| [ooc] App Post |
[Aug. 10th, 2007|02:19 am] |
Character Name: Michiko Malandro
Canon: Michiko to Hatchin
Reference picture and Wiki link: Wiki and pic
Point in the time-line taken: Around episode 18, in that lull when they're getting close to finding Hiroshi.
Character History:
Diamandra Penitentiary: the most heavily guarded prison in the country, home to the worst of the worst (society's gutter rats), and completely inescapable.
Except that one time Michiko Malandro escaped, that is. And her first order of business was to track down a 9-year-old girl named Hana Morenos, the child of her long-time love and the man she'd been devoted to -- and determined to reunite with -- for years. Hana was being raised in an abusive foster home, up until Michiko rode a bike clear through the window and onto the dinner table and spirited her away. Michiko promised to protect Hana because Hana is Hiroshi's child, and it's Michiko who gave Hana the nickname 'Hatchin'.
After that, it's a non-stop wild ride through the country as they dodge the police (Michiko is a fugitive, after all), gangs, child traffickers, crime syndicates, and the like. More often than not, Michiko marches straight into trouble, partially because she's not all that bright, but also because her only connections and leads to Hiroshi tend to be folks affiliated with the criminal underworld. On top of that, theft is a guilt-free pass-time, violence is an acceptable alternative to discussion, and mass destruction is a fact of life for Michiko. Lucky for her, Hana has a good head on her shoulders, and isn't afraid to get into shouting matches with Michiko over her childish antics and foolish ideas.
As they get closer and closer to finally finding Hiroshi, the bond between them grows, until Hatchin becomes a precious person to Michiko that she'd do anything to protect, not just because she promised to all that time ago.
Canon Personality:
Michiko is a child of the streets, and it shows in the way she speaks and acts. She thinks nothing of stealing whatever it is she feels like having that day (even if Hana berates her for it), punching out whoever is annoying enough to get in her way, or using threats and violence to get information and other things from other people. In fact, that's how she approaches and deals with the world, much to Hana's chagrin, because it often gets her into trouble. She's rude, violent, and incredibly childish.
If she doesn't get her way, Michiko tends to A) force the issue, B) throw a tantrum, or C) pout. When she's frustrated or angry (and she's got quite a temper) she'll shout and throw things and sometimes slap people, particularly Hana. Of the pair, Hana is actually the more adult one, and it often seems like she's stuck in the role of babysitting Michiko, whether it's earning money for them to live off of, dragging Michiko's whiny rear to the hospital, or yelling at her for some new stupid stunt, since Michiko is a winning combination of 'dumb' and 'gullible'.
However, Michiko truly cares about Hatchin, and will do whatever it takes to protect her, even if it puts Michiko herself at risk. She states that she 'believes in people', and one of those people is Hiroshi, the man who 'made her fall in love with him', who she's been devoted to for years and is impossibly determined to find. She wants to help and protect others, putting her own life on the line on more than one occasion in an effort to save another. She's a free-spirited "sexy diva" who, despite being rough around the edges (to put it nicely) and a little lacking in the conscience department, nevertheless protects and cares for those who are important to her, and even manages to properly comfort Hatchin once or twice.
Blank Personality:
Her immaturity, faith in people, and short temper can't really be explained by her rough childhood, so I think they're just a part of who she is. As a blank, Michiko would still have all those qualities, moving through the world on her own terms, doing what she wants and uncaring of what others think of her. Obviously, having no memories wouldn't make her any smarter or less gullible, so that would stay the same as well.
However, without memories of Hana, she wouldn't have that promise to protect her, and it's that promise that supposedly keeps her from doing things that are 'too reckless'. Michiko is about as reckless as someone can get, but because she has Hana to look after, she refuses to get involved in dangerous things that don't concern her or her search for Hiroshi (if they do, all bets are off, which is why Michiko tends to get beat up/nearly die a lot). So, as a blank, Michiko would likely get involved in other people's business even if it means certain death -- all you have to do is ask her to help you out.
Her memories of Hiroshi and her devotion to him are what give her drive and aim throughout the series. Without that, I think she'd be more like the glimpses of her we get in flashbacks to her childhood -- someone who does what she wants because she wants to, more carefree, driven by whim and desire rather than the goal of finding the man she loves.
While at this point in her life, Michiko's not going to have the best morals (or, you know, any at all), her blank self won't be stealing and fighting left right and centre because it won't occur to her that this is an effective and doable way to go about getting her way. She won't remember doing that so she won't be accustomed to living that way. However, she does have a fiery temper, and won't hold back in a fight, when protecting herself and others, or just when frustrated and angry because it's an impulse that's pretty much become instinct by now to lash out.
Never one to be cautious and always confident, Michiko will basically be a more free-spirited version of herself that commits a few less felonies than usual at least at first.
Writing Sample:
Arm outstretched, chest heaving, she faced a rounded metallic thing that had come to a halt on the other side of the room. She glared at the thing. It glared back. She glared at the thing. It just kept glaring back. Stupid useless piece of shit. It hadn't even shattered or crunched or done anything remotely satisfying when she'd thrown it. Just bang, bounced off the wall, thunk, hit the floor, and rolled and rolled and stopped.
Waking up had been strange, because she wasn't exactly sure where she was. And then she realized, she wasn't even sure who she was, how she'd got there, what she was doing, any of it -- and all she had was this little tube thing and the words, evenly spoken, "Yeah, I do this willingly." In the empty, unfamiliar room, the young woman had clenched her teeth, narrowed her eyes, drawn her arm back and -- with an angry yell ("What the hell is this?!") hurled the thing as hard as she could at the opposite wall. Bang, thunk, roll. Well, at least it'd left a dent in the paint job.
That woman on the recording, though... the image hadn't been the greatest quality; it was grainy and unfocused, but the steady calm gaze, the confidence and self-assurity with which the words were spoken, it was all there. That woman believed in something, in her words and what she was doing. The Blank chewed her lip a little and snorted, half-turned, as if to comment to another, as if there was someone else there, before she caught herself -- because there wasn't. Of course she was alone, why would there be someone with her?
With a frustrated whine, she flopped back on the bed, arms out and elbows crooked, her long legs stretched out with her feet touching the floor. She stared at the ceiling. It stared back. She stared at the ceiling. It just kept staring back.
Damn it, this wasn't getting her anywhere. Might as well go outside and take a look around. Maybe the weather was nice today. Maybe there would be a wide, clear blue sky, as far as the eye could see. Yeah, that'd be nice. |
|
|
