#Council member

[carcazation]

Didn't post her until now, but hello, ULTRAKILL OC

#ultrakill #ultrakill oc #carcazart #^-^ #Council member #but as always prophecies aren't something to be 100 accurate

[macbeth-murder-match]

Kill Donald Duck. Kill Him.

its in your hands

#council member #asks

[white-boy-bracket]

Hey folks do you remember that Jesus was one of the people smuggled in during the food portal incident? Well you're reminded now! Crack time: archiveofourown. org/works/46753009/chapters/117795529

!

#white boy lore #white boy fanfiction #none of you are allowed to be mad. you did this #council member #yes i know jesus isn't a white boy. he was smuggled in

[lunarcovehq]

Nyra Odeyer is a siren that currently resides in Sunny Harbor and has been a Lunar Cove resident for 15 years ago, getting caught up in turbulent waters with her newfound position as advisor.

ITS THE END OF THE WORLD

GENDER/PRONOUNS: Cis Woman, She/Her

DATE OF BIRTH: October 4, 1857

OCCUPATION: Head of the Emerald Hotel and Puck’s Luck

FACECLAIM: Deepika Padukone

AS WE KNOW IT, AND I FEEL FINE

SPECIES: Fae

SUBCATEGORY: Siren

FAE COURT POSITION: Advisor

AGE THEY APPEAR: 37

WELCOME TO LUNAR COVE, NYRA ODEYER

Trigger Warnings: Death, Murder

Once upon a time there lived a girl that dreamt of high castle walls and shimmering rubies, of colourful mosaics and sharp swords, but such images were restricted only to the dreamscapes and imaginations of the child, fated to fade in the dreamy golden hour of dawn’s first light, both a tragedy and reality as the threads that created those vivid tapestries slowly but surely unfurled to a deep longing within her heart. It wasn’t a displeasure to be born without such luxuries, her parents provided far more than most, and really, they too sometimes wished for riches so it never struck her as odd when such dreams recurred, happiness existed and that’s all that mattered… right?

Stories that began with once upon a time often promised happy endings. This is not that story. 

Let’s start again.

Once upon a life, in a memory of time, there lived a girl that knew something was different about her. Wrong or special would be debated in private even if the specifics evaded her but Niharika knew she walked a different path than her siblings. She teased much like they did, laughter rang the same notes if not a bit more melodic, she grew angry like them too, stomping feet like a child was wont to do, yet when her siblings did it skies did not gloom dark in the distance – could be a coincidence, she certainly wrote it of as such many times, but the comparison couldn’t help but be made. However, one of the many things that tormented her in the most annoying sense, Niharika could not, despite her best efforts, lie. But the girl had bigger things to worry about than getting her siblings into trouble. 

Trouble, instead, found her. 

It had been a normal day, she accompanied her mother and siblings to the local temple, and it all went well till a man dressed in priestly clothes questioned whether she would like a reading. Such a thing was not unusual, vedic astrology was an important facet of their belief and their mother agreed, considering this a blessing to be asked when the practice of a family to request such a thing. Something felt different about this to her, about him, but she paid her respects and stepped into a private room within the temple. Suspicions confirmed true when she called her Chandrika, but instead of confusing that ought to have been reflected, familiarity flashed across her face as something began to unlock within her mind; a memory tucked away in a forgotten pocket of time held a song, gentle waves, and a moon so bright she could feel its light illuminating everything in soft glow. He must’ve noticed her wide eyes but when he called her daughter, the spell broke with a tiny gasp as Niharika recoiled away. She couldn’t be blamed for the way hurt and disappointment moved across his face, she hardly paid any attention to anything as moonlight still danced in her vision. Something about past lives he had said about reincarnation and fate and told her to be cautious. She couldn’t believe any of it. The man, to avoid suspension for his intention was to only speak to her, had read her siblings charts too, imparting wisdom and advice to all of them. Thoughts weighed heavy on the girl's mind as they took their leave, half-listening to her siblings boast about being lucky in the near future or attain recognition in their adult life, and knowing she couldn’t speak fully without spilling her thoughts Niharika remained mostly silent, only saying she was told to be careful – which hadn’t been a complete lie, it was part of of what he had said. 

