My Little Jamjar - Application

[sekai_level]

OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

Player Name: Sotto
Player Journal: sekai_level
Age: 26 (Gawd I feel old)
Contact: Sotto_Rosa, arc-kosine
Characters Played: Karrin Murphy (silverbadge)

IN CHARACTER INFORMATION
Name: Pierrot Bolneze
Canon: Yakitate!! JaPan
OU/AU/OC: Original Universe
Canon Point: Just before the Finals of the Monaco Cup (roughly Episode 44 in the anime, Chapter 96~97 in the manga.)

History: _{(there is in fact a Pierrot Wiki article, but it's largely a piece of poop. I'll just write out the pertinent bits of his life story here.)}

Pierrot Bolneze was raised in the ranks of the Quedam Circus, but no one is quite sure where he was born - the clowns found him in the audience seating after a show, a lone infant crying in his baby basket. The ringmaster Don Jancourt took him in, naming him "Pierrot" (clown) and "Bolneze" (the manufacturer of some clown outfits) after the clown who had found him. Pierrot grew up content with his circus life and his ragtag "family," but always aware of his mysterious past and hazy origin. Jancourt encouraged the young performer to fully master his role as a clown and become so famous that his parents would want to step forward to claim him. Attempting to follow the footsteps of legendary French clown "Arezzo," who had crafted a unique performance that no one else could duplicate and drew in an audience of thousands all by himself, Pierrot worked hard to become a truly outstanding clown.

Around the time when Pierrot turned eighteen, Jancourt decided to perform in Japan for a while in a bid to spread the circus' name and popularity. However when they got there, their lack of preparation and connections resulted in very sparse ticket sales, and the overhead of renting land and feeding the performers began to take their toll. After overhearing an offhand comment that having a legendary clown like Arezzo could save Quedam, Pierrot decides to craft his own unique performance that would mesh with Japanese tastes in entertainment. After a long night of brainstorming, Pierrot was inspired by a strange commercial about castella bread and came up with his Duplication Trick, which appeared to "clone" him and his actions fifty-times. The gambit worked, and both Pierrot and the circus were launched into international stardom; the stay in Japan was extended due to its popularity. Don Jancourt announced that Pierrot would be named the ringmaster of the circus once this tour was over.

During this extension, Pierrot was asked out by a young woman named Kimura Megumi. Impressed and touched that she had been able to recognize him even without his clown make-up, they fell in love and went on a storm of passionate dates. However, before their relationship could get traction, Don Jancourt announced that American media had gotten wind of Quedam's overseas success, and wanted them to perform in Las Vegas immediately. Pierrot attempted to convince Megumi to go with him, but she declined, saying she wanted to stay with her friends and family that spoke her language. Partly in apology, and partly as a parting gift to remember her by, she passed Pierrot a memento that she had carried around in anticipation of this moment. Baffled by her rejection as well as the gift ("Why... Ebisu?"), Pierrot left for America, his heart full of regret, but still clutching tightly to Megumi's gift.

Despite the downcast attitude he brought with him, the show in Las Vegas went off without a hitch. Actually, it went so well that the President of France personally contacted the Quedam Circus to invite them to perform in a Parisian opera house. In the midst of his fellow performers and their excitement over going back home, Pierrot contemplated the fact that despite the circus' success, his parents still had not stepped forward to claim him. That is, until Don Jancourt reminded him that a spectacular performance in the very land where Pierrot was found might be just the ticket to reuniting with his missing family. Pierrot took those words to heart, and trained like he had never trained before - his Duplication Trick improved to the point where he could run 150 "clones" simultaneously. He even over-exerted himself to the point of pulling several muscles in his body all at once, requiring the care of a miraculous American masseuse to recover in time for the show.

Pierrot's efforts were both highly fruitful and in vain. The show in Paris was an outstanding success, and was the harbinger to numerous invitations to perform in cities all around the wold. The Quedam Circus was an international success, and better yet, after every tour, they would return home to a heroes' welcome. The performers grew lax in their prosperity, and began to plan their early retirements. And yet despite his world-level successful career, Pierrot's parents still had not shown themselves.

Even a world-level clown could take a hint - nearly twenty years and a trail of wealth and fame later, and still no one wanted to claim him as their son. He was truly a world-level "lost item" still searching for his true family. Pierrot signed up to be the master of ceremonies at the Monaco World Baking Cup, in hopes that the festivities would be sufficient to distract him from his woes.

Personality:

Pierrot is, above all else, an entertainer. He lives to bring laughter, amazement, and delight to audiences young and old, old and new. On stage and in the limelight alike, Pierrot puts on a flamboyant air, striking dramatic poses and adding unnecessary backflips to even the simplest of movements. However, do not confuse his attention-grabbing antics with a need for attention - Pierrot simply does what he must to make sure his audience notices what he does for them.

