Board Thread:Off Topic/@comment-27888871-20170404181347/@comment-24534644-20171103075205

I am here, and I have decided to throw my own fancy hat into the ring with a Halloweeny type submission. I know I'm a couple days late, but INSPIRATION CAN'T BE RUSHED DAMMIT.

-Grimm Title: Vesper

-Inspiration: Bat

-Environment: Frequently found within underground and mountainous caverns worldwide, with the exception of extremely cold northern regions.

-Appearance: Features most of the traits typical of bats, including a furred body, a small head with large eyes and triangular ears, relatively small claws on each of its four total limbs, and the prominent forelimbs containing webbed skin which stretches and tightens to create wings. Other than this, it visually most resembles the vampire bat, due to its longer forelimbs, short conical muzzle, and most tellingly, its pronounced, long, and razor sharp front teeth which protrude from the mouth. Average specimens reach just over a foot in length with a two foot wingspan, though particularly strong specimens can potentially reach double these measurements.

-Armouring: Armor is extremely light in order to prevent hampering flight ability, and consists primarily of thin plates along the back, along with the larger mask covering the face.

-Aesthetics: Individual pieces of armor found on the back are each usually no more than an inch in width, and are separated by half an inch or so of unprotected fur. The underside and wings of the Vesper are completely unprotected. Like many other Grimm species, the 'mask' of a Vesper heavily resembles a skull, in this case a bat skull helmet covering its entire upper head, from the base of its neck to the tip of its muzzle. The Vesper's unprotected ears protrude from two narrow openings near the top of the mask, while the lower half of its head, including its lower jaw, also remain uncovered. The mask is round and smooth for the most part, lacking any distinct features save for the red patterns common to Grimm (in this case, said patterns appear on the forehead above the eyes in a shape resembling two mirrored crescents with the single narrow oval between them). Most notable are the creatures two sharp and pronounced incisors, which stick out from the mouth and appear to either be fused with or originally part of the mask itself.

-Behaviour: Like the stereotypical behavior of the animals they resemble, Vesper Grimm often dwell together within caves and crevices, in colonies that have been recorded as ranging anywhere from a few dozen to a few hundred. Within their homes, they tend to dwell in any suitably-sized cracks in the walls or ceiling, or else suspended from a surface using their claws as anchors. Due to their typically small size and weak bodies, Vespers are ambush attackers, and upon detecting an unawares target, will lie in wait in the shadows along with others of their kind until the opportune moment to strike, at which point all Vesper in the vicinity will swarm upon the target. However, Vesper do have something resembling a self-preservation instinct; if the number of Vesper dwindles, or if they feel sufficiently threatened, the remaining Vesper will disengage and retreat to safety, although this is often merely a regrouping tactic in preparation for another attack. Although rare, Vesper colonies of particularly large sizes (those numbering in the hundreds) usually center around an evolved specimen known as a Crowned Vesper, which is larger and stronger than its lesser brethren, as well as seemingly capable of commanding and directing them. If such a colony exists, targeting and eliminating the Crowned Vesper will disrupt the behavior of the rest of the colony.

-Attack(s): Typical attacks consists of standard claw slashes and bites, which Vespers can perform either during flight or while latched onto a target. Though individually a minimal threat to anyone with their Aura unlocked, in large numbers these attacks can quickly rip a victim to shreds.

-Powers: Vesper attacks have the the unique ability to actively drain a target's vitality, even through any existing Aura, by means of an as-yet-undetermined force. A single Vesper's draining ability is so weak as to be unnoticeable by a healthy Huntsman, but in a swarm the effect can escalate rapidly and dangerously.

-Strengths: Capable of flight; extremely agile while in flight, capable of navigating extremely tight spaces and avoiding close-range obstacles or attacks; capable of "seeing" extremely well in the dark, possibly through means similar to actual bats; known to swarm in large numbers; difficult to combat via melee weapons.

-Weakness(es): Very weak individually; extremely frail, as a direct hit or shot from a weapon of almost any variety to the main body is enough to cripple or kill one; susceptible to wide-ranging attacks with a large area of effect.

-Additional Notes: The draining ability is of course a reference to the 'vampire' and 'bloodsucking' aspect of vampire bats. Only more dangerous, as having Aura doesn't completely protect you from it. Also, swarm attacks. Because if regular bats like to fly in large swarms, then Grimm bats like to attack in them. Logic. Oh yeah, and the name comes from the Latin word vesper, which means 'evening'. The word vespertilio also happens to be a Latin word for 'bat', and incidentally, is actually the name of a genus of bats.

Evolution template:

--Name: Crowned Vesper

--Armouring: By and large the same as the previous form, although the upscaled size of the specimen results in an increased size of the armor plates along its back. Additionally, the backs of the wings now feature thin external armor ridges along where the internal bones would be located.

--Aesthetics: Although mostly identical to the previous form, the mask now features a row of sharp spikes protruding up and backwards from between the ears, resembling a crown of sorts. (Thus, the name.)

--Powers: In addition to having the same vitality-draining ability of its lesser brethren - albeit a stronger form of it - Crowned Vesper seem to be able to command large numbers of their kind via screeches, resulting in a massive swarm of Vesper flying in formation and performing large-scale synchronized assaults against targets. These aptly named Vesper Crowned Swarms are extremely dangerous until the Crowned Vesper itself is dealt with, although this can be easier said than done with hundreds of other Vesper to deal with.

--Additional Notes: Anyone who has played or watched the final boss fight of Kingdom Hearts 2.8 FCP knows the gist of how the Vesper Crowned Swarm functions. If not, here's a link (in straight URL form because the mobile form of Wikia is kinda wonky). https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&persist_app=1&noapp=1&v=XxVjFk90h3Q