King Kindred

Spider-Verse: Dark Destiny

Sorry everyone! I had to help a friend today, but once I'm home y'all have me.

Spider-Verse: Dark Destiny

Ended up changing some stuff around, decided not to go with Kraven and Scorpion, instead my character studied under this world's version of Doctor Conners. Hopefully everything's good!

He's damp, and he's dangerous!

All right, let’s take it from the top, one more time…

What’s your name?
My name is Oliver Raulot. For the last year and a half, I've been living a double life as Argyros. But the public only ever calls me The Sea Spider. Unfortunately.

How old are you?
Somehow, I've made it to twenty-three.

What do you look like?
A friend of mine used to say I was doomed to eternally look like I just pulled an all-nighter. That was before I got bitten, since then, I've gotten in better shape, and gotten much worse sleeping habits.

Image

My costume is slim, designed for minimal resistance both on land and in water, with webbed gloves to help me swim faster. The material is similar to a diving suit, but the tensile strength is superior. It's kind of a little too slim honestly, but I don't really have the cash to redesign it.

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What's your story? What was it like before and after becoming a Spider-Totem?
I'll try to skip to the juicy bits. I grew up in Chicago, living as what could dystopianly be referred to as 'upper lower class'. Meaning I was poor, but not at risk of losing my home. Middle child of three, I was the quiet one. My family loved me, but they had no idea what to do with me, other than take me to the lake. I used to swim down as far as I could, trying to hold my breath longer each time. Damn near gave my Mom a heart attack. We'll trim the fat and skip to the good stuff, I went to school, got some friends, met a girl, it didn't last. The friends didn't either. I decided I was done with Chicago, went to college in New York for Marine Biology.

I wouldn't say I was a prodigy, because I don't like the implication that it was natural talent instead of hard work, but I graduated without any issue, apparently I did well enough to net me an internship working for Doctor Curt Connors, a geneticist with a lot of eccentric ideas. But I liked eccentric, it was new, and it was exciting. So I was on board, studying on a boat for months with Doctor Connors, some of his colleagues, and two other interns. To my surprise, I became fast friends with them both. Becca was in the field of chemical oceanography and had a razor sharp wit, I made sure never to make her mad. And Tyler was a motor technician, and was about as easy-going as they came.

Since I was the intern studying biology, I operated directly under Doctor Connors. It made me realize I was working with a legitimate genius. He had all these projects.. studying diving dell spiders to imitate their ability to collect air bubbles, he had this idea to use the cells of alligator gar to replicate their unique swim bladder's oxygen filtration abilities, these ideas that just seemed so beyond possible. But I was right there, seeing him make real progress. We had done good work, and were wrapping up the expedition, headed back to New York. Nearly in the bay, and everything was right as rain. Up until someone screwed everything up. I still have no idea if it was sabotage from a jealous colleague, corporate espionage, or just a stupid mistake. But some chemicals got swapped, and when me and Doctor Connors were in the lab, we were ground zero of a chemical explosion.

It blew out our engine, and left me and the Doctor in bad condition. They phoned for help, but before it got there, the both of us.. changed. I caught a dosage of our diving bell spider experiment, it altered my DNA. I was the lucky one. It changed me, but not nearly as much as it did Connors. the alligator gar DNA wasn't as stabilized as the diving bell, so the result was a lot more extreme. He became a monster, nearly killed us before help arrived. Then he dove into the water. I'd like to think it was his humanity, deciding to flee instead of attack us.. But I don't know.

What was I doing, with my brand new abilities when he attacked, you may ask? Hiding. Like a coward. I left Becca and Tyler to die, it's a miracle they didn't. I'll skip over the crushing guilt and the brutal pity-party I had for a while afterwards. Both out of a lack of necessity and to preserve some shred of dignity.

So anyway, I'm a vigilante now. See, I might be a coward. But I can take responsibility for my actions, I'm not turning tail and running anymore. I have the ability to help, so I will. It's been a while now and the people I'm fighting are getting meaner, stronger, they aren't just thugs anymore. I'm starting to feel like I'm out of my depth, but I'll keep treading water.

Powers and Tech
From what I gather, I have what one might consider the standard spider suite. Superhuman physique, a sixth sense, and a heck of a lot of agility.

