Milla Vodello

The obvious characterization of Milla is that she's "the opposite of Sasha" -- that's how buddy comedies work. Except I don't think she really is, or at least not in the way you'd expect. Both Milla and Sasha know that a mission succeeds or fails based on preparation, but Milla's way of preparing is very different from Sasha's.

Milla didn't become a dancer overnight, after all. Dancing is a discipline, and like any discipline or craft, you master it through the long, slow process of mastering fundamentals until you're able to perfectly execute them in any combination. I see it when I watch the grandmaster of my drum group toss off a series of improvised phrases, and his point is made when he asks us to do the same thing. Improvisation is really hard, and it can only be done well when you know the basics backwards and forwards.

So Milla has, in a way, spent her whole career as a Psychonaut preparing for each mission. Just because she's good on her feet doesn't mean she's not doing drills and practicing constantly during the off-hours, trying to improve just a little more each time. With reflexes as honed as they are through years of training, she's able to roll with whatever a mission throws at her without missing a beat, and gracefully dance through tight situations.

Psychonauts, Sasha Nein, Milla Vodello & Razputin ©2005 Double Fine Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Everything else is mine or Nich's, so just stop already.