.the mundane;
» Name: Tracey
» Journal:
beatific» Contact: starlitxdreams
» How did you find us?: Don't recall, to be honest...
.the myth;
» God(dess): Elpis - the personification of hope
» Reference:
http://www.theoi.com/Daimon/Elpis.html ,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elpis » Family: {mother & father} It's been said that her mother is Nyx ; {spouse} - none
» Played By: Taylor Swift
» Human Alias: Eleanor Collins (Ellie, Elle, Ellen, or Len for short...and during one unfortunate experience with a human boy at her new school, 'Collie')
» Human Age: Since most mythological stories depict Elpis as a young woman, she's been reincarnated as such, at the age of 17 (though her birthday is soon!)
» God of...: Hope, Expectation
» Flair:
Hope - Elpis' flair has two main components: the first is a continuous one that effects those that she interacts with, most strongly when she speaks to them, but also to a weaker extent based on proximity. This is the effect of increasing optimism or hope in people. So when strangers walk by her on the street, they often experience a surge of renewed hope for that doomed relationship, or that sick relative, which often fades once they have walked away from her for a certain distance.
The second is an activated power that has the same effect, but can be targeted in a more potent way at one particular person. This flair, unlike the first one, which occurs via both speaking and proximity, can only be activated if the person is speaking with Elpis, but is much stronger than the residual/continuous flair (including the normal, continuous flair when speaking to her normally).
Neither of these is strong enough to actually force a person to do something if they believe the odds are too against them (unlike when she was a full spirit, and could influence decisions that way), but they are helpful in nudging people on the brink in the 'right' direction. This of course may have its downsides, as not all hope inspires good deeds, and not all hope-inspired good deeds have good outcomes.
» Flair Type: Continuous // Activated
» Fitting in: High school student
» Weakness:
It is no surprise, given her mythological background, that Elpis is a panglossian character-always looking on the bright side, viewing the glass as half full, assuming the best of others and of whatever situation she may be in. And, just like the character Pangloss in Voltaire's Candide, her optimism can lead to a view of the world that is skewed, and may cause her to make bad decisions, be reckless, and act stupidly in the face of danger/unfortunate situations.
Because of the fact that she is, literally, the embodiment of hope, Elpis is often blind to the reality of a situation. She pushes people to do things that might end up in them getting hurt, because she cannot understand the prospect of their failure. She often likes to cheekily say, 'Nothing's impossible when I'm around!--' ironic, because the only change to impossibility she makes with her presence is whether or not a person recognizes that something is, in fact, impossible.
Even when they do fail, she struggles to turn it into a 'silver lining', which can sometimes turn acutely annoying when all someone wants is another person to commiserate with. However, she is slowly realizing this and, though she cannot change what she thinks, is trying her hardest to keep from blurting it out.
Besides all of this, Elpis can be a tiny bit self important. Since her role in Olympus is, essentially, a sort of helper of humans-that is to say, she was sent to give them something to cling to in the face of the terrible spirits that were unleashed upon them at the opening of Pandora's Box -she is convinced that her existence as a spirit is crucial to the continued coping of human beings. This is definitely stretching the importance of her existence, but she's 100% sure that if it were not for her, humans would have a great deal of trouble continuing to exist among more hateful, negative spirits.
» History:
Earth is nothing new to Elpis-she has been here since her first entrance to the universe, as a spirit locked in Pandora's Box. She has roamed the world, living within and amongst humans as an intangible being ever since, whispering quietly in their ears, egging them on, watching their stories unfold. She's aware of all the changes that humans have undergone, and was one of the few from Olympus whose role remained relatively unchanged despite the humans' lack of faith in the Greek Gods.
The one thing different was that, suddenly one day, people could hear her just like any other person. And my, did they look at her funny. And then, on top of that, she stopped being able to sense what people were hoping for, something that leaves her feeling incredibly empty and confused. She's used to hearing the intimate details of every person's lives, their dreams and hopes and secret desires. Now, it's all silent.
On top of that, she's corporeal! Before, as a spirit, she had no actual form, so as to better flit amongst humans unbeknownst to them. Now, she's got a body, and people can interact with her, which amuses her to no end.
