Survival Of The Fittest

NIALL HARRIS
Guaranteed pregame and island

Niall is an aloof, intense presence at Red Rock. He’s hot, sophisticated, intelligent and a talented athlete so he’s probably well respected, but he keeps his circle small. Niall doesn’t exactly wear his heart on his sleeve, but he’s an intensely romantic person with a very long-term and hopelessly unrequited crush on one of his straight male friends. He helps process these feelings through poetry, which he can often be seen reading, or heard quoting- he writes his own too, but keeps this as secret as the crush itself. Outwardly stoic, Niall struggles with both anger and depression almost as intense as his other feelings.

Hobbies: Reading and writing (especially poetry), athletics, whiskey and wine tasting, music (especially classical and jazz)

[+] Appearance

Niall stands at just over 6 feet and weighs about 175 lbs. with broad shoulders and above-average musculature especially in his chest and upper arms. He is African-American and has a dark complexion. He has a diamond face shape with a sharp jaw and strikingly handsome features. His eyes are dark brown, sharp and narrow. He has a broad nose and full lips. His black hair is cropped short on the back and sides and left slightly longer on top, so his ears stick out a bit, though they're of an average size. He regularly cleans and shaves his face so he rarely has either facial hair or acne. Niall's default expression is a slight frown and he has quite an intense stare. He rarely smiles, generally only when he's with close friends. He has good posture and tends to stand up straight with his hands in his pockets or arms folded over his chest. His voice is deep and usually quite quiet with a natural monotone.

Niall tends to dress smartly for school and socialising, usually sporting a button-up shirt and smart trousers. When the temperature allows it, such as in the evenings or the winter, he tends to wear sweaters like turtlenecks and cardigans and his favourite jacket, a navy blue overcoat. His clothes tend to have a muted, neutral colour scheme, favouring navy blues, tans, browns and greys. On the day of the abduction he was wearing brown leather shoes, smart suede trousers with a leather belt and a navy blue button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He had a silver watch on his left wrist.

HAYDEN PRESCOTT*
Guaranteed pregame and island

Hayden is probably one of the most vocal students at Red Rock, despite not actually holding many genuine convictions. Instead, he’s a compulsive contrarian, constantly playing devil’s advocate and looking to debate any even slightly contentious topic that gets brought up in his earshot. He tries to maintain the image of a cool, logical orator who’s above ideology and emotion, but it’s actually quite easy to wind him up- a favourite hobby of your kid might be getting him to change tack halfway through an argument by suddenly agreeing with him and forcing him to flip sides. His argumentative nature and smug demeanour will have cost him the friendship of almost every one of his classmates, but he’s fine with that… at least, that’s what he tells himself.

*Hayden's surname might change to fit with Candy and Mercy (and anyone else who joins the dynasty)

Hobbies: Debate club, trivia and general knowledge, current affairs, pop culture (mostly arguing about it online)

[+] Appearance

• Hayden is 5’11 and weighs about 155 lbs. giving him a thin build.
• Hayden is Caucasian, of mainly Anglo-Saxon ethnicity. He has a sharp, angular face with high cheekbones. His eyes are pale blue and narrow. Hayden has mousy brown hair that he keeps fairly short and combed back. He has a circle beard that has finally grown in after many months of patchy facial hair; he keeps his cheeks and neck clean-shaven.
• Hayden has an almost permanently smug expression and speaks in a nasal tone of voice. His posture is confident and upright and he crosses his arms whenever he’s not using them.
• Hayden almost exclusively wears suits, or at the very least button up shirts and smart trousers.

ROWAN CARTWRIGHT
Guaranteed pregame, very likely island

Rowan is, at least outwardly, a very relaxed and laid-back girl, who can fit quite easily into different friend groups, though she has her favourites who she’s very close with. She has a troubled home life and severe anxieties about the future but doesn’t tend to bring that up; most would know her as almost implacably laid-back. She plays guitar and loves music, especially psychedelia and folk-rock, your typical hippy fare. She doesn’t like being alone and spends most of her free time at festivals, parties or just hanging out with friends in the city or out in the desert.