Time ticked by uneventfully yet quickly, uneasiness had waned since the meeting, things returned to normal except now she was too aware of how often she looked to the moon, and no matter how soft her voice had been, she found eyes on her while she sang. Her family thought it was talent shining through as they were drawn to her voice for the uncountable time, magical they called it but that only caused brows to crease and head to be cast down. She kept her mouth shut and drew no gazes, kept emotions in check and skies stayed normal, tried not to think of the stranger but she crossed paths with him again. On her birthday this time. He said he had a gift and revealed a dress of golden silk and embroidery so delicate it looked to be a near perfect replica of the one she used to dream about. Niharika hadn’t worn it, hardly touched it in case it would fade or she tainted it with the ever growing wrongness she felt, what if it was the same one? That thought made her shudder as she stowed it away, trying not to think of the man’s departing words – “Be careful of the water.” 

At a bazaar many moon cycles later did she bump into him, this time growing bolder with age she did not shy away, a lifetime of questions poured out of her at top speed. He did not chide her like adults did, did not scowl as she spoke out of turn, not even a word when she blamed him for countless sleepless nights caused by the warning he had given. Being the adamant little thing she was, Niharika brimmed with confidence as she teetered on the banks of Kaveri, eyes cast to the recent monsoon fed river, determined that there was nothing to worry here, how often had she ran alongside its current or swam in its waters? She had dragged him along to the riverside to prove it. Hopping closer, she all but dipped a leg in before she pulled it out in a panicked frenzy backing away from the waters edge as what she could only describe as the tail of fish grew out from her legs, her flesh being replaced scales as screams echoed with terror. And she swore when she looked at him with horror in her eyes, he simply smiled, like this was something to be expected, like this was normal. A variation of Matsyakanya he had said, citing their vedic lore. Heartbeat returned to a regular staccato rhythm, and for a moment she felt relief, peace, joy even as her tail splashed up some water – these she would come to know where the man’s emotions that gave her, except it felt like her own too.

Still coming to terms with this discovery, she did as told, what choice did she have? Days turned to years and this secret stayed within her, caged and confined like her wings that soon came about, entirely beautiful and mesmerising but she couldn’t share it, out of fear, out of promise, obligation, call it whatever, but she knew things would not be the same if she had. Water was avoided too once she found out what exactly she was. Yet, no amount of precautions would be enough to keep things as they had been, safety had never been granted for their kind she had been told and that slipped further and further from grasp.

The Raj’s guardsmen marching through the village had everyone on edge, their announcements of the King’s decree drew private scoffs yet none could oppose it. Her current family worried about what it would mean, and she had her own opinions on the matter but as she watched them tucked away from line of sight, she was pulled further into the crowd by an invisible force, though she had learnt to not react so openly, the act still jolted her. Invisibility. Another foreign concept. His frightened state was hard to miss, rushed explanations of hunters among the cavalry and fleeing were met again with wide eyes and racing thoughts. Things escalated quickly from then, raids and more soldiers, she didn’t want to run, didn’t want to leave her family behind but when questions that in a roundabout way pointed towards the unnatural state of being, luxury of choice was not afforded to them. It was in this slight hesitation, life flipped for Niharika, the hunted would always be pursued and on a moonless light she still vividly remembered, screams tore into the night as hunters stalked and killed her human family without remorse only later realising there wasn’t anything abnormal about them. She didn’t stick around till daybreak, she ran in the dead of night, teary eyed and angry causing the weather to shift and bend to her will. Her past-life father was ready, bags packed and he vanished as she escaped into the river before they could be found, letting the water take control and steer them to safety.

She grew quiet after that ordeal, blood clouding her vision as she cried, mourned for the loss of a loving family, what a sight she must’ve been too but he couldn’t do much about it other than hide them away, move them from place to place as battles broke out across the land; some pertaining to their kind, most not. Not many batted an eye at an ageing man and a silent girl. She had asked questions mainly as to why he had not kept on being ageless and the answer struck far too deep for something so simple – “I’m tired.”

He would not regenerate again and she accepted it, memories were precious things, they were all one had to keep them going. Before his permanent departure from this world, he had bestowed more knowledge on survival and their kin, answering every question he knew the answer to and finding out some he hadn’t known and giving names of woodland Fae and deep sea dwellers so she may discover more on her own. It was not custom for the daughter to perform last rites but she was family and she’d be damned if beliefs such as that prevented her from being there. It was attended by a few confidants he had made over time, some she had seen some not, all in all a quiet and private affair and none said a word of protest on the matter as she set the pyre alight, chanting mantras for a safe passage. 

