#verstave#clair obscur: expedition 33#expedition 33#verso expedition 33#verso x gustave#gustave expedition 33#amiko art#i promis they will kiss soon#verstave comic
This question came up on a reddit. Here's my rather long answer to it. I could pull out more specifics from the journals, but this is roughly what happened.
Were they in Lumiere?
My assumption was always that Renoir, Verso, and Alicia were in the part of Lumiere that was split and thrown across the sea to be an island. Verso talks about living above a bakery when he was a practicing musician, and Maelle knows the exact bakery he's talking about. It's entirely reasonable he was in that part of the city when it was split, and I imagine that Renoir and Alicia were also in that part of town. In fact...it's very plausible that Aline chose the part of town where they physically were standing and transported that neighborhood across the sea specifically to save them.
We don't know if Clea was with them. I could argue it either way. From Renoir, Verso, and Alicia's perspective, they survived but Aline was missing on the continent having never made it out of Old Lumiere.
Expedition Zero
When Lumiere then sent an Expedition, Renoir was the commander, and Verso joined as well. Verso says they were explicitly searching for their mother. I don't think Alicia was on the expedition, and if Clea was then she must have died/disappeared early on. Regardless, Renoir and Verso made it to the monolith, met the REAL Artist Clea, and Artist Clea killed the Expedition when they refused to leave. She couldn't kill Verso or Renoir though, and this is probably when both of them discovered they were immortal.
They went back to Lumiere, and that's why Expedition Zero was said to have survivors. However, it seems the records were either lost or very vague over the years, since Lune studied Expedition Zero and didn't recognize Verso or Renoir. While there, though, they helped to build the shield wall to defend the city.
Expedition Search and Rescue
Eventually, still in year 100, the city sent out Expedition Search and Rescue, which Verso and Renoir also joined. I'm not sure if Renoir was the commander of that one or not. Julie--Verso's loved one--was also part of Expedition Search and Rescue. Julie specifically questions how Verso and Renoir survived Expedition Zero. This rescue expedition ended in betrayal and mutual violence--though who betrayed who will depend on perspective. A LOT HAPPENED IN ONE YEAR.
Aftermath
After that, it's unclear if Renoir and Verso went back to Lumiere or stayed on the continent. I imagine they probably returned for a few years, then left with Alicia when it was obvious they weren't aging. Verso mentions in camp dialogue that he didn't feel at home in Lumiere after being betrayed [implication: by Julie], though he does talk about visiting over the years. It's possible that around that time, after fully leaving Lumiere, the family found the manor in Old Lumiere, and Renoir and Alicia at least started living in it again. Or maybe the manor had teleported somewhere else when they found it.
Sometime between Expedition Zero and Expedition 58, Verso cut off his father and went living on his own. It's likely that's when he met Monoco and Esquie. I assume this happened in the unknown 15 years between 100 and 85, when there were no expeditions, but it could have been later. We don't know when Verso changed from wanting to defend the Paintress to wanting to stop her, but 58 is the earliest confirmed journal we hear mention him. By that point Renoir had already started sabotaging them, though (64, the radio towers), probably with at least some help from Alicia (56, in Stone Wave Cliffs).
Speculation
The remaining mystery is the timeline for Painted Clea and Simon. Simon was on Expedition Zero, but I truly have no idea if Clea was. I feel like not, since Verso would have mentioned her along with his father, but when he does talk about finding survivors, he only mentions searching for his mother. Maybe they sincerely believed Clea died in the Fracture, and so didn't try looking for her.
At some point in the years the faceless avatar of the Paintress was able to move beyond the monolith (like the Curator), and she started residing in the Manor with Painted Renoir and Painted Alicia. My headcanon is that this happened well after Verso left. However, he learned of it at some point... possibly in Expedition 58. Although I wouldn't put it past Renoir to have found and told Verso earlier as an attempt to entice him back into the family circle.
I also headcanon that Renoir and Alicia have these awesome powers because they stayed loyal to protecting the Paintress, and she granted them boons: either consciously to protect her or unconsciously by their extended proximity to her avatar form. Verso doesn't get any extra boons because he left. But he also doesn't need it because eventually he has Esquie and Monoco to rely on. And even without powers, the painted family are basically demigods in the greek myth fashion. Functionally immortal, melodramatic, and objects of obsession for the gods.
I like how the game gives you two chances to have something happen between Verso and Sciel, because what they really want is to give him yet another dead guy he can never live up to.
