✞ Application to Mask or Menace ✞

[flambeauyant]

< PLAYER INFO >
NAME: Gann
AGE: 30’s
JOURNAL: thefolksbetween
IM / EMAIL: tori.bear @ gmail.com
PLURK: redlionspride
RETURNING: Currently playing Ahsoka Tano

< CHARACTER INFO >
CHARACTER NAME: Hercule Flambeau (Duroc is his real surname but he hasn’t used it in a very long time)
CHARACTER AGE: 40 as of 1953 (born May 29th, 1913)
CANON ORIGIN: Father Brown (BBC TV series)
CHRONOLOGY: “The Penitent Man” S05E15
CLASS: “Villain” as in Morally Gray Thief. He will Register as a Hero though.
HOUSING: Random is fine.

BACKGROUND:

Sadly there are no wiki pages that cover everything that well, so forgive me for writing it all out here. I will try to keep it brief but informative.

To understand Flambeau’s History I will be writing his history down through each episode that he has been in. In the original books, the man was a thief and con artist who Father Brown continued to run into time and time again. Over all of their interactions the good Father ended up redeeming the man and turning him to the side of lawful good. Flambeau turned into a stunning detective that Father Brown sometimes assisted on cases. The two of them became good friends.

The television series so far seems to be going with that same concept, but slower and not quite in the same way. Flambeau is what most would say, Father Browns Arch Enemy, though maybe just in the start. After some time their interactions turn more towards “Friends” as Father Brown continues to try to save the man's soul and Flambeau continues to seek out the Fathers help.

Because of the old book series not being one to give a great many details, the only thing I am picking up from it that has yet to be mentioned in the TV series is tht Flambeau is not his real surname. He was originally given the name of Hercule Duroc. “Flambeau” was a name he gave himself and that caught on with the Law. The word is French for Flaming Torch, which is something to light one's way, or Illuminate the Darkness.

Because I am doing his history through each episode, it will not be chronological, but most of his history does slowly trickle through each episode.

The Blue Cross: (S01E10)
Father Brown receives a mysterious note slipped through his door, simply giving him a riddle. “To catch a thief, look to the cross.” Wondering what it meant he checked the church, finding a embroidered handkerchief next to a holy relic of a cross. A warning and a calling card of the well known thief, Flambeau.

We find out that it was all his master plan to steal the cross, but he didn’t just want to take it, he wanted to embarrass the church in doing so. Furthermore embarrass and ruin Father Brown. He could have stolen the cross at any point he wanted, but instead he wanted to play a mind game. To have a challenge.

We find out in this episode that Flambeau never knew his own father, as he was sent away to the Great War (World War I), there, in an act of cowardness the man tried to desert the army, being captured by his own side and shot by firing squad. Deserters were punished. Flambeau found out that Father Brown had been a soldier in Flanders at that time. Only 17 and not a Chaplain at that point, but he had been there. Flambeau had fallen from the eyes of the Catholic God by this point, upset over it all, thus targeting Brown and the Church, demanding that he be cleansed of all Sins in the eye of the Church.

The Church could have stopped them from killing his father, and he demands Brown to agree to that, which he does. The entire event was simply Flambeau needing to be acknowledged by the Father for what had happened. In the end he escaped the law and got away, assumed dead.

We also find out from his accent that he is from Champagne-Ardenne in Northeastern France.

The Mysteries of the Rosary: (S02E05)
We see much more of the man in this episode, as he has a very high interest in religious relics, and the subject of the story is about an ancient Rosary that has been lost for five hundred years. The rosary is made of Emeralds and pearls and is invaluable. It is said that those who held it were able to cure all ailments and heal all wounds. Even Father Brown was expecting to run into Flambeau on this case, only because it sounded like the kind of thing he would want to steal.

When Flambeau does show up, he states that he’s turned over a new leaf and was actually hired by the Vatican to help look for the Rosary. That he was interested in working WITH the Father to investigate. While all of the Father’s friends warn him that Flambeau is still a villian and is clearly lying and can not be trusted, Father Brown is one to always see the good in people. He is still very firm on the idea that the man can be saved.

As the adventure goes on we find out that he is indeed lying to the Father and just wants the rosary because it’s an interesting challenge and a priceless religious relic. Even then the Father works with him to search for it. When they find it, the true bad guy shows up to fight them for it. Flambeau takes a bullet to the arm, grabs the rosary and runs just as the Police show up, escaping with the relic.

In the end he shows up to the church and asks for help and sanctuary from the Father, who does bandage him up. You can see that the Father is still trying to figure this man out. He tries not to harm people, but he will betray them, but then return to them as if seeing forgiveness, yet he wants none. He says he is a Darkness where the Father is Light. He tells the Father to forget his salvation, for he is too far gone for that.

