#if he associated 'conrad' negatively from a very young age

[chicagocityofclans]

James “Jim” Montgomery → Matthew Goode → Rat

→ Basic Information

Age: 359

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Straight

Born or Made: Made

Birthday: August 31

Zodiac Sign: Virgo

Religion: Deism

→ His Personality Jim often comes off as cold and analytical upon first meeting, which he is. He cares about knowledge and the facts and doesn’t tolerate nonsense that might endanger himself or any other member of his pack. He is cut throat and ruthless, with a strong desire to see their enemies completely destroyed by his dying breath. However, the driving force behind his unending passion is a love and care for his pack. He was one of the founders of it and sees many of its members as his responsibility to protect.

He can be very objective, the most out of the older rats at times, knowing what must be done for the good of the group and who it should be assigned to. Jim walks his talk and enjoys going out into the field to do whatever needs to be done. He is known to be very secretive, being one of the few who live away from the pack in an apartment only Max, Nick, Ray, Jo, Shelton and Jalissa know the whereabouts of. He keeps himself guarded from the rest of the pack, as to not let personal relationships get in the way of tough decisions, and is selective of who he connects with closely. This can often lead to accusations of favoritism but Jim blocks those out as well. He is incredibly brilliant and single handedly set up SKIN and built a database of known human shifters. He runs the most high tech group of all teams and had a hand in developing the software needed to organize every report of a human shifter from SKIN and occasionally BOND members.

→ His Personal Facts

Occupation: Head of SKIN

Scars: Old scars that haven’t fully healed due to extensive damage.

Tattoos: None

Two Likes: 20 Somethings and Quiet

Two Dislikes: Desk Duty and Incompetence

Two Fears: Human shifters changing into someone he loves and using him and Someone invading his home

Two Hobbies: Watching human shifters and Watching Spy movies

Three Positive Traits: Brilliant, Objective, Protective

Three Negative Traits: Secretive, Selective, Impersonable

→ His Connections

Parent Names:

Name Forgotten (Mother) : Jim no longer remembers his mother, due to the torture by Hester.

Name Forgotten (Father): Jim no longer remembers his father, due to the torture by Hester.

Sibling Names:

Unknown

Children Names:

Mary Lang (Possible Daughter): Jim is bad at handling anything but anger when it comes to emotions. Doria and her daughter appearing out of the blue with the possibility of Mary being his child terrified him and he shut down. It was only his shared grief over Ben that allowed him to open up to her. He is incredibly proud of what she has become and believes she has the potential for greatness.

Romantic Connections:

Maxine Vanes (Something): Max and Jim have always been close, especially when she was dealing with so much strife in her 20s. He’s appreciated her mind, and always thought it was strange that Nick didn’t see her true value. She was maybe the only person outside of their main group of five that Jim would have considered a true friend. It was only recently that Jim began to see her in a romantic way. He was devastated at Ben’s loss and found himself shaken to the core that their merry band of thieves was not as indestructible as he once thought they were. Max became a major support to him during this time and helped keep him from spiraling. He found himself fantasizing about her romantically, and knew that something had changed. Jim watched to see if she seemed to reciprocate the feelings, but found it no longer mattering one night as the two got into an argument over Max’s continued association with the Human Shifters. He kissed her and it quickly spiraled into sex. Then he gave her space, intending to let her decide where they should go, which she did 3 days later by asking what it meant to him. They’ve continued to take it very slow; neither one knowing how people would react and a more significant part of Jim worrying that Sirius or Church may use her as a piece in their ongoing battle. She has recently begun staying at his home during the weekends, although they are still very careful when going out with one another.

Doria Lang (Ex-Fling): Jim and Doria were very casual and only happened because she was upset over Ben breaking her heart. They’d only had sex a few times before Doria disappeared into the night.

Tyra McClinton (Ex-Girlfriend): Tyra and Jim broke up in 2015 after she fell in love with another member of GOLD. There were no real emotions involved on his end, but Tyra now avoids him like the plague.

