Is that GAEL DE VRIES? I heard the FORTY-THREE year old is the LEADER of the NIGHTSHADE. I’d stay away from them if I were you. I heard they were DISCONCERTING, but they can also be STRATEGIC, so proceed at your own risk.
FULL NAME: Gael DeVries NICKNAME(S): none really but will answer to DeVries PREFERRED NAME(S): Gael BIRTH DATE: 27th December 1986 ZODIAC: Capricorn ☀, Scorpio ☽ , Aquarius ↑ AGE: 38 HEIGHT: 6' SEXUALITY: demisexual, demiromantic OCCUPATION: owner of The Arsenal LANGUAGES SPOKEN: english, spanish, russian FATHER: Abel Hendricks (deceased) MOTHER: Inés Dominguez (missing) SIBLING(S): none that he knows of PET(S): a beauceron called Leto
tl;dr
He was raised by his mother and they spent most of his childhood never staying in one place for more than a few months, constantly on the move and on the run from the father he never knew.
There was little time for socialising for long periods of time aside from with his mother and so he always struggled with forming dynamics, consistently the odd one out even when he tried to make friends.
He was eleven when his mother disappeared without a trace, the case going cold and leaving him alone in the world. He ended up in the system but due to was never at one foster home too long.
With school being a mixed bag for him at best and so he knew that academics weren't going to be his way of finding something for himself in life. Instead he enlisted as soon as he was 18, hoping it would provide him with the sense of belonging that had always evaded him.
Despite a promising start, his military career came to an acrimonious end just three years later after a 'favour' for one of his squad mates - his supposed family - was actually a set up that landed him in jail and dishonourably discharged.
Once he got out he was picked up by the leader of a mercenary group, increasing his training in more weaponry and honing his skills further in all things killing and subterfuge.
But it still wasn't quite enough. Too many lines were drawn and Gael was left feeling as though there was more he could do, there was an opportunity for an organisation that didn't say no, only named their price.
An opportunity arose when he finally gained the money he needed to start up something of his own. Nightshade was born and he finally felt like he had something that was truly his own.
It's been a decade since then and his organisation has continued to grow and expand, its strong foundations in LA allowing him to expand into major cities across the country.
Personality
Having witnessed first hand how little the world seemed to care about him and his mother, even those that were paid to do so, he struggles to bring himself to find any kind of care for those around him.
Headcanons
He's still as involved with Nightshade as he was in the beginning, overseeing everything. Meticulous eye is still cast over new recruits' resumes, the final vetting stage before they're allowed to join his organisation.
Naming Nightshade was perhaps the hardest part of its creation, wanting to pick something that best represented the group. In the end the name is a homage to his mother and the stories she used to tell him.
He took the name DeVries from his high school maths teacher, one of the few adults that showed him any kind of encouragement or support.
It perhaps not surprising that after getting out of jail he tracked his father down to interrogate him about the disappearance of his mother. The man claimed he knew nothing and didn't change his answer, so Gael deemed him useless and killed him.
In the evenings of his childhood he and his mother would watch the couple of old tapes she had, one Star Trek and one Star Wars, fostering a love of Sci-Fi in him. As he got older he turned to books, the Dune Chronicles becoming a favourite.

















