Frances Warwick
Character Summary
Name:Francesca Warwick
Social Class: Lower Class
Age: 27
Birthday: April 20, 1792 (Starting day of the RP is March 21st, 1823)
Nationality: Cuban/British
Birth Place: West Indies
Residence: The Glimmeric, London, England
Gender: Female
Education: Tutored. Reading, Writing, Arithmetic.
Income Source:
- Investments, Brothel Madame.
Native Language: English, Spanish
Appearance
Height: 5'7
Weight: 127 lbs
Build: Fit, Curvy
Eyes: Dark Brown, Piercing
Hair: Dark Brown, wavy, waist length
Skin Tone: Tan/Brown
Tattoos/Scars/Piercings: Blotched burned scar in a shape of an "L" on her left shoulder blade. A few scars and gashes on her arms and abdomen.
Personal Style: Frances, more or less, has a preference for finery, dark colors and velvet silks. As a brothel madam, she is accustomed to dress herself ‘gallantly’, befitting her profession. From jewelries, dresses and corsets, otherwise she dresses up quite sensibly. She will don over a hooded cape when she's out for a morning stroll or if she means to hide her weapons underneath.
Psychology
Tough-minded * Cynical * Opportunistic * Acquisitive * Protective * Unforgiving
Sexuality: Shamelessly Bi.
Relationship Status: Single
Personality:
At a tender age, Frances witnessed firsthand how cruel and unforgiving the world can be. Not only to a child born from slavery but merely being born a woman in this current age. Her experiences had negatively casted a shadow on the patriarchal society in general which developed her quiet contempt and mistrust towards men, specially those who hold power that she sees as a means to be abused for their own personal gains, if not now then eventually. Others may think her views are too rash, misguided even yet truly one could not really put her to blame. Never the less these experiences hardened her into the callous, hard nosed woman that she is known to be, a fighter for justice and fairness.
Living to survive, she's good at taking advantage of certain situations and would rather favor a solution that would benefit the majority, as she values equality highly. She would calculatingly seize the moment, right then and there the instant she sees a path. This attributed to her keen business sense, to which she shifts to where the lager money is not because of her mere selfishness alone but rather, a way to keep them all afloat.
There are only a few people who Frances keeps close to, and those she will give her steadfast devotion without a mind's hesitation. Frances is not always so callous as people think her to be. After she took over as the new madame, taking in young women on the streets became her first order of business. The brothel had mostly served as a shelter for troubled women above else. She always puts her girls' welfare and best interests at heart, first and foremost. If one should ever make the mistake of harming them any way, it is only fair to return the favor, only ten times as torturing. Forgiveness was never her strongest virtue. She's the type to hold grudges that could stand the test of time.
Living to survive, she's good at taking advantage of certain situations and would rather favor a solution that would benefit the majority, as she values equality highly. She would calculatingly seize the moment, right then and there the instant she sees a path. This attributed to her keen business sense, to which she shifts to where the lager money is not because of her mere selfishness alone but rather, a way to keep them all afloat.
There are only a few people who Frances keeps close to, and those she will give her steadfast devotion without a mind's hesitation. Frances is not always so callous as people think her to be. After she took over as the new madame, taking in young women on the streets became her first order of business. The brothel had mostly served as a shelter for troubled women above else. She always puts her girls' welfare and best interests at heart, first and foremost. If one should ever make the mistake of harming them any way, it is only fair to return the favor, only ten times as torturing. Forgiveness was never her strongest virtue. She's the type to hold grudges that could stand the test of time.
Habits:
- Unawarely nipping her thumb when deep in thought
Hobbies:
- Playing cards/ Gambling
- Taking an early morning stroll
- Collecting seashells
Fears:
- Losing everything she had worked for.
- Harm upon her girls, her only family.
- Succumbing to madness.
Likes:
- Perfumes
- Shiny things (gems, jewelries and the like)
- Moments of peace and quiet
- Arithmetics
- Wine
- Sunrise.