Ruthie James (Ex-Girlfriend): Ruthie was the only other woman who Jim considered settling down with. They’d met in 1921 when she came to Chicago. She was stomped on by a presumed human shifter in 1930 and succumbed to her injuries. Jim didn’t date for a long time after her.

Platonic Connections:

Nick Hamelin (Best Friend): Nick and Jim are very much cut from the same ruthless cloth. He understands Nick and his decisions on a different level than most others and would stand beside him until his last breath.

Ray Hamelin (Best Friend): Though they have different outward approaches in life, Jim knows there is no person out there, save for Nick or Ben, he’d rather have at his side in battle. He and Ray are both known to fall into deep fits of anger, some of which only the other can talk them out of. Jim worries about Ray since Ben has died, and hopes to see genuine happiness comes from the other man again.

Ben Ehrlich (Best Friend): Ben was like a brother to Jim. They knew everything about one another and it was Ben that carried Jim home when he, Nick and Ray discovered him. His death changed the way Jim looks at life and he believes is a major reason he is trying to open himself up to Max completely.

Shelton Mills (Good Friend): Jim always considered Shelton the truest hearted of their group. He has a pure heart and sees things in a similarly black and white way to Jim. He knows that Shelton will be there to offer a different insight to his own.

Jalissa Toll (Good Friend): He thinks Jalissa is one of the bravest people he has ever met. She is strong and incredibly capable of handling anything that comes at her. Though they often disagree, Jim feels she’s a worthy opponent.

Jo Floyd (Friend): When Nick began pursuing Jo, Jim wondered if this was the day the sky would fall and end the world. A man who had never shown much interest in relationships picked someone as much of a fighter as he was. Jim has come to deeply respect Jo, not only as Nick’s wife and mate, but as her own person.

Jaxson Idris (Trainee): Jaxson is one of the few rats born in the last two centuries that Jim knows, who has the same warrior spirit as the “Old Crew”. He sees a massive amount of potential in Jax, similar to Ray, but he needs to learn patience in order to serve or run his own pack one day.

Conrad Kale (Training): Conrad reminds Jim of a younger Nick. A born leader with a desire to protect the ones he loves. However he worries Conrad has too little of confidence and needs reassurance from his elders.

Samantha Whitney (Training): He hasn’t seen Samantha since she went over to London, but he is aware that Ray used to train her to eventually take lead as the head liaison. She is incredibly driven, but has no real connection to the pack. He’s unsure how well people will trust a person they don’t know at all, but thinks she has good potential, especially if she sets her sights on something local.

Helo Adama (Training): Helo is somewhat of a wild card for Jim. He has a lot of potential, but unlike the other three, he has a very strong social life. He’s very much a member of this new guard, but his future roles are uncertain.

Lila Toll (Playmate): Jim doesn’t naturally like children, but there is something about the middle Toll child that Jim enjoys. She’s got a lot of young Jalissa in her and it reminds him of the glory days.

Hostile Connections:

Churchill Darling (Distrusts): One sticking point of Jim and Max’s relationship is her insistence at finding a new way to communicate with them. She believes adamantly that the hostility could end, or at least be lessened if they stop treating them like criminals. Jim disagrees. He knows what they can do, and specifically what Churchill is capable of. This is incredibly maddening because he is her main contact.

Sirius Cobic (Despises): He believes Sirius stepped on Ruthie and has held a personal vendetta against him. His hatred has only grown over the last hundred years with what he has found in the local human shifters’ past.

Vincent Kane (Dislikes): Vincent very much attempts to play the white knight. He was the one to push for cleaning up the Human Shifters’ bribes, but Jim doesn’t trust him.

D.W. Colt (Unsure):  D.W. is a newer main concern for Jim. Her only known face has disappeared and there are no new significant faces coming in and out of the police station. Jim doubts she’s died since no one has heard anything of it. It is a new priority for more of the clan to get a new face on her.

Evangeline Kuhl (Former Lover/Torturer): He fell in love with a sweet faced girl when he was newly changed. She turned out to be a monster who shaped the rest of his life.

