Spike

Introduction.
Spike (Real Name Pending.) is the leader of the protagonist gang in the main story of Virtue. He was the first of the Virtue characters to come into existence, and is thusly the most developed, and has seen the most changes since his inception in late 2017. From the formation of his gang to the current point of the story, Spike is somewhere between 19 and 21. Spike has been diagnosed with a personality disorder, which disorder exactly has been left purposely ambiguous. Spike is described as cunning, but not astoundingly clever. He is charming, but only when he wants something. The extent of his empathy is usually used to figure out how to best offend or insult someone. (Something his noted as being particularly good at doing.) Spike's aggressive, hormonal nature is considered an attractive thing in V-Punk society, and so he has a lot of fortune in regards to beds he might visit.

Most of the writing on Spike's character is based on his relationships with the members of his gang, and their rivals. Formerly, there was more information on Spike's childhood. In the most recent version of the Virtue universe, there is little information on Spike's early childhood. Spike is one of the most important characters in the Virtue Universe, given the way he is attached to the other characters. He is however, far from having the most influence over his peers.

Pre-Vunk:
Spike is the first born of he and his twin brother, Ace. Shortly after their birth, the twins were abandoned by their parents. This would instill a deep fear of abandonment in Spike for years to come, which would only worsen with time. The twins spent their early childhood in an orphanage, where they met Zero and Snips for the first time. Spike and Ace would be adopted by a recent widower, who owned a small restaurant. While Spike took some time to trust his foster father, he eventually came to trust him. Throughout his years of school, Spike would develop a strong friendship with Snips and Thorn. Eventually, Spike would enter a relationship with Zero. Spike and Muppet have never been particularly close, in comparison. Near the end of the group's time in High School, (*By now, everyone is of-age.) Spike suggested that they involve themselves in the V-Punk movement, given their shared rebellious nature. While his twin was apprehensive, he still agreed to follow the rest of the group. It was around this time, that the gang conceived their aliases. Going forward, Spike much preferred to be referred to by his alias, as opposed to his real name.

Prior Events:
As of finishing high school, Spike's relationship with Zero would deteriorate after their entry into the V-Punk movement, as Spike did not enjoy monogamy. Spike decided to break up with Zero, citing his partner as 'clingy' and 'possessive'. Before a week had passed, Spike had already slept with Thorn, which hurt Zero deeply. Zero expressed his feelings, to which he was harshly detracted by Spike. After this, Zero would cease contact with the group for a time. Shortly after this, Spike and Snips would have an argument regarding his treatment of Zero, in which Spike would accuse Snips of being 'so bored in his own relationship that he has to meddle in others.' This would cut deeper than Spike had perhaps intended, and the two would never be as close as they had been for the years until then. Going forward, Spike would consider Thorn to be his best friend.

Main Events:
The main story line kicks off with the disappearance of Domino, a member of the antagonist gang, lead by Zero. Spike is accused of some involvement with Domino's absence by Zero and his friends, when questioned by the CMF. In turn, Spike accuses Zero of attempting to frame him. Eventually, Spike is abruptly attacked while walking home, by Cobra and Zero. Before Spike realizes what is going on, Cobra had subdued him. While Spike tries to pull himself together, he is mocked by Zero in a way that he knew would get in Spike's head. Before Spike could get on his feet so to challenge Cobra to a fair fight, his attackers had fled. This could be the inciting incident for Spike's decline into paranoia, which makes him far more aggressive and violent. His behavior leads Snips and Muppet to suspect he may have been involved in Domino's disappearance after all. Spike's behavior is encouraged by Thorn, hoping Spike would have his record marked, preventing him from leaving Virtue with his twin. Spike is not aware of Ace's plan to leave the city behind.

Ace:
Ace is Spike's twin brother, and also the person Spike trusts most of all. Ace has always looked out for Spike, and despite his refusal to ever admit this, he is abundantly aware of it. Without him, Spike would never have finished school, or made it out of many sticky situations with the CMF. While Ace tends to try keeping Spike calm, the presence of his brother can make Spike more confident. The two are not prone to meaningful conversation, but they are very fond of each other. There is little to happen that would hurt Spike more, than were he to feel betrayed by his brother.


 * (SPOILER) Upon Ace's eventual leaving without his twin, Spike feels deeply betrayed. Just as Ace feared, Spike considers this to be his brother abandoning him. This should not be considered Canon, as this is only a potential occurrence in the story. Thusly, it is subject to change.

Thorn:
Spike's friendship with Thorn escalated after his break-up with Zero, and after drifting apart from his previous best friend, Snips. While Thorn's obsession with Spike can be rather unnerving at times, Spike is usually too aloof to be put off by it considerably. Spike's refuses every proposal for exclusivity that Thorn makes, despite the variety of ways he has found to ask. Despite his rejection, Spike confides much in Thorn, relying on him for emotional support. Thorn takes advantage of this, but Spike has pushed his suspicions of such out of his mind so not to complicate things any further. Spike appreciates Thorn very much, and does feel quite guilty for remaining physical with him, despite the consistent rejection. While part of Spike might love Thorn, it is his fear of attachment that prevents him from exploring those feelings most.

