#The child returns to her mother the cycle is done the rain clears the ocean is infinite the workings of the cult I mean church are undone

[abyssalpriest]

Working with Leviathan be like

Leviathan: *completely both rewrites a severe trauma trigger back into something neutral and freeing, and further reconnects me to the Sky and myself off plane and pre-incarnation in the space of 24 hours* yeah nice, anyway we should play video games now I'm tired

[godsandvillainsrpg-blog]

FRANCO GIORDANO

thirty-five ♱ benefactor ♱ giordano

“At what point does a man turn into a monster? I don’t believe that it’s when he does horrible things, but when he accepts that he’s able to do them, and that he does them well.”

WE ARE PLAYING A GAME OF EMPIRES

The firstborn of the Giordano dynasty was a divine treasure. He would be the one to eventually step into his father’s place, rule the empire, preserve the legacy. It was a position not taken lightly by Cassius or Vita, and the nine months awaiting Franco’s arrival were painstaking for the duo. This boy would be the one to define their success, a product of their union. When the boy was finally born, his parents rejoiced, certain the world had shifted on its axis now that its two most wicked inhabitants bore a child. Certainly, his heart would prove to be as black as his parents’.

But that would not exactly be the case.

What Franco did inherit was his mother’s good looks and his father’s amiability. The darkness that so characterized his mother and father, though, was seemingly absent from their son. Rather, Franco was a genteel child, polite and gracious. He was popular, but not because he forced his peers into submission as his mother would have hoped. Franco was no master at malevolence, but he had a natural understanding of people. Empathy was his weapon, though it would be years before he could learn how to properly wield it. In his younger years, its use was pure – but Cassius recognized the potential that his wife could not see in their eldest. One day, he would learn how to manipulate and seize power all his own. One day, he would make them bleed without remorse. He was, after all, a Giordano. This was in his blood.

Although his father caught glimpses of his son’s potential, the burden of expectation was not relieved for it. It was necessary to expose him to their dark world, to teach him responsibility. As Franco grew older, it was a providence he took very seriously. The tension, however, remained. It was not in his nature – or, at least, so he believed – to do evil. It was not that his conscience was the obstacle; no, that was reserved for his brother, Salvatore. Rather, he felt no pleasure from the pain, as though the gene for sadism had passed over him and on to his siblings. He respected his father, this business of iniquity and chaos that his family had built, but he could not relate. For a long time, he questioned the state of man, and whether they were born evil or became so over time. But he would learn soon enough, the answer lie in a combination of the two.

At fourteen, he was shipped off to a boys’ school in England with the expectation that he return home a man; and he did, though perhaps not in the way his parents’ had expected. At sixteen he returned home with a classmate named Christian Lefevre. They had been assigned to the same room for two years, and over time they had become close. Franco yearned for fraternity, and since his own brother had no desire forge such a bond, he had become quick friends with his roommate. Christian had no family of his own, raised by extended family after the tragic death of his parents, and Franco was insistent that the Giordanos welcome him. If there was one thing Cassius had taught Franco, it was the importance of allies; one could never have too many. To Franco, Christian was just as much his sibling as any of his own blood.

At seventeen, he brought home a girl from his school’s sister school, a mate who had become close with he and Christian their second year. Her name was Samaira and she, too, was an orphan seeking a home. She was beautiful, and there was no question at all that Franco was absolutely smitten with her. It seemed Franco was building his own inner circle of trust, and instead of fighting it, Cassius was quick to welcome them to the family. Right after graduation, Franco would seal Samaira’s loyalty through marriage…and his father, it seemed, had similar plans for Christian.

A newlywed himself, about to give away his prized sister to his best friend, Franco could not have been a happier man. But this harmony could only last so long.

