#chqs.intro

About Alison:

Alison was born in Connecticut, the second of four siblings

She is a high school math teacher, teaching algebra and precalculus

Was an All American swimmer and runner in high school and college, which eventually led her to getting into triathlons

Married her college boyfriend a year after college, but she found him cheating on her less than a year later

Young, divorced, and not wanting to move back in with her parents, her best friend invited her to move in with her for a bit. That’s how Alison ended up in Chicago.

She fell in love with Chicago quickly. She found a job, made a few friends, and really felt like she was starting to pick her life back up

Her husband was her first really serious relationship, and his betrayal was very difficult for her to get over, and she still has a lot of trouble dating because of it

She is one of the friendliest people you’ll ever meet. She’s the person you go to when you need something, because you know she’ll always help you.

Possible Connections:

Best friend: friend that brought her to Chicago

Neighbor: She lives in Wicker Park, and she is the type to get to know her neighbors. She’s the neighbor you go to when you need a cup of sugar

Bad influence: Although she’s always well behaved, she has one friend that always gets her in trouble: handing her an extra drink, taking her to parties/clubs, etc.

Bio:

The hard world of zone 2 has made everyone Conall has ever known a hard, hollow soul. Much the same was expected of her as she grew up. Her family was neither powerful nor capable, the gang they ran with was middling at best, frequently suffering heavy losses to lives and territories. For a brief moment, her uncle served as a unifying leader, temporarily gaining them ground and resources, but even this eventually flagged. Life took its toll, and it would have been too easy for Conall to follow, but much to the mystery of everyone who knew her, she didn’t. As a young man, her voice remained as tender as it had been when she was a toddler, her hair remained long and uncut, somehow silken and free of tangles. As a boy, she had once found a tiny flower growing in between some toppled bricks. Picking it seemed too cruel, but the consideration was wasted. Her brother found it and stomped it to pieces.

You cannot be gentle without fear. Conall has long adorned herself with flowers, accessorized with the nicer greenery. Her brother, however, learned a peculiar lesson after 3 months of explicable rashes on his legs. It only occurred to him what the cause might be when the rashes suddenly faded around the same time Conall was moved from laundry duty to hunting. A lesson long taught yet unforgotten until the day her brother died. Every lesson she’s had to teach since has been done in a similar way. Those who have witnessed her violence directly (mostly animals, but not entirely) have not lived to divulge the experience. Conall’s particular style of close combat is not without its consequences. The mysterious wounds she sometimes sports are a better indicator of the fate of a troublemaker than their sudden and unexplained absence.

Leadership is neither something she aspires to nor rejects, it simply comes as a consequence of demanding respect. Quite by accident, she eventually rose to the same position her uncle had once held, and held it for longer. Without the greedy aggression that drove others to careless territory and resource grabs, the moves she directed were more careful, controlled, and intentional. More likely to succeed. As a consequence, Conall taught many that more was not always better, that strategy often prevailed. Those who did not learn the lesson simply ceased to be, their absence largely unremarked upon.

Resources are not uncommon in zone 2, it’s simply a matter of learning how to extract them. Though she would not know the word “botanist” for many more years, her interest in the natural world served as a boon to those who followed her. Conall was quick to discover those plants whose nuts could be ground into protein-rich meal when meat was scarce, the berries whose flavors best preserved meat into the harsher months. It was this exact knowledge that gave her pause the day she found a sapling she did not recognize.

Small and struggling, it had produced a single fruit, a vibrant yellow hardly seen in anything but the flowers she privately cultivated. It felt a shame to take it, but curiosity overcame. The juice inside stung a cut on her hand from an early encounter with a deer, and though the taste was tart, it was tempered by a vibrant sweetness. The flesh was pulpy and soft and stuck in her teeth, and though it felt familiar to some small pitiful fruits she tended to avoid, it was exceptional and unusual in every way. And there was only one.

Over the months, Conall kept a close eye on the small tree. Hunting expeditions curiously stopped moving into that area, the small patch of forest almost entirely forgotten with time. One day, as she dropped in to visit her charge, Conall observed two small flower buds on one branch. Over the next several days, they bloomed into small white flowers with thin, curled petals. The scent of them recalled the fruit the tree had previously born.

And then one day, one of the blossoms was gone.

Determined to find the culprit and furious at the fate of her precious ward, Conall spent countless hours in hiding, observing the tree, waiting. But nothing changed. In time, she would come to realize there was no hope of catching CHQS security in the act, but at the time, the not knowing was infuriating like nothing had ever been. But what could she do?

She could move the tree.

More so than anything before, securing a safe place to cultivate the tree required a flex of her social prowess, but in a few days, she had acquired an abandoned building in which to hide her treasure. A few individuals hankering to prove their loyalty as a response to some recent wrath asked no questions of their new assignment. With incredible caution and practiced hands, the small fruit tree was stolen away to a new location, where Conall observed that it looked rather lonely by itself.

