Survival Of The Fittest

Okay, let me finally put some kids into the fray:

Ellis Wheaton: Someone Who Will Probably Need to Keep His Day Job

[+] Appearance

Ellis is only about 5'6" tall and weighs 127 pounds, making him quite skinny. He has short red-orange hair, dark brown eyes, a small nose and mouth, and a face covered in freckles. He has slightly hunched shoulders and poor posture. He tends to wear casual clothing without much care put into his appearance, preferring t-shirts and shorts in warmer weather and flannel and jeans in colder weather.

[+] Personality and Interests

Ellis is the youngest of three boys, often finding himself as the victim of his older brothers and their pranks and teasing, something his father encourages to toughen him up. This made him a bit cowardly and weak, often depending on his mom for support. Growing up as a shy, awkward child, Ellis never had many friends, nor did he really do well in sports or school. It wasn’t until he was about 10 that he discovered his passion while watching TV: ventriloquism.

Ellis got his first puppet, a squirrel in a waistcoat that he named Armand, and began to take classes. While Ellis got the hang of the art of ventriloquism, his performance skills weren’t as good. He’s mostly done talent shows and open mics, but has had very little success. His issues mostly come from poor joke writing and delivery, mixed with some stage fright, but he insists on continuing with this. He's better in the present then he was when he first began, but at the moment he's more mediocre than outright awful. He currently has five puppets in his collection (Armand the squirrel, Dandy the greaser, Lucy the little girl, Chunks the gorilla, and Mudpie the pig) at the time of abduction, although Armand is the only one he brought on the trip, as Armand is a smaller, hand puppet.

Ellis’ social circle are nerdy friends, predominately male. He’s also interested in card games and role-playing games, which he thinks will help with ventriloquism through improv and character creation. He's also joined the school drama club to get better at acting and work on his stage fright, although he mostly has been stuck in supporting or background roles. He’s doing well in school, primarily in math. Because he’s required to go to college by his father, he’s decided to pursue accounting courses since he likes math, although he wants to be a pro ventriloquist in Vegas. Ellis has no real relationship with his brothers or dad, and although he tends to put up with their bullying and toxic masculinity, he secretly loathes all three of them and wants to cut ties when he leaves for college. He is much closer to his mom and is a total a momma’s boy, her being the only one he wants to still be in touch with when he leaves home.

Otherwise, Ellis is a bit of a tryhard to make people like him, but is a bit weak and crumbles when heavily stressed. He's not very good around girls due to nerves, so he mostly hangs around boys. But he often tries to stand out or take more assertive roles, usually faulting when he comes across the first bit of challenge. Otherwise, he's gentle and kind to his friends, although he does hold grudges and can be quite bitter towards anyone he dislikes.

Looking for: (Male) Friends with common interests (ventriloquism, card games, roleplaying), maybe a few bullies and enemies, or people who have had awkward encounters with him.

Chiara Masina: She's Nice to Look At, But You Won't Like It When She Looks Back

[+] Appearance

Chiara stands at about 5'8" and weighs 124 pounds. She has long, honey blonde hair that reaches her clavicle and flips up towards the ends. She has blue eyes, a straight nose, and blemish free, slightly pale skin. She has a thin figure, being somewhat flat chested and with little body fat, although she is slightly toned around her arms and thighs. She takes care of her appearance, usually wearing a quite a full face of makeup every day, exercising regularly, and wearing complimentary clothes. She prefers to wear dresses that show her arms and legs off and nice shoes, with a few simple accessories and earrings.

[+] Personality and Interests

Chiara is the oldest of three girls, having lived in Northern Italy until she was 10. After her family moved to the US for work, Chiara adapted to being an American, albeit slightly slower than her sisters. For the most part, Chiara grew up as a quiet and introspective child. Chiara doesn’t really talk to people, nor does she engage in any clubs or activities. She never looks lonely or bored, but she just prefers to be on her own. Because of this, Chiara has really no serious friends or relationships, and most people can’t really describe her character.

