- Profile -
Player Information
Name: Eri
Timezone: GMT -5
Personal Journal: ”ishika_seki”
Players Contact/AIM/MSN/YAHOO: AIM - Yanderedere; MSN -ishikaseki@hotmail.com
Email Address: ishikaseki@hotmail.com
Former/Other Characters in the RP: Nope, none yet. c:
How did you hear about us?: Touya kept talking about how fun the place is, so I decided to have a look~
Character Information
Name: Ivan Ivanovich Braginski
Canon Origin/Series: Axis Powers Hetalia
Teaching Position and why it suits them:
[Idea for the class also from “Magical Hogwarts”, linked in Gil’s profile.]
Curses and Hexes - Curses & hexes invoke negative results upon the target. Curses are primarily used as offensive spells, usually to damage the target in some way. Hexes are a lesser classification of curses - whereas a curse is naturally dark and used to impair something; hexes are made dark by the caster and affect the target in a more minor way. In addition, the class will be used to teach students the proper steps to remove curses. Practice makes perfect, after all, and if a student is not taught, then they will find themselves unprepared in real-life situations. Special tutoring lessons after class hours can be arranged if a student shows particular talent, or if a parent specifically requests it. The content of said tutoring lessons might be exactly what one would expect of such secretive meetings. Or not. The content depends on the student, always. Years 4-7 only, with special allowances made only at parental request for special tutoring courses and Ivan’s own discretion.
Why it fits - In canon, Ivan is paranoid and guarded, which would carry over to the universe in such a way where he would find it most beneficial to be able to defend against everything, including the Dark Arts. Book-based studies are all well and good, but without practice, a student is as good as dead when those curses are flying at them. In addition, being from Durmstrang has given him a bit of a skewed perspective on the Dark Arts and the use thereof (not to mention his particular aptitude for them), and a class like this allows him to teach practical applications without coming off as evil or getting himself arrested.
The above has been transfigured into a dueling class. Same/similar concepts will be taught, just in a different context. Restrictions and special exceptions are still in place.
Gender: Male
Age: 24
Out of school living location: St. Petersburg, Russia
Blood status: Ivan comes from a long line of pureblood, pure Russian witches and wizards.
Personality: Ivan is... quite a bit more than the psychopath people take him for. Sure he has sadistic tendencies, and can get violent if someone or something he views as 'his' tries to leave him, but... that is simply because being left alone in the vast, cold, expanse that is Russia can take quite the toll on a person. He knows, inherently, that what he does is wrong, but he doesn't know what to do about it. He was always treated the same, and hated it, yet hardly behaves differently when put in a sour mood or on those days where everything seems to catch up with him and he can only be described as significantly less than sane. But on the good days... On the good days, the "sane" days, he possesses a childish innocence that is certainly difficult to find fault with... unless you're the sort that gets annoyed with a grown man enjoying simple things. That said, he does have a penchant for being manipulative and scheming, especially if the ends involve something... or someone... he wants falling right into his hands.
Ivan struggles with a severe case of paranoia, and to say he has trust issues would be putting the matter very lightly. He also has a near-fanatical sense of loyalty once his trust is gained, though it is terribly easy to lose, so that trust is not something to be treated lightly or abused. If, somehow, one has found a way to endear themselves to the man, then they will find him to be extremely overprotective, to the point of almost being oppressive. Natalya and Katya experience this, and most of the time, he doesn’t even realize he does it. They (and anyone else that finds themselves encompassed in this “affection”) are of the utmost importance to him, and he will do everything in his considerable power to keep them safe.
Because he never got much of a childhood, he’s managed to retain an air of innocence about him. He doesn’t understand a lot of things the current generation would view as common sense, in regards to expressions or idioms.
Canon Background: Chronological order is difficult, given Himaruya’s tendency to be… flighty at best with a consistent plotline, giving us bits of history here and there amid myriad fun events set, seemingly, in the present, so I’ll go in historical order, with the things he’s touched on, I guess.
Russia is shown as a small child with his sisters, out in the cold and trying to manage, generally being sweet little siblings, with Ukraine looking out for them by giving Russia her scarf, the one he still wears to this day. She makes him promise to give her the capital of Rus in exchange in the future, and sure enough, the capital of Ukraine is Kiev, which was the closest that Rus had to a capital at the time - it was certainly the most important city. He’s shown as a child again, this time without his sisters, and dressed in rags and missing shoes in the snow. He meets Lithuania (and his “cute little bow-wow”), and they recognize one another as Nations, but don’t know who the other is. Russia warns Lithuania about the Tatars and proceeds to run away.
