There's wine and champagne, and of course charcuterie. But Mars has made sure the music is as eclectic as possible for his exhibit's event. He doesn't need a string concerto for the bombastic lines and vibrant color of his pieces - they're more in line with the heavy beat of rhythm and blues, of queer pop, rap, and underground punk.
An artist talk started the evening, but it's finally time to drink. Make light chatter and hope for some rich buyers. "Absolutely mental, tonight." He's picking up salami with a toothpick and handing his cup over to get refilled by the lovely attendant behind the table while he speaks up to someone beside him. "Thanks for comin' out. Means the world t'see anyone at an event about my work, let alone this crowd. You having a good time?"
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He leans against a brightly painted arcade cabinet, and drinks, and watches his target from afar. No one's wanted to play Dig-Dug anyways. Shame, since Asa's a whiz at it. The target, a man, is sat with friends near the little tables. And he's so boringly simple - drinking, shouting... and Asa knows where he's headed next, too. A whole bar crawl, and by the end, he'll be so easy to do in. It's painful, almost. But it means Asa can enjoy his own entertainment. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes... and kill someone by the end of the night. Fantastic.
"Everyone always goes for the ones with the fake guns, don't they?" He turns a perhaps slightly too calm face towards the person nearby. "Bit sad. I've never had the taste for those. You ever tried this one, though?" Irish accent lingers on a confident tongue. "Big hit with my father, back in the 80s."
'Zed never had his high-school chemistry accident.'
...THE ALTERNATIVE SEPTEMBER 12TH, 1994.
β Zed never attended the chemistry class where the accident that nearly cost him his arm occurred. He never took an interest in chemistry, or acids, nor pharmaceuticals. He does not have a disfigured, or burn scar across his forearm and lower hand.
β Instead, he was off sick with a common cold. his Uncle Joseph had come over to talk business with his side of the family. Zed had listened in; learning; questioning his potential position in the family β subsequently following in similar footsteps as the rest of the Movska brood.
β But he wasn't quite Fox News material. Instead, he pursued editing; easily accessible for an underachiever with the connections his family does.
β THE RIPPLE EFFECT...
β '94-1995; Zed finished his high school diploma, deciding to take a late interest in the media world his family seemed to thrive in.
β 1997; By not attending further education; no college; no pharmaceutical degree; no Ph.D. Zed was not in the same scientific circles. He did not attend physics, or chemistry conventions. Therefore, he did not meet Rahi Kumar who would have been his best friend throughout his life, and career.
β Late 1997; He and his cousin Lev's difficult and sometimes unhinged relationship became easier; Zed was not an overachieving intellect. He was another Movska in media chasing some sort of prestige.
β 1998; Somehow ends up childminding his five year old cousin Diana Movska more frequently as his family's work progresses. He works out empathy among his family β and briefly considers his own future with a family of his own.
β 2000; There is a 0.6% increase in the fatality rate within Affina Biotechnologies in a two year period; totalling 60 more deaths due to an inexperienced chemist taking a position. [ a contract Zed would have taken. ]
β 2001; Zed attempts to cover the story everyone else is.
β 2002; he interviews for WNBC, dabbling in radio before he lands a position in the New York Post, opting towards print media. He gets his own intern.
β The rest of 2002; The intern is the worst. Lev and Zed make continuous jokes about his inevitable departure.
β 2003-'06; He balances a life between New York and Russia whilst he scarcely misses out on a promotion due to the mysterious disappearance of his intern. He refuses to hire another.
β 2008; Zed [And Lev] purchases a chinatown apartment.
β 2009; He moves into an executive chair.
β 2010; Zed does not meet what would be his colleagues, and residents at consultant hospitals, or Columbia university. There is no Kamilah Marques or Gus Amado in his professional life.
