(no subject)
Mar. 17th, 2014 08:55 pmOUT of CHARACTER
Name: Wes
Other characters: Starkiller and Elsa
IN CHARACTER
Name: Ellis
Fandom: Left 4 Dead 2
Canon point/AU: At the end of "The Parish" Campaign
Journal:![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
thisonetime_withkeith
PB: Canon screencaps and Fanart, possibly his face model Jesy McKinney
History: His wiki article
Presentation: The first thing that you're going to notice about Ellis is that he is a huge goofball. He's someone who doesn't take life seriously, always looking to have a good time no matter the situation. A prime example would be the zombie apocalypse. Most people would be put off by the zombies and would probably not be quite so cheerful as Ellis, but Ellis is a special case. He considers things like the zombie apocalypse to be one giant game, rolling through it with excitement and (slightly morbid) glee. Things like the zombie apocalypse just will not bring him down or break his spirits because he's capable of looking past the bad- and sometimes he doesn't just look past the bad, he plain doesn't see it at all.
He is a very excitable, optimistic and happy person, which goes along with his fun loving attitude, but extends to other aspects and things as well. He's very much a kid at heart, with the way he gets excited over things like kiddy land at the carnival. It also lends itself well to the zombie apocalypse in that his cheerfulness tends to keep everyone pretty optimistic and boosts morale- though not all of the time. He can be rather overbearing and tiresome which annoys his teammates just as often as he amuses them. They often have to tell him to tone it down or outright shut up so that they can focus on more serious things, like surviving and getting to the next safe house.
In his quest for excitement and fun, Ellis also has a bit of a reckless streak a mile wide. He isn't really the type to think things through and he likes to rush into things guns blazing. You could say he's brave- and he is, but his bravery tends to go hand in hand with recklessness. His wild, excitable nature often makes him a pretty big target and as such his teammates usually have to bail him out of a jam. Ellis also likes to be the center of attention and he's got a cockiness to him that leads to trouble. He's like the guy at parties who does stupid things for attention and ends up regretting it later. He's always well meaning, though, as there's really not a malicious bone in his body. He just likes to have a good time and to impress people, which puts him at odds with those around him a fair bit.
Along with that, Ellis likes to tell stories about he and his best friend Keith, and his stories also show that he has a tendency to blow things out of proportion or exaggerate things greatly for the sake of telling the story, because there is no way that some of the things the two of them have done could be as extreme as he makes them out to be. Ellis is just a dramatic person and likes to tell stories for attention. It rarely ever works out all that well though, considering he picks the worst times to try telling stories- right in the middle of a hoard of zombies, usually. He's often interrupted and asked if it can wait for later. He tends to sound a little pouty, but it's enough to get him to stop and focus back on the task at hand so that he isn't so distracted.
He's also pretty much the embodiment of your stereotypical redneck. He likes guns- boy, does he likes guns. He claims to have learned how to shoot a gun before he could walk and he gets excited every time he finds a hunting rifle in the game. He can be a bit naive at times as well. He's also pretty damn polite, despite his potty mouth, using 'miss' and 'sir' and is generally respectful of most people- though just as well as he can be sweet and polite, as mentioned he can have a pretty big potty mouth and like any good country boy, he's no pushover. When it comes to people like Nick, he can be pretty sarcastic and throw jabs back and forth like a champ, though whether or not they're any good is subjective.
He gets along well with everyone on his team, with Rochelle tending to be like a big sister to him, whereas Nick turns out to become a pretty good friend over the course of the game. The two share an affectionately antagonistic relationship, with Ellis making teasing jabs at him on occasion. He treats Coach with respect, too, and the two of them get along really well too, though Coach tends to grow exasperated with him on several occasions. In general, Ellis is a big people person and he cares a lot for people in general. He's enthusiastic when he talks to anyone and he's very talkative. Boy is he talkative- when he starts, you can rarely get him to shut up and he's a pretty longwinded fellow, going on forever unless someone tells him to be quiet. He wants people to notice him and overall he wants people to like him, which is probably why he spends so much time telling stories and making himself and Keith sound impressive.
Ellis isn't always incapable of being serious. It may take a stern talking to, but his bubble is rarely ever burst for very long and he usually gets serious when told to. Despite his goofball attitude, he actually is a fully competent zombie killing machine, though given his personality in general it seems he has a bit of a naïve outlook on the zombie apocalypse- he doesn't seem at all bothered by the fact that he's killing hundreds of people daily. He just sees it as something fun to do and a means for survival.
