#caiden moss

[rainydawgradioblog]

From Fall Fling to THING, and the Seattle Showboxes in Between

Most attendees of the 2022 Fall Fling will remember The Moss’s enrapturing performance, complete with barefoot bassist Caiden Jackson, singer Tyke James’s charisma, and, for those at the barricade who had the chance to see it (and pose for a picture if you were me), a setlist on a paper plate. Loyal concert enthusiasts who stayed until the end will recall headliner Jean Dawson, donning a rain jacket despite the unrelenting Seattle heat—summer hadn’t given way to autumn weather just yet—and his fusion of hip hop and experimental indie rock. Perhaps the early birds at Fall Fling can reminisce over the two openers, both local groups: Kaede 01, a J-Pop/J-Rock cover band, and Aurora Ave., an ensemble whose sound is a blend of indie rock and pop with hints of jazz. The majority of audience members, however, didn’t start to trickle in until The Moss was on, about an hour and a half into the show. My group was the outlier, showing up half an hour before Kaede 01 went on and maintaining our spot in the front row until the end. As a concert enthusiast who has spent hundreds of dollars on tickets over the past few years, I was baffled that this show was “brought to students’ doorsteps free of charge,” as I now tell my audiences as a campus tour guide. As an incentive to attend the University of Washington, I’ll inform prospective students that in 2015, just two years before SZA released her debut album, Ctrl, she was an opener at the Spring Fling, playing alongside Rae Sremmurd and A-Trak. That’s right, opener! Through the Associated Students of the University of Washington (ASUW)’s Fall and Spring Flings, countless venerable artists, from Nirvana to Kendrick Lamar, have entertained UW crowds.

Aurora Ave. may not be Nirvana (yet), but their performance certainly made a lasting impression on me. In 2021, the group released their first and only album thus far under the same name as the band. They played several of these songs at the Fall Fling, my favorites of which are “Skipping Stones” and “It’s Over/Who Said.” A saxophonist, trumpet player, drummer, and several bassists lined the stage, setting the musical backdrop for the vocalist: a young woman who swayed to the melodies her bandmates played while she sang. At the barricade, I cheered for Aurora Ave. They were the first group to catch my attention with their call-and-response between instruments and upbeat neo-jazz phrases blending seamlessly with smooth soprano vocals. At the end of their set, the ensemble covered Tyler, The Creator feat. Kali Uchis’s “See You Again,” engaging with the audience and even getting a few people to sing along and wave their hands. 

After a forty-minute intermission, The Moss arrived, decked in earthy tones and ready to bump the energy up a notch. An established crowd had gathered who immediately grew infatuated with the talented Tyke, Caiden, Willie, and Addison—including a girl named Cece who made her way up to the front row with me. Based on our mutual affinity for The Moss, I made a wild guess that Cece and I had similar music tastes. In the spirit of spontaneity and camaraderie, I asked if she’d come to another show with me the next night. We all remember how easy it was to let your guard down and make friends that first week of college.

“Hey, this is random, but do you listen to Arlo Parks?” I yelled between songs.

“Yeah, I love her. Why?”

“I’m actually seeing her at Showbox Sodo tomorrow and I have an extra ticket if you want to join me.”

“Yeah, I’m down!”

Well, turns out Arlo Parks was NOT performing at Showbox Sodo. Arlo and her opener Puma Blue were at the OTHER Seattle Showbox arena, The Showbox. Who let Seattle use “Showbox” to name two of its venues? Cece and I couldn’t be the only ones to mix the two up, and in fact, we weren’t. When we arrived, expecting a line of Arlo-obsessed fans impatiently waiting for the doors to open, Cece and I were surprised to find that we were alone. We didn’t start to panic yet—we’d arrived ambitiously early. Still, as we waited for guests to trickle in, only one did. I want to say his name was Wyatt, but I honestly can’t be sure. He Who Is Probably Wyatt approached us, and we soon confirmed the three of us were searching for a concert that had no signs of being found. There were no musical ties to this location: no tour buses, security guards, flashy outfits, or excited chatter in the vicinity. After waiting a few more minutes, someone Googled the concert and ascertained that we were at the wrong venue. We laughed it off and began the trek to the other Showbox.

