✦ ✧ ✩[theo james, cismale, he/him] Before the world ended, he was just Lucas Davis, a thirty year old mechanical engineer from Rochester, New York. To the group, they are The Nepenthe, ingenious and pragmatic but also damaged and paranoid. Written by Jay!
Luke Davis, mechanical engineer, cop show enthusiast, amateur woodworker, widower, father of one.
Born and raised in Rochester, New York, where his biggest problems were his little brother, Daniel, stealing too many of his french fries, and living on the facist inbred side of the north.
It was a good life for a good kid. There's more he remembers about it, but none of that really matters. That person was gone a long time ago.
Followed a girl to college in the Vancouver, Harriet Williamson. Etta on a good day, or Big Hairy, when he was feeling reckless and she would let him. She was amazing. She was everything.
Got a degree in engineering. Panicked about staying mechanical or switching to chemical for years. There was still so much money to be made in oil! Ha. Ha ha.
Watched his best friend's life crash and burn. Couldn't even get him on the phone.
Married Big Hairy on a lovely April day. Cried when he gave his vows. Got roasted for it by his brother. Worth it.
Got a promoted to Project Head - seemed like a big deal. Had a son, Alex - was actually a Big Deal.
On June 23, Etta had a conference in Juneau. He doesn't remember why they called it the Fancy Spigot Convention but they laughed about that for a long time. He kissed her goodbye at the airport. The last time he saw her was a video call where she was brushing her teeth.
Alex was four when the world ended.
They didn't immediately die. Communication was silenced pretty quickly. They went North.
Juneau was razed before they got there. Big cities didn't survive.
Met up with a group of survivors who claimed they could establish themselves in the Canadian outback. It was quiet. That was all that mattered.
Alex was a good kid. He didn't cry as often as Luke thought he would. He whined even less, and somehow found it in himself to smile more. But he was a kid. Sometimes kids get sick.
It was a dry cough. Luke remembered being so concerned about getting his vaccines on time. But he was sure Alex would get better.
Not everyone agreed to that. The risk was too great.
Somewhere in the wilds British Columbia, one of their surviving party slit Alex's throat. Luke didn't remember who it was, he didn't remember a lot after the incident. He traveled alone after that.
He shouldn't have made it. He owed his survival to the person who found him, and the family they built after.
》Tries so hard to get people to smile.
》Found an old radio that hasn't seen life since the 80's, is trying to get it to pick up anything but static.
》Very invested in creating new ways to make their life more bearable.
》Cooks. Isn't terrible at it.
》If you have a problem, he wants to fix it.
》Prone to secrecy, and underplaying his personal struggles.
- Will want to take charge of every emergency.