✯ App for somarium
[Player name] Rae
[Age] 19
[Personal Journal] of_culpability
[Other characters currently played]
Euphemia li Britannia | Code Geass | naivelysanguine
Blood Dupre | Kuni no Alice | teadonhatter
[Character name] Ivan Karelin
[Age] ~18
[Canon] Tiger & Bunny
[Point in time taken from canon] Episode 12 - Right after his fight with Jake
[Background]
Not much is currently known about Ivan's background. The earliest point in his history which any light is shed on is his time spent in the Hero Academy. This was an especially important time in Ivan's life -- because it served as one of two turning points for his characterization. The principal of the Academy, Mr. Massini, tells Kotetsu and Barnaby that during his time in the Academy, Ivan tended to be quiet and hid behind his best friend Edward.
Edward was at the top of his class, and therefore the one with the greatest potential to be a Hero. It's later revealed that an incident involving Edward fatally shooting a hostage while attempting to thwart the getaway of a criminal landed him in prison. Ivan and Edward had been on the scene as the crime unfolded, and although there were police officers around, no Heroes had shown up at this point. Despite being against the rules of the Academy to use one's powers outside of school, Edward attempts to gain Ivan's support in stopping the criminals. When Ivan hesitates, his friend jumps into the fray regardless of the repeated plea from Ivan to rethink his decision. This of course ends in tragedy as Edward shoots the woman and is charged with murder.
Fast forward to the present, and Edward is still in jail, while Ivan is now a Hero for HeroTV. Up until the eighth episode, Ivan is only really shown in the background as a side-character, receiving little to no development. He shows up every once in a while during chases for criminals, but it's almost always in the background -- showing up on camera in order to please his sponsors rather than to apprehend criminals and gain points. This is why Ivan is constantly in last place for the title of King of Heroes. (Following the time-skip, this isn't the case since he's long since gained his resolve, but that's not relevant to his canon point!)
When Ivan (as Origami Cyclone) visits the Hero Academy alongside Kotetsu and Barnaby, he puts on the excited and confident façade for his sponsors, but is quick to shed it once he is out of the spotlight. As the three Heroes are spending time together in a classroom, they each lament and express their individual desires to go home. Hearing Ivan -- who is generally excitable while in the presence of others since he is in costume -- so down naturally shocks the other two, and Kotetsu proceeds to rib the boy a bit. Ivan gets upset and claims that he is unfit to teach anyone how to be a Hero since all he ever does is hang around in the background.
The heroes then go on to teach their lessons, and while Kotetsu and Barnaby claim that the most important part of being a Hero is defending the citizens and earning points, respectively, Ivan states that appealing to one's sponsors is the most vital. This, of course, gains him incredulous looks and questions of how to save people instead -- to which Ivan merely scratches his head sheepishly.
As he is leaving, Ivan watches Kotetsu with his students, many of them showing off their essentially useless (such as the ability to sweat a lot...) powers. Then it's flashback to Ivan and Edward in the Academy once more! Ivan essentially laments and claims that he is unfit to be a Hero, having such a useless power -- one which is yet to be revealed at this point -- whereas Edward has the greatest potential to be a Hero. A recurring theme, Edward tells Ivan that there has to be something that only he can do with his power. This is extreme foreshadowing for a major event later on.
Once more, it's back to the present, and Ivan calls out to Kotetsu as he is leaving -- in order to ask the man to take a look at his powers as well. At this point, the viewer finally discovers Ivan's NEXT power, which is the ability to shape-shift. He takes on the older man's form and mimics his actions until Kotetsu tells him to cut it out, at which point Ivan becomes extremely apologetic. Kotetsu then tells him that it must be an extremely useful power, being able to copy the NEXT powers of other heroes, but Ivan tells him that he can only copy their appearance and voice, not their powers. This is when the boy gets upset once more and claims that he is useless as a Hero, shifting back into his own form before Kotetsu repeats the same line said to him by Edward in the flashback: 'There's gotta be something only you can do with your power.'
