The Fearsome Five
The protagonist and main character of the Elyssaverse, Elyssa has made a name for herself in the New York fashion scene as a talented and artistic photographer, whose film photography captures a feeling of gritty realism in an increasingly digital world. She is the owner of Prism Studios, a photography studio built from the ashes of a former garment factory on a quiet side-street of the SoHo neighborhood in Manhattan. Elyssa is currently married to Harper Quinn. A proud transgender woman, Elyssa built her identity through the “ballroom” scene of New York and also throughout college, being inspired partially by her grandmother Joan Weiss. She is also a mentor figure to Selene.
Bubbly and quick-witted, Cindy is one of Elyssa’s closest friends and a major partner in the daily operations of Prism Studios. Cindy combines beauty with intelligence as one of the main models for Elyssa’s photography contracts while also being a genius with technology, managing the studio’s online presence as well as any computerized technology needed for Elyssa’s ambitious projects.
The yin to Cindy’s yang, Lorena’s biting sarcasm is as dark as her gothic style. She is fiercely loyal to her friends though, and is the first one to come to the support of Elyssa or Selene when they are having a bad day. She is an artist with a makeup brush, serving as the primary makeup artist for Prism Studios. She is rarely seen without a cigarette clasped between her manicured fingernails and often engages in verbal sparring matches with Vivienne.
Moving through life with effortless grace and precision, Vivienne is the billionaire heiress of a vast fashion and business empire. A chance encounter and an unplanned photograph at one of her gala events brought her into contact with Elyssa, Lorena, and Cindy, who introduced an element of gritty reality and chaos into her perfectly-planned world. Since that point, she has become the group’s connection to the high-society world of New York. She harbors a secret crush for Lorena, often lacing flirtation into her poised responses to Lorena’s barbs.
Kind, innocent, and gentle are three adjectives that immediately come to mind for describing Selene. Selene is a young transwoman who looks up to Elyssa and the rest of the Fearsome Five as her found family. Her sheltered upbringing in rural Pennsylvania means that Selene can be naive to the world at times, but her innocent remarks always earn a smile and a laugh from the other members of the Five.
The Supporting Cast
If Selene is the picture of innocence, Harper might just be her polar opposite. This rebellious lesbian first met Elyssa in college, while studying to become a fashion designer. The two women became practically inseparable throughout college, often sharing cigarettes during tense study sessions, followed by romantic and steamy dates. Now married and living together, Elyssa and Harper still maintain some of their old college traditions.
Larger than life, The Curator is a mysterious supernatural being who has taken interest in Elyssa’s life (much to her annoyance). As the immortal master of the Hall of Time, The Curator has the ability to warp time and distort reality at will, while also transcending the very concept of gender. Their interactions with Elyssa range from antagonistic standoffs to mentoring and protection depending on their mood at that particular point. The Curator views Elyssa as their greatest challenge of any mortal being to tempt into joining them in the Hall of Time, while Joan Weiss is their greatest triumph after she willingly accepted their offer of immortality.
Rising to prominence in 1930s Hollywood after first gaining fame as a burlesque dancer in the 1920s, Joan embraced the vamp persona that she was often cast in, often starring in gritty crime dramas and romance movies during the era of Film Noir. As her film career began to fade, she found herself in an unhappy marriage to New York investment banker Fredrick West, making her Elyssa’s grandmother. Joan’s only comfort during this period of her life was the frequent visits by The Curator. At the end of her mortal life, terminally ill with lung cancer, Joan accepted an offer by The Curator to ascend to immortality as a resident of the Hall of Time, seeing her youth restored and her cancer cured by the supernatural being. Her ascension has allowed her to visit her granddaughter Elyssa, whom she sees as the true heir to her legacy.
An expert hairstylist and tattoo artist who runs her own salon in SoHo close to Prism Studios, Lexi is the main stylist to the Fearsome Five. Being around Elyssa and her friends has made Lexi used to strange encounters in her shop, such as sudden appearances by The Curator during Elyssa’s appointments, or finding the ascended Joan Weiss (whom she is a major fan of) suddenly sitting at her salon station.
Owner of the Maison Valencia boutique, home of secondhand runway-worn designer clothing and artisan pieces from up-and-coming new designers, Marlene spent the early parts of her career as a stylist for the stars. Hollywood actresses, supermodels, and rock stars all used Marlene’s services. Tired of the road, the Brooklyn native opened her shop close to the college where Elyssa was studying photography. Marlene’s reputation in the fashion community helped to build Elyssa’s first book of clients after she took Elyssa under her wing.
The West Family
Elyssa’s mother is the only other member of the West family, besides Joan, to have supported Elyssa’s transition. Back in the 70’s, Marie aspired to be an artist, and was an active member of the underground art scene that flourished in SoHo during that time period, squatting in an abandoned garment factory that served as both her loft and makeshift studio. Seduced by Fredrick West Jr., who played the part of the “rebellious youth” perfectly, Marie would later find out that her husband was just as controlling as his father. In an ironic twist, however, Fredrick had purchased the abandoned factory in a bid to woo Marie, later leaving the deed to the property forgotten in a trunk in the attic of the West household. That same deed would later be inherited by Elyssa with the rest of the trunk, thus becoming Prism Studios and Elyssa’s real loft. Marie would then move in to her daughter’s building on a different floor than Elyssa and Harper, finally finding happiness after divorcing Fredrick.
