Canvas |
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Portrayed by Christina Hendricks (with a darker complexion) |
Statistics |
Full Name |
Michelle Dalca |
Age |
31 |
Height |
5'7" |
Build |
Slender and athletic |
Eyes |
Green |
Hair |
Red |
Factions |
None |
Occupation |
Sorceress |
Alignment |
Villain |
Claim to Fame
Artistically magical thief.
Reputation
Michelle Dalca: She was an up-and-coming artist and still has a bit of a following. Her works are, oddly enough, worth more now that she's a villain than when she was an honest citizen. Canvas: An art thief in the literal sense of the word, stealing works of art from their current owners. Also wanted for kidnapping, and various other crimes. Known as a villain in the magical and heroic communities, but compared to some other villains, she is far less despicable and as she tends not to use lethal force when not needed for self-defense, she may not be reviled as much. Except by those she steals from, of course.
Biography
Michelle Dalca is a Romanian-born sorceress, who was both raised by and taught magic by her grandmother in a remote town while growing up. She didn't stick with her training, however, having a dream of becoming a famous painter, and thus what mystic skills she developed were left to weaken and languish. Though she left her hometown in Romania to pursue a career in the arts, after years of study and hard work, she wound up losing out in art competitions to more established artists, and even in amateur competitions. Her putting her heart and soul into her work wasn't enough. She didn't have the skill to back it up. More time passed, and Michelle matured both physically and in her proficiency at painting. She expanded her studies beyond painting, and started learning other methods of producing art. With her spirit, her wit, her friendly personality, and her good looks, she even managed to secure training under some of those very established artists who had bested her previously.
Under their tutelage, she determined she actuall did have a natural talent, it just needed to be shaped. She took everything she learned and built upon it, finding her own style and gaining a measure of success. She couldn't stop working and improving, however, even as she was commissioned to produce a painting for an influential and rich man descended from Romanian nobility.
But then, Michelle received news that her grandmother was seriously ill and dying, and she had to drop everything to spend time with her. She had been raised mostly by her grandmother, and was the family member closest to her. While others came briefly to pay their respects, it was mostly perfunctory, some simply stopped by to say goodbye and then left, and none stayed longer or devoted more of themselves than Michelle did. When she lost her commission, her temporary employer angrily rescinding the agreement after numerous delays because Michelle was less and less able to work on the painting while caring for her slowly deteriorating grandmother, she still stayed by her grandmother's side. What money she had left was spent on tending to her care, paying for medicine, food, and so on.
Eventually, as Michelle's grandmother was gasping for breath, barely able to keep her lungs working, she got out a message haltingly. Because of her devotion, when no other member of her family — not even Michelle's mother — would stay by her side, the full secrets of the Dalca family's magical heritage would be imparted to Michelle. She thought at first it was delusional speech, as she had relegated the mystic lessons of her youth to mere make-believe in her mind. But she remembered the feel of magic. And when her grandmother manifested eldritch energy in her withered hand, it all came flooding back.
Over the next six hours, Michelle was taught all the secrets of the Dalca-family "Sorcerous Arts", magic employing the use of art as a medium. Michelle's grandmother had used it in her own youth to amass a fortune, which was then squandered by her family and descendants. Those same family members had abandoned the one who made them successful in her time of need. She charged Michelle with a single task. Though she would still need to work to develop both her art skills and her sorcery, she was to take back all the money that was made, steal back all the works of art that had earned such financial success, and live only for herself and her own success, not for anyone else. Her grandmother's bitter final request did not entirely sit well with Michelle, but over the months she had spent with her grandmother, they had become closer than ever. She promised to do as her grandmother wished. Then, the older woman breathed her last and passed away, believing her revenge would be carried out. Michelle's attempts to follow this revenge were delayed as she continued practicing sorcery, using books that were left in her care to advance her knowledge.
But eventually, she started to track down the works of her art, and even her own family members, and demand the return of the property and money. In many cases, they simply scoffed at her, called her crazy, or worse. In others, they didn't have the money to give. As Michelle found more and more of her own family were selfish, petty, disbelieving fools, she grew to loathe them as much as her grandmother had. She stopped playing nice, and began trapping everyone she was related to who had benefitted from her grandmother's sorcery in worlds of her own creation, made from paintings.