Acquiring more plants to cultivate alongside the tree also provided a good cover story. It was unreasonable to dedicate bodies to the care of a pet project. But to safeguard resources? That was another story. She was quick to fill the abandoned building with the most useful of local vegetation, pleased to find that the large glass windows created a welcoming environment and encouraged growth. The guards protecting the new project never noticed when the tree went missing, but it haunted Conall for months.

Even if the original purpose of her garden had mysteriously vanished, the benefits of her new undertaking could not be denied. Resources were more plentiful than ever before and questions soon faded, her people hesitant to doubt a good thing. Though thoughts of the fruit tree followed her, Conall dedicated newfound energy into her garden.

When the recruiter found her, it was hard to say whether Conall was terribly surprised. An explanation and feigned apology were offered for the missing tree - a Meyer lemon tree from zone 3 - but more useful than this, she was offered an opportunity.

Conall didn’t care much for the kitchens in Convergence, overrun with unfamiliar things and foods she did not recognize. The gardens, however… plants she recognized from her home, dying and failing in the dead soils, began to flourish under her care. Balancing the needs of a new job with the care of her people was… difficult, to say the least, but Conall eventually found a balance, using her time at Convergence to absorb as much as possible about the new worlds she had been exposed to. For years, she cultivated food for the kitchens at Convergence while maintaining power over her people, leading them to historic levels of wealth and comfort. It was when her clan was engaged in a border skirmish near CHQS that pulled her away from work that management really paid attention to her. Yet another opportunity presented itself.

Retirement isn’t much of a concept in zone 2, as lives rarely last so long. But with Conall’s rise through the ranks of CHQS, it was hardly possible to maintain leadership in two places at once. So she chose. A lackluster replacement stepped up while Conall “retired” to a quiet life, afforded dignity and privacy. The clan quickly flagged without her guidance, but a new calling drew her attention, and her pity died quickly. Though it took years of dedication and quiet competence, Conall eventually rose to the rank of director. The process of learning the subtle manipulations of the corporate world have provided Conall with an entirely new set of social skills, something that has been quite fun to play with. She still personally oversees cultivation of zone 2 produce, though the kitchen staff are well aware of her affinity for lemon bars.

Headcanons:

Much to the great mystery of everyone else, Conall is always in some way adorned with flowers. Whether woven into her long hair, sewn into her clothes, or embellished into her belongings, they are a recurring theme. Even when they are only motifs, a faint scent is ever-present, ever-changing, and always gently floral.

“Donnacha” is actually her first name, but it is a precious one spoken only to her by only a few individuals throughout her many years. Very few know it and those that do have been made acutely aware of how much they ought to forget it.

Generally speaking, she’s quite lovely to be around. Calm and soft-spoken, her presence puts most at ease. The exception is when she has not been heard or obeyed. Though her calm nature rarely changes, her sharp tongue puts many to rights immediately. Any lingering rebellion or disobedience dies readily at her practiced hands, though this is a process she allows few to witness.

The fastest way into her good graces is with a lemon bar.

Though she cultivates a variety of zone 2 flora, the flowers that constantly adorn her are harvested from the wilds around her home. Somehow it doesn’t feel the same to grow flowers, she’d rather find the beauty of her own world through her own efforts. Plus, it seems cruel to grow something only to kill it.

Though a shrewd leader who scarcely reveals her motivations, her corporate climb at Convergence is not without its purpose. She recognizes the growing instability of her world and hopes to one day have a hand in changing its fate.

Though capable of great violence, she rarely exercises that power. Her power comes most from the respect her manipulations earn her, second from the relationships she forms with people who have no qualms with causing great bodily harm to others.

Her pronouns are something she was given as a child out of spite. Seen initially as weak and incompetant, her brother and uncle mocked her by feminizing her. It was hardly an insult however, as the people in her clan she most admired were the women whose hunting, gathering, and cooking sustained everyone. Though unusual, she embraced the feminine for the rest of her life, especially appreciative of how often it causes others to underestimate her.

Important people:

BIO

car accident tw / child death tw

Kieran was born in Amstelland to a previously nomadic family who settled into their new lives in a beautiful city.

She grew up a curious child, and though her parents weren’t terribly old when she was born, with a sister 15 years her senior, they weren’t exactly spring chickens either. She was a handful, constantly asking questions, constantly seeking out knowledge.

Kieran was never disobedient for the sake of it, but for the sake of discovery, of learning something new and pushing the limits wherever she could. She was always fascinated by the why of what people did, rather than the how. The reason behind the action. The driving forces behind anything.

