[PLAYER INFO]
NAME: anna.
AGE: 19.
JOURNAL: aroused
AIM: annarcotic
E-MAIL: hehinition@gmail
RETURNING: yes; 1.

[CHARACTER INFO]
CHARACTER NAME: ellie roosevelt
SERIES: iZOMBIE
CHRONOLOGY: iZOMBIE #28, post-series
CLASS: hero

BACKGROUND:
Eleanor Roosevelt Stuart had a rather unremarkable life.

Born in Eugene, Oregon as an only child, Ellie was both spoiled and sheltered at the moment of her birth. Her father, a baby-boomer veteran struck with PTSD ever since returning from the war in the Pacific, was the one who was keeping her so close; her mother explained it to her that her father didn't live in the house, he haunted it. Normalcy and liveliness would only retreat back to him when Ellie was at close proximity (he'd "wilt without [her]"). She was given everything she wanted, but was never given any room for independence ― she "couldn't play sports, go horseback riding, even go trick-or-treating." Conflicts arose between her parents as she grew, and cascaded more when she had finally graduated high school. Her father insisted she wouldn't leave for college, that she'd have to take classes at home. In 1968, she decided to finally leave on her own accord.

As she crossed the street in front of the station, Ellie was hit by a bus and instantly perished.

Through a lucky roll of metaphysical die, her consciousness didn't end. A portion of her soul―her "oversoul", made of thought―parted ways with her "undersoul" and her body, bringing her to her current form: a ghost. Naturally, she wasn't alone in her predicament; there were plenty of bodiless oversouls to keep her company, especially in the Green Pastures Cemetery where she was buried. Floating around and communicating with fellow ghosts slowly ticked the years away, though she had to watch helplessly as her father died a few years after her death (without becoming a ghost) and her mother moved away. The circumstances made her feel anxious, restless; but, as she wasn't allowed to travel outside of her town in life, she couldn't travel outside of it in death. Boring years turned to decades of doing nothing and listening to the same old stories―forty years, from death. Until something exciting happens.

On what would otherwise be yet another boring night at the graveyard, she witnesses a hand forcing itself out of a freshly-dug grave, then a whole body. Ellie is shocked by the site of an actual zombie, but is quick to introduce herself to the girl (whose name is Gwendolyn, though Ellie hears it as "Gwen Dylan"), and help her find a bite of something mildly fresh to eat from the graves. It's a quick-budding friendship; they quickly become inseparable and very close. With a tangible best friend, her unlife becomes something worth unliving. They'd meet a socially awkward teenager at the diner they'd frequent: Scott, or Spot as they'd refer to him, who had suffered from the tragic curse of were-ism. That is, he was a Wereterrier, so he'd become quick friends with them as the only people he knew who could relate to him as fellow monstrous creatures.

Gwen's necessary consumption of brains would acquire her the clawing memories and final desires of those she had eaten from; those irritating fragments would only be dispelled with closure. The three of them would go on actual Scooby Doo-esque mysteries as a team, ranging from those about theft to murder to love. Compared to her in her former years, Ellie was having a complete blast. The three of them finally had a place in life and a purpose, even though Ellie was still grounded to the town, Gwen was still hungry and aimless and Scott was still lonely. Their friendship and adventures were paramount to them.

The actual comic kicks off when Gwen and Ellie hang around in the cemetary right before Gwen eats a brain with particularly strange memories: a murdered man, screaming for vengeance. To shut the dude up, they go on a mission to catch the mysterious killer. It's not difficult for Gwen to remember the house of the supposed killer (and they've passed by his house while trick-or-treating in the year before, where he gave Ellie breath mints and Gwen an umbrella), and Ellie's the one who takes initiative to scout into the house first. She's surprised when she meets up with the fellow, Amon, who is a jovial (and handsome!) guy with a pet snow leopard, who has no problem confessing to the both of them of his role in the man's murder. He's proud of it, reminding Gwen and causing her to resurface the memory that he was actually a murderer, and asks Ellie to leave when he tells Gwen that they're the same sort of being and the ultimate reality of the world. Ellie's friend isn't a zombie but a revenant, a dead being with a body and full soul intact.

