have you heard of danique “dani” emery? she is a thirty-six year old survivor in boulder county, who looks like kim engelbrecht. she is intelligent, which helps her as a scout at lionscrest manor. however, she can also be reclusive, so i’d watch out for them. they are known as THE ERUDITE.
hi all ! i’m emily, your latest hells newbie. ( thank you for having me. ) below the cut is a summary of who dani ( love of my life ) is, and what she has been through to get to boulder county. if you want to plot, or have any questions or issues, pls don’t hesitate to hit me up ! i’m in the discord group, and am also contactable via tumblr dms.
tw: infertility, cancer.
dani was born danique amahle isaacs in capetown, south africa on the 7th of july, 1982. she has an older and a younger brother, both who still live in south africa with her parents.
as a child she was very well-behaved, and never caused her family any trouble. she helped her mother wrangle her youngest brother for school, and assisted in doing the housework whilst her father worked long hours. the family was working class, not below the poverty line but not sitting comfortably above, either.
she stood out in school due to her academic excellence, which led to her being seen as a bit of an outcast, even amongst the small group of her coloured peers. she found this very difficult, though her eldest brother made sure no one gave her too much grief.
after graduating, dani was offered a scholarship to study (tertiary) abroad. she enrolled in an anthropology course at the university of denver, colorado, and moved there shortly after turning eighteen.
a few years into her studies she met nick emery, a mutual friend and her future husband. after a few months they began dating, and at the completion of her masters they eloped. he was, and still remains, the great love of her life.
nick worked as a social worker in denver, and wholeheartedly supported his wife in everything she did.
whilst working on her phd, dani and nick decided they wanted to start a family. it was to no success. dani had been diagnosed with severe endometriosis years earlier, and it had only increased in severity. she had so hoped to concieve, but instead followed her doctors advice and underwent a hysterectomy. following the procedure, her pain lessened, and her life as a chronic pain sufferer was changed dramatically.
the couple looked into adoption. nick had wanted to do so for a long time, and dani agreed it was just as special a way to have a child as natural conception. a month after completing her phd, dani and nick were selected by a birth mum interstate. they had a little boy on the way.
birth mama was in her six month of pregnancy when nick’s headaches turned something frightful. within a very short span of time, their nightmare came to life. nick had a tumour on the brain. the prognosis wasn’t good.
the adoption fell through. dani stopped her anthro lectures to stay with her husband and enjoy the last few weeks of their time together. his family gathered around them. dani’s mother flew to america for the first time to be with her daughter and son-in-law.
nick emery died on november 20th, 2016.
“she had walked with ghosts long before the dead rose.”
dani survived the intial stages of the outbreak by doing what she does best: staying quiet, hidden, and keeping her head. she hauled up in she and nick’s suburban home until she almost starved — much like she had in the months after her husband died. then, she hopped in the car and made a run for it. she didn’t know where she was going, or even why she was keeping herself alive. it was instinct that told her to move, to find a place for herself outside of the cemetery that was denver.
the radio broadcast felt like a miracle. boulder. people were still alive out there, after all. it didn’t take long until she found a group of survivors, hauled up in a fancy ass mansion in lyons.
they offered her a place.
she took it.
some more misc facts:
dani is fluent in afrikaans (first language) and english. she can also speak a little dutch.
she has a strong south-african accent. she was very self-conscious of it when she moved to the us, but no longer has issues with it.
dani is not shy, but she is very quiet. she can come across as quite intense, but really she’s very kind, thoughtful, and loyal. she can be very emotionally closed off, and is still grieving the loss of her husband alongside the loss of almost all she once knew.
she has dual south african and american citizenship.
dani was a lecturer at denver university. she has a doctorate in anthropology.
her husband nick was big into adventure sports. rock-climbing was one of the few that dani greatly enjoyed, and she took it up as a hobby. it has become very handy in her role at lioncrest.
have you heard of SILAS DANVERS? he is a 19 year old survivor in boulder county, who looks like TIMOTHÉE CHAMALET. He is CARING, which helps her/him/them as a SCAVENGER at LIONSCREST. however, he can also be IMPULSIVE, so i’d watch out for them. they are known as the WANDERER.
