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Name;
Nikolai Kostasovich Pavlishchev
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Age;
36
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Gender;
Male
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Sexuality;
Gay
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Occupation;
Nikolai is an astronomer! He really enjoys his profession, and has worked really hard to get to where he is now. Nikolai has been working at the same place for around 8 years, and has both a bachelor's degree and PhD in astronomy. Nikolai specifically works in planetary astronomy, meaning he does research on planetary systems, and other related fields, such as moons and asteroids.
Occasionally he gives talks at the nearby colleges and high schools, and more rarely elementary schools. Nikolai is able to comfortably provide for his children, as well as purchase a house on his own due to his job, and how successful he is in it.
Nikolai is very smart, and was even able to graduate high school early. He specializes in the STEM field, and even if his kids sometimes give him grief about not being able to manage social media (he might over exaggerate his ability his inability to use it in order to make them laugh), he can troubleshoot most problems relating to working technology itself, as it is a major part of his job.
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Backstory;
Nikolai has been married twice. His first wife, Layla Alexandria Pavlishchev - fondly recalled as Alexia - passed away in a car crash when she was 25, and Nikolai was 23. Their daughter - Alexandria (who goes by Dee with most people) - was only 3 at the time. Nikolai and Alexia had been dating while they were in college, and accidentally conceived Dee. They decided to get married, and while it was rough, they made it work, as Alexia had been in her final year when she became pregnant with their daughter.
It was only two years into the marriage when the accident occured, and Nikolai was studying to be an astronomer, and was in the start of his seventh year of college, having graduated high school a year early. Nikolai already had his bachelor's degree, and was in the process of getting his PhD. With the help of a supportive group of friends that had already graduated, Nikolai was able to remain in school to finish his PhD while raising his three year old daughter at the same time.
When Nikolai was 26, he finished college, and since Dee had started school, he was able to jump right into the workforce. It was difficult to juggle, but Nikolai managed it, and two years later, landed the job of his dreams as an astronomer at a high-tech research facility at the age of 28.
The year before landing his new job, when he was 27, Nikolai met a wonderful woman named Miranda, and the two became fast friends, and eventually started dating. Miranda already had a son - Micheal - who was only 1 at the time, and had immediately latched onto Nikolai. The two got married when they were both 29.
Dee was 9 at the time, and although originally she didn’t like Miranda much, she eventually grew to like the other woman, and saw her as a motherly figure. Two years into the marriage, Miranda and Nikolai had a son together, who they named Viktor.
Miranda and Nikolai were married for three more years before they got a divorce. They were both 34 at the time, Viktor was three, Micheal was eight, and Dee was fourteen. It was very much a mutual split, as they had both realized around the same time that they were both gay when Dee came out to them as bisexual. It was really awkward and kind of awful, but at the end of it all, they split on mutual terms, and still remain amazing friends (they try to meet up for coffee at least once a month without the kids, although they still meet up outside of that, as they only live about a twenty minute drive from one another).
Although legally Michael and Dee were both Miranda and Nikolai’s children, Michael stays full time with Miranda, and Dee stays full time with Nikolai. Viktor lives primarily with Nikolai, but goes to Miranda’s every other weekend. Miranda is a photographer, and takes photos at weddings or other events, meaning she travels around a lot.
Whenever she is gone, Michael and Viktor stay with Nikolai. Their schedule for visiting time is very flexible, though, so if any of the children (including Dee and Michael) want to visit their other parent or stay with them for longer, then Miranda and Nikolai make it work.
The next year was a big year for the family - Miranda and Dee both got their first girlfriends, and Michael came out at ftm trans. In front of Nikolai’s house, which he also bought in the year after the divorce, he has the pride and trans flags hanging proudly outside.
Currently, Nikolai is 36, and it has been two years since he and Miranda split. Her girlfriend of one year - Haylee - has now found her place in the family, and everyone gets along (except for the occasional squabble between the kids, which is to be expected). They all do holidays together at Nikolai’s, and it has become a tradition that doesn’t seem anywhere close to ending.
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Looks;
Nikolai is 5’9, with a slim frame, and minimal muscle. He spends more time in the laboratory and on the computer than out doing physical exercise, so he isn’t strong or fit. Nikolai has short and dark curly brown hair, with touches of gray on his temples. He also normally keeps a light stubble, which does not have any gray yet.
Nikolai has a strong chin, with a jawline that isn't soft, but it is not sharp or strong either. Overall, Nikolai’s features are quite average. He isn’t a stunning supermodel - and although he is attractive, it is in a quieter and warm way - and has never felt any loss about it. He does not have to be sexy to be a scientist.
The bridge of his nose has a slight bump, although from the front it is straight. He has warm and quick brown eyes, which light up when talking about his job, interests, or his family. They are magnified by his glasses, which have a thin black frame, and a boxy shape. The glasses get lost very often, so he had to get an extra pair (which he also loses a lot).
He has to use glasses to see anything up close (like with reading or seeing anything on a phone).
Nikolai has crow feet in the corner of his eyes, and smile lines around his mouth, as well as creases on his forehead. He does not have any piercings, although he does actually have two tattoos. The first was the name “Alexia” in his own handwriting to mourn his first wife, which is on the inside of his lower, left arm. The other one is on his right bicep - and it is a drawing of his own that is an accurate representation of the night sky (the specific date being the day he got his dream job (meaning that was the orientation of the stars on that night)) and a dark treeline below it.
