Esther Lebel

Esther Lebel was a human who had her soul forcibly removed from her body. She now lives on as a soulless individual, almost entirely without emotion, and armed with her Tether she goes around the Midwestern United States in search of people to save and things to hunt.

## Esther Lebel

* Current
* 2022
* 2019

### Aliases

Ess, Lorraine Mcfly, Thelma Thinkley, Sam Winchester

## Description

### Personality

Without her soul, Esther is unable to feel emotions, and if so, it is not in the same capacity as other people who are whole. She sees herself as less than human, and sees humans with their souls still intact as precious and good. She remembers what is was like to have feelings, but is not able to miss them. She sees the benefits of her situation and has decided to live a life of violence and horror because she knows that she is uniquely able to handle it without being traumatized.

She knows that the afterlife is indeed real and wishes to earn a place in Heaven, despite the fact that it is an ending only meant for human souls, which she is sorely missing. She thinks that if she saves enough people and does enough good in the world, then God and his Angels will not be able to turn her away.

What remains of her personality comes from the time before she was hollowed out. She listens to the same music, tries eating the same food, but more out of habit than from enjoyment. She has learned to pretend so that she doesn't come across as offputting.

### Appearance

Esther has brown hair with blunt cut bangs. She has a square face, a wide jaw, and a strong browbone. Her eyebrows are almost always furrowed and her dark gray eyes are almost always hooded. She is covered in scars that have come from years of hunting monsters--the most visible one being on her nose, which she will often cover with a bandaid. Her chest has a large scar on it from when she had her soul removed. She has skin that is easily freckled and sunburnt.

She often wears a denim jacket with a sherpa collar, or an old green army surplus cargo windbreaker. As a product of early 2000s television, she will also wear thermals with a gothic print on them (sometimes with bedazzled crosses or wings) paired with a flannel and low-rise flare jeans. She is always seen wearing a silver cross pendant which prevents her soulless vessel from being possessed.

## Biography

### Background

Esther majored in Art History and minored in Philosophy in college. She gained an extensive knowledge of religious rites, rituals, and lore. She was already plenty religious before she was awakened to the true horrors of the world and the monsters that lie beneath every bedframe.

After unwittingly getting too close to a demonic scheme, she was permanently altered by a coven of warlocks and their demonic benefactors. She was found by Astheraoth, who interrupted the procedure and provided Esther protection in the form of her Tether.

## Synopsis

#### Red/Retrieval

Esther is an odd hunter, working strange jobs and almost always alone, as people don't like having her around due to her aloof disposition. She attempts to make a deal with the crossroads demon, Aeszura. However, a soul is needed in order to barter, and, feeling tricked, the demon puts Esther under her debt. They work together doing odd jobs in an attempt to reunite Esther with what is revealed to be her disembodied soul.

#### Death/Resurrection

Mary Winchester, under the control of the British Men of Letters, has been tasked with killing other hunters so that they may privatize the profession. She finds Esther separated from her friends, and shoots her in the head.

Kari is alone. With all her friends dead and her loved ones gone, she has made it her mission to revive those she has lost. The angel breaks into the British Men of Letters' holding facility and retrieves Esther's knife. Communicating what she can with Esther's Tether, they devise a ritual and use the Tether as a power source to create a body for Esther to return in. The knife disappears and the ladies assume it was burnt away during the ceremony.

#### Afterlife

Esther has forced her way to the front gates of Heaven. There, she meets her soul. The original Esther Lebel, the one who died in 2005 and was turned into a knife, is tended to by Angels, having finally returned to her rightful place in Heaven as a devout believer. Esther (referred to as a Shell by Heaven's patrons) is treated like an intruder and abomination. It seems that all her work has been for nothing, and that she will never truly belong anywhere. With the help of her friends, the utilize the Bureaucratic form of Heaven and call for a trial. Her soul is called upon as a witness...

## Relationships

### Aeszura

The crossroads demon whom is the legal owner of Esther's soul. After failing to make a deal with the demon without her soul on her person at the time, the two made another deal in order to retrieve it. Over the course of many years, they bonded and formed an unhealthily codependent relationship.

### Kadriel

Esther's most loyal friend and guardian angel, known lovingly as Kari. Together they plan to ensure the soulless Esther's spot in heaven by doing the most good for humanity.

### Dionysus

One of Esther's old hunting partners, and also the Greek God of harvest, wine, and ecstacy. Maybe not the best influence.

### Astheraoth

The angel who gave Esther's soul a tangible form in order to protect herself from any thing that wished to do her harm or possess her.

### Sam Winchester

After finding the *Supernatural* book series by Carver Edlund, Esther has used them as a field guide thanks to their uncanny accuracy on how to be a hunter and kill monsters. Amongst the strengths and weaknesses of vampires and werewolves, Esther finds herself drawn to the "fictional" Sam Winchester. She's heard him brought up in hunting circles such as Harvelle's Roadhouse, but believes that, logically, he is a myth and inside joke amongst hunters (ie Clint Eastwood). Their paths never cross.

## Trivia

* Her name comes from a common theme in Supernatural's characters being named after a biblical character and a gun. (Ex: the Winchesters: Samuel, John, Mary)
* Esther was my favorite VeggieTales character
* The trunk of Esther's car is loaded with canned food, including a significant amount of tomato soup and baked beans
* Esther was initially a self insert that was meant to interact with Sam Winchester but I chickened out
* In early iterations of the character, she was written more like Soulless Sam, who is snarky and borderline sociopathic. But the intention behind Esther being a soulless character was my attempt at making such a person likable and ethical.
* Esther could be described as having alexithymia, be it a supernatural version of it. It is linked to PTSD and autism.