Fast forward all the way to World War One, and the end thereof - Bloody Sunday in particular. That strip is a particular bout of mood whiplash in a normally lighthearted comic. Russia is shown crying, and speaking with Lithuania, as his people are shouting in protest outside. They want the tsar to be sent out, want to bring down the country. The strip is a prime indicator of, somewhat ironically, Ivan’s childish nature, in addition to showing how deep his psychological problems run. He ends up leaning on the window, watching his people riot, crying, and despairs over how it has been like this for centuries. “I finally made this nation stronger and more prestigious by myself… I worked so hard… Why is it that nothing goes right…? Why do they always end up hating me? Everyone says it’s my fault, my fault. I’ve endured it for centuries. Why can’t everyone just get along nicely with each other…?” It shows, too, that he means well, and wants the best for his people, but that he is not always capable of giving that to them, concerning the political climate of the time. The strip, fittingly enough, is titled “About the Fact that Russia’s History is too Scary.”
In Hetalia, the events of World War Two are presented more from an Axis standpoint (as implied by the name, and the fact the Axis Powers are the main three characters), but the Allies are touched on. The Molotov-Ribbentrop pact is referenced in a very early strip, which has since been deleted from Himaruya’s blog due to historical inaccuracy, but on a character level, it established a general sort of almost-friendly rivalry between the characters Russia and Germany. It neglects to mention the distrust both nations went in to the agreement holding, but a later strip, where Russia and his household go to visit Germany’s house does establish more distrust, along with highlighting Russia’s tendency towards the manipulative side of things, speaking quickly to add Italy (and him being given to Russia) to the agreement. Japan makes an appearance in this strip, and shows nothing but hatred towards Russia, setting elaborate (and ridiculous) ninja-styled traps to try and do harm to him, which are foiled at every turn.
The aforementioned strip, along with another, highlight some strange quirks exhibited by Russian troops during the war, such as taking home water pipes as souvenirs, finding them to be magical and able to summon water, as well as leaping out of planes without a parachute to their demise because the snow below them was soft, and no one knows snow like a Russian. Russia himself, in both, shows nothing but childlike innocence and wonder at the water pipe, and the fact that China thinks a parachute is needed when one is jumping into the snow. Of course you don’t. It is later said that Russia was recovering from the jump, where he “broke every bone in his body” (the anime lessens the severity by saying he broke his leg), and shows a Nation’s uncanny ability to heal, and inability to die - at least while their country is still in existence.
In regards to the Cold War, it is touched on here and there, with what appears to be an almost friendly rivalry between America and Russia. Sometimes. When they aren’t looking at one another like they want to kill each other. Given the nature of the comic itself, it isn’t surprising that it is portrayed as the passive-aggressive cock-measuring fight that it was. Hetalia took a turn for the literal, with there being both a strip and an episode detailing an incident where America’s boss tells him to call Russia up and order ten-inch condoms. Thinking it would lower Russian morale, he does, to which Russia expresses doubt at his ability to deliver. It then cuts to America bringing a box to his boss, with XS prominently displayed on the side, and America asking if he ordered something super small from Russia.
The other relevant strips can be considered non-historical, and assumed to be set in the present-day. They portray Russia, just as in all the others, as childishly innocent, yet a little (or a lot) unhinged. Added to that, Russian history itself is worth noting, in regards to the character and his personality.
Background (AU!Canon; HP): [killer] A member of a long line of Russian wizards, Ivan is the only child of the head family of the main branch. Because of this, there was immense pressure put on the boy to excel, succeed, keep the family’s name in high regard… and when he put any hint of an idea in their heads, intentionally or not, that he might fail, punishment was severe. Despite this, the boy never came to resent magic, or the study thereof, which he started before he was even put in to school. When his father was around, studying made him appear to have a vested interest in what they wanted of him, and… well, when Ivan’s parents were pleased, life was relatively easy for the boy.
Early on, Ivan grew used to not staying in one place for very long, or, as much as “not very long” meant to a young boy who usually tended to keep to himself. Most of the time, they spent their days in the old family home in Moscow, with its expansive halls and… emptiness. It was just the three of them, and the servants, of which Ivan never knew how many of them there were, or even where they stayed, as they came and went as secretive and silent as ghosts, getting things done, but never speaking to the boy. The house was vast, and dark, and cold, and Ivan could never quite understand that strange aching feeling in his chest that it seemed to cause. Whenever it would flare up, instead of going outdoors to try and find someone else, as was the initial instinct to do (and proven a bad idea after the first time he came in winded and dirty and laughing), he tucked himself away in the library to study more, figuring a distraction would make it go away. It usually helped, for a time. When not in Moscow, Ivan found himself in a smaller house in Ireland, for the summers. He asked, once, why they did not simply have a dacha in the Russian countryside for such trips, why he had to struggle with his English through listening to it spoken with the Irish accent and dialect - as if it was not already difficult enough - and, as was usually the case when he asked questions, was made to regret it.
He never did learn why they went there for the summers, but soon came to enjoy it, as it signaled months where his father was seldom home, even at night. The added freedom prompted Ivan to “act out” in small little ways. He read fiction instead of academic material, poured over the words, and though he didn’t pretend to understand everything - the themes contained within were far above him, but not the stories - soon enough, muggles or not, Pushkin and Dostoyevsky, Chekhov and Pasternak, among so many others, became his best of friends. It was his little secret, and made him feel as though he were breaking every rule ever laid out - muggles were unintelligent scum, after all - and… he’d hardly felt better.