She has had run-ins with various heroes in the past, as well as international law enforcement, as she attempts to reclaim the works of art her grandmother made from those who purchased them.
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Character Details
Canvas has destroyed her career and any hope of achieving her dream of becoming a world-famous painter all for the sake of a grandmother who wished revenged upon her own family. Canvas is ordinarily calm, and has a level head, allowing her to think her way out of situations, and fool others with her seeming confidence even when a situation seems dire. However, she has grown to be rather bitter thanks to her grandmother's influence, blaming both her family for their "crimes" against the only relative she was actually close to, and that same relative for putting the burden of her own grudge upon a young woman with her whole life ahead of her. Michelle's grandmother knew what she was doing, knew she was manipulating Michelle into carrying out her will, and Michelle, highly intelligent and perceptive herself, knew she was being manipulated. But she still feels deeply for her grandmother, even now, and is dedicated to reclaiming all of her grandma's artistic creations.
Despite her thieving ways, she likes to earn her money when she can, and she also likes to live extravagantly — two preferences that are at odds with each other. Nice clothes, nice accommodations, social status, admirers — all of these are things that she desires. She just usually can't have them unless she is concealing her identity, and that inability to realize her own potential and achieve her own fame chafes terribly.
She may steal the face and identity of another by making a painting of them and then sealing them away in a Painting World, living vicariously through that individual, but such an existence is temporary, as she is usually found out eventually and then comes the drama and battles with heroes and escape from law enforcement and so on.
Dimly, in the back of her head, she considers just turning herself in, serving her time, and living normally when she's out. But she has her whole life ahead of her, and she doesn't want to waste it rotting in a jail cell when she could be out living and doing things. Ultimately, she is torn between what she knows is right, what she knows is wrong, and what she wants regardless of either.
Agility |
Canvas has phenomenal agility and dexterity even without the use of magic. With it, she can surpass human limitations by literally leaps and bounds. Jumping from street level to the side of a skyscraper and springing from there to another, all at high speed, is easy for her. Catching arrows, dodging bullets, even evading lasers, are all feasible for her. On top of that she is a skilled acrobat, able to perform numerous fancy maneuvers either on the ground or in the air. |
Charm |
Canvas is practiced as manipulating others both through conventional methods of persuasion and through charm magic. It is not powerful magic, and does not even remotely equate to mind control. It allows her to impair judgement of a subject or make the emotional state of a target malleable, but it requires actual persuasion through speech and action on her part to achieve results. This is subtle magic, half because out of necessity of its low-strength and half by design. Most people won't notice any change in their mental state or decision making process, though they are, of course, still able to make decisions on their own. Some may be skilled enough to notice discrepencies, and others may have powerful enough wills or an intense focus on an objective that lets them continue with their own goal even if they ARE compromised.
Mental defenses help resist this magic, though they are not foolproof. Actual magical or psychic mind-shielding is far more effective as a defense instead of just a "strong will" or "trained resistance". All in all, this is a magic designed for fooling a normal person short-term to get something and get out. It is not suitable to mental domination, and attempting to use it on people significantly above average for a human being is risky at best.
That does still leave Canvas's other specialty at reading emotional states through body language and speech, and acting in the manner appropriate to instill trust or persuade someone to see things her way. She is very good at acting — to the extent she can even fool a lie-detector. |
Combat |
Canvas is skilled in hand to hand combat, mostly because her magic is not, as a rule, suited to melee range. If someone gets in close, and she can't call her magic up fast enough, she is able to defend herself and fight back with conventional martial arts skill. She is also practiced in using her magic in combat as well, of course, and her skill with a variety of swords and short-blades, means that if she can create magic blade constructs she can combine her melee skill with her magic for a deadly combination. She is not a grand master, but she can go up against some of the best hand-to-hand fighters in the world and give as good as she gets. Her fighting style is highly flexible and acrobatic, specializing in "hit-and-fade" maneuvers that let her peck away at an enemy's defenses until they are off-balance enough to land a killing blow. |
Healing |
Canvas can use her magic to heal herself in a variety of ways. If she has the proper tattoos on her body, she can activate them to steadily heal her injuries, even regenerating to SOME degree. She can't regrow a lost limb, but even a vital organ, if not completely destroyed, might be able to be repaired if her healing tattoos were already active when the damage occurs. It will leave her in a death-like state while this repair process happens, however, and she can not repair her brain or reattach her head or anything strange like that. As long as these tattoos are active, they drain her magic enery reserves, which are needed for other feats of sorcery. They are thus not USUALLY "left running" without damage to repair, except when serious trouble is expected.
