Post by Ivan Braginsky on Jun 16, 2014 8:56:40 GMT -8
Ladies and gentlemen and those otherwise concerned, tonight we would like to proudly present our debut act...
IVAN
VASILYEVICH
BRAGINSKY
VASILYEVICH
BRAGINSKY
Ivan Ivanovich
Prologue
Russia | Russian |
28 | Male |
Homosexual | Screenwriter and Director of Horrors |
3 years as a director & screenwriter 12 years as a general writer |
Act 1
Silvery blond | Lavender |
Pale | 6'4" |
Tall, burly, 'big-boned'
Big-boned is just a cover-up. Ivan is mostly pudgy at his stomach and thighs...
...and his cheeks. His face is rounded and not quite fitting for his age. One might call it a baby face.
He has a big nose - it's just longer and pointier than average.
He's broad at the shoulders.
The muscles in his arms are most defined, but he isn't exceedingly muscular anywhere else. His overall size states the strength that he is able to exert.
There are a few long and faded scars on both sides of his neck, always hidden underneath his scarves in public. He refuses to discuss them.
...and his cheeks. His face is rounded and not quite fitting for his age. One might call it a baby face.
He has a big nose - it's just longer and pointier than average.
He's broad at the shoulders.
The muscles in his arms are most defined, but he isn't exceedingly muscular anywhere else. His overall size states the strength that he is able to exert.
There are a few long and faded scars on both sides of his neck, always hidden underneath his scarves in public. He refuses to discuss them.
Act 2
Personality
Ivan appears to wear a mask of one solid expression: content. And a mask is exactly what it is – a thin sheet of false happiness made to hide what all lies underneath. His smiles are usually forced or not at all what they seem to be. The fact that Ivan is always smiling is not a sign of everyday well being, nor does it ever properly convey what’s going through his head. Not only does this make him unpredictable, but it also contributes to his overall unsettling aura – and because his smile is intended to come off as positive and friendly, he can’t ever understand why he’s thought out to be frightening or strange. Even if he can’t commit to feeling it himself, he hopes to spread a sense of warmth and happiness for others to pick up on, as well as lead them to believe that there aren’t any reasons to worry about him.That doesn’t go to say that his behaviors aren’t odd, but he just doesn’t realize it himself. He is generally quiet at first, either lurking somewhere in the background or closely watching those around him with absorbed fascination. He seems to have little boundaries regarding personal space, and it comforts him to be in close proximity of people (while taking minimum notice of how uncomfortable they might be). His general actions usually betray what he’s actually feeling, instead acting upon the optimism that he likes to omit. While he is capable of sensing the atmosphere of any given room, he often doesn’t know how to properly react to it – even at the worst of times will he try to lighten the mood with his own positivity. He does like to try and make everyone smile, after all, even if his advances are based on impulse.
By the time he’s made his first impression, it’s evident that some things about him are off. Ivan’s youth fell quite short of a proper childhood, leading him into a life of little nourishment without any positive experiences to look back on. His childish behavior through adulthood is his way of obtaining the childhood that he never had, though in reality it’s something he can’t quite control either way. He most often speaks in a light voice, laced with a singsong tone and boyish laughter. He has difficulty seeing right from wrong, and so long as he isn’t scolded or punished for his actions, he’ll continue to do things his own way under the impression that there won’t be any consequences. Even if someone does happen to reprimand him, there’s the possibility that he’ll be stubborn and choose not to listen. His perspective on things is different, wherein things that seem odd to others will feel completely normal to him.
He has a peculiar style of speech when talking. He prefers to stay away from profanity, substituting himself with a cleaner vocabulary (here his English is improved and his vocabulary is expansive). He doesn’t seem to react when someone else swears when speaking, though it always surprises him to hear any such language around him. He also doesn’t use any vulgarity, nor does he seem very capable of picking it up from anyone else – innuendos and things of the like seem to go right over his head, imitating a sense of naivety about him on the subject. He won’t like to share anything that’s personal about him, and of course talking about anything of sexual context tends to fluster him – on the other hand, however, he can be very blunt. If there is something he has to share, he won’t refrain from telling anyone who’s around to listen.