Devilishly charming and equally manipulative, Fredrick West Sr. was a real-estate tycoon in 1940’s New York who was perfectly positioned to charm Joan Weiss as her star was beginning to fade. That charming exterior hid a controlling personality, however, and the free-spirited Joan was reduced to the role of “trophy wife” for the business mogul. Fredrick Sr. never really got to know his granddaughter, passing away before Elyssa’s transition, knowing her only as his grandson Ethan.
Inheriting his father’s company and manipulative tendencies, Fredrick Jr. was even more controlling than his father was, while also overseeing a major expansion of the West family fortune through their real-estate dealings. Delighted at first to have two potential heirs to the West family name through Fredrick III and Ethan, Fredrick Jr. was horrified to discover that his younger son was transgender, disowning the young Elyssa on the spot and writing her almost entirely out of the family will. Fredrick Jr. only relented to allow Elyssa to have the trunk in the attic after pleading from Marie, concluding that the possessions of his “mean” mother Joan (whose spirit was broken by Fredrick Sr.) and Marie’s items in the trunk were “worthless women’s junk”.
With all of the arrogance but none of the charm of his father and grandfather, Fredrick West III is the current head of the West family’s real-estate empire and sole inheritor of the family fortune. Fredrick III is a cold and calculating businessman, riding as much on his family connections and legacy as much as his own skills in negotiation. He runs the company with an iron fist, frequently berating his employees. He also will never hesitate to throw a mean-spirited jab at his sister Elyssa, whom he barely acknowledges, while also being jealous of her success and the circle of friends that she has built all on her own.
Elyssa’s College Friends
Flamboyant to an endearing degree, Julian and Harper often shared the same classes in college as they both studied fashion design. Julian’s quick humor and fashion design skills also made him a natural fit for the world of drag, where he performs as Juliette.
A true “granola girl”, Sienna is often amused by the antics of her more outgoing friends, especially the flamboyant Julian and the brash Harper. A traditional artist, Sienna has recently been taking lessons from Marie, who has promised to teach her the things about art that “aren’t taught in art school.”
Pine Hills Characters
A contract for a scientific research project studying tornadoes in the Appalachian region that needed good photographs of the lifecycles of the tornadoes would bring Elyssa to this sleepy Ohio steel town. After a nasty EF-3 ravaged the town, Elyssa would devote herself to helping to rebuild the town, making friends with the residents of the rural town. Elyssa would later return to the town again to spearhead the rebuilding and restoration of the town’s abandoned amusement park.
Star of stage and screen in the Golden Age of Hollywood, Marjorie would fall under the tutelage and become fast friends with Joan Weiss after their first backstage encounter. Unlike Joan, she would find happiness in her life after Hollywood, marrying steel tycoon Harold Marsh and moving to the sleepy town of Pine Hills after the two first met at a charity event when Marjorie was still an active star. The non-linear nature of the Elyssaverse due to manipulations by The Curator would lead Marjorie to two different fates after moving to the town. In one timeline, Marjorie lived a quiet life after giving birth to her daughter Evelyn and eventually passed away long before Elyssa came to Pine Hills. In another timeline, however, The Curator took a liking to Marjorie and extended her life, allowing her to become the mayor of Pine Hills and eventually meeting Elyssa in person, whom she gifted one of her vintage gowns to in preparation for the town’s Revival Festival.
A successful and popular country singer, Hank Latrobe was invited by Elyssa to perform at the Pine Hills Revival Festival (to celebrate the town’s rebirth after the tornado). Hank and Elyssa would have a brief whirlwind romance after she impressed him with her singing ability during the finale of the festival. They would later part ways amicably after Harper came back into Elyssa’s life. The two would remain friends, however, and Elyssa and Harper frequently attend his concerts.
The daughter of Marjorie Vale and Harold Marsh, Evelyn is a kind middle-aged woman who, in one timeline, is the mayor of Pine Hills. In this timeline, Evelyn was extremely grateful for Elyssa’s actions in helping to rebuild her town. As a token of her gratitude, Evelyn would gift the “city girl” an antique trunk containing her mother’s signature emerald gown for Elyssa to wear to the Revival Festival.
A second-generation steel tycoon, Harold Marsh’s Marsh & Company Works is the beating industrial heart of Pine Hills, providing most of the jobs and powering the town’s economy. Harold’s forward-thinking approach to steelmaking technology would ensure that the mill would remain operational well into the 21st century, still keeping the town alive long after he passed away. Unlike the Wests, Harold’s charm was matched by his kindness, and he, Marjorie, and Evelyn had a happy life as a family together. In addition, he treated the workers of his mill well, ensuring that Pine Hills was a pleasant place for them to live, even borrowing a page from Milton Hershey’s book and commissioning an amusement park for the entertainment of his workers and their families. In fact, he would first meet Marjorie at the dance hall at the park.
