Name/Handle: Irene, Ireny, Bubonic Woodchuck, etc.
Age: 16
Gender: Female
Timezone: Eastern Standard Time
Email Address: bubonicwoodchuck@gmail.com
AIM/other messenger screenname: BubonicWoodchuck
Personal LJ username: bubonicwoodchuk
Character you're applying for: Javert
Series the character is from: Les Misérables
Character's age: 52
Character's gender: Male
Character’s “Real Name”: Philip Hunt

How long have you roleplayed your character, if at all?:
I’ve never roleplayed Javert before, but I have written several fanfics involving him.

Where have you roleplayed in general and/or with this specific character?:
I’ve roleplayed as various original characters on Redwall-based sites like the Vulpine Imperium (http://www.rovl.org/vi), but have not roleplayed anywhere as Javert.

Have you played the game/watched the movie or anime/read the book or comic, etc. that your character hails from?:
Yes - I’ve read the unabridged book several times, seen the (excellent) 1957 movie and the (horrid) 1998 movie, attended two performances of the musical, and practically memorized aforementioned musical as a result of repeated listening to the soundtrack. And I own recordings of the musical in at least ten different languages and have listened to all of them (I’m a bit of a dork. 8D).

My Javert will be taken primarily from the book, with minor elements of musical!Javert here and there.

Please give us a detailed personal history of your character:
Javert is the son of a Roma fortune-teller and a galley slave. He is born in 1780, possibly in a prison in Toulon, France; his childhood is fuzzy at best. It appears that he grows up around the galleys of Toulon before becoming employed there as an adjutant-guard at the age of twenty. It is here that he first meets the convict Jean Valjean, whom he sometimes sees during his rounds. Twelve years later, Valjean is released, commits two thefts, breaks parole, and vanishes.

Realizing that he is too Roma to be accepted by the French and too French to be accepted by the Roma, and understanding that society unquestioningly excludes two kinds of men - those who prey upon it, and those who protect it - Javert chooses the latter and enters the police force sometime after 1812. His personality is perfectly suited for the work that his job demands, and he is quite successful; by 1820 he has reached the position of inspector and is transferred to Montreuil-sur-Mer.

Here, Javert begins to grow suspicious of Madeleine, the mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer, whom he believes looks oddly familiar. Several ensuing incidents, including the arrest and subsequent release of an ill prostitute by the name of Fantine, only serve to increase his suspicions before he arrives at his conclusion: Monsieur Madeleine is actually the escaped convict, Jean Valjean. Despite this, Javert remains as respectful to the mayor as ever, though he chooses to avoid Madeleine whenever possible. At about this time, news reaches Javert that Champmathieu, a man who in all respects resembles Valjean, has been arrested elsewhere. Believing that he has deluded himself and was wrong to suspect an authority figure of being an ex-convict, Javert requests a dismissal, which is promptly turned down by Madeleine.

To make a long story short, Champmathieu has been arrested wrongly, Javert’s suspicions have been correct, and Madeleine personally appears at Champmathieu’s trial in order to denounce himself to the court. Valjean’s arrest warrant is entrusted to Javert, who promptly makes his way to the hospital where the mayor is visiting the ill Fantine. Here Javert inadvertently causes the death of Fantine, though her death is one that weighs little on his conscience. Valjean is arrested and taken to the city prison. However, he soon escapes, evading Javert and leaving Montreuil-sur-Mer.

The police suppose that Valjean, like most fugitives, has fled to Paris, and Javert is transferred there in order to continue his pursuit. He performs admirably in his duties, drawing praise from the secretary of the prefecture of police there, and his actions lead in part to the recapture of Valjean. Some time later, Javert reads of Valjean’s supposed death in a newspaper and, believing the convict dead, resolves to think no more about the matter. However, news of the disappearance of a girl named Cosette reach Javert from Montfermeil, and Javert, realizing that Cosette is Fantine’s daughter, surmises that Valjean’s death has been faked. As a result, Javert attempts once again to find Valjean. His efforts are in vain, and he returns to Paris empty-handed.

In Paris, Javert receives a tip from a contact informing him of Valjean’s location. Javert, with some men under his command, seeks out the house where Valjean is staying with Cosette and pursues them as they leave one night. Valjean once again manages to escape, to the immense frustration and embarrassment of Javert. However, Javert is now certain that Valjean’s supposed death was only a means to escape the galleys, and he watches the quarter where he perceives Valjean to have escaped for over a month.

After that, it appears that he goes back to his duties, and is not seen again until a young, penniless lawyer named Marius Pontmercy enters the police station on the Rue de Pontoise and informs him of a potential crime about to take place where Marius lives. Here, Javert arrests the noted crime ring Patron-Minette with characteristic flamboyance, but catches sight of a white-haired hostage that escapes during the confusion. He is frustrated at the hostage’s escape, and cannot help but think that there is something awfully important about the man.

Months pass. On June 5, 1832, following the funeral of one General Lamarque, a group of revolutionary students known as Les Amis de l’ABC - one of whom is Marius - stage an insurrection, barricading the intersection of the Rue de Mondétour and the Rue de la Chanvrerie. Javert is sent to investigate, but is caught by the rebels. Also present at the barricade is Jean Valjean, who has arrived to save the life of Marius. The two men recognize one another, and Valjean asks Enjolras, the leader of Les Amis, if he can shoot Javert. Enjolras readily grants Valjean permission, but instead of killing Javert, Valjean secretly takes Javert out into the street and releases him, firing his gun into the air.

