Spite
| Spite | ||||||||||
| Player: @kampfykaufmann | ||||||||||
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| "I could tell you what this one means, but I'd rather show you." | ||||||||||
| Biographical Data | ||||||||||
| Real Name: | Arlan Damaskinos | |||||||||
| Known Aliases: | None | |||||||||
| Gender: | Male | |||||||||
| Species: | Human | |||||||||
| Ethnicity: | Caucasian | |||||||||
| Place of Birth: | New York City, USA | |||||||||
| Base of Operations: | Millenium City, USA | |||||||||
| Relatives: | Marek Damaskinos (Father), Josephka Damaskinos (Mother) | |||||||||
| Characteristics | ||||||||||
| Age: | 25 | |||||||||
| Height: | 6' | |||||||||
| Weight: | 220 lbs | |||||||||
| Eyes: | Brown | |||||||||
| Hair: | Black | |||||||||
| Complexion: | Normal | |||||||||
| Physical Build: | Athletic | |||||||||
| Physical Features: |
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| Status | ||||||||||
| Fame: |
National | |||||||||
| Alignment: |
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| Identity: | Secret | |||||||||
| Years Active: | 2 | |||||||||
| Citizenship: | US-American | |||||||||
| Occupation: | Independent journalist | |||||||||
| Education: | BA in journalism | |||||||||
| Marital Status: | Single | |||||||||
| Known Powers and Abilities | ||||||||||
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| Equipment and Paraphernalia | ||||||||||
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| Physical Attributes | |||||||||
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| Combat |
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Regen |
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| Non-Physical Attributes | |||||||||
| Energy |
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Psionics |
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| Telepathy |
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Knowledge |
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Bravery |
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| MaekadaBoxSlim created by @Maekada | |||||||||
Contents
Spite appears to be in his early to mid-20s. His build is athletic and he would be quite handsome if not for the constant look of boredom or mild disapproval on his face. He wears his black hair in a side-swept undercut, which he sometimes complements with streaks of garish colors (his favorite is a dark purple) or complicated patterns shaved into the short parts. He also has a snake bite piercing in his lower lip. When using his powers his eyes have a tendency to gain a slight purple glow, which fades away after a while.
Spite's most distinguishing feature are the many, many tattoos all over his body. Except for his face, the palms of his hands and the soles of his feet there is not a single inch of his body not covered in them. All of them are excellent works of art; the lines are perfectly done, the colors are vivid and the designs full of detail. They also do not seem to fade, no matter what. While they do not seem to follow a particular theme or even art style, generally they are quite aesthetically pleasing.
Spite does not care for the cape-and-tights look. His main concern when it comes to outfits is exposing as many tattoos as possible so they do not rip through his clothes when coming to life (while still looking stylish of course!). Usually he wears a gray waistcoat along with gray tearaway pants, black fingerless leather gloves, a black utility belt and dark gray sneakers. When he needs to go incognito he has a dark purple bandana he uses to conceil his face. He also has a long black scarf with a white trim which he sometimes wraps around his head like a hood. Sometimes he will complement his outfit with accessories like studded bracers, necklaces or rings.
Spite's story actually began centuries ago. Most of the details are forgotten by now, but in the magical community legends say that once upon a time a well-intentioned but deluded group of mages tried to seal all the evil magic in the world - curses, hexes, necromancy, demonology and left-handed Hoodoo - into a single book to contain it. The group prepared the ritual for decades. Every single aspect of it had to be perfect, from the incantations used to the book itself to the type of chalk used to draw the runes on the ground and the types of candles lit during the ceremony. Unsurprisingly the ritual failed spectacularly and the resulting wave of dark magic killed all of them and contaminated the area forever. It would be centuries until a living soul would ever set foot in the group's sanctuary again.
Said living souls were simple scavengers who were completely unaware of the nature and history of the ruin they stumbled in. They looted the place, taking the ancient artifacts they found there with them. Many of these artifacts had been thoroughly exposed to a multitude of dark magic and were then basking in it for centuries. And now they were in the hands of clueless grave robbers who proceeded to sell them, causing these artifacts to disperse all over the world. One of these artifacts was a small inkwell - the ink with which the book was meant to be written - which felt strangely warm to the touch...
Fast forward a few decades...
