[u]Basic Information[/u]

[b]Name:[/b] Vespera Spindel (having never never actually been given a name she came up with it for herself, it means evening spider)
[b]Nickname/Alias/Etc:[/b] Arachne, Black Widow, Spinner of Shadows
[b]Gender:[/b] Female
[b]Age:[/b] 21
[b]Height:[/b] 6'
[b]Weight:[/b] 131 lbs
[b]Status:[/b] Returning student, has been attending full time for over 12 years

[u]Appearance[/u]

[b]Hair Color:[/b] Black with red highlights/streaks throughout
[b]Eye Color:[/b] Blood red
[b]Ethnicity:[/b] English

[b]Physical Appearance:[/b] Even without the clothing side of her image, Vespera's body features and makeup scream goth. The foremost being her straight, midnight hair with scarlet highlights. It flows to her shoulders, and has long bangs that conceal her eyes. With good reason, her long lashed eye's have abnormally large pupils that are sanguine in color. They have an eerie glow to them that make's her efforts to conceal them in vain. Anyone within conversational distance should notice them with ease. That's not the only thing different about her. Vespera's mouth is wide, but not unnaturally so, or to the point it diminishes her attractiveness. The main reason it looks out of place is her lips aren't proportionately thick for their shape. Dark eye shadow with upward angled streaks of red originating from outward facing corners of each eye. Her lipstick is brownish pink color contrary to her red and black theme. As for the rest of her body, Vespera is extremely slender with long limbs. Shaped muscles hug the bone, giving her a toned look despite her overall spindly appearance. Only one area is fatty, I'm sure you can guess where that is. Her hands are like her limbs, long and slender. Thickness, length and the solid red color of her nails make most think that she has fake nails, while they are in fact natural. Color included. She is barely there in the midsection and has hips wider than her bust. Between her shoulder blades is a red hour glass marking. Like a number of her other features, it is a side effect of her power. A pale grayish skin tone clashes with the dark colors she is so fond of. Strangely she has no blemishes or scars of any sort. Equally surprising is the lack of piercings to be found anywhere on her body, she looks the type that would have at least done her ears at least. If she had a healthy complexion, one might say that she had perfect skin. Vespera could easily be mistaken for being younger than she really is.

[b]Attire:[/b] Vespera wears the same type of outfit just about everyday. Her main article is a one piece black corset with an attached skirt. Laces of a deep red color create a snug fit, the back is low enough to expose her red hourglass marking. The skirt part itself is knee length, with fringes of black interspersed with crimson. From the toes up she wears a pair of thigh length high heel boots also with matching red laces. These shoes have four inch heels, which add to her already impressive height. This makes her look freakishly tall for a female. Should the fringes on her shirt part enough one might also see that she's wearing fishnet stockings underneath. Her hands and arms are covered by black long sleeved gloves. Curiously they appear to be custom made, as they have sealable slits at the tip of each finger. A silver spider pendant with a large blood ruby embedded in its abdomen rests just above her breasts, and is her only piece of jewelry. Because her hair is unable to properly hide her eyes, Vespera additionally wears a short veil over the top half of her face as an additional measure. Overall her wardrobe is entirely Gothic and extremely promiscuous.

[u]Personality[/u]

[b]Outward & Innate Personality:[/b] Vespera is antisocial, but not in the shy sense. Her behavior would best be described as the way a predator watches it's prey before striking. Just in this case her prey is the other members of the academy. She watches and listens to anything and everything that may come in use later. Any information about others strengths and weaknesses she keeps to herself, but in the case of rumors she likes to pass them along. Her tactic is to bring it up to a gossipy type girl, and let her do the dirty work for her. If she likes the person she'll flatter them, if not she'll blatantly insult them. The in between is when she’s getting to know them. All the while she'll remain level headed and use a sweet tone. Vespera is very competitive and will scheme to make up for defeat at nearly any cost. However, there is one thing that gets her blood to truly boil. Killing a spider. Doing so could result in her transforming, and or trying to murder the offender. This and her attitude causes her to get in more fights than the average student. On the other end she is deathly afraid of water in large quantities and absolutely hates being around it. Near psychopathic mannerisms, physical differences, and her upbringing make it difficult others to closely relate with her and vice versa. Most of her ‘friendships’ were born in either the book or science club. Vespera feels like the academy is a necessary prison, she want's nothing more than to hone her powers to perfection then get out. Her sexual orientation is bisexual, though she favors men, with her primary attraction factor being power.

