[attr="class","freiwanttbot"]
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[michelangelo] //
[vincenzo][break]
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first impressions
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Standing barely at an imposing 5'4" and just over 110 lbs, Mila is not the kind of person that would ordinarily make a strong first impression. It's not a surprise to her; after all, she's worked with models who are much prettier and at least twice her height. But for Mila, her height and size are the least imposing things about her. [break][break]
It was like god had to give her at least
some compromise. She couldn't be
totally perfect, after all. Or at least, that's what she tells anyone who wants to tease her about her height. Not that it ever really happens
often. [break][break]
Mila is sure a sucker punch of a girl. She has bright purple hair with hot pink highlights, matched only by her similarly-colored lavender irises. People from all over her ask her if her eyes are real, or if they're contacts. They ask her if her hair is real, or if she was a natural-born blond or brunette. Of course, Mila never answers them; she knows very well that she doesn't have to. Plus, she likes to keep a bit of mystery. [break][break]
As for clothes, it shouldn't be surprising that Mila is about as bold with her sense of fashion as she is with her personality. Though partially because of her job, she tends to dive into about any trend that she can find. Some weeks she may strictly wear dresses, others androgynous pantsuits, and one time, she wore a man's tuxedo for an entire month to make a point. She likes accessories more than anything else, and you can find a multitude of bracelets on her person—whether it's bracelets, anklets, or a shimmering necklace she bought online on the BDSM section of a website. (Hey, fashion can be found
anywhere. Don't be a prude.) [break][break]
Actually, to that point, Mila is anything but a prude. She has tattoos on her left hand, back of her neck, shoulder blade, collarbone and ankle. Though, they're not always on display; she usually will wear make-up to cover them up if she feels like it doesn't match with her current outfit.
[break][break]
However, all this emphasis on fashion doesn't mean that Mila doesn't know how to put her hair down and relax. Oh, she definitely does. She likes more than the next person to wear a sweatshirt, her favorite pair of joggers, and cuddle with a tub of Stantler Track Ice Cream (that's the best one, don't you know?) [break][break]
[ ♡ ]
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a deeper dive
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Everyone knows Mila, and those who
don't will know her in no time at all. If you haven't heard of her exploits in the fashion community, or her scandals from when she was in high school, then it's always something else. Mila is the kind of person that creates ripples, waves —
messes, Lukas would always tell her, only half-jokingly — wherever she goes.
[break][break] The young woman is passionate as she is outgoing. In the middle of a party, you can find her flitting from corner to corner, able to juggle seemingly a hundred conversations at once. There is no shortage of what Mila will do to make sure that she is the center of attention of
any room, no matter the crowd. For those who don't know her well, it's easy to mistake her as friendly, genuine and charming. For those who do? Well, that's a different story entirely.
[break][break] You see, Mila puts up a front. An easygoing smile, a pretty face. She's learned through the test of time that these are things that can easily trick people. The girl is quite the perceptive person, and she knows very well the kinds of things that make people tick, or bend to her will, and how to exploit them.
[break][break] One could even call Mila selfish for this. It's not untrue. She is often careless in her mannerisms, often accidentally hurting others with her too-honest words or brash personality without really meaning to. She is terribly impulsive and stubborn — once she has an idea in her mind, there is little that anyone can do to stop her. As a child, and even as a young teen, she had tantrums with people who thought that they could quell this bad habit of hers.
[break][break] Speaking of
bad habits, for all the face that Mila puts up, she is chock-full of them. In reality, Mila actually has
terrible social anxiety. It is what made her so terribly shy in grade school. But years of therapy, and medication has done wonders— or at least on the front. Mila still suffers with many of the issues that she had in high school — panic attacks, full mental-break downs all because she feels as if the world is crashing around her, simply because someone said they didn't like a dress that she made. In this way, Mila is a bit of a perfectionist, at least when it comes to her own work. She has a
desperate, almost pathological, need to be liked, and when she isn't, she can lash out, being rude and impulsive and crass in her words.
