Winslow

Overview

Winslow Coltrane (real name Clayton Driftwood) was a leader of the Vigil credited with keeping the group together during the bloody East vs. West conflict of 2020-21. Throughout 2021, Winslow developed a reputation for “snitching” after he was careless with information which Zirka believed could get her killed. Rather than killing him to ensure his silence, she instead chose to spare his life in exchange for a “life debt”. Unbeknownst to Winslow, she intended to use to have him serve as bait to lure a member of the Cult of Papa into a trap. Winslow’s reputation for loose lips also drew the attention of the Forsaken Loyalists, who had suspected him of working with both Dark as Midnight and the Scribes against their interests. Without informing the Vigil, Winslow began making a series of decisions in an attempt to clear the Vigil and himself of the trouble he got into which instead brought the Vigil significantly more hardship.

Upon discovering Zirka’s plan, Winslow was terrified and unsuccessfully attempted to murder her (who he had grown close with) leading to her eventual capture by Dark as Midnight. After surviving an attempt on his life by the Wanderers, Forsaken Loyalists, and Serdtse Stai, Winslow went into hiding under the protection of Dark as Midnight. The apocalypse gang ultimately handed him over to both the Carnival and Vigil, resulting in his death at the hands of his best friend and co-leader, Shifty.

Appearance

In a call-back to his past, Winslow typically wore a Grey flannel shirt and black cowboy hat, and wielded the type of weapons he had grown used to as a boy in Texas. As befitting a member of the Vigil, he was rarely seen without the iconic pink armband, and often wore a scarf of a similar color to obscure his face.

Origins

Prior to the apocalypse, Clayton was a member of a family of serial killers operating in Texas between 1965 and 1985. In 1986, state police uncovered evidence of the Driftwood family’s murders and Clayton’s mother was shot and captured during a resulting shoot out. During the chaos, Clayton, his brother, and his sister escaped through an intricate network of tunnels and graves located below the family home. The pair of brothers attempted to flee the country with the assistance of an accomplice. Meanwhile, the sister continued alone on a further killing spree before eventually being brought into custody.

Clayton, his brother, and accomplice were eventually captured after crashing their vehicle on a major highway. While in custody, the three men learnt that the mother committed suicide in the middle of interrogation. The trio each received a death sentence. While awaiting the lengthy appeals process, Clayton and his brother escaped during a prisoner riot where they murdered multiple corrections officers. The family took the family of the prison warden hostage and blackmailed him into arranging the escape of their sister. Clayton’s siblings decided to flee to Mexico, whilst Clayton opted to go his own way. He broke into the house of his cousin, Winslow Coltrane, stole his passport and assumed his identity. Clayton left the United States to live in an isolated cabin within Siberia where he lived alone for many decades until the events of the infection began.

Having lived in hiding for close to thirty years, Clayton attempted to find redemption in the post-apocalyptic new world and vowed to help people.

Demeanor

Choosing to dress in the post-apocalyptic world in typical rural American attire, Winslow made no attempt at hiding his origins. Despite living in Russia for three decades, Winslow never lost his distinctive Texan accent. Slow to anger and difficult to intimidate, Winslow rarely resorted to violence - despite the temperament of people in the new world. By the end of his time in South Zagoria, Winslow had killed very few people, and only ever in self defense. The guilt of his past weighed on his mind significantly, and the deaths of various bandits at his hands brought the man a large amount of pain. He struggled with substance abuse, especially the medical-grade morphine found in large supply in South Zagoria, in an effort to cope with the demons of his past.

Actions

i. Rise to Leadership

Winslow's ascent to leadership in the ranks of the Vigil always seemed somewhat of an inevitability, and would crystallise during an infamous civil war that split the East and West of South Zagoria. Perplexed by a raid on Bor by Dark as Midnight, Winslow set up a meeting with the notorious apocalypse gang and various other eastern powers via an associate named Tony. Though not a figure of authority at the time, and armed only with a list of talking points given to him by the absent Vigil leadership, Winslow would acquit himself with merit; negotiating a peaceful path for the Vigil in the face of overwhelming violence and chaos across the country.

ii. Kate and Zirka

Of all those who Winslow attempted to help during his time in South Zagoria, perhaps none changed his fate as significantly as the erstwhile Wanderer turned-Dark as Midnight member, Kate. Disillusioned with attempting to help the masses, Winslow saw Kate as someone he could save from damnation. Initially, Winslow took two wanderers with him to Altar in disguise for a meeting with Kate intended to help her escape her situation. To his dismay, the attempt was unsuccessful. and fearing that the Wanderer leader George Luz would learn about her betrayal and kill her, Zirka warned Winslow to tell nobody of the attempt on pain of death. Initially failing to take the threat seriously, Winslow would later tell the story of the meeting in Bor, before being taken out into the woods and shot with a rubber round by Zirka for his carelessness.

