Keksalot — Roleplayer Guild

THE EMPRESS

"Every person has a goal. Some are better than others."


Name: Lady Jessica Genevieve-Flores
Group: Familia
Position: Head
Age: That's not a polite thing to ask, you know.
Appearance: Lady Jessica looks old. That is the primary and defining characteristic of her appearance, oftentimes the only one that can be safely and reasonably discerned by the outside observer under manifold layers of clothing and makeup. She was old when the city was only beginning to be overtaken by crime, filth and sin, she was old when Familia was nothing but a little gathering of bashful vigilantes discussing their plans in the basement of her manor, remained old throughout the group's long and illustrious history up to the present day and, without any doubt, will remain old for many more decades to see this precious city restored to its original pristine condition. Lady's exact age can't be determined - any official documents are outside of reach of anyone interested in the question and those that are in public access are not be trusted. Her hair color is also subject to speculation - chances are, Jessica is bald and wears a new wig and elaborate headdress for every social occasion. Empress' dark, sunken eyes, however, are quite memorable to say the least - gaze like sharp needles skewering the object of her interest and holding it in place for thorough examination, a mischievous, promising glint in their depth mesmerizing her interlocutor as if they were a prey animal facing a constrictor snake. Her eyesight is surprisingly acute for such a venerable woman, a fact not many people are aware of. 

Personality: Firstly and primarily, Empress is driven and determined. She has a dream for herself and her Familia and will see it fulfilled no matter what obstacles and adversaries she has to face on the way. She harbors nothing but love and respect for the fellow members - but only as long as they all, to the man, share her dream and vision. Slacking and half-hearted efforts are not tolerated in her Familia, loyalty and dedication to the cause are prized much more than great skill that is combined with weak will and loose morals. At the core, Empress is a gentle soul, compassionate and kind - it is that kindness and compassion for the world, for the city, for every living being in it that gives her the power and mental capacity to mercilessly purge the streets and excise the cancerous sprouts of uncontrolled violence and villainy. 
In personal conversation with people she likes - and especially with those she doesn't - Empress is surprisingly informal, displaying an unexpected lack of haughtiness and oficiality while still projecting a noble, almost royal air around her, simply through the power of truth and belief behind her every word and energetic, direct and fearless attitude.

Background: Not much is known about Jessica's past. She is old money, as far as that term can be extended to the lucky and enterprising colonists who managed to carve out a good living in the New World - her family has produced numerous congressmen, senators and governors and amassed a fortune thanks to shipping and wise investments that served them faithfully for several centuries and will surely do so for many more. As far as anyone's concerned, Empress was born during the days when Match was much less of a city than it is today and it was witnessing it grow up and bloom together with her before plunging into rot and corruption that made her take up arms in its defense - a story fit for a romantic novel, if it didn't include so much bloody murder. Nevertheless, it was how Familia originated - her and a few other brave men and women appaled at the state of their city venturing into the churning bowels of the city where no copper dared to tread with bared weapons and steeled hearts, like witch hunters of yore rooting out corruption and sin in ways that only God could forgive them for. It worked, not perfectly, not without a stutter and schism, but still worked terrifyingly well - in no time, one of the dirtiest, evilest gutters of Match became the cleanest and safest district, from which the Familia began to gently spread its tendrils, not quite powerful enough to provide absolute protection, but more than capable of enacting punishment for crimes and taking care of the most heinous sins commited beyond the reach of law. The city government and especially the forces of law enforcement are closely acquainted with the Familia, partially by the grace of Empress' status in high society and considerable financial capabilities - two parties have long since forged an unwritten agreement between them, providing all possible aid to each other in order to restore the city and safekeep it against future disasters. 
Whenever the rare honest and pure-hearted cop can not arrest a vicious murderer due to the lack of evidence, he only needs to loudly complain about it in the right place and then be at ease, knowing that the perpetrator will soon turn up in a morgue, a victim of a horrible accident involving an ice pick and several dozen stab wounds. Similarily, Familia is quietly informed about cases of serious corruption and white collar crime among the force and local government - and those likewise turn up mysteriously missing along with their associates or, more rarely, marvelously lose any desire to extend their service for any longer after a faithful meeting with some of Familia's gentler members.

Leisure: As a venerable, accomplished woman of class and high status, Jessica spends her free time on many different activities - she regularily gets visited by her many grandchildren, siblings, relatives and old friends all of whom she remembers by name and age as clearly as if they were never away from her for many months, occasionally provides one of her three mansions for charity events, bountifully donates herself, attends important social occasions herself, knits macrame and dabbles in writing, among many other things that every proper businesslady must do while simultaneously running a charity assassin organisation. Her "Fabio the Butcher King" series have been unexpectedly popular with a certain class of teenagers and housewives - a fourth publishing deal should come up in a month tops.

Extra: It might come as a surprise, considering Empress' (probably) advanced age, but she is not only an inspiring leader, cunning planner and a capable organisator but also a more than proficient assassin herself. Perhaps she had good teachers during the childhood and a lot of practice in her younger years or perhaps the faint air of mysticism and magic that surrounds the sweet old lady has some justification behind it, but whenever you don't look at her, Jessica becomes preternaturally quick. As a mild example - whenever a visitor comes up to the back door of her mansion, she is already standing behind it even before said visitor manages to knock! Likewise, one should never let her hands out of sight, because chances are the moment you blink she will have a knife in one and a gun in the other, using both in tandem with speed and killing intent that'd be startling to witness from a professional career soldier, to say nothing about a frail ancient woman. Of course, none except the most trusted and capable members of the Familia are privy to knowing so much about the Empress, and even then, it was ages since Jessica actually engaged in direct confrontation with anyone, or at least so it seems - after all, any member of the group is always happy to provide the services of a bodyguard and warden should the old lady wish to go for a walk in a bad neighborhood.

@JaceBeleren
Oh, that's an interesting topic btw. 
What exactly constitutes a lie from a Fae's point of view? Anything that actively contradicts what the fey in questions considers to be the reality?
Can a fey point at a green object and say "this is red" if he himself is aware that he is NOT calling a green object red but is instead simply saying "this is red" out loud while happening to point at a green object?

Can a fey say "I didn't order X to be killed nor have i actively instigated X's death" if he had earlier said to a person that he knows to be an assassin loyal to him to "Take very good and thorough care of X, please"? 

For example, you are offered a dessert dish at a restaurant and you don't really want it.
If asked "Would you like to have the souffle?" will you be able to say that yes, you would like to have it in order to keep the polite appearance or will you be unable to do that?
Will you be able to say "I'd find it very much enjoyable", not telling the entire truth and meaning that you'd find it enjoyable AT SOME OTHER point in time?
Will you be able to say "I would not object to a souffle", meaning that you won't really like, actively FORCE someone to not give you a souffle despite you not really wanting it?

Also important - how will various lies and half-truths of that sort be resolved and adjudicated in-game? Asking and discussing such stuff in PM with the master(s) during any conversation?

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