Other forms of healing including hiding herself in a Painting World and allowing the pocket dimension's energy to heal her. Since the entire environment of her Painting Worlds is composed of and created from her own mana, being immersed in it can speed up the recovery of dire injuries immensely. The problem is actually being near enough to a Painting World, and the usual vulnerabilities of entering a Painting World. If it is destroyed or sealed up while she's in it, she either dies or is trapped within. |
Artistic Skill |
Michelle is, by necessity, a skilled artist. When it comes to painting, whether with oil, water colors, or whatever, she rivals some of the greatest historical painters. She is also rather good at artistic calligraphy, and can design and apply elaborate tattoos as well. This is all mundane, practiced skilled, and has nothing to do with magic. |
Sorcerous Arts |
Canvas's magic is based on the usage of art — primarily that involving ink and paints, and even more specifically, art using these that she herself creates. Tattoos, paintings, drawings, even writing (as long as it's done artistically), all "count" for the purposes of her magic. She can use her sorcery in many ways, though a common usage is to animate her art into a living or at least three-dimensional form.
Typically, this means a construct of magically-infused ink or paint that can operate autonomously or by verbal commands from Canvas. Such constructs exist and function as long as they remain intact, have adequate mana to power them, and are desired to remain active by their creator. Canvas can recall them at any time, though depending on distance it may take up to several seconds to return to the medium they are stored upon (the construct dissolves into its base substance and flies back to its storage surface, such as skin or a painting canvas). A construct, even if damaged, can be restored and reused if it can be recalled before it is destroyed. If it is destroyed, it's gone for good and would need to be created completely new if desired again. If it runs out of mana it vanishes and reappears on its original storage medium.
Creatures are one possibility, but objects (such as swords, a brick wall, clothing, and other temporary creations), and utility/support effects are another. All objects follow the same rules as those for creature constructs. They do not exist permanently under any circumstances. Other effects include disguising Canvas as someone else if she has a painting or other artwork (of her own creation only) depicting that individual, or granting herself additional MINOR abilities temporarily (such as a pair of wings to grant gliding capabilities, but not true flight).
NOTE: These are basic "accessory" abilities, and should never be a central focus or be a match for anyone with a genuine version of a given ability. |
Art Supplies |
Michelle has access to a lot of art supplies, those these might be lost, destroyed, or confiscated by law enforcement/heroes/whoever. However, finding more is usually a matter of making (or stealing) money to buy them with, or just stealing the supplies themselves. They include painting canvases, dyes and inks, brushes, tattooing needles, etc. Nothing magical, just mundane art supplies that can serve a magical purpose. |
Painting Worlds |
An adequately detailed painting with a lot of magical energy invested in it, produced over an adequate period of time, can act as a sort of "pocket dimension" all its own. Canvas can enter and leave such a world, and bring allies (or enemies) with her if she desires. The layout and nature of each Painting World varies based upon what was actually painted, but the dimensions far exceed the boundaries of the picture frame. Only the original entry site or another painting attached to the same pocket dimension (such as by drawing two paintings of the same thing, but in different locations or from different perspectives) can be used to enter or leave, and in many cases, those who have entered a Painting World against their will can not leave without help from the outside or magic of their own. Sometimes science can accomplish this, such as by creating spatial tears, but going into a Painting World without Canvas there and willing to bring you back out again is usually a bad idea.
Painting Worlds tend to have environmental threats of their own, including painted inhabitants, and everything has the same structural integrity it would in the "real world" — as though it weren't made of paint at all. However, Painting Worlds are extremely vulnerable to outside attack. They are usually guarded, hidden, or otherwise defended, because it only takes one attack from someone on the "outside" to ruin the painting. And a ruined Painting World is either destroyed or almost impossible to leave, even for Canvas herself. Only another painting attached to the same Painting World, or sorcery/science that is not readily available, can save someone trapped in a Painting World.
