[GRIM RENAISSANCE] ALLEN PRYOR

- Has many nicknames, like 'Al', for short. Also called Lazyboy, Drama King, Foxy, Perfect Hair Forever, Brother Allen, and Psychic Kid. People tend to tag him with the craziest thing he's done in the time that they've known him, and he does a lot of crazy things.




- Allen tends to refer to himself as a mutt just for kicks. Out of politeness, the rest of his team mates doesn’t do the same.


Appearance:
- 6-foot 2-inches.
- Olive to white skin tone, depending on how long he’s recently been the sun. Olive-shaped blue eyes, with a slight hint of green. Strongly defined facial features. Quite lean, but fit.
- Allen's has dark blue hair that he normally likes to keep long and very clean, although on occasion he shows up with extreme bed-head.
- Loves tube-socks, cargo pants with lots of pockets, and a casual t-shirt. If given the opportunity, he won’t mind wearing something super outlandish if it fits together thematically; he likes to pretend it's Halloween all year around. He also occasionally wears a fox tail and ears, although it's not one of his best ideas.
- He wears a lab-coat that constantly absorbs the paint he uses when working; it is the one thing in his wardrobe that isn’t tidy.


Background:
- Allen is mostly an open book for those who ask, but his misadventures are so numerous that he doesn't remember a lot of them, so his confusion is genuine when something from his past shows up to haunt his present.
- He grew up autistic, and as a kid had extreme nightmares that caused him to feel alienated from other youngsters, and he becomes over-emotional if the subject is brought-up. After numerous treatment attempts, some involving horrible medications with equally-horrible side effects, Allen eventually learned to self-treat his problems through intense mind-play, introspection, and self-reconstruction. Basically, he learned to reinvent his own psyche and continually shore up any holes.
- It wasn’t too long before he got off medications altogether and began to open himself up to others. In fact, he has almost become too social for even his own good, in stark contrast to a previous life of reclusion. With a new outlook on life, he became more oriented to the lighthearted side of things. That’s not to say he has forgotten the dark and mournful aspects of life. It’s just that Allen now knows how to better himself through both the hard times and the good, through both celebration and hardship.  


Personality:
- In addition to the details mentioned in the Background Section, Allen is super analytical, energetic, slightly melodramatic, and deeply emotional, although he doesn't like to show that last part. He also has a slight case of OCD. He has a bad habit of refusing favors, preferring to avoid debts between himself and others.
- Allen can be a bit of a germaphobe; he won't take a glass of water or use the restroom anywhere he can’t personally sterilize with cleaning products. This means that despite being super-friendly, he doesn't like to attend parties all that often, although he does enjoy them if he is made to attend one.
- Allen has a dislike for anything pertaining to the words 'hopeless case'. This dislike can ignite his inner fire and pump up his determination in a way that drives him to achieve amazing things, or it might trigger a stubbornness that causes him to hold onto something negative (be it an object or activity) instead of letting it go.




Grim Art Type:
- Soul Artist. His art will inflict costs on his psychological faculties.


Grim Aesthetics:
- Allen is a Generalist who plays around with all the Aesthetics, sampling Techniques regardless of whether they’re taboo or not, but he remains attached to the Drawing and Painting Aesthetics.
- He has a sizable knowhow on the Theater and Music Aesthetics as they played a large role in his self-treatment. He doesn’t employ them in fights too often; they remain merely therapeutic, but they can be called upon to defend or heal himself in a jiffy.
-  Allen dreams of dabbling in the Animation and Crafting Aesthetics, but has not had any luck with either, and his repeated attempts to master both are considered distractions from his best work by his colleagues. Still, he has gleaned principles from both Animation and Crafting that he can apply to his other Aesthetics.


Grim Devices:
- Allen's Grim Devices include a large foot large foxtail paintbrush named Friedrich, and a large pencil named Honi. He stashes both in his lab-coat, tucked away beside a set of highlighters and a white Conté Crayon.
- Allen has a Grand Piano crafted together by an unknown Guild and a cloak woven by the Auroche Lineahe locked away in a secret home for special occasions, although a select few know of this fact. When asked if he has names for them, he simply replies, “their names are mine, so what is the point?”


