Background

Early Life

Vladimir Nabokov was born to an extremely wealthy family in St Petersburg, Russia, who could trace their heritage back to the times of the Tsar and had connections to many other wealthy and privileged families in Russia. He was the eldest child, and the most favoured child by his parents, and looked after his younger sisters and brothers: Sergei, Olga, Elena and Kirill. His family were hugely encouraging of intellectual pursuits and hobbies and Vladimir and his siblings were surrounded by a wealth of knowledge that they could peruse at their leisure as well as good access to education and private tuition. The four children grew up reading and writing in both English and Russian, and Vladimir was also given additional tuition in French - quickly making him trilingual from early childhood. He was praised as being an extremely bright child, and always taught to pursue knowledge and learning at any cost. It was noted that Vladimir had a keen eye for science, and enjoyed using the scientific method when learning things. His parents thought that was important and encouraged him to make good use of it.

Interestingly, Vladimir quickly found that he was a little different to his siblings and to other children around him. When he tried to explain how he didn’t like music because it “tasted bad” he was often met with odd looks. Other sounds, he would explain, had a better taste and he preferred to hear those. Prokofiev tasted like coffee, and Vladimir liked that, but his father would listen to Beethoven and the boy would complain to him about how the music was like soured milk in his mouth. Equally, he would equate words to colours, and got very confused when he learned that this was not the case for the rest of his family. He was taken for an evaluation at the hospital, and at the age of seven Vladimir was diagnosed with synaesthesia - a condition that causes the senses to blend in the mind. For him, it was sound and taste, and words with colours. Fascinated, Vladimir researched and tested his condition thoroughly, testing out what sounds he liked and disliked like choosing from a menu. It further solidified to him that he was different to others around him, but he didn’t mind that much.

Though the Nabokov children had plenty of learning opportunities at home, they were all sent to regular school as well. Vladimir attended the Gymnasium school and was quickly top of his class. His teachers were shocked by his high marks, and quickly he was moved up into special classes to suit his needs. Vladimir thrived on study, and would read books in his spare time as well. It didn’t leave him much time for friends outside of his academics, but he didn’t really mind it much. Vladimir found most students in his class incredibly boring and beneath his intellect - and he didn’t care for the same toys and tv shows that they all raved about. He couldn’t connect with them, and thus kept himself isolated from them.

There was one exception, his friend from childhood Ayn Rand. Ayn had originally been brought around to the family as a companion for Vladimir’s younger sister Olga, but despite their six year age gap she and Vladimir had matched each other for intellect and a friendship had quickly blossomed between them as they grew up. Ayn was a fierce debater and keenly into politics and history, which was vastly different to Vladimir’s growing obsession with anthropology, zoology and, in particular, lepidoptery, but the two loved to talk with each other about the things that they learned. Ayn gifted Vladimir with his butterfly hairpiece for his thirteenth birthday, as he’d been talking about wanting to grow his hair long for a while - she told him he could use it once he got his hair long enough to tie in a ponytail, and that he should make that his goal. He gladly accepted the challenge.

They continued to be close friends, even as Vladimir left to study at St Petersburg State University - with Ayn coming to visit him on weekends and on his days off so that the two of them could spend time at the library together or to go on walks - which was still a good opportunity for them to debate each other. Vladimir chose to study zoology, specialising in lepidoptery. He’d grown to love butterflies from reading about them in childhood. When he could travel out to the countryside he would hunt them himself, dragging Ayn and sometimes his siblings along with him. Ayn did not have the same passion for the insects as he did - but she did come along for moral support. In return, he would watch her debate.

Ayn and Vladimir’s friendship was near inseparable. Until the worst happened. Unbeknownst to Vladimir, she had manifested an ability. This meant that she was at risk of being found by the government, who were known to take ability users away from their families to perform experiments and other such acts upon. She and her family planned to escape Russia, but she felt guilty given how close she and Vladimir had become over the years. When she asked to meet with him so that she could tell him she was leaving he gladly took the chance to, and was shocked but happy to hear she confessed her feelings towards him. Though he had been too shy to admit it, he had also grown close to her over their years as friends and reciprocated her feelings. They shared a tense but loving first kiss and Vladimir promised that the two of them would be reunited one day.

Then Ayn wiped all his memories of her from him.