The journey to The Showbox was a fever dream. I think we took some sort of public transportation because I can’t imagine us walking for thirty minutes, but I do remember there was a portion where we had to walk along the highway. As we strolled down the island of the highway, I could feel the rustle of cars rushing by me. Terrifying. Yet I remember feeling a buzz of exhilaration in my step, despite knowing that my company and safety net of people were two strangers: one I’d freshly met fifteen minutes before, and the other whom I’d known a whole night longer. Comforting, huh?

In a moment of serendipity, we made it to The Showbox just as opener Puma Blue began his set, and managed to weave through the crowd to the barricade. This scene of my life felt scripted; it was as if the writers arranged this elaborate concert venue mix-up just to introduce a new side character into the story: HWIP Wyatt or what’s his name. Unlike most of the attendees that night, Wyatt had come to this concert exclusively for Puma Blue and had never even heard of Arlo Parks.

“Wow, that’s dedication,” I exclaimed. “But you’ve gotta stay for her set after.”

“We’ll see,” he responded. “What are your favorite songs of hers?”

“I really like ‘Caroline’.”

“Okay. I’ll stay for ‘Caroline’.”

When “Caroline” came on, I nudged Wyatt, then disassociated completely and lent myself to Arlo for the next four minutes. I let her inflate me with her tenderness and poetry. Wyatt was in awe of her, too, and ended up staying for her whole set. In the chaos of the crowd’s dissipating congestion after the encore, “Softly,” Cece and I lost Wyatt just as we found Puma Blue at the merchandise booth, taking photos and talking to his fans.

“We met a guy tonight who bought tickets to this show just to see you, and I wanted to let you know,” I told Puma, after complimenting him on his set.

“Wow, really?! That’s amazing! I’m honored. I’d love to meet him. Is he here?” Puma said something along these lines.

“Sorry, we separated from him as everyone was leaving.”

“Well, thank you for telling me. That made my night.”

After saying goodbye to Puma, the writers were at it again. Cece and I stepped out of the venue and came face-to-face with Wyatt one final time. I couldn’t believe it.

“WE JUST MET PUMA AND WE TOLD HIM ABOUT YOU. GO BACK INSIDE AND FIND HIM. QUICK!!!” I screamed, my voice dead from singing along to Arlo’s songs.

“WHAT?!”

“PUMA WANTS TO MEET YOU. HE KNOWS YOU CAME JUST TO SEE HIM. GO!!!”

“OKAY, I’M GOING. THANK YOU!!!” He was electric. I hope he caught Puma in time. 

Funny enough, I never hung out with Cece after that. I see her every once in a while around campus and think of the eventful concert experience we shared—that type of adventure bonds you for life.

…

Many concerts later, the highlights of which were Dora Jar, SZA, and Omar Apollo, and The Moss Pt. II, another concert was brought to my backyard. I often compare my hometown of Port Townsend, Washington, to Gilmore Girls’ Stars Hollow, Connecticut because of the quirky, tight-knit nature of its residents and the multitude of festivals we have. From a Wearable Arts Show to a Rhododendron Festival and an entire week of festivities in honor of Washington’s state flower, Port Townsend’s community events are a vessel for artistry. THING Festival, established in 2019 by Seattle Theater Group (STG), was my dream come true: an independent three-day music festival nestled in Fort Worden State Park, just down the hill from my house. Before relocating to Carnation, Washington, THING’s last run in its initial location was in August of 2023; since I volunteered, this was my first time properly going and not just sneaking in or listening from my house.

