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Nov 13, 2024 8:56:01 GMT -6
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Individual
Character's full name: Stephanie Irene Graves
Alias/ Nickname/ Code name: The Silhouette, A host of past aliases
Gender: Female
Age: 33 18 (De-Aged in FoY 2019)
Date of Birth: 04/19/1984 (If you factor in her de-aging, 2001)
Nationality/ Ethnicity: American, Caucasian
Place of origin: Raleigh, North Carolina (AV)
Current Home: Manhattan, New York City, NY
Appearance
Hair color and style: Dark brown hair, cut to just above her shoulders.
Eyes: Brown, with flecks of gold
Height: 5’11”
Build: Lithe and limber, but growing thinner with each passing day of stress, athletic and in her prime.
Visible mutation: None
Scars/ Tattoos/ Piercings: An ouroboros tattoo above her left shoulder blade, (the result of a lost bet in her teenage years.) probably recent in relation to her new age.
Other features: Stephanie often wears glasses, (preferring them to contacts)
Everyday clothing style: Stephanie usually dresses to impress, with skirts, form-fitting dresses, and buttoned blouses. Stephanie's tastes lean toward trendy and refined, though she is not afraid to dress up properly if there is a need for it. More casual outfits are for lazing about, which she does not get to do often.
Uniform: Stephanie will wear a skintight leotard in any situation where she sees the possible need to shift into her shadowform.
Sleepwear: A tanktop and cotton shorts
Character
Personality: Stephanie once caught a thrill from thievery, but since crime became something she had to do under threats against her daughter’s safety, it has become less of a thrill and more a source of anxiety. When no one is looking, Stephanie is jumpy, waiting for the next assignment Poseidon sees fit to give to her. She used to be quippy, but her verbal jabs have grown harsh and venomous. Dealing with the stress of feeling trapped is taking its toll, leading to weight loss, high strung behavior, and a smoking habit.
It is fortunate for Stephanie that one of her greatest social skills is her ability to lie. She is not the charming, persuasive young woman she once was, but when the need arises, it is a persona she can still wear like a mask. This “former self” is the same place she can pull from to feign confidence in front of colleagues, targets, and when necessary, her daughter. Regardless of how much she might suffer at the hands of her stress (and Poseidon,) Stephanie refuses to allow her daughter, Malia, know there is anything wrong in the background of her life.
With a baby to take care of, Stephanie views her thievery more seriously than she did two years ago, but she does still get a thrill from what she does. She likes being clever and thinking herself into and out of problems, and her wit and sass can do both at a moment's notice. She can lie like it's second nature, and when necessary, she is more than ready to turn on the charm. Flirting is usually a tool for fun or business advantage, and Stephanie's life experiences have not led her to a place where she is looking to trust people too much, personally or professionally.
After being selfish for so long, Stephanie has regained some empathy since Malia was born. She is protective of those younger than her, particularly when they are children. She is not a fan of violence, choosing to be stealthy over strong whenever possible, but she will get violent for the sake of a child's safety.
Stephanie likes control, particularly in her work. She is thorough, thinking about variables, exit points, worst-case scenarios, and anything else she would want to know before thieving. It isn't that she can't adapt, but being caught off guard can lead to bad decision making, which she hates. Being out of sorts or lacking control in her personal life leaves Stephanie flustered. Being a mother has been a lesson in feeling flustered.
Hobbies/ Interests: Stephanie loves photography, swimming, and dancing
Job or part time job and description: Professional Photographer, Contracted thief Freelance Thief and Photographer
Fears/ phobias/ concerns: Stephanie is arachnophobic. Beyond that one long-running phobia, her current biggest fear is that something might happen to Malia, and it might be something she could have prevented
Special talents: Stephanie is actually a very skilled photographer and has a gift for languages, speaking English, Portuguese, French, Italian, and German. In her time infiltrating high society, she has also been deemed a near-expert palate for wine tasting. She has not learned Italian or German by the age of eighteen and her Portuguese and French are not expert level. She also has not yet had the opportunity to discover her amazing wine tasting palate.
