List of characters in Better Days

The following is a list of characters in the series Better Days and its successor Original Life.

Fisk family

 * Elizabeth - Daughter of Jerry and Kelly. Openly admits to loving Fisk, but will not go against her mother for a long time.  Marries Fisk and has three children.
 * Fisk - Son of Sheila, twin brother of Lucy, step-brother of Ryan. Rambunctious and sneaky, will play pranks on anyone he can.  Accidentally gave blood pressure medicine to Lucy, causing her to go into a "coma".  Honestly admitted that he loved his sister and did not want her to die.  Is used by Nikki because of her abuse.  Forced to date Elizabeth by blackmail by Lucy and falls in love.  Breaks up with Elizabeth, but still harbors feelings for her.  Protected Sheila from Mr. Longfellow when he raped her.  Incest with Lucy (unsure if intentional).  Joins military, then becomes assassin for US, same job as Jim.  Reconciles past issues with Nikki at medical tent in the army.  Rescues Persia from forced prostitution by LA mob.  Dates Beth during military term.  Marries Elizabeth and has three children.
 * Lucy - Daughter of Sheila, twin sister of Fisk, step-sister of Ryan. Shrewd but caring, is manipulated by several boys in her life.  Is put into a "coma" by her brother by mistake.  Forces Fisk to date Elizabeth.  Is used by Ted to get to Sheila.  Is tricked by Randy, possibility of kittens or STD.  Evens score by cutting off his hair.  Incest with Fisk (unsure if intentional).  Goes to UGA, meets Tommy.  Becomes reporter for CNN.  Reunites Fisk and Elizabeth.  Marries Tommy and has one child.
 * Tommy - Son of Mr. and Mrs. Peterson. Once in unstable relationship with Rachel, breaks up with Rachel and dates Lucy.  Marries Lucy and has one child.
 * Sheila- Widowed, remarried to Mr. Tobs. Mother of twins Fisk and Lucy.  Was dating during the twins' younger years.  After incident with Mr. Longfellow, quit dating for 5 years.  Resumed dating with her neighbor, Mr. Tobs, who was teaching her how to use firearms and defend herself.  Causes divorce of Mr. and Mrs. Tobs, causing Fisk to lose his best friend, Ryan.  Sheila was broken over how Fisk felt.  Later married Mr. Tobs.  Worries for Fisk, who is in the army.  Grandmother of four.