Motivations: What motivates Ellis primarily is his love for people and for having fun and adventures with an emphasis on adventuring. It's the fact that he finds it so damn fun that really drives Ellis on during the zombie apocalypse, as well as his friendship with the three other survivors. He wants to protect them and make it to safety with them but he also wants to have fun while doing so.
Ellis isn't a very deep person. He's one of those what you see is what you get kind of people; he doesn't have a lot, if any emotional baggage and there's no great tragedy in his background fueling his motives. The biggest thing pushing him through the zombie apocalypse is what a good time it is and because he wants to protect his friends. Really, that's one of Ellis's biggest motivation for anything; other people. He loves people and there isn't much he won't do for people he considers his friends.
Basically, he's a goober on the outside and it goes straight to his core. He's a living goober.
Setting: Ellis is one of those people who are optimistic to a fault. Once he finds out what's going on and it all sinks in, he's not going to be too upset about it. He'll focus on the good parts and downplay the bad quite a bit- he's alive, there ain't no zombies trying to eat him constantly and there are a lot of nice people to talk to. He'll just consider it his next adventure- the fact he has to kill other, real actual people isn't going to quite hit him until he's in the arena properly and even then he'll try and remain optimistic. You really can't break this guy's spirits.
SAMPLES
First Person Thread: An example of a first person post, at least 200 words minimum. Feel free to use introspection and scene setting if your character is not chatty. Please use one of the two following prompts:
For Tributes: You have just been killed in your first arena. It was violent, messy, and unexpected. And just as suddenly you wake back up in a very cold, very medical room. After a few moments of silence, a voice comes up over the speakers.
"Please use the device to the right to record your current feeling on your loss. Once you are finished, someone will be along to take you back to the Capitol." On cue, a small recording device starts to chirp at your side.
It is quite clear that you will be staying in the room until you make that recording.
[Well gosh, that whole dying thing had come on really unexpectedly. Ellis is inclined to think that it's because he hadn't had a gun. Life is easier when you have a gun, after all. You can shoot first and ask questions later- though that might not be the best thing, since it isn't zombies he has to fight here- it's actual real live people. But regardless, he always feels like he's Superman when he has a gun. How else did he make it so far in the zombie apocalypse?
Even for people like Ellis, dying is a bit of a sobering experience. He has a hard time feeling particularly good right now, even despite the whole coming back to life aspect. Dying was just painful and jarring, it's not easy feeling happy when that's constantly playing on his mind. With the instruction to record how he feels, he stares at the device for a little bit, trying to get his thoughts in order.]
Well… shoot. I dunno what to really say, y'know? I guess I wish it could'a been a little different. It kinda sucked not seein' it coming. But it kinda reminds me of the time my buddy Keith got stabbed by a homeless guy.. Except… Well, I guess I'm Keith in this situation and it ain't exactly a homeless guy that killed me, so…
It's different. But also the same! Right?
Oh, but anyway. [He sighs.] Guess it could'a been worse. I'm alive now, so I mean what more could I really ask for?
[A long, almost awkward pause.]
Sooo. Can I go now?
For Capitols OCs and AUs: For Capitols OCs and AUs: Somehow you ended up privy to a private post just gushing about how much they just LOVE the new games, how they think they are the best thing since sliced bread. Then the poster (Your friend? Some random person from a party who decided they wanted to send you their private thoughts? A rival trying to pin you into an uncomfortable spot?) namesdrops you for your opinion on the new format, versus the quaint, old-fashion style of the game.
Everyone on the broadcast is just waiting for your input.
Prose:
His last memory was getting running a gauntlet on the bridge and finally making it to a helicopter that was going to take them all to safety. Somehow he had apparently blacked out- was it from exhaustion? Relief- could you black out from relief? Ellis didn't know. That was a pretty silly thought, but it made sense to Ellis. You get so damn happy everything just stops. Whatever the cause may have been, Ellis was under the impression that wherever he was, was part of the military. It seemed pretty military-like- except for the weird outfits the "military" were wearing. He knew well enough to comply with everything they were saying though, and he followed them without word, weird outfits or not.
When he was suddenly put into a room and told to impress them, he didn't know quite what to think.
"Whoa, wait, wasn't survivin' the zombie apocalypse impressive enough?" he couldn't help but blurt out, staring up at the little room with the judges a bit indignantly. But after thinking about it and really checking things out, he came to the obvious solution.
