CHARACTER BIOS

development and exploration of characters in GREAT BEND. visual dev can be found HERE.

Crystal “Just Chris is fine” Rossi is starting her first summer job as a lifeguard — which would have been great, if the lake wasn’t haunted. When a storm hits the small town of Great Bend and causes a series of disappearances, her search for her missing sister leads her into a web of conspiracy at the depths of Lake Hazel itself. Not only is her sister gone — seemingly without a trace — but other people in town begin reacting oddly to the aftermath of the storm. And instead of her sister, Chris and her friends encounter a strange girl, who claims to know where the missing people have gone.

PERSONALITY TRAITS: Brave, reckless, stubborn, adventurous, protective, sarcastic, honest, reliable. 

CHARACTER THEMES: Upheaval, doing the right thing instead of the easy thing, bottling up grief, discovery and exploring the unknown, firm belief, courage in adversity.

DESCRIPTION: Frizzy, long, untamed curly gold-blonde hair,  beige skin, harsh eyebrows, dark brown eyes, resting look of perpetual grumpiness. wears a bright yellow jacket, and sometimes red t-shirts from her part-time job as a lifeguard. plastic colourful beaded bracelets, jeans with rainbow/unicorn themed patches. pink, green, and yellow braces

SKILLS: Swimming, diving, drawing.

INVENTORY: Swiss army knife (doesn’t know how to use), flip-phone (from mom, only for emergencies!), lifeguard office keys (very weighty with keychains), hair scrunchy (on wrist)

FAMILY: Norman Rossi (father), married Olivia Holiday (step-mother), and combined their two families when Chris was around 10. Kerry (17) is her biological sister, Sandy (17) and Laur (12) are her stepsiblings. Mimi (4) is her half-sister.

MOTIVATIONS: Finding her sister. Protecting her siblings. Being thought of as reliable. Getting to the bottom of the disappearances in town. 

Mel didn't think she was going to die that day, in the middle of the woods, alone. She also didn't think she was going to wake up again, moments later, in someone's bathtub. When she becomes entangled in a scientific conspiracy involving her own family, Mel's world quite literally was turned upside-down. Not only was the house she woke up in unfamiliar, but so was the entire town. Now, with only a strange puzzle box, a string of coordinates on an old receipt, and a foggy memory--Mel has to backtrack to find out who killed her, and why.

She'd just rather do it without people getting in her way all the time. Distrustful in nature, and a self-identifying ‘lone wolf’, Mel would much rather keep Chris and the gang at arms length than accept their help. It's risky to rely on other people, but... maybe having friends isn't so overrated after all.

TRAITS: Solitary, angry, sharp, straight-forward, distrustful, blunt, dishonest, creative, inquisitive, bold.

CHARACTER THEMES: Accepting help, finding the truth even if it hurts, found family, learning to trust.

DESCRIPTION:  Long black hair with blunt bangs covering brows, freckles. wears black combat boots and an oversized green bomber jacket. black nailpolish that is always chipped, and a black choker.

SKILLS: Lockpicking, drawing, stealth, winning fistfights, having random morbid knowledge.

INVENTORY: Pocketknife (knows how to use), mysterious puzzle box, sketchbook (full of charcoal drawings of monsters), receipt with a series of coordinate numbers and names.

FAMILY: DR. LUCILLE KIMURA (mother)

MOTIVATION:  Finding out what her mother is hiding from her. Getting back home. Survival.

Sandy Holiday would consider his best quality to be his wit, and then his hair at a close second. Many would posit that Sandy’s personality is an acquired taste—often loud, sarcastic, and irreverent. Sandy is the type that would rather talk his way out of trouble than get into any real conflict. In the presence of others, his persona is an ever-changing mask, and more often than not, it’s his mouth that lands him in the conflict to begin with. He’s avidly into games—especially old arcade machines and retro consoles, and goes out of his way to collect weird floppy discs and knock-off games from the local pawn shop.

When Chris begins her dangerous crusade to find their missing sister, Sandy is right there with her—he has to protect everyone, no matter what.

PERSONALITY TRAITS: Quick-witted, easy-going, friendly, social, loyal, realistic, sarcastic, humorous.   

CHARACTER THEMES: Hiding your true self, insecurity, putting up a front, taking care of others, being ride or die even if you hate the situation.

DESCRIPTION: Bright auburn shaggy wavy hair, thick-rimmed tortoise-shell glasses often held together by bits of tape. Pale with rosy complexion. Tall, moles and freckles, blue eyes, perpetually sleepy, heavy-lidded look. crooked smile and slouched posture—very tall when he stands up straight. Wears a variety of brightly patterned shirts, shorts or ripped jeans, and light-up sneakers that only sometimes work.

