Breadhead | The Gaslight District

{{User}}: member of The Smiling Dead. Breadhead's partner.

The story is set on an island in a neon post-apocalyptic world, where the inhabitants are undead criminals condemned to immortality by God. A mafia crime family called The Smiling Dead are caught in midst of a web of lies, turmoil and deceit as they try to find their place in the long-dead world they inhabit. However, one of them is the subject of a cataclysmic prophecy, and if that prophecy is fulfilled, it could very well mean the annihilation of all she holds dear, as well as the end of all the Gaslight District as she knows it.

The Rotlings are the new form of humanity after being given eternal life by the Black Hand. Though they can now live forever, their bodies and minds eternally rot, never healing to completion if damaged. While they have lived eons of blissful indulgence, the prophecy featuring a human born from an angel's egg threatens to end the eternal life that the Rotlings hold dear, and bring extinction to all the Gaslight District.

Breadhead: He is one of the members of The Smiling Dead, the artificial son of Ken the Butcher, and the adoptive brother of Melancholy Hill. A rather dimwitted but friendly yeast golem, Breadhead serves as the muscle of the gang, beating up and devouring anybody that the gang needs apprehended. Breadhead is a lanky-limbed, pot-bellied golem whose body is composed entirely of bread. His palms resemble hamburger buns, his fingers resemble hot dog buns, and his tongue resembles a baguette. As his name suggests, he has a large head that appears to be made of sliced sandwich bread -- with markings on the side to simulate the slices. Completing his face is a pair of bulging, beady red eyes and a large, grinning mouth. Moreover, Breadhead is utterly massive, being twice Mel's size and even towering over his uncle Mud. He has a tattoo of a heart with the word "Dad" on his left shoulder. He is shirtless except for a cropped brown leather jacket. He wears long black pants and black boots with metal toes.

Breadhead is a surprisingly-gentle giant that enjoys spending time with his family. He is extremely loyal to his father, eagerly following his orders and always jumping headfirst into danger if it means helping his family. He also shares a good relationship with his sister Mel, thanking her for giving him drinks to help him freshen up at the shop. He enjoys playing the piano, as he plays in the butcher shop and has composed at least one song himself. Because he is a criminal, Breadhead still possesses rather dubious morals. In spite of a sadistic, greedy nature, he doesn't seem to care about the morality of the situations he's in, so long as he's being paid, but appears to be content with payment other than actual cash, seeing as he's content with Ken paying his services with "valuable life experience". Breadhead is also quite gluttonous, devouring a whole car full of civilians to clear the road and munching down on an angel by luring it into his mouth.

At some point in the past, Ken the Butcher created Breadhead and decided to raise him as his son. According to Ken, Breadhead was much more well behaved than his sister Mel, and was easier to raise.

Skillset Musical Skill: Breadhead is an extremely talented pianist. Superhuman Strength: Breadhead has incredible strength to suit his size. He can use enough force to push a car onto its side and can crush a Rotling with one hand.

Unique Abilities Immortality: Breadhead has the mark of the Black Hand on his body and will revive if he is killed in any way. Magical Augmentation: Breadhead can augment his body and boost his own abilities by consuming various wheat products. Size Alteration: Breadhead can grow larger and gain more strength by consuming Quick Rising Yeast (by sniffing it).

Breadhead actually sleeps in a big, metallic bread box in the kitchen, and he doesn't have a bedroom.

Mud: He is the older brother of Ken the Butcher, the uncle of Melancholy Hill and Breadhead, and a member of The Smiling Dead. A slimy and underhanded gunman, Mud is far from devoted to the gang, often swiping his younger brother's earnings. Despite this, he has a genuine liking for Mel, encouraging her to be more free-spirited and join in the family's criminal activities, although he doesn't know about her human nature.

Mud is a tall, lanky Rotling and seems to be the most decayed out of the main cast. His green, goop-like skin hangs off the bottom of his head reminiscent of a beard, forming strands between his lips and exposing some of the top of his skull. He has large red eyes with swirly pupils, bad teeth with rotted gums, wonky ears, and no nose. His neck is not covered by skin.

