It's distressing and yet, it's sorrowful and yet
The "You're Headcanoning what?" entry. Unmarked spoilers everywhere.
This will be updated as more things are headcanoned, this may be updated more often along with this document containing all the references I've gathered, episode breakdowns in relation to Ivan, and some more headcanoned things in relation to said information.
Ivan Centric Headcanon
Ivan got his powers at age 8 in the middle of his third grade class as he was trying to read aloud to everyone and stumbling on the words. Chaos erupted.
He was bullied a lot as a child. When friends got into a fight, Ivan was used as a scapegoat. "It wasn't me who said it; it was Ivan pretending to be me." "Let's poke Ivan until he shapeshifts!" "Ivan's that creepy kid who transforms into others and folds paper all the time." He was the last to be picked for teams too.
His parents were ashamed of him being a NEXT. It was hard to come home and see a stranger in the house or another of them and have it end up being their kid. Ivan spent holidays in his room "sick," and extended family was under the impression that he had a weak immune system. Ivan really doesn't know what a normal childhood was like. He entered the Hero Academy young and had little if any contact with his parents once there.
Ivan worked really hard to teach himself how to talk with his voice while he was transformed. It was mostly for the sake of his parents, so they'd know who he was. They weren't impressed and told him to get his powers under control. (Ivan had really bad control up until a few years in the Hero Academy)
His birthday is Dec. 5, the Day of the Ninja, and I place him at 19 by the end of ep. 25.
The Hero Academy was more a last option for Ivan than enrolling with his own free will since he showed no real belief in himself that he'd become a hero. (It's a nice idea but not something he thought he'd achieve)
Ivan once drank spiked punch at an a Academy party, tried to pick a fight with a wall to defend his ninja honor, spoke with the archaic Japanese, and attacked some taunting Academy bullies with origami shuriken. ... Or at least that's what Edward told him. He doesn't remember this at all.
Ivan's a fan of Japanese culture. He doesn't think "It's the best and all else fails to compare" but he shows a general/large preference to it. This started when he was young and trying to figure out what that symbol was that appeared when he shapeshifted. It was 忍, and he was... a ninja?! Ivan started researching all he could about ninja and started spreading out from there.
Related, Ivan may be of Russian decent, but he knows next to nothing about it. He adopted Japanese culture after being excluded from the one he had been born into once his powers had surfaced. He latched on to learning all he could and practicing certain things because that was really all he had after being tossed aside by everyone.
His love for origami started with origami shuriken. He wanted a shuriken because he was a ninja and looked them up online. He obviously couldn't have a real one, so he went with the next best thing. Things then went from there.
Ivan has a section of his residence full of Japanese weapons. He doesn't collect anime figures and posters or things like that. He collects traditional Japanese things with a preference toward ninja tools. He's surprisingly loaded with the Japanese weaponry.
His favorite anime and manga deal with nakama, something he wised he had growing up (but never thought possible) and later got in the Heroes.
He knows how to fold many types of origami and practices it often. He origami bombs with his finished works, leaving them in random places for people to find. (If he didn't, he'd have a house full of origami by now) Despite his skills, his favorite is still the shuriken, and he uses them to hide messages inside. All the letters to Edward are written inside an origami shuriken. The name Origami Cyclone was something Edward had come up for Ivan when they were planning out their Hero identities. Edward was thinking about the name Zen Beast.
Edward approached him for friendship first... after Ivan accidentally tripped over him half buried in sand. Ivan didn't believe him at first.
He's really good with knives and food preparation. Surprisingly he's a decent cook for himself. Though he doesn't believe it and turns into a nervous wreck when cooking for others. Everything burns or ingredients get mixed up! He likes making sushi and considered creating a Japanese persona named Orimi (折見), so he could get a job at a sushi restaurant. (Because a foreigner making sushi?)
The comments on his blog were really harsh. Some went as far to say that he should be killed by Lunatic for being such a bad Hero. (And Yuri wrote a few anon comments too.) Ivan had been facing a long period of self doubt that only increased exponentially with Lunatic's appearance. He was more than a little messed up as he thought suffocating in sand was the best use of his life now and a way to make Edward happy.
Before that event, he probably didn't have much contact with the other heroes as after that episode, he's seen more with them. He looks up to Wild Tiger the most and also views him a bit like a father. Sky High is second, and Ivan thinks that he must hold some secret to being up there in the rankings... but some of the things he does...
Ivan does not want anything to do with lemonade.
Ivan's insecurities and powers play into his daily clothing choice. He's trying to hide in the over-sized clothing. Similarly, he doesn't like being touched that much. When one can transform into anything previously touched, new things give him a little jolt of new transformation information. His clothes give him a minor barrier from that.
Origami Cyclone's geta are partially there to mask the fact that he's only 5'5". He never got that last growth spurt.
Ivan did try to see Edward right after he went to jail. The visit didn't last long, and Ivan was convinced that Edward never wanted to see or hear from him again. He lost contact from him until Edward escaped prison. Now, he regularly writes letters and visits.
