- Full Name: Dustin Garrett Malitowski
- Gender: Male
- Age: 29
- Height: 6'0" (~6'2" with his fauxhawk)
- Theme Song: The Chosen Song will come to me one day...
- Occupation: Dance Instructor
- Faction: Funk Mafia
History[]
Frustrated and overshadowed by his brother's success and fame, Mitchell Malitowski, along with his wife Yulia and only child Dustin, accepted one of the first invitations to participate in the Step City experiment. There they set up a ballroom dance studio "Starlight", hoping that the clientel would recognize their name and connect them to his brother. They ended up moderately successful. All the while, they would teach their child everything they knew about ballroom, latin, and swing dancing.
Then V-day happened. Bestowed with brand-new abilities, Mitchell and Yulia suddenly decided that they should be much more successful than they were. The studio needed a new makeover, a new attitude. So they took advantage of their newfound powers (Mitchell can control wind, Yulia can make and control fire) and took it to the dance floor, performing showcase after showcase to advertise their studio. They choreographed and practiced various routines to put on display, hosting several performances at their studio, now renamed "Elements!" in lieu of their powers. Their tango was especially popular, combing the power and passion of the dance with rousing visuals of swirling fire in the air that highlighted every move and step. Needless to say, their performances were a rousing success, drawing many students to their studio, elevating their reputation as one of the best ballroom dance studios on the island.
In the interest of their fame and success, they were fierce supporters of the Don, even before Don Bonita took full power. While they participated in the Dance War of 99, the did so minimally due to old age at that point. For now their way of life was protected, but they continue to be loyal to the Don in case their standard of living becomes jepordized again...
Personality[]
While Dustin's parents have sharp personalities (his mother especially so), Dustin himself is a very level-headed, calm, and laid-back individual. He goes through life always on the lookout for a good time. While he is devoted to the Mafia, that mindset was mostly due to his parent's upbringing. Deep down he doesn't let some silly concept like faction get in the way of his desire to dance with new and interesting people. He is always willing to get to know anyone and give them a chance, provided that the other party does not want to harm or kill him.
Unfortunately this somewhat rubs his parents the wrong way, but he doesn't let that bother him. His parent's don't find it as unbearable as his choice in hair style anyway, nor has it gotten him into any trouble so far. In the meantime, he'll just keep doing what he does best: dance!
Dance \ Vibe style[]
As mentioned before, he is well-trained by his parents in all ballroom, latin, and swing dances. Along that time, he has discoved a particular penchant for the swing and club dances, especially West Coast Swing. It is the seamlessnes and amorphous qualilty of the dance that really drew him in, allowing him to truly express himself however he wanted with a partner. He is also familiar with a wide variety of other dances outside of partner dances, such as hip-hop and ballet, but mostly so he can incorporate some of their moves into his WC Swing and not necessarily to a point of proficiency.
A word of warning: don't let his calm and even personality decieve you. Just like his parents, he is a powerful stepper. His vibe power is related to his innate intuition in partner dancing, having to do with "partner connection", a dance concept and technique vital for social dancing with someone you are unfamiliar with, especially in swing. He uses his vibe to connect with another person's vibe, just like how one would connect with their parter before partner dancing. Once he establishes a connection with another person--and usually he can do so quickly without any trouble--he can "feel" what the other person is doing, and thus allowing him to react accordingly the other person's vibe. And with this person, be it partner or enemy, he can amplify, redirect, or even mimic the other person's vibe attribute.
He can also use his connecting power just to gauge the strength or character of someone's vibe. When he is in stealth mode, so to speak, the other person will most likely not feel his vibe. However, when he is strongly connected to someone, the person he is connected to may feel a slight resistance in their vibe. This allows him to feel any vibe usage from the other person. And sometimes, when he feels the need to, he would let his vibe out freely, allowing him to be a vibe detector of sorts. In this case, he can sense trouble in vibe form within a specific range. That doesn't mean he can necesssarily react accordingly, depending on what the vibe attribute is. Usually he doesn't do this since using his vibe this way takes quite a bit energy.
The dance concept of "backleading" is also possible with Dustin's vibe, but he has yet to discover exactly how he can muster enough vibe power or control to be able to safely use this ability...
His vibe abilities are incredibly useful and powerful, but it has some limitations:
- Because his vibe ability requires others to use their vibe, he has no offensive vibe capabilities by himself.
- Since his vibe requires him to be connected, it follows all the rules of connection just like in partner dancing; for example, if he has a bad connection (usually with someone that can't control their own vibe), he won't be able to accurately read the other vibe attribute, or if someone pulls a fast one, he most likely won't be able to react in time.
- There are a few vibe attributes that he just simply cannot amplify, redirect, or mimic. (static, global, or unconscious attributes, respectively, for example.)
- He can only effectively connect with one person at a time. He can connect to two, but it's difficult to process that much information, and three connections and above are basically impossible.
Miscellaneous Information[]
- His initials, "DM", sometimes earn him the nickname "Dance Master" due to his impressive skill and innate ability in WC swing. Some even take it further: his full initials, "DGM" has also been extended to "Dance Grand Master". He takes these titles as good fun though and doesn't use them seriously, or even mention them on his own.
- He teaches several classes at his parents' studio, including beginning ballroom and latin, but teaches all levels of swing there. He is also available for one-on-one lessons for those that can benefit from private, personalized instruction.
- The only visible sign of him using his vibe is that his eyes start to glow purple-white. The better and/or stronger the connection, the brighter it glows. Other than that it is invisible.
- Back when his parents performed, Dustin would sometimes stand by the side and help out with his parents' vibe attributes, given that he can amplify and redirect vibe abilities. He got a lot of practice over controlling and using his vibe in this role. It also made it easier on his parents, not having to focus too much on their vibe and more on their true passion, dance. Nowadays his parents perform much less frequently, but it is always a treat when they do.
- He has colored hair gel of all the colors of the rainbow, and he enjoys highlighting his fauxhawk with various colors depending on the occasion.