Beneath the shell, Vespera’s power and experiences have molded her into a rather unbalanced individual. In her early life, before she was taken in, her development amounted to that of an evolved carnivore. This stunted her human development, and so while she’s in her twenties her behavior is often immature. Many of the measures used in used in restraining her bestial nature would be considered abusive to anyone let alone a child. In combination with her animal survival instincts she suffers from hyperarousal and defaults to aggression in the face of perceived threats. Which at one time was anyone and everyone. Rarely was she shown true compassion and those who tried were met with difficulties. The attachment process most children go through was disrupted. As a result she has severe trust issues and a lack of empathy. There wasn't somebody there for her to turn to for help or comfort, if she even would. It was never even a concept until she arrived at the academy. Without a role model she had trouble regulating her emotions and still does. The apathetic processes from her power were used as a crutch, a way to dissociate from it all. Despite habilitation attempts she feels she is more creature than human. Ultimately she jumped through the hoops to avoid what she viewed as punishment. Later on she was prompted to participate in non-physical mature activities through positive reinforcement. Because of this Vespera gained a skewed view on courtship and a level of sexual confusion. The most noticeable symptoms is her lack of modesty when it comes to clothing herself and low self respect/restraint during intimate activities. Aside from this she became a part of the family and made necessary advances to have any hope of fitting in with others. It wasn't until later that she even realized how she was taken advantage of. There are times she thinks about what she would do if they ever met again.

For the first years attending the academy everything was overwhelming for Vespera. While her situation undoubtedly improved, maltreatment was replaced with personal attacks. She existed in a state of persistent fear until she was drove to the breaking point and lashed out. By comparison to her previous environment her punishment was a mere slap on the wrist. It might as well been a reward since the perpetrator was in no condition to continue tormenting her. Slowly the anger and blame she held for the world surfaced. Her actions became more bold, rebellious, and violent. She found the closest thing she had experienced to a sense of belonging since being taken away from the household she was assigned in filling the role of a monster. Over the course of time she masked her insecurities by adopting an egocentric perspective. A grand illusion that places here near the top of the pecking order and others beneath her. She adopted arrogance with little inhibition, and no remorse. In addition to an overly solicitous and manipulative demeanor. She does her best act well refined to make up for her social shortcomings. While often times she is seen as an attention seeker, her social antics almost always have more to them than simple self gratification. There are equally as many time’s she’d prefer not to be noticed at all.

Vespera tells herself that emotions and everything she used to be was weak, she has internalized this belief to the best of her ability. That if she believes in her strength and importance enough she will never have to feel insignificant and helpless ever again. If she had it her way she would forget everything and become the persona she is trying to project. However, her unregulated and hidden emotions inevitably catch up to her at times. Most commonly when something reminds her of the past. The reason she snaps at the killing of spiders isn't because that she is overly protective of them (any more), it simply dredges up bad memories. At times these come in the form of vivid flashbacks. That and she sees it as equivalent to spitting in her face. When unable to achieve a goal after repeated attempts she is prone to impulsive and sometimes self destructive behavior. Persistent issues that she feels powerless against promotes bouts of uncontrollable depression, and makes her question her decisions. Sometimes her very existence. She thinks what she might have been like with normal upbringing, but feels she is too far gone. This is a reoccurring identity crisis. Deep down she is fearful to leave the academy for good. The first time she deliberately killed she ran back with her tail between her legs, deathly afraid of being found out, recaptured, or worse. Though she will insist otherwise. Subconsciously what she is really looking for in an individual is unconditional acceptance of who and what she is.

[b]Hobbies/Interests:[/b] The activities Vespera indulges in are strange to say the least. Much of her time is spent watching other students hang out from some dark corner. Any spiders she encounters are invited to ride along in her hair and clothing. Her favorite subject is biology, and her favorite part of that is dissections. Psychology comes in second. A large portion of her free time is spent studying for these courses.The only real normal recreation she does is read in the library, knitting/crocheting, and writing poetry.

[b]Skills/Talents:[/b] Outside of her powers, Vespera is good at a few regular activities. Her knowledge of biology and physiology is exceptional. She is a gifted pianist, poet, and songwriter. Although, all of her work is rather dark. The knitting and crocheting she does is beyond professional level. Without practice, Vespera's voice is naturally on key, and very alluring.