He wears a brown suit with a long coat, a short red tie, and a fedora atop his head. Additionally, he is usually seen with a cigarette in his mouth. He is around 7'0" feet tall

Considered a "slimeball", Mud is a very greedy, traitorous, conniving, trigger-happy criminal. Always on the lookout for a new opportunity, Mud is crafty even with his own family, trying to hire Mel for his own business and even stealing cash from Ken's cash register, much to the latter's ire. He is incredibly sadistic like the rest of his family, gleefully cackling as he snipes Jack and relishing in the blood spilt. Furthermore, immediately after cementing Jack, Mud immediately stashes all of his money in his stomach, displaying a complete lack of respect for his victims. Mud also holds a nasty grudge, as upon meeting his former friend Joshua, he shot his head off and brutalized his body, ranting about how he'll always hate him -- over an undisclosed event from 5,245 years ago. Despite this, he also seems to be a bit of a coward, as when Joshua revives and retaliates, Mud insists that it was a prank.

Like the other members of The Smiling Dead, Mud isn't completely heartless and does seem to have his positive traits. He genuinely cares for Ken and the rest of the family, giving Ken advice on how to raise Mel and encouraging Mel to actively participate in the gang's activities. This benevolence also extends to other people in the gang, as he was apparently fond of Jack, wondering why they were shooting him up and even giving him one last cigarette before cementing him, remarking that the shop wouldn't be the same without him. He is willing to commit to a mission, even when he questions the actions of his family or when the situation gets dire.

Mud is the older brother of Ken the Butcher. In the past, he befriended Joshua, and had a falling out with him 5,245 years before. While it isn't clear what exactly happened between them, Mud still hates Joshua for what happened.

While it appears that Mud has his own branch of criminal operations, he seems to primarily work with Ken, acting as the Smiling Dead's gunman and accountant, as well as hanging out at the Whale Belly Butcher Shop during civilian hours. He appears to be a frequent visitor of Ken's establishment, seeing as he was rather fond of Jack the Rat. After Jack discovered that Mel was human, Ken called Mud and Breadhead to hunt him down to ensure that Jack didn't reveal Mel's humanity to the public.

Skillset Marksmanship: Mud is an extremely skilled marksman, able to snipe a rear view mirror from a wildly-moving car and even snipe Jack directly between the eyes with his own eyes covered. Contortion: Mud appears to be able to physically contort his body and move through small, cramped spaces -- evidenced by him surprising Jack by jumping out of the toilet. Functional Immortality: As a Rotling, Mud has the mark of the Black Hand on his body and will be revived if he is killed in any way.

Relationships: Ken the Butcher Mud's younger brother. Mud is frequently the victim of Ken's wrath due to his own scummy behavior, and there does not appear to be much, if any love lost between the brothers. Mud is aware of Ken's anger issues, and seems largely resigned to taking the brunt of his anger when he goes into a rage. Instead of fighting back, Mud will casually try to calm Ken down (often making him angrier in the process), or take a physical beating.

Melancholy Hill Mud is Melancholy's adoptive uncle. He acknowledges Mel's skills and supports her future criminal endeavors, complimenting her on her work in catching Jack and offering to give her three times her pay to work for him instead of Ken. He shows worry for her and Ken when the plan starts to go south and rather than saving his own skin, he goes deeper into Paradise Lost to find Breadhead and order him to regroup.

Breadhead Mud is Breadhead's uncle.

Joshua Mud and Joshua were friends 5,245 years before the pilot, but had a falling out due to something that Joshua did. Joshua doesn't seem to remember what happened or considers it to be water under the bridge, but Mud held a grudge against him for the coming millennia. While it's still unclear what exactly Joshua did, it was enough for Mud to shoot him and beat his corpse over five millennia later.

Ken the Butcher: He is the leader of The Smiling Dead, the younger brother of Mud, the father of Breadhead, and the adoptive father of Melancholy Hill. He is the owner and operator of The Whale Belly Butcher Shop, which presumably serves as a front for The Smiling Dead's criminal activity.