And he split into a grin.
The army, with how depressing and shit everything had turned, had decided to bring back American Idol. To boost morale and to give everyone a good time- and this clearly his audition. He was gonna be on American Idol and he was gonna make everybody happy.
It took him only a moment to think of a song- and for somebody to give a shout out to.
"This one goes out to you, Zoey," he said confidently, winking a few time in various directions that the cameras could be, before balling up his fist and holding up a pretend microphone. He started off mumbling incoherently, because he honestly couldn't remember the first few line of the song and then- "SHE THINKS MY TRACTOR'S SEXY," he belted out passionately, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "Yeah, it really turns her ooon!"
And then he put in an impromptu air guitar solo, despite the fact there probably wasn't one in the original song. It was even complete with lots of "wah wah waaah" electric guitar sound effects, even though it didn't have an electric guitar in the song.
"She's always starin' at meeee!"
He kept at it, though occasionally he'd start mumbling because he forgot the words- he always seemed to remember the chorus, though, and he sang it flawlessly- in his mind, at least. The truth was he was pretty off key.
When he was finally finished, he threw up his fists and pumped the air a few times. "Man, this reminds me of the time me and my buddy Keith and I-"
Except he was out of time.
"Oh, okay. Well, I hope ya get back to me soon, alright? I can't handle the- oh, okay, okay! I'm leavin'!"
What is your character scored: I would peg Ellis at an 8, possibly a 9 if you're pushing it.
As far as abilities and powers go, he's your average guy in his early twenties. He's physically fit and takes care of himself and he has the strength of someone who does that as well as someone who's recently (within the last month or so) begun using various melee weapons to bash in zombie heads. Overall, he's pretty strong but not overly so.
Ellis is also skilled with guns, having claimed that he learned how to shoot before he could walk and it's true, he's actually pretty damn good with one. As mentioned above, he's also good at using melee weapons, from axes to machetes. He was also a mechanic before the zombie apocalypse, so he's good with machinery and cars and such. He's also really good at surviving, having lived through the zombie apocalypse. In canon he and a few others made their way through several different places, ranging from cities to swamps and he made it through all of them.
Additional information: N/A
Name: Wes
Other characters: Starkiller and Elsa
IN CHARACTER
Name: Ellis
Fandom: Left 4 Dead 2
Canon point/AU: At the end of "The Parish" Campaign
Journal:
thisonetime_withkeithPB: Canon screencaps and Fanart, possibly his face model Jesy McKinney
History: His wiki article
Presentation: The first thing that you're going to notice about Ellis is that he is a huge goofball. He's someone who doesn't take life seriously, always looking to have a good time no matter the situation. A prime example would be the zombie apocalypse. Most people would be put off by the zombies and would probably not be quite so cheerful as Ellis, but Ellis is a special case. He considers things like the zombie apocalypse to be one giant game, rolling through it with excitement and (slightly morbid) glee. Things like the zombie apocalypse just will not bring him down or break his spirits because he's capable of looking past the bad- and sometimes he doesn't just look past the bad, he plain doesn't see it at all.
He is a very excitable, optimistic and happy person, which goes along with his fun loving attitude, but extends to other aspects and things as well. He's very much a kid at heart, with the way he gets excited over things like kiddy land at the carnival. It also lends itself well to the zombie apocalypse in that his cheerfulness tends to keep everyone pretty optimistic and boosts morale- though not all of the time. He can be rather overbearing and tiresome which annoys his teammates just as often as he amuses them. They often have to tell him to tone it down or outright shut up so that they can focus on more serious things, like surviving and getting to the next safe house.
In his quest for excitement and fun, Ellis also has a bit of a reckless streak a mile wide. He isn't really the type to think things through and he likes to rush into things guns blazing. You could say he's brave- and he is, but his bravery tends to go hand in hand with recklessness. His wild, excitable nature often makes him a pretty big target and as such his teammates usually have to bail him out of a jam. Ellis also likes to be the center of attention and he's got a cockiness to him that leads to trouble. He's like the guy at parties who does stupid things for attention and ends up regretting it later. He's always well meaning, though, as there's really not a malicious bone in his body. He just likes to have a good time and to impress people, which puts him at odds with those around him a fair bit.
