Aleksandra Alexeyvna Petrova

►IN-GAME INFO

basic information

name — Aleksandra Alexeyvna Petrova
   nicknames — Shura
age — 21 22
gender — female
birthday — june 1
sexuality — heterosexual
religion — russian orthodox
marital status — single

height — 5'4"
weight — 115 lbs
hair color — bleached blonde
eye color — brown

languages — Russian (native), English (learned from the Revival Project), Swahili (learned from the Revival Project)
likes — her new cell phone, American rock music, baggy t-shirts, movies with lots of blood and gore, pirozhki, rolling down grassy hills, blini
dislikes — romance novels, the smell of chlorine, salty food, having to pay for her cell phone bill, breaking her nails, sbiten
themes — "Sentimental Heart" by She and Him, "crushcrushcrush" by Paramore

post-pulse

2010

► 1/02: Started posting.

► 1/29: Finally went to Revival Project headquarters and learned English and (rather uselessly) Swahili.

► 3/22: Assisted Force Groups in St. Petersburg, Russia.

► 4/03: Flew to London, England for Les Misérables rehearsals.

► 4/11: Dyed her hair brown.

► 5/01: Opens Les Misérables in London, England as a member of the orchestra (first violin).

► 5/10: Attended the Lee Hyori Charity Games as a spectator!

► 5/11: Closes Les Misérables in New York City, New York.

► 6/01: Turned 22. Bleached her hair blonde again.

► 6/06: To attend the Point de Suture Tour in St. Petersburg, Russia.

► 6/13: Performed in International Classical Music Night.

► 7/20: Hid in her apartment during the attacks on St. Petersburg.

► BACKGROUND

history

Alexei Vasilevich Petrov and his wife, Ustinya Grigorevna Petrova, had three children during their time together: Lidiya Alexeyvna, Nikita Alexeyevich, and the littlest, Aleksandra. Life was remarkably idyllic - Alexei ran a successful cab business, and Ustinya kept house; with three rambunctious children, her hands were constantly full as it was. Add to that the constant visits of her extended family, and the household was never quiet. Shura grew up in an environment where family was first and foremost, where food was always within a hand's reach, and kisses were freely distributed to any sticky face.

It happened one afternoon when Shura was six; she doesn't recall what she had been doing, but she remembers sitting on the couch when her aunt came to pick her and Nikita up. In a single day, Shura lost her father, her mother, and her eldest sister in a car crash. Nikita and Shura were officially orphans without homes. In order to support them, the family business was sold, and despite their large extended family, were sent to live with an aunt and uncle whom they had never met. The truth was that even with the money, an additional two children into the households would be cramped, and so the childless relatives were the last (and only) option.

So Shura and Nikita moved from their small Russian town to St. Petersburg to live with Denis Vasilevich Petrov and his wife, Irina Ivanovna Petrova. Being young, Shura adjusted quickly, but Nikita always kept his distance from his well-meaning relatives; he consistantly ran away from home, though always brought back by the police or Denis himself. Shura drifted apart from Nikita, alienated by her easy acceptance of their new family, and the formerly close siblings became estranged. Nikita did not even call her Shura any more; he began to call her by her full name, Aleksandra. During secondary school, they hardly acknowledged each other beyond what is necessary, and most of their peers expressed surprise when told the two were brother and sister. In a way, Shura began to resent her brother and his refusal to accept Denis and Irina as their parents. Shura believed him to be troublesome; when he finally succeeded in running away when she was 15 (he was 16), she hardly bat an eye.

Life proceeded reasonably after that, though Irina became a little more depressed and Denis a little more protective. Shura did all right in her academics, but what she truly excelled at was her violin - a gift from Denis when she turned ten, Shura had taken her lessons religiously and put time in to make sure she was first-chair in the school orchestra. The group of people she hung out with were not the most socially acceptable - not the prettiest, the smartest, the friendliest - but they all had in common a love of music and the energy to put to achieving their dreams. Although her career choice promised no success, Shura decided she would become a professional musician once she graduated, shirking any idea of university in favor of reaching her goal.

