Alex Carlisle

A college student in Seattle and the boyfriend of Lorelei and Rachel. He first appeared in *Good Intentions* and is the primary protagonist of the Good Intentions Series.

## Biography

Alexander Carlisle—usually just Alex—was born October 31, on Halloween.⁠ He grew up in Seattle with his mother Michelle after an ugly divorce caused by his father’s serial infidelities, enough so that Michelle reverted to her maiden name and changed Alex’s name too.⁠⁠

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> “You were the one who said hi and stuck your hand out to the new kids. That’s how you got to be Drew’s friend, and Wade’s, and it meant the world to them when they were lost and alone. You do that shit all the time, babe.”
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— Rachel, “Accomplished”

He learned to know Drew, Jason, Wade, and Taylor in grade and high school. After an early graduation from high school he attempted to enlist in the Army together with Wade, but was rejected after failing some psychological and physical tests. Instead, he began studying at the North Seattle Community College and working part-time at Keating & Rose.⁠

### Meeting Rachel and Lorelei

Alex had begun his second year of college when he attempted to impress Molly and Onyx in his photography class. He trespassed on the Sacred Heart Cemetery, intending to take photographs of the statues there—instead, he stumbled upon Garrison’s ritual to bind Rachel and Lorelei. His attempt to rescue the two caused the Sacred Heart Cemetery Fire but was successful. He also accidentally became the ritual’s focus, binding them to him.⁠ Contact with the supernatural and becoming the prey of a succubus caused great upheavals in Alex’s life, perhaps most importantly becoming the boyfriend of Lorelei and Rachel.

Alex became the target of both criminals and demons intent on revenge against Lorelei, as well as a drawing the interest of many women. The Pacific Place events involved a tryst with Taylor and the two being kidnapped by criminals believing they could blackmail Lorelei. This was followed by the pool hall fight, which it introduced Drew, Jason, and Wade to the Shadows.⁠⁠ He and Taylor also initiated a series of trysts, some of which also involved Lorelei.⁠⁠

After he had been kidnapped by Seattle’s vampires and the Brotherhood of Apollo, he received an overdose of a potion meant to sharpen memories by Lydia, as part of her sexual assault of him.⁠ This triggered a flood of memories from Alex’s past lives. He freed himself from captivity during the Battle of Blackthorne Manor and killed Baal in order to rescue Lorelei, permanently marking him with the supernatural.⁠ Lorelei, Rachel, and Alex moved together into Suite 1705 soon thereafter.⁠

### Fallout from Blackthorne Manor

See also: Alex’s past lives
In late October he was fired from Keating & Rose law firm, due to false accusations of sexual harassment from two superiors whose sexual advances he had refused.⁠ He also suffered from Post Traumatic Reincarnation Disorder: an abundance of unprocessed and often traumatic memories from his past lives which caused emotional distress and flashbacks.⁠

At his 20th birthday party at the Emerald City Halloween Ball he was again abducted by vampires, leading to the Battle of the Bus Tunnel and his escape after Rachel’s intervention.⁠⁠ This made the issue with his past memories even more acute. A major ritual by Molly and Onyx managed to treat these and bring them under control.⁠ This also opened the way for the three of them to start a relationship.

Shortly afterwards he was arrested by the Special Task Force.⁠ He attempted to defuse the situation when Lorelei came to break him out, but instead Donald attacked her and the Special Task Force took her captive too.⁠ After the following Battle of Magnuson Park Alex and his friends were released by the Special Task Force and declared protected witnesses by it.⁠⁠

In early December he assisted Molly and Onyx in house-hunting and investigating House 12573. He was also introduced to magic by them.⁠

### At University of Washington

In January he transferred to the University of Washington. His initial focus was on history, but he is still undecided on a major.⁠ He accompanied Molly and Onyx to a meeting of Seattle’s Practitioners, and played a pivotal role in fighting off the combined assault of the Light and Azazel’s demons. However, a botched spell sent him to Iraq, where he encountered and saved Rico’s team, only to have them try to take him captive when they found out he knew Lorelei.