Silas is originally from Columbus Ohio but made his way to Boulder
he moved into Lionscrest soon after arriving as it was the first place with living people he stumbled upon
since he is a scavenger he spends more time wandering boulder looking for supplies than he does in the camp,
have you heard of ARABELLA AMERICA COLLINS? she is a NINETEEN year old survivor in boulder county, who looks like PEYTON LIST. she is SELF CONFIDENT, which helps her survive as a ROGUE. however, she can also be PROUD, so i’d watch out for them. they are known as THE MILLION DOLLAR BABY.
the trash is back, hello and welcome to my ted talk where i will give u insight into the life of this absolute trash of a being whom i love n adore so buckle up folks bc it’s a bumpy ride ( its 1 am let me live) okay i tried making it short that didn’t work hahahaha im sorry but if anyone wants 2 plot like this and i will hit u up with all my love n affection
born in los angeles, california she was one of a pair, her parents had been blessed with not only one but two precious children, preston and arabella now had been born into one of the wealthiest families in america which initially would be the dream of any kid but what no one knew was that it came with a lot of consequences. the twins grew up in a life of luxury, there would never be a lack of anything in the collins’ household but it all came with a price. the collins last name was a heavy weight to carry, from the start of her childhood arabella was taught she wasn’t like the rest of the kids at school, she had something that they didn’t, she had beauty, sophistication, power and a bank account that was fully loaded with a number you could not even imagine. obviously like most rich kids, preston and arabella barely ever saw their parents (and when they did it wasn’t pretty) their kids seemed to be there just for show just so that the media could pay more attention to the collins family and they did. the collins twins seemed to be everyone’s adoration, everyone’s except their own parents.
growing up arabella became the center of attention everywhere she went, and at school there was nothing she enjoyed more than making fun of all the little girls that surrounded her, even at a young age she would befriend them and act sweet until the moment where she was able to destroy them with one single word in front of everyone. some called it seeking attention from her parents ( and they were totally right) but for arabella it was all about showing who had the most power and to show that she was truly unbreakable. all throughout middle school and high school arabella had become the perfect girl, every single girl envied her, they wanted to be her friend, they wanted to be HER. what everyone didn’t know was hell she and her brother lived behind closed doors, all the screams had only gotten louder and louder, her father had become an aggressive drunk that took his anger out on his kids and there was nothing that would stop him.
bad habits, arabella developed a lot of those, finding comfort in whatever she could find to forget the hell that she lived in but her parents didn’t allow it any further, sending her away for a few months to ‘fix’ her ( as if a few therapies would fix 16 years of damage). arabella went through with it, acting fine as if nothing had happened, everyone outside had been convinced she was away on some abroad trip and when arabella left the facility that’s exactly what she told people. she didn’t feel any better, on the contrary she just felt worse and things were only going to go downhill from there. her parents were dead, she’d been told it had been a planned murder but arabella knew that wasn’t true, she knew that they had done it themselves. she felt guilt, guilt for not shedding a single tear at their funeral, guilt for not taking any time to grieve because now it was her and preston’s responsibility to make sure the empire their parents built didn’t burn to the ground but they were just kids and kids didn’t have to have this much responsibility, right?
throughout the two years that followed, arabella learnt all the ropes to the multiple businesses her parents ran, it was hard work but on the side she decided to also make a name for herself, taking up multiple sponsorship campaigns and even starting a business of her own she was overworked, arabella finally understood what her mother meant by telling her that having the collins last name was a curse rather than a blessing. she tried to see preston as often as she could as they were both in this together but sometimes she was the one who pushed everyone away, too scared that they’d see her being weak or showing any signs of the wreck she had become behind close doors so she kept her distance thought it was safer that way.
reports of the undead roaming the streets were everywhere, on all the news, on every single channel and it had all hit a bit too quickly. arabella was scared, confused and in panic, a girl like her wasn’t prepared for this but she did what she saw everyone else do, she packed a bag of the most priced possessions, probably more than she needed and took off. she had tried reaching her preston, but all her attempts had failed which only made her to assume the worst so she set off on her own, she had no idea where to but eventually she settled in boulder, colorado. it wasn’t a place she was used to, it was new and arabella didn’t like it, this entire situation had caught her off guard and now more than ever she decided to ignore her feelings and thoughts, thoughts of if her brother was alright and if her life would ever be back to the way it was.