The blessing that came in the form of Ireland only seemed to grow, when one year they got visitors. A cousin was coming to live with him, Yekaterina was her name, and Ivan learned she was of a Ukrainian branch of the family. That didn’t matter to him, and she soon became like a sister to him, and he loved her more than he’d loved anyone before. It was glorious, and made him look forward to summers all the more. She was a year older, and the summer when Ivan was ten, barely giving thought to the schooling that loomed imminent, she received a letter. The letter was from a one Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and in a move that shocked what seemed to be the whole family, she was sent there, instead of the Durmstrang Institute of Magic. What happened next was a whirlwind of malcontent, and while she was still allowed to stay the following summer - if only to give another newcomer, young cousin Natalya a sister-figure to attach to - Ivan had the feeling that he would not see either of them often after that, despite what all they had done for him.
The summer after Yekaterina’s first year at Hogwarts, Ivan, too, received the same letter she had, presumably because of his current residence in Ireland. His father was irate, and Ivan knew better than to request going there to be with his dear cousin, and so when the summer was over, instead of going to the cold castle of his family’s estate, he was sent away to the halls of Durmstrang, where he kept mostly to himself. Early studying helped him to excel, and despite trying to keep a low profile, he quickly gained a reputation of generally being good at whatever he tried. Not… that he tried much. He did not make any sort of effort to reach out to the other students or involve himself in extracurricular activities; instead preferring to occupy time not spent studying writing letters to Katya. He would always watch and wonder at the more outgoing students - wonder how they could do such a thing, and wonder if he’d ever find the confidence to branch out like that - but would always eventually shrink back to his studies.
Surprisingly enough to Ivan, summers continued to be spent with Katya and Natalya in Ireland, and eventually Natalya, though shy, and quiet, and Ivan grew closer, as he let her cling on him and follow him around as though they’d grown up with one another. Her family, being of a Belorussian offshoot of the main family line, was pleased with the relationship, though Ivan never quite understood what that would hold in store for them later. Schooling and summers became a routine passing of time, each consecutive summer heralding an increase in Natalya’s affection. It was endearing at first, and quickly escalated into the realm of the strange when the young girl - far too young to be concerned with such things, in his opinion - began speaking of marriage. They were cousins, though it appeared the idea was planted in her head by her parents, to gain more prestige, as soon enough Ivan learned that they had moved to Ireland to make it easier for her to be close to him.
A blessing and a curse came one summer, in the form of Ivan’s father losing his job to someone younger, yet more skilled. It brought him home, and brought Ivan and the girls into his watchful, judgmental eye. Ivan would stand up for them, to his own detriment, and things soon spiraled to a point worse than they were before Ivan started going to school. Natalya would find herself finally allowed cling and dote upon Ivan, and when her affections became unnerving, his father was right there to remind him that it could be so much worse. In a way, they ended up as distractions from one another, though that was neither healthy nor beneficial in any way to the young wizard. On returning to school, he threw himself more wholly into his studies, as they provided the better distraction, and let him forget how soon he’d be going home, made all the worse as the spring thawed the unforgiving ice of winter.
Immediately after graduating Durmstrang, Ivan found himself adrift, unsure of where to go, or what to do with himself. It was strongly recommended that he pursue Auror training, given his talents, but he declined. Against his better judgment, he took to spending much time at home, trying to find himself when “study” was no longer in the equation. He found his progress stagnating, and that was frustrating at best to all parties involved. That summer, too, Natalya received her Hogwarts letter, and, somehow, it was his fault when she enrolled and went at the end of the summer. It was his fault she was in Ireland in the first place, so that must have meant that it was his fault she had little choice but to go to the British school. Nonsense, but he listened nevertheless, gaining a peculiar resentment for this “Hogwarts” place, yet a curiosity about it all the same. In letters from Katya and Natalia, it was always, and had always been described as a wonderful place, where magic was magical, if that made any sense to him (and also, in Natalya’s case, that they should be married, but those subscripts went ignored easily enough). They’d always kept him curious, despite his continued leanings towards the Dark Arts.
It took some years, many letters, and much thought, but eventually the blame and the abuse became too much, and Ivan lashed out. Dolohov's Curse was something he’d always been… fond of, in school, as the discrepancy between how beautiful it was to look at and how much pain it was capable of inflicting was fascinating to him, though he’d never had any intention of turning it on someone else, let alone someone who - as far as he was concerned - could decide to end him on a moment’s notice.