Ivan eventually gets upset and runs off when Kotetsu keeps misunderstanding the circumstances and claiming that Ivan is better suited to be a Hero than Edward was since he is a Hero and his friend isn't. It is then that Mr. Massini tells Kotetsu and Barnaby of Ivan's past at the academy, (mentioned earlier) including Edward's arrest. Kotetsu asks if the aforementioned is still in jail, to which Massini falls quiet and the scene changes to Ivan staring at the statue of Mr. Legend, the spot shown in his flashback with Edward. Of course, none other than Edward himself appears at this point, and his friend asks why he's there since he's still supposed to be in jail. It becomes clear quickly that Edward is there for one sole purpose -- revenge. He blames Ivan for what happened to him, and plans to take his life for it. Edward uses his NEXT power to create a vortex of sand, which he buries Ivan's face in so that he might suffocate him to death.
He nearly succeeds when Barnaby and Kotetsu show up, causing Edward to sink into the sand and escape. Ivan has yet another mild breakdown, once more claiming himself unworthy and stating that he should've helped Edward when he asked for it. Kotetsu then tells him that he has to stop Edward so that he doesn't make the same mistake again. This is a significant turning point in Ivan's development, since he gains a new resolve to help others.
Ivan rushes off to find Edward, and is tripped by his sand vortex. He pleads with his former friend to stop, but is interrupted by the appearance of Lunatic, who shoots his green fire at Edward in an attempt to kill him since he's a sinner. Edward runs away like a scared little girl, and Lunatic calmly pursues. Just as he is about to shoot, Lunatic pauses at the sound of Edward's voice in another direction. Ivan took on his friend's form in order to confuse Lunatic, who doesn't like to kill the innocent. When asked if he was prepared to accept punishment for his sins, Ivan nods, while the real Edward cowers silently. This clues Lunatic in, and he swerves around, prepared to shoot Edward as Ivan reverts back to his own form before standing protectively in front of the other boy. Lunatic shoots, but Kotetsu arrives just in time to save the boys as Barnaby attacks Lunatic.
After the fight, Edward is taken back to jail as Ivan asks him to start over, forgetting all of their failures. He gets told to shut up, but then receives a thanks for saving his life. That day's Hero Campaign credits Origami Cyclone, calling him a true Hero. Ivan then shows up on the television in costume, claiming that he won't sit around in the background any more before doing his signature moe 'shu shu'.
The next significant event involving Ivan comes with the appearance of Jake Martinez and Kriem, when the latter demands the release of the former from prison in exchange for the lives of the citizens of Sternbild -- who are all essentially being held hostage with the threat of the support beams for the city being destroyed. With his power, the Heroes plan to have him shift into Hans Chuckman, who they captured. Chuckman is the pilot of the helicopter which Kriem uses, so when Jake is released from jail, Ivan is there the entire time, acting as the pilot. His mission is to ensure the safety of the city and to infiltrate Jake's lair in order to discover the secret of the powered exosuits, which are being used to wreak havoc on the city. This mission holds a high risk of failure, and most certainly death for Ivan if he is caught.
When he makes to the the lair unscathed, Ivan calls the heroes using his wristband, telling them that he was in and searching for a way to turn off the exosuits. As he ends the call, Jake appears behind him, asking 'Chuckman' if he liked his new haircut. Ivan answers, a bit flustered, before Jake asks if it makes him look like a Hero. He continues on this tangent, going on and on about heroes before flipping to a page in his issue of Hero Monthly and showing it to Ivan. He asks if he would like to have this ability if he were a NEXT, and the camera pans out to show a photo of none other than Origami Cyclone.
Ivan freaks out and shifts back into his true form, obviously found out already, before jumping to a nearby rooftop. Jake merely laughs and shoots a beam out of his finger, hitting Ivan and knocking him to the ground. Ivan gets back up and tosses shuriken at Jake, who dodges them easily enough before activating his power and pointing at Ivan -- simply stating: 'bang!' before the camera cuts out.
** Ivan is later discovered alive but greatly injured by Kotetsu and Barnaby, but I'll be taking him from immediately after his fight with Jake!