Even if he likes to talk, he isn’t exactly the best person to seek advice from. He thinks he’s good at offering advice and reassurance, but most often than not he ends up saying something that makes the situation even worse. He’s never been too sure on how to console people, though through observation he’s managed to learn that affection is the key. Depending on who it is that needs the reassurance, he might be amused to see despair in another person – and should he feel the need to make them feel better, he’ll use as much affection and positive words as he possibly can. In other cases, he’s the one that will need to seek personal advice from another – though he prefers to be secretive about such things.
While a relatively social person, he suppresses shyness and self-consciousness unless triggered by certain situations. He has low self esteem in regards to how he looks, which is fortunately out of mind only until someone happens to bring it to his attention. As a fault of excessive eating and alcohol consumption, extra weight is packed especially around his stomach and his cheeks (not to mention the size of his nose and the blemishes that mark his neck) all of which can impair his pride. Attention in general is mostly always welcomed, though he won’t appreciate any such assets of his being put on the spotlight. If he’s ever outwardly taunted or teased, expect that he’ll make convenient use of his scarf to hide behind – only if the provoking continues will he try and lash back with his own comment, though comebacks were never his specialty. He has to think hard first, which is why they either sound pathetic or he doesn’t even bother.
It isn’t only his physical attributes that embarrass him. Just about anything can catch him off guard and have him flustered, even compliments and words of affection that he always hopes to hear. Friendly speech with another can come naturally to him, though he’s grown used enough to receiving words below friendly banter that any returned kindness is both a surprise and a wonder to hear. Of course, there are some things that are a risk to his pride and therefore he will do his best to calmly reject them – if ever he hears words such as "cute" directed toward him, he’ll proceed with relentless denial until it’s vowed never to call him something like that again. However, he does like to throw the most endearing (or degrading) names on others as often as he can – as jerky a quality as it is about him, he loves to make people feel better about themselves as well as embarrass them and cause them to blush, so long as no one tries to do the same to him. With a little determination, though, one might get him to tolerate it.
Despite his childish antics, Ivan does hate it if he’s ever outwardly treated like a child. Being babied is something that’s easier to pick up on, and in this case his demeanor can turn sour when trying to convince someone that he doesn’t need to be treated in any such manner. He will like to argue and bring up his maturity, though his methods of protest – becoming irritated and grumpy and the like – don’t always prove in favor of what he’s trying to argue. Other times, however, he does crave certain attention from people. Loneliness has always been a lingering problem, though if desperation happens to hit and he seeks the company of another, he’ll want close contact and attention so that he may feel secure.
With years passed of keeping his emotions bottled up inside, he's grown skilled in keeping it so that no one can tell what it is he’s going through. He’s a man that runs on the fantastical dreams that run through his mind, well situated with using those to mask the darker desires that live deeper down – the strongest of them being his desire to find companionship, to feel needed, to no longer feel so lonely. Due to an inability to maintain relationships and friends in general, he’s lived nearly all his life without someone who stays close. While he might not put this fact about him out on display, it isn’t something that’s difficult to notice about him. The prospect and feeling of loneliness is something he usually tries to keep out of mind, though he can only go so long without succumbing to desperation – a desperation which, never with his full control, drives him to do most of the bizarre things that he does, not to mention his nontraditional ways of trying to make friends.
Having gone so long without a single friend to stay, he’s never really touched upon how exactly he’s supposed to make friends. All he has to rely on is his social behavior and what he’s observed of other people. Upon first meeting someone, he isn’t one to judge by the cover. He sees potential goodness in everyone he meets, if only because it helps him think that they’ll be the perfect person for him. Once introductions and initial interactions have gone underway, then his opinion on someone might waver based on how they behave toward him – even if they’re rude and the first meeting doesn’t go as expected, that likely won’t stop him from trying again the next several times. He can be a little irritated when faced with the less courteous of people, though he hates having to give up on befriending someone.