He did not stay long enough to see the result of his disobedience, taking the first train from Moscow he could get - momentary aversion to magic in general dictating the muggle means of transport - and fleeing to France, and trying to pretend everything would come to be normal soon enough. Letters from his sisters were slower coming, as the owls needed to locate him (he suspected his mother had a hand in assisting them, though he could never be sure), though he was always quick to respond when he got the letters, keeping them updated on his location, if not his questionable state, though a sharp shift in his phrasing and handwriting (indicating paranoia at best), threatened to betray his true mental state. Veiled suggestions came, indicating it might be a good idea if he were to consider finally going to Hogwarts, see if he could find a place for himself there, as they seemed to collect the displaced and give them something to do with themselves. He was forced to wonder if it was a good idea, even as he made plans to go, to speak with the Headmaster, see if they were right in the path he should take, if only for a little while…
And despite everything, despite his leanings toward and fascination with the Dark Arts, and his questionable mental state, he was welcomed, given a home for the coming school year (in which Natalya would be entering her sixth year, and where he had little doubt she would be electing to take his class) and a class to teach. He’s never felt more welcomed, and in the short span of time which he’s known of being hired, he’s gained the ability to at least keep a façade of calm. Whether or not that is capable of continuing on, amidst interactions with students and other faculty will only tell.
Meanwhile, while waiting on the coming school year to begin, he’s busying himself with locating an old family home, unused and in disrepair for a long time, in Saint Petersburg, as he has become reluctant to go to their Irish home in the summer, nor has he any desire to return to Moscow.[queen]
Sample Journal Entry:
[The text is a bit sloppy and half in cursive - English is not his first language, and it shows terribly.]
Magical journals for… communication? My, they do think of everything, don’t they?
If you are reading this, then I would assume I will shortly be working with you or teaching you or seeing you about the hallways come this fall, and in an attempt to avoid needing to do so in person, I feel it may be… prudent… to lay ground rules now. Consider it a pre-assignment, if you will, though phrasing it as such will ensure a good half of you won’t read this, I am sure.
► If you elect to take my class, I expect you to be on time, and silent while I am speaking. It is to your detriment should you choose to not pay attention, but that is your prerogative. I do not have to pass you, after all~
► Unnecessary or unexpected affection is unwanted and likely to make you into a demonstration object.
► Pets, though a requirement of the school, I hear, are not welcome in my classroom. I have no need of disruptions.
Aah… I am sure that I will think of more as I become accustomed to teaching, and as you all become accustomed to me. If it frightens you that dark magic will be being used in the classroom - for your benefit only, I assure you - then I would advise not taking my class.
…
……
………
Now look at me, writing to you all and making a first impression as stuffy or intimidating. That won’t do… [Ink dots and small splatters, from absent tapping of the quill on the page] Yet I have no idea how to remedy that without bribing you with candies on the first day of class. But then I would be lying to you, as I have no intention of doing that at all… ah… and now I am going on and rambling. Apologies. I suppose I will be having to make a better impression when we meet in person.
[cursive Cyrillic scrawl - clearly more comfortable with his mother language, despite it only being a simple signature]
Иван Брагинский
Sample Interaction Post in Third Person:
As Ivan swept through the corridor of Hogwarts castle, he once again marveled at how comfortable the school was kept, despite the cold and dreary weather outside - and the fact that one did not have to go outdoors to get from one part of the school to another, unless you wished to - both stark differences from his days at Durmstrang, with its separate buildings and cold corridors, where students were lucky if there were fireplaces in the classroom come autumn. Dormitories were different, of course, as it wouldn’t do to have students falling ill left and right from the cold, but… oh, there his thoughts went wandering again, as they were wont to do when he did not have anything in particular to be doing.
He was brought back to the present when what he assumed to be a first or second year crashed into him with a soft ‘thump’, the Russian professor’s penchant for wearing heavy coats no matter the season providing minor cushioning for the impact. “I-I-I’m sorry, Professor Braginski!” It seemed neither of them had been paying attention to their surroundings. As Ivan was just as at fault as the student, he was about to respond in kind, similarly apologizing, but the flighty thing was off running to their next class - or into another teacher, where they would be sure to be admonished for running in the halls.
Was he really so intimidating, he wondered, watching the direction in which the student had fled curiously. He didn’t think he was, despite his teaching methods, but then again, such things did have a tendency for building a person’s reputation.
“…Professor Braginski.” Granted, it had only been a few months since he started, but as he repeated the student, it was glaringly apparent how… strange it still was to hear. He didn’t dislike it, but… well, he certainly wasn’t used to it. At all.
Now… what was he up to again? He wasn’t headed to a class - he had the period off - but the musing and short distraction left him without direction. He looked in the direction he was headed, tried to remember, but simply couldn’t for the life of him.
…That meant it must not have been important, so he could do as he pleased!
A slightly bigger smile than normal crept its way onto his face as he strode towards a window - if it wasn’t raining outside, he could settle himself in the courtyard with one of his well-worn and oft-read muggle books, tucked carefully in one of many inner pockets of his coat. Boots clicked with increasing speed towards the outdoors as the idea seemed fantastic, moreso on the discovery that the almost ever-present British rain seemed to have had mercy on the school, at least for a time.
