Application to w_disneyacademy
♠ Application
♠ Mun
Name: Smurf
Journal: ”peacefulpanda”
Contact Info: PMing works
Other Characters: Hamato Donatello.
♠ Character Info
Name: Clopin Trouillefou
Movie/series: The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Year/Position: Staff/Faculty/Teacher
Non/Speaking Animal/Companion(if any): He’s good with animals, but he doesn’t have one.
Powers: Aside from being a super-fit performer, acrobat, and having one hell of a singing voice? Not much.
Although his natural capabilities should be noted. He’s a master acrobat and a master magician-he knows exactly how to distract you and disappear completely. He can change clothes within moments on stage. He also happens to be one hell of a scrapper-he’s excellent at fighting with a knife and with fire (oh right, did I mention he’s a master fire dancer?), but he’s good enough to do just fine without a weapon or be able to improvise one with whatever’s lying around.
And that’s just talking about potentially combat-related abilities.
Canon history: Here!
AU history: Clopin has been hard at work trying to keep his gypsies safe, remaining cheerful and upbeat while with company and in public, but the Mist has been troubling him deeply. It has snatched people right off the streets, off the edge of Paris, and among those people are some of his own. At a certain point, he’s not sure what’s worse-the genocidal threat Frollo and those who share his view pose, or the earth-shattering psychological carnage the Mist leaves behind in its wake. It’s been a horrible struggle for him to accept it, but the Mist is just not something he is capable of combating; at least, not alone.
On top of that, Parisian authorities have started cracking down extra hard on gypsies-whether it’s meant to create an artificial sense of progress or because they think the Mist is somehow their fault, Clopin can’t hazard a guess-and as gypsy executions grow, their living numbers dwindle.
While all this was going on, Clopin received an invitation to Disney Academy. Clopin, being one of the very few gypsies capable of reading, writing, public speaking, and diplomacy all at once, decided to go in order to seek answers about the Mist and help for his people (and also, he hoped that his lack of presence in Paris would soothe the authorities and maybe make them think the gypsies were losing force). He relegated his duties to a small handful of trustworthy gypsies and left to go and teach at the Academy. He has faith that they’ll be able to stick together and keep on running without him for a while, but he intends to keep close tabs via letters just in case.
Personality: Clopin is a performer, through and through, but not necessarily for the reasons one would think.
He likes the attention to be sure, and he’s very good at putting on a big show, but he’s done it his whole life because that’s how he survived. For gypsies in Paris, there are three ways of making a living-performance, begging, and theft. Clopin has had to do all three at some point in his life, but as an adult, he prefers to earn money through entertaining, if only to prove he can earn it ‘honestly’ (and it will also distract a crowd if any of his gypsies are looking to pickpocket). He does, however, regularly steal things to bring to the Court of Miracles, which can be used for the sick, young, or elderly who can’t get their own things. Clopin is willing to use criminal means to get what he needs, but he’s too proud to outright beg for his own sake (and, frankly, too talented to really need to).
So, in order to survive, he’s always putting on a show whenever he’s around people he’s not comfortable with; outsiders, as it were. He’s more sedate when only in the company of his gypsies or people he has deemed truly trustworthy, but the moment a stranger walks in, he acts like he’s in the spotlight, and he’ll clown around in masks and sing and dance and make you laugh. Make no mistake, though: the performer is a shell, just there for protection and nothing more. The real Clopin is considerably less harmless.
Understand that Clopin has dealt with discrimination and hardship his entire life. It’s easy to become embittered by the experience. It’s taught him that the world won’t hand out anything to people like him, and he has to work constantly to keep himself and his people alive, because that’s his real job: keep the gypsies as organized and safe as possible. He’s well connected and has his thumb on the pulse of Paris-if anything significant is going on, he’ll know about it-but he’s not the type of gypsy king to strictly regiment his people. He’ll give them guidelines and organize what needs organization (such as finding routes for his people to leave and arrive at Paris/the Court of Miracles safely, making sure there are guards in the catacombs, et cetera), but for the most part, he lets them do their own thing and then provides them a support network and a safe place to go back to at night. That’s a good thing since culturally, the gypsies (at least ones in Paris) are very independent and nomadic, so they wouldn’t do well with tight reins.