For the longest time, there wasn't much talking during the visits and no reply letters. Ivan quietly folded origami on the other side of the glass as Edward stared off in some direction with an angry expression. Occasionally, Edward might say something like "Make a blue one" or "Fold an animal next." Despite the lack of talking or interaction, Edward didn't say no to the visits.
It was after Jake that Edward started talking back to Ivan because Edward realized just how worried he was when he didn't see Origami Cyclone on the spinning wheel of opponents. Where was Ivan?! Why wasn't he included? And he shouted this in the cafeteria as he and the other prisoners watched. Ivan didn't visit when he normally did. There were no letters. Edward didn't hear a thing about Origami Cyclone. Edward got worried.
During Ivan's first visit after Jake, Ivan was still wheelchair bound, bandaged up, and wearing a yukata because it hurt to get dressed in anything else on his own. Edward nearly ran to the meeting room and shouted questions of what the hell happened to him and was he okay?! Ivan started crying, and Edward panicked until he realized that Ivan actually crying because he was happy. They started to reconnect then. Ivan visits him one a week and writes him often.
***
Lion and Hare: one of Ivan's favorite anime
At sometime, Ivan may have the need to talk about some of the things he watches. I don't want to deal with 4th Walling permissions nor "researching" a lot of different series. Thus, you get a thinly veiled analog in the form of Lion and Hare.
Wild Tiger: Roaring Lion
Barnaby Brooks Jr.: Harley Harrison Sr. (Hare gets to be the Old Man in this one; don't ask how it works. This is all for the lulz anyways)
Kaede: Harley Harrison (Jr.)
Blue Rose: Red Iris (colored red to be Coca Cola)
Origami Cyclone: Kirigami Shuriken (She's Ivan's favorite!... Yes, a kunoichi.)
Dragon Kid: Ryuu Lee (Dragon + Bruce Lee)
Fire Emblem: Flaming Phoenix
Rock Bison: Stone Buffalo
Sky High: Fly By
Hero TV: Guardian Channel
Maverick: Irregular (lol Megaman X)
Stern Bild: Constell Nation
Agnes: Agatha
Lunatic: Moonstruck
Mr. Legend: Sir Mythology
Jake Martinez: Jacob Marcus
Ouroboros: Jormungand
Ivan doesn't realize the parallels, and some things are obviously different. For added "drama," Ivan got taken to EV after watching ep. 11. What happened to Kirigami?! Is she going to be okay?! D8
***
This will be updated as more things are headcanoned, this may be updated more often along with this document containing all the references I've gathered, episode breakdowns in relation to Ivan, and some more headcanoned things in relation to said information.
Ivan Centric Headcanon
Ivan got his powers at age 8 in the middle of his third grade class as he was trying to read aloud to everyone and stumbling on the words. Chaos erupted.
He was bullied a lot as a child. When friends got into a fight, Ivan was used as a scapegoat. "It wasn't me who said it; it was Ivan pretending to be me." "Let's poke Ivan until he shapeshifts!" "Ivan's that creepy kid who transforms into others and folds paper all the time." He was the last to be picked for teams too.
His parents were ashamed of him being a NEXT. It was hard to come home and see a stranger in the house or another of them and have it end up being their kid. Ivan spent holidays in his room "sick," and extended family was under the impression that he had a weak immune system. Ivan really doesn't know what a normal childhood was like. He entered the Hero Academy young and had little if any contact with his parents once there.
Ivan worked really hard to teach himself how to talk with his voice while he was transformed. It was mostly for the sake of his parents, so they'd know who he was. They weren't impressed and told him to get his powers under control. (Ivan had really bad control up until a few years in the Hero Academy)
His birthday is Dec. 5, the Day of the Ninja, and I place him at 19 by the end of ep. 25.
The Hero Academy was more a last option for Ivan than enrolling with his own free will since he showed no real belief in himself that he'd become a hero. (It's a nice idea but not something he thought he'd achieve)
Ivan once drank spiked punch at an a Academy party, tried to pick a fight with a wall to defend his ninja honor, spoke with the archaic Japanese, and attacked some taunting Academy bullies with origami shuriken. ... Or at least that's what Edward told him. He doesn't remember this at all.
Ivan's a fan of Japanese culture. He doesn't think "It's the best and all else fails to compare" but he shows a general/large preference to it. This started when he was young and trying to figure out what that symbol was that appeared when he shapeshifted. It was 忍, and he was... a ninja?! Ivan started researching all he could about ninja and started spreading out from there.
Related, Ivan may be of Russian decent, but he knows next to nothing about it. He adopted Japanese culture after being excluded from the one he had been born into once his powers had surfaced. He latched on to learning all he could and practicing certain things because that was really all he had after being tossed aside by everyone.
His love for origami started with origami shuriken. He wanted a shuriken because he was a ninja and looked them up online. He obviously couldn't have a real one, so he went with the next best thing. Things then went from there.
