RICK KOSTROV
RICHARD ROSTYANOVICH KAPRALOV | BIG GUY | KYRAN | CAPTAIN
Rick Kostrov, born Kapralov, was a notorious vigilante that occupied criminal circles of Grimport, New Rosea, ever since the early 1970s. An ex-deputy with a background in criminal psychology, he was a talented strategist driven by his own set of morals and an obsessive need for control. A goofy suburb dad and a secretive writer by day, Rick spent several decades living a double life his past forced him into that would end in terrible tragedy, costing him his mental and physical health.
OVERVIEW:
Rick was born in Krasnogorod, USSR, January 19th of the year 1936, to a Russian father Rostya Ruslanovich Kapralov and a British mother Donna Kapralova (born Bennet). Growing up witnessing continuous domestic abuse, Rick was only nine when his mother fled the country, and the torment she had faced quickly shifted onto him. Put through years of childhood torment, Rick's efforts to get help proved fruitless, often only worsening his horrific living conditions. At the age of fourteen, Rick met Kendle, a man offering him a sum of money to partake in illegal underground fights. Backed into a corner by his poor living conditions and poverty, Rick was unable to refuse the offer, unknowingly becoming a part of a secret crime network he would call The Underground.
Rick spent the several years as Kendle's assailant-for-hire, working as his prized fighter, but Kendle saw a bigger potential in him. Numerous missions proved to Kendle that Rick was a good strategist, a talent Kendle wanted to use in order to climb the ladder of The Underground hierarchy. As he started being involved in more and more vicious training, Rick began realizing there was something very wrong with the system he had gotten involved with, and escaped to America. Knowing his life out in the world may be limited, Rick settled in Grimport, a city that was supposed to be his safe haven, yet became his new, self-made prison.
All alone in the world, Rick tried to right his wrongs and joined the New Rosea police department, hoping he would find a way to help the public and other people in unfortunate situations like his own once was. He found out soon enough, however, that the state of New Rosea was largely corrupt, and began focusing his efforts on a fight against his superiors, as well as bettering the safety of the public in a chaotic Grimport borough. There, he would also meet Loretta, with whom he struck a deep friendship. Coming from a family of people who had essentially made Grimport what it was, Loretta introduced Rick to his new life, providing him companionship and comfort he had never seen before. Having realized Loretta was accepting of his entire identity, they both entered a queerplatonic relationship. Eventually deciding on having a child, Maggie, for a brief moment in time, Rick felt like he had escaped the terrors of his troubled past.
A tragic event would wreck Rick's young family and force him right back into the paranoid mindset he grew up in. Facing a betrayal from the side of the headquarters who let the tragedy go unpunished as a way to stifle Rick's constant rebellion and ruin his good public image, Rick would find himself dealing with his grief by becoming increasingly vengeful. The inability to deal with the loss made him turn to his old habits, and from a prolific, beloved deputy, he turned into a man dedicated to overthrowing the very department he was working for. He was slowly but surely becoming a notorious local vigilante, one largely untouchable after he won his defamation case against his superiors and developed deep connections in the crime life of the outskirts of Grimport, known as Dolour. His decision to stray away from his path and use law as a tool to clean up the system wouldn't go unnoticed, and it would soon become what led many ghosts from his past right back into his life.
As he slowly sunk deeper and deeper into depression, Rick stumbled upon an injured amnesiac, a man he would only know by his initials, FJ, for a very long time. Deciding to offer him his help at uncovering his identity, Rick would find himself growing closer and closer to the man, finding comfort and companionship in him when the betrayal he had faced forced him to push everyone else away, and FJ seemed to feel the same way about him. The two would start a business together, one involving Rick's passion for writing, yet as his family expanded and his private life seemed to thrive, his crime life was starting to become a problem he had a terrible issue hiding.
Rick seemed to be a perfectly fine man from his family's perspective, at least for a while. Always finding a way to make troubles seem less painful to others, he was an odd beast, goofy and sarcastic, often in good spirits. He was funny and gentle, yet that wasn't the image any outsider had of him. No amount of safety and love seemed to cure Rick's paranoid behavior. After suffering several injuries that left him disabled and in need of a walking aid, he began to sink deeper into addictions, struggling to keep his crime life a secret from his family, who were none the wiser. His vision of reality began to distort as the stress slowly destroyed him, and while he desperately sought comfort in danger and obsessive need for control, he was beginning to feel estranged from his own mind and body. The reality as he knew it, for the most part, didn't exist, or so he believed. He was self-aware enough to understand he was struggling, but his troubling life made him incapable of stepping away. Growing more and more hungry for control he lacked within his own mind, he began feeling comfort in imminent danger and fear others had of him, believing that was the only way to keep his family, and himself, safe from threats only he was aware of. He would soon realize, however, that there was more to his paranoia than any of his outlandish beliefs could have prepared him for.
