occasion because it marks the beginning of a new era. roman gets to attend the ceremony and the party: that is all anneli's doing. she and zhenya are the only friendly faces. it really feels like a change is coming.

giselle's quite mistaken.

margaux rise to power means almost nothing. de jure power has lost its meaning in belarus and what roman predicted and has feared for a long time, has come true. belarus is barely a sovereign state. russia's footprint is big and its visible. margaux is not equipped to rule a country with a fucking high school diploma and she is not suave enough to handle the russians even if she wanted to. giselle is not sure if she wants to go against them in any form. it worries her. giselle begs arnauld to sway margaux to put more effort into her role as the queen. arnauld tries a bit... and giselle is sure that he tries it in the only way that he can: with his own interest in mind.

giselle pressures margaux into a french uni, to learn something useful about politics. this is when giselle becomes activated in politics again. she doesn't do anything to serve the people but she does everything to gather important, wise and powerful people around margaux.

she works quite tirelessly and just a bit before celebrating her 50th birthday, she gets her birthday presents early in the form of a pardoned roman. roman has no business in living in belarus anymore so he naturally returns to paris.

for the first time giselle feels content. peaceful even. her daughter is doing fairly well as a queen, roman may look terrible but he's no longer verbally and emotionally lifeless, giselle's brothers seem happy and arnauld's megalomaniacal plans have all ended ages ago and he is not bringing problems into their lives.

what else could giselle really need but a happy family and a happy best friend ?

[giselledorleans]

hshqtask059.

when did you join ? what made you join ? what do you remember from the plotlines that were current at the time ? where were you in life when you joined and where are you now ?

i joined in july 2017 ! i remember browsing the tags and finding laura's wc for irena's sister. i was so obsessed. i loved a good family connection and heck if that wasn't it ! i was studying back then and now i'm working for a company 🤢🤢🤢

which characters have you written over the years ?

iris <3<3<3 isabela, giselle, arthur sr., darcy, kurakin, ignac ! honestly a lot less than you'd think !

what is your favourite plotline that you've been part of ?

in a way arthur sr. short escapade. i liked the fact that the storyline's timeline was clear and i could have him for a short time. his interactions were pretty wild. and i loved his dynamic with art and nicole. but honestly ? there's been so many but i think i've enjoyed myself the most during isabela's best era ? when she was picking up fights left and right, rebelling, etc etc. isabela's friendships with rohan and remei are probably my favourites. rohan's relationship with isabela was so random and it was so organic. i adore it. writing with julie on the otherhand was so wholesome. this is just a sidenote but two threads that have stuck with me would iris and irena's fight. when i was writing that i felt like i finally tapped into something in iris that made everything clear. i knew the character, i knew what she was supposed to say, and everything made sense. i wanna say laura felt it too. our writing matched so well and we understood where the other character was coming from. it's one of my most precious memories. then there's giselle's and roman's threads. i don't remember if this was a single thread or if these moments were scattered here and there but i loved writing giselle against roman because he brought out the best of her. the d'orléans enabled the terrible side of her. they fed her selfishness and cruelness. roman challenged her and sort of reminded her about the truly meaningful things in life. the threads were important to me and i think they made giselle so much more interesting to write.

what about other people's plotlines ?

alexei's depression. i didn't realize what elisa was writing at first and then she started to drop the signs and i was like oh no. alexei is one of the saddest characters i've seen. i was sold.

who is your favourite character from the ones you've played ? why ? what made you love them ? what made them so fun to write ?

giselle. which is a bit weird because giselle has never really had the starring role in plots ? i think all my plots on her haven't exactly been about her but it has been a lot of fun to tag along ! giselle's snarkiness was fun and i loved her antics. isabela is a close second but i think she wasn't as flexible ? her threads were a bit repetitive in the end.

if you could relive a plotline, which would it be ?

iris and irena. i think it's been a very long time and if we got to write them now, we'd be able to write them even better. it might be just nostalgia speaking.

is there a plotline that you'd edit now if you could ?

i wouldn't edit anything but i wish i had spent more time developing the friendship between isabela, bash, art and co. i think it was a fun group and a bit random !

what's a plotline you wish you would have been able to finish before closing or just write more of ?

i wish i could have made giselle into a good sister-in-law to fanni ! something wholesome after a long period of darkness would have been nice. but also it would have been cool to develop the slovakia-hungary plotline. ignac was a lot of fun and i'm glad i picked him up even if it was only for a short time ( like almost a year but time moves weirdly.... ).

what is your favourite ooc memory ?

