#( chara study

[infinitelydiverse]

For the first 5 months of Elijah working at the Foundation, he and Kade were not on good terms. (Though not for lack of trying on Elijah’s part.) Kade is very distrusting and slow to warm up to people. For those months, Kade was cool and polite while making it clear he didn’t know or trust Elijah.

At about 5 months in, Kade and Elijah had a run in with Virva that landed them in the hospital. Both of them have huge trauma regarding hospitals, and both of them hate being in there for any amount of time. That shared hatred opened Kade up to Elijah, and they began bonding after that. It takes time, but Kade eventually comes to see Elijah as a younger brother (despite Kade’s grumbling and refusing to admit it); Elijah looks up to Kade as a cool older brother/friend.

On a side note, Kade and Elijah had to stay in the hospital overnight for observation, and Fiona, Andrea, and Castillo had to tag team the pair to keep them from losing their shit and straight up walking out.

[infinitelydiverse]

I’m listening to MAG 32 and thinking about Fiona almost became a Hive. After being rejected by their family after coming at as nonbinary and lesbian and beginning their transition, they moved across the country for nursing school. They weren’t coping well with their depression, and they were completely alone: no friends, no family, nothing. They were so desperate for affection and love, and that (along with their background in working with Infection Control) made them so susceptible to the Corruption and the Hive specifically.

Meeting Kade saved their life, a fact that Fiona fully acknowledges despite Kade’s protesting. (Which makes the fact they couldn’t save Kade from the Hunt more devastating to them.) Them running into each other was a chance. Kade was already going after the Hive, Fiona got in the way, the Hive almost killed both Fiona and Kade, and they managed to lure it out of the hospital. Fiona was the one who ended up killing the thing (drowned the Hive in a retention pond near the hospital) when it was distracted by Kade. Both of them have scars from the encounter, particularly on their hands and arms.

After killing the Hive, hospital admin, the CDC and the Usher Foundation got involved. Fiona and Kade were checked out, patched up, and cleared. The director of the Foundation, Dr. Hayes, approached them both and offered them positions at the Foundation and, more importantly, answers to the questions they had. Fiona and Kade had bonded quite a bit by then, and they both refused the offer. They recovered together, and a year and a half later, they’d both recovered enough to reconsider Dr. Hayes’ offer. That’s how they ended up with the Foundation and the Archives specifically. Castillo had been the Archivist for a while now and needed some new assistants, especially ones who’d proven themselves competent and quick on their feet. About a year after that, Andrea began working at the Archives. It was the three of them and Castillo for the next five and a half years until Elijah started working for the Archives.

[infinitelydiverse]

Andrea, Fiona, Kade

Kade and Fiona are disaster that bonded over shared trauma via flesh hive at a young age. (20 and 24 respectively.) They’re in a queerplatonic relationship (QPR) and share one (1) brain cell. Fiona usually has it.

Occasionally, something will happen (typically Kade or Andrea becoming seriously sick or injured) and Fiona will absolutely lose their shit and drop the brain cell. When that happens, Kade will immediately catch the brain cell and use it to keep Fiona from committing murder, arson, or something equally serious. Andrea is always close at hand when these things happen. She’ll help Kade talk Fiona down as needed, but after nearly ten years of a very close relationship, he can usually handle the situation.

On an added note, Fiona and Kade are often mistaken for girlfriend and boyfriend. Fiona is a lesbian and Kade is aromantic. They are not and have never been romantic partners. Both of them and Andrea (Fiona’s actual girlfriend) think it’s hilarious and have an ongoing tally of how many times this has happened to them.

Kade’s and Andrea’s relationship started off a bit rocky, but they’re good friends now. They’re not in a QPR, but they have talked about the possibility and occasionally revisit the idea. Fiona is aware of this and supports their decision. Fiona and Andrea have lived together for about three years, and it’s not uncommon for Kade to show up at their place in the middle of the night to crash on their couch.

[infinitelydiverse]

The Archive team & ages. (+extra)

Elijah is 24. Kade is 28. Andrea is 31. Fiona is 32. Castillo is 44.

Castillo has a degree in psychiatry. Before he joined the Foundation, he worked in a research gig for 6-7 years. He’s been working at the Foundation for 7-8 years and working in the Archives in some way for most of those.

[infinitelydiverse]

Sexuality + Gender

ANDREA: Biromantic bisexual. Trans woman, she/her.

CASTILLO: Cishet male, he/him.

ELIJAH: Nonbinary mlm (amab). He/they. Recently came out. Still exploring his gender presentation.

FIONA: Transfem nonbinary lesbian. They/them. Butch.

KADE: Aromantic pansexual. Trans man, he/him. Prefers not to use labels.

[infinitelydiverse]

Kade doesn’t like his voice, especially around people he’s not sure of. He gets self conscious and worries his voice is too high to pass as masculine. He’s also self conscious about his accent. He grew up in a very small rural community in the Blue Ridge Mountains near the Tennessee / North Carolina border. Even after leaving the area over ten years ago, he still has a noticeable accent and hates it, mostly due to the harassment he received because of it and the stereotypes associated with it. He’s no stranger to defending himself verbally or stating his opinions when inclined to do so, but he saves the small talk and chatter for people he’s more comfortable with.