Clopin Benoît Trouillefou

Clopin Benoît Trouillefou and his sister Cosette are the children resulting from an incestuous coupling between Éponine Fauchelevent and her father Jacquez Trouillefou. They grow up with both of their parents in the US city of New Orleans until they are about six months old, and realize their lives were a lie. Cosette and Clopin travel together as grifters after their family falls apart, and are always together. He and Cosette are the adoptive guardians of Liuva Tarasova in Sonnerie.

Clopin Benoît Trouillefou


Clopin by Nat
PlayercNPC of Miyu
Name Origincharacters from the French novel: Hunchback of Notre Dame; also this reference.
Name MeaningClopin : French verb clopiner, "to hobble along."
Benoît : Benedict, "blessed"
Trouillefou : "scared crazy"
Date of Birth02 March 2012
GenderMale
Subspecies100% Canis lupus familiaris (Dog)
Strongest breed influenceAustralian Shepherd, Rough Collie.
Weaker breed influenceSmooth Collie, Cardigan Welsh Corgi, Irish Setter, Belgian Malinois Shepherd, other.
LuperciOrtus
Birth placeNew Orleans, USA
AlignmentTrue Neutral

On this page... (hide)

  1.   1.  Appearance
    1.   1.1  Forms
  2.   2.  Personality
  3.   3.  Relationships
    1.   3.1  Key Relations
    2.   3.2  Family: Trouillefou & Benoît Fauchelevent
    3.   3.3  Minor Relations
    4.   3.4  Former Relations
  4.   4.  History
    1.   4.1  Timeline

1.  Appearance

Clopin's lineage combines many herding breeds of dog, the most obvious influence being Rough Collie and Australian Shepherd. He was born deaf in both ears and blind in one eye, a result of the double merle genes he received from inbreeding. He is nearly always in his Optime form, and wears a white wooden mask that covers the left half of his face (to hide his deformed eye which is sightless due to Microphthalmia).

He also wears a belt with a holster to carry his deck of Tarot cards, and is often seen with a heavy purple cloak with a gold clasp. His mane is long and silver-tipped, falling past his shoulders to his waist. His visible eye has two distinct colors: a pale shade of blue and a deep brown that appears black, the pigments affected by the merle in his fur. He also has a "butterfly nose" -- partially black, partially pink. Nearly all of his fur is pure white, with just a few patches of pale silver guard hairs on his folded ears, his tail, and around his visible eye.

He is head and shoulders taller than his sister, with a lean, slender figure. He is not brawny, but he does all the fighting and hunting, giving him a wiry strength. His fur is very long and soft, making him appear more fragile than he actually is. He stands at about 6'10".

1.1  Forms

Lupus

Secui

Optime

80 lbs (36 kg)
28 in (71 cm)

160 lbs (58 kg)
40 in (102 cm)

220 lbs (100 kg)
6 ft, 10 in (208 cm)

Strongly resembles a tall white collie, with a lean wedge-shaped head and long thick double coat of fur, especially prominent around the ruff. Ears fold at the tip.

Grows long legged and lean, revealing hints of his less obvious setter and shepherd ancestry. Long fur obscures his athletic body type. Built to run.

Mane is long and straight, white fading into silver tips. Always wears mask covering his left eye; also long purple cloak, and belt with pouches. Tall and lean, more slender than a wolf.

2.  Personality

Clopin is typically silent, shadowing his sister and letting her silver tongue do the talking. He was born deaf in both ears and blind in one eye, a result of the double merle genes he received from inbreeding. He wears a half-mask to cover his misshapen left eye. Cosette coaches him to read lips and learn to speak a few phrases flawlessly in order to fool others - this includes his name, yes/no, and a few in French so that he can pretend to be a foreigner. If he were to hold a long conversation, though, the slurring and mispronunciations would give him away. They develop a system of subtle hand signals so that they can communicate in secret. He cannot, however, read or write.

Both siblings are very mistrusting, but will often feign friendliness to mask it. He is quick to protect his sister, being more adept at physical fighting and harboring very possessive instincts. Clopin carries the Tarot cards on a belt, and is usually the one to shuffle and deal them, but lets his sister do the actual readings. He sometimes uses the alias "Arcanus", which is a reference to the cards. Since he does not speak often, it is difficult to gauge his true personality. All that can really be said is that he would follow his sister anywhere, and will not permit anyone else into their lives.