Zero:
While Zero's hatred of Spike has driven him to act in ways that further bury these feelings, Spike feels deeply guilty for how things played out between the two. Spike considers himself to have abandoned Zero when he needed Spike most, but to swallow his pride and attempt to make amends would risk everything. And as we know, Spike is quite terrified of such drastic changes. Occasionally, Zero will taunt Spike, targeting his remaining physical desire for Zero. Spike tries to pretend it doesn't work, but Zero knows it does. With the introduction of Cobra, a peaceful end between Spike and Zero seems nigh-impossible.


 * (SPOILER) Tired of Zero's taunting, Spike blackmails his ex into relieving the tension with him, using sensitive information attained through Cobra's relationship with Muppet. This should not be considered Canon, as this is only a potential occurrence in the story. Thusly, it is subject to change.

Muppet:
Spike's friendship with Muppet has never progressed much farther than just that. Spike has been known to belittle Muppet for it's lamentations, and this discourages Muppet from pursuing a deeper bond. Spike does care very much about his friend, however he has shown little interest in learning more about Muppet as a person. Spike once attempted to read one of Muppet's poems, since then he has not wasted any more time on poetry.


 * (SPOILER) Eventually, Muppet and Spike give-in to ever-present physical attraction, and do the dirty. This does not go well for Muppet, or Thorn. This should not be considered Canon, as this is only a potential occurrence in the story. Thusly, it is subject to change.

Chance:
Growing up, Spike would often pick on Chance. Now however, he has forgotten who exactly Chance is. Though he does find him to be strikingly familiar. Spike has assumed he must have hooked up with him at some point while intoxicated. Eventually, Spike is corrected by Snips, reminding him of their history.

Snips:
From a young age, Spike and Snips had something of a friendly rivalry. Where Ace and the others were usually easy for Spike to pull along with him on his endeavors, Snips would often contest his leadership. Ultimately however, Spike would come to an agreement with his friend. For many years Spike considered Snips to be his best friend, but as of the events shortly prior to the story, the two have drifted. They have leaned further into their status as rivals, as opposed to friends.


 * (SPOILER) A potential ending for the story involves a scenario wherein Zero informs Spike of how he had cheated on him with Snips, prior to their breakup. Snips, overwhelmed with guilt after a messy encounter with Thorn, is confronted in their hideout. The two exchange unpleasantness before breaking into a violent fight. At this time, Zero is setting fire to their hide-out, intent on killing everyone inside. In the end, Spike rescues Snips from the fire and the two make amends. Zero however, probably dies. This should NOT be considered Canon, as this is only a potential occurrence in the story. Thusly, it is subject to change.

Cobra:
Spike had never met Cobra, prior to his ambush at the behest of Zero. Though Cobra pities Spike more than anything, Spike hates Cobra for making him feel vulnerable. And, for attacking him while he was at a disadvantage. While such back-handed tactics are not beneath Spike by any means, he still considers Cobra to be a coward.

Raze:
Spike had forgotten about Raze, prior to encountering him under Zero's command. Spike is happy to have what he perceives as a caveman that he can throw things at.

Design & Development.
Spike's first concept drawing was done in 2017, during his development as a player character for Dungeons & Dragons 5e. While his design has changed almost entirely since his first concept art, he has retained the two-toned hair since his inception. Spike remained a DND-PC for only a few months, before the concept was stripped from it's RPG Origin.

His first complete design was finished on the 1st of October 2017, cementing the day as Spike's in-universe birthday. Throughout the first year or so of Spike's existence, his personality was completely different. The early version of Spike could best be described as  'a bratty sub with a bad case of lol random xd', a strong departure from the brooding, callous Spike of today. Echoes of Spike's initial personality and character can be seen in The Raptor.

After Spike's departure from Dungeons & Dragons, he was considered independent of any given setting. Although he was always noted to be heavily inspired by the Jet Set Radio video game series. This is where his roller-blades came from, although they were also permanently removed from his design and character not long after.

 

Spike's colors would gradually shift from the more eye-burning pinks and reds to softer shades, and the abundance of black would be swapped for dark blues and purples. As Spike's design shifted, more characters were invented to interact with him. Until eventually his gang of 5 was given the name  'Lost Boys' in reference to the stories of peter pan. This was because Spike initially refused to 'grow up' and become a contributing member of society, despite already being an adult. Much of the earlier Spike lore was similarly drenched in cringeworthy tropes.

As Spike's design shifted from it's bubbly pinkness, his character shifted into someone edgier. As he became angstier, it was decided he'd need somewhere to exist. This was when Virtue was first conceived, though it was originally called 'Star-City'. Star City was far less gritty and depressing, based mainly on Tokyo-to, the setting of Jet Set Radio. As opposed to modern Virtue's influences of AKIRA's Neo Tokyo, and Post-Soviet cities.

Modern Spike Designs still featured his two-toned hair and pink hoodie, but the personality of the character was changed drastically as of late 2019, when the Virtue we know now began to form.

Trivia.

 * Spike was originally going to be named Ace.
 * When Spike was a character in Dungeons & Dragons, he was a Ranger, despite being an obvious fit for a Rogue.
 * The Face appearing on previous versions of Spike's hoodie was inspired by the art style of Jhonen Vasquez.
 * Currently Spike does not have a confirmed real name, but he was previously named Laurence Falcone.
 * Before that however, his name was Laurence Ravenholm, as he was secretly Jasper Ravenholm's distant descendant. Upon meeting Spike, Jasper regretted having an heir to begin with.
 * Art featuring Spike has been featured on the front-page of Newgrounds.com!