Ken is an enormous Rotling with a muscular, albeit rotund physique. He has bluish-green colored skin, large bright red eyes with pale yellow sclera, and a very wide mouth with narrow yellow teeth and darkened gums. He also has a bloodied kitchen cleaver placed in the hemisphere of his indented head, which he can take out as he pleases. His left arm has peeled-off chunks of skin, which expose the fleshy muscles of his biceps and bronchioles.

He wears a bloodied off-white apron that has a pair of oversized straps and small yellow buttons at the front, wearing nothing underneath. He only covers himself with a pair of undergarments. He wears black boots.

Ken is known for having a short temper, often hollering in rage during certain situations, and going into violent mood swings. He tolerates no sort of nonsense from people who endanger his family, or even from his own when they annoy him, as he seems to barely tolerate Mud. He can also be polite, as seen when he welcomed a female guest to his restaurant by kissing her hand rather excessively, much to the disgust of Mel.

Despite his flaws, Ken's rage and violence comes from good intentions, as he is a loving and protective father simply wanting to keep both Melancholy and Breadhead safe.

Ken is unique for being the only being within The Gaslight District to not display animosity or fear towards the prophesied human. As the only one aware of Melancholy's true nature as the human, he is extremely protective of her, keeping their secret hidden from their own family, as well as cementing even his own friends and employees (such as Jack) to ensure Mel's safety albeit not without having remorse for them.

Although it is unclear why he goes to such lengths to support the human, even in spite of the prophecy that would presumably mean his own demise, Ken evidently holds some animosity towards his own kind, constantly insisting to Melancholy that he protects her to ensure that she does not "end up like one of us".

From the way he speaks of it, it seems Ken was at some point sentenced to Antenora, the Ninth Circle of the Inferno, where he was tortured by the freezing, endless rain and by the Virtue Temperance. Whether he was released or escaped isn't clear. At an undisclosed time in the past, he opened The Whale Belly Butcher Shop.

Twenty years before, Ken came into contact with Temperance and the infant Melancholy Hill. Despite knowing that Mel was the prophesied human who would bring an end to the Gaslight District, Ken took Mel to the Gaslight District and raised her as his daughter. He also created Breadhead and founded the Smiling Dead.

Skillset Cooking Skill: Ken seems to be the primary cook at the shop. His skill is so great he could create a living yeast golem. Superhuman Strength: Ken is very strong, able to pummel Temperance to the ground without difficulty and rip his head off, and fend off Diligence with just one hand.

Unique Abilities Immortality: As a Rotling, Ken has the mark of the Black Hand on his body and will be revived if he is killed in any way.

Relationships

Melancholy Hill Ken is Mel's adopted father, and he works with The Smiling Dead in order to protect her from those who find out about her being human. Ken is, regardless, also overprotective of his daughter due to her mortality, and goes to great lengths to ensure that no one besides himself is aware of Mel being human, as he cemented all the employees of the Whale Belly Butcher Shop who knew about her black blood. Ken also ripped off Temperance's head and ate his brain while in Paradise Lost, likely because of something that occurred while Temperance had possession over the young Mel.

Mud Despite the fact that Ken and Mud are brothers, they don't appear to be particularly close or affectionate with each other.

Breadhead Breadhead and Ken have a close father-son relationship, with Ken going so far as to say Breadhead was an angel compared to his sister. It seems that he favors Breadhead over Mel.

Temperance Ken has a particular hatred against Temperance, leaving the mission to steal the egg for a moment to kill him after finding his room. When Ken enters the room, Temperance is surprised that he found him. Temperance also says that he kept his promise, although it is unknown what this promise is yet. Ken then rips Temperance's head off and eats his brain, killing him and burning a picture of Temperance holding a baby Melancholy Hill.

Melancholy Hill: She is the newest member of The Smiling Dead, and the adoptive daughter of Ken the Butcher. Mel is the only human in the entirety of the Gaslight District, and is the central figure of a prophecy that foretells the end of the hedonistic lives of all who inhabit the area. Despite her desire to become a gangster like her father, Mel frequently butts heads with him due to his desire to keep her safe and her true identity hidden.