Ivan has a section of his residence full of Japanese weapons. He doesn't collect anime figures and posters or things like that. He collects traditional Japanese things with a preference toward ninja tools. He's surprisingly loaded with the Japanese weaponry.
His favorite anime and manga deal with nakama, something he wised he had growing up (but never thought possible) and later got in the Heroes.
He knows how to fold many types of origami and practices it often. He origami bombs with his finished works, leaving them in random places for people to find. (If he didn't, he'd have a house full of origami by now) Despite his skills, his favorite is still the shuriken, and he uses them to hide messages inside. All the letters to Edward are written inside an origami shuriken. The name Origami Cyclone was something Edward had come up for Ivan when they were planning out their Hero identities. Edward was thinking about the name Zen Beast.
Edward approached him for friendship first... after Ivan accidentally tripped over him half buried in sand. Ivan didn't believe him at first.
He's really good with knives and food preparation. Surprisingly he's a decent cook for himself. Though he doesn't believe it and turns into a nervous wreck when cooking for others. Everything burns or ingredients get mixed up! He likes making sushi and considered creating a Japanese persona named Orimi (折見), so he could get a job at a sushi restaurant. (Because a foreigner making sushi?)
The comments on his blog were really harsh. Some went as far to say that he should be killed by Lunatic for being such a bad Hero. (And Yuri wrote a few anon comments too.) Ivan had been facing a long period of self doubt that only increased exponentially with Lunatic's appearance. He was more than a little messed up as he thought suffocating in sand was the best use of his life now and a way to make Edward happy.
Before that event, he probably didn't have much contact with the other heroes as after that episode, he's seen more with them. He looks up to Wild Tiger the most and also views him a bit like a father. Sky High is second, and Ivan thinks that he must hold some secret to being up there in the rankings... but some of the things he does...
Ivan does not want anything to do with lemonade.
Ivan's insecurities and powers play into his daily clothing choice. He's trying to hide in the over-sized clothing. Similarly, he doesn't like being touched that much. When one can transform into anything previously touched, new things give him a little jolt of new transformation information. His clothes give him a minor barrier from that.
Origami Cyclone's geta are partially there to mask the fact that he's only 5'5". He never got that last growth spurt.
Ivan did try to see Edward right after he went to jail. The visit didn't last long, and Ivan was convinced that Edward never wanted to see or hear from him again. He lost contact from him until Edward escaped prison. Now, he regularly writes letters and visits.
For the longest time, there wasn't much talking during the visits and no reply letters. Ivan quietly folded origami on the other side of the glass as Edward stared off in some direction with an angry expression. Occasionally, Edward might say something like "Make a blue one" or "Fold an animal next." Despite the lack of talking or interaction, Edward didn't say no to the visits.
It was after Jake that Edward started talking back to Ivan because Edward realized just how worried he was when he didn't see Origami Cyclone on the spinning wheel of opponents. Where was Ivan?! Why wasn't he included? And he shouted this in the cafeteria as he and the other prisoners watched. Ivan didn't visit when he normally did. There were no letters. Edward didn't hear a thing about Origami Cyclone. Edward got worried.
During Ivan's first visit after Jake, Ivan was still wheelchair bound, bandaged up, and wearing a yukata because it hurt to get dressed in anything else on his own. Edward nearly ran to the meeting room and shouted questions of what the hell happened to him and was he okay?! Ivan started crying, and Edward panicked until he realized that Ivan actually crying because he was happy. They started to reconnect then. Ivan visits him one a week and writes him often.
***
Lion and Hare: one of Ivan's favorite anime
At sometime, Ivan may have the need to talk about some of the things he watches. I don't want to deal with 4th Walling permissions nor "researching" a lot of different series. Thus, you get a thinly veiled analog in the form of Lion and Hare.
Wild Tiger: Roaring Lion
Barnaby Brooks Jr.: Harley Harrison Sr. (Hare gets to be the Old Man in this one; don't ask how it works. This is all for the lulz anyways)
Kaede: Harley Harrison (Jr.)
Blue Rose: Red Iris (colored red to be Coca Cola)
Origami Cyclone: Kirigami Shuriken (She's Ivan's favorite!... Yes, a kunoichi.)
Dragon Kid: Ryuu Lee (Dragon + Bruce Lee)
Fire Emblem: Flaming Phoenix
Rock Bison: Stone Buffalo
Sky High: Fly By
Hero TV: Guardian Channel
Maverick: Irregular (lol Megaman X)
Stern Bild: Constell Nation
Agnes: Agatha
Lunatic: Moonstruck
Mr. Legend: Sir Mythology
Jake Martinez: Jacob Marcus
Ouroboros: Jormungand
Ivan doesn't realize the parallels, and some things are obviously different. For added "drama," Ivan got taken to EV after watching ep. 11. What happened to Kirigami?! Is she going to be okay?! D8
***