Arlan Damaskinos was the only child of Marek and Josephka Damaskinos, Slovenian immigrants who moved to the US just years before the Battle of Detroit. As an architect, Marek’s talents were in high demand when it came to rebuild the city which would become Millennium City at some point. The family moved there and some of Arlan’s earliest memories are those of a devastated cityscape rife with despair and mourning. While his childhood was largely uneventful, his father was still swept up in his sudden success in Millennium City and Marek and Josephka started to push their son hard to excell in every way, no matter what. There was only one piece of advice his father had ever given to Arlan: "Sympathy is cheap, aim to inspire envy."
This attitude was bound to cause problems down the way, and during his teenage years Arlan found himself constant victim of bullying. As to not appear weak in front of others - especially his parents and the few friends he had - Arlan kept quiet about it and focused his anger, fear and frustrations about it inwards. From that point on it was only a short way to blaming himself for being too weak to stop the bullying himself. Arlan started to push himself ever harder to reach his goals of becoming better in every aspect and that - combined with the anger and hatred for his bullies and himself - started to take a toll on his physical and mental health. When alcohol and drugs came into the mix everything got even worse. At some point the bullying stopped, but Arlan did never stop pushing himself; in his mind nothing had changed.
In college nothing got better. Even though he was popular, handsome, intelligent and talented he could never escape his own head. For himself he felt nothing but the need to become better and frustration at not being good enough. For people who bullied and harassed others he felt nothing but hatred and anger. For people who just stood by and watched he felt nothing but contempt and spite. Even though he managed to hide it all under a mask of playful arrogance, mild amusement and quick-witted sarcasm it still ate him up from the inside. The only things which made it a little more bearable were nights spent in clubs and bars, trying to numb everything with booze and drugs.
During one of those nights one of Arlan's friends convinced him to get a tattoo. Without thinking long about a spot or motive, Arlan agreed and went to a tattoo artist who happened to be a friend's friend and also a collector of the strange and supposedly 'mystic' objects. One of his latest acquisitions - a wooden box full of 'magic' knick-knacks from all over the world - also happened to contain a small inkwell. When the tattoo artist jokingly asked if Arlan wanted his tattoo done with the 'magic' ink, Arlan agreed with a laugh. He didn't believe in magic. As soon as the ink touched Arlan's skin, he knew something was not right. A decade of negative emotions had activated the dark magics which had lain dormant for centuries. The ink burned under his skin and time itself seemed to freeze as the tattoo artist went to work in a frenzy, a dark glow coming from his eyes. The small inkwell should have run dry at some point, but it seemed to refill itself again and again as more and more designs and patterns were put under Arlan's skin. At some point he just passed out.
Arlan awoke in his apartment with the worst hangover he ever experienced. His hole body was sore and when he looked into the mirror he nearly could not believe what he was seeing. His whole body except his face, the soles of his feet and the palms of his hands were covered in tattoos. All of them were amazingly beautiful works of art and already healing at an astounishing speed, but there was no common theme linking them, no sense behind their meaning. It took Arlan a few hours to make sense of what happened to him, then he became angry. This artist had just ruined his future. Arlan made his way back to the tattoo parlor. When he arrived the artist did not remember a thing and assured Arlan that those tattoos were amazing but not his work. When Arlan got louder the artist kicked him out of the door after a short scuffle.
Without a clue of what was going on, Arlan made his way home. On the way he saw a group of Maniacs harassing a group of college girls. Despite his current situation Arlan felt the anger welling up inside him. Suddenly the ink on his arm began to shift. The trio of dark, hooded figures tattooed on his arm seemed to pour out of his skin in the form of a shadowy ooze. Arlan watched in shock as the ooze formed the three hooded shadows again, this time life-sized. They proceeded to tear into the Maniacs and Arlan watched with glee as the Maniacs were beat within an inch of their lives. Only the terrified screams of the girls stopped Arlan’s shadows from killing the criminals. When their work was done, the shadows turned into black ooze again and seeped back into Arlan's arm, who ran when he heard the police sirens.
For a few weeks Arlan's time was spent coming to terms with his new powers and explaining why suddenly was tattooed from head to toe. During those weeks he started to go on nightly hunts to test his powers. He mostly targeted gang members and other criminals in Westside and around his college campus, always beating them up badly, but never killing them. When the newspapers featured the first report about a new, but brutal hero protecting the people of Millennium City Arlan just laughed. In his mind he was no hero, he simply enjoyed the fact that for the first time in over a decade he didn't feel powerless anymore and was able to make the bullies of this world pay. If the media wanted to spin that into a hero story, more power to them. At least that meant that law enforcement wouldn't infringe on his fun. With that in mind Arlan got himself a simple costume and took the moniker Spite.
