InsaneJournal

Aladdin was an orphan from a very young age. He raised himself on the streets for several years, until he was scooped up by the foster care system and placed with a family. Though he did well in school, he still spent most of his free time running around town on his own, finding all the secret routes and back alleys of the city. As a result, he knows it better than almost anyone else. Resourceful, funny, and kind, he really is a 'diamond in the rough,' even if all he can afford is a tiny apartment on the first floor of the building. He's friendly with everyone, and has no real enemies to speak of.

Always at the top of his game, Arthur Holmwood has been the most popular, conventionally charming man in any room he walks into. And not only is he well-liked, his popularity is almost disgustingly well-deserved. Kind, steady, and good, with a comfortably wealthy background and an easy smile, it's no wonder that he's never had trouble getting anything he wanted--until he came across the impossible Lucy Westenra, that is. Now he's set out to catch the one that got away.

Renfield has spent most of his life seeking the secret to life eternal. He was briefly treated by John Seward under the suspicion that there was an organic cause for his eccentricities. He has followed rumors to Bellum Letale, and plans to spend his time in the building seeking out information to help him in his quest.

A woman formerly of exceptional connections and resources, Miss Havisham was left at the altar and has since become embittered and (some say) slightly dotty. She has a Must-Have store of money, enough to hire the annoyingly determined Lucy Westenra, but she certainly doesn't live in any of the top apartments. She hopes to make Lucy Westenra successful in the art of breaking hearts, but that might be more difficult than she imagines.

A trusted member of the clergy, Claude Frollo is not what he seems. In fact, if you took his fingerprints, you’d find they don’t match up at all with those of the harmless Monsignor he claims to be - rather, they tie back to countless murders in the area (including Mary Morstan’s father and the victim used for The Beast’s blackmail). His claims his residence in Bellum Letale is approved by his organization (there is talk of the devil living the catacombs, you know), and he has taken up a position at a local church. He knows Esmeralda's secrets, and he is not afraid to exploit them - in fact, he’s counting on it, especially if it wins him Quasimodo as a willing accomplice.

Born to wealth, Arthur Kemp pursued molecular genetics as a course of study because he wanted to be famous, not out of any true love for science. Unfortunately, he tried to take credit for The Invisible Man's work during college and everything backfired on him. Now, he's destitute and out for revenge, and the old adage 'a little knowledge is a dangerous thing' could have been created precisely for him.

Accustomed to making her own way in the world, Jane Eyre has recently left her job as a governess to a judge’s family. She's found it extremely difficult to find a new position, however, and she can't afford to move out of Bellum Letale, even though her former, hated employer, Edward Rochester, lives there. Though she lives on the lower floors, Jane's situation is becoming increasingly desperate, and she's almost ready to resort to desperate measures. She’s hoping that her old school friend, Rapunzel, can offer some useful advice before she has to resort to turning to her old employer for help.

A moody, glowering dark-and-handsome type, Edward Rochester is a retired judge (who once handled The Snow Queen’s incident), father, and divorcee who has relocated to Bellum Letale to distance himself from the past embarrassment. He's trying to ignore the plight of the stalwart Jane Eyre, who knows enough about his past to make him treat her cruelly, even while he tries to help her (financially) in secret.

Born to a Midwest military family and then raised in India until s/he was ten, Bagheera was brought home by a rich Midwest family who owed a debt to his/her mother (aunt of Irene Adler). Now, having run through his/her family’s wealth for the cause , s/he has been taking a more hands on approach against animal captivity (hopefully with Mowgli’s help), and the fight has brought him/her to New York and Shere Khan’s zoo.

Baloo has loved animals since he started bringing strays home during preschool. Unfortunately, his mother was estranged from her family, and Baloo never had the money to go to school and study the way he would have liked. Having recently relocated to New York, he’s taken a low-paying job at Shere Khan’s zoo (though he does not know that the decrepit facility is a front for Shere Khan’s scientific research), and he’s trying to find his uncle (Wendy’s father), whom he has never met.

Mowgli was barely a month old when he was kidnapped from an unwatched stroller in the park. The woman who took him, a recluse who lived alone in the woods, spent most of her time caring for the forest animals that lived in and around her shack. Mowgli’s only company the animals the woman loved. He was rescued when he was four and thereafter raised by an eminent child psychologist. Aggressive speech therapy and special tutors helped him catch up to an appropriate level of development, but he always found that he related better to animals than people-perhaps because he could speak their language. He eventually majored in zoology, a field that allowed him to spend as much time as possible around the creatures he loved best, and in that field he met Akela and Bagheera. Though he has thought occasionally of taking on the massive challenge of tracking down his biological family, the sheer impossibility of it has always deterred him--hence, he has no idea that Sleeping Beauty is his relative.

