Victoria

**Key Features** | »"The Verdict" axe/Yliaster 25mm shotgun (disguised as a parasol)»Flare gun (for the Radiant Rose)»Black and yellow dress with lots of frills and bows (front part shortened to thigh length for ease of movement)»Thighhigh running boots (designed like Victorian era ones)»Head Ribbon/Mop Hat (highly fashionable)

*"Admire me and follow me."*

-Victoria towards common soldiers

## Tactical Analysis

* **Invisible Mistress:** A refined and demure, yet spirited, lady. Victoria looks rather out of place on the battlefield, in a dress more fitting for parties than combat, which she uses, with her natural charms and stealth "training" from her past as a street urchin, to become invisible to the naked eye, where she spies for the SSDS and becomes the perfect assassin of singular infantry, revealing that her parasol is also an axe with the canopy being made of a flexible material that’s tough as steel to double as a shield. She may also destroy buildings in this mode, though this may take some time. And while obviously being a lady of high standing, Victoria's athletic capabilities surpass most other commando's condition, and is known to have a better backhand than other commandoes.

* **Parasol of pain:** Victoria can also make her presence known with a grand entrance. Firing a flare gun, signalling her flagship, the "Radiant Rose", to bombard the area around her with high-explosive shells that devastates anything within the impact zone (which takes a few seconds to impact and both the commander and enemy can see to avoid friendly fire), and revealing that her stylistic parasol is also a disguised automatic shotgun firing Yliaster explosives the size of 20mm grenades, each hitting with the power of an artillery shell while being twice as small. And now publicly showing herself she shows her natural talent of charisma and courage. As a result, units in her vicinity become inspired and aim better and further, avoid and ignore most damage, and move faster.

* **I chipped my nail:** Though Victoria is normally invisible, she's not undetectable, with animals and detection systems being able to detect her if she gets too close. After which she tends to die quickly as the only armour she has is her umbrella shield (which only protects her front) and her bodice. Her grand entrance has a long cooldown between use to reload, thus her grand entrance should be conducted with a large audience.

* **Manners, Maketh, Mistress**: Once truly peeved. Victoria would switch out her dress for her custom-tailored combat ballgown that she is normally reluctant to use outside of special events (do you have any idea how hard it is to clean blood stains off fine silk), where she will actively use her charm even while hiding, with allies around her emboldened to fight harder to impress her while enemies are distracted. And to finish the look she would request the crew on the Radiant Rose to give her foes the "Golden Rose Salute", in which even deadlier Yliaster rounds are used for a bigger boom...

## Background

*"If you insist on treating me like an ordinary woman, I will treat you like an ordinary man!"*

-Victoria Before Backhanding a Landser into hospital (rumor)
**Victoria** is the official wife and retainer of Reinbert Rumok VII from the prestigious Hawtworth family and the founder/caretaker of the Hawtworth orphanage. Unknown to many, however, she was an orphan born in an orphanage within the slums. She was quickly known for her charisma, good behavior, sweet if haughty demeanor, and having adopted up fifty children (who will take the heir to Rumok if Victoria doesn’t bear an heir) compared to her former persona she is barely recognizable as the girl she originally was.

Her original name is unrecorded, some even theorized she wasn't even given a name, the closest to a name being her nickname "Rosula" for her beauty that hides a rather thorny attitude. What is known to those knowing her true origin, she was originally a thief girl from the lower classes of society. Roaming most of the time on the streets of London, the time after World War II has not been kind to her. Without parents who died in the war serving on the Brittanian front when she was a baby, she lived her young years in a state-funded orphanage. The cruel upbringing quickly taught her the unfairness of life and she wished for the day to finally leave this hellhole.

Turning into a rebellious person merely to survive the days at the age of eight, she became a thief by night. She and many in her group loved the stories of Robin Hood, the avenger of the weak and helpless, and started stealing from the rich to give some to the poor. Hiding the rest of the loot from the officials and orphanage workers, they landed a few very successful coups in rich mansions and continuously improved their methods. Until one day when they overestimated themselves.

