Gaia Username: ladyumbra
Entering for: Anthony
Doctor: Akari

Child Name: Walter Revington

Guardian(s):

Collin Revington is a twenty-five year old young man trying to make his way in the music business and predictably struggling at it. He has steady enough work to pay the bills and buy food by playing at local Barton pubs and restaurants with patios. Still Collin often finds himself playing on the streets on his days off for extra cash as well as extra exposure. He plays the piano and violin very well and can sing tolerably but not enough to get him very far as a singer.

He's still young and hopeful enough to dream of making it big while grounded and experienced enough to know that his chances are slim. For the most part Collin is just happy to be able to make a living doing what he loves. His mother taught him to play as a young child and he’s spent the years since practicing and trying to form or find a jazz group to play in. Jazz has always been his favorite style of music and he’s sure he can help bring something new to it while staying faithful to it’s roots.

Collin is a mostly calm and laid back sort of person who likes to joke that his music is far more animated than he'll ever be. He lives with his cousin Nell who is an equally struggling songwriter; the pair grew up practically next door to each other and are best friends bonded tighter by family. When not working hard to promote himself as a musician Collin tries to relax and do simple things like reading or puzzles.

Nell Revington is a twenty- four year old young woman who is a struggling songwriter and currently a waitress in a small Barton cafe. She's the lively sort who's always got something to say and though she may tease and taunt you there's softness in her eyes that lets you know it's all in good fun. A middle child Nell craves attention even as an adult and is usually quick to start a conversation or jump into one if at all possible.

Best friends and house mates with her older cousin Collin she’s a bit more responsible at times or perhaps simply a bit more domestic, spending much of her free time and money making their little house as fancy and homey as she can. Nell keeps track of the household finances and plans their weekly and monthly budgets.

Beyond songwriting Nell tries to expand her passion for creativity to other areas including baking or moreover the decorating of baked goods, crafts and sewing. She’s no typical mode’ of a housewife it’s just that Nell strongly desires to make things, to have physically created something that she can be proud of. To leave behind a legacy of great songs is her dream but she’s content with little success in other forms to get her by until then.

Both Collin and Nell have limited experience with children in the form of younger siblings and cousins. Collin enjoys trying to entertain them but due to his laid back nature he’s never been good at being authoritative. Walter is a fairly biddable child for which Collin is grateful though the musician wishes his child would share his love of music instead of videogames. Still there are songs Collin plays only for Walter and they make the cursed boy happy; on a rare occasion they can even sooth his paranoia or break him out of a strong hallucination.

Nell will do her best to emulate her own mother in trying to help raise Walter. Dealing with a child who is slowly turning into a zombie is strange for her but she tries to show Walter she loves him regardless.

Child Personality:

Walter Revington is the boy luck and sanity have abandoned. A briefly curious and generally happy toddler he is now a child cursed for life. Walter is sickly, paranoid and a bit delusional at times. When it comes to socializing Walter has found a way to incorporate his curse into how he makes friends. Still, much of Walter’s time is spent pretending to be what’s he’s not and hoping he can fix himself.


Due to the curse that’s turning him into a zombie Walter isn’t exactly the healthiest of children. It’s a slow and steady transformation from healthy boy to zombie and during it his body does indeed begin to rot and change. This leads to dizzy spells, paling and sickly looking flesh, open sores and the occasional vomiting of blood. The progression of his curse leads to Walter spending more and more time indoors away from most people. It’s not easy to be happy and friends when you feel like death warmed over and few people want to make friends with the boy who’s skin just split apart.

Walter occupies much of his indoor time with video games, especially any type of RPG that allows him to customize what he looks like. Since he can’t control his own looks or what happens to his body anymore, being able to have complete control over a character in a game makes Walter feel better. He’s more than happy to loose himself in a video game if it gives him the illusion that his fate is in his hands in some way. His mind also focuses firmly on the game while playing so as long as he feels safe in game his anxiety levels tend to remain low and he rarely suffers attacks while gaming.

Video games also give Walter a sense of purpose and accomplishment, the sicker he becomes the harder it is to accomplish things that would win him any praise but saving a kingdom or defeating a great evil even if only in pixels makes Walter feel like hours spent on the couch with a controller in hand are not wasted.

Walter is plagued by a deep persistent sense of anxiety which slowly began to consume him after he happened upon a cursed scroll within a bottle on the beach. Reading the scroll triggered the start of his transformation and ever since Walter has been having issues feeling safe. He often hears strange voices and noises, feels phantom touches on his skin, and hallucinates, sometimes realistically. When caught within severe anxiety attacks, Walter becomes slow and clumsier than usual. Whether this is a side effect of the cursed scroll, or perhaps symptoms of some version of post traumatic stress disorder is unknown. All Walter and his guardians know is that no amount of medication or therapy ever seems to make it go away, though it can be held at bay for a time.