Javert is speechless at this merciful act, performed by a known convict whom Javert has convinced himself can do no good - but duty is duty, so he immediately heads to the prefecture of police and delivers a verbal account of the events at the barricade there. Then he returns to his patrol, where he once again encounters Jean Valjean, who is bearing a severely injured Marius. While Javert was gone, the barricades had fallen; Marius and Valjean are the only survivors. Javert and Valjean drop Marius off at his residence, then Javert allows Valjean to stop at home for a moment to arrange his things, claiming that he will wait outside. However, when Valjean looks out of his window, the inspector is gone.

Javert wanders the streets of Paris in a daze, attempting to rationalize his release of Valjean and failing. Nor can he believe that an escaped convict like Valjean can perform acts of mercy. Javert owes his life to Valjean, a criminal; at the same time, by allowing Valjean to go free, he has both repaid that debt and broken the law. He realizes that Valjean, during the years Javert has pursued him, has actually behaved more like a saint than a convict - such a thing is unthinkable in Javert’s mind. Incapable of rationalizing both Valjean’s and his own actions, and feeling emotionally conflicted for perhaps the first time in his life, Javert commits suicide by throwing himself off the Pont-au-Change, into the swollen Seine River below.

(Ireny would like to apologize for the length of the above bio. It's not her fault Victor Hugo's Javert's author. ;_;)

Please give us a detailed description of your character's personality:
The most prominent aspect of Javert’s personality, and the one that most people tend to associate with him, is his fanatical devotion to the law. He takes great joy in upholding order and hates crime with a passion - he’d turn in his own mother if she committed a crime, and he wouldn’t feel guilty about it, either. Going hand-in-hand with this dedication to the law is an immense respect for authority and a near-blind trust in his superiors. He is pragmatic, hardworking, and brutally honest, but, at the same time, almost naïve in his idealism. He reads books, but he dislikes them, only reading to educate himself.

While Javert’s a loner by nature and neither very talkative nor particularly likable, and while he’s absolutely merciless when it comes to the rules and regulations of society, he has occasionally performed acts of kindness - or at least bent the rules very, very slightly. He rarely, if ever, does this, though, and even then they’re performed with a certain gruff awkwardness, as if he’s not entirely used to it. In his own words, “It is very easy to be kind; the difficulty lies in being just.” Unsurprisingly, he always strives for the latter.

Javert also possesses a rather dark sense of humor, which tends to emerge when he’s in a potentially dangerous situation. Normally, he’s merely lightly sarcastic. Surprisingly, he also has a certain flair for the dramatic and considers his job something of an art - which, like everything else about him, he ceaselessly attempts to perfect.

Please give us a detailed physical description of your character:
Javert is, as far as physical appearances go, not a particularly attractive man. He is taller than average and olive-skinned, possessing a build that is fairly well-muscled and in good shape for a man of his age. He has a rather rectangular face consisting of a clearly-defined jaw, a flattish nose, and thin lips. His once-black hair, which reaches a bit past his shoulders, is now mostly grey and is usually tied back with a ribbon. His eyes are sharp and of an indeterminate color - considering his Roma background, though, there’s a good chance they’re brown.

Javert stands out in a crowd; aside from his features, his ramrod posture can make him seem taller than he actually is. He has a certain cold, self-assured dignity about him, which gives his presence a solidity that is both comforting and unnerving. However, the most arresting (pardon the pun) of Javert’s characteristics are, by far, the thick sideburns on either side of his face. These, combined with the rest of his appearance, lend a certain untamed, wolfish quality to his features, and the look most commonly seen on his face - something of a cross between a grimace and a smirk - only adds to this image.

Javert smiles often. He rarely laughs.

What point in time are you taking your character from when he/she appears at Landel's?:
I’m taking Javert immediately after his death.

What kinds of magical/special/crazy powers does your character have, if any?:
None.

If present, how do you plan to tweak those powers to make him/her appropriately hindered in the setting of Landel's?:
N/A

Does your character have any other non-magical skills or abilities that we should know about?:
Javert, being more or less a cop, possesses above-average skills of observation. Other than that, he’s fairly normal.

How about improbable appendages?:
None, unless you count his Sideburns of Crazy.

Please give us an idea of where you'd like to take your character within the scope of the Landel's Damned RP:
Javert will, at first, suffer from a good deal of culture shock and might even come to believe that he really is insane (committing suicide won’t have left him in optimal mental condition anyway). Afterward, he will probably attempt to go against his rather introverted nature and attempt to make allies with people he judges to be fairly law-abiding and trustworthy (and, perhaps, even those who aren’t), with his ultimate goal being, of course, escape.

What kind of psychological effect do you see Landel's Institute having on your character?:
Not only has Javert been shuffled sideways in terms of various worlds, he’s also traveled forward in time in order to get to Landel’s. Considering he comes from the early nineteenth century, he’ll most likely find modern conveniences like electricity and running water more than a little disturbing. He’s very sensible, so he won’t take learning about other universes well. To make matters worse, he’ll have to deal with the fact that he’s going to have to cooperate with known criminals if he wants to get out, which might prove difficult for him. He’ll also be incredibly frustrated that his attempt at suicide seems to have failed, which might lead to moments of existential woe and the like.

I won’t even get started on Nightshift. Suffice to say that he’ll have encountered plenty of vermin in Paris, but none quite like these...

Given that this RP takes place in an unsettling and outright horrific environment, how do you justify your character as being appropriate in both body and mind for this kind of setting?:
Javert is in decent physical shape; he’s not particularly gifted in this area, but he’s capable of holding his own in a fight, especially if it’s in close quarters. Mentally, he is usually quick to recover from stressful situations; once the initial shock of being dumped in an asylum over a hundred years in the future wears off, his sensible nature will soon reassert itself. Once it’s in place, there’s very little that can seriously affect his judgment - except perhaps mercy being shown to the undeserving, and the chances of there being much of that at Landel’s seem fairly small. This, like many things about his personality, might have changed after his suicide, but we’ll have to see how things turn out.