  • Kinsey 4: "Predominantly homosexual, but more than incidentally heterosexual"
  • Alignment: True Neutral
    • "Does not seek positions of authority over others."
    • "Has few close friends and would never betray those he has, unless circumstances are dire."
    • "Believes people deserve the treatment they are willing to endure."

3.  Relationships

3.1  Key Relations

  • Cosette Fauchelevent Trouillefou: Everywhere Cosette goes, Clopin is with her. [1] He is safety, support, protection. He hunts for her and looks out for her well-being, and she would be quite helpless without her brother. He enables her narcissism with his selfless devotion. He will trust no one else, and it is possible his intentions may be romantic as well.
  • Liuva Tarasova: A puppy from the gypsy camp that he and Cosette unofficially adopt, intending to look after her until her father comes home. Clopin is surprised to see Cosette show genuine affection for the child, and does his best to protect and provide for them both. He is somewhat frustrated by the "language barrier" that his deafness presents, since it makes it difficult for him to interact with Liuva.

3.2  Family: Trouillefou & Benoît Fauchelevent

3.3  Minor Relations

3.4  Former Relations

  • Éponine Fauchelevent: His mother was very loving to make up for his drunken and emotionally distant father. When their family fell apart and Éponine gave up on life, Clopin was confused and hurt, not understanding why she no longer loved her children enough to care for them. He vowed to look after his sister since their parents would not, and holds some resentment toward his mother for her slow suicide.
  • Jacquez Trouillefou: His father drank heavily throughout his childhood and did not spend much time attempting to bond with his offspring, so their relationship was rocky from the start. Clopin avoided him and to some extent feared him, and when the inevitable happened and they were kicked out of their home, Clopin silently vowed to be the one reliable male in their family.
  • Jontae de l'Or: His half-sister and enemy, met in Halifax in 2013.[5] Clopin saves Cosette from Jontae, but Cosette requires a long recovery and was left with a scar. He intended to kill Jontae, but unbeknownst to him, Dom did that already.

4.  History

When independent and spirited traveler Éponine Fauchelevent turned three, she found the city of New Orleans and became enamored with everything about it. She was particularly fascinated with a broken-down theatre she found, and began to appropriate the masks and costumes and pretend to be someone else just for the thrill. Everyone she met was told a different name and story.

At some point, she heard rumors of the arrival of a king, a tall collie-dog with one arm. Éponine never forgot the father that left during her childhood, and begins to chase these whispers to their source. Jacquez Trouillefou did indeed come to her city, and she is overjoyed to see that he has come alone. When she confronts him, he is in a drunken stupor and mistakes her merle fur and blue eye for his old companion, Ruri Aceline. Deciding he would like her better if she played along, Éponine adopts the role and calls herself Ruri.

She follows him everywhere, plying him with alcohol and living out her fantasy. It is not long before Jacquez makes sexual advances on her, claiming he has always been in love with Ruri, the only female he could develop feelings for. Éponine is so swept up in her role that she sleeps with him, becoming his lover. It is something of a dream come true, finally gaining her father's attention and love, albeit in a very twisted way. She becomes pregnant and bears him two children, which she names Cosette and Clopin. However, a deluded Jacquez finally realizes that she is not blind, meaning she cannot be his Ruri. In a rage, he chases his daughter and their children from the city. She is brokenhearted, and never recovers; by the end of August, she stops eating and starves herself to death.


by Miyu

Cosette and Clopin were about six months old at the time of their mother's death. In her delirious state, she revealed her darkest secret: she was actually Jacquez's daughter, but she fell in love with him and claimed to be someone else all this time. It taught them an important lesson: never break character. The lie is more important than the truth - after all, if Éponine had been a better actress and not let her feelings get in the way, Jacquez might never have kicked them out. Cosette and Clopin decide to travel together, using disguises and aliases to stay safe, and learning how to pick pockets and tell fortunes. Clopin was born deaf, but Cosette coaches him to read lips and learn to speak a few phrases flawlessly in order to fool others. They develop a system of subtle hand signals so that they can communicate in secret. They are already adept at lying and acting thanks to their mother and her costumes, and they are both clever enough to survive despite their young age. They trust no one other than each other, and continuously move from place to place, inventing a new backstory for each territory.