As an Artist:
- In Allen's opinion, Art is to only be used as a means to improve society’s quality of life, and is quite disappointed in that it isn't always such. If an Artist does not devote special attention to an Art’s objective, subjective, and abstract facets, then it fails to be Art. To Allen, perfection is measured by an irrevocable and complete dedication to one’s Art that can never be achieved by any Artist, but that every Artist should still try to strive for anyway.
- Besides that, Art for Allen is a window into the mind. Not just the mind of others, either. Art allows Artists insights into one’s own inner world. One’s fears, one’s beliefs, one’s desires: everything is exposed. And just as windows can be used as entrances, the gateway provided by Art can function like a pathway with which to administer treatments – or to slip in poisons.
As a Grim Artist:
- If an enemy is deemed to be a threat to themselves, others, or to the environment, Allen’s response is to interfere with the path that enemy has chosen and change it, muddle it, or if all else fails, end it.
- Allen forgoes brute force for subtle but potent manipulation. When he has cool head, he opts for modifying a person's visual response mechanism and would rather 'kill with kindness'. However, if he has been angered heavily, and if such an opponent’s threat is outstanding enough to warrant no mercy, Allen is not above mutilating minds in their entirety.
- Allen’s hesitation to kill swiftly can be an exploitable weakness, but he compensates for this by making his Techniques hard to dissect. But it isn’t just his Techniques that are hard to get a read on – the way he applies or delivers them can be hard to notice. An opponent might only consider him a jokester until it’s already too late. By the time the symptoms of his machinations kick in, the fight might long be over.
- Allen has a strange fascination with the theme of ‘broken hearts’ and is skillful at recreating it, even to the point of enforcing maddening grief onto the stoutest of wills.
- His main strategy involves the act of forcefully entering a person's psyche and attempting to coerce changes in one’s way of thinking or feeling. The methods with which he gains entry is manifold, but he usually makes it into one’s ‘inner sanctum’ via replicating and analyzing their thought processes. Once he has gleaned someone’s psychological profile, it then becomes a matter of determine the best way to tweak it, and his preferred vehicle at this point is advanced color theory and symbolism. Allen is adept at lacing what seems to be a series of simple shapes or shades with Techniques that implant thoughts and suggestions into a target Artist’s mind, after which he will stage an elaborate climax that will cause those implanted thoughts/suggestions to become all-consuming, to the point where the most loyal of soldiers would switch sides in a conflict.
Art Costs:
- Allen's Grim Art inflicts a curious 'Feedback' Cost on his mind, where a portion of any negative impact he inflicts on the minds of others is inflicted back onto him.
- His costs are a lot more troublesome then he would like to admit, but learning to deal with them has served to heighten his tolerance towards Mind-Oriented Techniques.
- The largest catch for using his skills is that he must choose to be benevolent and pacifistic. Recklessly inflicting painful or debilitating effects can rebound on him and leave gaping holes in his own psyche, and though those will mend in time, they are no joking matter.
- Allen believes this Feedback Cost is directly tied in with his method integrating with any psyches he wishes to invade. By melding with their every synapse and embracing their rawest emotions, he puts himself into an opponent’s shoes every time he messes with their thoughts and connects his mind with theirs. Consequently, if he intends to kill a person with a Technique, it is in his best interests that he ensures safeguards and/or circumstances be in play that would allow him to survive the backlash.



Heart Breaker
- [Drawing Aesthetics, Classical Animation Subset Discipline, plus possible Inspiration-Prerogative Multi-Aesthetic Collaboration]
- Momentarily floods a target’s eyesight with motion images that evoke a single, overwhelming emotion. Only produces animated phantoms, although with the aid of other Grim Artists they can take on corporeal forms if necessary.
- This is Allen’s first resort, and it requires both proper setup and follow-up to be effective.