But that compassion and safety he provides the gypsies? That is only extended to them, street rats, and children. If someone is stupid enough to cross him (a feat, to be truthful), there is no mercy. He can and will kill them if necessary. He knows that his position at the bottom of society doesn’t give him the luxury of being a ‘hero’ or a ‘good guy’. He leaves that to people like Esmeralda. As the leader, he has to put his people first, and if murder, theft, or any other morally questionable action will help the gypsies, he’ll do it, and he’ll smile and sing while he does so.
That being said, not all of his cheerful persona is a façade. He really does have a gentle side, one that only really shows itself around children, close friends, and anyone he considers an innocent victim. He likes making children laugh and he likes making them happy, and a child would be hard pressed to find a safer place than by his side. As for innocents, like he did with Quasimodo during the Feast of Fools, he steps in when he thinks that someone is being undeservedly hurt, and one can get a glimpse of his genuine compassion then. He saw that people were freaking out over Quasimodo’s face, he saw that Quasimodo was becoming visibly upset, and he stepped in and diffused the situation gracefully before cheering Quasi up and treating him like a king (and all this despite the fact a riot over Quasi would actually be beneficial for him and his gypsies, since that would provide a huge distraction for theft). Of course, the lengths he’s willing to go for the sake of an adult stranger aren’t too far, and when the entire crowd rose up anyway and started to torture Quasimodo, Clopin deemed it too dangerous to try to help again.
Clopin uses humor to make light of the evil he and his people suffer. He parodies the corrupt justice system, he makes the oppressor of his people uncomfortable by popping his personal bubble and dancing around him, and he sings songs about his people being arrested on sight and murdered. He understands the true horror of it all, but he helps others deal with it (and therefore deals with it himself) by using some black humor.
It’s worth mentioning that he has quite a ‘Papa Wolf’ streak. If he has accepted responsibility for someone’s wellbeing, he will fight tooth and nail to keep them safe, and God help you if you hurt them. This applies to gypsies as a whole especially, but if he accepts someone else under his care that can’t defend themselves, he’ll extend the same protection to them.
In short, Clopin is a very flamboyant, confident man who doesn’t mind looking or acting silly, but he has suffered hardship and is intelligent about how to deal with it. He loves his people dearly and would do anything for them, but that makes him do some morally gray things at times.
Greatest Fear: Failing. No, seriously. He’s terrified of failing his people. He’s afraid of screwing up or making a bad call or just outright not being able to protect them. He remembers all the gypsies who have been burned, hanged, or otherwise executed under his rule, and he feels guilt for it all.
The idea that he’s just not good enough to keep them safe is nightmarish for him.
Not only that, but the concept of being somehow stripped of his freedom is horrifying. He’s a very independent man, and being trapped-be it in a dungeon, in a hospital bed, or in a prison-alone forever with absolutely no hope of escape would crush him. (Although it would take a while for that to happen-he is stubborn as all hell and would cling to any chance he had to drag his way out.)
Has your character been at the Academy before/ does your character remembering being at the Academy before?: Someone else had him, but I’m bringing him in fresh, so no and no. If someone comes in with CR from the previous Clopin, we can work out maybe an incident where he lost his memory or something, but unless that happens, he just hasn’t been before. (Although, in order to keep things flexible in case an old member of the previous Hunchback cast or someone with close CR with them comes back, I’ve been deliberately vague about the canon point Clopin is from.)
What are you plans with this character?: I’m not completely sure since, unlike Donatello, Clopin is completely grown and comfortable with himself as an individual. I think what I want to see is Clopin actually allow someone outside of his gypsy circle to become close to him and see the sort of person he really is when the masks are torn away. I want him to learn how to trust people.
♠ Writing
Third person writing sample:
Merde.
Clopin swore under his breath, watching the Mist roll in from outside the campus. Already, a chill was settling in his bones and he could hear whispers hissing softly in the night. Horrible whispers that made his jaw clench and his heart pound.
He closed the window, latching it shut. He had already checked the dorm over and made a mental list of everyone who was there. They had had the good fortune of getting some warning before the Mist overtook campus, so all the students and faculty had gone to their dorms.