Hobbies: Guitar, festivals and live music

[+] Appearance

• Rowan stands 5’9” and weighs about 130 lbs. She has a thin, bony build.
• Rowan is of mainly Paiute, Scottish and Shoshone descent. She has a lightly tanned complexion year round. She has amber eyes and curly brown hair that reaches halfway down her neck.
• Rowan usually sports a relaxed smile. Her posture is very relaxed and casual. Her voice has noticeable vocal fry.
• Rowan’s clothing is mostly thrifted and tends towards hippie and hipster aesthetics.

ASH GREEN
Very likely pregame, likely island as well

Ash has no shortage of potential enemies at Red Rock; they’re a generally grumpy misanthrope and a vegan with no time for meat-eaters. They do manage to keep the worst of their pent-up anger under wraps though, so they might not have alienated literally everyone. Ash has more or less given up on society and doesn’t much care about politics or economics, though they do have far more empathy and humanity than they like to admit. The few friends they might have need to pass a rigorous values test but once they’re in the circle, Ash has moments of genuine loyalty and affection.

Hobbies: Bodybuilding, animal rights and environmental activism, biology

[+] Appearance

• Ash is 5’4 and weighs about 150 lbs., with a stocky and muscular build.
• Ash is Caucasian, of mainly Celtic ethnicity; they have a very pale complexion that burns easily. They have large, bug-like green eyes. Their ginger hair is shaved into a buzz cut, and their face is clean shaven.
• Ash’s jaw is usually tightly clenched, and they typically have a grumpy expression and a tone of voice to match.
• Ash’s taste in clothing tends towards punk styles.

JAMES SCOTT
Likely pregame, but definitely not island

People’s first impressions of James are often “that kid who’s weirdly into military history”, but most who get to know him beyond that regard James as one of the nicest people they know. He’s unfailingly polite and friendly with a strong sense of right and wrong, the archetypal all-American boy. With interests ranging from video games like shooters and map games to sports like baseball and fishing he’s probably a fixture in various friend groups and clubs. James is actually quite conservative and religious, but few people realise that; he keeps his opinions to himself and hates the idea of offending people. He is unashamedly patriotic, though. James is too geeky and enthusiastic to be genuinely “cool” but he’s not the sort to have many enemies either.

Hobbies: Military history, wargaming, civil war re-enactment and miniatures, baseball, fishing, shooting

[+] Appearance

• James is 5’8 and weighs about 165 lbs. He has a slightly chubby build without much muscle.
• James is Caucasian, of mainly German and Anglo-Saxon ancestry. He has a pinkish complexion, round face, bright blue eyes and straight blond hair. He is clean shaven.
• James tends to dress simply, in comfortable clothes like t-shirts and hoodies with bold colours. He has a pair of round glasses that he usually wears.
• James is almost always smiling. He has good posture. His voice is confident and friendly.

For Niall:
- As I’ve noted to you before, Finn is (probably?) heterosexual, and in a long-term committed relationship with a very clingy, jealous girlfriend that he's also very into. Peak drama. I haven’t decided what sport Finn does yet but he definitely does one. The possibility of friendship from when they were kids is an option(which would have been when Finn was a lot less of a troublemaker, since that started more in middle school/early high school.

For Hayden:
- Candy might work well as a cousin or sibling, since I know she’s from an wealthy and possibly influential family (her dad spoils her rotten), and I’m pretty sure I mentioned the same to another character who might be in the same ballpark.

For Rowan:
- If she’s often at the music scene, Finn probably at least knows her in passing. He also has a troubled home life and spends a lot of time outside of the home for that reason, so might be like some quiet solidarity there.

For Ash:
- Finn wears a leather jacket a lot. It might draw some ire.

Could definitely see Rowan and Jonas being friends/acquaintances. And knowing him, he probably tried to recruit her into his band. Otherwise since Jonas knows she plays guitar, he probably pushes her to make her own music (albeit in an annoying/judgy matter).

Medic!
So yeah I really like the idea of Finn being the object of Niall’s doomed affections. I like the angle of them being childhood friends, probably involved in the same sport, let me know when you figure out what sport Finn does so I can slide Niall in after him.

I think we’ve established now that Hayden and Candy are related, we can hash out exactly how and what that relationship looks like when we’ve got the whole team assembled.

Yeah, Rowan and Finn would probably know each other! I’ll stick them down as friendly acquaintances and it could be cool to explore that solidarity angle in pregame.