Last of the condolences were received as the sun dipped beyond the horizon, a man in a dark suit approached her speaking of a place for their kind, a sanctuary he was setting out to build. With promises to think on it, Niharika put a pin on that thought and it forever fluttered in the back of her mind as she spent the next few decades learning about the world and all it had to offer. She had a proper name for her form too, Siren, the English word more widely used fit snugly. She lived many different lives, some she remembered, some she let the memory float away on the tides, learned to love and live and felt death deeply when those she grew attached were lost to time. Grew into a sharper, resolute person, called herself Nyra too, a new name for what felt like a new life. Because in a way it was, yet she couldn't give up on her roots completely, the picked was a variant name of the goddess she was named after. She met more of her kind too and did end up visiting Lunar Cove, a sanctuary for the supernatural kind, staying a few months on and off but she did not root herself to its soil just yet, there was more to see, more to figure out, and discover she did. Fragments of her family, of both human and the magical kind, her travels took her across the globe, even to Europe where eyes rolled at the so-called British Raj’s. What opulence did they hold to the Maharajas of ages past? Laughable and easily dismissed. In all her finds, however, the best had been stumbling upon Aiyla after a hunter attack. France was her break but with it being a tumultuous time for the Banshee, Nyra easily stepped into help. A deed being repaid forward from times when she was given help. She assisted Aiyla with her endeavours, be it information, questions, nudging her slightly onto a better path, even took her to see Evelyn who knew everything, knowing that she would find some of not all the answers the younger Fae sought. Nyra weaved in and out of Aiyla’s life for years to come, not entirely a solid presence but not completely absent either till eventually she heard her own siren call – Lunar Cove beckoned for permanency and she answered leaving Aiyla to carve her own path and way forward.

The dubious tagline of a sanctum aside, Nyra made a solid foundation for herself in this town, and felt a sense of calm that she hadn’t experienced in years. She stayed on as a member of the court, grew close to Hazal over the years offering her support in any way possible, even took to running the Emerald Hotel to help any wayward Fae that wandered through the mirage. And to finally see Aiyla make her way in was a relief beyond words. But of course, turbulent waters were never far behind. Momentary exhalation came crashing down bringing death and destruction, she tried not to let her heart grow cold as horror upon horror struck the town she called home, especially with Aiyla made Queen and she her advisor, it was not the time for callousness and spite to fester. There was a new purpose now, a chance to dig up hope and mitigate danger that only seemed to grow.

#Nyra Odeyer #deepika padukone #council member #fae court member #Pucks Luck #Emerald Hotel #taken fae #all #sunny harbor

[santaclaralocalnews]

The trial of Council Member Anthony Becker will now take place at the end of July. During a brief motions hearing in San Jose on March 29, the presiding judge agreed to push the start of the trial back to July 29. Judge Elizabeth C. Peterson met with Deputy District Attorney Jason Malinsky and Chris Montoya of the Public Defender’s Office in her chambers prior to starting her afternoon court session. Read complete news at svvoice.com.

#Council Member #District Attorney #Public Defender #court session #svvoice #santa clara news #san jose #santa clara #news

[littlethingsmakebigchanges]

i used to live in illinois. there are several joined cities there. twin cities. the two i knew of were joined to Japanese cities.

it was a very real heartfelt thing. there were big plaques and markers.

there was a very real warmth and human connection that was uplifting.

You know....like, actuelly, You guessed it- Love.

i was just thinking wouldn't be great if towns and cities had city council membres and community membres bring proposals for this, but for Iranian cities.

i realise it might be easier after the revolution is done. but wouldn't it be expressing more Love and faith and hope if these things were put into the discussion and planning phase now?

can't You just picture it?

new city gouvernements all around Iran receiving requests to forme twin city designations?

the rejuvenation of hope and Love and connexion to the world beyond Their parte of the world?

WE CAN SO FLOURISH AND BLOSSOM LOVE :)))

You're feeling it, right? :)))

#twin cities #iran #united states #city council #county government #parish government #mayors #council meeting #council member #community members #city hall #city commissioners #county commission

[azatas]

"we need more complex female characters" you couldn't even handle her

#ash: hey idk if it’s a good idea to give full access of the most advanced warship we have to a mercenary who shot a suspect in cold blood #and a cop who quit his job because there were too many rules (and also happens to be a member of the military we were recently at war with) #also i think the council will throw us to the wolves to save themselves #like half the fandom: omg space racist??? #sorry for discourse posting™ but i saw a terrible post that rocketed me back into 2013 #anyway we may have preferences but we love and appreciate both virmire survivors in this house #mass effect #ashley williams

[himejoshiangels]

no more buzzcut please!!

No more drawing duke bald, we've evolved past it. This is for everyone especially wfa onlys. I know most of yall don't like drawing bald people and what a coincidence neither do I! Lucky for you, in the comics, duke doesn't have a buzz cut his hair usually looks more like this

The buzzcut is a lazy, common thing that many artists less experienced with black hair default to when drawing black characters. In the age of artists actually learning more diverse black hairstyles, I say we include him in this movement!

