MITROFANOV, marnie

( NAME YOUR GOD ! )
a n d . w e . w i l l . s e n d . y o u . t o . w h a t e v e r . g o d . y o u . c h o o s e



MARGARETE MILENA MITROFANOV
’and are you beautiful and pale with yellow hair, like her
i want you beautiful and pale the way i dreamed you were’

( I CAN READ YOU LIKE A GUN ! )
i ' l l . t a k e . y o u . o n

name: Mouse
age:
gender:
contact:
time zone:
other characters:

( I DREAM OF YOU DRAPED IN WIRES ! )
a n d . l e a n i n g . o n . t h e . b r a k e s

full name:
MARGARETE MILENA MITROFANOV
“My father gave me the name of his grandmother, Milena, and his mother, Margarete, even though it ended up being three ‘M’ names. I’m proud of my name because my father says they were good women, the kind of women he wants me to be. I hope I don’t let him down, or let them down.”

name meaning:
nicknames:
MARNIE
“Most people call me ‘Marnie’ as a shortened version of my first name. I don’t mind it, but Margarete sounds more adult and sophisticated.”

MOLLY
“Occasionally I get Molly from some people, mostly the older members of the Bratva, and people who like to tease, but I never let them see a reaction. I sort of like it actually, it makes me feel close to them, at least gives that illusion.”

age:
TWENTY YEARS OLD
“I don’t think there is anything special about being twenty, but it’s not as if I am looking forward to twenty one, either. I don’t have any desire to drink, outside of the champagne and wine I sometimes have with dinner.”

date of birth:
OCTOBER TENTH
“Just had a birthday. It wasn’t anything big, just me and my father. I went out with a few friends for dinner the night before though. I like it to be more low key.”

blood type:
sexuality:
HETEROSEXUAL
“I like men and only men, the traditional way.”

affiliation:
RUSSIAN MOB
“My father is part of the Russian mob, and has been for a long time. I am loyal to them and only them, first and foremost.”

position/occupation(s):
NONE
“As a young woman, there is no place for me in the mob except to help take care of the men who work to protect me.”

pet(s):
ICARUS
“I know a pet flying squirrel isn’t a very common pet, but I love little Icarus. He is usually around me, hanging on my shoulder or curled up in my pocket. I got him when I was seventeen and he’s been my little companion ever since.”

LEONIDAS
“Such a strong name for my little frog. I got him only this past year. He might not be the most feminine of pets, but I think he’s quite adorable actually.”

MR. SPADE
“Named after The Maltese Falcon. I love that movie. Mr. Spade is a little hedgehog. He’s adorable and I keep him with my most of the time.”
mode of transportation:
OTHER PEOPLE
“I dislike driving so my father usually has someone drive me.”
personal wealth:
AVERAGE
“I have a trust fund from my mother, but my father is in control of it right now until I am twenty-five or married. It’s substantial, but my father doesn’t let me take more than I really need.”

( I LEAVE YOU WITH RESTLESS LIARS ! )
a n d . d e a l e r s . o n . t h e . t a k e

hair color & style:
eye color:
skin tone:
height & weight:
build:
scars & tattoos: “I actually have quite a few scars, from when my father used to teach me about the powers of pain.”
accent: “White South African. I can speak Russian, as well, with a good accent. My father wouldn’t allow anything else.”
clothing style: Femme fatale. Tight pencil skirts, silk shirts.

play-by: Alexz Johnson

( I WILL STRIDE YOU WITH DESIRE OF FAULT LINE ! )
n o . c l u t c h . n o . s t o r m

likes:
SECRETS
“I am a very private person and I like it that way. I never share my secrets with anyone. I like keeping things to myself and I’m very good at it, very good at playing my cards close to my chest, as they say. I don’t care about anybody else’s secrets or figuring them out. I just like keeping mine. I guess I like other people’s too. I like knowing them. It’s a powerful feeling, knowing something about someone that nobody knows, knowing that someone trusts you so much that they’d share that with you.”

