Aristo

Aristo, also known as the Shapeshifter, is a Symbiote who constantly changes his form instead of taking on a host. Aristo was created from a small portion of Poison, and has two older siblings: Malus and Victon. Aristo makes his living wherever he chooses, and does not have a clear and definite "home".

Aristo's main characteristic is his ability to coax and manipulate beings without the need to take them over. Since he is a very weak Symbiote, choosing brains over brawn only seemed the more apropriate choice. Because of this, his whole lifestyle has changed to fit the needs of this. He often manipulates beings just for his own amusement, rather than to have a purpose.

He has a general disdain for everything, and he especially hates his two brothers. He has a vague interest in Vaccine.

Appearance
Aristo's appearance is viscous, just like any other Symbiote, and is covered in a multitude of large, hollow cavities. He is jet back with blue accents, and his eyes and nostrils glow a bright yellow. Aristo can take on a multitude of forms, while his three most common forms are a crow, serpent, and a bipedal feline. He can also take the form of almost anything he comes across.

Due to the fact he weighs a constant 25 pounds, the bigger the form, the hollower it is inside and the more holes are scattered across him. The forms he takes often have sharp accents, such as spikes and claws.

There have been some occasions, when found to be extremely mad, he will take on the form of a large, unidentifiable creature.

History
Aristo was born directly from Poison during the time he was a part of the entity Martyr, a portion of the Symbiote’s substance having been injected and initially raised inside the now late queen Alistair. It was his “birth” that lead to the queen’s death. Being the younger of his two siblings Victon and Malus -excluding his bastard brother Greyson-, Aristo was often neglected by his father. Victon and Malus were, in his words, “A higher priority to his father than he could ever hope to be.” This led to a bittersweet relationship between him and the Martyr, as well as a deeply-rooted hatred for his brothers.

Unlike his brothers, who preferred brawn over brain, Aristo took a much subtler path to get what he wanted. Strategy was more his speed. Strategy and manipulation. While his brothers fought each other over this and that and whatever, he would brainstorm ways to take them out of the picture in his father’s eyes. It was this deep-rooted jealousy towards his brothers that would help to spark his dark and twisted mindset later in life.

After a few years of living under the Martyr’s roof, war between his father and a rival group called the Solstice Rebellion began to spur. In an attempt to protect his three sons, the Martyr transported them to an uninhabited island later to be named Panethion. During this time, as their only means to survive, the three sons were given the power of the elements to help form this new island.

It was later to be discovered that their father, while in their absence, had “died” and ascended to become a god, giving the three these powers to help them survive.

Victon was given control of flame and the earth, to shape the land and give it character. Malus was given control of the sea and sky, to form the rivers and produce the weather. Aristo, who, at the time, did not think much of himself, was given the most crucial element by his father: Life. Without this power, there would have been no grass, no food, and no way to survive, making Malus and Victon’s powers useless without him. He was given this because, in all his life, he had virtually nothing. It was his only time to truly show himself.

Aristo, at first, used this power for good. He created the grass and trees and fruit and even a new race called the Wolven to keep the three company, though he opted to erase their memory of him creating them. Even Malus and Victon were cooperating together for the good of this new world they had created. But as time went on, the Wolven needed leadership, and Victon and Malus were becoming increasingly hostile towards each other. They fought and drew boundaries and forced the Wolven to split one way or another. Aristo began to fade into the background once more, and it triggered something deep inside of him: the old hatred he used to hold for his brothers. He began to grow cold.

One day, when Victon and Malus had fought to the point the sea and earth trembled with their might, Aristo did the unthinkable. He fought back. He ambushed them, his form large and grotesque in the shape of a creature they had never even seen before. He blotted out the sky with his form and, in a fit of cold hatred and frustration, almost destroyed the two beings he had once called his brothers. It had come so out of nowhere, the sheer surprise of Aristo’s attack almost ended them, but in the end they put aside their differences to stop Aristo together. They realized that, despite the frightening appearance, Aristo was… very weak. They defeated him easily.

After the incident, Aristo was banished to a small set of islands just off the coast of Panethion, called the Ocrate Isles. After Aristo learned of his vulnerability, he began to use his power to create life more for his advantage than for the betterment of Wolvenkind. He created creatures called the Skuall to protect him. If any Wolven came too close to the Island, the Skuall would chase them off, or worse, kill them. It didn’t bother Aristo much to see his creations die by the hands of the Skuall, but the creatures built to “protect” him quickly became rebellious. After many close calls with death, Aristo set them all free upon the mainland of Panethion, so they’d become Victon and Malus’ problem rather than his.