[Personality]
There are a lot of words which can be used to describe Ivan Karelin. First and foremost, however, he's insecure. This is easily his most dominant trait, even after he regains his resolve and realises that he is indeed worthy of being a Hero. It's just who he is. He eventually comes to terms with his power and sees that it is something special, and that there are things that only he can do with it -- such as the infiltration of Jake Martinez's lair -- but that doubt still lingers, despite everything.
The worst of it stems from his days in the Hero Academy, most likely, during which he hid behind his best friend Edward, who was the star student. Ivan idolised Edward, plain and simple. He states multiple times that it was Edward, not him, who should've been the Hero. He constantly belittles his own NEXT power and his abilities in general -- but at the same time comments on how useful everyone else is. Essentially, Ivan acts as though he wishes that he could be someone else, someone with a more useful power.
On top of his severe insecurity regarding his NEXT power, Ivan is also insecure in his ability as a Hero in general. While at the Hero Academy with Kotetsu and Barnaby, Ivan claims that he is unfit to teach anyone how to be a Hero, since he's constantly at the bottom of the list. With the lowest ranking (presumably even from the beginning) Ivan has reason to be down about his performance as a Hero. To him however, it's not simply an issue of points or being at the bottom, no, Ivan is more concerned about disappointing his sponsors or bringing down the collective reputation of the Heroes. He seriously considers dropping out in order to help the Heroes get a better reputation, since he thinks he's the reason for the recent drop. Ivan even states that he is bashed on his own blog by people that find him unfit to be a Hero. For someone with pretty much zero self-esteem to begin with, such a thing would presumably be a pretty crippling blow. Which it is, since Ivan takes it to heart by considering ending his run as a Hero.
This in turn brings up yet another point of Ivan's complex personality: he's a major people pleaser, and extremely apologetic to boot. When he first shows his power to Kotetsu and mimics the older man, Ivan begins to apologise profusely when Kotetsu tells him to knock it off, and does so once more when jokingly told not to cry with his face on. Basically, Ivan takes everything seriously, and views everything as his own fault.
Ivan comes across as energetic and extremely self-confident when in costume as Origami Cyclone, but in reality is neither of these things. The real Ivan Karelin is quiet and totally unsure of himself. In order to please his sponsors, however, he puts on a façade of a goofy young man, even changing his voice in order to sound more enthused. His trademarks are showing up in the background of rescues photobombing like a boss and making energetic movements while shouting 'shu shu.'
On the other end of the spectrum, Ivan has also been shown to be willing to go to literally any length for those he cares about, such as when he is prepared to take a shot from Lunatic's deadly green flames for Edward -- who had attempted to kill him only moments earlier. In Ivan's mind, it's okay, because he blames himself for what happened to Edward. Due to this, he is willing to die for him, whether it is in order to save his friend's life or in order to give him the revenge he seeks -- and in turn happiness. This instance also displays Ivan's tendency toward anger when those he loves are in danger. He becomes enraged when Lunatic prepares to kill Edward despite his own willingness to die in his friend's stead.
Clearly, in order to care so deeply for someone that tried to kill you not long before, Ivan must have an extremely large heart. He's the type to forgive and forget, willing to do anything in his power to defend his loved ones and the people of Sternbild once he finds his resolve. This resolve is found when he realises that he has to be the one to stop Edward from harming anyone else, and it transforms once he saves the life of the aforementioned. At that moment, Ivan resolved to move out of the background, promising to become a true Hero -- which is exactly what he does when risking his own life in order to infiltrate Jake's lair. Like a true Hero, Ivan learns to put the lives of the people above everything else.
TL;DR Ivan's an insecure, moe little Russian weeaboo. The end.
[Abilities]
Ivan is a NEXT, which means he has a special ability. His ability is that he is able to shape-shift, allowing him to take on the appearance and voice of any other person. However, he cannot copy the powers of other people. He's also been shown to be relatively adept at tossing shuriken and jumping -- being able to scale a tall building in a single leap. He also possesses the best photobombing skills in the universe.
[Other important stuff]
His hero alias is Origami Cyclone! He tends to stay in the background for advertising purposes only, never getting any points. Once he accepts his ability for what it is and what he's worth, he begins to take his role as a hero seriously, however.