[break][break] Mila is a person who goes through manic episodes of hyper-productivity, and then episodes of shutting out the rest of the world around her. Therapy, medicine, and time with Vincenzo has done a lot for her, but she still faces many of the same demons she did when she was younger. Now that she's older, she only has become better at hiding them, and hiding herself. But if you don't see her for days, weeks and even months at a time, don't be alarmed. It's all just normal, Mila behavior.
[break][break] Moving forward, while Mila is generally well-liked among most people, it's because most people don't know the demons that she faces. At her worst, Mila can be heartless, stubborn and impulsive. She is a
terrible sore loser, which is why she often makes it a point to never lose. As a result, she's become quite competitive, even with things that she doesn't care about. It's why she has random skill sets such as painting, basketball, and parkour. Because some
idiot challenged her, and she just
had to win.
[break][break] In general, this young woman has a bit of a shallow personality. Sure, she can be heroic, but that's only because she has to be the center of attention. If she
isn't the hero of her own story, then surely she must be of someone elses.
[ ♡ ]
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a lost record [break]
[ ! warning for violence, abuse, trauma ]
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+ anastasia and ambrose alexopoulos were not meant to be.[break]
+ anastasia was the only daughter of a team rocket executive, making her a pawn for political power. she was a sharp-tongued, vicious woman who never wanted children.[break]
+ ambrose was an ambitious, power-hungry sociopath who slept with her in an attempt to climb up the ranks.[break]
+ their love was sudden and volatile, swallowing them up in smoke and flames. ambrose is a young, up-start grunt when he meets her and charms her into bed. she becomes pregnant and gives birth to mila. [break][break]
+ her
husband was none too happy about this. [break]
+ it was a minor scandal. the divorce was quick and painless; their relationship had been one of convenience after all. the only collateral was their son, milo. [break][break]
+ anastasia and ambrose were a match made in heaven. they were soulmates. they were in passionate love. [break]
+ however, it isn't long before things take a turn for the worse. as ambrose climbs higher up the team rocket corporate ladder, he grows less loving, less patient. he grows more impatient, more demanding, more thirsty for political power. [break][break]
+ he forgot about his liking for mila's mother, and finds a new liking for scotch. for vodka. [break][break]
+ it isn't long before ambrose started to hit and abuse their mother, who ended up hitting and abusing her children [break][break]
+ her mother always apologized after, and bought her some ice cream. [break]
+ "you know i didn't mean it,
rypka, i love you. i couldn't live without you."[break][break]
+ milo was young enough to notice, but too old to care. he loved mother and his new step-siblings, but he hated his step-father. he kept his distance, focusing on pokemon training and traveling. only coming around on the holidays that he didn't spend with his own father. [break]
+ mila liked him too - she looked up to him. but to her, milo was like a far-away constellation -- close enough to see, too far away to touch. [break][break]
+ both ambrose and anastasia are working parents. they care much more about the politics of team rocket, then raising their own children. [break][break]
+ as a result, mila was raised mostly by her mother's father - her grandfather - her
deda, who she learned to adore. he was the one who taught her how to work with her hands, how to love fabric, and how to be as creative as she is now [break]
+ whenever she was frustrated and would throw tantrums, he was the only one that was able to calm her down [break]
+ he passed away when she was 7 [break][break]
+ the only thing left of him was his alolan vulpix, which he passed down to mila. [break][break]
+ she lashed out. [break]
+ mila developed terrible anxiety, which meant for her, snapping at anyone who would try to console her or refusing to talk entirely. she got into fight after fight, gathering bruises and bleeding lips like other kids gathered pokken trading cards. on one hand, it made the bruises from her mother easier to hide. on the other hand, it meant that no one noticed. [break]
+ this made her a terrible student, which only made her parents even madder. they fought more. a broken vase, a stinging cheek, a shove down a staircase. [break]
+ there was nothing mila could do - she couldn't protect her mother. she was only 7. [break][break]
+ she was a coward. she felt useless. [break][break]
+ the person she felt strong around was her brother, lukas. [break]
+ lukas was only 2 when deda passed away. he wouldn't be able to remember the wide, warm hands. the gentle, heartwarming words. but he didn't need to - their parents had never raised a hand to him. he was just a baby. of course they wouldn't. [break][break]
+ when mila was 9 and lukas was 5, things changed. [break][break]
+ mila came home from school, a bruise on her cheek and a failing letter-grade. her mother was furious. father would be mad too. how could she do this? did she know how the admins would look at them? mother yelled at her. screamed. just like always, mila took it. [break]
+ later that evening, at the dinner table, mother was still fuming. she was anxious. father had come home from his trip and had been furious at what happened. they'd fought and gotten into a screaming match, before he slapped her and stormed out the door. the house was still a mess, because she had spent too much time drinking and yelling at mila that there hadn't been room for anything else. [break]
+ lukas was eating a bowl of stew. his hand slipped. the ceramic bowl wobbled, and fell off the table, splintering into the ground beneath it.