Leaving in a rush at that, the Father chases him but can not find him. Flambeau left the priceless rosary hanging on the mans bike outside, where he knew the Father would find it. Yet again giving up his fortune for the Challenge only.

The Judgement of Man: (S03E10)
In 1943, while the Germans were rounding up the Jewish, a deal was made by a man to take the holy art found in homes in order to sell them later for a high price. Some of these paintings were bought by the Vatican years ago.

The holy painting “The Judgement of Man” was put on display by the very man who made a cheap deal back in the war. It was insured for one million pounds. Flambeau is determined to steal that painting just to ruin this man. As he tells the Father “Sometimes it is personal.”

We find that Flambeau was dating a woman named Rebecca at that time. Her father owned the painting that was taken. When it was taken her father and mother were herded off to camps where both died painfully and separated from each other. Rebecca too was torn from Flambeau’s arms and sent to a camp. He thought she died there.

His ingenious plan to get the painting almost works, though Father Brown did foil that for him in the very end, just barely outsmarting the thief this time.

The Daughter of Autolycus: (S04E05)
In 1931, Flambeau had a Daughter named Marianne Delacroix. Deciding that she would be better off not being around him he sent money to the mother several times a year, assuring that his daughter had all the chances in the world to live a full and comfortable life. All he asked was a photograph of her each year. Marianne grew up to be a very well educated and surprisingly brilliant young woman, who actually figured out her her mysterious benefactor was. Her father. She found as much information on him, but never reached out to him.

A man named Nero Hound too learned that Flambeau had a daughter. Having a score to settle with the famous Thief he kidnaps his daughter from Oxford and sends him a picture, requesting a jewel to be brought to him for her life.

That Jewel is a blessed cross from the pope himself, being sent to the Queen as a royal gift. Being transported by two Bishops and a royal guard, it has a long presession across the country before it’s gifted to her Royal Majesty.

Unable to steal it on his own he asks Father Brown to assist him in the crime by simply not turning him in. Unfortunately Father Brown already warned the police about Flambeau being around. When the Father finds out that the man's Daughter is in danger, he gets his friends to make an unlikely group of people to try and take it. Surprised by the help, he actually seems grateful.

There are a lot of mishaps on the way to getting it, but in the end Father Brown comes through for him. Hound is taken down and tied up, Flambeau is shot and wounded, his daughter is interested in knowing him, and Father Brown is determined to save this girl from Flambeau. Reminding the man of what he is, he pleads for him to turn over a new leaf and spare his daughter. Instead, he and his daughter drive off together.

He does stop however, when he realizes how much she is looking forward to working WITH him, thieving like he does for a living. He stops the car, tells her to get out at gunpoint, and rejects her to try and save her his type of life. As he leaves with the cross he stops later to check it. In the end the girl kept the cross and turned it in to help Father Brown, and Flambeau drives off laughing at how his daughter outsmarted him.

In this episode we learn about what year the series takes place, as this is for the Queen of England's coronation, which historically took place in 1953, putting a year to the series at last. With that in mind and his daughter being born in 1931 and taking the actors age into account, I’ve used it to claim he’s 45 years old and born in 1907. (Year and age for RP purposes)

The Penitent Man: (S05E15)
Flambeau is captured and put into prison, accused of Murder! While there his sentence is to be hung as soon as possible, so of course he’s allowed confession. He requests Father Brown to come and hear him out.

When the Father gets there he reveals he allowed himself to get caught. The whole thing is a farce. The man was never murdered and he needed to get into the Prison in order to find some lost treasure hidden away by the original architect. A holy amulet. Father Brown thinks this is a terrible idea, but it’s clear that he is intrigued to help find this amulet.

In order to clear his name of the murder, the ‘murdered’ man is supposed to step up before the hanging and say he was just missing and his wife didn’t see what she thought. However, his wife murders her husband anyhow and demands to Flambeau to get the coin and give it to her in order to be freed. Thus Father Brown and his trusty group of friends have to solve the REAL murder before time is too late.

They find the coin in the confessional of the prison, and with Father Brown as his hostage, he outsmarts the guards and warden and escapes through the sewers with Brown and another man. In the end he escapes from prison with the medallion only to be shot and sent over into a ravine. It was later revealed that he survived with the coin took the bullet for him.. He sends it in the mail to Father Brown, saying it was worthless to him now.

-----

I will be bringing Flambeau into the game from around the time after he escapes but before he drops the package into the mail for the Father.