With nothing to protect himself, he quickly went back to the way he used to handle all his problems: manipulation. When Wolven came to pester him or purge the land of his evil, he would simply “brainwash” them by, literally, smothering them with kindness, making them do his bidding without having to take them as a host.

The usual means to brainwashing a victim was as follows:

1.)    Search out the “sweet spot” in their eyes. All emotion is hidden within the eyes, and if you can find just that right mix of emotions to make them trust you, it’s smooth sailing.

2.)    Proceed with disgusting amounts of sincerity, always keeping tabs of the sweet spot in their eyes, but never looking directly at it. A lot of general eye contact, a lot of compliments, a lot of reason, soft voices often do the trick, maybe a gift or two, and pull off a faux trust scenario, if you can. Make them think you’re helping them when, in truth, you’re only using them.

3.)    Once you’ve reached a significant amount of trust, get close enough to look deep into the sweet spot in their eyes. Don’t look away. Make sure you have their undivided attention, and tell them how much you need them. They should be entranced, at this point. From here on out, order them to do whatever you want. They almost never say no.

This was a smart option for him that not only gave him power against all weak-willed beings, but kept his actions a secret from the Wolven on the mainland. He could order a wolf kill another wolf miles away from the Ocrate Isles and have the poor fool forget he ever did it. It was a flawless strategy, with the only exceptions being powerful beings and other Symbiotes, which required more coaxing.

At one point, he even managed to create a small cult following who still, to this day, worship him as their almighty god (See: Cult of Aristo). This very same cult was responsible for the death of Aristo’s brother Malus. This was, in one scenario, a plan created in Aristo’s early childhood that was put to good use.

Due to an obscure storm that constantly surrounded Panethion, Aristo and his brothers were never able to escape the island and return to their old home. That was, until Smoky, Elizabeth, and Indigo came to the island and caused a significant amount of turmoil (See: Act TQ). During this time, Victon was killed, and an attack on Karga Magna by the Universe Eaters left an opening in the storm long enough for Aristo to fly to the Karga Magna’s mainland and discover that his father had been imprisoned and supposedly dead. Upon releasing his father, Aristo was rewarded the title of Heir to the Throne, since he had managed to kill off his two brothers. This was also when he discovered The Nightmare King, Biohazard, and Vaccine.

After Biohazard’s supposed death and The Nightmare King is left at bay, the Martyr orders Aristo to spy on Vaccine and keep her away from his plans. Aristo agrees to do this, though he eventually becomes infatuated for Vaccine.

It is suspected Aristo intends to have his own father killed in some way, though he has been very good at hiding his intent to do so, if this is the case.

Behavior
Aristo is a very lax character. He speaks in a deep, rich voice that most beings find very pleasing to the ear, and his eyes are hypnotically soothing. But despite the compassionate vibe he shows, his ego is extremely large and he cares for nobody but himself.

Out of sheer amusement, Aristo will manipulate beings. He will do this by coaxing his target into trusting him -usually an easy task- by speaking in a soft tone and feeding them lies, before putting them into a hypnotic trance that forces them to do as he speaks. This can range from theft to murder to even worship. Sometimes he'll even present the target with gifts or stage scenarios using other victims into making him seem more trustworthy. This tactic of his almost never fails, with the only exceptions being people with strong wills, a severe hatred towards him or Symbiotes in general, and Symbiotes themselves.

Aristo almost never tries to coax someone he thinks is "better" than him. This includes very powerful beings and other Symbiotes. When in the presence of other Symbiotes, Aristo becomes very uneasy and will often slink away from said Symbiote in submission. When angry, Aristo cannot force out the soft soothing tone of his voice and instead his voice will come out harsh and grating, like static.

No matter what Aristo does, it is almost never for good.

Trivia

 * Aristo was based loosely off of my limited knowledge of the Makuta, seen in subtleties such as his shape-shifting, his previously good-natured past, his jealousy and emotions fueling his selfish actions, and his banishment (Don't kill me if I'm really ignorant to what Teridax was really like, Blitzy. I based based him, more or less, from what you've ever told me about him).