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app: clarion prep
Jan. 9th, 2016 11:18 pmPLAYER
name | Jo
age | 24
new or returning player? | Returning (Porrim Maryam)
preferred contact method |![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
gothbless
CHARACTER
character name | Marie-Françoise Lely, also known as Fifi
age | 24
subject | Etiquette
gender | Female
appearance | Fifi, as she is known to friends, is a thin, elegant-looking woman with fair skin, short blonde hair that is always impeccably curled, and wide green eyes--one of which is quite lazy. She dresses very fashionably in the finest Parisian couture money can buy--far better than could be expected on a teacher's salary.
history | Not much is known about Fifi from her original canon, apart from that she is "really French," blonde, a whore, and has a lazy eye. In her OU, she lives in Victorian-era London and works out of a whorehouse in Conduit street, a front for the criminal activities of Professor James Moriarty.
AU history |
Born Marie-Françoise Lely in the outskirts of Paris in April of 1897, Fifi was raised in a slum by a single mother, Coline. Life often wasn't kind to the young girl; her father was never around, and her mother worked as a whore to keep them alive. Madame Lely paraded a string of men in front of her daughter, none of which were particularly kind to young Fifi, and Coline was often drunk or on drugs and paid little attention to her child. Her mother's ignorance meant that she gained a sense of independence at a young age.
Fifi had precious little time for schooling, and when she did attend, her flighty personality left her unable to focus properly and unwilling to see the value in a proper education. However, as she grew up and saw what a lack of education had done to her mother, she resolved to do better in school. By her teenage years, she saw an improvement in her studies and, although not particularly bright, Fifi found that certain subjects came more easily than others. Because of this improvement and the kindness of an old couple who were patrons of her school and took pity on her, she was given a scholarship to a high-end boarding school called Maison Royale de Saint-Louis. Fifi gratefully seized upon the opportunity to get away from her substandard living situation.
At Le Maison, Fifi learned not only English, but etiquette, classical studies, and equestrianism, among the usual subjects. She was a mediocre student, compared to her classmates, and though she was initially somewhat of an outcast due to her status as a scholarship student, her personality soon outshone the fact that she was a charity case. She gained a few friends and got by as well as she could in her classes. Fifi rarely went home to visit her mother, and when Coline died of syphilis when she was seventeen, she did not attend the funeral.
Upon graduating from Le Maison, Fifi found that she had neither the desire nor the academic credentials to attend a university. She found herself homeless without the school to house her, and struggled for months before unhappily taking up her mother's profession, despite her hope to become a governess for a rich family. However, her fine manners and education and pretty face meant she could charge more, and as months went by she found herself favored by clients of stature, quite well-paid and doing generally okay for herself. Her regulars were kinder to her than the randoms from the gutter, and one of them took a shine to her and offered to bring her with him to England.
She'd learned English in school, and it was enough to convince her that London was the place for her. Better still, once she arrived, she secured a place in a fine whorehouse run by a Mrs. Halifax, which solved the problem of a place to live and food in her stomach.
It didn't take long for Fifi to become popular among clients; French girls were somewhat of a commodity, and despite her lazy eye, she'd grown into quite the looker. One of the men who requested her the most often was a certain Colonel Sebastian Moran, and between his good looks and his sexual prowess, she soon gained a certain fondness for him and even looked forward to his call. Besides the perhaps shady activity going on around the agency's building on Conduit street, Fifi had no qualms with her new job, and even learned to like England. It was no Paris, but she lived a far better life in London and made pretty decent money even after her boss, Mrs. Halifax, had taken her cut.
Eventually, fate would make a hitchhiker of her again, and Colonel Moran offered to take her along with him to America, where he'd found work as a firearms instructor at a boarding school. Fifi, clever thing that she was, decided to go the full mile and apply herself as an etiquette teacher. After all, she had the education to back it, and now that she was getting into her mid-twenties it was about damn time to find a job that didn't leave her flat on her back.
personality | Fifi's personality is not something largely expanded on in Hound of the D'Urbervilles, but I imagine it remains much the same in this AU, influenced by the circumstances she was brought up in.
As a prostitute, Fifi developed a certain persona under which she operated. Though much of it was derived from aspects of her own personality, she has a tendency to exaggerate things for the benefit of others. She's bubbly in both aspects of her life, and perhaps a little silly, with a tendency to laugh and make jokes rather than being so serious about everything. Extremely flirtatious, it's difficult for her not to be, even in a situation where it's not strictly appropriate.
Fifi might play the part of the dumb blonde, but she's certainly not stupid. She knows how the world works, knows exactly what's expected of her and how people see those in her position. She merely chooses not to be bothered by the opinions of others. She's very comfortable with herself and her sexuality and isn't bothered by frank discussion of sex. As a teacher, however, she's far more buttoned up and proper, with only the gleam in her lazy eye to hint that there might be more than meets the eye.