Name: Eri
Timezone: GMT -5
Personal Journal: ”ishika_seki”
Players Contact/AIM/MSN/YAHOO: AIM - Yanderedere; MSN -ishikaseki@hotmail.com
Email Address: ishikaseki@hotmail.com
Former/Other Characters in the RP: Nope, none yet. c:
How did you hear about us?: Touya kept talking about how fun the place is, so I decided to have a look~
Character Information
Name: Ivan Ivanovich Braginski
Canon Origin/Series: Axis Powers Hetalia
Teaching Position and why it suits them:
[Idea for the class also from “Magical Hogwarts”, linked in Gil’s profile.]
Curses and Hexes - Curses & hexes invoke negative results upon the target. Curses are primarily used as offensive spells, usually to damage the target in some way. Hexes are a lesser classification of curses - whereas a curse is naturally dark and used to impair something; hexes are made dark by the caster and affect the target in a more minor way. In addition, the class will be used to teach students the proper steps to remove curses. Practice makes perfect, after all, and if a student is not taught, then they will find themselves unprepared in real-life situations. Special tutoring lessons after class hours can be arranged if a student shows particular talent, or if a parent specifically requests it. The content of said tutoring lessons might be exactly what one would expect of such secretive meetings. Or not. The content depends on the student, always. Years 4-7 only, with special allowances made only at parental request for special tutoring courses and Ivan’s own discretion.
Why it fits - In canon, Ivan is paranoid and guarded, which would carry over to the universe in such a way where he would find it most beneficial to be able to defend against everything, including the Dark Arts. Book-based studies are all well and good, but without practice, a student is as good as dead when those curses are flying at them. In addition, being from Durmstrang has given him a bit of a skewed perspective on the Dark Arts and the use thereof (not to mention his particular aptitude for them), and a class like this allows him to teach practical applications without coming off as evil or getting himself arrested.
The above has been transfigured into a dueling class. Same/similar concepts will be taught, just in a different context. Restrictions and special exceptions are still in place.
Gender: Male
Age: 24
Out of school living location: St. Petersburg, Russia
Blood status: Ivan comes from a long line of pureblood, pure Russian witches and wizards.
Personality: Ivan is... quite a bit more than the psychopath people take him for. Sure he has sadistic tendencies, and can get violent if someone or something he views as 'his' tries to leave him, but... that is simply because being left alone in the vast, cold, expanse that is Russia can take quite the toll on a person. He knows, inherently, that what he does is wrong, but he doesn't know what to do about it. He was always treated the same, and hated it, yet hardly behaves differently when put in a sour mood or on those days where everything seems to catch up with him and he can only be described as significantly less than sane. But on the good days... On the good days, the "sane" days, he possesses a childish innocence that is certainly difficult to find fault with... unless you're the sort that gets annoyed with a grown man enjoying simple things. That said, he does have a penchant for being manipulative and scheming, especially if the ends involve something... or someone... he wants falling right into his hands.
Ivan struggles with a severe case of paranoia, and to say he has trust issues would be putting the matter very lightly. He also has a near-fanatical sense of loyalty once his trust is gained, though it is terribly easy to lose, so that trust is not something to be treated lightly or abused. If, somehow, one has found a way to endear themselves to the man, then they will find him to be extremely overprotective, to the point of almost being oppressive. Natalya and Katya experience this, and most of the time, he doesn’t even realize he does it. They (and anyone else that finds themselves encompassed in this “affection”) are of the utmost importance to him, and he will do everything in his considerable power to keep them safe.
Because he never got much of a childhood, he’s managed to retain an air of innocence about him. He doesn’t understand a lot of things the current generation would view as common sense, in regards to expressions or idioms.
Canon Background: Chronological order is difficult, given Himaruya’s tendency to be… flighty at best with a consistent plotline, giving us bits of history here and there amid myriad fun events set, seemingly, in the present, so I’ll go in historical order, with the things he’s touched on, I guess.
Russia is shown as a small child with his sisters, out in the cold and trying to manage, generally being sweet little siblings, with Ukraine looking out for them by giving Russia her scarf, the one he still wears to this day. She makes him promise to give her the capital of Rus in exchange in the future, and sure enough, the capital of Ukraine is Kiev, which was the closest that Rus had to a capital at the time - it was certainly the most important city. He’s shown as a child again, this time without his sisters, and dressed in rags and missing shoes in the snow. He meets Lithuania (and his “cute little bow-wow”), and they recognize one another as Nations, but don’t know who the other is. Russia warns Lithuania about the Tatars and proceeds to run away.
