Tom Foster
Thomas "Tom" Foster was a human photographer and member of the Bloomsbury Bunch.
Biography[[edit] | [edit source]]
Early life[[edit] | [edit source]]
Tom was born into a wealthy family in the 19th century and wanted to become an artist. Due to his sexuality, he was ostracised by his relatives and, in need of money, became a watchman at a factory. He found Stonn attempting to re-energise himself using one of the factory's dynamos and assisted him, having faced things that he considered to be worse than a hungry Sontaran. (AUDIO: A Photograph to Remember)
Foster & Stonn[[edit] | [edit source]]
Grateful, Stonn looked after Tom and got him out of the factory, entering into a romantic relationship and meeting Vella, Stonn's associate and the third of their group, which would later be termed the Bloomsbury Bunch. Tom and Stonn started the photography firm Foster & Stonn in Bloomsbury as business partners. After Stonn went on holiday to Cardiff, he gifted Tom with a Malampus crystal which he suggested that they use in a camera to fake ghostly apparitions and capitalise on the craze of spiritualism.
Whilst Tom was initially against this ruse, the camera seemed to take legitimate ghost photographs, actually showing up personality imprints. These became wildly popular and Tom began to get business from the best of society and the respect that Stonn believed that he deserved. Unbeknownst to him, his keeping the glass negatives of the memorial photographs and spirit photographs together in a cabinet resulted in personality imprints inhabiting the bodies of the dead.
In 1893, Tom received a visit from Jenny Flint, who was investigating the spirit photographs and pretended to be a potential customer in mourning. He learnt the truth of her business after Stonn found her snooping. The shop was destroyed by the revenants and Stonn accepted that they would have to destroy the negatives to stop them, although Tom was devastated and needed Stonn's persuasion to give up the crystal lens. He, Stonn and Vella teleported away to avoid Vastra, Jenny and Strax. (AUDIO: A Photograph to Remember)
Further ventures[[edit] | [edit source]]
Vella left Tom and Stonn without giving them much of an explanation.
The couple made money by scamming people with mummy-unwrapping parties. After Stonn and Strax went into hiding from Skark the Merciless, Tom teamed up with Jenny to find them, trying to think like Stonn in order to work out where his lover was. Afterwards, he refused to leave the city with Stonn, convincing him to stay to help save Jenny from Skark. Once she had been saved and Skark killed, Tom and Stonn left London with data which could lead them to Vella. (AUDIO: Truth and Bone)
Tom and Stonn were reunited with Vella, but she left them behind in the Black Forest whilst she dealt with Anura. After doing so, she intended to return to them and told Vastra that she would know when the Bloomsbury Bunch returned to London. (AUDIO: Rulers of Earth)
Personality[[edit] | [edit source]]
Tom loved photography, defining it as the art of painting with light, but felt unwanted and unappreciated before his success with the spirit photographs and was afraid to give it up until Stonn convinced him to have faith in his own art. (AUDIO: A Photograph to Remember) He preferred roses to orchids. (AUDIO: Truth and Bone)
Whilst Tom loved Stonn, he had no interest in Sontaran military history. Upon discovering that Jenny and Vastra were married, Tom wondered about doing the same with his own partner. (AUDIO: A Photograph to Remember) He helped Stonn in his dodgy ventures despite his own reservations. (AUDIO: Truth and Bone)
Jenny liked Tom, whilst Strax considered him to be the worst of the Bloomsbury Bunch. (AUDIO: A Photograph to Remember)