[b]Prized Possession:[/b] Her silver spider necklace, she found it at the warehouse she was hatched in during one of her ventures back to the UK. As if it was waiting for her.

[b]Quote(s):[/b] Anything referencing spiders and psychology. "That spider is more scared of you than you are of it. Who told you that?"

[b]History/Bio:[/b] Vespera has had the inherent power of her lineage since her first breath. Part of this power overrode her fathers traits, and allowed her mother to birth many offspring. However, as a result of this all of her siblings were female and and hatched with similar powers. This power comes with a number of spider like tendencies that are considered terrible by the general populace. Most namely the fact that they were indeed giant spiders for most intents and purposes. A complete lack of motherly instinct left them abandoned and forced to fend for themselves. Another is cannibalism. Without readily available food they turned on each other one by one until there was just Vespera. It was much too long ago for her to remember exactly what happened. Spider powers, namely the abilities to hunt and remain hidden kept her alive until she was discovered and captured. Over a year later a little girl was discovered in place of the mutant arachnid specimen. After some tests it was clear that she was one in the same. This resulted in her being taken in as an unusual wild child case. Scientists worked with her to make up for the human development she missed during the early part of her life. It wasn't like this was easy, not only did she still behave like a creature but she was extremely dangerous. The negative reinforcement they used to pacify her was necessary, but also her had a negative effect on her emotional development. At age seven she was taken into a hand selected home to be raised until she was of age to attend the academy. Under the care of a man who was into little girls and abused his guardianship of her. Her pheromones, which she hadn't learned to control yet, might have been what made him toe the line. All the other mechanics at play in the household actually did better bridge her transition to the academy.

When she first arrived she was socially awkward, practiced strange animalistic habits, and couldn't entirely keep her spider form suppressed. At the same time she wasn't open to and in fact feared normal looking people. She didn't eat anything but meat, and she would often throw up on her food then eat after. Or she might have been looking at somebody and gained an extra eye. Stuff like this got her ridiculed by select individuals. Unsurprisingly she eventually snapped when one of them who noticed she always had spiders around her and thought it would be amusing to them crush one by one to get a reaction out of her. Since she was able to communicate and some level relate to them in some ways it didn't go over well. After this incident she was taken away from the other students and worked on one on one until she was at a manageable level of control. What ultimately changed her demeanor was that at the academy it appeared that she was doing better off after responding with violence rather than worse. Coupled with the fact that her predator side enjoyed the thrill of the hunt. She was no longer picked on (in the same fashion at least) and fear switched from dominating her life to being her tool. Not everyone got the memo and so afterwards she took those who had wronged her to the arena. Eventually it became more than just pay back, she began to look for ways to elevate herself above the rest. As most of those who knew her story left and new people came into to judge her she almost stepped up to fill the role others had assigned her.

[b]Family:[/b] Mother is out there somewhere, father and siblings deceased

[u]Relationships[/u]

[b]Adam Blackmoore[/b] | [b]Annoying[/b] | [b]Teacher[/b] | "[i]A stickler, my least favorite teacher hands down. I keep it buried because unlocking my true potential will be easier with cooperation.[/i]"

[b]Henry Olin[/b] | [b]Neutral[/b] | [b]Long time acquaintance gone teacher[/b] | "[i]Soft for an apex predator, too much of a try hard. He's tolerable so long as he keeps his goody two shoes out of my business. We have shared a lot of history though.[/i]"

[b]Gabe Valos[/b] | [b]Dirt[/b] | [b]Fresh Meat[/b] | "[i]Lack of an eye, obvious disadvantage. Too loud for her own good.[/i]"

[b]Jared Winston[/b] | [b]Dirt[/b] | [b]Fresh Meat[/b] | "[i]Just another teenage male, happened to choose the wrong girl to to hit up at the wrong time. Nothing personal.[/i]"

[b]Alex Beta[/b] | [b]Prey[/b] | [b]Fresh Meat[/b] | "[i]A living flashlight that doesn't know off from on. Also of the quiet types society uses as a punching bag. then again with that outburst of hers maybe it was her I should have challenged to the arena. What a joke.[/i]"

[b]Cordella Holmes[/b] | [b]Chihuahua[/b] | [b]Fresh Meat[/b] | "[i]Talks tough and seems convinced she can back it up. We'll see. As good source of entertainment as any for the meantime.[/i]"