#as a member of the duke nation high council im using this as part of my reelection campaign #give him twists give him a fro ANYTHING but that fuckass buzzcut PLEASE #dc comics #batfam #batfamily #bat boys #duke thomas #wfa #wayne family adventures #dick grayson #jason todd #tim drake #batman #detective comics #the signal #robin #batfam incorrect quotes #incorrect batfamily quotes

[inquisitor-apologist]

Thinking about how, at the end of the day, at the fatal moment, the sunset of the Republic, it wasn’t Yoda, or Obi-Wan, or even the Chosen One himself standing in the way of Palpatine. It was Mace Windu.

Mace Windu, the inventor of Vaapad and Master of Form VII, the Jedi's strongest duelist, the only person to ever defeat Palpatine in combat. Mace Windu, Master of the Jedi Council and the youngest Master ever appointed to it, the revered leader of the Order. Mace Windu, who forgave even those who tried to kill him, who risked his life over and over again for his troops, who, after 3 years of desperate war, tried to negotiate with battle droids. Mace Windu, who knew the clones were created by the Sith and chose to trust them, who saw every Shatterpoint in the Republic, and loved it still, and fought for it until his last breath, until he was betrayed by Anakin, who he believed in and trusted despite everything.

Mace Windu, High General and hero of the Republic, the embodiment of the Light, the last and greatest champion of the Order, the best Jedi to ever live.

#I’ve said my piece goodnight #don’t play with me Mace Antis I have receipts for every last one of these #pretty much everyone agrees that he was the best duelist there was and he obviously won the fight #Anakin's choice wouldn't make thematic sense otherwise #also vader did not defeat palpatine in combat sorry he just grabbed him while he was distracted #it literally had to be a fair fight and Anakin had to be the one to choose to create the empire that's what the prequels are about #Star Wars databank calls him ‘revered’ shatterpoint tells us he was the youngest (real) member of the council #Boba Fett (tcw) and Prosset Dibs (comics) tried to kill him and he asked for amnesty and forgave them #literally just watch the Ryloth arc he spends most of his screentime saving his men #in tcw season seven he pleads with the battle droids to surrender hoping that no one else has to die #there's the part near the end of tcw where the council realizes that the clones were created by Dooku but Mace and the rest of the council #trust the clones so much they're willing to ignore it #the scene from Mace's POV in the rots novelization talks about how much he loves the republic and how he was blindsided by Anakin's betraya #because he trusted him!! we see in aotc that he has more faith in Anakin's abilities than Obi-wan #and he defeated the most powerful sith of all time single-handedly #BEST JEDI EVER!!!!!!!!!!!! #sw prequels #star wars prequels #prequel trilogy #sw prequel trilogy #star wars prequel trilogy #sw rots #star wars rots #revenge of the sith #star wars revenge of the sith #galactic republic #pro mace windu #mace windu #pro jedi order #pro jedi

[daenerysies]

it’s always ‘rhaenyra did nothing to secure her ascension, she just relied on her daddy to uphold her claim’ and never ‘aegon did nothing to prove he was worthy of being named heir, let alone being king, and solely relied on his mommy and grandpa to cover for his less than stellar hobbies like his drinking issues and his raping of serving girls’ in this essay i will-

#house of the dragon #rhaenyra targaryen #pro rhaenyra targaryen #team black #anti aegon ii targaryen #anti team green #mind you she literally ruled dragonstone for what 13ish years in the book? #and at least 6 in the show? #and was an active member of the small council for 10 #so like explain to me in layman’s terms how this isn’t just a typical misogynistic tg take #bc it ain’t adding up #the irony is not lost on me

[risingmoonyue]

Star Wars AU where the council time travels back to when Obi-Wan was still an itty-bitty baby initiate. Including, you know. Council Member Obi-Wan Kenobi. So they’re all in their younger bodies and talking with the current non-time traveling members of the council, and they’re like “hold on, we got one more coming in”

And in walks in like. Nine year old Initiate Obi-Wan, all chubby-cheeked with fluffy bright red hair, and giant blue eyes.

Just. Their faces, okay?

Now keep in mind I want the council to always be Up To Shenanigans. I’m talking like 2015 Avengers tower found family era fics okay, they’re one big family and Obi-Wan is now super officially The Baby and literally nothing he does will ever stop that again. And despite everything, every single council member is, at heart, incredibly petty in that special Jedi family way and are so ready to not be dealing with a war Right This Very Minute.