Driven by his aforementioned desperation, his attempts on making friends are often very forward and forceful. Most of the time, he’s the one who decides for himself who will and will not be his friend (which leads to one-sided relationships) – and not to mention deciding for the other person that he is their friend. He’ll often be following the person of interest around, asking as many questions as possible to start getting to know them. And if someone does happen to return the attention to him and strive for friendship, at that point it will be near impossible to get him to leave them alone. Achieving his goal of making friends always spurs confidence, which can turn to overconfidence over time. Since his respect for personal space is so low, he can be awfully clingy once he’s become attached to someone, putting forth his most affectionate tendencies under the assumption that the other person is perfectly accepting of it.
With this confidence comes another rooted fear of losing a friend, which is why he tends to be so attached to anyone he becomes acquainted with. He’s always been afraid of making anyone upset with or mad at him, which is why he strives so much to make everyone else happy; if it so happens that someone becomes upset with him, he’ll turn to a wreck trying to make it up to them. Since he is a very hopeful individual, he won’t give up on his efforts until he is forgiven for whatever he’s done – and in all honesty, it isn’t hard for him to make a mistake that upsets company. Relating to his clinginess and affection toward friends, there are definite occasions where he can become too overbearing. He tends to forget his own size and strength, which can cause unintentional harm to any smaller body. It’s embarrassing for him when he realizes the damage he might have done in his excitement, though it doesn’t deter his efforts to fix and make everything better again.
One of the most debilitating aspects of Ivan’s personality is his greedy and possessive nature. This is so even with inanimate objects, perhaps driven by just two reasons: he fears anything being taken away from him, and, if only temporarily, anything can be used to fill that lonely void inside him. When he has nobody around to keep him company, the only things he can turn to for comfort are... well, anything nearby that he can find. Various things can keep him occupied for a good portion of time, just long enough to take his mind off of his current situation. He’s easily entertained by the little things, finding importance in them that most other people would overlook. And when he does want something, he’ll make sure to show it; even if it means taking something for himself without any prior permission. He’s usually iffy when it comes to sharing, and prefers not to have to resort to that – unless he’s in a rare generous mood to do so.
Coinciding with those two traits is his jealousy. He’s jealous of other people more than anything, always under the assumption that everyone he meets has had a better childhood than he, a higher chance of having received the childhood and the nourishment that he needed. While this does make him envious, another part of him can be glad that someone else didn’t have to go through anything that he did. And when it comes to people, his protective nature can easily become overprotective. He does everything to please people he likes, always wanting to prove to them that he can be the good person that they need – and when he becomes attached to someone, that is where his separation anxiety begins to settle. At that point he might seem more like an overbearing shadow, though it’s all in his faulty attempt to keep loved ones safe and make sure that they don’t plan on leaving him behind. Especially when it comes to family does he have an overprotective brother complex, always minding over what they’re doing and who they’re spending time with.
Ivan isn’t picky when it comes to romantic partners, usually being the one who pursues and tries instigating the relationship himself. It isn’t difficult for him to become easily attached to someone, and when he’s decided that he wants them as something more than friend, he won’t be afraid to take the chance. Someone he takes interest in will become victim to frequent unexpected visits and possible stalking, and however reluctant they are to accept him, they hopefully shouldn’t be too disappointed by how he can actually be in a romantic relationship. Naturally he’s very protective and caring to his best ability, and he loves to spoil his partners with abundant attention, gifts and cheesy terms of endearment. He chooses to overlook the flaws in someone and focus instead on what makes them a better person – and then he’ll be so proud of himself for finding a special someone that he’ll want to show their relationship off to the public. Affection is acceptable just about everywhere. After all, people like affection and will stay with you that way, right? That’s what he's told himself.
His fascination over people can border obsession, vaguely linked to the interest he has in psychology and cultural traits. He likes to know how the mind works, possibly why he can usually be found staring at others and being lost in thought. Whenever he meets someone, he’ll be avidly interested in finding out all about them; where they come from, what their interests are and things of that nature.