Due to her schooling, she has a vast knowledge of etiquette where dress, conversations, and table manners are concerned, but in her personal and private life she has a tendency to be a bit of a slattern. Her dress is a bit more relaxed, and she's a very messy person. It isn't unusual for her belongings to find themselves strewn around the room, but she has neither the time nor the inclination to be organized.
Like any proper Frenchwoman, Fifi has a love of cigarettes (unfiltered), fine wine and champagne, good, tailored clothing, and fine food. But her past as a street urchin and prostitute have given her a thrifty streak a mile wide, meaning she saves far more than she spends, and has quite a bit of a nest egg stashed away--which explains how she's so well-dressed on a teacher's salary.
Finally, while sharing herself intimately was once part of her job description, she makes a point not to share many details of her private life—her full name, her family situation, her education. It was far too easy for men to feel like they knew her, without knowing everything else about her, and it's a habit that's continued now that she's a teacher. She keeps her independence by respecting her own right to privacy, and she loves the feeling of power this gives her. She may not have been born with much autonomy, but she earned it, and that's the thing she loves about her life.
SAMPLES
sample 1 |
Afternoon tea is a ritual which Mademoiselle Lely has fallen into comfortably, a remnant of her own boarding-school days. It's calming to sit at the little bistro table in her office, impeccably set with astonishingly fine French china, and prepare her tea with a plate of sweets and proper petit fours. Occasionally, she invites a student, particularly one she's taken a shine to, but once a week is her standing invitation to Colonel Moran, and really he ought to know better than to refuse her. He never was very good at that.
Fifi smiles to herself as she puts the finishing touches on her table, pulling out the cushioned chair just so for Sebastian, before crossing to the mirror behind the door to check her hair. It's arranged still in perfect finger waves that she'd painstakingly applied the night before--really, if she wanted, she could teach an entire course on hairdressing, but that was better left to the ladies' finishing classes anyway. She raises a finger to her left eye, tugging at the eyelid and wishing there were a way to make it stay a bit further open, so she wouldn't resemble a stroke victim at the best of times. A sigh; it's a lost cause, she's sure, unless she wanted to go under the knife of some butcher-come-doctor touting the newest and best surgical enhancements (™!)
Turning from the mirror, Fifi glances at the clock. Twelve-thirty on the dot. She frowns. Colonel Moran is late again. She'll have to give him a stern talking-to.
sample 2 | link!
name | Jo
age | 24
new or returning player? | Returning (Porrim Maryam)
preferred contact method |
CHARACTER
character name | Marie-Françoise Lely, also known as Fifi
age | 24
subject | Etiquette
gender | Female
appearance | Fifi, as she is known to friends, is a thin, elegant-looking woman with fair skin, short blonde hair that is always impeccably curled, and wide green eyes--one of which is quite lazy. She dresses very fashionably in the finest Parisian couture money can buy--far better than could be expected on a teacher's salary.
history | Not much is known about Fifi from her original canon, apart from that she is "really French," blonde, a whore, and has a lazy eye. In her OU, she lives in Victorian-era London and works out of a whorehouse in Conduit street, a front for the criminal activities of Professor James Moriarty.
AU history |
Born Marie-Françoise Lely in the outskirts of Paris in April of 1897, Fifi was raised in a slum by a single mother, Coline. Life often wasn't kind to the young girl; her father was never around, and her mother worked as a whore to keep them alive. Madame Lely paraded a string of men in front of her daughter, none of which were particularly kind to young Fifi, and Coline was often drunk or on drugs and paid little attention to her child. Her mother's ignorance meant that she gained a sense of independence at a young age.
Fifi had precious little time for schooling, and when she did attend, her flighty personality left her unable to focus properly and unwilling to see the value in a proper education. However, as she grew up and saw what a lack of education had done to her mother, she resolved to do better in school. By her teenage years, she saw an improvement in her studies and, although not particularly bright, Fifi found that certain subjects came more easily than others. Because of this improvement and the kindness of an old couple who were patrons of her school and took pity on her, she was given a scholarship to a high-end boarding school called Maison Royale de Saint-Louis. Fifi gratefully seized upon the opportunity to get away from her substandard living situation.
At Le Maison, Fifi learned not only English, but etiquette, classical studies, and equestrianism, among the usual subjects. She was a mediocre student, compared to her classmates, and though she was initially somewhat of an outcast due to her status as a scholarship student, her personality soon outshone the fact that she was a charity case. She gained a few friends and got by as well as she could in her classes. Fifi rarely went home to visit her mother, and when Coline died of syphilis when she was seventeen, she did not attend the funeral.
