Annie Sawyer

Annie's role in the story has a lot to do with her coming to terms with her death, how she was killed by her abusive fiancee, and how she had lost her belief that anyone could fully love her. (Owen was a real asshole, not only abusive, but near openly cheated on her during their engagement.) She spends a great deal of the first season avoiding death's door and purgatory, despite eventually coming to terms with her un-life, and deciding that maybe passing on is okay if all of her friends are gone. (George and Nina are attempting to become not-supernatural, which would leave them unable to see her anymore, and with Mitchell basically being cray and AWOL, she has no one else.) There are several attempts at romance of course, but being a ghost, that ... doesn't work out so well. Especially when one of them is in cahoots with Purgatory to try and forcibly throw her through her door.

Annie is the only being in existence (supposedly) to ever turn down Death's door, and you can imagine what sort of consequences that might have.

"It's not. [Annie's echo]'s not creepy. It's good, it's happy... We like it."

When you think of a ghost, you don't often think of one with a sweet, peppy, gentle personality. Even as emotionally fragile as she can be, you press her buttons or threaten someone she cares for, and you'll get Berserker Button trope in full, ghostly glory.

"I think about what and who I love, and I think about them in danger, and I could tear this bloody house down with my teeth. You have no idea how strong I am."

Annie has always felt a clawing desire to be needed; something that likely stemmed from the abusive relationship she was in prior to her death. She loves with her entire being, gives and gives and gives, and very rarely, if ever, asks for anything in return. To be someone's guardian angel; something she does out of insecurity at first. Even in life, she was willing to completely ignore her fiancée's abusive behavior for how desperate she wanted to be loved. A denial and ignorance that she felt so strongly, that she altered her own memory of how she died. Forgot completely and utterly, that it had been that very fiancée that killed her. Denial is something that she is very good at, so much so that she will force silence from her friends (Mitchell, Hal), for simply not wanting to hear whatever horrible things they've done.

As time went on and she grew more and more confident with herself and her 'life' as a ghost, her desire to make everyone around her happy became less of a need for acceptance... and more out of her love for others. A shoulder to cry on, a smile and a cup or twelve of tea.

"Oh, Annie has taken to fighting crime. It was just a matter of time, really."

No matter the strength of her love however, it never got in the way of her ability to do what was right, no matter how painful it may have been. When Mitchell's guilt of the Box Tunnel Twenty massacre became so painfully obvious, even her denial could let her ignore it, she chose to make him pay for his crime, to bring justice for the families of those who lost loved ones. Rather than protect the man she had fallen in love with, she made sure that he stopped running, that he faced his wrong doings. But because of that love, she stays with him in jail, anyway.

Despite starting out as a gentle, skittish young woman would could hardly hurt a fly, let alone defend herself either physically or emotionally, Annie has since grown into a strong, powerful ghost- one that would eventually become strong enough that even the Old Ones (elder vampires) would take notice, decide to 'keep her around'. She has resisted Death's door to remain in the living world (as a ghost) when Herrick nearly killed Mitchell, fought of vampires, dragged Kemp (a living human) into Purgatory to save her friends, destroys a ghost completely for trying to kill baby Eve, and eventually blows up the Old Ones to save the world.

As of her canon point, Annie is still a kind, gentle and emotionally charged woman, but also one who is strong and confident, having worked past much of her self-worth issues and insecurities. She is however, becoming more and more inclined to find a way to pass one, to reopen her door and walk through it for a final time. With Mitchell rarely home and wrapped up in his own life, and George and Nina trying to strip the werewolf side from themselves (rendering them completely human and unable to see or hear her anymore), the idea of being completely alone again frightens her enough to want to move on. Being dead isn't so bad. Being alone and dead, is a fate worse than... Well.