[b]Christopher Fox[/b] | [b]Good[/b] | [b]Old acquaintance, friend if let him[/b] | "[i]Used to be one of the only people I'd consider opening up to. Surprising he survived for so long without some sort of adaptation or healing power considering his injury and the environment. Seems to fancy me after all these years, could just be the influence of my pheromones on a fractured mind.[/i]"

[b]Vera Dubnin[/b] | [b]Neutral[/b] | [b]Shy Nurse[/b] | "[i]I can tell she doesn't like me, she needn't say a word. Makes it all he more enjoyable to be around her, or should I say it?[/i]"

[b]Valjean Vaseal[/b] | [b]Neutral[/b] | [b]Occasional Sparing Partner[/b] | "[i]Maybe if he took to more to his animal side instead of having such a stereotypical 'macho' mentality he would ditch Deborah. Wonder how long it'll take, he's rather thick and stubborn.[/i]"

[b]Dana Alcott[/b] | [b]Ridiculed Secretly[/b] | [b]Meal on Wheels[/b] | "[i]In years gone by this girl wouldn't have made it.[/i]"

[b]Shannon Balore[/b] | [b]Neutral, leaning towards negative[/b] | [b]Roommate[/b] | "[i]I'll play nice if she'll keep quiet.[/i]"

[b]Theresa[/b] | [b]Disturbing[/b] | [b]Freak Child[/b] | "[i]This boy smells like a chemical bath and pretends to be a girl. He makes me question my faith in the natural order.[/i]"

[b]Deborah Termellio[/b] | [b]Neutral[/b] | [b]Gossip Girl[/b] | "[i]Thinks she knows everything, not even half true. Doesn't realize how often I eaves drop on her and her sad troupe. I occasionally drop in to give her juicy information. It's clear that she doesn't like my motives, but she can't pass up what I have to offer.[/i]"

[b]Victoria LaRouse[/b] | [b]Neutral[/b] | [b]Amusing Underdog[/b] | "[i]Don't think I've seen anyone so outclassed yet determine to fight me. If she ever wants to dance all she need is ask.[/i]"

[b]Karlie Davis[/b] | [b]Neutral[/b] | [b]Fickle Dresser[/b] | "[i]Draws a lot of attention to herself with all those outfits. Ultimately of no concern.[/i]"

[b]Tetsuya Kyuuji[/b] | [b]Neutral[/b] | [b]Enlightened Predator[/b] | "[i]I wonder what type of garbage the monks filled his head with. Whatever they did it didn't seem to work, or he wouldn't be back here.[/i]"

[b]Seth Maxwell[/b] | [b]Mixed[/b] | [b]Undecided[/b] | "[i]I would say that I never want to see this man again... but there's things I need to ask him. And more importantly, how does he know?[/i]"

[u]Abilities[/u]

[b]Power Class:[/b] Animal 7, Elemental 6

[b]Power:[/b] Vespera has spider physiology and darkness manipulation. The first part of her abilities grants her passive spider like abilities and instincts in humanoid form. She is able to exert enough force to lift something four times her body weight. Her speed and endurance is such that she can sustainably run at a speed 25 miles an hour. In addition, she has wallcrawling, a heightened sense of smell, dark vision, and a seismic sense. Vespera secrets pheromones that make males at ease around her, and adversely makes females uncomfortable in her presence. This scent smells like a rose with a twinge of iron. It also attracts spiders of both genders indiscriminately, and she is able communicate with them.

Vespera is capable of taking on a form with physical spider like characteristics. When she does this she can gain six more eyes, and a pair of retractable mandibles. More drastic changes include her torso enlarges becoming two separate segments. The pelvic area becomes larger and more rounded whereas her front retains most of it's human features. Vespera's arms elongate, the fingers on her hands become sharp and pointed. Her legs shift unnaturally upward to the forward most part of her abdomen and become positioned at an outward angle before becoming spider like legs. Two more pairs spider like limbs protrude from her from expanded pelvic area, in front of her original legs. A good comparison would be a drider (think of a centaur with a spider body instead of a horse), except she has eight limbs in total. That and the divide between human and animal is less abrupt, more like 75 percent spider than half. While transformed to this degree of further Vespera's chitinous form would majorly occupy a ten foot by ten foot cubicle. Skin is replaced with a glossy black carapace. Fine, stiff hairs cover her body, but are only visible up close. While using this ability her strength and speed are doubled from her extra limbs. When using them to walk she can be near silent. Seismic sense is similarly doubled, and eyesight quadrupled. The addition of an exoskeleton provides a large amount of durability, especially against compressive forces. Damaged layers can be shed in exchange for new chiton that lay beneath. The remnants dissipate into a black smoke like substance that seems to roll off her body and consume itself. Her claws, leg tips, and fangs are natural weapons. Along with glands near her lymph nodes that produce an highly acidic neurotoxin, It is capable of eating through a foot of concrete in a minute. She can be inject it via bite, or spit it at a range of 25 feet. She is also capable of selectively transforming or retaining individual parts of her body. This is what allows her to create an exoskeletal limb that has finger like appendages.