As one can imagine, August 25-27 was one of the best weekends of my life. Laufey, Cigarettes After Sex, and “Evergreen” by Richy Mitch and The Coal Miners were the TikTok draw-ins, and they didn’t disappoint. Mild High Club positioned their music equipment back to back, and each player sat facing their boards—my friend joked that it looked like they were playing chess. I volunteered during the majority of The Beths’ set, but my friends brought me a guitar chip that I’ve plastered on my dorm wall next to my Samia (who also performed that weekend) and Arlo Parks chips (from seeing her again a year and a half later). Thee Sacred Souls was my favorite live show that weekend. I like to boast that Josh Lane hopped off the stage and stood directly over me while singing “Will I See You Again?” In honor of “Can I Call You Rose?,” my friends and I bought Josh (humor me into thinking we’re on a first-name basis… he did sign a post-it note after the show with “all love, Josh”) a bouquet of roses and decorated the exterior paper with roses and kind messages. The security guard handed it to him, but since we were at the barricade for that show, he knew it came from us, and extended his gratitude after the show. I’ve never felt like more of a die-hard fangirl before.

Cherry Ferrari was not on my radar until my dad, upon looking at the THING lineup, recommended I check them out. This duo was the first act on the smaller stage that Saturday afternoon, and I showed up over halfway through the set with easy access to the barricade. The female vocalist was transitioning from an original to a cover of “No Scrubs” by TLC. Something about her essence felt familiar. Was it her voice? Her appearance? Her charisma and dynamism?

As she continued performing, I realized it was all three. This girl HAD to be the lead singer of Aurora Ave. But where was the trumpet and the saxophone? And how come all the songs she’d played were in a completely different style? 

I dismissed the idea; it couldn’t be. 

Regardless of who she was, the singer’s stage presence struck me and I happily reciprocated her energy, as did the girls to my left. When she sang another original song, they knew all the words. I was impressed. Maybe they were her friends? Like before, I started a conversation with the girls between songs.

“Are you guys friends with the singer? How do you know the lyrics of her songs?” I asked.

“We don’t know her well or anything, but she opened for our friend’s band,” one of the girls said.

“Really? What are they called? I love finding new music.”

“Aurora Ave.”

No. Way. I waited until after Cherry Ferrari had finished their set and explained what I knew.

“This is gonna sound crazy, but I thought she was connected to Aurora Ave. I swear she came and performed at UW for our fall concert but as the lead singer for Aurora Ave. Do you know anything about that?”

“Oh, yeah. The lead singer couldn’t make that show, so she was just subbing in. This is her project, Cherry Ferrari.”

“Wow. She was a substitute for that show?! She sounded amazing. So are you guys from Seattle, then?”

“Yeah, we’re from West Seattle. We’re students at Western, though.”

“No way. I have a lot of friends at Western.”

“What about you?”

“I’m from Port Townsend—I live just up the hill—but I go to UW.”

“You LIVE here? I’m jealous,” one of the girls said. She had gorgeous auburn curls.

“Yeah, it’s pretty great. We have a lot of festivals like this. I’m Julia, by the way.”

“I’m Quincy, and this is Moira,” the girl with the auburn hair revealed.

“Nice to meet you.”

As Quincy, Moira, and I continued to familiarize ourselves with one another, a voice from the crowd joined in.

“Sorry to eavesdrop, but I know the singer, Emma! We met when she performed at the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) Sound Off. I’m Sylvia.”

“Wow, everyone seems to know Miss Emma!” This was me.

“Here, I’ll introduce you if you want,” Sylvia said casually. She went up to Emma—THE Emma Wang, the overlap in the Venn diagrams between Aurora Ave, Cherry Ferrari, Fall Fling and THING Festival—and they embraced. I lied before: I think this was my biggest fangirl moment. As creative women of color, Emma and I had a lot in common; I could feel our interconnectedness. Perhaps she was the manifestation of my lofty musical aspirations. This made meeting her even more intimidating. 