Despite her antisocial nature, Chiara is a person of many interests. Chiara is interested in makeup and hairstyling, taking pride in her appearance. She reads a lot of fashion magazines and watches a lot of makeup tutorials and has quite a social media following for her photos and videos of her makeup work, although she doesn't really engage with her followers nor does she talk in her videos or pictures. She also regularly swims at her neighborhood YMCA, but isn't interested in competitive swimming at all. She also reads a lot, usually checking out books from her library and reading them during lunch and breaks. If people try to talk to her, she is terse and kind in her responses, but isn’t much of a conversationalist. She’s also never had a relationship and isn’t really into boys, and it's likely she is asexual.

Because of her lack of focus and her antisocial nature, it’s not entirely clear what Chiara will do after graduating. She’s looked into some local beauty schools, but hasn’t settled on any. Her family is a bit worried about her lack of direction, particularly her mom, but they also think she’ll realize her decision someday. Her sisters don't have much of a relationship with her, although they aren't on bad terms with her as Chiara is kind enough to share her clothes and makeup with them.

While Chiara is antisocial and quiet, she is generally friendly and rarely gets in anyone’s way, making her unmemorable but not really disliked. She's nonconfrontational and doesn't really do much if challenged or harassed. Otherwise, she is well behaved and follows the rules well enough that she's never gotten into any serious trouble.

Looking for: People who may know her for her social media or have had casual interactions with her. I'm not looking for serious friends for her.

Letitia May: Thank You For the Compliment, and I Accept Your Apology

[+] Appearance

Letitia is about 5'11" and weighs 140 pounds. She is a bit slim, but has a slightly above-average bust and curvy hips. She has dark brown skin that is clear and blemis free, dark brown eyes, a flat nose, and prominent cheekbones. She wears hair weave, black and straight that reaches just past her shoulder blades and is center parted. She takes good care of her hair, usually tying it up with scarves if she's doing anything physical. Her clothing style is predominantly urban and accentuates her figure, with a lot of bright colors and prints, although she is also a fan of more business professional styles and clothing.

[+] Personality and Interests

Letitia is the second of four children, and the older of two girls (older brother, younger sister, youngest brother) born to a wealthy African-American family. Because of her family’s upbringing, Letitia grew up with everything she ever wanted, which made her a bit spoiled and materialistic. She grew up being told to take everything she wants, making her fairly competitive and aggressive when it comes to her goals. Because of this, she is a bit of an overachiever and a bit haughty.

Letitia’s main goal is to be a fashion mogul. She wants to start her own enterprise and sell clothes, accessories, makeup, etc. She’s been studying business and fashion design, and has even tried launching a business in her teens. While she’s had minor success at trade shows and trunk shows for her urban and African-American style clothes and accessories, she’s still early in the process and hasn't made a lot out of the work. She plans to attend business school and fashion school, preferably in NYC, and continues to work on her own small business between school matters.

Letitia is known around school for her arrogance and haughty behavior. She’s made a lot of enemies, but her friend circle are girls like her. She’s had a few boyfriends and dated a few guys, although nothing serious has occurred. Letitia has gotten into minor trouble with other students, but tries to avoid conflict due to wanting to ensure her college chances aren't threatened. She can be quite lippy and clap back if insulted, and isn't afraid to go deep if she thinks it'll make her win. She also does very well in all her classes and stays in the top of the class.

Looking for: (female) friends with the same interests, a few ex-boyfriends and potential crushes, a few people she's gotten into spats with before.

Micah Flanagan: A Man's Man Looking for His Own Man

[+] Appearance

Micah stands at about 6'1" and weighs 230 pounds. He is quite muscular from a combination of farm work and his weightlifting passion. He has tanned skin, dark curly brown hair that's long on top and a bit shorter in the back, dark brown almond-shaped eyes, a Greek nose, and a neatly trimmed beard. He tends to be casual in his clothing choices, often wearing clothes that show his physique in warmer weather and jackets in colder weather. He prefers muted colors and earth tones to his clothing.