This caused a lot more damage to Vladimir than Ayn possibly calculated for. Since she had been such a major part of Vladimir’s life and a huge part of his memories of childhood, losing her meant that he lost the vast majority of his memories very suddenly.Vladimir became extremely confused and disorientated, to the point that he was admitted to emergency hospital treatment as they were worried he had suffered from a stroke or internal bleeding that had caused his delirium. When they could find no such signs, doctors wondered if he had hit his head and was suffering from amnesia. But no such damage could be found either.

Vladimir spent three months in hospital, recovering from this completely mystery affliction, and was left more confused than ever by the whole thing. He knew that something was missing, but he didn’t know what. It was only when his sister Olga brought his personal diary in for him so that he could continue writing it whilst in hospital that he found what was missing. The name “Alisa Rand”, the friend he couldn’t remember and he didn’t know why he couldn’t remember. Vladimir told himself from then on that he would find out what the name meant, find Alisa, and recover his lost memories.

Pale Fire

After university, Vladimir graduated top of his faculty with honours and began looking to find a job of his own. He was not short of offers thanks to his high marks and wealth of knowledge and experience, but nothing seemed to interest him. He didn’t want a desk job and he would prefer to research only into areas where he already had interest. All the while, the name Alisa still bothered him - as he wanted to find out just who she was. His diary told him plenty, but he couldn’t place as to why he had forgotten her. If she’d been so important she’d made it into his diary - then why couldn’t he remember her at all? Vladimir would continue to work and overwork himself in pursuit of his knowledge - taking a few jobs here and there so as to keep himself occupied more than anything. Money was no issue, his family had plenty of it and he still got along with his parents well and they were happy to support him in his research.

It continued to plague him to the point of exhaustion - and that was when it happened. Vladimir was working late for the fifth night in a row, and happened to catch sight of himself in the mirror as he was. He saw the dishevelled and extremely tired looking vision of himself and realised he was aging himself from all his overwork. It annoyed him, as he had been quite proud of his good looks when he was younger and didn’t want that to escape him. In a small huff of annoyance he slammed his hand to his desk and out loud complained that he wanted to remain youthful by any means if he could. That was when it happened. His body began to glow bright blue in the darkness, and Vladimir found himself staring at a bright blue butterfly that had appeared in his palm. The butterfly was his, and his alone to control. When he had it land on the plant on his desk, he was shocked to see it drain the life out of the poor flower. That energy, he noticed, flowed from the butterfly into him and he was suddenly looking much less exhausted and tired.

This was the start of personal experimentation. He had to see what more this power could do. Vladimir was willing to do anything in the pursuit of learning, and there were very very few things he considered to be “too far” when it came to experimentation. Self-experimentation was fine, he wanted to see what this power could do, but Vladimir learned that the butterfly (and butterflies he soon learned) he created needed to feed off of energy, which it would then give to him. So he kept seeing what else he could draw energy from. Plants? Yes. Objects? No. Animals? With some tries Vladimir soon found his butterflies harvested greater amounts of energy from animals than they did from plants. Enough that he physically felt the effect of it more on his body. He was stronger and less tired afterwards. That only left one thing to try on himself.

Humans.

By this point Vladimir had a strong control over his ability, and knew that it was an ability thanks to his research. He also knew that it wouldn’t be long til he was discovered by the government - and decided to take that time he had left to truly push the limits of what his powers were able to do. He needed to try a human subject, but deliberated for a long while on how best to acquire one. Though he could have just kidnapped someone off the streets and done it, that would be an obvious way to land himself in prison for multiple crimes. Vladimir determined he needed someone to consent to the procedure, and that would protect him from most legal issues. Who better to ask than someone from his own family as well? They knew him well and supported him, he truly believed that his plan was flawless.

With his new ability, that he named Pale Fire, Vladimir began his first experiment. He invited his younger brother Sergei to come and visit him under the guise of a study weekend. His brother was thrilled to see him, and to help him with a project that he was working on. Sergei was completely innocent to what was about to happen to him, but happily consented to letting Vladimir test his research on him. What Vladimir discovered was that his ability worked best on humans. Before his eyes he watched Sergei become surrounded by his butterflies. His brother’s life drained away before his eyes and Vladimir felt the rush of energy flooding into him. It was the first time he took the life of another human, and the sensation was overwhelming. Sergei’s agonised screams were like ecstasy and honey to his synaesthesia - a taste he would quickly become addicted to. Overwhelmed with stimulation, energy and emotion, Vladimir collapsed.