“Hi!” I chirped. “You were fantastic.” I explained how I’d seen her at UW, and it was so cool to see her again with her own musical group in my hometown, blah, blah, blah, classic fangirl stuff. We took a few pictures with Sylvia and some with just the two of us. She asked me about what it was like to live in Port Townsend and I gave her some recommendations of things to do here if she had the time. We exchanged social media platforms before saying goodbye.

As I walked away with my new friends Quincy, Moira, and Sylvia, I continued to marvel at Emma’s talent. 

“Wow, I can’t believe it’s really her. I knew it! How old is she, anyway? Twenty?”

“Oh, she’s still in high school,” Sylvia said.

“You’re kidding. She’s so talented, and she looks a lot older.”

“Yeah, I don’t think she’s even applied to college yet.” 

…

Fast forward a year and a half and Emma Wang is attending New York University to pursue her music career. How full circle is it that she reached out to me when she found out I was going to the Spring Fling to see Between Friends and wanted to meet up? A celebrity wanting to hang out with ME? We spent an hour texting back and forth catching up, and she told me she had a concert at Neumos on June 21st. I bought two tickets for my best friend Elio and me within minutes and told her I couldn’t wait to support her. Two shows ago, Emma had no idea who I was, but this time, she had someone to smile at and sing “Night Before” to in the front row.

-Julia Neville

[teltoadstool]

And... we’re back to these dorks. Caiden and Wolf were fighting over what, I don’t know, but if I had to guess, one of them insulted the other. That got interrupted though by Wolf getting a phone call. I’m not sure where he was stalking off to, but he left Caiden with Lewis.. which didn’t go well. Apparently whatever Lewis said was boring, but considering that Caiden is a snob, that could have been anything.

[travelingtheusa]

GEORGIA

14 Jan 2017 (Sat) – It was a pretty busy day today.  First, we drove to the Pin Point Heritage Museum.  This was a colony founded by freed slaves who worked for a processing plant.  Life was hard – they had no running water, no electric, and no roads.  The occupants developed their own language called Gulah/Geechee which was made up of English and various African languages.  It was an isolated community where everyone worked for the A.S. Varn & Son Oyster & Crab Factory.  Today, the factory buildings have been converted to an education center for visitors.  They processed crabs in the summer and oysters in the winter.  The center described the process they went through with bringing in the catch, shucking and cleaning the oysters, boiling the crabs, picking the meat, and canning the product.  It was a pretty rough existence.  Clarence Thomas was raised in Pin Point before growing up to become a Supreme Court Justice.  Quite a humble beginning for a great man.

    After the heritage center, we drove a couple of miles over to Bonaventure Cemetery.  It was a huge graveyard with roads winding throughout the place.  There were loads of trees with dripping moss.  Add that to the old gravestones and rusted fencing throughout the cemetery and you have one very spooky place.  

    Next, we drove toward Tybee Island to see the lighthouse.  Happening upon a sign directing visitors to Fort Pulaski, we took a detour and stopped there.  In all the years we have been traveling and visiting forts, this is among the few we have come across that actually saw battle.  The federal government built the fort to protect against an invasion from Florida by the Spanish.  Construction began in 1829 and continued for 18 years.  Two weeks after South Carolina seceded from the union in 1861, state militia seized the fort and then transferred ownership to the Confederate States of America.  Union forces staged on Tybee Island in 1862, across from Fort Pulaski, and commenced to bombard it with 11 artillery batteries.  After 30 hours, the Confederate commander surrendered the fort.  After the union forces established possession of the fort, they used it to house prisoners during the Civil War and later for political prisoners.  The fort was abandoned in 1880 and sat until it was declared a national monument in 1924.

    The fort has a moat that was full of water.  Hurricane Matthew struck the southern states last year in October.  The hurricane left over a foot of water inside the fort and you could see where there was damage.  The bridge over the moat had to be replaced and other key areas of the fort were repaired.  As we walked around the two story fortress, we could see many areas where canons had struck the perimeter walls.  Parts of the fort were rebuilt after the battle and we could see the difference in the color of the bricks, denoting old and new parts.

