#tgintro

[windsornate]

(nicholas galitzine, cismale, he/him.) Welcome back to The Gates’ Community Center, NATHANIEL “NATE” WINDSOR! Or should we say THE CATACLYSMIC? As a resident of BAYVIEW ESTATES for THREE MONTHS, we are sure you need no introduction. However, we’d like to confirm some information for our community directory. You are TWENTY-FIVE years old, correct? And an UNEMPLOYED LOSER at NOWHERE? Wonderful! We are so pleased to have someone who is CHARISMATIC, RESILIENT, and STEADFAST within our community. Of course, we’ve also heard that you can be VOLATILE, SHORT TEMPERED, and STUBBORN… but you can’t believe everything you hear, right? Anyone who reminds people of NOTES OF CITRUS AND LEATHER, THE CHARGE IN THE AIR BEFORE A STORM, A MOTORCYCLE FLYING DOWN A DEAD END ROAD is welcome in The Gates.

BASICS

Name: Nate Windsor

Species: Vampire

Birth Date: August 18

Zodiac: Leo

Sexual Orientation: Bisexual

Relationship Status: Single

Hometown: San Diego, California

HISTORY

Nate was born into privilege. His father inherited an energy empire from his father that had created a near-monopoly in the Southern California area.

From a young age, Nate showed promise in sports— namely football, so that was what his parents encouraged him to follow. He was happy to listen because he was good.

There wasn't much that Nate would have complained about, really. His parents were busy but they were supportive. He had everything he could have ever wanted for at the tips of his fingers, all he had to do was ask. He was popular in school, and anyone who knew anything about football could see that he was going places. The lavishing of praise did create something of an ego monster, but he was only human after all

To no one's surprise, Nate was spoiled for choice when it came to colleges. He wound up at University of Oregon playing for the Ducks, a full ride he didn't need, but took, anyway.

After three years of college, he was eligible to be drafted for the NFL, where he was immediately snatched up by the San Diego Chargers. He had a hell of a rookie year, making a name for himself for his skills and his looks. Both of which he leaned into, because of course.

Along the way, he reconnected with an old friend from school which quickly grew into a relationship. He loved her. Really, he did. But with his rapid ascent into fame, temptation was... well. Tempting.

Nate carried on a secret relationship with @margaretdaisylloyd. First, under a glamour. But even after that went away, their dalliances didn't.

On the night his blessed life was cut tragically short, Margaret saved him. Thinking he'd be thankful when he awoke to realize what he was now, she was blindsided by his anger. He was overwhelmed by new senses, new cravings, and, for all intents and purposes, a new body, and he did not handle the change well.

Vowing to make her pay for what she'd done, Nate fled his life before he could watch the people he loved mourn him, switching off the part of himself that felt guilt and humanity and ripping his way through city after city. He gave into the monster inside of him, his grief and anger coalescing into a walking nightmare

Eventually, after several years of that, guilt began to catch up to him. He was still angry, still blamed Margaret for everything that had gone wrong in his life, but this time, he decided to make himself a problem a little closer to home. And since he didn't have one of those anymore, he figured what better place to set down some roots than on her own turf?

His new goal is to cause as much chaos as he can, push as many boundaries as he can find, until she feels as miserable as he does

And maybe there's still just a boy desperate for love and admiration trapped inside there. That part, at least, remains to be seen

HEADCANONS

TBA

CONNECTIONS

Margaret - Nate's sire and ex lover. They are currently posing as siblings (twins!) while Nate does his best to make her regret turning him

Ginny - she made him his first daylight ring and now the two are working together to try and find a cure for vampirism

Sabrina - she knew Nate's fiancé back in the day and would recognize him from his previous life if she ever saw him. And if she ever does recognize him? Well, he'll just gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss his way into making her believe she is mistaken

Parker - being a human and therefore completely useless to him outside of anything more than a quick meal, Parker never landed on his list of people to watch. Until she decided to consider him a suspect in Cathy's murder. Now, he just thinks it would be fun to toy with her since she doesn't know about the existence of the supernatural. That quick movement out of the corner of your eye? That movement you could just swear you saw in the shadows? Well, that might have been one Nate Windsor.