Morality
Good/ bad/ neutral/ other: Neutral-to-Bad; Steph bears no ill-will toward humans, or other people in general. Her concerns do not extend past taking care of herself and Malia, so the greater problem of the world are of little consequence to her. That said, she has no qualms with doing questionable things for profit and personal gain. She is not malicious, but if you have something and she wants that something, she might be considered "Bad" for you in particular.
Mutations
Mutation description:
Shadow Manipulation
Stephanie’s mutation allows her to manipulate her shadow as though it was an extension of her body. She can spread it and manipulate its shape within the limits of the shadow’s size. The range can be increased if the shadow touches and combines with another shadow. She can manipulate the shadow to emerge as a physical form, able to interact with the environment as a tangible form. Stephanie can feel the sensation of touch through the shadow, but not to the degree where she could feel texture or, more importantly, pain.
Strengths: The manipulation of her shadow is as much second-nature to Stephanie as moving her arm or rolling her eyes, allowing her to control it discretely, as efficiently as any other form of multi-tasking. People are often too busy and distracted with their own lives to notice a stray shadow, allowing Stephanie to utilize its subtlety and reach to access areas and objects otherwise out of reach. On its own, Stephanie's shadow can be extended to roughly thirty feet away, (varying by roughly five to ten feet based on the lighting of an area,) but with access to enough nearby shadows, Stephanie’s range becomes much more impressive. The strength of the shadow’s tangible form is based on Stephanie’s mental strength, which is more impressive than her physical strength, making the shadow's strength on par with a professional football player, lifting, holding and attacking with the same force.
Weaknesses: Despite her mutation, Stephanie’s shadow is still susceptible to all the rules a normal shadow abides by. Positioning of light can extend her shadow, but it can also shrink it and lessen its reach. Furthermore, without any light, Stephanie cannot cast a shadow, leaving her powerless in complete darkness, and with barely any reach in lesser darkness.
Stephanie can use separate shadows to form a “shadow chain,” but despite her increase of reach, at more extreme distances, it is more difficult for Stephanie to control and manipulate the shadow, leaving it less dependable and putting more mental strain on Stephanie. At distances of over eighty feet, Stephanie is unable to give physical form to her shadow.
Due to the shadow’s strength being derived from Stephanie's mental strength, when her mental state is weakened, so too is the shadow.
Secondary mutation description:
Malleable Shadow Mass Form (Power Growth as of 8/9/2012)
Stephanie’s body can convert itself into shadow mass, the same controllable material created when she animates her shadow.
Strengths: In her new form, everything that is Stephanie’s body is now made from shadow mass, including her skin, organs, and any skintight clothing (underwear, undershirts, spandex.) Due to the semi-porous and malleable properties of shadow mass, if something were to pierce her, the shadow mass would just separate and reform, leaving no lasting damage. In her new form, with her organs converted into shadow mass, breathing and blood flow are suspended. Stephanie’s sense of touch as a shadow woman is comparable to how she feels with her shadows, (sensing pressure that signals there was contact but not feeling any differentiation between types of contact.) As such, Stephanie does not feel “pain” or any other refined physical sensations. Her muted sensation of touch along with her body’s malleable nature allow Stephanie to control and augment her form in the same way she would her shadow.
Weaknesses: While in Shadow Form, Stephanie no longer casts a shadow, making her own mass the only shadow he can manipulate. her form does not expand in size regardless of light angles, so she has a more limited reach in Shadow Form than she does outside of her form by as much as half. Stephanie’s base strength is tied directly to the brightness of the area she is in; in very bright light, she could have access to almost three times her normal strength, while in dim lighting, her shadow form would actually leave her strength halved from her normal levels. In any darkness that would make it impossible to cast a shadow, Stephanie cannot enter her Shadow Form, and if she is already in it, she will be involuntarily shifted out of the Form. If she is in a contorted state (i.e. a shadow puddle) and comes in contact with darkness, Stephanie will be knocked backward, quickly converted back to her normal shape, and shifted out of her Shadow Form, a process which would leave Stephanie’s entire body in pain and could very well leave her unconscious.