CONSERVATIVE CLOTHING
“I have a certain amount of style but I rarely show much skin. My father taught me there are two kinds of women- wives and whores. Only whores show off their skin, only whore dress like strippers. There still is an amount of sexiness, I suppose, to my dress, but I focus more on accentuating my curves rather than flashing skin. But not too much. Father wouldn’t like it. I wear a lot of silk clothes, pencil skirts and high necked clothes. I never wear anything that is sleeveless or strapless except the corsets I wear underneath my clothes. Yes, I wear corsets, help give me an appealing figure.”

HER FATHER
“I admire him in many ways. He’s very smart, very loyal and very dedicated. I wouldn’t say we’re very close, at least we don’t share a lot of personal things between us, but he has been the only family I have ever known. He’s the one that raised me and taught me to be a lady. Certainly, people say he is strict but that’s how you raise a good woman, a proper woman. It’s easy to get distracted by glitz and glamour and a different kind of life, but my father’s kept me on a good track. He’s taught me a lot, more than just how to be a woman, but how to survive this world we live in.”

ROMANCE
“I know my role is to be a good wife and mother, that my father will make sure who I marry will be a good man, but I am like any other girl and I like to be treated special. I’m very keen on the idea of ‘courting’ and certainly the guy who courts me better be prepared since my father expects to be asked for his permission. You can’t expect to take out his only daughter without his say so. I like when a guy does something special for me. I’ve been taught very well how to be a good wife and so I think, as that, I’m something of a treasure. A man should be prepared to work for me. Flowers are always nice, candles, cooking for me, telling me how nice I look. I think a lot of it is about setting a mood, making me feel like you are thinking about me.”

THE BEACH
“Its one of my favorite places to be. I do not like warm, clear water beaches, but the chilly, foggy sort like we have in Boston. I get up every morning before the sun rises and take a walk along the beach, even in the dead of winter. I like sitting out there, feeling the breeze in my hair, the wind against my cheek. It’s peaceful.”

OLD FASHIONED THINGS
“I like the proper and gentlemanly ways of the past, when people were respectful of themselves and others. My dress, much of my attitude reflects this. My father calls it ‘the right way’. He hates all the changes that have come in our society, and especially the Bratva. I don’t really know too much about it, of course, but I like what Father has taught me and I like a lot of old things. Classic films, classic novels, classic clothes. There were many good things about the past.”

CLASS
“I hate most of the soldiers with their filthy mouths. I never curse, and every word out of their mouths is some curse word or another. It makes them sound like idiots, which they are, for the most part. I like classy people who think about what they do and how it reflects on them. I love the Bratva as a family, as a group, but sometimes, as individuals, I wish they would be a bit more choosey about what sort of people they let in.”

VIOLENCE
“I am not a violent person. I have never hit anyone in my entire life. I haven’t ever needed to, but there is something that intrigues me about violence. I’ve been around it my whole life so it’s an everyday occurrence, but it hadn’t gotten old. Sometimes I provoke people, situations, just to see that spark of violence flame. I’ve been tortured by my father, so I’ve experienced it too, and it sounds strange to say, but there is something…comforting about it. Maybe it’s just the reminder that I’m alive.”

CLASSIC FILM NOIR
“I love the look of them, the accents, everything about them. Especially the ones with femme fatales. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like, to be that devious, that smart, that alluring to people. It’s a lofty goal to live up to and I don’t think my father would approve, but I think I do have some things in common with those figures. Maybe that’s a little too prideful, or maybe it’s just hopeful.”

dislikes:
INEPT SUITORS
“That is, men who don’t understand the right way to pursue me. I am not some classless whore to be bedded in one night. If you want me, expect to work for me, and treat me respectfully, like a lady. Also, men should be sure to approach my father and ask for permission to pursue his daughter or expect to face his wrath. Good luck.”

MEAT
“I’ll cook it, of course, but I don’t like the taste of it. I’m not someone who cares that much about animal rights, at least not anymore than any other person, but I just honestly don’t like the taste of any meat, except fish, on occasion. I don’t know why exactly, but I’ve never been a big fan of it. Since I cook, I get to choose what I eat, which is nice. I eat a lot of vegetables, though, and get my proteins from elsewhere.”