Reviewing his mental list one last time, he locked the front door of Joe West and walked over to the fireplace. There wasn’t a fire going at the moment, but there was a pile of firewood and old newspapers next to it, so it wasn’t long before Clopin managed to breathe life into it.
He sat back on the couch in front of the fire, getting himself comfortable as the heat slowly melted away the deep-set chill inside of him. Then he picked up his fiddle from its place leaning against a cushion, starting to play a cheerful tune and making himself smile.
Music, laughter, and smiles. It’d gotten him through this much. What’s a little more?
First person writing sample:
[The video starts off with a blast of color and jingle bells. Oh whoever could this be?]
Good mooooooooooooorning, Academy!
[Ahhhh Clopin why’re your clothes so bright
After the viewer’s vision adjusts to the obnoxious loudness of his clothing, they will see that he has climbed a flagpole and it currently sitting at the top, giving a huge grin.]
Have any of you ever seen the school from this view? [He gestures around. It’s actually a very nice view that stretches beyond the school.] Beautiful, no? Especially when the sun is rising-ah, this fool’s heart sang when he saw it!
[He jumps off, catching the pole with one hand and sliding down.]
And speaking of fools, you should know that the Festival of Fools is soon! Topsy-Turvy Day is nearly upon us! Rejoice!
[He lands on the ground with nary a sound, which is kind of surprising since it seemed like he had gotten a lot of momentum there.] And if you don’t know what that is, as I’ve heard some say, mon dieu! How deprived you are! It is a tradition in Paris, when up turns down and black is white. It’s a day for all the silly things in life! And we celebrate it here as well.
I say this because I’ve heard some of my poor students asking me what it is, and everyone should know! [He tips his hat, winking.] As a warning, at least. It gets very upsy-daisy on January 6th. Bring your best masks and most colorful clothes-it’ll be just like the Festival in Paris! [Except hopefully less torturing innocent hunchbacks.
And then he tosses the communicator in the air, his message over, and catches it again, sauntering off and starting to sing an upbeat song. He has an awesome voice.
And finally, the feed times out.]
♠ Mun
Name: Smurf
Journal: ”peacefulpanda”
Contact Info: PMing works
Other Characters: Hamato Donatello.
♠ Character Info
Name: Clopin Trouillefou
Movie/series: The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Year/Position: Staff/Faculty/Teacher
Non/Speaking Animal/Companion(if any): He’s good with animals, but he doesn’t have one.
Powers: Aside from being a super-fit performer, acrobat, and having one hell of a singing voice? Not much.
Although his natural capabilities should be noted. He’s a master acrobat and a master magician-he knows exactly how to distract you and disappear completely. He can change clothes within moments on stage. He also happens to be one hell of a scrapper-he’s excellent at fighting with a knife and with fire (oh right, did I mention he’s a master fire dancer?), but he’s good enough to do just fine without a weapon or be able to improvise one with whatever’s lying around.
And that’s just talking about potentially combat-related abilities.
Canon history: Here!
AU history: Clopin has been hard at work trying to keep his gypsies safe, remaining cheerful and upbeat while with company and in public, but the Mist has been troubling him deeply. It has snatched people right off the streets, off the edge of Paris, and among those people are some of his own. At a certain point, he’s not sure what’s worse-the genocidal threat Frollo and those who share his view pose, or the earth-shattering psychological carnage the Mist leaves behind in its wake. It’s been a horrible struggle for him to accept it, but the Mist is just not something he is capable of combating; at least, not alone.
On top of that, Parisian authorities have started cracking down extra hard on gypsies-whether it’s meant to create an artificial sense of progress or because they think the Mist is somehow their fault, Clopin can’t hazard a guess-and as gypsy executions grow, their living numbers dwindle.
While all this was going on, Clopin received an invitation to Disney Academy. Clopin, being one of the very few gypsies capable of reading, writing, public speaking, and diplomacy all at once, decided to go in order to seek answers about the Mist and help for his people (and also, he hoped that his lack of presence in Paris would soothe the authorities and maybe make them think the gypsies were losing force). He relegated his duties to a small handful of trustworthy gypsies and left to go and teach at the Academy. He has faith that they’ll be able to stick together and keep on running without him for a while, but he intends to keep close tabs via letters just in case.
