Name: Lola Sweetly

Nickname/Title: Lolly

Age: 19

Birthplace: Slums, London

Sexuality: Whatever pays.

Play-By: Hera Hilmar





Occupation: Lola, like so many others has fallen into the only occupation she can to put food in her belly. Lola is a whore or 'Fallen-Woman' if you want to be pretty about the terminology.

Physical Description & Personality: Lola is light. A darling young woman, having only just passed the cusp of womanhood, it could be said that she has yet to grow fully into her figure but in reality, she has done all the growing she is likely to do. Lola does not possess those voluptuous womanly curves that many Ladies do. She is rather slender and a little on the small side. Lucky to reach the height of many Men's shoulder's she doesn't stand tall and statuesque. It is neither her raging sexuality nor her elegance that draws your eyes to her as she possesses little of either. Lola will capture the hearts and minds of others because she is youthful and pure.

A spring shower, a ripe peach, a glass of warm spiced wine and the feeling of moist earth beneath your feet. These are but some of the ways that people have described Lola in the past. She is jovial, spirited, carefree and delightful. A sprite, a nymph an angel sent to Earth to heal the world with her smile. Lola always seems to be in good spirits and it shows in the bright blue of her eyes and the pale pink of her lips. Lola possesses a young face with skin the color of fresh cream and a texture that tricks the mind into thinking they might be petting lambskin. Her hair is the color of fallen leaves and can often be seen tied up and twisted in ribbons.

Lola stands apart from other 'Fallen-Women'. Granted she walks the same corners and probably services the same Men but Lola has never fallen into the trap of trying to please everyone. She does not paint a mask upon her face or contort her body into seductive shapes with corsets and bustles. Lola has always remained exactly who she is and it is for this that she has been able to leave the Brothels where she had no say in who fucked her or how and work for herself.

For starters, she does not wear that same dejected, bitter and glooming face that most Girls in her position find difficult to hide. Lola is pure spirit and for every day that she is breathing, she considers this a reason to smile. She has her pain of course and on occasion, should you catch those bright blue eyes in just the right light you may see her sadness but it is deeply hidden and fiercely protected.

For the most part, Lola is exactly what she portrays to the world. She is joyous and exuberant. She carries no shame for what she does or for how good at it she has become.

Distinguishing Features: Lolly, as she is lovingly known by many has a few features that set her apart. Firstly there is her vibrant auburn hair. Having never had it cut, Lolly's hair has grown to fall over the gentle curve of her breasts and down to her waist. Twisted around ribbons of varying colors and lengths, Lolly can often be found by the flutter of these ribbons catching the corner of your eye. Lolly also carries with her a set of matching scars around both her wrists. They have healed over time but have never disappeared completely. Some people think that they are the marks of a weak Woman's failed attempt to take her own life. She wishes it were that simple.





Characters History: Lola Sweetly was not born Lola Sweetly. When Lola entered this world, her Mother named her Laura. The second of what would become eight children, Laura had a difficult life right from the very beginning. Hunger was something she knew from birth and cold was just a way of life. Like many children living in the Slums, Laura had no idea who her Father was. It was clear however from the physical characteristics of her siblings, that many of them if not each of them individually had a different Father. This was to be expected of course. Thier Mother was a whore.

Days were spent, begging for food and caring for the little ones that arrived in quick succession one after another. Nights were spent huddled together in a single bed in front of the dying embers of the fire. It wasn't all horrible of course. Freddy, the eldest of the clan did what he could to make life fun. What little food they had, they shared and when the hunger became too much, Freddy would whisk their minds away with games he made up himself. Freddy was smart. From the moment she was old enough to hold up the weight of her own head, Laura has looked up to him. When Mother left at night to work, Freddy would make up stories that lulled the little ones to sleep and kept Laura dreaming all night long of adventure and excitement. She adored him.

Mother did all she could for her children too but the utter despair was clear in her eyes. She hated her life and felt disgusted by her job. Soon enough she turned, like so many before her to gin to numb the pain. There was a reason it was called 'Mother's Ruin'. By the time Laura turned 11, Mother was dead.

Freddy promised they would be okay and Laura believed him. As the eldest, he took responsibility though this was nothing new. Laura remembered the moment he sat her down and told her that he would keep them together. Whatever happened, he promised to take care of her, of them all. It never even crossed his mind to give his siblings up to the Nuns at the Orphanage. Laura never questioned her role in the new arrangement either. With Freddy off every day to find work, Laura was left to look after the little ones. This was the way it was and as long as she had Family, Laura didn't care.

Time moved on as it has a habit of doing and sickness took three of the eight children one particularly hard winter. Freddy wasn't earning enough to keep coal in the fireplace and food on the table. Laura knew that she could make more money than Freddy ever could and that the work would not be so physically taxing but Freddy forbid it. Laura understood this of course. No Brother wishes to see his little Sister turning tricks for coins but they had few options left. It was the Whorehouse or the Workhouse.

Freddy chose the Workhouse. He chose wrong.

As a Man of 17 though, Freddy was considered the head of his household and so when he made the decision to enter the Workhouse, his entire Family was expected to move with him. He said it was for the best and to his credit, he honestly believed it was at the time. The Hackney Workhouse was established to provide jobs and homes for the many abled bodied Men, Women and Children of London. Its goal was to break the cycle of pauperism by discouraging or withholding support to those who were in need but who refused to work or enter the Workhouse.

