Post by Jenna on Aug 9, 2015 14:32:59 GMT -5
Player:
Jennabean
Best Contact Method(s):
Just scream.
Have you read the General Rules?:
Rather.
Are you adopting a character from the Open for Claims List?:
I am not.
If so, have you discussed the required character elements with the contact person?:
I have. Mostly.
Character Name:
Clara Delamara
Age:
19
Gender:
Female
Birthdate:
Mary 17, 1408
City / Region:
Lavigne
House [ Birth, Marriage if applicable ]:
Delamara
Played by:
Anna Popplewell
Appearance:
Unlike most Delamaras, Clara possesses waving chestnut brown hair rather than the usual straight black, though she has the typical blue eyes. She is not a tall young woman, standing at 5' 3" but she is blessed with an undeniably feminine figure that she displays in elegant gowns of her own design and creation. Wearing a rainbow of colors, there are few hues that do not suit her hair and milkmaid pale skin well, yet Clara takes care not to spend too much time in the sun. She does not care for the freckles that dust her features, vanity requiring frequent use of lemon to bleach them and cosmetics to cover them.
Clara refuses to appear anything less than impeccable. Every hair must be in place, there can be no wrinkles on her skirt and her accessories must match her gowns. Often accused of vanity, she sees no reason to deny it. She is vain, she is fastidious, and she knows she is a very attractive young woman, beautiful in a non-Delamara way. And she sees no reason to pretend otherwise.
Personality:
The third of Gabriel Delamara's daughters, and the third C, Clara considers herself entirely different from her older sisters and the younger set. Though she is hardly in the middle of the pack, she deliberately sets out to make herself stand out from the crowd of nine siblings. This is no easy task when the family is plagued by two sets of twins, and her two older sisters might as well be twins, they look and behave so alike.
Tina and Cassie are sweet, kind, giving souls. Clara is not.
They are unselfish, caring young women. Clara is not.
They are the delights of their parents' lives. She is their despair.
She is intelligent, well-read and gifted with literacy on par with many scholars, including a variety of languages in which she is fluent, both spoken and written. Indeed, Clara prides herself on her ability to conduct an intellectual discussion with any member of court, regardless of their rank or region.
Clara possesses an eye for style. Though she is seldom concerned with fashion per se, preferring to lead rather than follow, she knows how to dress to accentuate her own looks and has no scruples about informing her sisters when they aren't looking their best. Additionally, she can match accessories to any outfit, elevating it to the occasion for which it is worn or displaying the wearer's best feature.
Unfortunately, Clara is also something of a snob, possessing high standards and disdainful of those who dress poorly or behave badly. She has little tolerance for those who do not conduct themselves in accordance with their ranks, thinking nothing of dismissing them from her presence with a cutting remark on their lack of manners, their questionable sense of style and their lack of worth to be in her company.
Fortunately, she holds herself to the same impeccable standards. Clara has beautiful manners and unimpeachable social etiquette when in Court or in the presence of nobility and royalty. She has little concern for any other setting, and has made it clear that she intends to marry well, even if she must make the arrangements herself.
Consequently, she is an ambitious little minx, always keeping an eye and an ear open for the most salacious gossip, opportunity and information, which she passes along to her cousin Ra. Hoping to achieve a place at Court, she feels stifled and wasted in Lavigne, where most of her family could not care less about life in the heart of the realm.
Specific Skills or Abilities:
Sewing/design
Archery
Languages
Courtly Manners
Heraldry
Character History:
When she emerged into the world on a spring night, her parents were not surprised to see their third-born was a girl. Keeping with tradition, she was called Clara, but shortly after her birth, it was abundantly clear to Gabriel Delamara and his wife that their third daughter was likely to be a handful requiring constant supervision.
She did not behave like the older two girls, playing quietly or watching the world go by with wide blue eyes. Instead, Clara was always testing herself, trying to move on her own, lift her head, sit up, scoot, and so one. Seeing her older sisters only made the small girl more determined to reach independence. Babyhood was an inconvenience she couldn't wait to leave behind, becoming a holy terror of a toddler, able to elude servants and sisters alike to do precisely what she pleased.
Clara was not prone to playing with her sisters, older or younger. Instead, she played by herself in places that the nursemaid could never understand how she'd found. In the study, tucked into a fort made of books with her small nose tucked into one. In her mother's clothing, playing dress-up and making outfits up. Or worse, demanding that her mother's maid show her how to do this, that or the other, raising a fuss until they relented.
By the time the girl was ten, she was rather a loner among her large family, doggedly honing the skills she wanted. Fortunately, Clara did not resist the lessons of the tutors, devouring the assignments given to her and asking for more, determined to outstrip her siblings. Life was a competition in the girl's head and she wanted to stand out as much as possible. She likely hurt her sisters' feelings, but did not seem all that affected by it. Clara simply saw it as, they had each other, they did not need her. Of all her cousins, the one to which she feels any kinship is Franz. They seem to be cut from the same cloth.
All of this behavior had a purpose. She wants to be at Court, to live in the heart of where things happen and where important people are. Lavigne is nice, but to Clara, there is so much more out there, waiting to be discovered. She wants a glittering, brilliant life where she can shine, and since none of her sisters seem to want that... well, so much the better for her. No competition.
With the summons to Court, Clara saw it as her chance to catch the eye of one of the Princesses or the Duchesses, wanting to gain a place in their entourages. So far she hasn't been that lucky, but there's time. Learning, however, that the family plans to return to Lavigne has her pitching a fit - she does not want to be buried in seaweed and sand any more, even if it means disobeying her House Lord. The family needs people at court, and she will make sure that Rik sees the opportunity he's passing up.
Writing Sample:
"You have a place, Mariette. A very, truly important one -- in more than just an advantageous marriage. You always have. Do not say as such again."