Spite is an asshole. A psychologically damaged, emotionally unstable and insecure asshole, but an asshole nonetheless and possibly the worst kind of person to ever gain superpowers. For over a decade he has felt powerless and not good enough and now he has superpowers. The sudden change left its mark on Spite's attitude. The arrogance he used to mask his insecurities has now become quite real and he is very smug about having and using his powers, feeling like they are his reward for all his hard work and years of suffering. Spite is often condescending, impatient and sarcastic. He can also be quite charming, playful and friendly when the mood strikes him, but that's not too often. Underneath he is still a mess of inferiority complexes, revenge phantasies and disproportionate grudges against minor slights from years ago. The fact that his powers are fuelled by negative emotions is just the icing on the cake.
One of Spite's redeeming features is that he actually is standing up against the bad elements of society, even if it is only partly out of a sense of justice and mostly to feed his own ego and sate his revenge phantasies. While he has not killed anyone in his personal crusade yet (and has no intention of doing so, seeing the bullies suffer amuses him more) he gleefully uses his powers to turn those he considers the bad guys into a mess of bruises, cuts and broken bones. The irony of him having become what he hated so much - a bully - is completely lost on him though. The only reason law enforcement and other superheroes have turned a blind eye to Spite so far is that those Spite considers the bad guys actually are the bad guys.
The ink of Spite's tattoos has been basked in a multitude of powerful dark magic for several centuries and is fuelled by over a decade of anger, frustration, contempt, disdain, hatred, spite and other negative emotions on Spite's part. They are also influenced by negative emotions around him, but his own seem to have a greater influence than any others. He has also learned over time that cold, calculated hatred and arrogant contempt seem to work better than blind rage. In battle he is not a raving berserker but creepily calm, often recounting past slights against him in his head or imagining elaborate revenge phantasies to strengthen and shape his powers. This combination of negativity and dark magic in his skin also make reading or otherwise manipulating Spite's mind very difficult at best and impossibly painful at worst for most telepaths.
When coming to life Spite's tattoos seep out of his skin in the form of a shadowy black ooze before taking shape. The process does not seem to cause Spite any pain. Fully manifesting takes a few seconds for more elaborate constructs and is instantly for smaller ones. While active the tattoo in question disappears from Spite's skin and seeps back into his skin when no longer needed. Destroying the constructs is quite difficult but not impossible. When destroyed they immediately return to Spite and seem to need some time before he can call on them again. Damaging the tattoos while they are still on Spite's skin is equally difficult (also making Spite himself quite resilient to attacks) but possible, which prevents him from calling them until the tattoo regenerates. The tattoos along with Spite's skin always regenerate perfectly, leaving no scars or other blemishes, even if extreme means like fire or acid is used. However depending on the severity of the damage it can take some time until the regeneration is complete.
While active most of Spite's tattoos seem to be acting on their own, Spite is actually able to fully control them at any given time. So far it seems like there is no limit to how many of his tattoos can be active at the same time, but he seems to be unable to effectively control too many at the same time. Usually Spite limits himself to two or three active tattoos at most. The effects of the tattoos when coming to life seem to match closely what they depict, but the sheer number of Spite's tattoos makes him quite versatile in combat. Below are some of the tattoos which have already been seen in action, but he does have more and is continously experimenting with new combinations. All of them appear as shadowy, oozing versions of their normal counterparts.
- The Inkwraiths: Three hooded figures wielding swords.
Location: Right biceps.
Effect: Spite jokingly calls them his Nazgûl. When coming to life the three hooded figures attack Spite's enemies with their swords. They are surprisingly fast and strong and their blades have been observed to cut through steel with ease. They don't seem to have any sort of ranged weapon however. Spite prefers to have them all attack a single target as separately control each of them is more difficult.
- Yakuza: A black oni demon wielding a club.
Location: Right calf.
Effect: Spite calls him the big guy. When coming to life, this creature stands up to 14 feet tall with a massive build and immense strength. While unable to attack at range, it is surprisingly fast for its size and able to cover large distances by leaping. Its club seems to be able to inflict damage even against highly resilient targets.
- Hitchcock's Revenge: A swarm of crows.
Location: Thorax, left side.