‘Mason’
- [Writing Aesthetics, Calligraphy Subset Discipline, plus Unknown Multi-Aesthetic Collaboration or Unknown Aesthetic-Technique Collaboration]
- The name of this Technique and the Techniques from which it is derived are an enigma. Allen simply calls it by is nickname, as he does with a few of the following.
- Mystifies and distracts an opponent. Can make them think a detail is important when it is a farce. Can also be used to hide trap holes, buttons, or relay hidden messages in plain sight. Excellent for creating a means of secret communication, or for creating 'false leads' when hiding something.

‘Zen Panic’
- [Drawing, plus Unknown Multi-Aesthetic Collaboration or Unknown Aesthetic-Technique Collaboration]
- Engulfs a person’s vicinity with a deluge of drawings. This is a complete massacre of visual sensory perception, and it also serves to wreck one's sense of direction.
- Can cause collateral damage. Is particularly effective when used as a means of escape. Since this Technique only relies on the visual aspect of Drawings, it produces no (intentional) Summons.

Saturation Boost
- [Painting Aesthetics, Digital Painting Subset Discipline, plus possible Computer Device and/or Computer Software Aesthetic-Item or Aesthetic-Items Collaboration]
- A Technique that influences the color output in anything within Allen’s range. Can cause things to glow and/or appear more vibrant then normal. Cranking up saturation settings to unreasonable levels can be used to momentarily blind another Grim Artist. In tandem with a Painter and proper timing, Allen can overcharge the Elemental Essences of that Painter’s Techniques.
- Will only work on things that have a ‘hue’. Pure blacks, whites, and greys are not affected by ‘Saturation Settings’, but will respond to ‘Lightness Settings’.

‘Suggested Motion’
- [Painting Aesthetics, Minimalist Subset Discipline, plus possible Paintbrush Device Aesthetic-Item Collaboration]
- An aggressive but otherwise normal attack meant to load additional kinetic energies into to the Elemental Essences provided by whatever Paint has been selected.
- While this Technique lacks the sheer impact of Combat Aesthetic attacks, or the control of the Dancing and the Animation Aesthetics, it allows Painters to give their Elemental Techniques an extra kick, one that’s often unexpected.

‘Drowning Dark’
- [Painting Aesthetics, Impressionist Subset Discipline, plus possible Paintbrush Device Aesthetic-Item Collaboration]
- Speed-paints a logo-like figure that symbolizes and projects an aura of depression. Increases gravity and reduces heat. Requires humidity.

‘Lighthearted Bounce’
- [Painting Aesthetics, Impressionist Subset Discipline, plus possible Paintbrush Device Aesthetic-Item Collaboration]
- Speed-paints a logo-like figure that symbolizes and projects an aura of innocence. Decreases gravity, and boosts heat. Requires dust; earth, ashes, or normal dead skin cells work too.

‘Translucency Leak’
- [Painting Aesthetics, Ink Painting Subset Discipline, Neo-Pop Subset Discipline, plus Prerogative Multi-Aesthetics Collaboration, plus Inspiration-Crafting Multi-Aesthetics Collaboration, plus Ink Products Item or Multi-Item Conjunction]
- Involves a liquid mixture of litmus paper, ink, and fluorescent pigment, the ratios of which he modifies depending upon the situation, such as matching the specialized medium of another Grim Artist.
- This ‘Chemical’ Paint, once coated over a target, can broadcast data to Allen. The data encompasses multiple subjects, ranging from one’s health status to one’s mental state. Even a single coating of this Technique-and-Product combo is hard to purge off. The information it yields is also quite useless to opponents. All the litmus paper mashed up into the pigments and inks will show is a shifting cacophony of colors that only Allen can read.
- To sum things up, this Paper-and-Paint Technique can identify and record the traits of others onto a skin-like coating, and it allows the Technique User to take things a step further by modifying those Traits via Painting over the Litmus Paper in the hopes of modifying the target itself.