But I'm more.. I don't know a positive word for it. I'm more mutated. My hair changed, it's a little bit coarser now, head and body, It's become that of a diving bell spider, lets me trap oxygen bubbles between the strands so I can stay underwater for a long time. I can swim fast, really fast. I'm not sure if the other spider-people can too, or if that's just me.

Oh, and my webs are organic, come straight from the wrists, as disturbing as that is, it is a huge boon, because I don't have any gadgets. I'm not that kind of scientist, after all.

Do you believe in aliens?
Yeah, but I think we ought to be worried about what's already here on earth.

What are your goals for the future?
Find Doctor Connors and cure him, which will hopefully lead to me escaping this dead-end job. Beyond that..? I really don't know. I can't do this forever, but it feels irresponsible to quit.

You lived in New York for a while now, right? What do you think of the city?
I feel like it's given me Stockholm Syndrome. Staten Island and Brooklyn are my haunts, and I've gotten nearly killed in both places more times than I can count. But I still feel a connection to it.

How much technology do you use on a daily basis?
It's the modern day, it's impossible not to use technology daily. I like analog when I have the choice, but it's usually not convenient.

What do you like?
Despite several traumatic ocean experiences, I still like freediving a lot. I listen to a lot of instrumental music, it helps me focus. If I didn't like marine biology I wouldn't have bothered studying it, so I like that. And I like street food, the cheaper the better.

What do you dislike?
As of recently, alligators and alligator-adjacent things make the top of that list, both dislike and fear. I've never liked coffee, either. Not a fan of my job, I spent too long on this degree to clean tanks!

Do you think true evil exists?
Yeah, call me a pessimist, I guess.

What’s your favorite color?
Purpley-blue, I dunno the names of colors. Sorry.

Favorite song?
"Chicago" by Sufjan Stevens. I miss home sometimes, cut me some slack.

Anything else to add?
Sea Spiders are not actual spiders. The fact that I keep getting called 'The Spectacular Sea Spider' drives me up the wall. Argyros rolls off the tongue just fine!

What are your thoughts on these people?
Other Spider-Folk: Eugh.. I dunno. Maybe I'm just an ass, but I kind of resent them. I mean, in a way they're my inspiration. But also, and I know it's stupid, but it feels like the second they come onto the scene, the world goes crazy. It's not fair to hold it against them or blame them, but.. here we are.

Doctor Curtis Connors: I feel like Ahab chasing my white whale. He was my mentor, and I learned so much from him. I respect him a lot, and I want to help him. But he's also terrifying. He's a semi-aquatic alligator gar monster now, and I've seen his teeth puncture solid steel with barely any strain.

Becca & Tyler: I care about them a lot. They are my best friends, the best friends I've ever had. Our friendship is.. messy right now, that day on the boat complicated things. I want to be a better friend to them, but it's hard when I have to split my focus on vigilantism.

@GubGar

I really love this. It's very unique. Also, everyone that's posted so far is approved. I'm really looking forward to getting started with these amazing characters.

Spider-Verse: Dark Destiny

Sorry about not talking much/showing off my WIP sheet! I've been distracted, but hopefully, I'll get Spider Jester's sheet out today or tomorrow! :3

@Dragonfly 9

You're good! I'm sorry as well about not having mine and the OOC not finished yet. Had some issues, but all have been resolved. OOC should be up tomorrow.

Spider-Verse: Dark Destiny

I’m working on a semi venomised OC. Essentially before he was bitten he was getting treated with suspicious biomatter to try and cure a genetic ailment he had growing up. Essentially the spider bite awakens part of the Symbiote DNA that was injected in him and fused it with his own.

@Sanity43217

I know @Crimson Flame may have some plans for the symbiote of this universe. DM him before get too deep just so everything's fine and in alignment.

Spider-Verse: Dark Destiny

If Sam ever had a run in with Black Cat during some sort of heist, they likely would have worked together and just kinda shook on it and went on their merry way. If they ever met during her vigilante days, she probably let him go after making him cough up his winnings for the night XD

And also, Sam has constantly been on Kingpin's ass for the fun of it.

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Hell yeah, she'd appreciate it a lot. I hope he retains his iconic tentacle arms but spider legs in this form.

@Polaris North

I could definitely see Sam being the closest thing Felix had to a friend. He'd definitely help her fuck with Kingpin.