Eventually, Kate reached out to Winslow once again - asking to meet him alone and be helped with her situation. In his desperation to help Kate, Winslow accepted the invitation, only to discover that the meeting was in fact cover for an ambush by Dark as Midnight. Interrogated for information on Zirka and Jordan, Winslow was threatened with being outed as a snitch by Vriska, who demanded that Winslow be honest with Zirka or run away from her entirely. Faced with an impossible decision, Winslow eventually chose to confess to Zirka and beg for his life. Though his pleas were successful, Zirka warned Winslow that he now owed her forever - but chose not to say what exactly it was that he owed. In the aftermath of their failed attempts to save Kate from herself, Zirka and Winslow began to travel together frequently, even becoming friends of a certain kind.

Zirka tells Winslow he can clear her debt by being bait for the Cult, or make Reverand Alessandro, or contact the cult somehow -> everyone who fucks with the cult dies, he's scared -> winslow freaks out, tells Kate he may have to kill her

Kate and Zirka meet behind the scenes -> Kate tells Zirka -> Winslow freaks out, knowing Zirka will kill her

Winslow becomes paranoid about Zirka trying to kill her -> Winslow meets people, says he may not be around any more, no context, very weird, saying goodbyes etc -> Harry Churches gets told by Winslow why he's paranoid -> Shifty takes Winslow to "meet somebody" (CJ, Doink, Kate), Zirka is brought by Kate. -> Shifty thought they would make ammends, Zirka insists she'll Winslow, just not now, "you know I have to do this" -> he shoots her, she disappears -> he talks to Harry Churches again, says everything is fine, he talked it out with Zirka etc etc

iii. Collusion and Meddling

FL bullying Vigil, Miklo attacks Blake -> winslow decides to start talking to Vriska to get FL off their backs -> he thought DAMN / Scribes would distract / damage FL

Wanderers raid Scribes, find intel that Winslow was working with them against FL -> Scribes appear in Sanctuary, trying to inspect for technology, Vigil refused. -> compromise offered to feed Scribes intel on FL, non-commital answer given (they weren't) -> FL in disguise overhears -> Scribes

met with Rix -> svet cliffs

Face with adversity and conflict frequently as a leader of the Vigil, Winslow developed a talent for backroom politicking and soft power. it was this very talent, however, that would ultimately set the wheels of his undoing in motion. In the face of aggression from the Forsaken Loyalists after the near-fatal shooting of Blake Tirty by a Vigil member named Miklo,

iv. Capture and Exile

Blake appears in Sanctaury asks Winslow directly about the note ->

Sanctuary bombing + hostage situation -> he confesses to shooting Zirka -> Georgie tells Winslow all the Vigil's problems are from him, "do them a favour and fuck off"

survived, went to BC, passed out on their door step, went into life saving surgery -> Harry Churches was present, realises Winslow lied about Zirka ---> doesn't help him, despite that being his life goal -> Winslow protected by BC, realises he can't go back to Bor because FL (also what Georgie said) ->> stays to heal, goes to Gorka, begs for shelter in their territory, figuring FL wouldn't find him here, "I have nowhere to go"

v. Death and Aftermath

DAMN takes him in, he doesn't know why they agree to take him in -> Tom Sock suggests Winslow could be a useful tool -> Tom Sock gives him Kate + Doink's house as they're dead -> Harvey mad

Unknown to Winslow, Tom Sock begins negotiating with FL for his handover in exchange for murdering Iris and having Altradoran talk to Charlie -> Doesn't happen because Tom Sock disappears (assumed dead)

Zirka is a warboy, Winslow doesn't suspect until -> he tries to leave, DAMN refuse, take him to Lollipop tower, to get them to be more evil by killing him (as they had done the DC rebranding) -> Vigil summoned to Lollipop by DAMN -> they present Winslow to them -> Shifty gives Winslow a hate speech, you caused so much damage, "fuck this I'm done" (throws armband) -> Shifty kills Winslow, he says sorry as his final words, only Zirka (the warboy) hears him

Where are they now?

After surviving the attempt on his life by the Forsaken Loyalists, Wanderers, and Serdtse Stai, Winslow went into hiding in Gorka under the care of Dark as Midnight. The apocalypse gang grew increasingly frustrated at who they saw as a mooch and were in the middle of negotiating his handover to the Forsaken Loyalists. After a month in their care, Winslow attempted to leave Gorka, enraging Dark as Midnight who dragged him to Green Mountain, where they expected the Carnival to “prove themselves” and execute the man for going into hiding and betraying the West.

Members of the Vigil were present and berated Winslow for dragging them into numerous conflicts and betraying what the Vigil stood for, including leaving them behind to pick up the pieces. Winslow was eventually killed by his long-time friend and co-leader, Shifty. His final words of “I’m sorry” went unheard to all present but Zirka, who later consumed his corpse in its entirety.

Relationships

Kate - Someone else he tried to help that ended up being the catalyst to his death and the thing that started it all

Shifty - Winslow's closest friend and co-leader of the Vigil. The two were central figures in South Western politics and were virtually inseparable. After learning the extent of Winslow's deeds, Shifty executed Winslow for dragging Vigil into so much trauma.

Ted - Another of Winslow's closest friends

Zirka - war child that started it all

Jean - Vigil member he sought advice from (moral compass)

"Blind" Blake Tirty - someone he helped that later came into conflict with

Ekho - Tried to help with his psychosis and ultimately failed