[attr="class","rostername"]@mike

[attr="class","rostersub"]a twenty-five year old trainer from shaula town

[attr="class","rostercat"]MICHAEL "MIKE" SOMMER

[attr="class","rostercat"]25

[attr="class","rostercat"]MALE

[attr="class","rostercat"]HETEROFLEXIBLE

[attr="class","rostercat"]TRAINER

[attr="class","rostercat"]FIRE

[attr="class","rostercat2"]+ loyal, tenacious, proactive, self-assured, protective
- aggressive, possessive, reckless, destructive
? can quote the entire die hard script

"Hi, I'm Mike Sommer, and welcome to jackass--"

To most, Mike is a brash, aggressive young man with the physicality to back it up.  He's intimidating to some, obnoxious to others -- and he makes it obvious to both sorts that he doesn't give a fuck what they think.  His burning desire to Fuck Things Up has faded some since his youth -- thank Arceus -- so casual interactions with Mike feel more like those of your garden variety Bro.  If you catch him in a good mood (or drunk), you might see some backflips off inappropriate platforms or attempts at fire breathing, but he's a lot less likely to go around smashing windows now-a-days.

To those that bother to get to know him, Mike -- like anyone -- has more depth to him than is first apparent.  Sure, he's blunt and often less than sympathetic, but beneath a mask of conditioned disinterest is a deep love of film and well of creativity.  Some of these more creative thoughts bleed into the more bizarre stunts he enjoys (often the epitome of 'hold my beer').

While empathy is not Mike's strongest point, he's been known to make an effort for those close to him.  Often, the best way to call him off (and earn some respect in his book) is to stand your ground and engage in whatever stupid pissing contest he's playing at.  If you can earn a spot in Mike's good graces, however crass he can be, you'll have earned a tireless friend.  Mike has a very inflated view of what friendship means, and wholeheartedly sacrifices himself for those he cares about.  He's the sort who says he'll take a bullet for you and mean it entirely.  (And then make you poke the scar when he's healed, because, gnarly.)

Mike is, despite his therapy, still short-tempered.  Although he doesn't fall to easy bait as often as he used to, he tends to escalate argumentative situations to uncomfortable levels, and has no qualms about pushing himself into others' personal space.  He very much needs to be the "alpha male" in any given situation, and if he feels that status is threatened, he postures.

A high-energy guy, Mike gets uncomfortable with too much sitting around and chilling.  (Not that he doesn't enjoy getting baked and watching a movie or two, of course.)  He gets antsy if he's not lifting or playing soccer or exploring the nearby hiking trails, and tends to drag those around him along on his "adventures", whether they like it or not.

[attr="class","rostercatsub2"]PERSONALITY

[attr="class","rostercat2"]The marriage of Hannah and Joseph Sommer, to the surprise of absolutely no one, ended as suddenly as it had come about.  They fought, Joe grew cold, and one day he up and left his family behind.

Hannah, was, of course, two months along at that point.  She'd always wanted kids, and couldn't bring herself to give the baby up -- hell, she was actually excited.  Unfortunately for Mike, Hannah couldn't help but to see Joe in everything he did.  His eyes, the way his hair curled at the very tips, his laugh.  

She couldn't bring herself to get rid of him, and she couldn't bring herself to love him.  Torn with guilt, she stayed away from her son as much as she could and buried herself in her work.

It wasn't like his mother was intentionally abusive.  Mike was just lonely.  She never set him up on any play-dates, didn't help him navigate the tricky social realm of public school.  The best he got was free reign of the small, boxy television in his bedroom -- and boy, did he love that thing.

Mike grew up on reruns of The Karate Kid and The Goonies.  Everything he learned about relationships and real life came from low-budget made for TV specials.  (Understandably, some of his notions are a little skewed.)  He struggled to make friends in school when things didn't line up like the star-studded plots he was used to.  Eager for any attention at all, Mike learned quickly that acting out was the most effective (and entertaining) option. 

Pegged as a 'problem child' from grade one, Mike only got worse as he grew.  He was the first in the history of his elementary school to get more than one day of suspension by second grade, skyrocketing the record to a whopping five weeks worth of time in suspension.  He got into fights, carved pictures into the desks, threatened a teacher with a knife, and routinely disrupted class during lecture.

Unsurprisingly, few students in his grade wanted to spend time with him.  When he was held back a year due to poor grades, some in his class made the poor decision to tease him about it.  Mike hauled off and hit the kid so hard he blacked out.  With her son under threat of expulsion, Hannah moved them to the small town of Shaula as an attempt to start over.

In a way, her plan worked.  Stuffed into a class of new kids, Mike met Avery, and the universe finally seemed to be unfolding in a positive direction.  The scrawny, red-headed kid was hunched over a sketchbook, doodling monsters -- Mike was enthralled.  Turns out Avery didn't have many friends either, and something between the boys clicked.

Mike was, of course, a terrible influence.  It started with stick-n-pokes and dropping class to sneak smokes with his new friend, and quickly escalated to shoplifting and petty theft -- not to mention the number of times they nearly broke bones pulling stupid stunts.  (Mike's got a glorious scar on his ass where he impaled the left cheek on top of a barbed-wire fence; ask him about it some time and he'll gladly show you.)

By the time he turned twelve, he pretty much looked after himself.  With that freedom at his back, he bought himself a pokemon: a houndour, who he (quite creatively) named 'Killer'.  Mike loved that pup.  Hidden away in his bedroom, she grew strong on table scraps and the enthusiastic training only a twelve year old boy could offer.

The responsibility of caring for Killer seemed to calm Mike for a short while, but soon enough, her destructive abilities stoked Mike's interest in dangerous ways.  The first time he saw her use ember, Mike was entranced -- and he followed his curiosity with lighter fluid and matchboxes

It came to a head his senior year of highschool.  Avery had been his best friend since he was ten -- Mike's understanding of the world, bastardized through a lens of idealized television plots, led him to believe that meant they'd be together forever. He wasn't sure exactly how that would work, but maybe they could travel together, become trainers or something.  Avery applied for college and got in, and the excitement Mike saw in his friend's eyes confused him.  They talked through plans Avery had to move, and what classes he was going to take -- without him -- and Mike's temper broke.

That night, he set the worst fire of his young career.  An abandoned warehouse, torched to the ground.  No one was hurt, but Mike was arrested -- mercifully, it was ruled as criminal mischief and he got off with just two months in the county jail.

Killer was taken by pokemon protective services, his bond with Avery chilled almost to its breaking point, and Mike had plenty of free time to stew in his depression.

The next few years were rough, but Mike struggled through.  He'd always been the strong, self-sufficient sort.  He got a job, an apartment, a therapist.  Things could get better.  Try as he might, though, no amount of paperwork would bring Killer back to him -- the man working at the PPS smugly told him she was with a better trainer, and he'd be best not asking.  It felt like someone had cut the heart right out of him.

His stoicism paid off, in the end: Avery came back.  Dropped out, too scared to tell his parents, and bummed it on Mike's couch with some hare-brained ideas to make the "best found-footage horror film ever, dude, trust me".

Put good things out into the universe, and it'll return them -- right?  Some bullshit like that?  Maybe Mike could start to believe that.  Maybe he was ready to chase some old dreams.  Maybe he'd get a pokemon...

[attr="class","rostercatsub2"]HISTORY