Name: Moscow Bierstadt
Gender: Male
Height || Weight: 6ft || 115lbs
Age || Birthday: 18 || November 29th
Appearance Notes: White colored dragon-like scales can be seen throughout Moscow's abdomen, legs, and arms. Moscow has a rather fragile look about him.
(Said usually so that the Elysium Project can't use his catchphrase to indoctrinate little kids. Moscow had a long argument with the members of Project Elysium as to whether 'ass' was a bad word and whether it can be said to little kids)
Magical Girl Attunement type: Artificial
Prefered Weapons: A shortsword that is designed like an executioner's sword, with a flat rectangular shaped blade. Its hilt is decorated with gears and steampunk gadgetry. When thrown, it always returns to Moscow's hand. Inherited from Yury.
How does your artifact look when transformed and detransformed: A small mechanical gear that shines with shimmering colors that resemble that of titanium when it's been exposed to heat (white, gray, golden, red, and blue). He wears it on a string as a necklace
Reason for Risking it all: To fulfill his friend's mission; self-preservation
Health Issues from Elysium: Moscow suffers from insomnia, and when he can sleep, his dreams are plagued by terrible nightmares. Often times Moscow has to rely on high caffeine energy drinks to get by. Still better than dealing with wyrmscales though.
Granted Powers:
Axia Medica: Suppression of Moscow's Wyrmscales, a mirror of Yury's ability with the same name. Moscow's wyrmscales temporarily disappear when this is activated. It can be deactivated at a whim, which causes Moscow's wyrmscales to grow back slowly.
This Seems Like a Bad Idea!: Moscow uniquely has figured out a method ironically inverting the effect of Axia Medica, turning a specific part of Moscow's body into heavy wyrmscales that can deflect an attack.
Horonosis: Moscow can always tell the time. A vestigial remainder of Yury's ability of the same name.
Gung-ho and Raring for a New Adventure!: Moscow can designate up to five points in a location where he can see. At any given time, Moscow can use his power to teleport himself to the location. An afterimage in the form of a breeze and the smell of petrichor lingers at Moscow's previous location.
[One more ability tbd]
Transformation Info: Moscow prides himself on a flashy entrance. His transformation includes a whiff of petrichor and plume of flower blossoms as his trenchcoat billows in the wind. Vestiges of his wyrmscale simply melt away with his transformation.
Is your relationship with your family good? Why or why not?
Yes, Moscow's family tried to make the most of Moscow's time by cultivating a close bond. Although the danger of Moscow passing away early has gone, Moscow still enjoys a close bond with his family
What values did your family teach that you still follow? Why?
Make every moment worthwhile. Moscow's family emphasized that every moment of Moscow's limited life is precious. So Moscow religiously avoids things like doom scrolling. This is still relevant to Moscow especially since one day he could accidentally die from using his powers.
What values did your family teach that you don’t follow? Why?
See everything in a positive light-- Moscow once was able to delude himself into thinking that his short-lived life could be seen in a positive light. But to be told that he was now going to live a long life and have that taken away from him caused Moscow to have a more pessimistic outlook on life. That, and the fact that the faith of humanity lies in an organization (Project Elysium) that Moscow sees as corrupt makes him see the world in a rather pessimistic view.
Where do you feel the most at peace? Why?
In his backyard, where a great oak tree stands with a wooden swing set attached to one of the branches. It is a rather rustic feel, far away from society. Moscow enjoys the swing set and listening to the sounds of nature, as it is an opportunity to get away from the hubbub of society.
Where do you feel the safest? Why?
Afterschool in the school library. The excuse of homework is a great excuse to avoid his duties as a Mahou Shojo and to avoid his so-called friends.
What type of people do you surround yourself with? Why?
Moscow has a large loose circle of friends from highschool, full of gossip, toxic comradery, and a recklessness that Moscow tries to avoid most of the time. In retrospect, Moscow wouldn't have chosen this group of friends, however, he was desperate for a friend group after so many years of being unable to go to school due to his disease. Furthermore, being a Mahou Shojo has allowed him to gain popularity with his peers, attracting the popular guys and gals.
What type of people do you avoid? Why?
Members of the Elysium Project. Moscow has seen through their disingenuity. Of course though, considering his situation, Moscow still holds a cordial relationship with them.
What moment made the biggest impact in your life?