      After the fort, we drove into Tybee for lunch.  Trip Advisor listed Sundae Café as #1 of 35 restaurants on the island.  The signs outside were worn and the café sat in a small strip mall with only two parking spaces.  It didn’t look like much.  Inside was a pleasant surprise.  The walls and furniture were decorated in shades of gray and cream.  There was an engraved glass wall sitting in the middle of the room and a dark wood bar was nestled in one corner of the room.  The place was small but elegant.  The food was pretty good.

    Following lunch, we drove by the Tybee Island Light Station.  It was a plain lighthouse with several small buildings behind a neat picket fence. Next to it was a battery that has been converted to stores and a public beach area.  Now that’s repurposing!!

      We left Tybee Island and drove to the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force.  It was a very large museum with outstanding displays about World War II and the 8th Air Force.  There were three videos that gave you an interactive feel for being in a B-29 Flying Fortress during battle.  It was quite interesting.  They were getting ready to host a wedding at the museum so we couldn’t look into the chapel. It seems like a weird place to have a wedding and reception but the docent said they have 70 weddings a year.

13 Jan 2017 (Fri) – We took showers this morning then headed into the historic district of Savannah, Georgia.  We learned that the historic district is one mile by one mile square and is the largest historic district in the United States.  Old Georgia is beautiful.  The houses are mostly antebellum or colonial style and the huge live oaks are dripping with Spanish moss.  Many of the buildings have wrought iron railings that lend an air of southern charm. The town of Savannah was a planned community.  All the streets were laid out in checker board fashion and there were about 20 parks with monuments and plaques.  Everywhere we went, the people were very friendly and they all asked us where we were from.  Savannah is a very tourist friendly city.

    We arrived at the visitor’s center and bought tickets for the Town Trolley Tour.  The bus drove around the district for an hour and a half, stopping at 15 points along the route.  Our first stop was at number four where we walked through Madison Square, the largest (30 acres) and oldest park in the city.  There was a large wrought iron fountain with lots of fish and swans decorated on it.  The park was full of live oaks – beautiful trees with sprawling branches.  It was lovely.  

    We got back on the bus, then explored the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist at stop number six.  It was a beautiful cathedral.  Across the street from the cathedral was the home of Juliette Gordon Low, the woman who established Girl Scouts.  Behind the home was a small building with a one-room museum and tiny gift shop.  I had to go look at it because I was a Girl Scout leader for many years.  

    Next stop was at City Market.  It was couple of blocks with a pedestrian mall that went past shops and restaurants.  It was like so many other towns we have been in.  We walked a half mile across town and had dinner at the Olde Pink House.  It was a beautiful old colonial style home (over 100 years old) with thick walls and shuttered windows.  The building used to be a bank and is now a historic building with an outrageous restaurant.  The food was excellent.

     We finished out the tour and returned to the visitor’s center at 4:30 p.m.  It was too late to go to another attraction (they all close at 5:00 p.m.) so we went back to the lodge.  At 6:30 p.m. we went into the lodge and had a drink, then joined them for a buffet dinner at 7:00 p.m.

12 Jan 2017 (Thu) – We left Sumter, SC at 9:45 a.m., drove over four hours (with a lunch stop at Cracker Barrel), and arrived at Orange Park Elks Lodge 183 in Savannah, GA, at 3:30 p.m.  The place was closed and looks like it has seen better days.  There is a pool in back that’s been filled in and a pool house that has been boarded up.  We couldn’t find the two RV parking spots that are listed on the website for this place, so we called a couple of campgrounds in the area looking for a campsite. They were all booked for the weekend. We forgot it is a holiday weekend. So, we got out of the truck and walked the grounds again.  We did find two electric outlets on the outer wall of the closed up pool house.  Paul tested the outlet to verify it was hot. It was.  So we filled the onboard tank with fresh water and hooked up to the electric power.  We’ll stay for a few days.

