Thorn

Introduction.
Thorn (Real Name: Mikhail) is a member of the protagonist gang in the main story of Virtue. Thorn holds an obsession with Spike, pursuing him romantically to a relentless extent. Thorn was invented on January 1st (New Year's Day) 2018. Thorn has seen extensive development throughout his existence, rivaling Spike in the amount of changes made to his character over that time. Thorn's unrelenting obsession with Spike is the focus of his arc, and by proxy his bitter rivalry with Zero.

Thorn has lived a life of poverty, knowing little in regards to materialistic values. He considers himself to be driven by love, and therefor a force of good. Thorn often justifies his actions to himself by convincing himself that he does things to better the life of his friends, despite often acting in direct pursuit of their continued misery. Thorn is radically toxic, using his emotional connections to manipulate people for his own gain, or to tailor them to his own ideals. While Thorn does try to be supportive of his companions, he often gives in to his habit of using their reliance on his support to control them. More often than not, Thorn will find a reason to justify these actions in his mind.

Most of the intrigue in Thorn's character is born of changes made throughout 2019-2020. Before this time, his character served little purpose outside of being a foil for Spike. Thorn's intelligence has developed differently to Zero, who actively rivals his orchestration of the dynamics between the characters of the story. Unlike Zero, who harbors a deeply buried guilt for his fall from grace, Thorn convinces himself he is right in doing as he does.

Pre-Vunk:
Thorn is a single child, born to impoverished parents living in poor conditions even by Virtue standards. Throughout his childhood, Thorn was adored and cherished by his parents. Though they lacked the money to spoil him with gifts and wants, Thorn's parents would spend what little money they made on assuring he was educated and living comfortably. Thorn's relationship with his parents is something of an abnormality when compared to the other members of the Virtue cast, but their influence has been harmful in it's own right, nonetheless. Thorn's parents consider him to be a blessing, naming him  'Mikhail' meaning  'A gift from God'. This instilled a sense of deep-rooted self-righteousness in Thorn. Even in childhood, he would convince himself that he was correct to act selfishly - if there was a superficial argument to be made that it benefited someone else.

Once Thorn began attending High School, he would first encounter Spike. Thorn was immediately smitten by Spike, but he could tell that there was something deeply wrong with him. As Thorn learned of Spike's misfortune and hurt, his crush would begin to intensify. Spike however, had been sweet on Zero for some time. Thorn became intensely jealous of Zero for this, vilifying him within his own mind. Throughout their relationship, Thorn's attraction to Spike would only worsen, until he would consider no-one else to be comparable. Thorn had been raised on ideas of true love, and of miracles. Thorn considers a future with Spike as if it were meant to be. Thorn would become close friends with Muppet, and the two would spend much of their time together. While Thorn was friends with Snips and Ace, he never became as close to them as he is to Muppet and Spike. Thorn would rarely speak to Zero, outside of passive-aggressive comments. (*By now, everyone is of-age.) When Spike suggested the group of friends enter V-Punk culture, Thorn was quite excited to do so. Primarily, to impress Spike. (And to some extent, the others.) Thorn would choose his alias because of it's likeness to Spike's. Similarly, he would often dress quite alike also.

 

Prior Events:
Soon after taking on their aliases and taking to the streets as V-punks, Thorn's menace for Zero would worsen. In expression of his bitter jealousy, Thorn would take to degrading him. He would do this both in, and out of Spike's presence, to avert Spike's attention from his partner. And to wear down Zero's confidence, a factor which Spike admired deeply. When Spike and Zero's relationship fell apart, Thorn seized his opportunity. Taking advantage of Spike in his emotional state, Thorn would coerce his obsession into spending a night with him. And, of course, they would share a bed. After this, Thorn would boast his accomplishment to his friends. This would alert Zero to what had happened, shortly before Thorn would gloat privately to Zero. It had been Thorn's intent to destroy Zero's chances of mending his relationship, but what happened next was a pleasant surprise. After Zero departed from their gang, Thorn would feign remorse for what had happened. Ace would see through Thorn's deception however, though he would keep to himself about it.