Moscow was born with a degenerative disease called Wyrmscales. It was a disease that was characterized by scaly skin much like the mythical dragons, which would harden and spread. The two issues that arose from this were that the scales, when hardened, hindered movement and eventually led the afflicted to be immobile. Secondly, when it spread, it wasn't limited to exterior skin. Eventually, the wyrmscales would infect vital organs, rendering them hard and unusable. The doctor's prognosis was that Moscow had until he was 18 to live.
Aside from his family, Moscow's greatest support in dealing with this came from his childhood friend Yury. The two of them were inseparable, frolicking in the fields behind the Bierstadt house, taking advantage of Moscow's life while he could still move.
When Yury and Moscow came of age, they underwent testing to determine their affinity with artifacts. While Moscow had no affinity, Yury was determined to be a natural Mahou Shojo. From that day on, Yury's hopes and dreams were all of protecting Sahoe, and the distance between Moscow and Yury grew. But even as Yury took on Mahou Shojo responsibilities, the two childhood friends continued to hang out. Furthermore, one aspect of Yury's power seemed to be some sort of healing implementation that suppressed Moscow's Wyrmscales.
A tragic battle two years later caused Yury to fall into a comatose state. Members of the Elysium Project suspected that it was due to overexertion of his power, the very least of which was from Yury constant suppressing the effects of Moscow's Wyrmscales. Now that Moscow lost the effects of Yury's power, Moscow was desperate for a method to live.
The people of the Elysium Project suggested bonding the artifact to Moscow instead. It was a last ditch attempt, but under the pressure and the fate of his imminent death, Moscow took the offer. Miraculously, the serum did derive a power that allowed Moscow to suppress his illness, as well as a few other minor abilities that seemed reminiscent of Yury's abilities. While this likely was due to Yury and Moscow's close bond, Moscow saw this as a sign that it was his destiny to fulfill what Yury could not.
How did it change your view?
Moscow is disillusioned by Project Elysium. Firstly, the eagerness of the project members to bond Moscow to Yury's artifact was suspicious, as well as the suppression of such information. Additionally, Moscow has developed a more positive view on life, knowing that it will one day end, whether through overuse of his powers or wyrmscales. His own eagerness to take on Yury's artifact for his own sake also bothered Moscow, as this indicated to him that this was a form of greed, and now looks down upon himself for being scummy and greedy.
Did it give you any lasting change in likes, dislikes, fears, or goals.
Fight for the sake of fulfilling Yury's wishes of being a Mahou Shojo
Dislike of the Elysium Project
An affinity for the spotlight
What moment made the Second biggest impact in your life?
Moscow's first job as a Mahou Shojo was not to defeat a monster, rather, it was to take down a rogue magical girl named Joachim. Joachim was the type who had ambitions of using his magical girl powers to control society rather than help it.
Their fight quickly devolved into a conversation, as Moscow was ill equipped to fight a Mahou Shojo with more athletic performance and experience than he, and for some reason, Joachim refused to kill Moscow. Nobody knows what the two of them conversed about, but at the end of it, Moscow secretly helped Joachim flee society. These days, Moscow still communicates with Joachim through radio
How did it change your view?
Moscow's conversation with Joachim made him adopt a dislike for how the Mahou Shojo were seen as idols. He still jumps into battle with bravado and gusto, but this is the experience where Moscow's vulgar catchphrases stemmed from.
Did it give you any lasting change in likes, dislikes, fears, or goals.
Part of Moscow wishes to develop some sort of power to end the idolization of the Mahou Shojo
When they were little kids, Yury and Moscow were obsessed with a RPG called Lair Quest. It was one of those classic Final Fantasy esque games where a steampunk society had to face off against an uprising in nature, all led by a big-bad dragon. While not revolutionary for its time, Yury and Moscow's parents had to almost drag them away from the game console to eat dinner. The game had a profound impact on Yury and Moscow; when they got older, they larped conquests in their backyards. And it manifested itself in Yury and Moscow's abilities-- Yury's abilities all revolved around steampunk themes, representing his 'might-makes-right' and pro-status-quo attitudes. Meanwhile, Moscow's abilities revolved around an adventure representing his carefree and positive spirit.
What’s your happiest memory that wasn’t an impactful moment.
What’s one of your saddest memories that was or wasn’t an impactful moment.
When Moscow was 10, the wyrmscales got so bad that he could no longer move around without the help of a wheelchair. He lamented the loss of physical activities