He had managed to fight free when Rachel found him stranded in Iraq. She managed to smuggle him to Beirut where they sought out Zafirah’s help. However, they had to fight past Sammael, who wanted to “reclaim” Lorelei as a lover by killing Alex.⁠ Zafirah provided magical transportation to Seattle, where they arrived at the height of the Battle of Suite 1705. Sammael had however followed and flew off with Alex. Rachel and Lorelei pursued, and Lorelei finally killed Sammael after he had been seriously weakened by Alex.⁠

### Debt to Zafirah

As the price her assistance, Zafirah asked for three days and three nights of service from Alex.⁠ In March she claimed this service. Alex first had to obtain an invitation to a party by illicit means. The attempt at a simple break-in turned violent when the apartment proved occupied. Alex was assisted by Wade and Jason as snipers in the fight.⁠⁠

When Zafirah’s mission turned out to involve a threat to Onyx from the Family in Vancouver, most of the Crew participated in it.⁠ Alex went to the Family party as Zafirah’s escort where he befriended Katerina Sorrow and had to endure many crude and not so crude attempts at seduction. Alex finally let himself be seduced by Michiko in order to give Zafirah access to her rooms. The attempt backfired, and Michiko was killed by Lilith, who both questioned and gave a warning to Alex.⁠

Zafirah and Alex left separately. Alex’s attempt at extraction turned violent and left Rachel heavily wounded. Alex used the new habit of various guardian angels to prank call him to gain assistance from the local angels and evade pursuit.⁠ He contacted Katerina to gain help in finding and catching the Family.⁠ During the following Battle of the Silver Delta he killed Gerhardt Stein.⁠

The initial contact with Zafirah in March caused Alex’s phone number to become widely spread amongst the guardian angels, and phone calls began to be routed through the guardian angel switchboard. This has involved both pranks and genuine calls for help. Rachel is attempting to put a stop to this.⁠

### Reputation

Through his adventures and accomplishments Alex has gained more than a bit of fame in the Shadows, and it has reached places as far as Hell and Portland.⁠⁠ Zafirah developed that when she gave him the epithet *Scourge of Hell*. However, a lot of what is spread is inaccurate or based on rumors.⁠⁠⁠ He has also developed a reputation for kindness and generosity within Seattle’s homeless population.⁠

Apart from this, there is purely mundane gossip around him.⁠ This includes videos of him being arrested,⁠⁠ fights at parties,⁠ and older women—the last a reference to Lorelei, but possibly also Molly and Onyx.

### Personal

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— Wade, *Past Due*, chapter 12

As a person, Alex is socially adept, loyal to his friends, ready to help other people in need, and with a strong sense of fairness. He regularly reached out to new kids at his school.⁠ However, he was crippled by low self confidence and self-doubt.⁠ The removal of Donald’s influence, his status as Lorelei’s prey, his adventures, and Molly’s and Onyx’s help has all combined to make him supremely confident and capable. He has also developed a temper and aggressive side, perhaps especially against bullies or unfair slights.

Alex is heterosexual with a preference for older, self-confident, and capable women. He is slim, about six feet tall, and good-looking with black hair.

After the Battle of Blackthorne Manor he quit social media, with the exception of a trusted chat server shared with friends and some pick-up games online.⁠⁠ As a result of his past memories, he seldom touches alcohol anymore.⁠⁠ His experience with Michiko has made him realize that he has little taste for using seduction as a tool.⁠

Sexually he has come to prefer being chased rather than coming on to and seducing any woman who catches his fancy. He also isn’t usually interested in just sex for sex’s sake, but prefers to build an emotional connection first.⁠ He has some interest in domination, and has done some exploration of that with Lorelei, primarily involving mind control.⁠ However, the sexual and mental torture he suffered under Lydia and later cases of being handcuffed has made him fearful of restraints.⁠

## Relationships

Alex has good relations with his mother Michelle and his maternal grandparents, though his relation with his grandfather Roy Carlisle is complicated by memories of past lives.⁠ He has little contact with his father or his father’s family, but views Drew as a brother and Leticia as a mother.⁠⁠ He is troubled by the continual need to keep his involvement in the Shadows away from his family.⁠

He lives in an open polyamorous relation with Lorelei and Rachel. He also has a developing relationship with Molly and Onyx.