The coquette to end all coquettes. Katrina Van Tassel has always taken what she wanted without exception. Everything, that is, except for The Hessian. Still stinging from the damage he did her while he was in the military, Katrina Van Tassel has come to Bellum Letale seeking revenge for past wrongs, and she’s fairly certain the sweet Ichabod Crane will help her achieve her goal. And with her cousin, Meg Giry, in the building she can’t lose.

The illegitimate daughter of a drug lord and a prostitute, Cosette has neither recollection of her life before she lived with Jean Valjean, nor any idea that she is adopted. Her childhood was spent moving from place to place with her very protective 'father' and she is glad to be settling down for once.

Jean Valjean did petty errands for those who roamed the streets of LA until he witnessed one of the area's gang leaders beat a woman to death on the street and leave her body beside her young daughter. Horrified, Jean Valjean killed the gangster and escaped with Cosette, who he raised as his daughter. They moved around regularly, keeping out of reach of both the gang and Javert, but Jean Valjean's business has now brought him to New York, where the city, he hopes, will also offer security.

Marius has always kept his nose clean and his shoes polished. He grew up in a white-washed neighborhood, to a normal, middle-class family, and nothing ever happened to him. His life was, for all intents and purposes, perfect. Until he met Eponine, that is. She wouldn't give him the time of day, and he's determined to make an impact on the woman by infiltrating her dark world. If he only has eyes for Cosette once he gets there, well he can hardly help that, can he?

There’s money to be made in arson, a fact that The Little Match Girl knows only too well. Born on the streets, she was taken in by Rumpelstiltskin when she was very young, and the older man taught her the art of faking an electrical fire and causing untraceable explosions. She’s always followed The Pied Piper around like a puppy, and she’s drawn to his music more than she is to her own flames. Her respect, however, is all for her savior.

Always an inquisitive child, Little Red Riding Hood wandered away from her parents on a camping trip when she was five to go exploring. She stumbled upon a Giancoma camp, and it resulted in her parents’ death at the hands of the Mafia Family. After the incident, she was raised in the foster system that the Big Bad Wolf, Rose Red, Snow White and Bear had recently left behind. The Woodcutter, who turned a blind eye to her difficulties in the system, is someone she cannot forgive.

The Woodcutter’s mother ran the foster home that the Big Bad Wolf, Bear, Rose Red and Snow White lived in during their teens, and he always considered himself a step above the children in the system. By the time Red Riding Hood moved into that same foster home years later, long after the Big Bad Wolf, Bear, Rose Red and Snow White had left and moved on with their lives, The Woodcutter didn’t want to deal with another lost kid. He realized his mother’s shortcomings, but instead of acting on them, he left. Now grown, he works with children forgotten by the system, and he’s starting by finding Red Riding Hood.

Uncle to Peter Pan and Gretel, Hook is a gruff man and a sailor by trade. His wife and child died in an accident years ago, and he's remained largely removed from his family since then. The call that his nephew, Jack Hollis, had abandoned his brother and sister in New York with no guardian was unexpected (not to mention unwanted). Never one to shirk his responsibilities, Hook has (reluctantly) agreed to move to the city and care for the children.

The Pied Piper has had a gift for music since birth. As a teenager, he ran away from a perfectly normal (read: boring) home, and he found danger and excitement in the form of fellow teen, Rumpelstiltskin. Now an adult, he’s perpetually under the thumb of the man, and the fact that Rumpelstiltskin can grant his every wish has everything to do with it. As for The Little Match Girl, he’s not impressed by her skills, so she can just stop trying to get his attention.

Mr. Darcy is no one’s idea of a romantic hero. He’s as impossible as he is intelligent, and he thinks himself better than almost the entirety of the New England set he grew up with. An old school friend of The Beast and Bagheera, he runs a struggling Hollywood production company (one that fights to fund a number of nonprofit, independent projects). Elizabeth Bennet, however knows nothing about his altruism, a fact that’s only too obvious in the unauthorized biographical sketch she’s working on of him. The fact that she’s strangely blind to Wickham’s dishonorable intentions toward her frustrates Mr. Darcy for reasons he’d prefer not to address.

An impoverished screenwriter and poet, Wickham’s interest in Scheherazade was always purely monetary - at least it was in his teens when he tried to court the younger woman. Lately he spends less time writing poetry and more time romancing the bookworm girls who frequent Scheherazade’s bookstore, girls easily won over by the prospect of having a moody sonnet written about them. Elizabeth Bennet is one of the few women he sees there who has managed to resist his charms so far, but he’s determined to win her over, even if it takes an entire screenplay to do it. Whether or not he’d stick by her after the conquest, however, remains to be seen, especially with Scheherazade in the picture.