What I keep picturing is Baby-Wan wiggling his way into a chair, situating himself Very Regally, then clasping his hands in classic Negotiator style, then speaking up with the Most Serious Of Tiny Baby Voices as the main spokesperson on the Council Of Petty Time Travelers

I just want to see people not in the know

I want Jedi of all ages witnessing Jedi masters, councilmen and women, long lived and wisest of the Jedi, coming to the crèche to visit tiny lil Baby-Wan about his opinions on current events and how they should handle this treaty and also when are you free I want to test my soresu

I just think it’d be funny

#my writing #hijinks #star wars #text post #star wars the clone wars #star wars legends #tcw #jedi council #obi wan kenobi #mace windu #plo koon #yoda #kit fisto #shaak ti #listen I know there’s more council members but those are the ones I remember rn so #time travel #personally I think that peripherally there was always the acknowledgment of ‘oh yeah we all watched obi grow up’ #but there is a difference between ‘I remember like thirty years ago when you were tiny’ #and ‘OH WOW GUESS YOURE TINY NOW’‘ #guess who is never living this down ever?

[camelotsheart]

merlin and arthur are basically those annoying best friends that will say the most batshit insane things (commenting on each other's asses) in public (horse riding with 50 knights) in full volume

#bbc merlin #arthur thinks he's being slick but no the whole castle (including servants and council members and his dad) #knows merlin is his best friend. literally everyone knows this except him #merthur

[senblades]

Shujin!Goro, of the "will beat you up in an alley" variety

The black turtleneck is seemingly mandatory in shujin au's lol

#persona #persona 5 #goro akechi #shuake #i love how the two different flavours of shujin goro is either 'perfect student council member' or 'delinquent' #oftentimes both #this was supposed to be just a sketch and then I got carried away

[white-boy-bracket]

Get the clown shoes, goon

Keep your friends close 13

!!

#asks #white boy lore #white boy fanfiction #council member

[lunarcovehq]

J. Royce Van Doren III is a witch that currently resides in Celestial Hills and has been a Lunar Cove resident for 36 years, cause every little thing he does is magic.

ITS THE END OF THE WORLD

GENDER/PRONOUNS: Cis Male, He/Him

DATE OF BIRTH: November 4, 1987

OCCUPATION: Owner of Art In Motion

FACECLAIM: Luke Mitchell

AS WE KNOW IT, AND I FEEL FINE

SPECIES: Witch

INHERENT ABILITIES: Telepathy, Electrokinesis, Duplication

COVEN POSITION: Advisor

COVEN ABILITY: Omnilingual

WELCOME TO LUNAR COVE, ROYCE VAN DOREN III

Trigger Warnings: Divorce, Death, light mentions of Memory Loss, Misogyny

On a faraway coast, at a luxurious resort, sat a tall and effortlessly handsome man. Wealth and opulence shown from head to toe, a sly fox like grin curling at his lips. Everyone around him buzzed about their lives – some on glamorous vacations such as him, others trying to live their normal rhythmic lives among the new and varied faces week by week. Their minds were loud and delicious, full of the secrets they would never breathe out loud, private as they come. Private that is, except to him. It was that uncanny ability to hear, to know the true nature of someone before their mouths opened through the bold whispers of their mind, that allowed Royce to excel in whatever enterprise he set out to master. Whether here on this shiny coast where the water was more pure than anywhere on this miserable planet, or back home in the sheltered supernatural community he vied to be away from as often as possible, Royce had sworn he would use his every advantage to climb that limitless ladder of success deep into the clouds, so that absolutely no one had the audacity to look down on him. After all, he was born to be something great - He just needed to find that once in a lifetime sliver of something to get him there. 

J. Royce Van Doren III was the only child born to the illustrious J. Royce Van Doren II (better known as ‘JR’) and his second wife, Milicent Van Doren. JR didn’t shy from jumping from spouse to spouse, having a long list of parameters a woman needed to meet in order for things to ‘stick’. For his first wife ‘irreconcilable differences’ meant he just didn’t like her personality much, but for Milicent it was a little more out of their hands. Dying during childbirth was hardly a fault of her own, though JR’s parents did mumble how the “weak womb breeds weaker children”. Royce being the only child out of that marriage was soothed if only by the fact he was born a boy – the Van Dorens’ antiquated beliefs that wealth and family prestige should only be passed down from male heir to male heir having remained prominent since they struck it big in the Railroad and Oil during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. For new money now turned old, certain traditions just wouldn’t die even with the generations that passed. JR’s next and (for now) current wife, Blythe Van Doren came so shortly after that Royce would consider her his mother, having raised him in that charming mansion, Verdant Vale Hall, in Celestial Hills alongside the two younger sisters she so graciously ‘gifted’ him several years later. It was okay to have daughters second or third, as there was a brilliant young boy already to shoulder the massive weight of family responsibility. 

