Post by Deleted on May 31, 2016 21:20:43 GMT -5
Full Name: Joel Birkin
Alias(es): JoJo
Avatar Photo:
Age: 47
Gender: Male
Appearance:
Occupation (studies and job before the outbreak):
United States Marine Corps Rank Staff Sergeant (E-6)
Harry S Truman College, Chicago: B.S. in Criminal Science and Psychology
Chicago Police Department: Lieutenant
Portland International Jetport: Chief of Security
Harry S Truman College, Chicago: B.S. in Criminal Science and Psychology
Chicago Police Department: Lieutenant
Portland International Jetport: Chief of Security
Hometown (city, state, country): Chicago, IL, United States
Relationships (relatives, friends,...):
Helena Birkin (Daughter, Alive, Unknown (to him))
Robert Turner (Close Friend, Deceased)
Aubrey Birkin (née Whitaker) (Wife, Unknown)
Robert Turner (Close Friend, Deceased)
Aubrey Birkin (née Whitaker) (Wife, Unknown)
Weapons (currently in possession):
Beretta M92FS Inox
Glock 33 (backup)
Remington M1100
Glock 33 (backup)
Remington M1100
Items (clothing, backpacks, first-aid kits, etc...):
Red plaid flannel
Mens' Wrangler denim jeans w/ leather belt
Charcoal grey short-sleeve t-shirt
Grey and red Nike sneakers
Olive-drab duffle: Extra clothes, some MREs, flashlight, gun case for RemingtonM1100 shotgun, kevlar vest
Mens' Wrangler denim jeans w/ leather belt
Charcoal grey short-sleeve t-shirt
Grey and red Nike sneakers
Olive-drab duffle: Extra clothes, some MREs, flashlight, gun case for RemingtonM1100 shotgun, kevlar vest
Mode of transportation: On foot
List 3 or more good personality traits:
Headstrong
Complex
Diligent
Thoughtful
Complex
Diligent
Thoughtful
List 3 or more bad personality traits:
Haughty
Stoic
Over-pragmatic
Haughty
Stoic
Over-pragmatic
List 3 strengths:
Police and military training
Knows basic survival skills from military
Athletic
Police and military training
Knows basic survival skills from military
Athletic
List 3 flaws:
PTSD
Can be quite merciless
Distrusting
PTSD
Can be quite merciless
Distrusting
Describe your character's life before the Apocalypse:
Joel Birkin started life as an only child to a war veteran and a doctor in the city of Chicago. Joel's father didn't want him to follow in his footsteps and instead to be a doctor like his mother, who in turn wanted what Joel wanted as long as he was happy. Feeling the medical field wasn't a place for him because of his lack of interest, Joel decided he would go to the military when he was old enough. With excessive and escalating berating from his father, and soon his mother as well when she couldn't take her husband's anger any longer, Joel took his life into his own hands and left the house to go to the Marines once he had graduated high-school, knowing he had not a cent to his name because he wasn't going to bother with the part-time jobs that only offer $7.25 an hour for minimum; instead, he would go on to join the military to go through the change of a lifetime. He got stronger, he got better, and he learned things he couldn't in other ways, all while his college fund was being paid for. Occasionally, he would be transferred from the frontlines to Reserves, where he was allowed to go to college. Joel's father was lazy in that he didn't have a job, but was rather living off the pension he received before being honorably discharged from the Army for a serious medical injury that kept him from continuing, and made do doing maintenance and chores around the house while his wife brought in the money with her high-rank job as a trauma surgeon.
College was basically free for Joel save for his freedom, he couldn't travel anywhere outside of Chicago without letting his superiors in the military know first; doing so without would be considered desertion. So in his free time, Joel took classes in the Harry S Truman college in Chicago, his choices being rounded at first, but time soon found them narrowed towards the criminology but he also had met a beautiful woman who was taking a similar class. Gradually, over months of going back and forth between front lines and Reserved, Joel got his Criminal Science and Psychology Bachelor's from graduation, which he kept in his dufflebag to take back with him and had been dating the woman he had met, her name being Aubrey Whitaker. With his education under his belt, he could take time fully in the front lines, and did so while climbing the ranks until he hit Staff Sergeant, a rank higher than what his father reached.
Eventually, Joel requested to be discharged from the military, saying that he was confident that he wouldn't be able to do much else for them. He was at his limit, and his life was growing outside of the military. His request fell on healthy ears with heavy consideration; he had been a diligent soldier and helper to the common man, his conduct was 100% positive which is a thing the other soldiers in his rank would need to work on, and so he was allowed to leave honorably, just like his father but for a different reason. Having left the military, he could pursue a full love life with Aubrey and proposed to her to celebrate, but found she had a surprise for him as well: she was pregnant. Excited with glee, Joel hugged and kissed his fiancé lovingly.