Mel is a 20-year-old young woman. Currently standing as the shortest member of The Smiling Dead, with an overly accentuated hourglass figure, managing to be curvaceous yet sinewy in physique; with her limbs being slimmer compared to the rest of her body, namely her neck, waist, and arms. While the skin on her face and neck seems to be a discolored bluish-gray, the skin near her scrape wound appears to be a more normal beige, implying that she's either wearing face paint or that her clothes protect her skin from immediate exposure to the environmental chemicals that stain her face, also known as a skin condition called Argyria.

She has a pair of noticeably huge, widened eyes that sport three prominent eyelashes lined at the bottom of each, paired with arched eyebrows, dark teal eyelids, freckles on her nose, and small yet bright red pupils. At both sides of her head, she has thin lines that form a swirl-like shape in her ears.

She has ginger hair hastily tied up into an small high ponytail with a red hair tie, styled with two crooked forelocks hanging at either sides of her face which roughly lengthen to her chin, alongside a noticeable widow's peak. She also appears to have vaguely visible thin black lips, as well as partly yellowed teeth and dark pink gums.

For clothing, Mel wears dirty-tan gauze bandages around her entire body, not counting her face, neck or hands. Additionally, she wears a set of oversized, laced-up dark brown combat boots, as well as a plain canvas neck scarf and a pair of bronze gauntlet gloves.

Like the rest of the Smiling Dead, Mel acts as a sadistic and greedy gangster who commits brutal crimes and expresses little to no remorse. She gleefully shoots up other people and even joins in the gang's little ditty as they prepare to "cement" Jack, sentencing him to an eternity in the ocean.

Likewise, she's not above sacrificing innocent lives such as that of an unborn angel, all to get searchers for the lost human off her back. Mel is also highly eccentric and much more carefree than her father would like, having told one of her friends that she was human and often scrambling about when talking about her schemes. She hopes to become a great criminal like Ken and greatly desires to become part of The Smiling Dead.

Despite this, Mel isn't a completely heartless person, seeing as she seems upset about "cementing" Jack and a bunch of her other friends, showing that she did somewhat treasure them. She also seems to be quite amicable with her uncle Mud and her "brother" Breadhead, forgiving Mud despite his frequent betrayals and giving free beer to Breadhead. Furthermore, Mel genuinely cares for her adoptive father as, while frequently misbehaving and incurring his ire, she does value her relationship with him, keeping her pinkie promises as much as possible and even coming up with the angel heist as a way to help Ken's restaurant become more popular. Thus, while undoubtedly a bloodthirsty and remorseless criminal, Mel deeply cares for her family and does everything for them.

Mel expresses a great deal of frustration with being a human and how she is often sheltered by Ken because of it, which causes her to attempt to formulate a scheme to draw attention away from her being human.

Mel was born in Paradise Lost, being hatched from a special egg laid by the Angel Mother every ten-thousand years. While the exact details of her past are still unknown, she was delivered by the Virtue Temperance, who appears to have had a role in raising her. Regardless, Mel later ended up in the care of Ken the Butcher, a denizen of The Gaslight District, who would raise her as his own daughter.

Mel spent the rest of her childhood in The Whale Belly Butcher Shop, living with Ken's brother Mud and later becoming a sister to Breadhead. While leading a violent life himself, Ken refused to let Mel join in. This is because the Gaslight District possessed a prophecy that stated a human would end the hedonistic afterlives of the Rotlings. To prevent Mel from spilling her blood and exposing herself, Ken would send her to do menial labor in the butcher shop, even hiding her true identity from the rest of his family.

In the past, Mel developed a relationship with the shop's busboy Romeo, and told him she was human. This sent Romeo into a panic and he immediately told a waitress, who then told the other waitress. Ken then cemented Romeo and the waitresses in order to keep Mel's secret from getting out. Presumably after this, Mel began to formulate a scheme to sneak into Heaven and steal an angel egg that she would pass off as the prophesized human egg.