As she grew older, it was clear that she had an aptitude for learning and discovery, and these interests and drive had her on an accelerated course of study. She was grateful her sister took center stage, so that she could be more or less free to live her own life, without any expectation.

–

She was 19 when an unplanned pregnancy put her plans to travel to Austria, where her family was from, on hold. But as was the Zone 3 motto – everything had a silver lining and her son James was hers.

Being a single mother wasn’t something that had been in the books but her family helped and she continued on her career path, getting a job at CHQS where she began as a junior researcher, starting with a focus on Zone 3.

Between being a mother and a demanding job, Kieran fell into a pattern of work and home life, her own interests beyond the two put on hold.

She was 25 when her entire world was upended. There was a car accident, a moment of distraction on the part of another driver, that left Kieran in the hospital with all the best care, and her six year old son, six feet under.

Things like this rarely happened in Amstelland. But, at least there was always a silver lining, or so people kept telling her. Grief was alright, but being stuck in it was not. The end of life was a reason to celebrate what was, not mourn what would never be. People kept telling her that her silver lining was that she was alive! That there were new signs and regulations set up where the accident had occurred –- so it would never happen to anyone else again. Everything has a silver lining.

She resisted the thought until she resented it. Until she couldn’t help but look around Amstelland and question what she saw there. It wasn’t natural to move on so easily. To find happiness where there was none. But in a place where her son’s death was met with a party to celebrate his young life, rather than a funeral to mourn it...she didn’t think she could say anything, she was trapped in a world that didn’t want her to vocalize her grief beyond the allotted time they deemed appropriate.

So she swallowed it when she was expected to and for two years did her best to get back into the swing of things, clawing her way back to a sense of normalcy. Needing desperately to feel normal again.

–

She began to do research across Zones, collecting data and studies to help those at Zone 3′s CHQS gain a better understanding of the other Zones. Travel helped her more than she thought possible and she’d spend extended periods of time in other Zones conducting her research. Normal eventually came to her, though it took time. 

As the years have gone by, Kieran has returned to herself, rising to become one of Zone 3′s head researchers. She semi-resents the fact that her older sister casts a long shadow and knows that people think her job and any opportunities she’s had are a result of her sister’s position, rather than her own merit.

This pushes her to work harder to show that she can contribute more, not just because of who her sister is.

It’s been almost 20 years since she started with CHQS. Kieran believes in her work, and believes that by understanding other Zones, everyone will be safer and better equipped to go survive during their travels.

HEADCANONS

Always carries a small notebook and pen on her person to scribble notes, observations and reminders she forgets to look at.

She’s an early riser and subsists on coffee and muffins.

She believes there are other Zones out there and has only recently begun to compile additional data to support that theory. Previously, she was working more towards the study of each Zone but after years of conducting said research, she’s interested in a change.

Fascinated by experts in other Zones and often takes time to interview them on seemingly unrelated topics to Zone study but believes everything is tied together.

Wants to travel to Zone 0 for study but knows that would never be allowed.

Food between Zone never ceases to amaze her, and she’s found favorites from each she enjoys when she travels to them. Music between Zones also fascinates her, and how it affects people differently, along with the similarities between the Zones’ genres.

She’s got a tattoo of her son’s birthday on her ribcage. She doesn’t talk about him with anyone, but she still dreams of him, still sometimes wakes with tears in her eyes. Time does heal, however slowly, but the past twelve years since his death have taken her on a journey she wouldn’t wish on anyone.

Despite being very analytical, which can sometimes maker her seem distant, she has a deep sense of compassion, it just takes a while for her to feel comfortable enough to show it.

BIO

tw: death, illness 

Aeryn was born in Zone 0′s Colorado. 

The United States, and the world, really, were in a state of disarray and chaos, a slow descent into hopelessness and desolation. 

Both her parents died when she was eight, after getting sick which was darkly ironic considering they were both doctors, and she was left in the care of her aunt Isla who worked for CHQS, also as a physician. 

It was clear that the next step was to take Aeryn away from Zone 0 and somewhere safe, like Zone 1.

She hiked there the same year her parents died, before the world could get any worse while they were there and she was officially a hiker in Zone 1.

The years went by and she posed as a Local, her aunt being the only person she could really speak to about anything that happened and despite the adjustment, she was grateful to have Aunt Isla by her side. 

Eventually, she’d start college, diving headfirst into medicine, following in the footsteps of her parents and aunt. She wanted to make the world, whichever world she was in, a better place and thought that medicine might be a way to do it.

When she was officially a doctor, and hired by CHQS she realized that the organization in Zone 1 had the ability to help so many more people than they were. She learned about the other zones in her training and while Zone 3 seemed able to take care of itself well enough, Zone 2 felt like an echo of Zone 0. A place in desperate need of help.