PERSONALITY:

Flambeau is a con man, a master of disguise, a ladies man, a mans man, and a Professional Thief. He’s intelligent and charming, smooth talking and easily manipulated anyone into doing what he needs to have done. He doesn’t believe his soul can be saved and does believe he’s too far gone from the Light to be redeemed. He does have his standards though. He tries not to kill and he tries not to harm needlessly, though he has his moments. He is a trickster and proud of it.

When he was young he had a problem with being looked over and no one paying him attention. It allowed him to act out and do things he thought would get attention and punished for. These things were stealing, which he got very good at. As he stole more and more it was rare that he got into trouble for it, thus it became a habit as well as a challenge.

He lives for the Challenge! He loves games and mind tricks and likes to see how far he can push people. Even to the point of framing a Priest and pushing him to ruin just to see how far he would go before he broke. The more challenging the adventure or con, the better. He has been shown faking a murder in order to get put in prison and so very close to being executed by hanging… just for the challenge of finding a holy treasure that was only alluded to and not even confirmed to being there.

He plots and plans things out down to the smallest detail before going through it, trying to out wit both law enforcement and the church before he even sets up the plan for action. Generally he’s very good at knowing how things will go, and if they go bad he always has a plan B, C, D and Z. The man is confident in his talents and can actually back that confidence up.

While he doesn’t like to hurt people if it can be helped, he is not beyond it. While early on in his adventures with Father Brown, his accomplice messed up badly in the plan. When he was confronted with Father Brown, he showed the man, strung up in chains in a warehouse and beaten pretty badly. Not dead, and not beaten to the point that he couldn’t recover, but it was used to force the Father to give him what he wanted. To this end he did indeed hurt someone, but later on it is very clear he tries not to harm. Punch someone, sure. Kill? He’d rather not.

He is a master of disguise and charm! Willing to woe and wine the ladies either for his own pleasure or for information. Or both, really, as the game too is his pleasure. He is a man of loose morals in this kind of era, and he doesn’t even care. Why should he? No harm no foul. He uses his charm on a older woman as well, giving off a very genuine interest in her. It’s part of his skill set.

The man is a bit of a loner for the most part. He doesn’t taken on attachments with people, mostly because it would put them in danger to be around him for too long. This includes people like his own Daughter. He distanced himself in order to protect her, but he also supported her and her mother, just to make sure she had the finest life and education. Not the best father in the world, of course, but very protective of her. The instant an old enemy appeared with threats to his daughter he sprang into action, willing to steal the biggest job he could just to protect a girl he didn’t even know.

It’s actually the same with Father Brown as well. The man has taken his interest and though he puts the Father in a lot of trouble here and then, he’s protective of him. He’s HIS priest. You do not harm him. When a thug tried choking the Father, Flambeau actually showed up and saved him, casually stating that “This is a Priest. Have some decorum.” Before the man got away.

He does have a heart too! When a job went well for him but bad for the Father, he found out that a woman was holding the Fathers friends at gunpoint. If he didn’t give her the jewel, she’d kill them. Without a single thought about it, Flambeau took off and on the move, asking “Where is she?” The treasure should be his, yes, but someone was putting the Father on the line that wasn’t him, AND threatening the Father’s friends? He wouldn’t stand for it.

There are a lot of moments where he shows he does actually care about people and DOES have morals, though he continues to hide it through gray actions and lies. Father Brown is constantly trying to save his soul, but Flambeau feels that he is far too gown and far too deep into the Dark to be absolved by any one God. Still, he enjoys taking to the man and looking at his interesting point of view.

In a game like this I feel that Flambeau will take interest in the technology of the time. He’s always been up on the times and loves to drive the fancy and new cars of the era. The world as it is in this game will be fast and interesting to him. Not only that but the security of it all will be a delight. A CHALLENGE! There will be so many new things to learn in order to get away with his crimes as he likes!

I want him to join in with the darker side of the cast in the game, but still keep that moral gray area that he tends to live in. I think he could be a real asset to some groups and people but would also assist and help in times of need for others. Though he will be looking to make a fortune for himself to live a easy and comfortable life. He’ll register as a Hero and promote himself as being a security kind of guy with his powers. Someone who is willing to HELP others, even though he’d be more willing to cheat and swindle them as well.

POWER:
Flambeau has no canon powers other than his smarts and wit, so everything listed here is brand new to him, though he’s a fast learner, so this might come in handy swiftly. His skill sets are made for thieving and stealth, though he would promote that his powers would be best used in helping others!

Master of Disguise: (Change Features)

Flambeau was considered a master of disguise back in the 1950’s having slipped past detectives, police, the Royal Army and Scotland Guard numerous times. He’s always been swift to change his appearance in a fast getaway and blends in easy in a crowd. Because of this I would like his first power to be a Disguise power.

