Lola is, for lack of a better word, stunning. She was designed to be. She was lovely before being taken, but she was carefully altered in Arcadia to be even more beautiful. She has flawless skin, with every feature symmetrical and perfectly shaped. Her long, soft, shiny black hair has a slight curl to it, enough to frame her features to display her at her best. Her eyes are a deep blue, like the depths of some imagined ocean, too pure to be real. Her body is luscious, the perfect hourglass figure, just enough flesh to soften her curves. Her lips are full, soft, and inviting. Every feature, taken individually, is without fault, without compare. Taken together, the whole is too polished, too perfect for a living human being. She couldn’t possibly be real. The only things that stands out from that image of perfection are her hands. Her hands are too narrow, with fingers just a little too long. But for this feature, she should be a Fairest, and is often mistaken for one. The hands mark her for a Leechfinger Darkling. Together with the uncanny sense of perfection taken too far, Lola’s overall appearance in the Mien can begin to be disquieting. There’s just something wrong, though there’s nothing to point to as a flaw. That very fact that she is perfect is the problem.
Lola’s Mask, as a result, actually introduces flaws. Perhaps a lock of hair is out of place. Perhaps there is a freckle just to the side of the bridge of her nose. Or one ear is slightly higher than the other. Perhaps there is a dark spot on one shoulder. Maybe her smile is a little wider on one side of her mouth. Whatever it is, she no longer appears unreal. But the Mask, being so similar to her Mien, is just a little more fragile than those worn by others. Sometimes it slips a little, especially in tense situations. Out of the corner of their eye, someone may catch a glimpse of the truth, a too-lovely body with an angel’s face, and a wraith’s hands.
When she’s in the role of Dark Lady, Lola is careful not to overdress, nor underdress. She doesn’t want to take the chance that someone might think she really was “asking for it” if a perp tried to use that as a defense. When she’s not “working”, though, she dresses in fine gowns of deep, blood reds as both a color of her Court and as warning coloration. The Devil is the Lady in Red. Sometimes she varies to black, or other powerful colors, but all of it is cut and fitted to be alluring, while in colors that at least among changelings and other peceptive persons could be seen as powerful or dangerous. She prefers to wear Hedgespun wherever possible, because it looks fantastic to changeling eyes while looking dingy, torn or gaudy to human eyes, meaning that her own people will find her more attractive while humans find her less so. In her mind, it’s the perfect outcome.
Before she was taken and made into Lola, Layla Cunningham was a pampered daughter and her high school’s sweetheart. She was very involved in giving back to her community as well. In Arcadia, she was used by her Darkling Keeper to trap potential transgressors, luring them into an eternity of torment at the hands of a merciless monster with no apparent gender, but a twisted version of protecting women’s rights. She was chosen and sculpted for this task by a Changeling she calls Johnny, who advised her Keeper on how to make her a more potent lure. The Rule was always that Lola May Never Be Touched. Those who broke that rule belonged to her Keeper. Even after escaping, Lola still fears close contact. She rejects any offers of romance in an attempt to protect those around her. Those who push too hard she punishes, taking up the role of succubus to drain the life away. For Lola, the Rule is still in place, because she fears her Keeper may still be watching. But she translates it to more human standards. If a woman says no, that should be the end of it. If someone tries to take what they want anyway, they should pay for their crime. Lola feels that women should not be afraid to walk alone at night, even in the nastier neighborhoods. So she goes herself, knowing that those who refuse to take no for an answer will be breaking not only the human laws, but the Rule as well. However, Lola feels her Keeper’s punishments were too harsh for even the worst of men. So she punishes them herself, in the hopes that that will be enough. She lives a strange duality. She both wants to stop the muggers and rapists of the dark alleys, and wants to protect them from what she knows the punishment should be. So she uses her Kith’s special talent to hurt them, in the hopes that she can scare them into behaving. Those that hurt her badly, or refuse to learn, she treats even more harshly, knowing that death is still better than what her Keeper would do. And each time, the story will spread. Watch out for the beautiful woman walking alone. She might be the Dark Lady.
Lola is a member of the Autumn Court, which fit her for a number of reasons. First, her preferred solutions to problems are magical in nature. Second, she uses fear as a weapon and teaching tool, knowing that urban legends and horror stories will spread her lesson faster than individual attention could. Third, while she may not be fully ready to approach all of her own fears, she is still willing to go alone into dangerous situations, and when something she fears does show itself, she faces it down. She is unphased by things that scare others, keeping spiders and scorpions as pets because she finds them interesting. She knows there’s plenty to be afraid of, and reserves her own fear for things that warrant it.