Carmen Calandra

Property of the original artist/photographer.

Tumblr n8kloepHTi1qgbm3so2 r1 500 — Edit of below picture made by HylianRose.

The siren by ice ridden-d66ktdx — Property of "chrysalisgrey" (DeviantArt).

Carmen Calandra is a former student and teacher at Athalia Academy who is played by Driving Park.

Basics[]

Gender: Female
Species/Race: Skylark
Age: 20 (Season One) / 31 (Chronicles of Sarastrea)
Height: 5'10" (1.78 m)
Weight: 120 lb. (54.43 kg)
Hair Color: copper/strawberry blonde (like this or this); extremely long and voluptuous
Eye Color: blue
Skin Color: fair/unblemished tan
Figure: slim and well-proportioned
Occupation: fashion model, socialite, and TV personality

Abilities[]

Carmen's Trumpet - Carmen possesses a supernatural brass instrument that resembles a grandiose herald trumpet. 3 feet long and with a 7.5" bell flare (the bell flare in the pictures is about 5"), it stands half as tall as its user. It is through this instrument that her music and sound production abilities are released to the world, and it can be used as both an expressive instrument and a lethal sonic weapon. It can project any sound or combination of sounds Carmen can possibly think of - any timbre or combination of timbres, any amount of polyphony and counterpoint, and any dynamic from inaudible to shake-the-building's-foundation loud. It is the ultimate sonic expression tool.
Telekinesis - Carmen's telekinetic acumen was very limited while in the Academy, but through intensive training post-Athalia she has honed it into a viable addition to her combat arsenal.

Weaknesses[]

Dependence Day - The most obvious weakness in Carmen's arsenal is the fact that in human form Carmen's Trumpet functions exactly as Thor's Hammer does - although she can summon the instrument to her being at any point through the limited telekinetic abilities she possesses, she cannot summon her musical abilities when the instrument is not in her hands.
Nonfunctional Harmony - Although Carmen can shift to a luminous bird form that negates all need for the trumpet or really anything and is impervious from physical attacks, she cannot use sounds offensively while in this form and can only produce music, thus relegating this form to a defensive and primarily non-combat role.
Lopsided - While Carmen can use her abilities in a defensive fashion, she is essentially all offense, and thus doesn't have anything in the way of protection against enemy attacks. Her combat style relies entirely on never getting hit.
Oblivion - Carmen's mind can be too confident and oblivious of danger and potential problems. While typically this has not caused trouble for her (as she can deal with most problems), it provides an opportunity for disaster.

Abilities (Human)[]

Inception Button: Carmen's last-resort ability, the Inception Button is a one-shot attack that completely uses all of her energy at once, rendering her powerless and extremely fatigued for several hours. It is an extremely low, extremely dense and extremely loud wall of sound played on Carmen's trumpet that, according to the post where it was used for the first time, "[shakes] the floor, [shakes] eardrums, [shakes] eyes, and [shakes] peace of mind." Carmen can focus the attack on a single location to be even more intense, but the collateral damage would still be high. The sound is so intense that it can cause buildings to collapse (see episode four of the Ganonshaw) and deal severe internal damage (or death, depending on exposure time) to listeners. This ability can be heard for five miles in all directions, and its effects worsen as the sound continues. Held long enough it could theoretically cause its victims to implode, but this would take continuous exposure for a time far longer than Carmen will probably ever be able to achieve.

Inception Kick: Carmen plays a single extremely loud, short note with such ferocity that its target will be violently physically thrown backwards by the sound waves. Like the Inception Button, it can be directly focused on one target (maximum effect) or used on an area (maximum spread).

Mosquito Tone: Carmen plays a note so high and loud that it acts as crowd control. While it does not do any lasting damage, it can cause intense head pain and incapacitate large groups of people, just as a very loud high feedback tone from an amp can. However, for those who cannot hear mosquito tones it has no effect.

Sound Barrier: Carmen places her trumpet on the ground vertically (standing on the bell) and plays into it, causing a sonic forcefield to expand around a variable area. It drains energy while in use, however, so it is very limited in its use time. The bigger the area of coverage is, the more energy per second it uses.
Wall of Sound: Carmen creates a wall of sound - literally. Actually "painting" the solidified soundwaves into existence by playing a figurative "wall of sound" with her trumpet, Carmen creates a solid wall of sonic matter, to be used in combat as a defense mechanism.
Thumper: Carmen places her trumpet on the ground in the same way as to create a Sound Barrier, but instead plays powerful soundwaves into the ground that causes the ground to ripple, like a stone hitting a lake. The resultant wave can knock an opponent over but nothing more; however, the completion of this ability will give Carmen a temporary 50% power boost. The Thumper is directly inspired by the weapon by the same name in the PC game BattleZone (1998). (See the original Thumper in action)
Symphony of Sorrow: This is an ability that is extremely potent but very difficult to carry out. Carmen performs a breathtaking piece of music that invokes emotional pain so strong that it is fatal. If the listener hears the entire hour of music from start to finish, they will die.
Symphony of Salvation: The inverse of Symphony of Sorrow, this ability has Carmen play another breathtaking piece of music whose uplifting course can heal. If Carmen dedicates herself and plays the piece for many hours without stopping (pushing the absolute limits of her physical and mental stamina), she can potentially resurrect with it.

