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Individual
Character's full name: Ilari Starkova
Alias/ Nickname/ Code name: None
Gender: Male
Age: 24
Birthday: 3/03 (March 3)
Nationality/Ethnicity: American. Judging by his last name, he’s got Russian somewhere in his family tree.
Birthplace/ Home/Place of Origin: New York City, New York
Appearance
Hair color and style: His hair is a pale, lifeless-looking blonde with darker-blonde, almost brown roots. It is unkempt and shaggy, and occasionally pulled into a short ponytail in the back, which allows a lot of the hair to fall free. The only thing the ponytail really does is keep the hair off of the back of his neck. Occasionally, he will neglect to shave for a little bit, and end up with some unkempt stubble until he next remembers – or gets the chance to – shave again.
Eyes: Light blue, rather pale looking.
Height: 5’10”
Build: Slender, yet athletic. Muscular, but not hugely beefy. He works out.
Visible mutation: none
Scars/ Tattoos/Piercings:
Ilari has a scar in front of his right ear, between his sideburn and his ear, clipping from his jaw up into his hairline a bit. Opposite that one, on the left side of his neck, is another scar. This one stretches from beneath his jawbone, over his neck to reach his collarbone. Another scar runs from the side of his right hip, up his chest, to halfway along his ribcage. One small scar carves shallowly into the right side of his chin, and several smaller marks nick across the rest of his body. These all result from numerous fights in which he has found himself.
He has a phoenix tattooed on the back of his right shoulder. The tail extends out over the back of his arm, just a little bit. The tattoo does have color. The phoenix is yellow and orange, with few blue flames around its tail and wings. He got the tattoo when he was eighteen.
Other features: The ring finger and pinky finger on his right hand bend strangely and occasionally cause him pain, due to healing improperly from an injury. The joints of those fingers look a bit swollen. (The injury in question? He tried to punch a very large man in the jaw and half-missed, catching only his pinky and ring finger on the man’s jaw, thus breaking them quite horribly. He couldn’t afford to get real treatment, so he relied on friends
Everyday clothing style: He wears mostly baggy and ill-fitting clothing. Nearly all of it is second-hand in some way or another. Generally, he tends to wear button-up shirts under hooded jackets, be they zip-up or pullovers, and jeans of various cut and fit. He has one battered pair of boots to wear.
His favorite ensemble is a white button-up shirt beneath a grey hooded zip-up jacket, dark blue jeans, which are ripped in a few places, and the aforementioned boots, which are some old black combat boots.
In cold weather, he has a pair of ratty wool gloves and a green plaid scarf that he will add to his ensemble.
Uniform: None
Sleepwear: Ilari isn’t picky about the clothes in which he sleeps. He’ll sleep in anything, ranging from nothing to his everyday clothes, usually depending on where he falls asleep. When he feels particularly comfortable, he’ll wear a pair of soft, light blue pajama pants.
Miscellaneous clothing: He wears two rings on his left hand, one on his pinky and one on his middle finger. They are plain, steel bands, but one has a thin black rubber band wrapping around it, breaking in a few places to form something of a design. He also wears a necklace – a simple box chain with a ring dangling from it. The ring in question is a plain silver band. This, he keeps hidden in his shirt. The silver band is his father’s wedding ring. He keeps it with him as a memorial to his father.
Character
Personality: Ilari is a quiet man by nature. He speaks only when the situation really calls for it, or when he feels like it. Generally, he tends to keep to himself, and comes across as something of a jerk, because of this. However, he is a caring person at heart, and tries to do things for other people when he can. His main priority is self-preservation, though, as he regularly sends funds to his mother and little sister, and feels he is very important to their financial survival. As a result, he can come across as selfish, or as a coward, because he would prefer to avoid dangerous situations, and does not bother to explain himself to anyone. Overall, he has an angry disposition, and tends to be offputting to people, perhaps as a sort of self-defense mechanism. He doesn’t like to get close to people, as he feels others would be better off at arm’s-length from him, at the closest, both because of his job, and because he grew used to being alone. He is wary of new people he meets, first expecting them to turn him in for being a mutant or a thief before they earn his trust, which isn’t always an easy task.
Hobbies/ Interests: He doesn’t have the money for many hobbies, and his interests, he keeps few. Ilari enjoys to read, and enjoys the presence of flowers. The first places he’ll go to find a job are flower shops and bookstores, to immerse himself in what he genuinely loves. He is an artist, at heart. Additionally, Ilari can play a few instruments that he learned in high school – the guitar, mostly, and he enjoys stringed instruments. Alas, he does not own one, or perhaps he would use it to try and get some money. He’s devoted some money to a cheap gym membership, to keep in shape. It’s become something of a hobby for him. At least, it’s a nice release of tension.
Job or part time job and description: Officially unemployed. Self-employed thief. Ilari steals things to sell for money to send to his mother and little sister, as well as to pay for his own rent and food. He usually robs stores in the dead of night, though he will pick pockets if he needs, or if he finds the target particularly deserving.
