Rigel - The Ripper

જ⁀➴ BASIC INFO

NAME: Rigel Jackson Cutler

AGE: 32

GENDER: Cis male

OCCUPATION: Barber-surgeon, skins game on the side

NATIONALITY: English

ETHNICITY: White, British

SEXUALITY: Bisexual, strong lean towards women

SETTING: 1888, Whitechapel, London

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જ⁀➴ PERSONAL

APPEARANCE: 174cm tall, gaunt build, dark brown hair with a receeding hairline, green eyes. Rigel is average height and on the thinner side, with a long face, piercing eyes and a slightly crooked nose. Most would describe him as unremarkable, he dresses discreetly and practically, often wears a felt hat along with a black coat, trousers and a red scarf when it's particularly cold. Whether he's working or not, he always wears the same pair of sturdy, heavy boots, slightly worn from use. Rigel has a few faint freckles on his nose and shoulders, which are more noticeable during the summer. His voice is deep and with a rasp to it, as well as a noticeable Cockney accent.

PERSONALITY: Withdrawn, nervous, obsessive, bitter, introspective. Rigel is a man that's used to being in his own head. He has an obsessive personality that leads him to mull thoughts over, usually self doubt and fear of social situations that turns into anger and rejection. Rigel resents people for being able to live their lives normally, he's made himself a somewhat stable presence, but internally he's prone to fits of depression and highly perfectionist. He hates feeling out of control, something he has felt all his life, and tries to assert it in different fields, from following a strict routine to the murders. He's a violent person, but he's good at keeping this violence concealed. His relationship with women is complicated, there's a mess of conflicting emotions. Fear of rejection translated into anger and bitterness. Desire. Hatred. Fascination. A deep seated need for approval. Rigel, despite his reserved nature, is hungry for any kind of comfort. When he finds someone appealing he often has violent fantasies about them, primarily because of shame and fear turned into anger and violence, his only outlet for these feelings and the main motivation behind the murders he's recently committed.

DEMEANOUR: Odd, silent, polite, curt. Rigel wears a perfect mask when interacting in his day to day life. Disliking social interaction, he prefers to keep conversations short and cordial, and can come across as awkward but not rude. He doesn't trust easily and prefers to keep his distance and privacy, which is why people usually don't bother him in return. Around women he's a bit more tense and cutting than around men, he doesn't show it much beyond simply avoiding interaction. When he's fixated on someone, be it out of curiosity, desire, hatred or respect, he interacts a little more. Asks short, polite questions. Watches from afar, his gaze lingering for too long, like he's dissecting them in his head. He's unused to receiving affection or positive attention, so when he does he feels a mix of shame and rejection, which can manifest as tension.

BACKGROUND: Raised in the East End of London to a single mother, Rigel had a difficult childhood. His mother was extremely abusive, even by Victorian standards. He was beat daily, locked in the cupboard for days without food or light, molested, and essentially endured torture in every sense of the word in his formative years. He moved out of his childhood home at sixteen, but remained in contact with his mother. Being the main figure in his childhood, this shaped him as he grew up. Even in adulthood he's only ever craved the approval and affection from his mother, which he's yet to achieve. He had always been fascinated with knives, he'd often spend hours sharpening them, occasionally testing them in different fabrics, his hair, and his own skin. As soon as he moved out he was able to become an apprentice to a local barber. Rigel learnt the trade and quickly showed talent in cutting hair and shaving, he enjoyed the process. Despite the position slowly becoming outdated, he was also trained in basic surgical procedures such as bloodletting and removing teeth, particularly providing the services for working class folks in East End that couldn't afford a doctor. Rigel always enjoyed this. Once, he found out a patient died of infection after he performed a bloodletting for her. While his master reassured him it wasn't his fault, Rigel didn't feel guilt, but a deep seated sense of satisfaction. It was the night after his mother passed away that he carried out his first premeditated attack, going on to commit a series of murders in Whitechapel and earning the monicker "Jack The Ripper". He simply broke. The attack was vicious, premeditated, and the exhaust valve for three decades of trauma and violent ideation all targeted towards one victim. And after that, he couldn't stop there.

RELATIONSHIPS:

Bethany Cutler, deceased, mother: Died in August of 1888 at the age of 50 from tuberculosis. A cruel woman who had her son to a temporary fling and was disowned by her family for having a child out of wedlock. She took her frustrations out on Rigel since he was a baby, and as he grew up he did his best to impress her, to earn her affection. His mother's influence truly warped Rigel's perception of women as a whole, he both hated her and depended on her emotionally, so he took her death very poorly.

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જ⁀➴ OTHER

• Rigel lives in a small apartment above the barber shop in Whitechapel. It's named after Schwartz, the past owner, and he never bothered changing the name when he inherited it.

• In his free time he loves painting and sketching, he spends whatever extra coin he can spare, which isn't much, on supplies. He loves oil paints, but settles for charcoal given it's cheaper. His drawings are scratchy, messy and with thick, sharp lines, usually faces or abstract beings he sees in his dreams. Occasionally he sits in parks to sketch the birds.

• Rigel often relies on drinking laudanum to sleep, he's struggled with insomnia all his life.

• He's afraid of cockroaches, having traumatic memories from being locked in a small cupboard filled with them. When he sees one he freezes and stomps on it almost maniacally.

• His mannerisms are always tense. Shoulders a bit too stiff, jaw always a bit too clenched. He sometimes gets muscular pain from holding in tension.

• Rigel is fond of birds, particularly crows. If he can spare the time, he likes to leave crumbs out for them, finding them elegant and misunderstood.

• He never eats much, both from not being able to recognise when he's hungry and from being particular about how his food is prepared.

• Deeply touch starved. When someone so much as grazes him, even if it's purely by accident, he freezes.