When he awoke, hours later, he saw his brother’s corpse lay on the floor where it had once stood. As he regained himself, remembering what he had just done, the realisation that he had killed his own sibling quickly hit him. But instead of sadness, Vladimir felt powerful. Life and death rested in his hands, and people could quickly become nothing but a source of energy to him. It was a sensation he’d never felt before, but he knew he wanted more of it. Catching sight of himself in the mirror, Vladimir noticed the test had caused his hair to grow long, long enough that he could finally tie it up in the butterfly hairpiece he had been given by someone whom he’d since forgotten all about. It was also now a bright silver, instead of the dirty blonde it had been before. He liked it.

Confident, Vladimir left his flat the next morning and turned himself into the government as an ability user. He agreed to go with them to a facility, under the strict agreement that he would be allowed to assist in research rather than just be subjected to experimentation himself. He was twenty one, and ready to learn.

Special Ability Research Experimentation

Vladimir took up a research position at the Special Ability Research Experimentation laboratory for St Petersburg. It was a well paid job, though much of his payment was in the agreement that he could have secure board and food and only participate in experiments on himself that he planned - in return for the work and research he provided to the facility on their other subjects. It was a very comfortable setup, and Vladimir was happy to take it and unbothered by the low pay. He still could access his parents finances, and he no longer needed to worry much about rent and food - most of the money was now solely a research grant. He gleefully got to his tasks and was placed in charge of looking after multiple ability users who were slated for various different tasks and experiments.

The facility hoped to better understand what factors caused an ability to manifest, the properties of an ability itself and how it affected the user, and the ways in which these discoveries could be used to further scientific progress. It was known that abilities could be used to create weapons and other such things - but it was not known just how far and to what limits a person with an ability could be pushed. That was where Vladimir’s research came in. He took great delight in his work, pushing many subjects to well beyond their limits - most often resulting in many deaths in the facility. But Vladimir cared little for that. There was always a steady stream of new faces and bodies for him to work on. His cruelty, coupled with his flashy fashion, earned him the nickname of “The Blue Butterfly” around the facility. A fragile, yet beautiful man who drained the lives of many.

Over the years, Vladimir was involved in experiments on several well known Russain ability users. Several brothers all with the surname “Tolstoy” passed through his hands, and he was absolutely responsible for a few of their deaths. He also took great delight in playing around with a young activist, Vladimir Mayakovsky, who had been arrested for taking part in socialist protests in Moscow. The boy had a very powerful radioactive ability, and Vladmir’s research was able to pull it out to its full potential. He also worked on the facility’s youngest inmate, Anna Akhmatova. With his research, Vladimir was able to manipulate and change the young girl’s ability, turning it into an offensive weapon rather than a healing and cleansing ability. For his success, Vladimir quickly rose the ranks in the facility. Within three years, he had become the head of all the research facilities in Moscow and St Petersburg.

Tatsuhiko Shibusawa

When he became the head of the research facilities, Vladimir’s influence began to spread outside of Russia and he soon became infamous in other nations as well. His reputation as “The Blue Butterfly” who brought death to ability users was known worldwide and people feared him. Even the mention of his name, or the click of his steel boots, was enough to send shivers down their spines. Vladimir loved that power, and began travelling to find other ability users that he could investigate and research. This search led him to Japan, in search of a powerful ability user who was able to transform himself into a tiger. This fascinated him, and Vladimir travelled out to Japan in search of him.

That was where Vladimir met Tatsuhiko Shibusawa for the first time. He, along with another ability user named Yukio Mishima, were also investigating the boy with the tiger ability and were looking to track him down. Vladimir eagerly tagged along and became involved in the Japanese ability user research team, utilising what he had learnt from back home in Russia. He and Shibusawa grew closer especially, and began to see one another outside of their research time and more privately. It wasn’t long before Vladimir realised that he was developing feelings for this man, and that this kind of love felt familiar - like he had loved someone like this in the past before. He ignored the deja vu and confessed his feelings to Shibusawa, who thankfully returned them just as strong. They shared a passionate kiss, that quickly became a lot more, and vowed to continue to work together.