ROWDINESS
“I know I said I like violence but there is a definite difference between rowdiness and violence. Rowdiness is chaotic, pointless and full of those classless people I have no fondness for. I am often cooking for a lot of men and I don’t mind that but I hate having to hear all their rumbling and how they simply yell over each other. The idiotic things they say. I never say anything about it, of course, but inside, it grates on my nerves.”

FEMINISTS
“Women were not created equal to men. There is a reason why we are smaller, weaker and better at household chores. We were meant to be subservient to men, to take care of them and they protect us. I don’t think there is anything wrong with that. Women who feel the need to pressure others to break out of the mold, well they are foolish. Father always said a real woman knows her place. I feel like I do, for the most part. All I want is to get married and take care of my husband.”

SLOBS
“I am very organized and I keep the house very clean. I don’t like disorder or messes. People who are sloppy disgust me. I don’t understand how someone can live in a dirty, messy house. It’s just appalling. Father would approve if I was that sort of person anyway. He would never let it happen, though, so there has never been a worry about that.”

HER HIV STATUS
“I have never been sick in my life, but it doesn’t make the fact that I have it any less difficult to deal with. It’s always hanging over my head. I have to think about everything I do before I do anything. If I am ever injured I can’t let anyone touch me without precautions. It only makes my father more protective of me. He is the only other person who knows. I have never told anyone else, never trusted anyone to know. Even if I haven’t been sick, it still affects me. I don’t get close to people because I expect them to leave me, to disappear, when they find out and I don’t want to deal with that pain. I might seem isolated and cold, but I do actually have feelings.”

OVERLY HAPPY PEOPLE
“I have fun. I am happy, but not every moment of every day. It just gets annoying and rather unbelievable. Bad things happen and we are meant to deal with them, not simply gloss over them. People should be capable and willing to go through different moods rather than be statically happy all the time.”

DRIVING
“I absolutely despise driving myself around. I hate dealing with other people on the road. I never got my license so I have an excuse not to drive. I much prefer letting other people driving me around, which is what usually happens, either my father, a friend or a member of the Bratva.”

HIGH HEELED SHOES
“Anything higher than two inches is unnecessary. Certainly some of them are cute, but most of the time they make people look a bit trashy, in my opinion.”

strengths:

KEEPING SECRETS
“Tell me something in confidence and I’ll never tell another soul. Mostly I keep my own secrets, my father’s secrets. I’ve never ever been involved in those silly teenage drama moments where I told my best friend’s secret or anything, and it’s even better since it ensures my father trusts me and doesn’t have to worry about having me around the house while his crew is there.”

HIGH PAIN TOLERANCE
“Most people would be surprised by how much pain I can tolerate, but my father taught that to me. People are going to look at me as a weak link and he showed me how not to be one. People might say it was borderline abuse, but really, he was just preparing me for what I might have to go through. He did it for my protection and the protection of the Bratva.”

LOYALTY
“As good as I am at keeping secrets, I am also incredibly loyal to my father and the Russian mob. I would keep a secret, I would do anything they asked me to do, even if it was something a lady really shouldn’t be doing. They never have asked, but I know I would do whatever, whatever, they wanted of me, because they are my family. I never associate with people in other mobs. There will never be any doubts of where my loyalty lies.”

MATURE
“There are many reasons why, but I’ve grown up pretty fast, in many ways. Father expects it from me since I was young. He has always expected a lot from me and I try not to disappoint him. Having HIV, I have to be very responsible for myself, from my medications to realizing when I’m not well, as well as taking precaution so that I don’t pass it onto other people. It makes you grow up when you realize you have death following you around.”

OBEDIENT
“I do what I’m told and without complaint, for the most part. Father taught me that. He expects it of me, to do his bidding. Mostly I take direction from him, but sometimes if the higher ups ask me to do things as well and I do my best to pay attention to them as well, of course. It really depends on who when it comes to the soldiers and enforcers. I don’t like them telling me what to do, but I usually do it, because they’re men and they are trying to protect me.”

weaknesses:
ISOLATED
“I don’t necessarily see this as a negative thing. Father keeps me protected and safe, away from harm and the rowdy men of the mob, for the most part. He’s very aware of who I am spending time with and gives his approval on who I befriend. People call him strict, the way he keeps me isolated, but I know Father is doing it for my own good. He usually doesn’t mind who I spend time with as long as they’re part of the family.”