    At 6 p.m. we drove down the busy roadway to the Texas Roadhouse for dinner.  After we got back, we skyped with Miranda and Caiden.  He was wearing his Sully Monster costume (from Monsters, Inc.).  He is so cute.  Miranda and Kenny have been having conflicts with their work schedules and care for Caiden. Ken got demoted from Assistant Manager because he has been late several times.  They are afraid he will be terminated.  I hope they can work would their sitter problems soon.

[teltoadstool]

Some time later Bats went to bed and Wolf surprisingly cleaned up the puddle he left when he thawed. I like the screen of Bats, because it shows off his fur, which we have @ashuriphoenix to thank for. I use her furs with all of my fuzzier sims. Caiden went to bed later, but I wanted to point out that Caiden and Bats shared a room. They really need a bigger house, but right now they’re in uni so I’ll just leave it for now. 

Then Sean Vidal, who I just spent quite some time finding out who he was on the wiki, decided that the pier that their houseboat is tied to would be a great place to play for tips. Poor thing isn’t going to get any tips. I have a mod that keeps sims from watching other sims play. I’m thinking about taking it out and finding out if I can retune how much fun it is to watch another sim play. He probably wouldn’t have got anything anyway, considering that it was nighttime when he started.

[teltoadstool]

The last few screens of them at home, and the last screen of Oscar. I sent Caiden for a swim to up his water need and to see his merman tail. Oscar evidently got hot, but I’m sure he’s in a great mood since he gets to have the houseboat to himself. Also as you can see the computer is still pranked. Then when everyone was leaving, Caiden decided to break the laws of physics and swim through the pier.

[teltoadstool]

Last screens of these guys for quite some time. Bats made the mistake of eating a candy bar he got. I’m pretty sure the poor baby had to throw up before he left. At least Wolf noticed while he was getting swarmed. Corey’s water need was so low he tried raising it by brushing his teeth, which didn’t help much. I left them like that, with the thought that everyone was going back to the dorm when I played them again. The next household is my avatar Aster’s family. It’s going to take a while to write their introductions, so I won’t be posting gameplay screens. I will be on tumblr everyday though.

[teltoadstool]

Corey took over from Caiden playing ping pong with the mascot. I don’t know why that was so fun. I took Caiden over to get his soda, since he missed getting one when they arrived. Bats started playing the arcade games. I mostly just took this screen in appreciation of how clearly I could see the game he was playing. My sims hadn’t been near an arcade, since I upped my graphics. Poor Wolf was stuck talking with Lewis. I don’t know why, but I’ve always disliked Lewis. I can’t think of anything against him, but I don’t like him. *shrugs*

[teltoadstool]

They all rolled the wish to drink a soda when got to the hall. Poor Corey, his soda erupted in his face. Plant sims like liquid, but I’m pretty sure they don’t want sticky stuff like soda all over them. Caiden was too busy playing ping pong with the mascot to drink his. I don’t know who started the painting, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t one of my sims.

[teltoadstool]

Welcome to University, Corey! I can already tell how much you’re gonna like it here. At least Bats looks happy. Wolf got complained to by Miles Forthright who’s thumb has some serious issues. Then Corey happened... I really wish I knew what was going on here. I mean Corey looks happy enough from this point of view, but I think Corey’s insulting Wolf in some way. I think the problem is that Corey just really doesn’t like being around people.  Ah, the cons of posting things you played a few months ago. You just can’t remember everything.

[teltoadstool]

When Wolf howled, I heard a response (and a thud), so I went to check it out. I’m pretty sure she was scarier before she rendered completely. After she rendered, she was just ugg. Caiden meanwhile was downstairs lecturing about something... to an empty room. At least he looks happy.