Trying to steal from a man named Reinbert Rumok VI, Victoria and her gang went into his mansion unnoticed - at first. Going around the guards, they tried to steal Reinbert's treasure. On the way out, Rosula ran into the mansion owner's son, only a year or two older than her, Reinbert VII. Pulling her parasol (whose tip had a retractable axehead), she tried to intimidate him to flee, but he pulled out a sword from his cane and both got into a duel, ending with him disarming her through a cunning ruse. Running away without her loot, she noticed the police were about to raid her hideout. Without a choice, she told everyone to scatter and went back to the orphanage.

Four years would pass since that day, and soon the young Rosula and her gang, still orphans, would use their old skills, polished over the years, to steal from the rich to help other orphans. Until, in a repeat of the past, she would overestimate herself yet again when trying to steal from the Hawtworth mansion.

Attending the annual masked gala under the disguise of a similar-looking noble girl, whom she left back in her house bound and gagged, she would mingle with the guests while her crew would steal the mansion. It initially went smoothly, including her dancing with one of the masked guests, until they reached the last safe, which only Rosula was skilled enough to unlock, and she faded away from the crowd, or so she thought...

But once she had unlocked the last safe she was found by the masked man she danced with. Taking out her parasol she ordered her crew to flee as she fought the man to ensure no one knew, but to her surprise, the man was a skilled duellist when he revealed a sword within his cane, fighting with a style she thought she had seen before. The duel lasted longer than she liked, but worse it had alerted the guards, which ended with the both of them breaking off the other's mask.

And to Rosula's shock, the masked man was none other than Reinbert VII, the same man she fought four years ago. Safe to say Reinbert was shocked that the thief was the same woman he dueled, and secretly fell in love with, four years ago.

Taking advantage of Rosula's shock Reinbert overpowered and restrained her as the mansion security and police came to arrest her, and told her that her accomplices were also captured, with light bruises for resisting. She and her gang were hauled away to prison.

Normally she, and her team, were to be executed for stealing from one of the major families. But, thanks to her skills and Reinbert VII's persuasion, Rosula was sent to the Hawtworth dungeon where she was interrogated. And being impressed by her skills, plus the support of Reinbert, Hawtworth proposed that she would be the body double for their heir/Reinbert VII arranged wife, Victoria Hawtworth, due to their similar age and appearance. She would agree on exchange for the freedom of her comrades, for which they obliged with her crew, despite her insistence against it, choosing to rejoin her as retainers of the Hawtworth. And once the deal was made she became the body double for Victoria Hawtworth, whose first act upon meeting her was giving her a name, Anastasia.

Over the next six years afterward, Anastasia would be trained by the Hawtworths to be Victoria's retainer and protector, the skills she had in her youth further polished by professional trainers. And, to her own surprise, she would grow closer to Victoria and her older brother Vincent, likening them to the siblings she didn't know she wanted, developed a friendship with the ambassador of Japan and Reinbert’s bodyguard Suzume, and realised she had feeling for Reinbert VII, once an enemy of hers and now her ward fiancé, which she initially denied, seeing as how he’s to marry Victoria, until Reinbert confessed and Victoria approved (since her marriage with Reinbert was completely political), but as the body double of Victoria, Anastasia and Reinbert's relationship had to be a secret, even towards Victoria and Reinbert's family due to the potential scandal. But outside of that small issue, it would seem that Anastasia had found her happiness. But everything would change when Anastasia and Victoria turned eighteen.

On the last day before Victorias was to be politically married to Reinbert. She, Reinbert, and Anastasia chose to celebrate one last day of freedom, with military escorts of course, strolling through the streets and going to various parties. But when nightfall came, as they were returning to the villa with their escorts, they got ambushed by the Domain forces, intending to end the lives of Victoria and Reinbert, hopefully weakening the strength of the SSDS.

The trio had survived the Domain ambush, and despite Anastasia and the remnants of the guards, including her old crew, being outnumbered five to one she managed to rally them to fight and protect Victoria and Reinbert, grabbing a shotgun and axe from a dead guard she charged forth, shocking the Domain assassins. Her bravery and charm had rallied the guards to get up and fight, giving them time for SSDS reinforcement to relieve them. But before the reinforcement arrived the Domain launched a final desperate attack, covering the area in a smoke cloud that stunned Anastasia, her last vision was witnessing Victoria leaping in front of her before they were gunned down by the Domain.

