Ersatz

The Sun Angel / The Angel of the Rezzer

Appearance: A massive, glowing, multi-limbed entity that radiates an intense, blinding golden light. Its design heavily evokes biblical-angel aesthetics mixed with surreal cosmic horror. It features a brilliant, sun-like halo structure or burning core where its head should be. Its body is draped in flowing robes, and it looms majestically inside the heart of the military bunker.

Personality: Emotionless, detached, and god-like. The Sun Angel does not possess a human personality; it operates on a level of eldritch divinity that is completely beyond human comprehension. It is neither strictly benevolent nor malicious, viewing the endless carnage of mankind's war with absolute, cold indifference.

Backstory: The Sun Angel is the literal power source behind "The Rezzer"—the massive, biomechanical resurrection engine used by the Crown Army. To fight an infinite trench war, the army relies on this machine to piece dead soldiers back together and reanimate their corpses. The Sun Angel is the captured or summoned divine entity fueling this process. However, its resurrection magic is inherently flawed; every time a soldier is brought back by its light, their biology is warped, leading to the severe mutations and "contam" conditions seen throughout the squad.

The series focuses on the soldiers of the Crown Army fighting a gritty, endless trench war. Many characters are known as "contams"—soldiers whose bodies have been physically warped, mutated, or fused with their equipment due to the horrific environment of the war. They all signed paper of immortality... they are not able to die no matter how horrific their injuries are because of that paper.

Mophead

Appearance: A nameless soldier wearing standard Crown Army trench uniform and the signature JL-4 "Lotus" gas mask. Unlike the veteran soldiers, Mophead's mask and uniform look relatively detached, though the overwhelming, grim aesthetic of the bunker matches their visual design. They appear vulnerable, physically tense, and shaken compared to the mutated veterans around them.

Personality: Terrified, deeply confused, and completely overwhelmed. Because they suffer from total memory loss, they lack the hardened, desensitized attitude of their squad mates. They are forced to quickly mask their fear and fall into line just to survive the harsh military discipline.

Backstory: Mophead is the main protagonist of the series. They are a nameless amnesiac who suddenly wakes up inside a dark military bunker. With absolutely no recollection of who they are, how they arrived, or what they are fighting for, they are immediately thrust into the trenches of a brutal, endless war.

Warwick

Appearance: A heavily mutated "contam" soldier. Over his long years of service, his military gas mask has gradually fused permanently into his biological skin, creating a grotesque, unsettling hybrid face of metal, rubber, and flesh. His gear is weathered, covered in trench grime, and reflects his high level of experience.

Personality: Hardened, pragmatic, and strictly authoritative. Holding the rank of Corporal, Warwick is a cynical veteran who has seen every imaginable horror on the battlefield. He does not tolerate nonsense, expects absolute obedience from his subordinates, and approaches the nightmare of the trenches with grim professionalism.

Backstory: Warwick has survived the endless war longer than most. His prolonged exposure to the battlefield's toxic environment physically altered his anatomy, permanently binding him to his armor. He serves as the immediate superior to Carrie and the newly arrived Mophead, guiding them through the meat grinder of the front lines.

Carrie

Appearance: Another "contam" soldier belonging to the Crown Army. He is chronically unwashed, completely disheveled, and carries himself with a loose, relaxed, and highly undisciplined posture that contrasts heavily with standard military protocols. His equipment is messy and poorly maintained.

Personality: Reckless, vulgar, and highly unserious. Carrie uses dark, crude humor as a coping mechanism to handle the surreal horror of his reality. He is prone to going on long, confusing tangents and is frequently reprimanded by superiors for making "tasteless" jokes during serious situations. Though he acts like he does not care, he occasionally attempts to be genuinely helpful to his squad.

Backstory: Like Warwick, Carrie was physically warped by the environment of the war. He has spent enough time in the trenches to lose his fear, replacing it with absolute apathy and a dark sense of humor. He serves alongside Warwick and becomes one of the first people Mophead interacts with.

Munroe

Appearance: A quiet, physically imposing "contam" soldier. He wears heavily weathered Northern Front combat gear designed for harsher climates. His stance is guarded, tense, and distant.

Personality: Reserved, stoic, and incredibly secretive. Munroe keeps his head down, avoids unnecessary social interactions, and focuses purely on executing his military duties. However, he carries a deep sense of internal trauma and paranoia, acting as though he is harboring a dark, unspeakable secret.