[teltoadstool]

Meeting their new roommates. I’m guessing the furniture was taking far too long to load properly, lol. Wolf is playing tag with Jake Sammon, who is apparently one of the homeless sims in this neighborhood. He’s has the childish trait, hence the tag. What I’m wondering is, why was he even there? 

[teltoadstool]

A little bit random here. The first one Bats was looking dramatic and Caiden was just being himself. The rest probably see that expression on Caiden a lot. 

The second one I wish I could remember what happened, but it was at least a couple months ago, so that’s not happening. Just from looking at it, I think that someone scared Bats from far away. Normally when that happens I take a overhead pic showing the distance, but I didn’t this time and I don’t know why. Also the university mascot came by. This time I actually didn’t mind as much, since I was sending these sims to university.

The third one was the first time anyone fixed any food. I think they were drinking to stave off any hunger. At least Caiden decided on something cold, since I don’t think I upped their cooking skills. 

The fourth one is Bats reading Oscar’s mind. The vampire mod I have lets them do that on their own. I don’t think he learned anything from it.

[teltoadstool]

I don’t know what Wolf did to get on Oscar’s bad side, but it must have been pretty bad, in Oscar’s opinion anyway. This was the first time I’ve had this freeze someone solid, so I really wasn’t expecting it. Poor thing was frozen solid for a couple hours. I just love how nobody seems to care. Bats was even smiling for pete’s sake. 

[teltoadstool]

I’m back to posting for now, mostly because I’m too hungry to have the patience to do anything else. My fault entirely. I skipped a meal. Anyway, back to the sims.

 I think the sequence of interactions was, accuse of being a vampire (Caiden to Bats), confess to being a vampire (Bats to Caiden), and ???. I mean, it looks like the confess went well, so I don’t know what Caiden was rejecting. At least one good thing came out of this, which is that Bats got to look adorable.

[teltoadstool]

Sorry for not posting for so long. There was no real reason, other than the fact that I just didn’t feel like it. This household is made up of four supernatural friends and their government handler, (who happens to know how to use magic, but that’s got nothing to do with not being human, right?). They live in Isla Paradiso in one of the EA houseboats. I’m actually looking for a better house, but I haven’t had any luck. Mostly because it has to be on the water somehow. They’re going to university. Well, not their handler. He already has an degree. This is incredibly long, so don’t say I didn’t warn ya! :P I think before I place a ‘read more’, I’m going to state their species. Going clockwise from the top right corner we have a plantsim, a merman, a werewolf, and a vampire. 

The order this time is for their descriptions to make the most sense, so we’re starting with the werewolf in the lower left corner. His name is Elliot Lane. He hates the name, so he usually only answers to Wolf. Although he has always been werewolf, the rich family he ran away from weren’t. Their handler, Oscar, who had to investigate his charges’ origins, will only say that his origins were scandalous. Wolf doesn’t really care. He is only thankful for his wolf form, after all it was incredibly helpful when he ran away at fifteen. Wolf is very possessive of everything he has, which weirdly includes his friends. They aren’t allowed to have friends that he hasn’t chosen to be his friend.They put up with this, because Wolf protects them. Despite this, everyone wants to be his friend or girlfriend. He tends to take advantage of his new ‘friends’, but he really doesn’t want to have anything to do with romance. He knows how to make people do what he wants, and is very good at knowing just how to talk to someone. He is studying physical education at university, but that’s mostly because his friends were going and he didn’t want to be left with Oscar. His traits are: Mean-Spirited, Charismatic, Athletic, Rebellious, Brave, Irresistible, and Hot Headed.