His secret life couldn't stay hidden forever, and Rick's choices would put all of his relationships, and his own life, on the line, forcing him to make impossible, life-altering decisions and face the world with a completely corrupted vision of reality.
APPEARANCE:
Rick was a seven-foot tall (213 cm) man of a bulky body structure, usually recognized by the burn across his right eye he had ever since early childhood. Often perceived as much older than he was, Rick's extensive alcohol abuse, chronic insomnia and declining health contributed to his dark, sunken eyes and seemingly withered face. His eyes were sapphire blue, while his shoulder-length coal-black hair began graying in his early thirties, mostly due to stress. His hands were rarely seen without black gloves he mainly wore to hide the fighting scars on his knuckles left from his time in The Underground. He never took off his wedding ring, but wore it on his middle finger, and ever since his early forties, he regularly wore a tie-clip symbolizing his bond with FJ. Rick walked incredibly quietly, moving with precision and grace, but was rarely seen without his cane. He was shot during the early 1970s, which left him disabled, before the road accident scarred the large portion of the left side of his face. Unable to step on his right leg without assistance ever since, Rick walked with a significant limp, struggling with chronic pain, and would eventually undergo an amputation that left him as a below-the-knee amputee. His mannerisms were, nonetheless, very theatrical in nature, often sassy and exaggerated, and he made up for his lack of mobility in many creative ways.
PERSONALITY:
Rick's personality shifted significantly throughout his life. Starting off as a very quiet, shy child, he was an introvert and kept to himself, enjoying writing much more than he enjoyed speaking to other people. He was very gentle, empathetic, and extremely attentive, far more emotional and sentimental than his outwardly appearance suggested. He was intelligent and introspective, always fascinated by psychology and people's behavior. Over the years, he became much louder and seemingly harsh, often using his voice and a pompous attitude to keep people from perceiving him as an easy target. He was seen as abrupt in the outskirts, someone who could turn from a friendly face into a ruthless assailant within seconds. It was an act Rick felt he had to put up to keep himself and his loved ones safe, eventually losing himself in it. He played up his dramatic, flamboyant, villainous persona, typically just to amuse himself. Sassy and rebellious, Rick was sometimes witty and very sarcastic, enjoying little squabbles and petty fights a bit too much. Very chaotic, especially past his fifties, he was unpredictable and very drawn to the absurd, finding humor in nearly everything he could and surviving mainly out of humorous spite. Because his trauma progressively became so significant, he began treating life as a movie, developing a slight invincibility complex and dissociating from everything he's been through. It left him quite prone to putting himself in danger, insured he can never be killed. He was stubborn when it comes to his own wellbeing, but very open to new ideas, and loved annoying judgmental people. He was deeply loving, accepting and loyal once his trust was earned, often a good shoulder to cry on and a person his loved ones usually sought out for comfort. Rick was also a liar, one that had lengthy reasons behind his deceit, but a liar nonetheless. He snapped easily when backed into a corner and wasn't a stranger to manipulation. He could be quite mean if he wanted to be, and was well known to have deep, unresolved issues that made him much more irrational than he could be for the line of work he had chosen for himself.
RELATIONS:
Loretta (late wife), FJ (partner), Maggie (biological daughter), Jake (adopted son), Bella (half-sister), Rostya (father), Donna (mother), Lisa (best friend), Nicky (niece), Justus (Partner in crime, friend), Risha (therapist), Kendle (ex-boss), Ryan (canine buddy), Cee (grandchild), Mike (Maggie's partner), Misha (Partner in crime), Aaron (associate), Danny (replacement deputy), Rogers (police superior), Walder (doctor), Collins (neighbor), Brooks (neighbor), Amelia (mother-in-law)
STATUS:
Asexual (panromantic), widower (Loretta), in a committed queerplatonic relationship (FJ)
SERIES:
The Kostrov Traces (I, II, III), The Crisis Logbook (All), The Fiasco Elite (I, II, III)
© 2024 by Fosc X - M.M.Vulić