Royce was always meant to be something grand, that’s what JR would say. For that reason alone, he was offered the finest that could be offered to a young man. JR sent his son off to the best boarding school in Vermont, opting out of the public education Lunar Cove offered, made sure his son had the best tutors and advantages so he could graduate with high honors and get into first-rate higher education facilities. Whip smart, charismatic, and armed with an attractive spot in Oxford University’s Men’s Boat Club, Royce received that desired high quality education and enjoyed a few years across the pond away from his father’s watchful eye, evading his colleagues (more like spies) who were under pressure to make sure the first choices of his early adulthood would align right with JR’s well laid out plans. Again, a Van Doren boy held the brunt of expectation in his family, and in Royce’s case he was expected to follow a carefully curated plan. Do well at school, come back with a lucrative degree, and he would be given access to a seemingly limitless inheritance which would allow him a leg up in whatever career he wanted. Nepotism at its finest. He’d nearly blown it all when he came back from Oxford, a college graduate with an Economics and Management degree and a woman on his arm. A human woman. 

While away, Royce undoubtedly worked hard to gain some level of prestige at school, followed every expectation and the carefully laid out plan from his family to the tee. But they never really dictated what he should do in his social life. Sharing living spaces with a few fellow witches trying to make it big (secretly) in a human world, Royce did his best to stick largely to his community where he could find it, to keep his head low and not attract much attention beyond academics and in a rowing shell. But there were just one too many pretty faces at Oxford. In small and inconsequential ways he would take advantage of his natural born gifts to allure and attract the right people – a small spark of his electrokinesis here and there with a well timed, “Looks like there are some sparks between us,” worked miracles on humans who didn’t know that tiny spark was manipulated by him, or the leg up on dates when he could read their mind and surprise them with that worthwhile gift or fancy restaurant they’d been thinking about for days. Tacky to some, but Royce always thought you had to use what you had to get through relationships and life. Sometimes it was as simple as a wager — “If I can guess the exact number on your mind,” then he got whatever he wanted. People thought he was so clever, so lucky, never mind that he could always read what was on their mind. Make your own luck, that’s what his father always told him, and that matched with his other charms somehow got Royce in and out of trouble quicker than one could blink.

In the case of this woman, it was a whole lot more than tricks and self made luck that got him anywhere. Intrigued by her sharp wit and silent grace, he found himself stumbling head over heels for a woman who didn’t belong in his world. One who didn’t fall for any of his silly little tricks and lines, who made Royce work for it. And Royce had never really had to work for anything in his life. It made him want her more – an unattainable something that was always out of reach. She forced him to be honest and vulnerable, more so than he’d been with anyone in his life, and when the veneer and gilded pompous rich boy armor fell away, she got to see parts of Royce he didn’t know he had. Sweet and soft parts, a kind and warm heart hidden beneath the crooked smiles and sarcasm that hid any sort of genuine anything. She found his sensitive side, found the part of him that loved and cared so much for the people in his life he was willing to do whatever he needed to make them happy and be whatever they wanted him to be. Found out he wasn’t as wily or cowardly as he portrayed, that he was deeply intuitive and could be foolishly brave when the moment called for it. He began to even see himself as more than just another vehicle for success in his family – Royce began to see himself as a regular person, began to accept the flaws and unique qualities in himself. He came back from the UK a changed man, a more humble and warm person. And his family hated it. They hated her – a human girl who had no inkling of the supernatural world prior to meeting and developing a relationship with the prodigal son. It took a lot of explaining on his part, but luckily she trusted him enough to let him prove whatever strangeness there was to his ‘all American family and community’ to her once they were safely inside of Lunar Cove and didn’t freak out (at least too much) at the reality of their world. Much like his other ‘strange, irregular’ habits, she took to him being a witch with grace and an open mindedness which could rival any. And he loved her all the more for it.