» Personality:
Elpis is, usually, quite fun to be with. She's bubbly, excitable, and energetic, and, of course, always optimistic. She's the person you turn to when you're in need of some encouragement, or the one who will console you when something goes wrong. Of course, there are times where she is anything but the person that you want to be around (see Weaknesses), but on the whole she's a pretty enjoyable and friendly person.
Furthermore, she's quite naïve, in more than just her optimism. She's very innocent about the world, despite all the things that she's very very aware exist from her extended stay in Pandora's box. Her innocence stems from her unabashed belief that things can be conquered, no matter what the gravity, with a little bit of hope and optimism, and that nothing is too troublesome to overcome. She's never actually experienced sadness, grief, regret, or anger firsthand, since most of her existence was as a spirit of one particular emotion. She's only ever existed alongside the others, witnessing them but from afar.
Do not mistake naivety for complete immaturity, however: as a spirit, Elpis is old, very old. She has quite some insight into what humans want, and she can be very solemn when the situation calls for it--though she prefers to be effervescent. She's very earnest when she speaks, and when dealing with situations, her maturity becomes noticeable.
Through the course of this experience as a human, there is no doubt that Elpis will be challenged by the realization of these emotions within her human self. Her ability to deal with them will be reliant on the vestige of hope still going strong within her, but she will no doubt often find herself in situations that will not only challenge her very essence-hope-but will also cause her innocence and naivety to slowly chip away. It will be very interesting to see how the way she acts out her role as 'hope' will change after being 'tainted', so to speak, by other emotions and feelings, to change her from a being of hope to a more emotionally well-rounded human.
As for her human form, she's not immensely good at school-she cares little for specific details about knowledge, having lived out most of her existence concerned only with abstract thoughts like hopes and dreams. She does decently in history, since she's pretty much seen it unfold, but her other classes, particularly science and math, leave something to be desired. She prefers to pay attention in English only when they're covering a book that suits her--she absolutely hates tragedies. However, she has taken a liking to some of the extra-curriculars, mainly speech and debate, where she participates in an event called Original Oratory, which is composed of a self-written 10 minute speech related to current problems in the world, delivered in a persuasive way as to motivate the audience to make a choice (one guess as to what the motivation details). In addition to that, she is also on the school's spirit squad team, a perfect match for her bubbly, energetic personality and her natural penchant for encouragement and support.
» Sample Journal:
Last night I dreamt-I don't remember what, or who, but that's not important. What's important is that I dreamt. And then, today, I woke up. I've never done that before. It's strange, the time between dreaming and waking up, and sleeping and falling asleep. I'd never given it thought before, until now, but it's so hard to explain, and yet so soothing.
Today's my first ever day of school as an actual human. It's so strange to be able to interact with humans now, but it's a whole lot of fun. I think I should stop randomly talking to people, though, they're giving me funny looks and from what I know of humans, funny looks are never, ever good.
I'm not really sure what's going on, but I'm sure everything will sort itself out. The apartment manager has been incredibly helpful in getting me situated and giving me everything I need to fit in properly. Apparently I'm a 17 year old girl going to high school! It should be tons of fun and I'm sure I'll meet plenty of people there. High schools are always full of things going on and people in need of a little encouragement.
» Sample Roleplay:
Elle bent down and tapped her toes lightly, feeling the muscles at the back of her legs stretch as she did so. It still marveled her, the intricacies of having a body, the pains and feelings that came along with it. The first time she'd been sore after a cheer practice, she'd woken up the next day and thought that something was wrong with her, perhaps some disease. She'd never known that humans felt that feeling all the time-for all her knowledge of their complaining about it, she'd never actually experienced it until now.
The thought made her smile as she straightened back up, lifting her arms in the air, one bent behind her head as she stretched her triceps. This was truly a blessing in disguise, to be able to experience what humans did. It was unlike anything she'd ever experienced before, so intense and concrete and explosive...and conflicting.
Elle wasn't sure she enjoyed all of what being a human had to offer; there were some aspects of their behavior, and hers as of late, that she disliked. Not only was she feeling physical differences, but she was also feeling emotional ones as well. As she began to follow the crowd of other girls to the field to begin practice, she bit on her lower lip thoughtfully. This experience was definitely something that was far more complicated than she'd ever thought it might be.