Characters
NAME: Sydney
AGE: 13 years old
SEX: Male (he/him)
D.O.B: July 7th
HEIGHT: 5’1″ / 154cm
WEIGHT: 40kg / 88lbs
Description:
Sydney is a thoughtful and sensitive 13-year-old boy, caught between preserving the last of his own childhood innocence and the harsh realities of a world falling apart. Introspective and compassionate, he’s always worrying about others, especially his father, Austin. Sydney blames himself for things that aren’t his fault, carrying the weight of guilt in a way that makes him seem far older than he is. His wide and expressive eyes make it hard for him to hide the way he feels from others.
His love for comic books, animals, and childhood hobbies like collectible trading cards and arcade games show that he’s still very much just a child who, like all other children, was forced to grow up too fast. Sydney is someone who, even in his darkest moments, clings to the idea of protecting the ones he loves and there isn’t much he won’t do to keep those he cares for, especially his father, alive and safe. It all becomes a matter of whether or not he can live with himself for the things he’s done.
⋅ ─ ─ ─ ─══⊱༺ ♰ ༻⊰══─ ─ ─ ─ ⋅
NAME: Austin
AGE: 41 years old
SEX: Male (he/him)
D.O.B: November 12th
HEIGHT: 6’3″ / 190cm
WEIGHT: 205lbs / 93kg
Description:
Austin is a deeply protective father, resilient and resourceful, shaped by both his profession as a firefighter and the new, brutal realities of the apocalypse. At 41 years old, he has always been someone people could rely on—a problem-solver with a strong sense of duty and responsibility. His protective instincts for his children run deep, and the weight of that responsibility drives nearly every decision he makes, even when it goes against everything he’d learnt in his 10+ years as a firefighter. On the surface, Austin is practical and level-headed, the kind of person who doesn’t panic easily. He keeps calm under pressure and acts quickly in moments of crisis which has allowed him to keep his son safe in the terrifying new world they find themselves in.
Despite his internal struggles, Austin’s only motivation remains clear: protect Sydney at all costs, even if it means making tough decisions that may keep him up at night or risk pushing his son away after constantly wrapping him up in cotton wool. The harsh new rules of the world have forced him to retire his old moral code and that shift has fundamentally changed him. Though he once believed in saving everyone, Austin has to come face to face with the fact that sometimes, survival means choosing who you will save. And that will always, always, be his son.
⋅ ─ ─ ─ ─══⊱༺ ♰ ༻⊰══─ ─ ─ ─ ⋅
NAME: Eli
AGE: 37 years old
SEX: Male (he/him)
D.O.B:
HEIGHT: 5’10” / 178cm
WEIGHT: lbs / kg
Description:
Eli, the youngest of three, is a laid back and fairly down to Earth person. At 37 years old he’s gained a lot of valuable knowledge during his years working as a mechanic and self-proclaimed handyman. He’s skilled at fixing vehicles, knowing what materials are worth scavenging for, and crafting tools and traps necessary for survival. Though Eli will step up when necessary, he doesn’t consider himself a natural-born leader like his older brother Austin, typically preferring to take a backseat in more serious scenarios, nor does he find himself particularly skilled at offering comfort to those around him like his sister Claire, sometimes to a fault. As a result he can sometimes come across as cold, uncaring, or distant, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. He tends to push his own worries and emotional burdens away to the back of his mind in an attempt to keep those around him afloat.
His dry and flat sense of humor and sarcasm help keep things light when things get tough for the group, especially with his nephew, Sydney, who he does his best to distract from the harsh state of the current world by encouraging the young boys curiosity and debatably childish interests, some of which he may secretly take interest in as well. He relates to Sydney’s struggle with being babied by those around him, something Eli spent his entire childhood dealing with from his siblings.
⋅ ─ ─ ─ ─══⊱༺ ♰ ༻⊰══─ ─ ─ ─ ⋅
NAME: Claire
AGE: 44 years old
SEX: Female (she/her)
D.O.B:
HEIGHT: 5’6″ / 167cm
WEIGHT: lbs / kg
Description:
Claire, at 44, is the eldest of the three siblings and serves as the compassionate and protective heart of the group. As a nurse, Claire is deeply empathetic to the plight of those around her, always trying to take care of others and maintain some semblance of normalcy despite the brutal conditions her and her family have found themselves in. Her medical background makes her practical and calm under pressure and she often finds herself to be the mediator or voice of reason when tensions run high, thinking with her head instead of with an impulsive rush of testosterone.
Claire sees things from a broader, more long-term perspective, a healthy balance between Eli’s laid-back pragmatism and Austin’s overprotective and often emotionally-driven decisions. Though she is compassionate and caring, she is no stranger to making difficult choices. From all her time working in a hospital, she has learned to remember that you absolutely cannot save everyone. Though she worries about her brother Austin’s overprotective nature towards his son, Sydney, she finds herself often stepping in as a maternal figure when Sydney’s mother, Dakota, cannot. She struggles figuring out where the sweet spot between coddling him and allowing him to learn and explore life on his own is.
With her experience as an E.R nurse and taking the roll of a caretaker comes the heavy toll of grief, particularly where her loved ones are concerned. She wouldn’t admit it if you asked, but without her family she would see no reason to stick around.