Michael/Personality

==Personality==
By the very few who knew him as a child before the Orphanage, it is quite obvious that Michael as an adult is simply how he acted as a child but weathered through harsh life experiences and adapted to survive a life without his greatest inspiration: his mother, Eliza. While there was a point in time in Michael's life where he was bubbly and energetic, notably prior to the loss of his mother, the shock of losing her deeply wounded Michael on a level he would never simply spring back from. Michael retained his curious and analytical persona, with that perhaps being one of the mainstays of his personality, at times enjoying the analysis of things more than their actual execution. As a result, Michael often feels a tad bit out of place due to his studying and research, though psychologically, studying is one of the few things that gives him the closest thing to a semblance of how life once was.
Despite the fact that he enjoys it even without the sentimental attachment, doing it alone instead of alongside his mother often stops him from enjoying it as much as he onced used to. Lacking an intellectual approaching the pedestal his blood family had placed themselves upon to talk to, Michael developed a sense of loneliness only bridged by the happiness he saw when making things for his younger siblings in the Reiss Orphanage to play with, or things they found "cool". 
However, perhaps stemming from the loss of his mother, Michael subconsciously blames himself and his attachments to persons for the struggles, losses or deaths of those close to him; blaming himself for things ranging from the loss of his mother to the destruction of the Reiss Orphanage, despite how self-admittedly irrational such a thing would be. The blame that Michael experiences often leads him to adopt a sense of responsiblity even for situations out of his control, feeling as if he owes at least that to the people he is close to for what "he" puts them through and to protect those he cares about. Michael appears to be fiercely protective of his family as a result, unwilling to allow his own self-condemnation the chance to intensify and will do whatever is in his power to resolve a particular dilemna. This subconscious blame is perhaps a large contributing factor as to why Mike so deeply desires to find his mother, to prove to himself that his blame was wrong from the root cause.
Michael has grown much colder than he previously was, developing a layer of "ice" to seemingly ward off persons from getting too close to his heart for his own comfort and what he subconsciously perceives as their own safety. As a result of this, Michael is often conflicted with a strange dissonance between a desire to pursue a romantic interest and what he describes as an invisible force pulling him back, resulting in an outward, almost awkward expression that would perhaps be otherwise uncharacteristic of the calm, collected nature he otherwise exudes.
While not being unaware of an attraction or feelings, Michael finds the fact that he would involuntarily attempt to impress others quite strange. However, with the resurfacing of his siblings from the Reiss Orphanage, finding Alana in Superbia, and being able to do something to help his brother Gabriel, the reason for which Michael blames himself was for all intents and purposes disproved as he saw with his own two eyes quite literally. As a result, Michael's self-blaming tendencies have been weakened greatly due to having a similarly weakened basis, and so has said force restricting him.
Apart from this, Michael at heart is a compassionate young man with values taught to him by his mother and his own personal values  accumulated simply by living his life, having strong family and life values that he abides to, even if they may not always result in him taking the objectively correct action in terms of morality. These values are what lead him to save the lives of the Glenshaws, refusing to risk the lives of innocent people. While taught to be humble, Michael appear to a bit prideful, especially in conversations related to his intellect, often scoffing as if taking offense to particular statements. After losing his mother, Michael has subconsciously adopted a level of protectiveness and determination alongside the aforementioned responsibility towards his family, having lost his mother already and being unprepared to lose a sibling.