In terms of Somarium, Ivan will be entering without his costume on since the canon point I've chosen has him in his bodysuit, so he'll be arriving as Ivan Karelin, not Origami Cyclone. He still has his powers, of course, just no legit ninja suit and mask.
[Sample post]
[First Person]
- If you could go back home, would you? Why or why not?
[He gives an almost... offended look at the question.]
Of course I would go back home! I'm a Hero, so it's my duty to protect Sternbild as best as I can along with the other Heroes.
- If someone provoked or attacked you, what would you do?
Ahh, my power's not really useful for fighting... but I'd do my best to apprehend the criminal. Someone like that shouldn't be walking the streets so freely. It's also a good opportunity to get on camera so that my sponsors will be pleased.
- Someone is trying to rob you! What do you do?
I'd do my duty as a Hero and capture them, of course! Ahh, maybe then I wouldn't be at the bottom dragging everyone down anymore... [A heavy sigh.] and then maybe those people will stop bashing me on my blog...
- Would you consider yourself a hero or a villain? Why? Neither is an option as well, but still tell why.
I'm a Hero. It's my job to protect the people of Sternbild in any way that I can. if it means putting my life on the line to defend them, I'll do it.
- If you could have any super ability, what would it be and why?
I already have a NEXT ability. It's not helpful in protecting people like Wild Tiger's Hundred Power or Sky High's wind, but... my power... there is something that only I can do with it, and I'll do it in order to protect this city, regardless of the cost.
- You are a given a mission. Would you complete it effectively or would you goof off and do something else? Expand a little on the response.
A mission? I'm on a mission to protect the city from Jake Martinez -- using my shape-shifting ability, I'm to infiltrate his lair and discover the secret to the powered exo-suits. There's no time to goof off in such a situation when so many lives are at stake! What kind of Hero would that make me?
- You have two options: either save your friend who is hanging from a cliff, or chase after the bad guy who put them in a position. If you choose the former, the bad guy will get away and it will be hard to catch him. If you choose the latter, the cliff will crumble and the friend will fall to the spiky rocks below. What do you do and why?
I'd save my friend. A friend's life is always more important than catching the bad guy. Besides, it's the duty of a Hero to protect others, and there's always another Hero around to apprehend the criminal, especially when points are on the line.
[Third Person]
Ivan awoke to a dull pain in his skull, vibrating throughout his entire body until he felt as if he were about to pass out again. He blinked slowly before lifting himself off the ground as best he could, struggling to remember just what had happened.
After a few wobbly steps, he regained his footing -- for the most part, considering how badly injured he currently was. One step. Two steps. Three steps. Then, just as suddenly as he had regained his balance, Ivan had lost it once more, tumbling to the concrete in a heap of semi-broken limbs.
The young Hero closed his eyes, prepared to succumb to the darkness, when he remembered just where he was, and why he was there in the first place. Only one name came to mind, and that was --
"Jake... Martinez." he ground out with as much venom as he could muster, memories of their encounter flooding back. He had been afraid for his life, he wouldn't lie about that, but above that, Ivan had been afraid of failure. Allowing Jake to figure him out so easily meant certain failure for his mission, didn't it?
But no -- he had already succeeded. The important part was over, he had done it. Ivan felt like a true Hero for the first time in his life, having possibly single-handedly saved an entire city from destruction by infiltrating Jake Martinez's lair and discovering the secret to the powered exo-suits. What came after... he wasn't too worried about, since he had done his duty.
He never thought that his power would ever come in handy for anything, much less something so... so important. Ivan thought back on the words given to him by both Edward and Kotetsu --
'There's gotta be something that only you can do with your power, Ivan.'
The boy mused on these words, a slow smile creeping on his face -- before fading back into unconsciousness once more.
[Why do you want to play this character in Somarium?] Skye reserved Kotetsu, and it all snowballed from there since I adore the show and wanted a chance to play Ivan somewhere!
[Which rule was your favorite and why?] I still like being nice, because it's no fun playing if there's OOC wank everywhere.