Hester Voorst (Torturer): Hester took great pleasure in crushing different parts of his body. She was one of his favorites to kill.

Heinrich Euler (Torturer): Heinrich took to flaying pieces of Jim off. Jim and Nick took turns doing the same to his wife and children in front of him when Jim was healed.

Pets:

None

→ History Jim was born in the mid 1600s in England. He spent much of his youth reading and studying, not just books but the people around him. He studied their behavior and the strange things that people did. It was these skills that eventually lead him to discovering the Hamelin brothers. They’d been staying in his town, but he noticed how different the way they moved was. It seemed like months of watching them occured, before Jim caught a glimpse of what they truly were. He saw them appear from nothing and walk into their house. He briefly thought they might be witches, before deciding to get a better look. Ray and Nick cornered him, but he stared defiantly at them and the three found a mutual respect between themselves. Eventually Nick offered to change him and join his pack. They picked up Ben about a decade later and the four of them continued on through most of the UK and Europe. The pack settled in what is now Germany, in the house the Hamelin’s grew up in.

It was here that Jim discovered his weakness for beautiful women and met Evangeline Kuhl. She had the sweetest face and Jim thought he could settle with her. The rest of his pack moved along while Nick gave him a timeline of three months to woo and change Evangeline. Only after he was alone, did Jim realize the horror he got himself into. When visiting Evangeline’s home to ask for her hand in marriage, Jim found himself cornered by who he thought were Frau and Herr Kuhl. Their faces shifted in a blink of an eye and he was staring at two strangers. They strapped him down and began experimenting on him; cutting skin here, burning there, sharp jabs and stabs all over. He attempted to shift when they were gone, only to be repeatedly stomped on by the woman whose name he learned was Hester. Every bone in Jim’s body was broken and he knew his extended life had been cut short. They psychologically and physically tortured him for months, trying to discover where his pack was. He refused to give in, but his memory became worn. He lost most thoughts of his childhood and parents, and many of the things surrounding his pre-rat life. He’d assumed he’d been called to heaven when he heard the familiar voices of Ben, Ray and Nick. His body was gently cradled by Ben as they went outside. It took years for his body to heal. He was aided by some potions and tinctures, but they could not cure him both accurately and quickly. In this time he aged 10 years physically before he was fully capable of walking long distances again. And even after this he was never quite right, so he’d rebreak whatever fracture hadn’t healed properly, one at a time, until his body worked like it should. Within that process he aged another 10 years.

After his body was fully healed, the pack moved to the United States. They found different ways to make a living on the East Coast, but found their stride in Chicago. Here they added Jalissa to their little pack and went about making Chicago a power in the US. They made expansive networks of spies and created a diagram for many leaders across the country to follow. In the 1960s they took over massive swaths of California and Nevada to stop an invading pack, while slowly growing their international reach. Nick and Jalissa found mates, Jim found conquests and Ray found ways to escape. By the 2010s, they seemed unstoppable as a pack. They had a strong group of youth in the pack and 13 capable team leaders when they were brutally attacked by the vampires. 203 rats, including Ben, were killed in the tunnels and over 5,000 were sick for months from it. Conrad was pulled up to both Third and to lead RED. Jim was destroyed by the news. He knows he nearly went down and torched the Underground himself. He watched as it destroyed and ate away at him, Nick, and Ray. At a point Jim thought they were gods, able to control and discover anything they wanted and his death was a hard fall to Earth. Jim changed and developed a new protocol with SKIN, they had to focus on safety over getting the information. The biggest change in his life revolved around Max. She was always a friend, but his reliance on her during the first few months after the attack changed everything. He fell for her and genuinely wanted to make something work, past a few casual nights.

→ The Present Jim wants to have the next generation of rats ready and trained in case something else happens to one of the old guard. Conrad was forced into a position he shouldn’t have been and was unprepared to step up and take the lead. He has managed to figure it out with the aid of Nick, Jim, Ray, and Shelton, but their pack can not be allowed to fall into that position again. He has mentally chosen Jax, Conrad, Helo and Samantha to start putting in extra time with. Once there seems to be some adequate growth he’ll tell Nick what he’s been doing.