- Nature
Dislikes:
- Abusive authority
- Men who think they control/ are above everything
- Injustice
- Soulless
- Pressured into conformity
- False hopes. Being lied to.
Cards On The Table
General Skills:
- Country Knowledge(England)
- City Knowledge (London)
- Court Etiquette
- Ballroom Dancing
- Reading
- Language (Spanish)
- Deception
- Seduction (street)
- Leadership
- Disguise
- Bribing
- Pistol
Trained Skills:
- Musa - Local language of the West Indies; a mixing of African and Caribbean languages that has sprung up by the locals over the last three hundred years.
- Chane - Ability to create a Pentaone Box and utilize it
- Busarah - Skill required to create an item that can be used to damage an intended target at any distance by inflicting damage to said item. Item must contain something personal of the intended target
- Amani - South American Martial Art that refocuses damage taken and redirects it towards in the form of strikes towards the opponent; original damage is still taken but adds to the next strike towards one opponent
- Taabu - Ritual technique used to draw back a soul after it has been separated from the body by fear
- Nyo - Art of the Shadow, the use of darkness and stealth to move unnoticed
What Is On Your Person:
- Clothing - Leather bodice over velvet colored sleeves, rolled up to her forearms, velvet petticoat skirt and dark brown bustles. Knee high, heeled leather boots, dangling earrings, a jeweled ring, woven bracelets and a garnet pendant. When it's cold, she'll wear a hooded cape (which she has a variety of from furs to silks).
- Sheathed Dual daggers on her left-side hip
- -
- Holstered pistol on her right
- Hand bag containing coins, parchments.
- A tiny glass bottle of rosy perfume
- Handkerchief. Rosy smell.
- Peppermint leaves.
- 12 more rounds of spare bullets.
Residence:
- A wardrobe of clothing, dresses, shoes, jewelries etc
- Assorted materials for skills related crafting; baskets of herbs, dried bones etc.
- Office table; over it is an abacus, rolled papers/ scrolls neatly kept in a woven basket.
- A small weapons rack containing knives, hooks.
- A bookshelf, manuals during her training years
- Ornate, wooden vanity, with a bunch of womanly essentials.
- Spare pistol
- About 40 rounds of bullets
- An old wooden rosary, kept in a small case in a drawer under her neatly folded clothes.
- A torture chamber hidden behind the bookcase.
- Messenger bird; A crow named Bavmorda.
History
Family History:
There is little to no information of Francesca's family lineage as far as she herself knows. Only that her mother was a native of Cuba and her father, Richard Warwick, was a plantation owner she used to work for. She was brought up by her illegitimate father's wife Selma, after her mother's untimely death. The Warwicks are wealthy plantation owners, originally from London, until Richard moved to the West Indies and took over his late uncle's sugar plantation business. Selma could not provide Richard with a child, having known that Frances is his illegitimate daughter, she did not mind treating her like she was her own.
Your personal life:
Frances was four years old when she vividly witnessed her mother's death. Richard pushed her mother down to kneel in front of the then child Francesca, to make her watch every detail of what was to happen. Behind her mother's pleading sobs to look away, without even letting her draw a last breath she was shot from behind the head. Sadly, that mangled image of her mother was the only memory she had of her.
Her life really began when the Warwick's took her in. Her mother was a loyal slave to the Warwicks until she conspired to escape together with a handful of others. After they were caught, they were shot one by one, a way to put the others in place, as how Richard would put it. Richard couldn't care less about the young Frances, but his wife wished to adopt the child and so they did.
For the rest of her life she lived in privilege, and like any normal girl in a wealthy white family, she was well provided, groomed, tutored and disciplined. Though the Warwicks were never known for their genuine kindness. Whilst living under the Warwicks she was mainly a servant first, and a daughter second. Frances was relatively close to some of the slaves, though most of them thought of steering clear from her direction to avoid trouble. One of them, a once close friend of her late mother, was a practitioner of the West Indian arts. The young Frances was instantly fascinated, and after a few meetings she asked to be mentored. In the morning she would attend to her duties and as dawn came she would sneak out of her bedroom window and out to the woods where the slaves would gather for training, a routine she would follow for the next several years.