Freddy could no longer find work on his own and he refused to allow Laura to bring in money by entering their Mother's trade. They had no choice. There was no possibly way they could have predicted though that when the five of them entered The Hackney Workhouse, it would be the last day they would ever be a Family again and for Laura, it would be the last time she would see her sister and her younger brothers.

Split up, Albert was taken to the Infant Nursery where he would spend the next years of his young life in a single room with 74 other children before he passed away from fever at the age of five, never having seen the sun again.

John was seven and considered able bodied enough to enter the workforce. Laura remembers how strong he tried to look as they dragged him away to another room and then eventually she learned another House. He worked with his hands every single day until he was beaten to death in a Bar brawl at the age of fourteen.

Hanna had clung to her older Sister as they tried to pry the two apart until the 10-year old's fingernails broke. She was placed in a ward full to bursting with other young girls her age. The Prepubescents were expected to cook and clean until their hands were raw and their knees were bleeding. Sometimes at night, Laura was positive she could hear her little Sister crying through the walls of the Workhouse but it was no doubt just an illusion. Beyond the knowledge that they cut off her sisters pretty curls, Laura doesn't know what became of Hanna.





At the age of 15, Laura entered what she would describe as the most Hellish place on Earth. She was considered an Adult and so she and Freddy were moved into the Adult dorms. Awoken as six in the morning, they worked until sundown with barely enough time in between to eat a meal of bread, meat and water. The rules were strict and the punishments were brutal. They were in hell. Each and every night, Laura would fall asleep to the sound of her Brother muttering apologies like prayers to each of his siblings repeatedly.

For three years, Freddy and Laura were tortured. She remembers the day when the press came and took pictures of her for their story. The Poor Law Amendment Act was a success. The Government had decreased the cost of caring for the poor and this was considered a very good thing. Being poor was in the blood and Workhouses were breaking that cycle by raising up pauper children to become god-fearing, healthy and useful members of society. The Photographer remarked about her beauty. He didn't seem to notice her scars.

Having lost everything, in the dark, Freddy and Laura grew close and then they grew closer until finally, they grew as close as two people could possibly be. They had each other and nothing more. Laura was slowly fading away. Day by day her light seemed to dim a little more. Freddy grew concerned when it became more and more difficult to rouse Laura from their bed to go to work. The day that he was unable to altogether is the day that everything changed.

If you do not work, you have no worth! This was the message that Laura was repeatedly told as she was dragged from her bed and stripped of her clothes. As the ropes were tightened around her wrists she was told that she should be grateful. She had a roof over her head, a bed to sleep in. She had food and a way to make a living. It was more than she deserved as the Daughter of a Whore. Lies was what Freddy had shouted as he watched his Sister hoisted off the ground by her wrists. For every hour that Laura had missed work, she received ten lashings until her back was weeping and her wrists were rubbed raw. If this torture were not enough, Laura watched as her Brother was held so tightly back from coming to her aid that his throat was crushed and he died.

Released from her bounds, Laura rushed to her Brother's side and as she cradled his head in her lap she remembered the stories he used to tell about passion and adventure. It was then that she decided she was going to make her own way in life and in doing so, live her own story. Fuck the system! Fuck the Workhouse! She was done wasting away in the shadows. She was free to leave the Workhouse whenever she pleased but she would do so without a scrap of fabric or penny to her name. Her uniform was union property and any money she had made during her time there had been spent on staying alive.





She should have been scared, terrified even of what was to come but as Laura pressed a kiss to Freddy's lips and walked out those doors as naked as the day she was born, she felt nothing but excitement. Happiness was her's to find. Life was her's to live. It was obvious that very first night on the streets that she had only one option open to her as means of employment but Laura refused to see it as a burden or a distasteful thing. Perhaps she was lucky in that her very first client had been kind. Not all of them were but a year on and Laura is free to choose who she spends her time with.

Laura goes by Lola now. Lola Sweetly. While she has by no means risen above poverty and joined the elite of London, she has figured out how to live her life her own way and extract as much happiness and joy possible from every single moment. She lives without fear, laughs as much as she can and loves with her whole body and soul. Lola Sweetly turned her back on her past but her Family stays with her always. Each and every night, she whispers to them goodnight.

"Goodnight Mother. Goodnight Freddy. Goodnight Hanna, John, Albert and Gwen. Goodnight Alan and Abby. Goodnight Father, wherever you are. I love you all."

Goals: Lola would love to one day build a home of her own. She dreams of owning a little place by the seaside where she can grow flowers and maybe learn to paint. She has dreams of finding 'The One' and despite her profession, Lola has not yet given up on the idea of love. She hopes to one day start a family and she'd love to learn to read but ultimately her goal is to be happy and live every day without regrets.

Likes: Lola likes lots of things. She likes the feeling of warm grass beneath her feet and dancing to live music. She likes the taste of cherry liquor and the feeling of a full belly. She likes clean sheets and stubbled chins. She likes children and animals, churches and tea cups. Honestly, there are very few things that Lola doesn't like.

Dislikes: The list of things that Lola dislikes is short. She dislikes the sound of crying and children's coffins. She dislikes cruel Men and the bigotry shown towards those less fortunate than others. She hates looking back and the ghosts that hide in the shadows.