right these keep getting longer im sorry but here are some fun facts abt this absolute piece of trash
her real middle name is alaska but her dad was like yikes no and told everyone it was america
always dresses up in her designer clothes, always will wear something nice bc even tho theres an apocalypse arabella has to stay a fashion icon
she speaks fluent french bc of her mom and portugese bc of her nannies that basically raised her and preston
shes a rouge and has a little house she was able to turn into her own tiny mansion with a lot of hard work and getting other people to do it for her
probably carries around a tiny hand sanitizer
actually is smarter than she looks, shes been able to survive this far and i honestly have no idea how but i mean she isnt as dumb as people assume she is from looking at her
basically this vine only she does care about her hair
---- have you heard of AVERY SANTORA? he is a TWENTY year old survivor in boulder county, who looks like NOAH CENTINEO. he is VERSATILE, which helps him survive as a ROGUE. however, he can also be NEGLIGENT, so i’d watch out for them. they are known as the ALBATROSS.
meet my dumb son, i love him. i dunno if anyone remembers arabella collin’s #1 boy toy Ansel Malachi™ in the old hellstate but, , , this is him, , ,this is ansel w/ his 159th remake because i can’t let my favourite son go :/ i hope you like him pals !
TW: suicide, physical abuse, emotional abuse, drug use, alcoholism.
there wasn’t much awaiting avery santora in this life ; it wasn’t like he was a particularly welcomed when the test came up POSITIVE & nine months later he came screaming into the world after a long and tedious labor. his parents? mere TEENS , knew nothing about parenthood and yet , the infant that seemed to never stop crying was thrust into their arms. his father scowled at his son while his mother cradled him close ; his father refused to give him the time of day while his mother coddled him day & night. AVERY LEONARDO SANTORA. named after a grandfather & an uncle of an uncle of an uncle somewhere in the santora family tree. it doesn’t matter , he’s still the son of one of the most cold hearted bastards in the entire california state.
FATHER IVAN SANTORA is what people on the outside call avery’s dad , when he takes over the church as a pastor & decides the word of GOD is more important than family. his son doesn’t understand how a person so cruel could be a comfort to others ; during the day , he’s forcing his son to read the testaments , at night? avery can hear his mother crying. in the morning when the bruises appear , she forces a smile and tells her piccolo not to worry , mother is fine. FEAR grows from a young age , and he learns not to disobey the man that raised him ----- he’s only thirteen when he realises the strength behind his own fists ; finds himself in the center of another of his parents arguments , and when his father aims a blow at his mother’s features, he steps in , or TRIES to , the man is twice his size and weight , and just a LOOK usually puts avery in his place. avery comes out of that fight with swollen cheeks & a busted lip. it keeps father santora away from his wife for awhile , and that’s all that matters.
it stems a new passion , between fighting off his father’s abuse and picking fights in the streets with other children , avery learns he’s not bad at throwing a punch ; not bad at causing damage where damage is due. people even say he could get a CAREER from it , get into boxing & get lucky. by sixteen he’s fighting in a ring in downtown los angeles, and if he wins, he gets enough cash to put towards the fund that’ll get him and his mother out of the home that haunts them ( they’ve decide that texas sounds nice ! ) ---- except , his mother passes later that year , SUICIDE they call it ; as soon as avery arrives home to find the body bag being loaded into the back of the ambulance , he loses it. he’s DESTRUCTIVE at the best of times , with relationships , lovers , life , and when he doesn’t have the one person that has ever showed him TENDERNESS? well , he hits rock bottom and he hits it hard.
eighteen and his nights are spent passed out between empty bottles of booze & a high on whatever is going cheap at the time. but that’s no life for the PERFECT priest’s son , not in his father’s eyes --- WEAK , STUPID , A WASTE , SINNER. his father doesn’t hide how he feels about him , but neither does avery. he comes home intoxicated just to rub it in , arrives to that precious church service just to show the people the son this man raised. there is no place for PRAYERS in this young man’s heart , and he makes certain that god understands the warpath he created when he made avery santora.