[break][break]
+ lukas was crying. his food was gone. he was hungry.[break]
+ "stop that. this is nothing." [break]
+ he didn't. [break][break]
+ mother was furious. just one more thing to be angry about. just one more thing to lash out at. she raised here hand and drew it down to strike him - [break]
+ a hand shot out. a tiny one - mila's. "no, mama, " she said, trembling. [break]
+ mother's other hand struck her instead, a lightning bolt across her cheek. "how dare you," she shrieked. [break][break]
+ mother's gardevoir patched her up just as she always did, to erase the marks and the bruises, so that she could go to school and pretend that it didn't happen. but things had changed that day. [break]
+ mila and lukas had born a pact, and grew to be closer than ever. [break][break]
+ in a way, it could be said that mila was saved by lukas. she grew a backbone, and learned to quell her anxiety. or at the very least, hide it. the two of them grew fiercely attached to each other. as lukas grew up and began to attend school, there was hardly a time in which mila was not his shadow. if there was anyone who wanted to take advantage of the pure and sweet lukas they would be hardpressed to find his big sister towering over them, arms crossed and eyes fierce, ready to tear into them at a moment's notice. [break]
+ lukas helped her too. he softened all her hard edges. through his kindness, she became emotionally stable and was able to succeed in classes where she had not been before. she even did so well one year that she ended up skipping a grade, which of course, put her in good graces of her father, which granted her the independence that she had always craved. [break]
+ together, they were inseparable. the two of them cried and laughed, painted and sung, and did nearly everything together. he was her best friend and she was his. [break][break]
+ until, of course, he met adam. [break]
+ if at all possible, they were even closer. [break][break]
+ lukas met adam when mila was 14, just about to enter high school. the two of them had been enrolled in the same class together, working on the same group project when suddenly there was a crisis. the two of them had been implicated in the same crime - someone had stolen the class funds from the latest fundraiser, and the two of them had been the only one in the room to watch it happen. [break][break]
+ they were called into the principle's office. [break]
+ mila came in place of their parents, who were both on a mission from team rocket -- all for the better. their parents would not have dealt well with the situation. [break]
+ and in place of his parents came a boy named jackson. apparently, he was adam's brother. his savior. [break][break]
+ mila and jackson did not get off to a great start. [break][break]
+ of course, jackson blamed lukas for the cause of the theft, and mila blamed adam. the two, fiercely protective of their siblings and loyal to no one other than them, naturally butt heads. [break]
+ that was, however, predictable. what was not - however- was the way that lukas stood up for adam and vice versa. neither of them would let the other be implicated in the crime. which, of course, made things complicated. difficult. [break][break]
+ they were assigned community servicee for their crime, which was probably much less of a punishment than intended. it meant they spent hours together after school, and of course, that only meant mila and jackson as well. [break][break]
+ eventually, despite the two of them butting heads, the two siblings grew to be surprisingly steadfast friends. they learned that their backgrounds were not all that unsimilar, given their problematic parents and their ties to team rocket. [break][break]
+ jackson learned of her bruises, and grew nearly as furious as he did whenever he thought of his own parents. [break]
+ mila learned of his father, and the unfortunate circumstancees of his birth. mila, who's mother both hated and loved her, could relate. [break][break]
+ the parallel of their lives were full of tragic irony - right up to the point that both of their fathers disappeared suddenly and instaneously, for no reason at all. [break][break]
+ jackson's mother tried to step back into their lives, and mila's mother drifted out of hers. [break]
+ despite having spent several years under her husband's tyranny, it was as if she could not function without him. she grew distant from both her children. mila felt - she wasn't sure what she felt, but she knew it wasn't happiness. [break][break]
+ their lives became complicated and tangled, and mila and jackson grew apart. [break]
+ lukas and adam didn't. [break][break]
