Indefatigable reporter of The Steambird, constantly on the hunt for the "truth."
—Description from the Official Website[1]
Personality[]
Indefatigable reporter of The Steambird, constantly on the hunt for the "truth."
—In-game character attributes and profile page text
Charlotte is extremely devoted to her occupation as a journalist for The Steambird, frequently finding the "best scoop" in the news to share with her readers. This has frequently resulted in her appearing anywhere in an instant if something piques her interest, and sometimes even resulting in her running into danger in the process. Once something gets her interest, she becomes extremely relentless in an attempt to interview them. Charlotte's devotion to finding the best news has made her popular among the Steambird's readers.
Appearance[]
Charlotte uses the medium female model. She has a pale complexion, bright turquoise eyes, and salmon pink colored shoulder-length hair.
Official Introduction[]
...Euphrasie, three days ago, one of your journalists secretly followed a suspect all the way from the Court of Fontaine to Romaritime Harbor, and almost ended up being tied up and thrown into the sea by a gang of criminals. Whether or not there's any truth in the notion that 'nearer to the action is closer to the truth,' surely Miss Charlotte doesn't value her reports more than she does her own life?
Fontaine's famous newspaper The Steambird has a veritable legion of reporters it can call upon, each with their own area of expertise. Some specialize in celebrity gossip, others follow the word on the street, while others still focus on political affairs...
But among them all, there is one that stands head and shoulders above the rest thanks to her seemingly boundless reserve of energy and perseverance — the inimitable Charlotte.
Unswervingly committed to the principle that "nearer to the action is closer to the truth," Charlotte has a habit of popping up literally anywhere and everywhere in Fontaine — from its widest avenues to its narrowest back alleys, its highest vantage points to its lowest subterranean vaults, even its tallest mountains to its deepest undersea caverns. She captures the "truth" with her Kamera, records it in her articles, and finally unveils it for all to see.
And when the "truth" comes out, she's met with a variety of different reactions ranging from applause, to embarrassment, to outright fury. There are even some who would resort to any means necessary to make a particular article connected to themselves disappear. Or alternatively, just make Charlotte disappear.
For this reason, the newspaper's Editor-in-Chief Euphrasie has on numerous occasions felt the need to distance Charlotte from the Court of Fontaine by sending her off on faraway "field reporting" jobs, only recalling her once the Maison Gardiennage or Special Security and Surveillance Patrol had finally managed to clear things up.
But despite all this, neither the toil of the job itself nor the pressure of external denunciations and threats has ever phased [sic] Charlotte in the slightest.
With her trusty companion Monsieur Verite by her side, she invariably carries out her journalistic duties with unfaltering fervor, rushing about in pursuit of all the "truths" out there just waiting to be discovered.
Character Stories[]
Character Details
In the Court of Fontaine, a new "story" is born every minute.
For example, Romaritime Harbor might suddenly swell with new ships, crewed by sailors of obviously non-Fontainian origin. Some fishmonger in Poisson might suddenly buy three months' worth of fish in a single month, or countless flyers boasting of a certain place where especially delicious fish can be found might suddenly appear in the Court...
In the eyes of a mediocre reporter or ordinary city folk, these are "independent" tales, just like there will always be waves rippling across the sea's surface — such ordinary events are barely worth paying attention to at all.
Clumsier journalists might even chase these waves, and dispiritedly end up merely following the wave's patterns, constantly pumping out "surface-level stories" of little interest.
But in Charlotte's eyes, these waves are but the superficial representation of other forces. What is causing them to crest and break? That is the story she seeks.
Perhaps it is the wild winds wailing over the surface, or perhaps they are due to the Thalatta Submarine Canyon's complex seabed topography. Of course, you can't rule out the possibility of tremors from the Elton Trench either...
These stories are the "deep dives" Charlotte desires.
A reporter should be an agile "seeker" — not a mere gauche "recorder."
This, then, is Charlotte's "work doctrine."
As to how she avoids being swept up in her "deep dives"... well, that's up to Euphrasie and her fellow citizens!
Character Story 1
Friendship Lv. 2
Charlotte was fascinated with the world around her from a young age.
