#yj:taskthree

001. ⟩ where did your muse grow up? how did they like living there then, and how do they feel about it now?

sacha grew up in st. petersburg. he was born there, and even when he traveled for school and hockey, he always felt it was his home. sacha had a complicated relationship with the city. more often than not he was locked away on his family’s property- a sprawling manor with an army of staff to take care of everything he needed. his childhood was a snowy property, a glassy, frozen lake, and a driveway so long he couldn’t even see the gate of his property’s entrance from inside his house. when he was young he used to play make believe that he was a prince, and when he was finally old enough they’d open the gates and let him ride off on an adventure to slay a dragon or defeat an evil wizard. it was a lonely place, so sacha filled up the empty halls with his imagination.

002. ⟩ did they have any childhood pets? if not, did they want some?

sacha had exactly one pet he considered his own growing up. his mother always loved keeping cats around the house, the fancy ones with a pedigree certificate and a monthly trip to the groomers. one of their cats was knocked up by a stray, and had a small litter of ugly, flat-faced kittens. sacha begged and begged, until he got to keep one. she had long, frizzy brown hair and muddy green eyes, traits picked up from her stray father. and sacha loved her, because she was sweeter and odder than any of the prissy felines his mother kept. he named her zhaba after the wide, muddy toads that lived by the lake in the summer. she was ugly like a toad, and her squeaky voice sounded closer to a croak than it did a meow. when he went off to boarding school when he was twelve, he wasn’t able to bring her with him. the day before he flew to germany was the last time he saw her.

003. ⟩ what type of education did they receive growing up? what type of student were they? did it change over time?

when sacha was young, his education came in the form of home tutoring. the only time he ever left the manor was when his mother wanted to bring him shopping with her, or take him to dinner at the manors of other wealthy russian businessmen. his day was divided between learning and hockey, with breaks only for meals. he liked his tutors, and was a bright boy when he was younger. he picked up lessons quickly. when sacha was twelve, he received a scholarship to a prestigious boarding school in germany for hockey. he spent the rest of his education there, and his once bright and curious mind seemed to dim. he could never pick up on the language as he had picked up on russian and korean. plus, his teachers all treated him like an athlete. he was there to win them trophies, not learn. so they gave him b’s without making him do any actual work. so sacha became a lazy student, doing the bare minimum and drifting off in class. if the teachers had given up on him, what was the point?

004. ⟩ what were some of their favorite childhood activities?

there was only one activity for sacha. his obsession with hockey started young, at four years old with tiny baby blades tied to his feet and his tutor pulling him across the thick ice of his property’s lake. he would beg his mother or his nanny to bring him into the city to the big outdoor rink, where couples and families all glided around together. he was then gifted his first hockey stick when he was five, tiny and bright green. from there it spiraled, where he’d spend any free second on the ice. then he began joining teams, and he was good. good enough to be scouted to the best of the best, where you would be on the ice from six am to eight pm day after day. his favorite activity was also his lifeblood, his career from before he could count to a hundred.

005. ⟩ do they have siblings? what is their relationship like? if they were an only child, did they want siblings? did they have someone close to them that they considered a sibling?

sacha was, of course, an only child. unless you counted his own mother, who he never actually got to meet because she died on the table almost as soon as he was brought into this world. with his grandparents raising him, he never really considered the possibility of siblings. he was already a mistake, one that was burdened on his family. he was lucky enough they took care of him, he would never be selfish enough to ask for another child in the house. more than anything he wanted a friend. he had his teammates, sure, but he spent his youth either getting tutored at home or sent to a country where he couldn’t speak the language, so had a hard time forging friendships. maybe a sibling would’ve cured the lonely ache that’s always resided in his chest.

006. ⟩ what did they wanna become when they grew up? how did those aspirations pan out?

if you ask anyone who has ever met sacha at any point in his life, they would tell you the same thing: sacha is a hockey player. there’s no room for interpretation there. he could skate as soon as he could walk, and use a stick like it was an extension of himself. and he achieved his dreams. he had trophies at home, a shiny gold junior olympic medal, and so many framed jerseys with ‘babichev’ on the back that he could start a museum. but how did it pan out? he’s professional, his dream, but not at the level he always thought he would be at. but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. he’s playing for a new team, one where he can build himself into the history of. make a legacy for himself. all while finally allowing himself to live a life outside of the sport.