And since he can find happiness in even the smallest of things, he will be very appreciative of common things that others wouldn’t find as interesting. He likes to make collections of whatever makes him content, since they can act as fuel for the far-fetched dreams he tends to have. Not only will he be easily fascinated, but he’ll be easily distracted by most things as well, which often leads to an intentional distraction from any duties he might have. He prefers leisure over any work he has to do, after all.
Having grown up in the conditions that he did, Ivan never got a grasp on what it means to be normal. He went through a number of traumatic things in his youth, whether they were something he physically experienced or only witnessed, which have taken a strong toll on him up to today. The fears he has are primarily mental terrors, and they never seem to leave him alone – above all of them, he fears death and having to experience any more pain. If any of his behavior is ever considered crazed, he won’t realize what’s wrong about it, nor will he know why he’s inflicting fear on anybody. That isn’t his intention in most situations, but sometimes he can’t help himself and his impulses.
Impulses are based off of the short temper he has. Anger erupts in bursts of violence, which he will take out on anything that’s in his way. There are many things that can set him off, even when they’re least expected, so he is certainly susceptible to mood swings. He’ll experience sudden urges to possibly destroy something or hurt someone else, which he cannot quite control until after he’s done it. If he hurts someone he does really care about, he’ll feel guilt afterward – otherwise he doesn’t often feel guilt for his actions. He doesn’t show much sympathy for others either, and sometimes he can even enjoy the damage he inflicts on others. It’s easy for him to get carried away with these things after all, and usually this can lead to him feeling a sense of control. He has both a cruel sense of humor and a hidden yearn for power, so the actions he takes can be rather brutal. It’s only during the aftermath that he wonders why everyone seems so afraid of him.
No matter what he does, he’s under the impression that he has a good heart. He tries his hardest to show everyone that he has good will and his life isn’t always ruled by violence – though nothing he does ever seems to earn him any respect. He does attempt to prevent others from fighting one another, if only to keep him and them under control. He knows very well that provoking violence and pursuing bad relationships doesn’t help his goal of making friends, after all, so that is something he can consciously avoid. He isn’t the type of person for vengeance or holding grudges, so it’s easy to get him to forgive and accept someone for their wrongdoing.
Quirks
Although he doesn't choose to discuss his own scars, he is fascinated by scars and blemishes that other people might have. He might be intrusive when he asks about them, but he won't force an answer out of someone. Scars on other people make him feel better about his own.He's an early riser in the morning, regardless of how well he slept. He's used to having a bad night's sleep due to nightmares and difficulty falling asleep, though the company of Mihai has been helping him with that.
His scarves are something he wears all the time, unless he's on screen and forced not to wear them. His scars aren't a huge secret to the public but he still doesn't enjoy showing them off and raising questions. Since they've been with him since childhood, scarves are something he feels naked without. He just loves their warmth and the protection that they serve.
He's a bit of a touchy person. He has a habit of patting people on their heads, be it an act of admiration or praise. His fingers always seem to be drawn to buttons and objects that he probably shouldn't touch, which lands him in some trouble here and there.