β 2011; There is an underground scuffle between druglords that Zed is never present for. Instead of diffusing the majority of it, there is bloodshed. Four people are fatally wounded, and six injured. He never encounters Oz Saffet. Cops are called to a scene. They attempt to find medical attention that before Zed would have assisted with. Three are arrested and charged. One passes. The rest survive and go into hiding. The New York Times beat the Post to the scoop.
β 2014; He stays in New York for the entire year.
β Early 2015; he briefly dates the NYP's CFO. It ends pretty amicably.
β 2015; Zed becomes COO, and is content with the position.
β 2017; There is a decrease in toxicity in American Regent's latest quick-fix for migraine treatment by 0.2%, nearly two dozen benefit from the new chemistry. [Zed never altered it for a '17 hire job. ]
β 2020-'23; He remains COO of the NYP.
β THE RESULT
β Anyone who knew Zed through scientific, medical or pharmaceutical means very likely will not know him now. His morbidity was more than skin deep, but he did not have such a vicious means of dispatch at his disposal, instead opting for media reckoning and political damning.
β He will be more light-hearted β mostly β and far more approachable as a media mogul. There is almost a 0% risk of him threatening to end one via chemical warfare. He is not nearly as intelligent; he is not a professor, or doctor in the AU.
β He will now edit your pieces to death if you hand him any documentation.
β More familial orientated β if that were possible, considers himself fairly close with them.
β May even make a joke, and laugh.
SILAS LOWE for World Burn's AU Event β a story of what happens when you actually go to therapy.
WHAT'S DIFFERENT:
During his early to mid 20s, he struggled heavily with addiction, however still managed to graduate. Shortly after acquiring his bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering, he agreed to enter rehab and start going to therapy.
Over the course of a few years, he steadily got sober and swore off of both drugs and alcohol, and stepped away from his partying lifestyle.
After talking with a therapist and working through his childhood trauma, finding the source of his addiction, etc, he cut contact with his immediate family. This gave him a newfound peace of mind.
He never tried to model or enter the journalistic field, finding stability in working in a medical environment.
THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT:
He has a successful career as a manufacturing engineer and has maintained it since the age of 28, putting his hard-earned degree to use instead of letting it rot.
He is no longer hedonistic party animal extraordinaire, staying away from the party scene and maintaining a wariness around those who do partake in drugs/alcohol for fear of a relapse.
Takes life a little more seriously, maybe a little more uptight than he needs to be, tries to have healthier relationships, etc.
Speaking of healthy relationships, he met Asa Holland at a bar one night and instantly found himself attracted to the man's charming weirdness. It started casual at first but late nights of pure fun blossomed into something more. Eventually, Silas began encouraging Asa to pursue a business degree, supporting him every step of the way. This closeness between them snowballed from there, from getting an apartment together and adopting a dog to outright marriage (and more pets, namely the cats Asa insisted on having). Silas is vaguely aware that his husband gets up to unscrupulous activities but doesn't know specific details, operating on a don't ask, don't tell basis. To this day, he still jokes that he married him for tax purposes, but the adoration in bright blue eyes is unmistakable.
THE SIMILARITIES:
Parents still moved to New York at the age of 21, after on and off living there when he was 19 and 20.
Still chain-smokes cigarettes but hey, Rome wasn't built in a day and he needs something or else he'll go crazy.
Still non-religious, still going to heavily badmouth Catholicism.
Undeniably still fucked some people over, especially in his early 20s when he was deep into his addiction.
Doesn't have contact with his sister (except he was the one to cut her and his parents out of his life).
Age: 50
Pronouns: He/Him
Height: 6'2"
Originally From: London
Siblings: 2 Brothers, 1 Sister
Occupation: Painter
Affiliation: Brotherhood Intel
Relationship Status: Single
Sexuality: Bisexual
What's the Same?
Mars grows up in London and still has a flair for design.
Eventually moves to the United States.
Becomes affiliated with the Brotherhood and believes in their cause.
What's Different?
Mars's parents never pushed him into being 'successful', and instead enjoyed his creativity and encouraged it.
