Ivan: A More In-Depth Bio

{{This is written OOC.}}

Ivan Braginsky. Vanya. Russia. Shy, quiet, more than a bit sensitive. But there is more to this seemingly feeble man than appears. 

Ivan really has changed since the fall of the Soviet Union. It took much effort, but now he has successfully become a “better” person. This, however, is not all in good light.Though he now cares for others and is significantly more complacent, this shyness has taken over. He cries often now, and can’t help but stutter. Instead of the once powerful country, Ivan is now weak and timid. 

This comes with rewards, of course. For the most part people like him more, which was really his goal all along. But this makes him an easier target. He gets into trouble more often now. But it’s all worth it to him as long as he has friends.

However.

Sweet, innocent little Ivan has a darker side.

An evil side.

A malicious side that he suppresses with every fiber of his being.

Let’s start from the beginning.

As a child, Ivan was picked on quite a bit by General Winter. He was constantly stalked and forced to tears by the lingering menace of winter. Chills went down his spine at the thought of tears freezing on his face. This omnipresent phantom of cold never left him. 

Paranoia.

Then there was another evil the tiny boy had to worry about.

Mongolia.

Being torn away from Katyusha and Natalya was one of the most traumatizing things he had ever been through. Even today he has awful nightmares about the day he was stolen from his home and put in that dark, cramped room. There he stayed for a very long time until finally, finally he was free… But even then the most he could do was clamber out into the snowy wastelands and sob. He had no strength, no energy, hunger racked his body and the strain of even crawling tortured his nearly nonexistent muscles. The only thing he had left was his ragged gown and tattered scarf.

Abandonment Issues. Hatred. Contempt.

Fast forward to 1905. 

The death of so many, and Ivan could feel each one. Each bullet fired rang in his chest, each knife thrust he could feel stab at his heart. All these years of trying so hard to make things work collapsed in front of him. His card tower had been built so perfectly, but the faulty cards that looked right at first toppled. Person after person, women and children, with every single man killed, Ivan came closer to breaking. Finally his stability broke when the Tsar’s rule came to a close.

OCD. Antidepressant after antidepressant after antidepressant.

The Soviet Union. The Cold War. The Space Race. The Arms Race. The fall of the USSR. And one day, finally, Ivan snapped.

Schizophrenia. Nervous breakdowns. Those undying voices in his head.

One day, finally, Ivan changed. He began to take antipsychotics and other medications to keep his mind under control. And then he became this.

Weak. Emotional. Kind. Sensitive.

Ivan.