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Character Info/Permissions
 Mikhail Rostovan why would you text me in that tone | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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BACKGROUNDcw: alcoholism, violence, child abuse/neglect. Mikhail started out a regular kid with a regular-ish childhood...if you count having an alcoholic and compulsive gambler for a father 'normal.' His mother was a kind woman who tried to do her best for Mika despite being a co-dependant; she would regularly enable and make excuses for his father; no matter what he did, she would always try to explain it away. Mika tried numerous times to get her to leave him, but that went about as well as one can expect. By the time Mika was ten he was more or less raising himself. His father had drunk and/or gambled away most of their money and gotten them into serious debt, and his mother was taking antidepressants to cope. Mika's only respite from his shitty home situation was his best friend, Nicolai. Mikhail spent as much time away from home as possible with Nicolai; they had frequent sleepovers, went to & from school with one another every day. Nico's parents understood Mika came from a troubled home and had an open-door policy for him; he was always welcome in their home. He treasured Nico and his family more than anything, and for a long time he dreamed about leaving home to live with them for real. Alas, that was not to be. By the time Mikhail reached his teenage years, his father had fallen further and further into debt...and one day a bunch of men started showing up to collect. They broke windows, smashed furniture, threatened the family. Mikhail didn't care much if they beat up his father--he'd long since stopped caring about the man. As far as he was concerned, his father brought this all on himself. But when they threatened his mom? Mikhail might not have had the best relationship with her, but he still loved her--so he stepped in. Mika found himself 'recruited' for small-time 'jobs' with his father's money lenders. At first it was easy stuff. Acting as lookout, dropping an unmarked bag or package off at a specified location. Delivering a message or two. It ate up into his time after school and he started spending less time with Nico and his family, but he had to do it. Mikhail brushed off Nico's concerns and said he'd just gotten a part-time job, that was all. He was helping around the house. His mom wasn't doing so well these days, no big deal. Then the jobs got harder. Mikhail started delivering drugs. Helped the thugs rip-off a distribution centre. Steal money. And one day...steal stuff from other gangs. It was the job that was supposed to be like any other: Mika was supposed to act as lookout and an extra set of hands once the break-in was complete. It was supposed to be an easy in-and-out; they'd never see it coming. What he very much did not count on was being followed by Nico. Their relationship had become rocky since Mikhail started distancing himself, but Nico was determined; he approached Mika at school, and after a brief altercation turned soft, Nico decided to find out what was really going on. He approached Mika in the middle of the job and caught him contraband-in-hand; but before they could really get into an argument the gang the thugs were stealing from showed up. The sound of gunfire filled the air, Mika grabbed Nico, and the two of them ran for cover. They'd almost made it through one of the side-exits of the buildings when someone grabbed Nico from behind, yanking his hand out of Mika's. It was a man Mika had never seen before, but that didn't matter: when he brandished a knife against Nico, Mika saw red. He rushed the unknown man, body slamming him into the nearest wall and wrestling against him. He was overpowered and knocked to the floor; the man spat and reached for his head with the promise of "cracking that shitty little head of your friend's wide open", and in a flash of panic Mika grabbed for the knife. He rushed the man, sinking the blade into his gut. Under normal circumstances, that would have been the end of it. But the man Mika had just stabbed wasn't normal. He was Gifted, and as he died his Gift flowed into Mika, causing him to scream and writhe until he lost consciousness. When he next awoke, he was in a warehouse and Nico was nowhere to be seen. A man who identified himself as Antonio sat across a table from him and offered Mika a choice: work for him and replaced his Gift-user, or watch everyone he knows and cares about die. Turns out that Gifts have a waiting period after being transferred; if you don't cultivate them properly before transferring them, they can be lost or become weaker. So it saved Atonio quite a bit of time and investment for Mika to cooperate, and with his mother, with Nico in the crosshairs...there was only one choice he could make. Mika signed up with Antonio's gang and didn't look back. He worked for Antonio for years, acting as his hired hand and 'interrogator.' Wherever pointed, Mika shot. He did anything and everything Antonio told him to do with the assurance than Nico and his mom weren't to be touched. So long as that promise held true, he was willing to do anything if it meant they'd be safe. If they'd be kept away from the hell his father had gotten him into. This continued well into adulthood, and with each use of his power his eyesight got worse and worse. Then one day, a man was brought to him. "Someone's been sniffing around," Antonio told him. "And it's time we got rid of him. Don't you think?" Mika didn't particularly think anything about it at all, this was just business as usual--until the man spoke. Said his name and said he'd been looking for him everywhere--and that's when Mika knew. It had to be him--it couldn't be anyone else. Why how could Nico be here?? As far as Mikhail knew, he'd forgotten about him, gone on to live a normal like he was supposed to But no. He was here...and Antonio was going to kill him. Kill Bill Sirens ensued. Mika reached out and grabbed the wrist of the hired gun next to him, turning him on the others. The he touched another, and another, turning the room into a complete bloodbath in a matter of moments. He grabbed Nico and dragged him from the room amidst the chaos, demanding to know why he was here, how he was here--and telling him that he needed to go. Nico shot back that he wasn't leaving without Mika; he'd been looking for him all these years and there was no way he was going anywhere without him now. Antonio makes a surprise appearance and shoots at them, at which point Mika shoves Nico through a doorway and tells him he'll find him later (while also having no intention of finding him later). He fights Antonio, gets injured, limps away the victor with every intention of wasting away in a gutter, only for Nico to show up and save his hobo ass and bring him back to his Clan--an organization of Gift-users dedicated to protecting and safeguarding people whose Gifts emerge naturally. PERSONALITYNico Nico Nico Nico Nico Nico Nico Nico Nico ABILITIESMikhail is what his world calls "Gifted": people who possess a supernatural ability or power. These powers come in two types: inherited, and natural. Inherited Gifts are as they sound: to have this kind of power, it needs to be taken from or given by someone else in order for someone to have it. Where did the first version of this come from and how did that person acquire it? Most likely, it started out a natural Gift: a power that someone is born with that naturally emerges as they enter puberty. People with natural Gifts are incredibly rare, and many people would do almost anything to get their hands on someone with one of these. Being a Gift-user is both a blessing and a curse: yeah, you get a cool power, but it comes with the unpleasant and added cost of everyone wanting to kill you in order to steal that Gift and take it for themselves. Most people with Gifts band together into Clans in order to protect themselves. Clans guarantee one's safety against being murdered while simultaneously increasing their own power and influence with every Gift they collect. There's always a risk of joining a Clan that will kill you for your Gift anyway though, so...fun times. LUCKY FOR MIKA HE'S A BASIC BITCH and got his Gift by accidentally killing a dude with an inherited Gift. It was a whole...mess involving a criminal organization and some blackmail and running away from his entire life to make sure the people he cares about don't get wrapped up in all that. Normal things!! Thanks to acquiring this Gift before it had fully 'matured' though, it comes with a cost: every time he uses it, the optic nerves in his brain get damaged and he suffers from migraines. He is currently like 90% blind thanks to over-using his Gift. Mika's gift allows him to view and manipulate the memories and minds of anyone he is in physical contact with. This means he can:
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