Tatyana Makarova
Tatyana Makarova is a Ventrue living in Chicago with her lover and sire Amelia Locke.
Biography
| “ | Don’t worry about what is below you, worry about what is above and beyond, that is where you should be looking. | ” |
| — Tatyana Makarova | ||
Mortal Days
Tatyana never knew she would spend her 20s in the military. Her enrollment came as a surprise to her, just as the war did. She grew up on a remote farm on the outer edges of Siberia, where she lived a simple and predetermined life with her five sisters. Tatyana was the most stubborn of her sisters, and used to run away from her chores to catch dragonflies in the field and chase doves in the yard of the farm. Her desire for something more, something else than living and dying in the same place, expressed itself through her fascination of flying beings. Everything from birds to the rare airplane passing by once in a while caught her full attention.
When the Second World War broke out, she saw her chance to escape her rural existence. She enrolled as a volunteer in the Russian military on her sixteenth birthday. It took little time for her to become one of the first female aviators in Russia, a part of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment.
Tatyana never felt comfortable with the propagandist side of her military role. She ducked out of interviews, insulted journalists, and avoided fame for many decades after her stunning career in flight. She focused on, and some would even say was largely in love with, her machine. It took her until the 1980s, well after the war’s conclusion to finally meet a reporter who was interested not just in the Soviet message, but the true story of the Night Witches. This reporter was Amelia Locke, working for an American paper. Being in the Russian military as a woman was often lonely, and she was fascinated by other women brave enough to break their societal mold. This interview laid the foundation for the relationship between Tatyana and Amelia.
Tatyana and Amelia fell deeply in love during the interview and created a rare bond of trust and care. Their age difference, respective nationalities, and political allegiances didn’t matter. All there was, was them. The world could be in flames for all they cared. When the Cold War ended, Tatyana left Russia with Amelia and returned to the journalist’s home city of Chicago.
Kindred Nights
Tatyana felt strange and alone in an American city. The only life she’d ever known was in Russia, either as part of the military complex or in the expanse of Siberia. The sheer volume of people, distractions, excess, and waste in Chicago appalled and terrified her. When Amelia returned to their rented house one night, after meeting with her boss at the newspaper, Tatyana accepted her lover’s Embrace with confusion and fear. She had no idea what was going on, and to this night is still unsure whether she consented.
Acclimating to existence as a vampire has been hard for Tatyana. No longer can she feel the sun on her face as she soars through the clouds, and compounding her difficulties are her struggles with the English language — which only after two decades in the United States has she learned to write. She loves Amelia dearly, but where once Tatyana was a fierce, proud woman, she is now shy and reclusive. She wants to return home, but knows deep down that nothing waits for her in Russia.
Surprising to Tatyana is her attachment to communist ideals. She never cared for the politics of her motherland when she lived there, but the startling disparity in wealth and power between mortals and Kindred alike, shocks her. She loathes the concept of a Prince one cannot contest, finds the Anarch attempts at revolution petty and childish, and identifies more and more with her struggles as a young woman in a male-dominated world.
Tatyana rarely leaves Amelia’s side in public, but in private, she broods and plans. She’s growing tired of her role as a recluse, limited to advising Amelia on her journalistic subjects. She wants to help fledglings who do not understand the cruel world of which they’re a part. She wants to enact actual change in this domain of Chicago. Most importantly, she wants to take to the skies again, and is contemplating how feasible a private night flight company might be, and how valuable such a resource could become for Kindred interested in smuggling goods and themselves to other domains with private airfields.
Appearance
Tatyana always looks like she’s just stepped out from a cockpit or from underneath an engine. Her tangled brown hair, a few light burn scars on her slender face, and weary eyes bely an acute mind and resilient nature. She wears aviator jackets and combat boots, as well as jeans or army cargo pants. She is a stubby woman with broad shoulders, and it is clear she does not care much for how she carries herself.
When she uses Blush of Life, Tatyana’s eyes become alive, she radiates warmth and compassion, and naturally puts others at ease. Without it, she appears cold and aloof.
Character Sheet
Tatyana Makarova
Sire: Amelia Locke
Embraced: 1992 (Born 1924)
Ambition: To take to the skies at least once more.
Convictions: Always help women in need.
Touchstones: Nimarra — a fellow migrant and loyal worker at the family shelter.
Humanity: 6
Generation: 10th
Blood Potency: 2
Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 4, Stamina 4; Charisma 1, Manipulation 2, Composure 4; Intelligence 4, Wits 3, Resolve 4
Secondary Attributes: Health 7, Willpower 8
Skills: Athletics 2, Brawl 1, Craft 3, Drive (Light Aircraft) 5, Firearms 3, Melee 1, Stealth 3, Survival (Industrial) 3; Intimidation 2, Leadership 2, Subterfuge 1; Awareness 3, Finance 1, Investigation 1, Politics (Communism) 3, Science 3, Technology 4
Disciplines: Dominate 1, Fortitude 4
References
- VTM: The Chicago Folios, p. 153-155