Ash wouldn’t take kindly to Finn’s fashion choices, no. XD

Cob!
Yeah, I can definitely see Jonas and Rowan being friends. She might consider joining Aftercare but there’s shaping up to be a whole buncha bands this version so I’m keeping my options open for now!

I came by to show what my SI and girlbosses would see in the Crablets.

While my chars are neutral towards Niall and James,

The other three chars do have some possible connections.

Joanne does dislike Hayden and view him as a nuisance to the debate club, however Mortimer completely hates him for his contrarian beliefs, not helping matters due to the fact that Mortimer is friends with Mercy.

Rowan might be able to mingle with Emma, though the latter's tastes are more harder and rougher than Rowan's relaxed and mellow vibes.

Ash is going to definitely hate Vanessa, for being a butcher. Mortimer will also treat Ash as just another "Heather", which he looks down at.

Niall

Skyla doesn’t interact with Niall much, but she does respect the work he puts in regarding athletics.

…Could Maggie have a crush on him? Nothing outward or anything, but I imagine her blushing whenever she’s around him.

Murray’s also an athlete, but without the same level of intelligence Niall has. I can see Niall trying to help tutor Murray on schoolwork.

Keiko likes poetry too! Not sure how often they interact, but if they do so a fair bit, perhaps they can be apart of a writing club out there?


Hayden

Skyla and Hayden are either debate club besties or they can’t stand each other. There is very little ground. On one hand, Skyla would respect Hayden for going against the grain so effortless and consistently. On the other, they’d probably get sick of how condescending he can be.

Edwin thinks Hayden is an opportunist, and a lousy one at that. He’s probably the person that tells Hayden to find his own opinion for once.

Maggie told herself that arguing about politics is bad, so don’t go about doing that. Hayden feels like the person who would prod at her though, making her uncomfortable.

Murray wants to know who the devil he’s advocating for is.

Rowan

Keiko and Rowan feel like besties! They both like music and being relatively relaxed. They likely share tracks whenever they can.

James

Skyla thinks James is a pretty cool guy from the few interactions they’ve had.

…Could Maggie also have a crush on him with the possibility of a further relationship? I assure you, I didn’t plan on this being a thing, but upon seeing James’s description, my first thought was that she’d be crushing hardcore on him, probably break out into giggles if he noticed her.

Oh yeah, Murray thinks you’re cool! After all, most athletes are in his eyes. He doesn’t understand much about the civil war, but if you explain it in football terms, he’ll probably get it. He actually knows a bit of military tho, his dad was a part of it for a couple years.

Edwin actually doesn’t have an issue with James, but he’s definitely jealous that he has this many friends.

Ash

Maggie feels like the type of person who would try and convince Ash to not give up on people, and they’ve definitely seen her helping out with animals. To that end, Ash might have some respect for her. Might.

Murray is trying to get Ash to speak to him about the bodybuilding. Murray is a meat eater.

Edwin is doing everything he can to piss Ash off, just to see the meltdown they have when someone messes with the environment.

Unfortunately, I don't have many ideas for relations between your kids and mine. But I do have a few!

Remi:
I'd see Remi as a potential enemy for Hayden; she can't keep up with his argumentive nonsense. XD
For Rowan, however, they can both be potential friends. Remi also has worries about after graduation, but all she wants right now is someone to chill with.

Storm:
Storm could be friends with James. Storm has JROTC, a dad with a military background, and they're both into video games, including wargaming! What better deal can you get than that?

My characters

I think Hayden and Buster could be enemies. Buster loves debating and has pretty rigid views, so Hayden would just annoy the shit out of him.

Mo would try and hit on Rowan, because that's what he do. Mo doesn't understand hippie music though, he thinks rock only went downhill after Buddy Holly died.

I think Buster could be really good friends with James. They're both patriotic, geeky, and interested in history. Buster's not super into military history, so he'd value James' opinions on military matters. Their politics are quite different, but Buster's always open to friendly debate.

So I imagine Mo and Ash could go to the same gym but Mo is just really annoyed by Ash always telling him not to eat meat. Nobody's gonna tell Mo not to eat anything, he eats what he damn well wants to eat

Sorry for the delay, everyone!

Deblod100!