Along with its effects on Stephanie’s senses of touch and pain perception, Stephanie’s shadow form has adverse effects on other senses. Stephanie’s sense of hearing is left at half-capacity, while her senses of taste and smell are completely removed thanks to their dependency on taste buds and breathing, respectively.
Stephanie can only maintain her shadow form for a maximum of one hour at a time, and it can only be used a total of two hours between periods of restful sleep.
Shadow Hopping (Power Growth as of 6/11/2017)
When Stephanie walks into a shadow large enough to envelop her, her form immediately disappears amidst the shadow and reappears in another shadow (also large enough,) within thirty meters.
Strength: The process is nearly instantaneous. Once Stephanie’s body is completely enveloped in the shadow, she will instantly sense the other available shadows in the area and her instincts and thoughts will pick one for her to pop out of, continuing the same stride she entered the first shadow with. This allows for quick changes in location that could catch an opponent off guard, making Stephanie unpredictable.
Being able to traverse up to thirty meters with a single step also expedites travel time, and is useful for a hasty escape. Stephanie does not have to see these other shadows, since she senses them just prior to the hop, so it’s totally possible to Hop to a shadow on the other side of a wall.
Stephanie can pull one object or person into a shadow with her to take the magical journey to a nearby shadow. This is an efficient way to bring someone along in an escape, or abscond with an important item, which is particularly useful for a thief. Dragging someone along the trip unexpectedly can also throw an opponent off balance if they are not expecting to suddenly end up somewhere new.
Weaknesses: As previously established, Stephanie can only stay in Shadowform for an hour at a time, and for a total of two hours between periods of restful sleep. Every Shadow Hop diminishes both of these internal clocks by two minutes, so if she quickly hopped between twenty shadows, he would almost instantly be down to twenty remaining minutes of shadow time, (and an hour and twenty overall.)
If Stephanie steps into a shadow large enough to Shadow Hop from, and there are no other significant shadows within thirty meters, her body will be forced out from whence it came with enough force to knock her off her feet.
This ability is not optional; if Stephanie steps into a shadow meeting the Shadow Hop criteria while in Shadowform, she will Shadow Hop. If she does not have an aim or direction she was hoping to move, she will hop to the nearest available shadow, regardless of convenience.
To bring someone or something into a Shadow Hop, the shadow they enter must be large enough to envelope everything being teleported. She can pull along only one person or large item, which includes contents within or in covering the object or person. (This includes contents of boxes, contents of pockets, and most importantly, clothes.) The act of Shadow Hopping another person will take an additional minute away from her "internal clocks," and will also have an adverse affect on the person along for the ride. The first few Shadow Hops will leave the traveler lightheaded, and will lead to full-on dizziness if used in excess.
As with any shadow power Stephanie possesses, her abilities only apply to shadows created from light. Actual darkness cannot be used for Shadow Hopping and will kick Stephanie out of Shadowform as always.
Fighting Style
Explanation: Stephanie is not a fighter. She will ideally go into her shadowform as a defensive measure, hopefully leading to escape. In a worst-case scenario, being in shadowform in a brightly lit area does make her stronger, so she can try to form spikes or envelop her attackers. If she cannot shift, her options are using her shadows as obstacles from a distance, and above all else, running or shadow hopping away.
Pros for fighting style: Shadowform can keep her safe from most physical damage, letting her flee as a shadow on the ground if possible or hop away if she has a nearby shadow to escape to, and her shadow techniques can make her formidable at a distance.
Cons for fighting style: Pretty much any of these plans require light, so in the dark, Stephanie’s strategy is stripped down to running. She is fairly quick for a burst, but she is no runner, especially since developing a smoking habit, and once she tires out… things do not look good for her.
History Of Your Character
Gwyneth Graves, a frail, twenty-year-old single mother, gave birth to Stephanie Graves at Rex Hospital on April 19, 1988. When she brought her child home, she was concerned to find she would not stop crying when she was putting her to sleep. It was not until she found a candle and lit it that she calmed down. The next day, she found her a nightlight—a device she would rely on for some time to come.