With Zero out of the picture, Thorn would begin pursuing a relationship with Spike more openly. Though Spike would reject his romantic advances time and time again, Thorn would remain physically involved with his obsession. In Spike's windows of vulnerability, Thorn would press for Spike to confide in him. Having drifted from Snips after his break-up with Zero, Spike would become dependent on emotional support from Thorn. Wary of Ace's ambitions to leave the city, Thorn would begin using his influence over Spike's psyche to keep him from improving his mental health enough that he might move on.

Main Events:
With the main story-line starting on the disappearance of Domino, Thorn would be conflicted on whether he should testify against Spike's involvement. If Spike's record were to show his potential involvement in a missing person's case, it would be nearly impossible for him to escape Virtue. Though, such a move risked Spike finding out and cutting ties with Thorn. Such a turn of events would be mortifying for Thorn, despite believing that he truly had Spike's best interest in mind. Thorn does not truly suspect that Spike may be involved in the disappearance however, as he keeps a close enough eye on him to know of any such thing. After Spike is attacked by Cobra and Zero, Thorn begins to plot a similar surprise encounter for Zero. Both to remind Zero of the torment he had put him through, and to impress Spike.

Ace:
Ace has never been very close to Thorn, and after Zero's departure he never wanted to be, either. Ace distrusts Thorn, and is close to realizing the extent of his influence over Spike and the others. Thorn considers Ace to be his friend, but also an issue to be addressed. Thorn resents Ace for his intent to leave Virtue with Spike in-hand. Though the two spend much time together when they are with their gang, they do not hang out together separately.


 * (SPOILER) Ace is planning to confront Thorn about his influence over Spike. In such a situation, Thorn would probably play dumb.This should not be considered Canon, as this is only a potential occurrence in the story. Thusly, it is subject to change.

Zero:
Thorn was jealous of Zero's relationship with Spike prior to it's ending. Thorn still resents Zero for being Spike's "first", considering the title to have been his by right. Because of Zero's past involvement with Spike, Thorn actively tries to erase any of his involvement in their lives. This is difficult, given Zero's aggressive aspirations. Thorn considers Zero to be someone that he must always overcome. It is because of this that Thorn began demeaning Zero, particularly for his physical appearance. While this behavior is undeniably revolting, Thorn considers it to be a matter of proving his worth to Spike. Though he would not admit it, Thorn does enjoy belittling Zero.


 * (SPOILER) Further into the story, Zero is caught off guard by Thorn, and harshly beaten. While Thorn tells the others this was done to get back at him for hurting Spike, Zero is told by Thorn that it was a reminder of his place beneath him. Thorn exclaims that Zero will never truly be adored as he is, which only furthers Zero's self-hatred. This should not be considered Canon, as this is only a potential occurrence in the story. Thusly, it is subject to change.

Spike:
You might say Thorn's obsession with Spike is born of a 'fix him' mentality. Thorn considers himself very lucky have been born into a loving family, and that Spike was robbed of this by his parents. Because of this, Thorn wants to give Spike the love that he should have had from the beginning. He wants to take away all of his misery, to be replaced with thoughts of Thorn. Years of spending so much time with Spike has birthed a reliance on him for validation and comfort, received through Spike's praise and appreciation. Spike considers Thorn to be his best friend, and Thorn abuses that trust by using it to control Spike's outlook on their lives. Thorn is also intensely physically attracted to Spike, and he finds his violent behavior very appealing. Spike's consistent rejection of Thorn hurts him intensely, despite his efforts to convince himself that they are a couple, without the label. When Spike 'sleeps around', Thorn becomes intensely jealous, typically crying hysterically.


 * Thorn has carved Spike's name into his own wrist.

Muppet:
Thorn and Muppet have been close since they became friends in High School, and have always confided in one another privately. They share everything, from private messages to deep secrets. Thorn values Muppet's emotional side, whereas most are dismissive of his expression. Thorn and Muppet mutually enjoy Visual Art and Writing. Thorn pretends to be fond of Muppet's poetry to encourage him, but he honestly believes that it is quite droll. The two relate over their desire for affection from Spike and Snips respectively, though Muppet's affection for Snips is by no means as intense as Thorn's obsession. To vent their frustration with the situation, Thorn and Muppet often sleep together, casually. Neither holds intimate attraction for the other, so they mostly do this out of boredom. While Thorn adores Muppet and thinks the most of him, he cannot help but to play to his emotions at times. Occasionally, Thorn will demean Muppet to boost his own confidence. This has nurtured jealous in Muppet, who has been convinced he is not nearly as desirable as Thorn.