Next is the vampire in the lower right corner. His name is Thaddeus Bradley, although he usually goes by Bat. He was born an odd kind of mutant human. Oscar investigated and found that Bat’s mother was a scientist that was working with vampire bat dna. Needless to say, an accident happened while she was pregnant. His mother died when he was ten, leaving him alone since his father had abandoned his mother and him when Bat was born, because he blamed Bat’s mother for Bat’s mutation. The government had no idea Bat existed, since his mother kept him a secret, so Bat was left to fend for himself. Unfortunately distant relatives inherited the house he was living in, so he ended up on the streets. Bat lived on the streets for awhile, but didn’t have the strength to feed off of random passersby. He would have starved, but Wolf found him and decided that Bat was going to be his friend, so assisted in getting blood for him. Bat met Wolf when Wolf was sixteen, and is Wolf’s first and closest friend. He loves messing around with machines, so he is studying for a Technology degree. He’s very good at guessing what kind of person a person is, so the others always ask him what his opinion of people is. Random fact: Despite the fact that his mutation is comes from bats, most people think he’s some kind of wolf-man at first sight.  His traits are: Over-Emotional, Handy, Perceptive, Eccentric, and Friendly. 

Corey North is the plantsim in the upper left corner. Wolf saved Corey after the forest where he was living was sprayed with some kind of poison, which left Corey unconscious. The next day immediately after Corey came to, he ran to find a dirt mound and buried himself in it. He didn’t emerge for a couple weeks, which left Wolf and Bat worried about his well being, so Bat went over to him and just started rambling. Eventually Corey emerged to tell him to shut up. Having nowhere to go, Corey stayed with the strange duo, and started his long search for art supplies. He hates being around people, and tends to get angry if anyone talks to him. Most of the time he’s outside painting or drawing, which he hates to be interrupted when doing either. Corey’s going to get a fine arts degree.  His traits are: Brave, Loner, Loves the Outdoors, Artistic, and Hot-Headed. 

Caiden Moss, the merman in the upper right corner, was part of a very rich and influential family under the ocean. He’s now on land against his will. Oscar has questioned Caiden many times about this, but can never get a straight answer. In Oscar’s opinion, Caiden was either exiled or cursed, but most likely exiled, since Caiden still has his merman tail. Caiden washed ashore unconscious and hurt. The others rescued him from the beach and nursed him back to health, because Wolf, who was the one that found Caiden, had taken a shine to Caiden. Caiden at first really doesn’t like living with these ‘street urchins’, but they saved him, and to tell the truth he couldn’t live on his own. Caiden was the last to join the, besides Oscar, so he isn’t as close to the others as the others are to each other. Caiden hates being alone and is constantly looking for someone to talk to. Unfortunately that usually backfires tremendously, due to Caiden’s uppity attitude. It doesn’t help that Caiden’s a genus, and uses his knowledge against them. They get back at him by making fun of his clumsiness. Technically he’s only clumsy on land, but he can’t seem to get this argument to stop the teasing. He’s going to university for a science and medicine degree. His traits are: Social Butterfly, Clumsy, Genus, Proper, and Snob. 

Oscar Briggs is the one in the bottom picture. He works for a government organisation trying to understand the recently revealed supernatural population. He was assigned to this group of supernatural creatures as their caretaker. Oscar has the same level of authority over them that a parent has over their children. He doesn’t like kids much, which as everyone knows includes young adults, and he’s usually in a bad mood, but he warms up to his charges... eventually. Oscar isn’t scared of any supernatural being. He’s usually just annoyed at any show of power. At first the kids didn’t know about his magical abilities, but they found out after he used them to protect Caiden from Monster Hunters. His charges knowing allows him to use his powers to discipline them, but it also means they have some dirt on him, which they can tell the Organisation, which really wouldn’t be a good thing for Oscar. Oscar definitely isn’t stupid in any way. He’s very good at reading his charges and figuring out their secret terms. He also had no trouble collecting the information about their pasts, which he did without the parties involved knowing.  His traits are: Dislikes Children, Grumpy, Perceptive, Brave, and Genus. 

[teltoadstool]

We come to the beautiful world of Isla Paradiso, where there’s a little tin hut at the start of a pier. And inside the hut?

These people. Who they are and why they are all gathered in this little hut? No one knows, but they’re there.