Along with that, Ellis likes to tell stories about he and his best friend Keith, and his stories also show that he has a tendency to blow things out of proportion or exaggerate things greatly for the sake of telling the story, because there is no way that some of the things the two of them have done could be as extreme as he makes them out to be. Ellis is just a dramatic person and likes to tell stories for attention. It rarely ever works out all that well though, considering he picks the worst times to try telling stories- right in the middle of a hoard of zombies, usually. He's often interrupted and asked if it can wait for later. He tends to sound a little pouty, but it's enough to get him to stop and focus back on the task at hand so that he isn't so distracted.
He's also pretty much the embodiment of your stereotypical redneck. He likes guns- boy, does he likes guns. He claims to have learned how to shoot a gun before he could walk and he gets excited every time he finds a hunting rifle in the game. He can be a bit naive at times as well. He's also pretty damn polite, despite his potty mouth, using 'miss' and 'sir' and is generally respectful of most people- though just as well as he can be sweet and polite, as mentioned he can have a pretty big potty mouth and like any good country boy, he's no pushover. When it comes to people like Nick, he can be pretty sarcastic and throw jabs back and forth like a champ, though whether or not they're any good is subjective.
He gets along well with everyone on his team, with Rochelle tending to be like a big sister to him, whereas Nick turns out to become a pretty good friend over the course of the game. The two share an affectionately antagonistic relationship, with Ellis making teasing jabs at him on occasion. He treats Coach with respect, too, and the two of them get along really well too, though Coach tends to grow exasperated with him on several occasions. In general, Ellis is a big people person and he cares a lot for people in general. He's enthusiastic when he talks to anyone and he's very talkative. Boy is he talkative- when he starts, you can rarely get him to shut up and he's a pretty longwinded fellow, going on forever unless someone tells him to be quiet. He wants people to notice him and overall he wants people to like him, which is probably why he spends so much time telling stories and making himself and Keith sound impressive.
Ellis isn't always incapable of being serious. It may take a stern talking to, but his bubble is rarely ever burst for very long and he usually gets serious when told to. Despite his goofball attitude, he actually is a fully competent zombie killing machine, though given his personality in general it seems he has a bit of a naïve outlook on the zombie apocalypse- he doesn't seem at all bothered by the fact that he's killing hundreds of people daily. He just sees it as something fun to do and a means for survival.
Motivations: What motivates Ellis primarily is his love for people and for having fun and adventures with an emphasis on adventuring. It's the fact that he finds it so damn fun that really drives Ellis on during the zombie apocalypse, as well as his friendship with the three other survivors. He wants to protect them and make it to safety with them but he also wants to have fun while doing so.
Ellis isn't a very deep person. He's one of those what you see is what you get kind of people; he doesn't have a lot, if any emotional baggage and there's no great tragedy in his background fueling his motives. The biggest thing pushing him through the zombie apocalypse is what a good time it is and because he wants to protect his friends. Really, that's one of Ellis's biggest motivation for anything; other people. He loves people and there isn't much he won't do for people he considers his friends.
Basically, he's a goober on the outside and it goes straight to his core. He's a living goober.
Setting: Ellis is one of those people who are optimistic to a fault. Once he finds out what's going on and it all sinks in, he's not going to be too upset about it. He'll focus on the good parts and downplay the bad quite a bit- he's alive, there ain't no zombies trying to eat him constantly and there are a lot of nice people to talk to. He'll just consider it his next adventure- the fact he has to kill other, real actual people isn't going to quite hit him until he's in the arena properly and even then he'll try and remain optimistic. You really can't break this guy's spirits.
SAMPLES
First Person Thread: An example of a first person post, at least 200 words minimum. Feel free to use introspection and scene setting if your character is not chatty. Please use one of the two following prompts:
For Tributes: You have just been killed in your first arena. It was violent, messy, and unexpected. And just as suddenly you wake back up in a very cold, very medical room. After a few moments of silence, a voice comes up over the speakers.
"Please use the device to the right to record your current feeling on your loss. Once you are finished, someone will be along to take you back to the Capitol." On cue, a small recording device starts to chirp at your side.
It is quite clear that you will be staying in the room until you make that recording.
[Well gosh, that whole dying thing had come on really unexpectedly. Ellis is inclined to think that it's because he hadn't had a gun. Life is easier when you have a gun, after all. You can shoot first and ask questions later- though that might not be the best thing, since it isn't zombies he has to fight here- it's actual real live people. But regardless, he always feels like he's Superman when he has a gun. How else did he make it so far in the zombie apocalypse?
