Ethel Greenstalk

Ethel's Reference

Ethel Greenstalk is a 23 year old farmer who currently lives in Rattlesnake. She resides in her family's farmhouse & manages the fertile farmland around it, providing crops & animal products to The Hole in the Wall & local town market.

## Appearance

Ethe is fair-skinned with braided pink hair & blue eyes. She is most often barefoot, and is usually seen wearing a pair of overalls rolled above her knees over a purple flannel shirt.

Her skin is covered in freckles, likely due to the amount of time she spends in the sun.

## Personality

*"A tough, brutish girl with a heart of gold and a head of brick. She's been taught well by her parents, and is aptly polite with southern hospitality, but once she's set her mind to something, good luck talking her out of it. She's rather sociable, and not one to ignore a person or thing in need."* - Ethel's original character intro

## Background

*"An honorable Greenstalk, born and raised, Ethel has been a citizen of the town of Rattlesnake for as long as she's been alive, entirely used to the desert-esque climate, dead soil, and feral dangers the mesa itself incurs. As a member of one of Rattlesnake's most acclaimed families, Ethel is privy to the blood of a horticulturist, capable of sowing and reaping from the silt of a lamented, perished biome as though it were fresh from the lushest of plains. This talent is a staple of the farmgirl's family legacy, dating back to an ancestral survivor of the apocalypse, and the Greenstalk name is one of the reasons Rattlesnake has never gone without.*

*Now, though, Ethel fathoms herself alone, missing her parents. She's not sure what's happened to them, but unfortunately she's no time to go out searching while the responsibilities of a farmhand weighs upon her shoulders like the world upon Atlas'; she's got a village to keep from starving and product to trade.*

*One way or another, though, she knows she'll find them. Even if she's got to do everything herself. "* - Ethel's original character intro

## Relationships

### Cyrus & Laura Greenstalk [NPCs]

Ethel regards her parents with extreme positivity and misses them immensely. She does what she can to find possible hints as to their whereabouts, although she rarely ever learns more about the circumstances other than that they existed, and then suddenly they didn't. Nobody in Rattlesnake, to her knowledge, even recalls that Cyrus and Laura were once part of the community - which, Ethel will admit, is a bit concerning.

Prior to their disappearance, Ethel held a deep admiration for both Cyrus and Laura, and the three of them could easily have been described as the perfect nuclear family. Everything that Ethel knows, she has learned from her parents; whether it's her ability to plow the fields or age milk into cheese, each act of the Greenstalk girl is a stark reflection of the two lovers who raised her.

*Darlin' the axe* was passed down to Ethel by Cyrus, as it was an heirloom inherited from his side of the family. Cyrus also taught Ethel how to properly handle the axe during combat, chopping wood, & its restorative process.

### The Last Weaver

Ethel's first friend outside of Rattlesnake. She enjoys their presence and finds them fun to talk to. She especially appreciates him having given her a tour of the Valley, as she'd previously only been able to walk around by herself without any knowledge of the foreign faction's buildings, citizens, or customs.

Due to Weaver's small size & Ethel's strength, the farmer is capable of picking up the arachnid and carrying them around with ease. Ethel also has an affectionate nickname that she uses to refer to The Last Weaver with, it being "Little Buddy."

### Mishmash

Ethel's partner in business who works as the bartender for The Hole in the Wall tavern in Rattlesnake. Due to Ethel's firm belief in caring for her fellow workers, she canonically only takes a third of the bar's profits (due to her being the one supplying the bar's ingredients) while Mishmash receives the rest.

While Ethel is technically Mishmash's employer, she does her best to treat the imp as an equal and is eager to listen to and respect their ideas on promoting & expanding the business.

### Leif

Despite having never met him, Ethel believes that Leif has been dishonored and treated with inhospitality, and thus is willing to do what she can to support both him and The Valley. She once sent him a letter informing him that both Rattlesnake and herself offer their allyship, though she has not yet received a response.

### Gale

Although she has never met him, Ethel sympathizes with the trauma she assumes Gale has been through, and wants to make it clear that she and her town offer their support. This sentiment was also expressed through a letter that did not receive a response.

### Morgan

Ethel's impression of Morgan is that they're an inhospitable, downright rude creature. She doesn't like to judge things before knowing everyone's side of the story, but she just can't excuse murder, no matter the reason.

## Pets

### Cottonmouth

Prior to the 1.18 update, Cottonmouth was Ethel's raptor who lived in the downstairs stables of her farmhouse. He and Ethel shared a formidable bond and trusted one another immensely, leading to the raptor being particularly protective of his rider.

### Lucy

A white axolotl that lives in a lush, plant-filled pond on the Greenstalks' plot of land. She is particularly excitable and generally in a happy mood whenever she is seen. She and Ethel have a positive relationship, as the farmer occasionally stops by the pond to feed the amphibian stray bugs, insects, & worms she catches disturbing her crops.

### Bandy

Ethel's loyal milking cow; friendly, passive, & generally calm. She is Ethel's favorite of the Greenstalk farmhouse's livestock, not including Cottonmouth. Ethel uses the heifer's milk for both cheese & as an ingredient for some of The Hole in the Wall's beverages.

Although likely not referred to as such in canon, Bandy's species is most similar to the real life Holstein-Friesian dairy cow.

### Oswald

The snail that Ethel keeps in the terrarium beside her bedroom window. He is more than a little hyperactive and often forgets where he is. His favorite activity is spinning around in random circles, which Ethel loves to watch when he does.

Although likely not referred to as such in canon, Oswald's appearance could most likely classify him as a real life garden snail.

## Trivia

* Both Ethel's color palette & aesthetic were picked randomly during an exercise in character design. Leon enjoyed the character enough to flesh her out and bring her to life in Creature Craft.
* All of Ethel's pets are named after snake species.
	+ Cottonmouth was named after Water Moccasins, also known as "cottonmouths."
	+ Lucy was named after the Leucistic Ball Python.
	+ Bandy was named after the Bandy-Bandy snake.
	+ Oswald was named after the scientific name of the Snail-Eater, Dipsas oswaledobaezi.
* Although technically human, Ethel's proximity to plants directly affects both her vitality as well as said plants' growth. If she stands in one place for too long, and as long as there are already living plants or viable soil there, lush flora, flowers, and grass are bound to sprout up around her. She herself does not realize that she has any particular powers, but this is the reason that her farm has thrived so well in the arid conditions of Rattlesnake succeeding the 1.17 update. Because of this, her origin is classified as Floran.