The fact that Zone 1 had so many resources, so many ways to help and yet did nothing beyond the bare minimum boggled Aeryn’s mind.

Eventually, she decided to take matters into her own hands. She didn’t think she’d change a system overnight, but anything she could do was better than sitting idle. So on various trips to Zone 2, under the guise of providing basic medical help for those in need in Amhaven, she began to treat people with more than the prescribed Zone 2 methods. She’d use Zone 1 tech to give people a better shot at recovery, aided by a traveler who shared the same mindset she did. 

It’s not a great system, and she knows there’s a lot of risk involved but she saw how Zone 1 let Zone 0 collapse when they had the ability to help, and if this is something she can do to make a slight difference, she will. 

HEADCANONS

Aeryn has photographs of her parents she keeps hidden, knowing that anything from Zone 0 is technically prohibited in Zone 1. She also knows it’s impossible and dangerous, but there’s still a part of her that wants to travel back to Zone 0, to see what’s left of her home. 

After an incident on one of her first trips to Zone 2, when she was almost killed, Aeryn took it upon herself to start training in self-defense. She is proficient with a knife and carries one on her whenever she’s traveling. She hates guns and will only ever use one if completely necessary. Aeryn is, by no means, top-fighter material, but she’s scrappy enough to get by and will bite you if necessary.

She speaks English, Spanish and Dutch, which has always been very useful in her practice.

CONNECTIONS

ZONE 1 CHILDHOOD FRIENDS: People who believed her to be a Local growing up. This is a bit self explanatory –– just childhood friends, people who made her feel welcomed when she moved to New Amstel.

ZONE 0 FRIENDS: A childhood friend who hiked here too. From Colorado or from somewhere else (Tbh we can make it work). They lost contact when she and her aunt traveled to Zone 1 but now they’re meeting again years later. 

ZONE 1 TRAVELER: Someone who shares similar beliefs about the disparity between zones. Who believes in helping Zone 2 residents and who helps her between the zones on her travels. They’ve known each other for a while and trust each other implicitly.

CHQS COLLEAGUES: Self explanatory, from any department really!

BIO

Quinn Castel grew up a street rat in Zone 2. He and his “adopted” sister and brother learned to get by on sheer will and street-smarts.

With a near photography memory, he found himself a quick-study at most things, which helped him learn how to scrap, steal and survive.

He was always a bit of the mastermind of their antics – orchestrating ways in which they could not just survive but also thrive. In a dog-eat-dog world, he learned to be vicious in fights, knowing that it was kill or be killed. He learned to think harder and faster than all those around him. How to look at the details while never losing sight of the bigger picture.

Eventually, more people wanted to follow him – they saw he was capable, calculating and cut-throat enough to make it in their desolate world and in Amhaven specifically.

He became the leader of a group of Raiders that were known throughout their city to be ruthless and shrewd. They weren’t reckless but they knew how to take power but, more importantly, how to keep it. They controlled several main waterways in Amhaven, gaining wealth by charging a high tax to get through. They also began to control one of the city’s main water supplies.

It was good but it wasn’t enough.

There was more out there, Quinn knew this, and he began searching for ways to do more. To be more. Surely there was more for them than a decaying city?

This thought plagued him until, 3 years ago, he came across someone he knew...attacking the very same person. It was his first encounter with a doppelgänger. It was a small thread, the first of many that he pulled at. And when he kept pulling, the truth unraveled itself.

There was more. There were people who could come and go. Who kept them there despite having more to offer. To help. And they refused. So Quinn made up his mind that the only thing left to do was to take it.

How was the question that was answered just over a year and a half ago when Quinn spotted his own doppelgänger. Gideon Townsend. A traveler from Zone 1. An answer and a key wrapped up in one person.

It took a year of careful study, of eagle-eyed observation and espionage for Quinn to pick the right moment to strike. To enact a plan none but his siblings knew about.

He took care of Gideon Townsend, assuming his identity as a Zone 1 Traveler and embarking on a mission to lift his people out of the mud and mire.

Quinn is currently impersonating Gideon Townsend at CHQS and all of his Zone 2 associates/followers, believe him to be dead save his siblings. Down to the scars and tattoos Gideon had, Quinn is fully embodying the traveler as if his life depends on it. Which it does. 

It’s a risky endeavor, but one that will be worth it if they can get the technology and knowledge of how to move between Zones and, more importantly, the opportunity to take what has been withheld from them: the opportunity for me. The chance to get away from a dying world.

CONNECTIONS

These will definitely expand once I think about them more but here are a few thoughts:

QUINN SIBLINGS – they’re not blood related but they are the people he trusts most in the world. They were all orphans on the street of Amhaven when they met, children without homes or families so they made their own. They are the only people who know about Quinn still being alive, and his doppelgänger being the one who is dead.