Upon graduating from Le Maison, Fifi found that she had neither the desire nor the academic credentials to attend a university. She found herself homeless without the school to house her, and struggled for months before unhappily taking up her mother's profession, despite her hope to become a governess for a rich family. However, her fine manners and education and pretty face meant she could charge more, and as months went by she found herself favored by clients of stature, quite well-paid and doing generally okay for herself. Her regulars were kinder to her than the randoms from the gutter, and one of them took a shine to her and offered to bring her with him to England.
She'd learned English in school, and it was enough to convince her that London was the place for her. Better still, once she arrived, she secured a place in a fine whorehouse run by a Mrs. Halifax, which solved the problem of a place to live and food in her stomach.
It didn't take long for Fifi to become popular among clients; French girls were somewhat of a commodity, and despite her lazy eye, she'd grown into quite the looker. One of the men who requested her the most often was a certain Colonel Sebastian Moran, and between his good looks and his sexual prowess, she soon gained a certain fondness for him and even looked forward to his call. Besides the perhaps shady activity going on around the agency's building on Conduit street, Fifi had no qualms with her new job, and even learned to like England. It was no Paris, but she lived a far better life in London and made pretty decent money even after her boss, Mrs. Halifax, had taken her cut.
Eventually, fate would make a hitchhiker of her again, and Colonel Moran offered to take her along with him to America, where he'd found work as a firearms instructor at a boarding school. Fifi, clever thing that she was, decided to go the full mile and apply herself as an etiquette teacher. After all, she had the education to back it, and now that she was getting into her mid-twenties it was about damn time to find a job that didn't leave her flat on her back.
personality | Fifi's personality is not something largely expanded on in Hound of the D'Urbervilles, but I imagine it remains much the same in this AU, influenced by the circumstances she was brought up in.
As a prostitute, Fifi developed a certain persona under which she operated. Though much of it was derived from aspects of her own personality, she has a tendency to exaggerate things for the benefit of others. She's bubbly in both aspects of her life, and perhaps a little silly, with a tendency to laugh and make jokes rather than being so serious about everything. Extremely flirtatious, it's difficult for her not to be, even in a situation where it's not strictly appropriate.
Fifi might play the part of the dumb blonde, but she's certainly not stupid. She knows how the world works, knows exactly what's expected of her and how people see those in her position. She merely chooses not to be bothered by the opinions of others. She's very comfortable with herself and her sexuality and isn't bothered by frank discussion of sex. As a teacher, however, she's far more buttoned up and proper, with only the gleam in her lazy eye to hint that there might be more than meets the eye.
Due to her schooling, she has a vast knowledge of etiquette where dress, conversations, and table manners are concerned, but in her personal and private life she has a tendency to be a bit of a slattern. Her dress is a bit more relaxed, and she's a very messy person. It isn't unusual for her belongings to find themselves strewn around the room, but she has neither the time nor the inclination to be organized.
Like any proper Frenchwoman, Fifi has a love of cigarettes (unfiltered), fine wine and champagne, good, tailored clothing, and fine food. But her past as a street urchin and prostitute have given her a thrifty streak a mile wide, meaning she saves far more than she spends, and has quite a bit of a nest egg stashed away--which explains how she's so well-dressed on a teacher's salary.
Finally, while sharing herself intimately was once part of her job description, she makes a point not to share many details of her private life—her full name, her family situation, her education. It was far too easy for men to feel like they knew her, without knowing everything else about her, and it's a habit that's continued now that she's a teacher. She keeps her independence by respecting her own right to privacy, and she loves the feeling of power this gives her. She may not have been born with much autonomy, but she earned it, and that's the thing she loves about her life.
SAMPLES
sample 1 |
Afternoon tea is a ritual which Mademoiselle Lely has fallen into comfortably, a remnant of her own boarding-school days. It's calming to sit at the little bistro table in her office, impeccably set with astonishingly fine French china, and prepare her tea with a plate of sweets and proper petit fours. Occasionally, she invites a student, particularly one she's taken a shine to, but once a week is her standing invitation to Colonel Moran, and really he ought to know better than to refuse her. He never was very good at that.
Fifi smiles to herself as she puts the finishing touches on her table, pulling out the cushioned chair just so for Sebastian, before crossing to the mirror behind the door to check her hair. It's arranged still in perfect finger waves that she'd painstakingly applied the night before--really, if she wanted, she could teach an entire course on hairdressing, but that was better left to the ladies' finishing classes anyway. She raises a finger to her left eye, tugging at the eyelid and wishing there were a way to make it stay a bit further open, so she wouldn't resemble a stroke victim at the best of times. A sigh; it's a lost cause, she's sure, unless she wanted to go under the knife of some butcher-come-doctor touting the newest and best surgical enhancements (™!)
Turning from the mirror, Fifi glances at the clock. Twelve-thirty on the dot. She frowns. Colonel Moran is late again. She'll have to give him a stern talking-to.
sample 2 | link!