[alek-laska]

Welcome back to The Gates’ Community Center, ALEKSANDER LASKA! Or should we say WORKAHOLIC? As a resident of HARBORVIEW HEIGHTS for TWENTY NINE YEARS, we are sure you need no introduction. However, we’d like to confirm some information for our community directory. You are TWENTY NINE years old, correct? And a DETECTIVE at THE GATES POLICE DEPARTMENT? Wonderful! We are so pleased to have someone who is AMBITIOUS, METICULOUS, and STRONG-WILLED within our community. Of course, we’ve also heard that you can be OBSESSIVE, EMOTIONALLY WITHDRAWN, and OVERZEALOUS… but you can’t believe everything you hear, right? Anyone who reminds people of A MAN STRUNG OUT ON SEVEN CUPS OF COFFEE, A PACK OF CIGARETTES, AND A SINGLE HOUR OF SLEEP, is welcome in The Gates.

Basics:

Name: Aleksander Laska

Nicknames: Alek or Laska

Species: Human (unaware of the supernatural)

Birthdate: January 10, 1995

Zodiac: Capricorn

Gender/Pronouns: Cismale, He/Him

Sexual Orientation: Demisexual

Relationship Status: Married to the job (otherwise, single)

Hometown: Harborview Heights

Pets: A beta-fish named Lucky

History:

For the men of the Laska family, police work has always been a generational calling. Alek's grandfather, and Alek's father (Adam Laska) after him, both served in the Gates Police Department as a Deputy and Detective respectively.

Alek doesn't remember much about his early childhood, apart from it being pleasant if a bit suburban. Alek's family lived in a small house just outside of the Heights. It wasn't anything special -- the Laska family had never been rich like many of the other families who were longtime residents of the Gates. It was a simple life, enough to be proud of. Enough for a child to find safe and secure. Enough to take for granted.

When Alek was nine years old, his father died of a massive heart attack, leaving his family with little in savings and a large sum still owed on their family home. This plunged Alek's mother into a protracted period of financial instability. She took on odd jobs, often working nights, leaving Alek to fend largely for himself. A boy learns to entertain himself. A boy learns how to live in his own head.

Despite Alek's mother's best effort, it wasn't enough. Eventually the bank came calling for their due and threatened to foreclose on the house. All seemed lost -- until, it wasn't.

"Someone in the Gates is looking out for us," she'd said once. As Alek grew older he pressed her for more information on their mysterious benefactor, his mother refused to elaborate (a secret she took to her grave in the summer of '22).

Life went on, almost like normal -- like before, but it could never really be the same.

Alek excelled in school, eventually matriculating at Washington State to study Criminology so he could follow in his father's footsteps. He graduated with honors and leadership distinction.

Returning home to the Heights, Alek joined the police force as a deputy, where he has served since early 2019.

He has only recently been promoted to detective.

Headcanons:

Alek keeps a worn photograph of his father in uniform in his billfold. 

Though he doesn't know who it was, if it weren't for their secret benefactor in the Gates, his family would have lost their home – because of this, Alek feels indebted to the town itself.

Alek has a rare knack for numbers, puzzles, and trivia. He watches Jeopardy religiously and has a habit of blurting the answers out at the TV and to anyone else there to listen.

Wanted Connections:

The Benefactor: Someone paid off the Laska family mortgage. Who was it? Was it pity, or was it guilt? Did Adam Laska really die of a heart attack?

Childhood Friends: Alek has lived in the Heights his whole life (outside of college), so I'm definitely looking for someone who would have known/been close Alek when he was a sullen youngster.

The Stick-in the mud: I'm looking for someone, anyone, to get in the way, of an active murder investigation. You know, for funsies.

[investig8s]

(Kennedy McMann, Cis Woman, She/Her.) Welcome back to The Gates’ Community Center, PARKER ALBRIGHT! Or should we say THE INVESTIGATOR? As a resident of HARBORVIEW HEIGHTS for ONE YEAR, we are sure you need no introduction. However, we’d like to confirm some information for our community directory. You are TWENTY-SEVEN years old, correct? And a JOURNALIST at THE GATES GAZETTE? Wonderful! We are so pleased to have someone who is INCISIVE, DETERMINED, and CURIOUS within our community. Of course, we’ve also heard that you can be ALOOF, SKEPTICAL, and MEDDLESOME… but you can’t believe everything you hear, right? Anyone who reminds people of THE SUDDEN CLARITY THAT STRIKES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, THE STILLNESS OF THE WORLD IN THE EARLY MORNING, LEAVING SO YOU'RE NOT THE ONE WHO GETS LEFT BEHIND, & ANSWERING A QUESTION WITH A QUESTION is welcome in The Gates.