Personality: Clopin is a performer, through and through, but not necessarily for the reasons one would think.
He likes the attention to be sure, and he’s very good at putting on a big show, but he’s done it his whole life because that’s how he survived. For gypsies in Paris, there are three ways of making a living-performance, begging, and theft. Clopin has had to do all three at some point in his life, but as an adult, he prefers to earn money through entertaining, if only to prove he can earn it ‘honestly’ (and it will also distract a crowd if any of his gypsies are looking to pickpocket). He does, however, regularly steal things to bring to the Court of Miracles, which can be used for the sick, young, or elderly who can’t get their own things. Clopin is willing to use criminal means to get what he needs, but he’s too proud to outright beg for his own sake (and, frankly, too talented to really need to).
So, in order to survive, he’s always putting on a show whenever he’s around people he’s not comfortable with; outsiders, as it were. He’s more sedate when only in the company of his gypsies or people he has deemed truly trustworthy, but the moment a stranger walks in, he acts like he’s in the spotlight, and he’ll clown around in masks and sing and dance and make you laugh. Make no mistake, though: the performer is a shell, just there for protection and nothing more. The real Clopin is considerably less harmless.
Understand that Clopin has dealt with discrimination and hardship his entire life. It’s easy to become embittered by the experience. It’s taught him that the world won’t hand out anything to people like him, and he has to work constantly to keep himself and his people alive, because that’s his real job: keep the gypsies as organized and safe as possible. He’s well connected and has his thumb on the pulse of Paris-if anything significant is going on, he’ll know about it-but he’s not the type of gypsy king to strictly regiment his people. He’ll give them guidelines and organize what needs organization (such as finding routes for his people to leave and arrive at Paris/the Court of Miracles safely, making sure there are guards in the catacombs, et cetera), but for the most part, he lets them do their own thing and then provides them a support network and a safe place to go back to at night. That’s a good thing since culturally, the gypsies (at least ones in Paris) are very independent and nomadic, so they wouldn’t do well with tight reins.
But that compassion and safety he provides the gypsies? That is only extended to them, street rats, and children. If someone is stupid enough to cross him (a feat, to be truthful), there is no mercy. He can and will kill them if necessary. He knows that his position at the bottom of society doesn’t give him the luxury of being a ‘hero’ or a ‘good guy’. He leaves that to people like Esmeralda. As the leader, he has to put his people first, and if murder, theft, or any other morally questionable action will help the gypsies, he’ll do it, and he’ll smile and sing while he does so.
That being said, not all of his cheerful persona is a façade. He really does have a gentle side, one that only really shows itself around children, close friends, and anyone he considers an innocent victim. He likes making children laugh and he likes making them happy, and a child would be hard pressed to find a safer place than by his side. As for innocents, like he did with Quasimodo during the Feast of Fools, he steps in when he thinks that someone is being undeservedly hurt, and one can get a glimpse of his genuine compassion then. He saw that people were freaking out over Quasimodo’s face, he saw that Quasimodo was becoming visibly upset, and he stepped in and diffused the situation gracefully before cheering Quasi up and treating him like a king (and all this despite the fact a riot over Quasi would actually be beneficial for him and his gypsies, since that would provide a huge distraction for theft). Of course, the lengths he’s willing to go for the sake of an adult stranger aren’t too far, and when the entire crowd rose up anyway and started to torture Quasimodo, Clopin deemed it too dangerous to try to help again.
Clopin uses humor to make light of the evil he and his people suffer. He parodies the corrupt justice system, he makes the oppressor of his people uncomfortable by popping his personal bubble and dancing around him, and he sings songs about his people being arrested on sight and murdered. He understands the true horror of it all, but he helps others deal with it (and therefore deals with it himself) by using some black humor.
It’s worth mentioning that he has quite a ‘Papa Wolf’ streak. If he has accepted responsibility for someone’s wellbeing, he will fight tooth and nail to keep them safe, and God help you if you hurt them. This applies to gypsies as a whole especially, but if he accepts someone else under his care that can’t defend themselves, he’ll extend the same protection to them.
