Spike

*Fighter, Lover, Poet... with fangs*

* Overview
* Background
* Logs

 I'm going to do what I should have done in the first place. I'll find her, wherever she is, tie her up, torture her until she likes me again. Love's a funny thing.

— Spike

Spike has been a lot of things in his long life, but none of them really describes him entirely. He's neither wholly evil nor consummately good, and his unique nature has shown through, time and again. Friend, enemy, rival, poet, monster, all at turns, all depending on the moment and the vicissitudes of his heart. Famous for having put an end to two Slayers in his life, he is also often linked with the notable vampires Angelus, Drusilla and, less directly, Darla.

## Personality

Superficially speaking, Spike is fairly bristly and often rude and obnoxious. He can come across as arrogant, aloof, condescending, hostile, aggressive, impatient, easily bored, and acerbic...but he's much more than these things. Even if it's hard to get to know him, peeking beneath the surface, he is a profoundly intelligent and insightful person, and furthermore he is generally loyal beyond any question once his loyalty is earned. He feels deeply, even if he covers it with other, more noticeable things to distract others from thinking he's too sensitive.

A man of action, a man of honesty when he speaks his mind, a man of art and poetry...Spike is also a romantic, and even if he might deny it until one is close enough to witness it in action, he believes in profound connection between people that defies anything else. He is prone to depression and self-loathing, but he also considers it a stronger thing to admit it and work through it, rather than to suppress and deny it.

Spike is a man of many levels and complexities, although he also tends to keep people at some slight distance at least, until they will ever be allowed to see anything past the sneering, rough facade that he presents to the world at large.

## SKILLS

Resourcefulness can be cultivated, but in Spike's case, it appears to be an inborn gift. His ability to adapt has kept him alive (so to speak) in situations that would have otherwise ended him...not to mention, his friends and allies. He is the sort of man who will usually find a way, and he has had a great deal of practice to prove it.

Spike has been recognized by both friend and enemy as one of the greatest fighters in the world, and it is well known that he loves it. He has extensive knowledge of multiple martial arts, the use of weapons, and can identify the fighting techniques of others by observation alone. To Spike, fighting is a dance: it is an expression of innermost desires and emotions, as well as an exercise in getting to know an opponent. What others might enjoy from dancing with an enthusiastic partner, Spike feels when engaging someone as their opponent.

Automobiles, motorcycles - Spike has hot-wired, driven and worked on many of them, and his skill is such that he can manage a car chase relatively well. He is not a stunt-driver, however.

Spike possesses an incredibly high pain threshold and has learned to endure high levels of pain. He can push through the sensations and the suffering if sufficiently focused, which comes easily for him. Few if any humans could endure the things Spike has, and many of them would be sent into shock if they tried.

This, as with some of his other skills, is tied in part to Spike's powers of insight. He could be a valuable asset to any investigator with the further cultivated application of his abilities. He is able to look into situations and gather information, assess what is relevant to the problem, and use whatever methods available to come to a conclusion. His lack of patience, unfortunately, proves to be a persistent detractor from more serious and regular application.

Spike is fluent in multiple languages, including Latin, Luganda, and Fyarl (demon-tongue).

At some point in his long life, Spike has studied medicine to some degree. It is unclear as to whether he has applied himself to acquire any sort of certification or title in it, but he possesses knowledge and skill sufficient to treat a number of injuries, even to a fairly serious level, with efficiency and confidence. This ability goes beyond first aid, but may be limited by some aspects of his training having been outdated since he learned them.

William "the Bloody" Pratt was so named because his poetry was quotably "bloody awful" and not because of any other reason that might be claimed. Although he tried to ride on the title for a while after becoming a vampire, he soon distinguished himself in other ways, taking another name for himself. However, he remains an expert on poetry, which extends equally to lyrical composition, and can appreciate talent and skill in ways few others can. He is well-versed in poets and playwrights and is, unquestionably, a master poet, even if he only rarely allows anyone to witness his creativity.

Although he tends to prefer a direct fight, Spike is no stranger to using a variety of tactical approaches to any given conflict. His lack of patience tends to prevent full implementation of elaborate schemes, but even when confronted with significant limitations, he will typically prove himself up to the task. He is able to think around a conflict's restrictions and approach it in the most advantageous way.

It might surprise to learn that Spike is a bit of a tech-head. His skill is advanced enough to be able to turn a crypt into a modern-day home - complete with all the usual comforts - by himself.

Through a great deal of both practice and suffering, Spike is truly formidable in the art of torture, and incidentally tends to pair it effectively with interrogation. If there are answers to be extracted, he will get them one way or another. He is called "Spike" for a reason, after all.

## ABILITIES

Able to take the power of other beings through feeding on them, vampires of this type are able to enhance their abilities temporarily by drinking the blood of other beings. In general, blood functions as something similar to an adrenaline rush that provides a boost to standard vampiric qualities such as physical bonuses and senses. This benefit is up to a twenty-five percent boost in most cases, though if the vampire feeds upon a being of particular power, they may also temporarily gain some of that power, even temporarily gaining some of that being's abilities. (Please consult with staff for any particularly exotic effects, as they may require plot approval.) This lasts for generally no more than an hour, but it can last as long as a plot demands. Not all beings can be fed upon in this manner, but slayers and some types of demon are well known possibilities.

