Tinsley Valentine

sarcastically unctuous . inquisitive . cheerful . intuitive

Valentine was born to a single woman who never wanted a child, but because of religious reasons, Valentine was born anyway. Although she did not find love in her mother, she became well-liked throughout the small town, from the church landskeeper, to the milkman, to the constable. She would often wander through the streets, asking curious questions and listening to people's stories with glimmering eyes, and earned the nickname "Tin-Tin" among neighbors. Valentine grew up highly religious, and remains to this day, even after the incident of her powers awakening.

When Valentine was only ten years old, she found a shimmering, silver thread leading out from the foot of her bed. Always inquisitive, young Tin-Tin picked up the thread and followed it down to the floor, out her bedroom door, through the kitchen, the front gate, down the cobble street, and all the way to the backdoor of the church. The door was locked, but the wind whispered in such a way that sprinkled cotton thread into the flames of Valentine's curiosity. As though possessed by some spirit, Valentine managed to open the door, despite never having lockpicked before. What awaited her behind the door was some beast of rings and feathers and flame, as though an angel had born the child of the devil. The young Tin-Tin took the deal the beast offered to her: knowledge beyond her wildest dreams in exchange for... something Valentine can no longer remember.

When young Valentine woke in her bed the following morning, the mark of the devil was painted clearly on the auricle of her left ear. With her mother's history, Valentine quickly fell from being a child of god to the spawn of a demonic spirit, and the people she once loved locked her away in the basement of the church. The townsfolk fought over what to do with the child, while Valentine discovered the capabilities of her newfound power. Her mind quickly puzzled together an escape plan, clues to her goal illuminating her mind, and she somehow fled the basement without a trace.

Only fifteen years later did she suddenly reappear on the other side of the country, bearing her camera, signature pipe, and an ability to solve mysteries like no man has ever done before. What happened to her during the time leading up to her return, no one is sure, and although she is met with harsh criticism of her work, no one can deny that Valentine has become one of the greatest detectives of the time.