Meet Aleksandr Nikolai Malinov - Natalia’s Brother! Her info here.
Ethnicity/Nationality: Russina
Birth Name: Aleksander Nikolai Malinov, but anglicized to Alexander Malin.
Gender: Man Pronouns: He/His
Sexuality: Pansexual - No preference.Age: 35
Birthday: 18 April,1864
Zodiac Sign: Aries
Height: 5′11
Personality:
Seemingly extroverted, friendly, polite, and charming. Secretly, he is an anxious introvert. Like his sister Natalia, he is also very intelligent but is more cunning due to his life experiences. While bright enough to complete medical training, he decided to pursue other options in secret. He has a keen mind for strategy and thinking outside of the box and likes to play chess to stay sharp. Alex has been described as very slippery and always has an escape route in mind. He has no issues doing what needs to be done, no matter what. He will seduce, intimidate, kill, or bribe whoever he needs to. Like Nat, it is difficult to know what he really thinks of someone or something - this is in part due to his Russian culture.
He’ll shift like a chameleon to whatever that person likes or dislikes. However, he knows himself better than he’d like to admit. Despite this, he puts on a face to hide the deep anger, sadness, and pain he holds inside. He has a lot of self-loathing and tends to brood. In addition, he has extreme self-destructive tendencies. He loves his sister but feels very pressured to provide and be a good influence. However, he knows that he can’t be her knight in shining armor. If anything, she is a good influence on him. He can be a very sweet and loving person when he feels safe enough to do so. Secretly, he would like nothing more than to settle down, get married, and have children. He is the polar opposite of Nat in this matter - but he’s a commitment-phobe due to his anxiety and life situations. Show patience and genuine interest and he’s bound to put those walls down.
Backstory:
As the firstborn son, Aleksandr was expected to accomplish great things. He was only allowed to interact with those in his station, but he couldn't help but notice the differences in the class structure. Nikolai encouraged him to ponder their life situation, especially since their father was secretly from that background and worked his way up into society. His mother detested this as she wanted to focus on upward nobility. Alek always felt like his parents were at war with one another when it came to what they wanted him to accomplish. He envied his sister and the "easy" tasks that were expected of her. His father pressured him into studying medicine because it was what was needed not only for the nobility but for the lower classes as well. He studied the subject to please his father. When Natalia joined him, he was relieved as he felt he had a better chance to pursue what he wanted to do.
He was wrong. His sister was built to be a doctor, and while he admired his father's dream for him, his mother had other plans. While their father taught both not to discriminate based on class or any differences, his mother decided to hire military officers to train him to become an officer. At first, Alek felt elated. It was refreshing, but his mother wanted him to climb the ranks as quickly as possible. That, on top of his studies, led him to develop anxiety and worsened his depression.
While under the officer's training, he learned many skills, but he was most gifted as a rifleman and intelligence. He assisted with assassinations and planted the seeds of doubt or hope in those that his superiors said needed it. Alek enjoyed this work but felt guilty as he knew that people were shades of grey, not black and white. There were times where his heart told him what he was doing was wrong and that the state was wrong, but obeyed their orders anyway. He attempted to save those with his medical training that needed saving outside of his comrades’ requirements. He needed to do good to balance out the bad.
When he caught wind of a revolution, his superiors discussed committing atrocities against the serfs in order to end it. He couldn't take it. He rush home to warn his family and assisted Nikolai and Natalia with their packing, the three escaping. He knows he will never forget how his mother accused him of being a traitor - the pure hatred and betrayal burning in her eyes.In the United States, he tried to help his family where he could but felt he was on the verge of a breakdown himself. He started to drink, gamble, fight, and mingled with whores. He had many of these habits in Russia, and there were plenty of times where he was out of control, but he at least showed some restraint back then. It escalated in the US. His relationship with his father in the dumps and mostly ignored his sister.Sometimes, he wouldn't return for days as his debauchery led him to random areas.
Later on, he started to work with outlaws. Part of him enjoyed thieving and the chaos that went with it. He found it thrilling to put on a new identity and infiltrate whatever he wanted to infilted, be whoever he wanted to be - sometimes this included gangs. He made sure to avoid people like the O' Driscoll's whenever possible, feeling disgusted after he infiltrated them for a few weeks. Eventually, he was instead trying to create his own “trio” of friends and earned his own money.
He justified himself saying he was providing for the family since they were starting a new. He and his friends tried to hold a more robin hood appraoch. One night, he ended up in a nasty fight with the O'Driscolls. He eliminated a few of them. Unfortunately, one of them barely survived.
The O'Driscolls' colleagues found their friend and dragged him to Nikolai's office, killing the man after he failed to save their friend. The O'Driscoll's thankfully didn't realize Alek and Nikolai were related, or else his death would have been worse, and his sister couldn't have stayed hidden.
Alek realized this was his fault. He realized he had to be a man and stepped up for Natalia, finishing her training and teaching her investigative skills. The guilt and self-hatred still gnaw at his heart. He does all he can to provide for her and the business, often completing unsavory jobs. However, he still finds living other lives is far more tempting than living his own. The idea of being "just" a doctor is difficult, especially since he feels like he'll just fuck that up, too. While he has limited his engagements with most outlaw clans, he still associates with a few. However, he finds his dealings with the Van der Linde gang too fascinating to give up.
Now, Alek is in even more of a bind as the Pinkertons are now interested in him. Unfortunately, they've been watching him galvanize between gangs and wish to recruit him for this skill and whatever else they may require of him. While he has completed a few jobs for them, they want to recruit him full time. Now, Alek is torn once more, unsure of what to do with himself and how to care for his sister.
(Plenty of more info for those interested)
I apologize with the long wait. School and holidays have got me busy busy but I finally finished this piece. Please give ZPossum on Wattpad a follow and thank you again for the request. I had fun writing this and absolutely love the softer side to Micah Bell.