Gwyneth was not particularly well off, and with a father who vanished after a one-night stand, as well as nothing more than a high school diploma, she had to work as waitress, a temp and (with much regret) a dancer to care for her child. Her one hope was to provide a life her child could be happy with, but Gwyneth had always been prone to sickness; with all the stress of overworking herself for over half a decade, she passed at the age of twenty-six, leaving her child to enter an orphanage.
Taking after her mother, Stephanie was a skinny child who needed glasses, which made her an ideal target for bullies. She was picked on and on occasion, beaten up, until she became clever enough to outsmart her pursuers. She would trick and deceive bullies into picking fights with one another or getting in trouble with the headmistress and the religious that worked there.
This pattern of taking advantage of bullies and occasionally getting beaten up continued until Stephanie was thirteen. Throughout those years, many potential parents were unable to adopt Stephanie because she made herself conspicuously absent when they would visit. Once she learned to trick bullies out of money and out of her hair, she decided she could handle the occasional lost fight if it meant staying in a testing ground where she could test her skills. It was when Stephanie was thirteen that her mutation began to manifest itself. Still only comfortable sleeping with some light on, Stephanie kept a dim lamp on her bedside table. One night, while dreaming about reading poetry by a river, Stephanie woke up to find her Robert Frost book lying next to her. Similar events occurred for the next week before Stephanie was able to rule out sleepwalking or outside influences, before deduced she might be a mutant.
It took a period of testing and experimentation, but Stephanie learned she had the mutant ability to control her shadow. As she learned how to utilize her mutation, Stephanie started applying her newfound talents to her old games. The shadow could sneak under doors and into lockers, and physical altercations dropped off dramatically when bullies started “tripping” around her at a startling rate.
Unfortunately, as subtle as his shadow was, one day, Stephanie got careless. She entered the kitchen for a midnight snack, and while making her sandwich on the counter, her shadow grabbed the milk carton from the fridge across the room. As fate would have it, one of the boys who constantly accused her of being a “weird witch” walked into the kitchen in time to witness this. Wide-eyed, he screamed, “M-mutant! Wait until the headmistress finds out!” The boy turned to run, but Stephanie’s shadow was quicker, snagging the boy’s foot, leaving him to fall and hit his head on the counter.
Realizing this was the first predicament she could not think herself out of, the only option left for Stephanie was to run. She grabbed enough food to last her a few days, as well as a small amount of clothing, and she left with the hour.
From that point on, Stephanie found “work” for number-runners, learned tricks of the trade from others on the streets and earned her money with card tricks and petty theft.
It was a few years later when Stephanie, now a young woman, was put in the position where an older, much crueler criminal, tried to rob her of her possessions and take anything else he wanted from her. The stress of this interaction triggered her secondary mutation, causing her body to convert into an organic shadowmass. Driven by the instinct to protect herself, two spikes of shadow emerged from her palm and pierced through the man. This might have been the first and only person Stephanie ever killed, but she would not know—she ran off without knowing what came of the man.
When her anxiety calmed down, Stephanie was naturally curious about the new power she had access to and the things she might be able to do with it. The form obscured her features, made her very form malleable, and allowed her to merge with surfaces as a shadow. These abilities propelled her from her life as a petty thief into a successful run as a high-end burglar. Traveling from city to city, her hallmark quality to the media was the way, on cameras, the thief would appear as a blurred, black spot, somehow shielding him or herself from being recorded. The exact details of her ability were unknown, and the media was unsure if she was using a mutation or if the effect was the product of a piece of jamming technology.
Regardless of how she was doing it, The Silhouette was on her way to becoming the bane of museums, as well as private art and jewel collections.
Living on the thrill of her newfound success, turning seventeen and feeling bulletproof, Stephanie was living things up at a college bar in Chicago where she met a handsome undergrad and charmed her way into his bed. Stephanie had already found her way to a new city, (New York City, to be specific,) when a bout of morning sickness and a drug store pregnancy test let her know she was expecting.
Becoming a mother complicated things. After contemplating some serious decisions, Stephanie ultimately did end up keeping the child, but decided she would develop enough of a cover in New York where she could portray a normal life, keeping her illegal activities more sporadic and careful. She would build a life, and use her second life to make sure Malia grew up happy and comfortable, even if she had no idea what she was doing as a mother.
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