Act 3
Likes Sunflowers | They're his favorite flower and a signature item of his. He tries to incorporate them into his works in any way possible.Food | It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he can eat almost anything. He likes big portions from his own cuisine as well as others, and has a fairly strong stomach. Vodka | A long-standing addiction of his. His tolerance is high and he drinks it daily. Dolls | A classic horror icon. He, however, thinks dolls are beautiful, especially ones from Russia. Animals | He has a puppy at home; a husky and chow-chow mix. On the other hand, he loves small animals like cats and rabbits. Space | It was his childhood dream to go up there. Now he just enjoys looking at the night sky and imagining what it would be like. Aquariums | It's odd that he's so fond of them, but the peacefulness and the general atmosphere of aquariums is very relaxing and beautiful. Reading | He enjoys to read classical writes such as folktales and poetry, as well as more modern works of mystery and fantasy. They're definite inspirations. Competition | He'll find competition in meaningless little things. A sore loser, his efforts to win might be a little relentless. Theater | Ballets and plays are timeless things that he could never get sick of watching. He's rather proud of the ones that Russia is known for. Horror | This is where he excels. He loves anything macabre, everything that's psychological about horror, and loves the endless reactions that people make to scary movies and the like. Bright Colors | It contradicts that darkness in him, but he likes colors that stand out. People | He adores the fans of his work, honestly. Publicity can be stressful but he enjoys the attention. On the other hand, he tries to avoid rabid paparazzi and scandals, preferring that the friends he makes are good-willed. Gardening | He can't garden for the life of him, but he absolutely loves looking at other peoples' gardens. It might be that he just goes overboard and plants too many to keep up with. Technology | It's handy and fun to mess around with. When it comes to social interaction, however, he'd prefer talking to people face-to-face. Sports | Especially winter sports. He doesn't play any, really, but will love watching a game and rooting for his home team. | Dislikes Winter | Never liked the cold. Reminds him of his bad childhood. Now he's grown used to California for its better weather.Pain | He likes writing about pain, but not experiencing it. Low pain tolerance. Perhaps he's just too used to the numbing effect of alcohol. Accusations | He doesn't like stereotypes nor false accusations made toward himself and others of his (or of similar) nationality. There's always more to a person than silly misjudgments, and please do not make any communist jokes. Russians being villains in movies | You're funny, American directors. Sleeping | He's past the stage of child night terrors, but nightmares still come to haunt him more frequently than he'd like. As a result, he sleeps little and, on some occasions, tries to avoid it altogether. He might spend a night writing instead. Worn features are usually clear to see in his face. Bossiness | He's stubborn around people he'd rather not listen to, which goes for most people who are older than him. He might make exceptions for people that are close to him or people that he does not want to upset. Fast Food | Prefers home-cooked meals. Smoking | Smoking is damaging and unhealthy for you says the vodka drinker. His habits aren't the healthiest either, but he dislikes anyone smoking around him and just the idea of smoking in general. (It reminds him of his hated father, who was a smoker.) Losing | In another childish aspect, he doesn't fare well with losing things. He's determined when it comes to taking victory. Tattoos/Piercings | He'd never want to get either of these things. They're only cool to look at on other people. Beer | It's gross. He doesn't drink any other alcohol than vodka. Vulgarity | He finds overly vulgar people distasteful, even if some innuendos happen to go right over his head. |
Aspirations Career free of trouble | He doesn't see himself stopping any time soon, as he loves what he does. He just never wants his career to go downhill.Good Marriage | He feels his proposal went smoothly and that he and Mihai have wonderful potential. He wants the wedding and their life afterward to go perfectly. Changes in Gay Rights | He's very pleased that America is slowly but surely making progress. More states are accepting gay marriage and he hopes that continues to grow. But for the most part, he strongly wishes that Russia would do the same. | Insecurities Appearance | He doesn't like those pudgy spots or his neck or just about anything about his body. He's proud of his talent and his strength - that's it. The hardest thing Ivan had to accept about himself was his sexuality. It took years for him to feel secure enough that he could come out in Hollywood. Water | He never learned to swim and therefore fears drowning. Deep water is avoided in general. Death | It's a noticeable pattern that what Ivan incorporates into his work are things that he fears himself. He writes deaths, pain and suffering, fear, fearsome fathers - it's a release, of sorts, from what he went through. He's always feared his own death and tries to keep it out of mind. Loneliness | He knows he has his fiance and he's very happy with Mihai. He knows he has everyone else in Hollywood, people who recognize him and other friends he's made - he just fears that that will all go away one day, and he'll return to being the loner he was when he was younger. |
Epilogue
Background
Ivan was born in Saint Petersburg, the second child of Maria and Vasily. It was a poorer part of the city, but his family was the type that moved around often - his mother was a sweet woman who worked in day cares, his father a cold military man and the source of their frequent moving. When a third child was born with Belarusian roots, Ivan became the sole son and middle child of the small family.As a young child, he lacked friends but grew strong on ambitions. At one point, he wanted to join the military like his father did. At the time he hadn't understood any of those hardships. At a later point he wanted to be an astronaut. He didn't understand what went into a big career like that, either - all he knew was that he wanted to go into the sky one day and look at all the bright stars up close. Before Vasily started to crack down on him, Ivan was always optimistic and the stronghold of his family. He looked after his sisters (even if his older sister insisted on doing so), and made up for his lack of other friends to spend all of his time with them - their time playing in the snow serves as one of the only happy connections between Ivan and winter.