[+] Personality and Interests

Micah is the second of the Flanagan Quintuplets, with one older brother (Josiah), two younger brothers (Zeb and Isaiah), and one younger sister (Ruth). Having grown up on a farm, Micah has been involved in farm work since he was a kid. He primarily takes care of the family's goats, having named them all. He also learned how to make goat cheese and goat milk soap from his mom, and likes experimenting with cheesemaking and soapmaking.

Micah has been into physical activities since he was young and primarily got into strength sports around middle school. He primarily started out with weightlifting, but has also been interested in strongman activities in recent years. This has made him very tall and muscular, making him quite physically intimidating. He’s entered weightlifting competitions and strongman contests in the Salem area, with varying success.

Socially, Micah is stoic and terse, but not unfriendly. He may appear stern, but he's got a mild, friendly temperament. He’s got a few athlete friends and is generally on good terms with people. Micah also came out as gay early in high school and has had a few boyfriends and flings. He’s not a very romantic person, and most of his relationships end early. Because of this, he has a bit of a rep as a bit of a player.

Micah wants to continue with strength sports competition and is going to pursue them in college. He hasn't decided if he wants to stick with powerlifting, strongman, or if he should pursue bodybuilding as a third interest, but he's maintaining his training regimen regardless. He’s also interested in sports medicine so he can be a personal trainer or physical therapist if he can't compete. Academically, he’s not the best in humanities, but is better in math and science.

Micah is primarily close to his siblings and is also friends with more athletic students. He has made some enemies, mostly from guys whose relationships soured. He does have some casual flings and FWB relationships with other guys.

Looking for: friends (either sex) who are interested in weightlifting and strength sports, farm kids, acquaintances of his siblings he could get along with, and a few guys he has had past flings with, who he would have positive or negative relationships with in the present.

Got some ideas if you’re interested

Ellis:
Stephan has definitely bullied him. Not to the point he’d remember who Ellis is very well, but enough that’s pretty much solely referred to as Puppet Boy internally.
Kyoto may havre defended him from bullies once or twice? He mainly gets involved when he actually sees it happening and doesn’t really interact much with bullying victims outside of it, so other than that Ellis is pretty much a face in the crowd to Kyoto.

Chiara:
Tana and Stephan probably follow her on social media, but other than that, not much.

Letitia:
Kyoto and her probably butted heads at some point, though nothing too serious on either side. Generally on bad terms, really.
Tana probably thinks she’s annoying, but not much else.

Micah:
Kyoto definitely knows him because of weightlifting stuff, they’ve probably helped spot each other for bigger weights, one of the few people he’d actively say he’s on good terms with.
Stephan probably tried insulting him in one way or another, only for it to not give him the results he wanted and rarely ever do it again.
Suzanna may also be a bit of a work out buddy, but I use the term very loosely. She’s not too focused on getting stronger.

Also got two other ideas, but I’d like to bounce them off of you more privately. Feel free to say what you think of these ideas in the meantime!

Ellis
Brook: "I've seen better."

I don't think that Brook would know him all too well, but he won't be all that impressed with Ellis' talent shows and open mics if he comes across them.

Lula: "I'm not that pretty...am I?"

While there might be some awkwardness in their first couple meetings, I can see Ellis and Lulu being casual friends at least.

Chiara
Brook: Yeah, I don't think Brook would know about Chiara.

Lula: They both like to read, so they could have some casual interactions at school.

Letitia
Brook: "Took her name off a project once for talking shit. Bitch deserved it."

Brook's the kind of guy to hold a grudge. If Letitia took a deep verbal stab at him, he will go out of his way to ignore her at best or try to make her regret it at worst. Like the quote says, maybe he will try to get back at her by taking her name off an important school project? It's up to you, really. It'll certainly be a one-time scenario, though, since I doubt that she'll be willingly pair up with him again.

Lula: "She's kind of a bitch, but she's rich, so..."

Lula's not really the fashion type since she's poor and she's a bit put off by Letitia's arrogance and haughty attitude, but I can see Lula willingly ignoring her faults since she's rich. Perhaps Lula could've been given some things that Letitia intended to throw out?

Micah
Brook: "Shame. Could've been friends with him."