I saw a discussion on Reddit about Aline and, for once, I agree with the author. I strongly support the idea that Aline painted not an ideal or "corrected" version of her family, but the one she remembers/imagines at the moment, since painting conveys the essence.
This creates very interesting nuances: for example, Renoir is strong, devoted to his family, loving them infinitely, but also feels guilty for Verso's death (which is true! We hear confirmation from Fading Man in Visages).
Clea, oooh, the real Clea probably thought Aline created the "perfect" daughter, and she would never be like that, but the irony is, she didn't have to; she is already "perfect" in Aline's eyes. Her portrait may not be accurate, but in the end, it's still very sweet.
Verso. Aline painted him as she remembers him before the fire: empathetic, creative, loving music (Aline did saw that this was his true passion (!)) and his family (especially mother and his younger sister💔).
And Alicia. Oof, I suppose it's both pain and scars, because for the Alicia she now remembers, this is already a reality, that can no longer be changed. It's also possible that anxiety and fear for her daughter, for her difficult future, manifested in the fact that Alicia has no color (purely my theory, though). But also, subtract the scars and muteness, Alicia is actually the wisest, most balanced, and mature character not only in Painted Family but in the game in general. This is how her mother truly sees her – very strong and smart.
I also think this is about how art reveals our true feelings and thoughts, even if we ourselves are not aware of them. Something Aline probably might not even admit, but she felt.
#I really seem to like this composition don’t I#at least I did the lighting better this time#nevrontakeover#clair obscur: expedition 33#expedition 33#co:e33#coe33#burgeon#clair obscur fanart#fanart
I don't knwo why I can't reblog so I'm reposting T_T
Post from leanne-prime.tumblr.com
I commissioned @quibbs to draw two scenes from the first chapter of my Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 fanfic about the Painted family, La Vie Peinte, and I'm so happy how they turned out!!
Alicia having some sweet bonding time with Clea and Alicia having fun + being silly with Verso 🥹
These scenes are set during the several in-Canvas years Aline and her Painted family lived together before the Fracture. I imagine they looked exactly like their Real/Original Flavor™ counterparts, in Verso's case what he looked like before his death. Aline essentially kept all events the same, other than Verso dying in the fire.
The white hair came after the Fracture, of course, and I have my own explanation for Alicia's eventual gray skin that I will explore in my fic 😌
#verso#original verso#painted verso#coe33 verso#expedition 33 verso#clair obscur#clair obscur expedition 33 spoilers#verver#i love my sad soggy french man#sad piano boy#clair obscur expedition 33 text post
In today's insane theory. Maelle mentions the familiarity of Sirene's dance, and her song. Sirene is assisted by the mob Ballet.
Ballet, who has red hair like Alicia. I believe in the game, Ballet does have the same central hole in its mask much like the other mobs in Sirene's zone. But in the concept art it is offset to match the Reacher's mask. There are also striations on the mask keeping it from being perfectly smooth. Their hair style is also similar. Ballet also wears a gold dress, matching Alicia's chroma petals.
Could be a coincidence. Could be that Alicia also danced like her Maman. And if they shared that, like Aline shared piano with Verso, it was enough for Renoir to slap an expy of Alicia into the arena to assist her mother's axon.
Edit: someone much smarter than me just pointed out that Maelle also has the attack "Sword Ballet." Woops. I probably should have caught that one.
Ok so, it turns out that if you spend enough times discussing Gustave and trains with @monocostrap eventually you will end up with train engineer Gustave
#clair obscur: expedition 33#gustave#maybe the real trains were the friends we made along the way#also for the record hanar threatened me multiple times to post this so people who vibe with train engineer gustave#go say thank you hanar
#The Girls and Maelle's big stinky brother#Maelle doesnt care#sea otter mom Gustave#This expedition would go a lot smoother if you didn't keep trying to send our strongest fighter home Gus#wanted to draw something for Gustave's grumpy asshole era#clair obscur act 1#clair obscur: expedition 33#expedition 33 spoilers#clair obscur expedition 33#coe33#sciel#lune#gustave#maelle#gustave expedition 33#maelle expedition 33#lune expedition 33#sciel expedition 33
#my art#silly comic#long post#clair obscur: expedition 33#coe33#coe33 spoilers#clair obscur spoilers#expedition 33 spoilers#verso#monoco#I am *still* working on the handhold comic XD
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