They wait out the Hurricane of September 2012 in safety, before camping out around the Northern Tides and meeting members of Anathema and Vinátta. They then travel further south down the peninsula, seeking Cour des Miracles but never making themselves be known. Winter is on its way, and they decide to weather the cold in Halifax. It is nothing like the New Orleans they are accustomed to, and they struggle to stay warm and fed. Still, their pride prevents them from seeking the aid of a pack, especially not their father's pack. While there in January 2013, they meet a half-sibling they did not know existed: Jontae de l'Or. [6] Cosette is offended by her and antagonizes the foul-mouthed sibling until she is bitten in the throat, and Clopin rushes her away to safety, nursing her back to health until spring.

Seeking a safe haven, they arrive at a gypsy camp called Sonnerie in Ontario populated mainly by dogs, and fit in easily with the culture, even learning some new tricks. They take an interest in Domovoi Tarasova, who recently lost his mother and blamed her lover for it, reminding them of Éponine's fate and making them feel oddly connected. Dom's rage builds and he leaves the pack, though Cosette and Clopin stay and even celebrate their first birthday in Sonnerie. They find a newborn puppy named Liuva Tarasova whose mother died from birthing complications, and when they realize Liuva was sired by Dom, decide to take her in and look after her until Dom's return. Cosette claims she wants to use Liuva as part of her many disguises, as the collie pup resembles her and Clopin, but she soon grows attached despite her best efforts. Clopin is surprised to see Cosette show genuine affection for the child, and does his best to protect and provide for them both. He is somewhat frustrated by the "language barrier" that his deafness presents, since it makes it difficult for him to interact with Liuva.

4.1  Timeline

2012

  • March: Cosette and Clopin Trouillefou are born. They are named by their mother, who keeps their middle names a secret as she is using a false name at the time. It is apparent that Clopin had some birth defects, namely a misshapen eye and deafness. Cosette appears normal and healthy, albeit small.
  • April - July: Clopin grows up in New Orleans. Cosette teaches her deaf brother some hand signals to communicate, solidifying their close bond. Their mother is very loving, to make up for their drunken and emotionally distant father. Generally a happy time for the kids, although their family is much more fragile than they comprehend.
  • August: Their father finally learned Éponine faked her identity, and kicked her out of the house along with their offspring. She falls into a deep depression and stops eating. Cosette and Clopin learn quickly to feed themselves, but their mother will not accept their food, and is soon delirious from starvation. She reveals their full names, and tells them the truth -- she assumed someone else's identity because she is actually Jacquez's daughter, making Cosette and Clopin children of incest. Éponine then passes away after lingering in agony, leaving her children with the grim prospect of surviving alone or facing the same fate. They do not wait to bury her, but immediately leave the city.
  • September - December: Cosette and Clopin travel north to Canada, leaving Louisiana behind and waiting out the Hurricane in safety.[7] Cosette's natural charisma lands her a few easy meals, and Clopin's growing strength protects them from rogue elements. They decide to seek out Cour des Miracles as they have nowhere else to turn, but they only wish to observe with a morbid curiosity whether or not anything they were told in their childhood was true. They meet members of Anathema[8] and Vinátta[9] [10] before winter forces them to take cover.

2013

  • January: Cosette and Clopin take shelter from the winter in Halifax and stumble into Jontae, an older half-sibling who used to be a member of Cour des Miracles.[11] Cosette is sparked into anger by this family member and unleashes some of her latent rage, only to be assaulted and nearly killed by Jontae. Clopin saves her and nurses her back to health. They decide to leave Nova Scotia for a while, shaken by the attempt on their lives.
  • February: They arrive at a gypsy camp in Ontario populated mainly by dogs called Sonnerie, and fit in easily with the culture, even learning some new tricks. They take an interest in Domovoi Tarasova, who recently lost his mother and blamed her lover for it, reminding them of Éponine's fate and making them feel oddly connected. Dom's rage builds and he leaves the pack, though Cosette and Clopin stay longer.
  • March: Cosette and Clopin celebrate their first birthday in Sonnerie. They find a newborn puppy named Liuva Tarasova whose mother died from complications, and when they realize Liuva was sired by Dom, decide to take her in and look after her until Dom's return. Cosette claims she wants to use Liuva as part of her many disguises, as the collie pup resembles her and Clopin, but she soon grows attached despite her best efforts. She takes delight in teaching Liuva everything she knows, and since Clopin has difficulty communicating, steps back into a more protective capacity.