UNOPINIONATED
“I don’t have my own opinions on things, at least not anything of significance, I guess. My father takes care of any of the serious business and once I am married my husband will. The law is man’s business and I don’t stick my nose in it. I have other responsibilities. I do like things and can say that but I don’t care for politics and other things like that. I’ve never bothered having an opinion or attempting to learn more about them.”

THAT SMILE
“You know that smile men give you that make you feel as if you’re the only person in the world. It makes me melt, so I guess you could say I crush on people easily, but never much follow through. I’ve never been kissed or done anything else, though I have dated a few times, always with Father’s approval, of course.”

INGEUINE
“I have a lot of secrets and I’ve been taught to keep my feelings contained so I guess I come off as fake or phony. Maybe I am and maybe I have a reason to be that way. I’m really good at hiding it actually, people don’t realize that I’m lying through my teeth, hiding what I really feel most of the time.”

talents & special abilities:
COOKING I don’t necessarily love to cook and I definitely won’t be winning any wards but I have been cooking for my father and myself since I was young. Now I cook a lot for my father’s soldiers and crew as well. I don’t have to cook anything gourmet because what I cook is better than what their meals usually consist of. Father says it’s one of the most important things for a woman to do- cook.”

RUNNING A HOUSEHOLD
“Now, Father and I don’t have a staff or anything but I manage to keep things running smoothly at home. I keep the house clean and orderly. I have meals prepared at the same time every day, or whenever Father needs them. I do chores- laundry, washing windows, floors, the bathrooms. I do everything I should as the woman of the house. I don’t know what father will do without me once I am gone.”

ORGANIZATION
“I am incredibly organized. In school, I took notes on everything in outline format. I often keep Father’s schedules for him and I keep the house in perfect order. Everything has a place. Father like it that way and so do I.”

hobbies & interests:

READING
“I’ve spent a lot of my life alone so I read a lot. I love the classics like Gulliver’s Travels and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Great Gatsby. I’m sort of one of those people who always have a book with them. Father doesn’t like it too much since he says I might get ideas from them, but I just like literature, like thinking about these different worlds that writers show.”

FILM NOIR
“There’s something very classy and interesting about them. Again, it’s about a different world. And there’s something very attractive about these movies, the way they were made, the way they were acted.”
habits & quirks:

THE DUMB BLONDE TRICK
“I often act dumber than I am. Maybe I’m not a genius but I am smart. Sometimes I pretend otherwise, that I am dumb. It can be a useful trick.”

STARTS SENTENCES WITH ‘MY FATHER SAYS’ A LOT
“My father says a lot of intelligent things and gives a lot of good advice, so why wouldn’t I share that information?”

REFUSES TO LET PEOPLE TOUCH HER WHEN SHE’S INJURED
“Being HIV positive means I have t be very careful whenever I am injured or bleeding. I might not be the friendliest person in the world but I don’t want to infect anyone else. I much prefer to take care of my own injuries.”

dreams & desires:
GET MARRIED AND HAVE A FAMILY
“I want to find someone who loves me, can protect me and take care of me. It sounds like a lot, but I expect my father will find someone that’s suitable for me to marry, that will protect me. He doesn’t automatically want to marry me off to anyone, he does want me to have a connection, but his main goal is to find someone who can protect me, who is worthy of me, because I am his little girl. With…things in my life a family will be hard, but I know, I have learned, that it’s possible, so I hope to have a family, children.”
fears:

HER FATHER
"He is, needless to say, an extremely intimidating man. He's never hit me for punishment, but I guess I expect it sometimes. He doesn't need to use his fists to be intimidating though."

