Interests

---

► Figure Skating
► Classical music
► Ballet, Opera, Musicals
► Fine Dining
► Cooking TV shows
► Playing the violin

Personality

---

Most people who meet Mikiel would describe him as a ticking time bomb, though he would strongly disagree with that. Not because he doesn’t think he has temper issues (he’s more than aware of that), but because he can’t stand the use of metaphors or other ‘flowery language’. This is just one of the many triggers that can set off Mikiel’s rage: Feeling like he’s being misunderstood or not listened to, people who don’t make their intentions or explanations clear by not using plain language, deliberate attempts at antagonising him, and puns related to his psiionics or other jokes made at his expense. He doesn’t enjoy being angry and is annoyed by how easily he can be set off, but once he starts feeling over-emotional he simply can’t stop himself.

This anger also manifests in a strange sense of misplaced passion. He has incredibly strong opinions on the art and music he likes, believing the classics to be the epitome of the particular genre and everything else is a cheap imitation or mockery of the greats. He’s snooty and pretentious, and very quick to turn his nose up at anything he deems inferior to his tastes. He would rather starve than eat cheap convenience store food, and considers having to listen to modern pop music a legitimate death sentence. Any attempts to get him to try something new will just result in hours worth of ranting and raving about how no one understands why the classics are a classic for a reason.

Perhaps surprisingly given his usual attitude, Mikiel is very quick to admit defeat and prefers to give up rather than escalate situations when the opportunity arises. If whatever he’s doing feels pointless - be in an argument, an activity he’s not enjoying, or fighting a losing battle against someone - he’ll give up and let the other person have their way. He’ll even throw in the metaphorical towel in the middle of a physical fight if he doesn’t see the worth in continuing to preserve his life. This also extends to his inability to fully pursue any of his hobbies: If all of the great musicians and performers and critics have already revolutionised the craft and made their mark in history, what’s left for him to do? And if there’s no reason to go professional, then what’s the point in putting any effort into perfecting his own abilities? He accepted this inevitability at a young age, and has been unable to find joy in his hobbies ever since.

Mikiel has depression and potentially also harbours some trauma from his time in the Red Scarves, but it’s not something he’s well-aware of or particularly cares about. When on his own or is not bothered by the company around him, he is very quiet and morose, preferring to keep his head down and avoid attention. He often has trouble motivating himself to do anything outside of the work required of him by others, and also neglects basic self-care habits such as properly taking care of injuries he’s accumulated from fights. However, other people fussing over him annoys him and he’s very quick to snap at people for wasting their time on him.

He’s well aware of all his personality faults, perhaps to an extreme extent. He accepts that he’s unlikeable and an absolute chore to be around, and genuinely believes that because of this his life is worth less than others. He struggles to understand why some people might like him, and thinks that showing any kindness towards him is illogical. He doesn’t like being pitied, and tries to discourage people from doing anything for him because they sympathise with him. At the same time, he begrudgingly accepts that there’s nothing he can do to stop some bleeding hearts, and deep down probably appreciates that there are people out there looking out for him. He won’t openly display any affection for them, but he would definitely consider sacrificing himself for them as undoubtedly there’d be other people who would miss them more than they’d miss him.

Psiionics

---

Mikiel possesses the psiionic power of Cryokinesis. He is able to lower the temperature in an area to a freezing point, which results in the creation of frost and ice. The more enclosed a space is, the quicker he is able to freeze surfaces. Once the temperature has been sufficiently lowered, he can control the intensity of his powers to some extent, such as creating frozen spikes from the ground (albeit indiscriminately), and freezing anything - or anyone - he touches. This has its best use in combat, where he can freeze an opponent’s feet to trap them in place, or if he’s able to get close enough, encase them in ice entirely and shatter them to pieces. He is capable of freezing himself with his powers without suffering any ill-effects, though any instances where this has happened have been unintentional and the result of him losing control. He also uses his cryokinesis as a primary mode of transportation, freezing the ground underneath him so that he can skate around at high speeds.

However, he is only able to completely freeze surfaces that he is able to physically touch, such as the ground beneath his feet or a wall or other object he is holding in his hands. Over time the ice will be able to spread further, but he cannot freeze an object in mid-air or chill the opposite side of a room without first affecting his immediate area. Heat will also impact the strength of his psiionics, and on hot days any ice that’s not directly under his hands or feet will melt almost instantly.

As a result of his psiionics, Mikiel is not affected by changes in temperature or any ill-effects that result from exposure to extreme heat or cold. The air immediately around him stays at a constant cold temperature, and his psiionics will automatically react in response to dangers such as touching a hot surface or being overexposed to freezing conditions. His psiionics also numb his senses to a slight degree, most notably dulling his sense of pain.

Psiionics of this strength and caliber are such a rarity for highbloods that they’re classed as a mutation. Mikiel’s body is similarly not equipped to handle such power, making them almost impossible to control without either psiionic inhibitors or sweeps of specialised training. He tends to lose control of his psiionics when he’s in an emotional state, making the temperature of the room a good indicator for his current mood. His gloves and boots are made out of a material that helps to suppress psiionics, but even with them on he’s still prone to freezing surfaces he touches. This mutation also affects his resistance to psiionic powers that should come natural to his caste, making him incredibly susceptible to mind-altering psiionics and chucklevoodoos.