From then on, Shibusawa was Vladimir’s whole world. Nothing was the same anymore and he had found the one thing he truly obsessed over. He loved Shibusawa more than anything and anyone else, and the two’s relationship was actually incredibly passionate. Shibusawa finally found someone on his intellectual level who did not bore him, and Vladimir had a companion with whom he could continue his unethical research unhindered. They worked together, with the help of Mishima, and tracked down the tiger ability user, Atsushi Nakajima and captured him. The boy was only young, and his ability was yet to fully manifest. Shibusawa was irritated, as he thought this was a roadblock for them - but Vladimir assured him that this was not the case. He had had success forcing abilities out of their users before, and knew that he could surely repeat the process here. It was he who suggested to Shibusawa that they use electroshock torture to try and force the tiger out of Atsushi.

This idea proved fatal, and something that Vladimir would never forgive himself for suggesting. The electricity worked, and Atsushi’s ability was forced to manifest - much to the three men’s delight at a successful experiment. What they did not expect was for Atsushi to fight back. The boy clawed at Shibusawa, injuring him fatally before Vladimir’s eyes, and escaped. Distraught, Vladimir tried to run and save his lover, despite Mishima pleading with him to leave and escape to safety. Vladimir refused to leave Shibusawa’s body behind, sobbing and inconsolable with grief at losing his lover. Mishima was forced to abandon them both for his own safety, something that Vladimir noticed and was left extremely angered by, as he felt slighted in his hour of extreme grief. He couldn’t bring Shibusawa’s body with him as the facility they were in collapsed from the tiger’s relentless attack. He was forced to leave Japan and return to Russia.

The Book

From that day forth, Vladimir was wrecked with grief and pain from his loss. He couldn’t accept losing the one person he had loved stronger than anyone else. The feeling was worse than when he had lost all his memories thanks to the girl he had first confessed love to, this time he felt as if he were to blame for it. He loathed that feeling of responsibility and accountability. He despised the pain of not having someone there for him who cared for him. These emotions soon condensed into a deep and unhealthy obsession with needing to bring back his lost love. Vladimir believed he would be able to atone for everything if he could bring Shibusawa back, and that being reunited with his love would free him of all the pain he felt. He didn’t yet know how to, but he quickly devoted all of his research to it.

That was how he discovered The Book. It came up in conversation at the research facilities he continued to preside over, mostly in rumour and hearsay. But there was a man who claimed to have a page taken from it, and Vladimir sought him out and demanded to see it, curious. The Book, so it claimed, could rewrite reality and change things. This, Vladimir felt, was his chance. His one chance to bring back his lover. He attacked the man who had possession of the page and drained him of his life, using the page to begin writing his lover back into reality. He included what he could, seeing that there were limitations placed upon what The Book could produce, and he hoped and begged that his Shibusawa would be returned to him.

The Book, however, could not accurately bring a man back from the dead. What it did was create a facsimile, a creation that would look similar to the man Vladimir had lost, that he would need to mould into what he wanted in order for reality to be changed. Vladimir didn’t realise this, however, and had assumed that his lover would return to him with memories intact. What he got was nothing more than an almost childlike man, born artificially with an ability that was somewhat similar to Draconis, but not that ability. It was close, but not perfect, and the new “man” did not have any of Shibusawa’s memories at all. Furious at the failure of his experiment, Vladimir flew into a rage and locked the boy into isolation whilst he tried to determine his next move. The creation was confused and scared, unsure of why he existed and for what purpose, and armed only with the knowledge that he had already failed his creator. It upset him a little, but he knew not what to do. Later, he would meet Anna whilst in confinement, and she would grant him the nickname of Oculis.

Vladimir, however, realised he would need to create his lover from the shell that the book had created, and took Oculis under his wing. He began trying to force the man to become what he wanted, and became very frustrated as he learned how much of his creation was different from what he wanted. Vladimir disliked how independent Oculis’ thoughts were, and how he would resist his advances and gestures of love. It was like he didn’t want to accept his role and purpose as Shibusawa, and Vladimir loathed that. But still, he persisted and became deeply obsessed with his creation - attempting over and over to try and change him to how he wanted him to be. At times it would work, and Oculis would behave how he wanted and he could project his love. It almost felt like the past again. Other times, there would be slip ups, failures, resistances, and Vladimir would fly into abusive rages towards his creation.