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Personality/Fun Facts;
(Because face it: I have no idea what his personality is really going to be like. It’ll just form throughout the roleplay, but here are some fun tid-bits about who Nikolai is, since I love this dude.)
Nikolai is bilingual - he is fluent in both Russian and in English, and has a highschool education in ASL. He isn’t fluent by any means, but is able to carry on a slow conversation, and get a message across. Nikolai actually really enjoyed school and learning, and graduated at the top of his class as valedictorian a year early.
He is a walking book of facts, and knows a little about a lot of different things - although his primary focus is space and astronomy.
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At the age of ten, Nikolai immigrated from Russia with his father - Kosta. Before moving Nikolai had only spoken Russain, and mostly continued to speak it in the household, as English was harder for his father to learn. Nikolai’s accent can still be heard in his voice, even all of this time later. His father was quite old-fashioned, and raised his young son in a new country to the best of his ability.
When Nikolai was young, his father would tell him, “Kolya, it is you and I now. We must work together, yes? Things will be rough, but keep your chin up. Never let anyone tell you your limits. You are strong, Kolya. You can make your own life here.” Even now, years and years later, Nikolai remembers his father’s words, and uses them to push forward. All he ever wanted was to make his father proud, and while Nikolai isn’t sure he ever accomplished that, he has met and moved beyond his own goals, and knows it is enough.
In Nikolai’s second year of college, his father passed away from old age, and never got to meet his grandchildren, or even the woman who would become his first wife.
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Nikolai is quite the chef, and especially enjoys baking pastries and other sweets. He also has a rudimentary ability to sew, which was helpful with patching his children’s clothes with the wear and tear that occurred - especially with Dee. Dee was, and still is, probably his most… chaotic child. She was the firstborn, and had an ever-changing childhood, which made growing up difficult, although Nikolai tried to be a solid rock for her.
The two actually have a really good relationship - especially considering she is a teenager - which isn’t one sided. Nikolai helps wherever he can regarding everything Dee is willing to talk about - from school, to her future, to dating, and her other hobbies. Nikolai is supportive of basically everything she wants to do (he didn’t support her when she wanted to get her first girlfriend’s name tattooed on her, which proved to be a smart decision when they broke up two months later), and has tried to provide a safe and loving household for her to grow up in - and do the same for his other children as well, of course. Nikolai loves his kids - it doesn’t matter if they are blood related or not.
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For all of his brains, Nikolai’s memory - when it comes to anything that isn’t the odd collection of facts that he has stored in his brain, or anything related to astronomy - is absolutely crap.
Where he left his glasses, dates (like anniversaries, birthdays, appointments - anything at all), names, favorite foods - it will not stick. The most random stuff does stick, however, like how he knows that Dee hates asking for help, Michael will not walk up or down the stairs if they are dark, and that Viktor doesn’t like any sudden loud sounds.
These little quirks aren’t really present in his mind at all times, it is more of some background knowledge that subconsciously tells him to check in on Dee doing homework about an hour into it, to leave the lights on that are over the stairs during the night when Michael is over, and to make sure he gives Viktor warning if he is going to turn on appliances like the blender or washing machine. It might take a bit to remember their birthdays, though, which is why he has around 500 reminders set.
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The kids always joke how Nikolai is allergic to sleep and mornings without coffee - and in some regards, both are true.
Nikolai tends to go to bed late, and can’t sleep past 5 am. It still takes two cups of coffee to really be aware of what is going on, too. He isn’t a superhero.
Although Nikolai does work during the day (very few astronomers actually work during the night) there are some days where he stays up to observe the sky during certain phenomena, or to gather new research, or any variety of things (it could also just be because he wants to stargaze all night with his own personal telescope (one of the few things that Nikolai is stern about is to not touch the telescope unless he is there or has given permission)). He works four days a week, with the weekends and every Friday off.
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Some other really random facts are that Nikolai is left handed, knows how to play the guitar, and is a decent artist. He taught himself how to play the guitar off of a bet with one of his friends in college, and actually really enjoyed it. When he was able to afford it, Nikolai bought a guitar of his own years later (having been borrowing a friend’s in college) and relearned it.
Now he mostly just plays for his kids, or for family gatherings.
The artist thing mainly comes from his job, and the need to be able to accurately depict different images, plus Nikolai naturally having a critical eye. Therefore - most of his art is realistic, and there are a few pencil sketches on his kids walls whenever he makes something they like.
Nikolai also really enjoys cooking, having learned from his father as a young boy.
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Extra;
Nikolai is allergic to peanuts (luckily it isn’t an airborne allergy, so his kids can still have their peanut butter sandwiches or snacks - although they do have a specific “Peanut Knife” as it is a severe allergy) which was not fun to find out about. It is quite a funny story, looking back on it, but getting rushed to the hospital at the time was definitely not great.
He also gets horribly congested with dust, pollen, or simply existing (well, that probably isn’t true, but it does seem like that at times). Candles or other strong scents also irritate his nose. Nikolai has to take allergy medicine every day, but, going back to his horrible memory, often forgets to take it (Dee eventually wrote a giant reminder to put on the refrigerator. It does work, and Nikolai silently thanks his daughter every day when he doesn’t want to claw off his nose because of allergies).
He is also lactose intolerant! That does not stop him from eating some dairy, such as ice cream, on occasion, although he does use oat milk instead of normal dairy, and tries to avoid dairy for the most part.
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