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Samaira was always something of a troubled person even before her dramatic change, but before everything and especially before that video, her troubles were at least written off as stress related. It was always because of her family, or so she would claim whenever she had the boon of patient-doctor confidentiality, but at some point being picked up from police stations with a busted lip and the faint trace of alcohol on the breath people start to wonder if it's a cry for help. Not that really anyone could help since Samaira was staunchly opposed to such a thing. Her problems were her own, or that of her parents and their strict views and upbringings. Samaira couldn't do this. Samaira had to do that. It was, as always, the rebellious youth refusing to grow up. Samaira didn't see the appeal in traditions, and the hammer swung hard in the other direction. And with it came her reputation.
In terms she was once told by her father after one of Samaira's first incidents, she was already coming to the game with a loaded deck. Not everyone was keen on the Varma family even with their contributions to the community. Old prejudices and older habits meant Samaira had to be better than what people expected. Of course, not everyone was against the Varma's, but to Samaira it always felt like she was being held under an impossibly large microscope. Her family wanted her to act one way, society another, and not once did it seem like she could do anything other than play along. She was that, for a time, the quiet but unassuming girl, out of sight, out of mind. That wasn't her.
Samaira started small enough, taking things that didn't belong to her from stores. Candy. Soda. Snacks. The harmless stuff. Petty theft was still theft, however, and after getting caught the first time she realized a sad truth. It was the only time her parents seemed to care about
her. Not her reputation and by extension theirs, but her actual well being. So of course that was just enough justification for Samaira to keep doing it. To keep getting taken in, intentionally violating curfews and making herself out to be a negative source. Samaira craved what she didn't have: familial attention and bonding and, yes, even love.
Her reputation leveled out as she reached her twenties. The should've been valedictorian of her high school went on to not go to college. Her time spent in the back of police cars and underage drinking caught up with her in her early twenties and finding employment to support her was difficult, if nothing else. Her parents didn't want to support someone that threw away her life so what could she do? As Samaira became an adult, she started feeling more and more isolated and shunned. By her parents. By her lack of true friends. By her lack of love.
She wasn't quite sure when it happened, but after the change she felt even more shunned, isolated, and feared. People already didn't like her because of her youth of getting into thefts and trouble, and now she was even more different, and not just because of her ancestry and skin color. At least when she had a skin color it was easy to point to that as a reason for being shunned...now she no longer had that.
It was fortunate, then, that the Coalition entered her life. Even though among them she still felt like an outcast...at least it gave her something positive for a change. People do stupid things in their youth, Samaira especially, and the change had to have been karma coming to bite at her; and the Coalition her way of earning trust back in the eyes of those above and around.
And yet, Samaira sometimes feels just the same as she did as a child. Unsure. Alone. And very, very afraid.
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A B I L I T I E SSpectra's Power, in the easiest term of the word, is Light and Color Manipulation. In more complicated terms she can refract and reflect and focus the variety of colors in the spectrum of light. Ever since her powers came to light (pun intended) along with the Change that turned her from Samaira into Spectra, her body itself has become almost ethereal, as if she was a living being made of light itself. As such her body gives off color and effectively makes her like a mood ring, though her more active abilities are not tied to emotions as her body is. With the abilities she has she can control the direction of her light emissions, their frequency (or color), and intensity. Though not physically the strongest in terms of ability, Spectra has discovered quite a few uses for her unique brand of ability. Uses such as (but not limited to):
Photon Blasts: The staple ability if ever there was one, Spectra uses her light and color to produce what are effectively energy beams. They can be any color but no one color is stronger than the other, it's mostly for effect. The photon blasts are like hard light constructs in a way, in that though it might seem like shooting a beam of light, it's actually a physical thing and not just some minor annoyance. Spectra can technically emit photon waves from anywhere on her body but she uses her hands as that gives her more accurate control. She can fire a sustained beam but it exhausts her, and should she use her body to become a bright beam of blinding photon energy, the strain could well be fatal.
Holographic Projection: By shifting light particles, Spectra can effectively create holograms of herself in order to distract. Theoretically she could project OTHERS but she hasn't exactly tried this in the field.