[i]Shadow Webs:[/i] Instead of having spinnerets, Vespera's creates and manipulates webs made of shadow. These are capable of being solid, incorporeal, or like actual spider web. Solid and traditional web are comparable to titanium bars or cables respectively. The former is capable of complete cover, even with it's gaps. Common uses for this is making walls and shields. Shooting balls of condensed shadow web are viable offence option. Incorporeal webs cannot be interacted with physically by anyone other than Vespera. Meaning that she can climb on them, while everything else passes through. Because the web is really generated elemental energy can be quickly made into complex shapes, and does not require anchoring. If it can be made of web, Vespera can make it. Currently she is learning to shape the ends of her constructs into spikes. 

[i]Inner darkness (unlocked later):[/i] In a 25 foot radius Vespera is capable of dampening the light levels. It originates from her and spreads outward in all directions. When at full strength the inside is completely devoid of light, outside it looks like a dome of night. Only the brightest of lights are capable of penetrating it's depths, this is further explained in her weaknesses. Most of them time she doesn't go all the way so she can still see. Other times the only purpose is to benefit her shadow webs without restricting vision as much.

[b]Weaknesses/Limitations/Drawbacks:[/b] Vespera has weaknesses inherent of spiders, and of darkness users. Foremost is her fear of water, and the inability to swim at all in spider form. Spider legs are poor suited for swimming, with her extra body mass and exoskeleton she'd sink like a rock. Even without her entering liquid, her fear of it can give an opponent a terrain advantage. While in spider form, her black exoskeleton absorbs more radiation than lighter colored chitin would. Prolonged exposure will boil her in her carapace. Partially hydraulic locomotion requires excess blood. This in combination with having a lower body temperate than a normal person makes her susceptible to cold. Her movements will start to become sluggish and she will start to shut down quicker than a normal person, the exact rate is proportional degree of transformation. Switching into spider form is not instantaneous. Surprising her, or being quick allows an attacker to damage her more vulnerable humanoid form before she can react. Constant damage can prevent her from transforming at all. The main limiting factor is a degree anatomical correctness. Vespera is only able to make modifications that positionally make sense, and she can't exceed the quantity of parts a standard spider has. For example she can only produce two fangs, and they have to be from her mouth. Aside from smell spiders have inferior senses to humans, thus replacing her human sensory organs reduces her awareness (some spiders eye sight is nearly as good as humans though). Additionally, her spider form makes a larger target, and inhibits fitting through tight places. Her sensitive eyes are easily blinded by bright light. She can only store a cup of poison at a time, and it takes a half hour to fully replenish. The limited quantity makes it poor suited for breaching materials. Glass, some ceramics and metals are completely immune to or hardly affected by the acid. Rupturing her venom glands will cause extra damage to Vespera and deprive her of this offense option.

All of Vespera's darkness abilities are vulnerable to light, this is the most effective way to deal with shadow webs. Light attacks and light emitting abilities cut through them with ease. Durable blades is the next best method. In light levels above 500 lux (typical indoor light levels) they will start to weaken considerably. Exposed to direct sunlight they are no stronger than natural fibers. Additionally, light is also how best to counter the absolute darkness. Users that can directly manipulate light can nullify it. The brightest lights like lasers and plasma can also briefly penetrate the gloom. Anything short will still work as usual with extremely diminished illumination. This ability has a half an hour cool down when used to it's fullest. Excessive use of her shadow abilities causes exhaustion and eventually depletion, at which point she will have to recover before using them again. Injuring Vespera significantly while in human form, or penetrating the lower of her abdomen in spider form (where the spinnerets are usually housed) will cause her leak shadowy smoke quickly eliminating her reserve.