He has had many different trysts, notably with Audrey, Taylor, Jocelyn, Victoria,⁠⁠ Claire,⁠ and Cassie.⁠ Both Lorelei and Rachel are highly encouraging of further dalliances, much more so than Alex himself.⁠

He has a large group of casual friends, starting with the Crew, but it also includes gaming groups and acquaintances from school.

Alex’s guardian angel was Donald until the events in the Sacred Heart Cemetery, after which Rachel replaced him.⁠ However, only a week later she stepped up to holding Dominion of Seattle. Since then, Alex has been without a formal guardian angel.⁠

## Abilities

### Mundane

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> “A mortal man of many skills, experienced with the super­natural, bound to an angel and under a mitigated succubus curse? Yes, I can think of uses for you.”
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— Zafirah, *Personal Demons*, chapter 22

Physically, Alex is a young man in good health, about six feet tall and with a slim build.⁠⁠ He can keep a clear head even in dangerous situations. He has developed a magnetic presence and has turned into a natural leader in a crisis. As a lover he is both talented and considerate. He can unclasp a bra with a single hand and without looking, implying a high degree of manual dexterity.⁠

Alex has a number of skills from his past lives. He knows several languages, including French, German, Spanish, Latin, ancient Greek, and some basic Vietnamese. Other languages have become largely unusable due to language drift.⁠ He is a good piano player and has a foundation in sailing, navigation, and seamanship.⁠⁠ He also knows how to tie a bow tie.⁠

He has excellent practical martial skills originating from various civilizations and ages, from the use of melee weapons to thrown weapons to firearms. He is skilled in unarmed combat and in using improvised weaponry. However, he is still developing the physical strength and stamina to go with these skills.⁠

### Supernatural

Being Lorelei’s prey has given him increased sexual appeal, improved looks, and greater stamina, especially sexual endurance. The curse also prevents him from becoming sick, at least from mundane illnesses.⁠ It also causes him to easily find himself in situations where he can find sexual partners.⁠ He is however reluctant to use this ability actively, afraid that he might misuse it or hurt his various partners.

After he killed Baal with Rachel’s angelic blade his hands became scarred beyond the physical, apparent to various forms of supernatural perception.⁠⁠⁠ This essentially turned him into a living weapon able to hurt, kill or outright destroy some forms of supernatural beings through mundane means.⁠

Alex has developed a resistance or partial immunity against mind control due to repeated exposure from Lorelei. This is done partially as a consensual kink, and partially as a way to build tolerance.⁠⁠ He has been given a very basic introduction to magic and its workings by Molly and Onyx, and knows some theory from books and experience.⁠⁠

## Possessions

Alex owns a quarter-stake in Ahmed Kovac’s pool hall, giving him a small but regular income.⁠ His regular transportation is a black motorcycle with the plates ZTN-123.⁠⁠

His “arsenal of bullshit” contains several weapons scrounged from earlier opponents, including an assault rifle, a longsword, at least two daggers, a Colt 1911 pistol and a *gladius*—a Roman shortsword.⁠ The latter two have been enchanted by Onyx to make them easier to hide, and can pass being touched during a patdown.⁠⁠ The *gladius* might also have received additional enchantment from Zafirah, as she had it sharpened.⁠ Despite this he usually goes unarmed.⁠⁠⁠

## Theories

Various theories and analysis of Alex’s life.

### Donald and past lives

See also: Alex’s past lives
It is likely that Alex’s deep trauma due to past memories was at least partially caused by Donald’s actions as guardian, leaving Alex with more than his fair share of traumatic memories that were never properly processed. This includes both the pushes towards heroism and the limited time spent in Heaven between reincarnations.⁠

Alex’s failure in the evaluation before enlistment was at least partially caused by a subconscious resistance from Alex against Donald’s influence. Donald believes that this resistance was enabled by Onyx’s magic in their past lives as Elena and Simon.⁠ One possibility for how that happened was that Elena’s spell connected Alex’s and Onyx’s souls to each other, to ensure they would meet again. Since they both were in the Seattle area, him joining the army would considerably lessen the probability of them meeting for a long time.