[Any questions?] Nope! o/
[Age] 19
[Personal Journal] of_culpability
[Other characters currently played]
Euphemia li Britannia | Code Geass | naivelysanguine
Blood Dupre | Kuni no Alice | teadonhatter
[Character name] Ivan Karelin
[Age] ~18
[Canon] Tiger & Bunny
[Point in time taken from canon] Episode 12 - Right after his fight with Jake
[Background]
Not much is currently known about Ivan's background. The earliest point in his history which any light is shed on is his time spent in the Hero Academy. This was an especially important time in Ivan's life -- because it served as one of two turning points for his characterization. The principal of the Academy, Mr. Massini, tells Kotetsu and Barnaby that during his time in the Academy, Ivan tended to be quiet and hid behind his best friend Edward.
Edward was at the top of his class, and therefore the one with the greatest potential to be a Hero. It's later revealed that an incident involving Edward fatally shooting a hostage while attempting to thwart the getaway of a criminal landed him in prison. Ivan and Edward had been on the scene as the crime unfolded, and although there were police officers around, no Heroes had shown up at this point. Despite being against the rules of the Academy to use one's powers outside of school, Edward attempts to gain Ivan's support in stopping the criminals. When Ivan hesitates, his friend jumps into the fray regardless of the repeated plea from Ivan to rethink his decision. This of course ends in tragedy as Edward shoots the woman and is charged with murder.
Fast forward to the present, and Edward is still in jail, while Ivan is now a Hero for HeroTV. Up until the eighth episode, Ivan is only really shown in the background as a side-character, receiving little to no development. He shows up every once in a while during chases for criminals, but it's almost always in the background -- showing up on camera in order to please his sponsors rather than to apprehend criminals and gain points. This is why Ivan is constantly in last place for the title of King of Heroes. (Following the time-skip, this isn't the case since he's long since gained his resolve, but that's not relevant to his canon point!)
When Ivan (as Origami Cyclone) visits the Hero Academy alongside Kotetsu and Barnaby, he puts on the excited and confident façade for his sponsors, but is quick to shed it once he is out of the spotlight. As the three Heroes are spending time together in a classroom, they each lament and express their individual desires to go home. Hearing Ivan -- who is generally excitable while in the presence of others since he is in costume -- so down naturally shocks the other two, and Kotetsu proceeds to rib the boy a bit. Ivan gets upset and claims that he is unfit to teach anyone how to be a Hero since all he ever does is hang around in the background.
The heroes then go on to teach their lessons, and while Kotetsu and Barnaby claim that the most important part of being a Hero is defending the citizens and earning points, respectively, Ivan states that appealing to one's sponsors is the most vital. This, of course, gains him incredulous looks and questions of how to save people instead -- to which Ivan merely scratches his head sheepishly.
As he is leaving, Ivan watches Kotetsu with his students, many of them showing off their essentially useless (such as the ability to sweat a lot...) powers. Then it's flashback to Ivan and Edward in the Academy once more! Ivan essentially laments and claims that he is unfit to be a Hero, having such a useless power -- one which is yet to be revealed at this point -- whereas Edward has the greatest potential to be a Hero. A recurring theme, Edward tells Ivan that there has to be something that only he can do with his power. This is extreme foreshadowing for a major event later on.
Once more, it's back to the present, and Ivan calls out to Kotetsu as he is leaving -- in order to ask the man to take a look at his powers as well. At this point, the viewer finally discovers Ivan's NEXT power, which is the ability to shape-shift. He takes on the older man's form and mimics his actions until Kotetsu tells him to cut it out, at which point Ivan becomes extremely apologetic. Kotetsu then tells him that it must be an extremely useful power, being able to copy the NEXT powers of other heroes, but Ivan tells him that he can only copy their appearance and voice, not their powers. This is when the boy gets upset once more and claims that he is useless as a Hero, shifting back into his own form before Kotetsu repeats the same line said to him by Edward in the flashback: 'There's gotta be something only you can do with your power.'