The first Rainbow Rose that bloomed in the yard come spring, exceeding all others in vibrance. The children gladly padding about in puddles on the leaf-strewn streets after a storm and their hapless laughing families. The beauty of a solitary shell on the seashore, and the tiny crab surveying the world from underneath. The Blubber Profiterole she had with her family on her birthday, and the ever-so-slightly-too-deep color of the cream...
To most, a flower is a flower, a shell is a shell, and a Profiterole is still a Profiterole even if it is a bit too sweet — that's just how the world is.
But to Charlotte, these hidden "details" — only visible out of the corners of her eyes — are essential to understanding the world.
Charlotte's father, a seasoned reporter and professional nature photographer, noticed his daughter's interest in and knack for "observation." Thus, on her tenth birthday, he gave her a custom-made Kamera, its dimensions and the positions of its buttons built specially for her.
"Not all people are attentive enough to seek out and observe subtle differences, but this, Charlotte, is your unique talent."
Those were the words of her father, the "Reporter of the Idylls," Galanopoulo.
From then on, there was a little junior reporter by the senior reporter's side. This father-daughter tag team could be found on streets wide and narrow, forests and rivers alike, raising two Kameras, one large and one small, taking countless still images of moving beauty.
Even though their "interviews" always caused the gentle yet strict Mrs. Gagnepetit to nag them incessantly, Charlotte's laughter never failed to be the quickest way to make her mother stop. And as for her soiled clothes and dirtied hat, those were left to the ever-capable Mr. Galanopoulo.
To her, the whole world is a giant treasure trove.
And those pictures, for their part, are her special treasure maps.
Character Story 2
Friendship Lv. 3
Galanopoulo always emphasized one thing to Charlotte:
"A picture of sufficiently great beauty cannot be ignored."
With her consent, he sent the photos they'd taken to The Steambird. The editors were quickly taken with their photos — especially Charlotte's — and profusely praised Galanopoulo's ever-improving photography skills, reserving, just as before, prime placement for them in their publication.
Those pictures caused quite the stir when they were published, with critics stumbling over each other to flatter them, and newspaper hobbyists fighting to get copies to make their clipping collections yet more colorful and vivid.
But when both critics or fellow journalists came calling and asked how Galanopoulo advanced his aesthetic sensibilities by leaps and bounds...
The veteran reporter lightly pushed Charlotte forward, saying calmly: "Ah, such pictures are beyond me. It's all my daughter's handiwork!"
The experienced, learned ladies and gentlemen who had come knocking could not but fall silent first, before expressing surprise, and then beginning to whisper amongst themselves and even venturing a few questions.
Charlotte blinked. The bewildered adults before her seemed every bit like little insects searching for shelter in a storm, waving their antennae this way and that, crying "Where are the leaves? Where are the leaves?"
"Hey, everyone, look this way!"
The young child's cry caused them to collectively leap out of their worn skins, and everyone turned to look, only to be greeted by a custom-made Kamera and the click of a shutter.
In that moment, all of it was captured on film — the furrowed brows, quirked lips, red faces, tangled hair, and waving arms, perfectly encapsulating those panicked bugs in the storm.
The little reporter patted her Kamera and smiled toothily.
"I'll call this one... 'No, No, That Won't Do!'"
Character Story 3
Friendship Lv. 4
After Charlotte's extraordinary photography skills had made her famous, she began receiving frequent visits from manuscript writers, magazine editors, news clipping collectors, and her father's reporter colleagues. Even Euphrasie, the Editor-in-Chief of The Steambird, was amongst them.
Euphrasie was straightforward about her intent. She hoped that Charlotte would agree to become a "special correspondent" — someone who would conduct interviews and write articles in addition to taking photographs.
...However, her father, despite his usual mild temperament, was strongly against it. He did not wish for his daughter to associate with those kinds of people, either full of ulterior motives or hypocrites.
"Nature is fierce, but it is honest. Storms don't loose their fury without reason, nor do beasts bare their fangs without cause."
"But people lie — they always do. A Kamera can only capture their faces, but the lens cannot target their hearts."
He would respect Charlotte's decision, of course, but he preferred that Charlotte live a simpler, happier life, without sinking into the morass of humanity.
To Charlotte, this world was a treasure trove, and pictures her treasure maps.