Fears/ phobias/ concerns: Ilari is always deeply concerned for his mother and little sister. He fears anything happening to them, as well as himself, as he feels he supports them, though he does not live with the two. By extension, he is afraid of being caught for any of his thefts, being discovered as a mutant and subsequently hunted, and losing his strength for any reason – be it temporarily or permanently, from sickness, injury, or age. Ilari has an intense dislike for authority, whether that authority is the police force or any mutants acting as “heroes.” He is also greatly unnerved by dolls and puppets, and downright terrified of ventriloquist dummies.
Special talents: Because of his pick-pocketing ways, Ilari is skilled in sleight-of-hand, and has learned a few card tricks and other simple magic tricks as a way to practice. He can also read others’ body language rather well.
Morality
Good/ bad/ neutral/ other: Neutral. He prefers to remain out of mutant affairs in order to keep himself off of the radar. Though good at heart, he resorts to small-scale “evil” means to accomplish his goals.
Mutations
Mutation description: Ilari wields the power to create various types and colors of light. It is not a very honed power, but he can create a variety of styles of light.
First, he can make lights that originate from the palms of his hand. These are beams of light that, at most, reach the power and visibility of a weak spotlight. This light is clear, and doesn’t look as if it comes from a bulb, as most flashlights show. He normally creates a yellow light that resembles a flashlight, in the event that he needs to see in the dark.
Ilari is also can also create light that originates from orbs. There are two types of orbs that he is capable of creating. The first are orbs that give off light much like a light bulb. They can illuminate a space just as much as a regular bulb found in any household could. The second types of light orbs he can create are more concentrated. They give off a very small glow from a smaller concentrated area of light, not shedding much light on their surroundings. The size of the orbs vary to his preference, but the largest he has ever created are orbs with a concentrated glow the size of a baseball, with a fainter, hazy glow only extending an inch or so from the inner concentration. Normally, however, he will create orbs of light that are considerably smaller; The concentrated area will be about the size of a ping pong ball, with the glow around it extending about two inches beyond. The orbs can get as far as 40 feet from his body before they disappear, and he is capable of having up to five lightbulb-orbs, twenty smaller glowing orbs, or ten larger glowing orbs active at a time. (This can be mixed and matched. One light bulb is about equal to four small orbs. Two small orbs are equal to one large orb. The restriction is tighter on these than his directed beams because they require a more intricate control.)
Ilari is capable of creating light of just about any color he chooses, though he mostly creates light of white, yellow, or blue colors, as those are the colors that most commonly occur in man-made bulbs. The colors he can create are brighter colors, of course, mostly things like sky blue, bright green, red, and other such colors. The colors can be applied to all kinds of lights he is capable of making.
Strengths: The lights are good for practical and strategic uses. He is never truly stuck in the dark, unless using a light would be a bad idea, for some reason. In a fight, his powers are useful to flash-blind his enemies momentarily, and little dancing lights are good for distraction purposes. Light is inherently strong against darkness. To protect him from the powers of his own mutation, his eyes are not bothered by any amount of bright light, and he is impervious to being flash-blinded. More commonly, if someone turns the lights on in a dark room, it will not bother Ilari, and he won’t experience the momentary discomfort from the change in light.
Weaknesses: With few strengths come few weaknesses. His powers grant him no special protection or recovery abilities. In many ways, he is still a normal human, and he can be injured or killed just like any one of them. Water has dampened his ability, before, as has cold weather. He requires the use of his hands in order to create and properly direct his flashlight-like beams. He cannot see extra-well in the dark, and still needs to use his abilities to illuminate a dark room. If the lights suddenly turn off, his eyes will have to adjust like a normal person’s.
Secondary mutation description: He has yet to discover a secondary mutation, if he even has one.
Strengths: None to be found, here.
Weaknesses: Move along, please.
Fighting Style
Explanation: Ilari is a street brawler, though and through. Because of his slim frame, he moves about quickly, dodging attacks when he can and getting in hits wherever he sees an opening. He is primarily defensive, and is not above using his power to cause a momentary blinding or distraction to get in a few cheap shots, or to flat out escape.
Pros for fighting style: He takes hits rarely because of his swiftness, and his willingness to fight a bit cheaply is an advantage. He has taken enough beatings that he has some stamina for taking hits.
Cons for fighting style: When his surprise tricks run out, he is in for some difficulty. Similarly, though he rarely takes hits, when he does, he takes them rather hard. Despite the stamina he’s built up, a few hard blows can cause him to retreat quickly.
Faction Allegiance
Unaffiliated.
History Of Your Character:
The Starkova family was always a poor one. Though, when Ilari was a young child, and both of his parents were alive, they had just enough money to get by. However, Ilari didn’t live in the best neighborhood, and took to common thievery to get things that he – and his little sister - wanted, but didn’t necessarily need. He didn’t steal out of necessity, just fun. He had a small group of friends who did the same thing. Thus, his childhood was quite the happy one.
Then, two things happened that shook his life’s foundation to its core. Ilari was twelve, at the time, and his little sister, only about six. His father had been coming home from his job, walking, as most New Yorkers do, and was struck down by a car that had been speeding away from the police. Ilari had loved his father dearly, and, like his mother, was devastated at the loss. (His little sister didn’t quite understand, yet, but she did miss the man.)