 * (SPOILER) Eventually, Muppet casually sleeps with Spike after a night of good old-fashioned vandalism. When Muppet informs Thorn of this, Thorn reacts hysterically. Thorn curses Muppet and demeans him, insisting that he is not 'good enough' to sleep with Spike, and that he doesn't realize what he is. Muppet had thought Thorn would not mind, given the nature of the messages Thorn forwards to Muppet from his conversations with Spike. And that Thorn himself sleeps with both Spike and Muppet. Thorn's lashing out breaks Muppet's heart, and the two part ways.This should not be considered Canon, as this is only a potential occurrence in the story. Thusly, it is subject to change.

Chance:
Thorn feels guilty for his treatment of Chance during their time in High School together, regretting that they had not become friends. While Thorn was happy to join his friends in belittling Chance at the time, seeing him alongside Zero puts his confidence issues into perspective. Thorn has considered attempting to dissuade him from joining Zero on his psychotic exploits.

Snips:
While Thorn and Snips are not close, Thorn often taunts Snips for his attention. While Snips does his best to ignore Thorn's teasing, it has instilled a strong physical desire. Much to the dismay of Muppet, who is often the one to hear Snips lamenting Thorn's preference for Spike. Ace does his best to prevent Snips from becoming too bent on pursuing Thorn, given his suspicions.


 * (SPOILER) Eventually, Snips tries to force himself upon Thorn. But without getting very far, he stops himself. It is in this moment that Snips realizes how far he has fallen from who he once was, and decides to depart from the gang. This should not be considered Canon, as this is only a potential occurrence in the story. Thusly, it is subject to change.

Cobra:
Thorn detests Cobra for his treatment of Spike. While he does not see beyond Cobra's facade of confidence, he suspects there is some fatal flaw that Zero is taking advantage of, as he is with Raze and Chance. Thorn believes that Cobra is a coward, having heard how he went about attacking Spike.

Raze:
Thorn was not acquainted with Raze, prior to his joining into Zero's gang. After learning what he had experienced in high school, Thorn began to pity Raze. After learning of his freakish obsession with Muppet however, Thorn has become less empathetic towards him. The two have yet to form any sort of relationship, outside of mutual distrust born of their allegiances.

Design and Development.
Thorn's very first appearance took the form of a recolored drawing of Spike, as he was initially a version of the same character, from another dimension. When the character was to be realized as something fuller, Thorn's design was altered to be distinguishable from Spike. Thorn's hair has always been curly, since then. The pattern of gloves and fishnets was also changed to differ from Spike's, as well as the design of his vest-hoodie. When Thorn's character began to shift into the nuttier, obsessed Thorn of today, his eyes were made wider. Since then, the eerily wide stare has been a staple of his design. Thorn was also made shorter than Spike, and considerably more pear-shaped. Now that Thorn has developed into a character with more nuance than 'like spike', his design has deviated further from the initial clone-look.

Trivia.

 * The very earliest version of Thorn was a counter-part of Spike from a dimension within a mirror. This version of Thorn is comparable to Spike's modern version, as he was devoid of the bubbliness seen in the Thorn of today. Mirror-verse Thorn was tortured by Spike through testing cheap make-up on him. This version of Thorn was accompanied by a rather talkative mirror of Ace, known as Star. This concept has yet to reappear in any shape or form.
 * Thorn has been featured on the Front Page of Newgrounds.com!
 * Because of the similar design, Thorn is often jokingly referred to as 'Blue Spike'. This is unfortunate, given the association with certain deplorable internet figures of the same name.
 * It is a running joke that Thorn grows up to become Songbird, formerly known as Miserio.
 * Thorn's natural hair-color is a warm blonde.
 * Previously, Thorn was canonically a black-belt in Judo.
 * Thorn is the only other member of the gang who speaks English, apart from Ace.
 * At some point in his development, before the City of Virtue was conceived, Thorn was a circus clown, and acrobat. This is of course, no longer canon.
 * It used to be a running joke that Thorn was close friends with Arthas, from World of Warcraft.