Ivan eventually gets upset and runs off when Kotetsu keeps misunderstanding the circumstances and claiming that Ivan is better suited to be a Hero than Edward was since he is a Hero and his friend isn't. It is then that Mr. Massini tells Kotetsu and Barnaby of Ivan's past at the academy, (mentioned earlier) including Edward's arrest. Kotetsu asks if the aforementioned is still in jail, to which Massini falls quiet and the scene changes to Ivan staring at the statue of Mr. Legend, the spot shown in his flashback with Edward. Of course, none other than Edward himself appears at this point, and his friend asks why he's there since he's still supposed to be in jail. It becomes clear quickly that Edward is there for one sole purpose -- revenge. He blames Ivan for what happened to him, and plans to take his life for it. Edward uses his NEXT power to create a vortex of sand, which he buries Ivan's face in so that he might suffocate him to death.
He nearly succeeds when Barnaby and Kotetsu show up, causing Edward to sink into the sand and escape. Ivan has yet another mild breakdown, once more claiming himself unworthy and stating that he should've helped Edward when he asked for it. Kotetsu then tells him that he has to stop Edward so that he doesn't make the same mistake again. This is a significant turning point in Ivan's development, since he gains a new resolve to help others.
Ivan rushes off to find Edward, and is tripped by his sand vortex. He pleads with his former friend to stop, but is interrupted by the appearance of Lunatic, who shoots his green fire at Edward in an attempt to kill him since he's a sinner. Edward runs away like a scared little girl, and Lunatic calmly pursues. Just as he is about to shoot, Lunatic pauses at the sound of Edward's voice in another direction. Ivan took on his friend's form in order to confuse Lunatic, who doesn't like to kill the innocent. When asked if he was prepared to accept punishment for his sins, Ivan nods, while the real Edward cowers silently. This clues Lunatic in, and he swerves around, prepared to shoot Edward as Ivan reverts back to his own form before standing protectively in front of the other boy. Lunatic shoots, but Kotetsu arrives just in time to save the boys as Barnaby attacks Lunatic.
After the fight, Edward is taken back to jail as Ivan asks him to start over, forgetting all of their failures. He gets told to shut up, but then receives a thanks for saving his life. That day's Hero Campaign credits Origami Cyclone, calling him a true Hero. Ivan then shows up on the television in costume, claiming that he won't sit around in the background any more before doing his signature moe 'shu shu'.
The next significant event involving Ivan comes with the appearance of Jake Martinez and Kriem, when the latter demands the release of the former from prison in exchange for the lives of the citizens of Sternbild -- who are all essentially being held hostage with the threat of the support beams for the city being destroyed. With his power, the Heroes plan to have him shift into Hans Chuckman, who they captured. Chuckman is the pilot of the helicopter which Kriem uses, so when Jake is released from jail, Ivan is there the entire time, acting as the pilot. His mission is to ensure the safety of the city and to infiltrate Jake's lair in order to discover the secret of the powered exosuits, which are being used to wreak havoc on the city. This mission holds a high risk of failure, and most certainly death for Ivan if he is caught.
When he makes to the the lair unscathed, Ivan calls the heroes using his wristband, telling them that he was in and searching for a way to turn off the exosuits. As he ends the call, Jake appears behind him, asking 'Chuckman' if he liked his new haircut. Ivan answers, a bit flustered, before Jake asks if it makes him look like a Hero. He continues on this tangent, going on and on about heroes before flipping to a page in his issue of Hero Monthly and showing it to Ivan. He asks if he would like to have this ability if he were a NEXT, and the camera pans out to show a photo of none other than Origami Cyclone.
Ivan freaks out and shifts back into his true form, obviously found out already, before jumping to a nearby rooftop. Jake merely laughs and shoots a beam out of his finger, hitting Ivan and knocking him to the ground. Ivan gets back up and tosses shuriken at Jake, who dodges them easily enough before activating his power and pointing at Ivan -- simply stating: 'bang!' before the camera cuts out.
** Ivan is later discovered alive but greatly injured by Kotetsu and Barnaby, but I'll be taking him from immediately after his fight with Jake!
