journihilism

hey, coco again here !! still nineteen and in pst. i’ll be honest i was a little less prepared with mike here than i was with ri, but you can still find some information about him here, though it is very likely not as helpful. 

the basics:

full name: michael william owens jr.

nicknames: mike ( mostly ), junior

pronouns: he/him/his

age: thirty-three

birthday: december 12, 1984

zodiac sign: sagittarius

birthplace: hartford, ct

parents: michael william owens sr., julia eleanor owens (née barry)

siblings: julian (b. 1982), nicholas † (b. 1983), daniel (b. 1985)

children: n/a

pets: you know he totally wants like a big dog but travels too much for that to be possible

occupation: journalist

relationship status: single ( ex-fiancé’d ?? )

sexuality: heterosexual

the backstory:

mike was one of four brothers born in four years in hartford, ct, and that went exactly about how you would expect it to. the boys all played football and lacrosse and baseball together, it was a very traditionally masculine household. also a very traditional sort of connecticut household as well, where they all wore matching christmas sweaters in their holiday card sort of thing.

michael was diagnosed with adhd when he was eight, but learned to handle it pretty quickly and did well despite that ( though he does have a rather extreme tendency to misplace things ).

of his brothers, michael was closest to nicholas ( nick ), who was a year older than him. they didn’t really talk much ( see again: traditionally masculine ), but there was some sort of bond there, some kind of pain that they shared.

[ suicide tw, death tw ] during michael’s senior year of high school, right as he was taking the step and applying to colleges, nick was found dead in his dorm room with a bullet in his head and a note addressed to michael ( will get more into this at a later date ).

michael finished his senior year and did what was expected of him, starting college at his dream school, the university of pennsylvania, that fall, where he went on to study journalism. in the years after nicholas died, michael changed almost entirely, from the sporty, outgoing kid that he was to someone who rarely left his room and spoke to anyone. the pain that had existed before, that only his brother knew about, was growing, and michael lost himself in it.

finally, in his junior year of college, his oldest brother julian showed up, freshly graduated, and practically dragged mike to counseling. through therapy, he started to get better, slowly. by the time he graduated, he was his bright, outgoing self again, though the pain stayed in a different way. he began to get more anxious and insecure.

michael was working at a bar in the years after college and was working as a freelance journalist. as he began to make more money with his writing, he stopped working at the bar, and around the same time, he met someone. for a while, they were really happy. they got engaged.

he had put himself up for a position covering european politics, his specialty, at the new york times. it was his dream job and a long shot, and much to his surprise, he got it. he didn’t want to lose his fiancée, though, but they talked about it and agreed it was too big of an opportunity for him not to go, and that they would do long-distance. and so he went.

unfortunately, one of michael’s talents is getting in his own way. he is, in many ways, still that anxious kid, and while he was abroad, he convinced himself that he didn’t deserve her and that she deserved someone who was present in every way, and so they ended it. of course it isn’t what he wanted, but he convinced himself that it’s what made the most sense.

after being away for some years, michael’s funding was pulled, and so he’s back in philly, in a new apartment and a new neighborhood. luckily the times is still keeping him on as an editor, but with the cuts happening in print, michael is beginning to think he might have to go work at a bar again. but that’s probably because he is ( once again ) too much in his head.