‘Fourth Wall Clock’
- [Painting Aesthetics, Gesture Painting Subset Discipline, plus unknown Paint Product Aesthetic-Item Collaboration]
- A sneaky Technique well-suited for sabotage. Can be applied directly, or indirectly, the latter mixing another Artist's Technique with his own.
- The ingredients of this Paint are known only to Allen and the Guild that cooks it up for him. Anything it coats is tagged with an altered time signature, usually a slower one. The ‘Fourth Wall Clock’ paint is delivered via a special brush with a hollow center. Anything it touches moves slower then expected; a few drops delays a target’s passage through time by an almost unnoticeable amount, but as more Paint is piled on, the sluggishness becomes cumbersome.
- Allen is not immune to the effects of this paint, and he often gets some of it on him, hence the hollow brush used exclusively for this Technique. Within said brush is a Paint with the opposite effect as the ‘Fourth Wall Clock’, and the only exit point for it is directly onto Allen’s palm. If he accidentally gets some of his own ‘time-slowing’ Paint on himself, Allen can counteract it instantly.

‘Hide in Bag’
- [Painting Aesthetics, Hyperrealism Subset Discipline, plus Fashion Multi-Aesthetic Collaboration, plus Bag Device Item Conjunction]
- Allen Paints a satchel created out of Painting Canvas, probably woven by the Auroche Lineage, and he covers it with the image of something innocuous, preferably something with autonomous movement that’s not out of place in his current surroundings. Then, he hides it that bag, which when shapeshifts into the image he Painted. This Technique has the caveat of not only giving Allen a way to disguise himself, but the bag itself can supress his aura and scent to the point where only well-trained Tamed Animals can sense him.
- This Technique is another one of Allen’s that is great for espionage. Many foes have presumed that what they face is a fodder-tier Summon, only for Allen to emerge and ruin their day.
 
‘Nonexistent Key’
- [Music Aesthetics, Classical Music Subset Discipline. Dark Classical Genre, plus Piano Device Aesthetic-Item Collaboration]
- Allen’s personal Piano is required for this Technique. There is a key on that Grim Device that is broken, but playing its designated note causes any listener (besides Allen) to simply forget the past two hours. If need be, Allen can fine-tune which memories will be erases.
Trivia:
- Allen does not like to use Watercolors due to a history of turning sheets into a waterlogged mess.
- Reads a lot.
- He free-runs to keep active. Unfortunately for traffic, he doesn't like to use the sidewalk.
- Allen has a bad habit of chewing on things that shouldn’t be chewed. Ice, nails, even extremely hard candy like jaw breakers. He also uses his teeth to hold onto things as if they were an extra hand, mostly with objects like his cell phones or his keys.
- Allen’s refillable Pencil gets its name from an ancient Jewish mystic: Honi ha-M'agel, known for interweaving mathematics, symbolism, and Art to describe connections in ordinary things. Allen actually went out of his way to track down the chairs sat on by the Artists his Devices named after, with wood from said chairs going into parts like the handle of his Paintbrush.
- His piano and cloak were both made with missing pieces, the piano with a missing leg, and the cloak with a hole in the center of it. Allen intends for a successor to inherit (and possibly complete) them.
- Allen has pet peeves about dishes with beans or peppers, and he critiques brownies harshly on a scale from one to ten, despite not being a Chef. He also never butters his bread, despite his colleagues’ endless quips about him needing to gain weight.
- His nickname of ‘Foxy’ hails from the fox-like persona he draws in his free time. Said persona is called Alex, which is one of many titles. Allen's a bit shy to share details about Alex, and his friends tease him occasionally about it.
- His nickname of ‘Psychic Kid’ stemmed from an incident back in high school. Whether through luck, or through some latent power, Allen and a group his classmates stumbled upon his ability to correctly guess the top card of any deck of cards. He wasn't always right about the suit, and sometimes he was an integer off, but it was unsettling enough that one of his friends gossiped about it and landed him some unwanted attention. Allen has never truly figured out why it happened, but he suspected it had to do with the subconscious mind's ability to pick up on small details and synchronize them with intuition. Regardless of whether it was a fluke or not, this incident was what started his journey inward, a journey that would spearhead his own recovery process. Few people even remember happening, having taken place so long ago, but it will always be one of Allen’s most treasured memories.





GRIM RENAISSANCE ARCHIVE:

(List of links to be rebuilt)

THE DEVIANT FEATURED IN THIS ROSTER IS:
- Edits have been made to the original draft in order to fit it into the setting, and/or for reading quality purposes.