He is also trying to live in the memory of Ben and be more open to his emotions. Ben had a way of balancing that none of the rest of them did. He would put duty first, but found ways to be even keeled. Jim has found himself investing more into his and Max’s relationship. Neither of them are pushing for fast or quick steps, but he could see things becoming permanent with her. He hopes they have a while to figure it out, but the thought that Ben believed he had time too haunts him. Jim is celebrating his 360th birthday next year and is questioning what he has to show for those nearly 400 years.

[ashleyalana]

Taylor Swift Should Have Just Kept Her Mouth Shut

Is it necessary for celebrities to state their political opinion? If you think yes then Taylor Swift might have gone about it wrong. She could have some bad blood on her hands. Swift has recently just put her political opinion out in an instagram post to support Tennessee’s, her home state’s, democratic candidates for the 2018 midterm election. She also urged people to register to vote especially to people in her age range since they usually do not show when it is time to vote. Swift may of been trying to do what the media and fans wanted, but she should have just kept her mouth shut.

Bustle.com

Within her post Taylor says, “In the past I’ve been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinion” and many have questioned why she has. I always thought it was a good idea for celebrities to not publicize their political opinion. Many other people like to know how well-known celebrities lie in the political world, so they know if their fans of people that support the same ideas they do. Taylor Swift has not spoken about politics before because I think she did not want to get involved since it is really not her place, but she decided to speak out now and it comes with some consequences.  

Many critics bring up that Taylor Swift put out her opinion at the wrong time. On Washington Post Emily Yahr said “The timing is telling, as the North American leg of Swift’s Reputation Stadium Tour ended on Saturday. So not only is there no pressure to sell tickets or face unhappy fans, but other problems disappear as well.” This is bringing up the idea that she only put her opinion out there after it was not detrimental to the income of her tour. She decided to reveal her opinion only at a time good for her, not at a time that was good for the majority of others. This makes her look bad because it seems like she is very selfish, and to me would feel like she did it for attention as she would not be out in the spotlight as much since her tour just ended. Also, this seems like she does care if this hurts her career, while others speak out about their opinions not thinking of the backlash. This has many fans feeling that her post does not feel genuine.

Photograph: Rick Scuteri/Invision/AP  theguardian.com

Swift has been in the spotlight about her opinions in the politics world for many years. Eric Durkin, a critic at The Guardian, says “Swift, 28, has previously stayed scrupulously neutral, frustrating many liberals.” This is saying that before she spoke out people were still upset, but now after speaking out the other side of the political line became upset. When she was silent it frustrated the liberals, but did not affect Swift enough to where she lost fans. After the post on Instagram it caused outrage of many republican fans.

Durkin from The Guardian also wrote that “Mainstream Republicans were also displeased, posting a response promising she would not be able to, in the words of one of her hits, “shake it off”.” This meaning that many Republican fans who were fans before now do not want anything to do with her. For many people politics is a big factor in their life that affects who they do and do not like. She probably knew this would happen, which is connected to why she released her opinion after her tour ended.

James Conrad, an author for Tell Me Now, said “Swift may be more of a pop singer now, but she got her start in country music and it was those conservative fans that got her where she is today. With this statement, she has alienated these fans and she may never get them back. Pop music is more of an industry for a young artist, and Swift will find herself aging out of this market at some point. At that time, she will likely want to make her return to country music and she may end up finding that her original fans want nothing to do with her by that point.” This brings up the idea that she has lost her first fans that have been with her since the beginning, and that when she grows too old to be in pop music she will not have a fan base if she wants to return to country. Swift might be gaining millennial fans today, but she is not thinking about her long term singing career when she ages out of the pop age and needs fans in her corner when she changes directions. If she would have not said anything many fans would have nothing to complain about, and she could return to country music when her current career starts to decline.

thedailybeast.com

Back in 2009 a feud within two popular celebrities began. Kanye West decided that it was a good idea for him to disrupt Swift’s award acceptance speech at the VMAs and totally humiliated her. This started the hate between them that has been off and on, but it just escalated into the political world. It just seems suit that West and Swift will always be in disagreement with each other.