Years later things took a turn for the worst for the Warwicks. While Richard faced bankruptcy, the servants saw it an opportunity and revolted against their master. Avoiding all that sordid mess, they left Cuba and sailed back to London. The next two years took a toll on Richard well being, and sooner he became unstable and more violent than he ever was. After an intense argument, that is when he grabbed Frances by the neck and strangled her in a fit of rage. In the midst of the struggle Frances grab hold of the kitchen knife to defend herself and stabbed him repeatedly, not being able to stop till his blood flooded the lacquered floor. When his wife walked in to his husband's lifeless body and Frances in horror, with a knife at hand, she did not give a single blink of reaction. She simply looked down on her dead husband in her usual elegant, uncaring demeanor, "Good riddance" was all she muttered. Later that night they wrapped his body in a potato sack and buried him under the rose garden.
Selma passed a year later. Frances was left out of the will, the fortune was instead given to a cousin living in the colonies. Being left with nothing but the clothes behind her back, she had to fend for herself. Even though she had a degree of educational background not everybody was comfortable in hiring a woman, let a lone a colored one. There was no other place for a woman like her to find a decent paying job, and that's why the moment she showed her face at The Glimmeric she was instantly hired. The place was a cesspit of sin, immoralities and opium, and a then innocent Frances thought she had seen and experienced the worst. There were countless times she had wished to leave that place, but where else could she go?
The old madame, Helga was a wicked woman. She wouldn't care how her girls were treated, and badly they were, as long as the money kept flowing her way. Frances drew the line when one of the girls, a friend of her was viciously beaten to death by an unsatisfied customer, a spoiled nobleman brat who could get away with anything. He was a regular at The Glimmeric, and all the girls could agree he was vile and abusive. Helga was payed for the loss the same night, without so much as care for the poor dead girl. Frances wanted justice, and the next evening she gathered with a few girls for an elaborate revenge plan. Long story short, the girls rounded up the lone man who killed their friend, beat him half dead in the alley and later that night poisoned the Madame's tea that gave her a near fatal stroke. Nobody suspected a thing, or maybe none could've cared. Or the constable under investigation bribed much too handsomely.
Being someone who is educated, and backed up by the voting majority, Frances took over the Brothel. She did so with respect for the girls and their personal welfare. Rules had been set up, customer screenings were done regularly and instilling proper hygiene and health care for the girls. They learn to survive, stick together as they work better as a collective more than ever. Though it is true that prostitution is greatly stigmatized by the society, Frances sees to it that one day women will be treated equally and earn a great value of respect. Having a place where they can rule, control and be who they want to be is a better start than any.
What you want for your life:
Frances is an idealist at heart despite being a cynic, she still likes to believe that there is still some good in this world. She dreams of a world where people would throw away the normative and immuring ideas of women in her time. She wanted to see an age of an unbiased society to women though she herself knows they still have a long way to go in having that dream become a reality. Taking one step at a time however, she currently plans on building boarding houses for troubled young women, providing shelter and a safe haven for them.
Extras
Character Quote(s):
" The world may never see it's true virtue, if they continue to put us in shackles."
" Do not let fear hold you from enjoying the moment."
" Honestly, I don't have much use for men the likes of you."
" Ay Dios mío."
Theme Song:
Anything Else: - Cargast
- Doris the alcoholic momma bear
- The Warwicks are a catholic household. You could say Frances is once (but at times, is) catholic.
*By submitting this CS in its completion I am stating I have read all the rules for this Rp and am agreeing to follow them to the fullest with respect and courtesy. I acknowledge that I can and will be removed from the RP without warning if I break a rule or cause problems with my fellow Rpers or the GM.
Located in West End. The Strand, London
The Notebook
Frances Warwick
" The world may never see it's true virtue, if they continue to put us in shackles."