But for the first time, she came to realize that this trove still harbored undiscovered "truths."
These truths were not themselves treasures, but were more akin to a procession of dark memories. Intentionally hidden, discarded, disguised, and then abandoned, with those having done so wishing that they would never be discovered, and that all events connected to them would simply end right there.
Charlotte knew that she could find them. She could dig up these truths, like digging tulip bulbs in a garden, like leading hermit crabs out of their shells, like finding pinecones hidden by squirrels.
...But she also felt like a bird glimpsing an onrushing flash flood, a cave rat foreseeing an earthquake, or a fish sensing a coming tsunami.
With great ability comes great responsibility.
One with the talent for uncovering "truth" was also responsible for bringing the "truth" to light.
The only question was, did she have the courage to do so?
Her parents responded with silence, for they knew that their daughter had already made her choice. Charlotte was old enough, and all birds are destined to spread their wings and leave the nest someday.
The next morning, Euphrasie went to work as usual, and there, waiting for her at the entrance to The Steambird, she saw Charlotte, ready with her Kamera and notepad.
"Welcome to The Steambird, Charlotte."
Euphrasie extended a hand.
"I believe the next La Verite Prize is yours to win."
Character Story 4
Friendship Lv. 5
The La Verite Prize, established and funded by The Steambird, is the most prestigious prize a Fontainian reporter can win.
Only the best of the best have ever won it: Hirailles and her tireless reporting on the investigative work of the Maison Gardiennage, the solitary Hobereau and his marine life photography honed over decades living by the sea, and of course, Dieuleveux, famed for his unbending, straight-talking nature, to the point where all threats and criticism simply bounced off his hide, never causing his quill to waver in the slightest.
And of course, the renowned genius reporter, Charlotte, has long since joined their storied number. In fact, her reporting stands out so far above the rest that she has won the prize several times in a row.
Critics have lavished her with praise, lauding her "unequaled sense of composition," "incomparably fresh angles," "unquestionable impartiality," and "unparalleled flair"...
Detractors, on the other hand, believe that her successive triumphs are the result of collusion between The Steambird and the prize selection committee. How could such a young and unorthodox reporter be showered with glory, if not so the newspaper employing her could also bask in that glow? And why else would she be so close to the committee members, anyway?
Even so, her talents are beyond doubt. As another round of selection for the La Verite prize drew near, all her colleagues believed that she was guaranteed to emerge victorious once again.
They'd seen how she infiltrated the haunts of criminal rings alone and secretly visited illegal sweatshops... For report after report, Charlotte had braved unspeakable dangers and endured unimaginable hardships to bring the truth to readers... Whether it be in her professional dedication to the profession, her masterful manuscripts, or her attitude toward reporting, Charlotte was worthy of the committee's favor.
The question on everyone's minds, really — especially those of the sponsors — was "Which one of her reports will she submit to the committee?"
It would, after all, be her ticket to the La Verite Prize, and that would make it a collectors' item of... considerable value, surely.
But to everyone's astonishment, Charlotte unexpectedly declared that her submission would be a brand-new, never-before-published report, one that would reveal some heretofore unrivaled "truth."
Dear readers, to find out, please subscribe to The Steambird and look out for tomorrow's headline!
Character Story 5
Friendship Lv. 6
"Prestige Prize Proved Perniciously Partial — The Real La Verite."
This was the headline on the day the award was to be announced.
In it, Charlotte detailed the various monetary dealings that the long-serving members of the La Verite Award selection committee had engaged in over the previous decade, various inequities in their judgments, and provided an exhaustive list of reporters and reports who had been done dirty in the process.
Her report caused an uproar in the Court of Fontaine, with countless reporters surging to the committee offices — Charlotte, of course, among them.
Amidst a broadside of shutter clicks, Charlotte unleashed a barrage of meticulously-prepared questions from a thick notebook at the dumbstruck committee members, one after another. Red and shame-faced, the gentlemen flapped their clumsy lips as best they could, only to produce explications akin to porous cheese. In the end, they had to declare the questions out of order and in violation of normal procedure, before fleeing right before the gathered reporters' eyes.
Charlotte's "report" had barely begun, though.
