Rose Wendell & the Greatcoat

Rose Wendell & the Greatcoat was Ren's 33rd submission.
==OOC History==
Rose and Gary were Ren's second Main Event winner, remaining undefeated until their first title defense against Bi-Polar AMI. They also maintained a short stint as the Solo Hero Team Sergeant, going 3-0 until their defeat by Ghiest. They were last seen competing in the quarterfinals of the '09 Contest of Champions, their final match a loss against Sphere.
Rose may or may not have been imagined as a sideways, modern approach to the "magical girl" archetype, with some of the visual ideas leaning on Studio Ghibli films and Gainax's FLCL. Gary was inspired by the character of Dennis Pearson in Joss Whedon's Angel, who interacts with several characters after his death despite never being seen. Their CoC stories were written under the influence of massive amounts of Guster - Satellite, I'm Through, and Ruby Falls in particular.
Rose and Gary do exist in Ren's personal continuity much in the same way that they exist in the FPL, however they are ultimately background characters. The concept of a coat, jacket, or other piece of outerwear having protective qualities, directly or symbolically, may be a recurring motif in Ren's work.
==Fictional Character Biographies==
===Gary Spencer===
Gary was the sole victim of an arson fire that burned down the apartment building where his family lived. He died via smoke inhalation, roughly five months from graduating at his high school. Having most of his life's plans left incomplete, Gary was compelled to defy death and try to claim back his life. He did not succeed and returned to the mortal plane as a ghost, almost totally unable to remember anything about his life.
While he could recall virtually nothing, he was still compelled to say goodbye to various people that had been close to him in life. His final stop was the junior high he attended several years back, which was also where his parents worked as teachers. Having achieved some degree of closure, he made his way to the roof of the school to watch the sunset one last time before consigning himself to the afterlife and dissolving into sand.
Before his death, Gary was a star basketball player with a wide circle of friends. He was known particularly for his effusive zest for life.
===Rose Wendell===
Rose is a student at an undisclosed junior high school. She, along with friends Angel Goodfellow-McCoy and Myna Lake as well as several other students, were watching sunset on the roof of their school when Gary Spencer attempted to cross into the afterlife for the second time. His trenchcoat was left to flutter into her waiting arms and, unaware that the jacket's owner was in fact dead, claimed it as her own. Rose would slip the coat on later that evening, when torrential rains interrupted her walk home. The act of putting on the coat resulted in Gary rebuking the afterlife yet again and choosing to remain in the world of the living for reasons he could not fathom.
It is implied that Rose doesn't have an enjoyable relationship with her parents, a trait she shares with many other students who frequent the school's rooftop.
==Powers and Abilities==
Rose does not possess any innate abilities, beyond her above-average powers of perception. She does, however, benefit from Gary Spencer's presence while she wears the Greatcoat. She is able to subconsciously communicate through a letter of mysterious origins that can occasionally be found in one of the Greatcoat's pockets; this usually manifests as a request to have the Greatcoat returned to her, to whoever is wearing it at the time should it not be Rose.
Gary is capable of functioning autonomously as long as someone wears the Greatcoat. He can move freely and manipulate the world around its wearer, though limited to ways in which he can help the wearer. He is also capable of warding off harm towards the Greatcoat's wearer as a function of his will. As a ghost, he cannot be seen by most living people. However, he is occasionally visible; the Greatcoat's wearer can spot him in reflections, as can people nearby during times of extreme emotional duress. Like Rose, he can also communicate through the Greatcoat's letters to the wearer, though his messages often manifest as well-wishes and reassurances; the mechanism through which the letters appear or through which Gary writes them is not known.
As Rose continues to grow up, Gary finds himself becoming stronger, both "physically" and willfully. He begins to become something else entirely separate from a "ghost," able to increasingly impact the world around him in ways he has not explored yet. He also begins to recall important pieces of his past, though anything not of incredible significance continues to elude him.
===Initial Power Set-up===
*Strength: Weak
*Agility: Standard
*Body: Weak
*Mind: Standard
*Polymorph: Standard
*Telekinesis: Standard
**Kinetic Absorption: Standard
*Environmental Awareness: Superior
*Force Field: Superior
*Immunities: Weather Control, Smoke Screen, Gravity
===Final Power Set-up===
*Strength: Weak
*Agility: Standard
*Body: Weak
*Mind: Standard
*Polymorph: Standard
*Telekinesis: Superior
**Kinetic Absorption: Standard
*Environmental Awareness: Superior
*Force Field: Ultimate
*Iron Will: Supreme
**Psychic Vampire: Standard
*Immunities: Weather Control, Smoke Screen, Gravity
==Equipment==
Rose's Greatcoat is the object that binds Gary Spencer to the world of the living. The wearer will typically be influenced by Gary's zeal, which manifests as elevated mood, increased energy and willpower, heightened acuity of the senses, and (in the event of euphoria) limited flight. Along with this, it behaves as any other greatcoat would - protecting from cold, wind, rain, sun, etc. - with its functions augmented by Gary's beneficent nature. 
It is capable of shaping itself to its wearer's size and preferences, also the result of Gary's good will. Originally it was a charcoal-colored trenchcoat, and remained so when Gary donned it after dying. While Rose was wearing it for the first time, it slowly altered itself into a violet greatcoat. During its brief possession by Zamora Weavair, it went from violet to green until it was returned to Rose.
==Fic Appearances==
===Zamora Weavair & The Greatcoat===
This was a short story written by Sir Exal, concerning Rose momentarily losing the Greatcoat during the confusion of a surprise party and Zamora Weavair's attempts to return it. In the process, Zamora dons it and briefly experiences how it would feel to be alive (having been a zombie since birth). Though uplifted by it, Zamora eventually returns the Greatcoat to Rose and wishes her a happy birthday via the Greatcoat's letter.
===Rose Wendell & the Last Days===
This recounts Rose and Gary's encounters during the Contest of Chaos, the '09 Contest of Champions. It features the Extra Big and V, and will eventually feature Dodge Murphy, Bunny, The End, and Sphere.
Category:Characters
Category:Ren characters