rotten woods —
tldr: former camp counselors who survived a cross-country trek after the blast, vaguely based on the breakfast club.
please note that below the cut there are vague mentions to the demise of like...so many people.
LABOR DAY, CAMP IDLEWOOD —
SEPTEMBER 2020 - After another idyllic summer in the Kennebec Valley, Maine, CAMP IDLEWOOD has emptied out, leaving behind the staff to pack up the canoes, close down the barn, and lock up the cabins. But first, there’s the end of the year bonfire, where beer flows steadily and counselors enjoy the camp just a little for themselves. It teeters on the edge of a John Hughes movie and a bacchanal for the most part, but THE BLAST turned IDLEWOOD summer slasher. How they survived ranges anywhere from happening to be down in a basement to drag out more frozen burger patties to other strokes of dumb luck. But when the sun rose, all that was left were five twenty-somethings in the gore-splattered woods. Not friends, not all of them at least, and certainly not prepared to explain what had just happened -- they buried what they could and cooled their heels. Someone would come, right? Some sort of authority? PRESENT DAY - Bound together mostly out of necessity, the IDLEWILDE FIVE mostly stumbled their way to outpost in Carlsbad by accident. As conditions grow worse, they’re thinking of trying their luck on the outside once again.
“THE PRINCESS” / OPEN / RESERVED FOR MOLLY Formerly a camper, THE PRINCESS came back to IDLEWOOD because she loved it, point blank, and spent the summer ensuring that GIRLS BUNK A had equally sunny memories. Perhaps: a silver-spoon daughter of a scion with soft hands, she’s taken the end of the world mostly in stride, despite possibly being unnfairly established as a weak link at the start of their adventure. She’s worked tirelessly to keep the group together and perhaps indulge in their humanity more often than not. What’s the point in surviving if there isn’t anything to look forward to? “THE ATHLETE” / OPEN / RESERVED FOR JAY Tapped astThe de-facto leader as they stuck out from CAMP IDLEWOOD after THE BLAST. The prototypical golden boy, a consummate optimist, product of generational wealth — THE ATHLETE almost found a thrill in everything going shit-sideways. For once: there wasn’t a playbook to follow, no more eventual picket fence with 2.5 kids and a golden retriever, no more family firm and corner office or endless games of golf looming in his future. Currently, the most skeptical about leaving the safe-haven of Carlsbad, his constant optimism is starting to fail him. A straight shooter, a Fred Jones archetype, but who stays the same when the world ends? “THE CRIMINAL” / DARCY FARRELL / RESERVED 4 THE #1 CROCS APOLOGIST (SAV) He spent the majority of summer in the craft yurt or slipping off to smoke on the jetty dreaming of the different life he would have when he finally got the fuck out of dodge. Had a kindred relationship with “THE BASKETCASE” out of all of them before THE BLAST, though perhaps he didn’t quite understand how deep that went for her. A never-do-well that was only sort of straightened out after the apocalypse. A townie who had a golden ticket out of Maine, but that got blown to shit with THE BLAST. Adaptability is with its weight in gold these days, and he’s not gambling on Carlesbad anymore. “THE BRAIN” / NAME NAME / OPEN Took the job at CAMP IDLEWOOD because he thought it would help differentiate his already packed resume going into INSERT IVY LEAGUE SCHOOL HERE. THE BRAIN has always been determined to move up and onwards, high school sucked but eventually, he’d be the one to call the shots. Perhaps he wasn’t the most popular counselor at camp, but he’s found his opportunity to be a team player in the apocalypse, despite initial misgivings about “THE ATHLETE”. A “well rounded overachiever” in a previous life, THE BRAIN’S encyclopedic knowledge about science fiction constructed the “Don’t Be Stupid Rules” that have more or less kept them out of trouble as they trekked across the country. Sometimes feels like an unsung hero, but hey — the meek inherit the Earth, right? “THE BASKETCASE” / NAME NAME / RESERVED FOR BRETT Probably didn’t have any business (desire or inclination) being a camp counselor, but when your mom is the longtime camp director, it was more or less an expectation. Something of a loner, avoided the general jocularity of her coworkers and preferred to spend time by herself in the sick-bay or waiting for “THE CRIMINAL” to put down his hemp bracelets for a minute. Unrequited pining aside, the BASKETCASE has become something of their walking first-aid kit, but is itching to be a little braver at the end of times. Has certainly found her voice and a purpose in Carlesbad, and while she isn’t eager to strike out again, she figures that it's better to stick together than to be alone.