Of course, this persona of the theatrical clown is a construct, a mask put on for the audience's enjoyment; at his core, Pierrot is actually a quiet and kindhearted young man who speaks with a soft voice and both laughs and loves with a gentle touch. He works hard and practices often to maintain his skills and routines, while still making sure to touch base with the people important to him. He may not quite be a natural leader, but his passion for life and warm charisma certainly make it easy to see why he was appointed ringmaster at an early age.

But as with all decent things, this compassion is a double-edged sword - when the armor of clown make-up is off, Pierrot is more sensitive to criticism and loneliness. Having grown up perfectly aware of his orphaned status, he is also a natural loner, prone to isolating himself from others and observing their camaraderie with a melancholy smile. He does not often allow himself to wallow in such moments of introspection and self-pity, but sometimes there is nothing to distract him from doing exactly that. This is the side of himself that Pierrot has only shown to two trusted individuals - Don Jancourt, the sole father figure in his life, and Megumi Kimura, his ex-lover of Nippon - but truth be told it doesn't really take much to earn that privilege. Pierrot is thirsty for meaningful relationships and the warmth of human kindness, and merely wants someone to see past his theatrics to the lonely soul at his core.

However none of this really hinders Pierrot from living his life to the hilt. Pierrot is a goal-focused individual who regularly plans ahead to ensure success (even if said goals are as useless as acting out a full-body pun), and puts everything he has into everything he does. Between this, his international career, and his tendency to get easily worked up about various things, Pierrot rarely experiences a dull moment. Admittedly, a goal-focused nature in combination with spurts of ardent emotional states can sometimes be dangerous, leading to world-level mistakes and accidents, but it has also lead to his greatest successes, and is the source of his willpower during strenuous or demanding times.

Strengths: Superhuman reflexes and agility, and certainly an above-average mastery of sleight-of-hand and stage magic. Physical senses that can range up to inhuman sensitivity with concentration. An outstanding sense of humor, even if mainly due to his profession. Speaks fluently in many languages, and is able to be diplomatic when required. Can duplicate himself up to 150 times, thanks partially to knowing the value of hard work and practice. And of course, no one can fault his flawless showmanship, or his flashy entrances.

Weaknesses: A touch of naivete, especially in regards to urban legends. Prone to exaggeration for entertainment's sake, particularly when tasting delicious food. Sometimes gets too caught up in an ideal or goal and ignores personal safety to achieve it. Uses clown persona to cover moments of depression, or as a wall to ward people off from his inner self. Full of unresolved insecurities and buried bitterness about his place in the world, and the desire to have a true family. Loses control of his emotional/performer's mask when caught up in someone else's pace. Cannot swim at all, a bit of a coward, and biased against microwaves.

Possessions:

• "Make-up Removal" flesh-suit/false-face
• Deck of marked cards
• Inflatable balancing ball

Pony/Animal Type: Pegasus

Cutie Mark: A set of three slightly modified Comedy masks (the smiling face of the two masks that typically represent theatric performance), arranged in a tight, triangular cascade.

Pony Picture:


Close-up of Cutie Mark

SAMPLES
First Person:

Would these count? (( Have a small slew of threads from the one time Pierrot found himself playing a game of multi-universe Werewolves... ))
Pierrot's Entrance | Pierrot's Announcement | Pierrot v. Kumagawa, pt 1 | Pierrot's Fortune Telling Booth | Pierrot v. Kumagawa, pt 2 | Pierrot's Finale
Third Person: (205 words)

The slate gray pegasus planted his flank on the grassy hill and admired his cloud apartment.

It had taken weeks of saving and scrimping at various odd jobs around town, but he had finally saved up enough to purchase his own airspace. A couple of favors around town called in, and some local pegasi had cobbled him a quick and dirty one-room condo.

Pierrot eyed the hill beneath the condo. He had deliberately chosen airspace in the hilly areas outside Ponyville in the hopes that the higher ground would make it easier to jump inside. What he had failed to account for was Ponyville airspace regulations, which apparently decreed cloudhomes had to be a minimum distance from the ground at all times.

Pierrot scowled at the distance between himself on the ground and the opening of the cloud apartment. Even a world-level clown would have difficulties learning to use a new pair of limbs, and Pierrot still hadn't quite mastered vertical take-off with his wings yet. Furthermore, the distance was just above the reachable distance of his world-level acrobatic leaps.

Pierrot sighed, and started to trot back into town. Guess it was time to find out if somepony could attach a rope-ladder to the entrance.