Diva is heeeeere! Here's council!AudreyBourgeois (Code Name: Isabelle de Valois) This is my interpretation of her!
Background
Isabelle = reference to Queen Isabella of France, the She-Wolf of France aka the Rebel Queen
Sartre = has been connected to the Latin word “sartor,” meaning “tailor”; the surname is a nod to Jean-Paul Sartre, who wrote/stood against everything that Isabelle herself is often associated with, making this name ironic
Internal Joke: "My name is a contradiction - so am I."
Born in 1969
Her mom’s a tailor; her dad teaches sculpture at the university and is an editor for a small magazine on the side
Childhood and Fashion:
Was closer to her father than her mother
Her father saw her enthusiasm for journalism and often encouraged her ruthless ambition; her mother's self-internalized misogynistic views created a rift between the two, especially as the older woman subtly tries to drag her daughter down (at least from Isabelle's POV)
Note: her mother should not be reduced to "terrible monster" or a "heartless bitch"; she is a woman broken by the norms and boxes that she was forced into; Isabelle knows this to a degree - perhaps, it's what she hates most about the situation
Didn't have many friends, but even at a young age, she was known for her sharp tongue and mind
She’s intelligent but doesn’t pick up on social cues well; She’s not oblivious. She knows status. She just doesn’t care to be polite about it
"She’s the only person at school who can quote Dior and Derrida in the same sentence without irony" - a classmate
Were classmates with the soon-to-be "Diamond" on the council (the first one, not the current Diamond), who was also a lower-class artist struggling to make it into the industry
The two classmates would become closer friends as they ascended to the top together in fashion - they would only have each other in this cutthroat industry
The fashion industry would largely shape her - make her cynical and cruel
Magazine Director:
When Isabelle was 20, she finds that her father was having an affair; she is torn by this revelation, trying to reconcile the two personas of the man she looked up to
Her parents have a divorce, and her father remarries to a famous fashion editor; her new stepmother is supportive of Isabelle's goals; Isabelle cuts off contact with her mother 6 months later
Stepmother and daughter would work together; Isabelle with connections and help from her new mentor, would soon be recruited to globally famous magazine Haute Terreur
First works as editor - makes her way up to become director
Changes her last name to "de Valois" = a line of French royalty
Would be known as a ruthless employer - striking down rivals, allies, and employees like Robespierre with his bloody pen
1995 France Bombings:
A series of attacks targeted public transport systems in Paris and Lyon, as well as a school in Villeurbanne were carried out by the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria (GIA), who sought to expand the Algerian Civil War to France
Isabelle is returning from a meeting with a high-profile advertiser - she’s distracted, walking through Saint-Michel RER station, when the blast hits.
She’s far enough away not to be seriously injured - but close enough to be covered in blood and glass - The carnage is visceral, chaotic, without symbolism
She locks eyes with a dying woman - wearing an exact replica of a coat featured on Haute Terreur’s spring cover
For Isabelle, it’s not just horror - it’s desecration. Her world of clean lines, moral narratives, beautiful structures is obliterated in one moment of randomized, meaningless violence
Later, she has to write a tribute to the bombing incidents for her magazine
When researching the car bomb that exploded near a Jewish school in Villeurbanne, she interviews a young student who gives her notes of things they were taught to recite:
Things We Were Told Not to Say:
Don’t talk about Muslims
Don’t talk about Algeria
Don’t blame anyone
Don’t ask why it’s a trash can and not a person
Isabelle is furious - She sees it not as a sign of moral resilience but of cultural anesthesia, a France that refuses to name or frame reality for fear of ugliness.
This is the final nail in the coffin: Human beings are cowardly animals who prefer sentiment over structure, tolerance over taste, survival over soul
Council:
Her former classmate, now a prominent fashion designer introduces her to the council; she accepts
She decides to stay on the sidelines, not fully trusting their sincerity and not wanting to get too entrenched in the shady politics of the organization
Present Day 2016:
Her Worldview:
Society is built on inherited lies and hollow traditions - after all, history is written by the victors
Systems - political, social, aesthetic - can be rewritten, like any article or myth.
Weakness masquerades as virtue; only those who construct truth wield real power.
A better world cannot be persuaded into being. It must be designed. Tailored. Stitched together from the bones of the old.
In her hands, narrative becomes reality. Reputation becomes fate. What is written is.
Design Notes/Character Study
Decked out in mostly Black and White
Refer to Chanel
Although she mostly wears pantsuits and seeks to match her male rivals, she still retains her femininity
Darker make-up
References: Lemoncholy's Evil Robespierre design (lots of Robespierre references); Anna Wintour, Misa Amane + Mello (for color scheme)
Accessories: Marching band/ceremonial regalia - her outfit is armor
Hidden reds that look like blood
Blood red quill: her words are her weapon of choice
Bright blue eyes speckled with gold - striking, sharp eyes that see through everything
Arms crossed: always closed off, on guard; a reference to Anna Wintour
Rarely smiles genuinely
Sharp teeth; predator imagery
Magazine cover: look up Vogue covers
Undiagnosed autism? It's more likely than you think... :P
Plays to her audience. She knows which rooms ask her to speak loudly and which expect her to stay quiet. So then... why is it becoming harder and harder to distinguish the line between mask and face?
