[Stand User] Poison DeVille

Born Coupe DeVille, Poison grew up in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens, New York. As a child, she attended P.S. 069 Jackson Heights School. An unruly child, Coupe skipped class, performed poorly in school, often got into fights, and spent a large amount of time in detention. Part of this was due to Coupe's situation at home with an abusive father and an alcoholic mother, the latter of whom died in a mugging when Coupe was ten.

The physical and mental abuse his mother suffered at home largely transferred to Coupe after the accident as her father began to spiral further from the loss of his wife. Coupe, whose gender dysphoria became more pronounced as puberty approached, experimented in crossdressing whenever possible. However, her effeminate mannerisms didn't escape the notice of other students, becoming an easy target for bullying.

To deal with the stress, Coupe took up smoking and drinking from a young age. Since the bullying was becoming more and more unbearable, she started adapting whatever techniques she could into a self-taught, acrobatic combat style. Coupe focused on agility, takedowns, kicks, and hitting weak points more than brute strength and power. It proved fairly effective throughout her tenure at Intermediate School 230Q.

Gaining a bad reputation off the many victories, Coupe entered Newtown High School known as a reckless, underachieving delinquent. Proud of this achievement, she decided to spend as much time away from her father and made money on her own by joining a fight club organized by her peers. This helped perfect her fighting style and hone her instincts.

Coupe's crossdressing got out in her second year of high school and became public knowledge. Though initially humiliated, she eventually decided to take ownership of it, openly and publicly dressing however she wanted and promising a vicious beatdown to anyone who tried to say anything against it. She eventually made good on that promise by assaulting several students who tried to attack her.

Fed up with school, Coupe dropped out of school without a diploma or G.E.D. Subsequently kicked out of her home by her father, she used what money she'd saved up to rent a shitty apartment in Rockaway. Between various short-lived jobs, petty theft, and some illicit activities on the side, Coupe continued to diligently build herself up and pay for rent, food, booze, cigarettes, and hormone treatments.

One day, an aspiring director took notice of her and offered her a different sort of career making films. Taking the name Poison DeVille, she found herself able to move into a better part of Rockaway, as well as able to afford a few cosmetic surgeries. Unfortunately, she also developed a substance abuse habit, which led to her contracting the HIV virus.

Learning that she'd contracted a deadly disease, Poison freaked out. First, she trashed her apartment, then she found and beat the "friend" she'd shared the needle with (who confessed to knowing, but prioritizing the high over her safety). For about three days, she subsisted on a diet of hot dogs and beer. She wound up on her father's doorstep in a vain attempt to make peace with the only family she had. It didn't work, and she ended up hating him more.

At her wit's end, Poison even considered suicide as an option over the prospect of living with AIDS. As she stumbled home that night, a man tackled and pressed her against an alley wall. A gun pressed to her head, he forced her to hand over her purse and used a knife to slice her shirt. However, when he removed her pants, he reacted with disgust, turning the gun against her in anger. She tried to run, taking a bullet to the back of her leg.

Moments away from being murdered, Poison realized that she didn't want to die at all. She hoped for more time, refusing to lie down and die without a fight. Suddenly, she found the drunken haze lifting from her mind, and in her hand a length of something like rope. Realizing it was some sort of weapon she didn't possess before, she turned suddenly and lashed the whip against her assailant's face and chest, slicing him.

The man shot wildly into the alley, screaming in pain as his blood felt as though it were burning. He couldn't catch his breath, his movements became sluggish, and his vision blurred. Poison struck again, wrapping his hand in the thorny vine and puncturing it, then squeezing it until he let go his weapon. The attacker defeated, Poison took her purse back, as well as the injured man's clothing to replace what he destroyed.

After the incident, the whip disappeared. Poison found herself unable to enjoy alcohol and cocaine anymore, eventually selling it off. On her next visit to the doctor, she discovered that her blood was entirely free of the HIV virus. Refusing to be kept for additional testing, she decided to try to summon the whip again, thinking back to her mental state in the alley.

Not only did it work, Poison discovered that her whip could also bear a delicious fruit. Deciding it best to keep her power a secret (and avoid hospitals if possible), she tried to settle back into her old life. It was impossible, however, to prove that she was cured of HIV without extensive medical testing. Instead, she wound up looking for more information on the mysterious powers she now possessed.

In 1988, the year after her Stand awakened, Poison decided to join the Speedwagon Foundation's program for inexperienced and concerned Stand users. She also figured that employment by the Foundation, which could actually understand and explained what was going on with her, would be preferable to anything else she could try.