Backstory

---

Caught between the privilege of being hatched with blue blood and the burden of possessing a psiionic mutation, it seemed Mikiel’s life was destined to be turbulent from the very beginning. He was spared from the cavern’s culling squads due to his ancestor’s infamy in the Fleet, as it is believed that descendants of the Giacho bloodline can be moulded into another weapon of war if they can control their psiionics. The ‘mutant’ label hung heavily over Mikiel’s head even as a child, and he knew that he needed to keep to himself as much as possible to make sure no one would find out. During the first couple of sweeps he was successful, living quietly with his arctic wolf lusus in Block 136 and mostly being able to keep his budding psiionics under control. Wolfdad was wary of how powerful his charge’s cryokinesis will become, and ensured that Mikiel was well-aware that he is a dangerous troll.

Wolfdad's attempts to protect Mikiel ended up in vain, as one night during an argument Mikiel cannot recall what it was about, his psiionics fully awakened. He remembers becoming enraged by something his lusus had suggested, and the next moment his apartment was completely covered in frost. In the centre of the room lay his lusus, impaled by a tower of ice spikes. From that point onwards, Mikiel’s psiionic powers grew exponentially and very quickly became uncontrollable. He started wearing inhibitors in the form of psiionic-dampening gloves as a means to make them more manageable, which was initially suggested by his neighbour Velour. Feeling sympathetic towards Mikiel being recently orphaned, Velour also found a lusus adoption agency and adopted a skua on his behalf, but the two were simply incompatible. His new lusus now lives out on the balcony, and very rarely interacts with his new charge.

Mikiel was no stranger to his neighbours, in fact it was Velour who first attempted to befriend the blueblood and then introduced him to the other two trolls living on that apartment floor. After the death of his lusus at only four sweeps old, Mikiel began hanging out more with Velour (perhaps out of obligation, given the cuspblood’s aforementioned gesture of goodwill), and the two’s friendship developed. Velour was delighted to have befriended a fellow highblood with similar refined tastes, and would often invite Mikiel out to different restaurants and theatre events for networking purposes. These trips were supposed to be mutually beneficial: Velour would get to make new connections for his burgeoning fashion design business, and Mikiel would get to potentially make even more like-minded friends. Over time, it became clear these benefits were not as balanced as initially believed. Mikiel found himself covering more of the cost with every outing, and more often than not Velour would ‘misplace’ his credit card and need Mikiel to pay the entirety of the bill. It is no surprise that these “friendly outings'' started to wear on Mikiel’s patience.

These minor grievances continued for the next few sweeps, but finally Mikiel could take no more. The straw that broke the metaphorical camel’s back was something that Mikiel acknowledges was absolutely ridiculous: A video game night at Aiolos’ hive, and the group of four were playing a party game that involved characters moving around a gameboard collecting stars. Mikiel was in the lead for the majority of the game, but at the very end Velour snagged the win by earning all the bonus points. He didn’t even care about the game itself, but seeing Velour steal one last thing from him made him snap. Velour tried to calm him down, but the outburst quickly became physical and Mikiel lost control of his psiionics. In the ensuing fight, Mikiel froze Velour’s right shoulder to the point of permanent muscle damage and also tore out a chunk of his hair, as well as also covering the entirety of Aiolos’ living room in ice. Aiolos was able to interfere and break up the fight, but before he could yell at Mikiel for causing such a scene over a stupid game, Mikiel stormed out of the hive and returned to his own apartment.

Following that incident, Mikiel retreated back into solitude, staying cooped up in his hive until he’d be forced to restock on groceries. Aiolos was rightfully pissed at him for freezing his apartment, Liiore was even more afraid of him than before, and Velour got the message that his presence was despised. Mikiel was more than happy to have rid himself from those annoyances, as they should have known better to have not gotten involved with someone as dangerous as him. His outburst was inevitable, he thought.

On the rare occasions he would leave his hive, he’d stick to the alleyways and quieter streets to avoid others as much as possible. This, however, unfortunately caused him to attract the attention of the local gangs who also happened to operate around these areas. One night, when he was eight sweeps, he was accosted by Dremen Iravia, a supervisor of the Red Scarves’ fighting ring. A fight broke out, but Dremen was able to overpower him and knocked Mikiel unconscious. When he awoke, he found himself in the ring as part of a mutant battle royale tournament, and was made to fight to the death to ensure his survival. He fought viciously and desperately to ensure a win, only to discover that ‘survival’ did not mean ‘freedom’ and the true prize was an induction into the gang. The Red Scarves had been looking for some fresh blood that would bring in more income from patrons wishing to witness a mutant in action, and thus Mikiel was forcibly recruited into their ranks. It was made very clear to him that insubordination or any attempts to avoid the gang would lead to his death, so the only option was to keep fighting. He witnessed countless atrocities while in the gang: Other unwitting participants’ loved ones being kidnapped when they’d fall out of line and being made to kill their own quadrants, innocent children being thrown into the ring for cheap entertainment, and all kinds of trolls (including himself) being beaten within an inch of their life. These fights wore Mikiel down physically, mentally, and emotionally, and eventually he grew completely numb to this hopeless situation. His life was essentially over, and all that remained of his pride was to keep fighting so that the Red Scarves could not take the last thing that belonged to him: His own life.