With that mystery solved, the memories from Gwen abate and the three of them become acquaintances with the millenia-old Amon. Ellie, in particular, is the least bothered by him out of the three of them and comes to him for guidance about her problems, lamenting her static condition in the town. Amon would be the one to tell her and demonstrate her ability to possess living bodies, forging new memories of locations that would allow her to travel the world's length and would allow her to cast away her limitations. Overjoyed at the revelation, she practices her ability―then childishly uses it to prank Scott: nearly kissing him as a possessed male body. Scott is less panicked and more interested in her ability, taking her home to allow her to see his grandfather, whose soul is currently trapped inside a chimp's. Dilemma. She can't teach him to move his soul out of it, but she does find him awful cute.

Meanwhile, things happen within the small town. Monster hunters flood in due to hushed rumours, including one named Horatio who Gwen certainly likes. College roommate vampires are delving into the town, nearly preying on one of Scott's D&D friends. Soon after that, actual mindless zombies are swarming in the catacombs underneath Ellie's graveyard, and she panics as she watches Scott accidentally slip through a sinkhole into it. Thankfully, she's quick enough to inform Gwen and the very capable Horatio to rescue him, and stays around with Amon to inform him about the issue―naturally, he's displeased, informing her of the likelihood of the zombies crawling out and invading the town. Then there are the supernatural secret agents working under undead Lincoln referred to as the Dead Presidents investigating the town and Amon's ex-beau Galatea doing some weird Frankenstein shit and it's becoming increasingly clear that there's something big happening in Eugene, Oregon. Something bigger than Ellie, Gwen, Spot and everyone.

It's the end of the world, as Amon explains to Ellie. There's a convergence between universes, and Eugene is right smack-dab in the middle of it. The supernatural events only increase exponentially, and Ellie sits helpless as she watches everything go down. In her aimless wandering of the chaotic, now zombie-infested city, she stumbles upon a resurrected, Frankenstein's monster figure named Francisco, who is utterly confused and in need in help. Ellie is quick to offer it, finding him a place to stay and getting him supplies via possession of some witless bystanders. Then, with FEMA and soldiers flooding in to occupy the city, they wait; everyone does, with baited breath. She goes back and forth to check on Gwen and Francisco in this strange apprehensive time, though she watches as Francisco gets harassed by a (re-)reanimated vampire, the one who assisted in his recreation. At least Claire, the vampire in question, allows Ellie to possess her a few minutes to dance with Francisco, who Ellie is now quite fond of. She says they owe her now, though she doesn't allude to what.

A little bit more waiting on Ellie and Francisco's part, as Gwen attempts to recollect her memories and plan with Amon to save the world from the rapidly approaching apocalypse. Then―the sky tears, and a strange higher being peers out of a void and extends its tentacles downward. Stranger creatures pop up into the world to massacre and terrorize the town, and even the combination of national guard and monster hunters and hunters that are monsters can't handle the complete and utter mess this is; the creature, a Lovecraftian pastiche named Xitalu, cometh. As half the town is having their physical bodies eaten by the creatures and their souls being consumed by Xitalu's tentacles, Ellie and Francisco get ambushed by a bunch of vampires. He's kidnapped by them, and she naturally tags along, lamenting that she doesn't want to lose him. One of the vampires carrying him, Tricia, commiserates, saying she doesn't want to lose him again too―Ellie is surprised to hear that she was his girlfriend before both of their deaths, though she doesn't seem to mind her.

They march to the epicenter, where more and more souls are being consumed by Xitalu―Gwen has a dilemma, where she has to choose between letting pseudo-Cthulhu/Shub-Niggurath consume the world or eating the souls of her friends to attempt to vainly combat it. Galatea and the vampires attempt to suck Xitalu out of the sky with some unexplained gadget and stick it into Francisco's body, failing and hurting him as Ellie floats and protests; but, in a flash, Galatea is picked up along with Amon in Xitalu's grasp and their souls are consumed in an instant, leaving their husks in the ground. Which leaves Gwen, standing around and debating chewing up everyone's soul on her own. She picks the more direct option that somehow didn't occur to Amon, despite his telling her that the god is just a soul: she reaches up to consume the god, growing as she does; then pops out its little brain with a squelch of her hand and eats it.