Instead, he went to art school and became a large-scale painter. Creating giant moving pieces done in vibrant color that pays homage to his parents' cultures and his fluid sexuality, Mars has become a prevalent painter in most large galleries across New York City, and even a few museums.
Mars became interested in the Brotherhood far later in his life, and became an affiliate for them. Offering a bit of money from auctions of his work, and starting to do a bit of intel on the side when he can.
A free-spirited bloke with an easygoing personality and far too many dad jokes.
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Instead of her anger at the injustice in the world leading her to photojournalism, she started to act out against her family and against the officials in NYPD.
WHAT STAYS THE SAME:
Aria still has OCD, only she has an actual diagnosis after her parents forced her into therapy after her first arrest.
Photography is still a hobby.
She and her ex-girlfriend, Riley, still broke up and it still fucked her up mentally.
THE DIFFERENCES:
Fresh out of high school, instead of focusing her time on trying to get into college, she spends her time in protests - falling into the crowd that prefers to use violence and malicious compliance to get their way rather than the peaceful ones she would prefer otherwise.
Because she's loud and willing to put herself in harm's way, she's been arrested more than a few times, which allows her to make connections with Brotherhood members who were also targets of the NYPD.
Through them, she was certain she could make a real difference and getting her hands dirty gives her a thrill more than she could ever describe (unfortunately, also a universal truth, not that she is aware).
It was at age 21 that she first got a chance to really, truly hurt someone, with bloodied fists and sporting her own injuries and bruises afterwards. The other person didn't die, but it only agitated her bloodlust instead of satisfying it.
She's currently only just a member of the Brotherhood, but is looking and training with higher ups to become an enforcer when the time is right.
Sam was never predisposed to an unsavory lifestyle, instead living out his life with his mother, her new husband, and his two step-siblings.
THE DIFFERENCE
Instead of crime, he went the opposite direction, going through the motions immediately after graduating so that he could join the NYPD.
He specifically favors working within the community, never straying too far from your standard beat cop type positions. Sam is well known to be the first to respond to whatever comes over the radio.
He and Erin never moved into that apartment building, having the guidance his mother and stepfather could offer when they struck out on their own with Charlie. As such, no fire would ruin his family.
Though he and Erin didn't last, Sam is happy with his now 22 year old son and the small two bedroom they dwell in off Rockaway Beach.
Sam has a honest life with many friends. His door is always open to those who need him, and his home has become a safe space for many of Charlie's friends in trying times.
THE CONSISTENCY
Sam loves to cook and bake.
Dad jokes are everything.
Monsters Inc. is the best movie to have ever been made.
Breakfast Club is a joke.
He is still an admirer of Star Wars and Star Trek.
Instead of going to hang out with his friends, Lev went on a date. It wasn't serious, but it was a good time. Until, you know, he started finding out what had happened. To keep his name clean and clear, he gave a wide berth to the whole situation.
THE DIFFERENCE
Instead of joining the Brotherhood reactively, he did so quietly. While covering a protest, Lev met a member and interviewed them as an anonymous source. Nothing was ever published or shared, which encouraged further contact. Some months later, he found himself affiliated. Later, a member.
It's a tough thing to do, balancing the Movska lifestyle while maintaining a space without a group that abhors all that he is and all that he comes from. Lev leans into his ideals, supporting the Brotherhood, while embracing the life he was born into. It's not his fault he won at life, after all.
He works with his cousin, Zed, climbing up the ladder just behind him. The two bought up an apartment in Chinatown. Lev has a cleaning lady come weekly and pays her for her discretion.
Despite their differences in politics, Lev is much closer to his father. The idea, loathe as he is to face this reality, is that he would be groomed to one day take his father's seat on the board at Fox News.
Because he never found himself in a position where he felt inclined to resent the Brotherhood, he never ghosted them.
THE CONSISTENCIES
Lev is still an active troll on Twitter.
He still earned his Masters degree in Philosophy at Columbia.