Brook's in cross-country and works out at the gym, so I think he would know Micah. However, since Micah came out as gay and Brook's against the LGBTQ+ community, I don't see them getting along.

Lula: "N-No, I'm not staring! What do you mean?"

I could see Lula having a one-sided crush on him since he's a hunk. Whether Micah is aware or unaware of it is your call, but I can see them being mutually friendly in general.

[+] AnimeNerd

AnimeNerd wrote: ↑Wed Jan 13, 2021 1:32 am Got some ideas if you’re interested

Ellis:
Stephan has definitely bullied him. Not to the point he’d remember who Ellis is very well, but enough that’s pretty much solely referred to as Puppet Boy internally.
Kyoto may havre defended him from bullies once or twice? He mainly gets involved when he actually sees it happening and doesn’t really interact much with bullying victims outside of it, so other than that Ellis is pretty much a face in the crowd to Kyoto.

Chiara:
Tana and Stephan probably follow her on social media, but other than that, not much.

Letitia:
Kyoto and her probably butted heads at some point, though nothing too serious on either side. Generally on bad terms, really.
Tana probably thinks she’s annoying, but not much else.

Micah:
Kyoto definitely knows him because of weightlifting stuff, they’ve probably helped spot each other for bigger weights, one of the few people he’d actively say he’s on good terms with.
Stephan probably tried insulting him in one way or another, only for it to not give him the results he wanted and rarely ever do it again.
Suzanna may also be a bit of a work out buddy, but I use the term very loosely. She’s not too focused on getting stronger.

Also got two other ideas, but I’d like to bounce them off of you more privately. Feel free to say what you think of these ideas in the meantime!

Ellis: Yeah, I can see Stephan as a bully and Kyoto as a one-time defender.

Chiara: Social media followers sounds good.

Letitia: Kyoto and Tana not being good terms sounds good.

Micah: Kyoto sounds like a friendly acquaintance for Micah. I can see him being casual with Suzanna, but I doubt Micah would know or care about Stephan.

And yeah, if you want to DM about your private ideas, let me know.

[+] Weegee

Super Weegee wrote: ↑Wed Jan 13, 2021 3:03 am Ellis
Brook: "I've seen better."

I don't think that Brook would know him all too well, but he won't be all that impressed with Ellis' talent shows and open mics if he comes across them.

Lula: "I'm not that pretty...am I?"

While there might be some awkwardness in their first couple meetings, I can see Ellis and Lulu being casual friends at least.

Chiara
Brook: Yeah, I don't think Brook would know about Chiara.

Lula: They both like to read, so they could have some casual interactions at school.

Letitia
Brook: "Took her name off a project once for talking shit. Bitch deserved it."

Brook's the kind of guy to hold a grudge. If Letitia took a deep verbal stab at him, he will go out of his way to ignore her at best or try to make her regret it at worst. Like the quote says, maybe he will try to get back at her by taking her name off an important school project? It's up to you, really. It'll certainly be a one-time scenario, though, since I doubt that she'll be willingly pair up with him again.

Lula: "She's kind of a bitch, but she's rich, so..."

Lula's not really the fashion type since she's poor and she's a bit put off by Letitia's arrogance and haughty attitude, but I can see Lula willingly ignoring her faults since she's rich. Perhaps Lula could've been given some things that Letitia intended to throw out?

Micah
Brook: "Shame. Could've been friends with him."

Brook's in cross-country and works out at the gym, so I think he would know Micah. However, since Micah came out as gay and Brook's against the LGBTQ+ community, I don't see them getting along.

Lula: "N-No, I'm not staring! What do you mean?"

I could see Lula having a one-sided crush on him since he's a hunk. Whether Micah is aware or unaware of it is your call, but I can see them being mutually friendly in general.

Ellis: I don't see much to bond Ellis and Lula beyond casual acquaintances. No relationship with Brook sounds right.

Chiara: Casual with Lula sounds fine.

Letitia: Brook and Letitia would definitely not get along. Letitia would definitely hate him for his political leanings, as she's a liberal woman of color. I doubt she'd actually want to work on him on school projects, so I don't think that particular scenario would come to play, but I can see them having spats in the past.

