✚ MASSIMO KOVALCHIK ✚

massimo kovalchik is a converted catholic living in hartford, connecticut. he struggled with heroin addiction for the better part of his life, from age 15 to 29, when he had what he calls a "revelation" from god. after that, massimo worked for two years to get sober, including attending recovery programs at his local church, which got him involved with the community and strengthened his christian faith. he took up a job as a street sweeper, as well as occasionally tending to the maintenance of the church.

massimo's life as a born again christian was, however, boring. despite his dedication to the christian faith, the community accepted him wiht strong reluctance and he was left aside as much as possible. though he tried to resist the temptation to fall back into his old habits, per the bible's teachings, eventually his urges got the better of him. at 31 he began seeing a male prostitute called faunre, who also happened to be addicted to heroin. right in their first encounter, massimo relapsed. from then on, he would see faunre again and again to shoot up or for increasingly duller sex until massimo once again lost his sex drive. at this point, he and faunre began dating.

massimo has since tried to quit multiple times, and all attempts have failed thus far, only increasing his neurosis without producing any results. he is especially anxious about losing faunre, as he has convinced himself he needs to save him, both spiritually and from addiction without realizing faunre is only dragging him down and worsening his situation. massimo has shut himself out of the church and the surrounding community, which gladly let him go; his health has worsened, mentally and physically and he is barely holding his job. he is in denial about all of those things and refuses to accept the reality that he is spiraling and that he cannot save faunre.

massimo is, overall, a very passive and meek person. he is rarely violent and never aggressive without provocation. he is socially inept and always assumes good faith, even when that clearly isn't the case. he is very good at convincing himself things are okay when they are not. he is also extremely stubborn.