It was just before Vladimir’s 33rd birthday that the research facilities were attacked and raided by a resistance group of ability users. He was caught in the explosions and heavily injured, his frail body hurt so much he was unable to fight back and use his ability on the assailants. Many of his precious test subjects broke free - but the most heartbreaking loss was that of Oculis. He wept with anger and anguish at losing the last chance he had at resurrecting Shibusawa, and vowed to hunt him down and find him, refusing to accept that he had died and knowing that his creation must be out there somewhere, hiding from him.

The Decay of Angels

With the facilities in ruins, Vladimir needed new cover so that he could continue his operations and experiments without fear of facing trouble from other ability users or from international law. His chance came with a chance meeting between he and another man named Kamui, who brought Vladimir into The Decay of Angels - a terrorist group that worked internationally and were seeking to find the entirety of the book. This was a big hope for Vladimir, who wondered if he could use the whole book to better create the resurrection of Shibusawa and fix his failed experiment Oculis. He happily joined The Decay, and was shocked to find one of the other members already knew him when he arrived.

She now went by a different name, and she had thought that he would have no memories of her, but this was Alisa from his childhood - now known as Ayn Rand. Vladimir was shocked, they both were actually, to see how they had grown so differently from one another. Given Vladimir’s resentment and grudge, their friendship was far from instantly rekindled and the two were very much strained - but still, this brought some much needed closure for him. Vladimir was happy to use The Decay of Angels for his cover and for security, but he was much more interested in pursuing his own projects rather than the plans of the whole group. Still, he participated as and when he was needed.

Plot

Armed Detective Agency vs. Port Mafia

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The Guild Arc

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Cannibalism Arc

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Decay of Angels Arc

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Dead Apple

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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

The Armed Detective Agency

Yukichi Fukuzawa

❝ Perhaps I should thank you for the entertainment your little organisation provides me. ❞

Bond: ❤❤♡♡♡

Vladimir knows Fukuzawa is an expert with his sword, and has been on the receiving end of it multiple times in the dark days before the founding of The Armed Detective Agency. He also knows full well that Fukuzawa deeply dislikes him, and does not want Vladimir to come near any of his subordinates - knowing the man's reputation all too well. Vladimir simply sees this as a fun challenge, and looks to Fukuzawa and the rest of the Agency as entertainment as he plans for his long term goals. One day he hopes to be able to experiment on Fukuzawa.

Atsushi Nakajima

❝ I'm going to get my hands on you a second time, little tiger cub, and then I am going to see just what makes your ability tick... ❞

Bond: ❤♡♡♡♡

Many years ago, Vladimir got involved with the orphanage where Atsushi was raised because he heard of a boy with an incredible ability. Wanting to test on it himself he travelled out to find him - only to see that others had already captured the boy and begun experimentation. He participated, watching with delight when Atsushi's tiger manifested the first time and killed Shibusawa, but only narrowly escaped with his life. Since then, he has hunted Atsushi, hoping to be able to experiment on him again, and now watches him fight with the Armed Detective Agency with increasing interest. Truthfully, he acatually bears a strong grudge and resentment towards Atsushi, who killed someone very close to his heart.

Osamu Dazai

❝ Not even I can give you what you crave. How pathetic. ❞

Bond: ❤♡♡♡♡

Vladimir thinks of Dazai as the lowest of the low, and utterly inferior to him in every way. He knows that Dazai just wants to die, and he finds it pathetic considering that Dazai is completely healthy and has no proper reason to want to die - unlike himself. He thinks that the way in which Dazai idealises dying and suicide is vile, and being in the man's presence deeply annoys him. Vladimir also does not like that Dazai can destroy his butterflies with his nullification and that he cannot simply kill him - it means that Dazai is a continued problem for him.

Yukio Mishima

❝ Did you think I was dead? After you left me to die? No. I wouldn't give you that satisfaction. ❞

Bond: ❤❤❤♡♡

Many years ago, Mishima and Vladimir were colleagues and friends, working alongside Shibusawa in investigating the ability of Atsushi and trying to draw out the tiger. In those times, Vladimir was close with Mishima, to the point that they had shared some casual intimate relations with one another and Mishima knew of Vladimir's closeness to Shibusawa as well. When the experiment went wrong, Mishima tried to reason with Vladimir to get him to escape, but the two argued over the continuation of the experiment. Mishima left, and since then Vladimir has had a burning resentment and feelings of anger and resentment towards the man. It has festered into a bitter grudge and he swears he will get revenge for the abandonment one day.