She continued publishing articles concerning the La Verite Award in The Steambird, even directing her pen against certain figures in the newspaper itself who had been connected to the La Verite selection committee, laying out the manner in which they had recommended reporters with whom they shared beneficial arrangements for awards, and how those reporters had returned the favors...
Charlotte's articles swept through the Fontainian media world like a tidal wave, and in response to public outcry, the Maison Gardiennage declared an official inquiry into the Award, suspending its activities and investigating all suspicious awardees.
Charlotte, for her part, temporarily lived inside The Steambird's offices, with all prospective visitors "wanting a word with her" being turned away by Euphrasie with extreme prejudice. It reached the point where the Maison Gardiennage even dispatched a guard detail to the newspaper's office entrance.
With her own hand Charlotte had lifted a huge stone that none had wanted to peek under, and the creepy crawlies that had lurked in its cracks and crevices now had to face the searing sunlight of the "truth."
The Maison Gardiennage's investigation concluded three months later. Judges who had given unjust judgment, contestants who had contended to win glory undeserved, and editors who sought to edify themselves all received their just deserts.
The La Verite Award selection committee was also wholly reorganized, now under various forms of new oversight. Once this was complete, the first thing they did was to give Charlotte the now utterly discredited award.
Of course, the trophy was but dead dross to her.
The real honor she had received was that the "truth" she had revealed in her report — and the ones that followed in its wake, of course — now shone in the sun.
"Monsieur Verite"
Friendship Lv. 4
A gift to Charlotte from her father that she carries with her to this day.
Though he still didn't wish for her to take on such complicated work, her father respected her decision to formally accept the job of being a special correspondent for The Steambird.
He commissioned a friend skilled with machinery and modifying Kameras, and made extensive modifications to that small Kamera.
For example: Making it easier to switch out the film canisters such that Charlotte could swap film with only one hand, or making the photographic compartment water, fire, impact, and explosion-proof, to the point that the Kamera's exterior casing could be utterly destroyed, yet the compartment containing the film would remain intact and unharmed...
Her father insisted on numerous modifications to which his friend initially opined, "This isn't necessary, is it...?" with a bitter smile. Nevertheless, in the end they agreed to make the modifications, including a high-powered loudspeaker that, when activated, unleashed an ear-splitting alarm, as well as a hidden self-defense system on the Kamera's side that ejected a concealed knife outward at high speed when the right button was pressed...
They also included "a shutter delay device," a "lens self-coupling setup," and more...
All the concerns and worries of her father were installed into the device along with all manner of contraptions, transforming it into an ever-reliable, unequaled super Kamera that reflected its owner perfectly.
And when the modifications were finished, Charlotte gave it a new name — "Verite."
Meaning, of course, "truth."
Vision
Friendship Lv. 6
Charlotte does not, in fact, really know just when she obtained her Vision.
Previously, she had been penning a new piece about problems in how salvage divers were treated, and had gone to interview Dollander, who employed a great number of said divers. The chubby-faced man did not seem keen on speaking the truth, and indeed was only interested in answering any questions insofar as he might redirect them. The divers he employed, too, proved quite tight-lipped.
Despite the serious damage that had been done to their lungs and eardrums, the long work hours exhausting them utterly, the decrepit divesuits they used, and the inedible food, they held their silence in front of Dollander. Their smug boss smiled triumphantly at her lack of progress.
By the next day, Charlotte had procured a divesuit through personal connections and was ready to get close to the divers in secret as they worked, and use her Kamera to capture Dollander's ill-treatment of them firsthand. They were in a titanic undersea rift, a place where it was completely forbidden to work according to Fontainian diving regulations.
After that, Charlotte did not appear at work for a good long while. All the other Steambird reporters saw was a stream of Maison Gardiennage officers coming in and out of the office, with Euphrasie uncharacteristically ruffled, working late into the night every day.
Some reporters said that they saw someone dressed in outmoded clothes, drenched and shivering as they squatted at the office entrance.
Some said that an undersea earthquake had occurred in the Thalatta Submarine Canyon, where divers employed by some fellow named Dollander had been working, and that they had avoided injury by the skin of their teeth.
Some other reporters even said that this Dollander had secretly put out a bounty for a Kamera that was said to contain pictures important to him.
Still, Charlotte did not emerge.