Walter is fussy about those whom he chooses to socialize with though he does desperately want friends. He tends to associate mostly with others of species that more often than not fall under the category of undead. He can socialize with children who aren’t some form of undead species but he feels uncomfortable, gets embarrassed and prefers not to especially the more his body decays. Walter feels that it’s just easier to make friends amongst those who are less likely to judge him due to similar traits within their own races. When in the company of friends Walter is fairly relaxed and playful; his anxiety also seems to surface less when he is not alone. Though he does grow more distant and reluctant to make new friends as he age, any core group of friends Walter may make as a youngster will be kept up with.

It is magic that ruined Walter's normal life and he's sure the right magic can fix it. Though no one his parents took him to could find a cure for his specific curse Walter is ever hopeful that what he's looking for is in the next book or online article. His quest for a cure is a mixture of hope, desperation and another bid for control. It was his own innocent actions as a toddler that got him cursed; surely he will be the one to remove it.

As a toddler and small child Walter's attempts to stop the affects of his curse are limited to a child's hopeful fantasies. Magic potions he's made himself from homemade ingredients and drawing in washable marker around sickly looking skin with his own personal magic runes while wishing himself better. Aging will allow Walter to become more serious and expand his attempts to reverse or halt his zombification with the help of research. More than a few potential cures are rejected though due to Walter's fear that they won't work. Worse still is the fear that they will work but he'll just end up dead for real because his bodies already partially gone to hell. Walter dabbles in the odd bit of magic and sometimes tries small things that manage to do him a little good but something always holds him back from really trying to free himself of his curse. Over time many sets of notes for potential cures gather dust in his personal library and it is unlikely any of them will ever be tested.



Writing Prompt: Obsession ( aim for 700 ish words)

“Walter what are you doing?” The question is stupid, Collin knows exactly what Walter is doing. There is really only one reason why his young son is in the kitchen in the middle of the night with the fridge wide open and it’s contents scattered about the floor. A myriad of mostly liquid things slowly combined inside a large white mixing bowl that rested between Walter’s legs.

Soft brown eyes stared up at Collin filled with a mixture of sadness and hope “ I got another spot today, I’m making it better” . Walter’s voice nearly echoed the emotions in his eyes, concern and frustration mixing with determination. Collin’s own eyes followed one of Walter fingers to the area in question. Though most of the kitchen was dark Walter and his skin were bathed in the pale yellow light from the fridge. It was easy to see that his son was correct, and a not hallucinating, another patch of his skin had become discolored and tight looking as if it might split open if too much pressure were applied to it. That made five in totally now, all no bigger than the palm of Walter’s hand but each equally disturbing; a confirmation that his son was cursed, that he was in effect dying.

“Walter I-” Collin’s words were a soft sigh, it was hard to admonish Walter in a moment like this. Still, this was really getting to be too much. What had once been a frequent drinking of juice and milk to keep him healthy and his bones strong while they searched for a cure had spiraled out of control when it became evident there was no one who could help them.

Certainly any cursed or sick child might wish themselves better and pretend they knew the magic to fix themselves but Walter was going overboard. Once simple and innocent recipes like sparkling soda water and lemon juice had become complex concoctions that had become dangerous. Only two nights ago the Walter had made himself vomit by mixing things that did not go well together into one of his magical healing potions. Collin should have talked with him them then but it was impossible for him to say anything negative to Walter when his son spent the night crying in pain and puking. “I don’t think that’s the right combination”

His son’s lip trembled as he looked own into the mixing bowl. “Really? There’s lemon and lime juice and sprite and an egg and ” the boy rattled off a few more ingredients. It was enough to make a sane person’s stomach uneasy just listening to what was in the thing.

“Walter you can’t drink that it-“ Collin was cut off before he could finish his warning.

“I’m not going to drink it I’m making a lotion like the kind Nell uses only magic.” As if to prove his point Walter reached out to tip a small stream of baking powder from it’s box into the mixture. The brunet then stirred it with a wooden spoon creating a sort of Technicolor monstrosity with the consistency of pancake batter.

“Oh” Nell did have creams for her occasionally dry skin and Collin supposed it couldn’t really hurt as long as Walter didn’t drink the stuff. You couldn’t get food poisoning from absorbing stuff through your skin right?” Promise you won’t drink it”

Walter nodded and smiled brightly “No more drinks I don’t like being sick.” His face wrinkled in an adorably childlike expression of disgust.

Collin was grateful for that, he didn’t think he or Nell was up for another night of calling poison control to make sure their already dying child didn’t keel over even more prematurely.

“Ok then just clean up afterward.“ Collin shook his head and turned to leave the room “ And no more lotion making in the middle of the night.” Perhaps he should have stopped this altogether and perhaps someday he would look back and regret not having done so but until Walter put himself in danger again Collin could not bring himself to take away his son’s hope.

Additional Notes:
I really love the scroll and it’s included in his art so I figured I might as well use it, plus those verizon text message in a bottle things are cursed anyways.
Anthony walks and moved awkwardly in the game as he becomes more and more a zombie so I imagined Walter will get sicker and sicker before the transformation completes itself and he is fully at home and healthy in his new body.
The effects of the sanity meter in the game were too awesome to not incorporate in some manner.
Concrit is always appreciated if you have time.