Even for people like Ellis, dying is a bit of a sobering experience. He has a hard time feeling particularly good right now, even despite the whole coming back to life aspect. Dying was just painful and jarring, it's not easy feeling happy when that's constantly playing on his mind. With the instruction to record how he feels, he stares at the device for a little bit, trying to get his thoughts in order.]
Well… shoot. I dunno what to really say, y'know? I guess I wish it could'a been a little different. It kinda sucked not seein' it coming. But it kinda reminds me of the time my buddy Keith got stabbed by a homeless guy.. Except… Well, I guess I'm Keith in this situation and it ain't exactly a homeless guy that killed me, so…
It's different. But also the same! Right?
Oh, but anyway. [He sighs.] Guess it could'a been worse. I'm alive now, so I mean what more could I really ask for?
[A long, almost awkward pause.]
Sooo. Can I go now?
For Capitols OCs and AUs: For Capitols OCs and AUs: Somehow you ended up privy to a private post just gushing about how much they just LOVE the new games, how they think they are the best thing since sliced bread. Then the poster (Your friend? Some random person from a party who decided they wanted to send you their private thoughts? A rival trying to pin you into an uncomfortable spot?) namesdrops you for your opinion on the new format, versus the quaint, old-fashion style of the game.
Everyone on the broadcast is just waiting for your input.
Prose:
His last memory was getting running a gauntlet on the bridge and finally making it to a helicopter that was going to take them all to safety. Somehow he had apparently blacked out- was it from exhaustion? Relief- could you black out from relief? Ellis didn't know. That was a pretty silly thought, but it made sense to Ellis. You get so damn happy everything just stops. Whatever the cause may have been, Ellis was under the impression that wherever he was, was part of the military. It seemed pretty military-like- except for the weird outfits the "military" were wearing. He knew well enough to comply with everything they were saying though, and he followed them without word, weird outfits or not.
When he was suddenly put into a room and told to impress them, he didn't know quite what to think.
"Whoa, wait, wasn't survivin' the zombie apocalypse impressive enough?" he couldn't help but blurt out, staring up at the little room with the judges a bit indignantly. But after thinking about it and really checking things out, he came to the obvious solution.
And he split into a grin.
The army, with how depressing and shit everything had turned, had decided to bring back American Idol. To boost morale and to give everyone a good time- and this clearly his audition. He was gonna be on American Idol and he was gonna make everybody happy.
It took him only a moment to think of a song- and for somebody to give a shout out to.
"This one goes out to you, Zoey," he said confidently, winking a few time in various directions that the cameras could be, before balling up his fist and holding up a pretend microphone. He started off mumbling incoherently, because he honestly couldn't remember the first few line of the song and then- "SHE THINKS MY TRACTOR'S SEXY," he belted out passionately, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "Yeah, it really turns her ooon!"
And then he put in an impromptu air guitar solo, despite the fact there probably wasn't one in the original song. It was even complete with lots of "wah wah waaah" electric guitar sound effects, even though it didn't have an electric guitar in the song.
"She's always starin' at meeee!"
He kept at it, though occasionally he'd start mumbling because he forgot the words- he always seemed to remember the chorus, though, and he sang it flawlessly- in his mind, at least. The truth was he was pretty off key.
When he was finally finished, he threw up his fists and pumped the air a few times. "Man, this reminds me of the time me and my buddy Keith and I-"
Except he was out of time.
"Oh, okay. Well, I hope ya get back to me soon, alright? I can't handle the- oh, okay, okay! I'm leavin'!"
What is your character scored: I would peg Ellis at an 8, possibly a 9 if you're pushing it.
As far as abilities and powers go, he's your average guy in his early twenties. He's physically fit and takes care of himself and he has the strength of someone who does that as well as someone who's recently (within the last month or so) begun using various melee weapons to bash in zombie heads. Overall, he's pretty strong but not overly so.
Ellis is also skilled with guns, having claimed that he learned how to shoot before he could walk and it's true, he's actually pretty damn good with one. As mentioned above, he's also good at using melee weapons, from axes to machetes. He was also a mechanic before the zombie apocalypse, so he's good with machinery and cars and such. He's also really good at surviving, having lived through the zombie apocalypse. In canon he and a few others made their way through several different places, ranging from cities to swamps and he made it through all of them.
Additional information: N/A
