I'm like the island

10:21pm: [OOC] on the major contenders within my head
It's not that he ever thought that he could pull off a disguise so elaborate, so flawless, that he'd be able to look into the mirror and not recognize his own self. He's simply found that people don't pay that much attention. It doesn't take clay or surgery or even a haircut to give yourself a different appearance, just a few touch-ups, a change in clothes, and—most importantly—a change in demeanor, in comportment.

Though he's always had splits in his personality, it wasn't until the neo T virus that they manifested themselves physically. He knows better than most how the effects of the virus can be mental as well as physical, and he's seen firsthand the way people can delude themselves into thinking they've survived the virus unscathed. Part of him likes to think that it was his idea to take on these different personae in the first place, but the rest of him is not so sure. The voices inside his head are worried—if they're mere defects brought on by the virus, what will happen to them if he finally finds that cure he so desperately seeks? Privately, he's worried that he's just a voice too, a disorder, an illness—that when the miracle cure finally comes, he'll be the one to disappear.


An abbreviated listing of some of the major players in Ellis's head, in order of conception:

1. Ellis.

2. Marcel was tailored especially for that internship at Umbrella Corporation. Ellis's first creation, Marcel is not nearly so refined as some of the later ones, and bears striking similarities to Ellis himself. He is so cheerful he's sickening, but there's something not quite right about his sense of humor.

3. Markers came into existence at around the same time as Marcel; in fact, Ellis never intended to have more than one alternate identity, and Markers and Marcel had started off as one and the same. At this point in his career, Ellis had been convinced of the need for noticeable gimmicks to set his multiple selves apart—hence the colorful scarves. He's grown rather fond of them though, and wouldn't dream of giving them up. He likes being Markers the most because it feels the most familiar, the most like himself. Markers is also something of a klepto, and he likes knowing that he has a veritable arsenal in his innumerable pockets at any given moment—so that if he ever needs a gluestick, or a stuffed duck, he'll know he has it.

4. Dee came into existence out of necessity. When people ask after his name, Dee tells people it's a drug reference. "D for Drugs," they assume, and he doesn't bother to correct them. Dee has a much more colorful personality than his predecessors. He never hurts people unless it's necessary, but alas, it is so frequently necessary. His position at the Hive is something like this: when people have problems, they come to him. He makes sure to spread the problems around until they go away.

5. Many others are not mentioned, both in and out of use. Peter, for instance, has recently been retired. He was a fan of baseball, though.


Over time, Ellis has found that some of his split personalities do not like him very much. He finds this rather unfair, as he does try his best.

2:32pm: Welcome to the Hive
You are not alone.

If nothing else, know this.

There are others like you, others who have walked through the same fires and come out mostly whole and sane. You may be angry—we’re angry too. We’re angry at what has been done to us, both frightened and awed by what we have become. We’re confused, and we’re tired, and we’re not sure who to blame.

But we are not alone.

We all once stood where you now stand, or lie, or slump. Somehow, one way or another, we’ve all overcome that initial torrent of despair. None of it is easy, but we agree that the beginning was the hardest: that period when we didn’t know what was happening to us, or what to expect. We were afraid of the changes coming over our own bodies, helpless to turn back the tide of deformity creeping over our skin. Some of us felt our own fingers shrivel off; others woke to the scent of our own charred flesh. We dreaded that these changes might stop and leave us suspended in these misshapen states, stripped down to the essence of human fragility, yet inhumanly strong at the same time—but even more, we were terrified that the disfiguration would continue into our minds, until we became like the things we saw on the streets, empty husks of their past lives, unable to be called human or even sentient any longer. There was a desperation within us, as we realized we no longer even recognized our own reflections from day to day, alien shapes drawn foggy and grotesque from the depths of our mirrors. Something terrible was happening to us, within us, but part of us wondered if maybe it was our own fault, if we were too weak, if we were being punished. We didn’t know where to turn, if there was anywhere we could turn—we didn't know if we even deserved to be saved.

Then we came to the Hive.

My name is Ellis Beckett, and on behalf of all the residents of the Hive, I offer you our sympathy and reassurance.

There is an explanation for what is happening to you: you have been infected with the T-Virus. The fact you are reading this means that you still maintain your sound mind; you are to be commended, for you have managed to resist the virus’s ravages completely. Be on your guard, however, for you are still at risk. If you suffer further exposure to the virus, whether through injection or ingestion, you risk madness and the loss of yourself.

On the other hand, you have fought hard not to succumb completely to the virus's effects so far, and because of that, I offer you a place in the Hive.

I offer the safety and comfort of a home with others who understand. I offer the protection of our militia against the ignorance of those who do not. Everyone who is willing can find some work to do here, and strangely enough, everyone is always willing, or always becomes willing, upon settling in.

There is a tradeoff. The golden rule of economics says something about a lack of free lunches (and lunches, by the way, is another subject I will bring up shortly). As long as you remain in the Hive, you will abide by my rules. You are of course welcome to take up audience any time with Dee, my enforcer, if you have any complaints, and if my law truly proves too onerous, you are free to leave at any time.

The rules are simple, and they all have to do with eating. Such as we are, eating does tend to be our main concern.

First, we do not attack one other, here in the Hive. If you refuse to coexist peacefully, we will put you down.

Second, we do not eat infected meat. If you lose your mental facilities completely to the virus, we will put you down.

Finally, all members of the Hive respect the eating habits of their neighbors. We all know the agonizing burn of hunger, but some of us choose to fight it. Members of the Hive adhere to all manner of different diets, ranging from strictly vegan meals to live humans, still squirming and begging. We don’t pass judgment here, as we don’t claim to know the right choice, only the personal decision. We do have an excellent cook who can accommodate the trickiest of palates. Just ask for a kosher meal if you’re not quite reconciled to your body’s new demands—he’ll know what you mean.