007. ⟩ what does their childhood room look like?

his room was not built for a child. it was a guest room, with ornate furniture, a large canopy bed, and expensive artwork hanging on the wall. he was always too guilty to touch anything, simply using the room to change and to sleep. he had a separate room, a play room as his family called it, that truly reflected his tastes. it was a shrine to his favorite hockey teams, had worn couches for jumping and rolling. there was a toy chest, one from a retail store and not a vintage collection. it was where he spent most of his time when he wasn’t at practice or tutoring he would be in that room.

008. ⟩ where was your muse’s favorite space as a child? is it still the same place, or has it altered? do they have more than one favorite space?

despite the loneliness the manor brought, it was always sacha’s home. especially the sprawling property with the tall trees lining the back yard, and of course the lake. how could it not be his favorite spot? in the cold months he would live on it, hat secure on his head and a puffy jacket zipped up to his chin as he zipped around the expansive surface. a private rink, just for him, out in the fresh air with the sounds of lively nature around him. when he went off to boarding school, he didn’t really have that kind of favorite space. usually the place he felt most comfortable was in felix’s bedroom, though that had more to do with the company than the space itself.

009. ⟩ what was the most important lesson they learned as a kid, and how did they learn it?

the most important lesson sacha learned as a child was independence. it’s a cruel, cruel world out there, and the only one who will truly look out for you is yourself. his parents were there, sure, but he knew they didn’t love him in the way parents should love their child. his coaches saw him as a tool for winning, not a kid. the staff were nice to him because he was the heir of their bosses, not something that truly bred loyalty. he learned that if he created his own happiness, forged his own path, that was the only way to get what he truly wanted and to not be disappointed by those around him. you just can’t rely on those who can leave you at the drop of a hat.

010. ⟩ did your muse have both parents around growing up? if they weren’t raised by their parents, who was their guardian? and what was their relationship like with them?

sacha’s family tree is a complicated one. dead grandparents on his birth mother’s side, so she was adopted by the business partner of his deceased grandfather. his mother was the first kim to babichev. then his birth mother got knocked up by a man in seoul that sacha will never know. then his mother passed during child birth, so the people who adopted his mother then adopted him. his adoptive grandparents turned adoptive parents loved his mother, so when she passed they grieved hard. it was a barrier that was forged between them and sacha, where they couldn’t truly open up to another child, especially one that was the cause of their sweet daughter’s demise. they raised him in honor of his dead mother, but he could tell that was the only reason they kept him around.

011. ⟩ what was their first crush like?

his first crush was forged in a tiny boarding school bedroom. he was the comfort of a common language, of teasing words and shy touches. he was a best friend, the person sacha relied on the most. he was glittering dark eyes and a pretty pouty mouth and canines so sharp sacha swore he couldn’t be human. not a boy so pretty, a boy so dangerous. he was first kisses and first heartbreaks an reconciliation. he was a crush that changed how sacha saw love, how he saw himself. he was an innocence that sacha soon lost, and a pain he still feels to this day. he was ahn felix, the kind of boy who comes into your life and never lets you forget.

012. ⟩ does your muse have any items from their childhood that they hold onto for sentimental reasons?

he has a snow globe of the st. petersburg’s cathedral that he purchased from a touristy cart in the center of the square when he was young. it doubles as a music box, where if you wind the little key it plays a tinkling rendition of the nutcracker. it used to sit on his dresser, the only decoration in his bedroom that was his own choice. he brought it with him to germany as a reminder of his home, and then again to korea. the little plastic snowflakes are dingy, and some of the water has evaporated, and the sound of the music has gone flat, but it’s his most cherished possession.

013. ⟩ what was your character’s favorite homecooked meal as a kid? is it still the same today? if so, how often do they have it?

homecooked meals were different for sacha than most kids. they were always gormet, prepared by a private chef, who changed the menu frequently. their chef studied french cuisine, so often their plates were filled with tiny, decorative portions of duck or pork. on special occasions, though, they took sacha out to the high-end korean restaurant in the city. it was always important to his adoptive parents that sacha always had knowledge of his korean roots, from the food to the language to the country itself. he liked the fancy skewers he would get, with succulent beef and fire roasted vegetables. today he finds himself craving more traditional russian food, the kind that reminds him of his sweet maids who would prepare his snacks for him. korean food doesn’t hold the same novelty when he lives there.

BONUS QUESTION. ⟩ if available, add a few baby pictures of your character or pictures from their childhood in general!