Sonic Quake: Carmen plays into the ground using specific vibrations that cause an earthquake, no matter where the ability is carried out. Depending on how much energy Carmen wishes to use, the result can range from a small tremor to a devastating earthquake high on the Richter scale.
Blunt Force Trauma: In an emergency close combat situation, Carmen can use her trumpet as a melee weapon, typically by either using it as a club or spinning it extremely quickly like a giant nun-chuck, which has the potential to cause a damaging sonic boom if spun fast enough.
Telekinesis: A secondary ability set Carmen only developed enough to become a useful combat technique only by 2029 (Chronicles of Sarastrea).

Abilities (Bird)[]

Catcher's Mitt: in Carmen's bird form she can only serve a defensive role. As physical attacks are ineffective while in the gaseous bird form, she can assist others without fear of being caught in the crossfire. Her most basic ability in bird form is as a sort of magnet for other attacks, spending energy to attract projectiles and other attacks to her and away of their intended target, which (if she doesn't pick off more than she can chew) dissipate or explode (depending on the attack) when reaching her.
Skylark's Song: Carmen plays an extremely beautiful piece of music that lures any listeners to her, in typical siren fashion.
Lark's Lullaby: Carmen plays an extremely beautiful piece of music that quickly lulls the listener to sleep.

Sound Barrier: she can still use her Sound Barrier forcefield when in bird form, with the added bonus of not having to look at the ground and being able to hold it while not being in it herself. However, it still uses up the same amount of energy at the same rate.

Personality[]

With a chiseled, imposing face that can be downright menacing, Carmen is no angel. She's not a demon either, but she is far from perfect. Carmen is a diva with an ego the size of Sarastrea; she thinks herself above all others and is very outgoing to everyone, if only to flaunt herself to them. That's not to say she isn't nice to talk to; she is often an entertaining companion and conversation partner, if only for her larger-than-life approach to pretty much everything. She usually prefers to let her striking looks and the music she creates do the talking rather than speaking her own praises. She is inwardly judgmental, constantly observing and judging others but never saying a word of what she thinks. Her actual thoughts on a subject are often a mystery. She is nigh impossible to attract, having ludicrously high standards and not being experienced with romance in the first place.

Background[]

The mythological Siren is a beautiful yet dangerous woman creature who entices sea-going vessels to crash on the shore with enchanting song. The real (in the context of Sarastrea) Siren is an altogether more complicated matter. Born from the stars when a supernova generates a particular set of frequencies that possess such ferocious energy and consonance with one another that they cause the creation of a sentient life form, the Siren is an entity whose origin remains rarely known and even more rarely understood. Very few Sirens have ever existed, and they all have absolute control of all sound in the universe at all times. The last Siren before Carmen was dead 100 years before Carmen existed.

Carmen is a subtype of Siren called a Skylark, which manifests itself in two forms: a human form, where she needs a form of sound production (the trumpet) to use her abilities, and a majestic light-shrouded bird form where she can produce and manipulate sound without need for the trumpet (which dissolves when she changes to this form). This form strongly resembles a massive bird, which is why she has been dubbed a Skylark. While Sirens - and thus Skylarks - do not "age", their inception involves frequencies which eventually dissipate so they eventually whither away to nothing, but only after several millenia. They cannot be classified as supernatural because they come from the natural universe, but they possess entirely "supernatural" abilities and can often learn other abilities besides sound manipulation.

Conceived from an unusually powerful supernova on the other side of the galaxy, Carmen eventually arrived in Sarastrea and spent twenty years roaming it and learning its ways. She eventually arrived at Athalia Academy, where she honed her abilities, underwent trials and tribulations, and most importantly began her meteoric rise to fashion stardom. She currently enjoys life in Oasari as a trending socialite, fashion model, and TV personality.