In short, Clopin is a very flamboyant, confident man who doesn’t mind looking or acting silly, but he has suffered hardship and is intelligent about how to deal with it. He loves his people dearly and would do anything for them, but that makes him do some morally gray things at times.
Greatest Fear: Failing. No, seriously. He’s terrified of failing his people. He’s afraid of screwing up or making a bad call or just outright not being able to protect them. He remembers all the gypsies who have been burned, hanged, or otherwise executed under his rule, and he feels guilt for it all.
The idea that he’s just not good enough to keep them safe is nightmarish for him.
Not only that, but the concept of being somehow stripped of his freedom is horrifying. He’s a very independent man, and being trapped-be it in a dungeon, in a hospital bed, or in a prison-alone forever with absolutely no hope of escape would crush him. (Although it would take a while for that to happen-he is stubborn as all hell and would cling to any chance he had to drag his way out.)
Has your character been at the Academy before/ does your character remembering being at the Academy before?: Someone else had him, but I’m bringing him in fresh, so no and no. If someone comes in with CR from the previous Clopin, we can work out maybe an incident where he lost his memory or something, but unless that happens, he just hasn’t been before. (Although, in order to keep things flexible in case an old member of the previous Hunchback cast or someone with close CR with them comes back, I’ve been deliberately vague about the canon point Clopin is from.)
What are you plans with this character?: I’m not completely sure since, unlike Donatello, Clopin is completely grown and comfortable with himself as an individual. I think what I want to see is Clopin actually allow someone outside of his gypsy circle to become close to him and see the sort of person he really is when the masks are torn away. I want him to learn how to trust people.
♠ Writing
Third person writing sample:
Merde.
Clopin swore under his breath, watching the Mist roll in from outside the campus. Already, a chill was settling in his bones and he could hear whispers hissing softly in the night. Horrible whispers that made his jaw clench and his heart pound.
He closed the window, latching it shut. He had already checked the dorm over and made a mental list of everyone who was there. They had had the good fortune of getting some warning before the Mist overtook campus, so all the students and faculty had gone to their dorms.
Reviewing his mental list one last time, he locked the front door of Joe West and walked over to the fireplace. There wasn’t a fire going at the moment, but there was a pile of firewood and old newspapers next to it, so it wasn’t long before Clopin managed to breathe life into it.
He sat back on the couch in front of the fire, getting himself comfortable as the heat slowly melted away the deep-set chill inside of him. Then he picked up his fiddle from its place leaning against a cushion, starting to play a cheerful tune and making himself smile.
Music, laughter, and smiles. It’d gotten him through this much. What’s a little more?
First person writing sample:
[The video starts off with a blast of color and jingle bells. Oh whoever could this be?]
Good mooooooooooooorning, Academy!
[Ahhhh Clopin why’re your clothes so bright
After the viewer’s vision adjusts to the obnoxious loudness of his clothing, they will see that he has climbed a flagpole and it currently sitting at the top, giving a huge grin.]
Have any of you ever seen the school from this view? [He gestures around. It’s actually a very nice view that stretches beyond the school.] Beautiful, no? Especially when the sun is rising-ah, this fool’s heart sang when he saw it!
[He jumps off, catching the pole with one hand and sliding down.]
And speaking of fools, you should know that the Festival of Fools is soon! Topsy-Turvy Day is nearly upon us! Rejoice!
[He lands on the ground with nary a sound, which is kind of surprising since it seemed like he had gotten a lot of momentum there.] And if you don’t know what that is, as I’ve heard some say, mon dieu! How deprived you are! It is a tradition in Paris, when up turns down and black is white. It’s a day for all the silly things in life! And we celebrate it here as well.
I say this because I’ve heard some of my poor students asking me what it is, and everyone should know! [He tips his hat, winking.] As a warning, at least. It gets very upsy-daisy on January 6th. Bring your best masks and most colorful clothes-it’ll be just like the Festival in Paris! [Except hopefully less torturing innocent hunchbacks.
And then he tosses the communicator in the air, his message over, and catches it again, sauntering off and starting to sing an upbeat song. He has an awesome voice.
And finally, the feed times out.]