Fast forward all the way to World War One, and the end thereof - Bloody Sunday in particular. That strip is a particular bout of mood whiplash in a normally lighthearted comic. Russia is shown crying, and speaking with Lithuania, as his people are shouting in protest outside. They want the tsar to be sent out, want to bring down the country. The strip is a prime indicator of, somewhat ironically, Ivan’s childish nature, in addition to showing how deep his psychological problems run. He ends up leaning on the window, watching his people riot, crying, and despairs over how it has been like this for centuries. “I finally made this nation stronger and more prestigious by myself… I worked so hard… Why is it that nothing goes right…? Why do they always end up hating me? Everyone says it’s my fault, my fault. I’ve endured it for centuries. Why can’t everyone just get along nicely with each other…?” It shows, too, that he means well, and wants the best for his people, but that he is not always capable of giving that to them, concerning the political climate of the time. The strip, fittingly enough, is titled “About the Fact that Russia’s History is too Scary.”
In Hetalia, the events of World War Two are presented more from an Axis standpoint (as implied by the name, and the fact the Axis Powers are the main three characters), but the Allies are touched on. The Molotov-Ribbentrop pact is referenced in a very early strip, which has since been deleted from Himaruya’s blog due to historical inaccuracy, but on a character level, it established a general sort of almost-friendly rivalry between the characters Russia and Germany. It neglects to mention the distrust both nations went in to the agreement holding, but a later strip, where Russia and his household go to visit Germany’s house does establish more distrust, along with highlighting Russia’s tendency towards the manipulative side of things, speaking quickly to add Italy (and him being given to Russia) to the agreement. Japan makes an appearance in this strip, and shows nothing but hatred towards Russia, setting elaborate (and ridiculous) ninja-styled traps to try and do harm to him, which are foiled at every turn.
The aforementioned strip, along with another, highlight some strange quirks exhibited by Russian troops during the war, such as taking home water pipes as souvenirs, finding them to be magical and able to summon water, as well as leaping out of planes without a parachute to their demise because the snow below them was soft, and no one knows snow like a Russian. Russia himself, in both, shows nothing but childlike innocence and wonder at the water pipe, and the fact that China thinks a parachute is needed when one is jumping into the snow. Of course you don’t. It is later said that Russia was recovering from the jump, where he “broke every bone in his body” (the anime lessens the severity by saying he broke his leg), and shows a Nation’s uncanny ability to heal, and inability to die - at least while their country is still in existence.
In regards to the Cold War, it is touched on here and there, with what appears to be an almost friendly rivalry between America and Russia. Sometimes. When they aren’t looking at one another like they want to kill each other. Given the nature of the comic itself, it isn’t surprising that it is portrayed as the passive-aggressive cock-measuring fight that it was. Hetalia took a turn for the literal, with there being both a strip and an episode detailing an incident where America’s boss tells him to call Russia up and order ten-inch condoms. Thinking it would lower Russian morale, he does, to which Russia expresses doubt at his ability to deliver. It then cuts to America bringing a box to his boss, with XS prominently displayed on the side, and America asking if he ordered something super small from Russia.
The other relevant strips can be considered non-historical, and assumed to be set in the present-day. They portray Russia, just as in all the others, as childishly innocent, yet a little (or a lot) unhinged. Added to that, Russian history itself is worth noting, in regards to the character and his personality.
Background (AU!Canon; HP): [killer] A member of a long line of Russian wizards, Ivan is the only child of the head family of the main branch. Because of this, there was immense pressure put on the boy to excel, succeed, keep the family’s name in high regard… and when he put any hint of an idea in their heads, intentionally or not, that he might fail, punishment was severe. Despite this, the boy never came to resent magic, or the study thereof, which he started before he was even put in to school. When his father was around, studying made him appear to have a vested interest in what they wanted of him, and… well, when Ivan’s parents were pleased, life was relatively easy for the boy.
Early on, Ivan grew used to not staying in one place for very long, or, as much as “not very long” meant to a young boy who usually tended to keep to himself. Most of the time, they spent their days in the old family home in Moscow, with its expansive halls and… emptiness. It was just the three of them, and the servants, of which Ivan never knew how many of them there were, or even where they stayed, as they came and went as secretive and silent as ghosts, getting things done, but never speaking to the boy. The house was vast, and dark, and cold, and Ivan could never quite understand that strange aching feeling in his chest that it seemed to cause. Whenever it would flare up, instead of going outdoors to try and find someone else, as was the initial instinct to do (and proven a bad idea after the first time he came in winded and dirty and laughing), he tucked himself away in the library to study more, figuring a distraction would make it go away. It usually helped, for a time. When not in Moscow, Ivan found himself in a smaller house in Ireland, for the summers. He asked, once, why they did not simply have a dacha in the Russian countryside for such trips, why he had to struggle with his English through listening to it spoken with the Irish accent and dialect - as if it was not already difficult enough - and, as was usually the case when he asked questions, was made to regret it.
He never did learn why they went there for the summers, but soon came to enjoy it, as it signaled months where his father was seldom home, even at night. The added freedom prompted Ivan to “act out” in small little ways. He read fiction instead of academic material, poured over the words, and though he didn’t pretend to understand everything - the themes contained within were far above him, but not the stories - soon enough, muggles or not, Pushkin and Dostoyevsky, Chekhov and Pasternak, among so many others, became his best of friends. It was his little secret, and made him feel as though he were breaking every rule ever laid out - muggles were unintelligent scum, after all - and… he’d hardly felt better.