As he approached adolescence, his father wanted to choose his path in life for him. Ivan would join the military, too. He was authoritarian whenever his son resisted. There were tensions with his marriage to Maria, settled stress from work. All Ivan had ever seen his father do was smoke and drink to keep himself leveled. Whatever the alcohol and the nicotine was doing to Vasily, Ivan didn't like it. His sense of authority rose to all members of the household. He was strict to his children, who often huddled together or hid when Papa started throwing fists. Ivan wondered what he had against their mother; against the children she had born with him. (One time when Papa was bad enough, a young Ivan obtained those scars on his neck. Mama later gave him his favorite scarf to help.) He had once looked up to his father, though over time it only seemed that Vasily hated him. He pointed fingers and always yelled that his son would grow up to be gay. A queer. Ivan preferred helping his mother bake or helping his sisters sew or play with dolls to doing anything that Vasily did.
Maria desperately sought friends for help. Things were at their worst when the children were in their teenage years. Having gathered the money she had earned and saved (with help from others who knew of her situation), she took her children and left for the States.
California specifically. This is where they'd begin a new life - but the first years were rocky. Ivan had to learn English straight away, and it was insisted upon that he saw regular counseling tied in with his schooling. His counselor offered his family numerous ways to cope with what they had gone through. Ivan, at first, chose drawing. He doodled the sunflowers that sat outside their new home. (They were something he could stare at all day. He spent a lot of time in his room to do so.) Whatever he drew was hung up on the bedroom walls or in the kitchen.
By the time he was in high school, he leaned heavier toward writing than to drawing. Once his English had greatly improved, he took a strong interest in the subject itself. Maria had to work heavily in order to earn enough money. Their income was low but Ivan managed essential financial aid in order to head to college - at that time he had already picked up writing as a habit. It was a way to vent.
He studied English and psychology in college. When the counselor's session didn't help the recurring nightmares and the thoughts during daytime, he looked to other solutions. He once hated what alcohol had done to his father, but Ivan stumbled into a habit of his own. Vodka was the only solution to have stuck with him for so long.
His writing turned into novels. He had a particular affiliation for darker themes. Although he had started out writing fantasy and science fiction genres, he found that he vented best when it came to horror, darkness, especially of the psychological sort - so that's where his pen most often lead him.
He drifted from his mother and sisters and found somewhere else to go. By the time he had gotten into screenwriting and adapting his work into his own directed productions, he had met several people. They didn't help to clear that twinge of loneliness, however - not until he met a Romanian fan by the name Mihai. He was impressed by the man's talents and the interests that they shared. It was Ivan who made the proposal and now he proudly exhibits a ring when out in public. His engagement has greatly helped to boost his career confidence and clear away an overbearing loneliness.
The alcohol habit, however, hasn't quite gone away. Over all he is pleased with is current life in Hollywood. He doesn't care how his father doing, but hopes not to lose touch with his mother and sisters. He generally takes the name Ivan Ivanovich to sever any ties to his father's name - but he is still Ivan Braginsky.
Credits
Name: Jen
Birthday: March 28
Skype: jennac211
Tumblr: rusamee
Birthday: March 28
Skype: jennac211
Tumblr: rusamee
Welcome to Hollywood
May all of your dreams come true...