Painting Worlds are rich in Canvas's own magical energy, due to how long they take to create and how much effort must be poured into them. This means they can be used to recover from heavy exertion, magical, physical, or otherwise, by resting within one. Allies benefit as much as Canvas herself does, and enemies who learn how to tap into the magic energy can also do so — usually due to being magic-users themselves. |
Art Takes Time |
Canvas can not, generally, create new sorcerous art in the middle of battle. If she could, it wouldn't be effective. She has to prepare in advance, and if she runs out of stuff to animate or use, she's out of luck. |
Mana |
Canvas's magic is powered by the mystical energy known as mana. It generally comes from within herself, though it may be drawn upon from other sources, most notably her own creations — such as Painting Worlds. However, there are limits to how much mana she can both contain and generate, and this is directly tied to the level of magic she has been performing recently, as well as how frequently she has been doing so. The more high-level or powerful the magic, the faster she's going to run out, and running out of mana tends to come with a degree of physical weakness as well. Without mana, she can not perform any sorcery, or even enhance her physical abilities. |
Three Energies |
Canvas's "Sorcerous Arts" function via three forms of energy, which are manifested in three ways: Detail (Physical Effort), Mana (Magical Energy), and Time (the passage of time). These measure not just whether her art works, but how useful, powerful, and efficient it is when it IS used. In order to use her sorcery in the best manner, it must be detailed, it must be infused with mana, and it must have taken a meaningful amount of time to create. These three "energies" must be balanced.
* Detail: Canvas can technically doodle a stick figure and animate it, but because of the absence of effort and time investment, it will be almost completely useless without the investment of vast amounts of mana. This is not only inefficient, but would leave Canvas too drained to do anything else. And that stick figure would only be equivalent to a normal, detailed drawing, created over the course of a half hour or so.
* Mana: Canvas can put only a small amount of mana into something, but for it to be effective it would need to be incredibly-detailed and take potentially years to complete. In that time, she could have created dozens of paintings of the same level, and spent and recovered her mana as many times. It's just not worth it.
* Time: Time is the hardest of the three energies to try to skimp out on, because it is tied to both of the others. The passage of time measures how long Canvas has concentrated mentally on the task at hand. Even if she spends a month making a single tattoo, if the time put into it was only a couple minutes each day over the course of that month, it's not going to be very powerful, because the total time spent was not equal to that entire month. It would need to be hyper-detailed and highly-charged with mana just to measure up to a tattoo with the same level of detail that was done over the course of an hour. She really needs to sit down and focus on what she's doing for a substantial amount of time.
Without all three of these aspects, her sorcery is out of balance, and pretty darn ineffective. An army of stick figures is just not going to cut it. |
Without Tools |
If Canvas does not have the tools to make art, she can not really use her sorcery. It doesn't function without either the tools to make a painting or drawing or other form of eligible art, or the art already existing. She needs brushes, needles, and so on. Art made by other people doesn't work. |
Relationships
Image |
Name |
Relation |
Information |
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Circe |
Fellow Sorceress/Potential Rival |
She went after the same painting I was. She would have had no problem killing me, I imagine, or simply vanishing with it and not worrying about if she ever saw me again. I can't really judge her yet. I don't know much about her except that she has named herself after a Greek mythological figure and claiming to be that individual. She might be pretending, she might be crazy, she might be telling the truth. But she is definitely very confident in herself, to the point of arrogance. I'd like to learn more from her about what it means to be a sorceress, but I don't believe for a moment I should trust her to do anything other than what serves her own interests. We'll see. |
The Art of Music
Song |
Artist |
Subject |
Meaning |
URL |
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Song |
Artist |
Subject |
Meaning |
URL |
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Song |
Artist |
Subject |
Meaning |
URL |
Man Eater |
Hall & Oates |
Circe |
She seems to be the type who uses people — particularly men — for her own ends. She uses them up, and then discards them when they no longer serve a purpose. I have to be careful when dealing with her. She's more experienced than me, probably more powerful, and I have to make sure not to outlive my usefulness while also not becoming too dependent on her in turn. There's a lot I can learn, however, if I am cautious. |
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRYFKcMa_Ek |
Song |
Artist |
Subject |
Meaning |
URL |
Inner Universe |
Yoko Kanno |
Magical Thievery |
This isn't what I wanted to be. But I think it's what I was meant to be. And I think that means to remain myself, I have to keep doing it. Fortunate that I love it so much. |
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIVgSuuUTwQ |
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