Now with access to that seemingly endless wealth afforded to him by birth alone, Royce would commit what would be considered the second biggest crime since coming home with a human for a wife. When JR asked Royce what his next big step would be, he shocked his father, and the rest of the living Van Dorens, with news that he would use a portion of his inheritance to purchase the local art museum. His wife, having been an accomplished painter, would need a place to display her works, and Royce decided this would be his exciting first enterprise. To his family, it was like burning money. Sure there was a level of pretentious prestige that could come with owning an art gallery – only the upper crust could afford the overpriced derivative nonsense that came in and out of Art In Motion at times – but it was hardly what they wanted from J. Royce Van Doren III. Not for his first business, anyway. What happened to the plan to merge magic and modern technology to create a never before seen magical tech conglomerate? What happened to actual innovative thought and theory, guiding another Van Doren into the future and cementing their position of wealth and status? No, instead he wanted to own an art gallery to display his wife and other emerging artist’s work, fusing magic and masterpieces into a fully immersive and interactive experience. He hired the best of the best – those with animation as an inherent ability, others with technological manipulation, fae and their illusion magic, whatever ability could be used to create intricate scenarios for guests, and then whoever had the eye and knack for fine art – in order to reinvent the posh art gallery into something more magical. His opening exhibit was “Enter The Mundane”, a magical twist on a human woman’s art portfolio. It was met with mixed reactions, the archaic high brow society not exactly open to it, but ushered in an exciting refreshing look at the art world which attracted a young audience to a gallery opened by the bourgeoisie. It made his family recoil, which Royce found deliciously worth the mixed reception.

For the most part life seemed to continue in a charming haze. The young married Van Dorens enjoyed a surprise success from their interactive art exhibits, and word of futuristic design and technological innovation being used at the small art gallery in Lunar Cove had begun to make its way to other circles. Never one to stay in his boring hometown much, Royce liked to travel, for business and pleasure. The only downside was his wife couldn’t always come along. Not without that pesky issue of memory loss when a human crossed the border. At first she wasn’t quite pleased with being stuck behind, but at least Royce provided an ivory tower as her domestic prison. Verdant Vale Hall wasn’t his yet, but a fancy townhome in Celestial Hills was all his and it made for a nice place to call home. And she did have all the time in the world to create and collaborate with actual magical people for the next fantastical exhibit they could put on, so she kept relatively busy. On the occasion, she would venture with her husband on trips to Vermont, New York City, Massachusetts and wherever his fancy money and Old American Rich Name would take them, but not too far so their soon after return and the influx of magical memories were not too jarring for her. But the trips became fewer in between when they revolved more around business than pleasure.

As fun as the art gallery was, Royce couldn’t be content with dipping his toes into just one pool — he needed more, he needed the prestige that came with more. That’s when the investments happened, when he began gaining more off the backs of others’ successes. The stock game could be tricky, they could be all consuming, and becoming a key player could make someone irritably ugly. Royce could be a fiend, an absolute shark, where money and business were concerned. He’d come back from trips to the big city either elated beyond belief with another notch of success to boast on his fine braided (and designer, naturally) leather belt, or in utter despair and a mercurial mood, weighed down by a business plan gone sour or a poor investment with shoddy return. This was an unattractive Royce, a bitter one whose ambitions and desires seemed unattainable despite all the resources at his disposal. This was the Royce bred by his family to desire power above all else. It always took a lot for him to come back from this, back to the secret dreamer who just wanted to create a cool and expressive place to share art in this small supernatural world. When he could get back to that, back to the shared goals between him and his spouse, only then did things truly seem to go well. Every business decision became a smart one, investing in things that could keep their fortune stable while using funds to grow the gallery and its faculties. Soon he began giving back, back to the community that, for better or worse, raised him and he even offered his limitless resources to the coven he belonged to. Not in some bid to gain any power within — this was charity, a pure gesture at its finest. At least, as pure a gesture as an arrogant rich man could make. It was a decade of wholesome good works and great success and growth. 

Then things took a turn for the worst.

Life in Lunar Cove was generally idyllic, made perfect and safe for this secret supernatural community. There really wasn’t much to complain about, or fear, especially for Royce. But it was always when life was at its finest that things seemed to go so incredibly wrong. When the deaths started occurring, and the Council was being picked off one by one, nobody really knew what to think of it. It had been so long since peace was struck in Lunar Cove, where the horrors of their world existed so primarily beyond their borders, that it was hard to grasp it when such atrocities happened within town. Royce could remember so clearly his family’s reaction to the news; the death of their own witch leaders. “A tragic, awful thing,” Blythe would say delicately behind a perfumed handkerchief. “Whatever are we to do now?” JR’s eyes were gleaming with something awfully frightening to Royce, shaken to his core whenever he caught his father’s gaze. It wasn’t until the men were alone to their whiskey, a drink to the great lives lost, that he voiced the thought that lay heavy between them. “You have to step up. You have to put in your name to lead them.”