Their father had been the breadwinner of the house, and his loss meant the loss of most of the family’s income. So, Ilari had to try hard to make up for the money that was lost. His mother, of course, did what she could, as she had also worked at the time. Ilari, himself, took odd jobs where he could, and his stealing turned from a jovial thing to one of necessity. He stole money as well as things to sell. He developed his stealth, sleight-of-hand, and pick-pocketing skills, practicing them intently, learning card tricks in his spare time to help that process along. Additionally, he gained contacts: people to go to in order to sell his stolen goods, mostly.
In that same year, Ilari discovered his mutant powers. The event, itself, was not a traumatizing one. Ilari awoke in his bedroom and reached to turn the lights on, to discover that his palms were giving off a glow similar to the power of a single light bulb. In his sleepy haze, he thought he’d gotten something on his hands. However, with a growing realization of dread, Ilari realized that the glow was being emitted from his hands, and nothing else. He was a mutant. He was one of those he’d heard about – hated and feared, captured and beaten in the streets just for something they couldn’t control.
He decided he had to hide it. He only let his mother and sister know, because he knew his little sister was too young to judge, and he had overheard his parents, on many occasions, secretly discussing the rights they thought the mutants ought to have. Thankfully, they accepted, but it didn’t stop the constant fear that Ilari lived with. He grew quiet, reserved, fearing interaction with others, because he did not want to get caught. If he did, it would not only be his life in danger, but that of his mother and sister. His mother had gotten injured on the job, and improper treatment lead to her slowly losing the ability to do the work she needed to do. It was up to Ilari to keep the family running.
And so, he trained. In the privacy of his home, he trained with his power in order to be able to control it. At first, he didn’t focus on the strength of his power, but rather, his ability to control when the glow would activate. However, once he realized how important it was to his ability to steal, he recognized the usefulness of his ability, and trained in it’s power, enough that he could use it competently.
At the age of sixteen, he was emancipated so that he wouldn’t have to live with his mother and be a financial burden on her. He moved out, into the cheapest place he could find, and continued to work as hard as he could, in order to support himself, but to also send his mother money, so that she could live more easily off of her own income, as well as what he could provide. Sometime around turning twenty, Ilari lost the job he held and turned to professional thievery.
Roleplay
Where did you learn about this site?: I don’t remember
Do you have any other characters on MRO, if so who: Nope
Sample RP:
Ilari felt good about this one. He’d scoped the place out for a while, and all he saw of the owners was that they were mutant-hating, selfish people. At first, he was hesitant. They seemed to have strong security, and it seemed as if he had only seen their bad side. Perhaps there was something to them that he hadn’t observed? However, the hunger pains in his stomach told him that, no matter how good they were, behind the hatred and their miserly tendencies, he needed to eat.
He made his move that night, swiftly making his way to the street upon which the little shop sat. It wasn’t one of his usual targets; He normally found a jewelry store in a nicer part of town. No, this was a small grocery store, owned privately by a middle-aged couple who only seemed concerned for making as much money as possible. Business only did well because they were the only store with certain items in a few miles, and they made the most of that by jacking up the prices as much as possible.
He thought it was perfect.
Breaking in was easy. The couple was stupid enough that they didn’t splurge on a security system, thinking it was a waste of money. Hell, they didn’t even lock the door. All he had to do was walk in as carefully as possible, so their damn bell wouldn’t ring. Upon succeeding at that, Ilari made his way through the small aisles of food. This run wasn’t for money. He knew the couple wasn’t so idiotic that they would leave their money in the cash register over night. No, no, this trip was for food.
And food, he grabbed. With a dull glow from his palms lighting the way, Ilari found the cups of instant ramen and shove a few into his jacket pockets. Then, he realized he might want something healthier than that, and he grabbed a cloth shopping bag from a stand, where the store sold them. He filled it with fresh looking fruits, and a few vegetables. Knowing that those wouldn’t last TOO long, Ilari also shoved a few cans of soup into the bag, then swept his gaze around, to make sure he hadn’t missed something.
He saw something, then, that he didn’t need, but he felt he wanted badly. This store actually sold cigarettes. Countering his need for healthy foods, Ilari hurried behind the counter and grabbed a few handfuls of what he remembered liking to smoke, whenever he could bum one off of a stranger. He grabbed a small handful of lighters, and then he rushed from the store.
Two hours later found Ilari Starkova on the roof of his apartment building, smoking a cigarette and basking in the moonlight. He’d taken his jacket off, and he sat on top of the doorway to the stairs leading down, staring across at the city lights. The cool air drifted across his skin, and, for one of the few moments in his life, anymore, he felt at peace.
Maybe one day he could find an honest job and stop taking things from people. Often, he found himself wondering if he really wanted to. He was so adept at common thievery, another job looked like too much of a hassle to obtain. He’d have to train for that, take a few classes, watch a few annoying videos. And for what? To make less money at something honest? No. Stealing was a better means to his end, wasn’t it? As long as his mother and sister got regular meals. That was all. Right? He didn’t actually enjoy what he did. Right?
Well, that was what he told himself, to get to sleep, at night, anyway.
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*hides his bag... *