BASICS

Name: Parker Albright

Nickname(s): N/A

Species: Human, does not believe in the supernatural

Birth Date: December 30

Zodiac: Capricorn

Sexual Orientation: Demisexual

Relationship Status: Single

Hometown: Bar Harbor, Maine

Reference Characters: Nancy Drew (it literally cannot be helped), Veronica Mars, Dana Scully, Kim Possible, Rory Gilmore (minor)

HISTORY

Parker Albright grew up in Maine, the only child of two college professors. But... really one. Her mother left when she was six, and ever since then it was Peter and Parker Albright (yes, their names, they know) against the world.

And for the longest time they did everything together. He instilled in her a love of reading and writing, she asked him to review her English essays, and then her articles for the school paper, and then, eventually, her college admissions essay. They were incredibly close, and her childhood a notably good one. So it hurt, of course, when she came back from her first semester at college and learned that he was engaged. To someone he'd known for quite some time, but that he'd only been seeing for a matter of months. It set off some mommy issues that had been dormant for over a decade, and Parker still hasn't fully confronted them to this day.

Luckily, she had her coursework to distract her in the moment. And her position as featured writer, then lead writer, and then editor-in-chief of her college paper. She'd been building up to a career in journalism for her entire life, so it wasn't a surprise to anyone when she graduated and began an internship with one of the smaller market Hearst papers. Six months later, the internship led to a job. And her dream was in the process of being fully realized.

Parker has always been incredibly curious, the constant why questions not ceasing after she passed 5 years old. It's what's made her so good at investigative journalism - she digs and digs until she finds the truth. And then she tells it, fact checked and with as many sources as possible. If only her curious nature hadn't also led to her downfall.

At least, that's what her stupid ex-boyfriend would say, if you were to ask him. A rivals to lovers romance at the paper, they'd been dating for a couple of years - even living together - when she got her big break. It was an innocuous story at first, a story either of them could have picked up, but once she'd started digging, Parker had realized there was so much more at play. And then when she finally published, sources notified and carefully vetted, she got a lot of attention. And the first pick of scoops. A hint of a future promotion. The great love life, thriving career, work-life balance... for the first time ever it really did seem like she had it all. But then her boyfriend lied. Spread a rumor that the piece she'd spent so long on was based on conjecture and that she'd falsified her sources. Did I mention that his father was the editor in chief of that paper? There was no investigation - Parker was let go within a week, blacklisted from the industry. And also homeless, since she sure as hell was not about to acknowledge the mere existence of her ex. It's been two years and she's still reeling from the betrayal.

After her life fell apart, she moved home for a few months. But living in her childhood bedroom, playing house with her dad and his new wife... it was all a little much for her. Parker jumped at the first job opportunity she got, thankful for the slight bit of nepotism at play when her college roommate's uncle arranged for the interview with the Gates Gazette. A private island? There may not be a whole lot to investigate, but it sure sounded like an ideal place to escape from her troubles. One salary negotiation later and she'd hopped on a plane. And there she's been, scrounging around for any interesting tidbit to write about ever since.

With the investigation into what happened to Cathy now underway, Parker feels like she has to prove herself. So she's throwing everything she has into her parallel investigation.

HEADCANONS

Parker wasn't exactly known for being social prior to Cathy's death, but now you'll find her jumping into conversations, asking innocent enough questions at every hot spot in town. Want her to answer anything? Good luck. But she's observed everyone for long enough that she feels good enough about her approach.

Her ex's betrayal truly shifted something in her. He'd known her like few had, had claimed he loved her, and yet she'd been so easy to discard. Just like her mother had done once upon a time... her abandonment issues are out to play!! And trust issues. Her walls are up, and they're not about to come down any time soon.

The one thing her ex was not wrong about is that sometimes she goes to extreme lengths to get answers to things. Ethically questionable, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. She'd would never falsify her sources, but to discover sources in the first place... she might sneak around a little. Use some deceptive (but largely legal) tactics.

The first thing she did after moving to The Gates, before she realized she was going to need a roommate to afford her rent, was adopt a cat. Named Watson, the adorable adult black cat helped her feel a little less lonely when she was completely starting over.

WANTED CONNECTIONS

Partner in Crime. She's very self-sufficient, but if your muse is looking for someone to team up with to crack the case, boy do I have the investigative journalist for you.

Coworkers. Anyone else who works at the paper.

Best Friend. Would love someone who knew her Before, who would be the only person in town to know of all of the drama that brought her to The Gates.