[Personality]
There are a lot of words which can be used to describe Ivan Karelin. First and foremost, however, he's insecure. This is easily his most dominant trait, even after he regains his resolve and realises that he is indeed worthy of being a Hero. It's just who he is. He eventually comes to terms with his power and sees that it is something special, and that there are things that only he can do with it -- such as the infiltration of Jake Martinez's lair -- but that doubt still lingers, despite everything.
The worst of it stems from his days in the Hero Academy, most likely, during which he hid behind his best friend Edward, who was the star student. Ivan idolised Edward, plain and simple. He states multiple times that it was Edward, not him, who should've been the Hero. He constantly belittles his own NEXT power and his abilities in general -- but at the same time comments on how useful everyone else is. Essentially, Ivan acts as though he wishes that he could be someone else, someone with a more useful power.
On top of his severe insecurity regarding his NEXT power, Ivan is also insecure in his ability as a Hero in general. While at the Hero Academy with Kotetsu and Barnaby, Ivan claims that he is unfit to teach anyone how to be a Hero, since he's constantly at the bottom of the list. With the lowest ranking (presumably even from the beginning) Ivan has reason to be down about his performance as a Hero. To him however, it's not simply an issue of points or being at the bottom, no, Ivan is more concerned about disappointing his sponsors or bringing down the collective reputation of the Heroes. He seriously considers dropping out in order to help the Heroes get a better reputation, since he thinks he's the reason for the recent drop. Ivan even states that he is bashed on his own blog by people that find him unfit to be a Hero. For someone with pretty much zero self-esteem to begin with, such a thing would presumably be a pretty crippling blow. Which it is, since Ivan takes it to heart by considering ending his run as a Hero.
This in turn brings up yet another point of Ivan's complex personality: he's a major people pleaser, and extremely apologetic to boot. When he first shows his power to Kotetsu and mimics the older man, Ivan begins to apologise profusely when Kotetsu tells him to knock it off, and does so once more when jokingly told not to cry with his face on. Basically, Ivan takes everything seriously, and views everything as his own fault.
Ivan comes across as energetic and extremely self-confident when in costume as Origami Cyclone, but in reality is neither of these things. The real Ivan Karelin is quiet and totally unsure of himself. In order to please his sponsors, however, he puts on a façade of a goofy young man, even changing his voice in order to sound more enthused. His trademarks are showing up in the background of rescues photobombing like a boss and making energetic movements while shouting 'shu shu.'
On the other end of the spectrum, Ivan has also been shown to be willing to go to literally any length for those he cares about, such as when he is prepared to take a shot from Lunatic's deadly green flames for Edward -- who had attempted to kill him only moments earlier. In Ivan's mind, it's okay, because he blames himself for what happened to Edward. Due to this, he is willing to die for him, whether it is in order to save his friend's life or in order to give him the revenge he seeks -- and in turn happiness. This instance also displays Ivan's tendency toward anger when those he loves are in danger. He becomes enraged when Lunatic prepares to kill Edward despite his own willingness to die in his friend's stead.
Clearly, in order to care so deeply for someone that tried to kill you not long before, Ivan must have an extremely large heart. He's the type to forgive and forget, willing to do anything in his power to defend his loved ones and the people of Sternbild once he finds his resolve. This resolve is found when he realises that he has to be the one to stop Edward from harming anyone else, and it transforms once he saves the life of the aforementioned. At that moment, Ivan resolved to move out of the background, promising to become a true Hero -- which is exactly what he does when risking his own life in order to infiltrate Jake's lair. Like a true Hero, Ivan learns to put the lives of the people above everything else.
TL;DR Ivan's an insecure, moe little Russian weeaboo. The end.
[Abilities]
Ivan is a NEXT, which means he has a special ability. His ability is that he is able to shape-shift, allowing him to take on the appearance and voice of any other person. However, he cannot copy the powers of other people. He's also been shown to be relatively adept at tossing shuriken and jumping -- being able to scale a tall building in a single leap. He also possesses the best photobombing skills in the universe.
[Other important stuff]
His hero alias is Origami Cyclone! He tends to stay in the background for advertising purposes only, never getting any points. Once he accepts his ability for what it is and what he's worth, he begins to take his role as a hero seriously, however.