The Port Mafia

Ōgai Mori

❝ Still messing around with your little girl, Mori? The personality change is interesting... Didn't know you had a humiliation kink as well as the worse one. ❞

Bond: ❤♡♡♡♡

Vladimir dislikes Mori for a lot of reasons - but mostly for his taste in women. The two have not seen each other since the war, but Nabokov knew of the immortal legion that Mori presided over and has great interest in learning more of it. That aside, he would prefer to keep his interactions with the man at a minimum as he does not want to be attacked by Mori's ability. He remains uncertain as to whether or not his butterflies would be able to drain Elise' life force - if she even has any as an ability anyways. It does interest him from a scientific perspective, but he hasn't wanted to test it.

The Rats in the House of the Dead

Fyodor Dostoevsky

❝ I thought I'd come to pay you and your little Rats a visit. I hope they're not too scared to see me again... ❞

Bond: ❤❤♡♡♡

As a fellow member of the Decay of Angels, Vladimir and Fyodor somewhat get along - though it is mostly a marriage of convenience and the two would definitely not call each other friends in any way. Vladimir also knows that Fyodor is aware of how many of his subordinates were once experimentation subjects of his, and how much they all deeply dislike and fear him - which affects Fyodor's opinion of him as well. Vladimir finds it funny, and never hesitates to bring up that had Fyodor been admitted to one of the research facilities then Vladimir would have happily experimented on Crime and Punishment as well - and even threatens to do it sometime soon as well. This causes deep disgust from Fyodor, who has threatened to kill Vladimir with his ability in return.

Lev Tolstoy

❝ Each of your brothers had a different scream. A different kind of sweetness to me... I remember each one so clearly... ❞

Bond: ❤♡♡♡♡

Vladimir never got to experiment on Lev personally, as Lev fled Russia before the government could get his hands on him. But Vladimir remembers clearly how he had several other test subjects under the surname Tolstoy, and how each one came in after inheriting the ability from the previous brother who passed away under experimentation. Lev was one who got away, and Vladimir hates that he escaped from him and has promised that one day he will finish off his experiment on every member of the Tolstoy family. Lev despises Vladimir, and will avoid him at all costs whenever the man dares to come near the Rats in the House of the Dead. Vladimir gets a kick out of this, enjoying the power he holds over Lev and the way he instills such fear and pain.

Anna Akhmatova

❝ Oh little Annyushka... Don't be scared. It's not going to hurt you for long... ❞

Bond: ❤❤❤♡♡

Vladimir takes a sick pride in knowing that Anna fears even just the sound of his footsteps, but that is as far as it goes. To him, she is a failed experiment as her ability did not change in the ways he had hoped and expected. He did manage to successfully prove through experimenting on her that abilities could be warped, but he could not complete the process and her ability was left dangerously unstable. Unsatisfied with these results, Vladimir took out his frustration on the young girl, leaving her with multiple physical and mental scars. She was stolen away from him when the experimentation facility was raided and he has sworn that he will get her back again, as he believes that she belongs to him to continue to use for scientific advancement.

Vladimir Mayakovsky

❝ If it isn't the glowstick... I'll make a note to check my coffee for additional ingredients. ❞

Bond: ❤❤♡♡♡

They share the same name and patronymic, but they have never once been confused for each other thankfully. Mayakovsky would very much like to murder Nabokov in any painful way possible - and has made repeated attempts to spike his coffee with radioactive matter but without success. Nabokov has learnt to be cautious around him, but finds it funny that Mayakovsky is so hell bent on getting revenge against him. He likes to remind Mayakovsky of the things that were done to him, and takes delight in seeing the panic and pain in his eyes as he relives his trauma. They both deeply dislike each other, and when left in the same room together for too long things quickly come to blows.

Yevgeny Zamyatin

❝ Isolation has done you good I think... So glad to see Fyodor is keeping you contained. ❞

Bond: ❤♡♡♡♡

Knowing what Yevgeny is capable of, Vladimir is careful to use extreme caution around him. He mostly interacted with Yevgeny with the man blindfolded, or with a one way mirror in place so that Yevgeny could not make eye contact with him, preventing him from being controlled. It has made Yevgeny extremely angry, as he loathes the experiments that he has been forced into by Vladimir. He wants to get revenge and control Vladimir, but has never managed to get him caught in his ability.