i don't know if this is strictly ooc thing but I LOVED the craziness of the monaco nye. i loved that everyone just did wild shit. it was amazing. i don't want to say we peaked there but we totally did.

where can others find you if they want to get in touch ?

i'm not gonna lie but i'll probably disappear. everything has to end and i think this is it for me and the hshq gang. i'm not opposed to writing with you guys again but idk how likely it is since the only reason why i was still on tumblr was hshq ahah

what else would you like to say ?

i agree with everything that has already been said and i think we did something special here. everyone did their part and everyone participated in such innovative ways, i respect everyone here greatly for it. it feels like i've grown up with you and the characters and it's a weird feeling to walk off now. everyone knew this day was going to come but now that it's here, i really don't want to accept it. i'm so glad i found hshq and you <3

[giselledorleans]

" i wouldn't— " she tried to hide her failure behind a tight smile. the better margaux adapted to russia, the further away from roman she drifted. he didn't have the luxury of going for a visit. " HAPPY is a strong word but... i don't think she hates it. i've tried to tell her that being an international student makes her cool and special. it's working to some extent... but she isn't that young and stupid. lies need to be convincing and i feel like i'm not selling them very well. " it was an IMPOSSIBLE task ! she was trying to rebrand a punishment as an opportunity. " i'm well. i really am. " it wasn't a lie, not really, but it was the only thing that felt acceptable to say. any worry she might have had would have paled in comparison to his situation. " i'm running errands for arnauld, the wedding's so big and important. i'm not going on a summer trip this year — i came here, this is my little holiday. " she had made the right decision to come, there was no confusion about that: she felt like her visit made a difference. " this is actually really nice. being here. it feels good to be away from everything. breathing always felt a bit easier with you. "

"So the indoctrination is going smoothly. Terrific." As harsh as it sounded, he would have preferred a miserable child who still had the ability to be rebellious. Did it matter if his own daughter ended up on the throne instead of Milena Romanova if she was meek and malleable to the Romanovs' will. "But you think she's happy there? The language barrier's not too bad? She never really knew how to let go of those French sounds." French and Slavic languages made an unnatural match. The other liked to flow and fade off and the other loved its harsh twists and turns. "How are you, Giselle? You look well. Have you managed to go on a holiday yet?" The summer made everyone including her look more alive. Her delicate skin had gained some warmth.

[giselledorleans]

" she's REALLY smart nowadays. it's almost FRIGHTENING. i think she'll start one-upping me in no time. can you imagine how excruciating it will be ? " giselle even managed to laugh with her weak joke. her smile faded the longer the silence stretched. she hated the quietness of the house. it forced her to imagine what it was like being him. it made her pay attention to the stacks of books around the house. it made her look at him and pay close attention to the new lines on his face and the hollowness of his cheeks. " but she's well-behaved, i hear. i think the witch might even like her. it's not a bad thing for us. " [ &&. @yvrivic ]

[giselledorleans]

" you're LYING ! " the sound was a shriek. it had NOTHING to do with human speech. " you mean to tell me you are actually- she is back ? she said yes ? " [ &&. @vrnvuld ]

[giselledorleans]

" this is VERY much my business because your selfishness is ruining my brother's life. " her smile was cold. she had a feeling only the clearest message would go through. " i've always liked you but right now you're being very infuriating. " she withdrew her hands and sat up straighter. " it was better when he was attempting to make you jealous and angry by pretending to move on. at least he was moving ! you have to understand my point of view. some of us still care about him and what you two are doing is stupid. it's stupid because nothing is tying you together except for, WELL, neediness and sexual tension ! " she furiously shook her head. OH she was so upset already ! " all i'm saying is that he's NOT going to make the decision so unless you want to find yourself in this same situation next year, you should act smart. this is free advice. you've turned him down, now it's time to walk the talk. "

"How are you Giselle?" Her smile wavered but she wasn't sensing hostility from the Frenchwoman. Perhaps the conversation wouldn't be terrible. Giselle was so... quirky. Fanni never knew what was coming. So she'd just have to keep an open mind and let the woman talk! Because if there was one thing Giselle was capable of, it was talking! Most certainly. "Giselle, I don't..." What was she even trying to say? Giselle wasn't going to listen to excuses or reasonings. Fanni wasn't sure if she had ever seen Giselle this serious. The bullshit Fanni could have told her, wouldn't have left a dent. Fanni couldn't twist the truth if Giselle had her own. "Is this really your business?" It wasn't. Fanni was just trying to be polite. Telling Giselle to fuck off didn't really seem like an option. "This isn't a decision you can make for him. I don't even think you need to do it. He has a brain, he uses it. We're in a better place than we've been in two years. It's better this way than the other, with all the fights and hostility." Arnauld wasn't the kind of a person who needed babying from Giselle. It was almost ridiculous that she was attempting to meddle.