In regards to the fact that Annie would never hurt a fly- the first time we see her get into a (physical) fight, she smashes a wooden chair over a vampire. ... And apologizes almost immediately after. She dislikes violence, which is likely to have stemmed from the fact that her ex-fiance was physically abusive. She dislikes it, but if pushed, will use it in defense. When one of her friends safety is threatened, she will fight to protect them, be it throwing chairs and telephones at vampires, or using her ghostly powers to sweep the path clear for an escape.

Annie can be aggressive and offensive, but only in defense of others. If the safety of her friends is threatened, she will step up and use whatever power she has to make them safe. When Mitchell was in danger of being killed by Herrick, she steps up (after a bit of forceful coaxing from her friend George) and Storms the Castle. Even in saving Mitchell, they aren't out of the dog house- Herrick still threatens their very existence, the safety of humanity, and while Mitchell is willing to trade his life to spare his friends, George and Annie will have none of it. Annie, while in the midst of dealing with repercussions of being the first person to ever Turn Down Death's Door, a ghost appears to her in confusion. The humans being held captive as food for Herrick and the other vampires, are trapped, dying. While having very little to directly do with her, and Mitchell's own safety on the line, Annie takes it upon herself to Storm the Castle once again, and save the humans still there. They weren't able to see her, weren't able to know who or what was helping them, and yet she did it anyway.

Because of Annie's traumatic past/living life, the traits she'd held onto so tightly as a human have passed on with her to the ghost-world. For all of Owen's controlling, jealous and physically abusive actions against her, she was forced to learn a way around it; pleasing Owen meant he wouldn't be angry with her, and therein formed her need to pay the utmost attention to everyone else, just for some scrap of affection in return. All it boiled down to in the end, in one quiet evening with Gilbert (another ghost) after finding out that Owen had killed her, Annie revealed of just how desperately she wanted to be loved back. That maybe she really was so annoying, so stupid, that no one could possibly love her, even a little.
Gilbert, in telling her how wrong she was, that she didn't need to be anyone but herself, and that he loved her just the way she was, was able to move on. Loving Annie was his unfinished business, and it struck a chord within her. It was a turning point for an upward climb in Annie's self confidence. In how she viewed her relationship with others. Any relationship, romantic especially, had been very 90/10; Annie would always give so much, and so rarely get anything back.

Her 'guardian angel' attitude eventually blossoms from something that was a tool for her to earn love and affection, into something that she gives freely. It was no longer about being loved back, but about loving someone else. She enjoyed it simply because she enjoyed it, not because it was something she felt she needed to do above all else. Even when Mitchell brings her back from Purgatory, it only finally strikes home when he tells her he brought her back not because he needed something from her... but because he missed her.
Annie's friendships have been few, but powerful. George and Mitchell especially, both boys always completely willing to push her to do better, to come out of her shell or pick herself up when she's feeling too down. When Annie's emotions began to turn vengeful (after learning how she died) and she began turning into a poltergeist, Mitchell was there immediately, helping curb her feelings and direct them into something more positive. Getting out, making new friends, distracting herself; it was Mitchell who introduced her to Gilbert in the first place.

And George, less of a best friend (and future boyfriend as Mitchell would become) and more of an annoying brother. They bickered, they argued and they butted heads- but they were there for each other. They could understand things sometimes, that Mitchell couldn't. What it meant to be human, to feel human- even if neither of them were anymore. And while George may grump about Annie's tea cups everywhere, he will easily crawl into her heart and soothe whatever hurts, if he knows he can. If it's by sharing part of his past with her, or letting her invade his own personal space. They take care of each other. When George was low after his breakup, Annie would bring him tea and breakfast, prompt him to get up and face his problems instead of letting him mope on his own. And vice versa, when Annie was at her lowest, thinking Owen had finally beat her, it was George that told her no. To stand up and help save their friend... Or it would mean letting Owen really, truly win.