Nikolai Karamzin

❝ You got away, and I was sad to see you go. But now I've found you again... ❞

Bond: ❤❤♡♡♡

Nikolai was turned over to the experimental facilities and handed over to Vladimir to do with as the man pleased. Since he was essentially betrayed, Vladimir likes to torment Nikolai for that and remind him of how he was hurt by someone he had considered an ally and friend. He took gleeful pride in experimenting on Nikolai, looking into his very powerful ability and how he can harness and use it. He learned a lot from it, but when the facility was raided Vladimir was displeased to see that Nikolai escaped his clutches. Now he hopes to recapture him again, and knows that the man has joined with Fyodor - and as such he plots his moves carefully.

Oculis

❝ You... You look just like him. Like my beloved... Yet... Yet why.. why are you just another failed experiment?! ❞

Bond: ❤❤❤❤♡

Vladimir had a hand in the creation of Oculis, writing him into the book and therefore into existence. As a blank slade, Oculis was intended to become the ressurection of Vladimir's beloved Shibusawa. But the creation was imperfect, and Oculis had no memories of the man Vladimir wanted him to be and did not bear the exact same ability. It was imperfect, and frustrated by his failure Vladimir flew into an abusive rage towards the newly created young man and confined him to isolation until he learned what he could do with him. Oculis became the focal point of Vladimir's obsession with bringing back Shibusawa, realising he needed to craft the boy into the vision of his lost lover. But, as he was starting to take steps towards this, Oculis escaped the facility in the raid and was lost to him. Vladimir has been beside himself trying to hunt him down and reclaim him, fearing that the longer they are apart the further Oculis will stray from his intended path. He wants to continue to model him into Shibusawa, but the more time passes, and the less influence and control he has over him, the less likely this is to happen.

Lucius

❝ You want an ability for yourself? Well... Perhaps that can be arranged for you. If you are willing to work hard for it... ❞

Bond: ❤❤♡♡♡

Initially, Vladimir knew nothing of Lucius and cared nothing for him. He was a non-ability user and therefore in no way useful to him. That was, until Lucius approached him determined to ask about getting himself an ability. Well, with a willing test subject offering himself to him - Vladimir couldn't help but become interested in the young man. He took sick enjoyment in torturing Lucius well beyond his limits, and being unnecessary cruel to him for the sake of it, but ultimately he did keep his promise and gave the boy an ability. Since then Vladimir has kept an interested eye on Lucius, knowing full well that the man absolutely hates him for the hell that he put him through.

The Decay of Angels

Kamui

❝ You've done nothing to make me feel I should respect you in any conceivable way. ❞

Bond: ❤♡♡♡♡

Vladimir has very very little respect for Fukuchi in any conceivable way, knowing the man's reputation and the way in which he has treated others. Even if Fukuchi is his supposed leader as a part of The Decay of Angels, it does not make Vladimir respect him or even act civil towards him. The two keep their distance from one another and Vladimir has no interest in Fukuchi's long term goals with the Decay of Angels, his being a part of them is mainly for convenience so that he can get access to information he needs and to the book. He would very much like to use his ability to drain Fukuchi.

Nikolai Gogol

❝ I did not ask for clownery, Nikolai Vasilyevich. ❞

Bond: ❤♡♡♡♡

Truthfully, Vladimir finds Nikolai difficult to be around and a constant headache if the two have to share the same space together. They don't completely dislike one another, but certainly their eccentric personalities clash and they do not have much in common, aside from a joint dislike of Fyodor Dostoevsky. Vladimir isn't interest in joining in Nikolai's plans to kill Fyodor, as he has his own goals to take care of, but he won't be upset if Nikolai manages to carry it out. If anything, it would be doing him somewhat of a favour.

Sigma

❝ Interesting... You are created of the book, but without someone to give you a purpose. Now look at you, a mess of a man. At least I gave my creation a purpose. ❞

Bond: ❤❤❤♡♡

Sigma is a source of fascination for Vladimir, as the man was written into existence from the book and has lacked a purpose because of it. He sees parallels in his own creation from the book, Oculis, and plans to not repeat the mistakes that happened to Sigma that left him purposeless and desperate. He sees Sigma as an example of how not to handle a creation from the book, and has vowed to not repeat those mistakes. Vladimir watches and observes Sigma for scientific purposes, and he would like the chance to get the man alone one day and experiment on him properly to see what makes him tick.