Canon History[]

Season One []

Carmen arrived at Athalia and attented Criston Cross' welcome speech along with the rest of the students. Once that was done, she happened across Allan Lynch and Dani Hart having a confrontation that would later lead to the chaos at the party that evening, temporarily halting Allan's aggression.

Stopping at her room and writing a note to her then-unknown roommate (Lily Brightendale) in between meeting several main characters, she was drawn to the Student Center by the sound of music, being created by Cyrus Bane on his guitar. Joining him with her trumpet on the way, the duet eventually concluded and Carmen remained in the Student Center providing background music in the corner until the evening party began.

The party soon became packed, with Carmen and Nathaniel Terotrax up front providing the music. As the music became high energy, Allan smashed Dani through the table (he hadn't forgiven nor forgotten the events earlier) and chaos ensued. Observing for a while, Carmen eventually had enough as nobody else's attempts to stop the fight worked, and delivered an "Inception Button" with her trumpet that incapacitated both the two fighters and everyone else in the Student Center.

The next day, she made her way back to the Student Center to find it miraculously repaired overnight, with a painter (Leroy Yew) sitting in the middle. She sat down and began to play, and Leroy painted her, giving her the completed painting. It is here that Carmen met Seven for the first time as well.

Soon, after an emergency meeting in the auditorium was called, Carmen was outside in the garden when the skies turned evil, signalling the imminent arrival of underworld forces. Hastily flying to the auditorium in her bird firm, she waited for the Hellspawn to arrive. When they did, the auditorium was damaged and Carmen was trapped, leaving her powerless to defend against the Hellspawn. When the auditorium collapsed completely, it was her gaseous bird form that saved her.

Season Two []

Once the students were sent to Destiny Island to vacation while the Academy was prepared, Carmen immediately went to get in touch with her self-proclaimed sophisticated fashionista side by purchasing a beach outfit consisting of a bright sundress, designer flip flops and an extremely large sun hat. Heading to the bar, she ordered a Cosmopolitan martini from Nikola Lovelock and met Ara (A), observing some people she had already met and some she hadn't. WIth a laughter-filled escape fuelled by Ara's comments about Crash and Kathy as an engaged couple, she left the bar with Ara and was about to explore some of the island with him when Mercy Clueman announced the Beach Olympics over a megaphone.

In the first event, girls vs. boys water balloon dodgeball, Carmen unleashed her forgotten competitive side, mercilessly volleying water balloons at the boys and managing to avoid getting hit herself, despite her unsuitable attire. Soon she became engaged in an all out duel with Crash Waterfront, and by the end of the match had pelted him with countless balloons while getting very dramatically pulverized with one right in the chest. The girls were announced the winner and the next event was announced.

In preparation for the next event, the crossdressing obstacle course, Carmen prepared Ara in a huge, elaborate wedding dress and accessories, as well as Brako Rackshaw himself in a princessy prom dress and tiara. Meeting Katherine Argall in the process, Carmen was very satisfied with her work.

The race eventually began, and Carmen finally met her roommate, Lily Brightendale, without realizing she was her roommate, in between throwing paint-filled balloon bombs at the boys as they tried to climb a steep slope. Soon she ran over to the next part of the course and mercilessly pasted the boys with a foam cannon as they attempted to cross a rickety bridge. While manning the cannon, Ryuu Yamuachi ran up to her and grabbed her, carrying her in a bridal carry as he sprinted to the finish line (the race's item hunt required him to collect a girl). The pair collectively allowed Ryuu to finish second and to finally meet Carmen.

After the event and overall Beach Olympics winners were announced, the students (including Carmen) all went to the three dojos on the island to train. First entering the physical dojo with Crash and Kathy, Carmen began training by mock sparring with Kathy under Yutaka's direction, using her trumpet as a melee weapon. After Kathy was briefly distracted by Crash (which included Crash falling into and knocking over Kathy and Carmen), the trio (Carmen, Kathy and Crash) agreed to fight an army of fabric armies commanded by Yutaka Ito upon his suggestion.

The trio eventually defeated the fabric army after an unpromising start, but not before Crash found himself chasing the last dummy up Carmen's sundress skirt, much to her discomfort. Upon electing to leave the physical dojo for the ranged dojo, the trio henceforth referred to themselves as the Three Musketeers after Crash coined the nickname.

The three entered the ranged dojo, and Carmen was greeted by Little Feather, Garden, Ara (B) for the first time, and Mercy. After some conversation, Carmen grabbed her bow, set up, and prepared to fire, having taught herself archery theory from books. Before she could, however, Lily hit her and Mercy with water orbs, and Carmen began to happily shoot arrows alongside Lily.

