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The History of LUNA - Florence

            There are many prosperous and well-known families in the kingdom of Atlas. Not-so-coincidentally, they are usually in charge of a very profitable business in the kingdom as well. Perhaps some of the most well-known are the Schnees with their massive Dust mining industry, or the Lejonets with their jewelry company being the top earner in Atlas. Perhaps you’ve heard of the Seirens with their monopoly on the fishing business off the east coast of Atlas. But today, we’re going to talk about one family in particular; the Florence family.

            If there’s ever been any fishy family in the kingdom, it’s bound to be these guys. The Florence family is the proprietor of the Florentina Corporation, which builds factory equipment and industrial machines for local and intercontinental use. Since the average civilian doesn’t use industrial equipment everyday like they use Dust, the Florentina Corporation’s reputation has been far more out of the spotlight compared to the Schnee Dust Company’s. And, if you look at it, there’s nothing much to slander. The FC pays its laborers well and complies with worker union standards. But I’m not here to talk about its business. I’m here to talk about the family.

            Its current CEO, Azzurin Florence, is the great grandson and only surviving heir of the company’s founder, Leo Florence. It was way before the Great War, back to when the epicenter of activity in Solitas was Mantle, not yet Atlas. The Florences were pretty big back in Mantle, almost as big as the Schnees are now in Atlas. The thing is, they didn’t get there like the Schnees did. The family started out as a business for selling winter clothes and gear. But they ran a couple of side businesses out the back door; a protection racket for one. Before the wonderful advent of Huntsmen and Huntresses, people in Mantle were desperate for any protection from the Creatures of Grimm, and would pay through the nose for it. The Florences were good at fending off Grimm, but they were also good at intimidation… particularly via property damage. And if that happens to you, apart from being vulnerable, you would be pretty unhappy. And unhappiness is what brings Grimm. So, you could say business was pretty good.

            That wasn’t without its problems, though. Law enforcement was constantly on their trail, but always one step behind. That was because they had to spend some of their ill-gotten money bribing the constabulary. Soon they earned enough money to start going into politics themselves. Don’t ask me how they got votes. Either they had more money than on record, were real charmers or the voting populace back then were just pretty dumb. In any case, they held seats in city councils, and their businesses grew from embezzled taxes and pork barrel funds. They moved into the machinery business, and the construction business as well.

            And then… the events that led to the Great War happened. Mantle’s decree to abandon the arts and self-expression in hopes of deterring Grimm attacks was passed. Many people approved, but a silent majority didn’t like it at all. Turns out, when you try and suppress someone’s emotion, it only gets stronger. Seeing a chance for more income, the Florences established a number of… I would say “speakeasies” but they were more like circuses, really. In these contained underground establishments, people were free to express themselves as they had before. Singing, dancing, partying, gambling, games, you name it. It was all there. After all, the Florences were good at protecting people from Grimm, so what did their customers have to lose? Besides Lien, of course, but you know, the thrill of breaking the law is worth the entrance fee.

            Things were looking up for the Florences, until the incident. See, a few years before, they had started looking into the Dust mining business as well. In those days, the kings of the Dust empire were the Borjans, and they didn’t like the Florences moving in on their business. They reacted… rather violently. Twelve of the Florence establishments were raided all at once, and though only one of them could be traced back to the Borjan family, the Florence dynasty went to war. A complicated set of events followed, some too weird to be fact but are, and some believable but are utter gossip. Grimm being used as catapult ammunition... raids on Borjan business establishments... a bard working for the Florences incapacitating Borjans with his horrible lute playing... an entire marketplace descending into chaos from a Florence versus Borjan showdown... a wedding for an arranged Borjan marriage to the Lejonet industry heir crashed by Florences... Hell, the only reason they even got away with all of it without the full force of the kingdom's military being thrown on them was because the army of Mantle was all the way across the sea fighting Vale in the Great War. It was rather strange, all of it, but undeniably violent. It’ll take forever to detail it all, so I’ll just tell you the results. Mantle was pretty ravaged by the time it was over, which would explain why so many non-combat people were so willing to move from Mantle to Atlas. The Borjan family was destroyed, and their Dust empire left in ruins. The Florence family lost property, lives, and reputation, but at the end of the day, there were more Florences alive than there were Borjans. They retired to their one legitimate business left, the machinery development business. That’s what they centralized the Florentina Corporation around, and all their other illicit businesses faded away, but the stain on their family name will never be wiped clean. After the war, the Schnees took over the monopoly on Dust that the Borjans left behind. And the Florences would never touch the Dust business again, not even with a ninety mile stick.

            Skip a few decades and the only remnant of the once inglorious Florence family are Azzurin Florence, his wife, Fleur Mirasoleil Florence, and their daughter Natalia. It goes to show that when it comes to “from rags to riches” stories, you really should be taking a closer look at whose throats the rags are choking, to see whose pockets the riches come from.

_________________________________________________________________________

This is what I do when I'm feeling lonely and ignored. I make OCs inspired by the Medici and Borgia family and make them into the fucking Mafia.

So here's the story of the Florence family, all the way back to before the rise of Hunter academies or even the Great War.
Also random Swedish family name at the start. I bet the head of that family is called Gustav.

