application for pixieled —
🦋 OOC Information
Name: FranContact:
Age: 30+
Other Characters: Aemond (
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angotas) & Viktor (victus)Invitation: Here
Permissions: Here
🦋 IC Information
Character Name: Clea DessendreAge: Appears to be in her mid-thirties, but is actually well over 120
Canon: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Canon Point: After her boss battle in Act III
Character History: Here
Canon Abilities: As the “painted” version of the real Clea, she shares much of the same abilities as her counterpart in the living world. This makes her a prodigy Paintress, with abilities that rank well above even that of a gifted one. She can not only sculpt sentient life that operate completely independently of her, but she can also paint over existing creations — a highly specialized skill only mastered by one other person. She doesn’t even need the “chroma,” or an essence closely resembling paint, of others in order to power her abilities. Clea summons Nevrons into existence using her own life essence. Her hands are stained with gold, essentially her own blood, when we see her working. She has an endless supply of this, though it can be taxing if Clea works herself to exhaustion.
Her powers can also be cut off — quite literally — by severing her hands from her body, though like Verso, she can reattach them. It doesn’t lessen the pain, but it can be handy (ha) in a pinch. (Clea can also technically paint with her feet, but it's nowhere near as effective — merely a backup.) Subsequently, her pain threshold is excessively high, and she can endure a great deal for longer than most people, having been tortured quite a bit in the past. Don’t underestimate her. It will be your last mistake.
Unlike her family, Clea’s appearance was corrupted by her original counterpart to appear Nevron-like. Her gray skin has split with cracks of her gold essence, which may give her a brittle appearance akin to a broken statue. She’s far from weak, though. Clea is the second most powerful member of the Dessendre family, just behind Aline in natural skill, and she is also immortal, a gift the Paintess bestowed upon every member of her painted husband and children. They are indestructible outside of being repainted, which can only be done by another Painter. A bit cruel, really, to hand your only chance at salvation to your own flesh and blood. But they’re messed up on the whole.
Inventory: Only her clothes.
🦋 Personality
Option 2:FRIENDLY.
While it may seem like all of painted Clea’s creations were formed to be hostile, that isn’t necessarily the case. She was tasked with giving Nevrons life, but they are still intrinsically tied to her own essence, and much of Clea’s rage bleeds through into twisting their nature. Some are, however, actually quite peaceful, suggesting they are capable of friendliness. The white Nevrons were intended as playmates to the original versions of Clea and Verso, and they serve as living reminders of how grief can twist innocence beyond recognition. She isn’t certain she could create a white Nevron now, not after all the pain she’s suffered. It’s difficult to look upon the living embodiments of a life she can never truly have, so Clea continues down the same path, obeying the will of the original Clea who despises her existence.
GLASS.
Like a looking glass, Clea struggles with defining her sense of self outside her ever-changing reflection. She was initially painted by Aline to serve as an idealized representation of her living daughter, only to be corrupted by the original Clea to reflect her base function within the canvas world. It’s all very akin to Frankenstein’s monster in that she never quite lives up to the expectations of her creators, and for all that she yearns to be a person, painted Clea can never be allowed that opportunity. It would be far too dangerous. Briefly, though, in little stolen moments, she’s felt like herself. Falling in love with Simon was a risk that, while it ended in tragedy, a tiny part of Clea relishes the fact that they had something that was theirs. She cherishes what few memories she has with Alicia and Verso, too, though she struggles to express that to them. Can she really claim them as her family? It’s an ongoing crisis of faith Clea will continue to battle with.
DANCE.
Despite being such a force of nature, original Clea — and therefore, painted Clea — are quite gifted at playing the harp, which tends to be seen as a rather delicate instrument. But it demands absolute precision, and only those with rigorous dedication can truly master the art of playing it. There is also a haunting quality to a harp, and in folklore, this music has long represented the veil between the living world and the spiritual. It is worshipful, a means by which mortals reach for the heavens, endlessly grasping at what they can’t attain in the flesh. For Clea, the harp is a symbol of her passionate yearning, a song she can’t play but one that continues to resonate within her, ceaselessly, an ever-present reminder of her denial for self-expression. She can’t be delicate. She must be a storm.
NEEDLE.
Like her siblings, Clea crossed paths with a few Expeditioners over the years. There was one particularly ambitious Expedition that determined she had useful information and they would stop at nothing to get it. She gave them a hell of a fight, but one moment of weakness allowed an Expeditioner to sever her hands, having determined her source of power was contained there. Later, Clea could appreciate how clever that was. At the time, of course, she was absolutely terrified, enduring torture and assault for days before she finally managed to reattach her hands. She created the Contorsionniste specifically to annihilate that entire Expedition. It isn’t something she regrets, and sometimes she imagines different ways she could have kept them alive for longer if only she wasn’t so eager to hear their agonized screams.
DOOR.
An endless hallway of closed doors have encompassed Clea’s life for as long as she can remember. When the veil was lifted and she discovered Aline had called her into existence purely to play out her fantasy of a happy family, the entire canvas became a closed room with doors locked tight, a space she could never hope to escape. And when her predecessor abducted and brainwashed Clea for the crime of falling in love, her own mind became the prison, a constant struggle to open doors that no longer existed, banging against solid walls that mocked her in their familiarity. Even when she meets Verso again, and she reaches for him, a barrier keeps them apart — yet another door locked tight — and it makes her want to scream. She is, always, expected to act as the family pillar, forever content with her role, forever slamming her fists against the threshold preventing her freedom.
🦋 Fae Court
In no particular order, as I think Clea could fit into any of these:Dark CourtDawn Court- Dusk Court
3) Yes, but they either have no ability of their own, or they refuse to trade theirs away; they will buy their court's ability on credit.