Years later, Aubrey was at their Chicago apartment with their toddler daughter, Helena, while Joel had found work with the Chicago Police Department for a few months, when he got a call from an old friend from back in high school; his best friend Robert Turner had his own airport in Maine, he was the complete owner of it all since he had it built, and he wanted him to be his chief of security. Accepting after talking it over with Aubrey, who said she would love to see the northeastern United States by going to Maine, Joel took the offer wholeheartedly and gave a letter of resignation to the CPD before moving with Aubrey and Helena to Maine, where he used his money to buy them a house, a nice two-story one near the forests and a ways from town. Being unemployed and a wife to a handsome security officer, Aubrey decided to take hold of household chores and to watch over Helena while her husband went to work.
What happened to your character on Outbreak Day?:
Through the years of working, 20 years have passed since Helena was born. He stayed the chief of security at the Portland International Jetport, an airport made and owned by his highschool buddy Robert, and he found that Helena, now college age herself, was friends with Robert's daughter, Rebecca, which was ironic. Joel had returned home and was asleep one night when he had heard his phone go off. His wife, Aubrey, had left him several years prior when Helena was only 6, and so he had to raise her alone. There was an emergency news bulletin about a mass hysteria occuring in Maine and the states around it, but he didn't know why. He hopped out of bed and went downstairs to look outside. It seemed quiet enough, but he didn't know for sure, he never went to work in the city nearby, at least not for a little while. He knew that Robert had told his staff the take the week off because he was getting a little overwhelmed, but he knew the real reason: people were getting sick at the airport. So he had taken the week-off offer and here he was. He went outside, knowing Helena was safe asleep up in her room, and went next door to one of his neighbors after leaving his phone on the charger in the kitchen.
What he found at the neighbors' house, the Whites? It was grotesque. He could see through the lit window that there was blood on it, like someone had tried to get out, then he heard the back door wobble open. After a minute, he saw the man he wanted to see, Brandon, who started to stumble towards him like he was injured. What was wrong with him? He asked him this, asking if he was okay but to no avail. Freaked out and fearing for his and Helena's safety, he ran back to his own house and entered the back door he had used to leave, just in time to find Helena was awake nearby. He told her to stay back from the doors and windows, and went for his Beretta pistol, opened its case and loaded it up. Brandon was at the door, battering at it as if he was a very hungry bear trying to desperately get to a morsel of meat on the other side of a door, and drew his gun to aim at him. He uselessly told Brandon to stop, that he wasn't afraid to shoot. Brandon managed to knock the door down, a testament to how strong he was, being a factory worker in the city, and shot him in the stomach and then chest after having told him to not come any closer. That was futile, as Brandon seemed to ignore such damage and tackled Joel to the ground. He struggled for a bit, his eyes wide as he saw the lust of hunger and carnage in the man's eyes...which were glossed over, something that only occurred to someone when dead, or if that eye was dead; Brandon had healthy eyes, so this shouldn't have happened, unless he was dead. He tried to hold the heavy-set man off of him, just in time to hear a spurt of blood and closed his eyes as some got on his face. Helena had taken a knife and stabbed him in the head!
Knowing they couldn't stay there, Joel and Helena quickly packed light along with a change of clothes, and left in his Jeep to try and leave the state, having to cut through a town to do so, but it was blocked off by traffic and military. He saw a lot of shit on his way, too, like a burning farm, crashed cars with writhing people inside, and the like. Deciding to take a different way through, he cut through a different portion of town, determined to get through somehow, when they were broadsided. He ended up dangling unconscious from his seat, while Helena fell to the roof of the upside-down Jeep and could easily get out when she came to shortly after. He woke up a couple hours later, and looked around with a groan...Helena wasn't anywhere to be found, and the panic had died down considerably, the streets were more clear, but fire was everywhere. He unbuckled himself from his seat, groaning as he rubbed his head, and climbed out. He made sure to grab his duffel, noticing that Helena's was missing. He had to find her, she couldn't been taken somewhere, she could be some sicko's bitch. The very thought singed him, as if he was disgusted and angry at the thought, and started to walk down the street...he had a lot of work to do.
Describe your character's life after the Apocalypse:
Joel traverses the United States,just like his daughter unbeknownst to him, either by foot or vehicle, and had encountered other survivor groups along the way, staying with them for a few days to help get supplies, ammo and food, and would leave with a fair portion of it, enough that the group wouldn't go hungry from his departure but to the same degree he would have enough to last him a few days, continuing to try and find Helena, his beloved daughter, even if she was a bit on the rebellious side sometimes.