Willow Melody Jardine was born in 1894 in Astoria, Oregon, poising her to come of age right in the thick of the women's Suffrage Movement of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. She was born an identical twin, but her sister died in infancy from causes unknown at the time. Her mother was a dress designer and her father a school teacher, and following a very difficult birth, Willow had years where she was a very sickly child, constantly running fevers and always a concern that she would succumb like her twin had. No one really expected her to live to see her teens and she was a bit of a strange child. She had a close affinity to animals and she was young when she began wanting to be a veterinarian. With other children, she was quiet and withdrawn, but with animals, she could be close to them for hours. She also adored the beach, the water, and the ocean. She would always swim in the lake on their farm or run freely and happily out in the paddocks or the nearby forest, or pick flowers and make daisy chains by their pond watching the fish swim around in the water. And she would always get into trouble from her nanny for jumping into the puddles and getting her lovely dresses her mother made for her filthy.
When Willow did hit her teens, she became fascinated with the Suffragette Movement to give women the right to vote. Her mother was already heavily involved and Willow just followed because she adored her mother. It turned out that she would end up a very radical fighter for the cause and ended up getting arrested for her passionate protests. During one of her many protests, she managed to catch the eye of a local vet who had asked around about who she was and discovered she had the same ambition as he did, and hence why she was so emphatically supportive of more equal women's rights. It turned out he was Kindred, a Gangrel Primogen of the City, so he disguised himself as a lawyer to represent her case, brainwashing the police into believing his story and he managed to get her released without a record or serving any time in prison.
She was as confused as all hell, understandably, and after being meek and shy as a kid, she was now fiery and outspoken and didn't waste any time interrogating him about why he pulled strings for her, still believing him to be a lawyer. He revealed what he was to her, and went into very intricate detail of The Masquerade, telling her that her natural inclination towards animals and her passion for fight meant she would survive amazingly as Kindred and it would mean she could continue her fight for women's rights for decades to come. Only, it put her on the cusp of two potential Clan - Gangrel and Brujah, very much known for their ability to be bitter rivals. He left the choice of Embrace to her, and indeed what Clan. As much as she loved to fight for her cause, the cause was so she could have a hope of working with animals and going to university, studying and being successful. She hadn't even been sure she wanted this Embrace, or an eternal life.
She travelled to her favourite beach and stayed there for two weeks, sitting on the sand watching the ocean for hours on end. Eventually, she realised there was no choice. Animals, nature, and everything in between was where her heart was. The Brujah Clan didn't seem to have much respect for nature at all, and she knew if she had to live with that blood for centuries, she would live a haunted life lacking the peace she loved. Gangrel she chose, and the Primogen took her within three days, Embracing her. As Gangrel have a very different way of Embracing to other Clans where Sires are expected to guide and teach the Kindred childer, a Gangrel leaves their childer to nature to survive and if they survive a full winter fending for themselves, they are considered ready to learn of being Kindred. Often a Gangrel Sire will take their childer out deep into the woods for their test of their Clan, but Willow's took her by boat to a deserted island that she still has no idea where it was in the world. For a year, she existed alone, fending for herself, feeding from animals and then healing them to restore their health. When he returned to collect her, she was a true Gangrel, and now cannot be away from the beach or the ocean for long spaces of time before she gets restless and risks frenzying.
With immortality in her hands, Willow did go on to become a vet and now owns a veterinary hospital in New York City, also being the vet on-call for Xavier Carlisle, who owns stables and a riding school in Westchester. She did, as promised she could, keep following her fight for rights and even though she had times she was a radical feminist and made with the bra burning, she is proud of how far the world has come since she started her fight and isn't one of those painfully cliché feminists who try to turn every conversation into social justice warroring. Her heart and soul are in her work now, and she lives in a condo at Long Beach in New York as well as a cabin by a lake interstate. She is still fiery and outspoken, will rarely take shit from people, and drives a Harley Davidson just because she can.
She can't stand male chauvinists and has been known to knee guys in the balls or thump them in the face if they try to take advantage of her. She has taken one life in her Kindred time, a guy who tried to rape her and she ripped his throat out with her claws and left him to bleed to death in a back alley... of which she has no regret for whatsoever. She is bisexual and has a lot of Gangrel friends, but she doesn't get into the old school Clan rivalry many still are involved in. One of her closest friends is New York Gangrel Primogen, Daniel Cooper and is the President of the New York branch of the ASPCA and a benefactor for National Organization for Women, NOW-NYC, who promote reproductive rights, secure women’s economic empowerment, and end discrimination and violence against women.