[+] Relationships

I think Joanne’s dislike of Hayden is mutual, could be fun to have them be rivals as probably two of the larger egos on the debate team.
Mortimer being a hater makes sense. Hayden isn’t particularly bothered.
Rowan takes an interest in music outside of her comfort zone so I can see her mingling with Emma from time to time, sure.
Ash definitely hates Vanessa, yeah. Probably isn’t too broken up over Mortimer’s opinion of them either.

FlockOfHens!

[+] Relationships

I’ll add Remi to Hayden’s lengthy enemy list. He probably doesn’t think much of her if she doesn’t engage in arguments with him.
Remi and Rowan can hang out and put off the future together, absolutely!
I know you’ve handed Storm off for adoption, but yeah, I’ll add that suggestion too, I think they’d be great friends.

JacobAllTradez!

[+] Relationships

Yeah, mutual respect sounds right for Skyla and Niall
Regarding Niall and Skyla, go ahead! Sadly won’t be reciprocated for obvious reasons.
Yeah, If they got on well as fellow athletes, Niall wouldn’t mind helping Murray out, even if he might get exasperated after a while.
Yeah, Niall and Keiko could interact through poetry, either in some kind of club or English class. Niall probably appreciates having someone to discuss poems with, so he would count Keiko as a friend.

I like the idea of Skyla and Hayden as debate club besties, honestly. Hayden mainly has enemies and someone who enjoys arguing with him as much as he enjoys arguing with them would be very welcome! Skyla is one of very few people outside his family Hayden cares about in any way.
I don’t know who would come across as the more obnoxious person in an argument between Hayden and Edwin, but I think it needs to happen at some point for us to find out!
Yeah, Hayden might prod Maggy and make her uncomfortable.
“Which devil are you advocating for” is actually hilarious, I think it would be a great comedic bit to have Hayden try and debate Murray and Murray actually just… be too stupid to debate. Hayden would probably get really deflated and actually give up for once.

Yep, Rowan and Keiko would be friends! Definitely have a shared Spotify playlist or something.

James and Skyla seem like they’d be cool with one another, yeah.
James and Maggie could work! We can see how things go in pregame.
Murray is probably one of the few jocks who give James the time of day, so he probably appreciates the guy and considers him a friend.
James doesn’t think too highly of Edwin, he thinks he’s too arrogant and rude. He’d still try and be polite though.

Ash would have some respect for Maggie, but see her as naïve and too optimistic.
Ash wants Murray to leave them alone.
Ash despises Edwin for sure. Meltdown imminent.

Polybius!

[+] Relationships

Hayden and Buster would definitely exchange frequent and heated debates. Hayden probably quite enjoys Buster’s company for this reason, I’m afraid.
Mo is welcome to flirt away, dunno if you want to have something happened in the past or pregame it out.
Yeah, I agree James and Buster would be thick as thieves. James is definitely a “respectability politics” guy, so he’ll happily have a civil conversation with neoliberalism’s strongest soldier.
Ash and Mo wouldn’t get along, no. Cue them trying to passive-aggressively outlift each other across the gym.

Mmm the time's a comin time to ball like I've never balled before

Hayden Prescott

Sylvie Rattray-Aubert

Sylvie knows him well from the debate club- the guy with essentially no solid ideologies and markedly little rhetorical skill. It's practically routine for her to make him contradict himself over and over; good practise for a future attorney. She dislikes him, but in the way that he finds him funny.

Manuel "Mañana" Hernández

Manuel also likes turning his arguments on his head, but his method is less refined; whenever Hayden starts something, he nods along and flagrantly and purposefully misinterprets his arguments, forcing him to keep going deeper until Manuel is satisfied, stands up, calls him a nerd or something along those lines, and leaves.

Raya Loux

The first few times he started something with her, she tried to actually engage with him on common ground, but she's no orator, and Hayden likely won those arguments. These days she just looks at him weird and ignores him.

Rowan Cartwright

Céline Sharpe

Might have been approached by Rowan in a positive context due to her outfit but was blown off.

Raya Loux

Rowan's just the laid-back and friendly person Raya loves to be around. Unless some signs became obvious, she wouldn't notice her anxiety about her home life, though.

Ash Green

Manuel "Mañana" Hernández

Ash being outward about their veganism and grumpiness would've caused Manuel to make fun of him a few times, but nothing much beyond that.

All

Céline Sharpe

That weird, creepy loner girl with the weird clothes who's quiet all the time and has the fake psychic mom.