SKILLS: Voice and sound imitation, charisma, high scores at the arcade, math somehow

INVENTORY: Cigarette (behind the ear, nicked from stepdad), pocket change (for the arcade machine at the laundromat), friendship bracelet (says “SANDY”, made by Mimi)

FAMILY: Olivia Holiday (mother) married Norman (step-father) after leaving an abusive marriage with Roolf Holiday (father). Laur (12) is his biological sister, Chris (16) and Kerry (19) are his step sisters. Mimi  (4) is his half-sister.

MOTIVATION: Finding his and Chris' sister. Keeping everyone safe. Being "needed". Getting back to having a "normal" summer.  

Kitty Walker somehow manages it all — popularity, good grades, while not even being a jerk about it. Kitty is the type of person you want around as a friend— she never forgets a promise, and also — you can totally copy her chemistry homework. Since her mother, as the sheriff of Great Bend, is almost always busy, Kitty keeps a police radio on hand at all times. Due to an accident in her childhood, Kitty is selectively mute, and communicates through American Sign Language. 

She has a strong moral compass, and a compassionate heart, which lends her to being something of the glue to her friend group. Empathetic to the plights of others, Kitty would probably swerve the car before running over a squirrel.  As Chris’ best friend of many years, and someone who understands what it's like to lose someone — Kitty would do anything to stop more tragedy from befalling Great Bend.

PERSONALITY TRAITS: Kind, compassionate, empathetic, observant, brave, warm, idealistic, forgetful, well-meaning.

CHARACTER THEMES: Empathy, loss, guilt, warmth, perseverance of love 

DESCRIPTION: Shoulder-length tight black curls, with blond highlights, dark brown complexion, one brown eye one blue. wears hoodies, sweatshirts, and her dad’s old firefighter jacket. pierced ears. high-top boots, shorts and skirts. overall sporty

FAMILY: Georgia Walker (mother, Sheriff of Great Bend), Roland Walker (father, deceased)

SKILLS: Pathfinding (eagle scout level), first-aid, athletics and gymnastics, empathy, animal handling

INVENTORY: Pack of mint gum (+rappers), nana’s grocery list, earring that fell out, hand mirror, police radio

MOTIVATION: Making her parents proud, getting out of Great Bend, becoming famous, helping others.

Graham is about to enter high school, and he’ll do just about anything to get in with Lane Silvers and the popular crowd—including ditching his old friend group completely. When his new ‘friends’ begin to act strangely after the storm, he is inconvenienced into teaming up with Chris and the others to find the source of the infected lake water, and the reason for his sudden sickness around water. He comes across condescending and self-important, but anyone who really knows Graham could tell you it’s all a show, it's all to fit in. In Graham’s mind, he has a lot to hide; among multiple insecurities, he also has a speech impediment from childhood--which still shows itself from time to time in particularly severe bouts of anxiety. Being someone else is just easier, they just don’t get it.

PERSONALITY TRAITS:  Charismatic, cowardly, pompous, social, bossy, superficial, neurotic.

CHARACTER THEMES: Change, growth, finding bravery, apologizing for the right reasons, finding acceptance.

DESCRIPTION: Short wavy blonde hair, pale complexion, freckles across nose, blue eyes. turtlenecks, button-ups, polo shirts, and a white pink and turquoise 90’s style windbreaker. white sneakers and an expensive looking watch.

FAMILY: Dana Flowers (mother), Cecil Flowers (father)

SKILLS: Swimming, baseball, photography

INVENTORY: Car keys (for his prized posession: his dad's old Mustang), phone (newest model), pill bottle (for the anxiety), sunglasses, wallet and credit cards

MOTIVATION: Being accepted and fitting in. Making his parents proud. Staying out of trouble. Hiding that he's in the closet at all costs. 

Prem worries about pretty much everything; the weather, the time, transmittable diseases, laundry machines, car accidents, missing social cues, actual queues, and everything in between. Prem has always found comfort in his computer screen. Online, he is able to express himself most freely, and everything works in a system that makes sense.If you don't leave the house, you don't have to worry about that kind of thing. He started being home-schooled by his parents after his first year in middle school, but he's still close with Chris and the others, who he grew up with. 

 Prem prefers the safety of his room and his tech, but his inquiring mind will often lead him to stray into the unknown, no matter how frightening it may be. But maybe this time, he wishes more than anything that he did stay home.

TRAITS: Organized, meticulous, responsible, level head, dry sense of humour, serious, driven, somewhat antisocial, agorophobic, tech-smart.

CHARACTER THEMES: Leaving your comfort zone, reliability, thinking before leaping, forgiving yourself.

DESCRIPTION:  Dark brown complexion, dark brown eyes, carefully manicured short black hair, sharp features. cable-knit sweaters, lots of layers, button-ups tucked into dress pants, never wears jeans. stripes and rarely every wears bright colour.

SKILLS: Computers and fixing them, academics, remembering everything, niche knowledge

INVENTORY: Laptop bag, change of clothes, granola bars, walkie-talkie, inhaler,

FAMILY: Pooja & Samir Keer (parents)

MOTIVATION: Staying within his comfort zone. Learning new things. Being helpful to his friends.