THE KINDRED
Within a vampire bloodline known as The Kindred, seven vampire clans are collectively joined, forming the largest sect of vampires called the Camarilla, and survive through the Masquerade, disguising themselves as humans. Camarilla policy is that vampires should try to fit in with and hide from the rest of humanity, as to easily feed on them. For this reason, they created a web of lies and misinformation, called the Masquerade, to make the public believe that supernatural beings like vampires could not possibly exist. The Camarilla also believes that the only way the vampire species can survive in these modern nights is if it unite. Any breach of the Masquerade by any vampire risks exposing the entire race. Both viewpoints are fundamentally opposed by the Sabbat, an opposing sect to the Camarilla. The Camarilla also enforces the Eldest as ruling class over the younger vampires. The seven clans of the Camarilla are Ventrue, Brujah, Malkavian, Toreador, Gangrel, Tremere and Nosferatu. When a human is turned by a Kindred vampire, it is known as the Embrace, the vampire siring the human to embrace them into their own bloodline.
Each city has a ruler, a "Prince" who enforces the laws of The Masquerade that govern them to protect their anonymity. A clan is a group of vampires "related" by blood; i.e. the vampiric equivalent of an extended family or lineage. A clan is usually a large group, acknowledged widely in the vampiric society. Each clan nurture their own characteristics and traits, and each clan has its strengths and weaknesses. Often the clans do not always get along with certain clans such as the Brujah and the Ventrue actually hating one another. Each clan within a given area has a representative, a Primogen, who is usually the eldest and most powerful member of the clan, who attends the leader or prince's advisory council. This status also grants the character social advantages and greater power than being a normal member of their clan.
All information is taken from fandom source @ Masquerade Wiki and Kindred Wiki
GANGREL CLAN
The Gangrel are nomads who hold closer ties to the wild places than most of their city-bound cousins, they are also closer to the animal aspect of the Beast, and are masters of the Protean Discipline. They were one of the seven founding clans of the Camarilla, but became disillusioned with the sect in the Final Nights, its elders eventually deciding to sever its ties and become an independent clan. Two bloodlines exist among the Sabbat; the Country Gangrel and the City Gangrel. The Country Gangrel are the same as the main clan, with the Fortitude, Animalism and Protean disciplines. The City Gangrel have adapted to city life, forgoing Animalism and Fortitude for Celerity and Obfuscate. Both are collectively referred to as "Gangrel antitribu."
The Gangrel are considered the most feral and predatory of the kindred, and because of their reclusive natures, animalistic tendencies and loose organization, are the least social of the Cainites, preferring solitude to society. They also tend to be extremely territorial and possessive and to enter a Gangrel's territory without permission is certain death. They do have their role and reputation among the kindred as fierce warriors, but to get a Gangrel to agree to work with others, even other Gangrel, can be a difficult, if not impossible, task.
Most of the Clans legends and myths, as well as the ways to garner prestige within the Clan, are done orally. Storytelling and being able to hold a crowd are considered fairly valuable social currency, as there is little else to do in gatherings out in the wilderness besides entertain each another with bravado and song. Most of these stories are true, but a good, satisfying tale is regarded as more important than the facts of the details. Gangrel don't lie, precisely, but embellishing the truth is a good way to sound much more impressive, in the same way a cat puffs up its fur to look more threatening. Keeping to one's spoken word is also highly respected, as when all is said and done, the only thing stopping another vampire from screwing you over is their own sense of honor. This is not to say that the more socially-inclined Gangrel can't learn to play Jyhad. In fact, many enjoy (or at least grudgingly accept) the great masquerade ball of betrayal, conspiracy, and power struggles that define so much of Kindred existence. Given the distinctly rural nature of Clan Gangrel, the observer may be surprised to learn that many higher-generation Gangrel are adept at managing modern technology such as cell phones, computers, and cutting-edge vehicles. Clan Gangrel has realized that knowledge of technology is an important aspect of survival in the modern nights, and even the eldest Gangrel know how to work a microwave.
All information is taken from fandom source @ Gangrel Wiki
Willow is an original character is for kindred: the masquerade/vampire: the embraced psl, noirenewyork
pb: holland roden · profile layout by tessisamess@ij · noirenewyork |
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