Nessa Dark
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| "Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody."
— Mark Twain | |
| Dark Ness | |
| Player: Rocksugar | |
| Origin: | Natural |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Stalker |
| Security Level: | 50+ |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Vanessa Victoria Darken Grimm |
| Known Aliases: | Ness/Nessie/Nessa Dark/Gothzilla/Gotherella |
| Species: | Human |
| Age: | Mid-thirties |
| Height: | 6' |
| Weight: | 200 lbs. |
| Eye Color: | Grey |
| Hair Color: | Black |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | American |
| Occupation: | Bouncer at Reaching Purgatory / Metal Artist / Owner of an orphanage |
| Place of Birth: | Savannah, Georgia |
| Base of Operations: | Confidential |
| Marital Status: | Married. |
| Known Relatives: | Father |
| Known Powers | |
| Dark Melee (force of shadows), Dark Armor | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Natural affinity for languages, very agile for her size, adept at mixed martial arts, sculptor and metalworker | |
| Equipment | |
| Her sneaky, randomly appearing boot flask and a whip from Xrell | |
| No additional information available. | |
"Well I let their teeny minds think that they're dealing with someone who is over the brink, and I dress this way just to keep them at bay 'cause Halloween is every day."
Ministry - (Every Day Is) Halloween
Contents |
Summary
"All these broken pieces left unglued should never find their way into the hands of someone like you. I'm in the dark, I'm alone, around you. I've never been here before, nobody here to get me through, oh, I'm in the dark..." The Birthday Massacre - In the Dark
A Southern gal who fell in love, at a delicate age, with all things in the dark. She can manipulate shadows easily, as she's closer to the dark than most people.
Updates
"To the right, to the left, we will fight to the death. To the edge of the earth, it's a brave new world from the last to the first..." 30 Seconds to Mars - This Is War
(Sorry I haven't updated in a while.)
Nessa's strangely absent from everything as of late. She might be present physically, but. Kink's busy, and she's unsure about everything these days... She holds everyone at arms' length. Or farther.
Nessa and Kino were married July 30th.
And she's expecting Loom. Knocked up. Preggers. Due in March 2012. Which is hysterical, as Loom visits from the future to give her mom water and crackers to help with the nausea...
She recently purchased a warehouse in Founder's Falls, to return to her artistic side.
She's also purchased another warehouse, being renovated at this moment, for an orphanage.
Random Facts
"See my shadow changing, stretching up and over me. Soften this old armor. Hoping I can clear the way by stepping through my shadow, coming out the other side." Tool - 46 + 2
- She wears a chain around her neck at all times, with an onyx pendant on it. Closer examination shows a horse engraved in the pendant. Her wedding rings have joined this pendant (a white gold wedding set with a black diamond).
- Shadows are always around her, even in the brightest light.
- She can "see" in the dark. Surprise!
- She loves horses. She's a pretty decent rider, and still attends the random competition, to keep up with it. She owns a Tennessee Walker, Umbra, who is her baby.
- She's fond of getting her shadows to bring her the odd object. Especially popcorn.
- She will listen to any music. Her iPod has everything from Britney Spears to Grandmaster Flash. She has no shame when it comes to what she likes. Granted, she prefers the darker stuff.
Proletarians
(Stick your name here and I'll get to you!)
The Family
Kino Grimm -- The husband. Crazy, neh?
Elsa Grimm (Loom), Emma Grimm (Doom), and Lucius Grimm (Gloom) -- Her children. From the future. Nessa never thought she'd have kids, let alone three as amazing and awesome as her wee dark gang. These darlings have shifted Nessa's universe, to say the least.
Trancy Grimm -- Her adopted. Son? Daughter? Ness doesn't care, as long as Trancy needs her, and gives her those amazing six-armed hugs.
Max -- Max is her (adopted) little brother. She thinks he's her guardian angel. He also has fun "adjusting" her size. As noted in the photo below...
Darke -- Her. Twin. Sort of. Pulled right out of her, a part of her as no one is. She and Ness get along marvelously, even though Darke is far more villainous than Nessa thinks she could ever be.
Alex -- Future son-in-law? Oh God...
Zheir -- Adopted father, he's a very odd man, but Ness thinks he's awesome.
Mari -- Adopted sister. Mari's a freakin' nutter!
Uncle Jericho -- Someone she loves to heckle, and even Elsa's taken to calling him uncle!
Michael -- A werewolf who stumbled into Nessa's world, and is now known to the kids as Uncle Mike. Relations between them have been strained recently.
The Friends
Drae --
Mouth -- Unsure, as she is hesitant about hanging with Zex.
Zarp -- When he's around, he grounds her, helps her stay centered and remember what this crazy life is for.
Xrell -- He's been. Absent.
Agenla -- Aggie's also been absent.
Andy -- Andy's Southern, and she's hysterical. Nessa loves hooking Andy up with strange men she just met.
Garret -- Garret's been Nessa's pal through quite a lot recently. He's a good guy, she just wishes he'd be happier.
Jo -- She and Jo share Gracie Carrigan cuddle duties.
Dee -- Ness loves Dee. Loves her hugs, her candy guns, and her smart mouth.
Candy -- Candy is foul-mouthed attitude in a tiny package, and Nessa adores every word that comes out.
Web -- He came to her rescue once, when a bully was challenged by Nessa's mouth (overloading her butt, as usual). She thinks he's hysterical.
Will -- Another rescuer, the night Nessa spazzed as someone attempted to discredit Kink. Will lets Nessa give in to her babylove, and hold his daughter, Gracie. Will's the quiet, strong type, but has festive moments.
Fen -- Fen is the easiest person to talk to about anything or absolutely nothing. And he embarrasses easily. Rad.