Minor characters

 * Persia-daughter of bobbie, father unknown. used by mother to win pageants and competitions. not allowed any freedoms of a normal child. runs to LA, becomes a porn star. during carrer, is taken by mob, forced into prostitution and becomes addicted to heroin. rescued by fisk and begins to date fisk's neighbor. marries him and has one child.
 * Bethany (beth)-heritage unknown- considered a goth, is actually quite cheerful, if secluded. prefers not to mingle with boys because of the death of her first love, jason. befriends lucy and learns the secret about lucy and fisk's love for each other. when rachel tries to slander lucy, beth protects lucy's name because lucy is a "good person" and "doesn't want to see her get pushed around by someone like rachel". warns fisk of rachel's plan. begins dating fisk. begins polyamory (multi-person dating). loses fisk and marries aron.
 * Jessica-heritage unknown- loving, if dull-witted at times. friends with lucy and fisk from high school. dating robert. goes to UGA with lucy. marries robert and is currently pregnant.
 * Rachel-heritage unknown- first girlfriend of tommy. cheating on tommy with several other boys and one of her professors. is left by tommy, but does not believe he will stay away from her. confronts tommy in his home to try to take him back. loses tommy for good. nothing known about her future.
 * Carlos-military transmission engineer for 1st batallion, 75th rangers. friend of fisk. injured in combat. shot in spine, paralyzed from waist down and other problems. asks fisk to get his gun so he can kill himself. told by fisk to drag himself upstairs and get it himself. last known contact with carlos.
 * Cindy-first crush of fisk, is ditzy and arrogant. prefers to date jocks who do not do anything she has to repay. only mention of cindy is in chapter one.
 * Randy-currently dating andrea, cheating on her with any girl he can. lies to andrea about the dance and takes lucy. lies to lucy, who thinks she is his only girlfriend. busted when lucy finds randy and andrea arguing in the parking lot of the school. tries to impregnate lucy. hair is cut off by lucy. at last mention, still dating andrea.
 * Mrs. Bedbutter-fisk's elementary school teacher. did not agree with fisk's philosophies and speaks to sheila. insults the way that sheila raises her children and is yelled at by sheila. no further mention of mrs. bedbutter is made.
 * Mr. Longfellow (assassinated)-principle of the elementary school. divorced. dates sheila and lies to her about jim's faithfulness. is exposed by mr. kelso as a liar and rapes sheila. is knocked unconscious by fisk. assassinated by military personel.
 * Mr. Kelso-dear friend to sheila. helped to keep sheila going when jim died. revealed mr. longfellow. was a major over jim's unit. appears to fisk to offer him his father's job. last known mention of mr. kelso is retirement.
 * Shanikwa (Nikki)-abused child. uses fisk to keep herself content. is put in foster care and therapy to help repair damage of abuse. meets fisk in the military and tells him of how she went through so much change. apologizes for her actions and wants to be an actual friend to fisk.
 * Dr. Hollings-fisk's therapist. was first assigned to fisk after sheila was raped and continues therapy after incident with nikki. no other mention of dr. hollings is made.
 * Jerry-father of elizabeth and larry. analytical and resonable. gives fisk advice whenever it is needed. no further mention is made.
 * Kelly-mother of larry and elizabeth. controlling and demanding. wants elizabeth to date and marry a boy of jewish heritage. disagrees with her daughter's feelings for fisk. no further mention is made.
 * Mrs. Kelso-wife of mr. kelso. kind and sincere, surprised by how much fisk looks like jim, his father. no other mention is made.
 * Ted-high school student. dates lucy to get to sheila. when confronted, disrespects lucy and all freshman women. no other mention is made.
 * Fang-ted's roommate. is more level-headed than ted. when ted crushed lucy, he stayed to comfort her. no other mention is made.
 * Sam tobs-husband of mrs. tobs, father of ryan, step-father of fisk and lucy. unhappy with current marriage. teaches firearms and self-defense as well as train the cobb county police department. had an affair with sheila. divorced by mrs. tobs. goes on to date sheila and later marry her.
 * Ryan-son of mr. and mrs. tobs, step-brother of lucy and fisk. little is known about ryan, except that his parents always fought on how to raise him. moved to boston when his parents divorced. joined FBI, thaen moved to investment company/intelligience operations. works with fisk.
 * Marissa- sister of elise. dated randy. became a lesbian because of how he treated her. took fisk to halloween dance to get to lucy. no further mention is made.
 * Marvin-chosen suitor for elizabeth. dumped after dance and later went to pay for college as a male stripper. saved the relationships of jessica/robert and lucy/tommy.
 * Dr. Valisk-clinical physician. helps lucy when randy tries to impregnate her. no other mention is made.
 * James (Jim) (deceased)-late husband of sheila, father of lucy and fisk. central intelligence officer that fought in many places. was thought to have died in vietnam, but had died because of soviets compromising the CIA.
 * Amy-one of lucy's roommates. gives off appearance of being a virgin, but has secretly told lucy about her experience as a volunteer at a camp. almost busted when lucy becomes drunk from gin, and quickly quiets her. easily embarrased and shy, but very truthful and loyal as a friend.
 * Aron-tommy's roommate. one of beth's boyfriends, helps to plan robert's bachelor party. marries beth.
 * Desdemona (des)-older sister of beth. tells her sister that she will soon realize that she needs to find the one, because life only lasts so long. no other mention made.
 * Sparky-porn star audition manager in LA. controlled by LA mob. hired persia and was forced to release her to LA mob. when fisk comes looking for persia, sparky tries to get out of the mob. later, she tries to commit suicide for what she did to persia. fisk stops her and asks her to help him find his cousin. later deposits a large sum of money into persia's account and calls fisk to make sure persia is ok.
 * Elise-sister of marissa. cheerleader. was the one who asked fisk to take her sister to the halloween dance. no other mention is made.
 * Mavis-high school friend of lucy. tries to get lucy to go to the ball with someone, and eventually does. no other mention is made.
 * Andrea-randy's girlfriend. lied to by randy so he could go to the ball with lucy. worked things out with randy and was last noted to be with him.
 * Jenny-briefly mentioned, second girl fisk had a crush on. fisk later tried to impress her parents with foreskins made from pork, and was attacked by dogs. no further mention is made.
 * Mr. Baumgardner-sheila's lawyer. positive no testament be needed, then found out that mr. longfellow had died (assassinated).
 * Lydia-one of lucy's childhood friends. they always stuck together with elizabeth, as if sisters. no other mention made.
 * Larry-son of jerry and kelly, brother of elizabeth. one of fisk's best friends. planned to ask elise to the halloween dance, but locked up at the last moment and didn't go at all. no other mention made.
 * Mrs. Tobs-ex-wife of mr. tobs, mother of ryan. divorced mr. tobs because of an affair he was having with sheila. no other mention made.
 * Bobbie-sheila's older sister. slept with twin brothers while her first husband was at work. names of the twins unknown. one of the twins is recorded as the father. bobbie is controlling, possessive, and has low moral values. she had three marriages and has had numerous boyfriends. she controls her daughter to the point that persia cannot be herself without her mother yelling at her.
 * Grandma Black-sheila and bobbie's mother, widowed, wife of late grandpa black. has noticed the difference in the morals and values of how her daughters have raised their children and prefers how sheila has raised her twins. is upset with bobbie for bringing her boyfriend, a hyeena, when asked not to. grandma black worries about the mental health of persia, boobie's daughter, as all of the different male figures could break her and leave her a nervous wreck.
 * Grandpa Black (deceased)-late husband of grandma black, father of sheila and bobbie. while on his deathbed, he made a remark that stirred something in fisk. his final words were meant to let them know he had lived a full life, and fisk had found another meaning in it-"what have i done that is worth it?"
 * Captain White-captain of 1st batallion, 75th rangers. orders his team to protect a medivac and it's crew from iraqi troops. always made sure noone was left behind on his team.
 * Ms. Southside-on of lucy's competition at CNN. always upbeat, she can find a joke in anything and everything.
 * Ms. Dirkland-one of lucy's competition at CNN. she is underhanded and uses whatever means she can to get her way. when lucy talks to tommy about the situation, he suggested that she use ms. dirkland as "practice" for reporting. ms. dirkland is the broadcaster, while the program director is the editor.
 * Jason (deceased)-not much is known about jason. in beth's junior year, they dated and went very well together. he had a very severe case of lymphoma, a type of cancer, which took his life three months into their relationship. this led to beth's isolationism, because she did not want to feel that pain of loss again.