Siraj Hashmi, a critic from the Washington Examiner, said “It must be 2009 again, because we're in the middle of a war between Taylor Swift and Kanye West.” This is saying that the feud between them is back. Kanye has been a supporter of Trump, which shows he sides with the republicans. Whereas Swift has come out to support the democratic side. With Swift and West being on the opposite sides of the political realm, people are saying this is just another thing for them to hate about each other. Honestly this just makes it look worse for her because more people are focusing on her fight with Kanye than to actually reading what she is putting out. Some people could just think this is a jab at Kanye, and not a heartfelt message to state her opinion on the upcoming election.  

Elle.com

If you are going to argue a side, then you better know what you are talking about. Taylor Swift, or her assistants, might have needed to do some more research about the person she was supporting before she put it all out there for the world to see. Phil Bredesen is the democratic Senate candidate for Tennessee, and is one of the people Swift was supporting in her instagram post. He has done some things that do not go along with what Swift supports, and Swift even said certain things in her post that makes her contradict herself.  

Jon Greenberg, a writer for Politifact.com, wrote “Tennessee Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn brought the #MeToo movement into the first U.S. Senate debate with Democrat Phil Bredesen. Blackburn said, "And what they chose to do was to shred some of the documents so that women’s voices would never be heard. They died in that shredder and their voices were not heard."” This is just saying that Phil Bredesen is accused of shredding and destroying documents of women that were accusing men of sexual assault, and that results in the women never getting the justice they deserve.

The #MeToo movement is a movement to support women that have been a victim to sexual misconduct or assault. Although Taylor has not come out as a part of the #MeToo movement after she accused DJ David Mueller sexually assaulted her, she does mention she supports the Violence Against Women Act in her instagram post (bustle.com). This shows she supports all the same ideas that the #MeToo movement is trying to support without associating herself with it.

With her being a survivor of sexual assault and revealing her support for Bredesen, it just makes her look like she did not get all the information. Since Bredesen has been accused of covering up and shredding statements of sexual assault by women, it goes against everything that Swift agrees with. Maybe Taylor did not know about this, but it just makes her look worse and not fully educated about the candidate she is supporting.

Getty Images/Ringer illustration  ringer.com

After hearing all this you might think there must be some good things to come out of her doing this, and yes there is. Kabir Sehgal, a writer for CNBC, wrote “Her followers aren't just taking notice but action. Some 102,000 individuals between the ages of 18 and 29 registered to vote in the two days after her message, according to Vote.org, a nonprofit that educates and registers voters. A majority of these Americans are below the age of 25.” This is saying that by her just telling people to get out and vote that they actually did it just because Taylor Swift said. This shows she has a very big influence on millennial aged people that just want to follow and do everything she does.

Although this could be the reason voter registration skyrocketed, she also posted this post like two days before voter registration ended. That could mean all these people were just trying to register before the deadline, and it has nothing to do with Swift’s post.

Swift is a big influence on millennials like I mentioned earlier, and it shows because during the election in 2016 everyone wanted to know who she was voting for. Madison Malone Kircher, a critic for the Intelligencer, said “One that would probably be better used, you know, actually voting and encouraging others to do so, too. According to Google Trends, more people have searched “Who is ____ voting for?” regarding Swift than they have for any other person.” This is saying that during the election time, the top Google search was “Who was Taylor Swift voting for?” This shows she has enough influence on people that they will vote for someone just because she is voting for that candidate.

After all that, I still think that Taylor stating her political opinion has more negative effects than it does positive. I think Swift should have never said anything because when you put your opinion out there will always people who disagree with it. In her case, this could affect her career in the future worse than it is today. Swift might be singing “I Did Something Bad” after her decision to post her opinion for the world to see. Overall, celebrities should just stay out of politics, and just leave that to the politicians to argue over.