[giselledorleans]

" MEDDLE ? who do you take me for ? " she popped the amuse bouché into her mouth and smiled sweetly at julien. " i'm here for the evening. the russians were being weird about new year's, i did not want to be there, and... well, i MAY have upset them but that's neither here or there. just never let me barter again. "

" did you come here just to meddle? i thought you said you'd be in russia this time, kind of a pointless trip for a party. " [ @giselledorleans ]

[giselledorleans]

" i'd LOVE to tell you how i don't like to get involved but i try not to lie so much these days. it's especially bad luck on new year's eve. " she took fanni's hand in both of hers and gave it a few lifts off the table. " here's something no one has told you. and i know for a fact that NO ONE has told you this because it doesn't cross anyone's mind. people don't think that kindly of my brother. " she waited for fanni's attention to be on her. only once the icy blue eyes met hers, she continued. " he loves you TOO much, and he will continue doing so until you cut him off. " giselle wished that the hungarian would have been less selfish. " you don't want him and i think it's good that you've decided that for yourself. for a while i was thinking, perhaps even hoping, you'd change your mind but it hasn't happened... time has passed... and he STILL wishes you'd come back around. don't pretend you're oblivious, you are not. so could do me and all of france a great service and stay away from morocco ? leave him be so maybe he'll stop comparing everyone to you. " [ &&. @fannicroy ]

[giselledorleans]

new year's party in bratislava

see below for ignác:

it's as underwhelming as you'd expect

[giselledorleans]

" i will spend most of december and the beginning of january in russia. i expect not to be bothered with stupid work. " in a sense, ALL work was stupid if you asked giselle. " will you survive christmas by your own ? make sure someone plans something. " she gave the brothers an intense look. the LAST thing she wanted was for julien to spend the festivities with chantal and leave arnauld alone in his misery — or worse, with just their parents. " can you two promise to plan something ? " [ &&. @jvlicn + @vrnvuld ]

[giselledorleans]

GIOVANNI DI SAVOIA'S coronation, 2023.

[giselledorleans]

starters anyone ?

[giselledorleans]

uhmm why did i get this notif from a 6 year old post that was at @irisfilipovic lmaooo

[giselledorleans]

vrnvuld​:

“ and how has your evening been ? ” arnauld asked, stopping at the end of the table to address his siblings. he had needed a breather and the two offered safety. “ i hate to admit but the second tempranillo was actually enjoyable. ” [ ;; @jvlicn​ / @giselledorleans​ ]

“  ha ! i KNEW you were going to be impressed. ” she directed a very smug look at julien — as if she had beaten him at some game just by making a prediction. “ it was nice. very warm. i liked the shiraz more. ” she glanced past julien to take a glimpse at arnauld’s table. she pursed her lips. “ you’re lucky to have cecilia there. have you behaved ? ”  

[giselledorleans]

now that ilija’s fc is manu rios, ilija is acting like a little bitch

[giselledorleans]

PSA: i've stopped caring about watermarks

[giselledorleans]

lcmbcrdy​:

“There was an emerald necklace that caught my eye.” This is why patience was essential, otherwise, Cecilia may have suggested the diamond earrings she’d liked instead. She widens her eyes sympathetically, “Some people have no taste for the finer things in life. But they’ll lord it over others like it gives them moral superiority.” Blonde waves follow the disappointed shake of her head, shoulders tilting up in a resigned shrug as if to say, What could be done? You could lead a horse to the trough….

“Oh, you have?” Her face lights up with a distinct pleasure, the satisfactory joy that made her preen knowing that someone with more power and influence specifically wanted her and what she could bring to the table. She reaches for her tea, lashes lowered. “I am always happy to provide whatever is required of me. How may I help, your highness?”

“ WELL ! ” she turned her cup so that the ear was in a 90 degree angle to her. “ i believe my brother needs some... motivation. see he’s supposed to be married. he’s too old, it’s horrible. i’m PRACTICALLY dying of embarrassment at this point. ” she shook her head. “ so what i am thinking... well, i am thinking of a solution to this problem ! i need my brother to take this more seriously and i feel... like... external motivation might be the key. imagine how horrible it would be if people started asking what’s wrong with him ? why can’t he keep a woman ? what if he’s just a pathetic regular man... ? is he the next leonardo dicaprio ? ” she had thought of a few shocking headlines on an idle afternoon.��“ but i need you to tell me how to approach this sort of a campaign ? it shouldn’t be too harming but it needs to make him act. ”