And of course. Being a Spider-Totem helped him perfect them.

Spider-Verse: Dark Destiny

<Snipped quote by King Kindred>

She would be honored and find it a little funny that he would be inspired by a more violent spider person than the other more famous (and more moral) ones XD. And also, I imagine that they would have all met each other at one point or another and Sam would definitely comment about the cool webs considering she never made her own LOL.

Maybe! The group was definitely the kind who went in, did what they had to do, and got out with as minimal casualties to others as possible to avoid detection and violent grudges. So if they did cross paths, Sam probably only fought until she could properly escape without being tracked.

@Polaris North

Lol he'd know there are some situations that require a touch not so delicate. Once they started teaming up I could see him offering her web-shooters of her own. He's gonna be the very techy Spider-Man with all kind of gadgets to help him stop crime.

Spider-Verse: Dark Destiny

Question; I was considering adding a villain or two of this universe into my Spider Totem's backstory, and wanted to see if that'd be alright. If any are off limits that's totally fine, I was considering Mac Gargan and maybe Kraven.

@GubGar

Both of those are good to use. The only one that's really off-limits is the Green Goblin since he doesn't exist yet, but the Hobgoblin does. He was Caty's first villain.

Caty and Danny took on Mysterio so he exists as well and there may have been a symbiote Danny event. Black Cat exists as well, but genderbent so @Polaris North may have had a run-in with him.

Your characters may have vague memories of Doc Ock being a villain, but you wouldn't really remember until you started traveling through the multiverse.

Spider-Verse: Dark Destiny

<Snipped quote by King Kindred>

Yessir. And yeah! I think so too. If anything, they could have worked with each other before the group got together. Maybe dealing with seedier groups and making sure they don't walk away or smth like that.

Interestingly! Sam was still an active villain when Caty, Danny and Bob first got bitten. I'm not sure if they would have ever crossed paths since Sam dealt mostly in more covert operations but they probably have heard of the group she did work with.

@Polaris North

I could definitely see that. I wouldn't be surprised if she inspired him and is one of the reasons he ended up calling himself the Arachnid. He's one of, if not the last to become a Spider-Totem, having only been bitten 1 and a half to 2 years ago after working closely with Caty as his TA.

And it would've been interesting had Sam crossed paths with them. Maybe even during Caty's initial solo run.

Spider-Verse: Dark Destiny

@King Kindred@Polaris North Since Caty and Danny are the same age as Bob are you okay with them having gone to the same school?

@Duthguy

Yeah, I'm cool with it and since Bob also got his powers 5 years ago, I just wanted to make sure it was after Caty and Danny did since they'll be the first ones bitten.

Spider-Verse: Dark Destiny

Hi, hi! Here we go. I tried going for a villain-turned-vigilante who retained her lack of morals to maybe give some conflict especially since she's on the older end of the characters. I'm not sure if I went too overboard with the backstory or if I need to expound on it more.

Sam Blythe | Araltus

All right, let’s take it from the top, one more time…

What’s your name?
Samantha Blythe. Or Sam... or Sammy. I don't care either way. The other "me" is called Araltus.

How old are you?
Fresh into 24... yay.

What do you look like?

Looks

Costume

What's your story? What was it like before and after becoming a Spider-Totem?
Let's see here... I don't think there was anything particularly alarming or interesting during my childhood days. I mean, I was your typical kid. I got into a couple of fights, a bit of roughhousing, and might have gotten on the other side of the law every now and then but that's just typical kid stuff, right? Typical delinquent kid stuff, I guess. I'm not saying my parents were particularly abusive, just... absent if you will. They bailed me out when it counted, and went to PT meetings at school when they could but when we got home, they just shrugged it off as me acting out a bit, gave me a few stern words, and maybe a day or two of doing all the chores in the house, then let me go about my life again.

I was a teenager leading a relatively normal life. I was, up until I had gotten involved with one Mikhail Moronov. Now let me tell you this guy was no joke. I met him through one of my part-time jobs as an assistant in an underground fighting ring and he noticed that I had a particular skill set he wanted to cultivate. Something about lacking the fear of consequences or... well, actually just lacking fear overall. He offered me a job I could not refuse. Literally. Like, if I refused, I don't think I would still be here. Anyway, Moronov put me into training which constituted having to learn... various questionable things. I think my parents believe me to have died which is probably Moronov's doing.