[chicagocityofclans]

Josephine “Jo” Floyd Hamelin→ Candice Patton → Rat

→ Basic Information

Age: 73

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Straight

Born or Made: Made

Birthday: July 30th

Zodiac Sign: Leo

Religion: Deism

→ Her Personality Jo wants nothing more than to help those around her. She's highly intuitive and curious about people. She is skilled at understanding how to talk to other species, and acts at times as a communicator for Nick with the other packs in Chicago. Jo can be quite stubborn and true to her morals, despite what others may want or think of her. She isn't afraid to take risks or jump into action when need be, and is often fiercely protective of her pack and husband. When people she explicitly trusts keep things from her, she often feels immensely betrayed and disappointed. However, she doesn’t hold grudges for long. Jo is caring and has established a close relationship with much of the pack. She has a close ear to the ground and usually knows about the happenings of the pack before anyone else. Jo is much more trusting of the younger members and newcomers into their pack than her husband and the other elders. She believes them at their word, rather than overthinking like Nick. Jo is not likely to learn from her mistakes until experiencing them first hand, and usually has a hard time admitting that she was wrong.

→ Her Personal Facts

Occupation: Head of SUGAR and Owner of Hamelin and Floyd

Scars: None

Tattoos: None

Two Likes: Lingerie and Cheesesteaks

Two Dislikes: Being disrespected and Being wrong

Two Fears: Ruining any children she has and The man who changed her never being found

Two Hobbies: Skiing and Darts

Three Positive Traits: Affectionate, Diplomatic, Supportive

Three Negative Traits: Pushy, Defensive, Manipulative

→ Her Connections

Parent Names:

Lettie Floyd (Mother): Jo often had to act like the go-between for her mother and older sisters. She learned how to communicate their ideas without it getting nasty, but was never really able to be mothered by Lettie once she took on that role. Jo went to her funeral, but stood at a distance from the rest of her family.

Joseph Floyd (Father): Jo was very close to her namesake when he was alive. She’d follow him around his auto garage and play with his tools as a little girl. He was killed by a hit and run driver when she was 12, and the police were never able to find the person who did it. Jo was greatly changed by his death and she stepped up and took on the role her father left as best she could.

Sibling Names:

Martha Floyd (Older Sister): Martha was the brilliant Floyd child. Smarter than nearly everyone else in their neighborhood, Joseph and Lettie encouraged her to take her studies as far as she could. Lettie asked her to return to help out after her father's death but she refused. She wanted to continue her education like she thought Joseph would have wanted. This began one of the ongoing arguments that Jo had to mediate between the two women. She and Martha were never close and arguing the two did after their father died destroyed whatever relationship they had.

Kathleen Floyd (Older Sister): Kathleen and Jo were close. She taught Jo how to do her hair, put on makeup, and dress in the coolest fashion. She left the house when Jo was 15 after a fight with their mother over her boyfriend. Jo tried to get her sister to come back home, but only saw her twice before she disappeared.

Thomas Floyd (Older Brother): Thomas was drafted into Vietnam around 5 months before their father was killed. The week before he was supposed to come home for Bereavement Leave he was killed in an ambush. His death meant Jo had to take care of the rest of the siblings while her mother and sisters fought.

Robert Floyd (Younger Brother): Robert was a year younger than Jo and they used to be close before their father died. After Jo was presumed dead, she heard Robert took up being a mechanic and started working at a garage like their dad.

Nancy Floyd (Younger Sister): Jo often had to act as a teacher and mother to her youngest siblings. She’d help them with their homework, help get dinner on the table, and then start on her own work. Jo tried to find out what happened to Nancy, but she must have gotten married and changed her name because Jo lost track of her.

Marie Floyd (Younger Sister): Jo often had to act as a teacher and mother to her youngest siblings. She’d help them with their homework, help get dinner on the table, and then start on her own work. Marie died in her 40s of breast cancer.