GETTING SICK

SPIDERS

PEOPLE DESERTING HER BECAUSE OF HER HIV

personality: in-depth:

INDECISIVE/FICKLE
“I generally don’t make decisions for myself, really. Mostly my father makes decisions for me and sometimes other members of the mob, because they are older and wiser and know what’s best for me. They protect me so I try to do as I am told. When I do have to make decisions I…have some difficulties. I am always afraid I will do the wrong thing or make a mistake. I change my mind a lot or simply can’t decide at all. I know it frustrates people but I don’t want to do the wrong thing. I’m much more comfortable when other people are making the decisions and choices for me, even when it comes to little things like where to go to lunch at or what I wear. My father usually tells me these things anyway. I’ve never really been able to make a decision for myself, usually telling someone else to do it for me. I don’t think I will ever really make a decision for myself. I hope I won’t have to. Of course, I don’t just sit and do nothing. I guess…well, I guess I do do things, but if you asked me where I wanted to go for lunch, I’d just shrug my shoulders and say ‘I don’t know’ or ‘you pick’. Otherwise, I guess I just act, that way I don’t have to think about the either or.”

HARDWORKING
“My father taught me that you never get anything unless you work for it and earn it. It’s something he taught me at every step, something he forced me to believe, I suppose. He believes this with everything from respect to pocket money. As a child I always had to earn new clothes or money by doing chores and even now he expects that of me, though he is less strict about it, perhaps because it’s more of my nature now than it was before. He says it’s my job now to find a suitable husband and show my skills as a wife. Most people wouldn’t call me hardworking and I do appear spoiled to some but if you know my father, you’d know that he would never give something away unless someone earned it, even to his own daughter. Especially to his own daughter. Of course I only work hard for things I want, which has mostly meant studying hard and being a good woman so I don’t disappoint my father. Doing what he tells me so I don’t upset him. Sometimes there are other things, but not men, at least not usually. I think men should have to work hard for me.”

UNSUPPORTIVE
“I am extremely loyal. I would never betray the mob or my friends, never say a word against them even if it meant pain for me. However, I guess I’m not exactly a supportive person, not the type for you to lean on when you need something. I won’t be there to tell you it’ll be alright or let you cry on my shoulder if you are sad because your boyfriend broke up with you. I am not the type to stay up all night talking for any reason really. It’s just…not something I have ever done. I don’t like getting into emotions with people. I am not an emotional person and I don’t talk about my emotions. Yeah, I suppose that has a lot to do with my father never talking about his feelings at all, unless he’s telling me what he wants me to be. I don’t do that either, really, say what I feel. It’s hard for me. People tell me I’m in my head most of the time and I guess that’s true, because I am always thinking about things, what I am going to say, do, what I’m supposed to be.”

RESPECTFUL
“I am incredibly respectful of those who earn it, of course. People who have lived through a lot, done a lot for our family, they deserve respect and if someone earns something, deserves it, I’m completely willing to give it to them. Usually if my father respects them, I respect them, but it is very difficult to earn respect from my father or, consequently, me. Father always says it is given away too easily these days, that the young soldiers expect it after a few fights. He always talks about how it took much more when he was a young soldier, when it meant a lot more to be promoted, meant you had done a lot more. It takes a lot more than that to earn your stripes from my father. I should know since he expects so much from me. I dislike it when people think they should get my respect when they have done nothing to earn it and it infuriates me when people act like they have done something to deserve it. It’s mine to give and so if you haven’t done enough than I won’t give it to you, so you should be prepared to deal with that. Of course, I don’t think all that many people care about having my respect, but whenever some of the young soldiers preen, I like to take them down a few notches since they usually deserve that.”

UNCREATIVE
“I am not creative or a dreamer or imaginative, but I don’t think there is anything wrong with that nor should there be. Father always says that people who imagine fail, people who do succeed. And I guess I am just not made to be a creative person. My father likes facts, pure, solid work and that’s understandable, that’s smart. Father likes things that are tangible, real, sure. Creativity in most things means cockiness, means you think you can do better than what everyone else has done before, and cockiness sets you up for failure. If it’s been done in the past and successful, it’s best to follow that lead and merely perfect it, rather than trying to be a hero and doing something more, especially when it’s almost flaunting. I don’t like cockiness that much. I’m a proud person. I’m proud of who I am, where I came from, my father that is, but I’m not cocky. There is one certain area, I suppose I get creative in, but it mostly has to do with my own thoughts, my actions, things I do for a little fun.”