the apocalypse comes and goes , avery sleeps through a majority of the event and wakes up to an empty city. he finds his father at the church , barricading the doors so the DEAD can’t reach them. when people come banging , screaming for refugee , avery is one of the first to help -- or try ; his father forbids him , and like the son he was , he disobeys him ----- the church is overrun in seconds , he watches his father get torn to pieces and barely has enough time to get himself to safety. watches & wonders if this was god’s wrath afterall. either way , he burns the church to the ground , lights it ablaze and watches it fall to ash. sick act of closure , but it puts a smile on his face.
a group in the back of a beat up mini van offer avery a ride to canada -- something about their assumptions that the infection didn’t reach past the border ( avery doesn’t believe it but he’s willing to play along if it gets him away from california ) -- somewhere between the offer of marijuana and the bizarre idea that they should go visit the grand canyon , they go OFF TRACK. avery is passed trying to control this bunch and their free spirits , tunes out a majority of the time , but somehow he manages to convince them that denver, colorado is a great idea ! there's voices on the radio , a flicker of words that bring him to the suspicion there is LIFE in boulder county ; he’s . . . curious ----- his companions have no intent on staying though , despite the well structured camps that greet them , but avery likes the idea of security ; and when he comes back one night to find all his travel buddies infected , he has no other choice.
he keeps to himself mostly , he’ll hover around camps when he’s feeling motivated or when supplies are running low ( he’s learnt the quickest way to survive is to scrounge off others. ) but is an isolato by nature , the OUTCAST. on his good days he’s charming , patient , composed & considerate of others. on his bad days? cranky & morose. he’s not much of a FIGHTER , would much rather ignore a threat than pursue it --- in fact , he’s not a person you should go to for anything. he’s lazy , negligent , and not the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to priorities. when the going gets tough , you’re most likely to find him in that beat up old mini van parked somewhere between lyons and longmont ; it’s broken down , the engine turns over & over and avery has long since given up trying to move it. it’s just a shell of a camp , not much of a home , but avery feels safe --- and it’s the most he’s ever had.
* OTHER.
he oNLY HAS NINE TOES. hannah wouldn’t let me chop his leg off so i compromised with a toe. he accidentally cut it off when he was 18 :^)
is a rogue but? hangs out frequently at camps. a lot of time at lionscrest?? might one day join there?? but is too Lazy to actually DO an occupation so. . he’s procrastinating it.
procrastinates anything, doesn’t do a god dang thing without procrastinating it
is sad alot
smokes like a trooper
his mother was a photographer, and it’s a hobby that avery feels brings him closer to her. has a polaroid camera & keeps every, , ,single, , polaroid. he sticks them to the roof of his van.
knows italian and will use it to get a swoon
has a gun but is too awkward to ask ppl how to use it.
* joey vc * how YOU doin
i THINK that’s it?? i love him,, , please hmu for any plots !
also, , ,watch to all the boys i’ve loved before ok it’s so CUTE
have you heard of WESLEY DRAKE? he is a TWENTY-ONE year old survivor in boulder county, who looks like HERMAN TOMMERAAS. he is DEVOUT, which helps him as a SCOUT at LIONCREST MANOR. however, he can also be ENIGMATIC, so i’d watch out for them. they are known as the CONTRITE. ( astra, 18, she/her/they/them, pst. )
pls like/reply to this post and i will hit u up to plot asap !!
ok ok time to introduce my least favorite boi to everyone who doesn’t know him ??? basically, his name USED to be noah ashbury so if you ever see me mentioning my noah from the old days... this is lit him, just younger and dumber ;~)
but uhhhhh.... here are the important things to note before reading:
TW: suicide, anxiety, cancer, and death
ok so basically ?? noah is from malibu, california. he was born to the best parents ever who loved him unconditionally but by the time he was 12 he lost his dad in a car accident. ever since then he’s struggled with depression and anxiety tbh ?? oh yeah and to older hs ppl that knew him as an only child he uh... has a sister now :’)))
by the time he was 16 he tried to kill himself and was hospitalized for a bit after. it was a really close call and ever since then, he hasn’t had an attempt. he’s just been sad and tired of a lot of things
his mom ended up getting cancer which made him put off going to college. he went away for half a year before coming back and deciding that being away from his mom was just too stressful for the both of them so he just stayed at home and switched to a much closer school.