John Floyd (Younger Brother): Jo often had to act as a teacher and mother to her youngest siblings. She’d help them with their homework, help get dinner on the table, and then start on her own work. John wrote a book a few years ago about the string of disappearances that happened around hers.

Children Names:

None

Romantic Connections:

Nick Hamelin (Husband and Mate): Jo was cynical, tried, and scared when she met Nick. She’d been used as a teacher, a maid, a mother, and a father all before she turned 24. She didn’t want attachments. Certainly not to a man, especially one as difficult as Nick. But over the years she felt her attraction to him grow and realized he could be trusted to be an equal. She can’t imagine being without Nick now.

Platonic Connections:

Jaxson Idris (Pseudo Son): Nick found Jax half drowned and starved in a sewer. When they brought him home and he shifted back, neither one could believe he was so young. Jo and Nick more or less adopted him, giving him his own room and treating him like the son they never had. It was clear Jax had issues with people acting too maternal or paternal when he was young, and they weren’t sure what his reaction may be if they asked to have him officially join their family. By the time they were sure they were ready and he might be willing, he was already in his teens, and they thought it wasn’t something he’d want.

Ray Hamelin (Brother-In-Law): Ray was the one who rescued her first, and for the first month the only person she’d talk to. He was the only witness at their wedding and she loves him like a brother, despite his childish and at times irresponsible choices.

Max Vanes (Best Friend): Max is one of the few people Jo can feel like an equal to. There’s no posturing or mothering and Max has become an incredible sounding board when Jo gets overwhelmed. She is a person Jo would go above and beyond for if she needed anything.

Piper Taylor (Pack Member): Jo feels for Piper. She has a similar story to hers and recently Piper reached out to her.

Jalissa Toll (Good Friend): Jalissa was the first person to reach out and take care of Jo when she arrived in Chicago. Jo was her Maid of Honor at her wedding, and it was here that she nudged her in Nick’s direction. Jo’s life would be entirely different without Jalissa.

Shelton Mills (Friend): Mills generally seems standoffish on the outside, but he almost always supports the underdogs, and they usually end up on the same side of the argument. His support usually helps persuade the other older members in the group.

Mary Lang (Mentee): Jo knew the exact feeling Mary was going through when her mom died, and was disgusted at Ray, Jim, and Ben for their behavior. Max and Jo took Mary out and tried to make her feel cared for, even a little bit. She’s developed a close connection to Mary and has tried to help her succeed in the pack and as a leader.

Dakota English (Packmember): Jo knows the risks Dakota is taking and is worried. There are a million ways it could go bad, and she’s been tempted to bring Nick, or at least Ray in, though she hasn’t to avoid breaking Dakota’s trust.

Sam Whitney (Friendly): Most of what Jo knows about Sam is through the various men in her life. She’s been the occasional topic of conversation between Nick and Ray over the years; when she first applied to join the pack, and in her recent exploits in London. However, Jo is much more interested in how Jax speaks of her, when he does. She’s glad he has a crush, it makes her less worried about him being so embroiled with his work that he’ll end up alone until he’s in his 400s like Nick and Ray.

Conrad Kale (Friendly): Jo has only really gotten to know Conrad in the last year or so. She has tried to be a support for Conrad in his transition to being 3rd as well as a sounding board for issues with his parents and Ben’s death.

Achilles Idris (Packmember): Jo was surprised when Jax’s long lost brother reappeared. And then she became angry; at Achilles, at Jax almost choosing to leave their pack, and at Cadmus. When things began to settle down and Jax explained how poorly Cadmus treated everyone, including Achilles, her temper died down. She has taken a shine to Achilles in the last five years and feels quite protective over him.

Clara Fields (Customer): Clara, despite her occasional conflicts with Nick, has been a regular customer since Jo opened the shop. She and many other heavies seem to make an effort to shop supernatural businesses when possible. Clara and Jo will often talk about how each of their businesses are going while Clara shops.

Sarah Harris (Associate): Sarah is often the person Jo meets first if a concern or question for the Jackals arises. Many things get settled between the two of them before it ever needs to extend to the alphas.