Brian -- Brian's a funny guy! Plus, he's willing to stand up for her friends. Her only real concern is that Zarp hates him. And Zarp doesn't hate anyone...
Nelo -- Nessa got over her issues with Nelo. She still somewhat holds him at a distance, but he's not a bad fellow.
The Combatants
MarkLawrenceWhomever -- A strange, white haired man wearing a mask and a REALLY BAD SWEATER VEST. He communicates to Nessa telepathically. Unfortunately, most of those messages are meant to seduce her, or threaten her.
Robin -- Nessa isn't sure where to put Robin. They made up, but he's. Still cruel to Xrell. She saw him in the D recently, treating Ags like a queen to be mean to Xrell. He may end on her permanent poop list.
Max's player, Oak, created this for me.
Opinions of Others
Be gentle!
"An absolutely beautiful woman. And I don't just mean physically." ~Zarp Draken
"Nessa is... She's amazing. She's a lot more incredible than anyone gives her credit for. Beautiful, charming, funny, a sharp-dresser, a smooth-talker... Sometimes I can't tell when she's being serious and when she's joking. She makes my heart race a lot more than I give her credit for." ~Agenla Kedair
"Nessa's a wonderful person. Attractive to boot, she always seems chipper and upbeat, and it makes me smile. Well, when I -can- smile anyway! And hey, she has a future child now too! I should run her through the "Brian's Guide to Children to the Future" course." ~Brian Troy
"Nessa's a great pal, definitely B.R.O material, especially when she- HEE-*SNORT*HEEEHEE*SNORT**SNORT*HEEHEE!!" - Fen
"Oh, Ness? Man, I love that chick. And anyone who knows me knows I have a hard time getting along with most women. She's beautiful, confident, fun, and somehow has struck the right balance between strong, mouthy and patient. She has this way of getting under your skin, in the good way. I'm really kinda jealous." - Lili
"Mama is pretty amazing. Well, unless she caught me doing something. Then she's kind of scary and annoying. But I love her. Now and Now. I mean... My now and HER now. Yeah I have the best mom ever." - Loom
"I can't stand her. Unreliable, uncaring liar." - Zex
In her iPod
"Stand your ground, this is what we are fighting for, for our spirit and laws and ways..." VNV Nation - Honour
The Birthday Massacre "In The Dark" Theme.
Skinny Puppy "Pro-Test" Her fight music.
Mentallo & the Fixer "Scum of the Earth" More fight music.
VNV Nation "Beloved" Her mother's song.
Rabbit in the Moon/Sarah McLachlan "Fear" (Lunasol Mix) Her love song.
Backstory
"Step into the light, illuminating you for all to see. Come into my sight. Empty handed not for me. It's in your hands, my one demand. No one can tell, the sins I need to sell. I'm still sipping from your well, reflecting back to me. You're perfection in my eye. Hurt me, break me, take me." Gravity Kills - Hold
Vanessa was born in the 70s to James and Victoria Darken, an old Southern socialite family. She was raised on an overgrown plantation, beneath canopied trees and heavy grey moss. Her first memory was of being rocked to sleep, not by a cradle, but by shadows that gently twined themselves between two trees in the pecan grove near her home.
This startled and frightened her parents, and they did everything they could think of to make their daughter "normal." Charm schools, private all-girl Catholic schools, and a brief stint in a mental ward. Nothing removed the shadows that Vanessa loved.
Throughout all her education, she picked up the goth look, music, and lifestyle, along with a love of fighting. Soon not many would bother the tall, built girl with the spooky look to her.
After graduating St. Vincent's, she headed off to college. Five years later, she had a piece of paper stating she had a B.A. in Fine Arts.
Returning home, she was greeted with her mother's deterioration and her father's accusing looks and snarky comments. She swallowed her anger, and stayed for a while, taking care of her mother. The alcoholism and liver disease had degenerated Victoria so much that Nessa had to do everything for her, and suffer through her mother's flinches when Nessa used shadows to help her.
After Victoria's death, Nessa walked in one lonely evening to find her father passed out, a bottle of Southern Comfort being cradled gently by shadows. Astonished and incredibly angry, she confronted James the next day. He angrily confessed to having the capability to manipulate shadows, hiding it from the world as he saw it as wrong. An ugly yelling match with accusations flying passed between Nessa and James ended with Nessa packing her bags and leaving.
Nessa wandered from dead-end job to dead-end job, until shortly after the Rikti invasion, when she ended up in the Rogue Isles. A group of Freakshow, for some reason, took pity on her and took her in off the streets. She proved herself to be their equal with her martial arts training, and her fists.
And then she met Jek, who took her over. Remade her into his ideal Freakshow girl. And introduced her to superadine.
And Nessa lost her shadows.
Eight years later, after the darkest points of her life (some she still cannot remember), she was out helping some Freakshow with what should have been a simple smash and grab. The armored truck was divested of its goods, when Nessa was lifted off the ground, swathed in shadows. Covered. She couldn’t scream or fight. Carried quite a ways from her gang, she was dropped on the deck of a ship.
At her father’s feet.
Nessa exploded in rage and superhuman strength, and her father just held onto her, a scene out of a faerie tale. When at last her rage wore her out, her father took her home and began the long, arduous, and incredibly painful process of drying Nessa out and detoxing her.
In the spring of this past year, the shadows returned. Slowly, tentatively, but with Nessa’s absolute joy at having them back with her, they were stronger than before.
Her father pointed out Paragon City, and sent her on her way. Still not close, still unsure of each other, they do keep in touch, though it can be awkward at times.
Nessa’s been a vigilante ever since. She never saw herself as hero material, but she does try. Most of the time.
Out of Character Junque
Nessa started as a DC tabletop villain a long time ago, and I recreated her as a joke. I've enjoyed playing her way too much now, however, to put her away.
