The newest addition to my crew of characters: Alice Lockheart, the thylacine detective!

One thing I've found that Scarlett has always lacked is a definitive opposition to her core character --a foil, in other words. Scarlett's loud, chaotic, selfish, manipulative... traits that emphasize her addiction to attention and commanding authority. One would think that the best opposing force to this would be someone stoic, and grounded to justice; think Batman, in contrast to the Joker. Still, that kind of character is kind of... boring to me, and characters aren't always black and white. I wanted to make Scarlett's rival someone who shares many of her traits, but in a more justice-driven, uplifting light.

Enter Alice, a character that Mei and I built from the ground up. Much like Scarlett, Alice has the innate capacity to take charge and rally forces, but brings together unity through hope instead of fear and greed. She's charismatic, and perhaps even a bit cocky, but she's the type that's quite difficult to hate. Her affectionate nature and admittedly lovely figure often turn the eyes of her male peers, but she's quick to diffuse advances. She's married to her work, and much like Scarlett, an intimate life tends to get in the way of her passion. Herein lies the irony of her character --she's a social manipulator, able to twist begrudged enemies into allies that rally from her support, but her goals are quite pure.

There's another side to her as well, one that I hope to illustrate as I get more art with her. While Alice is definitely a loner, her first encounters with the selfish wolfess spark something lurid within her, an excitement that she can't quite place. As she pursues Scarlett from crime scene to crime scene, the pair gradually discover a kindling passion that eats away at them both. Mortal enemies, attracted by what they see as forbidden fruit; both vouching to defeat the other, while simultaneously staving off lusts neither has ever really felt. It's the kind of dynamic I've really wanted to experiment with, and now, here it is.

Alice belongs to  scarlettv
Art by  mei5683