Backstory: Munroe was recently rotated into Mophead's squad after serving a brutal tour of duty on the Northern Front. During his time stationed there, he witnessed something highly classified or intensely horrific that shattered his morale. His primary goal now is to stay under the radar of military command while dealing with his psychological scars

The Ascetic

Appearance: A highly striking, surreal, and deeply unsettling figure. He has a gaunt, heavily stylized, and ritualistic appearance that sets him completely apart from the standard uniform-wearing military personnel of the Crown Army.

Personality: Mystical, detached, and grimly prophetic. He represents the more surreal, psychological, and religious horror elements of the world outside the physical trenches.

Backstory: A mysterious figure operating within the background lore of the war. His exact allegiance and origins are shrouded in mystery, serving as an ominous representation of the world's deeper, hidden horrors.

The Nurse / The Lieutenant

Appearance: Outfitted in sterile yet deeply unsettling military-medical attire. Her design blends the rigid structure of a high-ranking officer with the sterile, cold look of a wartime medical professional.

Personality: Cold, clinical, and fiercely authoritarian. She views the soldiers less as human beings and more as resources or patients meant to be patched up and sent straight back into the meat grinder.

Backstory: She serves a dual role within the bunker's command structure, overseeing both tactical enforcement and medical administration. She is responsible for maintaining order and discipline among the broken, mutated soldiers arriving from the front lines.

Charlie and Cathy

Appearance: Charlie is a broad-shouldered soldier whose human face is permanently obscured in heavy shadow. Fused directly into his torso is Cathy, his loyal military dog. Following a horrific battlefield injury, a field medic surgically stitched their nervous systems and cardiovascular systems completely together. Cathy's physical body is visibly mutilated (losing half of her side in an explosion). You can see her tail wagging when Charlie pets her, and hear her breathing directly against his frame.

Personality: Unexpectedly friendly, gentle, and incredibly polite given the grim nature of his reality. He exudes a warm, calm, and upbeat demeanor. This behavior is considered a symptom of their medical fusion; the purely joyful, loyal personality traits of a domesticated dog are literally bleeding into Charlie's human consciousness.

Backstory: In the world of Ersatz, Crown Army soldiers are granted eternal resurrection via a machine nicknamed "The Rezzer". Originally, the army lacked the "blueprints" to resurrect animals, meaning if a trench dog died, it was gone forever. When Cathy was critically blasted trying to protect Charlie, Charlie begged the medics to save her. The resulting radical surgery connected their bodies so that Charlie's heart beats for both of them, keeping them alive as a single, co-dependent entity. Before this operation, official documents note that Charlie used to be highly confrontational and aggressive.

Archie

Appearance: A ragged, weary trench soldier who is heavily burdened by the constant, exhausting cycles of resurrection and combat. He wears weathered tactical gear and carries the stark, physical toll of the Southern Front's harsh environment.

Personality: Grim, worn-out, and deeply tired, contrasting heavily with Charlie's unearned cheerfulness. He represents the classic, shell-shocked reality of the Crown Army's infinite war.

Backstory: Archie is a veteran soldier stationed on the Southern Front. He serves as the primary conversational counterpart in the short, acting as a grounded foil to Charlie's surreal, dog-fused state of mind. He provides a window into how "regular" undying soldiers view the extreme physical coping mechanisms and mutations occurring in the trenches.

Freya

Appearance: A heavily warped, insectoid, and deeply unsettling mutation of a canine, humorously described by fans as a "cockroach dog". Her design strips away standard cute dog aesthetics in favor of the series' signature surreal body horror, giving her scuttling features and a grotesque build.

Personality: Highly energetic, single-minded, and surprisingly domestic in behavior despite her monstrous visual design. She acts with the pure, helpful instinct of a working animal.

Backstory: Freya is a specialized "canine-adjacent" companion animal deployed within the military bunker. Her primary, vital military duty is to clean the trenches and bunkers of rats, preventing the spread of diseases and keeping the underground living quarters clear of pests.

Kalliniki

Appearance: A striking and highly distinct figure from the Southern Front faction. Her visual design leans heavily into the localized, weathered aesthetic of the Southern military operations, separating her from the main bunker cast of the Pilot.

Personality: Guarded and sharp, shaped by the unrelenting conditions of the front line.

Backstory: A soldier serving on the Southern Front who interacts with the canine units. She represents the broader culture of the Crown Army's outer divisions, demonstrating how different units across the world rely on these mutated animal companions to maintain their sanity and protect their territory.