The Hundred Fifty Seven Deaths of the Immortal Ethan Ellis: Cast profiles: Ethan Ellis
The man himself (Ethan) - he/him; 24 years old biologically, 310 years old chronologically; Quietly Depressed Optimist in Desperate Need of a Hug and a Nap
Depressed, traumatized, self-sacrificial, dysfunctional, exhausted--what's not to relate to love?
Just woke up during his own autopsy. That's definitely not going to unearth any poorly-buried Issues!
What do you mean endless gallows humor and self deprecation aren't healthy coping mechanisms?
*slaps bruised and blood-stained noggin* This bad boy can fit so much mental illness and metaphor in him.
The result of a necromancer-wannabe's attempts at immortality; ex-human-guinea-pig with all of the attendant moral, philosophical, and psychological conundrums that come with death being a temporary condition.
One of three "successful" experiments. The other two adjusted pretty well, all things considered. Ethan did not.
Alas, they didn't have therapy in colonial America. You know what they did have, though? An abundance of dangerous life paths and causes worth dying for. That's not gonna reinforce any dangerous thought patterns or unhealthy mental states, I'm sure!
Longest streak between deaths has been just shy of 4 years. All but one of them has been his own dang fault. He is fully aware of this, but in a deeper sense, he is entirely unaware of this.
Always cared more about others than himself. This got infinitely worse when he realized he could die without consequences (supposedly).
Animals hate him! and no that is not just the start of a clickbait article. Every animal he's met since getting immortal'd has tried to put him back in the ground. He used to be a cat person, though.
Chronically friendless and self-isolated. People don't handle the dead guy coming back to life very well, and he's gotten more than one witness in life-ruining trouble by reviving in front of them. He finds it easier to just stay away from people on all but a surface level. (Again, I can't imagine that's going to cause problems down the line....)
Travels like an overripe peach, which is to say he is the King of Motion Sickness
Repeated resurrection has turned the man into a caloric dumpster. Over the course of a day and a half he consumes ~30 chicken nuggets, four burgers, a large fry, a medium bag of chips, a popsicle, and half a cup of ice and he's still desperately hungry.
Flip flops between annoying little brother energy and annoyed big brother energy depending on who he's arguing with at the time.
Wants:Â Everyone and Everything to leave him tf alone (also a shower)
Needs:Â One good reason to live and way fewer reasons to get himself killed
Immediate goals:Â Keep his only friends from getting dragged down with him and all his issues
Long term goals:Â None, and that's rather the point (not that this is a recurring theme in my characters or anything....)
Character arc can best be described as:Â that quote that's like "Dying is easy, living is hard;" the shift from hope, caring, and love as passive traits to hope, caring, and love as active choices worth making
Favorite things about writing him
The Catharsis. There's a reason so many of my OCs end up with mental illnesses and unhealthy patterns of thought. Ethan is just the most explicit of these self-inserts.
The snarcasm and humor were both challenging and so fun. I'm not a witty person by nature, so it took a bit of perspective shift to get right. I think I got better a dialogue overall by writing him.
He's a very internal and thought-ful person, and it was an interesting balance to write. He always thinks more than he says and feels more than he thinks.
Not to toot my own horn, but his third act breakdown and "Oh Sh*t" moment were a delight to write and some of my strongest writing moments.
His voice is very informal and sarcastic, and it was fun to write genuine horror in a goofball, this-might-as-well-happen sort of way.