The Trials were a memory which Royce tried to leave behind, but still laid out fresh. Many young, ambitious witches stepped up to the plate. Most of them wanted it, wanted the coveted title of Supreme more than anything in the world. Royce had practically everything in the world, and this was one of the few things he had no desire to possess. He already had so much responsibility— the last thing he wanted was to be keeper of the Lunar Cove coven. When the ancestors didn’t pick him, his was a face of pure relief, unlike the shameful visages of those that failed alongside him. The only thing that caught him off guard about the whole thing was who was chosen at the end of it. The Reeds were an interesting family all together, and Poppy Reed was barely his junior. He supposed he knew her and her family in the casual way that neighbors involved in a witch coven would — by name and whatever bits of reputation was hushed around. She seemed an odd choice, as his father so angrily declared time and time again at family supper. The implication that his own family seemed so against the ancestors’ choice only made him all the more supportive. So when he was asked to step in as advisor, despite clearly not wanting anything to do with coven leadership, Royce accepted the post with such a sort of blasé indifference, one that hid a deep desire to see what could be done under this new brazen leadership. The beginning of this new chapter was only dampened by one other thing: his human wife, in the midst of all this chaos.

This sort of danger didn’t bode well for the supernatural, but it could be worse for a human woman. One who, at the core of it, had barely anything to do with this world. Before Royce accepted the position of Coven Advisor, his wife wanted to leave town. To go back to England where her family was. “It could be safe there. You don’t know if it’s really all that better staying here.” It was safer there — for her, anyway. It was hardly the place for Royce. The supernatural world was growing smaller and smaller, centering in on Lunar Cove. And he had accepted a position that would keep him there for the long run. This bred a whole new kind of difficulty, long and tumultuous fights that didn’t end well for either party. And the more wounded he was, the further Royce pulled away. He focused more on work, more on the coven, more on his home being threatened. He drew farther and farther away, he almost missed it when she stopped wearing her wedding band. If it wasn’t for that one final fight, the night before a charge for a one way ticket showed up on their shared bank account, then he might have missed her leaving all together. But it happened, and he lived with the whiplash of her swift departure even to this day. It just wasn’t working, and how could it? A human with no ties to this special haven and a witch who signed his soul to it — despite how beautiful the last decade was, they just couldn’t swing it. When she placed his dead mother’s ring in his hand and turned away, Royce felt the sting of unshed tears. But he wouldn’t show it. They made a clean break, a prenup having protected their individual interests. All he still had of her were paintings owned by the gallery which she hadn’t had an interest in keeping anyway, and the memories she promptly lost. Back home in England, she’d remember him as the American cad she lost a decade to. In Lunar Cove, Royce decided to become just that.

In the time since then, Royce has left the art gallery mostly in the hands of employees, filled with almost too much shame and hurt to spend much time inside of it. He’s traveled a lot, whenever he can, for business and most certainly for pleasure. So his first marriage failed, big whoop — his dad married thrice. He’d recover and he acted like he'd done just that. Charming and unapologetically cocky, he migrated from bed to bed as often as he did from country to country, leaving a trail of either heartbreak or vehement anger in his wake. If it weren’t for a duty to his coven, and to the family that expected him to rise to greatness and maintain their status quo, perhaps Royce would have disappeared to a distant coast and lost himself in the ecstasy of foreign lands and secretive thoughts. But he comes back as often as he must, to take his place as an advisor and to flaunt an obscene amount of wealth and an even more ridiculous playboy persona around the small town he scorns and yet cherishes as his one true home. As the threat grows bigger, and seemingly more closer to home, Royce finds himself coming to an enigmatic cross roads — whether to rise to the potential his one great love had seen in him and prepare to stand up and fight when the time calls for it, or to turn tail and run away at the first sign of trouble on Lunar Cove’s horizon. Admittedly he’s teetered towards the latter, and that may just be what his fellow townspeople expect from him, but Royce is learning quickly that he can defy all expectations. And maybe proving them all wrong is exactly what he wants to do. 

#luke mitchell #royce van doren III #Art In Motion #Celestial Hills #taken witch #coven member #all #royce van doren #council member #art in motion owner

[santaclaralocalnews]

A judge has agreed to delay the start of Santa Clara City Council Member Anthony Becker’s perjury trial, though not as much as Becker’s attorney had hoped. Judge Elizabeth Peterson agreed to vacate the March 4 trial date but said Public Defender Chris Montoya’s request that the trial be rescheduled for July was “excessive.” Instead, she chose an April 22 start date.

#judge #Santa Clara City Council #Council Member #perjury trial #Public Defender #News #svvoice #santa clara news #local news