MANIPULATIVE
For someone seeming as obedient as Marnie, most people would be surprised to learn how cruelly manipulative she can be. Lucky for Marnie, she is very subtle in her manipulation and so most people don’t figure it out at all. To Marnie, it’s all a game and one of the few things she actually excels at. Life is a game to her, in so many ways, and she sees people as toys for her to make the game more interesting. A lot of that comes from the fact that her father has overprotected her through her life, so she’s always had to find ways to use what little she’s allowed in her favor, to make life more interesting. Since she tends to be around people, mob members, a lot, she’s developed a interest in using them to her advantage, using them to entertain her. Rather than interacting and getting to know them, she found different ways of using them by pushing at their buttons and prodding where she knows it will hurt. She can manipulate people into doing just about anything but mostly she does it for the pure enjoyment, often inciting anger between two people until they get physical. Considering how little there is to her life, one can safely assume it is something she developed to entertain herself, but nobody ever would since few people realize they’ve been manipulated.

CALCULATING
“While I might seem much like a dumb blonde and I even play the part, I am much smarter than most people think and I put a lot of thought into what I do. Father taught me women should be careful of what they say and so I never say anything without thinking about precisely what I want to say. Similarly I never act without thinking it through and I am always plotting, I guess you could say, something. It’s a good trait to have, thinking before speaking or acting, but I sort of take it to another level, thinking of what how to best reflect what I want to show. I suppose a lot of it comes from the kind of person my father wanted me to be, and I had to try and show that. I think I am more like he wants me to be than not, but there is a bit of a hidden side, I guess, and that’s because I’m always thinking about how to show myself and how to actually be myself without people knowing. It’s more fun that way, anyway, my own little game.”


HARD TO GET TO KNOW
“I don’t let people close to me. My father has kept me away from much of the world, never letting me go out without him when I was younger. I never stayed the night at friend’s homes, never had friends he didn’t approve of and I didn’t go to regular school for much of my education. I grew up with few people close to me and I really don’t mind, because I figure those are the people who are loyal and important to me. The people who have been close to me, protective of me my whole life are really the important people, the ones who deserve to get to know me, the ones who I trust to know me. I don’t talk to new people very much and especially not outside of the mob. If you try hard enough though, you might be able to get to know me, but it’s unlikely because I guess I am rather dismissive of people who try to talk to me and that usually turns people off. I think…even those I’ve known all my life, a lot of them don’t know who I really am.”

QUICK TO ANGER
“I guess I get easily annoyed by people but you’d never really know as I hide it very well. I never let people know when they’ve upset me. Father says it gives them a power, control over you and it’s a dangerous thing to allow. I tried to follow what he wanted, to not get mad, but for some reason, I can’t, so I just hide it, so nobody knows. Not unless you know me and you see those subtle things that give me away. I’m not going to tell you because I don’t’ want you to know, but there are clues, like anybody. Subtle, very subtle, but there. Most people say I am emotionless, but I’m not really. I just hide my emotions and feelings very well, because nobody deserves to know those things unless I want them to.”

TWO FACED
It should be obvious by now that Marnie is not always what she seems. People think she is merely a obedient pawn to her father’s way of life and so many ways she is. She’s obedient, proper, womanly, and she knows where her place is in life, beneath a man, at least according to her father. She’s more than just that though, but not many people are allowed to see that. Underneath that primp, proper and isolated veneer, she is also a very smart and calculating woman, manipulative and even cruel. She is a woman who had been able to hide many of her less fine qualities and show the kind of person she thinks she should be, the kind of person her father wants her to be. She isn’t completely that perfect woman though, because she is simmering under it all. She’s smarter than she lets people know, and she is more cruelly manipulative than just cold and isolated.

RESTRAINED

( I TEACH YOU OF DEATH'S DESIRES ! )
r e f l e c t i n g . i n . l a k e s

parents:
OLEXEI MITROFANOV; FORTY YEARS OLD, CAPTAIN
“I don’t know where I would be without my father. He’s taken care of me, molded me, made me a good woman. He did it in some unconventional ways, I guess, but Father did what he thought was best for me and I think he was right. He usually is.”