As for Lula, I don't think Letitia would get close to her enough to give her anything, as Letitia would probably see Lula as cheap and as a sycophant. However, Lula's not someone she would actively dislike, but they'd probably be casual party acquaintances than anything.

Micah: Yeah, Micah would definitely dislike Brook for being homophobic, but Micah wouldn't give Brook the time of day, since Micah would be under the impression he could kick Brook's ass so any blatant homophobia in Micah's presence would be shot down.

As for Lula, they probably have crossed paths at parties, and Micah would probably be aware of her crush, but since they're not compatible, he'd probably be mildly amused and politely shut it down, so they'd probably just be party acquaintances.

Laurels wrote: ↑Thu Jan 14, 2021 3:41 pm

[+] Weegee

Super Weegee wrote: ↑Wed Jan 13, 2021 3:03 am Ellis
Brook: "I've seen better."

I don't think that Brook would know him all too well, but he won't be all that impressed with Ellis' talent shows and open mics if he comes across them.

Lula: "I'm not that pretty...am I?"

While there might be some awkwardness in their first couple meetings, I can see Ellis and Lulu being casual friends at least.

Chiara
Brook: Yeah, I don't think Brook would know about Chiara.

Lula: They both like to read, so they could have some casual interactions at school.

Letitia
Brook: "Took her name off a project once for talking shit. Bitch deserved it."

Brook's the kind of guy to hold a grudge. If Letitia took a deep verbal stab at him, he will go out of his way to ignore her at best or try to make her regret it at worst. Like the quote says, maybe he will try to get back at her by taking her name off an important school project? It's up to you, really. It'll certainly be a one-time scenario, though, since I doubt that she'll be willingly pair up with him again.

Lula: "She's kind of a bitch, but she's rich, so..."

Lula's not really the fashion type since she's poor and she's a bit put off by Letitia's arrogance and haughty attitude, but I can see Lula willingly ignoring her faults since she's rich. Perhaps Lula could've been given some things that Letitia intended to throw out?

Micah
Brook: "Shame. Could've been friends with him."

Brook's in cross-country and works out at the gym, so I think he would know Micah. However, since Micah came out as gay and Brook's against the LGBTQ+ community, I don't see them getting along.

Lula: "N-No, I'm not staring! What do you mean?"

I could see Lula having a one-sided crush on him since he's a hunk. Whether Micah is aware or unaware of it is your call, but I can see them being mutually friendly in general.

Ellis: I don't see much to bond Ellis and Lula beyond casual acquaintances. No relationship with Brook sounds right.

Chiara: Casual with Lula sounds fine.

Letitia: Brook and Letitia would definitely not get along. Letitia would definitely hate him for his political leanings, as she's a liberal woman of color. I doubt she'd actually want to work on him on school projects, so I don't think that particular scenario would come to play, but I can see them having spats in the past.

As for Lula, I don't think Letitia would get close to her enough to give her anything, as Letitia would probably see Lula as cheap and as a sycophant. However, Lula's not someone she would actively dislike, but they'd probably be casual party acquaintances than anything.

Micah: Yeah, Micah would definitely dislike Brook for being homophobic, but Micah wouldn't give Brook the time of day, since Micah would be under the impression he could kick Brook's ass so any blatant homophobia in Micah's presence would be shot down.

As for Lula, they probably have crossed paths at parties, and Micah would probably be aware of her crush, but since they're not compatible, he'd probably be mildly amused and politely shut it down, so they'd probably just be party acquaintances.

All of these sound good!

Brook’s not the type to just sit there and take a beating, though, so Micah should be ready for a fight if he tries to throw hands.

Letitia + Birch: Birch has vague prep energy, but is kinda rebelling against that. If I'm reading this correctly, this means they probably have moved in the same social circles in the past, but Birch has probably always been something of a pariah/an object of ridicule in those circles due to their being a high-strung, panicky mess. Anyways, these days Birch feels combative towards those with a similar background to them (wealthy overachievers) so I can definitely see the possibility for some nasty spats, especially if there's some desire for revenge mixed in as well.