In terms of Somarium, Ivan will be entering without his costume on since the canon point I've chosen has him in his bodysuit, so he'll be arriving as Ivan Karelin, not Origami Cyclone. He still has his powers, of course, just no legit ninja suit and mask.
[Sample post]
[First Person]
- If you could go back home, would you? Why or why not?
[He gives an almost... offended look at the question.]
Of course I would go back home! I'm a Hero, so it's my duty to protect Sternbild as best as I can along with the other Heroes.
- If someone provoked or attacked you, what would you do?
Ahh, my power's not really useful for fighting... but I'd do my best to apprehend the criminal. Someone like that shouldn't be walking the streets so freely. It's also a good opportunity to get on camera so that my sponsors will be pleased.
- Someone is trying to rob you! What do you do?
I'd do my duty as a Hero and capture them, of course! Ahh, maybe then I wouldn't be at the bottom dragging everyone down anymore... [A heavy sigh.] and then maybe those people will stop bashing me on my blog...
- Would you consider yourself a hero or a villain? Why? Neither is an option as well, but still tell why.
I'm a Hero. It's my job to protect the people of Sternbild in any way that I can. if it means putting my life on the line to defend them, I'll do it.
- If you could have any super ability, what would it be and why?
I already have a NEXT ability. It's not helpful in protecting people like Wild Tiger's Hundred Power or Sky High's wind, but... my power... there is something that only I can do with it, and I'll do it in order to protect this city, regardless of the cost.
- You are a given a mission. Would you complete it effectively or would you goof off and do something else? Expand a little on the response.
A mission? I'm on a mission to protect the city from Jake Martinez -- using my shape-shifting ability, I'm to infiltrate his lair and discover the secret to the powered exo-suits. There's no time to goof off in such a situation when so many lives are at stake! What kind of Hero would that make me?
- You have two options: either save your friend who is hanging from a cliff, or chase after the bad guy who put them in a position. If you choose the former, the bad guy will get away and it will be hard to catch him. If you choose the latter, the cliff will crumble and the friend will fall to the spiky rocks below. What do you do and why?
I'd save my friend. A friend's life is always more important than catching the bad guy. Besides, it's the duty of a Hero to protect others, and there's always another Hero around to apprehend the criminal, especially when points are on the line.
[Third Person]
Ivan awoke to a dull pain in his skull, vibrating throughout his entire body until he felt as if he were about to pass out again. He blinked slowly before lifting himself off the ground as best he could, struggling to remember just what had happened.
After a few wobbly steps, he regained his footing -- for the most part, considering how badly injured he currently was. One step. Two steps. Three steps. Then, just as suddenly as he had regained his balance, Ivan had lost it once more, tumbling to the concrete in a heap of semi-broken limbs.
The young Hero closed his eyes, prepared to succumb to the darkness, when he remembered just where he was, and why he was there in the first place. Only one name came to mind, and that was --
"Jake... Martinez." he ground out with as much venom as he could muster, memories of their encounter flooding back. He had been afraid for his life, he wouldn't lie about that, but above that, Ivan had been afraid of failure. Allowing Jake to figure him out so easily meant certain failure for his mission, didn't it?
But no -- he had already succeeded. The important part was over, he had done it. Ivan felt like a true Hero for the first time in his life, having possibly single-handedly saved an entire city from destruction by infiltrating Jake Martinez's lair and discovering the secret to the powered exo-suits. What came after... he wasn't too worried about, since he had done his duty.
He never thought that his power would ever come in handy for anything, much less something so... so important. Ivan thought back on the words given to him by both Edward and Kotetsu --
'There's gotta be something that only you can do with your power, Ivan.'
The boy mused on these words, a slow smile creeping on his face -- before fading back into unconsciousness once more.
[Why do you want to play this character in Somarium?] Skye reserved Kotetsu, and it all snowballed from there since I adore the show and wanted a chance to play Ivan somewhere!
[Which rule was your favorite and why?] I still like being nice, because it's no fun playing if there's OOC wank everywhere.
[Any questions?] Nope! o/