they'll watch you waste away

QUICK TIPS FOR INTERACTION — 1.) if we're mutuals, please operate under the assumption that i want to plot and write with you. it's highly unlikely you will annoy me at all, i don't bite. 2.) if i haven't approached for plotting, it's because i don't have a good idea yet! please feel free to approach me with plots if you have an idea! 3.) i absolutely LOVE making specific aus, canon or otherwise, with my mutuals. let's worldbuild together! 4.) i am mutuals only for ic interaction, but i do not expect ALL of my moots to be interacting with me all the time or anytime. i'm just happy to be included at all. <3

DOMINIC BYRNE

Dominic, more often called just "Dom," is Noah's most trusted confidant at the time that Knox was being held by David. Dom spent a few years training and working with David when he first started taking jobs from the Ritters and absolutely hated him. When Dom found out about Knox, he was furious and believed a line had been crossed but could do nothing about it. By the time Knox is working for Noah, Dom is in his forties and takes up the mantle of training Knox. He's not gentle or kind about it, and often uses physical force to "correct" Knox. He does teach Knox much, and because of this Knox does grow to view him as a familial figure. This grows even more when Knox finds out it was Dom who killed David, even though he was never told to. Dominic is killed when Noah is, the way he died suggested he was attempting to protect Noah.

CAMERON FRYE

Bar owner who holds once a month "underground" fights for a betting pool. Shakes hands with many of those who work in and run the underbelly of the city with a no-questions-asked policy. He takes a shine to Knox shortly after meeting him. Cameron is often checking in on Knox when he is working for the Ritters, even when Knox is a dick to him in response. Cameron does encourage Knox to join the fights, but will call them early to protect Knox (and did so during his fight with Artur) much to Knox's displeasure. Cameron is not necessarily a "good" influence, but he does really care about Knox and shows that by driving him home when he's too drunk or calling him if he hasn't been around in a while. Cameron is unfortunately killed by Artur because he refused to give any information about Knox after the death of Noah, believing Knox had nothing to do with it.

JEANINE RITTER

Noah Ritter's (third) wife, Jeanine Ritter, would have the world believe her to be a big-hearted philanthropist with a deep-seated hatred for injustice of any kind. Jeanie, as her friends call her, pays her PR specialist, lawyers, and social media managers very well to keep up this image while she spends most of her time on luxury jets, yachts, or otherwise occupied off the coast somewhere far away from her husband. Jeanie was in her twenties when she married Noah (who was nearing his fifties by that point) and was not a good mother to teenaged Kody. He harbors resentment for her over this, and when Noah was killed Jeanie went into hiding believing that she would be the next target. Once the dust settles, Jeanie sells her stakes that have anything to do with the Ritters and cuts ties immediately so she can work on cleaning up her own image and making herself the victim of it all.

ALEXIS RITTER-HARDING

Kody Ritter's (first, and only) wife. They met when he was in college, where he was trying to live a "normal life" that bored him deeply. Alexis was not from a wealthy family, and was swept up by Kody's intense (and expensive) love-bombing. By the time she realized who Kody really was, Alexis was already pregnant with their first (of four) children. Kody and Alexis get married before she starts showing her pregnancy, in an all out "celebration." From here, Alexis checks out. She's taken from her family, given limited freedoms (Kody is very controlling) and feels like an outcast both within the Ritter family unit but also outside of it. She tries her best to be an attentive and good mother to her children, but Alexis spends most of her days alone and, at worst, afraid. When Kody starts stepping out, it's a relief to Alexis. In verses where Kody is either killed, or the Ritter family's crimes are brought to light, Alexis is very adamant about helping to redirect the money into actually helping people. If Kody is still alive, she lives in fear of him until she's able to get herself and her kids away (something Knox would help with, if he could, but he and Alexis rarely speak and she is pretty afraid of him as well).

CHEN XU

At nineteen, Xu is struggling to make ends meet. She works as a waitress in the morning at a diner, and a server at a club at night to keep a roof over her and her parents' heads. She lives with her mother and father, who both cannot work because of their age and language barrier. It's at the club one night that she runs into Kody. The love-bombing is intense, but Xu is not as naive as Kody believes her to be. Kody, who is not used to being rebuffed like this, becomes obsessed with Xu. Eventually, she caves to a romantic relationship with him but only because she is thinking of how rich he seems and how that could help her future if she plays her cards right. At twenty, Xu gives birth to her daughter whom she names Jiaō. She tells Kody, hoping that he will love her enough to at least give their child a good life. Instead, she is told to "get rid of it." Xu stops talking to Kody, quits her job at the club, and tries to move on. A couple years after Jiaō is born, Xu calls Kody out of desperation and pleads for help while vaguely threatening that she would go public about his infidelity. This sparks Kody's anger, reignites his obsession in the worst way, and leads him down the path of trying to get her killed. After everything, Knox is able to get Xu and Jiaō safely into Canada where they are able to start a new life.

CHEN JIAŌ