Flashbang: Using her lights in ways other than her primary attacking method, Spectra can, of course, blind someone temporarily (or permanently if she lost control or was particularly malicious) with light and color. Imagine shining a flashlight directly into your eyes. Now imagine it was even brighter than that.
Flight: More of a hover, really. It's amazing what the manipulation of light energy can do to a body.
Hard Light Body: Spectra's body might not have, well...human qualities anymore but it does have certain advantages. Namely that she can't be blinded herself by light and she's a lot lighter in terms of weight and mass. That said because of the nature of her ability, she does need at least a light source to be at all effective making her greatest weakness...well...the darkness. And her body, which is almost glass in appearance, is pretty fragile which makes her a light glass cannon of sorts.
C O M B A TSpectra is not a close quarters fighter by any means. She is, however, useful in setting up diversions and traps with her holographs and blinding flashes. When things do get to the action phase, and they always do, she's better used as a ranged fighter, offering support with her photon blasts. She can throw a punch but given the nature of her body she prefers not to do a lot of physical attacks of that sort. She's trying to master the art of light warping - that is being able to warp to any light source - but her powers seem geared differently.
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L O O K S & S T Y L E Before there was Spectra there was Samaira and Samaira had long, raven black hair and frequent dark eye makeup to give her a smokey sort of look about her. Samaira was above average in height, about five eight or so, and had a healthy, albeit slightly thick, figure. Of course, that Samaira no longer exists. Now she is Spectra and her body is, well, different. Her hair is more like those color changing strands on fake Christmas wreaths and her body is like glass, except people can't see their reflection in her. Spectra no longer possesses a normal body, instead being a being that, while certainly humanoid in shape, seems to be more ethereal in appearance. Gone is the epidermis, replaced instead by a sort of...crystalline shape. Where once there was skin there is now a translucent form, a form that takes in and changes color like a fiber optic holiday tree. The features present on a human exist. Spectra has fingers and toes, a physical 'body' that is just...crystalline. Her eyes change along with the color of her body, but there are no pupils or irises. Just glowing sockets serving as eyes. For the sake of those around her, Spectra wears clothing, though she prefers to wear items such as robes...things that she can drape over herself.
P E R S O N A L I T Y T R A I T S - Hers is a curious mind, though a more introspective sort of curiosity. She doesn't question the why of things believing that simply asking 'why' when you don't understand something is no way to learn. Spectra would love to be a social butterfly but understands that her appearance makes that difficult. Sure, people might be accepting of Empowered..but she has seen the looks people give her...the awkward way in which they aren't sure how to speak to her...it's easier for the common citizen to make sense of Empowered sorts that at least can look human from the right angle or light...but Spectra doesn't have that luxury unless she wears clothing over every part of her body. It's hard for her to maintain a positive outlook, and it's because of her appearance that she constantly puts on a braver face than the truth of the situation. Spectra will never be the first one to leap into action but neither will she be the one to hesitate and wrestle with doubt; she'd just prefer to take a moment to consider every option rather than rushing in. Spectra will often be the first one to LEAVE the scene of action, however, if only because civilians have a tendency to flood the area after the fact and flashing cameras and easily swayed normals drag up her own feelings of insecurity.
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L O V E D O N E S Priya Varma: Mother, pharmacist. Hasn't talked to her since being kicked out of the house
Sayid Varma: Father, store owner and community board member. Hasn't talked to him since being kicked out of the house.
Y O U R L I F E S O F A R- Overly traditional family lifestyle disagreed with her
- Turned to little thefts to find affection and care and love from her parents
- Felt ostracized due to her race and her criminal actions, no matter how small, as such became independent and alone
- Constantly searched for love and acceptance where she could, finding it only in her court-appointed therapist and in the officers that arrested her. This in turn lead to a teenage period of vandalism, curfew breaking, theft, anything to get someone to care.
- Graduated high school but didn't get accepted into college. Parents kicked her out at age 20
- Remained alone even more so after her body changed into Spectra
- Taken in by the Coalition, though her body still makes her feel outcast, but the Coalition at least seems to provide the stability she desperately needed
- Attempting to make amends for her teenage years by doing good with the Coalition
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Dazzler is my shit. Could you not tell?
Anushka Sharma is the claim
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