It was all a very pretty idea, but once Shura moved out at 18, she realized she had to have a way to pay the bills, no longer able to depend on the flowing money of her family. She found a job in a cell phone store selling (what else!) cell phones and attended auditions for bands throughout the city - though violins were not typically found in most rock bands. By 20, Shura was still selling cell phones and still not anywhere close to her goal. By the time Andrei Aleksandrovich Sorokin and his friend came into her store to buy a cell phone, she was close to giving up, running home, and considering to maybe major in something useful, like business, at a university. It was lucky for her that those two came in though; she had a date with Andrei's friend, and when that relationship spoiled, he was still gallant enough to recommend her as a member of Andrei's band, Heaven's Night.

Around this time the pulse hit, and Shura was only able to become an official member before the band called a hiatus due to worldwide emergency. Shura didn't mind; she practiced her violin religiously, learning the songs during the downtime so that when they began to play again, she would not be left behind. When they resumed performing, Shura made sure to impress upon her bandmembers that, even though she was the youngest, she was not the weakest member of this band. She still sells cell phones, but now Shura feels her dream is a little closer now.

personality

Aleksandra has a bit of an abandonment issue; after losing her biological family so early in her childhood, she has a tendency to latch onto her friends and never let go. When people leave her sight, she worries until nearly driven mad with the feeling that something horrible must be happening. Her paranoia is one of her most obvious characteristics; because of it, Shura is constantly on her phone, texting people. At the very least, it is always on her person, whether in her hand, her pocket, a purse, anywhere so that if the moment arises, she can reach in and check on anyone her heart desires. Her clinginess often comes off annoying, but Shura just cares - a lot.

Despite that, Shura has a tendency to smile often, even when things are going sour; not necessarily optimistic nor happy, but smiling nonetheless. It can become obvious at times that this smile is forced, but that does not stop Shura from displaying it. It's simply the way her face relaxes itself; rather than keep a straight expression, Shura just unwittingly keeps her lips tilted up in the smallest of smiles. Because of this, people often think of her as a bit thick or stupidly cheerful, though neither account is true at all.

Shura is not the most ambitious girl either; despite her want to become a famous musician, she's just fine without it. It's more of something just to keep her going rather than her innermost desire; without the dream, Shura would probably just stagnate and sell phones forever. She is easily pleased as well; material things are good and all, but Shura has never exactly been aware of how much her things cost. What impresses her more is something that she has never seen before. She is fascinated with the lives of popular performers, and tying to her nosy nature, is an avid reader of tabloids. Maybe that life is not suited for her, true, but that does not mean it isn't meant for someone else.

All these faults are balanced by a number of good traits; after all, Shura does have friends. She's extraordinarily caring, the type of person to make you soup when you fall ill or to pick you up when you are throwing up in the toilet of a random club because you drank too much. She is the first person to notice when someone is upset and the first person to comfort him or her. Though not necessarily compassionate to strangers, she is certainly empathetic with her friends and acquaintances, and Shura takes the time to maintain her relationships. She is an extremely dependable person when it comes to things like that; if you need Shura as a shoulder to cry on, she is always available.

When inebriated, Shura has the tendency to become incredibly sleepy and snooze right on the bar counter.

► POWERS

invisibility — Should she choose, Shura can become unable to be perceived by the human eye (though easily found through radar).

mediumship — Shura can communicate and see the dead. It's a bit creepy, but she's grown used to it over the past year.

space warping — Shura can bend space so that she can create a space warp connecting two points that may otherwise lie great distances apart. There are no known limits on the range that Shura's space warps may cover. However, Shura needs an actual doorway that can be opened and closed to serve as a focal point for her power. In addition, there must be another doorway at the receiving end of the warp. By stepping through the doorway, one journeys through the space warp that she has created.