Elder Charming is the identical twin brother of Younger Charming. He's dated The Little Mermaid, Rapunzel and Snow White, and he thinks he is the most charming of the Charming brothers. He refused to live his life toiling for his father's corrupt business overseas. When he was in college, he made a deal with his younger twin, promising his brother the inheritance if he took his place. Now his brother is back and looking for his end of the bargain, but Elder Charming neither wants to run his father’s corrupt business nor give up the money.

Younger Charming is the identical twin brother of Elder Charming. He's dated Rose Red, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella, and he thinks he is the most charming of the Charming brothers. He’s recently been working overseas, bloodying his hands and toiling in harsh conditions in place of his Elder brother, and now he wants to switch roles. His brother, however, has been ignoring his increasingly irate questions about when he’s going to follow through on his end.

Puss in Boots is a bit of a rogue, but he manages to be charming enough that he pulls it off. He's a terrible flirt with a sharp wit and equally sharp clothes. The Big Bad Wolf owes him a favor, and there's something about his nature that appeals to The Wicked Witch and The Baba Yaga.

Maid Marian, A victim's rights activist, Maid Marian is doing her best to drive her old friend Robin Hood up the wall with her flirtations, but she's decided she can never act on her deeper feelings for him - even if he is devastatingly attractive, he's a thief and completely callous toward the feelings of others. Maid Marian has standards, you see, and she isn't willing to compromise them - not even for a pair of pretty eyes and a wicked smile

Fallen from a great deal of money in the recent economy, Robin Hood is an absolutely brilliant salesman. In the past years he has discovered that his charisma is put to use in a new field--conning people who don't deserve their excess of money out of it. He has been slipping much of his profits to local charities, enjoying the thrill of the chase and the raptures of the poor who adore him.

Having spun so many lies that even she is confused by them, The Miller’s Daughter has a secret that only Rumpelstiltskin knows - her name. The only surviving witness to a violent crime, The Miller’s Daughter was placed in the Witness Protection Program when she was very young (something she has never quite recovered from). Recently befriended by The Pied Piper and The Little Match Girl, The Miller’s Daughter knows better that to take them into her confidence, no matter how sweet they seem.

A spy who caters to foreign entities needing eyes and ears on U.S. soil, Mary Morstan is hardly trustworthy. She has spent her life moving from city to city, always moving on when anyone got too close, and it has made her independent to the point of aloof, an asset in her government job. Even after so many years, she will not give up her lifelong search for her father’s murderer (Claude Frollo). After her arrival in New York, she’s was hired by an anonymous employer to report on Dr. Watson’s weaknesses/allies (including Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler). Odd how the reports keep finding their way into the hands of Professor Moriarty, isn’t it?

Exceptionally intelligent and astute, the learned Sherlock Holmes tends to intimidate those around him with his brash, inconsiderate taste for knowledge. Sherlock Holmes is impetuous and his personal habits leave a lot to be desired, so he's not a popular neighbor despite his success in private and public investigative work. For reasons known only to him, he's considering leaving the profession. Doctor Watson, however, plans on dogging his every step until he changes his mind.

Another child of the kind foster family that also took in The Big Bad Wolf, Snow White and Rose Red, Bear has always been gruff with a hard exterior. Inside, however, he’s as kind as they come. His family abandoned him at a rest stop without warning one day when he was three, and they never returned. He’s been searching for them ever since, to no avail. Bear has always been good at taking care of himself, and his skills at breaking and entering certainly contributed to all the help Snow White and Rose Red have received. Despite his closeness to the sisters, he and former foster-brother The Woodcutter have never seen eye-to-eye on anything, including The Big Bad Wolf’s obsessions.

In all of his life, The Boy Who Learned Fear has never been scared. It worried his parents to no end, and they took him to countless psychiatrists and specialists in his childhood. When he finally left home, they were glad to see him go, because others feared him, even though he feared nothing.

Dorothy grew up on a farm, and was perfectly content to live out the rest of her days in the country. Until, that is, a tornado destroyed her family’s home. Now she’s been sent to the city to work for some relatives, trying to raise sto help her family rebuild their house before they lose their land. Though the aunt and uncle in question are running a much less legitimate business than she first thought, she’s staying on in New York all the same, too desperate to help her family to turn her back on them under any circumstances. She managed to make a bad impression on the Wicked Witch from day one, but Glinda thinks she’s just precious.