Soon though, Lily grabbed Carmen and Matthew Terrison without warning and pulled them to the shooting range, where after Carmen spent a good deal of time being extremely confused (particularly at Lily's heavy blushing), she learned from Lily how to fire a gun. After doing so, Lily called for a cease fire when Margaret Clementine was hugging Matt as he tried to shoot.

While Lily was attempting to resolve the situation, Xanthus (Lily's long-lost lover (see Kalmaysia Academy)) showed up and caused Lily to go into tear-filled shock. Carmen was extremely confused and concerned and rushed to Lily's aid after Lily called out to her.

Season Three[]

(This season did not get very far before it ground to a halt and was abandoned in favor of the Legends of Lavanya reboot.)

Carmen returned to the rebuilt Academy with the rest of the students and normal life resumed. About a week after they returned and had time to get to know the handful of new student arrivals, the trickster goddess Fate (who was unknowingly released by Crash at the end of Season Two) arrived and genderbent everyone at the Academy. Carmen, humorously referred to in male form as "Car-MAN", took it worse than most, dramatically freaking out at her hideous (in her eyes) male body. Although it was not roleplayed, it is understood that Fate was found and made to revert the characters back to normal before Marcus Cross' forces attacked and destroyed the Academy about a month after the students returned.

Legends of Lavanya (alternate timeline)[]

After the survivors of Marcus' attack fled at Carmen's lead to her Oasarian hometown of Pavella, they spent five years laying low and living normal lives in the town. Carmen ran a small fashion shop and was once again roommates with Lily. When Criston called for a meeting at the town's inn to anyone willing to help in the fight against Marcus, Carmen was one of the first to arrive. She sat at the bar with her cocktail watching some of the more aggressive newcomers yell and fight, until Kathy arrived to Carmen's elated surprise.

The next morning, when everyone else was meeting with Vikki Miller to put their plan into action, Carmen had already left to retrieve one of six elemental swords the group needed for their campaign. She left early as she was a celebrity of sorts in Oasari and could easily retrieve the one located there. She caught up with the rest of the group just after they had subdued a sea monster that had been attacking their boat. Vikki instructed her to continue on ahead to Elaniel, scouting out the area for the best route and delivering the sword to Maria. She left to do so just before this roleplay was abandoned and relegated to an alternate timeline.

Season Four[]

The season opened with an exchange between Carmen and Lily originally meant to end the Legends of Lavanya Christmas Special. After a small winter celebration in the town square, the two were the only ones still outside, and Lily nervously presented Carmen with a gold ring and confessed her feelings toward the skylark. Upon Carmen's happy acceptance of the ring and reciprocation of feelings, the Carlily pairing officially became canon (along with its prior fanfiction).

The five-year period of living normal lives in Pavella was retained in this timeline, but this time it was accompanied by the heavily Carmen-funded construction of a new Athalia Academy. Upon its completion, Carmen and several other Athalians from the previous seasons were now teachers at the Academy. Predictably, Carmen taught fashion and music courses. Before the grand opening, Carmen left her office to go mingle and quickly ran into Ryuu and Andromeda after they had very awkwardly collided with each other. After returning to her office and beginning to talk with Oliver, Carmen heard Lily weakly calling out to her. She rushed out to meet the angel and wrapped her arms around her, asking what was wrong. Lily began to explain as she pulled Carmen back into the privacy of the skylark's office. Lily had met Edric Karst, who turned out to be her son from a family she didn't remember - one from before her memory was wiped in Season One. Carmen tried her best to comfort her, before Maria poked her head in to enlist the two in helping her with the forthcoming assembly.

The orientation assembly for the grand opening of the Academy began, and Carmen was the first to go up and introduce herself after Maria, Brako, and Criston made introductory remarks. Naturally, Carmen introduced herself in the most dramatic way possible, including shifting to her bird form at the podium. After the assembly, the campus population moved to the ballroom for a party, and Carmen dressed to the nines for it. She wanted the event to be appropriate for the venue, so she set up classic ballroom waltzes to be played in the hall after changing into her ballgown. While talking to Lily and Edric, Carmen's tranquility was shattered when Criston changed the music to trashy upbeat electronic dance music. This massively upset the skylark, who gave Criston an epic tirade, short-circuited the speakers with her trumpet, and stormed out of the room. Lily tried to calm her down unsuccessfully, until she suggested the rapid consumption of alcohol. This worked and the two returned to the ballroom to begin drinking wine at an alarming rate.