First, it was his marriage. Time passed, and his father’s expectations began taking a major toll. Franco was not a cruel man, but he was forced to act maliciously. It stirred in him an inner torment he could not explain, and one that Samaira had little patience with. It suddenly became clear to him that his own love for his wife had deceived him. Perhaps she loved him, but it was not the same kind of unconditional and all-consuming love he felt for her. It was unclear if the family business was too overwhelming for her or if Franco was simply not enough, but while most couples were still in the honeymoon phase, Franco and Samaira were already headed for disaster. The tension between them was palpable; the more she neglected and even scorned him, the more his resentment toward her grew…until it finally burst. Franco found his solace in Camille Dubois, an employee of his father and hired assassin. As things between he and Samaira devolved, he began throwing himself more into work – in Franco’s case, learning the ropes of the family business. He and Camille had chemistry immediately, and though he loved Samaira, he was hardly in a state of mind to deny himself the pleasure of her company.

The affair remained quiet for many months. The attraction was purely sexual, for his heart still belonged to his wife, but Camille made him feel alive. And better, she ignited something in him that allowed him to finally begin making progress. She helped to unleash another side of him, one capable of more than he ever knew. And though he still knew he was holding back, he was finally growing into the man his parents could be proud of, one worthy to one day take the reins of the business.

Camille’s death had hit him hard, and his reaction was enough to provoke questions from his wife. Of course she had noticed how he had withdrawn from her over the months, but never in her wildest imagination would she have guessed there was someone else. His heart may have still, and always, belonged to Samaira, but he had a difficult time convincing her of that. He knew the betrayal rocked her, but there was hope: the Giordano family was all she had. Maybe it was manipulative of him, to play with her emotions and vulnerabilities, but he was desperate to keep her and he would do and say anything to make her stay with him. Though things were rocky, she would stick around.

But his affair and the death of his mistress was a drop in the ocean compared to the betrayal his so-called best friend would bestow upon him.

Everything may have been spinning out of control for Franco, but there was solace in the upcoming nuptials of Aurora and Christian. His best friend would finally officially be his brother, and he would have his own right-hand man to help him navigate his legacy. Only Franco had no idea that Christian had visions of his own empire – and, better yet, at the expense of Franco’s. On the day of the wedding, when Christian’s treachery was revealed, it was the final straw to send Franco down a dark and twisted path.

Nothing around him made sense anymore; everything he had clung to for any sense of normalcy had been ripped from him. The result was a tailspin that would bring out his own inner demons. Much like the devolution of Aurora, Franco himself came face to face with his own darkness, the taint of Giordano blood finally taking its effect and coursing through his veins. And while Aurora thrived on fantasies of revenge, Franco’s descent was a much more violent one. It turned out, his father’s predictions were true – Rome would rain with the blood of his enemies.

The only problem was that Franco was ill-prepared and sloppy. His crime were those fueled by passion rather than professionalism, always done in the heat of the moment. The once amiable boy whose charisma and affability had once earned him countless friends was now gone, and in his place was a creature bent on absolute destruction.

The first time he returned home with bruised knuckles and drenched in blood, Samaira was clueless as to how to respond. This was a side of Franco she was altogether unfamiliar with, and one she was not sure she felt comfortable or safe with. Yet he never laid a hand on her, and vowed he never would. His violence was reserved for his enemies – and, one day, Christian. Cassius and Vita, on the other hand, could not be more pleased with the beast wearing the skin of their son. Christian’s betrayal was a knife in the back, but perhaps it was necessary to the evolution of Franco. Evil men are both a product of their birthright as well as their capacity to do evil; and now they can boast of a new recruit to the ranks.

TAKE NO PRISONERS, LEAVE NO SCARS

LOVE

In his younger years, Franco had an endless cycle of girlfriends, though none of them serious enough to bring home and none lasting more than a handful of months. He was easily bored, waiting for someone to excite him. And when he met Samaira Bhatia, he was sure he would never know a dull day. She was the first girl to truly challenge him, to force him to pursue her. The girl was brilliant and she was beautiful, one who was his equal. They were together only a short time before he knew she was the woman he wanted for the rest of his life; but only months into the marriage did he realize he may have been the only one with this outlook. Samaira grew bored of him, and soon enough they were barely even getting along. Lust, as it turned out, was his vice – and when Camille Dubois showed interest in him, he delighted in the attention. He cared for Camille, but not in the same way he did for Samaira; no one could ever occupy her place in his heart. After Camille’s death, and especially following Christian’s betrayal, Franco has become reliant on his wife, co-dependent even. If he loses her too, he is sure his entire world will collapse around him.

