Akai / Merlot

Basics
Name: Shadow /Shadou Harenezumi

Alias: Akai (outside of work), Merlot (at work)

Age: Appears mid 30s

Orientation: Bisexual

Appearance
Akai looks mostly like a typical Brandt’s/Long Eared Hedgehog save for his more angular features, top-heavy build, double sets of fangs, and the fact his blood is much darker than a standard Mobian.

Distinguishing Marks
A large scar above his right brow; multiple scars peppered throughout his body; tattoo on his inner left wrist of a barcode; eyes change color (either red, blue, or heterochromia red/blue); right arm is cybernetic up to the shoulder.

Accessories
Changes daily. The only one that stays constant is his tongue ring. Otherwise, he is known to rotate between eyebrow piercings, lip rings, dermal piercings, and earrings.

Attire
Quite the fashionista. His style is somewhere between corporate goth and hipster. Here is a link to his wardrobe.

Disabilities & Disadvantages
Has a mild stutter, has spent years in speech therapy to remedy; his Chaos Abilities are damaged and cause severe negative side-effects such as migraines, nausea, disorientation, hot spots, tinnitus, and tunnel vision. Is also addicted to cocaine and is a functioning alcoholic.

Disorders
Anorexia/Bulimia; Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; TBI -- also has a superiority complex.

Hybrid Qualities
Being half Black Arms means that he  does  have regeneration abilities, but they take much longer to take effect than many of his other alternates. Scars take months to heal. More dire injuries can take years.

Personality & Interests
Akai is not antisocial, but he is not one to go out seeking friendship, either. He flips between being quiet and viciously loud depending on the situation. He is hard-headed, stubborn, and selfish. However, if you are his friend he will defend you fiercely. He  does  have a sense of humor, although it is often at the expense of others.

Likes: Offensive jokes and games, reading, tinkering with mechanics, children [surprisingly], alternative fashion

Dislikes: Humans, sentient AI/robots, junk food/sweets, know-it-alls, his alternates

Music Taste: Industrial, grunge, dubstep

Favorite Food: Strawberries

Beverages of Choice: Green tea, black tea, coffee

(Alcoholic) Beverages of Choice: Vodka, whiskey, dark beer

Favorite Color: Forest green

Quirks
Vulgar; swears often and has what is affectionately deemed as ‘diarrhea of the mouth’. Also particularly enjoys flustering others either with flirting or other forms of teasing.

Languages Spoken
English [primary], Spanish, Japanese, German, Mandarin Chinese, American Sign Language

Chaos Abilities
Chaos Spear, Chaos Control, Chaos Nightmare, Chaos Heal [currently defective], Chaos Blast, Chaos Rift [currently defective]

Combat Style
Avoids combat if possible. If it is unavoidable, he prefers long-distance due to his sporadic Chaos Abilities. He relies on weapons such as pistols, rifles, and long knives. If in close-range combat, he relies mainly on forceful kicks. He has low stamina, so he is not afraid to give low blows and get the job taken care of quickly.

Life Skills
Despite his issues with eating, he is a talented chef [although he does not cook nearly as often as he used to]; excellent at math; quite technologically savvy

History
Akai is rather notorious in the multiverse for his previous unpredictable and often brash behavior. However, those that were able to befriend him or get to his good side he would stay fiercely loyal to. His bad habits would catch up to him and sentenced him to life in prison and caused his wife to leave. Unable to bear the thought of eternity locked up in a cell, he fled. He used what he had left of his Chaos abilities to warp to a different dimension.

He had to start fresh, grieving deeply for his mistakes and effectively losing his family. That was until he met a suave alternate who offered him a job as a male escort at a club. He was almost offended at the suggestion, naturally being hesitant. After a long discussion about everything and more hesitation, he accepted.

He enjoyed the job and eventually started spending more time with one of the other workers, a Sonic alternate by the name of Wildfire. The two became involved in one another rather quickly, seeking each other out when there was a lull in business. Akai had thought this was nothing more than just fun, but it seemed Wildfire had other plans. When he started expressing interest in another individual Wildfire did not take well to it at all. Wildfire had been displeased enough to take matters into his own hands. He would become obsessive and compulsively lie, essentially requiring his attention and for him to wait on him hand and foot.

Akai became trapped by the other's manipulative behavior. And when he tried to break things off with Wildfire he was surprised to be informed that the other had become pregnant and said the child was his. Although he doubted the validity of this claim he stayed to try and support the blue hedgehog -- much to his dismay, the other was, for once, not lying.

Their daughter Cerise was born on December 23, XXXX. He tried to love her but would only grow angry when he looked at her, which was unfair to her. It was then he tried to, again, break things off with Wildfire as he had been completely miserable during the entire three-quarters of a year they'd been 'together'. It, again, did not go well.

It took a massive fight to finally manage to up and leave. Complete chaos split the club apart and Akai opted to take his best friends along with him so they would be able to open their own sanctuary. After many months of hard work Club Pinot Noir was born, bringing with it a level of happiness the black hedgehog had forgotten existed.