And everyone is standing/floating, on Ellie's part, all like what the fuck just happened, Gwen waves down at the world and announces she has to depart, as she's a heavenly being now and has no place in this world. They watch as she exits through the tear in the sky, in the universe, and then she's gone. Everything would go back to normal, except the whole world now knowing about bizarre monsters of every color and multiple universes and everything. Yet, the world continues: Ellie, Francisco and Tricia become an item, and Gwen possesses Francisco for a period to transcribe her experience in this universe. Ellie is taken during this period of time, as one of her significant others is the source of a chronicle of a best friend turned elder god.

PERSONALITY:

Ellie could probably best described as "Nancy Drew goes totally Mod" ― Gwen refers her constantly as their fictional equivalent "Dixie Mason, Action Girl." Archetypically one part sweet and bubbly and the other part excitable and spunky, she's boundlessly enthusiastic. She's also Hanna-Barbera mix of being occasionally clever and insightful, qualities marred by her ditziness and her dull-witted moments. There's no point in subtlety in her deathly life, so she's not a person to limit either her better or worse qualities.

She's an extremely restless person, rather true to her being and the stereotypes that accompany those who are bodiless. She can't stand being static and calm when the opportunity exists to do otherwise, and gets a aggressive about it ― in a rather friendly way ― when people refuse to entertain her wishes. She's usually the one goading people into action, although she's not the one who suffers the consequences in those circumstances. She can get, craves the excitement from hijinks, but none of the harm.

It's not that Ellie means to be selfish (but she can't be really selfless, either), but she has plenty of oversight and occasional lack of real contemplation for her living contemporaries. She doesn't think or feel awfully guilty about seeing someone scream and panic after she departs their body or the process of taking it in the first place. She doesn't seem to dwell on the problems that might occur when she goads her friends into action until they're actually about to happen. Ellie doesn't view herself as a figure that can do any harm, and the thought never really crosses her mind. In her view, she's just trying to have fun and do the right thing; she wouldn't hurt or inconvenience anyone, even when she does. It's only the regret and pity that hits home afterwards.

But she's often gentle, always concerned when it occurs to her or when she does see someone she thinks is in need. And tries to do what she can to soothe them and help them, but she's easily discouraged when she's of no use. Kindness and fairness are very important qualities to her; when she sees someone being mistreated, she's quick to tell the other person off, and she can't bear to see someone as alone as her. She's a generally sweet being.

Despite her usual pep, for a being of all thought and no emotion she can get awfully moody, and can get awfully moody very often. At nearly any moment she really remembers or contemplates her existence as a spirit and her state when it comes to her activity and relationships, she falls into a deeply sad and lonely state ― but can recover in a very short period of time. Just as she's flighty in her usual cheerful self, she's flighty in the more regretful and solemn part, too.

She might be missing bodily emotions and desires, but Ellie yearns. Death might not bother her, but she yearns not to have made the mistake of ending her life ― as it ended her family. She yearns not to be lonely, and her envy of her friend gaining a significant other was enough to drive her to find one herself simply to satisfy her jealous insecurities. She yearns for things people have that she never did; yearning for lively excitement drives her adventurous nature. She wants a lot, but doesn't often think up of ways to gain any of it. As such, she frequently feels hopeless and helpless, especially when others are in trouble.

All that aside, Ellie is an empowered girly girl at heart: always wearing a dress, ideally with a hunk of a boy on her arm (if he could touch her arm, of course). She's a fan of comic books and old-school badassery, where girls are only tough enough to still be feminine and fashionable. She really does try her best to be flirty and charming, even if it doesn't work quite a bit of the time.