Liz Snow (Customer): Liz is one of Jo’s best customers. She and Jo have developed a small friendship and occasionally get coffee.

Shannon Harris (Associate): Shannon has recently begun coming with her mother when she visits Jo. She is wondering why Sarah seems to be giving up her position, but thinks Shannon is a suitable replacement.

Cassandra Askeris (Supplier): Cassandra is a jeweller whom Jo purchases from. There was some initial resistance on GOLD’s part, but Jo knew what she wanted and had been coveting pieces made by the witch for years.

Hostile Connections:

Isaac Baker (Dislikes): Baker doesn’t play by the rules set in place by Ogden before him. She thinks the wolves have gotten reckless and are too high up on their horses to realize they’re the smallest fish in the pond.

Tamsin Blaese (Competitor): Tamsin set up a competing store in the Underground not 2 blocks from one of the Rats. She knows business is suffering from something Tamsin is doing and is now considering relocating the store.

Richard Frank (Attacker): Richard was never caught when the Chicago Clan overturned the Philly Clan. He’d been tipped off before and got away while they were concerned over the victims. The clan has been off searching for him ever since, off and on, and Jo is getting concerned they’ll never know what became of him.

Pets:

None

→ History Jo spent most of her childhood playing referee between her family members. Her mother and older sisters fought constantly, and Jo had worked to keep the peace when her father was away. They were poor which generally added more stress to the equation, this only worsened when her father was killed in a hit in run. Then her older brother died in Vietnam right before her father’s funeral. She was 11 and became the one person holding everything together. Kathleen and Martha picked more fights with Lettie after Joseph’s death, and each ended up leaving. Still Jo tried to raise her remaining siblings, even though Lettie gave up on raising her long before.

When she was 24 and walking home from a diner job, she was attacked. She felt arms grab her and a sharp bite on her ankle. When she woke up Richard Frank was standing over her. He explained what she was and his plans to make her his mate. The next 4 months were pure hell, until one day everything changed. A series of men and women stormed into Frank’s home. They claimed they were here to help and that they’d bring them somewhere safe. Some of the others refused to leave, but Jo jumped at the chance. Ray, the man who busted the door down, acclaimed they were headed to Chicago. When she arrived, she wasn’t expecting a house full of rats in their rat form. She often treated her shifted form as a disease, something to hide and only be forced into in high stress situations. She learned that they lived like that there, and found herself questioning whether this was better or not. Slowly, she became introduced to people; Jalissa, Micah, Ben, and of course the ever elusive Nick. They helped her become more comfortable with her form and settle into a very different way of life. She started assisting with the organization and filing of the money from the clan’s theft; it gave her the confidence to begin to speak up and offer her ideas. She was no longer anyone’s referee, maid, teacher, father, potential mate, or whore. Jo accepted that her life may take a change for the better.

And it did. After about 8 years she finally began to acknowledge her feelings for Nick. They’d done quite the dance around each other, and she wasn’t actually surprised when he asked her out. He took her to dinner and they walked around the city together. Like everything with the Hamelins, it wasn’t what she expected but it was perfect. They continued to date one another for the next 3 years before they got married. Later on Jo created SUGAR and became the head of it, where she can do as much finances as she likes.

→ The Present In the last few months, Piper has reached out to Jo. The younger woman has been in the pack for about 2 decades, but the two of them rarely spoke outside of pleasantries. Piper seemed like she was adjusting well, and Jo didn’t want to drag up any memories or things that could stop her healing process. Out of nowhere Piper asked about her past and the two have begun to chat about their experiences.

Piper has made her begin to reflect on her own past and has encouraged her to bring up hunting down her maker again. She, Nick, and Ray had been trying to hunt down who changed her for the first 10 years after she moved to Chicago, but the leads ran cold. Jo was willing to let it relax in favor of her own ability to move on. She wants to ask Nick to try and find leads again, and send whoever he can spare on BOND to start looking for Frank.