Tentative Friends. She's trying to put herself out there more. Sure, it's for a very specific purpose, but along the way she'll likely meet some people she truly connects with.

Enemies. She will rack these up very quickly with all her questions.

Something Something... Romance. She's very closed off to this right now, but who knows? Maybe someone can break through.

TAKEN CONNECTIONS

Virginia Beaumont. Unlikely Friend. Parker is nosing around, asking questions about Ginny's aunt, but eventually they'll realize they have quite a bit in common.

Nate Windsor. Suspect/Tormentor. He's sketchy and she's going to be sticking her nose in his business. As a result, since she's unaware of the supernatural, he will be gaslighting her into questioning reality.

[foolish1s]

(Maddison Jaizani, Cis Woman, She/Her.) Welcome back to The Gates’ Community Center, SABRINA SHIRAZI! Or should we say THE AIRHEAD? As a resident of BAYVIEW ESTATES for TWO YEARS, we are sure you need no introduction. However, we’d like to confirm some information for our community directory. You are TWENTY-SEVEN years old, correct? And a KINDERGARTEN TEACHER at THE GATES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL? Wonderful! We are so pleased to have someone who is POSITIVE, LOYAL, and KIND within our community. Of course, we’ve also heard that you can be INSECURE, QUIXOTIC, and CLINGY… but you can’t believe everything you hear, right? Anyone who reminds people of THE LINGERING SCENT OF EXPENSIVE PERFUME, CONSTANTLY MAKING THE SAME MISTAKES BUT HOPING TO SOMEDAY LEARN BETTER, A CLOSET FULL OF PASTELS, & BEING TOO SOFT FOR ALL OF IT is welcome in The Gates.

BASICS

Name: Sabrina Shirazi

Nickname(s): Sab, Brina

Species: Witch (Green Magic)

Birth Date: February 29 (we're making up a leap year because I didn't want her to be 24)

Zodiac: Pisces

Sexual Orientation: Bisexual

Relationship Status: Single

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA

Reference Characters: London Tipton, Elle Woods, Alexis Rose, Galinda Upland

HISTORY

Sabrina Shirazi was born and raised in the Los Angeles area. The daughter of an actor and a real housewife, she's led a charmed life - albeit an occasionally fake one. At age ten she was smiling for the cameras, making cameos in her parents' respective productions, and being largely ignored at home. That is, until her grandmother moved in. The older woman refused to be lured in by the grandeur of Hollywood, camping out in the guest house and taking Sabrina under her wing.

Quite literally. Sabrina had thought that when her grandmother said they were going to yoga class, she was in for a snoozefest. Instead, at eleven years old, she was taken to her first coven meeting and informed that she was a witch.

There was no magical school. Or summer camp. Or any other fun bonding experience like in the movies. Instead, Sabrina's magical education consisted of her stepping in as the fifth member of her grandmother's coven, learning by doing. A green magic witch from birth, she took the spot that should have been her mother's. And with this one thing, she took to it like a duck to water.

Everything else in her life at the time... not so much. No one has ever accused Sabrina of being brainy, but by the time she reached high school it was clear that her options for her future were limited. She was incredibly popular in school, well liked by almost everyone, Homecoming Queen, Miss Congeniality, etc. But smart? Not quite.

It wasn't just being book smart that she struggled with, though. On occasion, her common sense was seriously lacking. She'd trust the wrong people, make mistakes she should've known better than to make. By the time she reached college (did her parents help get her in somewhere so they wouldn't be embarrassed? maybe so) (she also took a few years off prior to travel the world 🩷), she knew she needed to figure her life out. So she decided to major in Elementary Education, intending to teach kindergarten. All the while she continued to serve as a member of her grandmother's coven, learning all she could before she inevitably had to spread her wings and fly.

The decision to move to The Gates came the day she graduated. An exclusive island for the supernatural? Nothing was more fitting. Her grandmother was the one who told her about it, and within a week her parents had signed the paperwork for an impressive home for her - their graduation gift. She's been living in town for two years now, and she absolutely loves everything about it. EXCEPT for the fact that she's been unable to complete a coven of her own. She and her very best friend have been doing okay on their own, but Sabrina has never been without a coven before. And with Cathy Beaumont turning up dead? It's best to take no chances.

HEADCANONS

Sabrina lives in Bayview Estates because it's the spot in town to live the life of luxury she's so used to, but she insisted The Recluse move in so she wouldn't have to live in solitude. Her parents are paying for her house, so she hasn't yet had to tap into her trust fund.