POWER:
  ⊱ spectrality

❝ A bodiless oversoul, consisting only of the memories and personality of the deceased, is commonly called a ghost--

--Much like your charming friend Ellie. ❞

As a ghost, Ellie is a being severed from mortal coil; she can exist independently from the physical world, can remain intangible and invisible to those who exist on the lively plane and those who do not. Yet she can let others see her selectively or as a whole whenever she so wishes (most of the time, really), not having much difficulty with passing off as if she were still alive.

Tangibility does not come as easy: she can only make contact with and hold light objects and nothing else, her hand passing through all other things, people. She can turn locks, carry a lightly-loaded picnic basket (and a communicator, of course), but anything that she would have to put any effort into carrying in life will remain apart from her. Curiously, she can look like she weighs ― can sit down and have a couch sink under her, can put strain on a swing. One of the oddities of being dead, really.

In-game, at least (thanks to limited canon), she won't appear on cameras or video as anything more than a smudge or a flicker and will sound nothing more than a whisper, reminiscent of paranormal pictures and films. She can’t choose her audience through a lens, after all.

She'll come into the game with her ghostliness triggered, but her powerless state (to fit game rules) ― which she'll discover later ― will be a living human being.

      ⟨ posession ⟩

As part of her condition, Ellie has the ability to force her soul into a living being's body and take possession of them, pushing their consciousness away. When she leaves their body ― after using it to whatever end ― they come to confused and terrified, without the memory of what had happened to them during the possession.

( In her universe, possession and gaining memory of locations is the only way she can travel past where she dwelled during her living years; naturally, as thanks to dimensional travel and Lachesis things, this will no longer be a limitation. )

[CHARACTER SAMPLES]
COMMUNITY POST (VOICE) SAMPLE:
[ The video opens up to a view of the middle of a sidewalk in Times Square. It holds, for a few minutes ― pedestrians mill around, nonplussed ― before it lowers and shuts off.

A few moments later: ]

ooooooohii dont know if you guys cAught what I just said
bUT I FINALLY LEARNED HOW TO USE A CELLERY HPONE THANKS TO THAT MRS ROBOT THAT GAVE IT TO ME

I’ve never been to New York (the City? I'm still figuring it out?) but this is so exciting and I don’t even care what’s happening right now because this is so wEIRD and kind of nEAT and I think this is mighty swell and all and I’m confused even after the pamphlet and asking around but that's okay.

I heard there are real live superheroes on this thing...

That means you guys are going to teach mE to be one??

[ The video turns back on ― same view, a little further down the sidewalk. The communicator pivots, then, in a circle; nothing of note appears except daylight and the crowd. ]

Does that mean I get a groovy costume like whatever ones you have?? as long as I don't have to wear pants I'd be righto with like three_fourths of anything?

LOGS POST (PROSE) SAMPLE:
"Oh, geez. Look at the time! I should―!"

Nope. Didn't work this time, nor did it work ten minutes ago or twenty minutes before that since it's like, pressing an interrupt button; Ellie is stuck here, legs swinging on top of someone's tombstone, being witness to the same kind of dead boring bickering she had to endure back home.

Homesick or not, trying to go to a graveyard to talk to some kindred spirits or whatchamacallits was a really bad idea.

"It was really nice meeting y―"

Gosh, but she really is homesick. It's only a few weeks after the whole Earth-switch coinkydink, but every time she hears anyone mention anything about their home she gets all gross and moody about hers. It's super dumb, too, since it's not like they're gone, just away.

"Um, that's not how I remember the fifties―"

It's not like ghosts are that much greater of company compared to the living or imPorts, it's just that they're all goners. They're just goners all swamped in nostalgia up to their collarbones. Blah, blah, blah. She hasn't even heard these stories before, but they're still just... yawn.

"Is anyone even―?"

Oh, wow. Cotton candy. Some ex-clown is talking about gross stuff in carnivals (something about bears?) and she can't even remember what it tastes like again. She's sitting here and listening to this snoozefest when she could be, maybe. Not?

It takes another half-hour for her to give up trying to raise her voice above the before she totally just hangs it up and books it. It's not like those old squares are paying attention, anyhow.

"Bye, I guess?"

Floating off, she waves ― and smiles wide, when most of them turn to wave back.