+ jackson turned 17 and left to join team rocket, as was expected of him. mila joined shortly after. the two were still friends, but not like before. [break]
+ there was something between them - jackson's unadultured anger, mila's complicated turmoil. they were like puzzle pieces that just couldn't fit, like planets destined to orbit each other but never meet. [break]
+ they went on missions together on occasion - jackson's penchant for violence and mila's clever wit made for quite the terrifying combination. [break][break]
+ mila grew. [break][break]
+ it was not difficult being a member of team rocket. mila had spent her whole life around the organization- both her parents were high-ranking members, after all. unlike jackson who seemed to get into fights on a daily basis, people liked mila. she was cute and clever, and knew how to wrap them around her finger. [break]
+ the money they earned in their efforts allowed her to budget her hobbies and side-interests. as lukas and adam grew closer, she also earned more of her own independence - she could do what she wanted, whenever she wanted. [break]
+ life was good - it almost made up for the unforgivable deeds they committed, for the bile she had to swallow whenever they robbed a pokemon from the hands of an owner who loved them. it almost made up for dread she felt staring into the hopeless eyes of a trainer who'd just had their whole life stolen from them. [break][break]
+ life was not good. actually, life was bad.[break]
+ mila felt - suffocated. [break][break]
+ each day she spent in the organization, she felt their metaphorical vines crawl up her throat and ensnare her. every time she made up a lie to lukas about where she was going, every time time she told him she would be home for dinner time and then wasn't. [break]
+ this was not who she was. mila was not like the others - she was not a sociopath, and was not ambivalent about things like death or dying. even petty crimes set her in a sour, guilt-ridden mood. [break][break]
+ she felt like drowning, keeping her head barely above water. [break]
+ but mila couldn't help it. she had to work for team rocket. they had ties. they paid for lukas' school, for their mother's hospital stays, for her therapy. [break][break]
+ mila was stuck. there was nothing she could do. [break][break]
+ but maybe she didn't have to. [break][break]
+ after a vicious battle in which the legion prevailed, the organization known as team rockeet suddenly collapsed, crumbling before her very eyes. mila was one of the only surviving members who managed to escape. [break]
+ she caught up with a group of other ragtag members who also managed to escape the worst of it. they were talking - gathering numbers of casualties, of fatalities. [break][break]
+"anyone see mila?" [break]
+"her brother - " [break]
+"lukas is dead." [break]
+ mila felt her whole world fall. [break][break]
+ it was all because lukas had joined rocket. even though she warned him against it, even though she had told him not to. [break]
+ the whole world fell deaf to mila's ears, as the rest of the members discussed next steps. how to gather the bodies, how to avoid the authorities. she barely caught one of the others mention how they were to meet up the next day, at noon, to gather information. [break][break]
+ it didn't matter. mila had decided. [break]
+ she wasn't going back.[break][break]
+ with the fall of team rocket, that had given her the opening that she had always needed. her chains - finally - had been released. [break]
+ as the other ex-team rocket members scrambled for some sort of stability, mila hid. she laid low, determined to erase all ties that she had with the organization. she had hesitated for a moment at the thought of abandoning her mother, but the grief she felt over lukas' death stamped over all of that. she could not feel anything else - she wouldn't allow herself to. [break][break]
+ as time passed, mila re-branded herself as a menber of legion. she goes through all the right avenues this time - no shady organizations, no shortcuts. she gets enrolled in a program made to re-introduce criminals like her back into society, and even goes to ranger school to prove that point. she starts her own clothing line, starts fashion school part-time and makes something of a name for herself as a new, budding designer. she is almost a normal citizen again. she isn't the only one, there are many ex-team rocket members masquerading among normal society in an attempt to erase their past crimes and the blood on their hands. [break]
+ mila just wants to be one of them. [break][break]
+ if only the ghost of lukas didn't still follow her, with every passing day. [break][break]
PATISSERIE HM RP