Effect: Spite can summon a swarm of crows to attack multiple enemies at once, create a distraction or shield him and allies from view. Spite is unable to give orders to single crows, he can only command the whole swarm at once.
- Garmr, Cujo & Baskerville: Three hellhounds.
Location: Left thigh.
Effect: Spite can summon three hellhounds to attack his enemies or use their keen senses to track his enemies, even over long distances. The hellhounds are very fast and vicious and have been observed to be able to chew through metal.
- The Razor: An ornate longsword.
Location: Left forearm.
Effect: Spite can use this longsword as a melee weapon. It seems to have the same properties as the swords of the three hooded figures, but Spite himself seems to favor fighting from a distance due to a lack of formalized close combat training.
- The Solution: A .45 Auto bullet.
Location: Right pointer finger.
Effect: Spite can fire this bullet as a literal finger gun. The firepower and force of impact seems to be slightly higher compared to a normal .45 Auto bullet, but the rate of fire is low due to the fact that the tattoo first has to reappear.
- The False King's Crown: Thorny vines.
Location: Multiple locations.
Effect: Spite can use these vines as a whip, utility rope or to bind his enemies. Despite their appearance they seem to be surprisingly durable and have been seen to withstand the strain of holding a speeding car in place.
- Ashes to Ashes: A small black flame. (Also happens to be the logo of Spite's band 'Crème de la Crematory')
Location: Neck.
Effect: Spite can spit out a large wave of black flames. While these flames have been observed to melt even metal, they are otherwise not any different from normal fire and can be put out with the same means.
- Fallen: Tattered angel wings.
Location: Upper back.
Effect: Spite can unfold this pair of wings to fly through the air at surprising speed. The flying itself does not seem to tire Spite, but he still needs to concentrate to control the wings themselves.
- Everyone's True Face: A featureless white mask.
Location: Right elbow.
Effect: Spite use this mask to blend into the background, becoming nearly transparent and very hard to spot. Due to its magic nature this effect also affects other senses too in addition to the visual.
- Private Evil Eye: A bloodshot eye.
Location: Back of hand, left.
Effect: Spite can place this eye on any surface where it will remain and act as a surveillance and recording tool for the area. Despite its appearance it gives Spite both visual and audio information.
- The Final Journey: A cast-iron cemetary gate wrapped in barbed wire.
Location: Left foot.
Effect: Spite can place the gate on the ground as a means of area denial and trapping the enemy. While he can freely open and close it, breaching the gate has proved to be very difficult despite its rather fragile appearance.
- Nice ink!: Even in a crazy town like Millennium City a guy tattooed from head to toe is quite the attraction. To properly maintain his secret identity Spite is forced to wear conceiling clothing when he is Arlan Damaskinos. His tattoos are just too distinctive and it wouldn't take long for someone to recognize them as Spite's.
- Just a scratch!: Damaging his tattoos while they are still on his skin is a viable option when fighting Spite. He seems to be unable to make them come to life when there is even the slightest blemish to them and while they do regenerate, this takes some time depending on the severity of the damage.
- Going to my unhappy place...: For his powers to work properly Spite or his environment need to be full of negative emotions. While the battlefield is normally not an overly happy place, if the battle goes too well, Spite actually needs to force himself to think negatively as to not slip up.
- What an asshole!: Spite is far from a team player. Due to his better-than-you attitude and tendency to show off he has a quite difficult time accepting orders or going along with plans and his arrogance often causes him to overestimate his own abilities. His ego can be used against him quite easily by smart enemies.
- A wizard did it!: Spite does not really understand his powers too well. While he has learned to control them, he does not know their origins and exactly why do they what they do. Even though until now he has never had to face an enemy like that, someone skilled in dark magic might be able to seriously interfere with how his powers work.
- "What an asshole." - The Doctor
- Spite has a BA in journalism and his uniquely bleak and cynical style of writing and commentary have landed him a gig as a writer for several independant political magazines online. Not as well-paid as he would like, it is still enough to pay all his bills and then some along with the small stream of revenue from his band.
- Spite is the singer of an underground Industrial Metal band called 'Crème de la Crematory'. Despite already having released their first album 'Recreational Suicide', they are still drifting somewhere between amateur band and obscure professional. A second album by the name of 'Misery's Company' is in the early stages of production.
- For a Champions Online Live-Action Movie, my pick for Spite's actor would be Dane DeHaan.
