[000] updated information;
Fran, 20
Of the platinum-blond hair and snarky replies.
Currently a Freelancer.
Skills and Abilities:
Fran is a writer/researcher by choice, but a jack-of-certain-trades by necessity. Resourceful and more than fairly competent when he needs to handle money, Fran is capable of balancing accounts as well as schedules (his own or someone else's). He's done some odd jobs since his move to Japan (presumably on a Leave of Absence from university to work on his creative thesis), mostly desk and clerical work or as a personal assistant to certain heads. He also has an excellent memory and is known to pay particular attention to detail, filing these away in lists both mental and actual written ones for future reference.
Personality-wise, one could describe Fran as a brat, in the sense that he disregards any thought of acquiring a mind-to-mouth filter. He is blunt, in a quiet, matter-of-fact way and is not afraid to voice complaints a number of opinions at the most inopportune of moments. As for the consequences, he takes these all in stride, letting them slide off completely. His personal motto is that one must "suck-up" to the Boss without looking too much of a suck-up, because nobody wants a clinger. This might explain why he was let go from certain assisting jobs by the lesser "peons" he once referred to as his bosses.
He makes friends easily, but he lets them go just as quick, without any real inclination to make a fuss. People and interacting with said individuals are a fact of life, and if anything else, they serve as wonderful reference material for his writing.
He also translates, and while not a professional, he can do a fair enough job of dealing with anything written in Italian, English, Chinese and Japanese.
Character History:
He doesn't like talking about it much and he keeps details to a bare minimum when he has no other choice to talk about it, but the truth of the matter is, Fran's stuck -- seriously stuck -- in a writing rut. Not Writer's Block, no. He doesn't believe in that. Just... stuck, that's all. He starts, but he rarely finishes; the number of manuscripts and drafts filed away in a cabinet once meant for certain articles of clothing indicates as much.
About a year and a half ago, Fran filed for an extended leave of absence from the University in Florence, making subsequent arrangements with an exchange student program in Japan stating simply to his professors and mentors that he needed time. Time away from the everyday humdrum? Maybe. Time away from familiar places? Maybe (he was getting bored with randomly traipsing around Europe). Time away to write and work on his creative thesis, that collection of short stories playing on the macabre? Definitely.
The move to Japan was easy enough: he found a small apartment (a shoebox, really) in this little unobtrusive town called Namimori, which wasn't as busy as Tokyo but not too far out in the country either. Overall, he's lived quietly for the past year, working odd jobs on a contractual basis in order to pay for the necessities. At present, he's finally worked through his rut and has submitted job applications for the Book Development or Finance departments to the local publishing houses from whom he is currently waiting on a response.