I have no idea who narrates it lol

This is probably gonna be the topic of the next Fanon World of Remnant animation I make.
(Of course, you're gonna have to wait for the next time I feel self-loathing so I get the drive to bury my emotions in a week's worth of drawing and animating)

Description

The History of LUNA - Florence

            There are many prosperous and well-known families in the kingdom of Atlas. Not-so-coincidentally, they are usually in charge of a very profitable business in the kingdom as well. Perhaps some of the most well-known are the Schnees with their massive Dust mining industry, or the Lejonets with their jewelry company being the top earner in Atlas. Perhaps you’ve heard of the Seirens with their monopoly on the fishing business off the east coast of Atlas. But today, we’re going to talk about one family in particular; the Florence family.

            If there’s ever been any fishy family in the kingdom, it’s bound to be these guys. The Florence family is the proprietor of the Florentina Corporation, which builds factory equipment and industrial machines for local and intercontinental use. Since the average civilian doesn’t use industrial equipment everyday like they use Dust, the Florentina Corporation’s reputation has been far more out of the spotlight compared to the Schnee Dust Company’s. And, if you look at it, there’s nothing much to slander. The FC pays its laborers well and complies with worker union standards. But I’m not here to talk about its business. I’m here to talk about the family.

            Its current CEO, Azzurin Florence, is the great grandson and only surviving heir of the company’s founder, Leo Florence. It was way before the Great War, back to when the epicenter of activity in Solitas was Mantle, not yet Atlas. The Florences were pretty big back in Mantle, almost as big as the Schnees are now in Atlas. The thing is, they didn’t get there like the Schnees did. The family started out as a business for selling winter clothes and gear. But they ran a couple of side businesses out the back door; a protection racket for one. Before the wonderful advent of Huntsmen and Huntresses, people in Mantle were desperate for any protection from the Creatures of Grimm, and would pay through the nose for it. The Florences were good at fending off Grimm, but they were also good at intimidation… particularly via property damage. And if that happens to you, apart from being vulnerable, you would be pretty unhappy. And unhappiness is what brings Grimm. So, you could say business was pretty good.

            That wasn’t without its problems, though. Law enforcement was constantly on their trail, but always one step behind. That was because they had to spend some of their ill-gotten money bribing the constabulary. Soon they earned enough money to start going into politics themselves. Don’t ask me how they got votes. Either they had more money than on record, were real charmers or the voting populace back then were just pretty dumb. In any case, they held seats in city councils, and their businesses grew from embezzled taxes and pork barrel funds. They moved into the machinery business, and the construction business as well.

            And then… the events that led to the Great War happened. Mantle’s decree to abandon the arts and self-expression in hopes of deterring Grimm attacks was passed. Many people approved, but a silent majority didn’t like it at all. Turns out, when you try and suppress someone’s emotion, it only gets stronger. Seeing a chance for more income, the Florences established a number of… I would say “speakeasies” but they were more like circuses, really. In these contained underground establishments, people were free to express themselves as they had before. Singing, dancing, partying, gambling, games, you name it. It was all there. After all, the Florences were good at protecting people from Grimm, so what did their customers have to lose? Besides Lien, of course, but you know, the thrill of breaking the law is worth the entrance fee.

            Things were looking up for the Florences, until the incident. See, a few years before, they had started looking into the Dust mining business as well. In those days, the kings of the Dust empire were the Borjans, and they didn’t like the Florences moving in on their business. They reacted… rather violently. Twelve of the Florence establishments were raided all at once, and though only one of them could be traced back to the Borjan family, the Florence dynasty went to war. A complicated set of events followed, some too weird to be fact but are, and some believable but are utter gossip. Grimm being used as catapult ammunition... raids on Borjan business establishments... a bard working for the Florences incapacitating Borjans with his horrible lute playing... an entire marketplace descending into chaos from a Florence versus Borjan showdown... a wedding for an arranged Borjan marriage to the Lejonet industry heir crashed by Florences... Hell, the only reason they even got away with all of it without the full force of the kingdom's military being thrown on them was because the army of Mantle was all the way across the sea fighting Vale in the Great War. It was rather strange, all of it, but undeniably violent. It’ll take forever to detail it all, so I’ll just tell you the results. Mantle was pretty ravaged by the time it was over, which would explain why so many non-combat people were so willing to move from Mantle to Atlas. The Borjan family was destroyed, and their Dust empire left in ruins. The Florence family lost property, lives, and reputation, but at the end of the day, there were more Florences alive than there were Borjans. They retired to their one legitimate business left, the machinery development business. That’s what they centralized the Florentina Corporation around, and all their other illicit businesses faded away, but the stain on their family name will never be wiped clean. After the war, the Schnees took over the monopoly on Dust that the Borjans left behind. And the Florences would never touch the Dust business again, not even with a ninety mile stick.

            Skip a few decades and the only remnant of the once inglorious Florence family are Azzurin Florence, his wife, Fleur Mirasoleil Florence, and their daughter Natalia. It goes to show that when it comes to “from rags to riches” stories, you really should be taking a closer look at whose throats the rags are choking, to see whose pockets the riches come from.

_________________________________________________________________________

This is what I do when I'm feeling lonely and ignored. I make OCs inspired by the Medici and Borgia family and make them into the fucking Mafia.

So here's the story of the Florence family, all the way back to before the rise of Hunter academies or even the Great War.
Also random Swedish family name at the start. I bet the head of that family is called Gustav.

I have no idea who narrates it lol

This is probably gonna be the topic of the next Fanon World of Remnant animation I make.
(Of course, you're gonna have to wait for the next time I feel self-loathing so I get the drive to bury my emotions in a week's worth of drawing and animating)