Now, you might be asking me, what kind of work did Mikhail Mornov put me on? I think it's best for both of us that you don't know.

Either way, that all came to a close shortly after I was bitten by this weird, anomalous spider. Our little base of operations was raided by one of the rival groups and I had personally seen Mikhail Moronov killed. I was freed from my contract with this devil of a man and I escaped the base as quickly as possible. However, the only thing I wished that could have been different was that I hadn't stayed to watch my former boss die as this had caused me to be too late to save a partner of mine— Gabriel.

Secret life aside, I had since moved on to take on a job as a freelance writer. However, these new powers were... interesting and I always had an itch to do something more physical. And so, I became a vigilante. We're going on a solid four years now.

Powers and Tech
Araltus: I observed super strength, an increase in agility, speed and durability, regeneration, and being able to stick to walls ever since I had been bitten by that spider. I also obtained this so called "spider senses" that allowed me to percieve if there is any danger around me.

Shade: Now as to why I was called Shade was due to this ability I have where I can essentially "enter" a shadow and traverse through it undetected. We call it shadow walking, one of the gifts that had been bestowed by making a deal with the devil known as Mikhail Moronov.

Equipment: Mainly, I use two shock batons modified to be able to produce higher voltages than normal to be able to help take down more powerful enemies. But I'm no stranger to using sharper weaponry if need be. Alas, I don't have access to Moronov's personal armory anymore. I also have two grappling hooks that act as my own "webs" but, unfortunately, are limited in both length and the fact that I can't leave them behind and have to wait for it to reel in to use it again. The technology used in this grappling hook wherein there's no physical evidence left to wherever it sticks to is apparently alien in nature but I'm not sure what from.

Do you believe in aliens?
Yeah. What? Did you think we made these stuff? 'Course not!

What are your goals for the future?
Earn more, and get some more positive reviews as a freelance writer so I can get more jobs. Maybe I can get better pay too. Ha! Maybe I can also start writing original books to get published.

You lived in New York for a while now, right? What do you think of the city?
It's crowded and noisy but it's home.

How much technology do you use on a daily basis?
Not as much as I had before, that's for sure, but when aren't we using some form of technology?

What do you like?
I like writing a lot. From what I can remember, my parents always told me I was creative.
I did like training and I still regularly go to the gym or fighting rings, but I have to hold back nowadays and it's a bit of a shame.
Thanks to Moronov, I've become quite good at most types of conventional weaponry and martial arts. I still sometimes go to shooting ranges to see if I still got it. I do.
I've come to start keeping little plants around my small apartment.
I like smoking, or rather it's a bad habit I've picked up. Wonderful, isn't it?

What do you dislike?
I suppose I heavily dislike having to work under people. I finally got out of the deal with the devil and I won't easily go back.
I hate staying idle for too long. Maybe it just got drilled into me.
I don't want to lose anyone close to me ever again— so I try to keep people at arm's length.
I hate being known. I prefer being able to work and help from the dark instead of having my mask blown on newspapers. No one listens to the boundaries of vigilantes, unfortunately.

Do you think true evil exists?
No. Not really. Unless there's an actual avatar of evil out there. There probably is honestly.

What’s your favorite color?
A midnight blue. #0076a3

Favorite song?
"Villain" by Stella Jang

Anything else to add?
In the years I've worked under Moronov, I've been to many places around the world. But maybe you don't want to know what I've been doing out there.
I was born without the ability to feel fear.

What are your thoughts on these people?
Bernard Blythe - My father. I don't remember much about him aside from the fact that he likes coffee and newspapers. I haven't checked in on him ever since my release.

Laura Blythe - My mother. She was much kinder but still overall absent. She's taught me how to be polite and what to touch and not touch, do or not do, because without the ability of fear, I was an unruly child. I haven't checked in on her ever since my release.

@Polaris North

Nah, it's perfect. It's cool that you left things vague. You probably plan on expounding on it more in the IC. I feel like Samantha and Otto would get along well. They're both more on the vigilante/anti-hero side of heroism. It adds an interesting dynamic to the group.

I'll be finishing up my CS's and the OOC after work today.