She sometimes has object permanence issues when it comes to people. If you're not in her line of sight... you may not exist. Which isn't great when it comes to relationships. She has, at least once, forgotten to formally end one relationship before starting up another. It was just casual, though, right?

Sabrina is desperate to add at least one member to her coven, and she's specifically targeting The Activist. She can be very charming, so she's hoping they'll be swayed in her direction and not that of the Beaumonts. How cool would it be to have a coven comprised of people with different types of magic?? She is coming at this with the intensity of Elle Woods on her quest to get into Harvard. She will stop at nothing to succeed - very much a new side of her that no one in The Gates has seen before.

You would think that the fact that she's so absentminded would prevent her from keeping plants alive, but that's not the case. She's a very nurturing person (she wouldn't have chosen to be a kindergarten teacher otherwise!), and the garden she has in her greenhouse is thriving. She prefers to grow her own ingredients for spells, proud of her small moments of independence.

WANTED CONNECTIONS

Messy Relationships! Exes, hookups, etc. See headcanons.

Makeover Montage. Past or future, Sabrina has turned into a fairy godmother for a good cause (getting someone to stop wearing truly tragic outfits).

Coworkers. Please! Elementary school teachers or the principal.

Friends. She makes friends easily, slipping into conversation with someone without a second thought. Though she's only been in town for two years, she's probably befriended a circle of people.

Enemies. I'm sure she's grating for some people - she's perpetually cheery and she still doesn't have the best grasp on how the real world works. There are a million reasons why they wouldn't get along!

TAKEN CONNECTIONS

Ale Rodrigues. Casual Hookup. They met when Sabrina was still newer to the island and treating it more like Love Island than a place she was going to settle down in forever. They were doing their morning runs in opposite directions when his dog decided to follow her instead... and get Sabrina all tangled up in her leash. He was her knight in shining armor, keeping her from falling. Literally, but also metaphorically, since it's strictly casual.

Dominic Faris. Casual Hookup Also. They were casual friends first, but have also started hooking up in the past year. She is completely unaware of Ale and Dom's interpersonal conflict. Fun!

Virginia Beaumont. Jealousy, Jealousy/Rivals. Sabrina thinks that Ginny has it all together, and she resents her a little for it. She feels like she's trying so hard in comparison to The Prodigy. Plus, they're a total personality mismatch AND they're in a race to complete their respective covens. It's no surprise that they don't get along when they have to interact.

[cosmicromancer]

Перезагрузка!

Дорогие друзья! Блог был успешно перезагружен. Я устал от конфликта между "жрецами" и "прагматами", от поиска парадигмы, которая была бы идеальной для моего восприятия. То, что вы видите сейчас - это результат моего отказа от позиции "исследователя феномена". В конце-концов я причастен к тому, что происходит в Тетрагалаксоне и несу ответственность перед всеми его обитателями за то, в каком виде он будет представлен землянам. Вот почему паблике ВК я стремлюсь быть максимально непредвзятым и повествовать как можно более нейтрально, как того требует этика. Но в то же время, будучи не только свидетелем, но и участником событий, что неизбежно приводит к желанию выразить свои переживания, что недопустимо для ВК. Таким образом я реанимирую блог потому что я хочу чтобы он стал площадкой, на которой я буду описывать происходящее со своей точки зрения, которую сложно назвать нейтральной.

Толчком к этому послужила гибель корабля "Весп" Соединенных королевских аэрокосмических сил и предшествовавшее ему сражение. Что я могу написать о нем в паблике? Я понял, что моим переживаниям нет места в ВК, когда опубликовал мемориальную доску памяти погибших в том сражении. А затем сбили Весп. "Корабль AV-375 Vespe U-RAF AUK был сбит во время проведения операции Kastel, экипаж погиб" - это максимум моих полномочий, как блюстителя политического нейтралитета. Здесь же я могу сказать: "Экипаж по нелепой случайности состоял из новичков. Их не должно было быть не то что в системе, а даже в секторе. Парни стояли до конца, но мы не смогли вовремя придти им на помощь. Это позор для всех нас, но мы обязательно отомстим. И мы сделаем все, чтобы это больше никогда не повторилось".

Суммирую сказанное выше: здесь, в Тамблере я буду писать о своих переживаниях, вот почему мой герб находится в "шапке" блога. Возможно я буду публиковать мнения других обитателей Тетрагалаксона.

Спасибо за внимание.

- Дик