If you are interested in joining the Hive, you will shortly be contacted by my second-in-command. He goes by the name of Markers, but please: leave the obvious question unasked.

4:52pm: [OOC] application
Name: Ellis Beckett
Age: 21
Gender: M
Birthday: December 21

Preferred PB: Sondre Lerche


Occupation: Originally a nuclear physics major, now leads the zombie gangs under the city. Also eats people in his spare time.


Appearance: Few people know what Ellis Beckett really looks like, and sometimes Ellis finds himself starting to forget as well. An avid student of the art of disguise, Ellis changes faces more often than he changes his shirt; in fact, he can no longer remember the last time he talked to someone as himself, rather than as one of his many aliases. He has a rather extensive wardrobe, considering his ambulatory lifestyle, and knows more about makeup than most women and actors.

Stripped of his many layers, Ellis looks younger than he really is. Not too tall, rather thin, he can sometimes be described as slender, though most people prefer the term 'gaunt' or 'skeletal'. He's always hungry, but no matter how much he eats, he can't seem to put on any weight, either fat or muscle. This was a source of endless woe in his college days, but now gives him the advantage of surprise over anyone who carelessly underestimates his strength.


Personality: Ellis is always hungry. In college, he was hungry for knowledge: he took a million electives, hung on to his teachers' every word, devoured entire libraries...

Now he's just hungry.

Ellis is the very definition of loner. He was the kind of child who locked himself up in his own room but always wound up plastered to the window, starving for a taste of what was out there. As such, Ellis has grown into an incredibly self-reliant young man. He doesn't work well with others, and hates asking for help.

He is a capable leader, at least intellectually speaking. Though he likes to think things through before he acts, he also believes strongly in his own intuition, making for an interesting blend of cautious and daring. He has an instinct for manipulation and is good at seeing the larger picture of what needs to be accomplished. His greatest weakness is his inability to trust anyone. As with most leaders, Ellis has found it difficult to operate without a few lieutenants to help him out. Instead, he has created a plethora of alternate identities for himself, some as simple as an internet screenname, many so complex as to have their own appearances, personalities, and mannerisms. "Markers," a soft-spoken man with a penchant for colorful scarves, is his favorite persona, and acts as his second-in-command. "Dee," a thug with a genius for violence but not for, shall we say, subtlety, acts as something of an enforcer.

Ellis Beckett, leader of the "Others," is mainly just a name now, whispered and alluded to but never seen, shrouded in mystery.


History: After showing signs of infection, Ellis was written off by Umbrella Corporation as a goner, all his files discarded. However, Ellis refused to lay down and die. Determined to find a cure, Ellis created his first alternate personality, a diligent, eager-to-please kid named "Marcel" who, through no little effort, managed to secure an internship at Umbrella Corp. His primary goals were to put a stop to the testing of the neo t virus, and to get a hold of the fabled antivirus that not even UCorp scientists seemed to have access to.

Marcel did not find the cure; his infiltration discovered instead that there were others like him, people who weren't completely overtaken by the virus but weren't as luckily immune as his friend Henry. As Markers, Ellis slowly began to gather these up and move them underground, away from those who hated and feared them.

They called themselves the "Others," because they weren't human but they still had enough self-awareness to mourn the fact. Ellis organized them as well as he was able, gave them missions—sometimes for foraging, sometimes for infiltration, sometimes for no reason at all except to keep people occupied. When the cravings for human flesh arose, Ellis encouraged his followers to eat the Lucky Survivors, because they tasted the best, after all, and why should they be lucky all the time?


Abilities/Weapons: Never exactly athletic, Ellis constantly surprises himself with the extraordinary strength and speed he's gotten from the virus. He has good reflexes and a fondness for sharp things, and thanks to his transformation, he's found it easy, even enjoyable, to acquire his meals.


Alliance: Ellis is one of the "Others" - those who have been infected, yet somehow manage to hold off the full disease for the time being. Theirs is a precarious balance, because they may at any moment fall completely to the virus.

This was definitely not voluntary on Ellis's part.

It all started with peer pressure, as most college disasters do, except this wound up a little worse than TP-ing the dean's car. Ellis's college roommate was Henry Ghersinich, a journalism major, interesting guy, who one day came up with the fantastic idea of signing up for paid experimentation at Umbrella Corporation. It wasn't too complicated, just some questions, a physical exam, a few injections - seemed like a bit of easy cash, which they both needed.

Then his ear fell off.

"Crap, crap, crap, Snitch, something is not right," Ellis raved, holding the phone with one hand and his ear with the other. "It didn't hurt, I'm not even bleeding, am I bleeding?"

"I can't see you. We're on the phone."

"Of course we're on the phone! If we standing next to each other, I would punch your face in!" He attempted to jam the ear back onto his head, with unsurprisingly little success. "This is not fair! How come your body parts aren't falling off? I'm never listening to any of your stupid ideas again!"

And so ended their friendship, along with Ellis's college life.


Physical/Mental Defect: For Ellis, the effects of the T-virus have manifested in his blood. Ellis's mutated blood cells afford him extremely poor circulation and little to no body heat. His normal body temperature now rests at a steady 32°C, what medical professionals would term stage three hypothermia - aka near death. Although he does warm up some right after he's eaten, the stolen heat usually doesn't last much longer than it takes the food to metabolize. As such, Ellis is pretty much at constant risk of contracting frostbite, especially if he misses a meal. Finding some value in the functioning of his various body parts, Ellis takes care to keep his extremities warm and his stomach fed. While his ear has miraculously grown back, he really doesn't want to see if he'll be so lucky a second time.