Barring certain poisons or items tailored to be especially hurtful to their kind, a vampire of this type can and will heal from virtually any injury. Even in the case of losing limbs, they can either reattach it in seconds, or they can regrow it, although the latter may take days to accomplish.

Vampires of this type will never die from the passage of time alone. Unless their existence is ended by some means specific to their kind, it will continue.

Spike possesses a kind of sixth sense. He is especially talented at reading people and their fears and desires. This ability has been further honed over a century of training and practice, but even alone it is an extremely potent gift, especially when combined with his knowledge of tactics and his investigative skills. His most common application of it, however, tends to have been playing card games.

Provided they have regular access to blood, vampires of this type enjoy vastly increased speed, strength, agility, and stamina. They possess strength enough to bend metal, demolish doors, and toss an average human a considerable distance away with little effort. They are quick enough in short bursts to dodge projectiles or seem to vanish and reappear several meters away, and they can run at low highway speeds for extended periods of time. They are able to fight for hours without needing any rest. Not least of all, they are considerably more durable than any human and are able to take significant damage.

The senses of this vampire type are enhanced well beyond human norms. They are able to see perfectly well in the dark, with the hearing of a wolf and a preternaturally keen sense of smell. This is most especially true when it applies to blood and types of blood.

## ADVANTAGES

Compared to humans, Spike is beyond old. Compared to other vampires... he's probably considered young-ish. The key factor in his age is that he has not been idle, and now has a wide spread of experiences under his belt.

## WEAKNESSES

A blood-starved vampire is a danger, just like any hungry predator. Spike is no exception. He has to fight the thirst, and without a steady supply of blood (animal or human), the risk of berserker rages grows.

"I" is the centre of "pride" and also the centre of "Spike". His ego is colossal - and as much as it urges him to push himself harder, it also often gets in the way of relationships. Spike's pride is always at odds with his love and loyalty to others - and at the same time, it's part of who he is, and why his friends love and are loyal to him. He's... complicated.

Spike has numerous enemies in various circles both supernatural and mundane, not to mention various organizations of all the above that would likely spit on his name sooner than help him.

Spike is easily bored. Even while he can devise devastatingly brilliant battle strategies, he typically lacks the patience to implement them over a period of time. More often, he opts to take the direct approach, which has cost him more than a few victories.

Spike's kind tend to be harmed by many religious symbols. However, his high threshold for pain allows him a greater resistance to such objects than many other vampires. Not all such symbols are harmful to him, and not all are equally harmful to him; additionally, makeshift symbols may or may not have any effect on him, and symbols that are not consecrated are usually harmless.

A wooden stake to the heart will turn Spike (and any other vampire like him) to ash. It has to be wooden, however.

Direct sunlight will cause vampires like Spike to burn, and enough exposure to it can reduce them to ash. However, indirect sunlight holds no danger for them, and neither does sunlight through sufficiently tinted glass.

It takes a colossal amount of alcohol to get a vampire drunk (at least, a vampire of Spike's breed), but Spike can - and will - drink enough to accomplish it. Often. It is a very... expensive habit.

An unsuccessful poet with a sad family life, William Pratt doted on his ill mother in the late 1800s in London. Attempting to maintain his level of comfort and his status, he attended whatever parties he could, though his poetry was decidedly poorly-received and he cultivated the nickname of "William the Bloody"...because his poetry was "bloody awful". Although loyal and romantic, he constantly felt unable to connect with his contemporaries and, when he came into contact with Angelus and his gang, finally found a place he could fit in. He was made into a vampire and joined Angelus, Darla, and Drusilla.

While his tendencies for partying had few repercussions for him, his impulse to give his mother the gift of immortality was less wise; he found that little remained of her reserved, understated personality and, instead, was confronted by a hateful and torturous creature. He ended her existence and learned this first and hardest lesson of his new being, though more would come as he both initially idolized and clashed with Angelus. In time, he transformed his sophisticated high society persona into one of a working-class rough. His lust for battle grew, driving him to find more formidable opponents.

Eventually, closer to the 20th century, Angelus was cursed and Spike and Drusilla grew farther and farther from Angelus and Darla. In 1900, Spike killed his first Slayer in China, during the Boxer Rebellion. In 1977, he killed his second. A few years ago, he and Drusilla were attacked by an angry mob in Prague, where Drusilla suffered severe injuries. For a while, Spike decided to relocate to Sunnydale for her recuperation.

The presence of a Slayer, he felt, would challenge him, and the Hellmouth would surely help Drusilla. Unfortunately the presence of Angelus, who now went by the name Angel, threw a spanner into the works and complicated things considerably, as did Buffy's tendency to keep friends and family around, unlike any other Slayer he had ever known before.

However, Spike's investigations gave him the information he needed to help Drusilla and, getting the blood of her sire Angel, he succeeded in restoring her. Injured and crippled for months, Spike eventually witnessed the return of Angelus, by which time Spike had fully recovered. Unwilling to cooperate with Angelus, whom he found increasingly insufferable, he briefly allied with Buffy to avert a plan to use a demon Acathla that would draw the entire world into a hell dimension. After this, he left town with Drusilla.

He returned some time later, in a depression, but after a brief time and some intense fighting left again, resolved and on his path. He has not been seen since. Until now.

Logs featuring Spike:

*Coming soon!*