With the premier of Seven Nights at the Afterlight just 14 days away, I thought it was time to introduce you all to some of the characters! For visual representation, I used Baydews' Avatar Maker v.2, except for Laurel, who I made with djarn's character maker because Baydews' didn't have a lot of great options for plus-sized characters.
So let's dive in to the 5 POV characters of Seven Nights at the Afterlight!
Name: Anne-Marie Mullins
Age: 24
Species: Human
Occupation: Grad student (studying folklore, currently on break), freelance travel writer
Hometown: Macon, GA, United States
Trademark Food: Chilli cheese tots are her go-to brain food.
Fears: Most of the things she's chasing, walking down suburban streets alone at night, lack of closure
Comforts: A good podcast, an old jacket, long car rides full of familiar songs
Fun Fact: She's not a vampire, despite how pale she is. Just a nerd.
Anne-Marie is our plucky protagonist, armed with an obsession with the paranormal and a knack for annoying her way into situations. She books a seven night stay at the Afterlight Popup Music Hostel before they realize she's an ordinary human and makes a deal with the fae co-owner, Sam, to help investigate a murder and clear his friend's name within her seven night stay if she promises never to return after the fact. She's spent her year long break from grad school mostly living at various rest stops or cheap hotels, and making money by writing about the places she visits for travel websites. Her family doesn't really understand this gap year, but they didn't understand going to grad school just to study folklore, either.
Name: Laurel Hartman
Age: 73 (turned at age 21)
Species: Vampire
Occupation: Co-owner of the Afterlight Popup Music Hostel.
Hometown: Manchester, England (accent has become difficult to recognize over time and travel, unless she's angry)
Trademark Food: Everything pizza.
Fears: Being discovered, something happening to a loved one, loneliness, dentist's appointments (ironically not bc of fangs)
Comforts: Spending time with loved ones, dancing, weighted blankets (though Eli hates them)
Fun Fact: She's changed her name several times but always uses the same initials she had when she was human.
Laurel is a vampire with a powerful gift for charming those around her, and one of the co-owners of the Afterlight. It is Laurel who envisioned the Afterlight as a sanctuary for creatures of the night, and she's extremely protective of her guests. She was turned at the same time as Phoenix, with whom she had an on and off relationship for over 40 years, and she's very wary of the mischief he's likely to cause in her carefully crafted home - especially now that she's moved onto a new relationship. And she's not thrilled about the human guest who could throw everything into chaos.
Name: Sam O'Rinn
Age: Who knows?
Species: Just a very Good Fellow, you know?
Occupation: Co-owner of the Afterlight Music Popup Hostel, manages the fake transcripts side business.
Hometown: Summer Court, Faerie
Trademark Food: Berries or anything berry flavored
Fears: Going back to Faerie, leaving friends too soon
Comforts: Live music, the laughter of others, warm sunlight, clever banter
Fun Fact: Sam is genderfluid, sometimes glamouring themself to look more feminine and sometimes more masculine
Sam was once the Summer King's chief hunter, drawing in mortals to Faerie with the sound of their music. After their last acquisition sat with them especially poorly, Sam left Faerie and went to live among mortals - even though it cost them their immortality. There, they befriended Laurel and Phoenix and eventually, with Laurel, opened the Afterlight Popup Music Hostel. With a gift for glamour, Sam is able to mostly ward off unwanted guests, as well as help those who need a fresh start get the papers and credentials to do so.
Name: Phoenix
Age: 73 (turned half an hour before his 21st birthday)
Species: Vampire
Occupation: Just generally wanders around and does what he wants
Hometown: Chicago, IL, United States
Trademark Food: Candy, especially smarties
Fears: Settling down, blending in, quiet, loneliness, disappointment, [redacted]
Comforts: Parties, a deep belly laugh, flying, living loudly
Fun Fact: Chose the name Phoenix when he turned and never changed it
Phoenix doesn't really understand the need to blend in and try to be normal. He didn't like it when he was human, and he never bothers with it now that he's a vampire. Caught eternally right at the edge of youth, Phoenix lives life as one big party and makes friends wherever he goes, but his flighty nature means he's sometimes bad at keeping them. Laurel and Sam stuck around the longest, but they don't seem pleased to have him back in their lives. Maybe it has to do with the dead body that showed up in their hostel shortly after he did. But it's probably for the best, given the secrets he has to keep from them.
Name: Eli "Torres"
Age: 23
Species: Werewolf
Occupation: Backup receptionist at Afterlight (sometimes), lab attendant
Hometown: Miami, FL, United States
Trademark Food: Eli is vegan most of the year, but after a full moon, she goes out for a big greasy breakfast
Fears: losing control and hurting someone, losing her mind, vulnerability, spiders
Comforts: Puzzles, organizing, learning something new, science
Fun Fact: Once wanted to be marine biologist
Eli came to the Afterlight 4 years ago. At the time, she just wanted a new ID. Eventually, Laurel persuaded her to book a stay and the two began living together. The rooming situation blossomed into friendship and eventually, very shyly, into something else entirely. Finally, about 6 months ago, they started dating. But Eli doesn't make a habit of letting people in or accepting help from anyone. She's haunted by the events that led to her becoming a werewolf and the loss of her brother...and there are parts to that story that even Laurel doesn't know.