► RELATIONSHIPS

family

Alexei Vasilevich Petrov — Her father, whom she barely remembers. Deceased.
Ustinya Grigorevna Petrova — People tell her she looks like her mother. Deceased.
Lidiya Alexeyvna Petrova — She was the pretty one. She used to make Shura bring her food. Deceased.
Nikita Alexeyevich Petrov — Although originally close with her brother, Shura has come to think of him as selfish and disrespectful. She thinks about him all the time, but hates talking about him - he's her one taboo subject. Missing.
Denis Vasilevich Petrov — Her uncle and father-figure. He has always provided him with anything she should want; she loves him dearly. She was a bit sore about him refusing to help her monetarily, but she figured it had something to do with her becoming more independent.
Irina Ivanovna Petrova — Her aunt and mother-figure. Irina always raised Shura to be a lady, and because of her, Shura doesn't act like a caveman. When people say that Shura and Irina have the same personality, Shura always takes it as a compliment.

bandmates

Andrei — The one who asked her to join Heaven's Night and the bass guitarist. Out of all of them, she knows him the best. She looks up to him as a musician and maybe a little as a Nikita-replacement. He knows most, if not all, of Shura's history.
Stasya — Andrei's girlfriend and the lead singer. Shura thinks Stasya is really nice, but she's unsure of how to become better friends; she's always had trouble with being intimidated by older women. She really likes her hair.
Dimitry — Stasya's brother, who is the drummer. He's intimidating just because he seems so into whatever he does. Stasya usually seems to be keeping an eye out for him, so Shura kind of does too. She feels a sort of kinship since they're the same age.
Katya — Dimitry's girlfriend and the guitarist. Katya is super nice and approachable! She's talked to her more than Stasya because she thinks Katya is pretty easy to get along with (and closer to her age). Her car is pretty cool too.

friends

Haneul — Most of their conversations consisted of butchered Babelfish translations until Shura learned English. He thinks she looks like Britney Spears, and she definitely thought he was Chinese. She thinks he's a bit weird.
Sofya — Bless her heart, she's the sweetest person Shura knows. Before she only knew her by name, but after spending some time with her in London and some talking in the community, she considers the younger girl a friend.
Vitali — Friends in her eyes, at least. They slept together after a party a few months back, and she's kept a soft spot of concern for him. Finding him on the community was like finding a goldmine! NPC.

acquaintances

KB — He told her about learning other languages. She's very interested in him, especially since he's rather to-the-point in his answers to her questions. KB is a pretty quiet guy, so when Shura always feels like she needs to talk a lot to make up for his silence.
Noemi — Shura was pleased to be approached by the incredibly-talented Noemi; although not a fan of opera, she knows quality when she hears it. She thinks Noemi is cool beans.
Sharon — The lead singer of the band Within Temptation. Heaven's Night opened for them once! She really likes her music, but there was a language barrier when they first met. If given the chance, she would probably shower Sharon with praise and maybe ask a few questions about some rumours she's heard on the internet. NPC.
Tablo — Played at his concert, but since she could not speak English well at the time, there was limited interaction between then. She thinks he seems nice. Backstage, he seemed like a really interesting guy.
Tristan — Again, another English-speaker! He's a guy who just happened to see their band and also to have a lot of money. He seems sort of like he's used to getting what he wants, so Shura isn't sure what exactly to think. If she got to talk to him, maybe her opinion would change. NPC.

► TRIVIA

○ She used to wear her hair in cornrows. It's a look she's, thankfully, abandoned.
○ She hates exercise of any type. She refuses to look at her scale because she's afraid of what her weight is.
○ When she's sad or nervous, she tends to not eat.
○ When she hears other languages, she tends to get really uncomfortable and burst out laughing.
○ She tried to play the flute before she played the violin, but she couldn't muster enough air to hold out long notes.
○ She started smoking when she was 16, but recently just quit. She still gets the urge sometimes.
○ Tends to 'sir' and 'miss' people when she doesn't know them well.
○ Believes tabloids 100%.
○ A bit politically incorrect, but she means well.

places she's been

○ Novoshakhtinsk, Russia (hometown)
○ St. Petersburg, Russia (current home)
○ London, England
○ Seoul, South Korea
○ New York City, New York
○ Paris, France

Categories: St. Petersburg, Russia | NPC