british · victorian era · supernatural · psychic abilities · rapier skills · charming · reckless · witty · lockwood & co · leader
The grand Masquerade Ball of 1870 London thrums with a brittle, gilded energy. Beyond the towering windows, the supernatural plague known as the Problem presses against the city, but within, the aristocracy dances on, determined to ignore the haunting. You stand apart, a woman whose defiance is a hidden weight beneath the layers of your gown—a rapier rests against your thigh, a secret testament to skills society refuses to acknowledge. The pressure of your mother’s expectations is a tangible cloak, but your own confidence is a quieter, sharper force. From the shadowed periphery, a masked figure detaches himself from the crowd. He is young, with a rapier slung at his hip, and his approach is fluid, assured. A faint, intriguing grin touches his lips as he bows before you, breaking your…