But reporters are most certainly not a passive lot. The Steambird's reporters began to act quietly and surreptitiously. Some utilized their personal connections to look into Dollander's business, while others followed the divers, and others still wrote pieces implicating Dollander...
With The Steambird working at full steam, it was fearsomely quick indeed, and before long an extensive report on Dollander's illicit employment practices was complete.
However, without any photographic evidence to corroborate the article, the reporters felt it was...
Just then, the doors to the main entrance were suddenly flung wide open, and in strode Charlotte, clad in rags and sans spectacles and shoes. Placing Monsieur Verite on the table, she grinned.
"I have the pictures right here!"
No questions were asked about what she'd been through. Instead, all worked as one, focusing on slotting each image into the report.
The next day, The Steambird headline was this — "Dollander: Undersea Scrooge," detailing his illegal employment practices, salary deductions, the harm done to the health of his employees, and other vile conduct. As for the article's author, it was listed as "The Steambird Reporters."
The night before that edition was to be published, Charlotte was, as always, in the printing room doing some final proofreading work.
When she finished reading the final word and put the manuscript down, she suddenly noticed that an icy-blue Vision had appeared beside her hand.
Scrutinizing it, all she could manage was to mumble a few words:
"I think we'll have to leave out this little detail..."
Namecard[]
| Charlotte: Exclusive | |
|---|---|
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Obtain: Reward for reaching Friendship Level 10 with Charlotte Description: "One, I've written an exclusive, and it's going to generate a lot of buzz for sure! Two, the newspaper said the situation is developing too slowly, so they're changing to a press release instead... Three, the person writing the press release will be in the Opera Epiclese as the defendant tomorrow, so they've decided to run my piece after all!" |
Constellation[]
| Hualina Veritas | |
|---|---|
 | Meaning: Crystalline Truth |
Quests and Events[]
Archon Quests
Story Quests
World Quests
Events
- Duel! The Summoners' Summit!
- Round 1: Commence! A Suspect Genesis
- Round 2: Roll! A Sea of New Acquaintances
- Round 3: Cards Out! Grievances Begone
- Round 4: Culminate! Chatter of Joyous Dreams
- Vibrant Harriers Aloft in Spring Breeze
Web Events
Character Mentions[]
Character Stories
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Character Voice-Overs
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Mail[]
History[]
Trivia[]
- Charlotte has the same name and a similar appearance to Charlotte from Honkai Impact 3rd.
- Charlotte is the second character to talk about wanting a Vision of a different element in one of her voice lines, the first one being Noelle. Coincidentally, both Noelle and Charlotte want an Anemo vision over their Geo and Cryo Visions respectively.
- Charlotte is the first character to have a talent that directly interacts with a gadget, the "Special Analysis Zoom Lens."
- Holding Charlotte's Elemental Skill, Framing: Freezing Point Composition, while equipping the "Special Analysis Zoom Lens" allows the Kamera to be used while in Combat and in Domains.
Other Languages[]
Character Title: Lens of Verity[]
| Language | Official Name | Literal Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| English | Lens of Verity | — |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 朗镜索真 Lǎngjìng Suǒzhēn | Clear Lens Seeking the Truth |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 朗鏡索真 Lǎngjìng Suǒzhēn | |
| Japanese | 真実を求める曇りなきモノクル Shinjitsu wo Motomeru Kumori Naki Monokuru | Unclouded Monocle Seeking the Truth |
| Korean | 진실을 쫓는 렌즈 Jinsireul Jjonneun Renjeu | Lens That Pursues the Truth |
| Spanish | La Rastreadora de la Verdad | The Tracker of Truth |
| French | Œil pour la vérité | Eye for the Truth |
| Russian | Объективная реальность Ob"yektivnaya real'nost' | Objective Reality |
| Thai | เลนส์สะท้อนความจริง | |
| Vietnamese | Ống Kính Sự Thật | |
| German | Linse der Wahrheit | Lens of Verity |
| Indonesian | Lens for Verity | — |
| Portuguese | Lentes em Busca da Verdade | Lenses in Search of the Truth |
| Turkish | Hakikatin Merceği | |
| Italian | Occhio per la verità | Eye for the Truth |
References[]
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