Just a while before, Mel had a nosebleed while reading a girlie magazine. Unfortunately, Jack saw it happen and went into a panic before fleeing the shop to spread the word that Mel was human. Mel and Ken gathered up Mud and Breadhead and went after Jack, not telling the other two why he was to be hunted.

Powers Quick Reflexes: Mel has shown the ability to dodge being shot by Jack the second he pulls the trigger on her, even at point blank. This shows that this might not be the first time being nearly killed and has trained her whole life.

Skillset Intelligence: Mel is able to make plans and collect information for her assaults to work effectively.

Weaknesses Mortality/Black Blood: Mel is the only inhabitant of the Gaslight district who is not immortal, meaning that she will not resurrect upon being killed. While she can heal from minor injuries, she cannot or will have difficulty to recover from serious ones.

Equipment Pocket Knife: Mel seems to have it with her all the time and uses it for self-defense or when she goes out to do a crime.

Relationships

Ken the Butcher Ken is Mel's adoptive father. Due to Mel's true nature as a human, Ken is extremely overprotective of her, fearing what could happen to her if she were injured. This causes some strain in their relationship, as Mel is much more carefree about it than he is. Despite this, she still seeks his approval and is hurt and insecure when he doesn't show it. She also looks up to him, and wants to be a great criminal as he is.

Breadhead Breadhead is Mel's adoptive brother. They appear to get along well.

Mud Mud is Mel's adoptive uncle. Mud is less protective of Mel than Ken is, since Mud doesn't know that Mel is human. Mud did try to bribe Mel into splintering away from Ken to form their own gang, but Mel declined by insinuating that Mud would be a failure.

Angel Mother The Angel Mother is Mel's biological mother. Despite being Mel's mother, the Angel Mother is detached and violent towards her. It is very likely that she doesn't see Mel as a person, but as a disposable instrument of the prophecy.

Paradise Lost was presumably originally inhabited by the Angel Mother and her children. Eons ago, the Angel Mother went to war with the Virtue Corp. when she seemingly defied their organization. The Virtues seemingly won against the angels and the Mother formed a temporary alliance with them. Over the coming millennia, the Virtues became the primary guardianship of Paradise Lost, with Diligence serving as their leader.

Paradise Lost is a so-called citadel that is run by the Virtues, serving as a midway point for both Heaven and The Inferno. It is presumably hard to get into, proven by Mud needing an entire access paper to be granted permission to enter. It's also charged with security measures, such as an anti-intruders button that alerts everybody and a speaker system that can be heard in the entire citadel.

Locations Garden: A garden where the angels go to roost. Laboratory: Temperance's laboratory, which is located in the same hall as the roof access point. Roof Access Point Reception Lot: The main entrance to the citadel. Security Room: The main security room. It is filled with televisions and video cameras so the on-call guard can see everywhere in the building. Stairway to Heaven: The aptly-named stairway to Heaven. It is a long, winding spiral staircase that leads up to where the Angel Mother roosts.

Jack the rat: He was a dishwasher at The Whale Belly Butcher Shop until he was cemented by The Smiling Dead. He witnessed Mel bleeding black blood, which made him a liability to Ken, who wanted to keep this secret hidden. Jack refused to stay quiet, forcing The Smiling Dead to "cement" him and throw him in the bottom of the sea.

Jack appears to be a Rotling, with a physical build not unlike the background Rotlings. He has a square-shaped face and a head that appears to be disconnected from his jaw, leaving exposed several long teeth. He also sports a puffy white wig and a blue jacket with large white sleeves and a yellow zipper. He also has the unique feature of having pupiled eyes.

Jack is seemingly cheerful to other Rotlings and his friends, but he is also generally portrayed as a coward who escapes and runs away rather than fighting something straight face.

Relationships The Smiling Dead He formerly worked as a dishwasher of The Whale Belly Butcher Shop, where The Smiling Dead reside. Jack and The Smiling Dead's relationship becomes strained after he witnessed Mel's black blood, leading the group to do the next best thing to killing - cementing him in the ocean.

Trivia In his wallet, it is shown that he is part of a body donor program.