The blessing that came in the form of Ireland only seemed to grow, when one year they got visitors. A cousin was coming to live with him, Yekaterina was her name, and Ivan learned she was of a Ukrainian branch of the family. That didn’t matter to him, and she soon became like a sister to him, and he loved her more than he’d loved anyone before. It was glorious, and made him look forward to summers all the more. She was a year older, and the summer when Ivan was ten, barely giving thought to the schooling that loomed imminent, she received a letter. The letter was from a one Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and in a move that shocked what seemed to be the whole family, she was sent there, instead of the Durmstrang Institute of Magic. What happened next was a whirlwind of malcontent, and while she was still allowed to stay the following summer - if only to give another newcomer, young cousin Natalya a sister-figure to attach to - Ivan had the feeling that he would not see either of them often after that, despite what all they had done for him.
The summer after Yekaterina’s first year at Hogwarts, Ivan, too, received the same letter she had, presumably because of his current residence in Ireland. His father was irate, and Ivan knew better than to request going there to be with his dear cousin, and so when the summer was over, instead of going to the cold castle of his family’s estate, he was sent away to the halls of Durmstrang, where he kept mostly to himself. Early studying helped him to excel, and despite trying to keep a low profile, he quickly gained a reputation of generally being good at whatever he tried. Not… that he tried much. He did not make any sort of effort to reach out to the other students or involve himself in extracurricular activities; instead preferring to occupy time not spent studying writing letters to Katya. He would always watch and wonder at the more outgoing students - wonder how they could do such a thing, and wonder if he’d ever find the confidence to branch out like that - but would always eventually shrink back to his studies.
Surprisingly enough to Ivan, summers continued to be spent with Katya and Natalya in Ireland, and eventually Natalya, though shy, and quiet, and Ivan grew closer, as he let her cling on him and follow him around as though they’d grown up with one another. Her family, being of a Belorussian offshoot of the main family line, was pleased with the relationship, though Ivan never quite understood what that would hold in store for them later. Schooling and summers became a routine passing of time, each consecutive summer heralding an increase in Natalya’s affection. It was endearing at first, and quickly escalated into the realm of the strange when the young girl - far too young to be concerned with such things, in his opinion - began speaking of marriage. They were cousins, though it appeared the idea was planted in her head by her parents, to gain more prestige, as soon enough Ivan learned that they had moved to Ireland to make it easier for her to be close to him.
A blessing and a curse came one summer, in the form of Ivan’s father losing his job to someone younger, yet more skilled. It brought him home, and brought Ivan and the girls into his watchful, judgmental eye. Ivan would stand up for them, to his own detriment, and things soon spiraled to a point worse than they were before Ivan started going to school. Natalya would find herself finally allowed cling and dote upon Ivan, and when her affections became unnerving, his father was right there to remind him that it could be so much worse. In a way, they ended up as distractions from one another, though that was neither healthy nor beneficial in any way to the young wizard. On returning to school, he threw himself more wholly into his studies, as they provided the better distraction, and let him forget how soon he’d be going home, made all the worse as the spring thawed the unforgiving ice of winter.
Immediately after graduating Durmstrang, Ivan found himself adrift, unsure of where to go, or what to do with himself. It was strongly recommended that he pursue Auror training, given his talents, but he declined. Against his better judgment, he took to spending much time at home, trying to find himself when “study” was no longer in the equation. He found his progress stagnating, and that was frustrating at best to all parties involved. That summer, too, Natalya received her Hogwarts letter, and, somehow, it was his fault when she enrolled and went at the end of the summer. It was his fault she was in Ireland in the first place, so that must have meant that it was his fault she had little choice but to go to the British school. Nonsense, but he listened nevertheless, gaining a peculiar resentment for this “Hogwarts” place, yet a curiosity about it all the same. In letters from Katya and Natalia, it was always, and had always been described as a wonderful place, where magic was magical, if that made any sense to him (and also, in Natalya’s case, that they should be married, but those subscripts went ignored easily enough). They’d always kept him curious, despite his continued leanings towards the Dark Arts.
It took some years, many letters, and much thought, but eventually the blame and the abuse became too much, and Ivan lashed out. Dolohov's Curse was something he’d always been… fond of, in school, as the discrepancy between how beautiful it was to look at and how much pain it was capable of inflicting was fascinating to him, though he’d never had any intention of turning it on someone else, let alone someone who - as far as he was concerned - could decide to end him on a moment’s notice.