Through Victoria's sacrifice, Anastasia survived, if heavily injured. But Victoria was barely clinging to life and Vincent, in an effort to save his beloved sister, used a blood seal to transfer Victoria's soul into a suit of armour, losing his right arm in the process due to the law of equivalent exchange. Once Anastasia fully recovered and was ready to reveal that she survived and go home, Victoria, now a soul bound in a suit of armour, came to see her. And once Anastasia cried her eyes out and apologised to Victoria for what had happened she would be asked a question as Victoria handed her the documents to explain how she survived, while making sure she was honorably discharged for valiantly protecting Victoria despite failing. Or she can trade places with her, the "story" being that thanks to the sacrifice of her bodyguard "Anastasia" Victoria would save that brave guard by putting her in a special suit of armour/life support system.

Anastasia knew she could return from hiding and show that she survived, and with the ironclad report made she could retire early. She could leave the dangers and live a life of comfort, while still being in a secret relationship with Reinbert, even if he is to eventually marry a noble and bear an heir.

Or she could take Victoria's place while her dear friend would take her name and be by her side as her bodyguard, though her life would still be in danger from court politics and assassinations. But in her new position, she could reform the SSDS so that orphans won't have to go through the pain she went through and work within the court with Reinbert to rebuild the SSDS to be better from within. And she and Reinbert can publicly announce their love in the marriage.

In the end, Anastasia chose sacrifice herself that day, entombed within a metal suit from protecting Princess Victoria, while the real Victoria would become "Anastasia", Victoria's most loyal bodyguard. The marriage between Victoria Anastasia and Reinbert VII was a bittersweet affair. Though the both of them were finally able to show their love it came at the cost of Princess Victoria, a sister Rosula didn't know she wanted, and a best friend for Reinbert, now living in obscurity unable to even feel anything due to her condition.

But in the years after the tragedy. Victoria as she was now named matured into a fine lady, slightly arrogant as it chick for a woman of her status, and of course became leader to the troops, fighting to honor the name of the Princess she grew to love. Her flying flagship, and Reinbert's wedding gift, the "Radiant Rose" heralding her arrival, with her old crew by her side as the ships crew.

As of now, her official status in the SSDS has never been released, but rumors were quick to sustain after a short time, although most are commonly viewed to be blunt, dumb, and plain ridiculous:

* **Commando?**: Rumors go around that Victoria is actually a Commando within the SSDS, this is of course nonsense, no lady with a fine taste would kill people, and the rumor she was spotted near Allenfort is near-impossible.

* **Tea-party?**: it is rumored that Suzume is friends with Victoria, this has never been confirmed, and no facts around these myths have ever been found. It is confirmed that Victoria is capable of piloting Suzume's knightframe (though not without issues). how this has been confirmed is utterly unknown. Clayduckshooting at the tea party perhaps?

* **Hard lady**: there has been more than one rumor going around that Victoria is capable of being equally hard as stately, although most SSDS peasants believe (correctly) that she does care for the forces under her command. (again, we have the commando rumor springing up)

* **Cane Club**: another popular rumor is that her parasol is steel-plated, allowing her to deal severe concussions with a blow on the head. unlike the other rumors this could actually be true, after all, a woman has to defend herself. However the other rumour that her parasol is also an axe and holds a Yliaster shotgun is utterly ridiculous

## Known History

* Repelled an Xian attack along with her friends when they were dining in a high-society parter along with Victoria's butler and her socialite friends.

* Managed to clear a Spartakus bunker by being catapulted into the roof. The Spartakus Troopers inside were too shocked to defend themselves afterward.

* With only a megaphone and her charisma, she made the entire population of Manado defect to the SSDS overnight.

* Managed to convince Maya to stop shooting for a few seconds.

* Is one of the only people in the world that Sir Matthews does not want to strangle.

## Development Status

Concept. Briefly developed as a transwoman who looks a bit like Violet Evergarden back as the second Industrial Guild iteration, a SEA faction (never mind the unintentionally racist/colonialism vibes by having Southeast Asia, a prominent colony of the British Empire, having Victorian aesthetics and completely ignoring the culture of SEA). Now with the new, new, rewrite as the SSDS commando, whose second lore rewrite doesn't fit, has been given her old lore back when the Industrial Guild was a British faction, albeit rewritten a bit. Her current incarnation, and looks, are based on Navia from *Genshin Impact*.