The following is the first draft of our protagonist Victoria Black’s character bible. Enjoy! ^_^

Motivations: Victoria Black is always motivated by two things – her own sense of justice, and self-preservation. After years of seeing the lower classes of Victorian England subjected to all kinds of ill treatment, she witnesses the Ripper’s indulgence in the worst kind of bourgeoise grotesquerie – namely the murder of her close friends and surrogate family – and has been pushed to her breaking point. She will protect and assist the unfortunates of the world first, and act to save her own skin as a kind of secondary instinct. Her sense of justice is bent towards those who are ill-favoured by fortune, resulting in a sort of morality of the have-nots a la Robin Hood.

Personality: A quiet woman with a bold nature, she acts in subtle ways until a situation forces more direct action. She will not often speak about what she is going to do – she would rather prefer to directly do it and worry about the consequences later. When forced to speak about something directly, she will often be a bit more blunt than others may be comfortable with.

Past: A daughter from a pious upper middle class family, Victoria never felt like she really fit in. Her younger sister Abigail married a clergyman at a young age and secured the family’s expectations just before their parents were killed in a shipwreck overseas. As Abigail became the default head of the family, arguments ranged wildly between the sisters. Victoria was too daring, too wild, too politically charged, and atheistic to boot. The more Abigail desperately tried to keep the family together, the more Victoria pushed away, until Victoria left the country estate to pursue a life and temporary love affair in London. When the sea captain she lived illicitly with died of consumption, Victoria was faced with a hard decision – to return home to a life she loathed (branded with shame by her sister) or to try and eke out a life in London. She chose the latter, which by gradual degrees led to an addiction with opium, and eventually prostitution.

The woman that led her down this road was Madame Ling – owner of an opium den and supplier to the once casual opiate users Victoria and her sea captain. When her captain died Victoria first sought employment in London as a governess for a wealthy family. This lasted for a reasonable amount of time, but the pay was low, and the family’s expectations high. When the mistress of the household saw how shabby Victoria’s garments had become, and how favorably Victoria spoke of democracy to her children, she threw Victoria out of the home without preamble. Victoria sank into a great depression, and ran up a considerable bill with Madame Ling. Finally – in debt and unable to find any sort of sustainable work, she let Madame Ling talk her into prostitution, and began to work in the den.

Victoria Black brought in a great deal of money to Madame Ling’s establishment. She was unusual – a clearly educated woman of moderate beauty who performed her sexual services with a certain degree of pride. Her personality immediately set her at odds with the other working girls, and to a certain degree with some of the more affluent clientele, whom she tended to disdain. Eventually she left Madame Ling’s and began to work the streets, intent on saving enough money to begin life anew in the democratic country she so admired, America.

Physical Description: Auburn-haired, angular. Beautiful like a Disney villainess. She is lithe but amply endowed, and somehow compelling. Unusual-looking is key here. She is 24 years old.

Profession: We start with her between professions – she’s just saved up enough to emigrate to America, where she hopes to start fresh – possibly in private education as a governess. However she’s just at the cusp of falling back into her old profession again (with the user’s direction). Although her customers may overwhelm her emotionally, and require her to dip into her opiates in order to handle the sexual act with a stranger, she feels a range of emotions for the men she services – from a kind of brazen camaraderie to a vague motherly affection. These men are often her fellow street-dwellers – citizens of the Twilight City. They may use her for a purely physical need, but philosophically they are her brethren, and she feels connected to them as well.

She’s quick to learn and can soon acquire pickpocketing skills, a conjurer’s set of tricks, and even a quick familiarity with explosives. She can make do and survive by quickly assessing a situation and trying to cleverly exploit it – i.e., if a crowd is gathered around a street proselytizer, she’ll more than likely be skimming the clientele from the back.