He did not stay long enough to see the result of his disobedience, taking the first train from Moscow he could get - momentary aversion to magic in general dictating the muggle means of transport - and fleeing to France, and trying to pretend everything would come to be normal soon enough. Letters from his sisters were slower coming, as the owls needed to locate him (he suspected his mother had a hand in assisting them, though he could never be sure), though he was always quick to respond when he got the letters, keeping them updated on his location, if not his questionable state, though a sharp shift in his phrasing and handwriting (indicating paranoia at best), threatened to betray his true mental state. Veiled suggestions came, indicating it might be a good idea if he were to consider finally going to Hogwarts, see if he could find a place for himself there, as they seemed to collect the displaced and give them something to do with themselves. He was forced to wonder if it was a good idea, even as he made plans to go, to speak with the Headmaster, see if they were right in the path he should take, if only for a little while…
And despite everything, despite his leanings toward and fascination with the Dark Arts, and his questionable mental state, he was welcomed, given a home for the coming school year (in which Natalya would be entering her sixth year, and where he had little doubt she would be electing to take his class) and a class to teach. He’s never felt more welcomed, and in the short span of time which he’s known of being hired, he’s gained the ability to at least keep a façade of calm. Whether or not that is capable of continuing on, amidst interactions with students and other faculty will only tell.
Meanwhile, while waiting on the coming school year to begin, he’s busying himself with locating an old family home, unused and in disrepair for a long time, in Saint Petersburg, as he has become reluctant to go to their Irish home in the summer, nor has he any desire to return to Moscow.[queen]
Sample Journal Entry:
[The text is a bit sloppy and half in cursive - English is not his first language, and it shows terribly.]
Magical journals for… communication? My, they do think of everything, don’t they?
If you are reading this, then I would assume I will shortly be working with you or teaching you or seeing you about the hallways come this fall, and in an attempt to avoid needing to do so in person, I feel it may be… prudent… to lay ground rules now. Consider it a pre-assignment, if you will, though phrasing it as such will ensure a good half of you won’t read this, I am sure.
► If you elect to take my class, I expect you to be on time, and silent while I am speaking. It is to your detriment should you choose to not pay attention, but that is your prerogative. I do not have to pass you, after all~
► Unnecessary or unexpected affection is unwanted and likely to make you into a demonstration object.
► Pets, though a requirement of the school, I hear, are not welcome in my classroom. I have no need of disruptions.
Aah… I am sure that I will think of more as I become accustomed to teaching, and as you all become accustomed to me. If it frightens you that dark magic will be being used in the classroom - for your benefit only, I assure you - then I would advise not taking my class.
…
……
………
Now look at me, writing to you all and making a first impression as stuffy or intimidating. That won’t do… [Ink dots and small splatters, from absent tapping of the quill on the page] Yet I have no idea how to remedy that without bribing you with candies on the first day of class. But then I would be lying to you, as I have no intention of doing that at all… ah… and now I am going on and rambling. Apologies. I suppose I will be having to make a better impression when we meet in person.
[cursive Cyrillic scrawl - clearly more comfortable with his mother language, despite it only being a simple signature]
Иван Брагинский
Sample Interaction Post in Third Person:
As Ivan swept through the corridor of Hogwarts castle, he once again marveled at how comfortable the school was kept, despite the cold and dreary weather outside - and the fact that one did not have to go outdoors to get from one part of the school to another, unless you wished to - both stark differences from his days at Durmstrang, with its separate buildings and cold corridors, where students were lucky if there were fireplaces in the classroom come autumn. Dormitories were different, of course, as it wouldn’t do to have students falling ill left and right from the cold, but… oh, there his thoughts went wandering again, as they were wont to do when he did not have anything in particular to be doing.
He was brought back to the present when what he assumed to be a first or second year crashed into him with a soft ‘thump’, the Russian professor’s penchant for wearing heavy coats no matter the season providing minor cushioning for the impact. “I-I-I’m sorry, Professor Braginski!” It seemed neither of them had been paying attention to their surroundings. As Ivan was just as at fault as the student, he was about to respond in kind, similarly apologizing, but the flighty thing was off running to their next class - or into another teacher, where they would be sure to be admonished for running in the halls.
Was he really so intimidating, he wondered, watching the direction in which the student had fled curiously. He didn’t think he was, despite his teaching methods, but then again, such things did have a tendency for building a person’s reputation.
“…Professor Braginski.” Granted, it had only been a few months since he started, but as he repeated the student, it was glaringly apparent how… strange it still was to hear. He didn’t dislike it, but… well, he certainly wasn’t used to it. At all.
Now… what was he up to again? He wasn’t headed to a class - he had the period off - but the musing and short distraction left him without direction. He looked in the direction he was headed, tried to remember, but simply couldn’t for the life of him.
…That meant it must not have been important, so he could do as he pleased!
A slightly bigger smile than normal crept its way onto his face as he strode towards a window - if it wasn’t raining outside, he could settle himself in the courtyard with one of his well-worn and oft-read muggle books, tucked carefully in one of many inner pockets of his coat. Boots clicked with increasing speed towards the outdoors as the idea seemed fantastic, moreso on the discovery that the almost ever-present British rain seemed to have had mercy on the school, at least for a time.