throughout his life he was always??? i surfer boy. he loves the beach and was raised in a nice beach house and will probs cry if u bring it up. he misses it a lot and he was such a good surfer that he was sponsored by people and had a big following on instagram based off his looks and skill.
he his depression noah is... lit such a happy pup. he's learned to be really good at exuding confidence and happiness and keeping the sadness within himself. rlly, ever since his mom got cancer he’s felt the need to hide what he feels which is why he’s a scout. it gives him time to be alone and be himself
for the first few months of the outbreak, he chilled with his mom in malibu. they stayed at campsites and just...lived life. it was calming and happy but eventually, his mother passed and he had to move on. now he’s just in boulder looking for his older sister who went out to college here ??? not sure what i want to do w/ that yet but we’ll uh... see if i ever remember to put in a wc lmaooo
anyways he’s also daddy diy out here and in the words of annie and i: “we love a diy man” and he will make u pretty cards with pom poms and 3d pop ups to cheer u up
he’s a soft boi but also not and will to murder u except for rory. he loves to 2 annoyingly nice
i was ?? planning 2 do my replies today but i had a family emergency and a quick change of plans. i will be doing them tomorrow but just to make sure i don’t forget anything/lose track of things, here’s my to-do list ig ??
i’m still planning on going through the starter tag so if we have a plot and you have an open starter and you aren’t on this list, chances are i’m just trying to locate everything !
have you heard of AUSTIN TURNER ? he is a TWENTY year old survivor in boulder county, who looks like CAMERON MONAGHAN. he is STAUNCH, which helps him survive as a ROGUE. however, he can also be BRASH, so i’d watch out for them. they are known as the MISCREANT.
pls like/reply to this post and i will hit u up to plot asap !!
wow... here we r again buds. me... makin austin... yiKes. anyways !! trigger warning for drugs and alcohol and abuse and death !!
he’s from jacksonboro, south carolina and i hate him but let me get more int abt him ???
it isn’t often that birth marks the end of life, but that’s pretty much how it was for austin. his birth was a tough battle and in the end, it took all of his mother away from his family. not much is known before austin’s birth, at least not to austin. he’s told that his mother and father used to love each other and that before his frank entrance into the world, his father was a kind soul. he was always rough around the edges, but he used to be different.
austin’s childhood was filled with those stories. stories of having seen better days, of having been better before he came along. it forced him to grow up fast, to learn how to fend for himself in a house that didn’t allow for such soft, gentleness. he couldn’t be the happy boy his heart was wired to be, so instead he grew cold and distant.
it wasnt long before his family dynamic began to change. before, the more siblings they had around, the more the anger and frustrations of his inebriated father could be evenly distributed. eventually, however, they all left him. each of his siblings left to be in a better place, to escape from their dad. soon enough, it was only austin left in the house. only austin there to soak up the damage his birth had caused.
it was a painful task to be the problem child, the one who was the mistake and the fuck up all in one, but austin wore the badges with joy. he watched more than what his siblings had the guts to and stayed with his father. he watched the anger turn to sorrow and the sorrow turn to rage. he watched the cycle as it repeated itself over and over again
once the outbreak happened, austin was stuck trying to take care of his dad. it took a long time for the news to even spread and once it did, it was too late. before he knew it he had to kill his own dad, but not before his own father tried to drag him into a hoard of walkers.
basically ??/ little shit extroadinaire. he’s caring but like/..// so lowkey about it lmao. like he will do shit for u without u knowing. he’s also beyond loyal ?? he rlly is and thats because his siblings abandoned him and he feels like EVERYONE abandons him in the end so why leave >??? he can lit just drive ppl away then blame it on them because... he aint the problem lmao.
he’s just...angry and sad but if u give him the chance to be soft... he’ll love u forever ok. but dont expect him to tell u that. ..bcs he wont/...