[hider=Graffiti]Name: Arlene Jefferson

Age: 23

Gender: Female

Appearance: At a slight and lean 5’2, the unseeming African American woman is rarely pegged as a threat. Her hair is in a small afro, though it’s often kept under a hat or a hood. Her left shoulder down to her wrist is covered in tattoos of vines and flowers.

[hider=Bio]An orphan abandoned at birth, high school dropout, and foster home runaway, Arlene had always considered herself an outsider. At 16, she was living alone on the streets of Chicago, getting by on petty thievery and handouts from generous passers by. It was on those streets where she learned not only how to fight, but when to fight and how to run away when she chose not to. 

She became notorious for her graffiti work throughout the city - Arlene would often paint over corporate logos or government insignias and replace them with oddly vibrant illustrations of fantastical scenes, usually incorporating mythical creatures. Her work, she would explain, was both a response to the bland machine that was mainstream society as well as the overwhelming pessimism and nihilism of anti-governmental movements and activists. Through her graffiti, Arlene was able to form numerous connections with members of the criminal underworld of Chicago as well as with the local homeless and vagrant population. 

By 18, Arlene was forced to relocate out of Chicago due to increasing pressure from both the police as well as the public eye calling for her arrest. However, the only contact that could get her out of the city was a Mafia boss she had become acquainted with during her time as a rogue graffiti artist. Arlene negotiated a trade: he got her out of Chicago, she did a job for him in Ankora, no questions asked. She agreed, seeing no other methods by which she could leave the city successfully. She took all her spray cans and what little money she had in a backpack and fled for Ankora.

Upon arrival, Arlene was given a silenced handgun, an address, and a note with only five words: “Kill everyone, take the money.” Arlene had killed a man before, but it had been a self-defense situation when she was in Chicago. Murder in cold blood was new to her. 

Arlene tried to run and hide, hoping the Mafia would just forget about her and get the job done with other means, but within two days she was found and captured. She was given one more chance to complete the job before they had her killed. As she was out of options, Arlene had no choice but to oblige.

The address led to a house in the suburbs of Ankora, a wealthy and quiet neighborhood. Arlene slipped in through a window on the upper floor, finding herself in the master bedroom of the house. A couple was sleeping in the bed - without a second thought, she killed them both. She found the money she was supposed to take in a safe downstairs, and left the house. Arlene met up with the Mafia, who took the money and disposed of the gun, and just like that she was free in Ankora.

The following day, the news broke of her crime - Arlene caught a TV report in the diner where she was eating breakfast. The couple had been head executives at two different corporations, and the repercussions their deaths had on their companies would be devastating, but not fatal for either business. The money was allegedly drug money owed to the Mafia, which the couple had been tied to for several months already. 

As such, Arlene found herself haunted by her actions, but somewhat relieved at the outcome. She had expected much worse, and was surprised that she had seemingly just tied off a loose end for the Mafia. Weeks went by, and as it became apparent that Arlene wasn’t implicated in the murders in any way, she became more and more comfortable with killing.

She resumed her graffiti streak in Ankora, but it was different this time. Her art, while still fantastical in appearance, began to be darker in theme. Where once the colorful images were of peaceful landscapes and images of mythical creatures, those landscapes were becoming more and more absurd, the creatures more and more grotesque.

Arlene still stole to survive, but she found herself tending to be more violent when people got in her way, whether it was the owner of wherever it was she was stealing from, or a police officer that caught her in the act. Her violent beatdowns slowly became more and more damaging to their victims, and she had no qualms killing out of necessity or even by accident. 

As time went on, she expanded who she attacked from people that got in her way to people that got in the way of others that she deemed fellow outcasts - namely, the homeless or lower-income citizens of Ankora. Be it overly aggressive police officers or petty criminals, Arlene stopped at nothing to keep “her people” safe. Often when she killed, she would display the bodies as pieces of her artwork, surrounded by her increasingly bizzare graffiti. As such, the underbelly of Ankora views Arlene as a protector, calling her “Graffiti” after her trademark.[/hider] Threw this in a hider since it's a lot longer than I anticipated it to be.

Personality: She’s a bit of a firecracker - a free spirit with the will and ability to just about do whatever she wants to. Graffiti doesn’t really like it when things don’t go her way, but unless you’re trying to stop her from doing what she wants or threatening her or someone she wants to protect, it’s hard to find yourself in a position where your interests clash with hers.

In recent years, she’s become increasingly violent, and Graffiti is open to exploring that side of herself. The few that know her personally in Ankora think she’s becoming more and more of a loose cannon, though not yet to the point where she’s out of control.

Vigilante Name: Graffiti
Costume: If you can call a black hoodie, stolen black military-grade combat pants, boots, and a gasmask a costume, then that’s Graffiti’s costume. Sometimes she has a backpack if she needs to carry a little extra. She has a holster for her pistol on her left side, and a “holster” for a spray can on her right. Her knives are all sheathed along her left leg. 

Abilities/Skills: Her main ability is that she has the speed, agility, and athleticism of an Olympic level, which allows her to move freely and quickly. Graffiti isn’t inherently very strong - much of her power in a fight comes from outmaneuvering her opponent and maintaining an element of surprise in doing so. She gets overwhelmed when she’s greatly outnumbered, in which case she can almost effortlessly run away.

She’s a skilled fighter, if her technique is unorthodox. Without any formal training, Graffiti has learned to resort to dirty fighting in order to win. Low blows and cheap shots aplenty when Graffiti gets into a fight. Her knives come into play here - she keeps anywhere between a dozen to two dozen knives on her at all times so she can use them liberally in a fight, should she have to.

Throughout the years, Graffiti’s also become quite a good shot with her pistol. She’s no marksman, but she can hit a target with military precision.

She’s also one of the most talented graffiti artists of all time, despite the oddity of her work.

Equipment: The pistol Graffiti carries is a silenced Sig P226 - the pistol itself was stolen from a police officer she killed, and the silencer was stolen from an illegal weapons deal she snuck in on. Her knives are mostly simple throwing knives -  she doesn’t use them for throwing too often, rather she uses them when she’s close to someone and has the jump on them. The only knife that isn’t a throwing knife is a military issue combat knife, also lifted off that weapons deal.

But while that’s all fun and games, Graffiti’s most prized pieces of equipment are her spray cans - in particular, the cans in which she’s mixed a little chlorine gas into the paint. Typically, the spray can holster holds one of these “tainted cans,” as she calls them, meant for easy access when she needs to play a little extra dirty.

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral/Chaotic Good, though it’s all down to perspective really. Ultimately, Graffiti serves herself first, and others second, and she’ll do just about anything she can in order to protect herself. But since she also has a sense for protecting others, there’s a case for calling her good.

Reputation: The outsiders of Ankora love her, but the wealthy and the government are calling for her arrest.

Accord Compliance: She doesn’t like laws.[/hider]