║ ☯ Neutral ║ ✿ Friend ║ ❅ BFF ║ ♡ Infatuation ║ ❤ Love ║
║ ❦ Family ║ ☣ Tense ║ ☢ Dislikes ║ ☠ Enemy ║
║ ❦ Family ║ ☣ Tense ║ ☢ Dislikes ║ ☠ Enemy ║
Richard was the figure of terror to Frances growing up. He leaves her alone most of the time, but he never passes the chance to show her how much he despises her. Could be that he sees a lot of her from her late mother. When she looks at him, Frances finds it hard to see him as a father, but instead an evil, violent man who does whatever he wants to people as if he has free reign over them. The way he treated his servants, the people she knew and grew close to; she witness them hurt, abused and killed on a regular basis. Only thing that keeps her protected is because of Selma.
Selma may not be the best maternal figure to Frances. She is cold, brash, uncaring and has a mouth of a Caribbean sailor. Yet on the outside she seem to be that way. Frances would describe her adoptive mother's cold affection as a form of "tough love", as she never was one for compassion and her hands never had that gentle motherly touch, yet Frances can see her efforts to make her grow into a better young woman. Those things alone made her realize that she does truly care, albeit in her own brash, unconventional way.
The first time she came to The Glimmeric, Helga instantly liked what she saw. "You'll be giving us an early Christmas, dear." Was the first thing she ever said to her. The Madame was a respectable figure within the community, and men of power have showered her with countless gifts. She was above them, more than they were to her. In a way Frances admired that about her. Yet her treatment with the girls would sometimes go overboard, and that one time she let one of the girls get killed, Frances could never let it pass. She got her justice when they poisoned her tea that gave her a near fatal stroke, and later on she took over her position as the new Madame.
❅ Ruby Fisher ❤
"I trust her with my life. Probably much more."
"I trust her with my life. Probably much more."
Ruby was her go to gal since she took over The Glimmeric, though their very first meeting were not exactly on friendly terms. Ruby was one of the older girls, and appeared as a sort of warden to the others and the muscle to the old Madame. Ruby used to treat her very harshly but her respect was later earned when they saw a common ground regarding Helga's tyrannical leadership, and together they plotted on overthrowing her. They grew closer ever since, and Ruby became more like a sister to her, a confidant, who she can always count on to watch her back no matter what. She has a young son living with her parents in Scotland, Ruby would ask Frances to write letters for him sometimes.
☯ Nancy Wright ☯
"She was lost, like the rest of us once were."
"She was lost, like the rest of us once were."
Nan was the newest addition to the Glimmeric family. It wasn't long ago when Frances found her being harassed on the streets one evening. The attackers ran of after she made an example to one of their friends, Frances then took in the runaway. So far she was okay with the idea of working for her, though Frances herself wasn't sure if she is really up for it. She thinks the girl has much to learn.
☯ Big Bernie ✿
"He does not speak much. Though I am grateful that he is there for us. "
"He does not speak much. Though I am grateful that he is there for us. "
Nobody really knows how long Big Bernie's been working at The Glimmeric. And he doesn't really speak much about it either, aside from a few grunts and snickers. One of the older girls heard that his mother was once a worker in the brothel and died while giving birth to Bernie. Ever since, the other prostitutes took it upon themselves to raise him, and he became a permanent, and loyal resident of The Glimmeric. A rather large, gruff, bear of a man, he's the brothel's cook, cleaner, laundry man, bodyguard a.k.a the all around housekeeper. The girls are fond of him and obviously he cared for them as well.
It was no secret that Frances had frequent dealings with the Talinks. They have a mutually beneficial relationship; the family would invest money to her brothel, Frances would provide them a place to converse their meetings and she'd hire their mercenaries to 'rough up' bad customers. Through this she had met Thalken personally though they never really interacted aside from anything business related. She could not care less about his family's notoriety as long as it benefits the brothel.
Suspicious Things
Other Clues Or Points Of Interest