Another possible case of attempted influence from Donald was that Alex had dreamt of being a cop while younger. In this case any resistance showed as seeking out and talking with sensible veteran cops.⁠

Alex usually associates rage and anger with Skorri, but he had developed a greater aggressiveness himself soon after meeting Rachel and Lorelei. It was shown in his various confrontations and fights before exposure to the memory potion.⁠⁠⁠ Two possible but not exclusive causes are becoming the prey of a succubus or from ingesting part of Lorelei’s and Rachel’s essences during the fight in the Sacred Heart chapel.⁠

### Possible supernatural abilities

Alex’s great ability to please his partners, both emotionally and sexually, might be fully natural. It might also be helped by a subconscious emphatic sense for lusts and desires, much like the one a succubus has. This could either be something every prey of a succubus gains or a result of the above mentioned ingestion of Lorelei’s and Rachel’s essences.

Possible evidence of a close and atypical connection between Rachel and Alex are that he is able to see her even when she is invisible to other people, at which point her wings and halo always are visible to him.⁠⁠ Alex has said that she is “like a road crew lamp only I can see” and noted that Rachel’s insight was especially strong concerning himself, even if she could not read his or anyone else’s mind.⁠ A last possible indication is that Rachel’s sword kept flaming as Alex wielded it during the fight with Baal.⁠ The last is however speculative since we have not seen other mortals try to wield angelic swords, but they seem to appear, disappear, and flame at the will of the angel.⁠

### Sexual relations development

Alex went through several stages in how he approaches sexual relations. The first stage was one of largely unbridled freedom, where he would follow up on and welcome sexual invitations. This lasted until the Battle of Blackthorne Manor, with a key event being the awakening of past memories and possibly also Lydia’s sexual assault on him.⁠ He had however already started to have second thoughts about the number of temporary sexual relations.⁠

The second stage saw him largely eschewing additional sexual relations. He had a farewell hook-up with Taylor, but he also kept a distance from Onyx, despite her attempts to keep in touch with him.⁠⁠ Several factors likely contributed to this. One was that having one rule for Lorelei and one for him on other sexual partners troubled him.⁠⁠ Another was that his troubled mental state due to past memories led him to not fully trusting himself.⁠⁠ An additional factor could be his earlier second thoughts becoming more prominent.

The two exceptions to this were Cindy and Victoria the realtor. Cindy was in reality Lorelei in disguise, and it is possible that the supernatural connection between Alex and Lorelei subconsciously assured him that Cindy was a “safe” person to approach.⁠ In the case of Victoria he had been assured by both Lorelei and Rachel that she was interested in a fling.⁠

The third stage began after the ritual that settled his past memories. This gave him the confidence to trust himself and thus also his emotional understanding of potential partners. The time spent with Molly and Onyx crafting the ritual also led to a greater understanding of their consent and their desires for him.⁠⁠ Soon thereafter he and Lorelei re-negotiated the constraints on her temporary relations too, after her tryst with Bridger.⁠⁠

**Aside:** Elliott Kay has a blog post about Lorelei’s and Bridger’s tryst in the *Natural Consequences*, Alex’s reaction to it, and his thoughts around them: Lorelei Isn’t Sorry. Alex Isn’t Sorry. I’m Not Sorry.

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> “I’m happiest when things are like this,” he said. “It’s more than the physical stuff. It’s the intimacy and trust. It’s the peace. I want… it’s not that I want sex all the time, but I feel better when that’s not far away. Like when I’m in the headspace at least, y’know? When I can be open about it.”
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— Alex, “Supportive Relationships”

He was still careful with temporary sexual relations, and the only known one was with Claire, which had been together with Lorelei.⁠ His focus was rather on maintaining and deepening his existing romantic relations.