Bram Stoker

❝ Your ability is vile and I want no part in this plan. I have my own goals. ❞

Bond: ❤♡♡♡♡

Vladimir had tried to forget that Bram existed after the last time his ability was used, and mostly had paid him no mind as he had no interest in him. Seeing Fukuchi about to use him once again is an irritation to him, as it has the potential to affect a lot of ability users that he was interested in experimenting on. He also knows that it is going to bring yet more people to Yokohama seeking the book and seeking to end this calamity, which is a huge inconvenience to Vladimir. He blames Bram, even though Bram doesn't particularly want to use his ability like this either.

Ayn Rand

❝ Lisa... Aren't you glad to see me again? Did you think I wouldn't remember who you are? What you did to me? ❞

Bond: ❤❤❤♡♡

Ayn and Vladimir were childhood friends, and he is the only person who still addresses her by her real name of Alisa, calling her "Lisa - his old nickname for her from childhood. They were extremely close and their families would visit often, but when she discovered that she was an ability user she wiped Vladimir's memories of her so that she could escape Russia - thinking that it would protect him as well. Vladimir's memories, however, returned to him and he was left resentful and upset that she had abandoned him and fled the country. It left a rift between them, but Vladimir was determined to find Ayn once again and confront her for leaving him. It was one of his first obsessions, wanting to get back at her for not telling him the truth and for not wanting to be with him. He no longer has the same love for his childhood friend and crush that he once had, that love is now for someone else, but he does want to see her again as he has so many questions.

Sophia Parnok

❝ Are you still mad at me for playing around with your little comrade? He's only slightly traumatised I barely did anything to him. ❞

Bond: ❤❤♡♡♡

Vladimir tries to keep his distance from Sophia, as she has tried to use her ability to kill and hurt him many times over. He knows that she hates him for all the torture he put Mayakovsky, who is Sophia's very close friend, through and thinks it is highly unlikely that she will ever forgive him or that they'll ever get along. He's content with that, but wonders often about getting a chance to give her a taste of her own medicine by using his ability on her. Equally, he would love the chance to experiment on her himself.

Mikhail Bulgakov

❝ I'll do nothing to the girl so long as you do nothing to me. Do we have an agreement? ❞

Bond: ❤♡♡♡♡

Vladimir and Mikhail have an uneasy truce, based around no harm being done to Anna. Vladimir knows full well that Mikhail hates him for how he treated the young girl, but he doesn't really care. Anna was a failed experiment and that is all she will ever be to Vladimir, and Mikhail hates that he sees it that way. They exchange cold glares to one another when in the same room, and Vladimir has no interest in bettering their relationship in any way. He has considered experimenting on Mikhail just for the sake of it, but has never had the chance to do so.

Anton Chekhov

❝ Tch... I just need some painkillers. Seems I'm having a bad day today. ❞

Bond: ❤❤❤♡♡

As a doctor, Anton has taken up the responsibility of looking out for Vladimir's health whilst the two of them are in The Decay of Angels. It means they spend a fair amount of time together and actually get along fairly well. Vladimir trusts Anton, and has told him about the ways in which is ability affects his physical health, but is more guarded when it comes to talking about his mental health and suffering. He is dependent on Anton for medication, needing it to battle the constant pain his body is in from his ability, and Anton is definitely one of the only people to have seen Vladimir more vulnerable than he puts on. But he also has the man sworn to absolute secrecy because of it.

Independent

Tatsuhiko Shibusawa

❝ My darling, my love, my life. I will bring you back and we shall be reunited. No one shall harm you again. Not that bratty tiger nor that bastard Dostoevsky. Just you and I shall exist together once again in perfect peace... ❞

Bond: ❤❤❤❤❤

Before Shibusawa was killed, he and Vladimir were in a passionate and loving relationship. They did everything together and Vladimir was passionately and obsessively in love with the man to the point that their relationship was what brought him the greatest happiness in the world. When Atsushi killed Shibusawa, Vladimir was devastated and thrown into an immense and inconsolable grief that he could not revive himself from. It took everything from him, and he fell into depression. When he discovered the book, he became obsessed with the idea of bringing back Shibusawa, to reunite with him and be happy once again. It took over his entire life and existence, and Vladimir continues to do anything and everything that he can that might give him a chance to bring back his love. It is an overwhelming obsession that cannot be changed or stopped.