That is, for two and a half sweeps he thought his situation was hopeless...

Mikiel has been recently recruited into GAIA, after being approached by Mikail Avoran one night after a particularly bad defeat in the fighting ring. He was initially very opposed to the idea because the concept of an organisation that deals with supernatural entities sounded like complete nonsense, and the thought of being able to leave the gang without repercussions felt impossible. However, he relented when Mikail paid for his medical bills and Mikiel felt obligated to take up the offer, and he also knew anything would be better than his current situation. After a grueling three day trip to GAIA’s headquarters, he was recruited into the Special Operations branch due to his psiionics and general distaste for doing anything but basic combat. Convincing him that magic was real was a different story, and despite dealing with the unexplainable being the primary objective of his new career, Mikiel still refuses to accept it as his new normal.

Trivia

---

Appearance

---

► He has an Italian accent, and can speak fluent Italian. He sometimes slips into that language without noticing, especially when angry.
► He usually speaks with an even, almost unemotional tone, but when he gets mad he slips into using slang and stuttering on some words.
► He's nearsighted, and owns multiple pairs of glasses as they tend to break easily.
► As a result of receiving a 'gift' from GAIA's patron, his eyes glow when in close proximity to magical energy or when he's consciously activating his psiionics.
► He keeps his horns filed down and his hair short so that his opponents don't have easy targets to grab onto when fighting him.
► He wears a lot of red accessories to warn others that he's dangerous.
► He still keeps his bandana from the Red Scarves, though he doesn't wear it anymore. He holds onto it just in case his new job falls apart.
► He'll only wear pants with black and white vertical stripes.

Habits

---

► He's nicknamed 'The Mad Dog' in the ring due to his savage fighting style consisting mostly of strong kicks and clawing at his opponents, along with his anger issues making those around him likening him to a wild animal.
► He chooses to not keep quadrants due to the gang's threats to kidnap and kill loved ones if their members do not comply with their demands. He refuses to create a weakness that they can exploit. After leaving the gang, he's still closed off when it comes to relationships in case he's not entirely safe.
► He prefers people who are straightforward, and his distaste for idioms and wordplay stems from the fact he finds flowery language to be unnecessary.
► He's somewhat prejudiced towards lowbloods as he believes that their cultural works are inherently inferior to highblood high art. He generally avoids restaurants and other venues frequently visited by lowbloods, as he sees that as a sign the place is going to be terrible.
► He smokes occasionally, but tries to not make a habit of it. He won't buy his own cigarettes, but if offered one he'll be unable to refuse it.

Hobbies and Favourite Things

---

► He knows bits and pieces of French, German, and Latin, but not enough to be considered fluent.
► He is incredibly talented as a figure skater, violinist, and critic, and could easily go professional if it weren't for his doubts holding him back.
► His favourite genre of music is classical, but he also likes some classic rock. His favourite band of all time is The Beatles.
► He knows how to ballroom dance, though he only learned it as he thought it would be necessary for attending highblood events. He's not a fan of partner dances.
► He's a huge purist when it comes to the arts, and refuses to watch non-English films and TV shows dubbed. He also believes that classic literature should be preserved in the language it was first written in, and has attempted to learn other languages just to read them.
► Despite his rants over how food should be cooked and what types of cuisine is the best, his biggest guilty pleasure is horribly greasy take-out pizza, usually with stuffed crust.

Residency

---

► He lives in a penthouse apartment in Block 136, one of the four penthouse suites in that particular hivestem.
► His apartment is one of the two smaller ones, and lacks the second floor that the larger suites have.
► He lacks the motivation to keep his hive tidy, which has resulted in dishes piling up in his kitchen and dried blood staining his carpet and couch.
► He doesn't have much use for all the space in his hive, so most of the extra rooms are empty and gone unopened for sweeps. Even the main rooms lack a lot of furniture or decorations.
► One of the unused rooms now contains a sigil burned into the carpet that can be used to teleport between Mikiel's hive and GAIA headquarters. While Mikiel doesn't like using it, it does save a two-night trip via car.
► His adoptive lusus nests on the balcony. Since Mikiel keeps the curtains always closed, he doesn't see them much.

... And Everything Else

---

► On official fleet documents it is stated that trolls in the Giacho bloodline should be spared until conscription, due to his ancestor being a well-document asset to the fleet.
► He's killed many in the ring, including children who have similarly been abducted and forced to fight. He hates the fact that the gang would sink so slow just for entertainment, but tells himself that his opponents' deaths are mercy killings.