Even with Nina, though we see less of their friendship on screen- The girls stick together. She confided in Annie about being scratched by George before anyone else, lets her stay with her during her first transformation. They seek comfort in each other, and out of the four main characters, Annie and Nina have the most 'fun' time. Even if going out clubbing with a pregnant werewolf, a zombie and a ghost isn't what you'd call the most 'fun'. Out of all her on screen relationships, Nina has been the most freeing. There was no cloying need to prove herself to her.

Annie has a terrible flaw of being in denial almost constantly. She very rarely lets herself accept that people have darker sides, that they do bad things or have bad traits. A fault we can likely blame Owen for instilling in her. That he had her so wrapped up in himself, she had convinced herself that what he was doing to her wasn't his fault, that he couldn't possibly, really be hurting her; he loved her. She loved him.

The same goes for Mitchell, especially. Mitchell, being a century old vampire, has done terrible things. And though he tries to do good, even throughout the series, he's far, far from perfect. And Annie, for the most part, ignores it. It's an unspoken thing between them, that he's done wrong, and she doesn't want to hear about it, to acknowledge it- it's his past, and who he is now is what matters. (A far cry from George, who fully knows what's going on, and chooses to ignore it anyway. Annie often doesn't know, because she doesn't let herself get into a position to find out.) This leaves her often naive in the face of reality, of how people are, and will usually end up with her getting hurt, be it emotionally or (less so) physically.
If given the option of fight or flight- Annie's instinct is, almost always, flight. She would rather run away (or teleport) from confrontation, tell it to stop (if she can), or avoid it by any means necessary, instead of fighting back. When Tully sexually harasses and nearly assaults her, she bolts. When George, later confronted about letting his 'friend' treat her in such a way (which leads to another argument), she flees instead of standing up for herself. Something that, nearer the end of the series, she has learned to do on her own. Her friends make her strong, and she can't stay living under their shadow forever. (Especially not post series 3, as they've all passed on and she's left to take care of a new set of housemates.)

[ tangibility ] - depending on her level of confidence, Annie may be completely solid and fully able to interact with people and inanimate objects... or partially/fully intangible. This would include her visibility, either making her appear hazy or invisible and unable to fully touch or interact with people/inanimate objects. I'm also going to say because of this power, if it's alright, that she does not show up completely on film because light does not reflect off of her the way it would a normal human. She would appear out of focus and hazy; you know how ghosts-on-film work.

[ telekinesis ] - the ability to move objects with her mind, though it will be heavily based upon her emotional state. If she is angry/hysterical/vengeful, it will be dangerous, erratic and uncontrolled. But if given a strict purpose and focus, she can use it to her own will, offensive or defensively. (Think of a ghost flinging someone away with ~mind powers~) She would have a very low control over this.

[ teleportation ] - Rent-a-Ghosting. What it says on the tin. All she has to do is think of where she wants to be and pop! There she is. This would be contained within city limits, of course. The farther the distance, the more difficult it is, as well. She's only teleported across town once before in canon.

The last time I woke up in a strange place was right after I died.

[ She chuckles, though the sound is tinged with the faintest hint of nervous energy. There's no image to go along with the voice, but the voice is thoroughly female, English and cheerful, if a little ... sarcastic. ]

So I've spoken to the um, locals and them here a bit, but a second opinion never hurt anyone; This isn't some big Hallowe'en joke, is it? It's not even the right time of year for it. Like everyone here is alive and well and we've all got super powers. I mean yeah I heard the big speech, but how is any of this actually real? We're not all in some weird ... afterlife or anything, are we?

-- I s'pose I should just out and ask, anyway. Anyone know a George Sands? Nina Pickering? George is a tall bloke, bit big in the ears. Nina's a little thing- seriously, she's-- [ uh ] --blonde. And a nurse. They both are, actually. Or they were. And ... Mitchell. It's a last name, but it's what he goes by. Broody, dark hair, probably hasn't bathed in a while- he gets busy. If anyone's seen or knows them, I'd love to hear about it.

... Well, that's it. Thanks! [ click. this is a phone type call, isn't it? Yeah. ]