The Flame (Cheap Trick)

NAME/ORIGIN
Character name	The Flame
Song/Album	"The Flame" / Lap of Luxury
Act	Cheap Trick
Writer	Bob Mitchell and Nick Graham
Release Date	1988
ABILITIES
Powers	-Ability to track subject's location and appear there "Wherever you go, I'll be with you." -Ability to create objects, or at least obtain them "Whatever you want, I'll give it to you" -Ability to resist being extinguished by water "After all the rain, I will be The Flame" -Ability to maintain identity among larger flames and fires "After the fire... I will be The Flame" "Touching heat freezing on my skin"
Skills	N/A
Attributes	Is a living, sentient flame
Vulnerabilities	-Limited vision "Watching shadows move across the wall" "Can't see through this veil" -Lack of corporeal form "Wanna run to you, but..." "Just can't stand up for falling apart" "I pretend you still hold me" -Lacks ability to communicate verbally "I wanna call, but..."
Formidability	Moderate, localized
Attractiveness	Is a fire, so can be seen as either warm or threatening
Source	"I've been hit by lightning"
Goals	To be with, and to serve, his girlfriend
POSSESSIONS
Weapons	N/A
Amulets	N/A
Objects	N/A
Clothing	N/A
Vehicles	N/A
Dwelling	"wherever" his girlfriend is
Milieu	"wherever" his girlfriend is
BIOGRAPHY
Gender	Male
Age	teen (speculative)
Physique	Flame, with the height and width of the top half of a teenager
Ethnicity	N/A
Origin	N/A
Ancestry	N/A
Profession	former high-school student (speculative)
Education	Has not finished high school
SES	N/A
Relationships	Never got over girlfriend who is "gone," either because she died in the fire caused by the lightning strike, or, since he talks of her like she is alive, she moved on with her life after he died in the lightning strike.
Pets	N/A
PERSONALITY
Morality	Amoral. wants only to do perceived bidding of girlfriend "Whenever you need someone to lay your heart and head upon"
Intro/extrovert	introvert, except with regard to her
Intelligence	Average
Emotions	-Obsession "I'm in too deep over you" He lost his virginity to her, then died (same night?) "You were the first, you'll be the last" -Fear "I feel so frightened" -Isolation "I feel so lonely"
Sanity	Poor "I'm going crazy, I'm losing sleep"
Enemies	N/A
Narrative Function	Foil; girlfriend is the actual main character
Other Notes	Here's how I see it playing out: A young man and woman make love; he loses his virginity to her. Later that evening, through an open window, a bolt of lightning strikes him and starts a fire. He "dies," she escapes. But he does not really die. The fire traps his soul, which can still perceive reality to a degree. The fire took his body but could never burn his spirit; instead, the spirit claims the fire as its new "body": "I will be The Flame." As she saw him die, however, she assumes he is dead, grieves, and moves on. While the circumstances cause him to forever fixate on her, it is unclear what her level of commitment or attachment was to him, previously. He eventually learns that he is a sentient flame, and learns to control his appearance and intensity. He can "turn it down" to where he is just a perceived sense of warmth in the room, or "turn it up" to actually set things ablaze. In an attempt to communicate, he appears to her as a disembodied flame when she is alone at night. Naturally, she assumes she is having a nightmare, a flashback to that night. Over time, she realizes this is him now, communicating with her by bringing her things she'd asked for. At first she is reluctant, but grows to accept his presence. Then he realizes that his desire for her gives her power over him, and she begins to ask him to do bad things on her behalf. She soon realizes she is taking advantage of him, and stops. Over time, they become a sort of symbiotic pair, almost a dual being. She commands and controls him, but is sensitive to potential abuses of his trust, and power. He does her bidding, brings her objects and information, and fulfills his desire to simply be with her... always and everywhere. He is The Flame, but since she is always visible and seems to conjure him at will, people assume the Flame is "just" her superpower, not its own self.