This isn’t a shapeshifting power however! More like a mild transformation or change! He can change his features, mostly. His bone structure, gender and height will always be the same, but he could gain a bit of weight or lose some. He can change his hair color or hair length at will. His beard can be grown in as long as he needs it, or he can go baby butt smooth (a major money saver in razors and barber shop visits). His eye color can change, as well as his pigmentation in his skin. One moment he’s got dark hair and a clean shaved face with green eyes and fit, the next he’s got a tan, light brown hair and brown eyes, with 40 pounds more on the face and belly.

Some drawbacks to this power would simply be that the more he has to ‘grow’ the more energy he uses. He definitely has to keep himself in shape and fed properly to keep his body shifting. The other is that if he is unconscious and not mentally shifting his image it will go back to his natural form. This includes a hour or so into sleeping, or being knocked out cold. This does not alter his voice either, though perhaps in the future he could learn how to squeeze or pull the vocal cords to do as much.

Autolycus’ Stolen Helmet: (Invisibility)

In greek mythology Autolycus (“the wolf itself”) was the son of Hermes. He was said to have picked up most of his Father’s talents for Thievery and Trickery. This thought sets in well for Flambeau as a thief and trickster. (One episode is called “The Daughter of Autolycus” referring to Flambeau’s daughter).

It says in Greek mythology that Autolycus stole the helmet of Odysseus, which when worn allowed him to become invisible. In this case, any HAT that the man wears will allow him to go invisible. Be it his own hats, or a hat off someone else's head, or even a shower cap or a newspaper folded into a hat, if it’s ON his head it will turn him and anything on his person invisible. Once removed he will appear visible once more.

Drawbacks to this would be anything that might knock his hat off will take him out of this stage. It also take a lot of energy and he will tire and get a headache if he’s invisible for too long. He can wear hats still without going invisible, but there is always the chance that he could flicker in and out of visibility if he’s not mindful of it. If he is knocked out, even with his hat still in place, the connection can be broken and he could go visible again.

Patron of Roads and Travelers: (Teleportation)

Much like his second power, this one could also be Greek based. Hermes was the Patron of Thieves, but also the Patron of Roads and Travelers, and seeing as Flambeau tended to travel and never stay in one place long, this seemed almost fitting for him.

It’s basically a teleportation power with some restrictions. He can teleport to any “Road” at any place in the world, so long as he has seen it before. So if he wanted to get from one city to the other, he wouldn’t need the Porters to do it. He could simply remember a road in one city, and teleport to it from another city. It will work for anything that could be considered a road or a pathway, be it the freeway, a dirt road, a bike path, a forest trail made by deer. So long as he has been there before and can recall it, he can go to it. This includes what ever car he or someone else might be driving, so long as he has a firm hold on it or the person when he goes.

Drawbacks to this would simply be that he has to be on a road to teleport to another road. He can’t do it from inside a building or anything like that. As it’s a “Patron of Roads…” he has to be in that kind of location. Other drawbacks being that if he’s not careful and he ports to a busy street he could be hit by a car, or port into the wrong place at the wrong time. If he teleports a car with him, they could crash in on top of another or smash into anything else. For safety sake, it’s best to do it while the car is stopped, and better still to remember or recall streets or roads that are rarely used. If porting with a person or persons, or a car, the larger the teleport the more it takes out of him. On a good day he can teleport ten times or so without too much trouble on his own (no car, no people). With anything bigger, or with another person or more, three or four teleports will wear him out drastically. Teleporting with too many things or people could actually be dangerous to him and everyone involved.

< CHARACTER SAMPLES >
COMMUNITY POST (VOICE) SAMPLE:

[A well dressed man seems to appear in the video. A nice new cut blue suit, vest and gray tie. He looks well put together as he stands there, hands fixing his tie even though it’s practically perfect as it is.]

[As he speaks, his accent isn’t too heavy but lightly French. He gives a soft but confident smile to the device.]

Bonjour. [Hello, in French] I understand there has been another influx of imPorts recently. I happen to be one of them.

[With a slight bow of his head he speaks clearly, his name coming out in a bit stronger accent for a moment.] My name is Hercule Flambeau. I appear to be a little bit out of my era and element. I come from the year 1954 and I am looking for someone willing to help teach a man the advances he’s sorely missing.

[There was an almost cocky smile at that point.] Ladies. Or Gentlemen. I’m not picky, I assure you. If one or two of you would be every so kind to lend me some of your time, I would make it worth your while.

Until then, I bid you all good day.

LOGS POST (PROSE) SAMPLE:

Test Drive Meme

FINAL NOTES:

I intend for him to Register as a Hero, even though he really won't be one?