Chronicles of Sarastrea (in progress)[]

Four years after Athalia Academy shut its doors for good, and six years after the event of Season Four, the former Athalians were spread across the globe. However, some were temporarily in the same place for the Koran International Expo in Riesling, including Carmen. By now an international celebrity, Carmen was at the festival as a featured vendor promoting her fashion brand, Calandra Couture. Her booth was an attention magnet, and soon drew the attention of some other Athalians in attendance. Edric was the first, and was called to the front of the line as Carmen thought she caught a glimpse of him while giving a customer fashion advice. The two caught up for a few moments before Edric retired to a nearby bar and grill. Next, Andromeda hurriedly arrived after colliding with an imposing woman (Eris) who did not turn to stone when the gorgon accidentally looked at her without a veil. Andromeda sensed that something was very wrong and went to Carmen to see if she could help. A conveniently-timed break in customers allowed Carmen to step out from her booth to search for Edric.

Just then, dark clouds formed and swirled above the square without warning, soon after turning red and unleashing Duatos' red thunder and demon army on the expo. Carmen, like all of the Athalians in attendance, was caught in the middle and began fighting off demons immediately after surviving the thunder wave. Fortunately, Carmen had brought her trumpet, so she was able to fight at full strength. When Duatos and his attack vanished as quickly as they arrived, Carmen paused to lament the scratch on her purse and then set out to find the others. After nearly colliding with Andromeda and Ryuu (who were searching for her), she briefly caught up with them about the attack. The trio were about to go looking for more people they knew, when Vikki arrived with Edric in tow. Carmen exchanged pleasantries with her friends, and an extra-cordial greeting to Vikki, who she had not met before. After a failed attempt at hiding her excited reaction to Edric and Andro having an awkward, romantically-charged exchange, Carmen turned her attention to Mizuki and Mark Noxus, who had just walked up.

Theo's Food Preference Test[]

Love: "I should preface this by saying that I don't require food to survive, so I don't eat that often. It's so boring, you know, unless it's very good. I prefer the finest foods, which I understandably don't get a chance to eat that often. But...if we're talking drinks as well, my drink of choice is the Cosmopolitan. It's so...sophisticated. Like me!"
Hate: "Anything common or ordinary. Since I don't have to eat, when I do eat I want it to be an experience."
Mixed: "Anything that meets my standards but isn't at the very top. I always debate whether it's worth it. If it's free, it gets worth it much more quickly."

Theo's One Word Test[]

What are you? Fashionable.
How do you see yourself? Admirably.
What is your personality? Cultured.
Where would you like to be most right now? Anywhere.
Why? Unimportant.
What is your purpose? Music.
Who are your friends? People.
Why? Convenience.
What do you consider most important to you? Life.
Do you have any regrets right now? No.
What would you like to do in the future? Live.
Why? Because.
What makes you angry? Evil.
Why? Interruptions.
What makes you happy? Music.
Why? Therapy.
What was the most important memory for you? Birth.
How has that memory shaped you as a person? Alive.
What are you lacking right now? Experience.
Do you intend to do anything about it? Indeed.

Further Information[]

(Non-Canon) After the Ganonshaw finished its run, Carmen acquired her own private universe from Ganondorf that she named "Calandra Studios". In it she hosts her own entertainment program, Athalian Idol.
A little known fact is that Carmen has an extremely beautiful singing voice - a true soprano sound matching her true soprano ego. It is not linked to her abilities and for all of her self interest she refuses to sing for anyone or even allow them to know that she can, although she practices regularly. It is her best kept secret and to unlock it is to unlock the key to the rest of her mind.
Carmen owns quite possibly the largest fashion collection in all of Sarastrea.

Trivia[]

Carmen was originally conceived as essentially a continuation of Driving Park's Kalmaysia character, Sasha Iranti. Her name was originally supposed to be Shira (meaning "singing" in Hebrew), until HylianRose pointed out that in one of the earlier roleplays there had literally been a siren character named Shira. As a result, the name Carmen Calandra was a last minute edit on an otherwise completed character sheet. She was intended to have her trumpet and ability set from the beginning (although additional abilities and tweaks were added during Season Two), but it was only when Driving Park completely embraced her diva personality that she came into her own as a character.
Carmen has appeared as a guest on more non-canon entertainment program episodes than any other Athalia character, appearing in some capacity in three Ganonshaw episodes and the first Noxonshaw episode. She is also the only character thus far to have appeared in all three shows (including her own), and the only canon character to have hosted her own show.
The surf shop cashier that Carmen bought her beach outfit (including gigantic sun hat) from in the beginning of Season Two was originally intended to be Driving Park's second character - a very laid back surfer dude with water manipulation. However, that idea never came to fruition and later in the season Mizuki was introduced instead.
Carmen is specifically listed as a weakness in Derek Keelan's Guild character sheet.