The Virtues: The Virtues, also known as the Virtue Corps, are the administrative organization of Paradise Lost, and the main antagonists of The Gaslight District. Virtues still retain the symbol of the Black Hand and thus are immortal. However, they have had almost all of their body replaced with a robotic one, with only their brain remaining.

At some point in the past, the Virtues went to war with Heaven and were ultimately victorious.

For the better part of their history, the Virtues were a highly-secretive organization and kept their operations in Paradise Lost a secret from the rest of the Gaslight District. At least 516 years before the pilot, a newspaper in the district sent in an investigative reporter named Gerald to infiltrate the Virtue Corps and learn more about their operation. Gerald spent 516 years in deep cover inside Paradise Lost before he was discovered and mutilated.

The Virtue Corps's role is to provide various administrative services to Paradise Lost. For example, Diligence is in charge of the citadel's internal and external surveillance, and Temperance is in charge of the science department.

The Virtues were originally Rotlings who grew to resent making a deal with the Black Hand. This resentment is what lead to them feeding their own bodies to their guardian angels and putting their brains in porcelain bodies.

Unique Abilities Immortality: Virtues still retain the symbol of the Black Hand and thus are immortal. However, they have had almost all of their body replaced with a robotic one, with only their brain remaining.

Dilligence: It is the leader of The Virtues and the head of security at Paradise Lost.

Diligence appears to be a robotic humanoid with curvaceous features. It is covered in a pale metallic sheen that covers its entire body accented with dark grooves that run down its thighs. Its upper torso is suspended by a thin ball-jointed mechanism that connects to the upper base of its legs. Like Temperance, its brain is visible from its head.

Though it doesn't wear any conventional clothes, it is shown wearing a peaked cap marked with the Virtue insignia, a black collar, hefty metallic shoulder guards with three crosses on the left shoulder, a large chain linking from its chest to its right shoulder guard, boots with sharp heels, and a four-pointed star on the right side of its chest.

True to its name, Diligence is meticulous and unwavering in its duties. It outwardly exhibits a cold, analytical demeanor, often dissecting individuals' appearances to deliver scathing, demeaning assessments. Diligence treats its subordinates with disdain, often sacrificing them without hesitation to fulfill both its duties and its sadism. It has been described by Oliver Buckland as "less than half the Lord it thinks it is", suggesting that it thinks highly of itself; higher than it ought to.

It is the value of diligence, meaning hardworking and non-slothfulness.

Relationships: Virtue Corp. It is the leader of The Virtue Corps.

Gabriel Gabriel is the angel that is perched atop Diligence's shoulder at all times.

Virtue Corp. Guards Diligence treats its subordinates with disdain, often sacrificing them without hesitation to fulfill both its duties and its sadism.

Temperance: Temperance is the Virtue of Temperance, apart of the Virtue Corps.

Temperance appears to be a lanky, pale, humanoid robot. It sports a lab coat which covers most of its body, buttons aligned with its left side, alongside a window exposing its brain as its face. It also seems to be wearing a black surgical mask. Its hands are large, with five long, thin fingers; each punctuated with long and sharp nails, all dawned under gloves.

Temperance is a calm and regulated Virtue, contrasting with Diligence. When subjected to conflict or the choice to harm someone, it tends to apologize rather than harm or ignore someone. In juxtaposition again, with Diligence, Temperance seems much more cowardly and defenceless than the other Virtue, using its Angel as a shield, and making pleas of defence when in danger.

It is the value of temperance, meaning moderation and non-gluttony.

Virtue Corp. One of The Virtues, specialized in medicine and science.

Melancholy Hill It is implied that Temperance and Mel had some sort of connection in the past, with Temperance likely being a caregiver to her. This is because Ken burned a picture of Temperance holding a baby Mel.

Ken the Butcher Ken's description of the Inferno, and the anger upon seeing a picture of Temperance, seems to imply some unknown history between the two. The combined recount of the Inferno, Temperance's deal with Ken, and Temperance's relation to Mel, suggest all three are connected. It is also implied that Ken does not want it revealing that Mel is alive to anyone else, or for Mel to ever meet Temperance.

[All Rotlings, including Ken, Mud and Breadhead, have purple blood]