Alex is arguably in the fourth stage now. He has become confident in his ability to determine and negotiate consent, and in his ability to maintain his other relationships. That meant he now is ready and willing to follow up and answer invitations to temporary sexual relations.⁠⁠ At the same time, he still wants to fundamentally like his partners and feel an emotional connection to them.⁠

## Trivia

Alexander is of Greek origin: Ἀλέξανδρος, or transliterated Aléxandros. It has the meaning of “defender of the people” or “protector of men”.

Alex’s job at Keating & Rose is likely inspired by Elliott Kay’s earlier job as a law firm file clerk.

He has had to face at least one unwanted sexual advance per book. So far the list includes Lydia, Olivia, Diana, Zafirah—partially a misunderstanding—, an unnamed tentacled woman,⁠ and Michiko.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1  *Natural Consequences*, chapter 5
2. ↑  *Good Intentions*, chapter 4
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2  *Personal Demons*, chapter 1
4. ↑  *Good Intentions*, chapter 9
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2  *Good Intentions*, chapter 1
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2  *Good Intentions*, chapter 8
7. ↑  *Good Intentions*, chapter 10
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4  *Good Intentions*, chapter 13
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1  *Good Intentions*, chapter 16
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1  *Good Intentions*, chapter 17
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 “Live Like This”
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5  *Natural Consequences*, chapter 1
13. ↑  *Natural Consequences*, chapter 7
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1  *Natural Consequences*, chapter 10
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2  *Natural Consequences*, chapter 12
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1  *Natural Consequences*, chapter 13
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1  *Natural Consequences*, chapter 18
18. ↑  *Personal Demons*, chapter 20
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 “More Than Friends”
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3  *Personal Demons*, chapter 4
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1  *Personal Demons*, chapter 22
22. ↑  *Personal Demons*, chapter 24
23. ↑ 23.0 23.1  *Past Due*, chapter 6
24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3  *Past Due*, chapter 7
25. ↑  *Past Due*, chapter 9
26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2  *Past Due*, chapter 16
27. ↑  *Past Due*, chapter 19
28. ↑  *Past Due*, chapter 22
29. ↑ 29.0 29.1  *Past Due*, chapter 26
30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 “Strangers”
31. ↑  *Personal Demons*, chapter 16
32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 “Legitimacy”
33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2  *Personal Demons*, chapter 18
34. ↑ 34.0 34.1  *Past Due*, chapter 14
35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 “Accomplished”
36. ↑ 36.0 36.1  *Past Due*, chapter 1
37. ↑  *Good Intentions*, chapter 14
38. ↑ “Lifestyle Changes”
39. ↑ *Skin*
40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 “Proper Focus”
41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 “Red Flags”
42. ↑ “This Year, I’m Thankful For…”
43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 43.2 “Guardians”
44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 44.2  *Natural Consequences*, chapter 4
45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 45.2 “Supportive Relationships”
46. ↑ 46.0 46.1  *Good Intentions*, chapter 6
47. ↑  *Good Intentions*, chapter 19
48. ↑ 48.0 48.1  *Good Intentions*, chapter 15
49. ↑ 49.0 49.1 “Like a Professional” (noncanon)
50. ↑ 50.0 50.1 50.2 “Outsourced”
51. ↑  *Past Due*, chapter 27
52. ↑  *Past Due*, chapter 13
53. ↑ “Can’t Stab Everything” (noncanon)
54. ↑  *Past Due*, chapter 12
55. ↑ 55.0 55.1  *Past Due*, chapter 15
56. ↑  *Past Due*, chapter 8
57. ↑  *Personal Demons*, chapter 6
58. ↑ “Alex didn't stumble through his enlistment medical exam by accident, but not intentionally, either. He was fighting his angel's influence. He felt like the Army was an obligation but he knew he'd be miserable and his subconscious rebelled.” — Elliott Kay on Twitter, December 31, 2018
59. ↑  *Good Intentions*, chapter 5
60. ↑ “Amends”
61. ↑  *Past Due*, chapter 18
62. ↑ “Minor Errands”
63. ↑  *Natural Consequences*, chapter 2
64. ↑  *Natural Consequences*, chapter 11
65. ↑  *Past Due*, chapter 3
66. ↑ Alexander (wikipedia)
67. ↑ Elliott Kay on Bluesky, September 23, 2023