THANDIWE SYMINGTON; DECEASED
“I don’t really remember my mother. You think I would since I lived with her until I was seven, but I think my father erased her from my memory, in my way. I do have a picture of her, from her glamorous days, her young days, and she was beautiful, but I don’t think she stayed that way. She was a woman living in a man’s world, politics, and then the drugs and everything else, it put a toll on her, obviously.”

siblings:
NONE
“I don’t think my father ever wanted me, even, but he didn’t think my mother deserved a child, so he took me and raised me. I can’t remember him ever having a woman in his life either, so I don’t know that he’s ever come close to having a family of his own, at least not any closer than me.”
other:
family wealth: “Fairly wealthy. My father hoards and doesn’t spend money, plus what he does gives him a lot of it.”

ethnicity:
SOUTH AFRICAN
Marnie knows that she is South African, but she believes she is only half South African since her father is Russian. In reality, since Olexei is not really her father, she is full South African, the product of her mother’s rape by another South African man.
birthplace:
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA, AFRICA
“It’s a very popular place, well known, obviously, but its where my mother wanted to have her child, where she lived, so she was still involved in the South African consulate. She was in Russia before that, which is where she met my father, I assume, and had relations with him, producing me. She didn’t want to live in Russia and continue working when she was pregnant though, so she went back home to give birth and we stayed there until I was about six and a half, I believe.”
hometown:
BOSTON, MA
“I moved here when I was eight, so I’ve mostly known this place as my home.”

history: in-depth:

“Honestly, so much of this is just speculation because my father doesn’t talk about my childhood, about how he came to have me, and I don’t ask. I’m curious, I guess, because aren’t all people curious about how they came to be? I have picked up on a few things from other members of the Bratva. My mother was a South African consulate in Russia, a rather corrupt one, for a while. She started on a dangerous path though, drugs and such. I am not exactly sure of how she met my father, but I believe she turned to the Russian mob somewhere during this point, because she needed them, for drugs, for money, to be kept safe. Maybe she got in debt to them, but it was too late. She met my father, either they were in a relationship or it was just…you know, a physical relationship, but somehow they were together and they had me. My mother managed to get off of drugs for my birth, probably helped by her family when she moved back to South Africa to have me, but there must have been some worry about it, of course. Fortunately, I came out okay and she named me Tale. I never knew that before I met someone who knew her, knew me, when I was that, but I was only seven when my father took me and changed my name. I guess I should remember more of who I was before, but I don’t, not really. I much prefer the name I have now.

She was addicted to drugs and the Bratva didn’t realize how deep she was until she overdosed. Father took care of me then, and brought me to America with him after only a year of living with him. It was a lot for me to handle in that time, but I managed, Father at my side.”

There were more than just the drugs that complicated Marnie’s birth. Her mother was HIV positive at the time of her birth. She wasn’t safe, and she didn’t use precautions, which were very limited at the time anyway, to protect Marnie from being born HIV positive. Her mother didn’t actually get it from the drugs, as Marnie thinks, but from the South African who raped her because he thought having sex with a virgin would cure him of his own AIDS. He didn’t think, didn’t know really, about the risk of giving it to Marnie’s mother, nor the baby she might produce. That’s exactly what happened, just a newborn and already with a death sentence over her head. Still, Marnie’s mother did her best to be a good mother. When she found out that child had HIV, though, she quit her job and moved back to Russia, finding a man she had had relations with while she had been there and trying to convince him that she had given birth to his child, hoping he would be able to take care of her and her special needs that Thandiwe couldn’t provide in South Africa. He could count though and realized that it was impossible for Marnie to be his child, pushing her away. The Russian mob got their claws into her, though, reminding her how they had protected her, wanting to use her, for she was a very pretty woman. She was in debt to the Russian mob and she worked for them in any way she could. It became too much for her, her own HIV developing into AIDS, and she got further and further into debt with the mob, something Marnie doesn’t know about. In the end, her mother was killed by Olexei Mitrofanov because she owed too much money to the mob and they knew she couldn't pay with money, so she paid with her life. She also doesn’t know that Olexei Mitrofanov isn’t actually her father, at least not biologically, and never even met her mother, since her father doesn’t talk about it at all. What his reason for taking Marnie in is unclear, even to those who know the truth of the situation, but he did, renaming her after his own family and he took her with him to America when she was eight, to start a new life under the new Boston mob boss.

