can i get a falafel with hot sauce?

BASICS:

full name : christian lee. nicknames : none. birthdate : 22nd august ( 36 ). hometown : manhattan, new york. traits : diligent, conceited, dramatic, snobbish. gender  +  pronouns : cis man  +  he/him. orientation : bisexual. zodiac : virgo. occupation : unemployed, ex-politician. powers : dermal crystallisation. character parallels : moira rose ( schitt's creek ), zuko ( atla ), lestat de lioncourt ( interview with the vampire ), reynolds woodcock ( phantom thread ). aesthetic : silk robes abandoned beside hotel towels, wine-drunk monologues delivered like shakespearean soliloquies, staring at local news stations with visible contempt, polished shoes echoing through empty hallways, gold accents and signet rings, hand written thank you notes and perfect penmanship.

SUMMARY:

the lees are an influential political dynasty made of greatness, built on hypocrisy and greed. they are well known as being haughty individuals who generally look down on people who are not cut from the same cloth, and for bank rolling the directorate. traditional and self-serving.

grew up in a household that prized discipline above warmth and left little room for mistakes. powered people were spoken about with suspicion, if they were spoken about at all, and were viewed as unpredictable and dangerous. no society could remain stable if its laws answered to those stronger than them.

for christian, he navigated the high expectations and standards, which all but consumed him, and did everything that was asked of him and more. in return, he expected everyone around him to to demand as much of themselves as he did.

eventually followed the path of his parents and became a politician, though his passion had always lied in journalism. he was being quietly groomed to inherit the family legacy until, well into adulthood, his power finally manifested. it was easy to ignore at first: aches beneath the skin, strange pressure around his shoulders, sleepless nights. but when the crystals broke through, they were painful, hideous, and impossible to hide.

the lees refused to accept it. they called it a condition before they ever called it a power. threw money at doctors, specialists, researchers and suddenly the treatments turned into experiments. surgeries to remove the growths. drugs to stop them returning. every attempt left him with another scar and the same result. the crystals always came back.

he didn't realise stress was the trigger until the worst possible moment. halfway through a public address, the crystal broke through beneath his collar, climbing across his neck and shoulders in full view of the cameras for the entire nation to see.

overnight, the media painted him as unstable and disturbed, his family turned their backs against him, and the directorate found in him the perfect reminder of why powered people could never be trusted.

BASICS:

full name : niccolo russo. nicknames : nicky. birthdate : 21st march ( 30 ). hometown : the west, halcyon island. traits : credulous, protective, impetuous, vengeful . gender  +  pronouns : cis man  +  he/him. orientation : heterosexual. zodiac : aries. occupation : soldier for the current aka attack dog. powers : aquatic telepathy. character parallels : sonny corleone ( the godfather ), christopher moltisanti ( the sopranos ), arthur shelby ( peaky blinders ), jesse pinkman ( breaking bad ). aesthetic : saint medallions swinging against an open dress shirt, motel neon bleeding through half-closed blinds, bloody tissues in the cupholder, thunder rolling over suburban rooftops, heavy boots pacing hospital corridors, hand gripping the back of his neck in crowded rooms, old rap songs rattling car windows, angry yells from the driveway at 2am.

tw: gun

SUMMARY:

the family attack dog. a rottweiler chained in the backyard of the house, standing silently behind older men in tailred suits, waiting for somebody to nod before he ruins a stranger's evening.

fiercely protective, dumb as rocks. too sensitive for his grand ambitions. would like to be a capo one day but he's also a little too obsessed with becoming a rapper. in another life, he'd be collaborating with EsDeeKid. for now, he's just a failed romantic.

as rowdy on the playground as he was at home, nicky was always seen as someone who wanted to be feared and respected, much like his father, his older brother, and the various other men around him. he wanted to be them, so that they would love him, and he could do what they do with them, which was to protect the family.

for all his bravado and penchant for starting fights, many were surprised to learn he only started carrying a gun at twenty years old. the night after the attack on her sister, and after his father stepped down. in his mind, it'd been too heavy of a thing to carry around, always claiming it was on his body whilst hiding it under his pillow or that he'd accidentally forgotten it. at twenty, it felt light as a feather in his hand.

before that, his brother had survived an almost fatal car accident. as the only sibling who hadn't been attacked by fate or purpose, nicky felt invincible. he believed there was a reason why no man or god had tried to touch him. he spun this myth for everyone to hear, and proposed it as a justification for him to climb the ranks within the current. no on took him seriously, though. no one ever did.

though he did not talk like the son of well-respected francesco and melissa russo, no one could deny his loyalty. his heart was bigger than his brain, and he'd be the first to lash out at someone who dared to threaten the family.

everyone knows nicky is yet to pull the trigger on someone, and leaves more mess than necessarily from bruised fists and a swollen forehead. he still has so much to prove before earning real trust from the family; he's just not sure what he's doing wrong, when he is doing his best. why isn't he a capo yet? he'd do anything for it.

as he grows older, he can't help but wonder if there's a secret everyone knows that he doesn't. first frankie, then rosa. was he next? he oscillates from thinking he is untouchable to thinking he is next. a pendulum swings on a daily basis, between arrogance and paranoia -- a balance he struggles to maintain.