LEGACY

It has always been Franco’s first priority to live up to the expectations of Cassius and Vita. For most of his life, his father has been patient with him, but also demanding. There were certain obligations required of the eldest, and he expected Franco to fulfill them. His mother, on the other hand, has been less impressed with his journey. She gave up hope on him long ago, and even now that he has shown what he is capable of, he knows there is some part of her that blames him for Christian even having the opportunity to do so much damage to their family. Though Giuliana is, by far, the closest to him in age, her rejection of the family and refusal to integrate herself kept them from ever being close. Similarly with Salvatore, who also turned to rebellion rather than acceptance. With Sal, though, Franco has always nursed a certain envy; though his brother outright rejected everything the family stood for, his natural affinity for evil made him a threat to Franco. Though, on the one hand, he wished his brother would join the family ranks, on the other he is glad to be rid of the competition. Aurora is by far his closest sibling, which is not surprising considering how much in common the two share. She is the only sibling he feels he can actually relate to, though there is some part of him that feels incredible guilt over being the one to bring Christian into her life. They both felt the betrayal rather acutely, and now they are both bloodthirsty for revenge. Alessia, as his youngest sister, he feels he must protect – even moreso now that he has failed to do so for Aurora. Since their boyhood days, Franco has been close with Stefano, and remains so even now. Stefano is like a confidante to Franco, and is the one person who knows all of his secrets. Meanwhile, he does not share the same kind of bond with Caterina, who never misses an opportunity to patronize him. Franco has never been especially close to Bella, but they are cordial – but who could not get along with his soft-hearted cousin?

ALLIES

The people Franco had once considered his league of allies have all but abandoned and betrayed him. Outside of Stefano, who he now deems his closest friend and ally – because true blood would never betray him – Franco only has Katya and Cassandra. Katya has been like a sister to him, and was able to reach Giuliana in a way he never could, nor could he ever understand. Now she shares in his pain, and intends to help him destroy his enemies. Cassandra, on the other hand, is one of the few he knows he can count on to be loyal. It has been suggested that her attempts to get on his good side are only so that when the day approaches that he take over the business, she has a fighting chance to be named his second-in-command. Whatever her reasons, he trusts her, and he is certain of her loyalty.

ENEMIES

Naturally, Christian tops his list of enemies. The man was his brother, his best friend. He brought him into his family, into the most intimate part of his life. When Christian turned against him, he destroyed ten years of friendship; but that had been his plan all along. The pain this knowledge brings to Franco is unbearable, and he is determined that Christian will pay, along with Lucien and Celine, who were in on this plan all along. But another notable traitor, as far as Franco is concerned, is Asher. He was the one who promised to show Franco the ropes of the crime ring, gained his trust, then defected to the Lefevres when it suited him – and it is an act of disloyalty he intends to make the man pay for.

THE REST

Franco’s foray into deviance has not been characterized by any semblance of organization; everything about it has been sloppy and unpredictable, with no sense of order. It is this lack of care that has driven Stellan to help clean up his messes. Not only is it bad for business, but it could lead to Franco being caught red-handed – quite literally. And since Stellan is a perfectionist who takes his hobby quite seriously, he is the one who intends to teach Franco the art that is killing; though, in the meantime, he is simply cleaning up the boy’s messes. And then there is Stavros. The man does not have to say it – Franco can practically sense the man’s disapproval of him. When Christian turned his back on the Giordanos, Stavros’ glare mocked him. He knows the man does not think he can handle his future, but he feels like he has nothing to prove to him. Stavros is still, after all, the help.

FRANCO is potrayed by AARON TVEIT. He is currently AVAILABLE for auditions.