“I don’t really remember much about those first years of new life. Father wasn’t the warmest father, I guess you could say, but he took care of me. He made sure I had food, shelter, clothing, but he also taught me discipline. He never let me leave the table unless I finish the food in front of me, he made me do chores even at a young age. I can still remember the smell of wood polish as he would make me polish everything in the house. Sometimes I think he did it just to teach me, rather than actually wanting the house to look that nice, but I don’t really know. I just remember always doing something, always being busy. He punished me, firmly, when I didn’t do as I was told, as I ought to, but never excessively, at least I don’t think it was. I also remember the first time I saw my father hurt someone. I was seven and one of the Bratva came to our house. I can’t remember, I never knew, what it was about, but I was sitting on the stairs when my father slammed the man against the wall. I hadn’t thought he knew I was there, but he turned to me, met my eyes and said ‘Это - то, что случается, когда Вы не делаете, поскольку Вам говорят, моя мышь.’ This is what happens when you don’t do as you’re told, my mouse.’ He never hid the violence from me after that and I am glad. People think that I’m sheltered, and I guess I am, in some ways, but my father never hid the violence from me. He always let me know what he did. It scared me, a little, when I was young, but I think it helped me realize the danger of the world and that all he ever wanted to do was to protect me from it. Now…it sort of excites me, but back then it certainly scared me in some ways.

I was sent to a private school during my elementary years, but when I was ten, Father decided to home school me. I had some trouble in school, at first, because of my accent, and understanding people. Anyway, Father always said that the teachers filled our heads with fluff, with lies and fantasies of what the world was, what it should be. I didn’t have the chance to slack off in school, though, even when I was homeschooled. Father often quizzed me, he gave me twice as much homework as other children that I was in school with. It was hard, school, but I studied hard and passed with all ‘A’s. Father wouldn’t allow anything less from me and whenever I didn’t do something right, he made me do it over and over. He never let me stop until I could get it right every time. Sometimes I felt as if he was preparing me for something more, but I could never tell what. Even now, I am unsure, because all he seems to want if for me to be a good wife and mother, which is what I want too.

I was thirteen when a boy first said that he liked me. I told Father and he found the guy and broke his hand, telling him if he ever came near me again without Father’s permission, he would kill him. I think that scared most of my other suitors away for a while, until I started caring more about what I looked like a few years later. Father never let me wear things that revealed too much skin. All of my dresses went to, at least, my knees, and I never show any cleavage of wear sleeveless shirts. However, I do get away with things that a bit more form fitting, because, Father says, it looks cleaner and more appealing. He wants me to look appealing to people, but he also expects a lot from those that do court me. He wants to make sure I am taken care of. He always says that he has worked hard to make me a good wife and woman for someone and he isn’t going to let just anyone take me. He really has worked hard for this. I’ve cooked and cleaned for him, even some of his crew, all my life. He even had some of the older women teach me other things, like knitting and…some more embarrassing things.

So far, I haven’t put any of them to use, of course. There have been more suitors, more men who try to gain my affection and the permission of my father. Sometimes I think some of them do it just because they want to get my father’s respect, they want a connection to him. He’s a frightening man and so much of the Bratva respect him. Most of them know better than to simply approach me, but some of them have and when I tell him they have to ask my father, that turns some of them away, because they are frightened of him. My life has been pretty tame, though, despite all the things I go through with my father, and what he does for the mob. He’s good at it though and I respect him immensely. He’s the only family I have ever really known, the only person to look after me.”

Marnie has been extremely lucky with her HIV diagnosis. In the twenty years she’s been alive, she has only been sick once, and, after a few medication adjustments, she managed to find a good balance. She tries not to overwork herself, to run herself down, and that’s quite easy, considering her father only expects her to run the house, not go to school or work or anything else. Still, it comes with its emotional effects. She fears getting close to someone, she fears not being able to have proper relations with her husband, she fears not ever getting a suitable husband because of the disease. Her father likes to keep quiet about it, but Marnie doesn’t want to risk anyone else with her disease and so she expects she’ll tell whoever might have the guts and capabilities to get through her defenses and her father’s critical eye. Keeping it a secret, for now, though, is imperative to her.

( AS I LEAD YOU IN A FEARFUL FILE ! )
t o . a . p r e c i p i c e . o f . f a t e

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